Without a Story

Mooji – Don’t Do Anything

2012-03-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

So incredibly simple....Yet so ridiculously difficult.

Thanks forthe insight, Mooji.

Is This All There Is?

2012-03-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

Occasionally,when stretching on the floor in my bedroom at night, a certain thought comes tome: Is this all there is? The shadesare down, there’s no visible light creeping in between the shades and thewindow frames, and there are no audible sounds coming in from outside. Myimmediate perception suggests that this little box is all there is. It gives mea feeling of only-ness and safety, as though nothing else is taking place beyondthe walls and nothing can affect me if I am within them.

Yet beyond“this little box,” beyond the 6” depth of drywall and brick and mortar andnails and glass is infinity itself, running in every direction.

The one ofthese infinite directions I’d like to take in this post is that of intellectualawareness.

By and large,I don’t think it’s incorrect to say that most of us have no idea what in the worldis going on in the world; that we prefer to stay put in our “mental bedrooms atnight.” There are an abundance of reasons for this, but, to condense evenfurther, one of the simplest is that we put too much faith in mass media—thesame media that’s overseen and funded by those of the Total Dominator mindset. (Note:I’m not saying mainstream media is all evil. Merely that, on the whole, itserves to keep us in a place of conformity and ignorance. Nor is this acondemnation of all those who would work in such fields. Many may bewell-intentioned, but their intentions matter little when there are controlsand regulations in place preventing the workers from revealing the true natureof worldly affairs.)

It’s for thisreason that I write this post as a suggestion that we, as the common man, lookto new/alternative sources for our information. Whatever we put our attentionon strengthens, so it’s definitely in our best interest to voluntarily seek outthe truth rather than obediently accepting any information simply because it’sboth readily available and popular.

For example,we’re told by mass media, the FDA, Big Pharma, etc. that there is no cure forcancer; that we’ve come close, but we’re just not there yet. On the whole,we’ve believed this. We donate millions of dollars a year and have countlesspeople working day and night trying to figure it out. But guess what? Curesalready exist. For instance, see Holistic Cancer Research. (Note: The “Food Matters” video [avery informative documentary, by the way] from the middle of the HCR webpagecan be found here: Food Matters. It was no longer available on the HCRwebsite when writing this.)

It’s allgreat and good that so many people are working for such a cause. But we have torealize that we’ve been purposefully misguided. Cancer therapy is a HUGE moneymaker, and money, so far, has meant power. What we need to do as individuals isgather true information and share it.It’s only because we haven’t sought out and shared this information that thehole we’re in has become so deep. Perhaps money has equaled power, butknowledge is power, too. And when a critical mass of people know something, thechange created will destroy any misinformation/lies/deceit in its path.

Another goodone is global warming… Are we contributing to it by heinous practices ofmanufacturing, dirty energy, and the like? Probably. But is it really as muchour fault as the mass media and our politicians would have us believe? I’m notso sure…

Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human,Cause for Warming, Scientist Says(Nat.Geo.)

Sun Blamed for Warming of Earth andOther Worlds (LiveScience)

As one cansee by the articles, no, the evidence is not conclusive beyond a shadow of adoubt. I’m simply trying to make the point that things may be very differentfrom what our daily, delivery-at-the-front-door newspaper is trying to tell us…And look at two of the organizations disputing the alternative theory: PacificNorthwest National Laboratories and NASA. While I do not know enough to sayanything about PNNL—beyond the fact that it’s a government organization (which setsoff a red flag)—we need only do minimal research to find that NASA isn’texactly the most kosher of organizations itself (and, of course, they’re agovernment group also.) And how about Mr. Wilson from the National Geographicarticle, saying the views are contrary… to what? Mainstream scientific opinion. Yeah, weren’t Galileo’s contrary to a mainstreamopinion, too?

[Same dayupdate: Global Warming -Peer-Review Deception (16:03)… Brilliant!]

What aboutextraterrestrial life? It’s not uncommon to suggest ET’s to someone only to belooked at like you’re a serial killer. I would like to propose that we’ve beentaught to be this way; that we’ve been taught to discredit people who arewilling to think outside the box. For what else could our fear and rashjudgment be based in, anyway? If we do not hold the negative experiencesourselves, what evidence do we actually have for this fear, other than thatwe’ve been taught to fear either subtly or overtly? I mean look at our media.Ninety-nine percent of our movies, video games, etc. have suggested that ET’sare vile, cruel, hellish creatures bent on harming mankind. The majority of us haveno real idea, and yet we believe itwithout having proof, and we call wackos those who show an interest insomething which most are misinformed or uninformed about.

Could variousspeculations, supposed “truths,” or apparent sightings be false? Could there benutcases who’ve merely hallucinated such experiences into existence? I don’tdoubt it. But why can’t there also be sane people who are aware of much moreregarding ET’s than the average Joe? And while there may indeed be hellish ET’s,can there not also be peaceable, loving ones? Perhaps our intense fear andresultant shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later attitude is what keeps the lovingones away should they want to make contact. After all, if you were an advocateof peace, what would be the benefit of dropping into No Man’s Land uninvited?

Consider thefollowing: Siriusly. (Each segment has varying tabslocated at the bottom right of each main page. Although all tabs have somethingto pique one’s curiosity, the two I’d suggest looking at specifically are “Pyramid Cities”tab on the “The Face on Mars” page and the “Ancient Artwork”tab under “UFOs.”)

Okay, that’senough examples for now. Yet I hope I’ve helped to awaken the intellectualcuriosity within. Remember that, as human beings, we have the naturalinclination to learn. There is no wrong question. Never stop seeking. Neverstop asking.

And, ofcourse, be discerning. There are naysayers to everything. Maybe they naysay forpower and control purposes, maybe it’s just done by random fools who need somethingto feed their negativity, and maybe the naysaying is truly legit. Just continueto be aware and remember what Mark Twain said, “Truth is stranger thanfiction.”

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I find thatone of the greatest gifts I’ve been given/acquired/developed/all-of-the-aboveis the capacity to seek the truth. I may not always find it, I may occasionallybuy into the wrong thing, and I may occasionally share something that seemsvalid but is later proven inaccurate. No matter, being open to the truth, nomatter what that truth is, and trying to see things from as many differentaspects as possible, has been a truly rewarding process.

Rarely, ifever, have others of personal acquaintance agreed with my views or, of the fewwho have, understood them to the degree I do (and I usually don’t even knowthem that well myself). In the process, I’ve been demeaned, ignored, given thestink-eye, blah, blah, blah—if you’ve been there, you know the list.

But I’ll tellyou what. Even when others have told me I’m mad, I need to shut my mouth, I’mgoing bonkers, there’s one thing that usually follows all of it—possibly aftersome time of seriously questioning myself as to whether I really am a drivelingidiot or not: I feel gratified. I just want to tell the whole world: “Look! Look! See what you’re missing! Please!Wake up! This is so valuable!” (Like 9/11… Man, were people ever pissedback in ‘03 when I began suggesting all the reasons why it was an inside job… Butguess what… An inside job is exactly what it’s been proven to be.)

In closing, Iwould like to direct you to the comment titled “Right.” by “Bevillian” at thefollowing link: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/242077-Fukushima-Official-Commits-Suicide-After-Measuring-Radiation-in-Tokyo-Park.

These Are the Times That Try Men's Souls

2012-02-24T22:47:00.001-05:00

Indeed theyare, Thomas Paine. Indeed they are.

Nap time isover, boys and girls. It’s time for us to wake up from the dream…

Let Your Life Be a Friction toStop the Machine (22:52)

Thank you,ClassWarFilms.

What's Worse?

2012-02-17T10:42:00.000-05:00

It is aninteresting situation we place ourselves into when living a life shackled tothe ego…

Over thecourse of a lifetime, it’s very likely that we’ll carry on any number ofnegative habits or compulsions. These range from overeating to smoking to grudge-holdingto whatever. We do all of them as a means of keeping in suppression whateverpains us mentally and emotionally. In other words, we spend a great deal oftime and energy doing whatever will circumvent an egoic death.

The ironic thingis, in doing so, we’re killing ourselves anyway. So controlled are we by the ego,we'd actually allow a mental identity to destroy the host vehicle—the body, thevery thing that allows the ego to exist—rather than slowly and gently“deactivating” the ego and being able to truly live life for the first time.

…May we cometo recognize that there is a “Plan B.”

No Shame, No Blame

2012-02-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

I’ve beenreading Dan Millman’s book Way of thePeaceful Warrior for the second time, and the phrase, “No shame, no blame,”stands out from much of the rest of the story this time around. On a fewoccasions, those words are spoken by Dan’s mentor, Socrates, after Dan fails toachieve what he is told to do. The phrase really got my mind churning aboutlife and how we choose to react or respond to the situations that presentthemselves.

Note, here,that reacting is re-acting; it’s actingout, again, what we’ve always done. For example, it’s taking offense every timesomeone calls us an “idiot,” rather than asking ourselves why we are takingoffense in the first place (which would lead us to see that we’re still hangingon to the negative energy of some past incident). Responding means that we

1. Take astep back,

2. Take adeep breath or two,

3. Feel whatemotion it is that has arisen—withoutjudgment or suppression,

4. Try to view our situation from other perspectives, and

5. Takeaction accordingly to clean up any part of the mess that we can.

Suppose we dosomething inappropriately and offend another person in the process. For many ofus (probably most, if not all, who find their way here), our offending ofanother is not intentional; it’s just that we’re not in full consciousawareness of what we are doing, otherwise we wouldn’t have done it. But afterthe incident occurs, we do become aware that we should have gone aboutdifferently. We had perceived our words or actions one way but the one offendedtook them very differently. Harm was done, though no harm was ever intended.

So Iquestion: If we err unintentionally or unconsciously, yet make it a point inlife to heal personal negative issues whenever they arise, is our mistake reallythat big of a deal? Does the same hold still hold true if we’re the one beingoffended?

My answer isthat maybe we make a much bigger deal out of such things than they really needbe and that the size of the issue is based more on how it is handled than whatthe issue actually is.

If we’re theoffender, the appropriate response would be to work out what happened and try tomake the best of it; to take responsibility in understanding where and why we wentwrong. Was there a perspective difference? Were the facts not all straight?Etc. We, as the offender, would then make amends based on what the one offendedhas made room for. In other words, if the one hurt shuts down in anger, we shouldtry to consider and understand other possible perspectives to see where ourerring may have taken place and then make peace with the situation as it is. Ifthe one hurt opens up to explain why the offence was taken, the door is then moreeasily opened for understanding andhealing within and without by both sides.

If we findourselves as one of the offended, we should try to understand why such asituation came into our life to begin with. Although it may not appear as suchto the average person, it is a fact of life that we attract to us the peopleand situations that push our buttons. Such attraction is part of the learningexperience of life, and we must understand this if we ever want our reactionarypatterns to cease. That said, the offender would actually be helping us, theoffended, to acknowledge the reactionary and/or suppressive side within. It mayeven be suggested that the offender is actually doing us a favor because theoffender has created a situation—an opportunity—for us to "feel it to healit"; the offender has given us another chance to see our negativity(however big or small it may be) in order to accept and release it. Theoffender, while very possibly in the wrong, was merely the medium that we hadattracted in order to reveal something that may otherwise have been hidden yetneeded to be brought forth sooner or later for healing anyway.**

Through itall, when in such a situation, this certainly isn’t about picking sides orsaying that one is more or less guilty than the other or even burdening one’sself with self-guilt. Regardless of side, it’s important that we take such anoccasion to open ourselves to compassion and forgiveness all around; to do ourbest to clean up whatever of the mess is our own, to try to work with the otherperson as they allow, and to release the issue and people involved knowing thatwe learned from it what we could.

Let me now goback to the concept of “no shame, no blame.”

We are allhere on this Earth to learn. In the process of remembering our true nature, inthe process of dumping all false notions of who we aren’t to realize who weare, we will always continue to hurt people, even if unintentionally. We willalways play the part of both the offender and the offended until we completelyfigure ourselves out. There is no way around it. But we must remember to usethe opportunities which arise, irrespective of what position we find ourselvesin, to ask within as to why we’ve caused or attracted such a hurtful situationat all. Suffering cannot not arise on the outside if we have nothing to attractit to us on the inside.

In the end, there’sno need for any shame or any blame. We’re all just trying to get it right—pass andfail, pass and fail—over and over and over again. If we can begin seeing fromthis perspective, it will help us tremendously in bringing compassion andforgiveness to both ourselves and all who we come in contact with.

For sure, lifeis damn tough without a map, a manual, or a personal tour guide. We really mustbe some exceedingly brave souls to have wanted to come here at all. Let’s learnto work together and do what we can to be transparent with ourselves and withothers so that our journey Home need not be any more filled with suffering thanwe’ve already made it.

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**Considerthe mass spiritual awakening that is taking place right now. People from all acrossthe Earth are realizing how illusory the material side of life really is andhow incredible of a thing it is to be a human being. This could only take placebecause of the intense suffering perpetrated on the common man by the PowersThat Be.

Yet theseacts, even in all their horror, have actually served as a wake-up call; they’vepaved the way for the average human being to awaken to his/her true nature. Inthis dualistic world, there is no stronger impetus than suffering to drive ahuman being to consider that maybe their anguish can be transcended; that maybethere’s more to life than meets the eye—a lot more!

Anysituation, no matter how intense in negativity, can be transformed intoabundant positivity if we can understand how to consciously transmute it.

Go Tell It on the Mountain

2012-02-05T17:22:00.000-05:00

Ever considerwhere your money originates from? What if it didn’t really “originate” at allbecause it doesn’t even exist…

Money as Debt (47:07)

Or what if itsorigin (i.e.: material backing) did exist, but it was simply and strategicallyerased from the awareness of the common man?

Thankfully,there are some very brave souls on this planet who not only do not wish it tobe this way any longer but have taken to the task of blowing the truth, in allits depth and madness, wide open for all to see…

Financial Tyranny by David Wilcock

Thank you foryour work.

Please: Pass it on.

Through the Veil

2012-01-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

We all havean aspect of the self that we call the “ego.” The ego allows each individual tocarry an identity. This is important, because if this identity didn’t exist,there would be no easy way of identifying an individual in order for him or herto pay taxes…Yeah right.

So, each ofus has an ego. And this ego causes separation. In its most basic sense, thisseparation is okay because it’s what defines each of us as a unique individual.I like to write, you like to sing. Who cares? It’s what makes us different fromeach other. Neither is any more right than the other.

However, theego becomes a major problem when we allow the idea of separation to define whoand what we are to the exclusion of all else. It’s at this point when a veil iscast over our eyes; a veil that creates within us everything from milddissatisfaction to cold-hearted hate when viewing those with differingpreferences.

I would likeus to examine a few ways by which we come to think that our veiled “reality” isthe “absolute truth.” The reason I want to do this is because the ego is anexceedingly sneaky thing when left to its own devices. It has a way—a very deceiving way—of leading us tothink that we’re on the path of love when we’re truly on the path of hate.

Considerreligion. Many religions tell us they’re the be-all, end-all. For whateverreason, we get caught up in believing that the one we follow is the completepicture. We end up shunning and even degrading all those who do not believe thesame.

Another is oureducation system. It’s been meticulously designed to perpetuate the ways of BigBusiness. It teaches automation rather than creativity. Of course, this extendsout into the world at large where those who are not degreed (regardless ofreason) are seen as more or less worthless or irresponsible.

A third ispolitics. I was talking to a friend recently when he said something like: “Youknow… I’m registered as a republican, but I’m seeing that identifying as arepublican or democrat is stupid. It really doesn’t matter. Taking sides is nothingmore than a game of separation engineered by the elite to keep our attentionoff of what really matters.”

Indeed it is.As are most aspects of life. Through politics, media, corporate marketing, evenprofessional sports, we’ve been persuaded to hate those who are not like uswhile justifying it with some form of political correctness. This is where theego comes in in all its deviousness. This is where, if we we’re to lookhonestly, no matter who or what we thinkwe are, we would see that we may very well carry prejudice, only we’ve beencovering it over with a glamorous name or explanation.

Now that I’vegiven some background, I’d ask everyone to consider some of these things as wego about our daily lives. I’d ask that we evaluate our approach toward thosewho are different from us. What veils are we hiding behind?

…Is divisiona fact of life? Or does it only continue because we actively preserve it?

An Inside Perspective

2012-01-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

No hand beatsfirst-hand. Thank you, Susan!

CIA Asset Susan Lindauer & 9/11 (1:29:11)

To note, themain talk is only 30 minutes. The 60 minutes that follow are Q & A.

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When and ifyou watch some of the more displeasing videos I link to, please keep thefollowing in mind: Those who are taking part in such crimes need help. Whenanger arises within, do not allow yourself to project hateful emotions towardthe criminals. (Or toward the people who speak a truth that you may not yetwant to believe.) Also, try to understand that hating those who hate you is aseffective as fighting fire with fire. It’s completely ignorant and foolish. Whateveryou give your attention to is what results in your world. If you project yournegative emotion into the world, no matter what you’re projecting it at,negativity is what you will get back, and negativity is what will continue. Youwill actually be creating more of what you claim to be sick of.

Instead, useany anger or discontent to fuel a life of discovering and sharing the truth; ofgoing inside and healing your own self, so you may become another light in thisdimly lit—yet increasingly brightening!—world.

It's all in the Numbers

2012-01-19T19:15:00.001-05:00

After havingmy car for 4 years, the battery decided it didn’t want to work anymore. So Iparked my parent’s van in front of my car to jumpstart it. As required, Istarted the van and attached the clamps of the jumper cables to the appropriatelocations. Or so I thought.

(+) to car.(+) to van. (–) to van. (–) to frame of car.

When I triedto start my car, nothing happened. I waited a bit longer, tried again, andnothing happened. I waited longer still, tried once more, and nothing happened.This went on for 20 minutes or so, with me getting in and out of the car tryingto figure out what the deal was.

Then I calledmy dad to see what he had to say. He mentioned checking the owner’s manual. Themanual said to place the (–) on the specified mounting bolt. I had not donethis because there were instructions on the cables themselves (saying to usethe engine block); because I assumed (oops!) that the mounting bolt was merelya convenient location selected by the manufacturer; and because, as I had heardin times past, one could just attach the (–) to the car frame. I figured thatmetal was metal. So, through ignorance or whatever other less-than-wisethinking process, I didn’t bother with the mounting bolt. I also avoided theengine block as it didn’t appear to have a convenient location for clamping. Atsome point, I did consider that maybe the paint on the frame at the (–)connection was preventing the car from starting. I think let it go, though, whenseeing a few sparks fly while adjusting the clamp.

Whatever thecase, I was about to give up and wait until my dad came home to take a look atit. I walked over to the van, got in, closed the door, and was just about toturn it off when the clock caught my eye. It read 4:44. Time-out!

4:43? No!

4:45? No!

Exactly 4:44.Why?

Because I wasbeing thoughtless, that’s why! Because there were other options I was given butdidn’t bother trying. Because I was being offered a moment of Grace fromHeaven. Because, as noted at Spiritual-Path.com, 444 can be understood as a Cosmic“No!”

Onreconsideration my situation, I got out of the van, attached the (–) to the“just a convenience” mounting bolt, hopped in my car, and guess what? Itstarted instantly!

So…What’s themoral of the story?

Don’t be stupid!

Well, yeah,it kind of is. But that’s only part of it. The other part is that numbers are notalways chance or, say, “just what time it is.” They are one of the visible links between us and Heaven.

For example,have you ever looked at the clock and seen 11:11? “Make a wish!” they say. Somany of us think it’s just a fancy thing when we chance upon 11:11 or 2:22 whenlooking at a clock. “11:11. Make a wish! …I wish for a bottle of Goldschlager!”Okay, well maybe not. That’s stereotypical. We’re not all raging alcoholics…Maybe some of us are more interested in cigarettes or nudie magazines! Butseriously… Seeing such numbers does, indeed, have great significance. We needonly learn to understand them.

A year and ahalf ago I quit my job. I’m still jobless. I certainly could have foundsomething, somewhere, but for my process of spiritual awakening telling me thatwhat I could easily get in to will not serve the increasing level of new,positive energies my body/mind/spirit is trying to integrate with those of theold, negative energies of much of my past life and the better part of society.While this process has often times left me with great pleasure, at times I havealso been very confused. Am I doing the right thing? Where am I to get themoney for this bill or that bill? What should I do with myself?

Thankfully, I’vebeen given the opportunity to learn about Numerology, something that had neverinterested me until about 2 months ago. This was not a formal education but,rather, enough information from across the internet and enough “toocoincidental to be a coincidence” experiences to say that there is definitelypractical value in understanding numbers. And in doing so, in learning to betterunderstand what I am being told by those of a Higher Realm, I have been able todecrease my confusion and increase my positivity.

And the thingis, even though I’m seeing the numbers, it’s not like I can read the future oranything. For instance, suppose a number repeats and that number suggests thatmy recent choices will soon bring abundance. I have absolutely no concept forwhen “soon” is. Five days? Five weeks? Five months? I have no clue. But itfeels right. And this feeling of rightnessopens the door for greater positivity, which in turn opens the door to more easilymanifesting the abundance, success, joy, peace, or whatever else I may desire.

The numbersare a constant reminder to be calm: that, from a spiritual perspective, I’mdoing a pretty good job; that I shouldn’t be in constant worry about thefuture; that I will be taken care of; that my Path is—usually—acceptable; and that if I want help, I need only ask—it’sonly a thought away.

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Below, I’velisted a few websites I’ve used to glean an education on the role numbers playin our lives. I hope they can help you as they’ve helped me.

Angel Numbers Sacred Scribes by JoanneWalmsley

http://sacredscribesangelnumbers.blogspot.com/

Comprehensiveand very helpful. Note that there is a number index.

Spiritual-Path

http://www.spiritual-path.com/numerology.htm

Less comprehensive than Angel Numbers but offers some different interpretations that are very helpful (like 444 meaning "no"). Website also has an assortmentof information on other topics.

Creative Numerology by Christine DeLorey

http://creativenumerology.com/

A “Life Path”approach. To note, my “Destiny Number” reading lined up damn near perfectlywith my life.

It's Just an Experience

2012-01-15T14:32:00.000-05:00

In recentposts, I’ve made comments regarding the idea that life experiences are actuallyneutral, not “good” or “bad” as our egos typically like to define them. I’d liketo expand on this topic because I feel that a mindset of neutrality offers yetanother great reason to accept things as they are, rather than rejecting them forwhat they are not.

In oneexample, maybe we’re the kind of person who enjoys judging obese people. On onehand, sure, they very well could have chosen that weight merely by sitting onthe sofa and eating nonstop in front of the tube all day. Clearly, there’s anemotional or psychological issue that needs to be taken care of. But what ofthose who are “overweight” (at least by Western standards) “without a cause,”so to speak? What if they judged overweight and obese people harshly in apreviously lifetime and need to burn off bad karma? That in order to do so,while still in soul form, they chose an extra-large body. It was non-judgmental(or objective self-judgment, at worst): Ideserve this. It’s just an experience. I’ve felt what it was like to be skinny.I went too far, however, and made fun of those who were fat. Now I will choose theexperience to be fat myself. Once we step into the often times harshreality of a dualistic world, we see that it’s too often filled with anythingbut non-judgment. Thus, life can be extremely trying at times. No matter, it’sthe life/experience we’ve chosen, and it’s the life/experience we must bear. (Considerwhat this may mean for those of us having such thoughts now…) And if our soulis occupying a body which is “overweight” for reasons that have nothing to dowith karma or mental imbalance, well, it is what it is. It’s what was chosen,so it’s still just an experience.

In adifferent example, suppose a man dies in a car accident at age 31. We may say,“He was too young,” or, “But he was supposed to do this or that.” Was he? Do wereally know that? Yes, by his own freewill, he can try to drive across town whiletotally drunk and kill himself. Such action is probably not in the Divine PlanBook. But if he dies when his car slides off the road due to black ice, who isanyone to say that the work he came here to do is not done? Who’s to say thathis death was “bad”? Perhaps it is just an experience; an experience chosen byhis soul before his life began.

Ooh… here’s agood one…

What aboutgays and lesbians? Consider the conservative Christian family who is repulsedby such things. Then daughter comes along and says: “Mom and Dad…I like girls…Ilike ‘em a lot.” And Mom and Dad are floored and totally embarrassed. “But it’sagainst the rules of the church!” Does that make it against the rules of God,also? Are you sure? Please excuse me if I am wrong, here, but I don’t recallJesus ever saying: “Respect not the homosexuals.” (!)

Once again, Igo back to the reincarnation idea that, in soul form, the entity says: “I wantto be a girl; I want to like girls, too. It’s just an experience.” It’s onlywhen we get plopped into the physical world of obscene and suppressive beliefsystems, of hatred, bias, blah, blah, blah, that suddenly we are “no longerallowed” to have the experience that the soul perceived as both natural andneutral. Yet if we don’t have any connection to the wisdom of our higher-selves,of Source, who are we determine whether same-sex attraction is acceptable ornot? Because dogma says so? Because the ego says so? As for the parent’srepulsion, their eyes are so heavily veiled that they don’t realize that beforetheir own birth they very likely chose—chose!—theexperience they are now so adamantly rejecting.

As we are, aswe’ve been, most of us don’t truly know where we’ve come from or where we’regoing. And without honestly and openly cultivating our lives, all we everreally “know” is what the “powers that be” have told us. If we are to developany real understanding of life, it’s critical that we work to truly open up thepassageway between the self and Source. No one else can or will do it for us. Equallyimportant is that we remain objective and alert when discerning any informationan outside source may try to feed us.

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To make acomment to those who may be wondering, since the thought arose in my own mindon several occasions as I wrote this… Where does one draw the line?

For instance,I was recently talking to someone about the gay/lesbian thing and the questionarose: What about those who get asex-change? As far as I am aware, Jesus didn’t say anything about thateither. But based on what I do know, my feelings are that…

What isnatural is natural. If a female or male has an inclination toward other femalesor males, respectively; it’s still natural. There is no alteration of any sort,and such attraction is observable throughout the animal kingdom. Sometimes channeledmessages from the spirit realm also speak of this as acceptable. As for being,say, a man, and deciding, “I was supposed to be a woman,” I think thereis a mental problem there. In such a case, not only are the possible futurephysical implications highly unnatural, but, at least from my view, it’s likesaying, “God screwed up.”

Ultimately, itcomes down to understanding who we are and why we are here, on a very personallevel. While everything may be “just an experience,” there will still be akarmic price for that which we think, say, or do that opposes the natural orderof Life.

Forgiveness: A Personal Understanding - Part 2

2012-01-11T19:44:00.000-05:00

I’d like tomake a clarification about the previous post…

The othernight I read an article which stated that Lucifer was the reason duality ever came into existence. That without hisdecision to say, I guess quite literally, “To Hell with God’s Divine Plan,”duality would never have come to be.

Fair enough.I don’t know enough to dispute it.

If I remembercorrectly, in the first Collective Evolution video (which I’ve linked to in my Resources tab) it’s stated that duality cameabout because we, as a collective of souls, wanted a different experience; wewanted something new. If God really is an “experience junkie,” as suggested in Part 1, then why not?

Again, Fairenough. I don’t intend to dispute it.

Following thelead of the last point, it’s sometimes said that duality has always existedthroughout the 3-D universe. Yet life was perfect on Earth until, by decisionsmade at the Universal level (note the capital “U”), those who lived on Eartharound 13,000 ago were allowed to be genetically manipulated byless-than-kosher spacefarers. In other words, an evil breed of ET’s areactually the cause for duality on this planet.

Once more…Who am I to argue?

Some say theplanet has been the home to various civilizations, such as the Lemurians andAtlanteans, for eons and eons. But, due to various cosmic and earthly events,those beings have all departed or been destroyed in one way or another. Dualityfactors into this also, but by comparison to the Lucifer reasoning, it seemsthat Lucifer would only be responsible for the most recent times. What of theeons previous to 13,000-ish years ago?

I don’t know…

And thenthere is another group who suggest that time is divided into Yugas.On reading a wee bit about them, it seems that the evolution of creation fromLight to Darkness and back again is all part of the Grand Scheme of Things.

Hmmm…

I wanted totoss out these other options because I know that the one I originally noted mayvery well hold some inaccuracies. While I will continue reading what othershave to say about such topics and will likely change my opinion or knowledge inthe future, for the purposes of the average Joe, I’m not so sure that a precise understanding of thehistorical/cosmic truth matters as much as the immediate truth does. Mostimportant is the acknowledgement of the immediate truth and our acting upon itin a way that proves successful. The immediate truth—at least in this case—beingthat:

1.) We mustforgive ourselves and others if we ever want to find peace, and

2.) Humansare a highly confused group of beings. If it were not so, we would never treatourselves and others the way we do because we’d realize, in a very intimate way,how badly we are harming ourselves and the world by not being true to theinherent essence of life.

It’s writtenthat as Jesus was dying on the cross, he said of those who crucified him:“Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” What a perfect way to sum upthe two-fold nature of this truth.

-----

And by theway…

I know someof the above may sound far-fetched, but who are the majority of us to say whatreally happened—especially in an infinite universe of such perfect fluidity andsynchronicity. When one opens their mind, it becomes very clear, very rapidly,that a creation of duality story like Adam and Eve and an Apple and a Tree ismajorly symbolic, not real. That 7 billion suffering people did not stem fromtwo perfect Homo sapiens located on a life-giving rock in the center of theuniverse; one of those two beings committing the dastardly deed of biting thefruit and then—sneaky, sexy, and seductive bitch that we’ve made her out tobe—sharing it with her naïve man-friend!

Forgiveness: A Personal Understanding

2012-01-06T13:25:00.000-05:00

For themajority of my life, forgiveness was rare. Even when I thought I was forgivingsomeone, I’m not sure that I ever actually did. I feel like the result of whatI called forgiveness was half-hearted at best and suppression at worst.

Later on, evenas practiced self-cultivation, my efforts toward forgiveness seemed to be morecomplete but never whole. Nonetheless, I continued my work. It was one of thoseinstances where you have a feeling but it’s so subtle that you’re practicallyunaware of it (in this case, incompletion when intending forgiveness). Then youhappen to stumble upon new bits of information that both help you to see whatthe problem is (that you may not even have considered as a problem until seenin hindsight) and offer a practical approach to wholeness. The pieces ofinformation I came across were two-fold.

The firstpart is that I wasn’t forgiving myself. I would intend to forgive others, butwithout forgiving myself, I had only ever managed a half solution. After all, aproblem couldn’t exist from my perspective if there wasn’t a “me” here toperceive that problem!

The secondpiece of information regards reincarnation. Not just the notion that we’re bornand die over and over until we get it right, but that of understanding the thousandsof variations of roles we may play over the course of many, many lifetimes.

Before Iexplain further, I want to note that my reasoning here is not deeply spiritual.While it does take some spiritual awareness, what it necessitates is a willingnessto think outside the box and the acceptance that we may be wrong now or havebeen wrong in some past, unremembered time. Some people say that they knowevents from past lives, that they know who they once were or where they’ve comefrom, etc. Simply put, I don’t know any of that stuff. I’ve adopted the beliefin reincarnation because most religions believe it; science has proven it; it’swritten in ancient scriptures (wouldn’t you know it, even Jesus talks of it!*);those who channel the words of Ascended Masters often channel messages aboutreincarnation; and with all else I’ve read, it just simply fits so much better than the notion that we live once only to go toheaven or hell for eternity. All I really do know is that what I now intend formyself and others when making intentions of forgiveness does work—and it works very well.

It allstarted with the acceptance that we are all separate but connected aspects of aGod that is, so brilliantly termed at http://reluctant-messenger.com/God-talking.htm, an “experience junkie;” that we liveover and over and over again because we are all a part of God, and God wants toknow himself in a physical rather than only a spiritual way.

Also—and thisis a big “also”—that, as I said in Bad Things and Good People, everything is just an experience;not good, not bad; it just is. Godsays: “Hey! I’ve got it! What better way to know my blissfulness than to takemyself out of it? I’ll put a veil over everyone’s eyes (i.e.: My own) byplopping my creation (i.e.: My physical self) into this thing called duality!And each Soul/Spirit aspect will learn and grow over and over until it remembersthat it is Me and I am it. It’ll be fun!”

But becausethere’s a veil (the ego), these humanoid creatures forget their divinity; theyforget why they came and where they are going. Thus, in the process of findingtheir way Home, which takes an abundance of lifetimes of experience, they doanything and everything to learn what works and what doesn’t. Said a differentway, in the process of coming to know who we truly are, we may all becomeguilty of war crimes just as we’ll all eventually be guilty of making peace.

All thatsaid, considering the above (which is incredibly condensed), I am able to seethat there is no true “good” or “bad.” Instead, those who commit acts which weconsider “bad” are merely confused—justas those now awakening/ed once were. And maybe those awakening ones still areconfused, but they at least have a better sense of where to place theirintentions and attention.

Inconclusion, we’re all confused! That’s all it’s ever been. As one beginscatching glimpses of the Divine Plan and sees that confusion is the worst-casescenario, how can one not also find the compassion within to forgive boththe self and those who don’t yet know how perfect they are?

_____

*In one of several notes about reincarnationin the Bible: “And if you are willing to accept it, John is Elijah, who wassaid to come. Let him who has ears, hear.” (Matthew 11:14-15)

You Are a Sinner!

2012-01-03T15:30:00.001-05:00

Yes, friend. I’m talking to you. Youare a sinner. And you will BURN IN HELL!!! You don’t believe in my god, and mygod is the ONE TRUE GOD. Now die and get what you deserve. You are unworthy… Butfor the small fee of only 1/10 of your income, we will gladly offer you both theKEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and access to the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. And if youact now, we’ll even throw in 3 free indulgences, worth $12 each. That’s a $36value, ABSOLUTELY FREE! This is a limited time offer, so act now. Operators arestanding by.

Yeah… aboutthat… Let’s take a step back, maybe take a breath or two, and then start over.Only this time we’ll take a less radical, more practical approach…

When at thepark, I pay attention to two things: the plants and wildlife and the people Ipass. Giving attention to the former is about gratitude andabsorption—gratitude for the existence of that life, whether plant or animal,and absorption into the subtle nuances of whatever I see (for example, the waythe sun shines on a tree differently than the day previous). As for the people,I look, nod (assuming they look at me), and continue observing nature until thenext person comes around. It’s purely out of a desire to acknowledge theirexistence; it’s easier to do than not do.

While at thepark one day, some guy stopped, said hi, and asked how I was doing the instantmy eyes met his. No sooner had I said hello than he was handing me a littlepamphlet. It immediately became apparent that he had a motive; that he wasn’tsimply acknowledging the existence of another human being just because it’s thehuman thing to do. After handing me the pamphlet, in a well-rehearsedI-may-meet-someone-at-the-park-and-only-have-five-seconds-to-talk-before-they-run-off-or-smile-nod-and-walk-awayspiel, he tells me that Jesus Christ is the "One Way," and that he’s lookingforward to seeing me on whatever night these folks were getting together.

If a personwants to use Jesus as their point of reference for filling “the void” in life,then great. Don’t let me stop you. There are a lot of folks out there who willtell you there is great value in calling on any of the “Ascended Masters” forhelp. I have no argument in doing such. (As a side note, the pamphlet clearlystated that sex, alcohol, money, etc. are as equally bad as religion forfilling “the void.” The gathering was to take place in a house.) But what gotme was his certainty. He spoke to me as if Jesus shares a bunk bed with him. Hespoke to me as if there is absolutely—ABSOLUTELY—no other way.

Later on, Iread the pamphlet. I used to be offended by such things, but now I just get a weirdkind of humor out of their flawed perspective. Like so many others, it saidthat I need to admit that I'm asinner.

“Ahh, shit… IfI didn’t have enough problems to deal with, now I’m a sinner, too! Can youbelieve it?” …No, quite frankly, I can’t.

Do you, dearreader, know what “sin” is? It’s fear-inducing religious jargon for “wrong thought,”conscious or subconscious. Nothing more and nothing less. Ending “sin” isliterally as simple as changing a thought pattern.

For youCatholics out there, how many of you go/went to confession for years on end andconfess/ed the same old thing over and over again? I did that once too. Oh, howthe wool has been pulled over our eyes.

Do you wantchange? Do you want to transform your bad habits into something positive? Doyou want peace? Do you want everlasting healing? Do you want a savior who willsave you before you die (and you find out that there is no savior to save youbecause you didn’t truly try to save yourself)? Do you want to stop “sinning”?

Change yourthinking. It is truly that simple.

You are thesavior you’ve been yearning for.

A Conflict of Interest

2011-12-29T12:14:00.000-05:00

Many people are calledby God to act, to rise from their slumber to do his will. In the eyes ofCatholic children/young adults who feels this calling, it may be seen that theymust choose to be a clergy member. This is fine and good, because theirintentions are in the right place.

However, as we see inthe news, and as we find out in much greater depth when we do the researchourselves, the Church is steeped in secrets, sex scandals, “holy” wars, andwealth beyond compare. When a clergy member, although still possibly with agood heart, continues on this religious path, he may be offered ever higherpositions within the ranks of the Church. He may eventually become one of theelite; one who, we would hope, work for the betterment of mankind. Butdepending upon how high a position he reaches, especially in the position ofPope, I’d have to think he gets a pretty good feel for all the treachery and deceitof the present and past and more or less of what is to come (whether created byhis own hand or that of the Puppet Masters above him).

So, although he likelybegan with the healthiest of intentions, how can so many of us continue tojustify that he, of whatever high-ranking position, is actually closer to Godjust because of his worldly status—particularly if he's keeping his mouth shutabout the secrets that have been revealed to him? If, for example, as ishappening now, he’s allowing bishops to shuffle pedophile priests to “lesser”parishes rather than giving them the boot and/or psychological aid? Andeveryone knows there are/have been secrets, scandals, and “holy” wars, even ifthey are not dinner conversation. As for the wealth of the Church, how can onemiss it? How can one justify it? Selective attention? Voluntary ignorance? Byjustifications that “they’re only human”?

(Pardon the digression,but have you ever researched the implications of the various statues,artifacts, etc. located in the various public courtyards of the Vatican? TheEgyptian obelisk and hieroglyphs? The Hollow Earth? The Pinecone/pineal gland?…I mean holy shit, people, talk about secrets in plain sight!)

Some might suggest that thesemen don’t speak up for fear of losing their position or that the Powers That Bewill “take care” of them.

Sowhat?

If we truly know God,what reason do we have to fear the loss of an organizational position or evenof death? Didn’t Jesus teach us to be inthe world and not of it? Didn’t Jesus diebecause he knew that death was the road the Truth sometimes requires? Isn’t thePope supposed to be working in Jesus’ stead?

Maybe it’s time for usto reevaluate how much faith we put into these “stewards of God.”

---

As religionis a touchy subject, I would like to make a few important clarifications tothose who want to disagree.

First, barringignorance (intentional or not) and self-dishonesty, it really cannot be deniedthat the Church is guilty of some pretty heinous activity in their time on thisplanet; much of that activity given the go-ahead by the Pope himself.

Secondly, andfrom a personal knowledge and experience perspective, when one comes to truly know God, even if in smallermeasures (in my case), the fear of death passes equally so. On top of that,because we all have a piece of God within us—Spirit—we all have the ability tounveil our Godliness should we choose to do what’s right. This is so valuable,because as this unveiling happens, we literally lose the ability to doourselves harm. And if there is no ability to harm the self, then there is noability to harm others. It goes without saying, then, that if we haven’t trulyunveiled any form of inner Godliness, it’s probably pretty easy for us todeliberately misguide billions of people yet still be able to sleep comfortablyat night.

Thirdly, if Imight dip into the quantum physics/metaphysical realm, “birds of a featherflock together.” We go and do what we go and do, even if we’re totally unawareof what is truly happening, because the level of vibration we exist atnaturally attracts us to those of the same vibration. If we vibrate at thelevel of negativity, the Universe will lead us to negativity. Life on theoutside is a mirror of life on the inside.

And finally,most plain and simple of all: "He who does not know love does not know God, forGod is love." (1 John 4:8)

Walking On the Moon

2011-12-26T22:47:00.000-05:00

Well, here’sanother story down the drain…

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way tothe Moon (47:01)

Yes, I know.There are all kinds of debunkeries out there. Well there are all sorts of proofs,too. Just because conspiracy theory isn’t mainstream doesn’t make it false, itjust makes it less popular. And whether this or anything else, we need onlyspend a few minutes on the universal mind we call the “internet” to see thatmuch that “could never be true” is more true than we ever thought it could be.

It’s time tolook past fear, and it’s time to look past limitation. It’s time to considerthat maybe Big Bro ain’t so benevolent after all.

Opinions and Beliefs

2011-12-22T11:21:00.000-05:00

“Consistency in regard to opinions isthe slow poison of intellectual life.”

--Anonymous

Opinions are justthat—they’re opinions. This means they can change on a whim. If they canchange, they have no basis in reality.

Let’s listento ourselves when we think and talk. How many times do we begin a statement orthought with “I believe…” or “We as [affiliation name here] believe…”? How manytimes are words or thoughts underlined with a similar phrase, though it isnever directly used? Isn’t a belief nothing more than a consistent opinion?

How manytimes do we willfully avoid learning about something, regardless of topic,because we’re too fearful or arroga—“It’snot arrogance, and it’s not fear! What you’re suggesting is ridiculous andidiotic! Are you trying to say I’m misinformed? Maybe you’re the one who’smisinformed!”

Now that theego has made its presence known, let’s start over…How many times do wewillfully avoid learning about something, regardless of topic, because we’retoo fearful or arrogant to reconsider another option? Because we mistake believing—i.e.:having a rigid opinion—for actually knowing?

Considerreligion. In a word: Dogma. Eek! There’s little in this worldthat has stunted the development of humanity more than the adherence to dogma; thatis, the following of popular opinion whose validity is not to be questioned—justfollowed blindly. Not only does this cause one to forfeit their intellectuallife but, even worse, their spiritual life.

What aboutscience? They’re a bit dogmatic too, no? What is science but a bunch oftheories of such hardness that they might as well be considered laws? Ofcourse, they are all overturned at some point, but what a painstaking processfor any change to find acceptance.

In a world ofone-track-mindedness, is there anything the individual can do to circumvent theignorance that’s held sway for so long? Certainly! We can forgive others for passingon hardened opinions as truth or for deliberately deceiving us. We can forgiveourselves for being so closed off to a universe of infinite potential. We can beginopening ourselves to the truth of small questions so it’s easier to manage thebig ones. We can do the research ourselves rather than having others dictate itto us. We can see, feel, hear, touch, smell, and be in this world as ourhigher-selves request, rather than how some cockamamie egoists tell us weshould. We can be skeptical about everything, and accept that the only onesjudging us for not knowing everything are ourselves.

Go Your Own Way

2011-12-19T12:20:00.000-05:00

As we gothrough life, nearly all of us develop the habit of using external “stuff” todefine ourselves (“stuff” being used as an exceedingly broad term). Whether aschildren, teens, middle-agers, or elders, practically all of us are guilty ofthis to some extent. In living this way, in believing that the things weassociate ourselves with make us “who we are,” we tend to lose ourselves indissatisfaction when our relationship with that “stuff” doesn’t pan out exactlyas we’d like. More specifically for the sake of this writing, we believe that nomatter how much suffering something may be causing, the more we attach to it, themore likely that it will eventually bring us fulfillment.

Under thegeneral comments above fit a dizzying number of categories, each having adiffering degree of relevancy to any individual’s life. One of these many categories,and the one I would like to discuss in this post, is that of certain relationshipsbetween parents and their children.

What Ioccasionally notice is that some parents overly enforce their perspective oflife onto their children. They want their children to live how they themselveshave lived, even if that life is not satisfying. (Not that they can necessarilydo otherwise. If they were aware of a more fulfilling perspective, one that wasalready within them, they probably would not be acting as they are.) Whatoccurs in such situations is that the parents, who unquestioningly andfearfully abide in their own unease, strive to make their children into aliving affirmation of what they couldn’t heal in themselves. Said another way:Because the parents have a fear of validating their own perceptions, they raisetheir children to affirm for them that their own troubles are acceptable.

Thus, strainin the parent-child relationship is commonplace. The parents try to set thechild’s life path by their own unsatisfactory views rather than by reality orthe child’s own intentions. As a child tries to grow in his/her own direction,the parents may see the child’s behavior as “straying from affirmation” insteadof the need to express a unique personality (or even being a mirror for theparents’ dysfunction). If this isn’t properly understood by the parents, then attachmentbecomes all the greater and struggle continues for both parents and childrenalike.

The followingare a few examples:

Perhapsparents work excessively hard with the expectation that this will eventuallybring satisfaction or the acceptance or appreciation of others. Although itnever does (not for any worthwhile amount of time anyway), they attempt toimpress this mentality upon their children by making them work hard in hopes ofproving it.

Another isthe kid who wants to go to college but the parents say no because they stillhave an ill-will against themselves for not going. Rather than the parentsworking out their own personal problems, they create all sorts of tensionwithin the family (which extends out into the world). They try to “heal” thepain of regret by giving their child all sorts of reasons why not to go, all inhopes that the child’s nonattendance will justify the parents’ ownnegativity.

And there arethe parents who have so little trust in themselves and each other that theycan’t trust their own children. Even when the kids are in their mid- to lateteens, the parents seldom let them go out with friends and allow little accessto the outside world (internet, cell phone, car, etc.). They project their own dysfunctiononto their kids rather than seeking to fix internally that which is maintainingan uneasy distance between everybody.

A fourth are thereligiously zealous. Even though there are hundreds of various denominations,the parents firmly believe that their religion is the “Chosen One.” Theyimpress this upon their child, usually from birth; all the while, the childsimply goes along for a number of years not knowing any better. Although thiscan end with a child finding balance, it’s no less common to end with that childeither becoming a religious nut him/herself or dropping religion completely forthe reason that all religion and all God-related stuff is unsafe.

Even if weare not all part of some of these more extreme situations, many of us stillcarry lighter versions of parental dramas. So there is still a takeaway to befound by understanding this aspect of parent-child relationships. This meansthat we as children—because we are all a child to someone—have the task toquestion: Are my parent’s truly satisfied?What makes them unhappy? Do I do that also? Does it make me unhappy? Am Imaking someone else’s problem my own? Why do I continue doing it? Am I doing itjust for them? What if I didn’t do it? Would I find satisfaction in being who Iwant to be instead of who my parents want me to be?

When we findthe truth, it then becomes our duty to go our own way—nobody else’s. Others maynot agree with us, but we can’t worry about that. There are as many differentways to live as there are souls. We shouldn’t be afraid to give a discerningear to the words of those around us, even if we think we’ll disagree with them;but to blindly believe those who tell us that our life path is incorrect when thosepeople live in fear of understanding and expanding their own is folly.

Be Like a Child

2011-12-15T18:53:00.000-05:00

Have you everstopped to observe little kids? Did you ever notice that they don’t care? Notin a rude kind of way, but in one of innocence. If you haven’t, perhaps youshould.

Consider thetimes when someone is trying to get ready to go out. While the child is on alaughter-filled rampage, is that person (very possibly you) also enjoying thechild’s freedom? Or is he or she yelling their head off in an attempt to tell thechild that the natural flow of spontaneity, innocence, and joy are notacceptable practice? What about when a child drops and breaks something“precious.” Does the person watching them mirror that child’s smirking “uh-oh”face? Or does he or she scream and holler that the broken item is, in othermore self-rationalizing words, more valuable than the purely innocent nature ofthat child?

Did you evertake the time to consider that maybe children have something to teach adults? Lookat how serious we are. It seems that we spend more time scolding our kids thanwe do just letting them be. Let’s not forget that each of us was a child once,too—a child that probably did not like being told that it was wrong to feelspontaneous joy.

Instead of immediatelyreacting so harshly to the actions of children, let’s stop and take a stepback. Let’s see if maybe there is a lesson they are supposed to be teaching us.If a kid wants us to do something that we feel is “too childish,” let’s allowthem to remind us that enjoyment is likely hidden only by our dissatisfying “grown-up”perception. If a child breaks something, let’s allow him or her to remind us ofthe transience of all things. Let’s consider that perhaps the problem an adulthas with a child is not the fault of the child but of the adult. On lookingdeeper, we may just find that we cannot be happy with a child’s happiness,innocence, or freedom because we have no happiness, innocence, or freedomourselves. It may just be that the positive emotions we would like to feel moreof are already with us, that we don’t really have to go searching anywhere forthem. It’s just that we’ve become so bogged down with negative emotions thatwe’ve nearly lost sight of what it means to truly enjoy life.

It’s okay tolook up to a child. They know a lot more than we typically give them credit for.They’ll tell us all we need to know about finding happiness, and they need notsay a word. It’s in their being and in their doing. It’s in what they are, notwhat we want them to be.

“And Jesus called a little child tohim, and set him in the middle of them, and said, Truly I say to you, Exceptyou be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into thekingdom of heaven. Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child,the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever shall receive onesuch little child in my name receives me. But whoever shall offend one of theselittle ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone werehanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”(Matthew 18:2-6)

Question – What Am I Doing Here?

2011-12-11T10:13:00.001-05:00

A Preface toQuestions

What am I doing here?

(What is my life’s purpose? What isthe value in this current part of my life? Is what I’m doing truly fulfilling?)

What am I notdoing here?

(Should I be taking action but amafraid of leaving a comfort zone or afraid that I’ll offend someone?)

What we areto ask ourselves here is not simple. It’s not necessarily about responding bysaying, for example, that we’re an engineer; that we’ve come here to helpsupply the world with electricity or production machinery or yet another roador superstructure. Could it be that we have? Maybe. Only as individuals can weknow our true purpose. However, most of us don’t really know. We say thingslike: “Oh, well engineering runs in my family. They’re smart and I’m smart, sothat’s the way I’m gonna go too,” or, “Looks like I have to go to college toget a good job so I can survive in this rat race we call ‘reality.’ I’ll do[whatever holds my attention and brings enjoyment (usually only at a materialand/or mental level)],” or, “I need a lot of money so that people respect me.”

Not knowingwhat I wanted to do after high school, I followed the family-engineering approach.This led me to a mechanical engineering technology associates degree and a fewyears of related work. Through the majority of it, although it was something Ieither couldn’t put my finger on or didn’t want to admit, I felt a kind ofemptiness, an out-of-place-ness. Towards the end of that time, I began self-cultivating.It was through this inner work that I realized while mechanical work may havesome value in my life, it’s far from my full calling. What that calling is I’mstill trying to figure out completely. But it’s clear that, due to not knowingmyself, I allowed myself to be “placed” as opposed to me consciously choosingmy optimal life path.

When we canbegin to know ourselves, when we can begin to see beyond the pre-trod roads ofsociety and family, we begin opening our lives to a whole new dimension ofexistence; one that will reveal what we have truly come here to do. By allmeans, maybe we’re doing our life’s work now. If this is true, then by comingto know ourselves deeper, we can dramatically improve what we are already doing.If we don’t know what our purpose is or if we only think we do, making theeffort to know who we truly are may very well send us down a totally new yet satisfyingpath. Whatever the case, maintaining a focus on learning why we have been puthere (volunteered to come, some say) can only serve to improve our own livesand, as a natural extension, those with whom we share this world.

Bad Things and Good People

2011-12-07T16:12:00.001-05:00

Why do bad things happen to goodpeople?

Some say ourGod is an angry or vengeful God. Some say that we we’re put on Earth to sufferto prove to God that we believe in his saving mercy. Some say it’s the cross wemust carry in life. Others say it’s karma from a past life. Some say it’s ourthoughts. Yet others say it’s all just an experience.

With such awide range of theories, can we really know? I would like to think that we can.Let’s look at each suggestion in turn.

Some say God is an angry or vengefulGod.

I doubt it. IfGod is love, as 1 John 4:8 proposes, why would he/she/it perpetually cause ussuffering? Sure, ancient scriptures may have been inspired by God, but thatdoesn’t mean they were actually written by him. Nor do the tragic situationsthat took place indicate that God was cruel. Remember that we get what we give.God was merely responding to a war-prone, egotistical man by giving him exactlywhat he deserved. While God may allow “bad” to exist in this world of duality, itis man who continually brings it on himself. The written history is only amirror of the people at that time.

God wants to know if we believe in hissaving mercy.

Our suffering is just a cross we mustcarry in life.

These two arequite entangled, so let’s review them together. Let’s also keep in mind that thesebeliefs are often shared by those who believe that we have one life to livebefore spending eternity in heaven or hell. To me, they just don’t add up. It’slike saying: “Yeah, God, just keep stacking the shit on, because I believeyou’re gonna save me in the end.” And what if he doesn’t? What if we came here,purposefully and voluntarily, as individual aspects of God, to experience God’sdualistic creation on his behalf?

There’s agreat deal of evidence for reincarnation. How do we know that we won’t die onlyfor God to say: “Life is a lesson, my dear one. Why would you have the sameproblems over and over were it not so? When you went to the school of intellectualknowledge you always wanted to learn the old so you could discover the new. Yetin the school of life experience you continually allowed yourself to be chainedto the old. Thus nothing new could ever come in. And why would I send you toearth to learn if you couldn’t take your wisdom with you into a new lifetime?What need have you for wisdom and knowledge in heaven where all is alreadyknown? Or hell where it would all be worthless?”

We need to burn off karma.

Perhaps thisisn’t the full answer, but it sounds legitimate enough. As the saying goes, “Youdo the crime, you do the time.” Another is, “You reap what you sow.” It’s thejustice system of the universe. On the immediate life level, suppose I made aliving stealing cars. If I get caught or turn myself in, I have to pay theprice. But what if I go to my grave without either. Do I go to hell? Do I go tothe same hell and burn for eternity with, say, a man like Hitler who took thelife of millions of people? Sounds ridiculous. I’d have to imagine that God isan equal opportunity employer. If this is so, if I was born into a drug-dealingfamily of car thieves, how does that equate to the man who was born into aspiritual community?

Why not comeback into the 3-D world and try again? Only this time, while I may livemodestly and peacefully, perhaps my possessions or identity or some such thingsare stolen. On the surface, yes, in this next lifetime I may be a “good”person. The “bad” is only happening because I brought it on myself from a timeI don’t recall but is very much ingrained within my soul experience.

It’s our thoughts.

On therelativity scale, yes, we may be a “good” person, but that doesn’t mean we arefree of harmful thinking. I’m sure I’m one among millions who know a lot of“good” people who have tons of difficulties in life, perhaps ourselvesincluded. It could very well be that much of this difficulty is created by ourthoughts. After all, what we think is what is projected into the world aroundus.

Let’sconsider the following quotes, general feelings, or both which may seem ho-humbut can actually lead “good” people into “bad” and even “awful” situations:

+ “I rarely get a meal to my satisfaction.”We often get cold food, grizzle in our steak, and bones in our fish when we eatout.

+ “I’m allergic to everything.” No matterwhere we are, we sneeze, cough, and itch year-round.

+ “I’ll never pay off this debt.” The billscome in faster than we can pay them.

+ “I’m so inept.” We constantly bang into,drop, and break nearby objects.

+ “It’s always one thing after another.” Problematicsituations continue to arise.

+ “Everything my neighbor does eats me inside.”We develop cancer.

+ “I’ll do anything to get my parent’sattention.” Our actions lead us to an extended hospital stay.

We’d beamazed at the problems we attract to ourselves due to simple thoughts which areeither hidden in our subconscious or we repeat aloud regularly. But, as always,it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t need to eat lousy food, break arms,lose jobs, crash cars, and be dis-eased. We need only realize the truth that“bad” things happen to “good” people because “good” people are not exempt fromfoolish thinking.

It’s all just an experience.

It’s saidthat before each of our earthly lives we chose an assortment of things such asbody, general life situations (learning experiences) and life objectives,parents, date of birth, etc. We do this as non-judgmental souls; judgment is ofthe mind, so it cannot occur until we take on an ego-minded body. During life,then, we are pushed by the universe to follow paths we very likely do not evenrecall deciding upon. No matter, if our experiences were chosen based on whatour higher-selves knew was in our best interest, how can we actually say thatany experience is truly “bad”?

Yes, anexperience can be bad if we choose not to learn from it. Similarly, we can useour freewill to ignore what is hurting us or voluntarily take part in thatwhich will ruin us. But if we can even beginlearning to accept what is, oursuffering will begin to disappear because we are acknowledging that whatever naturallyhappens is the unfolding of a divine plan.

Law or Flaw?

2011-11-30T17:45:00.001-05:00

Individuals andorganizations can make up rules and regulations all day long, but the truth isthat they are mostly, if not completely, unnecessary. If laws are necessary, theyalready exist. Indeed, they always have, because they are the laws of the verycosmos itself. Such laws are natural. They are the glue that keeps the universetogether, and they are the laws that enforce themselves with nothing less thatheavenly precision (think: gravity or karma).

For any man toactually create a law is to effectively tell someone else, “I don’t trust you,”or “I am better than you, and I know better than you,” or “Your creativity isunacceptable to my egoic desires and ulterior motives. You must limit yourselfto fit my authoritative purposes.”

Have you ever stoppedand seriously considered any of the laws that we actually pay the invalids wevote into office to create? They’re deliberately confusing. They’re obscene. They’reall about limitations. As the saying goes: Treat people like idiots and that’swhat they’ll become.

How perfectly thishas played into the hands of the few at the top.

Maybe it’s time welisten to the Law that is written within our very being. Maybe it’s time welisten to ourselves, rather than those who are clearly working to confine us.Because deep down we know. Sure, for eons we’ve been told that we don’t know,that we can’t know, that we’re stupid, that we’re worthless. But have we everstopped to study the backgrounds of those who tell us such things—I mean really, objectively, honestly study? They’re the same governments andreligions whose hands are blood-stained with the biggest lies, murders,deceits, and all other malicious purposes of history.

Please—Think foryourself, and be yourself. The only laws you truly need to follow (or would bevery wise to follow) are the Laws that are an inherent part of all that exists. We all know them—we need only remember. For only in remembering can we begin tounderstand how free we are truly meant to be.

The Truth about "Whatever"

2011-11-26T20:26:00.001-05:00

Today’s topicis about one of the many clear signs that suppression is imminent. It’s aboutthe use of the word and emotion of whatever.

Throughout mydays, I’ve noticed that sometimes people make a habit of using whatever to end displeasurablesituations. Not, “Sorry, I was wrong,” or “Let’s sit down and peaceably workthis out,” but “Whatever! It’s justwhatever!” This is then followed by internal and/or external grumbling tothe self and both parties departing in different directions.

As I’ve saidbefore and as I’ll say again: It doesn’t have to be like this. If we were topay attention to the instances in our lives from day to day and week to week,it’s really not unusual for similar—if not very, very similar—occurrences tohappen over and over again. These aren’t chance—they’re put into our lives timeafter time in order for us to heal what hurts us inside.

Let’s look ata “for instance” regarding tidiness…

Maybe Wifelikes to have all shoes in the closet. On the other hand, Husband always kicksoff his shoes next to the front door. Man, does this ever burn up Wife. Aweekly, if not daily, conversation may go as follows…

“Husband! Howmany times do I have to tell you that I don’t want your shoes at the door? Juststick ‘em in the closet! They’re so freakin’ disgusting to look at!”

“What’s thebig deal? No one is even coming. I’m putting them back on in two hours anyway.”

“And youcan’t walk the extra ten feet to the closet?”

“You’remissing my point. I’m…”

“No, you’remissing my point. You have no respectfor my simple wish to keep the house clean. But whatever! I might as well justtell you to do what you want, because that’s what you’re going to do anyway.”

[Husband exits stage left. Wife exitsstage right. Both are wearing frowny faces and grumbling to themselves.]

While theabove conversation is about shoes and a clean house, it doesn’t always have tobe. Maybe Husband sets off Wife by placing his underwear on a bedroom doorknob orWife angers Husband by keeping her hair straighteners and other accessories onthe bathroom counter. No matter the situation or the gender of those involved, allof these “different” problems come back to the same thing: There’s no attemptto fix the cause.

Continuing with the example above, it’simportant for us to realize that not cleaning up after one’s self, per someoneelse’s demands or desires, is only where arguments appear to begin. I say “appear”because the problem originates within. We attract to us what we’ve suppresseduntil we heal it, until we no longer value whateveras an adequate “solution.” If Husband and Wife truly want to stop fighting,they are both going to have to make peace with themselves.

Yes, that’sright: I said, “with themselves,” not “with each other.” Why? Because, as Isaid, the problems are internal. Certainly Husband and Wife can work togetherto find a solution, but, ultimately, the solution comes down to the individual.Wife need not wait for Husband to change in order to change herself, and viceversa. The external serves only as a mirror. If Wife has a son who also keeps hisshoes at the door, or if Wife gets divorced and marries once again to a man whoalso leaves his shoes at the door, Wife will continue to have her buttonspushed. It’s not because Husband or son are wrong, but that life is reflectingthe areas where Wife still has issues to take care of.

Once Wifetakes care of those issues on a personal, internal level, the problems on thecollective, external level will transform. That is to say, problems aren’t reallyproblems unless we make them so. When Wife stops thinking that her way is theright way or that she cannot be happy until everyone else conforms to her wayof living, she will then be able to accept whatis rather than always struggling to create what is not now and may nevercome to be. No, she may not like shoes at the door, and she never has to. Yet ifshe want’s peace, she must at least have acceptance of Husband’s actions.

Looking atthis from a wider perspective, we can see how whatever (whether spoken or felt) is the cause of hundreds oftrivial problems in life. If we disagree with something to the point of itcausing an argument or fight, it’s too late to just quit. The fuse is alreadylit. When the emotions fly, we have to forgive and release. Otherwise, wesuppress. Otherwise, we hurt. Otherwise, we run into the same issues over andover and over again.

Question – What Am I Eating?

2011-11-21T20:59:00.001-05:00

A Preface to Questions

No, not what do I think I’m eating—what am I eating?

I once saw acomic that I believe stated the situation perfectly. As I recall, there weretwo people eating at a table. Looking at the side of a box, one of them saidsomething to the effect of: “It’s interesting that the ingredients in my foodare the same as the ones I find in the stuff under the kitchen sink.”

Did I ever actually take the time tosee what was in my food?

Have I ever researched what all thoseingredients are that no human being can actually pronounce?

Did I ever consider what those synthesizedchemicals, sugars, and fats are doing to my body?

Did I ever consider what those synthesizedchemicals, sugars, and fats are not allowing my body to do?

Is my food genetically engineered?

Is my food packed with preservatives?

Where did my food come from?

What was done to my food before I purchasedit?

We’d be wiseto consider these questions in-depth. For example, I love peanut butter. (Howmuch? Picture Jim Carrey in “Dumb and Dumber:” AH-LAWHT!) I eat it all thetime. I used to eat regular Jif and Skippy PB by the vat. Then I looked at theingredients …hydrogenated vegetable oil …What the hell is that?

It’sunhealthy, that’s what it is.

I’ll let youdo the research, but for now, suffice it to say that they modify the naturaloil so that:

1.) You don’thave to stir the PB. In the oil’s modified form, the PB maintains its solidity.Also, I’m not sure if it’s proven, but it’s at least suspected that this sameingredient causes hardened arteries. The same process is used to solidifycandle wax.

2.) Themanufacturer can save money because the oil “fluffs” so they can use less tomake more.

In itsgood-for-business/bad-for-consumer modified form, the oil in PB that mostAmericans eat is unhealthy. The body has no way to process it.

And that’sjust one ingredient in one food item. The next time you go in your pantry, takea look a good, hard look at the ingredients in some of your favorite foods. Youmight be surprised how toxic they are. It’s no wonder that our collectivehealth has declined exponentially.

Inconclusion, remember the following:

1.) Read theingredients.

2.) Do theresearch; no one else will do it for you.

3.) Goorganic.

4.) If youdon’t take care of yourself; no one else will.

5.) If westop buying it, they’ll stop selling it.

It Is Time

2011-11-17T23:01:00.001-05:00

…timeto let go.

…timeto detach.

…timeto realize that what we’ve been pushing for can longer be sustained.

…timeto eat healthier.

…timeto meditate…every day.

…timeto live what it truly means to be a human being.

…timeto do what we want.

…timeto know the truth.

…timeto be at peace.

…timeto treat all beings equally.

…timeto forgive.

…timeto love.

…timeto be one.

2012 –Compassion(12:44)

2012 – TheRevolution Has Begun (16:50)

2012 –Message of the Elders (14:59)

2012 – AMessage of Hope (25:13)

2012 – TheEconomic Collapse (6:14)

(Thanksfor posting, Mrrockitman!)

Note:The “Compassion” video is a tough one to swallow (i.e.: it’s sad, horrible, andgraphic). Regardless, I am putting it here because many of us are highlymisinformed as to how the majority of animals are treated before they arrive inthe supermarket as finely-cut meat—this includes “range-raised” (-razed?)animals. Otherwise, the latter four videos should be very inspiring.

Don't Mess With the "D"-word

2011-11-13T16:57:00.001-05:00

Discernment.

What is it? Similarto what Wikipedia suggests, discernment is not merely theability to make a decision based on appearances or partiality, and notnecessarily even past experience or “common knowledge.” Instead, it’s theability to assess a situation or thing based on factors beyond biased-perceptionand come up with an objective conclusion. It’s the pairing of reason withwisdom.

When I talkto people about this thing or that event, particularly those that are new ordifferent to them, they don’t usually get it. (Most of my thinking andresearching is way out-side-the-box.) I show them or tell them something, andthey then often fire off questions and rebuttals ad infinitum. In a way, this is understandable. They’re just tryingto make sense of the material given. They are, by all appearances, using what wetypically term “discernment.” However, I would like us to consider how we usethis faculty. I get the feeling that we tend to get so caught up in ourpersonal perception of how things are/should be, that we end up not reallyusing our ability to discern at all. Rather, we subject our judgments only tothe superficial, foggy lens of basic intellectual decision-making.

As Icommented on in A Cure for ADHD, sometimes we go balls-to-the-wallinto science. We say that nothing else matters but what science tells us.Others of us use religion as our sole basis. Although science and religion arethe two major ones, I’m sure we could find plenty of smaller and less popularbases within other areas. Anyway, it’s not uncommon to use these bases untilthey’re beaten to death as points of argumentation. Nor is it uncommon for thesegrounds to be used to try to contradict that which has been proven byhistorical documentation, common sense and intuition, or even human experience.

What I feelmany people miss in discerning what is accurate or inaccurate is in finding a healthybalance between ALL bases. For example, there are a few documentaries I’vewatched recently regarding the current times and future of mankind and theplanet. They are not doomsayer stuff and they are not esoteric; they are provenboth through spirituality and scientific research. However, because they don’tfit the pop-culture, mass media, in-the-box viewpoint, the information is sometimesseen by others almost as blasphemy. While some respond with silence, othersquestion, question, question, but then rebuke each answer with the intention ofhaving the information fit puzzle-perfectly within their current thoughtstructures. Others, still, just get totally bent out of shape and think I’mwasting their time.

Granted, Iknow everything I see, no matter how true or false, is not going to resonatewith everyone exactly as it resonates with me. And that’s fine. But my requestin this post is that we ease up on our intellectual decision-making and,instead, cover all bases by striving for discernment. We must remember thatcreation is creative—how profound!—beyond our wildest imaginings. We are onlyhurting ourselves by putting unbalanced perceptions in the way of infinitepossibility.

If someoneshows us an informative video about things that aren’t mainstream, is it reallythat hard to spend a few minutes to say, “What if this is right? …What if I amwrong?” If someone offers us hard data but uses persuasive commentary to sell uson the idea that their interpretation of the data is true, and so we shouldhave fear or buy their product for protection, does that make the data any lessaccurate? If someone tells us that an experience happened to them, and we’veheard of it happening to others, just because science hasn’t proven it or ourreligion doesn’t endorse it or we’ve not experienced it ourselves, does thatmean all those people are liars?

We so easilyallow ourselves to fall into the trap of “decredibilitizing” others justbecause their perception is not our perception; or because their ethics systemdoesn’t parallel our own; or because their belief structures or way of life doesn’tmake sense to us. But when we really get down to brass tacks (whatever the hellthat means!), if we’re always too busy making subjectively-biased decisions asto what’s true and false, who are we to say that there is not some piece ofvalid information that the universe might be trying to convey to us through anygiven medium?

When we lackthe power of discernment, we automatically waive our ability to really knowwhat’s true and false.

When we takethat power back—oh, the wonders we can find!

Truth, truth, and “truth” – Part 2

2011-11-10T14:29:00.001-05:00

Truth, truth, and “truth” – Part 1

Until I was about24 years old, I thought I had the truth. As I’ve grown over the last few years,I’ve realized that I only ever had the “truth” that I wanted to have; the “truth”that fit with my preconceived notions as to how life is/should be. In essence,I was pretty much wrong about everything yet blind to it. But since then, myperspective towards the truth and my attraction to/rejection of it has changeddramatically.

In terms ofmy perspective towards the truth, I realized that I know little if anythingabout most things. With this in mind, I now allow myself to continually behumbled by that which I didn’t previously know. I take all those dangerousthings we call “firm beliefs” and toss them to the fire to see what’s left whenthey come back out (that is, of course, if anything to comes back out at all).

“Attractionto/rejection of” is a whole different beast. When we think we know (usually inthe form of “firm beliefs”), without ever realizing what we are doing, wereject the Truth even if it’s slapping us in the face with a cast iron skillet.The Truth is right there, but because we don’t truly want to see it, we justsimply don’t. We may occasionallycome upon a Truth, yet, typically, the “truth” we find is exactly the one thatwe are looking for. If, in our unwittingly rejective state, we want an answerthat fits our Judeo-Christian beliefs, that’s exactly what we’ll get. If wewant the one that coincides with our Democratic beliefs, well, that’s exactlywhat well get. And on and on. Consequently, everything that others tell us thatopposes our rejective-state beliefs will automatically appear skewed to fit the“ill agenda” of the other guy.

However, whenwe choose acceptance instead, we merge ourselves with the flow of Truth. Webegin to see it for what it is, and we see that it’s been there all along. Andbecause we are now opening ourselves in new ways, we find that we don’t exactlyhave to find the Truth as we always thought we had to. By all means, yes, wemay still do research or want to personally experience this or that. Suchaction is fine, and I encourage it. But by offering ourselves the opportunityto want to know life—as it is—while droppingall preconceived notions about how we think it is/should be, the Truth actuallycomes to us. We do the general work,and the Universe takes care of the rest.

In an examplefrom my own life, consider the following. (Take this for what it’s worth. I’lldo my best to explain, but it may be difficult to understand if notexperienced.) I’ve taken an interest in 2012 and all of its variousimplications. Pretty much all of my research is on the internet, and as Isearch, as I click here and click there, I just see what comes up. This has ledme to websites I could never have imagined existed but have been tremendouslybeneficial. Obviously, there is about a quadrillion tons of shit out there forevery three tons of Truth. Regardless, while I did step in some less thanpleasant stuff along the way, I’ve found a great deal more in value than I’dever expected. Why?

1.) I don’ttell myself to expect this or that. I kept an open mind and an open heart. Iremain open to ALL possibilities.

2.) I don’t fearknowledge of the unknown. I don’t fear having what I think I know be wrong. Iwant to know what’s True and Real, not what’s going to make me feel happy orsad, rich or poor, good or bad.

3.) Subconsciously,the Truth is what I really want.

I can imaginethat many people right now are searching the internet for similar things. Thedifference between us, though (and this is notto say that they would never come upon any of the same sites I did), is thatthey go to a search engine and type in things like “2012” and “Armageddon.” Forone thing, such topics are waaaaay too broad, and there’s infinitely more junkout there than there is Truth in regards to them. With such searches, there’sno real filter but the seekers perception, and a seekers perception for Truthis often up for debate. As a result, even if someone hits a page that is 100% True,it may come as all too easy to blow it off as false or idiotic.

For instance:If we’re expecting a doom and gloom, end-of-world scenario where “Scotty” beamsup the chosen few and leaves everyone else as toast in a nuclear holocaust,it’s very unlikely that that we will find value in websites which note the massSpiritual Awakening and DNA upgrade which is occurring at this time.

As I’ve moreor less alluded to, a point we must remember is that Google, Yahoo!, Bing, andall other search engines just can’t factor in human consciousness. (WOW!) They can create their search enginealgorithms all day, algorithms that would totally blow the average individual’smind, but their search engines absolutely pale in comparison to the attractiondevice of the search engine of human consciousness. At the start, perhaps weuse Google to search something more specific than just “2012.” After all, wehave to start somewhere. But beyond that, the Universe itself then takes over.Rather than clicking each of the millions of results to find what we think wewant, our navigation takes us from specific site/video/etc. to specific site/video/etc.Rather than a constant keyword search lacking in any real answers, we are ledto places where we fully wanted to go yet at no point did we ever have anyinkling as to what our destination would be.

Hopefullythis makes sense. If not, well, maybe I didn’t a poor job explaining, maybe itrequires experience, or maybe both. All I know is that whatever I’ve found,I’ve drawn it to me. As it happens, I rarely search for the websites, videos,pictures, etc. that I find most useful. In fact, I couldn’t have searched for them even if I wanted to because I neverwould have known what the hell it was I was looking for. (Seriously, unless wealready have some foundation, who the hell randomly wakes up one morning andthinks: “Self, today I’m going to Bing search: DNA upgrade in 2012 as depicted in crop circles in England”? Giveme a break!)

Attractingthe Truth is just one aspect of the power of human consciousness when we chooseto surrender to life just as it isand not as we wish it to be. It’s as simple as whole-heartedly admitting toourselves that we really don’t know much of anything.

Truth, truth, and "truth"

2011-11-06T12:11:00.000-05:00

All knowledge in life boils down to one question: Do we want the Truth as it is, or do we want the “truth” as we want it to be?

The truth can be a funny thing. Why? Because we will only ever attract to ourselves the truth that we want. There are quite a few of us who externally say, “I want the truth!” But then these same people spend their mornings reading national newspapers, their workdays with the radio on, and their evenings watching Fox News or “reality TV.”

Uhhh… So we want the Truth, do we?

What we usually don’t realize is that the truth we are demanding is actually the “truth” which we’ve led ourselves to believe is accurate only because it’s compatible with our current “reality.” It’s the “truth” which our subconscious wants—the same subconscious which has spent eons being suppressed by bogus laws created by the ego (whether our own or that of another). These phony laws cause us to fear the unknown; thus, we prefer the “truth” instead of the Truth. And so it happens that the version of the truth we get (Truth or “truth”) is based on what fears dwell within us.

This is why our society has always been so engrossed in doom and gloom: because, regardless of what we say we want, on a deeper level, we are addicted to hearing it like it isn’t; based on subconscious processes, we repeatedly make the choice to hear it like it isn’t; we are attracted to and attracting to ourselves the truth as it isn’t. Until we come to understand how the subconscious works and manually shift our fearful, limiting belief structures, “the way it isn’t” is exactly what we are going to receive.

As backwards as it sounds, because we are so familiar with fear, hate, and pain, that is exactly what we keep asking for. On the other hand, we fear love, joy, peace, and fulfillment because it’s practically unknown to us.

I think this is all going to change very soon, but it’s been true nonetheless and remains as true for many or us. I hope you see that. If not, one day you will. It’s a matter of personal choice, really. When is enough really enough?

Please keep the following in mind: The mind is superficial, and the subconscious is deep. But deeper even than the subconscious is the soul/spirit level. It is through the process of clearing away of subconscious fears (prejudice, judgment, hate, etc.)—on an individual, personal basis—that we start to live from the soul/spirit level. Only then can we truly find the peace, love, fulfillment, balance, etc. that we’ve always claimed to have wanted.

Remember that the peace and purity of soul/spirit is our natural state of being. It’s also the natural state of the universe. As such, all we seek already exists. Our real predicament is in unlearning our “truth” in order to reshape ourselves to fit the Truth.

Two Links of Note

2011-11-03T12:17:00.000-04:00

World PeaceExperiment

http://carolhansengrey.com/seeds/wpe.html

MusicalRapture – A Healing Gift for Humanity

http://www.eraofpeace.org/music.php

A Cure for ADHD

2011-11-01T15:36:00.001-04:00

What’s theproblem with science? It’s too damn scientific.

The problem Isee is this: Everything that happens in the world is viewed with the deepestscrutiny. It must be understood, it must be named, and it must be classified. Thereis little allowance for the influence of a differing class; much less somethingwhich cannot be proven in a lab even though human experience clearly proves it’sexistence. Forget the immense mind power of the non-degreed supergenius, forgetthe supernatural or metaphysical or intuitive, and forget about the impactwhich concepts from other categories may have on the one under the “microscope.”

What do Imean? Here’s an example:

ConsiderAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Do some children really havethe physical characteristics at birth? Certainly. But to diagnose roughly 10percent (and rapidly rising) of all kids as being “mentally deficient”? That’sinsanity.

Given the backgroundand equipment, yes, it’s possible to find a few related genes or a chemicalimbalance. But I could really care less about that. Why? Because I don’t careabout the effect. I care about the cause. What’s causing the imbalance to beginwith? Having a scientist say that a child has an imbalance of norepinedopaphrinaseratoninaphrinemeans nothing. Nor does it matter that he can “keep it at bay” with someartificial, side-effect inducing chemical substitute.

So, is therean answer?

Sure. Althoughthis is only one among many (just as my reason for ADHD is one among many). Andbecause it’s completely natural, pain-free, and cost-free, I’d like to thinkthat it’s worth giving a shot.

Look aroundyou. Take note that as parents decrease the amount of attention they give totheir children, the children increase in their inability to hold their own. Ifyou have them, think of your own kids. Do you work 60, 80, and 100 hour weeks?Do you watch TV for hours while your child does God knows what by him- orherself? Or perhaps he/she watches TV right next to you and so you make the TVthe center of attention, not each other? Do you spend excessive time at church,school, the bar, or with friends, much to the exclusion of your children? Doyou just simply push your kids away when they look for your support?

We don’t haveto wait for a scientist or doctor to tell us what the problem is. Although agene or overabundant chemical may outwardly reveal such an issue, we mustrealize that, 99% of the time, our lifestyles create the issues which do ordon’t arise. There are many dormant illnesses within the human body, but we arethe ones who create the conditions for them to activate.

In the caseof ADHD, it’s our own increasing failure to place attention where attention isdue: on the lives we’ve chosen to bring into this world. It’s time to release ourstory about how our continuous, me-based stream of work, friends, TV, etc. ismore important than spending time with the very products of our own creation. Really,the children don’t have ADHD—it’s the parents. A child’s hyperactivity isnothing more than the result of the parent’s attention deficiency toward thechild. Children are crying out for help in the only way they know how…And theirparents are ignoring them…

---

As I saythese things, please know that I’m not trying to play the blame game; I’m nottrying to play good-parent-bad-parent. This is not just the fault of this momor that dad. It’s the fault of every human being for being so stubborn,closed-minded, and scientific. For far too long have we refrained fromquestioning the norm and from seeking alternative answers. For far too longhave we sat back on our laurels with the belief that mass media and bigbusiness are telling it to us straight or with only minimal bias.

It’s time forus to do the research for ourselves—even if we think that nobody wants to hearwhat we’ve learned.

Often, thisis just the situation I find myself in. I have so much life-expanding knowledgeand wisdom that comes to me, but very few people I know are ready to step awayfrom the mental limits they’ve placed on themselves or their world to see me ascredible. Sometimes this is difficult for me because I try to share the informationto help others to lift life to higher levels, but their response is usuallyrejection or indifference. Regardless, I know on such a deep level that theresearch I do is incredibly important to humanity as a whole. The fact is, evenif I don’t know them personally, there arepeople who care; there are peopleresearching (or intuiting) the same things as me, and it’s all very important.

In my lastpost, I used the phrase “critical mass.” Although that was in a spiritualsense, it works with knowledge, too. When one person studies something for thefirst, second, and third times, it’s slow going. But as more people work at it,it begins to take hold in the field of collective consciousness, and so itbecomes much easier to learn and accept for all who come after.

That’s partof my intent with this and other such blog posts: to make my knowledge/ideasknown to others; to get people thinking; to maybe have them share these uncommonperspectives with others during conversation; to have a base for furtherresearch. When we do the research ourselves, even if we don’t all have themeans of readily sharing it, we raise the value of whatever information it iswe hold in the collective consciousness. Maybe we don’t see the world changetoday and maybe not tomorrow, but we keep learning and keep sharing anyway,because when the “critical mass” of a certain piece of knowledge is reached, wewill see how valuable our research has been.

Disclaimer:At no time should any of my words be taken as professional medical advice.

Critical Mass

2011-10-29T15:05:00.000-04:00

Are youexcited? I sure hope so. I am too. I’m reallyexcited! Why? Because there has never been a better time to be alive than right now, and the future is only goingto get better.

Yeah, I hearyou… “Oh, John, you’re so naïve. The World Bank is collapsing. Governments arefalling apart. Everyone’s either leaving their religion or becomingexponentially more zealous. People are losing their jobs by the thousands. TheUFO count is on the rise. There are all sorts of natural disasters. There’sfamine. The unemployment rate is astronomically high. The 16.4 billion year long Mayan calendar has come to a close. Biblical revelations have come to pass.There are lions and tigers and bears, oh my! …You probably believe that cropcircles have predicted the future, too.”

“How did youknow!? I agree completely. There is, indeed, all of the above and then some…Andisn’t it exciting?”

While itseems that doom and gloom belief systems currently rule the world, there is a cosmic-scalespiritual awakening that is taking place. We, and our whole little pocket ofthe universe, are reaching critical mass—only this time it’s on a deeplyspiritual level. Now, more than ever, masses of people are waking up to whatthey truly are. They’re waking up from the lies of “reality.” They’re quittingthe rat race of life when there is absolutely no other clear path beforethem—just a whisper in the wind saying: It’stime to go now. It’s time to go Home. As it happens, we’re finding out atan incredible rate that our stories are outdated; that it’s time for somethingnew and totally refreshing.

So, what’shappening? What can we expect? What does this mean?

Well, lots ofwonderful things, assuming we want to keep positive about it… but I’ll let BradJohnson take over from here:

ApproachingCritical Mass: http://www.approachingcriticalmass.org/index.html

(Thanks, Brad! You’vedone a great job putting lots of information into a very small space. I lookforward to doing more research into the things you’ve discussed, and I lookforward to the future.)

Collective Evolution

2011-10-16T13:27:00.000-04:00

Collective Evolution I

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2011/01/02/watch-now-the-collective-evolution-full-documentary/(a brief description with a link to YouTube at the bottom)

Collective Evolution II

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2011/09/30/watch-the-collective-evolution-ii-the-human-experience-on-youtube-now/

Personal Thoughts:

What theysaid resonated greatly within me as accurate. I have a minor disagreement hereor there, but overall, I have to agree. (I would like to note, however, that mydisagreement, like that which anyone else may find within his/herself, may benothing more than lack of spiritual realization within. This disagreementdoesn’t make them wrong, it just means we need to dig deeper to find out how trueour beliefs or “knowings” really are.)

Just as theysuggest, we are in a time of great change. It’s no accident that we are comingto the end of a 26,000 year precession of the equinoxes, that it’s the end ofthe Mayan calendar, that many ancient prophecies are coming to pass or havepassed, that the Earth appears to be dying, etc. Although these documentariesdon’t necessarily touch on all of these concepts, they correlate in the sensethat all of these events coincide with the evolution of universal consciousness.This is the same evolution of consciousness which compels us, now more thanever before, to individually and collectively evolve our true spiritual naturesin our current physical human forms; to see the structures of life for whatthey truly have been: not everlasting reality but guideposts to truth and love outof the hate, fear, and illusion that we have so long believed to be “fact,” “justhuman condition” and/or “someone else’s fault.”

That said, itappears to be “the end.” But let’s be serious. Do you know what is said to pissthe Mayans off? The fact that Western man has allowed the fear-mongering of massmedia, big business, and other less-than-kosher types to take the true value ofthe end of their calendar—RENEWAL—flip it upside down, and instead etch fearinto the very DNA of the average man. (Yes, you can take that quite literally.Fear does not allow for full activation of DNA and even destroys it.)

So thisrenewal has the potential to be a very good thing. But, let’s keep thefollowing in mind: Renewal cannot come without the loss/destruction/release ofour former faulty ways—our illusions. As this process of renewal is occurring (It’salready begun. Occupy Wall Street is but one example), do not attach fear to whatyou experience. Fear is what not only prevents renewal from integrating itselfsmoothly, but it’s what necessitates an actual renewal process to begin with.

To repeatmyself in case the last statement wasn’t clear: If we didn’t fear, life wouldalways be in renewal and improvement. We would have no knowing of such aconcept because it naturally underlies everything. But, because we fear,because we hold on to “tried-and-false” methods which only hinder the cultivationof ourselves and the world, we don’t allow this renewal, this change, to existin its inherent, naturally-evolving state.

Please takethe time to suspend every belief system you have and question every aspect ofyour life. It must be done now more than ever. Renewal cannot take place on theoutside if we do not make room for it on the inside…Well, I suppose it can, butfor those who reject it, the consequences are usually not pleasant.

Question - What Do I Know?

2011-10-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

A Preface to Questions

I recently had a conversation withsomeone regarding a few aspects of the spiritual awakening process. This personputs much faith into the traditional tenets of Roman Catholicism, so trying totalk to him about “waking up” wasn’t exactly easy. This is not to say I wastrying to force beliefs on him. However, sharing spiritual experience is moreor less impossible, and to one who hasn’t been there or believe he can go or bethere, even less so.

Onepoint which this person brought up is: “As Roman Catholics, we don’t believethat. Instead, we believe…”

A few days later, this statementcame back to mind. But it came with a question attached to it:

Whatdo I know?

So many people go through lifetelling this person and that person that “this is the way things are.” Why?“Because it’s what I believe,” or “Because it’s what we believe.”

Everyoneis entitled to their beliefs, but why not ask:

Whydo I believe it to begin with?

What do I actually know?

Whatif I didn’t have a certain group or person to tell me what to think?

Whatif I was raised without religion and felt compelled to find spirituality?Religion would be a good start, but which one? Who’s to say I’d pick the one I’mcurrently following?

Thisis a big world with a lot of conflicting views; can I honestly fool myself intothinking that all of my ways are correct?

Something to chew on:

Wejust passed Columbus Day. Most of us are familiar with Mr. Columbus for “discovering”a new land of opportunity. The fact of the matter is that the land had beenknown eons earlier by people of a much more kind, gentle, hospitable, andloving nature. When Columbus arrived, he demanded handfuls of gold and otherriches. If the Native Americans refused or didn’t perfectly fulfill suchwishes, he cut their hands off. The young girls were raped. When he went backto Spain, he took many as slaves. On return (like the story of so many otherNorth and South American explorers), he found that much of the population hadbeen decimated by foreign diseases (if it wasn’t given to them outright insmallpox-filled blankets).

In the writings of variousexplorers, it is written that such abuse and annihilation was a blessing fromGod; that it was the explorer’s divine destiny to uproot these people, takingall they had.

To a lesser extent, this is stillour mentality. Others say it’s right so it must truly be right. My perceptionsays that things are this way, so this is the way things must truly be.

Inretrospect, it’s pretty damn gross.

So, once more:

DoI truly know, or do I just want to believe?

On the Usefulness of Prayer - Part 3

2011-10-06T13:05:00.000-04:00

On the Usefulness of Prayer – Part 1

On the Usefulness of Prayer – Part 2

The other night, I read this “The Way ofthe Warrior”article from AwakenedHearts.com. It hit mevery powerfully, and so I copied the final paragraph of it and pasted it into apost-it note on my computer screen.

After reading it a few times overthe next day or two and following its instruction, I was struck with thethought that in Part 2 of my “On the Usefulness of Prayer” series I didn’t do“informal prayer” the justice it deserves.

My first comment about it served itspurpose well as a means carrying the article along, but I feel I may have madeit sound like people only use such prayer when they feel like whining to Godthat they are a helpless victim. Even later on, when I used the phrase, “God,please fill me with love,” I sort of stuffed it on the back burner.

Please know that this was not myintent. That said, I would liketo clarify.

When we use informal prayer, we canask whatever we want. We can be whiny, of course, but it’s already been notedwhere that will take us. Just as easily, we can ask for help. We can say, “God,please help me heal the cause of my misery.” By attempting to let go of thevictim mentality and acknowledging the fact that things are not well and inneed of healing, we place ourselves about 100 steps ahead of the situation we hadbeen in only moments earlier.

Naturally, then, we can assume thatthis type of understanding can be applied to any situation. It need not be misery,per say, but anything dealing with suffering.

Also, we would be wise to use caution in ourrequests. The saying, “Careful what you wish, you may just get it,” isn’t justa set of fancy words. (Actually, the mechanics of this really aren’t muchdifferent from the negative use of “creative prayer,” as I noted in Part 2 ofthis series.)

For example, we can pray for 1,000,000dollars our whole lives, but we may not get it because we don’t really need it.Or, as it went in a true story I once heard, a man did indeed get the grandmonetary sum he ask for his whole life—but he only received it after suing theguilty party who crashed their car into his and paralyzed him for life.

Setting aside foolish prayers, though,we have to realize that the result of our prayer is subject to both ourawareness and what we need for the level we are at. For instance, if we justgot a dog and pray for help with dog-training and a friend “randomly” offers usa book about dog-training, let’s accept it rather than viewing it as unrelatedbecause we are trying to immediately “go for the gold” by hiring a world-classtrainer.

When we use informal prayer, so toocan we say whatever we want. Similar to what the end of the AwakenedHearts.comarticle says, we can just talk to God like God is a friend or loved one.

This includes giving gratitude. Notjust gratitude, but GRATITUDE! Really, it’s that important. We must thank. Always.In abundance. We must thank God, and we must thank Mother Earth.

If I have one request at the top ofa list of requests, it’s for the people of this Earth to be truly grateful forwhat they’ve been given. It’s critical.

Thank-you for reading.

Life In the Disconnect

2011-10-05T16:07:00.001-04:00

There is a peculiar thing we “connected”folks do. Although we are as natural as the rest of the nature, we fill themajority of our time and surroundings with the artificial.

Many of us spend our work days infront of colored screens while sitting in a padded cube, amongst many otherpadded cubes, all within a still greater cube—a “Mother Cube,” if you will—madeof brick-and-mortar. Most of these Mother Cubes have little view, if any, ofthe natural world. If they do afford such a view, they are usually covered overwith blinds, or we face the wall opposing them instead because the lightsurrounding our colored screen is too bright.

Ifwe’re of the younger generations, we go to school to stare at texts, charts,and pictures of “The Truth” on processed trees and colored screens. Why? Sothat we can prepare ourselves to find employment in the “Real World” just assmoothly as a square block fits into a square opening. [No, the “square”analogy is not an accident.]

Athome, we do similar things: we stare at [read: idolize] our phones, computers,and TV’s.

Thenwe go to bed. Some of us with iPod’s running or TV’s on. (We don’t go to sleep,of course, because we already are sleeping.)

But this seems backwards. It doesn’tseem natural that humans, supposedly the greatest part of Creation, haveevolved into electronic-device-dependent automatons. It doesn’t seem naturalthat humans, who came from forests, caves, grasslands, and deserts, should bevoluntarily entombing themselves 80 years before death.

Is technology a good thing?Certainly. Is our obsessive use of it a good thing? Hardly. But, being thesquares we are, we choose not to see it that way.

I can’t help but find sadly comicalthe situation which tends to occur when people place their TV’s in the vicinityof picture windows and sliding glass doors. As everybody is engrossed in thetube, I’ll look outside, sometimes for extended periods of time. When someonehappens to peer around the room, they see me gazing outside. “What are youlooking at?” they ask dumbfounded. And I think: Everything! What are you looking at?!

At one of my previous jobs, thewarehouse office had pairs of picture windows on the outside wall. Throughthose windows were a lawn, a farmer’s field, and, about a half mile away, awooded area. When assembling small projects, I’d sit at the table to enjoy theoutside view. On one occasion, a puzzled co-worker came over and asked what Iwas looking at. I was stunned!

But that is the way we’ve become.Many of us have lost all connection with our roots. To clarify what I saidearlier, I am not suggesting that we go back to living in caves or under trees(although if that’s the way someone truly wants to live, I have no intentionsof suggesting he/she should do otherwise.) What I am suggesting is that we disconnectfrom our virtual world, continuing to use it mostly for practical reasons, andreconnect with nature, ourselves, and each other.

Relativelyspeaking, technology as we know it has been around for a very short time. And although it has continued to advance, it isstill—always—at the mercy of nature. When the power goes out during athunderstorm, or when our cell phones fall in water, we know to do nothingother than worry. Because we derive so much of our supposed meaning of existenceon all things technological, when push comes to shove, we become as lost and inneed of nurturing as the day we were born.

Butwho is going to save us if we can’t save ourselves?

Whendo we let go?

Whendo we go within to heal the wounds which drive us to disconnect at all?

Question - Do I Take the Basics for Granted?

2011-10-03T11:46:00.001-04:00

A Preface to Questions

Do I take the basics, such as food,clothes, and shelter, for granted?

WeWesterners have (d)evolved into a lifestyle of Go! Go! Go! Rarely if ever do we slow down. We wake up with thesound of a raucous alarm; we eat breakfast while simultaneously watching thenews and checking our e-mail; we do what we do in the bathroom, all the whilethinking about our upcoming day or what happened in previous days or that ourhair looks deplorable—and that’s only in the first hour or so of waking.

Inthe process, we totally miss what is right before us. We forget that we have lifeat all; we forget that we have a bed to sleep on (very likely in a comfortablehouse with all basic, if not special, amenities); we forget that our food hastaste, scent, texture, and sound; we forget that the water of our shower isn’tjust there, that we’re lucky to haveit, or that it may be gone tomorrow.

Why do I think these things willalways be here?

Why do I think that I deserve them ifI can’t even be grateful for them?

Why am I so resistant to eating a mealslowly and/or without distractions?

Do I actually feel the water when Itake a shower, beyond the most simplistic physical sensation?

Do I say “thank-you” for each glass ofwater, coffee, and juice I drink? For every bowl of cereal, sandwich, andsalmon and potatoes dinner I eat?

Do I show my gratitude by trying tolive each moment of life in conscious awareness?

Showinggratitude may sound like a burden if not done regularly, but, I promise, ittruly is not. It opens one to the world and the self in indescribable ways.

Duringmany of my evening meditation sessions during the fall and springtime months, thereare moments when, because a cool night is following a warm day, the walls of myhouse crack from the temperature change. Although my body never moves, per se,as a response to the sudden cracking sound, not only do I hear the sound ofthose cracks, but I am able to feel themas powerful waves of vibration as they pass through and are absorbed by everycell of my body.

Thereality of life is that we are energy and spaciousness, as is everything elsearound us. Life only appears solid because that is how our lack of awarenessperceives it to be—but just because something appears a certain way doesn’tmean that it is true.

Let’squestion. Let’s be open. Let’s show our gratitude for the things we have bybeing willing to experience first-hand the fact that everything is vibrantlyalive in life in ways which always are yet cannot be perceived withoutconscious attention and appreciation.

Two Monks and a Woman

2011-10-01T11:29:00.000-04:00

A Zen story:

Oneday during a downpour, a Master and his student were walking toward a bridgealong the side of a rapidly flowing river. As they approached the bridge, they noticeda very attractive young woman standing there, her white clothes soaked throughto her skin. Discomforted, the student struggled to keep his focus off of hernearly naked body.

Whenthey reached her, the Master walked up to her and said: “Hello there. Iseverything okay?”

“Well,”she said nervously, “I have to get home, but the river is flowing over thebridge, and I fear the power of its current will make crossing unsafe.”

“Don’tworry,” said the Master. “I will help you across, but you must hold on to metightly. With that, he wrapped his arms around her, lifted her up, and begancarrying her to the other side. Now aghast, the student became even moredistraught and embarrassed at the sight of his master as he carried thispractically nude woman to the opposite side of the river.

Onthe other side, the Master set the woman back on the ground, wished her well,and resumed his walk along the side of the river.

Afterwalking an hour in silence, the disciple found it impossible to contain histhoughts any longer. Finally, he said: “Master, we took a vow of chastity! Howcould you have carried that woman as you did!?”

Not without compassion, the Master replied:“After crossing the bridge, I set the woman back down. You, however, have beencarrying her this whole time.”

Question - Do I Drink Coffee?

2011-09-28T11:04:00.000-04:00

A Preface to Questions

Inthe Western world, coffee can be found in abundance. We drink it withbreakfast, we drink it through the work day, we drink it when we get home fromwork, and we drink it after dinner. That’s a lot of drinking. But when have weever asked ourselves:

Whatis my goal when drinking coffee?

Whydo I drink it at all?

Howoften do I drink it, and how much of it do I drink?

Whyam I drinking this to begin with?

Whydo I feel compelled to drink so much?

Whatis the cost of drinking coffee, not just to me but to the planet and humanity?

Ifwe have a cup of it here and there, even if once or twice per day, that’sunderstandable. In a way, it’s no different than having a cup or two of fruitjuice or tea. We often drink coffee with caffeine (roughly three times as muchas tea). We may like the taste of coffee, but it’s the caffeine (and sugar ifwe add it) that typically keeps us coming back.
What is our reasoning forneeding that artificial high?

Inhonesty, we may say that we are physically addicted to it. We may say that ifwe don’t drink it, we will be plagued with headaches. So, we know that we havea dependency. Why?

Whywould we want to be dependent?

Whatis our coffee consumption trying to hide that makes it so difficult to wean ourway down to one or two cups per day, if any?

Ina different light, what is our coffee addiction doing to the world?

Whatis happening to the land which grows untold numbers of coffee plants?

Howare the workers treated?

Whatare the implications of hundreds of millions of people drinking such largequantities of coffee every single day?

It's Just an Observation

2011-09-23T19:04:00.000-04:00

AsI progress on this spiritual path and try to explain some of the insights andexperiences I’ve had along the way, people occasionally tell me that I’m merelyrestating the observable. In a way, I won’t disagree with them—they arecorrect. Some people tell me I’m wrong or can’t really know the things I say.

But whether they believe I’mspeaking the obvious or the “inaccurate,” what’s to say that my words arewrong?

Itis our perception; it is what we mentally do with an observation, the story wemake about an observation, if any, which makes the difference.

Wemust look objectively. There can’t be any personal agenda. If there is, thatwhich is perceived will suddenly fall back to egoic definitions,categorizations, etc.

Ifone photographer lives in a blue glass cube and one lives in an orange glasscube, neither of which have ever been out, they will never be able to agree onthe color of the world outside. They may share pictures taken from the inside,but each will say that his “reality” is correct. Only when both photographerssee the real world from outside of theirworlds do they realize that both of them were wrong.

But,when they finally step out and see the truth, how do they ever get the messageacross to green cube man and purple cube man to say that they aren’t seeinglife objectively? Even if they take pictures from the outside and send them in,what reason do the others have to believe that it’s not just a lie; that thepictures aren’t fabrications or from a different color cube?

Inanother example, let’s consider baseball.

Supposeyou write a blog about baseball, and I stop by to read it here and there. Godknows why; after all, I could care less about it. Regardless, I just can’t ignorethe blog. Fueled by thought distortions, I feel the need to post nasty commentsand tell you how much baseball sucks. Not how much I think baseball sucks but how much it “really, truly,by-the-word-of-the-gods” sucks.

Then I have to go on a businesstrip. While away, my company decides to take me out to a private-suite baseballgame. And—surprise, surprise—I actually enjoy it.

Suddenly, my whole perceptionshifts. No longer am I the same person I was one week ago. In an instant, mystory collapses, at which point I begin reading with enthusiasm the same blog Iused to defame. Or maybe I don’t because I’m too embarrassed.

Allit took to manifest that shift from pain to pleasure was a little experienceand a better understanding of the game.

Sowhat I’m getting at is that as a person reads this (or anything like it), as aperson listens to me (or anyone like me), he/she may not catch a higher meaningto the “general observation.” Why? Partly because he/she is stubborn and partlybecause I really don’t know why.

Asfor stubbornness, I could explain all day, but nobody will get it until they want to get it. As the saying goes,“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” And if a person’s desire totake offense, simply as a justification to offend, is stronger than the desireto know, that person won’t get it.

Toexplain with a wretched set of circumstances from my own life, I’ll use mywhole working life (up to two years ago) as an example:

From my soil-colored cube viewpoint, I wasalways the “good guy” and the people I worked with/for were always the “badguy.” After much misery, suffering, and finger-pointing, it struck me one daythat, Dang, other people aren’t theasshole—I am.

Sureothers had their share of problems. But what made me miserable was my ownperception. No matter how roughly or kindly anyone tried to tell me theobservable—that I was the asshole—I didn’t see it because I didn’t want to see it, I wasn’t ready to see it, I had a fear ofseeing it. The “teacher” didn’t come because this student wasn’t ready.Underlining my whole life was the thought: Howdare there be a higher, more objective viewpoint than my own! How dare I bewrong!

Yetthat higher vantage point really exists.

WhenI said, “Why?...I really don’t know why,” well, I don’t. Why, at 25 years old,did it strike me that I am both the reason and solution to all of the sufferingin my life? Why was the major drama I had to overcome to begin seeing realitymerely dealing with people in a healthy manner, while so many others areafflicted with cancer, addictions, etc.? Why do others struggle with otherseven when their hate causes cancer and addictions? Why do others suffer fromchildhood to death and never once think, MaybeI am my problem; my own worst enemy? Why did I realize that I was theasshole in my life, but so few others recognize that they are the asshole intheir own lives?

Idon’t know. I just don’t.

Regardless,I am where I am. I feel inspired and compelled to write. It’s what I’m doingbecause it’s what I have to do.

Noteveryone will get it. But some will, and I hope you’re one of them.

“Andin them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shallhear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall notperceive: For this people's heart iswaxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they haveclosed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with theirears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and Ishould heal them.” (Matthew 13:14-15)

The Blame Game

2011-09-22T12:37:00.000-04:00

There is one word that sums up everyproblem in this world: Fear.

Wefear what our neighbors say. We fear how we will be treated by those we call “friends.”We fear that we will get old, wrinkly, and ugly. We fear death. We fear famine,disease, and war. We fear telling our boss how we truly feel, regardless of howwell-intentioned our thoughts are. We fear whether or not we will have food andshelter tomorrow, next week, and next year.

Allof these fears can be summed up with one cause: We fear ourselves.

Well, not really. In reality, wefear the thoughts we have aboutourselves. What we need to realize is that thoughts are always subject tochange. In this realization we discover that we’ve adopted our fears fromothers, and so they are not inherentand we do have the power to removethem.

Butbecause these thoughts are ourthoughts, thoughts of the egoic “I” that we identify with as “who we are,” eventhough they cause us pain, we choose to look outward instead of inward for help.We continually run from them, hoping that our salvation, from one minorincident or even our whole lives, will come from some outside source. We hopebeyond hope that we will not have to face them head on.

The issue with this is that we completelyignore whatever influences our own thoughts, words, and deeds have in our livesand blame our misfortunes on the thoughts, words, and (mis)deeds of others. Asa result, we end up blaming everyone else for the lack in our life instead ofourselves.

[As a side note, because thequestion sometimes arises when I talk about this, my words do not apply tothose who live in war-torn areas and can barely find food, clothes, andshelter. There is very little such individuals can do beyond struggling for survival.They truly are suppressed by the warring factions surrounding them.

Buthere we are on the top of the world, so to speak. We have all of the tools forhealing available at our fingertips. We have opportunity now like at no othertime in history. Let’s not throw it all to the wayside with the belief that ourpersonal healing is someone else’s task.]

What I’d like to suggest is that westop this. It’s irresponsible. It’s taking the life we’ve been given andplacing it into the hands of someone who is equally—and often more—irresponsibleand saying: “Clean this up for me; I can’t bear to look at it.”

Where is our breaking point? When dowe realize that nobody else wants to clean up our lives because they can’t evenclean up their own—nor do they want to try? When do we realize that nobody elseeven has the ability to clean up the fear-based problems of others? When do wefinally acknowledge that our suffering has become so great because we’ve alwaysbeen looking for healers with ego-serving names such as: “politician,” “plasticsurgeon,” “priest.”

If we want true healing, we mustlook inside. If your name is John, John is the source and the healer of theproblems in your life. If your name is Kathy, Kathy is the source and thehealer of the problems in your life. If your name is Walt, Walt is the sourceand the healer of the problems in your life. If your name is Gumbasnotriondo,Gumbasnotriondo is the source and the healer of the problems in your life.

To blame anyone else is to create astory. When we don’t learn from those stories but make them our past, present,and future “reality,” we create suffering.

Itdoesn’t have to be this way.

On the Usefulness of Prayer – Part 2

2011-09-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

Way back, some several eons ago whenI first started this blog, I wrote a piece called On the Usefulness of Prayer. At the end of it, I said that Iwould write more about the workings of healthy prayer sometime in the future.Well, here it is…

I guess the first point I want tomake clear is that prayer is the combination of our attention and intention;so, as long as we are thinking, we are praying. As I’ve said before, God iswithin us. Thus, we are God. Our thoughts create our world.

Thatsaid, I have three categories for defining prayer. The first two are “formal”and “informal.” An example of each would be saying the “Our Father” or sayingsomething like, “God, please help me during these difficult times,”respectively.

Thethird category is our moment-to-moment thoughts, which I call “creative”prayer. While formal and informal prayers have their benefits—or not, as theyare still subject to our attention and intention—creative prayer is really thetype of prayer that has the most impact in our lives. Why? Because this is theprayer we use straight through our day, usually without realizing it mentallybut seeing the very real results in our physical world.

Withformal prayer, it comes across to me that people don’t really understand it. [Catch-22:This is not the fault of the average Joe because he is following what he wastaught, but it is his fault because he has never looked for answers fromsources other than those he already knows.] For example, take the Our Father:The church (any sect) tells the parishioners to say it during services, perhapsbefore bed, etc. But do we really understand it? Do we understand the words? Dowe say it with passion, or is it just flowing out of rote memory?

Thisis how Mass seemed when I used to go. It gave the impression that, while mostpeople wanted dearly to feel something meaningful, few truly ever reached thatpoint (for many reasons which I will not get into here). Instead, they tended(me included) to make the Mass an automated process. It reminds me of themachines I used to build: Put the parts in, close the door, push power, and themachine runs on auto-pilot.

Butthen there are those few folks who doknow the power of prayer. They kneel down and bang out (that may beinappropriate for speaking of prayer, I’m not sure) three rosaries in a row.I’ve never had such an experience (from formal prayer, anyway), but I canguarantee you that those people have some amazing, God-given experiences thatmost people never know of. It’s the same way with the use of the Novena.They channel an amazing power for themselves because, like Eastern religions dowith mantras, they hold a positive attention and intention, while fervently andconsciously repeating some word or set of words. Such focus cannot but bringabout the desired ends.

Thenthere is informal prayer. For example: “God, please help me. My situation ismiserable.” And it happens so often that the situation stays miserable. Why?Because it’s a lesson in waiting from the Universe. By being consciously awareof what words we use, we’d see that we are saying, and so thinking: “Mysituation is miserable.” We are admitting that we are victims of defeat to thenotion that our situation truly is miserable. The key word here is “thinking.”If you want help, stop thinking thatyour situation is miserable!

It’struly that simple. “…knock, and it shall be opened unto you…” (Matthew 7:7) Ifyou want to knock on the door of misery, well, misery is what you’re going toget. Same with lack, same with abundance, same with hate, same with love, samewith happiness, same with sadness, and on and on ad infinitum.

Whatusually occurs, though, is that we are so embedded in our story, we are sorooted in the idea that our thoughts are our reality, that even when theGod-aspect of us speaks, we simply don’t hear it. When it happens, it’smind-blowing, but we really need to be open in order to get any direction fromit. (It is not always a voice, however. It could even be a bad cup of coffeeafter stubbing a toe—pretty much anything to wake us up to the fact that lifedoesn’t have to be the mess we’ve made it out to be.

Andso, from here, we can roll right into creative prayer.

Creative prayer is thought—whethergood or bad, thought is the signal we broadcast into the world around us—evenif we are typically consciously unaware of what those thoughts are. But we needonly observe the life we have to figure it out. If one has many negativethoughts, one is going to find life very difficult and painful. If one has manypositive thoughts, one is going to find life to be a joyous freedom.

As with all things, if we don’t likeour thinking—and now that we know that it’s not reality we don’t like, but ourown thoughts about reality—we have the power to change it. There are many ways,but, as this post is about prayer, that is what I will focus on. So, let’s goback to the phrase from above…

“God, please help me. My situationis miserable.”

If such miserable prayers are whatwe are praying to our favorite deity, we can conclude that we typically thinkmiserably. But now, of course, we want a way out. We may not feel comfortablepraying a rosary, and we don’t necessarily want to make up an informal prayersuch as, “God, please fill me with love.” So, what do we do?

We change our thinking. And, ratherthan believing that someone or something else will save us (as we know nothinghas, and as we see when we look about in the world around us, nothing will), weopt to save ourselves.

There is no more, “God, why can’t Ilove;” there is no more, “God, make me love.” Instead, we affirm that weare/have whatever it is we want.

“I am love. I have love.Love grows in infinite supply within me and I pour it forth in all thought,word, and deed. Because I give only love out, only love comes back to me.”

We affirm it, know it, and be it. Even if we don’t believe it, we repeatit until we do, for by that point it will have become true. The rest of ourthoughts will then follow suit.

You must remember that if you wantto change the world, however minute an aspect, you must first change yourself.If you want respect from your boss and family, repeat the above phrase with theword “respect” instead of “love.” If your life seems to be a story of lack,replace “love” with “abundance.” Whatever your situation, you now know what todo. Between each repetition, let no negative thought enter.

Toharness the power of prayer—conscious thought—is truly the power to be God. Itis gift from heaven. Use it wisely.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You

2011-09-15T14:08:00.000-04:00

Yes,that’s right—you!

“Oh, but that’s crap, John! You’reone of those “New Age” boneheads. OMMMMMM! Why don’t you come to my church?I’ll show you where God is.”

God’s in church? Perhaps. But thelast time I checked, he was in me and you, too. That’s why Jesus said: “Neithershall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God iswithin you.” (Luke 17:21)

[Excusethe digression, but I must beg your pardon for using the same quote two timesin the same month. I realize that I’m not very original in doing such a thing.]

Let’s make a clarification. God, orwhatever we like to call Him, Her, or It (after all, it’s just a name which theego-mind will try to put a definition to), is within each of us. Why? Becausewe are all interconnected to everything.

Now, of course, the arguments come.“Open your eyes! I am just as separate from you as I am from this wine glassand that stand of trees over there.” “My priest, rabbi, pastor (take your pick)tells me that my religion is the only way to God. That implies both that my wayis the right way and that God is not here, so in heaven.” “If God is within me,why is my life so lousy? Some God he is.” And the arguments go on.

Well, here’s the problem:

Welive in a society which is totally engrossed in itself. It’s got stories, and it’sgot a lot of them. These stories come in the form of religion, politics, work,play, and on and on. The catch is that, being that all of these things arestories, they are all subject to change, so none of them are real. But, because we believe them, we block ourselves from seeing what truly is.

Contraryto popular belief, God—Conscious Awareness—does not change. He is not in adamn-all-sinners mood one day and Mr. Forgiving the next. He is no more sad thanhe is happy; instead, he is the neutral space within which any two extremes ofduality exist.

Godhas no story. God is just there, aware and observing it all. In all things andin you. (Who or what recognizes that you’re not thinking when you’re not thinking?Doesn’t the universe seem quite amazing in its intelligence in holding itselftogether even in all of its chaos?)

Withtime, inner work, and grace from the heavens, we more or less unexpectedly cancome in contact with this Conscious Awareness. When we do, in however minimalof an amount at first, a realization comes about. We suddenly realize: !!!!!!!!! I AM GOD, HE IS GOD, SHE IS GOD, THATCHESTNUT TREE IS GOD!!!!!!

It is said by many of the Ancientsthat what most of us do has absolutely no relation to what we were put herefor. That we spend our whole lives as lost souls, never truly finding God. Thatfinding God within ourselves is our True purpose because only in that way do wediscover the wholeness of Conscious Awareness that we are beyond all changethat manifests ever and anon before us.

By fully realizing this ConsciousAwareness, we become it (i.e.: self-realization). As the enlightened say, wewere created to be the eyes and ears of God. We were put here, all as separatebut connected fragments of God, in order for God to perceive himself, toappreciate his creation. Although we will all see God in a different light,each aspect of that light, when in wholeness, is perfect because it is one ofthe infinite ways by which God sees himself!

In the understatement of the century:How wonderful is it, then, to know that we are the eyes and ears of God!? That thatis our True calling in life!?

Try this: In your day to day life,pretend that you are nothing more than awareness; that you have no thoughts bywhich to describe the world; that you have senses only.

Don’tjust touch—feel. Don’t just look—see. Don’t just hear—listen. Don’t just taste—savor.Don’t just smell—absorb.

Donot just live your life experience—be it.

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Enlightenment and the Brain

Anarticulately written short essay describing the quantum mechanics ofspirituality. Christian Opitz shows scientifically that human beings arehard-wired for enlightenment. He describes why man perceives himself asseparate from all things, even though he is not.

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I don’t knowwho created the above picture, as I found it on several websites, and it appearsto be open-sourced. Whoever the creator is, I want to let you know that it isreally, really awesome. Thank you.

The Barking, Beeping Ego

2011-09-11T12:19:00.000-04:00

Around my neighborhood, there areseveral dogs who incessantly bark at one another. This used to be annoying forthe simple reason that I carried a story about it.

In my mind, I did not just think, Dogs are barking. I thought: Son of a bitch. Those damn wolves are at itagain. Every time one goes off, the whole neighborhood goes off. Yip, ruff,arf, bark. Shut up!

Nowadays, I take the sensible wayout. When dogs bark, I don’t think anything. It’s for this reason that theirbarking no longer inspires me to write mental drama novels. Dogs can bark allday long, but I hardly notice it, if at all, until someone points it out.

I was woken from sleep one night bysomeone’s car horn alarm. It was one of those ultra-sensitive alarms that aretriggered by the shifting of air pressure created by nothing more than theblink of an eye.

Although it woke me up four times,in a way, it’s kind of like it never woke me at all. When such a thing hadhappened in the past, I would have mulled it over for 15 minutes afterword: Bastards! It’s 3 o’clock in the morning. Thepeople who put those alarms in their cars should be shot for making suchobscene amounts noise this early in the morning. They can’t tell me thatthey’re not aware that the wind need only think about blowing in order to setthe damn thing off. Needless to say, I had great difficulty getting back tosleep.

This occurrence was different. Thefirst time the alarm went off, not having any idea what time it was, I thoughtthat perhaps it was some fool beeping fancily and wildly (and quite rudely andinsanely) as a means of saying: Hey, I’mhere to pick you up. The honking sounded random, but also practiced. Ilistened but couldn’t hear a car idling. Soon after, I fell asleep.

When I woke up the second, third,and forth times, I recognized that it was definitely an alarm—but still fancy,wild, rude, and insane, nonetheless. This time, however, annoyance wasn’t anoption. On waking, before anger had a chance to slip in, I immediately thought:I accept this moment.

No mental pain arose. I heard thebeeping, and I laid there listening to it in mental silence. It didn’t botherme. I didn’t tell myself any story about it. I fell back to sleep within secondsafter it ceased.

Asit turns out, the barking of my thoughts was louder than the barking of thedogs. In previous instances, the alarm of my own thoughts was louder than thealarm going off somewhere outside my window.

Whileit may seem that negative emotion is better off suppressed, the reality is thatthis negativity has a very enlightening purpose—it reminds us where we needinner work. Once we do that work, the suffering produced out of our perceptionof those emotions as wrong creates healing space where that suffering onceexisted.

Thiswriting is meant to show what it means to have acceptance—not in 15 years or 15minutes, not after we divorce our spouse, are financially stable, or move intothe country but acceptance of what is happening right now.

Whenwe fight what is, we manifest suffering;when we surrender to it, we manifest healing.

The Story of the 1st World

2011-09-07T17:25:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, there was a planetlush with green vegetation and pristine waters. On this planet were variouslife forms, all of which worked together to form a universal web of symbioticrelationships.

Many years later, as life continued toevolve, man was created. Man acquired the ability to think. He developed thecapacity to judge himself and others, to judge what should or shouldn’t be inthe world around him.

As his thought processes continued todevelop, the shape of the planet began to change. The vegetation began to die;the waters became polluted. Mountains were flattened, and forests wereclear-cut. Man taught himself how to rip uncounted resources out of the groundto see how far and wide he could stack those resources above the ground.

This was not for necessity but fear.Through the power of conscious thought, man had constructed for himself amental prison. This prison was named “ego.” When man’s ego told him that the planetwas at his disposal, that his ability to murder, cheat, lie, and steal werepractical means of survival, he believed it.

Armed with such practices, mancreated for himself an abundance which came to be known as the 1^stWorld. Everything he could ever have wanted was now at his fingertips. And yet,although he needed only look overseas or downtown to see how poorly others wereliving and how comfortably he was living, he was still unsatisfied.

This was not necessarily because manfelt bad for those who couldn’t join him. Instead, it was that his true driveto conquering the world was all a façade for his fear of looking inside inorder to conquer his own self.

So, here we are. We’re arrogant, andwe’re selfish, and most of us are totally ignorant of that fact. Then again,maybe we’re not that ignorant. Maybe it’s all just an act. Maybe deep down wetruly know, but we just don’t like to remind ourselves.

Yeah, I think that rings more truethan not knowing at all.

In this day and age, even if neverbefore (which it’s silly even to suggest such a thing), the guideposts tellingus where we’ve erred and where we need to go are available everywhere. They’rein the world around us, and they are in our hearts.

But few of us are willing toacknowledge that as individuals we are just as important an aspect of theworld’s story as the next individual. We’d rather point the finger at othersand read to them the signs which we ourselves are not even sure how tointerpret or choose—yes, choose—notto interpret holistically.

Out of fear of seeking the truesource of dissatisfaction, we say: “I live in the 1^st World. Ideserve every possible thing I want and can pay for (or steal). I’ll buy myticket into heaven by donating a few dollars to the poor of Africa, but I’ll bedamned if you think I’m going to give up my life. I need this yacht. I need thishouse. I need this car. I need this meat and potatoes dinner every single dayof the year.”

But in every stride we take in ourrun from ourselves, we further diminish the few resources that are left in thisworld. Healthy food, clean water, raw materials, and arable land are all wearingthin.

Occasionally, maybe it’s at thekitchen table while I’m eating, or maybe it’s in my bedroom while stretching inthe evening, I look around and consider all of the useless things around me.This is not always useless as in not functional, but useless as in unnecessary.

I can’t help but think: Of all the things I see, this is just me.That computer desk…everybody wants it. That computer…everybody wants it. Thatrefrigerator…everybody wants it. That mattress, box spring, and bed frame in apersonal bedroom with several lights, windows, shades, carpet, bookshelf, andother furnishings…everybody wants it.

Many times, an individual wants morethan one. Extend this notion of want out to the family, the town, the country,and the world. Extend this notion out to approximately seven billion people, maybeonly around two billion of which currently live in continually (so far…) sustainable conditions .

In one simple example, suppose onetree can produce 10 computer desks. Barring manufacturing resources such aswater, electricity, coal to burn to make the electricity, etc., for the 5 billionpeople who don’t have a computer desk but want one, we’d have to cut down 500million more trees—and that’s only for computer desks!

Simply put: We can’t do it.

To note, my numbers are (very) rough andthe scenario is a total what-if. But I temper this what-if with the thoughtthat while not everyone in the world will want/get a computer desk at the sametime, there are still an overwhelming number of people living in more or less affluentareas who continually do want and do get, not just a new desk, but a newhouse, mattress, china cabinet, car, computer, beach house, tool set, etc.—evenif the one they have is only a few years old.

The world is advancing. The 3^rdand 2^nd worlds are becoming the 1^st world. When do we learnfrom the 4^th world that there really are no worlds at all? When dowe see that we are all part of the one and only world we have, and so we allhave to work together?

When do we say: “I don’t truly needone of these?”

When do we say: “I already have a/an[name a well or acceptably functioning object you want a new one of, notbecause it’s broken, but simply because it’s “old” or “worn” or “out of style”].I do not truly need another one. My life is extremely blessed as is. I’ll savethose resources for someone else. Even if trees don’t get cut for someone else,at least I’ll have air to breathe and clean water to drink. And besides, it’snot this item which is old and worn but my thoughts. Only when I change thosewill I truly be satisfied.”

Finding Your Integrity

2011-09-04T11:13:00.000-04:00

Whenwas the last time you said yes when you meant yes?

Whenwas the last time you said no when you meant no?

Ithas probably been a while, for it’s very difficult to do so. It doesn’t matterwhat this is in regard to.

Dowe really want to go to a church service?

Do we really want to eat that icecream or drink that beer?

Do we really want to lift weights?

This is about every action we takein everyday life. Not saying “maybe,” not saying “yes, but…” but clearlystating “yes” or “no” because one of those options is what we Truly wantbecause it is what we Truly need. It’s about fully spanning our inner and outerworlds with a bridge of integrity.

As for the above examples, I am notsaying that any of those acts, in and of themselves, are wrong. I’m simplytrying to look for the Truth beyond our “truth.”

Take the church example: If we’vebeen going to church our whole lives, it could be very easy to say: “Yes, I gobecause I want to.” Or: “That’s where God is, and I need God.” Okay. Are yousure? OR…

Areyou hoping someone else will do the dirty, soul-cleansing work for you? Do yougo as a means of pleasing someone else? Do you feel separate from others on theinside, so you are look for a connection on the outside? Have you always allowedothers control you so you are afraid to control yourself?

Ifice cream, are you eating it more so as a means of focusing your attention on theexternal rather than the inner issues which continuously beg you to resolvethem? If beer, are you drinking beer more so for peer pressure purposes? Iflifting weights, are you lifting more so to attract attention by looking like a“tough guy”?

I cannot speak precisely for anyperson other than myself (although, at times, a great deal of clarity shows itsface), but there are general themes to each person’s mental story. The theme ofone man is the theme of three billion. One of the most prevalent of thesethemes is a lack of integrity to the self. Moment after moment, we repeatedlysay we want “ice cream” when we whole-heartedly do not.

Aside from the few who havetranscended such thoughts, we all have mental stories telling us that we needattention, we need love, we need respect. The reality is that we don’t getthese things, not unconditionally anyway (which if they are conditional, thenthey’re not even real), because we don’tgive them to ourselves. We look for them through everyone and everythingelse, instead.

To be in integrity with the self isto be whole. It means that we say yes or no in a completely guilt-free manner. We respond to others and life based on needs, not out of the desire to please others or hide our suffering.

The next time somebody asks you, “Doyou want ice cream?” for a brief moment, stop.Ask yourself if you’d just like a snack (and it need not be a gluttonousportion to be enjoyable) or if you’re just trying to take your mind off of something.

Admitto yourself right then and there that if you are trying to block a problem, theproblem will be back the instant you wipe off your mouth and throw the napkinin the garbage. Admit that your problem hasn’t left because you’ve always runfrom it.

Theprocess is instantaneous. “Do you want ice cre--” “No, thanks.” The human mindis exceedingly adept. In the moment the question is being posed, the mind canevaluate the pros and cons and make a decision. This is a simple example, butit is these simple examples which drive us to suffering several hundred timesper day; it is these simple examples which accumulate into complex problems.

Lateron when were alone, that’s when we can reevaluate the situation. Okay, I said no. That’s good; that’s astart. Now, why did I say no? Why did my cons outweigh my pros? Or was therejust one con that overrode everything?

Andso we question until we find the center of ourselves, until we find integrity.

Making Space

2011-08-29T12:31:00.000-04:00

When trying to observe our stories, when trying to acknowledge them for what they are—unrealities, egoic fantasies—there are several methods we can use to view them from a higher perspective. One of these methods, and the subject of this post, is meditation.

Simply put, meditation is to the spiritual life what spaces are between words and rests are between musical notes. They are all varying forms of the same thing: invisible glue—they maintain coherency but aren’t really anything at all.

When reading a book or listening to music, these spaces are ever so important. We may recognize them unconsciously, but our conscious attention is drawn only to the “noise.” The situation between us and our physical surroundings is very similar.

Try this: Take what I just told you and apply it to life. Wherever you are right now, look away from the screen and see the space. Between screen and face, between table and chair, between park bench and overhanging tree, between each blade of grass. Acknowledge it.

Now try something else: Close your eyes, and imagine what it would be like if all of that space just disappeared.

Yikes! And that’s only what is blatantly obvious. What about the fact, noted by wise men and scientists alike, that each atom, whether within the human body or automobile or mountain, has as much space (scaled accordingly) between each electron and its nucleus as the space between the planets and star(s) in a solar system? Universally speaking, this means that my standing at a distance from someone else is not all that different from saying I am the Milky Way Galaxy and the other person is Andromeda.

So space is very important. It’s nothing and everything at the same time.

Where meditation comes in to all this is in its application to helps us become that space; to help us to realize how important it truly is. Because as we progress upon the path of realizing this, it makes us kinder, more gentle people.

Meditation can be done in about 934,598,746 different ways. I am not familiar with most of them, and I will not explain any but one of the most simple. The basic meditation practice I will describe below, although simple, can still have profound results if practiced regularly.

After a time it may be found that this basic form of meditation doesn’t cut it anymore. Perhaps you’re reading this, and that point has already hit. That’s fine. We all change, and we all need new and different things. Meditation is about being open and free. It’s about following the needs of the soul driven body rather than the ego-driven mind.

I write this more than anything for the beginner; for the ones who come to this website with some interest but walk away wondering what hell I am talking about. If you are one of them, I hope I can help you get a foot in the door to a much greater experience of humanness.

Anyway, here’s the practice:

· Sit in a cross-legged, half-lotus, or lotus position on the floor or towards the end of a chair or on a stool. (This is absolutely not about discomfort. If you can’t sit a certain way, don’t force it! Please, do what works for you!)

· If seated on the ground, either cup one hand in the other and rest them in your lap as feels comfortable or place the hands, palm down, on the knees. If sitting on a chair or stool, sit with the legs and upper body at 90 degree angles and place the hands on the thighs near the knees—again, as is comfortable.

· Whether on the floor or a chair/stool, be attentive to your posture. Sit upright with the head forward.

· Close your eyes and simply breathe consciously and continuously with the diaphragm. (Avoid breathing rapidly and shallowly with the chest or with gaps between each breath as many people do. Such breathing as normal practice is unhealthy and stress-related…But that’s an issue for another day.)

· Do this twice per day—after you wake up and just before bed. Try for 15-20 minute sessions. If five minutes is all you feel comfortable with, do it. With consistency and openness, Life will tell you when it’s time to advance. Your deeper self knows much more about you than I do. Listen to it.

This is basic meditation. Focus your attention on the space between each thought. Be the space between each thought. Thoughts will arise, certain pains may arise, past memories may arise. If a painful memory arises, feel it to heal it. As random thoughts arise, don’t reject them, but don’t attach to them either. See them, acknowledge them, and let them go.

As for the benefits, I will say nothing specific here. Be patient. Expect nothing. Consistently cultivate the space, and you will get everything.

“Everything” does not mean that you will get what you want. Instead, you will get what you need. And as your awareness shifts, you will find that what you’ve wanted usually isn’t so desirable after all. You will find complete satisfaction in finding that your needs are becoming wants rather than thinking your wants are what you need.

My final comment about meditation is in regard to religion. I won’t say which (although it may be obvious), but there is one powerhouse of a religion I know of specifically (and perhaps others) that prohibits meditation in the sense of observing the spaciousness of one’s life. They say that only contemplation of a given miracle, belief, etc. is acceptable.

While the contemplative form of meditation has its benefits, to know that others enforce it as the only allowable type of meditation is very disheartening, because as pivotal as meditation is to deepening one’s spiritual life, the practice is then avoided and even shunned by followers of such religions. Sadly, this is not due to individual decision making after gathering any appropriate information and experience, but due to blindly adhering to the arrogant, ignorant beliefs of another.

To put this very plainly: If a religion tells you not to practice empty-minded meditation, it’s for control purposes only. Period. Meditation is about the self-discovery of what it truly means to be human. Anyone who tells you that it’s sinful to self-discover has their head up their…well, let’s just say that their head is where it doesn’t belong. Likewise, Western society, which of course has been heavily influenced by Western religion, has pushed the idea that everything we “need” comes from the outside. This is a lie.

Yes, we need others, we need experience, we need outside influence. We need what other people and situations offer—even if those offerings initially appear to be nothing but madness—in order to discover who we truly are.

But as Galileo said: “We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.” Or, as a man by the name of Jesus once stated: “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)

Empty-minded meditation is the perfect way of opening the passageway to discovering our true selves and integrating whatever it is Life is trying to teach us.

Choose freedom. Find the spaciousness within you. Learn how to listen to the spaciousness of your own God-given heart and soul. They are the true you, and they know.

The Best Diet in the World

2011-08-23T11:52:00.001-04:00

When self-cultivating, an individual will, at times, feel driven to do things that most people don’t do or cannot do successfully. The reason for this is because, just as the “self-cultivator” name suggests, an individual is nurturing his/her inner self.

Beyond the general self-cultivation aspect, I’m pretty sure that these drives have no evident rhyme or reason. Sometimes they are slow shifts, but it’s not uncommon for them to be completely spontaneous as well. Sometimes they just happen. They’re not there one moment, and in the next, it seems like a small portion of the world has been flipped upside down.

One of these drives is creating—and maintaining!—a diet both more wholesome and more tuned to the needs of the body of the self-cultivator.

To explain it through my own experience:

My first diet shift was gradual. Over the course of a year or so, I had read enough to justify to myself that many foods on the market (beyond the obvious) are not healthy. [To note, I was not specifically seeking out this information. When we ask Life to help us, information comes from unexpected and surprising places.] The natural desires and intuitions created through self-cultivation verified this.

As a result, I cut 99 percent of red meats out of my diet while adding more whole, live foods. I also acquired a taste for healthier foods that I had disliked for years.

Other similar shifts are that my alcohol intake went from two beers per day to zero to two per week, I drink virtually no soda and switched from coffee to tea, and I drink more water than ever before.

Reaching any of the points above was mostly progressive. But moments of enlightenment strike from time to time as well. For example: When my mom was making cookie dough, I saw the butter and sugar sitting in the mixing bowl. It was nothing new; I had seen it a hundred times over the years. But this time was different…

This time it hit me like, well, a lump of butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. I was like: Whoa! Time out! That’s what’s in cookies? That’s what kind of sickness I’ve been voluntarily eating my whole life? Fat and sugar?

Duh.

A few days later, I visited my relatives for Christmas. There were baked goods galore. I didn’t touch any of them. I couldn’t. There was absolutely no desire.

Although I gradually began eating them again, every time I considered it, a higher instinct came in. Are you even hungry for that, or is it just whimsical desire? Will you feel better afterward, or is it just an escape from the moment? They may be tasty, but can you take and enjoy just one instead of seven? Answer: It’s whimsical desire, an escape, and I can take just one. It’s not uncommon to walk away without taking any.

Needless to say, I eat much less of them now. If I don’t, my awareness of my body is heightened enough that I know immediately how foolish I was to consume it.

Right now, I’m in the process of learning how to eat healthier when I go out. So often in the past, if it was on my plate, I’d feel drawn to eat it. Did it hurt? Certainly. But when does pain ever stop the average Joe Hungry-Man from overeating or eating what is unhealthy as long as it tastes good?

Although I’ve slowly been moving away from such gluttony, I’m at a point where the push is really pushing again. It’s telling me: Be careful of that chicken. You’ve seen the pictures; you’ve heard the stories. Do you see how much grease is in that? Do those pancakes have any nutritional value whatsoever? You know that’s going to make you feel lousy. For your higher good, please don’t eat it. Be easy on yourself.

In response, one may say: “I’ll be damned if I want some nutritionist idiot asking me questions like that every time I eat.”

My rebuttal: It’s wonderful! The idiot is the one saying: Yeah! Eat that up! Om-nom-nom! Hide your misery in your food! But here’s a higher level of awareness whose manner is not intimidating or deprecating. It’s a loving, holistic awareness looking out for the higher good.

In our traditional sense of the word, I’ve never tried to diet; I’ve never tried to eat better or suppress desires. That’s the beauty of self-cultivation. All I did (accidentally, it seems) was learn to let go of my story. Without a story, we don’t need to go on a diet; the diet will go on us. No wonder it’s the best diet in the world—and it’s free!

“But it tastes soooo good!” On the surface, yes, taste is the reason we continue to go back. But taste as a reason is a lie. We binge and gorge ourselves because we have problems, problems demanding that we fill “the void” with food.

Consider the average dieters. Not only do they buy diet books by the dozen, but they change their diet every ten weeks. Why? Because none of them actually work! They shift an effect rather than healing a cause. None of them ever ask: “What story am I believing that is causing me to suppress my issues with food to begin with?” Instead, these books simply say to exchange the dairy for bread or meat.

But, believe it or not, knowledge of a balanced diet is inherent in human nature. Through this realization, we remove ourselves from slavery to what we never really wanted to begin with but have only used as a suppressant.

Food brings life…but it also brings death. Learn to be easy on yourself.

Drum Roll, Please.

2011-08-16T10:42:00.000-04:00

Back when I was a freshman in high school, I decided to start playing drums. Thanks to the Western mentality, playing on a practice pad was only enjoyable for a few months. Soon after beginning, I purchased a junker set from a friend. This set lasted a year before I emptied my wallet for a brand new 6-piece drum set (with 6 cymbals).

For the first four years, I played 1 to 2 hours per day. Then, beginning with leaving for school, my time playing was drastically cut down. In that time, practicing was very spotty. Sometimes I’d even cut out several months or a year at a time. About eight years after I began playing, I sold the set.

When I played regularly, I had great difficultly learning songs. For one, I did not have an ear for music—I had to listen to five second song clips and read the sheet music about 9347545 times before I’d be able to play it. Also, partly because I had developed tendonitis early on, gaining speed and endurance was never easy. But there were other things…which I will mention momentarily…

Anyway, after selling the set, even though they no longer held sway with me, I held on to my drumsticks and drum pad. But as my Western mentality still seemed as alive as ever, I put them in a box with the intention to eventually sell them, too.

Around mid-July of this year, while looking for stuff to get rid of (because I would like to get rid of damn near everything I own), I saw the pad and sticks and decided to give them a try once again.

[insert sound of singing angels here]

After two years of an incredible, continuous shift in consciousness, my drumming has finally come to life. Stated simply: I think drumming will be a new source of meditation for me. I can be totally honest when I say that even in the first week of playing, and after effectively taking a several year hiatus, I think I play better now than at my peak when I played regularly.

In the past, I had always been bothered that I couldn’t learn or play songs fast enough—and I had to learn them. Also, my set had 6 drums and 6 cymbals. While the variety of sound was enjoyable, due to my lack of experience, it was always way too much.

Now, thanks to my new-found less-is-more mindset, the pad is more than sufficient. There’s a creativity that never existed in me before (read: that I never knew existed). I had never realized the countless ways in which I could achieve different sounds having “so little” available.

Several years ago, I saw two places to strike: the center and the edge, and both of them were with the drumstick tip. Now I see that every single aspect can be struck, I can strike with various stick orientations, and, as I do not have a stand so must lay the pad down, I do not have to place it on a flat surface, therefore giving me even more sound variety.

That said, having one pad is, in a way, like having a whole set. No, I cannot play with a rock band, but I don’t want to either. I just want to use my creative ability to help set my mind at ease.

Without motive, I just play. With little thought, I let my hands do whatever it is they want to do. Their continuous yet varying rolls become a meditation.

In the past, I always had a story; I always had to learn a song, I had to play faster, I had to play longer. Sometimes I even had to play louder because it pissed me off that the neighbors would call over telling me that my playing is annoying and rude…And I always struggled.

I’ve learned to let all of that go. Now I just drum. There is no longer a story I must tell myself. I just play. It’s beautiful. It’s smooth. Occasionally I trip up, but I’m okay with that, because after 11 years, I’ve only just begun learning how to play.

Mojud: The Man with the Inexplicable Life

2011-08-09T11:20:00.000-04:00

For this week’s spiel, I’d like to direct you to the Sufi story of “Mojud: The Man with the Inexplicable Life.”

Even more importantly, I would like to direct you to “OSHO commentaries on this story” just below it.

I hope that the words of Osho strike you as powerfully as they struck me.

Namaste!

Letting Go of Possessions

2011-08-02T12:34:00.001-04:00

John! Come on down! Welcome to ‘The Price Is Wrong,’ where we never hesitate to remind the contestants that no matter what price you pay in attachment to your possessions, the price is always—always—always—way too obscenely high compared to the price of your life! …So, remember: The objective of the game is to rid yourself of all trivialities. The sooner they’re gone the better! Your ‘Freedom from Attachment’ timer begins…NOW!

Early on in my spiritual path, before I recognized what was really happening to me—a major shift in consciousness—one of my first decisions was to get rid of many of my possessions.

Let me clarify. There was no decision. It was an inner drive. Once the feeling took hold, I couldn’t ignore it. In the most subtle yet commanding of ways, Life said: “Detach. Sell, donate, trash, whatever—just get rid of it. Now.”

Over the last year or two, I’ve cut two-thirds of my possessions out of my life.

What is the result? Freedom!

It’s said that the amount of junk one has on the outside (possessions, addictions, excess weight, dis-ease, etc.) equals the amount of junk one has on the inside (negative emotions, self-defeating thoughts, etc.). I understand this now. I understand the “lack in having.”

I’ve also come to understand that detachment is the ultimate way to acknowledge that there is something infinitely greater to us than what we own, what awards we’ve been given, what our occupation is, and so forth and so on. I’ve come to realize that the only thing necessary to truly give life purpose is a continuous journey of inner learning, healing, and growth.

This is not to say that detachment requires one to live in a reed hut. It’s just that the detached individual realizes that their “stuff” is not “who they are.” I choose to get rid of my material baggage, not everyone will; if so, not necessarily to the same degree.

As I whittle my possessions down, they become more and more “personal” [not really personal because I cannot take them with me when I die]. When things are “personal,” they’re much easier to rationalize keeping. It’s so easy to justify keeping something while saying: “I think So-and-So would be offended if I trashed this.”

Often I have to remind myself that an item has no inherent value. That the value it’s been given is flimsy and subjective. That if someone else becomes offended by my decision to toss something, it would be their own attached thought pattern that causes them upset—just as my own suffering, by not living as I am compelled to, is the result of my own faulty thinking.

But if others are offended, it’s because they struggle for that same freedom. What they don’t realize is that that freedom is an inherent part of them. They already have it. You have it. It’s always been there. You need only honor it.

As we grow we tend to suppress our true desires as a means of fitting into an overwhelming world, one which tells us a lot of things which aren’t all that accurate. (We need only look at the state of the world to confirm this.) But just as we are born in a state of detached freedom, and although we’ve lost it during our travels, we can go back to that state once again. It’s within us this very moment.

We need only let go, and a freedom more wonderful than anything previously known will be waiting with open arms.

Waking Up

2011-07-26T13:50:00.000-04:00

When I began this blog, my first post simply stated that I self-cultivate and that I’ve received some enlightening answers by looking inside. Perhaps what I meant to say was that I’m “waking up.” While I will still write posts like those prior, using this post as a kind of intro to all future posts, my intention is to elaborate a bit more on what waking up (to the degree I’ve awakened) means, how it affects life, what experiences result, etc.

First, I want to clarify a popular misconception: Being spiritual and being religious are two very different things. In following a religion, we may, if applying ourselves properly, reach spiritual ends. Or, if we find that ritualization promotes our spiritual advancement, we may choose to join a religion, though already spiritual. The key is that either path is independent of the other until we choose to unify them.

One may bring the other, but, then again, it may not. To be spiritual—our goal whether we realize it or not—we do not need religion. And the path an individual walks to obtain spiritual ends—how a person realizes God, Brahman, Universal Consciousness, etc.—is as different as every human being. The belief that there is “one right way” is just another story; one that we often use to justify to ourselves as being on the right path as a mask to our own uncertainty.

For a person to be spiritual, they must walk a path that reveals to them what it truly means to be a human being. They must look inward. They must strive to destroy obsessions and addictions, and they must strive to release any desire for this moment to be different than it is. Essentially, they must work to genuinely extinguish all fears.

So, when I say I’m “waking up,” what I mean to say is that my life is coming alive. I’m finding out what it really means to be human. I’m finding out what it means to dramatically lessen the fear which once controlled every aspect of my life. I’m finding out what it means to live more often than not in joy, peace, insight, gratitude, spontaneity, love, humor, etc.—regardless of external situation.

Unless one walks a spiritual path, it’s impossible to know what this means. It may happen that a non-spiritual person witnesses a miracle or has some brief moment of ecstasy or insight…but it doesn’t last. It happens, it’s told to friends or kept secret, and it passes. If they’re “lucky,” maybe their story shows up on the 6 o’clock news or goes viral on YouTube. But, effectively, such experiences are once and done.

In spirituality, these things happen with an increasing frequency—they become the norm. Well, not really. In reality, these things are already happening ever and anon. It’s just that only through cultivation of our spiritual awareness can we recognize them.

This is not to be defined as mysticism. The word “mysticism” was created to describe people who were spiritually different in a time when spirituality was rarely understood and even considered devil worship. The things believed to be mystical are really only the spiritual realizations of those who have practiced inner cultivation.

I would never call myself a mystic. I’m just a human being who, for reasons beyond my comprehension, has been compelled by “Something Greater” to cultivate his life, to release his life drama, and to teach others how to obtain the same freedom.

What spirituality comes down to is realizing, or working to realize, our true nature: that each of us is part of the same One Source. Call it Tao, All That Is, Universal Intelligence—it doesn’t matter. It is waking up to the realization that we are infinitely greater than our society—or our mental story—has led us to believe. It is waking up to the wholeness, abundance, and profoundness of all life.

The Philosophy of Pompom

2011-07-19T13:06:00.000-04:00

This is Pompom. Or, more formally, Pahmpahhhhhhhhhm!

Pompom is my youngest sister’s dwarf hamster. Although Pompom doesn’t say anything, his silence says everything. Through his silence, Pompom reveals positive qualities that I feel many of us would be wise to copy.

Pompom is quiet—very quiet. Even when he makes lightning quick dashes across the grounds of his “estate,” it’s nearly impossible to hear him. Nor does he interrupt the silence with verbal blather and raucous noise simply out of the selfish desire for attention. He is naturally at peace.

Pompom accepts his dependence. Although a cage is not his natural environment, for better or for worse, a cage is where he’s ended up. Because of this, Pompom is fully dependent on the care of others. He teaches that we cannot be selfish or overconfident because, while each of us must walk our own path, we must still be dependent on others for what we cannot readily acquire; in Pompom’s case: food, water, and periodic groundskeeping.

Pompom is a dwarf hamster. Unlike humans who try to be what everybody else wants them to be instead of being what they are, Pompom is easily comforted in his own skin. I could try pressuring him into being a Blue Jay or a T-Rex, but becoming something he’s not would never happen. He accepts the way he has been created.

Pompom listens to his senses. If, for example, I just finished washing my hands with some artificial cleanser (i.e.: conventional hand soap), then put my hand near Pompom’s face, he’ll dive into his hut like hell has come to get him. But if my hand just smells like a natural human hand, he’ll sniff around and maybe even nibble at it. If my hand has food on it, he’ll climb right up and rest there.

Unlike most of us, it’s obvious that when Pompom senses something bad he retreats. He doesn’t try to face potential danger with an unwavering arrogance. When his options are stupidity or his life, it’s clear that Pompom chooses his life every time; he does not mistake stupidity for bravery.

Finally, Pompom knows when too much is too much.

One day, I was carrying weights from the basement to the attic. When I reached the bottom of the third flight of stairs, I bent down to set a pair of 50 lb. dumbbells on the steps. While bent over, quite exhausted and looking upside down behind me, I saw Pompom sitting in the corner of his cage in complete tranquility. The experience was a humbling one.

Still in my mind’s eye is the way Pompom was sitting in perfect serenity. He was just there. Sitting. Looking. Being. There was no judgment. There was no anxiety. There was no panic that he should have been doing something different (i.e.: burrowing a new cavern into his bedding). In that moment, Pompom was stillness personified.

As I was writing this, a word unexpectedly came to mind; a word which I rarely hear and rarely use but seemed as close as I would ever come to describing the incident. The word is “sanctity.” There was sanctity in the non-action of Pompom.

Without a care for the next moment—whether or not he would still have food, water, shelter, or life—Pompom was enveloped in the perfect peace which can only be found in this moment.

It may be suggested that Pompom and humans are not comparable because humans are, simply, much more complex of beings.

So I ask: Are we really? Or is that just another story?

Without a Story

2011-07-12T14:24:00.001-04:00

I was walking on the macadam path at a local park one day when an insight struck me. I happened to look down towards my feet, which I rarely do when I go for walks, and I noticed that while the right side of the path was all cracked up, by halfway to the other side all cracks had unified into one.

The side of the path with all of the cracks is like the average persons life, where each fracture line is a different story. These stories are the tales we tell ourselves relating to the who, what, where, when, and why of every situation.

Rarely do we realize that these stories are just that—stories. This is why our lives seem so splintered, troublesome, and unfulfilling. We constantly tell ourselves not how things are but how we want them to be.

The moment we were born, our lives began on the left side of the path. There was only one way to go: forward. But, as we grew, we became influenced by others into believing lies. These lies caused us to create a web of complexities going every single direction—except forward.

If we would like to move forward once again, we must understand that nearly everything we think we know is false. This means we have to drop the stories which exist only in our minds. Only then does the web become a single, forward-oriented pathway once again.

On the left side of the path, all cracks were one, all stories were one. When all stories are one, there is no longer a story. There can’t be.

“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.” (Proverbs 26:20)

Without a story, life becomes unified.

Without a story, the splintered becomes whole.

Without a story, all become one and one becomes all.

Without a story, rivers become the ocean.

Without a story, well, you’ll see. After all, trying to describe it is to create another story.

Simply Difficult

2011-07-05T15:37:00.003-04:00

The Story: Several months back, I sold an item on eBay. Although I had sold many other items there before, this time was different—unpleasantly so.

After the customer paid, I went through the regular process of logging in to PayPal in order to create a UPS shipping label. On attempting this, the UPS account number didn’t work. The error stated that the number was invalid. Nothing else. There was no reason why and no link for help.
The lack of clarity immediately set me off. Well, what the hell! This is ridiculous. I’ve gotta get this shipped to the customer. …And so forth and so on for roughly an hour. There was never a moment in which I sat back, took a deep breath, and asked myself if there were any legitimate reasons why the number would be invalid.

I probably tried and retried the same number five times. When that didn’t work, and as I was becoming more ticked off by the minute, I thought: Ok. Why don’t I go to UPS’s website and create an account. Then, hopefully, I can link the invalid number to my personal info.

Following much ado, and answering questions I didn’t know the answers to, I had an account…and was given a new number. On trying to link the old number, it did not, of course, work. I had to verify information I didn’t have.

After much frustration, and about a half hour after opening the account, I closed it. Realizing UPS could do nothing for me, I went back to PayPal to try something new.

Still quite agitated, if I remember correctly, I went to (of all places) PayPal’s help section. I think I found the answer (that the number expired due to inactivity) and received a new number within, oh, perhaps, five minutes.

About two hours after I put the above story into writing, I was sitting on my heels on my bedroom floor looking out the window. The sun had set a few hours earlier, and the near-full moon was just above the tree line across the street from my house. I sat there for a few minutes in near thoughtlessness as I watched a patch of clouds pass by, leaving clear sky behind it.

After observing the moon for a minute or two, I was just about to put the shade down when I was struck with an involuntary thought of inquiry: You wouldn’t open a dirty window to get a clearer glimpse of God? …Interesting…

Immediately, a part of me said no because something might fly into the room. I immediately dropped that thought in exchange for another: John, you hate opening the top windows because the shifting of an old house and old windows has made them difficult to close. I almost bought it until I realized how ridiculous an idea it was in relation to the question posed.

So I opened the window and looked out a bit longer. When I tried to close the window, as usual, it went so far and stuck. But this time, calm practicality hit me. Don’t slam the window, and don’t push out and up like you always do. Gently pull on the tab as you push up. Not surprisingly, it closed with incredible ease.

The Moral: We are not our story. We live our lives with the belief that life has to be difficult. This is only as true as we choose to make it—in our minds.

A Walk in the Rain

2011-06-28T11:50:00.000-04:00

Just as I was leaving my house to go to the park the other day, it began to drizzle. Once I actually arrived at the park, a light rain was falling.

Seeing this, I sat in my car for five minutes or more wondering whether I should go home, wait a few minutes to see if it slows, or just walk anyway (in a worst-case scenario I did have an umbrella). But I also did something else.

During those five minutes or so, I searched around my mind for what Richard W. Wetherill would term "Command Phrases." These are phrases that we state to ourselves or believe when others state them, usually with strong negative emotion, which, even after we think we’ve dropped them, we carry with us throughout life. Effectively, we hold them in our subconscious, unconsciously allowing them to “command” us to do whatever it is they refer to—no matter how much pain any phrase (sometimes hardened belief) may be causing us.

A few thoughts were: “It’s bad to walk in the rain.” “People may think I’m weird for walking in the rain.” “I’ll get soaking wet.” “It’s embarrassing to be seen with an umbrella.” Even if they weren’t accurate for me, it was still necessary to openly state any possibility in order to discover the illogical reasoning behind not doing what seems like it should be natural to do. Upon recognizing them for what they are, they disappear and just a bit more freewill comes shining through.

In the end, I threw ill-founded caution to the wind and took the walk.

During the walk, an insight struck me.

When I was still in my car before the walk, I only ever looked through the falling rain as far as the next car over, sitting seven feet away, to get the perception that “this isn’t walking weather.” Then walking, as I came around a bend and the path straightened, I was able to see the light rainfall through six to seven hundred yards in the distance. It appeared that I would definitely need to use my umbrella. But that’s all it was—an appearance. On walking through it, I barely got wet. This told me something about life.

The majority of people live in a confined little box we call a house. A fair portion of this majority rarely leaves that house (aside for employment-in-a-cubicle purposes) for fear that nature intends to do them in.

Metaphorically, what many people see is exactly what I saw literally. They look no further than seven feet, notice what seems to be a lot of rain, and cancel their days. If they happen to build up enough willpower to look into the distance, they misinterpret the volume of visible rain over a timescale as all happening right now. This causes them to cancel their lives.

Sure, if I would’ve been hit with all the rain I saw in a given instant, I would have gotten soaked. Likewise, if I chose to look into the possible futures of my life, and assumed that all the tiny possible mishaps I saw would kill me the instant I step out my front door, I would mentally paralyze myself. I’d slam the door, close the shutters, and hide in a closet in my basement.

As ridiculous as it sounds, mentally, this is how many of us “live.”

If we want to find satisfaction in life, let’s look at what is happening now. The million raindrops are only devastating if we choose to take them in one shot. Otherwise, if we simply take them by ones and twos, we hardly recognize their existence, and life turns out to be a lot better than appearances had led on to.

__________

Please see http://www.alphapub.com/ for more information regarding command phrases. I have no connection with Alpha Publishing, but I have read the books, and they've changed my life.

Ignore This

2011-06-28T11:40:00.000-04:00

2GFZBUDHUXUN

It has a purpose. I will not tell you what that purpose is. Be content with not knowing.

Are You Sure?

2011-06-21T16:12:00.000-04:00

In the last post, Worrying and Waiting, an individual had commented that not often does he agree with my life opinions. Just previous to that, he stated that he’s read all of my posts.

I find it fascinating that somebody who doesn’t even know me (as far as I am aware), or agree with most of what I say, would bother to read everything I’ve written. [By all means, if you are doing the same, don’t let me stop you. This post is not meant to be critical toward an individual or group, but to pose a question to the world as a whole. In fact, I’m glad the commenter said what he did because it’s a good topic to write about...So thanks for bringing it up.]

On reading his words, a question came to mind:

With such an infinite variety of information available at one’s fingertips, why does one continue reading what is disagreeable? [This blog or otherwise.]

When I ask this, I’m not looking for anyone to answer me. If you really want to, fine. But ask yourself. Ask yourself way deep down. Unless our normal state is one of self-inquiry, we effortlessly and regularly blow off differing opinions of others but never ask ourselves why. We come up with superficial answers that seem completely logical but are only half-truths at best.

Saying this, it brings to mind what has been said about many psychology-oriented people: they go into psychology with the belief that they want to help others, when the reality is that they want to figure out what is wrong with themselves.

As a major portion of this blog revolves around, and what I am trying to get at now is: What is the real answer? Is there an attraction to come back though we’re not even sure why? Without conscious awareness, are a few concepts resonating in a place within us which is much deeper than the thinking mind that we base our perception of life on?

Most of the world spends its days looking outward. We’re on an obsessive quest to find the physical means by which the universe ticks.

But what if those means aren’t physical? What if they cannot be measured with a graduated cylinder or a scale? What makes the wind blow? What makes a living being—any living being—tick?

And this is not about wanting a scientific dissertation on the flow of blood and liver function, or about air currents. What’s beyond all that? What is beyond our thinking mind? What allows our liver to even be a liver? What pulls us to go in a given direction when we don’t even know why we should want to go that way?

As I said, I’m not looking for an answer. I spend my life in self-inquiry, and I’ve come up with some answers of my own; many of which will come to light through my writing.

Question within yourself. Meditate. Release your desperate addiction to inane thought forms (if you pay attention, most thoughts truly are pointless and absurd). If you can do this, stillness and silence will arise. In that space can be found the answer(s) you’re looking for.

Always ask deeper. There are no answers this world or your thinking mind can give you like those which come from within.

Worrying and Waiting

2011-06-15T12:05:00.002-04:00

The day previous to writing this, I was standing outside of a karate dojo waiting for a class to end before the class I take was to begin. A fellow student who was just getting back after a knee injury walked over to me to make small talk. I had taken the previous week off, myself, due to a minor groin strain.

As we stood there, he asked if I knew what was going on in the kids class. I told him I wasn’t really paying attention. Then he said something to the effect of: “Ah, I see. Just worryin’ and waitin’.” I smiled and replied that I was waiting but definitely not worrying. He laughed and said: “Yeah, I’m just projecting my feelings onto you.”

When he mentioned about worrying and waiting, I wasn’t sure if he meant it because either of us could easily reinjure ourselves, because class is always some degree of chaos (intentionally), or a bit of both.

Regardless, one word stuck out specifically; it’s a word I hear and “see” over and over again: worry.

I’m worried because I might injure myself. I’m worried that I’ll fail. I’m worried that I’ll never remember what I’m supposed to know.

In regards to life, in general, not just karate, do you know what I am “worried” about? [I don’t really worry about it. I say it in a sense that it concerns me to see so many people who have difficulty in obtaining their goals, purely because of baseless fears and self-imposed limitations.]

I’m worried that hundreds of millions of individuals will never live up to their potential because they live their life in fear of future projections which only exist in one or two brain cells somewhere in their head...quite literally.

If you’re a worrier, ask yourself how much winning really matters. …And I’ll give you a hint: The voice you need to hear will be the one that tells you winning and losing is really not a big deal; that such a concept is a form of mental limitation.

The man who truly wins is the man who doesn’t identify himself as a winner or loser, but does what he does simply because Life compels him forward.

At the end of June I have a belt test with several other students. It will probably last five hours, requiring each tester to cage fight up to three people at a time, know and perform all techniques and katas learned through four to six belt levels, complete an outdoor physical training circuit, and know various points of martial arts philosophy.

Is the test serious? Well…no, not really. It’s only as serious as I choose to make it—in my mind. I know what I have to know, although I could certainly know it better. Regardless, I choose not stress but stillness. Stress will only serve to block the channels through which unlimited, fluid action makes itself available.

This stillness lies within each of us. When we find it there, we can carry it into any other situation in life. Whether we test for a martial art rank, a job position, or a college exam is of non-importance. By becoming still, we enable a natural outflow of all we have to give. Win or lose, we live it with a smile and say thank-you when we’re finished.

Social Networking and Loss of Ethics

2011-06-10T11:12:00.004-04:00

I did not plan for this post; it doesn’t really deal with the purpose of this blog. Nonetheless, from an ethical point of view, I think it would be wrong for me not to share it when the means of sharing are available.

When I first read the title of the link below, I thought it was probably just another silly opinion. It’s not. It’s highly practical advice. The writer, Dan Yoder, gives some incredibly compelling reasons why you should remove your account from facebook, or else have your life stolen.

Simply, as the quality of facebook seems to erode, so does their (anti-)privacy policy (see timeline link under #7). But whoever reads policies—more than once, if at all? As you’ll see, if you post on facebook, they own you…and so does every other person in this world.

Also, take note of the links posted within his article. They’re a little bit of extra reading, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed that you’ve read them if it prevents some bozo, located halfway around the world, from stealing your life.

Main link:

http://gizmodo.com/5530178/top-ten-reasons-you-should-quit-facebook

A brief follow up:

http://gizmodo.com/5534736/more-reasons-why-you-should-still-quit-facebook

Consider this analogy:

Do you remember in National Lampoon’s European Vacation when that guy stole the family’s camera? Within a few days, they saw the wife’s picture on a billboard in the middle of a foreign city (wrapped in a bath towel, if I remember correctly). If it happens to you, I’m not so sure it will evoke the same sense of humor.

Be careful.

This instance brings to mind the proverb: “Trust in God, but tie your camel.”

In other words, trust that God will protect you, but have common sense. We may not perceive something we’ve written or taken a picture of to be a danger, but how the unethical choose to exploit our information is a different matter altogether.