The Real Work

Walking around, found a 

poem by Wendell Berry 

on a neighborhood bulletin board 

near the sidewalk. 

You see what you focus on

I keep getting this recurring theme showing up in random places. (Reminds me of how people say when they first meet me, they start seeing '11' everywhere.) 

It is a reminder: Whatever YOU are looking for, YOU will find. If you look for misery and suffering, you will find it in abundance. If you focus on beauty and love, you will see it, your heart will finally be still with JOY.

What I am being pointed to now, over and over again (which I've been ignoring for years out of a combination of my own ignorance and stubbornness) is that thinking the same behavior I have been exhibiting will get me a different result. This is just a bad waste of good energy. (Similar to the famous Einstein quote defining insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.)

If you are suffering, you are a victim of something. We are here to figure out what our story is, then write it ourselves, making the discovery that we have been the author of our stories all along. Whatever was done to us (WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE, UNFORGIVABLE, PAINFUL BEYOND MEASURE) is over, and if it's not over, most likely YOU are the only one who is perpetuating the suffering. That is it my dear friend. (I speak in regards to the physical and the emotional, because ALL ONE.)

A promise I have made to MYSELF, is to never sink so low again. The underworlds exist, they are dark, you can explore them all you wish (probably not in a safe manner.) Most humans do not allow themselves to feel such extremes, we are fearful. I didn't want to be afraid of the darkness, so I explored it, I sat with it, I worked with it.... but you must know when the time is done. You must realize your own STORY, then put an end to the story of the people or thing(s) that perpetuated your suffering. Past tense.

And in order to fully LET GO, you must realize that there is an end, there CAN be an end to this perspective that you have grown so comfortable in... do you even know you are covered in SHIT?! You must see the end to the darkness you are creating, the all-encompassing SPACE that seems so dark, but once you let go and you are lighter, you can rise to the stars! You SEE the little lights surrounding you in the darkness. Friends who have wanted to love you for years, LOVE that you were not able to ACCEPT let alone even feel even an inch of until NOW.

Start to feel yourSELF. In your BODY. Feeling LOVE, feeling LIGHT. Is it painful? Are you in IT? Are you feeling? Be grateful to be ALIVE. Does it hurt you? The love will hurt at first, the LIGHT will hurt after living in the darkness for many years, or perhaps your whole life. Like Plato's Cave, the Light may blind you... but keep letting go, keep getting LIGHTER, LIGHTER and you will become one. 

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!

Today

A semi-poetic spoken teaching on the nature of "today".

Check List

I forgot who i was. I dont know how to find myself again. Dont get depressed. Keep going. Learn how to live. Dont stop. Hold onto something. Jump into the tide. Read. Meditate. Learn. You cant go on being someone else. You really cant. Stop pretending and move on. Let them move on too. Let it be. Let them be. Time to be. Be on time. Learn both. Begin again.

Renounce and Enjoy

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Matthew 6:21

Many of us suffocate in stuff, spending countless hours sorting out our things. Bankers, economists, and business persons measure goods and services produced rather than joy and happiness. "Goods" replace good. Cars, houses, real estate, bank accounts - measure material self worth, not happiness (which is spiritual).  All too easily we feel something is wrong or missing within us, if we don't have "enough" material goods.

Strange to say, "more is not more". Truth is "less is more" - which means freedom from bondage to stuff. Hard to rid ourselves of things. Pick up anything to get rid of - and it reattaches itself to us as if saying, "You're going to need me again someday!" We may die and others will take, sell or give it all away.

Gandhi was asked to sumarize his philosophy in three words. Gandhi said, "Renounce and enjoy". It's true. Try it.

Setup Time

A master artist spent days setting up canvases and paints in his studio. Then in a few hours, dashed off the painting. Much happened in his mind during days of set up. He was ready. Within a short time, he dashed off the painting. In his conscious and subconscious minds things where coming together. Many phases of our lives are like that: going to school for a degree, finding a life partner, getting a business off the ground, etc. Living often appears to be mostly setup time. Enjoy setup as well as execution and completion. Every step along the way is precious. Therefore, live in full presence of this moment, here and now. This is the way of embodied meditation.

Canopy

It's been so long since I returned home.

I lost myself entirely the past few months. I avoided who I truly was and wandered down a deep path into the dark forest of life. There were rays of light in the forest's canopy but instead of following them out of the forest, I followed the dried stream of a once nurturing river. Why did I choose this path when I knew it wouldn't support my journey? It was easier to let go of my true self instead of letting go of my ego. The ego is manipulative and promises us peace if we follow it blindly. I desperately wanted peace and decided to choose what was easiest. It asked me to avoid the light shining through its canopy so I couldn't find my true self again; so I couldn't find my way home. Regretfully, I agreed to follow my ego deeper down this dark path and I strayed even further.

Waking up today was terrifying. When I opened my eyes, I saw how far down the path I had wandered and realized it wasn't just a bad dream. I have a long journey ahead of me to get back to where I was before I diverted from my path.  It will take me time but I will find my way home; I can finally see the light.

Global Spirituality

a real whole human being

am i just seeing what i want to see

or am I actually seeing what's really there ?

in the idealistic sea, not one form is perfect !

be strong and shine through the mind clearly

do not push and pull

rather, be

as you silently watch

all these creations of fantasy, illusions & projections

how they rise and fall

like your breath, here and now

deal with what is real

is YOU

YOUR WORLD

always changing, shifting

while remaining steady & whole .

Bernie Sanders 'put a bird on it' at Portland rally

Could not resist publishing this photo from the 2016 presidential races.

Wash Yourself

There’s no need to go outside.

Be melting snow.

Wash yourself of yourself.*

~ Rumi

*Translated by Coleman Barks

Tyranny of Clocks and Timers

We are ruled by clocks and timers. For example, you may meditate to become more present to life, but quite likely using a timer - thereby adding up minutes per day or per session by starting on the bell and stopping on the bell. A timer or clock tells how long. This is not the nature's way.  Instead, feel the way into "natural being" without clocks or timers. Using our internal senses of time and the relationships to the living cycles of day and night. 

turn around

                turn around and turn again

                spin spin spin

                like the earth keeping time

                to the songs of the cosmos

Disease of Complexity

We suffer from complexity in our current world. 

Economic growth drives the world. 

Instead, enjoy just "being".

growth

It is painful to grow

Center of Stillness

It is Amazing!

[the song link:] It's Amazing, by Jem

'Do it now

You know who you are

You feel it in your heart

And you are burning and wishing

.....

You're gonna have to work for it harder and harder

Nothing can compare to deserving your dream

It's amazing, all that you can do

It's amazing, makes my heart sing

Now it's up to you

Don't be embarrassed, don't be afraid

Too many dreams slip away

It's your determination and using your gift

Everybody has a gift

........

Never give up, never let it die

Trust your instincts and most importantly

You've got nothing to lose

So just go for it

It's amazing, it's amazing, all that you can do

It's amazing, makes my heart sing

Now it's up to you'

Forget Past

~ ~ ~

Forget the past,

change our habits.

Today begin again

as if the First Day.

~ ~ ~

Bliss

When I was young and a graduate student in philosophy, I started pursuing bliss. That was good and bad. The distraction of the pursuit of bliss became all consuming; driving me toward experiences of great pleasure and pain with little peace of mind. I grew older and wiser, discovering that being alive was already enough. Gradually settling down to the such-ness of existence itself. Be humble. It's a big world out there - we are little in comparison.

Practice Being Present

Today: Let's practice one pointed stillness for 11 minutes this afternoon wherever we are. Find a quiet spot. Tell those around you that you are doing a meditation or stillness break. Let them join with you if they wish. Being here now is profound. By remaining present as we move through our day, our world becomes more coherent and miraculous. With training and practice, we become progressively more present to daily life. Indeed, life more abundant.