Moment by Moment

Recording 2018: 

True Wealth

True wealth is more than money. It is being fully alive here and now. To become more present is key. Money by itself is a form of death. It's abundant life that is true wealth. Make no mistake. Our society forgets this and encourages money making at the expense of Life. A case of mistaken identity.  

Power

It's not real

Your feelings are not real. Your feelings matter and they are certainly meaningful! They contribute insight into our interactions with others and our act of presencing, our experiences in the moment. Yet they ebb and flow. Like the tides, ever-changing, always moving, similar, never quite the same. You may sink into that horrible feeling because it is what you know, not because it is 'good' or helpful to you. Is the burning barn good? The horse's home is on fire, yet the horse runs home... the barn is the comfort it knows. Your feelings may be true, but they aren't the only truth. 

Greetings, I am so proud of you.

I am the Frederika of which Americ speaks. Yes, not spoke, speaks - due to his method of philosophy he lives on presently in sound. I go by Freda now (Frederika means peaceful ruler; Freda simply means peace.) 

I make up words all the time for fun. One day I was emailing Americ, he asked me how I was - I responded that I was doing fine... moving along... presencing more and more. We bonded over our study of philosophy, we knew how rare it was to find a true living philosopher. Now I see this word used by his students and it makes me happy.

We write on this blog in his honor. We sit in his honor. We are not lost in grief, for we know he is near. You can never lose yourself. We wash our dishes and we think of him, we remember. The veil feels thin! All I can do is grow and keep presencing more and more...  

remember who you are

take the form of the boddhisattva of compassion and help find shelter for the homeless.

you’ll make it

when I lived through the darkest night of the soul

I sought truth

now I only value what is sacred

☽

Life Well Lived - Virtue

What's a life well lived? There's the ancient Greek ideal of virtue -- an ethical standard derived as a ratio between aspects of life. We have life and we have the "goods" of life. How we use those goods determines our virtue.

Looking For Moment Of Stillness

Untitled Release 5/5/14 - Frederica’s Poem

I just want to hear you say
that you love me
I just want to hear the things
that I have told you
like 'thank you for you'
I want to hear them, Now.

and I know there is a reason I am
not hearing it
I entrap myself
think to myself 'I am not deserving'

Is the love that I put out
in the Universe
genuine
if I do not love
that which it came from?

If I do not love the self,
the vehicle body
my space for love
What can I project?

No wonder, I do not hear
No wonder, I cannot see
Perhaps these words have been spoken before
'You are beautiful'
But I could not hear them...

There is no one to judge.
There is no one there.
Just one, the Everything
little sparks of the big spark

Like how light travels
the argument between particles and waves
a particle-wave
they are the same

a spark of the main star
we explode again and again
until we die, only to birth more stars....

To Professor Azevedo

 You’d be incredibly happy today, my friend. I can see your smile now. Today, of all days, I would have loved to talk with you. 

Congratulations Joe Biden.

In God We Trust

While the drive to obtain money increases production, it also robs the motto etched in every dollar and every cent, "In God We Trust." Do you remember that phrase or was it lost with the portraits of our presidents long ago? Think about a dollar bill. Don't look at one, close your eyes and try to see everything on it. Do you see where this motto is along with George Washington's face? Many can't. It seems that the value of our currency has nothing to do with where we place our trust. Maybe, it was supposed to be a play on words and its in money we trust. If thats the case then money is simply replacing the word God. Is a destitute family less trustworthy because they don't have as much 'God' in their house? Sadly, this seems the be the case in many individuals eyes'. Money has become our God and the vaults buried deep beneath our banks is where we now place our trust. Trust yourself. Follow your God. Only then will you see that the trust is in you.

Waking Vision

I had a waking vision many years ago. I was sitting in my rocking chair. Closed my eyes. Had a conversation with a force, a power greater than myself. I was standing on the edge of a cliff. A voice spoke, “Jump off. Trust me. You’ll be okay.” So I did. Suddenly I was floating in space, as if swimming in an atmosphere with a lovely warm pink quality to it. Perhaps like living in my mother’s womb.

Word of God

Many of us can’t believe in God. 

The word of God is not 

what we “think” it is. 

God’s “words” are felt directly. 

If we use human words, 

the meaning is lost

 in human thoughts. 

In truth there are no words,

only a feeling of presence.

Be silent and know.

3 x 3 Meditation Practice

3 x 3 Meditation Practice

It's not in the books. It's in our hearts.

Spend 3 minutes, 3 times a day, in stillness. 

A total of nine minutes.

Doing this practice connects you back to 

being more-here-now as you live your whole life.

Pay attention to the "in and out breaths".

Watch the mind for three minutes without judgement.

Morning, early afternoon, and early evening;

or, just whenever. There are no fixed rules here.

Do this practice without judging how well you did;

a subtle and beautiful transformation will dawn.

Water's Way

As a child, I watched water slowly dripping from a leaky faucet. Waiting between drops, wondering how much a single drop would swell before falling into the white porcelain abyss, crashing onto the brown rust stain formed by countless past drops, finally followed by a hollow drip sound within the sink pipe's chambers. Water became a life metaphor during my senior year high school "Great Books" course which included Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching; on a hot lazy Spring afternoon I read these words from chapter 8:

That which is best is similar to water. Water profits ten thousand things and does not oppose them. It is always at rest in humble places that people dislike. Thus, it is close to Tao [the Way].

One day, I wanted to feel really rich. I decided on taking a hot bath; to soak my body and slow down the mind, finally feeling limp and relaxed all over. The water washed away my drive, my concerns, my worry, my thoughts. A gentle joyful bliss filled with simple appreciation overwhelmed me. An ocean in a bath tub. Water is so passive, so soft; it passes through the fingers. Yet, it can destroy mountains and cities. It's power is in its softness. Every dew drop mirrors the garden around it. We are like water, too; reflecting everything that is.

Feeling God's Presence

Feeling God is easy, once we recognize what it is; it's everything and nothing. God is simply all-in-all as-it-is. God is so obvious that we mostly don't notice God's presence; like the air all around and within our lunges. You don't notice air until you feel the absence of air; you don't notice God until you feel absence and separation from God. Sometimes if feels like God talks to us - be sure that its a divine message beyond you - and not the voice of your ego. The best part of learning to feel God's presence is that it provides good company. 

Root of the Golden Rule

"The world's religions are rooted in experiences of cosmic consciousness. Often these experiences came after long periods of isolation and fasting. By looking at this common root, we can come to greater understanding of the unity within the diversity of religions."
Americ Azevedo - Voice & Thoughts 
Josh Williams  - drum programming, sounds, electric guitars, synths

Greatest Illusion

The greatest illusion
is that this moment
is static -
even the deepest
silence is pregnant
with dynamic power.

So our given
situation is transforming
even as we feel
totally frozen and
trapped.

What Do I Know?

One of those moments when reality humbles. 

Recorded while walking around in the early morning.