Friday, May 27, 2011

Grace

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Physics has determined that we are all part of the same energy. It is everywhere and encompasses all things. When we shift our attention inwards to become one with this energy, we discover that it has certain characteristics which we are all a part of. It always embodies joy, peace and love. By realizing that we are part of something greater than our physical selves, we experience Divine Grace. The thing that we have been searching for our entire lives is just inside us. All that we have to do is open ourselves up to it. When our lives are in harmony with Grace, we are overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude. We don't have to define it. We don't have to understand it. We cannot comprehend its enormity. We just accept it without explanation, but with humble gratitude. The divine is no different than what we are. When we can look into the eyes of our enemy and see the Divine, we have awakened to the truth. God is what we are and we are what God is.

Surrender

Hakone, Japan

We can find our life's true purpose and be fulfilled by surrendering our ideas, thoughts and beliefs about how things are. Our belief systems were created by the conditioning that we receive from the media and our friends, families and others whom we encounter. Once we realize that we can only truly experience harmony with Universal Energy by seeing ourselves and the world without the filter of our belief systems, our lives harmonize with the Divine Energy which is everywhere and binds us to each other.

Let's surrender to the great mystery.

Acceptance

90 Mile Beach, New Zealand

In order enact real change in our lives, we have to first accept reality just as it is, not as how we wish it were or believe it to be. Once we accept reality as it is, without our judgments, beliefs or ideas about it, we can take steps to change our situation. If we try to change things without accepting things as they are, although our life may superficially change, we will still be repeating the same patterns and confronting the same challenges as we did before.

Let's accept things just as they are, not how we believe them to be.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Now

Cape Reinga, New Zealand

If we are "on the path" to awakening, our awakening will never come. The future does not exist, except as a mental construct. Tomorrow never arrives. Only the present moment is real. If we do not awaken now, we will never awaken. Our lives are a reflection of our present thoughts and beliefs. Believing we are "on the path" reinforces our never arriving. We will always be "on the path."

We can only awaken right now, this very moment. It is not something that we can work towards. It is not something that we can achieve in the future. Practice is not going to help us to awaken. It is now or never. The past is dead. The future is an illusion.

Let's awaken now.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Freedom

Tuis, Waihihi Bay New Zealand

We are unaware that we are living in a prison of our own making. We are imprisoned by our thoughts and beliefs. We have been conditioned since birth to think and believe a certain way. The brainwashing continues every day that we watch television, speak with friends or family or surf the internet.

Even when we realize that freedom is just a moment away, we prefer the safety and comfort that we have when we share the beliefs of our various tribes. We would rather remain in our cell and continue to wallow in our fears and frustrations than live to our full potential without anxiety.

Once we experience freedom, which is our natural state, it is hard to continue believing the lies that we have been taught. Our dissatisfaction will grow until we realize that there is nothing to fear from freedom. When we surrender our thoughts, beliefs and judgments and turn our awareness to the present, we are comforted by Divine energy. Our lives will become harmonious and we will begin to fulfill our true purpose. The things that seemed so important to us no longer concern us. Our obsessions and neuroses fade away. We are energized by our connection with all things. We feel awake and alive. We get more enjoyment from watching an insect or an animal than impressing others with our material possessions.

Let's choose freedom.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Courage

Kamakura, Japan

It takes courage to live mindfully for two reasons.

First, we have to be willing to give up the social, religious, and political structures which have comforted us our entire lives. Our entire identities are tied up in the belief systems to which we belong. If we surrender our religious beliefs, we are afraid that we will be punished some time in the future. If we surrender our social beliefs, our friends may not like us any more because the group supports each other with their shared beliefs. Our families may be threatened by the changes that we are undergoing.

Second, when we bring our awareness away from our compulsive thinking about the past and present and bring it to the present moment, painful memories will arise into our consciousness, memories that we have been hiding in our subconscious in order to protect ourselves from pain. We may feel abandoned and alone.

We are not alone. There is great power and wisdom flowing from being connected to All That Is. We will feel alive and energized by living in harmony with the Source. There is nothing to fear. As old relationships fall away, new ones that resonate with our new vibration will appear. We will find new careers and interests. A new world will open to us. One not based on fear, frustration, and anger, but on love, peace and freedom.

The pull of compulsive thinking is strong. The ego is afraid to give up its long held beliefs. The Divine Energy that we yearn for is much stronger. Once we start, we cannot turn back. There is nothing real to turn back to.

Let's embrace the present moment without fear, judgment, or expectation.