Saturday, December 26, 2015

Truth

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

We cannot think our way out of our problems.  We can try, but, since our thoughts are the cause of our troubles, thinking about solutions will, at best, give us temporary relief.  Since thinking is the cause of our problems, it cannot provide real answers.

To solve our problems, to live a life of peace, joy, love and freedom, to have our prayers answered, and to be fulfilled, we must transcend thought.  We cannot think our way through our problems because our thoughts are not true. They are created by our belief systems which have been built up over a lifetime of conditioning.  If we examined all of the thoughts that we have in any given day, it would be a mixture or regret about past events, worry about the future, guilt, dread, as well as pure gibberish.

The only way that we can see our situation clearly is by choosing presence rather than thought.  We awaken to a new world of being by realizing that our thoughts are not true and turning our attention to the present moment.

Thinking about the past and the future will never get us anywhere good. When we believe we are who we think we are, we are living a life of illusion.  Thinking about past events with regret or imagining what the future will be is a waste of time.

If we are not who we think we are, who are we?  We are the awareness which is trying to solve our problems by thinking through them.

Instead of finding answers by thinking them through and adding something to our lives, we can find Truth by surrendering all of our thoughts, beliefs, and judgments.  When we surrender all of the ideas of who we think we are, we are left with pure awareness, i.e., that which perceives, without judgment.  When we become one with Awareness, we experience the peace, love and joy that we are seeking.

Let's surrender our thoughts and be present.


Sunday, November 29, 2015

Courage

Te Kouma, Coromandel, New Zealand

It takes courage to awaken.  When we move into presence, all of the thoughts and beliefs that we have pushed down into our unconscious because they were too painful to deal with, begin to surface. Facing thoughts that we have pushed down for so many years (since our childhood traumas) requires courage because we think that our thoughts and beliefs are true.  They are not.

Once we realize that our thoughts are not true, we can have the courage to accept and release them, regardless of how heinous we believe they are. The more we comprehend that our thoughts are not true, the less courage that is required.  When we stop believing our thoughts, They lose their power over us.

When we observe our thoughts, we realize that 99% of them are pure gibberish.  They do not serve us.  They hinder our awakening and interfere with our peace and joy.  When we can watch our thoughts without judgment, we can laugh at their ridiculousness.  No courage required. Hilarity ensues.

Let's have the courage to be present.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Who We Are


The best moment of our lives is the moment when we realize that our thoughts are not true.

Aren't our greatest moments those where our basic assumptions are challenged, such as when someone loves us even though we believe that we are unloveable, or we get a big promotion even though we feel that we are unworthy?  One of my most elated moments was the moment I heard that I was accepted to Stanford Law.  It challenged my basic self-assumption that I was mediocre.

If we are not who we think we are, then who are we?  That is the most significant question we will ever face.  If we are not our thoughts or beliefs, who are we?  We are what remains when we surrender our thoughts.  We are awareness.  We are the being who perceives.  The being who perceives is part of the Infinite Being Who Perceives.

http://www.outerplaces.com/science/item/4518-physicists-claim-that-consciousness-lives-in-quantum-state-after-death

Let's appreciate the moment.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Peace

Venice Beach

Peace is what we all crave, yet we don't know how to find it.  We seek it out through relationships, money, career, etc.  If we only had X, our lives would be at peace.  But even if we achieve X, we do not find peace.

What is peace but the absence of thought?  Isn't it our thoughts which cause us to be agitated?

We cannot find peace.  It is what we are.  How simple is it to know that what we crave is what we are.

We just need to choose it in any given moment.  What about this moment?  We will never find it in the future.  The future does not exist.  We can only choose peace in this present moment.

By moving away from thought and bringing our attention to the present moment, we are one with our peaceful eternal selves.

Let's choose peace.  Right now and forever.


Sunday, October 18, 2015

Loneliness

Paris

Sometimes it seems like we are utterly alone, even when we are surrounded by friends and family members who love us.  We are not alone.  We are a divine portion of Universal Intelligence.

How do we become connected when we do not feel that way?

We connect with the Divine Energy by surrendering our will to Universal Intelligence.  We do not have to do this alone.  When we towards towards the Divine, It turns towards us.  God will never insist, but only suggest.

It is identification with thought which makes us feel lonely.  When we are connected to All That Is, we can never feel alone.  In fact, we embrace our solitude because it assists with our connection to Universal Energy.

Let's surrender our thoughts and choose Presence.




Sunday, September 27, 2015

Reality

Blue Thunder

We do not see reality for what it is because we see it through the filter of our conditioned beliefs.

When we look at someone or something, we see it through the prism of our gender identity, our social status, our ethnicity, our political leaning, our educational background and so on and so on. We see a stranger and we think about their color, age, looks, clothes.  We instantaneously make many judgments about each person we encounter.  We put them in a box, which is generally far from what is true.

We can never have true understanding when we don't see things as they are.  We can never experience the peace, love, joy and freedom that comes when we are in harmony with All That Is.

How do we remove the filter and see things as they are?  By seeing without judgment or belief.  By looking without labelling what we see.  By seeing without thought.  

When we look at the world without thought (i.e., through presence), we see things as they really are.  All the barriers that divide us from others fall away.  When we look at the world without judgment, we also see ourselves clearly for the first time.

We experience the peace, love and joy which is our natural state.  We realize that all of the labels and judgments we have been believing are not true.  They are merely reflections of society's conditioning. We stop behaving like programmed robots.  Our lives unfold with passion and excitement.

Everything is new.  Old habits fall away and new patterns emerge.  We vibrate at a higher level and attract people who have similar energy.  We are awake.

Let's see reality just as it is.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Self love

Venice Beach

It is a constant refrain that "we don't love ourselves." We have all heard that we can't love another until we learn to love ourselves.  But I could never figure out how to do this.  It made sense to me, but I didn't have the slightest idea how to go about it.  You can't just do it, if you don't feel it.

I now realize that self love is not something we can find, do, or achieve.  We do not need to figure out how to love ourselves.

We are already loved in a much larger way than we can ever imagine.  Love is what we are.  We just need to surrender to it.  When we turn our attention away from judgement, thought, and beliefs and towards the present moment, we are aligning ourselves with the Infinite Energy Source.  The Source is pure non-judgmental love.  When we surrender to it, we experience waves of Infinite Love.

We don't need to worry about self love and how we find it.  That just causes more stress and more self loathing when we are unsuccessful.  We need to peel away the layers of conditioned beliefs and judgements and experience our natural Selves.  Whenever we are in presence, we are bathed in Love. We feel it.  Others see it in us.  Our neuroses and anger fall away.

How do we stay in presence?  A daily practice of meditation is the best tool for breaking our addiction to compulsive thinking.

Let's surrender to Love.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Decisions


Notre Dame

Wouldn't it be incredibly relaxing if we never had to make another decision for the rest of our lives? Wouldn't it be terriic if we could sit in the back of the limo and be driven safely and comfortably to our destination?

When we have an important decision to make, we can weigh the pros and cons of each alternative. We can write the positives and negatives on a piece of paper and add them up and choose the one with the most positives and least negatives.  We can ponder the decision endlessly, stressing over whether we are indeed making the right decision with the information we have.

There is a better way to make decisions than through thought.

We do not have enough information to determine which decision is the best for us.  The road which seems the best may be the road where we are run over by an out of control car.  Since we have no idea what will happen to us tomorrow or even in the next moment, how can we make a rational decision?

We can make the best decisions by surrendering our decision making to Universal Intelligence. How do we do this?  By allowing decisions to be made by our intuition, our knowingness. Instead of weighing the pros and cons, we choose the alternative which makes us feel peaceful.  It can be difficult to differentiate between intuition and impulse.  An addict will always be compelled to choose the substance that he is addicted to.

Intuition is a tiny voice which requires stillness to be heard. If we are lost in compulsive thought, we will never hear that voice.  We can slow down our thoughts so that we can hear and feel the messages.  We can become still through meditation.

Lets stop making decisions and instead allow decisions to be made.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Stillness


For the first time in history, all of the information and knowledge on the planet is available to most of the people on Earth.  This power makes us God-like.  However, we do not have the emotional maturity to handle this much power.

Forty years ago, we had seven television channels.  Motion pictures, print, television and radio were the only media available.  The messages were very controlled and the rules for living were well defined and easy to follow.

Now, with infinite access to different cultures, lifestyles and ways of being, we do not know what to think or believe, or how to act.

It used to be that finding a Playboy Magazine was a titillating secret. Now any child has easy access  to every type of pornography.  The access to information is overwhelming.  Isis is very effectively using social media to recruit and train.  The rest of society does not know how to respond to this new and unique threat.

Facebook and other social media has connected us with our friends and other groups in powerful ways which would have seemed inconceivable just a few years ago.  Yet at the same time we feel disconnected, disaffected and isolated.

There is only one solution to this crisis.  Spiritual awakening.

There is too much information to process and too many variables and possibilities to handle.  We cannot figure out the way to live by thinking our way through it.

The only way to handle the ocean of information without becoming neurotic or psychotic is by choosing to turn our attention away from thought and towards presence.

Technology is changing so fast that there is no way to keep up with it.  However we can handle all of these changes by adopting stillness.  When we live in presence, we are in harmony with Universal Intelligence.  Life unfolds exactly as it is supposed to for the highest good of all concerned.  We are able to fulfill our life's purpose.  We experience peace, love, joy and freedom.

Let's be still.


Sunday, April 26, 2015

Peace

Asakusa Festival, Japan

With all the turmoil, war, terrorism, ignorance, cruelty, degradation of the planet, chaos, etc, how is it possible to find peace?  


We find peace by turning away from compulsive thinking and towards presence (turning off the news once in awhile doesn't hurt either!).  The more we turn our attention towards being present, the more peaceful we will become.

We choose to bring our awareness (i.e., our attention without judgment) away from frustration, anger and fear towards love, joy, freedom and peace.

How do we become peaceful?  By reacting differently to whatever occurs.  We choose peace.  How can we choose peace?  We choose peace by slowing down our thoughts in order to realize that we have a choice.  We slow down our thoughts by having a daily meditation practice.  It's as simple as that.

Let's choose freedom.  Let's choose love.  Let's choose joy.  Let's choose peace.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Awakening

Zombies at the Pier

Thoughts about awakening are not awakening.  Awakening is simply the shifting of our attention away from thought and towards Present Awareness.

We acknowledge and surrender our thoughts.  We continue to surrender our thoughts that come from the deepest part of our subconscious.  Painful thoughts, happy thoughts, frightening thoughts.  Like peeling an onion, we surrender layer upon layer of thought and beliefs.

We even surrender thoughts of spirituality, thoughts of God and thoughts of awakening.

We surrender our thoughts to the fire of the light of Awareness.

Let's surrender our thoughts and awaken to Presence.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Surrender


We do not have enough information to know what is good news or bad news.  We may be excited about a new job or a promotion, but it does not do us much good if we are hit by a bus the next day.  If we get divorced or get fired, how times have we heard people say a year later that getting divorced or fired was "the best thing that ever happened to me."

Similarly with death, we have no way of knowing whether our consciousness continues to have wonderful experiences or whether our awareness is extinguished.  Why would we assume the worst?

Since we have no way of knowing how life will unfold, what is the best way to live our lives?  When we surrender our desires and expectations, and surrender our will to the Infinite Energy Source, we are in harmony with Universal Intelligence.  When we align ourselves with Source, we will always receive the best outcome for all concerned in every situation.  We see the beauty in life.  We understand our life's purpose.  Unexpected, Divine, positive occurrences  (i.e., Miracles) happen at an increasing rate the more we surrender to Divine Intelligence.  We embody peace, love, joy and freedom.

All we have to do is try it to experience the truth.

Let's surrender to the Infinite Void.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Meditation

Venus in Venice

The more we slow down our thoughts, the better able we are to make the choice between love and fear.  In every given moment we have that choice, whether we realize it or not.  We can choose fear, which makes us stressed, damages our health and causes us to be frustrated and angry.  Or we can choose love, which brings the highest outcome for all concerned, including ourselves.

We do not make a choice, because we do not know we have a choice.  If we did know that we have a choice, why would we ever choose fear and misery over love and joy?

In order to realize that we have a choice, we have to slow our thoughts down so that we have awareness of them.  Only in that awareness, choices can be made.

The best way to slow down our thoughts and realize that we have choices is through meditation.

If we meditate first thing in the morning, the whole day will go differently.  We will make different choices.  When we choose presence or love in the face of "stressful" circumstances, we will experience different outcomes.  By reacting differently to things that occur, not only will we be better able to handle the situation, reality will change.  Things will go our way.  We will manifest more positive and more fulfilling events.

Do we really not have time to spare 20 minutes a day in order for our entire day, and actually our entire lives, to dramatically improve?

Let's meditate daily.  

http://www.feelguide.com/2014/11/19/harvard-unveils-mri-study-proving-meditation-literally-rebuilds-the-brains-gray-matter-in-8-weeks/  



Sunday, March 15, 2015

Simplicity

Central Park

It is very simple.

We can live a life of peace, love, joy, freedom and fulfillment, or we can lead a life of frustration, anger, fear and self-loathing.  The choice is that stark.  We can either live a life of compulsive thinking, where our every action and thought is programmed through our lifelong conditioning, or we can live in presence, where every day is fresh and a new opportunity to be fulfilled.

Freedom from compulsive thinking is possible.  It seems too difficult, but it is only as hard as we make it.  It requires a strong intention, discipline and courage,

Thoughts about awakening are not awakening.  Awakening is the transcending of thought through presence.

We need a strong intention, because, while simple, awakening is not easy.  The pull of compulsive thinking is very strong.  We need discipline to consistently apply the tools which we have at our disposal.  Meditating daily is certainly one of our best tools.  And we need courage to face our unconscious thoughts which come to the surface.  We acknowledge them without judgment and surrender them to the Void.  Acknowledge and surrender.

Let's choose presence.


Sunday, March 8, 2015

Energy

Red Rock, Topanga

We are like an appliance plugged into an electrical outlet.  When we are stressed or resistant, we are blocking the flow of energy.  We become listless, depressed and frustrated.  Our health declines.

When we turn our attention towards presence, we are plugged into the Infinite Energy Source.  We are Energized!  Supercharged!  Revitalized!

This may sound like nonsense, but all we have to do is try it to see that it is true.

Living in presence allows us to live with passion and find our true purpose.  We choose to bring our attention away from compulsive thinking and towards being, fully inhabiting our senses.

Let's be present.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Choices

Natadola, Fiji

Every moment is a new opportunity to make a different choice.

When we are lost in unconscious thought or gripped by emotion, we do not realize that we have a choice.  When we are faced with a "difficult" situation, fear often overcomes us.

Fear, stress and resistance have never brought any benefits to a difficult situation.  They are only destructive.  When we are relaxed and open, we can deal with any situation, no matter how difficult, with clarity and effectiveness.

Since we have a choice and we know that fear and resistance do not help us in any situation, why not make a different choice?

How do we make a different choice?  It seems difficult because we are unconscious.  We can make a different choice by bringing the light of awareness to our thoughts.  We can make a different choice when we know that we can make a different choice.  We can make a different choice when we remember we have a choice.

When faced with a difficult circumstance, challenging crisis, or an irrational person, let's bring as much love as possible into the situation.  Let's bring as much openness as possible into the situation.  Let's bring as much presence as possible into the situation.

Let's choose love.


Sunday, February 22, 2015

Attachment


Venice

There is nothing wrong with having nice things.  It's when we believe that these things will make us whole that we get into trouble.

The key to peace, love, joy and freedom in our lives is not about acquiring anything, it is about surrendering beliefs.  The more beliefs we shed, the more joyful our lives become.

We may believe that having a romantic partner, landing a new job, or having financial security is what we need for our happiness and well being.  Once we acquire those things, we may be happy or feel secure for awhile, but soon discomfort and unease return.  Then we move on to the next thing that will bring us peace, and so on.  It is a never ending cycle of desire and frustration.

We can enjoy things without being attached to them.  As long as we do not believe that any material object or person can bring us true satisfaction, we can take pleasure in all that this world has to offer.
Also, we do not have enough information to determine what is good for us or what is not.  We may think that having an expensive sports car will make us feel whole, but if we have a bad accident and end up paralyzed, perhaps not so much.  Miracles occur when we surrender our desires to the Infinite Energy Source.

The key to satisfaction is gratitude.  When we are grateful, we are satisfied with the things that we have.  As a bonus, gratitude triggers the Universe to give us more abundance.  Non-attachment and gratitude are the keys to happiness.

Let's be non-attached to all things and grateful for the things we have.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Transparency

Office Meeting in Venice Beach

It is stressful and takes so much energy to play various roles in front of different groups of people. We wear different masks in different situations.  We wear one mask for our parents, another mask for our children, another mask for our lover, another mask for our bosses, and so on.  We try to put forward the image that the person we are interacting with expects to see.  We are putting on a show instead of living an authentic life.  It is exhausting to put on these different personas

Intimacy is when we show who we are, regardless of whether we look silly or scared. Intimacy requires transparency.  When we live transparently, we flow with the rhythm of Life.

Being authentic is relaxing because we do not have to remember what story we told what person.  We relax into our Being.  We never have to think about or remember how we are supposed to act.  We are who we are and we do not care about the consequences.  We never alter who we are because we are worried about how the other person will react.  Their reaction is immaterial. Who we are is of prime importance.  We act authentically and let the chips fall as they may.

Let's be authentic and transparent.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Awareness


Venice Beach

Anxiety is caused by thought.  Our thoughts consist of frightening images which arise from our belief structure, which has been built through conditioning since birth.  We believe our thoughts because they represent the only reality that we know.

For example, the following thoughts may cause anxiety:

I am not good enough.
Nobody loves me.
I am alone.
I am afraid of cancer.
I am unattractive.
I do not fit in.
Everybody is looking at me.
Bad things always happen to me.
And so on.

Our conditioned belief system generates a negative thought.  That thought causes an emotional response, our body tightens up, we may start to sweat, our hearts beat faster.  We become scared and may become angry.  The negative thought attracts other thoughts, perhaps memories of similar experiences where we were not good enough.  The thoughts take on a life of their own.  Thought breeds emotion, which breeds more thought and so on in a never ending cycle.

We can ease our anxiety by stopping believing that our thoughts are true or valuable.

How do we move from a life based on thought to one based on presence, which puts us in harmony with the Infinite Energy Source?

We start by bringing our awareness to our thoughts.  Awareness is simply attention without judgment.  We bring our attention to our thoughts (i.e., watch them), without judgment of any kind.  We don't judge them as good or bad, helpful or destructive.  We merely observe them.  We observe without judgment every thought that we have.  The mere act of observance causes our thoughts to dissipate and moves us into presence.  In presence we experience the peace, love and joy which is our very essence.

Let's bring our attention to presence.










Saturday, January 24, 2015

Miracles

Venice Beach, California

There are many approaches to life.  For example, we can look back and try to figure out how we ended up where we are.  Or, we can imagine the future and have hopes and dreams that things will turn out beautifully for us.  And so on.

What is the best approach to life?  What approach will enhance our lives, make us happy and fulfilled and bring us peace?  Of course, we have to decide that for ourselves.  But let's examine a possible approach.

We are right now exactly where we are.  For the moment, let's forget about where we have been and what got us to where we are right now.  We are here, reading this post.  What should we do right this moment?  The future stretches before us with infinite possibilities.  We do not have any idea what is going to happen to us in the future (including the very next moment).  Are we going to receive a phone call or a visitor?  Are we going to read an email with sensational news or tragic news?  Are we going to be bored, elated, loving, connected, depressed, hopeful, angry, afraid or ecstatic?

So from where we are this moment, what is the best approach for the next moment?  Through trial and error, the best approach that I have found for the next moment is to be completely open and present to what the Infinite Life Energy has in store for me.  It is best for me not to plan, hope, desire, remember or figure things out.

When I am open to the "next" moment, I receive exactly what I need to receive to enhance my awakening.  It always exceeds anything I could have planned or hoped for myself.

The more open I am to what is, the more miracles I receive, and the more I experience peace, love and joy.  There is no plan that we could devise which would be better than the plan that our Greater Self has for us.  We only know a fraction of the information that is available.  Why would we act or react on such limited information?  By having faith that God knows vastly more than we do, We are led to our highest fulfillment.

Let's surrender to the Infinite.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Death


Whangamumu Beach, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

The fear of death is perhaps our greatest fear.  It affects everything we do and say.  It follows us like a shadow.

We may die in the next five minutes or sixty years from now.  We have no idea when our death will occur.

How can we overcome the fear of death?

If we focus intensely on the idea that we could die in this very moment and keep our attention on that idea without judging it, it will lose its power.  We do not judge whether dying is good or bad, or what happens to us when we die.  We allow the "isness" of it. and surrender to it.

Let's say, for example, that we do not have food and are starving to death.  Will the fear and anxiety we experience help us find something to eat?  If we have terminal cancer, will our anxiety and terror about dying help us find a cure?

Since we have a choice, isn't it better to die with equanimity?

None of us know what happens to us when we die.  However, it is certain that we will find peace.  Let's look death squarely in the face and find the peace that we know will be there when we pass over.

Let's become comfortable with death.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Safety



Coromandel, New Zealand

A Course in Miracles says "In my defenselessness, my safety lies."  This means that our safety and security lie not in defending ourselves by arguing or attacking the other person, but by being defenseless.  This seems counter-intuitive.  I am speaking about verbal attacks, although I am certain that the Course is referring to physical attacks as well.

When we are being attacked by someone and we become angry and defend ourselves or attack the other person, we are confirming that what they are saying is true.  We are giving energy to the attack. When we feel that there is no need to defend ourselves, we are confirming that there is no merit to the attack.  The energy of the attack dissipates because we give it no credence.

When we do not defend ourselves, we are confirming to ourselves and the Universe that there is nothing to defend.  Why would we be angry at someone who criticizes us if on some level we did not believe there was some truth to it?  Our ego pushes us to react.  It is almost as if our lives depended on it.  This is because we believe we are who we think we are.

Of course, we are really far, far greater than we think we are.  We are infinite beings with unlimited power.  Once we recognize that, why would we ever have to defend ourselves?

Let's be defenseless.