Balance

Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

The opposite of love is not hate. We hate because we care so deeply.

The opposite of love is indifference.

During a golf outing a few years ago, the players in front of us were mocking some Chinese golfers ahead of them, making fun of the way they spoke. I was angry at their apparent racism and judged them to be rednecks. I later realized that I was being the same as they were. I judged them without knowing the circumstances. They may have been racists or they may have only been joking amongst themselves. I was the bigot.

How do we stop being angry and judgmental? We observe our emotions and thoughts without judgment until the anger subsides. Perceiving a situation without judgment or anger does not mean that we do not take action when action is appropriate. However, action taken out of anger will usually be met with anger and the situation will not be improved. It likely will be much worse. Action taken from a place of peace and love will be far more effective in transforming the situation to the benefit of everyone concerned.

Let's be.

Love

Qamea, Fiji

Regret, envy, desire, frustration, anger. We live with these emotions because we are lost in compulsive thinking. We try to fill the hole that we feel by buying things, taking drugs or alcohol, through sex or by achieving money or power. None of these things can give us lasting satisfaction.

Only love can fill the emptiness inside us. If we transmute the criticisms of ourselves and others into love, our entire lives will change. We will receive what we give to others.

Let's be love.

Start Now

Big Bear Lake, California

If we believe that we have to learn something, achieve something, or acquire something in order to awaken, it will never happen. The only way that we can awaken is now, in this moment. We cannot put it off. No matter how many painful memories we have, or whatever we regret from the past, every new moment is a new opportunity to awaken.

We do not have to meditate. We do not have to acquire wisdom. We do not have to read anything. We do not have to learn anything. We do not have to follow anybody. There is no process to go through.

Is it worth it? It is, if we want to give up our neuroses, our anger, our depression, and frustration. What will we gain? Infinite joy, wisdom and peace.

All we have to do is become present. Now.

Let's start now.

Judgment

Bee Boxes, Te Kouma, Coromandel, New Zealand

When we see a television drug advertisement, do we wonder if we have the symptoms too? When we see an advertisement for a car, do we believe that if we owned it that our lives would be enhanced?

When we receive a compliment, do we feel better? When we receive criticism, do we feel angry or sad?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, we are being unconsciously programmed by the media and those around us. We can break the programming cycle by being impervious to praise or criticism. We can do this by bringing our attention, without judgment of any kind, to our feelings. By merely being aware of how we react to the stimulus, our reactions will lessen.

The light of awareness is the key to breaking the societal conditioning that has been programming our minds during our entire lives.

Let's be impervious to criticism or praise. Let's be aware.

Presence

Queenstown, New Zealand

The more we practice presence, the more we will be present. However, the pull of our belief systems is very strong. It takes courage to leave behind the person who we think we are.

We are completely brainwashed. We have been programmed from birth. The programming continues every moment of every day. We have been programmed to believe that we are what we believe we are. It is easy to figure out what we have been programmed to become. If we examine our beliefs, without judgment, we will discover what we have been programmed to believe.

Bringing the light of our attention to our beliefs without judgment of any kind, will cause the programming to begin to dissolve. We will awaken as if from a dream.

All that we have to do is leave our beliefs and judgments behind and be present. Fortunately, when we take the leap into the chasm of the Unknown, there will be something there to catch us.

Can we feel our breath going in and out? Can we hear the sounds all around us? Can we hear the internal buzzing in our ears. Can we feel the blood coursing through our bodies. Can we feel the cool breeze against our skin?

Now is the time for us to embrace Presence.

Labels

Waiheke Island, New Zealand

Labels define who we think we are.

Let's say we are a 30 year old, middle class, Democratic, Catholic woman living in Los Angeles. Each of those adjectives reflects its own belief system. These belief systems can cause stress in at least two ways.

First, the belief systems may conflict with each other. For example, a woman from Los Angeles may believe that birth control and premarital sex are fine, while the rules of being Catholic forbid it.

Second, the belief systems conflict with who we really are without the labels.

The more dogmatic and firmly held our beliefs are, the more stress is created. Because the conflict is so great, this can cause perverted behavior and extreme unhappiness. That is why fundamentalist religious believers, such as Larry Craig, often are discovered to be leading secret lives so divergent from what they believe.

It takes courage to surrender the beliefs of the tribes to which we belong. However, when we do so, we align ourselves with the wisdom, peace, harmony and love of Universal Spirit. Our anger, frustration, and illusions dissipate. It is as if we have awakened from a dream.

Let's surrender to what is without the labels and beliefs.

Peace

Kereta, Coromandel, New Zealand

Can we find peace amid all of the political turmoil and personal drama in our lives? Can we find peace despite the noise and pollution of living in a big city?

Peace has nothing to do with exterior circumstances. It is always with us. All we have to do is put our attention on it.

It is a matter of choice. Some people never find peace in the most beautiful and quiet places in the world. Some find peace in the middle of the noisiest city.

When we walk by a jackhammer at a construction site, we can become irritated at how loud the city is. Or we can cover our ears and walk by without judgment. If a car cuts us off in traffic, we can become angry and curse at it. Or we can choose not to react, apply our brakes, and continue driving, without judgment.

We can choose how we react to events. If someone yells at us, we can respond angrily and indignantly. Or we can choose to be indifferent. Our ego does not have to be at stake in every encounter. We can choose to release our judgments about what is peaceul and what is not, and what we react to and what we do not react to.

Let's embody peace.