Monthly Archives: February 2022

8 posts

Are You the Ball or Shell in the game of Life?

The mind and consciousness are similar to a shell game. A recent inspiration prompted me to compare the shell game to living life. Are we the shell or the hidden ball? Ultimately, we are both and neither. So, let’s use this game as a reference as we consider living from a state of conscious awareness. Because, the mind plays a deception game with us each day.

ball

Conscious awareness, and equally a lack of it, influences each and every experience. I can share countless personal examples of how energy from the inner universe manifests into the outer universe. Let’s save that conversation for an upcoming article. So, the mind constantly overshadows object consciousness in unaware individuals. This is comparable to the hidden ball in the shell game. Thus, you are always conscious. But, the mind conceals the potential for active awareness. Yes, the ball freely rolls under the shell. Hence, there is conscious energy. Nevertheless, the shell limits the space within this state of consciousness. So, the shell (mind) literally engulfs consciousness within a barrier of darkness. Continue reading →

Allow Life to Flow and Just Let Go

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Count the number of situations for one day that you don’t like. The total number might surprise you. Your boss gives you a task that you do not like. There is a traffic jam on the highway that angers you. You must wait in a line to pay for your groceries. It seems impossible to simply allow and accept. So, the list of things you don’t like goes on and on. Still, from time to time, there is a moment when everything is just right. Then, at least for this brief interval, you are happy. Or, at least this is what the mind tells you.

But, true happiness and satisfaction never really come. Thus, dissatisfaction comes again one minute later. Why? Mainly because you attach yourself to any, and everything. And, you expect and demand. Instead of accept and appreciate. The majority of people do this daily at some level. On the other hand, how would any experience change when you just allow and receive whatever the situation holds?

allow

Allow and acknowledge the isness of this moment. Trust me when I share with you that this is the simplest act of living life. All discomforts, barriers and suffering fade away. Hence, you discover a calm spaciousness during any thought, feeling or situation. Likewise, spaciousness and stillness are possible in any situation, regardless of the details. This is the feeling of coming home. This dimension is where the true self resides. Let’s reflect on this insight during the remainder of the article. Continue reading →

Do You Live in the Suchness of Now?

Have we forgotten how to live? Sound ridicules? This question is not as crazy as you think. Why do we insist on avoiding the suchness of life? We overlook the simplicity that is at the foundation of life and love. Complexity is the name of the game in our world. So, we make the endeavors associated with interpreting and defining life and love our priorities. But, just living and loving have become secondary in our life experiences. We are usually busy doing something or asking questions about everything. Thus, we see the beauty and true significance of being here and now as trivial. This same pattern of misunderstanding is evident in matters of the heart, such as love. We insist on pursuing our love interpretations and expectations, instead of just pure and simple loving.

suchness

The awakening of self-consciousness was wonderful and equally burdening. Mind development overshadowed this awakening. Thus, conditioned behavior became the foundation of our existence through the intervention of the mind. And, many of these patterns still contaminate a modern existence that is relatively simplistic. Consequently, and ultimately, the suchness of life is undeniable. And yet, we usually want life to be anything other than what it is now. Nevertheless, perhaps a conscious evolution is upon us. More and more people are consciously aware. There is always the suchness (Tathātā, Buddhism) of now. Therefore, living within presence frees us from the concepts of the mind. Not by avoiding the mind. But, rather by accepting thoughts, emotions and situations as temporary. Continue reading →

Lao Tzu Shows Us the Way and So Can You

Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, and other sages were aware of the possibilities within the field of conscious awareness. The key is to recognize universal knowledge as the essence of being. Thus, you spontaneously live life beyond word, labels and mind details. Yet, you accept mind aspects as a part of the isness of living. However, continual tapping into the spaciousness of presence frees you from mind dominance during any situation. Hence, life is an energy field that pulsates with active consciousness. And, this consciousness is universal. This is a space of oneness that we all share. Furthermore, this is a realm of nothingness from which everything manifests.

Lao Tzu

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre expresses our existence through the following insight in his book Being and Nothingness.

“At first man is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be.”
and
“Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.”

Truly living, rather than existing, so to speak, is enough without searching for an ultimate label or reason for being. The past nor the future offer no enlightenment of life and living in this moment. So, this is to say, that life is a mystery best to experience as a mystery. The first chapter of the Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu 604-531 BC) expresses this mystery as the Tao (The Way). Continue reading →

Your Role in the Source Code of Life

Both life and love energy can nurture our true inner nature. This acknowledgement allows an uninhibited conscious awakening, when we are ready. Conscious awakening could signify a turning point in our evolution. The evolution of humankind’s mental and physical development guides us down a path of confusion. And, it first appears as if this is a path of no return. Still, self-consciousness is the gateway to universal consciousness. We are aware of ourselves, life and the universe. Thus, it is possible to find The Way back to the source. The source, which is universal, is the true nature of being. This is the isness of now.

source

However, we create an illusion of separation through assumptions, beliefs and conditioning. This causes a misinterpretation of life and love. Therefore, people base living and loving strictly on conceptual interpretations. Since the dawn of self-consciousness our development consists of every-changing, self-inflected complexity. And, the mind dominates self-consciousness. Hence, we live in a state of unawareness. It is understandable that we have lost our way. And yet, self-consciousness is the key to our conscious awareness evolution at a universal level. Continue reading →

Your Thoughts About Life Mean Nothing

We define life through interpretations of our existence and the details surrounding any situation. So, what does this really mean in the tapestry of life? It means nothing. What does our understanding of life and love really mean? You guessed it. It means nothing. Please don’t misinterpret. Yes, life and love seem to mean something from a relative and practical perspective. Nevertheless, be honest with yourself. Your thoughts and feelings about life and love keep you on a roller coaster. Today you are happy about life. But, tomorrow life sucks. You soar high in love this moment. However, an hour later you claim that love stinks and is only for the lucky people.

nothing

Therefore, our interpretations, assumptions and labels mean nothing. All mind structures change according to the wants and demands of a given person or collective group of people. Thus, subsequently, and quite strangely, we determine life and love according to thoughts, emotions and beliefs. Do you see the irony of this behavior? Let me clarify. What you think about life is not truly living life. Likewise, what you feel about love is not the same as simply loving. We don’t experience life as it is this moment. Instead, we experience it as we think it is, or should be, in any given situation. But, we can’t determine the essence of life or love, generally speaking, through the use of any mind conceptions.

Continue reading →

Is Your Mind Astray?

More awareness to your presence in this moment allows consciousness to thrive. Let’s say it this way. Your awareness of awareness offers spaciousness in any situation. Universal consciousness then manifests through the mind and self-consciousness. Thus, the mind, with all our characteristics, can and will relearn and gradually trust this field of universal energy. Nevertheless, the mind still leads us astray.

astray

Conditioning dominates our behavior. Therefore, the mind, through no fault of its own, continues to manipulate our conscious awareness. The mind overshadows self-consciousness. Yes, our self-consciousness awoke with the potential to unite with the universality of life. But, we quickly fell back into a deep sleep, consciously speaking. Continue reading →

A Peaceful Easy Feeling Is Your Choice

What is at the top of your list of wishes? Not all, but most people will say that they desire peace and blissfulness every day. Nevertheless, these same individuals then say that a peaceful easy feeling is an impossible dream. Really? Why is harmony and balance difficult to experience? You are the only obstacle that prevents happiness and calmness. I realize that it is difficult to take responsibility for your unhappiness and suffering. It is much easier to point the finger at someone or something. Nevertheless, such unconscious behavior is fuel for a conditioned mind. And, your choice during any situation determines how you live life.

peaceful

What daily practice can you use to become the active observer of your life experience? Firstly, accept everything. Sound impossible? Okay, the mind has taught you to deny and question almost everything you experience. But, must you behave in such a manner simply because the mind tells you? No, definitely not. Furthermore, acceptance is the easiest step to reaching a peaceful easy feeling in any situation. Trust me, there was a time when I also could not accept many situations. This contaminated my experience of life. Oh my, yes, it was so easy to avoid the responsibility for my state of presence. Everyone and everything were responsible for my uneasiness and anxiety. It seems very surreal in hindsight. Continue reading →