Books

28 posts

This is the Books category for www.steveleasock.com. Here you can read about my books, books from other authors and other topics relating to books.

Veil of Fear that Confuses You

It seems forever since I observed a tree leaf sailing so gracefully to a stream below.
The summer had been so warm, the days so long.
How long has it been since that moment in time?
Was it one year, ten years, or was it just yesterday?
The mind casts a veil of fear that is so confusing.
Time can be so misleading, ever so fragile.
Not real, and yet, seems so tangible.
And, yet, life as a boy seemed so simple back then… or was it?

veil

No, not really.
Life truly understood… is neither nor.
Life just is.
However, I sat next to a stream in the forest each day.
Somehow, lost between here and there.
The water flowing just as life flows.
Life and the stream seem everlasting.
And, so I often sat just watching the water flow by.
Life bubbling from the water.
Curiosity occasionally caused me to toss a stone in the water.
The mind always asking why.
But, more often than not I just sat.
I was oblivious as life flowed by. Continue reading →

The Stream of Life and What You Perceive

I remember a flowing stream from long ago. And, this stream played a significant role in my childhood. Furthermore, it is a beneficial focus point that I use during my ongoing conscious awakening. I grew up in a mountainous area. There were ponds, lakes and brooks everywhere. I explored such places and the nearby woodland during my childhood. Have you ever crossed a shallow mountain brook? This is where a person can experience real perception. Your level of awareness is very active during an attempt to cross a brook. Otherwise, a misperception or unaware assumption results in a wet foot or a cold bath in the water.

stream

Therefore, crossing a mountain stream gives us an opportunity to appreciate and practice aware presence. Likewise, this state of presence offers a chance to flow within universal consciousness. Thus, we realize our totality as both object and universal consciousness in such a moment. Continue reading →

A Controversial Look into How You Live

Firstly, I wish to apologize to anyone that has read my second book Simplicity of Life. There is bad editing such as text flow and grammar mistakes within the book. I am perhaps naïve. I realize that it is years since the publication. But, the editor told me that the editing and grammar were fine. I accepted the editor’s assuring statement as correct. But, the bad editing and lack of sentence flow are the result of my oversight and my trusting nature. I only recently took a critical look at the book’s text flow and grammar. Thus, I made many text changes and grammar corrections within the chapters. I feel that the revised text offers you an easier to read inquiry into controversial topics. Therefore, I wish to offer you this revised version of the book, as a free downloadable PDF document.

Controversial

Yes, the reading material is difficult due to the nature of the topics. However, I feel strongly that we all desire harmony and bliss on the path of life. Nevertheless, reading about such controversial topics unleash conditional mind behavior patterns that developed over thousands upon thousands of years. We innately know the truth at the depth of our being. However, all structures of our development have taught us to question, deny and fear something that is actually fundamental. Ultimately, the nature of our beingness has nothing to do with the mind. Equally, the essence of our being (isness) is simplistic when we go beyond mind interference and restrictions. Therefore, the next step on the path of life is hopefully our awakening to a conscious evolution. Continue reading →

Head on Straight and True

My uncle often told me to get my head on straight as a young teenager. Sometimes he said this with a strict voice. And, from time to time he told me this to make me laugh. I have grown with a deep appreciation for the wisdom found within this statement. Likewise, I recall pondering on the depth of this insight during my young adulthood. This idiom suggests for us to calmly observe our behavior in any given situation. Furthermore, live and act from a state of clarity.

head

Nevertheless, people experience much of life in a dysfunctional state of being. This is to say that a person’s head is not on straight (😊). The majority of people still use this moment as nothing more than a means to and end. The mind usually interlaces now with phantom thoughts and emotions of what will come or what has been. This tendency might very well be the major cause of our unconscious, thus abnormal behavior.

Yes, I use abnormal behavior as a synonym for our unaware (unconscious) state of being. Perhaps, the time has come for us to openly and clearly observe our state of affairs. We claim to be logical, intelligent and compassionate. However, our behavior indicates the exact opposite. Conscious presence is a necessity in our evolution. We have spent thousands of years in a type of darkness that continues due to mind obsessions. Continue reading →

A Woman in Springtime

Many areas of the world are experiencing the magnificent blossoming of Spring as Mother Nature blesses the world with a reawakening. Mother Nature is a woman that gives without question. Thus, we should honor the gift she gives. But, too often we forget. I hope that you enjoy my poem as a dedication to nature.

woman

Springtime reveals the beauty of life.
It signifies rebirth, growth, and delight.
Springtime expresses itself with cascades of
energy.
Light, color, and sound vibrate within the
flowing impulses.

Springtime nurtures the mother of life.
Mother Nature is this woman. She is a lady.
She is sometimes filled with mischief…
There will be rain, snow, and storm.
Occasionally she is also the temptress.
Sunshine, blue sky, and a warm breeze…
She does her best to excite you.
She may at times appear to hurt you, but she
loves you.
Continue reading →

Please Tell Me Why

Please Tell Me Why

Where do I belong? What is happening to me?
Why don’t I understand the world, or it me?
Please tell me why.
I do my best, really, I do.
I look out into the world each day.

please

Over and over I say…
Here I am, world; don’t you see?
I listen for an answer but often, quite often, there
is nothing.
There is only silence, precious silence to be
perceived.
Please tell me why.

Habitually, I feel very confused.
I feel shattered, twirling in a storm.
There I twist and I turn, tumbling about.
Still, I don’t know why.
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 →

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 →

Do You Ride Shotgun on the Path of Life?

The mind is often a vicious driver. Equally, the mind occupies itself with getting from point A to point B. And, the mind doesn’t smell the flowers along the way. Everyone enjoys a good old-fashion western movie. So, you have probably heard and use the term ride shotgun. This expression offers us a useful analogy, beneficial in the process of conscious awakening. A thinking mind is a necessary tool for survival. Yes, this is an accurate statement. But, the mind is most efficient when you consciously observe its behavior and interaction accordingly with life and living. Let’s recap the role of a person riding shotgun and how this parallels conscious living.

ride

Contrary to our behavior, riding in the front passenger seat is a responsibility and not a privilege. Still, you see modern movies that depict people wanting the front seat. They call out shotgun indicating their wish to ride next to the driver during a road trip. Commonly, this behavior results from our want and need to feel important or special. But, riding shotgun has nothing to do with either. Let’s illustrate this role as depicted in western stories/movies. The responsibility of this person was to watch over the driver and passengers from any interference, both internally or externally. This suggest having a keen eye and always observing everything in a state of active awareness. Continue reading →