Wellness

81 posts

This is the Wellness category for www.steveleasock.com that considers topics about body, mind and spirit.

The Grey Zone We Call Life

Active awareness is available to us. However, let’s be honest with ourselves. We basically live neither here nor there. The following article illustrates our tendency to stay within a grey zone. So, please sit in silence. Become aware of the background clutter within this moment. But, don’t attach yourself to these distractions. It seems difficult. Nevertheless, try. Surprisingly, you might discover that insignificant details congest 99 percent of your now experience. What does this mean? This suggests that what the mind deems as real is only conceptional and unrelated to the essence of this moment.

grey

A state of conscious being has nothing to do with the content of this moment. This may sound confusing. Nevertheless, confusion and fear arise easily in this grey zone. It is a place that seldom offers long-term satisfaction and fulfillment. And, it often holds us captive in a limbo state of existence. What does this featureless area mean in relation to consciousness?

Firstly, a conditioned mind causes a lack of conscious awareness to the mind’s activities. You might insist that you are very aware of the mind activities. But, actually, thoughts and emotions congest awareness. Thus, it might appear that you are aware. But, you are only aware of the manipulative details of a given moment. Awareness to the moment itself, is different than the distractions that come and go. The grey zone is an existential structure resulting from a lack of depth and focus in our conscious awareness. Furthermore, this pattern of living has become the standard in our daily experiences. So, do you wish to change how you live life? Then, ask yourself the following question. Continue reading →

Touch Yourself and Feel the Miracle

Firstly, this article is not about sex. 😊 The following shared insight is also not actually about miracles. So then, what do I wish to share with you? Do you realize the significance of being you? Please do not allow the mind to convince you this question is about temporary details of your existence. You are not special because you have a specific career, an expensive house, or an enormous ego. And, you are no less a person because you don’t have these things. Instead, your profound greatness is the simple experience of being you. Accordingly, I ask you to touch yourself on the cheek or arm. Acknowledge the true essence of this experience. You are. The realization of yourself is the gateway to the totality of being. Thus, touching your hand to cheek is not merely a physical phenomenon. You are, straightforwardly, aligning yourself with the universe.

touch

The act of conscious awareness is the doorway to a self-realization that is beyond all details of this existence. Here also, I wish to assure you that this is not nonsense/ philosophical gibberish that I share. But, we often become confused about our true nature. The mind induces this misinterpretation. Nevertheless, you are not your mind. Rather, it is you. And, now is the time to remind the mind who’s boss. So, again, please consciously touch your hand to cheek. Awaken to the sensation of absolute beingness. Consider this awareness to be a state of being alive, if the last sentence is too philosophical for you. Continue reading →

Caring Is a Double-edged Sword

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The message that I would like to share is about human beings and our knack for caring. The fact is that so often we do care even when we think or say I don’t care. Unfortunately, we submit to a strange behavioral ritual when confronted with situations involving what we define as caring. These reactions are largely due to ego, emotions, and even intelligence.

caring

I don’t care! Do you recall how many times you have used or heard this sentence? We don’t realize it, but we use it quite often. I remember pondering on these three words when I was a teenager. It has always been a sentence that sticks in my throat. Still, these three words offer us much. A willingness to openly and consciously go beyond the mind to experience living offers conscious enlightenment.

When I write this, I am referring to the true intent behind the words. Words are only words. Still, it is interesting to know how we feel and observe what is beyond the words. What are we really feeling in such a moment? It is logical to surmise that from time to time we really do or don’t care about a particular situation that is unfolding. This is not what I wish to examine. I wish to suggest it is possible that when we say I don’t care what we really mean is I do care. Continue reading →

Anxieties Crawling Near and I Am Afraid

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Thoughts and emotions overwhelm you. You are tense and fearful. But, strangely, you are sitting under a tree in the sunshine at that moment. Therefore, your anxiety is about something that might happen, could happen, or should happen. So, this fear is a mind illusion. Not real. But, it seems so real. Memories and thought patterns attempt to invoke a non-real scenario onto this moment. Everything was wonderful. But, somehow crawling anxieties of the mind manipulate your sense of being.

crawling

This reaction is similar to seeing a huge threatening spider crawling toward you. You are unaware of anything else except this supposed threat. This unawareness of the mind causes you to react instead of respond to a situation. Realize that there is a difference between react or respond.

Can you recall such an experience? It, referring back to something ominous crawling toward you, can interrupt your state of presence. This manipulates and can even restrict a person from experiencing the spaciousness within presence. Mind behavior generally initiates a sequence of reactions within an unconscious person. And, an unaware person is oblivious to mind activities. Continue reading →

Unconscious Living with a Dominate Mind

But what if this happens or what if that happens? Should I do this or shouldn’t I do that? Such thought behavior patterns are prevalent in daily activities. And, the eventual mind-reaction to most situations. The mind induces this conditioned reaction mechanism into our experiences. Whereas, an unconscious person has no influence over the mind. So, an unaware person accepts thoughts and feelings as reality. This happens even if the thought or feeling is harmful to the person’s state of being. Let’s consider the following questions. How do thoughts affect an unconscious person’s body and state of being? Likewise, do thoughts influence the vibrating energy of everything. On the other hand, does the energy output of a consciously aware person also stimulate how and what manifests?

unconscious

I can share a personal experience with you to clarify and illustrate these questions. A recent situation offered me clarity as I consciously observed my state of being. This allowed me to experience, first hand, the difference between thought influence or presence awareness. Cleaning is meditation for me. Hence, I enjoy it very much. The other day a moment of blissful freedom overcame me during the cleaning. (This blissfulness is always available for us. And, we can become more and more attuned to this energy vibration.) I share this with you as a call to action. Focus on such a moment when you are aware and let the feeling of presence engulf you. Continue reading →

Impermanence Is Being Whatever Will Be

Doris Day shares useful insight in her song Que Sera, Sera Whatever Will Be Will Be. Do the lyrics offer us a gateway to presence? Yes. Did the song writer intend for the song to be a signpost to conscious living? Who knows for sure? However, the songs philosophical ramifications are clearly evident. Likewise, whatever will be in our state of being indicates awareness to the space of impermanence.

impermanence

Impermanence (anicca) is the first of three Buddhism characteristics of existence and being. Dissatisfaction or suffering (dukkha) is the second. The third Basis Marks of Existence according to Buddhism is non-self (anattā). These three are focus points of the Buddhist Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.

Here are the Buddhists Three Basic Marks of Existence.

Saṅkhāras (conditioned things) are impermanent.
Saṅkhāras are unsatisfactory.
dharmas (conditioned or unconditioned things) are not self.

Continue reading →

Experience Calmness of Mind and Body

Calmness is a state of balance between mind and consciousness. We can describe this calm state as being equanimous. Leonard Nimoy played the character Spock in Star Trek. Spock depicts a person capable of experiencing thoughts and emotions. But, never (well at least almost never 😊) let these human attributes control his state of being.

calmness

Indifference and non-attachment to thoughts, emotions, people, or situations nurtures clarity. Of course, empathy is useful in practical situations. And, even sympathy is beneficial in our interactions. However, these emotions actually cause an imbalance in an unaware person’s state of being. On the other hand, the practice of equanimity changes how you see yourself, the mind, and everything around you. Continue reading →

Satan in Disguise While Baking Bread Rolls

Does the word Satan cause you anxiety or fear? Relax, everything is fine. This is only a word. And, just like everything, we experience the word based on conditioned thoughts and emotions. So, what is this devil that everyone fears? Satan is a symbol of fear, evil, and corruptions. As well as, anything considered bad and deceitful. Hebrew scriptures and documents from before 300 BCE often use this word (root word s‘tn). The word is a derivative of the Hebrew verb satan. The original meaning meant to oppose. The Christian church used the Hebrew Scriptures Greek translation of the word. They translated satan as diaboloc from which we derive our English term devil and diabolic. (source: www.religioustolerance.org)

satan

So, our understanding of the universe implies that the devil is the root of all evil. These thoughts and beliefs are equal to the countless stories of a God or gods. A devil is the opposing force to all that is good. Thus, we entertain ourselves with God and devil misconceptions and labels. We superimpose these into our daily experiences. Love a God and fear the devil are typical dogmas throughout the world. And yet, there is also a certain type of fascination about the devil. But, so what? We tell similar stories and make comparable assumptions about many of our experiences throughout history. Human beings have an acute imagination and fantasy primarily based on creativity, fascination, and fear. Continue reading →

Striving for More and Then What?

The desire to have more overshadows our behavior. But, this does not necessarily mean we should say it is good or bad. We probably would not be where we are now without striving for more. Prehistoric human beings struggled for more just to survive in a hostile environment. And, this continues onward throughout our evolution.

striving

So, striving for more started as a primal need to endure. Nevertheless, there came a point when the desire to have more outweighed the actual need for more. Early humans instinctively wanted to live. This was a do or die scenario. We reached for more. Thus, established a place in the evolution tree structure of life. And, yes, we can say that the need to overcome all odds has been beneficial regarding practical aspects. Continue reading →

Words Are Best Used and Then Forgotten

Words are only symbols. We use them as sticky tags. Thus, they seem to take on a meaning according to a thought or feeling. So, here is poem that offers a portal to the spaciousness beyond the labels and meanings.

words

Words are only expressions
And yes, these terms take on meaning.
But, these tags, in reference to living, can cause confusion.
So, what is right or wrong?
Everyone wants to know.
But, no one can really say.
And, such assertions only conceal the true way.
A word or phrase always demands attention. Continue reading →