consciousness

172 posts

Deceit and the Mask We Wear

You, I and all others have a vast array of masks. We wear masks according to the mind’s interpretation of any given experience. Are we afraid to show ourselves to others? Definitely! And, the majority of people are also unable or unwilling to accept themselves. Furthermore, mind conditioning thrives on this evolution tendency. Moreover, the mind gives us countless reasons to explain the phenomenon of mask wearing. So, we deceit ourselves by listening to the mind and its lies. We can call this behavior many things. However, living solely in accordance with mind interpretations is a lie, plain and simple.

deceit

Nevertheless, the mask of deceit worn by most people is complex and is not intentionally worn. It is astonishing to observe the masquerade played out by everyone, including myself. Why do we need masks? It is fear that prevents us from simply accepting ourselves? Is it shame? Or lack of self-esteem? There is no easy answer. This is because the masks we wear are due to a combination of all experiences. Nevertheless, it is possible to take off your mask(s). The first step in this process is to consciously accept that you are not the image in the mirror. This acknowledgement is usually enough to widen your conscious perspective. Thus, the mirror image is actually a non-reality.

Dare to look beyond the mind

A deeper and truer beingness is always beyond the images of the mind.

Continue reading →

Ride the Wave of Life and Do It Now

Image surfing on a wave. Perhaps you are a surfer and know how to hang ten as you ride a wave. Comparative speaking, how do you live life? It is possible for every person to learn how to ride the wave of life and enjoy living. Active awareness is a necessity to surfing and living life. The gracefulness you observe in many surfers’ manifests through practice and acceptance as they hang loose on the surfboard. Likewise, it is possible for everyone to learn conscious awareness as they surf the wave of life.

ride

Let’s consider the similarities between water surfing and life surfing. Firstly, the mind assumes that wave riding is a challenge. Thus, just a thought about surfing causes fear and even panic in many people. Nonetheless, the same people that fear surfing, also love the thrill of such a challenge. The mind thinks of each wave as a problem to overcome. Therefore, and subsequently, each new wave is a hindrance that inhibit the experience. Behavior conditioning automatically develops due to repetitive unconscious thought patterns. The mind tells you to ride the wave because you must. And, the mind continues to label each wave as a problem that is difficult. The result is a vicious cycle of wanting to ride the wave and coincidingly fearing each wave. Thus, you usually label yourself as the victim of each wave, instead of the master of the ocean. Continue reading →

Monism Is at the Essence of All Duality

Please, if possible, glance slowly and deliberately at any given object in your immediate surroundings. What do you see? It may be a chair, table, or a picture on the wall. You are essentially a part of anything you observe. Furthermore, each and every object is of one state of being. And, the marvelous mystery of oneness manifests in all shapes and sizes. This is too much for the mind, strictly mentally speaking, to comprehend. Thus, the mind interprets monism as dualism. The mind does this in an attempt to define and categorize.

monism

“There is a thing inherent and natural, which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, it stands alone and never changes; it pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.”
– Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Nevertheless, the mind is naturally a part of this mysterious oneness. And, this creates a paradox. Hence, the mind over-compensates the simplicity of monism. Therefore, it is very difficult for a person to disregard thoughts and feelings that invoke separation. The presence of oneness that manifests through all objects is there within each heartbeat and within each breath. This is the nature of beingness and the isness of living. It is a vibrating flow of energy. Continue reading →

Experience What Is Instead of What Is Not

Words often confuse us. And the word experience is an example of this confusion. We claim that our experiences influence our behavior. Similarly, the mind is adept in placing labels and definitions onto our experiences. Thus, the mind super-imposes conditioning factors onto everything. And, we just go along for the ride.

experience

Let’s put this into perceptive from a conscious awakening standpoint. You do not necessarily participate in any given experience through your awareness to the situation. Yes, I realize this statement is first confusing. Something happens, such as a cup of water falling from the table to the floor. You are aware that the cup has fallen. Nevertheless, your awareness does not prevent you from complaining because the cup fell. Does the immediate situation cause your discomfort? Or, are you actually reenacting a conditioned reaction from a similar circumstance? Continue reading →

An Inquiry into Being in Love

Being in love gives us joy. This love and affection can be to a person, a thing or even self-love. Love is marvelous and, at times, equally perplexing. This is fine. However, this reference is not necessarily about physical or emotional love. Instead, our inquiry is into the totality of love.

inquiry

Therefore, let’s take the first step into this inquiry through the realization that love is energy. This energy attaches itself to either our mental or emotional center of focus. But, please understand that love is always present, as is true for all universal energy. Have you experienced a moment when all judgments, doubts, anxiety and fear were at a minimum? What did you feel? Was it something that you cannot truly express in mere words? Would it be appropriate to describe this state of being as a blissful experience? The sensation you experience in such a moment is possible through the natural flow of universal energy. The blissfulness you experience is possible because you are going with the flow. Continue reading →

The Key to Living Is in Your Hand

There is a key to allowing life and love to flow unrestricted. Acceptance is the doorway to this universal flow. But, unconditional love will remain bound by these restrictions until we are willing to step beyond them. The mind attempts to instill boundaries on love and life itself. This could explain why we remain mostly in a state of conflict throughout our existence, both personally and collectively. But, the conflict is only within us. Conflict does not come from the universe or life. And, we and only we are responsible for our experience of life and love. Your choices are either unconsciously or consciously made.

key

A state of consciousness is significant whereby acknowledging unconditional love is the key. We are always within an energy field that has the potential to be conscious. But it is necessary to be aware of pure consciousness. Equally, this is true for love. Our level of awareness strengthens love as a component of life. The initial spark that generates love into the universe is pure. But, we become preoccupied with the diversity of our self-imposed detail existence. Continue reading →

Divine Presence or Life in Servitude?

Are you still searching for enlightenment? Why look for something that you have already? A state of aware presence or lack of presence determines how we experience each moment. The recognition of this act of being is possible for everyone. We can refer to this as a divine state of living. And, presence is a natural state of being. Nevertheless, people still continue to search relentless for something that is every persons’ birthright.

divine

Why do people continue to search? Because many factors of our evolution cast us into servitude. The conditioned mind is merciless when not consciously observed. The internet dictionary offers us this clarification in regard to servitude.

Ser·vi·tude – The state of being a slave or completely subject to someone more powerful.
Synonyms: slavery, enslavement, bondage, subjugation, subjection, domination; historical serfdom
“Born into a life of servitude”
Antonyms: liberty

Furthermore, the dictionary Merriam Webster suggests the following about servitude. A condition in which one lacks liberty, especially to determine one’s course of action or way of life. Continue reading →

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 →

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 →