life quotes

288 posts

Eating Grapes and Living Life

I invite you to share my breakfast adventure as I discover an additionally stepping stone to conscious living. Grapes are great! I should have a t-shirt printed with this statement 😊. Eating grapes is a daily delight for me, either fresh or as raisins. But, not necessarily as wine 😉. Do you like grapes? You might wish to grab a few grapes to eat as I share an experience this morning from my kitchen. Are you aware that white grapes are easier than red to pick and clean? The red grape stubbornly hangs on the plant stem during picking and also when you clean it.

eating

Imagine, if you will, your eagerness to eat some grapes, perhaps with yogurt, cereal or honey. However, it is best to wash the grapes before eating them. Not a problem. Right? Well, this experience, as with all life experiences, offers us a lesson in conscious living. And, this became evident to me as I washed and removed the grape stems this morning. I choose red grapes today for my eating delight at breakfast. Consequently, as mentioned above, the red grapes held firmly attached to the stems. But, I was eager to eat. Continue reading →

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.

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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.

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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 →

Homeward Bound Is not a Journey

You innately know the essence of this moment. And, you instinctively sense the pulsation and flow of living in this moment. But, the mind distracts this state of awareness. Nevertheless, is it accurate to say that you are a conscious being living now. Thus, you are the isness of now. This acknowledgement and acceptance allow conscious awareness to flow. Let’s use an example to illustrate. What is your state of being when you take a bath or swim? You are in water. However, how often are you deeply aware that you are in the water? Presence is the stepping stone that unites you and the water. Furthermore, this is an undeniable state of being in relation to all experiences. This realization allows your homeward journey to unfold naturally.

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Living from a state of isness to this moment releases you from the mind. Accordingly, your partnership with the mind will improve. Thus, you more efficiently use the mind to understand existential experiences. The mind’s domination over your life experience will lessen. Hence, you will focus on conscious awareness and the manifestation of this moment. There is no need for magic, science or religion to be presence and live in the isness of now. It is literally as easy as standing in front of a mirror and to deeply accept your beingness. This is a transcendence experience within the totality of presence. And, this is your true home. Continue reading →

Sensitivity and the Experience of Life

Are you a sensitive person? Do others label you as too sensitive? If yes, please stand up and take a bow because sensitivity is not necessarily a bad thing. Furthermore, conscious awareness through sensitivity is possible. Alas, mind details still distract the majority of people. Thus, unconscious living causes chaos in many activities. There are so many wants, demands and details. Therefore, often the mind and body are ill. It is all too much. At least, this is what the mind tells us. Stop the world and let me get off. These are typical reactions to our daily interactions.

sensitivity

Many people are sensitive, often overly sensitive. And, there are distinguishing characteristics among these individuals. Sensitive people often experience depression and mental trauma. Often these ailments are due to biological and conditional behavior disorders that can escalate if a person is overly sensitive. Hence, over-sensitivity can actually cause the development of a mental disorder in a person that unconsciously lives life. Please understand the significance of the keyword unconsciously in this last statement. Your thoughts, thus your feelings, can sicken the mind and body when you are not actively conscious and equally oversensitive.

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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 →

Addictive Pain and What NOT to Do

Psychological pain is real and is often addictive. Does this sound strange to you? You experience this type of pain each day and probably don’t realize it. Unconscious mental pain affects everyone and everything. Only the degree or intensity varies from person to person. Unfortunately, most people are not conscious enough to realize the severity of this pain. It happens more often than you may think. Here, we should note that what the mind thinks doesn’t mean it is true. On the other hand, your state of awareness decides how you will experience a situation.

addictive

Thus, what is your relationship with the mind? This is the key question in consciously awakening to a state of deeper presence. Moreover, your observation of the mind determines how you experiences this moment. Respond to life and living. But, do not react to the mind. There is a difference.

This acknowledgement can be very helpful. This is useful in understanding how you typically react to compulsive mind behavior. Please practice differentiating between two states of being. These two states are either living from mind or living in conscious awareness. Thus, mind reactions are unconscious behavior. And, this increases the addictive pain that accompanies you during daily activities. Continue reading →

The Mountaintop Is Your True Home

Acknowledge that you live on a mountaintop. Let’s reflect on this insight before the mind contaminates the scenery with too many thoughts. You stand with your face to the sun. Furthermore, the sun is always shining at the top of the mountain. A breeze caresses your face.

mountaintop

Occasionally birds fly about and visit you. They sing a song of life and living. It seems you are alone here on the mountaintop. However, you are never truly alone. You emerge in pure presence. Thus, you sense the energy pulsations of the earth, the universe and life. Living in pure presence nurtures unity. Thus, separation and loneliness are abstracts of the mind.

Presence offers bliss. Therefore, time and matter have no ultimate significance. These are only details of a temporary existence. There is a path before you. The trail leads to the valley below. And yes, you travel, on occasion, to the valley in your thoughts and actions. Nevertheless, no detail within the valley compares to the sheer rapture of living in the presence of your being. Continue reading →

Existence Attributes Distort the Flow of Life

Are human attributes such as love and forgiveness active integrates in universal life consciousness? Of course, this is not an easy question to answer. And, most likely, we can’t actually answer it. This question suggests that love is universal because we and other life-forms experience it. But, is love truly a component of life? Here again it is not possible to definitely answer such a question. Eckhart Tolle, in The Power of Now, has said that love is a state of being. This statement feels good to say, but it does not really offer pure enlightenment. Nevertheless, let’s use this statement as a reference point for our discussion.

attributes

Firstly, thoughts and emotions have the potential to become our state of being. That is to say, if we allow the mind to dominate. Therefore, the level of active awareness to a given state of being determines how you will live. The form this moment takes is merely a detail when a person observes it consciously. We could make it easy by saying that life will be as we choose it to be. This may at first sound farfetched. But, let’s consider it for a moment. Continue reading →