Steve Leasock books

27 posts

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

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

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

astray

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

fire

A Fire We Call Love That Consumes Us

There is a fire within us. You might know this sensation as something we call love. This emotion fascinates us. We desire it. And, often we hate it. Similarly, people often mistake sensuality for love. There is a need within many individuals that seek love as if it is a purpose to fulfill. Thus, this flame consumes the majority of people due to the demand for more.

fire

Likewise, a person will often seek happiness through another person. The mind primarily influences our search for love. This insatiable need to find something is also prevalent in the search for spiritual fulfillment or salvation. But, still unknown to the majority of people, everything we search is already here within us. Still, many people spend their entire existence consumed by a flame that is only a mind game.

What is life and love? We probably will never know. And, the good news is we don’t need to know. However, conscious awareness is beneficial to the experience of both. The mind cannot differentiate between ultimate reality and the game that it plays. However, you, as an awake conscious observer, can end this long-standing game. The authenticity of your conscious experiences relies on your relationship to the inner self. We can also express this as the inner universe. Continue reading

ride

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

complexity

Complexity Must not Be a Way of Life

Simplicity is within every molecule of the universe. No, I am not oversimplifying nor making an inaccurate suggestion.  Life is. Being is. Things are. We are. This is the equation of beingness.  Thus, we are part of a universality that is essentially simple. This simplicity flows thought all objects in a state of being. But, we have somehow lost touch with this enlightening knowledge. Likely, the confusion, fear, and manipulation apparent in our existence are a direct result of evolution and social development. There is a very dark shadow hovering over humankind, which is mostly unknown to most of us. Its influence and overwhelming power are, however, very real on the level of our experiences. Complexity in life is a standard assumption based on pragmatism. This has become the rule of thumb in daily activities.

complexity

Likewise, evolution and mind-conditioning cause us to be unaware. We live in a state of unconscious beingness. Remember, being is. Nothing more and nothing less. Life is a manifestation of being. We can call life a frequency of the universal. This frequency, as with all energy, is of one source. So, why do we take this simplicity and twist it into complex structures. Complexity, which we deem as being a true reality, is only a mind-made construction. Thus, we generate a very misconstrued state of being. The mind does this by manufacturing a world of abstracts and illusions. A dominating mind causes difficulty and suffering due to misinterpretations of living here and now. Thus, our evolution is both a blessing and a curse. Continue reading

Honorable Intentions can Offer Clarity in Life

It is not easy to be honorable in a world that seems so unfair. Situations initiate memories and conditioned behavior. Fear is one, among many, thoughts and emotions that overshadow our life experience.  Thought density obscures the vast clarity found within presence. Nonetheless, consciousness via presence is available in each moment. However, the mind details of any given moment obstruct conscious clarity. Thus, the mind convinces us that we are our thoughts. Accordingly, we project our state of being onto specific thoughts and mind details.

honorable

The mind dominates and reacts. And, the mind bases reactions solely on conditioning. Thus, the mind basically contaminates the purity and clarity of presence.  A person can feel the nature flow of life manifesting through the body and all objects. We could say that this, in its essence, allows us to respond to life in an honorable manner. This is the natural harmony between an object and life. But, we have temporarily forgotten. Continue reading

assumptions

Assumptions Restrict the Universal Flow of Life

Life and love are very simplistic and pure. Life needs no validation through assumptions or beliefs. Love can equally only be truly fulfilling when felt in its purity, without conceptual definition or restriction. There is naturally a basic pattern of unity that derives from a species individual and collective development. This does not however explain how we feel what a plant feels or what an animal feels. There are two factors to consider in the discussion of empathy.

assumptions

The first factor, as the first definition of empathy states, is a state of imaginative projection. This is naturally possible for a species such as our own. This may result from the developed field of creative intelligence and our emotions. We place behavior and emotions definition labels on objects and other living forms to explain everything for our own purposes. The second factor is very significant. This is the field of oneness. This is much more than just projecting a subjective state of being into another form, animate or inanimate. Continue reading