Recognize

it was a good day.  i paid my eyes $2,000 for showing me a morning rainbow. i paid my legs $3,500 for getting me to and from work and the rest of my body earned $9,300 for its share of the day's labour.

doesn't sound right ?  isn't that the way you interact with your body and the services it provides you ?

strange... yet that is how we view every other transaction, every other act ( noble or otherwise ).

yes, even with noble acts we anticipate a deposit into our "good deeds" account - a definite payout due to us at some future date - all of us keep accounts with the Universe.

tragically, this very consideration wraps the noose of time tighter around our being.  

ponder : we declare a belief in "God" who is accepted to be beyond time and space and yet with every breath in which we barter our actions against future gain, we are imprinting a time stamp on our continued existence ... the two seem to be an antithesis of each other ... how does one bask in the Timeless when we are constantly cementing our being into the very fabric of time itself ?

yet we must all act ... quite a quandary - what are we missing ?

perhaps it is our failure to recognize the Universal Principle that binds the cosmos together; that Force is accepted to be Eternal and all Pervasive which would indicate that nothing is really ours - our very existence is borrowed from That ( as is the rest of creation ) and hence, as with our body parts, we are to act in harmony with all other aspects of the universe with no expectation of payment, reward or merit - we do it because we are an expression of that One Existence just as our legs take the rest of our body where it wishes to be.

recognize the Universal in the particular and then act... to the extent this recognition takes hold in your psyche, to that extent shall you be at peace for your essence gradually falls into synchronicity with the Source of all ( within which even this expression of "you" exists )

live well.

Clichés

the self help religion seems to be gathering momentum; we read the best sellers, you-tube the talks and google the sites so reverently...

the irony, of course, is that we keep looking outwards for someone to help us without wishing to lift a finger to help ourselves!  an odd self help technique indeed... a twisted belief that simply reading something will make it so.

we wish to change inside; stop the pain, empower our being, raise our consciousness but all through an immersion in the external phenomena of researching the miracle-method of the month.

the magnificent phrases and cliches that roll off silvered tongues are truly to be admired. but how do those magic catch words intrinsically help us ?  

even a caterpillar knows it has to first withdraw itself totally from the external, spend some time in silence and then emerge, resplendent and transformed ... how is it, that after reading, watching and hearing so much, we refuse to do the same - our rush outwards is unceasing and ever accelerating towards an ultimate frustration that engulfs us in a stupor of  self pity until we start all over again with a new "system" ; pinning all our hopes of redemption on a new secret revealed..

when viewed from the vantage point of serenity and wisdom, those who KNOW have laid out the path in every age... there simply is no new way, merely the correct understanding in contemporary times of what it takes to walk the road that has already been so lovingly paved in anticipation of your arrival.

align yourself to something that stirs you, live it, surrender to it, be devoted to it without compromise - merge your being into its essence.

if perfection is what you seek, only you can find it.

live well.

Who, What, Where ...

ever feel like you're not sure whether you're coming or going ? or even why you continue doing all the things that seemed so important when you started and now simply don't .. 

all that time gone, all that energy spent and yet somehow, you feel like you haven't moved at all... like a fly suspended in amber.

sure, you may have more things; wealth, homes, status and so many friends... now you are "somebody" .. yet, somehow, you wonder... does anyone know the real me?  do i ?

in truth, who am i ?

what did i really want out of life ? did i find it or did i try to obscure it with my self-imposed value system on the things that i did find instead ? 

did i look in the right places... did i even know where to look for what i did not know i wanted through this  person called "me" whom i do not even know ?

wow - what a mess !

but that's not me, you say. what's the touchstone ? it's really very simple... are you happy? not a sometimes happy, not a "i'm in a good mood" happy - the happy, blissful, continuous peace that you long for but are painfully aware you lack.

now, naturally, the question presents itself.. so where do i go from here ?

well, as with most pursuits that have gone off-track... you need to go back to the basics ! re-visit the Who? What? Where? and if the search is sincere, the How? will present itself...

life has a way of presenting crossroads... which path you choose to take is yours alone...

live well.

Internal Vs External

"look within" : how many times has someone said that to you ?

what exactly are they referring to ? and given the expanse of the universe vs the tiny me contained with my 5 foot 10 framework, wouldn't it be more logical to look for whatever it is i am seeking out there ?

unfortunately, the outside ( relatively speaking ) will always be conditioned or governed by its primary elemental factors.. it simply cannot function past its nature and will always be limited as such. if we were to seek anything in such an arena, the result of our efforts would, thus, also confined to the outer limits of its intrinsic conditioning - just as a pet on a leash can only wander as far as the length of the leash would permit.

what about this "inside" ? 

ever try to communicate with yourself while you are dreaming ?  can the you, lying in bed, step into your dream and have a little heart to heart with the you who is having a bad day in the dream world .. no ? 

everyone dreams, and yet you cannot communicate within your own distinct levels of consciousness which you experience intimately every night; so how does one tap into an "inside" that most have no experience of whatsoever, add to which our ongoing surge outward constantly repels us ever further away from that core, within which, all we truly seek is already contained.

the fallacy lies in our perception : we see the two as distinct and exclusive - yet the source is One. every wave contains the ocean's water.  

alter your perception so that this One is recognized in everything we experience. as the "outside" is bathed with the waters of singularity, we start to truly see that one is merely a reflection of the other.

ultimately we comprehend that our mind is our personal hall of mirrors - if dissipated and frantic, we get lost in the mutilated visions "outside";  but, if we train ourselves to be centered in silence ( KNOWING there is nothing other than That )  and then allow that which IS to simply fill our being - we automatically exist as we are "inside" - Infinite and Non-Dual.

so look within, and make your world beautiful. 

live well.

Square slot, Round peg

try as you may, the two simply cannot make a perfect fit..

so you do your pooja in the morning, go to the mosque on friday or church on sunday - what about the rest of the time? your underlying core finds its expression in its daily interaction with the world as you know it... this is who you are.

whether these are days of excessive indulgence or quiet contemplation, how you live on a daily basis is what defines you... chanting a mantra for 2 minutes in the morning is not going to stop you from wanting that glass of wine by 6pm ... the call for happy hour is way stronger than that!  you may praise god and say he is all love and ever present but the guy who is driving you to work is an imbecile - where did the love go? did god decide that this particular cab driver was suddenly not part of his "everywhere"?  is love suddenly not the answer?

so what's the problem here?  Nothing at all if you are honestly being yourself - the issues arise when the way you project yourself is intrinsically not who you are or who you could be ... when what you say is your faith is something you have no faith in, for you do not practice it and it finds no expression in your life.

this fracture ultimately leads to repression, shame and frustration .. a ticking time bomb, the repercussion of which will not only be deadly to yourself but also to those around you.

if you want to go out every night, do it. exhaust yourself, drain your life force and waste away - there is no judgement - its your life to do as you please.  why make excuses for it ?
if you want to study, evolve and keep a marginal social contact with the world, that is fine too.
if you manage to find a balance, apply what you study and help those around you, you may try to do so.

there is no right way or wrong way for all water finds its way to the ocean.

the point is this... if you feel the need to pray, a part of you wants more - more than what you know your life to be. but what is this more and why do you forget that you want it once you step out of your silence? what pulls you into the chaos again and again?  the same clubs, the same indulgences, the same need to be praised and admired, the same need to show the world who you are, the same need to accumulate more and more, the same insecurities, the same fear of being invisible, the same, the same, the same  ... how exhausting to be perpetually stuck like a fly in amber ...

and again in that silence, the same emptiness...

so what am i selling here? nothing! your life is your own - it has absolutely nothing to do with me - all i am doing is holding up the mirror - look closely and ask yourself : " do you like what you see ? "

live well.

The Lighthouse

Life is simply not long enough to make every possible mistake – so it is best to learn from the mistakes made by others. How best to stay together, how best not to lose heart, how best to stay strong in the face of the insurmountable and most importantly, how not to get lost in the dark. These lessons are usually learnt in hindsight, when it is too late to be of any use… here I build my lighthouse for you to avoid some of the rocks i crashed on.. build your own for those are walking a similar path to yours so that they, too, may benefit from your experiences...

• The ultimate motivating force is usually self preservation : acknowledge it – never pretend to be better than you are but always strive sincerely to evolve.
• Greed brings with it both ambition & accumulation while hand in hand, it may cost you everything you hold dear.
• Always ask yourself, “why am I doing this ? what will it cost me ? is it worth it ?”
• Expectation is usually met with disappointment.
• There is no escaping the fruits of your action or intentions. Tread carefully.
• You will grow old and you will die .. make your life about more that just hoarding and consumption.
•  Remember you are not as smart as you think you are… Ask for advice if you need it.
• Words, once spoken, will never be forgotten.
• Let those who are important to you know that they are loved.
• Allow yourself to be loved.
• Learn to forgive - it lightens your own soul.
• Pray everyday – not “for” anything but in gratitude and humility.
• Share with those in need.
• Be gentle with the young and patient with the old.
• Never forget, everything changes - including what you think will make you happy.
• Know that all will unfold the way it is meant to - watch and accept with grace and courage.
• Find your peace and live in harmony with all of creation.

Live well.

Let's do the Math

here are the variables we have to work with :

who i am and what i want
the things out there and what makes them desirable
the medium of interaction : time and space
the method of interaction : life

life, simply put, is an expression of the Infinite Universal Principle.
time and space seems to split the universal into structural differences
these particular manifestations attract us only if we perceive their effects upon us to be pleasurable
the objective of happiness or pleasure drives us in our unending pursuit of these objects
and ultimately we have no idea who we are or why we can't find perpetual joy or bliss.

how does one work this puzzle out ?

the problem stems from the fact that we are trained to spot differences and not the underlying unifying principal ...

there are a million different "things" out there ( and these include the people we interact with ) but it is not the things that interest us, we are looking for their ultimate effect ... the hope that we will derive joy / happiness from such a union ..  yet infinite joy is not possible by mere addition of finite items.

however, multiplicity does not negate the essential One - the interfering vapors of time and space upon the Universal gives us the shimmering mirage of life as we apprehend it - fractured, stressful and empty.

yet time and space borrows it's power from our very consciousness ... in deep sleep, where is your city, child or empire - where did time itself go ?

so we come back to Consciousness ... the original source, the ongoing substratum and our ultimate goal.

an applied cognition of this Principal brings the particulars back into the fold of the universal - that is, nothing is abandoned but rather absorbed back into our essential Being and when seen from this standpoint, no desire remains - all that is, I AM.

So the final equation for a happy life ?

RECOGNIZE and TRANSCEND ( careful now: this is not the same as reject and suppress ! )

use your life, with a vision fine tuned to see past the distorting lens of time & space, to understand that true joy and bliss lie beyond the scope of the accumulation of finite objects but rather in dissolution of the individual entity and myriad objects into the cosmic whole.

You Are All That You Behold - what, then, is left to want or need !

problem solved :)


live well.