RID YOURSELF OF RITUAL

Throughout the various stages of awakening, the truth seeker will naturally experience a desire to have an adult security blanket. It makes complete sense. In a hostile environment one feels better with a bit of magic on their side. Protection, if you will. It makes one feel powerful enough to weather the storms of self-examination. 

The term RITUAL is being used here to describe anything one does on a regular basis or surrounds themselves with on a regular basis, that has absolutely nothing to do with achieving pure clarity. Ritual talisman, ritual mantra, ritual clothing, ritual location, ritual language, ritual person, what-have-you. Anything one does, has, surrounds oneself with, clothes oneself in, visits regularly etc. on a regular basis is nothing but an obstacle on the path to enlightenment.

Your only goal, my friend, is to rid yourself of all of it. Period.

There is no connection to your divine through the building called a church. Neither the human beings called Priests nor the man elected Pope can provide you with either the key to your salvation or the connection to the true source of all inspiration. Their hats, robes, incense, trinkets, candles, beads, gold and silver likenesses, etc. are for show and do not open the door to the place where God dwells.

Yes, a church is built by believers of a particular faith. Yes, religious paintings are painted by the faithful and the deeper the faith, the more powerful the representation of the object of that faith. Faith in a particular deity has led to the creation of the most beautiful works of art and architecture in human history. Writings by deeply faithful people such as Hafiz or Gibran or Kabir (must reads for any truth seeker) can easily bring tears to the eyes. 

The most amazing results of this connection to the creative source are everywhere... There is no doubt of that. My question to you, my friend, is this. What have you created FOR your divine? How do you express your love TO your god? I didn't say how will you show others that you have love for a divine, nor did I ask how you express to others your love for a divine? It's a very different and distinct use of the words to express something much more private, personal, and profound. This something has nothing to do with SHOWING anything to anyone. It doesn't involve going anywhere, wearing anything special, saying anything over and over, or aligning yourself with any human mortals you believe will bring you closer to a special power by being in their presence.

The remedy? STOP. Right now. Wherever you are reading this. STOP, BE STILL, BREATHE, FEEL, AND LISTEN. Don't wait to go to church, don't reach for your prayer beads, don't get up only to fall to your knees. JUST BE, NOW. It's one of the many books of truth, but put the Bible down. I can read and re-read the same diet book over and over, but unless I put the book down and act on the information contained in it, the diet will never work. (Of course, that was just an example. 'Diet' is a 4-letter word and is not real. I would say don't ever do it, but once you achieve clarity, it will lose it's meaning.)

Anyhow, back to stopping... Right now... I need you to introduce yourself to your god... God, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, Ganesh, whatever... say hello, how are you, my name is... Now, just sit and feel... Do you feel silly? Are you emotional? Are you joyful? Guess what? It doesn't matter. No one is going to judge you. In fact, no one needs to know. The only one who needs to know you're building a one on one relationship with the creator is you. The fact of the matter (the truth, in other words) is that nowhere you go, nothing you wear and no one you're hanging around with can help you to cultivate this relationship. It's all you and only you...no church, no cross, no book, no priest, no beads, no prostrations, no robes, nothing.

Your homework: Continue to vocalize your conversation with your divine until it becomes natural. Don't ask for anything, don't repent for past deeds, don't praise or thank yet, just say hey...

Thanks for being here. See you on the other side. ;-)

SPIRIT SCIENCE 1 - 15 FULL MOVIE SERIES 2012

You may not 'believe' much of what you see in this series of videos, but regardless, please watch this with an open mind. Your goal is to believe it all. Truth seekers must not allow OPINIONS to halt their progress along the path to enlightenment (afterall, are they even your opinions?)... If there is something you feel uncomfortable about, then your goal should be to have a DIRECT EXPERIENCE of that thing (I'll talk about the importance of direct experience later). The absolute truth is that once you have a direct experience of a thing, your opinions about it will change. Beware, however. Hesitation in having a direct experience of a thing that makes you uncomfortable does not come from your authentic self and must be ignored.

Enjoy!

THE COSMIC GIGGLE

SHED THE ORNAMENTS! YOU'RE NOT A CHRISTMAS TREE!

What does it mean to be an individual? Does it mean we have a personality that is distinct from others? Does it mean we like or dislike things in ways other human beings don't? Does it mean we are separate from others because our 'individuality' means we're 'different' from others? Is it as important as they say to express our 'individuality'; to, in essence, show others how we differ from them? Or perhaps it's to indicate to others whose thoughts about WHO THEY ARE  (expressed as their 'individuality') might be similar to our thoughts about WHO WE ARE (expressed as our 'individuality'), which, in my humble opinion, nullifies the definition of being an individual...

So we're told we should EXPRESS ourselves as individuals. There's nothing 'wrong' with that at all. Besides, in the context of self-discovery, nothing is defined as 'wrong'. There may be habits, misunderstandings, and perceptions that we would like to alter, but to impose empty and false notions of RIGHT and WRONG or GOOD and BAD is making something out of nothing. These notions are ones that we should learn to recognize (as they come to the forefront of our minds) and simply allow to come and go without worry or attention being paid beyond encouraging them to continue along the conveyor-belt of thoughts, so-to-speak.

How do we often choose to identify ourselves as individuals in today's society? By getting a tattoo, by dressing sporty and hip or professional and conservative, by getting our nails or hair styled in a specific way, by wearing various items of jewelery or timepieces, by whitening our teeth, by getting a tan, driving a certain style of car etc.; all the decisions we make about how to project to the world, how we FEEL about and perceive ourselves as well as how we believe displaying a certain number, color, shape, and size of a particular material or combination of materials will be perceived by others.

The reasons we acquire, possess and display material objects is firstly because we can (i.e. we exist at a time and in a place and with circumstances that put us in a position whereby we have access to and are able to afford to buy X, Y or Z) and also because we CHOOSE to (no d'uh, lol). But, most importantly, it is a mechanism for our own safety and protection. In addition, in this capitalist world we live in, for advancement purposes. In many cases, the right combination of adornment can make the difference between SUCCESS and FAILURE (two more words to recognize, deflate and let go, btw). The problem is we're building a lie (or one upon another) about who we really are. This lie or series of lies then becomes our truth. We may not directly lie to others, but we've created a lie that we now believe about ourselves that, itself, becomes the lie that's told to others.

Sure, you're more successful than you might otherwise have been. So you tell yourself. Sure, it feels so good to show off the new ornament you picked up to replace the old one. Of course you 'needed' the designer brand. You 'deserve' to 'treat yourself'. Even if it's something you tell yourself you WANTED... The point is you found a way to get what you wanted and are now displaying it for all to see. Don't you see what you've created? A facade. A front. A lie... Trust me, you'll eventually get to the point you can't stand this 'self' any longer...

Now, all you want to do is to find out who is behind the curtain you've drawn across the real you, who is under the veils, who is under all the layers of LIES you've told and believe about who you really are. Year after year since innocence was lost, since you felt the only way to keep yourSELF safe in this hostile and dangerous world was to hide behind a mask that you now find impossible to remove and has now become like a walled prison.

These things do not define you, are not you and have no place in who you really are. The process begins with removing all of it. First, by removing it from your body to an out of sight location such as a storage box and then by putting it somewhere out of sight like the attic or a storage facility (that you will one day empty of it's contents and stop wasting money on). I know it will feel weird at first to walk around not adorned with your pretty stuff, but hopefully a sense of freedom will creep in as well, as if the weight of feeling like you need to project a false self is slowly being lifted. Beyond this, once you've been able to go out in public for a while and not feel judged, you might even consider giving away some of that booty to someone less fortunate.

It's this process of pairing down that will create a tremendous feeling of levity to the point that it will snowball to all areas of your life. If you can give up wearing the diamond encrusted jewels, you may end up giving up all sorts of things. Removing layer after layer of masks will soon become your habit, so what's to say removing habit after habit can't be as simple.

Personally, by the time I had really gotten underway in the destruction of my facade, not only had I removed cool sunglasses, watches worth thousands, gold rings, necklaces, earrings, and more from my body, but I proceeded to give it all away in bags that I would hand to people in passing. I gave away dozens of suits, shirts, shoes, jackets and piles of other expensive items that I threw in the trunk of my car and simply opened in less fortunate areas of town. I gave away my set of golf clubs and took a box filled with high end sports gear to a school in an underprivileged neighborhood. The giving up extended to cigarettes and alcohol, cable television and movies, sports and competition and even sex.

Now, I'm not suggesting what you might think I might be suggesting... (or am i, lol?) that the answer to all your problems is by permanently quitting everything that you enjoy, everything that defines you, everything that makes you an individual. But what I am saying is that perhaps you are under the mistaken impression that these things you have acquired (both habits and material things) have become someone you believe is who you Truly are. 

The only way to uncover that true you from the prison you've created, is by removing this false self and it's associated masks. You don't need to give up these things all at once or for any significant length of time, as in the case of habits, to feel the sheer weight lifted from not being burdened by all this stuff or these urges. The surprising thing to come from getting rid of all of it is what replaces the habits or fills up the space (in you, with you if that makes sense) that was created when everything was removed. New habits and interests will emerge as well as ways of thinking you never though possible, seeing things you never saw before, and more.

The main thing to remember is that this is all you. It's on you to do it and it's you who shall reap the rewards from what you have sewn which will extend to everything and everyone. The water may have become a bit cloudy and turbulent over the years, but our task from this point forward is to make it crystal clear and still like the surface of a mirror.

Your Homework: Without having showered and wearing no hat to cover bed-head, go to a public place wearing what you normally wear at home behind closed doors; weather it's throwing a jacket over a pair of pj's to grab milk at the store or wearing those grubby, smelly work clothes for a walk through the mall. Notice how many or how few people point and laugh at you or even care. The advanced part of this exercise involves not brushing your teeth or putting on deodorant (c'mon, smell it up right!) before going out; again noticing just how few people care what you look like or even smell like... 

PS If you care about your 'social standing' or your 'reputation' being affected by doing these exercises, then this is not the blog for you nor the right time for you to be on this particular path.

TO TRULY KNOW THYSELF IS DIVINE

What is it to know oneself? Can we truly ever know ourselves on the most deepest of levels in this hustle and bustle world? How can it be maintained? Is it possible to achieve enlightenment growing up and existing within the Matrix we inhabit? How is it possible when we are immersed in a paradigm that is seemingly the opposite of spirituality, the opposite of loving kindness and compassion. 

I would submit, my friends, that it is possible to achieve a heightened state of clarity, i.e. enlightenment within an urban environment, but that it is a fickle achievement subject to numerous pitfalls for one not fully committed to it's attainment. For, in order to maintain such a pristine state of awareness from moment to moment would require one to become a Master of focused concentration, not easily distracted by the wants and needs of this world nor swayed by the various emotions we're subject to each day.

Living in an enlightened state from moment to moment does not require one to rid oneself of naturally occurring thoughts, feelings and emotions. So from this moment forward, stop guilting yourself for feeling feelings or thinking thoughts. They are natural. It's the ACTIONS we choose to take that are destructive. The challenge for anyone from a Monk to a Manager or a Priest to a Painter is to become a Master at PACIFYING those naturally occurring processes all the time. 

I can think all I want about how I'd like to punch someone in the face, but until I actually act on it, it's simply a passing thing without substance that I can choose to bring into the material world or not. In the hands of someone with the clarity of self awareness, those thoughts, feelings and emotions are simply understood as naturally appearing and disappearing and are allowed to come and go without disturbing one's balance.

The only question one must pose oneself when deciding to embark on a journey of self-discovery is this:

Am I committed to a path that only leads in one direction?

The path of which I am referring does not involve 'quitting' anything, for how can one quit something that simply no longer has a place in one's life? It does not involve setting goals, for the path itself is the goal. It won't make you sexier or smarter or funnier and it certainly won't get you that new car, girl, guy, jewelery, house, or whatever else you've been drooling over. In fact, none of the THINGS sitting in your closet, garage, storage locker etc. that you've been accumulating for whatever reason over the years are coming on the journey. Because this journey is one of DEVOLVING, if you will. Of pairing down, of trimming the fat (literally), and of opening the window to let a little fresh air in.

If the thought that you will end up with nothing of material value in your possession with only the promise of the immaterial makes you cringe, then perhaps the time is not right to embark on such a perilous quest. As an example, a friend of mine once suggested I read a book by a well-known modern day spiritual guru to many, Eckhart Tolle. Although I've now read many of his writings, at first glance, even the word 'God' caused me to close the book immediately. I just wasn't ready for years after that...

One must first come to understand that in order for people to define something indefinable, a word must be used so that all are in agreement based on how each of us defines the feeling we get when we say it or think it. A feeling is like a relationship. None but the subject can truly define how something invisible and intangible affects them. So the WORD God is also, in and of itself, indefinable by none but the definer. IT is simply an idea, an allegory, a metaphor or what-have-you. (Maybe we should change God's name every once in a while so people don't become attached to it...) Anyhow, the specifics of that word will be discussed more another time. 

Okay, so... Ask yourself if you're ready. Nobody needs to know but you... If you are, then let's proceed, shall we?

First things first. Let me ask you this. How do you feel about God? Don't tell me. I know your first impulse was to tell me in words how you feel, but don't tell me. Don't even direct your answer at me. I asked you how you feel about God, not to tell me how you feel about God. So take a moment...take two, in fact, and really think about...oops sorry, my mistake...take a moment or two to really FEEL how you feel about God.... Wanna know a secret? That's your connection to God... And that's all you need to know, oops...feel.

Bruce Lee said it best in one of his films, "Don't think, feeeel."

Your homework assignment: Leave your phone at home and go for a walk alone to a safe place. Sit and listen to as many different sounds as you can without adding any judgement to them. Even if you hear a sound that would normally cause a reaction i.e. loud motorcycles, construction, vocal babies etc., try practicing observing things in their basics rather than with added emotion and judgement. 

For an added boost to this exercise, try switching to a focus on your breathing (don't worry, we're not getting into breathing exercises...yet ;0) and notice what different sounds you hear or how many sounds you now become aware of. 

Oh, and although it might sound silly suggesting closing your eyes is advanced, but you'd be surprised how difficult it can be to try sitting in a public park or city street with your eyes closed for any length of time without feeling like you'll be robbed. A very uneasy feeling comes over us in a very short period of time that both prevents us from relaxing and closing our eyes for too long. This might seem minor, but know that any resistance to this process must be looked at from this point forward as ego based. When they refer to interacting with the drug and not the person in cases of addiction, this is that situation when it comes to uncovering your true self. The child who wants it's blankie is what restricts your spiritual emergence. 

ACCEPT there is resistance to change that comes from a part of us we can't explain and move on... I really dislike corporations for stealing great sayings, but it's so true. The only way for you to make change is to just do it. Btw, I didn't mention the corporation on purpose and didn't cap their slogan, but if you instantly knew who I was referring to and saw a logo in your mind's eye (you know, that place in our head where we see the mind movies), then you've come to the right place... 

See you next time.