Selfishly Self Concerned

When the selfish self is in charge, you may think you have real concerns, but the truth is the only thing there’s a concern for is the selfish self getting what it wants when it wants it.

There’s so much conflict in our world, and although it’s all pointed outward, the only time something causes a conflict is when one wants what is happening or has happened to not only be different, but to also want it to be in the way they think it should be. One cannot have a true conflict with anything but oneself, and this is regardless of what happens. On my flight home yesterday from Florida, I was just sitting in quiet on the plane when the thought arose, how would I react if this plane was going to crash? What benefit would yelling, screaming and fearing death have? Would it change what was happening? Here’s the kicker, the only reason this would be considered a problem is because I would want what was happening to be different and preferably the way I think it should be. I know this is pretty drastic, but isn’t this the way it is with everything in our life. Look no further than our recent presidential election, now a recount, really?

Someone made a remark to me that not being concerned about something means I don’t care, but the lack of concern is only for what the selfish self thinks and as stated before, this is where all conflict arises from. In the case with the plane, the cause of the conflict would be the selfish self dying, isn’t death going to happen anyway at some point, so the conflict is caused by not wanting it to happen now, but that will not stop it from occurring. The plane analogy can be substituted with anything, if one is honest with themselves this will be seen. When the truth of this is revealed, it can have a deep impact on letting go of the selfish self because it will be seen that it does nothing but cause conflict with yourself, and unfortunately because of ignorance, some will actually believe they need to be this way. Whether it’s facing death, needing election results to be different or just about anything else you can think of, when the selfish self is in charge, you may think you have real concerns, but the truth is the only thing there’s a concern for is the selfish self getting what it wants when it wants it.

A Traveling Mind

When you are mentally somewhere other than where your body is, most of your life will be missed. Until there’s a mind and feet connection, the haze of the Conditioned Mind will continue its onslaught of control.

I was vacationing in Ft Lauderdale, Florida with my wife for the last four days and now that it’s time to go home, is my head going to be where my feet are? To me this is a very important question to ask because the mind goes to places where only the mind can go. You can be sitting on a couch or taking a shower and your mind will be in every place except where your feet are. The mind is constantly going to a place that only exist in your head and although it may be a stored memory, it isn’t what’s occurring right now so one isn’t truly living their life. Yes there is the physical existence and everyone who is alive experiences this, but just physically existing without awareness means you have a traveling mind and are in the haze of your conditioning. Watch the traveling mind as it bounces from place to place except where you truly are; where your feet are.

The point of this is to show how you may always be physically where your feet are, but if you’re not aware of where the mind is, you will most likely be somewhere else. This isn’t a good or bad thing, but it doesn’t allow you to live life as it happens. When you’re mentally somewhere other than where your body is, most of your life will be missed. The breath is used to stop the traveling mind because it anchors you in the body and when this occurs, one is physically and mentally in harmony with life as it’s happening. In this place of harmony with the mind and feet connected, you’ll be more aware of what life is offering; the haze of your conditioning will fall away and probably for one of the few times in your life it will truly be lived.

Finding Your Beach

Look down at your feet, regardless of where they're planted this is your beach. If it isn't it's because the need to reach is in place and it's blocking you from finding the beach you're already on.

When all of a sudden you're not at peace, what is it that takes you from it? The Corona beer commercial that tells you to "find you beach" always reminds me if I'm not at peace it's because I left my beach. For years I was constantly searching for my beach and expect for brief moments, my beach eluded me for most of my life. Why this was so was because my beach was always contingent on something that was outside of myself and whatever its form, it was always a beach based in what I thought I needed to provide comfort. There's no need to list what these beaches are because there are so many, they are the things one reaches for. These beaches come in many many forms and unless one truly takes a step back to see this, the reaching will always be there, but finding your beach will never happen.

The lies of the Conditioned Mind will dictate what you will reach for as your beach and until the conditioning to reach is changed, one's beach will continue to be sought and never be found. The only way this will change is by going inward to discover why there's a need to reach and once this is revealed, therein lies your beach. Your beach isn't from the thought realm though, it comes from the still small voice within that tells you it doesn't matter where you are or what's happening, all you have to do is look down at your feet and regardless of where they're planted this is your beach. If you need another beach it's because the need to reach is still in place and it's blocking you from finding the beach that you're already on.

Perfection in Place

Until one embraces the energy of just being with what's occurring right now, one will continue to seek what is deemed perfect and miss out on the perfection already in place.

The perfect life is never perfect because it's the way one may want it, it's perfect when one can accept it in the way that it is. Everything that occurs in life is perfect because it's what's there and although it will be labeled pleasant or unpleasant, neither one of these labels ever changes what occurs. The Conditioned Mind constantly pushes away the unpleasant and constantly tries to pull in what it deems as pleasant, but what's not understood is that both the pushing and pulling is the same energy. It's like positive and negative energy, most people want to be in a positive state and on the surface these energies may seem like total opposites, but upon further investigation what's revealed is positive and negative are from the same energy as pushing and pulling. Granted on the surface these energies produce much different results, but therein lies the issue because most people are controlled by results (the pleasant ones) and they think they're needed so life can be the way that it's wanted. I'm also not one for positive affirmations because that also is the energy of wanting things different or pushing and pulling energy. So what does this leave you with? What it leaves is for one to be in the space of stillness with what's actually occurring without labeling it, this is where true peace abides.

This peace doesn't push or pull, there's no need to when there's peace. Pushing and pulling energy only arises when the mind is agitated and one doesn't realize this is occurring. This is why being with what occurs in the present moment is so valuable because there's no pushing or pulling energy. When one is present, one is free and at peace. The Conditioned Mind is a liar and makes you believe all kinds of nonsense which makes you succumb to the pushing (unpleasant) or pulling (pleasant) energy, and until one embraces the energy of just being with what's occurring right now, one will continue to seek what is deemed perfect and miss out on the perfection already in place.

Open Your Heart to Everyone

Opening your heart to everyone includes yourself, so love yourself exactly as you are and understand if you don't, it's only because of the conditioning that's in place.

Tis the season, Apple has a Christmas commercial out and at the end of it it says "Open your heart to everyone" I teared up. It's a decision one has to be conscious of if it's to be put into place. There's so much unloving energy around that if one isn't conscious of the energy to open your heart to everyone, the conditioning will sneak in and keep one's heart closed. Awareness is the key in allowing the heart to open to everyone. Mostly the unloving or closed energy in place is there without fully realizing it. One may have an inkling that it's there, but without having a good amount of discipline which allows the mind to settle, this energy will be in control, even if it's not wanted to be.

I know I do things that aren't necessarily conducive to what's best for me, but they're still done because of the conditioning in place. Granted since I've been sitting and developing discipline, many things don't control me any longer, and for the most I am aligned with behaviors that are not only for my betterment, but also for the betterment of humanity, but things still are done even though I know better. It's just a part of the conditioning in place so I don't fret over it. I've learned you can only do what you're conditioned to do, and this won't change until the conditioning changes. Opening your heart to everyone includes yourself, so love yourself exactly as you are and understand if you don't, it's only because of the conditioning that's in place.

The Circle of Love

To be inside the circle of love, the heart must be unlocked and although this may not change what’s around you, it does change one’s view from looking inward to “I” to looking outward from love.

I’m sure everyone has heard the expression “the circle of life” but here’s a little different spin on it as “the circle of love”. Think of it as though life is a circle, when you love you’re inside the circle and when you don’t it means you’re living mostly from “I” which automatically puts you outside the circle. Outside the circle was how the first forty nine years of my life were lived. Occasionally I was in the circle, but not very often and this was because my “I” conditioning kept my heart locked which didn’t allow me to enter the circle. It’s nearly impossible to enter the circle from “I” because “I” is the lock that keeps that heart closed. When you see this, it gives you something tangible to work with which allows the heart to be unlocked, and with an unlocked heart one can be inside the circle of love.

Life and love can be synonymous, but only when one is inside the circle of love and one can only be inside when the heart is unlocked and opened. The locks of the world that keeps one outside the circle are many, it’s as though one is on the outside of a house looking in through a window. Love unlocks the heart to see things that were previously unseen, and this is what opens one to see as if they were inside the house looking out. When one is on the inside looking out it’s because the heart is unlocked and with the heart unlocked, it may not change what’s around you, but it does change one’s view from looking inward to “I” to looking outward from love.

Grateful To Be Alive

Grateful to be alive, not only for today, but for each and everyday because life itself is our greatest gift.

Being grateful for life occurs naturally as does love when there’s an understanding of what’s needed to live from the heart. Although love is natural it’s not automatic, so cultivating love is when life results in gratitude.

Gratitude naturally arises from a loving heart. It isn’t produced by attaching to anything from the materiel realm. If gratitude was from the material realm it would coincide with one’s possessions and that would make a person of wealth more grateful than one who didn’t have many? The true measure of a wealthy life has nothing to do with possessions, true wealth arises from a loving heart, that’s what measures wealth. You can only be grateful when you are content with life as it is, not with the way you wish it was or how it’s wanted or expected.

Wanting is never from our true self, it’s from the small self that thinks what’s wanted is needed to be complete. The true self never needs because it’s complete as it is. Needing arises from “I” it creates lack which creates a made up need. When there’s completeness there no lack so there’s no need. This lack also creates wanting and is in direct relation to one’s so called problems in life.
Whenever you want, it means you think life needs to be in some other way, this creates suffering. Gratitude doesn’t mean everything will be as wanted, but life must be accepted as it is if one is to be at peace and invoke a grateful heart; investigate this for yourself. Gratitude will not shield you from problems, it will allow you to not create them. Be grateful for your given life and you will find your loving heart, and when life is lived from a loving heart there will be harmony with yourself and with all beings. When this occurs you can’t help but to have an attitude that’s full of gratitude for life as it is, not because of what you possess, but because of the natural love that arises from your heart.

Head or Heart Living

Head (intellect) living knows love only through a story, heart living knows love through the peace that passes all understanding. The head will never understand what the heart knows intuitively.

The contrast between head and heart living is simply because the head is from the intellect and the heart is from love. If you’re truly aware of this you will pick up on the difference from something as simple as a FB response from someone. The heart connects and the head separates and it’s because the heart only knows unconditional love and the head only knows how to put conditions on everything, hence this is where one’s struggles stem from. It doesn’t mean when you live from the heart you won’t be troubled by things, they just won’t have the same adhering effect that living from the head creates. I notice head living immediately from the way a person responds to one of my post, this isn’t to say my post can’t be debated, but since I write from my heart when someone responds from the head it’s immediately picked up on because it creates some conflict.

Head living knows love only through a story, heart living knows love through the peace that passes all understanding. There’s very little if any “I” attachment living from the heart, living from the head there’s nothing but “I” attachment. All conflict with oneself and others come from the head, it’s impossible to have conflict when living from the heart, you may not enjoy everything that happens living from the heart, but you will accept it because that’s how the heart works. The love of the heart is from the energy of the Universe, it connects one to all that is. We are the energy of all creation and cannot truly be separated from it, but it can seem like one is separated because that’s what the energy of “I” (the head) does. When a person states there’s a void in their life, it’s because the head is causing a story of separation from the heart, but since everyone who is alive has a heart there’s no true separation, there’s only the contrast between the head and heart because the intellect and not the heart is running the show.

Believe if You Must

Every belief is formed for one reason and that’s to make life seemingly better. If it was this easy one could just go around making up belief after belief whenever life wasn’t going the way one thought it should be.

What is a belief and why are they needed? There are very few hard line facts in a belief. So what makes a person think a belief is needed to make life better? The only reason beliefs are made up to begin with is because of the way our minds have been conditioned. They’re used to keep the mind in a state of agitation by making one believe things need to be different for life to be better. It’s what the ego uses to keep one in bondage to a self that doesn’t exist. This is why most wars are started, because of an ego that forms beliefs, and whatever the belief is in, whether it’s in a God that’s going to make things better, or a superior race or the annihilation of one that will make things better, or if it’s a belief that if I didn’t write my post on this site things would be better, it all stems from one’s own conditioning of believing if things were different, life would be better.

So, to believe or not to believe, that is the question. It really has nothing to do with the belief, but it does have everything to do with arranging life and thinking if things were different, it would be better. This is what needs to be discovered if the falseness of a belief is to be revealed. If attaching to a belief is found to make life better, by all means believe, but for me I would have to say life is better without forming beliefs, especially that they probably exist only in my mind. If beliefs are seen to be real and have some facts to back them up, believe them, attach to them, use them, but in truth don’t be surprised if when they are needed to fall back on to make life better, they don’t do what was believed they were going to do.

A Fictitious Self

We don’t give names to wild animals, they’re categorized by their form, but humans are given names for identification purposes and this is the beginning of one’s fictitious self as an individual.

There are so many stories that go into the making of who you think you are that your true self gets blocked and is seldom noticed. Think about it, from the time you’re a child you’ve been conditioned by parents, relatives, teachers, friends, religions, all media, and whatever is in your DNA. Can you truly say this isn’t so? So I ask where is the true you in this identity of self? Existence in this form begins as an egg inside a women labeled mother and with Universal conditions being right, this eggs energy is transformed into human form. This form is then named for identification purposes and the rest of one’s existence is spent shaping the identity of a fictitious self, there is a self that does exist, it’s just not in the way that it’s perceived. We don’t give names to wild animals, they’re categorized by their form, but humans are given names for identification purposes and this is the beginning of one’s fictitious self as an individual. We attach to the things we think will benefit this fictitious self identity and so much of this comes from someone else’s idea. Every book that’s read is someone else’s idea of how they think life should be and if we like what they have to say, it’s taken as gospel as we follow them and take what they say and apply it to make up our self.

So much nonsense goes into the making of fictitious self and it’s the reason why there are issues when one is self centered. If your focus is constantly on self and your self is a story of made up nonsense, how may I ask can there not be issues when your self is the focus? An apple tree can only produce apples, as the made up self can only produce self created nonsense. This is the self that’s mostly perceived by humanity, but there is another self that’s been with you your entire existence, there’s just not awareness of it because of the focus on the fictitious self. Some say the self doesn’t exist, but I say it does, it’s just doesn’t exist in the way that most people think it does.

Evaluating Yourself

Evaluating and learning from your practice allows for one who was once lost, to now be found and one who was blind, to now see, but only because of having a practice in place that allows this.

If there’s not some kind of an evaluation process in place for your practice, it will be difficult to proceed in a direction where there will be any expansion in your life. The first thing to evaluate is if you even have a practice in place that’s practical and beneficial. I don’t mean a practice of belonging to certain groups, although there’s nothing wrong with that, but if it’s in place to just keep you busy, it’s not really a beneficial practice. Although it is a practice, the evaluation of how it is working to quiet the mind or how it keeps the mind agitations in place is what one needs to be aware of to allow for the continuous expansion of life’s process. I’m sharing this because this is what has allowed me to be as I am today. There’s no magic to this, a beneficial practice has to be in place if one is to experience beneficial results, this is as simple as one plus one equals two.

Evaluate your behavior, reactions, attachments, annoyances, and whatnot and see what is the driving force behind them. This driving force is the block to expanding beyond the nonsense of the Conditioned Mind. Without a solid practice in place that allows this to be seen, you might as well not practice at all because it’s just a waste of time and energy. Either do it right (beneficial) or don’t do it at all. One can only be free by being free and only a practice that puts you in harmony with life allows harmony with life, makes sense right? I practiced wrongly for many years and it produced results that weren’t beneficial, but I’ve evaluated and learned from this and because of this evaluation, where I was once lost, I’m now found and where I was blind, I now see, but only because of having a practice in place that allows this.

Out With the Old

Although the old may be firmly in place and it may be true that you don’t know what you don’t know, if this isn’t investigated what you don’t know will be the only thing that you know.

When a snake sheds its skin it’s because the snake is growing. If the old skin doesn’t fall away, growth will not occur. It’s the same with us, just substitute the skin of the snake with our ideas. Life is a natural process of learning and growing, but the base of one’s growth is dependent on the what the new is that’s replacing the old. For years I drove an old car in constant need of repair just to keep it up and running, and isn’t this how many live their life, constantly making adjustments and repair just to keep it running; not many truly live. It wasn’t until I purchased a new car that it was realized just how broken down the old car was. This goes with the saying ” you don’t know what you don’t know.” This is also what happened to me when I finally let go of the old ideas I had in place, I started to realize just how out of sorts my old thinking was, I began the process of shredding my old skin per se.

Although learning is a natural process of life, learning to grow spiritually is not automatic. It does seem to take some effort even if it’s only the willingness to head in that direction. There are many intellects in the world who don’t have a clue as to what it means to live spiritually in the space of growth; they never seem to shed their skin. The mind loves the familiar and will always try to convince you it’s better to stay in that space then to go to the space of the unknown. So it may be true that you don’t know what you don’t know, but if this isn’t investigated, what you don’t know will be the only thing that you know. And because nothing new is being allowed in, the old skin will remain in place and new growth will not be allowed to occur.

Conditioned to Self Destruct

Looking at yourself takes more courage then most people will ever exhibit, but only because the conditioning in place doesn’t allow it, and until your life isn’t about you anymore, your conditioning prevails.

Everyday I’m more and more amazed at the things that people are ok holding onto with the emphasis totally on satisfying themselves. This is without much consideration for anyone else and it’s strictly from an “I gots to get mine” attitude. I know it’s because they know not what they do, but the suffering this causes and how it cements the conditioning in place can be truly disheartening. Notice I said can be disheartening because if one is truly awake, there’s the understanding that the way things are is the way things are and wanting them different also cements the conditioning in place. I’m writing about this because it’s heart breaking, when you have answers and not many are willing to hear, it’s like having a cure for cancer, but nobody will listen. Without going into specifics, the conditioned unconsciousness runs so deep that people will justify doing all kinds of self destructive behavior without blinking an eye; drugs, alcohol, gambling, porn, rioting, protesting, total defiance for any authority, murder, rape, assault, and robbery and this is only the tip of the Conditioned Mind iceberg. Here is why this is, at least from my experience, it’s much easier because of the way one is conditioned to justify self destructive behavior than to look at yourself. Truly looking at yourself takes more courage then most people will ever exhibit, not because they can’t, but because the conditioning in place doesn’t allow it.

I offer to talk to people to possibly assist them because of something they may be going through and all kinds of excuses are made not to connect. I get it, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch people suffering when there’s a way out. So this means people would rather remain in their suffering then to go beyond it, that’s the part that’s heart breaking. I don’t say this because I’m a know it all, but I have been released from the grip of my Conditioned Mind to a degree and was provided answers to strictly share my experience with others. How do I know that I’ve truly broken free from the Conditioned Mind, because my life isn’t about me anymore.

Conditioned Mind Antics

Peace is the natural process of awareness because when one is aware of their Conditioned Mind antics, the antics lose their hold as the need to do falls away and one is naturally at peace.

If you have to be doing something, this is because of the subtleness of how the Conditioned Mind is in control without you even realizing it and until this is realized so you can apply the brakes and stop doing, the antics of your conditioning will remain in place. These antics of the Conditioned Mind will not be seen by a mind that’s attached to the antics. I woke up this morning and my postings for the day were done because I did it at night, so my mind began to look for something to do. This is the value of awareness because instead of blindly following the antics of doing, I was able to look down at my feet and say shhhhhh, which immediately stopped the antics energy of having to do something. You cannot put a price on this awareness because life is so much different then when it’s full of the antics of the Conditioned Mind.

Do this, do that, look over there, if only, I should, I wish, I want, I need, why did I do that, these are just some of the antics of the Conditioned Mind and they literally wreck havoc on life. Without awareness, this havoc is the controlling energy of life and unfortunately this is the energy of most lives. What makes this so damaging is because most people are oblivious that the antics exist so it’s one antic after another. When there’s awareness of the antics one can say stop, this immediately transforms one’s energy from needing to do something to peace. Peace is the natural process of awareness because when one is aware of their Conditioned Mind antics, they lose their hold as the need to do falls away and one is naturally at peace.

A Surface Stranger

What’s seen on the surface of life is all a facade and until it’s seen that below the surface is what truly matters, one will be living as though you were a stranger unto yourself.

It’s very easy to live a surface life and get caught up in what society presents as the best way to live, and although this may benefit society as a whole, one will need to sit and contemplate if surface living is truly beneficial to them. There are many traps provided by society to keep surface living in place, from politics, religion, social and the regular media, and so many others, these are used to keep one attached to form and blind to the impermanent nature of all things. Surface living makes everything seem as though it’s in solid form, but upon further investigation the fallacy of this may be seen. When you look in the mirror you see what’s on the surface, but what’s not seen is your blood pumping, breathing, the heart beating, and whatever else is going on beneath the surface of the image in the mirror. It’s easy to attach to form because it’s what’s on your he surface, but one must go beneath the surface to see the true nature of the emptiness of form. Only the Conditioned Mind makes everything solid, thus one’s view sees everything that’s upon the surface.

To get to a place where the emptiness of form can be understood, the mind will have to settle enough to allow this. This isn’t understood, nor is it a desired state that most people want to go to because to the Conditioned Mind it’s a scary place. Going beneath the distractions of the surface, one encounters their true self not the made up character who lives on the surface. When this happens one comes face to face with a stranger. The Conditioned Mind will try to keep you distracted from this by using what’s familiar, but you can get beyond the familiar with awareness. What’s on the surface is a facade and until it’s seen that below the surface is what truly matters, one will be living as though you were a stranger unto yourself.

False God Bondage

There are many “False Gods” out there that are used as idols that keeps one in bondage, and although it may appear that the “False Gods” create the bondage, the bondage is to I that attaches to the idol.

There are many traps that induce bondage in the world, the Bible uses the description of “False Gods” and there’s no difference if it’s an idol as stated in the Bible or simply attaching to a self image, to me the “False God” description is right on. Here’s where this gets tricky because anything that is made into a story and is attached to is a “False God” because it becomes a prison to the one who is attached to the story. Even God is made into an idol by most people and becomes a prison although most don’t see this. Just look at the different religions and how all the followers of a particular one think theirs is the right one. Many of these religions have beautiful teachings, but it’s in the way they’re attached to that actually takes away from them. This isn’t to say there isn’t value in them, but there’s never value in attaching to something because it enforces an I am right and you are wrong aura.

I found this “False God” attachment happening to me yesterday, someone didn’t agree with my article, so right away I felt I had to defend it, after all I wrote it so it has to be right, lol. I always have to look at myself so I can identify what form my “False God” is taking on. I’m not saying there is or isn’t a God, this is just to show how attachment to anything becomes bondage and blocks the heart from remaining open to allow everything its freedom. “False Gods” take over when they get control of I as I become one’s idol. I am right is an idol, as is anything one reaches for. The world presents many “False Gods” disguised as idols and until these “False Gods” are identified, the idol of I will remain and so will one’s bondage.

The Space of Truth

Truth isn’t a made up story, it’s not something that can be held onto, it’s only known when it’s realized there’s nothing to know and it’s in the not knowing that the truth will set you free.

To me it’s clear what truth is and here’s why: Nine years ago when I started to look into a different way to live my life, at the core of this looking was an urge to find peace. I didn’t know much about anything, but I did know I needed a different way to view life. I understood one thing, that my own mind was the cause as to why I wasn’t at peace, so I set out to find out why this was and if it was possible to be at peace. As this process of self inquiry proceeded, my view was slowly becoming different and as this happened my life become less and less about me. It didn’t become about anyone else, it just wasn’t all about fulfilling my wants and desires anymore; when this happens qualities associated with love naturally arise. This doesn’t mean everything goes the way that it’s wanted, but it’s does mean it doesn’t matter how it goes because if it’s not all about me then there’s no story of wanting and needing things a certain way and without a story one is at peace.

Truth is difficult to describe in words because it’s interpreted differently by everyone, but I have found truth in the space of what is; not what is itself, in the space of what is. What is is given many labels depending on what’s occurring at the time. It can horrible, beautiful, or neutral, the label doesn’t change what’s actually occurring, being in the space of what’s occurring changes it and that’s because without a label there’s only space. In this space there’s no story and without a story is when truth is revealed. It’s not a made up truth, it’s the truth of just being with what’s here right now and not needing to add a label or story to it. In this space is where one finds truth, but it has nothing to do with you or anyone else and this is when one will clearly see the truth that will set you free.

Changing Direction

Not many people will change something in their life unless they see a reason for it, but even if it’s seen, without some sort of understanding of the Conditioned Mind, it will be difficult to do the things that allow change to take place.

There has to be an understanding of what you’re trying to do so you can at least head in that direction. Without some sort of understanding of this, it will be difficult to do the things that will allow change in your life, if that is what you’re looking for. Not many people will change something in their life unless there’s a reason to change and for me the reason was because the tools I had in place weren’t allowing me to do the things that were beneficial to me or anyone else. So I reached a point in my life and not a favorable one, where I wasn’t doing things that were producing results conducive to love. Tools are developed over a course of one’s life and they may have worked for your entire life, but if for some reason life becomes more and more of a struggle and you want the struggle to cease, new tools will be needed.

Even though I didn’t realize it growing up, the tools I developed were leading me to my own destruction. A person has to see this to stop it from occurring. The tool of reaching for something is what was causing this destruction and it was because the tool of noticing the mind agitations was never developed. This is the only reason a person reaches for anything, the mind becomes agitated and the tool to reach is attached to. To change this, a new direction is needed so a new tool can be developed and I’ve found the tool of sitting to be helpful in the endeavor. Today I understand the Conditioned Mind enough that I do things that allows for the mind agitations to be noticed. By noticing I can use a developed tool that doesn’t attach to them and lo and behold with no need to reach, there in lies one’s peace.

A Gap of Paradise

Thousands of hours of time and money are spent on trying to fill a gap that doesn’t need filling. The nature of the gap is emptiness and it will always be there. It’s not your enemy; in its emptiness one is filled.

People spend thousands of dollars to go on vacation and at the time it seems to be a great idea, and in a way it is because when you are there everything seems like paradise, but the first thing to understand is wherever you go there you are which could be scary and second because of the Conditioned Mind, not only is the fantasy better than the reality, but before you know you are back home. This is not to say don’t go on vacation, but the stark reality is you can always be on vacation if your mind finds your place of peace. I’m talking from experience here because for forty nine years my life was exactly how I wanted it to be and yet I had to always reach for something to fill in a gap I didn’t understand. This gap equates to always needing to be on vacation (reaching for something), but I didn’t understand the part of wherever I went there I was. My own mind was an enemy not an ally and I had no idea this was occurring, so basically to my conditioned mind, I always needed to be planning a vacation because life was never good enough in the moment I was in; regardless of how it was there was always a gap.

Here’s the real irony in this, I was trying to fill a gap of emptiness that is still there today, but what I have come to understand is it doesn’t need filling, in its emptiness there’s fulfillment. And this is the issue with most people, they’re trying to fill a gap that doesn’t need filling because the nature of it is emptiness. That’s what a gap is, empty. So regardless of what’s used to fill it, it never gets filled, it can’t because it doesn’t need filling. Today I understand this gap is not my enemy nor does it need filling and although there are times when I do go on vacation, it’s not because I’m trying to escape to paradise, I’m in paradise everyday that I’m alive and it’s the gap of emptiness that provides this.

Hate Despises Itself

Hate will never be driven out by hate, so if it’s not observed that hate is in place, hate will remain and the energy that one despises in another will be the same energy that’s controlling their life.

Many things will cross your path throughout the day, some will be liked, some will not, and others you couldn’t care less about, but the key to the things that arise, is being aware of them and observing which ones grab you, which ones are pushed away, and which ones naturally come and go without attaching to them because there’s nothing there to adhere to. These observations become more and more important as one becomes more aware of them. Things occur all the time, but they’re not noticed, very few people are in touch with observing them which allows the things that occur to be in control. Many things occur in life that aren’t particularly cared for as demonstrated by the recent election, but all the energy that’s going in to not accepting the results and trying to change it with non loving actions, generates the same energy one is protesting against.

Unloving energy will never be changed with unloving energy, especially when the driving force behind it arises because one didn’t get their way. If this isn’t observed it will keep the unloving energy in place. Hate will never be driven out by hate, so if it’s not observed that hate is in place hate will remain and the very thing that one despises is the very thing that one becomes. This is the way it is when one is unconscious and allows things to affect you. There’s nothing wrong with being disappointed for a second, but after that it becomes attachment and suffering begins. And this suffering isn’t because things didn’t work out the way that is wanted, no the suffering arises because one has no clue the energy that’s despised in another is the same energy that’s controlling your life.

Conditioned Mind Insanity

Only the Conditioned Mind really cares about winning and losing and it’s because when it applies one of those labels, there’s attachment to the emotional energy of being happy or sad.

The insanity of the Conditioned Mind was in full swing on this day after the election of 2016 in the USA. The smugness of the winners, the bitterness of the losers and why this is insane is because it’s all created from within each individual and it keeps us divided. We think our division is with others, but it’s only with ourselves that we’re divided. In truth there is no such thing as a winner or loser, there’s only the applied label that makes this so. One person got more electoral votes than the other, so they got the position that is being vacated in January. The labels that one applies to the circumstances in all of life is what causes the insanity because it makes one attach to the situations, and since attachment is the root of all suffering, even if the one you labeled as your candidate was elected, you will still suffer. Suffering is the natural energy of attachment. Smugness is suffering as is bitterness.

This insanity goes on all the time not just at election time. The presidential election just makes one’s attachment deeper because the campaigning has been going on for a long period of time. This is why issues within families often arise because the attachment has been in place for a very long time. There’s very little attachment with a stranger so there’s very little issue with them and this is because there’s very little time spent with them. This awareness is a very valuable tool to use in understanding the insanity of the Conditioned Mind, without it one’s conditioning remains the main reason the day after the election people are still holding onto all their unloving energy. It doesn’t matter who won except to those who attach to the candidate of their choosing and it’s only the Conditioned Mind that really cares because it applies the label of winner or loser and it attaches to the emotional energy of being happy or sad.

Your Life is Yours

Your life is yours and as easy as it may be to follow someone else’s path, if they didn’t live the life that you’re leading, their tools just may not be the most beneficial for the way your life is.

There are many people that came before us who left directions to follow a path that they used to show how to bring peace into your life. An example can be when one is in the forest, it’s very easy to follow a path that’s been laid out before you, but to me there’s much more that can be learned by looking at things through your eyes and carving a path which is more beneficial for your life. Follow Jesus, Buddha, or some others, but the thing to ask yourself is did they live the kind of life that you live, if not although their teachings may have immense value, unless they can be applied to the life you live, their significance may not apply. This isn’t to down play anyone’s path, but I’m a parent, a husband, I have a career and haven’t been out sick for nine years. I also own a home which requires constant maintenance amongst all the other responsibilities that come along with this kind of life. I don’t know of many that came before me that led this kind of life, so although I studied many spiritual teachers (not followed), I’m carving my life with tools that apply to what’s being revealed to me, leaking roofs and all.

What happens when a person blindly follows someone is they remain blind to the experiences in their own life that truly allows one to learn and grow. It’s very nice to say I’ll just let it go, but unless this is truly understood, when the boiler stops working in the middle of the winter or the AC is blowing hot air when it’s 95 degrees outside, let’s see if who you are following went through that and how easy it is to let go, especially when your family is involved. Like I said this isn’t to down play anyone’s path or not to utilize the tools that others left behind, but carve a path that’s practical to YOUR life and since everyone’s life is different and a person can only share their tools as they apply to their life, stop following anyone and start using the tools that are practical and beneficial to your life.

To Desire is Human

Our walk of life is not one of a made up perfection where it has to be the way one thinks it should be, whatever arises has to be accepted exactly as it is with seeing the perfection in the desire of wanting things different.

Being human means having desires and unless this is accepted exactly as it is without one needing things to be a certain way so one can get a better seat in heaven or move up on the angelic chain of command, life will seem to always have some kind of struggle associated with it. One of the common traits I notice when I talk to people about the Conditioned Mind is not truly accepting themselves exactly as they are, with a self imposed label of imperfect being applied . There are so many conditioned desires engrained in each of us and if they’re not accepted as they arise, one will live a struggled existence, needing those desires to be different than what they are.

Accept yourself in each moment desires and all and just watch as they arise. This isn’t a right or wrong thing, it’s just part of being human and it has to be accepted if there’s to be peace in one’s life. Today being Election Day in the US means there is opinionated energy all around and it will cause much suffering as there will be a desire for what’s voted for to play out the way one wants it. This wanting usually manifest as individual energy, but today it will be both individual and collective energy and if the results aren’t accepted as they are, it’s because one’s opinionated desires are in control and wants different results. Anything that happens has to be accepted as it is if one is to be at peace. This is made difficult because things occur and because one is human, an attached label is applied to what arises as being unpleasant, this makes one want whatever arises to be different and as long as one’s energy doesn’t accept their humanness as it is, peace will never be had.

Addicted to Thinking

Notice how much you think the same thoughts over and over and you just may be able to settle in a place where your thinking isn’t in control and you may also realize thinking the same thoughts doesn’t really provide much of a benefit.

As long as you’re alive you will think, actually thinking occurs even if you aren’t alive it’s just not you doing it. So thinking isn’t really about what happens as much as it’s about how much one relates their thinking to what happens. This is where one’s conditioning steps in and determines the relation to what thoughts come next. Thinking can be based in love, or it can based in hate, but for most it teeters between the two. Very few go to the extreme of either one of these in their thinking, so the results for most are just constantly switching between the two. When one’s thinking does hit an extreme level, the results are contingent on how much one is conditioned to constantly think; this thinking is what manifest as the emotions that take you for a ride. If you have love as the main influence in your life, obviously you will think of love more than a person who had hate as their influence. This all arises from the individual so if you truly notice the base of your thinking, you may be able to alter your actions. Besides relying on divine intervention which will probably not occur, it will take practice to allow the mind to settle so the base of one’s thinking is noticed.

The true addictions in our society is to thinking and when I is the main subject, it makes one’s existence very irrational. Now multiply that by billions of people and hence you have the world we live in; billions of people constantly thinking about I strictly for their own personal gain. There’s no one to blame for this, it just arises from the thinking within each of us. From the serial killer to the person who does volunteer work, it’s the thinking mind that causes extreme emotional twist and everything else in between. So sit often with the intention of developing the ability to notice how much your thinking is stuck on I and you just may be able to settle in a place where the mind quiets and hopefully you’ll come to realize life isn’t really about I, you just think it is.

Let Your Love Shine Through

You may not be able to change the way things are right now, but you can live in a way that lets your love shine through by just being with the task at hand and doing what’s in front of you.

To love life, one must love the task at hand. The task at hand is what is happening right now. It’s the only place that life can truly be lived. It’s the only place that your love can shine through. If you don’t love the task at hand, how can your love shine through? Life can never be better then it is right now, because right now is the task at hand. Only the Conditioned Mind makes you think this isn’t so. Life is always lived with what here’s now because what’s here now is the task at hand. You can wish for things to be different, but it’s your life that is being wished away. So do what is in front of you now, and let your love shine through.

Our path is laid before us to do the best we can with the tools we have, but there needs to be a clear path to let our love shine through; it’s very easy to veer off the path if there isn’t vigilance. There are many diversions that will try and knock one off it. It’s like our life is an obstacle course and the obstacles are in place to divert us from the task at hand, from our present, which is the Here and Now. There is only one present, one task, and one life, but there are many many obstacles. One of the main obstacles is the conditioning of wanting things different. The mind tells you, if the task at hand was different than life would be better, but this is a lie. Things are always the best they can be right now, because the present is where life happens. So if you can’t change the way that things are right now, you can at least live in a way that lets your love shine through. So just do the task at hand because it’s life as it is right now and be with whatever it is that life gives you that lets your love shine through.

Investigate Everything

Investigate what’s been written or said before holding onto the story I makes you think you need. Do it with everything read or heard and in this space of investigating you will find not only truth, but freedom too.

I love all of humanity, but I’m not here to make friends or become rich or famous. I’m here or so it seems to me (my story) to share what has been revealed to me. The lies that are in place hurt us all, and I cannot stand by idle to them. As I’ve often said I’m not here to save the world, but when I see a conditioned lie, I will it expose it for what it is. I know I’m judged for this, but what others think of me isn’t a concern because it would mean I am stuck in the same ignorance. Assisting others to understand the Conditioned Mind is why I do what I do.

The Conditioned Mind is so subtle that at times someone will write something that is seen differently by me and there is an obligation to at least share what’s been revealed to me. It doesn’t usually go so well, but I know not to take it personal because I doesn’t like it when it’s told to look at itself, it just may be discovered I isn’t needed so the conditioning in place defends itself. I responded to something about forgiveness, to me the word forgiveness itself invokes bondage. Everyone has a right to see things as they are conditioned, I just know for me in the present moment there’s just what’s there, everything else is a story and a story whether its given a title of forgiveness, grief, love, hate, or whatever, is an attachment to I that keeps one in bondage. This is my view and it has freed me from creating stories, but I know not many can see this because not many can see beyond I.

So much is perceived as truth and it’s just because it has been in place and reinforced for so long, but that alone doesn’t make it true. I don’t care who writes what, it has to be investigated if truth is to be revealed. There was a response by someone yesterday who said true to something written, I asked was it investigated before it was decided that it was true? I’m not even sure what he said true to, but it still needs to be investigated if truth is to be revealed. See how the attachment to I is at the core of all beliefs, which are just created stories to keep one in bondage to I. It will take much quietness to see this. My responses aren’t confrontational disagreement to what someone has written, although to one’s I they will be taken as so, all I’m saying is investigate what’s been written or said before holding onto whatever story I makes you think you need. I do it with everything I read and in this space of investigating I have found not only truth, but freedom too.

The Collective Conditioning

There’s so much collective conditioning in our society, it’s almost impossible to break free. This is why it’s so difficult to break an addiction because the thing addicted to is always focused on and not the collective conditioning of I.

The collective conditioning will pull you along as if you are a puppet on a string unless there is some awareness that this is happening. To me the only thing that allows this awareness to happen is one’s thoughts slowing down enough to where there’s a millisecond of space between them, if space is created the collective conditionings pull lessens. The only thing I’ve found that allows this space is discipline developed by sitting, it’s very important to understand this because people sit for hours with other intentions and the moment they’re finished, their thoughts take over again. An understanding of what is being done is beneficial because it allows for a clear path which keeps the mind open to learn. If everything stays in the head as intellect, it will be difficult to break free from the energy the collective conditioning emits. The larger the group of the collective conditioning, the harder it is to pull away.

One example of this is from the Bible, the masses grew and grew as the Pharisees publicly persecuted Jesus, and as more people were pulled into the collective conditioning, the energy to have him crucified grew. If you research some of the conquerors of the past, you will see how the collective conditioning works, as their reigns became deeper and they expanded their empires, the collective conditioning became deeper. There’s so much collective energy in our society it’s almost impossible to break free of it as it’s reinforced daily. It’s why addiction is so hard to break free of, not because of the thing addicted to, but because of the collective conditioning of I that keeps it in place, This even includes those trying to help in the addiction field because the addiction is to I and the focus is always on the thing one is addicted to. Until I is addressed and space between ones thoughts is created so I loses its hold, very few people will ever truly break free because the collective conditioning won’t allow space between one’s thought as the collective I remains in control.

A True Gauge

Because of the way one’s mind becomes conditioned, its normal state is mostly agitated. A true gauge of life is if you’re at peace right now with the world exactly as it is without having to save it.

Do what it is you think you need to do to get the desired results you think are needed, but see what’s guiding you to where that is. If one is to get a true gauge as to what’s really going on in their life, there will have to be a deep awareness of why one is heading in the direction they’re going. There are reasons why a person seems to constantly struggle with being at peace and as subtle as this can be, it’s not something most people consciously think about. Because of the way one’s mind becomes conditioned, its normal state is mostly agitated. From the time a person starts their day the agitations start. The alarm clocks rings and when the snooze button is hit or one says I have to get up now, although it’s not thought that you’re not at peace, the bottom line is you’re not.

Constantly having to do something is a mind agitation that keeps one from the awareness that its agitated. Save the world if that’s the direction you think you need to go in, just understand maybe the world doesn’t need you to save it. If you’re not truly at peace in the moment without having to do anything, that’s what needs to be looked at. Nothing else matters because regardless of what you’re doing, it will only be a made up story that keeps the mind in an agitated state. So many people are so busy trying to save the world that they don’t see the forest from the trees and until the beauty of the moment is seen and one can just be and not have to do something, peace will not be had because one will be too busy trying to save a world that just may not need saving. So to me a true gauge of life is if there is peace right now with the world exactly as it is without having to save it.

A View Related Life

Situations unfold in life and the view that’s in place is the way one will respond to those situations as they occur, as a matter of fact everything is related to one’s view and will be responded to accordingly.

For many many years my view of life was one of constant judgment, the moment a situation arose it was judged. The base of these judgements were from a place where there wasn’t much room for anything or anyone but myself. The thing about this view is I didn’t know it was in place nor did I know there was any other way but this way to relate to what arose in my life, and it was all because the view in place didn’t allow for an openness to see things differently. This is one of the main reasons there was very little change in my life, and it’s the reason why there’s very little true change in most lives. These views are developed over long periods of time and get so deeply engrained, that’s why it usually takes something catastrophic for a person to change. These views come with a set of tools and they’re used as one sees fit to get what they want, whether consciously or unconsciously.

The tools in place are also developed and are used according to how one relates them to the base of their life. If the base is selfish and immature so will the tools be, but this also applies where one’s base is of love, the tools used will be in relation to love.
Everyone’s behavior is related to the tools and base of their existence and what is extremely unfortunate is so many people lack the maturity to have a base of love, not because they can’t, but because it has never been developed. There’s so much nonsense that goes on between one’s ears and it’s because of never truly maturing. You don’t think this is so, just look at the pacifier you are using to bring comfort to your life. And although many have aged beyond sucking on pacifier, it’s still being used except it’s in a different form. Please understand there’s no judgement here, there’s only what is seen, and until one truly relates their behavior with the base of how life is viewed, a pacifier will continued to be reached for in whatever form is desired because it’s how one relates to the view that’s in place.

Remembering Pleasure

Understanding the phenomenon of remembering is very important in breaking the chains of bondage because it’s the attachment to I that makes one only remember what’s pleasurable.

The phenomenon of how we remember things and constantly bringing them into the present is simply that, a phenomenon. Although this happens without it being realized, when it is realized it changes the way one views existence. Remembering how things truly are gets distorted in a way because they are viewed through the conditioning that’s in place. This conditioning mostly manifest in constantly seeking pleasure. Think of this, when someone dies no one gets up and says the person was a SOB, what’s usually said, borders on making the individual a saint and that’s regardless even if when alive the person was a SOB. This is the phenomenon that’s in place and until it is realized, one’s life is spent constantly seeking to make up pleasurable memories. The mind doesn’t like unpleasant memories so it makes up one’s to remember things pleasurable, regardless if they really were or even happened or not. This is part of the survival instinct engrained in us. Even those who remember painful events, they’re still used to find something pleasurable, even if to just push them away, hence this is why one reaches outside themselves for comfort.

Nobody reaches for anything for any other reason but to provide themselves comfort, but in this comfort seeking is so much unconscious suffering. Comfort pleasure, pleasure comfort, these two go hand in hand and until this is understood they’ll continue to cause one to suffer unconsciously. Understanding the phenomenon of remembering is very important in breaking the chains of bondage because it’s the attachment to I that makes one only remember what’s pleasurable. Even to the points of its own destruction I seeks pleasure, just look in any rehab or detox, every drug or drink of alcohol taken had the lure of pleasure associated with it or it wouldn’t have be taken, by understand this isn’t limited to just those things substances, this goes for anything that’s reached for. The mind defaults to what’s familiar and it uses pleasure as it’s lure and until it’s realized and remembered that this happens, one will continue to remember everyone as being a saint, at least that’s what’s said when they die.