Simply Being a Light

Life is a learning experience and if you’re not learning it’s probably because you have your own agenda of what you think life is about. When you truly see the light, your own agenda is no more and simply falls away.

It’s very important to be a pillar of consistency so people know there’s a place they can go for what they’re looking for. I’ve been told by people they start their day reading my articles so it’s expected they will be there. I don’t mind that and because of what has been revealed to me I’m honored to be used as an instrument to spread seeds of love. Everyone needs a place where they know it’s safe from the unconsciousness of the world. It does matter where you go for your peace, if you go to a place that’s used as a distraction, it may feel like peace, but it isn’t. So if you get lost let’s say in a full day of watching football, the day will go by and this is because time waits for no one, but if you’re spending the same day in a state of mindfulness you will be a place that people can turn to as a place of refuge.

Fear not what others who are unconscious say, just stand your ground in what you know is truth and let no one take you from your peace. Be the light of love in a world that is mostly based in the ego, this allows others to be the light of love which is needed for any transformation to occur. The love that draws someone to you is the love that becomes a part of them. This life is a learning experience and if you’re not learning it’s probably because you have your own agenda of what you think life is about. When you truly see the light your own agenda is no more and falls away. This place with no agenda is a place of peace and when you remain there others will also go there as it’s the one place of refuge where one can truly be at peace by simply being a light.

Time and the Monkey Mind

Until the veil of ignorance is removed, the “monkey mind” will be in control. This isn’t in place as something that’s wrong, but it does block one’s true essence from arising and because of this one doesn’t truly live.

It’s often said one should practice being in the present moment, but in reality this is impossible because the present moment instantly becomes the past. Even before you can finish saying I’m in the present moment, it’s already in the past. Watching the unfolding of time as each moment occurs is key if one is to not get caught up in the “monkey mind” which is a mind that’s constantly in the past or future. This “monkey mind” is the state that most of humanity is stuck in. It’s the energy that most emit out, this is one reason it’s so difficult to go beyond it. People see things through this mind and because of ignorance are blocked from realizing this. Until this veil of ignorance is removed the “monkey mind” remains in control. The “monkey mind” isn’t in place as something that’s wrong, but it does deter one’s true essence from arising and thus it blocks one from reaching their full potential.

The unfolding of time is something one needs to become more aware of if the mind is to slow down. This slowing down can occur if there’s something in place to allow it, although this won’t just happen on its own, but there’s also nothing one can do to make it happen so it would seem as though one is stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is all part of the”monkey mind” it’s in place to make life chaotic just like a monkey, hence the name. One thing I’ve noticed that allows for the “monkey mind” to be tamed somewhat is to be aware of it in relation to time. Time is one of the “monkey mind” key elements so instead of using time in the conventional way, just watch how each moment unfolds. This unfolding is constant and when it’s seen the mind naturally slows, and this is because time is no longer being used as the key that lets the monkey out of its cage.

Turning Away From I

Needing to turn in to an object happens because it’s one’s I that makes this so. Only turning away from this clinging will result in freedom and this is because it’s the turning away that provides the letting go.

When one is caught turning into an object of desire and it takes hold of all your attention, the only way to break free of this is to have awareness you’re caught. Once this occurs turning away from the object is the only way the hold will be broken. The object doesn’t matter in the sense in can be anything from a thing, a place, people or even yourself, but what does matter is seeing whatever it is that’s making you turn into it. There are so many different objects used that one will have to decipher for themselves what holds them. The turning into is different only because of the object used, but the turning away is the same as long as there isn’t substitutions. Many people stop smoking only to use food and eventually go back to turning into using cigarettes. This is just one example, substitution is rampant in our society and this keeps one locked into turning in and remaining on the merry go round of using objects.

Turning away from whatever it is that grips you is where you will experience true freedom. Why this is difficult for most people to truly see is because I is not seen as the core of the turning and this is why substitutions are so prevalent. If the turning in results in using drugs or alcohol as its object, when a program is used to stop using them, unless one turns away from I drugs and alcohol will most likely be used again. Why this is so is because the program is used to turn in also and although one stops using drugs and alcohol, the program is used as substituting one object for another and doesn’t provide true freedom. Only turning away will result in freedom and that’s because it’s the turning away that provides it. This is why the object doesn’t matter, because it’s one’s I that makes one turn in and it’s only in turning away from I that one will be free.

A Conditioned Mind Notices

See how a mind agitation arises from your conditioning, it’s not there because you were born that way or that’s just the way you are, it’s there strictly because it’s the way you’ve been conditioned.

It’s very important to get in touch with the conditioning of why one does what they do, but to go beyond this conditioning to get to a deeper Universal Truth which leads to a greater understanding of humanity and the nature of all things, one’s mind must settle to the point where the conditioning is not just noticed, but it also loses its control. If this is just noticed, but still holds you in its grip, the mind will remain in a state of agitation constantly needing the present moment to be different. This is regardless of what’s happening because wanting the moment different doesn’t change what’s happening. See how this agitation arises strictly from one’s conditioning. It’s not there because that’s just the way you are or you were born that way, it’s there because it’s the way you’ve been conditioned.

To go beyond the conditioning that has so much control over you, there has to be a moment of space created that stops the incessant thoughts which keeps the mind spinning in circles. One thought then another and another and another, it doesn’t stop until there’s awareness this is happening. Sit with some method of meditation strictly for the purpose of developing discipline and watch this discipline settle the mind. This is how it happened for me, I sat and lo and behold my mind begin to settle and I started noticing the conditioning and just how much control it had over me. This is the core of what was revealed to me and it’s the core of my writings. The more space there is between one’s thoughts the more discipline there is to notice the conditioning and when it’s noticed, one can then do what’s necessary to go beyond it and watch its control fall away.

Are Our Conclusions Real?

The Conditioned Mind is a story making machine and all the stories eventually come to a conclusion. However most of these conclusions are unconsciously created to fit into a story of fulfilling some selfish desire.

The conclusions the mind conjures up need to be investigated so one can tell if they’re real or not and by real I mean beneficial to one’s life. So many people come to the conclusion about certain things without looking if those conclusions are producing results that are beneficial. Many conclusions are accepted that benefit only oneself and it doesn’t go much further than that. Even if you’re running around saving the world, the first thing is, who says the world needs saving and also is the running around helping others done more for your own well being. It’s very difficult to get in touch with real conclusions that arise from the space of stillness as opposed to the ones that are made up to satisfy some story.

Most of life’s conclusions are created to fit nicely into a story for one’s owns benefit. Very few people are truly selfless, not because that don’t want to be, but by not understanding the dynamics of the Conditioned Mind there’s no way one can be. Every story has a conclusion, it’s just part of the story, so there are two ways to see if your conclusions are real; the first would be to not create a story, this way a conclusion isn’t needed, and the second is to understand energy is not created or destroyed, it’s only transformed. Although this form that’s being occupied will one day come to the conclusion of not functioning in its current state anymore, its energy goes on and if you want to see if this conclusion is real, sit and be still and you will see no conclusion is real and neither is one’s story.

Primary Experiences

Every experience starts out as a primary one, that is until one needs to add a story to it because the ability not to isn’t in place. Until it is, one’s primary experience will always be secondary to their story.

Life will always be as it is, but how that’s experienced will be to the level of the experience remaining primary as opposed to needing to add to it. Adding to what arises is what most people do, anything that arises is primary, but usually one adds to it to create a life of how they think it should be. When what’s primary is liked and is pleasurable there will be much effort made to make it last for as long as possible, even if it’s not the healthiest choice. And if what’s primary is disliked and is deemed unpleasurable, there will be much more effort made to push it away, until something that’s thought to be more pleasurable comes along. Check this to see if this isn’t so in your life.

Everything that arises is always primary, it’s what’s there before it’s labeled and added to. The further away one gets from what’s primary the more a pattern is developed to not be with what’s primary. This is why it’s so hard to sit and be still because there aren’t many primary experiences that one can fall back on; they’re there, but they’re pushed away and replaced with a story. Everything is primary before it becomes a story, but unless the mind is settled a story will have to be added. The key to this is learning to see the primary arising and just being with it, this way nothing is added and whatever it is that arose will now become a primary experience, and when this occurs no story will need to be added.

Category of Emotions

Emotions arise when there’s attachment to something that triggers them. At the root of this is I and as long as I is in control, the roller coaster of emotions will continue to take you for a ride.

Emotions aren’t something that exist by themselves, they’re a movement or reaction to something that occurs. There are many different emotions that arises and they can be put into an associated category to best get a handle on them when they arise. Emotions arise when there’s an attachment to something that occurs, nothing inherently makes an emotion arise, there has to be a personal association with something. Emotions only arise as one assigns meaning to something. There isn’t much emotion when you hear of a stranger dying, but attach the word Mother, Father, sister, brother, and so on to it and just watch the emotional onslaught.

Emotions don’t exist until one attaches I to something, this is what gives the emotion life and allows it to arise. Example: grief is only a word until one attaches “I have loss” to it, then look out because depending on how deeply I is attached to the loss, determines the level of grief. Same thing with joy, something happens and now I attaches pleasure to it and there in lies the emotion of joy. Here are just some emotions that can be categorized, fear, anger, sadness, joy, disgust, trust, happiness, to name a few, watch for yourself when these arise and see where their root is from. With awareness of this you should be able to get a better grip on just how the Conditioned Mind keeps you under its control by weighing you down with deeply embedded emotions as an anchor.

Nothing is Unacceptable

Regardless of what happens in life, if it’s not accepted as it is it will cause suffering. Even if what’s occurring initially causes suffering, the suffering will deepen if it’s unaccepted.

Everything has its place in life regardless it’s considered right, wrong, liked or disliked and this is because it’s what’s there, so to say this shouldn’t be happening leads to suffering because the moment isn’t accepted as it is. But this isn’t to say everything that happens is suppose to happen, but what does happens is what’s there and there’s no changing it. The results of what happens can be changed, but not the initial results, that is unless one is coming from a different place than what was previously known. This may change the initial results, but they are still the results of what’s occurring now. So much energy is wasted on not accepting what has occurred, and why it’s wasted energy is because the unchangeable is trying to be changed.

When you get to a place where something labeled good, bad, or indifferent is accepted, in this place is one’s freedom. Nothing should be unaccepted, I know this is difficult to imagine and this isn’t to say not take action to change things, but what has occurred still has be accepted so the action to change purely comes from love and compassion and not from the ego. Even someone who is totally unconscious and causes much harm to others has to be accepted because it’s the conditioning in place that makes one do what they do; we are still accountable for our actions. This you do for yourself because to not accept is to suffer. Use this example; If you hit a slice in golf, disliking that you hit a slice doesn’t change that fact, accept it, learn from it, move on and just maybe your next tee shot won’t be a slice, but even if it is, accept it and move on. Nothing is unacceptable unless it’s made so by you.

Losing is Winning

Don’t allow anyone to take you from your place of peace. Let them think they’ve gotten the better of you and won, as egos go this satisfaction will be short lived before needing to win again, but a solid foundation of peace can last a lifetime.

We as humans are all created equal, it’s not that some have weaker minds than others, but some are more aware of themselves and this makes it seem that some have strengths that others don’t possess. The more unaware one is of themselves, the more one will be dragged around by the occurrences that happen in life. This awareness is what one awakens to, not so much the great secrets of the Universe, but more so what pulls one from their place of peace. I would say in my own case one area where I’ve become more aware is in not allowing other people’s actions to pull me from my place of peace. At times my initial reaction is to get annoyed, but it’s usually realized very quickly that most people know not what they do so to allow their actions to control me is on me. Because all humans come into the world basically the same (unconditioned) it’s the level of conditioning that makes one appear weak or strong, but one is just more aware of their conditioning than another person.

Let the other person think they’ve won, that they’ve gotten the better of you, except to the ego it means nothing; this is how unconscious energy is squashed. This doesn’t change the other person, but it does change you. It stops all the stories associated with the situation which festers as unconsciousness; I’m going to say this to them, or they are wrong, or don’t they know who I am, this is all the nonsense of the Conditioned Mind (ego) and it’s energy that nothing good comes from. So as I said, let the other person think they’ve won, but you will know in your heart who the true winner is because by remaining in your place of peace and not giving in to the Conditioned Mind nonsense, form is not in control. After all one can only be taken from their place of peace when it’s allowed and it only occurs when the ego is in control.

Stepping Outside the Norm

What is considered normal by society entraps most people to the idea of what others think normal is and unless this can be seen so one can go beyond it, there will be acceptance of someone else’s idea as the norm.

Stepping outside of what is considered the norm as far as thinking goes is a must if one is to go beyond the trap of the considered norm. You may ask why would a person want to go beyond what’s considered the norm and here’s why, the so called norm is based in form and to be attached to form causes suffering. It’s as simple as that, with the normal attachment to the senses (form), life will still occur, it just won’t be experienced as fully as it can be. There will still be experiences, how can there not be with one being alive, but they will be dictated by form and there’ll be much nonsense associated with them. The norm entraps one to what others think is considered normal and unless one can see this to go beyond it, there will be acceptance of someone else’s idea as your own. It’s an easy trap to get snared in because the bait is so enticing.

This plays right into the reward system that is considered the norm. Who does anything that doesn’t have the reward of pleasure associated with it? This can be applied to just about anybody and anything. When was the last time you purposely did something that you knew was going to be unpleasant with no reward attached to it. This is pivotal in understanding the process of the Conditioned Mind because until you can just be with whatever arises, without judging it or associating it with pleasure, the norm syndrome will be what dictates the life you’re living and it will probably be someone else’s idea of what is considered the norm.

Leave the Past in the Past

If you keep bringing the past into the present, the past will be where you live your life. Why this is unfortunate is because all of one’s emotional pain of the past will also be carried into the present.

The amount of times that one relives something that causes emotional pain is purely mind boggling because it’s one’s own mind that does this and it probably happens hundreds maybe even thousands of times throughout one’s life. This is why most people suffer endlessly because what happened in the past is constantly brought into the present and although the body is in the present moment, the mind is constantly somewhere else. This is the constant state that most people live their life from and if nothing is done to change this, it will continue until existence in this form ends. This isn’t a philosophy or theory, nor is it something I made up, you need only look at this for yourself to see this truth. But If you don’t look at it, you will more likely remain stuck in the maze of your thoughts without a way out.

As a species we seem to have lost our way and it’s because looking at ourselves is not something that many people are willing to do. It’s so much easier to point the finger at someone else, but unfortunately when you point your finger at someone there are three pointing back at you; check this to see its truth You can ignore this and keep your head in the sand in the hopes everything will work out or you can take control of your life, at least to some extent and stop attaching to the thoughts that cause your own suffering. After all it’s the same thoughts that are constantly arising and if they’re not attached to, eventually they’ll stop and so will the repeated emotional suffering they cause.

Wanting's Lure

Don’t let the different consequences of wanting lull you into the sleep of unconsciousness because all wanting leads to bondage in one form or another regardless of what’s wanted.

If there is always something to want, it’s because you don’t think that you have and if you don’t think that you have, you will always think there is something to want. Wanting isn’t something that’s inherently bad, why one wants is where issues arise and this is only because where there is wanting, one thinks something is missing. What is wanted only matters to the degree in how the thing wanted effects your life. Wanting to drink alcohol and do drugs have consequences much different then wanting to go to a program to stop using those things, but the wanting’s core is the same and that’s what needs to be looked at. Don’t let the different consequences of wanting lull you into the sleep of unconsciousness because all wanting leads to bondage in one form or another and as stated this includes all wanting.

You might say that’s not true, that wanting to better yourself is a good thing, but that would mean you need things to be different to accept yourself. Accepting life exactly how it is is the only place one will experience the peace of not wanting things different. I’m not saying don’t better yourself, but if it’s at the expense of your peace of mind, what good is it. I often say go for the gold, just understand even if it’s attained you will find it’s not providing the benefits you thought it would; shortly afterwards another want will arise. Investigate this and see how wanting causes needing, needing causes bondage, and bondage causes suffering. Break free from wanting and inevitably you just may stop suffering.

The Source Energy of Creation

Separation from oneself occurs when the source energy of creation is made into a story because it then becomes my story and there’s no connection when one comes from a place to self serve.

The are so many names for the source energy of creation and to me what’s important is what’s produced by connecting with it. It’s not a concern of mine what it’s called because words diminish it and put it in a so called box. This source energy is what led me from my self destructive behavior and it continues to lead me even when my I takes hold of some self serving behavior. This is why we’re our own obstacle because it all has to do with the energy of our connection to the present moment and very few live there. The more when can be present and observe the stillness of the moment, the more chance there is to connect with the source energy of creation. This doesn’t take a belief in something to allow this to happen, it takes an awakened heart to see that a belief actually blocks the connection to the source energy of creation.

I’ve found it more beneficial not to limit myself with labeling things a certain way, it seems to allow the flow of energy to go in a certain direction, and although whatever the direction is I’m okay with it, connected to the source energy of creation is more of a benefit to all beings. There are many stories attached to about this and it blocks one from connecting to it. There’s only one source of the energy of creation and the proof is we are all created the same. There’s nothing to debate here because it’s the truth. The debate starts when the source energy of creation is made into a story because it then becomes my story and there’s no connection when one comes from a place to self serve.

The Blind Leading the Blind

There’s a pull that occurs in most lives that keeps broken tools in place without investigating them. The issue with this is these tools are passed on to others so the blind are leading the blind.

If there are just unconscious actions and reactions in one’s daily decision making process without investigation, there will be many decisions made without knowing if they are truly beneficial. When these tools are passed on to others it equates to the blind leading the blind; very few people truly understand the Conditioned Mind. Without the discipline that provides some stillness, life becomes an unquestioned pull to follow the way that’s in place. To the Conditioned Mind there’s no need for questions because it has all the answers. Saying I’m not there yet is just crazy and it’s a created block that hampers the ability to truly live. If you’re not there yet, wherever there is, what do you think it will take to get there? And that’s if you’re truly interested in finding out why you’re not there. What amazes me is how people settle for a place just because it’s comfortable and someone else says it works. Using the saying I’m not there yet is just a way the Conditioned Mind (ego) remains in control.

To me it’s just mind boggling how a person remains with what they have in place and not even take into consideration there might be another way to see things, and what’s mind boggling about this is how the pull is held onto and keeps one in a self created prison that causes suffering. Life doesn’t cause suffering, the Conditioned Mind does and unless one is willing to sit and allow the mind to settle, the pull of the conditioning will remain in place and one will continue to use broken tools that cause suffering, and here’s the real issue with this, these tools are passed on to others and it’s as though the blind are leading the blind.

Give or Get Intentions

One’s intentions will be from the base energy to give or to get and this makes the world the way it is. So if you want the world different, simply have the intention to give and watch it change.

One’s intentions are a determining factor in the energy that is put out to the world. There are intentions to get, expecting something in return for one’s doings and there are intentions to give, expecting nothing whatsoever in return regardless of how much one gives. These are obviously very different in their base energy, but to give intentions don’t necessarily result in seeing the fruits of one’s labors, at least not by some. The intentions behind my daily writings and writing my book are strictly from the love in my heart to possibly help someone not go through the suffering I did for forty nine years, but there are some who see my intentions as something different. When it comes to intentions”To thine own self be true” is so important because it really doesn’t matter how anyone sees what you do. The Universe knows your intentions and that’s all that matters.

The world cannot fairly be your judge nor can an individual. “May he who is without sin cast the first stone” who is so pure that they can judge another and if your intention is to judge that’s not from the intention to give, it’s strictly to get. There are so many selfish people in our world who have no intention to ever give and it keeps the world the way it is, but if you truly have a heart with the intentions to give, there’s no way you can judge another because there’s nothing that you’re looking for in return. So when all you do is have the intentions to give and act accordingly, it’s the energy that’s being put out into the world and I assure you it will make a difference.