'Choice' is illusory. Choice is nothing more than identification with thought....

Don't ever try and explain something to someone without an invitation to do so,
don't ever explain something someone is not ready to hear...
ultimately, there is no-one else here...
simply RESPOND to what happens -
if there is a REACTION -
that where the work is, as that evidence conditioned tendencies at play...

My two cents, life or whatever you want to call it is way too dynamic and intelligent to ever land on either side of the conceptual divide of choice or no choice,
neither are totally true nor totally false,
the truth is too clever for that.

Instead I find both seem to be true sometimes and not others.
It's this fundamental ambiguity we try to avoid about if this is true or
that that I find most interesting.

I'm more inclined to explore what it's like to live in the land of no definitive conclusion and just be present to the dynamic energy of life however it shows up, but that's just me.

I was never good at coming up with answers

Now when you are done thinking about that, you’ll realize you have no choice at all! Then you can take a bow...

Everything is as it should be.

ps/smoh

BEYOND THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

Okay, so you've manifested the perfect life: 
the beautiful car, 
the thrilling relationship, 
the successful business, 
the perfect spiritual experiences of infinite and unending bliss - everything has come to fruition! 

You got rich, you are in perfect physical health, you conquered the world, you reached pure, unexcelled enlightenment! Wonderful! 

But, of course, it will all be empty and meaningless if you don't know who you really are beyond manifestation and time.

And then there's the shadow side of manifestation; the fears, the doubts, the anxiety rumbling underneath the entire project: 
Everything I have I can lose, everything external can be taken away. 
Others can do better than me. 
The manifestations can disappear. 
Even states of pure spiritual bliss are drenched in impermanence. And the growing realisation: However much I have, it'll never be enough. 
The more I accumulate, the more dissatisfied I can grow. 
When will I reach a point of total contentment? 
When will the seeking end? When will I be able to rest deeply? 
When will I feel fully alive? When will I be Home?

It's natural that the Law of Attraction will eventually lead you not to the perfect contentment, but to the perfect disillusionment. 
This is not a mistake, or a failure of the Law (for the Law cannot fail on its own terms), but the beginning of real spiritual maturity. 
All illusions must die, even our most cherished ones. And the biggest illusion of all? 

The 'me' itself.

Who is the one doing the manifesting? 
What is the 'me' who manifests or does not manifest? 
WHO AM I? 
This question goes to the very root. 
And life will bring you to this question one way or another.

You lose your money, your success, your popularity, your fame, your looks. 
You are diagnosed with an illness. 
Someone you love leaves you. 
Suffering appears out of the blue. 

Did you manifest the 'negative' with your 'negative' attitude? Is it all your fault? Did you fail in your manifestation project? 
Is the 'me' not what it should be? 
Is it all a big mistake? Has the universe gone wrong? 
Is that possible?

If you believe that it's you - personally - who's doing the manifesting, 
if you think that you are the one in control, then the pressure to manifest 'properly' will eventually begin to suffocate your joy. 
And there will be inner violence - self-blame, guilt, feelings of lack and spiritual failure - when the manifestations aren't what you wanted or planned for. 
You'll beat yourself up for not living up to the Law. And you'll strive even harder, working yourself to the bone, exhausting yourself. 

For what? 
For whom?

Relax, friend. 
It was never 'you' who was manifesting in the first place. 

The separate ego, the 'me in charge' is, and was, and always will be, the greatest illusion of all. 
The ego's dream of perfection must collapse into outrageous humility, and absolute gratitude for what is here, for what is given, however much that clashes with the ego's plans. 
Life was never really yours to begin with. 
The good, the bad, and the ugly, are all inexplicable gifts.

This is terribly depressing news for the 'me', but pure liberation for who you truly are.

Unconditional Love is higher than any Law. 

The wave cannot manifest the ocean, nor can any wave control the ocean, although it may believe in control for a while. 
Understand this and you are always at peace, whether things go well or don't go well, whether your life story seems good or bad, positive or negative, whether or not your manifestations are wonderful ones, whether they love you or they crucify you and everything you stand for. 
As a seemingly perfect wave or a gloriously imperfect one, even in the midst of your flaws and weirdnesses, you are always a perfect manifestation of the Unnameable non-dual ocean of Consciousness. 

You are Life Itself, and therein lies your completion and your unbreakable joy.

So yes, dream, manifest, create an incredible life for yourself, if that's what wants to move through you! 
Play, play, play! 

And know that there is no pressure for you to succeed at all. 
Know that even in your failure, even in your despair, 
even when your dreams turn to dust, 
even when your beautiful manifestations crumble to the ground, 
everything is thrillingly okay even when it's not okay, and 
there is no divine plan that has been broken, and 
you are loved beyond measure, 
beyond time itself. 

There is simply no pressure for you to hold up any image of yourself, and there never was. 
You are always off the hook.

There is a Light that never goes out, and it was always You.

Namaste

Home and free....!

I don't have all the answers. I haven't worked life out. I am not the authority on shifting tides and the birth of stars.

But I do know that it's possible to transform.

I do know that the urge to die is secretly the urge to live.

I do know that what I am is never limited to thought or feeling.

I do know that 'I' am not the one who wakes up. That's the key.

And I do know, beyond all possible doubt, that no matter what our age, our skin colour, our shape or size, our background, our beliefs, our perceived limitations, we are already Home, already free, and have always been. 

ps/smoh

TAKE NOTE OF YOUR OPINIONS...

There is nobody on the planet, 
neither those whom we see as the oppressed nor those whom we see as the oppressor, 
who don’t have what it takes to wake up. 

We all need support and encouragement to be aware of 
what we think, 
what we say, and 
what we do. 

Notice your opinions. 

If you find yourself becoming aggressive about your opinions, notice that. 
If you find yourself being non aggressive, notice that. 

Cultivating a mind that does not grasp at right and wrong, you will find a fresh state of being. 

The ultimate cessation of suffering comes from that. 

Finally, never give up on yourself. 
Then you will never give up on others. 

Wholeheartedly do what it takes to awaken your clear-seeing intelligence, but one day at a time, one moment at a time. 
If we live that way, we will benefit this earth.

Namaste

ps/smoh

Connection and Happiness

I am perfectly happy in my own company, and I spend a lot of time alone. I like being around people, but only the ones I appreciate, otherwise it makes me feel lonely...

Life is first elevated to true fulfilment when I'm around people I appreciate.

Now I've gone for too long
Living like I'm not alive
So I'm going to start over tonight
Beginning with you and I
• Hayley Williams

We are meant to play with each other, and the quality of my social relationships is something I'm increasingly aware of together with Mindset, Health and Freedom...

All of us need others in order to be well and thrive. We feel better just being around them. And we need close relationships in order to be happy...

It’s important to remember: 

Hot, steamy chemistry eventually fades and what’s always left beneath is a person’s true soul. A person's soul is the foundation!

Enjoy the unexpected...

As Aristotle said:

“Men imagine the causes of happiness lie in external goods. That is as if they were to ascribe fine and beautiful lyre playing to the quality of the instrument rather than the skill of the player.”

Or as I like to say, 

“It’s just as easy to complain about a rich man as it is to complain about a poor man.”

Basically, it does not matter how rich a guy is if his behaviour makes you twitchy and miserable.

While on the subject of money, I am no fan of slackers either. T recognized that being or dating poor brought its share of problems and also admit that lack of a certain amount of wealth was as much an obstacle to happiness as deprivation of freedom. 

So gladly accepted that some wealth was needed to be happy just as exciting bodily pleasures were needed.

But again, wealth and bodily pleasures were mere means to the ends of happiness these ultimate ends being to nourish your soul, so you can reach your most esteemed level of self.

A big secret to happiness?

Stop focusing on finding a Mr. or Ms. Right! 

Start focusing on finding Life Plan Right. 

When a Mr. or Ms. Potential Right comes along, you must ask yourself if this person will lead you to Life Plan Right or Life Plan Wrong.

As you get to know your partner, look to see if they:

1. Offer you exciting growth as well as exciting grope

2. Have developed good character — so they’ll be a positive influence on your character development.

If your partner scores two for two, you’re likely in Prince/Princess Charming territory.

note to you my boy
ps/smoh

PS
I kiss a lot of frogs before I found my prince - but no need to kiss the pigs and dogs. ^__*

Ding ding dingggggg......

Life does not need you to accept it. 
Life does not require your acceptance in order to shine and flourish in the moment. 

Acceptance is not a goal, but a present reality. 

Life already accepts All That You Are, including your present non-acceptance of life, just as the ocean accepts every wave as itself, no matter how the wave appears or moves. 

You are ALREADY a brilliant expression of the One Life, even in your non-acceptance, even in your pain and despair. 
So stop trying to ‘do’ acceptance, friend, and stop rejecting its poor misunderstood twin, non-acceptance, and sink fully, deeply, choicelessly, into the acceptance that is already happening, this moment, exactly as it is.

ps/smoh

"BEYOND BELIEF

Nobody believes anything. 

Everybody is trying to believe, but nobody can succeed.

See it this way: 

Does the movie screen BELIEVE the myriad movies that play themselves out on its unconditional surface? 
No. 
It holds them, provides the space for them, allows them to come and go, but never believes them, or believes in them, the light nor the dark, and never disbelieves either. 
It is pure capacity, beyond belief and doubt.

Beliefs may come and go, of course, within the vast screen-like embrace of awareness that you are. Ideas, plans, memories, wild fantasies may flicker to life within you. But you can only ever be the space for these.

You yourself can never be a believer or a non-believer. Both definitions are way too small for you.

Of course, you can TRY to believe. 
You can exhaust yourself in the attempt to hold onto a belief. 
You can fight for a belief, go to war in defence of it. 
You can create Gods of belief, and therefore create enemies, 'others' who are not like you. 

But deep down, you know that all beliefs, religions, ideologies, are only temporary appearances, part of the drama of impermanence, and cannot be true in an absolute sense. No belief can capture You. 
Every thought is too small.

You never truly believe anything, friend, not even this.

And this is why your spirit is totally free."

^__^

Invitation to inquiry: What is driving your action?

If there is a really sincere investigation, it can be discovered that most action is actually a symptom of seeking. 

Most action is about the 'me' - is about approval, love, achievement, ambition, 'becoming'...and it can be on the subtlest level...and in addition, can look in the eyes of the 'world' as highly spiritual, or 'evolved' (!)

While there is nothing wrong with this per se, it shows you where your loyalty lies - truth or false identification. Can there be an honesty, a willingness to see through all the subtle ways that behaviour is driven by identification, by conditioning?

It takes ruthless honesty and courage to really want to look. Most of us know but perhaps are choosing to ignore this...

Can you simply rest back in your fullness and so are then able to meet life in that fullness by simply RESPONDING to what happens, to what life naturally wants for your unique expression? 

Don't you want to find out?! 

fun to say it *____*

to sit at different spots
in the trees
on the bridge
on telegraph
on university
downtown by the bart
to just not think
and see what happened if
saw what happened if
spun this way
spun that
let the face go
said whatever the heart wanted to play

spent the whole time with the dial on queen 
had much fun
a queen can talk to everyone
no one is left out 
that's her gift in my life
she fearlessly loves from absolute non-pity 
without disrespecting her personal preferences
she is herself unapologetically
she cares and rules and minds her own damn business
she is my messiah

new game
even more perfect

ps/smoh

Perspective on life.....

Finding life meaningless; 
for thoughts that typically lead to that sort of feeling, 
there always seemed to be an equal, parallel path to take, 
by the same reasoning, where everything becomes meaningful.

For example of the train of thought:

Perfection as a concept. 
Some say that nothing is perfect, because perfect is this unattainable feat that we continuously surpass with every new idea we have and every new expectation that we set.

However, in truth, it's available to be said that there is nothing aside from perfection, by an extension of the logical identity law. 
If something is the case, then regardless of what it is, that case is by necessity a perfection of, that case.

So in one sense, nothing is perfect in life, and everything is below par. 
But, by a necessity, if you examine closer, instead of nothing being perfect in life, everything is actually perfect, being, perfectly itself.

For, if we're to compare something to anything, it makes the absolute most sense to compare it to itself, in such a case, it's nothing other than perfect. 
Only when we take to comparing something to another thing, which, it could never be, as it is not that, do we come to this idea that there is imperfection anywhere. 
A diamond with a "flaw" is still perfectly as such, and could never be anything else.

So, really, whenever I find that there is reason to think that X is meaningless, where X is any arbitrarily selected subject, I always tend to find the road winds around to exactly the opposite conclusion once a little more thought is applied.

ps/smoh

Re: "It's a process of elimination if you work from the outside in. If you work from the inside out, the outcome is clear in an instant."

In my experience, peeling away all the conditioned layers of thoughts and beliefs about who I am, peeling away the illusion, in other words may or may not get a person to the visceral experience of I AM that is hoped for. 

By that method, a person has to identify and uncover all that is NOT me that I believe IS me and get the AHA viscerally in order for it to make an impression that will last.

For me, this method was useful, yes, but not because it was actually getting me home. It was more like, at best, halfing the distance each time between where I was and where I wanted to be: it would never actually get me home, only closer and closer.

Ultimately, a leap had to be made across the unknown, a leap of faith back into my own sense of inherent worth. At some point I had to leap right into the deepest centre of 'the inside' and see my life from there outwards. 
My ground of being shifted from outside of myself looking inwards to find my essence through all the layers of gunk, to a deep-seated resting in all-that-I-am.

The value of the peeling away process was that it worked best when I partnered up with that point of view that is seated deep within. 
In other words, I began to form a working relationship with my essential self, whether I knew it or not. The lines of communication opened and I began to trust this new original way of seeing truth. 
Ultimately, however, it was not until I CHOSE to redefine myself as that undefinable core of being, made that leap of faith, that I reunited with myself, my heart, my light.

And just to be clear, this is a leap that I must make constantly. There is - for me - no final resting place in identification with ANYTHING. 
It is rather a continual choosing of this point of view, this perspective or line of sight, which seems to emanate from deep within, that feels unshakeable in its deep recognition of truth.

This point of view is always right here, always available to me, to you, to anybody; 
CHOOSING it from among others that might feel more familiar, safer, more secure, more popular requires a leap, over and over and over. 
It is worth it.

ps/smoh

"Virtue is more clearly shown in the performance of fine actions than in the nonperformance of base ones." Aristotle

You cannot necessarily judge someone’s virtue by whether or not that person refrains from doing bad things. Many refrain from robbing banks because of their fear of being put in prison, not because they are virtuous. 

If they were assured that they would not be caught and punished, many would do the very things that they daily refrain from doing and which they loudly condemn others for doing. 

Their restraint does not testify to their virtue.

As Aristotle states, if you want to judge a person’s virtue, look at what they do, not at what they refrain from doing. 
One’s virtue is shown more clearly by their actions, and even more so by the intentions behind those actions. The character of every action depends on the circumstances and the intentions behind the action.

Look beneath the surface when trying to judge someone’s character. 

What is the motivation behind the action or the lack of action? 

You must make sure that you do the right thing, for the right reason. 
Keep your virtue intact. 
Live by your own ideals. 
Hold yourself to the highest standards.

ps/smoh

Beware a dagger hidden in a smile....

You have to develop the instinct of knowing who to trust and who not to trust. 
There are a lot of bad people out there and many of them know how to con others into trusting them. They have great personalities and can be fun to be around, but hidden beneath their smile is a different agenda. 
Don’t look at the outside appearances, but look deeper beneath the surface. 
See things as they really are, not as they appear to be.

Know that people who have malicious intentions are smart enough to hide their intentions with their friendly personalities and their winning smiles. 
Don’t be too quick to trust. 
Always evaluate the situation from every angle. Remember that not everyone that you meet lives by the same code of standards that you live by. 
In fact, the vast majority out there do not live by the strict standards of right and wrong that we sets for ourselves.

Most make their decisions strictly on what is best for them. If they want something, they have learned how to use their wit and personality to manipulate and get what they want. 
They have become so proficient at this that they no longer have to make an effort to manipulate; it comes naturally for them, just as any skill practice over a long period of time will become a part of you. 

Always think about what is going on in their minds and beware of the dagger hidden in their smiles. 

BEWARE!!!

ps/smoh

We fear freedom. We desperately desire security and solidity. Free fall is not okay, but free fall is the true nature of living.

We live in a prison of our own design;
The bars are composed of ideas,
The door is our System of Beliefs,
And the single window looks out upon
An endless landscape of
Unfulfilled wishes, dreams, and desires.

We huddle safe in the corner
Of our tiny cell,
Motionless and inert,
Listening to the constant hum
Of our innermost thoughts;
Careful lest we discover the awful truth,
That the door to this private hell
Has never been
Locked.

^__^

"The Windows"

"In these shadowed rooms, 
in which I pass
gloomy days, up and down I pace
that I might find the windows. 
For a window
to be open would be a consolation. 
But there are no windows, or I can't
find them. 
And perhaps it's best I don't.
Perhaps the light will be a new oppression.
Who knows what new things it will show."

^__^

Never tolerate injustice and corruption…never be afraid to attack wrong...

Never be afraid to attack wrong, or to set injustice and corruption right.  

It is part of our service to others to stand of up those who need help and to never tolerate injustice or corruption when it is in our power to do something about it. 

While this is the prevailing attitude of the true being, we must also take into consideration that there is a correct time, correct place, and correct way to set wrongs right. 
Don’t jump into a certain situation, with the intent to set things right, without thinking rationally about what would be appropriate. 
Jumping in unprepared or uninformed is acting on emotion instead of acting on rational thought. 

Acting on your emotions can be dangerous.

Yes, you should do what you can to set things right when you witness injustice, corruption, and wrong doing, but at the same time, you have to be smart. 
If you know that there is a bridge out down the road, you should certainly warn oncoming traffic. But you should do so in a safe and rational way. 

You could ensure that the next car would stop by standing in the middle of the road, but you could possibly be hit and die, or you could think rationally and flag that car down from a safe position. 
War is art of deception...

Think before you act. 

ps/smoh

What lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do. Aristotle

You don’t have to do anything. 
People are constantly saying,
 “I have to do this or I have to that,” but the reality is that nobody has to do anything. 

You choose to do everything that you do. Now you may be thinking, that is not true, I have to go to work or I have to pay my bills, but you really don’t have to do either of these. 
The simple fact of the matter is that you don’t have to do anything; you choose to do these things.

It’s true; you don’t have to go to work. 

Work is something that you choose to do either because you like having money or because you find it rewarding, but either way you make the choice to get up and go to your job each day. 

Nobody is forcing you to go to work. No one is forcing you to pay your bills. You choose to pay them in order to keep living the lifestyle that you have decided to live.

Likewise, nobody forces you to get angry or to lose your temper. 

Again, you choose to get angry or to lose your temper, and just as you choose to allow these things, you can also choose not to allow them. 
What lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do. You choose each and every one of your actions – all of them. 
There are no exceptions. 

The choice is 100% yours. 
You don’t have to do anything. 

This is precisely why we are each responsible for all of our actions; we choose them therefore we are responsible for them. 

Think about this. 

ps/smoh

Sometimes, its that simple...

Real change is seldom a giant step. It’s usually a small one. Small but deeply real. 

We hold the fear and the faith at the same time and we cross the bridge slowly. 

When we get to the other side, we have been transformed- not by the step itself but by the willingness to stay open during the crossing. 

That’s what changes us creating a space inside for a new way of being to emerge.

I am not interested in enlightenment if it means detachment from the emotional body, the earth
plane, the challenges of being human. I am interested in my most spiritual moments are inclusive, arising right in the heart of all that is human: joy and sorrow, shopping list and unity consciousness, fresh mangos and stale
bread.

I am interested living in all aspects of reality simultaneously rather than only those realms that feel the most comfortable. We are not just the light, or the mind, or the emptiness, or perpetual positivity. 
We are the everything. 

It’s ALL God, even the dust that falls off my awakening heart. 

Let there be no doubt that models that lead people away from the healing of the heart do not serve humanity. Real spirituality is all about everything human in the equation. 

The real now is the one that includes everything we left behind on the path. 
We must work through our story, before the unresolved elements of our story kill us. 

Prayers for those who have been led astray.

So it is

ps/smoh