“There are two mistakes one can make along the journey to truth... not starting, and not going all the way.”

-Buddha




Thursday, January 28, 2016

No One Has The Holy Grail

No one has the Holy Grail. No one knows the one right way to do things. Because it doesn’t exist. 

There is no being in existence who is completely enlightened. Not even God is completely enlightened. 

Enlightenment is a process, not an end state, and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you liberate yourself. 

Perfection is an ideal, a mental abstraction, it is not something that can ever be attained in actuality. 

The need to realize this perfect state is what causes the collective neurosis and anxiety that is all too common in the human psyche. 

Yo do not need to be perfect. You don’t even need to be better than you are now. You can’t be. That is the irony of it all. 

You can never be better than you are right now. 

It is absolutely impossible. So accept where you are. Be cool with it. 

In a way, you already are perfect, just because you exist. That is all the proof you will ever need of perfection. 

Just the fact that you simply exist, that you are. 

All else is insignificant, irrelevant details, nothing pertaining to the truth of who you really are.


Saturday, January 16, 2016

The Nature of Existence

Why does the Universe even go through the bother of existing at all? And where does it all come from? This is the fundamental problem of existence. The fundamental ambiguity of being human, a being with the capacity to contemplate such philosophical enigmas. Why does it seem like no matter what you get you are never really satisfied, never fulfilled? The very thing you thought would fulfill you often times ends up turning into your biggest problem. Why is this? Why does it seem so difficult to escape this fundamental anguish? Is entropy the order of the day, the only thing you can truly be certain of? That everything will fall apart, will decay, will disappear in time?

Yet this is only one aspect of the truth. There is also the essential fact that new things and new life forms are perpetually coming into existence. The old is giving birth to the new. Out of apparent chaos emerges organized forms of energy in-formation. So there must be some force that holds it all together. Something that keeps the Universe from falling into complete and total entropy and disorder. There must be a force that gave birth to existence in the first place. So what is this force? What is this essence? That which cannot be named.

So to prevent oneself from falling into entropy and disorder, you must tap into this essential life force, this innate intelligence. You must align with the greater order that wants to be born into this world. And to do so you must find yourself, your own essence and inherent nature. You must stop seeking without and instead turn completely around and go within. Go deep into your own inner world. Into your own darkness and shadows and into your own love and light. Surrender into it all totally. Find yourself.

Then when you have discovered this essence, this life force within, go back into the world with your greatest power in hand. Express this infinite power in every step of your journey. Move into order, into love, into the greater perfection that underlies the apparent flaws of this surface level of reality. Tap into your infinite reserves, your storehouse of pure potential and possibility. Tap into the truth of yourself.

No matter how much you scramble to make everything perfect, it all falls apart in the end. Just let it be.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Awareness- The Foundation of Life

Take a close look at your present experience in this very moment. Observe what is happening around you in your environment as well as what is happening within. Notice the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures around you and the thoughts, feelings, emotions and sensations occurring within.

Now I want to perhaps give you a new and expanded perspective on the nature of your experience. Most people think that what they observe happening is somehow external or independent in relationship to them. We observe phenomena that occurs within our awareness and think that it is happening somewhere “out there”. Even our thoughts, feelings and emotions are seen as somewhat external to us and are usually at the mercy of what is happening in our environment.

But consider this. Everything that you experience, everything that occurs within your environment, is really just an interpretation of your nervous system. You brain must translate all stimulus into a picture that you can interpret and understand. So it would be more accurate to say that what you are actually observing and experiencing is not something happening “out there” but rather what you are experiencing and observing is the state of your nervous system.

With this in mind, you realize that you can never truly touch reality. There is always a filter. The same way two objects can never really touch in the truest sense because their electrons repel each other, you can never truly touch the external world with your awareness. Your subjective filter coats everything with it’s own paint, it taints the truth of reality through its own self-deception. Cultivating awareness is the art of removing the filter to the best of your ability and thus seeing reality for the truth of what it really is.

If you want to take this concept even deeper, the truth is that you are always observing your own subjective state of consciousness. All that is happening around you is simply a reflection of this state of consciousness. The environment certainly affects you and imparts itself onto your own subjective state, but this doesn’t occur until it goes through your filter. This is why two people can experience the exact same event, such as a sporting event, and have a completely different emotional response to the experience. So in actuality, all of reality is more of a subjective experience than an objective truth. Can you now understand why there is so much conflict in the world, both within and without?

So how do we get to the Truth. Simple, remove the filter. And how do we remove the filter? Through the cultivation of awareness. The only way that this can occur is through acute self-observation. Practices such as meditation work to improve your capacity for self-observation and thus enable you to cultivate greater awareness. Through cultivating awareness you develop greater responsibility, that is, the ability to respond to your experiences in whatever way you choose, as opposed to going into unconscious auto-pilot like most people. So this is truly the foundation of all of life, of all human experience. It is the catalyst for all true growth, improvement, and success. The cultivation of self-awareness.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Life Purpose

Your life purpose is to live on purpose. Most people live by accident, by default. If you are asking “What is the purpose of my life?” then this is you. So become the purpose of your own life and in every moment live according to your own highest good. Choose that which serves you and lose that which doesn’t. Live life on purpose.

We often go after the things that we want in a backwards and preposterous way. We never get the full experience of that which we desire but only an unfulfilling shadow. It’s the equivalent of trying to eat your favorite sandwich with the plastic wrapper still on. Why do so many of us do the things that we do? We work jobs that we hate to make money so that later we can do the things we want. We watch sports so we can get a sense of thrill and excitement by living vicariously through our favorite athletes. We watch films in awe of the adventures and experiences of the characters while wishing we could do the same. We use social media to connect with others in a shallow and superficial way while we long for real intimacy and human connection. We eat foods that artificially taste good but are lacking in the substance and nutrition we truly crave.

None of these things are necessarily wrong or even bad, but when they become a replacement for the full realization of your true desires, you are always left feeling unsatisfied and wanting more. We become attached and addicted to these things because you can never get enough of what you do not want. We go after that which we desire and our method of doing so actually becomes the obstacle to experiencing what we desire. It is insanity. Why not just go straight for what we desire? Because we are afraid. We are afraid that we might get hurt. We are afraid that it might not work out. We are afraid that we may lose ourselves in the process.

So we continue to live a half-life using the protection of our ineffective modes to getting our needs met. It is like if we never fully experience that which we want, then we can never be fully disappointed either. We can not get the object of our deepest love and affection and then have it taken away from us. If you want a diamond but instead you just get a replica, it may not be as satisfying but at least when you lose it you won’t care as much. But what is the point of this if in the end you lose everything anyway? None of us make it out of here alive so you may as well take every chance on your dreams. Because in the end, there is nothing to lose. Nothing at all.

Let's Be REAL

What do you want man?
I just wanna be real.

Let’s face it. Most people are not real. At least not 100%. Most of us are trying to maintain a facade. We are trying desperately to uphold an image of ourselves that in reality is not an accurate reflection of our true nature, of our true feelings, and of what it is really like to be us. We live with a filter. We constantly scrutinize and criticize ourselves, we feel that who we really are is inadequate or unworthy, and we ultimately feel like there is something wrong with us. Like we are not enough. So we strive to express this contrived version of ourselves in an effort to be liked, to be accepted by the group. But at what cost? 

We pay with our freedom, with our divine authenticity, which is our absolute birthright. We pay the greatest cost that there is to pay. And what do we get in return? A soft congratulations? A measly pat on the back? Well done my friend, you have hidden your pain from the world, you have hidden your vulnerability, that which makes you authentically human, that which makes you real. And you have lived to see another day. But are you really living? Are you really expressing yourself at your utmost capacity? Are you tasting the fullness of what life has to offer, or are you imbibing in the mere shadow of your fullest self? So I say to you, let go. Be free. For what do you really have to lose? Absolutely nothing. And what do you have to gain? Well that, my friend, you will have to see for yourself.

I want something REAL. Something that I can taste. Something I can hold in my hands and never let go of. Something that keeps me alive. Something to indulge in, to breathe in, to love. Something that renders me powerless to the absolute vulnerability of the moment. Something that returns me to the essence of who I really am. I can’t taste that through a filter. I can’t achieve that through a fucking screen. It’s not REAL! It’s a contrived and fictitious version of reality. What happened to real human interaction? What happened to looking into another’s eyes and truly witnessing the reflection of their soul? Since when is second hand cyber communication good enough? 


In reality, it is not. Not even close. It is a continuous deluge of thought streams, of mental phenomena with no real humanity. It is nothing compared to the reality of human connection. It is a bland and empty shell of the truth of who we really are and what we are actually capable of. So dump the screen and become SEEN. Let yourself really connect with another BEING. Go out and explore the truth of this Universe, touch the unfiltered rawness of this absolutely wondrous and majestic world. Taste reality for its fullness of astounding flavors and textures, for its miracles and tragedies, for it’s hope and it’s devastation. See it for what it REALLY is. Then, and only then, will you come to know the Truth of who you REALLY are.