The Heart Knows the Way

As a whole, we as humanity are very shut down from our hearts and from the messages that our hearts are constantly sending us- our feelings. We do what sounds right in our heads, but we rarely do what feels right in our hearts. This leads to an unsatisfactory life of feeling lost, discontent, and unfulfilled. The mind is good at analyzing, at picking stuff apart and gathering an intellectual understanding of different things, concepts, and ideas, yet it has no awareness of your feelings, which are your inherent guidance in life. It simply disregards them and goes on thinking. Your feelings always come from the heart.

The feelings that you have as a human being are your deepest intuitive faculty and they literally connect you to your soul, or what is sometimes referred to as your higher self. They are like a compass that can be used to effectively guide you through life. Your heart is literally the apparatus that translates feeling into a sensation that you can consciously recognize, one you regard as either good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. The heart, unlike the mind, will never mislead you. It always renders an accurate interpretation of whatever you are focused on, and whether this focus and behavior is actually healthy and beneficial, or not.

Think of a time when you felt your best, a moment of intense love and joy. You likely felt an opening and expansion in your chest, a warming of the heart. It was likely at a time when something positive and wonderful happened in your experience. Now think of a time when you were totally devastated, in a state of “heartbreak” and despair. You likely felt a closing and sinking feeling in your chest, a cold and calloused sensation in the heart, and this probably occurred at a time when something terrible happened in your life. This is the nature of feelings, of emotional sensation, and it is always based in the heart.

The more we listen to our minds and only our minds, the more lost we become in an endless maze of chaos and confusion, the more we disconnect from our feelings, from our true passion and purpose in life, and the more we simply do what our conditioned mind tells us we “should” do, which mostly comes from our inherited dysfunctional belief patterns given to us by our parents and the society we were brought up in.

But the more we can learn to listen to our hearts, the more we are able to connect with our truest and most authentic selves. We focus our attention on the heart space and we listen to the way we feel, paying more attention to that than to the thoughts that we are thinking with our minds. We discover our path and purpose in life and feel a deep sense of inner fulfillment, contentedness, love and joy. We listen to our intuition, our emotions, which if followed will always lead to our highest good.

Whenever you can follow a feeling of love, warmth, openness, and expansion, you will inevitably be moving towards everything you have ever genuinely desired in this life. You will uncover the deepest secrets of this Universe, not in a way that can be mentally conceptualized and interpreted. No, in a much deeper and more profoundly experiential manner. You won’t think, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free : )

Surrender

To create

to breathe life

to watch a spark of potential

arise and fade away

for creation is ever-present

with it’s partner of time

the one using the other

the other consuming the one

until the potentials collapse

into the realm from which they were resurrected

and the one can begin anew

always breathing

in and out

creation and destruction

the birth and the dissolution

the divine union

of creation and time

in the very nature

of the silence and noise

the light and the darkness

the love and fear

we love the creation

the forms as they come

and fear their loss

their disappearance into the void

but this is the beauty

the union is one

in essence both must be

for their union is divine perfection

and all that arises

will come to pass

in the ever-presence of who you are

You are taken away

in the wave of perfection

of absolute bliss

in which death seems like nothing

and you are the totality of everything

even that is an understatement

for everything cannot come close

to explaining who you are

these words are meaningless

petty abstractions

distractions for the mind

you are so much more

infinitely more

and beyond the things

and the no-things

there you are

eternal

ever-present

bursting with life

a sea of divine potential

just waiting to arise

The clinging

the grasping

the seeking

yet never finding

the seemingly endless cycle

of samsara

trying to get there

and escape here

to taste the bliss

and alleviate the pain

this is suffering

this is illusion

this is mara

but what is nirvana?

the end of seeking

the ceasing of all clinging

the attachment to this

the rejection of that

is no more

all is taken in

with absolute surrender

a complete embrace

of perfect love

heaven and hell

are allowed to be

in the midst of the perfect self

who loves them just the same

so let it be

come to know the truth

of who you are

stop the doing

just be

Om

You are broken

shattered into a million pieces

torn apart by the hands of time

until nothing of the self remains

and then there is listlessness

a hopeless despair

a feeling of apathetic emptiness

yet the emergence of nuance

a spark

a glimmer of hope

a faint echo of love

illuminating shadows in the dark

a gentle whisper of fatal optimism

that being broken is a holy state

that shattering into a million pieces

is the nature of the most high

and the deepest pain

is the doorway to the greatest bliss

You are free

The Path To Enlightment

Awareness is the key that unlocks the entire Universe.

Seek nothing. Be everything.

There is a collective ego rooted in human consciousness that seeks to maintain it’s separate sense of self in order to survive. This collective ego could almost be seen as a giant machine that forms the current collective human society and economic structure. Like any living entity, first and foremost, it seeks survival. The only way any entity can survive is through the focus of Consciousness, the One who breathes life into the form. So this collective ego tricks Consciousness into identifying with it in order to maintain itself in this dream-realm that is the third dimension. It could be equated to a collective mind-virus or parasite that feeds on the essential life essence of each human being.

Yet ultimately, this parasitic entity is a projection of your own imagination, a conglomeration of collected thought-forms that together accumulate into a delusional entity that inhabits the fourth dimensional reality, which is the realm of thought. This has gone by many names throughout history, in Buddhism it is known as Mara, in Christianity it is known as Satan, and in Jungian philosophy it could be equated to the human shadow.

Essentially, this ego was a collective frequency that human Consciousness unconsciously bought in to for a long period of time, ever since thought arose as a collective phenomenon. For our distant ancestors, this was actually a higher frequency, and so was a beneficial aspect in their evolution. Consciousness went from no sense of self, to a collectively inherited ideological and conceptual sense of self. Man became self-aware, yet only in an intellectual, thought-based manner. Eventually, however, as we continued to evolve, this state of being became increasingly dysfunctional. What once allowed for incredible expansion and forward progress was now leading to immense destruction and suffering on a mass scale.

We are now at a time where Consciousness is rising above the egoic frequency. Our identification and attachment to what are now dense and constricting thought-forms is beginning to be relinquished. We are like a seed pushing through the soil to emerge into the light. The soil is this dense ego-based thought identity, and creates a pressure that we feel building until we finally emerge into the light of the essential Self. Consciousness is becoming self-aware once more, but in a non-conceptual way, beyond the comprehension of the mind.

If we were first a simple seed, thought was the water that enabled us to grow. The soil is the ego born of this thought that we push through until eventually we rise above and find the transcendental realm of pure Awareness, a place beyond duality and time-bound modes of being. We find this light not by fighting the ego, but instead by working with it, by recognizing it for what it is, and ultimately seeing beyond it. The seed does not fight the soil, per se, but instead uses it for its own growth and evolution. This is the path to enlightenment.

The Three Stages of Consciousness

Stage one: Ignorance
Stage two: Knowledge
Stage three: Integration

The three stages of Consciousness are reflected in all aspects of life.

It can be seen in the union of seemingly opposite yet complementary aspects of nature (male and female) which come together and give birth to new life.

It can also be seen in the development of any skill set. At first, you are completely unaware of the skill, you do not even know that it exists as a possibility. Later, you gain awareness of this skill and seek knowledge pertaining to it so as to gain further understanding. Finally, you take this knowledge and fully integrate it so that you can practice this skill in a masterful and effective way.

It is reflected in Christian teachings as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Hinduism there is the One (one) who breathed the breath of life (two) and gave birth to all creation (three).

It is also reflected in the nature of conscious experience, as there is the universal dichotomy, which is reality, and there is the formless witness or perceiving Awareness of this dichotomy that observes this interplay of complementary aspects.

So Consciousness evolves in three stages. First, there is the stage of ignorance, which is a blissful contentment and pure awareness of the experience without there being any knowledge as to what the experience actually is. Secondly, there is the generation of knowledge, of mind, logic and intellect. This is represented in the biblical teachings, as Adam and Eve eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The third and final stage is the integration of this knowledge into a full awareness of the unity and Oneness which is the holistic experience that we call life.

The first stage would be represented by primordial man, cavemen who simply lived unconsciously and were controlled by their basic survival instincts. The second stage is the first human renaissance, if you will, where new knowledge, concepts and ideas proliferated. However, with this knowledge came the identification with thought and the attachment to polarity. Things were interpreted through a mental filter based on fragmentation and separation; experiences were perceived dualistically as good/bad, right/wrong, light/dark, positive/negative, past/future, me/other, etc... With this identification and attachment came resistance to opposing aspects, and conflict arose. I am me, you are not me, therefore I fear and resist you. Some identified with the “light” and attached to religious or spiritual ideologies and moral codes which gave them comfort in a seemingly disparate world. Others identified with the “dark” and sought power over others in an attempt to fill the void or the split they felt within. The third stage is the integration of these two seemingly opposite aspects. It is the realization that these are simply complementary aspects of the same whole. One cannot exist in an experiential reality without the other. They both have equal value and equal importance and together create the Universe. In this way, Consciousness transcends the identification with polarity and rises to a new level in which all is embraced equally and fully. Resistance is relinquished and one reaches the place which, in spiritual teachings, has commonly been referred to as enlightenment.

We as a race are currently still at the second stage for the most part yet are rapidly progressing to this third and final stage. The key to transcending stage two and moving into full conscious enlightenment is the surrender and embrace of all aspects of oneself and of this Universe, especially the unconscious aspects which you are afraid to look at. The only reason you fear these unconscious, un-integrated aspects of yourself is because you have identified with one aspect of the polarity, in this case the conscious mind and the conscious aspects of yourself, and you resent and resist the reverse side of the polarity, which is the unconscious. To fully integrate, however, you MUST shine a light on this darkness and integrate these fears into your conscious mind. In so doing, you become a whole and integrated being and then can transcend the current trappings of this apparent time-space reality. This is a gradual process so be gentle with yourself. You can go at whatever speed you like, whatever feels most self-loving. Just be sure to continuously seek the next level of expansion, to remain as conscious as possible, and to be willing to do whatever it takes to face those fears so as to transcend them and rise to ever greater heights in your Awareness.

This third stage can be most easily understood as a state of unconditional love. Unconditional love is a state of openness toward ALL things, not just those that are deemed right, good, or acceptable. This allows you to channel the divinity that emanates from beyond polarity, which is ultimately just a perception of the mind. Without thought and conceptualization, there is no polarity, there is just this. This moment, exactly the way it is. Ultimately, we are waking up to ourselves from within our own dream for the purpose of gaining a greater awareness of our true nature. A common misunderstanding is that our true nature is pure light, pure goodness, and pure positivity. This is not the case, because these ideas still exist within the dimension of polarity. The mind cannot comprehend our true nature because it originates from beyond the mind. When you fully integrate the unconscious aspects of yourself, when you shine a light into the shadow, you will feel the emanation of your true nature from within and without. This can best be described as a sacred peace, yet ultimately it is beyond words. So take the leap, shine the light of your awareness into the deepest and darkest parts of your psyche, and simply observe the transformation that follows. Peace : )

The Best Solution

A different way of looking causes a total shift in all that is perceived. The observer and the observed are inseparable, they are one and the same, as are the journey and it’s destination.

A problem is no different than it’s solution. In fact, a problem equals its solution. This is represented in mathematics. The problem or the equation equals the solution of that equation, which is clearly demonstrated with the “equals” (=) symbol. Therefore, a particular way of looking at or interpreting the problem brings one to the particular solution to that problem.

For instance, look at the simple math problem 5+2=7. Now why is this true? This is true because the principles of mathematics indicate that 2 parts in addition to 5 parts creates a total of 7 parts. In truth, this is pretty abstract yet appears quite specific when one understands basic mathematical principles. An onlooker could rightfully ask, at least from a philosophical standpoint, why 5+2 could not equal 8, or in fact equal 6? This is because the symbols 6 and 8 possess different qualities than the symbol 7, and the equation 5+2 does not add up to or reflect these particular qualities. 

So given this example, any problem in life adds up to a solution that possesses particular qualities, and the nature of the problem is directly related to the nature of it’s solution. Analyzing or interpreting the problem rationally using the foundation of certain universal principles will bring one to a specific solution which reflects the inherent nature of the problem itself.

A solution can be the solution to multiple problems, yet a problem only has one best solution. For example, 7 can be the solution to the problems of 5+2 and 4+3. Yet the best solution to both of these problems is 7. You could rightfully state that 5+2=6+1, but that is not the best solution. It is correct, yet not the most concise. So as any problem in life can have multiple solutions, yet it only has one best solution.

Let’s look at a real life example. Let’s say that you want to get to the store as quickly as possible. This is your challenge, or “problem”. Now, there are multiple routes to the store, but only one of these routes is the fastest route possible.

Now all three routes, green, blue and red, are viable solutions; meaning all three solutions work. But only one solution is the best. This is clearly the red path because it is the most direct and therefore the fastest route to the store.

This reflects the fact that all problems have multiple working solutions, but only one best, most specific, most precise solution.

So all solutions are simple reconfigurations of the original problem in a way that is more concise, more specific, more easily and inherently functional. Simply put, problems are more complex and chaotic whereas their solutions are more simple and orderly. A problem is completely open whereas a solution is fixed and concrete. The problem “What should I eat for breakfast” is totally open. There are infinite possibilities, infinite possible answers to that question. But only one answer is best. So you meditate on it. You feel intuitively what your body desires. Suddenly, an apple comes to mind. Okay. Apple is the clear and concise solution to this problem. All possibilities have been narrowed down into one. The problem is solved in the best way possible.

Everything in life can be addressed in this way. Most people have the issue of fiddling around with half-assed, mediocre solutions. They don’t bother finding the best solution possible. What is 5+2, you ask? Oh, that’s easy... 1+2+1+1+2. Great job. You just made the solution even more complicated than the original problem. This is what most people do, and they wonder why they are drowning in a sea of complexity and lost in a maze of confusion.


What should I eat? What is the best diet? Oh well I need my iron and my folate, my phosphorous, magnesium and zinc. I also need my b vitamins, vitamin a, c, k, d, x, y, and z. Blah, blah, blah. On and on it goes. Should I eat plants or animals? Lettuce or spinach? Dirt or asphalt? An infinite maze of complexities have arisen from the simple question “What should I eat?” Your logical mind has run away with the problem and is now spitting up various solutions the way a sprinkler spits out droplets of water.

Here’s a tip: instead of addressing the mind for solutions, address the body first, specifically the heart. This comes back to the idea of specificity, of a clear and concise solution that is best. The head, or the mind, is infinitely abstract, vague, and ambiguous. This is clear when you ask “What is the mind?” There is no clear-cut and specific answer. It’s like the cloud, the ether, or God. Too abstract to be defined in a definitive way. But what about the body? Well, that’s clear. It's right here, right in front of you. It’s the first thing you see when you look in the mirror. It’s the first thing you feel when you wake up in the morning (that and morning wood, if you’re a dude ; ). So if you want a clear-cut, specific, and definitive answer, it is best to first address the body. Feel on an intuitive level before going to the logical and rational mind. “What should I eat?” Feel it intuitively. “What should I do today?” What does your heart tell you?


It seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it? The intuition, the heart...they seem so abstract, so ethereal. Yet in reality, they will always bring you to the clearest answer, to the very best solution. Because the body is clear, it is defined, it is solid. It is not some etheric abstraction. It is present here and now. And it will always give you the best answer. Guaranteed : )

Fallen Queen