Time for Rest, Adjustment and Rejuvenation

This week has been a week of adjustment. After experiencing a waterfall of revelations concerning life, I came to a screeching halt of energy. Although I felt weak in energy to do, I felt like there was something I needed to do, something was pulling me towards a path, but I could not see the path. It was dark and the more I tried to find the light or sense a direction, the more frustrated and anxious I became. Does this sound familiar to you? Have you experienced the knowing of not knowing?

I'd like to share a few realizations that are so simplistic in thought, but major accomplishments in balance. First of all, we all need time to regroup, to restore our energy levels. I believe my anxiousness and frustrations were due to not taking that time. The inability to see the path or sense a direction was because it was not a path to travel, but a path of rest. Once I accepted that, I felt at ease and realized the following.

While traveling a path of discovery, whether it is in education, reality, self, the spirit, what have you, you start the journey gathering information. During the information gathering, we sometimes achieve what is known as "A-Ha! Moments", meaning we read something, hear something or even think of something that just instantly clicks in us and causes that feeling of, "That's so true!" amazement. But, what do you do with that A-Ha! after the click of clarity?

Well, generally speaking, I believe we just file it away in our memory banks and reflect on it now and then, with nothing more than a sense of nostalgia for that moment of the A-Ha! amazement and "up" feeling. This is the simplistic thinking of the A-Ha! Moments. What we really should do when we have those moments is reflect. Reflect on how the moment of A-Ha! can be incorporated into our daily lives.

How often after the amazement of sudden clarity, when you have an A-Ha! Moment, do you feel at peace with a situation or thought? Wouldn't it be logical then, to the path of balance, to bring that instant clarity of the moment into fruition of your everyday life and behavior?

Now, I suspect that some of you are thinking, "Logic has nothing to do with it, when you think logically, you are being lead by your mind, your ego, not by your higher self or your spiritual self." This is what I want to delve into a bit, to be in balance, we must unite the ego and the spirit to work together, balance each of the opposing forces within us, our ego and our spirit. When we do this, we also ease or rid ourselves of chaos.

In my opinion, the A-Ha! Moment is the spirit or soul if you wish, speaking loudly to us, giving us weight per say to add to the spiritual side of the scale. If we just file the moment away, we have not accomplished the moment, just experienced it. What I mean is we have accepted the gift of spiritual weight for our scale of balance, but we have not added it to the scale. Our balance is still on the side of the ego, with the thoughts of, "This is so true! I knew I was right!" or something to that affect. However, when we incorporate that A-Ha! into our behavior, thought patterns, and interactions with others, we also bring the A-Ha! to our scale of balance, adjusting the ego control or weight on the scale thus bringing the scale of ego and spirit more in balance.

So, the next time you experience an A-Ha! Moment, don't just bask in the clarity of it, reflect a bit on the moment and how the A-Ha! can be incorporated into your life on a daily basis.

Rickety Bridges and Moss Covered Stones

Written by: Wdzzz

Two friends walk down a garden path amongst the lush green hills; talking intimately as they passed rickety wooden bridges and moss covered stones.

“Have you ever taken one of those side bridges over the cool, wet, stream?”

“No, I haven’t. But, I believe they would hold my weight. Have you?”

“Matter of fact I have, and I know they are quite strong. Though in the natural they seem kind of dangerous, they are quite safe.”

“The area beyond the bridges seems so barren.”

"Its appearance does seem that way. There is abundant life on the other side, but you don’t find it until you follow the path for a while. I would recommend finding a path and following it.”

“I don’t know. I believe you, but that seems so unnecessary and inconvenient.”

“The king of this land set up these bridges to lead to the special places of his heart”

“The path I am on leads me to the king’s palace, and if I took one of those paths it would slow me down.”

“Yes, they do slow you down, and that may be one of the points. These paths, for some reason, cause a change in you when you take them. I have found that the king left messages about his heart at the end of those paths that he wants us to know before we enter his palace.”

“So, are you saying that you are ready to meet the king?"

“No, I have a long way to go. But, I do know that the king is wise in his lessons?”

“What kind of lessons does the king teach?”

“See that small sign on the bridge, do you know what is says?”

“Doesn’t that one say, ‘Give to everyone that asks you’? That seems so foolish.”

“And for a while it seems that way, until you find out that is one of the natures of the kings heart. That is a lesson to experience and not to be taught, such are the lessons across the narrow rickety bridges. They seem like sure death, yet there is great life in them.”

“I believe you, but I would hate to have to put my full weight on one of the bridges because they remind me of these moss covered stones.”

“How so?”

“Well, I’ve tried to hide behind those when attacked and each time I get beat up and robbed.”

“Ahhh, yes. But, if you stand on those stones, you find that there is no moss on the top of those stones and there is writing on top of them. The king carved messages into them when he passed this way. I tell you they are like a strong towers for me.”

“What did the king write?”

“Well one stone I stand on says ‘through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.’ So, when the enemy attacks I repeat the truth to those that try to enslave me, that I am free.”

“Why did the king leave such things here?”

“Well, he was once here, and many others have passed this way. The bridges are the commands that teach us about who he is, but these lessons to change us are not just to be believed, they are to be crossed over and walked out. Just like you, you believe these bridges exist and you have even read the signs on them, yet you have never crossed over them. You don’t know what they truly mean. Many are like that. They even teach on them, yet they don’t actually walk down their paths, and so they tend to miss the great intimacy of the fellowship of his sufferings. They actually miss him, for he tends to show up on the other side of those bridges, when things are the toughest and darkest. For you see when we get there it won’t be so much about what we believe, it will be how much we are like him. The suffering of obeying those commands causes us to walk in this world like he is in the heavens, and how he was on this earth. With the command to give to everyone who asks you learn that he gave to everyone who asks in his name or nature, which his nature is the significance of his names. So, as you give and imitate how he gives you come to find the truth of giving, in that, which is asked in the nature of his name, yet still he gives to the righteous and the wicked by his mercy and grace. I encourage you, find a bridge and follow its path. When you think you have learned put its principles into practice in every facet of your life. When you are ready find another bridge and follow it. You will learn the lesson of the rickety bridges and moss covered stones. For, when we get to the palace of the king, it is not so much about what you believe; for even the demons believe and shudder. They too didn’t put the lessons into practice; it is how the lessons transformed you into a new creation adorned for the King’s chambers.

Now go, and fear not the lessons of the King,

For what intimacy with Him they do bring,

And for all eternity you will walk and sing

In the loving grace of the Eternal King

Happiness is the "ing"

I came across a website that was very interesting to me. I have spent a few hours (not all at once) exploring the many links and information contained at Mysticalpedia. There is just so much to read and learn here that I was inspired to contact the site owner, Spiritcaat, and let her know personally that I am enjoying her site. I don't do this very often, but when I do, it is usually a very rewarding experience; such is the case with Spiritcaat. I found that giving thanks is a sensation of a positive energy surge for both parties involved and I found a new friend. : )

One of the pages on her site is "Quotes" and I love quotes and "thoughts for the day". Sometimes when I feel stuck and am trying to find a sense of direction, reading these can help. It may not be the first message I read, but as I read I pick up little tidbits of knowledge and sometimes, a quote will make me stop looking and just ponder its words - Like this one:

"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." - Albert Camus

In contemplating this quote, I came to realize that happiness is not a thing, an object or even an emotion to capture and own; happiness is a state of being. As Scott Weiler has written, it is the "ing". It is the silver lining, the accepting of what is and being thankful now, instead of waiting or looking for more and thinking "I will be happy when…." (You can fill in the blank.) If we continue to search for the "thing" of happiness, we will not be happy.

When we search for the meaning of life we are not living, we are searching. Going about our daily task as if in a trance of, "Is this it? Is this what my life means?" Constantly looking for the "thing" of life and not experiencing life, we are not living there is no "ing".

The funny thing sometimes with me is even though I believe I know something, it isn't until I read a quote or article or sometimes hear someone talking that I realize how much I really don't know, but just think I know. : )

Happiness is the "ing".

Let's have some fun this week, why don't you leave a comment with your favorite quote or quotes that inspire you to stop running through life and instead slow down to explore.

I am You and You are Me

Written by Scott Weiler

OPENING QUERY...

Split me once and make me two. Take the two of me and place them in different houses in different lands. Now watch me and me go and grow. Wait. Why not throw some more of me in the equation. Yes, lets do that very thing shall we. Hmm, a good number of me might be six; six of me in six houses in six lands. Yes, that is better. Six blue eyed, brown haired, white skinned me. What will we see when we take a quick boo at so many of me in lives so far apart. Let the film roll and lets see what unfolds. Then we can think about the why we are the way we are.

.....
1) Far away I sit from the crowd. I don’t care much for people and their ill planned lives. A victim of circumstance is a phrase good enough for wiping the backsides of monkeys. How in the world can one plan for their lives while not even knowing what hand the plan-makers have already dealt out? They cannot. Friggin' robots not yet self-aware. I might take what I want from the world when it fancies my need, but quite honestly, I don’t want anything from this world. Let the robots take it all. All my life I have felt only contempt for these lesser then me people. I see no chance for that to change. What am I doing here is a mystery locked away in an unsolvable puzzle buried with some ancient pirate captain’s treasure. I live, wasting away, not ever having lived. And it is this way because of all of the robots that stir the mud off the bottom of the primordial soup bowl. I can’t see the road through the glinting light that bounces of the hides of all those around me. I know I do nothing. Nothing was the power given to me from the start. What can I do? I shrug my shoulders and keep my distance. There is no beauty. There is no hope. There is no meaning. There is only waiting...waiting for the next thing. That is what life has taught me.

2) I stand tall and I stand on the heads of anyone it takes to keep my lofty perch. There are people who are meant to be eaten and there are people who eat other people. Survival of the fittest is what my old dad always said. That was when he was strong, before he allowed himself to grow weak. There is no place for the weak. I destroyed him to save him from the humiliation of being weak. I did what he taught me to do, I used what means I had to get on top and stay there. I am sure he would be proud of the man I am today: Ruthless and incorruptible. My father had a heart attack, something he always told me happen only to people who fake strength. They are people who can’t handle the strain of being top of the food chain. After the attack, he began to talk sentimental drivel about love and meaning and things that matter more then power. It was mortifying for me to hear. I took action straight away and found the cheapest old-age care facility and locked him away in it. I arranged for the minimal requirements for medical care. I left him there to fade away and fade away he did. Just before he died, I showed up with many documents for him to sign in exchange for better care at a leading care center. He was weak and not at all in charge of his faculties and it took some time to get the documents signed. In the end, I got everything he had under his dominion, and then left him there without a backward glance. It was a state funded funeral since no one showed up to claim his body when he died. Better that way I think. I know clearly the reason why I am here, alive in this world. I am here to dominate others and control the tides of power with money. There is nothing I can’t have done in a moments notice. I am power and I exercise power every moment of every day. There is only one thing that matters and that is power. That is what I have learned. That is what I know.

3) I love people. It is in the many people that live and experience the world that salvation can be found. I can see the key isn’t a single object at all. It is like a single object that has burst into tiny parts, like a big bang, and everyone has a small part of that key somewhere inside them. The pieces of the key are not even noticeable sitting in us in times when we are alone. The greater number of people that are together, and who share harmonious energy, the more the key is felt. My greatest joy is bringing people together and evoking harmony within. It isn’t hard to do. All that is needed is the spark. Harmony is a highly combustible material and it is a glorious explosion of divinity when it bursts in flames. My medium is music and my tools are plentiful. I can see the sound move like water and watch it wash over those who hear it. No matter what the currents are that flow in any gathering of individuals, a sensitive spirit can sense what is there and orchestrate a symphony of energy that draws everyone together. Once together, the key is felt by all and the glory of those moments become self-propelling. I like to call it the holy-key. That is my calling; my purpose. I live to bring others to harmony so they can experience life in the grandest of ways. That is all that matters to me. And I have only known love consequently. Life is grand.

4) Women are all that matter to me. I tolerate stupid ones. What do I care about that? It isn’t like I ever intended to stay with any of them for longer then a night or two. My only prerequisite is a woman has to be young, or at least young looking, and pretty. No fatties and no dogs. Leave those ones for the more desperate guys. I have no guilt doing this. Why should I? I tell them upfront what I want from them. If they think they can get more, that’s their problem. I know the game and I know it well. I have learned that women want to be banged by men just as much if not more then men want it. What’s more, they like being treated like dirt. It sounds crazy and wrecked but it serves me just fine. I have nothing tying me down. I own nothing of great value; nothing except for some nice clothes and a kick-ass sports car. Image is everything. My advice for other men, say less and they will assume more. Women like men who strike them as powerful. All you have to do is look powerful. You get what you want, then walk away. They never get wise to it. I don’t get mixed up in emotions; Ever. That is a mistake. I have seen too many men go down in flames after letting emotion get hold of them. I intend to die alone but before that happens, I want to leave with a list of names a hundred miles long of those ladies I have conquered. That is why I was born I think, to have harmless fun and keep things easy. Well, easy for me. I figure I have it coming, that is, a life of pleasure for me. I probably lived a previous life strictly by the rules and it was a terrible bore. Now I get to make up for it. And I don’t care at what cost. I don’t really believe any ladies I have had were ever hurt. They all wanted it and I was the guy to give it. If it weren't me, it would be some other guy. That is the meaning of life for this guy and if you don’t like it, too bad.

5) I am a bit of an old-fashion kind of man. I take it very serious when it comes time to put the bread on the table. Work is foremost and everything else comes after. I have four daughters and a wife and money made keeps them under a roof and food in their bellies. I sail on the great ships and am gone for months at a time. The work is hard and there are risks aplenty. It isn’t that I don’t miss my family, I do miss them, but it is what a man must do. You have to do what you have to do and I do it for them. I wasn’t around to see any of my daughters' first steps or hear their first words. I have never been to any of their dance shows or heard any of them sing in choir. I always keep a hard face when I do see them so they don’t see how much it hurts me to have missed so many things in their lives. There isn’t room for that. I must do what needs doing to keep them safe and secure. No child of mine will hurt from not having enough and forced to go without. Having said that, I will admit to having some scars living life away from them, my ladies awaiting. There was the time my youngest grabbed hold of my leg and wouldn’t let go while I was walking to board the bus that was waiting to take me to my next voyage. She was crying and begging me not to go. I stood tall and walked to the bus with my face held hard as iron. I had to drag her all the way to the doors. That is where her mother was finally able to pry her off. I boarded that bus and didn’t look back. I will never forget that if I live to be two hundred. Scars I have and they are plenty. They haunt me in the quiet moments when it is dark and calm. I tell myself it is what needed to be done. It is my place in the world to be a man and to provide. As much as it can hurt, I hurt in the name of what I believe is right. That is who I am.

6) I have been called a hero though that word never sits well with me. I am no hero. I may run into the fire while everyone else is running out of it, but that is not heroic. That is how I am wired, that's all. I would even go as far to say fighting fires is how I find myself. It is in the chaos and confusion of a burning building that I find the center of me and can feel where I exist in the universe. Sounds a little hokey I know, but I have read a few books on this sort of thing. Some people label it and refer to it as adrenaline junkies but that is just that, a label. It isn’t the rush alone that is desirable. It is the coming to terms with the stark fact that death may happen in an instant and peace with yourself must be maintained in order to live another day. The other half of it is being there to help someone else in the moments that can literally mean life and death. I have lost some people and I have saved some people. I always pour everything I have into every person who needs my help in a fire. I don’t care if it is a man or a woman. If they are red, yellow, black, brown, white, or whatever other colors people come in. They all are equal in my eyes and I willingly put my life on the line for them without hesitation every time. That is how I have found myself in the great scheme of things. That is meaningful and it brings with it a sense of balance in my life. It is what I live for. There is nothing heroic about that, unless being true to your nature is heroic. If that is the case, then the world is teaming with heroes. That is my feeling anyway. Some of us teach others skills, some assemble the things we use every day and have become so used to using these things, and we no longer see them. Some of us practice medicine, and some grow food. Everyone has value and are heroes in their own regard. I am no better then them. No sir, not by a long shot. We all do what we do and it brings us closer to god while we do it. Or so I believe.

.....
CLOSING THOUGHTS

What is the point I attempt in these six stories? So what that the character is me, written with six differing perspectives of life. What does it illustrate? It illustrates through each story a same tendency underlying a same character. That is a strong conviction and adherence to a belief. A deep trench carved by life experience that channels character development resulting in different manifestations that are me. Of course, the me who sits here writing this story isn’t mentioned here. No need to mention that me beyond this sentence and the one previous. All that is needed said is I recognize each manifestation of me is potentially real; potentially real for me and just as potentially real for anyone. In making this realization I then become aware that, whether I like the potential me or dislike them, they are still me. Acceptance of me and all the potentials of me open the way to acceptance of anyone. Understanding how life exposure can direct and normalize behavior and thought, creating unique adaptations of self, while maintaining a constant predisposed nature of an individual, proves that neither nature nor nurture can be tagged as dominant in human development. Rather, it is a blend of the two that create the unique and personal experience that defines the landscape that are the lives we live. Yes, it is only an opinion and nothing more. I will reveal this, while writing each potential manifestation of me, I felt that person as though I was he. A simple trick of closing my eyes and seeing that fellow and knowing what life was lived beyond the short (but potent) paragraphs I shared with you, I became each man. I felt the same conviction until I closed my eyes and allowed the next me to be the current me. A bizarre trip into other realities. A trip that makes the world of people more sensible for me. By sensible I mean less time questioning why people are the way they are. Everyone is potentially me. Knowing this propels me beyond the question ‘why’ and makes more room for ‘what can I learn about me in you’. There now, I am done with my pondering. I hope there is something in them you may take with you. All the better for me if you do eh? Since you are me and I am you.