Suffering our teacher?

We all suffer. Not all of our suffering is the same. Irregardles of this each of us suffer in some way or have suffered in some way. I believe that our creation was not for the purpose of suffering, but for the purpose of growth. We certainly have learned well how to suffer and how to prolong suffering, in others as well as within ourselves.
I have a different view now. Sufferring can be our teacher. This can be experienced. This can be experienced if we allow it. How? When we are present in our suffering it is often difficult to see the value of the experience. When we are suffering it is difficult to learn from the experience. But like all things suffering cannot last forever. When we allow the our experiences to be present and then flow freely into the past, this is when our suffering can transform into our teacher. If we hold our past suffering into the present then it remains just suffering. Only when allowed to leave the present and flow freely into the past can our suffering teach us.

Thank you

Give to get

I realized something the other day. I found that the fastest way to get a hug was to give a hug. The fastest way to receive a smile was to give a smile. So perhaps the fastest way to receive joy is to give joy. The fastest way to receive respects to give respect. This formula works in abundance, in application and practice.
So simple a formula but yields so much. The fastest way for one to receive is for one to give. Try it. You maybe surprised. Perhaps service to others is one way to receive service.

Thank you

Two Paths

I find myself troubled today. My mind is going over and over things that are already past. I am stuck, my mind is stuck, my emotions trapped and my body suffering as a result. My mind is on a circle of thoughts over and over again. What ifs, should haves, could haves, said or done and on and on. This becomes a cyclic behavior that reinforces itself. I am reliving over and over the emotions associated with these experiences. In all of this I am lost to right now.

Before me I see two paths. One path continues this behavior, keeps me stuck. Reinforces my anger, my frustration, my anxiety, by fear, my resentments, keeps me in the past. Supports and nourishes my suffering. I can stay on this path.

There is another path. One of release. One of forgiveness. One of tolerance. One of acceptance. This other path reduces my suffering. This other path nourishes my healing. This other path frees me from the past and allows for growth. This path brings me back to now. Now is where I want to be.
What path will I choose?
Now is what I choose. 

Control

Control is an illusion. There is really no control, there is only ever right now. The control here is to experience here, now. We cannot control others, we cannot control elements, and so on. Each is individual and each is collective. Awakened state is not death to ego but ego in the awakened state not in conflict with the ever present moment. Awakens state is not death to anything, but realization that everything is of a neutral state and exists in itself as well as in the collective everything.
Positive and negative are all values of perspective and as perspective changes so does the value assigned. From this view there is no positive or negative, only the momentary perspective assignment of such.

All things have an individual and collective nature, seeing this does not diminish the capacity to experience them just helps us to experience them and let the moment pass and move onto the next moment.

Awakened state is not to become unfeeling, more becoming more feeling in the moment, not tied to the past, or in anticipation or dread of the future. Awake here and now, when you are in the past it is like you are asleep to the now, when you are in the future again it is like you are asleep to the now.

If you can be awake now, the whole universe is here for you, a universe of undiscovery or discovery.

Thank You

Teachings

I am compelled to write today about teachings. Teachings are a wonderful part of our conscious existance. We need teachings to guide us along our journey. Teachings can help us grow, develop, transform.
But when the teachings become too stringent, to binding, they can stifle us. They can create an enviroment that suffocates us and brings us to despair. There needs to be flexibility contained within the teachings to allow for individual growth. We are in need of guidance not cells that lock our development.
Please be careful with your self. Sometimes we need to look deeper within the message and sometimes we need to look beyond the messenger.

Thank You

Harmony

I awake thinking about body health. For long life a certain level of harmony is required. At least a cooperation. This needs to extend to the emotions and thoughts as well. 
All the healing modalities are trying to achieve this. A rebalancing. But I feel that without a conscious effort to support this then the disharmony will return. Drugs, operations, adjustments,  herbs, meditations and so on, only have short term rebalancing. Without conscious effort to support these other efforts imbalance reoccurs. 
What does this mean? Taking the necessary steps to support the body, mind, emotions and spirit. All needs to be addressed. Letting go of that which holds us in imbalanced condition. This includes action, thoughts and words.
Choosing thoughts actions and words that support the balanced condition. When you find yourself enter into an imbalanced condition then as soon as possible return to the balanced condition, or more importantly leave the imbalances condition and let the balance return.

As I am understanding or experiencing this, I can feel the heat in my lower back and it rise up my back.

I can see this as a huge topic and it's applications widely encompassing. I can write here for a long, but for now I will stop here.

Thank you 

Smoke Breaks

I am away on vacation and I am waiting in my van, we are just about to leave for home, I notice across from us a man sitting outside having something to drink and smoking. A teacher of mine once told of when a smoker is tence they have a smoke and release and relax. He was trying to convey the released state, and how to work with people to get them into that relaxed state.
What I noticed today is how there is healthy component to the smoke break experience. When someone goes for a smoke break, they stop what they were doing altogether and usually physically move to a different location and do something else. They smoke and relax. They take deep inhales of their smoke, just like a deep breath, and they relax, perhaps even clear their minds. For perhaps 10 min they smoke relax and leave things behind. This is a wonderful practice, we should all do this except without the smoking. Take time-outs, smoke breaks without the smoke and relax and breath. Move away from what you are doing, take some deep breaths and relax and clear our minds. For 5-10 min just take a breath break a chance to free ourselves to just be.
What a wonderful practice.

Thank you

Historical Significance PS

Upon further reflection, I recognize that the last post could be interpreted many ways. I want to clarify my view. I want to express a sense of responsibility in the view of my expression. I wrote;
"What does this leave me with?? I cannot see all the stuff we want and carry as really that important any more. But what I can see, is the one thing we all share, the fruit fly, me, the sun, the solar system, the universe and countless others, we all share this present moment. That is where there is significance. Here and now. What will I want and what will I carry, what will I think, what will I express, when I view all things from this perspective?"
To answer some of these questions, perhaps it would be easier to say what I won't want, what I will leave, what I won't say or think or do.
In experiencing this view, it seems that there is not any real value of carrying resentments, past issues that are not here and now. I experience something that I may associate with some form of suffering, but if that experience is past and no longer present than there is little value in still carrying it.
In the experience of this view, there seems to be little value in creating suffering for someone else, especially to my own benefit.
In the experience of this view, there seems to be little value in mentally going over and over past events, and mentally taking myself from the experience of this moment.
In the experience of this view, there seems to be little value in berating myself on any topic.
In the experience of this view, what is the value of causing any suffering either for myself or for others.
I think that is what I will say for now. This is an expression of the value of living here and now as opposed to living in the past. Even though I have experienced this and do continue to experience this, there are times that I still get drawn back. So I have received the lesson and experienced the lesson, now I will practice the lesson.

Thank You

Historical Significance

I awoke yesterday thinking about the historical significance of events, no, not just events, but the historical significance of everything, life, death, creation, destruction, anything, everything.
Now if I take the human point of view I can see value in historical significance of human events. But if I look further out, than our human significance diminishes, at least from what I am experiencing. What significance is there to our history, distant or close, to the history of say an ancient mountain or ocean, or what significance is there to our history to the planet we share. We are not the first dominant species, and probably not the last. So again our historical significance diminishes. What about our planets historical significance in relation to our sun or our solar system or the universe itself. Now our planets significance diminishes, our suns significance diminishes and so on. It seems to me to be no different than looking for significance in the life of a single fruit fly; its life is diminished from my life point of view.
So what significance is there in all these things we acquire, or things we think we need or all the attitudes we cling to so tightly? In the course of universal history they are all fleeting and insignificant.
My seemingly long life in relation to a fruit fly is small and fleeting in relation to our sun and almost not even measurable in relation to the universe.
What does this leave me with?? I cannot see all the stuff we want and carry as really that important any more. But what I can see, is the one thing we all share, the fruit fly, me, the sun, the solar system, the universe and countless others, we all share this present moment. That is where there is significance. Here and now. What will I want and what will I carry, what will I think, what will I express, when I view all things from this perspective?

Thank You

What's Mine

I start this day in a state of mind that allows me to see myself a bit better. A state that allows me to see my yesterday and yesterdays better. I can see that I have been getting caught up with being possessive. I titled this post "What's Mine" because that is one issue I have been struggling with lately. It doesn't really matter the content of my particular issue, it seems that this is a common experience. I can see as I struggle with this from my view, there are others with counter views that struggle as well, in their own particular ways.

So "What's Mine" anyways. Really this morning, I can't find anything that I can say is really mine! Is the things I have purchased mine, defined by some human made law perhaps. Who made them the possession of the one whom I purchased them from in the first place? Really I can't say that anything is mine. I see today that the best I can say is that I borrow everything. I eat but what goes in comes back out, in one way or another, eventually, so it is returned in one form or another eventually. So all my food or drink, sustenance, is borrowed.

I can't keep anything forever, eventually all of it is returned in some state or another. All of 'my possessions' will eventually leave me. So I just borrow them for limited times, some longer some shorter.

Really even my body will eventually return back to the earth or the universe, I just borrow it for a life time, by the way which is an undetermined length of time.

Is my soul mine, or is my soul? Again I find that I am just borrowing, borrowing everything. Nothing is mine. If nothing is mine why struggle with the possessiveness of anything.

This can perhaps be a challenging concept for some but can be freeing if you let it.

Thank You

Living For the Moment

What is this living for the moment? It seems at first to be a good idea, to me anyways. But as I look deeper I see perhaps a flaw in this expression and idea. We tend to take this idea and start looking, seeking for something. We are looking "for the moment". We will try different activities in an attempt to find the 'moment'. We sometimes become a bit irresponsible and selfish in our search for this ellusive moment. Live for the moment, indeed.

I offer a counter idea, forget living for the moment and instead live in the moment. I challenge us all to live in the moment. If you can achieve this then your search can end. You can find that your every day life, in each moment is the adventure you were seeking all along. There is no where to go to find this, there is no special activity needed to experience this. Everywhere becomes the place to experience this and every activity becomes the vehicle to experience this.

In the moment you become free.

Thank You

The answer does not exist without the question

"The answer does not exist without the question". This is an interesting idea. It is in my view essentially true of all things. Now I am not saying that the question must come first, only that they both co-exist, they both are independent of each other as well as tied to each other. They exists as both the individual and the collective at the same time. This is a universal phenomena, all things have an individual aspect and a collective aspect.

There cannot be oneness without individuality. One owes it existence to the other. Duality and non-duality are another way of expressing this concept. One is can only exist with reference to the other. I personally prefer the expression of the individual and the collective. The answer and the question together form a collective but still have individual existence contained within the collective.

My body had individual systems, the systems have individual organs, my organs have individual cells and so on, this is in my own small universe within. I exist as an individual person, in my family, in my city, in my country, on this planet, in this solar system and so on in the universe outside.

At all times we are all individuals and together as a greater collective. At all levels.

Thank You

"I like it here, it is so peaceful"

I heard someone say this recently. I have heard others speak similarly at times. "I like it here, it is so peaceful". This comment was made in reference to a geographical location, away from the city, more nature, larger properties, nice views and some farming. I have gone away and found my self in places where I have felt this as well. A place that seemed to have an influence on me that I felt more peaceful.

Is it that we are away from the congestion of the city and the lives we live there, that we sense this peacefulness? Is it that we sometimes need spaces like this to recognize what peace is? Perhaps in our busy lives we rarely find peaceful moments and when we enter a place that is quieter, we can feel more peaceful.

This is interesting, but I wonder, why do we need to go somewhere to find peace. Really I don't think that we actually find peace in a place. I think that the peace is already contained within and these places trigger our realization of peace, at least for a few moments. I believe that we can have this anytime, that we don't have to go anywhere to find it. It is here now, if we choose it. It is within and becoming aware of this one can visit it within anytime.

Contained within the busiest times are small moments of quiet. Between the raindrops of a shower is quietness. It is here that peace is always available. One can always take a moment, anytime, anywhere, and find a quiet place of peace.

Thank You

Talk Less Listen More

I received this message the other day. "Talk Less Listen More"; I know that this applies to me and my life, perhaps it may apply to others. "Talk Less Listen More", I tend to want to talk more, make sure that my point is expressed and heard, but to really "Listen More", is just as valuable if not more so. If I listen more than I can start to see others views better. I can start to see their suffering or joy better and then respond to them more appropriately. If I can do this than my own suffering may be diminished or my own joy increased. I may be able to serve others better. This is an important message, and that is why I share it today.

"Talk Less Listen More" is not just about your voice and your ears, this is about your whole being, your body language, your attitude, your words or lack thereof. Being more aware of everything is listening more. Serving is listening more. Stepping out of always doing and stepping into being.

Thank You

A natural state

A pond of water, when undisturbed is by its nature calm. When the wind blows the surface is affected. When the storm comes the rain also affects the water. If the wind or storm is strong enough the effect goes deeper. But the universe cannot sustain the wind or storms indefinitely. Their effect it temporary, or impermanent. When the wind stops, when the storm subsides, the the water returns to its natural state, calm. Even when the storm was great and the effects reached to the depths of the pond, the water will return to the natural state, calm.

I wonder about the human condition. Can we also return to a state of calm after the storms have past. Our storms can not be sustained indefinitely either. Once they pass, let them pass and allow yourself to be like the pond, return to a calm state.

Thank You

Definitions

I have a quote displayed on the blog, "We can only see what we see from where we stand. We cannot see what others see from where they stand. For us to see what they see, the best we can do is stand beside them". This quote talks about points of view and points of reference. What I experience is dependent upon my point of view and point of reference. If I change either, my point of view or point of reference than the experience changes, the definitions of the experience change.

We define everything is some way or another. These definitions help us cope with our day, help to make sense of everything we encounter. But we can get stuck in definitions. and thus suffer based on definitions that are unmoving. I believe that if we can adjust our point of view and point of reference then the definition will naturally change and we will become unstuck. Thus lessening our suffering.

Thank You

Endless journey

I see something clearer today. As I go through this day I am experiencing things that seem to have the effect of raising my stress level. I remember what I said in another previous post and am practicing this, but... There are always 'things' that can cause us stress. The list is endless. Is human life an endles journey of suffering? Suffering in one form or another, physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiriutally. I see life being lived out this way in so many, myself included. Do we have to suffer so much?? I don't have a definitive answer to this, but in my heart I believe that we can become free of suffering. There is a way. I can feel it. Is the answer contained in the teaching of some of our past spiritual teachers, maybe. But I think that there is an answer already within me and I believe that there is already an answer contained within you as well.

When I look and see that there is an endless list of potential things that can cause me suffering, It awakens me to the knowledge that this may be true for others. So, part one, I choose to reduce the amount of times I make that list for others. Part two, as I see that the list can become endless it somehow changes for me and starts to loose its power. Maybe it is like being a tree, sometimes the wind blows strong, sometimes the rain comes in storms, sometimes it is too hot, somtimes it is too cold, and so on. But these things come and these things go. How can I really accomplish anything by getting upset at the wind, or the storm or the heat or the cold. Sometimes these things can relieve my stress as much as they can increase my stress. So maybe they are truly neutral and it is my view that changes their effect on me.

Perhaps this is more the answer for me. Seeing the neutrality of things rather than assigning them plus or minus values, positive or negative influence.

Thank You

I see

Today I was visiting another Blog. I was just browsing but came across a quote from a book that I have already read.

"You people today curl up in bed with their walkmen [iPods today] and listen to unwholesome music, songs that water seed of great sadness and agitation in them. when we practice Right View and Right Thinking, we will put all of our tapes and CDs that water only seeds of anguish into a box and not listen to them anymore."

Now I do this type of practice with audio and visual content already. Not really out of a practice, but more because I am drawn or guided to do this. Some of these audio and visual stimulus just make me feel unwell. But I digress here. As I read these words, it reached deeped within my mind and heart and a deeper understanding blossomed. At least for me. As I go through my day I encounter other forms of stimuli that have perhaps unwelcome affects upon me. Now is it the stimuli itself that is the root cause of my distress or is it how I deal with the stimuli that is the source of my distress? I believe that the later is more true. So here is what I have come to understand deeper today. I can take my thoughts or feelings that I am thinking or feeling, that water the seeds of discontent, and put them in the box and not experience them anymore or not listen to them anymore.

I don't think that I will lock away these feelings and thoughts like in supression but more in a way of release. I will put them in a box and release them out to the universe, out to the Divine.

Thank You

Pay Attention

You know, there is an universe of discovery in every moment. It is there, and it is always changing. For us to experience this, all we need to do is simply pay attention. In those moments when you can pay attention, leaving yourself behind, wonderful insights are made available. The mundane is no longer mundane. The exciting is no longer exciting.

Here is where I find some of my most valuable teachings. My inspiritational lessons. Here is where I can be. Everything can be everything. I can be everything. Everything can be me. All things exist in a neutral state of existance, nothing is greater and nothing is lesser. The universe truly becomes infinite, by definition as well as by experience.

Thank You

I Am

A little while ago I was sitting in my living room. I looked outside and it was raining. I watched and thought about the rain. Then I became a rain drop. I fell from the sky and landed on the ground. I was absorbed by the earth and nurtured a tree. Then I grew into a leaf of the tree. I lived as a leaf and in the fall season, I fell from the tree. In the spring I became the grass. A bird came by and ate me and I became the bird. I took flight back to the sky.

I am the rain. I am the earth. I am the tree. I am the grass. I am the bird.

I am

Getting in the way

Today I wish to continue on about attachments. We struggle in our daily lives, many ways. As childern we are very accepting and we live very much in the moment. Also young children really don't carry their emotions for very long. generally they are content until someting upsets their contentment and when that is resoloved they naturally return back to their contentment state. You see they have not built attachments to the past experiences or future expectations. They do something quite naturally, they forgive and move on.

Attachments get in the way of our own healing. We attach to our anger, we attach to our pain. We will not forgive, and thus we suffer in a prison of our own creation. Forgivness is not always for the other, the one who caused our suffering, but for us the one who is suffering. Forgivness is the key to our prison. When we forgive we free ourselves, then healing can occur. Forgivness releases the pain we hold.

Why not try it? Why not just forgive yourself? Are you not worthy? Just try and see how it feels. Let go the emotional and mental debts you hold on yourself.

Thank You

Never Mind 'What eats Fear' What is the source of fear?

What is the source of our fears?

Upon further consideration, I came to the conclusion that it may be better to find the source of the fear and deal with that rather than trying to understand it afterwards. Stop the nurturing of the fear in the first place.

So again why do we fear? I am sure that there are countless answers for this question. Perhaps a different answer for every fear. Or maybe some answers that address many fears. But I came to an answer that seesm to fit with me. It is something that I have already touch upon in an earlier post. Attahments. Sounds simple but I feel that it may be true. Consider, I may fear death because I am attached to life. I fear sickness beacuse I am attached to health. I may fear flying because I am afraid of crashing, again attachment to life.

Please understand, I do not belittle fears, quite the opposite. I have had and do have my share. But if I could live in the moment without attachment then what would I have to fear.

The trick now is to try and accomplish living this way. I feel that in the type of world we currently inhabit, it is an ongoing practice. I really believe that it can be attained, at least to some degree. But we have to be vigilant and ever present.

Like any worthy skill, there has to be a starting point and there requires much practice.

Thank You

What Eats Fear

Fear

I am having a conversation today, and in the context of the conversation the topic of being afraid of talking to someone about something came up. The specific topic isn't really important here, but the fact that someone could be afraid to talk is. I have definately been there. I have been afraid to say somethings to some people. I know that there have been times that my own children have been faced with telling me something that they are not proud about and have been afraid to speak to me.

This is an everyday type of thing. Perhaps you share in my observation here. Afraid to talk with a partner, a friend, a employer, a collegue, a parent, the list goes on and on. Sometimes we will go to great length to avoid these conversations.

Here is my struggle today. In many cases the results of the conversations, onced faced, are much less serious then we imagine them to be. In hindsight we often see our original fear as silly. But that is only from hindsight. We had to live through that fear to see that it was not necessary to begin with.

So today I question,'what eats fear'. I have many ideas, but no solutions.

Perhaps fear is my teacher. Perhaps I can take each instance and learn something from it and compound the experiences so that I don't have to learn any one twice. Eventyally I could reduce the amount of fear I experience. Maybe that is one answer to my question, "what eats fear?', knowledge and experience.

I don't think that this is the end of this particular topic, but for now, I will lay it to rest.

Thank You

Illusion of Anger

A while ago I was feeling stressed. I was angering easily. One morning I awoke feeling agitated and everything seemed to make me more agitated and angry. The day seemed to be getting in my way, things seemed to be harder this day and I was late for work. All through this I was more and more frustrated and angry. As I was just about to go to work, my daughter delayed me more as she was now late for school and I had to now drive her. This was making me more late for work. As I drove her I was fuming and was upset with her for making me more late. I dropped her off at the school and instead of just rushing to work, I paused to watch her walk into the school. I still felt angry but didn't want to be that way. I watched her and thought I love her so much why do I want to be angry anymore. Then I could see my anger, it was like a huge monster. Many, many, times larger than me, so big and so powerful. Then I felt my love for my daughter. It was like a small bright light. I could see myself standing before this huge anger monster and with this small bright light of love. In the face of my love for my daughter, the anger monster changed from a solid powerful entity to translucent and smoke like and then just dissipated. I was shocked and felt the anger within me leave, totally.

You see I learned that day that the power and dominance of anger is just an illusion in the face of Love.

Thank You

I'll Never Forget

Good Day

I heard someone talking about a circumstance that had brought them suffering. They said, "I'll never forget what they did to me". I said "really, why would you want to remember and especially forever?" Why would we want to keep our pain. We often say things just like this, 'I will never forget what you did' or 'I will never forget what you said'. I ask why do we want to hold onto that pain? Perhaps we should say 'I will forget what you did to me' , or 'I will forget what you said to me'. We don't need to keep these experiences that have caused us pain and suffering. This is not about the one who delivered the pain, but how we can heal from our experience of pain. Forget what caused your pain, leave it behind, stop carrying it.

You can choose this alternative and start to heal, right now.

Thank You

Perfect

Good Day

I was listening to a conversation between a teenager and a child. They were talking about a crystal. The child's crystal had been scratched and nicked and the teenager was consoling the child. The teenager told the child that the scratch and nick added character to the crystal, reminding us that it is not perfect. I listened and thought and this was what came to me.

What is perfection? How do we measure perfection? By what standard can we measure perfection? The scratch and nick added uniqueness to the crystal. So now the crystal was no longer perfect? If the crystal is unique then there can be no standard with which to gauge perfection. If the crystal is unique and then because of its uniqueness there is no standard to measure perfection then it is already perfect. Its uniqueness defines its perfection.

If we use the idea that only things that fall within confined ideas, are perfect, then we will be hard pressed to find perfection. But if we see the uniqueness of things then we can see their already inherent perfection. If your view point allows then you can see that all things have uniqueness and then all things are already perfect.

Thank You

Why Wait

The other day, I was speaking to someone about an issue in my life. This issue was outstanding and I had planned to finalize it in a couple of days. I said to my friend "I will be happy when this is finished".

A bit later I was driving and this conversation came back to mind and I thought why wait. Why do I have to wait to be happy? Why do I have to wait until that particular issue was resolved until I was happy? Why do I have to put a time schedule on my happiness? Why do I have to put conditions on my happiness? I couldn't find a good answer to these questions. I don't have to have conditions on my happiness. I don't have to have time schedules on my happiness.

We say these things so unassumingly and don't even realize what we do to ourselves. Acting this way I can see that there is always something that will be in the way of my peace or happiness. Now that I have this realization, my happiness is not subject to anything, but my current choice. I can be happy with no conditions. I can have happiness right now, why wait.

Thank You

Precious

Good Day

Everyone is precious. From the dawn on our existence to the end, in all of this world and in the countless worlds that may exist and in the countless universes, there exist only one of each of us. If this were true about a stone it would be invaluable. If this were true of a work of art it would be priceless. Why is it not true of each of us. No matter what anyone ever says to you, no matter what you do or what you choose, there is still only one of you. This alone makes each of us precious, invaluable, priceless. There are no exceptions to this.

Please take care of the most precious, yourself.

Thank You

Attachments

I am not a practicing Buddhist in the strictest sense. My point of view is from my point of view only.

I believed in no attachment. I believe it is attainable. I don't believe that it leads to apathy. I believe that attaining no attachment inspires not apathy but the greatest form of compassion, unconditional compassion. To express unconditional compassion, attachment cannot exist. Only conditional compassion can be expressed with attachment. No attachment inspires unconditional love. You see, with no attachment there is only one thing, this moment. You totally live here now, no attachment to before or after. No seeking, no regrets. Just the endless discovery of the everpresent moment with its endless possibilities and choices.

Loving now, sharing now. Everything you do now is the most important thing. Every person who is with you now is the most important person. Expressing now without any previous limiting definitions. Expressing now without future anticipations. True living.

Attachments take us away from the experience of right now. Attachments, in my humble opinion, are the source of all our suffering.