Come into Remembrance

(Visionary Art by JR Slattum--threyda.com)

Notice if we have some difficulty, we are used to saying how can we make our mind different, what do we do about it? How do we get beyond whatever holds us back? How do we/I let go? Every stage is appropriate for the stage we are at. What occurs when we no longer ask what to do with or about it? When we no longer attempt to manage conditioned self, stop seeing a destructive pattern to fix, then the projector behind it reveals itself. Every point of view is a level of consciousness complete at every moment. Consider going to the root. This is the point where we see beyond obstacles to surmount or situations to 'work through'. This is not for everybody. The way you are used to dealing with yourself, whatever is causing difficulty, can shift to seeing from a point that is truly objective. When we are no longer affected emotionally, then the root arises. Focus shifts to what it is that feels what you feel? Things get quiet quickly. It brings us into the lived experience of being ourself, shows us immediately "I really do not know." The more you look inside to find yourself, the more you find a false self. There is nothing wrong with this. Its simply not primary. It leads us exactly where we wish to go- the Void, mystery, the Nothing. Look into the mystery behind all your ideas and aspirations. Behind all the drama, stories, and personality, is the Nothing. Everything is about avoiding the Nothing that is ever-present. To fall into the Nothing behind the mask called 'you/ me, self/other' is to discover what we really are. It is not what we imagine it to be. It does not end up being the Nothing we assume, but much more than that. It reveals itself beyond concepts. Everything in the mind is distracting us from the Nothing; that perceived past (memories), future, anxiety or whatever seems to happen in between. All of this invites attention for lessons or whatever we assume is gain. The concept of "who am I" takes shape as you dive into infinite waters. It spontaneous awakens. Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki echoes, 'the Most Important Thing is to find out the Most Important Thing.' Until you find out what is The Most Important Thing to/for you (not what someone says should be the most important), you have not yet touched your true power, ignited the inner spark or fire. Tune in, see how it moves. Watch and experience what you really are relate and function in the human experience. Be aware how you operate, every cell, organ and aspect of being. How does true nature see your conditioning. Life is self-authenticating. The Truth is Self-evident. A true teacher keeps you on track and points the way for you to find things out for yourself, step by step. Come into remembrance.

Connect to what is of value

Connecting to what is of true value is always in reach.  You may ask how to do this.  When you are open, teachers enter your scope to guide you to recognize the obstacle is the Path. Ultimately, its up to you to take steps to let go of what prevents you from feeling what it is to be valuable. Ponder these 5 tips to orient your focal point of attention:

1.  Expand consciousness

Each person is on a unique journey to grow more consciously present to that which is of value.  The ego has its own ideas of external examples of value.  Expanding consciousness is about shifting to focus on what value feels like to the soul. This may be very different from what the ego has you believe is valuable.

2. Know everything is part of a system of value exchange

Whether it be money, time, the tangible or intangible,  all things are part of a system of give and take.  When you are capable of polar thinking, you come to see polar opposites go together. You cannot give without taking, cannot take without giving. Reality is energetically balanced, even if your filters do not register this. It is conscious echange that makes all the difference.  Figure and background go together. They are not mutually-exclusive.   All events have a witness. If you truly wish to see the value of exchange, when a person asks you a question about the sacred, answer in secular terms. If you are asked of the eternal, answer in terms of the temporal.  When asked about the abstract, answer in concrete terms. Knowing this allows you to move forward consciously, accepting innate value and creating value in all you do.

3.  Be at peace with yourself

Being at peace with yourself is about recognizing and detaching from attachments and aversions to money and all perceived forms of value, wealth, prosperity and exchange.  Regaining a conscious connection to yourself results in massive breakthroughs, moving into your desinty with greater purpose, conscious intent, and feeling into what this process is really about.  

4.  Be the Worldbridger

You are the bridge between the material and non-material worlds.  You must give yourself the gift of conscious presence before listening to and hearing true Self, tuning in to what is actually of value to the Soul.

5. Meditate

Truth is a state of meditation consciousness.  Trust arises in awareness as one  takes the role of observer and views how you simultaneously participate in human life.  It hits that mediation is the avenue though which you access deeper intuition, grow aware of how to transcend apparent obstacles, activate, materialize and realize rather than what Gurdjieff calls, In Search of Being. Isira Sananda reminds us we are each our own Awakening Place.  She echoes, "Why worry about what you should be when you can simply be what you are."

5 Lessons from the Courage to be Disliked

Books that appear in our scope are guides on our path to greater fulfillment.Everything can be viewed as a teacher with a message when we are open to it.  Many people  list favorite spiritual books and such lists are often changing.

The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga  is a book full of surprising lessons.  I read it in the airport recently while awaiting a connection. Its conversational style is engaging yet requires paying attention to keep track of changing points of view. Millions of copies sold in Asia already, reading the English translation invites discovery of why its popularity is growing. When ready, readers of Kishimi and Koga's book are invited to grow aware of their own reflections and projections.

It is like a modern take on Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind that incorporates what Fumitake Koga describes as "the shock value of Adlerian psychology." Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of "Individual Psychology." Adler viewed human beings as an individual whole. Along with Freud and Jung, Adler is viewed as one of three highly influential minds of psychology of the 19th century.

In a nutshell, the book unfolds through exchanges between a philosopher and student. The philosopher explains to his pupil how each human being exists to determine our own life, free from the limits of past experiences, doubts, and the expectations of others. The book invites readers reflect on what is deeply liberating, on what or whom allows us to reach inside ourselves to find the courage to change.  It is set up to invite readers to see through self-created limitations other people seem to place on us. Ponder these five lessons that stand out:

1. Accept you cannot please everyone

To say yes to everything and everyone, is setting yourself up for a fall. To be true to yourself means accepting how you feel, expressing your truth and accepting everyone is not going to agree with you or see the world in the same way you do. Agree to disagree and life is then much simpler.

2. Discover all relationship problems mirror inner conflict

The view offered is that we create relationships as a means to get to know ourselves.  This problems we think we have with others point to our unconscious resistance to accepting parts of our shadow.

3. See that seeking recognition is an ego trap

Instead of seeking recognition, pinpoint why you do not recognize yourself as you are, why you resists recognizing and celebrating what you have already achieved, or why you resist giving yourself recognition.

4. Discard other people's tasks

You are taught to live according to other people's views, desires, direction and percpetion of life pupose and experiences. Turns out, stepping back and recognizing who and what you truly live for is a thought-provoking and potentially life-transforming journey.

5. Trusting yourself and being confident are not the same

Feeling inferior or superior, making choices in life to reinforce related unconscious beliefs are stepping stones to growing aware of the bigger game that you are playing. No valid excuse exists for hiding from truth.  You only begin to see through and dismantle smokescreens when the ego becomes a friend and teacher.