I Am NOT Learning That

In 2004 I sent a daily email to a list of friends which lead to this website. In 2014 I averaged two Enlightenmeant blogs per month. In 2019 I wrote 8 but only posted 3. From 2020 to 2023 I wrote 5 and posted none... until this morning when I woke up thinking about someone I dearly love and came to write a post. When I found those five drafts and read them, I was calmed by the lesson I have learned so many times. How is it possible to learn a lesson many times? Is a lesson learned at all if we have to learn it again? Absolutely, because life is not absolute. It is a constantly changing cacophony of one lesson, a living mess of unexpected opportunities to practice what we know and hone it like a sculpture of twisted wire, carved wood, clay drawn through our hands on the wheel of life -- you get the picture.

Sometimes I forget the picture, at least the whole picture. Like the lens on a digital camera, I focus through a particular part of the sensor and get my unique rendition of what's going on, from which I have opportunity to see what I'm missing. I guess that's the thing I came to write about today, what is missing in the world that I see. I used to be much quicker to land on the sensor in a place that afforded me an holistic view, ever reminding myself that how things appear is how I choose to see them. Since the beginning of the Pandemic, the "unprecedented" nature of events in our world, has become the norm in the way things play out. A few years ago I stopped writing. I think it was because I was always writing about the same thing: NOT Knowing. That may sound the same as Unprecedented, and it has a foot in that as nothing is ever the same, But NOT Knowing is, in my world, That which we are here to learn over and over again: That there is a sensor and it sees itself (yes, takes a selfie) through itself. It's not that we can't or don't know. But that We are the sensor -- NOT -- Knowing (seeing). In my imagination, NOT -- No Other Thing, is the basis, the stratum of our existence seeking to know itself through each and every one of us. And so when we see All That Is as NOT seperate from itself, and we understand there is NODifference, and NOHunger, and NOWar we can cease to see ourselves as seperate and unyielding of the litle bit we have, choosing instead to see a world where we are NOT alone, and undivided. All of these Unprecedented times are about learning this one lesson over and over again. We can stand up, stand together, stand for, but in these unprecedented times, I choose NOT to stand against focusing on the divisive. Yes, it is also NOT, but I choose to invest my viewpoint on being Lucid, to refrain from giving in to limited thoughts, choosing to believe in the power of NOT, and manifest this reality with love and dignity. NOThing Changes, as us. Pic;) . . . Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Embracing Ambiguity

"I wanted the perfect ending.  Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity." ~ Gilda Radner 

When I started on this painting it was about not knowing...the naive girl in a handstand, moving forward without seeing anything else...the lioness (courage) laying asleep, not seeing the innocent about to trip into her...the iconic piano, falling from the sky amidst a background of storm and peace.  It wasn't until I added the two snails, carrying the weight of the past on their backs, that I thoroughly understood the meaning of the painting. 

For a long while I pondered how this piece related to relationships.  But in the end it is not relationship with another but oneself that the snails are observing. They are surprisingly symbolic of the yin and yang of us. They anchor what makes life full of anticipation, adventurous, rewarding, potentially awful, but full nonetheless...the electricity, the need to trust, to awaken courage. and take action.  There is an adventure that is taking shape... that risks the falling piano, weathers the storms, and assumes there is gold at the end of the rainbow.  What are the chances that the girl will fall off the cliff, the lioness will bite her, a piano might crush them both, or the golden rewards will not be found?  All these and more are possibilities which makes for the ambiguous nature of life.  But as noted above, it is delicious when we embrace it for all its worth.

Enjoy the day,
every day!
Pic;)

Redefining the Comfort Zone

Oftentimes my cartoons for the Whole Living Journal are based on the season, so drawing a summer camp cartoon made sense for this issue. But as with anything I do, my cartoons are usually plastered with symbolism that I love to scry through to find more and more meaning.

The symbols in this cartoon took me to a lot of places I had already traveled. Apparently I needed a few reminders. So I started with the obvious, that the comfort zone is just another name for what we think we know, which isn't always comfortable, accurate, or fun. It is pitched like a tent in the lessons of childhood.

"Okay, cute." I thought of the tent symbol, but I was certain there were more symbols in the cartoon, so I kept looking. Quickly the tent became the mind, and the two children inside represented the right and left thinking. I took a moment to add a little more to my drawing just to see it better. 

The result confused me: 

The drawing showed the reverse of what I expected.  I typically associate the right brain with imaginings outside the comfort zone, while I usually think of the left brain as the fortress of rules built to protect us from the unknown.  The right side was worrying and the left side was accepting.

When I allowed for different interpretations of "right" and "left", I could see that it often seems "right" to exercise caution, even doubt, in order to make sure I am being safe about what I do.  Then I could see what was "left":  No matter how well I plan and wait to take action until I'm sure, change from beyond the comfort zone is inevitable. Even so, comfort zones are fairly indestructible.

So instead of being about getting out of the comfort zone or trying to dismantle it, this cartoon seems to be all about flipping its negative bent and using its imaginative ability toward something more positive.  We can change the assumption that unforeseen circumstances can cause difficulties if we are not prepared, and practice using our comfort zones to invent rather than prevent.  When we imagine in this way the comfort zone takes on a whole new meaning. 

A final look at the cartoon symbols affirms that even in the dark of night, surrounded by the unknown, there is a light within which will help us see, and a reflection of the day to come.  It is not change we need to challenge, but the challenge of change that is ours to accept and fully appreciate each the moment.  Imagine that!

Nothing changes, 'cept us!
Be peace-full.
Pic;)

The Freedom of Forgiveness

Recently, I received some unexpected news that was going to have a significant impact on my quality of life.  My first reaction felt strange.   
There was a big gap in place of the expectation of how things were supposed to be which I didn't quite understand. 

A friend gave me a tiny piece of paper with this inscription: I forgive you for not being the way I wanted you to be.  I forgive you and I set you free.  She thought it might help me understand what was going on.

What really caught my attention was the last sentence, 'I forgive you and I set you free'. For while my friend was encouraging me to forgive, she also was encouraging me to not give up and make sure I stood up for myself.

So what did it mean to set this other person free?  I could acknowledge the expectations I had of what was the right thing to do had rarely been the same as the way this other person saw it.  Still I hadn't allowed myself to think too much about how my expectations of how to deal with those differences were limiting her and myself. I kept trying to make things work, she did not.  We were at a stale mate.

Forgiveness is Acceptance

Over time I've learned that forgiveness (aka acceptance) is the way to be free of grieving the disappointment of having expectations.  The most important part of any expectation is to include the possibility of things being different.  

It's not that we should expect to be disappointed, but to allow for change, because resistance to those inevitable differences comes with its fair share of grief.  It's not that we should forget but learn from our mistakes as well as successes, and develop new goals for ensuring our well-being. It's not that we then become subject to the expectations of others, but free to change the game plan by and for ourselves. 

Remembering to allow for change helps expectations be goals rather than disappointments; and each turn of event another step toward personal growth and development rather than a set-back. Sometimes things do feel permanent and irreversible, that's probably the most important time to allow for change...but also not expect it.   

When in Doubt, Look Within

There's really nothing we can do outside the sphere of own experience to change or affect the exterior world.  In truth, the world we see is just that.  So when it doesn't appear to be working right, it's time to change how we see and imagine things to be.

The Circle of Fire Prayer written by Miguel Ruiz, is a beautiful intention to live in harmony with others and all of creation, and it specifically states: with no expectations.  Apparently despite your best intentions, things don't always turn out as planned...who knew!?

I knew expectations were just stories we create to express why things should happen in a certain way. I also knew expectations could become disappointments due to differences with the story of another. Knowing that, I should have known better, but I still had plenty of both expectations and disappointments.

All things being as they are, I know what my next steps will be, and that is to always do my best, be impeccable with my word, don't take anything personally, and not make assumptions (expectations without the possibility of change).  

If living the Four Agreements is my goal, I will never be disappointed because as don Miguel is quick to point out in explaining these four little phrases, you need to accept that your best will be different from day to day and that's where forgiveness comes in again!  If I read that little paper to myself, rather than someone else, it takes on new meaning and I have all the freedom in the world!

Peacefully, 

Pic;)

In the Space Between

Look around today and see the many reminders that there is something working with us to unconditionally fulfill our potential, however we may establish it for the day.  You may notice the silence between the chirps of singing birds, that invisible something that stirs the leaves up off the the ground and soon will gently usher snowflakes down.  

 This is Life - not what we make of it - but what unconditionally fulfills that.  In between the banter of our everyday life, Life listens and unconditionally moves through our observances and intentions into creation, just like the breath moves through and supports our bodies.  

 Set an intention to take time to notice the wonder of Life as the source of all that Is rather than a limited identity or situation. Be mindful that your thoughts are in line with the highest good for yourself and others. Leave criticism, worry and impatience alone.  Life and you are bigger than that. It's taking notice of and being lucid to the little things that helps all of us see, and embody Life in all it's splendor.

tulitia,
Pic;)

Surrender That

Of all the ego exacerbating words in our language, surrender by far elicits the strongest response in the form of resistance.  From our earliest learnings the ones who wave the white flag are the losers.  Those who surrender must submit to the will of the winners.  But that is just a childhood understanding based on the history of those who would engage in war.  

Life is not a war. It is not even a struggle.  The idea that we must try hard is lost on the concept of trying to win. The true winner has confidence that s/he will not - cannot - fail.  By remembering that there is nothing to be won or lost (except for our perspective on the way things are) we can surrender the win/lose perception of surrender, and surrender in a whole new way.

 

"There is a fine line between letting go and giving up."

Right beside the surrender that gives up is the surrender that lets go.  In either of these two ways of looking at surrender there is a sense of loss.  But there is a third way that gains and multiplies instead of producing loss.  

This is the surrender which opens hands not to let go but to receive.  This surrender knows there is always more to learn and experience and enjoy in life, and refuses to settle for what is already known. This surrender is effortless. The only hard work about surrendering is not thinking there must be difficult. 

This surrendering is part of the flow. Whether or not we willingly let go of what we have known, earned, or expected, things will change. When things change and we are not resistant, this surrender is able to receive countless gifts in the form of fresh insight, wisdom gained, new skills, and the freedom that is born of such wonder.  

"There is everything to gain and nothing to lose."

 

So, the next time life gets tough, and you've tried so hard...and you feel so close you don't want to give up...surrender that, and with complete abandon open your heart to receive more than you already know.  In this way the way is made clear.

Peacefully,

Pic;)

The Re-Genesis of our True Nature

Every morning my dog Max takes me for a walk and I am usually moved to take a few photos of the things that stand out along the way.  Today it was the little things.  By the time I finished writing this blog I was connected to the story of Genesis and what is often referred to as "original sin".  I've written about this before, because beyond the religious overtones it is so deeply engrained in our existence, it really is something we need to forgive and forget every day.

In the story of Genesis, Eve is often cited for eating the apple she was told not to eat, but that was not the sin or - literally translated: error.  The mistake humans made in the story and often make every day is worrying they don't have everything they needed to be happy, healthy and whole. 

From the Toltec tradition as it is taught in the Four Agreements to the view of modern psychology, we are deeply conditioned to doubt our strengths and seek safety from our weaknesses from the time we are little children.  This is human nature.  Fortunately more and more people are seeking freedom from this limited view. The trick is not engaging it to do so.  For that we can take our cues from Nature.

Being human is a natural thing but human nature is often far from being natural. Nature unfolds without a second thought.  Human nature is all about second guessing what we should do to make things happen. Nature happens, humans set goals.

When we have a goal...the list of things we need to do in order to overcome challenges and accomplish the task at hand begins.  It's natural for things to develop over time, but it's human to try to control and worry about it. 

We worry because we don't know many things that could happen along the way. We worry because we know we are aware of ourselves as individuals.  We worry because we aren't confident we have the tools we need to make it through.

Nature doesn't worry the unseen and amazingly the details take care of themselves resulting in beauty and wonder day after day, season after season. No flower worries about winter, no snowflake conspires to harm flowers, the ground opens to receive seeds, and seeds become food and new flowers to be enjoyed in the spring. 

While it is human nature to take control and plan, the intention behind our true nature is to appreciate this creative process called life.  When we are centered in nature as it unfolds all around and through us we are uniquely qualified among all that is natural to recognize the meaningful and beauty of life. 

Peacefully,

Pic;)

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Lightening Up the Acronym of FEAR

There are times in our lives when we need to let go of our attachments.  That can bring on a whole lot of fear.  So much so that the word fear has been popularized in some circles as an acronym for what fear feels like.  Very often the first letter of FEAR has been assigned a 4-letter word that expresses frustration, but not necessarily the cause of the frustration.  Forget is a much better interpretation making the popular acronym stand for Forget Everything And Run.    
It may seem that what is to be forgotten is whatever doesn't seem to be going well, but there is another way of looking at it.  What are we forgetting when we are afraid?  When I am in such a funk, I am forgetting everything I know and love about how I create my experience by the way I express the life that comes through me. 

When we pour what we bring up from the unconditional, limitless wellspring of life into the fearfully shallow container of loss, lack and limitation nothing improves and the negative is magnified.
When we lighten up we do not need to be contained by fear. What is most important for all of us is that each of us pull up the love of life that wells up from within and flood our view of life with all the gratitude and happiness it can produce. 
We transform the classic example of FEAR when we Find Enlightenment (lighten up) And Re-lease the investment of our energy into new life rather than forget the power we truly possess to create life and run from what doesn't seem to be working as though it has power over us. 
Any way you look at it we are creating a masterpiece of life through the instrument of our being. Don't mistake the paint for the brush.  Lighten-up, enjoy the process, and your life will always be a work in progress!

Peacefully,
Pic;)

Taking the Next Breath

The caption to this cartoon is one of those statements that push us to think about the things we hold onto and what we have not yet reached. The "leap" can be about making big changes which seem so due to the implications of the unknown. In responsible, obligation-based culture leaps should be calculated and not undertaken without knowing everything we can about where we might land in order to keep us safe from harm. The truth is we would all be dead if we did this at the most fundamental level.  Breathing would be a good example. 

There is a leap to every breath we take.  We know what it's supposed to do, but we rarely micromanage that even though we can never be sure what will fill our lungs and affect our senses.  There may be scents of cake and we will feel hungry.  There could be the poisons of smog or the smell of skunk and we might hold our breath trying to avoid what is unpleasant, but it's already in us. There is no time to test, measure, or manage the next breath.  Without knowing for sure, we have to take the leap of inhaling or we will absolutely die.

As a matter of taking the next breath we must let go of the breath we have taken no matter how good it was, because the breath changes and is not the breath we took in.  What got us pleasant scents and fresh oxygen is replaced with wastes and toxins we need to release.  There is no time to sort through it and see if there is something salvageable; we must let go or we will surely expire.

Because it's so important that we breathe we don't think about it very often.  But to be mindful of the breath is to be mindful of what life is about at its very essence. We can plan, but we can't know for sure what will happen next and we must move forward regardless.  There's no sense worrying about it.  Like the breath we just have to go with the flow.  Like the butterfly in the drawing, we can take the advice of the teacher on the precipice, and move on without fear of falling.  Breathing is faith well practiced, that what we need will be abundantly available to us as it is required.  Mindfulness of this truth makes every day a little easier. 

Breathe easy,

Pic;)

With No Expectations

Expectations are intricate to the adage, "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade."  It seems smart to think positively when things don't turn out as expected. But we can be free of the work of making lemonade out of something that can sour the smile when we give up having expectations.
 

"With no expectations" is the caveat found in the middle of The Circle of fire Prayer written by don Miguel Ruiz.  Simply put it is the key to living the Four Agreements: be impeccable with your word, don't make assumptions, don't take anything personally, and always do your best.  

Expectations are sure fire guarantees we will be disappointed.  Expectations involve people and things outside the sphere of our influence, expecting them to behave, deliver, and make us feel as we think they should.  

Though the domesticated world might insist otherwise, expectations are not the key to accomplishment and happiness.  Goals will not get you anything you truly need, but on that same note, goals and expectations are not the same thing, so go ahead and set goals, just don't limit your joy to the expectation things will turn out in a particular way.  

When we let go of expectations we can live in peace, lemonade free, without need to imagine the supposed blessings in adversity.  Without expectations there is no adversity.  Everything, even the unexpected just is, and with that attitude we can have the gifts don Miguel describes when we choose to live and move and have our being in the Consciousness of the Universal Operating System:

"We will live our lives with Gratitude, Love, Loyalty and Justice,

Beginning with Ourselves,

And continuing with our Brothers and Sisters."

Being peaceful, hope you are too!

Pic;)

Discuss this and more enlightening topics (topics designed to lighten up living) in the UoS Wisdom Group

The Koan of Now You See It, Now You Don't

There's always more than one way to "see" things, but lately I have been "looking at" two extremes.  This "looking at" qualifier is important as it defines the position from which we can "see" things that is not as the typical "seer", "seeing" or "seen", but from the viewpoint of the unconditional which makes all variations possible.  The Conditional OS  invokes us to be one of the three without a "second thought".  By observing this automatic we can consciously enjoy life in the flow of the unconditional or Universal OS. Confused? You won't be in a moment, however it might be by way of being so confused that the Conditional OS simply fails to process.  

So, back to the two extremes.

Ever have so many things going on at once you can't see clearly what path to take and think things will never get better? Or, ever see a path before you and know in your heart all the good things that will happen if you take it?  Either way, it isn't true.  At least not for for "certain".  

Life is change and unconditional.  If we are looking for things to settle down, or be in order before we proceed, or of a "certain condition" as we proceed or when we arrive at our "destination", we will miss what can be.  Ready for the brain scrambler: Because like the "seer" the "seeing" and the "seen" "here" only exists by way of imagining someplace "else" and "now" only seems to be by holding thoughts of "then", if you get "there" you will find it has "now" become a "here". There is no "moment" to be "in" because there is no "past" or "future" to get "out" of or "reach", no "destination" other than the "journey" of transcending these paradoxes and fully enjoying the flow of life. 

It's that simple. Notice the automatic conditional qualifiers for what they are, limiting conditions that seem to hold back and resist. That being said, the journey of course includes seeing and not seeing all this.  Like turning blind corners, slowing down a little is often helpful. Now you see it, now you don't.  Feel your breath and smile knowing you are "all ways" in the flow of life no matter what conditions you think you see. 

Loving it,
Pic;) 

What's Your Gravity?

I recently checked "repeat " in the itunes app on my phone for a song from the musical Wicked. It is about the witch of the west breaking free of the limits that were placed upon her. As happens with just about everything I do, interesting symbols came through - some of them new - and I just needed to keep repeating the message I heard.

Maybe it's always been this way, but this time when I heard the song, the Wizard and the "gravity" about which Elphaba sings, were of the nature of what the Toltec call the parasite, which is the negative ego. In the musical, Glinda, the good witch, is an expert in doing what is necessary to secure a place of popularity in the world. She is like the ego which is supposed to be supportive, but eventually becomes protective and too often suppressive of us (parasitic) as we move through life.

When I listen to the lyrics from this point of view, I feel the determination and intent of the character rise up. The force she is defying is not without, it is within. It is an operating system that does not deliver as promised. She sees this and it is too late for her to double back and feign ignorance. She must defy it in order to live by her instincts, close her eyes and leap. To do that is to live by the Universal Operating System, rather than the fear of loss, lack and limitation.

Take four minutes to see and listen to this video and enjoy Defying Gravity. If you did, play it again and listen deeply. Breathe it in.  For as manifold as are the messages to the contrary, listening once is just a start.  If you don't see the video in this post, watch it on youtube.

Everyone deserves a chance to fly, think about what tethers you and how you can let it go, because you may not be tied down, you just might be hanging on. Imagine life if you let go and trusted your instincts! When we defy the gravity of our fears we are unlimited! I recently got a taste of that and I want more, more... oh - that's another musical, also very symbolic, but I'll let that go for now.

"The Gravity of the Situation" will be part of the topic at the next UoS Wisdom Group!  Consider taking the leap and bringing your wisdom to light!

Be!

A Bird in the Hand

What you resist persists.

- Carl Jung

 

What does it take to break free of the things that make us feel limited and trapped?  Nothing. Not helpful?  Oh but it is, in so many ways...in fact, limitless ways.

As an artist, I love to work in symbols.  These two images of a bird in the hand were chosen to to represent freedom from limiting thoughts and how to truly enjoy everyday life.

In the one hand, the bird is clearly alarmed and feels trapped.  It also seems powerless to escape the grip that is clenched around it.  In the other hands the bird rests peacefully without struggling and is unconditionally supported in whatever choices it makes.

Freedom cannot be won by struggling to escape.  There is nothing to overcome but our own limiting thoughts of loss, lack and limitation symbolized by the hand in the first image. This is the cultural default: to be afraid, grasping at and resisting life.  If, as Carl Jung asserted, we can't be free of that by resisting, what can we do?  Shift our perceptions from struggling and grasping to allowing and receiving like the bird in the other hand.

Breathe deeply and connect your heart with the peaceful, quiet nature of unconditional freedom................ Feel the fullness of the flow of life through, in, and all around you..........................  Keep breathing and just let this feeling grow, allowing yourself and everything you see/be to glow with the love of life............ Just Breathe.

Peacefully,

Pic;)

Practice with the Universal OS Wisdom Group

Everyday Meaning

Sometimes it seems only right that we wait for some event to be completed or a milestone to pass before we take the time to appreciate its accomplishment.  And yet it is only through appreciation that anything is ever accomplished and milestones are marked.  That conundrum illustrates the delicate balance of what goes into every moment, every day of our lives -- our imaginations. Without this, there wold be no amount of thanksgiving, faith, or love, nor would any sacrifice, victory or act of service be of any value.  We imagine our needs, we imagine the fulfillment of them or not. When we are aware this creative process is not an event; and we are mindful about how we manifest it through our attitudes, words, and actions, we give our lives meaning beyond measure.  Make everyday a holiday of possibilities and intent, and the whole of life will be special.

WhatISDOMinion - Toltec Book of Days 2008

I don’t know about you, but my life lessons were centered around the concept that I was responsible for the quality of my life based on the choices I made and the things I didn’t do. Looking back, I can see the purpose of such teaching, and I can also see that the point of the lessons came from the same erroneous place to which I was directed. The adults in my life taught me about how to live by remembering their past and imagining the results of my actions. In Truth, no one can know with certainty the outcome of any action. There are so many people whose lives do not reflect the results we imagine they should have. We see people who don’t work living as though they did, and those who don’t keep their promises getting to keep what we imagine they should lose. At the same time we see those who seem to have done everything right losing what seems to be their right to have. It’s crazy! Not that this is happening, but that we have been so limited by the desire for some and fear of other outcomes that are not guaranteed.

We don’t really need to know how this works. In fact it would be better if we didn’t know, because then we couldn’t use it as a basis for past reference and future projection. But until we get a grip on that tendency, we will struggle with being in the moment anyway so it’s kind of like the old saying “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. Here goes! The imagined co-dependency between the past and present, present and future, and past and future is what shapes all of our values and actions. How we see the past is not set in stone, any more than how our futures will turn out but it is suggested in the theory of cause and effect. There is a counter concept to the suggestion of cause and effect, it insists that seeing life in this way will keep us stuck in a cycle of suffering because the past is over, the present is but a fleeting moment, and the future is not yet to come.

It’s true. When the seeming results of our actions manifest they are not the future past come true as the present arrives, but the present nearly lost on imagining these other things. And by the time we realize this, the present has become the past. How any of these appear is totally the result of our thoughts in the moment. The past, present and future, as three distinct experiences are actually nothing more than three variations of thought. We use conceptual thoughts to create the past and future which only “exists” as our thoughts in order to determine our choices and behavior. If anything, the past hasn’t come true, but we are being present to thoughts of our past or present to wonderings of our future. These are not separate entities but flexible, selective, coordinated imaginings. We can say we have “memories” which seems to affix our thoughts about the past to actual events. We can do the same with the future only then we refer to “outcomes” and “results”. The bottom line is these do not exist independently of the current moment, they are imagined.

The imagined co-dependency that we call past present and future is the root of all our problems. Introduced as a tool to acquaint us with the ways of the world, we try to use it to stay safe, it is something that needs to change. One might question how we can shape our values without considering the consequences of our past and present behaviors. I would suggest that if no one ever again considered the damage often associated with the past or fear the harm often projected as future there would be no reason, no reactions, to control our being-ness with values. It's time to release the values which might also be called beliefs and limitations. It is difficult to imagine a world that thrives without consideration of limitations, where people don’t base their actions on moral values and beliefs. This is because we are once again considering the outcome of our actions and what has occurred in the past. But a world without limits already exists and it is time for us to return to its wonder. If we don’t concern ourselves with the danger associated with letting go of these considerations then there is only one thing we are left with and this is pure Being, much better than energy lost on illusions of past, present and future. Being replaces the fear-based model with wisdom.

Wisdom may be defined many ways, but if we look at the word as though it were an abbreviation in a text message we might see it as the dominion of what IS. WhatISDOMinion. Okay, so maybe that’s not something you would find in a text message, but stick with it for a moment. To juxtapose wisdom with fear recognizes that fear is all about imagining the domination of what isn’t (known). One acronym (nicely put) summarizes FEAR as Forget Everything and Run. What we have forgotten and what we run from is not our potential outcomes, not the history of our past, but the truth of our real nature.

When we are in wisdom, we accept our is-ness or being-ness, we reside in the center of our being, the seat of the soul. When we feel fear, it is not because of the imaginings we are entertaining about the past or the present or the someone, something, or some condition outside ourselves, but the sense of disconnect we experience as we have removed our awareness from our place of wisdom and limited ourselves to engaging the fear-based model under the illusion that we are separate, partial, un-whole, unholy, in need of limitations to compensate for what we are lacking. This is a very complex plot that fails to render safety instead miring us in the muck of fear, doubt, avoiding and resisting. Wisdom is a state of being that accepts and appreciates all that IS. Of course the fear rises to worry about what is bad, while wisdom recognizes that most of what we thought was bad would not exist at all if it wasn’t for fear. Wisdom is not about embracing what doesn’t work, but seeing it for its transient state, the imagining or memory of what we do not need as it serves only a model that has failed and is ending.

At this point in time we are being called upon to change, to see the devastation of our fear-based model in the lower physical symbols of investments, savings, insurance, jobs, property. It is not to stop having these things, but to stop placing the measure of our lives on our ability to do so and instead embrace the wisdom of knowing that none of these present or missing will make or break what underlies those illusions-- our spirit, our completeness, our holiness.

A simple way to practice wisdom centered being is to recognize those sensations of fear as drops in energy as we displace our awareness to what we imagine outside ourselves, focusing it on the remembered or anticipated actions or reactions of another person, time or thing. We need not take another moment to tell the story in which we were lost. We need only sense the detachment from Self – the drop in energy that is fear - take a breath and refill ourselves in now-here. Yes, that’s also “nowhere” because prior to manifestation which is the illusion of duality and separation, nowhere is that blessed instant, that clean slate upon which the balance and beauty of all potential can be written when we choose to live in What IS DOMinion.

Puppy Love 101

Recently I was speaking with Daniel and he said, "My dogs love me." And I said, "No they don't." Daniel was shocked. He was sure I would think dogs could love. I explained, "No, Dogs don't believe the way humans do and for that they couldn't be luckier. Now Daniel was intrigued. I don't usually sound so negative. Years ago I had a similar conversation with my teacher when we were driving around the hills of Boulder, Colorado. Only I had suggested then that I believed dogs had free will. She didn't think so. Now I see that dogs don't need free will, nor, as Daniel pointed out later, do cats or any other animal, or plants, or mountains, or water or sky. And they don't need it because they don't recognize choice, they don't recognize duality, they don't recognize love, because they only experience themselves as love, in whatever form they are.

Only humans recognize love because we think (re-cognize, or re-interpret) it. We think we feel love, or may not feel love, or don't have enough love, or don't need love. And we need our free will to direct our energy away from these stories to living in line with the unconditional love that we are and which experiences itself through all living things. Dogs don't feel love, they are love experiencing itself not only as a dog but also as the dog experiencing its human experiencing it. Of course it's that last part that makes our dogs seem like they love us or are other than love when they do something we wish they would not do.

The love we truly experience with our dogs is a love communion or consistency that underlies all that is. That is not thought-love, that is True love. This understanding can simultaneously make us happy and leave us wondering how we can experience being true love like the rest of creation. More on that later...in the meanwhile I would like to thank June for drawing up an unconditionally happy fat wiener dog to illustrate the blog this week. I could never have posted if I had continued to wait for time to draw. Things are very productive in the realm of youth workshops and completeing my book. If you'd like to know a little more about these activities check into http://www.cpicmichel.com/

Next post: How bad things happen through unconditional love.

Chop wood, carry water

"Before enlightenment," the Zen saying goes, "chop wood, carry water." The path starts here, with so much excitement about all the wood and water there is. Trees are felled with great effort and broken into manageable pieces then stacked into piles of trophy-like proportions. Alternately, we will see our reflection in various pools from which we can draw meaning and motivation as we gather and carry it to quench our thirst when we chop the next batch of wood.

Eventually we collect so much that we can barely get around. What was once illuminating can grow to obscure our view. And yet it is not enough. We begin to see that we need to let go of these well-understood stockpiles. If we keep these stores of wood we can never be warmed by them, nor see our true selves in these batches of water we gather.

We might wonder if we could be approaching enlightenment. But the Zen saying tells us even when we are enlightened we will continue to chop wood, and carry water. So, we might wonder, what's the point? Probably it's that our reasons change. We are able to see that the needs we once sought to compensate actually have never really existed except as we chose to engage the illusion of separation and duality. Even enlightenment then is just a flash in the bucket. We see we have always been acting on what underlies enlightenment even as we thought we didn't have it.

If we are careful at this point, we could move beyond the illusional duality of ignorance and enlightenment only to see there is no true beyond -- just as there really wasn’t a before. We find ourselves standing still, but not with comparison to our former busy selves. This stillness is an IS-ness that is always present and always will be. We see that even the notion that we are not present is only a notion. For everything we perceive as other, past, present, future, can only occur in the powerful present. And there we have it…again and anew.

We have a heightened awareness of how our perceptions work even when we create the illusion that something doesn’t work. We see that we are the choice point, we are the stillness, we are essentially the void, through which everything comes and goes. We find enlightenment is not some great illumination we attain over time, but simply being empty of attachment to need and being weighed down.



Happily this does not necessarily translate into taking up the ascetic life. In fact it is only at this point that we can truly receive the joyful peaceful life we could never have managed or controlled into our experience. At any time, we can step off that beaten path and allow ourselves to freely participate in this process of cleanly and clearly bringing life into expressience. We can still chop wood and carry water, but now we can also stop, build a fire, and enjoy a nice cup of tea.

The world is not imperfect or slowly evolving along a path to perfection. No, it is perfect at every moment, every sin already carries grace in it. Herman Hesse