What Is Really Real?

First video blog entry. More to come very soon.

Sense of Awareness

Have you ever noticed empty space?
Of course you have. To notice nothingness really does sound like a contradiction. How can you be aware of something that's not there? But your own experience says otherwise. We have all, at one time or another been aware of the absence of matter (any and all stuff). It happens everyday. Looking for a parking space or even putting clothes away are tasks we do all the time, both requiring an awareness of empty space.The thing is, we usually don't pay attention or acknowledge the fact that we can and do often notice nothingness.

It isn't unusual or in anyway spectacular to the average person to notice empty space because our minds are usually trained to only acknowledge matter (and not the absence of it). When we scan a room, a supermarket, a library, etc., we are already set to looking for what's there. We hardly ever look for what's not there.

Why bother to become aware of empty space? In the very act of noticing empty space, we can experience ourselves becoming aware of our very sense of awareness. It is the act of bringing focus to the fact that we are focusing. Bringing attention to how our attention is directed is to become self aware in that moment. It feels like looking out at the world and looking in at yourself at the same time.

The sense of awareness we all have is much greater than the five senses it allows to exist. It is an eternal force that is the true essence which animates us all. Bringing our sense of awareness to become aware of it self is the beginning of expanding how much we can be aware of in the present moment. Becoming aware of empty space, silence, and stillness are ways to feel our sense of awareness.

Don't take my word for it. Start to notice your sense of awareness. You truly are amazing!


Related posts:

• It Makes Sense
  
• Focus on Nothingness
• No-Thing Lasts Forever
• Something Out of Nothing
• It's All Rubble, Rubbish, and Dust
  

Sky High

I get high. I get sky high. I get high from simply bringing my attention toward the sky. It might sound crazy, but it is my experience.

When I say 'high', I mean feel really good. But words describing it will not do it justice. 'High' is also describing the higher vibration or frequency spirit is on. Just as when anyone is feeling stressed by anything, they feel down, heavy, burdened, etc.; these all describe spirit experiencing a lower frequency. Feeling high, of course, is feeling relief, freedom, joy, even physically charged up, and feeling energy flow through you.

What's the connection with feeling high and the sky? It's because whether we are conscious of it or not, we are identifying with the vast and empty space. In the reality that we are all familiar with, there is no better place to see wide open space than the sky. And the vastness of it is a reflection of the infinite space we have with in.

For me, looking up at the sky will be a constant reminder of the enormity of Being and the stillness that is always there. As a result, my mind slows and quiets and I am able to literally feel high. Sky high.

Says Who?

(From Archive Jan '09)
Are you the type of person who believes what most people believe? There is absolutely nothing wrong with this if it is your own experience that brings you to this conclusion. Many people are bound to experience the same things. But if it was your own perception and experience that led you to this belief, it most likely wouldn't be called a 'belief'. It would be a fact for you. It would be an undeniable experience.

This is all said to bring us to the point. Being a skeptic can be a great benefit to a person. I embrace being skeptical. Being a skeptic can save you a lot of drama, heartache, and disappointment in life.

Being a person who has always (as far as I can remember) seen the logic in the scientific method, I am always open to an "upgrade" in the quality of knowledge that I have. I also see it very necessary to test the knowledge I have with real or realistic experiments before I choose to accept it.

Being that I am not quick to trust every source of information and "believe none of what I hear and only half of what I see," I encourage you to do the same. The contents of this blog, my book, and what thousands of other people are saying about spirituality, "new age teachings," enlightenment, and the like are nothing to be believed. It's all hogwash unless it becomes your experience.

You will doubt everything I tell you unless you are open to the part of you that knows better. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. It is not until you put it to the test that you can truly say it is not true. Have you ever tried to silence your mind? Have you ever tried to feel your true Presence? Do you want to find out who you really are?

The only way to prove that it's all nonsense it to disprove it. The only way to disprove it is to give it an honest try. You have got nothing to loose. You have your infinite Self to gain.

Related posts:

• Who Told You To Move?
• How Do You Know?
• Dogma
  

My Favorite

What's your preference?
What do you favor?
What's your favorite?

Of course, we all have preferences or 'favorites' in every aspect of life. By simply having a point of view, we all take a position on what is most beneficial to us (consciously or unconsciously).

Our favorite anything is always fun to experience, but have you noticed that an overexposure to them tends to dull and depreciate it as your favorite?

A guy I know has all of his favorite songs on his ipod. Six months after he got it (and thousands of listens later) he tells me he's got to get some new music, and that he is really starting to hate his "all time favorite" songs because he played them to death.

Think about some of your favorite experiences to have. If you had whatever it is repeated for hours, days, weeks, or years on end, do you really think it would remain your favorite? Hence the wisdom in the words, "Too much of anything is bad for you." Balance allows us to enjoy our favorites.

There is something that, if it becomes your favorite, does not loose it's potency. (It actually increases over time.) In reality, it is the source of every other favorite possible because without it, preferences would not be possible. It is not really a thing. It is life itself. It is the conscious awareness observing before any determination of preference.

Aligning with the present moment, and making life experience your favorite thing, can only increase the over all quality of life. And not coincidentally, you will be surrounded by much more of your preferences.

Awareness of being aware is my favorite.

Arm Me With Harmony

(Archive - October 2008)
Living in harmony with the universe is the most powerful "weapon" that there is. To be in tune with the way things are; with the way things work; with the laws that govern our reality; is to put all the power that exists, on your side. It is a major paradox: The more of your life you can accept, the more of your life you can control.

The concept of accepting and adapting to reality is extremely powerful. It is so powerful that there isn't any part of creation that does not practice this concept. Everything that exists follows the rules of universal intelligence. There is no way we can prove things otherwise.

It is literally not possible for something to be that could not be. To clearer illustrate this; there isn't a way for things to happen that contradict the laws that govern what is. If there was a way, they would happen. If they did happen, they simply would be proof that we were not familiar with all the laws to begin with. The very existence of the "anomaly" would be evidence that there is still more that is unknown.

The very act of learning is a way of accepting and adapting. It is becoming more familiar with what is and ultimately using this knowledge to your benefit. This goes for everything; from learning basic survival to learning the true nature of our consciousness. The universal intelligence has illustrated this to us through the way evolution works. Of all the countless plant and animal species around and the varied environment types; the ones that remain are always the most accepting of the conditions they exist in.

Being in harmony is being in a very high mode of adapting. Being in harmony is often described as being "in the zone," being "inspired," or possessing intuition. The only way to achieve this is to be in the present moment.

I was once the type of person who would have rather been armed with firearms. I can now see the bigger picture. I would rather be one with my life experiences. Arm me with harmony!

Stuff

It's been a few weeks since I last posted. It's funny how relative time really is. From one standpoint, it seems like a period where nothing much at all happened. From another, it was a time of rapid growth and change. Both are incredibly accurate.

During the time away from the blog, I moved. You know, changing residences. There's no better way to see how much stuff (earthly possessions) we have than having to relocate everything.

I have moved plenty of times in the past, but this time it was different. The shift in my perspective allowed me to see how strange it really is to hold on to so much stuff in the first place. It is a perfect illustration of how the ego mind works. Every single thing we own can be considered a thought that our ego identifies with.

I have moved a few times in the past, taking things with me that no longer served me. They were just taking up space. The funny thing is, I kept bringing them from residence to residence until I became aware enough to recognize I was attached to stuff that did not serve me. More than not doing anything for me, it was bogging me down, or causing unnecessary clutter. The same is true for many of the thoughts and concepts that bog us down and clutter our minds. And they can be eliminated in much the same way. By becoming aware that they do not serve us, we can easier dis-identify with outdated and stress causing perspectives.

Here is a classic bit (and hilarious too) on "Stuff," by George Carlin.

In Transition

My friends,

I am in transition right now. I will be posting regularly again very soon.

Please browse the archives and check back soon.

Kindness Among The Kindred

I find it humorous how it seems many of the words we use have double meanings which help point to how they were coined and how the meaning of the word shifted over time. These words also often point to a deeper perspective.

One such word is, 'kindness.' We all know the traditional meaning of kindness, but have you ever noticed that we use the same word (kind) to describe things, people, and concepts that are the same?

In other words, "We have the same kind of car," and, "I want to thank you for being so kind," use the same word. How is it related?

Being kind to someone, and things of the same nature being categorized as the same kind, are both examples of consciousness recognizing the common elements in itself and another or between two others. Said more simply, it is acknowledging 'sameness,' in both cases.

When we are kind to someone, we are acting without thought of reward or reciprocation. We are doing without wanting. When we act out of kindness, it feels exactly the same to give, as it does to receive. It is as if there is no distinction between the feeling of the person being kind, and the person receiving the kindness. It seems that way because it is true.

We are the same kind. There is no difference. The differences that we see are far outnumbered and outweighed by the overwhelming commonalities we share. Search all your experiences of kindness (whether first hand or just witnessed) and you will see for yourself that this kindness came from a place of recognizing a connection of oneness between the spirits involved. The line dividing the parties involved becomes blurred to the point that the giver and the receiver share the same feeling.

This is why being kind feels so good. It is as if you are giving to yourself; because you really are giving to yourself.

I have a pretty good list of these kind of words in the "Language As A Clue" section in my book. Check it out if you like.

Only One at a Time

Most of us have at one time or another in life, had one of those 'aha!' moments. These are times when your paradigm shifts, your perspective broadens, and you can see a concept, situation, yourself, or the whole world in a brand new light.

Then there are a growing many of us who have had one of these 'aha!' moments about our very essence. The awareness of consciousness becoming aware of itself. We have had glimpses into our own infinite endlessness and realized we are much more than what we appear to be. But it was only a short lived glimpse.

Satori is a Buddhist term for enlightenment. The word literally means "understanding". Satori translates into a flash of sudden awareness, or individual Enlightenment. Satori is as well an intuitive experience.

The short lived glimpse of your true nature is only the beginning of the awakening process and the practice of observing one's self. As this practice continues and strengthens in consistency and duration, we start to become more and more established in this satori.

We may realize that no matter what, there is only one moment at a time. We may also realize that we can only be in a state of higher consciousness during that one moment (at a time). So no matter what, we can only be enlightened one moment at a time.

This may help some to see that becoming established in such a higher state is not as far off as it might sound initially. It only takes some in-the-moment practice. Even if we can only glimpse our true nature for a split second, if we can string together several moments of this higher awareness, we are already bringing about a further shift into consciousness.

No matter who you may look to as a great example or guide of what it means to know enlightenment, they can only be enlightened one moment at a time (just like you).