can space exist without time? yes
can time exist with out space? no.
Cause and Effect
Cause and effect is a pretty simple concept to grasp. Sometimes it is easy to overlook the elementary principle of cause and effect and how it unfolds in our reality.We have been conditioned to believe that what we are living right now is the cause of, and influences how we feel. In reality, it is the other way around.
We often forget we are living the effect of past ideas and how we have felt.
It is all too easy to get caught in a cycle of reacting to our life situations which will perpetuate more of the same situations occurring over and over. Once we realize this, we can break the cycle of reacting to life and we can start a new cycle of creating what we want by becoming established in how we prefer to feel.
This is as easy (or hard) as feeling grateful for the things we have right now that we enjoy. Envisioning and experiencing the feelings of having what we want is also part of creating what we want. This can be considered pro-action as opposed to reaction. Either way, we are co-creating our reality. Only with pro-action, we are doing so consciously.
Related posts:
Good Morning!
Good morning everybody. I am writing this at a time far from the rising of the sun in my time zone. I am using this phrase as a wake up call.Even if you are not a 'morning person', I'm sure you have had a day or time when you have awoken from a sleep and felt totally rested and refreshed. On top of feeling rejuvenated and relaxed you felt a sense of hope and promise that today is a new day and that anything is possible. This may have been recently or many years ago. My point is, if you can recall this feeling, however brief; you know exactly what I'm saying.
Most people tend to let scheduling dictate how they should be feeling at a given moment. If it is Monday morning, you may hear a lot of people grumbling, "I hate Mondays." During the week, be it at work or school, most people feel a lot lighter and happier when it's 'quitting time' than when they first arrive. If it is Friday afternoon, you may hear people excitedly exclaiming, "T.G.I.F.!"
When you withdraw your focus from the thoughts that fuel your dependency on scheduling (just as the thought of a schedule fuels your thoughts), and refocus your awareness in the present moment; the feelings of anxiety of what is to come, or regret about the past, disappear. They can not co-exist in your awareness when you are altogether focused in the present moment. Try it out for yourself.
'Good morning' is a reminder. Any and every single moment (including the very present moment of you reading this right now) has all the power and potential of the moment you had that feeling of waking up, renewed and full of optimism. The only difference between then and now is the conversation in your head.
'Good morning' also brings your attention to the concept of a fresh start; a new day. In reality, the earth is always spinning and a new day is simply the time our minds are trained to acknowledge a new cycle in the spinning movement. In other words, you can pick any single moment to 'start fresh.'
Infinite possibilities abound. The more you consciously live in the present moment, the more you realize the power of it. Everything that has ever happened, is happening right now, and ever will happen; happens in the present moment. From moment to moment, things have just as much chance of remaining the same as they do to change.
GOOD MORNING!!
Change The World
You are the world. In terms of what the world is to us, it all depends on how we see it. This being the case, our entire world exists only in our perception. It is all nothing more than the information we receive from the outside world and how we interpret that information. For all intensive purposes, we could say that the entire world that we know exists only within our consciousness.To illustrate,you may see a tree get struck by lightning and fall to the ground. If you did not see this occurrence, and you did not have any other knowledge of it, this would not be a part of your world. If you saw it and felt bad for the tree, this feeling is also part of your world. If you saw it and realized the bigger picture, you may not have felt bad at all since you know more life will come as the result of this fallen tree. This perspective is also part of your world.
To change the world, all we have to do is change the perspective of what we are perceiving. We can do this at will once we realize this.
You can change yourself. You change yourself, you can change the world. Even at the very least, you can change how you feel about the world. This is still changing the world since the world is only seen from your point of view.
Gandhi said, "Be the change that you want to see in the world." This advice is full of not only a motivational quality, but also one of bringing peace to your own state of mind. It may be likened to the Serenity Prayer, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
What's In a Name?
Have you ever been told a story where some names were dropped and you had no clue as to who the people mentioned were? Or, have you ever seen the opening or closing credits of a movie and realized that you had absolutely no idea who any one of the people's names displayed were? If you have, you may have realized that unless you know a person, their name is a mere shadow of a representation of who they are.Providing less clues to the nature of their character than a silhouette, a name only begins to have significance once the person it belongs to is known to some extent. Even then, a name is only associated with how we ourselves see the person it belongs to. If we are not exposed to a person's multifaceted nature, we usually only see them one way. The name becomes one dimensional.
Words are like the names of what ever emotion or concept we are trying to express at the time. They are static. Like a snapshot or a statue, they remain inanimate while the subject captured continues to live and evolve. This is how and why language so often gets in the way of true communication.
Words don't allow you to feel what the person who spoke them felt. You only feel your interpretation of what you think they felt. Sometimes your interpretation is accurate, and sometimes way off. When it's off, people think they understand when they do not.
Words like God, heaven, the devil, hell, blasphemy, sin, and a long list of others are all up for debate on meaning because people's interpretations of them are different. This is an illustration of why the experience of enlightenment can not be captured in words. The words can only serve as a pointer. Enlightenment is just a name, but you have to get to know who it really is.
Related post: Words Can Not Express...
Right Brain vs Left Brain
The way our brains are made is truly miraculous.See how this speech shed's new light on the topic. This speech is really good. It is about neuro-anatomist, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and her amazing experience of a stroke. Her extensive knowledge of the brain and how it works, coupled with the fact that she experienced a stroke and watched her left brain shut down, gives us all a clear concept of which side of the brain caters to the ego identity and which side is put to use by the higher consciousness of the Observer.
see here: Stroke of Insight <--check it out!
Also check out this cool video and watch how you can test to see which side of your brain you are using right now.
Inspiration Is Higher Intelligence
Have you ever noticed that when we are inspired with innovative and ground breaking ideas (be it in the arts or science) it comes from a place beyond our normal and rational thinking mind? We all tap into the space of not thinking, but most people are probably not aware of it.When we are above the realm of average mind chatter, we are open to the higher intelligence that is always there. We often see how many different people reach into this same place of higher intelligence and infinite possibilities and come out with similar insights and revelations.
Creative people often slip into the perspective of the Observer. Some are conscious of this perspective, some are not. But it is the same perspective regardless. Many times I come across songs, writings, television shows, and other media that have the message of the Observer dominating them. There is no way for me to say the creators or producers were trying to put this specific message out or that they have been influenced by the same teachings as myself; but never-the-less, the message is very clear.
Just one of many hundreds of examples I've come across. This is a poem by Langston Hughes.
Still Here
been scared and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz me,
Sun has baked me,
Looks like between 'em they done
Tried to make me
Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'--
But I don't care!
I'm still here!
~Langston Hughes
The Art of Embracing
Hugs are great. There might not be a person around who would not enjoy a big strong hug from a loved one, close friend, or even a stranger in certain situations.Embracing someone is a physical manifestation of our intuitive desire to be one with the love with in them. It is as if the part of you and the part of them that is the same, is trying physically to merge back together. To give a good hug feels exactly as good as it does to get a good hug.
We can use this same concept as a tool to make tremendous changes in our lives. I have learned from my own personal experience what it means to embrace an idea, concept, or situation that I would have previously found incredibly hard to deal with, and gain power from it.
A very small example of this: Joe has always hated rainy days. He would always be very moody and short tempered when it rained. This bad attitude would affect his whole day and those who he was around negatively. One day he realizes this, and decides to embrace the wet weather. At first he just told himself that the rain wasn't so bad. After a while he started to believe it. Soon after that he found a healing calm and peace in the sound of raindrops and enjoyed the smell of dampness in the air. Joe then began to love rainy days!
Embracing something is one of the most powerful things a person can do to change their experience of that thing. We can literally take power from what we previously viewed as negative. We can have sunshine on a rainy day. This is the power of acceptance and adaptation.
Embracing something actually takes adapting to a higher level. Like a hug, you willfully become one with what you embrace. In reality you are already one with it, but it is the resistance to it that causes pain and stress. Without the resistance and perceived division, peace and even joy is experienced.
Moving away from the perspective of your personality (i.e. ego identity) and seeing from the vantage point of the totally objective Observer within, it gets so much easier to embrace what is. Embracing is an art, and very beneficial. If you haven't already, give it a try.
Related posts:
It Makes Sense
It makes sense. It makes perfect sense. Not in the traditional meaning of the phrase though. Not in the way a piece of information is computed and understood logically. Not in the way the mind defines and grasps objects and/or concepts.'It makes sense' in the way it engages your perception. It makes visual sense. You can see it. But not necessarily with your eyes. It makes the tactile sense. You can feel it. It makes auditory sense. You can hear it. It makes smelling and tasting sense.
What is 'it'? 'It' is a higher sense behind the physical five. Without any self serving analysis of what it is (in other words, thought), it can be sensed.
It makes sense, literally. It is actually the source of our awareness, sense, or sensory perception. Without this higher sense, all the information from the outside world would simply remain as electrical signals in the brain. 'It' can be defined as the sense that interprets these electrical signals, turning them into 'real life.' And this 'real life' experience can be created by this higher sense without the aid of the physical five. Dreams are a good example of that.
Realizing that everything we think is 'out there', is actually created for us to experience 'in here', and that when exposed to the exact same conditions, people have different experiences; we can see how significant this source of sense (or sense of the source) really is. And this is our true essence.
It makes sense.
Related posts:
Think Nothing of It
We've all heard the phrase, "Think nothing of it." But if we really look, we may see the great amount of wisdom in this saying. Some people believe thinking nothing will leave a person at a disadvantage. And they would be right to an extent. But to eliminate all the unnecessary thought comes very close to thinking nothing.- To be able to perceive without evaluation
- To feel with no opinion
- Total acceptance
- To allow whatever happens with no resistance
- To have no judgment what-so-ever
We may bring our awareness to an intelligence above thought. We may shift our focus from the identity driven thought process to the intuitive nature of the Self. We may be channels for our Higher Self to act through.
Think nothing of it.
Related posts:
Laugh at Life - What Is Humour?
When life can be taken very lightly, we can laugh at it. But what allows us to be able to laugh at some things, and get very serious and bent out of shape with other things? In other words, what is humour? And what gives us our sense of humour?"Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement." The definition alone points to the fact that humour is nothing more than a very high sense of acceptance. You know this from your own experience. If perceiving something alone can give us pleasure and amusement, we must really accept and enjoy the fact that it exists or occurs.
The fact that everyone does not laugh at life in the same way shows us that some people have higher acceptance of some things in life than others. They see things differently. This is why what you think is funny is called a 'sense.' Your perspective is a sense. A sense of humour is purely your perspective. This can be proven in your very own past experience.
There have been times in life when you may have had to go through a 'tough' situation. Later on, the very same situation may be looked back on fondly as humourous. We've all heard the saying, "We'll look back on this and laugh." But if the situation did not change, what changed? Our perspective. Life is all about perspective.
The more space we are able to put around any life situation, the funnier or easy to accept it becomes. By putting space around it, I mean adding perspective or taking a step back. Having an ere of detachment from it relieves any resistance to it. Often we allow ourselves to add this space through the passage of time. It is easier for the ego to become detached over longer periods of time. Since time is an illusion though, we can realize that we will be able to accept and find humour in things immediately if we are detached enough. We can add the space right now if we are not caught in ego perspective.
A sense of humour is a precious thing. The more you enhance this sense, the more enjoyable your perspective (or vice-versa). Life isn't that serious unless the ego is overly involved.
Live, laugh, love. The more we do of one, the more we do of them all. Live it up. Laugh it up. Love it up.
Related posts:
Be Mine
"Be mine, Valentine."From these words alone, we can already see the dysfunction in the traditional view of romance.
The concept of possession is an extension of a person's identity. If an object belongs to you, in some way, shape, or form, it is an attachment. It becomes part of the ego identity. This is why all possessions are able to bring pleasure or pain.
Somehow, unconditional love has gotten all confused with attachment and possession. This gives rise to the illusion of a lack of love or feelings that oppose love. Love is our nature. There is no opposite or lack unless we are looking through the warped perception of the ego mind. It is only here that any loved one can be or do anything for us to feel a lack of love for them.
When we say, "Be mine," we are setting up a condition that will result in us feeling bad if it is not met. This condition says if you are mine and you stick to the concept I have in my mind of what it means to be mine, everything is great. But if you are not mine, then I will not love you and because I am still attached to you, I will feel pain. How crazy is that?
When we can let go and just love unconditionally, we are free.
Related posts:
Enjoy the Game & Play Your Position
As with many things in life, the middle ground is the most beneficial place to be. When extremes are avoided, we get to experience the "best of both worlds". This is a delicate balance that leads to a higher state of awareness or consciousness and can be seen as paradoxical or abstract in nature.To illustrate this, look at how we can view life as a game. As a spectator with no particular bias or association with either side, you can enjoy the game regardless of what happens. Once you take a position, what determines a win and a loss comes right along with that position. With a position of any kind, perspective is automatically determined.
The same is true for playing a financial market. As a market trader, once you choose a position on the market, the trend could go with you or against you. You could earn money when your position appreciates in value, or you could lose money when it depreciates. If you are just watching the market with no open position, nothing that happens can affect you negatively or positively.
People who have achieved overall peace and happiness, or any high level of success in a specific field will tell you that a balance between being the objective Observer and the subject being observed, is required. In other words, be a spectator and the player at the same time. Watch yourself play. Maintain a certain level of being detached and it is easier to adapt and be in tune with everything. As a result, being detached allows you to be a better player.
Transcending the limits of 'good' and 'bad' or 'win' and 'lose' give new freedom to the player. "Got to be in it to win it," is not necessarily true. It ceases to be true when "being in it" stops you from enjoying the game. How can you win when the experience feels like a loss? How can you lose when the experience feels like a win? In the moment this concept is realized(experienced), it's all good, and it's all win.
Related posts:
Absolute Relativity
Some people believe that in life, there are no absolute truths and that everything is relative. Some people believe that life is governed by certain absolutes that can never be otherwise. Though it seems like a paradox, in reality, we can see that both are true in a sense.Bring both concepts together we get 'absolute relativity' or 'relative absoluteness'. If we over think it, we can get caught up in the semantics of them and try to derive different definitions. But both point to the fact that one can not exist with out the other. And both abstractly describe a place of oneness.
In life there are always variables and constants.
variables = relative
constants = absolute
What maybe a constant in your life might be a variable in mine. This creates our relative points of view. What is an absolute truth to you is a relative truth to me. And we absolutely see things relatively.
Realizing that the very concept of absoluteness is bound to have an opposite in relativity, we can see that both are illusions. They are really describing a point of view from different perspectives. Without one, the other has no meaning. It does not exist. The two concepts are indivisible. If something is indivisible than it is one.
all variables = a constant
all relativity = an absolute
Related posts:
The All-You-Can-Eat Buffet
We are all gourmet chef's in our own right. Every single moment of existence, we are cooking up something. We are also the person who consumes every dish we whip up.Sometimes we are well aware of what's on the menu because we are intentionally adding specific ingredients for specific results, and sometimes we are oblivious to the process. Becoming aware of what we choose to cook up and what we choose to eat is the most rewarding of experiences.
Life is just like an all-you-can-eat buffet with an infinite amount of different foods to eat. The infinite spread of different experiences is always there. Our focus is what actually chooses what we are eating from that infinite spread. What ever we are focused on in any one moment becomes our experience. We can only have one experience at a time.
Realizing this, it is easy to see how beneficial it is for us to always choose what tastes best to our spirit. Being conscious of the "soul food" will keep us happy and healthy. What's your favorite dish? :-)
Related posts:
Life Is Good
Life can be the most joyous experience imaginable. Not a particular or specific experience a life situation may bring, but simply experiencing the fact that you are alive.Feeling the very life energy that is the true essence of your being can only be described as a good feeling. It is no coincidence that the word 'good' is God with an extra 'o'. Essentially we do not have a life or live a life; we are life. In other words, the true essence of who we are is the Source of all. We are of the same substance as the Creator.
Realizing this, it seems only natural that when we are able to still the movement of our minds and bring our focus to simply feeling life, it feels so good.
Most people will acknowledge the fact that life is good only when things are going according to their desires. When a person can acknowledge the underlying goodness in life when things are not going as planned, they have learned to transcend the judgment the ego mind applies. At this point, peace or even happiness can actually be felt in any given circumstance.
For me personally, it is becoming common place to transform any and all energy or emotion experienced into "waves of goodness." It is an experience that mirrors the saying, "Behind every dark cloud is a silver lining." It allows me to be thankful for even the "bad" experiences. After all, you must LIVE through them to experience them. And life is always good.
Related posts:
Awakening Relapse
After awakening from the control of the ego mind and feeling the freedom of tranquil vitality that is our true nature, a person can assume that there is no going back under the spell of the ego. I, myself, believed this to be true. I was not happy to find out I was mistaken.On the other hand, I am truly grateful for the experience of a relapse back into the murky depths of the primitive ego mind. Even in the rage of a lost temper, I realized that I was being possessed by my 'lower self.' I could still look at my behavior objectively. I could still see myself from the vantage point of the Observer.
One of the reasons I am grateful for this experience is that a mood like that would have stayed with me a lot longer previous to my awakening shift. I also would have been completely enveloped in it as opposed to seeing it for what it really was; resistance to what is, simply running it's course. Shining the light of consciousness on any resistance to life situations weakens and transforms the resistance. What is left is acceptance and adaptation to the situation.
When we realize that unlearning a lifetime of behavior patterns through being aware and conscious of our higher Self happens extremely quickly, a relapse is not really a big deal. It can actually be more of a re-affirmation of what we know to be true and a chance to study the ego with more experienced eyes. It also helps to insure that a relapse of that nature will never happen again because whatever triggered it has been fully accepted and made peace with.
They say, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," and I agree. Every step is a step forward, even if it seems like a slip up. The evolution of consciousness is always in action.
Related posts:
Your Perspective Is Your Creation
Sometimes things are so simple and obvious to us, it seems that to even mention them is kind of redundant. These are often the things we need to be reminded of the most.One of those simple concepts is our perspective of life. Of course, we all know our perspective is our own personal point of view. But we often forget that we create our own point of view.
Remembering that we are the sole creators of the way we see our lives is very powerful and will affect every single aspect of our lives. But it only works when we remember it.
Being a wealthy person who has chronic memory loss is the equivalent of the human condition when we lose track of our perspective. We have everything we need to improve the quality of life we are living, but if we forget we have it, it is as good as not having it.
'NOW' Is More Than Meets The Eye
Many (including myself) have spoken of the benefits of being in the present moment. The power of being in the NOW helps to quiet the mind by eliminating thoughts of the past and future and making the most of your focus. There are actually more benefits to being in the moment than are usually mentioned. I'm talking about broadening the concept of NOW.If you have ever brought your attention to the concept that time is an illusion and that all of eternity is but a single moment, then you may see how we can broaden the concept of 'now'. Yes, 'now' is the present moment, but included in that are the infinite possibilities of everything that could ever possibly happen. In other words, all possibilities are happening right now.
Looking at the present moment from this perspective, it is easy to see how you can fully be in the present moment and yet still be attracting what you want in a future moment to you simultaneously. To feel and acknowledge the possibilities you want right now is not a denial of your present moment, but an addition to it. It is after all a reality right now. When you can feel and appreciate that alternate present moment reality, you draw it forth into your current reality.
The same is true for worry. Feeling the feelings of worry, a person actually helps to bring about the present moment that already exists where their worries are a reality. You attract it to you. It's beneficial to focus on want you want and to feel good. Now is the time.
Related posts:
All For One And One For All
We are all for one.Every living being has one main intention behind every thought and action. Not matter the guise or approach, there is always an attempted movement toward a feeling of peace and well being, also known as love.
Most people feel the need to be a part of something "greater than themselves." They join organizations and institutions or consider themselves part of a bigger collective. This is a natural and intuitive instinct since the very consciousness that animates us all is actually the same. We are all energy of the same system. We are all children of the same universe. We are all drops from the same sea of consciousness. Essentially we are one.
One for all.
Related posts:
What Have You Got To Lose?
Ever had a fear of loss? Most people do. Ever really noticed what the cause of this fear really is?To sum it up, it is a fear of lost identity. Think about it. Anything that you could possibly lose is attached to your identity. If not, you would not, or could not ever consider anything lost.
To illustrate; if you lost your keys, it would be a major hassle and a big deal to you because they are your keys. They provide access to your house, your car or something else of yours. The key word here is 'your' which is an extension of your identity. The same would not be true if you lost some keys you randomly found in a mall parking lot. This concept is true for anything you could possibly consider lost. If you lost money, your job, or even the respect of another person; it all boils down to a piece of your identity (even or especially if it is in the eyes of others). All things lost affect the way you see yourself or the way others see you.
This is said to remind us of an absolute truth. You really can't lose anything. This includes your very life. You can not lose your life because you, in fact, are life. Life is never lost, only transformed. You were not born with anything else that you could possibly lose. None of what you later learn is part of your identity is really the essence of who you are. The only thing that you ever truly have is you. Everything else are constructs of the mind. They are ideas that we take to be part of who we are.
You already have everything. The key to being more stress and care free is to realize and remember this. It will actually bring more of the things that you might have confused for your identity.
Related posts:
Take A Good Look
What are you? What animates you? What is consciousness? Have you really taken a good look at the amazing phenomenon that is your life force? It isn't really something you can see, so maybe 'look' isn't the perfect word to describe giving this force attention. There aren't really too many other words to describe observing your consciousness though. It is 'looking;' only not so much with your eyes.It is more of a shifting of your focus to the very feeling of your awareness. It is to be in the presence of your own presence. It is to acknowledge, with your attention, the very act of acknowledgment.
If you have never noticed your own life force or bothered to give it much attention, there are several ways to give it a try. One of the easiest ways is to focus on the silence that is always there around you. This silence exists before, during, and after every sound you hear. It is even part of loud noise and music. To bring your attention to this silence is to feel your very perception and awareness of sound.
It also works just as well to bring your attention to the space that frames everything around you. It may at first seem as if all the things that surround you frame the space that sits within it, but it is always the space that allows all objects to exist within it. To be able to notice and feel this space is to feel your very perception and awareness of matter.
Maybe even more effective, bringing your attention to the fact that you are breathing may help you to be more aware of your life force. When focused on your breath, your attention is in direct contact with your life force.
There are many other ways to focus your mind on the essence of your life force, but they all have the same results when done effectively. They all slow or still the constantly thinking mind. They allow you to look out at the world and in on yourself at the same time. They allow you to feel the very alertness and awareness that is your consciousness.
The benefit is a reduction or elimination of stress since the large majority of stress is created by the constant thought stream of the mind. You will become more relaxed and detached from anything that might have gotten you bent out of shape before. You will start to feel the underlying peace that is always with you. You may also come to realize many other benefits as well.
To get more in depth on this and related topics, read What Is Really Good? and stay tuned!
Related posts:
Perish The Thought
Just the thought of something can affect you. You know this without me ever mentioning it. When you really give that fact the attention it deserves on a regular basis, it is amazing what you start to realize.Keeping a watch on what you think about and on your awareness in general can actually keep you healthier. Not only can disease in the body have psychosomatic causes, your very own experience of mood, and general well being, are always under the influence of what you are focused on.
You can have the placebo effect on your entire being by constantly bringing your focus back to a 'center of stillness' and observing everything in the moment. It is in this kind of state that it becomes much easier to 'perish any thoughts'.
Related posts:
The Peace Loving Warrior
A warrior of love? A warrior of peace? The concept at first, seems like a contradiction. How could a person who wages war be peace loving? Once you take a look at the answer, you may realize the question is more appropriate as, "How could a person who wages war not be peace loving?"Peace and love are the only things powerful enough to fuel the intentions of a warrior. A warrior does not do battle for the sake of simply battling. The 'good intention' behind the fight is to experience peace.
If the experience of war is all a warrior desires, that particular warrior must still admit to finding a feeling of peace in the heat of battle. He may not call it 'peace' by name, but it is a feeling described much the same.
Warriors have often been looked upon with great respect as noble and majestic. Perhaps it is their spirit of acceptance and the embracing of tough situations that have given the concept of a warrior this stature. A warrior is a master at adapting to a difficult situation and therefore must be a master of being in the current moment.
In this regard, we can learn from the persistent and yet accepting nature of a great warrior. We can learn to be in the present moment and continue to stay vigilant when it comes to observing our own mind state. We can learn to win moment by moment our consciousness, focus, and experience. We can become masters of our universes.
Related posts:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
