The power of "Thank You"

The idea that the mind affects physical matter is not new, modern science with its understanding of quantum physics has proved this . In a the following clip from a movie "What the bleep do we know" it demonstrates how our thought can affect water molecules. If it can change the structure of the water molecule what does it do to us ,our bodies are 90% water. What we think about affects us  either in a positive way or negative way. If we think about fear, guilt, hate and despair it will cause health issues . But, when we think about the things of truth , honesty, justice, purity, love, goodness and thankfulness, all these can influence our physical,mental and spiritual health in a positive way.  When we say "Thank You" it can change our physical bodies and it can change who we are on a deeper level. So, maybe having an attitude of gratitude at all times, not just at mealtime, will have a profound effect over our entire lives for the better.

Watch this :

The great Mystery

It has no substance yet it is
In all form
It is in every seed, spore,
   sperm and egg
In every atom, quark
    and photon
In all energy
It is in all intelligence
In all thought, word 
   action and
        Love

Outside time and space

What gave it birth?
Who can understand it?
All names we call it are insufficient
It is the great mystery, 
    the essence of all life
     Spirit

It is in you and

You are that

(this all just came from who knows where into my psyche, its origin is a mystery, I just wrote it down)

Not knowing with a Beginners Mind

Our capacity for brilliance is equal to our capacity to forget past and future, that's why little children are brilliant, they don't remember past and they don't relate to the future

 - Marianne Williamson

Young children have a natural fascination for life, having a sense of wonder and awe, they see the extraordinary in the ordinary. They have open hearts for the discovery of the new. They have a beginners mind, innocent, fresh  and always surprised by the constant mystery opening up before them. They are not caught up in thoughts of past and future but are present in the moment. They are content in their not knowing. Most of us have heard the quote by the great teacher Jesus "...I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven". What is this domain of heaven?. We can be sure it is not the domain of the personal self, with all the different persona masks we wear daily. Its not the realm of the whole ego construct, the false self, the world of me, my, mine or I.  This term he used "kingdom of Heaven" may be thought of today as a greater state of being, within ourselves, where we experience an intense love, joy, peace, happiness and contentment deep in our hearts. He said it was available to us now if we could be like a little child. The Tao Te Ching vs 28 also says ....the Tao will never leave you and you will be like a little child. Little children have very little sense of self, they lack the thought dominated ego with its idea of being a somebody, that will develops later as the separate self identity.

How do we become like little children? Can we be at ease with not knowing, and not having  certainty? Can we practice having beginners mind, even if  we are old? How do we drop the false ego construct, as the main driver of our life? Can we be a content nobody? These are all questions that can be pointers for us, as a starting place of inquiry to prepare us for  entry into that greater state of being.

The egoic mind complex is always trying to understand, analyze, judge, conclude and interpret, it needs something to be concerned about, believed in, and have its identity in. It is always wanting and fearing. It has a need to know and a need  to be right. Perhaps it is afraid of not knowing. It wants certainty. It has belief systems that gives it satisfactory answers to its deepest questions. It has its truth and others with a different opinion are wrong. It is certain, beyond any doubt, that its view is right.

What would happen if we admitted we don't know for sure, that we may not be right in our opinions and beliefs? We would certainly have less conflict, less judgement, and a lot more open mindedness. Saying I don't  know would free the mind of most of our excessive thought, it would have nothing to prove, nothing to gain and less to protect. We wouldn't need to control, no need to be right and no need for strong opinions. We would free up the mind for the development of more creativity, and allow it to work more from intuition,  which is an intelligence far greater then thought produced by the intellect.

The easiest way to reduce thought is to adopt the attitude that concerning the deeper questions in life, we don't know anything for sure. However, the intellect and the ego cannot understand this truth or even want to diminish its position. But, there is a deeper intuitive part of our being, the heart, that can perceive this truth. The intuitive heart position of not knowing brings a greater sense of wonder into our lives, we can then be like the little child again, we will have an open heart and a capacity for greater love, compassion, joy and peace. Beginners mind is a practice of looking at life without preconceived ideas, judgements or interpretations.

When the mind is free from excessive thought and knowledge, anxiety, guilt, fear of all authority, the constant wanting for more, and concerns about past and future, it allows your mind to be fresh, young , innocent, full of vitality and passion once again. You are living Now. In this  renewed state you can learn and observe with wonder, mystery and surprise again. Life becomes amazing , full of realizations coming from intuition rather then intellect. You are now free and are working from a higher and greater state of being, this is heaven while still on earth. Isn't life amazing!

The Mystics View

 





Tao Te Ching Ch 42 (Chinese book written 2500 years ago )

Tao gives birth to one
One gives birth to two
Two give birth to three
Three give birth to the tens of thousand things

I had been reading recently, over the past year, on the Christian Mystic view of Trinity. So you ask, what is a Christian Mystic? A person concerned not with knowing the letter of the Word, or religious dogmas, but with knowing the Spirit of the Word, which is to say living from within, the experience of God, at the very core of their being.

I will attempt to put into words the general same thought coming from several of the mystic's.This is what I got from them (paraphrased). From the unnameable comes the one which is the absolute (the Father). From the absolute Father comes the vibrational spirit energy (Mother or Holy Spirit). From the two comes the creation and matter (The Son of God). The earliest concept of the Christ Spirit (son of God) is the cosmic Christ, this Spirit is manifested, in matter, in the tens of thousands (billions)of things. A son of man, Jesus embodied this Christ Spirit so well that he took on the identity of the Christ Spirit, he had no personal sense of ego or lower self. He became known as the Christ. He said the Father and I (Christ) are one. He then said that this Christ that is in him can also be in us. The apostle Paul continued to say the same "the Christ in you is the hope of glory" (Col 1:27) The hope of glory means the fulfillment of restoration for us and all creation.

I am finding a renewed interest in the authentic teachings of Jesus. This is my personal thinking on the man Jesus. Jesus was an embodiment of the Christ and that is why he said before Abraham was, I Am. He was taking from the eternal Christ Spirit living within his human body. The eternal Christ lived in the earthly body of Jesus for a time. The Christ is the greatest mystery and this aspect of the divine can live in any human. Christ in you (in us ) is the greatest hope of creation. Many of the worlds Spiritual teachers from many paths are re-focusing once again on Jesus because of his profound teaching on "the kingdom of heaven" being within all human beings. I have spent a lot of time asking what did he mean by "the Kingdom of heaven is within you". He implied it is here, Now . We all have access to it, now, it is within us. If this is true, then that is the greatest "Truth" we could possibly realize in our lifetime. So the question needs further investigation.What is this kingdom of heaven he spoke of, here and Now ?

If we could just grasp the full meaning of, "Christ is all and in all "  (Col 3:11), in the very depth of our understanding, we would be in full awareness of the presence of that absolute reality. I believe this presence is around us at all times, we just fail to realize it. We have to realize we are more then the body/mind complex . There is an unfathomable dimension in all of us .We need to just be still enough in our body and mind to know it, and that takes discipline. Most will not take the time to explore this inner world but I believe that is one path, of many , to know what we traditionally call God.
 
Anyway, all this gives me a new appreciation of Jesus, the Christ, the Father and the Mother (Holy Spirit). It also gives me an appreciation of the Chinese word "Tao",  which was known and expressed perhaps a thousand years before Christianity was even thought of, it is the mystery underlying all concepts we could ever imagine on these things.

Living in the Now with Non-Effort

Where the sea is calm
At the dock
A little red and green boat
Ripple waves gently lap against its planks 
The sound of the sea gulls
In the stillness, pausing
Smelling the beach, the kelp
Gentle cool breeze
Living the moment
In the now

acrylic on panel    24"x 36" ( a painting I did in 2006 ) At the dock

One of my first realizations in retirement, was that there is no reason to be in a hurry. I was at the grocery store and the store check out line was moving at a slow pace. Then I had one of those moments of clarity,  I said to myself, why should I care, where am I going, there is no hurry, enjoy the moment.

There is something in us, in our culture that causes a tension. We are not content with this moment, we always want to be in the next moment. We cannot accept what is, there needs to be something more to make us complete and happy. Why is that?

So, I make a choice to deliberately slow down and accept what is, here, now. I move in cycles of doing and non-doing, according to spontaneity, not according to a plan. It is action without stress, forcing, striving or busyness.  It is natures way. Nature does not hurry yet everything is  accomplished. Everything gets done in what appears from my observation, as a meditation in motion, where there is an effortless action without the concern of outcome. In motion meditation you are not lost in thought, when walking there is a concentration on each step; you practice awareness of steps, breath, sounds, the wind against your face and the feel of sunshine on your skin. You enjoy what is, what is before you, without unnecessary labels, without judging it as right or wrong, beautiful or ugly and without the usual mind chatter. This is freedom from thought, no concern about past or future, it lasts for as long as you can live in the "Now".

 Tao Te Ching Ch 43

The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.
Teaching without words,
performing without actions:
that is the Master's way.

The whole concept of non-action or non-effort in Taoism is fascinating. Effort implies a stressing  or straining to reach a certain point in a future moment, it is trying to accomplish a certain goal.  I was observing life in my backyard today; squirrels, birds, and insects are all busy but it is action without concern for outcome. They are not stressing or straining.They have no concept of reward, no thought of tomorrow, they have no memories of past, they are just living in the moment. When there is no thought of reward for action, everything gets accomplished.

Nature has so much to teach us, without words and without force. The gentle spirit all around us works through non-effort and it can flow and penetrate into our hardened hearts if we can open up a little space for new perceptions. In this way the gentlest thing in the world overcomes the hardest thing in the world, the closed human heart. That which has no form/no substance, by non-action, can enter where there was previously no space and it can transform our whole life.

Become the Observer

• Blue circle encompasses all senses of self and  it can represents what is sometimes called the true self

In the drawing above the blue area would represent the true self, heart, soul or spirit. It has many names depending on which professional, cultural or spiritual background we are from. Few people truly understands the difference between these terms. Emotion would be where body and mind intersect. The mind-body connection is very complicated, we know that the mind affects the body biochemistry ever nanosecond and it can have a profound effect on overall well being and health. Disease is often caused when the body-mind is not at ease or in a state of dis-ease caused by fear-based emotions like anxiety, guilt, anger, frustration, irritation, or intolerance. Love-based emotions like happiness, joy, peace, pleasure or bliss would have a very positive effect on our biochemistry and mental state and would put us at ease, giving us an improved sense of well being.

Can we learn how to become the observer and perceiver of thought, body and emotions, without them being our total identification? Yes it is possible !, people all over the world do it all the time through meditative or contemplative practice. This is the secret to happiness known for thousands of years. It brings liberation from suffering.When we think that our thoughts, emotions and body are the true self it produces a life full of trouble. Our thoughts are perhaps the most unstable part of being human. This is where the ego,(monkey mind chatter) ,the false self sets up its control center. If we can take back control of our thoughts, diminish this false sense of self, let the mind be servant to the master  true self (heart/spirit/soul) again, then maybe we can get our life back in order.Our thoughts and our emotional/body reaction to them creates most of our mental suffering. This was basically the first teaching of Buddha 2500 years ago. If we observe emotion with that inner perception, the observing self, we can enjoy positive ones like empathy, love and compassion, etc, but, we can also not identify with negative emotions like fear, guilt and anxiety. When we are not identified with fear, guilt and anxiety we can just observe it, when it appears, don't fight it, just look at it as a passing phenomenon, an unwelcomed guest; look at it intently, and it will just fade off like a morning mist and dissipate into nothing. It works for me, try it. This is true liberation....And oh what a relief it is!.

The Quiet Space

 
 (A painting I did in the early 80's) The hunting Cabin

There is something in us all that wants the quiet space, the serene, the cabin in the woods. I believe it is because we come from a quiet space. My favorite scripture verse is "be still and know, I am, God. (psalm 46:10 ) It's only in the stillness that we realize what "God" is ...the source of life. We are never separate from this source of life , from stillness, the I am presence, but our mind will tell us we are. Humans have edged God out (EGO), thousand of years ago, and that is the cause of our perceived separation.The Ego ( false self ) has set itself up as master over the true Self (Spirit). All spiritual teaching attempt to reverse that and put us on a path to surrender the false self so that the Spirit is once again master. The apostle Paul in the new testament talked about the need to die daily so that the Christ (Spirit) may manifest in us. This theme of the false self needing to diminish so that spirit may be dominant is taught in all great spiritual teachings. "Christ in you the hope of glory" (Col: 1:27) is another favorite verse. This Christ Spirit that was in Jesus can live in us if the mind dominated ego can become the servant rather then the master. When the true master (The Spirit) returns to the throne of our heart the whole being is restored. 

Marriage And Mature Love

 


Marriage is not just a bed of roses, hidden amongst the petals and the sweet fragrance of young love are many hidden thorns too. After the comfortable honeymoon phase, these thorns begin to pop up and act like growing pains, that will challenge the relationship and force it into a growth process that can take years to mature. I believe these growing pains are a necessary part of the process. But ,who in their right mind would  want mental pain, we avoid discomfort at all cost. It has been said that mental suffering is perhaps life's greatest teacher.  Suffering , helps to diminish the sensitive and often inflated ego, which then clears the way and opens the door for a growing humility, a selflessness, a greater compassion, the capacity to love deeply  and a  non-judgemental spirit.  We become more human and grow in humanistic values.

To use another analogy ,the marriage path is not all smooth terrain, we do stumble and fall along the way, and yes we sometimes get hurt, but  if we can persevere long enough, the two can become much stronger together, the bond of love grows deeper. In the beginning there will be mountains of bliss, with the wonderful passion of youth, perhaps followed by the valleys of discomfort and challenge when the growth process really sets in. Eventually though you get to the point in the spirit journey together where you get past all the drama with its peaks  and valleys of youthful experience and emotion and you reach a level plateau, where things do smooth out, the way looks clearer, and the relationship matures.

You will know love has matured when you take a greater delight in the other persons happiness rather then your own.You become less concerned about what you can get from the other and you become more grateful  for, and contented in, what already is , present ,here and  now in your lives.

Truth - Law vs Love

 

There has always been a great debate among philosophers and theologians on what is truth.Then there is this idea of subjective and objective truth ... what the heck is that ????... philosophy jargon.  Basically for the average person, it comes down to the truth of Scriptures (law) and the truth of experience (Life). Maybe real truth is found, in real life, in being more  non-judgemental, open-minded and compassionate. If there is a choice between the letter of Law (literalism) or Love, wouldn't Love be the highest human and divine ideal?.

The mystery of Life

 

Nesting loon an early painting I did in 1990 acrylic 20x26

I heard a robin, then I saw it high in a tree. Its a sure sign that winter is over when we see that first robin. I love spring when plants are popping through the ground, insects are buzzing and birds are chirping. I love life, after everything was dormant for months its so good to experience life again.  What many call "God" I call Life. When you experience life in its fullness, you don't need to understand it, its mystery. We just need to experience it all, as it happens. If we can live that way always ...that is heaven. This heaven is what we experience within.

Happiness and Fulfillment

I have learned from many years of searching for what is true, after peeling back the many layers of untruth in my programmed and conditioned mind, that happiness, the sense of completeness and love are not found in some-thing external from who we are, but it is found within, in our very essence of being. When we stop grasping and searching out there, somewhere, for some-thing or some-body to complete us, we will realize eventually, only after all the searching and grasping are done, that we are already whole, and no-thing else is needed.

For many thousands of years, in most cultures around the world, a core perennial teaching has always been there, its this realization that  within our being, lies the true essential Self, the one, life essence of all, and only there, can we access the greatest, lasting, treasure of life.  The worlds greatest teachers and philosophers down through history have, recognized it and called this same Truth, this mystery, by many different names . What  I am referring to here is that higher state of being, the inward way that leads  to the fullness of Life, it is  the source of  love, happiness, freedom, peace, and truth. I hope that we can all seek and find this wholeness or completeness within our own hearts;  that we will never believe or demand that it comes from  another, or from anywhere or anything else other then that which is the source of all life, and your true essential Self .
 
Now, I know many among us have become disillusioned, agnostic and perhaps even atheist concerning much of what  religion and spirituality in general has to say, including myself, I am still working through the process to find truth in these matters. Perhaps we have  thrown out the baby with the bath water.  The greatest teachers who have ever lived on this planet, for thousands of years  have all said before us, this is not new, that the greatest treasure in life is not what can be found on the outside, out there somewhere, but it is found within, in the deepest part of your being. The greatest teacher of them all, he needs no introduction, he embodied this way, this truth and this  life, and  he called it "the kingdom of heaven" and he said also, that it was found within you. Wow!, who would have guessed that. What was this Jewish rabbi, Jesus, saying 2000 years ago.  Its not found out there somewhere, its within us. So, seek this truth, this treasure found beyond all the illusions and untruths, and I am sure you will find it, and you will find peace, love, joy, happiness, rest and freedom for your soul that lasts forever.

 I have found that the safest position to approach the difficult subjects, the deeper ideas in life, including all belief concepts, is to only go at it from the logical, the rational, and the uncertain, approach. This is the agnostic view of  "I don't know for sure" and this is my position.

Beyond Fear - On The Path- Into The Light

As human beings, we need to move beyond all ideologies that promote fear, guilt and judgement and move toward a more humanistic approach toward life. We need to teach our children what it means to be truly human first, and promote spirit/heart values, like love, honesty, gratitude, forgiveness, and humility.These values make us all more compassionate and less judgemental. E.g.: would a love based, super intelligence, that controls the entire universe and all of life in it, be concerned about a human's sexual identity? I doubt it !. Only a god made in man's image would care about something so trivial. What does it mean to be human? Perhaps if we looked within to find out who we really are,maybe then we will begin to understand the power behind all of life. Maybe we can enlarge our view of what "God" is , perhaps we will find its not, the god in an enclosed conceptual box, that man has created to be so small. Is there a better path into the Light?.





If we are not teaching our children to be human, what are we teaching them?
               - quote from a play called The music Lesson

On the Path ..Into the Light  (acrylic on panel) My latest painting 2018

Truth

In layman's terms, truth is so expansive, isn't it , it cannot be fully grasped at all, we can know " a truth " but not all truth, because it encompasses all of life. The more we seek after truth the more we realize how little we really understand about it . When we surrender to the uncertainty of the "truth", because it is so clouded by untruth, we enter into the freedom talked about in the phrase " the truth will set you free. Perhaps it is in the seeking after truth that we find, true freedom, at the end of all our searching and grasping for that which satisfies our longing.The surrender to "not knowing" fully is perhaps the most liberating experience in life . It frees us up to be still , and silent before the great unknown power behind life , to the greatest mystery of all , that which is called by many names; .......I AM, That .....................................and "Truth" is just one name among many for this mystery

Retirement

I made it a goal a long time ago to retire before my 60th birthday, and so May 2, 2018, was my last shift. I had worked in the petrochemical industry for over 40 years. Its was a good run, but, it was my time to get out! .

There is a time to work, but, also a  time to retire. To keep grinding on, when clearly the goal has been accomplished, would seem pointless. Knowing when to get off the treadmill is the key. Running out of  health may be a greater risk then running out of wealth. Retirement can be a time to enjoy all of life, losing yourself in the flow... be nobody, with nothing to prove, and less need for  gain, you can now relax more, and stress less. In our working years, we are totally consumed with thinking and doing, we are somebody......, in a never ending pursuit of achieving, planning, building, maintaining, and accumulating; forever striving, and never fully arriving.  Can it be true that ..."more is less and less is more"???. For me retirement will be a time to simplify, simplify, simplify, and live in the moment as much as possible.
 
"Now" is  really all we  have , future is only in our imagination and the past is just  memories of what was.

Why Blog?

I was very active on painting forums for many years and I have been commenting on other peoples blogs often.When you start leaving very long comments on social media forums, and other blogs you know its time to use your own blog space to express yourself . So this is why I started this blog today which is separate from my painting blog. We all have something to say. I often wished my grandparents and parents had kept a journal. In 1977 I started writing a journal and I  have been writing every since. This will not be a personal journal but it will be more about observations and musings as they happen . Someone may be interested in reading it at some point but for now that is not my concern. For people like myself we need a platform to express ourselves and I believe this is why a blog is a great place to do that. To start this blog I will be inserting some writing that I have done in the past couple of years.

(updated  June 03, 2018)

This blog is part of my personal learning process. If you happen to find this blog, and read it , you are the observer of a personal learning process that I am undergoing. Read it with an open mind . I am not intending it as a teaching for someone else. If you get something from it, great. We are all on our own spirit journey wither we recognize that or not. Through writing I learn. I will write and tweak and study and ponder these words for awhile.