God - Part One

No two individuals worship the same God. I am not saying that there is more than one God, there is only one God, but everyone sees a different God. I will be explaining exactly what I mean in this post. This is not about religion, and which religion is correct or which God from which religion is the one and only God. This is about the individuals view on God and why it is different among everyone. 

Let us start with how we see other people. I had a math teacher in middle school who went out of his way to work with me on my math skills. He saw the potential within me and went above and beyond to water that seed of potential so it would blossom someday. He stayed after school hours to work with me, he taught me math that was above my grade level, he influenced me in ways I couldn't even conceive at the time. To me he was the best teacher I ever had, and I am nothing but grateful for every moment of his time he devoted to me.

That teacher whom I Loved, admired, and respected was not seen that way by everyone. Some of my classmates, didn't like him, some students saw a teacher who was a hard ass, others saw him as friendly but not as good teacher. Some students thought he was fair, others thought that he was harsh. We all see someone based on our personal experience and viewpoint of them. 

When we are born, we see our mother as the embodiment of Love. As we grow our perspective of our mother changes. She becomes a caretaker, a guide, a friend, an enemy, an annoyance, an enemy, etc. etc. etc. Our beliefs about others and ourselves change with time.  

We don't even see ourselves in the same way all the time. When you accomplish something and are feeling proud of yourself, you're also likely to be feeling strong and courageous with some confidence mixed in. You're feeling like you can take on the world, that is how you are seeing yourself in that moment. When you're feeling disappointed because you failed to achieve something you really wanted, you're probably feeling sadness. You tend to start doubting yourself, not believing in yourself, feeling week and afraid. That is how you see yourself in that moment.

If our beliefs about ourselves and others can vary based on perspective, time, and situations, then it can logically be stated that our opinions about God can also vary based on those same principles. Sometimes God is a merciful, benevolent, God whom we just can't seem to have enough of. Other times God is an angry wrathful God with whom we would like to avoid if at all possible. Sometimes he seems to be there for you when you need him and other times he seems as if he is nowhere to be found. 

The sufi mystic, Rumi said "The truth was a mirror in the hands of God. It fell and broke into pieces. Everybody took a piece of it, and they looked at it and thought they had the truth". Everyone sees God based on their individual experience. No two people see God the same way, and yet we cause a division between ourselves when we attempt to persuade others to see the same God that we see which is an impossible feat. There is only one God, that one God is infinite and can be found and seen in an infinite number of ways. 

How do you know which God is the only God? How do you know if you believe in the correct God? How are you supposed to figure out who God is? It's very simple, look for God. That's all you have to do. If you look for God, you will find him. We reap what we sow, we find what we seek. It doesn't matter how you comprehend God. When someone tells you who God is, they are telling you about the God that they themselves believe in and comprehend. No one else can ever describe God to you since we all see him differently in our own way. Even my referring to God as a "him" confuses the subject, so don't concern yourself with others' beliefs about God. Seek God for yourself and he will make himself known to you. Trust yourself for only you can know your own truth. 

God is eternal and changeless; it is only our perspective of him that changes. I Love you and Peace Be With You!

Death

Most of us are terrified of death. It's the unknown, the darkness or nothingness, it's the regrets, it's the missed opportunities, and a plethora of countless other reasons. The cold hard truth is, we will all die. Everything in this world dies and goes back to the earth in which it came from.

Western religions tend to believe in an eternal heaven and hell situation, even that belief is split between the different denominations within Christianity. Evangelical Christians believe everyone is going to either heaven or hell for eternity and we need spend our lives on earth attempting to get into heaven. Universalist Christians believe that eventually everyone ends up going to heaven. There is a belief in purgatory within Catholicism which is essentially a waiting room for the afterlife.

Eastern Religions focus more on reincarnation. Spend this life doing good deeds and maybe in the next life you'll be rewarded, do bad deeds in this life and you may end up a dung beetle in the next. Some atheists believe in eternal oblivion, which essentially means when you die you just stop existing. This would be a very long post if I were to cover every belief about death that is held in this world but that's not what this post is about. The truth is, if there were a way to prove what happens after we die or if there is any form of continuation, no one has discovered it yet. You are free to believe whatever you so choose, my goal isn't to change your beliefs, it's to help you look at your fear of death.

What if I told you that the reason, you're afraid of death is because you're not living. I don't mean you don't exist or aren't in a living body. I mean you're not living your life to the fullest, you're not being your authentic self, and you have regrets and desires. Life and death go together, the same as light/dark, right/wrong, and self/other. They are all two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. Most people at the end of their life who give others advice on how to live is usually some version of "don't wait to do things", "life is short", and "be happy". 

Most of us spend our lives living in the "someday" of the future, or the regrets from the past. Since we aren't living in the present completely, we are missing out on life as it is happening and therefore, we aren't living. We live our lives thinking that we'll finally be able to say everything we ever wanted to, to our Loved ones before we die but the truth is most of us don't get that chance, so we should say everything we want to say now, and not wait until it's too late.

We tend to keep a list of things in our mind that we would like to do "someday" when the time is right, but the time is never right, so we don't do them. We focus on all our past mistakes, pains, embarrassments, and perceived slights. Honestly most people are too worried about their own "mistakes" to really give any kind of shit about what "mistakes" anyone else has made. When people tell me what they remember about me, it's rarely ever the "mistakes" I've made, they usually remember the time I did something nice for them, or made them laugh, or made them feel good. 

We humans tend to be the most inauthentic species on the planet. We are too afraid to simply be ourselves out of fear of what "others" may think of us, or how they may treat us. We pretend to be someone we're not; we all wear masks to protect our true selves. We suppress ourselves and our true nature. When we aren't living an authentic life, we are not living life to the fullest. We are terrified of death because we are missing out on life and know when we die, there will be so many things we will have missed out on. 

When you live your life to the fullest and are your authentic self, without suppression, regret, or desire, the fear of death dissipates. You may still believe whatsoever you choose to about the afterlife, you simply stop being afraid of it, you stop caring what happens all together, and you see how absurd the infatuation of death really is. 

Be you 100%, do what you want to do, say what you want to say, don't wait to do things that you want to do now. Don't worry about what your family or friends tell you about who you should be. Live your life now, for now is all there is, no one is guaranteed a future. Don't spend your life focused on your afterlife. Whatever happens after this life doesn't change the fact that you only get one life in this human earthly body, there will never be another you in this world. Enjoy your existence NOW, live your life NOW, YOU ARE MSSING OUT ON YOUR LIFE! Love as if your life depends on it, Live as if there is no tomorrow, Laugh as if there were no sorrow, and Play as if you were a child without a care in the world. I Love you and Peace Be With You!

Meditation

This is about my personal journey with meditation and how I feel it has affected my life. I will discuss types of meditation I have tried along with the benefits I have experienced that come from the help of meditation. Personally, meditation has helped me in so many aspects of my life. Meditation in simplest terms is simply experiencing the present in totality, and every technique that is used, which are many, are just variations of the same concept. 

You could say that my journey with meditation started before I even knew anything about meditation. I simply wasn't very interested in meditation, honestly, I just thought it was some new age bullshit and something monks did. It all started when I read Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now. In the book he teaches that our thoughts aren't who we are and all that exists is the present. He describes how to watch your thoughts. I had never considered that I wasn't my thoughts before I read that book. The first time I tried watching my thoughts, I just wept, it was the first time in my life I had ever felt any semblance of peace and calm. I wanted more, but it was really hard to watch my thoughts objectively. That book always stuck with me, but I was destined for other things too. 

Sometime later on I discovered Alan Watts and instantly fell in love with his philosophy. I gathered up every speech of his that I could find and listened to him constantly. He discusses meditation within his talks frequently. Of course, I tried all the various forms and techniques of meditation, and nothing seemed to be the one for me. There was one thing that Alan Watts said about meditation, and it always stuck with me because I thought he was so full of shit. I don't have a source, but he said that meditation is supposed to be fun. For me meditation was the furthest thing from fun I could think of. I was just meditating so I wasn't so damn miserable all the time. He also said if you're meditating with a purpose, you're doing it wrong (not an exact quote).

I went on to study meditation within different religions and cultures, the science of meditation, and the philosophy of meditation. All the while continuing to practice meditation, but only half assed, it just wasn't very much fun, it seemed like a lot of work for nothing, and I rarely saw any results. I just kept at it since so many say it's beneficial across all beliefs and cultures. If there is a method for meditation, I probably tried it.

Let's say that you want to get into better physical shape, you would like to get rid of your extra fat and build some muscle. You start going to the gym and lifting weights while also doing some cardio, you start eating healthier foods. We all know that you're not going to come home from the gym after a day and be in the best shape you've ever been in. We all know that it takes weeks to see any signs of the change in lifestyle, and months to see any significant changes. If someone wants to go from obese to bodybuilder, that process would take years. We all know and accept this fact, which is why some keep at it and others give up after a short period of time. It's a matter of "how bad do you want it?" The ones who give up never wanted it that bad in the first place and that's fine.

Meditation works in exactly the same way as getting our physical bodies into shape. Ultimately meditation is exercising your mind. When we meditate most of us will not see any results on the first day even though some may. Don't compare yourself to others, it's not a competition. We also won't see any major results within a few months either. To reach a state of complete serenity and joy from meditation would take years for some. 

Throughout my meditation journey over the course of a few years, I went through a lot of periods of time when it didn't seem to be doing anything. There were other times when I would have an epiphany during mediation that would improve my overall wellbeing. Sometimes meditation would be soothing and calm and other times I found it utterly impossible to meditate due to stress. I just kept doing it. 

After about three years or so, the day finally came. I could finally see it all for what it was. I always used meditation as a method to escape myself, my life, or my problems. That's never what meditation was about. Meditation is simply living in the moment and knowing that everything is exactly as it should be. Even though I was meditating with a purpose, and it's meant to be purposeless I was still able to find the purposelessness within the purpose. 

I reached a point where I looked forward to meditating. When I meditate, there is nothing I need do. I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not, I don't have to pretend to care about something that I don't. I'm not required to care about anyone or anything. I don't worry about the future, I don't regret the past, I don't think about any mistakes I or anyone else has made. I simply exist for the sake of existing. When you stop living in your mind, the past, or the future, you start living in the present. When you live in the present, you see that everything is exactly how it is meant to be. You see Love and beauty everywhere and in all things. The universe puts on a show just for you every second of your life. I have witnessed some of the most beautiful moments within this universe and I was only able to do so because I was there living in the moment. Most of these moments would've gone unwitnessed had I not been there watching as I was the only person present. The universe exists just for me, that also applies to everyone else. 

Overall meditation has helped me work through my past traumas, I am more able to express myself and my emotions, and I have a general sense of peace and calm overall. You could say meditation has changed my life, but that wasn't the only factor at play. Needless to say, it didn't do any harm. Give it a try, who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it.

Dualism

Humans have developed an attribute that baffles the natural world. Humans have adopted a belief that not only are they the only life that exists in this universe, and they believe they are also superior to all other forms of life. Humans see other life forms as separate from themselves and since other life forms are separate, they are also inferior. You can see this all across the world, in all aspects of life. Humans put animals in zoos just so they can go look at them and be entertained. Never once stopping to think about the fact that animals are all around them every day in their natural environments. Animals are viewed as a commodity, not as the life form that they are.

Gems are just something to be worn. Rocks are just construction material. Trees are just suppliers of wood. Plants are just food sources. Insects are just a nuisance. Birds are just background noise. Fish are just food. Animals are pets, food, entertainment and slave labor. I can go on and on about all the ways we treat the life forms of this world. Since humans view themselves as separate and superior to all other life forms, it bleeds over into other humans. Any human who is different is viewed as superior or inferior. You can see it most clearly with racism and sexism. It also applies to political views, religious affiliation, beliefs, background, career, economic status, and so on and so forth.

The truth, whether you believe it or not, and whether you accept it or not is WE ARE ALL LIFE. No one life form is superior to another. This universe wasn't created for just the humans, and especially not for "special" groups of humans, there is no superior race or religion. 

Due to the fact that humans view everything as separate from themselves, it causes a perceived separation within the individual. Since human is part of this world and everything that is within it but believes that it is separate, it creates a division within the human psyche. That split is referred to as dualism, Wikipedia states "Dualism is the idea or theory that something (an object, an idea or the whole world) is split into two parts." This belief of dualism is so engrained within the human psyche that whenever an individual comes to the realization that there is no duality, they are referred to as enlightened or awakened and often are viewed as a prophet or guru of some sort. Some of the individuals who realize this go on to become messiahs or messengers sent from God.

Where does all suffering stem from? Why is there war? Why is there poverty and world hunger? Why is there division and hatred? Dualism.

Buddhism states that life is suffering, the cause of suffering comes from desire. Desire stems from dualism. If you think something is separate from yourself then you desire to have more or less than, you desire to be better than the "other". You desire to change the "other". Every major religion agrees on the sentiment to "treat others how you would like be treated". The reason every major religion focuses on this statement is because the more you practice treating others how you would like to be treated, the more you see there are no "others". In simplest terms we are all life. We all come in different forms; we are all Life itself.

What is Life? What constitutes Life? Is it a heart? Is it a brain?  Jellyfish have nether heart nor brain, but we all know they are alive. What defines Life? 

Wikipedia states that Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from matter that does not.

Wikipedia also states that Ahimsa is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to actions towards all living beings. Which includes the belief that rocks are life. This isn't meant to be a debate on whether or not rocks are alive. But rocks do have a "life cycle", even though rocks "aren't alive"

If you look closely at this debate on what life is or isn't, you can also see that it is still dualism. The Earth itself is alive, the earth has a heartbeat (7.83 Hz), the earth has energy and mass. The earth itself is alive which in turn includes everything located within it. Take a minute to examine your fingernails. Your fingernails aren't who you are, you aren't known as a fingernail, you are known as a human. Your fingernails are part of the whole of who you are. They aren't you, but they a part of you. The earth and everything within acts in the same manner. As above so below. The earth is the whole, you are a part of the whole, the same way your fingernails are part of the whole of you. Everything within the earth is just parts of the whole. We are all Life on earth, we are all part of the earth.

When you expand this out even further. As above so below. You see that the earth is just a part of the whole of the milky way galaxy. Keep expanding and you eventually reach the entirety if the universe. I am a part of the universe, I am not the universe itself, but an integral part of it.

Do you want to stop your suffering and misery? Do you want to stop anger, greed, lust, and envy within yourself? Do you want to Love and be Loved more than you ever thought possible? Do you want to live a Life of peace and serenity? Start treating "others" how you want to be treated. You don't have to understand, you don't have to believe, you don't have to agree, all you need do is try, if you so choose. What does it hurt to try? If after giving it your all and allowing enough time to give it a chance, you don't see any changes, you can always go back to treating "others" differently. No harm, no foul. I Love you, and Peace Be With You!

Brown Eyed Girl

He knew he Loved her from the start. He couldn't describe it or even understand it, he just knew how he felt. She had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. She had a bubbly personality that would make him want to dance just being in her presence. She made him feel like a child without a care in the world. He never thought he had a chance to be with someone so perfect. He never thought she would want anything to do with him. 

Fate didn't care about what he believed; fate didn't care that he didn't think he was good enough for her. Through events out of his control, the universe brought her into his life. He couldn't make sense of it when she told him she liked him. He didn't understand how she could like him, but he wasn't going to complain when something amazing happens in his life, he didn't have very many good things happen in his life.

They fell in Love quickly and passion overtook them. Keeping their hands to themselves proved an impossible task. Nothing could separate them. They became everything to each other and nothing else mattered. Everything was bright and beautiful. Life was amazing, and they were both happier than they had ever been. She was his brown eyed girl, and he was her prince charming who came to save her on his white steed.

He Loved that she was a weed smoking, bandana wearing, bare foot hippie. He Loved that she never wore makeup and that she didn't care what anyone thought about her. He didn't care that she wasn't pretty according to societal standards; she was always the most beautiful person he had ever seen. His brain couldn't even process how anyone could see anything less than perfection when they looked at her. He Loved her sense of humor and her laugh.

He Loved that she was unashamed of her body and her sexuality. He Loved that she spoke her mind and didn't take any grief from anyone. He Loved that she listened to him. He Loved that she didn't care what he looked like. He Loved that she didn't see any flaws in him and would let him know when he was doing stupid shit. He Loved that she Loved him. He Loved everything about her.

Fate stepped back in and said, "times up". He didn't know how he was going to live without her. He didn't know if he wanted to live at all without her. After some time, he figured out how to survive without her, although just surviving isn't much of a life. 

He never Loved anyone that way again. He never connected to anyone else in the same way. He never felt as seen as he did with her. He never felt the same way again. He wouldn't have changed it for anything. Their time together was unfairly and cruelly short, but at least he had that. One look from her was enough for a lifetime, that's all he needed. Every extra second he had with her was just a beautiful and glorious miracle.

Eventually he learned how to live his life without her and enjoy it. He learned how to be ok without her. He learned how to be happy. He learned who he was. He learned his own strength. He learned how amazing he really was. He learned how smart and talented he was. He learned that he was going to be ok. He Lived a long and very fulfilling life. 

He never gave up hope that one day fate might be so kind as to bring them back together. He wasn't sure if he believed it would ever happen. One thing that he did believe was that anything can happen and if it's happened once, it can happen again. He carried that hope to his grave. He believed that if there was a heaven, an angel as perfect as her would most certainly be there and he would get to see her once again. That is his heaven.