Dear Friend

(Originally published 09-06-2022)

 I must confess that we haven't met. You are unaware of my existence in this universe. There are so many things I wish I could tell you. There are so many things that you need to know. The most important thing to know is that it's ok. Everything is ok, you are safe, and you are Loved. I know that you feel alone, more often than not. I know that you feel like you don't deserve to be Loved. I know that you are thinking "if only you really knew me". I do know you; I know how you hate yourself for that thing you did. I know how you blame yourself for how things went down with that person. I know that you punish yourself so much more than anyone else ever could. I know that you just want to feel heard, seen, and Loved.

You are Loved. There are people all around you that Love you all the time. Some you can see, and others are invisible to you. The stranger that holds the door for you Loves you. The cashier that asks how your day is going Loves you. The person writing this letter to you Loves you. Love is all around you, all the time. You haven't been looking for Love therefore it has been invisible to you. Start looking for Love and you will be astonished how much Love is constantly being given you. Every kind word, every generous act, every gentle touch, every fond memory, and every comforting thought are all forms of Love.

You are Loved unconditionally and ceaselessly by this universe. You don't need to do anything to receive Love. There is nothing you can do to end Love. You will be Loved for eternity. I long for nothing but your Love, not for myself, but for you. I long for the day when you are finally able to Love yourself. I long for the day when you no longer punish yourself for every little mistake that you make. I long for the day when you see how much Love you put into the universe. Your mistakes are invisible when compared to the Love that is inside of you. You are pure Love. It's ok, the universe will Love you and keep you safe until that fateful day when you are able to see that you are Love. I Love You and Peace Be With You!

Sincerely with Love,
Your friend

Ego

The ego is who you think you are. The ego is not real and does not exist, the only reason you believe the ego exists is because you believe that you are separate from everything else, this is caused by dualism. You may have heard of ego death, the truth is the ego can't die, because there is no ego. The "ego" is the separate individual that you believe yourself to be. The 'ego" is your identity, which is based off of your past (which is gone forever) your future (which never comes) and every belief or concept that you have of yourself. The "ego" will latch onto any man-made concept as to not be exposed for what it is, which is nothing. 

Anything that you think that you are, is the "ego". How many women say "I'm a mom first", and "my kids are my life", or how about "I don't know who I am without my kids" You're not just a mom, that is only one small part of your overall being, but when you identify with just one aspect of yourself, you start to "lose" the rest of yourself. When you "lose" the rest of yourself, and your entire identity becomes being a "mom". You identify as a "mom", that is who you believe that you are. If something were to happen to your child, you would no longer be a "mom". You would lose your identity and more than likely fall face first into a deep depression.

How many men use sports as their identity? Men have their favorite sports team and will have all their possessions be covered in the marking of that team. Their identity is a "bear's fan", when the bears win a game, they feel amazing, because their identity is so wrapped up in the bears that it feels like they personally won that game themselves. When the bears lose, they become angry and bitter, just as if they had lost that game themselves.  

Anything can become an identity or an "ego". It could be your gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, or literally any topic known and yet unknown to us. Even an "enlightened" person can use "being enlightened" as their identity. "Enlightenment" is just the realization that there is no "ego" or "separate self", its more than just knowing, but also understanding. If you don't understand what "enlightenment" is or don't understand there is no "ego" then you still have an "ego". A lot of us on the spiritual path tend to get a spiritual "ego", where our "ego" latches on to the identity of "enlightened" or "awakened". When in fact the "ego" is using that identify to keep itself separate and "alive". The reason so many people have a hard time understanding the "ego" is because they are trying to understand something which they believe to be real but is not real. The "ego" is an illusion.

When we have an identity that makes us different from "others", we experience ourselves as separate. When we experience ourselves as separate, that is the "ego". Now just because you believe yourself to be separate from "others" does not mean that you are. You reinforce the "ego" by believing in it and trying to fight it. You're literally fighting nothing. As Alan Watts said, "it's like trying to pick yourself up by your own bootstraps" or "it's like trying to bite your own teeth". Trying to kill the "ego" is an impossible task. You're just trying to kill the you that you believe yourself to be but that doesn't actually exist. Some of us need to try to kill the "ego", just so we can find out there is no "ego" to kill.

The "ego" believes itself to be separate, so the "ego" will do anything it can to prove that it is in fact separate. By following the "ego" you will never get anywhere, the "ego" will just find a new identity to latch onto. The "ego" will always leave you chasing and never let you find what you're seeking. People who are on a spiritual path or have experienced a spiritual awakening will usually go through something called "a dark night of the soul". This is simply when part of your identity vanishes. Most of us have a lot of identities but tend to focus on one or two specific identities, such as being a "mom" or a "bears fan". When a big part of your identity vanishes, it feels like death, in a way it is, a part of you "died" but it only "died" because you believed it was alive in the first place. The "ego" tells you that you are your identity and if your identity dies, you will die. That's not true, your identity is not who you are.

How do you tell what part of you is real, and what part of you is the "ego". Start by telling yourself that you are not alone and it's ok. Secondly the ego always needs or wants something, the real you doesn't need or want anything. The real you, has everything you need and want already, you simply can't see it because the "ego" lies and tells you that you don't. The "ego" says "I want" and "I need". The "ego" blames "others" and holds onto grievances and bitterness, the "ego" doesn't forgive or forget. The "ego" can't forgive, by forgiving the "ego" would vanish. It is only the "ego" that doesn't forgive. When you forgive, "others" start to become visible to you, which kills the idea that you are separate and alone, which kills the "ego".

Do you believe that you're the main character in your life? Do you believe that your life trumps all "other" life? When is the last time you truly did something for "another" person that wasn't about you? Even saying "I love you" to someone is about your "ego". It is the "ego" that need to make that known. The real you Loves without words, and you do it all the time without even being aware of it. Love is shown by actions, not by words. Mediation is one method of getting past the illusion of the "ego". Asking yourself "who am I" is another method of overcoming the "ego". Since the "ego" tries to convince you of who you are, by asking who you are, you can see past what the "ego" tells you that you are. The "ego" needs words to reinforce itself. The "ego" likes to talk about itself. People who have seen past the illusion of the "ego" a.k.a. "enlightened people" don't have a need to speak. They have seen that it is only the "ego" that speaks. 

You could try taking a vow of silence, for a short period of time, whatever you think you can do, don't try to do more than you think you can, you'll just get frustrated and more than likely give up. Start with just ten minutes or so, you'll find out rather quickly how much the "ego" has to say and just how much the "ego" won't shut the hell up, making everything about itself. You'll see just how hard it is to stay silent. The reason that monks practice silence and mediation is simply to show you that there is no "ego". Your true identity is the overall experience of your life and only you can know what that experience is, therefore you are the only one who can know your true identity.

How do you tell if someone has your best interest at heart of if their "ego" is running the show. The "ego" always wants or needs something. If someone wants or needs something from you, that is the "ego". If someone doesn't want or need anything from you, that is not coming from the "ego". The "ego" will always tell you what you "need" to do. The truth is "you need do nothing". I Love You and Peace Be With You!

Why Does God Allow Evil?

It is a well-known fact that animals raised in captivity, can't survive in the wild. Just do a web search about this topic and you'll find plenty of articles. Animals learn how to survive from watching their parents, same as humans. Animals learn by watching and then doing it themselves, watch any nature program on tv and you'll see plenty of examples of parents teaching their offspring how to survive. When an animal is raised in captivity, the animal doesn't learn how to survive. The animal has no idea how to find food, since food has always just magically appeared in front of the animal it's entire life. When the animal gets released to the wild, it will most likely just sit there waiting for food to magically appear until the animal dies from starvation. The animal has no concept of how to get its own food.

We humans are the same as animals, we are taught by our parents how to survive. If our parents don't do a great job teaching us how to survive, we may end up a hot mess. If our parents do a great job of teaching us how to survive, we usually thrive. The best parents, show their children how to do something and then let them try to do it themselves. The parent lets their child fail and keep failing until they get it right themselves. That is how every single one of us learns how to walk, we fall and fall and fall until eventually we just stop falling (for the most part) and just walk. It is only by doing something ourselves that we can learn how to do something. If a parent always does everything for their child and never lets their child do anything themselves, that child grows up to become an adult who has no idea how to function in this world. I'm sure we all know someone personally who is completely incapable of taking care of themselves and seems to be incompetent with everything they touch. It's not their fault, they aren't incompetent or dumb, they just didn't have a parent that taught them how to survive very well.

I'm willing to bet most everyone reading this has heard the proverb "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." We are more likely to help someone in need if they are already helping themselves. A hypothetical: there are two panhandlers on the street corner and one of them is standing there just holding a sign, and the other is playing an instrument, the majority of us will give money to the person playing the instrument. We all know that the person holding the sign isn't doing anything to improve their own situation, so why would we want to help someone who won't even help themselves? The person playing the instrument, is making an effort to improve their life and situation, we know that if we give money to that person, they are more likely to use it to further improve their own situation, therefore the money going to the person making an effort has more of an investing potential. The person doing nothing, has a very small chance of being a good financial investment on their future, they are more likely to waste the money and be back looking for more money tomorrow. 

If we have a problem in our lives, "other" people can only give us advice and show us examples on how to do things, but no one can solve our problems for us. You are the only person in existence who can solve your problems. Doctors don't heal you; they heal the symptoms of underlying issues and give you advice on how to heal yourself, most of us just ignore what the doctors tell us and remain sick. Someone gets cancer, doctor helps to heal the cancer but tells them to stop smoking and eat healthier, maybe exercise a little or the cancer will come back. The person does not quit smoking, they do not eat healthier or exercise and then are flabbergasted when the cancer comes back. The doctor can only tell you what to do, it's up to you to do it. Physical trainers teach you how to train to lose weight or get into better shape, you have to actually do the training, if you just sit there and watch them train, you'll never lose any weight or get into better shape. These were just a couple of examples, but this applies to all areas of our lives.

Any problem that you have is up to you to solve. "Others" can teach, show, guide, walk beside, and hold your hand. "Others" cannot reach inside of you and change you and even if they did, it wouldn't solve your problem anyways, your problems would just come right back since you didn't learn how to solve them yourself. If you have a problem with your mental health, find a mental health professional and they will give you the tools to heal your mental health, but they can't make it any better, you are the one doing that when you put in the work. If your physically sick, go to the doctor, ask the doctor his opinion about your situation and if there might be anything you could do to improve your health, any doctor would Love to have a patient who wants to listen to their expert advice instead of aunt Blahsay on Facebook. There is nothing you can't overcome if you put the work in. All putting the work in means is trying. Just do your best, that is all you can ever do. It'll get better, it'll be ok.

Why are so many of us waiting for God to solve our problems for us? Why do we think that God would want to constantly solve our problems for all of eternity? Wouldn't it make more sense if God left us alone to solve our own problems while God watches over us to keep us safe while we're learning. Similar to how parents make sure there's no sharp objects around when their child is learning how to walk. The parent stays close by to keep the child safe but allows the child to fall down and possibly get hurt, so the child may learn to pick themselves back up and try again. So why would we expect God to come in and do everything for us instead of letting us learn ourselves? We wouldn't be walking if we never did it ourselves.

"Why does God allow evil?" This question has been asked many times over by all sorts of people with all sorts of beliefs. The cold hard truth is, he allows everything to happen exactly as it does, and he doesn't interfere because that is the only way we will learn. If God was always stepping in to stop the evil of the world, we would be destined to live eternity coming close to evil and God constantly stopping it, an endless cycle of misery and suffering. Humans will learn peace, humans will learn Love, humans will learn acceptance, and humans will find heaven. This can only happen by humans first learning about war, hate, rejection, and hell. You can't have peace without first having war. God didn't abandon us, God isn't dead, God is simply watching us and keeping us safe, and he is doing such a good job of it that we don't even know he's there. God speaks to us and through us all. I Love You and Peace Be With You!

Pain

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Pain only exists due to resistance of pain. Stop resisting pain and it stops being pain and becomes healing. Pain is the bodies way of healing. People with a high tolerance for pain, simply don't fight the pain. The more you fight pain, the stronger it appears. This applies to all forms of pain, physical, mental, and emotional. Society says we have to be tough and that it's ok to cry, just not too much. Crying is the bodies of way releasing the pain.

 A lot of us won't cry when we feel the need to. Tears usually want to come at an inconvenient time, like when we're at work or in the middle of something. We all tell ourselves that we will have a good cry later when we are alone and in a safe space, the issue is, usually by the time we have the time to cry, we no longer feel like it, or at least don't feel it as deeply. Anytime we don't cry at the moment we feel the urge to cry, we suppress it and when we suppress the urge to cry, we are fighting the pain, instead of letting the healing take place.

Every single one of us has the ability and capability to heal ourselves. Our bodies are made to heal us, if we would stop fighting our bodies, our bodies would naturally heal. When you feel like crying, cry. When you feel pain, allow yourself to feel it. I Love You and Peace Be With You!

Money

Money isn't real. The state of being rich or poor has nothing to do with money. Studies have shown that "The 2010 study found that money could only boost happiness up to a point — about $75,000 in annual earnings. Beyond that figure, the researchers concluded, money had little impact." Too little money and you're stressed about needing money, too much money and you become overwhelmed. When you have enough money without having too much, that is when you are the happiest. So why does having the perfect amount of money bring the most happiness? It's because you no longer think about money. When you stop thinking about something, it vanishes. When you have the perfect amount of money, money stops existing in your mind.

Clearly there is physical money which is made from paper and metals. That physical money only represents the amount of gold a country has, which they keep hidden in bunkers such as Fort Knox. Before all the gold was rounded up by the governments and hoarded in bunkers and money was created. People traded gold for goods and services, a person would give someone a piece of gold and receive food in return for example. 

Before gold was used as form of payment, humans had the barter system in place. I give you some of this sheepskin and you give me some corn. The barter system wasn't about payments but simply about wanting to help someone who helped you. I'm so grateful for you sharing your corn with me, that I would Love to give you some of my sheepskins to show my gratitude. Somewhere along the way some humans got greedy and felt the need to start hoarding and stealing, that's when the payment system came into place. Humans could no longer be trusted.

Here in the year 2023, even physical money is slowly being phased out, soon it will just be numbers on computers. For all lot of us our phones represent money, we can use our phones to buy anything we want at any time. Everything is available to us with a tap of the finger. Let's say that in the future, after physical money is gone, there's an event that wipes out technology like in this article. Since all of our money will be digital and we would no longer have the ability to access our money, since there's no technology of any kind, we would all go broke overnight. The governments of the world would have to go back to the beginning and start over again, which would mean they would start printing money again.

Humans seem to believe that the number in a bank account equates to who they are as a human or where they rank in society. The bigger the number the better they are, the more powerful they are, the more likable they are, and the more confident they are. The smaller the number the worse off they are, the lazier they are, the dumber they are, the more unlikeable they are, and the weaker they are.

If the world economy crashes and the dollar no longer holds any value, everyone would become equal overnight. Without a number in the bank to tell us our worth, how will we ever know our value or where we rank according to "other" humans? We'd have to find new ways to form a hierarchy. The economic hierarchy is an illusion, it's just a method of keeping the greediest at the "top" and everyone else at the "bottom".

Financially rich people have said money doesn't buy you happiness, financially poor people believe that money would make them happy. According to the National Endowment for Financial Education, 70% of lottery winners go bankrupt within a few years. Obtaining more money often leads to careless spending and the desire to get more money, and the greed can be destructive to the lives of winners and their families. Financially poor people are convinced that having money would make them happy but time and time again when poor people come across money by luck or circumstance, it in fact does not make them happy.

Why do financially rich people keep getting richer while the financially poor keep getting poorer? It's because the financially rich don't need to think about money, so it just seems to appear and multiply. The financially poor are always thinking about money since they "need" it, so they never seem to be able to find money, it's always so elusive, no matter what they do, they can never seem to find it. Money isn't real, money is an illusion and when we chase an illusion, we are basically beating ourselves over the head. Financially rich people don't think about the illusion of money, so it just shows up, they know it's not real and it's just a concept, so they don't care.

When someone tells you they know an easy way you can make money fast and for just a little bit of your money to them, they are using you for your money. Can't you see that they themselves are chasing money. You're going to take advice on how to get more money from someone who also wants money? They're just trying to get your money; they don't care if you actually get any money as long as you give them yours. You know how they make money? By taking "others" money, they don't know other ways of getting money or they would be doing those ways instead of taking your money. Wouldn't it make more sense to get advice on how to get more money from someone who isn't trying to take yours? Someone who isn't trying to take your money, has no reason to persuade you of anything.

Humans are so caught up in the belief that money is real that we are suspicious of anyone who says they don't want it or don't care if they have it. We believe they must be crazy or have some ulterior motive. How could someone not have money and not want money? There must be something wrong with them. They simply see money for what it is, which is nothing.

I've never really cared about money, I never had any, I've been financially poor my entire life. Money has never done anything for me. Anytime I ever tried to get money or worried about money it brought me nothing but stress and frustration. When I'm not thinking about money or worrying about it, money just seems to come to me when I need it. The universe has provided for me my entire life and will continue to do so until it's time to leave this earthly form. I have renounced the concept of money, and yet money keeps coming to me. The more I try to get rid of it and give it away, the more appears. The universe provides for all of us, and it can use money to do so if it so chooses, the universe can use things that aren't real, simply because we believe them to be real. The universe uses everything real and unreal to provide for the wellbeing of life on this planet. Simply trust the universe. I Love You and Peace Be With You!