I’ve been craving simplicity.

Not just because it’s cool, or because I’m ready to travel barefoot across the world, but simply…because it feels good.

I walk through my house and find boxes that I’ve not opened in 2 moves.

I find bins I haven’t checked in years.

Every wall has a piece of furniture.

Every flat space something placed on top.

Why do I need all of this?

I don’t use more than 10-25% of it, but keep telling myself that the rest will come in handy later.

For a while, it was a scarcity thing, but finances are fine now and I don’t need any of it.

I don’t even mow my own lawn anymore, so why would I need 2 week wackers?

I’ve got shelves and shelves full of books I’ve never read, nor do I intend to read them.

I’ve got VHS tapes, CD’s, and DVD’s that I don’t use.

What do you do with all this stuff?

I’ve decided to go digital with eveyrthing that I can (CD’s, tapes, DVD’s). That helps.

But what about everything else? It takes my energy…it saps me of concentration. So instead of just making piles of stuff I don’t use so that I can sell or give it away, I’ve just decided to put it on the curb and let people grab it.

Yeah, I throw stuff away too, and I don’t feel bad about it. The energy I save in doing so frees me to make more for the world than I’m throwing away.

A clutter free house is a clutter free mind…I know it sounds cliche, but it’s the truth.

I want peace. I want focus. I want productivity.

I’ll get rid of everything I have to in order to achieve that.

Finding Balance

I learned a valuable lesson recently, and it’s something that could have saved me a lot of time and frustration had I learned it years ago.

Alas, there’s always room for growth, and this is one of those steps for me.

I’m a driven guy, in fact, some would say too much so.

I don’t know when to let up, and I have a hard time admitting that.

I also have an extremely spiritual side that I often neglect. It works in phases…sometimes I’m all spirit and no business, while others I’m so busy thinking about business growth that I neglect my spirit.

Today, I found out how to fix that, and it all comes down to balance.

I realized that there’s a duality that exists within all of us. Each of us has the spirit and the strength. Each is as strong as the other, and requires just as much attention.

The problem is that many of us, like I do, become unbalanced and try to force the issue. It’s like trying to fire a bullet into a bucket of water. It hits like a block of steel. But if you just drop the bullet, then it breaches without any resistance.

Life is Unbalanced

Life is like that. Unbalanced, our efforts, no matter how great or how valiant, are as worthless as a man trying to cut through stone with a blade of grass. It’s impossible.

However, if you treat both sides of your nature equally, you become like a chisel, able to puncture stone with ease.

That balance is tough to achieve, but you can feel when it isn’t in place. It’s like trying to balance a scale without a counterweight…it isn’t possible. But…if you stand with a foot on both sides of the scale, then you have something to stand on.

Find that Place

Try to find that place in your life where you are in harmony with your own nature. Try to remain present and thoughtful at all times. If something doesn’t feel right…if you feel like you’re drilling rock instead of soil, then take a step back and re-evaluate.

In my case, the business is just a means to an end. It’s a way to achieve many of the spiritual ends that I desire. However, when I lose sight of those ends, and focus on the means, then I get off course and lose my balance.

Today, I found it once more, but every day is an effort in discipline. You’ll never have it perfect, but if you practice, you will get close. It’s not being perfect that’s important anyway, it’s knowing when you aren’t.

Stop Being So Religious
What
Do sad people have in
Common?

It seems
They have all built a shrine
To the past
And often go there
And do a strange wail and
Worship.

What is the beginning of
Happiness?
It is to stop being
So religious
Like That.

From: “The Gift” – versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

When I was a teenager, I used to spend hours in my room doing nothing but listening to music.

I’d slip on a pair of headphones, and spend the rest of the evening thinking about the world…what it meant, who I am, and where I belong. I’d think about my past, my present, and my future.

Sometimes I’d get excited…sometimes I’d sob.

Music touched me in a way that nothing else could, and it was some of the best “me time,” I’ve ever spent.

The World Barges In

And then something happened…

I got caught up in trying to earn a living.

I got caught up trying to be there for my friends and family.

I got caught up trying to plan a perfect future.

Soon, I’m not spending any more time in the corner of my room with the headphones on, and I’m losing touch with the deeper aspects of life.

Don’t Forget

Death catches us all, and he who is least prepared is most distressed when it comes.

I’m not trying to bring you down, but the truth is…we only have a finite time to spend in this existence…why not make it count?

Making money is great. Being a great husband, wife, father, or mother is great. But don’t forget the rest. Don’t forget that spiritual part of you that is always the last to be fed and the first to be neglected.

I forgot, and it took a long time before I realized why I was unhappy. So you know what I did to fix it?

I put on a pair of headphones.

Image Credit

There are some that teach us to feel guilty for being born in this skin. Others will have you believe we are less than perfect. All of that may be true, but I refuse to believe it.

We’ve been given a gift of seeing what it is truly like to live. We struggle, sometimes alone and sometimes together. We suffer, we laugh, we cry…we love. We spend our lives hoping, searching, and sacrificing our lives for love. We all feel deeply tied to each other, even though we try to forget.
Sometimes the suffering is too much and we quietly return to our shells…hoping that our luck will change. We often feel alone, but we know that we are not. Somewhere, someplace, there is a being or a spirit that lives within us.

We should not feel guilty, for we are born to be exactly as we are. Perfectly formed beings filled with the intention of our creator. Whether or not you believe in a god is irrelevant. We are the very act of a nature so great and powerful that we do not understand.

Universes bent to the will of fate…by the hand of nature herself, in order for this miracle of life to take place. By chance or by fate, it has happened and the likelihood of it happening anywhere else or at any other time is virtually nonexistent.

Celebrate who you are, even if your times are dire. Someday we will all realize that we are in this together. Someday the consciousness of man will shift further toward the divine and when we all wake up what a glorious day that will be.

Don’t feel guilty in your own skin, be thankful for the chance to shine. Be grateful that you’ve been able to see what it was like to suffer, for now you understand joy. Be thankful for war, for now you know peace.

In the end, whether our souls move on our perish forever, our memories will be imprinted on the very space we inhabit. We will remain forever on the fabric of time.

Although future generations may not know us, the universe will forever keep us in her memory. That my friends, is why we do matter. Just as we learn from the universe, the universe learns from us. Let us cherish that.

Image by Rosemary

I’ve written often on the topic of dreams and returning to childhood innocence, but I have been feeling like I haven’t really said everything I needed to say. Then recently, when I found a new blog called The Illumined Mind, I read a post that really touched on some things I have been thinking lately.

In his post, the author talks about some things in our lives that hold us back from really achieving the ability to walk the path of our own Dharma, such as everyday tastks, addiction, security, ego, and desire. I couldn’t agree more with this thesis. It is so easy to get caught up in the trap of being satisfied, rather than fulfilled that we allow ourselves to be tricked into thinking we are ok. We create this hole inside of our souls that grows deeper every day that we ignore it, until it is so large that we are consumed by the realization that we are not only unhappy, but we are miserable.

We have to remember that being happy isn’t always a comfortable process and it rarely happens easily. There are lures and traps all over the world that try to bind us to unhappiness. We get caught in the trap of law, of morality, of social normalcy, and of what is commonly accepted. I’m going to say this once:

No One Owns You

You are not tied to any action by more than the strings of your mind that tell you it is wrong or uncomfortable to do anything otherwise. It is very difficult to swim upstream, but it is easy to gaze downstream and see where that path leads.

The law doesn’t own you, your country doesn’t own you, your job doesn’t own you, and your family do not own you. There is no you to be owned, there is simply what must be done and what is being done. When you merge the action of what is done and what must be done, then you will find that you are on the path…you are living your Dharma. Do not be fooled into thinking that you are different or irrational, you are more than that because you do not fear what others will think or say about you.

Become what you know you must become, there is no other way to happiness and there is no other way to enlightenment.

Living Your Dreams

In the last two parts of the series, I talked about eyeing the world with innocence, and keeping hope alive. In the final installment of this series, I’d like to talk about keeping your dreams alive. Now, nowhere in the manual of life does it have to say that you have to reach for the stars. However, I’m betting that when you were a child you had a great many dreams about what you expected out of life. Now if you compare the dreams of your childhood or teenage years and with your life now, I am betting that the two are a little out of sync. This doesn’t mean you’ve failed or that you’ve given up, but it does mean that one of two things happened:

1. Your dreams have changed     …or
2. You lost them somewhere along the way.

If your dreams have changed, then there is nothing wrong with re-evaluating what you want out of life. The key is to make sure you don’t forget that part of the process. If you dreamed about being a therapist and later thought you’d rather travel the world and be a missionary, then it is important to note that change in philosophy. I highly suggest keeping a journal for things like this. I keep a notebook within arms reach at all times, and in this notebook I chronicle everything I want to be. I write down reminders for action as well as reminders of who I was and what I am.

I’m not suggesting we strive to achieve meaningless physical goods, but that you simply keep track of who you are. It is so easy to get caught up in the grind and struggle of everyday life that sometimes we forget where we were headed. This is especially important when it comes to spirituality. If I want to meditate or keep a certain mindset it can be very difficult without a reminder at times. What I’m trying to say is that it is easy to get off track and eventually we get caught in the current and lose ourselves in the process. Rather than letting this happen to you, spend some time figuring out what makes you happy and what kind of life you’d like to live. If you aren’t actively living, then you are going to get pushed in a direction you may not want to go.

Now, if you don’t fall into category one and simply lost your dreams in the process then it is important that you recover them immediately. Whether they were forced out of you by working a 9-5, you gave up on them, or you simply pushed them into your subconscious you need to get back to the dreaming self you were as a child. The most recognizable symptom I notice when it comes to someone leaving their dreams behind is that they have also lost their imagination. Maybe you feel guilty going against the grain, or maybe you just haven’t spent time relaxing and letting your imagination go wild…but I am betting that you could use the relief gained from going on an imagination trip.

I really enjoy mind mapping for something like this, although a blank sheet of paper will do just as well. Start by writing down what sort of things you would like to have in your life on a daily basis. Maybe its more yoga, maybe learning a musical instrument, or maybe learning another language. Anything is possible. I know this sounds like a typical self-help exercise, but bear with me just a moment.

I’m confident that if you just engage your imagination as often as you can, you will find yourself seeing things in a different way. You will start to release yourself from the bonds that keep you down and you will start dreaming again. This dreaming is what will allow you to focus on the path that leads you to your dharma and to start walking it with confidence. Everyone’s journey is unique…we have to drive our own train to freedom!

Dreaming allows you to feel ok going against the grain. Dreaming keeps you young at heart and your imagination on fire! Dreaming teaches you that this world is not what it seems, its up to you to get there!

So in the end, I’m asking you to look beyond the ignorance and try to see the world for what it really is…a beautiful and unlimited masterpiece! Find hope in your world and pass it around to those that need it most. And don’t forget to bring that little child inside when you venture throughout the world. He/She wants to stroll right along side you and help you keep the innocence alive.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this series as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. I’m looking forward to your comments and hope you share your journey with me as much as I have mine with you. Until next time…

Padma

A World Full of Hope

Image by Evelyn Arthur Richman

In Part 1 of this series, I wrote about seeing the world for what it truly is, which is full of magic and wonder. In this part, I’d like to move on to the topic of hope. I believe that there is far too little hope remaining in the world and for the world. Our culture, particularly in the West, has become one of constant crisis and criticism. The media reminds me of Chicken Little, always claiming that “they sky is falling.” Less informed people follow this lead and the cycle perpetuates itself into a frenzy of chaos and fearmongering.

What I believe is necessary, now more than ever, is for those of us that refuse to fall prey to this trap to bring an era of hope to the world. When we were children, we had hopes and dreams to achieve amazing things. We were so full of hope that our imagination was the only barrier to what we would be able to accomplish. Look into a child’s eyes and you can see this hope as a glimmer of innocence. Lucky for them, they don’t know what they don’t know and as long as the innocence remains they continue to have stars in their eyes.

As we grow older, we begin to lose this hope. I often find myself getting down and depressed when confronted with this barrage of negative information. It is very difficult to keep hope alive at times, but I believe it is essential that we do so.

If we truly want to live a spiritually enlightened path, then we must find a way to not only adopt a life of hope for ourselves, but also act as a beacon of hope for others.

Here are some suggestions:

1. When you see someone acting like chicken little, offer them an alternative viewpoint of hope. Slow them down and let them know that they have the ability to be positive about any situation.
2. Practice spreading hope through your actions. Work hard to be positive throughout the day and when you find yourself being down or negative, find something to be thankful for to lift your spirits.
3. Spread hope wherever you go by being aware of the good things happening in the world and making sure others know about them.
4. Become an ambassador of hope by focusing your mediation on sending positive energy into the world and absorbing the negative energy around you. When you are in public, try and radiate positive energy to impact those around you. People love to be around positive energy and as you perfect this practice you will most likely find people flocking to you in order to feed off of your energy.

The world is craving direction and needs leaders that can offer a future of hope. Individually, we might not be enough, but together we certainly can make a difference. Eventually, a leader will step up and I hope it is someone like yourself that is consciously living your dharma.

When we were children, we were not afraid of much. Maybe the dark or a bully down the street frightened us, but for the most part the only things we really thought about were wondering how things are, our hopes, and our dreams.

The wonders of the universe:

Although I remember a little bit of my own youth, I am best reminded of it when talking to my children. As little ones, we didn’t understand how anything worked and so we were fascinated by it. There was a certain magic to the world that could only be seen through a child’s eyes. The clouds were amazing, insects were spectacular, and things such as the ocean just blew us away.

My son often asks me how things work and as he tries to make sense of the world, I get urges not to give him a normal answer. There have been times where I have done this and felt pangs of regret as I realized that each question he asks me takes him closer to losing the magic that gives him the fire in his eyes. Children are able to see and hear things that adults are not able to and I am convince it is because their innocence allows them to be open to all perception, whereas our ignorance closes many of its doors.

The reason I bring this up is that as we age and mature, we start to find out how thing work and through our analysis we turn the magnificent magical world into the scientifical ordinary universe. In our quests to understand, we wind up thinking we know too much and forgetting about the magic behind the curtain that drives this wonderful existence.

It is my goal, as I progress down this path of living my dharma, to give up much of that analytical mindset that keeps me from the magic and try to return to the childlike innocence that made the world so wonderful in the first place. It is far too easy to get caught up trying to analyze why things are rather than just appreciate the beauty in everything I see. There is magic in everything around us if we only take the time to look. I’ve often thought that in far less technologically advance times that true magic may have existed because people might have been just innocent to. Maybe it still does exist for those willing to look for and accept it?

Were a Buddha to cross your path today and show you how he could alter the world or your perceptions, would you even be aware enough to see him try?

I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my favorite poets:

To see a World in a grain of sand,
And Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

-William Blake

I’ve been reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and besides being extremely impressed wih the quality of the writing itself, I am fascinated with the character of Howard Roark. If you haven’t read the book (I highly recommend it), Howard Roark is a man defined by his integrity. In this instance, integrity is defined as the standing by one’s beliefs regardless of the consequences. In the book, Roark’s integrity costs him his career, his love, and his friends but earns him the respect of friends and enemies in the process.

It seems to me, that there is far to little of this in our world. Although I cannot brag about my flawless integrity, I really try to stand by my beliefs the best that I can. Too many people live without belief so much as that they are willing to accept every little nudge towards a belief made for them. The media defines beliefs in such a way that I cannot tell where the truth is anymore and most people don’t know who to trust. We feed lies to ourselves and others in such a selfish way that it is hard not to believe we haven’t corrupted our souls.

Sometimes when I ponder the future of humanity and our current course, it looks like a trainwreck waiting to happen. It almost feels like we are all walking around with question marks over our heads pretending that we know what is going on but really feeling like a mess.

It is my belief that a lack of integrity has left humankind open to ignorance and as a result is lost. It is difficult to risk our lives for out beliefs, but we have to remember that we are all on the road towards death regardless, and if we keep our heads in the sand or convince ourselves otherwise the end will not be as peaceful as we like to imagine.

Again, I’m not trying to preach because I am not perfect at all, but the momentum of one person can carry an entire era.  We need more people to fight against the current and to help redirect it. Howard Roark believed in following his instinct and his path at great costs. I believe in truth, hope, and passion. What do you believe in?