Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts

Friday, July 5, 2019

Greener Pastures and Silver Linings

the field Here's a thought experiment: Imagine a playing field, such as a soccer or football field. Now, at one end the playing field is a beautiful countryside with rainbows, beautiful flowers, amazing villages, children laughing, super-high-vibes--your happiest place. At the other end of the field are your worst nightmares--darkness, sadness, terror, injury, drama and dysfuntion. Now, go down onto the field. Which end are you closer to?

We all live somewhere on this dualistic spectrum--some days closer to the light end than the dark, and other days closer to the dark than the light. Within this dualistic mindset, is an aversion to the dark, and a longing for the light, and therein lies a trap of sorts.

By resisting the dark end of the spectrum, we expand it, and by longing for the light, we demonstrate how the light end of the spectrum is not what we are having, doing, or being. It is a sort of double jeopardy, where one end seems unattainable while the other seems to be continually biting at our heels. As Princess Leia of Star Wars said to the Imperial General, "The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

We have been acculturated to deny and run from the darkness within ourselves, and like so many societal "solutions" to undesirable states and conditions, the more intensely we resist and deny the darkness, the more solid it becomes.

"Greener Pastures" are always "over there" somewhere away from where and what we are being right now. That "Silver Lining" is always behind those dark clouds, seemingly out of reach, representing a day of divine blessing that never seems to come.

What is easily forgotten, or overlooked, is that the "dark end" of the field could not exist without the light end. And if we find ourselves at the dark end of the field, it means there must be an opposing light end. The other unacknowledged truth is that within each moment at the dark end there exists a gateway to the light. We have only to make that choice to go there.

By getting hung up about "how dark it all seems", we expand it, make it greater than we are. We lose hope of ever getting to the light, and tumble further and further into that Dark End Zone. We stop looking at the light end, throwing away personal power in favor of "fate" or a rescuing "savior" that will make it all go away.

News flash: We are all our own saviors, and we save ourselves by choosing and committing to that light end of the field.

When there is pain, we must acknowledge that relief co-exists with that pain. We choose relief and thus begin the hero's journey out of pain. When there is the loss of a loved one, we must acknowledge that connection, oneness and love is co-existing with that sense of loss. When there are financial setbacks and poverty, there can only be such things because prosperity and abundance exist within those conditions. Just as with any problem, the solution exists within it.

I was sent a very special video by a friend that got me going on this--a talk by Miranda MacPherson. She speaks about the practice of non-duality being a frontal assault on everything we've decided we cannot be. Everything convinces us that we are not good enough, strong enough, smart enough or conscious enough to experience joy, grace and unconditional love in our lives. By fully embracing the entire spectrum of dark to light, and truly accepting and allowing both ends as eligible for unconditional love, we rise to the awareness that all is good, all is joy, and all is love. There are no excuses for our perceived weaknesses, as those are a denial of our strength. There are no excuses for our stupidity, as that points directly at our innate intelligence--how we learn and grow to appreciate our choices.

universal As we become inclusive of ALL of who and what we are--the entire spectrum of densities from that carbonized black goo to the glorius effulgent light of infinite being, we gain a mastery over our choices. We gain a truly deep appreciation for everything we've gone through across the entire spectrum of experience, for it has brought us to this place of true understanding.

We become free to run and jump and roll around anywhere we please on that Field, in the full knowing that no matter where we go, we are loved, we are cherished, and we are infinitely free.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Giving Up Utopia: The Double Down

Buzz Lightyear Last issue I wrote about letting go of your personal Utopia. I got some flack about that statement, being accused of dashing any hope for living, and dealing an existential blow to dreams and goals.

Well, maybe that's a good thing. The whole idea of living the quantum life is to live in possibility. Yes, Utopias are a single possibility. The thing is, there are infinitely more possibilities than that. What looks like Utopia today, is not what it's going to look like five years from now. In fact, it is almost guaranteed it will never happen, ever, because there is a judgement about how life is not living up to this projected Utopia and a huge conclusion that happiness is only possible within that Utopia.

The Universe responds first to conclusions and judgements. "I can't be happy until these conditions are met." The Universe hears, "I have unhappiness with these conditions," and so continues to deliver that. This is because how you respond to not having certain Utopian conditions is the energy the Universe is referencing in its response.

A much more effective quantum living approach is "These are the current conditions of my life. Now... How does it get better? What else is possible?" Live in those questions for a while without bemoaning anything about those conditions. Instead, be curious about how things are changing for the better--meaning changing toward more and more possibility that in turn offers more and more choice, and therefore, more and more awareness. After a few days or weeks of this, things will start showing up you had no idea were possible--and, they're wonderful. You enlisted the quantum-ness of the Universe and it reflected back to you the energy of "how does it get better".

Long-Term Barbie A couple of years after the passing of my partner and founder of this company, Shay Arave, I started entertaining thoughts about being in a new long-term relationship. Nowadays, it's logical to jump on the various dating sites and see what pops up. One of my preferences is that the person be spiritually oriented, and preferably well versed in metaphysical matters.

This narrowed things down considerably, and I ended up on Spiritual Singles dot com. After six "dates", I started realizing I had concluded (as well as my dates) that the only "real" relationship was a long-term one, yet, how could I know what would be "long-term" without being with someone long term? It started feeling like a disengenuous paradox somehow. All these people looking for a "long term relationship", without realizing how judgemental that is.

What exactly is going to convince them this or that person is long-term material? This person is cool because they're a vegetarian, interested in astrology, blonde, attractive, has kids, but they're grown and out of the house, has a dog, doesn't like cats. Perfect. Well, what happens when these things change? What happens when they decide to start eating meat again? Decide they don't like astrology, lose their hair, gain 50 pounds and decide to get a cat? The point is, we have no idea at all what a long-term relationship looks like until we have a relationahip that has gone long term. All three of the ones I've had (one for 17 years) ended disastrously. I had to admit I had no clue.

quantum entanglement The quantum living approach? "This is my relationship life. How does it get better than that?" As I embraced living in this question, new possibilities almost immediately came to me--and some very intriguing ones I hadn't even considered. The choices began to mount, and my awareness increased, especially about my judgements, conclusions and preferences. I realized I didn't really want a "long-term" anything. I just wanted to share my life with someone who respects me and what I do and allows me complete freedom in the creation of my life. I'd be happy if that was for just 20 minutes or 20 years. I'd successfully deconstructed the "long term relationship" myth for myself.

So, by remaining in the question when you want to change something, feeling that energy of How does it get better? without judging or concluding anything, it just might bring you everything you've actually ever wanted and most likely beyond.

Monday, December 3, 2018

Resistance is Futile

resistance As I watch wind-driven snow billowing up into phantasms of white, enigmatic shapes, I sit considering my situation. Two weeks ago I made a life-shaking decision to return to the town of my birth. I was stalled out and rumaging around in a life I was not enjoying, except for the few minutes of respite as I lay in bed at night. So, it was time for a change!

I began an online fund-raising campaign to pay rent on house in Kansas, procure a vehicle that would (probably) make the trip, and funds to setup housekeeping, since I had no furniture, no kitchen equipment, or bed. Several folks pitched in, and with substantial help from a couple of family members, I was on my way.

This entire undertaking has moved along as if independent of my particular input, and only when I resisted a certain "way" it was unfolding did problems and apparent obstacles suddenly appear. I resisted losing my vehicle, and shortly it was gone; I resisted traveling "in the dead of winter", and shortly, there was 6 inches of snowfall; I resisted my online business tanking, and shortly, sales were non-existant. This led to deep doubts, anxieties and thousands of tiny uncertainties.

I began to come around to just letting go of control. Resistance, after all, is simply a control play. The universe "knows" what I have intended, and has set about delivering my desire. Who the hell am I to now question HOW it comes into physical reality? Not my monkeys, not my circus.

I guess the hard part is making the tiny, day-to-day choices that seem to ride up on me for approval or disapproval, and since they all have to do with "how" it's coming about, I wonder if my choices are inadvertantly delaying the outcome, or outright blocking it. This is despite going with what feels like my "gut", and despite outright muscle-testing, and heavy or light evaluations. The nagging monkey-mind concerns and niggling worries were taking the fun and adventure out of the adventure!

Every signpost and signal seems to be indicating "smooth sailing", and yet here I sit with a tight gut, fearing the worst, and just wishing it was over. Geez. Has life really beaten me down so much that I can't enjoy any part of realizing my desires and dreams? Maybe.

That iconic speech by John Goodman in "The Gambler" movie, where he lectures a gambling novice, "Do you have a problem, like some little girl? Waa-waa-waa! Or are you f'd-up temporarily because your temporily f'n stupid?" -- keeps playing in my head. It makes me laugh, yet at the same time it makes me feel like I've just leaped off a cliff and all the doubts and worries are suddenly cancelled by the reality of what I have just chosen. It's on, and it's gonna happen whether or not you're on board, buddy!

So, I believe there is a chance for some equanimity here. There is comfort in the truth that all is truly well, and it's okay to have what I desire. Resisting the hows and how-comes, is a hollow, futile exercise in personal control dramas. The key is to relax and enjoy the ride.

The quantum particles and waves have been set in motion and are merrily going about their duties, delivering the very thing I originally thought was such a great idea. Well, it IS a great idea, dammit! That's my reality, and I'm stickin' to it!

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Why Do Resolutions Fail?

vision board I'm tempted every year at this time to go on a rant about "New Year's Resolutions", and this year I think it's time to burst the bubble of control many of us believe we have that would make us believe we can "keep" those resolutions made.

One of my beloved mentors was ranting the other day about "Vision Boards". She noticed that every year the boards were pretty much the same--the pictures of the lavish mansion, the perfect body, the epic love affair, the wedding ring... And after eight years, none of her "visions" for the future had come true.

She believes the reason for this is that envisioning a "goal" or a desire is not about the simple exercise of imagination. It's, instead, all about ENERGY. So now, my friend creates an "Energy Board" to remind her of that fact.

All things are possible in this universe. ALL things are possible. This is first premise that must be embraced before any "visioning" can become a reality. We so often, right off the bat, disallow certain possibilities because we've chosen to make it so. "I'm never going to have a lot of money." "I'm always going to be fat." "I'm never going to find that perfect love", etc. etc. Now, all these conclusions are underlying all the desires to the contrary. So when you make a vision board, you immediately collide with the reality of your conclusions. And the visioning becomes wistful daydreaming that overlays what you know to be true about life--these things are just not possible.

These "realities" that you know to be true, are actually arbitrary choices that have been made and reinforced through experience. These "realities" become a point of view about life, and limit what is possible for you, this Infinite Being.

control First, it's not about "control". There is no such thing as "controlling your life". We believe we have control because we can make some predictions about what is going to happen based on specific actions we take: I'm controlling my life by getting up every day at 7AM, doing my workout, then driving to work. I'm in control. This is an illusion. What is happening here is that you are simply following along a certain pattern of energy that you chose in the past.

This is an important distinction. You choose a certain energy that then expresses itself as your life. You are not "controlling" anything. You are choosing energies, and what unfolds as a result of those choices is what you think you are controlling.

In a sense, choice could be considered control, but if anything it's the ONLY control you have, and it completely eclipses any abilities you may think you have to "make things happen." This is why there is "failure". Failure is a conflict one has with the energies they've chosen. I failed to be a success at my job because what it would take to succeed at that job goes against all the choices I've made to the contrary.

The beautiful thing about this conundrum is that you have a choice. You can choose your way out of a bad situation, bad feelings, a bad life. The key is to continue to choose what it is you truly desire, and this requires honest assessments. What makes me feel really light, excited, inspired and lifted up? Well, go that way!

"Following The Energy" is an ancient operating mode of shamans. They choose a desired energy they want to have in their life, and then follow it through time by continuing to choose it and doing actions that resonate with that energy. This is powerful because it breaks open newer and greater possibilities that they continue to choose and act within that energy.

Rather than make "resolutions", choose an energy you would really like to have and feel in your life, and then as the possibilities and opportunities present themselves, simply re-choose and act. It's the truest way to actualize any desire, and will ensure you have a fabulous 2017!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

So What's the Big Deal with Choice?

choices You hear it floating around in memes and discussion groups on the Internet--and you may have even said it yourself: "Happiness is a choice". I'm always needing to correct the oversimplified grammar by insisting: "Well, choice itself is not happiness. You choose to be happy, and then proceed from there." Much better.

I've heard many folks say, "Well, it's just not that simple. Sometimes making a choice to be happy is just not available, or so unrealistic that it's unobtainable." Yes, there's that. But I would like to remind these folks that the quantum universe within which we live and have our being, exists solely and simply because of choices.

Quantum physicists refer to the strange motions and transformations of quantum particle/waves as "making choices" as to which way they go upon observation, or what forms they take instantaneously over vast distances. There seems to be a sort of meta-intelligence driving it all, and scientists apply that awareness to quantum particle states. This is because quantum particles, or waves, instantly respond to human consciousness--as though that observing consciousness is being answered by another observing consciousness. So it's difficult to call what quantum particles and waves are doing anything other than intelligent.

Hence, the entire physical world is in a constant state of "choosing" what to be, where to be it, and how to get there. And we either consciously participate in that choosing, or not.

So a better retort to the happiness-is-a-choice meme, is, Why do there appear to be limited choices, or no choices at all? Ultimately, I believe it boils down to judgements and conclusions. Judgements and conclusions are what make up our belief systems--what we accept as true, and what we accept as false.

When we conclude, like the Bruce Hornsby song, "That's just the way it is," there's just no wiggle room for any choices. Hornsby, mercifully, tags that hook with, "But don't you believe it"-- opening the door for new possibilities and new choices.

choosing Choice creates new awarenesses, and these new awarenesses make possible more choices, until literally all the possibilities of life are available. So, the trick is to first, spot where you've made a conclusion about a situation, condition, or predicament, and just ask, What can change here? Sit with that question until you begin to get a download of quantum particles and waves drawn to you because of the question. These quantum intelligences are all about change, so when you start asking about it, they're right there with you all ready to give you that vital information.

Then, it's just a matter of choosing what to do next. The choice you make is usually the one that feels the lightest, or excites and inspires you. As you proceed, taking action from that choice, keep asking, What else can change here? Or, How does it get any better? Or, simply feel gratitude for the infinite possibilities of life; and soon, things will really begin to open up--all because you just asked a question.

In many cultures around this time of year, it is customary to renew family ties, exchange gifts and, in most cases, relive childhood issues with parents and siblings. What if it could be different? How could it be different? This year, try asking these questions. Who knows what wonderfulness could be in store?

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

As An Infinite Being, You Chose What?

infinite being One of the most basic realities about being a spiritual being is that we are infinite. We have all the power, all the awareness, all the knowledge we need to create anything we desire. In fact--a hard fact--is that we have created, in great detail, everything we are experiencing in our lives.

If you compare what your life would be like if you were to fully embrace your infiniteness with what you currently are experiencing, there is probably a "YUUGE" difference. Why is this?

For various reasons over the last few billion years, we have diminished our own power, and our own awareness, to the point where we are mere fractions of what we could be in this world. Why did we do that? Lots of reasons: We did it for someone else; we judged ourselves to be incorrect or wrong; we did it to fit in with a lesser or rule-abundant crowd; we decided being powerful and aware was unacceptable; etcetera, etcetera...

Gary Douglas, founder of Access Consciousness, has a good question that can help set you on the path to reclaiming your personal power and awareness: "Would an infinite being create that?"

"My money is always short at the end of the month" -- And an infinite being would create that for what reason?

infinite being "When I argue with my wife, I'm always wrong." -- And an infinite being would create that for what reason?

"I never have enough money to do what I want." -- well, you guessed it.

My old buddy, Bashar, has three questions that should blow your mind and help with this:

  1. I am feeling (experiencing, having) (fill in the blank)>
  2. I CHOSE this for myself.
  3. I CHOSE this for myself because it serves me.

Now this cuts right into the meat of how we, as infinite beings, have come to be functioning as we are in this physical world: CHOICE. We choose everything that happens to us, and it's not as simple as making a black or white, 1-2 choice. Sometimes we make big decisions (choices) about "the way things are" in order to hold those conditions in place to minimize our powers or make ourselves "right". We may choose pain and suffering to prove to ourselves we deserve it for all the times we decided we misused our power.

There are a multitude of reasons we make the choices we do, and the key is to become AWARE of what choices we've made. because when we usually make a choice, we promptly forget about it--especially negative ones. We call it "human nature." I call it "de-evolution".

restoring power By using Bashar's three sentences, we can unravel how it is we ended up here, and it allows us (or forces us) to ask the right question. "How or why is this serving me, and why the hell do I think it's a good thing?"

What we're going for here is AWARENESS. Awareness trumps past choices--it interrupts the energy flow created by the choice, and requires that a new choice be made. In this way, we can (if we so choose) clear out the present and the future of negative choices, replacing them with life-affirming, loving, adventurous ones.

"Choice awareness" is the primary driver of happiness and success. If you're always choosing the energies of your highest expression, infinite possibilities unfold, and power is restored.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Predicting and Choosing

routine I love those moments when "out of the blue" you get an insight on how you've been living your life--and they seem to come when I'm doing something mundane, like walking the dog, driving the car, or grocery shopping (must be some neurological circumstance of some sort)... Anyway, today a big existential question came crashing in: "Do I really know what's going to happen, or am I choosing it?"

Now, what I mean by "knowing what's going to happen", is a range of things--from daily routines where you pretty much know what's going to happen when you take a shower, or do the dishes--to knowing where the money is going to be coming from to pay the rent. In fact, all those circumstances that you just know are going to happen, and do, make up the matrix of our lives; and we don't often stop to see all the choices we make moment by moment to keep that matrix rolling along.

The quantum truth of the matter is that ANYTHING could happen AT ANY MOMENT, since quantum states exist in and out of time, which makes all possibilities possible at any time. I might think I know what's going to happen when I get in the shower, but then the water suddenly shuts off because the City workers turned off the water to the apartment while they repaired the broken main. Or, I think I know what's going to happen when I do the dishes, but then the garbage disposal jams...and I get all bent out of shape about it.

The point I'm attempting to make is that by habitually pre-determining our choices by making predictions about our own activities, shuts off the infinite other amazing possibilities that could happen. I think we construct a nice, predictable set of circumstances for ourselves that (we think) guarantees security for our reality (our money situation, our living quarters, or transportation, our relationships). But what if by doing this we unwittingly cut ourselves off from a huge potential of fantastically wonderful things that could happen to us?

actualization Perhaps a more "quantum" way to live would be to--instead of predicting what's going to happen--we just float in the question: "What amazing things await me at any moment?"

There have been manifestation experiments where it was shown that asking questions about something greater happening, is far superior to visualization techniques. In other words, jump out of the box of yourself and trust that the Universe has your back, and is going to give you what you desire. Your job is not to limit it to a specific set of familiar circumstances.

We have all been burned badly by the unpredictable, so the idea of asking open-ended questions about our desires feels like giving up our personal power, and control, and that is scary.

Gary Douglas, founder of Access Consciousness tells us to "live in 10 second increments"--where any choice can be changed within 10 seconds. Now that's freedom. You desire something? Get the energy of that thing--just the energy of what it feels like, not what it looks like--and keep choosing that, and follow the energy to the actualization of that desire.

68 seconds Abraham Hicks has a famous saying: "Hold a thought for just 17 seconds, and the Law of Attraction kicks in. Hold a thought for 68 seconds and things move; manifestation has begun."

So, rather than "predicting" everything that's happening to you (thus guaranteeing the same old-same old), start choosing your desires by asking questions like, "What would it take for ______ to show up?" "What energy, space and consciousness do I need to be for __________ to happen?"

After a little practice, things really will start moving directly toward your desires, and if you stay out of the habit of needing to have a predictable life, who knows what fantastic things could happen?

Sunday, October 25, 2015

The Choice Trap

choice Our most powerful tool, choice, is also our most abused and unused. This basic mechanism of consciousness is the direct demonstration to ourselves of our power and powerlessness. Are we choosing the best life? Are we choosing to destroy it? Are we not making choices because we're afraid? Are we afraid of any choices at all?

These are really deeply existential questions that get at the core of what we are: creators. We create our life only by using choice. In fact, making choices is something so natural, so automatic, we oftentimes don't realize that we are choosing the pain, discomforts and unwanted conditions we "live with" on the day-to-day. We tell ourselves, "We have no choice" about this, that and the other.

I like to call this the Choice Trap. We pretend we're not choosing and things get bad or worse, and then we suddenly realize we "have no choice" but to...(fill in the blank). My spiritual teacher once told me, "Choosing is an exercise in paying attention. Be aware of what you choose, because it's the only way you're going to get what you want." At the time I laughed at this seemingly obvious statement, but later I realized it was quite profound. There are so many "choices" we make in the form of choosing to "go along" with others, or choosing to procrastinate, or choosing to not do what you know needs to be done, or choosing not to think about your life. These are, often times, unconscious choices that become a sort of operating manual for life.

We can too easily choose to be a victim, or choose to look outside ourself for causes, or choose to be "right" as opposed to "correct". In fact, most of our psychology is constructed on the choices we've made to embrace or deny our values. What's the more important choice? Being right or being compassionate? Being truthful or secretive? All of these types of questions point out what we are choosing any given day.

A friend of mine visited last week on vacation, and said, "It's been so nice to be on vacation. I don't have to make any decisions--I just go wherever I want and do whatever I want." To him, making a decision was a big deal, and yet he was making choices the entire time of his vacation as to where to go and what to do. He didn't think of these kinds of choices as being significant. And yet, these are the kinds of decisions that get us from Point A to Point B every day, and are the key to living the highest and best life we can imagine.

follow energy There are a couple of "choosing hacks" I like to use to keep me mindful of the choices I'm making moment to moment. One is, "light or heavy". Say you've narrowed your choices down to two. Ask the question, "is this light or heavy"? One of the choices will seem lighter than the other one, or if they both seem heavy, there is another unacknowledged possibility you aren't considering. If they are both feeling light, well, then, have fun! Always favor lightness. It will serve as your North Star for navigating through your day.

The second choosing hack is "follow the energy". This is similar to favoring lightness, but it's much more specific. Get the idea of something you want to have. Feel the energy of that as though you have it. Now, start choosing the things to do in your day or week that make you feel that same energy. Before too long, you will have that thing you originally wanted, and usually more. It's the "act as if" drill applied to energies.

So, carefully observe every time you make a decision, no matter how small or inconsequential. You'll begin to see where you've actually decided to have the life you have. And once that awareness dawns, you can change it by using your most powerful tool: Choice.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Make Life a Meditation

awakening I somewhat cynically used to say in my youth that unconscious meditation--the kind we all do when we are obediently serving The Matrix--is the single most untenable problem in human history.

I'll agree with that now in my mature years with the exception that "obediently serving The Matrix" is not "untenable". Why? Because it's a matter of choice. It's one thing to point out how we are all victims of our own unconscious behaviors (which is a victim statement in and of itself), it's entirely another to transcend that victim mentality with the freedom of choice.

I call the obedience to The Matrix hypnotic compliance. And meditation is the "red pill" available to you anytime to wake up from the trance.

I go further down the rabbit hole by claiming that the whole conscious-subconscious model of human psychology is a myth. We say that a person is "driven by subconscious motivations" when they misbehave or fall victim to depression, criminal activity or insanity. No. Why? Because if it were truly subconscious we wouldn't be conscious of it, and once conscious of it, it is no longer subconscious. I know, I know...sounds like semantics, but is it really?

Isn't it more accurate to say that a person chooses to give up their own power or self-determinism and that's what we're calling "subconscious motivations"? We choose to shut off our awareness of some things and then classify it as the "subconscious", which has a definition that includes "beyond our control". This is a myth. At some point there was a choice. Of course, we can also forget what we chose, but that's forgetting something on purpose in order to dodge responsibility for our actions.

There's a type of hiding in forgetfulness of our choices that got somehow mixed up with victim advocacy. When a person is a victim, others with control issues advocate for them, saying, "This person is not in control of their actions. They need me to help them live." This is all a master-slave crock of shit.

I got into a debate with a Caucasian friend of mine on Facebook who was bemoaning the fact that she felt she was--somewhere down deep inside--a racist. Despite the fact that her grandmother was black and her mother was brown, she saw something in herself that she labeled as "racist"--a kind of resistence or unwillingness to empathize with another person of a different skin color.

skin color I said that it was a matter of choice, whether or not to be racist. And if there were racist thoughts and feelings coming up for her, that she could practice mindfulness meditation--a type of meditation that allows undesirable thoughts and feelings to simply float on by like clouds in the sky, and from this, infinite options show up to choose something different.

Well, this got her dander up. "I love meditation, but I find it incomplete as a means to address issues of social justice. There's more to do. And ingrained subconscious beliefs are not so easy to release... I worry about hiding behind spiritual concepts." Then don't hide. These "spiritual concepts" you speak of are what make the world go 'round. The thoughts we create that lead to the feelings and actions we do out there in the "real world" are all driven by our own choices. Failure to choose is at the heart of complacency and victimhood.

This discussion illustrated for me, once again, what I refer to as the "Quantum Reality Gap", which I've written about before. It's the perceived difference between what we desire to see in the world and what we think we see in the world. I'm saying that there really is no difference. It's just that everything is happening just as you've chosen (or not chosen) it to be. There's just time in there to make you doubt yourself.

Life can be a living meditation every moment by simply paying attention to your thoughts and words, allowing them to flow, and choosing something different when you want to change things. There is no powerful "subconscious" that is causing all the ills in your life--that's victim behavior. Choice is more powerful. Choose to be happy. Choose to be healthy. Choose to be the very best of who you are.