Monday, April 21, 2008

So what is your belief?

The other day someone asked me what my religious beliefs are.  My reply was essentially that I do not believe in "A" religion.  The person asked if I believe in God, to which I replied, "if you mean an old white man in a robe floating around the heavens?....No!"  I went on to explain that I like the analogy that Gary Schwartz uses: G.O.D., meaning Guiding-Organizing-Designing intelligence......and then I add Energy.  I continued that each of us is part of that Intelligence and energy......Blasphemy, some would call that!!  I would tell them to get over themselves.

So the conversation continued with the question "Were you raised in a particular religion?".  I was raised in the Lutheran church, not sure which synod......but I do remember sitting in church listening to the sermon at about the age of six thinking, "this is not what it's all about".....and was not judgmental about it, it was more just an observation on my part.  

I think there is some good to be taken from most religions, if not all.......but it goes back to perspective and context.  In my opnion, most western religions, especially Christian religions are exclusionary and fear based, which just does not feel good to me.  I don't believe that there is one way.......as a matter of fact one of the earliest intuitive messages that I got was "if anyone says their way is the only way.....turn and go the other way".  That rubs some dear friends of mine the wrong way.......as does when I say that nobody needs to be saved, there is no such thing as evil or dark forces and Satan is a figment of someones imagination.

I don't actively promote my beliefs, I was asked, so I explained what they are.  My perspective is this;  We are extensions of Source Energy, G.O.D., the Universe, all that is......and we came into the physical plane to experience what we knew as non-physical energy.  There is a big difference between knowing something and actually experiencing it, right?.  So we came into this life time as we have other life times, to learn / remember who we are and what we are truly capable of.  We are creators and the physical plane provides us the opportunity to experience what our true capabilities are.  You can be, do or have anything you decide!!!

But why do bad things happen to people?  Well, I suppose it's bad if your coming from a perspective that there are random acts or was it the "devil that made it happen?".   Perceived "bad" things happen for purpose.......the meaning of which we give to them.  If we want to be victims, we can feel bad that we are not in complete control of our experience and resign ourselves to the fact that Stuff just happens we don't control.......ugh!!  Have fun with that!  Or if we want to be the powerful creators that we are, we view "Bad" things as things that did not work for us, gain contrast from the experience and re-create ourselves anew.  And if we are really keen, we step back from the experience and reflect on what was going on with our feelings and thoughts, beliefs, what perspective and meaning we were giving to prior experiences to see what we did not tune into in order to change the "bad" thing to a "Good" thing.

If we are extensions of G.O.D. as I believe we are, then we have access to infinite intelligence, wisdom, creativity......well every bit of information that ever was and ever will be.  The catch is that we have to choose to have access to it......and it's always there, we just don't listen as often as we should.  Why?, because we don't believe that is the case.  Our belief system is based on separatism from ourselves and definitely from G.O.D.  We were born sinners after all!!!

The funny thing to me is that Jesus knew this, it's what his teaching was all about!!!  Of course, the gospels that demonstrate this were left out of the bible.  Why?  Who knows, the bible was written 1600 years ago.......maybe the council of pagan scholars put together by Emperor Constantine didn't "get" those gospels, maybe they thought they were gibberish, or maybe they thought people couldn't understand it or it was too enlightening...........who cares?  What I have read of them, I can feel in my heart as truth....."Know thyself" was central to Jesus' message, He even went as so far as to teach not depending on him, for that would prevent you from truly knowing yourself.......the divinity within each of us..........He knew that when asked "teach us the way" meant for him to guide the disciples to knowing themselves as no different than he was.  He understood that having others be so dependent on him for salvation was a dis-service to them, something that kept them from truly knowing themselves. 

Don't just believe me, check it out yourself.....or not, but to the nay sayers and fundamentalists, absence of proof is not proof of absence.......Go within to feel what is truth.....invest in knowing, and if your knowing is in organized religion, I honor that as I hope that you honor my knowing!!!   Be Well!!!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Random Events....Are there really Random Events?

Nope!!!  None, Nada, Zip......take random right out of your vocabulary.....or not, it's your choice.  What about Fate?.......Nope!!!  Luck?  Nope!!!   Of course that is just my opinion......actually it's just my knowing........and how do I know?  Because I can feel it in my heart.

So check it out, ask yourself "Do Random events actually exist?" and sit with that question and get into the feeling you have in your heart.  If your not getting a distinct feeling about the question.......ask it this way, "Do random events work for me?"  In other words, do random events serve me?  Do they benefit me?........if your still not getting anything, ask it this way, "Do random events not work for me?"   Ask the question with the intention of determining if random events or fate serve you in your purpose.

I know they do not exist because for me they clearly do not work for me in knowing my True Self.  In other words, if I believed in random events, then my complete responsibility for my experience does not exist.  Complete is the key word in that last sentence.  Your responsibility is not a part time gig, on at times and off at times....It's a full time 24/7 thing.....and Thank God for that!!!  But guess what?  Most people operate with a belief that fate and randomness is what the world is about.......some actually believe that their existence is random!!!  Ouch!!  How dis-empowering is that?

Think about a person that you met in what seemed at the time as a very unlikely circumstance, or as a completely random event, but they have become very significant to you through your relationship with them.   You connected with them through vibrational resonance, it wasn't random or fate......you were both in vibrational alignment with the other.  And everything in your experience is in your experience because of this alignment, no exception.....everything you perceive as good and everything you perceive as bad.....EVERYTHING!!!

Now, think about that last sentence, the key words being perceive, good and bad.   What if you could change your idea of "good or bad", and "right and wrong"......to one of "it's working".....for instance, let's say you are on your way to meet a friend for lunch, and you get stuck in traffic and you immediately jump to thinking, damn!! I'm going to be late!!.....or essentially your mind is coming from a context in which traffic jams are not good because you have to be somewhere and the traffic is causing you to be late.   What if you changed your perspective about traffic jams to one of "the universe is working for me, I don't know the purpose yet, but I know this traffic jam is serving me"?   Well, what this alternative perspective does is allow for the infinite possibilities that exist to line up with your vibe, which is one of allowing which can only be good........ 

So, maybe traffic clears up, your delayed all of 5 minutes and when you get to the restaurant your friend is not there yet so you sit in the waiting area.  And the person sitting next to you strikes up a conversation and you end up becoming business partners in a venture that you have always dreamed of, or any number of infinite other possibilities that come from a "Why Not?" perspective.

Or, So traffic clears up, your delayed 5 minutes, but it seemed like eternity in the pissed off mood it put you in, and in your rush to get to the restaurant on time (that your friend is late getting to anyway) you clip a car rushing into the turn lane, the police are called to take a report, and so you call your friend to let them know, and you reschedule for another day, or any number of limited possibilities that will come from a "Why me?" perspective. 

Yeah!!!  Be picky about your thoughts.......they are always working........so you might as well make them work for you........or they will seemingly work against you........and its all about perspective and context........but then again, some people like being second fiddle and to each their own, Ha!!  Imagine that!!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

What exactly are Beliefs?

I have read quite a bit about Beliefs, but the best analogy that I have seen is that Beliefs are like a program such as "Power Point" or "Excel" or "Word" on your computer.  If you want to make a presentation to a group of people you might use "Power Point" to create a slide deck in order to present information in a particular context.  Same for your life experience......Your perspective of an experience is derived from the beliefs you hold........so you process all the data of an incident or interaction with another person.......but the context in which you process the bits of information is determined by your beliefs.......Some data you completely miss because it is not congruent with your beliefs.

So your beliefs are housed in your minds......yep, all of them.  The conscious and the subconscious minds......or your consciousness......which is kind of analogous to an operating system like Windows, or the Apple OS which I am partial to........anyway, could there be another component to the belief system that is not always allowed to be in play?  I think so, and I think it's the heart........The heart knows truth, your truth.....with a clear mind and true heart, you access implicate order that David Bohm talks about(more on that later).  And how does your heart know truth?...... it knows by feeling.......and what is feeling?  It's thoughts and emotions combined that create the feeling.  

Feelings are the perception at the cellular level of the environment created by your thoughts and emotions.........from utter well being to utter despair.......the two main emotions out of which all other emotions are derived......Love and Fear (False Evidence Appearing Real). Love is not better than Fear, its just different......rather than looking at them as good or bad.......look at them in the context of "working for you" or "not working for you".

Love is where growth and expansion come from.  Fear is where protection and contraction reside.  Which works best for you....well that depends on the situation and where you are....Duh!!! kind of a silly question!!!!!  I'll go with Love, but what is Love?  You are Love, the essence of who you, me and every other living thing is.....is love.

So how do your beliefs impact your knowing Love, or experiencing Love, or fearing Love?  How many people do you know that are afraid of Love......afraid that if they Love, they are bound to be hurt or have the heart broken?  Have you been afraid of having your heart broken?  I have and as you know, that was no fun at all........so why go there, why even entertain the possibility that Love which is so nourishing and creative could be painful?

Well, could it be that the illusion of separateness and materialism caused it?  Ah, Yeah!!  So how do we overcome the illusions we live in?  See them for what they are for, Live with them, not in them........they provide you with the contrast that allows you to fully understand what you are capable of.......which of course is anything!!!!  It's your choice, is life happening to you or through you?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Newtonian or Quantum.....Which are you operating in?

Do you believe that we live in a Universe that exists independently of us human beings, or do you believe that we live in a participatory Universe where consciousness is important and creative?  If all sentient beings were removed from the Universe, would it actually exist?  Kind of like the proverbial question, if a tree falls in a forest where nobody is, does it make a noise?  Noise is nothing more than a wave being perceived by our sense of hearing, and in that context, No, the tree falling did not make a noise.........but can the same be actually true for the Universe?

Well, I guess it comes down to what you believe!!  Again, imagine that!!  Do you believe that we are separate from everything (Newtonian) or that we are all connected (Quantum)?  I'm down with us and everything for that matter being connected, but I'm also working daily at re-writing my conditioned beliefs that we are all separate.  Think about how much of our experience, schooling, religions, society and our daily activities teach us that we are separate.   Just look at the way we treat each other, we are steeped in separatism.

Do you know that the brain does not have the ability to distinguish time.  In other words, the brain cannot discern between something it is actually perceiving through sight, or something you are imagining......the same parts of the brain are processing what you are seeing and what you are imagining.  So what does that mean to you?  Well, if the brain cannot distinguish time, then you can go into experiences of the past via your imagination, and change your perception of them.  

Let's say that you had a disagreement with a friend.  And the disagreement was in your perception so egregious that you stopped talking to this friend.  So you no longer have this friend in your experience and at times you miss them, but the disagreement was so severe that you just can't interact with this old friend, and rightly so, they were just awful in their behavior during the disagreement!!!  

Now look at the bold words from above.....the disagreement was in your perception so egregious.  What if you perception was wrong?  What if you changed your perception, which then changed your belief about the instance, which then changed the experience you had with this friend.  So go back to the actual disagreement in your imagination and replay as much of it as you can in your mind, with one exception, change how you perceive your friends intent, or change your intent from one of being hurt to one of understanding what may be causing the disagreement.......instead of the experience ending with harsh words, imagine that you tell your friend "Can we push the rewind button, because I'm not sure how we got to where we are right now & I care too much for our friendship to not work towards getting to at least a common ground understanding of where each of us is coming from?"  

In your imagination, work through the disagreement from Gratitude and Appreciation for the friendship and the friend and dialogue with them coming from this perspective and see what happens in your mind.  What was the end result?  Maybe you still disagree, but agree to disagree and not lose the friendship.....or maybe you both realize the disagreement came from your egoic selves and not your true selves.  Now think about how you feel about this person, do you miss them?  Do you want to call them?  Maybe they have moved away and you don't have contact with them, or maybe they have since died..........or maybe you call them and reconcile the difference and rekindle the friendship and it is stronger for having gone through the reconciliation.......regardless you have changed the way you feel about them and you have changed yourself......with or without contact with the friend.........and how good is that?

Try it out on something in your past that you want to change the way you feel about it.......because the way you feel about it, or perceive that it took place created a belief you are operating from.........and it may not be serving you, especially if the perception you have of that experience is wrong.  How do you know if it was wrong?  Think in terms of is how you feel about it working for you or not working for you?.........is it holding you back or propelling you forward?  In other words is it coming from Love or Fear (false evidence appearing real)?  Remember that growth and expansion come from Love, protection and  contraction come from fear.  If it's fear, change it, change yourself and change the world!!!
     

Saturday, April 12, 2008

So how are You?.....How are you seeing the world?

What meaning are you giving to your experience?  Right now!!  What meaning are you giving to reading this post, or what meaning are you giving to the fact that you made your way to this Blog?  Stop and think about it!!

The meaning I have with this Blog is learning, actually more remembering who I am and tapping into my true potential.  As I remember who my True Self is, its an absolute joy watching the change in my thinking, and as the change in my thinking takes place, the changes in my experience are nothing less than delicious.  Oh, I catch myself going down an egoic mind rant every once in a while, but thats delicious too......I catch myself and I change my mind, or my perception of whatever the issue was that triggered the ego......and I see it for what it was.  An opportunity to recreate myself into the greatest version of myself that I have never even dreamed of.

Which by the way, can you see that your feelings are with you before the external experience appears.........and it works both ways, good feelings precede good external experiences and bad feelings precede bad external experiences.......without exception!!!!   So, you have a feeling, a corresponding experience comes to you and you react to that experience with a feeling associated with your percpetion....and depending on your perception of the external experience, you either change the feeling which in turn changes your experience or you add to the feeling and the experience snowballs.

Remember this;
Experience shapes Perception
Perception creates Beliefs
Beliefs reinforce Perception
Perception shapes Experience
and Experience reinforces Beliefs

Your thoughts and the feelings you have from having those thoughts are what start the process that is happening behind the scenes......so be Picky about your thoughts!!!!! And change them when they are not creating the feelings you desire.......positive, utter well being!!!!

To reinforce the facts of how the Universe works and to create the "Knowing" that you and only you can create your experience, try the following exercise:

The next time you feel frustration or angst or any feeling of uneasiness, step back and deliberately change your thinking, the perspective on the situation or cause of the feeling.  Change the context in which you are viewing the experience.  For instance, at work you become frustrated by an outcome of a project or task that you have been working on and you notice it.  Stop!!!!  Have an internal dialogue with yourself something like this.....While the result of this work was not satisfying to me, I can see now where I could have done some things differently that will benefit me in the work I do in the future, and the work that I do is meaningful and productive.  I'm grateful to have the opportunity to do this work, and the result of this work is beneficial to many different people, and it is a very good opportunity for me to grow in my abilities and knowing who I truly Am.......and while I was briefly frustrated, I realize that feeling does not serve me and is not beneficial in doing my best work and I choose to release that feeling and replace it with optimism and gratitude that I can change the way I feel in a moment..........and just sit with that new feeling for a minute or two.......and watch the changes that take place in your experience. 

See the world as you wish to deliberately, not by default!!!!  And when you do, Thank You for the positive effect you have on those you interact with!!!!
 

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Do you see the world as it is, or as you are?

You do not see the world as it is!!!  Sorry, you see it as you are!!!!  Yep, as you are!!!

That is why you can have 10 people witness the same accident and tell 10 different stories of what happened.  Oh, the stories may be similar, but they will all be a little different.  And that is the beauty of this point.......just a little difference makes a huge difference, no pun intended.

You see the world as you are!!  And what is it that causes you to be as you are?  Perception!!!  Which is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information.  This is big!!!  Perception is life, It is where every action comes from......at the molecular level it is what causes regeneration of cells.....in other words perception is what stimulates our DNA to release the RNA to complete whatever function the cell percieves it needs to perform.  Read Bruce Lipton's "The Biology of Belief"  or better yet, go see him him speak about epi-genetics if you have the chance.

Okay, So perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information.  As you perceive, so you believe......which is where your actions are derived from.  Stay with me.......so what if your perception is slightly off......or completely off?  Well thats easy, thats why planes are flown into buildings, and wars have been fought for thousands of years in the name of GOD!!!

One of my favorite teachers says we are sloppy and lazy thinkers.......which is right!!!  Think about it, you give some thought to what you wear in the morning, you are fairly picky about the friends you have, the food you eat, where you go on vacation.......but how picky are you about the thoughts you have?  How picky are you about your perceptions which is where your actions are derived from.........and where the state of your body is derived from.  Aside from genetic defects which exist in only 5% of us, every disease (dis-ease) is allowed to manifest due to the perceptions made by you at the cellular level.  So if you believe that because your family has a history of heart disease or cancer, that you will "get" it.....well, chances are that you will.   And if you believe that you control your body and it's function and you are not pre-disposed to a particular disease.....Well, you are in control and you are not pre-disposed!!

Okay, enough Biology, but it's important to know........so now let's look at sensory information.  Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste and Touch......the five traditional senses, but what about Knowing, or Intuition.....or what about Inspiration (In-spirit)....Are those sensory devices?  Of course they are, if you use them.  If actions come from beliefs that are derived from perceptions, what happens if you do not fully use your senses to perceive?  Well, Perceptual deficits lead to deficits in action......sometimes very profoundly.  How often do you say to yourself, "Damn, I knew I should have......" or something to that effect.  Especially when you get a gut feeling or a knowing in your heart......run with it, gut decisions and decisions made by the heart are 100% accurate......they have yet to develop self doubt like the thinking rational mind. 

So the next time things just don't seem to working out the way you want them to, step back and find a new way to look at your goal or the situation you find yourself in.  Kind of the difference between "Why?" and "Why Not?"  It's all about perspective and context!!!   



  

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Living with the Illusion, as opposed to living in the Illusion

Living with the Illusion or Living in the Illusion? If you have been reading these posts you have noticed that the topics generally deal with you being responsible for everything that you experience. Concepts like, the only meaning anything has is the meaning you give it, and you create your own reality, and the illusion that you need anything, and your beliefs dictate your behavior, and that you are working to fully know yourself all point to YOU as the only one responsible for your experience.

They also make very clear that there is no exception. It is a full time gig to be the creator of your own reality and everything you have (or do not have) as your experience. I talk to quite a few people that are attempting to deliberately manifest things by use of Attraction and the most common question that they have is "when do I get my stuff?".....and before I get into the mechanics of why they are not getting their "stuff" I tell them "when you are deserving". I get a kick out of the looks that I get when I say that.

Here is what I mean, and that comment is not a judgement by the way, it's more an observation. Asking the question "when do I get my stuff" on the surface is a counter intention. It is coming from a belief that supports not having it.....be it a belief of lack, that you have to work hard, that you need stuff to be happy, or be it that there is a finite amount of "stuff". But the counter intention is not the real issue.......the real issue is that these people like the vast majority of people have forgotten who they truly are.......who their True Self is.

"Stuff" is temporal, Your True Self is not!!! Do you really think your True Self, the Self that was never born and will never die, the Self that is in this world but not of it, would spend an ounce of energy on Stuff that relative to eternity will exist for a nano second? I could be wrong, but I doubt it!!!

Now let's be clear, I'm not down on "stuff", I like it.....I have it, and better stuff just keeps coming. But the best "stuff" comes from my alignment with my True Self, being connected with my highest goal.......It's what I was talking about yesterday that knowing your True Self is the Blueprint for having, being or doing what your heart desires. When connected or tapped in to your True Self your actions emerge from seemingly nowhere (now here) and allow you to recognize what the infinite intelligence and wisdom of all that is has provided for you.

When I said yesterday to know specifically what you want, I was not talking about specific stuff, temporal stuff that is fleeting, I meant have the very specific desire to know your Self fully, and as you move toward remembering your True Self enjoy the people and yes, the "Stuff" that comes into your experience. When what you want is "stuff" you are living in the Illusion and not with it!!
The absolute best and easiest way to check if you are living in the Illusion is to ask yourself "How do I feel about everyone else, or everything for that matter?" If you have ill will toward anyone else, If you do not Love them and their differences from you........you are living in the Illusion and have forgotten who You truly are. And the minute you realize this is the moment you moved to a position of living with the Illusion for the purpose of remembering who you truly are. every moment of every day is the new opportunity to choose who You are, choose well!!!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

If You do not go within, you go without!!!!

What the heck does that mean?  For that matter, what exactly does "know thyself" or "the kingdom of heaven is within you" or "I Am that I Am" mean?.....I'm asked that quite a bit.  And in a minute I will lay out how I define the meaning for each....and they are all the same.

Whenever I am working with someone, I always ask right at the beginning of the discussion..."What do you want?"......and for the most part they can't define what it is that they want....some even say, "I'm not sure".   Some other common responses are "I want to be happy" or "I want to be rich beyond belief" or "I want a relationship" or "I want a job that I love".  

My next question is "What is keeping you from achieving that?".......and usually the answer is "I don't know" or "Things just are not working out" or "maybe it's just not meant to be".  But really the issue has to do with two very simple concepts, the first is generally what people want are materialistic or temporal things......and nothing wrong with that, you can have them, you can have anything you want........but you have to know specifically what it is that you want.  What is happy?  What is rich beyond belief?  What is a relationship or a job that you love?  Your the only one that can define those things or anything else for that matter.   

The second concept is that the vast majority of people don't know themselves.  I want to make this point painfully clear, unless you who are reading this are one of a very few people, you do not know yourself......your True Self!!!  If that pissed you off, you definitely do not know yourself....your True Self, anyway!!!

Ask yourself these two questions?

Who is my True Self?
What is my Purpose?

When I say True Self, I don't mean your role in life, your title at work, or even you name or ego.  I mean at the essence of your being, who are you?  Your not the body reading this, your not the emotions that kick in as you interpret your life experience, and no, your not bank account or investment portfolio......Your True Self is the self that has never been born and will never die!!!  Read that again, Your True Self is that part of you that was never born and will never die!!  So what does that leave?  How about an individuation of the source of all things, physical and non-physical?  Infinite wisdom, creativity, all that is.  

Now if your with me on this, reason stands that I am an individuation of the same source, as is every other person alive, and every living thing, essentially everything!!!  So if that were the case, and it is, why do we treat each other so badly at times, or why do we treat the earth with such disrespect, or why do we fly planes into buildings, or why do we take our own lives, or why do we fight over and sometimes kill in the name of GOD?

The answer is the second of the two questions from above, We have forgotten or in many instances never really defined clearly what our purpose is!!!  What if our purpose is to remember who we are and what we are capable of.   How would we behave as a species if we knew at all times that we are from the same source and eternally connected?  

Think about that, don't just read over it and continue.....how would we behave?  Do you think we would have borders protected with armed guards?  Would there be drive by shootings?  Would there be starving children anywhere in the world?  Would there be anyone without a home?  Of course not, there would be none of that!!  We would come and go as we pleased, we would extend assistance to anyone that we perceived needed it, and we would treat the Earth as we treat everything....with respect!!!  Get the picture?  How good would that be?  better yet, How good will that be?  Pretty freakin' awesome!!!

So back to where this post all started!!!!  So what does "If you do not go within, you go without", "know thyself", "the kingdom of heaven is within you" and "I Am that I Am".....and I want to throw one more in...."These things and greater shall you do" mean?  Well, for me it means when I understand at my essence who I am, anything is possible, and every moment of every day is my opportunity to live my purpose, be the greatest version of myself that I have ever envisioned and change the world......or it's not, and it's up to me to choose!!!  Part of that is understanding that by not choosing to remember, is still a choice.......but how dis-empowering is that choice?

Now back to the materialistic and temporal things that we all desire!!!  Knowing your True Self is the blueprint for having, being or doing what your heart desires.....knowing your True Self allows your actions to be aligned with your being......they emerge not from thought, but from the immense intelligence and energy that is the source of all that is!!!!

So what does Toemaas want?  Thats easy, I want every moment to be leveraged knowing that I AM in the flow of the Universe, using every moment of everyday to remember that I AM but a part of the source of all things and as such I am capable of being, doing or having anything.   Do I want a bunch of stuff?  No!!!!  I enjoy watching what manifests for me based on being tapped in and tuned in to my True Self.........And how much fun is it recognizing the new things that I didn't even know I didn't know....Ridiculous!!!