Posted By admin on January 21, 2012

“Exploration is what is needed not ideology.  Ideology means you have made your summary of life.  If life can be summed up, it is not worth living.”  —  Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

Recently, this term ideology has permeated innumerable conversations on a myriad of topics.  It can be rather perplexing to use this term in a cavalier manner when referring to one’s life, or the total of life in general.  When with each moment our lives can change dramatically, it seems senseless to incorporate an ideology that becomes ancient history in a split second. 

As life evolves, we assess each experience through various skills that we have learned, practiced and shared.  Fundamentally, it is extremely challenging to formulate a living ideology based on faulty information or subjective opinion.  Of course, we could always base our ideology solely on our experience . . . and Oscar Wilde put it another way, “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”

In the present moment, have you formulated any basic ideology for yourself?  Did you ever give it a second thought?  It can be a rather slippery slope encompassing the total of life . . . ideologically.  Make no mistake, there are innumerable individuals who embrace this philosophy . . . early and often.  When the opportunity presents itself to become alertly alive, and consciously present in your own life the words of Edward Burke are quite poignant, “Men have no right to put the well-being of the present generation wholly out of the question.  Perhaps the only moral trust with any certainty in our hands is the care of our own time.”  As the steward of your own life, how are you embracing your time . . . consciously or ideologically?

In becoming conscious, aware, present and in the now of life, we are responsible for our moment to moment existence without excuses.  When that switch flips on . . . there is no turning back for anyone.  Could the reflection of an ideology, be keeping most individuals unconscious?  Are you in the process of exploring your life, through all the possibilites presented to you in every moment?  The answer is different for all of us, however Voltaire interjects another thought putting it another way, “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.”      JLR

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Posted By admin on January 18, 2012

“Your life is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be opened.”  —  Wayne Muller

As you read these words in the above quote, you may feel completely at odds with that premise.  You may be experiencing that your life in this moment, is something you really don’t recognize.  Fundamentally, we create our own heaven or hell.  The circumstances in your life can destroy you or make you stronger.  In seeing what is to be learned from each experience, gives each of us a chance to grow and move forward with an attitude of acceptance.  We each take our own individual journey and become our own “teacher,” when we become conscious.  The Tao put it another way, “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.  When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.”

What we believe binds us.  Yes . . . even enslaves us.  Changing our beliefs can be life altering on every level.  Having the courage to re-create something more desirable in life, takes an enormous conscious choice of will and presence.  No one can do it for you.  In the last analysis . . . you are responsible and accountable for the choices you’ve made, and ultimately seeing the circumstances of those choices as a gift making you stronger, or something quite different, less desirable and dark. 

Begin now . . . mold your thoughts and feelings into the shape of those dreams, hopes, urgings that are a possible reality.  Nothing can affect you, unless you give “it” permission.  Steven Covey said it this way, “Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will effect us.”

Bringing a contradictory conscious thought into perception is always the challenge.  We’re comfortable in a process that is familiar and non-threatening.  Then where is the growth?  Stagnation isen’t really a choice, it’s a death sentence for most of us who are becoming enlightened and know the difference.  Albert Einstein addressed it another way, “Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”  You are the instrument of your own music.  Create a symphony, unparalleled through your vision of the gift that you are.    JLR

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Posted By admin on December 31, 2011

“Do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light.”   —  Dylan Thomas

It becomes an exercise in futility when all you do is repeat the same behavior and conduct, expecting a manifestation of renewed experience from limited investment.  What of yourself are you giving to all those who come in contact with you that creates,  illuminates, resonates, embraces, enriches and enhances their experience . . . so that they come away from you not depleted, degraded, deflated and weary, but uplifted and enlightened?  Have you brought a sustaining light of hope, energy, support, good will and joy into anyone’s life?  Evaluating your contribution to the care and concern of another human being beside yourself is not for someone else . . . the examination of how you effect the existence of another individual begins with youself.  Society has evolved to such an extent where the words of Stephen R. Covey seem almost alien . . . “Accountability breeds reponse-ability.”

The words of Dylan Thomas in the opening quote, resonate with those who acknowledge who they are, why they are here and where they are going.  Living a purposeful life is defined by finding out what that purpose is, and how it is to be implemented.  Sometimes we must get out of our own way, to finally realize we’re the problem, and not the solution.  The ego supersedes common sense and logic . . . this is nothing new, and is centuries old.  Once you figure out the essence of your existence then the real work can begin.  We delude ourselves into thinking in other terms.  Demosthenes said it another way, “Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish we readily believe.”

Fooling ourselves for some, is almost a lifelong project . . . a sad commentary.  Becoming completely honest with yourself, peeling back all those phony layers of self-deception is likened to walking over burning coals . . . very slowly.  Can it be torture?  Of course it can . . . and once the work is done, you begin to see yourself in the true conscious essence of who you always were and see for the first time.

You may think you have all the time in the world to get it right.  Actually, we have an eternity to get it right.  At the same time, the consciousness in the present moment releases a perception of limitation, giving us a window of opportunity that has a beginning with a definite end.   When the rumblings of awareness from within surface, and you realize that time may be shortened in proportion to what you first believed or thought, these words of Sadhguru Jaagi Vasudev become quite poignant . . . “To reach out beyond your present levels of perception is the only way to touch the Divine.  And to touch the Divine is to know the Bliss of your existence.”  Follow your bliss, and know it for the first time through eternity and light.  It’s not to late.     JLR

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Posted By admin on December 26, 2011

“The progress of an artist is a continual self-sacrifice, a continual extinction of personality.”  —  T. S. Elliott

Artistic expression is seen on many levels.  The obvious is related to: painting, sculpture, vocal performance, musical composition, various forms of design/invention, architecture, dance, poetry, literature and the continual discovery of technological advancement through creative minds.  All of this defines our existence in moving forward, with our life’s journey.  We may become so immersed in the process of creativity, that our personality is blurred and we relinquish the ego through a conscious choice of will through self-sacrifice.  For many, this becomes almost imperceptable.  There is a palpable energy that cannot be  perceived or classically monitored.  It is almost likened to a “void in sentient acknowledgement,” as expressed in another way by Eckhart Tolle, “Some changes look negative in the surface, but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.”  

We often start out in one direction, while evolving circumstances place us in quite another.  Risk can be immensely challenging giving rise to anxiety, fear, tension and stress with subsequent consequences.  An artist, in whatever genre, lives in a constancy of change given the variances in demand of those specific skill sets.  The creative personality may venture into immense waves of inertia, indecisiveness . . . even dysfunction, which is an extremely harsh reality needing a conscious resolve through awareness.  It has been my experience as a performing artist, to deal with adversity head-on embracing the words of Soren Kierkegaard, “There are two ways to be fooled.  One is to believe what isen’t true, the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” 

Starting all over is never easy . . . but given circumstances beyond your control . . . necessary.  Begin with the “truth,” and build from there.  There is no time frame for this, it may take days, weeks, months . . . and yes, even years.  Your personal evolving timetable of conscious awareness, acute present perception and unvarnished reality cannot be compared to anyone else.  You may be very surprised at how resilient, innovative, effective, perceptive and honest you can be with yourself.  It all really begins right there, and completely unvarnished.  You have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone else . . . just yourself.  Moving forward without knowing what is beyond that “brick wall of fear” is daunting, but it can be done.   Becoming paralyzed with the fear of indecision causes more harm, and taking that first step releases you completely from yourself and the fear.  It is amazing to entertain this thought by Soren Kierkegaard, “Take away paradox from the thinker and you have a professor.”      JLR

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Posted By admin on December 13, 2011

“You govern your surroundings by the nature of what is taking place in your consciousness.”   —   Joel S. Goldsmith

It becomes more apparent to me that we live in a reactive environment on a moment to moment basis, rather than a responsive one.  Speaking with numerous people over several weeks, I very often have the instinctive feeling that the conscious cognition given to the immediate interactive conversation, is suspended due to a pervasive distracted attention factor.  It is almost as if any consciousness is segmented, making continuity fractured and disjunctive.  This isen’t something that occurs irregularly, on the contrary.  It is prevalent more now than ever before, which works as a domino effect not only in your life, but in the lives of everyone with whom you come into contact on a daily basis.  Once you recognize this element either in yourself or someone else, the opportunity of choice presents itself.  Yes . . . a metamorphosis is possible at this juncture and Carlos Castaneda put it another way, “We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong.  The amount of work is the same.”

Becoming an observer in your own life is not an exercise in futility.  Once you become consciously active in your own life, your perspective and perception regarding everything clarifies.  As someone suggested recently, many individuals use information filters constructed and construed from childhood in order to function.  How is that working for you?  At times it is necessary and imperative to re-evaluate every facet of our lives.  This invites a consciousness of our basic existence.  Along the way you will meet individuals who may constitute a great deal of angst, anxiety, discomfort and hurt.  In that moment is the opportunity for conscious growth beyond the compromised ego, and Don Miguel Ruiz expresses it this way . . . “Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you.”

Taking an inventory of ourselves, and our connections/relationships with others takes guts, no one said this was going to be a sleigh ride, or the proverbial … walk in the park.  The choice is, that you could continue to walk in a stupor of sorts, repeating the same old . . . same old.  Or you will take the challenge, wake-up, step-up and rebuild your essence beginning with your consciousness.  Raymond Charles Baker chose to think about it another way, “What you are is what you have done with the why you are.  The Universe doesn’t operate by chance.  We are all self-conscious beings with a gift to share.  How we share that gift determines the quality of our lives and the memories we leave behind.”  What gift will you share?  Who will remember?  Who will care?     JLR

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