Monday 24 December 2012
How I see the World
the world. as i understand it, is full of possibilities and probabilities.
There's a lot we can agree on: It is round, there are rich and poor folk, there's healthy and junk food.
My explanations for Why-It-Is-The-Way-It-Is varies often,
but some beliefs are constant.
There's a high probability in my view that Big Anonymous Companies are benefiting at the expense of less fortunate people. There's a high probability that food has become a commodity and that we suffer because of it in health and in the future health of our planet....
There's, in my view, a high probability that this is unintentionally malicious, and that indivual people seek security and pleasure without considering the widespread effect that this behavior has on the less fortunate. There's also a mild possibility that it is Intentionally malicious as is often portrayed in the media, but I do not believe this.
There is a high, very high probability, that material existence is the tip of the reality-iceberg, and that life-after-death is real, and that consciousness permeates all around us. There is a small possibility that there is a malicious form of spirits, but since this extra-material realm necessitates certain experiences to confirm my personal belief, i choose not to believe scary things, because i have no confirmation of it. There's a high probability that sweet, loving, nurturing, creative, loving consciousness is all around us all the time, and that our bodies are capable of tapping into it... somehow. Maybe historically the destruction that comes with creation was interpreted as intentionally malicious, but i believe its innocent and just part of the dynamic...
There's a high probability that i am hypersensitive to tensions in my body which the average person doesn't feel. There's a high probability that "psychic" abilities are real, and that what I experience is hyper-sensitive empathy. There's a high probability that I feel the tension in peoples body and can read much more about them than they would be voluntarily vulnerable to. Luckily there's nothing to worry about, because that sort of empathic knowledge only leads me to have more compassion and not the judgment that you might worry about.
There's a high probability that our heart-beat and emotional vibration can affect people through non-material means. There's a very low possibility that unconsciously doing this negatively is not causing problems in our world...
Based on how I see the world, it seems there are problems of pollution, soil depletion, undrinkable water, decreasing biodiversity, a nauseating amount of discrepancy between the have's and have-not's, and that the effects are due to pervasive human values.
it also seems to me that people work a lot more than they want and many do work that doesn't mean anything to them. It seems like there are too few farmers working too big a plot of land without biodiversity, and a great solution would be if everybody farmed a little bit and provided enough of their own food. It would be more meaningful work, and there's a high probability that many people would spend much less time "working" (or doing what needs to be done, rather) and have more time for leisure activities... There's a possibility that the money people spend on entertainment, shopping, and food don't actually create happiness and fulfillment, and that the beauty and diversity of living in the above stated manner would actually be deeply fulfilling. There's a high probability that in general parents aren't happy with the life they live with their children as they grow up, and an equally high probability that parents would love and appreciate their children more as equal humans if they lived a more relaxed life.
So... You may have been reading this and disagreed because we chose to watch different documentaries, listened to different music growing up, met different people, and had different experiences, and we even have different temperaments and tensions in our body. It's okay to disagree with what others think is probable or even possible. There's a lot we could probably agree on.
We could probably agree that suffering is undesirable, relaxing is pleasurable, and releasing tension feels great.
And there's a large possibility that you have a job and its not meaningful, per se, but you're happy enough with it and it provides you with a comfortable lifestyle and you're not really aching for a change.
There's a possibility that reading this planted a seed in your head, and that you'll begin paying attention to the actual happiness that trinkets you buy provide you with, and a nagging feeling develops that perhaps you are unaware of a slight discontentment with the way of the world.
If you could go back to childhood and remember how to dream an infinite dream, I wonder what you would dream. There's a huge possibility that its still possible to accomplish anything you could dream of if you are persistent, diligent, patient, and full of hope and desire.
Sunday 16 December 2012
Lessons from New Age San Fran
There are different ways to experience san francisco:
Born and raised there, its city life at all its extremes.
Moved there for work, its restaurants, bars, and beautiful landscapes.
I went there and had a New Age experience because that's what i was attracted to.
What do i have to offer?
I learned to look at what I had to offer at a Gift Circle. We all wrote on an index cards what we were in Need of, or Searching for, and then also what we had to offer. It was a simple economic plan to start a Time-Bank, where an hour of service becomes an hour of service received, so i traded massages and offered lessons and received massages and lessons. But surprisingly, I had never really thought about what i had to offer. Asking the question and continually searching for what I have to give changed my mentality about the capitalist culture. I didn't know how to "make it" before and still be happy, but now I know that I'll always have something I'm willing to give, something I'm good at that others can benefit from.
Our bodies and emotions are connected.
It seems really silly to even say that, but not many people take that truth very far. Massage, tapping on pressure points, yoga, breathing exercises... All these are tools for converting tension into release, and emotional pain can manifest into physical pain, and its usually of the chronic variety of pain. Its a little unbelievable from a skeptics perspective because the scientific method hasn't progressed that far, at least not in popular awareness, but so far, empirical experiences show that the obvious connection between our emotions and our bodies has VERY broad implications that will be studied further.
Projections R Us
We react against others based on what makes us uncomfortable in ourselves, in society, in existence. It seems simple, but uncovering what those discomforts are is difficult shadow work that requires courage and willingness to learn and be humbled by our imperfections. There are fortunately many of us working at this every day, in every moment, and it is for the benefit of all humanity as well as for each individual doing the work.
Born and raised there, its city life at all its extremes.
Moved there for work, its restaurants, bars, and beautiful landscapes.
I went there and had a New Age experience because that's what i was attracted to.
What do i have to offer?
I learned to look at what I had to offer at a Gift Circle. We all wrote on an index cards what we were in Need of, or Searching for, and then also what we had to offer. It was a simple economic plan to start a Time-Bank, where an hour of service becomes an hour of service received, so i traded massages and offered lessons and received massages and lessons. But surprisingly, I had never really thought about what i had to offer. Asking the question and continually searching for what I have to give changed my mentality about the capitalist culture. I didn't know how to "make it" before and still be happy, but now I know that I'll always have something I'm willing to give, something I'm good at that others can benefit from.
Our bodies and emotions are connected.
It seems really silly to even say that, but not many people take that truth very far. Massage, tapping on pressure points, yoga, breathing exercises... All these are tools for converting tension into release, and emotional pain can manifest into physical pain, and its usually of the chronic variety of pain. Its a little unbelievable from a skeptics perspective because the scientific method hasn't progressed that far, at least not in popular awareness, but so far, empirical experiences show that the obvious connection between our emotions and our bodies has VERY broad implications that will be studied further.
Projections R Us
We react against others based on what makes us uncomfortable in ourselves, in society, in existence. It seems simple, but uncovering what those discomforts are is difficult shadow work that requires courage and willingness to learn and be humbled by our imperfections. There are fortunately many of us working at this every day, in every moment, and it is for the benefit of all humanity as well as for each individual doing the work.
lessons from my vacation in mexico
I have returned from a trip to the Yucatan peninsula. I didn't allow myself any self-enhancing overly mental practices of journaling, just as an experiment. I practiced drawing instead, which most accidentally promoted presence and eye-sight.
I spent a week in a very vast resort space amidst many different kinds of people. There were "the new rich" russians (as described by a couple from ukraine) and families of all colors, and british, germans, americans, black americans, southern americans, rich americans, lower class americans, old retired rich people, old travelers, young travelers working at the resort, mexicans working at the resort, single mothers working at the resort...
It was a beautiful location, with blue skies and palm trees. Many years ago the jungle had been bought by a "corrupt mexican president" according to my father who went to school with the children of mexican presidents, many of them corrupt. The particular mexican president then sold the land to hotel chains and told them to build resorts on the land "or else... and he'd sell them the land, too." So, the hotel chain companyies landscaped the jungle, built pleasant trails and walkways alongside old ruins, took advantage of the natural bays, added pools, flamingos, macaws, howling monkeys, and some deer, and multiple hundreds of employees, and an elaborate time-share scheme, and opened up for business.
Now, every day, some mexicans rise before dawn and some stay past their shift to cater to tourists, visitors, foreign and local, to create an "all-inclusive" experience. Tons of food is brought in, and five restaurants and a couple buffets, and a few bars are stocked overtop, and the people who come are blown away by an amazing experience.
At least in many moments during their stay and probably in hindsight, too.
There is a shadow and a light to everything and i'll talk briefly about those now. The light is that many different kinds of people can now afford excessive luxury. The shadow is that many different kinds of people choose to spend their extra money on indulging in bad habits (instead of taking the opportunity to be learning and cultivating good habits!) A few bad habits that come to mind are Overeating and drinking. Feasting and drinking on occasion is health-giving, i'm sure, but if you spend a week in one place, it is time again to practice moderation! I say this not because it is an abstract moral problem, but because in physical reality it is necessary to eat well, sleep well, and hydrate in order to be enjoy Health and long-lasting Good Feeling!
The pleasure of eating fades as the taste melts away from the mouth and the next bite comes in or is washed away with the next pleasurable drink.
[May i offer a quick note that I forgive them and do not judge them, because i assume they simply don't know any better or how to actually create lasting happiness... That's okay! We're all in this together, learning together! Rather than being judgmental, I am grateful for being shown something for my reflection.]
If we are in an environment that offers up opportunities for indulgence and promotes our bad habits, it is only with willpower that we can rise early with the sun, go for a run, stretch, breathe deep (and not cigarette smoke, but fresh ocean air) and then eat a light but nourishing breakfast.
THe first two days I was in awe of how beautiful the scenery was. I proclaimed "I am so happy to be here!" to some politely nodding neighbors by the beach. On day 3 I was unable to further ignore the unhappy attitudes of many visitors. There were many who were grumpy and i saw some frayed relationships, self-entitled attitudes, and narrowly minding their own business, and not ecstatically happy as such a luxurious vacation ought to make them be! (But as i have learned, the hedonistic treadmill SHOWS us that no matter how much we have, we always want more.) Vacations can be difficult. It really shows us at our supposed best (or most relaxed), and often its not very relaxed! How much are we able to relax and enjoy ourselves?
Family vacations, i remember growing up, could be difficult. Multiple personalities interacting, different needs and desires trying to be met in the same environment, and we're all out of our routine and we are being called to think about each step of action.
I saw many families interacting on this trip. The children were mostly happy, but some of them were not and my heart went out to them. And the children who were happy, i celebrated with them.
Then there were the couples, the young couples still excited to discover each other and the old couples who were unable to come to grips with their partners inevitable downfalls, and after years and years the differences create a rift that needs some serious pulling to get close again, and no vacation could help that for them. There were functional couples, too, and happy old couples, i'm sure, or people who have partnered up together against the world, or people who partnered up together to explore the jungle.
And there were all those in between all extremes.
There were (thankfully for me) mexican resort guests who were there to enjoy their homelands' beauty and the added luxury that the resort brought. My pop was happy to share how he came to this land before a resort was here, when the highway was just a dirt road and the bay was empty of any visitors. Now three rows of shade-optional beach chairs were hosted by waitresses who walked around taking orders and bringing beachy drinks to all these different people. My pop didn't resent the resort, but happily interacted with the locals and gave his drink order as well. I'm so thankful he treats people with humanly decent respect, and doesn't treat people like servant robots.
Of course, I realized by day 4 that I could be there and not be prey to bad habits. I awoke before my son did and stepped outside on the patio, breathing and doing exercises. I ran a few times and stayed physically present a lot of the time. I smoked some pot when i wanted, said No to drinks when i didn't want, and enjoyed the beach and looked for the positive (usually involving laughing children and loving parents, and of course, the lush jungle all around.)
It was difficult not to notice, even though it was my intention to ignore, the master-slave relationship, the privilege-poor relationship, that has plagued me all my life. I am hopping on the coattails of my fathers economic success on this vacation, and do not identify with the ruling, upper class 1% of america. I can take a vacation in a resort without Becoming whatever that represents to me, and simultaneously not lash out against it simply for being (which i saw a teenager doing, which i would have also done.) I thought about colonialism, american/western/materialist influence around the world, and the changes i wish to see post-2012 where more people can relax, enjoy, and partake in meaningful flow-state inducing work.
But what I realized about the working mexicans is that many of their individual personalities and attitudes about the world around them were reflected in their demeanor and showed me how happy they were with their job. One cleaning lady with fake nails and a gucci bag and a materialistic attitude was very unhappy. Some leaf-sweepers were sullen. Bartenders were more generally jovial, but individually they differed in their judgment of the world around them. Joel the trolley driver during the day, was very happy with what he did every day, going back and forth from one side of the lobby, around the premise, to the other side of the lobby, and back again.
I thought about the suburbs where I live. Its the very same here. We all are in the same environment, but we perceive the world around us so differently.
Some people proclaim "I cannot believe that this shit is happening... to me!!" while others ignore the problem and instead look up at the clouds with a smile. There is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. We may not be born into a family who shows us how to think this way, so we can fix our suboptimal thought-patterns by really making an effort to focusing on the good... not because we're ignoring the bad, but because we only have SO MUCH TIME in paradise, and when we think about how the people outside are smoking up the patio and we can't enjoy fresh air and therefore have to sit inside the club lounge (scoff!) or thinking about how the dive instructor is such an idiot he doesn't even know that he could have charged it to our room, or various other complaints that could arrive... Well: The power of happiness lies with the fortunate individuals who recover incredibly quickly from life's inevitable downfalls.
And we can practice recovering from the low's of life in our daily life with the tiny things. Then, when something truly big and awful happens, we'll have built up resilience by then.
All things considered (or most of them, i think) I had a very good time, and i said allowed "can we do this again!?" And i intend to return back in a few years to have a similar experience, except better.
When that time comes again, I will know that i don't have to try all the food at the buffet. I can stick to my comfortable diet of salad, fruits, and grains and experience mexican food without indulging too heavily in it and messing with my constitution. I will know that I can get a schedule of events, performances, and daily exercises that I want to experience, and take a watch (since there is no phone service and limited wifi) so I can keep track of some sort of comfortable routine, because the most exhausting part of the vacation (with a 2.6 year old) is the lack of routine and predictability. As I continue vacationing with my child, this is a valuable lesson to learn early on. Traveling necessitates flexibility and spur of the moment decisions, but when able, cultivating a routine is a very valuable thing.
my favorite memories are:
1. riding the trolley with my son until it ended (because of two failed attempts at letting him sleep) and then sitting on a path between here and there, not going anywhere, and then seeing fireworks at midnight, for no apparent occasion. At the end of the night I was so exhausted and falling asleep at the wheel of parenting...
2. seeing everyone for the first time at the first club lounge after waiting for a few hours for their arrival
3. sitting at the beach amidst beauty and being incredibly happy to be there
4. A father gave us leftover beach toys they were going to leave behind and the 3 year old was sad and pouting because they were leaving tomorrow. As they walked away i had a grand idea. I picked a turtle out of the crap he gave me, and ran back and handed it to the boy and said, 'Don't forget all the fun times you had here!" I kicked myself for saying 'don't forget' instead of 'remember,' but the harm is done. He smiled so sweetly, a crooked "aww` youuuu" kind of look i'll hopefully never forget myself :)
5. dancing with mattheus to music at the beach, him hopping around a perfectly shallow area, going around in circles forever
6. scuba diving at 40 feet and looking up, floating around, and chasing fish.
7. running through the jungle with the stroller, and around the place in the morning as everyone was waking up and going to breakfast.
8. walking with my sister through the jungle later, just as i'd hoped to do and experiencing the intense howl of the howling monkey.
9. on my last day, the trolley driver said 'me voy contigo al washington dc" and me not knowing how to respond, blushing heavily. his visitor/ guy friend sat beside him and smiled half-knowingly. there were many half-knowing people there, and very very few fully-knowing people.
10. (This is not in order of favorite memories) is Meeting Nancy and Adrian from santa fe and having great conversations about Integral Philosophy, Cultural anthropology, parenting/single parenting/new partners and parenting, and the Art of Loving Relationships. My favorite memory with them is after putting mattheus to sleep and alowing myself 20 minutes of journaling, running out to the lounge to find them sleepily cozying over a laptop and then talking with them for a good 30 minutes before going back to find mattheus sleeping. I was really excited. Adrian was really excited. Nancy is gorgeous and calm. And mattheus loved them, too, recognizing them independently of me AND location, while hew as with mami at the tennis courts.
11. talking wtih my bro-in-law poolside after mariko, mami, and papa went to the beach rushedly on the last day there. its not what we talked about that was particularly noteworthy, but the fact that it was just marc without mariko. I had gotten mariko wtihout marc, and now i got marc wtihout mariko. Its a different vibe, not better or worse, but just different.
12. ohh getting a massage with mariko was most fantastic.
13. playing with the two sisters 8 and 7 from new jersey was nice, and playing tennis barefoot with my mami was alright. archery was interesting, and rifle shooting was silly. scuba diving was nice, but the boat ride was nausea inducing. the dive-guide Fidel was really pretty and from argentina. I met a few pretty guys from argentina. Is that a thing?
14. Impressing the two arabic-looking little german girls with my sudden german was fun.
Wait, am i writing a novel or a blogpost????
I gotta end this very soon.
I think i'm word vomiting all over the internet because of my self-imposed No Writing rule during vacation. I did that because i knew my quality was suffering, and i returned from the trip with a commitment to write childrnes books and stories when i'm able and mattheus is willing to cooperate somehow.
I must start with continuing to practice my drawing skills, which is over half of the creative work of childrens book, but totally achievable.
Less writing, more drawing. resolution 2013.
I spent a week in a very vast resort space amidst many different kinds of people. There were "the new rich" russians (as described by a couple from ukraine) and families of all colors, and british, germans, americans, black americans, southern americans, rich americans, lower class americans, old retired rich people, old travelers, young travelers working at the resort, mexicans working at the resort, single mothers working at the resort...
It was a beautiful location, with blue skies and palm trees. Many years ago the jungle had been bought by a "corrupt mexican president" according to my father who went to school with the children of mexican presidents, many of them corrupt. The particular mexican president then sold the land to hotel chains and told them to build resorts on the land "or else... and he'd sell them the land, too." So, the hotel chain companyies landscaped the jungle, built pleasant trails and walkways alongside old ruins, took advantage of the natural bays, added pools, flamingos, macaws, howling monkeys, and some deer, and multiple hundreds of employees, and an elaborate time-share scheme, and opened up for business.
Now, every day, some mexicans rise before dawn and some stay past their shift to cater to tourists, visitors, foreign and local, to create an "all-inclusive" experience. Tons of food is brought in, and five restaurants and a couple buffets, and a few bars are stocked overtop, and the people who come are blown away by an amazing experience.
At least in many moments during their stay and probably in hindsight, too.
There is a shadow and a light to everything and i'll talk briefly about those now. The light is that many different kinds of people can now afford excessive luxury. The shadow is that many different kinds of people choose to spend their extra money on indulging in bad habits (instead of taking the opportunity to be learning and cultivating good habits!) A few bad habits that come to mind are Overeating and drinking. Feasting and drinking on occasion is health-giving, i'm sure, but if you spend a week in one place, it is time again to practice moderation! I say this not because it is an abstract moral problem, but because in physical reality it is necessary to eat well, sleep well, and hydrate in order to be enjoy Health and long-lasting Good Feeling!
The pleasure of eating fades as the taste melts away from the mouth and the next bite comes in or is washed away with the next pleasurable drink.
[May i offer a quick note that I forgive them and do not judge them, because i assume they simply don't know any better or how to actually create lasting happiness... That's okay! We're all in this together, learning together! Rather than being judgmental, I am grateful for being shown something for my reflection.]
If we are in an environment that offers up opportunities for indulgence and promotes our bad habits, it is only with willpower that we can rise early with the sun, go for a run, stretch, breathe deep (and not cigarette smoke, but fresh ocean air) and then eat a light but nourishing breakfast.
THe first two days I was in awe of how beautiful the scenery was. I proclaimed "I am so happy to be here!" to some politely nodding neighbors by the beach. On day 3 I was unable to further ignore the unhappy attitudes of many visitors. There were many who were grumpy and i saw some frayed relationships, self-entitled attitudes, and narrowly minding their own business, and not ecstatically happy as such a luxurious vacation ought to make them be! (But as i have learned, the hedonistic treadmill SHOWS us that no matter how much we have, we always want more.) Vacations can be difficult. It really shows us at our supposed best (or most relaxed), and often its not very relaxed! How much are we able to relax and enjoy ourselves?
Family vacations, i remember growing up, could be difficult. Multiple personalities interacting, different needs and desires trying to be met in the same environment, and we're all out of our routine and we are being called to think about each step of action.
I saw many families interacting on this trip. The children were mostly happy, but some of them were not and my heart went out to them. And the children who were happy, i celebrated with them.
Then there were the couples, the young couples still excited to discover each other and the old couples who were unable to come to grips with their partners inevitable downfalls, and after years and years the differences create a rift that needs some serious pulling to get close again, and no vacation could help that for them. There were functional couples, too, and happy old couples, i'm sure, or people who have partnered up together against the world, or people who partnered up together to explore the jungle.
And there were all those in between all extremes.
There were (thankfully for me) mexican resort guests who were there to enjoy their homelands' beauty and the added luxury that the resort brought. My pop was happy to share how he came to this land before a resort was here, when the highway was just a dirt road and the bay was empty of any visitors. Now three rows of shade-optional beach chairs were hosted by waitresses who walked around taking orders and bringing beachy drinks to all these different people. My pop didn't resent the resort, but happily interacted with the locals and gave his drink order as well. I'm so thankful he treats people with humanly decent respect, and doesn't treat people like servant robots.
Of course, I realized by day 4 that I could be there and not be prey to bad habits. I awoke before my son did and stepped outside on the patio, breathing and doing exercises. I ran a few times and stayed physically present a lot of the time. I smoked some pot when i wanted, said No to drinks when i didn't want, and enjoyed the beach and looked for the positive (usually involving laughing children and loving parents, and of course, the lush jungle all around.)
It was difficult not to notice, even though it was my intention to ignore, the master-slave relationship, the privilege-poor relationship, that has plagued me all my life. I am hopping on the coattails of my fathers economic success on this vacation, and do not identify with the ruling, upper class 1% of america. I can take a vacation in a resort without Becoming whatever that represents to me, and simultaneously not lash out against it simply for being (which i saw a teenager doing, which i would have also done.) I thought about colonialism, american/western/materialist influence around the world, and the changes i wish to see post-2012 where more people can relax, enjoy, and partake in meaningful flow-state inducing work.
But what I realized about the working mexicans is that many of their individual personalities and attitudes about the world around them were reflected in their demeanor and showed me how happy they were with their job. One cleaning lady with fake nails and a gucci bag and a materialistic attitude was very unhappy. Some leaf-sweepers were sullen. Bartenders were more generally jovial, but individually they differed in their judgment of the world around them. Joel the trolley driver during the day, was very happy with what he did every day, going back and forth from one side of the lobby, around the premise, to the other side of the lobby, and back again.
I thought about the suburbs where I live. Its the very same here. We all are in the same environment, but we perceive the world around us so differently.
Some people proclaim "I cannot believe that this shit is happening... to me!!" while others ignore the problem and instead look up at the clouds with a smile. There is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. We may not be born into a family who shows us how to think this way, so we can fix our suboptimal thought-patterns by really making an effort to focusing on the good... not because we're ignoring the bad, but because we only have SO MUCH TIME in paradise, and when we think about how the people outside are smoking up the patio and we can't enjoy fresh air and therefore have to sit inside the club lounge (scoff!) or thinking about how the dive instructor is such an idiot he doesn't even know that he could have charged it to our room, or various other complaints that could arrive... Well: The power of happiness lies with the fortunate individuals who recover incredibly quickly from life's inevitable downfalls.
And we can practice recovering from the low's of life in our daily life with the tiny things. Then, when something truly big and awful happens, we'll have built up resilience by then.
All things considered (or most of them, i think) I had a very good time, and i said allowed "can we do this again!?" And i intend to return back in a few years to have a similar experience, except better.
When that time comes again, I will know that i don't have to try all the food at the buffet. I can stick to my comfortable diet of salad, fruits, and grains and experience mexican food without indulging too heavily in it and messing with my constitution. I will know that I can get a schedule of events, performances, and daily exercises that I want to experience, and take a watch (since there is no phone service and limited wifi) so I can keep track of some sort of comfortable routine, because the most exhausting part of the vacation (with a 2.6 year old) is the lack of routine and predictability. As I continue vacationing with my child, this is a valuable lesson to learn early on. Traveling necessitates flexibility and spur of the moment decisions, but when able, cultivating a routine is a very valuable thing.
my favorite memories are:
1. riding the trolley with my son until it ended (because of two failed attempts at letting him sleep) and then sitting on a path between here and there, not going anywhere, and then seeing fireworks at midnight, for no apparent occasion. At the end of the night I was so exhausted and falling asleep at the wheel of parenting...
2. seeing everyone for the first time at the first club lounge after waiting for a few hours for their arrival
3. sitting at the beach amidst beauty and being incredibly happy to be there
4. A father gave us leftover beach toys they were going to leave behind and the 3 year old was sad and pouting because they were leaving tomorrow. As they walked away i had a grand idea. I picked a turtle out of the crap he gave me, and ran back and handed it to the boy and said, 'Don't forget all the fun times you had here!" I kicked myself for saying 'don't forget' instead of 'remember,' but the harm is done. He smiled so sweetly, a crooked "aww` youuuu" kind of look i'll hopefully never forget myself :)
5. dancing with mattheus to music at the beach, him hopping around a perfectly shallow area, going around in circles forever
6. scuba diving at 40 feet and looking up, floating around, and chasing fish.
7. running through the jungle with the stroller, and around the place in the morning as everyone was waking up and going to breakfast.
8. walking with my sister through the jungle later, just as i'd hoped to do and experiencing the intense howl of the howling monkey.
9. on my last day, the trolley driver said 'me voy contigo al washington dc" and me not knowing how to respond, blushing heavily. his visitor/ guy friend sat beside him and smiled half-knowingly. there were many half-knowing people there, and very very few fully-knowing people.
10. (This is not in order of favorite memories) is Meeting Nancy and Adrian from santa fe and having great conversations about Integral Philosophy, Cultural anthropology, parenting/single parenting/new partners and parenting, and the Art of Loving Relationships. My favorite memory with them is after putting mattheus to sleep and alowing myself 20 minutes of journaling, running out to the lounge to find them sleepily cozying over a laptop and then talking with them for a good 30 minutes before going back to find mattheus sleeping. I was really excited. Adrian was really excited. Nancy is gorgeous and calm. And mattheus loved them, too, recognizing them independently of me AND location, while hew as with mami at the tennis courts.
11. talking wtih my bro-in-law poolside after mariko, mami, and papa went to the beach rushedly on the last day there. its not what we talked about that was particularly noteworthy, but the fact that it was just marc without mariko. I had gotten mariko wtihout marc, and now i got marc wtihout mariko. Its a different vibe, not better or worse, but just different.
12. ohh getting a massage with mariko was most fantastic.
13. playing with the two sisters 8 and 7 from new jersey was nice, and playing tennis barefoot with my mami was alright. archery was interesting, and rifle shooting was silly. scuba diving was nice, but the boat ride was nausea inducing. the dive-guide Fidel was really pretty and from argentina. I met a few pretty guys from argentina. Is that a thing?
14. Impressing the two arabic-looking little german girls with my sudden german was fun.
Wait, am i writing a novel or a blogpost????
I gotta end this very soon.
I think i'm word vomiting all over the internet because of my self-imposed No Writing rule during vacation. I did that because i knew my quality was suffering, and i returned from the trip with a commitment to write childrnes books and stories when i'm able and mattheus is willing to cooperate somehow.
I must start with continuing to practice my drawing skills, which is over half of the creative work of childrens book, but totally achievable.
Less writing, more drawing. resolution 2013.
Friday 9 November 2012
Lucid dreams
A "lucid dream" is when a dreamer recognizes within the dream that it is a dream and doesn't confuse it with waking life. I aspired to achieve this and on August 20th I got a beautiful new journal and began to jot down what I remembered as soon as I awoke. I filled half the journal, pages and pages for one night of dreaming, often wondering what the point was. The dreams often seemed meaningless and I always look for meaning. But i persisted anyway, because I'd devalued the dream realm for too long and i was determined to value dreams as much as waking life.
Somewhere along the way I learned that when checking watches in a dream the numbers appear jumbled. In waking life I began to check the time and made it such an obsessive part of my reality that eventually it was bound to come up in my dream.
When I finally did, it was on my moms wristwatch that I discovered I was dreaming: 11,11,01010 it said. "I'm dreaming!" I proclaimed. My mother said "no, your not. That's silly." and I turned away from her, deleting her from my dream knowing my disrespect would have no real consequences. After double dutch jump roping and wondering what to do with my new freedom, I awoke, and began wondering what I could really do with this new power. I noted that I was so preoccupied with doing stuff that I didn't just observe my dream surroundings.
Two nights later I again checked a clock in my dream after suspecting it was a dream. I observed and existed within the dream. I saw beautiful animals, huge turtles, a big grey wolf, a fox with a big bushy tail, and I breathed underwater. I simply got carried by the dream, even having some scary adventures, even getting caught up with annoying characters and briefly forgetting lucidity.
After awaking I again wondered what the potential of lucid dreaming contained. After a disappointing google search where every lucid dreamer has sex, gets high or meets celebrities, I realized that I desired profundity. I could try to contact the spirit world somehow, but more importantly, I could do the things I want to do in the future, like be at the top of a mountain, or in an ecoillage. I could go to sleep and return to my ecoillage every night, and be with my albeit imaginary friends and feel connections to them that aren currently possible for me. More magically/spiritually productively I could meditate and activate my chakras, exploding fire from my feet and reeling into space like astro boy. Or I could have an out of body experience and visit the dimensions beyond space and time, the realm where the angels live, or I could experience the mystical wonders of the cosmos...
Practically speaking, I could create my goals instantly and experience what it would look and feel like to be the person I'm trying to become (a mentor, a teacher, a competent, responsible, socially productive human adult) by putting myself in the situations I fear that hold me back from achieving it sooner in my real life...
I am so psyched to have gotten here and experienced lucid dreaming. I didn't know Why I wanted to achieve it, but it's going to add a whole new depth to my life. Although I'm happy with where I'm at, I really want to be able to close my eyes and fall asleep and simply step back into the dream world, never losing consciousness for a moment!
That would be fantastic.
Somewhere along the way I learned that when checking watches in a dream the numbers appear jumbled. In waking life I began to check the time and made it such an obsessive part of my reality that eventually it was bound to come up in my dream.
When I finally did, it was on my moms wristwatch that I discovered I was dreaming: 11,11,01010 it said. "I'm dreaming!" I proclaimed. My mother said "no, your not. That's silly." and I turned away from her, deleting her from my dream knowing my disrespect would have no real consequences. After double dutch jump roping and wondering what to do with my new freedom, I awoke, and began wondering what I could really do with this new power. I noted that I was so preoccupied with doing stuff that I didn't just observe my dream surroundings.
Two nights later I again checked a clock in my dream after suspecting it was a dream. I observed and existed within the dream. I saw beautiful animals, huge turtles, a big grey wolf, a fox with a big bushy tail, and I breathed underwater. I simply got carried by the dream, even having some scary adventures, even getting caught up with annoying characters and briefly forgetting lucidity.
After awaking I again wondered what the potential of lucid dreaming contained. After a disappointing google search where every lucid dreamer has sex, gets high or meets celebrities, I realized that I desired profundity. I could try to contact the spirit world somehow, but more importantly, I could do the things I want to do in the future, like be at the top of a mountain, or in an ecoillage. I could go to sleep and return to my ecoillage every night, and be with my albeit imaginary friends and feel connections to them that aren currently possible for me. More magically/spiritually productively I could meditate and activate my chakras, exploding fire from my feet and reeling into space like astro boy. Or I could have an out of body experience and visit the dimensions beyond space and time, the realm where the angels live, or I could experience the mystical wonders of the cosmos...
Practically speaking, I could create my goals instantly and experience what it would look and feel like to be the person I'm trying to become (a mentor, a teacher, a competent, responsible, socially productive human adult) by putting myself in the situations I fear that hold me back from achieving it sooner in my real life...
I am so psyched to have gotten here and experienced lucid dreaming. I didn't know Why I wanted to achieve it, but it's going to add a whole new depth to my life. Although I'm happy with where I'm at, I really want to be able to close my eyes and fall asleep and simply step back into the dream world, never losing consciousness for a moment!
That would be fantastic.
Thursday 23 August 2012
j.edgar & reflections on the wealth distribution in america
I am fresh out of the movie-room having been involved in viewing Leo Dicaprio depict J.Edgar Hoover in a biopic where Hoover is describing his perspective of history. Watching this film coincides with my recent recovery from fearing and mistrusting authority, government, police, helicopters, et cetera.
J.Edgar describes the threat that radical communists were posing and how the general public didn't believe it until 10 bombs went off around the country at the same time... When Palmer, Hoover's boss at the time, organized raids and deported a quarter of the arrested and domestic peace returned, the public forgot about the threat and palmer's team was dishonorably discharged (fired.)
Recently I have been appreciating how much we have. America is so wealthy and full of opportunity. I like capitalism. Some people lose out, can't make it work in this structure of society, and sleep on benches next to nice hotels. The game has been rigged so the smart folks and the hard-working folks can overcome bad luck. There are no marauders. The losers of the game can't resentfully take everything from those who have honestly worked intelligently, diligently, or persistently.
Now, there's definitely some room for improvement as to the SCALE of capitalism's wealth distribution. Huge mansions with multiple superfluous rooms don't seem entirely morally reasonable when people are in need of housing. American culture values charity and not-for-profit ventures, but perhaps the population is still stingy, still in fear of scarcity, still hoarding, not sharing.
I hear it at the playgroups all the time. "Share! Be nice!" But said in an authoritative way, while underneath the hood, the nanny/grandma/mother/manny/father/grandpa is mistrusting of innate human tendencies to empathize and share... Adults are chronically worried that their children "won't turn out well." or "moral" or will be "spoiled" or "a bully." Let me get back to history before this turns into a post that should be on my "laughing mother" blog ;)
I've been listening to the tone of people's voices, strangers voices, passerby's, and my students on the tennis court. I hear hurt, resentment, insecurity, anger, restlessness, and fear. Yes, its a human condition to contain all that negativity together with some positivity, but I do believe that the more positivity we create within ourselves, the less space we have for negative charges! Its quite a complex science, simple physics, simple chemistry :) --> :P
Tis true, though. The more honesty we can muster, to ourselves and others... The more we can laugh and forgive.... I'm not saying "fake it until you make it," because tears need to be shed if they're long overdue, and anger must be expressed if its been stifled at all...
Expanding and melting our hearts takes courage because its vulnerable.... scary. In the end, though, if every intelligent, capable person takes the leap every day to become more open, giving, honest, compassionate, ridding themselves of the skeletons, the baggage, and gunk in the closet.... Then the wealth disparity would close. We'd open our homes and mansions to people who need a place to stay, and we'd be happier because of it... less overweight, less sick, less miserable, more inspired, more creative, and more often in a space of Love!!!
Anyway~ this privileged hippie optimistic pacifist is finished with her once-in-a-blue-moon blog :)
J.Edgar describes the threat that radical communists were posing and how the general public didn't believe it until 10 bombs went off around the country at the same time... When Palmer, Hoover's boss at the time, organized raids and deported a quarter of the arrested and domestic peace returned, the public forgot about the threat and palmer's team was dishonorably discharged (fired.)
Recently I have been appreciating how much we have. America is so wealthy and full of opportunity. I like capitalism. Some people lose out, can't make it work in this structure of society, and sleep on benches next to nice hotels. The game has been rigged so the smart folks and the hard-working folks can overcome bad luck. There are no marauders. The losers of the game can't resentfully take everything from those who have honestly worked intelligently, diligently, or persistently.
Now, there's definitely some room for improvement as to the SCALE of capitalism's wealth distribution. Huge mansions with multiple superfluous rooms don't seem entirely morally reasonable when people are in need of housing. American culture values charity and not-for-profit ventures, but perhaps the population is still stingy, still in fear of scarcity, still hoarding, not sharing.
I hear it at the playgroups all the time. "Share! Be nice!" But said in an authoritative way, while underneath the hood, the nanny/grandma/mother/manny/father/grandpa is mistrusting of innate human tendencies to empathize and share... Adults are chronically worried that their children "won't turn out well." or "moral" or will be "spoiled" or "a bully." Let me get back to history before this turns into a post that should be on my "laughing mother" blog ;)
I've been listening to the tone of people's voices, strangers voices, passerby's, and my students on the tennis court. I hear hurt, resentment, insecurity, anger, restlessness, and fear. Yes, its a human condition to contain all that negativity together with some positivity, but I do believe that the more positivity we create within ourselves, the less space we have for negative charges! Its quite a complex science, simple physics, simple chemistry :) --> :P
Tis true, though. The more honesty we can muster, to ourselves and others... The more we can laugh and forgive.... I'm not saying "fake it until you make it," because tears need to be shed if they're long overdue, and anger must be expressed if its been stifled at all...
Expanding and melting our hearts takes courage because its vulnerable.... scary. In the end, though, if every intelligent, capable person takes the leap every day to become more open, giving, honest, compassionate, ridding themselves of the skeletons, the baggage, and gunk in the closet.... Then the wealth disparity would close. We'd open our homes and mansions to people who need a place to stay, and we'd be happier because of it... less overweight, less sick, less miserable, more inspired, more creative, and more often in a space of Love!!!
Anyway~ this privileged hippie optimistic pacifist is finished with her once-in-a-blue-moon blog :)
Monday 23 April 2012
What i'd say to the alcoholic parent
You were born full of potential. This is where you are now, as you are sitting here. You may hate what you've become, and certainly many events have contributed to this result right here. But you're not dead yet. You most certainly will die, but the potential contained in your baby-body is still within you.
You've had dreams, and then you've been discouraged. For some reason, you didn't become obsessed with the dream strongly enough as to possess you to work diligently forever until you achieved it. You became deflated and forgot about your dream. The precise timing which would have activated those past dreams may be past and gone now. (Let go, life contains suffering :) HOEWVER! You can still re-learn the capacity to dream. However many years you have left, you can still achieve something. You had stopped dreaming because "what's the point?" But here it is: The point is that you're going to die, and you're going to have lived... And what you leave behind in the world is still completely up to you. Buck up!!! Your legacy is at stake. How you are remembered is at stake, and much bigger than that, the pleasant moments will have been missed if you don't buck up. There is still time for growth. You can still learn how to reach out your hand and touch the hand or the shoulder of another. You can still inspire if you do buck up. And if you don't, the legacy you leave behind will be clouded iwth negativity. You would miss the laughter you could laugh, the wisdom you could share, the stories you could tell, the service you could give back for all the opportunity you've been given but have been too imperfect to appreciate.
Build some courage within yourself. Convince yourself of your own self-worth. Think of a good life and what that would look like for you, and start making baby steps towards it and never fucking give up. Please!
You've had dreams, and then you've been discouraged. For some reason, you didn't become obsessed with the dream strongly enough as to possess you to work diligently forever until you achieved it. You became deflated and forgot about your dream. The precise timing which would have activated those past dreams may be past and gone now. (Let go, life contains suffering :) HOEWVER! You can still re-learn the capacity to dream. However many years you have left, you can still achieve something. You had stopped dreaming because "what's the point?" But here it is: The point is that you're going to die, and you're going to have lived... And what you leave behind in the world is still completely up to you. Buck up!!! Your legacy is at stake. How you are remembered is at stake, and much bigger than that, the pleasant moments will have been missed if you don't buck up. There is still time for growth. You can still learn how to reach out your hand and touch the hand or the shoulder of another. You can still inspire if you do buck up. And if you don't, the legacy you leave behind will be clouded iwth negativity. You would miss the laughter you could laugh, the wisdom you could share, the stories you could tell, the service you could give back for all the opportunity you've been given but have been too imperfect to appreciate.
Build some courage within yourself. Convince yourself of your own self-worth. Think of a good life and what that would look like for you, and start making baby steps towards it and never fucking give up. Please!
Wednesday 11 April 2012
Easter and Spring
In the Fall i wrote about thanksgiving, halloween, and christmas. I wondered if that would be all the holidays my son and i would begin celebrating in our own ways, but today i had a revelation. Easter has come and gone. I saw easter paraphernalia in CVS and some neighbors had brown rabbits on by their entrance. Some younger folks were going to california for the 'easter bowl,' my favorite tennis tournament in my teens.
I was feeling cold and felt i needed to thaw out, so my son got in the carriage and i went for a walk/run to the playground. I passed the evangelical or episcopal or presbyterian church that is on my road and we stopped at the playground there. After frollicking to our hearts delight, my son wanted to go into the church. There's a playgroup we attend there so he thought maybe there'd be a room full of children. It was empty, but we walked deeper into the church and into the presbyterian section of the church. There's a synagogue too, which recently celebrated Passover (which is also relevant to this idea i'm working out right here.)
I opened the heavy wooden doors and was greeted by beautiful stained glass windows and a huge organ in the front. There was a cross, but nothing too horrific was depicted. I walked to the front automatically becoming a little reverent. I noticed a writing on the wall that said "I am resurrection, I am life. Those who believe in [ressurection and life] shall live, even if they die." or something along those lines.
The pastor of the church takes jesus christ literally in everything he says, rather than poetically which i think is a misunderstanding of astronomical consequences. When i asked pastor david for his explanation of jesus saying "i am the son of god" and saying "we are all children of god" and the pastor said "Yes, we are all children of god, but jesus is MORE special." Right.
Well "I am resurrection, I am life," that, to me, conveys SPRING!!! The winter is over, the death is resurrected. And in my experience, I have noticed that even that which decays will give birth to growth once more. Here's a video of decaying vegetables and the parallel sprouting of a potato to illustrate my point. It is only logical that we could consider our own death as a gift to the earth from which we will become compost. These days we don't embrace death so much. We embalm corpses and put them in tank-coffins and hope the earth won't touch us. That'll change eventually, but its worth mentioning it, in case you haven't thought of it. It reminds me of the woman creating a mushroom burial suit filled with spores of fungi that will most effectively detoxify her body and eat her up. Besides incineration, there aren't that many environmental options for properly disposing of our bodies. My grandmothers corpse comes pretty close. Her ashes were put into a cement coral reef and sunk off the coast of Florida and fishes will begin to live in it. People are thinking of these things. I like the mushroom suit :) and no coffin.
But EASTER! Yes, springtime is wonderful. but how shall i celebrate it!? Passover is also a celebration of spring. Wikipedia says that to ensure that passover did not happen before spring, they would wait until the barley ripened as a gauge. For a few centuries it has been a mathematically fixed date, however, so even if the barley is not ripe, jews get together and eat unleavened bread. This tidbit of information will inspire me to plant barley in the fall and watch it ripen in the spring.
But what will i do for a spring celebration? I love the festival of colors originating in India where powdered colors are thrown at each other and into the air. That is messy though. I definitely want to do it someday. THey're even doin it in UTAH!
In japan and dc they have a cherry blossom festival. I do like that, actually. That resonates well with me.
Not because its so japanese, but because when you gather the fallen petals in your hand and throw them up in the air, they flutter like confetti all around you and it feels so celebratory. Maybe i can take that idea and make it bigger, like bring bucket loads of fallen petals and have a grand parade honoring the flowers of spring or something. Hmmm...
But the nice thing about rituals is that it marks the year.
I guess so do pictures, and i definitely take much more pictures in the spring and summer.
Lent. I have always liked the concept of Ramadan, fasting, and lent. As a ritual, it is a very good one! Before the spring officially arrives, just as the days begin getting longer, we hold off on indulging in all the excess and get down to the basics. Praying, almsgiving, fasting, I like all of that and then spring (easter) is the big reward after 40 days of delaying gratification. Recently i realized the wonders of delaying gratification, and really would appreciate the practice of expanding my capacity to delay gratification.
Lent rocks! Okay. Next year i shall remember to do this as the days lengthen :) Its too late now! Spring already sprung.
;)
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Amazing breakthrough's!!
When raising a child we notice the jumps in consciousness the child makes. Its wonderful when we experience it for ourselves.
At what point do we get slower with making progress? Some of these humans probably rarely slow down! I aspire to be one of them.
I have lately been learning about discipline. I have been an impulsive person since adolescence, and have become weak to instant gratification. Today I have learned the benefits of delaying gratification.
Indeed, it is the only decent way to live. The pleasure is immense, and the rewards are so great!!!
What an exciting discovery :)
At what point do we get slower with making progress? Some of these humans probably rarely slow down! I aspire to be one of them.
I have lately been learning about discipline. I have been an impulsive person since adolescence, and have become weak to instant gratification. Today I have learned the benefits of delaying gratification.
Indeed, it is the only decent way to live. The pleasure is immense, and the rewards are so great!!!
What an exciting discovery :)
Monday 26 March 2012
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Thinking us into peace
I've been listening to too much news (the horrific kind) and reading 'a peoples history of the united states' and so to counteract the negativity, i went to an empty church hall and talked out loud.
I usually avoid news sources, but occasionally i feel like i'm ignoring bad news, so i delve into it. It leaves me feeling awful, so i soon go back to my way of being happy and content by visualizing the perfect world and taking steps to helping actualize that world. I've already made it clear in previous posts how i try to do that, i think.
But today i asked, what am i supposed to do with this information? When i get my news from facebook, i have gotten it to a point where i only receive updates on ecovillages, articles on green movements, and obama singing sweet home chicago. When listening to the news on the radio or tv i hear about two year olds getting shot, an ex boyfriend strangling girlfriend at uva, and the death count in libya. And i wondered, is this a flaw in the characteristics of humanity? My inability to be moved to action to rectify something so far away? My concern and mission revolves around the people i interact with, and my aspirations are to do what i love and bring joy and helpfulness to others around me. And i won't travel to libya.
So how can i help? My theory is that if people were content and happy there'd be no fighting for power or resources. Naive and simplistic, perhaps, but I can't afford the mental resources to dig deeper than that. So with that in mind, one thing i can do is to start an awareness campaign on how to be content and happy. Its not that difficult to practice, yet it seems many people don't practice it... A lot of people are unhappy. I rarely see happy people. Then again, i'm on the east coast on the outskirts of dc. People get happier when you go west, because for some reason they practice contentment. Its a practice, and i haven't completely mastered it, but here's what it is (so far, in a nutshelll)
1. At least once a day, make it a habit to think about things you are grateful for, or things you ought to feel grateful for.
2. Move and exercise
3. Eat healthful foods. This will make you love your body and eventually give you real energy and you won't rely on coffee. You'll also get sick less.
4. cultivate friendships and maintain connections. If you keep showing up regularly, its bound to happen.
As for cultivating a world of peace, there are certain outlooks that if you cultivate, will naturally expand to the rest of humanity. If you disagree with any of the following statements, then your belief is contributing to wars around the world.
1. Humans share common needs, desires, and capacity for creativity.
2. There is enough for everyone (therefore, i have enough and can afford to give more)
3. a fulfilling life for me can be helpful and beneficial to others and does not need to be competitive
4. I do not have to suffer to be helpful. I can be using my strengths and talents to do what i love, and it is contributing to the well being of others.
5. If humans have food, shelter, connection, a beautiful environment, and time for creative pursuits, that is sufficient for happiness. An accumulation of wealth has not shown itself to be satisfactory.
These are all thoughts that contribute to peacefulness. Even if you have issues with the statements, you can agree that its a nice reality to live in. We choose the reality we live in every moment. Most of those choices are habitual, but we can always decide to change the way we experience reality.
So thats my contribution to the attainment of peace
I usually avoid news sources, but occasionally i feel like i'm ignoring bad news, so i delve into it. It leaves me feeling awful, so i soon go back to my way of being happy and content by visualizing the perfect world and taking steps to helping actualize that world. I've already made it clear in previous posts how i try to do that, i think.
But today i asked, what am i supposed to do with this information? When i get my news from facebook, i have gotten it to a point where i only receive updates on ecovillages, articles on green movements, and obama singing sweet home chicago. When listening to the news on the radio or tv i hear about two year olds getting shot, an ex boyfriend strangling girlfriend at uva, and the death count in libya. And i wondered, is this a flaw in the characteristics of humanity? My inability to be moved to action to rectify something so far away? My concern and mission revolves around the people i interact with, and my aspirations are to do what i love and bring joy and helpfulness to others around me. And i won't travel to libya.
So how can i help? My theory is that if people were content and happy there'd be no fighting for power or resources. Naive and simplistic, perhaps, but I can't afford the mental resources to dig deeper than that. So with that in mind, one thing i can do is to start an awareness campaign on how to be content and happy. Its not that difficult to practice, yet it seems many people don't practice it... A lot of people are unhappy. I rarely see happy people. Then again, i'm on the east coast on the outskirts of dc. People get happier when you go west, because for some reason they practice contentment. Its a practice, and i haven't completely mastered it, but here's what it is (so far, in a nutshelll)
1. At least once a day, make it a habit to think about things you are grateful for, or things you ought to feel grateful for.
2. Move and exercise
3. Eat healthful foods. This will make you love your body and eventually give you real energy and you won't rely on coffee. You'll also get sick less.
4. cultivate friendships and maintain connections. If you keep showing up regularly, its bound to happen.
As for cultivating a world of peace, there are certain outlooks that if you cultivate, will naturally expand to the rest of humanity. If you disagree with any of the following statements, then your belief is contributing to wars around the world.
1. Humans share common needs, desires, and capacity for creativity.
2. There is enough for everyone (therefore, i have enough and can afford to give more)
3. a fulfilling life for me can be helpful and beneficial to others and does not need to be competitive
4. I do not have to suffer to be helpful. I can be using my strengths and talents to do what i love, and it is contributing to the well being of others.
5. If humans have food, shelter, connection, a beautiful environment, and time for creative pursuits, that is sufficient for happiness. An accumulation of wealth has not shown itself to be satisfactory.
These are all thoughts that contribute to peacefulness. Even if you have issues with the statements, you can agree that its a nice reality to live in. We choose the reality we live in every moment. Most of those choices are habitual, but we can always decide to change the way we experience reality.
So thats my contribution to the attainment of peace
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