The Perfect Moment

It's been a while since I have written. I presume that most anyone that follows this will excuse the lapse given the holiday season and the rush that seems to pervade this time of year. And what a rush it has been this time around.

I'm reading a book that I picked up at the airport entitled "2012: The Return of Queztalcoatl" by a man named Daniel Pinchbeck, and so far, I find it fascinating and would recommend it. But if you take my holiday rush wrap it in some emotional semi-upheaval and multiply that by a mind-trip to the nth degree, then you can start to understand where I have found myself at the end of this year. What a learning experience! It has certainly been one hell of a year. All for the betterment and enlightenment of me. No doubt about that. It hasn't always been easy to see that, but I do see it, at least when I choose to.

I mentioned the book because it has given me a new word: kairos. Now, I've told you before that I am a nerd through and through, and one of my greatest joys is reading books that expand my vocabulary. "Kairos" is a Greek word meaning: the right moment. This "right moment" is meant more as it pertains to the "metamorphosis of the gods". 2008 has been kairos for me. It has been kairos for you too. It could not be another way.

There is so much fear put upon our world through media, politicians, our parents, teachers, you name it. There is a global economic meltdown, an impending climatological disaster, there are corrupt politicians, corrupt bankers, scandalous religious leaders, and just general all-around bad guys running amok. Wow! That all seems so overwhelmingly gloomy.

I propose to you that this planet is in kairos. I propose that this planet is a direct reflection of the collective human consciousness and psyche. That these inevitable cataclysms are all part of the perfect order that will enable us as a species to evolve to the next level of consciousness. These are by no means any new words. I'm not trying to pretend I have single-handedly wrestled some great truth from the jaws of the mysterious unknown. Ghandi said this many years ago. Jung said it. Jesus the Christ said it even longer ago. If we can agree that there is a collective consciousness then I will assume that we can agree that it all starts with us, the individual as we each contribute to it everyday in our own way.

I'll explain to you what I mean. Have you ever done something or seen someone else do something that you or they "shouldn't" have been able to do, but you or they were successful because "you/they didn't know any better"? I thought about this today while I was around my niece and two nephews. They were playing outside and the sun was slowly disappearing and a wind began whipping around the backyard. My immediate thought was they should put on a jacket so they would keep warm and not catch a cold. Then I thought, well, if they don't know they will catch a cold, will they? My next thought was, perhaps it's too late because they could get sick just from the fact that everyone and their mother through the ages has believed that kids will get sick if they don't put on their jackets when it gets a little chilly. So, if they did get sick, would it be their own doing, our the collective of human consciousness passed down through the ages? And if it is the collective, how do we start changing that? And did I reinforce that collective by merely thinking those thoughts? Oh, what a tangled web. But I'm getting a bit carried away, and I'll get back to this right moment.

I'm doing my best to acknowledge the lessons I have been given, and I am working at being grateful in my pain for my experience and the wisdom gained. I am successful and then I slip, but hopefully I learn how to hold my ground a little better each time. I am spending some time in Arkansas with my family which is a fun little test all by itself being in the middle of nowhere. I went for a run today, and I tried my best to run a loop that I had driven with my dad a few times. I made some unnecessary turns, but I persevered. At about the third unnecessary turn, I heard a voice in my head, who I believe was my grandfather passed, and he said, "You lost young fella?" I heard myself say, "No sir, I just discovered some ways that don't lead back to the house."

We are always learning. There is nothing that happens to us that we don't need to grow and mature. Some days are easier than others. Sometimes the thing you thought you got past creeps up and bites you again. It's ok. These things will happen. We English speakers have borrowed something from the French to say it beautifully: "C'est la vie". Live. Learn. Always love. No matter what, always love. If we can just hold on to that, then we will see everything as kairos, and that will, indeed, lead us to a metamorphosis of pure light and truth. I hope you enjoyed this post, and I hope that it meant something to you, but I will be honest, I wrote this one, as I do most, to me for my own healing. Enjoy this moment. It is perfect.

She Dances This Life

She walks with a purpose I have never seen
Captivating, emanating a grandeur from an ancient life
Borrowed from Helena or Cleopatra to be here now
Her grace flows so freely, enchanting those who see
An effortless beauty time itself cannot withstand
She laughs in the face of things we cannot control
This life so seemingly elementary in its vast complexity

Her eyes dance in a shimmering light of innocence
But they belie the wisdom of lives lived and gone
Her smile enthralls, her laugh disarms
This child of time dances on the wind
Her feelings and thoughts telegraphed in gentle rain
Cleansing and purifying the souls that are open
Delivering sustenance to the starving

She gives so freely in superfluous amounts
But some are inclined to deny such generosity
Feeling undeserving, or perhaps envy is their ally
Yet she carries on, refusing none who will partake
She will dance and deliver as long as we believe
She needs only one that dares to take the chance
As long as I can, I will watch her dance

Hell Freezes Over?

Hell. Sin City. It's close enough, right? Some people think of Las Vegas as the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah, although those people were eradicated by flames and brimstone, not buried in fluffy white goodness. And what exactly is brimstone, anyway? Can you just add hickory chips and pile on your favorite dead animals and veggies? (By the way, I do know what brimstone is, don't insult my intelligence, only I get to do that to you - er, I mean massage your minds. Look it up, if you don't know. I only have two words for Sodom and Gomorrah: Pee and Yew!) Ok, I digress.

Not much to say about this one, but if you still doubt that our climate is changing rather rapidly and perhaps drastically, check out the link for this one (just click on the title). I have been to Vegas several times. I have been there in the "winter" months, and I have never brought my overcoat, galoshes and gloves, nor have I needed my windshield scraper.

Yeah, yeah, you say, but who really knows? And you're right. I remember a Christmas outside Chicago when I was a kid where we opened the windows because it was so warm and pleasant outside. So maybe it all means nothing. Or maybe it's time to dust off the sandwich board I made so I can stand on the corner clanging my bell, letting my hair and beard grow long and scraggly, proclaiming that NOW is the time to repent as the final judgment is surely at hand. Sinners! The lot of you! All sinners!

Forgive me, that was a dream I had a few nights ago. Well, anyhoo, I'll be praying that we become an island in the Pacific! I really want to live on the beach, I just don't really want to move. Wow, I really need an editor. So, bundle up kiddos! I'll see you next time on the Impending Disaster Channel!

"Mommy, What Are You Finding?"

The title of this post comes from a brilliant 4 year old young man, and since the day that he said it, I have not been able to shake its genius from my mind. His mother was "looking for" her keys, and she was having such a troublesome time locating them. Her son didn't see it that way. He wanted to know what she was "finding", not what she was "looking for".

If you really take the time to ponder these wonderful words from the mouth of a babe, I think you'll see the brilliance in them. The keys were not lost to him, the keys were being found. How many times do we "find" exactly what we are "looking for"? I'll spare you the suspense in case you're not into it. The answer is every time.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a dear friend. She was lovingly chastising me for what I referred to as "testing the Universe". She questioned why I would continue to push because if I continued to do so, then the Universe would give me exactly what I said I wanted. I agree with her on that point. She explained that some people will pull an Angel Card or a Tarot Card, or whatever card, and they won't like the answer, so they pull another. And if that doesn't match what they want, they pull another, and another, and so on, until finally they get something that matches their desire or backs up what they want to hear. That's a lot of work to not listen to the signs we are being given. This could just as easily be a prayer instead of a card, and God instead of the Universe. I hope you won't get caught up in labels. So many times we try so hard to search, or ask, or pray, or pull cards to get something that makes us feel better about our choices or finally gives us what we convince ourselves we want/need to hear.

So what are you finding? The answer is and always will be, exactly what you want. If we want to push and push and push, the Universe, God, or whatever you happen to believe in, may in fact give you exactly what you ask for. Is that the easiest way to our highest good? Maybe, maybe not, but if we choose to act this way, we will always find out sooner or later if it was or was not the easiest path.

I was listening today to a really wonderful man, Francis X. Maguire. He is an amazing storyteller with so much experience, wisdom, and he has had some of the most interesting encounters you have ever heard. JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Colonel Sanders, the list goes on. He recounts a story about an old man that sits at the gate of an old city. A traveler walks up and asks the old man, "What kind of a city is this?" The old man replies, "What kind of a city was it where you came from?" The traveler says, "Oh! It was horrible! I couldn't stand the people! They were so wretched, and I couldn't wait to get out of there." The old man looks at the traveler and coolly states, "Well, that's exactly what you will find here." A second traveler happens upon the city gate and sees the old man. He asks, "Excuse me, sir. Could you tell me what kind of a city this is?" Again, the old man asks, "What kind of a city was it were you came from?" This traveler replies, "Oh! It was wonderful! I loved that city, and I have friends for life there." The old man says, "Well, that's exactly what you'll find here."

The point is, you always get what you're looking for. The 4 year old boy understood that. The fact that it was keys was completely irrelevent to him. It could have been anything, and I know he has an inherently beautiful sense of the cosmic, so I like to believe he has the capacity to grasp this concept on some level.

If you want to see yourself as a bad person, you will find a bad person. If you want to find a bad person in someone you love, or even someone you don't know, you will find that too. If you want to find anger, bitterness, animosity, anxiety, all those things will be there. We can look for the love, peace, compassion, patience and understanding too. It's up to you. It's up to me.

There is another famous quote about how we don't see people as they are, we see them as we are. With whom are you upset, hurt or bitter towards? It's not them. More often than not, it is at ourselves that we need to take a closer look. My good buddy (at least in spirit) Jack Johnson states it interestingly: "we are only what we hate". I think we need to ask ourselves what it is that we hate or hurts us or bothers us. Then I think we need to ask ourselves why those things sit so uncomfortably with us. I believe the answer is always the same: we see those things in ourselves, and we don't want to believe or acknowledge they exist. It's difficult and simple at the same time, but like anything else, it just takes practice. Look for the things you want in yourself, your partner, your family, friends, etc., and you will find those things every time. That's what we need to be "finding", the rest is not to be "looked for".

A New Relationship

Relationship: the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.

It is time for a new relationship for all humanity. It is time that humanity, in general, discovers, or perhaps I should say, remembers, what it means to have a true relationship. There is no disconnection in a true relationship. If you are fighting with your lover, your spouse, your family member, or your "brother" in another country across some imaginary border, then you are not connected. If you could find connection, there would be understanding, compassion, love and truth. Animosity, greed, jealousy, hatred, these things cannot exist in such a climate. The light of truth would swallow them whole and leave only love.

In times where families, both physical and spiritual, are coming together in ways this planet has not seen in some time, I hereby open myself and my family to you and yours, whomever or wherever you may be. There is much work to be done on this planet right now, and if we did nothing more than encourage and lovingly support one another energetically, we would all have much to gain from such a relationship. The rest of our world would have much to gain. If we can serve you and your family in this work, know that we are open. I know that we could serve you if you are so inclined to accept.

I expect nothing and am willing to give everything as it pertains to helping myself and the people of this world evolve to a higher consciousness. If you are reading this, then I will assume that I should expect that same feeling from you, as you were drawn to read this for reasons of your own. It just felt like the perfect time to share my thoughts. In, fact, I know that now is always the perfect time. It can be no other way. So, to my friends and family, and to friends and family I have yet to meet, take care, be strong, and know that I reserve a place for you and your family to join me and my family so that we may exponentially expand our awareness to those things beyond our current dimension, expand our feelings and knowings of purest love, and expand our reach and capacity to help others do the same.

I'll Take One Miracle, Please. And A Side Of Wow!

This is an open letter and prayer to the Universe, God, Transdimensional Beings of Light, Masters of Divine Light and Anything and Anyone else that might be listening.

It has been proclaimed of me and by me that I have the patience and tolerance of Job. It seems that you, the Universe, and in agreement with me, has seen fit, to test this proclamation. I have lost the woman I have loved more than any other and with whom I expected to spend the rest of my life for reasons I currently understand not. Monies thought to be assured have proven not to be, and I have found myself in a financial deficit the likes of which I have never known. I have a family reunion taking place this Christmas that hasn't happened in over 10 years to which I have no idea of how I will be able to find the money to arrive in time. I owe money to several different places, and I have rent to pay on January 1st.

All these tests and trials were agreed upon long before my arrival here on this planet. These lessons are the lessons I currently need in order to evolve to the next plane of my spiritual development. I can agree to that. I planned these lessons. I agreed to the timing. I welcomed the challenge.

And since that is true, then I seem to remember that I was given the option of calling upon the Universe for a Miracle when there was a need for one. Well, I am calling in my Miracle. I don't know how, and I don't know where or when. I do know that it is not my job to know the how, and at the same time, I also know that I am entitled to make this call at this time as it was agreed upon before I left. Therefore, I know that my timing is nothing less than perfect.

I am also asking that you take care of the ones that I love. There is a beautiful woman and extraordinary young man that deserve the best this life has to offer. They need your help right now as well. Take care of them as you take care of me. We are all one and the same, and as you help one, you help another, and so help us all. So, within the next two weeks, I hereby declare that I am in need of one Miracle of the financial variety to get me to my family so that I may ease my mind, heal my heart and restore my soul as well as help the woman and her adorable young son that I love so dearly and pay the bills that currently await me.

I am grateful for the lessons I have heretofore been given. I am grateful for the lessons currently being dispensed. I acknowledge that sometimes there is pain with growth. I thank you for whatever pain I must experience in order to fulfill the growth we previously agreed would contribute to my maturation. And seeing that this is a Divine plan, a plan agreed upon and not imposed, I gratefully accept the Miracle for which I now ask. Thank you for me. Thank you for the beautiful, amazing woman of light and her magnificent child. Thank you for this world, as I know this Miracle will in myriad ways (many of which I may not at this moment fully understand) be of benefit to the entire planet. Thank you. I graciously, humbly and eagerly await bestowal of this wonderful Miracle.

Yours in gratitude here on Earth,

Jon

I'm Talking To You! Wait. Who Said That?

Do you ever talk to yourself? Have you ever been in public thinking so intensely about something that you have to stop and ask yourself, “Did I just say any of that out loud?” We all talk to ourselves, consciously, unconsciously, and sometimes out loud if we don’t think anyone will hear us. I don’t believe we need to ask ourselves if we are crazy, but I know the better question we need to ask ourselves is, do we ever truly listen to what we say to ourselves?

You don’t have to be in deep thought to be talking to yourself. In fact, sometimes you don’t have to say or think a word for your unconscious mind/body/spirit to absorb the energy surrounding a conditioned response. An action, or perhaps more accurately a re-action, can take the form of self-communication.

A word that I believe is misused and over-used is the word “sorry”. If someone bumps into you in a crowded place, and you say, “I’m sorry”, then you are telling yourself that you are at fault, you didn’t deserve the space you were occupying, and therefore, the other person was more deserving and you shouldn’t have been so rude as to be in the way of that person. You most likely do not consciously take yourself completely down this trail of thought, but that is the problem, you don’t have to because you have conditioned yourself to feel and experience it in an instant. Now, I’m not speaking about the time you completely smashed a flip-flop clad someone’s toe under your boot and that caused an excruciating amount of physical pain to them; just a casual brush or bump is sufficient for our example, and if you did smash someone’s toe then an apology is quite appropriate. Even if the alleged bumping wasn’t your fault or doing, an “excuse me” would be much more apropos, and even a little more gentle and loving to you.

Or maybe you made a mistake or some blunder (which is really only an experience and lesson if you choose to see it positively) you are prone to saying something we have all said, such as, “Oh! I’m such an idiot!” What have you just done by saying this? You have just reinforced in your being that you are indeed an idiot, and the next time you have the opportunity to learn, you miss the point and, again exclaim that you are an idiot or stupid or not good enough, thereby solidifying that you are the idiot you so unconsciously deem yourself to be. The world presents all of us with enough opportunity to receive negative input, that we are remiss and completely denying ourselves the opportunity to give ourselves love and evolve if we choose to add to the cause of our own demise.

Huge Sale! Hurry! Buy Now! I Have One Democracy, And It Won't Last!

Ok, so the great state of California is in financial crisis. It will run out of money for simple day-to-day operations by March unless, unless -- oh, wait, there is no unless yet. They don't know how they can get the state out of this financial quagmire right now.

What happens to you at your job if you don't perform well in the duties for which you were hired? Reprimand? Write-up? Suspension? Pink slip? Not for these individuals. I would like to know if this monetary shortage means that the senators and representatives no longer receive their salaries beginning in March. It doesn't appear that they are so concerned to make anything happen, as both sides of the proverbially aisle continue to bicker like small children over who has a bigger slice of cake.

The people who own the task of preserving and maintaining the community ideal are failing miserably. And what do we give them for this inadequate performance? $169,300 a year. That is over $14,000 a month, over $3,500 a week, and over $500 a day. And if we count the actual days they were in session (93, and yes that is for the year) it works out to be over $1,800 a day. Oh, to be so gleefully incompetent!

Part of the problem is that they haven't been able to sell bonds because investors are wary right now. A potential solution? Have the federal government give a guarantee to give investors more confidence. I would laugh at that punchline if I thought it was funny.

Remember when your Uncle Harvey asked you to do some yard work and told you there would be a tip in it for you when you finish? And remember how excited you were and how hard you worked? And remember how you didn't even mind that you cut your hand on some thorns while pulling out some weeds? And remember when you finished and you walked right up to Uncle Harvey with your chest out, sweat running down your face, a thin trail of dried blood down to your elbow, and declared your completion of the job with the greatest pride and anticipation for your reward? And remember when that son of a - (ok, I'll keep it G-rated) said to you, and I quote, "You wanna tip, kid? Don't take any wooden nickels!" And remember the year you spent in juvie for beating him over the head with a shovel? Oh, wait, sorry, that wasn't you. Um, anyway. Imagine me yelling this next part. That's exactly what it feels like to go ask our government for a financial guarantee when they have a deficit of over 10 trillion dollars! It's an empty expectation.

I'm ok, now. So, what can we do? Well, what if all those representatives and senators took a bit of a pay cut until they find a way to do their jobs properly? Let's go with a $69,300 pay cut. That leaves them with only the other $100,000 they make in addition to that, which, in case you don't know, is about twice the national average of a household income. That's not individual, that's household. That would free up almost $4,000,000 a year. Now I know that's not much money these days, but it's a start. So maybe we could implement that pay cut across the board on a national scale. That's almost $35,000,000 annually counting 453 representatives and 50 senators. Granted, it's a slightly flawed plan that should pay down the deficit in a few short centuries, but I don't see them doing anything other than spending more money that doesn't really exist. And since our elected officials only work so sporadically for the American people, then perhaps they don't need so many fancy buildings to heat, cool, light, etc. I know many religious faiths have a proclivity towards big guady structures on prime real estate, perhaps a "fire sale" is in order. As in fire this government! Ok, now. Now, I'm ok.

Money is a joke. When we can send money and exchange money and never even see that money, it's not real. They only count on us to buy into the illusion that it is, and we do. Every single one of us, but that is an entirely different topic. So, I hope I can inspire you to fire our government. Local, state and national. So far they have only shown that they suck at this governing thing. Now go out there and be the bosses we were meant to be! I'll see you for coffee break.

Now I Lay Me Down...A New Prayer

As I lie in bed to fall asleep in this Dimension
I die tonight to the Illusion of this Reality
So that I may rest safely in the Cradle of the Divine
To be replenished and refreshed
Show me the Knowledge I currently require
Allow me to understand the Reality there
And give me Strength and Courage
To implement Lessons given
Enrich my Belief on this Plane of Veils
Transmute my UnBelief into unwavering Quietude
So as I bolster Faith in Truth
Truth cheerfully shows itself more freely
May I awaken with Vim and Vigor
With eyes and heart anew
So that my Light will shine brighter upon my return
Passing Peace and Love through me
And on to all I encounter
And as I open myself to Acceptance
So it shall be

A Case Of Weights and Measures

So the unattached observing can be incredibly difficult, and perhaps even more so when you know that you are supposed to be doing it. What is this balancing act required of us? And where two or more are gathered in Balancing's name, who or what decides what is an acceptable and just equilibrium? And if one of the two, or three of the five, or 1,000 of the 1,000,000 do not agree on what is precisely the middle, how do we measure fairness to all involved?

I am learning to live and love without reservation. And believe me, if there were a maitre d for this life, I would much prefer to have called in my reservation a few years ago, and be certain of where I was sitting and that a wonderful meal would soon be on its way. To be fair, just being in the restaurant is fun in and of itself. Perhaps, not knowing where one is sitting is fuel for the excitement and joy of just being, and, besides, you still know there is a wonderfully delicious meal awaiting you once you are seated. Life without reservation is a most interesting challenge that is seemingly the perfect fit for me to overcome in this moment.

Our strength is in ourselves. The weight of any situation is determined by us and us alone. We are measured not by others, but by standards self-imposed. There is no reason for obstacles. Obstacles are for the unfocused, undetermined, and unsure. Challenges are for those who are sharp and clear in their intent. The difference is vast. I am finding my way to seeing obstacles as challenges and knowing in my heart what is clear for my life. To all who are reading this, know that I love you. I am doing my best to make that statement pure. Truly. With all that I have to give without reservation.

My Normal Week

Wow! What a week! Reese Witherspoon is no longer the highest paid actress. O.J. Simpson was sentenced to 9 years in prison. The Big 3 CEO's drove hybrids to D.C. instead of flying private jets. A Malaysian man was stabbed to death for "hogging" the karaoke machine. The U.S. flexed its already overly developed militant muscle by showing they could hit a target with a missile. Ball State wussed out on playing a real contender in the Humanitarian Bowl against Boise State. And let's think about the idea that one of the most brutal games that modern civilization has borne into existence (football, in case you're lost) is being played in something called a Humanitarian Bowl. That's humor, folks. I had to send the life of my love back to her home in Utah. (Yes, you read that correctly.) I moved my friend into the small 2nd bedroom in the small duplex in which I reside, AND I put up Christmas decorations for the first time in my life, all by myself! And, it's only Friday! Missouri has a chance to really screw things up for the BCS tomorrow if they can upset Oklahoma, and Florida can beat Alabama for a little extra fun. That's what I will be rooting for.

It's funny the things to which we attach ourselves. I am struggling with having seen the beautiful life of my love for seven wonderful days, and then having to say goodbye to her as she heads back to the cold, snowy mountains and her amazing young son. I miss them both. I promised her I wouldn't use the 'miss' word again, but since this is to the universe, I am trusting she won't hold that against me.

My friend and new roomie were having this beautiful spiritually-centric conversation last night over some Mexican food, part of which I would like to share with you. I know that in a spiritual world, in which we all reside despite these corporeal manifestations in which we house ourselves, there are no boundaries of time and space. My spirit communicates all the time with her, my family, whomever I desire. And that is beautifully reciprocated constantly from her spirit as well. So why do I allow pain of loss to creep in? I don't know that answer for sure, except that maybe that is just part of the human condition. I believe I can be unattached and still be loving, warm, compassionate and giving. It is undeniably a precious balancing act, but one that exists and is there for me, and us all, to fully implement into our "normal" everyday lives. I'm ready for that new sense (or perhaps it's just a remembered sense long forgotten) of normal where we all can be unattached observers and just allow love and light to flow forth freely. A normal where we live and love without reservation.

Thank You, I Am Continuously Editing

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you that have visited and commented on the posts thus far. This is something new for me, so I would greatly appreciate any feedback about what you like, don't like, want more of, want me to talk about, etc. If you have questions, I would be more than happy to answer them. I am still figuring this out, so if anyone can help me with the concept of linking and backlinking, etc., so that we can raise the visibility of the blog, I am all ears. I have changed some things in the Plaxico Burress article, starting with title. I have added some paragraph breaks to the articles posted to hopefully make them easier to read. I hope this is socially acceptable in the blogosphere, but if I happen to breach some etiquette of which I am unaware, I ask that you let me know so that we can maintain the peace here. Thank you all so much. This is becoming such a fun experiment for me! (I told you i was a nerd.)

Australia - Go See It!

As a bit of a skeptic in terms of my waning faith in what Hollywood can produce that actually has merit, it is with great joy that I completely recommend that you go see Australia. The movie, not the piece of land that is sometimes a continent and sometimes a country depending on the context. If you have the means and the time, however, by all means, go see that land. I have yet to visit that particular piece of this rock in this dimension, but I am all for adventure, and I can only imagine (or Google) what beauty is inherent in that place.

For now, I will not spoil anything for those who have yet to see it by commenting too much on the film and the wonderfully touching moments that I experienced while enjoying every second of the 160 some odd minutes of this epic. Suffice it to say for now, that there is a longing for magic, love and true beauty in our lives today, and many times we look to books, movies and our televisions to give us a sense of what we either consciously or unconsciously acknowledge as a lack of the divine in our everyday lives. Soon, i trust and believe, this sense of the divine will become a commonplace experience for us all.

That being said, go see this film. It is full of love, beauty, magic and a divinity for which all of us yearn. In the words of some great poets on Saturday Night Live, "Hear me now, believe me later." I leave you with these words: I will sing you to this movie. Go see it, and these words will make sense. One day soon, we won't need to see a movie, for these words will become the norm of what we experience in every aspect of this adventure we call life.

Words By Which To Live

Everyone has advice for us. Our parents, grandparents and other family members, teachers, priests, pastors and possibly mentors are always doling out perceived words of wisdom in what they believe to be our best interest and for our protection. “Go to school and get an education so you can get a good job and have security.” “Be careful! Don’t fall!” “It’s better to be silent and thought a fool then to speak and remove all doubt.” Thanks, Dad, for that last one. Ad nauseum. And I’m sure that at least during some point in all of our lives we would say to perhaps add even a little more nauseum.

There is great truth, wisdom and value in a lot of advice, as long as it is solicited and you feel comfortable and confident in sifting through what works for and serves you and you recognize and politely excuse yourself from that which doesn’t. I believe the problem with much of this “sound” advice is that it inherently implies that you are operating from a place of lack.

Take the common and widespread beliefs of the aforementioned advice. What do they imply? You lack the ability to search for and find your own answers. You lack the fortitude to handle a disappointment or setback and turn it into a learning experience. You lack the charisma, eloquence or intellect to have anyone see you as positive contribution to any conversation. But do you? The only real answer is, of course, inside you.

If you believe that you are operating from this perceived idea or place of lack, then you are operating from just such a place, and vice versa, if you do not believe this, or better yet, if you believe in something with a more positive outlook, such as, “I operate from a place of abundance”, then you are living your life from that beautiful space. The truth of the matter is that only you can decide how you are living your life in this moment. The moments, this moment is the only one that matters and that which deserves your focus. So, how do we live this life of beauty, abundance, and awareness? (Fill in your own desired adjective.) That may be the most simple and yet complicated answer of all time.

A large part of this enigma (which has clearly become the socially accepted norm) lies in the words by which we choose to live. It’s the words we choose when speaking to ourselves. Pay attention today. You can give yourself just one day; you deserve at least that much for yourself. What do you say or think that comes in the form of the negative? Now ask yourself what you can do to change it to the positive. This is much more than just positive thinking. I don't think we need a bunch of Pollyanna's running around, but in every extreme there is a light that shines to the truth somewhere in the middle. Just try to monitor yourself today and see what happens. Don't judge, just observe. It's not about right or wrong. I am a bit of a nerd, so I personally like to think of it as an experiment, but follow what turns you on and resonates for you. Have fun, this is your experience in human form after all, act accordingly.

Plaxico Burress - Is Better Than You?

I realize that some of you may not know what or who a Plaxico Burress is, so I will give you a brief update. Plaxico Burress is an NFL star for the New York Giants. Mr. Burress currently makes about $80,000 a week to play for these Giants, and that's every week, not just the weeks in which he plays the game of football, and, barring a trade or re-negotiation of his contract, he will continue on that same financial path until the year of 2011, if I did my homework correctly.

On Friday, the 28th of November, Mr. Burress illegally took a loaded handgun into a nightclub in New York precariously stored in the waistband of his sweatpants. Now, never mind the lack of sound judgment in thinking a pair of sweatpants could hold a handgun sufficiently. Never mind the argument about whether or not a professional athlete or anyone else should even be allowed to carry a handgun, publicly or otherwise. Never mind the fact that the gun eventually freed itself from the unstable waistband and began to slide down the leg of one Plaxico Burress. And never mind the curious decision of the man to disengage the safety of the gun in his pants that night just in case whatever he feared most might have come to pass in such a fashion that he would not have ample time to react appropriately. And forget the questions, "Don't they make people pass a gun safety course before they allow them a handgun? And wouldn't they tell you that a waistband in a pair of sweatpants does not a holster make?" As the gun began to slide down, he reached to catch it, and, alas, his finger found the trigger, the hammer found the firing pin, and the bullet found his thigh.

A rough circumstance to say the least. I do not wish anything but wellness to Mr. Burress. However, his predicament poses a question for this post: What makes a man, any man, or woman, (Martha Stewart?) more deserving than another? Most of us would not have had the $100,00o to pay bail that Plaxico did. Good for him. Money shouldn't be the issue. If someone has money to hire the best attorneys, we should not condemn them for it. We all pay tribute to the great god Money here on this earth. Money is not to be damned. We, the human race, originated the problem of measuring and comparing wealth, Money only came along for the ride. So we have no right or reason to lash out at those that have taken advantage of the system we all help to perpetuate. But we live down here in the land of the mortals, right? So what can we do?

We, as humans, share the full brunt of this burden. We have put this man and many others before him on pedastals galore. Plaxico may or may not believe that he walks on water or that he is entitled to preferential treatment, but that matters not. We have empowered him with the ability to buy into that entitlement and expectation as he chooses because we see him as more than a man. The irony here is that we all have talents. Plaxico's happens to be playing a difficult game at an exceptionally high level, but I believe that Plaxico cannot sing or entertain or play the piano the way a very beautiful friend of mine is able. We are all human beings. We all contribute in different ways to the world, but it is imperative that we recognize that we also collectively contribute to the psyche of the human race.

When anyone comes to a hospital with a gunshot wound, that hospital is obligated, by law, to alert the proper authorities. New York Presbyterian failed to do so. Why? Perhaps they were bigger fans of the Giants and Mr. Burress than they were fans of the laws of the land. The NYPD allegedly found out about the incident from television. If this piano playing friend of mine shot himself in the leg, do you think the hospital would fail to fulfill their legal obligation in his case? Most likely not. Now, listen, I don't agree with every law in existence either, and I have flouted my fair share to be sure, but when anyone's life is at risk, or when a gun is involved, and, more particularly, when you have taken an oath to conduct yourself according to a certain standard, then we should all expect a different result than what took place this last weekend. This is not Plaxico's burden. This is ours. The fans of the NFL, of professional sports in general, and even college for that matter, fans of movies and movies stars, fans of politics and politicians, this is our burden.

It is up to you and me to say that this is no longer an acceptable form of human behavior. We need to fully commit to the idea that no one person is higher up the human food chain than another. We will have peace and understanding in this world when one is no longer a separated one, but when one is all, when one is the whole. We have to die to our individual selves, our egos, and that goes for Mr. Burress as well. He's fortunate to play a game for a living. You and I also have the opportunity to play a game for a living.

For a living. Think about those words for a moment. It may not be football. It may not be politics or movies, or racing or whatever other occupation of which you may dream, but we all have life. This is our illusion. We can play as we choose, not necessarily as they tells us we should. Let us all, together, choose the highest path for this collective game of life. Then we will all make a living in the truest sense of those words.

Hands of Light

Flush your eyes with this serum of truth

and taste the rain that cleanses the mind

Refresh your palette as the tempest rages

to speak no more with guarded lips

Pour out with clarity your new found freedom

as it cascades delicately to the refuge of your bosom

A place where the fire burns in a purifying spirit

removing the blemishes that cloud your vision

See now as a newborn babe

and leave the comfortable darkness behind

Walk now in the hand of this light

and emanate with unparalleled beauty

A radiance previously only known to the gods

in which to bathe religiously and make your own

Open your mind and heart to limitless possibility

and join hands in this dance of the splendid

Lift your spirit with revitalized acumen

as each step transports your soul to an unwavering peace

Rest now as the Robe of Dreams drapes preciously over your shoulders

and reveals your life of spirit and tangible as one

Watch with a face of the truly awesome

as the purest love crystallizes before the visions dancing

Breathe deep the fire that consumes all doubt

breathe it out again as an embryonic enlightenment

Nurture and love are all that it needs

Wake now and believe