DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU THINK.

DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU “THINK”

This can be radical to the way we have been taught to be in the world; to not care about thoughts in a world where what we “think” is given so much importance.  If someone were to come up to you and say “I don’t care what you think” you might become offended as if it is a personal attack and yet … you are not what you “think” and we are going to take a look at how this is possible.

Let’s use the thought “I am wonderful.”  First, do you have any idea where it came from?  If you do not know where it came from then how can you take it personal if someone else doesn’t “care” about it.  You cannot be the thought “I am wonderful” if you didn’t create it, but was only aware of it.  Now, if you can slow down enough to put the attention onto what is “Aware” of the thought “I am wonderful” you can you begin to see something here that you didn’t before.  You can see that if you are Aware of the thought, you cannot actually be the thought.

You may now see that you are not the thought “I am wonderful” and since you aren’t sure where it came from … let’s come from the Awareness of the thought and look at the thought itself “I am wonderful.”  Who is the “I?”  If one is not the thought, but one is Aware of the thought, who is the “I” referring too?

The more this is looked at … the less power the thought “I” has in making you believe that you are what can be thought.  If the thought “I” is seen as false then the word “Who” becomes revealing.  The thought “who?” does not need you to care about it; the thought “I” does.  “Who?” clears the thoughts to the revealing of what is Aware of the thoughts.  “I” creates a sense of an individual and separateness from what is Aware of the thought “I.”  

All thoughts that come can either be clung to by keeping the “I” thought as real or dissipated by replacing “I” with “Who?” which clears all thoughts and leaves only the Awareness of what is actually happening.

For today, do not care about what is thought.  Watch them come and watch them go.  When you see a thought that says “I am so wonderful” question “who” to that “I” not expecting an answer, just as a referencing back onto the thought itself.  “Who is so wonderful?”  “I am.”  “Who am I?”  Let the circle be there, the circle leads one to discover that it cannot be understood; it has to be left alone.  This is where the watching/Witnessing comes in, you simply watch all of the thoughts come and go and if you are believing a thought is real, question it with “who?”  To whom do these thoughts come?  The impetus at first will always be to say “I/me” but you are not a thought “I/me” so use it as another opportunity to drop the thought “I/me” and be empty in “who?”  Eventually, it will apparent and when someone says to you, “I don’t care what you think,” you will agree.  :o)

Namaste.

HEY JEALOUSY

"Hey Jealousy"
March 12, 2013

(click image for song "Hey Jealousy")

Wiki says:  "Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness and disgust."

Recently the word "jealousy" has been appearing along with the thoughts to write something about it, so that maybe something could be seen.  In the picture above with the eggs, there is a look on the one eggs face that may imply that it is mad that the other two eggs are together, or maybe it is upset that they are resting and it is not, or that they look content and it is not.  The underlying thing of jealousy is that someone or something has what you don't and that you want it.

The quickest way to see jealousy without having to change it, is to see that there has to be a story about "you" to have the emotion labeled "jealousy" without the "you" story … jealousy is just an emotion that is labeled.    And to take it a step further, emotions are just energy; like a wave that rises and falls (one doesn't try to change a wave, but many try to change emotions, instead of just letting them be until they subside).
So jealousy can be great tool for watching emotions rise and fall without doing anything about them.  To just have them.  And it can be a great tool in the seeing that there is no "you" to be jealous, for when the depth of this realization comes, you will laugh that you were always and only jealous of your own self. That might be a big jump but let's look, if you find that there is no "you (no individual you)" then you begin to realize at the same time, that it is the same for everyone and that the "sameness" that annimates the appearance of "you" is the "same" in everyone.  In this seeing, or just Knowing, you don't have to see it, because in the world it appears as if we are all different and separate, but that is only because the attention is on the "world" and not what the world appears "IN."  That doesn't mean that you might not still feel the emotion as real, but you will know who you are jealous of; and in That Recognition once again rest in yourSelf.

Jealousy usually appears when there is either a fear of loss, that something you have or want will go to someone else, and it also appears when one does not feel adequate enough to retain what one has.   So the goal of this writing, if there is one, is to help the reader begin to use jealousy, when it arises, as a way to bring the attention back to theirSelf, instead of projecting it outwards.  You can use any example of jealousy. I just had one the other day and it was with my own child.  We both took a motorcycle class, we both drove bikes for two days, we were tested on our riding abilities and on our studies.  He passed both tests with flying colors and rave reviews from the instructor. I on the other hand did not pass the written test and just barely passed the driving.  He was thrilled, as was I for him, and yet at the same time, the feelings arose of not being good enough, that my son was better than me, that I was not good at anything in life, that I was a failure (Now you can look at all those sentences and see that if you remove the word "I/me" then all that are there are thoughts and feelings, but with no one to place them on they would just rise and fall, but with an "I" they stay around because they have someone/something to stick too.)  The more one can begin to see the "I" thought as an illusion, the less energy and intensity emotions have.  The gift in this jealousy arising was the opportunity to once again see that it takes an "I/me" to keep it alive and without it, life just happens and moves on.  It only stays (the emotion) if it is kept fed with the "I/me" thoughts.

This might be challenging to point to, but with no separation, with no "I/me" in either the form of my son or myself, there is just one thing going on ... in seemingly two forms, one getting a license and one not getting a license but that doesn't separate Self from Self.  Just like the one writing this and you reading this are in the same Self, that doesn't change that the writer writes this and the reader reads it, even though it is only One receiver/giver, appearing as more than one, yet only one and even less than one.  It is quite challenging to point to the simplicity of "Less than One."  And one might say, well who are you pointing this out too ... if there is only one...less than one ... myself :o)

So self :o)  When jealousy arises the next time and it will cause this is the training ground for remembering who you Are.  When it arises, possibly begin to see that it takes an "I" to be jealous and so you could begin by asking "Who am I" that is jealous.  You also could look at what you are afraid of losing and why you must hold on to it so tightly, if it is trying to get away and you could offer it release from your grasp.  (Which includes beliefs about yourself ... like the example above ... the willingness to let go of the belief in the "I/me" thought, drops all the beliefs and who would want to hold on to beliefs like the ones above?)

You could also look at the "other" that you are jealous of and KNOW without understanding...that it is yourSELF in another form that is receiving it, and therefore, what would you keep from yourSelf?  This may not ease your discomfort but if you are coming from the space of WHO YOU ARE then it will, but if you are coming from the space of "who you think you are" then it can be quite challenging to see and let go.  So begin to place the attention on "who you are" by discovering who you are.  When you hear the words "I/me" begin to allow the possiblity that it is a lie and all thoughts that attach to it are also lies.

KANDO

"Kando"
November 29, 2013

"There is nothing you
Kando
about the way things are
but sit back and 
wait and see 
how you will be
a part 
of the unfoldment
of the things
that you will want to see
when you stop
trying what you kando
and just simply …
Be."

THOUGHTS...

Thoughts can get taken so seriously. Sometimes thoughts become too important and what has been revealed is to just let it all drop.  Everything you think…just give it all up.  None of it is going to matter when you die ... so just die to it now.  Then you are empty again (as you always truly are), clear, empty, pure, pristine; Stillness.  

It has been mentioned (by Wayne) about looking at thoughts and beliefs like the flavors "chocolate" or "vanilla."  You pick one and let's say you really like "chocolate" and you go around telling everyone how good chocolate is and why they should like chocolate, you give taste tests.   Some people who originally liked vanilla, might now like chocolate, because you introduced it to them and they weren't aware of it, and came to find they like it more.  Then after all this work, you may find years later that you don't like chocolate anymore, ate too much of it and now are an avid vanilla eater and you once again go around telling people how great vanilla is and that now chocolate is not good for you cause you read a book on chocolate that says it is no longer good for you and you begin converting people to vanilla.

This is how it is with thoughts and beliefs.  They change over time, you pick one today and tomorrow you will find something that says something in a different direction and you start following that.  However, in the end it will not matter what flavor you preferred of anything.  When you die, you have to (figure of speech) leave your preferences at the door.  When you die, all your beliefs, ideas, thoughts die.  You return to what you already are right now, before the beliefs and thoughts.  Funny, that the beliefs and thoughts that one thinks will reveal to them who they are, where they are going, and what they are in; are the exact things that keep the Revelation from your awareness. 

At the end of your life all beliefs are stripped from you, however, you have the ability right now to just drop everything you believe, everything you are fighting for, all the things that you attempt to convert others to see your way; and just simply Be.

Nothing to teach, nothing to learn, just simply Being.

COW FACE POSITION ...

(Click image for link to Bubble Boy)

In Yoga, Yuko said we were doing a cow face position (see image above) which flashed (for whatever or no reason) to the boy in class next to me (maybe because he had on an In and Out Burger shirt) and it was like we were having an internal dialogue (without verbal words) and it was shared that the reason he sees a cow like any other object is because he does not see his Self ... the Self.   

That if he saw that it is his Self ... the Self and that All is That ... then it may be a different experience then he is currently having, and that Karma would not be anything to even think about because it is not about coming back as a Cow; it is that you and the cow are the same right now.  If you want to know how you will be treated as a cow ... look at how you treat cows, or anything else for that matter.

Then there was a flash to the movie “Bubble Boy” (if you can’t laugh at hypocrisy and ignorance well then don’t watch cause its freaking funny lol!)  He is driving an ice cream truck of all things and that is hilarious, people are great … like whoever thought this up is great.  Laughing at hypocrisy is the quickest way to see it and not become judgmental of it.  If you become judgmental then you overlook your own and the ones that are laughing, see yours.

So right now you are looking at what you are in … everything.  Not you as a personal identity (that is the mis-identification) but you as in YOU in Everything.  Not in a next life.  Right now…you are that cow, you are the tree, you are all things and although you may not be currently experiencing that physically (though you could ... it is possible), in this moment, that does not make it not so.  

Now just watch and see how you treat yourself, without judgment, just be aware of how you are in the world and how you relate to it, and allow the possibility that the same thing (which is not a thing) that animates everyone and everything else … animates you.  Sometimes you may find you treat yourself very poorly and sometimes very well; and everything in between.  

So was that moment actually shared with this young man?  God Knows :o)  But it is now with you (heh!)

Signed,

  ~The biggest hypocrite ever (Awareness Takes Care of Everything)

MORE ON WORDS...

(click image for "NTL MayNewsletter" or here for a Vitamin)

You don't want to underestimate the power of words.  Last night while driving down the road listening to a CD that had been mentioned in the Newsletter there was a bit of cringing at some of the lyrics (it had taken a good 12 full listens ... over the last few months to the CD before the words weren't so harshly heard).  This after having years of training desensitizing to words ... that words have only the meaning we give to them.  That one take personal responsibility for how they hear something.  It is the one hearing it who is responsible for the reaction to the words; not the one saying it.  Like when one looks at a piece of Art, it is not the Artist responsibility to reveal to you what you see or experience, the same came up around this CD.  It would be a wise teaching for children to learn as they are being taught a language, to remember what/who they are before the words/language.  Then the possibility is there or is embedded so that they do not think words/thoughts are who they are, rather words/thoughts are something that has been taught to them so that they can communicate verbally.

Something else was revealed while listening to this CD.  Whether it is known to the artist or not, his pushing the boundaries of this mind to go past the words to hear what they are In and then to hear the words as Music and then to return to the words (meanings) to see the picture being painted is very revealing and this is what one would call Art, when something is able to do this, however one must be willing to have ears to Hear it. 

Again it came up that it is not the words themselves but the energy the words ride upon, so there was a letting go (in a sense) of the meaning (that was thought) about the words and a relaxing into the music of the words, so that the words/lyrics themselves became Music, like an instrument (not pictures drawn from past experience), just sound and it became quite beautiful, you could hear the joy and the anger and the love and sadness, without meaning.  And then compassion grew.  Compassion breeds compassion.  And compassion grew from Hearing this man's life, his experience ... the Art he reveals from how life is seen through his eyes.  That he took the time to create something, to make one smile, to make them cringe, to make them think about things that are not easy to hear, to draw a picture with words of a life that may be difficult for some to imagine, let alone live, to shed light on dark situations, just by speaking of them.  

In this world, we are only as strong as our weakest link; that is what is said.  However, there is NO weakness in what we  are LINKED IN (no it's not a social networking club :o).  The more one can begin to become Aware of what we are Linked In (for lack of a better word because link implies something that can be broken and what you are IN cannot be broken), the more you come from that Space, you will, in a sense, share it in anyway that it appears for you to do so.

So stay a bit longer when words make you feel uncomfortable.  Allow them to momentarily not mean anything at all.  

It is not words that create disharmony; it's one's belief in the words.

The longer you can stay with the un-comfortableness; the more that is revealed.