If you’re like me then you probably have a bookshelf or two full of new-age and self-help books all telling you to live in the moment. But when life comes crashing down (presents you with an opportunity) and you find out your boyfriend or girlfriend has been unfaithful or you lose your purse or wallet with all your credit cards, info and cash… what the heck does being in the moment mean then?

Being present is a lot easier to talk about or philosophize than it is to actually do, wouldn’t you agree? Although it is seemingly difficult I think we can all agree that actually being present can make life a joy and blessed movement.

In my experience what gets in the way the most of me being present is the past. The past is such a sneaky little devil, he is insidious, clever and very persuasive. The past acts like he’s your best friend, someone you can depend on, he’s always there ready to listen and give suggestions about what to do in the moment and the future but if you examine closely you’ll discover that the past is a false prophet and truly epitomizes the definition of a pharisee (a sanctimonious, self-righteous, or hypocritical person).

Trippin over the past

Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine your walking down the street in your neighborhood heading to a friends house, in order to make it to your friends house safely and unharmed you need to look forward eyes ahead and moving forward. Imagine if you were to walk down this busy street walking forward but your head was turned in the opposite direction. Also imagine that there’s someone you don’t know walking behind you holding a mirror so you can see whats ahead but as you know everything reflected in a mirror is distorted and backwards… an illusion.

To add to the confusion the person holding the mirror is telling you to turn left, turn right, stop, slow down… your right is his left, your left is his right. As you can see this whole scenario is mind boggling and confusing. Wouldn’t it be much simpler and efficient to just turn your head around and walk forward?

The same can be said for living your daily life. Life is so much more enjoyable and easy if you shift your attention from the past to the present moment.

Lessons from the past

Let us not throw the baby out with the bath water… the past does in fact have valuable lessons for us to learn from but let us not cling to the past or let our past mistakes and judgments color the choices we make today. As I have learned from spiritual teacher
J. Krishnamurti the past is full of knowledge and it is quite reasonable to access that past knowledge to drive a car, cook dinner or solve a math problem but it is quite a different thing when you access the past when meeting a new friend for the second or third time or when you meet a new person from a certain nationality or religion. The past has nothing to do with who your friend “actually is”… and your past experiences with someone from a particular religion, culture or nationality shouldn’t distract you from the person standing in front of you. The sad truth however is that all to often it does.

“Learning about yourself is not like learning a language or technology or a science, then you obviously have to accumulate and remember; it would be absurd to begin all over again, but in the psychological field learning about yourself is always in the present and knowledge is always in the past, and as most of us live in the past and are satisfied with the past knowledge becomes extraordinarily important to us. That is why we worship the erudite, the clever, the cunning. But if you are learning all the time, learning every minute, learning by watching and listening, learning by seeing and doing, then you will find that learning is a constant movement without the past.”

~J. Krishnamurti “Freedom From The Known”

When you walk into your place of work and you see the people you work with everyday… do you see them as they are or do you see them through the filter of your past experiences with them? I can tell you with 100% certainty if people I was acquainted with just a few years ago knew me today they would have know idea who I am. In the past I’ve been a partying, clubbing pill popping, irresponsible and immature raving machine but that person isn’t who I am today… as a matter of fact the two people are as different as day and night.

What I can appreciate however is who I am today. If it were not for my past who would I be? In that respect I give my past the reverence it deserves but I also realize that any emotions or feelings that arise from my past are false and only are relevant to my life if I choose to let them have my attention.

I was listening to a podcast of “A Course in Miracles” and they were speaking on this very subject, I found it quite interesting. The topic of discussion was the past and our emotions that are tied to the past. If you think about it, whenever you are feeling guilty, ashamed, envious or anger all of those emotions only have relevance if you access the past. So for example if you’re feeling guilty about some hateful things you said to a friend in drunkenness or just because you got in a fight… the guilt you’re feeling is arising only because you have chosen to give your attention to the past; if your attention were in the present moment there would be no guilt.

Now lets not blow things out of proportion and assume that just not thinking about your past will lead you to live a happy and joyous life. While it is certainly true life will become clearer and you will find manifesting what you really want in life is a million times easier you still have to be able to look at your past… only you must find the ability to not cling to it. The key to doing this is to have your roots in the present moment.

It’s so much easier said than done… I know, but like everything else practice makes perfect (practice helps you see that everything is already perfect). My practice is a daily movement that is tied together moment by moment, opportunity by opportunity. I’m no saint (yet), I still lose my cool when someone says something to upset me or someone cuts me off in traffic or steps on my shoe but nowadays I’m finding that more and more as soon as I get upset or am shook out of the present moment I’m finding my way back faster and faster.

Sometimes it’s not until I go to sleep late at night and I reflect on what my day was like. Lying there in bed looking over my day I can say to myself I could have handled that better or perhaps I didn’t need to raise my voice of give such an attitude about something so small and impermanent. The blessing here is being able to reflect but not judge yourself, cling or dwell on it. See it for what it is, make a mental note and move on; tomorrow is a new day or better yet the next moment is a new moment.

In conclusion

So moving forward, not looking back let us remember who we truly are. Who we truly are is who we are right now, not who we were ten seconds ago or ten years ago but infinitely right now. Like I said before this is so much easier said than done but I have a suggestion that might assist with the revolution (not evolution) of your mind. Evolution implies something to work toward but once you see love and truth there’s no evolution (nothing to work toward) rather instantly you revolutionize the way you think and act… instantly!

We all know up to now we’ve been slaves to our past, letting our past actions filter our decisions and choices in the present moment.

Who’s to say we can’t use this ability to our advantage?

Accessing the past doesn’t have to always be about the negative or bad, as a matter of fact if you make a shift in your perception you can use this conditioned ability to access the positive moments from your past. If you find that you’re “in the dumps”, depressed, angry or otherwise remember that you’re living in the past and you need to be present. One helpful way to get back to the present moment is to build a mental bridge, a bridge of positivity and love.

For example if you find that you’re dwelling on something that and ex-lover said to you that was hateful choose to remember a loving moment you shared rather than the negative. Doing this is to be used as a tool to get back to the present moment, to bring a smile to your face and love back into your immediate frame of mind.

It is important however to realize even when you do build your bridge back to the present moment, when you’re finally back to the moment you will need to let go of the past even though its a loving feeling, a joyous memory we want to be careful not to cling to it otherwise eventually you’ll want to cross back over the bridge to access the past and as we’ve discussed… life is in the moment. Remember, like Ram Dass says… “be here now”.

Kymatica as a film if I had to describe it in one word I would say “Amen”! I am extremely thrilled to see more films like this being created and shared in an ever growing community of conscious human beings.

The film does share similar themes as the popular award winning docu-film “The Zeitgeist Addendum” but can stand on it’s own with original and thought provoking subject matter.

One of my favorite parts begins at about 19:45 mins into the film the beginning of the “LOGOS” chapter. The narrator begins to explain how everything in existence is a relationship between vibrations and matter. He then goes on to explain further that in nature the phenomenon of “VIBRATIONS” is the masculine creative force and its opposite “MATTER” is the feminine receptive force and from these two forces begins the basic principles of duality.

This is the duality we see in every day life from hot and cold, good and bad… even god and the devil. It’s briefly explained how over time the idea of duality has been perverted and distorted by ancient religions, myths, text and dogma giving the impression that one of the polarities is absolute good and the other evil.

The two forces… vibrations and matter fundamentally are what give rise to all that we know in the known universe. These two phenomenon should not be looked at as opposites, rather two forces that are one in the same and would not exist without the other.

Vibrations and matter are what come together to create everything we know, this is KYMATICA.

This part of the film really hit home with me and I watched this segment over and over again. It’s apparent that we as a species have lost our way and are disconnected. It’s obvious isn’t it? Would there be wars, fighting and children dying from not having enough food to eat if we all were truly connected?

When we live in a world that has an abundance of resources that if utilized properly could feed and supply energy to everyone on the planet… BUT WE DON’T because of greed, money and profit… the answer is clear. We are disconnected! We live our lives each monotonous day in fear and are clamoring to make sense of it all.

We disguise this fear by subscribing to one of the many soothing and promising religions but as we can see by evidence of our history… religions offer no true peace of mind. Millions of people around the globe as individuals ALL subscribing to their individual religious beliefs. We all think WE KNOW THE TRUTH and we tell our neighbors, lovers and family members who are of different faiths we love them but this is the farthest thing from the truth. We don’t love… we tolerate.

A truly religious person doesn’t subscribe or memorize scripture from books, a truly religious person doesn’t need to. Religion is so not what it should be, it’s packaged, polished and presented to the masses with cunning and masterful advocates who are slowly and insidiously programming you to not think for yourself.

Today’s religions and non-religions (Athiest) are broken “ideas” the equivalent of a toy given to a crying child. The horrifying fact is however these “ideas” or toys for the mind are only temporary and eventually we all have to embrace LIFE as it is, not someone else’s ideas about it.

We have thousands upon thousands of people in the world from Africa to China who live on less than a dollar a day, are riddled with disease and no hope in sight. What are we going to do?

For god sake… let us stop pretending that we know all the answers!

All the Athiest and Theist set aside your beliefs, your books, your gospel, your dogmas, your sin, your promises, your devil, your bigotry and WAKE UP!

You’ve been programmed and conditioned and you don’t even know it. I hate come off sounding like I know it all… I’ll be the first to admit I don’t but I can see clearly WHAT IS NOT WORKING.

This beautiful planet that we are so fortunate and blessed to live on is dying and each one of us is responsible.

Are we all that stupid?

Do we all really think as a Muslim we’re going to get 40 virgins and live in everlasting peace in paradise? Do we all really think as a Christian that when we die and go to heaven it will be “heaven”? How could it be knowing that all the other humans you loved and knew, the Muslim, the Jew, the Athiest, your brother or sister who wasn’t Christian is in hell?

If that is what heaven is like… I don’t want to be there!

How about we stop hypothesizing about what is to come and deal with what has been presented to us… LIFE! This life, better… this consciousness that you’ve been blessed with has all the power of the universe. WE ARE TRULY GODS.

Each one of us has the power to create and destroy this world. Each one of us needs to take responsibility, like Ghandi said “be the change we want to see in the world”. The problems aren’t out there somewhere and the answers aren’t in some book or church.

ALL OF US need to do some serious soul searching and find out what it is to be a HUMAN BEING, not a HUMAN FOLLOWER.

It’s time to kick yourself in the butt, it’s time to raise heaven on earth. There cannot be peace on earth with a thousand different religions, countries, states and governments.

There can only be peace once we see all of the above as divisive and separative “ideas” that have been passed down from generation to generation yielding heartache, suffering, war, fear and all the rest of it… it’s time to wake up and it’s time to live up to our true potential as human beings.

Watch this film, let me know what you thought. Also I’m interested in learning more about you and what you’re doing to improve yourself and in turn the world.

I truly believe we can save our planet and species from catastrophe but my beliefs don’t have anything to do with manifesting this reality… my actions do! With love and sincerity in my heart I ask that you like myself seek out the truth. Let the search for truth be fueled by intentions grounded in love and let that search be renewed with new energy each day.

Hello to you all, I’ve been gone for over a month now and haven’t been writing but I can assure you… I’m back, with purpose!

Today I’d like to talk about what most of the country has forgotten, ironically on this very day “Memorial Day”. The topic of today’s discussion is none other than purpose.

What is your purpose?

Today, Memorial Day we’re supposed to be remembering those who have fallen in the many wars and battles securing our liberties and freedom. Please excuse me if you are offended by me saying so but it seems to me that Memorial Day is everything but remembrance.

Living here in southern California I can assure you that Memorial Day is nothing more then a sign that Summer is here and reason to go to the beach. I would like to note that before heading to the beach you would be hard pressed not to stop at Macy’s to pick up some new attire as they are always having their annual Memorial Day sale!

Let us assume for a moment that in a perfect world, Memorial Day wasn’t a big beach party and people actually did stop to remember our fallen soldiers. In this perfect world where we all stop pay our respects, watch the parades and television specials… at the end of the day what good would have come of it?

Basically I’m trying to figure out (1) what is the point of remembering that people have died in wars most of us know nothing about and (2) if we actually did pay our respects in remembrance and not party… would our simple “remembering” contribute any progress or advancement to mankind? After all these soldiers were fighting for our progress and advancement correct?

So back to the perfect world envisioned where we all actually do pay our respects. Simply paying our respects in my opinion isn’t good enough.

I would think that anyone who has actually died in a previous war wouldn’t want anyone to romanticize over that fact but rather take advantage of the opportunities secured for them. Some might argue that having a party, going to the beach and cracking open a Bud Light is taking advantage of the opportunities secured for them but I’m assuming anyone reading this post is educated, articulate and at the least a “C” average student… so let’s not go there.

On Memorial Day we remember those who have fought so bravely or those who were all but forced to fight, but what exactly were they fighting for? This is a loaded question I know but it is a question worth examining because after all it is Memorial Day.

On this Memorial Day do we remember those Native Americans who fought against those who came to this land uninvited? On this Memorial Day do we remember the southern confederate soldier who fought to keep slavery alive?

As you can see we are in deep waters here or a slippery slope whatever you prefer, my point being that this day deserves more than high fives, sun tan lotion, barbecues and drunk driving. Memorial Day should actually be the one day out of the year were we all collectively try to remember how this came to be, the United States and what is our purpose.

When I stop to ask myself this question, what is my purpose it is abundantly clear to me that it has nothing to do with a 9-5 job, a new car, designer clothes or putting a ring on anyone’s finger in a facade most of us continue to perpetuate. My life’s purpose or your lifes purpose for that matter has nothing to do with anyone else but rather everything to do with you.

Do you want to share your life with someone else? How about figuring out what your life is about first?

We all want to be a part of something bigger but don’t know the first thing about ourselves. I’m married to this person, or I’m from this state, or I’m an American… how can you be ANYTHING when you don’t know who you are?

Again I ask, what is your purpose?

If you think it is your purpose to have children, start a family or hold a high ranking job with a six figure income then it is time to do some serious soul searching. All of those things are secondary and cannot be truly enjoyed or realized unless you know what your purpose is.

I cannot tell you what your purpose is but only remind you that you have one. In a world full of distractions it is all to easy to forget or for that matter to have never even put the question to ones self.

So on this Memorial Day, let us forget what we previously celebrated and let us remember who we truly are. On this Memorial Day let us find our purpose in life and from there manifest a life and world worth remembering.

What is your purpose?