Non-Worry & The Meditation Myth

Why does anyone want to meditate?

Most people want the results of meditation, without really having to 'do' or 'not do' something to achieve those results. Kind of like: no one really wants to go to the gym to get fit, but they do anyway because that's what we're told works - and it does, for people who actually like going to the gym. The word meditation is old school; it conjures up gurus and crystal bowls and incense and special pillows - which is nice, for those of us who like those things. Even the word mindfulness is a misnomer; we've gone past the new age sweetness and light place of trying to be in a constant blissful awareness - that place where one can ignore pressing issues because, well, it's easier to stay away from pesky contentions rather than dealing with 'negativity' in a productive way.

The ABC's of Mediation:

A. You do not need a quiet place to sit (cross-legged or otherwise) - unless that's what you want to do.
B. You do not need to focus on anything - unless that's what you want to do.
C. You do not need to set time aside - unless that's what you want to do.

Unless you actually want to do something, the action you take will not empower you, or teach you anything, or calm you; in fact, it will undermine your whole reasoning for why you are doing it in the first place. There are times we have to do things we don't want to do, but if we come from a place of centredness (one of the main goals of meditation) even those things will empower us or create a feeling of accomplishment. Replace 'meditation' with Non-Worry, and we see a larger perspective of being able to go through the daily grind, while being centred.

Worrying is the worst. Get rid of it. You can now sit quietly and just be, or work, or do the dishes, or look out the window, or ride the bus and observe, or read, or talk with people - You can now do anything you want to do, and even the things you don't want to do, without being bogged down with worry about fill-in-the-blank. This is easier said than done, because worrying is like a gauge used to make decisions - If your decisions are coming from a place of worry, you are probably not making the best choices, and in turn, creating more things to worry about.

Observing your mind as it wanders is another point of meditation. It's a good point, and this can be done always, if you remember. Next time you trip over something, or cut your finger when chopping vegetables, notice if your mind was wandering while it occurred - chances are, you were worrying about something...

Retrain your brain: Notice what you're thinking - Feel your emotions - Don't worry about them...
You are more than your Thought & Emotion.

Don't Let It Bring You Down...

...because that doesn't help you or anyone else.

I find it funny that some people think, because I have strong views about the way many people of the world are manipulated by corporate elites, politicians and religious institutions, that somehow I shouldn't be happy living within it, or I'm making a point of flaunting some 'better awareness' - I should get angry and fight back the monolithic control, or get loud and bring other people down with my insight into such matters, making them feel bad about where they are. I don't think I am better aware than anyone else, because we all live the best way we see fit. We are all in this together, and it is vital to share our thoughts and understandings about life with each other. So many times I have had light-bulb moments from regular conversations with my friends and family because of something they've said, and further a-has! from books, essays, documentaries and even mainstream movies and articles, and then more holy-cows! from silence, trees, water and the vastness surrounding us.
Still, a lot of people think that if I am happy, I'm hypocritical - safe in the place I choose to live, doing the things I want to do, living well within my society as it stands... I should instead be forming some sort of protest movement, or travelling to far places to add my presence to rallying groups like Anonymous or Occupy ______, or living under a rock with disdain...
For the record: it makes more sense to me to volunteer for positions in committees that affect the future of my local community and help the children that live in it. It makes more sense for me to volunteer for organizations like the ITNJ and New Earth Nation, where my voice is added to the work of thousands trying to lift others up in positive ways. It makes more sense to invite people to my part of the world, so they may enjoy unspoiled nature and hospitality. It makes more sense for me to write poems, prose, blogs and songs, sharing them to help give light to the darkness that traps people in anger, arrogance, sadness or despair.

The way I go about 'protesting' is in positive, localized manners - and that whole "be the change you wish to see in the world" is not some psychobabbly Gandhi meme, it is a truth that has become more rote and less lived. This blog, these words, I use to confide; they allow me to get out the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings that rapture my soul, and into the hearts and minds of anyone who cares to read them. I am happy just to be able to express myself in this way, not because I may convince anyone of anything, but because it frees me up to take care of others and do the dishes and the laundry and countless other jobs, so I can do them in peace and with my full attention. This is today's rhapsody - Try not to get down about all the ludicrous things going on, find the things you can do that not only let you tolerate them, but rejoice in your ability to dissent without conflict.

Leisure Guilt - How Productivity Shames Relaxation

Productivity- The quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services.  

         Leisure- Time spent free from the demands of work or duty,              when one can rest, enjoy hobbies or sports etc...

The concept of leisure dates back to elements in the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle (Leisure Ethics) - understanding free will and the growth of intelligence through art, music, drama, sport and play as foundations of a well-lived life. Happiness depended upon having the time for contemplation, self-development and philosophical musings - Although, those guys had strict views on how citizens spent their leisure time, leisure was nonetheless an important part of life. In this day and age, who has time for that?  If you're not productive, even when off work, you're seen as wasting time and money. Leisure is for those who spent the majority of their lives being productive and can now afford leisure activities, guilt free. Teenagers are experts in the art of relaxation, until they are told to 'grow up' and be productive by envious and tired adults. We also have to take into account that many leisure activities are now expensive, regulated and competitive in nature, so out of reach as everyday objectives to pursue. Vacations are the ultimate recreation, but you better save up money you've made from your productiveness, and eke a few weeks out of the year (if you're lucky enough to get more than a week from your employer). Many sports are now productive pursuits in that there are goals to achieve and rivals to quash, as well as costly equipment to buy. When did fun become something to have after all the work or productive play dates are done?  The work is never really done - there's always something that needs doing. And, that nonsense of contemplation and self-development? Who needs that? For many people, those ideas don't qualify as relaxing endeavours, let alone necessary elements of happiness.

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."  Blaise Pascal

Doing nothing is highly underrated; but, most people can't do it. The reason is that guilt pops up to say "hey, you're navel gazing, don't you have something better to do?" Better, meaning Productive. Meditation, the art of no-minding, has become yet another productive activity, where there is an end goal of generating a peaceful state of mind, so you can go on with being productive without resentment, sadness or anger - there are pills for that, anyway. The success of the pill industry is a symptom of society in general not being able to settle down and breathe.  If we could all just relax without the guilt, meditation and all its selling points wouldn't be such a 'thing'. Our minds would be free from the chattering of "what's next?" 'how well did I do?", if we could just spend our leisure moments well...

The fact is: our world is imbalanced - We have too much Yang and not enough Yin. Yang being the Masculine - the doer, the fixer, the architect, the moving force.  Yin being the Feminine - the receiver, the exposed, the breath, the softener.  Notice how all the Yang words are actions - that's because Yang energy is active.  Yin, on the other hand, is the space - not an easy concept to convey because it is the opposite of action; but it is not exactly non-action nor is it re-active. Without Yin energy, Yang takes over and crushes all the space that gives creativity, joy and inspiration to its animation. Is it any wonder why the push to be productive outweighs the pull to sit back and enjoy the ride?

Our society sees those who readily enjoy themselves, especially if they haven't 'earned' it, as unproductive members - How dare they be happy while we have to strive?  Those smiley people need to pull up their socks or bootstraps or something. I am here to tell you that leisure is just as important, if not more so than productivity.  Do not to worry about leisurely going through life - that worry stems from guilt, one of the most self-destructive feelings there is. Relax! When you enjoy your time doing nothing, you will see the amazing results that your productivity manifests when you decide to get up and do something - your productivity then becomes an extension of that joy - a perfect balance.

Access to Freedom - An Open Sourced Life

Open Source promotes universal access, via free licensing to a product's design/blueprint, and universal redistribution of that design/blueprint, including subsequent improvements by anyone...

Take this a step further...  Promoting universal access to education, knowledge, awareness and health via free communication/love, and universal redistribution of those, including subsequent revisions and ideas.
It sounds too good to be true, but we already have it.

The only barriers to you accessing an open sourced life are your own confining mental constructs, emotional baggage, fear, and believing people who would rather tell you how not to do things, how things can't be done and what obstacles are in your way.

After thousands of years of 'progress', humanity is stuck in a mire of such scale that many of us are killing each other, and killing ourselves just to get out of it.

Is this really the best we can do?

All the answers are waiting for you to open up to them- in nature, in the lives and words of true humanitarians, in the uplifting stories and miracles that happen all the time, beneath the news of tragedy, fear mongering and debt so prevalent.  If this sounds too woo-woo for you - it is because your own barriers hold you back.  Just because you're breathing, doesn't mean you're alive! Some people say "well, it would be nice to think that..." but, if it feels nice to think something, why not just think it anyway?  What have you got to lose?  A tiresome, health stealing, depressive mood that follows you around like the cloud of Pig Pen - a cloud created by upsets, anger, envy and self-limitation. Clean yourself up. No one is going to do it for you. Get busy doing things that uncover the fact that your mind alone keeps you mired.

All the red tape and hoops, rules and regulations, paper shuffling and numbers with currency signs in front of them, the things we are told we must do to make our lives work, are only avenues of trading ideas, goods, and abilities - however, living open sourced, all of those will fall into a place that works with where you are now.  When you begrudge those 'necessities', they become things to begrudge - and the circle of red tape and hoops comes around again to prove your point. I continue to create the life I want, through nothing else but sheer will, and happenstances that were not best case scenarios, but that's because I was also steeped in historical habits, being afraid, and thinking "is this all there is?!" for many years, even though I know that I am the master of my own destiny.  Still, I catch myself in the caves of negativity and doubt - It doesn't take long to find the light at the end of the tunnel, and once I do, the freedom is so vast that it reminds me there is no other way to be. Don't believe me - listen to your own thoughts, and how many times you let them evolve to negative emotions, forcing your actions toward negative outcomes, or deriding others for exuding happiness and hope just to try to prove that you're right.  Also take note of the times that your sickness heals faster when you are in love, or the things that slide off your back when you are happy...

It is not all the horrors in the world that give rise to all the horrors in the world - it is individuals who feel stuck and oppressed that spreads across societies like a plague.  It is up to each individual to free themselves from those attachments and limited thinking.  We can take back control of our existence by researching the things we want to know, sharing our insights and stories, being with people that already live with hope and love, and taking the time to reveal our true nature - it is the most important job you'll ever have.

Natural Law is the Only Real Law

Natural Law codified with the philosophers of Greek Stoicism in the first few centuries BC - The well positioned theory is that there are basic and fundamental dictates to human nature, which are readily ascertained by human reasoning, and do not need legislative enactments or judicial decisions to accredit.  This Law was the moral ground underlying all legal systems throughout the modernizing world up until the 19th C, when Empiricism and Materialism arose.  Logical Positivism became the newest form of rational knowledge, surpassing Natural Law as the basis for constructing new systems of law and order - Man's Law.

The motivating principles of human action are: self preservation and expansion of knowledge and love.  Natural Law is based on Divine Providence - That all humans are directed by the basic awareness of Do No Harm.  The justification of harming another is for self preservation (defense of oneself from another's harm).  The desire for discovery of truth, seeking out beauty, prosperity, happiness, freedom, searching for something higher than self and establishing relationships, for their own sakes, are fundamental human objectives. Obtaining these objectives require actions that should not interfere with anyone else's pursuit of the same. This is where cooperation comes in.  Cooperation is the highest form of obtaining these objectives. Competition automatically causes one to clash with others.  I should not steal something from another because, even though that thing I want is considered good to me, there is harm done to another by taking something away, not being given by consent.

Good is to be done, Evil is to be avoided.  But, who says what is good and what is evil?  With Man's Law, certain actions are considered good on one hand and evil on another - as in the justification of killing members of the human family in the name of war being good, but killing other members of the human family living next door is evil.  Natural Law is a self guiding principle that cannot be overwritten by justifications or ideologies made up by any man.

We have come to a point that every move we want to make needs to be considered, as it may break some bylaw or new legislation.  The hard materialistic and empirical viewpoints have taken us away from inherent Understanding - and the school of thought that there are some human beings of lesser value than others because they are not 'civilized' has created a cage of regulation and governmental edicts. The problem now is that most people don't consider their innate awareness as a guide to being in the world; they look to appointed leaders to tell them what is right and wrong.  This is dangerous for everyone, except those leaders who, for the most part, exempt themselves from their own laws.

There is a dismantling, an untangling from the morass of man made control, that must be done, in order to be released from this jurisdictive cage. The first step is to clear away the cobwebs of our indoctrinated minds, and recognize the veracity of our own beingness - which is to say trusting in our own discernment of good/evil/right/wrong.  The second step is to acknowledge what has actually occurred over the past 200 years - the methodical procedure of legislative authority over us by those in power. The third step is to inform others, so they can start the first step...  After that, it is our duty to go against any imposed authority by living fully in the truth of Natural Law.  Then, the obvious extension is to direct any disputes, when a person's rights, privileges or interests are at stake, to Natural Justice:  Principles of Natural Justice

This whole dismantling is not as overwhelming as it sounds, because we each start from where we are.  There does not need to be any red tape or logistical finagling - No one needs to run down to the court house with "Natural Law Now!" signs, or oppose things for the sake of it already being written law (unless it directly opposes you in a situation).  Just start living in what the seat of your soul knows is right.  Simple.

Note: Some will say "what about all the terrorism, suicide bombings... How are we supposed to deal with that?"  The current state of the world is a direct result, over hundreds of years, of people holding power over others.  We're in the thick of it.  Take care of yourself, your family and those around you at all times.  Peace.

The American War on Drugs became the Global War on Terror... What's next?

In June of 1971 American President, Richard Nixon, declared the 'war on drugs'.  With the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the expansion of this 'war', by his wife's highly publicized campaign of "Just Say No", rose the prison incarceration rate from 15 inmates per 100,000 adults in 1980 to 148 per 100,000 in 1996.  Today, half of American prison inmates are there on drug offenses. - https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp.  $51 billion dollars are spent annually in the U.S. for the war on drugs.  Less is spent in Canada, but it relatively corresponds.  Most of the illicit drugs of today were first introduced, over the counter or through prescription, legally by doctors.  The war on drugs created more social problems and fear of drug addicts than ever before.

Enter the War on Terror.  On October 7, 2001 (one month after 9/11) President George W. Bush declared a worldwide War on Terror by imposing new security legislation, overt/covert military operations, blocking financial means 'to fund terrorism', and inciting the leaders of other countries to follow suit.  The civilian body count from this war is widely disputed, ranging from 1.3 - 4 million, mostly Muslims.  The continuing war on terror has allowed governments to further erode the rights and freedoms of people all over the globe.  Since 2001, the U.S. has spent 1.7 trillion dollars on this 'war'. Canada's spending is in the 100's of billions.  The war on terror has created more societal problems and fear of terrorists than ever before... BTW: if you still believe that 9/11 was perpetrated by 19 Arab terrorists with box-cutters, and not controlled demolitions planned and executed by parts of the U.S. Government with the inside knowledge of at least two other countries, well, take the time to go through the unwavering evidence by professional architects, engineers, those who study the laws of chemistry, physics and thermodynamics, as well as U.S. government officials and eye witnesses. 

Besides being a huge boost for the economy (because wars do that)
The U.S. and Britain 'secured' the Iraqi oil fields, and preserved the American dollar
as the world's reserve currency. 

Millions of people worldwide are tired of the charade.  They're tired of being tied to a system that creates war in order to make money, hold unrestrained power, and methodically reduce sovereign rights.  The very constitutions that were put in place to protect citizens from an overreaching government have been cut apart...  let the overstepping begin.

American rights that have been lost:

 http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/02/lost-constitutional-rights.html

Canadian rights that have been lost:

http://bill-c51.ca/

These expensive and deadly wars have bankrupted the morale and faith of the very people they are supposed to be protecting.  The agenda behind these wars are based on greed and ultimate power. We can't feel that government has our best interests at heart - it has no heart.  We are not protected.  We are not free.  And we are not unruly children who need parents to send us to our rooms for our own good.  We are intelligent individuals who can no longer allow this type of rampant restriction of our very natures. 

On the eve of Remembrance Day, I honour all those who valiantly fought for all they knew was right. We should learn from them. We dishonour them by allowing those in power to take our god given rights away.

What's Next?  

The Evolutionary fight for Humanity in all it's Glory.

Noam Chomsky on the Magna Carta for the International Tribunal for Natural Justice.

If you would like to join us, sovereign and independent citizens who value their rights and freedoms, please volunteer and add your energy to the dismantling of unjust systems... 

http://www.itnj.org/