Peace

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Life is pain,

And things fall apart,

People fall out of love,

And feelings get hurt,

Melancholia takes over us.

We seek distractions to numb the pain,

Time wasters to fill the day,

And empty laughs to camouflage the pain,

But then in moments of silence,

We feel calm.

We feel the peace that’s in the room,

The peace that is present if we open our eyes to it.

We smile to ourselves,

Give thanks to all that we have experienced,

And wander on,

On to the path we have chosen,

On to the goodness that we know we deserve,

And eventually will catch up to us.

We know we have a lot of healing to do,

A long way to go,

But in this very moment we somehow feel content,

We let go of the suffering for a bit,

We are kissed by bliss,

Embraced by the warmth of love,

Which we feel deeply in our core,

‘Fore love is always around,

‘Fore there is always enough compassion and love to go around for all of us.

Friday, the 19th September 2014

Life is a glimpse of the infinite universe. This physical life is nothing but a moment of eternity, and therefore there is no no need to take it too seriously. Nobody is a stranger, because everyone is just an extension of you. Nothing is foreign, because we are all made of the same. I am all, and all is me. Feel my (your) omnipresence, cast away the illusion of separateness, and embrace this common-unity. Radiate love from deep within and we shall live forever. Into the infinite we dive, life is nothing but a dream.

The Sales Assistant

Her voice is two notes higher than normal,

‘Hello, welcome, can I help you?’, she says.

Her smile is tight and unnatural.

 

Her feet are tired and worn out from all the standing,

How many more hours left?

The CD plays out, and goes on replay again.

 

She spins around the store to keep busy, 

To keep productive.

This isn’t her dream,

But at least this isn’t forever.

 

What’s for dinner tonight?

 

– Observing myself and one of my colleagues, summer job, Copenhagen

Healing

It takes a lot of meditation to heal,

And it takes a lot of healing to be able to love again.

Through silence I have learned a lot, 

Through peace I have gained clarity.

 

No wonder we are all suffering,

No wonder we are all suffering.

Good Intentions

I want to take care of my body,

Keep a clean and plant-based diet.

I want to tan regularly,

So I can keep a healthy brown glow,

But sometimes I forget to put sunscreen on,

And get sunburnt.

 

I want to keep a pure mind,

Expose it to uplifting and necessary content,

Keep my eyes on the prize,

But then sometimes I go online,

And loose myself on the Internet,

Become mindlessly distracted,

And forget about Truth.

 

I want to heal my soul,

Meditate deeply in peace,

Stay true to my higher self,

And be mindful in all I do,

But occasionally I forget to breathe,

And say things that I don’t mean.

 

Yet all the same,

The awareness is there,

Somewhere.

Book Recommendation: ‘The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are’ by Alan Watts

I recently read ‘The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are‘ by Alan Watts, and as I thought it was a really good book, I thought I would write a little review on it, and share it with you guys.

What’s the deal?

In this 159 page book, Watts addresses the very topic of human existence, and through simple analogies and examples, Watts attempts to explain who, and what we really are.

One thing that makes this book interesting, is how Watts takes us beyond that limited viewpoint of how the self tends to be identified as the social self, ego and physical body, and brings the attention to how we are the universe, as much as the universe is us.

This is explained through looking at the concept of separation, as many of us have come to view our self identity, our environment and the universe as separate entities, when really, the self, our environment, and the universe, are all taking part in this creative process, working together interdependently, creating a whole. Thus, separation is an illusion, and the reason why the exploration of self has become a taboo, is because we have been distracted by the norms of society.

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Contents

A Snippet From the Book

There are many great passages in this book, but one passage I found humorously poignant and truthful, is the passage I have chosen to show you below.

Here, Watts paints a clear picture of how the human mind, as shaped by society, is in every stage of our lives, always working towards and preparing for ‘the future’, which results in us never being able to sit down and enjoy ourselves in the present:

‘For unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax. There is no point whatever in making plans for a future which you will never be able to enjoy. When your plans mature, you will still be living for some other future beyond. You will never, never be able to sit back with full contentment and say, “Now, I’ve arrived!” Your entire education has deprived you of this capacity because it was preparing you for the future, instead of showing you how to be alive now.

In other words, you have been hypnotised or conditioned by an educational processing-system arranged in grades or steps, supposedly leading to some ultimate Success. First nursery school or kindergarten, then the grades or forms of elementary school, preparing you for the great moment of secondary school! But then more steps, up and up to the coveted goal of the university. Here, if you are clever, you can stay on indefinitely by getting into graduate school and becoming a permanent student. Otherwise, you are headed step by step for the great Outside World of family-raising, business and profession. Yet graduation day is a very temporary fulfilment, for with your first sales-promotion meeting you are back in the same old system, being urged to make that quota (and if you do, they’ll give you a higher quota) and so progress up the ladder to sales manager, vice-president, and, at last, president of your own show (about forty to forty-five years old). In the meantime, the insurance and investment people have been interesting you in plans for Retirement – that really ultimate goal of being able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours. But when that day comes, your anxieties and exertions will have left you with a weak heart, false teeth, prostate trouble, sexual impotence, fuzzy eyesight, and vile digestion.‘ – p. 81.

All in all, a good read that explains a now seemingly simple topic, which has been made severely complex, in an eloquent and simple manner.

What are some good books you have read recently?

10 Ways To Become A Happier Person

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“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi

I have come to a point in my life, where I am ready to become the best version of me. I feel ready to confront my personal fears, to pursue my dreams and to do what I love. I feel ready to fly high, fulfilling my outmost potential, and becoming the person and soul I know I am. I am ready to be myself; I am ready to be happy. 

Without a doubt, life can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. On the surface, it might seem like plans, family and friends can get in the way of our happiness, but one thing that I have really come to understand, is how being happy is really a choice that we are all free to make. We can travel the world, gain certain experiences, look for happiness in other people, but nothing can deny that real happiness is to be discovered from within. We are the ones responsible for our own happiness, and how we approach life, is entirely up to us.

Here are ten of the things I am currently applying to my life, because I want to become a more free and happier person, and I hope you can find them useful too:

1. Let go of what no longer serves you –  Sometimes we might not even know that we are clinging on to past pains, traumas and old thought forms, that are actually holding us back from developing into a better version of ourselves. Let go of what no longer serves you. It’s all about here and now, because every day is a new opportunity to grow and redefine ourselves, and become more you.

2. Stop worrying about what other people may think – Finding that inner courage to just do you, is one of the most liberating feelings ever – and it creates a lot more space in our minds too.  What other people think is their business, but it is our choice to dare to live and learn and be bold, and to become the force that we are. Besides, a wise man once told me, that “at the end of the day, all people are going to think about is themselves”, so really we have nothing to worry about 😉

3. Do something that you love everyday – Doing what we love everyday can help remind of of who we are. It can help us discover our real passions, and put us on that right frequency, which in turn can help align our passions with our physical reality.

4. Do what you fear, big or small – This might be easier said than done, but it could be anything from going to a social event even though you feel anxious about it, to doing what you love. It’s all about pushing your own boundaries – how can we grow, if you don’t push or challenge ourselves? I have come to realize that I cannot put my life on hold or hold back, just because of my fear for failure or embarrassment.

5. Help others when you can – Being kind is an expression of love, and doing kind gestures and helping others when we have the ability to do so, can put us on that loving frequency and feeling of abundance.

6. Stop comparing yourself to other people – Life or success is not a competition, and we will exhaust ourselves if we thought this way. There is really no point in comparing ourselves to other people, because we are all different individuals on different personal journeys, where things will move at a different pace. I always try to remind myself, that the universe constantly works in my favour, and that I will have what I want or need when I am ready for it. Other people might be doing what they love for a living, own a house, etc., but instead of feeling envious or bad about ourselves, we should get inspired and use that drive to build our own empire. As the great Harper Lee wrote in To Kill A Mocking Bird, “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them”, we need to stop comparing ourselves to other people, because we do not know what they have done to be where they are today. They might have put a lot of hard work and effort to be where they are, or it could all just be a false image…

7. Fall in love with yourself – You have probably heard it a million times: “You can’t love anyone else before you love yourself”. Yes, it might sound a little cheesy or cliché, but it is an important cliché to understand. Love yourself, and realise that YOU are a class of your own! We are good enough as we are. God has blessed us all individually with unique gifts and traits, so discover these about yourself. Life gets much more fun when we love and respect ourselves.

8. Quit blaming others – Sometimes we can be quick to blame others for our failures or when we feel upset/hurt. But how we react to the situations we encounter in life is entirely up to us. How we react is a reflection of who we are, and instead of blaming others for whenever I’m in a ‘bad’ situation, I try to treat every experience as a learning experience for me to grow personally.

9. There is always a solution for everything – I used to easily give into overthinking or blowing things out of proportion in my mind, whenever something used to go wrong, which would often left me in an anxious and nervous state. But one thing I have been telling myself, is that there is always a solution for any problem or difficult situation, which has helped me relax, and trust in everything to work out for itself.

10. Have a ‘genuine’ attitude – Be a genuine person. Say what you mean, do what you want to do, and don’t do what you don’t feel like. In the past I have done things for family and friends that I thought I should be doing, when in reality I really didn’t feel like it. This is something I have been working a lot on recently, and with it comes a great sense of freedom.

What are some of your tips?

 

 

This thing about… The Psychedelic Experience

The other week one of my friends experienced what would usually be classed as a ‘bad trip’, which got me thinking about one of the first real psychedelic experiences I had. As it was an experience I still vividly remember and an experience I felt I gained a lot of insight from, I have decided to share this with you, and hopefully stimulate some thoughts about this matter.

My Psychedelic Experience

It was an easy and relaxed day, and my partner and I had decided to bake some hash cookies. During the evening we ate a cookie each, and sat back and relaxed. An hour passed where I didn’t feel anything, but after another half hour I felt some mild effects kicking in. I still felt pretty self-contained, but gradually the effects seemed to deepen more and more. I got to a point where I knew I was too high, and I started to get nervous. Everything was getting hazy.

Before I knew it I found myself in a different realm of consciousness. I felt like I had been sleeping and dreaming, and now I was suddenly wide awake. I saw how everything I perceived as real and important in my everyday life really wasn’t real, such as my social identity, my ego and all things that were related to the mundane life. It was as if my life was just a play, a pure illusion, and now somebody had yelled ‘cut!’ and switched the lights on. All of those illusions had been switched off, and now I was in the ‘rawest’ state of mind that I could possibly be in. I realised how all was one and began to see everything for their suchness. I was the universe and the universe was me, and the present moment was all that existed. I knew this was the state of Truth, the bare state behind all those layers of conditioning I had been accumulating all my life. All the conditioning I lived by, which had been repressing my higher self and restricting me from returning back into reaching this state of being.

I became deadly overwhelmed and horrified, as my brittle and limited mind couldn’t handle the truth. I knew I was too attached and accustomed to reality as I knew it in my ordinary consciousness, and as we have been taught to fear the unknown, I gave into fear and panicked. I cried, vomited and felt the need to go to sleep. A few hours later I woke up and realised that I had had one of the most enlightening experiences on my journey so far.

Repressed and Asleep: The Fear of the Divine

We find safety in what feels familiar and comfortable to us, but we have become conditioned to fear the unknown. Psychedelic drugs have the ability to alter our perception and bring us into a different state of consciousness, which we normally wouldn’t be able to enter in our ‘ordinary’ state. Many of us don’t know that we might be sleeping, and like myself, have become too accustomed to the world that the powers of being have created; a system designed to keep us in place, repressed and driven away from our divine selves. So when we find out that there is a whole other universe out there, we get scared and anxious, because we have become unfamiliar with the divine.

The Psychedelic Experience as a Teacher

So am I being an advocate of psychedelic drug use? No. But what I think is really interesting about the psychedelic experience, is how it can be used as a tool for that initial, and perhaps, rude awakening from the mundane (if used right), as it has the ability to filter through all the noise and conditioning of the mind. Although, more than anything, I see the psychedelic experience as a teacher or a demonstrator, because it is showing us an example of the higher state of consciousness our minds are capable of reaching when the fog of illusions has been lifted. This is where we learn to see everything for ‘all that is’, which can be difficult on an ordinary plane, as we easily get caught up on the mundane stuff in our everyday lives. Thus, what I am trying to draw attention to is not so much the drugs in itself, but more how an altered state of higher being can change the way we view and live life.

Living Meditatively

However, like with any other drug, the psychedelic drug is also just a tool that can give us a momentary ‘high’ and enlightenment, which will not last forever, and thus to some extent, makes the psychedelic experience an illusion as well. The psychedelic experience can demonstrate the state that we can reach, but our job now is to live consciously and meditatively to our best efforts, and grow on this personal journey, as I believe it is absolutely possible to reach a state of higher being without using drugs.