Swaying With the Music

William James, the famous psychologist, was lying one day in his cold New England room under his cozy blanket and was agonizing about the question whether he should get up. Then one moment he just got up and asked, "So what about my will? Somehow the decision to get up just happened. Why exactly did I get up?"

Believe it or not, his insight - simple as it seemed at the time - was in fact revolutionary. Scientist have run neurological studies of people who had a decision to make. Somehow the "system" knew about the decision even before the person became consciously aware of it. A light bulb literally went off in their head before they knew about it. The "system" knows and the "system" initiates while we are consciously explaining afterwards why we did what we did.

Consider this experiment. Some people were hypnotized and told to get up in the next business meeting and water the plants in the room while the business session was progressing. That's exactly what they did. You can imagine the surprise of the meeting participants. When they were later asked why they did what they did, they gave explanations like, "I suddenly realized how thirsty the plant looked. I simply couldn't wait." Not a single participant said, "You know what, I don't have the faintest idea why I did what I did."

The system knows and you just follow what a higher authority does convincing yourself that you are in charge. But don't get me wrong. I am not saying that you should stop looking for answers with your rigorous thought process; neither am I saying that you should stop listening to the intuition of your heart. I am also not saying that you should stop looking for love and try living a spiritual life. All I am saying is that the wholeness in you knows when you know what you know. You do what you do because somehow it is useful for you, making mistakes as much as having insights. Life unfolds through you in all areas of your life; even the seemingly unimportant question when to get up.

You are part of a movie. Just let it flow it through you. Make your perceived choices, struggle with heart-wrenching decisions; you can make it a mission to become somehow "enlightened". Experience the joy of moving psychological issues and behaviors out of the subconscious into the conscious. But in all that, relax as well. She is in charge; you only think that you are in charge. Get lost in the movie you call life and find your Self in it. Break trough imaginary walls in this divine Matrix. When every choice you face has literally become a no-brainer you know that you are Home.  Thoughts just "know" and feelings "feel" what the system experiences. Just as William James suddenly just got up, when you are with Her all you ever do is to sway with the music.

The Day When the Snake Found its Way

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

"You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

(The Story of Adam and Eve)

If our consciousness is the force that is aware of what is happening to us, as well as the decision what to do next, then what exactly is the ego? Is it the voice in our head? Is it the feeling of the "I"? Could it be the snake that whispers to step away from God's Path? I have never found a convincing way of setting up this question. What exactly is it when we talk about the ego? Is this force just deluded or is there a desire inside of us that wants to deliberately walk away from God? 

While I can't get my arms around the problem statement, the solution to the problem is actually quite simple. We are in charge - we are holding the reigns despite our thoughts and emotions. When the cart is drifting away from the Way, we can counter-balance. If the insight of the snake is to create, to become artists and scientists, to be "like God" as the snake puts it, then why not? Isn't that what our world was made for?

We are creators, so let's create something, but let's do it according to God rules. We can step away from competition, mistrust, scheming, and fear. We can embrace love every step of the Way. While we perhaps will never be able to shut up the voice in our head, and likely will never be able to leave behind some negative emotions, it is very much in our power to line up our ego drive with the Way. That's what it means to be a Tao traveler.

Re-read the story of Adam and Eve. Couldn't the snake's advice be an invite to become business men, professors, doctors, politicians, parents, teachers, scientists, spiritual travelers, artists or story tellers, or whatever else it is you consider your mission? The world that you and I perceive was created as a virtual reality show with the sole purpose to complete our soul longings and return Home. Create, design, teach and invent to your heart's desire just make sure that love follows you every step of the Way. 

On Leaving the Desire to Escape Behind

I drink not from mere joy in wine nor to scoff at faith - no, only to forget myself for a moment, that alone do I want from intoxication, that alone.
(Omar Khayyam)

Why is there such a deep longing at times to slip back into the unconsciousness? Lots of alcohol does it for you, as do binges of all sorts. It is a brief feeling of exhilaration in which one disconnects from all the sorrows and pain. But alas, the orgasmic high is quickly followed by a dreadful hang-over.

I used to think that this habit of just letting go is a problem of will-power. Yet will-power can carry you only that far. It is hard to be yourself all the time. From childhood on we are molded into a persona and carry it around like a heavy armor. So naturally, all the heavy lifting is followed by the urge to just let go at times. It is an "escape from freedom", as Erich Fromm put it so well in his same-titled book. We spiritual folks may be working especially hard to free ourselves of the robot inside. We manage most of he time, but when for some reason the going gets tough, we just want to let go like everyone else.

If will-power gets you only that far, try to take off the armor that you carry around instead. Merge with life, become one with the problems that you are facing. If you realize that all your so-called problems are here to help you, would you try to escape them? Moreover, grant yourself the needs that you want to satisfy in your orgasmic binges: Love, sexual fulfillment, connectedness, creativity, security, peace of mind. Who exactly says that you can't experience this all the time?

The reason why we frown on all these temporary escapes us that we try to get what is ours with inappropriate methods. Our goal should be to experience connectedness all the time and not just for a brief moment that comes with a big bill attached. Your spiritual path will get all your authentic needs fulfilled if you manage to stay connected.

Yesterday was a special day for me. For the first time since our boys were born we played golf as a family. As I was walking the sun-flooded course I was thinking to myself that I should have granted myself this little pleasure a lot earlier. So please think for a moment, what authentic needs don't you grant yourself right now because you think you are too busy or too poor? I encourage you to take care of all your authentic needs one by one. If you need truly need something, it will be part of the Way.

When you are truly connected with Her, escapes of all sorts are simply unnecessary.  

Ain't it Fun Living in the real World!

So what are you gonna do when the world don't orbit around you?
Ain't it fun living in the real world?
Ain't it good being all alone?

Where you're from,
you might be the one who's running things.
Well, you can ring anybody's bell to get what you want.
You see, it's easy to ignore a trouble,
when  you're living in a bubble

Don't go crying to your mama 'cause you're on your own in the real world
(Paramore, Ain't it fun?)

How can they say we live in the best of all world? "Best" from whose perspective? "Best" according to the Way: the so-called "real world" is designed to wake you up and remind you of who you truly are.

If you happen to sleep in but you have an important business day ahead of you, you want someone to give you a wake- up call, right? In the same way, life stands ready to assist you to wake you up from your slumber. When everything is going your way you will hardly aspire to awaken, but if life brings you little trifles, lets you experience little bumps along the way; when life surprises you, when strangers smile at you, you have a shot of stepping outside of yourself at this moment. Everyone  and everything is here to ensure that you are connected with the Way. The "I" as you know it unfortunately has a vested interest in staying asleep. Embrace life and learn to disconnect from the "I" in the process.

How can they say that we are asleep even though we appear to be awake? Well, just observe how people push your buttons all around you. The attractive girl who makes your heart beat faster, the competitor who makes your stomach turn, or the the little baby who brings up fond memories of the time when your children were young. The "I" perceives a continuum of experiences and believes there is only one identity, but this is all fabricated by your mind. Truth of the matter is that we change appearances and sentiments just like a chameleon does in response to our external environment. We are sleepwalker only thinking that we are in charge.

So how can we step out of our robotic life? Well, be aware of what's going on. When things are going your way, monitor how the "I" enjoys being lulled to sleep. Once resistance comes your way, once feeling of pain, regrets or anger pop up, notice how the "I" gets irritated. What a nice opportunity to observe the robot at work! Observe how the "observer" kicks in at this golden moment. Life gives you a wake-up call moment by moment and all you have to do is to let go of the steering wheel. Ain't it fun living in the real world!

On the Freedom to Choose

Reshape yourself through the power of your will; never let yourself be degraded by self-will. The will is the only friend of the Self, and the will is the only enemy of the Self.
(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita)

When I was 5, I was supposed to go shopping with my mom, but somehow decided to go in a different direction. My mother was never very forceful so no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't get me to turn around. In the end she couldn't take it any longer and started crying. Only then did I come to my senses and joined her.

There is the Self that our spiritual community talks about and then there is the will to create something, the perceived longings of the "I". Sometimes we create what our Self wants us to and sometimes we are on our own trip just as that little boy who was supposed to go shopping with his mom that day. So somehow there is a consciousness inside of us - the will that Lord Krishna alluded to - that is free to choose between the two voices. This consciousness can be clouded at times but then there is life that reminds us to always take a stance. Life reminds us of who we truly are, but it is very much in our power to hold on to the self-will and we can certainly put blinders on.

Your homecoming starts when you realize that everything that happens to you is really the Voice from the beyond trying to remind you of who you truly are. Sure, there will be moments when the self-will takes over again, but these are just temporary distractions. It takes one look at your soul-sister walking next to you and you remember your mission. Once you get a glimpse of the Self, the self-will fades into nothingness before you know it.

The Evolution of Consciousness

Learning of Christ is easy, for to perceive with Him involves no strain at all. His perceptions are your natural awareness, and it is only the distortions you introduce that tire you.
(A Course in Miracles)

What is the conscious "I"? Psychologically, it is a filter.  A filter that has been used to strengthen your identity.  The “I” expresses his opinion to show his preference about everything. Your desires, and with it the fears, in fact define the "I". Awareness is a different thing.  Awareness perceives the external environment and watches everything as it is without any judgment.  They say that we have the ability to consciously process about 40 000 external stimuli per second while our "system" in fact processes millions. So there is certainly a lot more happening under the hood than we are aware of, but the " I " gives us the impression that we are in charge of the most important decisions.

If you talk to a woman with dilated eye pupils, you - if you are a man - will find her automatically more attractive. The reason for that is that women who attracted to someone get dilated eye pupils, and the male subconscious brain picks that up. If you are a female reader and you feel smug about the robot nature of the male sexuality, I would like to remind you of the fact that around the time when you are ovulating you have a sudden preference for high-testosterone men. So who exactly is in charge here? Are we entirely driven by subliminal signals and is our conscious brain later just coming up with a reason for why we did what we did in the first place?

In the olden days we always lived in the divine Now. Whatever had to get done, got done. It was as if there was a voice inside of us that always told us what to do. Deep down inside we were peaceful and we were connected to our environment. From that perspective, which wasn't really a perspective at all given that we weren't aware of the alternative that our thoughts would come up with. At that time, we actually were all one, embedded in the Source.

Then we ate from the Tree of Knowledge and a world of duality opened up.  “ I “ and the mind is introduced.  " I " is separated from the whole.  It is as if a filter got introduced, a way of perceiving the world differently and reflecting on this perception. Your filter is telling you that you are different from the person who sits opposite to you at Starbucks. Your thoughts are telling you that this new colleague who had just joint the company seems nice, but he had a strange facial reaction the other day when you explained the project the team is working on right now. There is something about him that you need to be checking out.

So you see there is in fact a psychological filter in addition to that biological filter. It is a voice that feels it has a choice in every perception, every thought and every action. Who knows, perhaps in the olden days the divine voice would have said, "oh, my friend just had a strange thought while I was talking, but it absolutely has nothing to do with our project, so let me given him a couple of seconds to return to what I am saying." So in fact, you have a completely different experience of interconnectivity when the noisy voice in your head shuts up.

What the Tao is telling you is that you can get back to this divine state of connectedness. We are one. Let the Tao show you that this is not just a good sounding spiritual notion but in fact so. Sure, the subconscious still drives you. Who you are married to or who you are hanging out with, for example, had been decided eons ago and with the help of a little hormones, brain chemicals, scents and smiles and perhaps a sparkling sun on your first date, your "system" encouraged you to go along. You will never be able to change that fact that you are just taken for a ride. But what you can now do is to make your journey a connected one. You can set aside the psychological filter that disconnects you from the Now. As the Course in Miracle states in the quote above, all you really do is to return to the natural state of seeing things. Join our journey, where She treats, love abounds.

By Christian and Su Zhen

I Don't Want to Wait

You look at me from across the room
You're wearing your anguish again
Believe me I know the feeling
It sucks you into the jaws of anger
So breathe a little more deeply my love
All we have is this very moment
And I don't want to do what his father
And his father, and his father did
I want to be here now
So open up your morning light
And say a little prayer for I
You know that if we are to stay alive
Then see the love in every eye.
(Paula Cole, I Don't Want to Wait)

We tend to blame people for our misery but as a matter of fact, we are just victims of our own unconsciousness. If you observe yourself, you will find that whenever you are aware and connected to the Tao, naturally, you are loving, inspired, peaceful, and joyful. On the contrary, whenever you lose your awareness and connection, you become more whining and bitter. Things become more difficult for you and you lose your joy and peace of mind.

We experience a different quality of life dependent on whether we are connected with the Tao or not. Life out of a sudden changes quite drastically, but you can certainly always be aware of this change. If you are a Tao traveler like us, you will probably oscillate between different levels of consciousness, you will feel great and connected most of the times, only be rudely awakened yet again by the familiar feeling of unease. It is easier for us to stay aware when we operate in an environment full of love and creativity. When our environment gets rough, we are easily carried away by our old patterns and old behaviors. We lose ourselves for a while until we suddenly know that we have lost it yet again. It is fine if you oscilate between the different levels of consciousness. Experience will make it easier to detect discomfort and you will learn how to get reconnected with the Tao immediately. Whenever you are aware of your state, whenever you sense something is off, just look for Her cue. She is always present. It does get easier along a spiritual path.

Be familiar with what tends to get you off the spiritual path and remain vigilent when you face these conditions. Relax though, you can always reconnect at a moment's notice. You can't control the environment you are in, leave this up to karma, but you very much have a choice in how you react to it. Listen to the "I don't want to wait" lyrics: your father and your father's father probably didn't have a choice, but you have one at this priceless moment called Now. Listen to Her divine Voice, see the love in Her eyes and you cannot really make a mistake.

By Christian and Su Zhen

Enjoy the Blue Sky

There is a deep silence inside of you which is your true nature. However, most of us can not feel it because we are too busy running around. We are probably always on the move because we want to drown out all the noise in our head. In fact, we spend most of our time running away from ourselves. It is a like we are too busy chasing after things so we don't have any idea what we have at home anymore. We don't remember what we have in our pantry room, nor what we have in our fridge.

You probably remember many occasions when you were so deeply buried in thoughts that you just gobbled down your food without even being aware of what you were eating, or an evening when you were having sex while all of your day's problems were still spinning in your head. The point is that only when you manage to experience the stillness inside of you do you manage to enjoy life's precious moments. The way you live right now doesn't allow you to truly appreciate how special you are, nor are you able to enjoy the many presents the To has lined up for to spoil you today.

This deep silence is just like the sky, it is always there. Sometimes it is hidden though behind the clouds. Yet, this deep silence never changes, it is eternal, it never comes and it never goes. The divine silence defines you, but often you lose track of who you really are just because there is too much background noise.

It is so easy to be carried away by the voices in your head, the emotions, the stuff you want to get out of life and all the physical distractions. We forget our true nature as we identify with something that we are experiencing. We are so fascinated by temporary cloud formations that we forget all about the blue sky in the background. We forget that we are the consciousness; instead we think that we are our thoughts and emotions. We are carried away by life and often become confused and lost in life's eternal ups and downs.

The good news is if you truly want to connect with your eternal silence you can do something about it. If you are tired of the many cloudy winter days living in the Mid-West, move to San Diego instead with its eternal blue sky, or at least spend a long vacation there. The point is that you very much can quiet down the endless chatter in your head with meditation, yoga, mindful living, sports, a creative outlet and a meaningful employment. If you truly want to know, the Tao will tell you how to get you there. Every moment becomes an opportunity to reposition yourself, a new way of experiencing all your emotions fully, a new start at work to synchronize your professional and your spiritual aspirations, a new attempt to live each moment in the now. See for yourself how as you follow the Tao's lead, the voices in your head are fading into the background until all that is left is your eternal silence, the real you. Enjoy the blue sky ahead.


By Chrisian and Su Zhen

The Evolution of Consciousness

A vicious bug got me and I ended up lying in bed yesterday, drifting in and out of sleep. I realized then that my consciousness was at a point similar to the state of deep meditation, or as you would experience it during an orgasmic climax. Somehow you are present while experiencing your connection to a higher force at the same time.

Gary Lachman presented a theory that in the olden days we always had that level of connectedness with the 'beyond' in 'A Secret History of Consciousness'. This makes a lot of sense to me. In our journey of spiritual evolution we apparently travel along a circle. Transcending in our initial state from the animal consciousness to experiencing our existence as a separate 'I', only to evolve back into a web of oneness.

Why do you think addictions are so rampant? It is the desire to return back to the state of orgasmic bliss with artificial means. The price you pay is simple, you are hijacking the neural pathways of your conscious brain, only to find that your pleasure center gets numb in the process and you need to intensify whatever it is that gets you high all the times to experience a similar joy ride. Meanwhile, the state without artificial means gets harder and harder to tolerate.

The spiritual alternative is ever higher awareness and eventually transcendence of the 'I' with help of meditation or by simply by observing that you and the environment that you operate in are in fact one. At the end of the ancient journey there is only bliss and connectedness whatever your circumstances. Isn't it amazing that even a simple flu can get you that insight?

The Journey Home

It is said that in the olden days we heard voices in our head. We were connected with a Force above and we were part of it instinctively; we never thought about it consciously. We may have heard the voice 'kill that man' when someone approached our clan and imposed danger. We gave it no second thought and swung the axe, very much as a termite kills an invader instinctively. Then came the fall; we ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. We lost that connectedness and with it came an awareness of good and evil.

Some of you know that a few years ago I started seeing signs, little messages from the beyond that I call the Tao. Being a Tao traveler is only one of many possible journeys. My spiritual friend experiences the connectedness via her feelings, her perception of energy, sometimes she even  some hears the voice of her guide.These are all different facets of the same phenomena. We have grown, we have found our individuality and now we have matured enough that we return to our Core of connectedness and love as grown individuals and we reach the Second Coming and everything we think, do and feel is perfectly synchronized with the Source. But different from before we are now consciously aware and freely choose our instinctive actions. Rejoice my friend, the war is over, we are on our way home.

On Consciousness

You get up in the morning after a good sleep and armed with a good cup of coffee you feel that you have all the energy in the world to tackle the problems and challenges that come your way. Yet, how differently do you feel at night, especially when after a hard day's work the 'you' has been literally spent. All you can do is to mumble 'try me tomorrow'.

You are the one who can be aware of all your biological drives, the pull of an attractive women as well as the desire to go for that sweet in the fridge. You also are the one who perceives voices in your head, the psychological symbols that your mind entertains, the worries that depress you as well as the aspirations and desires that pump your blood faster through your body. You are pure consciousness. You are the authority who has to make a decision based on all these inputs. All these choices in the end define who you think you are.

I have seen colleagues who happen to be good-natured, yet, when faced with an onslaught of pressures, conflicts and challenges literally get worn down in the process. Where there was humor before, there is sarcasm now. Where there was gentleness there is now rough treatment. Pressure can do this to you. Perhaps we can compare the situation we are in with a lake. The water will digest a little pollution easily, bit once you hit a critical level, the lake will die.  

The ego is a psychological force. It is the voice in your head. You have the ability to listen to his logical as well as egocentric demands, but you are the one who can override all these concerns. Put yourself into an environment where you can make the choice. You don't have to be afraid of all the temptations that are out there as long as you have the energy to deal with them. Going back to the lake example, I think you can be very well aware of how much distraction your system can handle before the real 'you' loses control. Take it easy at work, spend time in environments and with people that lift you up instead. Pursue the hobbies that restore your energy. You have every reason to be proud of the authority inside you who defines who you really are. But please handle her with care!

Consciousness

You are the one who hears the voice in your head, Michael Singer says in 'The Untethered Soul'. Wow, what a concept!  Take your body for example, please run a little experiment and have a look at your body right now. Step in front of a large mirror if you have one. Have a look at your hair, your face, your entire body and listen to what the voice in your head says. Is the voice expressing any criticism anywhere? Perhaps too little hair on the head or too much hair elsewhere, too much fat in some areas or too little in others, perhaps something is wrong with your face? Just listen to the voice in your head and perhaps you are able to step outside of yourself at this moment and listen to the opinion of an important person in your life, but not really you. If you manage to do that than at this precious moment you have met 'I Am'.

You might say what happens if you love everything you see. Not much, I would think, how would you be able to observe that something is wrong with the picture when everything is as should be? Normally, when we observe that something is wrong we take action to get back to the harmonious state: we start a diet, we hit the gym, we live and eat better, we sign up for plastic surgery. Who is the authority who takes charge and does something to change the picture. It is the same institution as the voice in the head, isn't it? So it appears the 'I Am' can only appear if either the mind is still, or if somehow you manage to step outside of yourself and observe the 'I' complaining or taking charge.

I hope you observe as well that when you hear the voice that response to the voice of criticism and says "I must not be so vain,I need to accept myself as I am, or I should not consider plastic surgery,  you are still dealing with the same voice in your head which takes issue with the first voice in the head. No, the consciousness 'I Am' just perceives the voice and the plan of action, but otherwise there is stillness.

Lucid Dreaming

Have you ever woken up within a dream and realized that you were dreaming? I experienced it numerous times when I was a teenager. I had a recurring dream pattern in which I was chased by something scary, and while I was running it appeared like I was stuck in mud and the monster I was running from came nearer and nearer. At one point I just realized that this 'stuck in the mud' scene was a dream. And as I realized that I was just dreaming, the monster disappeared and I started creating my own dream scenes. Well, I am embarrassed to admit that I used those creative powers to visualize girls into my dream, but each time when things were about to get steamy, I woke up altogether. Bummer!


I wonder today if the lucid dreaming analogy might be a good description of the spiritual evolution. Most of us seem to have some traces of psychic powers. Perhaps that is the process of waking up within the dream. You start realizing that the Law of Attraction is at play, and maya's favorites aides, time and space, get more and more compressed the further you advance on your spiritual path. You realize that your mind is the creator of your reality and then you go for the next step, to wake up from  your dream altogether. What do you think?

Seeing, Feeling and Hearing the Tao

Gary Lachman presented an interesting idea in 'A Secret History of Consciousness': what if in the olden days our ancestors heard voices in their head of what to do. No choices are necessary in this world since a higher authority commands you what your next step should be. You will probably not be very impressed given that we consider ourselves free these days and don't want to be enslaved by a voice in our head! I was intrigued nevertheless since I perceive a Tao master as a full circle back to this old world. If you are on the Tao you just see a red line on the path and you follow it. There is little choice necessary because you just know this one is the one that works for everyone and you in particular. What is there to choose? When you talk to people, you have no agenda you are just dancing with them and are waiting for the next cue that is meaningful to you. Like an athlete you just react instinctively to events because they happen way too fast to process them on a conscious level. Feel the energy and go with it, there is little else to do and enjoy. Today everyone may no longer be able to hear the Tao, but you can definitely learn to see and feel the Way!