Bearer of the Light

Have you ever had this experience that you feel incredible pain inside but as soon as you try to look into it, the pain somehow dissolves. What exactly goes on here?

It is this curiosity, this intension to understand and observe, that separates the ego from the pain. When you feel pain, you believe that you are this pain; however, as soon as your attention switches to observe what is going on inside yourself, you become the observer and you connect with consciousness. You realize who you really are instead and that is the point when the pain starts dissolving.

What do you want to be?  Whatever you want to manifest is fine. Just be aware you actually have the power to choose and to awake from this dream that can be perceived as painful at times. You are the eternal awareness behind all these ups and down! As soon as you realize this, your light shines through the darkness. Be brave to face this human experience but please never forget your true identity; this fountain of joy, love and light is always at your disposal. Pain can in fact be quite useful this way. When the going is good, it can be hard at times to step out of this movie than if you struggle a bit. 

Whenever you are able to drink from this fountain of joy, love, and light, you are a torch bearer and bring the light to the people around you. You probably asks us how exactly does one drink from this spring? Life will get you there! Face honestly and openly everything that comes your way. Be aware of what is going on inside of you when the going is good just as much as when you get hurt by life's events. As soon as you observe, you connect with our Source. Your self starts separating from your Self and that is the point when you see the light shining through. You remember who you are. Joy, love, and light shower on you and everyone you are with.

Share this beautiful secret of humanity. Help the people around you to see through this veil, break out of their pain, and share the love, light and joy with others. Bearer of the light, what should you be afraid of? 

By Christian and Su Zhen 

Mind the Voice in Your Head

Did you ever notice that there is an eternal nay-sayer in your head? I am not sure that I ever distinguished myself from the voice in my head before my spiritual path started, but now I do. Sometimes the voice and I march in unison, like in this note for example. But often we disagree big time! I can only say in amazement that this stuff that comes out from the depth of my being can be really negative and totally egoistic. Sometimes I tend to do exactly the opposite of whatever it is my voice comes up with. Unless, of course, my gut feeling or the Tao tell me that the voice in my head is onto something.

Have you ever noticed how uplifting it is to work on something together with others? Again, whenever the voice in my head warns me about something, one look at my friend next to me tells me what really is going on. Again and again I have discovered that my negative and egotistic mindset can't prevail with my soul siblings are around. Unless, of course, they are telling me the same thing.

Have you ever noticed that you have the best life coach at your disposal free of charge? The Tao reminds you of your mission and your dreams day in, day out. If unexpected set-backs occur, you immediately are told why this closed door opens in fact an even better alternative for you. For a Tao traveler the voice in the head has no meaning when it differs from the Way.

Mind the voice in your head and feel your way through life, often going against what your ego has to say.The message of the Tao is as visible as a red thread showing you the way. All you have to do is to follow it, step by step. You are neither optimistic nor pessimistic, you just acknowledge the wisdom 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.  

When the Observer Holds the Reins

Walking a spiritual path is about learning how to get in harmony with all our experiences, whether they might be physical or emotional, or whether they happen on a spiritual or an intellectual level.

To be in harmony requires to be completely present at this special moment. We feel our body, we perceive our emotions, we hear our thoughts and we are connected with our spirit. All this happens at a time when we are completely immersed in the occurrence of the moment. To say that we have an information overload would be putting it mildly - we are one with the Flow when all that just melts into one feeling of lasting connectedness.

There is an observer at work when your agenda fades into the background. Everyone has to have an agenda, that is what the concept of the "I" is all about. Before we walked the Way we perceived and felt things differently. With tunnel vision you just zoom into the stuff you want to get out of a situation. But in doing so you often overlook things that the "I" considers as non-essential, though a spiritual traveler would tell you they matter a lot! The tunnel vision also often puts you out of touch with your emotions, body and spirit.

The agenda of a spiritual traveler is not to have one. Over and over we have learned that tunnel vision brings trouble. Again and again we realize that we cannot really root for something given that we ourselves don't really know what constitutes "good" and "bad". When we get in tune with our body, emotions and spirit, we feel the situation we are in and the thoughts become a conclusion rather than a precursor of the situation we aspire to be in. When the observer holds the reins, the Self is projecting Itself through us. Whenever this connection is there, we feel peaceful and harmonious and we are sure to walk the Way.

By Christian and Su Zhen