The Thought to Reach

When the need to reach for something arises it’s because the mind is in bondage to the reaching thought. Until this is seen, one will remain in bondage to the thought that fulfillment is in the next thing reached for.

You will never find the fulfillment you’re seeking if you’re in bondage to the thought of being fulfilled. Fulfillment is something that’s already within everyone, but because of the way our minds are conditioned, we get bound up in our thoughts that fulfillment is something outside of us. Unfortunately this bondage makes the very fulfillment we are seeking impossible to grasp. This bondage is the reason one is constantly reaching for something from the outside and until this is seen one remains bound to the thought that fulfillment is in the next thing reached for. Alcohol, gambling, drugs, sex, social status, programs, therapy, self help books and on and on, this reaching is proof that one is in bondage, is it not? I can’t stress this enough as this bondage to your thoughts has to be seen if one is to experience true fulfillment in their life.

It’s impossible to think your way to fulfillment, but what does have to happen if fulfillment is to be experienced is there has to be an understanding of why you’re not fulfilled; that one isn’t fulfilled is only because of the inability to just be. When the need to reach for something arises, the bondage to the reaching thought begins. This bondage is a vicious cycle that’s very difficult to break free from. Fulfillment isn’t something attained or achieved so it’s in doing less that one is fulfilled. To many people get lost in trying to find fulfillment, but since it’s something that’s already within, the binding thought about finding fulfillment needs to be discarded so you can see. This is not easy to grasp, but it’s why I write. Understand though, I don’t write to help anyone find fulfillment, I simply write so the bondage of our thoughts can be seen for what it is; the reason why there isn’t fulfillment.

Forgiveness Story

If you truly loved yourself wounds that need healing would never be produced and because you can only do what you are conditioned to do, there wouldn’t be a need for a forgiveness story.

This article is on the topic of forgiveness. To me the biggest misconception of this word is people think its needed and that’s where the problem lies. If you understood your own mind, you would understand this. I ask you, is forgiveness real or is it just a story created by your Conditioned Mind to hold you in captivity to the wounds of the past? Wounds that are held onto which are only there because they’re created by the lack of self love, and because of this lack these wounds aren’t allowed to heal. It all stems from not allowing yourself to truly love who you are. You think the past should be different, if you didn’t there wouldn’t be the need to forgive. We all can only do what we are conditioned to do, if this truth was seen where would there be a need for forgiveness? And if it isn’t true then why do you do what you don’t want to do and don’t do what’s in your heart? So do what you do and if you don’t like what you do, learn to stop doing it so you can do something different.

If you understand the Conditioned Mind and you are aware of the control it has over you, you will see there is no need for forgiveness because you and others behave in the way your own mind tells you to behave. So where is the need to forgive if you are just doing what you have been conditioned to do? Understand this, it’s your own mind that tells you what to do, and the same mind makes up the story that what it told you to do now needs to forgive. Who behaves and who forgives? It is one in the same. So my question is, is the need for forgiveness real or is it just a story? If you truly loved yourself your wounds would have never been produced so there wouldn’t be a need for healing and because now you understand that you just did what you were conditioned to do there isn’t a need to forgive.

Limiting Results

No perspective is wrong, but if you only have one way of seeing things it does limit your view of life and in the process it doesn’t allow you to have any other result except from that perspective.

Changing views is what makes life different, it doesn’t make what happens in life different, it only makes the way something is seen different. If you’re locked into a certain view, this only allows one way of seeing things. To me the more one’s view is based in the intellect the harder it will be for there to be a shift in perspective to see things another way. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with the intellect, it just doesn’t allow for much space. When one sees things from a view of only one way, it limits their entire life to that one view. Most times this view isn’t even one’s own, it’s formed from someone else; their opinion, teaching, book, video, belief, idea, or philosophy.

To be fixated on one way of seeing things keeps you entrapped to the results of that way; think about how limiting that is. No possibility of other views, always going down the same path, never allowing anything new, this is so limiting, and unfortunately with only seeing things one way how limiting this is will not be seen. Sitting and developing discipline allows a one sided view to fall away and it also assist in the possibility of altering the current view; this is very important is one is to even have an inkling there’s another way to see things. It’s not that your way is wrong, it’s just that having only one way to see things limits your view of what occurs in life and in the process it doesn’t allow any other results except those from the one view; very limiting indeed.

Shelter From the Storm

Existence is based in the energy of love, but this energy is not a preventer of tragedies. It’s simply a place to dwell to get shelter from the so called life storms, and they will come, but one doesn’t have to be overcome by them.

Our world is one of tragedy and pain just as it’s of joy and fulfillment. An omnipresence is what’s common regardless of what happens, but we cannot escape the tragedies of life. Our beliefs or our faith do not make us immune to them. We were never promised that life would be without tragedies, but there’s an omnipresence that’s there no matter what we face. Someone once wrote that “Peace does not come with the absence of troubles, but with the conscious realization of adequate resources.” The omnipresence is the supplier of all the resources we need to get through life’s tragedies. Jesus said, “In this world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He went to the Father often, the omnipresence of his place to dwell.

All our victories belong to the power of love. Many came to bring us this message. Something abides beyond the tragedies and it’s the omnipresence of love. This is the place to dwell for without it we are left to deal with the tragedies with our own created devices. One’s entire existence is based on love, and it’s this awareness that makes us realize we are always on Holy Ground. To understand this there has to be an understanding that there’s a power greater than ourselves, an omnipresence that provides us with the resources we need. Without this understanding it will be difficult to get through life’s tragedies so one can find shelter and walk in the light of our Divine nature.

Nobody Watching Honesty

Nobody watching honesty means what you do when nobody is looking is the same as what you do when someone is watching. If this isn’t the level of your honesty, it’s because there’s a lack of self awareness.

One way to alleviate suffering is to develop honesty with yourself. Here’s a definition of honesty “the quality of being truthful” to me this is strictly about being true to yourself because when I’m true to me, there’s no way I can’t be true to you. I’ve learned a lot about self honesty in the last ten years and it’s something that eluded me for most of my life. Honesty isn’t about what is shown to the world, it’s about what is done when no one is watching. The world is easily fooled because of the conditioning in place; what does it matter if one gains the whole world, but loses themselves.

Honesty is a huge hurdle in breaking the chains of the Conditioned Mind, without it truth cannot be revealed. If I don’t know what blocks me from being honest with myself, the blocks will remain. Without establishing what I call “nobody watching honesty” one remains stuck in their old habits because there’s no room for anything new. Certain things trigger certain thoughts and if those thoughts are attached to it’s usually because self honesty has been compromised. Although there’s no right or wrong in this, this does make someone act in ways as if nobody’s watching which they wouldn’t necessarily do if someone was watching.

To thine own self be true because it’s only yourself that keeps you in bondage. This self honestly is tied in with loving yourself; when you’re honest with yourself, you’re truly loving yourself because you’re making room for the mind to expand. This allows for the honesty to do what you do when no one is watching just as you would in front of others. Difficult yes, but only because nobody watching honesty isn’t what’s in place.

A Quiet Mind Sees

Truth is seen when the mind becomes quiet. The thought of truth which is noise, is a created distraction that blocks you from seeing beyond the story that’s conjured up in your head.

If you want to know what truth is, a quiet mind will have to be at the base of where life is lived from. Anything else is just a distraction that keep one’s mind from settling and thus it keeps one from truth. There is never a story attached to truth. How can there be, when the story is but a distraction? Life isn’t truly about anything in particular, the Conditioned Mind will make it about something and with a quiet mind this will be seen. It’s probably the only way it will be seen because it’s the only way one’s created distractions will not block truth from arising. So what you see is what you see and if you think it’s truth it probably isn’t. This is because only when the mind is quiet beyond the thought of truth will one see the truth that sets you free.

If you follow the way of the world, it will be your master. There will be very little truth in your life because the distractions of the world will not allow your heart to open to the love of the Universe. There’s no way around this, until there’s some semblance of quietness in one’s life there will be very little truth. It’s pretty simple, conform to the worlds way and you will be enslaved to it, or learn to be quiet and you will see.

Making Room

As far as the mind is concerned, if the old isn’t cleared out there won’t be room for anything new to replace it, but it won’t happened until it’s seen there’s a need to replace the old.

From the time one begins their life in this form, the mind is constantly processing and storing information. The incessant mind never stops this storing process and constantly draws on its familiarity, but this leaves very little room for anything new to become known. One’s instilled foundation needs something close to a miracle to dislodge it, but when the mind does settle, it creates room and the world as it is known ceases to exist.

Think of it this way, when a room is to be redesigned in a house, the first thing that needs to be done is to clear it out so the new furniture can fit in where it’s wanted. If one has to work around the old furniture it would make placing the new furniture much more difficult, it wouldn’t fit properly and it probably wouldn’t match either. Matching the new with the old takes a skill that most people don’t naturally possess. This usually has to be taught., this is where the process of sitting helps to clear out the mind (the room). If this isn’t done, the mind, as it is with the room, will remain cluttered with the old. Although the new may be put in, it will not add any enhancement to the design of the room. After all, this is what we are doing, trying to enhance life. No one changes anything just to change it, it’s changed because a philosophy or a belief isn’t working any more, so clear out the old and make room for a redesigning that will allow in the new.

Conditioned Desires

Conditioned Desires:

Desires are conditioned driven, it matters little whether they’re fulfilled or not. Fulfill every desire in your life and at the end of it you will have exactly what you would have had if no desire had been fulfilled.

You can desire things to be a certain way, but to life this doesn’t really matter much. At times things will be allowed things for the betterment of life and if you are one of the instruments which are being used in this capacity, you are truly blessed because you are probably assisting others in a unique way. This doesn’t make you special, but it does allow you to be free of the self centered “I” that holds most of the world in captivity. Desires are conditioned driven, it matters little whether they’re fulfilled or not. A story can be made up that it matters, but that’s your story not life’s. Fulfill every desire in your life and at the end of it you will have exactly what you would have had if no desire had been fulfilled.

It always baffles me when I’m watching a football game and a player scores a touchdown and follows it up by pointing upward as if someone is watching and cares that a touchdown was scored. What about when the ball is dropped or intercepted, which is inevitable? I’m waiting for the day when a person drops a pass and points downward. All these stories mean nothing to the Universe. Also what about prayers being said, regardless if they seem to work out or not they are just stories of desiring things to be different; life is simply life. Who’s suppose to answer these prayers anyway, God? Good luck with that. Things will always work out the way they work out as the Universe and life don’t really care if they do or don’t. Desires are only held onto because one thinks they’re needed, but because life isn’t a respecter of desires, suffering prevails as at the end of your life you will have exactly what you would have had if no desire had been fulfilled.

Expansion of Love

Love is the true energy of life. It won’t be denied as its expansion is inevitable because it’s what we are made of. As our heart is unblocked and opens to love, love becomes the energy of existence.

Hate is far reaching and it doesn’t stop instantly when it’s energy source is taken away, but it does dissipate over time. Love is different, love keeps expanding even without its energy source. A perfect example of this is the love of Jesus; it is stronger today than the day it was written he was on earth. The energy of the love that was in his heart is what lives on, expands and generates more love. This is the nature of love, to expand. Hate doesn’t do this, not that it doesn’t grow, but when it’s source energy is taken away, the energy generated doesn’t expand, it wanes. People will hold on to its trace energy, but it becomes a pocket of hate that is isolated, as opposed to love which expands because it’s Universal.

Although Jesus’s made the ultimate sacrifice in spreading love, there are many others who have the same love in their hearts and are spreading it. Some of his followers got killed for spreading the love that was in their hearts and some dedicate their entire life to spreading love. The Buddha, Martin Luther King Jr. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, to name a few, but there are so many people unnamed people like you and me who spread the seeds of love as much as the heart is capable. Love is the energy of the Universe, it will not be denied.

All we can do, is what our heart is capable of. We all possess a fully capable heart of love, but because of our Conditioned Mind we fall short of reaching our full capacity. With practice our hearts will keep expanding and we’ll be the spreaders of love like those that came before us. We may be one unit on this planet, but it isn’t our love that we are spreading, it’s the love that came before us, which is the love of all creation. We are expanding on that love and no matter how much hate there was that came before us or is here now, it will never keep the energy of the love that’s in our hearts from expanding to our entire planet.

Surface Noise

When you think you have life all figured out, you are more disconnected than ever. One connects with life when the voice in the head stops and there is oneness with your own inner stillness.

I remember a time last summer as the sun was going down, I was on the beach looking out into the ocean. As I watched seagull after seagull dive into the ocean to grab another fish, it got me to wondering how there is a whole world beneath the surface of the ocean that really isn’t given much thought, that is until there is something that happens to get our attention. The seagull instinctively knows of this world because it doesn’t have all the noise going on in it’s head.

This reminded me of my own body and how I don’t really give much thought as to what is going on inside of me, that is until something happens to bring attention to it. Many of us are so conditioned to listen to the voice in our head that it is nearly impossible to get in touch with what is truly going on in our life. It’s the surface noise that blocks out our connection to our inner stillness, it will be beneath the surface of this noise that you will be exposed to a whole new world.

Inward Truth

If you’re not looking inward when questions arise, answers aren’t going to be revealed. You’ll just bounce around making up answers which only distract you from looking inward and revealing truth.

Truth is beautiful and when we look for our answers inward, the beauty of truth is revealed. This occurs naturally, we only need to inquiry within to discover this; this is the only way truth will be revealed. It has always been there, but unfortunately we have been conditioned to look in the wrong places or not look for it at all. Our outward conditioning justifies so much of our behavior and blocks truth from being known, that is until one looks within.

Lie to yourself, justify whatever it is you want to justify, but the sad truth of our society is most people’s existence isn’t based in truth. If you’re not looking inward for your answers, you are living a lie. Truth will only be discovered when it’s sought from within. Why most don’t look inward is because the Conditioned Mind tells you it’s not necessary, that you are doing okay with the way things are. Besides it’s much easier to point the finger at someone else, but the truth is people aren’t doing okay with the way things are and this is because most think their answers are outside of themselves.

Our politicians look outside, the judicial system looks outside, religion looks outside, the economist look outside, drug and alcohol counselors, psychologists, psychiatrist, and on and all look outside. There are no answers outside, there are only distractions to keep you from looking inward and getting real answers, and those answers when looked for inward are based in truth. Most people live the lie that their answers are outside and to look inward is unnecessary, know this truth and it will set you free, but only if you are looking inward.

A Limited View

When you say you feel a certain way, it’s strictly your own judgement of that moment that produces the label. The moment doesn’t make judgements, it only provides the setting for it to be labeled.

Through our senses we label each moment and those labels are constant. Everything is judged, even labeling a coffee cup on the counter is a judgment. Not a harmful one, but a judgment just the same. When it’s learned to not judge and apply a conditioned label, you will then become aware of the distractions that keep you from going beyond surface living. With this new awareness, your mind finally settles enough to notice the deeper view. This is the initial awareness, but it will require much more practice to go deeper still. The deeper one goes, the more the material world will be let go of because it will not be needed. And the more the material world is let go of, the more one will understand the deeper view and the freer one will be.

The senses are directly linked to the bondage of self as is one’s surface view. If you really want to understand life from the spiritual realm, you will have to get very quiet and become aware of how subtle the bondage to the delusional self really is. This bondage is the only reason life is viewed the way it is by so many people as the quietness that allows it to be viewed differently isn’t practiced. This isn’t something that’s right or wrong, it’s just limiting. Without the discipline to understand the difference between surface living and the deeper view, there will be no difference and the surface view will be the only view that one will have. Again this isn’t right or wrong, but it is limiting and what is limited is the way one views life.

Putting Spirituality First

The main dilemma in our society is people are putting their humanness first and are being controlled by their thoughts. When spirituality is put first there’s a connection to the universal heart of love.

Living strictly from the human (thought) realm is the main reason why there is constant seeking and why one is disconnected from the sun light of the spirit. With putting being human first, one is living through thought so there has to be a disconnect from the spirit. Thought separates, love (the heart) unites. Our humanness is a direct disconnect from the spiritual when it’s put first because of its base (the senses). The Spirit doesn’t ever need, therefore when the spirit is put first the senses (desire) isn’t in control.

When being a spiritual entity is put first, a connection to all of life occurs, not through thought, but through the universal heart of love. The main dilemma in our society is people are putting their humanness first and are being controlled by their thoughts. Just follow the news and see this for yourself. It’s nothing more than human desires being put first and running amok.

Here is a tool called the 12 Steps to Freedom which are from my book It’s Monday Only in Your Mind: Your Are Not Your Thoughts. They offer the possibility for one to become aware of the sunlight of the spirit within so life may be lived from the heart as a spiritual being who is having a human experience. They are offered for free on my website www.mondayinyourmind.com Use this tool and develop this awareness or not, that’s the choice, but the results of that choice will be to either remain in the control of the Conditioned Mind or to break free of its tantalizing devious grip.

Changing 2017 Conditioning

Vows, pledges, and resolutions aren’t needed when it’s realized what you are giving up (changing) is being done because its causing a bondage that doesn’t allow you to be in harmony with life, yourself, and all beings.

Although vows, pledges, and resolutions are made in all sincerity, it’s very difficult to sustain them as a permanent change of a behavior pattern because of the way our conditioning controls our life. Many of the things we try to change are the very things we’ve used as coping mechanism throughout our life; they’ve been in place for many many years. Breaking their hold will take much more then simply saying “I will give up __________. ” Things of this nature are deeply engrained in the subconscious mind and will take much discipline to undo the conditioning that is there. This is the reason many New Year resolutions fall by the wayside in a short time.

Announcements aren’t needed to make changes in your life. If you want to change something learn why the thing is there in first place and what you need to do to break the cycle of that particular Conditioned Mind Pattern. The practice of quietness allows for the triggers of these mind patterns to be recognized and thus their hold tends to lose its grip. This takes willingness, time, and perseverance if breaking this bondage is to occur, but the alternative is for the behavior patterns to remain deeply engrained in the subconscious mind. Going forward if something needs to be changed because it’s not allowing harmony with life, yourself, and all beings, make it a point that this change is going to happen by doing the necessary practice that will allow it. Not because of some vow or resolution, but because you realize what you are changing is being done simply because its causing a bondage that doesn’t allow you to be in harmony with life, yourself, and all beings… Happy New Year

Identified Agitations

When the mind becomes agitated, if the agitation is to be quieted, the cause of it needs to be identified. An agitated mind can’t do this, so one needs to get off the merry go round if there’s to be quiet.

When it’s understood all the problems one thinks they have are created by your own mind, it will also be known that these so called problems cannot be solved with the same mind that’s creating them. Simply put, a mind that creates a problem cannot be used to fix the problem that it has created. An example would be a person who uses alcohol as an escape mechanism. At first it seems as though it provides the sought after release, but as time goes by it affects life in a way that it no longer provides the escape, it actually becomes the reason why an escape mechanisms is reached for, but the person still uses the alcohol as the solution to escape the harm the alcohol is causing; insanity. The alcohol can be substituted with anything. What’s used doesn’t really matter, how you get stuck on the merry go round of reaching is the point of this article. It’s the Conditioned Mind that keeps a person on the merry go round of using the same mind to create and solve problems. I did this for years and today it’s not this way. It’s not that I have a different mind, but there’s a difference in the way it processes information, so in a sense it is different.

The main difference is now there’s quietness instead of a constant agitation. What quietness allows is being in the present moment and living and accepting what happens as opposed to wanting it to be in some other way. This is the way it has to be if there’s going to be peace in one’s life. Things may actually be the way one wants them at times, but it will never stay that way, so the key is to find peace when things aren’t the way that you think best suits you; doing this without reaching for something to comfort yourself is essential. Understanding that your own mind is creating this nonsense is the first step in establishing a true place of peace. When the origin of the mind agitations are known, they can be eliminated, but it will take practice. It’s vital to know your own mind if there’s ever to be freedom from it tantalizing grip. After all it’s not the great secrets of the Universe that are going to bring one peace, peace will occur with the understanding of why you think in ways that doesn’t allow peace.