Sample Contemplations

At times of adversity, rather than fall into fear and anxiety, if we can undertake acts of kindness, then fear and anxiety are instantly reduced.

In a coherently existing universe, all forces cloaked behind anonymity, whether dark or light, will ultimately be revealed through the relentless force of eternity.

The artificial things in our life, whether they are ingredients, forces, things or places, are more likely to create unhealthy extremes in our human experience and expressions which do not occur in a more ancient, naturally coherent environment.
So for example, many things or human behaviours that occur in large metropolitan areas would generally not occur in a rural or wilderness area, because they are simply not coherent in such environments.
Consequently, the more we use, live-in, and are influenced by the artificial, the more we will lose of our nature-cohering humanity, until eventually we may forget the naturally coherent, whilst we ignorantly accumulate and reap the resulting effects of the artificial.

We may be driving through the countryside, and see a myriad of trees along the sides of the road, as well as the clouds above us, feel the wind upon our face, the vibrations of the tyres on the road, smell the passing fragrances of nature, the sounds of birds, as well as the humming of our engine and so on, and suddenly realise, that we are experiencing an infinite, almost pointillist, atomically structured life and world through all of our senses.

When we believe something, what prompted us to choose the first step, the second step, the third step and so on, toward that belief?
In other words, can we describe the reasoning pathway that traces the origin or provenance of our belief, which led us to the particular belief we now hold?
If we have refrained from our ability to reason, or cannot describe the provenance of our belief, then it is likely that we have been overly influenced by external sources which may not be truthful.

Sometimes our insistence on wanting the very best, the best quality, best comfort, food, accommodation and so on, can make us too selective, too limited, as well as deny our humanity with others. Having second, third or even lower best can give us new found appreciation, as well as renew the sense of pleasure we receive from the habitual good in our lives.

If we can place more focus upon others, by for example internally blessing those we meet or see with a wonderful life, or likewise picturing those we know in our imagination with a similar blessing, then we leave behind our own self-centered emotions, judgmentalness and angst, and enter into the joy and expansiveness of serving others.

The primary life focus of a self-integrating person, is on self-improvement, rather than asking others, or the world to change. This is particularly relevant to consider now, during a period of battling ideologies in the world, where some people are insisting that others make change. Ultimately, for every human being, the question is, “Am I living a truly honourable and authentic life?”

To indiscriminately follow another’s beliefs, education, opinion, focus, and so on, is to ultimately prove the veracity or justification of their choice, rather than our own.

The principle of coherent reasoning will always find simple, logical, non-harming solutions to life. Whereas those so-called solutions that are complex and cause harm to life, are often created as a means of repression, control, taking power, and designed to make extortionate profits.

To deeply realise that another human being can experience the depths of despair or the heights of joy, appreciate the beauty of a flower or a sunrise, salivate at the smell of coffee, enjoy the comforting taste of chocolate, go through the excruciating pain of a sore tooth, the painful loss of a loved member of one’s family or a close friend, snuggle in the warmth of a bed on a cold winter’s night, tumble in the exuberant energy of a summer wave at the beach, or experience the heights of passion of an orgasm…we come to realise that others are just like us, vulnerable, hoping, caring, loving, fearing, and therefore we can be more compassionately aware towards them.

A truth told in confidence is generally regarded by many as being sacred.
But an untruth told in confidence has nothing sacred about it, and may need to be exposed.

Our unique, personal, raison d’etre in life, is less likely to be found in conforming with mainstream beliefs and resultant behaviours.

We live our lives on Earth, as it journeys through space.
The Earth is therefore our home as well as our galactic vehicle.
Yet whilst travelling through the cosmos, many of us have been too fixated on the ground, and been busy destroying some of the eternally-travelled, pristine living spaces on board.
We have forgotten the truth of the balancing, soul-attuning, boundless perspective that comes from simply gazing through the cabin window of our own horizon, to see the stars outside.

The Education system is clearly visible by its results and consequences in society. We have largely created a society of separated individuals, not knowing themselves, and increasingly disconnected from each other and from nature. The left brain intellect has been made a pseudo god, through focusing on trendy, imitation cleverness, material success, groupthink, peer popularity and trivial celebrity, whilst cut off from our humanity and kinship with life. The supreme understanding of life, that of the awareness of love, is neglected, along with wisdom, contentment, and peace.

At those times we are experiencing an emotion which ideally we would not choose, we can change the emotional state by doing the following exercise in a safe space; simply standing with our eyes closed, arms by our sides, and start to slightly sway our body, yet with our head swaying somewhat independently. After only a couple of minutes and before the swaying naturally subsides, the exercise appears to balance our physical, mental and emotional state. Often towards the end, we may experience a goosebump sensation. However, if the emotion has affected us deeply, or we continue to mull it over, we may need to repeat the exercise at a later time.

A life dominated by the ignorance of one’s own thinking fallacies, is a life less fully or truthfully lived.

Freedom does not necessarily mean pursuing the heights of self-centred pleasure or wealth, or the narrowmindedness of self-centred beliefs or expression.

To give away one’s sovereign freedom by acquiescing to unexamined convention and the entrenched social order, is to forfeit the quest for truth and meaning, and to lose one’s inborn purpose in life.

Being human, means supporting and promoting the materialisation of humanitarian ideals.

The ignorance of not knowing, is part of every human being’s life experience that can be remedied with curiosity and an open mind. However the ignorance of disregarding or disdaining information because of bias or closed-mindedness is an insurmountable ignorance.

A true Intellectual will tend to look from other and often greater coherent views or larger perspectives than blindly follow conditioned education, mainstream views, or uphold the status quo. This is surely what it means to be an independent, unique thinker. Furthermore this also means that barring issues of partisanship, those rare, true intellectuals are often at odds privately or publicly, with mainstream views and institutions.

A relatively simple action can dramatically increase our innate intelligence, which also has the added benefit of making us more humane…
When we look beyond our judgments to consider other options about what we believe, see or experience, then instantly our awareness enlarges, our compassion grows, and our intelligence increases. The opposite of course is also true, if we continue to habitually look with judgmentalness.

The intelligence of wisdom is naturally embraced because it feels somehow innate; somehow already deeply known. Whereas the tedious, often life-denying efforts required to learn standardised knowledge is of an intelligence that does not feel innate at all.
If we are to evolve to a more wisdom-based planet, surely our current and historically-based education system needs to be reborn and made more sapien-centred.

There is a unique pleasure in kindness, yet it is unlike the pleasure we find in the fulfilling of a desire. Rather the pleasure of kindness is more transcendentally selfless, rather than self-centred.

To wait for the perfect person and circumstance in order to be kind, is to short-change the next person we meet, or the person already by our side.

If we regard the laws of the state as our primary source of truth, freedom, morality and justice, we will sooner or later become oppressed by the state, lose our liberty, and end up in tyranny.

The primary state that love creates in us, that removes the barriers for, and pierces any body armouring we may have, is to create openness, that we may have union with that which is within, and that which is without.

The only kind of love there is, is selfless love.

Unexamined obedience to state, society or authority of any kind, is a far greater corruption than examined disobedience to state, society or authority.

At those times when we are aware of our perceptions of knowing, thinking and feeling, we become aware that there is an observer within us who watches the proceedings. When we begin to live more consciously aware of the observer (our true nature aligned with our soul) the mind is directed more to wisdom and the speaking of it, and the heart to a devotional gnosis.

The unexamined opinion is probably not worth expressing.

We may be losing authenticity and personal freedom, rather than gaining an ordered life, if our routines, thoughts, speech or actions become overly habitual.

The more we can perceive, the more we can become aware, creative, inventive, increase understanding, think critically, become more adaptable, and therefore overall increase our intelligence.
However, there are many forces that are dumbing down human intelligence and reducing our ability to be perceptive, including particular forces of technology, media, various forms of education, government, as well as our own busy-ness, stress, and so on. To reverse this trend, the question we can ask ourselves is simply, “How can I increase my ability to be perceptive?”

The pursuit of wealth is less important than the realisation of inner peace. And the pursuit of status is less important than the realisation of human unity.

Perhaps the most dictatorial, malevolent, inhumane, yet ultimately cowardly action taken by many religions and sects, is that of preaching that their God is someone to be feared. Furthermore, to promote such fear, is to create their own self-serving, ecclesiastic jurisdiction and authority.

If our confidence, personality, status, wealth, beliefs, truth, love, and path in life are dependent upon some form of security (or insecurity) then the foundation of our life is a compact forged in fear, self-doubt and not being good enough, rather than in love.

A genuine smile, which includes our eyes (such as we see with the smiles of the Wodaabe tribe in Africa), causes the obsessive, emotionally dominated thinking mind to stop! For we cannot smile, and think or embody, negative thoughts at the same time.

Probably the most inclusive definition of spirituality, is that of having reverence for all life, as well as having a devotion towards awareness.

The inability to think critically and with discernment is a tell-tale sign that one has been educationally indoctrinated not to question or think outside of the subject box, particularly during one’s formative years.
However, if we realise that this is the case, we can simply begin asking probing questions outside of the narrative, and to keep asking “why” until we receive a detailed, coherent and truthful answer.

What is our usual, automatic mode of thinking? For many of us, it entails various blends of overthinking about concerns and worries, and experiencing their resulting emotions, such as anxiety, fear, depression and anger. It can also include habitual ism’s, such as classism, ageism, sexism, racism, elitism, judgmentalism and cynicism, as well as conditioned thoughts, bias, intolerance, reactivity and so on.
With this in mind, we realise that we are wasting large amounts of our time on earth on auto-pilot, and will probably want to begin to change our usual mode of thinking.
We can begin, by simply returning our focus to the present moment, and then start to consciously focus on either the feeling state of joy, or on communing with the ultimate peace, oneness, and humane nurturing of planet earth, rather than dwelling subconsciously upon negative states. In this way we consciously return to our true nature.
Furthermore, if we do not have an internal focus to return to, such as joy, then we will tend to have a fluctuating mental and emotional life.
However, if negative states return, we can ask ourselves, “Does it matter?” And we will find that nearly all of it does not matter, and we can let it go, and return to joy, or communion with earth.
In this way we can live with greater calm, acceptance and contentment in life, and at the same time heal our mental, emotional and even physical state, whilst sharing this to help and heal others. Hopefully with practice, we can make this our new and improved, usual mode of thinking.

Perhaps the most fundamental quality, that every human being desires, is to be recognised for who they truly are. To be seen, is to be deeply confirmed in our reason for being, because something within us, or our actions in the world have become visible to another. To truly see and acknowledge another human being, is perhaps the greatest gift we can give to each other, and may even precede the blossoming awareness of love.
However, to be seen, is something we can only really offer to someone else, we cannot go looking for it from others. Therefore if our focus is primarily upon wanting to be seen, then our ability to see the uniqueness and individuality of others, or indeed our ability to love them, will likely be lacking or reduced.

One day while meeting with a friend, I noticed that he had a shiny mountaineer’s carabiner upon which he attached his household keys.
I casually mentioned to him that if it somehow came into someone’s possession 500 years ago, it would have been considered a miraculous device.
And similarly if it came into someone’s possession 500 years from now, it would be treasured as an antique from the 21st century.
But today it is considered ordinary.
Yet the only difference between 500 years past or 500 years into the future is how it is perceived and treasured.
In other words the “treasuring” aspect increases our ability to perceive it as valuable.
Today, how much do we treasure the seeming ordinary in our lives?
In 500 years or less someone else may look upon our perceived ordinary things as valued treasure.
The same of course can also be said for all things animate that surround us, such as plants, animals, nature, people and those we love.
Our ability to treasure is also our ability to discover a deeper truth and awareness.

Truth fully spoken or revealed, can radically redefine our relationship with ourselves and others.
And therefore it requires courage to face our fears before we speak truth.

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When our understanding is limited, it is easier for us to form limited judgments.

We live for a flickering moment in an apparently infinite, eternal universe. We live near the closest star, by the light of the Sun, in a universe that is largely dark and subject to many unknown forces and outcomes. At present our primary focus is upon our own lives during our time on earth. And yet beyond this focus, the spirit of life appears to be subtly calling us, to discover an ever greater purpose that unifies all existence.

Whenever we are personally upset or challenged by something or someone, we can silently say to ourselves, “What’s good about this?” This simple question can immediately broaden our perspective and open us to a happier, positive experience, rather than just a negative one. But if we can’t find something positive, it is usually because our perspective is too small and needs to be enlarged.

Just because something is considered valuable to human beings, whether animals, marine animals, plants, insects, and so on, does not represent the true value of its own existence to itself.

At those times we experience a sudden loss or unexpected life change, with an accompanying soul-searing vulnerability that reveals just how fragile, powerless and perishable we are, we may also realise that something very profound is occurring. We are awakening to a deeper, non-judgmental view of the precious vulnerability in humanity all around us. And we may feel a deeper connection and gratitude towards others and to life than we ever had before.