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Human Consciousness

What we call the self, is a collection of emotions floating within the life force we call consciousness, cocooned in the vessel of our mind-body. These collections of emotions are to consciousness what seasoning is to water: IT GIVES IT FLAVOR . Without the flavor of emotion, our connection with the world would be completely impersonal. Our bodies are a physical barrier which convinces us of the uniqueness of our existence and creates the illusion that our feelings and thoughts are unique to ourselves. Because we think our emotions are unique, we hold on to our hurts, fears, and insecurities in a belief that no one else would understand them. The visual illusion of separation that our bodies create is so strong that we neglect to see our connection to one another even when we see our emotions reflected in others. The reality is that our thoughts and feelings, both good and bad, are shared by every single human in existence. They were here before us, and they will remain in the col...

Explaining Karen

For those of you who are not familiar with the concept of Karen, I will give you the definition of Karen according to Dictionary.com. Here is what it says: Karen  is a  pejorative  slang term for an obnoxious, angry, entitled, and often racist middle-aged white woman who uses her privilege to get her way or police other people's behaviors. I would say that this is a very accurate descriptive of Karen if you take her at face value; but in digging deeper, this is what I discovered: I recently had a run in with Karen. The funny thing about it is that although I was minding my own business, when I saw her, I knew something was going to happen. And it did. I am not going to go into what happened because it is not of any importance. What is important to digest from the encounter is my realization that Karen is an energy that resides within a person, but not the person themselves. That is why I felt the incident before it happened. I know Karen is an...

The Wolves Within Us

A few nights ago I was privy to this wonderful tale of the two wolves. It is a Native American tale that depicts the struggle within man. For those of you who have not heard of this tale, read below: ONE EVENING, AN ELDERLY CHEROKEE BRAVE TOLD HIS GRANDSON ABOUT A BATTLE THAT GOES ON INSIDE PEOPLE. HE SAID "MY SON, THE BATTLE IS BETWEEN TWO 'WOLVES' INSIDE US ALL. ONE IS EVIL. IT IS ANGER, ENVY, JEALOUSY, SORROW, REGRET, GREED, ARROGANCE, SELF-PITY, GUILT, RESENTMENT, INFERIORITY, LIES, FALSE PRIDE, SUPERIORITY, AND EGO. THE OTHER IS GOOD. IT IS JOY, PEACE LOVE, HOPE SERENITY, HUMILITY, KINDNESS, BENEVOLENCE, EMPATHY, GENEROSITY, TRUTH, COMPASSION AND FAITH." THE GRANDSON THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR A MINUTE AND THEN ASKED HIS GRANDFATHER: "WHICH WOLF WINS?..." THE OLD CHEROKEE SIMPLY REPLIED, "THE ONE THAT YOU FEED" I find this tale very intriguing. I believe t...

We Are Gods

Let me introduce you to something I call God-self. God-self is the knowing that you are an all powerful, magnificent force in the world. That you were created in the image of God and that nothing is out of your reach. Jesus Christ and the Buddha are just two of those who knew and embodied God-self. Their knowledge allowed them to be great and create miracles within themselves and others. The problem with mainstream religion is that it teaches you that you are weak.   Religion teaches you that in order to elevate God you must diminish yourself to him. However, the nature of God being all powerful means he does not need elevation. Secondly, if you are truly as weak as religion makes you out to be, how can you elevate anyone? let alone God. What religion asks for is the subjugation of people. In this way we are better controlled. God created us as his children.   That we are God's children is in itself is the most powerful thing in the universe. Think of it like this: we ar...

The Truth About Mental Health: A Departure from Community

The Trouble with Diagnosis Mental health exists on a spectrum, from mild anxiety to severe psychosis. Yet an important question often goes unexamined, especially when diagnoses are made to meet third-party payer requirements: how much of what we call “mental illness” is truly a disorder? How much of it warrants a true diagnosis or medication? For a condition to be labeled a disorder, it must first be judged as an unacceptable human experience. That judgment is made by authorities in medicine and psychology, groups that determine which thoughts, emotions, and behaviors fall outside the bounds of what is considered normal. The problem is that normality is not fixed. It is shaped by social context, by the zeitgeist , or cultural climate of a given era. History makes this clear. The use of marijuana was once criminalized. Today, in many places, it is legal and even prescribed medically. The behavior did not change. Our interpretation of it did. Similarly, homosexuality was classified as...

Living With Purpose

Like me, many have come to the realization that their life calling is to help others become the best version of themselves and to ease their burdens. Can we still make money? Of course! There are many people who are here helping others such as therapists, life coaches, medical practitioners, police officers, firemen, etc. Yet unfortunately, many of us choose jobs and careers based on how much money we will make rather than if our path will truly make us happy. Following your life path: Many of us go about life just going through the motions. We aim towards a life that is suitable; but suitable for who?  Many of our desires are not inherently what we desire for ourselves, rather what we have been taught to be desirable. We call this, the American dream. We go to school, we learn how to pass a test about random facts (or lies) that suit the American purpose of feeding the capitalist machine. We learn through our capitalist system that it is imperative to keep up with the Jones’....

Social Conditioning of Fear, Imperfection, and Division

The current state of humanity is in peril. We are far detached from a life of community, of love, and ultimately, of self. I propose that to know thine own self, is the only way we can truly love; and thus, have a true sense of community. A community based on love would have at its core the purpose of uplifting his fellow human beings. But to what end do we uplift our fellow man? The answer is quite simple, and best quoted by Buzz Lightyear from A Toy Story: TO INFINITY, AND BEYOND! Buzz Lightyear to infinity and beyond artsbbk.com Of course I am joking, although my real answer is not too far off. I believe that the ultimate goal of humanity is to aid each other towards ascension, or to what I call, God-self. God-self is a conceptualization that we are all created to transcend our current state of being so that we may be more like, or equal to, that which created us (whether its God, spirit, universal energy, The Great Architect of the Universe etc). Why? Because like the ...

The Power of Meditation

I am going to give you some insight on the power of meditation through the account of my most intense meditation experience to date.  Meditation is a great tool for healing, but like with any medicine, meditation varies in intensity, purpose, and it is not intended for use by everyone. It is important to ensure that the particular meditation you wish to practice is right for you. Since childhood, I have always had an interest in religion and spirituality. As I grew older, I became increasingly involved in eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. These religions practice meditation to discipline the mind or to attain enlightenment. And so began my interested in meditation. There are many forms of meditation, each one yielding varying results. Some forms of meditation such as mindfulness, are simple and easy to learn. Others, such as meditation for attaining enlightenment, are more involved and require strict discipline. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that is used ...