Is knowledge primarily a mental construct? Or is as much an attitude? Let's take a look.
When we think we know, we hold a position of confidence internally that we can draw upon "on demand" to bring to bear our "knowing" to gain mastery of the presenting circumstance. This application of knowledge gives us power. This capacity to act consciously in the moment is our real power.
But what happens when we don't know or that we don't know that we don't know or we simply lack the confidence in our ability to face and resolve the problem in front of us?
We get stuck...stopped in the "not knowing" of the circumstance. Our doubts pile up, inertia replaces action, our motives become confused and worry contracts our options. Not very pretty. Yet it is what it is; ignorance fueled by fear. The consequences are often painful causing us to suffer "the slings and arrows" of misfortune brought upon us by our own ignorance. We hesitate to act because we feel that we cannot act. We say "no how" when we are not feeling "know how."
Its not clear if we are merely incompetent or actually just plain ignorant. What's missing in this daily dilemma? A feedback loop with reality. Until we reconnect this feedback loop, our ignorance will remain.
What can we do about it?
For most of us the learning loop was shut down a very long time ago. We are disconnected from what's really happening. Learning has ceased. We just don't know it. That is the paradoxical nature of ignorance; we don't know that we don't know. The primary reason for our ignorance is staring us right in the face; we actually stopped learning...and we don't know it. Its really quite maddening.
Fortunately the solution is simple; complete the reality circuit. This is the beginning of wisdom. The opportunity is present in every moment; to move from ignorance to knowing. The critical time is in the recognition of your "not knowing" and remaining vigilant of your shift into "no how" mode.
Gain wisdom. Learn. Move your mind from ignorance to knowing through your conscious willingness to learn. Go for Know How! It takes less than a minute...
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Paradox of Love
What is love? A feeling? A state of mind? A chemical state? Whatever it is, if it is from our ego then we can be assured that it is not love. It may feel so good that our heart's feel like they are about to burst. Yet, it may send us to the deepest levels of hell when our ego-bound ideas run the show.
True love is not romantic, not sexual, not physical...definitely not a feeling, certainly not a thought.
True love is the state of mind that only occurs when the clash of opposites are collapsed into a synthesis of higher understanding. It is transcendent. A daily death of the ego, a birth and resurrection of your true self.
Its not the projections of the ego onto the other, nor is it the hearts and flowers we give on Valentine's Day. It is the awareness of our higher self living in the the truth of the moment.
The great paradox of love is this: When you give the real thing away, you end up having more.
True love is not romantic, not sexual, not physical...definitely not a feeling, certainly not a thought.
True love is the state of mind that only occurs when the clash of opposites are collapsed into a synthesis of higher understanding. It is transcendent. A daily death of the ego, a birth and resurrection of your true self.
Its not the projections of the ego onto the other, nor is it the hearts and flowers we give on Valentine's Day. It is the awareness of our higher self living in the the truth of the moment.
The great paradox of love is this: When you give the real thing away, you end up having more.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Is life a problem to be solved?
If you use your analytical mind to figure life out from a personal perspective, you are likely using the wrong part of your mind. Life is not a problem to be solved. So stop trying to "figure it out."
Its all this "figuring" that got you in the intractable mess you call your mind in the first place. As good old Albert observed; "You cannot solve the problem on the level it was created, you must go up a level." Up a level in awareness. There you will see the so called "problem" from a new perspective.
There is nothing to figure out.
Really!
There is only the requirement to live in the now. Stop trying to solve your pain by turning your "ouwies" into problems. It only perpetuates the foolhardy notion that life is a problem to be solved. It isn't. And worst, it orients your thinking into a problem/pain paradigm. The result is the improper placement of your attention on your "don't wants"...and a life organized to manage pain.
The problem with the "problem" is this: Its all in your head. Well, mostly:)
Ouch! Stop it!
Stop expecting your mind to fix what's "wrong" inside of you.
Stop trying to "figure it out."
Stop asking your mind to "manipulate the world" in order to "fix" your personal problems.
And most importantly...Stop Resisting Reality! Any denial of essential facts or the shifting of personal responsibility for your choices and their consequences is the road to a deeper delusion...a delusional reality that can only lead to more pain and frustration.
Life is not a problem to be solved. Dissolve your so called problems by dropping the thinking which creates problems for you. And for God's sakes...trust yourself...then you will actually know how to live.
Liberate your soul...dissolve your troubles by rising ever higher in awareness. And remember this; Life is a reality to be experienced. Enjoy the beauty as it unfolds.
"Life itself is your career and your interaction with life is your most meaningful relationship" - Michael Singer
Its all this "figuring" that got you in the intractable mess you call your mind in the first place. As good old Albert observed; "You cannot solve the problem on the level it was created, you must go up a level." Up a level in awareness. There you will see the so called "problem" from a new perspective.
There is nothing to figure out.
Really!
There is only the requirement to live in the now. Stop trying to solve your pain by turning your "ouwies" into problems. It only perpetuates the foolhardy notion that life is a problem to be solved. It isn't. And worst, it orients your thinking into a problem/pain paradigm. The result is the improper placement of your attention on your "don't wants"...and a life organized to manage pain.
The problem with the "problem" is this: Its all in your head. Well, mostly:)
Ouch! Stop it!
Stop expecting your mind to fix what's "wrong" inside of you.
Stop trying to "figure it out."
Stop asking your mind to "manipulate the world" in order to "fix" your personal problems.
And most importantly...Stop Resisting Reality! Any denial of essential facts or the shifting of personal responsibility for your choices and their consequences is the road to a deeper delusion...a delusional reality that can only lead to more pain and frustration.
Life is not a problem to be solved. Dissolve your so called problems by dropping the thinking which creates problems for you. And for God's sakes...trust yourself...then you will actually know how to live.
Liberate your soul...dissolve your troubles by rising ever higher in awareness. And remember this; Life is a reality to be experienced. Enjoy the beauty as it unfolds.
"Life itself is your career and your interaction with life is your most meaningful relationship" - Michael Singer
Monday, April 12, 2010
"Food" for Thought
“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.”
Thomas Jefferson
What say you?
Thomas Jefferson
What say you?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
What You Do in LIfe Echoes in Eternity
You matter.
Your thoughts matter.
Your choices matter.
Your actions matter. And not only in this moment, but in the moments which comprise eternity. Your life matters. What you do is up to you, but your life matters to the degree that you choose it to matter. Life means something...when you attend to it in a conscious loving way.
The meaning of life is actually quite simple. What you consciously choose to attend to is the meaning of your life. You are the chooser. Your life, its meaning is up to you.
All you need do is actually choose...and allow your life to unfold naturally. Go with the flow and realize meaning in every moment. In truth, you really do know what to do and when to do it, and who to do it with.
You matter. Your actions matter....
For time and eternity...its true...What you do in life does indeed echo in eternity.
Your thoughts matter.
Your choices matter.
Your actions matter. And not only in this moment, but in the moments which comprise eternity. Your life matters. What you do is up to you, but your life matters to the degree that you choose it to matter. Life means something...when you attend to it in a conscious loving way.
The meaning of life is actually quite simple. What you consciously choose to attend to is the meaning of your life. You are the chooser. Your life, its meaning is up to you.
All you need do is actually choose...and allow your life to unfold naturally. Go with the flow and realize meaning in every moment. In truth, you really do know what to do and when to do it, and who to do it with.
You matter. Your actions matter....
For time and eternity...its true...What you do in life does indeed echo in eternity.
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Paradoxical Wisdom of "Paradoxical Wisdom"
The inspiration for paradoxical wisdom has its roots in the winsome wit of the gadfly of Athens...old Socrates. The one who chose to drink the Hemlock and die rather than live a lie.
Well, as it is written "it is appointed for each man to die but once" so who am I to say if he did not choose wisely:)
What is relevant here is that Socrates understood the limits of his own wisdom which paradoxically made him wise. And that is the point here. To accept that we don't know as much as we think we know. Mark Twain observed a few thousand years later that "the problem with most of us is we know too much that isn't so."
Not to complicate the issue of knowing with wisdom but knowing you are not wise makes you wise I surmise...at least in the paradoxically wise sense.
The key to living wisely is to live the paradox...of knowing yet not knowing. That is the essence of paradoxical wisdom. Test the riddle of the oracle at Delphi yourself....ask: "Am I wiser than Socrates?":) Who knows what you will discover.
Have fun...
Well, as it is written "it is appointed for each man to die but once" so who am I to say if he did not choose wisely:)
What is relevant here is that Socrates understood the limits of his own wisdom which paradoxically made him wise. And that is the point here. To accept that we don't know as much as we think we know. Mark Twain observed a few thousand years later that "the problem with most of us is we know too much that isn't so."
Not to complicate the issue of knowing with wisdom but knowing you are not wise makes you wise I surmise...at least in the paradoxically wise sense.
The key to living wisely is to live the paradox...of knowing yet not knowing. That is the essence of paradoxical wisdom. Test the riddle of the oracle at Delphi yourself....ask: "Am I wiser than Socrates?":) Who knows what you will discover.
Have fun...
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Sunshine on a Cloudy Day
I started this blog with high aspirations... to peel away the layers of BS that masquerade as truth. Mission not accomplished:)
The simple truth is most of us are just trying to survive the current uncertainty and prefer the familiar landscapes of comfort and certainty. Can't say I blame you. I like the familiar as well:) But I got this nagging feeling that the Matrix is realer than we thought and realer than we can think.
Too real perhaps, too scary to even contemplate for mere mortals so...I've decided to forgo my original highfalutin intentions and focus on the mundane affairs of this side of the Matrix:) Things like eating, sleeping and ...other creature comforts.
I'll begin with what I had for breakfast; Honey Nut Cheerios with organic milk and a supposed organic apple. I washed it down with a breakfast burrito from Jack in the Box...not!
This morning I chose the red package of Seattle's Best Organic House to wash away the sands of time. Mission accomplished. Comfortably ensconced in the illusion. Survival assured at least until lunch...when the battle for survival reemerges and I must once again choose the blue pill or face ultimate reality. God forbid that I should choose to wake-up! No, no, no! The blue pill for me please...with a piping hot cup of organic El Salvador.
That's the ticket!
PS The Red Pill sits in a jar by the door...which in case of a "real" emergency will be broken.
The simple truth is most of us are just trying to survive the current uncertainty and prefer the familiar landscapes of comfort and certainty. Can't say I blame you. I like the familiar as well:) But I got this nagging feeling that the Matrix is realer than we thought and realer than we can think.
Too real perhaps, too scary to even contemplate for mere mortals so...I've decided to forgo my original highfalutin intentions and focus on the mundane affairs of this side of the Matrix:) Things like eating, sleeping and ...other creature comforts.
I'll begin with what I had for breakfast; Honey Nut Cheerios with organic milk and a supposed organic apple. I washed it down with a breakfast burrito from Jack in the Box...not!
This morning I chose the red package of Seattle's Best Organic House to wash away the sands of time. Mission accomplished. Comfortably ensconced in the illusion. Survival assured at least until lunch...when the battle for survival reemerges and I must once again choose the blue pill or face ultimate reality. God forbid that I should choose to wake-up! No, no, no! The blue pill for me please...with a piping hot cup of organic El Salvador.
That's the ticket!
PS The Red Pill sits in a jar by the door...which in case of a "real" emergency will be broken.
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