sometime AFTER we all started being or aspiring to be like everyone else - learning one thing, in one way. on one path. sometime AFTER we all started living our one size fits all life, competing for the same damn illusive nothing, the bigger this, the more that. another bag. another belt. a bigger house. these tickets. that front row. that hotel. don't you know? the pictures are on facebook.
well it was sometime AFTER all of that started (i figure about 100 years ago) that we began losing what was real. not just who we were and what we were doing. not just the way forward for us. where we were meant to go. who we were meant to be. not just that. but more deeply too. the bigger, better you're my competition not my kin way ate our humanity. our morality. and our ability to be real. and true.
we didn't just get lost for 40 years and wander around. wonder around. instead we got lost and then quickly began covering up the truth. in 100 different marketing ploys. and self promotions. we've covered up ourselves. our naked, lost unrealness. we've made so much up we don't know what's real anymore. and we're all hiding inside these stories. these expressions of our vocal chakras gone awry. we jump on the band wagon of others and their self promotion. we're sponsored by this and chosen by that. consciously or unconsciously. knowing or not knowing. still lies. and fear of self. intimately manifested. like its ok.
we've covered, avoided and run from the thing that can help us most. the hole of unknowingness. the confusion of not knowing how we feel. or worse, not being able to express it. because we don't have the skills to do those things anymore. or the manners to be quiet if we don't. its the real thing. what is?
we've been replaced instead by an incredible commercial machine. we're technological devices. brands. the next cool thing. we can make it up. lie. steal it from someone else. all of which just means that real us doesn't get to be. the energy of real us doesn't come out. the passion of real us doesn't live. the creativity and art of real us never becomes real. and no matter how good we may be at faking it - without real us we're nothing. every time.
for real us to make an appearance we have to stop all this unrealness. we have to feel. we have to want to feel. we have to wait. and wait. and watch. make things. grow things. be quiet. and watch and wait. and wait. and wait. this is not easy. its like unpicking something impossibly complicated. and as there is no proven upside why bother? if you're already guaranteed as many mars bars as you want why forgo them ALL for the promise of a handmade 70% chocolate raspberry truffle you've never tasted?
random observations. unavoidable synchronicities. serendipitous moments. and a little fun. as I float around in the artistic deep observing our evolution revolution: strange sensations, mind-blowing passion, alternative beauty, awesome energy and the new earth rising for everyone.
30 August 2011
24 August 2011
the moment
I remain amazed at the ongoing power of the moment. I am flooded with information, networks, newsletters and websites. So much data. Its easy to become jaded. turn off. or in a fit of complete left brain ego craziness - try to absorb it all.
More and more these days I see. In the midst of this chaos sits the precious moment. The rich, full of everything I need, perfect moment. It goes on and on. As deep as my neurologically driven sensors are able to go. And here is the secret I've found: the more focus on the moment the more my ability to focus is honed. And the more it is honed the more I can see, hear, feel, touch and taste. It really is exercise just like anything else. And discipline.
After a while of bringing the mind back over and over from the past and the future, back to the present, to now, to the blue sky and the wind and the barking of the neighbours dog this exercising begins to pay off. and in a slow motion explosion of sensual beauty, the moment starts to unfold and reveal its itself and its magic.
in that new world is everything I need - every idea, every website, every recommendation, every book, every bit of info, colours, friends, feelings, decisions, what I should eat for lunch, where I should go for the weekend. inspiration direction connection. YUP. everything that I could possible want is already there. and all I have to do is keep the focus on the moment all the time. the more I do, the deeper it gets.
it still amazes me. my incredible, personal, perfect, just for me, unfolding adventure that was there the whole time. that I missed for so long because I was in yesterday or tomorrow instead of just where I need to be. here. now.
More and more these days I see. In the midst of this chaos sits the precious moment. The rich, full of everything I need, perfect moment. It goes on and on. As deep as my neurologically driven sensors are able to go. And here is the secret I've found: the more focus on the moment the more my ability to focus is honed. And the more it is honed the more I can see, hear, feel, touch and taste. It really is exercise just like anything else. And discipline.
After a while of bringing the mind back over and over from the past and the future, back to the present, to now, to the blue sky and the wind and the barking of the neighbours dog this exercising begins to pay off. and in a slow motion explosion of sensual beauty, the moment starts to unfold and reveal its itself and its magic.
in that new world is everything I need - every idea, every website, every recommendation, every book, every bit of info, colours, friends, feelings, decisions, what I should eat for lunch, where I should go for the weekend. inspiration direction connection. YUP. everything that I could possible want is already there. and all I have to do is keep the focus on the moment all the time. the more I do, the deeper it gets.
it still amazes me. my incredible, personal, perfect, just for me, unfolding adventure that was there the whole time. that I missed for so long because I was in yesterday or tomorrow instead of just where I need to be. here. now.
18 August 2011
Getting real
I can't remember exactly when it happened. But one day sometime ago it turned out that if you had some money or something else that was like money and/or some future income from say a field, you were allowed to borrow some more money against this to use for example to buy a plough. In fact you weren't really buying a plough. You were actually borrowing a plough from the people that lent you the money. This transaction was based on lots of assumptions. The assumption that indeed with this plough you would be able to guarantee that you would make the money you needed to payback the value of the plough plus whatever you needed to continue living etc. The value of the stuff that was put up against the loan of the money for the plough. AND the cost of the loan itself.
When the transaction was a simple plough this was not that complicated to work out and I am assured that this was a good idea though frankly I do have my concerns, especially when for example the cost of borrowing the money was in the hands of the person lending the money. But soon after that regulators showed up and apparently they were supposed to keep all these transactions on the straight and narrow.
And then sometime not that long ago a series of really wierd things started to happen. Suddenly everyone needed a loan for everything. Perfectly good companies started borrowing all sorts of money and creating massive amounts of debt. Perfectly good countries and people started doing the same. (see growth below).
Unfortunately the assumptions that seemed pretty benign back there in paragraph one suddenly became really important. AND that concern about conflict of interest from back in paragraph two also turned out to be kind of serious too. The next thing you know everyone needed a plough. And some people needed ten or fifteen. Until the actual value of themselves and their company became very small indeed compared to the money that had been loaned to it. In fact most companies over the last thirty years became big balloons of fake money. And so long as they kept on growing and growing and making enough money to pay the people who loaned them the money and still carry on they did just that.
All sorts of nonsense has ensued as a result of these balloons of fake money masquerading as companies. It has effected the way we live. What we want. How we live. Important things like community, connection and citizenship have been replaced by call centres, consumption and commercialism. Not to mention a few sleepless nights. These companies and their (sometimes rather mis-managed) balloons of money have driven mass production, massive marketing budgets and messy closets everywhere. Alot of fake money, creating fake advertising to get you to have fake needs and then fulfill them with fake products.
This is stopping. Because growth isn't infinite. But also because eventually we were going to figure it out. And we have. And we are. And we will. It really is time to stop feeding this nonsense. One act at a time.
repair. recycle. reuse. or just don't replace it. get off your computer and walk the dog. go see a friend. and just talk. or if you really need to buy something stop and take the time to seek out the artisan. the small brand. the quality production. spend twice as much and buy something that will last. don't go see another rubbish movie that took tens of million of dollars just to distribute. hang out with your kids instead. or go meet your neighbour. you know the drill. we are helping, indeed funding, the fake balloons to control our lives in so many ways you'd be reading the list till your ninety. its definitely time to start getting real instead.
When the transaction was a simple plough this was not that complicated to work out and I am assured that this was a good idea though frankly I do have my concerns, especially when for example the cost of borrowing the money was in the hands of the person lending the money. But soon after that regulators showed up and apparently they were supposed to keep all these transactions on the straight and narrow.
And then sometime not that long ago a series of really wierd things started to happen. Suddenly everyone needed a loan for everything. Perfectly good companies started borrowing all sorts of money and creating massive amounts of debt. Perfectly good countries and people started doing the same. (see growth below).
Unfortunately the assumptions that seemed pretty benign back there in paragraph one suddenly became really important. AND that concern about conflict of interest from back in paragraph two also turned out to be kind of serious too. The next thing you know everyone needed a plough. And some people needed ten or fifteen. Until the actual value of themselves and their company became very small indeed compared to the money that had been loaned to it. In fact most companies over the last thirty years became big balloons of fake money. And so long as they kept on growing and growing and making enough money to pay the people who loaned them the money and still carry on they did just that.
All sorts of nonsense has ensued as a result of these balloons of fake money masquerading as companies. It has effected the way we live. What we want. How we live. Important things like community, connection and citizenship have been replaced by call centres, consumption and commercialism. Not to mention a few sleepless nights. These companies and their (sometimes rather mis-managed) balloons of money have driven mass production, massive marketing budgets and messy closets everywhere. Alot of fake money, creating fake advertising to get you to have fake needs and then fulfill them with fake products.
This is stopping. Because growth isn't infinite. But also because eventually we were going to figure it out. And we have. And we are. And we will. It really is time to stop feeding this nonsense. One act at a time.
repair. recycle. reuse. or just don't replace it. get off your computer and walk the dog. go see a friend. and just talk. or if you really need to buy something stop and take the time to seek out the artisan. the small brand. the quality production. spend twice as much and buy something that will last. don't go see another rubbish movie that took tens of million of dollars just to distribute. hang out with your kids instead. or go meet your neighbour. you know the drill. we are helping, indeed funding, the fake balloons to control our lives in so many ways you'd be reading the list till your ninety. its definitely time to start getting real instead.
15 August 2011
better growth
I'm thinking about better growth. partly because I am so, so bored of listening to everyone go on about growth. no growth. slow growth. point zero zero zero one percent growth. less growth. who knows growth. the thing is there just is not alot of growth left in the western world. we've already bought it, made it, owned it. we are as fat as ever. the closets are as full as ever. we're as rich as we'll ever be. AND by constantly trying to grow despite this people & businesses are making silly & strategically flawed decisions that are ending in tears.
perfectly good companies. perfectly good jobs. perfectly good people. all doomed by our addiction to more, bigger, growth. and as we all know.
(the stock markets are going to have to find something else to wake up for everyday. and high time they did if you ask me. how about sustainably produced profits year on year as a starting point?)
but leaving that rather serious issue aside briefly, what about the strategic possibilities for people and companies that didn't focus on growth. focus on customers. focus on education. focus on passion. focus on design. focus on international development. research. trees. people who like psychedelic folk music. and focus on doing that well, sustainably, evolutionarily.
nothing, absolutely nothing grows forever. but mammals, many insects and most birds survived whilst the dinosaurs went extinct.
of the 117,000 jobs created in the US last month 105,000 were created by companies of less than 500 employees and 50% of those jobs were actually from companies with less than 50 staff. Lots of small, diverse companies create a wide variety of value for a wide variety of stakeholders. many on a long term basis. making small investments that count for employees, customers, shareholders and the planet.
lets celebrate that. praise that. support that. invest in that.
that is our future.
perfectly good companies. perfectly good jobs. perfectly good people. all doomed by our addiction to more, bigger, growth. and as we all know.
(the stock markets are going to have to find something else to wake up for everyday. and high time they did if you ask me. how about sustainably produced profits year on year as a starting point?)
but leaving that rather serious issue aside briefly, what about the strategic possibilities for people and companies that didn't focus on growth. focus on customers. focus on education. focus on passion. focus on design. focus on international development. research. trees. people who like psychedelic folk music. and focus on doing that well, sustainably, evolutionarily.
nothing, absolutely nothing grows forever. but mammals, many insects and most birds survived whilst the dinosaurs went extinct.
of the 117,000 jobs created in the US last month 105,000 were created by companies of less than 500 employees and 50% of those jobs were actually from companies with less than 50 staff. Lots of small, diverse companies create a wide variety of value for a wide variety of stakeholders. many on a long term basis. making small investments that count for employees, customers, shareholders and the planet.
lets celebrate that. praise that. support that. invest in that.
that is our future.
09 August 2011
a system that works
Whilst violence and destructive behaviour can never be right the spontaneous uprisings across the globe certainly point to the fact that for many groups of people around the world, things aren't working. and why would they be? With most people (80%) living on less than $10 a day whilst the rest consume 76% of total resources (isn't that crazy?) clearly something needs to give.
That these uprisings are worldwide is a critical signpost in the mass evolution that is currently upon us. East or west. North or south. Large groups of young people are facing a world of uncertainty and have neither the skills nor the temerity to know what to do. some have difficult governments and political problems to boot. some have severe weather conditions. all are facing difficult job markets, often with the wrong skill set to navigate them (in some cases despite hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of education). all are living with the shocking realisation that the world they were born into will never be that way again.
We are flowing fast towards a much, much better world than we live in today. The actual structures, systems and way of living that we currently have don't work. They actually don't work for most of the people who are killing themselves trying to make them work. And they certainly don't work for everyone else. We value machines over men. Imaginary financial structures over simple assets and liabilities. Greater and greater material consumption for a few vs. more than enough for everyone.
And that was never going to work.
Because nothing grows forever. especially not a closed system with finite resources like the earth. And basing our way of life, our jobs, our businesses and our global financial system on that as a fundamental principle was just kooky.
keep your eyes open. this is life evolving. something better is certainly on the way.
That these uprisings are worldwide is a critical signpost in the mass evolution that is currently upon us. East or west. North or south. Large groups of young people are facing a world of uncertainty and have neither the skills nor the temerity to know what to do. some have difficult governments and political problems to boot. some have severe weather conditions. all are facing difficult job markets, often with the wrong skill set to navigate them (in some cases despite hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of education). all are living with the shocking realisation that the world they were born into will never be that way again.
We are flowing fast towards a much, much better world than we live in today. The actual structures, systems and way of living that we currently have don't work. They actually don't work for most of the people who are killing themselves trying to make them work. And they certainly don't work for everyone else. We value machines over men. Imaginary financial structures over simple assets and liabilities. Greater and greater material consumption for a few vs. more than enough for everyone.
And that was never going to work.
Because nothing grows forever. especially not a closed system with finite resources like the earth. And basing our way of life, our jobs, our businesses and our global financial system on that as a fundamental principle was just kooky.
keep your eyes open. this is life evolving. something better is certainly on the way.
07 August 2011
Trudgery
Its been a week of walking through mud. the thick, deep, mucky variety. there is a part of me that really hates this. I had always assumed that contrary to my pre-deep life, the deep, along with its unending flow and broadband connection to the universal oneness, was full of ease and grace and early bedtimes. peak experiences and divine masterpieces - isn't that what all this living in the moment and lentils and deep breathing is all about?
but this isn't the first time that all my guidance, and direction has led me straight into a week of seriously hard slog. wading through details. starting again and again. logistical nightmares. and more of that naughty retrograde messenger disturbing the launch of my new windows 7 upgrade.
it seems that the deep is not without its moments of just applying oneself as hard as ever. without too much doubt or too many tea breaks.
but there is one important difference. the not inconsiderable complexities of this week were mine. and this hard slog was completely on my terms. it played to my capabilities. my passions. it involved the things I love. and creating the things I want to create. how I want it. in the house I built. in the country I want to live in. in the company I want to build. and in the end there still was, as one might have expected, a glorious result.
as I sat in the mesmerising cool of tropical August to reflect on this strange occurrence I realised how beautifully the old earth will seamlessly evolve into the new one. I'd worked as hard as I had when I was in the old world this week and used all those old persistence, resilience, focus skills to just get through it and get it done. AND I'd produced an end product just the same as I would have before.
but this time the end product was a completely and totally meaningful effort - another baby step on the journey that is my totally meaningful life expressing itself. the result was mine. me manifesting and being a little bit more and more. another personal mystery unfolding before my eyes. another dimension revealing itself. another potential unravelling. just the way I like it. and for THAT result a little trudgery is so worth it.
but this isn't the first time that all my guidance, and direction has led me straight into a week of seriously hard slog. wading through details. starting again and again. logistical nightmares. and more of that naughty retrograde messenger disturbing the launch of my new windows 7 upgrade.
it seems that the deep is not without its moments of just applying oneself as hard as ever. without too much doubt or too many tea breaks.
but there is one important difference. the not inconsiderable complexities of this week were mine. and this hard slog was completely on my terms. it played to my capabilities. my passions. it involved the things I love. and creating the things I want to create. how I want it. in the house I built. in the country I want to live in. in the company I want to build. and in the end there still was, as one might have expected, a glorious result.
as I sat in the mesmerising cool of tropical August to reflect on this strange occurrence I realised how beautifully the old earth will seamlessly evolve into the new one. I'd worked as hard as I had when I was in the old world this week and used all those old persistence, resilience, focus skills to just get through it and get it done. AND I'd produced an end product just the same as I would have before.
but this time the end product was a completely and totally meaningful effort - another baby step on the journey that is my totally meaningful life expressing itself. the result was mine. me manifesting and being a little bit more and more. another personal mystery unfolding before my eyes. another dimension revealing itself. another potential unravelling. just the way I like it. and for THAT result a little trudgery is so worth it.
01 August 2011
spiral on
the spiral is a recurring theme. an ancient symbol that crosses time and culture. nature loves them. as did the Maories, the Mayans and countless artists throughout history from the beautiful gardens of Klimt to the pottery of the Anasazi. the spiral even has its own clever mathematical relationship in the form of the golden ratio. what's not to like?
the parallels between life and the spiral are unending. for many cultures and traditions it was in fact the symbol of life, appearing on everything from jugs to walls for over 5000 years and long before these disparate cultures could send each other a fax. Somehow this symbol emerged and with it a complex lesson in the meaning of life. because although life has changed quite a bit over the years. the structure of life evolving hasn't changed a bit. as relevant today than ever.
Lesson 1. Life is constantly moving, flowing, changing. we all knew that. but wait. if these spirals are indeed reflecting life flowing then life is flowing... in circles. yup. so long as you stay in the flow - the potential is already locked in there. just waiting to be lived. in the grandiose sweeping of its great arm as it extends into the world of unlived possibilities - further and further, deeper and deeper. down the road we have not travelled. into the wild we have not yet seen.
Conflict to the spiral is just life's way of saying - turn. turn. turn. problems. obstacles. even dead ends. only reminders that this constantly (and I mean constantly) changing life is indeed doing as is its chief characteristic states and changing. flowing. moving. turning. as ever.
how we choose to react to these road signs are up to us. spirals can go in many directions. the grace, emotional fortitude and dignity with which we face these moments are great predictors of the future potential we ourselves indicate through our present day behaviours.
we are living in times of more problems than ever. wars. divorce. broken cars. mercury retrograde. and my phone which didn't work all morning. turn, turn, turn screams the spiral. you and me and the United States Senate and my internet provider and Syria are all being asked to move along faster than ever. more evolution than we've faced in a very long time. about time too.
the parallels between life and the spiral are unending. for many cultures and traditions it was in fact the symbol of life, appearing on everything from jugs to walls for over 5000 years and long before these disparate cultures could send each other a fax. Somehow this symbol emerged and with it a complex lesson in the meaning of life. because although life has changed quite a bit over the years. the structure of life evolving hasn't changed a bit. as relevant today than ever.
Lesson 1. Life is constantly moving, flowing, changing. we all knew that. but wait. if these spirals are indeed reflecting life flowing then life is flowing... in circles. yup. so long as you stay in the flow - the potential is already locked in there. just waiting to be lived. in the grandiose sweeping of its great arm as it extends into the world of unlived possibilities - further and further, deeper and deeper. down the road we have not travelled. into the wild we have not yet seen.
Conflict to the spiral is just life's way of saying - turn. turn. turn. problems. obstacles. even dead ends. only reminders that this constantly (and I mean constantly) changing life is indeed doing as is its chief characteristic states and changing. flowing. moving. turning. as ever.
how we choose to react to these road signs are up to us. spirals can go in many directions. the grace, emotional fortitude and dignity with which we face these moments are great predictors of the future potential we ourselves indicate through our present day behaviours.
we are living in times of more problems than ever. wars. divorce. broken cars. mercury retrograde. and my phone which didn't work all morning. turn, turn, turn screams the spiral. you and me and the United States Senate and my internet provider and Syria are all being asked to move along faster than ever. more evolution than we've faced in a very long time. about time too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)