Enlightenment

"Enlightenment is to forget yourself. And to forget yourself is to see everything else. And to see everything else is to become an understanding molecule in evolution, a conscious tool of the universe."

- Jerry Garcia

The Illusion of Time

Time is an illusion everyone’s mind creates. Most are either stuck in the past or stressing about the future. Worrying about the past or future doesn’t help you accomplish anything, it just makes you miss the current moment you’re in. If you keep your attention in the present, in the Now, you’ll realize that the future you think of will just be another Now once you get there. And the past? It serves no purpose for you. There’s no point on dwelling over something that has already happened. Everything that happens in your life, happens for a reason so accept it, move on & return to the present.

Being in a long distance relationship, time has taken on a different meaning for me. I’ve really begun to understand that time is limited & the feeling that makes you think you have all the time in the world, doesn’t exist. Most like to put things off saying that they’ll do something tomorrow &, when tomorrow comes around, they say they’ll do it the next day. That tomorrow becomes 30 years from now. The longer you wait, the more time’s wasted. Every second counts because you never know what’s going to happen next for you. Whenever you have a second, or a free day, take it for doing something you find joy in. Time is limited, so why would you want to spend it doing something that makes you miserable? For money? Once you experience true joy & happiness from doing the things you love, and you realize that life is too short to miss out on, you’ll find that doing the things you love, with the people that matter, is more important than money & materialistic things any day. I know that dropping the things that make you money can be scary, but if you’re open to opportunities, they’ll be provided for you.

Time is a precious thing & I encourage everyone to do all the things you’ve always wanted to do. 

Whenever you question whether or not to do something, ask yourself this: If not Now, then when?

IN THE NOW

Lately, I have been trying to stay in the present moment more & more. Today is the first day where presence came with more ease for me. Even when I felt negative vibrations off of other people, I reminded myself to stay present. As soon as I felt my mind drift off on to worries & thoughts that create negative emotions in myself, I pulled my attention back to the present. I didn’t let my ego or pain-body take me over. Due to this presence I’ve kept, I feel so much more at peace with everything and, in turn, feel real joy coming from Being. I’M FEELING ECSTATIC!

7 Steps To Happiness

1. Fear less, love more.
2. Frown less, smile more.
3. Talk less, listen more.
4. Judge less, accept more.
5. Complain less, appreciate more.
6. Speak less, do more.
7. Doubt less, trust more.

Tips for Negativity

For most, the word negativity makes people cringe. They don’t want to have anything to do with negativity and, really, who does? Here are some tips to try when experiencing negativity:

1. Accept the situation that’s causing negativity. Resistance of what is causes pain. If there’s nothing you can do to change it, accept it.
2. Become aware of your negativity that comes in the form of thoughts & emotions. Awareness creates a dis-identification from your mind. You become what is aware of the negativity, not the negativity itself.
3. Realize that you are creating suffering for yourself by allowing this negativity to stay attached to you. By realizing that negativity doesn’t serve any purpose, & that you are responsible for your own feelings, you can relinquish it.
4. Be aware that there is something in you that believes this negativity has a purpose, that takes pleasure in it. This ‘something’ is called the ego. 
5. Your negativity is mind created. Your mind has unconscious belief’s that negativity will dissolve the undesirable condition. You are not your mind.
6. Your mind is conditioned to define what is good and what is bad. Keep in mind that within everything bad, there is good to be learned. Everything happens for a reason.
7. Imagine yourself being transparent to any negativity. Let the emotions, negative reactions & thoughts pass right through you, leaving you unaffected.
8. Be present. A lot of negativity comes from too much past or too much future. Whenever negativity arises, let it be a reminder for you to be present.

PRESENT FOCUS

I don’t think I’ve ever sat & looked deeply at where I am & what I need to focus on in my life in this current moment. Usually, I just go with the flow… I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll go a little bit backwards.

I’m done high school, but I’m not enrolled in any post-secondary schooling nor do I think I ever will be. It feels like I’ve skipped over an important part in a person’s life but, at the same time, I’m okay with that. I’m okay with not living a life that’s scheduled to the societal norm. I’ve always felt like I’ve moved fast in anything I do, like I’ve already reached & experienced things in my life that my friends, or others my age, haven’t even considered yet. I don’t mind that at all. I don’t mind being fast-paced. With everyone I know being occupied with school, I’ve been able to spend a lot of time alone. Being alone forced me to tune into my inner self & really listen & connect with ME. This has opened my ideas to a world I knew existed but never understood. At first, I felt so isolated and lonely but then I began to understand that, within this painful situation, there’s good to be learned from it. Everything happens for a reason & I’ve begun to understand & agree with this statement more & more.

A few months ago, I started reading a book called The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. When I first started reading it, I had to put it down every 5 minutes just to process what the hell I was reading… It was blowing my mind & made me look at life in a whole new way. It took me a long time to finish his book so I only just finished it & am now on to another book of his called A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. It’s equally great.

Getting to the present moment… I find myself constantly keeping in mind to accept what is and release resistance to any “negative” events in order to create an inner peace. I’m trying to remember that resistance causes pain. I need to put more focus in bringing full presence into my thoughts & emotions. Whenever I feel myself overwhelmed with emotion, I forget (or can’t find the strength) to become the watcher of my thoughts & emotions. I forget to just let them Be. Hearing the advice of letting things Be as they are influenced me the most & really created a change within me. The biggest struggle I find myself having is finding the strength to put all of this into action when I fall into those moments where I feel like I have none. So I guess the question is…

When I’m lacking in strength, what do I do to keep this advice alive?

NEXT STEPS: Remind myself that within every bad situation, there is good. Find that “good” & focus on it. Let that “good” provide me with the strength & energy to become the watcher of my thoughts & emotions.