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RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 10, 2009 at 5:30pm

(c) 2009 Howard McQueenLife just is.We are often out-of-alignment,not in the middle of the flow,not appreciating some aspector experience provided by life.Life lovingly points out our misalignmentsthrough other people (messengers)and their behaviors to us (the message).Our resistance often kicks in,escalating the anteand the pain and the suffering.Resistance is indeed, futile,unless one comes to appreciate it as informative, instructional.Drink deeply of the Onenessand just allow ...We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are. - the Talmud

LIGHT MY FIRE

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 10, 2009 at 5:00pm

(C) 2009 Howard McQueenImagine the Great Oneness,in a single exhale,a profound breathing out,breathed life into everything.Infinite life force,Unconditional love for the creation,unlimited potential to manifest.Sublime balance,Freedom for the creation to practice creationand destruction.Non-interference,non-judgment,and,embedded deep within each human heart,the spark,the quark,smoldering embersneeding only a bit of uncovering,just a bit more oxygen,a tiny bit of kindling,and we radiate and illuminatethis love-infused unity,aligned again,synched upholding the signal of felt Oneness.

WOW, WHAT A BODY!

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 10, 2009 at 5:00pm

(C) 2009 Howard McQueenHow do we define and contextualize the word, body?A group of cells capable of communicating and co-operating?A self organizing life system, capable of sustaining itself?The Great Coral reef in Australia could be considered a body,a living organism large enough to be seen from space.What we know about our human bodies is that they are miraculously complexand completely astounding.The diversity, the specialization, the intra-cell biology,all this organizing intelligencein the service of providing the "you" with a home,to exist in the physical domain.There is a growing mountain of direct experiencepointing to individual human beings as havingunified fields of experience.Languaging this can create a bit of a barrier,yet dozens of people I walk up and speak tofeel a great sense of macro connectedness withtheir animal companions, a few humans andunquestionably, with nature.We as humanity, our colony this earththis our spaceship, with its sister moonrunning laps around Sol,in relationship with larger and larger systems and bodies.We look inwardly into infinity,we gaze outward into infinity,we are bounded only by our perspectiveand our sense of feeling and behaving separate from all that is

Hopi Prayer (VIDEO)

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 10, 2009 at 6:48am

http://media.causes.com/645810?p_id=101881664This forwarded to my from Sandy.

SURFACE TENSIONS

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 8, 2009 at 8:00am

© 2009 Howard McQueenIt is a completely still, peaceful, sunny day.Great big silver clouds billow overhead.We are out, sitting on the end of a dock, gazing into a big, placid lake.Water bugs are gliding along,like little silent airboats.There legs do not puncture the surface.There are two teams of these creatures,seemingly engaged in a contest to move their team’s puck-likeobject past some invisible finish line under the dock.There is play going on everywhere in nature.Beautiful airbrushed green pollen is collecting along the surface.Leaves float by and nearby, ducks float as they preen.Geese take off and land, beating their wings mightily.Were this the totality of our experience base,We would have no inkling that water isalso yielding, silently also inviting;that we as land-dwellers, were onceand occasionally choose to be -pseudo amphibians,completely immersing ourselves,allowing water to engulf, surround us, flow into our cracks and crevices, even flow on to the surface membranes of our so very vulnerable eyes.The same lake, but we remember it naught,Now in the pitch black darkness of night.A friend holds our hand,they somehow know how to guide usout to the end of the dock.No moon or star light.We would be hard-pressed to take the plunge into this abyss,Even with encouragement.Perhaps if our friend went firstand they lit a lantern,then we might summon the courage to go in,but only after them.The lake remains the same.In a storm, its surface yields,ripples and white caps form.It allows and embraces the external forcesand returns,inevitably,to its natural repose.If you are observing and engaging life primary through the appearance of the surface conditions, remember that these are the prevailing surface tensions and often stormy conditions, that are not prevalent in the depths and dimensions below. There is so much else to discover and explore as we dive deep, into the infinitely deep wellspring that feeds the lake.howard@mcq.com

RED ROVER, RED ROVER LET [YOUR NAME HERE] COME OVER

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 8, 2009 at 6:30am

(c) 2009 Howard McQueenLike pre-teen children enrapt in the play of Red Rover [1]we launch ourselves with complete abandoninto the strong, embracing arms of others.The faces beam at us, encouraging our charge.We find the line is strong,it almost always holds and contains us,while we spontaneously overflow in the pure ecstaticjoy and delight of play.I am recalling this now, as an adult,not merely to live in the past and reminisce;my work is to uncover and reconnectto these childhood states of unbounded estacy.I am shining the light,nourishing and cherishingthat living in-being,this child-self within me.Here is my blessing,to all these children, dwelling within us,desiring the gift, to come out and playcherished and protected,to bathe in the oversight of our unconditional love:I will give, in my turn,then it will be your turn to give,and then all the others will join in,in their turn to give,for the secret is in the giving,not taking,for there is an abundance to give from your well.and we will all fall into Love as we give unconditionallyfrom the Well,this eternal river of shared innocence, of divine presenceliving in the moment, overflowing,gushing this abundant ecstasy of joy to play.We learn to open wider, bigger, taller, deeperto the divine radiance,the living festival,the exuberance and downright, down home rapture,being in-body and consciously connected to it all,in this spontaneous, in-the-moment joy in playing,sharing and flowing in the spontaneityof this mysterious existence.We will open our hearts and give,no matter what arises.It matters not if our fellow beingssometimes fail to receive our giving,our highest purpose is to just keep givingand not be attached to outcomes,for we are all here to play with each otherand fall deeply into Love,with all of life.[1] For a reference on the children's game Red Rover, this was one of the activities groups of children engaged in before there were video games and other isolating distractions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rover

Building a relationship with Surrender

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 7, 2009 at 5:30pm

(c) 2009 Howard McQueenOur path becomes illuminatedwhen we show mercy to ourselves.There are many emotions that can nudge uscloser to relationship with surrender.Try placing surrenderin the centerof your vocabulary,then practice experiencing a relationshipwith some of surrender's closest (word) relatives.

THE EVERYTHING-OF-YOU IS TAKING PLACE INSIDE

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 7, 2009 at 9:00am

© 2009 Howard McQueenThe outer domainThe outside world is its own domain.Set it aside for the moment.The inner domainThe inner domain is your closest,most intimatehome.Its mechanisms, the heart and the mind,emotions and thoughts and feedback within your body.The heart emotes.Vibrational energies we call emotions flow,escape, erupt, ooze out of the heart.The mind amplifies, analyzes, conceptualizes and attempts to problem-solvethe energetic flows,the crud, constipated and blocked energies,the ecstacy and joyall these feelings and emotions coming out of the heart.Let the mind rest.Teach the mind to be alert,yet relaxed, in an untethered [1] state.Bring forward your inner observer,the watcher,your witnessing presence.Take up your residenceas the witnessing presence.Witness the miracle of your heart emotingWitness the mind, in lock step,amplifying the emotions and jumping into its own motion.Learn to remain present in this maelstrom and kaleidoscope,these mechanisms forming and functioningwithin your inner domain.Now, lets add the outside domain.Situations and events, in the form of vibrational energiesflow (sometimes it feels like the force of a fire hose),from the outside-in,through your sensory organs.Your inner domain receives these energies.Your inner heart and mind are stimulated,The inside becomes hyper-activatedAnd you … [insert custom-made drama here] engage!If you are resident as the conscious, witnessing presence,you observe, watch and witness the changes in your heart and mind.If you are absorbed in the role of your ego,You have creative license to react and engage,Or react, shrink and hide,Or play out the then thousand dramas of the human neurosis.If you are the witnessing presence,It all becomes known as a constantly shifting,cosmic jig saw puzzle of Joy.The mayhem and sufferingThe ebb and flow of egoic efforting,the trying to manipulate and control thephantasmagoric outside domainso it will stabilize and conform to a statethat will comfort and please our inner domain.Ha!The joke is on us humans.The gig is up.We may not have the overall operating manual - Don’t even need it.With these guiding principles,we begin to become intimate with our inner domain,we sober ourselves from this intoxicating plight,trying to manipulate and adjust the outer domainseeking pleasure-comfort and avoiding pain-fright.And we experience this astounding joy and delightthis surrender and freedom for letting go of trying to changeor manipulate, or fix, anyone or anything,all this totally uncontrollable life-forceresiding outside of us ..Shanti.Inspired by Satsang with Mickey Singer at the Temple of the Universe, Gainesville, Fl this past Sunday.[1] Michael Singer's book, The Untethered Soul, is a great read. I read it over two years ago!A footnote: The Temple of the Universe (tou.org) will be holding its annual New Year’s Eve ancient Fire Ceremony. I’ll be there, with my list of items I desire to annihilate, and liberate within myself. Perhaps I will see you there as well!Howard McQueenhoward@mcq.com

RADIATING ONENESS

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 6, 2009 at 8:30pm

(C) 2009 Howard McQueenA blessing for the awakening of Awareness & PresenceIn this lifetime, we rememberand begin to fully realize:- Our source is the Womb of Life- Our true birth mother, our Earth- Our true birth father, our Sun- Our immediate family, the fifty trillion stars- Our fellow humans, individuated cells in the evolving body of life,we label humanity.In this incarnation,our indoctrination into the Earth schoolis complete.We awaken to our inner, conscious work,to clean and heal,the inherited woundedness, the infectionwithin our own, individual cell,and thus we are freed to take up radiating the Oneness,holding the energetic signal.We have aligned with our destiny,our highest purpose and service.All else will be whatever it will be,t'is not up to you or me,we know to just let it all be.

Giving is Receiving

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 4, 2009 at 11:30pm

(c) 2009 Howard McQueenWhat better way to learn to give love and compassion,than to feel all the sufferingand experience the darkest dramas of the mind.What better way to stumble into Oneness,than to have felt the pain of seemingly being completely separate, cutoff and alone.What better way to learn that giving is receiving,than to have tried most of a lifetime to get,or manipulate others to giveto fill the void of one who felt so very needy.Joy unfolds in acceptance and surrenderto what has covered over the heart.Cherish and nourish your authentic self,let it guide you to abundance,and with complete abandon,radiate the wholeless of what you really are,outwards to your world.This is the energetic signature of the cosmos.The sun gives its radiance without consideration.The earth grows and sprouts life because it can.The ocean hosts and nourishes a vastness of life forms,orchestrating all this aligned with the rising and falling of the tides.There are no conditions attached to the outcomes.Life flourishes and evolves through unconditional giving.Giving is receiving.All else is taking from.~~~ *** ~~~ ** ~~ * ~We have been trained and conditioned to believe that we have to take to receive. This belief system is the root of scarcity and breeds competition for what need not be scarce, and, as a result, our world tumbles out of balance.It may be that you have yet to connect to your abundance. If so, consider investing in the book referenced below.This posting inspired by Session #9 of Michael Brown's book, The Presence Process

WHAT NEEDS BEING DONE?

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 2, 2009 at 7:00pm

Writing from Lake Rousseau; Crystal River, FL© 2009 Howard McQueenWhat needs being done?Absolutely nothing, most of the time!There is so much surface energy in motion, swirling around us.The world we humans have created and the news we consume is so very agitated, so full of stories of victims and perpetrators and crime, violence and judgments.We are so activated, so charged internally with unresolved emotions.There is so much pent up internal pressure building inside us.Surely, something needs to be done!We so often take action,based upon reactionto the pressures building within.Such a need to escape and/or to blow off steam!We give in to habitour life built on the shifting sands of ego desire and aversion.So much general discontent,the choking smoke screen of an overall emotional malaise.WHAT NEEDS BEING DONE?We have the ability to focus on outcome.We ask ourselves “what intentions do I wish to manifest in this world?”We begin by really slowing down our experienceto a frame by frame sequence.We see a thought begin to bloom.We watch our beliefs attach and add fuel to the thought.We see judgment flair up and emotional energies add booster rockets to the thought.And then, all of a sudden, often automatically, we are speaking words, communicating body language and our actions are manifested.All too often NOT aligned with what we thought were our noblest of intentions.We have been hi-jacked, again!So, we slow it down, again and again,till we become increasingly conscious and aware of what’s going on within.And we begin to really see all the judgment and blame,all the hurt, stuck emotions,all the false beliefslike rust, ancient dust covering and obscuring our souls.We bring our heart to bear.We invite the heart to ripen, advocate and guide our intent.We begin to let pride judgment and arrogance be stripped away.We witness others giving unconditional love,and through this example and recognition,we allow humility to begin to extinguish our arrogance.There is essentially no stopping us now,so long as we call upon our attention and intentionand keep growing and living from the heart center.All falseness begins to fade away.Truth illuminates the way into the unknown,even with the continued bumps and faux pausthat will continue to obstruct the way.These build our resolve,give our love traction,great depth,purpose and meaning.And one day, we find ourselves living from the heartwith very little effort,giving others the unconditional love we have uncovered.We begin living our legacy, our greatest gift, loving life and ourselves unconditionally.This just happens to be what also best serves all of humanity.This written during a massive downpour. My small camper insert has about four inches of insulation in the ceiling and the noise of the downpour striking the roof is deafening. I look up at the rain stained ceiling and wonder, will the previous owner’s roof repair job hold out. Ha! We shall see, won’t we!If all else fails, I can make a dash to the clubhouse, about eighty yards away!

EMBEDDED IN LIFE

Posted by Howard McQueen on December 2, 2009 at 6:19pm

Writing from Lake Rousseau; Crystal River, FL© 2009 Howard McQueenHow embedded are you in life?How “signed-up” are you for the full-spectrum of life?What are you willing to relinquish to live life more fully?Can you relinquish all pride, all arrogance, all reactivity, all resentment?Can you be with life without manufacturing and adding any self-centeredness?Can you put away the analyzing, fussing, worrying, fixing, manipulating and controlling your experience and just let life be what it is?Can you accept complete hopelessness - complete freedom?Can you imagine your life where nothing threatens your personal viewpoints, where none of your relationships create suffering?Can you imagine being so embedded (in bed) with life that you are grateful for every single experience?How do you envision opening to life so that life may call you into your highest service?Can you imagine being guided by simplicity, heart-felt love and compassion and a humane common sense for serving the wholeness, the sacredness and holiness of Life.This is the practice. This is a path that invites Grace to enter, gradually, then more and more …This posting informed and inspired by the book Everyday Zen, by Charlotte Joko Beck

SNOWBIRDING ASHEVILLE

Posted by Howard McQueen on November 30, 2009 at 11:00pm

© Howard McQueenNovember 30, 2009Writing from Lake Rousseau, FL.In mid-November, I pulled up stake living in Asheville and tookmy truck, camper insert and boat on-the-road.Last night was spent in an Econolodge,with an outbreak of worries over“will I ever find a place again to call home”.Shortly after mid-day today, I signed a leaseand deployed my camper insert.My residence is now standing on four legs,Pointed out at Lake Rousseau,just north of Crystal River, FloridaAhhh, settled at last, temporarily,A transient, no longer disguised.I just made the fifty yard walk to the edge of the lakeand took a seat at one of the benches by waters edge.Here the lake is about a mile wideand is much, much longer.The clouds have cleared,revealing the nearly full moon.Next to me is a twenty-foot banana tree.Not a ripple on the lakeexcept when a frog or a fish breaks the surface.This will be a place to drink deeplyof the natural rhythms.It has been since the spring of 2005,that I left my home on Maryland’s Galestown Mill pond,another place saturated with natural rhythms.I am but an hour from Gainsville, FLand the Temple of the UniverseI suspect I am less than two hours from Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater.The rusty squawk of a heron pierces the night,A very far away dog barks.My next door neighbor is a retired cop.Some very nearby neighbor has a cuckoo clock.The clubhouse maintains a heated pool.I just signed up for and obtained high-speed internet.One month rent also paid-in-full,The successful RV parks in high season don’t let you go on a month-to-month.You only get your spot for as long as you sign the lease,And they can book you out of your space, without giving you any notice.Many new operating rules to become acquainted with,this first night at the Lake Rousseau RV Park,I am becoming acquainted with finding heartOn the road, wherever I go.Back to fiddling with the built in 1982 propane heater.Very little insulation in this pop up camper.Good morning.A bunch of contractors and/or fishermen left the park at 5:30 am.I noticed that they were running only parking lights,a courtesy for many of us twelve feet off the gravel roads.Off to get a shower now and see what the morning brings.Perhaps some boating and trying out that heated pool ...Cheers!

THE PRICE OF ADMISSION: A PRIVILEGE

Posted by Howard McQueen on November 28, 2009 at 8:00pm

Charlotte Joko Beck, in the book Everyday Zen is speaking about earning the integrity and wholeness of our lives every day, by every act we do, every word we say.And she speaks the words:"From the ordinary point of view, the price we must pay is enormous -- though seen clearly, it is no price at all, but a privilege. As our practice grows we comprehend this privilege more and more."*** ***** ***

Nisargadatta Maharaj http://www.abideinself.com/

Posted by Cullen Anderson on November 27, 2009 at 7:03am

A cool free film about Nisargadatta Maharaj http://www.abideinself.com/

THE BLESSINGS IN FORGIVING

Posted by Howard McQueen on November 26, 2009 at 11:30am

© 2009 Howard McQueen(Revision 2 | 11.28.2009)The deep wounded-nessoozes its pain.This viral infection in the human mindgives rise to projections of blame,and the courtroom drama unfolds.Our parents, teachers, nuns, the Pope,someone, Hell,even the Omniscient Onemust be brought to justicefor this hell-hole breeding groundof pain and suffering.The small, contracted mehunkered down in survival mode,circles around the drain,dazed by this constantly changing surface world,its perpetual erosion,trying again and again to hold on to some semblance ofconstancy-of-homeand a sense of security-in-identity.Triggered again and again by all this change,We find it easy to blame,then learn to sedate or redirect the pain andwe habituate to the semi-conscious, stuck energetic pattern“the story of me and my unconscious,self-absorbing, debilitating and dis-empoweringbeliefs and reactive habits.”We keep handing over the reins,empowering the wounded mind to manufacturea vast array of “thinking” personality disordersand associated dramas.Yes, this manufacturing can go on and on,till death shuts down the mental manufacturing of our fictional falseness.ORWe can choose to step into our heartand access the keys to forgivenessand real-eyes that life is the grand, macro lesson in inheriting painand surrendering to lifethe inherited infection of ignorance, the veil of confusion.In surrender and forgiveness, we summon Graceto wash completely cleanall the evidence we have amassed and habitually clingi.e. about the world handed to us by our parents and eldersas being this perpetual sentence of unrequited loveIn choosing to forgive ourselves, unconditionally,we find the keys to giving ourselves the unconditional lovewe have forever tried seeking outside ourselves.Grace enters us, to subsume and transform us,and we then radiate a healing, integrated spacefor the entire Human race.And a new virus, rooted in the Heart,gathers its own infectious momentum,and begins to spread and unfold ...*** ~~~ ***

Pay It Forward With A Smile and A Kindness

Posted by Cullen Anderson on November 25, 2009 at 9:23am

Pay it Forward ~ A Reminder Hello Lovely People

Today, please have a think about you can do today that can help somebody else.... Even if it is just a simple smile, it can make such a difference to somebody who is feeling sad, or somebody who has forgotten how to smile. See how many people you can smile at today, and see how many people smile back <3 Be The One That Makes A Difference <3 Have a lovely smiley day all my new facebook friends <3Sending lots of love & smiles to you <3 Alison Hamlin-Hughes 'Ambassador of Smiles'

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted by Trey Carland on November 25, 2009 at 3:45am

I hope you all are enjoying the change of the seasons. As the leaves fall, the sky gets larger, the nights grow longer. The stars seem brighter and more prevalent, and the outside world becomes more still as the birds and insects disappear. An exciting change is in the air. Thanksgiving is also upon us. This is one of my favorite holidays because it serves as a reminder to look at all there is to be grateful for. I am grateful for my family and friends, for their love and support. I am grateful that I have come to see how much love there is in the simplest act. I am grateful for this beautiful planet we inhabit. I am grateful for technology that has enabled me to connect with so many people from my past and present. At the most basic level, I am grateful that I exist. What a miraculous gift! How is it even possible to express enough gratitude for my pure existence? I am also grateful for all of the great teachings that have come into my life, which have led me to appreciate all there is. Everywhere I look I can see things to be grateful for – if I look close enough. I would like to encourage all of you to look at all of the little things there are to be grateful for as well. Many of us have mixed feelings about coming together with friends and family over the holidays. Some are eager to reunite, and some are a bit reluctant (or a combination of both). It can be a time of stress when it comes to preparations that need to be made. We want everything to be just right. We love it when things go our way. But things don’t always go the way we want, which causes stress. I encourage you to recognize when this happens and be grateful that things are always going exactly the way they are supposed to, whether it coincides with our plans or not. Gratitude is the greatest stress reliever. If the casserole gets burned, or the turkey gets overcooked, or someone forgets to bring dessert, be grateful. Things have gone exactly as they are supposed to and you’ve been given a great opportunity to realize and appreciate that. If disagreements happen among family members over politics or other family matters, another opportunity for growth has arisen. Once you realize that life could be no other way than it is right now, true forgiveness can occur. When we forgive, gratitude is a natural byproduct. This gratitude stems from not having to bear the heavy burden of resentment and anger. If we recognize that we are acting out of anger or frustration, we can then forgive ourselves and experience the gratitude of being forgiven. As I was writing this, an Eckhart Tolle quote crossed my path. “Forgiveness happens naturally once you realize that your grievance serves no purpose except to strengthen a false sense of self (ego). Forgiveness is to offer no resistance to life – to allow life to live through you. The alternatives are pain and suffering, a greatly restricted flow of life energy, and in many cases physical disease.” To truly forgive is to rid yourself of the burdensome weight of the past. Holding on to the past – whether that be 5 minutes ago or 5 years ago – will only lead to more suffering. To forgive and forget is to bring attention back to the only moment we will ever have: Now. Be thankful for Now by recognizing it as the one thing that matters. Happy Thanksgiving, Trey

Quotes about JD Hazelworth's "That Which Always Is"

Posted by Cullen Anderson on November 25, 2009 at 1:22am

You cannot think your way into awareness. You are awareness. It just gets pointed out. ~ John Wheeler So long as the play, the dream, seems real for the seeker, then the bottom line is that with some pointing to what is actually REAL, AND some pointing out what is NOT REAL, the suffering can end. ~Charlie Hayes If I asked you, ‘What is wrong with right now, without thinking about it?’, what would you say? You have to pause for a moment and realise that if there is no thought there, there is nothing wrong. ~ “Sailor” Bob Adamson It would seem that reality has moved into the mental realm and reality is known by what is thought about it – and not by what it is. ~ John Greven Give up all questions except one who am I? ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj Realization is to get rid of the delusion that you have not realized. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi Enlightenment only becomes available when it has been accepted that it cannot be achieved. ~ Tony Parsons You can never find mind through the mind. Go beyond it, and find it non-existent. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations. ~ Alan Watts A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering. ~ Gautama Siddharta A fella ain't got a soul of his own, just one great big soul, the one big soul that belongs to everybody. ~ Tom Joad, The Grapes of Wrath

REBIRTHING: RESURRECTING SELF

Posted by Howard McQueen on November 20, 2009 at 9:00am

© 2009 Howard McQueenThe Human experience can be seen as a cycle, or a series of cycles. To the extent that we become conscious of our cycles (like the seasons) we can honor our connection to ourselves and be in rhythm, rather than in opposition or resistance. Here is a first cut model for the human life cycle, narrowed in scope to a single incarnation.Consciousness again chooses to inhabit form,and there is movement towards being born.The womb of an earth-bound mother is now our home.We drink in the vibrations, the sensations, deeply imprintingon the full spectrum of mother’s emotional, mental and physical nutrition.An amniotic warm sea, tinged with nurturing,spiked with our mother’s external world drama and experience.We are pure, wide-open vulnerability.We are accepting the downloading codification of this life’s deep grooves of destiny.Then there is birth,transition to the outer worldwe are completely transfixedwe emote in response to this alien world of fluxing energies.We are, through repetition, encouraged to form sounds,taught words: our name, ma ma, dada.Encouragement, reward, hold me close, let me synchronizewith my ma ma – this is such a strange world.And one day, our parent becomes frightened for our safety.They share this fear with us and we become afraid.Or they become triggered by our reckless absorption and joy in the world,and vent their anger and rage at us.They, or other circumstances and events, traumatize us.We experience fear, we shrink, we collapse, we evacuate.And in this collapsed space, we call upon our mind to “make it all safe”.Thus begins the contrived birth and manufacturing of the entitywe know as our ego.In our youthful obsession to avoid fear,we hand over the reins andour ego obliges, in acceptance,with almost a wry, condescending smile,Ha, caught this one, once again!.Our authentic power is transferred to the ego,that gets busy spinning up stories of subterfuge,subversion, diversion and delusion,and the ego pulls out of its hat,the fruits of its laboring for us - Viola: custom tailored-to-fit armor,our own chain mail.The ego says “leave it all to me, I’ll shape and form appearances to insure your safety."“Lean into me” says the ego. "I’ll support you where all the adults have failed, betrayed and abandoned,or deeply misunderstood you."And then begins the wholesale onslaught of society's Conditioning and Domestication.The educational institutions pour twelve years of mental facts and antiquated information into the child,then, for some, graduation and four or more years of additional education.The sacred rites of passage, well, they were forgotten, passed over.Then you are twenty-one and proclaimed an Adult,ready to fit-in, conform, join the machinery, be absorbed by the technology,aka, rev yourself up and really, by God, "live the Dream".The government institutions sell the ego a sense of security,if only you conform to being a good citizen, and wear our brand of pride and nationality.The religious institutions sell salvation,if only you conform to their code of conduct, behavior and morality.The politicans sell democracy and packaged freedom,If you only buy into their bi-polar two party disorder,Then they sell packaged fear, turmoil and economic disorder.And those institutions of free enterprise sell you their capital consumerismif only you worship the acquisition of material things.Wealth rents and buys the politicians, who sell you your vote.Just repeat after me " ..." is the formula for conditioning.The ego uses all this commotion and expectation as kindling,and we are now brightly lit up with inauthenticity,a raging wind-whipped out-of-control bonfire of vanity and insecurity,completely turned upon itself, swallowing its tail, consuming itself.All these institutions construe with the ego to lay down templates that encourage "the good life": you marry, have children, be productive, own lots of things and live a life worshiping the cultural gods they bless and consecrate.And it all kind of fits and works out,till one day,things start falling apart,and your life becomes filled with mounting stress and sufferingand deep inside, you begin to feel that you’ve led yourself astray.And you gain a glimpse into the truth of your ongoing abandonment and betrayal.So now, for some, there is the backtracking,the undoing, the uprooting, the in-light-in-ing,the unbecoming and letting go of all the false evidence,the darkness and smoky veil drawn within.There is the reconnecting to the abused, orphaned inner child,the dismantling and disempowering of the egoand its stranglehold.You awaken to become parentre-parenting,learning to be impeccable in giving your child what it has always needed,No more fantasy or delusional thinking that someone, some institution,or something external is supposed to fix us or do for us what we must do for ourself.Now there is a rapid waning of pretence.Bye bye old dramas,adios to the manipulations of pleasing others,to gain their attention to get what YOU want.And the emotional bodybegins to heal from within,and you become whole-sum and whole, again.Then comes the rebirth of that which is true and authentic,and the tides of tears are restored.There is joyThere is liberationThere is freedomIf at first only for brief moments,But the taste,the vibrational feel,the connectionIs undeniable and the felt-ness is indelible,triggering the remembering of that which is eternal,your birthright, your keepsake.The rest is giving in, surrendering, letting your attention and intention remain trueto what desires to awaken and emerge from within the deeper essence of you.It is called love, unity, connection, compassion, trust, peaceThis is what we really breathe in,It is this conscious, loving intention that we breath out into this world.We are stepping up now, in greater numbers, to lead by example.We are living in our Heart and our language and intentions are bornfrom the heart.This Love transforms ALL things.It is your presence, your present for uncovering and resurrecting your SELF.***This is my interpretation of the human condition. We are challenged to fill ourselves to the brim with this world of attachments to things, only to detach and die, to shed our skin, again and again, to all these experiences and connections. Life offers us constant support to accomplish this journey and our conditioning offers up an equally deep well of resistance. This conflict places enormous internal pressure on the human operating system. And, as I see it, the rapidity of change is increasing, as is world-wide economic dysfunction. From my vantage point, these are escalating invitations to connect to the heart and live from the intuitive guidances offered from the heart. Holding on to the old infrastructures of ego-centric striving and living are becoming increasingly toxic, as they manifest separation and obscure unity and community.- Howard McQueen (Nov-21, 2009)In some circles this process of re-birthing could, in my humble opinion, be labeled Christ consciousness, Buddha nature, ...

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