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"Be foolishly in love, because love is all there is."

~ Rumi

When asked to summarize his teachings in one word, Ramana Maharshi said, “Attention.” That struck home in a deeper way the most recent time I heard it. I thought he would have said, “Silence,” because that what his preferred method of teaching. But his answer makes perfect sense. His teachings on Self-inquiry are all about directing attention from the world of thoughts and objects to the source of attention. Attention has been described as focused Awareness and is the “tool” (if we can call it that) through which things are known. Without attention on something, it is unregistered as existing. For most people, attention is focused on thoughts much of the time and can seem like it’s getting “lost in thought” on a regular basis. But the purpose of inquiry is to withdraw attention from thoughts and the world and direct it toward Awareness. Ramana’s teaching recommended using the simple question, “Who am I?” and then direct attention toward the “I-thought” to which that question points. It’s a simple but powerful way to see through the illusion of separation.

Because of its simplicity and directness, Self-inquiry is also referred to as the direct path to Self-realization (aka Enlightenment, Awakening, Happiness, etc.). Inquiry is a practice that came alive in me a few years ago as I was absorbing teachings from Mooji and Rupert Spira (to name just a few). Then, Dan Kelso and Deep Self Investigation (http://deepselfinvestigation.com) entered the picture about a year ago or so. My work with Dan and DSI over the last year has taken Self-inquiry to a new level and has led to numerous breakthroughs, increased clarity and less identification with the imagined separate self (aka character, ego, etc.). DSI introduced new questions (beyond the traditional, “Who am I?”) and a new way of directing attention. This practice has led to more inquiry questions, all aimed at directing attention toward Awareness and “seeing” what we truly are.

The Nature of Attention

I have talked with Dan K about the nature of attention on a few occasions and discovered that, on the one hand, it seems to have a will of its own and goes where it wants, when it wants. On the other hand, it appears that there is some limited capacity to “control” where it goes. For example, if I say, “Direct attention toward your left foot,” attention would most likely go to your left foot. If I say, “What’s that over there?” and point to an object, attention will most likely go toward that object. Since the invitation of Self-inquiry is to withdraw attention from the world of objects and thoughts and turn toward its aware Source, redirecting attention is the key.

That said, I have found that asking a good question is one of the best ways to direct attention. We are all conditioned from the time we are young to answer questions, which involves directing attention toward where we think we will find the answers. Once on the path of awakening, it becomes clear that the answers to Life’s most important questions are not found “out there” or even in the mind, but instead found in its Source. How do we find the Source? Ask a question that leads attention to it.

Another good thing about a teaching based on asking questions is that the questioner gets to discover the answer firsthand, instead of believing it secondhand. Secondhand information is what our identities are built on, so it’s time to discard it and rely only on firsthand information. All of the good teachers out there will tell you, “Do not believe what I say, check for yourself.” If we could believe ourselves into Self-realization there would be a lot more wakefulness in the world. Instead, it has to be experienced directly in order for true transformation to take place.

Line of Questioning

A number of inquiry questions have come to this character through various teachers (i.e. Dan Kelso, Rupert Spira, Mooji, Robert Adams, Ramana, Nisaragadatta, etc.). New questions started coming to the surface as I began exploring the nature of Consciousness, so I have been keeping a list of questions that have been useful for inquiry and hope it will be beneficial to “others” on the same path.

So, consider this an invitation to let go of all your beliefs and ideas about Enlightenment, Awakening, Self-realization, Awareness, Consciousness, etc., and put all of the teachings aside. All of that goes with the rest of the secondhand information we’ve accumulated. Then, sit with each of these questions and look with your own direct experience to where they point. These questions are not designed to be answered with the mind. They are intended to invite attention to discover the experiential answer. [Audio recordings of these are available at https://anchor.fm/trey-carland ]

Inquiring into the Senses

First, we will inquire into the senses. After reading each of these questions, repeat them over and over again a few times (out loud or in your mind) and direct attention to where they are pointing.

What is looking through these eyes?

What is aware of what’s being seen?

What is aware that seeing is happening?

Is what I’m seeing being seen from behind my eyes, or is it being seen where it is?

Where does seeing take place?

What hears these sounds?

What is aware of what’s being heard?

What is aware that hearing is happening?

Are these sounds being heard in my ears, or are they being heard somewhere in space?

Where does hearing take place?

Inquiring into the Body

Next, we will explore into the body in a similar way. Direct attention toward the feeling of aliveness in the body. Close your eyes and get a feel for the energetic experience of the body. Once you are feeling its alive energy, ask the following questions:

What is experiencing the body?

Is the body is being experienced from all around, both from inside and out?

Is the experience of body just a sensation floating in an aware space?

Am I this aware space that experiences the body, or am I the body?

Inquiring into Thoughts

Now, let’s use thoughts to do some further exploration. The following questions will become the thoughts you are investigating when you repeat them in the mind.

From where do these thoughts arise?

What hears the voice of these thoughts?

What’s here prior to and in between thoughts?

Where are thoughts being perceived from?

Are these thoughts appearing in my head, or are they just appearing in an aware space?

Am I this aware space, or am I the thoughts?

Inquiring into Awareness

Once you have connected with Awareness a few times, it’s time to get to know it (so to speak). This bears repeating. These questions are not designed to be answered with the mind. Each question is intended to invite attention to explore the nature of Awareness and become familiar with it. The answer is experiential.

Am I aware?

What does it feel like to be aware?

What does the experience of just being aware feel like?

Is there a stillness here?

Is there a sense of peace here?

Is there a sense of just being aware here?

Is there a sense of aliveness here?

Is there a sense of existing here?

What is it that’s aware of all that?

Is this aware stillness what I am?

Am I just Awareness?

Is this person I call “me” just an experience in Awareness?

What is it like to just be Awareness?

Does this Awareness feel contained by the body, or is the body contained by Awareness?

Does this Awareness have a location, or is it everywhere?

Does this Awareness have any limits, or is it infinite?

Does this Awareness come and go, or is it ever-present?

Does this Awareness ever move, or is it always Here?

Does this Awareness have any preferences, or is it all accepting?

What is it like to just be aware?

What is it like to know yourself as Awareness?

You may find some of these questions more fruitful for exploration than others. You may also find that the questions that resonate now may be different in a few days/weeks/months. Sometimes just changing a word or two in a question can change how it is received, so feel free to put your own spin on them. After doing inquiry for a while, you may also find new questions arising organically. I would also encourage you to take these questions with you during your day. When you find one that resonates, ask it while you are engaged in everyday activities. Don’t leave inquiry sitting on a meditation cushion. Awareness is always happening and is available for exploring anytime, anywhere.

More Inquiry Questions

Here are some additional questions to explore.

What is this “I”?

What is the nature of my Self?

What is it that does not come and go?

What hasn’t changed since I was born?

[Speaking out loud] Who is talking right now?

What is it like to really take all this in?

What is it like to experience happiness (or joy, bliss, love, etc.)?

Does happiness feel like a natural state?

What is it like to experience the Stillness underneath everything?

Fundamental Tenets of Ramana’s Teachings

The following are things that Ramana wanted people to know up front regarding doing inquiry practice (or sadhana). So, I probably should have put it up front as a disclaimer. However, I didn’t run across these tenets until I had been doing inquiry for quite a while, so I know it doesn’t really matter when it gets conveyed, as long as it is conveyed.

“Firstly, that we are all Realised here and now and that the only purpose of sadhana is to remove the idea that we are not;

Secondly, there is no individual self to extinguish because the individual self never at any time existed;

Thirdly, no amount of mental sadhana is helpful because the mind cannot do anything except extend the frontiers of its own ignorance.”

On the day of the takeover of the Capitol, I stopped to chat with my neighbor, who filled me in on what was happening. He asked me to say a prayer for our country, which I later did. It went a little something like this, “May we all find the peace that we seek and share that peace with the world.” Today, while reflecting on the recent events at the Capitol and the drama that continues to ensue, the impulse to write arose and here is the result:

There Was a Time…
By Trey Carland

There was a time I carried guns.

There was a time I marched on the State Capitol to protest an injustice.

There was a time I would have marched armed to fight for justice.

There was a time I was outraged at others who threatened justice and equality.

There was a time I was deeply involved in politics.

There was a time I feared the government was stripping away our rights.

There was a time I was fascinated by conspiracy theories.

There was a time I saw doom as a direct impact of what was happening.

There was a time I judged others for being ignorant of what is true and right.

There was a time I thought I chose my beliefs because they were true.

There was a time I realized all beliefs are built on lies.

There was a time I saw that others can’t be any other way than they are.

There was a time I would say, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”

There was a time I saw myself as the other.

There was a time I saw there is no other.

There was a time I realized there is no Me, no You, no Us, no Them. Just This.

There was a time I saw it all unfolding with a divine intelligence for the betterment of all.

There was a time I saw the perfect timing of everything, and that time is always Now.

There was a time I saw that the Divine is always inviting itself to wake up and radiate peace in the world.

“There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and your true power emerges ~ the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring in the light.”

~ Eckhart Tolle

Watch Video on YouTube - https://youtu.be/fl0rPxJyu8A

PS - The video has some glitches here and there, which only detracts slightly from the viewing experience. I hope to fix those errors as soon as I figure out how.

As I sit here, our daughter Izabella, who is now 9 months old, is crawling around the living room looking for ways to pull her self up to standing.  Iza, as Shelby likes to call her, is such a wonderful gift.  Not only do we get to revel in her discovering everything for the first time, but we get to see her smile and laugh.  Seeing her laugh is pure joy, and I’d like to quit my day job to become a full-time baby entertainer (though Shelby is much better at making her laugh).  She’s such a happy baby that we can take her out to the store and restaurants, and she will just smile at everyone until they smile back.  She leaves a wake of open hearts and love where ever she goes, and it’s such a beautiful thing to see.  Her smile is a gift to the Universe :)

As I watch her crawl and stand up (she’ll be walking very soon), it got me to thinking about what drives the developing baby.  What makes them tick?  Why do they crawl?  Why do they stand, walk, etc.?  My wife and I certainly are not teaching her things.  We’re just watching in awe as she develops these new abilities on her own.

Though scientists might explain this drive to move as genetic programming or some such thing, I see an invisible force that is driving us, guiding us to act.  That force is like a primordial intelligence that knows what needs to be done.  In the beginning, when we are too young to start formulating opinions or analyzing things, we just naturally go with the flow without questioning that intelligence.  But as we grow older, we begin to question that force, even resist its urges.  We may be encouraged to ignore the innate urges by our parents in situations where curiosity might put us in harm’s way.  Right now there are only a few things cropping up that we’re discouraging, such as pulling Mommy’s hair and trying to eat things that aren’t really edible (baby’s apparently like to explore things with their mouths).

The older we get, the more things we are guided to do or not do, which is based at least partly on our caregiver’s level of trust in that innate force that drives us all.  Therefore, this lack of trust in, we’ll just call it Life, gets passed down from one generation to the next.  But before parents go blaming themselves for raising children with a lack of trust in Life, it’s important to realize that one’s lack of trust in Life is also a crucial part of Life’s driving force.  Things are as they are because they could be no other way, and what is appearing now is what Life wants for us.

So, if you think that you “could” have or “should” have done something differently in the past, you are believing in a lie (interestingly enough the word “believe” has the word “lie” built into it).  That lie is that you know better than Life, and that you could have done a better job than Life had intended for you.  This is why reliving the past and playing the “What if things had been different?” game is a lose-lose proposition.

Like it or not, it had to be this way.  That’s why the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, and the like, are so crucial to obtaining the peace we all desire.  Tolle has summed up his teachings at one point or another by saying, “All you really have to do is accept this moment fully...”  That’s what Life wants for you.  Our mind comes in with its lack of trust and casts doubt on what may happen if we accept the unavoidable isness of this moment (i.e. we’ll never do anything to make changes in our lives, etc.), but that doubt, too, is part of Life’s plan for us.  We doubt because there is no other way – until there is the realization that there is another way.

If you’re reading these words, I suspect that you are making baby steps toward the innocence you had when you were born, when you had no choice but to trust Life because you knew no other way.  You’ve been introduced to the idea that there is another way, which is to live in alignment with Life.  You’ve already learned how to avoid touching hot stoves and how not to lick the floor, so set aside your distrust and let Life start doing the work for you – one baby step at a time.

Here’s a quote from my Notes on Inner Peace to ponder, “What if life is unfolding just as it is supposed to, and you didn’t have to make anything happen?  What if it has been making everything fall into place from the very beginning, without you needing to worry, ever?”

As Byron Katie likes to say, “Let Life live you. It does anyway.”

Peace, Love and Life to you,

Trey
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A Seeker's Guide to Inner Peace: Notes to Self, by Trey Carland
- compassion-blog.blogspot.com
- www.facebook.com/trey.carland

Are You In A Spiritual Emergency? Could this be a natural and welcome process of spiritual emergence? How can you know the difference?

Read more: https://amindfulemergence.com/blog/are-you-in-a-spiritual-emergency/

The Buddha answered: Whether they meditate with or without expectations, if they have the wrong ideas and the wrong methods, they will not get any fruit from their meditation. Think about it. Suppose a man wants to have some oil and he puts sand into a bowl and then sprinkles it with salt. However much he presses it, he will not get oil, for that is not the method. Another man is in need of milk.  He starts pulling the horns of a young cow. Whether he has any expectations or not, he will not get any milk out of the horn, for that’s not the method. Or if a man fills a jar with water and churns it in order to get butter, he will be left only with water. It’s like filling a bowl with oil seeds and pressing them or milking a cow by pulling the udder or filling a jar with cream and churning it.  It’s the right method. ~ Majjhima Nikaya

What kind of meditation did the Buddha teach?

Buddha also spoke of two qualities that he thought were fundamental to the fully-awakened state: Tranquility and Insight.

Two things will lead you to supreme understanding. What are those two? Tranquility and Insight.

If you develop tranquility, what benefit can you expect?  Your mind will develop. The benefit of a developed mind is that you are no longer a slave to your impulses.

If you develop insight, what benefit will it bring? You will find wisdom. And the point of developing wisdom is that it brings you freedom from the blindness of ignorance.

A mind held bound by unconsidered impulse and ignorance can never develop true understanding. But by way of tranquility and insight the mind will find freedom.~ Anguttara Nikaya

Meditate, and in your wisdom realize Nirvana, the highest happiness. ~ Dhammapada

The true impartial observer is never the attention or mind that is attempting to watch a process. The reason for this is that this very attempt is a part of the process itself; it is not outside the process.

Through which sense organ should I cultivate? You ask. Don’t be nervous. It is the very organ of the ear which Gwan Yin Bodhisattva used that is best for you.

Gwan Yin Bodhisattva perfected his cultivation through the organ of the ear, and Ananda will follow him in cultivating the same method. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of former times have left us such a wonderful Dharma-door that we should also follow the method of cultivating the organ of the ear to perfect penetration. This is the easiest method.

Ananda, and everyone in the great assembly,
Turn around your mechanism for hearing.
Return the hearing to hear your own nature
The nature will become the supreme Way.
That is what perfect penetration really means.
That is the gateway entered by Buddhas as many as dust motes.
That is the one path leading to Nirvana.
Tathagatas of the past perfected this method.
Bodhisattvas now merge with this total brightness.
People of the future who study and practice
Will also rely on this Dharma. ~ Shurangama Sutra

‘There’s no need for you to give up’, said the Buddha. ‘You should not abandon your search for liberation just because you seem to yourself to be thick witted. You can drop all philosophy you’ve been given and repeat a mantra instead—one that I will now give you’. ~ Majjhima Nikaya

It’s like filling a bowl with oil seeds and pressing them or milking a cow by pulling the udder or filling a jar with cream and churning it.  It’s the right method.  ~ Majjhima Nikaya

I divorced myself from politics back in 2004 after suffering a grand mal seizure. It happened right after I learned that John Kerry had conceded the election to George Bush, before all of the votes had been counted. I wasn’t a Kerry supporter at the time, but I was a Bush hater. When I went to tell my wife the upsetting news, I fell down and had a seizure. I woke up in the ambulance on the way to the ER. I was later diagnosed with epilepsy, but it was a wake up call that changed my life forever. And I am thankful for it because it’s what started my search for the purpose of Life. I later found it and am continuing to see the purpose unfold all around. I know it’s all necessary. I know everything is a prerequisite for the discovery of purpose. It has to be this way. So what do you do if you don’t like it this way and it can be no other way? That’s how it started for me.

Having said that, I am also among the majority of Americans who are surprised and disappointed in the recent Presidential election. I, like many, didn’t think Donald Trump had a chance. Afterall, he’s a bully with a negative attitude toward a lot of people. He’s very judgmental and prone to make irrational decisions. There, I said it. I cast my first stone. It’s time for me to do The Work :)

I digress, however. The outcome has illustrated just how divided we are as a nation. There are a lot of people celebrating the victory in the form of hate speech toward minorities. I am surprised that roughly half of those who voted are okay with someone like Trump behind the wheel. But, my disappointment transitioned into peace with forgiveness. This is not a forgiveness that comes from a place of superiority, as in those people are wrong and I forgive them. Instead it’s identifying with them. Once you forgive, you can begin to relate to others as human beings again.

As an example, I ended up in the voting booth right next to my previous neighbors. It’s a long story that ended with us moving to get away from them. I know they are blue collar republicans and I thought about why they were voting the way they were.After all, my political mind thinks that poor people are voting against their best interest by towing the party line. Anyway, it dawned on me that it’s because they have no choice. They were exposed to certain things in their past that shaped their way of thinking. The same is true of me. Beliefs are handed down from generation to generation, like folklore. I then felt a sense of compassion toward them as I filled out my ballot. I can only be this way and they can only be that way. We didn’t get to choose--until we realize we have a choice.

The chaos that has transpired since the election has all been part of the unconscious belief that I’m right. How could we think otherwise? But it has put a magnifying glass on the divisiveness we have within and without. Even though I don’t believe Trump would make a good President, I think he will make a necessary one. From my perspective, he represents part of the acceleration of human unconsciousness. There is a wave of consciousness rolling through this world, and it has a lot of people concerned. Word is spreading like the fires we’ve seen here in the mountains. The word is, “Yes, you can encounter peace in a world gone mad. Yes, you have the power to bring good into this world, even when it seems to be falling apart. You can rid yourself of compulsive thinking and negativity. You can accept what is.” It usually takes something traumatic to get you to look for what’s true. This election will be the trauma that many people need in order to start focusing on the only thing that can be changed--your perspective. You change that and you change the world. You change that and you become the world.

Keep the peace, inside and out. Take time to stop and just be present. Follow your breath as you enjoy the air around you. Look at the sky. Pay attention to your sense of Being. All of the negativity is just mind stuff that covers up the truth of who we are. It’s time to wake up now. I invite you to please make waking up your prime focus this coming year. Learn to make peace with the present moment, even if it contains apparent adversity. You can do anything when you do it from the space of peace.

InJoy,

Trey

“We need one more thing to make us happy.  One thing leads to the next, perpetuated by our desire to have final satisfaction.  But the next experience feels uneasy, and we still need one more thing… The desire to feel satisfied is a continual process that drives our lives, and the end result is suffering… it’s just what ends up happening when we are driven by negative emotions.  -  Sakyong Mipham (Turning the Mind into an Ally)

What do we really need?  That simple question could well be an important key to happiness and wisdom.  And beyond the question of what do we really need is the more germane question:  Why are our needs so endless?  What are all these wants that, at a deep psychological level, become needs?  Sakyong Mipham, the Tibetan/American meditation teacher gives a very good answer when he says, “it’s just what happens when we are driven by negative emotion.” – as we certainly are, either very blatantly or subtly, much of our waking lives. 

We want things to be better; we want more for ourselves than life is giving.  We have an emotional uneasiness as to whether we are enough, and so have a rather unlimited sense of needing more, and for our situation to be better.  And when things are the way we want them to be, we want them to stay that way – but they don’t, they can’t.  Everything changes, but what we want is unchanging happiness - without even knowing what that means.  So, we experience anxiety, anger, jealousy, worry, sadness, despair – negative emotions that drive us.

There are many extrapolations of Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths on the nature of suffering, but a very useful variation is that we suffer because, whether we express it as a need or a want, we often experience that we need things to be different from the way they are in order to control our negative emotions.  Again, this can be on very blatant or subtle levels, and taking that extrapolation to the teaching’s resolution, the fourth of the Truths, we could say that the way out of negative emotional suffering is to not need for things to be different from the way they are in order for us to be OK. 

“Well, of course,” you say.  When this moment is the way I want it to be, I am fine, I am happy, and when it is not the way I want it to be, I am not fine and happy.  Isn’t that the natural way of things?  But herein lies our problem.  Our well-being is then dependent on the circumstances of our lives as we interpret them in our minds.  This is neither natural – meaning the way of Nature, nor is it an enlightened relationship to our unique human capacity to relate to life with abstracting intelligence. 

Happiness is a mental state.  It occurs in the mind.  Nothing outside of ourselves is the source of our happiness, rather our mind deciding it is happy with what is happening is the source of our happiness.  What is unfortunate is that we don’t realize that we have the capacity to cultivate the mental state of happiness (more accurately, well-being) as our natural state in a manner that can be largely independent of the circumstances of our lives.  Ultimate happiness (non-suffering) is the result of our embrace of every moment just the way it is.

One of the great Zen lessons – a Koan from the 9^th Century Chinese Zen master Rinzai  – asks us, “This moment, what is lacking?”  And when we are unhappy, we believe the answer to be that what is lacking is what we think we need to make the moment more fulfilling, satisfying, safe, or whatever qualifier we have in our mind.  The truth is that when we are fully present in any moment in our natural mind, it is as contemporary Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, “This moment is a perfect moment, this moment is my refuge.”  Refuge from what? From the suffering, the unsatisfactoriness of having the moment being different than what in our minds we think we need it to be.  We live in the subtle and not-so-subtle experience of believing our fulfillment is not in this moment just as it is, but in some next moment that will be exactly the way we need for it to be to experience perfect happiness.

Buddhism teaches of the thickness and multidimensionality of existence.  Mostly, we live in the mind our society conditions into us, our egoic (what Buddhists call “little”) mind, trapped in needing for its fulfillment some fantasy idea of a perfect self - finding fantasy perfection in a fantasy world.  This mind is extremely limited in its perceptive abilities, and tends to focus on what is lacking, rather than the totality and potentiality of what is present.  This is the world of samsara, suffering. 

However, Buddhism teaches that there is also the macro-world of the Big Mind, of our Being-self, in harmony with the Universe realizing that there is no separate self. There is always and only the Universe expressing itself in its fullness through this form we experience as our self-in-the-given-moment, all interconnected and perfect just as it is.  Nothing is needed because to need is to be separate from the whole of what is, and there is no separation.  This is the mind of enlightenment, and this is the mind into which Buddhist teaching and meditation can open us.

Imagine the total freedom, the total liberation when we realize that at an ultimate dimension always available to us, nothing more is needed, that this moment, exactly as it is, is perfect, exactly as it is.  This is what in the Shambala tradition of Sakyong Mipham is called Shamatha – peaceful abiding.  Within us all is the ability to abide peacefully in the present moment exactly as it is, not needing anything to be different to quell our negative emotions, not needing to get to the next moment to quiet the restless little mind of ego questing for fulfillment of its fantasy identity in a fantasy world.  Right here.  This moment, nothing lacking.   This is enlightenment.  This is the heart of Buddhism. 

Does this mean to live passively?  No – it means to do what needs to be done to support and protect our lives and all life.  It also means to bring forth our efforts in the service of evolving an ever more conscious, compassionate and loving human society, but none of it from negative emotion.  As Asian philosophy expert Alan Watts wrote:  “Everything is as it can be.” And this moment is exactly as it can be as the platform for the next moment in the very big picture.  When we embrace what is, we can become courageous co-authors with the Universe of what will be. 

Nothing is fixed and permanent.  Everything is both being and becoming. What is, is.  And what will pass, will pass.  And what will be, will be.  And our fantasies do not have to be the impotent protests or the narcissistic desires of an individual driven by negative emotions from one perceived need to the next, but rather visions of what can be in an enlightened human society.

“The purpose of Buddhism is to study ourselves and to forget ourselves.  When we forget ourselves, we actually are the true activity of the big existence, or reality itself.  When we realize this fact, there is no problem whatsoever in this world, and we can enjoy our life.” - Shunryu Suzuki (1904-71)

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Hello, everybody!

I've posted a bunch of new YouTube videos since I was here last, but the most important one is probably the 2-hour satsang video I put up recently.

If you look at the main website, you'll also see other videos as well as hundreds of posts I've written over the past few years.

Here's are links to:

1) The Posts page of AwakeningClarityNow.com

2) My YouTube channel 

3) My Podcast Channel --my podcasts are also available on iTunes.

4) My latest book, Awaken NOW: The Living Method of Spiritual Awakening which has been an Eastern Philosophy bestseller in the US, UK, and Australia. It's available as a paperback, Kindle edition, and an audio book.

5) The Meetings page of AwakeningClarityNow.com, which will tell you about the new Awakening Dialogues.

I invite you to join many hundreds of people around the world, and come wake with me!

All love,

Fred

1 1/2 minute video: https://youtu.be/PPg4r-CRY3U

​Have you ever made what you thought was a bad decision? If you think so, then you've probably experienced the frustration of things not working out the way you had hoped they would. However, I would like for you to ponder this: What if there is no such thing as a bad decision? What if there are only decisions? What if i​​t’s impossible to make a mistake in this life? What would happen to this frustration if you dropped the belief that mistakes are possible? Is the idea that things could or should be different than they are actually at the root of frustration?

Each and every move we take has a different set of possible outcomes. We do our best to make the “right” move, but when we decide outcomes are “bad” then we look at what led to them as a mistake, either on our part or the part of others. We will then either seek to blame ourselves or others for unpleasant circumstances. However, from my experience, every apparent “bad” situation always has positive repercussions. It may take a little while for the benefits to be shown, but I can always find several positive outcomes that were brought about by a seemingly negative situation.

This may seem like a “rose colored glasses” approach to viewing life, but I have been in a number of seemingly hopeless situations, and I have seen how life always works out in my favor despite what may seem hopeless. Having been tested over and over again with challenging situations, I have learned to see every circumstance as an opportunity for growth. The gift of stressful situations is in the opportunity to go beyond our beliefs about what should or shouldn’t be. If we operate from the perspective that mistakes are not actually possible, then it frees us to act from a place of fearlessness and integrity, knowing that the outcome will be for our benefit, even if it seems challenging at first. It also alleviates the burden of thinking we know what’s best for us and reduces our attachment to certain outcomes.

When I find myself in a situation where something I did or said seemed to cause someone else distress, I own my role in that and try to see the situation from the other person’s perspective. It’s important to know that their distress is not ultimately caused by us but by their own beliefs on how things should be. But it’s also important not to dismiss the feelings of others, and instead look for the truth in any accusations or blame that comes our way. We gain insights into ourselves and others when we can welcome their criticisms instead of defending against them. The key is not to get caught in judging ourselves negatively because someone else blames us for their frustration. Instead, we can recognize that we did the best we could do, and we did it perfectly. A friend of mine once told me, “You can’t do it wrong, you can only do it Trey.” You could also say that the only mistake is the belief that mistakes are possible.

When we cease to believe in mistakes, challenges can be welcomed as part of what’s necessary for our personal growth, and things can be seen as unfolding in our favor. When the burden of self-doubt and the fear of doing something “wrong” is lifted, each moment is perfectly fine no matter what happens. The past and present are accepted as part of what could not have been avoided, and the present is experienced as one welcome occurrence after another. We can then realize that we are always living in a happy ending that never ends.

I invite you to see what it’s like to release the idea that you, or someone else, could make a mistake. See what happens when you stop labeling things as good and bad. Things always are as they are and nothing anyone can do will change that. Only one thing can be changed and that’s how you see things. Could it be that our happiness is a belief away?

Fear seems rampant around the world right now. For some it has to do with the impending rule of the new President of the United States. We have heard a great deal about how wrong things could go under Trump, and a lot of it’s easily believable based on the past. However, this is a prime example of how we create fear in our lives -- We imagine a future. We like predictability and are programmed to use our memory to project a future to help put us at ease (or freak us out). Let’s face it, the future we envision today is not likely to be the reality of the moment when it becomes now. Consequently, when you’re living in fear, you’re believing in an unlikely (more like impossible) future. Seems like a waste of energy, doesn’t it?

Ponder this: What if none of the ideas we have about the future will ever be true? What if we are always going to be wrong? What if no matter how much we think and analyze things, we can’t possibly be right? Ever? Would that be scary? Or would you simply stop trying to know the future? If so, a great deal of our incessant mental noise and worry could finally go away, leaving us more time to focus on what’s real, now.

What’s that you say? “How can we be prepared for what the future may hold if we don’t think about what might happen?” I can see the mind justifying its need to predict and analyze. “I’m here to protect you from bad things,” it says. “Without me, you would be lost.” But is that really true? We can only guess what would have happened in the past if we hadn’t relied on the mind’s attempts to know the future. So we can only guess what might happen in the future if we don’t rely on our mind. Can we open our minds to see what good may come? A lack of trust in the unknown keeps us stuck worrying about a non-existent future. As Eckhart Tolle says, “You can never cope with the future. But you can always cope with the Now.”

What’s the worst that could happen if we threw ideas of the future out the window? When you start to answer that question with the mind, you have re-entered an imaginary future world. Let’s pick one negative thing that seems likely to happen with Trump as President. Take your belief in that possible future, and embrace it, then let it go for a moment. See what it feels like to drop that belief. For me, a space of lightness opens up that was previously concealed by worry. A sense of trust and confidence emerge. This trust does not make us vulnerable. It makes us invincible! Don’t let your mind trick you into believing otherwise. Your thoughts are well meaning. They attempt to protect us from uncertainty, but since everything about the future is uncertain, we get stuck in protective mode. Can you accept uncertainty in your life? Can you hold the knowing that you can handle anything life throws at you, whether you saw it coming or not?

The key to peace isn’t knowing what the future holds, it’s knowing what the present moment holds. When you know this moment fully, you become one with the organic flow of Life. Allow it to carry on the way it does. It will happen however it wants to happen, regardless of your best efforts. Take the effortless way to freedom. Stop believing the hype. Speculation is all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and frustration and worry are painful emotions. So, stop hurting yourself! No future = No fear. Living fearlessly is how real positive change comes about in this world. Be the peace you want to see and see what happens.