Secrets of Spontaneity and Oratory Skills

Catch the Mind - The Middle Path: Discourse & Meditation

When Attachment Dies All Pervading Awareness Grows..

Emotions and energy

Attention is energy. And the one thing in life that we are trying to always get more of is energy! The stores try to sell it to us in the form of vitamins, Starbucks will package it in the coffee cup and coke a cola gives it to you in the form of soda pop. We run our lives constantly trying to get or gain energy. And we do this by getting energy from the people around us. When we receive the attention from another maybe in the form of "Oh you look so beautiful in that outfit!" we are boosted up. And can then move on with more energy. And when someone doesn't give us the attention that we crave we "shrink" or loose or spend our energy in a negative manner.

Our being has five layers: (body) the physical layer, (breath) the breath layer, (mind) the mental layer, (emotions) the etheric layer, (spirit) the ananda layer or bliss layer. If we want to work on staying centered with out loosing energy let's take a look at the etheric layer or the emotional layer and see just where we may be loosing energy. Let's see if we can learn more about our very own relationships and know just where we are giving too much energy in an area where we don't need to be.

Technique: Visualize all of the emotional (love/hate) relationships that have a hold over you. For example if you have a love/hate relationship with a boss in Paris, imagine that you can expand you body or being to include them inside your expanded self or new extended boundary. Include the emotional relationship as part of who you are! So, with that boss in Paris if you are still harboring guilt or hate or anger keep that with you as part of who you are and then keep doing this with each and every relationship that you have.

You will just see how much energy is held up in this emotional layer. Now ask yourself how much of there emotions are taking away your energy? Do you need to hold on to all of these emotions? Are these emotions serving you in the present moment? Can you drop these feelings and only call upon them when needed in the present moment?

Try this technique for 10 days and just see what is revealed to you. There is no right and wrong. Just enjoy, explore this part of your being and see what happens.

Enjoy!

Intensity is key

Coming back again and again to you center, inside the boundary of your very own skin is a key to uncovering your very own truth. Every time you remember come back inside. Feel the sensations of the body. Witness. Maybe throughout the day you notice that you are aware and then you start talking with a friend, and you forget to stay mindful, inside your very own body, as the viewer or observer of all the sensations and happenings that are going on in the body. You drop the awareness of your very own being. It's okay. Don't worry. Just come back. Don't judge yourself or harbor more negativity like "I'll never accomplish this" or "I am a failure". Be very clear if you have these thought you will be come them. Just relax. Keep coming back again and again till the very muscle memory of your body stays with that awareness. Till your body craves for you to be in that constant state of awareness.

Intensity is key. The father of yoga Patanjali says this notion of coming back again and again is more crucial than your very own enlightenment. Having the diligence, the will and the fire to graciously keep your efforts alive is all you need. The rest will happen on is own. Don't concern your self with how well you are practing or how poorly your efforts are taking root. Again and again come back.

Intensity to keep going is key. Use it to open another door and fall madly in love in the wondrous universe that is on the other side.

I am not a ballerina

I am not a ballerina. And yet I am. I am not wife and yet I am. I am not a corn field and yet I am. I am nothing and everything. Well, actually the moment I am nothing I become everything.

When I am nothing I play with the world around me. When I am someone I go to work. When I am nothing I have fun and time has no hold on me. When I am someone I am serious and I am a slave to the clock. When I am nothing I simply relax and enjoy. When I am someone nothing can satisfy me.

Live the paradox. Become a nobody and see you are everybody! I couldn't have thought of a more perfect game.

fall into love

The birds sing. The cat naps. The sun shines. And I struggle to write. Something seems wrong here? Where is this struggle coming from? Nature isn't struggling and yet I am nature so why do I struggle? Some how it must be simpler than I can imagine.

What is it in me that is making me struggle to achieve a desired result? Am I that thing that is propelling me to try with fight and might, to make perfect, to succeed, to go and go? Some how I have this feeling that I can go and go with out this desiring to be perfect, or be just so, or right or in the exact the way I want. Somehow the river flows down stream just perfectly with out trying and brilliantly falls into the loving arms of the ocean.

Maybe I need to know, trust and have faith that I too will fall into the loving arms of the ocean such that I can sing and play like the birds. There is no struggle when I can rest in the arms of my lover or mother or child.

I think the Beatles were right. Love is all you need. Be love and there is no fight.

me time

The simple things in life are so divine. A walk in the park can clear the mind. A bike ride can boost our energy. Listening to someone we love can bring compassion. It's all so simple yet we easily forget.

It is our nature to forget. That is why we have routine and ritual in our lives so we can learn to remember. Enjoy the morning routine. Take the time to indulge. Be with your self. Take a bath with your favorite music playing. Maybe even sing along. Really feel your skin when you cover your body with cream. Take care of yourself like you would your lover. If you give yourself this divine time first thing in the morning you whole day can be full of love and compassion and then you can give this same spirit and feeling to the others around you.

Give to yourself so you can give to others.

we know nothing

We always think that we know everything. We consider ourselves to be experts in our fields. Some of us have been studying since the age of six. We think we are accomplished. We think we know it all. Well, this couldn't be further from the truth! The truth is we know nothing.

We get in the way of our very own selves. We are limited to our routines. We struggle and fight against the our very own selves who are here to just enjoy and experience in order to selfishly accomplish results.

There doesn't need to be such a battle. When the fighting stops bliss enters. The intelligence that is alive in each and every cell knows how to take care and direct ourselves more than we want to believe or trust. My identity is not needed. Is yours?

A castle built out of cards falls the moments one card is pulled. What kind of castle have you built? There are two options: Protect your castle in fear or just let go and see what happens! In the end it's all make believe anyway. You can't take any of it with you!

stuck in your path?

Sometimes we try to control our lives so much that we don't leave room for the divine play and the spontaneity to make clear moment to moment decisions. We think that our lives should work out in a certain way so we fight and struggle to execute our lives just how we think fit. It's kind of like trying to fit the square peg in the the circular slot. We think that we should have everything all figured out and maybe even planned. Well, maybe the way we think it should be is terribly different from what is meant to be. Do we even know what our unique gifts are?

What happens if we just let go and open ourselves up to new opportunities? Maybe we will find a hidden talent. Maybe we will be lead down another career path. Maybe we will experience life in a more pleasurable way.

Let go and let the universe take care. Mother earth knows exactly what it is that we all need. Let her provide for you. She will guide you in the most beautiful way imaginable.

Your mom knows you best! If you can't ask her for guidance, really, where else is there to go?

seek not change

Everything is just as it is supposed to be. There is no need to change a thing. With awareness if something needs to be changed it will happen on it's own. Awareness is like a magnifying glass. With awareness we slow down so our speech and action have clarity and reveal truth.

Everything is just divine. We are just not aware. Miracles are happening all around us. Open up to awareness and see with new eyes. You may just be surprised.

rise and shine

We are all living in fantasy. We are all dreaming. We are all hoping to be somewhere else doing something else with someone else. The truth is there is no where to go and we are by our very nature alone. Exhale and relax. Now is the time to wake from the dream.

enjoy your coffee

The western idea on birth and death says that this is it. This live is all we have. We only have this one life to live, accomplish and realize all of our hopes and dreams. So, we better get a move on! Hurry up! Experience all that we can now because we only have one chance. This philosophy keeps us running. This philosophy keeps us in fear. Fear that if we aren't active and productive then we will sure miss out.

In the east they believe in multiple lives. They believe in the idea of reincarnation and in the idea that we have many life times and opportunities to evolve and grow. Being productive is not everything in life. This view gives us the mind set that we can relax and enjoy. We can take our time and be grateful for what we have because ultimately we have all the time in the world. One view keeps us running. The other let's us enjoy.

Have you ever wondered why we in the west drink coffee in the car? We are in a rush. We are told to be in a rush. In India it is unheard of to drink coffee in the car. But they are also dodging random cows!

Sit and have your coffee. Be a few minutes late to work. Enjoy your life.

twisting words

Words can confuse. We twist the meaning of words in order to suit our needs. Take for example the word sensitive. How many of us have said, "I can not take the criticism of others. I am a very sensitive person."

If we were really sensitive people we would be flowing, porous, soft and caring. We would let the criticism wash over us. Pass through us. We would learn from the situation.

Think twice about your words. The truth may hurt. And ignorance is bliss. Pick you evil.

why wait be in the now

We live expecting our destiny to present its self to us. We live waiting. If we find our selves waiting know that we have misunderstood entirely. Just take a look at our day. We wait in line at the coffee shop. We wait for a phone call. We wait for dinner to be served to us. The list could go on and on. What does this waiting feel like? We are impatient. We are in a hurry. We want the universe to sing to our tune. Impatience is nothing but our arrogance. We want it our way and now.

If we let go of this anxiety of having to be instantly served we can relax. We can breath in, breath out and begin to see the miracle of life happening all around us. The unfolding of our path or truth will happen on it's very own time not our time. And not the time that we think it should happen, but the time that it needs to happen. So in the meantime enjoy.

If we want love in our lives we can not wait for it to happen we must become love ourselves and then we will have love in our lives. If we want our dreams to manifest we must be patient and enjoy every detail in the planning and know that it is currently unfolding. It is not enough to just have the desire to make our dreams a reality. We have to be in love with the research. We have to be in love with the relationships we make along the way. We have to be centered in the other. We must enjoy each and every moment and slow down such that we can see the right choices to make. Only then will we have clarity of mind to assist the navigation of the unfolding.

So often we miss out because we are impatience, in a hurry and don't want to be available to talk with someone that we don't know. We are rushing off to go home. We are rushing of to be somewhere else. We want to escape the present moment. We are running. We are avoiding relationships and situations. We are guarding ourselves. Well, where is this somewhere else? Why are we running from the present? Relax into the present and see that we are already living our dreams. If we don't like what we have created for our selves change it. It's up to us.

Next time we find our selves rushing off, relax. Settle into the moment a little deeper. Enjoy the air around and maybe have a glass of water. Change the habit. We'll see that there is no where to go. Where we are is where we need to be.

Impatience is just our arrogance. It's okay we all have it! Drop the arrogance and settle into the gratitude of the given moment. Try it next time in the Starbucks line. Every moment can give pleasure.

life has meaning not purpose

Life is not about how much we accomplish. Life is not about how much we have in the bank account. Life is not about how successful we can be. Life is not about keeping up with the Jones'. Life is not about finishing the to do list because there is always more that comes along to do. So why are we choosing to create stress for ourselves and run the rat race?

Life is for us to enjoy. When we shift our awareness and see that the purpose of life is purposelessness then all of a sudden everything we have, say and do becomes meaningful. The smallest task becomes a joy, a pleasure, and our being becomes light and radiant. Try for yourself. Have a friend over for no reason. Serve them for no reason. Enjoy what they have to share and offer for no reason. Find out who they really are. So often our relationships have turned into contracts. We only meet with people because we have a contract with them. We are in relationships in order to get something. Our relationships now have become like business deals. If you give me the comfort and support that I need only then you can be my friend. But the minute you are not there to fulfill that part of the contract as a supporter to my life then I shall move on to the next person who can satisfy my need. But if we drop the purpose we can then start to see the beauty and uniqueness in everything and everyone.

Stop running after goals. See your friends for who they are. Slow down and enjoy the process as it continually unfolds. There is no purpose but meaning. The artists paints for no reason at all. Share, enjoy and create your very own work of art. Start living and stop running.

work as play

It doesn't matter what we do but how we do it. Sometimes we are so caught up in our identity of being a doctor, a musician, or a mother that we forget how we are fulfilling these responsibilities. If we are resentful of our responsibilities then we need to take a moment to look a little deeper into our actions. What is it energetically that has propelled us to stand up into these rolls? Can we uncover the spark that led us down the path?

The intention behind our actions is essential to blissful living. How do we care for our loved ones? How do we address our clients? How do we say "I love you" to our partners when they leave for work in the morning? Our actions speak louder than out words. How we do something implies that we see and understand the relationship in which we exist. How show that we have care for the other or object. How implies that we see beyond our selves. How shows our deep understanding for the whole that we too are part of. Move from what to how and from separateness to unity and the responsibilities take on a whole new meaning.

Everything exists in relationship. What is your relationship to the whole? Your responsibilities are your contracts to the universe. Your responsibilities show that you care. The question is do you really care? If not re-evaluate. Take up something for no reason and do it with loving kindness. You will see the sheer joy that comes with purposeless action. Do something for no reason. The bliss reveals itself as a gift.

Be blissfully responsible. Work becomes play and the marriage, well, it gets a little easier.

there is a safety net

Where does the courage come from to rise above fear and make our dreams a reality? Success and failure can be a deadly trap. We usually want to experience more moments of success and reduce the times that we are in failure. But what really leaves us in in-action or fear of stepping forward? The fear of not knowing. We can handle a little failure hear and there but the fear of not knowing is what gets us in the end. We want to be in control or have security at all times. Only then will we jump! This leaves us paralyzed and left with unfulfilled dreams.

What we don't know is that existence is there supporting us all the time. What we don't realise is that if we jump there is a safety net several feet down. There is nothing to be afraid of, but we will never know this until we jump off the the high diving board.

Take the jump. Risk and see that mother nature holds us in her arms the whole way along. Believe it or not we are actually craving these moments of intensity and risk. We want to be in love, we want to expand our horizons we want to experience new adventures that may appear scary. Our nature is to evolve and grow. Just take a look at nature. The river bed changes shape and form, the trees grow and evolve and the seasons transform from one to the other. Have we forgotten that we too are nature? When we take a chance, have a quantum leap of faith and jump our whole being lights up! And yes, we may skin our knee here and there but that is not the end. There is an experience to share and like our children we just get back up on the bike and ride.

There is nothing to be afraid of. Look in and see what is in your way of taking that risk. See that it may just be your very own mind getting in the way. Know that nature supports you. It's only you that is getting in the way of being and radiating the best you that there is!

Dive in. Share your joy with the joyousness of existence. Mother nature is waiting for you to stand up. She is you mother! She wants you to be your best.

mind is an action

Once we fulfill a desire another comes along right behind it. Fulfilling one gives momentum to the next. This action keeps us running or in motion, like a strand of pearls each bead follows the next. This is beautiful as long as we are not attached to each pearl. Rest your awareness on the larger whole, and the thread that holds the necklace together.

What propels you into action? See the stillness in the action and the action in the stillness.

Look not and find

There is nothing to figure out. The mind desperately wants to solve the beautiful mystery of life. The questions of the mind keep on coming just like that of a small child. Why this? Why that? Just why? Maybe it's like this, maybe it's like that. If I just do it like this then great. What if I were to just do it like that? The mind keeps us searching.

Well, when you have had enough with the questioning mind only then will the answer present itself. The search ends. You must exhaust all the questions so the truth can reveal itself. This is surrender.

When we give up we find what we are looking for. We realize there is nothing to search for.

the art of observation

It's all so easy but we make our lives so complex. In the act of trying we actually get in the way of the happening. If we could just relax then we could experience our potential. Sometimes we want it to be over and sometimes we never want to start. But the truth is it is forever happening.

Next time you engage in a difficult task melt into the difficulty and you'll see that it is only you who is making it difficult. Maybe even give a new name to the 'difficulty' and observe it. You'll see it isn't really difficult at all and it isn't as solid as you think.

Move from difficulty to awareness. Beyond attachment and non attachment. Live like Buddha. You are Buddha.

home sweet home

What is it that makes us feel at home? Is it our fond attachment to our possessions? Is it an accumulation of our past memories? Is home our unique personal history, or the suitcases that we carry throughout our life? And if so, does that mean that we are choosing and selecting the memories that we fancy and call that home?

Can we feel at home anywhere?

For some of us home is a associated with comforting thoughts or nurturing images like mom’s pumpkin pie or our most beloved moment in front of the fireplace nestled in our favorite armchair. Or maybe for some of us home is associated with the relationships to our near and dear ones like the time spent with the kids and the family dog.

So, it seems as though home is not a static object or thing but a living dynamic energy that imbibes a feeling of nurturing, care and love. Remember that saying, ‘home is where the heart is’?

Well, if we look deeply home is inside us. If we are centered and comfortable in our very own skin then we can be home anywhere. Our lives are controlled and run by our habitual actions and patterns and if we find ourselves staying in a hotel room or a friends house and not able to fulfill our daily routine then all of a sudden we feel like we are not at home. If we can drop our attachment to our routine, be open to spontaneity and see the beauty all around us then we can experience that home is everywhere. Being centered in the boundary of our very own skin and having gratitude for everything outside of us allows for the comforts of home to present themselves to us.

Next time you are at a friend’s house and you notice the feeling that you want to run or escape ask yourself why? Simply tell yourself that home is all around nurturing you and see the shift that happens in your very being. See the restlessness transform into peace as you become aware that Mother Nature is providing a home for you everywhere you go.

Take down the boundaries and drop the suitcases. Home really is where the heart is. Be love, feel the caring mother earth and see that in any moment you can have the comforts of home.

Don’t just go home for the holidays be at home with yourself. There are no boarders. So, take down the picket fence.

how not what

What is yoga? The best way to know what something is is to know what it is not. Yoga is not limited to complex body movements or shapes and yoga is not just breathing techniques. To say that yoga aims at optimal health and well being is just not enough. Health and well being happen to be a wonderful bi-product of yoga but yoga doesn't stop there. If we reduce yoga to just the physical plane, or a work out program then it is like using a diamond as a paper weight. But because we are obsessed with body awareness and not consciousness yoga has been reduce to a workout routine. There is more to this wonderful continual happening that we call yoga than meets the eye. Yoga is a holistic science of our inner landscape. It is a beautiful system that reveals our true nature which is one of bliss and creativity.

There is nothing outside of ourselves that we need to acquire in order to become whole and complete. Yoga says that we are already whole and complete unto ourselves. We are divine by our very nature. Just like a sculptor reveals the masterpiece that already exists inside the slab of marble by carefully removing some of the outside layers, the continual process of yoga reveals that at the core of our being lies a masterpiece as well. The journey of yoga asks us to look in and removes some of the external layers that may be blurring our vision. This limited vision of ourselves gives us a limited vision of the world. And therefore our actions are limited.

So how does this work you may wonder? Can one just think that from now on "I am great!" so therefore I am? Ultimately yes! But our minds have a hard time believing this. This is where the practice of yoga comes into play. Yoga is our tool. See our minds are ready and willing to believe everything negative about ourselves. "I am not good enough at this or that." "So and so can do it but not poor me." This is the scrip that is running through our minds and and even our very veins. Yoga is a vehicle for us to observe the flux of the mind and observe these negative thought patterns. In yoga we use the body to get a closer look at the what is happening at deeper layers of our being. For example we can look at our mental layer where our thought rest or our emotional layer to understand and experience deeper truths about our very being.

Yoga, through its dynamic and active practice, gives an experiential understanding that is beyond book knowledge. It is one thing to know an eastern concept from a book on Zen that we are all one and united. But it is whole other dimension to have the very experience that we are all one and united. Yoga is the magical flying carpet for us to be able to have these beautiful understanding via experience. Much like traveling to Africa and merging one's self in the culture is different than looking at a picture of Africa in a book and telling ourselves that we understand all about Africa. Do we really know Africa from a book? Do we know the smells of Africa? Do we know the feeling of Africa? Do we know the sounds of Africa? No. Once the mind labels and defines we have reduces the object (Africa) into something that it is not. Like life itself (Africa included) yoga is dynamic, changing and in constant motion just like our very beings.

Yoga says we are whole and unique. With what ever intention we move the body that intention, that purpose gets inscribed in the being and in the very bio memory of the muscle tissues and muscle fibers themselves. So, if we are running a script of negativity be very clear that we are cultivating a lifestyle that is fulfilling that negative outlook. Yoga imbibes the quality of nature. We are nature ourselves we are not separate from it. Yoga is a tool to bring us back to our true nature, we have just simply forgotten. We may think of ourselves as separate.

All the physical posturing in yoga resembles nature plants, animals and hero's alike. If we practice imbibing there qualities of strength from the image of a warrior, flexibility from the image of the bamboo tree, and courage from the image of the lion be very clear we will have there qualities to serve us in our lives. And the next time we show up to a job interview we will have the courage and strength to share our own unique vision and contribute to the whole.

If we practice yoga postures or asana with the intention of making perfect shapes and having the perfect heal to toe alignment then be very clear that we are imbibing the qualities of a perfectionist. And each yoga class we will inscribe that quality deeper and deeper into our being and muscle memory. Maybe we are even telling ourselves that we are NOT "good" if we can't do a headstand. This negativity is going to the root of your being. Look in. Create the qualities of a nurturing compassion being. It all starts with yourself. If you are negative towards yourself you will be negative with others. You will not know of another way of being.

Yoga is a gift to yourself and therefor the gift to the world. Get on your mat and find a good teacher. Look inside and surely the teacher is there. Reveal yourself to yourself.

red light green light

Imagine that you are in your car waiting at a red light with your eyes fixed preparing to make your move the second the light switches to green. Your patients may be starting to waiver and the intensity is building as everything rests on the one moment when your foot makes contact with the accelerator. The light changes and you don't miss a beat. Off you go. Exhale. Your body now relaxes and you are once again amid the sea of other drivers. What is happening here? Why do we put so much attention and pressure on certain moments or events, possibly creating tension, stress, and anxiety and not other moments? What makes one situation more important than another?

Well, actually one moment in time is no more important than another! We can not say that doing the laundry is more important than getting an oil change. They cannot be compared. They are two separate goals. Depending upon our present life situation one moment may appear to have more value and more importance, but in truth, that is an illusion. You have decided to give a certain task more value than another based on your needs at that given moment in time. But you will notice that your needs are constantly changing. So, one moment, you may think that the goal of changing the oil has more value, but lets say you don't need to get an oil change because maybe you have an electric car, then, the value of the oil change is quite different. So, we can truthfully say, one goal is not better than another.

Goals are solid. They give you a reason to be running. They say that you are important what ever it is that you are chasing. But is this the truth? Is the moment you sit in the car at the red light any more important than the next moment when the light reads green? No, not at all. Just two different situations that are quite similar if you really take a deeper look. Drop the goals.

You may argue that if one drops having goals then one will have no direction in life and the possibility of becoming lazy may manifest. This is the thinking of the rational mind. Actually, the opposite is just the case. If you drop the goals (the object that you are running after) more intelligence opens up to you. The shift is from the narrow view (a goal) to a larger scope including all possibilities. If all possibilities are there, present in front of you, your chances of making clear life decisions is far grater than the narrow view you may have carried earlier.

In having to accomplish a particular task or goal that you set for yourself you may carry underlying emotions of fear and tension because all your effort and energy are now on this one important event. You have now singled out this one event and made it very worthy. If one can widen their lens and accept any task with bliss and joy as the underlying motivators then every opportunity or event has the potential for ease, grace and greatness. Then, it is not a matter of what we do but it is more about how we are doing it. The intention becomes key to truly living. And the more we resonate in the high frequency of joy and bliss we will surly come to understand our very own dharma or unique path. Goals can create tension because they are fixed and they ask us to perform with perfection. Our results are then only results of tension and anxiety due to the pressure to perform.

Be blissful. Find the joy in everything. The car in front of you on the freeway has every right to be there, just like you. Even if they are going 55mph. Be grateful you have a car.

the muse

The beauty of creativity is in the not knowing and the muse reveals herself in the fullness of the present moment. Her grace and beauty leave you demanding for more, but she will never answer your beckon calls. The truth is, she is always herenow, with you, but your house is too full and you are busy rearranging the furniture. Give room for her to enter.

Where the mind is she isn't. Drop the mind and enter stage left: The Muse.

spinning the wheel of karma

Have you ever noticed that when we meet friends for tea or lunch the dialogue has gone drastically sour. We are no longer sharing like two cars on the same road but rather we are dumping our problems on each other like a garbage truck at the landfill. We are complaining about everything from work to lovers alike. And yes, it may feel good for the New York minute but what is happening on the long run?

Our loved ones are now weighted down with our burdens and when we get up to leave from the cafe table we may feel lighter (that is to say we didn't eat the entire pizza all by ourselves) but we must remember that we are leaving behind a heavy footprint. Now our friends must carry what was once our burden and the trail of negativity gets created. So then, what happens? Well, in turn, our friends go and dump a load of complaints on someone else and the cycle continues. And there you have it folks, the seed of karma gets sewn and the world becomes a web of mental garbage and negativity. No wonder why we feel so heavy at the end of the day! Mentally we may be carrying the burdens of many. And that's why is is so refreshing to run into someone who is light, positive, and simply carefree.

You may be thinking, wait a minute! I need this time to talk and complain. I need to get this 'garbage' off my chest. Who, then, can I count on to listen? Well, first and foremost we have to become good listener's ourselves. We need to listen to how we are talking to our near and dear ones. We can talk about anything if are aware of our very own intentions. We must go inside first and come from a spirit of sharing and innocence like children who play show and tell. Words sound different with different intentions behind them. We will be different, and we will resonate at much higher frequency. It's not about 'what' we talk about but it's about 'how' we do it.

See, at the very root of 'blowing off steam' or gossiping unconsciously lives anger, violence or negativity and that becomes the seed that we are sewing in the universe. It may feel good for a spilt second to let it all out in the heat of the moment but that aggression becomes our very muscle memory. We then don't know of any other way to respond and a habit of violence and negativigty is formed. That is why hitting a pillow when we are angry never works. Again, it may feel good momentarily but we are just reinforcing violence in our systems, in our very tissues, and we will respond with anger the next chance we get. The pattern will live on.

Awareness is key. Being aware when we are angry or negative is different than becoming the anger itself. Anger is energy (all our emotions are energy) and it's our ability to be aware that can transform any moment. Next time watch how you do the dishes. Do you caress each mug with with soapy gratitude and kindness? Or are you a bit angry to have to be doing the dishes in the first place? Make life your practice before you dump garbage on your friends. Look in, find out who you really are, and see just what kind of web you are spinning and who is trapped inside.

It all starts with ourselves. Allow your true loving presence to radiate. Help yourself and help others.

surrender

I don't have anything to say. What is there to say any way? Words just create more confusion. Rest in the noise of utter silence. Experience the movement in stillness. Just sit. Be with yourself. Relax into truth.

take 2 and call me in the morning

Seriousness is a disease. If you can't laugh and enjoy you might want to ask yourself if you are really living! Enjoy the weekend. Sing and dance your way to bliss! I don't know of any better medicine. The birds are doing it. Actually, all of nature is singing and dancing. Why are we, humans, the ones watching from the sidelines? Jump in and join the joy of life. Start living.

Try a new prescription. Dance to work. Dance at work. Make your work a dance. Maybe you'll even get a raise!

just part of the whole

We are not separate from our environment. I cannot exist without the earth beneath my feet and the sky above my head. Everything is established in perfect relationship. I can not know what 'short' is unless I know 'tall'.

Short and tall are two opposite ends of the same stick. In this case the stick of height. One is not better than the other, just different. They are placed differently. They are different experiences to have. Just like being a doctor is not better than being a lawyer. They are just different professions. We can't compare then. Yet we do. It's like trying to compare a horse with a dog. You just can't. They are just different.

Our minds like to compare, label and identify because then we feel we are something solid. We exist. I am a lawyer and this is good or bad. I am short and this is good or bad. I am this. I am that. We feel good when we define ourselves because we then have a grip on reality. Our minds can control and make heads or tails of this crazy wonderland we call existence. This labeling gives the mind a reason to be. Well, what if we let go of that grip? What if everything wasn't so solid? What if our minds dissolved into our hearts? What if life was more like surfing or what if the terrain was uneven? (Well, the last time I looked it was!) Are we all trying to be perfect squares in a world that is circular and round? Are we separating ourselves from the very existence that we rely on and need otherwise we would fail to exist? Should we look towards nature to find out about our true selves?

Well, if there was no short we would not know of a tall. If there was no hate we would not know of love. (And if there were no lawyers well then the world we would all be a little happier place!)

So how do we make sense of this all? Well, we don't! But for some reason we just can accept that. There is no purpose. The purpose is purposelessness. So just enjoy all that you have and all that you don't. But this is hard for most of us to grasp. See there we go again wanting to grasp and define! So, if you want food for your mind, ultimately, the best way to understand what something is is to know what it is not.

I am not just my job. I am not just what I do. But yet at the same time I am that also. I am not just my name but yet at the same time I am that also. I am not just a wife but at the same time I am that also. I am not just my emotions but yet I am that also. I am not my mind but at the same time I am that also. I am not just the body but at the same time I am that also.

Is it true to say that I am everything and nothing at the same time? I am overjoyed and saddened all at the same time. It is all beautiful and yet ugly all wrapped up in one. The suffering and the joy happening in perfect harmony and balance.

Live the paradox beyond attachment and non-attachment. Surf the truth in this world where the ground is uneven. Enjoy the crooked lines and accept yourself for all that you are and all that you are not. Accept all that is and all that isn't. You are that. You are everything and nothing.

update your software

Every night when we lay our heads down on the pillow and venture off to sleep we have the opportunity to surrender, to let go of the day and to fully give up. (Throw in the towel so to speak.) There is something so beautiful about this moment. It feels natural, this chance to dissolve, much like the arrival of a long awaited sigh. Our bodies melt and all that we are holding on to disappears. We may even wonder was the stress ever really solid to begin with, or was it all a creation of the mind?

The ancient mystics believe that each night when we fall asleep it is an opportunity to die unto ourselves, a small death, (petite mort) and with the morning sun comes our birth or renewal. A new beginning and a fresh start. This is a beautiful thought to help us fall in tune with our constantly changing universe and let us settle into the reality that we too are constantly changing. Each new day provides us the opportunity to see with fresh eyes as our intelligence is updated and our bodies are made anew with trillions of different cells.

So let's not evaluate ourselves with the old operating system or hold on to the "us" of yesterday. We are no longer the same person. It's like putting the garbage back on the dinner plate and taking a bite. Evaluating ourselves from past experiences only keeps us making the same mistakes over and over again like a record player stuck on the same track. Just see that you are different with each morning sunrise and enjoy the unfolding of the new day, in a new way and with a new you.

Let go. Fall into Egyptian cotton sheets. And wake up! It's all a beautifully changing dream and you are at the root of it.

(Don't forget to update your software!)

habits

When we get out of bed in the morning immediately the mind likes to run down the list of things to do. Sometimes when the alarm goes off the immediate reaction can be one of stress and panic. One day we may feel important and excited if we, let's say, have a meeting with Warner Brothers to pitch our new TV series and, yet, maybe another day we feel dull or tired even at the idea of seeing a friend all the way across town. The zeal is there one moment and gone the next. What is happening? Life is one big mood swing.

The mind likes to keep us busy, throwing us into constant action and caught in emotional responses depending upon whether or not we have decided to enjoy the activity a hand. In actuality, we try to elongate the the moments that bring us pleasure and shorten the moments that bring us pain. But the truth of the matter is that we just become addicted to one state or another, pleasure or pain. (don't think we aren't addicted to pain there are many abusive relations out there) We think our response has to do with the object of our choosing but this is not necessarily the case. For example sometimes eating ice cream may bring about a very favorable or pleasurable experience in our being and yet at another moment in time when it is the dead of winter and we have a severe stomach flu ice cream may not bring about that once desired feeling of pleasure. Food in general when plagued with the flu will probable make us cringe. So, the objects of our desires, like ice cream, or a meeting with Warner Bros. are separate from the feelings that we have associated with them.

Some time these decisions we make and the occuring emotional response are made at such a rapid pace that we are fully unaware that we even made a decision. They are unconscious happenings. We don't even realize that once again we have landed right in front of the candy bowl at work and our hand is greedily digging for chocolate. Our awareness slips in the moment the chocolate hits our lips and we say to our selves "I can't believe it! I did it again, here I am eating the chocolate at work." Then we may spiral down the river of guilt and plead to ourselves that we'll be "better tomorrow". And the whole time have we have not even taken a small pause to ask ourselves consciously if we were even hungry. Moments like these happen all the time and the pattern becomes an unconscious habit.

So is your response to your alarm going off in the morning a habit? Could be! Regardless, think twice about who is running your life. Are you actually in charge? Do you make sound decisions from a space of calm or are your unconscious habits and responses running your life for you?

Try a new rout to work. Break a habit. Be aware.

build it they will come

What does it take to stand up to your friends who don't believe in your dreams? Maybe a good pair of blinders (or ray bans here in LA) and rocket propelled shoes. Just walk on by. We don't know the future but we can get into action. Just start. It's like a maze in a coloring book. Once we start to make our dreams a reality we may come up against a few road blocks but a solution always presents itself. The present moment is pregnant with solutions. We just have to be open to them. The direction may not be as we expected and the journey may take us through unknown waters but in the end it's as easy as putting one foot in front of the other. And just maybe we will wake up one morning and realize that it's actually happening!

Be present. Live in the now and create your own reality. If you don't who will?

attention is energy

The smallest encounter or interaction has the ability to throw us on an emotional roller coaster ride, out of our very own centers and send us into a space irritability and anger. We can go on countless yoga retreats and spend the weekend at the spa but at the end of the day we still come home and react in the same way to our husbands not taking out the trash, our bosses unloading one more project, and our mother-in-law's critique about dinner.

Maybe yoga has turned into just one more thing on our list of things to do and if we miss out on a session we are sent down the path of guilt and shame for not keeping up the perfect routine or practice and our ego gets hurt when we don't looks so good in the designer jeans on Friday night! Have we taken on too much? And has our relationships turned into mere contracts? A 'if you do something for me I'll do something for you' kind of attitude. So when our husband fails to maintain their end of the bargain (like taking out the trash) we are shaken because the deal we made was just not fulfilled.

Just take a look at your life, when you are on the phone with your girlfriend and she doesn't agree with your complaints about your baby sitter what do you do? You then call someone else who will give you a boost and by saying "Oh my gosh yes, you are so right! Yes, yes, I agree that's horrible." Yet really the girlfriend is just waiting to get of the phone and doesn't want to hurt your feelings. But the contract was successfully completed she gave you exactly want you expected or wanted to hear.

It is a boost in energy. Attention is energy. And throughout the whole day we seek the attention of others to keep us running. The truth is, we have enough energy unto ourselves from the very the heart of our beings. Have we looked inside? We have been taught to look outside for the solution in the form of vitamins, caffeine, beauty products and even in our relationships. It's a big industry out there that is selling us energy. Just look at you life and see!

Maybe it's time to look deeper into our relationships and shine some awareness on the lifestyle we have created. Where did the unconditional love go? When was the last time we did something for someone with out a 'contract' or expecting nothing in return?

Gratitude is the attitude. Listen to what your friends have to say. Look into the eyes of your husband and see him for who he is and not who you would like him to be.

Do something for no reason. Enjoy your family. Be enough unto yourself.

little Buddha

the Buddha is
laughing
and you are
waiting for the
kettle to boil

over cooked
vegetables and
enter
stage left
meets right
align
the postman
will deliver
the parcel
packaged perfectly
with paper and string

untie the knot
inside is out
there is no
need to wait
no strings
attached
here and
now

girls become
women
and trees
bear fruit

of thy womb
JESUS
Christ

died and so
will you

change is
the only constant
contact
marketing game

you're it
so how do
you
play?

there are
no rules
only rulers
and margins
color
outside

of the
lines
that are not here
put on your
glasses
and see
care-ful-ly

your reality
is no more
than a dream

where is that
man named
King?

but
inside you
and i

where the boundaries
drop into
the paradox
sit

just sit
and see
the Buddha
in
you and me

go in

I must have the perfect job, I must go to an Ivy League school, and I must have the perfect children who then too should do perfect things. All my life I wast told to search outside of myself and become someone great. Does this sound familiar? Have you felt this way too? Well, if one has the perfect outer world successes, then, as a result one must be 'perfect' and successful, right? This way we will have arrived and then of course, the worrying that is happening inside will drop because all of our achievements in the material world will fulfill us. But is this the truth? Has the worrying stopped after acquiring these objects and labels? Or is it that the more that we run after these goals that we create more worrying because the truth is there is much more to worry about?

If we drop the need to identify with these labels then who are we? Well, we must go inside to find that out. Instead of running outside for the solutions we can turn in. Just who is it that is desiring? Who is it that is craving? Who is it that is 'keeping up with the Jones?' You will see that in asking these questions a liberation of sorts will come. A moment of quiet. A moment of space will descend on that chattering mind. Probe into that space. Fall in love with that space. Befriend that space, that gap in between thoughts.

It's like when you see a beautiful landscape like Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon or the vast Mojave desert. There is this moment, a gap, before you even utter a word like "Wow!" or "It's beautiful" that gap liberates you from the worry or chattering mind. A fleeting moment of stillness or silence. It is this moment that we call meditation. And the beautiful thing is that everyone has been graced with these moments. In these moments truth descends upon us. In these moments our great artists create and our great scientists see the formula. And the same happens when you ask yourself the question "who is it that is wanting?" Make that you meditation. Playfully toss that question around throughout the day.

There is no answer. When the questions die you live. Start living. Drop the chattering mind and simply stop worrying about your worries.

the art of practice

Really, what is the need for writing this blog? To be honest I don't know! I do know that my life is one of action or activity (lets face it even breathing is an action) so at the root of it all I guess, the right question should be more like why not? If life is of action, writing seems like a fine activity. Why not?

If I really look underneath it all there is no purpose for my sitting down to share, express and write. There is no motive, no money, no name and fame that drives the action of writing and this I find beautiful. The ritual is the reward. Showing up everyday to do the same action or craft with a fresh eye (a newness) or with a child's enthusiasm is the art in it's self. How often do we show up for ourselves? How often do we give ourselves time? Sometimes we are so busy running that we have forgotten to care of our very own bodies.

A little daily ritual like writing or painting gives us a moment to honor our uniqueness and when we feel full and complete we can offer that fullness to the world around us. Daily practice may appear boring to the untrained eye but if one takes a deeper look one discovers that every moment is different, new and fresh. The writer of yesterday has changed and what is written expresses differently from one day to the next. Never a dull moment! The routine is a liberation of sorts and within the ritual, freedom. This is the beauty of practice; awakening to the splendor of each and every moment. Show up to the NOW.

Most often we don't even show up to our friend's home for dinner parties (especially if we have to drive cross town) unless its convenient. And these are people we say we love! Be very clear, if we are not showing up for our friends then we are most definitely not showing up for ourselves. If we are alone in the evening, how often do we cooking a beautiful meal, take out the best china, and light a candle for dinner? Almost never! More likely, if we are alone, we will open the fridge and eat a little of this or a little of that while standing by the kitchen counter not even reaching for a plate. If you do not care for yourself who will?

In my youth I had the great fortune to show up to classical dance lessons. Today my ritual is writing. The Buddhist meditate. Take your pick. Give to yourself and just see how beautifully you give back.

Everything exists in relationship.

eat when you eat

Lack of fulfillment keeps us running from one thing to the next. It keeps us in a state of fantasy about a future date or event and it keeps us in state of restlessness deep within our being. (A sort of 'what's next' approach to life and living.) Being unfulfilled is like a thirst that is never quenched.

I was on holiday recently with a friend and we met for lunch at a beautiful restaurant cafe. The atmosphere was stunning, with out door seating and our meals themselves, were works of art. There was much to be savored and enjoyed in our reunion and in the present moment. Yet, my friend was already dreaming and planning about our next meal and encounter. Wow! Just think, you are eating lunch thinking about the next lunch you will eat! How can we even begin to enjoy our meals our ourselves for that matter? Our bodies are in one place and our minds are in another. We did not even have a moment to cherish what we were given and already the mind jumps to the next best thing! This is amazing.

This shows that we have lost our awareness to the present moment, the here and now. If we always look ahead we may miss what is right in front of us, leaving us unfulfilled and in a hurry to keep looking for something else, something more. When we fall into the present moment we find gratitude and become open to acceptance, joy, and love for all that is.

How do we fall into this present moment? How do we find fulfillment? Maybe we slow down just a bit. Maybe we spend a few moments going inward and take a few deep breaths. Maybe it's just a small break at work. Maybe it's a walk around the block to feel the grass underneath our feet and the wind at our backs. Try it and see how you feel. That's the secret, feeling! It's moving from the chattering mind that oscillates like a swing from the past to the future to the feeling heart which grounds us in the present. The now moment is full of life and pregnant with solutions. We just may be to busy to see all of the options.

Eat when you eat. Sleep when you sleep. The future arrives in the form of the now.

The Form and the Formless

why do we get up in the morning?

I have nothing to say. My words were never really my words. My guru was never really my Guru. We come into this world with nothing. And we leave with nothing. I am complete unto myself. I get up in the morning because I am the morning sun. My body is only an expression of a larger whole. I am alone and this is the truth. This is both beautiful and frightening all at the same time.

You inspire me to be me. Without you I am nothing. I have nothing to say. There is no me to say anything. Emptiness is fullness. There is no I only You.

a little friendliness goes a long way

I don't know where the words come from but they just land on me like a ton of bricks. It is like they were meant specifically for me and are given to me precisely at that very moment that I need to hear them. If I 'think' or 'try' I miss them completely and my efforts send me quickly into frustration or disappointment. I have to let them come in their own flow and trust where my fingers are taking me on the keyboard.

Yet, so often we censor the words that come to us. We may be saying or thinking one thing in our heads and then along comes 'the editing process' and only after careful editing do we finally speak or express.

We may find ourselves out with friends who are gossiping and inside our heads we think, 'I really don't see the value in talking like this,' or 'I fully disagree and find Sally Jones to possess lovely qualities just like you and I'. But what comes out of our body language is some bizarre head nod and, "Yeah, that's right." We sit there and watch ourselves agree with others when we fully disagree. Sometimes we are not even opposed, but we may want to offer another angle or viewpoint to the interaction and yet we suppress our true feeling or emotions. Why?

Have we lost our ability to express and be ourselves because we are too caught up in the cultured European society of please and thank you? And in this cultured world of class and politeness have we just forgotten to be ourselves? And is our view of ourselves so low that we feel like what we have to say isn't worth listening to?

Maybe yes and maybe no but regardless we don't gain much from suppressing our thoughts. In the end, we may give value to others, which is fine, but from that conclusion our logical mind deduces that if the others are 'important' then surely we are not. (If something is right then something must be wrong.) But this may not be the case at all, just the way the logical mind is working. And if our mood is low enough about ourselves we believe this mind of ours and fail to honor our own true uniqueness. We live outside of our very own center and put all of our faith on this logical mind.

If we could just have a little friendliness towards our logical mind, a little sweetness towards our self and rest calmly in our own center then maybe we could foster the courage to speak our very own truth. Then look out world!

Celebrate yourself. 'You' are the only 'you' there is.

no more questions

What wold happen if all your questions disappeared? You would have to welcome life as it is, right? You would have to welcome 'you' as you are. You would have to enjoy, now.

So, what are you waiting for? Drop the mind. Drop the routine. Drop in on a friend. ENJOY!

Sit and Smell the Roses

Every moment is a test and perfection lingers around every corner as we run to fix, carve and chisel. My dad used to say, 'just do your best.' Maybe that means that in this moment your best isn't that great at all. That's okay. Acceptance is key. Tomorrow it will be different. We are not Picasso; we never will be. We too, can be great, but we have to accept ourselves as we are. We have to accept our very own uniqueness. Beautifully what needs to change will change but we can not force 'the changing'.

Just as the rosebush blooms. We cannot force the blooming. It just happens at its own will. If we spend time tilling the soil and nurturing the seed then beautifully the process will unfold in it's own time. Just as we are patient in the garden we must be patient with ourselves.

At this point, when we have nurtured the earth and taken care of the sapling we must give up and allow the process to happen. And it is in that moment, the moment of letting go, that the rosebush blooms. Like this, we too bloom. It can't be forced. There is no quick fix.

Accept yourself and plant the seed. The process may be challenging but the seed has to rupture. At that moment of 'rupture' there is pain. Don't think that life is free of suffering or pain. And don't walk away in disbelief that the bloom doesn't come. There is both. Both at the same time.

Walk in the middle. Live the paradox. Don't miss the roses.

Gone fishing?

I have a copy of "I and Thou" sitting next to me on the table and the cover photo of M. Buber is simply radiating. His eyes know something that I also know, almost as if he is looking right at me saying, "I know you get it. Now just express it." But how? And that's where the whole thing goes wrong!

'It' just expresses all by 'it's' self. (There is no need for me to help out in this adventure at all!) Actually, it is a continual expression, a continual happening all the time. ALL THE TIME! And there is nothing to get, so please don't try to sell me anything like I am missing something. I am enough unto myself, as long as I have gotten out of the way, that is. Actually, I am so much unto myself I don't even know where to begin. It's all so marvelous and so exciting.

Sometimes the best thing that happens is that I just sit with my glorious self. But the big world out there seems to have a bit of a problem with my sitting because I am not catching any fish. Well the truth is, there are no fish to catch. Actually, I have found the action of catching catches me in the end. And beautifully catching fish, like filling up at the pump (the pump of greed), I am only then fueling the machine. And then, tell me what is it that I am serving at the end of a long day when I am tired and have nothing left for those I love. Why is it that I fuel the machine and forget to fuel myself and loved ones?

Things come and go and there is no need for greedy hands in this game of ebb and flow. The ocean knows this movement like the back of her hand. So naturally she comes and goes why don't I? Movement is natural but I have to be still in order to notice. I must have time to sit. And who has time for that when I am occupied with fueling the machine. Catching fish keeps me out of the flow and makes me solid when I am most definitely not.

I believe that I am even made up of 90% water. (Or something like that.) So in other words I am the river itself and the big fish is inside. Don't think that the fish are outside like objects to be had. Nothing can be caught and nothing can be bought. But that is not what I have been told. Experiences can only be shared and I would like to experience more of my friends. But everyone seems busy or tired. We are running and maybe it's time to sit. Sit and experience the flow.

I am the river. I am flowing into and with the ocean. And the fish are inside. Don't miss. Go in. Read Buber.

where is God?

How does one talk about the un-talkable? Keats did it with poetry about truth and beauty, Balanchine did it by capturing bodies in the most splendid shapes, Miles Davis did it by making music with the space in between the notes, Kandinsky did it with the visual representation of vibration and our masters do it with their sheer presence alone.

Talk is cheap. And so is the newspaper. Don't miss the truth.

item # 2

try and define me
you can't

not even with facebook
posts
or tv.

that's not the real me.

it's a marketer's
land
than we must band
but we cant
because

they have made marketing out of you and me.

see,
there is no more
benefactors
and the grants are dry

so just forget that pie in the sky

and see
you are free.

you cant define me

item # 1

all my life
i have wanted to disappear
into that
which is
without form

i am that
child
hiding from the mother
i am that
teen starving for food
i am that
twenty something running after fancy fur coats
i am that
who finally disappears into the deep
void
i now call the work force

i am all of it and none of it

tightly wrapped around the identity
of my singular job
knowing no separation
between the me and the work
living a lifeless life
deathfully alive
hooked up to the machine for air
or for what i am told is air
for what i thought was sustaining me
but was nothing more than a mere paycheck
to the machine that makes me run
i was hooked

no beginning no end to that identity
and to the solid i

i wasn't disappearing at all
but in the business of manufacturing and selling
selling a false reality of myself to my self

no i wasn't disappearing
i wasn't disappearing at all
i was deathly

holding on at all cost
clutching tight with my head ducked low
scared to look
or move
or breath

and no car or house
changes the solid existence
that is in denial
of the beautiful sun

frozen in the junkyard of objects and things
let me disappear
and become like that child
who is happy
with nothing and all

and who stands up quickly after
a fall

let me disappear
into that

i am that

i am that
which you cannot write
which you cannot explain

so refrain
disappear in to the mall
where you can
get it all

Look Ma No Hands and the Broken Record

So, I learned something new today. I learned how to make masala chai. Usually we are all set in the same routine from the minute we get out of bed. But today was different! Most mornings we may get up, make coffee, read the paper (or a blog) and then venture out the door into the beautiful unknown to go to a job that is very known. Sound familiar? And this record runs over and over again, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. So, my question is, can we really call this living? Why are we stuck on the same track? And can we simply change the record?

This record, the one that we call life is nothing more than a habit. As we all know habits seem hard to change. But are they really? Or have we just brainwashed ourselves into believing so? So, why don't we just go ahead and tell ourselves that these habits are easy to change. It's easy to change outfits, it's easy to change the radio station, and it's easy to change oil in the car. Then why is it difficult to change the smoking habit or the morning cup of joe habit?

Well it all boils down to what we want. The truth is we want to smoke and we want to have that cup of coffee otherwise we wouldn't do it. Right? So, if we are complaining that we never get to make our dreams a reality (quitting the fags) we are actually secretly in love with them. Who are we kidding? And we may just very well be fooling ourselves into thinking otherwise.

Furthermore, these habits, like the smoking and the morning cup of joe are beautifully running our life like sailors at the helm of the ship so to speak. And we rightfully argue that we enjoy these habits as we keep fulfilling the sense organs with doses of pleasure and write it off as happiness like the hungry dog at the food bowl. Well, it might be happiness for the fleeting moment. That is, until the food bowl is empty and we look for something else to fill it. Or bark at someone else to fill it.

And what happens when these pleasures turn into something painful? Like when one day the pleasure of reaching innocently for the tub of Ben and Jerry's suddenly turns into type II diabetes. These moments, ever so fleeting, make us slaves to the external objects. Can the ice cream and the cup of coffee satisfy the real nurturing that we all crave? We are so busy spending our lives consuming, dumping objects into our bodies, and reaching for the next product that we have simply forgotten to enjoy ourselves without any external object. The simplicity of existing and enjoying the moment has turned into a bit of a challenge like sitting in the grass, or being with the sunset. (We don't grasp for the sun or covet the grass. We simply enjoy it.)

So, what happens when we take these objects of desire away? Can we be "happy" unto ourselves? Or are we no different from the rabbit chasing the carrot? We may have thought that we have gotten rid of our favorite blanket years ago, but the truth is we have just substituted it for something else. Yes, we may be grown up and our toys of the past don't seem to serve us any longer because our intelligence has been updated but I can say that we are still holding on and, well, just playing with new toys. Maybe it's time to let go and say, "Look ma! No hands!" as we sail into a new adventure or fulfill that long lost dream. And then brilliantly move on to something else. Not attached to the result or the OBJECT but beautifully enjoying the ride just like we beautifully enjoy the grass or the sun.

Yes, we are bound and frozen to objects and patterns that we call living. We are most definitely NOT flowing hands free downstream with the river of life but clutched to a dead log in fear of letting go, or greedily holding on because we have been told that there is nothing better out there for us.

Go ahead and take on a new adventure. I learned how to make chai tea! And check to see if you are playing that broken record, clutched desperately to that dead log, or in dire need of that cup of joe? And maybe even take a moment to ask yourself why you are holding on so tightly? The problem isn't the cigarette, it isn't the coffee and it isn't the job. But could the problem simply be the holding on?

Buddha offered non-attachment. I say, go ahead and ride that bike down the street of life with no hands and simply enjoy. Can you see your neighbor's habits? Recognize any zombies? I certainly do!