The fact that you are HERE is witness to your connection to the force that has created the Universe...

The fact that you are HERE is witness to your connection to the force that has created the Universe. But how dirty and corroded is the link?

You know how to get to work, to home, to the mall. You know how to phone someone, how to text, how to connect to the internet. You know all about the connections to your world, except possibly one, your connection to your source energy. You are linked to it, you have to be, as it is the force that created the Universe. But how dirty and corroded is the link? When was the last time you examined it? Are you open to communication from it at all?

How would you know? Is there some kind of test you can run? Well not per se, but you might begin by taking stock of a few things. Here are some questions that might provide answers, or at least indicators. How long has it been since you felt inspired? When was the last time you experienced the bliss and joy of living? Was it only because you were in the presence of a new baby, a puppy or a beautiful sunset or vista? Do you need those special moments to feel this bliss? When was the last time you performed a "random act of kindness," you know, for no reason, when you had nothing to gain? When was the last time you purposely read somethng spiritual, listened to some great music, art or tapped into your own unique creativity?

Ok, so the link is pretty corroded! It is still strong however, as strong as the bonds of an atom. It is not in danger of failing, but you are separated from your source if you are not able communicate through it. Your source, the Universal Consciousness, is always sending you a stream of LOVE and encouragement. It is YOU who is not receiving them because you have allowed the link to get dirty. You have focused so hard on the illusion, through the lens of your lifelong cultural indoctrination, that you have lost contact... But all is not lost. When you notice something that appears like a coincidence, that is a message being silently sent to you. Begin with this: Silence is the lanaguage of God. Begin to notice these "coincidences," and seek them. The more you are on the lookout for them, the more of them you will begin to see. BEing open to these will BEgin to clean your connection...

Synchronicity is similar, but on another level. It is said, "When the student is ready, the book will appear." That is synchronicity. Whenever things show right on time, when people appear out of nowhere (as Dr. Wayne Dyer would say they came from "nowhere to now here"), they are BEing sent to you according to what you need and what your thoughts have manifested for you. This manifestation works both ways, so be careful what you allow yourself to think about. If you spend lots of time hating your job, and thinking of how much you'd rather be doing something else, don't be surprised when the "pink slip" shows up! When you become aware of the synchronicity of events in your life, you BEgin to trust, and you BEgin to allow and accept that everything that  happens will be fine and normal. Now your connection is getting cleaner.

When you actively BEgin to BE aware, to BE Conscious, seeing reality without your conditioning or your programming, then the link is unblocked, and allows your Source to flow through you. There are many ways to BEcome aware. You might try meditation. Get out into nature and observe how everything works in harmony, in cooperation. Some people can read a passage that opens them up, maybe for the first time. How will you know it is happening? Mostly you will notice is has happened, when you have "lost" time. You know how sometimes you get so into what you're doing that don't notice an hour or two has passed and you didn't realize it? That's when you were in the flow of living. Flow is all about BEing present. To make this happen more often one needs to BEgin observing oneself. Become the watcher, the observer. Notice how you are interacting in a conditioned manner, see yourself reacting in a programmed way. Simply observing will BE enough. The conditioning will slowly start to dissolve. Observation leads to Consciousness, living in awareness...

Today, run your test questions, and check your status. Look for coincidences and try to decipher what they mean for you. You can't fail at this. What you think will be your experience of it. Notice when people and things just seem to show up at exactly the right time. They are sent to help you. God sends us nothing but angels. Finally, proactively attempt connection, focus on your breathing, go out in nature, take a walk. With a clean link, your connection and the inspiration that comes of it will lift you, body and soul...

Duffy  

When you diminish the life of your beloved, you diminish their ability to love...

When you diminish the life of your beloved, you diminish their ability to love you. Encouraging expansion, expands their ability to love.

This should be a no-brainer, but it seems most of us have a blind spot about our own behaviors. I say behaviors, because there are more than one.

There is the guy who constantly berates his wife/lady friend for being overweight. This only results in a diminished sense of self for her and diminshed sexual openness for him (actually for them both). How is it that "he" can expect the kind of self-acceptance from her that is necessary for a truly rewarding sex life, when he is regularly providing negative reinforcement about her appearance?

Then there is the wife/significant other who constantly mentions all the niceties the "Jones" are able to purchase, and how much better life would be if "we" weren't always "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Considering that men are judged in our society by their productivity, their success, for their ability to PROVIDE, is it any wonder that the self-esteem of these hen-pecked men plummet? A man cannot fully love a woman when she makes him feel less than a "man."

Parents striving to live through their children, place enormous negative pressure on them. In some cases this causes lifetime damage. I remember my own father begging me on his knees to play highschool football. Now my father wore a size 14 ring on his ring finger, while I just had my own new wedding band sized down to 8-1/4. I wasn't built for football (I have marvelous fingers for guitar playing though!), and no amount of trying was going to make me football material. He forced me to give it a two week trial period. After two weeks of almost dying on the practice field, where I believe I sustained multiple concussions, the result of which I still suffer, I quit. For my monumental effort I received three years of constant bullying from the jocks and coaches I had "let down," and was subjected to my father calling me "a QUITTER!," for the rest of his life, and long after it, in my sub-conscious.

There are endless examples of this "diminishing." We have all witnessed our share, mostly of others doing this to us, or of others attacking others. We don't however see this so clearly when we ourselves do it. We need to make a better effort. Simply observing and noticing ourselves when engaged in this will help.

Much later in life I discovered the wonderful effect of giving encouragement. When you compliment someone about themselves, it expands them. Their spirit shines. They belive in themselves and their abilities sometimes far beyond their actual showing. And even if they aren't quite as adept as you make them out to be, they will often surprise you by growing rapidly to the level they have been convinced they occupy through your encouragement. Just as an experiment, tell someone you love how they do (fill in the blank), and watch how much pride they begin to put forth into the activity. Watch how they look for every opportunity to shine in that area! This is loving expansion...

Why would anyone want to be around someone that chronically makes them feel like a smaller, diminished version of themself? When they begin looking elsewhere, and the grass appears greener to them, it is because it is, in relation to you. But give your world and everyone in it, from a random encounter, to your partner in life, a reason to feel wonderful about themselves and they will! And indirectly, their increased self-esteem, will lead to your own life being much improved! How could your life not be better when surrounded by people who feel great about themselves?

Today, make encouragement your number one focus. Look for every opportunity to lift the spirits of all you come across. Even if you can't find some competency to point to, tell the how nice they make you feel. Your world, as well as theirs will expand like you opened the windows to let in fresh air...

Duffy

Are you a person or a producer? How much of YOU has been closed off in the name of productivity?

Are you a person or a producer? How much of YOU has been closed off in the name of productivity?

I remember when I was in college how disillusioned I was that the advisory staff pushed me so hard into choosing a major. I kept questioning this. I wanted to simply become a well-educated person in the classical sense. They wanted me to become a useful tool for some industry. I came slowly to the realization that if I had been wealthy enough to go to Harvard, Yale, Cambridge or Oxford, no one would have thought anything strange of my wishes. It was because I went to a State school that I was looked at as grist for the mill...

I have been aware for sometime, since I read, "Iron John" by Robert Bly, the effect the Industrial Revolution has had on men and indirectly on women. Men left the home and went to factory. For the first time in human history young boys were raised by women, because their male relatives were absent. Consequently this has left society with five or six generations of men who have no idea what being a man is supposed to look like. They simply have had no personal experience learning from or emulating a man. The rise of macho-ism is the direct result of not knowing what a true man is.

Yesterday, while working on some photographs I listened to a clip by Raz Ingrasci which pulled these two ideas together. I will paraphrase: "Our culture values and rewards productivity but does not value and reward wholeness. We are measured by our productivity. Men are raised to be measured this way [exclusively]. Education is designed as a factory to produce producers, not whole people. This causes a narrowing of wholeness, of the self."

Why do we go along with this? Brain-washing. We are given the promise that if we can succeed enough as producers, eventually we will acquire all of the things and people in our lives that we need to be whole. We are condititoned into thinking that wholeness is something that is acquired. This is obviously a false promise. Ingrasci relates, "We've all heard the best things in life are free." The follow up is, "The second best things are very expensive." Why are we SO devoted to settling for second best? Because we are programmed from birth. We are programmed that competition is the medium with which to paint our lives.

Nothing could be further from the truth. And it WILL catch up to you. As Mick Jagger crooned in '65, "I can't get no satisfaction," YOU can't either. We are the most obese, most medicated, most indebted, most addicted civilization in history. Why? We are trying to soothe the loss of ourselves. We have allowed the valve of our whole selves to be shut down to a trickle. Only the part that adds to productivity remains. We've become nothing more than a "part" of the machine. Is it any wonder we feel aPART? So we reach for a snack, or a thrill, or a high, sex, alcohol, drugs, more food, more food,  and then some more food...

None of this is ever going to replace the lost you. And it will blow up in your face. What do you think the real cause of "midlife crises" is? It is the realization that the promise was false, that your wholeness can never be acquired through productivity. When we are ready to explode, when we have a life-threatening heart attack, a nervous breakdown, a loss of a loved one or career, we cry, "Uncle." It is then, that we see people decide to travel the world, or write their novel, or start volunteering at a shelter, etc., etc., etc.

Today, begin the task of recovering your wholeness. Eschew competition for cooperation. Learn from nature, there is the road back. Take a walk. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Meditate. Join a spiritual group. START a spiritual group. Tell your boss, "No." Nothing that can be bought, no "high" will return the lost pieces of you. Only your willingness to undo the programming, can get YOU back...

Duffy

Take the pieces of your life and arrange them with gratitude into a thing of beauty...

Don't complain about the life you have. Take the pieces you've received and arrange them with gratitude into a thing of beauty...

Comforts and Luxuries are requirements of the Ego, they will not bring you Joy. "Acquiring," is an activity based on the belief that Happiness is "out there," that somehow possessing, owning enough, controlling enough will bring you happiness. It won't. There are millions of people, who have accumulated or inherited enough to support the lives of thousands (millions?), that dwell in the FEAR levels of Consciousness: shame, guilt, apathy, grief, desire, anger and pride. Their Ego "requirements" have not brought them Joy.

The Ego is constantly searching for opportunities to make itself relevant. The quick-fix solution is to attempt to obtainwhat it thinks will provide it with significance, with potency, with what will make it important. The Ego thinks that the accouterments of a possession will adhere to it and thus endow it with increased standing. When you buy the expensive leather coat, it is not for function. Function may be a value you receive with it, but function is a value your Ego will only use if somehow you are pushed into justfying the purchase. No, your Ego wants the impact on others, the pizzazz, the "statement," that you have class and taste and even more so, that you have the wherewithal above and beyond function. The purchase makes you special...

The problem with acquiring is the effect is very short lived. People may be impressed momentarily, they may even feel pangs of jealousy (which your Ego will so ravenously eat up), but it will pass quickly. And so you will have to acquire MORE, to re-capture the effect. You become engaged in a continuous, non-stop loop, requiring... acquiring. The Ego doesn't care if this short-lived "boost" must be sought continuously, it needs the "fix." It doesn't care if your actions and acquisitions only feed the lower levels of Consciousness, but the fact is, nobody is ever inspired by these acts. Buying a fancy new leather coat will never inspire someone to become a better person.

Let's talk about Joy. Joy is a state of unwavering happiness. It is when you KNOW you have enough and will be provided with whatever you need. You are intuitively connected to the Universe. The Joyful live in a world of synchronicity. You FLOW with the river of life in such a manner that all obstacles are merely options. No object or possession, or any lack thereof, could alter or shake your sense of well-BEing. This state will never be reached though accumulating requirements of the Ego. Nothing can be added, because you are already full. Where do you think the word fulfilled comes from?

How do we get there? For starters, take the pieces of your life and arrange them with gratitude into a thing of beauty. A wise man once said, "Behold the lilies of the field, they toil not, nor do they sow..." What is meant here, is that efforts to increase ones lot can never amount to or match what one already has. All that is needed to experience Joy, surrounds you already. It is only Man that doesn't see this. But ask a dying billionaire if they would trade all of their possessions for a few more weeks of sitting in a beautiful meadow filled with lilies...

Today, when you find yourself desiring something, ask yourself if it is for function. Whatever else the object might potentially provide, attributes that have you yearning for it, are Ego based. Know that the "boost" will be short-lived, because YOU are not actually attached to the impact the possession might or might not have on others. That stuff is all in your head. Real Joy is all around you. It is endless. Gratitude is all you need to tap into it.

Duffy

I am responsible for my day...

I am responsible for my day. I am responsible for the day I create for myself...

The day I experience today, will be a reflection of my attitudes. The day you experience today, will be a reflection of yours. It has been said that a person experiences happiness, not because of a certain set of circumstances, but because they possess a certain set of attitudes. This is entirely true.

One's relation to God will certainly color one's experience. If you live in a God-optional country like the United States, you are free to choose how much the influence of God has on your day. If you believe in a parental, punishing, judging God, then your day is locked into a set of rigid rules, and how well you and /or others adhere to them is a giant factor in whether you experience happiness or not. When you place "Worship" in front of LOVE, you define your God and yourself. These self-defintitons are the limiting attitudes of your day. If however your definition of God/Tao/Universe is equal to LOVE, that ALL things are God and connected,  then your outlook will be entirely different. You will accept and allow whatever happens as normal and fine. You observe the day relying on the Divine Spark within you to guide you. LOVE always comes before ritual. Finally, if your choice is sans God, then your experience will be an entirely personal perspective, based upon your own developed and developing sense of morality.

Another huge element in your Happiness relies on your identities. What are identities? They are the false atributes that you actually associate with yourself. I am a: businessman, a teacher, a lawyer, white-collar, blue collar, I am a success, a failure, too young, too old, a Christian, a Muslim, an Atheist and on and on. None of these things are the true YOU. To borrow from writer Anthony De Mello, what we call Niagara Falls, is never the water. The water of Niagara Falls is always changing, always replaced. Similarly, YOU, is always changing, different and new. All of your cells are replaced over time, yet you are still YOU! You may change careers, your name, your religion, but YOU never changes. All of the multitudes of things that may change, are your identities. These identities cause attitudes, which for most people, color their day, their happiness, to whatever degree to which they IDENTIFY...

What is the solution? Awareness. That's it, nothing else.

I'm asked what awareness is. Awareness is reality un-colored and uncluttered by your identities. Awareness allows the true YOU to experience life without all the trappings of "you." The way to Awareness is to begin observing yourself. Become aware of the YOU behind the thoughts. You are not the thoughts themselves. One way to see this is too look at yourself in the third person. Notice yourself when you act, observe yourself as in, "Duffy is getting angry," "Susan is being loving," "Chris is getting defensive," "Glen is not being truthful." Watch yourself going through your reactions to your identities. Observation of yourself is all that is necessary. Changes will come form this alone. You cannot continue to be an ass, once you see that you are being an ass...

The more you practice awareness, the more you will see the world removed from your identities. You will recognize that nothing that happens is "personal." You will begin to see that all of your suffering is in you,  not attached to anything else. This "seeing" will allow you to detach from  your expectations and from your  "shoulds." You will begin to experience happiness for its own sake, true HAPPINESS unattached to any outcome.

Today, begin to watch yourself. Observe yourself navigating through your day, and how often you are engaged in protecting the "honor" of your identities. Just "observing," is all you need. Your set of "attitudes" will begin to replace your "circumstances." You'll be free to be happy regardless of reality

Duffy

Ask yourself what you have to give...

Ask yourself what you have to give. If all you have are anxiety, fear, and anger within, that is all you will be able to give to others...

Let's speak the truth here. If all you have are anxiety, fear, and anger within, then you have nothing to give, nothing of value at least.

What is fear? One definition of fear is what we feel when we think we are in danger. Fear is also a term used to describe all of the negative emotions: Shame, Guilt, Apathy, Grief, Desire (addiction, craving), Anger, and Pride (dependency on external circunstances). Fear is the opposite of LOVE. When you are consumed with fear, you haven't any LOVE to give, or even to experience.

What is LOVE? Love is typically thought of as the romantic feeling you have in a relationship. Not to diminish that version of love, I am referring to LOVE as a permanent understanding of your connection to all things. LOVE promotes kindness, compassion, empathy, sharing, and caring. Think Mother Teresa. Love is also a term used to describe all of the positive emotions: Courage, Neutrality (live and let live), Willingness, Acceptance (accepting responsibility for your life), Reason, Joy, Peace, and Enlightenment. Check out, "Power vs Force" by  Dr. David R. Hawkins, or "Levels of Consciousness" on Steve Pavlina's wonderful blog: http://www.stevepavlina.com/, for a greater discussion and detail of these concepts.

Most people today are CONSUMED with fear. Not only is the pace of technology harder and harder to keep up with, but we are victims of a corporate controlled media that deliberately attempt to INSTILL fear in us daily. They have a vested interest in you being afraid, because you are more pliable, more easily lead when you are afraid. Where do they want to lead you? They want to lead you away from looking at the real forces of destruction in society, them. By playing on your fears and prejudices they divide and conquer you. You can't see the real "enemy" if you think you are fighting the "other side" for the same crumbs.

I grew up in Boston, in a Irish family. My father hated the Italians, they were the enemy. I'm sure many Italians boys at that time were taught similarly. What my father failed to see, was the Irish and the Italians were fighting for the same jobs, and being manipulated into animosity between each other, so neither would be looking at the Landed Gentry, the Boston Brahmins in their ivory towers pulling the strings... Divide and conquer... Fear of loss...

Fear is contagious. Think mob mentality. Don't allow yourself to be goaded into a fearful existence. Remember, if you are fearful, your love tank is empty. LOVE is also contagious. It has been proven that a simple act of kindness raises the dopamine levels (in the reward and pleasure centers of the brain) and strengthens the immune systems, not only of the recipient of the act of kindness, but also in the person who committed the act, and also in the brain of anyone who simply observed the act of kindness. LOVE is contagious!

For most people who are living a FEAR experience, the thought of an existence of Joy or Peace or Enlightenment, is simply unreachable, an impossibility. These people spend all of their energy in a reactive state, trying to keep far too many balls in the air at once. What to do? Begin with "Courage." Courage is the doorway to LOVE. Courage is the level of Consciousness where you see life as challenging, but not overwhelming. You tell yourself you can do it. You aren't blocked by fear, you are excited to find solutions. You are energetic. You begin to see life as a place where you can achieve some level of personal growth. You see yourself as moving toward a better future, because you KNOW you can improve upon the status quo. This is the beginning of living a LOVE existence, connected to all things, living a life where coopersation is paramount, replacing competition. A LOVE life is one of abundance not one of scarcity, one where you can come out of your "bunker."

Today, shut out the voices that induce fear. They are abusing you. Whenever someone says something that strikes fear in you, clamp down on that thought, and tell yourself that you have nothing to fear. Immediately seek a better way of looking at things. Clamor for a solution. Ask for assistance. Give willingly. BE kind. "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!"

Duffy

Is your subjective reality an obstacle?

Is your subjective reality an obstacle?

This is a serious consideration. I guess we must talk first about what subjective reality is.

When you are sleeping and experiencing a dream, are the other characters real? Are they independent from you? Most would agree that since the dream is a closed loop, all of the other characters are creations of your mind. Why then do they often express their own will, a will that goes against your wishes? Could it be they are simply following a script? You have assigned them certains character traits and attitudes and then they follow these in the dream sequence. Since it is your dream and yours alone, I think this is what happens.

How does this apply to the waking state? Simply put, YOU assign attitudes and basic scripts to others through your judgments. "He's not to be trusted," "She hasn't got a clue," "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," etc., are all examples of how we do this. We decide through judgment what their character is.

I say, "through [our] judgment," but in reality it is our Ego that does the judging. Our Ego needs to be special, needs to be noticed, needs to be important. One of its methods is to put down others in an attempt to appear superior. We get a rush of self-centered specialness when we judge another to be less than ourselves. Sometimes we also judge others to be special, but it is usually when they belong to a group with which we identify, or to which we also belong. Lastly we engage in motivated reasoning, where we sift through any new facts in search of those that agree with what we already believe. We add those to our firmly held beliefs and throw out the rest, usually assassinating the messenger or finding some other convenient method to discredit the facts.

For some reason we don't recognize that this is all in our heads. These judgments are OURS alone. They are part of our subjective reality, a reality which exists only in our minds. Outside of our minds, nothing actually exists except as particles and waves (matter and energy). We have five senses, some would say six, which are sensitive to a range of matter and energy in our environment. Our brains take these signals sent from our senses and try to "make sense" of them. We assign them a value: a color, a temperature, a texture, etc. These values don't exist except in our minds, they are YOUR subjective reality.

When it comes to people, we believe we KNOW how they are. But where did this knowledge come from? Didn't it come through you? Everything you have decided about others, is based on information gathered by your senses and made sense of in your own brain. None of it is true in absolute terms, yet you would throw the baby out with the bathwater before you would alter your opinion! You are so sure of your judgments that when you actually witness an act in direct opposition to your beliefs, you say, "He must have some ulterior motive," or "A leopard can't shed its spots."

I recognize that this trait is present in us as a matter of degree. We see it in others, when we "judge" that they are more judgmental that WE are. We say, "How narrow-minded," or "She's just sheltered," or "Talk about close-minded!"

Take a moment to evaluate how much of your decision making, planning for the future (even your strategy for today's office meeting) and assessing of where you stand, is impacted by the cracked lens of your subjective reality. How much better would your decisions be if you could observe objectively? How much energy are you expending on constantly trying to fit people into a judgment made in the past, that has to be retrofitted in keeping with actions of today?

You've undoubtedly heard terms like "Awareness," "Waking up" and "Enlightened." With regard to this discussion, these people have reached a stage of Consciousness where they observe the world from a place uncluttered with judgment. They simply allow and accept ALL to be normal and fine. They don't get upset when people and events don't proceed according to their personal judgments. When one reaches this level, nothing that happens is seen as an obstacle. Just as when a boulder falls into the stream, the stream simply goes around it, these people simply go around whatever happens without a second thought.

Today, notice how often you have thoughts of others that label them, judge them, put them in a box. Realize that all of this labeling is attached to your feelings, which arrive through your Ego. Take a fresh look at everyone and everything. You are FREE to go through life with no expectations. The only one enslaving you to your judgments is you...

Duffy

Imagine God standing next you as you spoke out about your "judgment" of other people. Could you even verbalize ten percent without dying of shame?

Imagine God standing next you as you spoke out about your "judgment" of other people. Could you even verbalize ten percent without dying of shame?

There are no rights or wrongs in God's world. The Universe does have fundamental laws: Gravity, Electromagnetic, the Strong force, and the Weak force, but that's it. It doesn't JUDGE anything. There are no SHOULDS...

Right and wrong is the domain of mankind. Churches and Holy Books are created by Man. Their greatest function is to keep their congregation on the same page, which gives the group power, mostly power over outsiders (read: non-believers and/or believers in a different "book").

How did this begin? Let's think back to our hunter-gatherer forbears, where all of our behaviors developed through natural selection. Back in those days we mostly lived in small clans. These groups were ruled by a single leader, who passed the rule down to his son. No fuss-no muss with campaign finances or any of that. Since this was how it was done if you were born outside of the "royal" bloodline, you were out of luck, kind of like in North Korea today! This left a lot of people on the sidelines. One day, an enterprising man recognized, that if he could claim the inside track to the Gods however, the "blood" rulers would have to give him a seat at the table, and thus was born religion. Not only would the "rulers" have to bow to the wishes of this messenger, he/she would have great power over the rest of the clan. And so it goes...

We call these early religious leaders, Shamans, Medicine Men, Witch-Doctors, Sorcerers, etc. Today we call them, Priests, Reverends, Pastors, Rabbis, Imans... Throughout history, whatever we called them, some were pure in spirit and motivation, and some were mere charlatans. Most were some combination of both, then and now.

There has been a power struggle between churches and rulers ever since. There have also been massive struggles between churches for supremacy. The Crusades are a particularly good example. How about the endless hatred between the Jews and Islam? What is ironic is all three of these religions come from the SAME book. Yep... Their arguments stem from further books. Their life and death power struggles continue...

Pretty much all religions use the "golden rule" as a guide, simple rule of thumb. Now look at the world today. What part of, "Do unto others as you would have other do unto you," don't you understand? A five year old gets this! Do you really think that GOD commanded people to, "Spread the word, or I won't save you!" No, it was the men writing the books that needed to constantly expand their power base that wrote these "words of God." What is truly memerizing is how smart people, people who normally can recognize manipulation immediately, leave their brains at the door when it comes to religion.

If God is ALL-LOVING, then God considers you and your congregation no better than ANYONE else, or any other congregation, regardless of what book they use.

If God is ALL-KNOWING, then God knows how you and your congregation are scheming to manipulate and buy elections. God knows that you and your congregation believe you are superior to others. God knows that you and your congregation engage in (support) murder and death of non-belivers and believers of different books as a method of gaining and maintaining control over them and their resources.

If God is ALL-POWERFUL, then God doesn't need you and your congregation to proslytize, to recruit, or to convert. These are strategies of Man, to increase power.

When I was in first grade, a nun told the class that ours was the ONE TRUE GOD and that all others were false gods. I asked, "Don't you think the other religions tell their people the same thing?" I got pinched and told in no uncertain terms not to ask that again! Seriously, if a six year old can see it plain as day, how is it possible to deny the inherent manipulation in the statement, "Ours is the one true God?"

If YOUR one true God was standing next to you, what would he/she think of "your" attitudes toward: gay people, minorities, liberals, democrats, Atheists, Jews, Muslims, Christians, immigrants, and all the rest of "your" hated, feared, "less than you" brethren? Could you even get the words out of your mouth without dying of shame?

Today, when you hear family, friends, members of your congregation, media personalities or co-workers, denigrating, testifying or attacking "others" as evil in any regard, recognize that these "others" are YOU in the eyes of God. The Universe has no political agenda and no need to gain power or control, and GOD is all-powerful already remember?

Duffyd

Go against the grain of what you are used to doing...

If your life isn't going where you want and you desire change, change your thinking. Go against the grain of what you are used to doing.

How long are you going to try to fit the square peg of others' expectations into the round hole of your life? How's that been working for you?

The vast majority of people have never had an original thought, or an original idea. Their presumption of how their life should be, is actually a collection of the attitudes of all the people they knew growing up. They have been programmed. They have been conditioned.

When you say you are not happy, it is extremely likely that your thinking, and your beliefs about how things SHOULD be, do not fit actual circumstances. It is those beliefs and conditioned responses that are keeping you from happiness... Read that again please: YOUR beliefs and conditioned responses are keeping you from happiness...

It is YOU I am referring to here. Although this would be much easier to swallow if I allowed you to think it was someone else, it is you, about whom I am writing...  Think about this: When you make a statement, who is making the statement? Is it your Mother, your Grandfather...your Pastor? How many of your expressions, attitudes, and beliefs are YOURS? Or, are they simply a collective composite of your previous experiences? Is there any part of you that is authentically you?

When you stand for something, it is someone else that is expressing it, someone who conditioned you? Not only is it likely someone else's ideas/rules/beliefs you are standing up for, but it is likely you are or were very fond of that person who is expressing through you. Admitting that you are wrong, or even that your beliefs need some fine tuning, means admitting that people you admired/loved in life, were wrong too. This is not an easy task. But when you realize that THEY were simply collective composites also, it becomes a little easier to see that you are simply the latest in a long line of programmed programmers, and that you show no disrespect to them by deciding to decide for YOURSELF.

To add to the problem, most people would actually prefer to be led versus to lead, would prefer to parrot back what they just heard versus thinking for themselves, and prefer surrendering the benefits of their own experience, allowing some external entity to choose their beliefs. Look at religion. Deepak Chopra once quipped, "God gave man the truth." The Devil brightened up and responded, "Good, let's organize it. We'll call it religion!"  Ba-DOOM!

Most people, actually do prefer to abdicate their own experience with God to some group or church (a group or church that may have ulterior motives for what they profess to you as "truths"). How dangerous is this, entrusting your spirituality elsewhere? All you have to do is look at the current effect of religion on the world, and how twisted religious fundamentalism is threatening everyone else. So why do people do this? Because it is easier. Experiencing God personally requires deciding where you stand on lots of issues. It requires lots of effort. It is just easier to allow someone else to do it for you. The same is true for day to day attitudes. It is simply easier to repeat something you've heard than to examine it for yourself and draw your own original conclusion.

What is the solution? You must begin to observe yourself. Ask yourself, "Who is saying this?" when you speak. Who is the "I" behind whatever reaction you're having? Is it YOU, or are you simply following a conditioned response? WHO is making judgements, approving or condemning? The first step is observing the YOU behind the thinking, the attitudes, and the shoulds. When you observe the thinker, the reactor, the should-er, you will realize it is your programming and your conditioning that is being expressed, and not your true self. Simply by observing them, the shoulds will begin to dissolve. Knowing is the first step...

Today, wherever you are, watch yourself interact with the world. Watch how and what you say, how you react. Know that the route to happiness is in un-programming yourself and re-connecting to the real YOU. Observing yourself will allow you to change your thinking, and begin to BE free of the "programmers" of your past...

Duffy

LOVE never decreases by being shared...

Many candles can be lighted from a single one, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. LOVE never decreases by being shared...

Most people live in a world of scarcity. It's not because there is a scarcity of anything, but because they perceive that there is. Actually there is enough for ALL...

Scarcity is caused by fear. FEAR is an indicator of spiritual instability. Fear is an umbrella term under which lie all of the negative emotions. Human emotions are not slotted, separate feelings. All of them actually exist on a continuum, where they are relative. Think of Joy and Sadness. These are thought of by many to be different things, but they are simply different ends of the same thing. If something is less sad it is more joyous. Suppose your friend moves away and you feel sad. Now compare this feeling, to how you would feel if this same friend died. You would be much sadder. In relation to this sadness, your feelings about the friend moving away are closer to the JOY end of the spectrum.

The great spectrum of all Human emotions boil down to the FEAR/LOVE continuum. All of the negative emotions are on the fear end, and all of the positive feelings lie on the LOVE end. When your normal/average level of Consciousness is in the fear range, from boredom and monotony, down through pride, anger, and apathy, all the way to guilt and shame, your existence is one of distrust, anxiety and instability. Fear causes feelings of scarcity. Scarcity is a subtractive point of view. A person living in a world of scarcity feels less whenever something is shared. They have less remaining, less to use, less safety...

On the other end, beginning with contentment, and rising through willingness, enthusiasm and exhilaration, all the way up through Joy, Peace and Love, your life experience is one of acceptance, trust, balance and great spiritual stability. Love causes feelings of Abundance. Abundance is an additive perspective. A person living in a world of abundance, knows there is always more, always enough, that the supply of what you need is endless!

Scarcity people believe ironically that even LOVE is finite, that when you give love to another it takes from the love you have to give to THEM. Jealousy, and all of the evils associated with it stem from this. The reality is, the love you give to others only increases your capacity for love. Many candles can be lighted from a single one, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. LOVE is endless. LOVE is the language of God. That's why we say God is ALL-loving.

Loving a rose is not unloving an orchid. Loving the mountains is not lessening your love of the ocean. Loving other people is not hurting your marriage, your friendships or betraying your loyalties. Loving is accepting, allowing, and BEing God-like.

Today, fight off those feelings of scarcity, of inadequacy, of insufficiency. They are figments of your fear. Instead open your eyes to the perfection of the Universe and how everything is in place, as it needs to be. There is enough for ALL...

Duffy

Gratitude is the Alchemy of life...

Gratitude is the Alchemy of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more...

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance a practice combining chemistry and philosophy, principally concerned with turning base metals into gold, was called Alchemy. A secondary, but no less important quest of Alchemists, was to find the Elixar of Life. Today, a qualified definition of Alchemy, is anything with the magical power to change something of little value into one of great value.

Gratitude, can instantly change your existence from one of boredom, lethargy, apathy, resignation, even downright misery, into one wonder, awe, connection and love! And it's free!!!

Now I hear people say, "Life sucks and then you die," and similar refrains all the time. It is easy to get caught up in that kind of thinking when "everyone else" is doing it. And when you do, when you adopt that kind of belief system, it BECOMES your reality. Why would you do this to yourself? Seriously, if the result of this "stinking thinking" is a stinking reality, why would you choose it? Most likely because you aren't aware you are choosing it. You think it's "real." Actually, it is an attitude you have picked up from the people around you. Since you love many of them, it would never occur to you that they are off the mark. You know the song, "Teach Your Children Well?" Right...

Simply by choosing gratitude as your baseline attitude, your life will change. When you BEcome grateful, your actions will emanate from a grateful place. These actions will bring you more to be grateful about. Here's how. Suppose you are single. Do you think you are going to attract an extremely positive, full of life, grateful spouse, if you are a negative Nellie? You won't. Those people are looking for people like themselves! Your spirit WILL attract another of like spirit, so the answer is no, "No soup for you!" Another example: you instinctively know not to tell a recruiter that you're bitter to have to accept a job for which you are over qualified. You know better. You naturally know how to put your best foot forward. So, why do you choose to do these things to convince others, but you accept and allow a much lesser version of yourself to be your day to day companion? Stop this. Show your best and brightest self to your-SELF! Put on a smile. Think positively. Cooperate with your own existence. Give yourself a helping hand. Create a happy shadow! This is what we mean when we say, "There is no way to Happiness, Happiness is the way."

Do this and your life will radically change. Gratitude IS the modern equivalent of Alchemy, for it turns what we have into enough, and enough is all you need. Gratitude causes life to work with you...

Today, choose a fresh start for yourself. Wallowing is OUT! WONDERMENT is in! Find awe in little things. Marvel at how much is going well. Put a smile on for yourself. Practice BEing thankful and you will receive a life worth living...

Duffy

When you forgive others, you are forgiving yourself...

When you forgive others, you are forgiving yourself...

This may be difficult at first to see, because we see each other as separate. When you begin to experience ONEness however, there is no other to forgive.

There are many levels of Consciousness. Dr. David R. Hawkins in his book Power VS Force (which I would encourage everyone to read), lists 17 levels; Shame, Guilt, Apathy, Grief, Fear, Desire, Anger, Pride, Courage, Neutrality, Willingness, Acceptance, Reason, Love, Joy, Peace and Enlightenment. These all fall on a logarithmic scale, meaning the vibrational level of the higher stages vibrate at exponentially higher frequencies. Have you ever wondered why we say someone took the "high road?"
Exactly...

All of the levels below Courage, lie in the negative energy zone, this is the level below 200. 85% of the people on the Earth live in this negative zone (Is it any wonder why we have so much violence and war?). That is the bad news. The good news is that the higher levels have more power and counterbalance  the lower ones exponentially. One individual at 500 counterbalances 750,000 people below 200. According to Dr. Hawkins, the people of the Earth have finally crossed the 200 line, and the world's average is now 207. We are indeed BEcoming more enlightened!

These vibrations are measurable variations in frequency. Thoughts are electrical impulses. All electrical impulses create a magnetic field called flux. Using kinesiology testing, the frequency of thoughts can be measured. Higher frequencies are generated by more enlightened thoughts. Anger registers at 150, fear at 100... During the Dark Ages there was likely no one on the entire Earth that registered above 200. The beginning of a satisfied existence resonates at 250. From this level on life becomes increasingly a positive experience.

Now getting back to forgivness. At the lower levels of Consciousness, forgiving seems ludicrous. "An eye for an eye," dominates the thought process. Revenge and violence are considered normal responses. Violence is a method of asserting control, in order to feel less fear... Once you reach the levels of Consciousness above fear and anger, violence no longer is the correct response to anything. If violence makes sense to you, you are at best at the consciousness levels of fear and anger. Until we raise the global level of Consciousness, we won't experience PEACE...

When one reaches the level of unconditional love, above 500 (only 4% of the world's population is at this level) your perception of your connectedness to all things, allows for the understanding; forgiving another is forgiving yourself, for we are ALL ONE.

God is ALL things. This is why we sometimes use God and the Universe interchangeably. ALL things include you, me, and everyone else, as well as the mountains, the trees, the stars, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, AND Hitler, Pol Pot and Mao. ALL THINGS... This means you are GOD. And so am I. As are we all. Forgiving you then is forgiving me...

Today, notice your reactions to things, where your thoughts lie along the hierarchy. How many of your thoughts are below 200 and how many above? Know, that every time you "Take the HIGH ROAD," you raise the level of us ALL...

Duffy

Let go of your beliefs about how things should be...

What does "change your thinking" mean? Letting go of your beliefs about how things should be. Those beliefs are blocking happiness.

Where do your ideas about how things are supposed to be come from? Do they simply come to you, through spontaneous generation? No, you accumulate them, everyday, all through your life, mostly sub-consciously. Then, you call them up, just at the right time to express your "feelings" about  how things should be!

The human brain is a marvelous machine. It is said that every single experience of your life is stored as a memory. Scientists have proven by stimulating sections of the brain, participants will recall in clear detail, events that they didn't remember they remembered! The problem with all these memories is that we humans attach an editorial to each one. And, during the process of recall, we re-read the editorial first. The editorials are heavily influenced by Ego, but even more so by the culture in which you were raised. When you were told as a child, "Don't touch that handle, 'colored' people carry germs!," the memory of having to leave your wagon out in the street after a black child had pulled it in play, is not the most pressing part of the memory, the editorial attached to it is.

We receive uncountable thoughts/rules/warnings throughout our lives, which shape the way we see things. How else could something like the Jim Crow South exist? Only through heavy indoctrination could such cruelty and poverty be accepted as HOW THINGS SHOULD BE. How else could people in today's world, a world filled with the wonders of science and technology, believe in the musings of bronze age farmers that state the world is only 6000 years old? Because of the brain-washing of culture...

Not that it's not a free world. Everyone has the right to do and think what they choose. The problem with this "culturalization" is it leads to thinking that causes unhappiness. Culturalization GUIDES us into thinking that buying stuff will make us happy. It tells us, OURS is the true religion, and that there is only one true God, OURS! It tells us that people(s) that are different from us are not to be trusted. Culturalization tells us what kind of sex is permissible, and between whom. It tells us how to "act like a man" and "that's not ladylike."

The bigger problem, the one that leads to all of the unhappiness, is we each get a CUSTOM culturaliztion, one that is unique to us, since no one else gets to experience exactly what we did. Knowing this, how could you possibly expect everyone else to see things from your perspective, or to act as YOU see fit? But you do. Thus, you allow your daily observations, which run counter to how you think things are supposed to be, ruin your day, and make you unhappy...

The solution to this is simple. Stop thinking things are supposed to be a certain way. Begin to recognize that how you see things, is not how others do, nor how they are going to. How could they? They didn't get your unique brain-washing! Recognize, there is no intrinsic "right" and "wrong." Those judgements are yours (and possibly those shared by the groups you identify with). Nobody does anything outside of their own view of right and wrong. They follow their own culturalized guidelines. The secret to happiness is: YOUR happiness relies on you ending your frustration(s) with others not following your personal "shoulds."

Today, begin to allow and accept that all BEings, all souls have their own journey, and their own point of view. Each has a right to experience themselves in their own unique way, free from your judgements. If you desire to change them, do it by showing them love. The only way for them to see from your perspective, is to respect/love/admire your thoughts/words/deeds enough to want to...

Duffy

Happiness doesn't come find you...

Happiness doesn't come find you, you have to seek it. If you don't have it now, most likely you are going to have to change your thinking.

What do we mean by "seek it?" Do we mean find it like in an Easter egg hunt? Do we mean making decisions that lead us to it? No. We mean desire it enough to create it. We mean seek it within ourselves...

Happiness is CREATED by you. It lies only in you, or not. If you don't have it now, most likely you are going to have to change your thinking.

Poeple don't like to hear this. I didn't like hearing it. I remember protesting in a counselor's office, "Yeah, I know all that, but I don't want that. I just want things to get better!" I also remember my son's response, "So, your recipe for happiness amounts to lowering your standards."

No, it means CHANGING your standards. I'm not sure where the "happiness is outside of you" school of thought began. Can any of you? I don't think any one thing is at fault, but for most people being happy revolves around having "stuff." Your Ego wants new stuff, because it identifies itself with the qualities of the stuff. It gets an "Ego boost." You (associating with your Ego) feel that you are "successful," "a person of means," that you exhibit "Class," "Taste," "Discernment," and any and all the attributes that can be gleaned from possessions or the ability to possess them. Of course down deep your Ego knows this all stands on shaky ground, that this identity with stuff, evaporates very quickly. Loathe to EVER consider itself wrong, your Ego simply looks for some new stuff! Not having stuff = unhappy!

Constantly needing new stuff, leads to "Materialism" as a way of life, a way of life that most of us fail miserably at. Capitalism, the supreme ruler, encourages you to simply work harder! The stuff is only inches away! You can take out a loan! All of this adds negative factors to the stuff, so advertising needs to "add value." You can get the girl if you own this car, this watch, these shoes, etc. This stuff can no more create happiness for you than an oil spill on a wet parking lot. Stuff, is never going to make you happy. There are millions of people who "have it all," and they are miserably unhappy. Your Ego once again, doesn't want to hear this. Why? Because the truth makes your Ego irrelevant, and it is holding on to relevancy with all its might!

The truth is, Happiness is not OUT THERE. It is an inside job. You can only be happy by changing your thinking about what constitutes happiness, by changing your standards, standards that were incorrect in the first place.

Happiness belongs to those that have a certain set of attitudes. They decide that there is no way to happiness, but that HAPPINESS IS THE WAY...

Today, and tomorrow, decide you are a happy person, no matter what happens. Decide in advance that nothing is going to prevent you from experiencing the bliss of living. Only YOU untimately can choose...

Duffy

Decide to put doing GOOD before doing WELL...

When WE decide to put doing GOOD before doing WELL, we will end poverty...

One in seven Americans now lives at or below the poverty line...

I SAID, "One in seven Americans now lives at or below the poverty line!"

Why do you think this has happened? The answer is because WE want it to be this way. The way we think, what we say, the propaganda we have swallowed, along with the national media encouragement of prejudice, selfishness and zenophobia, have led us right to where we are, almost like we used a GPS set on poverty! If WE didn't want it to be this way it would be different.

Think of the Titanic. But this time the wealthy passengers have a fleet of private lifeboats to make sure they get away cleanly. This private armada of lifeboats is protected by the might of the US military, the bought Congress and the bought Supreme Court to make sure nobody comes between them and clear skies.

The chronically poor, that we ALL have simply accepted as the "disadvantaged" without taking as much as a moment to ask ourselves why there is such a group in the first place, are going down with the ship.

This leaves the steerage passengers. We have to rely on the ship's lifeboats. There are not enough... So we begin to manipulate, to push and shove to the front, with a, "The Hell with the ones that don't get a seat, as long as I do!" attitude...

Now the steamship company is told by the wealthy, through the Congress, that they must cutback on the number of lifeboats, that they, the wealthy, should not have to subsidize the cost of the saving lives, even though their sponsored de-regulation of ship design safety, which saved them millions in ticket costs, caused the sinking.

Is this the way YOU really want things to be? Every man for himself? What about, "All for one, one for all!" What about, "There's no I in TEAM," "In Unity there is strength," or "We are ALL God's children?"

The truth is, we secretly hope to become one of the wealthy and we don't care if there are enough lifeboats, because we don't want to have to pay for them, when the windfall we imagine showers us with riches!

The truth is we are so filled with self-righteous hate, that we secretly believe that those who don't get a seat on a lifeboat, DESERVE their fate, that if they had worked harder (or smarter) they would have secured their own safety!

Until it is YOU that just misses the boat...

If we could somehow tap into that panicked plea, "What was I thinking!" that is experienced in the last seconds before the lost slip below the waves, we could turn this around overnight,  AND become AMERICA again; "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."

History shows us, that during the last time we experienced a similar economic collapse, there were two roads that could be taken. One lead to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and creating a solid life and prosperity for all Americans. The other lead to Hitler and trying to rise on the backs of scapegoats.

The choice of whether we should have enough lifeboats for all shouldn't even have to contain the knowledge of a safety net for yourself. It should be an easy decision, for ALL God's children are at stake. But, if that's what YOU need, to alter your "stinking" thinking, I for one will accept it, for OUR future "hinges" on you making this change, on your evolving, regardless of your individual motivation.

Today, stop listening to the mouthpieces for the wealthy, that are trying to play on your fears. Shut off the TV and radio as soon as you hear/see "paid for" leaders suggesting that "some" are are undeserving. Look at the face of those you love, into the eyes of your own children, and know that they are not worthy in the eyes of many, who think as you used to think. If you don't, the day will arrive when the lifeboat is too small for them...

Duffy

Every experience, and everyone you've met, has been sent to you for your benefit...

Look upon every experience you've ever had, and everyone who's ever played a role in your life, as having been sent to you for your benefit.

"...as having been sent to you for your benefit..."

Think about that for a moment... Benefit? What about all the beatings as a kid? What about when that guy took my mother's deposit for a house and "flew the coop" with it? Or when my wife of 18 years left one morning never to come back, and left me two kids to raise? BENEFIT!

Yes, all those and more.

It has been said that God sends us nothing but Angels, and this is true. Every person you have ever had to deal with, even ones from afar that you didn't meet in person, but that impacted your life, have been Angels from God. Indeed every event that has transpired, from ones of great magnitude that have changed the course of your life, to those that have only marked you in the tiniest of ways, have been sent by God for the same reason.

So YOU could decide WHO YOU REALLY ARE, in relationship to them...

We constantly use terms like right and wrong to describe how we feel about others, what they do, what they say, and what they stand for. We do this from an individual perspective, but we also do it from the point of view of the groups we identify with. We use lots of other judgemental labels as well, but we'll leave those for another discussion. What is really curious is that we change our opinion of what is right and wrong over time, so what used to be wrong is now all right, and vice versa. Slavery is a painful example. 650,000 soldiers had to give their lives to change that one, and there are still a couple of "hangers on" to this day, 150 odd years later, but for the most part everyone agrees now that slavery was "wrong." The amazing thing is how strongly people hold to their opinion of what is right and wrong even though the issues are always in a state of evolution.

Nobody ever does anything that they themselves consider wrong. They act always and forever according to THEIR worldview. People these days often refer to Hitler as the arch-villain of history, as the clearest example of something that was "wrong," but Hitler was only doing what he considered right and proper, according to HIS worldview. And, he was supported by millions who agreed with him!

The truth for us, is that all this rightness and wrongness, is simply applying OUR/YOUR opinion(s) in a finite manner, to a world that is illusory. It literally is only in your mind! What you see as wrong, you experience as wrong, and what you see as right you experience as right.

God however, sends you these people/experiences as guides. They are helpers in a way, helpers that allow you to decide who you are, where you stand, and that assist you in creating the best version of YOU, in relationship to THEM...

Today, when you come across someone doing something "wrong," or you hear someone saying that someone else's thoughts/words/deeds are "wrong," stop for a moment and recognize that these "someones" are simply  maps, road guides to help you find your way, to help you find YOURSELF...

Duffy

Humanity is humans in community...

Humanity is humans in community. Americans have lost this...

When was the last time you thought of Americans as all on the same team? 9-11? The space shuttle crash? It seems to take a horrific tragedy to get us all on the same page. In fact, even that doesn't work dependably anymore. Remember Hurricane Katrina? Or the financial collapse in '08? When was the last time we all jumped onboard something positive as we did for the space race, or the war on poverty?

Why do you think that is?

To a large degree it is the mythology of "rugged individualism" that gets trumpeted daily, and that we sub-consciously buy into. Couple that with total separateness (read Egoic) thinking which is constantly reinforced through sayings such as, "It's a dog eat dog world," "Only the strong survive," and "You've got to watch out for number one," and you can see how we are indoctrinated. The reality is, we are all completely and totally interdependent. The days of the "Mountain Men" are over, and even back then, they had to buy their rifles down in a town.

In short, WE need each other! We couldn't survive without the giant cooperative effort that each of us benefit from everyday. That's right, NONE of us can survive without the group...

So why is this obviously false mythology continually propagated? Because of Capitalism. Capitalism is designed so profits flow north. The major beneficieries of this flow, the extremely wealthy, have a vested interest in making sure nobody starts talking about how much better things would be if goods were manufactered for utility versus profit. THAT would be communist! Heavens we can't have that! Any cooperative effort is called SOCIALIST! Heavens we can't have that! Unions Eeek! Heavens we can't have that! Because, if the people banded together and began to act in a manner that was for the "common" good it would stem the flow of profits!!!!!!

It's clear to see where all of this has gotten us. Constant carping from deliberately divided groups (through fear-mongering and media owned propaganda), all of whom have lost, and are continuing to lose ground daily, to the real enemy above... The people, ALL of the people, have got to join hands, walk arm in arm, and say we are not afraid each other. And then ACT on it! Humanity is humans in community!

We are almost out of oil. We are almost out of clean water. We are almost out of food... And we are acting as if "It's every man for himself!" In truth it can no longer be every man for himself. It will only be through massive cooperative effort, that we have any chance of survival. It is time to look at your neighbor and see the spirit within, see the humanity in his eyes, the love in his heart and join together in spirit. When you hear someone repeat one of the above mentioned, fear inspired, thread-worn epithets, referring to survival of the fittest, say aloud, "No, that's not right, and I am no longer going to condone it with my silence."

Charles Darwin didn't say that evolution rewarded through survival of the fittest. It was survival of the most ADAPTIVE!

WE now have to adapt to the realities of our world. WE are all in peril if we don't. The only way WE are going to get through this, is by laying down our prejudices, shutting off the TV/Talk radio/Media, rolling up our sleeves and acting as ONE...

Today, notice how often you are urged to compete. Vow to find a way to solve problems and surge forward by replacing compete with cooperate. Replace me/mine with we/ours. Bring back, "There is no I in team." Become team players in LIFE, not just on the ball field. Our own, and indeed YOUR own future depends on it...

Duffy

There ARE no conflicts between you and other people, these are conflicts between you and God...

There ARE no conflicts between you and other people, these are conflicts between you and God...

If it wasn't for your Ego, you wouldn't distinguish yourself as separate from others. You would clearly see that we are all ONE, from the same source. There would be no conflict. Cooperation would be the accepted norm as it is in all of nature. Can you imagine two blades of grass getting into a pissing contest? Or two snowflakes? Or two drops of water? WE, are that much alike....

Now I hear you saying, "Yeah, but we are people, we've got a higher intelligence!" Really? We, with all of our study, cannot figure out why the laws of physics which we apply to everything, break down at the particle level. However, all of the rest of Nature and indeed the Universe are able to act in total compliance everyday, with what we don't understand. Oh, and I hear the cry, "Animals compete!" Yes, but only as part of a larger cooperative dance. They allow that the Universe has a larger goal in mind than themselves.

Every cell in your body is replaced every nine months or so. So, there is a completely new you here this year! Imagine someone you really dislike, even hate (if you are actually able to bring your energy level down that low). YOU may actually contain molecules today, that were in them a short time ago! YOU are THEM, and they are you...

The truth is your Ego (your imagined you) thinks it is in conflict with others, but really is in conflict with the Universe (God). This imagined conflict leads to fear and FEAR is the root of all negative behaviors. If WE can replace this fear with LOVE and recognize that we are all ONE, all children of God, equal and deserving of the same dignified existence; clean air, clean water, food, healthcare, understanding...love...for indeed there is ENOUGH for all, then the negative behaviors will dissipate and eventually end.

How do we do this? The first step is to recognize that our current motivations and subsequent actions are heading towards imminent world disaster, because they are. Secondly we have to stop thinking that an outcome that provides US with what we need, but at the expense of others is OK. Because that is a failed, and continuously failing worldview. "American Exceptualism" must end...NOW. All exceptualism must end. I understand that making this change, actually raising the Consciousness of enough people to reach critical mass is daunting. But putting your head in the sand is NOT a solution.

I met some new friends last night. Great guys, very smart, nice people. We discussed this stuff among a million other things (gross exageration). One fellow and his wife are having a new baby any day. I asked him, after he had revealed that he was torn about the amount of work required to dedicate himself to the goal of increasing awareness, "What better use of yourself, than to work towards creating a more evolved world for your new baby can you think of?"

I present this question to you readers as well. What use of your time and effort can possibly deliver a more positive result than helping to move the evolution of Consciousness forward? Isn't it worth your effort?

Today, when you hear anything that points to, or reiterates a separation of one group as superior and more deserving than another, stop and say, "Those days are over. We have to begin working together, and we might as well begin right now."

Duffy

Happiness is something you decide in advance...

Happiness is something you decide in advance... It is not how your life is arranged that makes you happy, it is how you arrange your mind...

Some years after my wife left me, after I had applied all of the "tried and true" methods for dating success; buying the right car, shoes, clothes, watch,  the Harley, after hanging out at all the "Cool" places, with all the "Cool" people, being seen at the "scene," after hours in the gym getting into shape, bleaching my teeth, getting the expensive haircut, cultivating the perfect goatee.... After all that truly wasted effort, I decided one simple thing; that I was going to have a GREAT life, whether or not I ever had a relationship again...

It sounds so simple, too simple to be true, but the moment I decided to BE happy in spite of what happened and stopped allowing my happiness to be held hostage by external events, my existence became happy. I became FREE!

In an earlier life I used to say, "If I don't become a world class, successful musician I will never be truly happpy." Today, I am content to play myself in tune... Women say, "If I don't have children I will never be fulfilled," and "If I don't find Mr.Right, I'll never be happy."  Men say, "How can I feel like the 'man' if my wife makes more money than me?" They all say, "Same shit, different day." "Life sucks and then you die!"

What do all these have in common? They all come from the perspective that happiness/enjoyment/peace/success rely on something happening "out there," and that we can only be happy if external events turn out in a very narrowly defined way. Some people have such a laundry list, such a litany of things that need to "go right" for them to achieve happiness, that they have made happiness mathematically impossible.

What can be done? A shift in thinking. Happy people live with a certain set of attitudes, not with a certain set of outcomes. By simply adopting the attitude that YOU are going to have a great life, come what may, outcomes lose all of their power over you. That's it, THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS...

Today, decide to laugh. Love the people that show up. Give your best. BE in the moment. Offer assistance. Join with others. Share...

Duffy

Spiritual concepts are BEing whispered to you...

Spiritual concepts are BEing whispered to you... Spiritual Masters show you where to look...

I am often asked, "Where did you learn all this stuff," which immediately puts up my deflector screens. I am loathe to appear conspicuous. From my perspective the ideas come through me, I am merely a messenger. Today, I would like to pay homage to those that have made these ideas accessible to me, and thus maybe to you...

We have been sent many Spiritual Masters, all saying the same or at least very similar things. Lao Tzu and Buddha began sharing approximately 2600 years ago. Buddha and Buddhism are very well known throughout the world. Lao Tzu wrote the "Tao Te Ching" a book of 81 verses that is the basis for the philosophy Taoism, (pronounced Daoism). Dr. Wayne Dyer has written a marvelous book, "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," that provides a coherent and modern translation of the Tao Te Ching. This book is a great gateway into this philosophy.

Jesus was another such master and whose words, when removed from the trappings of Christianity, are remarkably similar to those of Lao Tzu and Buddha. Deepak Chopra's book, "The Third Jesus" will provide you with a wonderful understanding of Jesus sans the politics of religion.

My journey as messenger began with reading the "Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. I read it three times, and I believe you should too, if you really want to throw off the shackles that bind us to the unhappiness that is rampant in society. Tolle's follow up book, "A New Earth" is truly "Earth shattering," no pun intended. This is the book that Oprah Winfrey spent millions on, producing a ten part series connecting forty countries, to interview Mr. Tolle live. Both of these books are MUST reads...

My good friend and fellow messenger, Jeff Adams turned me on to the Neale Donald Walsch trilogy, "Conversations With God; An Uncommon Dialogue." I said to myself hundreds of times while reading, "Yeah, this was how I've always secretly felt!" Similar sentiments have been conveyed to me from many of those to which I have suggested these books.

If you read these five books your outlook will change, positively and for the positive. In addition to these as well as the two others mentioned above, I suggest:
"Excuses Be Gone!"....Dr. Wayne Dyer
"The Path To Love"....Deepak Choprah
"The Art of Happiness"..The Dalai Lama
"Power vs Force".....Dr. David R. Hawkins

There are also many spiritual blogs out there in the blogoshere. I read Steve Pavlina (stevepavlina.com) regularly. I suggest his excellent work "Waking up". Jnanagni (jnanagni.com) is worth a look as well.

There are many other sources of inspiration, many in the Twitterverse. One I would suggest is Michael Lawrence (@TheUHMethod) who is always original and extremely spiritual.

Youtube provides another outlet, I suggest the recordings of my friend, Patrick Hamilton (uawakeningnow). Any of his will do nicely.

Thank you all for reading and supporting my daily blog. Thank you too to the masters, dead and alive that have taught me, and allowed me to share this wonderful knowledge with you.!

One more thing; if you cannot afford to purchase or can't locate a copy of, "The Power of Now," "A New Earth," or the "Conversations with God" trilogy, email me at duffydoherty@gmail.com, and I will find a way to get it to you even if I have to pay for it myself...

Today, simply smile, for you are loved...

Duffy

Know that a force greater than your ego is always at work in your life...

Don't allow the approval and attention of others to influence you. Know that a force greater than your ego is always at work in your life.

Ponder for a minute the phrase, 'presence of mind.' When you hear a statement like, "Lucky she had the presence of mind to...," what is the speaker referring to? What force is guiding the "she," to which the speaker is referring? It is the Universal intelligence to which we are all connected.

At any (every) moment when you make the proper choice, at exactly the proper time, without any reference to your personal experience, without fear of failure, and without regard for personal gain, the Universal intelligence is acting through you. This Universal intelligence/consciousness/God/soul is what you use when your Ego is not involved. Without your Ego, you don't see yourself as separate from others, as unique, as needing, as deserving... All of these identities are made up in your mind. Absent the Ego there is no YOU and OTHER, there is only ONE, one existence, one soul, one humanity, one Universe...

Self-preservation is the Ego's main concern. It defines you as separate from others, and it does so by identifying with qualities and attributes that make you special. It constantly searches for opportunities to assert and confirm its identities. Suppose you (your Ego) identifies with being tough. Now everyone has an occasional weak moment, a moment of confusion, of indecisiveness, of fear, or something similarly non-tough. But, your Ego identifies with being tough, and so must now find an excuse to re-assert its identity, to put a fresh coat of paint on its badly chipped fascade. The result is usually taking a shot at an easy target, a boss threatening a crew member, a child picking on a smaller, weaker child, or sadly often shows up as domestic abuse. It must act tough! Through this "tough" act your Ego renews its identity, its self-definition.

Your Ego needs to impose its definition of self onto family, co-workers, friends, and everyone it comes in contact with. Worse though, it ascribes this identity on the future too! When you meet someone new, and your Ego attempts to force its self-definition on the new person, you get problems. You get resistence and conflict. This leads to anger, frustration, manipulation, threats and even violence...

The good news is that all this Ego'd thinking is completely false. You can stop it at any time. You can simply take back your thinking and overrule your Ego. Think of a tiny dog, barking endlessly while actually shaking with fear, when the owner picks it up and takes control of the situation. The barking stops. Your real self simply has to do the same, take control of and "Shush" your Ego.

Today, observe yourself. When you plan to act, or speak, ask yourself, "What is my true motivation here?" Look for clues to see if your Ego is trying to assert or re-assert its identities. Watch what you say or do to "define" yourself. In the split second before you go ahead with an Ego stroking act, choose to return to the "presence of mind" that connects us all...

Duffy

YOU are merely a hologram through which others experience life...

YOU are merely a hologram through which others experience life. What kind of life do you want them to experience?

A hologram is a projected three-dimensional image. That is what our brains do with information that has been gathered by our five (six?) senses. In fact, all of our environment is simply billions of particles and waves, moving at incredible if varied speeds. Our brains take in this sensory input, and through a complex process it creates what we experience... the world we know.

It is not quite that simple, as your brain also blends in its memory experience, its genetic memory, as well as your attitudes and biases into the hologram creation process... The net result is your "reality," your experience of life. So everything YOU know, is a hologram. And, it IS different from everyone else's, to the degree that their personal perceptions vary from yours.
Think about that...

It is unlikely you are going to be able to significantly alter the physics (read the particles and waves) of the Universe, so you are limited in your ability to change the experience of another from that standpoint. You also can't change their genetic memory (yet). Your best chance at transforming their "reality" is by causing them to witness something that alters their "personal perception."

It is difficult to shift someone's perception by telling them they are wrong. I think we all see that in action daily. But, through leadership, through doing something that causes them as observers to say, "Hey, that was nice/sweet/cool/refreshing/...enlightening...," you can cause them to alter their thinking, and even cause them to aspire to living a better life. YOU can inspire them. You can also reinforce any and all of their negative attitudes, by providing them with opportunities to say to themselves that their negative personal perceptions are indeed right...

I remember a night when I and two others were invited guests to a professional baseball game by a friend who possessed four season tickets. We were late arriving at the stadium and when we got to our seats, a woman and two of her children were in our seats. I would have simply said, "Hey those are our seats," but our host stepped in and said, "I would never want a woman and her children removed from their seats, so you will be my guests tonight, and my friends and I will watch the game from the concourse." I was STUNNED! I had just witnessed one of the greatest acts of GRACE of my life! How special it was for me to witness and learn how possible it was for us all to treat each other as the spiritual BEings we are. I have been forever changed in my personal perception since that evening.

Since you can have such a very powerful effect in influencing the "hologram" that others create, what kind of life do you want the people surrounding you, observing you, to experience? That is not only a question, it is a challenge...

Today, try to see how all of your interactions appear from the point of view of others and KNOW you are effecting change in their hologram. You can BE God-like, or something less...

Duffy