Our own faults are the most valuable...

Noticing a single shortcoming in ourselves is far more useful than seeing a thousand in someone else. When it is our own: we can correct it...

It is so easy to see what is broken outside of yourself. People are broken, attitudes are broken, government is broken...everything is broken... broken families, broken promises, broken relationships...and on and on... For this reason many succumb to the victim's mantra, "If only everyone else was doing what they were supposed to, I'd be fine!"

The true value of noticing external imperfections/mistakes/problems, is null and void, for we have little or no ability to make the changes required to fix them. Why then do we spend so much time on this futile effort?

Ego...

Your Ego wants/needs/desires to be superior, always. That's how it maintains its importance. Finding fault at home diminishes its power, and so it tries to find ANY other cause for problems, frequently resorting to manufacturing stories and manipulating facts to suit its needs.

Even worse, the net result of  this constant external fault finding, this Ego "rationale," is it leads to an unhappy existence. The experience of Ego controlled people, is one where they are confined and locked in an imperfect world, that forces them to feel dissatisfied/powerless/unhappy. How often do you hear someone preface a suggestion with, "Well, in a perfect world..." See, it's all outside of them...

The good news is many of the faults are internal! And these are the ones you actually have control over! First and foremost is the fault of letting your Ego run the show. Changing this one fault will reap enormous benefits. It is your Ego for the most part, that has you living in psychological time, endlessly dredging up your past and reviewing the hurts/injuries/failures that caused you pain or setting up frightening scenarios in the future that must be guarded against and worried about. This activity alone sucks up most of your energy and removes you from the one thing, the one place where you would otherwise experience flow, fulfillment, Joy, Peace, and happiness... It takes you out of the present moment, the NOW...

So, how do you begin?

Become the OBSERVER. Observe yourself. There is actually a gap between what appears to be a continuous stream of thoughts in your head. Get into the gaps and you will begin to see there is time to choose your reaction to the things that would normally occur by rote. Change your unconscious reaction to conscious CREATION. Notice, "This is simply my Ego causing me to feel fear." " That I'm about to act rashly because my Ego feels slighted," "This event is not personal," and the countless unconscious responses you may be about to implement, and then choose a course of action that reflects WHO YOU REALLY ARE...

Today, begin by simply observing yourself. You don't have to do anything other than that. This simple AWARENESS is the first and most important step. From this alone, altering your response and perspective will follow....

Duffy

An enlightened civilization is made up of tiny works of compassion...

A huge ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. An enlightened  civilization is made up of tiny works of compassion...

You've heard the phrase, "The straw that broke the camel's back" many times, but have you ever considered the straw that allowed the camel to get up? Just as a burden that gets incrementally heavier will eventually become too much to lift, a burden that gets lighter and lighter will reach a point where it can be raised.

Imagine a balance beam scale. On one side are works of indifference and on the other acts of compassion. Which side would you like to see dominate? Remember the straw. Now imagine the scale represents the entirelty of the Human race. Where do think the scale rests at this time?

Every time YOU choose an act of indifference or one of compassion, you are adding to the total of all actions chosen by ALL human beings. I used the word "chosen," because every act you take is a choice. Acts of cruelty and meanness are never accidental. They are selected and delivered with intent. Acts of compassion are not random either. It is the case that cooperation is born in us, in our DNA, however compassion, the desire to alleviate suffering, is an attitude that needs to be personally nurtured.

We are culturalized/brain-washed/indoctrinated daily to identify ourselves as members of select (read superior) groups. This is a contrived force that not only allows you to be controlled through fear, but presents indifference to suffering, as a viable option. When we see advertising on TV or in Magazines, do they show the 9 year old girl forced to work 14 hours a day in 100+ degree heat, with no fresh air and the strong possibility of rape after her day is done? No. They use fancy Madison Avenue techniques to convey that you are SPECIAL if you own the coolest basketball shoes! Wheee!

You couldn't buy the fancy sneakers if you had to witness the misery of the workers. You couldn't own stock in corporations that manufacture weapons and death and on a massive scale, if you were forced to watch and listen to the shrieks of a 3 year old, whose left eye and right leg have been blown off by shrapnel, when you are cashing your dividend check. Could you? Not unless you somehow identified yourself as better, more important, or have allowed yourself to hide behind the "fascade."

Suffering is SUFFERING, no matter who is experiencing it. All acts that lead to increased suffering lead to an unenlightened civilization. All acts by YOU that lead to suffering, are acts that LEAD TO SUFFERING!

Today, notice the insensitive and indifferent remarks and attitudes you see exhibited in the media, in your own circle and even in your own reflexive responses to others. Vow to make a change. With each act, choose to add to the compassionate side of the scale. Join in the tipping point required for an enlightened civilization...

Duffy

Excessive thinking fragments reality with judgments...

Excessive thinking fragments reality with judgments... This creates an illusion which seems very real. It's not. Spend more time BEing...

Thoughts appear to be continuous, but in actuality they are like shapshots, or in today's jargon, files. Each file contains all the info necessary to re-open it and examine all of the original data. But since we are not machines, we also excrypt an editorial that gets saved along with the file. When you re-open the file the first thing you see is the attached editorial, which contains all of your judgements about the info in the file, along with how it made us feel. Once you have had the chance to re-absorb the editorial, you can then proceed with the raw data...

If you are like almost all people in Western civilization, these thoughts and thus subsequent files are created ceaselessly. What are we doing? We are writing files! Most of us have a very elaborate filing system too. When one folder gets too crowded, we create subfolders and so on until we have a category for just about everything on the landscape; people who are dangerous--->to your reputation, to your physical well-being, to your self-esteem--->liars, cheaters, manipulators, fair-weather friends, etc...

This is a great strategy for setting up successful defenses, but when the netting gets too tightly woven, none of the blessings from BEing are allowed through. Because so much of your energy is spent judging and classifying, you don't have the resources left that are needed for conscious evolution. What's worse, all this judging causes you to believe you have a handle on reality. It doesn't. In fact it only strengthens your illusion of "what is." You might as well have boarded up your source of BEing! Your windows to enlightenment are closed...

Spirit does not reveal itself to you through outward observation. It is only through inward experience that your connection to source is revealed. Once inward experience has revealed this to you, outward observation ceases to be necessary, and you will recognize it as futile...

Today, focus on just Being. Focus on your breathing until you reach a meditative state. Simply remain there. Notice how nice it is just experiencing BEing. No stress, no demands, no judgements, nothing needs to be done... This is the only place where God will reveal Godself to you...

Duffy

BE transparent; allow the light to shine through you...

BE transparent; allow the light to shine into you and through you...

Have you ever seen a really old person, who seems so frail and tiny as to almost seem insignificant? Their skin is dry and papery, almost translucent. They are as a an old leaf... But their eyes shine with a brightness and light that defies reality...

They have learned through living, through all their trials to allow slights/hurts/insults and the like to pass through them....

Now think about the "Ego'd out" thugs you run into on a regular basis. People who seem so solid that they attract insults and slights as if they had their own gravity! Nothing passes them without a challenge being issued. They and their Ego are constantly being infringed upon. They say things like, "Mind your own business," or "Was I talking to you?" They firmly believe that "Might makes Right," but sadly they don't understand the simple question, "Would you rather be right, or be happy?" Adamant, inflexible, intractable and obdurate are adjectives that come to mind. Can you ever truly trust the friendship or love of an individual like this?

It is always good to refer to nature when you need guidance, as nature is the closest example of the intent of the Universe that you can usually find. Its examples are truly made by God, not like the Holy Books that were written by men to gain and wield power.

In nature we have rocks; hard, dense, solid, seemingly impenetrable. Water makes short work of rock however weak and fluid it appears. Even something as ethereal as air will win out over anything as inflexible as rock. It appears nature is on the side of flexibility...

How does this apply to your life? By developing an easy tolerance for slights, imagined or real, you become less attached emotionally to what happens. If you can cultivate the attitude that nothing is a "personal affront," then you will have more energy to put towards whatever task is at hand, and much more energy to choose happiness... (your Ego will hate it!)

Today, when something "rubs you the wrong way" try to see it as illusory. It is only your Ego's reaction that is giving it any power to alter your path. Let hurts and noises and other "disturbances" pass through you. Don't let them smack into you... don't block the light... Imagine yourself surrounded by an easy, lenient, kind world, and let the light shine through you. You and everyone around you will benefit from its warmth...

Duffy

It's ALL good...The tide cleans the beach twice a day without ever labeling it as work...

It's ALL good...The tide cleans the beach twice a day without ever labeling it as work...

"I can't wait for this day to get over," or 'til the weekend, or 'til Friday night, or 'til I find Mr. Right, or start making some real money, or, or, or... You and most people can't wait until some time in the future... What's wrong with right NOW?

YOU are...!

That's correct. You are judging the present moment, consciously or unconsciously, to be an obstacle to happiness, or something to be endured, or a chore... And it is keeping you from experiencing all that is available in the PRESENT.

The tide cleans the beach twice a day and never calls it work...
The Sun shines its life giving light every day and never asks for compensation...
The Seasons cycle continuously and never complain about the "change" required...

You  however, complain about everything, inwardly and/or outwardly, that requires you to participate in the NOW in any manner other than total bliss, and even then you're trying to beat the traffic home, or scheming how you can get a discount next time, or how you can capitalize on your experience (brag about how lucky or important you are to your friends, be the first to post on Facebook... maybe even write a book!)

The truth is ALL of the joys/blessings/wonders of living are only available to you, only accessible in the present moment. It is only NOW that you can experience anything. Even when you're deep into a daydream, the daydream is happening NOW...

You can relearn to focus on the present. You were born that way and had to actually unlearn it to get to where you are. Meditation is a great method to get you back in touch with your true self. A simpler way is to focus on your breathing. Take a few breaths, feel the air going in and out naturally and slowly become aware of your body and how it feels. Start with your hands. Feel how your hands go up your arms to your body. Do the same with your feet. Focus on how anything you are touching feels to your skin.... Voila... you're in the PRESENT... What a gift it is! Notice the lack of anxiety!

Today, when you begin feeling boredom, drudgery or have any desire to hurry up and get through what you are doing, practice getting present. Once you have succeeded, continue your previous task from that place. If you drift back into wishing time away, try again to regain your presence. With practice you will be able to remain in the gift, the PRESENT, almost continuously, and when you do slip, your return will be quick and reliable...

Duffy

You meditate so your mind will be ready for mental and emotional exertion...

You exercise so your body will be ready for physical exertion. You meditate so your mind will be ready for mental and emotional exertion..

Yesterday, just when I finished writing and editing my post for the day, I somehow hit a wrong key and followed that with the ill-advised Control-Z to undo it, and presto....! No more post... All gone... Since I had an aappointment to keep I didn't have time to re-write it. (It turns out the appointment was a complete wash, so I could actually have spent the re-writing time, had I known.)

I told myself, as I frequently advise here, to accept and allow "What is" as normal and fine. On an intellectual level that was pretty easy, but emotionally I couldn't seem to entirely let it go. Especially knowing that the appointment didn't pan out, I started feeling upset and angry about the lost post. Why did it have to happen? I had worked so hard on it, and was very pleased at the way the conclusion brought all the ideas together... Blah, blah, blah....

It turns out, as it always does, that I was asking the wrong "Why" question, but we'll get to that...

My fiance, seeing how this was infringing on my "WA" asked me, "When was the last time you meditated?" I was reminded by her question, that I possessed all I needed right inside, to get over my little spat with the Universe. I began focusing on my breathing, brought myself right to the "blue flame" within myself and within minutes I was back to Buddha like calmness... Yay!

It's very important to surround yourself with conscious people, because their high vibrational level provides you with a benchmark for your own... It is also very important to meditate frequently. Just as you exercise so your body will be ready for physical exertion, you meditate so your mind will be ready for mental and emotional exertion... Physical exercise gives you good cardio-vascular health, and provides you with physical stamina. Meditation is spiritual exercise, and provides you with spiritual stamina. The more you meditate the quicker and easier it is for you to get into a meditative state, sometimes called centering yourself, or even calming yourself. When an emotional challenge presents itself, a practiced meditator can quickly go to that silent place where clarity resides, and thus be able to take creative, straightforward action(s), that are unhampered and unobstructed by the cloud of emotions that typically make for rash and reckless reactions.

Back to the "Why" question. Experiencing the lost post had temporarily set me back to unconscious thinking, to believing the illusion is real. Instead of asking myself why it happened, I should have immediately asked why I wasn't letting the Universe drive the car and deciding that my only job was as a passenger. Instead of whining, "Are we almost there?" thinking that happiness was in the future, I should have decided to happily observe the wonderful scenery and let life BE...

Today, meditate... If you never have,  begin. When you slip off your horse, as we all do, a strong meditative practice will allow you to get right back up, and move forward without another thought. It will help you return to that primordial forest, that still lies deep within your DNA.
Have a splendid weekend!

Duffy

Every act is an act of self-definition...

Every act is an act of self-definition...

If you kick someone when they're down, you're the kind of person who kicks someone when they're down. You are not the kind of person who just happened to kick someone when they were down, but is really a much better person.

You are what you do...

If you cheat on your taxes, you are a cheat. If you buy lap dances at the "ballet" you are an adulterer. If you swear by the words of Jesus on Sunday and screw everyone the rest of the week, you are a hypocrite. You may have a host of jokes and one-liners handy, "First of the day!" or "It's noontime somewhere in the world!" to try to buffer your obvious inebriation too early in the day, but a drunk is a drunk...is a drunk...

Humans have a unique ability to think more highly of themselves than they are due. How great that they can let themselves "off the hook" for their transgressions! They generally do not however give others the same "wriggle room." We figure we can mostly (almost entirely) present ourselves as someone who is much better than what we do, and take full credit for the fascade!

Your Ego NEEDS to be special! It will go to ANY lengths to show itself to be so. It will dig for compliments, tear down others, fabricate the importance of its role in events, rationalize any personal faults, cause you to lie/cheat/steal, even to commit homicide in extreme cases...

The truth however, is you CANNOT ever change the appearance of your character by anything you say about yourself. No amount of advertising ultimately has any effect on how others perceive you. None of your positive "spin" will help. Your character is what it is... It is what YOU do...

Today, begin to embark on a life of 100% integrity. Let Honor be the gift you give to yourself. The Universe experiences itself through you. What kind of experience do you want it to have?

Duffy