Come together
Ever feel alone in this World? Like you just don’t belong? Ever feel the need for confirmation of your intuition or higher knowledge?
No matter how “in-tune” we might be, there are times when we doubt the wisdom of our higher selves… we find ourselves doubting those subtle little messages from our intuition… and we find ourselves seeking confirmation of information we already have… confirmation of things we already know. It happens to all of us from time to time -even the most consciously aware among us! And honestly, the fact that it happens at all is quite sad… nevermind the frequency with which it happens! This alone says a lot about the state of the world. It verifies just how much healing this world yet needs, despite how far we have already come.
The truth of the matter is that our modern culture places very little value on anything that cannot be quantified as physical, tangible, know-able and intellectualized, or otherwise definable as “real”. Psychic gifts, the ability to Heal energetically, knowledge of Truth… these types of things just don’t make it on to the table of modern “reality”. And oh how very wrong is this definition! If only “they” knew. But that is part of our jobs fellow Healers, Intuitives, Knowledge-Keepers, Angels, Light-Beings, Star-People, whomever you are and whatever you call yourselves… everyone who has come to help… please, know yourself for who you are… and be secure in that knowledge. You are not alone.
There are some extremely powerful beings walking the Earth these days. To have them and their gifts minimized by a culture that does not understand -and does not value- the gifts and healing they bring is a true shame. And if you are one of these Healers, Intuitives or Knowledge-Keepers who has reclaimed even a shred of awareness, you know that it hurts tremendously to be surrounded by a World culture that on the whole, doesn’t even remotely recognize what you’re offering and which furthermore seems to shun it at every waking moment. The walls some of us have to put up around ourselves just to survive in this world are thick and thorough. They have to be. Those of us who have not been able to defend ourselves against this constant onslaught of attack of belief, of Truth, of Reality, often find ourselves hurting on more levels than one.
This deep, ongoing pain is one of the reasons for Community. This is the reason we find ourselves drawn to each other, helping each other, healing each other… reminding each other of our higher purposes on and in this world. Together, our strengths and intentions multiply. Together, our essences recognize each other (despite our conscious thoughts or beliefs). Together we validate each other, and we offer each other some measure of protection from the cruel world of man-made culture and harmful, erroneous beliefs. Together, we can heal the world.
Despite its flaws, the world is not beyond saving. It is not beyond Healing. So whenever you can, come together, my friends! Come together, heal and reset yourselves and each other. Come together, my friends, and join your unique gifts and abilities together… focus your attention on the positive, on the Good, on Healing and Health for this world and its myriad beings… to and from the Light… for the best good for all…
*Namaste*
-OMM
The Stillness Within
There is a place deep inside each of us that is absolutely still. Do you feel it? Have you ever?
Sit comfortably and breathe with me, focusing only on your breath and these words… take a long, slow, intentional breath. Hold it for a moment, and feel it flow through to your lungs, bringing life and Light. Breathe out, slowly exhaling all the emotional, psychological, and energetic toxins you have absorbed today. Hold this for a moment. Feel the cleansing emptiness there. Breathe in. Feel the breath enter your body, extending throughout your physical body all the way to your fingertips and toes. Notice this feeling. Now slowly let this sensation go with your out-breath. Breathe in… breathe out… notice your breath. Notice your own stillness… your own quiet. Breathe. Feel the rhythm of each breath, in and out, as you settle deeper into your own breathing. In… out… each breath brings another layer of peace. In… out… each breath soothes your soul. In. Out. Breathe. Focus on your breath. In… out… feel the quiet within each breath. Feel the stillness that is there, deep within yourself. Feel the peace, the connection, the Unity. Enjoy it. Remember it. This is always there for you. Remember that too, as you continue your breathing and slowly return your attention back to the physical world.
How do you feel? Did you feel the stillness within?
~Namaste~
-OMM
Signs and Portents
When walking around the neighborhood, I’ll often see feathers lying on the ground. A couple times, they’ve even floated from the skies, landing directly in my path. I take these feathers as a “sign” – as a reminder of my Divine side – as a reminder that there is more to our physicality than just physicality. Inevitably, when confronted with a feather like this, my heart does a little leap and I find myself smiling… smiling and happy, regardless of the mood I might have been in beforehand.
Signs, symbols, and portents are found within all cultures and all religions. Many of them, and the practice of interpreting them, were more prevalent in ages past, when superstition reigned over logic. In those times, signs were sometimes intentionally and maliciously invented, twisted, or created in order to manipulate changes toward the betterment of personal status or a physical goal (“She’s a Witch! Drown her! … and the fact that I’ll then get that nice chunk of farmland she owns has nothing to do with it!”).
Even now, when logic normally reigns over superstition, the less honorable among us will still manipulate “signs” for their own best interests. Others interpret signs as justification for their own ego, manipulating them to do or get what their unruly emotions want. Fortunately, the intentional manipulation for one’s own personal gain is no longer nearly as prevalent as it was in days past. However, even the best-intentioned amongst us are rarely as clear as they could perhaps be. This is not usually the fault of the (honest) person, but is rather simply the nature of living through the lens of human perception, human ego, and human comprehension. We “need” to have some mentally or emotionally significant, or physically tangible, significance attached to things for them to mean something. And so, that is what we tend to create.
But what happens if instead we simply notice these signs for what they truly are – a reminder of our own Divinity and a hint of the Magic that still exists in the world…?
Namaste.
-OMM
Who Rules the Roost?
Sometimes, we may find ourselves doubting or even laughing outright at a concept or an ideal put before us for consideration. A sense of cynicism, based on our prior experiences, sneaks out, immediately coloring our understanding of the idea or situation before us. Cynicism -an expression of ego based on personal frustrations, doubt, and a sense of helplessness- is an inability or unwillingness to believe in the positive potential of a person, idea, or situation. It is an often subtle, negative manifestation of reality, colored by our past experiences, colored by our own egos. And unless we identify and look at these situations, they may continue to affect our future as well as affecting our immediate present.
It is one of those undercurrents of society which prevents us from truly growing and going beyond where we are. And it’s really nothing more than ego.
Yes, there are cruel, viscous, violent people in the world. Yes, sometimes people can be selfish and unaware of how it exhibits itself to others and manifests in the world. But do we really want others’ egos coloring our own experiences so severely that we start losing hope, losing belief in the positive aspects of the world, of our own lives? … of ourselves? No, not really. So how do we get beyond this chain of events? We recognize them for what they are, we find objectivity and insight -without ego- and we forgive, to the best of our ability, all previous experiences, people, and thoughts (including our own) which may have affected us adversely and which continue their attempts to sway us in to believing the negative. We also look at the experiences as lessons which have been learned, or we seek to find those lessons in those experiences which may not be immediately obvious.
Does that mean that we must accept the atrocities of the world? No, I don’t believe so. But we can acknowledge them as the expression of others’ current stage of evolution and we can forgive them for not being where we think they should be on the evolutionary path. We can remove the truly harmfully-inclined from society as a measure of protection for the innocent. And we can help them, as well as the World, by not succumbing to cynicism – by not letting their beliefs and experiences color our own. We can consciously choose to believe, over and over and over again, in the positive in the World. We can choose to let go of our old habits of cynicism and selfishness and we can find compassion and love and insight. And by letting go of our old habits, by letting go of our cynicism, we may evolve – further and faster.
“By your own folly
You will be brought as low
As your worst enemy wishes.
…
Mischief is yours.
Sorrow is yours.
But virtue also is yours,
And purity.”
-Buddha, “Yourself”, Dhammapada
Choose wisely, each moment.
Namaste.
-OMM
Silence within the Noise
Noise. All the noise. Everywhere. There’s somebody cutting their lawn, another neighbor pressure washing something, down the block there are trees being trimmed, there’s the inevitable traffic noises reaching our ears from the nearby roadway… some rock music appears randomly… maybe shreds of the announcements from a local school for their at-home game are carried on the breeze … there’s some kind of industrial equipment being used nearby… Oh! Is that the random banging of something? Yes, yes it is… and now there’s a kid yelling, a dog barking, a bird chasing others from its nest. It goes on… and on… and on, it seems.
Sometimes all this noise blurs together, becoming “white” background noise, and we barely even register it. Sometimes (probably most times), we add to it. Sometimes, we are ourselves quiet, more aware, and the noise transforms into the music that accompanies our daily activities.
Breathe. Listen. Do you hear it?
Are you dancing to the tune our modern world is playing?
Have you ever heard the silence within the noise?
The type of noise described above is physical. It’s tangible. It’s obvious. You can point to the car, or the kid, or the dog, and say “this is creating that noise”.
But what about the noises in your own head… all those little voices… our inner-most conversations with ourselves? Sometimes, it all blurs and we barely even register it. But it’s still there.
Sometimes, we feed the noise, and it becomes a cacophony… dragging the emotions and ego into a wild mix of turmoil, fed by thought. Fed by emotion. Fed by ego. Can you point to the source of this noise? Sometimes you can. But usually, identifying the true source of this noise is not as easily accomplished. It’s not nearly as obvious, and it is certainly not tangible. It’s also usually part of the noise itself. Do you know what it is?
Breathe. Listen. Do you hear the silence? Do you hear the silence within the noise?
Namaste.
-OMM
*drawing is Copyright (c) One Mystical Monkey. Please do not use in any capacity without my explicit, prior, written consent. Thank you.
Chop Wood, Carry Water
There’s an old Zen saying that goes something like this…
Before Enlightenment,
Chop wood, carry water.
After Enlightenment,
Chop wood, carry water.
Now granted, the wording is perhaps a little outdated for most of us (a modern equivalent might be “Before Enlightenment, chop vegetables, do laundry… After Enlightenment, chop vegetables, do laundry”) but the point is that even after achieving Enlightenment, daily life on this planet goes on and it must be attended to. We are here in this physicality, and we must deal with this physicality – regardless of our mental state. And folks, your mental state affects your spiritual state, and it affects your physical state. And visa versa.
If Enlightenment is your ultimate goal, navigating through all the rhetoric and theory and beliefs concerning attaining it can be simplified in to two steps – at most. One: find peace… stillness… in every single moment, in every single activity. Stop your striving, control your unruly emotions, give up your superficial wants, recognize the Oneness of All and release your ego. Two: Realize that “Enlightenment” is already with you. It is here, in every breath, in every action and every activity… if only you can get out of your own way to experience it. And if you can, you’ll soon see that the World is a beautiful place, and it’s absolutely full of magic… but you still have to chop wood, carry water.
Namaste
-OMM
A bit dusty
*Blows the dust off*
Well hello once more, friends! Yes, the Mystical One is making a reappearance… blowing the dust off, sweeping the cobwebs out of the corners, updating the site’s look a little bit… that kind of thing.
It has been six years –to the day!!– since my last post – and I’m sorry that I have been away for so long. It’s interesting timing, this six-years-to-the-day thing… but time it is… time to get back into the open a little bit more and time to … well, it’s time to shine my Light on the World once more.
I welcome back any old friends and warmly greet any new friends who might happen by, and am looking forward to sharing the Light and helping to heal this beautiful world on which we live. I sincerely hope you’ll join me.
It’s nice to be back.
*Namaste*
-One Mystical Monkey
JotD
Q: How do you describe a schizophrenic Zen Buddhist?
A: A man who is at two with the universe
Ok, so I just couldn’t resist …and the world needs the unexpected, corny joke to pop up once in a while! 😉 … or in this case, TWO!
HOW ENLIGHTENED ARE YOU?
IF….
If you can live without caffeine,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him or her,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender preference, or politics,
–Then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog!
Namaste
-OMM