JK Rowling

“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

Here's a link to the commencement address JK Rowling recently delivered at Harvard. It's inspiring, thought-provoking and at times very moving. And it's very definitely worth reading:

http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

Enjoy!

We're not breathing ~ We're being breathed

Every so often I get bogged down in the old ways of thinking: that life is a struggle, that you have to fight tooth and nail to get what you want, that life is something to be conquered or mastered...that's how most people are conditioned to see life and it's perhaps little wonder that 'stress' is now more the norm than the exception and that freakishly high numbers of people are medicated. It's clear that our 'win or lose' materialistic, acquisition-driven culture is just running people into the ground, creating fear, avarice and disillusionment.

When we're conceived and begin developing in our mother's womb, the process of life happens to us of its own accord - we don't have to do anything. We don't have to struggle or fret or worry that we're somehow not 'doing it right' - because really, we're not 'doing' anything: we're being done. Same goes for when we're born and begin developing and growing. We are life unfolding in inherent perfection.

When the human mind kicks in and the 'ego' is formed (that part of us that thinks we are what we think we are; that we're separate, that we're this, that we're that), that's when we try to take over the process. Life is no longer something that effortlessly expresses through us, instead it is something we have to take charge of and manipulate and mould to our own intent. In other words, we lose touch with our essential nature and begin to think that we know better. We no longer see ourselves as an inseparate part of the whole. Instead, we see ourselves as being separate little egos, always in search of wholeness, little realising that the ego can never be whole - because it isn't even real in the first place, it's just a mental abstraction, which we use to compartmentalise our experiences.

Look at any animal and you will see how it is still in full alignment with its inherent nature - it just is what it is and it does what it does because that's what IS. Mind hasn't crept in to make it think that it should be something other than what it is - that it isn't good enough as it already is, that it must achieve and acquire and fight against life. I'm not suggesting that we all revert to an animalistic state, but we have a lot to learn from animals because they live in a far more authentic manner than the vast majority of people ever will.

We don't trust the process of life. We compartmentalise it. As Eckhart Tolle points out, it's even in our language: we say that we 'have' a life, which in truth is a contradiction in terms, because if we have a life than that implies we are separate from life. If we are separate from life, then what are we? In truth, we don't 'have a life', rather we ARE life: life expressing itself through us. Only the human ego could suppose that it knows more and knows better than LIFE itself, which is why most of us try to 'master' life and strive to 'get all we can' out of life. Hence the epidemic of stress that is all around us; hence the way the world is in the horrifically shambolic state it is in.

We don't have to 'do' anything in life, because ultimately any attempts to control life are illusory...instead, we're being 'done' by life. Case in point: observe your body. You don't have to breathe your body; your body is BEING breathed. You don't need to do anything or stress or fear that your body isn't 'good enough' at breathing - all you need to do is surrender and trust that LIFE knows more than you do. You don't have to worry about healing cuts, growing your fingernails or hair or digesting your food: it's all being done for you. Life is breathing you - and the moment that you let go and surrender to that fact, to the innate perfection that is within you and sustaining you, then you'll be free and you'll know peace.

This doesn't mean you don't have to do anything in life, of course, but it's just a reminder that ultimately there's no point in stressing or fretting about all the outward stuff, because that's all it is: 'stuff'. Just remember that life is breathing you, and all the rest is really secondary. So many people get totally lost and carried away by mental abstraction (with thoughts of 'I am this', 'I am that', 'this should happen', 'this shouldn't happen') that they lose sight of the basic fact that we don't have to make life happen. How could we? Life is happening to us. By all means we can hold intentions of how we might want our life to be, but ultimately life is what is is and it's time to relinquish the perpetual war that creates so much unnecessary suffering in our world; just let go and let life express itself through you.

You'll never find a seedling that gets upset thinking it should be growing faster, or that it should be taller or stronger. It just is what it is and so are we. We just tell ourselves otherwise. Let go of the need to 'be something', of not being 'good enough', of striving and struggling, of wanting and needing, of attachment and aversion. Let it all go and be free.

Eckhart Tolle

I'd like to recommend a series of web seminars being held by Oprah Winfrey via her website, featuring Eckhart Tolle, who is one of my favourite authors and whose books have quite literally changed my life (I know that's a real cliche, but it has the virtue of being the truth).

For anyone who isn't familiar with Eckhart, he is a guy who spent the first 29 years of his life in a terrible state, suffering extreme bouts of suicidal depression. Then one day, when he was 29 years old, he reached rock bottom and finally decided that he "couldn't live with himself". In that moment, a light bulb seemed to flash in his brain and he suddenly realised the paradox that most of us take as a given: who is this 'me' that 'I' can't live with? That implies that we are somehow split in two: a 'me' and an 'I'. Think about it, it's common to say things like 'I don't like myself', or 'I'm proud of myself', or 'I'm not confident with myself'. What's that all about?? Who is this 'me' and who is the 'I' that is aware of 'me' and 'myself'? In that moment of awakening, Eckhart finally snapped out of this split personality disorder that people take as 'normal' and woke up to reality: there only is one 'I' - there only can be one I, and the rest is just 'ego', a fictitious 'self' created by the mind, an illusion of consciousness, and the number one cause of all our suffering (he explains this in much more detail in his books - and my God, it all makes so much sense...).

Eckhart's two books have been life-savers for me. The past couple of years could have been quite hellish for me, but thanks to what I've learned (or rather unlearned) from Eckhart, it's a strange thing that I have completely accepted all the adversity and instead never been more at peace in my life. So for anyone who has suffered enough in life, I totally recommend his books 'The Power of Now' and 'A New Earth', the latter of which is the focus of Oprah's 'book club' and online seminars. His work is beyond categorisation and is focused around letting go of the mental constructs of past and future and living fully in the Now...he talks about how to relinquish all suffering by disidentifying from the ego (the false 'me') and also dealing with what he calls the 'pain body', which is basically a repository of painful/unresolved emotion that is lodged in our pysche and which is triggered by painful events, patterns and relationships. I can't recommend his books highly enough - they have helped me more than just about anything I have ever read and really, really helped me through some very tough times. I have to say that having studied degree level psychology, Tolle's books are FAR and above any pyschology texts I have ever read. This stuff is powerful, practical, insightful and if you put it into practise, you'll be amazed at how much more at peace you will be with life and how much joy can be found in each moment.

The 10 week web seminar is available to download for FREE via iTunes (or via Oprah's website at http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/ane_marketing.html) and has been transforming people's lives all across the globe. I truly believe that this is a gift to the world and something that is desperately needed right now. As Eckhart says in the first chapter of 'A New Earth', we're simply not going to survive as a species unless we move beyond the collective insanity that has characterised the human race throughout history and start waking up to who we truly are. It's not a difficult process, in fact nothing could be simpler, so long as we have an open mind and heart and are willing to let go of all the beliefs/thoughts/identifications that have held us back. But it's so vital. Right now, the human race has a choice: evolve or die.

A fresh start

It's been nearly 2 years (yes, 2 years!) since I last posted here, but I am well and truly back! Although I migrated my blog over to myspace in the interim, I've decided to make a fresh start and recommence this blog with a vengeance. Nothing against myspace, but I kind of prefer blogspot, or blogger, or whatever it's called these days.

I've actually gone through my old posts and deleted some things, things which I felt no longer resonated with who I am now, or who I want to be, or how I want to look back on my life. Rewriting personal history? Maybe. But who's to say it ever happened in the first place? One of the gaping realisations I've experienced (and I don't just mean an intellectual understanding, but a very powerful realisation) is that the past doesn't exist. And it never really existed other than as a sense perception in my mind. Whether it was a pleasant or unpleasant perception is immaterial - there's simply nothing remotely objective in life. It's all subjective: all a projection of our minds. If it wasn't a pleasant perception, then simply flip it around or better yet, LET IT GO. It's not real. Who's to say it ever was?

This blog is going to be the repository of all kinds of deeeep stuff. Philosophical and existential, spiritual and metaphysical...all labels I know, and therefore quite meaningless. But I can't get over the profound feeling that we all have to wake up now. No more time for petty indulgences, no more time for the usual BS that we let characterise our 'life'. It's really, really time to open our eyes and be present, be awake, be aware, be alive.

It's now or never. Wake up or dream on. Red pill or blue pill. It's a choice each of us have to make.

(As you might see, this blog will either kind of make 'sense' to you, or you'll find it meaningless and nonsensical. Either is good.)

100th Monkey

The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkey liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant. An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers too.

This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists. Between 1952 and 1958 all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes -- the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let's further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.

THEN IT HAPPENED! By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But notice: A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea...Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes. Thus, when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind.

Although the exact number may vary, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the conscious property of these people.

But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

This is an excerpt from the book by Ken Keyes, jr. "The Hundredth Monkey."

Letter

So, I was rummaging through a drawer looking for something yesterday when i found a letter my gran had written me about 10 years ago. It was after I'd let her read a dissertation I'd written for English class. I dont know why she felt compelled to write me a letter, but I'm so glad she did. It's weird...reading the letter makes more sense now than it did back then. It was almost like a communication beyond the grave...she said in it how no goal should ever be unattainable and that i would never go wrong in life, for a small voice inside would always keep me on the right path and to remember that i would always be surrounded by people who love me.

I burst out crying. I'd been thinking about her just earlier in the day and feeling sad. It's weird,the letter almost had tones of a farewell...although i dont believe we ever truly lose loved ones. I'm not religious in the conventional sense but i truly believe in the continuity of life. to me, it just makes sense. it's more than a belief, more of a knowing.

I'll treasure that letter forever.

To my gran...

This is dedicated to my granny, Jean Binnie, who passed away on Monday. I dont really know what to write, but I have to write something. I miss her so much already, but I know she will always be with us. She was an inspiration to me in so many ways, she was so funny, loving and had a strength of character that never ceased to amaze me. She was and is, one of my heroes.

I think if anything, in the last couple of years when she was staying in a nursing home, I became even closer to her than I had been before. She had so much to deal with these last couple of years, from seriously bad health, a failing body, various disabilities and the loss of my grandad. Any one of those things would have been enough to finish off most people. But not my granny. She displayed so much courage and inner strength that I was really humbled. She defied family and doctors by pulling through from several near-death conditions.

I just wanted to salute her. I've been thinking of writing a poem for her funeral as i did for my grandad, but words just fail me. My mind is still too dazed and numbed. It sucks. But at least I know she's not suffering anymore and she will be with my grandad again, no doubt bossing him about as she always did in life! That, and making undiplomatic comments as was her purview.

The problem.

Abridged extracts from 'Self healing, yoga and destiny' by Elisabeth Haich, one of the most inspirational writers i know. One of the greatest teachers of the 20th century. Interesting points and completely on the ball...

Although our culture has made tremendous progress and reached a high level in art, science and technology, we have completely neglected the author of all these various achievements: man himself. The merest child knows a lot more about the technological achievements of our age: automotive and aircraft engines, radio, television, electronics and a great deal more. But not even adults, nor even the greatest scientists know what man is!

We've forgotten completely that it isnt enough to know the secrets of pyschics, mathematics and chemistry and that the very first subject of man's study, research and understanding should be himself, the discoverer of all these secrets.

While his attention was directed to things outside himself, he neglected to look inside and ask teh question, "Who am I?" This omission has had serious consequences: while technological developments became ever more perfect, man himself became more and more imperfect. At the very time when engineering and technology were enhancing man's personal comfort, his soul was sinking deeper and deeper into dissatisfaction and misery.

A person who has lost himself is plagued by burning unrest and the result of inner dissatisfaction, tragedy within the man, is always war, destruction and cosmic catastrophe. Humanity plunges into misery for the simple reason that people seek happiness outside themselves, instead of the one and only place it can be found: WITHIN!

But the sufferings that often seem to grow and compound themselves finallu force us to turn our attention away from things and toward the person who is suffering: ourself! Sooner or later we must learn that the true reason for our sufferings is our abysmal lack of self-understanding and self-control.

Reminds me of Milton: "the mind is its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven."

My thoughts for the day.

Good quotes

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it
seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an
hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S
relativity.
- Albert Einstein



The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working
the moment you get up in the morning and does not
stop until you get into the office.
- Robert Frost


The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's
there to appreciate it.
- Franklin P. Jones



We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain
the success of those we don't like?
- Jean Cocturan



It matters not whether you win or lose; what
matters is whether I win or lose.
- Darrin Weinberg



Life is pleasant.
Death is peaceful.
It's the transition that's troublesome.



Help a man when he is in trouble and he will
remember you when he is
in trouble again.



Complex problems have simple, easy to understand
wrong answers.



It is not exactly cheating, I prefer to consider it
creative problem solving.



Whoever said money can't buy happiness, didn't know
where to shop.



Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but then again,
neither does milk.



Most people are only alive because it is illegal to
shoot them.



Forgive your enemies but remember their names.



The number of people watching you is directly
proportional to the stupidity of your action.



Dont worry that the world ends today, its already
tomorrow in Australia!

Great quote

I think it's from a sanskrit saying, read it and think about it. What does it mean to you?

I am that.
Thou art that.
All this is that.
And that alone IS.

Fantastic...

This is often falsely attributed to Nelson Mandella, but upon doing a little research I found that it's actually by an author named Marianne Williamson. I love it....

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

I'm baaack!

Yup, its been a while and although I considered deleting the whole thang, I'm back and I'm purposefully gonna maintain this blog. Before I was trying to cut down on time wasted online, but I dont consider this a total waste of time...and frankly I'm hoping I can use it as a means to promote my novel. The media blitz has begun and it aint even finished and published yet.

I'm working on a mega website dedicated to my novel: if it were a movie, this would be its trailer lol. I'm so chuffed that after over 10 years of effort I've finished the first draft of my baby and am in the process of completing the final draft. Relief just isnt the word. I feel like I've given birth to a baby...ouchie!

K, so I'll endeavour to update this regularly whether there be anyone out there to read it or not. Before I used to think that blogging was self-indulgent and a bit egotistical but i dont think it is...it's just self-expression. And, as Ellen Bass once said: everyone has the right to tell the truth about his or her own life. I love inspirational quotes, I just love em, so let's end with one from Steve Weinberg:

The more the universe seems incomprehensible,
The more it also seems pointless…
The effort to understand the universe
Is one of the very few things
That lifts human life a little above the level of farce
And gives it some of the grace of tragedy.

Cool...

So I finally downloaded Google Earth and how amazing is IT?! Wow, I could spend all afternoon globetrotting. I've already been searching for where I live, places I have lived and I've even ventured to such diverse locales as new zealand, LA and New York. Tis well cool. Whereas i usually see technology as the bane of our existence, as a distraction from more important things (such as relationships and being decent human beings), for once I'm actually quite awed and approaching it with some reverence. The travel bug still resides somewhere within me and there are so many places i want to go........

Hillwalk

Well nothin terribly excitin to report I must confess, been trying to get a book proposal written so I can send it out and try and entice the publishers lol. Frankly I think its harder writing this proposal than it is writing the darn book! But there you have it. Trying to send out lots of positive vibes and good energy in the hope it will boomerang back to me with a huge publishing contract :-D

Yesterday went climbing the cullen binn, which is the big hill which overlooks our town. Havent climbed it for yeeeears...like since I was about 12. Dunno why....guess im getting lazy in my old age lol. Was fun though and took my camera and got in loads of nice snaps. Here's an example below.

Saturday night is my big leaving night out...gonna be absolutely crazy I think given the number of folk who are supposed to be coming (its nice being popular, hehe). To be honest no one at work has ever seen me drunk before (and I have a feeling I will be getting reeeally drunk, call it a premonition lol) so they will prob be in for an almighty shock. Will be sure to post all the sordid details!


Like this pic, its pretty and mystical looking