Groupie consciousness

The meaning of the term groupie originally was a person in utter, uncritical adoration for a music band, or star. Young girls could lose their wits completely at the mere sight of The Beatles, or Michael Jackson. Boys would turn to jelly over Gloria Estefan or Britney Spears. Nowadays you can watch groupie behavior in lots of other venues and circles. Even on social media you find groupies of all sorts. Since much more people have become “famous” in their online community, they’ve gained a celebrity status that works in similar ways. The only thing they might suffer less are the paparazzi. Not completely though, since a new kind of news media also found its place in the online social scene.

This is interesting, because it shows something fundamental in human behavior. Groupie behavior, in its most elementary form, reveals the drive of humans to follow alpha people. This is nothing new. The animal kingdom shows this in obvious ways. Society has become complex, so where it concerns humans, it may appear to be more or less obvious in different situations. Seeing how this works online, one thing becomes clear. Our whole society is still mostly built on adoration of alpha charisma. The only thing that changes, is what alpha charisma looks like. As our psychology changes, it develops into more convoluted shapes. What is attractive and interesting changes accordingly. This is however not an evolutionary process. It is a fractal-like reshaping and reforming of basic patterns. The alpha adoration is still there. Is has not disappeared, it merely takes on a different face. It is still embedded deeply into our mythical, archetypal drama. We want to free ourselves from it, but are we really succeeding? That is a question worth asking.

If anything, we’re gravitating towards leadership with a strong single-point leverage, instead of more autonomy. Leadership can be political, but mostly leadership has been scattered across lots of other domains such as the arts, religion and economics. Leadership may be less obvious in the arts, yet what appeals to the human psyche more than the arts? The arts tell us who we are, what drives us and translates our dark and light into images, sounds and movement. This is an indirect leadership quality. In the arts we see an interesting element of immortality, which rarely applies to other areas. Often times, artists lead difficult lives, barely receiving any recognition while they are alive. After their passing, their work may receive proper recognition in cases where there’s a depth to it that goes far beyond human attraction. Art with a timeless quality will survive throughout the ages.

For someone to become a star, groupie consciousness has to spot some type of alpha essence in the person or work. Worship of the artist often exceeds his or her work, as the alpha pattern of the creator is what propels success. The work itself emanates this alpha element, otherwise it cannot sustain its status. Pop music uses a formula to arouse this alpha pattern in, for instance, boy and girl groups. The music follows this same formula. Image and style are the main ingredients, emphasis is on appearance. What all this eventually leads to, is more of the same.

The people involved can barely lead their life with a descent amount of privacy. Then we say that’s the consequence of being famous. Sure, it is. Yet we have to ask ourselves why that is a consequence. It’s not a consequence of something they do. It’s a consequence of how we behave towards the alpha. We simply can’t seem to help it. You can see this on a large scale, but even on a minor scale. We behave like groupies on any scale. There seems to be a desperate craving to be recognized ourselves. We want the attention of what we believe to be of more importance, of more value, than ourselves. You see girls almost literally selling themselves to stars, simply to be with them. But this is an obvious example. Less visible examples can be pointed out throughout social media. People either get attention as an alpha or want it from an alpha.

What all this perpetuates in our world, is not so easy to describe. Conditioning of minds instead of freeing them is one result. People are taught what is interesting, beautiful, before they can figure it out for themselves. Everyone exchanges recommendations. They need to have a sense of security to invest time, energy or money in what seems safe, whether it is consultancy, books, artworks, movies, real estate. We are shifting weight where it may not entirely belong prematurely, leaving a lot of chances for good material outside the perimeter of recognition.

It is a fact; this is a strong force in our society. It has a deep connection to the Animus and Anima. We fall in love with things in our vulnerability to seduction. We’re seduced into things more than we dare to admit. In that sense, Freud has all but left the building. Without passing judgment onto these facts, it’s important to admit they’re there, that we do behave this way. And before you might react and say this doesn’t go for all of us; I don’t think any human being has been granted the privilege yet to be detached from our mythical background. Archetypes are us and we embody them. Therefore, Anima and Animus are intrinsic elements of the psyche. We may be about to start transcending some of that as a collective, but we’re not there yet.

Regards,
Antonino.

 

The man from Sedona

“How on earth did I find this man?” I wondered. Looking back to the genesis of this magical journey to Sedona, I was suddenly struck by the unfathomable ways in which circumstances came together. Booking the flight, executed in a whim, was the easy part. As always, whenever I decided to make arrangements for a trip, the flight details would become the template for the interior of the journey. As crazy as it may sound, contrary to what most people do when they book their holidays, looking for places to stay came last.

Thus the pathway found its route to the day I came to meet Mr. Charles. Standing at his doorstep, the reality behind all the plans and joyful anticipation had set the new stage. I was wondering how he was in real life, what kind of room he had in mind for me. As I rang the doorbell, I became aware of a strange quietness surrounding this place. Breathing in Sedona’s oxygen, recognizing it as the ultra-dimensional dwelling so many people talk about, Mr. Charles’ house felt even more strange.

As he opened the door, an ear-to-ear smile with a hospitable greeting made up the first impression. “Please come in, be so welcome my friend,” he said. We shook hands and exchanged the obvious formalities about finding the place and how I was doing, being in Sedona. I felt welcome beyond the usual. He treated me as if I had been away for a few years, now finally returning home. Not in an overly emotional fashion, just appreciating my move. He showed me my room, making a spectacle of the neat gadgets like the air conditioning, fan and window shutters. His simple, grateful innocence made me aware of something I rarely see in men nowadays. Without any fuzz about material items, he was genuinely enthusiastic about his home and everything in it. Just being happy with what he had, without showing off. He left me with a well wish to feel right at home, showing me where the coffee machine was and all of life’s necessities.

It was only afternoon. After getting some of my things in order, I decided to take a short drive and a walk nearby. Mountains in Sedona will call you out every single day. You cannot be in Sedona for 24 hours without a hike. It borders the impossible to not spend at least an hour or two amongst the rocks each day. The vortices have such distinct qualities. During my hike, I promised myself to remember to ask Mr. Charles about them. I’m sure he was adept at the sites, the energies and their effects, being a native Sedona citizen. I would first see to it I got some groceries, as my stay was not like an all-inclusive arrangement. I was allowed full access to the kitchen and premises, yet I was on my own. I like traveling that way. No attachments, just living the free spirit life with good company.

Meals in Sedona are a treat, if you find the right places. I was getting to know some of them, as it wasn’t the first time to be there. During dinner, I was reminiscing on the previous trips, the year before. Those were shorter. I had made the first one to get a taste of the energy, while I stayed for only a few days on a whirlwind holiday including San Diego and Sedona. They often say, it is best to tiptoe the vortices first, before the plunge. The second trip was exclusively a Sedona journey with a four-day retreat during the winter solstice. So many memories over such a brief period of my life. Enough memories for a lifetime. I could only imagine what that would mean for a journey of a whole month, of which Sedona was the initiatory venue. Having started off with again, a retreat for the summer solstice celebrations, I would enjoy Sedona’s vortices by myself for one more week.

The key Mr. Charles handed to me opened the front door of what was now my temporary home away from home, as he called it. Walking towards my room, from the living room I saw him standing in the backyard. He was conversing with another resident, drinking coffee, smoking what I would later come to know as a tasteful original, organic blend or american tobacco. As I proceeded to my room, he waved at me with his typical, be-welcome-friend smile. I decided to join the gang in the backyard. He invited me to have some coffee, a smoke if I would. I in return offered a pale ale I bought at the store that afternoon. I had wanted to try it out, not being that available and popular overseas in Europe. I decided to take one for myself as well. The other resident would come back later, as she has other things to tend to.

A peaceful joy overcame me, sitting with him and his dog in the backyard of beautiful Sedona. We didn’t exchange a word for minutes. The desert twilight was deepening, while space and quiet began to fill the sky, the ground, the moment. I looked at him, while he was staring straight ahead. Suddenly he uttered an inquiring “Yes?” as if he had heard a question I was barely aware of. I didn’t really know how to ask the question. I sensed something about him and this place, this house. I guess I wanted to know in every way possible, what mystery was behind this man. The question lingering in my mind was: “What is this place?” He suddenly shook his head, laughed and said: “Man, I’m still amazed you stepped through that door,” while he pointed at the front door of his house. “Hell, I’m even amazed you found me on the internet.” I smiled back at him, inquiring what he meant by that. He began to explain how people would always hesitate to come in, to be in his presence even. He didn’t really explain why, he just mentioned people canceling their reservation last-minute, or something else that would come up, preventing them from taking residence. Apparently, I was one of the few who didn’t hesitate for a second. I recalled the moment he invited me to enter through the door. I honestly couldn’t think of any sort of resistance. I only felt the welcoming atmosphere, which I decided to express explicitly in our beyond strange but magical dialogue.

What followed was an exchange of information, experience, origins, archetypal patterns even. I still have trouble translating that contact. I don’t think I will ever be able to. I can only refer to some of the things we said. One of those things was his predisposition towards forms and fields of consciousness. His dog would react to topics we were discussing. Entities and other critters and creepy ghouls would try to enter, he said. His dog was super alert. Normally people would lose me as soon as they brought up entities and similar stuff. Not because I dismiss the truth in some of that. Most people who talk about these things are on the heavy side of the spectrum. I tend to believe a suspicious stance towards these type of energies is generally not helpful. Somehow though, his approach was different, more genuine, real, unbiased in a way. I was able to follow his take on invasive energies that control this world, how Sedona was a sanctuary of sorts and how that pisses them off beyond belief. No matter what you believe about these influences, one cannot deny they’re there. Any conceptual explanation tends to be a limitation of the totality of the truth behind it. Nevertheless, the existence of these forces, as well as our own, are a fact. What matters most is attaining an empowered attitude about them. Mr. Charles struck me as someone who had figured that out.

Many conversations followed during my stay. He turned out to be outspoken about almost every mainstream spiritual concept the masses had gotten used to. He didn’t deliberately oppose ideas or dismiss them. He simply saw beyond them and could not comply to any system of ritual, dogma or consensus. Whenever I meet new people, they more of less match with certain archetypes or combinations thereof. Spiritually conscious humans follow a certain pattern of awakening, a path that strikes similarities with saviors, teachers, sages, magicians or the like. I had great trouble fitting Mr. Charles into one of these categories. Not mentally, but the sense of it was, he emanated a completely new, unknown archetype. Undeniably, our resonance had something to do with it.

Regards,
Antonino.

 

Post-awaking Sadhana

In this first article about the post-awakening Sadhana, I’m going to be brief. I would like first to give an introduction of this very interesting part of the path, of which I have been writing privately over the past year. If you need some background, or rather even a good explanation on what a post-awakening Sadhana is, I refer to this video, in which Rupert Spira gives a definition of it.

Post-awakening Sadhana explained

Now, the angle I would like to share, is one that is not talked about a lot. There are various reasons for that. Most people are interested in how to get to that first awakening experience; the realisation of one’s true nature. Yet, I do not want to make assumptions on how many people there might be, who have had awakenings and not share them with anyone. Some may look for ways to ask for guidance, others might not even link their process to spirituality. They simply go through it. Some of them might have the unfortunate case of not knowing what is happening, without any means to discuss this with anyone. In that sense, the online community is a blessing. Yet because of its vast library of content on the topic and related topics, it can become a barrier, an obstacle and a distraction also. Nevertheless, all that we are offered in our experience, is part of our path.

The post-awakening Sadhana is one’s own synthesis of insights and practices, made up of what was encountered and integrated along the way. It will be an expression of your own way, your own walk. It will be your own design.

After awakening, the psychological element of the breakdown of personality is a common phenomenon. Some might be in total shock, because the world they once knew is falling apart. Others experience a more gentle version that doesn’t shake up life quite so drastically. Often, some desire emerges to measure one’s progression. A fact of the post-awakening phase however is, that all arbitrary means to measure progression turn out to be useless, as it also did before awakening. Everyone goes through this in their own way, according to and shaped around their own unique perception and dynamics. This implies that there can be no program, discipline, or teaching to support this part of the journey. The reason for this is simple. Once one’s own true nature is revealed, there’s no way any type of doctrine, teaching or practice can fit. Only guidelines can be given to approach this phase. The post-awakening Sadhana is one’s own synthesis of insights and practices, made up of what was encountered and integrated along the way. It will be an expression of your own way, your own walk. It will be your own design.

Being stuck is exactly the formula for bringing to light the dead ends in the labyrinth of the psyche.

The process of unveiling the personality requires a dynamic application of intuitive ability. Having realised one’s true nature, this doesn’t mean every situation is crystal clear and that one can never get stuck again. Quite the contrary. Being stuck is exactly the formula for bringing to light the dead ends in the labyrinth of the psyche. It has taken the mind a long time to build this labyrinth. It doesn’t have to be torn down though. The process of the breakdown – as you will discover – has its own intelligence. It knows where to take you next. It has a clear sense of direction, to course through this majestically designed demolition project. Eventually, all the walls will come down, but you won’t have to worry in which order they will fall.

The diversity of the way in which all of this unfolds, might sometimes leave people in the dark, when they are experiencing things that are relatively unknown in the community. There’s usually some common ground in, especially, the psychological area of this breaking down. Because a lot of the spiritual community also has an interest in the spirit world, some new challenges might arise here. When, for instance, a person has had contact with disembodied beings, deceased loves ones, or any other form of perceived foreign consciousness, the self-realisation will also trigger a shedding – or to give it a better term: a re-alignment – of the spiritual self. This re-alignment occurs within the higher self or spiritual self, which I will call the soul, that carries a type of conditioning. This is not the same kind of conditioning as what forms our personality. This spiritual conditioning is a combination of: 1) the result of the lives lived in individual form and 2) the individualised expression of divine will and desire to evolve. Of course, this separation in degree of psyche and spirit is just arbitrary. It explains the difference between one level and the other, yet these levels blend into each other like colours in the spectrum.

As divine will gradually steps in – which may sometimes take a while before it does – the path of the soul can start to shine through more.

As psychological conditioning is worked through over time, huge parts of the ego will fall away, as does the personal will. As divine will gradually steps in – which may sometimes take a while before it does – the path of the soul can start to shine through more. The individual makes way for the divine. Yet before it can fully do that, some challenges on the soul level may arise. This goes especially for people who have got an understanding of other planes of existence to some degree. It is often not recommended by spiritual teachers to meddle in these subtle, ethereal worlds. This is a wise instructive, as a lot of what occurs in this world is illusory, but easy to get caught in. However, if there’s a part of you that needs to explore these realms, who is anyone to say it is always a bad decision to explore. Some traditions even wrote books about it, like the Tibetans did in the Bardo Todol.

The wave does not cease to exist when it realises it is the water. It collapses when it has done its dance on the surface, from which it isn’t separated. It simply realises it isn’t there as a separate object, which liberates it from feeling subject to the circumstances.

My personal take on all planes of existence however is, that they’re all part of your consciousness. As a wave you carry all the elements and traits of the vast water volume you came out of, the salt, the oxygen, its temperature. You experience the world as your world. Others may have come out of fresh water, so they perceive things differently and live in another world. You share the same substance, but not the same experience of reality. Even if we would all come to a complete and absolute self-realisation, we would still be self-realized as our individual self in form, as ourselves. The wave does not cease to exist when it realises it is the water. It collapses when it has done its dance on the surface, from which it isn’t separated. It simply realises it isn’t there as a separate object, which liberates it from feeling subject to the circumstances.

It is actually quite rare for someone in the post-awakening stage, to not truly know what to do. Somehow, even in the greatest hesitation, there’s this innate knowing of what is required.

In regards to the subject of this article, it seems less relevant now to become philosophical about existence in all its forms and dimensions. What really matters is how we can deal with the breakdown process on all levels. This means, first and foremost, not to indulge in beliefs of any kind in regards to what should and should not be done. Shoulds and shouldn’ts belong to the era of religion and doctrine. While they offer guidelines for the seeker who has no bearing, they become poison for the exploring soul who reaches plateaus and isn’t sure about the unknown territory. It is actually quite rare for someone in the post-awakening stage, to not truly know what to do. Somehow, even in the greatest hesitation, there’s this innate knowing of what is required. In retrospect, they see that all they needed was that extra push, or approval, from a kindred soul who already knows the way.

A sense of trust reverberates from the inner remembrance of one’s true nature. It makes itself known in the face of challenges, to provide the right guidance, a nudge, a sign.

And so, what is important to realise is to not be afraid to go the wrong way. A sense of trust reverberates from the inner remembrance of one’s true nature. It makes itself known in the face of challenges, to provide the right guidance, a nudge, a sign. It was doing this before you realised what you really are, and it will continue doing that. The only difference is, that it will no longer consolidate to your beliefs. You have to be willing to receive other ways of guidance. Namely in this area, a lot of confusion may arise. How to know what signs to trust and what signs are a distraction. When am I being tested and how do I know what decision to make, or to wait for something. These dilemma’s are of the thinking mind, that still wants to solve problems. It does this and it will always do that. Yet dilemma’s can sometimes trip you over and prolong progression, when you would rather move on.

My writings have their basis in my own experience, as also in guiding others in pivotal phases of the path. As I’m working on material to offer some guidelines for others who cope with these transitional phases, this first intro is to see if it interests anyone in my network. Not that it would stop me if it didn’t, yet it might be helpful to get a sense of it. If the answer is yes, I might ask some of you (if you feel called to and in private of course) to share situations or a current one you find yourselves in. In that way, I might be able to share appropriate material and to see where that goes.

Regards,
Antonino.

 

Between faith and fate (I)

When one becomes deeply immersed into deeper seeing states of awareness, feeling and sensing a world that is behind the world we normally see, the course of life takes on a different meaning. What was considered valuable before, takes a background position against the deeper dimension of interwoven elements that move and propel the dynamics of your being.

Studying mythology from various cultures and the elderly wisdom that emanates from it, sometimes helps us to better understand these dynamics. This deeper layer underneath the sagas and myths is revealed, when there is a sudden recognition of themes in one’s own life, while reading about them. Now, the reason I bring this up in regards to ancient myth, is because of the common denominator that cross-culture myth seems to convey. There is this reverence of fate, which is the unconscious spinning of the thread of life or tapestry of life. There is a path that leads from the unconscious dream-walker stage to an intermediate state of being awake to one’s own doings and place in the world. From this place, a deeper faith in the course of life emerges naturally. A deeper understanding of the reasons for certain circumstances takes away the weight of a victimized perception.

From there, the next stage splits itself into one of two directions. Either a deeper immersion of selfless dissolve and service arises or, a path of initiation commences into a harnessing of the elements that lord over reality. While both paths are part of the trajectory plotted out on soul’s navigational chart, one of them tends to be ambushed by an unbalancing force more than the other. This force has many names, yet may also remain nameless. While soul is equally in charge of both directions, it has no preference. Both directions contain an equal potential of self-realization.

Often in eastern Dharma, these two directions are referred to as the left and the right path. While the right path is more gracious, direct and disciplined to avoid distractions as much as possible, the left path is crawling with distractions, fun stuff, powers and magic. In India often these powers are referred to as Siddhi. The path of Siddhi more often than not, is not recommended for the novice seeker. Distractions are just too tempting and will easily make someone lose oneself in the intoxicating ritualistic and surreal world of the magic and supernatural.

The seeker being discouraged to walk the left path, the safer direction of awareness of one’s own being brings a first sense of alignment with the deeper self. This deeper self is more expanded and at the same time more grounded. More self-work is required here, as the foundation for a more solid, uninterrupted state of self-awareness is not easily established. Contrary to what the teachings say, that you are always that, the experience of that is what ultimately makes the difference. Only with a solid awareness of this uninterrupted state, can a seeker be enabled to withstand severe challenges and temptations and stay centred. So in order for the left path to be undertaken (if so desired), some ground work must be done first.

Not every seeker desires to hover between the left and right path. A shaman is a typical example of a practitioner who works with both. In practice you cannot ever stay clean from one or the other, yet there is a tendency for one’s personality to easily gravitate towards one or the other. The criteria and motivations for this preference is multilayered. There are emotional factors, trauma, karmic patterns, relational elements, learning and growth objectives, oaths and vows. Some of these factors are easily detectable and can be fairly well understood, while some others are almost inaccessible. The game is not to gain knowledge of all of these factors and how they contribute… the game is to play them out, even blindfolded at times and within certain areas of life. Only by experiencing what is not known, we come to experience what was never before experienced. So, let’s take a look at some of these factors next time, to explore the arena in which we ourselves are standing daily.

To be continued…

 

The mystical life you never knew you had

To be driven to the edge of what is acceptable… approved of by others and yourself… what is at the frontier between what is understood and what is not. What is understood, is no longer interesting. What remains a mystery, allures and tempts to further investigate. To understand something, it means that beliefs and observations concur on the phenomena taking place being what they are perceived to be. But what they are perceived to be, is a mental construct. And then the question is: how can we be sure that our understanding is valid. And of course, the answer is always easy. We cannot.

A person who left your life, at a time you thought you couldn’t bear it… someone else showed up. You cancelled an appointment and another opportunity took its place. The variables at play are to comprehensive. We cannot know all of them. It is a fact that our vision cannot encompass the dynamic of life from moment to moment.

I hate to always begin these talks with bad news. Although it isn’t truly bad news. It depends on how you look at it. Coming to a state of knowing everything is overrated anyway. So when you can take a position of absolute unknowingness, there never really is a problem. The stance of not knowing is the beginning of unveiling the mystery surrounding you. Because, when you look at things that happen to you, there never really is a real cause that stands on its own. When you contemplate on the dynamics of events taking place, there are always factors at play you did not consider before. There’s always another person who said something, a friend who stood by you, a situation that would have gotten out of hand were it not that… Fill in the blank. A person who left your life, at a time you thought you couldn’t bear it… someone else showed up. You cancelled an appointment and another opportunity took its place. The variables at play are to comprehensive. We cannot know all of them. It is a fact that our vision cannot encompass the dynamic of life from moment to moment.

The threshold between experiencing mystery and everyday life lies, where mind’s illusions cannot take hold any longer.

What does this mean? What it means is that in fact, what we take to be the normal course of things happening at any moment, is in reality a total mystery. Our mind simply draws a line between what it thinks it sees and what it doesn’t, while the truth of the matter is: It never does! Mystery is something everyone is immersed in, yet not everyone experiences it. The threshold between experiencing mystery and everyday life lies, where mind’s illusions cannot take hold any longer. Its illusions are made up of conceptual reality;  Seeing a tree and believing there is just a tree. Waking up at 7 am and believing that it is 7  am, while it is just early dawn. Hearing musical notes, while it is merely sound.

The depths of being can only be met by our own true nature. That is why awakening is not a process.

Experiencing mystery means that on the surface of things, deep inside there is a knowing that it is not the whole of reality meeting with the senses. For the mind, mystery therefore always remains an indirect experience. The senses can only register the ripples on the surface, while the depths of being would reveal the true nature of all movements. The mystery will bring wonder and curiosity, for the mind has tasted the unfathomable quality of what it has witnessed. The depths of being can only be met by our own true nature. That is why awakening is not a process. Like the mystery of life, our true nature is always there. When it is hidden, life hides behind the veils of illusion created by our inner mental life. When it reveals itself, it reveals who we are. It reveals our true self, who is unbound, non-local and transparent.

Regards,
Antonino.

 

Why we do not share one world

There is a reason why the theory that we do not truly share one world, is valid. Apart from the esoteric assumption that we only share awareness, there are several other arguments to serve as a foundation for this statement to be true. While we only share awareness and not the reality we perceive, there is a space in which we meet and interact. Interaction can occur on different levels, either all at once, or sometimes on one or more of these levels. Emotionally and mentally, we share most of our awareness using the psychical world as the vehicle for playing out what is in need for resolve. In most cases, this interaction takes place through verbal communication and the sharing of ideas to uncover and discover truth. The question is, is this way of sharing and exchanging the most effective one.

The exchanging of opinions is quite overrated, as a means to try to distill the truth. If sharing and exchanging of opinions would lead to the truth, this would mean that regardless of the number of people involved in a debate, the truth would always be found. That would mean that two people can know the truth as well as a dozen could. It would also mean that one person could only know the truth, if it were shared with others for validation. When we look into the world, however, we see that people believe what they choose to. People with beliefs who gather to exchange views, will soon be at war with one another if the gap between their opinions is simply too great to be bridged with compromise. So if the deal is simply ending up at war, or perhaps in a more subtle form in opposition, what force will come to eventually reconcile their differences. A catalyst is needed to re-establish balance, harmony and understanding.

If there is a strong disagreement of how the world should work, how people should behave and who has control over what… what kind of catalyst would offer a solution and resolution to this kind of impasse. If all parties involved would consider the beliefs of their opponents to be outrageous, what outcome will be inevitable to restore balance between extremes who are unwilling to meet half-way. If there is no room for a middle ground and a tolerance for differences, what other situation can arise, but a violent re-establishment of equilibrium, in which no participating party will be taken into account in regards to their survival. Because, when life sees no other way but to extinguish what has grown resistant to any form of flexibility, it will rage and burn down all in its way, in order to create the right conditions for a fresh new start. We think that life takes things personal, but it does not. Only we do. Life will do what needs to be done from an absolute perspective, while humans will often do this from a self-serving angle without any regard for the other side.

Life will throw back to us what is not met within. It throws back what we did not yet learn. It shows where we have left off, where we missed a chance to take the other road. We will eventually take the other road. It is however of vital importance, that we make that choice from a clear and sincere place in our hearts. If we do it from a strategic motivation, nothing good can come of it, since strategies will only serve one of the two. A strategy becomes obsolete when the two dissolve into one. Before that can happen, we need to deeply see and feel that serving ourselves at the cost of the other will not work. It doesn’t matter how many occurrences and lifetimes are required to attain this insight. The only thing that matters, is what will happen when that moment comes.

Regards,
Nino.

The mind’s natural state

In an immense panorama of spiritual practices and philosophy, the nature of the mind has been studied for centuries. Apart from mere biological research such as the field of neuroscience, the experience of what we call mind intrigues us as human beings. Teachings from different cultures offer methods to become more familiar with the way the mind works. That is to say; on the level of how the dynamics of our thinking comes about, as well as the way we perceive it and act upon it. Most practices have an element of meditation and or any other form of centred attention. One may practice daily or regularly, where the deeper state of meditation starts to contrast more and more to the daily waking life. This gap seems to become larger as practice becomes deeper. At this point, many encounter problems managing their minds between these states. It is at this point, where life seems to increasingly disagree with the pursuit of wellbeing, clarity and peace. “There is something that is overlooked,” a subtle voice inside would whisper – if it could speak.

Interesting to know about managing states and trying to control the mind, is that it is our very nature to do so. In fact, we do this constantly. So even in an attempt to study the mind, our approach is constructed in the way the mind works.

Apart from spiritual practices, there is a wide variety of other methods and practices in the field of self-help techniques to discover more about the mind. Some of these practices and techniques are aimed at more control, like altering its dynamics and managing its states. Other techniques are only interested in observing and studying its dynamics. And then there is everything in between. Interesting to know about managing states and trying to control the mind, is that it is our very nature to do so. In fact, we do this constantly. So even in an attempt to study the mind, our approach is constructed in the way the mind works. Another question to ask is: “Is this really how the mind works?” Is this an absolute truth, that the mind always tries to control what is happening in order to get its own way?  In other words: Is the desire to control the environment the natural state of the mind? If so, is its desire to control itself a natural state? Perhaps the answer is yes in our current condition of mind. But what if we were conditioned differently. Would its natural state then be the same? These are all quite limited inquiries. Perhaps we should ask this question more openly.

“What is the natural state of the mind?”

If you watch your daily life and everything you do, you will find out that if you wish to make a change, the mind does not object to it. There might be internal commentary about the usefulness of the new program. This is evident especially when the objectives of one program conflicts with another.

Considering what we have seen in the past few decades, in the field of therapy, hypnosis, NLP and  any state-altering and any behaviour-altering science or method. What we find out is that the mind is highly programmable / trainable through conditioning. It can learn new types of behaviour, perception, belief and even shifts in identity. The more these methods are expanded and put into practice, the more we discover that the possibilities are endless. We can make people learn to no longer believe to be afraid of spiders, to not fear to drown when they go for a swim, to quit smoking or to overcome the effects of severe trauma. The natural state of the mind is there in all of these circumstances. It cannot be otherwise, because the mind is always there. Its natural state is doing what it has learned. The mind does what it is conditioned to do. How it is programmed, so it will execute its routines. This does not mean that we are programs executing routines. I’m just saying that our minds are doing that.

So what does this imply, if we consider all the (spiritual) practices with meditation, mindfulness, yoga, cognitive therapy and so on. It implies that by learning to generate a new state of awareness, we are introducing this as a new program to the mind. The mind gracefully accepts the new program, since that is what it does. You will never experience that your mind rejects a program. If you watch your daily life and everything you do, you will find out that if you wish to make a change, the mind does not object to it. There might be internal commentary about the usefulness of the new program. This is evident especially when the objectives of one program conflicts with another. Here we might experience some difficulty. Why? Because the internal commentator is the voice we listen to most of the time. It is a voice we believe that speaks the truth, when we try to eat more healthy or do more exercise an it says that now is not the time because we have a schedule, appointments or just not feeling up to it.  Maybe later… This is just an example, but I’m sure you can come up with your own examples of how this voice talks you, as soon as there are changes that you feel will improve your wellbeing. Often these changes are related to wellbeing, because most of us have been conditioned into consumerism. We lead relatively unhealthy lives, we work too much and need the off time to recover from all the madness.

This is the reason why, when we start to become more responsible for our wellbeing through mindful living, we tend to see our own mind as the enemy. It is not truly the enemy… it has done what we thought was okay, because we didn’t know any better. Now that we do know, we begin to introduce these new programs for better eating, less stress, a healthy work-free time balance, spending quality time with friends and family and so on. Our mind does not reject them, but the agents of the old programming are objecting because they cannot see how the new ones benefit you more. They (the old ones) were there for you when you needed them. Now you need something different because you now know better. This brings forth the dilemma that most practitioners struggle with sooner or later. The dilemma is: How do I make room for these new programs to replace the old ones. And the answer is: You don’t. It’s impossible to replace a program. Programs are either introduced, modified or they become idle. To replace a program with a new one implies, that the old one has to go. So the question then becomes: How are old programs removed? And the answer is: They cannot be. There is no delete-button in our brain to remove them. By now you must be hearing yourself ask: “Is there any good news to this?” And the answer is: Yes there is. Because the question that will guarantee the answer that will solve this dilemma, is as follows.

“How does the mind know the new program is preferred?”

Survival is the basic function of the separate self. It wants to remain… it wants to live. So if you want to convince the mind / ego that it needs to adopt a better program, you have to find a good reason.

The key is to learn the mind that the new program will be more capable to support its continuation. Because, continuation is what the mind is interested in, eventually. Survival is the basic function of the separate self. It wants to remain… it wants to live. So if you want to convince the mind / ego that it needs to adopt a better program, you have to find a good reason. In order to find this reason, you need to have a deeper understanding of the function of the old programs and why they were there. It is interesting to do some research in old programming, as it reveals much of the way you have lived your past. It reveals much about your psychology back then, how you solved problems and how you handled challenges. When you find out the reasons for the old programs to be there, you can easily generate the arguments for the new ones to be better. When you dive deep enough into your history, these arguments will emerge automatically. At that point, your mind will know. It immediately sees  through the old programming. It will conclude its dysfunctional nature in the present day and adopt the new one automatically.

As I am writing this, it sounds very simple and easy to execute. In some cases it is, in other cases your old programming might be buried under quite some trauma or misunderstood experience. No matter how long it takes, when you set course for this kind of path, you will find out what you need to know. The most important principle to keep close to your heart is, to be willing to get to see and feel things you never imagined or suspected from yourself. If you feel you should not be doing this by yourself, ask for help or talk things through with a friend you trust. Having patience with yourself is another important element. Never rush transformation. Never try to be different than how you are, no matter what your environment or inner voice tells you. You will know when it is time to know.

“Why can I not override old programming?”

Your natural state of being is reflected in the way your mind works. Thus, the way you are conditioned in perhaps a dysfunctional state, you cannot override programming by trying to assume a role that is not congruent to your nature. This is one of the most misunderstood principles in overcoming insecurities.

Often when people aren’t comfortable with their behaviour out of insecurity, they try to overcome it by acting in the opposite way. For instance, a person that has trouble dancing freely and ecstatically in a club, would step up suddenly to the stage dance floor to force the behaviour of a person they would like to be. Most people have a vision in their minds of being a person they’re not, with certain qualities and abilities that they themselves to not possess. This might sound as being mere the result of insecurities. Yet, there’s more to this than meets the eye. While the cause for the insecurities is omitted, they wish to just be different. They will perhaps conquer their fears and dance wildly on the stage – the cause of the original fears is never addressed. Sooner or later the insecurities will arise in a different context or in the same, as soon as the effect of overcoming them wears off. The reason for this dynamic is simple. You cannot pretend to be different than the way you are on the level of natural being. Your natural being will always shine through. This natural being will direct your spontaneous movement. Being spontaneous is therefore something you can never learn. You always are spontaneous. You can resist to this or go along with it. When you resist, it will feel like you are acting in an unnatural way. When you go along, you will encounter everything you need to be as you are in each moment. In other words: You cannot be spontaneous by trying to be spontaneous.

In the same way, you cannot be an extravert and charismatic person that mesmerises an audience in a split second by trying to be one, when you are an introvert, a creative person with a very rich inner world who wants to paint, write, play music and spend time in the woods and at other times do and say nothing. You cannot work against you natural state of being. Your natural state of being is reflected in the way your mind works. Thus, the way you are conditioned in perhaps a dysfunctional state, you cannot override programming by trying to assume a role that is not congruent to your nature. This is one of the most misunderstood principles in overcoming insecurities. By personal experience I have found out, that challenging situations will be met when it is time; not sooner, not later, and in perfect harmony with the way you system can handle the new way in which it has to operate.

“Is being natural the same as being spontaneous?”

The experience of being in the flow of life will become stronger as you learn to connect to what is here, rather than just believing what is there.

From the angle of the mind, the answer is No. From the perspective of being yourself, the answer is that you cannot ever be other than spontaneous. The difference is, from the mind your experience will invoke emotional responses in your energy, telling you that your actions are not in accordance with what you believe. This happens when your mind is programmed to act in resistance to reality. When you acquire more insight in your conditioning, this resistance will slowly diminish. The experience of being in the flow of life will become stronger as you learn to connect to what is here, rather than just believing what is there. So being natural depends on what you view is on what natural means. The mind is natural as it performs the tasks it has been given. Natural being is in itself the same, as it has no predetermined preference for one or another way of being. The only thing that matters, is if you are aligned or in resistance. Resistance brings forth discord, conflict and confusion, whereas alignment brings forth growth, wellbeing and clarity. As always; there is no right or wrong. There is only experience and reality. Simply choose how they relate within your world.

Regards
Nino ❤

Zen @ Customer Service

An interesting title, perhaps a bit out of the familiar zone in relation to my other articles. Well, yes and no that is. I figured, since we already have the well-known “Buddha at the Gaspump” on YouTube, I might just go for this one. Though in this case, it is not meant to be just a metaphor. I will write about some of the actual experiences of working at a customer service position, with Zen of course as the main lens or vantage point. It will probably alter your vision on humanity. It will make crystal clear why the world we see every day is the way it is. It will perhaps even make you consider a different approach towards people at any such positions, should you ever need them… or not. Whatever you will make of this, there’s a gap between sanity and insanity… and we’re all able to swing across, if someone hands us the rope persuasively enough. That is to say, there’s a potential within every human to leap from clarity to chaos in an instant.

Where does it begin

Before diving into this mystery, let’s look at where this begins. And it always begins with an organisation that has a product or service, who creates customers who need or – in some cases – think they need the goods. Sooner or later the goods will be less than satisfactory for either a minority or majority of the buyers, depending on the quality of the job delivered.

Some conversations are like emotional curveballs, where the challenge is to prevent the caller from shouting Strike 3! before hanging up the phone. In other words, maintaining a professional stance is vital to not only survive this kind of job, but to master one’s own emotional field as well.

There we see a coming to life of something that wasn’t always part of the original plan. Maybe it was born out of a necessity to keep customers happy. And yet, sometimes it is part of the original plan. Here we witness the genesis of the Customer service department. Its speciality: being a warm blanket for all the customers, a listening ear and most importantly, a problem solver that will make your worries vanish within a few minutes. Sometimes it takes a bit longer, but this is the basic idea. They are – often more than the rest of the organisation – in direct communication with the people who use the products.

You can imagine such a position to be a recipe for a wide variety of conversations related to problems, complaints and compliments. Some conversations are like emotional curveballs, where the challenge is to prevent the caller from shouting Strike 3! before hanging up the phone. In other words, maintaining a professional stance is vital to not only survive this kind of job, but to master one’s own emotional field as well. In some encounters, this field is like a vibrating wall absorbing incoming rocks from a slingshot. This sounds a bit extreme and, of course this is not the middle ground. Nevertheless, it gives a good idea of the bandwidth at which two people interact with one another. Since you now have a little introduction of what the arena is like, we can jump into strategy and tactics happening in the combat zone.

When I say strategy and tactics. these are seldom consciously applied by the caller, although in some cases there is a setup to try to get something done. Unconscious strategies are well-known for their false sense of innocence. Not to be confused with strong emotional moods – which is a quite different, more inflamed state of a strategy gone haywire – unconscious strategy is what the human psyche or ego uses to get its way. The only problem is that we often don’t know it is doing it. There’s a myriad of situations where these unconscious strategies can come up, but mostly they do fall into a few main categories. When people need help from an unbalanced standpoint, they can for instance assume the role of a victim of the situation, or they feel entitled to being given something which they feel is missing.

Victimhood

Often times, when someone really feels victimized, there’s no way even the simplest of ideas or suggestions make it into their suffering brain. It can’t… it won’t go in. They’re like a drowning person, kicking and screaming in the water. Be careful they don’t take you down with them.

As a victim of the situation, someone is driven into a helpless state of mind. People who declare themselves to be a victim to something, act and feel helpless and might even be in a mild state of panic. This state is irrational and chaotic. In life-threatening situations, we sometimes hear of stories where rescuers almost get drowned by the victim because they panic. At the customer service problems aren’t life-threatening, yet some people can act in the same way. Without trying to ridicule this kind of behaviour, the insane nature of it becomes painfully apparent when you have to deal with it regularly. The baseline for the conversation is; there’s no point talking sense into them, because their mind isn’t making any sense right now. And you’re not supposed to try to make sense of it. Instead, offering space to calm the mood is like first aid. As soon as a response to that ensues, communication can begin.

Often times, when someone really feels victimized, there’s no way even the simplest of ideas or suggestions make it into their suffering brain. It can’t… it won’t go in. They’re like a drowning person, kicking and screaming in the water. Be careful they don’t take you down with them. Now this is meant metaphorically in terms of emotional space. One has to be careful not to share the same emotional space. Don’t jump in with them, stay in your basket hanging under your rescue chopper. Wait until they’ve exhausted themselves. In a rare case you’ll find that some have an incredible amount of endurance. Where others have long gone under, they’re still above and even making waves of their own. In a way, they’re drowning themselves. How mysterious it is to find out that from your point of view, all they need to do is stop ranting and they float… to be picked up by you… and they just won’t do it.

Entitlement

Now, entitlement is a bit different on the emotional spectrum, but not all that different. In a sense, the person still feels being a victim of something, but he or she doesn’t believe to be at the mercy of their situation. They feel a sense of injustice for not having what they expect to get. This feeling of injustice brings them to a state of feeling entitled to be given this thing they need. So in fact, someone who feels entitled is a victim who refuses to believe to be helpless. You can compare this with stories of medical emergency personnel being attacked by someone. Somehow they believe they or a person they love needs certain care which they don’t get, as instead what they really need cannot be given because the person goes berserk and attacks the very people who try to help.

You can imagine when someone feels entitled to get something that is impossible to provide, this is a no-brainer for what happens next. In the midst of the emotional attack, one thing is vital. Never give the impression that there’s an opening to help them get what they need after all. The first reaction to someone who is forward and demanding, is to serve them in any way possible. But this is a trap. The very response of being willing to try to meet their needs; it is like a red flag in the eyes of a bull. You will just draw upon their wrath. Staying firm in what is possible and what isn’t, is the best way to break their unconscious assault strategy. This may sound a bit black and white. There are many grey areas and different situations where there’s even combinations of different tactics. Yet, t’s also not really exaggerated. Entitlement can be a tough wall to break down, often resulting in a draw.

Total confusion

Perhaps even more problematic than the aforementioned roles, is when someone doesn’t really know where one is. One just has a problem, but has difficulty explaining the situation, clueless as to what is going on. Basically, if you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you should be going. If you don’t know where you should be going, how can you explain what it is you need. When someone admits to be lost, it becomes very simple. You just start from the beginning and work your way through. But often that’s a problem now, isn’t it. People don’t like to admit they’re lost. They don’t like to admit they don’t know something. So pretence takes over, where they make up a story to which you, the one who wants to help, are the targeted buyer. Rest assured. It doesn’t matter if you buy in it or not, because the result will be the same – two lost people dwelling in the woods, where one of them imagines seeing breadcrumbs everywhere.

Depending on the type of person, they might not want to know where it went wrong, because a sense of defeat goes with that. Strangely, this defence layer turns out to be quite weak. You can’t hold up pretence with thin air. As soon as the balloon pops, an opening will give way to resolve.

Now, often from the angle of the helper, someone’s state of confusion is quite apparent, as is the cause of it. But the person who is lost, doesn’t know what the cause is. So what do you do? You start asking questions about what happened. Questions about what happened will probably reveal where it went wrong. Depending on the type of person, they might not want to know where it went wrong, because a sense of defeat goes with that. Strangely, this defence layer turns out to be quite weak. You can’t hold up pretence with thin air. As soon as the balloon pops, an opening will give way to resolve. Because only when the defenses go down, inquiry can take place to start tracing back to a new where are we orientation. This will happen quickly in most cases, and in some
it won’t, because the shame of having made a mistake is just too much.

People get affected in their self-worth for the most ridiculous reasons. Again, this is not meant in a dismissing way. It’s actually quite intense if you see this happening so many times, while realizing how unnecessary it really is. Sometimes, people even express how bad they feel for calling for something so simple. It’s amazing how humans often are their own worst bully. I believe this is a core cause for a lot of suffering and its collateral. How unnecessary it really was, you can only find out after you wake up from it. It is life’s irony; you can only find out how unnecessary an experience is by going through it all the way.

Rudeness

Why are people rude. They get frustrated, disillusioned, disappointed, but any of those states doesn’t have to necessarily mean they will be rude to you. They can become emotional, yes. As said earlier, the emotional element in this line of work does require skill and mastery of ones own inner states to a certain degree. But rudeness is quite the opposite of an emotional reaction. It’s more of a shutting down, in a sense even a sort of defeat. When someone gives up, he or she no longer cares what happens next. Some people are more rude in their personality than others. But rudeness is a state of shutting down, disconnecting. They treat you as if you are of no value to them, as if you’re just a resource for their (hopeful) resolution to a problem. When this resolve stays out, here come’s the cloud of meanness raining on you. It feels awful, but mostly it feels like that because there’s no connection.

When there’s meanness, whether this happens with people we know or with strangers… they often need the space and you’re all that stands in their way.

What humans hate more than anything, is to be ignored. In a sense, even though there’s name calling and being verbally compared to certain illnesses, you feel this is mostly a person not paying attention to you. Someone just vents their garbage in your direction, but totally ignores your presence within that happening. It is the being reduced to near nothing, that brings up quite a nasty feeling. Fortunately, there’s a great solution to this. Here it is: there’s truly really nothing to be done about it. If a person is in a state of disconnect, how could you possibly reach them. There’s no way, except when they decide to make the first move. Within this acid rain cloud of theirs you’re still standing in, chances are second to none that will ever happen. So what do you do? Just wait until they had enough of the conversation. It’ll happen soon enough, because you don’t mean anything to that person. What’s the use for someone to stay there with someone who has no value.

This approach might sound a little backwards, but in other life situations this is no different. When there’s meanness, whether this happens with people we know or with strangers… they often need the space and you’re all that stands in their way. When this is someone you know, it works differently because you have a few shared values together as friends or relatives. You can work with that to find out and work out what is happening. But than there’s also a sense of trust. With strangers, this foundation is missing. With rude strangers there is really no working ground to build something. Of course, there are exceptions and in a rare occasion such a conversation works itself out in a surprising way. Those occasions are rare, you won’t ever forget them.

Clear and sound questions

For a fair amount of contacts you get, these are clear and sound questions or situations. It seems that either things were clear for these people from the beginning, or they went through one of these aforementioned phases before calling. The ease with which things move when everything is clear – even when there’s an obstacle or a problem with delivering what is asked – can sometimes be surprising. It seems to be there’s this space of honesty, where things can be said without any sort of emotional afterglow. Things are the way they are. Both the caller and the helper have a clear understanding of what is asked. Both know where they are at, so there’s no confusion whatsoever about the direction to move towards. These conversations run by themselves, carrying a mutual appreciation automatically.

This society still mostly leans towards a mismatch-oriented management strategy. We fix what doesn’t work and what does work we occasionally wish to optimize. But to optimise something, we often lack insight as to the reason why it works so well.

It would be interesting to find out what makes this flow so smooth. We often tend to analyze where it doesn’t run smoothly. Hence, we often have much more detailed knowledge about what doesn’t go well, than about what does. This society still mostly leans towards a mismatch-oriented management strategy. We fix what doesn’t work and what does work we occasionally wish to optimize. But to optimise something, we often lack insight as to the reason why it works so well. I tend to believe that we think we know, but do we really…

What about the rest of the world

All of these different types of interaction actually applies to a wide range of situations in life. We can see how others and also we ourselves, can be hung up in something. This customer service position is like a magnifying glass for the way people behave in general. It’s also a magnifying glass to become aware of ones own reactions. A way of exploring: What does it make me conscious of within my own field of emotion, thoughts and beliefs? The tendency with jobs like this is to train people how to use techniques to manipulate conversations. That’s absolutely a great tool to use, as it helps to maintain a professional attitude and keep some distance to the work you’re exposed to daily. Yet it only goes so far.

What about acceptance of humans beings the way they are. This is a huge topic within the spiritual community. We always seem to be looking for scapegoats, to find people who do more wrong than we do. It’s true that some of us can use a crash course in the basics to compensate for some very questionable social skills. But do we really understand the why of behaviours. We just wish that people aren’t like that. We have wished that for centuries, but did that really change anything at all, at the core? The scenery has changes, the world has evolved as a society, as a species, but mostly because of accomplishments.

The funny thing is, when you work at a customer service position, you tend to be mostly at the receiving end of that. Yet, when talking to friends and other people about their experiences with customer service, I hear the same variety in good and bad encounters.

Did we really evolve as far as we could have internally, consciously. I wonder… is it possible we have to accept these dark dungeons of the psyche. instead of denying their existence. What if we begin to give them space, so they may be seen for what they are. To be willing to really see, instead of looking for scapegoats in the form of any other human, whether it is a stranger on the phone, someone at the store, or perhaps some world leaders and celebrities of whom some are less preferred in their humanity. Let’s be honest; we wish to deny having negative traits within ourselves, even though they show up from time to time. It’s only so much easier to point them out in others. How would we even be able to recognize them, if not part of our own nature.

The funny thing is, when you work at a customer service position, you tend to be mostly at the receiving end of that. Yet, when talking to friends and other people about their experiences with customer service, I hear the same variety in good and bad encounters. Isn’t that interesting. This brings me to a point where I’d like to say “To be continued…” There’s a whole lot to be said on mutual experiences of one encounter, where either side can have a perception of not being understood, for different reasons. As if both are looking at the two-sided mirror, each battling his or her own reflection. I believe there’s a lot to be explored in that regard.

So I say then, to be continued… 🙂

Regards,
Nino.

Compassion in practice

Warning! This is partly a journal blog entry. If you wish not to know about my personal circumstances, perhaps better skip this one. I normally share exclusively my reflective output, after it has been processed in a way that I consider meaningful for others to read. This entry will speak for itself, which is self-reflective yet also honest about what is happening.

THE ROUGH RIDES

For two years now, since my last job employment ended, I’ve been going through transition after transition, shedding what I was not aware of before and each time finding new ground to sow seeds. From love relationships to spiritual group efforts, connecting myself and others, enriching my own spiritual gamma and also hopefully that of others. Shadow work is the common term for this kind of chain of events in one’s life path. This is regardless of to what ever degree it happens to a person. For me, it has meant loss of people, bittersweet goodbyes and exhilarating hello’s, but also solitude and abandonment. Depth of this has been from interesting to epic, quaking the soul to its uttermost core, each tremor reshaping the landscape of my psyche.

Thus far this has been a rough ride at times, but also there has been space to reflect, contemplate and eventually share insights through my writing. Even a poetry book (States of Grace) has been one of the fruits of labor so far. Other books are slowly coming into form and hopefully to completion between now and a few months. The space I have for this in a rather solitary life is not at all a bothersome existence. However, since I have no self-generated income, things are starting to crumble slowly. Since last week my situation is getting more troublesome from the perspective of the common, material sense. I’m currently enrolled in a process where mostly (but not only) the so-called “underclass” of society dwells.

EMISSIONS OF KINDNESS

Today I had to visit a seminar for a job as a call center agent. There were many applicants of course. The trajectory is well designed and perhaps even interesting as a job switch. Before we went into the presentation room, I stood outside to talk to a few people. Nice people, all with their issues and trying to make it work. Later on, sitting in the audience listening to the presentation, I noticed that each and every one of them was emitting a kindness in a way I never noticed before. In some miraculous way, I started to feel a wave of compassion for them.

There were questions about how to combine work with private matters. There were quite a few single mothers, some who were fired at an age that getting a new job becomes unlikely. I felt as though these ones – who are in the arena of life challenges we all try to avoid – are the ones at the foundation of a world that is going to look very different from the one we see today. They all feel lost in a way, like me, to make ends meet in a trajectory that only seems to be headed downhill. Downhill with gravity, unable to stop the tumbling down at each descend.

Afterwards I talked to one woman who had lost a job that fitted so perfectly to her life as a single mom. She really didn’t know what to do with this situation and this job offer didn’t fit at all, making it impossible. It made me wonder why we go through all this, without asking why me from a victim standpoint. I guess this also is part of the Bodhisattva path of first learning, or being calibrated upon, the state of freedom from suffering as far as it can go. How else does one attune compassionately with the ones who are trying to find this freedom; This freedom that some have attained, but still way too few of the people who seem to be headed in the same direction. It might sound strange to say this, as in these areas of society there can be a lot of darkness and self-victimization. For reasons still unknown to me, I didn’t feel that in this setting at all.

DID I SEE OR REFUSE TO SEE

Am I sugar-coating my own experience? Were these people filtered through my pink shades that made them so perfectly beautiful in my eyes? All I know is that it wasn’t all good what I saw, it was just them in their wholeness. The vast majority of oppressed people who know no better than to follow what is presented, taking care of their precious ones, having not been in contact with any means to start the path of transcendence. Which doesn’t mean that all the bad stuff stops happening. It means the authentic presence I seem to have felt this afternoon, is what is really present in everyone, buried so deep in some and just beneath the surface in others. I wish to pray for them.

TRANSITIONS AND PROBING

This path has many transition phases. At each phase, one moves through a barrier towards a new situation, or new reality if you will. Beyond that barrier an intermediate space exists, where particles vibrate chaotically as they do not belong to either reality, not the old and not the new. This space is so void of direction, yet evidence of moving towards that new situation is there, as if a probing is taking place to see how thing would work out in different lines of choice. This is done superconsciously by the soul mostly, yet sometimes tapping into that process brings a sense of trust amidst the chaos. We will see where this transition leads me. So far, it has been interesting and meaningful. At this point in my life, it would be extremely hard for me to believe it’ll be any different this time. In fact, I believe meaning increases its magnitude each time we are passing through the bulk.

Regards,
Nino ❤

The astral realm

“Spirit creates form in perfect balance,
to manifest sound shapes into the physical world.
Most physical beings cannot yet manifest to this level of perfection from thought.
Thus, the astral realm introduces opposites by design to keep this balance in place.
The world is therefore never truly out of balance.
Extremes are answered by extremes.”

Since there have been explorers of the realms of the unseen, spirits, entities and the incredible world beyond out physical dimension have been discussed, studied and interpreted in a number of ways. The old spiritualistic view is that there’s a realm full of entities actively engaging with humans, influencing behavior, guiding or feeding themselves. A world that seems very much like our own, apart from the fact there are no bodies. Some say spirit mediums pick up energy and communicate with this world. When we dream, we dwell in that world. When we die, our spirit is home to this world and remains there until something new happens, for which there are several theories. This world is referred to as the astral realm. Some claim this realm is a dangerous place for our consciousness to tap into, since these spirit marauders will look for victims to leech their emotional energy, in whatever psychological range the victim’s issues may lie. Next to these negative spirits, there are also the ones coming from a higher place which are there to guide us. Often it is said, if you wish to be in contact with your guides you have to make sure they’re not from the astral realm, for angelic beings come from the spiritual world that is beyond the astral frontier.

For some reason this whole idea has never fully taken hold of me and the way some “believers” take care of their energy in an attempt to “protect” themselves from being marauded, often demonstrates a superstitious element. Maybe there’s another explanation that reconciles a bit more our human condition, in which there is a will to evolve and, since most of us believe there’s a place we go to once we perish physically, a spiritual realm that is benign of nature.

The universe as the totality of physical manifestation is, by itself, benign of nature. Its vastness can be frightening, its dynamics violent at a huge scale. Yet there are no malevolent intentions behind it. The universe is, moves and works to give expression to the laws of physics to a certain degree and doesn’t any longer beyond certain thresholds of space and time. It has many secrets but keeps no hidden agenda. It is impersonal in its enveloping presence to hold all worlds we will ever get to know about. Within a space that abstract and impersonal, intention is absent as it nears the boundary beyond which utter being and pure creation exist. Pure creation produces no good or evil. Only its effects might, at a minor scale within perceived realities such as our own world called Earth. We know little to none about existence in other worlds, apart from vague memories of having been there. All we mostly know takes place in the confinements of our planet. How has this come to be. Where do ideas spring to life that are responsible for the chaos and contrast that is so apparently present in this world.

Creation

Genesis references from many cultures and beliefs portray the archetypical forces shaping our world, bringing in the opposing powers that may become allies or are at war. Battles are fought not only outside, but as studies and self inquiry practices begin to unravel more and more, mainly within is where the battles take place. The human psyche does this constantly, finds reasons for discontent, to move elsewhere, criticize or disapprove, longs for pleasures at the cost of better things, trying to avoid adversity but often only finding more. Creation seems to have taken us aloof, in a chaotic existence where we fall victim to a mind that doesn’t want to shut up. There must be a reason for all this, this lack of control. So we start looking for causes and we find a myriad of them. Studies of the collective unconscious, esoteric explanations and ancient practices to delve deep into these patterns of insanity. Some lead to a better understanding while others lead to partial misconception of what happens. What exactly happens, no one knows on a conceptual level. It’s simply too vast, too complex to comprehend and put into concepts. We can only move closer towards the principle by being open in a state of peace, without a need to pursue supernatural states of awareness and bliss. They can happen in various forms of practice, yes, yet when we wish to remain sane the drive to recreate such ecstatic states isn’t going to bring us closer to it. It rather then branches us away from the stem. No harm done though, since exploring is only fun when we do not walk straight paths so we can see more of the vista. But back to what we wish to encounter as closely as possible, a near non-moving state is what we need. One could say it is the state which approaches the essential state of the universe, in which there is no intention. We can use intention later, but first we need to grasp around some solidity.

Manifestation

To entertain a minimalistic approach, there are two ways in which we can exist. In one, we are embodied in physical form, in the other we are not. Both states have a level of awareness, one being much broader than the other. The spiritual world has a larger panorama and moves across space and time more freely and swiftly. What is invented in the present mind, immediately manifests. Information and feeling between beings is unobstructed, since telepathic communication is all we have there. There would be no reason to lie, since it would be impossible to remain undetected and the very drive for most strategies are for survival, a basic need that fully collapses in the spiritual realm. The physical world moves much more slowly, has basic needs for survival and creates this illusion of separation, as the transparency between beings seems to be obstructed. One day we came into this world, where everything was perfect until we learned a few things tainting the pure grounds from which we came. Then our experience started to change and we were led into very different feelings, found out we had to protect ourselves from the “outside world” and other people. We began to entertain thoughts that support our ways, as we found more evidence to sustain in our belief the world is not a nice place. We began to hold our ground and created this private space where we desired to be loved and taken care of. Meanwhile we tried to manifest better times using our power of the mind, once we learned a bit about it. Prayer, visualization, affirmations, it all helped or so we thought. Often we hear how people keep wishing for their wellbeing, better health, more money and improvement of circumstances in life. What they get in return, they say, often is partly what they asked for and partly or, unfortunately for some, mostly the opposite. There seems to be this mechanism of answer to our prayers and then a backfiring motion, or something in the new situation that isn’t quite what we wished for. Then the old saying goes: “Be careful what you wish for.” At a certain point we realize that the way we define the outcome we wish to see, often is too limited or not narrow enough for it to be exactly what we wanted. And here comes the question of the century: “How to we know what we want is really what we want.”

The In-between

The magic of the existence we are in is, that creation works both ways but on different levels of perfection. When we were born, our form matched perfectly the goal we were pursuing on a soul level. We were born in the right family, under the right circumstances and with the right set of talents, whether still dormant or unlocked from the start. This is perfect creation, as there was nothing to stand in the way of you coming into being. The singular outcome of your soul’s wish was you. Spirit creates form in perfect balance to manifest a sound shape in the physical world. Most physical beings cannot yet manifest to this level of perfection from thought. Thus, the astral realm introduces opposites by design to keep this balance in place. The world is therefore never truly out of balance. Extremes are answered by extremes. This is what the astral realm does. It’s not a ghostly space where lost spirits dwell. It’s an instrument for creation, having the sole purpose of translating the will of formless spirit into a blueprint of shapes, to be manifested into the physical world. Why? The world of spirit, where your soul is at home, wishes to experience and feel what it knows through the physical world. But the world of spirit is so different from the world of matter that a buffer, a design layer is required where consciousness from both ends is tapped in to. When we influence our reality according to our souls blueprint, we align with the perfection and balance of the soul. When we are driven by wants and needs merely related to physical existence, an opposite is created by this design layer to keep life’s course on the soul’s path, aligned and re-aligned with it. Off-track motions will be restored to balance this way. The key to manifesting in alignment is to know what we want on the soul level. We can co-create with ourselves once we open up to the plan we have for ourselves from that soul perspective. The pushing and pulling, swinging and swirling, it might all become more at rest once contact is established. Contact! With guidance that comes from our own essence, as well as the essences we have gathered for our plan to work. In this regard, angels, guides and other evolved beings are still a part of our magical unfolding, yet from a place where trust in what we’ve always known may come back into our life again.

Chaos is a vibration of the mind when it searches without a compass. Solid ground may bring the strength we need to go beyond that frontier of the comfort zone, where soul wishes we go to embark in new experience. Solid in a way that we can enter the great unknown without overwhelming fear, without distractions and the play of mind’s escape strategies to small pleasures. Because the greatest pleasure, joy and wonder is to be found where we haven’t been before. Beyond the frontier of familiarity and safety, for you are always safe as you truly are the mastermind behind it all.

Regards,
Nino ❤