Our Societal Tightrope

It is insanely easy to become disillusion by the society we live in; to view the corruption of high-profile businesses, or how consumed 'these kids today' have become in their mobile phones. Equally, it is insanely easy to view 'non-conformers' of our society as primitive, or backwards. It sometimes seems as though we can only fall into one of these two categories.

As we become more open to question the world around us -- an important stage of awakening ourselves -- it is highly important that we remember that nothing (or at least the majority of things) in this world are bad. Becoming aware of the materialistic world around us does not entail the rejection of all that we see -- though, if it helps you as a person, then that's a valuable lifestyle choice to make. The original concept of money is good. The concepts of capitalism, democracy, and socialism (though I realise many people may disagree with this statement) are all good. However, it is when these concepts are taken to far over one side, when they loss touch with their original concept of good, that they become corrupt, and detrimental to the state of out being.

So how does this apply to our everyday life?

As we begin to become more conscious of ourselves, and how we fit into this world, we must also become increasingly aware of whether we are using or abusing the resources that our society has given us. Our flashing iPhones and gadgets are fantastic; I personally have been lost in the city one too many times. But is it always necessary to be on them? To have them beside us, as though we need them to breath? And so, we must work out how to balance this into our lifestyle, without either falling into the two traps: constantly Facebook-ing 24/7 on them, or deciding to throw our cross and holy water at them. This is just one example, of so many more things! Phones, in essence, aren't bad, however we must make sure we are using them correctly.

The resources we have been given may often appear contradictory to the lessons we are often given in awakening our soul, and becoming in touch with who we are. However, it is vital that we keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with evolution -- biological, or technological. Be excited as we find new advances in our sciences, and our daily gadgets, but always remember to question the necessity of its use, and what dangers may be involved.

Happy balancing!

Remember to become a Follower!

Publishing Contract Received

I am happy to announce that I have received a publishing contract with Astraea Press, for my novella Honeyflower and Pansy, set to release early next year.
Please 'like' the Facebook, support this debut novella, and receive information about its release!

https://www.facebook.com/Esme.L.James?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

With hopes of educating little, autistic Sage, Amanda Daryl’s family find themselves living in a town which has an unfinished story to tell. When plans for the school’s construction are abandoned, Amanda’s instincts lead her to fight for her sister’s honour; unknowingly paving the way for experiences she could never have anticipated.

Faced with a drunken café owner, amusing new friends, and little Sage, who simply cannot stop eating, Amanda’s journey becomes comical, inspiring, and at times, heart-breaking. To achieve her goal, Amanda discovers she must first address the ghosts of this town, and place it back in motion. 

And then of course, there is Tristan; the mysterious boy always lurking near the edge of the forest, who best expresses his emotions through flowers.

Honeyflower and Pansy attempts to capture humanity at its highest, and lowest points, ultimately offering a message of hope. It explores the different types of love that can be found in the world, even the ones found in the most unexpected places. 

9 to 5, What a Way to Ruin Livin'

Pre-school care. Primary School. Senior School. Undergraduate Degree. Graduate Degree. Internship. Work. Die.

This, is what we call The System.
And the thing is, this path isn't -- at its core -- a bad thing. It's only become detrimental because it is now 'the' system.

It is uncommon for people to say they love the job they do.
It is uncommon for people to be pursuing their passion in life as a career.
It is common for people to question, re-think and fully reject the career they have chosen later in life, realising it is not fulfilling.

What is a good job? By our society's standards, a good job is the one with the highest income rate. But as we've established, money can not provide any source of happiness (SEE: http://childrenoftheawakening.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/contentment-and-why-new-shoes-wont-help.html), which most likely answers why unhappy employees outnumber happy ones by two to one*. So why do we continue to put ourselves through this system which lasts a life time, only to realise at the other end that we've achieved nothing from it? Because its 'the system'; and in this society, you can be shunned, alienated and outcasted if you don't follow it. It's not the 'norm'.

There is no denying we need many business and workforces in order for our society to function effectively. But let me ask you a question; how many of us actually know the ultimate goals of the companies we slave away for, day by day. What are they trying to achieve? To their goals match up with our visions for societies, our values, even our morals? In the most cases, not many of us actually think to question what the ultimate goals are of our companies, but they have people slaving away 9-5, five days a weeks, so they must be working towards something. The majority of people sacrifice the majority of their lives to these workforces, so it would be wise to question what exactly they are sacrificing their gift of living for. Are many of the companies even necessary, or a way to keep us busy?

As I mentioned at the beginning, the system is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it must be held in mind that it is a system, not the system. Lets change the way we view work. I want to find a good job, one that makes me happy, lets me do what I want to do, and allows me to have a positive and productive impact upon the world. Money is not my goal, happiness is. I have been given my talents and strengths for a reason; to use them, to fulfil my potential. Otherwise, we are simply letting ourselves waste away and corporations to grow stronger.

Are you really prepared to give up living to allow Ink. Co. to reach a new height of ink cartridge sales?

"And after all, if you do really like what you’re doing, it doesn’t matter what it is, you can eventually turn it – you could eventually become a master of it. It’s the only way to become a master of something, to be really with it. And then you’ll be able to get a good fee for whatever it is."

~ Matt Slick

I would advise everyone to examine this lecture by Matt Slick, which asks the question of What If Money was No Object?

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/06/money-object-everybody-including.html

"...if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid. Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way."

Peace and blessings!

* http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/10/unhappy-employees-outnumber-happy-ones-by-two-to-one-worldwide/

The New Diet Pill -- It Really Doesn't Work!

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All You Need is Love!

Why is it that we humans are obsessed with this thing called love? Why is it that love is an inescapable presence within our everyday life? Whether we are active about it, or try to deny it, humans are constantly seeking out love in their life. Love of a spouse, parent, partner, friend or even pet; we are presented with an endless list of possibilities. Our minds are innately centred around love. 

One of the greatest things that pulled me towards faith was love. It was when I felt the most love for those around me, that I felt the most love for the Higher Power, and also from the Higher Power. Equally, when I felt love for and from the Higher Power, I felt a greater connection of love towards those around me. 

There is an inimitable beauty that is found from love, and it is from within that beauty we often feel connected to a Higher Reality. It isn’t rare for our most esteemed romantic partners, or those closet to us, to take upon a spiritual status within our minds — often becoming like a spiritual guardian to us. Love is the thing that supposedly brings us the greatest source of happiness, and hence, when engulfed or entirely infatuated within love, we often feel most inclined to worship the Higher Reality. 

So, what can we conclude from this evident connection between Love and a Higher Reality? Because it’s not just individuals — Religions appear to be fascinated by the concept of Love, as well. For a few examples: 

• One of the most well-known, and in my opinion, potent quotes of the Christian Holy Bible comes from John — “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). God is Love.  That simple, three worded phrase, can put the world into perspective. God is love, and so if we are “made in His image” (Genesis 1:27), we can conclude that we are likewise creatures of love. 
• Founder of the Bahá'í Faith taught that humans should turn to God in love, for He created humans due to His Love for them. It goes on to teach that genuine love is divine, and proceeds from all humans, and God.
• Muslims are instructed to become close with Allah, for this is how they gain His love. Moreover, it is an essential principle for the Ahmadi Muslims that they love all creatures of God.
• Hinduism teaches of the distinction between kãma — a pleasurable love — and prema — an elevated love. Love, within the Hindu religion, is seen as a sacrament. 

The world is dominated by Love — on the surface, it looks to be every single persons worst nightmare. 

Now let’s take this a little further;

Commonly, I had heard people say that God created humanity because He loves us — an answer that, too me, had always appeared flawed and simplistic. However, with this new appreciation that God is Love, this begins to make sense — God created us out of Love (i.e. out of Himself) because He wanted to share His eternal Love. Think of the common example typical parents; two people, utterly in-love with each other, choose to create a child to share their love with, whilst also becoming an embodiment of their love. Thus, we are creatures of love; made as embodiments of it, and to worship in its glory. It would certainly explain why we can’t watch a film without a love-story appearing somewhere. 

Thus far we have established this;

• Human beings are utterly fascinated with Love
• Religions have established Love to be of vital importance to faith
• God is Love, therefore, we are creatures of Love.

So, what happens when we put these things together? 

Recently, Annie Kagan claimed to have had an experience with the afterlife. In her account of the experience, she states that she came in contact with her deceased brother. Whilst she was prepared to credit the experience to be her grief speaking, she says that her brother then “began sharing cosmic secrets to [her] that [she] couldn’t ignore”. Her recount of her eighth secret goes as follows:

“8. At the centre of everything is an energy, an immaterial material called LOVE. Wow, and how good it feels, this LOVE. You can’t imagine it. You really can’t. There is no way for you to experience the full power of LOVE while you’re on this plane. .”

Read more at http://www.the-open-mind.com/9-things-you-realize-after-you-die/#3tbIGQdOKdj5VabB.99

I’m in no position to make any judgements to the validity of this experience, nor will I try and persuade anyone to believe either way. My inclusion of this simply goes to support the possibility that the essence of the Higher Power is ultimately that of LOVE.

Potentially in saying, “God is Love” we could more simply be saying, “Love is Love” or “God is God”. Could potentially that essence of life have the essential characteristic of Love — could it even ultimately be just that; Love?

There is a spiritual reality to Love, far greater than we can possibly perceive. We cannot trivialise it as an idle human desire or need — the nature of Love is far greater than that. We are made up of Love, and so is the world around us. All religions, and most personal philosophies, centre around the instruction to Love one another, and give Love to the world. 

I think it’s about time that we all start to obey that conviction, for it is potentially the most important of all. 

Contentment, and Why New Shoes Won't Help

The popularised phrase has been around for years -- 'Would you rather be unhappy and rich, or happy and poor'. In other words, material goods or inner contentment; which would you choose? On the surface, it appears like a fairly simply question to answer. Most of us would say contentment (though there would be the few who'd claim they could buy their happiness back), however this choice is not often applied in our everyday life. Whether we will openly admit it or not, many of us rely upon material goods to bring us happiness. We have fallen to think as advertisers would have us think, that our lives are not complete until we possess the new item.
Saying "I just want the new iPhone" is not the same thing as saying "I just want to be happy".

So let's re-think the way we see this phrase, because on second glance, you'll see it's actually a paradox.

Buddism teaches us that the greatest wealth is contentment. With a peaceful and happy mind, we are rich. Hence, this statement would actually be saying to us "Would you rather be unhappy and happy, or happy and unhappy?". But isn't there truth in that statement? Ultimately, human experience is going to vary between being happy and unhappy -- we don't get a choice in that. However, we do get a choice in which state we spend the majority of our time in.

Being a content and happy person isn't altogether an easy choice to make. But it is just that -- it is a choice.

Firstly, we must forget our belief that happiness can we found within external things. Regardless of whether we are in an ideal situation -- we are with our favourite people, at our favourite place, doing our favourite thing -- we can still fail to be happy. I'm sure this is a situation that many of us have experienced before; we can have everything we could possibly want externally, but we are still not content.
Contentment is a state of mind, and thus can only we achieved by looking inwards at ourselves. We must make the conscious decision to be in that state of mind, though it is not often the easiest choice to make. This is a vital step that many of us miss out, as we are too busy trying to make all of the external factors around us 'perfect'. Remember, they are called external  for a reason -- they are out of our control. The only thing we can control is ourselves.

A lot of research is currently going in to explore Positive Psychology, and how happiness is achieved. One of their conclusions greatly supports these Buddhist teachings.

It was found that genetics determined our happiness level by 50%, our internal factors or choices by 40%, and only our environment by 10%. This helps to explain why buying new shoes can often only give us a split second of happiness.

From the look of this study, its clear genetics plays a large role in our contentment. Does that mean we pack up and go home, and accept we're just sad people? No.

It has been found that the gene 5-HTTLPR can have an affect on our happiness. (Why they could not give it a simpler name, I don't know. That's an external factor that does not bring me happiness). The length of this gene does tend to correlate with a higher influence rate in positive emotions. Yet, a shorter gene only gives a greater predisposition  to more negative emotions; most definitely not a stamp to say you're doomed to be sad.
This is where that 40% comes into play. We must help to control and influence the biological happenings of our body. The mind plays a vital role in our bodily functions -- a topic I am sure I will go into more detail on soon. So again, we come back to making the choice of being happy.

Making the Choice
How do we choose to be in the contentment state of mind, and re-train ourselves?

• Instead of focusing upon what is wrong, or what is lacking in our lives, focus on the opposite -- choose to be happy with our current state, and view situations before us as a positive challenge.
• Discontentment often comes from focusing on things in the past or in the future. Avoid this way of thinking! Focus on your current state in the here and now, and clear your mind in that moment.
• Realise that external wealth is unreliable happiness. The Beatles were right, you 'Can't Buy Me Love!' Material possessions do not last, and can not affect our state of mind. If someone's laptop breaks down, all happiness does not suddenly disappear from their world forever -- though you once thought happiness would come from that possession, it turns out its still present without it. As Buddhism teaches, attachment is a mistaken way of thinking. Nothing external can truly make us happy, and is irrelevant if the mind is peaceful. 
• There was some sense in what Elsa was saying -- Let it go! Do not old onto unhealthy emotions, regrets and hatred from the past. Equally, do not hold onto something that is causing you pain. If life can been seen as a continually flowing river -- with calm waters and rough patches -- holding onto something on the side whilst in a rapid will do more damage to you than good. So, let it go! Move on, and let the flow of life take you elsewhere. Positive Psychology is currently researching into this 'Flow' technique, finding it to be a certified way towards happiness. 
  
  One of the most insightful teachings I have found in Buddhism is learning to 'Accept'. When a negative situation comes our way, which unfortunately  is guaranteed, we must learn to accept the situation as simply the way things are. Do not turn to negative emotions, such as anger or sadness, but take a moment to accept what is happening. Once calm, you can then choose whether you can change this situation, now in a peaceful mind, or whether you must learn how to deal and move on. Again, this comes back to the 'Flow' technique, and realising that you can go through life and approach all events with a content and peaceful mind.
  
  
  Additionally, gratitude is an extremely important step in gaining inner happiness. We can choose to have an mind of gratitude, rather than a mind of attachment. Take time out of the day to reflect upon all in life we have to be grateful for -- we have this human life, the inclination to search for meaning, and the ability to find contentment. Realise that all that we have comes from the kindness of others -- our education, life, even our morning coffee from the café. Even if it is not others intention for us to have benefited from their actions, we have, thus we can choose to be thankful.
  
  
  Happiness is a choice. And the logical choice to make!

My Soul is a Grandpa

Often, I believe that I am a old man at heart. The fact that in reality I am a young woman,  just seems to be a sardonic joke from the universe. Call me the real-life Benjamin Button, if you will.
Recently, I have been reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Beautiful And The Damned, in which one manic character had an obsession with stating how 'old' someones soul is.  Oddly, this stood out to me, and felt quite relatable. In the words of Fitzgerald, I was an "old soul".

Trailing through a brilliant website today call The Open Mind, dedicated to spiritual matters, I came across a recent article of how to tell if you are an 'old soul'. Clear in writing were all of my previous thoughts on how an old soul was strikingly different from a young soul, and the certain characteristics of it. As assumed, many people admitted to having come across an 'old soul' before, or being one themselves. In summary of the article, an 'old soul' was characterised as being one who: rejected material matters, was often spiritually inclined, hungered knowledge and thought a lot, was solitary and could not relate to people of their age, and ultimately, just felt old.
This provided some conformation that I wasn't completely bonkers in my contemplation of an ageing soul. There's still some aspect of sense in what I think. Some.
(http://www.the-open-mind.com/9-signs-youre-an-old-soul/)

Unfortunately, there is no plastic surgeon who can put on a few years to the soul. So how does it work? This is the idea I have been playing with in recent times; how does a soul age?

The ideas of the Afterlife in Hinduism could help support this theory of an ageing soul. The soul is seen as being part of the jiva, the limited being, and reincarnates; though the soul itself remains immortal. Death becomes simply a resting period for the jiva to think its next course of action, before beginning itself next phase of life. The soul is continually  born again in a new body, each time learning new lessons from each life. Once a soul has been liberated - free from all earthly desires and impurities - it is able to return to God. In parallel to Hinduism, Buddhism also teaches a similar lesson of reincarnation.

In the past I found it quite peculiar to listen to people discuss the possibility of 'past lives', yet upon contemplation, it seems like a fair possibility. As am sure with many others, I have also felt as though I have had more life experience then I actually have. But perhaps, I have; just not in this life. As memories are stored within the brain, a bodily organ which is lost with the body upon its death, this is why memories from past lives are lost. However, the feelings of experience and moral lessons remain with us - for these have touched our soul, the immortal being.

Many people I have met within my life have appeared to be so 'young'. Even though their earthly years surpass mine, and they may have faced incredible life challenges, they still appear to 'young'. Likewise, at a young age children can often appear wise far beyond their years, and almost weary in their state - old. This theory of souls being re-born would help to explain this apparent oddity.

How old is your soul?

The Curious Thing That is Life

I sometimes wonder what is the difference between myself and a brick. Aside from the more fluent conversation I occasional am able to produce, why is it that I have the ability to think and feel, while a bricks abilities are fairly limited. And the answer is simple — the absence of spirit of life. While this may appear seemingly obvious, acceptance of this fact opens us up to a larger amount of things to ponder, far more intellectually teasing then my first question. What has this spirit of life? What is it, and where did it come from? Where is it going to?

Let's quickly look at some religious views: The Book of Genesis, Adam was originally a lifeless being. He had a body and form, but it is not until God breathed life into him that he became ‘alive’. In the Jewish tradition, the belief is held that the difference between a living being and lifeless one is the absence of a single word; this word containing the substance of life within it. When we look around, though, it is not just humans that possess this spirit — it is the entire world around us. It moves and breaths, is equally as capable of flourishing, reproducing, and also dying. Without thinking, we often use emotions to describe  aspects of our world — the sea looks calm today, or violent, that tree is looking fairly sad with that branch dangling off. But perhaps these statements hold more validity then we are aware. Whislt our emotions can be observed by our neural pathways, it is unknown whether what is going on in our brain is the cause of what we feel, or simply a showing affect of what we are currently feeling. In the same way, could not be world show the effects of its contentment in its peaceful and quiet winds, or blue sea? We have all experienced times when a certain place, whether previously visited or not, suddenly holds a pervading air of a certain emotion. Perhaps this is just the emotions of the lively beings around with that we are begin to become in-tune with. 

I have begin to understand this to be the ‘essence of life’; the essence of which we were born, belong, and will return to. Our bodies are limited by their earthly belonging — everything in the natural world must find their end. However, life is much more curious than that. The essence of life was present from a time we don’t even know, created the world with this essence, and universes beyond our imaginings. It is an infinite spirit that only expands in it's being. Life is not limited in the same way are earthly things — for it is the essence that in fact created and inhabited these beings for a time. Thinking of it in this sense, it becomes perfectly plausible that people have claimed to have had ‘interactions with the dead’. If life is just an essence in itself, it leaves the body when the body becomes deceased, and returns to join the eternal essence that is omnipresent within our universe. Surely then it becomes logical that a human could claim their deceased grandparent is inhabiting the tree above their burial site, or claim to feel their deceased partners presence with them on a regular basis. This also opens us up to perhaps even accepting the possibility of ‘soul-mates’, for if we are all made up of this spirit of life that constantly changes, perhaps we were once part of the soul that now inhabits our significant other. 

This 'essence' can help us to understand our sense of connectedness to the earth, universe, and those around us -- for we are all ultimately part of the same being -- we are part of Life. In Tarot readings, the card of 'Death' means deep change. Just in this way, death can be seen as a mere time of transformation for the soul -- the essence of life -- as it prepares itself for its next journey. 

The Age of the Awakening

Before I begin, I would like to clarify that I do no seek to disclaim any truth claim of any religion or belief system. In fact, I intended to do the opposite. If humanity is to move forward, we need to stop denying things and claims as being implausible. Instead, we need to open ourselves up to the possibility that everything we ever rejected or refused to believe could possibly contain some truth in it. 

I will never forget the experience of my spiritual awakening. I was very young at the time, around the age of ten, when I saw the man in the sky. At the time I had been in a rather dejected state — presumably having been refused a toy, or some other childhood tragedy — and was consumed in my own self-pity whilst sitting in the backseat of a car. Lifting my dispirited head to look out the window, I was not prepared for what I would see. Formed from the clouds was the portrait of a man with long hair, the moon positioned perfectly to shine through the eyes. I felt a bit like Simba, upon  seeing Mufasa in the sky. 

Even at that young age, I knew what I was seeing could be credited to more than the amount of sugar I had consumed that day. There was something out there. Not for a moment am I trying to suggest there is a man up there in the sky like that, as I believe someone else would have seen him  by now. However, I did realise there was more out there than I knew. Something so beautiful and unique cannot simply be accounted to being a random happenstance. Nor could the immediate feelings of belonging, understanding and enlightenment that came from looking at the sky. I was utterly bewildered, yet at the same time I felt like I had perfect clarity as to what was happening. Upon returning home, I wrote down the experience, for I knew there was a great potency in the event. 

From there, I have experienced to many signs and indications of the Higher Force out there. At this stage, to deny would be taking a step towards deliberate ignorance. 

The 21st of December 2012 marked the Awakening Shift. A fine example of humans choosing to fear what they cannot understand, much controversy spiralled in saying this would be the end of the world. In actuality, it was quite the opposite — this date marked the beginning of the New World. And right now, humans have a large say in determining what kind of world this will be.

This awakening caused a shift in our consciousness, and how we in turn experience the world. It is undeniable that since the shift many more humans have become ‘awakened’ to the spiritual reality of our world, and disbelief is almost a thing of the past. We are beginning to accept far more easily that there is a greater reality out there than previously imagined, and equally, many of us are turning inward to discover the spiritual soul and secrets that have always hid within us. It is a truly amazing time to be alive, and those who have accepted the change describe it to be truly exhilarating and exciting. 

So, what do I mean by awakening, I hear you say! My definition of awakening is the process of opening the mind to accept the transcendent power that surrounds us, and empowering our soul to reach our true potential. We are transcendent beings — in issue I will later tackle. Our material world is ultimately meaningless, for there is a far greater reality that we of a part of, and which many of us choose to ignore. In awakening, we accept this reality, and become empowered to explore it further. 

Through use of this blog, I am aiming to reach souls across the digital world. I will share the knowledge I have acquired so far, and hope to encourage others to do the same. We are the Children of the Awakening, and it is our responsibility to become inquisitive to the wonders this universe has supplied for us, and look inside of ourselves to make sense of them. It is time for us to wake up.