the purpose of language

I am starting to consider the idea that language is a conduit for energy. Body language, verbal, written is all aimed at gifting, or taking energy. For the karmic value of our action we should be 'present' when we speak. This way we are deliberately acting when steal or gift energy to another through our communication. Perhaps this awareness will decrease the frequency of taking that goes on, and change our behaviour to a degree that each time we open our mouths, peace, love and understanding flow out as we connect with other beings in the universe.

The power of Wants

I have concluded that wanting is the ultimate cause of all sin. Here after lies how I arrived at this idea.

When we enter into this plane we take on a limited form. We have a limited form for each of the planes we exist on. The physical plane is a place of consumption. A place where we are actually able to spend energy. We do so, at our own peril, for each expense comes from our own limited source. I would go so far as to suggest that this is the action of ageing, our bodies behave like a gauge enabling us to measure the amount of energy we have left under our management. We are entrusted with this energy, in the same way Jesus talks about the vineyard owner entrusting his workers each with a gold coin (a symbol of concrete energy) before he goes away. Every time we "want" and act upon this want, we expend/spend a small amount of that energy. Analyse yourself how many wants you have and act on in one given day. Now we live in the information age. There is the greatest exposure of what I call 'energy docking points' the world has ever seen. The more we plug into those receptacles the more potential there is to have the life sucked right out of us...literally.

It is therefore vital that we first get control of the minds we are perceiving from and stop this vast exportation of energy. What then is the opposite? Can we take on energy?. Indeed we can. The opposite to spending energy is of course receiving it. Here we need to be careful as to the type and quality of energy we receive. Also, there is the importance of not "wanting" to receive this energy, for the wanting will counter the opportunity. At them moment we have been duped into believing that we are receiving energy (money) when we work. So we go out and work out butts off, to receive a quantity of energy at the end of a time frame, which we have been told is a good or fair amount or not. Little do we realise that in fact we are not receiving this, but trading our own pure soul based energy for a far more crude, concrete form at what could only be described as an appalling exchange rate. We spend 40 plus years worth of prime experiencing time, to end up in a position of relative neutrality simply because the more we earn the more our expenses are. To gauge the relative truth in this, you simply have to ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. when I am 20 would I accept a contract to give up the next 40 years of my life, in exchange for

The best possible quality energy to receive is through service to others. Genuine appreciate of another soul, is the best form of energy to receive. Other types are genuine love such as an expression of kindness, creative expression, etc. I will have to think more on some other examples. Feel free to add some yourself to help me brainstorm.

The hardest part is to stop the automated machine, which is the result of indifference. Here an entity gives over control of their experiencing platform to the mind to drive it. They then go into just perceiving and taking what comes. The mind left to it's own devises, is then driven by the minds of others. Like a sheep being lead by a shepherd. The only problem is, the shepherd in our case is the motivated "sellers" of the financial economy stimulating the minds of the sheep with a never ending marketing machine conditioning them to automate and act without challenge on wants. So the first step is to take back the reins, and disconnect from the system. You have to break the incessant habit of wanting. The first steps towards doing this is the act of non ownership. (forgotten the word for this) Basically you stop feeling connected to the physical plane and to ownership of anything. If you drop that sense of ownership you are far less likely to "want" things. There is much much more to this, but I will have to come back to discuss it some more.

My book of life

I went to theosophy on Tuesday night to my first introduction of the celebration of the wesak festival full moon. It was fantastic. One of the stories John mentioned was the idea of having a book to write in, something that we could write something in and commit to for that following month.

Well that idea really hit a chord with me. I have spent much of yesterday and today thinking about it, and have concluded it could be the next big leap for me.

I have grabbed an empty exercise book, and titled it simply...MY BOOK OF LIFE.

The reason I have called it this, is because when I succeed at this adventure, I will have truly lived my life.

Here is what I Propose to do. Opening up the empty book, I am going to divide the first page into two columns. On the first column I will write something about myself that is worthy of change. It will be something that I believe will contribute towards my next initiation; something that I know is holding me back. On the second column I will write something that I am going to add into my life. Together these two columns combine to act as a bridge to take me to the other side of my life.

Each night I will commit to living on the other side of life, where that change has already been made.

My plan is to write down on the first page something of meaning for my next day. Then throughout the day I refer to this idea.

We are constantly engaged in looking for keys. Yet the keys are everywhere. Keys are used to undo locks. The locks are harder to find than the keys. Locks are covered by the things we need to change. A student doesn't begin their journey of learning for themselves until the teacher stops teaching for while the master speaks, the student is engaged only in absorbing that knowledge. Only as the teacher steps away is the true environment of discovery for the student availed to them.

A teacher doesn't become a master until they learn silence in the presence of a student.

What then is the purpose of conversation?

Keys to Success in Life

I have been pondering again, thinking about the difference between where I am at and where I would like to be. So I have come up with the following which I am going to implement over the coming week. My first goal is to read this a couple of times a day until until all of the ideas are ingrained and nature.

1. 1. Allocate your attention effectively.

- Because we live in a sea of possibilities, we have to become proficient at selecting options to think about and to experience. You must learn to focus yourself on the things that make you smile rather than upset; on things that will give you a sense of achievement once you have finished them rather than on what is entertaining now but will leave you with a sense of emptiness once you have finished, soaked in a sense of regret from procrastinating.

2. 2. Act Deliberately

- Time continues without pause. Because we measure our success by time (what did I get done today/this month/this year it is and because as we get older it seems to accelerate, we need to ensure we spend the available time we are measuring acting deliberately. What this means is that if you are going to eat that cookie, or watch TV, or play that computer game that you do so consciously and with intention to use a set period of time to do so. Most of the time we do thinks via auto pilot. We slip in through procrastination, past the door keep to success, and stay tucked away from sight of consciousness until some external demand that cannot be ignored crashes us out and back into the present. Much of what we do in these situations is related to escaping from reality. Once we start to act deliberately, then we realize that we have so much more time. We are better with our choices, and we get a lot more out of our life, because we pack a lot more into it.

3. 3. Make decisions in the view of opportunity cost.

- This is an extension of acting deliberately. In my sea of possibilities it is easy to see the activities I think I want to do including watching TV, or playing computer games etc. So because it is there, I can Act deliberately and say, ok, I am going to watch TV for one hour, and then go and do my housework, or play computer games for one hour and then go and do my homework. The key to a successful life is to understand that those possibilities include a vast range of other options you haven’t even tried yet. Opportunity cost is about what you could be doing instead. I acknowledge that there is a want to watch TV or a craving to eat those cookies, but I am going to pause for a moment first, and look at other options. What else can I do or eat instead.

4. 4. Measure the success of your choices before you even start doing them.

-How will I feel once I have finished this time. Will this choice give me a 10/10 sense of satisfaction in terms of achievement for my goals, and sense of success in my life if I choose it.

5. 5. Set time allocations on everything

-no matter what, set a time frame. At the end of that time frame stop what you are doing. See continuing with the same experience as a deliberate choice as if selecting a new experience. If you are not sure how long something will take, then set hourly time parameters, and review your decision. This gives you a sense of achievement within a big project and offers you the chance to inject freshening experiences into the mix to give you a sense you have done more with your day. These could be small experiences such as a 10 min appreciate walk, or a 5 min visualization exercise, or even a cup of tea.

6. Review every decision at the end of every time frame.

- This has the effect of helping you build momentum and success strength. Correct excerise can have the effect of making you fitter, stronger and faster or more efficient. Each time you practice these techniques you become more success fit, stronger of mind, and faster at achieving things. Reviewing is the most important part of garnering motivation to change, and improve. Time frames are necessary to give you a specific point to review.

7. Actively listen when ever some talks to you.

-Realise that they are an expert on how they feel about what they have experienced, and that truth is clouded by perception, so most of what they say is based on what they perceive reality to be. Therefore argument is futile. Listening helps them express where they are at in life. Often people need to hear themselves speak so they can gauge where they are currently at in the scheme of things. They are looking for reinforcement of their perceptions to give them a sense of confidence in what they have chosen to believe to be real. What you say either reinforces their sense of reality or challenges it.

8. Always pause before you speak. Identify what you want to achieve by what you are going to say.

9. Engage in something for your soul daily.

- This could be a random act of kindness; meditation; doing something that will engage laughter;

-This could be an intentional expression of appreciation to someone.

-This could be getting a massage (investing in yourself)

- This could be making time to read something inspirational.

10. Plan to discover something new regularly.

- this could be as simple as trying a new item on a menu, or a new restaurant, or taking a class in something you have never done such as yoga, or cooking.

Happiness

Wow, I have been away a long time, lost in the grind. Today I am not sure if I am back because I am procrastinating unwilling to partake for a time in that grind, instead preferring to seek some measure of that illusive stuff the population were born to experience, but instead became conditioned to pursue it, sold on the idea that it eludes us...happiness; or, if I am back because I have awoken again. My disappearance from both Theosophy and here, coincided with the return of my wife from her job in Korea. Not coincidentally I am back, because she has gone back to Korea.

Her return is related to the fact that she is unhappy here. This has led me to ponder about happiness.

In our lifetime "God" created only one day in our lives where we were allowed to be happy......

Today!

Most people whether they like to admit it or not, live in the past focusing on their mistakes or precious moments. A small group focus on their future, some of them engage in enough action to make that future a reality, yet happiness eludes them both because neither of them live in today!

Initially when we look into "today" it appears there is nothing there. From here we rush into the past to find out why today is empty or to relive some past experience as a quick fix, or if so inclined we head off into the future through our imagination and fantasize exploring what might be in an effort to fill it (our today) at some point.

After a time, the noise of the now brings us crashing back into the present like a horizontal bungy. It is like an act of "God" answering the prayers we keep while in the past or future to experience a new state - one of happiness. But when we arrive hoping to see that our now has magically transformed while we were gone and see nothing there, then we tend to slide off into the opposite spectrum of where we were, those of us from the future searching out the past and visa versa to see if we were simply looking on the wrong side of the fence.

By days end we fall to the pillow once more exhausted from our toil of exploration, aged and poorer, and there we drift off to into the comfort of a different kind of dream.

Meanwhile, there in the stillness, in that place we saw nothing Happiness waits ever patient, never deterred by the fact that we do not recognize it, for it understands that when anyone looks into today their eyes are clouded by perception. This perception blocks their true vision and stops them from being able to see who they truly are and what they really want to experience.

Most people I presume go through their whole life never taking off their perception eye-wear. Conditioned by media and family, in a perpetual environment of blind leading the blind.

It is generally not discovered that you are even wearing this eye-wear until you give up your desires which releases you from both your past and your future and makes it tenable to live in the present long enough to discover what is actually there. You find there is actually a great deal to experience both internally and externally, much of which is extrapolated through helping others. You discover that the "surprises" that manifest in abundance gift you with a higher degree of joy than anything you can imagine you want in the future. You discover that when you help someone, or simply appreciate what you have around you, the quality of your feeling is greater than anything you can generate through living in your past.

Each person you help, affects everyone around them- each one becoming a seed for a new surprise. Only when you are still, present and awake to be directed appropriately to help others will you know the place where happiness resides.

After writing my thoughts I proceeded to google pages of content on Happiness to see what others thought. I liked this one:

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

Something I had been thinking about but didn't know where it fitted, so I fitted it in at the end:

In badminton a player will train for 10 years to win something prestigious. Within a few moments of the victorious final game being over there is intense jubilation. It is relived with slowly decreasing sense of enthralment with each social interaction over the next 24-48 hours. Then all but the odd flash of memory is engaged for moments as the social interaction spreads till each person, down to colleagues and more distant relatives and friends connect with you for the first time since your success. Then it is gone. 10 years invested, and the void that should have been permanently filled is once again empty. The truth of the matter being that it only filled entirely upon completion, but began emptying immediately.