For so long people have asked: what are you? And, no, this particular question isn't in regards to my racial ethnicity. No, this question refers to "What religion are you" or "What do you believe in"? So, I would like to open up to world, or at least to those who read this).

The world is a giant game, no, not a board game but a video game. I am certainly not inferring that we are all just plugged into a wall and turned on by the push of a button. Instead, what I mean by this is that the world has two levels. There is the relative level of what we see and constantly interact with. And then there is the "essence" of our reality. You see, like a video game, the universe is basically made up of seemingly endless amounts of particles floating around and charged up by electromagnetism. Whereas pixels and polygons create the image we see on TV, subatomic particles, atoms and molecules makeup what we see in the "real" world. Truly, however, reality is simply a highly organized and balanced virtual landscape, crafted in such a way that we may interact with it. There is no off button, but there is an entrance point called consciousness. When you reach this level (you know you love it) you are now a player in the world and can begin to contribute to reality.

Yes, I know, this may sound weird or even dorky to some. But, let's face it, there are far stranger ideas floating around in peoples' heads. Perhaps "God" was just a developer who managed to create a best seller ;)

In all of our efforts to make the perfect world there is one constant that people will always face. We cannot control other people. We can enslave. We can bribe. We can even manipulate and convince. But we will never have complete control over other people. And aside from dictatorial domination, do you really want to control those you have relationships with? Controlling myself is hard enough, I sure as hell don't want to keep watch over what other people say, do and especially think. Yet, as simple as this fact may be, we are so conditioned to try to control others in our heads that we don't realize we do this all of the time. The very instant you get upset, the very second you react back your efforts are to control the situation and often other person. Of course, we need to insert our influence in much of what we do. However, we need to keep in mind that other people have the right to do what they do (so long as it does not infringe), feel what they feel and, perhaps most importantly, think what they think. This is the very foundation of freedom and no one on this Earth has the right to take that away. Humans need to feel that freedom within in order to have a healthy balanced life. And while feelings are ultimately the individual's responsibility, we all can help out by respecting other people's private space and freedom. That is, after all, what everyone wants.

All of us are extremely used to our senses. So much so the less dominant senses can grow dull or even dormant. So, in an effort to expand and open those who are willing to try, I suggest an experiment. I call it the Blind Walk. With a friend (someone you trust), make way to a location you can walk around with little trouble. Your task is to walk around with your eyes closed for at least 30 minutes. Your partner, the walker with his eyes open, he or she is to guide you around allowing you to feel and touch different objects, leading you through areas with intense smell or heat, anything that will open up your other senses. Do this at a park or in a mall. Walk through the airport or even down the street (always, of course, with a capable and trustworthy friend). I promise you will experience something euphoric.

 

 

There's nothing like a good ol' snow storm or blizzard to bring out the madness in people. Don't get me wrong, walking through the woods surrounded by the beautiful serenity of nature's purest tears is as calming as ever. However, when people get into their metal monsters and hit the road, something changes. The Jekyll that exists off the road opens up into a road raging Hyde when behind the wheel. All for what; to reach a home full of screaming kids, to pull into the store parking lot five seconds to one minute earlier, just in case the registers have a freak accident and shut down for the evening? The sad thing is that only after crashing into a tree or, worse, into someone else does the inpatient speed-racer realize the futility in flooring their vehicle through the extremely hazardous roads.

So, if you find this to be you on the road, ask yourself: Do I really need to rush through the snow and, honestly, do I really want to get there that much faster?

Of all the subjects that stir the pot death, it seems, stirs the largest. Perhaps it is people's fear of the potentially end all be all of the inevitable that scares people, or perhaps it is the fact that none of us truly know exactly what will happen. We have ideas, beliefs and theories; we have science and religion, but in all honesty we have no concrete evidence of what happens to the consciousness that is us when we perish. How do I of all people know this to be true? Because, we are all still alive. And perhaps that is it, perhaps death, like so much else, is all just an ironic aspect of existence that we worry so much about, but is far different than our minds can comprehend at this time. Perhaps, just perhaps, instead of worrying so much about what happens when we die (where we will go, what we will remember and so on) we aught to live out each moment of life wondering about life. After all, it is those very moments of life we spend worrying and scrambling to protect that get lost while doing so. Seems like a waste...

It is a bold move to label someone as evil, even more so to clump up an entire group and remove all aspects of humanity from them. Insane or not, people are always people. And contrary to what some may think, there is no man or woman born "evil". To think in such a manner is a feeble attempt to dehumanize someone in an effort to remove all complications of personal morality. It's much easier to attack at an evil person. And it's much easier to kill an "evil" person. If they are "evil", born that way and possessed by the devil, you are in the clear from all moral faults. And by implication, the higher powers that forged this world into what it is are inherently on your side. This is why, for some odd reason, God seems to only bless America, as if the rest of the world, especially those in the "evil", usually "darker-skinned", regions of the globe, don't deserve divine blessings. Let's face it, how often do you hear anyone saying "God bless the whole world, especially those who are most troubled." Wouldn't divine intervention be most useful to a man or woman who acts "evil"? Don't they need the guidance and direction of an all powerful, all knowing supreme being?

Creation is the most important aspect of my humanity. It is what has led us to all of our achievements on the course of our evolution. It is also a driving force for much of what I do. Everything from written book, to a very imaginative photo, to even the changing of my oil brings about a sense of incredible satisfaction. It ties me to the world in a way that is hard to describe. Some of us forget the importance of creation. Some get so wrapped up in the monotony of daily life their veins dry up into a barren wasteland of pseudo depression. If this applies even remotely to you, take time out of your day and unleash some of that creative power. It doesn't have to be in the form of art. Creation comes in a plethora of ways. What is most important is that you discover your outlet and "unleash the beast" within. To not do so is to slowly and dreadfully waste away in an abyss of stagnation.

For thousands of years men have slaughtered each other for power, land and glory. Countless people have died in the name of this insanity. Some argue that it as simply human nature, as if we are born blood-thirsty and willing to kill millions for the sake of power. Some even boldly state that the evolution of man (leaving us with the current oligarchy that rules most of society) has simply been survival of the fittest, as if killing others for sake of dollars and polluting the planet to uninhabitable conditions is somehow a fit. Humans are like a cancer that has overgrown. Unlike all of the other stable and balanced creatures that we share this planet with, humans do not know when to stop. Instead of fighting to defend, people manipulate and conquer. And now that we have mapped out the world and reached the tips of the globe there is no more land left to claim. Instead, we now swoop in and steal vital resources so that our iPhones can play more music. Taking a look at human history, people seem like spoiled children, left without parents, who feel that everything belongs to them. With no guidance or balanced leaders, the over indulgent brats roaming the planet eat themselves into obesity and use their weight to bully around those without privileges. Perhaps what we need is massive spanking in the form of an asteroid. Or, perhaps we can grow up, alter our self detrimental behavior and realize that we have to be careful of the way we treat others and the planet.

For reasons numbering, I'm sure, in the thousands, society has grown to become extremely negative, depressed and self-defeating. People feed on drama as if it were a needle of heroin waiting to be injected into the arm. Television is used, primarily, to exacerbate people's anger, sadness and fear. Schools tell you that you are worthless without respect from your peers (by way of very strong subliminal messages). And there is always some new existence-ending date that arises on our calendar. Our fight or flight responses cannot tell the difference anymore between real danger and mental manipulation. The irony is real danger is so rare in developed nations one must turn on the television just to get a taste.

But, when we sit back, relax and observe; when we let go, cease the need for constant and total control, our minds make a switch. The primal drive for drama stops and the world changes before your eyes. The chaos of the world becomes a molecular dance, much like the inner workings of a body.

As often as you can, that is any chance possible, take a step back, breathe and observe your world without judgment "Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?" -- Chuck Noland, Cast Away

The world of man tires desperately hard to find its identity. A single person can spend an entire life trying to find out who or what they are. And while the joke is that instead of looking within people search outside for "their" persona, we have come up with some very interesting notions about what constitutes "what I am".

"I am a dentist"

"I am a Christian"

"I am a good person"

The above statements are common place and seem relatively harmless but the same notions will lead to:

"You are a criminal"

"You are a terrorist"

"You are evil"

It can seem "right" or even justifiable to label someone as this or that, but you are truly doing harm to yourself and your community. Because of our beliefs and mentalities over the past few millenia, we have grown accustomed to punishing and persecuting people for their beliefs and actions. We have also grown accustomed to finding a mold and trying to fit within it. How can anyone be a "Christian"? There is nothing there to "be". The same is true about "being" a terrorist. Both of these terms are ambiguous. They imply that somehow the individual has altered on some real level and are now empowered by the word or belief. This is not true... at all. The same notions that empower a Christian empower today's "terrorist"; that is the belief that a higher power is rewarding them for their actions, beliefs and devotions. In fact, today's "terrorist" and today's Christian are spawned from the same religious background, believe in the same God and believe they are going to the same Heaven (and the notion that they will receive 72 virgins is a mistranslation, it's actually 72 WHITE GRAPES that give light!!!) .

And while the actions of a "terrorist" are indeed detrimental to society, it seems time we grow up and understand people's actions instead of labeling them as over simplified terms so that we may look at ourselves are better than they are.

There are so many religions in the world. When one observes from afar, the options indeed resemble a buffet platter, sprinkled with a wide assortment of delightful tastings. However, as history has shown, what starts out as a prophetic and wise teaching often lends way to manipulation, torture and death. I mean, how does the notion of freedom from oppression, spiritual awakening (on a very personal level) and love turn into what we have seen over the past few millennia? With an open mind, it is actually very easy to see how.

Indeed, the great teachings of love and awakening are usually at the core of many teachings. But there is one common element that brings religions to a state of chaos. The belief that one person is special over all others is this element. Usually this individual gathers a following and rightly so; he or she is making sense in a world of corruption and chaos. But when that persons dies, the "savior" is gone and people are left in disarray (or the person becomes corrupted). Because the "common peoples" faith was placed outside of themselves they are left without guidance. And so it is easy for power hungry people to come in, spew out a few motivational words and take charge against the oppressors. And so the cycle starts all over.

This statement certainly doesn't just apply to the Big Three. Even faiths such as Buddhism have become riddled with extraneous matter.

The Buddha and many other religious figure-heads didn't seem like the ritual sort. In fact, if I read correctly, Jesus and many others in this gang seemed to protest against ritualistic practices. However, their images certainly keep people in line these days.

 

Disclaimer: If "your" religion (that is the one true faith unlike the other false ones) fits into this category, fear not, this statement is certainly not for you.