To gain wings...

By Vichara

To have wings like the hummingbirds circling outside my window this morning and to gain an element of freedom not known to us. To at least transcend the gravitational pull and rise up to a new perspective. Obviously we physically do not have these appendages to achieve this ability but we can develop these abilities spiritually and morally. The delusional aspects that bind us to a perspective of hopelessness and futile actions can be, in degrees, lifted and elevate us at least metaphysically to a new vista by recognizing the “attachments” that tie us to this plane. While temporarily satisfying some aspects of our lives, these attachments of material things and misguided thoughts will never sustain us. It is in the unified communion of love, compassion and patience with each other that will give us all wings.

It does have a purpose...

By Vichara

We hold on to that one cup of water so tight in fear that we sometimes don’t realize that there is a whole ocean right behind us. We assume limitations when there is the contrary that is ever-present. We hang on to the “fear” because for some that has been the most tangible thing that has been present. With fear you will always have limitations and restrictions on how far your heart and mind will travel. I would venture a guess that you do not want these limitations. So let’s start with a basic premise. Your sheer existence here on this planet is not to just be here and disappear. Your presence here is to learn, discover, experience and to teach, share and unite all of this with others. If you focus on the fears and limitations you will miss out on all that you were entitled to experience. Yes entitled but not in the gimme, gimme, you owe me kind of way. You are not just a weed that springs up and disappears. Even a weed has a purpose to return the nutrients back to the soil that it was given.

And old adage for a new purpose...

By Vichara

We replay the scene in our heads to confirm the action and reaction but no matter what, it is done. I believe, at least to my knowledge, we are the only species that has the ability and the compunction to even do this. Some of what we recall is to remember and relive happy moments – an act to confirm we have a good life. The majority however seems to be of the moments where something troubling or wrong has occurred and for some reason we believe that replaying them over and over in our head that it will possibly change. The sound of crushing metal, breaking glass and the smell of acrid smoke cannot be reversed. I know sitting here that I do not need to hammer this point to far. This is just a reminder to me and to you of the ever-present ephemeral element of life. This minute, this moment is now a memory. It is intuitively how we approach the moment that will gauge its impact. Perhaps the old carpenter’s adage would be appropriate in how we infuse each moment – measure twice, cut once.

Beyond the clutter of negativity...

By Vichara

With all of the cynicism we need to create opportunities for belief. The keenly honed jaded attitude that we seemed to adopt over the years has robbed us of the time we need to enjoy the wonder of things. Can we somehow push aside the clutter of negativity that can sometimes gather and engage in more fulfilling use of our time? I know it can be difficult and one day melds into another. I believe that as the food and water we ingest to sustain our bodies we also need belief and wonder to be a part of our daily regime. I wish there was a place of gathering beyond the confines of doctrine and religion where it is safe to exchange our beliefs. A gathering place that is filled with encouragement instead of judgment. Perhaps this is called-friendship?

Now is waiting...

By Vichara

Between the internal and external dialogue that rattles around in our brains it is a wonder that we can ever achieve the clarity and focus to accomplish things in a day. The inner dialogue repeats snippets of what we have heard and conjures up potential dialogue that could happen given an arbitrary set of circumstances. Both are not based in anything that exists anymore or could. They are the padded walls of noise that we bounce around in an effort to make sense of the frenetic energy that surrounds us. This does not mean you are wacky koo-koo it is just another coping mechanism that tries to steer you into being “present”. Like rounding up a dozen slippery eels while your hands are wet and greasy it is challenging. Breathe and carefully put all of these snippets in a bucket and them put it aside. You don’t need them; you just need what is going on this moment. It is what is present now that is important. The past has slid off the table and the future can’t make up its mind which door to enter. Let them deal with themselves you don’t need them. They don’t exist anymore but you do and the present does right now as well. Walk with it.

The rockin' band C.L.P.

By Vichara

While Sanity went out of the hallway to make yet another phone call, Reason stepped outside to have a smoke. That left Judgment and Justification at the table with me. Even though they were twins they were nothing alike. Judgment kept looking around the room and sat silently scowling at others while Justification kept either knocking items off the table or spilling things just enough on the linen tablecloth. Indifference kept walking past our table and less than discreetly glared and slightly shook it’s head. While Envy and Disgust instigated little arguments around the room Unification tried desperately to get everybody to talk. The waves of frenetic energy started to crest higher and higher and it felt even though Sanity came back into the room that things were about to explode when the band started to play. The dulcet and calming tones of CLP, better know as Compassion, Love & Patience, sent soothing sonic waves across the room and everything seemed to calm down and feel brighter. Unification seemed to relax and Envy and Disgust were sharing a bowl of ice cream, Reason came back into the room and even though the twins really had no rhythm they were cutting up the dance floor like Tony Manero and Ren McCormack. Life is a whole lot better when CLP is rockin’ the world us.

A "shift"...

By Vichara

The foundation of the world, which is viewed as being formibidle, is more like a house of cards and the cards have started to bend, tumble and tear to revel the true nature. The scandals, the deceit, the manipulation, greed and all of the frailties are being exposed but what do we do when the ruins of greed and deception have been cleared away? Do we finally in a collective resolution bond each other to a more truthful existence? How can this be really done when the extreme desperately still exists and is precariously held together by the human ego? Perhaps we can start stripping away some of the “I” of our existence and shift some energies to the “we” and rebuild through patience and compassionate understanding.

The humanity jigsaw puzzle...

By Vichara

Everyone is a missing piece in a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Have you put together one of those very large jigsaw puzzles? You know the scenic ones where you sit searching for the piece of he landscape that will pull it all together and advance the completion. And when you do find these pieces and snap them into place everything suddenly starts to appear clearer. Each one of us is a potential missing piece in each other’s jigsaw puzzle of understanding. You may have an idea but there will be times when you reach an impasse. Then you see something for an instant on your way to work, hear something in passing standing in line or a combination of things at the right moment and “ding” something becomes all that more clearer. There are billions of pieces in this humanity jigsaw puzzle. We all must try to fit together and help each other see and understand the much bigger picture.

Our contract...

By Vichara

You may not know this but when we were born we all signed a contract. We signed it audibly with that first cry. I know, I know you are saying it can’t be valid because some doctor slapped you into doing it and so it was coerced. You would have done it anyway even without a little coaxing. We all needed to announce our arrival into this world. With this announcement comes acceptance of the responsibility we all assume when we enter this world. First the world is relatively easy on the terms and us. We merely sleep, eat, gurgle and defecate. But as time goes by and we start to “see’ things and recognizing challenges and opportunities the contract become a little more evident. There will be some clauses in our contract that may take years to fulfill and there will be tears and laughter to balance the terms. In the end what could be the toughest or the easiest overall term, depending on the spirit of your will be this; regardless of how the world is presented to you treat each moment with love, patience and compassion.

I expect...

By Vichara

There is an implied sense of expectation that exists even though it may not be clearly stated sometimes. If you are an adult and you drive a car it is expected that you know how to drive it and follow the rules of the road. With the enormous amount of variables that exist wit each human being we question if some people know how to follow the rules. Regardless there are many basics that are understood (drive on the right side if you live in N. America, turn your headlights on to be seen at night, signal when turning, etc.) and hopefully are followed. The same applies in many ways in our daily lives as humans. If you consider yourself a member of society there are basics that we should all follow. Things are expected of you. If you are human it is expected that you treat others humanly and not with malice and manipulation. If you are human it is expected that if you recognize that you need compassion then you should give compassion to others. None of these cost a single penny, they are currency of the heart and from what I have witnessed there is always plenty of reserves in those banks and I expect there always be.

Measurements of love...

By Vichara

Is there a measuring device that will give you a tangible measurement of how much you love another individual? A system of weights and measures where you could place the degree of affection a on balanced instrument and it would detail back the proof of how much? When you tell a loved one how much you love them is there a degree in the pitch and timbre that assures them how much you do? What degree of conviction will ensure that the strength of your love is felt and understood? Perhaps the only way that can be achieved is a unified consistency regardless of incidents and circumstances. We all know that there will be times when things happen that will make you and others question the degrees of love but all of those are temporary. When it comes down to it I guess the only way to measure love is knowing that you can. Great gestures of love are obvious but even what may be perceived as a small gesture can turn the world of one heart.

A vicious rumor...

By Vichara

Is there any truth to the rumor? I’m sure you may have heard a little about it in passing. Someone told me that it was on the news last night just after the weather forecast. I did receive a text message from a pal in Europe that has been hearing the same thing over there as well. I know it may be hard to believe and that any such notion needs to be met with a certain amount of skepticism. I mean really, can we believe what this rumor is stating has any truth to it? I know that some would consider it just plain naïve to have such a notion and for others it would be just ridiculous. Who would have started a rumor that “Love, Patience and Compassion” are the key elements to unlocking human potential? That with these three plugged into our hearts and minds creates the possibility of positive change for all? I mean are they CRAZY!?

Homework...

By Vichara

“Homework” even in the traditional sense is never done. There will always be something that you need to brush up on or learn and things you will need to teach to the many classes that pass through your home. Then there is the homework of the heart. The bell may have rung, the classroom empty but there are lessons we have been given that need to be processed. The episodes of the day where personal interactions left you contemplating their meaning. The moment unexpected when someone really needed your help. The look that someone you never met before gave you in that brief conversation. That one comment that left you feeling good about everything. All of these equations and problems will only need one formula to be used to process, gain understanding and receive the answers and that is the formula of the compassionate heart. Used for many centuries this formula will take any problem and render it clearer and understandable. The magical thing is that we already know this formula; we just need to take it out more often and use it.

Left-overs...

By Vichara

If we welcome the day without expectation will there be fulfillment or dissatisfaction? Without the needs and desires placed on what is going to happen will it allow the opportunities to be more abundant or less because there is little interest? I know a lot of questions and things to think about but sometimes this is the stuff that rattles around in the pinball machine in my head. I try to wake up to each day on a fresh page, a clear open field but we all know there is always remnants of the previous chapter, a previous day that lingers around. Sometimes it is like writing on a piece of paper that has been written on and then partially erased. There is always something left hanging there. What do you do with the leftovers? Make a sandwich! Take the slice of bread which is this new morning, pile on what was leftover, and garnish it up with understanding and compassion with a thick slice of equanimity. Warm it up with insight and with each bite try to digest what was left to gain perspective and answers. Oh yes, remember to leave room for desert.

Renovation job...

By Vichara

There are times when a renovation job needs to be done on us. I’m not talking about a physical overall as in the cosmetic surgery, although sometimes a new haircut can be fun. No I’m talking about a review of the floor plan of your heart and spirit. To really sit with yourself and see what walls need to be torn down and which parts need to be re-enforced. Yes, it is like when you decide to change the physical structure you live in to accommodate the changes with the way you live or with your family. Some things need to just go to make room for the changes. You are of course not the same person that you were 10 years ago. Hell, you are not even the same person from 10 minutes ago. There will be times when you should call in the architect, contractor, plasterer, painter and decorator to overall parts of your spiritual structure to gain a new perspective on how you see the world.

Obscured by "clouds"...

By Vichara

"Don’t search for truth, simply stop having opinions”. Think of how many opinions we have in one day. Too many to really recall I would speculate. When there are to many they can obscure the intuitive insight that we all have. Our consciousness is like a vast and limitless clear blue sky and our ideas and opinions are like clouds passing by. When we focus on the clouds we miss out on the empty vastness and the ability to gain insight. Sometimes you may want to stop frantically trying to have an opinion about what is going on and simply say, “don’t know”. By embracing the “don’t know” confusion will dissipate and your intuitive nature grows stronger. Wisdom is not found by having ideas but experiencing life directly through not knowing.

A tear in perception...

By Vichara

What happens when you see behind the veil of deception and finally see the truth? The opaque gauze where the projections of this life are reflected suddenly gets a tear. The tear revels a reality unbiased and unclouded. A cold hard blast that is uncompromising and unapologetic in its directness. It cannot be ignored and yet it gives you the option. Do you open your eyes in an attempt to understand and gain perspective or retreat back into ignorance? The tear will only appear for a moment and then its gap will close once again until another accumulation of events and experiences tears it open once again for just you. Will you enter the tear and receive the revelations or retreat? What will be revealed may not be pleasant but it will be honest and will shift your vision. It is up to you.

All aboard...

By Vichara

The wheels have already started rolling even before you opened your eyes. Which “cart” will you attach and which direction will you travel? If you listen very carefully you will hear what those around you are pulling. It will be subtle with some but within the subtext and mannerisms it will be revealed. For others it will blatant and obvious and you know which ones let pass by and which ones to invite in. Which brings us back to you. While seemingly untethered when you awake you may still retain the fragments of yesterday’s “carts”. Perhaps before you pull out of the station today you do an inventory of the “carts” still left latched on to your coupling. Which ones are you willing to drag around again and which ones serve no purpose. I think you know what I mean. Tooooot, tooooot (yes, train whistle). “All aboard, today is leaving the station…track 29….be on time.

The mark you leave...

By Vichara

We can either cast a giant shadow on a day or we can provide a window to receive and create a clearer vision not only for ourselves but for others as well. The shadow will only create darkness and confusion. It might be felt that the shadow is needed to make a point to create a statement of authority but it only creates more darkness & doubt. By creating a window of communication and a sense of transparency the corner once filled with doubt is now illuminated with knowledge and cohesiveness. Your choice - darkness and misunderstanding or light and a clearer vision.

Act II, Scene 2, 43, 14 & 166...

By Vichara

The lights go dim, you close your eyes and the curtain rises on another nocturnal production. Which series of scenes will be illuminated on this stage of reflection? What characters will enter from stage left and steer the scene with cryptic prose. Why was this dark turn of events juxtaposed with the nonsensical? Were the pages for this script dropped and scattered on the floor and then gathered without notice of the numerical sequence? Who is directing this production, Jung, Escher, Capra or David Lean? Is there truly any hidden messages contained in the slumber scenes or are thy just fragments of unused thoughts that are finally being released in relaxation like the leftover compressed air in a tank. The assemblage of images and messages can sometimes not make much sense but perhaps that is their purpose. Perhaps their intent is to halt us upon rising, make us focus on some fragment that will act as a catalyst to a revelation that we need to be exposed to and help us on our “journey”. I don’t know…it’s just a thought.

Roadside assistance...

By Vichara

You get up and empty the dustbin of your mind of the things from yesterday. You think everything has been emptied and carry on for the day. Then as you reach the 5-mile marker of the day something shakes loose. A memory, a thought or a concern and it gets stuck in the gears and thing begin to create a gnashing sound. You try to ignore it like some single fly that keeps coming back to buzz in front of your face but it’s no good, it get louder. If you stop now to inspect it will it disrupt your day but the insistent grind will not subside. You can’t call a technician to handle this; it’s up to you. Stop the truck and pull out the tools. The wrench of compassion, the hammer of patience and the saw of decision, pull them all out. Open the gearbox in the shade on the side of the road and quietly through introspection locate the jiggly part that has got loose. It may take a while and you may need some illumination but in these situations you are the only mechanic suited to adjust these matters of the heart and mind. After all it is your machine. You should know and how to fix it.

A new day...

By Vichara

It’s far from over…so what will you do today? You have another chance…what will you change? You can begin again…but you need to stay present. It’s up to you.