Change the world around you...

By Vichara


Look into the eyes of those you meet. Ask them how they really are doing without judgment and know that just want the same things you want. Perhaps you can help; perhaps you have some kind words of encouragement. Maybe they have words to help you. Extend that “hand” with all that surrounds it. Change the world around you even if it is just a little bit. The playwright George Bernard Shaw said in a wish to all to leave a mark in this world even if it was just a scratch. I think we can do better than just a simple scratch.

Dance...

By Vichara


There are many of us that walk blindly with this body believing we have infinite time. But as a dear friend once said “you’re only immortal, for a limited time”. This delusionary state of believing that this existence will not end is just feeding into the bucket fears that have developed over the years. This dance we have been participating in will certainly end as surly as the sun will set so how we dance is the key. Do you dance with indifference and intolerance or do you dance with joy and appreciation? Do you choose to be a wallflower or to seek out many partners and embrace this existence with such exuberance that by the shear embracing of this side of the coin compels our appendages to shake and ripple with happiness? Because ultimately this is our goal to be happy, do no harm to others and dance as many dances that we can participate in everyday. See you out on the dance floor…

Ignite the spark...

By Vichara


You are probably not going to like this at all. Besides being Monday there is something else that you should be concerned about that is very important. I am not quite sure how to broach this and I am not even sure if I should. Perhaps in exposing this it could have a reaction in you and others that could create a profound change. Ok, after all I have a responsibility to pass this, which is given to me and let you be the judge. “So you breathe, so you live. So you create and from creation come inspiration. From inspiration is the spark you will share and help those around you.” Each and every one of us has this ability and it is stirring as you read this. Don’t discount or diminish this ability because it has the power to transform even in the smallest way and each one of us has it. This ability to give and receive compassion is the key to unlocking channels of perception. When these are open the unification of the spirit grows stronger, your heart opens more and we transcend disruptive and useless pettiness we encounter. Breathe and ignite the spark.

The measurement of...

By Vichara


We live in a world that is constantly being measured even with what may be considered mundane to some. How fast you go, how slow you go, how white your smile is or how happy or sad you are. For my daughters it could be how cool one person is over another or which TV character is better than another. For my wife it is how she is judged in how well she can ride a horse and for me perhaps if what I write here is a good thought or not. Yes, I do realize that certain gauging systems are set up for practical measurements to achieve results that are required. What I am more concerned is where measurements are used for things that frankly may not need measuring. Does it really matter if that TV character is better than another, one color is better, how someone else rides a horse or my thoughts are better one day over another? I believe the only measurement which should we be using is how it makes you feel without measuring things in acceptability of others. Are you happy? Are you content? Are you inspired?

With your "eyes" open...

By Vichara


Keep your “eyes” open. Not just in the literal sense either. If we are blind to the “truths” that exist or turn your eyes away in trepidation we will falter. It may not be this minute or hour but the accumulative blindness to “truths” will put you at a disadvantage. Of course sometimes we feel that by turning our heads that there is always a chance that things will resolve, or things will go away. Ignorance is not bliss, ignorance perpetuates instability. Be well informed, keep your eyes open and meet the truths with equanimity and the resolutions that you may feel would be difficult will be met with confidence.

Before you tie your shoe laces...

By Vichara


You get up, do what you need to do in the world to make a living, bring no harm to others and try to keep a compassionate heart tempered with love and patience. Seems simple enough right? And then you take a step forward and you find that there is a stone in your shoe. You are moving too quickly so you don’t get a chance to take it out so it stays there poking at your sole each step. You turn a corner and the wind gusts so hard that it pushes you backward. You grapple the wall until you make some headway. The wind recedes a bit but the little stone now feels like a rock and it hurts even more. You reach the entry door but it is locked. You try the opposite door – locked. So you go around to the other side and enter but the meeting has been moved 2 hours later and the stone has got bigger! Stop! Rewind and pause. The obvious solution is to take the stone out but the stone should have not been there at the start of the journey. Before you tie your laces up check for the little pebble and deal with it. Observe, review and extricate it from you day before it turns into a boulder and you become Sisyphus.

A splinter in time...

By Vichara


The impatient Moon left early. It something about getting home to deal with some family issues. The Sun was a little preoccupied with some issues that involved a couple of stars, which left a slight void in the morning light. So while we sat and waited Reflection and his pal Perception came along, mostly to get a cup of good coffee. They decided to sit for a moment while they could but Reflection was mired in a couple of things that happened days earlier with something that would have happened if such and such said this and that to someone. Reflection rocked back and forth and picked at this one spot on the top of the wooden picnic table that we were sharing. Perception was being patient and sat with a pleasant smile and enjoying the African blend of coffee. Then Reflection let out a yelp having picked at the wood so much that a splinter slid itself under the fingernail. Perception calmly grabbed Reflection’s injured finger and said “good! you’re with us now and focused on one thing in the present”. With that pulled the wooden shard out and said “it is too bad that it tales something so jarring and painful to bring you to the present”. The nattering past and the impatient future are not relevant when your attention is needed now, here in the present. And who wants to keep getting splinters to figure that out.

The spark...

By Vichara

Yesterday I heard an artist talking about creativity. We need to be reminded that big things come from small beginnings. There are some that possibly believe that all of Beethoven’s symphonies just magically appeared full realized. When of course as with a great number of things there is great toiling to reach the finished project. It is something we need to remind ourselves when we feel overwhelmed and discouraged that we all, and I repeat that, we all have the potential to realize all that we dream be it big or small. However keep this in mind, you need to nurture that spark and be patient with its journey. The spark of creativity comes in many different forms and you can make it happen.

Surrender!...

By Vichara


Surrender! The word has such a sense of failure one way and the sense of acceptance in another. Failure because you have been defeated and acceptance to understand when another approach could be necessary. If you think for a moment we do surrender many times of the day to sometimes things that may seem small and trivial. You surrender to your mug of coffee / tea in hope that it will stimulate your alertness to function in the morning. Surrender and trust that the vehicle you are driving to work functions. Surrender to foods we consume in that they will provide the sustenance and nutritional value to keep this body going. And surrender to the sleep that will give us the needed rest to do this all over again the next day. Surrendering can have a bad rap but in numerous ways we all do it everyday. The key to this is knowing that surrendering is not giving up but recognizing that there may be another way and that is not failure.

Fear, what to do...

By Vichara


There are some days that I am truly frightened with our lives that exist on this tenuous thread that we live on. The fragility on many levels where something is here and then gone in an instant. Of course this is the nature of life and the built-in impermanence of everything but I still have fear. But what and how do we deal with type of fear? Platitudes are merely balm and even if applied generously will still fade away to expose the fear again. So what to do with this fear? Perhaps we take it by the hand and bring it closer and by this intimacy see the fragility in it and realize how small it can really be and how little it sometimes can be. It is all a process that we sometimes need to enlist to expose that what needs attention and release. We should not fear this but embrace that we all have this ability we just need to ensure that we engage this as always with compassion for ourselves.

Abandon the fear...

By Vichara


Are you creating opportunities or is opportunity creating you? Are you igniting the fires of inspiration or being consumed by an act of self-indulgent arson? For the most you do have a choice in this 21st century. I would imagine that you are not confined by a caste system and that opportunity of learning exists for you. And yet there are some of you out there that find it difficult to take the steps forward to learn, to explore and expand your existence. It is not like there are extreme limitations that exist for you. So when it really comes down to it what is it that is sabotaging your steps forward? Is it fear? Fear that you wouldn’t be able to learn or accomplish? That didn’t stop you from walking or riding a bike when you were a kid right? Abandon the fear of failure or looking foolish. If you truly want to move forward recognize that within the missteps are components of success and achievement. You can do it. Try or make the steps to learn something new today. Who knows where it will take you.

A knock on the door...

By Vichara


There was a knocking at my door in the early morning hours today. When I realized it was not part of the dream I was still partially in I made my way to see who was waking me so early. When I opened the door there was nobody there. I looked both up and down the block in the faint light but there was nobody to be seen. Back to bed I went. Then again while almost drifting back into slumberland the knock came once again. So once again I shook off the sleep and ventured downstairs to my front door and once again – nobody. Angry and annoyed at someone’s possible prank I was just about to close the door when I saw a white business card centered on the doormat. As I reached to pick it up a gust of wind blew by my head like someone or something rushing past me and blew the card farther from my reach and the thresehold of my door. I stepped out from the comfort of my home and once again reached for the card. There printed on this beautifully tooled ivory white card was this.

“I came knocking. Sorry I missed you. See you next time. – Gelegenheit”

Roadside assistance...

By Vichara


Once you start the engine of your day there may times when things may not run or sound good at times.  There is a rattle that is creating a constant clicking sound.  You try the old fashioned method of either hitting it or kicking it and still it persists.  Then something flies into your field of vision with a splat!  You're a little preoccupied and it is difficult to clear your vision so you try to push on the best you can.  Boom! Crash! Bang!  You trip, you stumble and try to regain your balance.  You get it back but not to the degree that it should be.  You push on and then...stop right there!  Have you not been given enough warnings?  Sure you may have some abilities to maneuver around some obstacles but eventually they will gather and truly impede your movement forward.  Stop, pull to the side of the "life" road and fix these hindrances before they create permanent damage to your life.  Out here there is no roadside assistance, it's up to you but you have all the tools you need.

The dead...

By Vichara


We walk among the dead even though they are breathing, walking and talking. These dead are mired in a self-possessed world where there is very little cognizant value of others beyond the perfunctory tasks they perform for the dead. The dead believe they are seeing but their vision is myopic at best and life’s peripheral existence does not even illuminate in their eyes. The dead can ear but there is very little that registers other than their own voice and maybe some of what the other dead are saying. There is some confusion for the dead when things don’t go quite the way they want it to but like an over-stimulated child they drop whatever it was and go on. In their wake the dead leave the debris of unfulfilled promises that they made to others to get what they wanted. The dead see only themselves. The question is when you look in the mirror, are you alive or one of the dead?

Letting go...

By Vichara


...the rope burned my hands from the approximately 10 - 15 feet I slid down it.  At this point I just wanted to hang on regardless of the pain radiating through my palms.  I had no choice.  Without any knots on the thick rope and my weakened state I could not go up, I just needed to hold on.  As I slowly spun around on this rope a fog enveloped all of my vantage points.  I knew from where I came from there was an element of safety and comfort but now all around nothing was clear.  So I hold on.  I called out for help but the only thing that comes back to me is the echo of my voice.  I need to do something but I am unsure.  I can't just hang there sooner or later my resolve will give out and a decision will be made for me. Before I made this fateful step I was told by my guide that I needed to trust him and that he would not steer me wrong and put me in any danger. But hanging here with my fingers going numb I am not sure.  He said that there are times when you needed to trust where you are being led. That the universe or whatever you may want to call it has at its core an altruistic spirit and does not deliberately want to harm you.  It is you that does the harm and others who are only led by selfish desires that are empty.  My guide told me that sometimes you just need to let go.  Let go of what others think you should do.  Let go of trying to hold on because life is impermanent and is constantly changing and in these changes you will find the answers you seek.  They are not tucked away in the torn pages of the past or what you believe the future will be.  At this point my labored breathing has drifted into a calm rhythm and I have stopped spinning around.  I let go...

Tune-up time...

By Vichara


Do you need new spark plugs for your mind? As they say, “back in the day”, there was sometimes the need when your car was running rough to check the spark plugs. Those little items in the mechanism of the car that provides the electrical charge to ensure all of the cylinders that propel your vehicle forward were all firing together. If one of these little guys had some material build-up preventing it from igniting the whole system would be sluggish and stall out. In much the same way if there are mental hindrances, things in your mind that create a stalling effect in your movement then perhaps it may be time to clean your own mental spark plugs or replace them. But where do you find a mechanic for that you may ask? Well…it’s basically you! You may get assistance from life manuals like great literature, spiritual writings, conversations and meditations but it’s really up to you to clean those body spark plugs to gain clarity to propel you forward.

Personal legacies...

By Vichara


All our daily activities are tempered by knowledge and guidance given to us by others who helped or hindered us and of course what we have read and seen. On a daily basis all of our senses are ingesting and digesting the best and the worst of humanity. If we were given only violence, we would only know violence. If we were given only compassion, we would only know compassion. Unfortunately and fortunately the world does not work that way. It is a collection of competing contrasts that present themselves to us and ask us to judge and act accordingly. How we act will be how the world sees us. How do you want to be seen and remembered? Our personal legacies may not be as large as people like Rosa Parks, Gandhi, Einstein and others but they are no less as important. Each step, word and deed counts and will be counted.

The little engine...

By Vichara


Stop whatever you are doing and try this little exercise.  Is everything put aside?  Are there no distractions?  TV is off?  Radio?  And are you focused?  Ok?  Now take your hand, doesn't matter which one, and extend a couple fingers and find your your heart.  Keep your fingers the quietly as you can and feel your heart beating through your fingertips.  Do you feel it?  Pretty remarkable right?  Like a metronome of life it beats a rhythm that wS composed at the very beginning of your life in the womb and at the very essence of life itself.  Keep your fingers there and keep feeling the consistent beating.  The engine of your existence engaging a multitude of bells and whistles in your body.  The little engine that could...and does.  Now with your fingers still there listen to this...one day this engine will stop!  One day what you see, touch, hear and taste will all be gone. The little engine will cease to function and you will cease to exist.  Do I still have your attention?  Good!  So while while this engine is still beating what are you going to do?  Define what is meaningful to you.  Fortify this with the determination to experience those things that you dream of doing, of tasting and of knowing.  This is your engine, your life...you are the driver.  Drive this engine with compassion and integrity until the wheels fall off.

It's your path...

By Vichara


Your belief system needs to be able to support and protect you. Make sure that the ever-growing reservoir is being filed with thoughts and actions that contain genuine merit. Ensure they do not need to justify themselves with extraneous words and they are based in compassion. When filtered in this manner they will sustain and create a foundation with moral and humanistic fortitude. There is not an obligation to do this it is just a suggestion. After all it’s your path.

What will be your terms...

By Vichara


On numerous levels our lives come down to terms of acceptability. How much emotional or physical pain, how much incompetency, how much information, how much nourishment and yes even how much love. At what level will you be able to feel a sense of accomplishment with yourself and others. There are some yes that more or less just shade in the day in an attempt to do what is acceptable and while this may be acceptable for one they forget a crucial element – nothing is isolated. There is an interconnection of all things and as hard as that may be to fathom, it is a solid fact. You and you alone will set the level of acceptability for yourself of course but how much will you be able to live with and how does that affect the world around you? In a world that is gauged by the accomplishments of one’s actions and deeds what will be your terms?

The snippets...

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 tings 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 possible 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 greasy it is challenging. Breathe and carefully put all of these snippets in a bucket and then put it aside. You don’t need them; you just need what is going on in 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.

Echoes...

By Vichara


What happened to you from yesterday? All the troubles, the toils, the laughter and the love that careened and enveloped you. All of what transpired are just echoes now fading off to some place in your memory. What will be retained and what will slip off forever never to be remembered is all of you from yesterday and now today greets you. Sometimes like a happy puppy wagging it’s tail or like some sad urchin unsure of it’s steps. But it has arrived. In whatever state it has arrived and it wants your attention. Regardless of what you believe is going on today you will need to be present. If you just site there obsessing with echoes from yesterday you will just get mired down. You need to move forward. Yesterday has no future and tomorrow has no past. Today is a persistent and present reminder of what you can potentially do with your life. Step forward, not backwards.