So I’ve been on the road about 5 weeks now, driven over 4600 miles, and have been living life in experimentation mode by applying various principles I’ve come to know and seeing how well they really work in this whole “real life” thing. I’ve made amazing friends partying at Mardi Gras, photographed a cheer and dance competition in Texas, skied in New Mexico, camped along the Rio Grande, hiked down into the Grand Canyon, had an ostrich bite my camera, been homeless in Colorado, discovered how every state has is very own distinct vibe, experienced the most ridiculous and consistent degrees of synchronicity, met amazing friends all over the country, had the universe repeatedly bring me all that I want including exactly the type of weather I want when I want it, been given free food and lodging all over the country… Quite honestly this is the most exciting and simultaneously the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done.

I’m learning SO much. There’s lots of things I’m learning that I didn’t know before and many things that I’m finally actually GETTING. To use an analogy, let’s say you’ve done martial arts for a while and your instructor keeps telling you, “Hands up! Keep your hands up!” and so you know that your hands need to be up but when you’re practicing, your hands subconsciously keep coming down. It isn’t until you actually spar against an opponent and get clocked in the head that you finally GET IT that your hands need to be UP!  This is a lot like that. As is often said, life is our greatest teacher… There’s a lot of things that I “knew” didn’t work, and if you were to ask me before, I’d tell you that no, such-and-such doesn’t work. If you asked me now, I’d be like “nah dude, really, that shit DOES NOT WORK!!” It’s that transition from mental understanding to gut-level understanding.

This has also been a very emotional experience in that it’s forcing me to really look at myself. I’m basically free to go where I want and do what I want (within reason… a 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive vehicle would be super handy for going up into the snowy mountain peaks and camping in the backcountry, for example, buy I digress…). One thing I wanted from this trip was to really shed light onto the remaining unconscious portions of myself. See, I remember Adyashanti talking about when his awakenings first started, and they also began in the nonabiding form as I am experiencing, when he was going through his process he’d sit down in a coffee shop for hours writing and writing about his beliefs and exploring any area within him that would still go into division. This has been a big part of my journey here. It’s really taking what I’ve learned and applying it all. Jump in with both feet and apply the law of attraction, for example. Apply the ability to surrender and let go when your ego gets bruised and you face your inner darkness head on. Do all the stuff you need to do because now it really matters. It’s crunch time and the pressure’s on.

Freedom of Experience

To what degree do I want to experience freedom? I’ve thrown up a tent and camped in state parks and enjoyed being out in nature. I’ve slept in my car and enjoyed waking up in new places and not having to tear down a tent in the cold mornings. I’ve stayed in hotels and loved the big comfy bed and the little kitchenettes that allow me to cook. I’ve stayed on friends’ futons and enjoyed the free lodging and social life. What is the most harmonious expression of freedom that I’d like to experience? Let’s go out and try a lot of different things and see what they’re like!

Now I’m looking for a more permanent home to throw down some roots. It seems that this country really caters to those with a home and address. Where do I want to live? I can live in Denver, a big city with lots of different regions all over. I can live in Boulder which is a smaller town with a great spiritual vibe and amazing outdoorsy people. I can live up in a small mountain town like Nederland which gets a lot more snow and has more unplowed roads. Heck, I can even go live in a tipi on a sustainable farm! So many options! What do I want? What does my heart say?

Go dive into the unknown and follow that intuition… Let’s see where it takes me.

Spontaneity vs. Planning

What degree of structure do I want in my life? What works best? What feels best? What is most enjoyable? You can try going out somewhere in the world where you literally have NOTHING that you need to do. No plans. No nothing. Just show up and here you are. Where does your intuition lead you next? Completely and utterly spontaneous, allowing synchronicity to be everything.

Do you want a full schedule with lots of things to do and times to be at certain places?

Do you want to be generally open with only a few things scheduled to give your life some sense of  structure and direction while simultaneously being open to change direction on a dime?

I’m finding the last option to be most enjoyable for me. Complete and utter no plans doesn’t feel so good. I like having a next step to head towards in life and a few things on my to-do list. I like having an overall purpose for my life within which I allow the flow to occur. What do you like?

This is something that has been really valuable, to really let go and actually try out lots of different ways of being in the world and find what feels and works best for YOU. This is probably something that each person needs to find out for themselves…

Intuition

Intuition is SO bang on. It’s been my go-to option whenever it comes down to make a decision. Virtually every decision now is simply a matter of asking my intuition. What does this feel like? How does that option feel? Eventually you really start to develop the ability to discern between the feelings of expansiveness, openness, joy, excitement, and subtleness that usually comes with the intuition’s yes versus the sense of closure, downness, no, stopping, almost shut down that comes with the intuition’s no. Honestly one of the main challenges is getting the mind to align with the intuition. That’s really where the main challenge seems to lie, in getting the mind with all its logic and reasoning to surrender to a simple feeling that doesn’t explain itself.

Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction really works. I mean it REALLY works. I experience so consistently whatever it is that I most strongly think and believe deep down. It’s SO clear…

You are the light, mind is the prism, the world is your rainbow.
-Ash Ruiz

One thing I found amusing was to over and over hear people say “but this never happens!” It’s like everywhere I’d go, restaurants would hand me free food and beer, the weather would be perfect and just as I’d asked, things would just work out for me, and I’d just smile knowing that this has all been created within me and is being experienced due to my own inner alignment. At the same time, I only experience it to the degree that the alignment with inner being is maintained. It’s like a direct 1:1 relationship. Alignment with inner being, loving what is, non-resistance to the present moment, being in the vortex, being in a state of allowing, flowing the energy of Source through you, whatever you wanna call it… this one singular thing is what leads to the unfoldment of all that I desire in ways that are more amazing that I could have ever imagined had I been trying to micromanage or control any of this. It’s like having full creative power of choosing my vibrational state of being and simultaneously having no control over the physical world. The more I surrender control of the world and focus on inner alignment, the more the apparently outer world shows up in ways that reflect my inner alignment. This is really what the LoA is all about.

Happiness

This has been a pretty hard-hitting one for me. I really thought on some level that going out and jumping in to what I perceived to be a life of freedom and travel would bring happiness. It was subtle, but it was definitely here. This has been one false notion that’s been crashing down the past few days, and it’s been a tough pill to swallow. How many times have I thought that going out and “living the life of my dreams” would be what I was looking for? Wasn’t that what life was supposed to be about? It’s the idea that a certain lifestyle = happiness. Nope. Being out here in Colorado doesn’t make me happy. Heck, even manifesting all the stuff that I want doesn’t make me happy. Experiencing synchronicity and being in the flow itself doesn’t make me happy. It really doesn’t. I’m finding I keep placing conditions on my happiness and joy, as if something in life needs to be a certain way so that I can experience happiness and so I go about trying to structure my life a certain way. I keep placing these conditions on myself and finding that they keep come crashing down. They don’t work.

What I keep coming to find is that happiness DOES NOT lie outside of myself, as cliche as that may be. Happiness isn’t found in being loved. It isn’t found in living a certain lifestyle. It isn’t found in finally getting something you’ve always wanted. It doesn’t lie in mastery of a certain skill or achievement in a particular ability, including manifesting everything you want. Not at all…

The way it seems that it works is that happiness is found within, as if we ARE it. Literally. We find that we ARE it when we quit looking to FIND it. This inner being that is along for the journey every step of the way, this awareness that is ALWAYS present no matter how epic or traumatic the experience of life is, this presence that is always always always here, it’s so easy to get distracted from that and get lost in thought or lost in the world or lost in experiences, and yet this beingness is always here. When there’s a turning within, Love is found here. Joy is found here. Happiness is found here. Peace is found here.  Well-being is found here. It doesn’t matter where in the world I am or what is happening around me. It’s like this ground of being is becoming my home, silence is becoming my home, even if I don’t have a physical place to call home.

I wanted to write a book about the Law of Attraction, put together a workshop, collect videos that were especially helpful and so on, and yet what I’m starting to find is that mastery of manifesting DOES NOT BRING HAPPINESS. If I ever do come out with a product on the LoA, manifesting is going to be seen as sooooo secondary to being joyous, to being joy itself.

Byron Katie

The other day I was listening to Byron Katie and she said a number of things that completely blew me away…

Her whole thing is about questioning your thoughts and no longer believing in thought whatsoever, thereby ending your suffering. Her process to help us accomplish this she calls The Work and it’s repeatedly proving itself to be so effective and powerful…

She says that all suffering is a result of believing in thought. Period.  She mentioned that one thing she loves about life is that when someone else experiences pain, she doesn’t. When she experiences pain, the other doesn’t. We *think* that we suffer because of what another says or does, but the reality is we suffer because we believe thoughts that arise within us about what another said or did. If we didn’t believe any of our thoughts, experiences would simply happen and we wouldn’t suffer as a result of them. When you no longer believe in your thoughts, you are in heaven. When asked if she still feels like she’s in heaven even when bad things happen to her, she said she no longer perceives them as bad because she’s done the inquiry and doesn’t believe the thoughts that arise that suggest something is bad. She then went so far as to suggest that what if you went to heaven and took all your current thoughts with you. Would you then even experience heaven at all? The thing is you wouldn’t, and this is the condition most people are in. We all are in heaven right now, and yet we don’t experience it because we believe in our thoughts.

This is something that Adya has mentioned before as well, that he has literally lost the ability to believe in his own thoughts… I’ve wondered how this plays out in terms of the LoA which says that what you believe you experience… The two perspectives kinda seem at odds and this is a paradox that I have still only partially resolved for myself.

In any event, questioning my own thoughts repeatedly is bringing SO much valuable insight to me, so much clarity, and so much understanding. It’s a very useful technique…

So What Now?

There is SO much I don’t know. Everytime I think I know something, life gently and lovingly shows me how completely utterly wrong I am. There’s just so much more surrender to experience, a continual opening up to even deeper love (especially the scarier places), finding more areas of darkness and bringing the light into them, being happy and joyous for its own sake without any reason necessary, letting go of those fears and resistances and doubts and worries, and really just BEING. Being, loving, enjoying, surrendering…

Really I don’t know anything. Geez…

All I know is that here I am, sitting in a coffee shop, reflecting on the past few weeks of… good god… I don’t know how to describe it…

Whew… So yeah… If you’ve made it this far along and enjoyed what was shared, If you wanna read more from a wandering guy who has no idea what he’s doing half the time  :lol  feel free to donate some cash and help me pay for food and gas. It’s certainly appreciated!

Until next time, happy living!!

-Ariel

Alright so first off, if you haven’t seen Avatar yet, you gotta go watch it!! Whether you choose to watch the movie in 2D or 3D, both offer an amazing experience.

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot, the movie takes place on a distant planet named Pandora that is home to these blue humanoid aliens called the Na’vi. They are very much like the Native Americans with bows and arrows and a deep appreciation and respect for life and an understanding of the interconnectedness of all life. The US military comes in to basically drive them out so they can mine for this mineral called unobtainium, killing off many of the natives in the process.

There are some beautiful spiritual messages in the movie and the way it’s all illustrated is absolutely amazing. Just… wow…

The forest and plantlife on the planet is phosphorescent and iridescent in a very heavenly way and even glows for a moment every time you step on the grass. The sky is full of gorgeous planets and moons. Standing on that planet and looking up into the heavens strangely feels like home…

Their diety is a benevolent goddess named Eywa who is basically the living energy that runs through all things. One particularly great passage from the movie took place when one of characters prays to Eywa to take their side and help during the invasion of the military. Another character responded that Eywa doesn’t take sides. She only helps preserve the balance of life.

Heck, even the credits of the movie were amazing. Make sure you stay past the end and watch them to see how many people were involved in the creation of this film. My jaw literally hung open watching them scroll by. It was so nice to see that many (thousands of) people join together in the name of creating such a conscious movie, helping reinforce the understanding that all this “oneness stuff” isn’t so alternative and out there, but is rapidly becoming integrated as a part of mainstream life.

So yeah, if you haven’t seen this movie, I highly highly recommend checking it out!

For those of you who have seen the movie, what was your experience? What did you like about it? How did the movie impact you?

So some teachers would suggest that you should get rid of all your desires altogether for that is the ideal state, to be happy with what is and to desire nothing more than what is here and now. Then you’ve got other teachers who would suggest that it’s not really about the desires themselves, but rather the attachment to (and therefore resistance to) the desires themselves. When we get into the discussion about desire, it can be helpful to get clear about our definition of the word desire.

Isha Judd has a hilarious video where she addresses the difference between renouncing the objects of your desire in the name of enlightenment versus letting go of the attachment to desires, as well as the difference between clingy attachment which many people confuse with love and what love actually is.

There’s also a passage I’d like to share with you that’s just past the 6 minute mark in the following Abraham-Hicks video. The passage has to do with the idea of “releasing desires.”

In the moment you stop pushing against [your monsters and fears], you catch a current that takes you to where you wanna go. That’s why some say “let go let God” or “relax.” “Release desire” is what many teach and we know that’s their way of tricking you into not having any more resistance because it is not possible for you to release desires. You are here FULL of desire, but sometimes by releasing desire, or feeling like you are, you release resistance and when you release resistance, your cork floats back to the surface or you catch the current of your stream, you see.”

-Abraham-Hicks

Allowing, surrender, non-resistance, being, going with the flow, saying yes to what is… call it what you will but it’s pretty fundamental stuff.

The following is a poem written by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, simply titled “The Invitation.”

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes.’

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

-Oriah Mountain Dreamer

This poem and more can be found in her book titled The Invitation.

There is a special event that will be taking place on New Years Day, 2010. It is called “The Namaste Project” and it is a vision that came through my good friend Ash Ruiz, lead singer for the band Here II Here. The following is what he posted on Facebook and I’d like to pass the word on to you.

The Namaste Project

Namaste ~ The Light in me recognizes and greets the Light in you.

Come be a part of History in the Making!

The Intention

The Namaste Project…the end of separation is: A Flash Mob that Lights Up the World.

The Namaste Project will debut in L.A., Miami, Asheville, Atlanta, Orlando, and New York City on 01/01/10 at 1 pm. (Ariel’s note: Feel free to organize an event in your city too!!) The intention is that at 1:00 pm hundreds of people in all 6 cities will stand in silence connecting with one another in the Namaste pose as the world keeping going around them for 30 minutes…and then walk away as if nothing ever happened!

Although I see it happening in Silence I’m also aware that spirit always knows what’s best so maybe toning will arise or some om(ing) or the Holy chant!! All is possible when one allows themselves to be where they always are.

The Vision

On Thanksgiving morning I woke up with the most delicious visions dancing through my awareness echoing the dream I had just had. I was sitting on an etheric blue grid bench in the middle of Times Square with an all-consuming sense of well being and peace, enjoying the harmonious orchestra of the way of it. The hustle and bustle, the sounds, the horns, the lights, the pretzels and yes… even the hotdogs were all aspects of the dance of God, pure and utter Leela. In that moment I noticed my mouth whispered Namaste and I somehow knew that all beings everywhere could hear this greeting of the spacious heart to the spacious heart and then I received the sweetest confirmation. A little girl with the cutest little fro met my gaze and with her palms together placed restfully over her heart, she bowed her head in a Namaste… and then an older gentleman walking his dog, a woman in a power suit gliding to work, construction workers, drag queens, tourists, celebrities, the homeless, the wealthy, Twilight Fans, You name it! Everybody everywhere did the same! I was witnessing Planetary Awakening in the most radiantly ordinary way!

People started to slow down till eventually everyone stood still. And people everywhere where looking into each other’s eyes whispering Namaste with tears of joy streaming down their glowing faces while instinctively knowing the truth of all being everywhere. This was a moment so powerful that all was healed in the knowing that there was nothing ever sick to begin with. It truly only takes one because in reality that’s all there is. We all share the same light of awareness and as this ever-present awareness we all have full capacity to recognize and greet our infinite self in infinite ways.

So as I lay there completely buzzed as the love of now, it occurred to me that this could begin in small ways with all the beloved beings I know throughout the world with no end in it’s capacity to grow and blossom. Fun! Wouldn’t it be fun to participate in a public display of fearless light and love? Wouldn’t it be fun to set the tone for the New Year with the power of the open heart and mind?

I would love your feedback and any ideas, help or suggestions about this unfolding vision.

Thank you, I love you,
Ash Ruiz
www.welcometothismoment.com

P.S. I’m excited to see how it unfolds and in no way do I expect it to be or not be “exactly” like the beautiful vision I had, for I’ve come to notice that reality is always brighter and more beautiful than every possible attempt to imagine or describe it.

(Ariel’s note: and here’s a quick video of Ash so you can meet the person through whom this inspired message has come)

Often times other people can be the source of so much of our suffering. This can include friends, family members, celebrities, or even just random strangers. Like many other things in the world, sometimes people just really piss us off. This is a common experience for many people in life.

Making Your Happiness Unconditional

We have this idea that if someone else were to only change their behavior then we’d finally be happy, and this is true given that we’d then be focusing our attention upon something we do like and thus no longer offering resistance to what we see (and therefore not suffering), but this is actually tremendously giving your power away because it’s saying that your happiness and well-being is completely dependent upon another person’s behavior. You basically give someone else the keys to your happiness. Yikes! When we do this, it only makes us want to try and control the other because, well, our happiness quite literally depends on it!

We may try to play this game with a few people around us and it may work to a limited extent, but if we make this a way of life, this is really just not a healthy way to live, you know? It’s just not realistic or healthy to think that the whole world is going to do what you want.

Now this isn’t meant to excuse other people’s behaviors. Not at all. There are so many examples of unconscious behavior out there we can point out. Of course that’s there. What we’re talking about here is releasing ourselves from the suffering that we create for ourselves as a result of the unconscious behavior that occurs all around us. We want to release ourselves from our own self-imposed prison, regardless of what’s happening in the world.

This is about making our happiness and well-being unconditional. Literally. It’s taking down the conditions we have imposed upon ourselves for whatever reason and finding that freedom we so desperately seek.

It’s about changing ourselves and allowing others to change (or not) out of our/their own volition, not because of attacking or being attacked.

Let’s listen to a wonderful Abraham-Hicks talk that gives a hilarious example of this and takes a look at how we can allow ourselves to be in this world and have healthy experiences in our relationships without letting the little things in life tear us apart.

Closing The Gap

Have you noticed that the reason we suffer is only only only because of the story we are telling ourselves in our head, and even more importantly, our belief in our story as if it was actually true. That’s it! The negative emotions are showing us that our story (thoughts) about life has nothing to do with the reality. It’s not true. That’s why it feels so bad.

Most of us are familiar with practices like focusing on the positive aspects, loving what is, being present, being in the now, surrendering, and all the other wonderful stuff, and yet nevertheless there seems to be this gap between what we “know” on one level and how we live, as if this knowingness has yet to penetrate the totality of our being. We all have this gap and one of the games of the spiritual journey is closing this gap. It’s really LIVING from the truth of your being, living what your heart knows to be true. Your life becomes a living manifestation of your inner being.

From this space you can still make changes in your life, like getting a second tube of toothpaste as mentioned in the video, for example.

Loving what is doesn’t mean that you don’t do anything about life. Not at all. Actually, it’s not about doing or not doing. Loving what is simply means to truly love what IS and then FROM that space, you live your life, however it naturally arises. It means to live from the love rather than let the ego run the show.

How this love manifests may be laughing things off, making a compromise, expressing more gratitude, changing certain things, talking about your issues, or perhaps even leaving the relationship. Who knows? There’s countless possible responses. It’s not really a “if this then that” thing. It’s more spontaneous and part of the flow.

But the whole “demanding that a person be different than they are or else you will withhold your love/acceptance/approval of them,” yeah, not so much…

Transcending Life vs. Facing Life

Some people may also have this idea that when we have problems in our lives, all we have to do is simply raise our level of consciousness to the point where they no longer bug us and then we’ll magically fix our lives. Yet this can actually become a subtle form of escapism and avoidance.

Instead of actually facing life, facing what’s being shown to you in the mirror of life, we may try and spiritualize ourselves beyond our current experience.

Yet the interesting thing is that if we can face what life is showing us with sincerity and without turning away, life itself becomes the catalyst to our greatest transformations. It’s all right here, ready for us. As is often said, life is our greatest teacher.

Trying to understand someone is not the same as loving them, though we might think that’s a path to love. What that is is an attempt to access the heart by first going through the mind, as if the mind is a gatekeeper for the heart. (It’s not, but we can act this way.) When we live this way, when we feel a lack of love, we may seek to recreate it by seeking to create a sense of mutual understanding, but that’s actually placing a condition upon love and thinking that external things need to be a certain way for us to have a particular internal state of being.

Love can flow during both understanding and misunderstanding.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t value in seeking clarity with another person when there is misunderstanding present. Of course that can be a very helpful and beneficial thing to do. What I am saying is that we don’t have to require the prerequisite of understanding another person’s point of view mentally and making sure they see your point of view before we allow ourselves to open up to the flow of love. Mutual understanding can certainly help us open and take down our walls, yes, but it doesn’t have to be a requirement for us to love what is, for that makes love conditional. The following quote is taking on deeper meaning for me tonight:

“Spiritual practice is the capacity to offer your love even when you feel hurt, closed down, tense, angry, misunderstood, or hated.”

-David Deida

By love I don’t mean affection towards another, approving of them, having them be a part of your life, or even liking their behavior and choices. Not that.

It’s more about accepting others the way they are, accepting yourself the way you are, being a YES to life, and being open to allowing what is to be without closing down and attempting to separate yourself from the moment. Love is what we feel when we surrender our resistance to what is.

Surrender means to love without limits. It means to relax your guard so your lover can feel your core–authentic, unhidden, and undefended. Your muscles relax. Your breath becomes full. Your body and heart willingly open to your lover. If you are hurt, then you are hurt, but in any case you practice to remain open and full, like the ocean.

-David Deida

Ahh, life…

So today I had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be cast as the role of villain and to have a bunch of people get angry at me, something I haven’t experienced in quite some time now. Although it certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience, I learned a lot from it and would like to use it as a springboard to talk about how to respond when you are on the receiving end of attack, insult, and abuse.

Whether we’re talking about something big like a terrorist threatening to blow your head off or something small like someone casting you a disapproving look, let’s explore what we can do as conscious beings when we find ourselves in a situation where we are being attacked.

First let’s hear what Osho has to say:

Whenever someone comes to fight you, absorb him;
When someone insults you, absorb him and see — his insult becomes a flower.
He is releasing energy. When someone insults you, he is giving away energy.
He is foolish, stupid, so you absorb his energy, thank him, and go back and see what happens. When someone is ready to fight, simply allow him.
Be as if you are not there and he is fighting an emptiness.
Allow him, don’t resist, and you will come to know.
There is no other way; just listening to me will not do.
This is an art, it is not a science. Science can be explained, art has to be experienced.

-OSHO

Next let’s look to the Bible and hear what Jesus’ take on the matter is:

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

-Matthew 5:38-42

One thing that we can see that all of these beings have in common is that they don’t fight back. They don’t judge the other person. It’s almost like they are standing open in a state of transparency, where nothing can truly hit them. They may certainly be struck physically, yes, but even that doesn’t get to them in their heart.

From Non-resistance to Non-violent Resistance

Now people often use statements like these to justify pacifism, saying that war is never the answer and that if you sit back loving people all day, all abuse will stop some day.

One good point that’s brought up in the book series Conversations with God is that allowing an abuser to continue to abuse another is beneficial for neither the abuser nor the one who is abused, for that teaches the abuser that such behavior is acceptable. What’s suggested instead is to do what’s best for yourself for in so doing, you will automatically be doing what is in the best interest of the all, for you actually ARE the all.

This is discussed in Book 1, page 132, for those of you who own a copy of the book.

Treating others with love does not necessarily mean allowing others do what they wish.

Parents learn this early with children. Adults are not so quick to learn it with other adults, nor nation with nation.

Yet despots cannot be allowed to flourish, but must be stopped in their despotism. Love of Self, and love of the despot, demands it.

-Conversations with God

When we hear about the idea of non-resistance, that may conjure up the idea of being a punching bag and getting your head kicked in.

Nonviolence is an intensely active force when properly understood and used.

-Gandhi

Here’s a clip from the film Gandhi where he speaks in front of a crowd and discusses this in more detail:

What’s advocated here is not some submissive acceptance of what happens, but what MLK Jr. termed non-violent resistance.

Non-violent resistance is not for cowards. It is not a quiet, passive acceptance of evil. One is passive and non-violent physically, but very active spiritually, always seeking ways to persuade the opponent of advantages to the way of love, cooperation, and peace.

The non-violent resister accepts suffering without retaliating; accepts violence, but never commits it.

In non-violent resistance, one learns to avoid physical violence toward others and also learns to love the opponents with “agape” or unconditional love–which is love given not for what one will receive in return, but for the sake of love alone. It is God flowing through the human heart.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love is not weak. Love is POWERFUL!

Now I know that advocating resistance in any way may make some spiritual ears recoil, and that’s okay. In many minds there may be a belief system set up that says “resistance = BAD!”

Think of this form of resistance as a way of cultivating one’s inner power in the name of what one believes. Love isn’t just the stereotypical new agey smiley happy gooey Love. That is one expression of it, sure, but Love can also be expressed with extreme intensity, such as a mother diving into traffic to pull her child back into safety. Love is NOT always some passive thing saying, “Oh, that doesn’t sound like such a good idea. Let’s talk about this and see if we can come up with an agreement here without arguing or raising our voices.”

Many spiritual people shut down their inner power in the name of ego transcendence. I’ve been there and done that.

The ego looooves the solar plexus chakra and to be a powerful force in the world, but that inner spirit can also be used by the heart to powerfully express Love in the world.

Speaking of standing up for what one believes, let’s take a look at this from a Law of Attraction standpoint by listening to what Abraham has to say on the topic of terrorism in the world:

The key is recognizing the intense contrast that is born from these experiences and focusing our attention upon the desires for peace, well-being, and understanding that are born out of these events.

What’s Your Take on the Issue?

What does the wisdom within you guys have to say?

When people have attacked you in some way, how have you responded and how effective was your response in creating the desired outcome?

Sparkling Shore by Marc Adamus

There is nothing to fear. NOTHING. All fear is an illusion. It exists solely in the mind and is a product of an innocent mind that has been disconnected, a word used very lightly, from its Source.

When there is a conscious reconnection to Source, or perhaps more accurately put, an expansion of awareness so that Source is seen to be an aspect of the full YOU that you are, fear then begins to dissolve. It is seen to be just a product of a limited mind. The thoughts of fear are completely overwhelmed by the conscious awareness of Source unmanifest. Our rock of safety is our connection to Source within, the very silence that exists everywhere at all times. Our home is Nirvana, the Kingdom of God, the Presence of the Infinite Self, the I Am that I Am. It is this home that we have never left except for within the dreams of our minds, a dream arising within the very Kingdom that we seek.

Fear, hate, judgment… none of these energies exist within the essence of what you are. They are distortions of pure essence, unhealed energies that are nevertheless inseparable from the totality of what you are. The Love in you, the Love in me, the Love in all… One Love. The Love that I am, the Love that you are, the Love that All That Is is… One Love.

It’s One. It’s all One. It always has been. Always will be. This can never change for this Truth abides in timeless eternity.

All experiences are part of the whole. Whether we say life is this way or life is that way, neither of those statements are actually absolutely inherently true. They are relative truths, all very much experiencable within the worlds created within our consciousness, very much like an endless spectrum of video games. You can play any game you want. Abundance, limitation, success, enthusiasm, joy, clarity, confusion, lots of friends, solitude… mix and match! It’s all up to you! Whatever you believe life to be, be open to the fact that Life isn’t actually that way. Life is the way it is, but we simply project our own perceptions onto it and call that “reality.”

When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

-Buddha

So there’s a number of wonderfully amazing spiritual musicians. Here’s a couple that I’ve run across that I’d like to share with you. If you know of some that would be worth checking out, please share with us in the comments!

Deva Premal & Miten

Endorsed by H. H. the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle, their music is born out of meditation and a celebration of life.

Check out their music on their website, YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon.

Here II Here

HIIH is an amazing group I’ve had the wonderful opportunity of seeing perform live several times. I am a big fan of their music, their energy, and their message! They have performed with Michael Beckwith, Byron Katie, Gangaji, the Dalai Lama’s spiritual advisor, and more.

Check out their music on their website, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, iTunes, and Amazon.

Marcome

Creating a wonderful collection of pop world music mixed with new age, jazz, & ambient voices and maintaining an active presence on Twitter, Marcome is a divine treat to the ears and the soul.

Check out her music on her website, YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon.

Denise Hagan

After hearing about Denise from Davidya, I hopped onto her site and found myself enthralled by her voice and spirit as she sings with such beautiful love.

Check out her website where you can listen to and purchase her music.

Krishna Das

KD offers some beautifully moving devotional chants that are awesome to sit back and chill in.

Check out his music on his website, YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon.

Mike Elias

Mike is a friend of mine who created this hilarious song about spiritual teacher Dr. Hawkins. If you read Hawkins, you gotta check this video out!

Check out Mike’s music on Myspace, Facebook, CDBaby, and iTunes.

Enya

Enya’s got your pretty chill new age vibe goin’ on that makes for great relaxation music.

Check out Enya’s music on her website, YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon.

Who Do You Recommend?

There’s many many more amazing spiritual musicians out there that have been left out of this list. Who would you recommend we add to this list?