WHERE DO WE FIND LOVE?

It is the very idea that love is always found within.  We are true beings that emenate love from within.  Whatever our circumstances, we project love in differing degrees.  To search for love means to reconnect with ourselves - to find, again, the incessant flow of unconditional love and joy in us.

It is through our obsession with Past (guilt) and Future (worries) events that hold us back from finding true love from within.  As OSHO states, 

"Learn the art of removing all the hinders of love. It is a negative process. It is like digging a well: You go on removing many layers of earth, stones, rocks, and then suddenly there is water. The water was always there; it was an undercurrent. Now you have removed all the barriers, the water is available. So is love: Love is the undercurrent of your being. It is already flowing, but there are many rocks, many layers of earth to be removed."

What Is Perfection?

I will make mistakes...I am not perfect...I am beginning to understand that gentle words and positive influences help shape perfection.  Perfection is when we are able to communicate with each other through the ups and downs ...and to show vulnerability.  Perfection is BEING....perfection is being real...and showing our real feelings....and communicating our real feelings....

Perfection may hurt...perfection may tickle...perfection may feel like bliss....Perfection may be a combination of all the above...rolled up in a ball and maybe even have that ball stomped on!

In the end...perfection may mean having resilience...accepting mistakes...and being able to face another day with optimism...

The Power of Camaraderie and Support

Must we face change and the fear of the unknown alone?

It can be perceived that to battle through change and the unknown we must muster up strength to face adversity.  Through this we may be mistakenly conditioned to believe that, if we have independently battled through the 'ugly', then we would come out stronger than before taking steps to heal.

I believe that it does take the individual to acknowledge pain and to take steps to heal.  I also acknowledge that many gravitate towards the repetitive pattern of identifying the Self with pain.  Hence, pain is perpetuated and so is the idea of our 'unhappy selves'.  To face pain alone means to be consiously aware of our mind patterns and move into the state of Presence and Being.  Through this, we will create, as Eckhart Tolle states, a "transmutation of pain" where all pain bodies will eventually cease to exist.

We don't have to face this alone because if we are "fortunate enough to find someone who is intensely concious, if [we] can be with them and join them in the state of presence, that can be helpful and we can accelerate [the elimination of the repetitive cycle of pain]" (Eckhart Tolle).

 I agree with Eckhart that "...in this way, [our] own light will quickly grow stronger".

Calm Amidst the Storm

           Calm Amidst the Storm - Oil on canvas (8x10)

There is something to be said about facing pain...

As Eckhart Tolle states, "If you are able to stay present and alert at the time of [pain] and watch whatever you feel within, rather than be taken over by it, it affords an opportunity for the most powerful spiritual practice, and the rapid transmutation of all past pain  becomes possible." With this, I describe our efforts as establishing calm amidst the storm.

Weathering the Storm...

Weathering the Storm  - Oil on canvas (8x10)

The Feeling of Now

How does it feel to be in the present moment?

It feels like a soft heartbeat beating rhythmically within...
It feels like a self-assured ball of energy lighting up my core...
It feels like a glow of confidence channelling from my heart to the tips of my fingers and toes...
It feels like a clear mind ready for more concious awakening...
It feels like confusion in the most positive sense of the word, for it is one of the first times I am not enthralled in emotional drama, worry or fear...
It feels like my mind is an empty canvas...ready to be filled with joy...and a smile or two...
It feels like...
                      ...nothing...
It feels...
              ....liberating...


I am fortunate to have found the true feeling of just Being.  Although the present moment is sometimes described by Eckhart Tolle as "unacceptable, unpleasant, or awful", I can trust that if I give myself the chance to experience the feeling of calm...I will experience the stillness and the positive energy within me.  For the first time in a long time...I am beginning to love my life...I am excited.