Posture awareness

A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind. - Morehei Ueshiba

Proper posture is a way of blending with gravity, proper attitude is a way of blending with life- Dan Millman

Posture is not only involved our relationship to gravity as well as our relationship to stillness and motion. Posture has great impact on digestion, breathing and even our emotions. In a profession that directly deals with the alignment of the body, I often speak of the relationship to posture and exercise, whether stretching or resistance training. Whatever we do as exercise is only as beneficial as the posture or form in which we do it. But our interest for self progress has to go beyond words and classes only. In Yoga for example, proper physical postures called asanas are important to practice not only in class, but every moment of the day. Such is true with Tai Chi posture, both of the mind and body.

We usually find ourselves in 3 postures throughout our day: sitting, standing and lying down. Lying down releases us from the powerful influences of gravity on our body and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. So this posture leads to unconsciousness and dreams.  Standing maximizes the influence of gravity on the body and activates our sympathetic nervous system, directing alertness and action. Sitting actually activates both the sympathetic and parasympathetic, but to more a middle ground- lesser degree than standing or lying down. This balance between the other two postures lends itself to calm and meditation, aiding the mind in winding down.

We go through life as if moved by every force outside of ourselves, rather than acting from within our own choice or thinking. The world moves us. Relationships move us. We chase after whatever enters the mind. We are responding to the world constantly. Because we answer the demands of the outside world, we miss opportunities to better understand what the body does naturally. One thing is certain for many people, we seldom just stand. If you are honest in your observations, you will find yourself leaning against walls, on one hip, on your shopping cart, constantly moving and twisting yourself, even if you are practicing a routine of relaxation.

If you further observe yourself in these moments, paying attention to the subtle feelings in your body, you will notice tension, lack of quality breathing and even rapid or stressful thinking. Once we take a step forward, we since we are moving from an imbalanced posture, our movements will by clumsy and imbalanced. We might overstep our walk, wobble in even the most basic motions, walk on the balls of our feet or a combination of tense muscles accompanied by improperly rotated joints. To avoid this, check your standing posture first. Allow your weight to sink equally onto both feet and let your hands simply hang at your sides. If it is comfortable for you, let your palms face behind you and your shoulders drop. Be certain that your weight is sinking into the middle of your feet, not the balls of your feet or heels. Get the sense that the earth is supporting you. Once you maintain this posture, try engaging in conversations or reading etc. to see how long you can hold this posture without losing that subtle awareness.

To go further with this exercise, keeping your feet parallel to each other ,about shoulder width apart, with slightly bent knees. Keep your shoulders relaxed; your shoulder blades and even your chest. Adjust your coccyx (tailbone) so that is more or less pointing directly down toward the ground. When you accomplish this, the lower back arch will flatten itself out. Sense your lower back and sacrum connecting directly to your legs. Once you are in this posture, allow your attention to scan the entire body from top to bottom for unnecessary tension. Be sure you do not change your posture while scanning. All you want to do is observe and sense. Allow your breath to flow naturally, don't force it or control it. More importantly do not hold your breath.

When we can learn to find our natural and comfortable state in this posture, we can try a walking exercise. We want to use the awareness and sensitivity gained by standing, and keep it with us in motion. Walking can be seen and experienced as a profound activity. But the automaton like, restricted movements many call walking can do more harm than good. Besides stimulating our cardiovascular system, walking helps us relax as well as energizes us and reduces stress. Walking has a deep connection to the fluid rhythms of movement and breath.

For us to take the body awareness and sensitivity we gained through standing and put it in motion, we first have to observe how we walk. Spend some time with yourself, don't respond to and self judgments or thoughts of others, simply start walking daily and give all your attention to the process. Ask yourself, what is your motive for walking? Is your mind wandering or are you enjoying each step and breath of air you take? Where are you rushing to, and in the grand scheme of things does it really matter? So slow down! If you find yourself bouncing in your step, moving about, this might be because you are anxious which results in unnecessary tension in your body. This wastes energy and will exhaust you.

Allowing the body to remain open and stress free, the mind and the body move together. Continuing to observe your walking, pay attention to the range of your movements.  Are your joints opening and closing by the swinging of your arms, allowing breath to enter the space in the body, or are you stiff, holding your shoulders back and restricting the movement of your arms? Do you think this represents a state of mind? What about your pelvis, does it move freely, opening and closing the joints or is it tight and rigid restricting movement of blood and lymph throughout the body.

Become aware of your feet, sense each food the moment it touches the ground. Ask yourself if the foot feels tight when it raises off the ground and lands. Do you land gently or hard? Do your feet land flat, more on the heel or ball? Do they roll from heel to toe? Being to sense your toes, experiment and play with the way your feet interact with the ground.

Chuang Tzu said " True human beings breathe with their heels, while the majority of us breathe with our throats." As you release tension in the body while walking you will feel your breathe reach deeper in your body. This can create a heightened state of mind as you sense new parts of yourself you seldom experience.


When I first entered my Tai Chi training, my cup was not overflowing, it was cracking from the overwhelming amount of misconceptions and misinformation I held about the art. My associations to words and theories did not allow my awareness to enter the body freely. My movements would meet the resistance of my knowing, and false truth would arise. I wanted to romanticize what I was doing. I was not just moving, I was expressing my chi, flowing, doing more than I could imagine. But why? Why did the mind have to indulge in the existential? Why could it not accept what was simply taking place without forming values or beliefs?

When we cannot see what is, and only see what takes place in the mind through knowing, we suffer from duality, and this creates imbalance in the mind. Over time I began to ache from my movements. My practice was resulting in tension in the body and no real improvement in my body. I eventually learned to let go. I am simply moving to move, as I walk just to walk- enjoying each movement and refining it like steel, to become stronger over time. I didn't need to stretch beyond my reach, to create more activity in the mind than what was actually taking place. I was desiring what I considered the deep and complex aspect of Tai Chi and movement.  But the subtle is not less than the complex, small things make up big things.

The deeper happenings of the body and the mind while standing or moving are not dependent on our ability to know them. So when you stand or move, be present in your posture. Allow yourself to experience your place on this globe and in this time. Keep your mind open and free to the sensation of the body and let go of your knowing and cerebral fidgeting. Stand and know yourself, stand with yourself and stand yourself. Walk in consciousness and know each step can be a learning experience to get better acquainted with ourselves.

Think with your whole body- Taisen Deshimaru

Face your challenges

Though the wind blows, the bamboo bends but does not break. No matter what you see, hear or experience it is fine to accept something is hard, but you are in control of how you respond. Are you free to choose to remain stable, or are you a slave to your emotions and respond to every little thing the world throws at you?


True, life is a river we cannot control, but we can steer our way through it. But we often continue to force against the current, suffering because life is always different than what we have in our mind. The internal dialogue is what grounds people in the daily world. The world is such and such or so and so, only because we talk to ourselves about its being such and such and so and so. The way to balance in your life comes when you learn to shut off this internal dialogue. Stop mistaking what is, with what you perceive.

The most inspiring person I know at once survived cancer, infidelity, abuse, abandonment, shunning, financial turmoil and the basic human fear of impermanence and loneliness. Yet no matter how hard it seemed this person never accepted they were a victim. Learning to use whatever life presented, as a means to understand past choices that have brought this individual to these experiences, they followed life's flow and did not resist. This person became a peaceful warrior. The basic difference between an ordinary person and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary person takes everything as a blessing or a curse.

Nothing in this world is a gift. Whatever must be learned must be learned the hard way. This inspiring human discovered multidimensional healing. So many know of the story yet continue harboring old, cold truths and solidifying habitual routines with minimal results. As the body became cured, so did the mind that governs it and the emotions that arise from the outcropping of the individuals experiences. Happiness is like breathing, happiness is like the beat of the heart- happiness is being, it is not something that happens to you. As long as you desire happiness, you will never be able to see and exploit the potential before you. So many wish and hope and pray for change, yet follow the same road day in and day out. What change do you expect while investing in none? Surely this could lead to madness. When we do what we have always done, we should only expect what we always get.

Just be still, with no desire for anything more or better, because once you get rid of the illusion of a better you will not suffer your life. Be absolutely hopeless, because hope is nothing but a new name for desire. Hope is a beautiful name for desire, dressed up and appealing to us. It is a fantasy that lacks accountability. There is no future, so drop all ambition, only this moment exists.

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”

No matter what we face the task at hand will simply be a task, details are what we make of them. Whatever the task, it remains a challenge as long as you find identity from it instead of understanding that challenge reveals a weakness you possess which can be strengthened over time. The weakness is in consciousness, it is how you see yourself. There is nothing that says what you encounter is good or bad, especially since all events in your life are connected not independent of each other. You will suffer however, when you believe in your disposition and victimize yourself. When you cry out to the world for respect, appreciation and recognition; you are poor in mind and spirit- begging to be validated and secretly longing for a change. But nothing will change because change comes through awareness and choice. And if you cannot learn from the hard challenges in your life, they will repeat until you do. Your struggle comes from the illusion you give yourself of struggle.

But there is no need to search..achievement leads nowhere. It makes no difference at all. Just be happy now, release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns and relax into the world. Open your eyes and see you are more than you think and are already free. So be free, don't restrict or control emotions, let them pass but do not respond to them. Adapt to your circumstances appropriately; there is a time to be rigid and tough, and a time to be flexible and soft. It doesn’t matter how you are brought up, what determines the way one does anything is personal power. And power is cultivated by acting, not thinking and speaking. Do not waste your energy trying to be seen as a martyr, maintain your integrity and embrace your challenges. Your challenges are not your punishment, they are your training.

Power comes from silence, stillness

What happens when your partner, associate, teammate, friend is transferring weight, responsibility and their emotional debris on you? You may start to feel like there is a straw in you allowing that person to suck out your energy. But there are ways to identify and adapt to these kinds of challenges. As long as we interact with people we are going to face someone at some point who psychologically or emotionally leans on us.

People who lean are often dissatisfied with what they have or who they are and constantly console themselves. They can live in the existential, giving time to other worldly happenings and concepts of unity and limitlessness; which serves them rather than others. They use methods such as these for detachment, to break away. They might also use you as a means to lift them up. But in the process of leaning, they trash their emotional balance. They exist at the fine edge of that balance and their ability to control. They may control by giving orders, unwanted advice or applying their feelings and energy into your life. But one adverse condition- a casual remark, a small setback and their energy collapses.

As they leaned psychologically and emotionally they fall psychologically and emotionally flat on their faces. To avoid being this individual we must learn to cultivate and consolidate our power by disciplining ourselves not to lean. When you lean psychologically or emotionally on people or toward them it's a sure sign of insecurity. It makes others feel uncomfortable. People can resent the weight you're laying on them, and they will react by denying you. They won't like your feeding off their energy, or your self indulgence for that matter. Consciously and subliminally, they sense the weakness your leaning creates. It robs them of energy and crowds them; they have to buy into your needs and emotions when they would prefer to concentrate on their own. And this is the loss of personal power. When we over reach our boundaries outside the natural state of what is ideal and lean into others to direct, order, request or control. Usually the order is thought, word, action. But in consciousness the behavior manifests and in consciousness it must be corrected.

Most people talk too much and what they do say is often just noise, irrelevant gibberish designed to keep themselves entertained. To consolidate power learn to become aware of your need to talk. Make it a discipline not to discuss your personal details and judgments with others. A powerful person does not waste words. Even if they wish to give constructive criticism they choose their words wisely knowing the consequences of interference. When we speak too soon and believe we know best we are demonstrating our need to be validated, to feel something-anything. The feeling is dependent on the exchange of energy coming back from the other person. Again this is leaning.

Trying to talk above people is trying to make them feel inferior by pushing yourself onto them. And we get a sense of correctness and find our place from telling others what we believe we know. This is a horrible way to find any sense of self and is anti life in essence. We find placement through what we identify as improper or wrong in others. Whether in faith, words or action when we place our dominant energy on others to steer (control) what we believe is wrong, we are actually showing how desperate we are as we energetically hook up to them. Once we get enough feedback and get our fill we find our sense of self in the distorted negative spacing that is the illusion of better or worse between two people. When we dominate with words and try to talk above others we are actually being combative. Sages don't need to combat. You don't need to feel anything about yourself by seeing yourself as right or opposite from anyone or anything. Nothing outside of you will reveal anything that is powerful or real inside you, so don't waste your time.

The Tao says, " To speak when one does not know is a disease." If you think about this with a view of health that is truly wholistic you will understand what the sages meant. Tao also teaches that " Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know." There is a difference between conceptual knowledge and living wisdom. While one person may talk while losing and needing energy, you can maintain a quiet and joyful mind maintaining integrity by not letting the howling wind outside of you blow out the bright flame within you. True knowing is demonstrated by action not by speaking. Real power is silent and patient as it allows things to fall into place exactly as they are knowing the purpose of what is. When we can't accept what is we direct, we suggest, we control because we cannot deal with uncertainty. And all of this, this kind of talk and behavior is purely out of ego. People who talk out of ego do so to hear themselves speak. They are not actually interested in what you have to say. This can be quickly proven because anything you say will be redirected against you as if you know nothing of what you speak. But do not speak, reserve your power.

Silent talking is a masterful art and comes when one learns to listen. It is learning to silence the mind and take in the experience beyond the duality our mind creates or the leaning our emotions desire. We can learn to accept exactly what is and give our energy to support that process. Anything less than this is a form of vampirism. We can learn to cultivate a silent mind, creating a solid stance for ourselves. This is like creating a technique. If we do not have a solid stance, any movement we make beyond that is weak. When we give our energy to others consciouly, it is not a means of outdoing, subduing the individual but for uplifting them. Only after the issue of technique is addressed can the true person emerge. Long cultivation is necessary in order to become honest and aware in every interaction. But eventually, all methods are absorbed. Then technique falls away, leaving the true person- present at his or her most human.

Being nobody, going nowhere

Not knowing is the first step for a warrior.

When we think life is going our way, we enjoy things; our music, movies, friends, social life etc. But we don't really enjoy them, we are addicted to them. They are distractions to avoid the chaos of our inner world, the parade of regrets, anxieties, and fantasies we call the mind. These aspects of our ego such as our image, music, attitude are a daily practice for us to seek a sense of self. The second those are questioned, not attainable in any way, we feel out of sorts. In our habitual quest for achievement and entertainment, we avoid the fundamental source of our suffering. Nearly all of humanity shares this predicament. If you don't get what you want, you suffer, but then when you get exactly what you wanted you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever. Your mind is a predicament and the task is to live outside of the mind. The mind wants to be free of change,free of pain, free of obligations of life and death. But change is law, and no amount of pretending will alter that reality. Life is not suffering, it's just that you will suffer it, rather than enjoy it until you let go of your minds attachments and enjoy the ride freely, no matter what happens.

The mind has no positive uses. The mind is an illusory reflection of cerebral fidgeting. It comprises all the random, uncontrolled thoughts that bubble into awareness from the subconscious. Consciousness is not mind, awareness is not mind, attention is not mind. Mind is an obstruction, an aggravation.It is a kind of evolutionary mistake in the human being, a primal weakness in the human experiment. I have no use for the mind. My strength comes from letting go, going with the flow and connecting with the void. When we understand our own impermanence, all of life is perfectly where it should be. And accepting this and always being thankful for it is developing a true faith. The brain on the other hand can be a tool, it can recall phone numbers, function the body, create beautiful art and poetry. In this way it works for the rest of the body like a tractor. But when you can't stop thinking of that math problem or phone number, or when troubling thoughts and memories arise without your intent or control its not your brain working, its your mind wandering. Then the mind controls you, and then the tractor runs wild. To really get all of this you must observe yourself to see what I mean. You have an angry thought bubble up and you become angry. You have a sad thought bubble up and you become sad. Its the same with all the emotions. They're your auto pilot response to thoughts you can't control.

"Iron is full of impurities that weaken it, through forging it becomes steel and is transformed into a razor- sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion."- Morihei Ueshiba

The mind is conditioned so well that we will go back to the same things even if they harm us for the sake of comfort. Living to our fullest, living boldly and with virtue is not following the programming that has overwhelmed and abused the senses. All of our morals, our understanding is manipulated and distorted by controlling sources. We all manufacture our own dust and static which serve to interfere with seeing, hearing and experiencing life. This self imposed interference keeps us stuck in an old belief system that we use repeatedly, even though it doesn't get us where we want to be. We become slaves to our tendencies and walk a narrow road. We may feel ourselves moving forward each day but motion does not always mean progress, change does not always mean evolution, and if you do not accept yourself in your current state you will never live up to the possibilities of your unfolding.


"If you make a string on an instrument too loose it will not play, and if you make it too tight it will snap, the music is found in a balance between both extremes as is all harmony."- Buddha


" Think with your whole body" -Taisen Deshimaru

Why, with the unlimited potential we possess do we create our days the same way each waking morning? Why do some people get upset about one thing and others won't be phased by the same event? Why do we attach to repetitive experiences? Repetitive experiences being processed into the subconscious cause neurons (nerve cells) and synapses ( junction between neurons) to form what is called a neuronet. The more an experience is practiced the stronger the neuronet becomes and is hardwired to the point where our responses are no longer consciously taking place; we are on auto pilot so to speak. The brain does not know the difference between what is sees and what it remembers so reality is constantly taking place in the brain, stressing and taxing the body.

Nerve cells that fire together wire together. We bring to ourselves situations that fill the biochemical craving of the cells in the body by creating situations that meet our chemical needs. This is why an angry person will find and create circumstances that bring them their bio-chemical need, same with sad and happy people. What floods our body is called a peptide, and we create peptides for every emotion; this makes you think about the term addiction defined by the inability to stop. Our inability to change, is the inability to stop doing exactly what we are doing- further hard wiring ourselves to the conditioning of the world to solidify the things that make us happy, sad and so on, never experiencing more in life.

We aren't actually living through choice, we are responding to life in accordance with how we have been trained to be. But we can't escape responsibility. Our choices will catch up with us; poor diet will cause bad health and premature death, our intolerance for others in the world will waste the body from miserable thoughts making us unhappy with ourselves. The only things we feel about the world are based on thoughts and feelings inside of us, we have to identify with them first before we project them unto others and events. Our pursuit for knowledge and self expansion will be fruitless if we base it on conceptual knowledge only.

We all respond to life in many ways; life is a series of responses. We respond to the alarm clock, and then the hunger to eat breakfast. The rest of the day is spent responding to others, to sounds, written word, odors, feelings and all the activities that go into making up our world. Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that read " The buck stops here"; he didn't coin the phrase it had been around for years. The point of it is, it is far easier and less damaging to our ego to find a scapegoat for our failures, big and small. There is no success no height of living without self accountability, without the hardships of learning through error. The hard fact is that each of us are where we are socially, financially, emotionally, mentally, physically because of our own thinking processes up to this point. Most which are influenced and aligned with unlimited wealth behind lobbying and advertising. What we will be in the future will be determined by our own mental activity now. If our thinking process doesn't change significantly, neither will our life and life style.

We all have an inner knowing, an instinctual programming deep within that is overwhelmed with distractions. Our cup is constantly overflowing and we can't keep any information in or retrieve what we know deep within. Our attachment to the world that has been programmed for us shows when we are hostile and uncomfortable in new situations or trying new things. If our way of life was absolute for us nothing could disturb our peace, but the exact opposite occurs.

No matter what we think about ourselves, the world or beyond, we will never know all that there is and we should do our best to create a life for ourselves that works. The task is never to know it all, or to feel right. And often most of our time is spent trying to please ourselves moment by moment. If we can stop worrying about the state of our emotional mind we can free ourselves to truly enjoy where we stand in a way that is not dependent on external circumstances. Besides our name given to us, we are in a constant state of change and growth always transient. You cannot not give name and solidity to something always moving. We are beyond what we identify as ourselves, we are composed of all that is and all that isn't. When we stop trying to be somebody, and stop trying to do something, we will be. Simply be.

There is no better

We must at some point learn to accept that life presents highs and lows. Though we often choose to lean our emotions on the outcome of circumstances, so we can determine what is right and wrong in life. But does that make it so? No. Everything we perceive in our lives that generate feelings are based purely on perspective. I'll say that again- purely on perspective. Because we cannot see where the road takes us, or how certain events will help us move forward, even though they seem bad at the moment. So what we get out of what we experience is what we choose to see. But either way, the road that is underfoot exists because of our own doing. If you want proof of that look back and see the footsteps you have made to take yourself there.

If you come home to a messy house, don't waste time getting upset- clean it so your future self won't be burdened. If you haven't made your bed yet, then do so because no one makes our bed for us. We all make our own beds. No person lives life for us, so don't get upset or sigh over your challenges because you are facing them because you have chosen too. How you feel about the challenge and your place in time is entirely up to you.

So what about work. We all want to do something we love, we all want to feel purposeful and needed. But like anything else, what we find in work is entirely up to us. Is it possible to clean floors and be happier and healthier than a person who you clean floors for? Yes it is. Wouldn't it be thought of as stronger, wiser, to do what others could not, to see good and love where no one expects it- to do the best with what is given to you?

What makes one person crave one kind of job, but not want another? Just like before, perspective. What fits best with our desires, our thinking and what we think is right for us. Yet most of us are seeking, searching, struggling to simply have balance and be happy, so why would we continue to think we know what is right for us when we have had such shitty results?

And when you have found the love to serve, to work and be productive, as a humane and conscious person you can do any job knowing the details and title of the job are complimentary. There is no better job. What you see as difference between being a clerk, a driver, a doctor, a concierge is what you think the job or other will do for you. And if it doesn't work as you want, you suffer. There is no better job, there is better seeing, better knowing. Either way you are moving in motion with purpose, that is enough. So why get unhappy if the job is not what you thought it would be, or less than what you think of another? Because you place your outcomes on outside events that are out of your control. Job security, other people, these things you will never control. But you do have control and awareness of yourself, and you do not have to move your emotions simply because you became aware that you cannot control your job or others.

When we are filled with a desired outcome we are blind to other possibilities. We ignore the potential for other outcomes that could bring us to new heights, or depths if only we would stand upright and not emotionally lean on circumstances. You demonstrate success or failure according to your habitual trend of thought. In you which is stronger- success thoughts or failure thoughts? When things do not go your way, do you return to self defeating thoughts that cause you suffering or do you spring forward to greener pastures? If your mind is ordinarily in a negative state, an occasional positive thought is not sufficient to have a positive experience. You alone are responsible for yourself. Your work in the world, where your own past activity, has placed you- can be performed only by one person- yourself. And your work can be called a success no matter what it is, only when you know your job is to serve others.


Failure is the lack to keep moving when we face a challenge.

Who is rich, who is poor?

One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country so that the son could see how the poor lived. They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family.

When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"Very good, Dad!"

"Did you see how poor people can be?"

"Yeah!"

"And what did you learn?"

The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the house; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have the whole horizon." When the little boy was finished, the father was speechless. His son then added,

"Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!"

Confront your shadow- know yourself

When the day is at rest and we are ready to retire we take with us more information and change than the day beforef. Life is constantly moving, we are always changing. In the process our awareness might turn inward as we seek self improvement, to become at one with the peace in our life and the circumstances life brings. But often we wish only for what we enjoy and which distracts and entertains us. Like a child at a zoo, we want to only be dazzled; desiring life to bring us only what we want and only to focus on the aspects of ourselves we wish to engage. But how do we wish to be whole, a real solid person when we cast away parts of ourselves that we feel are unfitting or undesirable? The mind pioneers into the darkness of the human psyche, pulling out ideas, intuitions and creation. It is for us to bring the feelings, thoughts and experiences left in the dark into the light. Things we may not have the courage to face but must in order to be whole.

If we do not we are choosing a harder road for ourselves. Imagine a parent never giving a child the room to face their own fears but instead always shielding them. As the child grows it will become harder to face those childhood fears due to years of habitual practice and possibly ridicule from peers. Some may avoid what is left in the dark out of fear of suffering from the past. But pain and suffering are not the same as you might have thought. Pain is an objective function of your nervous system. Mental or emotional pain are your subjective creations based on your meanings and interpretations. Every time you become angry, nothing outside of you has to do with that feeling. It is hard wiring through choices and perception. If we are angry at someone else, we are dependent on them to guide our emotional responses, this is why we cannot stop being angry. We are weak and are deeply subjugated by others, so we suffer. In order to be free and not respond to the whim of emotional flareups we have to face our own shadow.


Your shadow is the aspects of yourself that you have denied, devalued, and disowned. In other words, your shadow self is what you insist you are not. But no matter how much you ignore it, that aspect of you will always complete you as a whole, you cannot ignore it forever. Choosing to do so creates duality in the mind; when the mind is split we suffer duality. Once we move into duality, we suffer from reality because instead of experiencing it in whole, we experience life as we see it only.

You experience the world through your five primary senses; visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory. But you do not take in these impressions directly as they are. They pass through multiple filters, colored and often distorted by your interpretations, expectations, beliefs, associations, fears, desires and opinions. You also perceive through cultural, religious, professional, educational, and gender filters created by your own unique experiences.

For example, you don't just see or hear or taste. You see a barren or sad or interesting sight. You hear great or depressing music, you taste delicious or bland food that might remind you of your moms cooking. Reality becomes YOUR reality. What is becomes what you think it is, nothing more. So we get nothing more out of it. The principle for facing our shadow and bringing the darkness into the light of awareness is to know that reality is not what you think. Allow room for change and improvement, don't cast away feelings and thoughts expecting to feel complete; you will end up depending on others for completion. Never stop moving because you perceive something as bad. See where the road takes you and cultivate a joyful mind not matter what you encounter.

Face your challenges

Though the wind blows, the bamboo bends but does not break. No matter what you see, hear or experience it is fine to accept something it hard, but you are in control of how you respond. Are you free to choose to remain stable, or are you a slave to your emotions and respond to every little thing the world throws at you?


True, life is a river we cannot control, but we can steer our way through it. But we often continue to force against the current, suffering because life is always different than what we have in our mind. The internal dialogue is what grounds people in the daily world. The world is such and such or so and so, only because we talk to ourselves about its being such and such and so and so. The way to balance in your life comes when you learn to shut off this internal dialogue. Stop mistaking what is, with what you perceive.

The most inspiring person I know at once survived cancer, infidelity, abuse, abandonment, shunning, financial turmoil and the basic human fear of impermanence and loneliness. Yet no matter how hard it seemed this person never accepted they were a victim. Learning to use whatever life presented, as a means to understand past choices that have brought this individual to these experiences, they followed life's flow and did not resist. This person became a peaceful warrior. The basic difference between an ordinary person and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary person takes everything as a blessing or a curse.

Nothing in this world is a gift. Whatever must be learned must be learned the hard way. This inspiring human discovered multidimensional healing. So many know of the story yet continue harboring old, cold truths and solidifying habitual routines with minimal results. As the body became cured, so did the mind that governs it and the emotions that arise from the outcropping of the individuals experiences. Happiness is like breathing, happiness is like the beat of the heart- happiness is being, it is not something that happens to you. As long as you desire happiness, you will never be able to see and exploit the potential before you. So many wish and hope and pray for change, yet follow the same road day in and day out. What change do you expect while investing in none? Surely this could lead to madness. When we do what we have always done, we should only expect what we always get.

Just be still, with no desire for anything more or better, because once you get rid of the illusion of a better you will not suffer your life. Be absolutely hopeless, because hope is nothing but a new name for desire. Hope is a beautiful name for desire, dressed up and appealing to us. It is a fantasy that lacks accountability. There is no future, so drop all ambition, only this moment exists.

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”

No matter what we face the task at hand will simply be a task, details are what we make of them. Whatever the task, it remains a challenge as long as you find identity from it instead of understanding that challenge reveals a weakness you possess which can be strengthened over time. The weakness is in consciousness, it is how you see yourself. There is nothing that says what you encounter is good or bad, especially since all events in your life are connected not independent of each other. You will suffer however, when you believe in your disposition and victimize yourself. When you cry out to the world for respect, appreciation and recognition; you are poor in mind and spirit- begging to be validated and secretly longing for a change. But nothing will change because change comes through awareness and choice. And if you cannot learn from the hard challenges in your life, they will repeat until you do. Your struggle comes from the illusion you give yourself of struggle.

But there is no need to search..achievement leads nowhere. It makes no difference at all. Just be happy now, release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns and relax into the world. Open your eyes and see you are more than you think and are already free. So be free, don't restrict or control emotions, let them pass but do not respond to them. Adapt to your circumstances appropriately; there is a time to be rigid and tough, and a time to be flexible and soft. It doesn’t matter how you are brought up, what determines the way one does anything is personal power. And power is cultivated by acting, not thinking and speaking. Do not waste your energy trying to be seen as a martyr, maintain your integrity and embrace your challenges. Your challenges are not your punishment, they are your training.