These Higher Laws...

Humanity is a dynamic race. Above all other life in nature, have we realised ourselves, through the evolution of our creative mind. Like all liberation from structure, this freedom has brought with it a responsibility to the individual; ways of living, called "higher laws". No longer are the instinctual laws of life enough for the individual to thrive in a world of choice and thought. There has been offered by life, a greater path for him now, but it is not forced upon the individual; it is just there for him to take, in order to prosper. Though he has become accountable to himself, others, and the rest of the living, in this world, the individual resists this maturity in so many ways. The conflict we find ourselves in is when we turn away from these higher laws, or when we are unable to understand their presence in our lives. We want, but are unwilling to sacrifice. We desire, but do not know what it is that will quench it. So we say that we have to "find ourselves", to really know who we are; when in actuality, there is no distance between who we are and knowing who we are, there is only awareness and truth. Higher laws govern the individual who is aware, sensitive, confident, and true. It is a path to be taken by one and one alone.

Spirituality

Spirituality has many meanings in society, but its essential meaning originates within the individual. The truth of spirituality has nothing to do with church, organizations, cults or any fixed belief-new or old. Spirituality lives and breathes with life here and now, within each one of us. It is a reflection of the life force that courses through the individual, indicating how vital his will to live is. What the individual draws from in life to inspire him, bring passion, and sustain this vital force, becomes his religion. It is that simple. We have made this an issue to be exploited. Society has captured the shadow of spirituality, watered it down, and served it to the masses, totally diluted of its strength. We've even gone as far as deeming it "New age"; this, due to our total lack of understanding its principles. When in fact Spirituality is intricately involved in the delicate balance of the core of the individual. It has been so, since we broke free of our instinctual minds, thousands of years ago. We barely understand or relate to its true potential. Spirituality never leaves us; it only atrophies, where then, we know only traces of what could be. Our spirit, our will, our life force, is served by our spirituality. How this is done, then, becomes our religion.

The Mystery

In my book, "Defying Goliath", I alluded to a mystery that surrounds us. I talk about how, if we are aware of its presence, it can rejuvenate the most weary of us. You will not be able to see this mystery, hear it, or touch its vitality directly, and yet it exists without boundary; in you and in all that lives. It is everlasting and unwavering. It holds the most promise of all; greater than anything that I have ever known.
With my inner sense guiding me, I know it as it is. I will not perceive it, nor will I interpret it. To do so, would be to not understand it, and cause only conflict within. The mystery that I know offers purpose, meaning, and the virtues of higher law, to the individual-respectfully.
There is a way through life that is filled with good, strength and confidence; and only one way to know it--be sensitive to life, aware of your surroundings, and live vivaciously in the moment.

Trust

Trusting someone close to you with yourself can be a risk too great to take for some. We seldom realize that the most precious things in life come with some risk. To really live, you must be ready to be hurt; you must be ready to venture beyond your comfort zone, in order to play in this vital game we call life. Anyone can sit on the sidelines and watch life dance; it's another thing to get up and dance with life, unafraid of falling.
It is a wonderful thing, to observe the many facets of survival, but to experience the glory of survival is something entirely different. You will not realize this, receding with fear.
Trust is a notion that makes us hesitate, because we have all seen it break down, in some way or another. Trust takes bravery; it takes letting go of the old and letting in the new. But when it works, it unites, bonds and secures the most important aspect of all--relationships.

Defying Goliath

I've always looked at life as if it was a living heartbeat. Good and bad times and everything in between, give us the familiar up and down waves you can see on a heart monitor. It signifies that we are alive. If there were no ups and downs but a steady line, we would be flat lined--dead. Our Goliaths are our hard times, our fortunes are our joy in life; neither is steady, both are necessary in very dynamic ways. Some experience more, sometimes much more hardship than others; this is the way of life, with no guarantees before us.
Our perception of this balance, or imbalance, can make all the difference in the world in how we live through each adversity as it comes to us, and it will come to us. There are many ways that we can perceive what happens to us, but I think the most effective is taking on the attitude that one must defy these intrusions on life, with every breath of will that one can muster. It really doesn't matter much, when your life is at stake, blaming this or that, or thinking that life has been unfair to you. This will not strengthen you. It may distract you from the posture you should adopt in these times. Instead, stay focused. Let go of the fear; it has no place in your spirit. Determine to be defiant. Remember, something is trying to deny you of your life, and one thing stands in the way of this--you. Take hold of your senses and never give in to your Goliaths!

Nosce te ipsum

What does it mean to know yourself ? To the heart of this inquiry awaits a type of confidence in life that no other means can bring you. It's the difference between reacting to life and imposing your will against the forces that destroy beauty, innocence, and vitality. Your freedom depends on how much you know yourself.
To know yourself is the beginning of knowing humanity. It starts within you, and no place else.
To be aware of how you love, to understand why you react in certain ways, to realize all your faults, and not others. This is only a taste of what it takes to know yourself.
We have a mind caught in duality; but this is good. So long as the right part of the mind is in control. To be aware of this struggle of power is another way to know yourself; to know that it exists within you is the start of achieving peace within, and true confidence; not a defensive confidence, which is not really confidence at all, but something else.
Take less time attempting to find out who others are, and more, much more, looking into yourself. As this happens, you will know all others around you--naturally.

Another way through

It's so easy to travel along a well trodden trail. So many footprints of those who've walked the same path can make one feel as if it is the only way through. The same goes for thoughts, beliefs, convictions, and so on; all can be enticing to the average person who does not know where he is going, or what he is here for. But for the creative individual, none of this matters; only what guides him from within. The creative individual is a pathfinder. He is with confidence; in himself and in life. He looks at adversity and sees what others do not--or will not, that there is another way through. I have found this. When I was lost I felt something inside me surface; it was God. It was without hesitation, doubt, or any insecurities; this--when I let it be. I let my fears come to their end, and then the way was cleared. Do not allow so many distractions in life to hinder your vision of another way through. Be courageous, and life will smile upon you with surety in most every aspect of life.

Truth alone...

Truth is subject to so many different aggressions on its existence. Its true likeness is made palatable by those attempting to taste it by their buds; each flavors only the shadow of what once was, but never can we distort the purity of what truth really is; that is our misgiving. It is there, in its own nakedness, without shame, regret, or pride; it simply is, but never does it remain; only in our minds is this possible. Pure truth lives.
Why should this matter, how we see truth, then? The answer to this depends on what moves you. It rests solely in the richness of your spirit. Do we honor life in such a way as to respect its presence before us?
Will we put aside our bread and circuses, to realize what will not be there forever, for each of us?
Truth has many faces because of what we have made it, not because of what it is or has ever been; know this. It is because we have many faces that pure truth has been distorted. Therefore, it is really ourselves that we flavor, in order to be more tasteful, to others, and to ourselves; not knowing that our own purity is the most desirable, the most inviting, the most beautiful.
Do not be afraid to see life the way it is; nor should you be concerned about the way life will see you when you are sincere. The mystery of what is god lives in each of us; there is nothing more wonderful to behold. Find god in yourself and let go of everything that isn't; all else will be clear thereafter.
This is the purest truth, to be yourself, and to be true.

I've been asked more than once...

"Would you and Charlene have been together if things were different?"
Relationships come to us, often with uncertain expectations; expectations on both sides. I wouldn't presume to know what Charlene really felt about me; except that at that point and time in her life she needed me, in her own way. Our bond was unique, it was formed in an entirely different context than what would've been normal for a man and a woman to meet at that age. We set this aside as irrelevant and came together mutually, as fighters, in an unnatural war. There was a higher purpose that neither one of us was aware of, that if we knew of it's existence, we both would've lived through it--awkwardly. Instead we did what came natural, what was right for us. As you know, from my book, we both were many things to each other; we fulfilled many expectations of that higher purpose; I'm confident of this. Sometimes in life, this is more than enough relationship for two people.

Thoughts on fear of...

There are those who've asked me plainly what it was like to be so close to dying. I think what they really wanted to know was whether or not there was a paralyzing fear. As I've written, and believe now as well, my feelings on this will not be the same at this moment then when my time is near. They will be different entirely. Death's door had been opened enough for one foot of mine to have easily slipped in, more than once. I'm comfortable knowing that what I say about it will have a certain amount of truth that you can hold to beyond any doubt.
There is nothing which sets me apart from anyone else, though I do experience life way below the surface of existence, where its sensations can be quite dramatic. But I prefer it this way.
Other than this, I am like everyone around me. I feel fear at times, sometimes more than I care to admit. But I can say here and now that the fear one knows in everyday life, when thinking about dying, will not be with you when the time does come. When that time is upon you, life will provide you with a blanket of peace that will be enough to completely calm you. I know this--I lived it.
Do not worry about that time; life has taken care of this for you. Be more concerned about the time lived; it is much more useful an effort. It will be a much better way to spend your precious days.

The greatest struggle...

When one thinks about conflict and defending oneself, it is usually thought of as an outward struggle; we've all been led away from ourselves. We see the truth of our situation during times when we are not distracted by allusions. That truth will usually bring us home to the realization that within each of us lies our greatest struggle. Struggles of perception, interpretation, doubt, fear, to name just a few, will get in the way of living life with vitality. When we see this, and begin to settle ourselves, we then will be well on our way to finding peace and freedom without ever throwing a punch, firing a shot, or casting an insult toward another; a kind of peace and freedom that nothing can take from us because each has been attained from within. Work toward this...