I just made a major decision today and my neurosis / botheration came to mind and I'm not sure why, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that race is completely irrelevant in modern day society. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that we in modern day society on a world-wide basis, pretty much exist in terms of education and socio-economic status, not in racial states. Even as religion edges out of mainstream society and spirituality and god replace religion as the ultimate in a global unifying force, we realize that god and the breath bring light into our bodies, minds, and souls. As we come to self-realization, we realize that this moment, and each moment that we exist within, is as life should be...as life is. We are being regardless of religion, race, education, or any other factor that serves to differentiate us. Even beyond race, many other factors become irrelevant, as we get further and further away from that which creates unhappiness, exclusivity. As we move towards the ultimate unifying light, we realize that this light is within each and everyone of us, and can shine brighter than anything that may appear on our surface, or anything that may even come out of our mouths. So regardless of race, religion, sex / gender, socio-economic status, physical appearance, or even education, what will unify our species is the light w/in us, our soul / athma. When we realize that our existence is from the inside, not out, we can shine our light among all of our brothers and sisters, our fellow human beings.
As we come into Martin Luther King Jr's Anniversary Day, I want to share his "I have a Dream" thought in speech.
Notes from his speech:
unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
"insufficient funds."
riches of freedom and the security of justice
promises of democracy
solid rock of brotherhood
justice a reality for all of God's children
overlook the urgency of the moment.
invigorating autumn of freedom and equality
citizenship rights
high plane of dignity and discipline
soul force.
destiny is tied up with our destiny
justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations
creative suffering
Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal
the table of brotherhood
an oasis of freedom and justice
join hands as sisters and brothers.
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
stone of hope.
a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to stand up for freedom together
all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
Let freedom ring
thank God Almighty, we are free
An interpretation of his speech to now:
Is enjoying this time to reflect on what Martin Luther King, Jr. provided for humanity. Even beyond race, especially as race becomes more irrelevant in our global lives, his words of wisdom will have benefits for generations to come. Let this wonderful day be a reminder of not only what Martin Luther King, Jr succeeded in, but also what Mahatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and countless unnamed humans provided humanity with. MLK’s speech reminds me of the wonderful things that we have today:
• The unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• Society’s funding to overcome insufficient funds in our hearts through meditation, yoga, spirituality and the breath
• The riches of freedom and the security of justice
• Promises of democracy
• A solid rock of brotherhood among mankind
• Justice as a reality for all of God's children
• This present moment
• The invigorating autumn of freedom and equality
• Citizenship rights to multiple countries
• The high plane of dignity and discipline among our species
• Our soul’s force in our many cyclical lives of birth and death
• To allow the American destiny to be tied up with the world’s destiny
• Justice as it rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream
In life, each and every day, I think that Martin Luther King Jr’s life is a reminder that some of us have come here on earth out of great trials and tribulations from past lives of creative suffering and that we will continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. As Eckhart Tolle suggests, may we be able to surrender our ego, eliminate suffering, and live with acceptance, energy, &/ enthusiasm in each and every moment.
We hold truths to be self-evident… that all men are created equal:
• as we eat and live from the table of brotherhood in an oasis of freedom and justice
• as we join hands as sisters and brothers
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together as we sit together under the Bodhi tree on a stone of hope…as did Buddha 2,500 years ago.
Our lives w/in the human community are a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to stand up for freedom together.
All of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My one earth, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Earth where my fathers died, land of pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
Let freedom ring
I thank God and the Force beyond and within us almighty, we can be free, peaceful, and joyous.
I give thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr for his continued ability to lead us along the divine path with a strong mind and a tender heart among humanity.
Peace, Namaste, and Amen!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
A really just slow / boring date...
So I had a date tonight with AEM, a beautiful woman that I've taken out several times, but it hit me tonight, that I'm just bored as fu*$ when we go out. I couldn't even get her to laugh. I felt like someone was sucking the energy right out of me. I enjoy having someone with me, but I just felt like I was not alive. I don't think she is. I felt like her and I are similarly aligned with business and personal development, but we don't discuss the deeper aspects of life and enjoy life. I feel like we're both yin and not one of us in the yang...it is dry nonetheless. It made me realize that I value being alive and joyous and carefree more than anything else and I want someone who will make me feel joyous and alive! So now what...I figure we'll remain good friends, but that's about it. I can't keep dating someone that ends the night at 9pm every time we go out. I have got to STOP taking her out and get a real date with a real woman I find interesting and alive.
I feel like the racism and prejudices are lowering and the space for a wonderful woman is opening. I am looking forward to meeting someone wonderful in 2011.
In loving kindness,
RMS
I feel like the racism and prejudices are lowering and the space for a wonderful woman is opening. I am looking forward to meeting someone wonderful in 2011.
In loving kindness,
RMS
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving in Loving Kindness
I'm sure it's been a long while since I've written on my blog. I finally broke a year long streak. I seem to have taken a side path from picking up. I was in and out of a relationship with Ami last Fall and then we reunited again recently after I finished the Landmark Forum. She's someone that I've been strongly emotionally connected to, but I'm not sure she's the one and I'm not inclined to get married to her. For whatever reason, I'm not sure and I want to be sure. She's pushing the marriage card so hard, that I couldn't commit. So it's time to move on. I've since hooked up with one of my tenants who's fresh out of a marriage. She's now divorced and seems nice, but also seems quite serious. Pursuing a life that's joyful and lighthearted seems more and more difficult as we make our lives more and more complex. I'm not necessarily arguing for making life any simpler, just simply arguing that if we alleviate many of the loose ends in our life, we'll be happier and more joyful. How do we strive to lower our negative energies and increase our positive joyful energies? I think that we need to clear space in our mind and strive for connectedness within our communities and frienships. How many deep long lasting relationships do we truly have? How do we strive for continuing to develop deep and meaningful relationships. What is our life's purpose? How do we strive to live a life that's truly meaningful with acceptance, energy, or enthusiasm in everyhing we do?
What is this life about? I would argue that the Budhist's five hindrances have something to do with living an authentic and meaningful life. Doubt, clinging and wanting / neediness definitely have something to do with prevening us from living an authentic and lighthearted life. More than preventing / not doing what we want, we should stive for a life with open-mindedness, joy, and peace.
What should we strive for to find ultimate happiness? Ultimate happiness is found from being completely present without dwelling on the past / worrying about the future. When you can surrender your ego, you can allow yourself to drop your pain-body. When you can eliminate your wanting and simply be you can find ultimate joy in being. Some would argue that you might stive for wanting what you have vs. wanting what you don't have, but why not simply drop your wanting all together as what we have is all temporary / impermanent?
How can you find comfort and happiness in life? I think by simply being present to each moment and keeping your journey purposeful so you can find that life's growth is organic and purpose will come. It's like the butterfly that evolves or the butterflies that know which flowers to approach to protect their offspring. They find the flower that allows their offspring to survive and protect.
As we enjoy the day, what are we thankful for? I am thankful for this moment, access to warmth, family, and a call today from a great friend of mine. I am thankful for the great education that I have and the opportunity to apply that education to achieve financial independence. I am thankful for the freedom and freewill that I have to explore the mind and body. I am thankful for introspection and the opportunity to care for others. I am thankful that I have the means to provide for others and explore religions. I am thankful for the challenges and breakdowns that occur in life and the lessons that we learn from them. I am thankful for the amazing people that have touched my life. I would have never imagined the possibilities of learning from multiple relationships and careers. I am thankful for the opportunity to have loved and lost. I am thankful for the opportunity to self-actualize having met most of the basic needs in life. I am thankful for the realization that life is about experiences and not any material wealth. The wealthiest are those that know that each moment is their present happiness and that the lighter we live life, the happier we are. I am thankful for the cultures that exist within my life. There's a lot to be thankful for. I appreciate the world we live in. I feel lucky to have been born in a safe and loving world and family.
So what is left? The opportunity to be intimately connected to one's own family goes beyond our nuclear walls. The undevotional love that we can have for humanity can have a lifetime's impact on those that we come in contact with. How do we increase the joy in others that we interact with? How do we find random acts of kindness? Within the walls of Asset-based thinking, ego elimination, and presence, we can find the diamonds in the rough, the greatness in each momemt and present opportunities for love and kindness within our communities and the world. Why limit this loving kindess to our specieis? How can we increase our karmic joy and kindess to spread to all others? I would argue that surrounding yourself with life and compassion can increase your joy and the joy of others.
On to self-compassion. A funny movie I watched recently was The Love Guru. One of the funny lessons was on Intimacy or In To Me I See - very true, right? The first step towards intimacy is within ourselves. Are we comfortable within our own skin? If you cannot find comfort and love within yourself, you cannot find it with someone else / within your family / community. What are the dimensions of self-compassion? These include mindfulness, kindness, and common humanity. Mindfulness in terms of being present, kindness in terms of being kind to others and to yourself, and common humanity in terms of realizing that what happens to you is not unique, but a part of the human condition.
In Loving Kindness,
RMS for GSW
What is this life about? I would argue that the Budhist's five hindrances have something to do with living an authentic and meaningful life. Doubt, clinging and wanting / neediness definitely have something to do with prevening us from living an authentic and lighthearted life. More than preventing / not doing what we want, we should stive for a life with open-mindedness, joy, and peace.
What should we strive for to find ultimate happiness? Ultimate happiness is found from being completely present without dwelling on the past / worrying about the future. When you can surrender your ego, you can allow yourself to drop your pain-body. When you can eliminate your wanting and simply be you can find ultimate joy in being. Some would argue that you might stive for wanting what you have vs. wanting what you don't have, but why not simply drop your wanting all together as what we have is all temporary / impermanent?
How can you find comfort and happiness in life? I think by simply being present to each moment and keeping your journey purposeful so you can find that life's growth is organic and purpose will come. It's like the butterfly that evolves or the butterflies that know which flowers to approach to protect their offspring. They find the flower that allows their offspring to survive and protect.
As we enjoy the day, what are we thankful for? I am thankful for this moment, access to warmth, family, and a call today from a great friend of mine. I am thankful for the great education that I have and the opportunity to apply that education to achieve financial independence. I am thankful for the freedom and freewill that I have to explore the mind and body. I am thankful for introspection and the opportunity to care for others. I am thankful that I have the means to provide for others and explore religions. I am thankful for the challenges and breakdowns that occur in life and the lessons that we learn from them. I am thankful for the amazing people that have touched my life. I would have never imagined the possibilities of learning from multiple relationships and careers. I am thankful for the opportunity to have loved and lost. I am thankful for the opportunity to self-actualize having met most of the basic needs in life. I am thankful for the realization that life is about experiences and not any material wealth. The wealthiest are those that know that each moment is their present happiness and that the lighter we live life, the happier we are. I am thankful for the cultures that exist within my life. There's a lot to be thankful for. I appreciate the world we live in. I feel lucky to have been born in a safe and loving world and family.
So what is left? The opportunity to be intimately connected to one's own family goes beyond our nuclear walls. The undevotional love that we can have for humanity can have a lifetime's impact on those that we come in contact with. How do we increase the joy in others that we interact with? How do we find random acts of kindness? Within the walls of Asset-based thinking, ego elimination, and presence, we can find the diamonds in the rough, the greatness in each momemt and present opportunities for love and kindness within our communities and the world. Why limit this loving kindess to our specieis? How can we increase our karmic joy and kindess to spread to all others? I would argue that surrounding yourself with life and compassion can increase your joy and the joy of others.
On to self-compassion. A funny movie I watched recently was The Love Guru. One of the funny lessons was on Intimacy or In To Me I See - very true, right? The first step towards intimacy is within ourselves. Are we comfortable within our own skin? If you cannot find comfort and love within yourself, you cannot find it with someone else / within your family / community. What are the dimensions of self-compassion? These include mindfulness, kindness, and common humanity. Mindfulness in terms of being present, kindness in terms of being kind to others and to yourself, and common humanity in terms of realizing that what happens to you is not unique, but a part of the human condition.
In Loving Kindness,
RMS for GSW
Sunday, September 5, 2010
A time for inner exploration...
So it's been over six months since I wrote my pre-valentine's blog. I have had an eventful time this year with meeting a wonderful woman and trying to start a relationship. Unfortunately, with my travels in Malaysia, India, China, and Russia this year, starting / making a relationship work when you're not there is a bit tricky. So here I am, it's September now with a little less than a third of the year to go and really looking for the one. I recently hired a dating coach which will be interesting to say the least! I also hired a personal assistant to free up some time. So here I am, 35, and looking forward to meeting a wonderful woman that I can truly feel lucky to be with, trust, respect, and feel emotionally connected to.
I've been reading a lot on spirituality and feel that our souls are truly all connected. The sense of omnipresence / a force that connects us feels / becomes stronger when I meditate. I've been practicing an 80 minute meditation a few times each week for about six months now and feel that I'm beginning to develop a strong sense of intuition and calm.
I completed my dream board and vision board back in May 2010 which I seem to look at quite often. Having a visual of goals and dreams continually reinforces what I want out of life.
On the subject of happiness, I recently read an article in the Financial Times newspaper that talked about how family and friends were a stronger contributor to overall happiness vs. material wealth. This made me think that we need to strive to develop and grow our relationships within the community we live in. I read a quote once that said that happiness in a society / culture is when people strive for the collective good / benefit to the community / inclusion vs. exclusivity / prestige. How do we foster a culture of community and inclusion when so many of us are striving for material wealth / see the Range Rover / SL500 as the ultimate symbol of status and success? Having achieved material wealth, I would now argue that the ultimate symbol of success is a well balanced life, which would include a stable career, happy marriage, family / friends, spirituality, community service, and goals.
So what's next? I am now reading a host of books to help open my mind and create a free and clear path to positive thinking. I am reading Martin Luther King Jr's book, Strength to Love, the Gita, Power of the Subconscious Mind, among other fun business / fiction books. I am hoping to explore the Bible and Hubbard's books in more depth sometime soon.
Off to hot yoga. May we open our heart centers and find each other in friendship or love.
In Loving Kindness,
RMS
I've been reading a lot on spirituality and feel that our souls are truly all connected. The sense of omnipresence / a force that connects us feels / becomes stronger when I meditate. I've been practicing an 80 minute meditation a few times each week for about six months now and feel that I'm beginning to develop a strong sense of intuition and calm.
I completed my dream board and vision board back in May 2010 which I seem to look at quite often. Having a visual of goals and dreams continually reinforces what I want out of life.
On the subject of happiness, I recently read an article in the Financial Times newspaper that talked about how family and friends were a stronger contributor to overall happiness vs. material wealth. This made me think that we need to strive to develop and grow our relationships within the community we live in. I read a quote once that said that happiness in a society / culture is when people strive for the collective good / benefit to the community / inclusion vs. exclusivity / prestige. How do we foster a culture of community and inclusion when so many of us are striving for material wealth / see the Range Rover / SL500 as the ultimate symbol of status and success? Having achieved material wealth, I would now argue that the ultimate symbol of success is a well balanced life, which would include a stable career, happy marriage, family / friends, spirituality, community service, and goals.
So what's next? I am now reading a host of books to help open my mind and create a free and clear path to positive thinking. I am reading Martin Luther King Jr's book, Strength to Love, the Gita, Power of the Subconscious Mind, among other fun business / fiction books. I am hoping to explore the Bible and Hubbard's books in more depth sometime soon.
Off to hot yoga. May we open our heart centers and find each other in friendship or love.
In Loving Kindness,
RMS
Friday, July 16, 2010
My Date to KS's Wedding brings another date...
wow...it's been quite a while. I've had an intense 6 months, but glad to be back onlne. Since my last posting, not much has happened, but interestingly, AM did want to get back together. She called the day I landed and said she wanted to talk...we ended up getting back together and then she said she could not commit. So there I was...I said, take it or leave it and she left a week later. Over the next few months, I ended up spending a lot more time with AI. AI and I really connected and I've known her for over 10 years, so it was easy. We went mountain biking and hung out...good times. I took her to a buddy of mine's wedding and I thought we had really connected, but little did I know...she started dating someone. I asked her to join me at MS's brother's wedding reception, and she says that she'll join with the group of girls coming. Little did I know until this evening that she's bringing a date. So here we are. The night before KS's wedding and I'm dateless. Not the best, but whatever. I'm dissapointed, but this is how it goes, right? I didn't have the balls to man up and take her like a man takes a woman. And from what German buddy says, the text messsages had all the signs. So I'm now not sure what to think, but figure, you know what, it's life...might as well enjoy the ride...life's too short to worry about it. And so life continues. One woman after another...would be wonderful to find one solid woman I can love one of these days...GSW
Monday, April 12, 2010
Am I the Emotional Rebound?
So I just got back from Bangalore, India with some bad news before my departure. We'll call her AM for now. AM sends me an email and tells me that she's reconnected with her x-boyfriend and she's sorry to let me know over email. I felt dissapointed and just tired. I thought we had something really special and I think it's really hard to meet someone you really like. I've had some odd negative thoughts lately that I'm seeing a therapist for - sometimes I wonder if these thoughts have entered our shared implicit communications. After visiting a couple of ashrams in India I feel like I've been newly exposed to a path of opening my heart and finding the ability to share good feelings with others. I'm still learning, but feel that there's a great opportunity to share positive emotions and thoughts vs. negative feelings, thoughts, and materialism. This is all connected to the idea of creating more communitarian vs. exclusive outlets in society. How do we also share our heart centers with all those around us?
So I land on Sunday and get a call from AM. I didn't really feel like answering her call and I check the voice mail a little later. Turns out it didn't work out with her x-boyfriend and she wants to talk. I was surprised to say the least. This is after I've deleted her photos and voice mails. I guess you could say I did a little mental / emotional housekeeping. So now I'm torn. I mean, here's a woman I was crazy about, dated for a month, and was so happy to communicate with even when I was in India, but she didn't return my calls or emails and now she wants to talk? I just don't get it. I guess she did just break up with her boyfriend a month ago and recently got back with him as in Thursday / Friday, but I don't know why she would want to reconnect with me on such short notice? I think she needs some space and time to get over her boyfriend. As much I'd like to be with her, I don't believe she's really emotionally available. I've decided that I really do like her enough that I'll give it a shot if she wants to be in an committed relationship. If she says she's not ready and she doesn't know what she wants, then I'll just tell her that I don't think I'm it right now and maybe our paths will cross again. I don't think I'm as emotionally invested as I was before she broke it off, whatever we had. At this point in my life, I'm not looking to casually date, I'm looking to settle down. We'll see. Wonder if I'm taking the right path on this one...we'll see on Wednesday. Until then, In Loving Kindness, RMS.
So I land on Sunday and get a call from AM. I didn't really feel like answering her call and I check the voice mail a little later. Turns out it didn't work out with her x-boyfriend and she wants to talk. I was surprised to say the least. This is after I've deleted her photos and voice mails. I guess you could say I did a little mental / emotional housekeeping. So now I'm torn. I mean, here's a woman I was crazy about, dated for a month, and was so happy to communicate with even when I was in India, but she didn't return my calls or emails and now she wants to talk? I just don't get it. I guess she did just break up with her boyfriend a month ago and recently got back with him as in Thursday / Friday, but I don't know why she would want to reconnect with me on such short notice? I think she needs some space and time to get over her boyfriend. As much I'd like to be with her, I don't believe she's really emotionally available. I've decided that I really do like her enough that I'll give it a shot if she wants to be in an committed relationship. If she says she's not ready and she doesn't know what she wants, then I'll just tell her that I don't think I'm it right now and maybe our paths will cross again. I don't think I'm as emotionally invested as I was before she broke it off, whatever we had. At this point in my life, I'm not looking to casually date, I'm looking to settle down. We'll see. Wonder if I'm taking the right path on this one...we'll see on Wednesday. Until then, In Loving Kindness, RMS.
Monday, March 29, 2010
The first full day in Bangalore, India
So today we went to the office and had a relatively slow day. My colleague, a good friend and wonderful woman, ended up with a rash / allergy reaction to the wine she had on her flight over. I think the wine combined with the foreign food and Bangalore weather probably hit her. We'll call her SLH. She and I worked together in Global and she came from a particularly hard place being a minority female and lesbian. She's happily settled with a life partner and two children she is raising. I think that sense of connectedness and balance is wonderful. I feel guilty when I offend her. We had a good discussion today about race relations and sexual orientation in society. The side bar conversation was more interesting than our work on-site!
I am having a little trouble with all of the road dust and noise pollution. Everyone and their dog honks their horn and it is sooo irritating. I ended up changing rooms and getting a much quieter room on the other side of the hotel. The Oberoi Bangalore Hotel is NICE. I love how in Asia, many of the luxury hotels I've staid in have great wood accents and select wood ceilings and marble baths. A very nice touch.
I traded emails with Amy today, which was nice, though the fact that she returned my voice mail with an email tells me that she wants her space for these two weeks. I'll give it to her and simply hope that she comes around by the end of April. At that point, if she's not ready for a stonger emotional connection and affectionate relationship, I guess I will re-evaluate...she may either not be ready / she may not feel comfortable with me. I don't want to lose her. I think the world of her and hope that we're connected emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
In Loving Kindness,
RMS
I am having a little trouble with all of the road dust and noise pollution. Everyone and their dog honks their horn and it is sooo irritating. I ended up changing rooms and getting a much quieter room on the other side of the hotel. The Oberoi Bangalore Hotel is NICE. I love how in Asia, many of the luxury hotels I've staid in have great wood accents and select wood ceilings and marble baths. A very nice touch.
I traded emails with Amy today, which was nice, though the fact that she returned my voice mail with an email tells me that she wants her space for these two weeks. I'll give it to her and simply hope that she comes around by the end of April. At that point, if she's not ready for a stonger emotional connection and affectionate relationship, I guess I will re-evaluate...she may either not be ready / she may not feel comfortable with me. I don't want to lose her. I think the world of her and hope that we're connected emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
In Loving Kindness,
RMS
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