Cutting back

The time has come for me to be a little bit more prudent and resourceful with my resources. I had a long stretch of good fortune in the line of finances but I am foreseeing that the situation will change in the next few months. I am not sure how long this winter time will last but I know it is time to tighten the belt and cut expenses.  The good times made me wasteful and too complacent.  We need the difficult times in life to reorient our priorities to that which is essential and return to an attitude of minimalism.  We learn to value again the things we have taken for granted. The small things we have neglected in life resurface and take up its rightful place of value. I have no need to fall into a depression when I expect a decline in my personal fortunes and increased pressure on my personal resources. It offers me the opportunity to think smarter, become more lean and fit for the challenges that lies ahead.

The safety of nobody listening

I have moved back from Facebook as a communication medium to being more involved in blogging. I am missing the old blogging days, when a healthy community listened and responded to serious blog content. Even in those days, my writing was less read and commented upon, simply because the topics I find fascinating is less fascinating to the rest of the world. However, we still had a community and I knew some people better than their own families. Indeed part of the problem, of Facebook, is that too many people knows you. They reads what you write about from a paradigm of who they think you are rather than from the content of what you write.

Writing here might not draw crowds of admirers but it is a place where I can put down the thoughts again that is compelling my mind to contemplate. Some of these thoughts might be profound and insightful while others might border on the stupid and weird. In a space of “anonymity”, it does not really matter, for it puts the responsibility on the shoulders of the reader to differentiate the course from the fine.  My writing is not meant to be entertaining nor is it meant to stimulate dialog even though dialog would have been welcomed if it could happen. I have always been open to discussion, sharing of ideas and a constructivistic approach to knowledge expansion on a cognitive level.

It is important to have a place to put down thoughts that are developing rather than completely formulated and well-rounded ideas. Many websites deals comprehensively with topics by experts who believe their views are the final word of wisdom and insight on a topic. For me it is just a place now to dump ideas, plant seeds that still are to grow in my mind.

The question remains: Why then put it on an open platform where others can read what you write. There is always the hope that as I journey along that there might be a kindred soul that happen to be on a similar road and who would like to share ideas and thoughts. I had the opportunity to meet some of those unique individuals. Even though I do not claim to be the expert on any topic, I have read widely, put many ideas into practice and contemplated some topics deeply. I have insights to share, ideas to look at in bewonderment and viewpoints to share and that I am to do in abundance.

The central point of all my blogging was always to find the positive in daily life and to live with a greater sense of meaning. That is why my handle had been for many years Zeal4Living. I am zealous about life and I aim to live a beautiful life fully. Accepted that in practice not all was a rosy path…. I made many mistakes in my own life. A real life is a life with problems, errors and tragedies. There are those unique individuals that can avoid them and live a close to perfect life but the reality is that many of our great historic heroes also had failures and troubles paths. Our mastery of life is not the absence of mistakes or problems but rather being equipped to remain true to human excellence over a lifetime… or at least to continue to strive towards being impeccable in what we do.

I thought initially that in my writing there would be wisdom that I can share with my children…a means of leaving a legacy. Now I realise that the young generation has google and they prefer to find their advice and knowledge from the World Wide Web. There personalities are different and their interests are different. So I will not be writing any longer to leave a legacy or to benefit anyone besides myself. This might seem very selfish but one must gain personal benefit first and then if others gain benefit as well it will be a bonus.

 

Being creative 

Once again I  mourn the neglect of my blog.  Once again I am making the resolve to return to daily blogging.  My blogging is not to build up a following even of it is a worthwhile goal.  I need to learn the joy of expressing my life and to process the experiences I have.  What might be mundane for others often is a source of discovery for myself.  I live with the aim of living a quality of life that is independent of circumstances and unperturbed by fate.  In my search I have not lived the best life but I did acquire the tools to live a better life.  The greatest reward is probably that of equanimity.  I face troubled waters without sacrificing my inner peace.  Blogging was always part of the discovery process,  the shifting through ideas and the formulation of what works for me.  I would have liked to follow a more scientific approach but have to be satisfied with the anecdotal conclusion.  At least it can be tested through personal experience.  If lessons learned work for self and is shared it might just be of a blessing to others as well.  Maybe rather than trying to discuss the details in a structured format an automated flow can be used to allow ideas to grow. New ideas are spawned by a free thinking mind that is allowed to go freely in unknown territory. I must just unleash the force of creativity even if it creates havoc in the world we call normal. If I truly belief that man is connected to the Creative then creativity should be allowed through me. 

Habits for a new year

The day started of well. I have a new vigour for my spiritual or self development. It will be wrong to call is spiritual development since I have lost the distinction made between body and spirit. It is one self and one continuum of being. When you act on the body the spirit is impacted and when you act within the spirit the body is impacted. They are interlinked, fused together for as long as I live the life of a human being. The seperation will only come after “death” when it is time for the big transition where body and spirit seperate ways. But the spirit will yearn again to merge into the material world in order for it to become perfect as a unity that is part of the Unity. It will be arrogant beyond measure to claim that perfection or to think I can find a highway in this life towards that point of perfection. My life is not a pure ray of white light but through virtue and focus the light has become more focused and it is growing in its brightness.

I had become convinced for some time now that to plan in terms of goals and objectives are a bit of a weak strategy if it is devoid of being supported by habit forming. It is habitual action performed consistently that sets the course for achieving objectives and goals. While being on holiday I had the time to play around with different applications on my cell phone and I discovered an app that tracks habits calle habits. It is a simple app where all the things I do want to do is listed and one can keep track of when you have done each habit. Being able to tick of a habit is a boost of good feeling endorphins. Since a habit is different from a task being completed it is also more predictable that a habitual action can be completed. The discipline developed will result in the stanima needed to address the tasks at hand that must be addressed to achieve our objectives and goals.

So my day began with the feeling of success as I could tick of having done my dose of Tai Chi for the day as well as some mystical experiments. They do not only boost my own inner effectiveness for my work enviroment but they form part of the internal alchemy that changes the way I think and act in the world. Developing healthy habits are a powerful way of changing behaviour and I am looking forward to experiment with techniques and methods to develop the habits that have a positive impact on both body and spirit.

 

Inner strength

Today I write from a position of strength. I have taken virtue and made it my own. Everyday is moving me closer to wisdom. I am using every tool at my disposal to expand my consciousness and become a more productive individual. I face my challenges with courage and listen to others with understanding. Reasoning is the pillar on which I build my conduct, understanding cause and effect. I work daily on my inner world and reap the rewards of equanimity and freedom. I have no fear of old age nor death. When the time comes I will depart as I lived with an inner peace and serenity. In the mean time I will not leave any stone unturned to be of service to humanity and to be an exemplary influence wherever my presence is felt. I judge no-one for being good or bad but set the example in my every step of virtue coming into being. I do not hesitate to take action with prudence as my guide and prowess is gained through daily practice. I fear no enemy for they can not touch that which is amaranthine within me.   Every moment my conscious is expanding through my inner world. The core of power is fixed, the love I can expressed is unstoppable and my will enforced. My thoughts are not straying in all directions but it is harnessed and directed like a laser beam to where I want my attention to be. Thoughts lifted ever higher by noble thoughts, honorable deeds and just action. I check every thought to ensure it is molded against my ideal, supporting it, constructing the ideal irrespective of my circumstances for my circumstances are not me. Whether I am isolated or within a crowed I am never lonely even when I am alone for  within me I am connected to universal consciousness ever aware that all is connected. I trust my inner master, I do not waiver in front of urgency for I know my strength and knowledge comes from within. My challenges are my practice grounds to strengthen the fibers of virtue that is spun into my mind, unbreakable. The light is within me and the darkest night can not dull that light for it is lit from the eternal source that is ever burning. I seek balance and harmony on all levels of existence and eradicate the slightest imbalance, detected by a sensitive conscience, ever vigilant. I stretch my experience into unknown realms past the fears of darkness, the illusions of materiality into the realm of creativity. There I reach for all the creative forces at my disposal to direct them to creative action, innovating the human experience. I find stillness in my confidence, equanimity in my being unperturbed moving towards the one goal of continued spiritual evolution. Nothing can be taken from the bright radiance of virtue ignited by the eternal source omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent.  I am. I am. I am. Whole and part and part of the Whole, integrated and contributing towards continuing evolution.