Category Archives: Thoughts and observations

The political games that enslaves us

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Watching the latest rounds of not too surprising fights between the political right and left, one can’t be left wondering why.

The gist is all of us get along, no matter how different we are and think, we somehow get along, as neighbors, sometimes friends and at the very least, people who share a community.  So how come we still support those who divide us and make a living from it?  Don’t we all share the unalienable desire for freedom, growth and prosperity?  Yet, how come we vote one against the other and worse yet, for a party over another that manages nothing less than put down the other party?  Parties that are so bloated and disconnected from reality whose philosophy is lip service and whose actions are so similar are so similar in the end.  When the right passes left funding and the left passes right laws, where is the logic?  Are we still in middle school?

Watching the debate between the current administration and it opposition, it’s hard to imagine these people as “leader”, in any stretch of the imagination.  If this is what they have to offer best, then we need to usher them out and not wait for them to create crisis in order to resolve them and be hailed as saviors.  The political manipulations are so heavy and glaring, it’s sad to see people still voting for them.

I know people who still vote left or right, but I wonder, how much longer till they also realize this current crop of so called politicians finally let them down?  How much longer will these voters drag the rest of us down this ideological impasse when most of us long for a more unified way of living?

When we talk of government budget cuts, not effecting the poor and letting the rich alone, yet 75% of our taxes goes into military might to protects us from… other human beings… how long will it be till everyone realizes that the last few decades of political shenanigans have left us crippled, divided, broke and certainly has never, ever worked.  If these 75% was spend differently, we wouldn’t have poor people dragging us down, they could be educated and we would have been on Mars by now.  But then again, politicians wouldn’t have a job and they would rather drag us down then let this happen.

The current political games are a chicken game that could finally leave us wrecked, while China and other nations have already woken up and surpassing us.  It’s a luxury we just don’t have to wade in meaningless political debates that only keep politicians in their place and assures them a flush paycheck while the rest of the country sweats it out.  But as long as we vote for them…

So how long will it take to say no to them, left and right?

A shopping mall on a Saturday, a glance at western society

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Picture, Nick Zart

Gasp… Horror!  A shopping mall experience on a Saturday afternoon getting back from India.

The gist is sometimes it sounds as if we live in isolation in the middle of a crowded society.  This incredible brain twister can be felt any tie we witness people rushing to be first in line, rummage through sales, drivers who have to be the first at a traffic light and then drive slowly.  Why?  Most of us live in seclusion, disconnected form others and share little sense of being part of a community.  So, here is my experience at a shopping mall.

We just got back from India where your sense of what is important seriously challenges your priorities.  We went off the beaten path and witnessed life in secondary cities.  What we saw were people living in conditions we would deplore back home, where their main worry was if they would have food on their plate tomorrow.  Yet, somehow, these people were incredibly warm, gentle, inviting, sincere, open to us with a small we rarely witnessed back in the West.  Now fast forward back in the west…

We went to Nordstrom the following Saturday feeling we needed some new clothes.  What we witnessed was so disturbing after coming from an environment so starch and harsh with reality.  We saw people elbowing each other in order to get to the best deals of the day.  We saw people who didn’t seem to have much spatial awareness, even less as to others around them.  It felt their endeavor to be the first one to get that deal trumped any other notions of life.  It was shocking, to say the least.

It’s not to diss our society.  We have everything we need to thrive and be happy, we are not educated to look within for happiness.  Their society, on the hand has little in terms of shared material wealth but have boat loads in terms of inner values and spiritual upbringing.  Would it be great finally using all that we have at our disposal?  Don’t we owe it to our parents who built our so-called modern and developed societies?  One of the best ways is to partner with a coach in order to dig deep within and have a better vantage view.

Celebrating a day without electricity

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There is something to be said about how addicted we get to modern amenities…

I woke up and saw no lights this morning.  Darn, thought I, no electricity!  I could feel my mind confronted with the choice of the usual chain fear reaction and the possibility to take time to observe the situation.  The thought was for catching up on work today.  I just hadn’t planed on no electricity.

After a few seconds of debating whether to freak out or not, I laughed and called it a day of celebrating no electricity.  So I read, went to the pool in the rented house we have and slept.  One other thing I am thankful for is that this family has an electric boat!

What drives you nut, enough to do something about it?

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Let me know if you feel like this.

Are you sick and tired of what you do day-to-day? Are you not fulfilled at work or personally?  Are you fed up with business as usual?  Do you find yourself taking on tasks that conflict with your personal values?

Many of us feel like that but what are we doing about it?  Let’s talk about what we can do about it in a group where there are no experts, where we can share in a safe environment to learn and observe from each other.

Let’s have virtual champagne, come and share your stories in a secret Facebook group under my Tap The Source page.  Once you find me under Tap The Source, befriend me and I will invite to this secret group where we can chat and brainstorm.

Let me know what you think.

So you’re lost, now what?

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One of the hardest and most frustrating phase of life anyone has to deal with is the part when they feel lost.  Now what?

The gist is feeling lost at some point in life is inevitable but it doesn’t have to mean non-action, or even less lead to despair.  Teachers come in many forms, some with bodies, others through situations.

One of the toughest thing for a person, especially like me is non-action.  I’m a Leo, I love to be the center of the attention and am usually active, busying myself with many projects at the same time.  However, I’m also aware this is to mask what is going inside that needs my attention.  In other words, we sometimes keep busy in order to delay the inevitable, solving our inner questions.

Being lost usually means having no understandable point of reference or sense of direction.  It can be frustrating and downright disheartening but it serves as a major red flag, clearly signaling an unwanted situation, usually after many wrong turns in life.  Acknowledging the way we are feeling is crucial and the first step.  It should force you at some point to stop, take scope and deal with the real issue… why are you asking yourself these questions?

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how to make sense of the situations, looking back to get clues and the final scariest of them all: “What am I to do?”

Maintaining your spiritual life

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Kancheepuram

Meditation, devotion, a ritual bringing meaning to life

While there are many roads that lead to the same place, an ounce of common sense can save you great pain.  Here’s what we looked at so far, starting out, developing and yesterday we looked at pursuing it.  We quickly brushed on the how to be careful not to loose scope of your aim, since it’s easy to loose yourself in it all.

The gist is all roads lead to “liberation” from our self-imposed shackles.  Removing them can be done intelligently.  You can go the easy way or the hard way, whichever you choose, the result will be the same.  It’s a question of time.

These last few posts are not intended to be all inclusive on starting, developing and maintaining a spiritual life.  It is a place to start.  Once you’ve seen what is out there and started incorporating the many bits and pieces, ideally you will want to keep an open mind and continuously ask: “How does this help me?”  “Does this add to my well being, or remove from it?”  Even if it removes from your well-being, what can you gain out of it?

In the end, there are two roads to choose from, those who follow a well walked path, usually through a well established system, via a guru, a teacher or guide and those who create their very own path.  You get to choose and the best part is both roads lead to the same place.  While the latter requires intelligence, persistence and knowing when to stop, how far to go and especially not losing yourself in the multitude of choices, the first one is probably the easiest.  Yet, even if you loose yourself, you will eventually come back.  Everyone is different, every path is a personal choice.

Something To Keep In Mind.  If you go back in history and study the lives of the masters, Jesus Christ, Mithra, Dionysus, Isis, Zoroaster, Buddha, etc., one thing stands out.  After years and decades of following methods, they eventually came to the conclusion that the answer, The Truth is within, not without, or outside.  It makes sense that your unique personal path is to be found within, but it doesn’t mean you can’t use systems to get you going… as long as you keep your eyes on the goal.  And the goal is?  Liberation.  Sadly, interpretations of original teachings have been perverted when most wise men insisting no one should revere them but find their own personal ways.  Let’s remember that when the wise man points in a direction, we should not look at the finger, but where they point.

Last Point.  This is probably the most important point and was left as the last point.  In any serious system, self-discovery path and esoteric ways, an important role is laid on the daily use of meditation.  Meditation at its simplest form can be: Stop!  Slow down.  Take 5 to 20mn to be with your self.  Check in before you continue with your day.  I’ll write more on the benefits of meditation and its many facets soon.

In the meantime, we have each other, seekers and traveler to relate our findings.  Happy journey!  Tomorrow we will look at a list of place for resources.

How entrepreneurs drive our society

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In the next few days, I will write about entrepreneurs and the important role they play in our society.  This is the starting block of my latest project, a book on entrepreneurs, who they are, what they mean to our society and how can they play nice with their arch-nemesis, the causal thinkers.

The gist, unfortunately, the entrepreneur has been relegated to the back scene, leaving the ultimate decision making to the more practical, accountants and investors.  While this might make financial sense, we are witnessing the counter swing of the pendulum, having gone from too many entrepreneurs to the opposite, with its equally devastating consequences.

So what makes an entrepreneur? Entrepre…what?  Entrepreneur from the French verb: “entreprendre”; meaning to undertake.  This depicts someone who undertakes a project based on observations that results in a better way to achieve something or altogether radically change a system.  If you take time to think about it, much of the innovations and inventions were started at one point by a creative type, unhappy with the way things were.  We call those who act upon it, entrepreneurs.

In the next few posts, I will look at the important role entrepreneurs will and in some cases are playing in rebuilding our economy.  There are pitfalls and plenty of conundrums.  Entrepreneurs are great at big ideas but notoriously poor at handling the day-to-day micro-management and detail oriented tasks.

Check back soon.

Quantum Beings With Newtonian Mind Sets

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I love this quote, whom I believe is from Albert Einstein.

Have you ever heard the saying: “We are quantum beings with neutonian mind sets”?  It is a very, very powerful realization.

What does it mean? It means we are what we think and our reality is shaped by the continuous stream of the canvas of our thoughts.  In other words, we are quantum beings living in a quantum world.  Quantum physics has proven that whatever we observe, we interfere with and change.  An electron can be energy or mass, depending on how we look at it, it will be either.

Quantum beings with a Newtonian mind frame.  Newton’s physical laws were straight forward, what comes up must go down.  Much like a pool or billiard table, hit a ball into another one and you will have a predictable result.  While this works well in a two dimensional world, results and consequences open up in a third dimension and more world.

Bringing It Back Down To Earth.  So what does it mean for us, Earth dwellers?  You’ve probably noticed how you will step in a room and notice your mood change?  Or talking to someone and feeling your good mood slip into gloom?  Even though quantum science has unlocked amazing potentials in our way of looking at things, we mostly see life in a straight two dimensional way.  We are quantum beings with Newtonian mind sets.

What Can We Do? We can definitely start by looking at the multiple exponential possibilities quantum science offers to us.  Whatever we observe can be something or the other and both at the same time.  How fantastic is this?

See how this can apply in your life and share your thoughts by leaving your comments below.

Being Hard On Yourself, How Is That Working For you?

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If we excel at one thing it’s probably being hard on ourselves.

I should be doing more.  I don’t do enough.  I’m sure I can do better.  Though this can be an incredible source of energy and push us to excel, equally it can drive us mad and worse yet, it can drain us to eventually become completely counterproductive. 

I read a great quote from a newsletter from the Kabbalha Center: “if you are beating yourself up because you don’t do enough, then
it’s just your ego talking.  But if you are genuinely motivated by these
thoughts, then it’s your soul speaking.”

And there lies the red hearing, how do we know if it is our soul talking or our ego?  Normally I can sense when my ego is talking.  My ideas don’t stand scrutiny.  I will quickly see they come from a part of me that feels undervalued, unappreciated or something that seeks recognition.  They are not bad per se but are important to understand if I want to work with them.  At the very least, they are great gauges of how I am doing and a good way to tell how I am using it.

If my ego speaks, I notice there is little rationalization, or at least the kind that really holds the road.  It usually points to a self-serving outcome, one of personal validation goal.  If it’s my “soul” talking, then it points to something even higher than my earthy self, usually well beyond the scale of awards and punishments, at least not in this realm.

It is so crucial to understanding where your motivations spring from.  Are they genuine?  Are they real?  Do they reflect who I am?  Where do they come from?  Who do they serve?  How can they be best used to achieve my goals?  How much in integrity am I?  Those are great questions to work with your coach.

The Virtue Of Silence

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Silence is a powerful ally and a great strength, so how come few of us know how to deal with it?

I remembered a while back I read a book about silence and it intrigued me. But silence is all so hard to achieve. We live cramped one on top of another, our neighbors directly looking in our rooms. We get out and are surrounded by people, cars honking angrily and people talking. Suburban California is not an easy place to find the sanctuary of silence. We fidget if we have nothing to do more than a few seconds. The TV needs to be on, music has to be playing, we have to do something for fear of finding ourselves alone with ourselves.

I was lucky last Christmas to get my Bose sound canceling headsets. It has made a world of difference. They don’t completely turn off all sounds, much to my sadness. I wish there was something out there that would let you chose from complete silence to drowning out white noise. I think Sony has something like that.

I wear the headsets pretty much all the time. I meditate with them, I read wearing them and even play Sudoku with the pleasure of no trucking loud sounds disturbing my peace. I found it makes me enjoy silence and even enjoy doing nothing. Just looking around our fantastic Casa Grande apartment in quiet silence is peaceful. It re-centers me. I don’t rush anymore. I feel I step outside of life’s infernal imposed pace and can tolerate doing nothing again, being by myself. And this is the point where you find yourself at ease with yourself again with nothing to do. Just be with yourself in quietness. And when the time is right again, you pick up a book.

Silence is so great I enjoy every drop of it until I have to go out again. And guess what? I actually enjoy jumping back into the infernal noise polluted society outside. Go figure!