Practicing the Highest Compassion

Thanks to Druv for sending me this excellent video from Dharma Central elucidating the true meaning of compassion/love, and the Asuric demonic psychopaths who lack these genuine emotions.

Be Careful

"No heart, selfishness and no consideration for the next man or woman but why? Only focused on our own situations, see somebody suffering and we walk by. They might approach you in need of assistance at a time when their fortunes are low. You look down on them like you're better than them but the truth is you just don't know. We got angels among us dwelling in our presence. God will bless us then place someone in front of us to test us. You can't get a large sum of money or a new car then look down on people because they might not be where you are. Drunk off possessions in the root of all evil but no man can rise above the condition of his people. Don't be arrogant, erring, patience is perseverance. Learn to look inside someone instead of judging by appearance.

Be careful how you treat strangers. You may be entertaining angels who came to protect you from hidden dangers. In disguise studying your ways is what they do. The deed you neglect to do could be the one that saves you.

When trials fall on us we don't look into them deep enough. We feel them through a real small lens. Instead of understanding that it's all a part of living we resent God and turn our friends. Then help comes to you one day in the form of a person that you might not know. But out of deep ignorance and lack of understanding we ignore signs and let help go. See? Have you ever met a stranger and had a conversation and it seems like he's familiar with your life's situation? And you know you never told him but his knowledge is surprising you, speaking wise words giving guidance and advising you. Striking mental chords, blood in your veins coursing, giving you the comfort and positive reinforcements, and you start to question in your mind how it's being done. I'm not saying it's for sure but you might be seeing one.

Be careful how you treat strangers. You may be entertaining angels who came to protect you from hidden dangers. In disguise studying your ways is what they do. The deed you neglect to do could be the one that saves you.

See? You gotta be aware of your surroundings at all times. Everything is not what it appears to the eye. The thing you look down on could be the thing that saves you. These marvels are far beyond carnal. They warn you of unseen forces that might harm you. Alert you of people and things that could hurt you and unknown to you from wrong steps they divert you. The place you started to go but then decided not to. And then disaster struck, if you were there they might have got you. The time when your finances couldn't last a month more and now the left field are blessing landing on your front door. Someone you never met just approaches and starts talking, touches you saying it's going to be alright and keeps walking. It happens quite often in weakened attitudes, being rude when someone exudes a caring mood. Angels all around probably see them all the time not to mention the personal one that lives in your mind keeping you from falling and guiding you on the low. That's why it's wise to respect all people. You never know."

Peter Russell - What is the Self?

In this great short clip Peter Russell tackles the ultimate introspective question - Who am I?

Best Rant Ever

Thanks to Ravi for passing along this hilarious and spot-on rant about the US government by comedian Felonius Munk. Enjoy!

Freedom is Anarchy

All governments use violence (in the form of police/militaries) and coercion (in the form of forced taxation) against their populous. Like a world-wide inescapable mafia, all the governments on Earth force us to pay their multitude of taxes, and if we don't, they seize our assets/asses and throw us in jail. As Stefan Molyneux puts it, "the state is a monopoly of individuals with the legal right and obligation to initiate the use of force against others in a given geographical area." But of course if all humans are indeed free and equal then none should have the right to initiate the use of force against others. The videos above are for all you government-apologist, Stockholm syndrome, invertebrates who constantly cry out "but what about schools and roads Eric!? If governments don't steal our tax money, what will we do about schools and roads and national defense??" I know you think freedom is scary, anarchy sounds negative, and it's radical and extremist to point out the utter illegitimacy and immorality of the state... but... I'm just calling a spade a spade. Government is violence. Government is coercion. Freedom is anarchy.


All governments are violent and coercive, thus no governments provide or ensure "freedom" (as they constantly claim). Their laws, police, militaries, courts, judges, taxes, prisons, and debt-based money systems are all antithetical to freedom, and prevent true freedom from ever occurring. A bit of honest introspection will reveal that government is the problem, and it cannot and will not ever be the solution.

Government doesn't really even exist if we don't believe in it. The problem is that "govern-mental" means "mind-control" and everyone who isn't an anarchist, I'm sorry to say, is under government mind-control.

Laws are just propositions written by crafty wordsmiths and enforced by uniformed and robed agents of the matrix. Fiat is just "legal" counterfeiting that benefits the central bankers. Taxes are just money stolen, then poorly re-distributed. Politicians are just mafia figureheads campaigning to spend your stolen money. The whole thing's a farce and will slowly fade away when people stop believing that egoistic bullies in blue uniforms have any authority and that silly rules written on legal pads are "law."

Gravity, now that's a law. Inertia, that's a law. But the IRS claiming authority to steal a third of my income every year... that's not a law. That's a crafty piece of violently enforced legislation written by mafiosos.

Native American Cherokee Legend

Thanks to 12 Realms Media for posting the following story:

A grandfather and grandson were out hunting one early morning, and they came upon a ridge on the mountain they were walking on. Over the ridge was a large clearing below where, at a distance, they could see two wolves - a black one and a white one - fighting furiously. They watched as the wolves attacked each other in battle.

The grandfather narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Ah yes... this is the way with all of us human beings, within our hearts, each and every day." The grandson asked, "What do you mean grandfather?" The old one replied, "Always in our hearts, every day, there is a struggle going on like those two wolves down there... The dark wolf, he wishes to do harm. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The white wolf, he wishes to do good and honorable things. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. He looked down at his grandson and said, "The same struggle is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The Grandfather went on, "Sometimes, the dark one seems to win. Other times, the light one seems to take a stronger lead. When we see honorable people who do great deeds, make sacrifices for the good of others, we know that the white wolf's spirit is strong within their hearts and is the winning spirit in those human beings. Each good and honorable deed they do gives this spirit more power within them. This in turn empowers a human being to be even more honorable." The white wolf does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

The boy smiled as the grandfather continued to speak... "But the black wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger is so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. When we see people who turn to badness, doing terrible and dishonorable things, we can know that the dark wolf within them is strong. Each wrongful deed they do gives the dark one more power over them, until it has won and has utterly consumed them.

The young one's face fell with a look of deep concern. So the boy thought long and hard on these things and he continued to watch the wolves battling below. They both were fierce, giving no quarter - neither backing down. Seeing this, the boy looked within himself and saw the truth of his wise grandfather's words, and it made him very worried for himself. And a great, deep fear fell upon him.

The boy looked intently up at his grandfather. With a trembling voice, he asked, "But grandfather, how will I know which wolf will win within me?" The grandfather smiled, gazed at his grandson with love, compassion and understanding and after a moment, he answered him.

In a quiet yet firm voice, he said, "The one that you feed."

Advaita Tao

Thanks to Tawan for writing the following article:

Advaita, all that can be, and yet, what every I can not see. Unless you have directly burned through and detached from I-in-the-world then you’ll find this next statement seems to be conceptual, far-fetched, meaningless nonsense.

'I can not die, I have lived every life, I have been the environment in which that life was lived and I have been that living natural world.'

You are nothing but what I am also, except for group reinforced mistaken identity. A clothes line is no longer a clothes line when the string is cut. 48 strings and a stick are 48 strings and a stick but using one string to tie 47 to the stick it is a mop. One piece of string and a stick could be a fishing pole, bow, whip, or a way to hang a basket. A heap of sheet metal and rivets could be made to float you over the ocean. The arrangement of parts calls for a name. Disassembled or reassembled the name must be changed.

No matter your view or understanding of science, even if you deem it fanciful guesswork or if you are sold down the line as to how it holds the answer to every question, then either way or any other way you say: “The universe is made of parts”. The arrangement of parts would have you say that you are you and a tree is a tree. Why not indeed? This forms a very practical situation.

Given your own version of science, the universe will be constructed of anything from the five elements to the 7 flavours of Quark or some other similar or far-fetched theory. Analyzing these parts then you or the scientists you depend upon will find parts, they will do this ad infinitum but convinced at each step they have reached the indivisible atom. Of course the atom was only literally atomic, indivisible, until it was divided. Then the mop became a stick and string theory.

Science aims to prove and some people agree without looking that there will eventually be a true atom, a point where division is impossible. How their logic allows for this I have no idea as 1) If unsplittable, then what is it made from? 2) Where is it? ‘Where’ is very important a question when you are looking at ‘what’ as the ‘what’ and the ‘where’ seem to be two things and thus disproving that the ‘what’ is elementary. This is saying nothing even of what is observing the what.

Besides the actual searching and various descriptions we have come up with for ‘what stuff is made of’ the generally held idea is that arrangements of this ‘what’ goes to make the independent separate entities, person and tree.

You will be in one of many schools of thought then but clustered into one of only two groups; They who see that one elementary part arranged in various ways forms the world described by language, and They who see that language induces the very idea that there must be some base part.

Those who say that the universe is merely arrangements of one core part -must- now see that there is no true division one thing to another, and those who see that language infers parts from what is truly One, have already seen this. A consensus. Now that all parties hold a similar consensus, that the universe is One but for labels, then we have what Advaita says. One, not Two. Tao.

The Two that is so strongly denied by Advaita is rendered in so many ways from Me and You, to Friend and Foe, Life and Death, Good and Bad, Heaven and Hell, God and Devil, object and subject, thing and observer, to any duality and any entry into the world of conceptual thought and labels, life as we “know” it.

Advaita is not though to deny life as we know it, but to affirm it, just as it IS and not as it seems to be. When you can exist with a consistent background of peace, you can see all life as is, living forever deathless, then you are being what you truly are. When you question or compare this to that, affirm or deny, seek, think, then you are pretending to be a conceptual part 'I-separate'.

Jim Carrey explains Consciousness and Oneness

This is a great compilation of Jim Carrey and others talking about consciousness, oneness, mental suffering, and happiness.

What is Advaita or Non-Duality?

Thanks to Tawan for sending me this excellent article which articulates the inseparability of all things in existence, Advaita, the non-dual nature of truth. All pictures taken from Bob Seal's Non-Duality Cartoons:

"So, Swami-ji, what would you say that Advaita is?" The eager young woman crossed her legs and sat expectantly, pencil poised above a pristine pad of paper.

"It simply means ‘not two' - the ultimate truth is nondual," replied the Sage, reclining in a large and comfortable-looking armchair and not sitting in an upright lotus position, as he ought to have been, for the sake of the photograph that she had just taken, if nothing else.

She continued to wait for further elucidation before beginning to write but it soon became apparent that the answer had been given. "But is it a religion? Do you believe in God, for example?"

"Ah, well, that would depend upon what you mean by those words, wouldn't it?" he responded, irritatingly. "If, by ‘religion', you mean does it have priests and churches and a band of followers who are prepared to kill non-believers, then the answer is no. If, on the other hand, you refer to the original, literal meaning of the word, namely to ‘bind again', to reunite the mistaken person that we think we are with the Self that we truly are, then yes, it is a religion. Similarly, if by ‘God' you mean a separate, supernatural being who created the universe and will reward us by sending us to heaven if we do what He wants, then the answer is no. If you use the term in the sense of the unmanifest, non-dual reality, then yes, I most certainly do believe in God."

The pencil raced across the paper, recording the answer for the benefit of the magazine's readers but, as the words clashed with previous ideas in her memory, the lack of a clear resolution of her questions was reflected by an increasing puzzlement in her expression.

He registered this with compassion and held out his hand towards her. "Give me a piece of paper from your pad." She looked up, mouth slightly open as she wondered why he could possibly want that. But she turned the pad over, carefully tore off the bottom sheet and placed it in his outstretched hand. He turned to the table at his right and deftly began to fold and refold the paper. After a few moments, he turned back and, before she had had time to see what he had done, he held the paper aloft and launched it into the air. It rose quickly and circled gracefully around the room before losing momentum and diving to meet a sudden end when its pointed nose hit a sauce bottle on the dining table. "Could you bring it back over here do you think?" he asked.

"So, what would you say that we have here?" he asked, as she handed it back to him.

"It's a paper aeroplane," she replied, with just a hint of questioning in her voice, since the answer was so obvious that she felt he must have some other purpose in mind.

"Really?" he responded and, in an instant, he screwed up the object and, with a practised, over-arm movement, threw it effortlessly in a wide arc, from which it landed just short of the waste paper basket in the corner of the room. "And now?" he asked.

"It's a screwed-up ball of paper", she said, without any doubt in her voice this time.

"Could you bring it back again, please", he continued. She did so, wondering if this was typical of such an interview, spending the session chasing about after bits of paper like a dog running after a stick. He took the ball and carefully unfolded it, spread it out on the table and smoothed his hand over it a few times before handing it back to her. "And now it is just a sheet of paper again," he said, "although I'm afraid it's a bit crumpled now!"

He looked at her, apparently anticipating some sign of understanding if not actual revelation but none was forthcoming. He looked around the room and, after a moment, he stood up, walked over to the window and removed a rose from a vase standing in the alcove. Returning to his seat, he held the rose out to her and asked, "What is this?"

She was feeling increasingly embarrassed as it was clear he was trying to explain something fundamental, which she was not understanding. Either that or he was mad or deliberately provoking her, neither of which seemed likely, since he remained calm and open and somehow intensely present. "It's a flower," she replied eventually.

He then deliberately took one of the petals between his right-hand thumb and fore-finger and plucked it. He looked at her and said, "And now?" She didn't reply, though it seemed that this time he didn't really expect an answer. He continued to remove the petals one by one until none remained, looking up at her after each action. Finally, he pulled the remaining parts of the flower head off the stem and dropped them onto the floor, leaving the bare stalk, which he held out to her. "Where is the flower now?" he asked. Receiving no reply, he bent down and picked up all of the petals, eventually displaying them in his open hand. "Is this a flower?" he asked.

She shook her head slowly. "It was a flower only when all of the petals and the other bits were all attached to the stem."

"Good!" he said, appreciatively. "Flower is the name that we give to that particular arrangement of all of the parts. Once we have separated it into its component parts, the flower ceases to exist. But was there ever an actual, separate thing called ‘flower'? All of the material that constituted the original form is still here in these parts in my hand.

"The paper aeroplane is an even simpler example. There never was an aeroplane was there? And I don't just mean that it was only a toy. There was only ever paper. To begin with, the paper was in the form of a flat sheet for writing on. Then, I folded it in various ways so that it took on an aerodynamic shape which could fly through the air slowly. The name that we give to that form is ‘aeroplane'. When I screwed it up, the ball-shape could be thrown more accurately. ‘Aeroplane' and ‘ball' were names relating to particular forms of the paper but at all times, all that ever actually existed was paper.

"Now, this sort of analysis applies to every ‘thing' that you care to think of. Look at that table over there and this chair on which you are sitting. What are they made of? You will probably say that they are wooden chairs?"

He looked at her questioningly and she nodded, knowing at the same time that he was going to contradict her. "Well, they are made of wood certainly, but that does not mean that they are wooden chairs! On the contrary, I would say that this, that you are sitting on, is actually chairy wood, and that object over there is tably wood. What do you say to that?"

"You mean that the thing that we call ‘chair' is just a name that we give to the wood when it is that particular shape and being used for that particular function?" she asked, with understanding beginning to dawn.

"Exactly! I couldn't have put it better myself. It is quite possible that I could have a bag full of pieces of wood that can be slotted together in different ways so that at one time I might assemble them into something to sit upon, another time into something to put food upon and so on. We give the various forms distinct names and we forget that they are ONLY names and forms and not distinct and separate things.

"Look - here's an apple," he said, picking one out of the bowl on the table and casually tossing it from one hand to the other before holding it up for her to examine. "It's round or to be more accurate, spherical; its reddish in colour and it has", he sniffed it, "a fruity smell. No doubt if I were to bite into it, I would find it juicy and sweet.

"Now all of these - round, red, fruity, juicy, sweet - are adjectives describing the noun ‘apple.' Or, to use more Advaitic terms, let me say that the ‘apple' is the ‘substantive' - the apparently real, separately existing thing - and all of the other words are ‘attributes' of the apple - merely incidental qualities of the thing itself. Are you with me so far?"She nodded hesitantly but, after a little reflection, more positively.

"But suppose I had carried out this analysis with the rose that we looked at a moment ago. I could have said that it was red, delicate, fragrant, thorny and so on. And we would have noted that all of those were simply attributes and that the actual existent thing, the substantive, was the rose. But then we went on to see that the rose wasn't real at all. It was just an assemblage of petals and sepals and so on - I'm afraid I am not a botanist! In the same way, we could say that the apple consists of seeds and flesh and skin. We may not be able to put these things together into any form different from an apple but Nature can.

"If you ask a scientist what makes an apple an apple, he will probably tell you that is the particular configuration of nucleotides in the DNA or RNA of the cells. There are many different species of apple and each one will have a slight variation in the chromosomes and it is that which differentiates the species. If you want to explain to someone what the difference is between a Bramley and a Granny Smith, you will probably say something like ‘the Bramley is large and green, used mainly for cooking and is quite sharp tasting, while the Granny Smith is still green but normally much smaller and sweeter'. But these are all adjectives or attributes. What is actually different is the physical makeup of the cell nuclei.

"But, if we look at a chromosome or a strand of DNA, are we actually looking at a self-existent, separate thing? If you look very closely through an electron microscope, you find that DNA is made up of four basic units arranged in pairs in a long, spiral chain. And any one of these units is itself made up of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, again arranged in a very specific way. So even those are not separate ‘things-in-themselves'; they are names given to particular forms of other, more fundamental things.

"And so we arrive at atoms - even the ancient Greeks used to think that everything was made up of atoms. Are these the final ‘substantives' with all of the apparent things in the world being merely attributes? Well, unfortunately not. Science has known for a long time that atoms mainly consist of empty space with electrons spinning around a central nucleus of protons and neutrons. And science has known for somewhat less time that these particles, which were once thought to be fundamental, are themselves not solid, self-existent things but are either made up of still smaller particles or are in the form of waves, merely having probabilities of existence at many different points in space.

"Still more recently, science claimed that all of the different particles are themselves made out of different combinations of just a few particles called quarks and that those are the ultimately existing things. But they have not yet progressed far enough. The simple fact of the matter is that every ‘thing' is ultimately only an attribute, a name and form superimposed upon a more fundamental substantive. We make the mistake of thinking that there really is a table, when actually there is only wood. We make the mistake of thinking that there is really wood, when actually there is only cellulose and sugars and proteins. We make the mistake of thinking there is protein when this is only a particular combination of atoms. Ultimately, everything in the universe is seen to be only name and form of a single substantive.

The journalist was transfixed; not exactly open-mouthed but her pencil had not moved for some time. Eventually, she asked in a small voice: "But then where do I fit into all of this?"

"Ah", he replied. "That again depends upon what you mean by the word ‘I'. Who you think you are - ‘Sarah' - is essentially no different from the table and chair. You are simply name and form, imposed upon the non-dual reality. Who you really are, however... well, that is quite different - you are that nondual reality. You see, in the final analysis, there are not two things; there is only nonduality. That is the truth; that is Advaita."

The Decline and Rebirth of Dharma

Thanks to Druv for recommending the DharmaNation videos of Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, a wise teacher and follower of the Vedic tradition Sanatana Dharma. In this video he speaks about the 2000 year history of the systematic repression of Dharma civilization and about its inevitable rebirth in our time.

Ego, The Enemy of Self - How to Reclaim Your True Power

While researching about the Ego and True Self I came across the following article which puts things into perspective quite well:

Do you really understand just how abusive your ego is? Let’s look at the analogy of your ego – as if this part of you was a separate individual.

Would you stand in front of someone while they were delivering a whole heap of unhealthy, insane, abusive, damaging and disgusting versions of you and your life and listen to it? The healthiest thing you could do is say, ‘I’m not listening to you’, disconnect and carry on with whatever you’re doing in the now.

There is absolutely no need for you to accept another’s version of you and your life unless you choose to stand there with them and take it on. If you know who you are, there’s no need to try and convince another person who you are and what you stand for. If they don’t get it and don’t want to, it really is none of your business.

Understand if you stand there and argue with an abusive individual, you get damaged. If you do this, you have serious problems with setting boundaries. Know that your ego is every bit as abusive as another damaging individual.

If you have a ‘fight with yourself’ you’re trying to justify yourself to your ego and convince it you aren’t this person, you don’t have these fears, you don’t have doubts and you really are capable. Your ego loves this because it will trick you into thinking that you can win the argument, that you can convince it and resolve the issue, and that you’ll receive peace after having this struggle with yourself. This is so untrue!

Your ego will keep coming back at you again and again, and just like any abusive person who simply won’t get it, wants to project fears and doubts, and not find peace within. The argument will continue to resurface and never be healed.

Think about this – how exhausting is it trying to argue and justify yourself with a person who is continually abusing you? If you don’t disconnect and get away from them, you eventually give in and start agreeing with their version of you just to get some peace.

Inevitably if you keep hooking into your ego you’ll end up doing the same thing. Eventually you’ll be so worn down that you’ll accept and agree with the inner dialogue of ‘I’m worthless and a failure’. This is what depression is. Society’s concept of ‘ego’ has often been recognition of arrogant and bombastic behaviour. How many people realise this constructed false self is a cover-up for the painful torturous thoughts and feelings of unworthiness that the world doesn’t see?

Be very clear that the ego is also responsible for people who display insipid and power-less behaviour. The ego creates all ‘less than’ human behaviour. Your ego is your greatest problem in life. There truly is no fight going on outside of you. The only enemy is within.

Read This Entire Article Here

Bill Hicks on Marijuana

My favorite comedian discussing one of my favorite subjects. Does everybody agree with Bill? If you don't then "just shut up and smoke that! ... it's the law."

Positive Effects of Magic Mushrooms

When used properly in positive settings and in correct doses, so-called "magic" mushrooms have proven to have lasting spiritual and health benefits. I say this from personal experience as well as documented scientific research:

Taking just the right amount of a substance found in "magic mushrooms" can help to positively improve attitude, mood, behavior, and happiness levels, according to new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Psychopharmacology. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., determined that psilocybin, a psychedelic substance found in certain mushrooms, can help improve a person's general well-being for up to a year after taking it -- and it allegedly does not cause any known negative side effects

Natural News.com Article

The Search For Beauty

Thanks to Edelweiss Pirate for writing the following article. I have felt many of the things he pointed out here, but haven't been able to put them into thought/words so eloquently:

The search for beauty is the preoccupation of every human and living creature in this material world. We search for beauty outside of ourselves for what is within we fail to appreciate and generally take for granted. It seems for most of us, that we must seek personal happiness and validation outside of ourselves. And so we venture further into materialism and further from the source of personal wisdom. We can never ‘know’ another person as we know ourselves. We can never achieve wisdom from another person because knowledge and awareness lies within our own consciousness. Some of us corrupt what is within, due to a lack of insight or personal damage of some kind, and what is within themselves appears rank and poisoned and the inner beauty is lost.

So we project our love and desire outside of ourselves, like plants reaching their leaves to the sun, we hope to find sustenance and a purpose for living in someone else.

This makes no sense spiritually because the person in whom you are trying to find this beauty is also looking for the same thing in you, yet the fact that both of you are looking for something which you lack, in someone else, means neither of you possess what you are searching for, because if you did you wouldn’t have to look for it in others.

Superficially, women are attractive and men are handsome, yet this only appears to be the beauty they are searching for, but it is only a configuration of physicality, it is more materialism. It has no deeper meaning and is only a cipher for beauty but not the real thing. The attractiveness and charm which some see in others is often enough to make them love them, but rarely is it enough to make the person possessing these qualities love themselves to the point of self completion.

The person having the qualities of attractiveness or charm knows that these things are not the real person they are, yet they seem sufficient to make the other person love them. These things are merely tools to enable the person to obtain emotional, sensual, material or financial security. But love is the dream, but it comes from within the self. Why is another person needed to produce a feeling which originates within the self. What is love?

Love is a form of attention. Love takes the attention from ones own personal inner problems and gives one something to focus on outside of the self. But what happens when attention goes outward? The material world expands and grows as the all knowing inner being reaches out into the void. The reality is short lived because true love requires timeless understanding and a still mind. Within a human relationship these things are unobtainable in this world which by definition is constantly in flux and full of a thousand distractions. There are financial pressures, communication failures, misunderstandings. It is easier to find love in yourself and keep it there than it is to search for it in someone by reaching across the void to another consciousness. Why reach across the void at all?

So we all reach out of ourselves because we feel dissatisfied with our own inner beings, and we seek to expand our inner light into the darkened void. The consequence of this is human reproduction, which is actually a form of entropy, or widening chaos. Materially, having children is natural, from a spiritual perspective however it is not.

Reproduction is the consequence of our failure to find God, it is a consequence of a spiritual hunger for completeness which we think the material world can solve for us. But it cannot, it can only offer the temporary excitement of desire followed by a slow loss of the self at the expense of assuming a role as head of a family.

We fracture and divide ourselves. And so from the original harmony we have ‘difference’, we have tribalism, peoples, nations, conflicts, wars which are inevitable when different universes occupy the same world. Reproduction is shattering the hologram into a thousand more holograms. Marriages are not easy and often fail because eventually we realise that we can never really find love outside of ourselves, except as a kind of dozing domesticity, but if we really look into ourselves we will realise that what we were looking for was inside us all along.

Dan the Man with the Master Plan for Peace

Dan McDonald is a raw vegan man on a mission trying to bring the message of fruits, vegetables and love to the world. In these great videos above Dan "the man with the master plan" talks about how to bring about true, lasting inner-peace.

Amazing Message For Mankind

This is 12 year old Servern Cullis giving a speech at the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Her powerful words serve as a reminder to humanity of how far we've fallen as a species, and as a call towards personal responsibility (partial transcript below).

"I'm here to speak for all generations to come. I'm here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard. I'm here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have no where left to go. I'm afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in our ozone. I'm afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what chemicals are in it. I used to go fishing in Vancouver, my home, with my dad, until just a few years ago we found the fish full of cancers. And now we hear of animals and plants going extinct everyday vanishing forever. In my life I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles, and rainforests full of birds and butterflies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see. Did you have to worry of these things when you were my age? All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I'm only a child and I don't have all the solutions, but i want you to realize neither do you. You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. You don't know how to bring the salmon back up a dead stream. You don't now how to bring back an animal now extinct. And you can't bring back the forest that once grew where there is now a desert. If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it. Here you may be delegates of your government, business people, organizers, reporters, or politicians, but really you're mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, and all of you are someone's child...

I am only a child yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on finding environmental answers, ending poverty, and finding treaties, what a wonderful place this Earth would be. At school, even in Kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do!? Do not forget why you are attending these conferences, who you are doing this for. We are your own children. You are deciding what kind of a world we are growing up in. Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying everything's going to be alright, it's not the end of the world, and we're doing the best we can. But I don't think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your list of priorities? My dad always says you are what you do, not what you say. Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you, please make your actions reflect your words."

Lee Evans Truth Through Comedy

Here's a good compilation of Lee Evans' material disguising important messages in humor.

Breaking the Illusion of Limitation

“I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.” -Helen Keller

“Our demons are our own limitations, which shut us off from the realization of the ubiquity of the spirit. Each of these demons is conquered in a vision quest.” -Joseph Campbell

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” -Patanjali

Thousand-Hand Guan Yin

As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others

Leija and Felipe

Leija Turunen and Felipe Sparx both had their own very interesting YouTube channels about raw food, vegetarianism, energy healing, spirituality etc. when they happened across each others' material February, 2010. After getting to know each other through videos and emails for a couple months, they met, fell madly in love, and on August 4th, 2010 got married. Now they make beautiful videos together under their new channel, The Schmoopies2012. I recommend subscribing to all of their channels for some great inspirational and positive videos.

Guru Om

Thanks to Michelle for introducing me to the work of Guru Om. A very interesting and eccentric character, Guru Om has lots of artwork, poetry, and videos available on his Mercurial World blog. He claims to have "tattooed the truth" on his head but only 3 people in his life have ever asked him what it meant. I'd like to be the 4th, but he doesn't have a Skype connection yet.

At 16 years of age, in the Outback of Australia, a man once asked me if I believed in God. My reply was, "yes". He then asked me how much money I had. I replied, "500 dollars". He then asked me why I saved money. My reply, at the time was, "just in case!" The man replied, "Just in case, what? That God lets you down?" I had no reply. That night, I pondered the mans' questions and discovered my lifes' work. -Guru Om

Interview with Reiki Master

This is a great interview with one of my best friends here in Thailand, a writer, Reiki Master, and all around awesome guy, Tom Radzienda.

Animals that are Better than You

Some animals are more equal than others :)

Blind Near Death Experiencers See Out of Body

To date there are hundreds of independently verified and documented cases in which NDErs have come back to life accurately reporting events that happened in other rooms/buildings/places while they were “dead.” Even more astonishing, there are several cases in which blind NDErs have gained sight while out of body and given detailed visually accurate accounts of their surroundings! NDE researcher Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross interviewed many such clinically blind patients who were able to see perfectly while “dead” and out of body. She wrote that, “to our amazement, they were able to describe the color and design of clothing and jewelry the people present wore.”

“Raymond Moody, Kenneth Ring, Michael Sabom, Elisabeth Kubler- Ross, and other highly respected researchers, have repeatedly confirmed that people in near-death situations have had out-of-body-experiences (OOBEs), during which they were able to witness events happening in other rooms or even distant places. These accounts have been objectively verified by independent observers. The ultimate challenge to Newtonian science in this area of research has been the discovery that clinically blind people experiencing OOBEs describe scenes that are visually accurate, though after recovering from the disease or trauma that caused the near-death experience they are not able to see.” -Stanislav Grof, “The Holotropic Mind” (133-134)

Revolver and the Ego

Has anyone seen the Guy Ritchie film "Revolver" starring Jason Statham and Ray Liotta? I saw it on DVD and thought it was one of the most underrated Hollywood movies ever. Then just recently I saw this excellent break-down of Revolver's main theme which is dissolving the ego. These videos do a great job explaining.

Eckhart Tolle - What is Meditation?

This is an excellent explanation of the question "what is meditation?" In the process of explaining this, Eckhart Tolle also answers the deeper question, "who am I really?"

Lion Luvin

I love to see people showing love and respect for all living creatures. Animals know that us despotic humans need more hugs and cuddling, but they're usually so put off by our lack of compassion that they'd rather just keep their distance.

The Wayseer Manifesto

ATTENTION: All rule-breakers, misfits & troublemakers, all you free-spirits & pioneers. Everything the establishment has told you is wrong with you - is actually what's right with you!

Free Thinkers Comedy

Here's a great compilation of conscious comedians enlightening through laughter.

The Meaning of Life Documentary

I really enjoyed this simple yet deep look into various people's personal meanings of life. What do you think is the meaning of life? Leave a comment below. I'd say "meaning" is not some mystical objective truth beyond our comprehension but rather something we create and ascribe to life. As I said in Asbestos Head:

“You know what I’ve been thinking? What supreme purpose could God impose on humankind that could magically de-trivialize Our existence? What possible reason would God have Us exist rather than not exist that would give genuine meaning to Our lives? I find it a much more hopeful notion that the derivation of meaning in life is Our choice and not pre-determined. Learning and appreciating your own purpose becomes the perfect existential challenge.”

A Short Story of Love, Tragedy, and Forgiveness

This is a great video reminder to be mindful, peaceful, compassionate, forgiving, and unconditionally loving at all times.

Leonard Orr on Yogi Immortality

Leonard Orr is an author and longevity researcher who claims to have met "immortal" yogis in India who were currently 300, 800, and up to 2,000 years old. He says the thing they all had in common was an intimate relationship with Earth, Air, Fire, and Water in their daily lives. For instance they all bathed twice a day and drank plenty of pure water to maintain the balance of water in the body. They were all vegetarians eating simple mostly raw food diets and spent time "grounding" to balance their earth energy. They all practiced pranayama deep breathing and regular fasting for air purification. And they all performed sun or fire gazing and yogic exercise to vitalize their fire energy.

I Met the Walrus

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatles fanatic named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced him to do an interview. 38 years later, Levitan, director Josh Raskin and illustrators James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina have collaborated to create an animated short film using the original interview recording as the soundtrack. A spellbinding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit and timeless message, I Met the Walrus was nominated for the 2008 Academy Award for Animated Short and won the 2009 Emmy for 'New Approaches' (making it the first film to win an Emmy on behalf of the internet).

A Short Love Story in Stop Motion

Here's a great clip from Stefan Molyneux's Freedomain Radio show put to video an awesome segment about love, living a life that matters, and dying a noble death.

What's Really Going On?

Danny Shine, Charlie's former partner from the Love Police, has been going around Tel Aviv and England with his camera asking people the very open and intriguing question, "What's really going on?" Some of these answers are really encouraging. It's good to see so many wise everyday folks clued in and providing some really great answers.

How to Free Yourself From Self Abuse

This is an awesome segment from Stefan Molyneux's Freedomain Radio show about the origins of self abuse, why it happens, and how to stop it.

Beyond Duality Thinking - Pedagogy of Interiority

Here's a great clip of David Icke, George Carlin, Basho, J. Krishnamurti and others explaining the nature of self, and knowing one's self.

Joe Rogan - Explosions in the Sky

Another one of Joe Rogan's excellent rants on life, quantum physics, mushrooms and everything in between.

The Custodians of Freedom

Max Igan had a particularly great episode about freedom and self-empowerment this week on his Surviving the Matrix show. Watch parts 1 and 2 above, 3 and 4 here. Enjoy!

Media Control .Org

Hey everyone, we're starting up a new website and need your help to make it a success! MediaControl.org will be a completely user-generated independent media pool. The idea is to create an archive of truly free/independent media, promote your work to the widest audience possible, and build a community of like-minded writers, researchers, artists, musicians and filmmakers. Have a look at the site here, and start sending in your entries to mediacontrol@hotmail.com We're dedicated to making this a success. Please help us make this vision a reality. Peace.

Joe Rogan - The American War Machine

This is a humorous and powerful compilation of Joe Rogan clips talking about various political subjects such as the Iraq War, Operation Northwoods, 9,/11 and the Military Industrial Complex.

Born an Original, Die a Copy

Here's a great compilation of clips from Alan Watts, David Icke, Alex Collier and the movie Inception themed around living an authentic, unique life.

A Life of Significance

This is a great little emotional/inspirational video about the inevitability of death and living a life that matters.

Labyrinth of the Psychonaut - Soundless Dawn

Steve Wilner at the Labyrinth of the Psychonaut blog has a great YouTube channel called Soundless Dawn full of trippy, interesting, artistic, mind-expanding videos including these most recent shown above.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead Documentary

An ancient source of strength and guidance, The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching in the Buddhist cultures of the Himalayas. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this enlightening two-part series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom.

Part 1: A Way of Life reveals the history of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and examines its traditional use in northern India, as well as its acceptance in Western hospices. Shot over a four-month period, the film contains footage of the rites and liturgies for a deceased Ladakhi elder and includes an interview with the Dalai Lama, who shares his views on the book's meaning and importance.

Part 2: The Great Liberation follows an old lama and his novice monk as they guide a Himalayan villager into the afterlife using readings from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The soul's 49-day journey towards rebirth is envisioned through actual photography of rarely seen Buddhist rituals, interwoven with groundbreaking animation by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ishu Patel.