Once a day take the time to make time stand still. Whatever you’re doing take the time to stop, look, and listen to a friend, spouse, a child, a flower, a sunset–the magic of being. These form the little moments of bliss that precipitate in the space-time of our being, and last throughout eternity.
Our Lives are Inexplicably Connected to Nature
What to take away from Centerpath? This is what Jin hopes for (as excerpted from his Centerpath website at http://www.centerpath.org/about-us/).
Jin hopes readers’ find great solace discovering just how closely their lives are linked to nature. A connection sadly obscured by the hustle and bustle of modern society and its never ending need for more-and-more. In some small way, Centerpath hopes to restore the good and necessary relationship with share with nature.
Jin also hopes Centerpath’s ideas rejuvenate enthusiasm towards the mysterious and magnificent ways of the universe. To this end, Centerpath provides readers many avenues to explore nature and reacquaint with her. Those on the Centerpath might even discover their place in the great jigsaw puzzle of being –and possibly reexamine his or her role in it.
In such a brave new world, we begin seeing our true role in the universe’s larger web of relationships. Ultimately becoming more sensible and mindful participants in nature’s delightful dance of being we are so blessed to experience and enjoy.
Unconditional Love
The greatest journey you could ever hope to undertake in this wonderful lifetime is along a path little travelled. It’s not a journey in the sense most expect. It is not the ascension of a mountain or an overseas adventure. But it’s one that can take you to any place you’ve imagined or dreamed about—and possibly deliver you to your destiny.
In fact, the greatest journey any of us can hope to traverse is not to a place on the outside—but instead inward toward your heart and toward rediscovering what it wants.
For in a universe that only wants to create more beauty and harmony—and appears to reward those things of the purest intent—rediscovering what your heart wants and following its true love can bring with it untold delights and treasures, and uncover your reason for being here.
For as you see, love is the purest of all emotions and in its true expression is unconditional. It accepts things as they are and does not try to push things about or unduly change them. Pure love does not distort things.
Today’s Chaos
People are bewildered by the chaos building in all corners of the world today however there is a reason stitching all such phenomena together. The seeds of today’s sorrows was sown in the collective mindset of the last 35 years of hyper-bull market mentality. How?
Mass moods swing between positive and negative periods on scales of decades just like daily, weekly, and monthly mood swings (see the http://www.socionomics.net for more details).
What most don’t realize is that during positive mood era, inequalities grow larger-and-larger; as people bury there head in the sands as the increasingly self-congratulatory feedback system takes hold (“hey my 401k account and housing price keep rising, I must be the master of the universe. What do I have to worry about?”) and destructive behaviors begin to become commonplace. We sweep everything under the rug without a care but as we sleep, kindling keeps building on the forest floor until one day, a spark ignites a wildfire.
And because the last several decades have seen increasingly destructive behavior (entrenched greediness, extreme overbuilding and expansion, blind consumption of the planet, banks irresponsibly using depositors money to enrich themselves, the rich getting richer, people being blind to fairness and justice as long as there mutual fund accounts keep growing, etc.); the inequalities have mushroomed, expectations have become ridiculous, and everything (including our vanity) is in oversupply.
In this condition there is only one way to go–down. What goes up must come down–and in this event likely crashing down. Commodity markets are declining, housing prices are softening, employment is rising, radicalism is rising in all corners of the world (including in government leaders). It is the 1970’s and 1930’s all over again.
We hope for the best but are preparing for the worse as the next 1-2 decades could prove to be a wild roller coaster ride of financial, social, and political chaos. The good news–the seeds of its reversal will be sown during its reign as people once again get rooted in reality and begin planning to make the world truly a better place.
Circumstances
Circumstances are indeed important.
Parents, environment, disposition, siblings, nation/region/state/local, influences, the paths you choose, the paths you declined, the paths you ignored, what you felt was embarrassing, what you thought was cool, what you watched, how you spent your time, how much you listened versus how much you talked. How many great ideas and art crossed your path. The things your unique trajectory through time and space exposed you to.
Staggeringly random yet delightfully one’s own.
What is Philosophy?
Today a subscriber asked me to define philosophy. A great but very tough question. I was stumped at first.
But after a several dumbfounded moments it became clear—at least to me–philosophy is the art/practice of asking “why” (i.e. trying to understand why things are the way they are).
Checking the Oxford Dictionary Definition (which is “the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence”) I knew my interpretation was largely on the right track.
Long live the art of philosophy—the wondering, awe, and questioning of all things.
The Speed of Scent
Sitting on back packers street in Ho Chi Minh city taking in the sites, sounds, and smells; the strong scent of dried squid of a passing hawker inspired me to come up with a poem of sorts. It goes something like this;
Like sound and light to hearing and sight, at the speed of air so scent makes its mighty flight.
A Single Solution to Life
A million opinions on how to live life but none are full or complete.
One can spend their whole life investigating the various ideas which, while always providing some insights, all miss the essential point—-there is in fact a single, reliable roadmap to life.
What is this pathway? What is the secret? It’s simple—-follow your heart!
Why I Wrote Awaken
I wrote Awaken because I wanted to share the experience of becoming aware with a wider, more general audience.
Following my spiritual transformation in 1998, I was intrigued with the experience as well as why and how it occurred. In the following years I studied neurology and Buddhism to gain insights however neither provided a full explanation of the experience. I sensed there was a lot to learn and explore on the subject.
However answers weren’t coming quickly so like many other of my projects, I shelved it (i.e. I didn’t focus on the idea only letting further experiences and insights grow organically into larger bodies of ideas).
But that changed in early 2015 upon the confluence of two events which occurred over the course of a few weeks.
The first is when I picked up a book entitled “Steal Like an Artist”. The other was when I saw my first Oprah show.
Seize the Day – Seize the Now
The true meaning of the phrase “Seize the Day” has unfortunately been hijacked by wild eyed capitalist as their rallying cry to signify gaining more and more, winning and never losing, eating another before being eaten, being a bigger boss, and beating others.
However that is a desecration of its intended meaning. Indeed far from trying to convey beating others down; the term ‘carpe diem’ (i.e. seize the day) is intended to emphasize the importance of living in the here and now, and making the most out of the magical experience of being.
To give all you can to life, to today, to being, to pursuing your dreams, to working toward making something truly extraordinary out of this experience of being.
To grow, give, love, help others, try your best, be courageous, find the divine in the mundane, and witness the magic of being. To pay homage to the blessed ability to reflect, share, know, wonder, and experience this truly miraculous state of being–conscious life and being,
Indeed–seize the day–not through short minded/narrow mindsets but through being sensible, mindful, and focused on life, love, others, nature, and being.