1. Love without possessiveness, attachment, or conditionality.
These three things are rooted in insecurity, an expression of fear, which is the antithesis of love. Unconditional, universal love is the key to ending one’s suffering with respect to one’s fellow man. Love is understanding. (If you truly understand someone, can you ever really be angry at them?)
2. Hope without expectation.
Expectation is believing an outcome is only acceptable if it satisfies certain conditions, thereby pitting us directly against the will of the universe. When we develop a harmonious relationship with the universe, we can trust that the situations we encounter are those we need to grow and advance. These are not always pleasant, and thus hope (not to mention self-forgiveness!) is vital; but it is crucial to hope for the right things: insight, perspective, and the will to be compassionate. These are the tools of understanding, the benchmark of unconditionality.
3. Feel without rationale.
We may feel conflicted when faced with decisions. All too often, we seek to justify a particular perspective while we “think things over”. In the process, we create a reason for a perspective or course of action that is actually entirely fictional. Why should this fiction have more bearing on your decision than fact? Rationalization follows from feeling conflicted. Conflict usually means “no” just as as much as “no” does. What feels right requires no justification. (What you do with the feeling might, of course.)
4. Smile without force.
The quiet joy of being is easily drowned out by the desperate and fleeting joy of obsessive gratification (the disease of consumerism). The pursuit thereof causes suffering due to the insatiable undercurrent of lack that accompanies consumer addiction. By shifting focus to simply being instead of being or having something, we seek to re-familiarize ourselves with the quiet joy of being that lies beyond the boundary of ego. Connectedness with this fundamental state is defined as presence, signified by transcendence of the need for the vehicles, roles, and deceptive instruments we use to navigate this illusory reality (i.e. faking emotion, lying, social status, etc.). The conscious attainment and maintenance of presence will result in the complete and total legitimacy and honesty of all emotions, expressions, thoughts, and actions.
5. Accept without effort.
“The quest is to be liberated from the negative, which is really our own will to nothingness. And once having said yes to the instant, the affirmation is contagious. It bursts into a chain of affirmations that knows no limit. To say yes to one instant is to say yes to all of existence.”
~Otto Hofmann, Waking Life
The surest sign that something is meant to happen is that it does happen. All that happens is purposeful, and everything is an opportunity to learn, to overcome, to triumph. By accepting what life has presented to you, you own your circumstances and avoid wasting energy by swimming against the current. Know that you will swim with it, one way or another.
6. Seek without desperation.
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way / the time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say…
~Pink Floyd, Time
Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss.” Ideally, this is how one finds their path in life, as opposed to a pragmatic decision. The problem with pragmatism is that it’s usually employed to rationalize why something better can’t happen. The more of our lives we waste living with our compromises (which we never wanted to begin with), the greater will be our urgency to seek substance if and when we recognize it. And desperation is a form of panic, which causes us to miss important things (new opportunities, paths, details). Those who would seek wisely would do well to understand the importance of receptivity and objectivity on their quest. What we seek need not be pursued; we will attract it to us, given the right thought patterns, the right attitudes, and by patiently following the path that the universe reveals to us.
All will become apparent when the time has come. The time has come when the proper groundwork has been laid. You are investigating the mystery of consciousness. Don’t be hasty.
7. Live without regret.
Think of everyone you care about. Picture yourself connected to them all with cords made of your energy – your energy. Now imagine that you are connected to the unforgettable memories (best and worst) of your life in exactly the same way. Everything else in your life is likewise attached (hobbies, activities, reoccurring thoughts, and so on). This is how you expend your energy. How many memories (and people) are linked to feelings of regret? Something you did, something you didn’t do? You’re holding a pair of scissors. Cut the cords to what you regret, and visualize a ball of pure energy that feeds you on the other end. Regret is wasted energy; it is a failure to recognize what you needed to learn from people and situations. If you regret something you’ve done, let it go; remember, sometimes we learn who we’re not in order to learn who we are.
8. Trust without reassurance.
Against the anxiety of the unknown, trust and faith are your sword and shield. I was recently advised to trust in the process of life more. Perspective plays a major part in that, as one must staunchly embrace one’s role as an impromptu performer in (as Timothy “Speed” Levitch might call it) “the ongoing wow”. It can be difficult, but it’s better than the alternative; succumbing to anxiety means submitting to victimization. Do you want your life to happen TO you, or would you rather be involved in the production? When you know everything is an opportunity, why shouldn’t you trust in the process?
9. Progress without self-deceit.
As we build steam in personal growth, the ego-boosting excitement of progress can easily lend itself to overconfidence. It’s important to be objective when assessing one’s own learning & development curves, because they will falter if one overlooks a few steps in the throes of gratification. Taking time to reflect (on both successes and failures) and journal is key as one ascends the stairway to enlightenment. Don’t drink the kool-aid.
10. Create without restraint.
We are co-creators in this three-dimensional plane of existence. Our ability to create (abundance, love, art, opportunities, etc.) indicates that we are thriving. Inability to create, the failure to thrive, comes from self-doubt. Whether psychological in nature, due to self-discipline, or simply because one hasn’t caught onto the universal rhythm just yet, restraint is only ever self-generated. We fabricate or attract our own obstacles. By consciously finding possibility instead of focusing on hardship, we develop the power and will to bear our dreams over the threshold into reality.
Sweet and playful, Dawby is a typical youngster in need of guidance so he can grow up to be a well mannered, large adult dog. If you have time in your lifestyle to accommodate the needs of a young puppy – like doing the housebreaking and going through the “teenager chewing stages” – he might be a perfect match for you! **
Everything about this picture just rocks. A man I love, the sport I love, sunshine, smirks, and good vibes! During lunch he took this picture of me which is really bizaare, but I am fairly in love with. The ultimate WTF face!
