Happy Friday — Hope everyone is well. Spring is definitely in the air. Hope you are enjoying it to its fullest. This week I revisited an essay I wrote recently after a mystical exploration of myself. Hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to comment or message me. As you can tell, sharing is caring : ). — Stephen
WEEKLY ESSAY:
Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash
What do you see? It is essential to understand how our mind’s perspective controls everything about our life. What thoughts we have. What words we utter. What actions we take. What stories we are telling ourselves at any given moment. All of that creates our world and the responses and reactions that arise from that creation. We are the maker of our “world” and even with our mind we put labels of whether that world or parts of it is good or bad.
What if I were to tell you that there is no good or bad? Such words or labels are mind made as well. They are sourced from judgment which is arises from the sense of self and ego.
What if I were to tell you that life as we know it is just a firing of energy and particles and in that “world” there is no good or bad, there is just “is?” There is everything and nothing at the same time. We are just awareness of that symphony of energy and particles. The maker and observer of it all at the same time, where our “notes” are being chosen by us and those around us. Creating this existence of bliss and suffering all for a desired outcome that we have imagined.
What if I were tell you that there was no outcome at all? We are where we supposed to be right now. That we are all one with each other and everything around us. There is no distant point to work through the challenges karmic or otherwise to arrive at. There is no distant point of enlightenment. We are already enlightened and that the “giggle” is that it has been in us and within our choice all along. It is like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, the magic was with her all along, it was only when she realized that she possessed the agency of free choice that she could go “home.”
We are the creator or everything. There is no destination and only a path. A knowing path of frequency, energy and vibration that bounces off and absorbs and attracts other similar energy and vibrations that creates an adventure of infinite possibilities. The more we tune our frequency to its purity, the more we can we see the truth. We have been there the whole time. The light is within us because we are the light. It is the ultimate giggle.
So what do you see?
QUICKHITS:
Laughter is the Ideal Medicine Available to All. Studies confirm that laughter has a host of physical and mental benefits such as reduction in heart disease, blood pressure and even pain. I usually reserve laughter as something I do with someone else or in a social setting, but Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky writing for Psyche reminds us that self inducing laughter provides the same benefits as socially induced laughter. So the advice is clear, laugh more and laugh out loud.
They Are Not “All That” After All. A recent study conducted by psychological researchers at New York University found that narcissism is not driven by an over-inflated view of oneself but instead it is linked to insecurity that produces self-elevating thoughts and actions to counter or mask that insecurity. I think this has been always the case in my experience which has helped me find compassion for such people versus experiencing anger or frustration. We are all insecure, it just manifests differently for each of us.
Leadership and the Rise of EQ. One of my long societal trends is the rise of emotional intelligence and its growing value in society. One area will be supplementing traditional leadership skills with emotional skills. In his 2018 article, Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland summarized some of his own thoughts around this important area with outlining organizational benefits from such leadership and the varied styles of leaders. I found the Servant Leadership type quite interesting. Worth checking out.
WEEKLY RECOMMENDATION:
As I wrote about in my first issue of the Knowing Road, I enjoyed comic books when I was younger, and that morphed into becoming a fan of the various superhero movies. While I saw DC Comics’ Justice League in 2017 I didn’t particularly find it that good especially compared to Marvel’s Avengers series. I have changed my mind recently by watching the HBO Max release of Zach Snyder’s Justice League. For those in the know, Zach Snyder was the original director of the Justice League but due to a family tragedy with his daughter, he left the film during its post-production that delayed the unveiling of his original vision of the film until now. It is 4 hours long, but unlike the original version, I found it to have a better sense of character development and plot. Joseph Campbell would likely approve : )
Until the next issue, enjoy the Spring-time weather. See you down the “road.” All feedback, comments, and suggestions are always welcomed.
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