It’s True You Can Live Without Stress and Fear

It’s True You Can Live Without Stress and Fear

A way to know your decisions are right with every fiber of your being

By

Anthony Carin

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Carin

Do people cause their own suffering?

Other than those people who suffer from medical conditions or terminal illnesses or incarceration, do people create their own living hell?  Whether it is a customer who is screaming in agony because a package is showing up a day late.  Or a teenaged girl is suffering because she is not getting any attention from her boyfriend.  Or a person who hates his or her job yet continues to stay year after year.  Do you believe that suffering is a choice?  And if you believe suffering is a choice, is it possible to choose happiness?

In Buddhism there are four truths: Life is suffering.  Suffering is due to attachments. Understanding this, one can transcend over their attachments.  Once one transcends over their attachments, they will no longer suffer.

In other words, do some people build mountains over molehills?  It occurs to me suffering can be reduced by the notion of acceptance.  If one were able to reduce their suffering after accepting what happens, then is it possible for anyone to accept negative circumstances even before they happen.  If someone were to accept negative circumstances before they happen, then will they suffer less.  And if they are able to suffer less, when things don't work out for them, then is it still having the ability to choose not to suffer?  If one can choose not to suffer, then is it also the same as choosing to be happy?

Fear is the root to all that is negative

I believe that every negative feeling is due to a fear.  Depression can be due to the fear of nothing is going to improve.  Stress can be due to the fear of losing something.  Anger can be due to the fear being weak.  Jealousy can be due to the fear of inferiority.  With any negative emotion you can determine what the underlying fear associated with it.  I realized that I could remove every negative feeling I have by determining what my fear is.  Once I remove my fear, I lose the negative feelings.  I live without stress, depression, anger, jealousy or anything that feels bad.

No one ever believes me when I tell them I live a life without stress, anxiety and fear.  Some people tell me that it is impossible.  It is easy to believe that everyone has fears or worries in their life.  I can’t possibly believe them because I can honestly say that I have no stress in my life.  For me it is possible.

Stress has the most significant impact on health.  I believe that stress, anxiety and fear can significantly impact someone’s health more than diet, environment and medicine.  If you live a life without stress, your immune system will be strong.  You will look younger and healthier.  Your optimistic attitude will bring you many opportunities in life.

We all perceive reality differently?

Many people believe reality is definite.  It is a wide belief that what happens in reality will be perceived exactly the same as everyone else’s perception.  It is human habit to assume that other people’s view of the world, is the same way as theirs.  When one sees a table, they believe everyone else sees the table too.  When one sees a color, they believe everyone else sees the color in the same way as they do too.  When they hear a sound, people generally believe the sound is perceived the same to other people too.  A touch can be experienced the same as each person as well.  Are experiences the same with each one of us or are they relative?

You see most of us perceive the world primarily with five different ways.  Most of us first perceive reality with ranges of light waves through our eyes.  We also taste the minute particles in the air through our nostrils and into the sensors in the nasal cavity.  We can determine a wide range of texture by the sensors in our skin and our finger tips.  We can distinguish a range of vibrations in the air though a thin membrane in our ear called an ear drum.  And lastly, we can analyze and distinguish chemicals in a substance through the sensitive nerves on the pallet of our tongues.

Ever since we were born our minds developed associations with all of our commonly known five senses.  We associate different ranges of light to a name of a color.  We associate the sensation of different smells to the name of the object that was examined.  We gave different names to the variety of levels of texture that we can feel with our skin.   We associate common patterns of sound vibration to words in our many different languages.  Similarly to smell, our taste buds associate the sensation to the name of the object.  Right at this moment I'm sitting with a cup of coffee in front of me.  My association with the taste of coffee cannot be measured, described, explained to anyone else to the extent where they would experience coffee the same way as I would.  The association of my experience, with the word to describe texture, "smooth" cannot be described or explained to anyone else until they allow their touch be associated with that word "smooth" also.  The same way goes to sound patterns.  Our minds have developed associations with a huge variety of sound patterns to names.  We have names to describe all kinds of sound patterns.  Although each of us can relate a memory of a humming sound, there is no way to prove that two people experience a humming sound the same way.  Lastly, this brings us to color.  Each one of us has associated a frequency of light to a name of a color.  The frequency of energy can be measured and labeled as a certain color but our perception of the way we interpret the signals from our eyes to our brains vary from one human being to the next.  There is no way to prove that one person perceives color the same as another.

Why it is important to see that reality is different for each one of us?

There can be problems with believing that everyone experiences the world the same way he or she does.  Imagine a person who believes that everyone has the same views as he or she.  If he is disgusted with something then he would believe that everyone is disgusted with the same thing.  Imagine if he found something pleasant, then he would believe that everyone would find the same thing pleasant.  It's obvious because he believes everyone experiences the world in the same way as himself.  Preferences are also built in when we make associations to a sensation.  For example, some of us like the taste of coffee.  Others may love the taste of coffee.  It all depends on the associations that were made at the time of their experiences.  If two people experience the world in the same way, then it is only logical that they would develop the same preferences.  If the same associations were made, then the same levels of pleasantness were experienced.  The same levels of pleasantness develop a sense of preference.  So an arbitrary person believes if he sees the color blue, then others see the color blue.  If he finds the smell of flowers pleasant than others find the smell of flowers pleasant.  If he is disgusted by the sight of two homosexuals showing affection then he believe others feel the same way.  But it is not the same with every human being.  One person may say a color is blue and another may say it is purple.  One person may find a particular flower with a pleasant odor and another person may find it repulsive.  And it is obvious that all people all develop a variety of preferences.  We may all have different preferences because we all have a unique experience of the world and reality.  You see if one believes that everyone experiences things the same as themselves, then it would allow them to not try to understand the way someone else views the world.

Can one choose the way they perceive the world?

One time I was reading through the writings of a sixteen year old girl.  She wrote on her theories and her beliefs.  I was impressed by the way she viewed the world for someone her age.  When I was reading through some of the other peoples comments, I noticed a few people, my age, were contradicting her ideas.  It seemed as though they viewed the world as stressful and difficult.  Her reply to them is that she thought it was sad that they see their lives like that.  One of their comments, in reply, was that once she gets older she would see that the world is more like their view and less like hers.  When I asked her about that comment she explained that some people don't see their lives as a gift rather they choose to see their lives as a burden.  I explained to her my theory on perceiving the world.  I believe that what makes the young so beautiful is that they can see the world with a fresh open mind.  When people get older they lose that outlook in life.  One key on being young is to have an outlook on life like a young person would.  Not just to agree to see the world and life as a gift.  To really practice seeing life that way, the words that should always come to mind are beauty, appreciation, wonder, amazement and life is great.  Also really try to stop yourself when words come to mind are difficult, impossible, "can't be done", "this sucks".  Even now, while I'm writing these words into my Treo, in a cafe in Princeton, I can over hear a conversation behind me about how people perceive the world.  The voice explained how some people are happy-go-lucky and "see the world with rosey colored sweetness."  He said, "I don't, I'm a realist."  It is a funny thing about being a "realist."  Every "realist" is so sure about how they view the world yet no two "realists" can agree to see the world in the same way.  So, can one choose the way they perceive the world?  Of course.

Reality is what you make of it

Einstein believed time is relative.  He may have also believed that reality is relative.  It has been said that “reality is what you make of it.”  I find that you can choose your reality by choosing what you observe in the world.  If we look at how other organisms view their world, we can see there are many perceptions of reality.  For example, an eagle has a much greater vision than any human and they can distinguish movement from great distances.  A dog observes their world through smell.  A bat observes their world through sound.   There is almost an infinite way to observe reality.  Even no two human beings can observe reality the same way.  Since there are so many ways to observe the world, a person can decide what way to observe reality much in the same way a bat chooses to see the world through sound.  I’m not saying a human can develop incredible hearing powers.  A person can focus on what their reality is made up of.  Thus “reality is what you make of it.”

A person really can decide how they view the world.  A person can focus on how painful life is.  Or a person can focus how beautiful the world is.  Two people can witness the same thing and they can both describe a different story.  Let’s say two people are riding their bikes in a paved pathway in a park.  Park maintenance don’t always maintain their pathways so the two bike riders may encounter many holes, sand, gravel or anything that may obstruct their pathway.  One rider may see the pathway as dangerous and in need of fixing because many of these obstacles forced him to react and avoid them.  The other rider may see each of these obstacles as something that is fun to cross.  I remember riding my mountain bike with a friend.  And one time we encountered a shallow stream that crossed our path.  I saw it as a challenge and enjoyed crossing the obstacle without falling down.  My companion felt it was a nuisance that she encountered an obstacle in our path.  Many things in life can be either viewed as challenges or nuisances.  People generally are not aware that they can decide which way they want to perceive what they encounter.  A person can encounter an obstacle and see it in two ways.  A person who is generally afraid may see an obstacle as a nuisance.  A person who is not aware of what can go wrong doesn’t see the obstacle as a problem at all.  So reality can be relative.  Reality is different on each way it can be perceived.

 

Focus on good things; you see the world as a good place

         I know that reality is what you make of it.  I choose to focus on positive things.  I choose to focus on good things.  I try to appreciate beauty all around me.  I appreciate how wonderful people can be.  I look at every day as a gift.  I look at everything I have as a gift.  I focus on what little I have as a challenge.  When all that I see around me is beautiful, amazing and wonderful, I cannot help but feeling happy.  I feel like this all the time.  People would think that one couldn’t help seeing the negative things that happen in the world.  No one can ever avoid seeing violence, war, disaster, death, disease, injustice and so on.  How can someone who focuses on all that is beautiful see beauty in what can be terrible?

         The universe has an infinite possibility of what happens.  An infinite amount of things happens.  Some are good and some are bad.  When things happen, it is human behavior to say one thing is good and the other is bad.  The good things make people feel good and the bad things make people feel bad.  It is hard for many of us to believe this, but things just happen.  Things are happening all around us.  Things are happening whether we are aware of it or not.  Things will continue to happen whether we like it or not.  We are not aware of all of the good things that happen.  We are not aware of all of the bad things that happen.  Actually we are not aware of almost everything that happens in this universe.  Since most of what happens in the universe are things we are not aware of, then why should we bother on trying to know everything.  I focus on what I need to focus on now.  I focus on beauty, because beautiful things causes me to feel good.  There are wars going on all over the world.  There are people suffering all over the world.  I focus on the beauty everywhere I can see it.  I won’t focus on disasters or war.  I’m aware of things happening.  After all there are an infinite amount of things I am not aware of.  Why should I be aware of something if I can choose not to be aware of it?  During the time when a hurricane destroyed much of New Orleans, I watched the news like everyone else did.  I was appalled at the destruction.  I was sorry for the victims.  After hours of watching the television news, I decided not to focus on them.  Much like many other people, I entertained thoughts of going down there and helping them.  But I know that things just happen.  Just like many other terrible things that was happening at the time.  I removed that situation out of my focus.  Just like when you take a photograph with an old manual camera.  A photographer can adjust the lens to focus on an item they choose.  The rest of the image can still be viewed in the photograph but a picture is only focused on the subject.  Imagine a photograph of all the things that can happen in this world.  In the center of the photograph is what you love and desire.  Imagine the center of the photograph is clear and clean.  Imagine the rest of the photograph around the center is less clear.  Imagine further from the center is even less clear.  And the outskirts of the photograph is blurry.  Look at the world like you are looking into a photograph you like.  You only focus your vision on your interests.  The rest of what is going on is still in the photograph.  If it is ignored it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.  It is just out of focus.  I don’t study the wars that are going on right now.  I don’t study the crimes that happen in my town.  I don’t encourage negative feelings with a co-worker.  I only focus on the positive.  That’s why I see this world as a beautiful and an amazing place.

Sometimes I wish I were a child and know everything I know now

Since I only focus on the positive and I would remove all that is negative in my life, people may believe that it is naive.  Since you only focus on good things that happen and not the bad things that happen, then you will be living like a naïve child.  A naïve child doesn’t fully understand the way things work.  A naïve child can get himself in trouble.  A naïve child can be easily misled.  Naïve can be thought of as being simple, unaffected, believes in everything.

Many of us develop our own meanings to words in our language.  Our meanings may vary depending on our past experiences.  Imagine if I were to write a sentence.  It is not necessarily true that every person will understand the sentence the exact same way as everyone else.  The meaning they associate with each word creates their understanding of each word in a language.  Each of us has a different meaning to any given word in our language.  That meaning was determined by our unique experiences on each time we encounter a word.

The word Naïve can be considered a negative word.  Since it is human habit to label one thing as negative and other things as positive.  But in general, many people may consider the word Naïve as a negative word.  Since many people may not want be considered “naïve” because there is a meaning developed with that word for most of us.  The word Naïve is not necessarily a bad thing.  A person who is naïve is unaware.  They are unaware of what is going on.  They are gullible.  They are inexperienced.  They generally don’t know what is happening.

I told you that most of what happens in the universe we are not aware of.  In that sense we are all naïve.  A child is usually thought of as being naïve.  A naïve person is not aware of dangers that may happen to them.  A naïve person is not aware of what could possibly go wrong with them.  A naïve person may not even conceive of what can go wrong with them.  A child explores the world like nothing can go wrong.  A child generally tries new things.  A child generally tries to have fun all the time.  A child doesn’t look at what can go wrong.  A child doesn’t calculate all the risks.  A child only focuses on what they want.  A child is naïve.  No one has ever described a naïve person with a lot of fear.  And no one has ever considered a cautious person being naïve.  Being naïve is not necessarily a bad thing.  Not aware of all the danger around may be a good thing.

I am naïve.  I might have cancer but I wouldn’t know.  I might have other terrible diseases but I wouldn’t know.  I might run out of money.  I might be hit by a truck crossing the street.  I might have every bad thing that I can think of, happen to me.  I don’t know.  Therefore, I am naïve.  I’m not afraid.  I have no stress.  I take chances in my business.  I take chances in my relationships.  If being naïve frees me to do more things that I want.  I would rather be naïve.

Remember the story when I was crossing the stream in my mountain bike.  It would be considered naïve of me to cross the stream on my bike and not get wet.  I had fun doing it.  If I were the person who got off of my bike and carefully crossed the stream carrying the bike.  Then I don’t think I would have had a better time than being the person who rode through as fast as possible, paddling and splashing all the way through.  I would rather live my life enjoying every challenge I encounter.  Encountering a challenge in my life is much like encountering a challenge on the bike path.  The process of getting though challenges on the bike path can be perceived as fun or it can be perceived as a nuisance.  I have gotten sued and I worked through it.  I have had to deal with irate customers and that has come to past.  I have lost people I cared for and I have gotten through it.  I have had financial difficulty and each time I find a way to make it through.  I have gotten through many challenges through out my life without feeling stress.  And the key to not have stress is to no be afraid.  Each time something challenging happens in my life, I don’t focus on what can go wrong.  I focus on something just happening to me and I would need to do something about it to get through.  Each time I cross a stream.  I focus on balance and what I need to do to get to the other side.  If I worried if I fell and all the different possibilities of failure, then getting through the stream wouldn’t be very pleasant.  With each challenge encountered, I focus only on how to get through.  The idea of failing doesn’t exist to me.  I perceive my world as not failing.  I don’t focus on failing.  I focus only on getting through.  I focus on having fun.  I wait to see what’s next in this storybook that I see as my life.

Having no fear; that’s a good trick, can you teach me that?

         How is it possible to remove fear?  There are many different fears.  Each fear can have a very specific way of handling it.  I say I live without any fear.  It is hard to believe that someone can accomplish that.  It is common to believe that everyone will be afraid of something at some time.  Well, I’m not afraid of anything.  Yes, it is hard to believe now because it is very difficult to understand how sure I am of myself.  A lot about removing fear is to have a lot of certainty.  I crossed the stream on my bike because I was fairly certain that I would make it.  The rest about removing fear is to have acceptance.  If I failed to cross the stream on my bike, I will accept getting soaked.  I can remove almost any fear I have by knowing my certainties and accepting any outcomes.

         Having a lot of certainty and acceptance is not very easy do for many people in the world.  Acceptance is very difficult for those people who feel they are alone in the world.  Acceptance is very difficult for those people who feel superior over or inferior under other people.  People can never have certainty if they choose to not do anything for others unless they get something back.  Certainty is very difficult for people who analyze every possible outcome before they make any decision.  In general, certainty and acceptance is very difficult for people who value their comforts over anyone else or over the community.

         This can be a very difficult concept to understand so imagine people who are very giving.  People who are very giving can accept that they may not get anything back in return.  Imagine people who do not feel superior over others.  People who don’t feel superior or inferior accept the many differences in people and understand a difference is just normal.  Imagine people who have strong faith.  Faith is like being very certain.  Imagine people who know that they are a part of a large community.  Those people will help those in there community knowing for sure that members of their community will help in return.  Imagine, people who are giving to their community, has faith in their beliefs and know that they are equal to anyone.  Those people are certain that their community will be giving.  They are certain about what they believe in.  They accept that any person is worthy of them.

This is how I see my world

         Remember that reality is what you make of it.  I could perceive my world in an infinite number of ways.  If I were to describe my life today and view the world as someone who is afraid, my life can appear pretty rotten.  I can perceive myself as a failure in marriage, career, relationships and finance.  My wife left me after being with her for ten years.  My career as a manager of a software development team has ended and now I struggle to make ends meet.  I have lost over sixty thousand dollars in the stock market and at one time I lost twenty thousand in one week.  I have had a series of short relationships with women who no longer have any interest in me and I currently don’t have a girl friend.  I barely have enough money to keep my house and run my business.  I had to sell everything in my home to make enough money.  And now I drive a twelve-year-old car that has problem after problem.  Sounds pretty rough huh?

Well, I never was happier in all of my life.  I haven’t had stress, fear or anxiety in years.  I think my life is great.  My best friend is my ex-wife.  We try to stay in touch as much as we can.  I don’t want to ruin her new relationship so I try to limit my contact with her.  If we don’t talk for a while, either one of us will try to contact each other.  I wish her happiness and health for the rest of her life.  We try to help each other out financially or support each other emotionally.  I tell her I love her each time we finish our conversations.  I tell her that I am glad she became a part of my life.  I left a job I didn’t like after ten years of working there.  I was getting paid a lot as a manager.  I came to work at 10:00AM, took a two-hour lunch at 12:00PM, left the office at 7:00PM on a daily basis.  I worked an average of seven hours a day at a job that didn’t challenge me.  While I was a manager, I daydreamed of traveling and starting my own business.  I hoped one day I didn’t have to work so I can pursue my own interests.  I left my job and traveled for months.  I spent the rest of time finding myself and determining what business to get into.  I currently work on several small projects and I own a retail store that is three miles from where I live.  I don’t have a commute.  I don’t have a boss.  I can choose the people I work with.  I spend most of the day doing what I really like.  I work six days a week and over twelve hours a day.  I would rather work seventy hours in a job I love than half that in a job I hated.  I meet beautiful women all the time.  I don’t have a relationship with everyone.  Once in a while, I find that one of them want to be with me.  I would have a short but fun relationship.  And each one of those women I became close to stayed friends with me years after.  Although I am not seeing someone on a regular basis, I have the freedom to spend time with anyone I want to.  I tried day trading for a while.  I realized it wasn’t for me.   Although I lost a lot of money, I still had enough to buy my retail store.  For a long time my business was losing money.  Each time, I struggled to find a way to pay the bills.  This has been going on for over two years and I still find ways to make all my payments.  I try different experiments that can make money.  I have learned how to sell almost anything.  I started by selling everything in my house that I didn’t need anymore.  I own the car that I always wanted since 1994.  Back when my car was first introduced in America, I always dreamed of owning it.  I never thought I could afford to buy that rare vehicle.  One day I found one for sale.  I needed the money to buy my business.  I didn’t have a job.  I didn’t have a lot of money.  But, I bought the car I always wanted with the last of my savings.  I’m amazed how things worked for me.  I am certain that things will continue to work for me.  I accept what ever happens.  If I lose my business or if I lose my home, I accept it as a sign that I will just a have to move on again.  I’m not afraid of what happens to me.  I don’t live a life afraid.  I do things because I know with every cell in my body and every fiber of my being, that I am doing it because I am meant to.

                                                                           

Let’s work on being sure of yourself; having certainty.

         Being certain involves having a lot of faith.  When I left the job, that paid me a large salary, to work on a small business of my own, many of my friends would not understand and they would all ask me why.  I gave each of them the same answer.  I trust in God and in myself that no matter what happens I’ll be ok.  When my friends and family new I was purchasing a ten-year-old vehicle that is noisy, bumpy, rusty and expensive, I gave them all the same answer.  I have always wanted this car for the last ten years.  When all of my money is depleting from expenses of managing a small business, people would wonder why I would continue.  I gave them all the same answer.  I love doing it.  In each one of those cases I was certain I was doing what I wanted to do.  Most of it didn’t make sense to many people.  Most people tried to talk me out of it.  Many people just gave up and accepted that this was what I wanted.  I have never regretted leaving my old job.  I have never regretted buying my store.  I have never regretted buying my car.  I have never regretted continuing with a job that I love.  I knew with every cell in my body and every fiber of my being that I was doing what was meant for me.  I didn’t focus on the fear of failing in business.  I didn’t focus on the fear of buying a bad vehicle.  I didn’t focus on the fear of running out of money.  I continued because I had faith that no matter what happens to me.  God is watching over me and things will be all right.

         

Let’s work on accepting what happens.

         Just having certainty by itself is not enough to eliminate fear.  Acceptance is a major part of removing any kind of fear in your life.  I accept that I will die.  I accept that my business will not last forever.  I accept that I may be meant to do something other than operating a small business.  I accept anything that I encounter in my life.  Because what ever happens in this world is neither good nor bad.  Things just happen.  I can lose my home and my business.  I can lose my health.  I accept that.  It is not a shame.  Because I still have the certainty that I will be taken care of no matter what happens to me.

What is the right frame of mind?

         I can talk about having certainty and acceptance but if your mind is not in the right frame of thought, then it would be very difficult to be certain and accept what ever happens.  I mentioned that people who are not selfish may have an attitude to have certainty and acceptance.  On the other hand, people who are generally selfish cannot be sure of themselves or accept what happens.  The major key difference of these two types of people is how each of them perceive themselves.  Selfish people tend to perceive themselves separate from everyone around them.  Generous and giving people may perceive themselves as part of a group.  When I go out to a bar with my friends our main goal for the evening is to have a great time.  As a group we are focused on having fun.  When one person in the group is in need of help, such as money to pay for food or drinks, the rest of the members would contribute.  Many would believe the act of that kind contribution is to achieve the common goal of having a good time.  Now, imagine going out one evening to a bar with people.  Imagine, perceiving yourself as a separate part of the group.  Generosity would be less evident.  Alienation would me more prevalent.

So remind me again, why are giving people less likely to be afraid?

         I’m not saying that generous people are less likely to have fear.  It is just that a giving attitude is essential to have a feeling of certainty and to have acceptance of anything.  A member of any community is much like a single cell in any living organism.  Every member in the community services and promotes the growth of their group much like a single cell has a function towards the health of the living organism.  Imagine one person who doesn’t have the same goals as the whole community.  There is less likelihood of generosity.  There is more likelihood of alienation.  Imagine a cell that is not apart of the living organism.  For the lone single cell organism, every other cell around it is either prey or an enemy.  Can an outsider of the community feel certain that others will come to help?  Can an outsider of the community be certain that other people are enemies?  Can an outside of the community be certain that they will receive what they need to survive?  I wouldn’t feel to sure of anything if I find myself an outsider of any community.  Back to a cell that is part of a living organism.  A cell that is part of an organism will always be supplied with nourishment, oxygen, waste removal and so on.  The rest of the cells in the system is designed to take care of the organism and every cell that’s a part of the system.  A community of people is no different than a living organism.  Every member of a community provides a service to the rest of the community.  Every member takes for granted the means that supplies everything they need.  No one really thinks how they get food.  No one really thinks how waste is being removed.  No one really thinks how they are protected from danger.  The community as a whole just takes care of it.  Every cell in our body is designed to just take care of each other and the whole.  No cell worries what’s going to happen if they don’t find food.  No cell gets upset if waste products are not removed.  No cell has stress if things don’t go their way.  Every cell accept what happens.  Every cell in our bodies are taken care of and managed by the whole system.  Every cell in our body gives and our body is designed to make sure every cell is given everything that is required to survive.  Every member of our community should remember to give to the community and in return the community will be strong enough to provide back in return.

Did you know that every major religion in the world has the same general message?

         Jesus stated to love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself.  In Buddhism, the Dali Lama preaches about compassion and love to all living things. The Torah, the Bible, the Koran and the Bagava Gita all state that people should be of service to each other.  We are all members of the same community.  We all in someway help each other and the whole.  We all in someway are protected and provided service from our entire community.  We are all together like cells of one large, living organism.  An organism that builds beautiful buildings, constructs bridges, creates advances in technology.  Even the forests that grow, the flowers that bloom, the variety life that is discovered each day.  These are all a part of one large, very complicated, living organism.  One problem is that a few members of our community feel they are separate from the rest of the community.  Again, members who feel alienated don’t give, don’t provide service, and expect nothing from the community as a whole.  A living organism has a wonderful system.  If there is something alien to the organism, then the organism would remove it.  So there is no need to worry about parts that are alien to the living organism.  There are ways for them to be removed.  So now that we know that each of us is a part of a community that is much like a living organism.  We should remember to provide to every other member of our community.  It is what we are meant to do.  Einstein even believed that we are here to be of service to mankind.  That is why many people have the feeling of reward when they help others.  Helping each other is a way to help the community or the entire living organism as a whole.

All religions have the same message. It is just that some members of each group will become self-righteous and forget the common message. The Abrahamic religions try to emphasize the importance of their chosen messenger yet they have the same message. Buddhism and Hinduism have thousands of years of tradition added to their beliefs yet they still have the same message. It is just that many focus on the differences of each religion rather than focusing on the similarities.

If I were to imagine myself as a cell that is a part of a living organism, then this is how I would live my life.

         I know that I am a part of an entire living thing.  I know that what is instilled in me is my talents and desires.  My talents and desires are characteristics of what I am designed to do for whole living thing.  I am interested in technology and I find that it comes very easy to me.  I become a service to my community by developing software for most of my life.  My desires change and I want to find something else that fits me.  I become a small business owner and provide a service to my community in a different way.  I find that what I need my business is always provided.  I find that things I need come.  I trust that everything that comes to me will be provided by some means.  I don’t know by what means things are provided to me, it just happens.  I am fairly certain that everything I need will come when I need it.  If it were meant for me not to provide my services anymore, I know that there would be something else that I would find and I would love.  I accept what ever else I do as long as I know that I am meant to provide to the whole living thing and I accept what the living thing would provide to me.

Words of Advice

         Try to see that you are really part of a larger community.  Try to see that everything you do is in service of your community.  Try to see that you will always be provided with everything you need.  Try to see that no matter what happens, you will still be a part of a community that provides for you.  Don’t be afraid to do something if you know that it is something you need to do.  You may be meant to do it after all.  Remember, reality is what you make of it.  If you find that you see that the world provides for you, then you will know that you will be ok no matter what happens to you.

Our minds never stop thinking

         The world is what you make of it.  It takes practice to know that we are all a part of a larger community.  All of our lives we believed that we are all separate.  We believed that others are different.  We believed that some people are better than others.  We believed that some people are less than others.  We believed that people that are much like us are right.  And people that are not like us are wrong.  It is difficult to believe that each of us is very much the same.  We all want to be happy.  We all want to feel connected.  We all want to be a part of a group.  Some are meant to do different things.  Some are meant to have different lives.  Some are meant to have different skills.  We all work together as a part of a community.  A way to really know this, is to practice thinking this way.

         We all get busy with our daily activities.  We all have to concentrate on work.  We all need to take care of our relationships.  We even may think about what may go wrong if we are not prepared.  So when we do have time in our day just for ourselves, we would spend it watching television.  We would find something else to keep us busy.  We would sleep.  But we all really need to do is to quiet our minds.  It almost feels like resetting the computer in your mind.  We think about so many things in a short period of time.  Imagine how good it would be if we can stop our mind from thinking once in a while.

         When our minds thinks, one thought will beget another thought.  Each one of our thoughts was associated with the thought preceding it.  It is much like having a conversation with another person.  Conversations tend to evolve, because each participant will be inspired to add a thought on top of another.  Imagine how conversations change and evolve after each topic is explored.  When you are by yourself, the conversation in your mind is constantly changing.  It never stops.  Imagine how many different topics you think about in one minute.  The mind  is constantly thinking about something.

         Imagine if your mind focuses on one of your worries.  Your mind will imagine every possible scenario of something that may or may not happen.  People would start to think about paying the bills.  Then that thought would beget thinking about if they have enough money.  Then that thought would beget thinking how can they get more money.  Then that thought would beget thinking different ways of making money.  The mind would go on and on.  That’s how sometimes worries can cause stress to become greater and greater.

Meditating is like resetting your thoughts in your mind

         Imagine thinking about absolutely nothing.  Try it, its very difficult.  Your mind will always find something to think about.  With enough practice the gap between your thoughts will get longer.  How is this helpful?  Since one thought begets another thought.  Wonder where did a new thought come from if you were successfully thinking about nothing.  When I meditate, I practice clearing my mind completely.  If I get a new thought, I take the time to find out where it came from.  If I can identify where that thought came from, then I didn’t completely clear my mind.  So I would try again.  I would try over and over again until I get a thought that I cannot determine where it came from.  Then I would take the time to think about why the thought came into my mind.  Maybe, it was something I desired at the time.  Perhaps it could be a craving for a meal.  Perhaps it could be a craving for a person.  Perhaps it could be a craving for a life.  If the thought keeps persisting, then maybe it is something that you need in your life.  Remember every cell in your body works towards serving your entire body.  It may be something you need to do.  After a lot of practice and reflection, you may be able to feel what you need to do.  You may feel you have the answers.  You may feel refreshed.  After meditation, you may feel like you reset all the thoughts in your mind.

         Meditation not only helps you reset your mind but it also helps you to change your thinking.  I perceive the world as beautiful place.  I can tell someone that it is beautiful and wonderful, but if their thinking is not open to it, then they will not perceive it in the same way.  People may agree with a lot of my ideas but if they don’t practice thinking this way then they will never get it.  Again, I can say, “The world is what you make of it.”  Letting your mind explore this concept during meditation can help you believe it.  Meditating on all these concepts is the best way to retain them.  Because it is very difficult to think of absolutely nothing, another meditation technique that I use is to focus on one thought.  Sometimes I focus on the universe as one large community.  I perceive the universe as one large community where every living thing has a purpose in the universe.  Remember, I am shaping my perception of the universe.  I can actually choose the way I perceive the world.  Meditation on this concept helps me believe it more and more.

Intuition, Wisdom and the source to all the answers to everything.

         I've always wondered if intuition is due to having a highly evolved perception or has it something to do with a connection to something that is not tangible.  In other words, someone who is considered intuitive may just be highly observant to body language, voice tone, facial expression or anything that is fairly subtle to most people.  Or, another possibility is that an intuitive person is connected to some source that is not very obvious, almost having a cosmic nature about it.  I would ask people their opinion on intuition.  Does intuition involve some kind of cosmic nature or is intuition just a form of highly evolved perception in some people?  Many people would attempt to examine this phenomenon as scientific and explainable to the point they are so sure that they are correct.  But for those people who know they have a great deal of intuition, don't believe it is something that can be scientifically explained. I have read explanations from people who don't claim to have any intuition, but they all believe they know the reason why others have it.  I have read examples from people who have had an experience with intuition, yet they cannot give a scientific explanation behind it.    So, I'm inclined to believe that intuition is not something that can be explained scientifically.  One would really need to experience this phenomenon to truly understand it.

         Since it is very difficult to argue the explanation of intuition, lets use our imaginations and consider this hypothetical possibility.  Many people believe in a source of power that has all the answers to everything.  Dr. Wayne Dyer described in his book "The Power of Intention" and on a late night PBS special, that there is a source of power that we all can connect to.  In many religions one may consider this source of power, God.  One hypothesis is that a moment of intuition has something to do with a connection to this source.  Since this source has all the answers to everything, a moment of knowledge that is given to a person at just the right time may be caused by a brief connection with this source.  So one possible explanation of this phenomenon is that a brief connection to a source of all knowledge is made which gives a person knowledge just at the right time.

         Imagine if this were true.  Imagine that we could access this knowledge anytime we want.  Imagine that everything in the world was created from this source of knowledge.  Maybe the architects, the artist, the authors, the scientists all had a connection to this source of knowledge.  Just maybe, accidental discoveries like antibiotics and the Internet all came from this source of knowledge.  Just maybe, we are all able to access this knowledge and wisdom.  So, if there is a source of knowledge and wisdom, how would one have access to it?

         Other than using research, many people throughout history have sought answers through prayer and meditation.  I don't believe that someone like Einstein developed all his theories by researching text books in libraries.  I don't believe ancient philosophers like Socrates had access to the Internet.  Many of the most revolutionary theories have came from imagination.  Their imagination was brought out by being in deep thought.  This form of deep thought can also be reached through some sort of meditation.  To me meditation is like prayer.  People throughout history have always respected the power of prayer.  Just maybe, prayer puts people into a meditative like state.  The meditative state opens the mind.  The openness of the mind allows a connection to the source to all the answers.  Maybe that is why prayer can be so powerful.

Image if all this were true.  Wouldn't one want to consider accessing knowledge and answers to everything?  Wouldn't one want to develop their imagination?  Wouldn't one want to have an open mind?  Wouldn't one want to develop their intuition?  I just described one possibly.  If one were to let themselves imagine if this were true, then one would be able to develop other possibilities.  If one were to be open to many possibilities, then one may determine the closest possibility.  If one allows their mind to use their imagination and be open to what is possible in this world, then would that be one way to connect to all the answers?  Whatever the source to all knowledge is.  It maybe God.  It maybe a collective conscience.  But the way to connect to this source is to be open minded, imaginative and in thought.

This is how I perceive the universe

         I believe we are all connected in this universe.  I believe every living thing is connected and serve a purpose in this universe.  I feel that all my desires are part of me for a reason.  I believe if I follow my desires, then I would feel more complete.  The reason I feel happy and complete is because I am accomplishing what I am meant to do in this universe.  I respect every living thing because it has a purpose in this universe.  I respect every person because I believe each person has a purpose.  I am in service to other people because I believe that I meant to help them.  I use to tell people that if I find myself in the position to help someone, then I believe that I was placed there at the right time and the right place to help them.  Then I should never hesitate to help because I am meant to help them.  People would be very grateful on the things I would do.  I wouldn’t want anything in return.  I would just tell them that I was in the right position when they needed me, so I must have been meant to help.  Don’t get me wrong, I can’t expect everyone go out and find people to help.  We are all busy with our responsibilities.  I am always busy running a small business.  When someone asks for my help and it appears I am the best person in the position to help, then I just add that to one of my many responsibilities.  I know I may never get anything back in return.  It is not about expecting things back in return.  It is just knowing that the universe will take care of me just like the universe had me care for someone else.

When things go bad

         Now what happens when things go bad?  Remember, I choose to perceive a bad situation as an opportunity.  Remember, it is most likely possible that any given bad situation, such as the loss of family, the loss of money, the loss of work and so on, can be perceived as life getting worse.  It can also be perceived as things are changing for the worse.  It can also be perceived as a good thing ending.  I’m not getting enough to live on and survive.  Things are going to be more difficult from now on or at least for a while.  Getting set back after so much progress was made.  The feeling of having to start all over again.  I can go on and on about the way most people perceive bad situations.  But, the best way I have learned to cope with a bad situation is with hopeful anticipation on how things will unfold next.

         Remember, at this point, I don’t believe anything bad can happen to me.  Remember, I have full trust in the way the universe works.  I believe the universe will always work out well for me.  So when bad things begin to happen to me, I watch my life unfold much like watching the plot of a movie becomes clearer.  I look at my situation, whether it is good or bad, as a story unraveling.  I focus on my problems and difficult times in meditation.  Not fearing the outcome but observing what happens.  Perceiving difficult times in this matter allows me to separate myself from the drama.  The reason why so many people enjoy movies is because they lose themselves in the drama of the story.  If a movie is created properly, it can cause the viewer to relate to the characters and experience the emotion that is brought out by the drama of the story.  Imagine watching a horror film, and observe the movie, knowing the characters are played by actors on a fabricated film set.  Image the main character slowly walking in the scene as an actress portraying her fear the best she possibly can.  Imagine any difficult situation as a typical situation that happens to anyone and everyone else in the world.  Imagine the divorce of a married couple that you don’t know.  Imagine the death of a child and the pain the parents can go through of people you see in the news.  Imagine reading the newspaper of an elderly person losing their job after forty years.  Those difficult times are more painful when we live through them ourselves.  If we know that we are a part of a world where almost every person will experience the same situations, then it can be so much easier to get through them.  Live through every situation, whether it is good or bad, as an experience that you have the right to have.  Especially live through every difficult situation as a dramatic story that is happening to the main character.  You are the main character in the story that is your life.  What happens next is what you should always look forward to in anticipation.

Oh there is much more to life.

         There is more to life than just handling stress and coping with difficult times.  Life is not about getting away from the things that will hurt you.  Happiness doesn’t come from successfully escaping bad things.  Difficulty in life is un-escapable.  Suffering can be made minimal.  Stress can be reduced.  Fears can be eliminated.  Is that it? Just know that we are all connected and a part of one giant system.  I perceive the entire universe as giant system that works together.  Knowing that we will be taken care of and accept anything that happens.  It is not enough for me to just be safe, content and happy.  I want more excitement.  I want to do things that keep me awake all hours of the night and draws me out of my sleep with excitement.  I want to live everyday having fun.  I want to enjoy every moment of the day.  I want to feel alive with excitement.  There is much more to life than just getting by and making a living.  There is much more to life than getting ahead and beating your competition.  There is much more to life than collecting everything you want.  There is much more to life owning all the things you need.  I see that life is meant to be enjoyed.  I work six days a week and over twelve hours a day.  Some people would give me sympathy.  Some would be amazed on how I get the energy.  I always tell them the same thing.  It is a different kind of work.  It is fun work.  I would much rather work on things I’m interested in.  I like to work on projects that create possibility.  I like to create work that brings me closer to a goal.  Rather, than working to keep someone happy.  Or working to avoid a problem in the future.  I dislike the chore of paying my bills because I am doing it to avoid a problem in the future.  I enjoy working on my computer because I like to see things work better.  There is a distinct difference in motivation.  Work to improve or work to avoid.  When I was working as a manager, I’m not happy to admit this but, I use to spend my days working on my personal projects.  Such as investments, hobbies, and personal relationships.  Trading in the stock market gave me the feeling of having the possibility of being in my own business.  Developing my website and working on my own computer programs also gave me the feeling of having the possibility of being on my own.  Talking with women I was dating was work toward a better relationship.  The work I was doing in the software development industry was more to keep my job.  When I use to come into work on a weekend, it was to avoid the scenario of being late with a project.  Today, when I come to work on the weekend, it is to build my business.  When I use to work late in to the evening, it was to avoid appearing lazy.  Today, when I work late into the evening, it is because I am trying out a new project.  Everything I do, I enjoy, because my work makes me feel closer to achieving what I want.

It is OK to want things in life?

         I believe our desires, that each of us have, are there for a reason.  Remember, every cell in our body has a purpose.  Each one of us have a purpose as well.  Many other people may not have the desire to leave their jobs and work in their own business.  Many of us don’t like the outdoors.  Many of us don’t like cars or motorcycles.  Many of us don’t like sports.  Many of us don’t like art or photography.  Many of us don’t like literature or culture.  Each of us desire different things.  There is no universal formula or How-To manual that tells us how to live our lives.  We all are meant to do our part in this world.  And each of our parts are meant to be different.

         What does being a part of the universe and knowing one’s desires in life, have anything to do with removing stress and living a life without fear?  Right now it seems like totally different topics but they are very much related than one would think.  When one truly knows that one is a part of a bigger community and one knows their part in the community, then fear will go away.  When financial problems are encountered in my business,  I look into myself and do a lot of soul searching.  I try to determine if I am meant to continue as a small business.  Do I love what I’m doing?  Am I seeing opportunities that allow me to continue?  Do I feel that this is what I’m meant to do?  Do I want to fight to survive?  I know with every cell in my body and with every fiber of my being that there is no doubt.  I continue with certainty that this is right.  Fear disappeared for me.  And without fear, other negative feeling such as stress, anger and anxiety soon left.  Things become easier.  Life becomes happier.  I look younger.  It is because I feel I am doing my part in the universe.

It works both ways.

         Imagine being successful in changing your attitude and perception and thus removed fear in your life.  If it is possible to remove your fears, then by the same matter, it is also possible to develop hope.  Ok, the word “hope” is not exactly an antonym to the word “fear.”  But the matter of losing fear is, by the same token, the matter developing hope.  Many thing like this, works both ways.  If a person were to feel superior over another person, then by the same token, that person would also feel inferior under another person.  You can’t have it only one way.  No one can feel superior to everyone every time.  Only if you know that we are all the same, you cannot help not feeling inferior or superior to anyone.  Someone is a racist if they can distinguish the racial differences in a person.  If someone believes in all of the positive stereotypes of any given race, it is still racism.  They maybe very complementing and admiring but it is still racism.  Because on the same token, they believe all the negative stereotypes of other races as well.  You cannot have it one way.  No one can admire the race due to the positive stereotypes and not alienate another race because of the negative stereo types.  To know that we are all humans with many differences is the only way to not be racist.  To know we are all the same with different skills is the only way to not feel inferior.  To develop an attitude of  certainty and acceptance may eliminate fears in our lives and it will also develop hope.  You can’t have it only one way.  Losing fears will bring hope.

What’s so special about hope and certainty?

         Remember, life is not just about avoiding the pains.  Life is also about pursuing the joys.  Joy is a relative thing.  I’m sure Einstein would agree with that.  The joys of one person will not necessarily be the same as the joy for another person.  Am I saying now we should hope for things that bring us joy?  It is much more specific than that.  I am emphasizing on the word “specific.”  It is possible to hope for a specific thing with a fair amount of certainty, and achieve it.  One time, when I first started in my small business, I needed a laptop computer.  I couldn’t afford a good one.  Just by serendipity, I got a very good laptop with all the accessories for a very low cost.  Imagine any time in your life when you wanted something and how it came to be after a while.  Almost everyone can think of a time they wanted something and it was manifested some how.  Whether it was a career.  Whether it was something material such as a house or a car.  I even got the car I wanted after ten years.  It could be something small as a certain model of a cell phone.  It could be something great as a relationship with the right person.  It could be something abstract such as a life style.  All of us have unique desires that are deep inside.  If small desires are needed to achieve greater desires, then because of the way the universe works, it will be manifested in somehow.  So develop your certainty of getting what you need.  It is almost like wishing for what you want.  Through hope, you will be fairly certain that it will eventually happen.

Do you think miracles happen all the time?

         I'm sure Einstein believed that miracles happened all the time.  He has been quoted to say:  "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."  I don't need to see a body of water part or a burning bush speak to me, to believe in miracles.  I'm amazed at everything that happens in this world on a daily basis.  In general, people find reasons on why things happen.  Haven't you heard all the time people saying "That's just a coincidence."  People usually believe there is reason for anything that happens.  Whether you run into an old friend, find a little money, get a phone call at the right time, get the best possible parking space, encounter a significant news report on television, everything happens for a reason.  In other words, there is a purpose for everything.  You see, I don't focus on the cause of the situation, rather the reason for why the situation happened.  Two years ago, when I was looking for a location for a store with the best possible demographics, an existing store, which happens to be the closest possible store to my home, and one of the best demographics in the area, turned up for sale just when my financial application was approved.  To me, that was too much of a happenstance to be ignored.  Without much analysis, I contacted the owner and made an offer on his store.  He took my first offer without hesitation.  I didn't wonder on the reason why something that improbable would happen on just the right time.  I knew that things don't happen that easily.  I knew that if things happen that easily, then it may have happened only for me to take advantage of.  Again, I focus on the reason for which it happened rather than reason why it happened.  I don't care why anything happened.  I look for a reason for why it happened.  Another example of this is when I was sick a couple of days ago.  I'm the type of person that rarely gets a bed ridden illness.  Last week, I got so sick, I had to stay in bed for two days.  It occurred to me that I may cease to exist because I kept on getting weaker and weaker.  My friends all had their reasons on why my health failed for a couple of days.  I didn't pay too much attention to those reasons.  Because, I didn't feel I was working too hard or lost a lot of sleep or having poor nutrition.  I didn't feel I had stress or my immune system was week.  I felt like I usually did.  I was not stressed, I was well rested, I had a hardy appetite.  I didn't come across any other illness stricken people.  I just got sick and I accepted that regardless of the reason.  I did try to determine the purpose of why I became sick.  You see, I believe everything happens for a reason.  You see, it is not the reason why it happened.  It is the reason for why it happened.  I explored all the possibilities for why I got sick rather than why I got sick.  This is an important way of thinking to reduce stress.  Most people will find out why something happened so they can either avoid it or recreate it.  When bad things happen to people, they find out the reason why so they can avoid the situation again.  When you focus on the purpose of a bad situation, then there is a feeling of acceptance and a creative search for something positive is explored.  For example, I focused on many possibilities for why I was ill for two days.  Was it to remove my coworker’s dependence on me?  Was it for me to learn that my business can function without me?  Was it for me to focus my thinking on my other many projects?  Was it for me to lose a little weight and be a little more sexier?  Was it to have an interesting story to express in my writings? You see, my attitude caused my mind to be creative in a positive search for a reason.  Rather than focusing on a reason to avoid in the future, but to accept what happened and search for a positive reason on why it happened.

It is almost like appreciating everything that happens in this world

         Imagine going through life appreciating everything that happens in this world.  I use to pull into my driveway very late at night.  After getting out of my car I would look up into the clear night sky.  I would stop walking and be amazed at how beautiful the stars would look.  I would stop and give thanks to God, that I’m alive and I can witness something so beautiful.  I would also come out of work after a long day.  The sun would start to go down, which made the sky almost appear glowing.  I would pass by a tree and see the contrast of colors between the tree and the sun setting sky.  I would be so amazed at the light affects, that I would be seen standing mesmerized in the parking lot.  Imagine going through life finding beauty in everything.  No it is not that difficult to do.  If you practice finding the positive in any situation, then it eventually becomes easier and easier.  Well, how can one find beauty when the world is at war?  How can one find beauty when people are dying?   How can one find beauty when one is losing a beloved family member?   How can one find beauty when dying of a terminal disease?  How can one find beauty when one is suffering?  Well, if you believe you cannot, then you can never do.  I never found myself in those such terrible situations.  But I am sure that I can find beauty in anything.

         Earlier I explained on focusing only on the positive things.  If one would focus only on the positive, then the negative would cease to exist.  For example a light spectrum is made up of many different forms of energy waves.  We can only see a small portion of that which is made up as what we see as visible light.  Ultraviolet light rays, infra red light rays and radar waves are invisible to human eyes.  Yet there are so many ways to see an object, we can only be able to see the object in visible colors.  What I’m getting at is that we still have a choice on how we view our world.  See only the positive things in this world regardless of how many negative things that are happening.  Imagine if you were a soldier at war.  You are a witness to violence, destruction, death, fear and so on.  Now image being in a mortar attack and another soldier grabs you and pulls you to safety before a mortar blows up in your place.  There is so much to appreciate in witnessing the bravery of one soldier saving another.  That would be very difficult for people to appreciate if they are only focusing on the death and ugliness all around them.  Imagine witnessing the death of all the victims in the World Trade Center.  That was a very horrifying time for all of us.  Now focus on how grateful and patriotic Americans became on the days that followed.  Imagine losing a very close family member.  And now appreciate how beautiful it is when the rest of the family members support each other in their crisis.  Each time it is possible to appreciate beauty in everything.  It is a sad thing for those of you who cannot do it.  It means that your world is filled with ugliness and fear.

         I posted an article about appreciating the good in everything. I stated that it is sometimes difficult but it is possible to find the good in almost any situation. I believe that reality is subjective. Since there is so much information for our senses to interpret, we may have the capability to choose what we perceive.  One reader gave me an example of a person that lost her life. He challenged me to find the good in that situation.  It doesn’t do me any good to find the good in someone else’s unfortunate situation and try to convince them of it.  It is the choice of the person to find the good in an unfortunate situation for themselves.  What do you think?

         Yes I believe reality is subjective. The perception of reality is only in the mind.  It is a good topic to explore later but I want to address the issue of perceiving the world as wonderful rather than dangerous.  When a child first enters the world, he is not aware of fear until he learns about dangers.  He explores the world in wonderment and joy.  We all eventually must learn about the dangers of the world because it is necessary for survival.  If living in precaution is taken too far then a person may live in seclusion.  In other words a person living with precaution takes less risks.  If people didn't take risk, continents wouldn't have been discovered, the world wouldn't have been explored, inventions wouldn't have been created. Part of seeing good in the world involves perceiving the world in wonderment.  Part of living in precaution is seeing the world as dangerous and difficult.  Yes, I might die smiling, believing that the world is a beautiful place.  Is that so bad?

Here is a good trick:  Remove physical pain with your mind.

         I’m able to remove physical pain just by refusing to believe it is there.  I have tried this many times.  I can focus on pain, somewhere on my body, and make it more intense.  I would then focus on nothing and then cease to have feeling at every part of my body.  I learned that when I was focusing on ignoring all physical stimulation during one of my meditation sessions.  When I am practicing meditation, I try to focus on absolutely nothing.  I mentioned this earlier when I was discussing about resetting the thoughts in one’s mind.  I am reiterating the importance of meditation.  One can not only change their way of thinking or reduce the number of thought in one’s mind  but they can remove the focus from any physical stimulation.  When focusing on nothing, the background noise fades, the light in the room turns dark, the sensation of touch goes away.  I work to feel like I am without a body and it is just my consciousness that exists with the rest of the world.  Not only that answers and guidance come to you in a meditative state but you physically cannot feel.  I have used this technique to remove head aches, reduce the discomfort from being sick, dull the sharp pain of something like banging my toe into a solid piece of furniture.  I have used this technique to put myself to sleep instantly.  All of these concepts that I write about have come to me during meditation.  So even in suffering, one can ignore the negative by focusing on nothing.

Is inspiration brought on by an external creative force or is it something that sparks inside us?

Each day when I awake in the morning, I lie still in silence.  Not only because I'm too lazy to get out of bed and start my day.   Not only because I'm still sleepy.   Not because it is too cold outside of my covers and I would rather stay in a place that is warm and comfortable.  We all sometimes prolong our mornings for those reasons but I try to find a much higher reason to start my day.  I lie in silence and try to create what my day would be like.  I wait until my mind reveals to me what I need to do that day and I imagine the task completed.  I try to imagine what I need to do that day being completed.  I focus on the feeling I get after finishing the task.  Once I get a feeling that inspires me, I jump out of bed with excitement.  I love starting my day like this.  Rather than going through the day taking things as they come, I create what my day would be like and I would get inspiration to make it happen.   

Inspiration has kept me awake late until the early morning and has filled me with energy when I wake up.  Inspiration has kept ideas flow through my mind and manifest in flawless words through my mouth.  When inspired I can remember talking freely without a break in thought.  Inspiration has given me ideas to write for hours.  It has given me solutions to software development problems.  I have written hundreds of lines of code and thousands of words when I'm inspired.  I have solved mechanical problems with my car and my home without completely understanding the system.  I have developed a collection of my own software and written pages of ideas and thoughts and painted dozens of pictures on my walls.  Inspiration has caused me to continue creating all throughout my entire life.  Inspiration is not only granted to artist, writers, programmers and creative types.  Inspiration can cause someone to start a charity event.  Inspiration can cause people to have a party in their home.  Inspiration causes people to create, whether it is something tangible or it is some kind of concept or idea.

The question is that, is inspiration brought to us from some creative force outside of ourselves?  Or is it the individual’s skills that brought on this ability?  I have read some where that Einstein believed that his ideas just came to him.   Dr. Wayne Dyer, an inspirational author has broken down the word "inspire" into two words "in spirit".  He meant that it is like a spirit that comes through us when we are inspired.  If we do decide to believe that inspiration comes to us from somewhere in the universe, then does that provide us with possible evidence to the existence of God?  Maybe?  After all God is the father of creation.

We are all connected.

         The connection of minds throughout the entire world is becoming more and more evident.  Communication and the sharing of ideas have become almost effortless these days.  A person can share his ideas to the entire world and in turn see the ideas of many others all over the world.  A person can find that many other people have the same beliefs, opinions and concepts.  A person can find that their understanding of the world is similar to ancient beliefs.  In ancient times, “word of mouth” or what was written down and copied by hand limited communication.  Ancient philosophers and teachers would spread their beliefs to only the people that lived around them.  Yet in other parts of the world similar beliefs were developed at the same time.

         I see that some eastern philosophies have similar points to the Middle Eastern beliefs.  I see that western religions have similar messages to Asian beliefs.  Yet these cultures are not physically close, their beliefs evolve in a similar ways.  Even after mankind has developed a way to produce mass quantities of copies in the form of textbooks and newsprint.  And information was proliferated worldwide through the writings of papers and books.  Even then, many writers develop their ideas independently from each other.  I have read from many different authors that explain a similar concept in different independent ways.  Writers build on the information from the ancient beliefs.  Other writers build on information from other writers.  I have seen Dr. Deepak Chopra take quotes from the Bhagavad-Gita, and the Bible.  I have seen Dr. Wayne Dyer take quotes from the Bible and Einstein.  I have seen similar concepts from the Dalai Lama and the teachings of the Kabbala.  Even now, in the world of the Internet, where millions of people share their thoughts with the entire world, I can see similarities to my own beliefs.  It may be a possibility that we developed our beliefs from a common source.  Or another possibility is that our ideas developed independently.

         To give a better example of this concept, I like to use an example from the history of the cathode ray tube.  A cathode ray tube is a technology that revolutionized media.  The cathode ray tube is also knows as CRT which is how television displays the images.  I live two miles from the David Sarnoff Research center in Princeton Junction and I was surprised to see a documentary about the history of David Sarnoff and the CRT on television.  As I understand it, two inventors from two different parts of the world came up with the concept of the cathode ray tube almost at the same time.  As you can see, a very significant discovery was made from two people and two totally different parts of the world.  There are a number of other examples where concepts were developed independently from each other at the same time.  One cannot help but wonder how did they both come up with the same concept?  Can it be that they are connected?  Can it be that knowledge is evolving the same way through out everyone in the world?  How is it that no single person in this world can claim to be the inventor of the internet?  It seems to be something that evolved worldwide.  It was just people sharing knowledge with each other until it grew and grew.  If it is possible that we are all connected, what is the means to this common connection?  In other words, how can we connect to this knowledge when we need it?  Whatever it is that connects us all together, it is still amazing to see that other people believe and think the same as you.

         After I posted this concept, one reader brought up the notion of contribution over competition.  Companies competing each other for novel ideas would rather keep their findings and discoveries private to themselves.  I still like the idea of contribution over competition, so this example came to me while I was reading over other postings in a different discussion group.  In the philosophy discussion forum I posted an article entitled “Perception of Reality and Choosing to Find Good in any Situation.” I got a lot of criticism from that article.  Another person posted a similar article, shortly after mine, which gave the same message.  She worded it differently and stated that old saying “Every cloud has a silver lining.”  She didn't get any criticism.  In a discussion forum there is no competition.  Therefore everything is contribution.  It doesn't matter to me that my posting got criticized and hers didn't.  They both had the same message.  So the notion here is that, if there is no competition involved, such as customers or clients or money or even sex, the idea of contribution becomes beautiful because sometimes it is just a sharing of ideas, awareness and support.  I still think contribution is a beautiful concept.

A reality other than the physical world does exist.

         Is it really so difficult to believe in an alternate reality apart from the physical world?  Sure people can imagine what it would be like in an alternate reality but can they go so far in believing in a reality without anything to do with our five known senses.  Movies and stories illustrate other possible realities but they are always represented by what is familiar to us.  In other words a hypothetical alternate reality in the movies illustrate another version of the physical world.  But can you believe in a world that cannot be seen, touched or heard?  Can you believe in a reality that many people coexist in?  Can you believe in a world that has no such thing as distance, space and matter?  Well in fact there is an alternate reality where people coexist.  There is an alternate reality that is apart from the physical world and distance, space, and matter is nonexistent.  There is an alternate reality where there is a notion of location yet distance is still nonexistent.  There is a world out there that is highly dynamic and evolves with a life of its own.  People are connected to this world.  People are connected to each other in this world.  It is a world filled with Ideas, concepts and imagination.  I'm describing a world that exists in the Internet.  If you are fully aware that an alternate world can exist apart from the physical world, much like a world in the Internet, then is it so difficult to believe in a world that exists in the spiritual world?  No one can prove the existence of the spiritual world.  And if you didn't have access to a computer, can you prove the existence of the Internet world?  No one can prove the existence of a soul.  Likewise, if you had to describe what your myspace account to a tribesman living in the jungle, then you would have a very difficult time.  For many the spiritual world exists and people try to find a connection to it.  For thousands of years people have studied the teachings of the Kabbalah.  People have tried to develop a path to enlightenment through Buddhism.  Many have been raised to follow traditional religions and study the Bible, the Koran, and the Talmud.  Is it possible to disprove the existence of the spiritual world to those people?  Is it possible to disprove the existence of an alternate reality in the Internet to someone who goes on myspace.com?  To me there is another world out there.  And if you try to find it, you can bring back value to help you in your physical world.

Unlimited Possibilities

         You will have to use a bit of imagination to understand this concept because I feel like writing about an idea that there exists a world of limitless possibility.  It is a concept of a world that seems to be beyond imagination.  Many people may believe that imagination in itself is boundless but I don’t believe that.  Our imaginations always start from a point that we know, and then it may evolve from there.  For example, prehistoric men couldn't have imagined it was possible to travel to the moon because they didn't understand space travel.  Sun Tzu, who studied the art of war, couldn't have imagined nuclear warfare because at that time they didn't have an understanding of that technology.  Americans in the 90s couldn't have imagined the destruction of the World Trade Center because there was no major attack in New York City before.  More positive examples include:  Science fiction writers that preceded the computer age could never imagine the future of the world with a concept like the internet because at that time the advances were in transportation, medicine and media.  Who would have thought in the 70s that men would take pills to correct erectile dysfunctions in the 90s?  My point is that our imagination, much like our thinking, even has limits.  But there is a world in which possibility is limitless.  It is a world that many people can have access to.  You see although our thinking and our imagination have some limits, it is possible to free our minds just a little in order to access the world of unlimited possibilities.  Did you ever think that Einstein built his theories on concepts that were already known?  Do you think Picasso's style is derivative of someone else's style?  Other people much like Salvador Dali who based his paintings from what he remembered from his dreams.  Can anyone see that even our own dreams are connections to a world of unlimited possibilities?  Our dreams sometime free ourselves from rational thought and form stories that we can almost never imagine.  It is almost like when we sleep our minds enter this world of unlimited possibilities.  One may say this hypothetical world of unlimited possibilities is just randomness much like the way our dreams are described but I don't think so.  The notion of randomness implies a number of possibilities in a given set.  For example a random number from 1 to 10 has 10 possibilities.  A random occurrence is just what happens from a set of known possible occurrences.  So the idea of randomness really doesn't imply limitless.  Randomness applied an infinite number of times implies every possibility.  So I don't believe that dreams are random.  Dreams always display the idea of unlikely possibilities.  If they are unlikely, then it almost seems that dreams reach past the limits of what we know.

         Since it can never be proven, lets just imagine that there is a world of unlimited possibilities.   And many people can access this world if they are able to open and free their minds.  And sometimes our minds are free enough to enter this world when we sleep and dream.  So what is so important about a world of unlimited possibilities?  Just maybe, and lets use our imagination here, that every possible thing that happens in this physical world of ours, comes from this hypothetical world of unlimited possibilities.  All of art, all of philosophy, all of science and technology, all of our communities, all of our cities, all of our ideas, all of our concepts, all of creation were at one time just another possibility.  In this world of unlimited possibilities a physical world was manifested.  That could be the world that we know of now.  Even possibilities outside the physical world are made possible.  But lets just focus one the possibilities that were made possible in this physical world.  There are an unknown number of different possible life forms in this world.  There are countless numbers of species of insects.  There are countless numbers of different microorganisms.  There are over six billion unique individuals with unique lives and unique experiences.  There are countless numbers of things to explore on this planet.  There are a countless number of stars and solar systems.  This physical world of ours is already so vast that almost every possibility is already made possible somewhere out there.  It is almost like the world of unlimited possibilities is manifesting possibilities everywhere in the universe.  Again, so what?  Once we accept that there are so many possible outcomes in the universe, and then we can believe in possibility in our lives.  If we can believe in possibility in our lives then this gives us a notion of hope.  And hope is an important factor to making what seems impossible possible.

Now I feel I need to discuss about God

         I mentioned earlier and to many people I talk to that Jesus has stated that we should love God with all our heart and our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Before I continue, I may seem blasphemous to some people.  People who are set in their beliefs may believe I am completely wrong.  But this occurred to me while I was writing, so I decided to continue to explain.  You see almost all of these concepts I write about has come to me in meditation and the reflection of my own personal life experiences.  I don’t claim to know all things.  I don’t claim to be an expert in anything other than computer programming.  Yet I have a deep belief in all of these concepts.  They may be similar to other people’s beliefs.  They may have some similarity to religious beliefs.  They may be concepts we all share.  I do believe that we are all connected.  I do believe that more and more people are believing in concepts such as these.  I don’t even claim that these concepts come from me.  I believe these thoughts come to me from a collective.  When we meditate, pray or sleep, we are connect to a collective that has all the answers and where everything is possible.  Many times at work my coworkers are amazed at what I can do and they would ask me many times “How did you know how to do that?”  I always answered, “I didn’t know how until now?”  I have always told people in the past that I don’t have all the answers, I just wait until the answers come to me.  When solving a difficult challenge my coworkers would ask me “How are we going to do that?”  I would always answer them “I’m going to wait until the answer comes to me.”  I’m not that smart.  I am definitely not that educated.  Yet I learned how to run a small business when I never had any experience in any aspect of this business.  Although I have kept a personal journal since 1985, I am not qualified to write my thoughts on how to live without stress.  I’m not a doctor.  I’m not a physiologist.  I’m not a therapist.  Yet I believe I have the answer to something that is perceived to be unattainable as living a stress free life.  So what makes a trained computer programmer that now operates a small retail store an expert in living a life without stress?  Well, because I truly believe that I don’t have any stress.  Then how did these answers come to me?  Well, that is what I am about to explain.

         I believe we are all a part of a massive collective.  Every living thing is apart of this same collective.  I have used an example before that we may be like a single cell in a much larger organism.  Much like a cell in our bodies has a purpose for the body, we all have our purpose in society.  We also all have our purpose in life.  My purpose in society is obviously to provide my services to my community and to support our government with tax monies.  My purpose in life may be to give help to anyone of those people who are inspired or believe in the concepts in my writings.  I believe that if we are truly following our purpose, then ideas and concepts will come to us instantly, just when we need it.  I have gotten the right equipment for my business at the right time.  I have gotten the right person to work with me at the right time.  I have even gotten ideas that has provided me to keep my business going just at the right time.  Even the concepts I write about flow through my mind and out through my fingers and into the keyboard much like something flowing through me.  Many religions believe that God will provide guidance to people all the time.  It is just a matter of people listening and accepting the guidance of God.

         I even believe that our desires were implanted in us for a reason.  Desires in people vary in so many ways.  Some people would love something while other people would despise it.  Some people would love working with people while others would prefer to work with machines.  Some people would love certain hobbies while others would prefer completely different forms of recreation.  We all know our own unique desires, our own hobbies, our own unique preferences to sex partners.  It doesn’t mean that some of us are wrong and the rest of us are right.  It just means that our desires are put their for a reason.  For example, many of us are attracted to someone else from a different race.  God may have put that desire in us, for the purpose to create a diverse mixture of people.  I am attracted to a particular race that is not my own.  That preference may also be there because I may be meant to meat a particular person of that race.  Only God knows.  Maybe my desire to play with computers at a young age was put in me so that in later years I would develop a career in computers.  And now the training in computers was put in my past experience so I can develop one of my software projects.  Again only God has the answer to that.  I believe God is that collective that contains all knowledge.  I also believe that the collective has a collective will that is driven by each of the many members of the collective.  That is why in many scriptures it is said that God is in us and we are in God.

         No one can prove the existence of God.  Evidence doesn't imply proof.  Faith may not be enough to convince anyone there is a God.  This world is not governed solely by language and logic.  There is more to this world than defining, proving and examining.  What many people ignore is that there is feeling and intuition.  Most people in this world just know that there is a God.  That feeling of certainty is in many human beings regardless of social class, education level, culture or religion.  To many, it doesn't matter whether there is proof of God's existence.  To many people, they just know.

         One time, I was reading a posting from a girl that didn’t believe in the value of religion.  Her notion was to trust in one’s self rather than receiving guidance from a religious belief.  I replied to her posting from a personal experience.  I explained to her when I left the corporate world to go out on business for myself, I have always said to others who questioned my decision.  I have a strong faith in God and myself that I would be OK no matter what I do.  I agree with her that it is good to have trust in one’s self.  But when there is a decision that gives a little doubt in yourself, it is still good to feel that something out there is watching and taking care of you.  I may fail, I may lose everything that I own, but I've never been happier to start my own business and leaving a company I didn't like working for.  It was that small trust in God that allowed me to make a big decision like that.  As far as religion, I see religion as a reminder to trust yourself with God.  I believe they all have the same message.  Even Buddhism and Hinduism, although they don't follow the same God, they guide people to trust in something greater than themselves.

Does Spirituality hold the key to happiness?

         Regardless if one is a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hindu, Islamic or Jewish, people find comfort in their beliefs.  Many Atheists don't believe in some power apart from the physical and tangible world.  Many people, who follow a faith or a belief system, believe in something apart of what is physical and tangible.  I'm sure many Atheists can say they are happy but what happens to a person when they encounter a difficult time in their lives.  Many people who feel they put their trust in something greater can find support in whatever belief system they have.  Many atheists don't believe in a source of power to put their trust in.  I believe that many Atheists put all their trust on themselves and their own ability to cope with situations.  One time a friend of mine, who didn't believe in an after life, lost a good friend of his in a car accident.  He was perplexed at the loss of his close friend.  It affected him a great deal because she was leaving his house when a rolled up carpet fell off of a truck and caused her to lose control of her car.  He believed he was the only one of her friends that saw her alive before the accident.  It bothered him that he could never see her again.  It bothered him even more because he didn't believe in life after death.  When I was talking to him, I explained to him, "Of course there is a soul."  I read somewhere that when Einstein was questioned if he believed in an afterlife.  He answered, "Yes", because energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred.  Over the years, I witnessed my old friend, transform himself to develop his own belief system.  He has read through many books and talked with many people to cope with his confusion.  Although, these days he doesn't follow a traditional belief system, he does believe in the notion of something apart from what we know as tangible.  So, if having a form of spirituality allows people to cope with pain, can spirituality allow people find happiness?

Is it possible to get everything you want?

         Yesterday, I watched a film developed by PrimeTime Productions entitled "The Secret".  It was a film describing positive thinking and the Law of Attraction.  Their belief is that positive thinking enables you to attract what you want out of life.  Similarly, I read a book a year ago entitled "The Power of Intention" by Dr. Wayne Dyer.  He writes that everything starts out with intention.  And with intention you are able to co-create what happens in the world.  Dr. Deepak Chopra wrote another similar text.  His book is called "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire" and he writes how our desires can be manifested.  Since I was brought up Catholic, I was taught the power of prayer and I remember from scripture "Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find."  My understanding of that phrase is that God will grant you what you need.  What I find is that all throughout history and up until today, so many people believe there is a way to ask what they need from God or the universe.  So, over the years, I find I have read many examples of sources that express almost the same message.

         The message: "It is possible to get what you want."  Whether there is truth in that or not, I guess that is up to the individual to discover.  But I am curious to see, why don't more people feel they have everything they want.  To me, it feels like many people are always suffering.  If these messages are basically the same after thousands of years, why don't more people follow them?

         Throughout history, I'm sure there are a number of people who feel they have been given everything they need.  Whether it is people, who put their trust in Yahweh, or people, who follow the life and message of Jesus, or people who worship Allah or people who find peace from Tao Teh Ching, or people who achieve enlightenment, there have been many people who have found or developed wisdom of achieving what they want out of life.  Among those who have developed the wisdom of achieving what they want out of life, there are also so many people throughout history that focus on the negative; which is obviously counter productive.  I believe in one of the Star Wars movies, Yoda said that fear is the root to all evil.  I think? Well I believe in something similar to that.  I believe that every negative feeling is due to a fear.  Depression can be due to the fear of nothing is going to improve.  Stress can be due to the fear of losing something.  Anger can be due to the fear being weak.  Jealousy can be due to the fear of inferiority.  With any negative emotion you can determine what the underlying fear associated with it.  And fear is essentially the lack of trust.  In other words, if you trust in some belief system, you would essentially have less fear.  I guess that the reason why so many people don't follow the wisdom of their belief system is because they don't really trust in themselves or God or the universe for that matter.  And the notion for having trust in a belief system is essentially having faith.  So it occurs to me that the wisdom of getting what you want, is closely tied to having a strong faith in what you believe in.  So whether your belief system has any proof or not, you should have faith in your beliefs and trust that they will work.

We can create our own miracles.

If one were to look back through their entire life, then one can unfold the circumstances on how everything was achieved throughout their own life.  For example, a friend of mine was describing to me when she was a young girl living in Istanbul and she remembered living in poor conditions.  She can recall watching the news on television one day and seeing the female news reporter dressed in a professional suit.  At that time, she remembers telling her mother that she will be like her, pointing at the professionally dresses woman on the television.  We attempted to imagine how a little girl, who has no contact with a modern lifestyle, can possibly believe that she can be like the woman she saw on television.  When she examined the rest of her life, it occurred to her that everything that she accomplished started out with a moment in her life when she had a wish.  If I were to examine my own experiences and look back at everything I achieved in my life, I can trace it back to a moment when I wanted it.  Like many young men, I wanted a girl friend.  I eventually met an incredible young woman that I eventually married.  I wanted to work professionally as a programmer.  I eventually got my first job programming.  Like many young professionals, I wanted a house.  I bought my first house when I was 25 years old.  As a married man, I wanted to live like a single man.  At times one should be careful what they wish for, because I eventually got what I wanted.  You see, each time something in your life is achieved; it is because in your mind you are building towards it.  Your mind builds toward that goal because, in your mind, a wish was made.

Drama won’t exist if it is not created

Everyone has the capability of creation.  Almost everything one has in life started with a wish.  It then changed to a goal and then eventually realized as an achievement.  Creations are not necessarily positive.  A good number of people create negativity.  A painful experience in a person’s life can be recreated over and over throughout their lives.  It sounds kind of ridicules but some people have a bad habit of telling everyone all of the suffering they are going through.  Some people relive their past painful experiences for years.  A painful experience in ones life can be handled in one of two ways.  One can relive the experience by emphasizing the pain to everyone else in hopes to gain sympathy.  Another way is to perceive the experience as something that was meant to happen.  It encourages one to find a lesson to learn from or a course of action to take.  You see the second way evolves creating something new.  A negative experience in someone’s life should encourage creating something positive to happen from it.

What does miracles have anything to do with removing stress?

Remember, the act of losing one's fears by developing certainty is the exact same act as gaining hope by developing certainty.  In other words when one removes one's fears, one gains hope.  If one were to examine one's own life and determine that everything is achieved by an initial wish, then they can develop a certainty that their wishes will come true.  It may not happen immediately, it may not happen exactly how it was planned.  It eventually happens because that desire was implanted within for the purpose of achieving it.  If one were to wish for a million dollars and if that desire is truly implanted within, then every thought will be occupied by achieving that wish.  If one were to wish to be an artist and that desire is truly implanted within, then every though will be occupied by creating art.  If one were to wish to live in America and if that desire is truly implanted within, then every though would be about America.  It has been said that "If there is a will there is a way."  One would have to determine if the will is truly within rather than having some idle wish.

Your deepest desires will manifest in almost every thought you have

Remember a time in your life when you wanted something so bad.  Can you remember how you would always think about it?  Can you remember thinking how it may have become an obsession because so much thought was put into it?  I am not going to explore whether you got what you wanted or not but to demonstrate how what you desire becomes occupied in all of your thoughts.  This is an important aspect to have in order to achieve what you want.  Your mind would be occupied with thoughts, ideas and fantasies of what you desire.  More and more ideas would fill your mind on how to achieve this desire.  You would unconsciously or consciously try each of these ideas toward your goal.  One example from my personal experience was when I wanted to buy a house.  I didn't have a lot of money.  I didn't have a lot of income.  I didn't have a long credit history.  It was very unlikely for me to buy a house at a young age.  But still, it was a desire that was growing stronger and stronger, deep inside me.  I remember reading the newspaper real estate section every chance I got.  I remember have meetings with real estate agents and loan officers.  I remember calling real estate agents regarding homes for sale.  The process of looking for an affordable house and learning about the real-estate business became somewhat of a hobby for me.  I kept taking steps forward and trying new ideas until I achieved what I wanted.  Sometimes desires grow and grow inside and never become achieved but you can still see how your desires will manifest and occupy everyday thoughts.

Meditating to determine your purpose.

Remember, I meditate to clear my mind from all thoughts.  For only second, my mind is clear of any thought.  Remember, each thought creates another thought.  If your mind is void of any thought, then we should examine how the subsequent thought came to be.  Remember if your wish is truly within, then your deep desires will manifest in your conscience thoughts.  So imagine thinking about completely nothing.  This is very difficult to do.  With practice it is possible.  If you are successful, then the gap between your thoughts will only last a second.  When a new thought comes into your mind, you will have to determine if the thought was created by a previous thought.  If you cannot determine where the thought came from, then this thought may be a manifestation of what you want deep inside.

I would rather live my life with creativity as my driving force rather than fear as my driving force.

         Believe it or not, a lot of people live their lives with fear as their main driving force.  Sounds kind of ridiculous but a lot of people accept their situations because they are avoiding something they are afraid of.  For example, many people would stay in a job they hate because they don’t believe they can make enough money in a job that they love.  Many people would stay in a relationship that drains them because they are afraid of being alone.  Many people settle for the things they have because they are afraid they can never afford the things they want.   I’m not saying people should just give up their jobs and break up with their mates and replace all of their things with new ones.  I am saying some people make their decisions based on what they are afraid of.  Now imagine what it would be like to make your decisions based on a goal that you desire.  All your goals and dreams are based off of some creative thought.  Whether you were daydreaming or wondering or even meditating, if you lived your life based on getting closer to your goals, imagine how more exciting that is to have.  I would rather live my life building toward my goals rather then getting away from what I’m afraid of.  I would rather live my life with creativity rather than fear.  I would rather believe that I’m getting closer to what I want in life rather than believe I’m avoiding what negative thing that will happen.  This is all just a matter of thinking positively and optimistically.  It is great to live like this.  It is just another way of living with no worry.  That’s because you are not focusing on fear.

If we are a part of God therefore we can create miracles.

Do I dare say that "We can create miracles?"  That can be hard to believe for many people.  Remember everything that we accomplish in our lives first started with a wish.  A wish evolves into desire.  Desires evolve into a slight obsession.  Obsessions change the way we think.  Our thinking is focused on achieving the goal.  And if it is meant to happen, then the goal is eventually realized.  Remember we can choose to see that nothing is a miracle or we can choose to see that everything is a miracle.  To me, it is a miracle that I got accepted to Rutgers University although my grades and test scores are low.  It is a miracle that I finished school with a Computer Science degree although my grade point average is low.  It is a miracle that I found a job as a programmer although I had no experience.  It is a miracle that I bought a house although I had very little income.  It is a miracle that a company was willing to pay me a lot of money for doing almost nothing.  It is a miracle that I stayed friends with my ex-wife although we are divorced.  It is a miracle that my store is surviving financially although the expenses keep increasing.  I am grateful to God for everything that happened to me.  To me, everything is a miracle.

Gratitude is important.

Sometimes I see many things in surprise and amazement.  For example, when I get a really good parking spot, I'm first amazed and then I give thanks.  I'm sitting alone in a cafe writing down my thoughts and a lovely girl sits near me.  I always give thanks when that happens.  I get a little extra money and I'm able to make ends meet.  I would give thanks for that.  You see, no matter how small the achievement is, I always give thanks.  This is an important attitude adjustment because I appreciate everything that happens to me.  It is apart of seeing the world as wonderful rather than scary.  It is apart of seeing everything as a miracle rather than not seeing miracles.  It is apart of focusing on all that is good rather than focusing on the negative.  I would not like to live in a world where I take everything for granted.  Rather than considering everything is a gift, expect that things are just due to you.  Expecting that I will always have a job.  Expecting I will always have my loved ones or a certain person in my life.  Expecting I will never get sick.  Expecting I will always have enough money.  Expecting that things will always go my way.  Well, we all know that things will not always go the way we want them to.  We can never expect to have our jobs forever.  We can never expect to have our loved ones forever.  We can never expect to not have illnesses.  We can never expect to always have money.  We can never expect that everything will work just the way we want it.    So, when good things do happen to us, always be grateful.  Gratitude allows us to appreciate things that happen in this world.  When we appreciate the world, we love living in it.  When we appreciate the world, we love being alive.

The importance of appreciating everything in this world.

Imagine what it would be like focusing only on the beautiful things in this world.  Imagine waking up one morning and the sky is dark and cloudy.  It feels a little chilly outside and there is a sound of pitter-patter of light rain.  Is it possible to look outside through the window and feel the peaceful calmness of a light raining morning?  Is it possible to watch the trees in the distance and appreciate the beauty of the swaying branches?  Is it possible to view the dense clouds in the dark sky and appreciate the life giving water that they provide?  Is it possible to see the people passing by in their vehicles and imagine their lives, their hopes, their aspirations?  Is it possible to imagine all other people just like yourself who have their own struggles and responsibilities?  Imagine that they are just trying to get by with their day like everyone else in this world.  Many times people get into the habit of focusing on their commute to work.  Many times people just focus on their days activities.  Many times people focus on their problems.  Many times people get into the habit of focusing on themselves and situations that only affect themselves.   When we focus on our surroundings and the rest of the world around us, we cannot help feeling that we are a small part of this world.  And our small concerns are really not that important.   Although the sun is not outside, the weather is not warm and the sky is not clear and blue, I will still try to find a way to appreciate the world as a whole.  It accomplishes two things.  One is to perceive that we are a small part of a larger community.  And the other is to perceive that our concerns are small relative to the rest of the world.   Appreciating beauty is not limited to things we see visually.  I can appreciate the beauty of escaping a torrential rain storm because my truck was parked near by.  I can appreciate the uniqueness of a torrential storm while I drive through it in my Land Rover.  One time I was caught in a bad rain storm and the top was off on my truck.  I loved that amazing experience driving in an amazing storm with no roof on my car.  Needless to say I was soaking wet looking up at the sky, feeling the rain pour all over me while I was driving.  Imagine enjoying that same situation where most people either fear or avoid.  Imagine enjoying every activity.  It just takes practice, but one can find beauty in any situation.  After a while, it is no longer an effort to see beauty.  Sometimes when one looks up, everything seems beautiful.

Meditation is a form of prayer

I mentioned earlier that meditation can help adjust one's way of thing.  Meditation can help change attitudes.  Meditation can clear and reset one's mind.  In meditation, I come to realize many of these concepts.  In meditation, I can find clarity when a concept is confusing.  In meditation, I find certainty when I have doubt.  In meditation, I find calmness when I feel fear.  In addition, I find that meditation keeps me connected to whatever is out there in the world.  Remember I believe we all are a part of one huge community.  In meditation, I try to connect to the whole community.  I try to imagine myself as a part of the whole community rather than just an individual part of it.  When I meditate, I feel I can connect to the collective whole and get the answers I need.  I turn to meditation when I need to find inspiration.  I meditate when I need to come to a decision.  I meditate to remove pain or discomfort.  I meditate to relax and fall asleep quickly.  It is not necessary to take class on meditation.  One cannot learn how to meditate by reading a book.  It can be done very easily by quieting down the noisy thoughts in our minds.  It is one of those things that cannot be thought, it can only be learned by just doing it.  I brought up meditation many times earlier because it is a key factor to a person's happiness.

What is prayer?  Why is it that people pray for thousands of years?  What do people get out of prayer?  Every religion has their own form of prayer.  I must distinguish the difference of prayer for worship and prayer for an intimate connection to God.  Prayer is a way to express worship.  I am only focusing on prayer as a way to establish a connection to God.  People pray to ask God for things.  People pray to find answers.  People pray to have God's blessing.  In a way, people have been meditating for thousands of years.  I am not going to suggest meditation as a replacement to prayer.  Rather, I feel that prayer can be enhanced if one practices meditation.  Many religions have traditions that emphasize using prayer for worship.  Many people pray to ask for help.  Well, I find that help, answers, desires, hope are all realized through meditation.

Eliminating the concern of other people's opinion of one's self

Many people are sometimes concerned about how others percieve them.  I know of many people who take great care of their image at their job.  I know guys who are ready to fight because someone was looking at them in a wrong way.  I witness some people who project a very strong image of themselves so they won’t be thought of as weak.  One thing I know for sure is that no one has any control on how other people percieve them.  Yet many people are concerned about what other people think.  Or what would other people say.  To me it appears to be the fear of losing respect from other people.  And like many other fears, it may limit a person from making the correct decision, exploring possibilities, expressing themselves authentically and so on.

It's true that a person's image is very important to them.  People have been known to lie to protect it.  People limit what they can do to avoid hurting it.  People also have been known to boast to nurture it.  Their image is how the rest of the world percieve them and that can sometimes be the most important thing.  Our image was never really important to us when we were children.  Our concern for our image became more important once we got older.  As a teenager, we always had to appear "kewl."  For many of us, as a young adult we had to appear responsible or intelligent.  For many of us, as young working adults we had to appear competent.  After a while we all had to appear successful.  In general, for men, we had to appear strong, intelligent, charming and so on.  In general, women had to appear sexy, beautiful and smart.  Whatever it was, that we had to project to the rest of the world, many of us protected and nurtured it as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Many people can agree on the importance of their projected image but I can see why it is not really that important at all.  People’s image of me has varied in so many different ways from one person to the next.  Even a variety of close friends have different perceptions of me.  When I look back years at my relationships with people who know me for a very long time, I can see how their perceptions of me even change.  But people aren't afraid of a variety of perceptions.  They fear only the negative perceptions.  They are afraid of how any negative perception can hurt them in the future.  With a bad image people are afraid they would hurt their relationship with others.  Maybe lose business with customers.  Maybe lose a promotion.  Maybe lose a friend.  I can go on and on about what can happen if one were to get a negative image.  But it’s like focusing on what might happen.  Like creating an imagined possibility.  There are a lot of people who believe that if you give energy to the negative things that may happen, then it will eventually happen.  It's been called the "self-fulfilling prophecy."  There was a study done to a teacher and a class of students, where a teacher was told that a certain few students were exceptional and a certain other few were not.  It appeared that the students that were perceived to be exceptional got better grades from the teacher.  And the students who were perceived to be not very bright got lower grades.  This can be perceived that the image of one's self is important for success.  But it can also be perceived that the teacher's perception was fulfilled.  Either way it is still important to not focus on a possible negative image of one's self.  I emphasize on "possible" negative image because it is most likely imagined.  The only perception that is important is one's self perception.  The self image is more accurate than any other image because a person has a greater grasp of what is really happening.  For example, I have been considered irresponsible by many people.  But I believe I'm incapable of being irresponsible since I have been a landlord, a manager, and a business owner for a significant part of my life.  I have been called an "idiot" and have been considered stupid.  I have always had a level of awareness that allowed me to be so sure of myself.  People have called me a "bottomless pit" because I eat so much.  But they are not aware I only eat once a day.  I can go on and on.  But I am more aware of my capability than others.  I am more aware of my generosity than others.  I am more aware of myself than others.  I will never focus on what negative thing can happen if someone has the wrong perception of me.  I only focus on what is good.

Am I inferior, superior or neither?

It is very common for many people to compare themselves to almost everyone they meet.  For many, the first thing people do when they see someone new is to determine where they are categorized in their internal hierarchy.  In other words, are they better or I'm better.  People will determine whether or not this person is better than one's self or not.  An internal hierarchy is different for many people.  It all depends on what that individual values the most.  For example, if a person values the education level the most, then that person will rate other people based on their level of education.  If a person values wealth, then they would rate other people based on their earnings.  There can be a hierarchy with popularity, appearance, social status, occupations and so on.  You see, people would generally "size-up" another person and determine if this person is inferior or superior in the internal hierarchy of their minds.  You see, that's where it only exists; in their minds.  And again, for each person the hierarchy in their minds may be completely different.

         What is so important about the hierarchy in people's minds?  Do you care if people rate you superior to themselves?  Will it bother you if someone considered you inferior?  To many people it is important that they are considered the best or at least above average to other people.  People like being thought of in high regard.  People seem to feel superior if a lot of people like them and inferior if a lot of people don't.  Do you really believe it is true?  Do you really believe the rich people are better than you?  Do you really believe the geniuses are better than you?  Do you really think the beautiful are better than you?  Do you really believe your bosses are better than you?  Then why is it important to believe some people are better than others?

         The key to not feeling inferior or superior to others is by eliminating the habit to compare yourself with other people.  If intelligence is what you compare yourself to others, and then you will always find someone more intelligent than you.  If social status is what you compare with other people to feel more superior to yourself, then you will feel inferior to someone with an even higher social status.  If your job position allowed you to feel superior over another person then you would obviously feel inferior to one of your bosses or someone who has a greater position in the work place.  At one time in my life I began to avoid this habit of comparing ourselves with each other.  One time I attended a party in Manhattan with two of my closest friends.  Most of the people in the party were high paid New York professionals.  The three of us use to work together in the same company but we all voluntarily left our jobs months before.  Although I was a professional for fifteen years, I was unemployed at the time.  These days when you meet a new person in New York, many of them ask what you do for work, some time at the beginning of the introduction.  It is a common habit for people to use their occupation to develop a preconceived idea of the other person.  People generally try to use the occupation to define the person they meet.  Many occupations have common stereotypes that people use to develop their perception of another.   When I was in that Manhattan party, rather than giving another person a chance to develop preconceived stereotypes about me, I believe I told them that I was in retirement for now.  It was kind of true.  I wasn't looking for another job.  I was using that time off to travel and find an understanding of what I really wanted to do with my life.  Many of the people at the party said they were either lawyers or accountants.  I remember they were perplexed at my answer.   They didn't get enough information to compare themselves with me so they were a little stuck.  Rather than telling them what I did for a living, I began to explain to them on why I quit my job and what I was planning to do next in my life.  I didn't want the conversation to evolve into what I did in the past; rather I wanted to talk about what I was going to do in the future.  Many people may feel inferior when surrounded by wealthy professionals.  If a high paying job is not very important to them then they wouldn't care who makes more money.  If one truly believes that we are all equal then there is no need to compare one's self with everyone else.  If one loses the need to compare themselves then they can focus on things that would make them happy.  I was happy to talk about what I was planning to do rather than coming up with things that would impress another person.  I felt free to enjoy myself in the company of new people rather than comparing each one to myself.  It takes practice to believe that people are not better or worse, they are just different.  If people can accept that people are just different, then they can accept people for who they are.

         One reader believed that comparing ourselves with each other is necessary for competition.  And competition is necessary for Natural Selection.  Yes competition is a part of Natural Selection. And yes comparison is a part of competition. I'm not playing down competition, I don't see any problem with that. I'm not playing down the act of comparing, which is a natural thing that every human does. The idea I am describing is one of arrogance and humility.  In other words, it is the notion of the feeling of superiority and inferiority. You cannot have one without the other. I don't compare myself with anyone, so, I am incapable of feeling inferior. If a perceived important person such as Donald Trump came into my store, I would never be impressed by him. This is because I don't feel inferior to him. If the Pope walked into my store, I would be glad to meet him as a person but his position doesn't affect me either.  If a super model came into my store, I would be really happy and hit on her like any other cute woman. But I'm not talking about competition. I'm talking about accepting people for who they are and not because of the exaggerated perception we have of them.

My thoughts on Mourning.

         When I was having a discussion with my coworker regarding her sister's mourning, it occurs to me the idea of mourning is something that some people may hold onto long after the crisis has ended.  In other words, mourning, the sorrow from a loss can be prolonged by the person suffering for many, many years.  Why would anyone do this?  Why would anyone want to mourn and suffer longer than they would have to?  I don't think I can ever convince anyone to stop suffering, if they don't want to.  On the same idea, I don't think I can ever convince anyone to stop mourning.  I'm sure the people suffering can come up with loads of reasons why they still choose to suffer.  But if people are open to see that suffering is something they really have control over, then I do have some thoughts to share.  I just believe if there were different circumstances to the loss, I know that the suffering would not be prolonged as long.  Why do I think mourning can be shortened?  Although I haven't experienced my spouse dieing, I have experienced the loss of my spouse.  At one time in my life my ex-wife was someone who was very, very dear to me.  We are no longer together and I still love her and wish her lots of happiness.  I would still be upset if it were her time to leave this world.  Understanding that, it occurs to me if my coworker's sister had only broke up with her husband, would she mourn as much?  You see, many people probably won’t mourn the loss as much if they already have accepted the loss.  The difference between accepting the loss of someone special whether they are in a relationship and not in a relationship are that acceptance comes earlier.  The only difference between all the different kinds of mourning is the expectation of the loss.  In other words, if there is an expected loss, then the mourning is less.  That is why the mourning of the death of a child is so difficult because no one ever expects the loss of their child for the rest of their lives.  The mourning of a pet is much shorter because people expect the loss to happen sometime in their lifetime.  To some people, the mourning of a spouse is shorter than others because the expectation of a loss varies with different people and different relationships.  So understanding this is important.  If one expects a loss then the acceptance of the loss comes sooner.  If the acceptance of the loss comes sooner, then the suffering is shortened.  If the suffering is shortened, then the healing and growing comes earlier.

         My coworker brought up that her sister lives in the same house that she shared with her husband. Yes mementos initiate a reminder of a memory to a person or situation.  That doesn't mean the mementos will always bring up painful memories.  It just means that new memories haven't been associated with the object yet.  My home use to bring up painful memories.  Until I formed new memories, I associated with my home, almost every item use to remind me of my past relationship.  Almost every corner in the city of New Brunswick, NJ, would remind me of my past.  This was only until I developed new associated memories.  You see the memory association of every memento can change after new memories are formed.  This just gives us a better understanding of that old cliché.  “All things heal with time.”

The illusion of Impending doom.

Throughout many times in my life I can recall a moment when I had a feeling of impending doom.  Do you ever remember a time when you said, "Oh shit, we're screwed."  Or even better, did you ever say, "Oh shit, I'm fucked."  Or when you where younger, you may have said, "Oh man, I'm a dead man."  Or, "I'm in big trouble."  No matter how you said it, do you remember the feeling of impending doom.  Meaning that you are fine now but you are "totally screwed" later on.  I want to emphasize that it was all an illusion.  Regardless of how I felt back then, I am fine now.  If I can recall back in my lifetime every time I felt I was doomed, I can see that it was never really that bad.  When I was a little boy and got lost from home.  When I was a teenager and I caused my first car accident.  When I first got caught speeding over 90 miles an hour.  When I got 7 points on my driver’s license.  When three police cars chased me and caught me on my motorcycle.  When my financial records got audited.  When I got sued and brought to court.  Depending on the person, one can have the feeling of impending doom in any situation.  The feeling of impending doom can cause intense worry in some people.  But remember, it is just an illusion.  I have lived past all of those situations and I am completely fine.  I wasn't screwed like I thought I was.  They were just situations that I had to get past.  I'm sure there will be more in my life but now I'm sure that it is temporary, just like all those other times in my life.  Yes, in most cases they are temporary.  Since none of them affected me in the long term, then they were just illusions of doom.

My thoughts on Anger and Frustration.

         There is some level of importance to have a feeling of anger.  The emotion of anger allows a person to become aggressive when required.  Sometimes our aggression can allow us to be stronger and react fast in times and situations that call for it.  But I'm not writing to explore that aspect of anger.  Sometimes people hold on to the emotion of anger when it is not necessary.  In a situation where there is no need to react, people sometimes let their anger destroy them.  In a sense people can let themselves become destroyed by there anger because the sense of who they really are disappears.  Others may only see the angry person and not their true selves.  Regarding the physical aspect, it adds to stress and breaks down the body a little bit at a time.  So anger is unavoidable and sometimes necessary but when I realize that there is no need for the anger, I let it go.  And when I realize that the anger is still with me, this is how I try to release it.  I try to find out what I’m afraid of.  When I’m holding on to a negative emotion, I try to see if I’m afraid of something.  I analyze my own feelings and determine what is it that I’m afraid of.  Am I afraid of something bad happening to me the future?  If that’s the case I know that it is just imagined, because it hasn’t happened yet.  Am I afraid of being considered weak?  If that’s the case I know that is just imagined also because there is no way of determining other peoples perception of me.  Am I afraid that the negative situation will never end?  If that’s the case then I’m touching into the notion of frustration.  When I am dealing with the notion of frustration, I just accept that it is not meant to happen and it goes away.  Whatever it is that I realize that I’m afraid of, I remove the fear by analyzing it.  Once I analyze the underlying fear that is associated with my anger, it almost goes away.

A Paradigm Shift

Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Kuhn in his 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science. It has since become widely applied to many other realms of human experience as well.

My paradigm shift is in my perception of reality.  These videos illustrate that even science has evidence that our world is affected by our thinking.

The Secret - Law of Attraction - a video on positive thinking

The infamous double slit experiment - In quantum physics reality changes by perception

What the bleep do we know – Our consciousness affects our reality

         It wasn’t enough for me to just be inspired by some of these films.  I thought and I meditated on the evidence they shown.  And the frame of mind that I adopted is to expect that great things will always happen to me.  I also refuse to focus on any evidence that negative things are happening.  And I continue to look for evidence that great things are expected.  A significant aspect to have this way of thinking work properly is to not have any doubt or fear.  Just be certain that great things will happen.  And most importantly, never believe that bad things will exist.

Do people cause their own suffering?

         So when I ask the question “Do people cause their own suffering?”  It doesn’t matter to me if I get an answer.  I already have that answer to that for myself.  What I hope to inspire in that question is for the person that is answering it.  If one were to answer “No” to that question, then they are not open to finding out.  If one were to answer “Yes” to that question, then one would hope to wonder about other questions.  If one can choose to not suffer, then can one choose to be happy?  That’s simple relative logic.  If one can choose to be happy, then how does one do that?  I may have written about how I found the answer for myself but this doesn’t mean this is the only answer.  Some of my thoughts may inspire an idea in other minds.  If inspiration causes one to allow their imagination to explore this idea of happiness, then their exploration may become fruitful.

In short, the key to happiness and having everything you need in life, is having God in your life.  If God is in your life, then your will, will be aligned with his.  When your will is aligned with God's will then amazing things, such as miracles, will happen in your life.