Back to nature

I'm just back from my daily walk with Alfie and Fidget.

I managed to stay dry right until the end when the heavens opened; Alfie didn't mind; Fidget looked like she'd had enough.

For me, the daily walk isn't just a way of raising my heart rate and enjoying the fresh air -- both very important -- it's a way to connect, deeply.

In fact, I'd say it was in the same vein as meditation.

There's always a temptation to get it over with, but these days I nearly always take a moment to stop, breathe in and out with a strong sense of purpose and listen to my environs. It grounds me.

I don't take this for granted. I realise how fortunate I am to have Dartmoor on my doorstep and to have the time to walk this way.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that even if I didn't live here, I'd find a way to connect with nature, even if I had to do it in some other way, e.g. gardening.

Think about your own experience with nature. I'd be very surprised if it hasn't and still does touch you. Without getting too Woo Woo on you, the reason possibly that you feel a deeper connection with life is because your thinking drops away to nothing. In that space (which I call presence) you feel one with your surroundings.

(Imagine being able to hold that state of presence through the travails of life without having to seek out nature.)

As we all start to think about what we'd like to do for 2018, if I must make a plea it's to go back to basics and look at nature as part of your life beyond an attractive place to hang out.

I know I will.

Blessings,

Julian

Messed up

What has become of this world?

Or should I say, what have we done to it?

Perhaps it's just part of the evolution of the species.

But it makes me weep.

Of course, there are occasional glimpses of how it might be different but it doesn't take much, particularly with the abundance of bad news, to be back where we started.

I'm sure you can point the finger at many things -- e.g. religion, politics, inequality, hate, greed -- but when you get right down to it, it's a product of our thinking.

Imagine then if that changed to the point where love, kindness and compassion was our raison d'etre. Of course, it's easy to knock such whimsical ideas but I don't think so. I don't think there's anything soft about trying to imagine a very different world.

As much as I'm loathed to say it, change begins with a single step -- not another New Year's resolution.

I'm not going to repeat my own expected journey for 2018 -- I've said more than enough on Twitter and Patreon -- but one thing's for sure, I intend to be much more purposeful about being the change I want to see in the world. In particular, I intend to help as many people as I can, be in service to my family to the very best of my ability, love like I've never loved before and do my tiny bit to save the planet.

What about you?

What will you do differently in 2018 to clean up the mess?

Happy new year.

Blessings and much love,
Julian

What's really important?

Money?

Love?

Work?

Family?

The earth?

Have you worked it out?

Is there anything to work out?

Of course there is.

You're here once.

Now.

Not next week. Or next year.

Seriously, when was the last time you escaped from your ordinary life to invite a more beautiful question than "What's next?".

Trust me, it will be well worth the investment of time.

You might think others can help. They can't. Only you know what needs your focus. (The doing comes later.)

There's no right or wrong place to start but chances are (by now) you've worked out what keeps coming up again and again but gets none of your attention.

In my case, it's being an artist. Oh sure, I could have chosen any number of things but I know that that's where more of my life and energy needs to be invested if I'm going to make better sense of all this thrashing.

What about you?

What's the one thing you should be doing or not doing beyond everything else?

Enjoy your day.

Blessings,
Julian

Making the most of your genius

A little monologue that I recorded earlier today.

Enjoy.

Blessings,
Julian

We are the problem

Think about it.

The world you see and inhabit is the product of our thinking, followed by our deeds.

Do you like what you see?

Of course, with this many people, it's easy to lose hope, give up and slink away to the smallest life we can engineer.

What if?

We changed our thinking?

Or at least didn't act out every crazy thought.

We consumed less?

We did more for others?

We challenged the system beyond a few ranty posts on Facebook or your blog (oh, the irony).

We brought more of our humanity to the world.

We devoted ourselves to a proper cause.

We pursued a different religion to the Capitalist ideal.

And we gave a sh*t.

Let's face it, if we were that bothered about poverty, the loss of species or greedy people, would we really carry on as we are -- me included? Hell, no. We'd make our voices known. Better still, we'd protest. Imagine, a few more Rosa Parks in the world.

Sorry if anything I say offends but the world I now see is a pale reflection of that which my great-grandparents and grandparents thought they were fighting for in World War I and II. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I asked them whether they put their life on the line to enable us to consume the planet and freak out on social media, they'd have looked on as only the older generation are able to with a look of quiet condemnation for a life squandered.

Enjoy your day.

Blessings,
Julian

Writing online

I'm a big fan of Charles Bukowski.

One thing that's evident if you've read any of the books written on his life is that writing all those poems was bloody hard work.

No, I mean really hard.

I can't now recall the exact figure, but if he got five or seven poems written of a night, he was doing well.

He did eventually get given an early Apple Mac and he was astonished to find how easy it was to write, not least because he could easily see and correct his errors. Unfortunately, it came too late for us fans as he died within a couple of years of being gifted it.

I mean just think about. Writing online that is. I think we sometimes forget how easy it is to write and share our material.

Imagine not having all this technology.

Anyhow, given the ease of writing, I hope in the coming year you start to flex your writing muscles and blog or post in a way that helps you connect more deeply with your true self.

Blessings,

Julian

Finding yourself; losing yourself

Which comes first?

The old self, dying to be reborn?

Or finding yourself, and everything falling away?

There's no easy answer.

The conditioning runs deep. In fact, it runs so deep I doubt if you'll ever completely remove the overlay.

It's been there from birth, practically: do this; don't do this; be this; no, not that; and on and on it goes.

You can see now why so many people seek liberation!

Even if you're willing to look at it from the other end of the telescope, i.e. "Who am I?", what do you expect to say by the time you come to realise that you're anything but your thoughts, feelings, and sensations?

No, you're everything -- a moving, shifting experience. You're the Universe in motion.

But of course, they amount to the same thing: you are the very thing that you're seeking.

"FFS, Julian. Where is this going?"

You tell me.

Where is it going?

To find happiness?

To kill your demons?

To make something of your life?

Who knows. Who really knows.

I mean, it's not like you're in control. 

Think about it. When was the last time you considered your willpower or desire?

Who is it that wills or desires?

Who really is it?

I know, it's a mystery. But that doesn't help you much in coping with life. 

Oh...yes...it...does if your willing to let go of the attachment to your neurolinguistics and just be. Not zone out to the point where you sit on a park bench and do nothing -- as if you could -- but you allow everything to unfold naturally.

Call it radical acceptance, if you must give it a label. Or, as I prefer to say, to accept this moment as if you'd chosen it.

Perhaps, in the end, it doesn't matter which end you approach enlightenment but for heaven's sake stop reading all the 'get better' material and wishing for a self-made miracle. 

Trust me, you'll plan your life away if you think it's going to come your way. The miracle that is.

Blessings,

Julian

🙏

What do we really know?

“This is your life and it's ending one moment at a time.” 
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

You'd think this far in, we'd have it all worked out.

Money.

Love.

Health.

Faith.

Connection.

Work.

Less.

Even less.

But we're way off the mark.

Look around you, what do you see?

Poverty.

An individualistic world.

Greed.

Hate.

Violence.

Bigotry.

Repression.

The death of our planet.

It's no wonder some people decide enough is enough.

I always remember though something Jon Kabat-Zinn said (and I paraphrase):

"The way we look at you [the patient], we always take the view that so long as you're breathing, you've got more going for you than you have wrong with you."

I know, hardly startling but then again, whilst there's life there's hope.

If you've any desire left to make a difference, then now is the time to apply your energy to making your dent. You might volunteer at your local charity, you might change your life or you might start a blog to build your Tribe of new-world zealots.

It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do something.

For me, the worst thing you can do is carry on finger-wagging (mostly from your couch) and expect someone else to pick up the tab for our narcissistic ways. 

Dream on my friend.

Dream on.

This coming year, I've already been moved by another startling revelation -- one that's struck me many times before: if I'm going to make a difference, I need to do much less; and the things I do do, will be suffused with as much of my life force as I can muster. Will I p*ss a few people off? Undoubtedly. But in the end, the more we maintain the status quo the more we're the problem...in so many ways.

Photo by Clemente Ruiz Abenza

Letting the light in

Life.

It's not always easy, but it's a gift.

There's a tendency to want to make something of it -- and that's wonderful -- but only through the prism of doing.

But think about it. Is there anywhere to go? Anything to get? Anything to be?

Isn't this moment -- however it unfolds -- perfect?

No.

Wait.
Sit.
Breathe.

If you're lost in a sea of depression or angst, it will pass.

Remember, life (all of it including the thoughts) is impermanent, as is everything else.

I know, it's not the most favourable message to build a brand around but you'll discover as you age that all that doing isn't worth jack sh*t if you still feel lost to this world.

You might then ask, "If I'm not doing, what will happen?"

Nothing.

Nothing in the sense that you won't be rushing around like a mad fool hoping to climb another invisible mental construct -- Covey's ladder is such nonsense. What you'll be doing is accepting this moment and living it fully. That will mean accepting whatever shows up, being more mindful/attentive to the moment and accepting yourself exactly as you are.

And trust me, you will be willed to do some-thing -- think of it as your invisible power. Whether it will be right thing isn't the issue. You'll be moved in the same way you've always been, but this time you won't be looking to affix meaning to it.

It will be what it is.

Nothing more; nothing less.

Have a wonderful day.

Blessings,

Julian

Zen Mountain Monastery

I've been listening to the ZMM podcast for a while now. The head Abbot, Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi Master is expert on talking about Master Dogen. 

Enjoy

Julian

A mindful day

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” 

― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

It's always crazy busy or at least there's a lot going on, on Christmas day.

If you dare, slow down, enjoy every moment and remember to say a few thank yous and prayers for the people who've made the day possible and those that are no longer here to enjoy the festivities.

I feel blessed that my children -- Evie, Hetty and Floz -- are all with us, and making it special in their own particular way. I know it won't always be like this.

Perhaps it's my age, but I feel the pull to suck up each moment I'm alive and Christmas is no different, not necessarily the consumption (which I find hard to come to terms with) but a deeper connection with true self; namely, the person I was from the very start -- everything and no-thing. 

But today is not the day for me to say anything more than have a wonderful Christmas day. Drink wine, eat and be merry.

Blessings,

Julian

The meaning of money

Something to reframe the whole consumerism thing.
 

It sure is a mess

The planet.

Our consumption.

Our love of war.

The gap between rich and now very poor.

The media (and message) we consume.

You see, if we're going to imagine and then build a more beautiful world, we have to stop this craving to fit in and maintain the status quo.

Speak up.

Speak out.

And then act.

I mean, even something as mundane as the food we eat or choose not to eat, can have a profound impact on the planet. Less waste, less plastic, less harm.

Likewise, more appropriate language, better stories and walking our inclusive talk can do more than create another vacuous training programme.

But in truth, if you're going to do anything revolutionary (to you at least), you've got to look within.

Who are you at your deepest, most profound level?

The stuff you own, or something more fundamental?

Just imagine if you arrived at a point (with that question or something similar) with a recognition that you're everything you see -- bound up in the same way as the waves with the ocean. In that space, do you honestly think you'd sh*t in your own back garden? I very much doubt it.

Blessings,

Julian

A few things to watch

If you get bored of the 'classics' over Christmas, I've put together a few videos that you may want to watch.

Enjoy

Blessings,

Julian

Stephen Jenkinson

Daishi Roshi at Findhorn

Seth Godin talking about his book, "Linchpin"

John Butler, Part 1

John Butler, Part 2

My favourite TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert

Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells

Forbidden Planet (4 mins only)

That should probably be enough. I might post some more depending on how much time I've got over Christmas. Do let me know if any of them resonate.

Blessings,

Julian

forever lost

we stand on the edge
between this world
and
another.

for most
that means more of more
conscious
of nothing other than a dimly lit passage
surprised by nothing
living a dream
but without birth
just a dream that takes your fancy.

stop.
stop and ask yourself
what it means to be alive.

alive
to this moment
alive to this world
alive
to everything.

of course you won't
you'll slide along
to the next day
wishing
wishing you could make out there
just a tiny bit better
but for who?

you?

yes
but who is that?

who truly are you?

Deep listening

“There's a lot of difference between listening and hearing.” 
― G.K. Chesterton

When was the last time you listened to something more than the words and sounds of other people?

Even in that space, I can guarantee you spend more time listening to your inner monologue than you do the other person.

Even if you did manage to shut up for more than a few minutes -- it's amazing how many times we interrupt the other person -- you'll never truly understand what's going on unless you fully shut up.

I mean:

your inner voice goes quiet;
you're open with your body language; and
you listen without opinion.

But of course, this will never happen; it's not how we're trained or conditioned to believe we should act.

Trust me, as someone who's made more mistakes than I've got a lifetime left to report on, the moment we stop listening for cues, ticks or signals, is the time we start to find out what out what's really going on.

PS. Never forget that the person you're speaking to is keeping at least 95% of their life (inner and outer) hidden from view. 

Open your heart

you live
you die

in between,
it's all a mystery.

we want to fly
we want to leap
we want to be
something
other than this.

why?

oh, why
can't we just be?

'cos we're stuck
in the throes of times past
the future
we cannot see
let alone be
and yet we're told
and we believe
we can be anything we want.

seriously,
is that what you think?

nowadays, i've let go
of everything
to be
is more than more
more than enough
and yet
it doesn't go down
a treat
with those in the capitalist know
who think they know
it all
but what do they really know?

you tell me.

if you need do anything
hang out
in silence
that deep
unknown space
a place that few will explore
in case
they get found out.

in the end
as if you didn't know
it will end
as it begun
right where you are.

Sharing a few thoughts

"To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves." - Dogen Zenji

I've been consistent in posting to my Patreon account and have left alone all the other platforms. But, in the process, I've missed writing extempore, i.e. on the hoof.

I'm very conscious that I'm still to publish my book and, in a way, I should pull the plug on all my writing and invest all my efforts in getting the bloody thing shipped.

But that's not how I work -- or at least up to now.

You see, I like to write daily; I like to share what's uppermost in my often busy mind; and, I like to connect with my writing.

And when I don't do it, something's missing.

For the moment, I'm undecided if I'll write beyond Patreon -- at least until the book gets shipped -- and where I'll do so. I did think about using Medium but I'm loathed to pay the subscription. Likewise, Tumblr and Livejournal could have been a worthy investment of time but again neither feel right. So, for the moment, and mainly because it's easy with my slightly peripatetic work patterns, I've decided to give Blogger another whirl. I know it's not perfect -- far from it -- but I see no reason not to give it a proper go this time around.

In terms of what I'll write about, I'm not yet sure but something tells me it might be more in the storytelling genre than where I've previously invested my energies or have been drawn to write.

Blessings to you all,

Julian