The Power of Being

“I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten.” ~ Eckhart Tolle


Since the early days in the history of our world, mankind has been on an endless search of the self and God. Going back to ancient times, our need to connect to someone or something higher than ourselves has inspired individuals to create complicated rituals aimed at reaching a higher consciousness. In many cases, the universal need of establishing a connection has been exploited by institutions to exercise control over the masses and serve the personal agendas of a few. This process has been made possible by a far-spreading propaganda which has painted God as an inaccessible entity one must seek without, even if the Bible itself (Luke 17:21) teaches us that the kingdom of God is within us.

Our first step to finding God within is through acceptance – not necessarily acceptance of situations but of the way we feel about them. We spend a great portion of our lives fighting the wave, and rejecting the simple truth of just being. Once we overcome our obsession of controlling how everything should be, we allow our experiences to manifest directly from the mind of the Creator, pure and unspoiled by human assumptions.

If we can get to the point of looking at another form of life and just feel love toward it before our mind has the chance to add labels and shelve what’s in front of us within the compartments of an illusionary life hierarchy, what we experience in that moment is God’s love – unconditional, all-serving and powerful. Labels are created by the ego because of its desperate need to quantify something which cannot be quantified. An absence of labels robs the moment of illusion and leaves only the pure essence of it.

According to the Flower Sermon, toward the end of his life the Buddha took his disciples to a quiet pond for instruction. As they had done in the past, the followers sat in a small circle around him, and waited for the teaching. But this time the Buddha had no words. He reached into the muck, pulled up a lotus flower and he held it silently before them, its roots dripping mud and water. The disciples were greatly confused. Buddha quietly displayed the lotus to each of them, and in turn the disciples did their best to understand the meaning of the flower, without much success. When at last the Buddha came to his follower Mahakasyapa, the disciple suddenly understood. He smiled and began to laugh. Buddha handed the lotus to Mahakasyapa and began to speak. “What can be said I have said to you,” smiled the Buddha, “and what cannot be said, I have given to Mahakashyapa.” Mahakashyapa became Buddha’s successor from that day forward.

There are no labels to describe the energy of God, or Its power, just as there are no labels to properly describe who or what anything is. Simply being sets us free from the chains of illusion and the kingdom of ego.

The Dream of Reality

“Enlightenment begins with disillusionment.” ~ Crewmax


Someone once asked me how I can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. What if – this person asked – what we perceive as “reality” is indeed a dream, something made out by our subconscious, and we aren’t really living it after all but only believing we are?

That question got me thinking. Indeed, is it possible that we aren’t living at all, and we are just dreaming our lives? Could we be caught in a very sophisticated dream state science hasn’t been able to identify yet, a state of the art virtual life our spirit is “living” to understand certain concepts? After all, dreams are a tool our minds use to organize thoughts.

Of course, this would be a discussion which could go off in many different tangents, but one of the things that are interesting to ponder is what we perceive as reality and what we perceive as illusion. Since early childhood, we are taught that ‘real” things must be measured through the five senses, and nothing which can’t be confirmed in a controlled environment should be considered real. Nothing is further from the truth. Physical attraction, for example, can be analyzed through physical signs, but true love can’t; connecting hands can be seen by others, but spiritual or emotional connection – although just as real and powerful as holding hands with someone – cannot be fully proven.

Very often, what we perceive as real through our taught patterns of rational thinking is in fact just something we have learned in our environment; if we were raised by different people, in a different society, or with different values, we would likely rationalize events differently. In the western world especially, we have come to associate our identity with what we have. The more we physically “own” – beauty, financial affluence, friends – the better we feel about ourselves. We perceive the golden ones as having everything they desire because they deserve it; if we don’t have those things, then we aren’t worth our own self-love or the love of others.

Having is not as important as being. Each of us is a unique aspect of creation, and as such we are indispensable, regardless of what we have or don’t have. Jesus himself had nothing, yet His passage on earth is still touching people two thousand years later. By the time we leave this earthly plane, what will count will be whatever we have done for others, not what we have done for ourselves. We can’t aspire to elevate our souls until we are able to detach from the rational illusion of being what we have.

We can certainly joke around and say we are living a dream, but unfortunately, for many, the dream is a nightmare; at least until they awaken, and realize that reality can only be found at the core and Armani isn’t the one who designed it.

A Path to Neverland

“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” ~ Author unknown


Yesterday I went with my daughter to watch the Disney on Ice show. As expected, it was quite amazing – the music, the lights, the special effects and costumes validated, once again, the quality of entertainment Disney is able to deliver.

It was pure delight to watch my daughter’s face light up when the first handful of characters came out, but what truly amazed me was the fact that just a few minutes into the show I was swept away and carried into a land of dreams.

As an adult, it is hard to explain that feeling. Watching the old familiar characters parade on the ice, and being suddenly transported back to a time in my life when worries and obligations didn’t exist and everything was magical, allowed me to tap into a place in my heart most adults don’t visit too often.

Just a few days ago I was listening to a song by Supertramp on the radio, The Logical Song, in which the author speaks of a time in his life when everything was magical and he was in tune with beauty and creation; after he was sent away to school and he was taught to direct his thinking to satisfy the demands of society, he lost touch with his inner child; the beauty around him was gone, taking away with it his sense of self.

Certainly, to survive within the folds of society we are required to refine some of our thinking and skills, but we should never completely lose touch with the part of ourselves which connects to a simpler world, a peaceful land where everything is possible.

Unguarded emotions can be dangerous and can quickly lead to dangerous depths if one is not cautious of their overwhelming power, but even when following a rigorous regime of self-discipline, one should still hold on to the invisible cord connecting us to our inner child and to the possibility that dreams can be turned into reality if enough passion, effort and dedication are poured into them. As Gail Devers once said, "All dreams are possible for those who believe."

When we stop dreaming, we forget who we truly are. Simple pleasures are the precious stones bejeweling the path to personal bliss. By following their dazzling light we might, in the end, find the path to Neverland.