Happy New Year, Everyone
I am sure all of us shared the same experience in 2020, as the world was given an assignment from the universe to sit in deep contemplation (by way of COVID 19). Just like all of you, I sat in this beautiful house that we are babysitting, somewhere in the North Shore’s Miracle Miles. Jen and I have been walking to Pipeline and watching surfers playing hide and seek every day. Many sunsets we have watched and absorbed. As I made our last pasta dinner before we welcomed the new year, I sat in my hammock trying to extract the lessons I am learning from the Divine. Here are my observations:
- Willingly saying yes to life - at a certain point in my youth, I realized for me to attain and live a full conscious life, I must shift my mind from an occasional participant in life to an eager and willing participant in life. Allow me to explain. The occasional player only participated when the Good Times were present. We have the tendency to withdraw and becoming resentful when the Bad Times occur. When we are willingly eager and excited about the life that we have been given, we view life as such - “my life is precious and full of miracles.” With this lens towards life, I became more alive and began to see life beyond the good or the bad. The linear thinking that we have been taught by our culture and society has damaged our spiritual growth. There is no beginning or ending. The entire process of our life is one continuous circle, even after death. By saying YES to life WILLINGLY, we wake up every day with a smile knowing, accepting, and appreciating the miracle of life. By saying YES to life, we no longer judge the world in these two categories - GOOD or BAD. I see that humans have one basic, fundamental emotion that shapes our lives - Joy. Joyful people bring harmony and pleasantness to humanity and un-joyful people inflict pain and suffering to humanity.
- Linear mindset - I did not see the impact of this mindset until our previous election. The idea of a beginning and an ending, and the idea of good and bad, are the basis of this thinking. This lens is what creates the judgment-mind in us. It does nothing but separate humanity. Usually good and bad are based upon our own experiences and definitions. What’s good for me might not be good for others and vice versa. We saw our country being torn apart because of this linear thinking. We have been shaped by our own culture and society the definition of good vs bad. As our mind creates this natural enemy, it frees us from consciousness and accountability. We justify our actions by it. We become the judge of humanity. This thinking also gives us an underlying fear, a fear that our life has an ending, thus we need to do WHATEVER it takes to achieve our goals before we expire. We all know when our actions derive from fear, whether it’s conscious or unconscious; it rarely brings us any joy in our life.
Time was created by man. If we are not consciously aware, time can also create an invisible prison for all of us. The idea that “we get to start all over at every new year” is an illusion. The idea that we must follow society’s timelines is also poisonous. Drive at 16, graduate college at 22, married by 30, retired by 62....these are the invisible fences we have created in our western society. When we look to any indigenous tribes, we see they do not adhere to the same mindset. They see their life is a part of the earth and a part of the greater universe, thus they see every living species as sacred- even inanimate objects. The simplest meal from a fish they caught in the river is a sacred meal. Nothing is being wasted, and there is no good or bad, just the way the magical balance of life force has to offer. Nature has a way of interacting, cohabitating in a peaceful manner. Every species has a role and there’s a symbiotic way of living. These indigenous tribes’ way of thinking is more spherical, not linear. They look at life from various angles of time, space, influence, and perspective. They look at every situation as an awareness of life’s processes. We are born; thus, there is no starting over. This life is a continuous process until we become part of the greater universe, even after our death.
Maybe we can take this time to reconnect our inner selves back to nature, find our joyful selves, and expand our spiritual thinking lenses. As for me, I am going to re-focus on that one powerful choice, and that choice is how I choose to be awake every morning. Did I welcome this precious life of mine with a smile? Did I choose to be a joyful being as I show up to this life? Have I worked on shifting my old monkey-linear-mind to a higher spiritual mind?
I wish all of you a healthy, happy, and a joyful year. May we find each other on the mat one day exchanging our bliss. Much love and thank you for listening, and thank you for supporting this mindful living movement.
-Donger, Jan 1, 2021
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