The Wunderful Lizard of Oz: Remembering Unconditional Truth in A World of Deception

ONCE UPON A TIME a little boy had a dream. He dreamed of speaking to people and sharing with them his thoughts, feelings, and ideas. But he learned early on in life that when he spoke, some people listened, some ignored him, while a lot of them preferred that he do what he was told or remain silent. So he waited & remained silent for many many years until he was old enough, wise enough, and strong enough to speak again.

During those silent years he did as he was told, spoke as he was told, wrote what he was told, and receieved a bit of success with every task followed. Though he enjoyed what treasures he found, he remembered always his desire to speaking to people in a way that revealed his true thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

But what would happen if he took that road in search of expressing himself in a way that was different from what others expected and wanted? What would happend if he did not share in the same thoughts and feelings of his fellows? How would his life be different if he chose that road? He wondered and wondered and wondered day and night. He worried and worried for quite some time about his future.

And so one day he decided to leave the old world behind-a world that did not want him to share his truth. A world that wanted to him to serve their truth which he learned was simply a lie. Leaving that old world behind granted him a freedom he dreamed about as a kid and along the way he made new friends, was met with new experiences, and even learned new ideas. But even though he was living in a new world, his new life was still standing in an Old World that was filled with deception.

When he decided to take his new life back into the Old world, it was met with doubt and resistance by those who never left. Excited he was about everything he'd learned, he tried sharing with them his adventures but they did not understand. There were a few people that explored and discovered that New World as well but they were hiding. Those brave enough to step out & share were condemned and ridiculed for what they found.

"You are not what we thought you were. You are not what we expected. You can no longer remain here. Please leave. And don't ever come back...unless you do what we say!" And so the little boy, who was now a grown man, aged, left again that Old World he so imagined would be a place brand new because of his adventures and others like him. How can he live in a world of deception with his unconditional truth?

He chose to live free. He chose to leave it all behind...once again. He chose to let that world of lies, deception, and manipulation exist as it always had for whatever reasons that suited it purposes. And in letting go, he remembered the power of truth, the joy of freedom, and the beauty of choice. He remembered that it was not necessary for others to agree with him, listen to him, and follow his actions and words.

He remembered to enjoy the love for his own.

Obama Is Not My President (Warning: Rated M)

He's the dream of ancestors. He's powerful. He's charismatic. He's the hope of nations. He's the ace. He's the bullseye. And he believes. In The 'American Dream.' And all that it can offer and more. But he's naive and I just don't see why I need him. As my president, of course.

I can read. I can write. I can think. I can dream. I can learn. I don't need Obama The President to tell me. I don't need him to inspire me. I can do that myself. Am I helpless? Hopeless? Lost? Am I lacking in confidence? I don't see why I need a leader. I can be my own. I want to be my own. I want to be my leader. That's why I have an ego. It makes decisions according to my ideas and beliefs. I don't need Obama to make promises to me. I just don't. I'm intuitive enough to make my own decisions.

But people tell me I should vote. I never voted in my life. So naturally I didn't vote for Obama. I didn't vote for anybody. I remember on that day of voting, I was speaking to kids in class. I stayed away from the booths. And I didn't complain about it all. I just accepted that he was going to be President. Somebody was going to be a puppet in Office. I knew it would happen. And I don't know all about politics. It's celebrityism. Another form of power and rallying the masses for the purpose of benefitting those in positions of power and then they make the decision of giving just a little bit to voters. And not even that. But I'm not a pessimist. I'm an optimist. That's why Obama is not my President. He's not my president because I am happy to call myself a leader of my own reality. I'm just an observer to the things Obama is doing and will do. And all the other ones for that matter.

I don't want to write that much about him, or his politician buddies, Congress. It's feel a bit tedious, boring, and I sense I may tread into 'conspiracy' talks. Or Anti-American. Terroristspeak. But that's not the case. Not even close. I'm not for America or against America. I'm not pro-this or anti-that. It's just before Obama won I told my friends things would be the same just in new clothing. They said I needed to lighten up. It's a brand new day. I agree it's a brand new day. But not a brand new idea. Soldiers are still being killed in war. Unemployment rates are up. Need I go on?

But I know people will say: "You, Maurice, may believe you don't need him, but the people do. He's what the world has been waiting for. He's hope for a lot of people. Blacks, minorities, whites, foreigners. What more can you say? Why are you saying these things? Why can't you just be positive, happy, and get over it? Why are you complaining? SSSSSHHHHH...Keep quiet!!!"

He's just not my president...see there is a country inside of me that only I can rule and nobody else. A country I call my own. And I don't need to argue on how to rule that country. The voice I hear is within. It is my own. I don't need to create a puppet, fight, manipulate, and destroy to change that country in me.

Just let it be me...ruling all that is inside of me...leaving islands within islands, countries afar, traveling through skies of worlds, heavens begs nothing but a star, living carefully, creating anew, Obama, a brother, indeed in grand spirit, but not my president, that is true...you are not my president, just a lovely dream, at first, like an exotic honeymoon, but now a political cream who soothes before the bathe, a hope of hopeless, what you know you gave, a smile, a wink, a shake, and a blink...a word of hope, to those who don't think, lies have been told, jobs have been sold, let these words reign through new & old ages & years...Obama, Obama, Obama, you are not my president...no apologies...no tears.

Stumbling Through An Idiot Universe

It happens. You wake up. You look around you. Is it the night? Or the day? You take notice of the world around you. You look in the mirror. You ask yourself, "Where am I? How did I get here? Where am I going?" Things look good. Life is good. Nothing can rain on your parade. Did you remember to check your Twitter message? Did you remember to check your Facebook? "People like this," you tell yourself. I must be doing something right. They like this. I don't want anybody to tell me different. I don't want anybody to disagree with me. Just tell me you like this. Makes me feel good. God, I want to feel so good. Just make me feel good.

And the day moves along. People are smiling. Hearts are open. The grocery clerk notices your walk, your hair, your dress, your smell, your shining car, your style. You have been reading those books on positive thinking & feeling good about yourself. You have been listening to self-help tapes on making money, getting along with others, & working things out with yourself. You have been thinking about your inner child, your parents, keeping a journal, and saying all the wonderful things you want to say to others on your Facebook wall, Twitter messages: "Be positive. Stay strong. Keep your head up. Don't let people get you down."

Still, you cannot forget when you woke up this morning. It was a strange feeling. You don't want others to know. It happened for a split second. You didn't know where you were. You felt there was more to reality than what you had been told by well-meaning teachers, friends, and family. You felt it ring through you. But you don't want others to know you felt uncertain about things even in your positive thinking & affirmation of self. You felt that strangeness in the air. It pressed your faced against the mirror. You looked closer at yourself. Questions began to circulate in your mind. No, no, you're not suppose to be asking questions, you tell yourself.

I'm suppose to have it all together. I'm not supposed to stumble. I'm supposed to be strong. Have it together. Oh, wait! I need to be strong, positive, and have it all together because people expect that of me. No, wait...that's what I expect of myself. I'm strong. I know. Yes, I know. I should know. People expect me to know. I'm special they tell me. I have a better grasp of things than other people. I can do this better than others. I am powerful. Don't you know that? I don't stumble.

Last night I had a dream I was somebody else. But, how can that be? Last night I dreamed I had died, and started a new life. But, how can that be? Last night I dreamed I was a deer alone in the forest, running swiftly, powerfully, masterfully. How can that be? Last night I dreamed I was someone stumbling.

Through an idiot universe made of impulses, trusts, and divine lusts. It is a universe growing, expanding, developing itself through me, and my many identities. A universe that is learning as I am...a universe that trusts more I than I do. A universe that doesn't need the questions as much as the answers that live within. That idiot universe carries me as I stumble through and lifts me when I fall. Though I may stumble through this idiot universe, I am learning to remember that I don't have to be perfect, special, and important. To an idiot universe, all things collapse into a unknown world of new beginnings. And that's okay! :0

Stop Using Your Mind!

Stop using your mind. Let somebody else use it for you. Don't take responsibility for anything. Let others take responsibility. Be lazy. Be as lazy as a stoner on a treadmill. Let people tell you how to think. Let them tell you how to live. Stop reading self-help books. Or those silly tapes. Spend your money on things you don't need. Eat foods that will make you pee 'til you blue, and crap 'til you're green in the face. Pray for celebrities. They are more special than you. They are going to save the world. Not you.

Quit your day job. Do something you really don't like. Give up listening to people who say 'you can have what you want' and 'you can do it.' Don't answer the phone when your best friends call. They always, always want something. And go to sleep @ 3am and wake up @ 5.

Watch lots of TV. Keep flipping channels until you find something you don't like. Watch people talk about themselves and how their products can work for you. Listen to the radio stations with Booty Music all day. Then change the channel and listen to the Quiet Music, aka Wimp Sounds. After you've done that, go to the store and buy something you don't need. Just buy it! Buy things that are useless useful as you don't think of using it forever.

Don't read any books. They are going out of style. Don't think about what you read. Maybe you can tell people to be literate because there are a lot of illiterate people. How do you know? You were told by doctors that you are illiterate. Just get your information from Internet and TV. They are the best sources.

Don't think of dying. Imagine you are going to live forever. You are better than your neighbors. You are more important than them. Even your kids will scratch their heads and wonder why you are still alive! You are a god in the suburbs, in the community, on the job, and in the world. You are immortal.

Believe what the media tells you, and don't go checking up things on the Internet. Cheater. I told you to STOP USING YOUR MIND! Don't ask questions. Don't challenge people, please. Don't do anything that will ROCK THE BOAT! Don't question your parents, your kids, your boss, your friends, your lovers, your schools, your churches, your politicians, your leaders, your god...especially your gods! Dont' ask questions. Cheat the answers. Don't think.

REMINDER: Again, don't take responsibility for anything. Let others do it. Blame it on the white people, the politicians, the terrorists, your parents, the gay people, the liberals, the blacks, the teachers, the military, just BLAME IT ON SOMEBODY ELSE! Don't forgive your parents, your ex-lovers, your family, your friends, and your gods. Don't let it go. Keep holding on to the pain, and anger you feel. The doctors say its good for you.

And don't change. Let other people change. And don't love others. Just move as fast as you can away from people. They are scary. You can't trust people. You know what happens when you tried to love people: you got the door in your face. Don't help others. Let them help themselves. They don't want your help anyway. Don't pay attention to others because if you do you will be distracted. You will be obsessed with them. They will ask for you to sign up and follow them.

Don't trust your intution. There is no such thing. Trust other people's judgment. They know better than you. They are smarter than you. Like your doctors and politicians. And businessmen. Your leaders are more powerful than you. They are so much smarter and powerful. Don't be powerful, be powerless. Don't listen to people who talk about feeling good, and doing what you want, living free, and peace. Especially the peace sign-imagine-let's all love each other-people. Close your eyes to them. Keep driving!!!

Don't listen to your inner voice. Don't be loving, intelligent, real, aware, down to earth, challenging, curious, transcendental, compassionate, open, successful, idealistic, crazy, bizarre, weird, and outrageous. Don't be yourself. Be someone else. Dream of being someone else. Live in their shoes. Do anything except BE YOURSELF!

And finally: A mind is a wonderful thing to waste. What were you thinking? Stop! Don't!

Feeding Animals With Stripes

"You belong in the scheme of the universe. There's nothing to be afraid of. You are Safe."-Deepak Chopra

Fear thy neighbor as thyself is the message we hear so much these days. Whether it's family, friends, co-workers, lovers, foreigners, or spouses. Security is high. Lock your doors. Stock up your fridge. Buy you a gun. "Nobody is safe and secure," we are taught to believe. "Every man for himself." "It's dog-eat-dog world."

Despite what we see everyday in the media, in our communities, and other countries,we are born with a built-in psychic protection system(PPS) that reminds us of a safeness in a seemingly chaotic and evil world. This protection grants us greater personal growth and development that honors the power of spirit. And I use the term for convenience, rather than an absolute, because of our history with such a word.

Your PPS is what anchors you through the tumultous times. It is your science of gravity that pulls grounds you in a world surrounded with noise and psychic pollution. The TV blasts advertisments for Better You and Freedom From Failure commericials that promise us a sort of hedonistic redemption and salvation. To conscious minds, bent on greater awareness, we know otherwise because our PPS is our main source of security and information. But what does this mean?

It means you come into this world with a saftey net that nobody can harm and destroy. Not even those whom you perceive as powerful than you can hurt you. Your soul/consciousness cannot be destroyed by anyone or anything. Unless of course you believe they can & agree to it. We can choose to experience harm or safety. We can choose to believe we are safe or not. No matter anybody else says I KNOW I AM SAFE. I choose to remember there is an inner self that offer its protection and safety in a world that tells me the opposite. What choice will you continue to make in your mind? What beliefs will garner you the protection that you deserve?

Maybe you have blessed yourself with the wisdom of protection from your family, friends, and you so understand my words. You are a receiver of this ancient wisdom and you make others feel safe. Or maybe you want to believe we really are safe, but the world reminds you NOBODY IS SAFE. I understand your feelings but I also know that if you turn down the volume or turn off the voices of fear that agitate your soul, you will hear a different message from beyond-the knowing from your Higher Soul. A message that is clear, loving, trustworthy, and compassionate.

That soul beckons you to listen as you experience your days on Earth. That voice can become the food that feeds the self that lives in the jungle of mind, body, and soul. That voice will once again remind you again to trust yourself no matter what others may tell you. You live in a safe universe. You are born with the inner equipment to know what to be, do, and have. Your Higher Soul can protect you like an animal with stripes.

Do your beliefs make you feel safe? Or do they make you feel afraid? When you think thoughts of fear, how does your body feel? Or thoughts of safety? No matter what the media says about the state of the world, what messages are you entertaining in your thoughts and feelings.

Remember: You deserve to live in a safe universe. May your journey continue to be blessed with saftey and protection! :)

When Lies Become Illusions

Do you feel like everything is a Big Lie? Do you have moments where you know your truth as you continue to support the lies? Stuart Wilde, author, mystic once said, "The only thing that is generally available is the lies." We are all faced with the search for greater truth in a world of official lies.

Is it real? Could our lies be a physical reality built through thousands of years of belief and emotion? Could our physical reality be our lies? Eastern religions speak of 'maya' or illusion. P.D Ouspensky, a disciple of the famous Russian mystic Gurdijieff listed as lying as a barrier to self-development. Maybe this is why a lot of self-help techniques don't work. You can read as many books as you like, listen to all the gurus, and attend all the nice seminars, but if you are lying to yourself nothing will do. You will simply be addicted to the external techniques rather confronting the lies. They feed your illusions.

But back to lies as a physical reality: What do they look like? What do lies sounds like? Taste like? Feel like? Children can sense the lies at an early age and find themselves using it as a survival tool. Then by the time they become teens, they are experts of lying. Body language experts say that you can tell liars by their eye contact; and their body takes up less space. But lying is more than noticing body language. Lying is a way of life in our world. It becomes the fuel for the official reality's engine. Corporations, advertisers, marketers specialize in creating grand realities of lies that ultimately become our illusions.

I am speaking of lying that supports realities of commerce and institutions that seek to justify their lies through philosophies of fear, and ideas of success and failure. Lying becomes a tool for manipulating the masses into particular thoughts & behaviors that feed the corporate ego. On a small scale, lying is used to achieve results that gratify the ego, and helps to reach its own ends. In relationships, cheating is a process for lying, not the result. Its techniques vary. People focus nowadays on the process, rather than the results. What are we trying to achieve as a community? As a society? as an individual? How does lying justify such ideals we hold as a species? The reality is that lying hurts both the individual and the group. People are struggling, hurting each other, and dying because they are lying to themselves and being lied to.

Is this a call to humanity to stop the Big Lie? Ideally, that would be the case, but there are many that are doing that very thing. Noticing both the lies we tell ourselves and each other is an inner journey that is difficult, painful, and downright frightening. There are so many levels to the lie. Noticing the larger structures of lying, on the surface, may appear as suicidal at first, in the death of an old self that lived in such lies, yet liberating in the end. How do you transcend illusions whose source is the lie? How do you free yourself while still getting your piece of the pie, your pot of gold?

Every day we are presented with an opportunity to examine our beliefs and ideas about life. If we are afraid to change, then it means being honest about our fears. Why do you believe that? Why are you afraid to change? How does that belief and way of thinking serve you? If you want don't want to change your beliefs, then it can be as simple as taking an action that reflects your desire for truthful living. The gap between our words and actions can lead to serious disease and suffering that ultimately forces us to accept the truth. Don't be one of those people. Though others may lie to you, it really doesn't matter because in the end, the truth was inside of you all along. :)

Rememberings

For thousands of years, over many lifetimes I had been worshipping gods, praying for their blessings, for their love, as I lived many lives in a physical body. I lived in many worlds.
I wanted the favor of the gods.
I wanted Buddha to love me and bless me with enlightenment.
I fasted, meditated, danced, and worked in the days and nights.
I sought the wisdom of Christ with my brothers as we read the books and paid our tithes. I slept alone dreaming of distant worlds and waking up in another each day.
I feared the power of the sky gods and ran in the night from the darkness. I
gave birth to generations of souls-nameless to the gods, yet divine every star.
I died with fear and hope in my heart.
I died rich. I died poor.
I lived in castles, villages, jungles, and caves.
I learned and studied the cosmos and its planets.
I traveled through worlds and worlds of lights, sounds, and colors.
And I forgot myself through it all.
I forgot the truth of love.
Now I remember…-Maurice