The American Reaction: Getting a Grip on Awakening In Times of Rapid Changes

It's become almost a way of life as much as the technologies we buy and use. And now that I notice it, I feel I want to say something about it. I call it The American Reaction. It's so common in almost everywhere you go: workplace, media, home, schools, but mostly media-that omnipresent entity that has now become US and not THEM. But what do I mean by The American Reaction? I began to notice something in my conversations with people that struck me as both disappointing and frustrating. At first, I thought I was having candid discussions about life matters in the teacher staff rooms, on the phones with friends long distance, and strangers in public. I didn't see it at first but now I do and perhaps you do too. It's this kind of commentary that reflects people's true feelings about what's happening in the world. Most of their words express thoughts and ideas about changes and even youth today. You know what I'm saying: "Young folks today" conversations abound. Political dissent over coffee and bagel. Religious criticisms at a local bar with a strange patron. And the most popular topic: CELEBRITIES. No matter where you go, Celebrity confessions pops up at some point and time. Once I began to notice I was having that kind of discussion-this reaction to world events and changes-I began to feel a sort of emptiness and helplessness as though I had lost a friend or something precious. I saw that most people now were living with the American Reaction in their hearts. I heard deep from within that they know what to do and yet their lives was filled a lot of 'doing.' They watch the TV, read the papers, listen to the radio, and neighbors, church members, co-workers, teachers, and friends for the information, or news. And then it happens as natural as breathing: "No way!" "Are you serious?" "I don't know what's going on these days" and here's my favorite "The children of today..." That is one of the most common talks and gets a lot of reactions. And this American Reaction I speak of is only our awakening. And our new awakening is simply a manifestation of our rapid growth & development of an identity on levels unseen in this human history. Could our reaction be an aspect of this new awakening we are experiencing on mass levels? Could it be just our wake-up call in a dream of our making? Could it be a transitory phase of mass ignorance? Let's be honest: There is SO MUCH happening in our world, it is very difficult to keep up with a lot it, so naturally a lot will be missed and a lot we just don't know. But do we really need to know a lot of that stuff? Because we don't know about it, you can see how our reactive behavior becomes a part of our lifestyle, and how it is becoming 'food for action.' And as I began to see it more and more, I walked away feeling this 'gap' inside as though I was stuck in a human-made tornado in a bottle. 'Okay that was great! Now what do we do now?,' I would ask myself walking away from such conversational highs. I didn't know what to do. I had to tend to business as usual. I had my own challenges. What could I say? What can I say? And that is what this American Reaction thing is about: after you have gotten pissed off at the world, the Presidents, your boss, the new restricive laws, the politics, the religions, the wars, the conspiracies, THEN WHAT? What do you do? And that is why I'm writing this blog. Are you stuck in the American Reaction? Are you tired of hearing about this and that and feeling emptiness and hopelessness? Are you feeling depressed, angry, or anxious about things in your life? other people's lives? Maybe there is another of looking at it. Maybe I don't see it right now. How do you feel about this? What do you think about that? It's not that difficult to get people to become street commentators about what's going on in the world. Just get a camera and a microphone. Media does it all the time. Oh, and YouTube. Robert Fritz in his bestselling book, The Path of Least Resistance: "Most people think that if you move from reacting against the circumstances you are in to responding to the circumstances you are in, you have made progress. Society itself has the goal of people responding appropriately to norms, manners, rules, ideals, common wisdom, and so on. While reacting seems different from responding, the causal power is exactly the same: the circumstances." Fritz believes when we are reacting to circumstances we are not creating. We believe circumstances dominate our lives. So we never truly create what matters because we are reacting to what is rather create what we want. And in America, there is a dominant cultural paradoxical belief: we create our own destinies & we don't create our lives-certain powers that be are in control, and so we have no choice but to go along and yet if we work hard enough we can create the 'best life.' Our reaction represents no choices, no freedom, and so we become ignorant of our power, and helpless members of a godless race. But I don't buy it. I am not going to live in the American Reaction even though its becoming more commonplace. I am not going to sit by and simply comment on world events or celebrity-talk any longer. If people want to do that, and it makes them feel good, then fine. There is a whole market for commentatorism. I'm watching fragments of events each day now but more importantly, I'm noticing my body as I listen and watch those events. How does my body feel as I hear the latest news? What happens inside my mind? What emotions are present? Unplugging from a lot of stuff 'out there' and plugging more to what's 'in here' is part of the awakening. That's promising. And refreshing to know!

Live Free And Silly!

I am free to be me. I am free to be me.
I live free. And feel silly.
I am free to choose my life.
I think free.
I create my own history.
I create my own life.
I am not a husband,
And I don't own a wife.
I define my own universe.
Here I am. Living, breathing,
Knowing, going, creating,
Flowing.
I am what I choose to be.
Free. I like me.
I am a different history.
I am free to be me.
I am free to be me.
I am free to be me.
Nothing defines me:
Religion, medicine, education, race,
Politics, and all those human things.
I am what I choose to be.
I am that I am.
I am soul living as flesh.
But I am soul more than flesh.
Can you find me? I have no history.
Not in books, tv, movies, magizines,
I am not a mystery. Simply breathe
And you will see. I am. Feel. I am. Real.
A silly self you see.
I am many things, many worlds, many places,
Living among boys and girls.
Beautiful creation. An imperfect perfect design.
In my time I live with an open mind
In this world, as body, my soul evolves,
Expanding, knowing, showing, growing, flowing,
Unto the further reaches of humanity,
Rising I am not a mystery.
I am the river. I am the mountains.
I am the sky. I am the sun. I am the light.
I am the earth. I am you.
I am me. I am that I am.
I am what I choose to be.
I am feeling the silly
Just breathe and fly with me.
And live free!

Messages from The Goatheads: How Small Things Can Make A Big Difference

How can something so small teach you something so BIG? Well, it can. It happened to me starting years ago when I began riding a bike around the city of Santa Fe. I didn't drive a car so I rode a bike for 12 years. During that time, I had a problem that was very difficult to solve: Goatheads. You probably know them and seen them and even stepped on them yourself. They are these tiny seeds that grow from weeds. I didn't know anything about them until they began showing up in my bicycle tires. Yup. When goathead season arrived I would get a flat tire. And it was annoying. Frustrating. Especially if I had to go work and when I got there I had a flat tire. Sometimes I was near a bicycle shop and take it for a fixing. Other times I had to fix it myself with patches, glue, and all.

But there was something I began to learn each time this goathead thing happened. Awareness. After many flat tires, I began to see that the goatheads were teaching me to be aware of not just where I was going but mostly where I am. Rather than settling for the angry part about the goatheads which is usually the case, I began to watch where I was riding as much as where I was going. And it was difficult for a very long time to maintain such awareness.

And now the goatheads have returned. I don't ride my bike anymore because I drive now. But lately they have been showing up on my front porch and in the house. Because they stick to my shoes, and I walk through the house, the goatheads have returned. Lately, I have been pricked by a goathead and it hurts! There is no blood. There is only a small pain like a needle at a doctor's visit. It is painful. So I told myself, or rather I knew intuitively, that the goatheads had a new message for me again. Be aware. And that's what they are teaching me. To be aware of the ground beneath but not afraid. Pay attention to its beauty.

How can something so small teach me something so BIG? It can. It will. Just pay attention to the little things. They have a lot to teach you, and share with you. I didn't get this at first because I believed I was being punished, or that I was having a bad day, but it was nothing personal towards me. That was the first thing I needed to learn. And the second thing: the gift of Nature.

The smallest things in Nature can make a big difference. Goatheads, bugs, flowers, plants, leaves, snowflakes, raindrops, stones, and every small creature can bring a great shift in our awareness of self.

The message from the goatheads is that "We are small, yet we are important just as much as the house you live in, the water you drink, the clothes you wear, the pets you play with, and the stones you love."

Knowing this makes a huge difference in how I see goatheads now, and in a larger sense, LIFE. I see that small things can make a big difference. They can make us see things we don't usually see, feel things we may not like to feel, and do things even that we may not prefer to do.

I notice them now. I sense them outside and inside. Sometimes they surprise me. But I'm not angry like I used to be.

Eating In My Dreams & Waking Up Full: The Power Of Dream Recall

"Dreaming is the vehicle that brings dreamers to this world."-Carlos Castaneda

When my grandmother passed away many years ago, I was in perhaps the first biggest grief stages in my life. I never liked the idea of seeing people alive I know and love, and then seeing them in a casket. I know its a part of life but something didn’t click with me on that. And I cared for her dearly even though I regret waiting until she left this world to show her how much I appreciated. But months later I had a dream. In the dream, I saw her face and the same dress she was buried in: a pink one. She was smiling and surrounded in great white light. She didn’t say a word. And that was last time I saw her.

I woke up feeling a sense of relief, a fullness within, and knowing that we live beyond this world. That was a really great dream.

I study dreams now more than ever. I keep a dream journal and I travel back into my journal and I study them more. I don't read dream symbol books, or join dream recall clubs, or chat online about dreams but that's not to say there is no value in them. I just find it helpful that I study them privately and see what my dreams to me rather than what someone else says they me. And I have been interested in dream mastery for many years now. I want to know more about life, reality, God, the universe, and myself. Perhaps you are someone like me who wants to get more in touch with the shaman within.

For example, I had a dream a few weeks ago where I was being chased by a dinosaur-like creature around a cage. It was a big reptile and we were running around the cage. I never caught it. It never caught me. That's all I remember. What does it mean? Okay I'm running away from this big creature Godzilla monster-of-a-kind and I saw the dream as a deeper statement about my own feelings about the American system. I grew up on Godzilla films and I subconsciously have stored and identified that image as a symbol of the system as a monster that wants to eat me for lunch and the cage is the prison. Pretty simple to understand huh? At least for me!

Then there is a dream I had after I made a suggestion about past life information. I was standing in this dark alley like space surrounded by large eggs-yeah, the kind you see in those creepy sci-fi movies. Well, I was standing among them when there was this eery noise coming from the eggs and I sensed these creatures were going to eat me for lunch. Again! YIKES!! I don't know what it means in relation to past lives but I know it was creepy. I woke up really fast from that one.

But all is not hopeless in my world of dreaming. Once I had a dream where I was in a cafe crowded with people. I was waiting to meet a man and woman. We were seated at the last table available & reserved in a tight corner of the cafe. I asked them, "Who are you?" And they responded, "We are Together." They decoded the familar word as 'We are to-get-her." I woke up thinking WOW! I've never heard that before: TO GET HER. And I understood it to mean I am here to get the Goddess and remember her ways. To get her, to receive the feminine, and to express the beauty and power of Her. It was a beautiful response to thoughts I was having at the time.

So like I was saying, I am constantly experimenting and view dreams as opportunties for me to develop and explore my soul beyond the physical realms. Whether I am being chased by strange creatures, running around nude on colledge campus, flying through skies, falling into infinity, sitting in a cafe with a couple of strangers, or boarding supertravel machines, dreams are celestial meals for the soul. They offer us a filling that we cannot get in this world and that is why they are important. And even if you don't study your dreams, then you can learn. There are many books and tapes that can teach you.

See, I like knowing that dreams can be a useful tool as they were in ancient cultures & times. I like knowing that I can contact someone that is either dead or haven't seen in a while, or they contact me in dreams. I like knowing that I can do things that are impossible in our world like walking through walls, receive an answer to my burning questions, or confront my darkest thoughts & feelings-and still WAKE UP. I like knowing that I am guided and can remember so much about things I'd forgotten.

Dreams are an excellent vehicle to travel across space-time and beyond: I can go back to old neighborhoods even though I’m no longer there. I can meet people I’ve never met before. I can put pieces of my soul puzzle together. I can let that problem that I worried about so much act itself out in my dreams and I will wake up with an understanding I never had before. I find dreams as more than just brain chemicals acting up or hallucinations or psychological ramblings. They are access to to inner worlds that helps create our world. They are the juice of the soul’s fruit.

We spend 1/3rd of our lives sleeping they say. That’s a whole lot of dreaming and information that can be used to make conscious decisions in our world. Dreams can be a magical wand that helps us create the 'dream life.' They can be portals to ancient mysteries and questions we seek to answer & understand. Dreams can become once again the inner technology for exploration and adventure.

In my dreams I am enjoying a nocturnal gourmet meal that is well-prepared. And when I wake up, breakfast is simply my dessert…and then who knows what’s next? A dream lunch?Viva Los Suenos! Viva Los Suenos! Long live the dreams! Long live the dreams!

Light A Candle!: How To Change The World From Your Couch

Don't wait until 'it' happens. Someone is sick. Or someone you know is dying or has died. Or you hear the latest tragic news report. Don't wait until things get bad in the world. Please, don't wait! Yes, You. I'm writing this to you 'out there' whom I don't know. Yes, you: that brave, hard-working, sensitive caring soul who wants to learn, grow, develop, and master yourself as you support and help others in the world. How do you change the world from your couch?

First let me say this: It's just an IDEA. You don't have to DO anything really. So this is just an IDEA. Nothing religious. Or spiritual...and perhaps you may say "MAURICE I'M ALREADY DOING IT!" or "I DON'T REALLY CARE, IT'S NONE OF MY BUSINESS!" and I would agree with you: what you believe about what works for you, works for you. Now on with the story:

I won't bore you with all the details. But it began after a healing session I gave a client. It just came to me. It was something about 'Lighting a candle at home' for her family & friends. But I didn't take it literally. So I thought about it as I went home. 'Light a candle' 'Light a candle' 'Light a candle'. I thought about it. And thought about it. And I thought about it.

Then it happened. I decided I would take a small sheet of paper. And write down the names of people I know(including myself) who I felt could use healing energies: friends, family, strangers-didn't really matter. Now 3 weeks have passed since I have been lighting a candle in my house-for healing purpose. I don't have to wait for people to die, or something awful to happen in order for me to change, and 'be grateful for life' as I so often hear. I don't have to wait for the blessings from a god, neither approval from a medical board, or certification to change the world from my couch! I can make things happen just from the intention. So I light a candle every day now. I write the names of people who are struggling with many challenges. And not just people: people with variousn challenges, animals, Nature, cities, nations, and businesses.

So today I'm lighting a candle for You. I'm lighting a candle for Us. I'm lighting a candle for this world. I'm lighting a candle for the joy, pain, sorrow, abused, the enslaved, the restless, the enlightened, the rich, the poor, the miserable, the homeless, the sick, the animals, plants, food, Mother Nature, and the entire planet. We can change the world from our couch. As we are sitting there with a bowl of ice cream in our hands, having a nice gourmet meal, a pint of beer, or a glass of wine, we can simultaneously change the world. We can do miracles. We can heal ourselves in a new way. Doesn't take 'bad' things to happen in order for to appreciate the 'good.' We can make a difference in the world, consciously, and enjoy life. Change can happen in creative happens. That's the joy that comes from real change.

Do you need a couch? NO...but we will talk about that later...remember we are talking ideas...and ideas are ideas!

So go ahead...light a candle now....for the ones you love, your neighbors, your community, your state, your country...for the animals, Nature, deceased, the newborns, the planets...the universes...and yes, for yourself...light one for yourself and have fun...and let your whole being be filled with this Light! Thank you!!!

Outrageous Moment: A Literary Portrait

Defining life without words
Knowing yourself without thinking
Living courageously without a thought
Loving with both mind and heart
Feeling without expecting
Thinking without guessing
Being as you are becoming
Leaving as you are going
Standing as you are being still
Thinking only from what you feel
Outrageous moment without a past
Having a future that does not last
Inside a present that holds true
Your outrageous self, the outrageous You!

Prayertude: A Song Of Freedom For All Time

Let there be Love today. Let there be Joy.
Let there be Blessings for girl and boy.
Let there be Light. Let there be Peace.
Let there be Freedom. Let there be Release.
Let there be Silence. Let there be Allowance.
Let there be Song. Let there be Dance.
Let Faith leads us into a world beyond chance.
Let there be Power. Let there be Strength.
Let there be Awareness. Let there be Present.
Let there be Redemption. Let there be Harmony.
Let there be You & all of Me,
Standing in the presence of Love’s amazing grace,
Living in the light of Joy’s face
As an Infinite being
Living in our power
Eternal in our seeing.

We are One.
Living. Learning. Loving
As we explore many dimensions of
Our souls.
We are One.
We are One.
We are the prayer of our souls.
We are Explorers through time-space.
We are One.
We are a magnificent species,
We are the human race.
We are learning about ourselves.
We are growing with Grace.

Let us speak our truth & always hear
Let us stand besides each other
Let us hold each other dear.
No matter what life & world we choose
Let us learn from All around
The many selves, many lives
In our hearts with love
We found.

And remember our hearts and minds
Is guided by a Law of Trust
Forgotten so long time ago,
It fill our hearts with Courage
On a destiny we pursue to know.

So be thankful for life!
Be thankful for love!
Thank you! Thank you!
For all there is
Below & above.