LESS EGO / MORE SOUL

“It is very important to know that I have scattered parts of my body across the world. I cut my nails in Rome, my hair in Holland and Germany. I saw my blood moisten the asphalt of New York and often my sperm fell on French soil in a field of vines near Tours. I have expelled my faeces into rivers on three continents, watered some trees in Spain with my urine and spat in the English Channel and a fjord in Oslo. Once I grazed my face and left some cells attached to a fence in Budapest. These small things – created by me and which I shall never see again – give me a pleasant feeling of omnipresence. I am a small part of the places I have visited, of the landscapes I have seen and that moved me. Besides this, my scattered  parts have a practical use: in my next incarnation I am not going to feel alone or unprotected because something familiar – a hair, a piece of nail, some old, dried spit – will always be close by . I have sown my seed in several places on this earth because I don’t know where I will one day be reborn.” - Paulo Coelho

1. Retire now.
2. Understand that happiness is more important than money and money is more important than power (over). Power over separates; money is a mere vehicle and happiness is what you are truly here for.
3. Ask questions with an open and honest agenda
4. Eat when you are hungry – what you want, when you want / honour your body.
5. Don’t say “I tried” just to look like you are doing something
6. Know that being a good, decent, respectable person does not mean others will see you as weak, unless you buy into that perception.
7. Seek to tell the truth.
8. Don’t commit to engagements you may not keep.
9. Love others and let them know why.
10. Enjoy being the best “you” that you can be.
11. Be satisfied with enough.
12. Don’t complain to manipulate.
13. Enjoy your own company & make time for yourself.
14. Question the world; write your own answers.

YOU ARE ALIVE SO LIVE.

There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas  reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.

Someone you haven’t met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.

Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that willchange how you look at life.

Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.

A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”

Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you. Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favourite food is, and treat you to a movie. Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free.

Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.

The next great song is being rehearsed.

Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.

Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.

Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they’ll be thriving like never before. They just can’t see it from where they’re at.

Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to ARRIVE, will get precisely what they want — and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it’s reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all “So worth the wait.“

Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche — this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.

Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.

Someone is fighting the fight so that you don’t have to.

Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe. Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.

Someone is regaining their sanity. Someone is coming back from the dead. Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable. Someone is curing the incurable.

You. Me. Some. One. Now.

- Words by Danielle LaPorte, Author of the White Hot Truth.

I overheard on the news the other day of the pope “the person many believe is god’s representative on earth”.

People; do you realise that we are all god’s representatives on earth?

: not finish reading books that you’re not really enjoying. Don’t force it, close it.

: walk out of movies that suck (and hey, if you leave in the first twenty minutes, you can get your money back.)

: let it go to voicemail (especially during dinner, or snuggling, or watchingSo You Think You Can Dance?)

: give birthday gifts anytime of the year (which means you can be late or early and you can give yourself time to find just the right gift.)

: talk shit about WalMart (even if they do have the economic power of a small country.)

: cut the obligations cords that are driven by guilt.***

: pursue your own agenda.

: own next to nothing, live on a mattress, read and write and make love all day with no other responsibilities***

: return crappy products to their crappy manufacturers (because you can vote with your dollars.)

: leave your current business model so you can go do something bigger than you***

: tell your kids when you think that something an authority figure told them is bullshit (you need to be in solidarity with your child, not the so-called grown ups.)

: quit your job, even if you just started two weeks ago, or just got a raise, or are seemingly indispensable.

: get yourself off even, if you have a partner.

: have some secrets.

: cut out the elements of your business that you don’t totally LOVE. The parts that 90% of the time make you say, “WHY am I doing this? I don’t WANT to do this.”***

: give away/recycle/get rid of stuff, stuff, stuff sentimental stuff that special people gave you (your home is for you, not them); stuff that doesn’t make you feel good even, if you spent a lot of money on it; stuff that has intense memories attached to it; stuff!

: say no to “free” stuff, like swag bags at fancy events and novelty erasers and pom-pom pens from the bank. (Because the only thing in life that’s free is love.)

: fail, and fail again.

: to succeed, wildly, more than your neighbours, more than your folks, more than you thought was possible.

: be rich and “spiritual”

: be broke AND generous

: leave work early, get some ice cream, and sit in the hot tub at the gym***

: charge what you’re worth***

: focus more on creating your soul job and less on finding a ho’ job.***

: sleep! sleep in, nap, sleep.

: earn a living knitting for charity.***

: relax. To let go of the growing to-do list in your head. To release the need to get it “just right.”***

: to dance.

: go bra-less or underwear free.

: give it all to charity.

: check your email whenever the hell you want.

: start now, without the degree, without the funding, without knowing exactly where you’re going.

: sell your house to afford a big trip to India (a friend of mine did just that, no regrets.)

: walk away.

: fall in love.

: eat dessert first.

- Words stolen from here

“I begin to see that I live torn between two realities. On the one hand, there is the reality of my existence on the earth, which limits me in time and space, with all its threats and opportunities for satisfaction. On the other hand, there is a reality of being that is beyond this existence, a reality for which I have nostalgia.”

– The Reality of Being by Madame Jeanne de Salzmann

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.
As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”

The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
“I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”

The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?”
The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”

A classic Brazilian story, probably also present in other cultures. Someone found the English version, but I could not identify the translator – Reblogged from Paulo Coelho’s blog.

There is an old Huna saying: energy flows where attention goes.

It highlights the importance of staying in the present moment because if your thoughts go out the window and into the future, so does your energy. As a result one loses the moment as they are not present to reap the benefits.

Remember, you are experiencing now what you were desiring only moments before.

So enjoy it!

I liked this so much I thought I’d repost it for you:

Be like a river – March 4, 2010 – Paulo Coelho

“A river never passes the same place twice,” says a philosopher. “Life is like a river,” says another philosopher, and we draw the conclusion that this is the metaphor that comes closest to the meaning of life. Consequently, it is always good to remember during all the year to come:

A] We are always doing things for the first time. While we move between our source (birth) to our destination (death), the landscape will always be new. We should face these novelties with joy, not with fear – because it is useless to fear what cannot be avoided. A river never stops running.

B] In a valley we walk slower. When everything around us becomes easier, the waters grow calm, we become more open, fuller and more generous.

C] Our banks are always fertile. Vegetation only grows where there is water. Whoever comes into contact with us needs to understand that we are there to give the thirsty something to drink.

D] Stones should be avoided. It is obvious that water is stronger than granite, but it takes time for this to happen. It is no good letting yourself be overcome by stronger obstacles, or trying to fight against them – that is a useless waste of energy. It is best to understand where the way out is, and then move forward.

E] Hollows call for patience. All of a sudden the river enters a sort of hole and stops running as joyfully as before. At such moments the only way out is to count on the help of time. When the right moment comes the hollow fills up and the water can flow ahead. In the place of the ugly, lifeless hole there now stands a lake that others can contemplate with joy.

F] We are one. We were born in a place that was meant for us, which will always keep us supplied with enough water so that when confronted with obstacles or depression we have the necessary patience or strength to move forward. We begin our course in a soft and fragile manner, where even a simple leaf can stop us. Nevertheless, as we respect the mystery of the source that gave us life, and trust in His eternal wisdom, little by little we gain all that we need to pursue our path.

G] Although we are one, soon we shall be many. As we travel on, the waters of other springs come closer, because that is the best path to follow. Then we are no longer just one, but many – and there comes a moment when we feel lost. However, as the Bible says, “all rivers flow to the sea.” It is impossible to remain in our solitude, no matter how romantic that may seem. When we accept the inevitable encounter with other springs, we eventually understand that this makes us much stronger, we get around obstacles or fill in the hollows in far less time and with greater ease.

H] We are a means of transportation. Of leaves, boats, ideas. May our waters always be generous, may be always be able to carry ahead everything or everyone that needs our help.

I] We are a source of inspiration. And so, let us leave the final words to the Brazilian poet, Manuel Bandeira:

“To be like a river that flows

silent through the night,

not fearing the darkness and

reflecting any stars high in the sky.

And if the sky is filled with clouds,

the clouds are water like the river, so

without remorse reflect them too”