LESS EGO / MORE SOUL

“Awake.

Shake dreams from your hair
my pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
the day’s divinity
First thing you see.

A vast radiant beach and cooled jeweled moon
Couples naked race down by it’s quiet side
And we laugh like soft, mad children
Smug in the wooly cotton brains of infancy
The music and voices are all around us.

Choose they croon the Ancient Ones
the time has come again
choose now, they croon
beneath the moon
beside an ancient lake

Enter again the sweet forest
Enter the hot dream
Come with us
everything is broken up and dances.

Indians scattered,
On dawn’s highway bleeding
Ghosts crowd the young child’s,
Fragile eggshell mind

We have assembled inside,
This ancient and insane theater
To propagate our lust for life,
And flee the swarming wisdom of the streets.

The barns have stormed
The windows kept,
And only one of all the rest
To dance and save us
From the divine mockery of words,
Music inflames temperament.

Ooh great creator of being
Grant us one more hour,
To perform our art
And perfect our lives.”

- Jim Morrison, Ghost Song

Whether you choose to drink a small coffee or large coffee,

drink skim milk, full cream or green tea,

indulge in drugs & alcohol

or enjoy a life of purity,

let your choices be an expression of who you are

& NOT tainted with the guilt or burden

of thinking that by dimming your light,

you could possibly make another feel better.

The Buddhists are known to practice the art of non-confirmation.

This means they refrain from giving and seeking confirmation of one’s words, of one’s actions and of one’s self.

By doing so, they forge their own path toward freedom.

No longer are they caught up with the illusions of the external world, warping their truth and distracting their presence.

No longer are they governed by their ego, vying to gain power-over through the portrayal of a particular image of self.

Instead, they are left – at first, quite uncomfortably – with only the judgment of their own mind and the guidance of their own moral compass.

And this is where the magic happens…
Where one really gets to know themselves,
Where one is cordially invited commune with their soul;
To discover what it is they truly ache for and pursue it with passion and reckless abandon.

Why do we fear ourselves?

Why do we doubt ourselves?

Why do we question our own judgment?

Why do we think, for one second, that another could possibly tell us how to live our own lives any better than by the guidance of our own hearts?

Why are we so afraid to take the reins; to claim our decisions as our own?

Because if we were “wrong” than who’d be to blame?

If we “failed”, than how would we recover from such a loss of face?

But think about it, has life ever thrown you something you couldn’t handle?

You might think so, but you’re still here; you survived.

At worst you might have wound up a little bruised and battered.

Embarrassed perhaps… But you recovered and you evolved.

Acknowledge the state of your physical body (the sacred vessel of your spirit) as a symbolic sculpture of the life you lead.

If you love your life then why not worship your body – whatever its size, whatever its shape?

Regardless of where it fits in cotrast to society’s view of beauty and ideals, if life feels good then change your perceptions to embrace its unique perfection.

And, if life feels bad change your existence – not to meet the expectations of others, or emulate what is sold as a valuable depiction of “success”.

No, change it to meet your soul’s yearning for love, for connection, for joy, for contentment, for exploration, for thrills and  for memories of delicious moments well spent.

Because life is supposed to feel good and who could ever definitively judge what a feeling looks like?

We tell ourselves lies: “if only I was ______, then I could be happy.”

Recognise that your quality of life would actually be no better; albeit perhaps a little less weighed down by your crying consciousness and the judgement that governs these lies.

When you were a child you never thought this way.

You’ve been conditioned to believe that you are not enough and after so many years you’re now using these lies as excuses; because you would find it too uncomfortable to actually cross the finish line.

What would you do with all that power; with all that responsibility?

Ignore the lies and focus on being happy first. Then decide if what you wanted was really ever that important.

Don’t give up on things. Even when you think you can’t take another second. We are strong; it is our minds that are weak, tricking us into falling short of our potential. Why? Because it is not the fear of failure that scares our ego most; it is the fear of success - of claiming our own personal power, and with that, the fear of the unknown.

True alchemy lies in being able to recognise the possibilities that lie before us. To feel limitless opportunities existing, beyond time and space; just waiting to be expressed.

Understanding this, a true alchemist learns to consciously direct their energy – with gratitude – towards the most desirable outcome. This is the art of manifestation.

They are patient, taking the time to listen to their environment; to interpret life’s symbolism and to connect with the collective consciousness.

The have learnt to surrender to the now, to see beyond the illusion of “reality” and to adapt to the present situation – no matter the experience.

They see the space between the clutter and fear not its influence.

They do not dread pain, nor seek to avoid or dissolve it. Instead, they hold space for it, recognising that without pain, there would be no experience and no reference point for rapture.

And so, with non-attatchment they walk forward secure. Knowing that there is enough and that they are enough – just as they are.

- Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements