LESS EGO / MORE SOUL

Dear World,

Happy New Year!

I know I’ve been rather quiet these past few months, but its been important for me to get away from this cyber trance and get dirty with experience so that my words actually hold some relevance and meaning.

So, in November I set off around Australia again - this time exploring the NSW Hunter Valley, Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road, and the Mornington Peninusla. To top it all off, I spent my new years, closing the year full circle at ConFest (where I also started 2011). It was so great to connect here with so many of the beautiful people who have coloured my journey this year. It’s  also been so refreshing to spend a lot of this time close to nature, sleeping in my hammock under the stars again. I have no doubt this year is going to be a good one!

Already I have a year of gypsetting travel planned, starting in February with a tour of Tasmania. Later this year will see me returning to Peru to dive back into the depths of Amazonia as I look to learn as much as I can about traditional shamanic healing and working with superfoods and other plant medicines. I’ve also got plans to witness the desert madness of Burning Man, reconnect with old friends in San Francisico and explore Central America.

Just a heads up – this will mean irregular blog posts, so don’t be surprised if I dissolve into silence for a while. However, if you would like to keep in touch, take a moment now to subscribe to the blog (by entering your email in the box, top right). This way you can rest assured that I will always resurface in your inbox at a later date as your subscription to my journal will send new blog posts directly to you.  This will save you from having to check back here.

You can also keep up to date by friending  the Less Ego / More Soul page on Facebook or following me on twitter @JivenyBlairWest.

Wishing you a great year ahead – may it make you feel alive and awake and manifest all the wild and joyous dreams of your own divine imagination.

Love, Jiveny

Hola,

This week has been a busy one and I sadly haven’t found a moment to write.

So it is, you might like to take this opportunity to delve into some of my archived posts.

Here are five I recommend:

The Fisherman

Unconditional Love

The Loss of Childhood Innocence

Enough

The Calf Path

Aloha beautiful people!

So I’ve been off exploring the world again, which in turn has meant fewer posts – but quality over quantity right?

If you want to keep up to date, why not sign up for live updates either via email (just click subscribe on the top right hand nav bar), RSS, twitter or facebook.

I promise no spam & it’ll save you having to remember to check back every once and a while.

Also, I’m open to questions, comments and feedback, so if you have something to share, email me at kaplo@live.com.au and I promise to respond!

~NAMASTE~

People will give up almost anything to become enlightened. Anything that is, except the idea that they are not yet enlightened.

We were born enlightened. And then we chose to forget.

Why? Because we love a challenge; love a game; love an opportunity to explore – it makes us feel alive.

Many of us like the idea of becoming enlightened, however, as alluring as it may be, it is also deathly frightening.

There is an old well-known tale about a man who approaches a Zen Master and asks to be shown the path to enlightenment.

“Okay, follow me,” the Master replies, and leads the man to a nearby river and into the water.

Without warning the Master pushes the man’s head beneath the rushing river and holds it there as he struggles violently for his life. Just before he loses consciousness the Master pulls the man up, gasping for air.

“When you want to be enlightened as badly as you want to take your next breath, just now, comeback and see me,” says the Master.

This parable poses the question: Do you really yearn to become enlightened more than life itself?

A friend of mine pointed out in a conversation over the weekend, that the more we become ‘enlightened’ the more vulnerable we are to becoming depressed. I see his point. After all, it can be a pretty lonely path to wander, where one is often judged and misunderstood. And, as one begins to see through the illusions that our current society is based upon, we are often left with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.

Another aspect of the division that also holds us back is our own reluctance to claim our own personal power. After all, it is not the fear of failure that scares our ego most – but often, the fear of success. For then who would we be? What would we seek? And what kind of overwhelming responsibility would the claiming of our own infinite power entail?

This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t seek personal or spiritual growth; but the caveat here is that many seem to view enlightenment as the final destination. Following this view, we might find ourselves projecting on to it our hopes that ‘if only I were enlightened, I could really be a good person and be happy’.

Once we stop viewing enlightenment in this way, we can begin to enjoy the journey of self-exploration as it should be – without obligation or ambition.

And the best part is, there is no need to ‘give up’ anything. After all, true enlightenment does not come from depriving ourselves from our vices, but from letting go of that which no longer serves you when the time is right.

The difference here is that you will “set aside these things as a child sets aside toys. Not because they are unworthy, but because you have outgrown them.”

In the meantime, try not to judge yourself for taking pleasure in the material world.

You’re only human after all.

Perhaps true unconditional love is the ability to love oneself (or another) despite – not because of – one’s blessings.

Without the things you love about yourself, who would you be?

To the same extent, without your failures who would you be?

What does it mean to love someone despite their blessings?

To not take into account “why” you love them?

To love for no reason?

To not-love?

Notes to self:

Stop trying to impress yourself.

Okay is what you are.

See how you are trying to win the love of your higher self through creating a particular image of “who” you are?

This is the core of the ego.

And yet your higher-self, the one you seek to please, is the observer, smiling down at you with love no matter what you choose to do as you experience the human condition – man’s search for  meaning, for reason, for acceptance.

You have nothing to prove.

I used to mentally beat myself up in the vain hope that it would inspire the change that I wished to see in myself. But now I understand how this was the wrong way to go about it.

Forgiveness heals and for me to more on and grow I first need to accept what is. Then, from that place of observation (not judgement) I may chose who I would like to be next.

You see real change does not come from fear of punishment through inspired self-hate. Change comes from love and a clear, observing mind, motivated by simply acknowledgeing what works and what does not.

I AM THAT I AM.

“Life in a word is change”.

Thinking about things I want to change in myself or in my life or have sought to change in the past I wonder why it can be so difficult to let go of old habits.

One theory I have is that often, we are simply too afraid of the unknown to let go of our usual routine – even when we consciously know it is not serving us.

Perhaps we fear that in giving up the familiar we are giving up pleasure – after all, to a degree our habits are formed on the premise that they will in some ways bring more pleasure and joy into our lives. We are wired to seek pleasure – consciously or not. Unfortunately this can often result in mindless over-indulgence in the pleasures of the body (e.g. food, sex, alcohol). We do so for instant gratification, ignoring the fact that more often than not, less is more.

The fact is we are a tri-part being – mind, body and soul. And when we focus our attention on only one aspect –  the pleasures of the body, for instance –  we are neglecting the other two parts of our true self. The key here is to understand that there is nothing wrong with indulging in the pleasures of the body, but it is important to find balance in life through inviting the mind and the soul to join in on the experience.

An example: When you eat mindlessly you are body focused. You are tricking yourself by thinking ‘this is pleasure’ – but really it is just an idea you have – an idea that you are satisfying your hunger. It is an empty illusion when consumed without intention.

In contrast, when you cook or buy a meal with the intention to share it with good company, or as a nourishing gift to yourself, you invite the soul and the mind to join in on the experience.

Never leave me. Walk close beside me.

Your hand, my hand fits so easy.

No tomorrow, let us stop here. We did some great things or didn’t we?

Dry and dusty; I am a capsule of energy.

You speak softly; we are capsules of energy.

The world as i’ve been told; it would turn, I get money.

And I long for every moment

- Karin Dreijer Andersson, Dry and Dusty

I enjoy life and its many pleasures without guilt.

I surrender to pleasure.

I am present in this moment.
Now. Here. NOWHERE.

I can live with the uncertain, be spontaneous and surrender to the unknown. In this way I invite in the magick of life.

I realise the perfection in enough. I am satisfied with less. I enjoy all things in moderation.

I let go of my obsessions, the stories of my past.

I am present. I am interested in you. I am here to hear your story.

I laugh, I smile, I live, I love, I spread peace, love and light contagiously.

I am generous, whether you appreciate it or not.

I am the master of my mind, the conductor of my body, the friend of my soul.

I accept myself. I forgive myself. I love myself.

I am a passionate lover. I sing and I dance unashamedly as I express my joy.

I see through the maya, letting go of unnecessary thoughts.

I travel lightly, I tread lightly on this earth, honouring the source with each step.

I am open to all teachings of the collective wisdom of the universe.

I recognise failure as an illusion.

I am honest.

I am that.
I am I.
I am also you, he, she and it.
We are all one.

LESS HUMAN / MORE BEING

LESS EGO /  MORE SOUL

NAMASTE