What if We Can Transform Before We Die? - Dr. Zach Bush

SUSTAINABLE HUMAN

Solitude vs Loneliness In Our Pandemic

Commentary by TLB Contributing Writer: Ken LaRive

This virus has taught us something profound, and what that is is a reflection of what motivates us. We have spent some rare moments alone, and some have come away with depression, feelings of negative isolation, while others have found a sense of self-worth, with an elevated and positive revelation. Everything is attitude, isn’t it? While a lot of people ate and drank excessively, becoming a couch potato, others studied, exercised, and lost weight… some stayed at their businesses and tried to save them in methods that had never occurred to them before…

“Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the world of loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.” -Paul Tillich

We all have known loneliness. Those who know it well, know it isn’t just being alone, but a negative state of mind. It can be a dull sense that something is missing, or that something is not quite right, and it saps both joy and happiness from our lives. It is in fact a form of depression.

It can be described as a hungry feeling, and dull empty mood deep inside, and this is the primary reason people gorge themselves with food, take drugs, or smoke. They want to fill that void.

Being alone has nothing to do with loneliness, as we can feel alone in a crowded room, even with friends and family, and this might be the most bitter form of loneliness of all.

So let’s start off with a broad, and yet very unexplored statement that we have been taught: solitude is chosen, and loneliness is not.

We are taught that solitude is a state of being alone, without being lonely, that it can produce a positive and fulfilling state. That with time, it can construct an opportunity to replenish both mind and spirit. It is a state where we can depend on ourselves entirely for both company and motivation, and all of our decisions too. Yes, there is truth here, but an important factor must be considered… both loneliness and solitude are choices.

It is often stated that loneliness is a burden others impose on us, but the reason for this truth mostly alludes us, and it is a very important concept. Loneliness, you see, is the affect of relinquishing responsibility for self, and is the power that we have given to others, trustworthy or not. It is the control we have given them to impose their state of being on us. The old adage, “No one can hurt you unless you let them.” is a classic example of how loneliness can grip our hearts, souls and minds. And just as loneliness stems from the relinquishment of responsibility, so too does solitude create it. Now stop here and take pause…One cannot be lonely and accept responsibility of self. Loneliness is an inability to cope, whereas the responsibility we learn in solitude, if we so choose, is the ability to cope.

Your solitude might suggest peacefulness, an inner dialogue stemming from a state of inner richness, but there is no guarantee. A quiet surrounding does not mean it will quell a noisy and cluttered mind, in fact, it may have just the opposite effect. One might think that solitude is refreshing, an opportunity to renew and replenish ourselves, but there is no assurance this will occur. You see, first off, there must be a place that you have previously developed inside of your mind, a quiet place, a place you can withdraw into or from… It is doubtful that this can be developed in a solitude experience, and those who do not previously possess it, or realize how to access it, may become more confused, and disoriented… Some people are just too dependent on outside influences…

(CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING)

Global Days of Unity

Global Days of Unity is a unifying field for all forces, voices and expressions of love to co-create a whole that transcends the sum of its parts. It’s an invitation for the community of love and consciousness to come together on the 3rd weekend of every month to infuse the collective field with vibrations of Unity, Peace and Love.

Change will not come to us, it will come through us when we are awake to the fullness of who we are and connected to the fundamental truth of oneness. As we change, the world will change. Infusing the collective field with energies of love is the beginning of a new humanity.

The time is now…

Not marching, not fighting, and not legislating, but co-creating an intentional energetic impact. Wherever you are, let us co-create an ever growing circle of connection from all across the earth to resonate, amplify and infuse the field of consciousness with vibrations of Unity, Peace and Love.

This isn’t a one-off moment of mediation. This is the moment that so many of us have been longing for; the beginning of an unprecedented shift in consciousness which creates the spaciousness for a whole new paradigm to emerge.

We all have a role to play, and we are all needed.

While actions are essential, transformation will only come when we first transform ourselves and allow our actions to rise out of this new energetic reality.

This is about the courage to fly together on the wings of the unknown and the humility to co-discover the unimaginable.

Welcome home.

GLOBAL DAYS OF UNITY

My Refrigerator

So I’ve been watching this whole drama unfold around the COVID-19 issue and it looks to me like an opportunist grab for power by technocrats. A lot of people are suffering both illness and economic disaster while those holding the reins steer us over an Orwellian cliff. it has brought to my thinking that at some point I may have to choose to go against the grain. Again. Oh well...

There’s a phenomenon I have recently been witnessing in my refrigerator in correlation to how strong and healthy I feel. Given the fact that I am self-isolating, but on my own little food forest near a very Tico community in the mountains of Costa Rica, I could say having the best weather in the world has been helpful. But the thing with the refrigerator also correlates with a decided, but gradual, change in my diet over the last several years since I’ve live in the land of Pura Vida.

In my refrigerator right now, is a jar of red cabbage kraut, made by friend Rivka. Also in my refrigerator is a jug of homemade mango kombucha. Also some green papaya ceviche marinaded in fresh orange and lime juices from my garden. Also, are two jars of sedated sourdough starter wild captured here by my son Sean, and it wants out of the jar. There is home-made mango chutney and pickled ginger. My refrigerator is an incubator for the microorganisms that lead to healthy, happy gut/brain/heart functioning and I am fascinated by how that changes my experience of physical health and the implications.

Now I am not a bored certified scientist, but I do read and study a lot of various theories across the board, and do not believe my views are so strange. Something about the consumption of foods that are primarily composed of the microbiome of the area that I live in has caused an upgrade in my functioning and a greater sense of ease with my situation. What I mean is the information that is percolating through my intestinal tract and beyond is telling my body that all is well, that there is no dis-ease, at least in this body.

I am not going to downplay the suffering we all see across the globe. The “totalitarian two-step” is alive and well. Let’s see if there is any way  to change the direction of the dance.

There are many sciences that agree that on a cellular level information exchange is certainly going on and that DNA and RNA are packets of that information. Some would say that genes are maps that can be recoded, and that the environment can cause DNA traits to develop or atrophy. Some nutritional experts would say that what you eat is information that is either in a form the body recognizes and can efficiently utilize, such as an organic raw apple, or doesn’t recognize, like a donut. Science has shown that your body, inside and out, carries trillions of viruses, bacteria, and fungi that outnumber the cells of your body 10 to 1 . That microbial stew pre-digests our food as it travels along the gut. If it encounters an apple, it immediately recognizes it as part of the biome. If it encounters a donut, it reacts with inflammation as if poisoned.

If people realized some simple principles, dis-ease as we know it would cease to exist. 

This consuming of local organic fruits and vegetables especially when fermented, is natural inoculation. This is how the microbial realm becomes no longer dangerous. This is how we make the immune system strong. It is a good reason for breastfeeding and letting your kids play in the dirt.

Considering the world we now live in, it is a good idea to immediately take stock of renewable resources at your disposal, to be as self sufficient as possible. And Costa Rica is very rich in farmland and the farming lifestyle. Everyone is growing something or has some cows. So in the worst case scenario, people will go back to doing what they have all ways done.....rest against Gaia. She provides abundantly. No one will starve. This is good, because all the farmers are local. There are only five million people here, less than the population of Los Angeles. There are cooperativos, that serve the entire community with banking, a market featuring locally grown and produced items, a gas station and repair shop, and membership discounts. It is a bottom up system, and it works.

Where I live, I have a 1/2 acre with a house and various fruiting plants...mango, oranges, limes, guava, bananas, plantain, yucca, chayote, water apple, guanábano, ginger, hibiscus, and coffee. How I got here is part of a mysterious chain of events. But here I am and I am grateful. 

I am moving in the direction of co-creating resilient and sustainable community. I see many gathering together and forming families, guilds and cooperatives that form a cohesive and interdependent village. I see this as a key to humanity’s survival. It is evolving as we speak.

Now back to my refrigerator...

Three days ago the coconut milk stored in there to cream my coffee had turned solid. I tasted it....tangy, like yogurt! I swirled it into a vegetable and lentil stew. Delicious! This is what happens when every little microbe in my refrigerator is happy!

So, my friends, take care of yourselves, take care of your body, and don’t let your fear steer. :-)

Improvisational Relationship

By Suzen

After reading This Article, I came up with a new idea, a new term. I call it “Improvisational Relationship”. I have noticed how in all relationships, we have expectations and concepts about how it is supposed to progress, gleaned from generations of programming. Especially in intimate relationships, we self-sabotage by getting stuck in old ways of communicating that never really connect. The relationship erodes because we are attempting to plug ourselves in old models of relating that do not have any flexibility or ingenuity, no inventiveness or creativity, no spontaneity or aliveness.  So what if we did relationship completely differently, as an exercise in ad-libbing our way through it?

Awareness is the key to this, as is microscopic honesty. It means no hidden agendas or secrets or withheld communications. It means putting all your cards on the table at all times, never anything up your sleeve. And it means a direct commitment every moment to being as conscious as possible and completely responsible for everything going on inside you, including the propensity to project on and blame others for causing uncomfortableness.

So how would this look? Let’s take a very simple example of a situation that could lead to an argument in “normal” circumstances.  Let’s say on partner suggests a meal out, perhaps for Chinese food. And the other partner responds with, “Chinese food? How could you suggest that when you know I hate Chinese food?” Suddenly drama ensues without either party looking at the deeper levels occurring here. How different it would be if partner #2 responded with, “Wow, I am noticing how strong an aversion I have to your suggestion, not only to this idea I have had for a long time that I do not like Chinese food, but also why would someone who loves me suggest something I dislike? I think I need to look at this deeper. Let’s go to that new Chinese restaurant and see if we can maintain our connection while there.”

Now we are in the realm of discovery, of adventure, a willingness to investigate the unknown. And this can’t be a one-way street, it has to be flexible enough to accommodate the testing and expanding of boundaries held by both parties to the experiment.

The point is to live completely in the moment, completely sensitive to and aware of the ways the past tries to elbow in on the present, locking us into previously designed scripts that no longer serve the Love we know we are. Love has no boundaries, no chains, no expectations. It is active, alive, free-flowing, and dynamic. It cannot be captured in a concept, a word, or a belief system. It is like trying to grab and jail the wind.

For generations, we have been inculcated with images and stories and experiences of relationship that often are dysfunctional and distorted, that do not include simple kindness, forgiveness, and affection. Maybe as children we had these experiences, but all too often, as we become grown-ups, this simple and uncomplicated way of relating falls to the wayside and we are caught up in the cultural dogmas of marriage, family, and child-rearing.

My son, Orion, has been involved with a way of exploring improvisation called “Story Games”. These are like role playing games, but live and sometimes fully theatrical, with costumes and props. More often, they are played around a table with a group, beginning with the outline of a situation, and roles and personalities are designed through a role of the dice. It is much like life in how it unfolds for us, where we find ourselves in parts and scenarios that appear unexpectedly and spontaneously. We truly have little control over how life unfolds, as much as we would like to think otherwise. In these games, one finds oneself often exploring and playing out very different facets of our personalities, sometimes encountering in the interactions with others our emotional limitations and boundaries. There is a pre-set agreement in these games that no one is required to act out anything they feel uncomfortable with: there is always a pre-arranged signal to call “time-out” in these circumstances. But most of the time, people are willing to go all the way through out of curiosity and discovery as to how things might play out. It is a fearless and exuberant exploration, sometimes therapeutic in nature, of our relational characteristics. The people who enjoy these games have often explored intimately with each other many possibilities of relating that allow them much more flexibility and leeway in their relational choices. They are not so hemmed in by conventional ways of thinking.

My participation in some of these exercises has stretched my own ideas about myself, especially those labels that confine me to the pre-defined roles of “mother”,  “woman”, and “spiritual”. What are these labels anyway except ways to make static and unchanging something that is part of the dynamic flow of living itself? These words are only useful when pointing to objects as we attempt to constantly fine tune our communications about them. But they ultimately have no objective or subjective meaning, in a world seeking its own evolution and as we individuals strive for liberation.

I am in the active process of discovering where I still harbor old definitions of self, especially in intimate relationships. It cannot be contrived, this feeling my way into the landscape of relating from pure unfathomable consciousness first, allowing myself to discover how it may unfold without attempting to control or manipulate the outcome. The pre-programmed personality must step aside, sometimes unwillingly, in order to allow an unhurried and instinctive developing of events. This primal and original aware self is deeply drawn to encounter this way of Being. There is a raw truth in it, vital and undisguised. It leaves me naked to my very soul, vibrant like a leaf dancing in the wind, in resonance with Life itself. Here is where I meet the Beloved of my Heart, in true celebration of our Oneness.

Bringing this to life in my physical existence, grounding it onto the earth and making it real, seems to be the goal of this lifetime now. Practicing this improvisational relationship in playful, childlike ways is enjoyable and generates much laughter. It is not a serious exercise, but a spirited one. It gets me immediately out of the mind matrix and into the Now. It is the leading edge of life as inventive art, a movement that arises from and increases creativity. It is Joy come alive.

GRATITUDE

Russell Brand - The Only Thing That Matters Is Love