‘You’ Are A Miracle!

*YOU HAVE A LOT TO BE GRATEFUL FOR. For a start you’re alive. You are not starving to death somewhere. You have plenty to eat and clean water to drink. You have a roof over your head. There are countless other things that you should be grateful for but here is something else to think about.

You are on a massive rock orbiting around an even more massive ball of fire at a speed of 108,000 kph. The sun itself is whirling along the outskirts of the galactic arm at a rate of 792,000 km/h, and our Milky Way galaxy itself is moving at almost 1 million kph.

Nobody knows what caused the universe, why it is here, why or how consciousness exists, or how life formed out of  inert matter. There are many beliefs as to our origins, of how it all came about and we do wonder if there’s an Intelligence behind it all?

THE MOST AMAZING FACT!

Whatever your beliefs may be, here is the most amazing fact of all - 13.6 billion years of star formation and destruction, of chemical evolution, of biological evolution, of countless miraculous events that led to the formation of planets, moons, and ultimately to conscious beings took place so that YOU could experience this moment - Right Now!

The universe went through all of this so it could experience itself from YOUR perspective - through your body, your eyes, your senses and emotions. YOU are a f**king miracle. Life is so amazing. You are on this beautiful blue Planet flying around in outer space, and nobody knows how you came to be here or why you or anything else exists.

Just sit for a moment and realize that everything around you is literally a miracle. We so often forget how lucky we are to experience anything at all. Also realize that you were meant to be here. The world is so much brighter, so much better, because you are in it.

Take a moment to remember that the preciousness of life is something that always brings your state of being to a completely new level. Yes indeed, you sure are a miracle to behold...

Dan’s Quote: “To know the true grandeur of your reality requires 
____________an expansion of mind that your human mind is incapable of.”

*This post is based on an article written by
Steven Bancarz. ‘Click’ to view original.
Header picture: 'Moreton Bay', Sydney, Australia

Do You Know Who You Really Are?

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED what happens to you after you die? Have you ever wondered who you really are and what you are doing here right now? The answers to these questions become more apparent the more awake you become – and if you are reading this then you are in the process of waking up.

The answer to these perplexities lies both inside you and in the eyes of those around you. It’s as simple as opening your eyes and realising the fact that is staring at us right in the face - YOU AND I ARE ONE!

What does this mean? Perhaps it could be better explained by saying ‘When I look into your eyes I see the universe staring back at me and it is a wondrous honour to do so.’

We find this concept very difficult to comprehend. Albert Einstein once said, “A person experiences life as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. Our task must be to free ourselves from this self-imposed prison, and through compassion, find the reality of Oneness.”

We must become aware of the inability of the conditioned human mind to answer these questions. The conditioned mind means the habitual mind made up of borrowed ideas, personal ambitions, deceptive reasoning. Such a fixed mind cannot discover the truth - it can only seek frantically for what it thinks the truth might be.

As you were being born, you were infused with the life experiences of the generations that came before you. Not only their experiences as they lived out their lives as individuals, but also the experiences of the Collective Consciousness emanating from the boundary-less boundaries of the Universe.

So, each generation who follows the previous generation benefits by the experiences – both so called good and so called bad - that have been exuded by the Collective Consciousness of the Universe. (God?)

You have unlimited potential because You are what the whole universe is doing right now. Until we are awake enough to realise this Universal Truth about who we really are we will continue to exist in a confusion of mental delusion...

Dan’s Quote: “Before each soul is born into this world, 
____________it’s own personal edition of the book of life is written.”

*Ideas for this post came from publications by: 
Kirsten Cowart, Abraham and Vernon Howard.
Header picture: Sunshine Coast Beaches.

The Real You

*IF YOU’RE READY TO WAKE UP you’ll wake up. If you’re not you’re going to stay pretending that you’re just a poor little me. Then again... maybe you’re just teasing yourselves with some kind of pretence of waking up which you’re not very serious about.

But when you do finally begin to truly wake up, you will realise that whatever you do is what the whole universe is doing in the ‘Here and Now’. You are something the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is something that the whole ocean is doing.

The real you is not a puppet which life pushes around. The real deep down you is the whole universe ‘experiencing’ itself. So then when you die you’re not going to suffer with everlasting non-existence simple because that’s not an ‘experience’.

Try and imagine what it would be like to go to sleep and never wake up. If you think about that long enough you’ll find that it will pose another interesting question. ‘What would it be like to wake up after having never gone to sleep?’

That was when you were born. You see, you can’t have an experience of nothing, because nature abhors a vacuum, so after you die the only thing that can happen to you is the same experience - or same sort of experience - as when you were born.

In other words, we know very well that after people die, other  people are born – and they’re all you – only you can only experience it one at a time.

Everybody is I, you all know you’re you and wheresoever beings exist throughout all galaxies, it doesn’t make any difference, you are all of them, and when they come into being, that’s you coming into being. Down deep you know that very well.

Only you don’t remember your past in the same way you don’t remember how to shine the sun, you just do it – like you breathe. Doesn’t it really astonish you that you are this fantastically complex thing? And that you are doing all this and you’ve never had any education in how to do it...

Dan’s Quote: “There’s nothing you have to do really, except
____________get out of your own way... know what I mean?”

*This post was adapted from a speech by the renowned philosopher, Alan Watts. View ‘The Real You’ video narrated by Alan Watts himself.
Alan Watts audio courtesy of alanwatts.org

You are ‘What You Think’

*‘CONSCIOUSNESS CREATES REALITY’ A statement that is gaining a lot of attention lately. What then is consciousness and how might it be correlated to the nature of our reality? Consciousness is how we perceive our world, our thoughts, our awareness, our beliefs, our prejudices, judgments and more.

The statement that ‘consciousness creates reality’ comes with a number of different questions. Does this mean that we as individuals (and on a collective scale as human beings) can shape and create whatever reality we’d like for ourselves? Does it mean we can manifest a certain lifestyle and attract certain experiences?

Does it happen instantly or does it take time? How do we do it? Although we might not be able to answer these questions with absolute certainty, we do know that yes, a correlation between consciousness and our physical material world does indeed exist in some way, shape or form.

YOU CREATE YOUR OWN REALITY

A fundamental conclusion is that the observer creates reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. The universe is a ‘mental’ construction that’s starting to look more and more like a great thought than like a great solid mass of physical matter.

Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter; rather it appears to be the creator and governor of matter.

The universe is immaterial, mental and spiritual. As the observer, you can create change and break patterns to open up new possibilities, change your direction, all through the way in which you observe yourself, others and the world around you.

The human race is in the process of waking up to a number of different things simultaneously. As a result, the way we perceive and ‘observe’ the world around us (both personally and collectively) is starting to drastically change.

Always remember; whatever you think — that is what you are at that moment. So if you want to help change the world, change the way you look at the world and the world you look at will change accordingly...

Dan’s Quote: “You are what you think, all that you are arises from your thoughts,  
____________and with your thoughts you create your world.”

 *The idea for this post came from a publication by R.C. Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University.

Header picture: ‘Mount Coolum’, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Je suis Charlie

CONCERNING THE LATEST ATROCITIES IN FRANCE. Let me ask you a very fundamental question: What do these gunslingers hope to achieve? How can these so called ‘terrorists’ possibly understand that to shoot, kill or harm any other human being means that they are shooting, killing and harming their very own selves?’ Don’t they realize that we are ALL ONE?

If you are awakened to that truth, then don’t you think that this callous act would be an act of absolute stupidity? The epitome of self ignorance and self destruction? This vile act may not affect their physical self so much, but more so their spiritual eternal self, which as a consequence is in great danger.

Not so much from oblivion, not so much of not being anymore, (for we all exist forever) but from the necessity to re-live lifetimes at this level of ignorance again and again and again and again, until they learn that their war against their purported enemies is in truth, a war against THEMSELVES!

How can they be so ignorant of the consequences of their own unconscious actions? In the end, they will suffer much more than you and I!..... And yet, because ‘WE ARE ONE’– we are also, equally to blame. We have an important part to play in this drama. Why? Because we believe these terrorist are real, therefore, so they are!!.

We believe in their crude and violent nature – and so, they are made real in our own drama of life. We invite them in by our belief in them. We unconsciously invite them into our consciousness, to participate in what we believe the world is like.

And so, even though they must eventually suffer the consequences of their own ignorant actions, they are providing us with the vital lessons of life that we need to learn in this here and now moment!

It’s hard to imagine that we invited them into our lives. So how can we combat that dilemma? How can we possibly stop these contradictions within ourselves?

By understanding fully the fact that we control the world we see. To win, we simply need to be aware that what is happening in our world is under our conscious control...

Dan’s Quote: “Take a leap of faith into the unknown
___________-__Life awaits you on the other side of risk.”

The Nature and ‘Oneness’

*THERE ARE NO BOUNDARIES between you and I, nature and the universe - we are all inextricably connected through an ubiquitous web of consciousness. As human beings, we are an expression of nature. We unfortunately sometimes see ourselves above and separate from the natural world and herein lies our problem.

Until we recognise that we all come from the ‘One Source’ we will always be in a state of separation. By understanding this connection between all things we can thus awaken to the realities that exist beyond our present degree of understanding.

All things have been created by the ‘Source of Divine Energy’. From one seed a giant tree grows that can produce fruit in abundance. From the fruit produced other seeds are born. This cycle of abundance is continuous. Because of the ‘Oneness’ of nature it is also reliant upon co-operation.

Without the bee, other insects and birds to pollinate the flowers; the tree will not bear fruit. Likewise, to enable us and all life to procreate requires the participation of two opposing sexes of the same species. Everything is intricately connected in a wonderful synchronization of nature.

Nature is our grandest teacher yet for many it is merely a resource to be used and exploited for mankind’s own selfish purposes. We are at one with everything in the universe. Only by experiencing nature can we experience our own true natural and spiritual state of being.

Nature allows us to experience states of freedom and take us to places of beauty, serenity and awe. That sunset over the ocean, the silence and beauty of falling snow, the rustle of leaves in autumn, are experiences that are uplifting to the heart and soul.

Why? It reminds us of our true nature, that of ‘Oneness’. When we experience nature we experience a stillness that is in essence the divine state of nature – and our divine state of being… 

Dan’s Quote: “Your life has nothing to do with you. You may think it does,
____________but it doesn't. It has to do with everyone whose life you touch.”

*This post was adapted from an article by Andrew Martin:
--One ~ A Survival Guide for the Future.

The Reality Of ‘Oneness’

WHAT IF WE WERE ALL CONNECTED? What if we were one? How would we treat one another then? Would we continue to regard each other with contempt – to rob, rape, torture, kill and wage war with each other? Or would we be more compassionate, more loving, more caring. What if we really understood that whenever we hurt somebody else, we were really hurting ourselves?

Why are we so fascinated in other people’s lives? Is it because we subconsciously know deep down that we are part of everyone? Have you ever met someone and felt like you have known them forever? What about our connection with nature? Have you ever walked in a pristine forest and felt the calming serenity of everything around you?

If you have, then you have experienced what many may call oneness. To try and understand ‘Oneness’ intellectually is impossible. We have a compulsion to try and prove that something does or does not exist, right or wrong. This dualistic way of thinking, of wanting to find all the right answers can drive us to distraction. Some things are unexplainable, they just are.

Oneness is not a new idea or philosophy; it has been with humanity for many thousands of years. All matter, energy, stars and galaxies have come from the One Source. This is a difficult concept for the conditioned mind to grasp, but by developing our Conscious Awareness and focusing on ‘Oneness’ we become open and receptive to the universal, collective consciousness that abounds everywhere.

We are not in the universe, the universe is in us. Oneness is present everywhere. It exists in everything throughout nature. Nature itself and all that exists within the universe are one. There are underlying threads of oneness everywhere and nothing exists in isolation. 

Unconditional love for all living creatures is the cornerstone for a harmonious and prosperous society – and you are one with all of that...

Dan’s Quote: “Oneness in itself is vast, endless and unexplainable.”

*This post was adapted from an article by Andrew Martin:
One ~ A Survival Guide for the Future.

‘Yu’ Gotta Be Dreamin’

*WHEN YOU BECOME AWARE that you 'do' survive death, you’ll realize that your life is an illusion. You’ll also understand that life implies death, (or should it be, death implies life). You will feel yourself not as a stranger in the world, not as something here on probation, not as something that has arrived here by chance.

You will begin to feel your own existence as an essential part of the whole. Let’s suppose for a moment that you had the power to dream every night whatever dream you wanted to dream, and each dream could last say 75 years - or whatever length you wanted.

You would naturally fulfill all of your wishes while you were on this adventure of dreams. You would have every kind of pleasure that you could possibly imagine and after many nightly dreams of around 75 years duration, each filled with total pleasure, you would say, ‘Well, that was fantastic, I had a wow of a time’.

But now let’s imagine having a dream which 'isn’t' under your control – where something may happen to you and you won’t know what it’s going to be. You would live that dream and when you come out of it you would say ‘Wow, that was pretty full on and traumatic!’

Then, as you gained experience and confidence you would get more and more daring and you would take even further way out risks as to what you would dream, and finally you would dream the dream of living the life that you are actually living today.

We are all fundamentally the ultimate reality. Your life is an illusion, a dream with infinite choices, where you pretend that you aren’t God. Not God in a political, kingly sense, but God in the sense of being the self, the deep down, basic, whatever there is. And you’re all that – only you’re pretending you’re not…

Dan’s Quote: “Death is but a stepping stone on our continuing spiritual journey.” 

*This is an edited transcript of a talk given by the renowned philosopher,
Alan Watts called: ‘The Dream Of Life’. Click to watch.

Header Picture:‘Sunshine Plaza’ shopping mall’, 

Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

The Question For You Is...

...DO YOU SURVIVE DEATH? After your life is over, do you then earn the right to a period of R&R in the ‘Afterlife’ before you are once again reincarnated - or is it the case that when your life ends you are immediately reincarnated, as was the storyline in ‘A Tale About Reincarnation?’ Or worse still, is this a onetime lifetime experience – and then you do not exist anymore?

Who knows - you may say 'who cares?' The person you think you are certainly doesn’t continue after death – for that person never existed in the first place. The person you think you are is only a creation of your mind. So why bother being curious? What difference could it possibly make?

It makes a lot of difference. It’s important to ask yourself these questions because there is an Intelligence within you that does survive death - that does want to learn (or remember). And you have all the wherewithal to become conscious of that Awareness. Awareness is not a gift that some of us have and some of us don’t.

It is not an attribute that you must earn through some sort of mental effort (deep thinking, meditation, etc.) Awareness is your birthright and your inheritance. You have it right now. It is not so much a question of whether you have it, but of whether you are using it.

All of us have the gift of Awareness. Yet not all are aware that they are Aware.  When you are aware that you are Aware, your experience of Awareness shifts to a new level – you become Consciously Aware. This is why you are reading this post today. You called this forth, out of your own inner Awareness. This is You, waking you up.

Questions like, ‘do I survive death’ are important to consider in your ‘waking up process’. Realize that the known self (the person you think you are) cannot find reality. The personal self with which you are so familiar with can never rise above its own level.

But by becoming Consciously Aware of yourself. By being curious about everything that is occurring in your life - by questioning every perplexity – without trying to find the answers – allows the Intelligent Awareness within to answer those questions for you...

Dan’s Quote: “Funerals are not for the dead, they are for the living.”

Header picture: ‘Mudjimba Beach’, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

A Tale About ‘Reincarnation’

*YOU WERE ON YOUR WAY HOME WHEN YOU DIED. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two kids. It was a painless death. The paramedics tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me. And that’s when you met me.

“What... what happened, where am I? There was this truck... and it was skidding. I... I... did I die? you asked - “You died,” I said, matter-of-factly, but don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” You looked around. “What is this place, is this the afterlife?” - “More or less,” I said. “Are you god?” - “Yup, I’m God.”

“My wife and kids... what about them, will they be alright?” - “Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“What happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?” - “Neither,” I said, “You’ll be reincarnated “So what’s the point then? When I get reborn, I’ll be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now. Your soul is more magnificent and beautiful than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. You haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated then?” - “Oh lots and lots” I said. “This time around you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.” - “Wait, what?” You stammered, “you’re sending me back in time?” - “Well, I guess technically. Time as you know it, only exists in your universe.”

“But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.” - “Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.” - “So what’s the point of it all?” You said.

“The reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.” - “You mean mankind don’t you? You want us to mature?” - “No, just you. I made the whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become larger and greater.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?” - “There is no one else. In this universe there’s just you and me.” You stare blankly at me. “But all the people on earth..” - “All different incarnations of you.” - “Wait, I’m everyone!?” - “Now you’re getting it,” I said. “I’m every human being that ever lived?” - “Or who will ever live, yes.”

 “I’m Hitler?” you said, appalled - “And you’re the millions he killed.” “I’m Jesus?” - “And everyone who followed him.” You fell silent. “Every time you victimize someone, you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time. “But why do all this?” - “Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of a kind. You’re my child.” - “Whoa,” you said incredulously. “You mean I’m a god?” - “No, not yet. You’re a foetus. You’re still growing.”

“So the whole universe...” you said - “It’s just an egg” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.” And I sent you on your way...

Dan’s Quote: “You are the only one here in your own personal universe... 
____________A world where you play all the parts.

*Note: This is a version of:

‘THE EGG’ – A Tale For Deep Thinkers: By Andy Weir.
It has been edited and summarized to suit my blog style.
You can CLICK HERE  to view his original transcript.

Your ‘Alternating Self’

WHY DO YOU FEAR DEATH SO MUCH? Because you fear it is the end of yourself (the person you think you are). And that’s a pretty scary thought. Why? Because it is something you have never experienced. You have never died before. You don’t know what is going to happen to you after death. You risk not being anymore – and that’s a risk you try so very hard to avoid.

But death is only the end of the physical self, (the person you think you are). Contrary to being the end of you, death heralds the reawakening of the remembrance that you are an eternal SOUL who not only retains the memories of the present ‘person you think you are’ but also the memories of every other ‘person that you have ever thought you were’ in your many previous incarnations.

Birth and death are alternating aspects of creation. Birth is the ‘On’ switch, (being), death is the ‘Off’ switch (not being). You (your true self) flicks the switch ‘On’ to experience a human life – then when you have accomplished what you came here to do, you flick the switch ‘Off’ – until you once again are ready to flick the switch back ‘On’ again for another human life experience.

Death Is Just One Aspect Of Creation

Author, Pranja Ana put it quite succinctly when she described the reality of death: “At every moment there is death. Each moment there is death and birth, death and birth, coming together seamlessly to gift the world of form. Death is just an aspect of creation, it is not the end of it.

Death does not destroy the birthed. Death is simply the changing of energy from one form to the next. It must recede back into its source to give rise to a new wave of creation, a new form of expression.”

We are here to learn how to live through unconditional love. To realize we have no need for approval, for we are already perfect just as we are. That we are not attached to external forces and things, for we are free right now. To understand that happiness, compassion and love cannot be found ‘out there’, it must be manifested from within...

Dan’s Quote: “Death is not the end of anything... including you.”   

Header picture. 'Glasshouse Mountains' Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

You Are ‘The Light Of Your World’

*WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF? Matter... Tissues and organs. What are tissues and organs made of? Cells. What are cells made of? Molecules. What are molecules made of? Atoms. What are atoms made of? Sub-atomic particles. What are subatomic particles made of? ENERGY!

You and I are pure energy... LIGHT in its most beautiful and intelligent configuration. Energy that is constantly changing beneath the surface and you control it all with your powerful mind. You are indeed a magnificent, stellar Human Being.

If you could see yourself under a powerful electron microscope, you would see that you are made up of a cluster of ever-changing energy in the form of electrons, neutrons, photons and so on. So is everything else around you.

Quantum physics tells us that it is the act of observing an object that causes it to be there. An object does not exist independently of its observer! So, as you can see, your observation, your attention to something... and your intention towards it, literally creates that thing.

This is scientifically proven. Your world is made of SPIRIT, MIND and BODY. Each has a function that is unique to it and not shared with the other. What you see with your eyes and experience with your other senses is the physical world, which we shall call Body. Body is an EFFECT, created by a CAUSE.

This cause is Thought. - Body cannot create. It can only experience and be experienced… that is its unique function. Thought cannot experience… it can only make up, create and interpret. It needs a world of relativity (the physical world... a Body) to experience itself.

Spirit is all that is - That which gives life to thought and body.

Body has no power to create, although it gives the illusion of power to do so. This illusion is the cause of much frustration. Body is purely an effect and has no power to cause or create. The key to all of this information is how do you learn to see the universe differently than you do now so that you can manifest everything you truly desire?...

Dan’s Quote: “Never, ever trade your own experience for someone else's words.”

*Adapted from a publication by spiritual entrepreneur,
philanthropist and teacher, John Assaraf.
Click here to view his original document.

Header picture: ‘The Big Pineapple’, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

You Are Energy Personified

THE ESSENCE OF THE UNIVERSE is formless, without structure. It cannot be named for there is no-thing there to name. In reality nothing is solid, all is consciousness..... thought! Thoughts put together this ever-changing energy field into a universe that you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste.

As a comparison, think of a television set. It is simply a flat panel display screen with heaps of electrons (energy) passing across a solution of liquid crystals in such a way that they create the illusion of form and motion.

The world that you are experiencing around you can be explained in much the same way.... heaps of thoughts (energy) passing across the screen of your consciousness.

Your set of senses perceives this sea of energy from a certain limited standpoint and makes up an image from that. It is not complete, nor is it accurate. It is just a personal interpretation.

All of your interpretations are solely based on the ‘internal map of reality’ that you have within. It is not the truth. It is not real. Your ‘internal map’ is only a result of your personal life’s collective experiences.

Your thoughts are linked to this invisible energy and they determine what the energy forms. Your thoughts literally shift the universe on a particle-by-particle basis to create your physical life. You literally become what you think about most. Your life becomes what you have imagined and believed in most.

The world is a very fluid place, continuously built up using our individual and collective thoughts. What we think is true is really an illusion, almost like a magic trick.

The world is literally your mirror, enabling you to experience in the physical plane what you hold as your truth … until you change it...

Dan’s Quote: “Love, Joy and Peace are not objectives to attain...
___________They are our True Eternal Nature.”

Adapted from assorted articles including a publication by
Spiritual Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Teacher, John Assaraf.