Undependence and the Great American Renaissance

The 4th of July has come to represent for most Americans bbqs, beaches, bliss and more. We as a country have come to adore our freedoms and our independence, particularly how these two afford us a greater ability to enjoy and live our lives more richly than most other cultures in our present day. But inside of that high standard of enjoyment, how independent are we really??

Cigarettes, booze, meat, dairy, carbs, sugar, caffeine, prescription drugs, illicit drugs, television, entertainment, Facebook and the Internet, the availability of all of these diversions or vices are at the heart of our cultural identity. We are free to live life as we choose, so what does it matter if we ingest things we shouldn't? what does it matter if we are dependent on various substances that we all know when done in excess cause problems...? Most importantly, are we really independent when we can't even imagine our lives without some or all of these elements? I argue we are some of the most dependent Americans that have ever lived.

How many of us are income independent? How many of our schedules are ours to organize? How many of us are emotionally independent? How many of us can say we are in control of, or at least aware and in touch with our emotions and don't need to eat, smoke, sex or drink them away? How many of us are mentally independent, capable of critical thinking that doesn't necessarily fall within the script of our corporate media? How many of us are nutritionally independent and actually aware of what our own and very personal body's needs are, in place of being at the effect of rote response to stimuli from pushed packaged products whose quality decreases as their advertisement increases? Sadly, very few of us are actually independent from this system and the Standard American lifestyle.  

We may have declared our independence from the British over 200 years ago, but individual Americans know little of actual independence, because we experience the comfort and ease of being dependent on a vast and very enticing system. The truth is, most Americans are dependent on the status quo, and what's worse is that we pretend this isn't so. We pretend it's the corporations, or our boss, the failing medical establishment, Monsanto, our politicians, the Koch Brothers, or Russia... But that's an absolutely dependent thing to say! A victim-mindset that relinquishes our power and declares definitively that we are not the masters of our own lives. Are we independent or aren't we??? 

                       (Dependency)

Yes, some of these forces do indeed have a misproportionate influence on our country and lives, with seemingly greater power than ourselves, but history has shown countless time and again that it only takes a single individual to alter the entire course of the world; Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and many more have all proven beyond a doubt that power lives within the individual. So instead of pretending to ourselves and each other that we are powerless to direct our own lives and the nation at large, how about we actually honor and respect the ethos of our Nation and take our power back?! How about we celebrate our Independence by cultivating it?

Want to see our nation change? Go vote for a candidate that actually represents you. Do you know how many infamous congress people  were re-elected simply because they ran unopposed? Even better, run for office. Want to feel better, have more energy, and live healthier? Ditch sugar, heavy carbs and eat more vegetables.  Want to quit smoking? Meditate. Want to stop polluting our oceans and killing our ecosystem? Stop buying plastic packaged products. Want to save the rainforest? Give up beef. 

We pretend to be cogs in a wheel, when we are the wheel. We pretend it is our environment that controls us, but the truth is we have simply given up our independence, and surrendered to that environment because that is the easy thing to do, the comfortable thing, despite the many unconscious consequences of such a decision. 

We have absolutely forgotten that every thought, decision and action we make ABSOLUTELY effects our environment and the world at large. We have forgotten our power and the ability to truly depend on ourselves. The time has come for a Great American Renaissance in which the people rise up and claim their true sovereignty. 

The time has come when we take full responsibility for our lives and our country and decide that we have a say in the matter of our destiny, and are not merely pawns in the design of our life. Hate your job? Start a business. Horrified by factory farming? Go vegetarian. Free yourself from the mental slavery of your dependencies. If they are meant for you they will come back in balance.

Take your power back America. Create your life and your country exactly as your heart desires and live your greatest dream. No more excuses America. Be the sovereign citizens our nation needs. Claim your independence. 

The Yoga of Relating

As I sit here taxiing into lima's airport, I find myself both pensive about and grateful for relationships. It's pretty clear that without them we would be nothing. From mothers to fathers, to brothers, sisters, friends, lovers and even perfect strangers, Each has their  influence on our lives, from the profound to the fleeting, and yet, without these relationships we are isolated, alone, nothing. Yet, in truth, that isolation is never really even possible. 

The ego believes in separation. It labels, categorizes and delineates: "this is this, and that is that," reducing things and experiences to words, concepts and ideas, when the reality is always so much more.... And when the ego gets involved in our relationships, it says, "I'm better than him," or "she is better than I," or "I don't like this about her," or "I wish he would just listen..." But all the while this mental chatter pulls us out of the relationship and into our own mental virtual-reality in which we do not experience life or our relationships as they are, but rather as we perceive them to be. 

Quantum physics is a God's send as it shows us our true power to create: what we believe (or expect), we perceive. So what can this say about us and our relationships?

How do our perceptions of others (and our self) influence how we experience these relationships, and the world? The short answer is: powerfully. 

Think of one of your favorite relationships. The flow of it, the mutual elevation, the reciprocal energy exchange, the love, all express the highest potential of relating. Yet as we encounter those 'undesired relationships,' we experience the exact opposite, feeling drained, full of disdain and dread. 

Yet the potential is always the same: the ideal is always available, yet why at times does it seem remote, illogical, or down right impossible? You've guessed it; our perception. I've spent the past 12 hours flying through the skies and sharing stories with two separate and complete strangers, yet I find myself feeling perhaps more connected than I have ever, and it's thanks to the shift in my perspective and the resultant amazing connections it's allowed.

For so long I have looked at my relationships and been left wanting. And only today has it become absolutely crystal clear as to why. I was relating improperly. I, like most people, had it backwards, thinking that the relationships in my life owed me something somehow, and that people who didn't give it were selfish, which then allowed my ego's sense of self-importance and entitlement to run amok, blaming everyone and everything for its own shortcomings, judging each person for their perceived flaws, and by extension calling out more of that in them. Don't get me wrong, everyone has flaws, but that is exactly the point: If we all have flaws, who among us is fit to judge any of them?

I'm not suggesting we become spiritual ostriches and stick our heads in the proverbial sands when it comes to the challenging aspects of our relationships, what I am suggesting is a shift in our perception of the challenges and their origins. Would you scold a toddler for not knowing 1+1=2? Or yell at the elderly person for ascending stairs slowly? Then why judge people for their ignorance? We all have our challenges, our strengths and weaknesses, and the only way for us to fully master these challenges is through our acceptance and Love. Love, is indeed the answer. Love is what causes that elation in those "easy" relationships, but it also the remedy for those more unpleasant ones. 

I know some are thinking right now... "Well, there are people that are just unlovable!" Those ornery, cantankerous and entitled individuals that drain the energy from a room the moment they walk into it can indeed be challenging for most of us to be around... But I promise you, speaking from experience, the moment you can remove the label and the judgement around this person, relieving the perception of separation, and generate a sense of love and acceptance for them, you will literally watch them transform before your eyes like magic. 

When you can begin to understand, that God, The Universe, Love--Whatever you want to call it--is truly unconditional... Then you can begin to grasp this power. When you can fathom that "God" Loves even Hitler... You are advanced on this path...

Why is that? It is the power of Love. You could also call it unconditional acceptance, or patience, or kindness. Whatever the label, the experience is the same. You will definitely notice how this exercise will

Be easier to do with some than others, which begs the question, why? This is where the real challenge comes in: whenever we judge another, the truth is we unconsciously see that same flaw in ourselves but have yet to accept it, so instead of facing our inner demon, we find the easier outlet for release and project our own frustration on perceived "aggressors" when we are the one who havnt owned and accepted ourselves. 

So the remedy? Love. Always and forever, love. And it starts at home with ourselves. Everyone has heard the old adage, but few fully understand its implications. When we love ourselves, we can love others, because we are all indeed, one in the same. 

Unity>Separation. 

Awareness>Ignorance

Love>Fear

To Our Highest Relating Potential!

Water, water, everywhere, but not all fit for drink

Water is the most essential component to life. People accept this as fact, yet somehow, especially in western culture, take this reality for granted. We think that because we ingest any fluid it constitutes the same thing, somehow believing that convenience can replace reality, and that soda, juice, coffee and other liquids will suffice for our daily intake, when this couldn't be further from the truth. Water is water. It's that simple. . . Or is it??

Many people don't like the taste of their water, and naturally gravitate towards more palatable beverages, but are often unaware that those beverages do the exact opposite and actually dehydrate the body. Coffee and alcohol are known diuretics, but most people don't know that sugar also requires lots of pure water to metabolize, therefore requiring more water than is contributes by sugary drinks. Add this to the fact that 50-75% of people in our society are chronically dehydrated, and you have a powerful foundation for dis-ease in the body. 

So let's all drink more water?!?

Yes, but all water is hardly equal. Part of the  reason that people find their water literally difficult to swallow is because of its content; From tap water full of heavy metals, chlorine, and fluoride (a now known neurotoxin thanks to the recent Harvard study proving its role in cognitive inhibition), to plastic bottles which are derived from petroleum, a known carcinogen, to all the other matter of contaminants and pollutants in our increasing industrialized culture. 

We need to take our water, and our health, much more seriously. 

The general scientific consensus is that the human body needs 1oz of water per Kg of body weight for an individual. To make that more practical, divide your weight in half and that's how many ounces of water you need every day. As a reference, cups are 4 ounces and a pint glass is 16, so for your average adult, around 8 pint glasses is the minimum requirement. In my experience, even more is beneficial, especially for those suffering from chronic dehydrated related un-wellness like myself, which again is 50-75% of people. 

Droughts are looming, people die from water borne illness across the world daily, or even down-right thirst, and all the while Nestle is bottling up (and contaminating) the last of California's natural springs. And there's Cargill, Monsanto's parent company, selling its corrosive chemical by-product hydrofluorosilicic acid to municipalities for a profit, instead of responsibly paying to have this lethal chemical disposed of safely... And all the while We the People go on as if it's business as usual, when we are slowly loosing the basis of life support on the planet. 

Not to sound too doom and gloom--really there is hope, but only when we get grounded in the reality of what is will we be able to do anything about it. There are excellent fluoride filters out there, from counter top to personal filter-straws, and there are far more advanced and amazing systems that can create remarkably high-quality potable water from pretty much any contaminated source. The trick is, we have to know water's value, before we can rearrange our priorities to it. . ..  The value of our bodies, and of the earth and her natural resources, is priceless. 

Drinking more water is always better than less, and is highly encouraged, even if it's not the purest available. More water is better than none, generally regardless of the source, but the higher quality the water, the better it will process in the body and the better to hydrate you with. 

To y(our) Hydration, and Health!!! 

Drink up!!!