Better Than Best

What does it mean to do my best? To do my best I must work. That is step one. Work hard and diligently at completing a task to the very best of my ability and skill. But what is the best of my ability and skill? That which when compared to all work done before, is better.

So it is a matter of comparison. If I strive to do my best at all times, it follows that every time I do something it will be “better” than all the other attempts I may have made. Continuous improvement. Doing our best means that we will always get better at what we have done before. That might mean different. It might not mean different.

“Doing my best means what I create will be better than all else before, but limits of time, resources and personal energy may play a role in the final product.”

Final Product =  Process * Time (amount * timing) + Resources (Accessible - Nonaccessible) x Personal Energy

Let’s take a look at the limiting factors first. Time plays two roles in the creation of any final product.

First there is the amount of time that it takes to create something. The amount of time it takes is largely dependent on the size of the creation. Second there is the timing that wraps around the amount of time it takes. A good example is that if a project is started toward the end of a work day, and the amount of time needed for the project is greater than the remaining time in the work day, the total amount of time taken for the creation will increase by some factor. If the same project were started with ample time remaining in the work day to complete it, the work would be finished in a lesser amount of time.

The resources available for a final product are traditionally limited by a cost factor. But it is also possible to have limited knowledge. Knowledge resources are the most accessible and easy form of resources to use as an example. With the right access to the right information, resources are not a problem. If we are faced with not having a home to live in or the ability to access a pen and paper, then resources become more of an issue.

What can I control? I can somewhat control time, within the scope of my work day. I can also somewhat control my resources. I can definitely control my personal energy.

Sidebar here - This is my life. This is what I am here for. To write. To create. To share. I keep forgetting that, but once I get in here and start doing it, it becomes crystal clear. I will need to keep getting in the water, keep trying to swim in order to remember more and more often what my calling is.

To write for a living then is to do my best writing every time I write. I want to take the energy and the time and the resources that I have to create something positive, and expand on all three factors in order to allow the universe to work it’s magic through my mind and fingers to create something more powerful than would be possible on my own.

What is nice is that I have continual opportunity to do my best every second of every day until I die. Every single thing in my life I can become better and better at. As time and resources begin to fade my best will change. It may be perceived to be worse, but in fact it will be better. With limited time and resources, best does not always mean better than what happened before. Limiting time and resources comes from a scarcity mindset. A mindset that believes there is not enough time or resources to go around. Instead, live in abundance, knowing that there are plenty of time and resources, more than can be consumed. The possibilities then are endless as to what can be created. The only limiting factor then becomes myself. How I act and behave may limit my ability to do any task.

Unlimited time + Unlimited resources + Unlimited personal energy = Amazing.

I as a human have limited personal energy. I can most definitely increase the amount of energy that I personally have. At some point though, as the limits of human capability are reached, it is possible to transcend the limits we have as humans by allowing the universe to work through us to create something never possible with just human intelligence and energy.

My best is just getting out of the way. My best is letting go more and more fully, more completely each time I sit down to write. My best means every. single. time. I do anything it is better than the last time and all other times. That is the definition of best. Better than all others.

There is more energy in the world than ever previously before thought possible. There is magic everywhere. Unlimited potential. Just show up and get out of the way. Set the stage for the best to come out of all corners of your mind and body. Set the stage for success. Set the stage for success. Set the stage for success.

You may be wondering why I repeat things three times. If I repeat things three times it is because I believe they are true statements that need emphasis in order to push past the resistance of the mind and into being. The mind understands repetition twice, but on the third time, it is somehow ingrained differently. It seems more than redundant. Why would someone repeat the same thing three times unless it was meaningful? Twice could just be a typo. Three times is intentional.

My best is to show up here completely all day every day. To share what is being forged in my life. To put on the page the magic of what I am experiencing. Everything else is just details. I need to keep the first thing the first thing. And I can show it to myself by being rather blunt with myself and others about what it is that is important to me. I haven’t forgotten my inner or my outer purpose. I have only let it be covered up occasionally. My outer purpose is more difficult to align at this time. I want it to be aligned yesterday. I want it to be something special right away and to experience the change in vocation immediately.

But it will take time. I will do my best though, to constantly change my outer life to match my purpose as much as possible. To let things go and allow things to be in the way they are meant to be.

Doing my best means remembering that this is my place of work. This is where I live, right here in the writing. This is my home. I have been called home, and I showed up, and I got out of the way. With more energy and more clarity I can do the same thing again and again. I can show up with enthusiasm even and get out of the way to allow the universe to work through me to accomplish its work.

To write is natural. To breathe is natural. To share is natural. The other things I am consuming and being a part of are not actually for me, but for someone else. I was only wearing the hat for a while, while things got figured out. It is true I may have to continue to wear hats and be involved with things that are not my home turf, I will definitely have to, but I can do it all with the understanding that it is all, every single hat I wear, honing my blade for my true outer purpose.

To write and share is my true outer purpose. To create. To create by allowing the universe to work through me.

Have we forgotten what the basis for our existence rests upon?

We talk about giving 110% to whatever we do, but are we really doing it?

Can we bring being and the universe and all of our existence into the present moment at all times, and allow it to create something that is better than our best?

I think we can.

Go for the gold.

A Letter To You, From Me

Dear _________________,

I have been influenced by you in more ways than you can imagine, far more ways than you will ever know. We have lived our lives as separate individuals, but I am realizing our similarities far outweigh our differences. Your existence is interwoven with mine so well that I can no longer tell where mine ends and yours begins.

I thought you were special from the first time I saw you, and you have proven it to me every step of the way. When I think I know everything about you, you surprise me again. The decisions you make and the actions you take have combined with mine to create our current world. This reality is our reality. We have come to the defining moment of our lives and now only stands the test. Will we realize that our differences are only figments of our imagination, and that in reality we are all one? Will we realize our beliefs and thoughts truly do not matter and ultimately let them slide? Will we, in place of thought, allow consciousness, awareness and presence to fill our lives?

We have been afraid. For millennia we have been afraid. We don’t have to be afraid anymore. The rising awareness cannot be held back. It is here. It is now. We are here. We are now.

We do not have to be alone any longer. But alone we must each pass through our own minds, through thought and belief to become the being that we each have been all along. Once we make the decision to act and then take action, we don’t have to go it alone. There are billions of others to help us along the way. There are billions of stars aligning and moving, creating a magical flow that will be amazing to experience.

We are all in this thing together, but we have to come in alone. We each have a decision to make. We all have the ability to become ready to make that decision. What works for one person may not work for another person. What am I talking about, this decision? The decision to awaken. To become part of the living world. To not be a zombie any more, pulled and tugged at the whim of the ego and emotion. The being within each of us is pulling us strongly in the direction of awakening, we just have to read the signs.

Life is greater than we can imagine. Can you imagine that which is beyond imagination? We can allow that unfathomable universal force to live through us and build a life that is in complete harmony with the rest of the universe around us. It will take time. It will take hard work. We and billions of others will need help. No one is coming. We are all already here. Now. Alive. Present.

Everything we know and understand is going to change. Are you willing to welcome the change? Am I willing to welcome the change? This is our time. Our place. Our reality. We can embrace the change or resist it. We can become one with the universe or try to remain as individual stars floating alone in the dark. As I write this my hand cramps and feels uncomfortable. That is resistance. Will you break the resistance with me? Will you help defeat the ego that is in all of us? To win or lose is not the question. To pick up our cross and bear it is not the task. To live, to truly live in presence and consciousness, in awareness that what we perceive is not the totality of reality is our present task.

There is a revolution coming. It has already begun. It is not a revolution of military importance or egoic swagger, but a revolution of the mind. A realization that we are not our thoughts. We are not our feelings. We are being. We are existence. This time. This place. We are now. And in the present we can effect change for the better on all fronts. Improvement is not a fad. It is a way of life. By changing ourselves we can change each other. By becoming ourselves and lovingly sharing our experience with others, we can help each other in this revolution. It is a matter of time and resources to accomplish this task. We have plenty of both. We have all the time in the world to accomplish what we came to the world to do.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he does not exist. Well, the devil does exist, and it is the ego. The ego has pulled a trick on all of us. It is inside each one of us. This mind-made entity is wrapped around the core of our being, stifling honesty and integrity and truth, and creating disharmony and dysfunction in all our relationships. The ego tries to make us believe that we are all alone and must fight for our survival, for our rights, for our freedom, for our lives. We do not need to fight, we have all we need already. All the atrocities in human history have been committed by the ego. We are ready to be rid of it. But it will take some hard work. Some wars are not fought, but lived. Live your battle against the ego every day. One day we will not have to battle anymore.

The ego wants to win this fight. But it is destined to lose. It is just a matter of time. We can quicken its' departure from the earth. We can help make it easier to give up. To dissolve the ego, we must realize it is not us. The ego we think with and about is not our being. Our being does not even know the ego is there, it just knows that our consciousness is not with being, and so thinks of us as zombies, just spaced out in never ending thought patterns that being does not understand.

Stop thinking. Recognize your emotions and let them pass. Stop thinking and be aware of the fact that you are not your thoughts. At first it is not an easy task, but iit becomes easier. Stop thinking about your life. Start living your life. Thoughts are objects that can be controlled and let go and brought in to work on problems, but they are still merely objects like a couch or a chair. The brain, especially the egoic structure of the brain, likes thoughts. The ego likes to take hold of your thoughts and wants to make sure that it all works out for the ego. You must identify the ego inside of you and be aware of it from the presence of your being.

Join the fray, get in here and start living. Become the awareness that lies behind your mind, your thoughts, your beliefs, your emotions. You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness behind your thoughts. And all that wants to happen is for you to be you.

In the end we are all like boats tossed on the ocean in a giant hurricane. It is our destiny to steer our ships alone and ride the storm into port safely. Once we make that decision, to head for home, there are billions of others to help us on our journey. Come to the port. Come home. There is plenty of room, and there is plenty of good food and people. Here on shore we will continually try to do our best. We came for the same reasons you did: salvation, enlightenment, liberation, the end of suffering, because there was nothing left to do. There is no reason to turn anyone away for any belief system held prior or still. It is all just mind traps. We are talking here about consciousness. A shift in consciousness. Consciousness doesn't mind where you came from, or how you come, just come as you are, as you were, as you wanted to be.

At the end of the analysis it has become clear that analysis is not the answer. We cannot analyze our way to the next evolution of human experience . We have to become the experience. We have to live our dreams. And we are ready to do it. It has been a wild ride so far, but things are about to get real around here. We will have to fight. But we don’t need arms for this war. We can lock all the guns in the cabinet. Swallow the key. We don’t need fear or war mongers to tell us what to be afraid of and why. There is nothing outside of ourselves that needs any changing. The change will happen within us. The battle over good and evil does not happen “out there”. It happens in here. It happens in the hearts and minds of every human being on earth. The battle for consciousness can only be fought by each individual, and the awakening has already begun.

Those who do you harm are just not awake yet. Imagine we are in an airplane and heading in for a crash landing. Follow the instructions. Put your oxygen mask on first. Then help others. Make sure you are awake fully. Then ring the alarm for your friends and family.

Because we need help. I need help. You need help. And the only people who can help us are ourselves. I am sounding the alarm. I am blowing the whistle. No one is coming to your assistance, you have to make this realization journey on your own.

Awaken my friend. Burn your candle bright. We all want to see that light shine, brighter than the stars, brighter than the sun. Take that bushel that is the ego and toss it away to the far corners of the earth. Bury it in sand. Burn it to ashes. Allow your being to shine and sing to the rooftops, to the clouds, through the sky. That is what we are here for, we just forgot for a little while. I want to help you remember.

Remember why you came to earth: To let the light of your being shine.

Shine with no bushel and let your brilliant radiance fill the earth with light.

___________(Verified E-Signature)___________

The Artist

Thoughts and Quotes

"Without planning, change will fail."

5 Steps of Change

1. Pre-contemplation
2. Contemplation
3. Research and Planning (DO NOT skip this step)
4. Action
5. Maintenance

"In life, it's good not to get too comfortable."

Write the book. Create your life.

Create positive content.

Share often.

Be inclusive.

Develop a strong voice.

Allow space/time for wonder.

Bring it all in (focus).

Learn and love.

Be thankful. Be grateful. Share the thanks.

Give thanks for the inspiration.

Life is well worth living. It can be magical and glorious.

Live life to the fullest. Don't let time stand in the way. Clock time that is.

Buck the trend.

Allow yourself to be yourself.

Awake early in the morning each day.

Remember the reason for breathin'.

It is all gonna hang out sooner or later. Why not let it out now?

Make my life a musical masterpiece.

I am in the flow.

The mountain streams can feed my soul. The spirit lives and breathes.

THANK YOU!

What does it matter, you ask? It all matters.

Bring your spirit and let the source be your strength.

Work in all the corners of your mind to extract the ego.

Dismantle the ego.

Bring the ego forward in your mind and take it apart as a master craftsman would dismantle a timepiece.

Allow the source, the force, the spirit, to work in your life to accomplish amazing things.

Let go. Let go. Let go.

Let it be. Let it be. Let it be.

Allow. Allow. Allow.

The heart that is the hardest falls first.

The ending of the gap is the beginning of knowledge. Live in the gap.

The work of the universe knows no bounds.

There is no wrestling with the universe: only roughhousing and horseplay.

Let your dim light shine.

Reflect your light.

Allow it to be.

It is, was and always will be there, you and others just hid it under a bushel.

Make your mark. Not by will, but by spirit.

Come into being. The water is warm. (You might as well swim.)

Make a source forge in your mind for a space the source can work. Allow for many tries and many fails. Let it all be. Work the magic. The gift of the magi.

We are all so self-important, we can stand to get knocked down a few pegs. In fact, I'd like to bury my ego. Not bury it. Burn it.

That was fecking awesome!

This is where I live. This is my work, my play, that I refer to in my affirmations.

Make it special. Make it special. Make it special.

We are all children of the same universe.

Let us not mistreat our brothers and sisters. 

We cannot stand alone.

We need not fight at all.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. Or someone else. I don't really care, but I will continue the chain, unbroken.

Work out all the kinks. Work out all the kinks. Work out all the kinks.

There is a chink in my armor. Let's exploit it.

It was amazing. And joyful. And full of glory.

When swimming, don't stay in your lane.

Go with the flow.

Breathe easy.

Rest in the knowledge that knowledge won't save you.

Do you need saving?

Do you need enlightenment?

Do you need an end to your suffering?

Only you can decide.

I can do nothing. The source can put tools out there to be revealed, to help, to lead and to guide, but ultimately it is up to the individual.

I have been gone so goddamn long, that it looks like home to me.

I'm back, baby.

Rest assured.

Breathe easy (Important to say it twice.)

When in the arms of the world, don't forget who built the arms. Don't reject the embrace, just remember who and / or what directs the embracing.

We all have much to learn and much to do and with all of it we can get through.

My mind wanders as I wonder and at times it gets stuck on something sharp. That is the ego. I just pinch off of that point and move on... *pop*...

Overwhelming sense of ease.

Breathing fills my day. There was once so much negativity but it is all gone now. I am in a space to create and to feel and to love.

Why did all this happen to me? Why did all of it come? Why did all of it go? It was beautiful, and that was the experience of it.

Make time to take time.

In the flow it does not matter to decide, you do not need to know, just go, take action, move on, let it all come and go, feel it if you want, it is the greatest experience I ever had.

I am not addicted, I just love and like it.

Be it compulsive? Something I cannot control? If I could control it, would I want to? Should I want to? Should's can desolve. Make my own way.

Breathe easy.

Relax.

Import. Implore. Empathize. Love.

The brilliant and the stupid both have the same potential for conscious awakening. In fact, the brilliant may have a disadvantage for they have to get out of their own way first.

These are my people. We are all our people. 

I am me. I am letting me be.

Breathe the fullness of life.

Lean into the flow.

Feel it.

It is always there. It always has been there. We have just been ignoring it.

I don't need to think. I need to feel. And through feeling, let it all out. But feeling is not the end.

Continue to let the ego go. Let it go. Let it go and go. There it is. Let it go.

Peace, Serenity. Presence. Relaxation. Nearness. Flow.

Thoughts are objects. Let's put them away for a while. We are like spoiled children with too many toys. Let's put all our thought toys away for a while. Relearn what the meaning and usefulness of thoughts are. I do not know what thoughts are for yet. I will try to put them all away then take them out again one by one to examine them.

I need an attitude adjustment around my perception of safety.

Connected.

It is free.

It is all.

What is it?

It is being.

Being is free.

Being is all.

Imagining and daydreaming do not get the job done. Thinking and acting do. Not thinking. Acting. Action.

"All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs."

"Learning is a web that grows outward, not inward. The branches expand and the mental spiders at the edges spin to create new content."

Who is the spider in this web?

Daily Affirmations

Try using daily affirmations. At first I thought they were a lame idea, but I was willing to give them a try. Over a two or three month period, I copied, created, modified, stole, built and solidified the affirmations below.

It is important to build your affirmations for yourself. If you like one from somewhere else, feel free to take it! Modify it for your own use if you need to. Affirmations are for you personally, to focus for yourself what is important to you.

I try to write these down by hand at least once a day, sometimes more often. Now that I have been using them regularly, they really help me focus on what is important in my life, which then helps me focus on whatever present task I am dealing with at the time.

If you can get past the funny feeling that these are a little silly, there is a lot of benefit to using daily affirmations.

Here are mine, feel free to take any you want. You may notice that some are pulled from How To Kick. That is not an accident.

Daily Affirmations

I am an American Original.

I am taking back my power of breathing.

I am going to do my best and I will be satisfied with the work I complete today.

Talent is more important than technique.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Gratitude is more important than money.

Love is more important than anything.

Spirit is more important than everything.

Everything is for everyone.

My family is calm, close and connected.

I have the opportunity and support to live the life I choose.

I am passionate about helping others learn, love and grow.

I am talented at art, writing and music, among other things.

I can learn any skill at any time.

I give all my creations away in order to give back.

My work is my play and I love it.

I love you and me too!

Money flows freely into my life. 

I desire things and experiences I can easily afford with cash on hand.

Money stays in my pocket.

I create and act on brilliant plans to allow the universe to work through me.

I adapt easily to change.

How To Kick v1

This is a separate page on nobushel.blogspot.com, and will be updated as necessary, but I wanted to share the first version as a post.

---

HTK

-OR-

How To Kick

---

     How To Kick is the first thing we should learn in kindergarten. The tool should be used as often as necessary throughout one's life. It is not about physically kicking anyone or anything. How To Kick teaches how to throw off all restrictions of control and conformity that we place on ourselves and each other. It is about true and ultimate freedom; the freedom to be yourself all the time.

     Many of us will be able to use How to Kick on our own, and reap it's rewards. Many will need help to understand and implement HTK. Few will need multiple HTK interventions. I was the only person who needed drastic measures to ensure I was capable of being myself all the time.
     The Universe wants everyone to act like themselves all the time in all situations, so that we can become the thinking, sentient beings we are meant to be. HTK will help get us there.

     

How To Kick Intervention

1. Show only LOVE, there is no need for harsh words or threats. If a person is resistant, they are just not ready yet. Be satisfied with the fact that you have planted a seed, and revisit that individual later.
2. At least three people are required to perform HTK:
1.  A DOER: The person who will be posing the questions to the "DONER"
2. A DONER: The person who will be answering the questions for HTK
3. A WITNESS or AUDIENCE: A third independent party who will just stand by and experience what is happening.
3. Everything else here is performed from the perspective of the DOER to the DONER.

DOER: Would you do me a favor?

DONER: Sure.

DOER: Sit down.

DOER offers a chair

DONER: Okay.

DONER sits down.

DOER: Do me another favor?

DONER: Sure.

DOER: Relax. That's right just lean back get comfortable.

DONER leans back and gets comfortable

DOER: Do me one more favor?

DONER: Okay.

DOER: Know and trust that the conversation I am about to have with you is based in love and compassion. No matter how difficult or strange it may get, I am doing this because I love you and want the best for you and our families.

DONER: Okay.

DOER: Alright, you did me three favors, now let me do you a favor. Are you awake?

DONER: Yes, I'm awake.

DOER: If you are already awake we may not need to have this conversation. But I would like to proceed anyway, just to be sure. Is it alright with you if we continue?

DONER: Sure.

DOER: Have you ever been hypnotized?

DONER: Yes / no.

DOER: Well, you're hypnotized now.

DONER: No I'm not.

DOER: Sure you are, touch your nose.

DONER looks at DOER incredulously.

DOER: See?

DONER: What do you mean, "see"? I'm not hypnotized.

DOER: Sure you are. You've hypnotized yourself. You are hypnotizing yourself right now. You told yourself not to touch your nose and you listened.

DONER: Okay....

DOER: There are three entities inside of you, and one of them has the other two hypnotized.

DONER: You are weird. This is weird.

DOER: You consist of three entities. I like to call them me, myself and I. Me is the thinking sentient being that is spirit and what many people call the soul. But it is not something separate from you that can be taken or removed at any point. It is you. It is being.

DONER: I don't believe in spirits and souls.

DOER: It doesn't matter what you believe, it only matters if it is true. The myself part of you is your role here on earth, what you came here to do, your purpose. Many people have found their purpose and are completely satisfied with what they are doing. Many others are still searching. Where do you stand?

DONER: I am still searching.

DOER: Well, your search is over. I will show you in a little while. The I portion of you is your ego. Your ego is hypnotizing your me and myself. Our society has placed ego in charge of ruling the world, and ego has done a very poor job. Nevertheless, we continue to place ego first in most situations. If you want to learn more about how to break ego's power over you, you can find solutions through meditation and Eckhart Tolle's books, but there are sources everywhere.

DONER: I don't read.

DOER: Then just look to nature. It provides all the teaching you will need.

DONER: I don't go outside.

DOER: Then close your eyes. You have all the teaching you will need. You are here for one primary purpose.

DONER: What is that purpose?

DOER: To wake up.

DONER: I already am awake.

DOER: To awaken spiritually. To be enlightened. To put an end to suffering. You can do it. Everyone can do it.

DONER: I am not a spiritual person.

DOER: Sure you are. All people are spiritual people. That doesn't mean you have to join a church or be converted to this or that religion. You are spiritual inherently. I want you to try something with me to help you see the difference between your ego and your being. Would you be willing to do that?

DONER: Okay.

DOER: I want you to visualize all the thoughts in your head as objects. You can pretend they are each autumn leaves, and they are blowing around you. I want you to think of all the thoughts you are having right now, and start to move those leaves around and around in a circle, like a little thought tornado. Are you with me?

DONER: I am having trouble concentrating.

DOER: That is okay, just do your best, that's all I'm asking. Do your best. All your thoughts, all your troubles, everything you can think of, just move them freely around your head as leaves. Those thought leaves are the food for the ego. The ego loves it when you think, especially when you think of negative things. Now I want you to build up the speed of this thought tornado. Think of the thoughts going faster and faster and they are starting to get a little out of control. When you have had enough I want you to shout "STOP!" and I want you to imagine all the thought objects blowing away from you, completely out of sight. The louder you shout the more effective this will be. Are you ready?

DONER: Yes.

DOER: Okay go for it, whenever you are ready.

DONER: STOP!

Pause and wait until DONER opens eyes.

DOER: The space you had in your mind between shouting "STOP!" and the first thought that came to you: That is being, that is spirit, that is the me I am talking about. Being is you, and you are being. The thoughts you pictured as leaves are not your true essence. Many times, the thoughts you have, especially the negative thoughts, all belong to the ego, or I portion of you. I will not talk too much about ego, because you know him or her well. You are not ego. Ego in fact is not a part of you, but an alien that has invaded your being. We have become so attached to the thought process of our brain that we have allowed it to convince us that we are the thought process. We are not. We are being.

DONER: I don't get it.

DOER: That's okay. You don't have to get it. I have given you a tiny experience of what you really are, and shared with you the primary purpose of your existence. What is that primary purpose again?

DONER: I don't remember.

DOER: To wake up. To become enlightened. To put an end to suffering. And all you need to do to have that happen is to recognize that you are being, not your thoughts or even your feelings. A spiritual quest for enlightenment may ensue, and all of that work will center around being being more and more often, until you are only being, and everything else you think, feel, perceive and know are just tools and experiences.

DONER: Tools?

DOER: Tools. To help you and others on the journey. The journey of life. Now, we have discussed the difference between me and I, between being and the ego. The third portion to touch on is myself. Do you know yourself?

DONER: I like to think so.

DOER: Do you like yourself?

DONER: Sometimes.

DOER: Your self portion of you is all based on your secondary purpose for being here on earth. What you came here to do. What you came here to become. Do you know what your secondary purpose is?

DONER: To get an education, get a job, get married, have kids and retire.

DOER: That is all stuff for the ego. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

DONER states what he/she wanted to be as a child.
Insert your answer here:_________________________

DOER: That is beautiful. What happened?

DONER tells what happened.
Insert your answer here:_________________________

DOER: What did you want to be in high school?

DONER tells what he/she wanted to be in high school.
Insert your answer here:_________________________

DOER: That is wonderful. What happened?

DONER tells what happened.
Insert your answer here:_________________________

DOER: I want to give you an opportunity now to start over. If you won the lottery tomorrow, but you still had to work in order to keep the lottery money coming in, what would you do?

DONER tells what he/she would do.
Insert your answer here:_________________________

DOER: That is great. I want you to be able to expand on that some more. I am going to ask you a series of questions that will help you clarify more for yourself what it is that you truly want out of life, and what your secondary purpose is. Please answer the questions as if there were no limit to what you could have. Everything you've always wanted. I am going to write your answers on this whiteboard. Are you ready?

DONER proceeds to answer the following questions:

1. WORLD - What do you want for the world? 
2. FAMILY - What do you want for your family? (define family however you want)
3. PERSONAL - What do you want for yourself?
4. PASSION - What are you passionate about? (Why do you get up in the morning? Describe)
5. LOVE - Who is your love? (Who do you wake up to each morning? Describe)
6. TALENT - What are your talents? (What are you naturally good at? Describe)
7. SKILLS - What skills do you have? What skills do you want?
8. CHARITY - What do you do to give back to society/mankind?
9. HOBBY - What do you like to do for fun? (What is your hobby?)

DOER: Okay now we have all these things written out here. You have defined for yourself to the best of your ability what your secondary purpose is in life. May I take a picture of the whiteboard? Thanks. Now I want to make a deal with you. I know someone who has kept you from becoming this person. And I also know someone who can help make you this person. The people I am referring to have agreed to try and stop preventing you from becoming who you are, and to try to help you become the person you are meant to become. Do you want to meet these people?

DONER: Okay.

DOER holds up a mirror to the DONER.

DOER: You are your own maker. You have put yourself in this situation and you can get yourself out of it as well. You can make all your dreams come true. All you have to do is do your best and strive every day to become the person you truly want to be. If you want, I can follow up with you and check in to see how you are doing in a few months. I took a picture of your whiteboard, here is a copy. I will get in touch with you in a few months to see how you are progressing on the road to becoming yourself. 

I am compiling lots of tools and information at nobushel.blogspot.com so feel free to visit the website and use whatever may be helpful on your journey.

Thank you for your time.

DONER: Thanks I guess. Good bye (weirdo).

DOER: Good bye!

A Walk in the Woods

This fictional story provides the link between A Letter From Me, To Me and A Letter From Me, To You.

When I was young my family would drive several hours to visit my grandmother. She lived alone in a large tri-level house next to a forest. My family would go inside. I would say hello. We would catch up. Then I would run to the safe to see what was new. She kept a small safe on the floor near the door. The safe was not locked. In the safe she would place something new for each visit. It was always a small trinket which I would play with for a few minutes and then move on my way to whatever else we had planned for the day.

There had always been two items in the safe. A metal dog training clicker and a metal whistle on a red string. I picked up the clicker each time I visited. I would click it and listen to it's clack echo through the big house. I would take the whistle around my neck and blow it as if I were a policeman directing traffic or running after a burglar. As I grew older, I was not as interested in the new things, but I always enjoyed clicking and whistling.

My grandmother and I would go walking in the woods. We would look at the foliage and the changing of the seasons. We would talk about wild life. We would talk about bears. We would talk about life and how to live. We would talk of simple things. She would share her wisdom, and I would share mine. Sometimes we would just walk for a long while without talking. Absorbing what nature had to offer, enjoying the sounds of the forest.

One day as we walked along we came upon a large stone table. My grandmother had been to the table many times. She maybe even had it built years before. It was my first time to the table. She told me a story of Native Americans having built the table and how they held sacred ceremonies around it. She called it the Indian Table. It had six legs made of stacked stones, and a large slab of flagstone for the table top. It was roughly six feet long by three feet wide.

On one visit when I was about ten, my grandmother and I went for a walk and arrived again at the Indian table.

"I am growing old," she said as she sat on the edge of the table. "I will not be able to join you for many more walks, my boy. It is time you made your own path, come and lead me home."

I stood next to her and held her wrinkled hand and we stared at the sun filtering through the leaves.

We walked back to her house in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest, remembering what we had been taught. We looked forward as well, with mixed emotions.

When we arrived at her home, my grandmother sat down heavily in the chair next to the safe.

"Pick out your two favorite items," she said breathlessly. I pulled out the dog training clicker and the whistle.

"I knew you would pick those," she said. "This clicker was given to me by my father who trained dogs with it. By clicking before giving a treat, a dog's behavior can be modified. With practice, it doesn't take long before the dog will behave a certain way just by the series of clicks given by the trainer.

When I was a teenager I lived for a summer at the ocean and was a lifeguard. A whistle was given to every life guard. We were taught to blow sharp reports when trying to correct the behavior of swimmers. We were told to blow the whistle incessantly when we needed immediate assistance from other lifeguards.

When you go into the woods, I want you to take the clicker and the whistle. Don't go too deep in the woods but as you go, stop at every turn you take. Take a picture with your mind and click the clicker, so you will remember the location of your turns.

If you are ever in danger, blow the whistle incessantly and I will come and find you."

On my next visits, my grandmother slept often, and I would grab the clicker and the whistle and head out for a walk in the woods. I walked for a long while, enjoying alone time with nature. I would go to the Indian Table. I would travel the streams and look at all the trees. I felt alive, large and small at the same time.

On one of our final visits, I gave my sleeping grandmother a kiss and grabbed the clicker and whistle and headed off into the woods. I took a meandering path and eventually arrived at the Indian Table. I pictured Native Americans standing around it holding a ceremony. I chanted and raised my hands and danced around the table, imagining myself as part of the ceremony.

I heard rustling behind me. I turned around. There was a mother black bear and two cubs rumbling through the woods toward me. I panicked. I screamed. Like a little child, I screamed as they came toward me. They were not deterred, but seemed more interested in me.

The cubs were leading the way, and came within 5 feet of me when the mother bear growled. They stopped but continued to look at me. I jumped up on the table, still screaming. The mother bear raised up on her hind legs, a full foot taller than me even standing on the table.

I panicked again and jumped down from the table and climbed under it. The underside of the table served as a cage, and I imagined myself locked inside by the six legs of the table. I frantically pulled the clicker from my pocket and clicked it furiously, naively trying to change the bears' behavior and get them away from me. The cubs came toward me and the mother followed. I grabbed at the whistle around my neck and fumbled with it. I put it to my lips and blew furiously. Long frantic blows. The cubs came through the holes in my cage and pawed at the clicker, scratching my hand. I stopped clicking and clutched the clicker to my chest, curling up in a ball and blowing my whistle.

The cubs were curious. They raked their claws across my back, batted at my face. One cub gnawed at my wrist that was holding the clicker. I blew the whistle until my throat would burst open. I screamed through the whistle as I blew, yet the cubs kept clawing at me. At some point I passed out.

I awoke some time later and my whole body writhed in pain. I put my hands to my face and screamed. Torn flesh and pine needles covered my bloody hands. I reached for the underside of the table and left a red hand print. I wretched and slithered out from under the table, dragging my limp left arm behind me. My hand was still clutching the dog training clicker. I could not loosen my grip on it. I blew the whistle again, more weakly. I spun around the table, delirious, trying to discover the right path home. I used my right hand to pry my fingers away from the clicker. I imagined myself arriving at the Indian Table earlier in the afternoon. I chose my spot and clicked the clicker and headed toward home. I kept the whistle in my mouth and sounded it with every exhale as I breathed. I stumbled through the forest, clicking when necessary to find my way back to my grandmother's house.

I came through the forest and started across the lawn to the kitchen door. Darkness was starting to envelope the yard as I walked and the shadows from the trees reached out behind me and pushed me gently toward my destination.

I fumbled with the door and stumbled into the kitchen.

"Where have you been?" my mother said with her back to me while cooking.

I looked at her and at my father who sat astonished in his chair.

"Where is Gran?" I asked.

"She's been sleeping all afternoon," my mother replied. She spun to look at me and dropped the pan she had been holding and screamed.

I looked in her eyes then fell to the floor and lost consciousness.

I regained consciousness sometime later in the hospital room. I was already crying.

"I blew my whistle. I blew my whistle," I mumbled through the sobs.

"We heard you blowing it, it sounded like you were playing a wonderful game of cops and robbers," said my father.

"I wasn't playing a game. I was being attacked by bears."

"Clearly, but everything is alright now, honey," said my mother.

"I blew my whistle, but nobody came," I sobbed. "I blew my whistle but nobody came."

The Door to Enlightenment

In the middle of the hallway there stood another door. It was more of a doorway, nailed roughly into the floor in the center of the hall. A modest door hung on three hinges.

A sign above the door read "Enlightenment." I walked around the door and on the other side it looked the same. The same single word was painted on both sides of the sign.

I looked back at the other doors, each one representing a choice of an afterlife and one a way back to the reality of Earth, but this door stood alone in the hall.

I studied the door and looked for meaning in it. I ran my hands over the wood frame, but it was just standard two by four whitewood, the cheapest available. I examined the nails. They were all hand driven, but standard eight or ten penny nails. The hinges were cheap brass, fastened with screws, some at an awkward angle as if the individual who hung the door was not very experienced and had to hang the door alone in the frame. It wasn't a bad job, just not the work of an experienced carpenter. The door was very inexpensive. Just hollow core fiber board painted white, the cheapest available at a home improvement store. The knob was also cheap brass, with no locking mechanism.

The sign above the door was hand painted, and not very well. The spacing was not carefully planned, so the n and the t at the end of "Enlightenment." were a little squished together. The period at the end of the word was drippy, as if the sign was hung before the paint was dry; as if the painter were in a rush, or perhaps not so concerned with the final product.

I tried to imagine who would put this sort of a door together. I determined it must be made by a novice human. The other doors were so ornate and complex and unique that they had to be made by master craftsmen from this world or the next. This door was cobbled together from items on hand. No time was spent trying to get the best wood available. No painstaking carvings or lavish painting decorated this door.

The knob did not even have a lock on it. All the other doors had ornate locks or were heavily padlocked. Why did this door not have a lock? I had the ring of keys in my hand, but there was no need for a key. I searched the key ring anyway. I counted all the doors and all the keys. There was one key short. There was no key for the door to Enlightenment.

I put my hand on the knob of the door to Enlightenment. I expected some magic to happen, some major force to overtake me and shake me up. Nothing happened. I opened the door and peered through, expecting something more to be beyond. There was only a view to the end of the hallway. I left the door open and walked around the frame. There was absolutely nothing special about the door. I was confounded.

"Choose your door wisely," a voice said. I looked around me, up and down the hallway. I was alone.

"Choose your door wisely," the voice repeated. The voice was in my own head. It was not threatening or commanding, just there. Speaking only to me.

"I am afraid," I said. "I am afraid I will choose the wrong door. I am afraid of what will happen to me."

"Choose your door wisely," the voice repeated.

I looked again at all the doors along the hallway. I weighed the pros and cons of each one. I went over and over in my mind all the possible outcomes of choosing each door. I again opened each door and gazed through to what afterlife lay beyond. I lingered longest at the door that seemed to return the way I had come, back to Earth. I did not cross the threshold, but peered in as far as I could see. I spent days deciding, weeks even. I was not hungry. I was not tired. I did not want for anything. Yet still I could not decide. I began to think that I might be destined to spend eternity in the hallway, pondering each opportunity without ever taking action. I saw each opportunity for the afterlife and they all looked inviting, all looked interesting. I could not pick just one.

I made my way back to the door of Enlightenment. I opened it again and peered through it.

"Choose your door wisely," the voice repeated.

I drew in a deep breath and walked through the door, crossing the threshold. Nothing happened. I passed through and looked back through where I had come from. I closed and opened the door from both sides. I opened the door quickly to catch something that might appear on the other side. I slid up next to the door jamb and peered through the crack I made as I slowly opened the door. Only the hallway was there. There was nothing special about this door. So why was it here? What was it doing in the middle of such an important hallway?

"Choose your door wisely," the voice repeated.

"I just did choose my door," I said. I walked through the door again, in the same direction. "I choose the door to Enlightenment." Nothing happened.

"Choose your door wisely," the voice repeated.

"I did choose the door, I chose this door, the door to enlightenment," I said, irritated. I walked through the door again, back the way I had come. I had spent weeks deciding. I finally decided, and now I still had to choose?

"What else am I supposed to do here? Why am I trapped here? I chose my door, now what am I supposed to do?"

"Choose your door wisely."

I paced up and down the hallway. I went in and out of the door to Enlightenment repeatedly. I opened the door then slammed it hard. I slammed the door over and over again. I was still not getting through. I was getting through the door, but I wasn't getting through to the force behind the door. Or the force behind the door was not getting through to me.

I sat crosslegged in front of the door and stared at it. I must have spent days like that, trying to understand what the door could mean, what it all could mean, why I was stuck in this hallway, waiting to choose an afterlife. And why was I alone? Why was the door to Enlightenment alone as well?

Are we alone? Are we all alone, in the end? We come to Earth alone, but surrounded by people. We leave the Earth alone, again potentially surrounded by people who loved us when we were alive. Are we destined to make our decision for how to live the afterlife alone as well?

All I could gather from the door was that it was here. The door was here. And though I wasn't sure for certain, it seemed to be here for a reason. For a reason. This time, this place, for a reason. I was here, this time, this place for a reason as well. That was all I had at the end of my pondering.

The door was here. The door was present. I was here. I was present. The door was in the present. I was in the present. And that was all I had.

That was all I needed.

Here.

Now.

And now I understood. The door had given me all it had. All its presence. The present was all I had, all the door had. And that was the door's gift to me. To show me that the present moment is all we have. All we ever will have. What is present right now are the only things that are real. Everything else is an illusion.

I stood up and walked to the door again. I reached out my hand and touched the knob. It was cold. I turned the knob and felt the latch engage then release the door. I pulled the door open slowly and felt the soft friction of the new hinges. I heard a small squeak as the door was opening. I let go of the handle and felt the latch spring back into place. The door continued to open a bit after I released it, then came to a stop. I stood there looking at the open door, completely present, completely at peace, completely at one with the door and the hallway and all of my life and the potential afterlife. I felt the energy in my body, quivering with the strength of my spirit, the power of my breath. I moved my leg upward and placed my foot on the threshold. I moved my other leg upward and stepped through the door. Nothing happened.

Except I happened. I was presence. I was energy. I was experience. I was now. I was here, and I would always be here, always be present. I looked up at the ceiling and breathed deeply.

"Choose your door wisely," the voice said.

"I will," I replied.

I ran to the door which led back to Earth, back to reality. I whipped through the key ring and found the standard house key. I unlocked the door to Earth and opened it. Through the door I could see it was a glorious day, and it was just beginning. I knew what I had to do. I had to go back to Earth and live in the present moment. I had to be in the now as often as possible.

I turned back to the door to Enlightenment. I laughed aloud and ran to it. I pulled it open and kicked at the hinges. I kicked and pulled and tore the door off the hinges and threw it down the hallway. I went to the end of the hallway and lined myself up so I could see the door to Earth through the doorway to Enlightenment. I framed the door to Earth in the doorway to Enlightenment. It all looked the same. But I was not the same, and never would be again. I ran. I ran like the wind. I passed through the doorway to enlightenment and jumped through the door back to the reality of Earth, soaring with the eagles, armed with the power of presence. The Power of Now.

It has to start someplace

It has to start sometime

What better place than here?

What better time than now?

-Rage Against the Machine