“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

~ Eugene Ionesco

This week’s post is more in the format of an “op-ed,” but I feel it is so important to have you wake up to questioning everything.

Few people challenge the conventional wisdom and many more probably do not question the world in which they live. We have moved to a state of tolerance at best, while many binge on mindless entertainment and are confronted with pointless trivia which distracts them from seeing the big picture.

The combination of tolerance and distraction has moved us away from realizing our full potential for change, to make change and to ascend. We stop asking what we are tolerating and why. We are brainwashed to think that what is on the nightly news is all true and credible. The media has become entertainment. We find escape in watching other people’ lives in mindless reality TV shows.

For many, measuring their success or happiness is done so in how many likes or retweets they get. For many, they forget to think for themselves, to form their own opinions and to participate in life vs watching life from a digital device. A complacency has set in with the “can’t fight city hall” mindset, or a belief that one’s life is boring and too routine. 

Yes, we live in interesting and some may say difficult times. Long term, well-established institutions—religious, media, academic, industry, financial, health and government among many—are struggling to sustain themselves in their current paradigms. This is no longer a “separation of state and church” among the multitude of institutions.

Further, all these institutions are overseen by human beings; people in power striving to retain their influence. They work to hold on to what they think they have even when others suffer. Feeling powerless, we may follow these people and think we have to choose between the lesser of two (or more) evils. This is no way to go through your life. And you do have the inner strength and energy to break the cycle.

I say to you my friends that you have to be your own teacher and your own disciple—by listening to your inner voice, your instincts and your calling. Take the time to gain different perspectives. Invest in getting the facts and awaken your curiosity.

I encourage you to keep an open mind by asking questions, as questions enable and fuel change.

• ·       Start with yourself. Go deep.
• ·       Rely on your intuitive intelligence
• ·       Demand honesty.
• ·       Don’t accept the easy answer.
• ·       Challenge the systems of authority.
• ·       Stand up for what you believe.
• ·       Fight for progress.
• ·       Put your energy into the momentum of change.

Bringing the Why into focus changes everything—for individuals, nations and organizations alike. So start asking Why. Tune into yourself. Reduce the distractions. Be present. Be awake.

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is hypocrisy? Some say it is a situation in which someone pretends to believe something that they do not really believe or when actions do not match words or intent.

In today’s times, hypocrisy is all too common in nearly every area of human activity, including political, religious and commercial—at institutional levels and even on personal levels. The English word “hypocrite” comes from a Greek root that denotes a speaker or a stage actor, often wearing a mask. In time, the term came to mean anyone who was putting on an act to deceive others or to advance certain selfish goals.

Each of us knows first-hand that hypocrisy can arouse strong emotions in those affected by it, including anger and resentment. But I want you to think about hypocrisy in the context that it is so pervasive and prevalent that we may have become immune to it and somewhat expect it. This is why I implore you to stop, take a deep breath and seriously reflect on this. Have you become immune to hypocrisy? Do you truly recognize it? Do you take the time to really listen and hear—and more so—be impacted by the hypocrisy in the world, in your life and possibly within you? Do your actions reflect your words and intent? 

We live in interesting times, where Institutions have grown too big and are breaking, where paradigms and models cannot be sustained and where some affluent leaders are trying to hold on to what they have or had. Massive Universal change is in motion. This is not comfortable and it stresses our sense of reality. And this is where hypocrisy enters and can take root.

Now is the time to reflect on the changes underway on the political, economic, educational, health, etc. fronts. Now is the time to understand yourself, to know your beliefs and values and be aware of the hypocrisy at play. You may not be able to change or stop hypocrisy as it is interestingly enough part of the process of change. But you can take steps to be aware of it in others and even within yourself.

One way of looking at it is that hypocrites groom you to become hyper-aware of what you may deem are your “wrongdoings,” while they dismiss anything that they themselves may be doing “wrong.”  They tend to relocate blame. In short, they are experts at blaming others, while empathetic people are experts at blaming themselves. The more hypocrisy poison to which you are exposed, the more you may doubt yourself. Stop the madness.

As you navigate the world of ubiquitous hypocrisy do your best to objectively perceive reality for what it is. Try your best to objectively perceive truth for what it is. Trust your instincts and strive to live by your values.

A few observations struck me over the past few days that had me thinking about when did we lose the joy of ourselves. When did we leave behind the pure essence of ourselves like a faded photograph in some strange exchange for fitting in?  When did we lose sight of our true inner beauty selling ourselves out to be, well, accepted? When did we start to believe what others thought of us mattered… so much so that it started to define us and where we may have put out intentions to meet those expectations or arbitrary criteria for being “normal” or to be like everyone else, or even worse to be someone else?

It was a pleasant spring day and I stopped by a park to get some fresh air and sunshine. I first noticed small children simply playing. Simply just being—running, laughing and overall just oblivious to anyone around them. They were not worrying about what others may have been thinking about them or what they were doing. After all, they were just having fun and in their moments of joy.

As I sat in the sun I saw many people walking, running, etc. In particular, there was one women who caught my attention. Unlike the others who were going about their walk or run in what one would say was more conventional or how most people go about their walk or run, she was “dance-walking.” She had her ear-buds in and was walking at a good pace—but along her walk, she was dancing—breaking out some moves, stopping briefly along the way in a fluid flow of dance.

I saw her circle around the path a few times, all the way moving to her beat—to her song. I have to say, it made me smile and think good for her! There were a good amount of people along her path, but she never stopped. She did not get self conscious or try to subdue her moves.  What also caught my attention was how the adults along the way seemed to “ignore” her as they noticed her, but more so how the little kids gravitated to her. They would stop, look back at her, smile and put a dance move in their steps. It was like magic. 

The next day driving home from work I decided to take a different route.  I passed an elementary school that had on its marquee a Dr. Seuss quote from The Cat in the Hat, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.” The Universe sending me a message for sure—connecting my observations from the past two days.

Somewhere along the early path of our lives, we start to get self-conscious. A phenomenon subtly but increasingly occurs where we start to be compared by others or compare ourselves to others, and where we start to pay more attention to the noise around us about what we are suppose to want, how we are suppose to act, etc. When we don’t think we live up to those expectations or criteria, we work even harder to meet those myths. In a paradox of thinking we are working to stand out, we are actually working to fit in. We work so hard to blend in or to be like others that we forget to just let ourselves be ourselves.

Some people put so much effort or energy into this that their joy is lost. The happiness of being satisfied with who they are, where they are and where they are going gets buried. The music of their souls is drowned out by noise and the colors of their worlds fade. But all is not lost. As I thought about the small children at play, the dance walker and the Dr. Seuss quote, it brought back into focus the importance of re-discovering joy, to heed the advice of being true to yourself and to hear and sing the song of your soul.

Just as anger can be a powerful and palpable emotion, so can joy. Feel it. Let yourself go and be happy. Immerse yourself in it no matter what your situation. When you are grateful for something, feel that completely. Take a few minutes and feel that joy. Stop being so self-conscious. Stop comparing yourself to others and don’t worry so much of what others think of you. Remember, joy comes from within. Joy requires no one else’s approval, validation or permission. Rediscover your joy!

Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty — his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.

~ Aldous Huxley

Is boredom a message from the Universe that you are wasting your time?

Is it a message from the Universe telling you that you need to rest or take a break?

Does it mean you know what you are doing—you have mastered your life?

Is it because you lack stimulation or need to do something different?

Is it a choice?

Is it something we all need to experience to grow and learn about ourselves?

Is it a fear of self?

Is it the absence of an interesting perspective?

Is it the result of or a manifestation of frustration?

Is it stagnation of energy or maybe energy that needs to find a home or place to be unleashed?

Is it reality or truth in the ascension process—as our earthly beings in this human existence struggle with the paradox of being physically here but wanting to be or transcending to being untethered from the emotional aspects of the physicality of this existence?

Or is it as the quote by Aldous Huxley states a symbol of liberty? 

I know this is quite a set of questions on the topic of boredom, and I hope thought provoking. More and more I see a growing population experiencing this emotion or state of being and who may struggle with what it means and why they are bored.

We are conditioned that boredom does not feel good, and has a negative connotation. It’s physically and mentally uncomfortable as we consider the source of our boredom. And there in may lie the key—why are we compelled to determine the source, the trigger, etc., as somehow if we unearth the source we can do something about it. We can make change, make it better or even make it go away.

For some, in our efforts to deal with our boredom we may make what we interpret or think of as “bad” decisions or do things we think we may not have done if we were not bored. But are these not simply the journey—stepping stones or spring boards to evolving ourselves? Why do we find it so difficult to embrace or accept our boredom and even have a desire to fight it?

It may come to some of the concepts referenced in the questions in the list above. It may be as we go through our cycles of growth and hit milestones, we may have mastered certain things or experiences and it may be a sign for a change—more so a change that is impending and regardless of what we do or not do that change will come. It is a symptom of the ascension process as we become enlightened and vibrate at higher levels in a current physical space that is changing but our fellow humans are at different levels in the process—sort of in between dimensions. It may simply be a symbol of liberty as our soul prepares to move forward in fulfilling its purpose.

So what is being bored? It is not just “the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest.”

It is more. And I ask you to contemplate your boredom and consider the possibilities.