Perceived risk is completely different from real, actual risk.
How we view anything: love, fear, danger etc. are all different depending on how we view the circumstance and who or what is involved.
Recently I was driving on a three lane highway; I was driving along in the far right lane with one other car going relatively the same speed in the far left lane reserved for faster moving vehicles. I noticed there was a car coming up quickly behind me getting ready to make the pass in the middle between me and the car on the far left.
I read the facial expression on the young driver who was passing me and I couldn’t help but notice the immediate change in disposition once she got ready to zoom by.
There was no real risk involved in what she was doing other than the increase in speed associated with making the maneuver. Her face went from calm and collected to riddled with fear and anxiety as soon as she got ready to go around me.
Her approach was smooth and calculated but I could tell the woman riding shotgun caused this little girl to change from confident to questioning. The girl wasn’t scared to pass me, made evident by her casualness in changing to the middle lane. What caused this girl to give the move a second thought was the reaction this woman in the front gave when the driver punched the gas a little to get around.
I could instantly tell this young driver was now made uncomfortable, not by the situation on the highway but by the growing uneasiness of the woman in the car with her.
The perceived risk and tension from the older woman next to her, who must have been her guardian, caused the girl to clinch so tightly to the steering wheel that I could see the white of her knuckles.
If the woman had not been in the car this would have been nothing more than a routine pass, along a busy highway. Instead, what would have been an ordinary offensive driving move turned into an opportunity for fear to creep in (fear of her mother’s scorn) and cast doubt and concern over her initial reaction to pass.
It appears to me that a situation doesn’t present us the actual pressure, but instead it’s how we view or perceive the situation that dictates our response to it.
We have the power to control the outcome of almost every situation we find ourselves in based almost solely on how we view the risk and/or reward that the situation is powered by.
We can literally change out entire life for the better or the worse by changing our perceptions and how we view everything around us.
Situations in life either define us because we give them the power to do so, or are defined by us, based on the choice to have power and control over our lives.
Things are what we think about them, and they only hold the value we appoint them.
Every situation we come across in life takes on the form we associate with it- whether that is one of fear or love, anticipation or apprehension, the allocation of value is solely up to us and our interpretation of the risk and/or reward involved.
Choose to see the reward within the confines of risk and decide to live out loud for the things you want most in life.
Don’t hide in fear that things might not work out, instead, decide at this moment in time that life will take on a new form for you, a more lucrative form because you are going to question how you perceive things, and no longer take what life gives you simply because it appears to be what you’re presented with.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
A River's Wisdom
Many of you have probably seen a river hundreds if not thousands of times in your life and never thought twice about the wisdom that an ongoing body of water can possess… I say this because for the longest time I didn’t take a closer look at its value either.
Recently I had to spend quite a while near the seven bends of the Shenandoah River, one of America’s most iconic bodies of water. This area of America is often referred to as “God’s Country.” That title has always made me laugh because it’s labeling one area of the world more sacred and more essential than another, which to me couldn’t be any farther from the truth. Every inch of space on this planet is as important to the life forms inhabiting it as every other inch; but that’s another topic for another day.
For the purpose of this blog I’m more concerned with relaying the importance of looking at the wisdom and underlying truth that a river presents all those who choose to take notice.
A river is made by other, smaller bodies of water (tributaries) flowing downstream into a larger body of water, a river. Then this body of water carries itself towards its inevitable end never ceasing as it flows. A river represents much of what life is about, and carries with its waters secrets for living a fuller life as old as the river itself.
Life is like a river whose waters continually flow along both banks of existence that makes up the barriers for its life. Effortlessly the water moves onward towards a predetermined goal yet unknown to the water as it flows. One bank represents all of the things we as people deem good and just in life and all of life’s potential. The opposite bank represents exactly the opposite, life’s negatives. In no point of the river’s journey does its body of water not touch both sides, simultaneously, all the while remaining unaffected by the twists and turns of its present course. The river continues towards its goal with renewing energy at every new bend.
So you see, at a closer examination a river serves as a tool for wisdom, a voice for knowledge, and an outlet for energy. The river can serve as a means for transportation, as a source of life-giving nutrients and a joy for recreation. The river is multi-faceted and multi-dimensional, similar to the characteristics that make up a human.
Learn from the river and understand the knowledge it possesses and your life in return will take on a whole new meaning and a lesser degree of difficulty. Stay your course and remain focused on being unaffected by the twists and turns on the road of life ahead of you. Like a river, in the end, we just wind our way into a new, larger body, that’s yet still consistent with what we were made of the whole time the journey was taking place.
Peace and love,
Mason
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Give to Receive
“Who we choose to be in the darkness makes all the difference in the world to who we can be in the light.”
I was reminded recently about a key fact about life that I seem to have overlooked lately: Love is giving to others what we desire for our self.
Today was one of those days when nothing seemed to fit. We all have those days, or weeks, or months where we feel nothing goes our way. When we go through these tough times we often look to others with hidden expectations for them to say or do something to bring us out of this funk. We forget that true love means not expecting something burdensome from someone else, but instead pouring ourselves and our resources out and into someone else. True love doesn’t look to others for some form of completeness. We shouldn’t look to gain from someone; instead we should try to love that person by giving them all we have to offer. Never look to prosper from another, look instead to give, for the act of giving means we had that which we desired to gain from another the entire time.
If you love someone or something, look not to receive but decide to give unconditionally.
Society teaches us that the “I” is better than the “We”- but the truth is, if there wasn’t a “We”, the “I” wouldn’t be possible. The stronger the “we” the stronger the “I” can be.
Everyone is connected in beautiful and mystical ways; we’re also connected at a very cellular level as well. We may all appear to be singular in form but it’s in our uncommonness we find that common ground is all we really share.
Try not to be a victim of comfort or self-indulgence, because in looking only to one’s self for the gain we miss that true personal growth can only be found in helping others to grow.
A universal truth that everyone should think about is this: for us to have what we want and for us to be a complete being, we must strive to give others the ability to be complete.
This is a tough dichotomy that takes some meditation to grasp, but once you’re able to wrap your mind around it you’ll never be the same again.
Together we are the drum that makes collective heartbeat sound, our purpose is to evolve as a culture and to spread a progressive, all inclusive love.
The old mindset that individuality is the most important thing needs to be replaced with the knowledge that together, people give the opportunity for the singular person to have the individuality they crave. The “I” is contingent and eternally connected to the “We”.
We live in a very “me” based society, but true growth as a person or the advancement of a culture only has the space for headroom when people come together as a collective unit and share a collective mindset towards a common goal. You can only be the best “me” when we choose to give others, through shared and loving experience, the power and ability to choose for themselves who they want to be.
Advancement is only done by asking one’s self one question, in every situation: Am I helping this person by building into them or am I looking to gain something from them in return. The very act of giving of yourself shows the universe that yes in fact, you already have what it is you think you need. Completeness and individuality are essential if we hope to live up to our potential, but our potential stays out of reach until we realize it’s only by helping others be who they want to be that we truly realize we were the person we wanted to be the whole time.
A very wise person who happened to live about 2000 years ago said “give and you shall receive, knock and the door shall be opened.” If we hope to receive what’s behind the door it only stands to reason that the act of giving leads our hands to first knock at the door.
I was reminded recently about a key fact about life that I seem to have overlooked lately: Love is giving to others what we desire for our self.
Today was one of those days when nothing seemed to fit. We all have those days, or weeks, or months where we feel nothing goes our way. When we go through these tough times we often look to others with hidden expectations for them to say or do something to bring us out of this funk. We forget that true love means not expecting something burdensome from someone else, but instead pouring ourselves and our resources out and into someone else. True love doesn’t look to others for some form of completeness. We shouldn’t look to gain from someone; instead we should try to love that person by giving them all we have to offer. Never look to prosper from another, look instead to give, for the act of giving means we had that which we desired to gain from another the entire time.
If you love someone or something, look not to receive but decide to give unconditionally.
Society teaches us that the “I” is better than the “We”- but the truth is, if there wasn’t a “We”, the “I” wouldn’t be possible. The stronger the “we” the stronger the “I” can be.
Everyone is connected in beautiful and mystical ways; we’re also connected at a very cellular level as well. We may all appear to be singular in form but it’s in our uncommonness we find that common ground is all we really share.
Try not to be a victim of comfort or self-indulgence, because in looking only to one’s self for the gain we miss that true personal growth can only be found in helping others to grow.
A universal truth that everyone should think about is this: for us to have what we want and for us to be a complete being, we must strive to give others the ability to be complete.
This is a tough dichotomy that takes some meditation to grasp, but once you’re able to wrap your mind around it you’ll never be the same again.
Together we are the drum that makes collective heartbeat sound, our purpose is to evolve as a culture and to spread a progressive, all inclusive love.
The old mindset that individuality is the most important thing needs to be replaced with the knowledge that together, people give the opportunity for the singular person to have the individuality they crave. The “I” is contingent and eternally connected to the “We”.
We live in a very “me” based society, but true growth as a person or the advancement of a culture only has the space for headroom when people come together as a collective unit and share a collective mindset towards a common goal. You can only be the best “me” when we choose to give others, through shared and loving experience, the power and ability to choose for themselves who they want to be.
Advancement is only done by asking one’s self one question, in every situation: Am I helping this person by building into them or am I looking to gain something from them in return. The very act of giving of yourself shows the universe that yes in fact, you already have what it is you think you need. Completeness and individuality are essential if we hope to live up to our potential, but our potential stays out of reach until we realize it’s only by helping others be who they want to be that we truly realize we were the person we wanted to be the whole time.
A very wise person who happened to live about 2000 years ago said “give and you shall receive, knock and the door shall be opened.” If we hope to receive what’s behind the door it only stands to reason that the act of giving leads our hands to first knock at the door.
Truth Compels US
“The highest truth in life is that which compels you”
Throughout life we are met with a wide variety of other people’s views and opinions as to what we should believe or to the extent of how we should live our lives.
As a young person I grew up in an atmosphere that accentuated the necessity for church and the salvation that it promised. As a teenager I attended and all boys, Southern Baptist style military school where our attendance to the three chapel services a week were mandatory. Needless to say, religion was pushed on me from an early age and reinforced throughout my adolescence. Then I got to college and I suddenly had the unmistakable gift of freedom, the freedom to choose where I go, what I do, and for how long.
It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I decided to take a long look at what I believed and why I believed it. Over the course of the next two years I allowed myself to be open to any number of possibilities for our existence and the purpose for our life. I allowed myself to question the validity of everything; I dedicated my life to the pursuit of finding the TRUTH about life and the meaning for our being part of it.
I learned much about myself in the process: I learned I had a habit of judging other people based solely on the grounds of archaic expectations that I had due to a life of listening to other people’s view of the world. I learned it wasn’t as important to know all the answers as it was to be asking all of the questions. I learned there’s only one ultimate truth in reality- LOVE is all there is and yet even love is dependent upon its opposite for definition. I learned that there’s more than one way to connect with God and find meaning for our life. I came to the realization that everyone, everywhere, is connected and not only to one another but to their surroundings as well. Most importantly I discovered that in order to be the person you want to be in life and to be able to have the impact you desire, you had to first understand deep-down in your core what you believed and why. The second part of that discovery came in the form of not only knowing who I am and what I believe but understanding from that, that everyone has their own path to walk and it’s not my place to interfere with the steps they take. My life can only be an example for others to follow and my words can only be a catalyst for other people’s self-discovery.
The truth is…. There’s not just one correct way for everyone to connect with the creator or to connect with the meaning for their life; instead, there’s only one way for each person individually to come to these understandings.
It’s up to every one of us to find our own, individual truth, to find that which compels us into action. Don’t be scared, if what you find that makes sense to you differs from your past assumptions and beliefs. We are all beings of the inevitable pull of evolution, what worked for your life at one point in time may carry little weight for you at another.
What compels YOU to be the best person you know you can be? What drives YOU to be a benefit to man-kind? What brings YOU into unison with your potential and your purpose for life? These questions should serve as the only waypoints on your road to fulfillment.
What causes YOU to act?
WE are who we choose to be, based on who WE believe we can be; when you connect with this truth life suddenly becomes simple.
All the spiritual leaders spread throughout time posed a very similar question for humanity: Who are WE? The answer is up to us to define, first as individuals and then as a race of people.
We cannot see the change we wish to see in the world until WE know as individuals who we are, what we stand for, and what compels us.
Shalom,
Mason
Throughout life we are met with a wide variety of other people’s views and opinions as to what we should believe or to the extent of how we should live our lives.
As a young person I grew up in an atmosphere that accentuated the necessity for church and the salvation that it promised. As a teenager I attended and all boys, Southern Baptist style military school where our attendance to the three chapel services a week were mandatory. Needless to say, religion was pushed on me from an early age and reinforced throughout my adolescence. Then I got to college and I suddenly had the unmistakable gift of freedom, the freedom to choose where I go, what I do, and for how long.
It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I decided to take a long look at what I believed and why I believed it. Over the course of the next two years I allowed myself to be open to any number of possibilities for our existence and the purpose for our life. I allowed myself to question the validity of everything; I dedicated my life to the pursuit of finding the TRUTH about life and the meaning for our being part of it.
I learned much about myself in the process: I learned I had a habit of judging other people based solely on the grounds of archaic expectations that I had due to a life of listening to other people’s view of the world. I learned it wasn’t as important to know all the answers as it was to be asking all of the questions. I learned there’s only one ultimate truth in reality- LOVE is all there is and yet even love is dependent upon its opposite for definition. I learned that there’s more than one way to connect with God and find meaning for our life. I came to the realization that everyone, everywhere, is connected and not only to one another but to their surroundings as well. Most importantly I discovered that in order to be the person you want to be in life and to be able to have the impact you desire, you had to first understand deep-down in your core what you believed and why. The second part of that discovery came in the form of not only knowing who I am and what I believe but understanding from that, that everyone has their own path to walk and it’s not my place to interfere with the steps they take. My life can only be an example for others to follow and my words can only be a catalyst for other people’s self-discovery.
The truth is…. There’s not just one correct way for everyone to connect with the creator or to connect with the meaning for their life; instead, there’s only one way for each person individually to come to these understandings.
It’s up to every one of us to find our own, individual truth, to find that which compels us into action. Don’t be scared, if what you find that makes sense to you differs from your past assumptions and beliefs. We are all beings of the inevitable pull of evolution, what worked for your life at one point in time may carry little weight for you at another.
What compels YOU to be the best person you know you can be? What drives YOU to be a benefit to man-kind? What brings YOU into unison with your potential and your purpose for life? These questions should serve as the only waypoints on your road to fulfillment.
What causes YOU to act?
WE are who we choose to be, based on who WE believe we can be; when you connect with this truth life suddenly becomes simple.
All the spiritual leaders spread throughout time posed a very similar question for humanity: Who are WE? The answer is up to us to define, first as individuals and then as a race of people.
We cannot see the change we wish to see in the world until WE know as individuals who we are, what we stand for, and what compels us.
Shalom,
Mason
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Train For Success
Success or failure cannot be quantified by how many wins or losses your life's record book shows. Instead, I believe the measure of a man or woman's success should be dictated by how many times you showed up to play and how prepared you were going into each challenge.
In the February, 2009 edition of Men's Health, Ryan Reynolds, was quoted as saying "I don't expect success, I train for it."
His words should serve as a wake-up call to all those in the world who take life for granted and who believe we are victims of our circumstances, not victors over our circumstances.
No matter the state of life we find our self in, barring the exceptions of permanent handicaps due to someone else's negligence, we are the practitioners of our own current predicaments.
Everything we've endured, everything we're experiencing now, whether it is heartache or complete joy and freedom, has come directly from choices we made prior to our current situation.
We have a choice in every matter: to come or go, to stay or leave, to prosper or flounder, etc... And within every choice we make lies one common denominator- will I choose to walk in LOVE and prosperity or FEAR and despondency.
Everything we as humans do, every decision we make concerning anything under the sun, has at its root these common questions: Am I going to walk in LOVE or hide in FEAR? Am I going to choose to bask in greatness or blend in in mediocrity? Will I believe in my creative potential to be exceptional or listen to other's criticism of my ability to be nothing more than I am?
Some have referred to this common denominator of making decisions based out of love or fear as our "sponsoring thoughts" or our "first and unrecognizable choice"
LOVE or FEAR...
Fear comes in many forms: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of vulnerability, fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of the "what ifs", and my personal favorite... fear of someone’s disapproval.
But for every choice made out of fear there's the opposite that's also possible, that opposite is a choice made out of love: love for success, love for the attempt, love for changing other people's minds, love of making the unknown what we want it to be, the love of living, the love for "what if I didn't do it?" and the love for personal approval and the satisfaction that comes along with being true to one's self.
Life is a lot like boxing. Punches are always being thrown your way, your back can be pinned in the corner, and sometimes you can even be outmatched. But, like any great fighter, we can choose how to train, how to prepare, how to block, and then how we want to counter to take back control of the round. The best boxers are never beaten, only knocked down for a short while; in their heart they know they're going to get back up and finish the round on their terms.
Success happens when proper training and preparation come toe-to-toe with opportunity.
Let LOVE guide your training, let positivity be the root of your preparation and trust in your God-given ability to prosper, so when the fight-night comes you're prepared, hopeful, and ready to deliver the knockout blow!
Lastly, If you find yourself taking more punches from life than you're giving, it only stands to reason that you should change how you train.
As always, let LOVE guide your steps...
Mason
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
WE are WHO WE are
"If you allow someone's perception of you to dictate your role or define you, then you don't own yourself"
- Daily horoscope app for droid / Tuesday 2-15-11 "LEO"
All anyone of us has is the ability for self-definition: all other things in life stem from this ability; how we treat others, how we approach any situation, how we live our lives etc...
Another way to envision this is: What do we see when we look in the mirror?
- A coward? A hero? A villain? A good person?
We are all defined by the lives we live and the choices we make concerning our life: Do we stay? Do we go? Do we smile in the face of confusion and adversity, or do we run and hide?
Many of life's gifts are wrapped by the hands of our own deeds, they're made manifest by how much we desire something and what we do to obtain it.
Currently I'm in the process of making a major decision concerning my current location in life; it involves not only being honest with myself but honesty with those around me.
Whenever a decision of magnitude comes about, we're presented with an amazing opportunity to define to the universe who we are and what we want to be.
The universe works in such a way as to grant us our grandest desires, based on who we are in relation to what it is we say we want; all of life works within this rule and is deeply rooted in cause and effect.
We make decisions everyday that dictate our placement down the road of life, all we can do is trust in our worth and potential, then take a leap of faith based on our personal calculation of both.
Never settle for what is or what others' dictate for yourself, unless you happen to find yourself exactly where you wish to be.
Don't do anything for the promise of the future hope of happiness or fulfillment, unless you have confidence in yourself in your present circumstance. Likewise, don't look for a loved one to come along and to complete you unless you find yourself already self-sufficient.
It's okay to aspire to be something or someone, but first internalize the knowledge that at this very moment you already have the potential to be that person.
Be, now, who it is you wish to be down the road. The act of searching after life's gold only leads to a life of searching.
Start living the life you want today, and beauty is all you will see staring back at you in the mirror. Be transparent to the universe about who you are and what you desire and you'll receive clear signs for forward progress. If you choose to be closed off and illusionary, you'll be left to walk across muddied waters.
Everyone has the God-given potential to realize their dreams; choose to believe in yourself and not what others choose to believe for you.
I love you, I believe in you now and always!
Peace and blessings,
Mason
- Daily horoscope app for droid / Tuesday 2-15-11 "LEO"
All anyone of us has is the ability for self-definition: all other things in life stem from this ability; how we treat others, how we approach any situation, how we live our lives etc...
Another way to envision this is: What do we see when we look in the mirror?
- A coward? A hero? A villain? A good person?
We are all defined by the lives we live and the choices we make concerning our life: Do we stay? Do we go? Do we smile in the face of confusion and adversity, or do we run and hide?
Many of life's gifts are wrapped by the hands of our own deeds, they're made manifest by how much we desire something and what we do to obtain it.
Currently I'm in the process of making a major decision concerning my current location in life; it involves not only being honest with myself but honesty with those around me.
Whenever a decision of magnitude comes about, we're presented with an amazing opportunity to define to the universe who we are and what we want to be.
The universe works in such a way as to grant us our grandest desires, based on who we are in relation to what it is we say we want; all of life works within this rule and is deeply rooted in cause and effect.
We make decisions everyday that dictate our placement down the road of life, all we can do is trust in our worth and potential, then take a leap of faith based on our personal calculation of both.
Never settle for what is or what others' dictate for yourself, unless you happen to find yourself exactly where you wish to be.
Don't do anything for the promise of the future hope of happiness or fulfillment, unless you have confidence in yourself in your present circumstance. Likewise, don't look for a loved one to come along and to complete you unless you find yourself already self-sufficient.
It's okay to aspire to be something or someone, but first internalize the knowledge that at this very moment you already have the potential to be that person.
Be, now, who it is you wish to be down the road. The act of searching after life's gold only leads to a life of searching.
Start living the life you want today, and beauty is all you will see staring back at you in the mirror. Be transparent to the universe about who you are and what you desire and you'll receive clear signs for forward progress. If you choose to be closed off and illusionary, you'll be left to walk across muddied waters.
Everyone has the God-given potential to realize their dreams; choose to believe in yourself and not what others choose to believe for you.
I love you, I believe in you now and always!
Peace and blessings,
Mason
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Makings of a Beautiful Person
There are many characteristics that comprise a beautiful person: A willingness to help other people, a desire for excellence, the need to pursue right over wrong for the betterment of one’s society and one's self, a smile that causes others to take notice, humor for the less sensible in life, joy for all occasions, and an optimistic attitude, just to name a few...
Beauty can be found all around us, but it often takes a beautiful person to recognize it.
When I speak of beauty I'm not talking about the Hollywood version of the word, which solely pertains to a person's looks, but beauty in a much broader and totally inclusive sense.
B - Beautification
E - Excellence
A - Awareness
U - Understanding
T - Thoughtfulness
Y - Yearning
All any of us are promised is the moment at hand, and in this epic moment of NOW we all have a choice to make: Whether or not we will see life as the ultimate gift or a cursed, burden.
We don't always see the everyday happenings of life as gifts; often we view our circumstances as inevitable, negative happenstance... But that viewpoint is far from the truth.
Whether your heart is set on a perspective mate and for some reason it doesn't work out or we miss a qualified promotion or sickness and death touch our life, it's important to hold close to the mantra that: every end of something makes room for the glorious new beginning of something promising.
There's power and promise in new beginnings, each new day presents a chance to make new circumstances something we control, or let control us - Beautiful people realize this fact and live by it.
The first step to living a better life is teaching one's self how to smile when faced with the scowl of adversity. The power of a smile is contagious not only for others but for the sake of rebuilding a person's worth and identity.
If life seems to constantly be a burden or a weight too heavy to lift, try transforming your mindset towards a particular thing. Look not to distinguish something or someone as wholly bad, look for the light in the circumstance and you'll discover the fire that burns deep inside of you.
If life feels to only carry darkness, then take comfort in the old adage that - "it's always darkest before the dawn"
Practical step #1 for living a more fulfilling life: Use every right-hook life swings at you as an opportunity to counter on your own, loving terms.
Remember, love guides the steps of the great, fear only serves to paralyze the walk of an otherwise fulfilled man or woman.
Live for love/beauty, look for love/beauty, seek after love/beauty... and life will suddenly become lovely and full of beauty.
As always,
Peace and Love
Beauty can be found all around us, but it often takes a beautiful person to recognize it.
When I speak of beauty I'm not talking about the Hollywood version of the word, which solely pertains to a person's looks, but beauty in a much broader and totally inclusive sense.
B - Beautification
E - Excellence
A - Awareness
U - Understanding
T - Thoughtfulness
Y - Yearning
All any of us are promised is the moment at hand, and in this epic moment of NOW we all have a choice to make: Whether or not we will see life as the ultimate gift or a cursed, burden.
We don't always see the everyday happenings of life as gifts; often we view our circumstances as inevitable, negative happenstance... But that viewpoint is far from the truth.
Whether your heart is set on a perspective mate and for some reason it doesn't work out or we miss a qualified promotion or sickness and death touch our life, it's important to hold close to the mantra that: every end of something makes room for the glorious new beginning of something promising.
There's power and promise in new beginnings, each new day presents a chance to make new circumstances something we control, or let control us - Beautiful people realize this fact and live by it.
The first step to living a better life is teaching one's self how to smile when faced with the scowl of adversity. The power of a smile is contagious not only for others but for the sake of rebuilding a person's worth and identity.
If life seems to constantly be a burden or a weight too heavy to lift, try transforming your mindset towards a particular thing. Look not to distinguish something or someone as wholly bad, look for the light in the circumstance and you'll discover the fire that burns deep inside of you.
If life feels to only carry darkness, then take comfort in the old adage that - "it's always darkest before the dawn"
Practical step #1 for living a more fulfilling life: Use every right-hook life swings at you as an opportunity to counter on your own, loving terms.
Remember, love guides the steps of the great, fear only serves to paralyze the walk of an otherwise fulfilled man or woman.
Live for love/beauty, look for love/beauty, seek after love/beauty... and life will suddenly become lovely and full of beauty.
As always,
Peace and Love
Friday, January 28, 2011
Truth is Among US
Truth can be found anywhere, but only when one chooses to take notice...
T - Trust
R - Realization
U - Understanding
T - Teaching
H - Honor
With each new day comes a new opportunity to see through the illusion of life and see people and scenarios for what they truly are: chances to experience truth.
Most see or hear the word Truth and jump to the conclusion that truth is limited to their own understanding of a situation based on what their religion has told them the proper response should be.
My idea of truth is the absence of a pre-determined thought process based off of thousands of years of protocol, but a more practical application of experience and personal questioning of "does this help or hinder my ability to love my fellow man?"
Truth comes in the form of any form, any conversation, any walk along life's highway. Babies exude truth through their need for a parent's protection and affection. Billboards speak of higher ideals at times, sportscasters, street-walkers, books of faith, sunsets, a warm breeze brushing across your face, and even certain commercials can boast a degree of poignant, practicality.
Music as well as art, play huge roles in one's journey to experience realness. Words of a sonnet, poem or oration often have interwoven within them the very fabric to create, sustain, and fulfill one's need for experienced truth.
Use experience as your guide, let experience be the major player in deciding what works for you. Learn to trust your lived experience as the main ingredient for proof of some-things validity.
A nation of unquestioning souls is a crime against the minority and a crime against our God-given potential we all possess to be whole and complete humans be-ing part of our higher purpose - Realizing truth is everywhere, in everything, and amongst even the illusion of untruth.
Every moment of our lives we as people are actually 3 distinct yet unified beings: what we were, what we are, and who we choose to be relative to our surroundings and our desired environment... Thus, every moment of life is a moment of definition and creation through experience.
Embrace the "down," knowing full and well that the "up" would not be possible without its counterpart.
Desire choice, desire experiences both good and bad, desire to be part of something beneath and above you - If you live for the purpose of experiencing these things in your everyday life, your steps towards enlightenment will transform into a path towards the experience of a lifetime!
Peace and ongoing love,
Mason
T - Trust
R - Realization
U - Understanding
T - Teaching
H - Honor
With each new day comes a new opportunity to see through the illusion of life and see people and scenarios for what they truly are: chances to experience truth.
Most see or hear the word Truth and jump to the conclusion that truth is limited to their own understanding of a situation based on what their religion has told them the proper response should be.
My idea of truth is the absence of a pre-determined thought process based off of thousands of years of protocol, but a more practical application of experience and personal questioning of "does this help or hinder my ability to love my fellow man?"
Truth comes in the form of any form, any conversation, any walk along life's highway. Babies exude truth through their need for a parent's protection and affection. Billboards speak of higher ideals at times, sportscasters, street-walkers, books of faith, sunsets, a warm breeze brushing across your face, and even certain commercials can boast a degree of poignant, practicality.
Music as well as art, play huge roles in one's journey to experience realness. Words of a sonnet, poem or oration often have interwoven within them the very fabric to create, sustain, and fulfill one's need for experienced truth.
Use experience as your guide, let experience be the major player in deciding what works for you. Learn to trust your lived experience as the main ingredient for proof of some-things validity.
A nation of unquestioning souls is a crime against the minority and a crime against our God-given potential we all possess to be whole and complete humans be-ing part of our higher purpose - Realizing truth is everywhere, in everything, and amongst even the illusion of untruth.
Every moment of our lives we as people are actually 3 distinct yet unified beings: what we were, what we are, and who we choose to be relative to our surroundings and our desired environment... Thus, every moment of life is a moment of definition and creation through experience.
Embrace the "down," knowing full and well that the "up" would not be possible without its counterpart.
Desire choice, desire experiences both good and bad, desire to be part of something beneath and above you - If you live for the purpose of experiencing these things in your everyday life, your steps towards enlightenment will transform into a path towards the experience of a lifetime!
Peace and ongoing love,
Mason
Monday, January 24, 2011
From Dreams to Reality.
“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.”
- Henry David Thoreau
The night is the time our brains are allowed to slow down from the fast pace of daily life, it’s in these slumbering hours that our minds are set free to think and process the day’s information and where it will lead us upon our predestined awakening. When we dream we’re actually subconsciously processing all the entertained energy from the day we just passed on from. In a sense: at night we’re evolving the way we thought throughout the day even while not purposely thinking.
The dream is what interests me, what’s in a dream that leaves an imprint that lasts into conscious movement?
We all have had indelible dreams over our lifetime, whether they were while sleeping or during the process of daydreaming, these dreams leave us convinced with the notion that anything is possible. So why when we as people “wake up” do we think that awakening means distrusting the awesome opportunity we all have, to not only realize the power of our dreams, but also their incredible truth-promoting essence? Why do we spend most of our day disproving our dreams and their chance of happening? Why is there so much doubt in the alert hours and so much trusted promise during the hours of our slumber?
There’s power in our dreams, the power to be who we truly want to be accompanied with the tools necessary to accomplish the process of creation. I often awake in the midst of deep-sleep feeling energized and inspired because before my eyes opened I was soaring with the eagles or sailing within the confines of an open and limitless wind. I awake knowing anything is possible, any dream is attainable, any goal warranted, and any summit climbable. As the day moves along at the pace of life I often stop entertaining the power of the promise that my dreams contained and instead I substitute thoughts of inadequacy and limited production. How can we be so sure of our potential when we wake but so scared of a confining world when we close our eyes at the end of the day’s wakening thought?
It’s in our dreams that we come the closest to who we were created to be, it’s when our soul is at its freest. The trick is carrying on the dreams throughout our everyday walk and incorporating their energy from step to step. Those who dare to continue dreaming throughout the day are the only people who will ever believe that their human potential is limitless.
If you dream something, whatever it is, the act of believing it’s possible is the same creative power that your God used to create the world we find ourselves in. Anything accomplished in life started as someone’s dream, from a dream spawned thought, from thought spawned action; this is the creation process for anything we hold true, for now and everything to come in the future- dream, thought, action!
If there’s something you want in life, someone you wish to be like, any goal you desire, start by allowing yourself to entertain the thoughts of your previous night’s or day’s dream. Meditate on it, visualize what it would be like to have that thing or to be that person, imagine how it would feel or smell or what it would taste like. Make your dream an everyday, conscious exercise of awareness, and your dreams will have no choice but to become your reality.
Anything in life is yours for the creating, who is it you want to be? What is it you wish to have? Who do you desire to affect? Where do you want to be standing? All things are possible if you first believe in your created worth. Next, allow yourself to dream dreams of greatness, then prepare yourself to fully entertain those dreams throughout your daily walk of life. *If you believe in this creation process, life is anything but mundane.
I believe in everyone of you because I know we all came from the same place of ultimate potential and all we’re doing on this Earth is trying to re-member with this realization. We are all great when we believe in our greatness, until then we are left wondering “when” and “why” instead of knowing “who” and “because of what.”
As always, I have trust in your ability to be great!
Mason
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Free to Walk as we Choose
Seek help with patience and prayer: A hard duty indeed is this, but not to the humble, Who bear in mind that they shall meet their Lord, and that unto Him shall they return.
- The Koran 42-43
Is not the God of many religions one in the same? Is not the message of most faith practices the innate need for love and faith and happiness? Is not the goal of religion to bring people together under a common banner of inclusion and worship in order to better serve the world they live in?
Upon coming to the answers to these questions I remain with a final question among much wondering: Why exclude the thought that many paths can converge upon the same inevitable and faith-filled road home?
The goal of religion should be to foster a feeling of "being home", not the otherwise dominant mindset of many, that one route or another reigns supreme over the rest.
In the beginning we were ALL among each other uncreated in bodily form, equal and just. So why during the walk of life down Faith's Highway do we choose to police the boundaries?
If I leave on foot from Virginia today with a goal of reaching my childhood home in California, are there not many routes available to choose from, with only the equal intent of travel being my motivator?
Regardless of my choice of roads, any could prove very worthwhile for a vast number of unforseen reasons. Any route I choose will have its ups and downs, but it will be the route that best fits my perceived wants and needs at the onslaught.
In any event, the path that I walk down will lead towards my end goal of reaching my birthplace.
Religion can be a beautiful and helpful tool in finding my way back to the beginning, but freedom of religion and an environment that fosters that is where the unity and true beauty comes from.
Inspiration is found even under the smallest rock along the most forgotten foot-path. Where we choose to place our steps is our individual right to choose, it's this beautiful and godly choice to create our own path that gives the human race the benefit over the other created species.
The goal of my faith and my religion is to be someone who welcomes all with open arms in an attempt to have someone to walk home with; what is the goal of yours?
As always I encourage you to love life and live a life of love.
Peace, love, and blessings...
Mason
- The Koran 42-43
Is not the God of many religions one in the same? Is not the message of most faith practices the innate need for love and faith and happiness? Is not the goal of religion to bring people together under a common banner of inclusion and worship in order to better serve the world they live in?
Upon coming to the answers to these questions I remain with a final question among much wondering: Why exclude the thought that many paths can converge upon the same inevitable and faith-filled road home?
The goal of religion should be to foster a feeling of "being home", not the otherwise dominant mindset of many, that one route or another reigns supreme over the rest.
In the beginning we were ALL among each other uncreated in bodily form, equal and just. So why during the walk of life down Faith's Highway do we choose to police the boundaries?
If I leave on foot from Virginia today with a goal of reaching my childhood home in California, are there not many routes available to choose from, with only the equal intent of travel being my motivator?
Regardless of my choice of roads, any could prove very worthwhile for a vast number of unforseen reasons. Any route I choose will have its ups and downs, but it will be the route that best fits my perceived wants and needs at the onslaught.
In any event, the path that I walk down will lead towards my end goal of reaching my birthplace.
Religion can be a beautiful and helpful tool in finding my way back to the beginning, but freedom of religion and an environment that fosters that is where the unity and true beauty comes from.
Inspiration is found even under the smallest rock along the most forgotten foot-path. Where we choose to place our steps is our individual right to choose, it's this beautiful and godly choice to create our own path that gives the human race the benefit over the other created species.
The goal of my faith and my religion is to be someone who welcomes all with open arms in an attempt to have someone to walk home with; what is the goal of yours?
As always I encourage you to love life and live a life of love.
Peace, love, and blessings...
Mason
Thursday, January 13, 2011
I'm very interested in the desire that people have to attack life with such a voracity that nothing stands in their way to get everything they want. What is it that remains constant between the excellence in people that holds their efforts more worthwhile than the rest? Is it their unyielding pursuit of perfection, or their unwillingness to believe the doubt that most people entertain and remain locked within? I think that some people choose not to believe or adhere to negativity; the people who enjoy the fruits of hard fought efforts are the same who allow no one or no-thing to deter their youngest and fondest dreams held most dear. If we are to be great in whatever field or venture we decide to tackle, the one constant is one's knowing that they are doing exactly what they were created to do. Whether it be a comedian who knew from childhood that laughter was their key to the hearts and minds of change, or the teacher who realized late in life that the world could be a better place because of the passing of knowledge, the decision made to listen to their heart's desire is the key to unlocking their human potential. I was talking with a successful friend in her perspective field the other day who rose from the underground to the forefront of prosperity in her profession, and her words are best left unchanged to finish out my thought for this first writing: "I always knew what I was here to do, in school I was the girl who made all my friends laugh, so it was easy for me to follow my path."
Life is best lived and most optimal for success when we chose to walk down the path of success that our hearts have laid before us since the beginning of our time and the pronouncement of our birth.
Live to pursue excellence in your desired field, or choose not to, the choice as always and forever is yours to make. Be the best you were made to be or live in fear of perfect success; choose now or later, but at some point the question of whether to act will creep up on us all.
Peace and love,
mason
Life is best lived and most optimal for success when we chose to walk down the path of success that our hearts have laid before us since the beginning of our time and the pronouncement of our birth.
Live to pursue excellence in your desired field, or choose not to, the choice as always and forever is yours to make. Be the best you were made to be or live in fear of perfect success; choose now or later, but at some point the question of whether to act will creep up on us all.
Peace and love,
mason
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