Observing Authenticity

I constantly am observing life and how we interact with our world and other inhabitants that walk this earth.  I've been a people watcher from the time I was very young or as far back as I can remember.  People are interesting creatures and often times, it is better than any movie I could ever watch.

Yet, as I observe how I fit into this world, I see that I am often measured and filtered with respect to where I go, what I do and how I allow the rest of the world to see me.  Sometimes I go overboard on this and other times I am probably too lenient on myself.  It is almost like I try to navigate through life using my reference with the world as stars to chart my course.

One of the things I know that I do is I hold back.  I'm afraid to make mistakes and afraid to fail.  God knows I'm not perfect and even when I try to present that front to the world, it becomes an illusion.  Often times I want to make sure the world knows that I have everything together even when I'm crumbling inside.

I still remember when I was recovering from my paralysis as a result of Conversion Disorder (also known as Functional Neurological Disorder- FND) and finally getting back in touch with friends, that a friend made a profound comment to me about my life.  He said in shock and disbelief, "you were in the hospital because you could not handle life and stress got the best of you  - you of all people?  Why, we thought out of the group of us friends, you were the one that had it all together!"

Living Observer Halted Randomness

When I read the following quote in the book, The Filed, it made me stop and think for a moment.  If we as a living observer (a.k.a. human), can affect randomness, that just how connected are we to everything around us.  One could easily answer that by saying, we are connected to all things, but for it to be shown in a scientific manner boggles my mind.

It also brings to my mind, how our energy and attitude towards life really does affect everything.  I don't think you can be fake about this and just think yourself to a positive energy.  It is much more than this.  After all, if we impact randomness in the world, than most likely, it will be able to determine if we authentic or not.

This quote is one of my favorites in the book.

What appeared to put a halt to randomness was a living observer.  One of the fundamental laws of quantum physics says that an event in the subatomic world exists in all possible states until the act of observing or measuring it 'freezes' it, or pins it down, to a single state. (Page 103)

Let your mind think on this one for a little while and see if you don't begin to view all life around you in a different way.  Of course, to get a full perspective on what this chapter was discussing, you would need to read the entire book.

To read "The Field" on Amazon, click this link.

Observe Your Amusing Life In The Universe

Observe Your Amusing Life

I'm learning more and more to just live life in this moment and stop the worrying about the things I just can't do anything about.  Yes, it is easy to give lip service to these things, but it is now becoming more mainstream in my life.  You see, I 'm learning to be amused by the world around me and what the universe offers to me.

Now, I don't mean that I am laughing at everything in a joking or sarcastic manner.  In fact, that is the opposite of what I mean.  Yes, I do try to find the joy and laughter in life, but not at the expense of living in realistic terms.  After all, if life does not mean something to us, than how does that play into our every day?

By making life amusing, I am really referring to observing life through the eyes of an observer, not just willfully participating in events that I feel as if they are out of my control.  It is far too easy to go through life, thinking that things cannot change or improve, rather than realizing that I have so much power and influence in my life.

Charades Of Life

Every day we get up in the morning, we have two choices. One choice is to just go about our day as if nothing that we do matters or impacts the world. The other choice is to get up and declare that somehow today we are going to impact the world in a positive way. Unfortunately, there are far too many of us that wake up only as an existence in life and nothing more, playing the charades of life.

While we claim to follow our news of the day fix in such a way that enlightens us and makes us the one that is right, we are only misleading ourselves. Much of what we consume in a day makes us more into an existence rather than a leading and positive force in the world. To much of what we consume is nothing more than a beautifully wrapped empty box that looks like an expensive gift!

Sometimes we even follow the charades of life, listening to what the celebrity news forces of the day tell us is true. We might even follow the new age gurus of the day holding on to every word they say as if it is our existence. Yet, at the end of the day, where has this gotten us? Please don't answer that a warm fuzzy feeling is enough, because while this is nice, it doesn't prove much more than an existence.

An Ocean Picture Meditation

To enhance the power of this ocean meditation, you may want to download and listen to one of my CD's called "Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds". The sounds on this CD were recorded from the place you see in these pictures.

Since the ocean is one of my favorite places, every time I go, I always take pictures. For me to walk along the ocean, feel the salt mist and ocean breezes, it is breath taking to me.

I'm always captivated by the sounds of the waves and the roar of the ocean. If you ever have the chance to go to the ocean, do it! It is an experience you'll never forget. On the other hand, if you have been to the ocean, I hope these pictures will reconnect you with the sites and sounds you feel in your body and mind.





Just notice the rolling waves, and the ever so peaceful appearance of the waters that seem to stretch for miles and miles. The shoreline filled with its many grasses and plants that changes as the shoreline changes. If you travel for miles up the coast, you'll notice quickly how the shoreline changes, yet it is all connected.




Gazing into that deep blue horizon, it is like nothing else matters. No matter what is going on in life, it is like all is very insignificant to this moment that I am seeing. A point where I am standing there in this big world and while I'm connected to it, I feel as if I've drifted far beyond the earthly plane.




As the waves crash to the shore, I often see them bringing in what I need in life and taking away that which I don't need. I picture myself releasing all those difficult moments in life to the waves. The ocean is big enough to take these things, wash them away and carry back much needed peace to the shore.




Knowing that the shoreline I see at this particular minute and hour of the day, will change into something new, and unseen and that does not exist at this point in time. The low and high tide changes the landscape with each wave that crashes onto the shore. The depth of water and the water's edge display a landscape that cannot be imagined.


So to is our life. It is ever changing and what we see today is not what will be there tomorrow. No two days are alike and no two moments are alike. We can choose to participate in whatever moment of our life we wish or we can choose to step back and be an observer to the bigger picture of life. Sometimes by observing where we are in the moment, we are participating in life in a way that no comprehension can achieve.

May we view the ocean or other places in our life with great observance to gain a deeper understanding of who we are and where we are in life.


Further Reading:
1) Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds (Blog Post 7/20/11)
2) Relaxing Ocean Waves (Blog Post & Video 7/08/11)
3) Ocean Waves (Blog Post 5/17/11)



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Blog Post & Images (c) 7/13/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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Mindfulness

Mindfulness is an effortless, simple process that consists of drawing novel distinctions, that is, noticing new things. The more we notice, the more we become aware of how things change depending on the context and perspective from which they are viewed.


Pg 5, "On Becoming An Artist - Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity" by Ellen Langer.

Observe And Know

Observe all that is around you

Observe all that is within you

And know that right now in this moment

You are everything you need to be.

Breathe it in.

Beliefs or Chains

I was recently at a seminar and got chatting with another participant. In the course of our conversation, he steered the chat around to the bible and the scriptures. I was a little shocked at first because I didn't see that coming. So anyway, we were discussing various topics and in a very emphatic and forceful manner, he said, "I don't believe that. The scriptures say that is wrong". While I don't want to get in to specifics of the conversation, we were talking about various healing modalities and enlightment concepts.

What struck me as odd though is that this person was here in this seminar to learn, just like I was. Yet, their beliefs were almost holding them back from even listening to what was being taught. Don't get me wrong here because people who have beliefs are valid and their beliefs can be valid. The part that caused me concern though was just how dead set against this person was to anything outside of his realm of learning or experience in life. Maybe he has something figured out that I don't have and maybe neither of us have anything figured out. Who knows? It may take until the end of our lives to know for sure.

So when do beliefs about something becomes chains that tie us down? Maybe one could suggest that they become chains when they allow ourselves to put limits on what we hear, listen, observe or attempt to learn. You just never know when someone is going to share something that may just be a major piece in the puzzle of learning for your life. Of course, if we immediately exclaim with force that we are opposed to anything different than how we view things, the piece of the puzzle may go on by and never come our way again.

One of the things that I found when I was paralyzed and breathing my last few breaths was that so much of what everyone worries about in life, really doesn't matter. Your perspective changes and priorities are different from that point forward. You tend to evaluate everything you were told or taught, trying to find ways to actually prove or disprove it. We are taught so many things in this world and especially in our own cultures. Yet, we often can not see through the fog to see the tree that stands in front of us. We have become so mesmerized by the fog or what we are bombarded with each day that the fog is what we hold on to as if it was our last breath.

Again, I'm not saying that what I have to share with others is the absolute truth. There are many things we do not know. Everyone has their own views and opinions which is often cloaked in the true fact of belief, but none of us truly know if these things are absolutes.

So I challenge each person reading this, to evaluate life from the standpoint of the observer. See all that it has to offer and try not to only see what it is you want to see. Try looking with clear vision into that which you don't want to see because in doing so, you may just discover much more than you already are aware of. Life has so much to offer and let's make the most out of each of our days and our experiences by embracing every tidbit of experience we can. Only then, do we have the hope of becoming all that we can be!