flow or turbulence?

the following quote comes from the book “Being Happy”, a book that essentially says that happiness is a choice and the main choice that must be made is the one concerning commitment:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!”

so, that's it . . . . commit, or don't, it's your choice, or as yoda said, "do, or do not, there is no try" . . . . . . . could it be that you don't have the car, or job, or bank account, or whatever, simply because you have not yet learned this small, but very VERY important bit of info? maybe you're thinking, "my happiness has nothing to do with my job/money/car but is rather tied to the current political scene, or the current religious scene, or maybe your physical state, none of which are in my control, so how can my commitment have anything to do with "why" i am not happy? maybe you think folks should be more concerned about getting out to "vote" or doing something about the environment or eliminating inequality or standing up for/against abortion or overcoming the oppression of FaceBook and their ilk . . . . . . . bottom line - you think that something outside of you is somehow "controlling" your happiness and as soon as you "regain" control, then AND ONLY THEN is something like "happiness" possible.

FIRST: happiness and pleasure ARE NOT THE SAME THING - - - - - - i'm disappointed that i had to wait until age 52 to learn/read this just a few weeks ago - - - - - - - why is this important? you may be able to experience pleasure in an orgasm, a shopping spree, a great meal, the right clothes or something similar, but what happens when money, moods, illness, or emotions get in the way of your ability to experience your favorite brand of pleasure? are you able to maintain happiness even if, or perhaps especially if, you don't "feel" like it?

SECOND: distraction will make commitment illusive, maybe even impossible. did you see the new iPhone? did you hear what trump said? did you download that new app? did you see what happened on (insert favorite TV show here)? did you see that commercial during the Super Bowl? did you hear what Iran/North-Korea/Afghanistan/Russia/("enemy" of choice) did? and on and on and on and on and on . . . . the list of distractions is virtually endless and it only takes one to get you off your game and prevent real commitment.

THIRD: it's not "their fault" - the responsibility is yours, and yours alone. if you are angry about what (enter politician you hate most here) did, then you must take responsibility for the fact that you volunteered to be "informed" about that event. if you are frustrated about the complete lack of concern that everyone shows about (enter social injustice here) then you must take responsibility for the fact that you volunteered to let all those folks ruin your mood. if you are disappointed about your level of (enter job/social status/education here) then you must take responsibility for the fact that you volunteered to let that situation change your temperament. no matter what the situation is, you volunteered to be a part of it. if you are tired of being a volunteer, or are offended that someone could characterize you as having "volunteered" for your particular brand of junk, then you are now faced with a choice - keep doing what you are doing, or "observe the masses and do the opposite".

politics(state) has one purpose AND ONLY ONE PURPOSE - NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT - politics takes the power of many, transfers it to a few, and then uses that power to oppress the many because the many were stupid enough to give their power away knowing full well that POWER CORRUPTS. 

religion(church) has one purpose AND ONLY ONE PURPOSE - NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT - religion takes the power of many, transfers it to a few, and then uses that power to put the many into bondage because the many were stupid enough to give their power away knowing full well that POWER CORRUPTS and their ignorance of the meaning of religion will not "save" them. just go look up the word religion . . . . this comes from he 1828 websters: Latin religio, from religo, to bind anew; re and ligo, to bind. what more other than bondage could possibly come from an entire institution that is based on a word which literally means "to bind", anew or otherwise?

currency(money) has one purpose AND ONLY ONE PURPOSE - NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT - currency takes the power of many, transfers it to a few, and then uses that power to put the many into debt because the many were stupid enough to give their power away knowing full well that POWER CORRUPTS and their belief that "money makes the world go round" will not be enough to keep them off the streets when debts come due that can't be paid because you lost your "job"(just over broke).

so, what does all this have to do with the price of tea in china you might ask, well do you see a pattern? or are you too wrapped up in belief thinking that things could not possibly be this simple?!?

here is a recent event that came with much insight - - - - After years of dreams with similar themes, wherein I was fighting to get somewhere but being stopped or resisted along the way, early one morning there was finally a dream where I saw a current that I could get into and then the current did most of the work to carry me up to the top.

in the dream I found myself in a turbulent waterway, similar to a water park "lazy river", swimming along and everyone was having fun but working hard and interestingly the flow was going uphill. somehow I ended up at a high point being able to rise above everything for a bit where I saw on the right hand side a current flowing uphill. so, I moved over into it and tried to tell everyone about it but they seemed to not "get" what I was trying to say, and were pretty distracted, so they just kept battling on while I was carried away by the current to the top and finally reached the end after many MANY years of dreams that had me battling and fighting all the way resulting with me waking up frustrated and defeated before the day even started. i finally reached the objective for the first time in many years of having dreams where I never got to where I was trying to go. for the first time i was given an opportunity to get into a current, or flow, that ended up doing most of the work for me.

Halleluyahuah!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! 

this left me wondering, could there be a flow, a current, that we can get into in life which has thus far been invisible to us because we are too distracted to see it ?!? too busy believing our parents and teachers that "this is how we do things and there's no reason to ask why? in fact, if you ask me why one more time i'm going to send you to your room" . . . . . If we become more wave and less particle, could we then tune in to a different frequency and stop fighting against the turbulence, that so much of "life" seems to be about, and rest in the current and allow providence to carry us along to where we would/will to go without all the effort and fighting? Get into the flow and rest? Get into the flow, be still, and know that I AM...psalm 46 has this "be still" line and reading it again it even has language about a river. what if the bible has NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH RELIGION, but is simply a trust made available to those who are still asking why? 

what if the thing that makes commitment possible is simply the act of letting go of the many MANY things that life has given us, but we still have not figured out that most of that stuff brings us into slavery rather than manifesting the freedom that we have all been taught to "believe" in, but so very few actually ever really experience?

more than 30 years ago i went through navy bootcamp and not long ago i realized that there was an experience that was not unlike life. within the first couple of days all us recruits, with our freshly shaved heads, stood in line to get the "stuff" that our "leaders" said we would need . . . . duffle-bag, boots, shirts, pants, t-shirts, underwear, belts, socks, hats, glasses, and so on. this is a fairly practical set of items, but how many of us were given unworthiness, racism, lack, worry, guilt, shame during our "new recruit" phase at age 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7?!?!?!? and did you know that at those ages our brainwaves do not allow for analysis? so, as a result we just accept what we are given? that this stuff goes into our subconscious running our lives in ways that we are not even aware of? ever wonder why an 18 year old can join the army, but not buy alcohol or cigarets? is it not that young minds are impressionable?

want happiness? can you identify the things that are getting in the way of your commitment to your own happiness? could it be that there are things that life has given you which are exerting control over your life FROM WITHIN that you are thus far not even aware exist?

you may not have a sexual addiction, like the one that i have battled for most of my life, alcohol may not be an issue, drugs no problem, in fact you may "have it all together" but are simply concerned that "Trump must be stopped" and if there is something outside of you that is "getting in the way of happiness", then you must remember that "d-nile is more than just a river in egypt" and, just like the rest of us, there is a need for some serious "detox" because trump/lgbt/abortion/religion/money is not the issue - - - - you are the issue and you must be the change you wish to see and you must identify the areas that you have played "volunteer" and you must face responsibility for your own part in all of this.

we are all connected - if any one of us is cut, we all bleed the same - we all have a mom/dad - we are all sons/daughters - my success depends on yours - separation/lack/anger/frustration/sadness/hatred/etc. can ALL be overcome - none of us get out of this alive, so why don't we all commit to bear one another's burdens and realize/manifest our true potential as we join in common-unity for our collective greatest good? 

turbulence or flow? you choose . . . . . . .

a great illustration of an unseen flow is shown in the movie "Nemo" where we meet "Crush" the 150 year old turtle teaching marlin(nemo's dad) a thing or two about life. in that same movie there is a scene where the fish are shown just how much power they have. WHEN THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER they break free of the fisherman's net and get another chance. another unseen flow is the jet stream that is frequently talked about by those who monitor the weather. what about the "undertow" that everyone is warned about at the beach? could there be a "turbulence" or unseen force exerting influence upon your life that really has your destruction as its ultimate goal, no matter what sort of sugar coating has been put around it in order to get you to swallow?

what if the hate, anger, frustration, resentment, rage, disgust, and all the rest were simply items that were given to you by someone who said they cared for you and wanted to best for you but the time has come for you to look inside and choose for yourself whether or not you actually need that in your life?

has the time come for you to make a choice, to make a commitment? or are you content to carry on letting "life" make the choice for you? which life do you want to live, the default that the rest of the masses end up with, or the one you design and create for yourself with support and care from forces you could never have imagined all because you chose to be part of the solution by letting go of what someone else said was a problem?

has the time come to get out of the turbulence in order to find your flow; that current that carries you to the life you've always dreamed about?

would it be helpful to know what those states of being or emotions are that are most often linked to turbulence in life? if so, then think about the feelings and emotions that you are flooded with in stressful situations. stress is a killer and these are its accomplices:

anger - frustration - bitterness - vigilance - betrayal - competition - trauma - argument - war - worry - anxiety - sadness - sickness - disease - violence - aggression - fear (false evidence appearing real) - guilt - shame - hostility - hatred - powerlessness - depression - hopelessness - unworthiness

now compare those with thoughts and emotions which make up the flow, or current, that will carry you out of all that and into a life that you may have thus far only thought possible in your wildest of dreams:

joy - inspiration - awe - empowerment - gratitude - abundance - autonomy Freedom - genius - compassion - true greatness - ingenuity - empowerment - love (agape) - awareness - generosity - healing - quantum manifestation - divinity - truth - purity - honesty - righteousness - virtue - loveliness - good -  praise - humility - kindness - meekness - harmony - patience - gentleness - self-control - temperance - knowledge - veneration reverence 

this is the mindfulness available. these are the elevated thoughts, emotions, and being-states that will carry you out from mediocrity. these are the raw materials that will fill your sails and carry you to the ends of the earth requiring only that you tune in, to open your awareness and no longer be drawn into the endless variety of distractions and lies which transfer your power to a few "public-servant"s leaving you in bondage, dependent on their "benefits", drifting in a sea of forgotten "supporters" wondering if this is all there is to "life" . . . .

why not take responsibility for the great gift you have been given, this thing you call life", make a difference in someone else's life, and watch as your own life is elevated? why not commit to becoming the very change you wish to see, the glitch in the matrix that will make all the difference, and inspire those around you to do the same? why not go out and change your own world and stop waiting for someone else to do it for you?