HJ: Like anything in life, achieving the outcome you desire is more about your internal state of mind/being than anything else. Therefore if you desire to simplify your life, you must begin to untangle the complexity that exists in your mind. Now, before you get overwhelmed, because quite frankly, that thought can be overwhelming for some of us (myself included), know that achieving this zen state of being is much easier than you might think. In fact it can happen from one moment to the next as soon as we tune into our deeper spiritual nature.
And thats what this article is all about — finding simplicity in your life by tuning into your deeper spiritual nature. Because after all, that is how the Zen master does it. The Zen master doesn’t follow a five step checklist article on some random website on the internet. The Zen master knows that his external reality is a reflection of his internal state and so he focuses on untangling things there.
And that’s exactly what Ken Mclean gives you the keys to do in the article below — find your true spiritual center. Because when you do that, you’ll find simplicity waiting for you. But what’s more is that Ken is a master at guiding people to find and tune into this part of themselves. Don’t believe me — read the article and see for yourself. I have been living and breathing this material for nearly a decade and I still learned something new. Ken just has this way with words and simplifying (no pun intended) otherwise abstract concepts into nuggets of wisdom that you can instantly begin using in your life to experience very real results.
I suggest you read this piece a few times and let the ideas penetrate deeply into your being. This way they can begin working their magic and helping you reveal your inner Zen master.
– Truth
Simplicity
By KJ Mclean | KJ Mclean
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Life is simple. Or, shall I say, life was DESIGNED to be simple.
Human beings love complexity. This is evident by studying human philosophy. The primary complexity, from which all others come, is the obfuscation of the definition of consciousness itself. This is the main problem of mankind: a false datum about consciousness which then spreads out to encompass almost all of human knowledge.
When you truly understand that you are a spiritual being temporarily associated with a physical body, your underlying worries and anxieties about your job, about the economy, about who you are and what you should be doing – as well as a host of other “add-ons” –blow away. This does NOT mean that you never become anxious, or worried, or angry, or reach some sort of Zen state where you are always serene and nothing affects you. This state, on earth, is a myth. That is because detachment from life causes a withdrawal from experience and will itself lead to difficulty. Detachment is a separation – from desire, from life force, from the creative energy of the universe and the animating principle that is the essence of all things. Those who are truly LIVING are connected to the earth, to other people, and to what is going on. Yes, there are a few like Eckhart Tolle who have apparently achieved a state of serenity (at least in public), but even Tolle has his moments, I guarantee you that. That is because a human being on earth cannot help but experience the gamut of emotions, and the smorgasbord of earth in all of its glory and all of its misery. The higher is your personal awareness, obviously, the more aware you are! Of everything, both good and bad.
There is no formula for the understanding of self. I don’t care how many books Neale Donald Walsh, Tolle, Wayne Dyer, or myself write about spirituality and the human relationship to it. You, dear reader, are here on your own personal journey of discovery.
That is the wonder of life! That is how consciousness designed the universe.
You are unique. Therefore, no one else can tell you or show you how to gain the self confidence that comes from knowing self. But once you do, as I said before, you achieve a knowing, a certainty, that is unshakable and will guide you through any tough times.
The universe is vibrational in nature. It is dynamic. Therefore, there is no static position in relationship to it. In other words, if you achieve a state of happiness, you can immediately come off that by changing your thoughts and the decisions you make. That is because the universe is always responding to you, right NOW, via the Law of Vibration and the law of ‘like attracts like.’ There is nothing wrong with you because you cannot achieve a permanent state of happiness. The physical universe isn’t designed that way! It’s designed to constantly respond to even the most subtle changes inside of you. It’s designed to give you a constant variety of new experience!
Having said that, understand that the static – the spiritual, non-physical personality that is you — is consciousness itself. Consciousness is non-physical, it has absolutely no dependency whatsoever on anything physical. When you TRULY understand that, you CAN reach a place of pure being, where you are able to guide your thoughts and your decisions to a place of comfort. This understanding has been achieved by a few of us on planet earth. However, the truth is NOT ”out there.” Or rather, the SOURCE of truth is not out there, it is in here. The source of truth is YOU. Truth is what consciousness has created. The stars, the planets, the trees, the birds and the bees are all truth, because they exist and can be perceived. Ultimately, there is no separation between consciousness and what it has created, The Great Game we play in the physical plane is the illusion – the very real illusion! – of separation. The truth is that the universe and everything in it was created from the impulse to play, and to have a fun game. That is about as simple as it gets! I discuss this in the book “The Creation of a Universe,” and the movie “The Unity of Spirit and Matter.” You can also get these two together from the website.
How can you increase your discovery of self? Well, there is no formula or recipe. But there is one simple thing you can do: understand that you are the source of your life, and the source of what occurs in your experience.
This is commonly called “responsibility,” but responsibility, as it is defined on earth, is a lower harmonic of a much higher truth. Here’s a simple exercise: As you go through life, simply notice, from a causative orientation, how you relate to the people, the situations, and the environment around you. Try to discover the causative CONNECTION between you and what you are experiencing. We have been taught to blame others, the environment, the economy, or “luck” for life’s pitfalls and successes, but nothing could be further from the truth. Such a philosophy is an automatic disconnect. It orients your attention outward on things-as-cause, instead of self-as-cause.
As you begin to notice how you interact with others, you will begin to feel a greater sense of connection, and a greater sense of self. Why? Because consciousness IS cause! It’s the fundamental truth of this universe, or any universe.
At first you may become dismayed at the life you have created, but this is a necessary first step if you do not already feel a sense of self-confidence and happiness. You have to climb out of the hole before you can see the light, and that requires a little effort! A great way to begin this process is to read The Harmony Project on the website, and to practice it. There is nothing so intimate to life as the feeling of love. Once you understand that people will react to you in a positive fashion if you are positive, you will understand very clearly – and the clearest understanding is always a FEELING – that you are source in relationship to your life and everyone in it..
Negotiating the self-help field is a little like hacking your way through an overgrown jungle. “Oh, look! There’s Dr Dwyer’s new book Nine Principles for Creating Habits to Match your Desires. If I can learn those nine habits, I’ll get what I want!”
”Oh, but here’s The Seven Keys to Manifestation! I really need that! And then there’s ‘The 5 Ancient Secrets to Happiness!” And so on. Believe me, I’ve been down that road. What I finally realized is that I was assigning cause to others; people who I saw as superior and wiser than I.
But people, there in no one wiser than you, about you, than you.
It’s simple. Very, very simple! If you want a formula, or a key, or a secret code to the understanding of self, that’s it! Your reaction to that statement will tell you how far you have to go on the road to discovery of self. “I’ll trust Dr. Dyer, or Tolle, or Deepak Chopra to tell me the best way to be, because I can see that these people have already attained some kind of wonderful state. Therefore, I should trust him as my guide, even more than myself.”
If I could ring the buzzer right now, I’d ring it!
The best education you can give yourself is about consciousness itself, and its capabilities. That’s what I have tried to do in all of my work. Educating yourself about yourself is the key to a broad and deep understanding of who you are. So when you are looking for books, seminars or other self-help paraphernalia, keep that in mind.
You will get the best results from that which focuses your attention on yourself as cause-point in the universe. Once you understand that, you can then focus down on specifics. What almost all self-help materials do is to narrow your focus onto specific steps to this or that, without first dealing with the most important component: you as the static.
Trust yourself. That trust is the beginning of the most beautiful relationship you will ever have. And like a fresh spring breeze that brightens everything and everyone it touches, it will spill over in a positive way to the rest of your life.
Ken Mclean is a spiritual author interested in spirituality, science, music, Toastmasters, geometry, and disk golf. Ken has written 8 books, produced 3 movies and written over 100 articles in the spirit/mind/body framework. He has also written a math/geometry book. Ken is a healer and has been trained in Reiki and Urevia, which are vibrational healing modalities that draw forth from the ethers, the subtle energy of Spirit. The unity of spirit and matter is the fundamental truth of our universe, Ken says. These subjects are not incompatible with science or rational thought, despite those who choose to think otherwise. Ken is an accomplished editor and writer, and has published his own work and has had some of his books published under the Loving Healing Press label. Visit his website: KJ Mclean
