analogDARWIN [ spirit ]

Dealing with Depression and Anxiety

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:24:00 +0000

There are a lot of theories about how to treat depression and anxiety but few theories on why these emotional rollercoasters show up in our life in the first place. A lot of people that experience depression and anxiety report that there lives aren't all that different than earlier times in their life when they didn't have these same experiences.

So what gives? Why would depression and anxiety suddenly show up in our lives?

If you're going to live your life believing that your body is merely a regulator of blood flow, hormones and endorphins then you'll probably conclude that your wiring isn't right. In this approach, we believe that our bodies used to keep us in balance but has stopped functioning correctly. Similar to a car's oil leak, it is as if we believe our brains are incorrectly leaking out the "panic" fluid at random times in our lives.

Or there is the theory that anxiety and depression are normal reactions to what is going on in our lives. The solution so goes that if we change what is going on in our lives, the conditions will subside. But as many have found, our lives are incredibly difficult to change. And even when they do, often these conditions remain.

And so it is no wonder that we've started medicating our way to a solution. Doctors, therapists and psychologists don't really know what is causing our depression or anxiety but they surely know how to prescribe drugs to mask the conditions.

In all these scenarios you are the victim. You've got a faulty emotional regulator, your life is out of control, or you're not coping with life. It is so easy for those that don't deal with anxiety and depression to label you as broken since they don't have these "issues." Don't you just love advice from people that aren't as broken as you are?

But let me propose an alternative theory. What if you're not broken, but rather not paying attention?

To understand this theory, first conceptualize that you are not "you" but rather a collective you consisting of different "parts." You have three parts known as the Body, Spirit and Mind.

Hold on a second before you write this off as some metaphysical love theory that can't make a real difference in your life. Hear me out and I guarantee I'll share with you a theory of conquering anxiety and depression that you can test in your life.

Let's quickly go over each part:

The Body - this one is easy, it's that physical part of you. Skin, bones, blood, brain...all the physical stuff.

The Mind - this one is a bit harder, but the easiest way to conceptualize your Mind is to recognize it as that voice in your head. You know, the voice in your head that won't shut-up? Yeah, that voice that right now is saying, "What voice?"

The Spirit - ah, the hardest part of you to conceptualize because it isn't physical nor is it constrained to your physical body. Some people call this a soul and most religions hold the Spirit to be that immortal part of you that lives on after you die.

The Body~Mind is where we focus most of our time and energy. In the most simple understanding, the Mind thinks and the Body follows the instructions (e.g. I'm hungry, goto the refrigerator). And since this is where most human beings spend their time, we wrongly assume that this is all we are. We believe we are that voice in our head and the actions it commands our Body to do.

And this is where medical and psychological science is stuck. Therapy attempts to rewire our Minds and pharmaceuticals attempt to rewire our Bodies. But neither are dealing with the root cause of why we're anxious or depressed in the first place.

Whereas your Mind is constrained to your physical Body, your Spirit is not similarly constrained. Your Spirit exists with God and is not bound by the dimensions of our Universe. As such, your Spirit is directly connected to God and other enlightened beings.

And thus we have this framework of our Spirit being both part of us and watching over us. Your Spirit is thus in a wonderful position to help you achieve your hope and dreams. To do this, your Spirit is directing to you all the life-force energy of God necessary for you to succeed. This same energy that powers everything in the Universe is also available to us in order to fuel our pursuit and accomplishment of purpose.

And there you are (presumably not paying attention). This same life force energy is being channeled to you and, without being put to use, it builds up inside of you. This excess energy plays havoc with our Bodies and mental states. And just like your home's electrical system, when too much energy builds up... we blow a fuse.

Does this sound like anxiety?

And similarly when we're depressed we're experiencing a lack of this life force energy. It isn't so much that your Spirit isn't providing you with everything you need to succeed, but rather without the channels of communication being open to your Spirit...the energy isn't finding its way to you. And without this life force energy flowing through us, we find ourselves unable to muster the energy to accomplish the simplest of tasks.

Does this sound like depression?

So instead of approaching anxiety and depression from a point of being broken, consider them an awakening to the imbalance of your Body, Spirit and Mind. Without proper balance of these three parts of you, energy management is not within your grasp. But by harnessing the life force energy of God and channeling it for the accomplishment of purpose... our hopes and dreams are well at hand.

Chopra is correct that medicating our way through anxiety and depression is not the answer. At the very time where our Bodies and Minds are awakening us to the presence of our Spirit in our lives, we're dumbing down our senses by medicating our Body and Mind. So instead of medicating away anxiety and depression, try and leverage this life force energy by recognizing its mismanagement as the cause of anxiety and depression.

For anxiety, connect with the Spirit's aspirations to unite humanity. Take that excess energy building up within you and put it to use in service of others. Yes, I know it is easier to take a pill. But instead volunteer at your local food bank (nothing heroic, just go cut carrots one morning). By putting this excess energy to work for the betterment of mankind, you'll bring yourself back to a place of balance.

For depression, recognize that in order to receive more energy you must first nurture your connections to Spirit. Put some time into re-connecting with your faith in a new way. Returning to the familiar may not be what you need. Check out a new group within your religious community or deepen your knowledge of your religion. So too open up the communications between the Body and the Spirit by investing in your Body (that's right, exercise and eating right). In this, you're pushing energy from the Body to the Spirit and pulling energy from the Spirit to the Mind. Think of it as oiling a machine that hasn't run for years.

It is impossible to work in this space without recognizing two techniques that will greatly help you regulate the energy flowing between the Body, Spirit and Mind:

Yoga - which actually means the balance or union of the Body, Spirit and Mind.
Meditation - bringing the Body and Mind to peace

I'm a big believer in these two approaches but don't consider them tools. In order to balance, you first open up the lines of communication between your Body, Spirit and Mind. And then, these techniques will both connect and awaken you to a more sensitive awareness of yourself. And that is where you'll never return to the states of anxiety and depression.

This is but a small posting on the topic. I deal with these concepts in depth in my book Inspiration Divine and the Awakening Inspiration Workshops. I'm here to help. That's my purpose.

Blessings,

Darwin Stephenson

"When it comes to depression and anxiety, a prescription may not be the only answer."
- What You Can Do To Cope with Depression - Deepak Chopra - Oprah.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Your Energy is Infinite and This is Why

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:40:00 +0000

In Inspiration Divine, I write about how energy flows into our Universe from God and is available to power us to achieve our hopes and dreams. So when I find other authors touching on this topic, I'm encouraged that Humanity is awakening to this understanding of life:

What I'm suggesting is that everyone needs a supply of energy that is renewable, vibrant, unstressful and uplifting. Such an energy supply is within you. It's your spiritual energy, and it comes from everywhere. The universe is grounded in infinite energy—I don't think anyone would argue that—and throughout the world's wisdom traditions, sages and teachers echo the same truth: You are the universe. The mystic Persian poet Rumi puts it beautifully when he reminds us that we aren't a drop in the ocean; we are the ocean in a drop. - Deepak Chopra

I find this to be a blessed understanding of our symbiotic relationship with all forms of life including God.

The second law of thermodynamics demonstrates that energy cannot be consumed but rather only converted into another form. For example, the potential energy of gasoline isn't consumed inside your car engine but rather forces the piston which, in turn, accelerates your car along the road. The energy doesn't disappear but it is dissipated to a point where it cannot collectively perform any useful work. In science, this is referred to as entropy and our entire Universe operates accordingly. And just like your gasoline tank, the Universe in which we live should be slowing down as the energy that propels its expansion dissipates. In short, we should be observing the de-acceleration of our Universe's expansion.

But that isn't what we're observing. On the contrary, several million years ago our Universe actually reversed its de-acceleration and started accelerating. But that doesn't jive with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In a closed system, the expansive energy should dissipate as entropy increases. In layman's terms, as this energy fuels the expansion of our Universe, it is dissipated and thus would be unavailable to perform any useful work. Thus our Universe's expansion should be either constant or decreasing. But paradoxically it is increasing.

It isn't that the Second Law is invalid but rather that our Universe isn't a closed system. God isn't contained within our Universe and thus exists outside of our Universe. When we fulfill our purpose, God provides us with more energy to fuel the expansion of our Universe and power all life within the Universe. The energy flowing into our Universe causes our Universe to expand.

In contrast, if we were to not fulfill our purpose God wouldn't provide us with this life force energy. We can deduce from this relationship that we, as a species, are fulfilling our purpose. Otherwise our Universe wouldn't be expanding.

In Inspiration Divine, I discuss what that purpose is but irrespective of my perspective you can apply this model of the Universe, God and Humanity to your understanding. Whatever you think God calls us to do, you can correlate that 'purpose' to our symbiotic relationship to God. In fulfilling this purpose, we are living in harmony with God and thus in his grace.

The question becomes, "Are you pursuing your individual purpose or are you living off of the grace of others?"

The energy we need to be healthy, happy and enlightened is available in exchange for working for our purpose. This energy is naturally attracted to those pursuing their purpose and living in harmony. And therefor everything you need is available to you.

Thus it is high time you discovered your individual purpose and work towards achieving it. Large or small, your purpose calls you to act and achieve.

Believing is not the Truth, but it is the path to your Truth.

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:58:00 +0000

If you think about it, each and every one of us is somewhere along the path of a spiritual awakening. While some sleep peacefully in slumber, others have awoke in the middle of the dream to wrestle with everything that the evolution of consciousness has to offer. And while the destination may seem far away at times, somehow you know that the truth is right in front of your eyes.

The great Indian sage Padmasambhava once said:

Confident faith allows blessings to enter you.
When you have no doubt, whatever you wish can be achieved.

Notice that he didn't say, "If you have faith, you can have whatever you desire." Padmasambhava isn't so much distinguishing that faith itself is the key to what we desire, but rather that our believing is what allows blessings to enter us. In this, we are called to pause our logical distinctions of right/wrong, correct/incorrect or even Divine/evil and instead live fully in our faith. Outside of dogma and religion, this path to the Divine invites us to connect with Spirit regardless of method, rules or scripture.

And while this may seem risky to those that believe the path to God is wrought with trappings, each and every one of us has experienced that Divine connection that is isolated in a moment of peace. In that spontaneous connection that came about through any number of circumstances, standing in that moment we felt the love of God come through and touch the very essence of our soul. As fleeting as that moment may have been, the true experience in that moment was devoid of any repeatable process. In trying to recreate and sustain this connection, our logical minds attempt to deduce the formula that lead to this beautiful moment of enlightenment. In this, we step away from Spirit and enter back into the domain of the Mind and again find ourselves wrestling with right/wrong, correct/incorrect and even Divine/evil.

For those that are asleep and those that have attained enlightenment, these are nothing more than the struggles of those that seek a Spiritual existence. Comfortably snuggled in for a long winter's nap, those that have yet to truly begin their journey cannot even begin to process these concepts for they are entirely governed by the logical ways of the Mind. Stepping outside of process, method and dogma is unconventional to those that believe the path to the Divine is structured. And for those that seek a true relationship, following those that reduce God to a rulebook of behavior is akin to the blind leading the blind.

But herein are the trappings that perpetuate our own slumber. Finding fault in the ways of others bring us no closer to a union with the Divine. Regardless of truth, those that confidently believe are truly on the path of a spiritual awakening. In this, we can see that each and every one of us are called to a direct and living relationship with God. And while our logical minds love to divide everything into buckets of right and wrong, the truth of confident faith shows us that the Buddhist, Christian and Muslim all can and do find God.

For the moment, step outside of your Mind's inclination to see this from your own beliefs. Recognize that God is regardless of what we think and thus our beliefs are simply pathways to the Divine. Devoid of a life based on judgment, we can explore this relationship through the eyes of a child. Seeking the connection, rather than the path itself, actually puts us on the path. But moving along the path brings us face to face with our true self. The difference between partially believing and confidently believing is truly what illuminates a journey filled with or without friction.

And so the true seeker comes back to the realization that their faith can be enriched anywhere. Regardless of church, mosque or sitting under the bodhi tree, those with confident faith find a connection to the Divine. And by staying in a Spiritual existence, we can continue this journey without walking away from our cultural and religious heritage. Knowing that it is the relationship rather than the process, brings you back to the pew. Your faith knows no boundaries and allows blessings to enter you because you believe rather than what you believe.

Duality of Personality and Spirit

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Dear Darwin,

Does your book cover the concept of the duality between our personalities and our spirits? Do you feel that in order for our souls to evolve, we first must experience tension between our spirit and our personalities; and then from there discover resolution? and then and only then will our souls evolve. Is it the tension that causes growth?

I would love your thoughts on this concept.

thanks,
Patty

As I understand the question, you're distinguishing a conflict between one's personality and their Spirit. I frame this as a "conflict" because, if there were no conflict, then the perception of a duality between the two wouldn't exist (e.g. the personality and Spirit in harmony).

I wanted to be clear on what we define as a personality so I did a quick Wikipedia lookup to find this definition:

Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations (1).

Simply stated, one's personality is the makeup of their Mind that guides them through daily life. As such, one's personality comes from a variety of sources such as individual life experiences, generational uniqueness, cultural background, etc. Essentially this is the sum of our learned experiences that result in our actions.

In isolation, the singularity of this conscious experience is the personality of our Mind. Thus we deduce when someone is eccentric or shy that it is their personality that governs their makeup. And because this "personality" comes from years of molding and refinement, we find our personalities to be rather distinguishable. And in trying to sort out where we fit in the world, we categorize ourselves and others into personality types. I'm gregarious, you're shy and she is hot blooded.

We often question our actions and conclude that we are "the way we are" because of our personalities. You might conclude, "I'm just that way and there is nothing I can do about it."

But in connecting to our Spiritual nature, we find that we aspire to be more than the confines of our Mind's approach to life. We regret screaming at someone or not speaking up when we should have. And thus we have this conflict between our Mind's ways and our Spirit's aspirations.

I grew up in Wyoming and I distinctly remember an elementary school field trip we took out to the Oregon trail. The trail had been so heavily trafficked that the wagon wheels cut deep ruts into the sandstone hills of central Wyoming. The ruts were so deep that once the wagon entered, it was impossible to deviate from the rut. With four wheels passing through these steep cuts in the stone, there was only one way in and one way out.

This is how I like to think of our Mind's ways of acting. Those patterns of behavior in our life are so ingrained in our psyche that it becomes almost impossible to change direction. We've acted and re-acted the same way so many times that we often find ourselves going through the same patterns of behavior time and time again. And this is despite our aspiration to act differently.

However I think it is a mistake to convince ourselves that our Mind's personalities are unchangeable like the wagon wheel ruts of the Oregon Trail. These stringent patterns of behavior are simply the result of living a physical existence whereby we allow our Minds to govern our existence. Instead we should aspire to lead a life governed by the harmony of our Body, Spirit and Mind working as a team.

Making this shift from a physical existence to a Spiritual existence is the meaning of mankind's evolution. And hence we all face the question as to how we can invoke this desirable change in our lives. Attempting to answer this question are countless books, gurus and 10 step programs outlining the path to getting out from under our Mind's control.

But entwined in this approach is a fatal flaw. God designed you with a Mind for a reason. Certainly God is capable of creating life without inherent flaws and limitations. My point being that there would have to be a purpose of creating life with a Mind that is inherently flawed. And thus I'm not a fan of any approach that begins by making your Mind out to be the enemy of something that is to be overcome.

Instead we should embark on a journey through life that includes our Body, Spirit and Mind in this transformational process. Our mentally isolated ways are a living example of how not to approach life, but there are countless ways each of us can approach a life in union with the Body, Spirit and Mind.

For example, think of one aspect of your personality that you would like to change. Then list all of the reasons why this personality trait is not good for you and all of the reasons why this personality trait is good for you. For example if you're shy, you miss out on getting noticed, but so too you notice things because you're observing from the anonymity of the crowd. Or if you're hot tempered, you regret yelling at your kids, but you're also quick to stand up for someone that is being abused. There are good and not so good aspects to every part of us.

The personality trait may be the sandstone rut, but your Spirit is the wagon wheel itself. By looking at our personalities in this way we can consider if we're investing energy into the rut or the wagon wheel (Mind or Spirit). If we're investing energy into the rut, then it should come as no surprise that our lives continue to go in the same direction. Instead we can focus on investing energy into our Spirit to free ourselves from the constraints of our Mind.

This is surely not a quick fix or something that can be achieved by repeating a trendy aphorism everyday (e.g. live in present). But by focusing our nurturing energy into a more balanced investment across our Body, Spirit and Mind, we can start to remove the ruts (e.g. conflict) between our Mind and Spirit.

I hope my perspective was helpful. Keep those questions coming, together we can change the world.

Namaste,

darwin

1. Ryckman, R. (2004). Theories of Personality. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Learning to Listen

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

In this crazy world of ours, it is easy to succumb to conventional wisdom and lose sight of our belief that the world can be a better place. Everyone around you is lining up like rats in a maze to tell you that there is only one way to find your way through life. Unfortunately the end result of this mentality is nothing more than a summary of how you're not good enough.

You need more experience.
You need more education.
You need more on the job training.
You have a shortcoming that is keeping you from advancing.
You lack a critical skill that is required.

As this relates to specific and required talents, skills and knowledge for a particular job these are all fair requirements. After all, we certainly don't want air traffic controllers without training and experience guiding airplanes to their doom. But as this relates to your hopes and dreams, this is another story all together.

As we ponder our role to play in life, we come face to face with what will prevent us from achieving our hopes and dreams. All too often it is not someone else telling us that we can't achieve our goals. Rather the negative voice is our own. You tell yourself all the reasons why you can't and thus convince yourself to not even try. I get it. That's our human nature. Your Mind is thinking through all the different possibilities, requirements, risks and outcomes. That is good and I'd argue that you wouldn't want it any other way.

But that doesn't mean that you weren't destined to achieve your dream. I'm not talking about some fluffy "law of attraction" that will draw you to success because it is your destiny. And I'm not talking about the "law of abundance" that postulates that you need only ask and you shall receive. Reality dictates that life doesn't work that way and we each have practical experience demonstrating reality. You can argue for reasons why the world is one way or another, but practical reality demonstrates the way the world actually is.

If you disagree with me, then please demonstrate the law of gravity not applying. The truth of the matter is that gravity is and we cannot think, wish or even pray our way to it not being true. Whatever we think gravity to be is quickly dispelled in the real world when we experience the reality of gravity.

I'm proposing that your hopes and dreams are attainable. They are not only possible but they are actually a fundamental part of your purpose in life. We are all the same in this as we each have a purpose and are inclined to pursue and achieve it. Of course, everyone's purpose is different and that is part of the overall equation. But for the purposes of this discussion, try and accept that you have a purpose and your hopes and dreams are closely tied to that purpose.

Your purpose may not be clear to you and you may not be exactly clear on your hopes and dreams. I'm actually referring to your "Mind" in this statement and mean to say that your Mind might not have figured out this purpose or exactly the dream. Your Spirit has no such misgivings about your purpose or the dreams that will be fulfilled along the path of pursuing your purpose. Yes, your Spirit is perfectly clear about your path in life and is regularly communicating with you.

The question is, "Are you listening?"

In the movie Field of Dreams, we watch as everyday people shift from not listening to listening. In the beginning, the main character Ray hears a voice calling to him, but as the movie progresses we see others transition from not listening to listening. And in an instant those who can't hear or see, transform to both not only hear but truly understand. I'm not so much talking about seeing dead baseball players play baseball in a corn field in Iowa, as I am about shifting to hear the communications from your own Spirit.

As we see in the movie, those that don't believe are unable to hear. They can't hear the voice nor can they see the players playing baseball on the field of dreams. While others sit and enjoy the game, they look in disbelief and judge. As Ray and his daughter sit on the bleachers they're not only watching the game but they're smelling the fresh cut grass, hearing the banter of the players, tasting hot dogs and feeling the breeze cut across the field. They are completely tuned into the game and yet others around them are completely disconnected from the experience.

And while we enjoy watching them shift to be able to see everything that is around them, we find ourselves not judging or faulting them for their lack of vision. We understand that they lack the ability to transform (until they do) and, while we may pity them, we certainly don't judge them for their inability to connect.

Such is the case with your connection to Spirit. Don't assume that because you can't hear the voice of your own Spirit calling to you that it isn't there. And even if you've been dedicated to your Spiritual nature, don't fault yourself for not connecting as Ray did in Field of Dreams. Connecting to Spirit isn't something that can happen by way of effort or brute force. Those are the ways of the Mind and one can't follow a formula for connecting. For this is a shift that is simply the reality of our world.

There are certainly methods for nurturing your connection to Spirit and through this practice you will connect, you will discover your purpose and your hopes as well as dreams will manifest in your life. Learning to listen begins by recognizing that your Spirit exists and is sending you everything you need. The messages are all around you and by opening up to a Spiritual existence you will begin to experience the messages getting through.

This article was published on eZine Articles.

On the Topic of Healing

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:55:00 +0000

I'm very focused on healing right now as I completely threw my back out in yoga a week ago. Isn't it ironic that the very practice that can bring one to healing is what caused my injury. Or did it?

Our modern western mindset has reduced illness and injury into an extremely myopic cause and effect framework. Everyone is up in arms about the Swine Flu and every time we hear someone coughing we're reminded that germs are all around us. So we have our first cause of illness being germs.

A germ is a pathogenic microorganism capable of causing disease. Those are some fancy words for a life form that can invade and cause disease in your Body. We defend ourselves accordingly by avoiding the germ or trying to kill it. Ranging from anti-bacterial wipes to antibiotics, we "attack" these invading organisms in an attempt to preserve our health.

In this, we envision our environment as containing germs that will invade our bodies upon coming in contact with us. But we should also turn this conceptual framework and imagine life from the germ's point of view.

As the germ, life is about finding a host to live in or facing death. Although we don't believe that germs have a consciousness, we can imagine that whatever awareness they have would be focused on survival. Like we find food for energy, the germ's existence is all about looking for energy in order to survive.

Of course, sometimes germs get it wrong and enter into a host that already has an immunity to the germ. As we are also focused on survival, we develop a resistance to germs once we have survived our first encounter with them. This model for resisting infection is the basis behind both homeopathic medicine and vaccines. The germs unknowingly enter our resistant bodies only to find antibodies ready to destroy them. Good for us, not so good for the germ.

One would think that the germs would adapt to this and avoid entering into organisms that are already equipped to defeat them. This would be akin to one animal avoiding another because of an awareness of their imminent defeat. In the wild, you only get one chance to get this equation wrong and thus we don't see a lot of experimentation going on in the survival of the fittest equation.

Thus we find through adaptation the winning combination of both characteristics and social patterns resulting in one species surviving over another. Yes, this is the foundational argument of evolution but it also smacks of a very fundamental concept of survival. The surviving life form passes on traits to their offspring through both genetics and learned behavior.

But our seemingly unconscious world of germs has only part of this equation mastered. They clearly adapt as is evident in germs becoming increasingly resistant to the drugs that we use against them. This is why we have a new flu vaccine every year and why cancer is so difficult to beat.

And thus we're back to the germ's view of life being one of seeking a host for survival and adapting to times when a choice didn't turn out too well (for the germ). In this, we have an organism that is constantly adapting and seeking energy for survival. Even when entry into the host is futile due to a built up immunity, we find that the germ blindly enters despite their imminent death.

Our Minds love this model of longevity because this is a logical battle that computes. If the Mind can find ways to build up the Body's immunity then the Body has a greater chance to survive. And so we have billions of dollars invested into pharmaceuticals as well as an insatiable craving for vitamins, supplements, healthy lifestyles and miracle cures. Admit it, you're sucking down those fish oil capsules to prevent dying from a heart attack. You're unconsciously entering into an agreement that will insure your survival. The same is the case with exercising, eating right and all the other approaches we take to increasing both the quantity of time we have left and the quality of that time.

But in our zeal for survival, we're overlooking the very elemental part of the equation that the entire survival premise is built on: energy

It is that source of energy that fuels the survival of every organism. You require a certain number of calories in order to survive (somewhere around 1,000 a day). If you couldn't obtain that many calories in your environment you would move on to somewhere that 1,000 calories was available. Such is the case with germs.

The germs that we are so desperately trying to avoid and kill are simple life forms seeking energy. And in this simple quest for survival, the more energy available the better. This quest for energy is so essential that every organism will risk death in order to survive. You can see this in the wild when an older animal has lost its ability to hunt and will enter into situations that have a low probability of success (e.g. a polar bear attacking an adult walrus).

In our lives, we are constantly taking in and expelling energy. Not only in the form of calories from food, but also in the form of energy from God.

I know, I get it. I just freaked you out. You were OK with the whole germ needing energy to survive concept but energy coming from God is another thing all together. But what about those chakra meditations? And what about acupuncture freeing meridians that are blocking chi from flowing through your Body? Is the energy in these models obtained from the calories we eat?

I'm not going to weigh in on that topic, but I will offer that I've never heard of a chakra counselor or acupuncturist telling me that I'm eating too much or not enough. And I don't think my yoga instructor that asks me to visualize a fountain of white light emanating from the top off my head is implying that last night's meal is the source of the light. The energy that we're all referring to here is a life force energy. And that life force energy flows through us and powers us to live. In order to sustain normal metabolic processes, we also need energy in the form of food but not everything within you is powered by that Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

So you're sitting at your kid's sporting event when one of the children runs up and coughs all over you and the person sitting next to you. Twenty-four hours later you've got the swine flu and the person next to you is healthy as a lark. As a species, we have yet to develop a resistance to H1N1 so neither of your bodies were prepared to defeat the virus. Why did you get sick and the person next to you didn't?

There could be a host of reasons ranging from the germs not actually entering their Body or their vitamins were better than yours. But consider the energy equation and the efficient management of that energy. If you have an excess amount of energy stored up inside you, wouldn't that be an attractive host environment for the germ? If you were the germ, given the choice between not so much energy and lots of energy...which one would you choose?

As such, we can imagine the life force energy from God entering our Bodies to power us to fulfill our purpose. The strength we need to accomplish our hopes and dreams is propelled via this powerful form of energy. This energy is transferred to us via our own Spirit and channeled into the Mind and through the Body. In this, our Body, Spirit and Mind are aligned in fulfilling our purpose and applying this energy propels us on our path.

Of course, this is how it is supposed to work. But in our unconscious lifestyle we've lost the ability to tap into our purpose. We sometimes find life to be a struggle and we can't figure out how to turn things around. And when we do, it doesn't seem to last. One problem seems to be replaced with another and we conclude that life is chaotic. Bad things happen to good people and, worse yet, good things happen to bad people. Life can sometimes seem like you're rowing a boat in a blender.

And thus all that life force energy being transferred to you for your purpose finds itself clogged up. Instead of putting that energy to work, you stuff it down inside. To survive, you unconsciously store all that energy where you think you need it the most. If you're struggling to survive, you'll stuff that energy into your base. And if you're struggling with love and relationships, you'll jam that energy into your heart.

And so that energy just sits. Energy is meant to be used and instead it is building up within you. Day after day, year after year, you're storing more energy than you need and not employing it for achieving your purpose. This is all the more difficult if you don't even know what your purpose is.

And so you re-enter the myopic Mind and live your life seeking an advantage. Vitamins, supplements, jogging, yoga, homeopathic treatments and a host of pharmaceutical concoctions designed to check you out of reality (most notably anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs). But then illness strikes and you're blindsided. Even Wayne Dyer finds himself battling cancer. And I, yours truly, find myself stricken with a lower back injury.

Keeping the concept of energy present, we can find a correlation between infection and injury. When you tear a muscle, you've put more force into the muscle than it can handle. In practice, the muscle's possible elasticity was exceeded from too much force and the muscle pulls away. And when that muscle pulls away, it brings with it everything else that it is attached to. When this happens you find yourself in a great deal of pain.

Thus the management of energy is a fundamental component of health. But not only managing the energy that is within you, but making your life a balanced program for managing the energy that comes into you as well as putting that energy to work in fulfilling your purpose. This clearly requires investment and balance.

In conclusion, try to think of healing in terms of energy management. Do you need more healing energy to come into you to heal what is broken or do you need to manage the energy that you've already got? Do you need more energy to reach your hopes and dreams or do you need to focus that energy in the right direction? And are you storing too much energy within yourself and thus making yourself a wonderful host for an invading organism?

Healing is not an instant fix nor is the management of energy any insurance against illness or even death. One cannot merely think their way to health. But by becoming conscious of the energy that is flowing through you, it is possible to better manage the very energy that fuels both your survival and purpose.

Think About It
Before you dismiss the mismanagement of energy as the root cause of illness (the favored approach of the Mind), I would like you to consider the health related problems that you're experiencing. Instead of finding blame or cause, imagine the flow of energy within you as it relates to what you're experiencing.

Remember that your Spirit is connected to God and not confined by the dimensions of time and space. Your Spirit is eloquently aware of your purpose despite your Mind's ignorance of your path. As such, your Spirit is channeling to you exactly what you need for both discovering and achieving your purpose. As this life force energy is flowing from your Spirit, into your Mind and through to your Body...what are you doing with it? Where is it going? How are you using that energy?

Within this awareness, consider your health problems. Be they mental or be they physical, how does too much or too little energy correlate to your problem?

Is it possible that your Spirit is giving you exactly what you need? But without an awareness of your purpose, are you mismanaging or not managing that energy? And how is that energy manifesting?

Becoming present to the energy in your life is the first step in turning things around. Upon understanding energy as it relates to your health, you can begin to explore better energy management and sustainability practices. Your purpose is calling to you and you've already got all the energy necessary to achieve your purpose. You just need to put God's life force energy to work as it was intended.

This post was published on eZine Articles.

Nurturing the Spirit: A Guide to Balance

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:38:00 +0000

In this crazy world of ours, we make our way through life the best we can and yet we yearn for more. More love, more friends, more wealth...the list changes from time to time but effectively never ends.

There is nothing wrong for yearning for more in our lives or to have our lives be better. In truth, this is our human nature. We strive to survive and this brings with it a desire to enhance our lives. It may be difficult to compare a new Hummer (perish the thought!) with seeking a safer cave for our family, but the primordial drive underlies both motivations.

But these are the ways of our Mind. The logical Mind evaluates the available options and chooses what is deemed to be the best from a dizzying array of conscious and subconscious considerations. In the end (which may be reached in less than a second), our Minds make a choice and in our heads we can evaluate the logical pathways that both resulted in and justify our decision.

Over time we layer on subsequent decisions that leverage this framework of thinking to build an understanding of the world. Others do the same thing and in collaboration we have consensus (or "group think" depending on your perspective). We tend to socialize and spend time with people that think the way we think, believe what we think and even think the same way we think. In our social network, the diversity tends to be fairly constrained (other than the obscure relative or two).

With this framework firmly established, we go through life judging every thought, decision and idea against what we believe to be true. We can't evaluate every decision without consideration of what we already know for this would be highly inefficient (or simply considered a waste of time). We're already bombarded with billions of inputs a day and to consider each as a brand new concept would negate the beautiful way we are (with a brain capable of storing and retrieving vasts amount of information).

So there isn't anything wrong with building a mental construct of what we believe but embedded in this model is an opportunity to get it wrong. Whatever "it" is, once we store it in our Mind as a valid conclusion it is amazingly difficult to shake "it" loose. We do change our Minds from time to time, but not without serious consideration.

But the Spirit, in contrast, doesn't operate within this logical construct of life. For our Spirit, the desire to love, unite and grow is untethered from this logical framework of survival. Our Minds wonder if we'll get sick if we help someone in need of medical care, but before we know it our Spirit has compelled us to do the right thing. In balance, we find a way to do the right thing without logical consideration and manage to survive in the process. In this, neither is right nor wrong and all (i.e. Body, Spirit & Mind) are equally valued.

However, we have become too caught up in our Minds and find ourselves living entirely in the consciousness of our thoughts. The Body and Spirit are treated as the benefactors of the Mind as opposed to equal partners in the management of "you." We recognize our propensity to get lost in our mental ways and are drawn to brief opportunities to shift the balance (e.g. Church on Sundays, yoga after work, weekend warriors, etc.).

For the Spiritual seeker (those that desire to be closer to God), the path to balance is not drawing us away from the divine but rather into union with the divine. We seek ways that we can break free from a pure mental existance and live in balance, as well as in union, with our Body, Spirit and Mind as a method to live in God's intention.

But how do we do this? In living a life that both values and requires our Mind to guide us down the path, how do we maintain balance and, at the same time, not stay within the mental confines of our Mind?

The answer is (not surprisingly) not logical. In remembering the Spirit's propensity to love, unite and help all of Humanity we find a way to break away and land in balance. We can do this by acting on small impulses (e.g. becoming conscious) to nurture the Spirit:

give a compliment to a stranger without expectation of reaction or response.

help the next person you see that could use a hand (e.g. hold the door for them, help them pick up whatever they dropped or teach a child a small lesson).

sponsor someone (e.g. pay the toll for the car behind you, buy someone's restaurant meal or buy someone who you don't know a pass to your yoga studio or gym).

Will these small acts change the world or will they vault your being into balance? By even asking the question we fall back into the Mind's logical ways and fall away from Spirit. Instead try nurturing your Spirit in these small, conscious ways without expectation. In this, you come towards balance and help Humanity come towards God in meaningful ways.

Listening to Your Spirit

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:26:00 +0000

Today as I walked out of the BART tunnel on the way to work I came across a homeless Mother and child sitting at the top of the stairs. They had the proverbial sign out asking for help but she wasn't eyeing the public but rather talking to her son. I was struck by the sadness of their despairity even though I'm well aware of the possibility that this was a lifestyle choice she may have made on her own. As we pass these souls on the street we really never know if they're the victim of circumstance or conscious pilots of their preferred way of living life.

As I walked to my office I became compelled to do something. I thought about giving them some money and I'm sure that they would appreciate this generosity. But beyond the small difference that might make, I wondered what I could give that might make more of a lasting impact in their lives. Let's be honest, one gift on the street isn't going to make that much of a difference in their lives. But so too, walking past and doing nothing is the definition of making zero impact. Thus, I decided that I should do something without regard to the esteemed impact that my (hopefully) selfless gesture might make.

Turning the corner to my street, I came across the local, independent bookstore that was just opening its doors. "Ah-ha," I thought to myself. "A book is the perfect gift."

I walked in and quickly ran upstairs to the children's section. I perused the books looking for just the right choice. Not too big, because they've got to carry all their possessions on their back. Not too simple, not too complex for I don't know his reading level. And then I found, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.

As my wife and I read to our children we recognize that reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children. I remember my Mom reading to me as a kid and this seemed to be the right gift that I might be able to give to this young mother.

I purchased the book, had it gift wrapped (in a MUNI map wrapping paper no less) and ventured back into the street. Alas, by the time I got to where I last saw them, they had moved on. I looked around trying to guess where they might had ventured to and ran to a few more BART exits in the hopes of finding them relocated. But this was to no avail as they were no where to be found.

I returned to work and placed this wrapped book into my backpack. I'm hopeful as I come and go in the city that I'll come across them once again. But, even so, I'm going to keep this book in my backpack for that next opportunity when I come across a child in need of this gift.

The point for me is to listen to our Spirit. In the collective consciousness of our Body, Spirit and Mind, we usually exist within the singularity of consciousness of our Minds. The logical Mind tells us that this Mother will pawn the book to support her meth habit, the kid won't appreciate the book anyway and that they really don't want anything but money. But the Spirit compels us to unite Humanity rather than to divide it. Our connection to Spirit reminds us that we're here for a purpose and that purpose isn't, nor should be, self serving. Yes, we must persevere in order to survive but this doesn't mean that we shouldn't follow the opportunities to do good that present themselves to us each and every day.

So if you wonder why my backpack is bulky, just know that I'm carrying an extra load so that I can help Humanity in my own way.

Consciousness Drives and Expands the Universe

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:51:00 +0000

Does Evil Exist?

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:17:00 +0000

Any search on popular question and answer websites will reveal a regular question asking, "If God is Omnipotent then why doesn't he simply defeat evil?"

omnipotent |ämˈnipətənt|
adjective
(of a deity) having unlimited power; able to do anything.

In response, there are consistent Christian replies citing free will. The premise is that in order for there to be good, there must be evil. It is amazing how many philosophical and religious texts cite this foundation of good and evil without even giving the underlying concept any debate.

All too easy this is for the human Mind. We consider ourselves good but capable of evil. We damn those that commit atrocities as being evil. Thus we believe that as human beings we are capable of evil but with a proper diet of resistance we can avoid infection ourselves. Funny how when we are being eaten by a shark we can consider it evil but when we sit down to dinner we don't think the cow might consider us similarly evil. We justify that God provided us everything on earth for our consumption and that is why we aren't evil when we kill for nourishment.

But suppose that evil didn't exist? What if there were evil acts but the underlying framework of the cosmos being orchestrated by Satan didn't actually exist. What if Satan weren't pining for your soul? Philosophically speaking, of course, consider the world you live in to be exactly the same but without the devil and his temptations designed to lure you into his ways.

Imagine this conversation without Al Pacino actually representing the devil incarnate:

Somehow there being a "devil" and "evil" makes life a bit easier. I'm not responsible for my actions, "the devil made me do it." Upon getting into recovery, I can find God and reject the devil. It is as if we gave into temptation, but rather from a perspective that temptation itself is a tool of evil.

Those that want to believe evil exists will not turn from this understanding. But if you're able to consider a reality without actually accepting it, try considering a world where there is only you and God.

In this proposed world there is no judgment, no evil and no devil. There is only experience, learning (or not) and growth (or not). There is no Hell nor is there the promise of Heaven as a reward for not giving into evil. There is only you and God.

Remember that God is Omnipotent. If God has created a world in which there is no evil then it is entirely within his power to do so. If God loved you just as much if you were good or bad...how would you act?

What if God simply wanted you to grow? Like a child exploring a playground for the first time, what if God wanted you to learn from your mistakes and blossom from your discoveries but didn't label your failures as bad and your successes as good. Instead of scolding you for walking on the hot black pavement, what if God simply smiled down at you and said, "Yes, that is hot."

And what if nothing else changed. What if you still loved God and wanted to grow too? What if you desired to be good but didn't treat temptation and bad behavior as an infection? What if you truly learned from your experiences because you were in tune with yourself and God?

Imagine a world where there is only you and God. There is nobody else. You're free to sin or not sin without judgment. No one else will tempt you and you don't have to worry about everyone sinning at your expense (e.g. a crazed serial killer possessed by Satan). You just learn, grow, adapt and fulfill your purpose.

Without judgment or repercussions do you fall into a path of fire? Are you consumed by temptation and sin? Or do you manage just fine because, "You're actually capable of not giving into every whim that your Mind creates."

And now enter in the rest of Humanity. But instead of them being potentially infected by evil, consider them living in this same purposeful reality without evil judgment.

The fact remains that mankind often commits evil and bad acts. As such, there is no doubt that we human beings are capable of some rather horrendous atrocities. But try and let go of those being introduced by an infectious evil. They're simply the actions of disconnected, out of balance human beings. Avoid them, protect yourself from their acts but don't let them off the hook by blaming their actions of the Devil.

He, the Devil, simply doesn't exist. And you can still live in Harmony with God despite this new view.

Walking Meditation E-Mail

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:52:00 +0000

Hi Lisa and Laurie:

I wanted to share with you a great meditation experience I had in the studio today. Yesterday I was getting caught up on "Peace is Every Step" and read the portion about walking meditation:

Walking meditation can be very enjoyable. We walk slowly, alone or with friends, if possible in some beautiful place...The purpose is to be in the present moment and, aware of our breathing and our walking, to enjoy each step...Although we walk all the time, our walking is usually more like running...When we do walking meditation outside, we walk a little slower than our normal pace, and we coordinate our breathing with our steps.

As I sat in meditation after this morning's yoga class I recalled this passage and wondered if walking meditation would be peaceful in the studio. I rose to my feet and proceeded to walk in a square, purposely taking 11 steps alongside each wall of the room.

In slowing down, I realized how little balance is involved in everyday walking. Our regular walking is more applying hundreds of unconscious adjustments to each step to channel the energy of falling into a forward motion. When you slow down, you realize how out of balance you really are in taking each step.

I put my hands together in namaste, took each step purposely and focused the Mind on everything involved in each step. I became present to each muscle coming in contact with the floor and the adjustments my Body was making to keep my balance. Surprisingly I regularly had to make sweeping adjustments to keep from falling even though I was doing nothing more than walking slowly.

Once I "got into balance" I continued to walk but this time focusing on not allowing the little stopping moments my Body wanted to take. In this, I focused my Body on staying in motion even though the gate of my walk had not increased. Simply stated, I was now slowly walking fluidly in balance around the room. And then I closed my eyes and continued.

As Thich Nhat Hanh illustrated, this walking meditation was very refreshing and brought a new sense of mindfulness to my walking as I exited the studio. I ran home and told Rita about the experience and she tried it out in our dining room. She had the same experience as I (even though it wasn't the the calm and serene environment of the yoga studio).

I can envision small walking meditation classes in the same room where an instructor talks people through the progressive steps. Possibly groups of people will being to walk in unison in this collective meditation. Food for thought.

Best regards,

darwin

Darwin Stephenson
(415) 683-3301
★ Entrepreneur ★ Writer ★ Humanitarian ★ Innovator

2008/8/4 Lisa M. Gray

Darwin,

Starting August 19th, there will be a lunchtime yoga class on Tuesdays from 12-1...it's a Forrest Yoga class, and I think it will be great! This instructor is very highly educated and her classes will be fun.

Eventually we hope to have a very full schedule and are trying to grow at a moderate pace so we don't go too fast...I'd also love to have some early morning yoga classes eventually...

We actually looked quite hard for a good meditation instructor - we even contacted the Buddhist temples in the area, and no luck. As a starting point, we decided to begin with our own instructors. Eventually, though, we'd like a very professional and knowledgeable meditation staff. We would even consider meditation workshops if it is someone who cannot teach a regular class. So if you know of anyone, or come across anyone, it would be a great addition, I agree...

Thanks for your support -- suggestions are always welcome and I hope eventually we will have a full and well-balanced schedule.

Lisa..

Speaking of meditation...

I'm hoping that you'll bring in more instructors to lead group meditation sessions. My wife, Rita, and I really enjoyed a meditation session we experienced on the vacation I mentioned. It involved vocalization which I can only guess is derivative of Tantrayana Buddhism.

At any rate, I hope you'll make full use of that room as a meditation domain for your students to explore other forms of meditation.

Oh, while I'm throwing out suggestions... I also hope that you'll expand the yoga class offerings throughout the day. A pre and post lunch yoga session would be a great way to break up the day.

Thanks!

Darwin Stephenson
(415) 683-3301
★ Entrepreneur ★ Writer ★ Humanitarian ★ Innovator

On Mon, Aug 4, 2008 at 2:02 PM, Lisa M. Gray wrote:

Hi Darwin,

I wanted to just say thank you for the nice email the other day! That is exactly why we wanted to open a studio here and I'm so glad your family is embodying our vision!!

By the way, I just wanted to say that anytime the small studio is not in use, it can be used for sitting meditation. So if there are days when there are not classes in the small room and you want to use it to meditate, feel free.

Lisa Gray
Cosmic Dog Yoga

Who and Where is God?

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:29:00 +0000

I've been reading a lot of books recently in a genre that I'll loosely refer to as an Evolution of Consciousness. From Ekhart Tolle's best selling book (A New Earth) to Gregg Braden's (The Divine Matrix) investigation of quantum physics and consciousness, there is an explosion of interest in this space. There have always been book and authors on this topic but there is now an unprecedented awakening of interest in consciousness in mainstream society.

If you read these books (not just these two but the multitude in circulation) in isolation you'll miss the connection between them. These authors haven't so much as "discovered" the truth but rather they've tapped into a central theme that is emerging in mankind's thinking. Upon consuming these texts you'll find common references to literature, history, religion and themes on awakening consciousness.

Our relevance in the Universe drives much of the interest in this category and I purposely capitalize "Universe" because for many this can be interchanged with "God." By doing so I do not intend to reduce "God" to the definition of "universe" nor do I mean to infer that the universe is God. My point is to allow you to "try on" inserting one of these two words interchangeably to find the context in which you are comfortable. For the time being, forget what is right and what is wrong and simply "try on" this perspective with terminology that makes sense to you.

Where is God?
Before I discuss "who is God?" let's think for a minute about where God exists. When a child asks an adult, "Where is God?" a common reply is, "God is everywhere." One perspective on this answer is implying that there is no hiding from God and that God is all knowing. If God is everywhere and all knowing then your every thought and action is known and intended by God. This certainly makes us feel better when we're in perilous moments in life to believe that God is with us.

I agree with this theory that God is everywhere but with one important distinction. I believe that there is no distinction between God and humanity. In our reality we must separate objects in order to make sense of them. You and I are separate as is evident with our free will to do what we choose. Similarly if we are truly independent of one another then I cannot be held responsible for your actions or situation. Clearly operating in the world requires a certain degree of self awareness and responsibility for one's self. In this model you're responsible for you and I'm responsible for me. And with most concepts of God comes a separation between ourselves and God.

Like me you probably have a vision of what God looks like in your head. For many of us this vision is quite similar to Michelangelo's depiction of God in the Creation of Adam. In this painting God looks strikingly similar to a paternal figure and has been around long enough that he's grown a long, white beard. Or maybe your image of God looks like Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha or another iconic figure that was introduced to you as a child. What all of these images have in common is a separation of physical presence of God and ourselves.

In separating ourselves from God we absolve our responsibilities under God's teaching. In this model God is a separate deity which will pass judgment on us for our actions. Much like a body of law we interpret God's teachings in a rules based society under which one either obeys or disobeys the law. However our interpretation of this law is subjective based on a variety of factors ranging from religious doctrine to our personal belief system. Each of us is aware of religious doctrine and can place our adherence to this body of law in a continuum ranging from "not following" to "following religiously to the letter of the law." In this, we make up our definition of right and wrong which enables us to live with ourselves and sleep at night.

Consider for a moment that God is not separate from you. This does not imply that you are God nor that God is isolated in you. Instead try on God being infused (at a molecular level if this helps) in everything in the Universe including you. With this connectedness with God there is a network on consciousness between you and everything else in the Universe. And through this connectedness you are linked to mankind and God.

So in answer to the question, "Where is God?" I say that, "God is in You." Your prayers are instantly delivered with no delay because God is part of you. But it gets even better and more interesting.

Who is God?
If God is in you and your prayers are instantly delivered then this also means that God's communication with you is instant too. We are so ready to accept that God spoke through Jesus and Mohammad and to Moses. But why are we so convinced that God doesn't communicate with "us" anymore. I'm not sure why we find comfort in someone else being selected to hear God's words but assume that God wouldn't speak directly to and through us.

God is speaking to you. Consider for a moment the concept of right and wrong. I'm not referring to the concept of right and wrong for others but rather just for yourself. Do you know that it is wrong to kill or do you only know that because it is illegal per religious and civic law? Do you know it is wrong to steal?

If you were born with an innate sense of right and wrong through your connectedness with God via the Universe then why do you seek rules of right and wrong from outside sources? Try not to stray off topic with this concept and keep it focused just on yourself. We believe that the rest of humanity is not capable of such awareness and thus believe that rules keep order in our world. But what about you? Even when you choose to do wrong, despite the justification you allow to make up, you know that you're wrong.

The mind is expert in survival. Ralph Walker regularly reminds me that the mind is wonderful servant but a horrible master. Thus in order for us to feel OK with ourselves our minds are quite adept at convincing us that we are right. With enough time and reinforcement we can also begin to believe that our version of reality (our justification of what really happened or why our decision was right) is true. But this only clouds one's connection with God and filters the communication from God.

Let me again be clear that you are not God in this. God, or the Universe, is in you and connects you with God and the Universe which includes all of humanity. Thus you can achieve anything, including happiness, with the tools that God gave you. You can have anything you want in life through your connection with God and the Universe. There is no secret in The Secret other than the fact that we've been secretly avoiding the answers to our prayers that exist within us.

Can you simply wish for something as described in The Secret and achieve your dreams? Of course not per the laws of physics that govern the Universe we live in. Even though once an object is in motion it will continue until a force acts against it you must first put the object in motion. Wishing for an outcome is merely the beginning in putting your intention into motion. You must continue to add energy to your intention to propel it through to reality.

Consider the inverse of this hypothesis: a body at rest tends to remain at rest.

Thus if you don't manifest your intention (e.g. thinking, wishing, adding to a goals list or posting to a dreams board) then it has no possibility for becoming reality. By not committing to making your intention become a reality you don't prove that the approach doesn't work. What I mean by this is that by simply "hoping" and "thinking" without achieving your desired outcome (e.g. not fully committing and investing energy) you haven't proved that the approach is invalid.

Darwin's Twin
Before I explain "Darwin's Twin" let me say that I'm not intending to describe a fact. Many authors state theories on how things work (e.g. Ekhart Tolle's pain body) but couldn't possibly know if their theories are in fact true. They're merely conceptual frameworks for you to relate to how things work. In describing "Darwin's Twin" I'm not trying to convince you that you have a twin existing in the Universe (although I'm sure speaking authoritatively on these types of constructs work wonders for boosting book sales).

Consider a reality where before you're born you are a collection of consciousness. Don't worry about identifying with yourself as a collection of consciousness (if it helps imagine a ball of bread dough that can be formed, shaped and separated by the hands of God). Just know that this entire collection of consciousness is "you." Imagine the hands of God kneading you like a ball of dough and forming the "you" that will be brought into the world.

However just before bringing you into this world God separates you into two separate collections but imagine a single thread remaining between each collection. Your "twin" is as much "you" as you are and exists in the Universe to help you. Whereas "The Secret" promises results for committing yourself to your intention, your twin (you in the Universe) is listening and helping you make connections with every other person in the Universe. Through these connections (it doesn't matter if those people are conscious to the connection) your intentions, hopes and dreams can become reality.

How do you connect and communicate with God and the Universe? For many this is through the power of prayer. Channeling your prayers to God connects you to the Universe and through the connections possible in our Universe, God "pulls strings" to make your dream become a reality. Try not to think of this construct as a box that constrains how God operates but rather how God created the Universe. God doesn't have to operate via this network but rather the Universe was constructed by God with this framework to enable life to function.

As with "The Secret" you can make your intention a reality by hoping for it, visualizing it becoming a reality and putting energy towards it being accomplished. Imagine your twin accepting your hopes, dreams and prayers and working on your behalf to take the energy you put out and channeling it through the connections to others that will help you.

In doing this you will find seemingly coincidental occurrences begin to happen. People will come into your life unannounced that will help you. Connections will be made and introductions will be made on your behalf. Moreover you will find the ability to focus your energy on accomplishing your goal. As opposed to everyday goal attainment which can be attributable to hard work, talent, skills and knowledge the outcome to your goal will be achieved via a network of humanity pulling for your success.

Skeptical observers will tell you that this is not possible and many of these same skeptics will be successful individuals. And this isn't to say that this is the only way to achieve your hopes and dreams. If you work hard and have the requisite talent, skills, knowledge and network to achieve your goal then connecting to the Universe isn't necessary.

However if you're missing any one of these required assets, then channeling your intentions through the connections possible in a conscious Universe is a much better alternative to not achieving your dream. The first step in achieving your dream is defining what your dream is. Be specific because your request may be granted exactly how you ask. If you define your dream then you can write it down. And if you can write it down you can put energy into achieving your dream.

Imagine your dream becoming your reality on a daily basis. Wishing for your dream to come true and immediately returning to an unconscious life starves the dream of the energy your twin requires to pull strings on your behalf. By focusing on your dream becoming a reality on a regular basis you will put regular energy into achieving the dream. That energy will enable others to find and help you.

You'll notice in this that I'm not advocating that you can do it alone. Although it is possible to achieve dreams in isolation they are more likely to be achieved via a team of conscious contributors pulling for you. Much like if a million people sent you a dollar you would be a millionaire, a network working on your behalf on a daily basis brings your dreams much closer to becoming a reality. Enroll others in your dream and you increase the likelihood of your dream being achieved.

Reply to "A Letter to God (if you exist)"

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:02:00 +0000

DARWIN: I recently stumbled across this blog post on the Phil for Humanity blog. It struck me as indicative to the issue I believe mankind is struggling with as it relates to spirituality. Be warned, my opinions on this topic aren't mainstream. Thus if you desire to cling to your belief system as you understand it then it is probably best that you don't consume this post.

Dear God,

We haven't seen your son, Jesus, in two thousand years. Your first prophet, Moses, left us an additional few thousands years ago. Your latest prophet, Muhammad, was last seen over a millennium ago.

DARWIN: By separating ourselves from God and considering ourselves undeserving to commune with God we inadvertently cut ourselves off from God. We are so willing to accept that God spoke through Jesus and to Moses but tell ourselves that these were different times. We fool ourselves into believing that, "Jesus left this world and God doesn't talk to people like Moses anymore."

Or does He? Is God not talking or are you not listening? I'm not talking about the spiritual openness and commitment to faith that would bring God's unspoken words into our minds. I'm referring to a direct communication with God. While many envy this relationship with God it strikes me as compromising to consider direct conversation with God to be beyond this world.

What if you stopped waiting for God to speak through others and opened up your being to listening to Him today? He is speaking but you are not listening.

Sure, you probably do billions of tiny miracles each day, such as babies, helping lives, saving souls, etc, but what have you done for all of humanity lately? Do you think that we mere mortals can take care of ourselves? Just look at how we are destroying the planet. We obviously need some direct divine intervention in the near future in order to divert a global environmental catastrophe.

DARWIN: Oh, here we go again: Waiting for someone else to be in action on our behalf. We can't control ourselves. We're weak little people. We need someone else to tell us how to live our lives. We can't help from sinning.

You were born into this world with an innate sense of right and wrong. However from the day you were born you have been systematically conditioned to ignore this awareness from God and instead been taught to follow rules, ignore your awareness and conform to society's norms.

Each and everyday you are faced with choices between good and evil. And each and everyday you choose good. And each and everyday you choose evil. You know the difference but you choose to ignore your awareness. And because you ignore your awareness you assume that others (which presumably aren't as smart as you) will be helpless to do the same.

Being conscious isn't a boolean state (on or off). Consciousness is an evolutionary process whereby you become more and more aware of God. Each time you open up to hearing God's voice you become more and more conscious. If you don't believe in "God" then you can substitute a word that you're more comfortable with (e.g. try Universe).

Similarly you are not alone. You know that you are not alone in this world even though the harshness of the world bothers you. You loathe the capacity for human beings to choose evil and, while this makes you feel alone, you know that if one human being sins that we all sin. You are the saint and you are the sinner when humanity chooses good and evil.

Your evolutionary consciousness is both made possible and limited by the consciousness of humanity.

We have been killing each other in your name for as long as recorded history and probably even longer. Don't we at least deserve some recognition? How about sending down another messenger, but this time he or she could truly and peacefully unify all the world’s religions, so we can stop killing each other? Maybe if you directly interact with humanity more often, this could help too.

DARWIN: Again, you're not listening. You are God's messenger. If you think for a minute that not getting involved on a local level is any different than stopping bloodshed then you're missing the entire point of divine intervention. There is no difference. There is simply good and evil.

Those that have killed in God's name have chosen evil. It doesn't matter what side that you're on. Kill in God's name and you have killed. It is wrong. You can choose to kill anyway but don't think for a minute that killing is anything other than evil.

And while we're on the topic of killing let me introduce an even more extreme case for your consideration: Is it wrong to kill animals?

Furthermore, we are using our intelligence (that you gave us) to create a new fangled innovation that we are calling science. This science has pretty much scientifically proven evolution and that you do not exist. We definitely could use proof that you exist, so we do not lose more followers to atheism. Oh yes, this proof needs to be able to withstand scientific scrutiny for all of time too, because blind faith is no longer logical with science and reason.

DARWIN: Evolution doesn't disprove the existence of God. The only thing evolution disproves is our story about God. Why can't man accept that God has a plan that is beyond our comprehension?

Why can't God have created the Universe in an instant (e.g. big bang as we call it) and intend for human beings to evolve? Yes, I know "for the Bible tells me so" but would every Christian on the planet abandon Christ if they found out that the Bible was wrong? Is your faith tied to God or the story about God?

It is your responsibility as the parent of humanity to ensure our well being. At least until we are well grown up and we are able to take care of ourselves, otherwise what type of parent would you be?

DARWIN: Yes, you are absolutely correct. But before we absolve ourselves of responsibility let's consider a different God paradigm. When we separate ourselves from God and consider Him a remote entity that communicates through others (e.g. Jesus, Moses, Mother Teresa, your local Priest, etc.) we disconnect ourselves from God.

When we consider God part of us and open to hearing God speak to us then we enjoy a more accountable and responsible relationship with God. If God is part of you and you are part of God (please note this does not imply that you are God) then you must take responsibility for your thoughts and actions. Your role in humanity becomes much more present.

Making a difference, being the catalyst for change and taking action are all your responsibility and they are God's responsibility. You are not an innocent bystander in this thing called life. You are the messenger.

If you do not, faith in you could be damned. Humanity could be damned too.
Sincerely yours,

Phil B.

DARWIN: If God is omnipresent and this life is but one phase in our relationship with God then why would God share our temporal intensity for making things right? Similarly if there is a Heaven then why would God get all fired up about who dies and who lives?

God and the Universe has been around for billions of years. Our presence in the cosmic timeline is but a blip on His radar. And with so many disconnected and unconscious souls waiting for God to make things right it is no wonder His message for us isn't being heard.

Begin anew by calming the mind to God's message. Open up your entire being to listen and put yourself into motion when the message comes. Make a difference and encourage others to do the same. If enough of us become conscious the flash point of consciousness will overtake humanity and letters like this will be but historical references to our past.

Integrity

darwin@analogdarwin.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:58:00 +0000

A lot has been written about integrity and it still seems that most people don't understand what it is at all. As you know, I'm quite the fan of definitions so I won't hesitate to share with my dictionary's definition of integrity:

integrity | inˈtegritē |
noun
1 the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness
2 the state of being whole and undivided
• the condition of being unified, unimpaired, or sound in construction
• internal consistency or lack of corruption in electron

I like both examples of this definition but the second speaks to me on a day to day basis. The point being that integrity is not something that you possess. You can't "have integrity" because it refers to a state of being. And thus you can be "in" integrity and subsequently be "out" of integrity.

Unfortunately many people see integrity as something that they can judge. I recently sent out an e-mail to several colleagues entitled, "integrity" and nothing else. Many replied or called back to see if I was judging their integrity and one even sharply replied, "You should check your own integrity."

If integrity is the state of being whole and undivided then only you know if you are not in integrity. The point of this awareness is to "get back in" when "you're out." And thus a certain degree of self awareness is required. .

Being self aware requires that you truly understand your principles. And, of course, we walk around on the planet thinking that we've got our principles all figured out. If you think you're not in this group then imagine your response if someone came up to you and said, "I think you need to re-examine your principles." What would your reaction be?

Check Out Yourself
As is central to the darwinifesto, one's own integrity requires that you understand what is important to you. If companionship is important, then fighting with your companion may put you out of integrity. If humanity is important to you, then walking blindly by a homeless person may put you out of integrity.

But if you don't list humanity as one of your important points then does blindly walking by a homeless person put you of integrity? I would say the answer is, "No."

But equally important is not examining what is important to you. If you value your life then closely examining what is important to you is central to being in integrity. And if you haven't taken the time to write down what is important to you then how important is this anyway?

And if you haven't examined what is important to you then you may be living in a state of not being in integrity.

A Friend Apologizes
Yesterday I got a call from an estranged friend asking me to call her back. I had no idea what she wanted as we hadn't spoken for several months. We had become estranged over an issue and had subsequently not spoken since. The funny thing was that neither of us was angry over the issue but neither had picked up the phone to reconcile the relationship.

Much to my surprise she was calling to apologize. Please note that she wasn't calling to tell me that I was right and she was wrong. That wasn't her intent nor was it relevant (nor is it ever really all that relevant). I forgave her and we had a nice chat.

Without knowing it she put herself back into integrity. And by her extending the olive branch she also put me back into integrity. We were both out and it didn't require my effort to put us back in.

My point in writing this is that we should think beyond our own reality. Even when we're wrong, reconciling can have as much of an impact on the other person as it does on us. Calling up an old friend or estranged colleague and saying, "I'm sorry" has far reaching benefits beyond the immediate situation.

Your getting back into integrity might actually be opening the door for them to return to integrity too.

EXERCISE: Think of three people that you've lost contact with over the last five years and ask yourself, "Am I out of integrity with this person?"

If the answer is, "Yes" then get in communication with them. Explain to them that you were out of integrity and you want to get back in. Don't feel compelled to explain to them who was wrong and who is right. Just get back into integrity and let the relationship take a natural course from there.

Once you let go of "being right" you'll be amazed how many doors open for you!