Present in the Present

July 12, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

During the Holidays, I made an intention of practicing “being present” as much as I could.

My definition of “being present” is an awareness of our breath, our thoughts, our emotional moods(s), our bodies, our consciousness of our environment, the expressions of our intution and creativity and how we influence and impact the people in our lives. As I was working with this idea, I began to wonder, “how much of our lives do we fully or near-fully experience?”

We all have a good understanding that there is a “maze of distractions” in our every day lives that compromises our focus, our personal intentions, our goals and our dreams. A house of mirrors that operates as a mechanistic vacuum. If left un-managed, this distraction machine claims our time, our efforts, our energy, our relations with others, our inspiration, our empowerment, our sense of adventure, our destiny and even our life force.

I could probably relay a great deal of complex and intricate information about the multi-tiered social distraction infrastructures currently in place to keep us all preoccupied from the important things in life and what’s really going on in the world, yet that would possibly lose most whom would choose to read this.

One thing that has occurred to me, during my several years of researching, investigating, reading and discussing with friends about what has and is going on in our global society, not accurately or appropriately broadcast by our esteemed mainstream media, is the current ratio between the attention the issues, problems, dilemmas and dramas receive in relation to the coverage of the solutions, resolutions, revelations, achievements, progresses and all the extraordinary things that happen around the world every day.

I get it, it’s the ratings. On average, people would rather tune into the negatively-charged articles than positively-infused stories. It is what it is. It is where our society is at in its social evolution. This is also a reflection of us personally and the status of how much of our lives we do experience.

You have to admit it is interesting that even the “alternative media sources” tend to focus more on the problems than on their solutions. If we are encountering a barrage of distractions in our daily lives, in our thoughts, in our emotions, issues with our bodies and challenges in our relations with others and with ourselves, how much of our lives do we truly experience? Have we ever fully experienced our lives? If we have, how long did it that experience last? How can we experience our lives more fully.

The only answer I can offer is found in the first paragraph of this note, “being present.” For me, being present isn’t just about showing up, paying attention, staying focused, interacting with others, going about our busy days, monitoring our thoughts, our words, our feelings or our reactivity to events and occurrences in our lives.

Being present is about disengaging from the things, people, thoughts, feelings, reactions, dramas and stimuli in our lives that do not bring us happiness, fulfillment, joy, health, peace, inspiration and love.

Being present is acknowledging that we all have a choice to engage in only what inspires, empowers, sustains, enlivens and unites us. Imagine that our lives are a blackboard littered with scribbles, marks, shapes, lines, words and symbols in chalk.

Being present is the ability for us to choose to pick up the eraser and clear the board of the things in our lives that no longer serve us.

When we choose to do this, we are able to make space for us to create new inspirations. And when these new inspirations are no longer working for us, we can choose to clear them and create even newer ones that will.

The past does not serve us, it enslaves us.

The future is only beneficial to us when it has become our present. The present is all there is. Being present allows us to experience the most of our lives.

When is the best time to be present?

Now.

http://www.zengardner.com/experience-life/

The Cosmic Resonance of Music

July 11, 2016July 11, 2016 / Iam Saums / 2 Comments

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine introduced me, through conversations and articles, to diverse frequencies of tuning in music other than the standard 440 hz frequency. At the time, she brought up that it was a glaring difference when it came to hearing it and experiencing it on an energetic level, as well as the natural healing and conscious-raising properties of the sound and music itself.

Having sent me a few articles about it, I had read that at some point between the first World War and second World War, there were a lot of military marches that were being written to set the tenor of the times. It was during this time that the standard tuning of instruments was decreased to 440 hz. Having read a bit about this transposition of frequency, it inspired me to go out and purchase a chromatic tuner that I could tune to different hz frequencies.

The one recommended the most, for the range that I write, sing and play instruments in was 444 hz. For those adept to pitch modulation, it is less than a half a step sharper than 440 hz, or 15 sens in technical terms. It didn’t take me long to adjust to the frequency alteration, as most people that play music can naturally transpose their voice and instrumentation almost instantaneously.

Though it may not seem much of a difference in frequency modulation to inspire me to write a note about it, it is! When they altered the standard tuning to 440 hz, it “deadened” the sound to give it a more “earnest” “urgency” and almost “dire” and “anxious” tonality. In other words, the frequency of 440 hz is kind of an “edge of your seat” provoking, stimuli-laden, expression of discomfort and unease, i.e. the sound of wartime.

Of course, most people who listen to music may never experience or be conscious of the effects that the frequency to which the music is adjusted may have upon them, as perhaps most musicians or artists may not as well. Yet, having written, arranged, recorded and performed music in this frequency for a few years, I can attest to the fact that it does indeed make a massive difference in its energetic expression. 444 hz is a very organic, alive, bright, brilliant, or sharper (literally) sound that provides a natural energy and frequency of life, growth, progression, consciousness, awareness and my personal favorite, truth.

Perhaps 444 hz may not just be recognized as the “frequency of love,” as categorized by “forward-being” artists, musicians and sound technicians. Perhaps it is also a frequency that grants direct access to our natural abilities and tendencies toward our consciousness, awareness, relativity, connectedness, intuition, insight, communication, evolution, and transcendence, which ultimately may be the best word to describe the difference between 440 hz and 444 hz. Incidentally, I was inspired by this friend to write, arrange and record my new, soon to be released CD “Lakshmi” in 444 hz frequency, and most certainly, when listening and “feeling” the playbacks in and outside of the studio, there is no doubt that the sound expression is powerful, transcendent and conscious provoking.

http://www.zengardner.com/musical-tuning-and-cosmic-resonance/

Human Being

July 7, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

Human beings are extraordinary expressions of life. Our intelligence, potential, compassion and creativity is unrivaled by any other life form. Yet, when it comes to the practice of these gifts, our ideals rarely become our realities. And it is bewildering how we fail to express these qualities with those whom are closest to us. Our kindness oftentimes seems to be more fluent with strangers than it is our family and friends.

There is an important distinction to discover as we are living our lives on this earth that is continually overlooked in the midst of our daily distractions, dramas and preoccupations. We can submit to “being human,” or we can choose “human being.” Though it appears to be semantics, there is a massive difference. The distinction is found in the expression of our consciousness, fellowship and love.

“Being human” is eating, sleeping, working, talking, driving our cars, watching television, debating, being entertained, comforting ourselves and ultimately attempting to escape the bitter agony of our common social reality. It is a mental perception that perpetuates a lifestyle of conditions, expectations, entitlements and stolen advantages for the benefit of the one at the cost of others. Being human is the default program to which we regress when we lack consciousness and compassion, thus sustaining our selfishness. This element of our nature is displayed most powerfully in the quality of emotions with which we chose to react to the people and circumstances in our lives.

“Human being” is quite distinct from being human. It is not merely an expression of awareness and conscience. It is kindness, understanding, acceptance, giving for the simple opportunity to give and offering our service to others without attachment. Human being is our natural expression. It is not just reaching our full potential; it is living it, and in so doing, inspiring others to live theirs. When we choose to transcend our conditions, fears, dramas, attachments and the entitlement of being human, we embrace our ability to love, yet as importantly, to forgive, which is truly what it is to “be” human.

“Being humans” are everywhere. They cut each other off in traffic. They resort to upset with each other when their expectations aren’t met. They become frustrated when their agendas and strategies aren’t successful. They may interpret this as a challenge to their authority or false sense of personal power. They have a tendency toward manipulating and controlling others and circumstances through family and workplace politics, even unbeknownst to themselves. Being humans are also very clever in their ability to utilize expressions of guilt, sadness and even depression to supplement the rackets they play upon themselves and others.

“Human beings” are focused on staying present in the moment and the lessons that the people and their experiences bring to their lives. They are inspired and empowered toward being proactive and fulfilling upon whatever mission they commit. There is an understanding and lifestyle of acceptance, faith, intention and belonging applied to everything they are and do. The possibilities and perceptions they embrace and employ are boundless and eternal. Human beings approach their life and living it equivalent to the wonder, curiosity and selfless honesty and innocence of a child. Their authenticity is so endearing; nothing else within their environment can endure.

We live in a conditional society. When we choose to be true about ourselves, we see that the roots of our conditions, rules, restrictions, stipulations and laws stem from the seeds of our very own fears, worries, concerns, failures, upsets, hurt and pain. This is at the heart of being human. Our dark nature and inclination toward enabling our unhealthy behaviors and patterns always lead to closing the windows and doors of ourselves from the world and throwing away the key for our safe keeping.

These are the conditions of our lives. The barriers we construct from years of repressing our insanity and confusion. We hand over our personal power to the invisible monsters that reside within us all. We ourselves sustain the darkness in the world with our denial, unconsciousness, self-righteousness, disinterest, reactivity, envy and hatred. Yet, these traits are never motivated by a person, event, experience or thing. It is simply our loathing of the part of ourselves we see in others and the circumstances in our external environment. It takes a human being to transcend the vicious cycles and schemes we run on ourselves.

This is why we are here, on this earth, at this time. When we fail to receive these inner messages with our intuition, we may be introduced to someone who pushes the same buttons within us we push with ourselves. They serve as a mirror to us offering a valuable key to the enigma we can be to ourselves. When we continue to miss the lessons the people we attract into our lives bring us, we have experiences such as hurting ourselves, getting into an accident, or losing something or someone precious to us to remind us of the work upon which we must fulfill. We are not meant to be slaves to our identity; we are created to be champions for our own freedom.

The very quality of our lives and how they eventually end is further testimony to whether we are living as a “being human” or a “human being.” It is our destiny in this world not only to choose how we will live, yet as vitally, the degree of a difference we will make, not just in our lives, yet in the lives of everyone in our sphere of influence. Everyone has a difference to make and it is our responsibility as human beings to discover this.

Perhaps what ultimately distinguishes us as a “human being” from a “being human” is the empowerment and inspiration we engender upon others, especially those whom consciously or unconsciously chose to perform the role of a reflection for us. It is always when it is least wanted and with people whom may be our bitterest adversaries.

The greatest strength and courage we will ever discover is in our willingness to hear and accept the truth of ourselves and apply it to our daily lives. All that stands in our way of transforming ourselves and achieving our fullest expression of living is our self-righteousness, fixed perceptions, attachments, reactions and fears. It is the invisible prison we construct in our lives with our conditions that disrupt, distort and destroy the blessing it is of “human being.” In essence, we are the only ones that get in our way.

We are both ‘being humans” and “human beings.” It is simply a choice we make of who we are going to be in any given circumstance, in any given moment with any given person. The greatest personal power we will ever achieve in our lives comes when we make the choice to be what we were born to be.

A human being.

http://www.zengardner.com/human/

The Consciousness Blues

June 15, 2016 / Iam Saums / 2 Comments

With every day that passes, it seems as though we as a society are becoming more and more aware of what is “really” going on in the world. What I mean by, “really,” is the story behind the story when we choose to read between the lines of how current events in our society are reported on, or the lack there of.

Sure, we have the mainstream media networks broadcasting “news” stories and articles manufactured for our consumption. Most are polished with a sheen of fear and designed to make us feel more “intelligent,” (as if intelligence has made much of a difference in our society). Some influence us to anger and frustation, while others are tailored to distract us from the issues that truly matter, i.e. pollution, GMO foods, fracking, the quality of our drinking water, etc.

Let’s face it, we are relentlessly bombarded with information in the form of “news,” advertisements, politics, sports, drama, entertainment of all expressions and even our life itself. Though many of these things may “seem” to us as being critical to our existence, they really aren’t as vital as our health, well-being, relations, families, contributions to our communities and fulfilling on our true purpose. They are just presented to us in a way that we perceive them as worthy of our attention and our lives.

Thus, the distraction is born.

Yet, for all whom choose to be daring, adventurous, bold, radical, curious and inquisitive pioneers of diversity, there is the story behind the story, the “real” reality which may only be obtained with an expression of our conscious will. I imagine it may happen differently for everyone, though the constant in the expansive birthing of our awareness is that it does indeed “happen,” and when it does, our experience of life and of ourselves is massively transformed.

When we choose to open our minds, our perspectives, our awareness, and most importantly our eyes and our ears, we begin to move beyond the inner resistance of our denial, our cognitive dissonance, our heredity and our self-righteousness. Something amazing and miraculous happens. It is as though we become addicted to consciousness. We develop a hunger for truth, clarity, knowledge, understanding and wisdom. We experience an explosive burst of energy that awakens and enlightens us all the way to the cellular level of our being and beyond. It is this energy that not only presents evidence to the credibility of the truth, yet, it also connects us with something much greater than ourselves and the lives which we live. It connects us with all that is.

At first the experience is much like a new romance, exciting, scary, awkward, dreamy and passionate. Then, as it settles into the very core and fabric of our being, we begin to become present to how twisted, sadistic, maniacal, insidious, insensitive, cruel, brutal and unforgiving human beings can be, especially when witnessed with conscious eyes. If we are fortunate enough to make it beyond our initial shock, we may discover and reveal how intricate, complicated, complex, convoluted and multi-tiered the issues and problems in our society really are. We may even begin to see that most of the problems in the world are manufactured and maintained for the purpose of profit for the benefit of the few at the cost of the unconscious many.

We begin to immerse ourselves with articles, You Tube videos, Facebook Posts and Updates, Tweets, Websites, Online Talks, Speeches and Forums, books, random “truth” conversations with others on a similar path, etc. Then we become present on a whole new level to the issues; GMO foods, Fracking, Flouride, Chlorine and other chemicals in our tap water, Chemtrails, vaccinations that cause the very illnesses they are supposed to protect us from, Fukishima, oil spills, the rapid destruction of the rainforests, the corruption of governments, the financial manipulation of the market place by corporations and banking institutions whom go unpunished, senseless wars claiming the lives of our youth…

Stop.
Breathe
Breathe again.
Breathe until these apparent burdens of truth and consciousness pass through you and there is only silence.
Breathe until all there is is your breath.

Breathing is the most powerful way of transforming our fear, worry, outrage, concern, frustration and anger into a proactive and productive form of practice to shift our problems into solutions. As a matter of fact, breathing is the first step in this process. It is fitting that this is the first step of life!

There is a challenging space we can find ourselves in in the midst of the hurricane that is “reality” when viewed with awareness, it is the “Consciousness Blues.” The frustration, hopelessness, helplessness and despair of being present to the issues of what is “really” going on in the world, yet not knowing what to “do” about it.
We may even adopt perspectives of, “I am only one person, what can I do about all of this?” “What difference can I make?” “It’s not my responsibility.” “It’s not my problem.” “These things will never change.”

This isn’t a bad place to be in, though it may seem and feel like it.

As a matter of fact, congratulations, you have broken the spell of “reality.”

“Knowing” about the specifics of the issues in our society is another step, yet will never bring the solutions.

In my opinion, we, as human beings, have a duty, a birthright to “share” what information and experiences we may have on our path of expanding our consciousness, without ego, without upset, without anger and without attachment to how the information we share will be received by those whom are bold enough to listen.
It has been said before, “wherever our attention goes, energy flows,” and where our energy flows, perpetuates the existence of whatever issues, challenges, dramas and problems upon which we may become impassioned.

It is the quality of the energy that we are putting into society that is vital. When we are frustrated, depressed, upset, hopeless and even sarcastically angry, though it seems justified, it is only more fuel on the fire.

This only contributes more to the problems than their solutions.

We have to ask ourselves the question, “are we contributing to the problems in our lives or the solutions?” The importance of our detachment from the negative reactions to the often times unbelievable issues and problems our society currently perpetuates is rivalled by little of what we may encounter in our daily lives. When we disconnect from our reactions, we are able to move beyond the melee and chaos of our contemporary world and begin to stem the tides of the growing collusion that pollutes our environments.

Perhaps one of the most difficult practices to successfully perform in transforming problems into solutions is in who we are “being.” This is also the most important exercise in this process. We can have the greatest of intentions and purposes in life, yet if we are being egotistical, arrogant, angry, resentful or frustrated, the transformations we desire to see will never happen. It is only when we are able to temper our internal upsets, disappointments, outrage and self-righteousness about society’s issues will we be able to transcend the challenges we experience within which undoubtedly show up everywhere in our lives.

No matter how excruciating it can be, and it is!

When we come from a space of silence, calm, present-ness, peace, positivity, kindness, compassion, acceptance and love, we will always succeed in transforming anything in our lives.

After all, will never transform the world around us, only the world within us.

http://www.zengardner.com/the-consciousness-blues/

(Don’t) Follow the Leader

June 13, 2016June 13, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

Webster’s dictionary defines a leader as: “a guide or conductor, a first or principal performer of a group, a person who directs a military force or unit, a person who has a commanding authority or influence.”

However, it is wrong.

It isn’t “wrong” because of the nature of its reference, nor is it wrong from a standpoint of common acceptance. It isn’t even wrong due to the term’s representation of how “leader’s” are perceived in contemporary society. In my opinion, it is wrong mostly because who a “leader” is has been blasphemized, manipulated and “hi-jacked” to become everything that a leader is not.

From the time we are very young, before we are even aware enough to understand we are alive, we are conditioned, influenced, “advertised,” “entertained,” indoctrinated and even punished into believing and accepting things in our society that are not entirely true. One of the more popular elements of this misrepresentation is how we recognize leaders in our communities and in the world.

Most of us have accepted the notion that politicians are leaders. After all, we “vote” them into office to represent us and our best interests regarding important issues; health, well-being, security and our quality of life. Yet, are politicians really “leaders?” They certainly seem to be presented as such by their party bases, constituents, the mainstream media, the entertainment industry, the other side of the aisle, etc. How many communication’s classes have politicians taken? How many leadership training programs have they completed to be a leader? What was their experience in “leadership” prior to their being elected into office? In what type of dynamic (workplace, environment, project, collection of people, etc.) was their leadership experience? What was the quality of their leadership?

My purpose in asking these questions is not simply to call for their qualifications to be “leading” hundreds, thousands or even millions of people, though we the people ought be doing this. My intent is to point out the startling fact, in our mainstream educational system, there are very few classes one can enroll in to become a “leader.” Let alone, how many “leaders” are really standing (supporting) for other people to become “leaders?” What is a leader?

For a moment, ponder the people in your life, the people in our society that are considered “leaders.” What qualities, characteristics, practices, behaviors and actions do they exhibit that emulates leadership? Is it that they tell people what to do, or how to do it? Is it that they conduct and direct every aspect of a project, an event, a job, an organization or an environment? Is it that they are conducting a class, an interview, a seminar, a ceremony, a meditation or a discussion group? Is it that they stand out in a crowd, are strong, influential, loud, bossy, expressive, outgoing and bold? Perhaps it is all of these. Perhaps not. Perhaps being a leader isn’t about being aggressive, proactive, overbearing, influential, a “go-getter,” “out in front of the crowd,” or the person to whom people are drawn and upon whom they rely.

We all have had experiences when we found ourselves in a leadership role; with a younger sibling, in school, at our job, in our family and in our community. We associate “leadership” to two or more people, a group, a team, a congregation, a workforce or a village. Yet, how often do we acknowledge our own leadership? How often do we embrace and practice the expression of our leadership in our “own” lives? How often do we disregard, diminish, dispose of or deny our own leadership in our lives because of a fear of claiming it and what the ownership of our personal leadership may require of us? How often to we surrender to the tides of our self-assassination?

It is easy for us not to empower or practice our leadership in our lives, let alone on a daily basis. Perhaps it is even easier to take time out of our busy lives to check a box on a ballot in a voting booth once in a while and hand over our personal responsibility, power and voice to people that are more than willing to take it from us. It would seem that it is easiest to stand in the shadows of our lives “dreaming,” “hoping” and “praying” that everything is going to turn out the way we desire it to be, without our intention, purpose or involvement. Even waiting for our appointed “leaders” to bring us what our hearts and souls yearn.

Though it may “seem” much easier to settle on this approach, living this way is more difficult than we can possibly imagine. So difficult that most of us may never experience the extraordinary opportunities and possibilities our lives may bring to us when we are living them to the fullest, when we are being leaders of our own lives. So difficult that we may never experience the inspiration living our lives with leadership may empower others to fulfill upon a commitment to their own.

The fact of the matter is that we are “all” leaders, when we choose to be, as we are meant to be. Being a leader is simply being our selves, the fullest expression of our potential. Only you can be the greatest of who you are. Only you can be you, in all your uniqueness and beauty. When we are being the best of who we are, the solutions transform the problems into opportunities so we may thrive in our lives. This success is measured in our health, happiness, peace, acceptance, creative expression, amicability, vitality and our relations with our communities.

Imagine when the majority of our society will live this way.

When we imagine this, it will become. This is how powerful we are as human beings.

We just have to accept, claim and express our power through our leadership by who we are being. It simply requires us to become who we are, in the fullest of our life expression. We are the only ones who can claim for ourselves the leadership we were born to be.

http://www.zengardner.com/dont-follow-leader/

Stand

June 10, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

“We have been sitting down for so long, we have forgotten how to stand.”

Dawn of Possibility:

There is nothing more significant in our life than our commitment to make a stand. This is the most potent form of our self-expression. It is in the authenticity of our integrity that we truly thrive. Before we embrace the opportunity to seize the power of our stance we must first be willing to acknowledge it. We then need to integrate it into our lives by who we are being. Our society does not empower, encourage or support the genesis, ownership and application of our personal stand. In order to claim it, we need to be open to and at cause with its possibility. We must be willing to surrender all we know we are to become all we can truly be.

Cast in Society:

We are multi-dimensional beings existing in infinite experiences simultaneously in any given moment. We must accept this cosmic truth before we are able to channel it into a focused expression of being. Our perception is conditioned by society’s two-dimensional reality. The multiplicity of our consciousness is condensed and suppressed into a narrow vision of the universe. Our relations with others are regulated by the linear boundaries to which we abide. Reality is based upon the laws and limitations of educational, religious and scientific institutions. Our social evolution anesthetizes us to the truth of who we are.

Rose-Colored Glasses:

Reality is imprisonment. In our inverted world, even the most alluring freedoms are still forms of slavery, for they exist within a paradigm of illusion. It is simply the nature of the perception we adopt. If we conform to experience life through the filters of education, religion and science, we automatically abandon the majority of what is and what is possible. Eventually we will enable and resign ourselves to the rules and restrictions that keep us engaged in a bait-and-switch matrix of engineered and suspended animation. Ever reaching for an elusive truth we frequently ignore and resist in the exact moment we become present to it.

Artificial Authority:

We have been giving away our personal power long before we were even aware it existed. Most of us are oblivious to our personal empowerment and only experience it in accidental, fleeting moments of confrontation, difficulty, stress and survival. The energetic quality of the power we emanate and exercise is chaotic and dense in vibration. It begins as a genuine expression of the heart yet is ultimately distorted by perception and reality. It is often transposed into an aggressive and explosive energy. Instead of inspiring others with the presence of our authentic power we frequently allow it to be manipulated into a force of violence.

Existential Savior:

Many of us have been waiting for someone or something revolutionary in our lives to open the doors of opportunity and possibility. Though there are numerous times when these prospects present themselves to us, we seldom choose to acknowledge and embrace them. We opt for a lifestyle of fantasy, romance and suffering in our perpetual quest for an easier path. Yet, the cost for artificial achievement, convenience, gratification and security is not just our life, possibility and truth. It is our heart and soul. We have been running away from ourselves for so long we have epitomized the divine comedy that is the “human race.”

Springtime of Truth:

Humanity is asleep, yet is beginning to awaken. There is far too much evidence, movement and truth manifesting from the obscure confusion of contemporary social reality. The vast super structure of cause and effect that was once our forebears’ captivity has now progressed into an emancipation of awareness, creativity, expression and community. We are becoming present to the realization that possibility is the nature of the universe. Its infinite opportunities empower our experience of life. Possibility transforms our being with multi-dimensional consciousness using our intuition as a gateway to the universe.

Rise and Shine:

All of us have experiences that inspire us into enlightenment, action and being. We are all motivated by circumstances and events that define the what, why and how we are empowered. Our commitment to petition for it is the foundation of our expression. Our focused intent manifests what becomes our vision, mission and purpose. Who we are and how we express it in our lives determines the nature of our stand. We are a vessel of possibility for the world. It is our purpose to create and sustain this sacred space. There is nothing as vital as the awareness we bring to our life. Our stand is the compass of our consciousness.

In Our Power:

Identifying, embracing and conveying our personal power can be an awkward and terrifying experience. The practical arenas of reality rarely if ever foster or endorse individual empowerment, let alone accept its mere possibility. Personal power is the antithesis of the foundation upon which society is engineered. This is the primary reason why it is exceptionally challenging to consistently and successfully apply it to our everyday lives. Its extraordinary nature is essential to the manifestation of our transformation. The only true expression of our being is sourced from our personal power. It begins with our choice to be.

The Calling:

Our lives are ripe with opportunities to claim our truth and choose the nature of our stand. Usually it is something that inspires us to step out of ourselves, professions and the structured reality we adopt. Our perception expands, our heart pounds, our mind races and energy courses through every element of our being. We are present to possibility, yet we are also conscious of something new. In the epiphany of our realization, we are acquainted with our empowerment. In these pivotal moments we have the choice to either ignore our calling or claim it and become all who we can only imagine.

Eternally Empowered:

No one else can bring into our lives and the world all we have been intended and gifted to give. No one else can conduct the energy that the universe sources us to generate, express and share. No one else can be inspired by our lives to the degree that we are empowered to stand for them. No one else can live for us an extraordinary life that transcends the possibilities of our being. No one else can experience our unique creativity, evolution, insights, transformation and destiny. We are the only ones who can become, cause and emanate the greatest manifestation of our lives. To this we are immortally called. For this we need to stand eternally empowered.

“We must stand for something, or we live for nothing.”

http://www.zengardner.com/stand-3/

The Heart of it All

June 9, 2016 / Iam Saums / 1 Comment

“We are nothing we think we are.”

The Mind Field:

Our reality is an extension of our thoughts. Our society is an invention of the mind. We live within a matrix of mentality that is equivalent to the neural pathways in our brain. Millions of neurons connecting and firing cause the fundamental functions of our intelligence and the rudimentary dynamics of our awareness. Though we may believe we interact with and consciously command this network of existence, to it we are inherently enslaved. Our captivity is defined by the energy we sacrifice upon the altar of our ego’s insatiable appetites, selfish gratification and vain quests for artificial fulfillment.

Inheritance of Thought:

Before we are born, our mind is in a subconscious state of development. In utero, we are intimately partial to the impressions and influences that our mothers experience during pregnancy. We breathe their air, eat their food, drink their fluids, think their thoughts, feel their feelings and even dream their dreams. Our symbiosis is not only in the semblance of our ability, behavior, emotionality, genetics, perception and temperament. It is also prevalent in the neural activity and tendency of our thought. We are frequently oblivious to the experience of our emotions and even less aware of the persuasive mechanics of our mind.

Illusion Investment:

Our senses are the avenues of our mental enslavement. All we see, hear, smell, taste and feel is gradually distorted by the mass manipulation we enable with our engagement. The influence of our subliminal thought patterns cons us into a relentless web of ego, desire, want, worry and fear. When we succumb to these stimuli, we invest in the illusion of reality and exchange our creativity, freedom, spirituality, truth and vision with our confusion, drama, dysfunction, fantasy and politics. Our truth becomes a lie and a lie becomes our truth. It is this self-deception that costs us our life.

Intelligence Dependence:

At some point in our maturation, our intellect becomes the measure of our worth. We are processed though institutional conditioning to gain acceptance and qualification for positions of merit in the grand racket of the professional marketplace. Once indoctrinated and initiated into its diabolical mainframe, we willingly acquiesce our health, heart and soul to the omnipresent, intelligence-driven program of advancement and survival. It is our understanding and utilization of the system in which we exist that determines the watermark of our success. Where the ultimate conquests come not from great achievements, yet by mastery through manipulation.

“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.”

-Bob Marley

Mass Collusion:

We are under a global spell of social hypnosis. This paradigm hinders our ability to truly see ourselves and the world. It is a dream from which most of us never awaken. A widespread epidemic of cooperative confusion and distortion we enable with our apathy, denial, drama, self-righteousness and fear. No matter how much we attempt to influence the people, circumstances, perceptions and outcomes in our lives, we rarely escape the revelation of our self-imposed fate. It will always be the illusions of our mind that seek to complicate, discredit, falsify and usurp the eternal expressions of our heart.

Distortion by Design:

The heart has no place in the mental matrix. Within it, emotions are a foreign language. Empathy and kindness have become criminal and our compass of conscience and insight has been surrendered to the ruthless nuances of our ego’s adversarial influence. Intellectuality has become the mandatory currency of reality; without which we cannot function or survive. The frequency of our heart center is disrupted and distorted by the neural labyrinth of material life. Our multi-dimensionality is compromised and our focus, purpose and vision is distorted beyond our pre-programmed abilities.

In Shadow:

We have all been asleep. We are lulled into an instinctual slumber with the gravity of reality, the artificial burden of society, the vortex of consumption, the captivity of our perception and the severity of our fear. We have been wined and dined into a dreaming death by society’s many attachments, impressions, influences, opinions and vices. The human race has been and is on virtual life support. Its collective pulse dives dangerously below the measure of its lifeline. We exist within the twilight of life as wayward spectators watching from the grandstands and rarely daring to take the field. Yet, now more than ever, only the field remains.

“The journey from the head to the heart is much longer than from the heart to the head.”

Transcen-dance:

There are random occasions in our lives when we are blessed with an epiphany of truth, purpose and understanding. More frequently than we may choose to acknowledge, we are stirred from our walking slumber and become present to something distinct from the ordinary. We tend to deny and discard these experiences of opportunity as fleeting flights of fancy and roll over in our adopted reality. Yet, these are the keys to freeing ourselves from our mortal captivity. These are the events in our lives that further entrench us into the neural matrix of intellectuality or offer us a powerful choice to transform our experience.

The Force Awakens:

A critical mass of awareness has grown over the past few decades. It is not a new force of sentience. It has always existed well before the dawning of humanity. Yet the primary distinction in our contemporary age is our realization of and synergy with the eternal essence of consciousness and the fulfillment it inspires. Our relatedness with this experience has been defined by our commitment and willingness to become its universal expression. It simply requires us to transcend all that inhibits the natural expansion and presence of our soul in life. This is our true human destiny.

The Center of Being:

Our heart center is the most powerful expression of our being. It sources and radiates an electromagnetic force so powerful, even the most authoritative protocols of intellectual reality cannot alter or extinguish its emanation. It is the gateway to our intuition, the medium of our creativity and the seat of our soul. Our heart center is the nexus of our being that connects our body and mind with our spirit and the universe. This vital multi-dimensional alchemy allows us to become our greatest potential. Our enlightenment is made manifest when our heart center resonates with our soul.

Heart Star:

Our heart is our greatest expression of vision, truth and possibility. It guides us through our challenges, conveys our experiences, composes our creativity and unites us all. Its presence expands and transcends beyond the measure our mind can only fathom with our imagination. We are not intended to acquire this energy solely for our personal benefit. We are destined to receive this energy for the sake of sharing its infinite abundance with all. It is our soul purpose to empower, inspire and sustain each other. This is the universal tapestry of being we express and experience as love.

“All that we give is all that we live. All that we love is all that we are.”

Soul Purpose:

Being conscious in an oblivious society is no longer sufficient to transform the world. Conversations and actions are mere stepping stones in becoming and being all that we envision. Not just as human beings having a spiritual experience or spiritual beings having a human experience, but as energetic beings conveying the extraordinary expressions of our creativity. The resonance of our enlightened being and its unique signature is essential in transforming three dimensional reality into four dimensional consciousness. Imagine our experience of life if all humanity chose to be an emanation of their soul…

http://www.zengardner.com/the-heart-of-it-all/

Intuition

June 8, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

It is easy to believe in the things that we see. We live in a visual reality.

It isn’t that our eyes “can” deceive us. It is that they “do.” Perhaps more accurately put, we allow our eyes to mislead us by where we cast them and with what we occupy them.

Our eyes are simply windows that not only focus our gaze, yet also our awareness.

It is easier to believe in the things we think. We are unconscious of most of the thoughts we possess. We have allowed and enabled our thoughts to become so influential in our lives, we can almost see them. Our thoughts conduct and control us more often than we may choose to imagine.

It is difficult to believe in the things that we feel. Our society is not designed to support emotionality as a viable expression of living. The most powerful and enduring experiences in our lives are those we feel. It could even be said that “feeling” our way through life may actually be closer to truly living and being.

It is most difficult to believe in the things we do not see, especially if we cannot understand or relate to them. Since the time we are very young, we are conditioned to believe in only what we see or hear within a narrow perception of reality. All outside of this fine line of life is where the extraordinary thrives.

In a society of distraction, instant gratification, busy-ness, expectation and entitlement, how could we ever assume we are experiencing the fullest of our lives or the world? Have we ever?

Every day, there is a remarkable measure of life we do not experience. It is astounding when we realize how rarely we use our hearts and our souls in relation to our minds and our bodies. We live in a society structured around the needs, wants, pleasures and pains of the body and mind. Our emotions and intuition are often pushed to the back burner of our being, without us even knowing.

Our experience of life isn’t merely what we can see, hear, smell, taste or touch. It is all of these sensory encounters and more. It isn’t only in the actions we take, the words we speak, the emotions we feel, or the random spiritual experiences we may encounter. It is when we engender a present-ness to and being-ness in our lives that allows us to connect and relate with something/someone much greater than the “I” (identity) we perceive ourselves to be. It is even beyond who we envision and dream ourselves to be.

It is reasonable to consider that if we are attempting to perceive our infinite nature with our finite senses, we will never be able to behold everything that we are, let alone reach our full potential or our soul’s fulfillment. Our sensory expressions are all useful aspects of how we choose to understand and live our lives. Yet, this is merely a fraction of our potential as human beings, and our senses will only reveal a fraction of all that is out there to discover and experience.

As it has been said, humankind will search the heavens and the earth for what has always been inside of us. Since the beginning of humanity, only a fraction of the population during any given time period, has ventured to intimate and ally with what is beyond the seen, heard and known. Only a few have chosen to go beyond simply knowing themselves and their position in the world. Few have been able to give up everything they believe they are to become everything they were created to be.

If our heart is the gateway to our soul, our intuition is the pathway to universal consciousness. There is a basic alchemy that human beings inherently possess. It is a four dimensional dynamic that consists of our bodies, our minds, our hearts and our souls. We live in a civilization that isolates us from our hearts and our souls, imposing upon us a two dimensional reality. It takes a great deal of effort and energy to go against the mainstream of human “doing” and “thinking” to connect to, relate with and express from our hearts and our souls as human “beings.”

We are all born with the ability to transcend our human nature. When we choose to temper our physical desires, calm our persistent thoughts and detach from our unhealthy feelings, we create an alchemical balance within. We free ourselves to experience, connect with and relate to our soul using our dormant sense, our intuition.

Within all of us resides a pineal gland. What is essential about the pineal is that it can operate with the Chakras and the Kundalini. When these systems are performing in unison, a pathway to higher dimensions of being is opened. This pathway is our intuition. It is the medium through which we access our vision, creativity, truth, life force, spirituality and love. Our intuition connects to and relates with universal consciousness. It is the “high”-way to who we truly are, beyond our bodies, minds and hearts, even our beliefs.

There are many ways to connect with our intuition. I imagine that it is different for everyone, perhaps as diverse as any human being’s uniqueness, perception or reality. Silence is the most important practice in synchronizing with our intuition. Not just a space devoid of sound. Yet, silence from our thoughts, emotions, instincts, perspective, agenda, drama and attachments. Silence is the key that opens the door to our intuition.

A common and effective way to connect with our intuition is meditation. When we meditate, there is an exchange of energy and consciousness that calms, balances and revitalizes us. This experience brings us into a present-ness of being, utilizing our intuition to connect our heart with our soul. The practice of meditation sustains us in our ability to balance our body, our mind, our heart and our soul. When we establish and maintain this equilibrium, we are able to convey consciousness into reality, transforming ourselves and our environment.

Intuition is the universal instrument through which we as human beings may “art”-iculate creation, consciousness and infinite possibility. Imagine if we were living our awareness to its fullest manifestation. Our intuition unites us with our soul and the universe and relates us with each other. It frees us from the illusion of separation and restores us to our true expression of life. It is who we are as a universal being, pure consciousness energy. Our intuition returns us to our true connection with the source, our love.

http://www.zengardner.com/intuition/

Entertained to Sleep

June 7, 2016June 7, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

With the growing interest and social buzz about consciousness, it is remarkable that we don’t see more people turning away from the seductive tides of the entertainment industry. Whether it is television, radio, Internet, online games, Facebook, Twitter, movies, magazines, advertisements, etc., entertainment has become one of, if not “the,” greatest distraction of our lives. I write “of our lives” because this is exactly what we are sacrificing when we become entangled in its alluring web.

It may not seem dire or toxic. Yet, if it is something that consistently takes away a good measure of our time, energy, relations, motivation, creativity and lives, it may warrant a close observance of our lifestyle.

None of us are immune to the “want” of being entertained. It began at an early age, and sometimes as a way to be preoccupied so that our parents or guardians could be afforded an earned break. As we grew older, it began to be distorted from a want to a need to even an entitlement. We find it much easier and desirable to turn on the TV, radio, and Internet as a type of “white noise” to make us feel more comfortable, connected, related or fulfilled. It can even be such a daily routine that it becomes a minute-to-minute endeavor. When we find ourselves without the false security of entertainment, it may impact our behavior, perception and mood. It becomes something much more than amusement. It becomes addiction. We are entertained to sleep.

When we turn on the television to watch sit-coms, we are greeted with forced laughter, elementary-level jokes and unrealistic life situations. It is cotton candy for the mind. There is a quick flash of fleeting sweet pleasure that dissipates as quickly as it arrived. When we turn on dramas, we are drawn into states of anxiety and stress. News broadcasts can put us into a perpetual state of fear and apathy. And reality shows. Need I say more? When the program is over, we are left only with emptiness and a longing with which entertainment is all too successful providing.

The Internet is an amazing invention of information, discovery, education and expression. Yet, without moderation, we may find ourselves spending hours upon hours of our time glued to the screen and the mouse, forever searching for a relatedness and fulfillment never to be found on a computer. We may become more connected with the World Wide Web than we are with our family and friends. We may even begin to believe that social media is the future of relatedness.

Most entertainment has one thing in common. Escape. It offers an avenue that many of us are more than willing to take. It seems evident that a great number of people would choose to evade the constant onslaught of reality by which we are continuously impacted. Some may even believe that reality is manipulated in such a way to drive people toward things like entertainment, poor diets, drugs, sports, shopping, social media and a number of other distractions. It would seem that society is rife with many diversions manufactured for the sole purpose of keeping us distanced from the one person with whom we are born to be related, ourselves.

It is amazing the amount of our energy, time and money we willingly surrender to our entertainment. Being distracted by entertainment is one of the primary things that enable an undesirable “reality” to persist. It is our entitlement to being entertained that is keeping us from living the lives that we love and by which we are truly inspired.

Over the last two weeks, my wife and I chose not to go on Internet, turn on the TV, scroll through Facebook, view videos on YouTube, read articles online, etc. We turned off the laptop and our Kindle Fires to bask in the glow of how life was before the explosion of technology. Where we once turned on the TV, we now talk with each other. Where we once surfed the Internet, we both picked up a book. Where we once turned without to be entertained, connected and informed, we now choose to turn within and to each other.

For me, this practice has opened up a great deal of time and a wellspring of creativity. It has taught me to honor the silence, my relations with others, my artistic expressions, my goals, my purpose and my life.

Instead of being entertained by other people, imagine the possibility that our life itself could be fulfilling enough. For if our lives aren’t that entertaining, what does that say about how we are living them?

The life we are given is such a brilliant gift and blessing. Now is always the time to honor and reclaim it, not by entertaining it, by living it.

http://www.zengardner.com/entertained-to-sleep/

Iam Saums

The Article Collection

Human Interest