Social Commentary
The Experiential Awareness of Being
“We are as conscious as we are present.”
Soul Sacrifice
We are born into physical reality with the feelings, thoughts and behaviors of our ancestors. Existence in social reality is inhibited by the programming of our education, engagement, heredity, intelligence and religion. We instinctually and intellectually adopt and enact perceptual filters to insulate our solitary lifestyles. Our desire to be right supersedes our need to express our truth. We are defensive when we encounter anything distinct from our individual and socially adopted narratives. We sacrifice our personal power, becoming victims of addiction, exploitation, fear, influence and insecurity. We eagerly chase peer affirmation for a superficial existence.
The Vortex of Our Oblivion
We settle for a life of anonymity, as it seems the easier way. Yet, surrendering our personal power to entities and organizations, reliant upon our acquiescence for the imposition of their control, is the cause of society’s current conundrum. We are born an eternal being into a physical form. Yet, we are afraid to acknowledge, become and express our unique soul. Through our exposure and interaction with social reality, we eventually devolve into a vortex of egotism. All who succumb to the selfishness of their desire are the vacuum of a black hole. All who choose to express from their soul are an emanation of the universe.
Against All Odds
We are conditioned to preoccupy our lives with trivial amusements, obligations, pastimes and pursuits. Social reality constantly distorts our focus of awareness from establishing an equilibrium between our instincts, thoughts and feelings. This essential balance brings us into alignment with our intuition, soul and the universe. Our apathy, fear, insecurity, institutionalization, perceptual filters and self-righteousness prevent us from experiencing and becoming the fulfilled expression of our being. Our bodies and minds are cluttered with artificial sensation and thought, enslaving us with virtual reactivity to social reality’s engineered exploitation.
An Act of Will
At any moment, we can shift our experience. The contemporary standard of living is to be born, deceived, enslaved, manipulated, programmed and inevitably die. No matter how we may elect to perceive these human conditions, they are the result of the social reality we cling to for credence, meaning, reference and relevance. Awareness of these probable outcomes are opportunities to break the antiquated patterns of our instincts, thoughts, feelings and behaviors, to align with our heart center, intuition and soul. Conscious experience is an expression of our focused will. A spark that lights the fire we kindle with our vision and intention.
“It is our birthright to create and empower our awareness.”
Self-Awareness
Experiencing relativity in our environment and society begins with understanding ourselves. Not the function, history or knowledge of what we do, yet who we are being. We are all victims of collapsing and compounding our profession with our identity. How we sustain ourselves financially is not an expression of being. Making this vital distinction frees us from becoming prisoners of our programming. We cannot be self-aware until we are related with the universe. Self-awareness is transcending our environment, transforming our relations and empowering our being with our intuition and soul.
Social Consciousness
Once we establish and sustain our awareness of self, we can apply and express consciousness in our social engagement. Our soul, intuition and heart center empower us to be as present as possible in our relativity with society. The most important practice in all our relations is to listen. When we provide an authentic environment of listening, we are expressing our being. The greatest gift we can give to another is the experience of being heard; appreciated, recognized and validated. We inspire personal power with our listening and acceptance of who they are, beyond their expression, emotion and intelligence.
Existential Understanding
Everything exists in some way. Yet, it is not how we exist; it is who we are being. Shifting our paradigm of perception from surviving to thriving may be the best way to embody existentialism. Our institutionalization conditions us to endure the positive, negative and neutral elements of our experience. When we are motivated to simply live through our challenges, we are not really living, we are evading. We misinterpret these powerful opportunities as problems. When we are empowered to consciously progress through these experiences, we are evolving. Our understanding of existence expands, inspiring us to become solutions.
Experiential Awareness
We are multidimensional beings with the potentiality to have omnidimensional experiences. This is our universality, sourced by our soul’s synchronicity with the universe. Our intuition conveys our soul’s empowerment through our heart center, into our mind, body and environment. It is our personal destiny to become aligned, balanced and empowered with our unique experiential equilibrium. Our omnidimensionality creates, expresses and manifests our fulfilled experience. Living life in the simulation of social reality may seem like a gratifying encounter for some. Experiencing being in the eternity of universality creates awareness for all.
“Being present in the present is experiential awareness.”
Written in the Stars
“Writing is my expression of streaming the universe.”
The Heart of It All
The content I write about in these articles is not popular, nor does it fit the engineered storylines aggressively broadcast by mainstream entities and organizations. Their strategic narratives are biased, perceptual interpretations “based” on fact, yet very distinct from truth. Social reality is not “reality” at all. It is simply a virtual analysis of events analyzed by “experts.” (Those who are indoctrinated into societal institutionalization to the “degree” they are unable to create their own unique observation.) What I am inspired to write may often be read as trivial by the standards of elementary social survival. For many, the articles simply are not relevant.
Alternative Propaganda
My friend Elva recently asked me why I thought more people were not reading our articles, and did those who “like” them on social media actually read them? I pondered this and realized, what we choose to write is so diverse from the narratives of society, it falls on blind eyes. In my humble observation, even alternative media networks are steeped in the dualistic paradigm of social reality. Otherwise, they probably would not have as many people clicking, following, liking and sharing their content. Such as it is, for all who promote themselves at the expense of their authenticity, consciousness, ethics, experience and integrity.
Social Impressions
Before I had the cognizance of awareness, reality and society always rubbed me the wrong way. It is disempowering, oppressive and superficial. Whatever justification we feign to accept, adopt and assimilate into reality, it will always be a social vortex, prodding us into the oblivion of action, thought and egocentricity. To me, it is all about acknowledging we have been swindled into solitary, selfish and trivial lifestyles, enabling a dream for the few, and a nightmare for the many. I feel some people may read these articles and identify me as a conspiracy theorist, radical or even an extremist. Believe what you want, you will anyway!
Beyond Reason
I have always endured a degree of criticism, judgement and ridicule. Most of us have. Fortunately, I have become accustomed to the social backlash in response to my controversial and diverse observations and perspectives. They have become a watermark for me to measure their impressions. Yet, society marches on to the beat of its arrogance, entitlement, politics, religion and self-righteousness. I do not begrudge these aspects of human nature. I simply choose not to give them my attention, energy, listening or reaction. We cannot enforce, impose or even inspire others to shift. They must create this for themselves.
“I am not interested in knowing anything. I am empowered by understanding everything.”
From the Inside Out
My method of writing is intuitively extensive. It is an intimate experience that brings great insight and understanding. It usually takes a week, sometimes two, to write, re-write, edit, revise and publish an article. I am not paid for this. Yet, I do experience a personal fulfillment that transcends monetary return. I take great risk in sharing my observations and perspectives, especially now. Some may classify me as a revolutionary or even a terrorist, simply because I express viewpoints most would choose to ignore. I do not have attachments or expectations of how they will be received. This brings me an abundance of awareness, energy, freedom and inspiration.
The Progression of Composition
With every article, there are initial sparks of insight, creating a momentum of conscious empowerment, and an expansive environment for understanding and literary expression. I become present to all beyond my own experience, observation and interpretation. My greatest challenge when writing is choosing the ideal prose to convey universal being, energy and understanding. I encourage anyone who visits the website to always read between the lines. The words provide an intellectual link, yet their understanding is contingent upon the reader’s personal discovery. Finally, I choose a clear and concise vernacular, to best express the universal.
The Task at Hand
Writing against the habituation of the institutionalized mind is an incredible endeavor. We are programmed everyday by a multitude of medium, intent on conditioning and controlling our feelings, thoughts and actions. If we perceive this observation as conspiracy theory, then we are simply unwilling to exercise awareness. This paradox of reason is eventually transformed with our consciousness. To me, it is about shifting the indoctrinated many from being mired in the mind to empowered by intuition. My intention is to inspire others to create this for themselves. Yet, the expanse between doing and being is as vast as the journey from our head to our heart.
Universal Opportunity
In my humble observation, we demean, devalue and procrastinate the extraordinary experience and personal power found in relating with our soul. Given the strict parameters of social reality, our spiritual relativity is nearly impossible. There are infinite dimensions within us, our environments and our experiences, empowered by our choices, creative expression and who we are being. We all have the potential to embody and express the energy of the universe. Writing is my personal opportunity to share in words all that inspires me to make a difference by being an expression of creative consciousness.
The Rhythm of Resonance
As I have mentioned before, I do not believe I write these articles. I choose to imagine they are empowered by the universe. Observing, understanding and applying these insights requires the intention to temper my ego, allowing me the vision and personal power to center, focus and ground my being. Through the practices of creativity, meditation, prayer and yoga, I become present to my intuition and soul. These daily rituals help me to stream the universe. We all have a unique energetic resonance. It is the vibration of our relativity with our soul, empowering our epiphany, evolution and transformation.
As I Stand
My literary method is intensive spiritually, intuitively, emotionally, mentally and instinctually. Often, I have contemplated shifting my creative expression from writing. For all the energy, effort and time I devote, the apparent response to the articles pale in comparison. Whenever I find myself in this space, I remember what my friend Elva once told me. “If we reach one person, it was all worth it.” When writing articles, my experience is like standing in the center of a sphere with a multi-faceted mirror surface, reflecting every dimension of my being. Thank you for choosing to share in the experience!
“Writing with the universe has revealed who I am.”
“Communicate Your Freedom” Interview with Lorenzo from The New Agora/The New Now and Campbell from Autodidactic
Communication is key to everything in life, I would say. Especially the communications we have with ourselves. It does one no good to lie to themselves about anything for any reason. Unless or course your intent is to live in delusion, in which case, by all means, you should continue to exist in a fug of lies. Going within, though, to discover what Freedom means for you would be essential to finding your ‘Life’s Lost Purpose’. – Lorenzo Malowane
All About Us
“Society is a reflection of how far we are from ourselves.”
Social Stimulus Experiment:
The current virus spoke volumes about us and our relatedness with society. One thing most evident is our social reaction when the world was turned upside down and inside out over an influenza strain. Liberals turned conservative and vice versa. Society ground to a halt. Businesses dried up, many lost their jobs or companies. Billions of people retreated to the confines of their homes to tune into the mounting numbers flashing across their computer and television screens. Lockdowns were enforced as if war was eminent. In many ways it was and still is.
The optimistic angle to all of this? The natural world was primarily relieved of humanity. Pollution was down. Traffic was nonexistent. The animal kingdom was thriving. The world was almost peaceful. Personally, I felt it was an extraordinary opportunity for humanity to remove itself from the vicious cycles and rampant triggers of society and go within. It was a chance for us to become related with ourselves and the universe, transcend and transform our social conditioning and programming, and empower and express our unique destiny.
Default Program
Perhaps this occurred or was happening for some. Yet, like a computer program that encounters a virus, (be with this!) our social system was shut down and rebooted into a default mode. Once again, we are essentially where we were in our collective evolution prior to the pandemic madness. Society hit the ground running, rushing back to the way things were, armed with arrogance, consumerism, delusion, egocentricity, entitlement, greed, superiority, self-righteousness and violence. The ideal cocktail for social distraction, disruption and destruction.
As mentioned in several of the articles I have published over the last few years, a universal energetic shift is occurring, giving us the opportunity to transcend the dualistic lunacy we have identified with as society. Our ability to align with the universe by balancing our body and mind with our heart, intuition and soul is ever present. However, this experience does not exist in the simulation of social reality. Nor is it observed in a world enslaved by the institutions of its own amusement, education, media, politics and religion.
Privatized Priorities
Surviving society is a self-centered endeavor. This is how it is designed, so this is how it exists. Thriving in society is a transcendent lifestyle, empowering us to experience evolution, fulfillment, transformation and understanding. Unfortunately, our social conditioning is so all-encompassing and extreme, we opt to merely survive in the presence of all possibility. In our teens and into our twenties, most of us face scarcity. This is far more influential than we choose to acknowledge. All of us encounter a social shift that forces us into the oblivion of adulthood.
Recently, I was shopping in my home village and noticed a woman I would see frequently at the fitness center years ago. She had been attractive and trim with a cheery attitude. When I saw her recently, it was evident she had undergone her social shift into career, marriage and motherhood. It suddenly occurred to me at that time, she had been primping herself into good health to attract a husband, which would lead to having children and arriving to where she is now. When I saw her, she wore a scowl reflecting the watermark of her unfulfilled experience.
“Our lives are only as fulfilled as we live them.”
Settle for Self
For most, personal and social life is all about compromise. I observe and feel this in many people, family, friends, associates and strangers alike. It is hard to witness, and even more difficult to feel. In my youth, I recall the empowerment and inspiration many people I had known experienced. In their unique time, these passions were wagered for social conformity, familial and peer pressure and personal survival. Though these are seemingly justifiable reasons for social compliance, it is the “white flag” we raise every day we engage in the matrix of society.
Nightmares are not what we encounter when we sleep. They exist for us within the comfortable codependence of familial, professional and social obligation and responsibility. Every day we live against the flow of our destiny, experience and purpose. Our investment in life becomes a practice of negotiating and settling on a life of least resistance. We emulate our forebears as they eventually did theirs. Regardless of whatever fantasized self we choose to proliferate into society, it is as much of an illusion as reality. Our settlement in life is our death sentence.
A Soul to See
Most of society does not want to see the clarity nor hear the symphony of the truth. Most have been conditioned and programmed for decades and more into the narrow paradigms of sensual and intellectual insanity, set on a mission to draw meaning and reason from the mass chaos of society. Billions of lifetimes cast in the mold of the “known” reality, in a vain attempt to glean the slightest glimmer of wisdom from the smoke and mirrors of the day to day. Fortifying their defenses and reassuring their self-righteousness, while they sacrifice their soul.
We don the spectacles of reality’s kaleidoscope, believing what we encounter is “real.” Creation and destruction, above and below, good and evil, life and death, the entirety of duality imposes its influence and inhibits our universal experience. All these elements, however grandiose they seem, are only two-dimensional. Transcending the prison of our inherent social perceptions frees us from the dominance of our mind and body. Our heart is the gateway, our intuition is the path, and our soul is the origin of our empowerment, vision, expression and being.
All About Us
From the moment we are born, our existence is only about us. For many, this is personal identity, purpose and stability. Yet, it is also egotism, sociopathy and vanity. Every day, billions of people con themselves, justifying their social atrocities and crimes against humanity to preserve the status quo of their beliefs, bank accounts, defenses, opinions and self-righteousness. To many, this supersedes acceptance, authenticity, equality, honesty, justice, kindness, love and wellbeing. Eventually, the virtues of humanity become as degrative as its sins.
Continuing to do what we have always done ensures we will only encounter more of what we already have. We are rigid programs in the digital matrix of society, tethered to a formulaic mainframe of reactivity to constant social stimuli. The engagement of our reaction defines our enslavement. Therefore, our being, destiny and experience will remain forever unfulfilled. Shifting the focus away from ourselves is a remarkable opportunity to transcend the incessant inclinations of the body and mind. And also, be present in our heart, intuition and soul.
“To become one with our soul is to become one with the universe.”
Self Portrait
“I don’t write articles, they write me.”
All the Words Combine
I have been publishing articles on this and other websites for over ten years. It was brought to my attention years ago many of the articles I post are translated into different languages. This is the greatest compliment. I have even had opportunities to be interviewed by akin-spirited people intending to make a difference. I am empowered by the expanding community I discover and encounter with every article I write. Yet, there is something missing in my experience, and perhaps those of others. A transcendent relativity to equal the articles’ purpose.
Truth into Illusion
One observation I have made is the limited understanding, dialogue and application of the social awareness and listening into which I write. I will be the first to acknowledge the complexities and intricacies of the subject matter and vernacular I often choose, and the arrogance and pretentious tones my expression may convey. Perhaps I have lost the attention and interest of readers in the process. It is what it is, in a social reality rife with predominately negative images and information broadcast like advertisements for oblivious consumption. Perhaps what I write about may occur as offensive to many, as much as the mainstream media is to me.
Against the Grain
All who intend to express the truth they resonate with, into an artificial, callous and immoral society always face the greatest adversity, criticism, judgement and ridicule. Humanity is and perhaps has always been inverted and regressive in nature. The masses tend to lash out at those who stand for the truth and praise those who manipulate perception. At no time in my fifty years of life have I felt this to the gravest degree than over the last few years. When I offered an alternative or diverse perspective on what has been happening in contemporary society, I encountered social anger, blame, condemnation, shame and vitriol, losing acquaintances and friends along the way.
Defying Gravity
I am grateful to be a part of communities who accept and understand me for who I am and who I am not. When the gravity of society imposes its weight upon us, we usually dance and laugh our way through with conscious abandon. This is essential in a chaotic and challenging age. The window to awareness seems to be narrowing for many. Being an expression of the universe in an artificial world is a daunting endeavor. When the tides of humanity are ebbing toward madness and mayhem, our purpose is to flow with acceptance, balance, compassion, consciousness, equality, love and transformation.
“For the energy of the universe.”
Media Manipulation
Over the last decade, I have observed the declining state of journalism spiral into dis-, mis- and no information, social exploitation and partisan opinion. Authors, bloggers and columnists spar for expanded readership at the cost of their personal and professional authenticity, integrity and veracity. Even to the extent of arguing over nuance in a blind quest to be first, renown and right. The impacts to their audiences have been devastating. It is one thing to bend reality to benefit one’s career or company. Something entirely different to abuse the attention, reliance and trust readers have in an author or publication for the purposes of prestige and profit.
Selective Perception
I understand and accept the design of social reality, even when it has no acknowledgement or regard for the truth. I do not need to accredit, compel or solidify what I experience for it to exist for others. That is up to them to choose to discover for themselves, or not. I understand humanity is primarily conditioned and programmed into authoritarian-driven narratives, engineered to provide a social environment of artificial belonging. In which people have the platform to defend their insecurities behind the institutions of education, lifestyle, politics and religion. To the majority, it often seems easier to abide in fear than embrace love.
Ceiling of Consciousness
When I wrote on topics like consciousness, creativity, imagination, multidimensionality, transformation and universality, I used to wonder why there was a lack of response from the world wide web. Why proactive and positive expressions were excluded into non-existence in a society addicted to vicious cycles of negative and regressive repetition. Even why there was a social dependence on toxicity. Then it occurred to me, emulation has highjacked our opportunity for creation. We are artificial beings enslaved in a digital simulation, reacting to social stimuli projected into our existence.
All in Resonance
Every article I compose is inspired by what resonates with me in the moment. The writing process is intuitively guided. Even the editing and revision methods are empowered by insight. When they are published, they are as universally expressed as humanly possible. One of the only unfortunate elements in the progression of an article is attempting to convey in words all that is beyond instinctual and intellectual understanding. Yet, the opportunity to hone my ability for universal expression supersedes the inevitability that most of the universality is lost once they are completed. The energy between the lines is essential.
Universal Expression
What I choose to write about may not mean much to most if anything at all. If it did, there would be more of a watermark in the world when the tides of the articles recede. I have never had an intention for profit or recognition from what I publish. The website is free to all who choose to visit. I do not benefit, except for exposure from my articles being published on other websites or for interviews in which I participate. This is my commitment to the universe for sharing its creativity, empowerment, energy, insight and understanding with me. I am only an expression of its presence through my experience.
“Empowering and inspiring community through creativity.”
“Spiritualized” The Ego of Spirituality
“Ego is the destroyer of the soul.”
Dysfunction Junction:
We all have personal agendas, conflicts, crises, egos, faults and strategies. We all have afflictions and conditions which impair our perceptions, senses, instincts, thoughts and feelings. This is the daily reality we all accept, adopt and navigate in our experiences. Some of us nurture practices to keep ourselves balanced, conscious, present and transformed, while some of us front oblivion to deny, dismiss, deflect and project our inner challenges and deficiencies upon others. This happens in all communities. The ego transmits a dense, low-vibrational energy not only impacting the people engaging in deception, yet also the spiritual community with which they pray and relate.
Observational Hazards:
For half of my life, I have participated in spiritual communities. I learned and earned a degree of focus, consciousness, effort, energy, intention and prayer to manage my own ego, agendas, challenges, deficiencies, instincts, thoughts and feelings detrimental to my experience. It is clear to all whom have chosen to walk a spiritual path, there is a necessity to practice observation, awareness, accountability, integrity and transformation. For me, it is a commitment of holding a space for all to have their experience, and the choice to make a positive difference in the lives of all their relations. Unfortunately for some, the “ego of spirituality” establishes a schism between perception and experience.
Best of Intentions:
When our experience begins, we are mystified by the energy and power of spirituality. As human beings, we are prone to heap our belief, hope, energy and lives onto the mystery. It seems much easier to fully sacrifice ourselves upon the altar of blind faith, than delve into the rotten soil of our personal challenges and deficiencies which brought us to it. As our awareness of our soul and the universe evolves, our ego grows in tandem. Most of us decide to abandon observation of our ego, giving it as much power over us than whatever spiritual relation we believe we are cultivating. We instinctively collapse the voice we interpret as spirit with our ego. We listen more to this inner voice than the universe because it tells us what we “want” to hear, never what we “need” to hear.
Identity of Importance:
When the ego takes root in our experience, a desire to be acknowledged and significant arises. As we deepen our spirituality, inevitably we crave importance. Our personal experiences often require the validation of others to exhibit them as being more meaningful and powerful. This is “artificial power,” which negates whatever sincere effort and energy we are investing. It is contrary to our evolution when we fall into virtual spirituality. All the focus, intention, energy, adversity, challenge and pain our experience may bring, offered intentionally and obliviously to our ego in pursuit of false power and importance. Therefore, our spirituality fails. However, it is not the tradition we practice which falters. It is our spiritual superiority which empowers our ego.
“Vulnerability is the greatest strength we can express.”
Trail of Tears:
All of us have personal woundedness. We have been hurt by circumstances and others, yet primarily by ourselves. Our suffering is self-inflicted, whether we choose to believe, observe or claim it. We conceal and covet our pain and insecurity because we believe our ego when it tells us it is weakness. We repress our deficiencies in desperation and present a “brave face” to our community, while we break down with every spiritual step we take. As we stumble down our path, our anger, anxiety, doubt and fear rise to be released from our experience. When this occurs, we have three options. 1. We continue to deny and repress its existence. 2. We project it upon others as their responsibility, thus deflecting our own. 3. We choose to be with and manage our own issues and eventually resolve them.
Self Alone:
Spirituality is not about “our” experience. This is a selfish fantasy we devise to appease our ego and sustain our artificial power, ultimately limiting our conscious evolution. The cornerstone of our commitment to the traditions we walk is our service to the people in our communities and beyond. Occasionally, I have observed people step into spiritual experiences for the sole purpose of receiving something for themselves alone. This has been and is heartbreaking for me to witness, all their potential for making a difference, wagered for control, ego and importance. The most disturbing reality in this dynamic; most have little awareness of the impacts it has on them, and none it has on others.
Power Play:
Many who step into a spiritual experience often have deficiencies or lack personal power. When they see others who are developing and expressing their own, they too yearn to establish theirs. Yet, their ego emphasizes their neglected anger, anxiety, fear, insecurity, pain and woundedness. Out of their desire, desperation, entitlement and self-righteousness, they aim to steal power from others to fabricate their own. They use other people’s reactions to their behavior to distort and manipulate experience and perception. When they are exposed, they present themselves as victims of the circumstance they have caused, using their drama, trauma and tears as a weapon to divert the attention from themselves onto others to achieve their agenda.
Divisive Intentions:
One of the primary expressions of “artificial power” in spiritual communities happens when the “spiritualized” attempt to divide and conquer. They invent narratives about others, most often leaders, to distort and manipulate perception, compromising the image, role and trust leaders have earned with their communities. Once the seeds of speculation are planted, the provocateurs enroll others in their orchestrated plots, gathering numbers and imposing their agendas. They initiate division between members of the community to efficiently control information and outcomes. Essentially, it is a hostile takeover predicated by their belief they are better than the people who are given roles of responsibility.
“Spiritualized”:
For years, I have attempted to identify the behaviors of people who use spirituality as a strategy to bolster their ego, execute their agenda and obtain power. The term that best classifies this behavior is “spiritualized.” By definition, “someone who perceives themselves to be spiritually superior to others, using ageism, experience, history and self-righteousness to prove and impose their spiritual status and worth.” Being “spiritualized” is a social psychosis and metaphysical stigma running rampant throughout most if not all domains of spirituality. Yet it is not only the actions, words or behaviors of “spiritualized” individuals, it is the malicious intent in the name of spirituality which invokes the greatest harm, influence and devastation.
For the Benefit of All:
Some may be offended when reading this article. Some may believe what is written does not apply to them. Whether my observations about the ego of spirituality empowers, inspires, enrages, irritates or simply does not move the needle of recognition is telling. Whatever reaction we choose in response to these observations is a clarification of our willingness to acknowledge and accept we ALL have egos. Like it or not, its influence DOES impact our spiritual experience and those of others. Understanding this gives us all the opportunity to shift our focus and energy away from our ego and align with our soul. If we are going to give all of ourselves for our spiritual experience, it needs to be for the benefit of all.
Believer Beware:
Practicing tradition is a powerful experience. It is a humbling opportunity often mistaken as an attainment of individual advancement. When we charge into our spirituality with agenda, ego, entitlement and expectation, it will become destructive to us and others in ways we cannot begin to imagine. However, when we step into our experience with consciousness, humility and prayer, it empowers our lives and those of others. “Spiritualized” people do not like to be told what to do, and often tend to alter traditions, feign understanding or even make them up to suit their agenda. After all my experiences, one insight I would share with those at the crossroads of their soul; be present to your ego and its influence, or you will never have a spiritual experience.
“Unity is the soul of community.”
“Transforming the Listening” Interview with Lorenzo Malowane of “The New Agora” on “The New Now.”
“Listening is offering others the experience of being heard.” – Iam Saums
Video Interview with Lorenzo Malowane of “The New Agora” presented by “The New Now” inspired by my new article, “An Ear to Hear.”
To Transform Listening
“Changing how we hear things. Maybe a clearer way of understanding this is simply ‘learning to listen’. One of the hardest skills I’ve ever had to master is the skill of listening to others, striving to listen, to truly hear what’s being shared with me beyond my own thoughts.
As I recapitulate my time here in this life, from my childhood schooling to my adulthood, I can see, in all honesty, that I was barely ever really listening to others in a conversation.
Mostly I was thinking of my ‘agenda’, whatever that was at the time, and wondering how to get what I wanted. It started with ‘candy and toys’ as a little boy, and grew towards, well I guess you could say, adult versions of ‘candy’ and ‘toys’.
Having an agenda in a conversation, I feel, is perhaps one of the rudest things anyone can take into such interactions. If you are thinking of an outcome, no matter how loving or sweet you may feel it is, you are probably not hearing what is being shared. I was instead seeking to maneuver the moment towards what I wanted it to be, or what I wanted to get out of it, sometimes just wanting to get out of the conversation itself.
How utterly selfish and egotistical I was. if I’m not very careful in my communications I can still fall into any number of bad habits. It seems obvious now that if you are not ‘hearing’ what the other is attempting to communicate, you are not really being ‘loving’ and present in that moment. And by loving, I mean taking the other into consideration. Obvious, now, and yet it still takes a constant effort and attention, caring if you will
Not with just words, either. We all communicate in many different ways on many different levels, many we remain unaware of throughout. Body language, hidden emotions or feelings, unknown tendencies all come into play, whether we are conscious of them or not, during our day to day interactions with others.
Even alone in a room, it has become important to me to be clear with my hearing and listening. Enhancing my communication skills has been one of the best gifts I have ever given myself. Hard to beat self-knowledge.
In fact, it’s taken me years and years to determine the differences between my heart’s communication and my ‘head born’ fears. Emotions, beliefs, shadows, desires and old habits all influenced my attempts to share clearly with myself and with others. Figuring my way through these ‘traps of clarity’ have made me a much better person.
Much more to explore here. Attention and consciousness are interlinked.
In the following video, Iam Saums and I, go deeply into this topic. Perhaps it comes down to feeling something in your life that requires transformation, changing, and your instincts tell you some that parts of your life are crying out for attention, healing, change; well, a perfect place to begin would be to examine how you communicate, with yourself, with others, keeping a close ‘ear’ on your listening skills, or lack thereof.
After all, who doesn’t wish for love, abundance and happy relationships and such. Maybe if you feel any of these are somewhat lacking, an effort to ‘transform your listening’ may help you out. Couldn’t hurt. I’ve found that to honestly hear what the other is sharing can transform worlds. No matter the circumstances, becoming a better listener, for me anyways, has made me a better person.”
Hark! Heed! Hear! Attention. Be aware.
With much Love, Lorenzo
What Will It Take?
“Reality is a virus.”
Gone Viral:
When the pandemic began, one of my relatives asked me if I was surprised at how many were affected. I responded, “not at all.” After their further inquiry, I made the comment, “most people’s financial wealth is a greater priority for them than their personal health.” Sad but true. I have realized we are collectively conditioned, exploited and integrated into social reality. Inevitably, we are diverted away from important experiences like our consciousness, creativity, personal destiny, empathy, love, listening and relatedness. Social reality is a deception of perception. I would claim most of society is caught in its simulation, never to be freed.
Living in Oblivion:
Billions of people around the world eagerly accept, adopt and indoctrinate themselves into numerous popular social systems designed for congregational enslavement. Empty structures for belonging and relating deliver fruitless and tiresome experiences, with little to no personal or communal enlightenment or empowerment. Institutional consumption, education, politics and religion have made us heartless and soulless, condemning us to a virtual reality. We are inundated with constant stimuli to preoccupy our instincts, minds and base senses at the cost of our emotional, intuitive and spiritual fulfillment. Human oblivion has annihilated our capacity and possibility for awareness, intention, expression and transformation.
Digital Infamy:
Our ego’s appetite for attention, control, influence, power and wealth has enabled the artificial reality in which we exist. Damned be the animal, mineral and natural worlds in the wake of our contemporary, technological revolutions. Our addiction to the spotlight has far exceeded the watermarks of our predecessors, flooding the mainstream with a reckless abandon for social media. Fame is measured by the viral nature of humanity’s selfish and superficial promotion and propaganda. It is not a coincidence that an infectious virus has spread like wildfire over the masses, while we eagerly impose our individual agendas to climb the ladder of social exposure and popularity.
Reversal of Power:
Our viral behaviors, inclinations and actions have altered reality. Within the three-dimensional dynamic of the positive, negative and neutral forces of nature and the universe, we have inadvertently accentuated our darkest tendencies. As a civilization, we have been manipulated into believing generating personal power is a competition in the pursuit of individual success at the devastating cost of rampant, social failure. Orthodox conditioning programs us to sustain selfish survival as our ultimate achievement. This adopted lifestyle and perception is a collective psychosis, consuming all potential for creativity, community, empowerment, enlightenment and transformation.
“Personal power is an intimate, solitary and unique experience.”
The Best of Intentions:
Few of us would choose to be the villain in society’s antiquated story. Yet, most of us have played the role many times over. What is most dangerous to the balance of social dynamics is our denial or oblivion to the part we perform. We are not a conscious race, let alone courteous, empathetic or encouraging. Like it or not, we are cruel, egocentric fiends hellbent on destruction far more often than creation. No matter how hard we attempt to express ourselves with the best intentions, our contrarian outcomes speak for themselves. Whatever sense of achievement we can glean from our chaotic experiences is as empty as our hearts have become. Now, something new and remarkable is transforming within us.
Awareness Rising:
Collective community and consciousness is growing. Whether the focus is on positive or negative events, it is happening. More people are awakening from the slumber of social reality, becoming present beyond what they see, hear, feel and sense. An energetic shift is transpiring on a multi-dimensional level of being, providing us with an extraordinary opportunity to transcend social reality and align with our heart, soul and the universe. My question is, “what other option is there?” Continue down the apparent path of least resistance, tethering ourselves to archaic, social enslavement for superficial achievement, belonging, and wealth? This is it! The era we have been eagerly awaiting has come!
Higher Ground:
For centuries, people have sought clarity, insight, transformation and vision by journeying below the earth’s surface or on hills and mountains. These experiences are an exodus from all things reality to connect with something transcendent from self. Most fast from food and water, placing themselves at the mercy of nature. This kind of experience has been and is available to us since March 2020 when humanity took a left turn, giving us the opportunity to step out of our personalities and connect with our heart, soul and the universe. Yet, social reality is a clever con, always inventing effective ways to distort and distract our attention (energy) from our potential enlightenment and transcendence. This era of illumination and inspiration empowers us with possibility. We simply must choose it.
What Will It Take?
All of us, yes all of us are universal beings. This is our birthright as souls living a human experience. Our life force has been highjacked by authoritarian entities to manipulate us into believing and engaging in the simulation of reality. We acquiesce our power and direct our energy toward organizations enslaving us with our own fear and conditioned desire for amusement, consumerism and evasion. What will it take to shift our focus from the social negatives into the universal positives? What will it take for us to reject the social reality imposed upon us and embrace the truth of our universal selves? What will it take for us to awaken, focus, intend, express and manifest? Perhaps our very lives…
“We must be willing to give everything to receive everything.”
On a Personal Note
“Why would we want it the way it was, it wasn’t working anyway.”
Social Shakedown:
Beginning in March 2020 the world was shutdown. Rolling lockdowns, restrictions, social distancing and masks littered society with the promise of protection, blended with heavy doses of fear and propaganda. Even social perception was compromised; altered and manipulated toward an apparent intention for safety, yet rife with undeniable political and social agendas emerging from the unknown. Years ago, I learned that whenever global events occur such as the pandemic, there is always more going on under the surface of reality than we choose to see or become informed. Given the common attention span often struggles to sustain awareness, it always takes time for nefarious things to be revealed, even as they go widely unseen.
Catch a Breath:
Upon reflection, my daily life did not change much over the last year and a half. I still went to work, to the store, out of town for events and family visits, gathered with community, played music, wrote articles and stayed in touch with people in my life. I did appreciate the lack of traffic on the roads and trails, at the shops and even in the streets. There was a calm and peace in the world that happened overnight. For those fleeting weeks, society was taking a breath, as was nature. Something began to break the surface through the back and forth of the medical industry, mainstream media and the political arena. In the wake of dis-, mis-, lack and no information, I felt a shift happening in the world. Consciousness was growing within the madness of social reality.
Stand and Create:
It became apparent to me global transformation was possible, and, to some extent, occurring. The current events had captivated the collective attention of humanity. This excited and inspired me. The era some of us were envisioning, intending and expressing for years was happening. Personal empowerment came to me as a rush of creativity, energy and imagination. I started writing music again. My writing style matured and shifted in a new direction. My meditations and practices were all engaging, powerful and fulfilling, providing me with a new balance, experience, insight and perception into what is possible. While much of the world was impacted and influenced by anxiety, fear, illness and uncertainty, I stood my conscious ground.
Truth and Transmission:
As Spring turned into Summer, the energy in society grew more chaotic, intense and unstable. The pensive calm and quiet turned into viral surges, gun violence, racial profiling and murder, social uprising and the US’s favorite pastime, politics. Being aware of social conditioning in all forms, and having found the eye in humanity’s recent hurricane, I found myself remarkably balanced, centered, focused and grounded. There were times when I observed and even engaged in the melee, yet soon found my breath, stepped out of the fracas and reset my connection with the universe. This became a vital practice whenever my equilibrium was challenged. It is in the stillness of the present we clarify and establish our truth.
“There are over seven billion truths in the world, and one gigantic lie.”
Electoral Fire:
The Summer passed and the US Election took center stage with all its pomp and circumstance. The ass and the elephant temporarily replaced the focus from the pandemic, setting the masses ablaze. Suddenly, the flames of anxiety and fear from the virus shifted into politics. One side touted an arrogant and self-righteous attention monger. The other side dusted off an aging, yet experienced politician who had a questionable backstory of his own. I do not choose to engage in the political process simply because it is a racket. A clever and deceptive system designed to disempower the masses, encouraging a timeless exorcism of the people’s power under the false pretense their choice in the political arena makes a difference.
Ebb and Flow:
The election passed, apart from the childish tantrums of its loser. The virus charts and numbers rose and receded like an inconvenient tide. In many ways we were all separated from each other, though pre-virus comparisons would reveal we always had been. I pressed onward through the melee of social reality, bearing my personal creativity, empowerment, meditation, prayer and transformation as a guiding light against the mounting, simulated darkness. All the while enjoying the adventure, discovery and opportunity of my experience in an unparalleled, universal energetic shift. Yet, for every powerful wave of enlightenment empowering our consciousness, the social undercurrents of anxiety and fear aimed to yank us back into reality.
Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back:
In my life, I have become accustomed to standing for my belief and truth with willful abandon. This last year and a half have challenged my acceptance, tolerance and understanding of others in the wake of intensifying social criticism, judgement, opinion and prejudice. Caught somewhere between self-defense and disbelief, I shook my head and smiled my way through it. As often as possible, I express an immense empathy for humanity and society. I choose to believe we all have the potential to observe ourselves from within and transform our way of being to the best of our ability in the spirit of making a difference. Yet, fear is a social vortex devouring possibility at every turn.
Jab and Weave:
Through Winter and into Spring, I rode the social waves of ease and malaise. After a while, the pangs of emergency and urgency of the pandemic began to dull. The social focus was instinctively turning to the old-world pastimes of amusement, entertainment, politics and sports. Those beating the drum of anxiety were still thumping away on the nerve strings of society in a last-ditch effort to captivate all with their antiquated spell. The heated debate between the vaxxed and the unvaxxed expired. All who took the jab appeared to move on with their lives and all who declined followed suit. Inevitably, most are eager to forget this last agonizing year and a half, replacing its bitter memory with the pastime of their fancy.
Beyond the Choice:
Now, we move into Summer with earnest hopes to leave it all behind, anxiety, chaos, fear, illness, inequality, isolation, lockdowns, loss, lunacy and uncertainty. What remains are the ashes and embers of the world before everything went sideways. An extraordinary, universal energetic shift continues, regardless of the mundane, social regression ebbing in tandem with the flow of our ever-evolving consciousness. These last 18 months have been an affirmation of the power of our choice to either be taken under by the receding tide of social reality or ride the waves of enlightenment and transcendence into the embrace of our destiny. Beyond this choice is our opportunity to manifest our universal being. Seems quite simple to me.
“There is no way back, only forward…”
Iam Saums 