A True Life

September 16, 2016 / Iam Saums / 7 Comments

“Life is a lie in a society of illusion.”

Superficial Sentience:

We live a false life. Whether or not we choose to acknowledge or implement this unique insight, it is inherently the truth. Not because we ourselves are fundamentally superficial, though we undoubtedly are. It is that we inhabit a holographic, three-dimensional paradigm of existence. Since we do, we cannot be true, neither can we be real. This is an unimaginable reality to accept. One of which the greater resistance we present, the more difficult the ability to break free from its all-encompassing captivity. We are not true beings simply because we cannot comprehend what truth is living an existence of multi-faceted illusion.

Soul Sacrifice:

Every breath of everyday we dig our personal roots deeper into the soil of a fabricated society. Most of us cannot see this, nor can we believe it. Yet in our silent moments, we feel it as clearly as any of our senses could ever envision. We live in a culture that has demonized the expressions of the heart and the transcendence of the soul. Society operates primarily on the insatiable appetites of our desires and the manipulation of our intellect. This common lifestyle has sequestered us into a two-dimensional experience, leaving us oblivious to our multiplicity. We commit the greatest crime against ourselves when we sacrifice our soul for the lie of life.

Intelligence is Ignorance:

All of us have been and are being institutionally programmed in one way or another. Whether it is educational, mass media, political, religious or even spiritual in nature, we have all committed ourselves to one or many forms of conditioning. Our awareness is measured by facts and figures that tether us into the technical slavery of our left brain. In a society that is cruel, destructive, ominous and perilous, we engage only in what we believe is best for our own personal survival. We modify our vision in a desperate attempt to safeguard ourselves from everything and everyone we perceive as a threat. We never realize the greatest threat is ourselves.

The Game:

Our lives are designed for amusement, competition, diversion, escape and survival. Whether by authoritarian stratagem or our own agenda, reality is engineered to keep us alienated from ourselves and living against each other. We are mystified by our desperate flights of fantasy. We grow accustomed to an insensitive lifestyle of abuse, acquisition and the suspicion of everyone and everything we encounter. When there are no more opponents to confront on the battlefield of illusion, we invent new ones to supplement our false contentment and conquests. Our ravenous aggression drives us deeper into the hungry, yawning chasm of our own decline.

Vicious Cycle:

We are helplessly and hopelessly ensnared in a global spider web of deception, delusion, duality, fear and manipulation. Each one of us enables this insidious network of control, power, status and wealth with our participation. The more we are willing to sacrifice our accountability, integrity and sensibility, the more we capitulate and empower this grand paradigm of illusion. Our obsession for significance becomes our most common and obstructive human addiction. In spite of the money, power and possessions we achieve in a vain attempt to hide our inadequacies and insecurities, we are still a puppet upon an imaginary stage living a simulated life.

“The only truth about the truth is that there is no truth.”

Axiom of Assimilation:

All we think, know, sense and feel is built upon a foundation of illusion. We ourselves are a reflection of social invention. Our human nature and the reality in which we exist is a galactic projection from an unknown origin in the universe. This compromises our soul’s relatedness with terrestrial existence. The multi-dimensional dynamic of our spirit cannot thrive within the restricted parameters of three-dimensional reality. Our physical and mental features instinctively dominate the multiplicity of our being. The society in which we live imposes this indoctrination with constant conditioning and stimuli to diminish, distort and destroy our truest expression.

Against the Current:

Society is a surging springtime river swollen with arrogance, deception, entitlement, fear and ruin. Its watermark has exceeded the breadth of its measure. Most who are empowered and inspired enough to rise and stand against it are eventually swallowed by its sheer, omnipresent force and inexorable undercurrent. All of us have had our dance with youthful rebellion, intellectual and intuitive discovery and the desire to make a difference. Yet, the further we walk down the path of our creative, insightful and radical mutiny against society, the more we witness how lonely the revolution can be. Reality is the silent and lethal assassin of all possibility.

Paradise Lost:

Sometime in our early to mid-twenties, a human tragedy occurs to us all. With a totalitarian tip-toe efficiency and precision, the deceptive dynamics of reality and society seize our authenticity, creativity, imagination, inspiration, integrity, passion, possibility and purpose. We sacrifice our unique individuality and originality in a vain quest to maintain a false sense of belonging, status and worth in society. We join the ranks of millions of self-subscribed victims of unconscious circumstance to perform a collective role of emulation and obedience. All that once empowered us with the energy of life is replaced with all that gradually takes it away.

The Politics of Consciousness:

The consciousness movement is bursting at the seams of contemporary society. Religion is segueing into spirituality, which has progressed into consciousness and is now identified as an expression of one’s truth. Yet, with most things in reality, even truth is inevitably susceptible to distortion and exploitation under the agendas of advantage, fame, power and profit. In this world, truth is not “truth.” It is a fabrication of something that best serves a few at the deception and manipulation of the many. Those who exude or profess consciousness, insight or wisdom are usually the ones altering the perception and understanding of the public for their own gain.

Creative Vitology:

All we are is energy. However existential or unbelievable this concept may be. Without energy, we would cease to exist. Each one of us is comprised of distinct waveform patterns that are expressions of our intuition, feelings and thoughts. The nature and quality of our energy is defined by how we choose to interpret and interact with our environment. These essentials ultimately inspire our actions. Who we choose to be in our daily life attracts into it all which we intend. Our intention is the focus that creates the vision of how our experience transpires. Our creativity is the essential energy to manifest our destiny.

“We are not a creation. We are the creators of a creation.”

A New Vision:

We are nothing we are programmed to believe. We are not our body, mind, heart or soul. These are simply facets of our being that our energy inhabits and utilizes for the sake of our human life. We are not our senses, history, experiences or even our truth. We are an embodiment of energy that emanates the possibility of consciousness. Whether or not we become conscious depends upon how our energy is realized in our life. We live in a reality of perpetual illusion. We need to continually transform how we exist in reality to personify our conscious energy. When we do, we ultimately transform the nature of our reality and become the expression of our truth.

Our Choice

August 5, 2016August 5, 2016 / Iam Saums / 3 Comments

What we perceive as fear, is not “fear.”

It is simply a natural, raw energy we encounter.

When we transmute this energy into love before we begin to interpret and embrace it as fear, we will transform ourselves and our lives.

This is how powerful we are as human beings.

When we personify our fear, we are being lazy with our consciousness and potential.

When we express our love, we are “being” our consciousness and potential.

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/

INeMe

July 8, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

We are our greatest ally and we are also our most bitter rival. As much as we have the potential for boundless creation and life, we possess the possibility for devastating destruction and death. We have the inherent ability to inspire and support our selves and others. We also have the learned inclination to thwart and disempower. The extent of our existence is the measure of our expression, with whatever nature we choose to live.

Before our ego rises with the passage of our innocence, we possess a natural yearning to support those around us to thrive and expand their consciousness, thus fulfilling upon and relating to our own. Though it would appear that the pendulum swings to and fro between our spirit’s aspiration to express this sacred service and our ego’s agenda to recover the power it believes it has lost. This human equilibrium eventually lulls us into a hypnotic state of duality, entrapping us into the eager embrace of two-dimensional existence. Eventually, our personal power soon follows.

Many of us are unaware of the negative elements of our personality and behavioral patterns that may lead to our decline and eventual demise, let alone the positive qualities that guide us into the domains of our transformation and destiny. Even more of us are oblivious to the impacts and influences these characteristics may have on our lives and the lives of others. Whatever choice we make to be the best of ourselves or the worst of ourselves determines whether or not we are the heroes of our lives, or the villains.

Ever wonder why it seems like we are working against ourselves? As though an unseen force stands between us and the life we were born to live? A presence that hides in the darkest recesses of our being, waiting, ever watchful, ever patient and ever-present for the perfect opportunity to impose its force and influence over us. It is our “INeME” (inner enemy). As soon as we become conscious to its existence within us, it retreats back into the shadows to await another opportunity to wreak havoc upon our lives.

Many of us mistake our INeME as our “dark side,” “our evil,” or even depict these parts of our being as our “inner demons.” When confronted with the truth of ourselves, most of us would opt to point the finger at others, thus furthering the contrary agendas of our INeME. Yet this is false and in most cases may prove to be as harmful as our unchecked imaginations running away with our energy and our lives.

We would probably be amazed at how often during the course of a day this happens and how much of our personal power we sacrifice. It is astonishing when we reflect upon how the quality of our life is diminished by the meanderings of our own willful perceptions, agendas and dramas.

Our INeME hypnotizes us through the monotony and triviality of daily life. The clouds of our own collusion and indifference begin to form with our constant, catatonic consent. We become lost in a dark forest of ourselves, reaching out and clinging to anything we may find in the hopes of making sense of our self-endorsed confusion. We even begin to believe that there is worth in our drama to the degree that we defend it with everything we believe we are. Eventually, we submit to the adversity, opposition and anarchy of our INeME. We fall prey to its trappings, triggers and stimuli, as we hand over the last remnants of our personal power.

It is only with consciousness we may discover who the real oppressor is in our lives. It is only then we may realize who we are truly up against. An adversary that is second to none. Someone we will never evade, defeat or escape. We give our power over to our INeME whenever we fail to acknowledge, claim and express it. The INeME is the part of us we rarely see or know exists. It has been pulling our strings in ways more clever than we could have ever envisioned. It is the veil we pull over our eyes that hides us from the truth of ourselves.

There is an eternal force within us that is similar to the current of a river. For most of us, this current runs one way for the majority of our life, from our ego to the rest of our being. It does not flow “our” way, though we condition ourselves to believe it does. It directs us from a place intertwined within the multi-faceted intricacies of our mind. It is a perfect internal storm of our base animal instincts, our unbridled thoughts and our unhealthy emotions associated with attachment, expectation and entitlement.

Amidst this inner storm, we may feel victimized and repressed. Not by our family members, friends, employers, communities, society or reality. Yet by our very own patterns and behaviors we have enabled and sustained through our unconscious and selfish desires and lifestyles. This is a self-imposed illusion. It only seems this way because of the power we give to our external experiences. Beyond the linear perception of life and reality, we cannot just be the victims. We are also the antagonists. Though it may be difficult to identify and accept, we are our only INeME.

Our contemporary society simply does not prepare us to exercise the integrity and intention it requires to fulfill on the accountability and purpose of being human. Nor does it preserve, encourage or value our responsibility to evolve, expand and express our consciousness. Our world is rampant with distractions to draw the focus of our awareness away from transcending and exceeding our selves. Yet, the distractions we may encounter around us are merely a reflection of the disruptions we invent and sustain within us to discourage us from confronting and overcoming our INeMe.

Our INeME is only as powerful as we enable it to be with our unconsciousness and fear. It can be befriended. Our very perception that it is against us grants it even more influence over us. It is what we create it to be. When we choose to accept it for what it really is, it becomes a potent ally. The INeME is simply the mirror image we reflect to the world. The greatest gift we can receive from our INeME is claiming the opportunity to transform it from our inner villain to our inner hero. Only then will we emancipate from the slavery of our self. Only then will we become who we truly are.

http://www.zengardner.com/ineme/

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/

What is Real Beyond What is Real.

July 6, 2016July 6, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

“Wake from reality, wake from your dream…”

Reality. It certainly is a subjective, seemingly flexible and very elusive element of human existence.

With all the structures, formats, programs, conditions, laws, rules and boundaries our society aggressively imposes to implement, arrest (pun intended) and almost religiously uphold and proliferate “order,” it is amazing to me how we have everything but. In an (n)ever-changing and, most would acknowledge if they were being honest, declining world, any rational and logical person would identify that nothing is rarely what it seems. The more “real” we are with our observations, the more we are able to see ”reality” for what it really is, an elaborate hoax, an illusion, a grand distraction, perhaps one of the greatest lies ever manufactured by human conception.

Upon first considering and becoming aware of this burgeoning truth, we may struggle through a great number of states of being. We may experience anxiety, hopelessness, helplessness, disbelief, disinterest, anger, frustration, upset, disappointment, confusion and collusion. We may find ourselves in a state of wrestling with two or more different beliefs in the presence of new ideologies, methodologies, perceptions, conceptions and understandings. It is in this new space of awareness, however difficult, challenging, excruciating, astounding or confronting it may be, when we are able to embrace a “new” vision beyond reality. A revelation in which we acknowledge one of the ultimate truths, there is no reality.

“…wake from the fear, that is tearing at the seems… of the world….”

“Reality,” as we are led and conditioned to accept and by which to abide, is an exquisite design constructed for the many by a small group of people around the world. People whom have the ways and means, time, arrogance, egotism, audacity, indifference, agenda, organization and false vision to manipulate, control, influence and, in numerous ways, incarcerate the many for the benefit of the few. It’s mind blowing to see how ”few” these people are, and how many their “reality” has imprisoned.

As you are reading this, you may begin to formulate an observation that what I am writing about in this paragraph could be termed as a “conspiracy theory.” In this “reality,” it is. Though, the term “conspiracy theory” was cleverly invented by the very organization of people who constructed “reality” to debunk and discredit anyone who chose to have the courage, fortitude and intention enough to question the relentless and ominous authority of reality. Yet, distinct from “reality,” there is a truth that is growing stronger and becoming more popular and evident with each minute that ticks off of the illusory clock we have been programmed to accept as ”time.” For “time” is one of the greatest illusions that “reality” uses to control and corral all whom fall prey to its insistent mechanics, gradually leading to the greatest fear initiated upon humanity, the persistent anxiety of death.

Yet, however omnipresent, all-powerful, ever-invasive and constant reality may “appear,” remembering nothing is rarely ever what it seems, this tapestry of illusion is built upon a foundation of one thing, fear. It is this “dis-ease” of the “few” whom govern over the “many” that generates the very fear that fuels “reality.” Our freedom from reality is terrifying to this organization of people. Simply because we would no longer be enabling it to exist by surrendering our personal power through our agreement with it. We are no longer consenting to it with our false belief, apathy, disinterest and acquiescence. The illusion that reality is would cease to exist. In a way, those who are propagating “reality” are as much prisoners of their own design as those whom they target. They will never be free either. Freedom from reality is a liberty that is simply not available or afforded to us by “reality.” It never has and it never will. If we are not choosing to stand for, intend, create or cause our life, it will never be. Our life will just be a product of reality. The promise of fulfillment never achieved.

“…of the world, be the world.”

On a daily basis, we all have had moments diverse from reality, whether it is when we are sleeping, reading a book, watching a movie, making love, meditating, praying, exercising, hiking, having profound conversations with others or learning something new. When we wake up in the morning we are “fresh,” “new,” and in a way “reborn” from what we were yesterday. This is our best opportunity to break from the spell of reality. Before we begin to re-connect with our fixed thought patterns, emotional dramas and instinctual behaviors influenced and impacted upon through this common reality and carried by us like old and worn suitcases. We have a choice to create and apply an extraordinary vision to our lives distinct from the popular and imposed reality. This is our truth. We have the freedom to live outside of “reality” in our pursuit to sustain and express our truth, whatever we inspire it to be. Though it requires from and of us everything we are in everything we do with whomever we are related in everyday or our lives.

To many, this may seem an overwhelming task. The very notion of expressing our choice of will, intention and truth in everyday of our lives in everything we do may appear ultimately impossible, and downright terrifying. But it is not. It only “seems” impossible and frightening because our faith, our hopes, our dreams, our goals, our purpose and our destiny have been confined to a finite, physical existence we experience as “reality.” We are infinite expressions of energy and consciousness. We are multi-dimensional, universal beings. We are all gateways through which the creation of all that exists flows. We are all connected to all that is and to every living being both on and beyond this world.

It begins by refusing the programming, rejecting the conditions, withdrawing our attention and compliance, removing our investment in “reality” through our acquiescence and participation, releasing our personal attachments, identifying and dismantling our insecurities and transforming our lives from being ”realistic” to being “truthful.” Once we willfully choose to practice this personal transformation daily, we begin to disconnect from the invisible chains of reality and see it for what it really is. A ruthless, malevolent vortex that feeds off the energy of our fear, claiming our lifeforce until the ”time” in our life expires.

Reality is easy to transcend when we “real”-ize that reality is an illusion and truth is all there is. And the greatest of truth will always be our love. Yet, it requires us to claim and establish our truth and sacrifice the only thing that keeps us imprisoned from ourselves.

Reality.

“Dismantling reality with one truth at a time.”

http://www.zengardner.com/what-is-real-beyond-what-is-real/

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/

Romancing the Soul

June 14, 2016 / Iam Saums / Leave a comment

In the beginning, there was religion, a system of belief that was conceived by a small organization of men to offer hope, peace and understanding. The Bible and many other sacred texts were written by a small organization of men to provide a practice for learning, language, growth and a structure for righteous living.

Religion is a congregational (group) belief that follows a curriculum of verses, hymns, sermons, lectures, passages, practices, teachings, prayer and fellowship. There is a hierarchy of small organizations of men whom preside over God’s will and testament for the flock (people). This is where the vision for religion takes a heretical turn.

Religion could be perceived as a system of control, manipulation and distraction.

It presents a mirage of divinity with creation stories, history, parables and commonly accepted principles. Small organizations of men distort and disseminate the wisdom of their selected saviors for the purpose of exploiting and enslaving the spiritual consciousness of their congregations. Who, to this day, continue to use religion to place themselves between that which is symbolized as “God” and humanity using the most powerful weapon known to mankind, fear. In essence, they tend to divert their fellowships away from the only truth, peace, personal power, happiness, fulfillment, understanding and wisdom they were all born to become, their own.

Amidst the barrage of religions, another path emerged. A way focused more on the individual’s experience of life and their relatedness to it, transforming the imposition and obligation of belief into a lifestyle later to be recognized as spirituality. There are as many avenues to take on a spiritual path than there are people, as authentic spirituality inspires the apprentice to establish and maintain their own path. It is a much more challenging endeavor of faith because it requires a diligent expression of bringing one’s personally discovered truth into their daily life through their chosen way of being. There are few, if any, established guidelines, books, classes and lectures. For the most part, there are no teachers to guide us in the direction that is most appropriate for “our” spiritual evolution.

Our spirituality is achieved with our willingness and commitment to being present to and interactive with this genuine way of life. The more we give and share of ourselves, the more we will relate and connect to our spiritual experience. When we are conscious of this realization, it may often seem as though our symbiosis with our soul is brief at best.

Personal spirituality is a daunting task, as there is very little social support, affirmation and applicable advantages to our every day reality. There are very few translations of spiritual study to our daily lives that result in financial gain, employment advancement or extraordinary relations with most in our contemporary society. There are times when these things occur, yet they are few and far between. Walking our spiritual path is oftentimes so contrary to our daily lifestyle, it may seem almost impossible to attempt, let alone sustain. When we do savor the fleeting moments of our fulfillment, it is a solitary celebration. If our authentic experience of life (spirituality) is contingent upon and customized to our choices and involvement, we eventually realize that our spiritual path is for us and us alone.

There are millions of books and articles, thousands of lectures and videos and hundreds of spiritual teachers or “gurus” whom stand at the ready to “guide” the masses toward spiritual awakening, evolution, transcendence and transformation. Many have committed to their observation, study, practice, experience and lifestyle of faith, expression and understanding. Many can talk a convincing talk and may even walk a compelling and enchanting walk. Yet, when the credits roll on the DVD, or the last word is read in the book or spoken at the lecture, it is all presented from “their” encounters in “their” life, not from or even for the life experiences of all whom are in their attendance. When the audience leaves the comfort zone of the fellowship in which they inhabited the vicarious spirituality eventually retreats.

A common misinterpretation of contemporary spirituality has become apparent in our society within most popular spiritual paths. It may seem that these extraordinary and revolutionary discoveries, perceptions, insights and knowledge are truly and essentially beneficial. Upon our closer experience, we may find that we are allowing our souls to be “romanced” when we give our personal power over to the guru or spiritual teacher by looking to them for the answers only we can discover.

Much as the congregational and dependent-laden path of religion, all spiritual paths can become “romanticized,” “shaman”-ized and popularized to attract and enchant the masses. It may seem that emulating or even “echoing” a guru or spiritual teacher’s wisdom makes the difficulty of walking one’s spiritual path easier. Yet, it can become a distraction that only diverts and inhibits the individual’s growth and transformation, all the while potentially contributing to the expansion of the spiritual teacher’s ego and bank account.

It requires a great deal of discernment walking a spiritual life. It may seem that most are merely talking the talk, for “spiritual” common sense clarifies that if one is talking a lot about their selected path and the epiphanies, revelations, insights and transformations they may be experiencing, chances are, they may not be walking the way as authentically as they might believe. They may simply be attempting to prove their spiritual worth to supplement their own insecurities and/or inadequacies. This is a superficial pursuit that can and does result in conflict within spiritual communities.

Our perception carries an immense measure of influence and intention in the quality and awareness of our experience. Perhaps the most intimidating realization that may persuade us toward looking from without for our most essential answers is the discovery and understanding of the responsibility, intention, integrity and commitment it requires from within.

Those who choose to remain silent, ever present, vigilant and engaged in their path engender an energy of consciousness and wisdom. There is no one else in the world that is more experienced, qualified or destined to establish our personal connection with our soul than ourselves. It is not through our words or accolades, yet through the expressions of our humility, compassion, kindness and love we share with others. This may be the only way we as human beings can support and empower each other toward our own enlightenment.

http://www.zengardner.com/romancing-soul/

(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/

Iam Saums

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