There is no greater comfort than realizing that the world is exactly the way that you wish it was.
And THAT is what freedom is for.
Though I could leave this blog with just that Twitter-like idea I would like to draw upon this idea that has taken hold of me and see if I can spin a little story that keeps me pointed in the right direction.
If you practice Yoga, or you know someone who practices Yoga, most likely, you are familiar with the idea of attempting to bend your body into all kinds of pretzel like contortions either inside a sweaty hot box of a room that you think you might die in if you don't drink some ice water, or its accompanied by some stinky incense and someone giving the equivalent of a Hail Mary in Hindi...
Not what Yoga is for.
Beyond union as in joining together, Yoga means the union with the Divine self. It starts with the premise that each human being is an emanation of the Divine. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or a flat out Atheist - it is an indication that you are an aspect of a greater potential. So, when practicing Hatha Yoga - I often find myself desiring to make the pose look perfectly - to get my body to respond to what I want it to do, in short to extend my legs and spine in opposing directions while holding my hands in prayer and thinking happy thoughts.
Easier said than done.
But I began to realize that it wasn't about doing the pose perfectly. Its about being in alignment perfectly. But what does that mean? Alignment with what? Alignment with the unrealized potential. Alignment with the Divine inner being. Alignment with God or Christ or the Buddha. Alignment is something intangible - but EVERYONE KNOWS what it is when they feel it... And in a moment, I will give you the experience of alignment so that you can know exactly what it is I am talking about.
So. In Yoga it is my practice deepen each pose in alignment until I find resistance. I do not sacrifice alignment to get my hand out further or my leg up higher or my body in some deeper version of the contortion I am subjecting it to... At least, that is my practice. I often come out of alignment. But when I do, I back off, I relax my effort, I find the place of alignment, and in doing so I embrace the potential being I have yet to become, the Divine emanation from source, the inner Self, whatever you want to call it. So, what happens when I leave the Yoga place?
It is the SAME. That is what Yoga is for.
When you are humming along, your life is going pretty good, and then you get an irritating phone call, your car's check engine light comes on, your boss gives you too much work and an impossible deadline, and it ruins your mood, you are experiencing RESISTANCE - as surely as if you were in Yoga class trying to do the splits! Well, I can't do the splits and I my muscles seem pretty far from being able to do them, BUT doing the splits is not important. Remaining in alignment IS. So when you experience RESISTANCE in the form of a bad mood caused by any various sets of outside factors - it is time to back off, relax, take a breath and reorient yourself to who you want to be, and that is by what you want to FEEL. Do not worry about being asked to do the splits. Simply go until you reach some resistance and then find your alignment again. This will allow you to go a little deeper next time.
So, if you have ever done this before, you too have practiced Yoga. Even if you have never done a Yoga pose, or looked at a single word in sanskrit.
When you are in ALIGNMENT you are experiencing UNION with your DIVINE essence. (substitute any idea of your greater potential that feels most comfortable to you if you don't like DIVINE essence) In fact, if you don't like DIVINE essence, you are probably out of alignment anyway! I'm kind of playing with you a little there. Anyhow.
That is what YOGA is for. ALIGNMENT with your GREATEST POTENTIAL SELF!
So find your edge. Be willing to find a smile, when you are at your edge. And if you can't find the smile at your edge, then back up and go look for it until you find it. When you get it, go back to your edge and have another go. When you can stay at your edge and you do not have to go looking for your smile anymore, than you have come into alignment and your edge has expanded. This is applicable in every aspect of your life, whether it is with money, with love, with friendships, your job, your family, your car... EVERYTHING in your experience is about ALIGNMENT and EXPANSION.
So. I am feeling good right now, because I know that you are about to feel good to. I happen to believe the hippies and their optimism about the idea that everything is LOVE. If you or I, or anybody comes into ALIGNMENT with LOVE than they are in line with EVERYTHING with ALL THAT IS, and in that state of being ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Which is to say, you are totally and completely FREE.
So. Don't you wish that ANYTHING REALLY IS POSSIBLE? Don't you wish that you could live a life that seems beyond your wildest belief of what you think you even deserve? Well both of those thoughts are actually holding resistance to the TRUTH that they uncover. BUT.
I'm going to give you a little dose of FREEDOM. Which is to say, I'm going to give you some LOVE. And I don't mean that I am about to dance around and tell you that you are a beautiful being and that I love everyone and all that syrupy nonsense. I am going to give you the experience of feeling LOVE.
Click on the link, and I guarantee you by the Law of the Universe that you WILL experience FREEDOM, you WILL experience LOVE in just a few short moments. As you watch the video, notice any sensations in your body. Notice any feelings you start to have. Enjoy it. Bask in it. Feel your emotions as they pass into you and KNOW that when you feel this way, you are in absolute ALIGNMENT with the GREATEST POTENTIAL being that you are - and if you would practice your Yoga (meaning when you reach your edge, you find your smile, you find feeling good you seek again to reach alignment) this life would become an ongoing experience of JOY, ECSTASY, LOVE, and FREEDOM and as your limits expand, you will find that standing out on your edge you are filled with the sensation of true FULFILLMENT. And then you will know beyond a doubt that the
World IS exactly what you wish it was. Just like the next five minutes when you click on this link. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSrAJsWvEIc
ABADDHAM!!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A Rampage of Appreciation
Isn't it wonderful to have a chance to expand? Doesn't it feel so delicious to have a little bowl of ice cream after a delicious meal? Don't you think it is wondrous that we can share our thoughts and feelings on the internet together, to exchange, to learn, to vent, to share, and to enjoy?
I am deliberately drawing out this feeling of wonderful I am having, and am so glad to have this opportunity to share it with you.
You see, after my last post, a very dear friend of mine reached out with an email. She wonderfully expressed her appreciation for the ideas I had put up on the internet, and expressed a gratitude that she could still find a likeness of being, a shared journey, similar struggles and similar triumphs, so easily and from someone who had know her since being children. And she appreciated the words that I used as they seemed to her, to express so well that spirit that resonated for her - and in fact, that her appreciation extended in part due to the fact that it seemed to be about something for which there are no words, there is no description.
And I was thinking, but that indeed is the most perfect way to describe that feeling. That place of wonderful for which there are no words, and in which the only thing that we become capable of doing is loving that which we come into contact with around us. So as I contemplate this feeling tonight and I have often heard of the importance of giving appreciation liberally, I am full of the realization that the idea that we SHOULD appreciate, that we SHOULD be able to describe that wonderful place, that we SHOULD be able to bring about the wonderful life that we so dearly, desperately, and sometimes tragically desire is really all there is keeping us from that wonderful experience of becoming all that we dream to be.
So, I would like to invite you to ride along on the easiest most enjoyable ride of looking about for the simplest level of true appreciation we can feel, even if it is just lip service and allow it to take you thought after thought into the place where the love of life, the appreciation overflows as if there is a cascade of wonderfulness flowing out of your mind and body.
I really appreciate that the sky is blue. And isn't it wonderful how that blueness looks different when the weather changes? And how wonderful it is to feel the sun shining when the weather is clear. And I'm so glad that the sun makes green grass grow, because green was my favorite color when I was a kid. And it was so fantastic to be a kid, to smell the grass on a soccer field, and the thrill of scoring a goal, what a wonderful feeling of triumph and how wonderful it is to have the vantage point to remember this feeling, and bring it forth into my conscious awareness and to have that affect my emotions in the NOW moment that is already passing into the next moment of potential brilliance!
And I appreciate my dear friend for reminding me that this place of wonderful is truly an indescribable place, that there is no way I could possibly CONVINCE myself to have this kind of experience but that it is only possible to FEEL my way to it...
Just like making a soup : )
Life, is like a soup.
You taste it, and you notice the wonderful flavors contained in it, and you look into your cupboard at the various ingredients and when you notice one which looks particularly wonderful, you put a little bit of it in your soup. And then you let the soup simmer for a little while, and then you taste it again and you notice how subtly the flavor has changed in the most delicious way and your taste buds soar with the awareness of the contrast and you keep this up making a richer more delicious soup little by little and bit by bit. That's the way. And this is what FREEDOM feels like, and I am so glad that you are reading this because it is so much easier for me to think when there is someone to listen : ) And it is so much more meaningful for me to feel this when others around me are feeling it - so thank you to my dear friend for reminding me that there is no substitute for tasting the soup, that there is no need for the words to describe it, there is just the feeling which is transmitted on every word in every action and through every breath. Ahhh.
And thank you to Abraham for inspiring me to write this rampage. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I did sharing it.
Abaddham!
I am deliberately drawing out this feeling of wonderful I am having, and am so glad to have this opportunity to share it with you.
You see, after my last post, a very dear friend of mine reached out with an email. She wonderfully expressed her appreciation for the ideas I had put up on the internet, and expressed a gratitude that she could still find a likeness of being, a shared journey, similar struggles and similar triumphs, so easily and from someone who had know her since being children. And she appreciated the words that I used as they seemed to her, to express so well that spirit that resonated for her - and in fact, that her appreciation extended in part due to the fact that it seemed to be about something for which there are no words, there is no description.
And I was thinking, but that indeed is the most perfect way to describe that feeling. That place of wonderful for which there are no words, and in which the only thing that we become capable of doing is loving that which we come into contact with around us. So as I contemplate this feeling tonight and I have often heard of the importance of giving appreciation liberally, I am full of the realization that the idea that we SHOULD appreciate, that we SHOULD be able to describe that wonderful place, that we SHOULD be able to bring about the wonderful life that we so dearly, desperately, and sometimes tragically desire is really all there is keeping us from that wonderful experience of becoming all that we dream to be.
So, I would like to invite you to ride along on the easiest most enjoyable ride of looking about for the simplest level of true appreciation we can feel, even if it is just lip service and allow it to take you thought after thought into the place where the love of life, the appreciation overflows as if there is a cascade of wonderfulness flowing out of your mind and body.
I really appreciate that the sky is blue. And isn't it wonderful how that blueness looks different when the weather changes? And how wonderful it is to feel the sun shining when the weather is clear. And I'm so glad that the sun makes green grass grow, because green was my favorite color when I was a kid. And it was so fantastic to be a kid, to smell the grass on a soccer field, and the thrill of scoring a goal, what a wonderful feeling of triumph and how wonderful it is to have the vantage point to remember this feeling, and bring it forth into my conscious awareness and to have that affect my emotions in the NOW moment that is already passing into the next moment of potential brilliance!
And I appreciate my dear friend for reminding me that this place of wonderful is truly an indescribable place, that there is no way I could possibly CONVINCE myself to have this kind of experience but that it is only possible to FEEL my way to it...
Just like making a soup : )
Life, is like a soup.
You taste it, and you notice the wonderful flavors contained in it, and you look into your cupboard at the various ingredients and when you notice one which looks particularly wonderful, you put a little bit of it in your soup. And then you let the soup simmer for a little while, and then you taste it again and you notice how subtly the flavor has changed in the most delicious way and your taste buds soar with the awareness of the contrast and you keep this up making a richer more delicious soup little by little and bit by bit. That's the way. And this is what FREEDOM feels like, and I am so glad that you are reading this because it is so much easier for me to think when there is someone to listen : ) And it is so much more meaningful for me to feel this when others around me are feeling it - so thank you to my dear friend for reminding me that there is no substitute for tasting the soup, that there is no need for the words to describe it, there is just the feeling which is transmitted on every word in every action and through every breath. Ahhh.
And thank you to Abraham for inspiring me to write this rampage. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I did sharing it.
Abaddham!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
If You're Gay and You Know it, Clap Your Hands!
First things first. Hooray!!! I am very proud to be a citizen in a country whose President is willing to state based on his integrity that the right of two consenting adults to marry should be recognized and protected equally for every person under the law.
But I want to take a look at this particular issue through my own peculiar lens. This one has been developing for me for a few days, and finally crystallized during a breakthrough session of hot yoga this evening. But I am very excited to share the results of my latest stew...
Its about the word 'Namaste'
If you are unfamiliar with this word, it is a common form of greeting or parting in India and can be translated to mean "the spirit within me bows to the spirit within you". It is often used in the U.S. to begin or end yoga classes and between devoted practicers of yoga. I had learned the meaning of the word early on when I first began practicing yoga in 1998 while attending some classes at Manhattan School of Music. But I have never had a direct FEELING experience of the greater implications of this word until tonight.
As you may have noticed it is one thing to have the philosophical ideology and agree that you can see that a divine spark exists in each and every one of us, an idea which is shared in one form or another by most of the world's major religions. However, it is a completely different thing to feel inspired to actually bow to that divine spark in someone who we don't particularly get along with, or agree with.
Since I began writing this blog I had been thinking that once I began a committed path to embodying my own greater vision of FREEDOM that any blocks in my way would surely pop right up to the surface. As predicted, my very first impulse brought a big block in to my experience.
The first thing that I wrote about was FREEDOM FROM DIS-EASE.
hmmm...
I was stuck. While I have a plan to carry this out and am confident I will be successful, I couldn't wrap my head around philosophically why, and I was also suspicious that I hadn't quite cracked the nut. Not to mention that the plan requires an evolving experience over time - and I am operating under the assumption that spiritual FREEDOM is an experience which can be created instantaneously, regardless of circumstance. So tonight, during my practice, I was focusing on alignment, with the intention to feel vitality, health and energy during the practice. Well at some point, I ran out of gas. If you know anything about insulin dependent diabetes, the risk of serious complications is very real when exercising and I have been dealing with this over the past four years, often having to cut short exercise sessions, or wake up in the middle of the night in a panic of sweat and disorientation, consuming whatever form of sugar is directly available at hand, often harboring the fear that not getting it in time could mean the end of me.
So, as I completed a standing bow pose I ran out of gas. I breathed. I felt light headed but it was probably the heat and I didn't feel as if I was in any danger. So I continued standing, breathing and focusing on alignment. Eventually the teacher mercifully allowed us on to our mats for a short rest. Then it dawned on me:
In seeking FREEDOM from DIS-EASE I was actually harboring the disease, giving my condition the environment to thrive. It is my experience and belief that whatever we place our attention on expands! Therefore, I made the slight shift to the feeling of FREEDOM to experience VIBRANT HEALTH. Wow! What a difference. Once I made this shift, my body began to experience a completely different range of energy. I completed the class and spent many minutes afterward processing the emotional release that accompanied my realization. Then, I felt GREAT!!! And not only that, I felt humble, and appreciated many things, from the yoga instructor, to the man who discovered insulin, to my doctor, and even myself for bringing myself into an awareness of FREEDOM through VIBRANT HEALTH by manifesting the condition of diabetes. (I like to take responsibility for all of my creations.)
AND due to my new alignment with TRUTH, I was moved to feel, Namaste. Suddenly, everyone around me became a benevolent conspirator for my experience of vibrant health.
So how does that relate to Gay Marriage? Well, my realization was actually accompanied by the following thoughts. (Most of my realizations are block concepts that seem to crash down all at once, taking several different subjects on all at once)
I already said that the Age of Protest is Ended.
I invite you to try on Namaste instead...
I would also like to take this opportunity to CELEBRATE and CONGRATULATE all Americans who have been looking forward to the day when marriage would be recognized as a human right bestowed in equality, not one granted only to the union of a man and a woman. There is still much work to be done in this area to attain true FREEDOM, but we are stepping closer. I believe that Namaste will break down the last wall. And if you are on the side of the wall that wants to keep it up...
The divine spark in ME recognizes and bows before the divine spark in YOU. I wish you well on your path to magnificence and brilliance.
AND to celebrate, let's all clap our hands!
ABADDHAM!!
But I want to take a look at this particular issue through my own peculiar lens. This one has been developing for me for a few days, and finally crystallized during a breakthrough session of hot yoga this evening. But I am very excited to share the results of my latest stew...
Its about the word 'Namaste'
If you are unfamiliar with this word, it is a common form of greeting or parting in India and can be translated to mean "the spirit within me bows to the spirit within you". It is often used in the U.S. to begin or end yoga classes and between devoted practicers of yoga. I had learned the meaning of the word early on when I first began practicing yoga in 1998 while attending some classes at Manhattan School of Music. But I have never had a direct FEELING experience of the greater implications of this word until tonight.
As you may have noticed it is one thing to have the philosophical ideology and agree that you can see that a divine spark exists in each and every one of us, an idea which is shared in one form or another by most of the world's major religions. However, it is a completely different thing to feel inspired to actually bow to that divine spark in someone who we don't particularly get along with, or agree with.
Since I began writing this blog I had been thinking that once I began a committed path to embodying my own greater vision of FREEDOM that any blocks in my way would surely pop right up to the surface. As predicted, my very first impulse brought a big block in to my experience.
The first thing that I wrote about was FREEDOM FROM DIS-EASE.
hmmm...
I was stuck. While I have a plan to carry this out and am confident I will be successful, I couldn't wrap my head around philosophically why, and I was also suspicious that I hadn't quite cracked the nut. Not to mention that the plan requires an evolving experience over time - and I am operating under the assumption that spiritual FREEDOM is an experience which can be created instantaneously, regardless of circumstance. So tonight, during my practice, I was focusing on alignment, with the intention to feel vitality, health and energy during the practice. Well at some point, I ran out of gas. If you know anything about insulin dependent diabetes, the risk of serious complications is very real when exercising and I have been dealing with this over the past four years, often having to cut short exercise sessions, or wake up in the middle of the night in a panic of sweat and disorientation, consuming whatever form of sugar is directly available at hand, often harboring the fear that not getting it in time could mean the end of me.
So, as I completed a standing bow pose I ran out of gas. I breathed. I felt light headed but it was probably the heat and I didn't feel as if I was in any danger. So I continued standing, breathing and focusing on alignment. Eventually the teacher mercifully allowed us on to our mats for a short rest. Then it dawned on me:
In seeking FREEDOM from DIS-EASE I was actually harboring the disease, giving my condition the environment to thrive. It is my experience and belief that whatever we place our attention on expands! Therefore, I made the slight shift to the feeling of FREEDOM to experience VIBRANT HEALTH. Wow! What a difference. Once I made this shift, my body began to experience a completely different range of energy. I completed the class and spent many minutes afterward processing the emotional release that accompanied my realization. Then, I felt GREAT!!! And not only that, I felt humble, and appreciated many things, from the yoga instructor, to the man who discovered insulin, to my doctor, and even myself for bringing myself into an awareness of FREEDOM through VIBRANT HEALTH by manifesting the condition of diabetes. (I like to take responsibility for all of my creations.)
AND due to my new alignment with TRUTH, I was moved to feel, Namaste. Suddenly, everyone around me became a benevolent conspirator for my experience of vibrant health.
So how does that relate to Gay Marriage? Well, my realization was actually accompanied by the following thoughts. (Most of my realizations are block concepts that seem to crash down all at once, taking several different subjects on all at once)
Whether you are for or against same sex marriage, try on Namaste. If you can bow to someone who seeks to rob you of your human right to commit to another in love and witness under the law. If you can see that they are probably really scared. If you can give them the space to learn to evolve at their own pace. If you can recognize the divine spark in them that is also in you, then you ARE FREE. If you can bow to someone who seeks to violate the sanctity of your deepest held religious beliefs. If you can see that they just want to have the same rights that you have. If you can give them the space to be who they really are. If you can recognize the divine spark in them that is also in you, then you ARE FREE.
I already said that the Age of Protest is Ended.
I invite you to try on Namaste instead...
I would also like to take this opportunity to CELEBRATE and CONGRATULATE all Americans who have been looking forward to the day when marriage would be recognized as a human right bestowed in equality, not one granted only to the union of a man and a woman. There is still much work to be done in this area to attain true FREEDOM, but we are stepping closer. I believe that Namaste will break down the last wall. And if you are on the side of the wall that wants to keep it up...
The divine spark in ME recognizes and bows before the divine spark in YOU. I wish you well on your path to magnificence and brilliance.
AND to celebrate, let's all clap our hands!
ABADDHAM!!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The Age of Protest Has Ended!
Hi. Thank you for taking a moment to join me here as I set down my thoughts on the subject of Mastering Freedom. Its a bit of a rant today, but I think I got where I needed to go.
Its Tuesday today. Tomorrow, or the next day, I will go to Chicago to pick up my very first car. (the car I used to drive was basically a hand me down - so I never actually bought it) Its a 1981 Mercedes Benz with a rusty yellow body, a little 4 litre diesel engine that sputters when you turn her off, and many, many miles to go. Part of the reason that I bought this car is because I like Mercedes and I've wanted to drive one for some time.
Most of the reason that I bought this car is because the moment I saw it, I knew I wanted it. That's American Freedom.
But I'd also like to contribute to the freedom of others. And so, as soon as I can, and as often as I can, I will run this car on waste vegetable oil, leaving nothing in my wake but a little steam and the faint smell of McDonalds.
I mentioned in my last post that in 2001, I became distinctly aware of American Freedom. That to protect our freedom, it was necessary to invade countries in the Middle East, to vanquish Evil Doers, to secure pipelines of crude oil for multi national companies that assist in continuing our wasteful dependent lifestyle through our ever increasing capacity for consumption. Maybe what the U.S. did was right. Maybe because our country went to war in Iraq our American Freedom was secured. My opinion about that is irrelevant, because I didn't fight in the war, and I didn't vote to go to war, and we could never know what would have happened otherwise. Like everyone else, I just paid for it a little bit.
But, in 2002, I stood in Washington Square Park several days in a row, participating in New York City's Silent Protest of the invasion of Iraq. I stood quietly with friends amongst many people I didn't know who all believed that peace is more important than oil, or WMD's or corporate interests. In fact, on February 15th, 2003 I participated in the largest peaceful protest in recorded history, and the people of the world stood together numbering by some counts as 10 million strong to firmly show that war is NOT the answer. Some even believe the number was closer to 60 million!
Though this protest did not change the outcome of the actions of the United States government, at least it helped many of us to feel better about the fact that our leaders were conducting a war we didn't believe in. There have been many forms of protest that resulted in the greater good, and brought forth the challenge for society to adapt to a new paradigm. People like Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, the women's suffrage movement and everyone who through out history has followed a peaceful means for change, are a testament to the importance of protest.
While I salute, congratulate and am grateful to those leaders of the past, who have brought about meaningful and transformative change in history through peaceful protest, I would like to invite you to try on a new paradigm for change.
Rather than protest, rather than fight, rather than Occupy Wall Street, or Main Street, or Sesame Street; consider what you would do if the freedom you desire were already granted to you. Consider how far you could take your dream, or the image of yourself and how much it would change your experience. Then bring that out of yourself and do it. If you think the financial industry has ruined YOUR chances to become wealthy, well brainstorm a way that YOU could make more money, and turn it in to a business so that YOU can help others make more money! If you think that Obamacare is ruining YOUR chance for a fair healthcare system, then GO to a yoga class, lower YOUR own blood pressure by changing the diet you eat. If you think that gay marriage is going to ruin our American values by ruining the institution of marriage - then sit down with YOUR spouse and work on the problems that YOU have at home and bring down the divorce rate. If you think the Congress is corrupt and is blocking the integrity of our president, then start telling YOUR unspoken truths to someone YOU care about, or listen to someone's point of view that you disagree with and see if you can give them space to be heard.
And if you think that gas is too expensive. Then buy an old diesel Mercedes and run it on waste vegetable oil.
Freedom in the 21st Century is different from the way it used to be. It is no longer just the right to protest that which we disagree with. It is the RESPONSIBILITY to embody our own freedom, to bring about change by becoming that which we desire. To CO-CREATE together our vision of a brilliant future. Become a leader. Not of a protest movement or organization that you believe in. Become THE leader of YOUR future.
And share. Share it with me, or your bestie or a blank computer screen. Make it real. And make it NOW.
Today, I am happy to be leading my own cause to affordably get from place to place without contributing to pollution, or multi national oil conglomerates, or wars. (We get most of our oil from Canada anyway - you can look it up).
So you won't find me at peace rallies, or Save the Whales or fighting Big Brother. I'll be filtering little chunks of Freedom Fries out of my free waste oil, thinking about how good it is to have another moment to express true Freedom with all I am and all that I do.
You know what they say about the best things in life...
Abaddham!
Its Tuesday today. Tomorrow, or the next day, I will go to Chicago to pick up my very first car. (the car I used to drive was basically a hand me down - so I never actually bought it) Its a 1981 Mercedes Benz with a rusty yellow body, a little 4 litre diesel engine that sputters when you turn her off, and many, many miles to go. Part of the reason that I bought this car is because I like Mercedes and I've wanted to drive one for some time.
Most of the reason that I bought this car is because the moment I saw it, I knew I wanted it. That's American Freedom.
But I'd also like to contribute to the freedom of others. And so, as soon as I can, and as often as I can, I will run this car on waste vegetable oil, leaving nothing in my wake but a little steam and the faint smell of McDonalds.
I mentioned in my last post that in 2001, I became distinctly aware of American Freedom. That to protect our freedom, it was necessary to invade countries in the Middle East, to vanquish Evil Doers, to secure pipelines of crude oil for multi national companies that assist in continuing our wasteful dependent lifestyle through our ever increasing capacity for consumption. Maybe what the U.S. did was right. Maybe because our country went to war in Iraq our American Freedom was secured. My opinion about that is irrelevant, because I didn't fight in the war, and I didn't vote to go to war, and we could never know what would have happened otherwise. Like everyone else, I just paid for it a little bit.
But, in 2002, I stood in Washington Square Park several days in a row, participating in New York City's Silent Protest of the invasion of Iraq. I stood quietly with friends amongst many people I didn't know who all believed that peace is more important than oil, or WMD's or corporate interests. In fact, on February 15th, 2003 I participated in the largest peaceful protest in recorded history, and the people of the world stood together numbering by some counts as 10 million strong to firmly show that war is NOT the answer. Some even believe the number was closer to 60 million!
Though this protest did not change the outcome of the actions of the United States government, at least it helped many of us to feel better about the fact that our leaders were conducting a war we didn't believe in. There have been many forms of protest that resulted in the greater good, and brought forth the challenge for society to adapt to a new paradigm. People like Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, the women's suffrage movement and everyone who through out history has followed a peaceful means for change, are a testament to the importance of protest.
While I salute, congratulate and am grateful to those leaders of the past, who have brought about meaningful and transformative change in history through peaceful protest, I would like to invite you to try on a new paradigm for change.
Rather than protest, rather than fight, rather than Occupy Wall Street, or Main Street, or Sesame Street; consider what you would do if the freedom you desire were already granted to you. Consider how far you could take your dream, or the image of yourself and how much it would change your experience. Then bring that out of yourself and do it. If you think the financial industry has ruined YOUR chances to become wealthy, well brainstorm a way that YOU could make more money, and turn it in to a business so that YOU can help others make more money! If you think that Obamacare is ruining YOUR chance for a fair healthcare system, then GO to a yoga class, lower YOUR own blood pressure by changing the diet you eat. If you think that gay marriage is going to ruin our American values by ruining the institution of marriage - then sit down with YOUR spouse and work on the problems that YOU have at home and bring down the divorce rate. If you think the Congress is corrupt and is blocking the integrity of our president, then start telling YOUR unspoken truths to someone YOU care about, or listen to someone's point of view that you disagree with and see if you can give them space to be heard.
And if you think that gas is too expensive. Then buy an old diesel Mercedes and run it on waste vegetable oil.
Freedom in the 21st Century is different from the way it used to be. It is no longer just the right to protest that which we disagree with. It is the RESPONSIBILITY to embody our own freedom, to bring about change by becoming that which we desire. To CO-CREATE together our vision of a brilliant future. Become a leader. Not of a protest movement or organization that you believe in. Become THE leader of YOUR future.
And share. Share it with me, or your bestie or a blank computer screen. Make it real. And make it NOW.
Today, I am happy to be leading my own cause to affordably get from place to place without contributing to pollution, or multi national oil conglomerates, or wars. (We get most of our oil from Canada anyway - you can look it up).
So you won't find me at peace rallies, or Save the Whales or fighting Big Brother. I'll be filtering little chunks of Freedom Fries out of my free waste oil, thinking about how good it is to have another moment to express true Freedom with all I am and all that I do.
You know what they say about the best things in life...
Abaddham!
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