Higher Consciousness

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” – Buddha

Duty is to awaken the unconscious parts of the mind and bring it forth into consciousness in order to pay justice to reality and existence.  To achieve internally is to recognize and understand the self to its deepest and ever evolving core.  Considering we change our perceptions daily and even our beliefs throughout a lifetime, understanding ourselves fully is like striving for perfection: we can inch closer and closer to it, but there is always room for improvement, or in this case, for discovery.  

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Neuroplasticity

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

The brain and mind are malleable.  Although neuroscientists have unlocked much to how brains function and develop, there is still much more left undiscovered.  First, understanding the distinction between brain and mind is of utmost importance.  The brain obeys science, while the mind, on the other hand, obeys spirituality in addition to science.  The distinction is far more complex.  

Ego

Ego exists in human nature, and it manifests as ignorance, greed, and desire to name a few. The ego-consciousness fights, often triumphantly, against the individual’s actual self; it bears arms to keep a self-construct derived from external impositions in power over the individual.  

Time

“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.”
― Lao Tzu

The most valuable currency is time, which is not to be confused with the old cliche stating, “time is money.”  Rather, time is irreplaceable. In fact, there is no substitute for its value.  In a world that strives to acquire more, time lacks the capacity to increase its possesion; time is an entity that continues to decrease in its amount versus increase with every passing day.  Moreover, time exists on a continuum by which it has the ability to expand and lengthen or shrink and shorten.  

Fate or Free Will?

“… whether Fate binds us down by an inexorable law, or whether God as arbiter of the universe has arranged everything, or whether Chance drives and tosses human affairs without method, philosophy ought to be our defense.” Seneca in Letters from a Stoic

How much power does an individual have in crafting his or her destiny? If the extent of power within human agency is uncertain, then is there a method of arriving to a logical conclusion by which to identify which view permeates human existence?

Death & Dying

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Gandhi

Death is certain, which is not intended to start with a melancholic tone, but rather a calling for understanding the phenomena in order to elevate the physical form.  The Stoics viewed death in a manner that aided human purpose.  By philosophizing on our impermanence they were able to reason ways in which fear of death could be replaced by honoring living.

Philosophy & Love

“The Stoics actually both say that the wise man will experience love, and they define love itself as the effort to make a friendship from the semblance of beauty.  Which love, if there is any in the world without disquietude, without longing, without anxiety, without sighing, then so be it!  For it is free from all lust.” – Cicero

Love is made difficult throughout history, and perhaps more in modernity than in previous eras, because not only are unsolicited expectations thrust upon another unknowing individual and are later expressed as premeditated resentments, but also because some individuals forget, consciously skip, or are unaware of the first critical step to loving others is to love the self first.  The power to love another human being reaches its capacity potential from self-derived and self-aimed love. 

Law of Attraction

“We see, feel, and ultimately attract what we focus on.”
― Brain Drain The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life by Charles F. Glasman M.D.

Output equals input.  Thoughts, emotions, and behavior released into the external world are the same thoughts, emotions, and behavior received.  Exercising a positive attitude attracts more positivity, and the opposite is also true by which exercising negativity attracts more negativity.

Special

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” – Pericles

All human life is special regardless of occupation, status, achievements, material acquisition, and any other socially derived label.  Living is courageous.  Individuals must learn not to fear or run away from it, but instead embrace it wholeheartedly.  

Mastering Starting Over

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats

Life is about learning to persevere and answer uncertainty with courage and conviction.  No matter how much human beings attempt to predict and control the future, chaos is ready to emerge at any moment’s notice.  Regardless of race, sex, religion, creed, or socio-economic status, chaos, disorder, and uncertainty are equal-opportunities embedded in living and ergo the human condition.