Boost your immune system!

5 Sense Meditation -Part One- Listening

What is happening right now in your present moment?

Take a second to slow down and step back...


Ask yourself what is occurring right now in this moment? Describe what you are experiencing through the five senses. More than likely you will notice that right now in this very moment everything is perfectly ok. There are no problems or threats. If there is something negative than you can deal with it, but the majority of the time we experience problems outside of the present moment because we have some lavish story going on in our heads about the past or future. We feel like we must continually think about the problem in order to find a solution asap. Yet ironically i find over and over again that when i surrender the outside problem and focusing on keeping my attention on the inside and on the present moment than the problems resolves itself. I have experienced this countless times both in personal situations and job related issues.

So I want to challenge you to try it. Stay grounded in your 5 senses experiencing this moment and when a thought comes into your head about a future worry surrender the thought and redirect your attention to this moment. Keep doing this trusting that the solution will present it self and i promise the next thing you know a coincidence will pop up that offers a solution for you to try. And mean while you have been relishing in life rather than been lost in fear and worry.

If you would like direct assistance with this practice feel free to email me!
KnowMindMeditation@gmail.com

Much Love, Ryan

The secret to Non-attachment

What will it take to go after your dreams?

Your dreams have been waiting for you to first find them and then chase them with passionate desire. We have so many walls built from out past conditioning. Various thoughts telling us to be conservative and move slowly. I agree our steps should be mindful and patient. Yet how often do we put our dreams to the side and settle for something less... Less risky, less different, less challenging, less fufilling. 

Of course it's scary! Every new frontier is scary! Imagine what the first human to sail out into the unknown ends of the ocean felt like! For all they knew the world was flat and they would inevitably fall off. Yet someone, some group was brave enough to follow their destiny! They had a pull within them guiding to their life's purpose. 

So what exactly stops us from passionately venturing towards our dreams?

Fear of failure.

Being uncomfortable with the unknown.

The idea that a steady paycheck is worth the sacrifice of purpose.

Having to carve our own path requires more energy then following a worn path.

A strong possessiveness to material success.

Fear of what others will think.

Feeling a loss of identity if we let go of what we have been doing in the past.

Social status.

Feeling the need to sacrifice the present moment for a better retirement. 

Perhaps not even knowing what we really want.

The list is never ending :) 

In the end everyone's reasons may be slightly different. What's important is that you inventory yourself . If you find that you are doing something outside of your dream then congratulations! Becoming aware is the biggest step! Now all you have to do is switch around your priorities and start making small steps towards a positive change. 

 

Possible tools

Keep a journal of ideas.

Talk with friends and family.

Find a life coach.

Spend 5 minutes a day thinking about it.

Start imaging the lifestyle you want.

Make a dream board.

Research!

Follow people on social media that are living similar dreams.

Be open to your dreams changing.

Be grateful for everything that has already   happened in your life, preparing you for what is next :)

"Follow your bliss" - Joesph Campbell

Much Love,

Know Mind

Yoga Is a Moving Meditation

I began my yoga practice years ago when i started to fall in love with meditation. I would sit with my legs crossed in silence as i focused all my attention on my breath... trying to slow down the momentum of my mind as it had been building for the last 22 years of my life. I didn't know exactly how to do it, and i tried to research various techniques but i found it to be a very mysterious topic... lots of people say they meditate and share all the benefits of a practice yet very few actually explain how to do it.

So i then started seeking teachers to help guide me on this new hobby of mine. I found Thich Naht Hahn and Eckhart Tolle. They helped tremendously and i started to experience deeper and deeper states of bliss. I was very satisfied with my meditation practice however once i ended each practice i noticed that my peace would slowly fade as i got sucked back into the overwhelming world of ego. Sometimes i would lose it sitting in traffic, often i lost it at work, or while dealing with certain "difficult" people.

Eventually i would get back home and find my peace again by sitting in silent meditation. But i wanted more! I wanted to be able to live every second in these higher states of experience. Then i was introduced to mindful walking. which is basically moving very very slowly so you can experience all the muscles and sensations of each step... rather than walking to get from point a to point b. this was the bridge that helped me understand how i could take my meditation practice to the next level. If i could meditate while i walk then i could reset much more easily than having to find a quite place to sit.

Yet the walking meditation was not very challenging as far as physical body is concerned, so when i found myself in a stressful situation it was still difficult to overcome the drama. Then i tried Yoga which allowed me to keep a mindfulness state while overcoming higher levels of stress on the body. Feeling every muscle (many i didn't even know i had) as i transitioned through the countless poses. It teaches me how to move through various strenuous positions while still keeping a centered state. This increases my resilience. Which then has a tremendous effect on helping me maintain stillness when i find my self in more stressful situations like work.

To me Yoga is more than just a physical workout designed to create strength and flexibility. If it is practiced with a mindful perspective than it can also become a moving meditation, and once you master the art of finding stillness even in the midst of intense physical movements than you become an unstoppable force of peace and bliss because every second holds the opportunity to find and cultivate peace regardless of the level of stress or challenge.

It reminds me of a powerful quote i heard somewhere... " It is one thing to be a monk in a monastery, it is another to be a monk in the midst of our chaotic world."

Much Love,
Know Mind

Experience is Relative

There are 7 billion people alive on this planet right now.
Each one carries there own unique story...
Starting with their ancestry... they each have a physical form that has been created over thousands if not millions of years. Passing down the Genetics, DNA, Wisdom, and Awareness.

Awareness is traveling through Time

Jumping from one form to the next

Being multiple perspectives at once

Possibly all perspectives

Infinite Being Is

Being

Beyond thought

Silent State

Aware of Fate

Passing through the Gate

Can you relate?

Most can't... they will eventually, but as of right now they are unaware of the possibility of living outside of the story that the mind has created to label and direct their life... every second of it... from Birth to Death...


What matters more?

That I explain it to the best of my abilities.
 or
That you do your best to understand.

Not just to understand me, but to understand that everyone has a story in their head that dictates their actions and reactions... They are just playing out the patterns that were given to them from birth to now through culture, family, and many other influences...

Always remolding... yet some become solid
to a point where if you try to bend it, it will break... Yet the ones who are adaptable to change are the ones that understand... Understand the fact that ever single person that crosses your path today has a real story... a story and a purpose.

Much Love
                                 -Know Mind

Do your best, surrender the rest.

Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 

Do you acknowledge the possibility of every single detail of reality having a purpose, a meaning, and a trail of stories leading to a higher source? 

Do you believe in God? 

Do you directly experience God? 

Maybe you like to spell the name God differently... Some say Nature, some say Buddha, some say Christ, some say Krishna, some say OM, some say Nothing. 

Either way I know the all powerful force exists and it's elementary( not personal just representing the maturity level of the average human.) to get stuck on the level of names and language... They are all saying the exact same things once you filter out the misguiding flaws that man slipped into each religion known as ego... 

It's almost impossible to teach Calculus to someone who doesn't know how to add... Imagine how the divine being felt trying to explain the laws of nature and concepts of Infinity to our undeveloped ansectors... It's know wonder we have so many different interpretations of Truth... 

Any way back to the point... If you know "God" exists, and I mean truly know it... Then you would be living in a continuous state beyond fear, a state of complete peace ... What is there to fear when you "know" there is an Infinite Divine Being with you at all times... Observing in the shadows of your mind ... Waiting for you to turn around and acknowledge its presence... 

It's awkward calling the supreme "it"... But I find that small word to be more appropriate than attaching a gender... Like he or she. The Creator is both male a female ... Balanced Perfectly... 

Mother Nature

Father Sky (Cosmic Reality) 

So how is this practical in your everyday life?

If you actually know God exists then you have no fear of the future and no resentment towards the past... It has all happened for a precise reason and the future holds many great lessons for us to grow and become closer to the Source... By becoming the Source... 

The power of Acceptance...

I woke up early this morning to prepare for teaching my first yoga class in a couple months... Made coffee, ate some healthy cereal, and slowly starting waking up :) 

I wanted to leave an hour before class started because for whatever reason, In my past I always run into an obstacle causing me to be late, or right on the time ... Granite part of it is because I no longer give Time such an important role in my life , but sometimes that makes things trickier... Although everything always works out for the best in the end... As long as my intentions are good... 

Any how I took my dog out right before I was planning on leaving. I open the door and this picture was in front of me:) 

I've lived here for a year and a half and I have never been blocked into my driveway until this morning :) they were repaving the road! 

It took me a second to realize what was even happening :) then I took a deep breath in and said " well this is one of those situations where I am completely out of control." There was nothing I could do to fix it so I accepted it and called the studio owner to inform her that I might not be able to get out of my driveway :)

Once I got off the phone, I went back outside and too my amazement they had just finished enough of it for me to go around... Ironically my neighbor also left at the exact same time so I just followed him. 

Long story short... I made it to my class early... And I was able to teach it without any negative or stressful energy and now I am very grateful for my practice of surrender... Moments when you are completely out of control and the only thing left to do is say "well then". 

- Much Love

            Know Mind

A different way of seeing God...

All of the continents that we live on are actually just giant islands... If you dry up all the water on the planet it would be a giant valley and mountain range... So techniqually you can think of the earth as a giant round rock with a big puddle covering it that we call the ocean ... One giant ocean... Water is one of the most precious resources in the universe because it is essential for life to exist... 

So how did water end up on our planet?

Not only that but we live in the Goldilocks zone that surrounds the sun ... It is a small area that orbits around the sun that is not too close or too far ... Creating a suitable climate for life to exist... The odds of our planet existing within this zone is astronomical! 

So then the odds of there being a planet in the Goldilocks zone with water and life is so mindblowing ... That for me it is an obvious sign of the existence of an intelligent creator behind the scenes of our reality. 

So at some point in the history of human existence this divine powerful being must have tried to communicate with the early stages of the human species... And it was interpreted in many different ways... Hence the many religions and branches of religion... Yet still it exists in absolute Truth waiting for us to discover its infinite number of forms and create a relationship with it :) 

 Eventually we realize that it is much closer to us than we think... Infact it is us ... When we let go of our limiting stories of past and future and become fully present in this moment we are shifting our identification from ego/form and redirecting into identification of "I am" . 

---Know Mind 

You can only hear one thought at a time... "RAM"

 

Neem Karoli Baba used to hand write the mantra RAM over and over... this picture is a copy of one of his many pages filled with just the sanskrit word Ram. He was known to tell his students... 

"Anything can be achieved in the name of Ram"...

 He is the Guru that introduced this mantra to Ram Dass (BE HERE NOW) and Ram Dass shared it with me... now I am sharing it with you! 

What is a mantra?
It is a sacred sound that is used to withdraw our attention away from repetitive and useless thought patterns... It can act as a reset button... as soon as you realize that your attention is fully submersed in the thinking mind than you can practice repeating a mantra to pull you back into this present moment and to let go of all the unnecessary negative thoughts... which coincidentally allows you to calm down and experience more joy and peace and refreshes your mind so that when it is time to use the tool of thinking again, it will find a solution much more effectively and efficiently.

There are many mantras in our present day... They can be in any language however often they are correlated with an ancient language like sanskrit... which holds its power in the fact that this sound has been repeated billions of times over the span of human history and each mantra holds a specific meaning that the individual uses to replace the unwanted thought. For example... " OM MANI PADME HUM"... this is a popular one and it means to find the jewel in the lotus... to find the wisdom in our life lessons which arise out of suffering and into peace.

One of my favorites is "RAM" its short and easy to remember... pronounced raw-mmm ...  it means many things... God, Bliss, to serve, Divine, Joy... which ever meaning you feel it has is the one for you... the important thing is to remember to say it when you catch yourself thinking to much...

At first repeat the mantra out loud... " ram ram ram ram ram ram" then start to recite it within your mind... this will force out all other thought because... you can only hear one thought at a time...
Traditionally a mantra is repeated 108 times... which is how many beads are on a mala... or they will repeat the mantra from a factor of 9... 18, 27, 54 108, 1008... etc

It is also very powerful to use around spiritual friends... my friends at work all pass it back and forth when we get sucked into the shallow drama of stressful restaurant work... it has a powerful ability to shift the energy of a group :)

Enjoy!

RAM

Accepting the Unacceptable

A powerful tool in the tool kit of any spiritual master is the ability to accept whatever arises in the present moment... The good, the bad, and the ugly... of course this is easier said than done.

At first we may experience a huge sense of relief as we learn to accept various situations in life. Understanding that there are countless variables of reality that are out of our reach of control. So we must surrender and accept them for what they are... The wise understand the fine line between surrender and giving up. Be aware of your ego because it hates "giving up" its pride becomes so strong that it feels it is showing signs of weakness if it admits it is out of control. Yet this is the precise reason such an unacceptable event is occurring in your life... to challenge your ego and give you the opportunity to surrender and transcend what "you" think is best and allow the Universe to unfold its much superior and intelligent will.

So when the next challenge of life arises remember... If you cant accept the situation fully for what it is then accept the fact that you can't accept it.

Oh and remember to remember :)

Much Love,
           Know Mind

Transcending a bad day

Everyone has bad days!

What we choose to do in the midst of chaos show us were we have work to do on ourselves!



Remember "Correct action arises out of stillness"... so when you are feeling turbulent don't make any big decisions!



Much Love,  Ryan

Every Second Counts!

Wow! Has it really been three months since my last post!


Well this is a perfect opportunity to show you how time consuming life can be! Lately i have been spending a lot of my time on a conscious face book forum and creating various social media connections to help build the website!

We live in a world of countless options! These days you have millions of choices awaiting you every second and how you choose to use the present moment determines your future. So how do i pin point what i would like my future to look like? and how do i make this dream a reality!

It all comes down to priorities!
Make a priority list... what is the most valuable experience you wish to have more of?

1. My daughter ( because i know she will soon be grown and this time i have with her is precious.)
2. My Spiritual Path ( because i would like to invest in my future after this life :)
3. Career ( becoming a spiritual teacher/ Guide)
4. Uplifting the world around me :) ( Staying in the present moment)


I generally sleep for 8 hours a day... which means i am awake for 16 hours a day... So where does all this time go?

Well to have a priority list is wonderful and all... but what you actually choose to do with your time determines where your priorities really are! If i factor in prepping and eating three meals a day plus shower, bathroom etc.. i could take off 4 hours... so i'm still left with 12 hours... yet i never feel like i have 12 hours to my day!
Of course than you have work days which takes 8-10 hours away 5 days a week! so then your left with 2 hours a day of free time... plus your two days off with 12 hours...

And of course this doesn't include all the fun taxes, dmv, car and house maintenance, laundry, dishes, keeping the home clean, being a parent, studying for future career, grocery shopping, paying bills... etc.

I love my life and the key to Enlightenment is to realize that every single second is precious and valuable!

So instead of investing my happiness in the feeling of "when i get my to do list done" , i Focus on being happy regardless of what i am doing! Everything we do is part of the wonder of life!

Have you ever heard " its not about the destination its about the journey"? This is the truth of Life! Most of our lives are filled with all these mundane and repetitive tasks that must be done ... " chop wood carry water" .... yet if we can find the joy of doing even the most repetitive and " boring" or "stressful" tasks with a peaceful state of mind then we have mastered life!

Once you see every task in the present moment with purpose and acceptance than not only will you enjoy the task , but you will also complete it with
much more ease and accuracy :)

Keep doing your best and when a sign from the Universe appears in front of you asking you to slow down, and reevaluate the path that you are currently on... Be Grateful!

The double sided coin of confidence

Know when it's time to cash in on all your hard work and know when it's time to shut up and work!

There are two sides to the coin of confidence… If it is imbalanced you will experience some form of suffering. When you are heavy on the overconfidence side it will lead to taking on challenges that you are not necessarily ready for… like running a full marathon too early in training which can lead to serious long term injuries.

On the other side of confidence you may be worth a lot more than you are willing to accept and claim… Maybe you have been preparing for this "marathon" for three times longer than you needed and are not seeing the truth of your present moment reality which shows that you are in great shape and are ready to conquer your fears!

Now take the marathon analogy and apply it to the biggest challenge in your life right now… Are you moving to fast, thinking yourself into being ready… rather than listening to your body, your emotions, and your level of presence. Or is your mind constantly telling you that you are not ready / worthy for this challenge…

The answers are in your emotions, your conscious presence, in your stillness or lack there of…

"Correct action arises out of stillness" - A Course in Miracles

The only power each of us really has is too shift the direction of our awareness, so when a challenge comes ( There is an abundance of them in life :) try to remember to listen more to your inner body rather than your thinking mind… this is operating at a much higher level of intelligence… doing so will give you a much more honest answer about what is going on within you and shifts the situation into an objective perspective so that there are no longer any limiting bias trying to help mold the solution into a certain shape or thought. After all everyone seeks Truth. So start seeking it within first!

Side Note: Do you hear that voice that is reading these words and turning them into concepts and sounds. This voice you are hearing is what your thinking mind sounds like ;)

2nd Side Note: Remember to remember :)

 Much Love,      Ryan

Living in an ocean full of thinkers!

It seems like everywhere i go through out my day, i am surrounded by thinkers. To a point of exhaustion. Don't get me wrong... I love thinking! it is such a powerful tool and has taken me many interesting places in life. (I am using the power of thought to express this idea to you!) However the more i meditate, the more i realize how often i tend to over think.

Our present day society values over thinking ... Go, go, go ... Do this.. what's next? do that... What's next?... What's next?
Completely overlooking a vital part of what it means to be a human being... being! We are so far removed from the experience of being that most do not even understand what that word means! Why?

Every single action and reaction that this unaware (go, go, go) person experiences is involved with overuse of the mind... and no one is too blame... this is simply a phase in the growth development of humans... For the present individual it starts at a very early age, grows stronger as the child begins to assimilate into our modern culture through school, friends, television, and most importantly family. Through time and repetition patterns are created within the roots of the individual and then they become more and more concrete.

It seems overwhelmingly impossible to live in this culture consciously due to the fact of how many drones ( mind dominated, compulsively thinking, bundles of conditioned reflexes) there are in the present reality... But remember that this feeling has been true since the beginning of Man/Woman. There have always been an individual or small group who "gets it" and they are surrounded and out numbered by the sea of unconsciousness within the time period that they find themselves in.

So the next question is all about you the reader... where do you fall in this? Do you have complete freedom and power over the thinking mind or are you so identified with it (the mind) that you mistake it for being who you are?

Most of us are somewhere in between... so a more accurate question could be...

Which side are you more predominantly living in?

100% Conscious--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------100% Unconscious

Spiritual Loneliness

What is meditation?

Following Coincidence… Living in the flow!

                            The Art of Flowing with the Present Moment                                                                                                                                                       

                                     How many times have you experienced Synchronicity? Coincidence? Miracles?    There is definitely an art to living in the flow of life… Trusting the Universe ( well now we call it a Multiverse)  to guide you to do and not do all that you are meant for! How do you know what choices are the "right" choices? How can you feel confident that you are acting on the voice of "God" and not the voice of "ego"… Experiencing Peace  / Stillness is definitely a form of confirmation... Synchronicity is another answer to this very important question… all those moments when something occurs that seems like an unlikely accident… In fact i make it a point to follow coincidence when it occurs… If i over hear someone say the word "meditation" i feel its a direct call to me to introduce myself… or when i take " a wrong turn" on the road and end up discovering a short cut :) 

Often synchronicity occurs when i am looking for a confirmation on a decision… ( i have a flashing thought about a certain spiritual concept and then immediately i run into someone i know or the song that is playing uses a word i just thought about… the timing of which is astronomically unlikely… ) this subject is still a very new frontier to our "modern" world, but i know that when you experience these seemingly random events they are there for a reason… a reason that some higher intelligence and power is purposefully creating! 

Remember This! You can only follow and learn from synchronicity if you are present! Coincidence / Miracles operate in the present moment! In other words "God" operates in this very moment! So if you are interested in experiencing more Miracles / Coincidence then i first suggest practicing mindfulness . Conscious breathing… body awareness… yoga … many of the practices on the Know Mind Website home page seem too unlock more miracles… like letting the flood gates open ! Of course the Infinite Creator wants to bless us… In fact i believe "God's" blessings are constant… like gravity… it is us that slows them down or prevents them all together! 

Once you acknowledge the reality of these events then they will occur more frequently! It knows when you notice and it likes to be noticed :)

I highly recommend keeping a synchronicity journal that you keep track of daily ! It is much like a dream journal! You start to reread your entries and you realize the information was trying to communicate something to you! 

If your not familiar with the constant flow of coincidence then congratulations! Its going to begin as soon as you start seeking it :) Enjoy!

 My HIghest Love,

                    Ryan 

What you mean is more important than the words you choose to use!

Syntax Dilemma

The syntax dilemma is a concept that points towards a core reason for suffering! Both internally and within the relationships of the world… It is the point that any given word has two meanings… one is the dictionary (default) definition… but then the second and more important meaning is the one you give it…

Where does our unique definitions come from… They come from our experiences… Love… God… Peace… Joy… Peanut Butter… Grass… Breath… Silence… Here...   every single word out here has a slightly different definition to every individual because everyone has had a slightly different experience with what the word is pointing towards!

For example lets take the word… "space"… to some it is a tab on the keyboard… to others it is the cosmic stars and galaxies, to others it means a spiritual principle , and to others it is the absence of "something"… This is only a small collection of what the word could mean… but then you have to consider each persons perspective of the words they use to describe the initial "word" and very quickly you have millions/billions of intricate, unique definitions…

Then we move to a "loaded" word like… Love…

i refer to it as loaded because it has a much greater range of interpretation than a word like "peanut butter" :) 

Imagine if we got over the idea that "theres only one right word… one right language"… and instead focused more on what the others mean by their definitions of any given word…

Human conflict and misunderstanding would easily be cut in half! 

There are a many very powerful opportunities to practice and grow with this concept in mind.

1. Start a Definition manuscript… write down key words… and then explain what they mean to you… come back to these entries throughout your life and see how certain meanings of certain words will begin to change for you… or maybe they will have a broader range of possible meanings…more depth (spiritual)

2.The next person you find yourself in conflict with… remember this concept and start to investigate certain key words that they use and ask them to define them for clarity ! 9 times out of 10 we fight because there is not a match in word meanings ( Syntax Dilemma) :)

3. Review some of your past judgements and how they could have been nonexistent if you had considered that it was simply the syntax dilemma! :) (Religious conflict is a good example of this)

4. When you consider the "other" persons perspective they will appreciate it and will also be more willing and receptive to listening to your ideas, concerns, and disagreements! 

In the end we all want to be understood! We all have brilliant ideas and when in a loving relationship are intentions are always pure! So end the misunderstanding by keeping the Syntax Dilemma somewhere near in the back of the mind ready to keep the peace over proving someone wrong! 

                                                                              Much Love,      Ryan