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

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

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