The Serene Way

I.L.C (Integrative Life Coaching) session conversation

 

PART III

 

Identify patterns from your life and how they can be used to your best advantage

Achieve balance between work, home and play

Create personal tools to maintain and enhance a healthy lifestyle

 

 

P.:  ah…the infamous turtle…

 
Tim W.:  hahahah…there are many parables that we take for granted and pay lip service to, yet there are tremendous simplicities within them

P.:  are they not written for children…hmmm…

P.:  you do know that the originals were written for adults oftentimes?

Tim W.:  we are children…with active minds…we

P.:  oh…I love that…

P.:  yes we are all children…

Tim W.:  we lose that aspect of our selves

Tim W.:  the most important this is to play…enjoy all that we do

P.:  I tell my students that I am almost as young as them when they ask my age…

Tim W.:  find that within and you find truth

Tim W.:  I say I’m as old as my shoe size and will stay that way

P.:  perhaps this truth is why I enjoy beeing with children so much…

Tim W.:  society makes us think we have to act in a certain manner…at least children are authentic

P.:  lol…I haven’t tried that one

P.:  yes, children are gems in the universe

Tim W.:  yes, and we forget that this is part of who we are

P.:  so many do forget Tim, but I’m with you..play is important

P.:  and think about it…young children learn through their play…

P.:  adults do too…

P.:  how we interact with our environment can give us varied experiences, yes?

Tim W.:  exactly…laughter is the greatest way to get someone to remember something

Tim W.:  absolutely

Tim W.:  make it fun

Tim W.:  why make it any other way when it causes pain

Tim W.:  enjoy…be…totally

P.:  yes! and Tim?

P.:  you’re welcome to come to my classroom anytime…smiles… we do have lots of fun

Tim W.:  hahahaha….that’s too sweet@!!

P.:  shhh…just don’t tell the grownups

Tim W.:  they wouldn’t understand…though they should!!

P.:  lol…

Tim W.:  see you have this wonderful circumstance to see how to be…real…total..authentic…look to the children and you can find it in them…the let it all go…you only have to do the same

Tim W.:  all lovely creatures of creation

P.:  its funny you say that because I am most at peace when i am with them

P.:  I forget myself in a sense…I know you’ll understand that statement

P.:  if i could carry that over…sigh

P.:  animals are…

Tim W.:  then you only have to bring that with you…in this sense taking your work home is a good thing…hahaha

P.:  I see them, watch them and try to learn from their existence…

Tim W.:  you can…it is in your mind…if it is in your mind…quiet the merry go round and bring it to that point

Tim W.:  that is all they do, exist!

P.:  yes, i think meditation is beginning to help me with that…

Tim W.:  we put all the other stuff on them and ourselves..expectations, cultural taboos, etc

P.:  yes, you understand my meaning about animals

P.:  to be as they are…

Tim W.:  find what works for you…meditation is not just sitting and being silent or stilling the mind…for you when you reach that state in the classroom that is your meditation…the natural way for you

P.:  it is…

P.:  yes?

Tim W.:  it would seem so from what you have said…

Tim W.:  it is there you feel at one…the best you feel

P.:  it is also different from my meditation….when i am with them…I can just be

P.:  meditation goes through steps

Tim W.:  then you have just reached your own answer

Tim W.:  yes, and those steps are there as a method, if it cannot be attained in another way

 

P.:  so, i need to be with children all the time…grins

Tim W.:  hahahah….that depends on you…too much of a good thing

Tim W.:  lol

P.:  you have just given me a gift Tim…thank you

P.:  moderation, eh?

P.:  nature hikes bring me to me as well…that stillness I mean

Tim W.:  remember just being with them is the same as having the mind calmed in thinking like when you are with them

Tim W.:  there that is another place of meditation for you

P.:  now you have me searching for those moments

Tim W.:  the stillness, peace or whatever you wish to call it can manifest in many different ways…the thing is to bring that with you in all things and be that way in all things

Tim W.:  and you will find them…the too are part of your experience and patterns…being consciously aware of them will bring them into other situations where they bring this sense of just being

P.:  I am learning to let things be…to find that inner place

P.:  to let go of judgement

Tim W.:  you have found that inner place…it is only to remember that it is always there

Tim W.:  when you have that sense of being is there any judgement?

P.:  no need for judgement

Tim W.:  Is there a force to let things be?

P.:  no force

Tim W.:  ahhh…

P.:  things just are and all is okay

P.:  no fear even

Tim W.:  again you have found your answers…they are there…it is to remember just the being at those times…bring those situations to the conscious mind and all else no longer exists

Tim W.:  even fear

Tim W.:  the pratical becomes theory which can be again used in practical application

P.:  hmmm.

Tim W.:  the shift is only in the mind, conscious thought

P.:  thinking of outside influences…

P.:  everything is connected

Tim W.:  are they really outside?

P.:  ha

P.:  thinking same thoughts?

Tim W.:  yes, and yes

Tim W.:  so if you have fear…think of the hike…what happens to the fear…gone - yes?

P.:  yes…

Tim W.:  when you are judging…think of the children (being) what happens to the judgement…gone - yes?

P.:  definitely

Tim W.:  now you are using your own experience to lift your energy and to work through any turmoil that the mind creates…

P.:  I like that, yes, i feel the positive energy in that

Tim W.:  you have found your centre in different places…just bring that to all places that you are

P.:  it is so simple

Tim W.:  only when we are off that centre does the other stuff come about…yet we know the (absolutely) the simplicity of it

Tim W.:  good on ya!

P.:  yes, and…it’s okay to just be

P.:  confession

P.:  ?

Tim W.:  yeppers…we learn there…we exist there…we can experience all

P.:  any situation

P.:  is okay now

Tim W.:  it is all connected it is all part of who we are as emotional, physical and energetic beings

P.:  acceptance of self  of all

Tim W.:  it can be ok if we get to that centre…the mind doesn’t want us to get there because then it doesn’t have control or life

Tim W.:  exactly

P.:  silly…

P.:  emotions….

P.:  experiencing a silly tear…argh

Tim W.:  they are beautiful…they are the colour of our lives…just not to control us

Tim W.:  tears are beautiful, they are water and water is life

Tim W.:  the cleanse, they give life

P.:  water is…a tear is… I am…

P.:  how do i thank you…

|Tim W.:  no more need be said

Tim W.:  for what?

P.:  this conversation

Tim W.:  you have seen yourself

P.:  for being

Tim W.:  hahahah

P.:  smiles

Tim W.:  and that is returned…many fold!!

Tim W.:  we learn from interaction…all is…

P.:  yes, but what has Tim learned from this?

Tim W.:  Tim has connected with another beautiful soul that is on a wonderful journey to light

Tim W.:  we have shared our experience our thoughts and created a connection that is full of light

P.:  as has P…

P.:  reconnected…grins

Tim W.:  he has seen that light comes from shadow and has learned love is and as P. says “I am”

 

P.:  we are

Tim W.:  ONE~

 

 

 

©T.S. (Tim) White, 2008

All Rights reserved. 

www.TheSereneWay.com

 

 

 

 

I.L.C – Part I

I.L.C – Part II

 

 

For more information about I.L.C - Integrative Life Coaching, please feel free to contact Tim at tsw@TheSereneWay.com

 

 

“Societal choices, more often than not, are the result of expediency, statistical fallacy, sentiment, political or media pressure, or personal prejudice and vested interest.”

David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.

Power vs. Force

 

I received a comment after posting a blog titled ‘Acceptance, Compassion & Tolerance Out of Anger & Resentment”, which was the catalyst for this entry.

 

“I (Also) Noticed On The Front Page Of Your Website That You Are Selling SHEEP SKIN Mats! That Is Not AHIMSA And It Certainly Is Not Peaceful And Serene For The Sweet Innocent Slaughtered SHEEP! :/ ~::~”

 

Why use meditation mats that are made from sweet innocent loving slaughtered sheep??? That is bloody bad karma and just mean. It is ahimsa for me to point this out to you. Why seek to make money from industries of horrid cruelty?You are a spiritually intelligent being. You seek to embody goodness and loving-kindness towards all beings…I believe. To do so we must wake up from participating in cruelty towards other beings… right? We must have an empathetic loving awakened conscience of loving-kindness towards ALL Life as Divine Spirit.

Why participate in blood money of cruelty? I know you are basically a sweet and loving spiritual person ~ I am just hoping that you will try to embody the higher Pure Consciousness and Loving-Kindness towards ALL LIFE. Precious Animals are not less than or lower than humans.”

 

 

In order to fully discuss this position, let’s look at a definition of ahimsa. Wikipedia describes ahimsa as follows: “the principle of non-violence can or should be applied to different life forms…”

 

This resource (Wikipedia) continues, “Jains go out of their way so as not to hurt even small insects and other minuscule animals and make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. In accordance to this policy, eating of some foods, whose cultivation harms small insects and worms, as well as agriculture itself, is to be abstained from.”

 

Research and information gathered from texts such as ‘The Gospel According to Rama Krishna’, books by Swami Vivekananda, and other volumes of spiritual writings state that ahimsa—a yama of Yoga— is the practice of non-violence or harmlessness in action, word, thought, deed or emotion. All we do creates a karmic affect, no matter its desired intention.

 

It is evident that this ‘practice’ has different meanings and applications depending on the environmental/cultural experience and religious belief of the individual. There are levels of adherence to this practice. This is true for all ideologies; it is the depth of conviction to the belief, whether individual or group, that plays a fundamental role in their actions and reactions. We need look no further than organized religion to see how extremes in the attachment to dogma have created tension and segregation, leading to struggle, suppression and war.

Traditionally, meditation was performed on natural animal skin such as tiger or deer, as I have seen in pictures of gurus and swamis. This provided a softer cushion for a more comfortable way to maintain a meditative posture; it also created a synergy with the meditative process by providing a deeper, natural connection to earth energies, thereby intensifying the benefits of meditation. I have not read that these pelts materialized out of cosmic energy; the animals’ lives did end in some manner.

 

Historically speaking and according to evolutionary theory, man was a hunter-gatherer. Being of aboriginal heritage—Native Canadian M’ic M’aq—my family’s heritage and culture dictated that whenever an animal is taken for food, all parts of that animal are used in order to honour a manifestation of gratitude for that which the earth provides. As a child, I remember that after the moose hunt (which my extended family continues) the meat was canned or frozen, the antlers were used for the handles of eating utensils, and the hide for leather garments, snowshoes and various ties and bindings. All was treated as a gift from Mother Earth and what She provided for our sustenance.

 

The sheep in question are from my brother’s farm. He has a small flock, and his intention is to use the entire animal, in keeping with his cultural heritage, in order to provide for his family. The sheep run free in the pastures on 108 acres, eating grass and natural feed. They are tended with love and kindness. They are protected from coyotes by dogs, donkeys and a llama provided by my brother and his family. His wife is the ‘at home’ veterinarian who provides the occasional antibiotic to ensure the sheep’s health, and is doula or mid-wife during lambing season. In the winter, lambs that are born too small or too many at a time for a single ewe to care for are taken into the house, dried with towels, and bottle-fed—one of the great experiences I have had the pleasure to participate in.

 

Indeed, I take issue with commercial farming and the poor treatment of livestock for the gathering of wealth for the few. The treatment of animals on commercial farms is in truth a manifested aspect of profit and greed. I also take issue with the reckless harvest of animals of the sea for a singular use, such as longline net capture of sharks for the sole purpose of obtaining their fins, which some claim are an aphrodisiac. This materialistic approach has caused many problems. Commercial farms have created the need to regulate society’s food channels. Yet, with a single bacterial outbreak in an industrial processing plant, an entire food network delivers health hazards. Recently, an outbreak of listeriosis in a packaging plant in Canada played havoc on the food channel, resulting in a recall of processed, packaged meat. This past summer tomatoes had to be removed from the shelves due to problems at a processing plant in the United States. Both of these incidents also affected fast food outlets, including the corporate giant MacDonald’s.

I often think that we have formulated a hierarchy based on what we perceive as sentient beings. It is only our current perception that dictates these ideas; they continue to change and develop based on scientific research, which increases our understanding. There are many ‘seekers’ who have taken leave of society to live in renunciation in the wilderness. There, they develop the ability to listen to the wisdom of the tree and the messages upon the wind. There is even mention of those who can live on air alone; they receive sustenance from the energy inherent in everything that is, so highly developed is their connection to the divine source.

 

A tree is alive—it has a series of capillaries that carry nutrients throughout its body, similar in function and design to the human lymph and digestive systems. Firstly, in terms of the lymph system, it has circulatory vessels without a central pump which regulate defense mechanisms. Secondly, like the digestive system, fluid is moved by a process of contraction called peristalsis. A tree has life, it exists, it is energy. The same can be said of all plants. They react to external stimuli: lower vibrations limit growth, whereas higher energies accelerate it. If you sing to a plant it will respond positively with growth; if you yell at it, so too will it wilt.

Man, in being a form of compressed energy, is in essence the same as a potato, a carrot, an apple or bacteria, only differing in the form of the expression of that energy. Anything we ingest is an aspect of energy, which is necessary for cellular metabolism and the continuance of a physical form. All life forms must absorb energy in order to sustain their life cycle. The process is consistent and paramount for all life—energy, in some form, is assimilated and then expunged to return into the fold of a universal balance.

 

Our current perspective deems an animal closer to our own existence. It is our own ego-centricity and the rationalization of projecting human characteristics onto other life forms that creates an imposed judgment. Pulling a carrot out of the ground ends the life cycle of that plant, the same as ending the life cycle of any other organism, whether or not we currently consider it to be sentient. If one is sacred, then all is sacred.

 

On a Path to Light, only when we accept all forms of energy as equal will we truly realize that all life is sacrosanct, and to be accepted as a blessing.

 

 

 

© T.S. (Tim) White, 2008

All rights reserved

www.TheSereneWay.com

 

 

 

To be continued…

 

With a further discussion of commercial farming and Ahimsa

‘The Secret’ and ‘The Law of Attraction’ as Fabrications of Greed

 

“The enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look.”

Julius Caesar, 75 B.C.

 

 

The pursuit of happiness and peace is caught in, and now churn and grease the wheels of, consumerism, commercialism and materialism. This ultimately makes a mockery of spirituality and the quest for meaning in our lives, and never so dynamically and ubiquitously as both The Secret and the ‘Law of Attraction’. For years we have been hearing and literally ‘buying into’ the promise that we can have all that we want—the good life—through visualization, belief and a modicum of effort. This only serves to intensify desire, leading to greed and a further spiral into the illusion that materialistic gain will give us the security for which we search.

 

Perhaps we can say that the rape and pillage of the earth began with Imperialism. Certainly the Industrial Revolution introduced many benefits. However, when we look closely, we see its empty results: the destruction of our air, our water, our earth. We continue to pass down to future generations the responsibility of repairing what we have been systematically destroying. We have not been able to set an example for these future generations, teaching them how to shoulder responsibility, nor have we demonstrated much more than a single care about them. They see only a continuation of the same actions, of single-minded greed that keeps the current system intact and causes endless cycles of crisis.

 

This repetitive program results in a pattern of fear which is based on illusion, currently manifest as the profit turned in ‘paper’ transactions upon which our ‘free market’ society is based. This programming has become a source of control for the mechanisms of consumerism—its manipulation, calculation and deception. It has been instrumental in separating us from our selves, in giving power to someone or something—an entity—other than our selves.

 

How can the goal of the bigger house, the faster car, the gold, diamonds and pearls fill this emptiness within? The idea of more, more, more and guzzle, guzzle, guzzle can lead only to a repetition of history, where stock markets plummet and fear grips the world. It certainly hasn’t changed in this lifetime; we need look no further than the real estate crash of the ’80s, the dot-com crash of the ’90s, and now a combination of both monetary lending for real estate and commodities crashing today. Trillions of dollars have been said to have been lost on the global markets, and a single country is spending $700 billion to bail out those that continue this repetition of historic pirating.

 

The promise of ‘abundance’ has proliferated like nuclear missiles and weapons of mass destruction. In the end, it creates the same emotional reaction—fear—out of power, control, and an ‘I am better than you’ mentality. These ideas, no matter who discusses or promote them, whether it is Rhonda, Oprah, Jack, Bob or Phil, lead us down the path not only to earthly ruin, but to the ruin of humanity itself. It appears that the last bastion of the self—our soul—is becoming fodder for the markets.

 

Perhaps we are getting what The Secret and ‘The Law of Attraction’ promise, as there is never an action without a reaction.

 

It has been said there is enough for everyone on this earth. These works, which promote the manifestation of our materialistic desires by focusing on our intentions, lead only to a further exhaustion of all non-renewable resources and move us closer to the brink of extinction.

 

“We can have what we want” is the chant and chorus bombarding our senses. Do we need a 5,000 square foot home? Do we need a television for every room in the house? Do we need all those gas guzzling cars? They only serve to suck up limited resources and abuse the fertile soil we need to sustain our selves. We encroach upon the habitat of other animals without concern for their demise, only appreciating their monetary value. We continue to destroy the symbiotic relationship we have with this planet and all that exist upon it for the sake of power, control and materialistic gain.

 

Perhaps the better question is, “What do we need to exist?” No longer do we gather for the long winter. Instead we horde for the sake of hording and feed the illusion that this will give us a sense of identity, our desires creating a self image in a society lost on its path to light. The cycle of abuse perpetrated not only on this planet but upon ourselves has manifested itself in the form of the current economic turmoil—we reap what we have sown.

 

Originally, abundance and attraction were intended to enlighten, to instil a true sense of security and self. They are now being used against us. The plunder has reached into our most basic nature, raping our very souls. The sanctity of self is being prostituted, sold and re-sold as pretence of materializing the divine—an impossiblity, since it is an infinite expression of energy.

 

We continue to take an internal quest and externalize it in the form of materialistic goals, missing the point completely. The secret is not to manifest materialistic desires but to release them.

 

The secret is to know that abundance and wealth in physical terms are illusions. They are transitory; they are ‘no’ thing, not everything.

 

Take the opportunity to release these attachments and create a new world order that will manifest understanding and compassion on our path to light.

 

 

 

© T.S. (Tim) White, 2007

All rights reserved

www.TheSereneWay.com

Tolerance, Acceptance & Understanding

Where or when a self realized soul appears we may not know, nor does location or time make much difference, It is confined to neither.

I believe that the guru within is the ‘real’ goal, and from my limited reading that is the approach that all guru’s have taken. They offer inspiration for us to be.

Guides may be encountered along the path, yet only with self ‘realization’ through an internal effort can we learn to assimilate these lessons with practical application and not lip service. The self realized may not have written books themselves, yet without these written accounts, the past would dissolve like forgotten civilizations. I’ve read that no religion can continue without a book, a tangible for others to follow. It was not the self-realized that wrote the accounts that make the Bible or Koran or Torah and most others. Their followers did so, perhaps with encouragement from the originator of the thought, as their ‘real’ message the dogma and ritual contained therein - this was only a tool along the way based on the current culture. Like anything it is then a reflection based on perspective and coloured so. Much like the game where a whisper is started and continues around a circle…it is never the same at the end as it was at the origination.

Should we worship a book? They are only words of man; the essence of the message perhaps would be a better thing to understand. Should we worship the guru? I think not, but worship the Source that is in each and every one of us. Should we pledge allegiance to the guru? I think only to the light incarnated beyond the human form - a dance with the universal.

The steps of the dance itself are merely details; the lessons learned are the rhythm of life.

 1. To stand on my own two feet. My experience accounted for more that what I had given it credit.

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