Matthew’s blog

 

All I want is to learn so I may serve and help those around me. To make myself better and in doing so I make the world better. Its a hard road to walk. There are parts I may find myself all alone...but I take comfort in the fact that I am never truley alone. All is one and one is all. All those people that love and support me will forver be with me and connected with me. The road I walk is a difficult one; however, I am looking forward to the challange of it all. Through pain and sacrifice we become stronger and learn what we must to continue the great work.

 

Leaning on my elbow, I turn to my own thoughts.

The pages of my life, I have cast, on the great millwheel of fortune.

In my hunt for the golden crown, I have sought clues, in labours long and wide.

I am resolute in my dangerous pursuit.

Dangerous you laugh?

Yes, I say, for Wisdom is demanding.

She does not release her captives readily, but demands inconsiderate

labor in searching her ciphers.

So as the millwheel turns, I entrust myself between the columns where

the University of Antiquity awaits.

There I am sure the dance of the labyrinth will lead me to the emerald city.

And Ariadne's silken thread, woven from chains of light, will support

my journey to the midnight sun.

The turn of the millwheel has brought me luck, I cast again…

…God goes with the brave.

The alchemical Philosophers' Stone.

 

G-2

I needed a laugh this morning and wanted to share. Peace out to all and enjoy the day.

 

Sometimes we get caught up in what we want and we focus on what we dont have. Sometimes we forget to remember what we do have. I've been thinking about this as of late. Life gives us what we need...sometimes it gives us just a little more then we think we can handle but thats what makes us who were are. Sometimes when we cant have what we want its for the best...we just dont understand why at the time. We are what we are for a very imortant reason, and when we lose the thing we want the most it is because it's what is ment to be. To make us stronger for the road ahead.
So I happened to think of a story I use to tell kids when I was a camp counselor back in the day. 
 

Once upon a time in Japan, there was a poor stone-cutter, named Hofus, who used to go every day to the mountainside to cut great blocks of stone. He lived near the mountain in a little stone hut, and worked hard and was happy.
One day he took a load of stone to the house of a rich man. There he saw so many beautiful things that when he went back to his mountain he could think of nothing else. Then he began to wish that he too might sleep in a bed as soft as down, with curtains of silk, and tassels of gold. And he sighed, "Ah me! Ah me! If Hofus only were rich as he!"
To his surprise, the voice of the Mountain Spirit answered, "Have thou thy wish!"
When Hofus returned home that evening his little hut was gone, and in its place stood a great palace. It was filled with beautiful things, and the best of all was a bed of down, with curtains of silk and tassels of gold.
Hofus decided to work no more. But he was not used to being idle, and time passed slowly - the days seemed very long.
One day as he sat by the window he saw a carriage dash past. It was drawn by snow-white horses. In it sat a prince, while before and behind were servants in suits of blue and white. One was holding a golden umbrella over the prince.
When the stone-cutter saw this, he began to feel unhappy, and he sighed, "Ah me! Ah me! If Hofus only a prince might be!"
And again the same voice that he had heard on the mountain answered, "Be thou a prince!"
Straightway Hofus was a prince. He had servants dressed in crimson and gold, and he rode in a carriage with a golden umbrella over his head.
For a short time he was happy, but one day, as he walked in the garden, he saw that the flowers were drooping, the grass was dry and brown. And when he rode out he felt the hot sun burn him in spite of his umbrella.
"The sun is mightier than I," thought he, and then he sighed, "Ah me! Ah me! If Hofus only the sun might be!"
And the voice answered, "Be thou the sun!"
 
Straightway the great sun he became. He burned the grass and rice fields. he dried up the streams. Rich and poor alike suffered from the terrible heat.
One day a cloud came and rested in front of him, and hid the earth from his sight. He was angry and cried, " Ah me! Ah me! If Hofus only a cloud might be!"
And the voice answered, "Be thou a cloud!"
 
Straightway a cloud he became. He floated before the face of the sun, and hid the earth from it.
Then day after day the cloud dropped rain. The rivers overflowed, and the rice-fields were covered with water. Towns were swept away. Only the great rocks on the mountainside stood unmoved midst the flood.
The cloud looked at them in wonder, then he sighed, "Ah me! Ah me! If Hofus only a rock might be!"
And the voice answered, "Be thou a rock!"
 
Straightway a rock he became. Proudly he stood. The sun could not burn him and the rain could not move him.
"Now, at last," he said, "no one is mightier than I."
But one day he was waked from his dreams by a noise--tap! tap! tap!--down at his feet. He looked and there was a stone-cutter driving his tool into the rock. Another blow and the great rock shivered - a block of stone broke away.
"That man is mightier than I!" cried Hofus, and he sighed, "Ah me! Ah me! If Hofus only the man might be!"
And the voice answered, "Be thou thyself!"
And straightway Hofus was himself again - a poor stone-cutter, working all day upon the mountainside, and going home at night to his little hut. But he was content and happy, and never again did he wish to be other than Hofus the stone-cutter.
 
Sometimes the most important thing to remember is that you have everything you need already, right inside of you. Power is an illusion

 You absorb vast amounts of information through your five senses and most of it is discarded because you simply can't process it. The key is to become acute to them all. With this mind frame you will start seeing your life, and the people around you in a different perspective. It's a powerful combination of natural evolution.

Visual.
This is your most powerful tool in obtaining a sense of what you're actually capable of. Harness your visual sense to read body language, movement, positioning, color and light. If you can teach yourself the art of visual stimulation through interpreting another person's body language. You will become a big player in any social setting.

Focus on detail such as facial expression. With this I mean eye movement and positioning, eyebrow patterns, rapid eyelid gestures, raising or lowering of the forehead, lips, cheeks and nose. Everyone uses different patterns of movement depending on what they are talking about or simply doing. To understand why they are doing it, will tell you the answer to question without even having to ask the question.

Body posture is another mechanism for visual stimulation, follow the walk, stance and hand movements. Everyone interacts and reacts differently, depending on how they perceive themselves internally. Study people and look beyond the norms of everyday reality.

Touch.
To touch another brings with it a massive chemistry of connection. When you touch someone on a friendship level you enforce your verbal recognition. A shoulder tap, handshake, pat or cuddle hightens the mechanical acceptance of joy. To touch a new person tends to open up a vulnerable path, and a sense of security is instantly opened up. To touch a loved one, such as family or your partner is powerful and brings with it all emotional experiences.

A touch used accurately in the correct circumstances can open up or defuse a situation. The key is to know when to use it. This can be achieved through what information your visually attaining.

Taste & Smell.
Science has taught us that your taste is linked in with your sense of smell. In fact you actually taste your sense of smell. These senses tell us information with out us being aware of it. They signal danger and stress and make us remember locations, or tell us when someone with a distinctive smell is close by. Smells can also make us feel relaxed, feel funny or be disgusted. The taste and smell of a mint can make you feel more confident as you know other people you talk too will be picking up on the same pleasant vapours.

Sound.
Sometimes in conversation we only hear or pick out information that we want to hear. Or the fact is the information received is sometimes muffled or part understood, due to accent, pronunciation and the language barrier. You can train your mind to slow down sound waves and pick out information so you understand exactly what is being asked. Once you get acute to this process you will find yourself repeating the sentence over again in your mind to hear it for final confirmation. This is a powerful tool and can be best practised over the phone or on walkie-talkie. To hear a question the first time will bring a more efficient response.

Use your senses wisely and be aware of what they are capably of. You can have more control over any given situation. Once your more aware of what you're picking up, you can all most feel them working as one

 

 

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.

I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

 

Change

Was having a conversation with someone from the past. We ended up talking about religon and faith and this came to mind. She was curious about my interest in Egypt and ancient views on astrology and what not. So I wanted to share this video.

 

 

 

LOL. And to break the tension if there is any....pleae enjoy this clip from one of my favorite movies of all time.

From the Last Supper to the Resurrection - this is a classic story retold brilliantly!

 

If you wanna see the whole story go rent the movie. Its a classic. Or if you just wanna know what happens next....:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf-aCg9uchY

Just Because

Sometimes a story can inspire.

 

 

 

"Teach me the value of self-sacrifice so that I shrink not in the hour of trial."

The Hanged Man in Tarot is said to represent, among many things a period of suspension between worlds, a sacrifice made of the material plane in order to gain knowledge and thus better the world from its higher planes. He hangs of his own will from a cross of his own making, he is said then to have one foot in Heaven and his face toward the Earth. As Odin hung for nine days from the world tree making a sacrifice of himself in order that he may find the knowledge of the runes which are said to contain the wisdom of the universe. 
We are periodically in our lives faced with the things that we want that never seem to manifest themselves in actuality: a happy realtionship, a great job, the perfcetion of path and stature, these are mundane examples of such desired things. We struggle towards the having of these wanted things, unrelenting and without success. We tend to feel denied of something that should be rightfully ours. We do not know why we cannot seem to stay in a relationship , or find the right job, or manage the meager income that we seem perpetually enmeshed with.

But if we can see this doing without or this sense of lack as but a sacrifice made in order that we may know ourselves and thus the world and our place in it more fully would we not then feel as if somehow we are exactly where we need to be? Learning exactly what we need to know? It seems for me that if I had all the things that I have felt in the past that I wanted so much and was not given that, in fact I would not be here at all, learning what I am learning seeing what I am seeing.

 Life has asked for a sacrifice in order that we may climb higher than we thought possible. Maybe the lack of the envisioned 'perfect job' allows someone through their sacrifice and struggle to enventually discover a course that will provide them with a career that they could not have imagined for themselves previously. And perhaps the desire of the loving relationship that has left one to feel so bitter, jaded or lonley at times and so left out will gain a sense of strength and courage that will draw them towards a realtionship that provides things that they never would have thought they needed. The doing without then or sacrifice of comfort, position, love etc. is really a suspension of the preconcieved notions or images one is socailaized into beleiveing they want. The doing without, over time allows them to create differnt images, develop radiacally new notions, and thus propells them in directions that they couldn't have even dreamt of. We are by virtue of our suspesion coming to realize, and this realization, being growth itself is movement.

 

 

So yesterday I wrote my " Rules for life and beyond....." blog and I had various rules from different schools of thought and at the end I added my set of rules. I was chatting with Michelle today and we spent a moment talking about one of the rules I found from "After High School" section.

 

Rule 1: Life is not fair — get used to it!

 

She made the comment "Life is perfect in its fairness". I guess its all a matter of perspective. From my point of view...no its not..... from time to time that is. I dont think its suppost to be at times. Life is ment to test us and at times be unfair. For how are we to grow if were are not tested? Does that make life unfair? Maybe the fact that we have to be tested makes it fair. I dont know. Sometimes the best way to learn is to face a situation that has no answer or is completly unfair. Its a test of character and how we deal with what we can not change.  Maybe when we make it to a point when we understand the "Balance" we realize its the fact that it can be unfair at times..... that makes it fair. The test of life. Its all in how we look at things.

Is it fair for a child who is innocent in this life time to be abused and killed? Is that child paying on karma for a past life? And if so...is that fair? I'm not saying one way or another, I'm just asking the question...maybe stir up a debate.

Again life is what we make of it and we can chose to feel like life is being unfair or we can rise to the challange and accept it for what it is...a learing experience that at times is difficult. It is in the challange that shows us who and what we are. So maybe in that...life is what it is....fair and to the point.