I mentioned this book before – it is how I discovered Wayne Dyer. It came recommended by Tim Ferriss. I don’t follow Tim, but occasionally get sent links to his podcasts or blog posts, and one of his posts that I read mentioned this book.
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I discovered Wayne Dyer through Kamal Ravikant. I discovered Anita Moorjani through Wayne Dyer. Synchronicity at work 😊
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I’ve been mini-retired for 6 months. Retirement is a great way to practice emptiness. Six months of non-doing and facing uncertainty is when I usually hit the psychological threshold and the monkey brain spirals into anxiety. You know the script – oblivion, irrelevance, destitution, tear-stained faces of hungry children, homelessness, failure. Urgh.
I need to find a job because selling my time/ energy is the way to pay bills that I know. I am still working on learning how to manifest abundance in other ways. However, looking for a job when you are empty inside is an interesting challenge. Good empty. Content. At peace. You sort of don’t want anything.
My mind tried to put on its usual “you are lacking ambition, what is wrong with you” record. But I don’t let it do things like that anymore. Instead it dawned on me – what if not wanting anything is not the sign of lack of ambition, depression or confusion, but rather an achievement? What if this means that one has achieved what Buddhists call the state of no desire, where whatever option materialises is equally attractive, possible and ok? What if not wanting anything is the next level in the emptiness practice?
It all depends on how you define success I guess. Money and title, possessions and achievements, doing and pushing, or peace and content. I dance my dance, take my curriculum, being in awe with whatever comes. Important threshold achieved, let’s see what next. Universe, I am open for business.
Through Ram Dass’s satsang (community) I’ve discovered this beautiful kirtan (devotional song) by Krishna Das. From what I understand, in bhakti yoga (devotional practice) one dedicates themselves to their guru and by practicing devotion finds unconditional love and wisdom. At the same time, guru = self = God. A guru is just a method, like meditation or psychedelics.
Translation of the lyrics below – I dare you not to cry while listening! My Guru, make me your instrument – show me how to serve you!
This is the reason why we put off working on things that we know are important, why we procrastinate, why we settle. We are not afraid of failure, we are afraid of success, however crazy this sounds.
I’ve been reading my little one’s “How it works” magazine and have learned about the Boötes void, the emptiest place in the Universe. Isn’t it amazing how enormous and empty this place is? Apparently scientists estimate that up to 60% of the universe is comprised of voids. It is empty out there!
This year something strange happened. I am usually a big fan of looking back, reflecting on successes and learnings and then planning for a year ahead. A very organised, Type A personality approach. This year I did not feel like it.
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I am an INFJ, a personality type according to the Myers-Briggs test which turns out to be quite rare (estimated 1% of the population). Personality types are not 100% science. But to me, learning that I was INFJ and key characteristics of INFJ made sense and explained a lot.
“I” stands for introverted. I love my alone time and I love being left alone. This one is from the INFJ Refuge group on Facebook.
Remember this post? This year I am blessed with family staying over the holidays – paraphrasing Ram Dass, I will uncover my “secret stash” and “burn in the fire, cooking my seeds” 🙂 Normally I would lose my shit at some point. This time the plan is to stay empty and use the following 5 guiding principles (based on Ram Dass’s teachings). What is your plan, if you need one? Have a good one!
Inspired by Ram Dass’s story of burning his possessions, his “stash”, and hopefully an impending house move (nomads never stop! 😊), I decided to go through the “memory boxes” where I store sentimental stuff – photos, travel souvenirs, small gifts from friends, CDs and other such trinkets. The idea was to get rid of most of it or at least reduce the stash significantly.
If you want a powerful exercise in emptiness, do attempt the above.
Continue readingIt’s a truth universally acknowledged, that a writer in possession of a blog, must be in want of publishing a book 🙂 I went the self publishing route and did it. My guide to healing love addiction is now available on Amazon.
Continue readingI heard a lot about vipassana. It sounded like a very demanding practice, something next level – 10 days spent in silence as a minimum. The idea of silence meditation always appealed but 10 days of it, mostly sitting and meditating, I am not sure I can do it… After reading about Leo Cosendai’s DIY vipassana and watching this amazing documentary (have tissues on hand around 48:00), I feel inspired and am adding it to the list of practices to try next year. Have you tried vipassana? How did it go?
“Trip of Compassion” is a film about MDMA trials to treat PTSD. What a powerful film. How can we not use psychedelics if they help human suffering! If you or someone you know suffer from PTSD and traditional treatments have not helped, there are MDMA trials ongoing around the world, check maps.org.
Nomad of the Universe 