About six months ago I was going through a real struggle. I stayed up nights thinking about who I was and if my ideology of Flo was worth anything. I was living each day being thankful, giving and loving unconditionally. I was trying to learn from all the obstacles that had been placed in front of me. I was not getting the response I though I would (in essence fighting Flo). Just before going to sleep I was at the end of my rope. I was ready to give up this ideal and start over again. I said one final prayer before getting my 2 hours of sleep. Please God give me one sign that this is real, something that I need to continue to pursue the ideology of Flo. When I arrived at work the next morning I met the guy that I had been doing most of my work with. We had had many discussions about Flo and life energy. He had brought me a little gift. He is a recovering alcoholic and had a "12 step" book that gave daily affirmations. The book was 365 pages with each page dated. On that exact day the title of the page was "Finding Flow in Everyday Life." I read the passage and it said every morning I say this prayer "I arise oh God to do thy will." Prayer is a way for us to get closer to God not a way for God to get closer to us. Meditate and understand that when our life is negative it is because we have moved away from God not God moving away from us. When we are negative the stream of good leaves us and by being positive we reconnect to the stream of good. Sounds a lot like Flo. I was beside my self and thanked my coworker saying "You have no idea what this means to me." He then told me that he read this that morning and though I would like to read it. When he left his house he had forgotten it and decided to go back and get it. I was speechless. In my eyes this was a miracle. Just think of the timing. When was the book published? How did the author decide that that day was the one to put that particular passage? Why did my coworker go back to his house and get it?
I believe these instances happen everyday. When we are in Flo we become more aware of all the circumstances that happen around us. We become in tune with how grand our world is and how just meeting the right person at the right time often in itself is a small miracle. Look at the number of happily married couples. Look at what is learned from those relationships that failed and how they are helping you today. Where they really a failure? Aren't they just learning expierences (no good or bad consiquences... just learning expierences).
Take time everyday for the next week and look at how my "coincidences" happened. See if you can't find a daily miracle in them.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Emotion
Emotion is the gauge in which we can measure how strongly our brain feels about any situation. Emotion is what tells us if we are doing something the way we think we should or and how well we are doing it. Does emotion let us know if we are in Flo or not?
Lets look at an example before I answer this question. Happiness: A fifth grader comes home with a report card that has all "A's" Is the student happy? Doesn't this depend on the students previous experiences? What if the student has never got anything other then an "A" on a report card? What if the student has never got an "A" on a report card? What if the parent says "I am so proud of you."? What if the parent says "Why are you such an over achiever? Can't you just do anything normal?" There are an infinite number of scenarios that could be described here with just as many reactions. In each case the emotion that corresponds to the situation would change and yet the basic idea of a student coming home with the same report card stays the same.
Emotion is a brain based reaction and has nothing to do with what is happening at the present. It is a response created by our past experiences. With this as a belief then no it does not have anything to do with Flo. This sparks the question of how emotion relates to Flo. Can it be used to help us understand where we stand in accordance with Flo? The answer here I believe is yes. Emotion allows us to understand what we have learned in the past and how we change how we think about situations that come up in the future. We can take a step back and say "Wow I wonder why I feel so strongly about that. What is it about me that makes me react that way?" It gives us better understanding of how our brain interpreted a situation even though we feel we were making choices based on our inner source. When we start making choices from the source inside it isn't going to eliminate the emotions that accompany the choice. It doesn't automatically make the consiquence neutral. These are actions we need to be conscious of. Being in Flo is a conscious action that requires practice and dedication to a belief that by living this way we are continually bettering ourselves. There are no quick fixes in any aspect of our life. We need to choose which areas we want to focus on and make them better. Emotion is a great tool to help us see who we are at the present and allows us to make changes that will benefit us in the future. By being aware of our emotions and letting them play out to the end we learn many things about us and therefore can continually learn from what our mind is telling us.
Lets look at an example before I answer this question. Happiness: A fifth grader comes home with a report card that has all "A's" Is the student happy? Doesn't this depend on the students previous experiences? What if the student has never got anything other then an "A" on a report card? What if the student has never got an "A" on a report card? What if the parent says "I am so proud of you."? What if the parent says "Why are you such an over achiever? Can't you just do anything normal?" There are an infinite number of scenarios that could be described here with just as many reactions. In each case the emotion that corresponds to the situation would change and yet the basic idea of a student coming home with the same report card stays the same.
Emotion is a brain based reaction and has nothing to do with what is happening at the present. It is a response created by our past experiences. With this as a belief then no it does not have anything to do with Flo. This sparks the question of how emotion relates to Flo. Can it be used to help us understand where we stand in accordance with Flo? The answer here I believe is yes. Emotion allows us to understand what we have learned in the past and how we change how we think about situations that come up in the future. We can take a step back and say "Wow I wonder why I feel so strongly about that. What is it about me that makes me react that way?" It gives us better understanding of how our brain interpreted a situation even though we feel we were making choices based on our inner source. When we start making choices from the source inside it isn't going to eliminate the emotions that accompany the choice. It doesn't automatically make the consiquence neutral. These are actions we need to be conscious of. Being in Flo is a conscious action that requires practice and dedication to a belief that by living this way we are continually bettering ourselves. There are no quick fixes in any aspect of our life. We need to choose which areas we want to focus on and make them better. Emotion is a great tool to help us see who we are at the present and allows us to make changes that will benefit us in the future. By being aware of our emotions and letting them play out to the end we learn many things about us and therefore can continually learn from what our mind is telling us.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Ego
Defining ego is a little bit of a challenge. I have spent many hours, days, months in meditation and reading other descriptions of ego. There is a continued growth when it comes to this subject but I will try to define ego as I see it today and how it relates to Flo.
It the very basic sense of the word ego I would define it as who a person is. There is no qualifications that are associated with this definition. It is what it is... an ego. I believe our society has put a negative spin on how ego is depicted. Ego is the embellishment of who we are. It is placing ourselves on a higher pedestal then others because of who we think we are and where we stand in the hierarchy of society. An athlete sees themselves as better then others because they make money performing a skill better then others. A surgeon saves lives and therefore has more worth then a brick layer.
When I first started thinking about how ego relates to Flo I tried to come up with a word that would fall between ego and arrogance (arrogance being the highest form of the embellished self). I think most people live there life in humbled way as not to let others see where they place themselves in ranking among those around them. They treat people well and try to do good on a regular basis. Society wouldn't define these people as arrogant or egotistical. They would be defined as good people. If we were able to use Wonder Womans' truth lasso we would learn that in many aspects of their life they place themselves above or below other because of how they see themselves in relation to them. In order to be truely attached to our source energy to be in Flo a complete seperation of ego is required. We are not any higher or any lower then any other person or thing on this planet. We all come from the same energy source and therefore are all equal in terms of the energy source. The stronger our ego is the harder it becomes to be thankful of all those around us, all that is provided for us, all the accomplishments and setbacks we encounter. It is harder to truely give without expecting something in return. It is harder to love others unconditionally. To accept them for exactly who they are.
Daily actions.
This may be the single hardest part of growth during the day for me. As I go about my job and dealing with others throughout the day I try and check my ego to see if it is getting in the way. One example that really sticks out to me is when I am defending my actions or words. When I catch myself defending I try to take a step back to see what it is about me that wanted MY point to get accross, MY actions to be validated. In all cases it comes back to how I feel I need to be viewed or treated by others. No where in these instances is there room to consider others. I am simply acting in a negatively selfish manner wanting what is best for me.
When I take my 20 minutes a day to just be I evaluate these situations to learn how to let go my ego and just be. To accept me for who I am and be thankful for the journey that is mine. I try to think of the others person's point of view and understand that there opinion is right for them and doesn't have to match mine. By letting go of our ego we open ourselves to the greatest energy there is and become in Flo with our unique life journey.
It the very basic sense of the word ego I would define it as who a person is. There is no qualifications that are associated with this definition. It is what it is... an ego. I believe our society has put a negative spin on how ego is depicted. Ego is the embellishment of who we are. It is placing ourselves on a higher pedestal then others because of who we think we are and where we stand in the hierarchy of society. An athlete sees themselves as better then others because they make money performing a skill better then others. A surgeon saves lives and therefore has more worth then a brick layer.
When I first started thinking about how ego relates to Flo I tried to come up with a word that would fall between ego and arrogance (arrogance being the highest form of the embellished self). I think most people live there life in humbled way as not to let others see where they place themselves in ranking among those around them. They treat people well and try to do good on a regular basis. Society wouldn't define these people as arrogant or egotistical. They would be defined as good people. If we were able to use Wonder Womans' truth lasso we would learn that in many aspects of their life they place themselves above or below other because of how they see themselves in relation to them. In order to be truely attached to our source energy to be in Flo a complete seperation of ego is required. We are not any higher or any lower then any other person or thing on this planet. We all come from the same energy source and therefore are all equal in terms of the energy source. The stronger our ego is the harder it becomes to be thankful of all those around us, all that is provided for us, all the accomplishments and setbacks we encounter. It is harder to truely give without expecting something in return. It is harder to love others unconditionally. To accept them for exactly who they are.
Daily actions.
This may be the single hardest part of growth during the day for me. As I go about my job and dealing with others throughout the day I try and check my ego to see if it is getting in the way. One example that really sticks out to me is when I am defending my actions or words. When I catch myself defending I try to take a step back to see what it is about me that wanted MY point to get accross, MY actions to be validated. In all cases it comes back to how I feel I need to be viewed or treated by others. No where in these instances is there room to consider others. I am simply acting in a negatively selfish manner wanting what is best for me.
When I take my 20 minutes a day to just be I evaluate these situations to learn how to let go my ego and just be. To accept me for who I am and be thankful for the journey that is mine. I try to think of the others person's point of view and understand that there opinion is right for them and doesn't have to match mine. By letting go of our ego we open ourselves to the greatest energy there is and become in Flo with our unique life journey.
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