Maybe it’s a byproduct of getting older, but I’ve come to believe that true strength comes from accepting a greater love/purpose that’s gained through brutal honesty with oneself.  The honesty allows one to organically come to the acceptance, so in the end, it’s a cycle of honesty and acceptance.  The willpower and brute strength stuff…meh, I guess it’s impressive in the short term, but time and age eventually makes weaklings of us all.  

It’s all good though; we’re taken care of regardless.  😊

One of the keys to staying in a “high state of mind” is by accepting and being okay with a “low state of mind.”  The way to enjoy EITHER state of mind is by using [faith/discipline/love/whatever works] to fully experience the [high/low] state of mind and honor it…but stop short of identifying with it.

We’re all something much greater than a single state of mind.  😉

We’re all pieces on a chess board.  Most of us are rooks, meaning we use logic and force to move at hard angles, the magicians/occultists are bishops, and they move in weird diagonals, and the really powerful are queens, who do both.  But the key is to enjoy the moves whether you direct them or not, because the Thing that moves you is You, and it can’t help but love with such incomprehensible force that it only makes sense to love/laugh/create…and ENJOY.   😉  

Man, the story of enlightenment/sainthood/spiritual warrior are such great, beautiful stories…but the joke’s on us!  

[The divine] loves us whether we partake in those stories or not!   😆😅😊😉

There is no competition; there is only doing your absolute, mind-melting best.

And loving every minute of it!  😀

Back in the hunter/gatherer days (IMHO), sustenance was scarce enough that we evolved to maximize energy intake and minimize effort.  Today however, the blessed of us in the 1st world suffer from a DIFFERENT lack of sustenance—one that is spiritual in nature.  It is no longer productive to ape the habits of our ancestors by gorging ourselves into oblivion (through sleep/foods/medications/and yes, even “high states of mind”) and cater to our baser natures.  

So I choose to be “unnatural.” 😉

The close-minded will blindly perpetuate/imitate…at the other end of the spectrum are those who refuse to see things through, and flit from approach to approach.  Both extremes avoid the idea of TESTING their theories to the bone.  IMHO, every philosophy/viewpoint is subject to change, and must constantly be screened for functionality via disciplined, consistent scrutiny.  In this way, ancient teachings and philosophies can be reiterated, adapted, and kept alive…

Not to serve our personal comforts, but to push us into greater awareness.  

If I fail it’s because of one of two things:  the system is rigged, or I was personally lacking in some aspect.  Now I believe every system has SOME degree of corruption, but unless it consistently overwhelms me, it’s up to me to create a work-around.  So as uncomfortable as it may be, my failures reflect a lack of personal aptitude.  I prefer THAT viewpoint because it allows me to attack my weaknesses constructively—something I’d be incapable of if I blindly spewed platitudes and/or mantras.  

Failures don’t deserve denial or dismissal, they deserve investigation.

Either through experience or happenstance (or just as cautionary tales), hypocrites and idiots are chock-full of good advice.  They’re just dysfunctional.

Good writing arises from respect for how boring words actually look; they’re essentially black squiggles on a white surface.  So it naturally follows that a writer needs all the leverage he/she can get:  themes, motifs, universal truths, poetic flow…all these things magically combine to transport a reader from cryptically staring at squiggly symbols…

 Into flying through a wondrously fantastic and imaginal ether.