The Heart of It All

We are nothing we think we are.”

The Mind Field:

Our reality is an extension of our thoughts.  Our society is an invention of the mind.  We live within a matrix of mentality that is equivalent to the neural pathways in our brain.  Millions of neurons connecting and firing cause the fundamental functions of our intelligence and the rudimentary dynamics of our awareness.  Though we may believe we interact with and consciously command this network of existence, to it we are inherently enslaved.  Our captivity is defined by the energy we sacrifice upon the altar of our ego’s insatiable appetites, selfish gratification and vain quests for artificial fulfillment.

Inheritance of Thought:

Before we are born, our mind is in a subconscious state of development.  In utero, we are intimately partial to the impressions and influences that our mothers experience during pregnancy.  We breathe their air, eat their food, drink their fluids, think their thoughts, feel their feelings and even dream their dreams.  Our symbiosis is not only in the semblance of our ability, behavior, emotionality, genetics, perception and temperament.  It is also prevalent in the neural activity and tendency of our thought.  We are frequently oblivious to the experience of our emotions and even less aware of the persuasive mechanics of our mind.

Illusion Investment:

Our senses are the avenues of our mental enslavement.  All we see, hear, smell, taste and feel is gradually distorted by the mass manipulation we enable with our engagement.  The influence of our subliminal thought patterns cons us into a relentless web of ego, desire, want, worry and fear.  When we succumb to these stimuli, we invest in the illusion of reality and exchange our creativity, freedom, spirituality, truth and vision with our confusion, drama, dysfunction, fantasy and politics.  Our truth becomes a lie and a lie becomes our truth.  It is this self-deception that costs us our life.

Intelligence Dependence:

At some point in our maturation, our intellect becomes the measure of our worth.  We are processed though institutional conditioning to gain acceptance and qualification for positions of merit in the grand racket of the professional marketplace.  Once indoctrinated and initiated into its diabolical mainframe, we willingly acquiesce our health, heart and soul to the omnipresent, intelligence-driven program of advancement and survival.  It is our understanding and utilization of the system in which we exist that determines the watermark of our success.  Where the ultimate conquests come not from great achievements, yet by mastery through manipulation.

“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.”

-Bob Marley

Mass Collusion:

We are under a global spell of social hypnosis.  This paradigm hinders our ability to truly see ourselves and the world.  It is a dream from which most of us never awaken.  A widespread epidemic of cooperative confusion and distortion we enable with our apathy, denial, drama, self-righteousness and fear.  No matter how much we attempt to influence the people, circumstances, perceptions and outcomes in our lives, we rarely escape the revelation of our self-imposed fate.  It will always be the illusions of our mind that seek to complicate, discredit, falsify and usurp the eternal expressions of our heart.

Distortion by Design:

The heart has no place in the mental matrix.  Within it, emotions are a foreign language.  Empathy and kindness have become criminal and our compass of conscience and insight has been surrendered to the ruthless nuances of our ego’s adversarial influence.  Intellectuality has become the mandatory currency of reality; without which we cannot function or survive.  The frequency of our heart center is disrupted and distorted by the neural labyrinth of material life.  Our multi-dimensionality is compromised and our focus, purpose and vision is distorted beyond our pre-programmed abilities.

In Shadow:

We have all been asleep.  We are lulled into an instinctual slumber with the gravity of reality, the artificial burden of society, the vortex of consumption, the captivity of our perception and the severity of our fear.  We have been wined and dined into a dreaming death by society’s many attachments, impressions, influences, opinions and vices.  The human race has been and is on virtual life support.  Its collective pulse dives dangerously below the measure of its lifeline.  We exist within the twilight of life as wayward spectators watching from the grandstands and rarely daring to take the field.  Yet, now more than ever, only the field remains.

“The journey from the head to the heart is much longer than from the heart to the head.”

Transcen-dance:

There are random occasions in our lives when we are blessed with an epiphany of truth, purpose and understanding.  More frequently than we may choose to acknowledge, we are stirred from our walking slumber and become present to something distinct from the ordinary.  We tend to deny and discard these experiences of opportunity as fleeting flights of fancy and roll over in our adopted reality.  Yet, these are the keys to freeing ourselves from our mortal captivity.  These are the events in our lives that further entrench us into the neural matrix of intellectuality or offer us a powerful choice to transform our experience.

The Force Awakens:

A critical mass of awareness has grown over the past few decades.  It is not a new force of sentience.  It has always existed well before the dawning of humanity.  Yet the primary distinction in our contemporary age is our realization of and synergy with the eternal essence of consciousness and the fulfillment it inspires.  Our relatedness with this experience has been defined by our commitment and willingness to become its universal expression.  It simply requires us to transcend all that inhibits the natural expansion and presence of our soul in life.  This is our true human destiny.

The Center of Being:

Our heart center is the most powerful expression of our being.  It sources and radiates an electromagnetic force so powerful, even the most authoritative protocols of intellectual reality cannot alter or extinguish its emanation.  It is the gateway to our intuition, the medium of our creativity and the seat of our soul.  Our heart center is the nexus of our being that connects our body and mind with our spirit and the universe.  This vital multi-dimensional alchemy allows us to become our greatest potential.  Our enlightenment is made manifest when our heart center resonates with our soul.

Heart Star:

Our heart is our greatest expression of vision, truth and possibility.  It guides us through our challenges, conveys our experiences, composes our creativity and unites us all.  Its presence expands and transcends beyond the measure our mind can only fathom with our imagination.  We are not intended to acquire this energy solely for our personal benefit.  We are destined to receive this energy for the sake of sharing its infinite abundance with all.  It is our soul purpose to empower, inspire and sustain each other. This is the universal tapestry of being we express and experience as love.

“All that we give is all that we live.  All that we love is all that we are.”

Soul Purpose:

Being conscious in an oblivious society is no longer sufficient to transform the world.  Conversations and actions are mere stepping stones in becoming and being all that we envision.  Not just as human beings having a spiritual experience or spiritual beings having a human experience, but as energetic beings conveying the extraordinary expressions of our creativity.  The resonance of our enlightened being and its unique signature is essential in transforming three dimensional reality into four dimensional consciousness.  Imagine our experience of life if all humanity chose to be an emanation of their soul…

 

Modern Tao – 7 Ways To Be Happy Just The Way You Are

DreamCatcherReality

Taoism is one thing, and Modern Tao is another. However, the new and revolutionized meaning of Taoism lies on the same principles and is definitely something that change our lives for the better.

Do you know what Tao means? Or what type of path it follows?

It is often translated as ‘the way’ or ‘the path’, but the actual meaning is much deeper, as I will detail below.

The Concept Of Taoism (Wu-Wei) As A Backbone Of The Modern Tao

Lao Tzu is the creator of Taoism and the person who taught the Wu-Wei concept over the years. In a nutshell, the meaning of Wu-Wei is ‘no thing’, however it does not translate to doing nothing.

Instead, it means finding happiness and being spiritually fulfilled by simply following your own path and going with the flow of your own life entirely, as opposed to imitating others or their actions.

Lao Tzu has found the concept of Taoism years ago, when the civilization was not even close to what it is now.

However, his concept has been dramatically aligned to today’s standards and can definitely be applied to the tech-savvy, modern an fast-paced world.

Taoism In The Modern World — A Change You Must Bring

The truth is, no matter how the world advances in the future, the concept and fundamental aspect of Taoism will always be the same, following simple principles and puzzles of life.

In order to understand and, eventually, master Taoism, you will have to commit to these 7 principles:

1. You don’t have to know every answer now

Our life is a big piece of mystery, and that is the way it should sometimes stay. Just think about it — isn’t it more fun to find out some answers later in the story rather than too soon?

Or, in other words, isn’t it better to find out the answer at the right time?

Connecting your body and mind to analyze a definition in the right time, upon which you will discover a real purpose in your life, is an important Tao principle.

Until then, it’s up to you to live it to the fullest.

2. You have been accepted

Your true path begins now.

Fortunately, there will be no exams, credit checks or trick questions — it’s only you and your will to understand the principles of Taoism and accepting yourself as a creature starting from this moment, from the NOW.

3. There is no sense at all

Our nature is ever-changing and it will continue to be so. Just as it was years ago, it will still follow these principles in the future.

Therefore, resolving the contradictions in life should not be your practice. On the opposite, accepting them as tools for your future transformation is a key priority.

4. Let your energy change

We are all different creatures, ruled by different desires, goals or habits.

That being said, every one of us should find their inner energy and practice rituals that reinforce it. That way, every moment will be fulfilled and brought to purpose.

Some people recharge their batteries in nature, while others through meditation.

However, energy is not a constant thing; it definitely needs a redirect and slight changes over time, until it fits with your personality and inner self.

5. Listen to your gut

Our spiritual selves play a big role when it comes to our gut feeling.

Staying in the flow according to Taoism is definitely based upon following your gut and instincts as the ultimate guides when things get too hectic.

Sharpening your intuition is what you need in order to make them perfect and stay in the flow in the best way possible.

6. Be perfectly imperfect

The real beauty of Taoism is that it teaches to cherish every moment as perfect, however imperfect it may be.

Perfectionists would benefit from Tao especially, as the discipline encourages us to accept things as they are and find beauty and peace in every moment and situation.

7. Take a course in Tao

There are many courses about Taoism. And, in reality, they will bring a radical change in your life if you think that this concept can make you a better person and help you evolve spiritually.

Applying the concepts of Tao will lead to an enlightened life, because you will accept the world as it is and cherish every given situation.

MORE…

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Chicago Veterans Are Keeping These Students Safe In Dangerous Neighborhoods

Veterans in Chicago are keeping students safe in one of the most dangerous regions of Chicago by being present as the students walk to school. The Safe Passage Program, founded in 2011 by a non-profit organization called Leave No Veteran Behind (LNVB), has two purposes: to reduce the violence in these areas and to pay off the student debt of veterans.

Leave No Veteran Behind employs these local veterans by paying off their debt and helping them look for jobs. Their job is to look out for the 8,000 students commuting to school every day.

Since the program began, over 400 veterans have passed through. LNVB has paid back over $150,000 of their student loans through the Retroactive Scholarship Program in exchange for 100-400 hours of community service that the veterans are also paid for. The schedule allows the employees to also have the daytime to search for a job.

“This isn’t just volunteerism, but actual work,” Eli Williamson, co-founder of Leave No Veteran Behind, told The Huffington Post. “It provides flexibility to go and look for alternate employment.”

Though the city of Chicago, known for its high crime-rate, has seen steadily declining murder ratessince the peak in the early-1990s, some neighborhoods remain comparatively violent. A crime gap has divided these dangerous neighborhoods, where the murder rates can be 10 times the rest of the city. The students that walk through these neighborhoods every day to get to school often face dangerous situations, which is where the Safe Passage Program helps.

“This has visibly decreased youth violence in these areas,” Williamson told HuffPost.

On any given day, 130 veterans are employed through the program and are dispatched to an area surrounding the corner of 35th street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Chicago, an intersection for five high schools that have gang affiliations. The veterans also service other dangerous areas, and their presence aids in providing positive interactions free from violence.

The program doubled the number of Safe Passage workers in 2013, after dozens of schools were closed and the commute for many students increased. Violence near Safe Passage routes was also being reported at the time, which the program worked to eliminate by increasing their presence.

The Safe Passage Program works alongside the Chicago Police Department, crossing guards, as well as a number of community outreach programs that support and expand their efforts. Williamson plans to extend the reach of the organization’s positive impact by expanding their presence in the next year.

Bernard Cooks, a Safe Passage Program veteran, told NPR, “Our intention is to be here until the last day so kids can figure out that, ‘Hey, there’s somebody that actually cares about our safety,’ and they can feel confident going up and down these streets.”

This article (Chicago Veterans Are Keeping These Students Safe In Dangerous Neighborhoods Everyday) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com

Homeless Women Veterans: It’s Worse than you Think

The Amazingly Simple and Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness

During a balmy 60ºF December morning, Rene Zepeda is driving a Volunteers of America minivan through Salt Lake City, Utah, looking for the homeless who may be camping by the railroad tracks or over by the river, sometimes in the foothills. Cold weather is on its way, so the van is packed with sleeping bags, thermal clothing, coats, sock, boots, hats, protein bars, nutrition drinks and canned goods. According to Rene, once the day is finished, everything will be gone. “I want to get them into homes,” he says. “I tell them, ‘I’m working for you. I want to get you out of the homeless situation.’”

Rene works for a program called Housing First. It has decreased the number of homeless by an extraordinary 72% — mainly by providing permanent free housing. Critics bemoan the expense, but once the numbers were thoroughly crunched, it was discovered the program actually costs the state far less than if people were left on the street. Moreover, in a nation where a large proportion of the homeless population are military veterans, adopting such a program is not only a social or financial imperative but a moral one.

The brutal reality of homelessness

One of the first people Rene comes across in his morning travels is William Miller, 63, who was diagnosed with liver cancer. For the last two nights, his home has been under a freeway viaduct. Vomiting as soon as he wakes in the morning, he also has gone through two sets of clothing due to diarrhea. Rene will take him to a free clinic so that he can get proper care.

Next is a camp by the railroad tracks, where a 57-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman live in a three-person tent covered with plastic tarps. Patrick has had several strokes this year and two tumors growing in his lung. He walks with a cane.

“My legs are going out. I’m sure it’s from camping out. We were living in the hills for two years,” he says. “My girlfriend, Charmaine, is talking about killing herself she’s in so much pain.” Charmaine is a heroin addict who suffers from diabetes, grand mal seizures, cirrhosis, and heart attacks. “When we lived in the foothills we both got bit by poisonous spiders,” she says, showing me a three-inch scar above her swollen right ankle. “The doctor tried to cut out the infection, but he accidentally cut my calf muscle.” [source]

As Rene is helping Charmaine into the van, Patrick asks if Rene could find her a subsidized apartment for the homeless. “If she comes back here she’ll die,” he says. “Especially with the cold weather coming.”

Rene says he will look into it.

Real solutions for getting people off the street

Housing First provides stability for homeless people in a way that is far different from shelters and halfway houses. It gives access to permanent housing — unconditionally.

It began in Utah as a 10-year project to eliminate homelessness. State legislators were hesitant, but eventually embraced the idea. When the cost of emergency room visits, police intervention, shelters and halfway houses were taken into consideration, it was found that providing permanent housing was much more cost effective. Before Housing First, Utah was spending around $20,000 a year for each chronically homeless person. But with the program in full-swing, the state saves an impressive $8,000 per person. “We’ve saved millions with this,” said Gordon Walker, director of the state Housing and Community Development Division. Today, the project is close to eradicating homelessness in the state.

The brainchild is credited to Sam Tsemberis, a psychologist at New York University, who formulated the idea of ending homelessness through unconditional housing.

“Okay,” Tsemberis recalls thinking, “they’re schizophrenic, alcoholic, traumatized, brain damaged. What if we don’t make them pass any tests or fill out any forms? They aren’t any good at that stuff. Inability to pass tests and fill out forms was a large part of how they ended up homeless in the first place. Why not just give them a place to live and offer them free counseling and therapy, health care, and let them decide if they want to participate? Why not treat chronically homeless people as human beings and members of our community who have a basic right to housing and health care?” [source]

Tsemberis and his team, through their group Pathways to Housing, ran a test where they provided apartments for 242 chronically homeless people, no strings attached. They could do whatever they wanted — drink, take drugs, have mental breakdowns — as long as they didn’t hurt anyone. Services were provided if they wanted rehab, detox or medical care. But it was completely their choice.

The results were astonishing. After five years, 88% of the participants were still living in their apartments with minimal issue. A subsequent study showed the care of mentally ill homeless in New York City averaged $40,449 a year with emergency room visits, shelter and other expenses, and transferring those people off the street and into supportive housing saved around $16,282. Many cities and states around the nation have adopted similar programs, including Seattle and Portland, Maine, as well as Rhode Island and Illinois. Denver found that “emergency-service costs alone went down 73 percent for people put in Housing First, for a savings of $31,545 per person; detox visits went down 82 percent, for an additional savings of $8,732,” as stated by Mother Jones. And Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada has had similar success after reaching a zero-homelessness goal late last year by providing permanent housing.

One chronically homeless woman in Utah needed a fair amount of convincing before moving into the housing. “She didn’t trust it, and she put her collection of stuff on the bed. Then for the next two weeks, she slept on the floor,” Walker said. “But once she realized that we weren’t going to take this from her, that she had a lock, she had a mailbox, she started to re-acclimatize.”

Article sources

• www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/housing-first-solution-to-homelessness-utah
• www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/04/17/the-surprisingly-simple-way-utah-solved-chronic-homelessness-and-saved-millions/
• www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/wednesday-msf-united-nations-south-sudan-blue-whale-deaths-poe-statue-and-more-1.2903897/a-groundbreaking-study-suggests-giving-homeless-canadians-homes-first-saves-money-1.2903898
• www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3074402/medicine-hat-becomes-the-first-city-in-canada-to-eliminate-homelessness-1.3074742
• www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/05/14/medicine-hat-homelessness-end-2015_n_7280232.html
• www.businessinsider.com/this-state-may-be-the-first-to-end-homelessness-for-good-2015-2

About the author:

Carolanne Wright enthusiastically believes if we want to see change in the world, we need tobethe change. As a nutritionist, natural foods chef and wellness coach, Carolanne has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of organic living, gratefulness and joyful orientation for over 13 years.

Through her website Thrive-Living.net, she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people from around the world who share a similar vision.

You can also follow Carolanne on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

By Carolanne Wright

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

HUD Wants To Make Living In A Tiny House Or RV Illegal

The tiny house movement has taken America by storm, in part because our economy is in the toilet. People are striving to reduce their expenses by embracing minimalism. They’re breaking free from the corporate grind because, as I’ve always advised, they are learning to live with less and radically reducing their expenses.

But, these days in America, you are sharply admonished when you try to live your life outside of the strictures of the 9-5 world. Is it any surprise that the government is now taking steps to limit our ability to drastically reduce our expenses? They always seem to make illegal anything we try to do to be more independent and moving into a tiny house appears to be the next on their list.

Giving the gift of a warm weal 

HUD has proposed the following law:

This proposed rule would modify the current exemption for recreational vehicles in the Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations.  Under the current exemption, questions have arisen regarding whether park model recreational vehicles are regulated by HUD’s manufactured home program. These park models are being produced with patio roofs, screened in porches, and other extensions that exceed the 400 square foot maximum exemption in the current regulations. Additionally, some of these models are being marketed as suitable for year round living.

HUD’s proposed rule would permit recreational vehicle manufactures to certify that a unit is exempted from HUD’s regulations. Specifically, HUD’s proposed rule would define a recreational vehicle as a factory build vehicular structure, not certified as a manufactured home, designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence or for permanent occupancy, and built and certified in accordance with either the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1192-2015, Standard for Recreational Vehicles, or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A119.5-15, Recreational Park Trailer Standard. In addition, to provide consumers notice regarding the manufacturing standards used to construct the unit, HUD’s rule would require that units claiming the exemption display a notice that identifies the standards used to construct the unit and states that the unit is designed only for recreational use, and not as a primary residence or permanent dwelling.

That’s right – if this law is passed, living in a tiny house or an RV may become illegal in April of this year.

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Image Credit

Please feel free to share any information from this site in part or in full, leaving all links intact, giving credit to the author and including a link to this website and the following bio. Daisy Luther lives on a small organic homestead in Northern California.  She is the author of The Organic Canner,  The Pantry Primer: A Prepper’s Guide to Whole Food on a Half-Price Budget, and The Prepper’s Water Survival Guide: Harvest, Treat, and Store Your Most Vital Resource. On her website, The Organic Prepper, Daisy uses her background in alternative journalism to provide a unique perspective on health and preparedness, and offers a path of rational anarchy against a system that will leave us broke, unhealthy, and enslaved if we comply.  Daisy’s articles are widely republished throughout alternative media. You can follow her onFacebook, Pinterest,  and Twitter,.

8 Powerful Liberty Quotes That Will Inspire You To Live Free

Within the United States today, we see ever increasing bureaucracy with a strong stranglehold on the personal liberties which we are supposed to believe we are in total possession of.

With the rise of the police state, NSA spying, and extremely dangerous executive orders, America has fallen in many of the metrics that rank countries based on their level of freedom.

The American way of life that once looked at government as an entity which the people should avoid being parasitic to, and as an institution that should remain as small as possible, has gone completely to the wayside.

Homeless Women Veterans: It’s Worse than you Think

A profound example of how large the U.S. federal government has grown is the fact that the Department of Health and Human Services is set to spend over $1 trillion in 2016. That is just one agency out of hundreds.

Our once free society now labors to pay off big government.

In America today, it is those who cherish freedom who are labeled as dangerous.

A study by the Department of Homeland Security has labeled “those who are reverent of individual liberty” as potential terrorists.

According to this Department of Defense manual, people concerned with “individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place” are potential extremists.

Freedom is under siege in America.

Of course, the only way to turn this around and restore our liberties is to get motivated.

Here are 8 liberty quotes that will surely get you in the spirit to live free:

Joseph Jankowski is a contributor for PlanetFreeWill.com. His works have been published by recognizable alternative news sites like GlobalResearch.ca, ActivistPost.com and Intellihub.com. 

Follow Planet Free Will on Twitter @ twitter.com/PlanetFreeWill