I Dig Your Garden?

Talk is cheap or so the old idiom goes. We are living in a world that is full to the brim with access to information, experiences, methods and improvements yet it is easy to get lost in the maze of chatter and opinion. After all the procrastination there comes a time when a bit of action is called for, even if the action is one of just being.

Life seems to be full and complex recently. Whilst the internet is a wonder, connecting us to untold sources of inspiration, it can also slam us up against trolls, conspiracy, blame, negativity, scorn, derision and misplaced anger. It brings us even more comment and analysis than we have ever had need for. It subjects us (if we choose it) to a torrent of social networking, links, distractions, passive aggression, ideas and yet another way to chop your watermelons (apparently I have been doing it WRONG my whole life!)

There are more ways to discover yourself spiritually, politically, creatively, socially, mentally, emotionally and romantically than there are stars in the sky! At least more than the visible ones you can see from the light polluted vantage point of a suburban terraced house. With so much anger, opinion, truth, religion and conspiracy going on it is hard to know what to believe and what to choose from the infinite styles of cooking, yoga, answers, one-true gods, top-ten lists, and annoyingly long lists of nouns!

In this world of talk and words, there is a danger of getting lost in verbose clouds of nebulous nothingness, forgetting that we need to, at some point, tear ourselves away from the computer screen and get on with a bit of living. French philosopher Voltaire wrapped it up quite neatly in the last line of his 1759 satire Candide:

 “Cela est bien dit mais il faut cultiver notre jardin – That is well said but we need to cultivate our gardens”.

In the usual manner of timeless genius, the sentiment goes a long way and has a multitude of meanings and depth. The book sees the main character Candide taken from an optimistic idyll into the harsh realities of life. Candide is slowly worn down through a series of trials as Voltaire takes a sarcastic stab at myriad aspects of his contemporary European culture. Throughout the story, Candide’s tutor remains eternally optimistic leading Candide to eventually surmise, through all of their adventures and mishaps that even though the world can be a harsh place, each of us still has to get up in the morning and live our lives regardless of empty platitudes and rhetoric.

Candide is subjected to a torrent of horrors, ideas and solutions yet somehow sees through it all to the other side. Perhaps all of this talk and challenge is really an illusion. Perhaps talk is cheap. What counts is that we have to live our daily lives, more so, we each have to tend our own gardens and that takes love, time and commitment. This may not be exactly what Voltaire was getting at but it suits me.

The whole of humanity is rolling around on the floor at the moment. Change is in the air (as it always is) but this is something bigger. Some of us are waking up to our spiritual selves at long last. Some of us are being shown what seems to be an endless series of atrocities coming to light - from manufactured terrorism to fracking, starvation and banker’s bonuses, there always seems to be another thing to get angry at or worried about. Some of us have loud voices. Some of us are just pootling along, happy in our world. Some of us just can’t get going. Some are sad, some depressed, homeless or ill.

Yet in all this we are still united by our daily lives. We all have to live day to day. We are all individuals bound by the unity of existence. Each of us has something to be, do and see. In a world full of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, we can only do the best we can in any given moment and there is no sense in beating ourselves up for doing that, or for doing less. There is even less sense in beating anyone else up, for what do we know about what anyone else is capable of in any given moment?

Grand sweeping solutions and truths about life rarely work. We are too individual and each of us is making it up as we go along. In Development Theory there are two models of change that are often debated. The first, ‘trickle-down’ development relies on big business and big investment to bring social and economic change to a country. Grand plans will create new jobs and everyone will benefit as the money trickles down from the top. We’ve all heard that one before. Multi-national corporations as agents of love, compassion and good conscience…? Perhaps, one day.

The other side of the coin is called grassroots or ‘bottom-up’ development. This is where people let go of the idea of a government or outside force riding along in shining armour and start up their own initiatives instead. Groups of people coming together, not to protest or complain, but to create solutions. Groups of people taking their power back and relying on themselves as the answer. Groups of global meditators and healers, positive media, local businesses that sell ‘out-of-date’ supermarket produce, small charities that provide books or bikes to Africa or other much needed areas of the world, individuals who feed the homeless, volunteers of all shapes and sizes helping those in need… the list is endless.

Great social change doesn’t come in the form of yet another reform. It doesn’t come in a suit, a flashy smile and a snazzy plan. It happens when people get up and tend their gardens. Each of us makes a difference. Each of us matters. YOU are important. If we can get out of the habit of arguing, justifying, moaning and blaming then we might just remember that we need to sort out our own backyards. There may well be some weeds growing there, the plants may need watering, you may need to fix some pig damage. Do what you can. Don’t worry about it. Do your best given the moment you have been given, whatever that is. Your garden may be in your own head, it may be your hopes and dreams, it may be your neighbourhood or society. It may even be your own garden! Just remember, gardens grow best with love and tenderness. Lighten up. Take it easy. Let go of judging yourself or your fruits, they grow in their own time.

What is important is knowing that you have power over yourself. You are the one in control of you. You are the one choosing your thoughts, choosing what you read and what you look at. You are the one choosing what feels right or wrong for you. Your tiny actions make a difference. First to yourself, then to the people you interact with. By taking small actions in the field of your own existence and perception, spiritually, mentally and practically, moment by moment, you can shift how you see life.

Action can be anything. It can be sitting and listening to the sound of your breath. It could be taking a walk in the woods and connecting to the life around you. It could be choosing not to read anymore harrowing news items, it could mean listening to your own body, your hopes, your dreams, it could mean picking up a pen and writing, it could mean going on that holiday you promised yourself five years ago, it could mean volunteering for a local charity once a month, it could mean saying hello to your neighbour, smiling at the checkout guy, letting someone out in the traffic, choosing a thought that feels better than the last one you just had, finding a silver lining in that argument, uncomfortable emotion or situation, stretching your body, taking your spiritual practice into every moment, loving yourself…

Remember this, you are free, deeply free within yourself. You get to choose what is right for you. Your garden is whatever you choose it to be and it will grow best with love and appreciation.

Stop telling yourself it is raining and go get yourself an umbrella… then marvel at the miracle of water from the clouds feeding your garden!

With love,

Matt Rivers

18^th December

5 Minute Poems - The Beloved Meditation Tree

This tiny little poem was written earlier this summer when I was working in Cyprus. There was a little spot overlooking the sea, underneath a tree where we taught yoga and meditation classes. I found a passion for teaching or inspiring awareness rather than aloof and hard to reach spiritual practices. That tree definitely taught me to just be, rather than trying hard to be somewhere else!

The Beloved Meditation Tree

Buddha had his Bodhi,
Osho had a Rolls,
Yogis need a place to sit,
To gaze upon the world.

Matt Rivers
27th June 2014

You Are Allowed

You are allowed to dream, create and be whatever you want. You may not be encouraged to or taught how that works but nevertheless, you are allowed. There is no power on this Earth that really tells you what you should do. There is no force stopping you from physically, mentally or emotionally following your bliss.

You are not required to find a steady job, get married, buy a house, settle down, pay your bills, vote, walk on the pavement, watch TV, pay taxes, go to school, pay your pension, take pills, go to the dentist, read newspapers, retire, feel up, feel down, feel happy, feel sad, be big or be small.

All these things are just habits and constructs that we have created out of pure potential. They are all things we have agreed upon as we have moved through evolution. Yet much more is possible. That is not to negate what we already have. It is not to negate these experiences either. They are vital for contributing to who we are now and our history has brought us to this point - therefore it has been of the greatest value. Yet you are allowed to be more. You are allowed to follow your dreams. You are allowed to express your heart and the fullness of yourself in ways you may not have previously imagined or allowed yourself to.

Let us get this straight first. I am not talking about doing crazy things that you think might bring you happiness because of a void or emptiness inside. I am not talking about making judgements and decisions for others either. That path leads to addiction, oppression, violence, dictatorship and righteousness. I am talking about facing the darkness with open arms and hearing what is has to say first. Then hearing what your heart has to say. Sometimes that heart voice is distant and hard to hear because of the filters we have layered around ourselves.

Sometimes the filters we hear are the ones of our childhood and schooling that told us to be limited and small beings. Sometimes the voices are of well-meaning parents who also didn’t know they were allowed to be whoever they wanted to be. Sometimes we are way too worried about what others will think of us. Sometimes it is the voice of corporations informing us of our imminent happiness once we own their products – highlighting our dissatisfaction until we do! Perhaps it is governments and politicians foisting their rhetoric upon us, trying to convince us that there is something to fear. Perhaps we have been faced with an endless series of problems and disasters, or have just witnessed enough suffering on the planet and cannot see a way forward for humanity or ourselves anymore.

The thing is though, the only thing that holds us back from exploring and expressing ourselves in any way we want to is ourselves. Only we hold the key to our hearts. Only we have the power to open that door within ourselves. It starts with allowing ourselves to dream. Allowing ourselves to find our passions – however big or small they may be. It starts with letting everyone else of the hook and taking the courage to look inside for the answers.

In any given moment we have a choice. We have the choice to react as we have always done. To live the same drama, the same moment, the same year. We can choose to watch the same things, despair at the same tragedy, read the same papers and continue going to the same jobs, doing the same things we do not want to do. Feeling feelings over and over that we wish we could get rid of. Repeating the same mistakes when we thought we knew better.

Or we can take a moment to listen to our hearts. Take the time to breathe and find a space to feel what our body is feeling in any given moment. Instead of responding to outer circumstances with knee-jerk reactions – stop and pause. Begin to watch yourself… Notice your body, your feelings, your breath, your thoughts. Just watch and observe. You are in control. You get to choose. What will you do next… Tell yourself - I am allowed to dream, create and be whatever I want.

What is the future of this thought? What could we do individually and as a species? Would we decide to react differently? Would we see if there was another way? Would we decide to take a more loving approach? We would decide to see things from another point of view? Would we be honest and tell ourselves that the last thing we want is to create an argument – with others or with ourselves? Would we turn off the TV and pick up the paint brush? Would we start dancing in the middle of the shopping mall when we heard our favourite song? Would we start taking small baby steps towards our dreams? Would we pack up our belongings and go travelling? Would we have the courage to talk to that gorgeous shop helper? What would happen if bit by bit, we stopped listening to the voices that tell us no, and started listening and taking actions on the inner voice that tells us yes? Would we start seeing loving supportive hands reaching out to help us in our quests? Would we start reaching out to help others…?

Know this… you are allowed to dream, create and be whatever you want. You are free. The choice is yours.

 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, writer of words and fiction, poet and yoga teacher. If you are interested in the writing process and writing from the heart, he will be running 'Soul Writing' workshops and teaching yoga with his partner at their summer retreat in Spain in May 2015. Check the website 'Yoging the World' for full details.

5 Minute Poems - The Beginning

I am starting a series of blog posts entitled '5 Minute Poems'. This in itself is pretty self-explanatory. Each post features the title of the poem, the poem it took me 5 minutes or less to write and sometimes a photo that was the seed of the poem. Since around about May of this year (2014) I have been writing and posting these 5 minute poems on Instagram.

All of my inspiration comes spontaneously. I love the world around me. I love nature, animals, flowers, clouds, weather, water, rust, dust, sunshine and art. I take a picture, play around with it a little in various photo editors. Sometimes I keep it clean, no filter necessary. Once it is ready to post on Instagram, I tune into poem writing mode and see what flows out. A lot of the time I have been in the middle of working, gardening, travelling, socialising or some other activity and have little time to spend longer writing.

It is a spontaneous flow of words inspired by the magic of the present moment. What will reveal itself? What is waiting in our hearts to be expressed in art, colour, sounds, words and movement? What is there just beyond the chatter of the mind?

The world is an amazing place. It is a paradise but sometimes it takes a long road, some hard work and a bit of living to start seeing it so. Sometimes, all you have to do is listen and open your ears... or heart. Once we begin to open our eyes to the magic, we begin to understand our place within it. We begin to see that we too are nature, not separate from it. We can see the beauty and the magic of life.

So to start off the series, I thought it apt to write one called 'The Beginning'. Over the next few months I will be looking back at previous Instagram poems as well as dropping in brand new works.

I hope it inspires you to take some photos, make some art, write some words or just enjoy nature. Much love.



The Beginning

He flows from his chair
Where he's sat for all his life,
The fire has been burning low,
He should build it up tonight.

But something else is burning him,
A memory buried deep,
A dream once strong that faded
In the twilight of his sleep.

But here it is, that song of old
Beckoning him forth.
Come write your heart upon the page
Discover your true north.

The time is now, it's not too late,
If you can hear the call,
Just take that step, begin at last
Break down your ancient walls.

Matt Rivers
10th December 2014



Matt is a singer/songwriter, writer of words and fiction, poet and yoga teacher. If you are interested in the writing process and writing from the heart, he will be running 'Soul Writing' workshops and teaching yoga with his partner at their summer retreat in Spain in May 2015. Check the website 'Yoging the World' for full details.

Dance in the Rain

Today is a great opportunity to focus on everything that works - apart from all the wonderful benefits of having a fully healthy body, a world to live on, air to breath, food to eat, a place to sleep, freedom to think and gravity!

In the last week I have read about more states and countries legalising industrial hemp (which is the perfect sustainable replacement for all oil-related products amongst other things), a 19-year old who has invented an array that filters plastic out of the ocean, a considerably larger push of inventors coming up with alternative fuels (oil is SO last century), more evidence of cannabis being extremely good for your health, an increasing number of countries seriously doubting the validity of GMO products, the growing body of evidence and techniques on forming a conscious coherence with your heart - which greatly improves your health and stress levels - and countless people, innovators, artists and creators that are all working to improve, document and express the quality, magic and uniqueness of life here on Earth as a human! Well, if I can't see something positive in all of that today I must be purple unicorn eating dangleberries!

More people than ever are waking up to the fact that they are the one true power in their own lives. More people are taking inspired actions and letting go of worries and old redundant habits. I see more creativity and ingenuity in the world now than I have ever seen in my life due to the amazing phenomenon of the internet. Daily, I am inspired as I hook up to writers, artists, thinkers, inventors and genuine, loving souls that want to make a difference on this planet. Everyone I know has a good heart... Everyone! There is more positivity, hope, love and creative solutions on the planet than we may be aware of. We just have to make a conscious choice to start looking in different directions.

After years of getting heavy and bogged down with 'terrible' news stories I have realised that I don't have to listen to mainstream media anymore. Why should I read stories that clearly have an alternative and biased agenda and don't resonate with my heart? Of course, like many others, I feel obliged to know what is going on in the world. What we allow into our frame of perception heavily influences our emotional state. Sometimes we don't even realise it. Within our own sphere of compassion and perception we read about climate, war, crime, money, food and poverty and do not realise that we are absorbing the burdens and heaviness of these issues. In doing so, we are doing nothing to solve or help the issues we care about, dragging a weight of baggage around on our shoulders in a vain bid to empathise with our fellow adventurers in time and space.

I do not prescribe to the notion that we are being force-fed negative stories by the media. Each of us has the choice to stop and read something else; take a new angle on the issue. I am not suggesting burying our heads in the sand either and ignore the problems or contrasts of the world. Instead, we could become more discerning about the content of what we read and of what we think. If there is a 'problem', then you can be assured there is also a bright human being somewhere in the world making light of it in a way that has not been thought of before whether that is through discussion, humour, art or innovation. There are positive sources of news and we always have the choice to start looking toward the solutions rather than keep focusing on the problems.

We could dwell on good things that have happened rather than bad things that have yet to pass. We could energise our minds and bodies with stories of triumph instead of worrying about invisible futures. We could stop listening to the pessimists and naysayers and fill ourselves with the mystical field of pure potential where anything is possible. We could release our limitations of what is to come and know that a better world and elegant solutions will always blossom and thrive. After all, this is where luminaries such as Einstein, Marie Curie, The Wright Brothers and Tesla lived. They saw problems and created new paradigms. There are many alive today who do just this.

Ideas contain solutions, or at least , the seeds of solutions. Solutions brighten the soul. There is always another way. Humans are always innovating, creating and imagining. That is our nature. We have the choice to focus on the rain, feel sad, fetch an umbrella, or to dance in it and get wet...

Focusing on solutions releases the pressure and burden of problems. More than that, it starts a creative process whereby we can begin to move forward. It doesn't matter whether our problem is small, personal, global or immense. If we can but start... then we are moving in the right direction.

As one friend once said to me... 'Face the sun and the shadows will fall behind you'.

Love, love, love.

My Definition Is This...

There is a process by which we collapse the infinite field of potential  into manifest, temporary 'realities' that we call the physical plane. This is the realm of the tangible, touchable, observable Universe. Yet in our attachment to the seemingly solid, created reality, we sometimes crystallize the illusion until such a point that we forget it is merely an illusion. Nothing is solid. Everything changes. We are the interpreters and creators of our individual realities and each of us is contributing to the collective experience of the whole.

We are constantly defining our reality, distinguishing between one form of energy and another through the use of labels, perceptions, ideas and beliefs. Through this definition, we get to experience different states of being, different places, people, hopes and dreams.

As humans, we seem to have developed a habit of holding on. We hold onto names. We hold onto labels. We hold onto definitions. We hold onto memories. We hold onto habits - good and bad. We hold onto to fears. We hold onto to other people's truths and opinions and in doing so, we begin to limit the scope of our own perceptions and abilities to experience unlimited magic and joy. Perhaps it is our fear of the unknown or perhaps we are just not yet aware of our power in defining and creating our own lives - relying on the limited information we have been fed from well-meaning parents, mass-media and educational systems that do not serve the expansion of the human spirit... yet.

We live in a field of pure potential. For every single moment of 'now' that we live, the next moment holds an infinite amount of scope for us. The future is unwritten. Anything could happen! We can experience the same thing a thousand times and each time it is different. Take sex for example... each time the air you breath is different. Each time the situation is different, the moment is different, the date, the hour... Each time the body you touch is different. New cells, new skin, new person perhaps! You are new, in each moment, you have never been there before. You have never kissed in that particular way. You think you have but it is subtly different than the last time. No two things in the Universe are the same yet we all arise from the same infinite field of potential.

The Universe that surrounds us, our immediate 'reality' has a tendency to respond to our expectations. It responds according to our definitions, perceptions and beliefs. We hear what we want to hear. We see what we expect to see. We read what we want to read, filtering out information that doesn't fit into our paradigm and taking on board information that does. A song or an idea that we have just heard starts popping up on the radio, on the TV, on our Facebook feed or an overheard conversation after never having heard it before. A person you just thought about rings you. A close friend blurts out exactly the same sentence as you at the same time. How much longer shall we call these coincidences?

Our Universe is matching us. It is reflecting us. It is reflecting our limitations. It is reflecting our fears. It reflects our insecurities and apathy. It also reflects our joy, our hopes and our dreams. Nature seems set to flower, blossom and promote life yet we seem focused on entropy and struggle - the fight for survival. Our beautiful bodies are naturally predisposed to heal and most of us think that our bodies stop at our skin. What if our whole perception is our body? What if our body extends into life itself, our mind, our thoughts, our emotions - all that we touch, all that we experience... Then surely, our body is trying to heal our perceptions too.

If bad things keep happening to us, then maybe our definitions of life have become too limited. Maybe we are holding onto a belief, pattern or behaviour that needs to be accepted and dissolved so that we can move onto more affirming, unlimited thoughts. Maybe the things that happen to us are related to the definitions we hold about life and ourselves. Maybe it is time to start transforming those hidden definitions - 'I am not worthy, I am not good enough, I am always unlucky, I am lonely'. These are powerful statements of being. They are powerful definitions but remember, life is unlimited. Anything can happen. We can just as easily hold other core beliefs instead such as 'I am unlimited, I am amazing, I am confident, I am joyful, I am loved'.

Yes, reality seems solid. It seems sometimes that there is no way out and that things are serious. These too are definitions. They are choices of perception. Sometimes it takes courage to begin to start looking towards the sun instead of always looking into the shadows. Sometimes it takes courage to look within and accept yourself. Sometimes, it takes courage to let go of what you know and try something different. The Universe is a wonderful place though. It is full of love and will support your direction... which ever way you turn.

Change what you can see and what you can see will change!

R.I.P.

Death is a strange old thing. We love to not talk about it yet we glorify it in movies. We make it acceptable in video games and invent a million ways to portray it on screen. A violent death is more acceptable to watch than a steamy bedroom romance. One scene creates life and one ends it but in their own ways, both subjects have become taboo over the course of history when, at various points they were celebrated, revered and respected. Why do our entrances and exits into life cause the modern human such pains to consider and talk about freely and openly? I think a healthy dose of frank exploration into our endings is in order, without morbidity, doom and gloom.

Death came to my family early in my childhood. My grandfather died when I was just 15. This impacted my life quite heavily as he was my surrogate father and the rock of maleness that I depended upon. I was the son he had never had. It was a special relationship. Having such an experience at such a young age got me thinking very early on about death and what it meant.

At first of course, there was denial, guilt, pain, grief and a very large dose of abandonment. Being just a teenager, I masked those feelings with drugs, sex, alcohol and music. It took me a long time to begin to talk about it - 2 years in fact. Before I had moved much further in my life, a few other family members decided their time was up and off they toddled. Perhaps the greatest shock to my system was during University when 3 friends died in three successive years.

After all this time, I have come to some conclusions. Some are based on direct experience and some are based on the experiences of others. Some are based on the intuitions of my heart and the things I have read. Some are based on my meditations, and some based on my study of yoga. You may find these ideas soothing, cathartic and full of hope. On the other hand, you may think I am a crackpot - good luck to you either way. Test any idea in your heart for validity. If it appeals and feels good, then take it on board for as long as you need to. If it does not resonate and feels bizarre, then you can let it go. We never need to hold onto things. I have let go of things I held to years ago because they no longer applied. Such is the way of consciousness. Be brave...

The human spirit is unlimited and has a soul. Actually, more accurately, it is the other way round. The soul is a grand being that manifests a human body in order to have experiences in material reality. The soul is pure consciousness and exists in a greater amount of dimensional reality than that which our current perception experiences. We are far bigger than 4D time and space. 

We are interconnected to all things through our soul. Our soul is part of a grand field of pure potential and love. This field is everywhere, connected to all time and space. There is only one moment. Within this field, we are 'born' and 'die' in countless lifetimes in order to experience the joy and bliss of living. Some call this process reincarnation yet it is more than the limited ideas we might have. We create our lives, awake or not, in order to express and remember our true nature. Our soul is dancing within a grand playground and when we die, we return fully to this multidimensional field that we never actually left. From this field arises an unlimited amount of phenomena, realities, galaxies, and laws of physics, defined and undefined, imagined and unimagined. Anything is possible!

Our soul exists in many dimensions - our lives contribute to the expansion and experience of the Universe. Each of us matters. Each of our lives matter. Every thought, word, experience and action matters and we are loved because we are love and we come from love. Love and bliss is the core of our being. Our soul loves our bodies and lives, our hopes and dreams, our pasts, futures and presents.

We choose our parents and the conditions of our birth and death before we incarnate into our human bodies. Our soul has an overview of our life from the unique vantage point it has and knows what kind of experience it wants next. It has desires just as we do and those desires are the life force which drive the Universe.  In fact, our desires in each lifetime are simply an extension of our soul's desires for we are inseparable. When we begin to listen to our heart's yearnings, we are acknowledging our soul's voice. What you love most is what you are here to be...

Our bodies and egos are the vehicle through which the soul drives in material reality. It is a rush and a ride. When we decide to incarnate, we agree to forget the true nature of who we are so that we may experience time and space. We are locked into an illusion of limitation and duality yet we are unlimited and can create our lives. We begin creating from the very moment we are born and have the ability to draw our natural qualities of love, gratitude, abundance, peace, unity  and compassion through us using such tools as attention and meditation.

When the soul incarnates into the body, it forgets that it is connected to all things. We begin to think we are individual when we are really just individuated clouds of energy within a grand sea of energy. We are connected by our breath, by our bodies, by our electromagnetic heart fields, by our atoms, molecules, the Earth, the stars! We are connected to the infinite field where all souls reside, where past and present lifetimes collide and all wisdom is held. We can access this field of wisdom and love at all times. No one is lost. No one is left out.

We can begin to remember who we are in our lives, honouring our soul voice, living with love, enjoying each moment and trusting that the field of pure potential will provide for us because it responds to our thoughts. Our emotions tell us where we are in relation to our soul voice and help to guide us back to our centre. We can begin to remember our unity and connection to the field. To all things. To each other. We can begin to remember that love, bliss and happiness is our true nature and resides within us. We can contact those who have gone before. Souls simply step in and out of material reality. Death is just an illusion.

In our current paradigm, we seem to often forget who we are, living in an illusion created by others, told to believe truths that do not resonate or apply to us. We give away our power, follow directions we do not like, hold onto emotions that feel terrible and edit ourselves into acceptable but diminutive versions of our true self in order to be approved by a society that has forgotten it's own unlimited potential. This hurts. The longer we keep ourselves in the darkness, the more unbearable it gets. We stay in downward spirals, negative loops and addictions and all the while the reality of life lies just on the other side of our hearts. Life seems hopeless, empty and pointless. We suffer and punish ourselves or others - not knowing that we had the power to shift ourselves.

Sometimes the pain becomes too much. Sometimes the pressure of holding onto the past or future becomes too much. Sometimes the focus of forgetting who we are is so unbearable we come to a point of choosing. The soul chooses - we choose. We let go and return to the field of love.

I like to think that R.I.P. means Release Internal Pressure as our soul explodes outwards from the limits and pressures of being in an illusory state of duality back into pure consciousness and bliss. There is nothing wrong with this. It is the default setting of love. The soul decides the ride is finished and we return home. Life is a journey. Death is just a transition. Sometimes we 'die' because the journey became unbearable and sometimes we die because we have stopped summoning forth life force. Sometimes there is no more desire for life and sometimes the answers to the questions we seek lie beyond the veil.

Yet R.I.P. is a state we can achieve without dying. We have the option to explore our emotions - to own them rather than to lay blame at others feet for our states and tantrums. We can choose to embrace our darkness rather than hide it. We can choose to begin focusing on things we love and things that work in our immediate reality. We can choose to begin to listen to our soul's voice and start doing something we really want to do. We can choose to forgive others. We can choose to play instead of be serious. We can choose to praise and compliment instead of judge and criticise. We can choose to look on the bright side. We can choose to let the laughter out...

We are safe. Our soul and our consciousness goes on forever. Who we are now will remain forever in the grand memory of our soul and the Universe. No one we have ever loved is lost. They are here, within the infinite field, loving and supporting us, talking to us in the wind, the words of a song, the call of a bird and the play of light on the water. Dare to dream and laugh at death!

Release Internal Pressure!

Source

The great lifter,
The eternal gifter,
The big respecter,
The trifecta,
The all-in-one,
The one-in-all,
The one that was,
The evermore,
The present moment,
The middle path,
The one that cries,
The one that laughs,
The high road up,
The low road down,
The formless void,
The regal crown,
The tattered rags,
The blowing flag,
The dog that wags,
The bodies that sag,
The inside-out,
The outside-in,
The eternal self,
The blissful grin...

Matt Rivers

You Can Go Your Own Way!

'Just be yourself'. How many of us heard that when we were growing up? Yet this tiny sentence reveals layers of metaphysical mystery as well as seemingly being at odds with the rest of the programming many of us absorbed as children and adults. I never really knew what it meant as a child and only recently have I begun to discover its true meaning. I wonder... How many of us are living the life of our dreams? How many of us are truly doing what we want to do, expressing ourselves in the way we want to, relishing life, feeling free, relaxed and healthy, blossoming and thriving?

There is a word that crops up in Indian philosophy - Dharma. Amongst its many layers of meanings and interpretations, it points to the idea of things being in their natural state. It refers to cosmic law and order, nature flourishing and supporting well-being. Applied to human consciousness, it can mean learning how to live in harmony with yourself, others and the Universe. Learning to discover ways to uncover your true self, your innate talents and how best to share them. 'Just be yourself' takes on a whole new meaning when we consider Dharma.

In The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra says that the Law of Dharma brings together all the other laws. It gives us a reason to be alive. It helps us act with love and authenticity. It inspires us to move into the life of our dreams, full of motivation and inspiration, conscious of our actions, dancing through life with the minimum of effort, just as nature and the Universe intended.

I have just quit my job teaching yoga in Cyprus because it doesn't set my heart on fire. I love the job, but it is nothing compared to the feeling I get when I am writing or singing. I have often found myself doing jobs because I thought I had to. Working to pay rent, to buy food, to fulfill the voice of duty and obligation in my head. I never trusted my instincts when it came to my own desires. I always seemed to listen to another voice that said 'do something constructive, get a proper job, money doesn't grow on trees, don't be selfish'. We have an entire litany of limiting beliefs running through our heads that prevent us from acting upon our own desires. It has taken me years to learn to listen to myself and my heart. I now believe that true happiness and fulfillment comes when we discover our dharma and then act upon it.

In every day reality, it implies that whatever we find ourselves doing, whether it is a job that fails to set our hearts on fire, perhaps a relationship or a situation that seems stagnant, we have the choice to begin to acknowledge how we feel. Allowing ourselves the space to breathe. Taking at least five minutes for ourselves everyday. Maybe it is five minutes of meditation, maybe five minutes of exploring our desires and dreams. When we take a little time out and take responsibility for our feelings we can begin to transform them. We can clarify how we want to feel. We can work out which direction we want to go. Once we know that, we can begin walking the walk instead of talking the talk.

I am not suggesting that everyone quit their jobs, relationships and life immediately and tune in and drop out! I am suggesting that it is possible, from where we are standing, in the midst of our lives, to begin turning in the direction we want to go. If you dream of writing, make some time everyday and begin writing. 5-10 minutes is easy. Allow yourself to play. The same goes for art, music, sport, walking, sightseeing, adventure - whatever you want! If you want an adventurous life but cannot seem to work out how... just begin having mini adventures - now. Any step in the direction of your dreams will start you on the road. Of course, if you are thriving, full of joy, satisfied and happy then it can be said that you are already living your dharma - just keep going!

'Follow your bliss' is a much quoted phrase attributed to Joseph Campbell, an American writer and mystic. It holds the essence of Dharma within it and alludes to 'Just being yourself'. Our dreams are what make us unique and that brings magic and variety to the world. 

Nature loves to flourish and we sometimes forget that we too are nature. We hold ourselves back and allow others to make decisions for us, in politics, employment, love and education. Yet the Universe seems to support us when we let go of our limits and follow our bliss... 

Dharma is a natural law, one of harmony and balance, nature working through us and us working within nature. We are amazing and our dreams matter. They add to the diversity of the world. May we realise our true selves and our innate talents and have the courage to explore them and share them with others.

Love,

Matt

Blackbird

I hear blackbirds all the time - in the dead of night and at the crack of dawn. They punctuate my life experience so regularly that one may fear that they have become mundane and normal. Yet my heart leaps every time I hear one. My mind casts for the notes of a long fabled song as I rise with glee, hearing a message from the Universe, reminded that we are connected, present and happy.

I see them in gardens. They approach me often. In my time, I have sat and philosophised with the greats, Blacky, Yellow Beak, Blackbeard and Grey Feather. All so wise, so immersed in bliss, so ‘all-seeing’. Present and connected they have all had the same message for me, “Wake up and hear my song! You are alive! Rejoice dear child! We are one and you are you. Rejoice!”

I slowly subside back into my seat, my heart resumes its leisurely stroll and I am filled with a renewed sense of peace. What dreams may come as the Blackbird sings his song? What dreams may come?

Artwork by Mr. Doodle

A Plan For All Seasons - Summer

Summer has come! Arriving with a burst of flame and a flash of colour. Green grass beckons and the beach pulses with promise. The cool blue sea is lapping contentedly against the shore line as we bask in sunshine that seems to last forever, sending us into dreamy wonderment. Ah me!

It has taken me almost three years to write the next episode in this series. It all started in 2011 with an adventurous year breaking free of the bonds that had kept me tied to a damp, dark basement flat in Brighton. I had spent a year and a half lost, recovering from a broken heart. I had been desperately trying to apply the principles of the Universe onto my life, in a vain hope to create an experience full of joy and adventure, convinced (as I have been since I was little) that there must be something more. There must be something deeper and bigger that we are all missing...

After that summer I wrote about my adventures in A Plan for All Seasons -Spring. I hoped to complete the series by the end of the year but it never seemed the right time to comment. I wanted to reflect on the new insights I was having. I wanted to put together a series that grew with me. I wanted to open myself up to the flow of creativity that I had alluded to. Three years down the line - I realise that I have remained in that long spring of awakening for a lot longer than a season. My journey thus far, whilst extensive, has been an extended version of the same theme. Summer for me is only just dawning and that is just fine.

I have criss-crossed the world over the last few years, working and volunteering my way around India, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Spain, Greece and Poland. I travel with my partner, lover and fellow soul adventurer Paulina. Somehow, the way has always opened up for us... eventually. Just when we think we are going to run out of money or get stuck, an answer appears. Sometimes straight out of the blue.

The defining factor in our adventures has been an idea that I realised in the spring of 2011 - there is nothing that says I have to stay in any one place... I am free. With this in our hearts, we unplugged ourselves from the idea that we have to have a house and a steady job and security. We put our faith in answers appearing when we need them (which can be daunting), and ploughed forward into the world. We have found jobs all over the place - the occasional job on Gumtree, volunteering on WorkAway, and rigorous Internet searches. When we managed let go of our fear and stopped worrying, the next adventure appeared quickly and when we held tight to worry and stress, finding jobs was hard.

Of course, the last three years have not been without their challenges. As spring turned into eternal summer, there were the inevitable weeds to pull out of my garden. I discovered - at first to my horror - that even though I was beginning to harness the power of intention and attraction, there was much work to be done in dissolving limiting beliefs. BIG core beliefs such as 'I am not worthy', 'I am not good enough', 'I am ugly', and 'It is your fault!' all jostled for space in my head whilst I had to chase them and consider whether I really needed them in there. They are sneaky buggers too! Often hiding behind protective behaviors and beliefs.

When adventuring into consciousness and considering our unlimited potential as humans, we have to also consider the limiting illusions we have set up around us. We can often settle in comfort and mediocrity because we are scared of the unknown or are unaware of our own creative power in our lives. As my friend Jamie Catto illustrated in his workshop 'Transforming Shadows', we have a choice to embrace our dark side, become self-referring and dissolve the old emotions that seem to hold us in a reactionary state. We can choose to stop barking at the world around us and find out why we were barking in the first place! Woof! If you ever want to explore your dark side and begin to embrace your whole self, I thoroughly recommend his workshops.

So what has changed for me that may add a spot of light to the great human experience - or at least to mine...? To be brief - some letting go, some embracing, some ah ha moments and some new habits. I let go of some arguments, I embraced some of my dark sides (there are many), I realised that I am full of power and potential and the next moment is unwritten... And the biggest thing of all, I have begun looking into this present moment and searching for my joy instead of judging it. This is by no means easy - sometimes my angry pitbull surfaces, barking like mad, frothing at the mouth. So I try and breathe. I sooth myself. Every day is a practice. What is beautiful now? What can I thank myself for? How can I smile into my body a bit more? Who can I say something nice to and mean it?

My summer is gently unfolding and instead of trying to force the Universe to twist to my desperate needs I am relaxing into the present and working on my emotional health, moment to moment. Then, when I achieve that subtle moment of joy, somehow everything seems a bit brighter, and, as if by magic, an answer appears or a door opens. Sometimes, the door just leads to a room full of relief from the last moment and sometimes it leads to pastures new.

All I think I know is that each of us is totally full of unlimited potential and love. The more we relax and breathe and work on making each moment as good as we can, with the tools that we have, then the closer to joy we will get. The road seems long but our heart is right there, in the middle of our chests. Give it a rub and say hello!

I wish you all the best in whatever you do and whatever path you walk.

Matthew