The Forty Pilgrims Project - The Rift: Part 2

Day 26 to 40

We are living on the edge. We are poised at the forefront of consciousness, soul adventurers awakening to our true nature yet something feels wrong. Within us we feel a discord. We feel like we are incomplete and disconnected from something we cannot explain. The disconnection we feel is like a tide. It ebbs and flows, coming in waves as we satisfy our hunger through material, emotional and spiritual desires then battle the emptiness from not having our needs met.

There is a rift within us all. A rift born of our own minds. One that must eventually be crossed if we are to feel connected and whole again. A rift born of looking out into our reality searching for answers that can only be found within. All of us will get there. All of us will stand upon the edge at some point, looking into our darkest chasms, wondering how to cross the void.

No master or teacher can make us cross. No one but our selves can make the journey through that cavern of loneliness within. We are always searching for answers and confirmation of who we are. We always seek to fill the void. The mind, in its illusion of separation, seeks to fill its reality with evidence of who it is and what life is about. We justify our emotional storms through what we see, blaming our experience on others as ‘reality’ happens to us – a random chance in a random Universe.

Yet, as with all of nature, there is another way. We can begin to cross the void and understand that in fact, we happen to reality and our experiences can be chosen. We can begin to understand our emotions and make peace with the seemingly endless torrent of painful images, reactions and dramas that beset our lives.

It is entirely possible to rise up and stand tall, deeply rooted in life, accepting all that has gone before whilst riding the winds and seas of time, surfing upon waves of magnificence, welcoming change and challenge and ultimately, feeling connected, joyful and worthy.

Before we can see the possibility of this, we have to deal with where we are and that is where the rift lies. We are often trapped by our minds illusions. We can experience painful emotion, whether from something we observe, someone we encounter, a song on the radio that brings back a memory, or the empty mist of our current existence slowly pulling us down. Most of the time we do one of two things - we blame our outer circumstances, at whatever point in time they occurred thus continuing the pattern or we blame ourselves and try and ‘fix’, ‘heal’, or ‘detox’ the discord within us, searching for that elusive panacea.

Yet in each moment of our lives, whether elevated or depressed, there is a gift. There is an opportunity to move forward, to grow, to shift and become more illumined than we were before. If our experience is a reflection of our consciousness, then each painful moment is giving us an opportunity to embrace lost parts of ourselves. Instead of battling with the outer circumstance, and opening the rift wider, we have a chance to cross it instead.

The answer is not where you think it lies. We do not need to ‘heal’ ourselves. We are already whole. We do not need to blame others because our experience is a part of our own perceptions. Those ‘others’ are in fact helping us to see what bits of us we need to embrace.

The practice is far simpler than we could imagine and is available to everyone all the time. It takes time to perfect because we will keep coming back to ourselves. We will keep surfing waves of experience. We will keep falling off. Just like the ocean, the waves never stop. We can learn to ride them and have fun while we do it. We can feel exhilarated.

Here are some ideas for crossing the void… Begin to notice. Develop your attention and notice when your mind is running away. Begin to notice when you are stuck in an emotional bubble. See if you can stop before you react. Take a breath. Don’t act. Take your attention into your whole body. Take your attention into every cell. Listen to your feet. Listen to your fingers. Watch yourself. Feel the feelings you’re feeling without thinking you have to do anything with them. Try not to fire them out of you into someone else. Try not to 'fix' them or analyse them. Try not to justify them. Just let them flow through you. Listen and breathe. Slow down - this next step can be hard - embrace yourself. Whether in your mind or physically. Embrace that feeling - however tough it is. Thank it for being part of you and your experience. Feel where the feeling is in your body. See if it moves but don’t allow your mind to wander back into familiar territory. Just breathe and relax and be. See what happens. Just see. Just be.

Over the last few months I have experienced a whole lot of rifts. No doubt I will experience a whole lot more. My journey has taken me through countless hours of meditation, yoga and healing and yet I still find myself amid clouds of crazy emotions because we always sit on the peak of duality. I still seek answers that ultimately lie within me.

This series of writings was born of a project that my friend Simon started. He was walking a walk, taking people’s prayers and wishes with him. I looked to him for an answer I had yet to find within myself. I experienced a major rift with the project when I couldn’t find what I was looking for. A few weeks afterwards, I was due to attend an ayahuasca ceremony for the same reasons. I pulled out after an intuition that I was searching for answers outside of myself, praying for something or someone to come and fix me and my life.

Only in the last week, as I walked through the gateway of my own birthday did I realise that all I had to do was breath in and embrace myself. All I had to do was listen to myself without judgement or blame. A lifetime of study, exploring countless facets of consciousness and the pathway was simply there in front of me.

I am learning to listen to my heart. It is the voice that speaks the grandest truth in each of our lives. When we can tune into our own internal voice and listen to the murmurings of our own wisdom, then we begin to make peace with where we are and move toward our dreams.

It has been almost four weeks since Simon completed his pilgrimage across northern Spain. It has been longer since I experienced the rift which disconnected me from the project, yet the project was a resounding success. Simon has plans to go bigger and bolder, walking further, longer and involving more people and more prayers. It is inspirational to watch such grand plans manifest.

 

The answers will come and well-being will flow when we become open and receptive.

Let go of your mind. Let go of 'doing'. Expand the field of your attention. Listen to your body and all your senses.

Just listen. Just breathe. Just be.

And then...

Just see.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'The Forty Pilgrims Project' series is a blog inspired by a journey. Simon Welsh, poet, writer and new paradigm adventurer was walking the Camino de Santiago - a simple mission to put one foot in front of the other. Carving out a journey over 1000km of trails, roads and pathways, he headed for Santiago, and further yet to Finisterre, the ‘End of the World’. He carried with him 40 prayers, one for each day, one for each pilgrim that was energetically walking with him. He was supported by 12 guides, energetically supporting him from afar. 

This is my journal of his 'Forty Pilgrims Project' - an observation from the outside, as one of his guides and friends. An exploration of my own journey by his side, as we connect in the quantum field.

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

The Forty Pilgrims Project - The Rift: Part 1

Day 13 to 25

We exist in a seemingly infinite Universe. We live in a constant evolving now that continually creates the very next moment. Each moment is unwritten and reveals untold potential. Anything can happen, nothing is written in stone and surprises and adventure abound. We are at a juncture in time and space where we are beginning to piece together the puzzle of consciousness, quantum physics and material reality.

Daring adventurers are cutting through the mainstream flow of thought to the very edge of human understanding. Scientists, meditators, creators, musicians, inventors, yogis, writers and explorers… people from all walks of life are beginning to wake up to their true nature. People around the world are pushing the boundaries of human understanding further and further. We are walking into the dream. We are beginning to realise that reality is an extension of our thoughts, that we are all connected, that consciousness is not limited to humans alone. We are beginning to see that we are magical beings, extensions of an unlimited universal field of energy that abounds in love, experience and expansion.

Quantum physicists are concluding that matter is mostly space and that reality exists where we focus. There is a leap to be made from observing the behaviour of atoms in a laboratory and observing the grand tapestry of life dancing in front of our eyes. If we can reduce the infinite potential of a wave of possibility down to a seemingly solid particle once we observe it, how then can we make the connection between the thoughts we think and the life we are currently experiencing?

The thoughts we think, the state of our mind and the thrum of our emotional levels are the tools we have in the grand experiment of life. Our thoughts and beliefs create our perceptions and our emotions are a bodily response to all that we think. We feel those emotions in our gut, our heart and all over our bodies. They are indicators of where we are right now. Think different thoughts, get different emotional responses. It goes deeper...

What if our body does not stop at our skin? What if we have an electro-magnetic field that extends outwards into ‘reality’ that interacts with everything we see? What if each living organism has a field and we are all living within the fields of each other, extending from the Sun to the Earth to the Moon and back again. What if everything we see is responding to us based on the thoughts and focus we choose? Just like the scientists in the lab observing electrons, when we are not focused on something, it is not there - existing as all possibilities. When we are focused on it, whether in reality, briefly, or in our imagination, up it pops! A song heard for the first time suddenly plays all day. A person in a crowd keeps popping up all over town. A friend we were just thinking of rings out of the blue.

Let us dive even deeper still. Thoughts create perceptions and vibrations to which all of reality is responding to. Matter is becoming stuff because of how and where we focus. This is complex and wonderful. Reality is literally forming around our beliefs and thoughts and our emotions are letting us know how we feel about these things. They are letting us know if we are in tune with our heart and soul. They are our inner guru - our personal guide to ourselves. We are all beautiful and amazing wonders of the Universe and when we think anything less of ourselves it hurts. Our emotions can tell us when the thoughts we have about ourselves are not true to our hearts knowledge.

As we grow up we gather a whole bunch of thoughts and ideas, beliefs and patterns. We know that some of these ideas and thoughts are great and make us happy. We follow our hearts and discover our passions. We fall in love, play and learn to focus on what makes us sing. We eat the food we like and avoid the food that tastes yucky.

The flip-side is that we also gather thoughts and ideas that do not serve us. Often we gather illusions of thought when we are young. These illusions hurt. They don’t feel good. We have emotional responses to the illusions. Remember, our emotions are trying to heal us and show us the way back to our heart so when we feel ugly or unworthy or useless, our emotions are trying to tell us to move away from these thoughts. They are asking us to listen to ourselves, to allow the flow of the emotion to move through our body and then move on to a better thought pattern.

We get stuck in these patterns but because life moves on. We push them down, glide over them, ignore them and keep a stiff upper lip. We live with a lump in our throat as we swallow our emotions. The patterns of thought that do not serve us get stuck in our bodies. Thoughts have weight. They are electrical impulses and we are electro-magnetic, organic beings made of atoms of Earth that came from stars! These stuck thoughts and related emotions wear us down and get stuck in our sub-conscious, forgotten by our forward focused mind. They get stuck in our muscles and organs and we become slow and stiff from the weight of unprocessed junk. We age and become cranky, thinking we are less than we are as some people excel to greatness, floating on the jasmine of life’s summer breeze.

We try new things or dream of other worlds of experience but can be held back by the limiting beliefs hidden within us. We tell ourselves we are not good enough, that we are unlucky, that life is disappointing or that we are blocked and guess what – life exists where you focus. The underlying belief manifests instead of the forward focused eagerness of our waking mind. When this happens enough, we become dejected, depressed, and tired of life. We think we are helpless. It seems ridiculous to hear that our thoughts create things. Life seems random and unfair. Don’t worry, things can change. Life is awesome and predisposed to wholeness. It is working to heal you even as we speak. There is a way forward and a way to let go of the thoughts that no longer serve you. There is a way to recognise the old patterns and move into a new paradigm of excitement, creativity and joy.

Over the last two weeks I have been stuck in patterns that have been desperate to be healed; patterns that have been underlying most of my thoughts and actions for most of my life. Patterns that are only now being revealed through the Forty Pilgrims Project, in which 53 people have begun to focus on new beginnings, new ideas, new wholeness and new experiences. Imagine all of that power of focus!

We are free to change how we think and where we focus. We can leave the jungles of our mind if we so choose and graze in the pastures of our dreams

Join me in ‘The Rift: Part 2’ as I explore limiting beliefs and how we can make the journey back to our hearts.

Love, love, love...


 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'The Forty Pilgrims Project' series is a blog inspired by a journey. Simon Welsh, poet, writer and new paradigm adventurer is walking the Camino de Santiago - a simple mission to put one foot in front of the other. Carving out a journey over 1000km of trails, roads and pathways, he is heading for Santiago, and further yet to Finisterre, the ‘End of the World’. He carries with him 40 prayers, one for each day, one for each pilgrim that is energetically walking with him. He is supported by 12 guides, energetically supporting him from afar. 

This is my journal of his 'Forty Pilgrims Project' - an observation from the outside, as one of his guides and friends. An exploration of my own journey by his side, as we connect in the quantum field.

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

The Forty Pilgrims Project - Introduction

Yesterday began the start of The Forty Pilgrims Project, a collective creation in the realms of time and space. It involves my old friend Simon Welsh walking the Camino de Santiago for forty days, clocking in over 900km on foot.

I read about his venture some four weeks before and was compelled to take an interest. His idea is to take on board a spiritual journey of sorts. A vision quest and a clearing, a pilgrimage of quantum proportions; not just for himself but for others too. He is wrestling with some demons and dancing with angels. Some I have no time for, some I have met and some I have probably yet to meet. 

As he embarks on this quest, he is taking with him the prayers and intentions of forty pilgrims. He bears their weight, if it can be said as so. To assist him in this odyssey he has called upon twelve guides – we could call them spiritual guides, energetic support, light warriors – yet in reality, they are human beings, offering their strength, love, compassion, energy and most likely, healing, reiki or some such other long-distance magic. In any case, we are all connected amid the quantum field so can easily offer him support, love and daisies.

I am one of his guides. I was compelled to add my focus and strength that I have been gathering over the last few years. This is not to brag that I am magnificent, but to affirm that I am, indeed part of a magnificent continuum of energy of which we are all magnificent within. Once we can focus upon that part of ourselves, we begin to realise this magnificence and can use it for the benefit of others. It is this role then, that I chose to offer Simon, and in joining into the collective, I add my energy to a grand circle of 53 – one courageous walker, poet and visionary, forty pilgrims with dreams and intentions bound up in his pack, and twelve spiritual guides supporting his energy, holding intentions and making conscious changes as the footsteps and days go by.

Simon, as far as I know, interviewed all forty of the pilgrims and wrote a specific poetic portrait for each of them. Within this portrait is held issues, hopes, intentions, and energy needed for transmuting into new paradigms for each of the pilgrims. They are not physically walking with Simon. That is his undertaking, and his journey into his own unknown. He is the physical anchor and catalyst for helping himself, the pilgrims and guides to manifest and make changes within their lives; the eye of the storm so to speak. Each day he will focus on one pilgrim, walking an average of 25km, reading their prayer somewhere along the way. At the end of 40 days, on day 41, he plans to reach Finisterre, ‘The End of The World’, where he shall read his own prayer and burn his clothes, shoes and words in shamanic ceremonial offering. Hopefully he won’t burn all his clothes as I am sure he'll want to come back! 

The twelve spiritual guides are primarily there to assist Simon in gathering his strength, offering support and adding to the circle. Again, as far as I know, we were all interviewed and I identified a key issue within my life that I would like changed and added it into the circle of creation that is carried within Simon’s reality bomb backpack! I am sure each of the other guides has gone through some such process. I told Simon what I would be sharing with him and the circle in terms of support, giving him free access to my channels of reiki, violet flames, munay-ki, white fire, rescue flames, heart and violet flame chakras and diamond seed chakras.

Whilst this all sounds a little woo-woo and out there, there are some fundamental quantum happenings going on here. I believe that we live upon a quantum field of pure love, potential and possibility, and that reality as we know it is co-created out of this field by us, by our imaginations, thoughts, words and actions. It all comes back to thought and being. There are layers and layers of amazing reality interwoven into us. Layers of light, matter, emotion, thought, atoms, molecules, quarks, bosons and auras, chakras, energy, and creative possibility.

As we wake up to ourselves, we begin to see the effect that we have upon our reality; that we are not random fluctuations living in a random universe, but that we are meaningful and purposeful focal points of Universal consciousness, creating pure experience out of pure potential using mechanisms such as thought, perception, genetic memory, imagination, generational patterns and influences such as parents, school, television and newspapers.

We are vast beings of thought, capable of projecting our imaginations from the dawn of time into the vastness of Space and beyond. We are composed of a history of all our lifetimes and all our connections to life. We are beings of Earth and beings of the stars. We are children of nature and of love. We are locked into a duality, the yin yang of existence. The up-down, left-right, black-white, mine-yours, virgin-whore, hero-cad, happy-sad see-saw that we call life on Earth.

We have the choice to live by default, on a seemingly out of control roller coaster, that is terrifying and exciting, with no way of getting off, subject to the chaotic storms of life, subject to horrors, fantasies, hopes, and disasters. We have a choice to feel powerless. We have a choice to feel helpless. Of course, when we are here, we often don’t think this is a choice.

We have the choice to stop and take stock. To start questioning our reality. To start asking questions about why things are the way they are. We have a choice to delve deeper into the reality of nature and the darkness that resides within us and thus 'without' us. We have a choice to try and discover the nature of that darkness, whether to embrace it or fight it. We have a choice to see the darkness outside of ourselves, the darkness that dwells in plain sight, in economic systems, politics, corporations, education and society. We can see the poverty, disease and pollution in our midst and wonder where it comes from. We have a choice to wonder whether there is a link between our own inner darkness and that which we see laid out upon the green grass of the quantum field.

We have a choice to explore, to experiment, to play with our thoughts and emotions. We have a choice to wake up to ourselves… slowly realising that we are not so powerless after all. We have the choice to stand up and claim our creations. We have a choice to search for silver linings and see beauty and majesty within it all. The process begins with self-love, expands into compassion and maybe has no end…

So that is where we are in humanity… in three places. Once upon a time we were only at the first stage. Now people are bridging all three ideas. The darkness, the awakening, and the empowerment. It would be trite of me to try and lump all our experiences into such small boxes because humanity is vast as are our collective experiences. We all count and we all matter. All our dreams expand the Universe as we step into joy. All things benefit from more smiles in the world.

Here we are then, upon the threshold of a dream. A new cycle of experience. A paradigm shift so vast, people are rapidly awakening all over the world, slowing piercing the veils of illusion that have long hung over humanity. We are awakening to our true potential and power and The Forty Pilgrims Project marks one facet of this grand experience. The circle of 53 touches not just the 53 people directly involved, but the people Simon meets along the way. It touches our loved ones, our friends and family. It touches the people we tell and the people that are affected by our own internal changes. It touches all who witness the new smiles we create within us and others. As we transmute our own barriers and realise our own potential, it will inspire yet more to seek their own awakening. A light in a room of darkness is a source of light none the less. Our beautiful planet, society and individual communities all have the potential to change through elevated thinking, compassion, love and dreams made manifest. This is the power of thought, spirit, love and transformation and maybe the point of existence itself. Hmmm… ahhh…

This is a journal of one of the twelve. An account of the journey from outside the focal point. A documentation of the changes, insights and connections made throughout the forty days of Simon’s quest. It may be personal to me, or I may be led outside of my own experience as I meet and converse with other pilgrims and guides, my social network, community and of course, Simon himself. Above all, I hope it to be an honest portrait of self-inquiry and a joyful adventure into the biggest co-creative experience I have ever embarked upon. Happy travels dear friends. Happy, happy travels.

Love, love, love...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'The Forty Pilgrims Project' series is a blog inspired by a journey. Simon Welsh, poet, writer and new paradigm adventurer is walking the Camino de Santiago - a simple mission to put one foot in front of the other. Carving out a journey over 1000km of trails, roads and pathways, he is heading for Santiago, and further yet to Finisterre, the ‘End of the World’. He carries with him 40 prayers, one for each day, one for each pilgrim that is energetically walking with him. He is supported by 12 guides, energetically supporting him from afar. 

This is my journal of his 'Forty Pilgrims Project' - an observation from the outside, as one of his guides and friends. An exploration of my own journey by his side, as we connect in the quantum field.

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

The Answer is You

Anger, sadness, bitterness, dejection, disappointment... such have been the emotions reflected around social media networks after the news that the Conservative Party won the UK elections this week. A new government for 2015 and people seem thoroughly fed up. As if they have no control over their life, thoughts and decisions...

But that is not true surely? Let us look on the bright side. This gives us a new direction to look in. It gives us new ideas because now we know what we don't like. How about moving away from the idea that what we need is government? The government is not a savior. The government stands as a bastion to a patriarchal system that has long since seen the masses as peasants (stay with me) that need to be controlled (think religion and laws). Evolved it has, more cunning it is, but still, it does not hold the needs and well-being of the planet and all the species upon it as its modus operandi (which really is a no-brainer). Harsh but true perhaps...
 
The thing is, humans do not need governing. Nor do forests, seas, deserts, animals, bees or birds. Get that... nothing in nature needs governing. It governs itself through its own self-balancing system. Our bodies and the extension of them into nature are homeostatic. We are stewards and guests on this planet. Interconnected, united and one. A simple look at life and your existence will prove that. It is the governing, economic system and corrupt power systems that create the divisions that create the bullshit we see... humanity in and of itself is a beautiful thing that can and will self-regulate itself given half the chance. Grand societies need services that are public, not a bullshit patriarchal system that dictates a stream of irrelevant laws that increasingly bow to corporate demands before environmental, natural and human concerns.

The government (and monarchy) have traditionally been fear-mongers rather than truth givers. Besides which, no one votes on the House of Lords, the European Parliament, boards of directors and corporate lobbyists. These are the game changers in politics. I am not saying your vote doesn't count but I am saying change can happen another way.

The tide can turn but it must turn through the idea that each of us, as individuals are self-governing. We are all the best experts at what is best for ourselves. No-one else can tell you that. Imagine a world where we each empowered our self, and began to listen to the kind, loving voice at the heart of ourselves instead of the endless litany of voices that tries to convince us what best to do next.

We live too much in our heads... the voices of others are powerful and the voice of our own fearful mind is often the loudest. I reckon, once we start listening to the deeper truth of our self, a truth we all have inside us... a direction to what we love, what we have a passion for, what excites and inspires us, then the government we need, that is a balanced, non-patriarchal, servant of society and the planet will arise. Perhaps it is already happening. I think it already exists, in our hearts. But the power lies in you... It lies in us, not in government. What world do we want to live in?

Let us not bow to fear, media and propaganda. We have to be strong, focus on the world we want, trust in our hearts and human spirit. We are kind, compassionate, creative, inspirational beings. Yes we are! Individuals change the world. We are the power within our lives. Take heart. Really. Take your power back. I believe in a world of love, unity, peace and opportunity.

I wish you all the best in seeing and discovering your passion and power and heart.

Love, always.

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.

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!