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Why Does it Take So Long to Slow Down
Why do we wait so long, before we start thinking about whom and what we are? Why does it take a lifetime of living and struggling before we begin a meaningful search for our truth? I don't believe that is necessary. I began my conscious journey to enlightenment when I was around 50 years of age. I was brought up in the churches and believed that it was just one of those things in life that we had to do. Actually I was dragged to church kicking and screaming and later reluctantly went on my own volition from fear and guilt. All of this ritual stuff really didn't mean much to me at the time and still doesn't. I now have some understanding of why people go to church and what motivates them. But I still don't think it is necessary. Religion, structure, ceremonies, symbols, affirmations, prayers and meditations are steps to get you there (wherever that is); they help focus your mind. I still believe that the shortest distance between to points is in a straight line and more than likely the path of least resistance. My whole life has been about getting there as fast as I can, until now. I can see with some experience and a little bit of wisdom, that it is the trip that counts not getting there. In fact I don't think I really want to get there anymore. Once the trip is over there is no where to go. The physical realm of existence is the most intoxicating; it is where we use our five senses of touch, taste, smell, site and hearing. I can't imagine being in another place that we don't use them. This is the dilemma that the creator had before he went into self-discovery; he created the physical world of relativity so that he could look back upon himself and see how magnificent he/she was through the five senses. Truth is as liquid as the water that surrounds this planet and we create our new truth in every waking moment of every day. At one time our truth was that the world was flat, that truth no longer works for us. Enlightenment brings new truths into our experience and knowledge or awareness is power. Thought controls all power and awareness of that truth expands our horizons and gives us more choices and freedom. It was our truth at one time that moving into the industrial revolution would make our lives easier and free us up to have more time to spend on leisure and with our families. Our new truth is that we now must have two working partners in a household so that we can support the machines that are at home taking it easy, spending the day gossiping with each other in our living rooms and kitchens. My new theory or truth is that we are taking this whole life thing away too seriously. We have forgotten what is really important to us. The technology isn't working except to keep us alive long enough to pay for it. The trip is not a race, happiness is not found in having the most machines. Life is a social experience, an interaction between the souls that make up the planet, that is how it was intended and we do not need to live for the machines. It is observable that the happiness that we seek is artificially produced through the drugs that we take to keep us going and awake for a few hours a day. Leisure if forced onto us and more drugs are used to slow us down for a few days that we might take time off for recreation. Enlightenment moves us away from this vicious cycle and motivates us to begin to enjoy the trip. It is a trip that can last forever if we choose it to be so. Awareness can bring joy and happiness even in this world of chaos and absurdity. It has taken all these years for me to realize that I wasn't really in a hurry to get here in the first place. Enlightenment and wisdom does not necessarily come with age, it can be achieved at any age if one slows down long enough to listen to his/her own intuition. The world is the way it is because you and I have allowed ourselves to be caught up in the noise of the rush to get nowhere. We are already where we are trying to get to, to this stage of self awareness. The peace and happiness that you seek can be obtained in a heart beat if you just stop and listen. The way you are living now is still just a choice and experience that you do not have to accept. The real trip is in knowing what is the real thing and what is more of an illusion of that thing. You don't have to wait until you are 50 to begin to understand. Can you imagine what you could really experience as fulfilling and meaningful, what you could create with the wisdom of a 50 year old at the age of twenty? You have heard it before "If only I knew then, what I know now." I don't believe that one needs to concern oneself so much with discovery but with the experience of discovery. Wisdom does not come from churches, philosophers, books or even this article; it comes from the positive application of what you have learned from your life experiences. If something is not working for you, don't do it anymore. Do not live somebody else's truth, create your own. Move away from the mind chatter, and take the long way home, learn to enjoy it and stop to smell the flowers. Eliminate all things and all people from your life that lead you away from happiness. Be happy first and you will draw those things and the people into your life that best reflects happiness to you. Why are you in such a hurry, why? Roy E. Klienwachter is a resident of British Columbia, Canada. A student of NLP, ordained minister, New Age Light Worker and Teacher. Roy has written and published five books on New Age wisdom. Roy's books are thought provoking and designed to empower you to take responsibility for your life and what you create. His books and articles are written in the simplicity and eloquence of Zen wisdom. You may not always agree with what he has to say. You will always come away with a new perspective and your thinking will never be the same. Roy's style is hard hitting and comes straight from the heart without all the metaphorical mumble jumble and BS. Visit Roy at: http://www.klienwachter.com
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