Feel Better, Be Better, Do Better

      I feel better when I sense that my life is improving in meaningful ways. This usually involves intentionally venturing out beyond my comfort zone.
     But the ego's only purpose is survival & reproduction, & resists everything else. And remaining in one's self-centered comfort zone is easy, familiar, cruise-control, highway-hypnosis. This is the land of the walking dead which most of us inhabit.
     When - and only when - we intentionally, consciously, bravely step beyond our comfort zone into the learning zone - 'the river of change,' a slightly scary 'liminal space' of infinite possibilities - are we truly actively living, creative, growing & maturing in exciting, meaningful ways!

     We drastically underestimate how profoundly meaningful & wonderful life can be and the fact that we CAN experience profound joy, peace, contentment, silence, timelessness, stillness, etc.
     Perhaps we first have to realize that there is only one real power - LOVE. The more completely we are filled with unconditional love, the more alive, energized, authentic, whole, real we are.
     Mostly, we anxiously anticipate one nightmarish future after another. We FULLY experience such worst-case scenarios as if they were really happening because our bodies cannot differentiate between events in our imagination vs reality. We endure the fires of hell mostly because of our fear (catastrophizing).

     “My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes – most of which have never happened.” Mark Twain

     “… it takes a bit of meditative presence to be with what is – just as it is – without being distracted by all the evaluations & comments that habitually arise about our situation. We suffer more from our stories than from the actual situation as it is.” Toni Packer

     So our negativity bias, deficit-framing & probable history of various traumas keeps our survival emotions going as if we were victims of an endless horrible emergency. Drowning in survival emotions: lust, competition, guilt, shame, fear, doubt, anger, hate, judgment - is grossly inappropriate in civilized society, where usually only our ego tends to get bruised (too easily). The long-term effect of being chronically flooded with survival emotions is not only social isolation, but also physical & mental illness.

     BUT IF we can repeatedly remind ourselves of our true nature, our outlook will be FAR MORE wise & optimistic with elevated emotions, using asset-framing, letting go of 'the story of me,' and focusing on our aspirations. Our elevated emotion of love, and closely-related empathy, nurturing, collaboration, peace, equanimity, joy, etc brings about an entirely different state of being and associated improved social relationships, physical & mental health.
     Joe Dispenza. "Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon." Hay House, 2019. POWERFUL

     "Resilience also requires love made manifest, love incarnated in all of its forms. In its call to the spirit, many of us have seen these images – a young child who walks alone across the border to tell the story of what happened to his family; a young 12 year old girl, singing at night in the subway to a crowded subway, which is a bomb shelter, and lifting their spirits with that connection. It is so inspiring, at these moments, to feel that palpable love in the world.
     We are releasing something that is extraordinary in this moment. A hundred and forty-one countries at the United Nations said to Russia, “No, that is not right. That is not the way to go.“ So have you also tapped into that love?
     I will leave you with an image a number of us saw live on the news. It was a moment when a Russian soldier in his twenties was captured by the Ukrainians and brought to the town square.
     The people surrounded him. And then one of the women in the crowd pushed forward and offered him soup. And then another woman stepped forward and offered a cell phone, and said, “Here, why don't you call home?” And the soldier started to cry. There are those tears again. The soldier started to weep."        James O'Dea https://pod.servicespace.org/118/doc?did=481 .

"Through violence you may murder a hater,
but you can't murder hate through violence.
I have decided to stick with love,
for I know that love is ultimately
the only answer to humankind's problems."    Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

      "I immediately relinquish any need or inclination toward conflict in my life or anywhere in the world. I align my heart and mind to the Divine Pattern of Cooperation and tolerance both in my personal life and in the world as a whole.
      I affirm and intend cooperation and tolerance between all peoples within each country, between nations, within each region of the world, and as one global human family.
     We pray that the leaders of all nations are drawn to feel the Divine Source of all and to take practical action to effect real and lasting peace." Adi Da

Neil Young - Imagine (from "America: A Tribute to Heroes")