"Unity with the universe."

The concept of me being unity with the universe.  There are two notions I feel in my head.  One is that there is a congruency with me, who I am and the universe, i.e., an identity, that we are one and the same.  There other is more of a dependency that I am an integral part of the universe so that the universe isn't this universe without me and I am not me without this universe, but we are not one and the same.  Sort of like my brain.  Well, I guess not exactly, the analogy doesn't quite follow and both sides are analogies, so one is right and the other not.  Like me being an organ part. The organ part... No, that isn't quite right.  So, all people, souls, spirits together make up the universe.  It's not right to be saying this universe is not this universe without me.  But, I am a part of the universe like an organ is part of the body.  The point is that all of us together make up the universe.  It is not that we are individuals separate from one another embedded in the universe. Together we are the universe. So, we are each an expression of what the universe is vs. together we are the universe.  I heard the other day, oh, a post on Facebook to the effect a pick against the right side that they do not see about taking care of nature and the earth, exploiting it and leading towards corporate interest over conservation and at the same time being followers and believers in loving god when in fact the god is nature so acts of anti-conservancy are acts against god.  So how do I lean.  Each of us is the universe or together we are the universe.  I like together we are the universe.  We are interconnected and that interconnected is the beauty of the universe.  If I go away, then the universe is still there.  If the universe goes away, then I am not there.  We share in the unity.  Of course the instantiation of the universe is different if I am not in it.  But, the universe is constantly changing and never the same.  It is a different universe from moment to moment and from place to place.  Taking Einstein's theories to heart, my universe is bound by the finite time for the propagation of information.  My universe is unique and different from anyone else's universe because my time and place is different from anyone else's.  No one else has the same bounds of perception as I do.  My horizon of perception includes  things some other people cannot perceive and it excludes things that other people can perceive.  That makes each of us unique.  I like that way of looking at things.  And that horizon of perception not only includes time and space, but it includes experience.  I should think about how experience is another dimension in our experience besides the physical dimensions of time and space. Even if someone else instead of me was at a time and place I was in, their past experience makes there perception different.  Our perception has dimensions of space, time, experience and perspective.

Our individual perceptions has dimensions of space, time, experience and perspective making each of us unique and beautiful in how we see and interpret the universe in the present moment.

Twitter: "Your perception has dimensions of space, time, experience, and perspective making you beautiful in how you see the universe at this moment."

"At some level, it is a selfish thing to seek that peace.  Is it really selfish?"

I've given myself a paradox in that seeking heaven and avoiding hell and behaving for that end is selfish and that behaving for those goals makes for a hollow love.  The only way to achieve happiness is to self-sacrifice trying to be happy and act for the happiness of others and forgo trying to achieve happiness for oneself.   The other day, a thought went through my mind that I don't know if I can recapture.  It allowed me to seek my own happiness in such a way that it is not selfish.  It is or was it as simple as that if I am happy, then it is easier and I am more effective in making others happy.  That almost feels right.  This notion is synergist.  The happier I am, the happier others are.  The happier others are, the happier I am.  Ah, the happiness of the universe, the well being of the universe.  I think the notion came out of living together for the happiness of one another.  It is a facet of unity with the universe.  Making myself happy is broader and wider reaching than just myself.  Making myself happy makes the universe happy.  Making myself happy makes others happy.  Maybe the best path into lay my desire out as desire for the universe to be happy and my individual happiness is along with it.  Or they are one and the same.  Can I be happy if the universe is not happy?  Does my individual happiness rise when merely trying to make others and the universe happier?  Or I only be happy if the universe is happy.  There is a coupling I don't quite see.  Am I selfish if I take the perspective that I am part of the universe, even a representation of the universe.  So, if I, as the universe want to be happy, is that selfish.  But, if there is nothing else, then how can that be selfish.  That is a great path towards seeing, feeling, being in unity with the universe. My happiness and happiness of the universe are one in the same.  Change my perspective to one of unity.  Not even if I'm happy, then the universe is happy or vice versa. It becomes I am the universe and the universe is me.  If I live for the happiness of the universe, I live for me own happiness because they are the same.  No different.   I think maybe meditating on that unity.  I need to be careful about falling into a trap of rationalizing.  Not merely thinking if I make myself happy, then the universe will be happy as a consequence.  Making myself happy is synonymous with making the universe happy.  But, the perspective I think is better reverse to not lapse into rationalization of selfishness.  I live to make the universe happy.  It may result in action to make this body, this mind over which I have direct dominion to be happy.  but, the goal is to make a happier universe.  That is the line along which my path can go to be a happier universe.  So, I have the vague notion in my head, but it is hard to make concrete because my perspective of 50 years is me and the universe rather than the universe, me or me the universe.  The universe is nothing without me.  I am nothing without the universe. Amen.

Our unity as the universe demands that happiness is not an individual endeavor, but an interconnected purpose whose successes and failures everywhere touch everyone.

Twitter: "Universal unity demands happiness is not individual effort, but interconnected purpose whose success and failure everywhere affects us all."

"Kindness (desire to ease burden), Compassion (desire for well-being) , Teaching (nurturing growth), Love (unconditional acceptance) are linch pins for happiness." 3 minutes mantra, 8 minutes contemplation.

Kindness, compassion, teaching, love are aspects for happiness.  I'm not sure this truth is accurate.  It is an attempt to express truth that is difficult if not impossible to put into words.  Does happiness flow from acting on these values, or do these values flow from happiness?  I think these values flow from happiness.  Though, the DL, says it the other way around.  If it is as the DL says, then if one is alone, if one is left as the only living sentient being that can be happy, then you cannot practice these values.  Therefore, I believe they flow from happiness.  Happiness is at the core of our beings. We do not change from being not happy to happy.  Our happiness is masked by our sufferings.  This might be a question of the boundary of happiness being feelings or happiness being a state of mind or happiness being an inherent part of being human and it is just it's manifestation in feelings that we are aware of. I am convinced for myself that happiness is not a feeling or state of mind.  It is my natural state.  It is anxieties and sufferings that hide my happiness from myself.  They are "unnatural" and stripping away the unnatural reveals the true nature.  So, happiness is a state of mind, but it is the natural state of mind.  Anxieties are a normal part of being in dealing with crises of our lives.  But, they pass with the crises.  You are a beautiful person inside with a natural state of happiness, that when apparently lost, is only covered by our fears and anxieties.  This may all have an amount of bullshit in it because of the workings of the brain.

"Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy." 3:00 mantra, 8:00 contemplation.

Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy.  What does it mean for someone else to make me happy?  It means to make be feel valued, to make me feel good and at peace with myself.  The DL would have you make people happy through compassion and peace.  My loving values are helping people with their well-being, their burdens, their growth and accepting them as they are.  Why is it making others happy makes me happy?  It means letting go of my pleasures and ego, letting go of the energy and resources I use for those  things and directing them to others to share my loving values.  And, it also means, making myself happy, by pursuing my loving values for myself in place of pursuing pleasures.  And, it doesn't need to be in place, but in priority over.  Pleasures are delighting in the universe which I think may really be our purpose instead of being happy.  Being happy enables us to delight in the universe.  When suffering arises, then it gets in the way of enjoying and delighting in the universe.  Going back, turning towards making others happy helps us to let go of commitments we've made toward what we think are the things we're supposed to want to do for ourselves. Jeez, the words are hard to get here.  We become wrapped up and dedicated to our ego that we become slaves to our ego and lose our freedom.  We become slaves to that which we believe is the right way to be for the sake of being right and that serves no purpose other than to allow ourselves to live as children with adults dictating our every action.  Living as children blindly following the rules of our parents and teachers chokes us from living as children taking delight in the universe.

"No one has any less or more right to be who they are." 2:30 mantra, 7:30 contemplation.

No one has any less or more right to be who they are.  I'm not sure I believe our actions define who we are.  They may be representative of our current state of mind.  I believe we are loving creatures who want to be happy and that our states of mind get clouded by defenses mechanisms in response to how we've been treated. I'm going on here and rationalizing.  I can't get socio and psychopaths out of my head.  There are people who cannot feel empathy.  Then, can they desire compassion and kindness, well-being, easing of burdens, growth of others and accept others?  I don't know.  I can only know about myself and project that on to others.  I should read up on social and psychopaths.  Of course, if I define how people can or can't be, then I am closing my mind to all the possibilities of how people can be.  I cannot allow the picture of myself and it's projection on to others be a generalization of others.  I can only say if you are like me, then maybe what is true for me is true for you.  I try to share what I have learned.  It may not apply to you as a unique and beautiful person different from myself.  Drink of it and decide for yourself if it is helpful or not on your path of life.  You have the right to be who you are and to be that person.  Being a murderer, a lover, a rapist, a giver describes your actions, they are not representations of who you are.   There is a question in my mind about what it means to be human.  If someone is hard wired to murder and they cannot be changed does that mean they are a person who's being is fundamentally one who harms others.  Can there be people who fundamentally have sin that cannot be overcome.  I don't know.  It is something to thing about.

"There is no absolute moral right or wrong." 2:30 mantra, 7:30 contemplation.

There is no absolute moral right or wrong.  There are only actions that are consistent with our personal, individual values and consequences for those actions.  If you act in a way inconsistent with your values, then that is wrong for you, it may be also be wrong for someone else with some common or similar values, but it may also be right for another person as they do have values that are different from yours.  I value happiness and not suffering for all.  Because of that I value for myself and others well-being, ease of burden, growth and acceptance.  To act contrary to those values, is wrong for me, not morally wrong, but wrong because, well, wait, wait a minute.  I forget that wrongness brings about anxiety and punishing of my self-esteem.  I am what I am.  If I act contrary to my values, then in reality, those aren't my values.  However, those values are values I know will make me happy if I follow them.  But, we our constantly in flux, influenced by our past, by things in this moment in time.  Our values, what we really believe at any moment shifts and ebbs and flows.  So, I will act according to my values at any moment.  The next moment I may feel differently and the past action be contrary to my new moment.  I do have an over arching set of values that generally govern my actions and that I know are better for my happiness and the happiness of those around me.  But, in moments of stress, my values my shift. But, that is okay.  I am who I am at any moment. Amen.  You, as a beautiful individual different from me, have different values, and hence, different codes of right and wrong.

"Love is unconditional." 2:30 mantra, 7:30 contemplation.

Love is unconditional.  That might just be loaded.  If I rationalize its unconditionality, then the conclusion is that none loves anyone.  This happens if I make it black and white.  Pure love is unconditional.  That is better.  The love I have with Mary is predicated on a reciprocal relationship.  At least, I think it is.  It's come about because of the reciprocation. If love is not pure in its condition, then there is a power situation if the other person wants your love.  But, what if they don't, then there is no power.  The things they can want are well-being, easing of burden, to grow, to be accepted.  Someone may not care if I offer or give them these things.  That may not care if I am kind or compassionate towards them.  Then, there is no power in my hands.  Love is about the desire of these things for another person.  It isn't the actual acts of providing them.  We may not have the opportunity nor the means.  But, it is the desire for anyone, and we do have the opportunity and means to provide them for some people.  It isn't about indiscriminately acting on the futures for others.  We have to balance what we can do against what we desire to do.  We physically cannot give these virtues to everyone.  That is not possible.  We give them as we can as we encounter them or decide to give more later when we encounter them.  To love is to desire happiness without condition or judgment for others and yourself as you and all are beautiful creations of the universe.

"Never do something for the sake of it being right.  Be mindful of the reason it is right and do it for that reason instead." 2:30 mantra, 7:50 contemplation.

Never do something for the sake of it being right.  Be mindful of the reason it is right and do it for that reason instead.  You are a beautiful diverse person.  What you think and believe is right for you.  And, I'm talking about what is deep inside you, the part of you that makes you who you are.  We all have different values and different perspectives on what makes things right and wrong.  A problem we all struggle with is the things that other people tell us are right and wrong and what we learned as being right and wrong growing up.  These things get ingrained in us as absolutes and we follow them without reason, only because we have been told they are right or wrong.  Our choices have consequences and it should be in those consequences that we decided what our choices will be, not because someone told us which choice is right or wrong.  We give power to them and take it away from ourselves.  Each of us knows better than anyone else what is best for ourselves and what we value.  But, we often hide our sense of what we as individuals value for the ease of letting someone else make our choices for us.  It is hard to break through all the lessons we've be taught by rote.  They become of voice in our heads that direct us away from our own mindfulness and towards the wants and desires of others.  Take a stand and decide what is in your best interest, the path that follows your values and not what has been dictated to you as unquestioning right and wrong.

"Attachments bring worry; with the right choices and balance, they also bring added richness and a sense of belonging to the universe." 2:30 mantra, 7:50 contemplation.

Attachments bring worry; with the right choices and balance, they also bring added richness and a sense of belonging to the universe.  We are attached to our families.  They bring us fulfillment in helping each other and loving each other and nurturing each other.  However, they can be taken away at anytime by disaster, then we are left with a huge empty void into which we might collapse if we don't take care for them to not be the only thing that sustains us.  This lessons speaks to us that we  have a higher purpose than anything we are attached to, a purpose that does not have the risk of transiency. That is ourselves within.  That is the very definition of who we are.  If we don't have that, then we don't have existence. All else that we experience in our lives depends on our existence, on the selves that we are within.  For me have recently decided to make myself a priority and have two practices to nurture and protect it.  I have started writing to nurture myself. It pulls out from me who I am and what is important to me and affirms that what is important to me is independent of what is important to any one else at the most fundamental level.  Attachments to other people can drive some importance, but not fundamentally.  And as I realize more what is important to me and that it is important that I make what is important to me the priority among all that is important to me.  The other thing I've done is make exercise a priority. Life is about experience and experience happens through our bodies.  Therefore I need to maintain my body.  The first step I've chosen in that regard is to exercise. I am important, so it is important that I exercise.  I am the most important thing in my life, so I've made writing and exercise the most important things in my life.  I'm not always perfect about the discipline, but I am doing well, and that is what is important.  And it is a healing action for my self that I have decide and I act on me being the most important thing to me.  Amen.

You are the most important person in your world of experience.  You deserve that and have that right.  Live your life for the well-being of that person.

"It's not about avoiding sin, it's about embracing love." 2:15 mantra, 6:45 contemplation.

It's not about avoiding sin, it's about embracing love.  If you willfully and knowingly sin, then your acts are decidedly contrary to love.  My choosing then to embrace love, a willful and knowing act,  for the sake of love, then you will not be willfully and knowingly sin.  So, then the point is not to not sin, but to love.  If you sin without willfully and knowingly do it, then it is a frailty over which you have no control.  The more you embrace love, the less propensity you will have for sin.  Avoiding sin does not bring happiness.  There is no motivation for it other than it being the antithesis of love.  Sin comes from trying to protect ourselves, ease the sufferings that are on our soul.  The virtuous values of well-being, easing of burdens, growing, accepting for ourselves can be sought through sin. But, it will lead to suffering, disharmony with the universe, erosion of our ease and peace with the universe. These virtues flow from loving, and are not sources of love.  You do not do them to be loving, you do them when you love.  Doing them before love may help one know what the fruit of love feels like and realize the wonderfulness of love and thereby motivate them to love, but they are not love themselves.  They are the result of love.  Love does not flow from virtuous action.   Virtuous action flows from love, though virtuous action can teach oneself the value of love.

"Happiness is a lasting state of mind unlike pleasure which is fleetingly transient." 2:15 mantra, 6:45 contemplation.

Happiness is a lasting state of mind unlike pleasure which is fleetingly transient.  Happiness and pleasure are similar in feeling, but really different.  Pleasure can mask suffering and allow happiness to be exposed, but it is not happiness.  It is feelings that make us feel good resulting from stimuli, often external, but can be internal when recalling memories or thinking about things.  Happiness is a state of mind of being at peace with the universe, being one with the universe, a knowing, not so much that things are as they should be, because there is no should, but knowing that things are not as they shouldn't be or not as they are not supposed to be.  It's a lot like the serenity prayer being able to change what we can, accept what we can't change and wisdom to know the difference.  Peace is like a  flowing river not opposing rocks in the middle but going around.  Changing your path if a new obstacle is thrown in that is not opposable, but still moving forward.  It seems like I should be able to write down what happiness is, but I find it difficult.  It is the feeling, the knowing that you are right with the universe. That you accept the universe as it is.  But, that shouldn't be in opposition to create and changing things.  Maybe it's a spiritual universe I mean and not the physical universe. I'm not really sure.  I have a feeling sense about being at peace with something.  But, that shouldn't mean not being creative and not taking action to change things for the better or whatever.

The constancy of true happiness is like a flowing river.  The

Pleasure can open the mind to happiness, but as a substitute can only lead to suffering.

"Devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others are linch pins for suffering." 2:15 mantra, 6:45 contemplation.

Devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others are linchpins for suffering.  Maybe, or they could be systems.  If our souls are in conflict with the universe, we want to explain, find a reason and then find a way to remedy the explanation or reason.  Often, we look to external factors.  Maybe we automatically decide that the non-sentient aspects of the universe are as they should be and have no means, desire or motive to make us suffer.  So, then we look to place blame on the sentient aspects, other people.  Of course, I would want myself to suffer, so it could be me, from within.  Therefore it must be caused by other people.  So, then if they are the cause, then they are to blame.  If they are to blame, then they are not what they should be.  So they are worth less then they should be, less valued.  They are not what humans should be, I dehumanize them.  I blame them so I have hate towards them.  I want revenge or punishment so I harm them.  Wow, it all kind of makes sense.  But, suffering really comes from within on how we choose to be in relationship with ourselves, with the universe and with those we encounter.  Suffering comes from believing we are not what we think we should be.  Once you realize that there is no should about how you are, that you are a natural beautiful part of the universe, then the reasons for devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others fall away.  Few of us ever fully embrace ourselves as we are in the universe, so we are never fully free of our sin.  Of those who hate homosexuals, I imagine, they can fully accept themselves and hate others.  The behavior I see doesn’t contradict that on the surface of my thoughts now.  So what is the source of that hate.  Is it because if it is an abomination and God wouldn’t create abominations, then who is responsible. Or is it as a servant of God, it is their job to eliminate abomination.  There is conflict in thought there.  If God created the heavens and earth, why would he create creatures prone to abomination.  Then, why would he allow it.  Why would he need people to cleanse the abominations.  There is no love in that and God is love.  God is not hate.  Is the God aspect a rationalizing to fear of that which is different, what which is unknown?  And, is it a fear that if something is different, then it could mean that what they believe is suspect, that who they are is suspect, that they can’t accept different ways of being can exist in harmony with the universe, with God’s plan, that God wouldn’t create things so different, that he would create all things uniformly adhering to a single standard? Your sins are not symptoms of unworthy. You are worthy as you are.  They are symptoms of our fears.  Cure the fears, cure the sin.

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us." 2:15 mantra, 6:45 contemplation.

We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing that same universe that works for each of us in our own individualities.  Bottom line, we are all immersed in the same universe.  But, because we start out differently (DNA), and develop differently, different places at different times, our perceptions of the universe are all different.  We do have much in common in our perspectives because we are taught similar things.  The closer in time and place and culture we are, the more our perceptions and hence our perspectives will be alike, or better to say, the more likely they will be alike as not all twins are alike.  Some are some aren't.  But, the most alike people in the world are most likely among the set of twins.  Conversely, the farther apart in time and space and also culture in which we live are lives, the more our perspectives will be different.  But, no matter how different we are in how we view the world and thing what is right about it and what it not, we have in common that we desire happiness and not suffering.  I think happiness is being "right" with the universe, with the fundamental universe.  I'm not sure exactly how to express the notion accurately, but is as close as I can get right now.  It is a sense of peace, a sense of belong, a sense of being as I am supposed to be or that the universe accepts me as I am.  Regardless of what anyone else says or thinks, the universe accepts you. Allow yourself to do so as well, and you will discover happiness.

"Regardless of what anyone else says or thinks, the universe accepts you as you are. Allow yourself to do so as well, and you will discover happiness."

"Kindness (desire to ease burden), Compassion (desire for well-being) , Teaching (nurturing growth), Love (unconditional acceptance) are linch pins for happiness." 2:15 mantra, 6:45 contemplation.

These linch pins are not things that you do as the path to happiness.  Or maybe they are.  You can do these things and not find happiness.  It may be more that when you are happy, you will do these things.  It's sort of circular.  I think it really boils down to self worth which leads to these virtues.  It is hard to be kind, compassionate, nurturing and accepting of others if you cannot do these things for yourself.  We are all deserving of these virtues.  They are markers for happiness, not prescriptions for happiness.  If you are happy, then the virtues follow.  Happiness comes from realization the way you are is in harmony with the universe.  I have trouble finding the words.  It is knowing you are not in conflict with the universe.  It is in choosing not to be in conflict with the universe.  That is not to say you won't be in conflict with other people.  And, maybe it isn't not being in conflict with the universe.  It is knowing when you cannot overcome conflict with the universe and realizing the cost and benefits  of the conflict and how worth it is.  And, conflict itself can be acceptable if you are willing to bear the cost and be at peace with it.

You are worthy of kindness and compassion, nurturing and being accepted as you are.  These virtues are linch pins of happiness and love.

"Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy." 2:15 mantra, 6:45 contemplation

Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy.  The words come from the Dalai Lama.  I first come up with the sentiment on my own sometime ago.  It's a little different, though, I don't think I've thought about it explicitly sense here from the DL.  In order to be happy, be at peace, find joy, etc. I must love others.  I'm think the sentiment I had may not be what feel today and my mind seems resistant to write down something I don't believe now but did in the past.  In order to be happy, I have to not try to make myself happy, but instead love others.  (There we go, I like it, italics for a statement that may not be what I believe now.)  To receive what I want I have to get it to others. At the top level that is saying don't worry about what I want, what my spiritual needs are.  Give to others and I will receive what I need by virtue of the giving.  Sacrifice myself for others to receive what I give them.  Something like that.  I feel like I'm not capturing well the thoughts I had a long time ago.  By letting go of trying to attain happiness for yourself, you will attain it in pursuit of happiness for others.  I like that way of putting.  God, you, want us to be happy.  It is through loving others, pursuing happiness for them that we will attain it.  But, that is not entirely true.  Love yourself, too. Be kind and compassionate.  So, that statement isn't as good as I thought it was.  Happiness is attained through the pursuit of happiness for all, so, love all you encounter including yourself.

"No one has any less or more right to be who they are." 2:15 mantra, 6:45 contemplation

No one has any less or more right to be who they are.  This is kind of abstract.  What does it mean for some to be who they are.  We all have the right to express who we are.  Even devaluing, dehumanizing, hating and harming.  I take exception to these because they cause suffering among us and happiness is a fundamental value of mine so those things conflict with who I am.  We are who we are.  We can choose to change ourselves, but then who we are determines the will to do that.  I think if someone is seeking true inner peace and happiness, that which is the truest happiness, then they will not be one with those harmful values.  I can choose how I react to someone who lives by those sins.  Yes, let me call them sins because for me they are sins.  Sin is something that undermines love and happiness.  I don't want that to be judgmental though.  Being judgmental basically means deciding whether someone has the right to be who they are or not.  I just want to use sin to mean action that causes suffering.  So, is it okay for me to want to change them.  It is okay for me to want them to be happy and those actions cause suffering.  So it is okay for me to desire they want to be happy and so it is okay for me to desire they want to change.  If they choose not to change, then they will face consequences.  I don't mean that in a negative way, just that for every way of living there will be consequences and living harmful lives has it's own set of consequences.

Even the greatest of sinners are worthy of love even though their actions bring upon themselves the consequences of inner suffering and outer scorn.

"We are all equally worthy of love from one another." 2 minute mantra, 6 minute contemplation.

 We are all equally worthy of love from one another. God didn't create crap. He created us. You created us. He created us to experience the joy and ecstasy, peace and calm that come from living in love with one another, loving in love with the universe. We all come from the same place. No one is evil, no one is good. We just are. We are designed to need love, we are designed to give love. That is all you need to know in order to judge us. Sin comes from not realizing we are all the same. It comes from fear that our differences are a threat. We want to survive, not be overburden, grow and be loved. I have always thought that mankind's original grouping into clans is source of conservatism fear of that which is different from what we think is right.

 It is our fear of others' beliefs and ways of doing things that are #different from our own that drives #sin.

"There is no absolute moral right or wrong." 2 minutes mantra, 6 minutes contemplation.

There is no absolute moral right or wrong.  We have mad rules telling us what is right or wrong based on what is good for society.  This is or was a reason behind each rule stating something is right or wrong.  Sexual promiscuity can break down family units which are important for raising children and propagating the family line.  It can lead to disease, hence suffering and death. It can lead to unwanted pregnancies which can lead to unsafe abortion and risk the woman or cause suffering and death for the child. So, sexual promiscuity in and of itself is not bad.  It is the consequences that causes problems.  If you are willing to live with the consequences and those consequences are consistent with your values, then it is okay for you.  It is the consequences of our actions that should be the standard by which we judge them.  Not by whether the actions have been absolutely judge to be right or wrong.  The measure of our actions should be their consequences, not whether they have been absolutely deemed right or wrong actions.

"Love is unconditional." 2 minute mantra, 6 minute contemplation.

Love is unconditional.  Love to me consists of 4 value towards others and self: Well-being, easing of burden, nurturing of growth and acceptance as is.  The Dalai Lama's concept that making others happy is through kindness and compassion.  I correspond valuing well-being to be compassion and easing of burden to be kindness.  Nurturing growth and accepting as is are two additional values I feel are important as well.  The root of love is desiring these things.  You may not be able to actually act on the desires, but the desire is fundamental.  You may provide such things towards another, but unless you desire those outcomes, then it is not love, but just a meaningless facade.  If you do truly desire these things, then you will act on them or attempt to act.  Of course, if the receiver does not wish them, then it is counterproductive to love to force it upon them.  What you can do is let them know you desire those things for them and that you are available for the asking to provide them.  Love is unconditional.  The power of love lies in that it is given freely, without condition.  If you provide any of the four aspects with condition, then you are exercising power over someone or you are alienating them.  Power if you insist they meet a condition which they can provide such as doing a favor or living in a particular way.  Alienation if the condition is unmeetable such as being a family member or having a certain sexual orientation.

"Never do something for the sake of it being right.  Be mindful of the reason it is right and do it for that reason instead. " 2 minute mantra, 6 minute contemplation.

Doing something because it is right is really being an automaton without that.  No better than a robot.   Knowing something is right means someone told is it is right.  There must be a reason behind being told that it is right, even if it is ourselves that told us it is right.  It then becomes a mindless rule if we continue to do it solely because it has been designated as right.  The problem then is that we will do it in situations regardless of whether it is appropriate or not.  We may have a good sense of what the appropriate situations are, but a new situation may come along to which it doesn't apply, but we do it anyway.  Understanding why it is the right thing to do and applying it because of that reason ensures we do it appropriately.  It also avoids hypocrisy.  We may believe one thing, but act differently because we also believe that action is the right thing.  If we have a set of values, we could contradict them with actions of being right.  Following right things really handcuffs our freedom.  We blindly follow a set of rules without allowing ourselves to explore other ways of doing things, other things that can bring happiness and fulfillment we could know we could have if we mindless follow the right thing to do.

Always following the right way of living blinds us from exploring different better ways of living.

"Attachments bring worry; with the right choices and balance, they also bring added richness and a sense of belonging to the universe." 2 minute mantra, 6 minute contemplation

Attachments bring worry because we do not want to lose them.  We all our "happiness" to become dependent on them.  Or probably, better, we do not want to lose the pleasure they bring us.  The DL says pleasure is really covering up pain, so pleasure means we have pain.  I'm not sure about that is always the case.  Maybe that is where the strength of desire for not losing attachments come from.  We use attachments to mask suffering.  That is not a healthy way to use attachments.  Creative activities are attachments because they make us feel whole, productive, a meaningful part of the universe.  But, becoming attached to specific activities can be not healthy.  If we lose the activity, then we suffer greatly.  There's a mash episode about a piano player who loses function in his hands.  Charles convinces him there are ways to get fulfillment from the gift of music that he formerly got by playing the piano.  He still used his gift, but in a different way.  Having multiple attachments for fulfillment can protect against lose of fulfillment.  Of course, having too many such attachments, dilutes the fulfillment.  It becomes broad and not deep.  Maybe that is okay.

Attachments can bring meaning and fulfillment to our lives.  However, using them for pleasure masks suffering which is better tackled  through inner happiness and peace.

"It's not about avoiding sin, it's about embracing love." 2 minute mantra, 6 minute contemplate.

Happiness most efficiently comes from making others happy. Avoiding sin does not make others happy. It may avoid making them suffer, but our goal in life is to be happy. That is what you wish for us Lord, and you gave us the gift of love to accomplish that. Avoiding sin means making a list of the things I'm not supposed to do and worry about the consequences if I don't. This is a recipe for anxiety and fear, roots of internal suffering. We avoid sin for the sake of someone else. That is not bad in and of itself, but it does nothing for our own well-being and can be detrimental to it. We do desire happiness. Happiness does bring us well-being. It feels good in bringing us calm and peace and unity with the universe. Those are motivations for us. We want to pursue happiness for our own sake. And that is good because pursuing happiness for our own sake also spreads happiness among others. If we pursue avoiding sin, then the anxiety and fear it brings upon ourselves spreads to others. That is why being judgmental is a harmful thing. It degrades ourselves in our pursuit avoiding sin and it degrades and alienates others. And, this spreads suffering.

"It's not about avoid sin. Even doing that leads to sin because it makes us judgmental about ourselves and others which undermines love by making it conditional."

"Happiness is a lasting state of mind unlike pleasure which is fleetingly transient." 2 minute mantra meditate, 6 minute contemplate.

Happiness comes from within.  It is our attitude towards the outer world, it is something we have the potential to always control regardless of what is happening in the outer world.  Pleasure is a reaction to stimuli from the outer world.  We can certainly control how we react and that is certainly an inner action.  But, the reaction only happens to external stimuli.  We do not have the potential to completely control out stimuli.  We can influence that they happen, but there may be things beyond our control to make them happen.  And, there may be things we wish to not stimulate us for we we do not have control to prevent.  There is the adage that attachments make us unhappy, they make us suffer.  The reason is that we allow our happiness to be dependent on those attachments.  And since attachments are external things, we do not have control and so when we lose them or don't have them for a time out of our non-control, then we become unhappy.  It is the lack of total control that makes pleasure fleetingly transient.  We cannot control the outer world, however we can learn to control how we react to it and our attitude towards it.

Values and Truths for Contemplation

1. We are all equally worthy of love from one another. (12/29/14-1/4/15, 24)
2. No one has any less or more right to be who they are. (12/29/14-1/4/15, 25)
3. Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy. (1/5/15-1/10, 26)
4. Kindness (desire to ease burden), Compassion (desire for well-being) , Teaching (nurturing growth), Love (unconditional acceptance) are linch pins for happiness. (1/5/15-1/10, 27)
5. We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. (1/11/15-1/17, 28)
6. Devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others are linch pins for suffering. (1/11/15-1/17, 29)
7. Happiness is a lasting state of mind unlike pleasure which is fleetingly transient. (1/18)
8. It's not about avoiding sin, it's about embracing love. (1/19)
9. Attachments bring worry; with the right choices and balance, they also bring added richness and a sense of belonging to the universe. (1/20)
10. Never do something for the sake of it being right.  Be mindful of the reason it is right and do it for that reason instead.  (1/21)
11. Love is unconditional. (1/22)
12. There is no absolute moral right or wrong. (1/23)

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that condone or sanction devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others." 7 minutes

Lord, we are all created in great pot of diversity, no one alike. Our DNA ensuring our physical forms are nearly impossible to be identical and our development to be dependent on our environments which are practically impossible to be identical for any two of us. That is a beauty of diversity that is also beneficial. Each of us is limited in what we can learn through experience. By interacting with one another, we can learn beyond our own capacity and we can be a source of learning for others as well. That is why I value diversity and recognize that everyone has a different view of the universe and different ways of describing it. It matters not if they are even contradictory. What matters is that the way each person looks at the universe works for them as they see it and that they can have well-being and be accepted. Devaluing, dehumanizing, hating and harming undermines peoples chance for well-being and being accepted the things necessary for happiness. Each of us has a better chance at happiness if we all live for one another’s happiness. That is what makes Mary and my marriage work. If we don’t live for one another’s happiness then we suffer more. Thank you Lord for one another and the ability to live for one another’s happiness.

“Living for one another’s #happiness maximizes our own happiness. Living just for our own minimizes it. This is the power of love.”

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that condone or sanction devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others." 7 minutes

I think all sin is some form of devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others.  Unless a law or rule, secular, religious or otherwise stands against one of these actions, then it is not a sin to break it.  We all do sin, we all commit such acts against one another.  We cannot escape our egos and that leads us to sin.  There is nothing wrong with that.  It is just these things contribute to unhappiness.  We should not do them because they are wrong.  We should not do them if we want to find true happiness, peace and unity with the universe.  And, just as we all commit sin, we have it in us to be kind and compassion, i.e., loving towards others.  One of my past definitions of love was to help others survive, ease their burdens, accept them as they are.  I do devalue, dehumanize, hate and harm others.  I desire to ease their burdens, etc.  As I wish to be happy, I strive to align my soul with love.

Beyond 7. My old definition of love was to desire the well-being of another, desire to ease their burdens, desire for them to grow, accept and embrace others as they are.

Love desires the well-being of others, to ease their burdens, to grow and accepts, embraces and celebrates them as they are.

Sin devalues, dehumanizes, hates and harms others.
Love values, eases burdens, helps to grow and accepts others.  I do both.

Values for Contemplation (superceded)

• We are all equally worthy of love from one another; no one has any less or more right to be who they are.
• Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy; making others happy is most effectively done through kindness and compassion; bestowing kindness and compassion upon others shows them how to achieve happiness for themselves.
• We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that condone or sanction devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others.

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that condone or sanction devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others." 7 minutes

This universe is a beautiful place.  When I am able to let go and flow with it, the peace and unity that I become gives me a feeling of satisfied connectedness with the universe.  I become part of the fabric of the universe and have a feeling of realization that that is how I am meant to be.  It is a rare and fleeting experience.  I don't even know if I've ever actually been in that state or if I'm imagining it as an extrapolation from some of the more calm and peaceful times in my life.  The bottom line is that have such an experience is experiencing the harmony of the universe and is something that everyone can experience.  It has nothing to do with describing the universe or beliefs about the universe.  I think at some level, many religions and belief system aspire to that experience.  I do believe that many models and descriptions block people from being able to reach that experience because of the division that is built in to those belief systems.  I think right vs. wrong can undermine being able to be there.  Wrongness by it's nature is a seed for anxiety and division.  If it is important to not be wrong, then that generates anxiety because we can never not be wrong because to be human is not just to be fallible, but to fail in practice even thought we desire not to fail, not to be wrong.  It also generates division because a belief system that has an inventory of things that are wrong, then there will be things in that inventory that others practice and believe are not wrong.  What follows then, is a belief that some others are wrong, i.e., belief system that judges the worthiness of one another.

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that condone or sanction devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others." 7 minutes

We are all at the center of our psyche basically the same.  Spiritual beings that want to be happy and don't want to suffer.  Beyond that basis, we are all different, no two alike because our physical make ups are different via DNA, our minds our different via our different learning experiences, our emotional make ups are different because we have all been treated differently, our spiritual make ups are different because we have been taught different spiritualities.  But, we all reside in the same universe and all our experiences derive from being in the same universe.  It's just that we have all existed in different times and places in that universe so we see only a small part of the universe and that part is different from the small part that everyone else sees because the see their small part which in a different place and time.  It goes back to the 4 blind priests trying to describe an elephant each having only a different part to describe it from.  We develop our pictures of the world based on our own experiences and what explains our experiences and predicts our future experiences.  If we find a model failed to explain something in the past or our prediction of the future based on our model failed, then it is reasonable to modify our model, our beliefs.  And, it is very reasonable and beneficial to learn about other's beliefs because we may find that they have a belief that would improve our own model.

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that lead to devaluing, dehumanizing, hating and harming others." 7 minutes

All sin traces back to devaluing, dehumanizing and/or harming others.  Nothing else is a sin.  Sin is action that undermines love.  Sin is not failing to follow rules or laws made up by other people. You need not avoid sin to find peace.  All you need to do is practice love, i.e, practice kindness and compassion towards yourself and others.  Remember, they have their own adventure as you have your  own.  Love them for who they are, not what they do.  Boy, this sounds like party-line kind of rationalizing.  The point I'm trying to make is don't hold other up to artificial standards and don't judge them period.  They are where they are because of their past life experience.  If you cannot tolerate their values, then step away from their adventure.  The exception is if their actions actions do devalue, dehumanize, hate or harm others, then step into their adventure at your own discretion being mindful for the consequences to them, others and yourself.  Sin only follows from devaluing, dehumanizing, hating or harming others.  All other kinds of actions are valid choices we make as part of our own life adventure.  Amen.

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that lead to devaluing, dehumanizing, hating and harming others." 7 minutes

We all have different bodies, different pasts which means we process the impacts of our external world upon us differently.  If I live way up north, the cold on my skin doesn't seem nears as uncomfortable as it does for someone living down on the equator.  If I grew up hunting, my reaction to enacting gun laws will be different if I never saw a gun before.  No one person's way is right or wrong.  The way each of us views the universe is different because we have different backgrounds.  Everyone has the right to believe what they believe.  And, we can choose peace if we desire.  Our differences gives us rich diversity and opportunity to learn and choose new paths that are better than our old paths.  God gave us minds that can think and analyze.  We will become more at peace the more we use that gift from God to better understand and develop a world model that is more consistent with our observations and perceptions of the universe.  Using God's gift of our minds, we can better appreciate the diversity of humanity and give ourselves the means to change our beliefs to be less in conflict and more in harmony with the universe we experience.

"We all live in and experience the same universe; we have different ways of describing the universe that works for each of us. The only objections I have to others' ways of describing it are those descriptions that lead to devaluing, hating and harming others." 7 minutes

This is late at night instead of early in the morning defeating the purpose of a good start to the day.  But, I want to get in the right number of meditations.  My morning 750 was timed at 6 minutes instead of 7.  Oh, well.  Monday will be 7.  That's okay.  The greatest sins are devaluing, dehumanizing, hating and harming others.  These pit us against one another and undermine love.  The motivations for them are pure selfishness.  All wrongdoing stems from these four anti-values.  We all are guilty of all these actions and will always continue to commit them as our spirits are clouded with coping mechanisms we developed to protect ourselves from these very actions.  We are not wrong to commitment, just dysfunctional.  With mindfulness, we can overcome and reduce how much we commitment.  It is extreme dysfunction and the closest thing I can admit for something to be wrong when a value system incorporates and sanctions these actions  Amen.

"Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy; making others happy is most effectively done through kindness and compassion; bestowing kindness and compassion upon others shows them how to achieve happiness for themselves." 6 minutes

It has to be selfish at some level.  If I want to be happy, then help others to be happy.  The selfishness is in my wanting to be happy.  Give of myself to others to help them be happy with the goal of making myself happy.  I can't do right things for the sake of being right.  Who decides what is right?  If it doesn't come from within, then it's somebody else.  Then, I'm not being me and that only can lead to suffering.  If it comes from within, then I must have a rationale for deciding what is right.  That rationale is closer to the reason for doing something than because it is right.  "Right" is a proxy for the rationale.  Ultimately, for me, it's about finding my place in the universe that gives me a sense of not being in conflict with the universe.  This is hard to verbalize.  The goal is to be in harmony with the universe.  I'm not sure exactly what that means in words.  It is something to contemplate.  Think about it today and beyond.  What is it that I want at my most fundamental level of being?  I know it is peace and calm or is peace and calm the result or what does peace and calm mean, what does it look like to be there.

"Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy; making others happy is most effectively done through kindness and compassion; bestowing kindness and compassion upon others shows them how to achieve happiness for themselves." 6 minutes

Lord, happiness is what we desire, and we do not desire suffering.  Happiness is the absence of worry and anxiety.  We will not achieve absolute happiness because we have things we value it is a consequence of valuing something the we are vulnerable to worry and anxiety about the well being of what we value or losing or not having something we value.  It the things we value that make our happiness even richer, though it comes at the price o some worry and anxiety. We must find a balance that works for ourselves.  If the worry and anxiety are tolerable to maintain something we value in exchange for the richness that thing of value brings to our lives, then that is okay.  Added richness to happiness is really just pleasure.  Pleasure is a transient thing, but just because it is transient, it does not mean it has no meaning or is not good.  The pleasure that comes from maintaining or nurturing or creating something of value and knowing it contributes to the universe can bring harmony with us and the universe and it is in that harmony we find unity and belonging with the universe and that peace brings happiness in that it helps us to realize the universe is as it should be and there is less need to worry about our place in it and our worth in it.  Amen.

For Twitter: Attachments bring worry; with the right choices and balance, they also bring added richness and a sense of belonging to the universe.

"Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy; making others happy is most effectively done through kindness and compassion; bestowing kindness and compassion upon others shows them how to achieve happiness for themselves." 6 minutes

Happiness is the purpose of life says the Dalai Lama. You, Lord, created us for the purpose of experiencing the joy that comes from loving.  Same thing.  The Dalai Lama says that happiness is achieved through kindness and compassion. Loving another is desiring others to be happy and not suffer.  Love is fulfilled through kindness and compassion.  Unless love is fulfilled, it becomes hollow and meaningless and becomes selfish and fails.  With that failure it fails to achieve the joy, God, you intend for us.  Salvation requires works of faith.  Salvation is achieving the joy you intend for us.  Salvation comes with your kingdom which is here and now and always has been.  Christ brought us the Way of unconditional love which is the Way to joy and happiness and peace.  May we all begin to understand in our own way to find out own path to happiness. Amen.

"Happiness comes most strongly form making others happy which is mot effectively done through kinds and compassion, and doing so shows them how to achieve happiness for themselves."
Happiness is the reason you created us. To share the wonderfulness of experiencing it. It can only come about, no, that thought doesn't follow. What is happiness? Is it satisfaction with what you accomplish? Is it accepting the universe as it is? According to the Dalai Lama, it is a lasting thing unlike the transientness of pleasure. It's a state of mind. It's being free of suffering, anxiety, fear. Suffering is the antithesis of happiness, so that is circular. And, suffering here, in the context in which the DL uses the term does not refer to physical pain and suffering, but to internal suffering of the spirit or soul. Happiness is a state of mind that is lasting unlike pleasure which is fleetingly transient.

"We Are all equally worthy of love from one another. No one has any less or more right to be who they are." And I'm supposed to be starting a new value today. Let's go check out the next one in my blog, oh, and start the time after I've written out my value for the week. Journal blog that is. 12/27/14.

"Happiness comes most strongly from making others happy; making others happy is most effectively done through kindness and compassion; bestowing kindness and compassion upon others shows them how to achieve happiness for themselves"

Happiness i the reason you created us, Lord. It is a wonderful universe when I am happy. Help me to be kind and compassionate towards others above all other priority or agenda  I may have. May I always have in my mind to be kind and compassionate towards others to be the most important thing above whatever it is that I'm supposed to or should be d king. It is through compassion and love that the fruits of your creation are born and your creation is fulfilled. May we all see that sharing in collaboration and happiness and kindness and compassion and love is the best way to achieve the highest possible level of love and fulfillment in our lives. That is truly fulfilling the promise of your creation. Amen.

"we are all equally worthy of love from one another. No one has any less or more right to be who they are." (5 minutes)

We are family, brothers and sisters. We are all equal, peers in deserving one another's love.  That is how we survive as a species, created by God.  That is how we achieve the most happiness, the happiness and joy and peace that God created us to experience, to share in that experience that God created us to share in that he wants to share with us. God created us as xxxx equals to live together to share, sustain and nurture our happiness with one another.

"We Are All Equally Worthy of Love from one another; no one has any less or more right to be who they are." (5 minutes)

We are all equal. Knowing that is a great release into freedom because it means not having to sue energy to ascertain others in order to judge t hem. Judgement becomes meaningless. You become free to use your energy to love them, to seek their happiness and gain for yourself as well. Happiness never comes from judging others; it always comes when you love another. The less we judge, the happier everyone will be. Thank you Lord for this gift of love. May we all learn to use it better to make the world the happy experience you desire and created it to be. Amen, Amen, Amen.

We Are All Equally Worthy of Love from One Another; No One Has Any Less or More Right to Be Who They Are (5 Minutes)

I am no better than anyone else and no one else is any better than me.  We are brothers and sisters on this planet striving to survive and find happiness.  Happiness is best found in loving collaboration.  Being kind and compassionate towards one another.  The acts kindness and compassion bring happiness to the giver and the receiver, and can bestow upon the receiver a knowing that being kind and compassionate brings one happiness.  The words basically come from the Dalai Lama, but they echo a sentiment I concluded some years ago.  To be happy, one must love another, must want the happiness of another.  Love is a paradox.  To find happiness from love, you must put the happiness of another above your own, willing to sacrifice happiness for the happiness of others.  Ah, maybe it is the dichotomy of pleasure vs. happiness.  Giving up pleasure for the happiness of another will make your own happiness stronger.