Celebrating 2014...

... celebrate your victories and losses. It's all part of the game.
And games are supposed to be fun, so find that good humor or sarcasm, or irony and be the clown tonight! We're all in this together. These pictures show how together we can do better.

Celebrating 2014 in photos: The most colourful festivals, parties and carnivals of the year

Follow your joy

... I know, it´s sound simplistic.
common, how many of us are not happy within their relationships, or job, with their families, or with themselves?... We're not all stupid, are we?

... silence ...

we're a bit.
yes, we're a bit stupid, I wrote it, but hey!
it's not the end of the world!
Admitting that is actually the first crucial step to stop being stupid.

Go "Ok, I thought I knew it all, I thought I should be like everyone else,
I thought that not being really happy was natural, ok, I haven't been the smartest person."

So, how does a non-stupid person live their life?
From what I've seen, heard and felt, non-stupid people live free.
They don't care for criticism or judgmental observations, unless they bring some enlightenment towards a better way to be happy. They have good friends and listen to them, but they also know that nobody knows their shit that well to actually understand the complexity of someone else's life.

We don't know anything for sure. That's one major rule for stop being stupid.
We don't know shit. We have clues, hints, hunches, feelings about this and that, but until we actually do it, it's all a guess, a wild guess. So this brings us to humility.

Non-stupid people are humble.

They're humble, they know that they know very little about Life, but they're not scared of that uncertainty. They're ok with that. Ok.

So what if I don't know where I'm heading, right now, what do I need to know that?
Ah! Need!

This brings us to another characteristic of a non-stupid person.
They have needs, ok, but their needs are simple. Remember, humility.
We all need each other, we don't know all how to fix things or how to communicate them. Even the so called genius have handicaps. So, because non-stupid people know that everyone needs something, they give freely what they can and receive freely what they need. Simplicity.

One thing in exchange for something else, but in a calm and collected manner.
No comparisons, no measuring up, no bitterness or egotism.

It goes like this, "Hey, can you help me? Sure, what do you need? I need you to scratch my back, can you do it? Yeah, no problem.". On another day, could be 5 minutes or 10 years later, those same people meet up and say "Hey, remember when I scratched your back? Yeah, so nice! What's up? Yeah, I noticed you had some good strong muscles there. Can you help me carrying that couch? Sure, let's go!"

Simplicity...

Humbleness, Simplicity and... Joy!

Joy is about pleasure.
Non-stupid people know very well their sources of pleasure, and they work for it!
They know what they need and they go for it.
They don't stand there waiting to hear from someone else's mouth what is the greatest thing "since sliced bread". They have tried it and learned what's their thing.

Again, it's not about measuring up and competing with others, it's following your vibe, your thing.
And when you're happy, when you believe in yourself, you gain faith.
Faith that things have a purpose, a meaning, a right time, faith that in the end everything "falls" into its right place. Or rise.

Just one more little thing. We all make mistakes and sometimes we end up hurting someone.
Non-stupid people apologize. But to really say "I'm sorry", you need to take in the responsibility of your action. When you have to apologize understand how you hurt the other and state the behavior that you think hurt the other person. Don't look for excuses like "You provoked me!". Nop, own your action and say "Sorry, I didn't hear you, or I was selfish, or I forgot, I have to work on that". If you got it right just don't repeat it again. The other person will feel your empathy.


And that's it.
Working on being a less stupid person.

“May your Heart open a little more today safely around the right people. May you be grounded in your inner strength to witness and not take things personally when others are reactive or ignorant. May you be touched through the expression of kindness, both in giving and receiving. May you talk nicely to yourself in your mind, encouraging and loving who you are in process. May you stretch and get out of your comfort zone in a way that brings you needed growth. May you be present with others in a way that deepens connection, opens hearts, and honors your perfect humanness.”
_
Anonymous

On beauty and asthetics

Because we need poetry to see the stars dancing and the moon seducing the ocean... a little bit of blues...

Merry Xmas...

... adults over think things.

on Honesty...

Give people more credit for their ability to empathize and understand you on a deeper level... so, learn to be HONEST.

Lies are told to eliminate the guilt, avoid punishments, and get back to the objectionable behavior we're forced to lie about. But remember, it's a vicious cycle...

How to stop that?
When you lie, you're covering up some uncomfortable truth that's more easily couched in a lie. You can either get comfortable with the truth, or abandon the behavior that makes you embarrassed.
In synthesis: Come out, or leave it.

Real honesty comes first within yourself. As much as you can, try and eliminate excuses from your mind. Know yourself and Love yourself. If there are issues you're ashamed off, address them!
Lying to yourself is easy. It's easy to come up with a couple hundred reasons not to do something you don't want to do. That's why we let it happen so often! Make it hard on yourself.

If you're not honest with yourself and others, you're not giving yourself any credit.
Forget what you think other people want to hear. Speak from your heart and tell the truth, unconcerned about whether or not it will make you look "bad." People respect honesty, even when the truth is uncomfortable.

There's never too much honesty. But don't be confused between honesty and judgment, criticism, too much opinion about everything. Some good tips on how not to become a "straight-shooter":

- Use "I" statements when sharing uncomfortable truths. Focus on talking about your! feelings, and your! opinions, to stay respectful of others. It's all just your! point of view.


- Learn to listen quietly while others are speaking, even if you disagree with what they're saying.

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom."
_
Thomas Jefferson

Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Honest

Paulo Coelho: “What I learned in life is…

... That no matter how good a person is, sometimes they can hurt you and because of this we must forgive.

Our circumstances and the environment influence our lives, but we must be responsible for ourselves.

That no matter how many pieces your heart is broken into, the world doesn’t stop to fix it.

The best kind of a friend is the kind in which you can sit on a porch or go for a walk without saying a word, and when you leave, it feels like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best out of everything that comes their way.

A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.

Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day...

So, be that child: be happy for no reason, be busy! and believe in your dreams!

BREATH IN... and exhale...

... Thank you

For good or bad...

"... this day will never repeat itself"

enjoy and let it go.
do all you can, be present and cease it.

Life's Mandala #2

Life's Mandala #1

Different kinds of Heaven

On relationships....

To be together & not really be together drives people crazy.
For that reason there is a lot of loneliness and frustration out there.
Love is about presence, not expert performance.
It's not that your partner is a terrible dancer. You can learn how to dance.
It's about presence.
You can feel pleasure and connection just from the touch of her or his hand.
To tune in the other, to tune into each other.

But Love takes time. Attraction is what you feel at first as you laugh and share good feelings, but later, you have to continue to fall in Love, over and over. You will step on each others foot once & while, and disagree in some non-important details of your perspective on the world, but you can reconnect again, and fall in Love again.

In a relationship, whether it is with one person or with the world,
we need to feel we matter.

Long lasting relationships are possible and can bring up emotions and new learning's on ourselves that in short-term encounters there's no space to happen. But in order to make them last, you need to engage with the other.

When you're in a relationship and you feel alone, you are far worst that someone that is just alone. Because you see everyday how that love vibration could happen, but you can't reach it, like a wonderful banquet and you're behind the glass, behind the well framed mirror.

Words of Dr. Sue Johnson. Thank you.

A Handy Tip For the Easily Distracted

The beautiful creature, Miranda July, at her best... presents...
 "A Handy Tip For the Easily Distracted"...

“A Handy Tip For the Easily Distracted” by Miranda July - NOWNESS from NOWNESS on Vimeo.

Our 6th Sense...

... when was the last time you actually heard your own voice? To really speak out loud what you think, what you believe in, what you wish and hope for.

try,

tell in your own voice, using your breath, your throat, your muscles, your whole body, tell to the whole you, who do you believe you are. What does it feel true to you?

It's hard to believe in your words?
... then what it is that you're afraid? what are you afraid off?
say it out loud.

What is your most immediate concern?
What is keeping you awake?
What is the one thing that if you could change would bring peace into your heart?

To become aware, to become intuitive, is to start paying attention to this world subtleties.
For example,
if you want to connect with someone, feel their breath.
Breath 3 times at the same rhythm as the other person, and ask: how can I best serve this person?
What can I do that would bring trust between us both?

YOU CAN...

You can change your ENERGETIC FIELD.
Like the Earth that has an atmosphere, so do you.
Objects and people can feel drawn or retracted from you. Depends on your Energy.
Like the planets that gravitate around the Sun.

The same way we don't "fall" out of the Earth, so do we live under the forces of gravity. What are you letting gravitating around you? What sort of garbage or negative energy are you allowing to orbit in your energy field?

To better access your Intuition, you can start by playing games.

1# I WONDER game...
For fun, start wondering how the traffic is going to be, when is that person going to call you, what will the weather be, whatever, wonder around... what time is is, play.

2# 19 SOLUTIONS
You have something that is hurting you, anxiety about a problem or two. Make your self imagine 19 solutions for that problem. For example: oh, my girlfriend left me...
1) errr... I can try and get her back 2) I can erase her phone number and everything related to her and in 21 days my mind will be over her 3) I can start meeting new people and write about this mate searching need we have 4) I can go away for the weekend and be just with myself drinking wine...
Find 19 solutions...

3# Give you Left brain, your intuition, a different name. So if you're Gibelinha for everyone else, when you need to call in the sensitive/intuitive part of you call Xxxxx.

and last, but not least... BELIEVE

I CAN BE HAPPY!

I CAN LOVE AND FEEL LOVED!

I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!

I AM FREE FROM MENTAL-SOCIAL-FAMILY PROGRAMMING!

...

... I AM JOY, COMPASSION, GENTLENESS & LOVE...

A Hundred Blessings – Rumi
When Love comes suddenly and taps
on your window, run and let it in,
but first shut the door of your reason,
even the smallest hint chases love away,
like smoke that drowns the freshness
of the morning breeze.
To reason, Love can only say
the way is barred, you can’t pass through,
but to the lover it offers a hundred blessings.
Before the mind decides to take a step,
Love has reached the seventh heaven.
Love has climbed the Holy Mountain.
I must stop this talk now and let
Love speak from its nest of silence.

 

“I’ll just leave you with this.
I don’t care how many angels can
dance on the head of a pin. It’s
enough to know that for some people
they exist, and that they dance.”
— 

Mary Oliver - from “Angels,” Blue Horses

Choose your words and be honest in a non-harmful way.

Don't steal time from yourself or others. Be present, here & now.

Live with less stuff and more love.

Respect your body.

Kinder also means Children (in german)

Gentleness

We were all human beings until race disconnected us, religion separated us, politics divided us, and wealth classified us. 

 

 

“Each quantum event, each of the trillions of times reality’s particles interact with each other every instant, is like a note that rings and resonates throughout the great bell of creation. And the sound of the ringing propagates instantaneously, everywhere at once, interconnecting all things. This is a truth of our universe. It is a mystical truth, that reality at its deepest level is an undivided wholeness.”
—
David Zindell

Beauty can have so many "faces"

The important thing is really, be whoever you feel like being and you'll stand as your "true" self. To fully be, you have to be honest with what you feel. In feeling and not judging lies honesty.

Seamless beauty

On the road...

Slow down, friend.

Breathe.

In, out.

In, out.

Sink into the vastness of presence.

Life is only a moment.

Answers do not arrive on-demand.

We are on an ancient schedule here.

The teaching is simple:

Slow down, friend.

Breathe.

In, out.

In, out.

- Jeff Foster

Beautiful photography: Vyacheslav Korotki a man of extreme solitude

http://www.newyorker.com/project/portfolio/weather-man?mbid=social_tumblr

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.
—
Thich nhat Hanh

“Vulnerability is a great strength that has been considered a weakness for far too long.”
—
Ethan Nichtern

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is the claim or pretense of holding beliefs, feelings, standards, qualities, opinions, behaviors, virtues, motivations, or other characteristics that one does not in actual fact hold. In moral psychology, it is the failure to follow one’s own expressed moral rules and principles.

"Love is the bridge between you and everything."

- Rumi

Connect with the Universe's energy...

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.” –Albert Einstein - See more at: http://www.davidji.com/blog-2/?utm_source=Energy+Meditation+-+Nov+2014&utm_campaign=Leaning+Into+Your+Dreams+-+Nov+2014&utm_medium=email#sthash.TNBjrUJa.dpuf

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.” –Albert Einstein - See more at: http://www.davidji.com/blog-2/?utm_source=Energy+Meditation+-+Nov+2014&utm_campaign=Leaning+Into+Your+Dreams+-+Nov+2014&utm_medium=email#sthash.TNBjrUJa.dpuf

This World... wow...

Two Lands - Greenland | Iceland from SCIENTIFANTASTIC on Vimeo.

Same nature, different choices.

“Respect your uniqueness and drop comparison. Relax into your being.”
—
Osho

Do you really believe this is all you are?

“Perhaps all of spirituality can be summed up thus:
Stop waiting for the external world - objects, people, events, substances, circumstances - to make you happy. Find a self-generating happiness that is not dependent, a joy that is undiminished by time or loss. Even if you lose, you win, because the journey itself is the goal, and every moment on the path is precious, and entirely sacred.”
—
Jeff Foster

And when you're living... Focus

The Birth Of A Tool. Part III. Damascus steel knife making (by John Neeman Tools) from John Neeman Tools on Vimeo.

Let go the outcome... Live.

"Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. (...) This is the real secret of life - to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play."
_
Alan W. Watts 



Why Meditate for Happiness?

“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. (...) To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float."
_
Alan W. Watts 

what's the color of your bile?

From Old French melancolie, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía, “atrabiliousness”), from μέλας (mélas), μελαν- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). Compare the Latin ātra bīlis (“black bile”).

“Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.”
— 
African Proverb