All posts by Michael

A Two Tier ‘Map’

The word recovery means a restoration or return to normal condition.  This begs the question of what is normal?   Perhaps we will address that question down the road a bit. What we do know.  What we have become aware of is that things are not working to our satisfaction. We have become aware of a disturbance.  We can deny it no more.  In some cases the situation seems to spiral and we, not only notice dysfunction but experience it in our life.  

A desire wells up in us.  This desire is for the present moment to be different from what it is.  The desire for things to be different from what is – is suffering. We suffer whether we are aware of it or not whenever we have any degree of desire for this moment to be anything other than it is.  Of course, with anything, there is a sliding scale as far as the degree to which suffering presents itself.  I guess the poles would be from mildly irritating to excruciatingly unbearable.  I think you get my point.  

I started this with the concept of recovery because I have seen a connecting pattern between the Twelve Steps of AA/GA/NA….. and The Four Noble Truths of The Buddha.

First, The Four Noble truths.

Continue reading A Two Tier ‘Map’

The Treasure

Once upon a time there was a poor man who heard that in a faraway land, on the other side of the deep and dangerous sea, there is a place where diamonds were as plentiful as dust — one need only bend down, scoop them up, and fill one’s pockets.

Only one boat was capable of making the journey and it took a whole year from start to finish. After the long and arduous journey, the man arrived in this wondrous land. Everything that had been said about it was true! Diamonds of all sizes were strewn around everywhere — even the sand was comprised of billions of tiny glittering gems. A group of children gathered to watch the strange stranger kneeling on the ground and stuffing his pockets with stones and pebbles, but our friend was too busy to notice them.

To celebrate the end of his poverty, the traveler ordered a luxurious dinner in the most expensive restaurant in town. Feeling generous, he handed the waiter a small-sized stone and exhorted him to keep the change. Needless to say, he spent that entire night washing dishes in the kitchen to pay for his extravagance.

He quickly learned that these pebbles, each of which would be worth millions back home, were utterly worthless. Here, the currency with which people paid for goods and services was fish. In fact, few people remembered that fish were originally consumed as a food. No one was bothered by the stench which emanated from their wallets, pocketbooks and money closets. Indeed, a reeking establishment exuded the sweet aura of old money.

Once he overcame the disappointment of his lost dream, our traveler was revealed to be a most resourceful and ambitious individual. He worked hard, invested wisely, and before long he was one of the wealthiest people in the land. His businesses were headquartered in the most rancid section of old downtown and his private vaults held thousands of tons of fish.

Finally, it was time to return home. He telegraphed his family: “Am rich. We shall never want for anything in our lives. Prepare triumphant homecoming.” He loaded his fortune on a fleet of ships, and set sail for his hometown.

Family and friends, dressed in their best, awaited him eagerly at the seaport. Of course, there was nothing that could be done with his shiploads of rotted fish except sail back a few miles from shore and dump them into the sea.

But later that day, as he was undressing for bed, a few specks of dust were shaken out of his trouser pockets and sparkled on the floor of his home. He and his family never again wanted for anything in their lives.


The soul, in its abode on high, hears wondrous tales of a faraway land. To get there, it must cross a deep and treacherous sea. Great treasures, it is told, are literally free for the taking in this place. A coin given to charity, a prayer uttered, a kind word extended to a troubled fellow — the higher realms, lacking physical bodies and a material reality, can only dream of such treasures.

The soul descends into the material world and discovers that everything that had been said about this place is true.

Diamonds litter the streets. Wherever one turns, await countless opportunities to share and bestow on another, to do, good and wholesome deeds. One need only bend down to the ground and fill one’s pockets.

Yet the value of these “diamonds” are not appreciated in this alien land. “Riches” of an entirely different sort bekon, so that when the time comes to return, many a soul finds itself lugging home shiploads of fetid fish.

But no soul can traverse our world without picking up at least a few gems along the way which enrich the heavens and make the entire trip more than worth its while…

It’s Time!

If you are truly a Truth Seeker then listen to Marc Pasio lay it out. REMEMBER! Listen and watch as the witness. In sharing this I am not saying he is right. We have so much to confront, explore, contemplate, discover and manifest.

Warning!!! I share this video with humility. I have so much “work” left to do…….

Session “Three”

We completed our third and final session this past weekend. I like three sessions as an orientation type of ‘training.’

Three is the foundation. It is the formation stage of the process.

There are many areas in the yoga map. What most people think of as yoga (poses and movement and stretching) is but one step of one perspective in one area. Hatha Yoga is about movement and poses and breathing and all that. There is Jnana Yoga which is the accumulation of Knowledge, there is Karmic yoga – the path of action and Bhakti Yoga – the spiritual path of devotion.

We looked at the eight limbed path of Yoga……

Note that the poses – asana is the third limb of this path.

We looked at the chakra system……

And then brought is back to the duality of the two….

We inquired into a few yoga poses and a few pranayama exercises and sat in meditation practicing scanning the body at the sensation ‘level.’

This was an interesting series of sessions. I appreciated that we committed to three sessions. I look forward to the next step in this relationship.

God has been Revealed

The New Age mystical idea that All-is-God has now been corroborated by religion’s long standing enemy, Science!

Quantum Mechanics has provided all of the necessary data which to present a more solid and persuasive case for God than religion ever could.

The Particle/Wave Debate – For a long time physicists debated as to whether energy of existence could be reduced to basic building blocks called particles or whether it was a wave form. Quantum Theory/Physics/Mechanics finds that energy behaves as both a particle and a wave.

Every Particle contains Information – Every particle in the universe is a carrier of knowledge. Every particle is “conscious.” As humans, we tend to assume that only we are conscious, because only we seem to be self-conscious. The human brain is a receiver of the information contained within each particle. The information received by the brain is stored in every single atom of our bodies. For organic beings, the “filing system” provided for every living molecule is DNA.

Every particle communicates with every other particle – Being, after all, but moving points on some infinite wave, particles are in communication with one another at ALL times. Anything one given particle experiences can be experienced by another particle simultaneously. They are all part of the same wave; the same energy flow.

Ok. So let’s try and bring this all together. Remember the three levels of wisdom? So important. They match up perfectly with the three stages of Kripalu Yoga. Three is the foundation or structure…..of anything. Think about receiving and doing intellectual inquiry into this type of information like you are doing a new yoga pose – First, Right Alignment. Dissolve present knowing by being willing to suspend your current conscious and unconscious beliefs.

When you consciously receive by mastering awareness of the first two “levels” of wisdom then you create a more purified channel to the third level of wisdom – Your Individual Personal Authentic Experience! Time to Wake Up. Perhaps this is a way……

As Above So Below

Since every particle carries information and all particles, no matter how distant, are in instant communication then, it follows, that every particle potentially ‘contains’ all the information in the universe. In other words, “AS ABOVE, SO BELOW.” The particle is the universe and vice versa.

Ok. Now this is where it gets a little funky. Now is the time that I would ask you to suspend, not only your beliefs, but your disbeliefs. They are one in the same, aren’t they?

Once upon a time, before the creation of the universe, there was an infinite positive force of energy that some people have the habit of calling ‘God.” This energy filled all reality. There was nothing else besides this Energy, this Light.

One fine day, God decided to share all His Light, which consisted of love beyond love, bliss beyond bliss, and joy beyond joy. But there was no one with whom to share. So, God created a being to act as a recipient, to receive the goodness that God wanted to give. This being of receiving was one giant soul, which encompassed what would later become all the individual souls of humanity, even yours. This being was The Vessel. God filled The Vessel with infinite happiness, whereupon both God and The Vessel lived happily ever after……….

Well, not quite…..

So, what happened? Not much, really. Only the development of the cosmos, including the entire history of human civilization up to and including the present moment, as well as the events that will transpire tomorrow, leading to the final destiny of the world.

From our perspective, that’s a lot. But from the perspective of God, it transpired in less than a blink of an eye.

What happened? the Big Bang happened and The Vessel shattered into infinite particles traveling across space and time and forming the universe.

Why did it shatter? Why did Happily Ever After give way to Miserably Ever More? Did we do something wrong? Wait! There is was no “we”, there is was only the original vessel. Did God get angry with us? Is this punishment? Is it a joke? Maybe it is some horrible mistake?

Are we each a particle of the original Vessel that was created to receive God’s beneficence. Is there a way back “hOMe?” Or, are we destined to live out our lives in quiet separation?

As above, so below.

Find your center

Namaste, Michael