The Culmination

Mindfulness and faith propose that every moment is exactly what was meant to be and that you should surrender yourself to each moment and accept the reality of it. From that acceptance, peace will flow, satisfaction will arise, and joy will blanket you.

But if we follow that philosophy outwards from our limited perspective as an individual, we must also accept and embrace ALL circumstances as having purpose, as being necessary, as part of our requisite circumstances to grow as human beings or the human race.

Mindfulness and faith espouse not judging what is, simply acknowledging what is and reflecting on how that reality influences your satisfaction with the moment and how in turn this moment can be influenced by you.

So, to truly and completely embrace this concept, we must embrace and accept what is present in the world. Without judgement or fear or thought or emotion. And act only upon what we can do in this instant, in this immediate environment, with the tools present and available to us. To do anything else is to leave the moment.

An example is to see the conditions of 2020 without emotional trauma. Yes, the conditions have victimized many and are not peaceful, pleasant nor desirable. But feeling victimized, traumatized, or devastated does not change the circumstances of this moment. Judging any of the political, social, environmental or biological circumstances of 2020 does not make this moment better.

Today’s world is the outcome of cumulative events. Although the impacts of these events are profound and far reaching, which can be overwhelming to consider, the most important focus is here and now. The causes of our situation are irrelevant in this moment, but awareness of the imbalances that led here may be important for you.

Or not.

You are exactly where you need to be. Regardless of how you got here or where you are, you also have everything you need to get where you want to be.

Look around you. What do you need TODAY? What is essential to your survival in this moment and what action can you take today to obtain it. Not future actions or future goals. Here and now is all that counts and is perfect to take you into your next moment.

Our decisions and the impact of the decisions of others creates our situation. But Synergy puts in front of us the tools to change our situation and opportunities to do so if we are patient, present, and persistent.

She’ll be with you in a Moment if you quietly wait, watch and believe.

Intimacy verses Vulnerability and which means more?

Intimacy is a sense of connection, of commonality, of oneness and sharing.

Vulnerability is an act of authenticity and sincerity which exposes the core personality, values, desires and soul of a person.

You can have intense intimacy with absolutely no vulnerability. There can be open vulnerability with no intimacy. This is because intimacy is a feeling, while vulnerability is an action. Yes, vulnerability can also be labelled as the fearful feeling arising from the action, but a vulnerable act does not necessarily include fearfulness on the part of the act. In addition, vulnerability does not require a second party nor a connection to another person, whereas intimacy by nature IS connection.

Artists perform acts of vulnerability. To write a book, stand up at a comedy event, create a movie or paint a picture is to put a piece of your innermost soul out there. Before the piece even gets revealed to the public, its very existence creates vulnerability by turning energy into matter. Thought into word. Idea into brush stroke. The act of creating is an act of openness and exposure.

Intimacy arises with each opportunity for someone else to view or read the creation. Because intimacy develops through interaction, the people involved determine the type and level of intimacy depending on how many points of connection exist between them outside of the point of vulnerability. Do they share common history? Do they have common values and goals? How high a risk of rejection is involved? The higher the risk, the greater the sense of validation found in a Moment of intimacy. A Moment of intimacy resonates at a visceral level and the reason why they can happen under the most unexpected of circumstances is because they are about two wise minds seeing past the shields of both the judgemental and emotional brains and connecting in the realm of eternal knowing.

Being truly known is terrifying. Allowing someone to see the real you is to stand naked and on display. How many people feel a chill at the thought of someone seeing the book they have started, the poem they wrote, the sketch they drafted hidden in the bottom drawer of the old desk in the attic? How anxious and nervous do you feel when drafting a simple email voicing your opinion while you have no hesitation giving orders and instructions to large groups of people? An opinion is personal, while instructions are impersonal. There is risk of damage to our psyche when we commit acts of vulnerability, and the more your truth varies from the norm, the greater the risk of shame and rejection.

Intimacy can come easily, especially when commonalities weave the lines of connection for you. Beware that sense of intimacy based on common goals, enemies, histories, or other shared experiences. Yes, they are a valid starting point but they all are pulling on external threads which only last so long. Commonalities create finite intimacy with a beginning and an end.

Why do we watch shows like Big Bang Theory, Friends, Seinfeld or Cheers? Not because of the comedy although laughter has a deep appeal. It’s the intimacy, of which laughter is part. It’s because the characters talk about nothing. The threads creating the intimacy between them are not coming from their environment although of course each episode includes outside factors which create finite intimacy. The threads of intimacy are being extruded from their minds and woven by trust, humour, vulnerability and compassion.

How often do you share pointless thoughts with people, Seinfeldian conversations? These are the Moments where you are seen and known because those conversations are about connecting, not about a topic. Those conversations allow intimacy through vulnerability since they showcase who you are when you have no objective, when the conversation is happening just for conversation’s sake.

Intimacy is easy to manufacture. Vulnerability cannot be faked. When the two of them are entwined the Moment is unforgettable.

Intimacy and Glass Houses

The sensation generated when you share a Moment with someone is a visceral intimacy. Electrifying and intense, it can change a simple exchange of pleasantries into a lingering mood of togetherness. A random encounter with a stranger in the produce section can fuel a desire to maintain the sensation beyond the grocery store.

Intimacy is a driving force in human nature. We want to bond, but more so, we want to share with others. True intimacy involves baring your deepest core self and allowing someone to see that which makes us who we are. Vulnerable and terrifying, true intimacy is rare and exhilarating.

Other types of intimacy emulate it but are only poor approximations of the communion of two souls. Physical intimacy, commonality intimacy, and emotional intimacy generate intense connections but those bonds only last as long as the conditions which generate them, unless an underlying spiritual bond scaffolds the superficial intimacies and gives them stability.

Physical intimacy is an easy fix for those lacking spiritual connections. The Moment generated by sensual merging and the delightful distraction of erotic pleasure approximate the profound wonder of souls in resonance. But the Moment is fleeting and leaves behind a saccharine aftertaste because the calories are empty thus lacking the nurturing sustenance the soul craves. When sensual intimacy occurs between bonded souls, the Moment lingers long after the act has ended, and the substance of the bond provides fodder even when the souls are apart. Sexual intimacy is not necessary for spiritual connection but certainly heightens it and conversely, gets mistaken for it.

Having a commonality generates a deep sense of connection which can easily be mistaken for authentic intimacy. Joining with someone in striving toward a shared goal provides kernels of closeness that grow as time passes until harvested when the goal reaches fruition. Although positive and mutually beneficial, there still exists a beginning and end for this type of bond thus it is superficial no matter how lasting. Same with the more insidious Common enemy bond. Uniting against a foe is intensely satisfying and feeds the need for balance and justice but again is a counterfeit connection with a start, process, and finite ending. Common goals and common enemies enhance the richness of a spiritual bond because growth happens via both of these processes but if the goal or enemy are the only connections then after the enemy is vanquished or the goal is attained, the souls lose their link and are left wondering where the intimacy went.

Emotional intimacy most closely emulates a true spiritual bond but because it is rooted in the fleeting emotions of the physical realm and unreliable emotional brain, these Moments also are not enduring. Trauma brings emotions into the Moment and carries them past their shelf life into the future where they don’t belong. Emotions are meant to inform about present social conditions and drive change, but get confused with identity and values. Emotional bonds form during shared Moments of fear or joy or satisfaction but the source of the bond was the environmental atmosphere generating the emotional response which forged a bond, rather than a bond forming between compatible souls which then was tempered like steel by the intense flames of trauma. Again, true intimacy can and does benefit from emotional connection but when the emotional bond forms first, under duress, before the spiritual bond has taken root, then the connection has a finite end when the emotional trigger is removed.

The search for intimacy is why so many people seek, knowingly or subconsciously, the emotional patterns of their past, to feel intimacy in any way they can. Or why gossip is so common and activism so popular. Or why casual sex is frequent.

We all want to connect. To bond. To belong with and to someone or something. It is part of our programming. But most our bonds are finite, task based or situational which is why they do not feel satisfying or sustaining.

Absolute intimacy requires absolute vulnerability. Baring the soul with no goal, no enemy, no emotional trigger, no sex and no gain is an act of pure compassion. Looking out at the world with open invitation, loving all comers, is to generate intimacy. Even so, there are still ways to protect yourself while being vulnerable.

Glass houses still offer shelter and comfort and protection. And those allowed to see the view from the outside are inspired by such graceful openness. Rather than cast stones, they will choose to build a glass house too.

Don’t trust anyone. Build walls. But love them anyway. Make those walls out of glass with large doors and a welcome mat.

Compassion

Compassion is love for all. Compassion does not see right nor wrong, it does not differentiate between victim and perpetrator, nor judge good and bad. Compassion sees imbalance and offers to help, rather than targeting wrongs to right and evils to avenge.

Compassion has no anger and no heat. It is calm, deliberate and effective. Compassion looks at every single human being as worthy. No matter their history, no matter their scars. Compassion is grounded in the present moment. Compassion does not take sides. Compassion is triage for the human soul.

Compassion is the desire to ease suffering and elevate the energy of others. Suffering in any form. Compassion is blind to race, age, sex, ability, religion, and even the cause of the suffering. Self-inflicted wounds are still painful and deserve compassion rather than scorn.

Compassion does have boundaries. It does have limits. Healthy boundaries are self-compassion and true compassion cannot exist unless the compassionate are taking care of themselves first. Compassion is not martyrdom, but it can involve self-sacrifice.

Compassion is hard to maintain. To refrain from judgement, to shield against emotional reactions, takes significant self-control. It is much easier to surrender to angry contempt or tearful anguish then to hold yourself separate yet connected. Self-compassion even moreso.

Compassion arises from the wise mind. It leashes the twin monsters Logiticus and Moodasaurus in order to serve others without judgement or emotionality. To serve without borders or exclusions. To serve without compensation or gain.

True compassion does not follow social norms, political correctness or the crowd.

Contempt, Compassion, and Empathy

Empathy really is a buzz word nowadays. It’s held up by many as the standard of excellence in emotional functioning and the antidote to contempt. Empathy is seen as a higher level of awareness and the solution to social ills. But there is a problem with this ideal.

Empathy is feeling someone else’s emotions as if they are your own. Although on the surface this would seem a noble and compassionate thing, especially when held up in contrast of contempt which is judgement of someone else’s emotions, to feel someone’s emotions is…well…immature, selfish and in fact a form of contempt!

This is not to say understanding someone’s feelings is inappropriate, not in the least. That is the root of compassion, which is a healthy respect for and awareness of the emotions of others.

But in its truest form, empathy is an example of someone with poor boundaries who is unable to distinguish between themselves and others thus feels a strong need to fix the problems for others in order to find peace themselves. Many empaths talk of being overwhelmed and taken advantage of, which is a way of blaming others for their failure to protect themselves by establishing healthy boundaries. To act to change someone else’s circumstances can often be a form of contempt because the message is you know better then they, the victims, do.

Contempt and callous disregard for the feelings of others is an easy target to disparage and the narcissist easy to blame for society’s ills. The person exhibiting contempt is demonstrating rigid boundaries with complete distinction between themselves and others, which is viewed as toxic and dysfunctional. True, there is an imbalance present in this way of coping and to reach authenticity and enlightenment a shift needs to happen away from a focus on the judgemental coping mechanisms into wise and compassionate processes. Yet empathy is not the answer either.

The empath is also often toxic and dysfunctional yet in a way deemed acceptable to society because the appearance of helpfulness and caring, yet the drive is just as internally motivated as the actions of the narcissist. There is an imbalance present here, too, and a shift away from the emotional coping mechanisms into wise and compassionate processes needs to happen.

Compassion does not mean your are suffering with the people you feel compassionate towards. They are not you and you are not them, their emotions are not yours to feel. But compassion does elicit discomfort when imbalance, injustice, or negativity is witnessed. Compassion involves the desire to see balance restored, in whatever form the victim might feel it needs to take. As soon as you decide what form restitution or balance must take, you are no longer being compassionate, you are being contemptuous. To demand anything on anyone’s behalf except your very own, is to show contempt of that person’s or groups’ ability to determine their own needs. And unless they asked for your help, you disempower them by taking up their cause unless you yourself are directly affected by the imbalance.

Don’t mistake activism for compassion and empathy for support. Those without voices do need to be heard, but unless you are one of the voiceless, your sounds will drown out the meaning of their silence. Speaking from a place of experience is the only way to drive change, and listening from a place of compassion if you are not the victim, is the only way to support change.

Ebb and Flow

Like the moon, personal energy waxes and wanes. Shining takes a lot of energy and cannot be sustained indefinitely unless conditions are ideal. And there are rarely ideal conditions in the physical world.

Whomever said a smile has no cost has never attempted to exert compassion when every fiber of your being wants to choose the easier route of negativity and reactivity.

Compassion fatigue is felt in those moments when your glow is dimming and your energy flagging. When being kind seems to be hard and the lure of spite and malice is infinitely inviting. Being a caregiver, whether professionally or personally, takes a steep toll over time if time isn’t taken to recover, recharge, and restore.

It’s ok to disappear. To retreat to a safe place to lick wounds and to heal. Better to hide a while than to become someone you don’t like when your glow is being overshadowed by the pressures of the world as a whole or through specific events and specific shadows.

A glimmer will always remain and that spark can be fanned back into brilliant abundant joy when ready. And the moments of solitude always have meaning and lessons that add to the intensity of the flame.

Learning the signs of both fatigue and recovery, and honouring the need to rest and the need to shine, is a worthy skill to cultivate. Even the sun has cycles of higher and lower output and knowing the patterns gives guidance to our farmers! Tend to yourself by knowing your patterns and respecting them.

The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadows Cast by it

The more positive, joyful and playful you get, it seems the more resistance, opposition and negativity you encounter.

This makes sense.

Shadows only exist due to light and the more intense the glow, the more defined the shadows become. A glimmer does not cause sharp edges in the dark.

But shadows are always behind the illuminated surface so often out of sight of the one casting the shadow. People are often unaware that their response to enlightenment is one of fear and resistance. The questions they have make sense to their judgemental brain and sensory mind, because they are so immersed in the matrix of the material world they can’t imagine an Eternal realm. Your surrender to childlike wonder simply seems childlike.

There is no right or wrong, good or evil. There is surrender or resistance. Joy or pain. When shadows form, it is resistance. Acceptance lights a candle within that banishes the shadow. The glow covers 360 degrees and although it might flicker and dim at times due to the external environment, that flame is Eternal. Like a trick candle, the substance it’s made of has the ability to reignite from within.

The sun doesn’t choose who to shine on. Even when the Earth’s surface is obscured by clouds and storms, the sun continues to spread warmth and energy. Even where there is no apparent target, the sun still shines…and that light reaches the darkest corners of the universe eventually. Not one bit of its glow is wasted.

Shine.

Always.

Even if shadows form, even if clouds block the faces of those around you, even if no one and nothing seems to receive your glow. Your warm energy reaches someone somewhere at some time, whether you are aware of it or not.

And sometimes an unexpected message in a bottle will tell you just how far your glimmer made it.

Monsters Within

All of us have monsters inside. Some people keep them on tight leashes, harnessed to pull them through the drifts and banks of stormy environments and haul them out of ruts.

Others hide their monsters so deep within they forget they have them until the creatures escape, wreaking havoc as they rampage out of control on the unsuspecting people who happen to be nearby when the walls crumble.

Yet others have caged them, letting the monsters see all the world but not allowing any freedom to work off the energy fed to them. The monsters shake those bars, and grumble and howl, but rarely do they get satisfaction thus neither does their master no matter how well the person seems to master their world.

A final group of people hide behind one or both of their monsters, never letting their true selves show so all the world experiences is the fierceness with none of the authenticity of the spirit within.

Monsters are a part of each of us. They need feed and care because their purpose is to protect us and work for us. There are two kinds of monsters inside our two material brains but none live inside our wise Eternal mind. Our true selves need their protection while tied to the Mattersphere and shed those skins when we leave the material world behind.

Logiticus, the cold, cruel calculating robot, lives inside our logical brain. Lacking emotions, this terminator comes out to defend perceived wrongs, avenge betrayals, and correct imbalance. When harnessed properly, Logiticus is an effective tool to operate successfully in our physical and social environment with its rules, laws, customs, and norms.

Moodasaurus, the wild animal, resides in the emotional mind and runs rampant in response to threats, fears, and pain. When harnessed properly Moodasaurus keeps us safe from danger, protects us from exploitation, and helps us navigate our physical and social environment with its rules, laws, customs, and norms.

Both exist for a reason, to help us. With proper training and exercise, they can be man’s best friend but mistreatment can lead them to bite the hand that feeds them. The first step in responsible ownership is to acknowledge their existence and become familiar with their needs. And then a productive partnership of mutual respect and admiration can begin.

Monsters are only monsters when you don’t understand them. Once you know them, you begin to love who and what they are and embrace them. The beast within has a beauty of its own.

Imagery

A picture is worth a thousand words.

But one word paints a thousand different pictures in a thousand different minds.

Like the compound eyes of a fly, Synergy gets a much better picture of our reality when she receives one thousand perspectives not one thousand copies of the same perspective. The Datter is more clear to Eidolon when he receives uncorrupted information, rather than copies of copies of copies.

Words create an unpolluted interpretation in your mind. As soon as images are added, they taint that portrait created by your personal experience, your own flair and nuances subverted by the image presented to you. Yes, an author can more effectively get specific points across using images, diagrams, and sketches to clarify and clarity does have its time and place.

Yet when not absolutely necessary, forcing structure into the minds of the audience is a disservice bordering on contempt. Allowing the audience to generate meaning from words gives the freedom for growth, exploration and curiosity. If all the answers are easy to find, and spoon fed, life becomes quite unfulfilling and dissatisfying. None of us truly has all the answers anyway, merely our interpretation of our experience. The collation of those individual interpretations into a glorious mosaic of meaning creates the ultimate Truth.

Even assigning an image to the speaker changes the flavour of the words. Narrows the interpretation. Cues biases, judgement and filters. Once a voice becomes attached to words, all the associations of similar voices influence the listener’s response to that voice. Past pain poisons present perspective by triggered associations.

Each of us is the culmination of our experiences and history. If tapping into our wise mind, we are also accessing all experience and all history. These influence our interpretation of what we perceive, which may hinder or help our journey depending on the nature of the response.

Wisdom without confinement within images and other sensory bindings is more easily absorbed. The resonance of authentic sincerity is strongest when unfettered.

When getting a point across is necessary, the precision of words and images is a tool. When inspiring curiosity, growth, and hope, the tool of choice is ambiguity. Minds can’t seek what they are given, they can only seek what they do not have.

Bubbles in the Batter

The original formless uniformity which was the universe, the Batter, formed a bubble which is our material concept of the universe. Time and space began when that bubble developed dimension out of dimensionlessness. A big bang, or maybe a little whiffle! The skin of the bubble is Matter and the space inside is Datter. The bubble grows in time and space and information and has no limit. Our universe is forever expanding outward at an ever increasing rate. It’s propelled by our exploration of it and as our understanding increases so does its development.

We stand still on the event horizon, riding the expanding girth of the bubble. Rather than moving through time we are in one place and time increases on either side of our perception. From our point of origin time stretches away from us, our choices of acceptance and resistance weaving it behind us and setting the threads in place before us for our next choice. Matter, us included, makes time flow and the more choices we make the faster it flows. We stitch the fabric of time.

The skin of our material existence can fold inward to create a smaller bubble within the bubble, an alternate reality that diverges in a Moment of tremendous import. Those are moments where an incredible dearth of Datter creates a vaccuum at the event horizon that collapses the Mattersphere inward the way a bubblegum bubble folds inward if you inhale. Dattersphere pressure is maintained by the constant feed of information from the Mattersphere and when that information is lost, delayed, or interrupted it compromises the integrity of the bubble in that particular region of the surface. A dent becomes a pinch and a new bubble forms within the primary bubble.

From the perspective at the event horizon, all Matter stops making choices and the fabric of time begins to pool in front of the event horizon. A depression forms, and the material of the universe falls below the line of the event horizon, collapsing like a sinkhole. At some point, Matter begins to act again and grabs the threads on the opposite edge of the sinkhole to proceed, closing over the fabric caught inside the wrinkle. The fabric inside the wrinkle is identical to that above it, a copy. A bubble within a bubble, made of the same substance.

From that Moment forward, a duplicate timeline emerges and follows an independent direction from the primary bubble. Those riding that new secondary event horizon inside the sinkhole perceive their reality no differently but it is a copy of the original. Forever growing in size inward into the Dattersphere space, this second bubble has its own Mattersphere and Dattersphere, connected yet discrete. And should a Moment of universal impact arise on that new timeline, a third bubble would pinch out inside the second Dattersphere, again contained yet separate. Each Dattersphere and Mattersphere would share common development until the point of divergence and then proceed in a unique way. The earlier in Time the pinch, the greater probably of variation from the primary timeline.

Because Time and Space are infinite, the bubbles have infinite room to grow. And an infinite number of new timelines can pinch off not only the original but every other timeline contained inside the bubble of our reality. A neverending, ever multiplying, ever expanding kaleidoscope of experiences (Datter) and materials (Matter) all contained within Synergy’s Attersphere.