Trained Paid Professionals
By Paul Kowalewski Photo: Pixabay/organictalks.com Trained Paid Professionals by Paul Kowalewski This weekend two former popes will be declared saints in an elaborate ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Huge murals of these “holy saints” will be displayed on the facade of the enormous basilica. The current pope, along with his cardinals, bishops and a slew of various other assorted clergy will sit on a stage towering above the millions of ordinary people in the vast crowds who will cheer in adulation and offer prayers petitioning the new saints to grant them favors. From my point of view, the scene that will be enacted at the Vatican this weekend provides a perfect icon of just how far official Christendom has gone astray from the teachings of Jesus. On any given weekend, average ordinary people throughout the world...
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Mind State and the Fallacy of Evolution
By Julian Wash Photo: Pixabay Mind State and the Fallacy of Evolution by Julian Wash | Rattleberry Pie Dear Humans, Today I wish to return to your awareness an aspect of the Human condition that has been mislabeled, misinterpreted and mischaracterized by the academic community and by those who advocate a more simplistic and linear precept of Human development. The aspect I speak of has been labeled “evolution.” Let me offer you some assurance that the paragraphs to follow will not denigrate into lessons in genetics, anthropologic debates or religious deliberations. My intent is to simply readdress the concept of evolution from a whole new starting point. So, for the purpose of discussion, let’s take the position that evolution in the manner it has been repeatedly explained to you simply does not exist- not then, not now, not ever....
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The Programming of Our Consciousness
Ryan Brown, Contributor / Waking Times Photo: Pixabay The Programming of Our Consciousness Ryan Brown, Contributor Waking Times A helpful analogy for understanding consciousness is to consider a human being as a highly advanced computer. In order for a computer to know what to do, software needs to be installed on the hard drive. The computer faithfully listens to and performs the functions the software tells it to do without questioning, even if the software is sometimes a bit faulty. Now imagine, for a second, that our consciousness is something like a computer hard drive and all our beliefs, habits and reactions are like the software… Over our lifetime (beginning very early in childhood) we accumulate mounds of software; programming us to act and think a certain way, as defined by the culture we grew up in, our parents,...
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FREE EBOOK: “This Book Has Everything Anyone Needs To Know To ‘Wake Up’ And Flip The Paradigm!”
FREE EBOOK: “This Book Has Everything Anyone Needs To Know To ‘Wake Up’ And Flip The Paradigm!” When we take an observer perspective, we do not look at the world and think to ourselves “that’s just the way it is.” We instead ask, “why is it this way?” This is the approach taken throughout this book. It depicts in an easy-to-read, clear and simple way, the most basic concepts that make up our human society all while examining whether or not we can do things differently. In the final chapters, dots are connected between mind-bending scientific discoveries which altogether shed light on our true nature and purpose on this planet. If you want to understand why our human society is the way it is, if you want to know what other possibilities exist outside of our current system...
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The Practice of Solitude
By Paul Kowalewski Photo: Pixabay The Practice of Solitude by Paul Kowalewski My wife is away at a conference, and so I will be home alone for the next few days. It all gives me a chance to reflect on being alone, being lonely, and the difference between the two. I know many people who go into a panic at the prospect of being alone. If they come home and the house is empty, the very first thing they do is turn on the TV set, put on some music, or more likely, rush to the computer to go online – connecting with Facebook friends, “twittering” and “googling.” They go to their phones, calls and texts – doing almost anything they can to get connected, anything to fill up the empty space of being alone. The thing is that...
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Graves, Tombs, and Cemeteries
By Paul Kowalewski Photo: Pixabay Graves, Tombs, and Cemeteries by Paul Kowalewski As usual, I am sitting quietly in my garden basking in the hope of daybreak. In the Christian calendar today is “Holy Saturday” – the day in which the body of Jesus lay dead on a slab inside a tomb. While it may sound somewhat somber and even a bit macabre, this day always makes me think about graves and tombs and cemeteries – my own eventual grave, the tombs of my loved ones, the graves in which all of us will eventually rest. Today I also think about that week I once spent living in a cemetery. Several years ago, my wife and I accompanied our choir on a tour of the United Kingdom. The choir was to sing for a week of services at the...
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Toxic Talk and Words of Feather
Article by Julian Wash / Introduction by Alen Mischael Vukelić Photo: Freeimages Have you ever wondered why someone is giving you a hard time on the Internet just for posting things you like? Well, believe it or not, your post is a form of communication, which can be very disturbing to people who suffer from a deeply embedded dysfunction called ‘hate speech’. Their reason to speak or comment is to activate as much negativity as they possibly can. Many times you’ll see that there’s no real argument behind their statements; it’s a continuing aggression to suck up all of your energy. Have this in mind, the next time you stumble upon a ‘troll’. This is an excellent article written by Julian Wash, giving you the ‘behind the scenes’ of toxic talks and an idea how to protect yourself from...
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A Spirituality of Paradox
By Paul Kowalewski Photo: Pixabay A Spirituality of Paradox by Paul Kowalewski Soren Kierkegaard once said: Take away paradox from the thinker and you have a professor. I am very fond of this piece of wisdom – probably because I see so much of myself in it. I have always been the professor, the educated theologian, priest and expert. I wanted clarity, unambiguous answers, clear cut direction in my life and in my beliefs. In my later years, I have come to realize that the road to truth and wisdom is never a one-way street paved with clear-cut answers. The road to wisdom is winding and messy and always paved with ambiguity. The road to wisdom is always paradoxical. When you embrace a paradox, you are placed in the midst of opposing points of view and yet truth emerges...
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The Beginning Is Near
Zen Gardner, Guest Waking Times Photo: Pixabay The Beginning Is Near Zen Gardner, Guest Waking Times We have free will, a majestic gift of choice coupled with conscious awareness at a level that seems to be unique to creation. All of creation has its own vibrational attributes, but humanity has been gifted in a very special way. Whether we utilize this gift consciously or not appears to be the dilemma we’re faced with. Yet we seek an escape from this life, a place of refuge. Ironic. Or is it a sense of knowing that something more real and wonderful exists? There’s much talk about portals, energy vortices, jump locations and wormholes. Where we’re trying to go to is a fundamental issue. The point is, how and where do we find a place of transition to other circumstances? Is it...
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Comfort Zone
By Paul Kowalewski Photo: Pixabay Comfort Zone by Paul Kowalewski Yesterday, while browsing through Facebook, I came across a picture shared by a friend of mine. It was nothing but a black background with two white circles drawn on it. One circle was quite small and an arrow pointed to it with the words, “comfort zone.” Next to it was a much larger circle – an arrow pointing to it read: “Where all the magic happens.” That one little icon really spoke volumes to me. In my experience, I have indeed found that all the magic, the mystery and the wonder in my life has always happened whenever I have been bold enough to move out of my own little comfort zone in life. As I looked at that drawing yesterday, I immediately called to mind a time several...
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Beautiful Tales Unfolding And The Return Of The Light
Ida Lawrence, Contributor / Waking Times Photo: Pixabay Beautiful Tales Unfolding And The Return Of The Light Ida Lawrence, Contributor Waking Times Stories just unfold and unfold; hour by hour, the pages of our book are written. Some say we write those pages ourselves, including the seemingly ‘outside of our control’ experiences. Accidents, unwelcome circumstances, surprising opportunities, forgetting, missteps, chance meetings, world events, other people’s decisions, childhood experiences… these things that ‘happen’ make up much of our lives while we respond, or react, or acquiesce, or ignore, or endure them, or stand up to them. But sometimes I wonder: Do things happen, or are we writing our own book… somehow, in some way, creating happenings? I know that it’s a weird question, but it seems a vital one in healing. It also seems vital as well in comprehending whether or...
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What Are You Worried About?
Caroline Nettle, Guest / Waking Times Photo: Pixabay What Are You Worried About? Caroline Nettle, Guest Waking Times As a species, we have really perfected the art of worrying. We worry about everything in tiny detail, as if worrying about it will lessen the blow, or make whatever we are trying to avoid not happen. We worry about whether or not we are going to get old, sick, die, or any variation on this theme. We worry about poverty, the job market, our social standing and any variation on this theme. We worry about the country, the planet, our towns and villages. We worry about not being good enough, being too good, being rejected, ignored, noticed and any variations on those themes. What is worry? Worry is the least effective way of changing the very thing that is causing...
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Knee Deep in the River
By Paul Kowalewski Photo: Pixabay Knee Deep in the River by Paul Kowalewski Almost every day I talk about the abundance of riches I experience living out here in this beautiful desert wilderness. It looks so empty, but it is filled with life – brilliant sunshine, majestic mountains, pristine blue skies, hummingbirds in my garden, flowers blooming on cacti, a night so clear that it seems like day, even a waterfall in a high canyon flowing out toward the desert floor. In my life in the desert, I try to live every day by cultivating an attitude of mindfulness, paying attention to the revelations that constantly bubble up out of each moment in this beautiful wilderness. In response to my posts, I often get inquiries like the one I received yesterday from a man who said that he could...
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The Principles of Zen
Julian Websdale, Contributor / Waking Times Photo: Stock.Xchng The Principles of Zen Julian Websdale, Contributor Waking Times Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that developed in China during the 6th century as Chán. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam, northeast to Korea and East to Japan. The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (dʑjen) (pinyin: Chán), which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as “absorption” or “meditative state”. Zen emphasizes the attainment of enlightenment and the personal expression of direct insight in the Buddhist teachings. As such, it de-emphasizes mere knowledge of sutras and doctrine and favors direct understanding through zazen and interaction with an accomplished teacher. Experience Only Nothing matters, save experience. Zen is not a system of philosophy, nor of psychology, nor...
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Natural Zen Masters
Photo: Pixabay/organictalks.com “I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats.” ― Eckhart Tolle ...
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Off The Grid Straw Bale Home
Off The Grid Straw Bale Home Another fantastic straw bale home – if you haven’t seen one yet, take yourself 17 minutes of your time to explore this wonderful house in Canada. Here’s the original introduction to the video: A tour of how we live & work off grid in our straw bale home – Riverstone Studios showing the interior of our home, wind turbine, solar panels, and the finishing work in our home. A lot of comments are asking about building codes. We live in Rural Saskatchewan Canada. Because we are zoned as farm land, we can pretty much build anything we want…the catch – no banks, no insurance! Lending institutions want proof of insurability, so they rely on insurance companies… Insurance companies want low risk, so they rely on building codes and passed inspections. Our gas...
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Practicing Wisdom
Photo: Stanka Vukelić Practicing Wisdom by Paul Kowalewski The word “spirituality” has become very popular. In fact, every day I come across articles about “spirituality” – on websites and in blogs, in books I read, or in newspapers. There is a great deal of interest in “spirituality” nowadays. I have also noted that almost every single time I read something about “spirituality,” I also come across another word: “wisdom.” Somehow a spiritual path should lead a person to greater wisdom. A spiritual person is a wise person. Spiritual teachers are wisdom teachers. While I fully agree that spirituality and wisdom go hand in hand, I have often wondered what that word “wisdom” really means. At some intuitive level, I think I am able to recognize wisdom when I see it. For one thing, I know what “wisdom” is not....
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There’s only one responsibility – Be yourself
Visuals by Stanka / written by Alen Mischael Vukelić Photos: Pixabay There’s only one responsibility – Be yourself Who wants to stand outside the crowd? Who wants to stand alone? Do you? Taking responsibility for your own actions, for your own decisions isn’t an easy thing. There’s no back-up plan, no cushioning, you’ll have to take the whole load all by yourself. You must be crazy to do this; there’s a much easier path than this one. Just do what everybody does, and you are already there – in your safe haven. You don’t have to worry about anything, because others have figured out your whole life for you. They give you the map, the stepping stones, all you have to do is follow the way. Actually, if you look very precise, you’ll be able to see the end...
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