Time is not only money, but also spirituality. One needs time to stop, observer, feel, reflect and think - make plans, meditate and practice your new insights.

Without time there is no reflection of your world - without reflection there is no spirituality.

So do you have time for it? Or do you avoid making time for it?

But in our crazy fast moving world time is becoming a precious resource - filling every minute with work, entertainment, netlife and excitement.

Once again - making time to grow between all these activities is a luxury. Are you willing to "buy" that time and cultivate yourself as a human being?

Many spiritual disciplines teach you first how to focus yourself. Total concentration, total awareness, totally in the moment. Unless your are a 100% present - how can you work on 100% transcending yourself?

Unless you arrive in the here and now - you can’t enjoy and live in the here and now.

He was not a savior. He was not chosen by some God. He was not supernatural.

He was a human like you - and his most important message to you is that you also have the Buddha nature. Enlightenment is within you and does not require religion or Buddha to show you the way.

One of the greatest traps of meditation is to train your mind into thinking it is trained, while it simply stays the same, but tells you it is now well trained.

That is one reason why one should have a guru, trainer or master following your minds "progress" and check the condition it is in.

Are you sure you are perfectly organized to reach enlightenment or heaven in this lifetime? Only a few blessed souls are granted instant enlightenment - for the rest of us it’s hard work and a long and painful path.

So make some time and space in your life for spiritual matters. Take some time to exercise and practice your spiritual path you are following. And take some additional time to think, reflect and meditate - on a regular schedule.

Finding your inner child and behaving like an adult idiot doesn’t make you any younger or wiser. Sometimes it is necessary to go back in your memories and heal some old crap. But you should came back and act with the decency and wisdom befitting your actual age. Nobody like big babies.

Why is sexual unity so often considered the ultimate ‘oneness’? Can’t we be one without arousal, hormones and desire? Or are we talking unity in sexual energy with all Chakras open and flowing? But still, that can be achieved without intercourse. Or do our egos need sex to be so distracted that they finally can see the unity that is always there?

Artist: Andrew Gonzalez

The final destination of all spiritual journeys is the great big nothing.

Nothing - everything dissolves, there are no needs, no wants, no pleasures, no objects, no people, no you. There is no need for eternal bliss, because you, the need for it and the very concept are dissolved as well.

But is this really spiritual - or rather natural. Death dissolves you as well - totally and eternally.

So as a spiritual person do you really need to comfortable with death and the big nothing? It will happen to you if you want it or not. If you prepare for it or not. If you are at peace with yourself or not.

Maybe preparing for the big nothing is a waste of your lifetime. Life while you life. Death will take care of itself and you. Big nothingness indeed.

How much ‘down to earth’ do you need to be to be ‘grounded’? How close to Mother Earth can you get without feeling ‘down’ or ‘falling flat on your face’? How dirty is getting ‘your hands dirty’? Or does ‘laying low for a while’ really help to ‘get both feed on the ground’?

Do you fight for justice & progress? Do you stand up for your enlightenment or do flee before the forces of laziness and ignorance? Do you look your own fears into the eye and try to overcame them? Do you sing to your heart and fill the world with happiness - or do you spread silence and discomfort? Do you build bridges for friends, family and strangers to join you - or do you dig deep holes for yourself and others?

Are you a Hero in your own life? Or just a sidekick to your own misery? Stand tall and show some courage - you only got this one chance for heroism for yourself.

There is no Superman, Wonder Woman or Santa Claus coming to your rescue …

We are often prisoners of our own minds. Limited vision and limited imagination keep us from achieving often simple things. The simple thought “I can’t do that!” can stop you before you even tried.

Our minds can ‘think’ about reality and possibilities. To a certain extend we can envision the future and personal limits - but not everything our ‘common sense’ tells us is ‘real’ and the true limit of our abilities.

So free yourself and experiment with your limits. You can surprise yourself, you can grow and learn new stuff. Only false limits can really stop you more than anything!

Just two years ago I discovered Bob Ross show ‘The Joy of Painting‘ although it’s pretty old. You might not like his style, but he is fun to watch. It’s the most peaceful art show I have ever seen - he is more like a monk preaching happiness then a art teacher. I love it - and I might even learn a trick of two.

He died over ten year ago 1995 - a sad loss, since there are not many TV art shows around. I would swap ten big brothers for one decent show about architecture or sculpting. I would even dump some of these techno fetish documentaries (Monster Trucks, Monster Buildings, Monster Anything) from the History Channel for some more art education.

We already have way too much crap on TV.

More? Bob Ross on YouTube

They say: The Mind is a Monkey - when it comes to meditation. Sure! It loves to play, shout, make noise and jump around. But you can tame your inner monkey - as you can see.

Just wondering if all that extra fat should have be shared with the less fortunate? Maybe christmas should be turned into a time of fasting and giving away all you can afford to others. Three days of less food, of no TV, no playstation, no entertainment then maybe we get some more spiritual enlightenment into society …

If you can believe in enlightened pink elephants - you can believe in anything. Spirituality starts in your mind - if you mind can cope with incredible thoughts it can’t cope with incredible truths either.

Open your mind, expand your mind, cultivate your ability to think and imagine new possibilities … maybe then you get enlightened or trampled by an elephant on the way …

Yes, we are creatures ruled by time, rhythms and habits.

It start with our basic heart rate - the true rhythm of our lives.

The day & night pattern of our planet dictates our lifestyles, the need for sleep our awake times.

Our social life and whole society is built around rhythms, patterns, repeats and habits: work time, play time, quality time. We all have times and places for everything.

But there is the long time pattern of life itself: birth, life and death. We all sing and dance to that rhythm, either on a small human scale or cosmic one. Even suns and planets get born, have a life and burn out in the end. Even black holes end in another big bang.

Welcome to this Universe ruled by time, rhythms and patterns.

The true question is: do you design your own patterns of life or do you follow those patterns carved out for your by society, nature and other people’s expectations?

Time to rule your patterns, design your own patterns and enjoy time as long as it still ticks for you!

When you join this circus called a business career make sure you are ahead of everyone racing the circle.

Someone has to be the winner … maybe?

Can product mascots be spiritual? Can companies really sell themselves on a religious / spiritual agenda and company philosophy? Or should all commercial services and products be ‘clean’ and neutral?

Companies can certainly act in a nice and responsible as well as ‘moral’ way with their customers and the environment. But when it comes to my enlightenment - it’s only my business and nobody else’s …

We all have to go through a lot of shit to arrive at our dream destination. Just make sure that your final goal is worth the travel. Go for gold, don’t accept any mediocrity or other distractions from your hearts true desires … 

If you are poor and stuck in some backwater place your choices are limited. To have a choice is a luxury - not many people enjoy that privilege.

But to develop different perspectives on life you need to have the luxury of self observation and time to reflect. And some brains and some education help too.

Many of our fellow humans are still simply trying to survive and lead a decent life - without a break to think about themselves, learn more about culture and spirituality - or having the resources to start a ‘new’ or ‘different’ life.

If you can afford all these things and you can think - than use these gifts. Otherwise you are wasting yourself and the chance to improve society. Self improvement is not a one way street - as part of a bigger community all bonuses and deficits are added or subtracted from the ‘big picture’.

No matter how old, traditional and pompous your ceremony is, enlightenment and any higher spirits won’t drop down on you automatically.

Usually it has quite the opposite effect: having received some spiritual recognition via ceremony is often like a blank cheque for ignorance. Why bother - I already got my holy approval.

Most esoteric types like to ‘go with the flow’. Extra effort or dealing with harsh obstacles or barriers don’t appeal to them. It’s always very cool and ZEN like to NOT want anything out of life or work to get SOMETHING.

But life is physical as well as metaphysical. Rewards for both planes of existence are worth some effort. And it is nice and rewarding to have accomplished something for yourself and others by NOT going with the flow.

People like Gandhi, Albert Einstein or Martin Luther didn’t go with the flow and waited for change - and they changed the world.

Achieving something means often to break your own comfort zone, work long hours and enduring serious pain. Often the result can be nothing, but sometimes it can be everything.

Meditation is a good thing. But this is the new millennium - so get you notebook on the floor, activate your web based meditation timer and off you go. This one even has some nice music (click on the musical note to see the selection).

I am wondering if this is not turning into some machine worshipping? Maybe this tool can be expanded with a virtual candle, a virtual monk slapping you on the face and a virtual Buddha points counter to tell you when you are finally an enlightened being yourself?

*Thanks to all the people who sent this to me - must have been at least four via Stumblers. I guess they all think I am in dire need of some enlightenment!

Sometimes a forceful motivation for others to think can kill all thought process. Gentle teasing should be used at all times while dealing with humans.

Is it maybe my age? Or is it because I am unable to form proper relationships? But I am getting less and less pussy in my life. This is not a complaint about being sexless, but rather without some recharging contact to lovely females …

Sex is certainly nice and exciting, although I find the pure act itself rather boring and uninspiring. Orgasm is usually quicker achieved without third party support. Sure, one can look out for new kicks, like a little bit perversion on the side, drugs or mind boggling experiments (like fucking in an exploding space shuttle).

But I am hungry for something else …

I spent quite some time on personal sex and sensual culture, by doing Tantra, massage and yoga. Which is good. It’s great to know your heart chakra from your ass, as well being able to know for yourself if you feel horny or simply true love and affection for another human being. This is all very helpful. Thank you so much Mr. Insight.

But knowing stuff is one thing - now for the practical part. Already during my first Tantra days I had quite a hard time finding women who understood this new ‘thing’, being able to cope with a so called ‘emotionally grown up male’. Since I have overcome the snobbish esoteric desire to heal women with my holy penis (or Lingam as the Tantrist call the sausage bit), there is now a lot of time to experience a nice flow of energy and sexuality between a lovely Shakti and me (the so called Shiva). I am not asking for a cosmic orgy every night or the supreme priestess of Yoni in my life, just a bit understanding and tenderness beyond the old in & out mechanism.

This is not tantric snobbism. I am just a firm believer that lovemaking is a set skills, that goes way beyond a simple erection or wetness and some Uhhhs and Ahhhs.

Love technique is a pure set of physical sex skills, to know your own and your partners anatomy, erroneous zones and the effect on hormones and excitement on the human body (and side effects to the mind and emotional side as well - more of that later). Also included is knowledge about how to operate your genitals and pleasure tools, as well as the effects of different positions. In later stages you can add all sorts of games, operation of external pleasure tools and drugs as well.

The next big area is your sexual psyche, how the human mind and emotions interact with sexual energies. Now this is quite a task, but a very fulfilling one. This is were we can learn to be more open, to heal or wounds of love and learn to show and give true affection. Since sex ‘lives’ very close to our egos, there is a lot of potential for conflict, fear, hunger and madness. To master your sex psyche means mostly to confront your hungry sex maniac ego. Me! Me! Me!

For some people the last area of sex magic or spirituality is the most exciting, because they expect some sort of Steven Spielberg effects while making love or instant enlightenment by tantric penetration. Or they simply watched to much advertising bullshit.

An energetic as well as spiritual exchange always happens while making sex/love. If you have read all tantric literature in the world or not. This is more about to learn how to use these energies consciously, instead of an unaware and animalistic level (which is also useful). This is about exchange with your partner, weaving a carpet of love and energy that goes way beyond the satisfaction of an physical orgasm. It’s a deep experience that has a more lasting effect on your psyche on different levels: your ego will feel very happy about all that deep attention it received, your body is humming with energy, your soul is touched on an intimate level, that hardly exist in everyday life.

Let’s go back to my tiny ego problems …

I shed my biggest tears about sensual deprivation. I want to be touched and massaged in a fulfilling way. Once again this is an area where I did some workshops, loads of massage exchanges (with people from different massage ‘traditions’) and of course energy work. In the age of consumer Ayuveda and global esoterica, it seems very hard to find people to celebrate such a basic human ‘thing’: to touch and be touched in a nice way without any sexual drive behind it.

What drives me nuts, is that so called ‘normal’ people have such a hard time giving and receiving a simple pleasure as touching from someone else. It’s always an exclusive thing, just reserved for the one and only true partner or lover.

What a poor and limited concept.

I guess before we ever reach the stage of universal love, we need to explore the universal touch first. If you are afraid of simply touching someone in a pleasant and friendly way, how can you open your heart & mind for compassion or even love for the whole universe?

*repost 2003-09-13*