Focus on Life™

We can do lots of things and also have plenty as well. Still we are often confused with our motives and purposes for the actions we do. Why am I having all these things around me? Are they boosting my ego, reducing insecurity, or even defining in a subtle way how I see and regard myself?

First of all, any action, item, or thing can be necessary or entirely useless. The real purpose and meaning is subjective and cannot be seen from the outset by any third party. Price, quality, or the amount of items is not relevant. The only thing that matters is your own point of view. Are you attached to your surroundings? Do they define who you are?

When you have a need for something you are not free. If you long for more things, shopping experiences, or just for the thrill of having always beautiful and new things to play around with all those are keeping you clung in the loop—you simply need more, and ever more. It might be exciting to travel a lot or switch a job once a year, but have you questioned why are you doing it? Are you sure that underneath there isn’t a pattern that you’re repeating? It might also be a fear. You need to feel important, useful, respected, admired, or busy. The common nominator is that you think that there is a need to window dress for something or someone. Funnily enough you might in reality only just try to fool yourself—no one else thinks anything of you nor is following your traces of thought. We all live in our subjective realities.

When you need to have in order to be it is time to reconsider your expectations and reasoning. How come you cannot be right now but only in the future after a certain activity or process? Owning something does not define who you are. They are simply the things that you happen to possess or have achieved like a title or education. Certainly you can communicate and express yourself with the things you have. But as long as you are not dependent on them you can enjoy them fully without being obsessed by their presence. A Ferrari does not need the driver—it tells its own story by its existence. However, many drivers use the car as a way to define who they are: I have this so I am like that—in their own mind. We buy peace of mind, for a very short time. Often the illusion disappears in a matter of minutes or days after we have gained something we have desired for. Then it is time to repeat the process and desire something else. We live by having. Still you can only live by being, but only after you have learned how to value your existence without any strings attached. Richness is about being, no matter what you have or do not have.

Everything happens in the moment. Still we slip away from the awareness of it—many times a second. The mind wonders to the past or longs for the unhappened future but all these are realised in the moment, now.

Most of us are not awake even while not sleeping. The drowsing happens while living the daily life. We live out of our memory and not out of our creativity (imagination) like Les Brown once phrased. Living in the past means that we are repeating ourselves. We reproduce the thoughts, emotions, and actions from our past moments. All this happens over and over again. We are happy to stick with what we already know. Or as the case most of the time is we are swimming in the negative thoughts of fear extrapolating possible future events based on our past experiences.

Drifting away from the moment is nothing more than dreaming. And sadly this state is so heavy that it seems that nothing can create a state of waking up—even for a few split seconds. Fortunately everyone has those moments of being in the moment. Those intense feelings of being truly aware of presence carry a lasting memory print for a long time. Some experience them while doing sports, others by walking in the nature, and even encountering a close-by situation can trigger a heightened awareness.

Bu how to live now? In essence it’s very simple—you just focus on the moment 100%. This means that you do not think about the past or project a future, and keep on being in the moment only one moment at a time. Some call this meditation and indeed your life becomes a continuous mediation. And like any practise persistence makes a master. Don’t except quick wins or fast results. Actually more you expect the less you can be in the moment. Life is not about achieving but experiencing second by second.

The great news is that everybody can only live now. So there is nothing to learn or become—only to realise. The biggest hurdle is to overcome one’s fears. Our past haunts us, and as long as we have not dealt with it we are distracted from the moment. Living in the moment requires that we are in balance—exactly in the middle between the past and the future without any tilting to either direction.

Is your life in distress – maybe your career, personal direction, relationships, work, or all the above? A cul-de-sac can be a major issue with no easy way out. Still, the answer might be closer than you have realised.

Our reality is the product of our own thinking. It is built upon our assumptions, beliefs, past experiences, and knowledge. In other words, we often repeat the same record over and over again, and even without noticing it. Alas, this is the reason for the unbearable difficulties and ‘impossibilities’. We are stuck.

Instead of looking into future with great distress and trying to work one’s way out, how about pausing for a while and truly looking around you? Where are you and how did you end up here? Where did you come from and why did you choose to be here now? Don’t be surprised if you just simply don’t know, or you don’t have a good answer. That’s how it often is — life just happens if we are not proactively making conscious decisions. We drift and react on daily basis; days turn into weeks and weeks into months, even years. No wonder things may start to seem and feel the same!

Understanding where you are coming from often helps to get a bigger picture of the choices and experiences leading to the current stage. But don’t take it for granted that you have to continue in a similar manner. Each moment you have a chance to make a difference and do something else. We do not have to repeat ourselves like robots —day-in and day-out. Many times the only way to realise the repetition is a major distress factor coming into our lives. It wakes us up since we simply cannot continue like nothing happened. The old record is broken — it just does not play again. We are lost.

If you acknowledge where you are coming from and definitely know that there is no way going forward it leaves at least one possibility left: the current moment. One can focus on the present moment, and try to figure out and observe the surrounding reality. After all it may not exactly be like one has thought it would be — the same old and boring as it ‘used’ to be. But since we only know what we know, it might first be a bit difficult to see something else than what we are expecting to experience. However, there is one great advantage that we haven’t used yet, and that’s exactly the discomfort factor. We know for sure that there has to be something else since things aren’t working the old way again! We have nothing to loose.

If you cannot change the circumstances, the past, and the future has not happened yet, you still have the current moment. So, you have something! And surely you have plenty of more as well. Many experiences, personal assets and resources that you have accumulated along the way in forms of developed talents, skills, knowledge, and so on. In another words you do not have to start from scratch like a newborn baby into this world. You have something to build upon. Maybe not exactly like you used to do it in the past, but perhaps even something better than before?

Getting nowhere and being just here is a great point to start to create something new. It’s very easy to change the direction and do something ‘unpredictable’. Find again the things you like to do and are passionate about. Start to live again a life that is meaningful and full of fun – just by purely being and doing things that are enjoyable. After all, why should we do things we do not like or believe in? It is just so easy to forget to enjoy our everyday life until we have almost entirely lost the track of the whole concept. Then it is time again to rediscover the joy of living and do something else. Life is not about achieving but about being in a manner that is fulfilling and content every moment. A distress can be a blessing in disguise. Carpe diem!

We know only what we know. This sounds very simple and naïve but still it is a powerful statement. It also defines what we do not know, which is very important to realise as well. One could say that we limit our world and experiences by our awareness.

Learning new and being open to new opportunities and possibilities is not easy. This can be clearly seen from the above axiom, or just by looking around you and observing how the people you know carry on having their usual habits and routines—often unchanged for decades. As if this would not be enough to restrict and narrow our potential we do it also proactively, and others do it for us.

Imagine that you are faced with a new situation that is somewhat awkward or cumbersome. To whom will you tell about it? Quickly you scan through your friends and decide to share the information with people who can handle the news. In another words you do not bother upsetting the persons, who you feel with your past experience, would be shocked and would have hard time taking in the news. Everybody knows a relative or a person who is very uptight and square with his/her world-view. With those persons you are very careful how you put your words and what kind of issues are appropriate discussion topics. You filter your interaction and communication proactively, subconsciously.

So, who limits and what? Is it you or the rest of the world?

Many of us are learning the lesson with money. Either we are tight to make the two ends meet or we have an uneasy relationship with prosperity.
Wealth itself is a neutral issue. It is not either good or bad. We ourselves create the meaning and its role. Its scope can be very narrow and limited or wide and very significant. Anyhow, it is all up to us. It has nothing to do with the energy called money or anybody else except us. We create our own reality – the energy is happy to provide us whatever we wish for.

Therefore prosperity and abundance are at our reach. We can make it to happen. Actually nothing can keep as apart from it - if we only allow it ourselves. And this is the big if. It is not the circumstances or the economical situation. Not the job or anything else in our outside reality. There is no one else to deal with but us.

Can you see yourself already living in prosperity? Wait – stop for a while and really consider the previous point. This is important if you are going to make it to happen. Are you able to visualise yourself living in abundance?

The only thing that keeps us separated from abundance is our own beliefs. We don’t feel that we are worth the wealth. We undermine ourselves and simply don’t believe it is possible to realise. Maybe we have had some bad experiences in the past and thus we are reluctant to try again. It did not happen then why could this time be any different? Or we regard anything even closely related to business or money somehow unrelated or impure when talking about spirituality and higher purpose of life. We want to associate ourselves only with unselfishness and spiritually uplifting issues - not with the material reality.

What are all the above? They are our beliefs and associations that we have created ourselves. We believe so – not the wealth or the money. Nothing has any meaning except the one we create for it. Our reality is relative. This means that we can decide to use money for our own selfish purposes or use it as a tool to build a better future for all of us. Actually have you ever considered the possibility that the most spiritually evolved persons should also be the wealthiest? This is not so outstanding claim as it first might sound like. Who would be better servant for humanity than a prosperous and humble multibillionaire that uses his / her wealth for unselfish purposes? Not even talking about how these people would run their businesses…

Can you now see yourself surrounded by wealth and abundance?

Common misunderstanding about wealth is that is difficult to gain. Or that one has to work hard to earn it. Who says so? Money doesn’t care if you don’t. Actually abundance is our natural state of being. There has been previous Golden Eras when gold was widely available for everyone who needed it. Lack and limitations are our own creations. We are meant to be living among abundance if we only allow ourselves. Some of us are very harsh and hard on ourselves. Our previous hardship has taken its toll and subconsciously we blame ourselves for the difficulties. We think that we have earned to be poor and to suffer. It is a lesson that we have to learn. In another words suffering by being poor is a thing that we need. Once again – if you believe so but certainly you do not have to.

Can you see all your friends surrounded by prosperity and wealth?

Wealth is energy like anything else. If you take good care of it and let it flow it will keep coming and become stronger. But if you use it for your selfish purposes and block the sharing of wealth it will drain. Life is economical. It gives for those who appreciate and cherish it. We do not own anything, rather being only humble housekeepers that take care of the resources and gifts provided to us. In another words we must feel to be worth the wealth. Be responsible and joyous about it. We must appreciate and use it wisely.

And finally the secret of prosperity. How to become wealthy? Simply by being one. First forgive yourself. Forgive yourself any hardship or shortcomings in the past. This is important in order to clear any old luggage out of the way. Secondly, love yourself. Love yourself from all of your heart so that you fill up with unconditional love so and it starts to spill over and finally you radiate pure love. Wealth loves to be around kind and harmonious people. You feel that you’re worth the wealth and it is a natural part of your reality. Beauty and wealth are as natural for you as any other part of your reality. And then the most important issue when you have now successfully prepared the ground for your prosperity: you know that you are wealthy. You must know this deep in your mind, bottom of your heart and solid as a rock in your behaviour. You must be wealthy. How does a wealthy person think, talk and act? This is the way you manifest your reality. A wealthy person do not worry about unpaid bills or low balance in the bank account. He knows that there is nothing to worry about. He / she is wealthy and everything is going to be alright. This does not mean that one should start to spend like a millionaire and take up new loans and so on. It simply means that since we create our own reality by our own actions, talks, and thoughts and these have to be in line with the desire of prosperity. We KNOW, FEEL and ACT with confidence that the wealth is on its way. Nothing can stop as from gaining it. We are creators and thus nothing can stop our prosperity but us. Just do it – you already are.

For us the visible reality is the real thing. We associate ourselves with it and respond to it as well. Often we feel uncomfortable and find hard to match with the world around us. Inside we are at distress with the outer reality. It does not reflect our ideal inner state.

Throughout the ages it has been said that the visible world is not real or it is called as an illusion or maya. Plato had his famous The Allegory of the Cave which described the same with a dark cave and shadows that the people we’re obliged to observe - not the true figures or the outside world. These metaphors are hard to grasp and to realise by us living in the modern world.

Still nothing could be more true. Maybe the phrasing could be different but the original message remains intact - always. This visible reality is the one where we communicate and observe. Still we are present in other planes as well. They are not visible to us but still we are members on those ones as well. Beside the physical body we have also our feelings and emotions as well as our mental capabilities. They are as real for anyone as the physical world itself even thought we cannot see them.

So, where’s the real reality and what does it mean? The world every wisdom tries to illustrate and refer to is the reality of thoughts. That is where anything is first created - it is thought out. Only after that it can be expressed and materialised. No matter are we talking about going shopping, building a house or even speaking. First it has to be created and then it is a matter of realisation depending on the case at hand.

A thought without any feeling is not complete. Saying ‘I love you’ without a feeling is meaningless. Similarly the feeling or the passion / desire has to be combined with the thought. Together they are something. This applies to talking, building a house or any other matter. (The third required element is power or will to execute or carry out the matter but this is just a hint for the considerate reader and not relevant for the topic.)

Why should we not focus on the outside world and instead purely concentrate on the inner higher reality? No matter where you look you find the wise words that encourage to look inside or as Pythagoras has so nicely put it: “Man know thyself then thou shalt know the Universe and God.” These should not be understood in a manner that one ignores the visible world or isolates from the world. They purpose is to encourage to focus on the essence or the source where everything is really taking place and where one can have control and real influence on the visible world.

First this may sound quite a bizarre or contrary but just consider how much in control of your world you really are? Are you pretending to be in control or just really facing the facts that you are only an observer for the occurring events. A feeling of being in control is not the same as having a real influence on the issues and understanding what’s really causing them. Can you have a peaceful and happy life?

Some people can. And they have followed the advice. They have realised that in order to achieve something one has to look inside and find it first there and only after that can it materialise in the outer world as well. Actually nothing can prevent it from occurring shall the desire be strong and persistent enough. Why is this so hard to believe and start to implement?

Simply because we are used to live and look outside of ourselves. We take it as granted that by doing something in the outside world we can make something to happen in our desired manner. But what happens when you start to do this? One creates a perpetuity machine without even realising it and having a chance to jump out. Often only the final desperation makes the person to get out of the cul-de-sac and start to look inside for strength. Only then can something start to happen. The reason for this is very simple. The outside reality is just a mere cause of the activities that happened before - ie. the results or the reflections of the mental thoughts and feelings. Nothing can ever change in the outer reality till the thought and emotional structures are changed accordingly.

One has to ’see’ and ‘feel or believe’ together the desired outcome first and only then it can start to happen. If you just look the current state of the visible world and take it as granted without any creative and passionate effort then nothing will ever improve or change. Actually the opposite often happens. A negative spiral is created - things look so bad and hence I will be so depressed and so on. Naturally a positive inspiration and feeling is also possible to happen - then only the sky is the limit - isn’t it?

Why is this so hard to believe - still? Since we do not see the real reality and thus we do not consider it matters. We think that we can think, feel or say whatever we feel like without much consideration or significance. And look the state of the world today! Have we been able to live in peace and love each other as humans? How about your thoughts and feelings - only loving and peaceful everyday and towards everything, permanently?

Maybe we should start to consider more carefully the wise words repeated so often to us throughout the centuries. We even have living proves of people who have achieved a permanent state of tranquility and happiness. Even the latest science do not disapprove this. Einstein and quantum mechanics can do wonders if one wants to study them. Why is it so that the observer effects the observation or to put it differently the thought effects the thinker.

When you want something you also state that you don’t have
something. Your object of wanting is the very thing you’re
missing. In other words, you’re declaring your imperfectness.
There is something in you that still requires and is in need.

The person who is at peace and has achieved a state of
calmness needs no thing. He or she has everything. What was
it that you needed?

Our belief structures define who we are and how we interpret
the world. They are our point of view and allow us to view the
world through rose-colored glasses. We adjust the external
world according to our beliefs. Beliefs are our world, and they
are us. Hence they are very powerful and have a great impact
on us.

When we interact with other people, we interact with their
belief structures. If these beliefs are aligned, we feel under-
stood and the interaction is a very pleasant experience. On the
other hand, if others’ beliefs do not fit into our world, they
can threaten or distress us.

We stick to our beliefs. We lock into our bunkers, and try
to keep the base safe as long as possible. This is very impor-
tant because otherwise we are bound to change our under-
standing of our existence, which often means giving up
something and adjusting our life accordingly. We have a huge
intolerance for change and uncertainty. Questioning our con-
ventional ways of categorizing and seeing the world imposes
an immediate threat for who we believe we are and how the
world is constructed according to our understanding.

Until we give up believing and creating thought structures,
we are tied up and imprisoned by them. They bound limits to
our lives and prevent us from experiencing the external world
without filters and mental handicaps.

When you are angry ask yourself: Who is angry?

When you are disappointed ask yourself: Who is disap-
pointed?

When you are in need of something ask yourself: Who
needs?

When you are sad ask yourself: Who is sad?

Why is it that it is always the external world that is to be
blamed? And yet, all of your answers start with I (with a cap-
ital letter). Who is this I (who is angry, disappointed, in need,
and sad)?

This mysterious I interacts with the world but still takes
no responsibility for his or her actions. Why does this I always
projects the reasons for hardship and excuses on the external
world? Interaction requires at least two parties.

How about sorting out things with this I first and dealing
with the world later?

Always concentrate on your state of being-ness, never on the
mode of being.

Don’t try, genuinely be.

Understand you can never be too humble.

Appreciate and be grateful for everything and every single
occasion and situation you’re facing and living through.

Be patient. Always.

Forgive and be kind to yourself. You can never be too graceful.

Never monitor your progress or try to achieve something—
they lead to becoming.

Always acknowledge and be aware of your consciousness. As
long as there is something that sees, hears, thinks, feels, or
senses, there is still something to learn—the quest is not over.

Do not fixate on anything. There are no excuses. Always be
ready to sacrifice everything you have, are, or believe in.
Humbleness and honesty with yourself helps.

Always verify your actions and thoughts by your ethical and
moral standards. Be honest and watch for half-truths and
excuses. Sloppiness is never acceptable.

Only the truth survives.