In the upcoming days I will be revealing what I believe will be one of the most unique business plans to be found. However, before you can begin to understand the seemingly radical approach I will be describing, you need to understand the origins of my desire for such a different path in the world. In other words, we need to have an honest, no bull-shit assessment of our present, mainstream reality. The 3 areas most appropriate to examine are the ones we’ve tip-toed around, as a society, for far too long – money, religion, and politics.
I began this effort a week and a half ago with a post titled, “Finances & Economic Value – Part 1”. Tomorrow, I will pick up where I left off. The posts I am working on for the upcoming week are the following: ‘Finances & Economic Value – Parts 2 & 3’; ‘Politics’; ‘Religion & Spirituality – Parts 1 & 2’; and ‘I AM the New Economic Model – Parts 1 & 2’.
Know that this is an assessment based on the most real reality out there – your own personal living experiences (in this case, mine, of course) & those you (I) have shared with friends & family. After my move to Sarasota in 2008 I began developing very close friendships with some of the most amazing, fascinating, intelligent, non-mainstream people I’ve met to this day. All of a sudden it became very clear to me that my world view was far more myopic than I could have ever guessed. Learning of the vast living I was not doing blew my previous perspectives on everything out of the water. My life of labels, categories, rules, & simple dualistic beliefs began to disintegrate as the massive illusions in our world became so clear.
This was the beginning of me finding my way out of my head & back to my heart. It required, to begin with, a recognition of the fact that there is no one right way to live. Everyone is out there doing the best they can and it isn’t for any of us to try to say that our way is better than anyone else’s. We all should have equal opportunities to pursue and obtain our respective desires. In our world, however, it seems we still have consistent efforts taking place to identify certain paths and certain life choices as more ideal. For those who don’t, for one reason or another, follow the more traveled paths, it is quite a different living experience than someone who is blindly following that mainstream avenue (which is what I was doing up until 2008). As I grew closer to my Sarasota community, I learned more & more about the unique experiences of the non-mainstream journey. Wow! I was clueless despite believing I was a highly informed individual.
As you read my assessments/opinions, understand this is one of the few times I will focus on what exists and specifically, on the negative of what exists. You will soon learn why this is the case. For now, suffice to say I look forward to getting back to the proposed “solutions” I have, which hold focus only on the positive. Additionally, I hope you pick up on the fact that I am no longer on anyone’s side but rather on everyone’s side. If it is inconsistent, illogical, arbitrary, or judgmental I’m going to point it out. If it is rooted in the dark, which is to say, fear-based, I will identify it as such. I am only on the side of love, compassion, forgiveness, gratitude, appreciation, and positivity. This isn’t about blame. This isn’t about suggesting we need more systems or programs. Nope – not at all, in fact. You will see my beliefs ALL center around the amazing capacity each and every one of us has within ourselves to create our own realities. It is time to get back to individual responsibility. It is time to understand how much control we have via our power of thought and focus & the resulting influence that has on the rest of the world around us.
With that said, however, there are very real disadvantages that many, MANY face in trying to live their lives. And the ones who are least aware of this reality are the ones in the positions of power and influence – often making decisions that make things even more challenging for those who already have extra obstacles on their roads. In my experiences, it seems the disconnect is truly that – we are all (mainstream, non-mainstream, & any combination thereof) living in our bubbles & judging others outside of our bubbles without having any real knowledge of what is entailed in the lived experiences of the “others”. We trust what the TV says is news and “reality” and often pay more attention to things taking place over which we have no control and to people far outside of our day-to-day communities. Again, if we truly desire a “better” society, we cannot continue with the status quo.
These upcoming blog posts are meant to simply point out that the playing field is absolutely, positively, NOT equal out there. Note that I said the playing field – not the players. We all know that each of the almost 7 billion of us on this planet are players in this big game of life on Earth. Of course, we are not all created with equal abilities, desires, or circumstances. But we should have as equal-as-possible a world in which to live and at present, we don’t.
The issue lies in the fact that certain abilities/strengths, interests, & experiences have been identified & rewarded as valuable while many others have been deemed less valuable or worse, given no value at all. During this next week of blogging, I hope to introduce a few new perspectives pertaining to what many consider to be the “big” areas of our society. I think you will find, though, there is a distinct, significant difference in my thoughts of how to create something more equitable. I can guarantee you it will not be anywhere near status quo.
Finally, this look at mainstream reality is being done in order to provide a more solid understanding & awareness of where we are. In order to navigate to where you want to go you must first know where you are. Consider this to be status week; the pre-test; the starting point from which we will measure the efforts of my company for the next 6 months. Because make no mistake about it…I hold the belief that these new approaches are going to catch on like wild fire. There will be change & it will be noticeable. Our planet and all of us inhabiting it are screaming for a change. The calls for help are coming in every way imaginable by every segment of our society and from every part of our world. It is time to remember that we are all in this together. If we believe we can create something different we will.
Thank you and have a great day!
Alyson
P.S. This blog post was originally written and posted to rendition #1 of my website on 12.28.12 while sitting in an airport in AZ awaiting my first-ever 1st class upgrade experience in flying. I point out both of these facts for purposes to be explained a bit further along the launching campaign that has now “officially” begun.
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From Alyson’s Journal
October 2, 2010
I wonder what it would look like to live from nature in today’s world? I know a little about healing from nature and I know about enjoying nature. But, I don’t know living from nature. How/what would our instincts tell us to do?
Keeping in mind how we’ve “evolved” culturally and thus, the resulting environments – material vs. spiritual; rich vs. poor; war vs. peace. Living as human beings in 2010 – if we listen to our instincts what does that tell us to do? How do we hear from nature about how to live for it and thus, us?!
First, we need slow, calm, down time. First – SLOW! This all connects with my eating. Why do I not slow down? Why eat so fast? What am I trying to say with that outward behavior? Achievement, busy…somehow I thought it was outwardly defined as something with a positive connotation. It has something also to do with believing at my core, that good will not last. Good times and good feelings…I’m trained to believe that I don’t deserve good so it’s almost like I’m sneaking good when I eat. Just like now. I even sneak when I eat still. I don’t deserve “good” – whether it comes in food, positive feelings, or in true happiness. So…I eat up bits of these things in my life very quickly.
Wow! The thoughts are really flowing like crazy right now. I can’t move my hand fast enough. I just finished meditating and the Celtic meditation music is still playing in the background. And I keep discovering that these sorts of combinations make my mind fly.
I’m trying to write all these thoughts tied to my feelings at this moment and the intensity of my thoughts AND the music together is almost too much to bear. That sound…the high pitched flute or piccolo – it’s so beautiful. And it’s fall outside – wind, cloudy, cool – the smells bring me back to the last time I lived here and who I was at that time. The music also ties to something…a movie or a place or a person … somehow it is tying me to a true feeling of happiness I’ve had in my past. And the two together – smell of my past & happiness of my past makes me cumulatively feel (like a logic statement) – sad!
If F and F than T (from Mr. Forslund’s Philosophy class in high school); in my life: If smells of past AND if Happiness of my past than Sadness of my present. How that is possible, I do not know, but that is what I am feeling right at this moment.
Thoughts are going through my head of two, specific men in my life – one from the past; one from my very recent FL present. Thoughts of high school, mountains, Australia – namely, Nimbin – came to mind too since I’ve been writing. So many ideas…so many interpretations. I feel as if I examined them I could find the basis for a movie, a book, a lesson, or a class. This just made me think of me moving back towards teaching, which leads me back to listening to our instincts to feel & hear from nature. How to live for the now…
Which then made me jump to the Mayan 2012 prediction…I’m totally reading more about that…which made me think…what if I’ve really been in training this whole time? We all have been here, but the forces all around us are designed to prevent overcoming or beating the training course – life. And to win the battle – to survive – you need to know how to drown out all the distractions and get back to what has been right in front of us the entire time. What we want is right here – the good – the happiness. Life and time have added a shit-ton of distraction – things, careers, money, homes, clothes – you need to get down to the essence by completely eliminating the distractions. We need to get to just raw nature to see all the solutions.
When you allow that simple happiness to flow in you, you want to feel it and it feels wonderful! It flows – the energy flows in and around you. Being happy seems to be the outward manifestation of recognition of our inner essence. Then, once you can see this you are able to move beyond to see your effect on the bigger picture. It all doesn’t work unless you are completely who you are all the way down to the essence. And as you get there and move closer, you feel that feeling. You keep entering higher levels of consciousness and of being and as such, everything gets more powerful and more beautiful.
Here’s the best part…what if we had no idea how close anyone else was to their essence in their individual part of the big picture until we are all there? On the outside, if could seem that everyone is so far away from “getting it”. But, in reality, we could all really be right on the cusp. And when that cusp breaks it will be an incredibly overwhelming feeling of entire species raised consciousness!
We could get out of this maze! We would move to the next level in this universal game of living! What if that is exactly what is going on right now? Think of Eckhart Tolle. Think of the Mayan prediction. What if everything looks so crazy because we are THAT close to the “judgement” time?
On December 21, 2012 … what if the real difference in whether or not it is the end of times or a massive evolutionary change is simply whether we all as individuals BELIEVE this? How crazy would that be?! You had to 100% with your essence believe – not just say it without it being honest & true. In order to “win” you had to get to a point somehow in your 2010 life where you honestly could believe that it was possible. That we all are on the cusp of this and that it is possible that we all believe we are there. And if we believe and have hope and faith in one another, than on that night in 2012…we “survive”? We exit the maze…the rat race.
To be continued…
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From Alyson’s Journal
September 30, 2010
So I’m rockin’ an incredible combination of highs right now: 1) On Day #2 of Master Cleanse – I feel awesome! 2) I had an awesome energy drink. 3) I found a brand new favorite song. 4) I exercised for 3 hours. 5) I went into the steam room. 6) I’m presently at the bookstore. 7) I’m about to go see “The Town” & “The American” and 8) I’m about to have a sweet coffee drink for my only calories of the day!
Any one of these alone could arguably make for an awesome few hours! And I have 8! Holy shit – I feel absolutely incredible! Oh I forgot – 9) I meditated this morning to awesome celtic meditation music and truly felt my body! I’m tuned into myself today and I feel very, very good!
So…let me focus on this – THIS is what I need to be spending my time on during this ‘break’. I need to teach myself how to treat myself well and be exactly who I am without apology or reserve! In other words, live my authentic life as 100% me and learn how to treat THAT Alyson kindly and with love.
And the sheer fact is that this will be difficult for me. This is absolutely foreign to me – how to love & accept myself. Damn it – I’m taking this time to fill myself up with lessons to myself in this area. I will make progress through journaling, meditating, art in paintings, my quilt, through music, and through honest interactions with friends & family!
How do I lose myself off the track described above? The track I’m on right now? How come I can’t remember all of these things and feel these feelings every day? Why does it only last like 2 days? Because…I’m not trained in how to hold onto it & build a reserve inside of me from which I may borrow on the more difficult days.
This is my first lesson…tomorrow will be Day 2 – 2 1/2 of ‘amazing’ feelings & thoughts…If I complete the whole day feeling that good, I will have surpassed my previous longest consecutive time of feeling “good”. I’m conscious of everything right now. I need to watch for “the Voice” and catch it right before it gets me off track. Whenever I feel guilty about not working and not being “productive” is when I’m susceptible to getting off track! I’m totally vulnerable and the Voice has no battle! The Voice begins to tell me my “break” is wrong, that I don’t deserve it, etc. and then I start to believe it and get into all my bad habits.
Well, today I’m focused on paying attention to the Voice and I will outflank him/her in this particular battle. It’s okay if I only meditate, go to the gym, go to the sauna and listen to music & do art in a day. THAT is VERY productive for me right now and NECESSARY!!!! Don’t worry about mom or to-do list or finding a job – only do what you love and what makes you feel good!
July 3, 2013
Given the personal, world-changing-for-me, conversation I had with my friend & life coach about 28 hours ago, the fact that this was the next journal entry I had marked to re-type is not at all surprising.
The Voice…your personal curse…can be very sneaky. Even when you think it is gone, it may still be lingering. If the Voice is indeed doing this…attempting to hijack your new story…AND you also happen to believe it to be gone…there is almost NO way you will be able to see it for yourself. But it takes two very “real” individuals to be able to both deliver & receive the message of pointing this out.
How much could be at stake? In my case…my entire dream…which, also happens to be my entire life! Thank you, Universe, for allowing me to receive Sadee’s observation and immediately recognize it to be exactly what I was ‘feeling’ but couldn’t identify nor see for myself. Thank you for enough dissolution of my ego allowing me room to depersonalize the message in order to be able to receive it & immediately adjust my awareness. Such incredible beauty!
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From Alyson’s Journal
September 12, 2010
It’s been almost a week since I last journaled and I’ve ha a pretty shitty week. I’m beginning to think that a key to my staying on track with “things” is reading Geneen’s book EVERY day, journaling EVERY day, and meditating EVERY day. When I seem to do this combo, I feel better, I don’t overeat, I lose weight and get back to my body’s desired weight and then I feel even better. When I don’t do these things, I eat – plain & simple.
When I’m reading & writing (especially immediately after meditating) I am processing through and understanding things much more deeply. Mostly though, I’m in the present and not re-living my glory days nor dreaming of any future where “I’m thing again!”.
So…once again I state my goal of “getting back on track”. In this case, this entails getting up no later than 8am, meditating for at least 10 minutes, and going to the gym. Then, sometime during the rest of the day I need to read/journal for at least 30 minutes. This is doable because I just made another revelation.
I just realized that the past 3 years, I have been saying to myself, “Beginning tomorrow I’ll start eating right…tomorrow, or next week, or the 1st of the month.” And the message was ALWAYS centered on my eating. According to Geneen, my eating is a result of NOT feeling/living. And that if I focused on staying in the present, and address THAT – my REAL problems – the perceived “real” problem of eating takes care of itself – including, the weight loss. And I just caught myself doing this again – tomorrow I’ll start my eating “program”. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! It’s NOT the eating!!!
It’s the dealing with these feelings & issues! That is the key! When I am doing that and it doesn’t even mean there’s an end point to that process (i.e. once I mail this letter to Dad I’m fixed and won’t have any more “issues” to deal with). No – that isn’t how it works because as long as we are living, we will have “issues” to deal with. The problems begin when you avoid dealing with them by leaving the present and thus, leaving the examination & recognition of what you feel or what you are at present.
Deal with my being and my feelings in the present = eating under control!
In the present = “good” eating!
Why have I been running from my present this week? My present included writing that stuff to Dad – re-living it all, in a sense. Too painful…so I ate and ate and avoided engaging with the world. I bolted from the present and everything went downhill from there – eating, gaining weight, feeling like shit, and continuing my favorite habitual cycle.
Shit! I just realized I do this not only when I feel really shitty – i.e. Dad stuff – but also when I get close to feeling emotions on the other end of the spectrum. When I experience happy, in love feelings – like after my date with Andy – I binged!
Totally interesting! This is intense! Stay in the present and FEEL. I’m the one always saying how much I love to really feel those extremes. So…let’s do it!
I feel myself there right now. Thoughts of food and feelings of hunger are not dominating. Quite the opposite – especially, with this music from the Himalayas playing in the background. I feel at peace.
Meditation = being in the present. This is really the only time I can get there right now. Very in tune with sound…my breathing. I must practice this a great deal more. For now, I need to feel and learn to know what this feels like – to be in the present. I need to feel it more often and watch the results. This is crazy to realize how much of the time I wasn’t/am not in the present moment. I’ve pretty much lived 95% of my time either in my past or my future since…well….at least when things went really bad in 11th grade. But…arguably…since things went sour with Mom in 7th grade. Wow! That is really a lot to contemplate.
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