November, 2023 Bardo Buzz (05-11)

NAVIGATING THE MYSTERY OF TIME

Barbara Haynes

I recently became aware of how many times a day I check the time. Each time I checked the time, a subtle but unmistakable sense of anxiety was triggered. The questions -- How much more time do I have to complete the task at hand?, Am I running late? (a thought that made me ponder whose standards I was racing against), Is it later than I thought? When will this be over? (whatever this is). I could feel a tightening in my body and a shortening of my breath as if I was running a race.

Intrigued by this interaction with time, I decided to conduct a little experiment with myself. I made an agreement with myself not to check the time or steal a glance at the clock at anytime during the day. This exercise was based on the exercise from the LRS Course where you don't read all the printed matter you encounter during the exercise period.

At first I found not looking at the kitchen clock, or the clock on my computer, or my cell phone, or the clock by my bed to be somewhat disorienting. I realized that checking the time was a way for me to determine my place in the environment. Yet, I also discovered it had become a barricade between me and the present moment -- keeping me well away from the here and now.

As I grew more accustomed to not checking the time, I found myself inhabiting a grander world -- a world not confined by the anxieties and constraints imposed by time. I was able to be more present -- to Be Here Now. I was getting a glimpse of my life in a realm unburdened by the demands of time. The physical tension gradually dissipated, while my breath found a calmer, more peaceful rhythm. As I continue this experiment I relish this newfound sense of temporal emancipation.

THINGS ARE SPEEDING UP

Christiane Wolters

Lately I found myself noticing this sense of: things are speeding up. Something is speeding up big time. One symptom was that I didn't seem to be the same person from one hour to the next, even one minute to the next. Things are speeding up externally, too, almost feeling like a frenzy out there in the world. Today I read someone saying we have one year. Well, I happen to think 2024 is gonna be an important year for humanity. Still, more questions than answers. Questions I have asked myself and am asking you.

One scenario: What if humanity's time is "up" as in, this is indeed the end game time? Consciousness is penetrating the habitual patterns everywhere. So much is coming to light. So many millions and millions of projects involving millions and millions of people to create a new world in their corner of it. So maybe one cannot change the world as it already is in the past when we perceive it. But as creators, we can be different, create and build something of a higher frequency than the density and darkness of total contraction. And what a game it is. How will you spend what is left of your time here? What is important to you, what is essential to you?

Even if it all is a sim, a game...how would you like to spend that only currency truly worth anything in this realm: time?

Between: "It's time to just let things be" E.J. Gold, and "You are responsible for your own evolution", where do you stand? What frequency are you choosing? What are your values and -- what are the values inherent in existence?

I recently watched a video titled: The Great Simplification by Nate Hagens. It was good, only the end was ...blah. My visual of the video's ending is a different one, one where all those millions and millions of people in the world today are represented by tiny blips of light at the bottom of the screen, later coming together in larger groups, connecting, unstoppably growing. Eventually all people that now feed the current life-destructive superstructure, are creating something very different, leading to a superstructure that outshines and melts the old. The manifest world we all, to some extent, currently are feeding, is clear, but who is ready to feed the new one and to what degree and with what integrity?

It is possible - and it requires everyone everywhere - except maybe those undiscovered tribes deep in the jungles - who are not participating in feeding the current Moloch that is ruling the world.

Anything is possible, especially since the totality is actually out of our control, and, paradoxically, ultimately requires every single one of us. At some point, something will flip.

Meanwhile, talking about facing the dark and misguided part of one's own culture, I highly recommend watching Ken Burn's new documentary (I say new because it is still free on PBS) called "The American Buffalo". Watch it and feel it if you can tolerate it. Then on to part 2, 3 and 4. They are all important and illuminating in their own way. It might clarify a whole lot of aspects of your inner world as it relates to cultural conditioning, which is embedded in us as deeply as is imprinting in birds. Only that we, as humans, can evolve during one lifetime. This is that time.

What do you stand on? What habits and conditioning do you allow to determine your actions and your way of being? Everything you need is available to you in our current world. What is yours to do and how are you finding what that is? How does love express as you? What can you do besides your usual?

In the center of the storm, there is stillness and silence. Who are you really and what consequence does that have for your actual lived life, if any? How do apple pie-cakes have anything to do with it?

Everyone is called and needed in the creation of a very different world. It requires your evolution.

Blessings to you.

"Did I Wake Up Dead?", AI image generated in Night Cafe using the preset Night Cafe with SDXL Beta with the prompt: "From the cosmic perspective, a star nursery blends into endless infinity of the ouroboros reflecting the face of the beloved." Musings of a Labyrinth Reader

Musings of a Labyrinth Reader

ENGAGE THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH ChatGPT

By Marvette Kort

The original prompt inspiring my poem was: Hello Veritus. I need your help in writing a poem about a subject that is on the edge of even being able to be talked about. The topic is: What does one do if you wake up dead? How will I know? What if the environment is chaotic and I can't understand what is happening? What if I feel like I'm being hunted and I don't know why? What if I feel like radiations are penetrating me and dissolving who I think I am? I am losing my identity. My memories have faded away. I don't know what to do. I don't feel safe. And I don't know where to go. Can I get help? How do I recognize a guide? Can someone on the other side of the veil tune into me and talk to me? Is there some way I can prepare before I die? Can you write this poem like a stream of consciousness following a thread to discovery?

I next asked for rewrites to incorporate the question that inspired my query: What does one do if you wake up dead? And, of course, I repeated the request for verses without rhymes.

Below is the free verse poem that I crafted by applying the Gezertenplatz principle. But then again, I don't know if I fulfilled the requirement of improving worthless mundane poetry. However, I certainly did edit the poem so much so that it can be credited to Vettizon with the assistance of Veritas.

In a realm unknown, a question coalesces,
What do I do if I wake up dead?
I may ask, am I lost in space?
Or is it the beloved I hold in my vision?

Identity is fading, memories scramble like eggs.
Uncertainty pervades, what am I holding onto?
The familiar reference point that eases my fear.

Pursued without reason, a story to examine,
Guides may appear, their forms manifest.
Do I engage with attention to dissipate this unrest?

As the mystic labyrinth echoes, a thunderous sound,
Undefined guides emerge, offering a path of endurance,
Leading through enigma's maze, where wisdom can be found.

Before my final breath, seek truth to ease the passage,
Reflect, meditate, let the soul be aware when the guide descends,
In the tapestry of existence, find purpose to serve.

Navigate the stream of consciousness as the mind unwinds,
Guidance heard from afar may point the way, as life's pages unfurl,
Remember, I am all one in this enigmatic world,

Don't run away, instead, open to the force,
Transformation experienced as I surrender to the brilliant light,
Dissolving accumulations, leaving the self tingling and free to blend into the cosmic void.

WORKING WITH POPCORN EXERCISES

Jewel McInroy

A few months ago, I came across the following excerpt from The Popcorn Talk, which troubled me. I realized that many of the efforts I had put into my work were not as effective as they could have been, as I felt they were not built on a solid foundation and executed in a sequential manner, with one step following another. I was disheartened by my failure to grasp the importance of this approach earlier.

In response, I hurriedly began to study and understand the mechanics of this work process. Becoming intimately familiar with the methods and practices involved, I'm seeing it as a journey and a discipline that I need to master. I want to emphasize the importance of this fundamental exercise which forms the very basic foundation of work efforts and share it with as many others as possible.

The complete talk goes into detail and sheds light on how to work with the exercise.

The Popcorn Talk, Talk of the Month, #27

THE EXERCISE "The mutual-reciprocal transference of the functions of the headbrain and tailbrain will be the first active step in our voluntary evolution. Before this intentional transference of upper brain and lower brain functions we can do exactly nothing -- even the invocation of presence into the present -- because the headbrain is incapable of functions beyond the ordinary linear thought processes which we call "associative-thinking." The headbrain is incapable of real psychology and does not function for mentation. Its processes are strictly search-and-follow-a-line, in more or less spasmodic periodic cycles of activation, and more often of passive reaction. "To develop a brain which is capable of real mentation, attention and will-for-presence, which has all-parts-blended unity, and a clear uninterrupted vision of the nonphenomenal world, man must be turned rightside-up once again. As he is now, he is upside-down. His thinking centrum is in the headbrain and his moving centrum is in the tailbrain; the exact reverse of real man, a true three-brained being."

HOW THE TAO OF GRATITUDE TRANSFORMS LIVES

Michele Marie

Yet, in the moments of stillness, in that sacred space between our breaths, we discover something profound--a realm often overlooked, yet immensely powerful--Gratitude.

Here in this sanctuary within, we encounter our true nature, unburdened by worldly desires and concerns. It's in these moments that we're reminded of the ancient wisdom from the Tao Te Ching:

"Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

It's the understanding that what we possess is sufficient, and who we are is enough.

In recognizing the virtue of others, one attains virtue oneself, in showing kindness to others, one experiences kindness.

At the same time, gratitude humbles us, when we express thanks for challenges that come our way.

We acknowledge that even adversities are blessings and they are the sculptors chiseling away at our ego and our ignorance, bringing us closer to our true selves.

Through gratitude and its profound simplicity and transformative power, we can navigate the labyrinth of existence with grace, enrich our relationships, and find a deep sense of fulfillment.

May gratitude be our constant melody, and let this mantra echo within you:

"With every breath, I welcome grace. With every step, I walk in thankfulness.

May I be a vessel of compassion, a mirror of humility, a beacon of joy.

For in gratitude, I find my true Self, and in my true Self, I am an eternal being of light."

As a companion on this journey of gratitude, allow me to introduce a soul-stirring resource--Gratefuling, a book filled with gratitude exercises nudging you to acknowledge, cultivate, and embody gratitude in your everyday life. The book is structured into three powerful sets of exercises. The first set helps you recognize and acknowledge the existing gratitude in your life, elevating your awareness of the present moment. The second set takes you a step further by actively cultivating gratitude, making space for its transformative power in your life. And the third set of exercises establishes gratitude as a state of being, accessible at will, independent of circumstances or reasons.

Gratefuling -- A Stairway to Bliss

by Claude Needham

Excerpt from the book: The Invocation of Presence

INTRODUCTION: KEY TO LIFE written by E.J. Gold

Submitted by Tabatha Jones

"This is what ordinary phenomenal life is all about. It is a fixation on survival into the future, but how can this be, without voluntary participation in the present?

"Even if you have accomplished the greatest thing in the world, if you penetrate with your vision fifty million years into the future and then look back on your life and ask what you have accomplished, you will see what it really means to be alive.

"What could you have accomplished fifty million years ago that would mean anything now? This is the question that reveals the only real mystery of life, and anyone who possesses an authentic answer to this question holds the KEY TO LIFE."