*Greetings, Hippie Survivalists. It's been a long time. Things have changed in the way that things do. I've been meditating every day for well over a month now. Maybe 6 weeks, maybe longer. I've been practicing concentration, or absorption, meditation, which is my birthright. Regardless of what the Buddhists have to say about this kind of meditation, I do it because I am good at it, because it comes naturally to me, and because I feel that I am meant to do it. It is yogic meditation, and leads to altered states of consciousness (samadhi, or absorption in God) and siddhis (metaphysical powers). I do not care that it does not lead to enlightenment, because I am not here to be enlightened. I am here to expand my toolkit and my awareness, and to be the most and best that I can be, and this is how I do it. It leads me to good things.
*The Chill Wind is blowing tonight, strongly. I first began feeling the Chill Wind in my teens, on certain hikes that I took in the hills above Palo Alto. At that time, it was the Wind of Freedom. Later it became the Wind of Discovery. It is a cold wind, and it has a certain smell, and it is invigorating. It hearkens mystery. I have felt it in the desert, at sunset, and while hiking. Tonight it is so strong that it actually gives me goose bumps. The older I get, the less I encounter it, but it always bodes well and I cherish it when it arrives.
*After all the recent firearm-related mass murders, I am not too interested in firearms. Or perhaps I am simply going thru a phase where I am focused on other things. But something has changed inside me, and it is this: The last year of living on this island paradise has been deeply relaxing, and meditating has relaxed me even more, and now I have become so relaxed that I have arrived at a conclusion. The conclusion is that Survivalism is alarmist and based on a trauma response. I have lived in that place for years, and know it well. But it dawns on me that I don't HAVE to live there. What if the world never ends? Or ends in 23 years? Why not spend the time until then living in a relaxed and healthy state and actually enjoying life? I'm still gardening, which I consider the most fundamental survival skill, and I'm always growing, which is the purpose of my life, and I am slowly learning to cultivate better relationships with others (another vital survival skill). And I have supplies socked away. So there is no reason not to live as a civilian until the apocalypse strikes...and even then, I don't have to choose to go into trauma mode. Yeah, things change.
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