Only once you have manifested the best version of yourself, affirmed your “self” through self-enquiry and aligned your soul with your purpose – walking the journey of utter darkness to find light, love – does magic happen.

All throughout recorded history there have been wars, revolutions and reformations, greatly affecting the thoughts, culture and possibilities of societies; influencing their philosophy of living, how they view life and their perspective of the world. Many of these have had tragic results, but still many have gone on to change the future – through social, cultural and scientific means. It has brought about great innovation and technology, thus advancing society to its greatest technological heights ever. One major negative result, especially as we moved from agriculture to an industrial based society, was that man lost his freedom; he was now a part of the machine, enslaved to his work and production; where profits rule over people. As a result, we have lost our way – no longer lending faith or credence to the onerous journey within.

Two of the greatest times for the forging ahead of humanity in recent history were the renaissance and age of enlightenment periods, opening the world to great advances in science, art and architecture. We are in the midst of another wave of similar intellectual growth: the spiritual age. Like all times of epic change, there are those who wish to take advantage of your disposition. Throughout all of time there has been a part of the group at large that wishes to find a quick solution, a deal so tempting it is hard to resist. There are no shortcuts in life: no pressure; no diamond. No mud; no lotus. And what fun would life be if we already had all the solutions? There would be no learning, no innovation, and no progress.

But since we are mere mortals stuck on earth, the ghetto planet of the cosmos, we have no choice but to deal with the cards we are dealt, to live life. We are here for a purpose, a reason for our existence – part of a larger omnipresent omnipotent divine plan. The first half of life is meant for discovering our deeper resolve, and the second half is for sharing it with others. And since our ever conscious mind and intellect are incapable of answering the supreme almighty unexplainable questions of life e.g., existence, our conscious and why we are here, we are left with endless perplexing unanswered questions. The road to hell is paved with all the golden trappings of self-fulfilling ego and superficial materialism, whereas the road to happiness is one of spirit, one that starts in the heart and ends in the soul – it is to be lived.

Don’t believe the hype, especially from the majority of any form of breathing life coach; and most definitely, from those who are hawking their pseudo-services on social media. There is no way around walking your path, doing your “work,” owning your stuff in life – the journey is the manifestation of your best self – the unveiling of your role in this grand illusion of a cruel play. Unless, of course, you enjoy a life of continued misery and magnetic shit-storms, there is no choice but to face the profound quest into your inner-most not-self head-on. There are no shortcuts, bypasses, circumventions or easy ways to find light in your life – it must first come as the result of darkness. The obstacle is the way, Sisyphus. Push!

Not until recently have I felt this divine energy far within. I feel alive – life has become fun again. For years I thought I could do only minimal work and think the thoughts, that I could somehow find a quick path to success and happiness, kind of like how the boundless claimless Kentucky-fried-Yogis, the fast-food drive-through Gurus of social media will sell you every way to the sun or how to actualize almost immediate results in your life, for whatever you desire, albeit erasing your karmic debt, dissipating your traumas or making a unicorn grow out of your arse, but within six months there is a 99.99% chance you are back to square one, an unhappy space-camper. Endless hours were spent reading, meditating, deep thinking, chanting, breathing, being – though the words were there and made sense to my rational mind, there was nothing, no concrete changes or results, save an increased fortitude in attitude and mindset.

Once through the darkness and into the light, life takes on new meaning: you no longer see things the same way, your reality severely adjusts; you see others for where they are at on their journey without pretext or judgment; you have more compassion and love for all sentient beings (rocks and trees also), including yourself – you learn to be selfless, to always be of service to others without thought of any repayment or expectation of return; you have more compassion and love for all the complex intricate life forms. You no longer feel the need to be an actor on stage, to ride the story horse, to don the many chameleon masks, or hide behind misleading unfulfilling security blankets – you are comfortable in your own skin, with who you are and your purpose for living out this lifetime on earth – content and happy.

Our three main parts, the conscious (ego, who we identify with as I), the sub-conscious (the heart), and the super-conscious (God), constitute the three main parts of us as humans. The journey of life is not about how many times we have been knocked down (that is guaranteed) but how many we get back up, the quest of the soul, the not-self, higher you, your “self,” God. The true adventure is the game of life itself; it is only through living life and facing its challenges do we earn the right to go further within – to graduate up a level. Life is experiential, a meritocracy of sorts, the more you live and work hard at it, the wiser you become as life reveals her secrets to you. But nothing can happen until the first step is taken: the journey into the heart. It is a cold, dark, lonely road that many would rather not walk, but there is no other way – it must be done in order for you to feel whole, complete and eventually love and happiness.

It is a journey that will take you to the darkest, scariest regions of your inner-being, the collective unconscious, and ultimately the gaping frightening chasm of your soul. There is no David Goggins book that will get you through this abysmal puzzling mess; the human mind is helpless in solving such issues – and no amount of physical, repeatedly bang your head into a wall, get it done at all costs, earn your daily “promotion,” headstrong Navy Seal training will make a shit of difference. They cannot be figured in the realm of the intellect; they must be felt and experienced through the emotion of the heart. It’s these visceral trials that allow for tangible growth in a person – which helps them increase their vibration to a higher astral plane, where the Acts of life play-out in otherwise unimaginable ways previous thought.

Keep in mind that you agreed to every tiny detail of your life: who your parents and siblings would be, what afflictions and obstacles you would face, what steps would be required for the proper growth in order to [eventually] bring you into alignment with your soul and its objective here on earth playing the part of a flesh-draped skeleton. No detail is spared in the process of planning your life. It is a part of pre-birth planning that happens in some cold sterile cosmic boardroom somewhere in the celestial yonder. That is one reason when things become really difficult in your life there a small flame of love you feel within – continually is burning with hope. At some point when you find yourself in the darkest points of your life, there is an understanding that you agreed to spend an incarnate lifetime on this planet-hood. 

Earth is considered the undesired planet of the universe; only the bravest souls dare attempt such a spiritual feat. Though society would direct you otherwise, you are not here to accumulate wealth, fame or anything else of ostensible worth or value. Our definition of success is off, in need of big adjustment. Most of what society teaches us about life is stuck in the ego; there is no room for spirituality. The person who only chases all the temporary joys and pleasures of life in attempting to fill that inner void of essence and intention, finds out it is a bottomless canyon that never produces the intended result – for once one level or milestone is achieved, one mountain or peak summited, the euphoric fuzzy feeling wears off – it is not enough to fill the empty hole in their hearts, and the search continues ad infinitum. 

The universe is constantly sending you messages, but most are asleep or blind to them. When the message is not understood, the universe boomerangs it back stronger. What you resist persists in life; there is a reason you are facing such obstacles: they have each been specifically designed as lessons to help you progress on your intended life path. They are opportunities for inner-growth – hidden treasures in disguise. Failure to continually get the message can eventually lead some onto mid-life crisis, chronic disease, unmitigated unplanned change or some sort of life trauma. These can come alone, together, all at once or, sometimes, not at all. Everyone has their own journey. These are meant to be times of rest and heartfelt reflection on your life. How and if you progress forward is a matter of a role of the dice.

Life will slow you down in order that you have time to reassess and reevaluate the direction of the life you think you are living. At some point it occurs to you that perhaps there is a greater significance for living life other than how big your house is, how fancy a car you drive, or how impressive the title at the front of your mahogany desk. Disease and afflictions are of the same intended sort, just stronger get-your-attention happenstances, meant to give you pause to sit and think about what gives you happiness. In some instances they are meant to elicit a lesson from the afflicted, a kind of wake-up call to rethink how you are living out your life. These times and incidences can either be used for maturity or when the message is not received, further hardship. You might have your agenda in life, but life has its own – and, sorry for the shocking surprise news, life’s always wins. Like a river, go with the flow – yield the current.

Once you get off your story horse, allowing your understanding of self to be defined vis-à-vis others, stop acting out the chameleon masks and adaptable personalities others perpetuate in a untold vicious Maytag of assumption and projection, creating a mistaken picture of who you really are, then life begins. Stop trying to be someone else; everyone else is already taken. And please stop believing the masses of asses, the sheep[le] colony of mistaken and misinformed [self-proclaimed] spiritual life coaches who couldn’t direct you out of a wet paper bag in a typhoon. Your wallet will be a bit lighter and within months, you will be back to your search for the next quick fix. Elon Musk was always meant to create Tesla; Kennedy was always going to be president. Focus on within, not without – and magic happens. 

The greatest lesson in Act I of your life is learning your purpose; you apply it in Act II. But it is no simple matter to be resolved in any quick manner. We are born with certain gifts, and through destiny not only do we discover what they are but also add more to our repertoire, making living life a bit easier as time goes on. As long as you continue to live in the realm of the conscious, the arena of ego, you will cease to allow for the path to opening your heart to your soul, God. Our greatest battle other than the person we face each morning in the mirror is reconnecting with our spirit, so as to live out our true and authentic raison d’etre. This is the hoax of life and why you should not take it seriously. It is one big celestial play.

We chose to come here voluntarily; no one twisted your atoms. We are not born into the universe, we are of the universe – we are not from God, we are of God. We are primarily made up of the supernova elements of carbon and calcium – from stardust we come and to stardust we shall return. In Islam there is an expression, ‘As it is written, it shall be.’ What is meant to be will be; fate cannot be changed. The only two actual parts of living that you have control over are your attitude and reaction – which form your perspective. An event in your life only has to be labeled bad if you so choose. In life there is always a seed of positive in every bad situation, and vice-versa. The key is to always find the connection, the reason, the lesson – learning to experience life as one big synchronistic inter-connected cosmic drama.

Though life is strewn with what seem like incalculable unceasing insurmountable and impregnable legend events and personal experiences that cause us to feel like we are suffering, once into the farthest reaches of the canyon of the heart, life goes through a transformation, you undergo a mind-blowing transmogrification, resulting in cathartic redirection and growth at unplumbed levels, and such serpentine impediments disappear. There only two base emotions we live by, love and fear. Most people live their lives in fear when they should rather just be – yielding all control to the universe. The less you seek, the more you find out of life. In the Bible, applying a transcendent mystic metaphorical interpretation, as per Jesus – who came to earth to be a beacon of light, an example of forgiveness and love to humanity – who, like you, is inextricably of God, stated: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: … Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:13–14.)  You enter the Kingdom of God through your heart; the quest of the shadow darkness, the inscrutable unfathomable inner-self. Bob Marley had it right, heaven is here on earth – it is within your heart. The road to light goes directly through the heart, eroding fear and anxiety, making way for pure love – thus living out the intended purpose of your life. Love is the way of light; the choice is yours.

Travel Blog: Click here.

Spiritual Blog: Click here.

Book: Unbreakable Mind. (Print, Kindle, Audio)

Doing The Dirty Dishes Podcast: Watch or listen to episodes and subscribe: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Buzzsprout.  Also available on Google Podcast, iHeart, Tunein, Amazon Alexa and Stitcher. 

Doing The Dirty Dishes YouTube channel – watch and subscribe.

Social Media links: Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin.

Travel Blog links: Covid-19 stranded in NYC JFK and Maine – also travel stories on Ireland, Spain, Sweden,  Belgium, Iceland, Colombia (Espanol version), Amsterdam, Germany, New Hampshire, TN and NYC.

Personal Website link where you can also find my book, photos of my travels and updates on current projects.  

Thank you for your love and support.