A perfect world. Utopia. Will it ever exist? Will you be there to witness it? What is perfection? Choose your own faith, built your own world. Be free. Believe.

A very simple but profound statement:

"Have a nice day, unless you have other plans"

This is so true, as we (including me) somehow don't see the true essence of life. Of course, who I am to state that I know the true essence, but for me it seems to be clear that all human action is a result from our universal search for happiness. Even the actions that result in death, like a war, has its roots in someone who taught he would be a happier (or better) man. If you find this statement a bit too bold to make, please take a couple of minutes and try to think of reasons why it isn't true. If you found some, I would love to hear them!

But what I want to say in this item is that happiness is the highest good we chase. Not money, not material possessions, but happiness. We work our asses of to have a good career, to make money, to buy stuff, while all of that is indirect and unaware improvement of happiness. Big note here, there are also a lot of people going to work with joy and a genuine pleasure in doing it! But to those who are not going to work to directly improve their happiness, why not? I can't tell you what to do, and I don't want to, but maybe this can make you think about the way you live your life. Maybe something in you will tell you that happiness indeed is that what you truly are looking for. Maybe not.

Shine on ya crazy diamond!

Erik

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There is no future, there is no past.

Life is but the choices we make right now.

Don't feel haunted by your past, for it is gone...
Don't feel anxious towards future, for it will come...
Forever lost in time, forever caught in mind,
The beauty forgotten by that what I've become.

Is life worth the negativity?

Is there a way to turn enemies from something negative into something positive? That question bugged me for quite a while. But yes, there is an answer, and the answer is yes.

How do you create positive enemies?

As with everything, transforming enemies from negative to positive requires a firm believe in the philosophy, and a motivation to use it in real-life. Without believe, nothing will change on the inside, and thus it will have no effect. Change is needed.
The first step is to find the purest of enemies, because transforming that 100% negative enemy into something positive will be the greatest challenge, and overcoming that would result in overcoming all obstacles related. Why do you think is your worst enemy? A teacher? Your boss? Of course, they can be enemies, but they can be loving fathers and good neighbours at the same time. They still have positive sides. A pure enemy would only exist to achieve a total destruction of you as a living being. Is there something so evil? Yes, there is, and it is called Hate. Hatred has only one purpose, to destroy you and everything around you. It occurs when the minds loses control of the situation and crashes. Anger without a cause is the result.

So, since hatred is 100% pure negativity, how can that be positive? It can't. But, negativity is needed to practise patience and tolerance. If you are always nurtured and looked after, without resistance from the outside world, you can become unaware of negativity. And when you experience negativity sooner or later, you can go mental because you don't know what to do. Negative situations help us to appreciate the positive situations for the better.
Besides that, coping with negativity is where patience and tolerance towards that comes in. You can't practise that without negativity. So, in order to practise, you need your enemies. Friends won't be very negative, else they wouldn't be friends, would they? And real enemies are very rare, just try to come up with some real enemies.
So in fact, rather than to have a negative attitude towards our enemies, we should cherish them, since they give us the opportunity to practise tolerance and patience.

That's it for now :)

All the best!

Erik

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Now is the time for the next chapter. While reading a book about compassion, it became clear that compassion can hold great value.

First I'd like to start by writing down the similarities of all human beings. Because on a primary scale, we are all the same. We were born, lived, died. And in our little time on this earth we are all constantly looking for happiness. We need to breath air and feed ourselves in order to live.
As you can see, we humans are all the same. Differences don't occur at the most basic level, they are secondary. The reason why I am stating this is because of the connectedness of human beings. We are all the same, we are all looking for happiness. Never we made a conscious choice that we thought would lead to more sorrow instead of happiness. Even when it seems so, the one making the choice will always do what he thinks (at that moment) will benefit him the most. This is kinda hard to explain, but to me it is o so obvious.

But what has all this to do with compassion? Well, knowing the fundamental similarities between humans can strengthen the affection you have with them. If we are all in a constant quest of seeking happiness, it can be easier to relate to someone else. Compassion kicks in when someone (not you) is suffering. We can see now that he or she is having a bump in his or her road towards happiness. Since we know we are all out for the same, we can relate to them, and have more compassion.

But what is the use of compassion? Compassion isn't the numb feeling of sorrow and regret you can feel when you are suffering yourself. Compassion can be suffering, but it will be conscious. You can't have compassion unless you are aware of the suffering of someone else. By being aware, you can see the suffering in a broader aspect, and by feeling connected, the chances are higher that you will help the person that is suffering. This isn't beneficial for that person only, but also for you. Helping others on this level of consciousness can give you an experience of peace, of comfort, of happiness, for you are able to help. You being aware can lower stress levels, since stress in related to time, and when you are consciously helping others the burden of time will disappear. Of course, all of this is also scientifically proved to benefit your physical health.

So to summarize, compassion isn't unnecessary suffering for someone else, it is the dealing in the suffering which will eventually lead to more joy for both. I know my story is a bit rambling, and of course it is just my view on compassion, but if you'd like to know more you know you can also contact me :). Some of the things I take for granted here are explained in earlier articles, some aren't explained.

There's more to it than what I just wrote down, so I might write an update sometime.

All the best!

Erik

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Heej,

Just a quick update. With the combined efforts of STK (www.randsco.com), Ingo (www.ivion.nl) and me we managed to get it working.
The music section can be found here: http://www.nwn-music.com/composition, or just below the header, when you click on Silence (an explanation of the name can be found when clicked upon :) ).

That's it, there is more info on the other side!

All the best,
Erik

Howdy,

Today I felt like writing a little something on a sentence I read earlier. Here is that particular sentence:

This moment right now if for my greatest benefit.

Well, I am pretty sure it is different than that, but since I gave away the book in which I found it I can't check it.
But if you want, I'd like you to focus on your breathing now, try to let go of all your thoughts and judgements for just now, and after you have freed your mind think of this sentence. Think of what it means to you, if you can see the great potential in there.

(silence)

Alright, let's talk about it now. Because the potential that lies in that single sentence is so powerful it could change your life. In fact, it is just another way of saying "think positive". Because what would happen if every single moment is for your greatest benefit? You would have peace with every single moment, because you would know it will help you.
Why do we humans find it so hard just to say OK, I truly accept and believe that this moment, right now, is for my greatest benefit. Don't we want a peaceful and negative free life? What is obstructing us from reaching that? Maybe it is too easy, but I prefer thinking it is too hard.
Don't we all try to live that perfect and happy life?

Right now, that strife for perfection brought the opposite to many. More and more people are getting depressed because they feel they don't fit in. Nobody is perfect, until you realize everyone is.

Ow, I see I am wandering off again. Let's get back to the sentence. The basic principle behind it is that whatever happens to you is for your greatest benefit. I believe that is true. Because believing that is true will make you see every moment in its full positive potential. Believing that sentence will get rid of any negativity for as long as you stay conscious and aware.

Everything we see and everything we hear, think, smell, touch etc. is nothing but what our brain makes of it...

Or as Henry Ford rightly stated "Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right".

So go out there and do what you always wanted to do, now is (only) time!

Erik

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I might have mentioned it before somewhere on this site, but I'd like to say it once more:

The world is but a reflection. Smile, and it will smile back

My little motto, saying, or whatever it is called. I don't know how I got with this, but suddenly it was there, and it stuck. And never in my life it has been more true than now. Something finally woke up in me, made me realize the existence of another layer of life. Maybe it is the final layer, the deepest, and maybe there are infinite more.

What about this new layer? I like to call it the layer of consciousness, the layer of awakening, or the layer of the dreamer. It made me aware. In fact, there is no need to say anything more about this than that it made me aware. It made me aware, it made me to accept, to hold my judgement. Although I cannot stay in this layer without effort, without concentration, I like being there. It is relaxing to feel accepted by everyone and everything, to be free of thoughts. In fact, this layer of consciousness is by far the prettiest I have ever been in. Colours are more vibrant, like seeing colour for the first time. Sounds that come forth from silence, show there true meaning, only to fade back once more. A tingling sensation in your fingers when you touch something, as it would feel when you touch something for the first time.

This layer feels like water. There is no resistance, no judgement, no attachment.
Free.
Yet the hardest of rock cannot stop you. It can resist with whatever it has, yet the non-resistant will find its way through. Without judging, the water will find its way, because it will. Without thought, it will find its way. The water never flows with the thought of an end. It will flow, because it flows. Not to eventually end up in sea, not for a greater goal, just because it does.

This layer made me realize there is no time, yet there is. The water and the rock will not think of time, all that matters is now. In fact, all the moments you will ever live is now. There is only one moment, now. There is no future without thought, only now. There is no past, only now. And the now that is free of time is infinite times more beautiful and more accepting than a now with time can ever be.

I like dwelling in consciousness.

Erik

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Dreams... Weird things. Uncontrollable, yet able to change the way you are. Sometimes I wake up from a dream, only to find myself in a very different state of mind than I ever experienced. Such a huge impact.

I am writing this because last night I experienced a dramatic change of the state I am in, due to this dream. Now I find myself wondering what the meaning of this dream was. To reveal unconscious emotions? Is the feeling I have now something that I always had, is it new?

Weird...

I can write whatever I want on the meaning of dreams, yet I can't know. Some say dreams are experiences being processed, new connections between neurons. Yet it also changes emotions. Are emotions just connections after all? If so, a world of potential will open. A world of danger. Imagine medicine that will make you feel vengeful, in total peace, or even emotionless.

Back to dreams, maybe they are real. The world is just how you see, hear, smell and touch it. The world can be nothing more than connections in your head. Just like dreams. Dreams can be heard, touched, smelled. I have experienced that.

Control...

Control is the difference between dreams and consciousness. Maybe that practise will allow you to eventually "control" your dreams. Although you need to be conscious, else your actions and reactions will be based on instinct, rather than thought. Which is, in some degree, different than when you are awake. And when you are conscious of your dream, aren't you awake? Isn't dreaming being unconscious? So controlling your dreams is an oxymoron?

Lots of questions, no answers. Dreams will remain a mystery. At least, I hope they will.

Erik

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This is a writing down of my thoughts, I haven't figured out of what to write, but I feel like writing something. The term "onwards and upwards" just popped up in my head, and together with listening to the new album of Coldplay it creates a somewhat soothing image in my head.

A moment of peace.

Sometimes it is necessary to wander of the road in order to find its use again. To appreciate it's use again. Yet it can be better not to look at the road ahead, and not to look at the road that is left behind. In fact, sometimes you might want to forget that you are on a road at all. Because roads are means of getting somewhere. You might get lost in the future while staying on a road. Sometimes it can better to focus on the journey, instead of the road. Do not use the road to get somewhere, but use the road to take you to whatever it will take you. Do not focus on the ending, but broaden your sight to things beyond that road, the nature surrounding it. Focus on the silence from which sounds will grow, and will fade back into.

Waiting for the road to reach its destination can be the cause of many negative things. Do not wait until you arrived, instead praise the moment. Some will wait there entire life's to get somewhere, ignoring the journey, ignoring life itself. Focus, see the colors, hear the sounds and the silence, feel, touch and smell.

Is it worth ignoring?

It is a funny thing to see that the only organism that uses time is the one that is changing life itself. Taking life, tapping life, using life, instead of living life. Viva la Vida. Nature isn't bound to time, is it? Nature is aware of time though, just look outside to the squirrels preparing for the winter to come. But unlike us humans, squirrels don't feel bad when there aren't enough nuts. Because it is a fact that there are not enough nuts, so why worry about something you cannot change? Instead try to focus on the moment, on the journey, and try to make the best of it.

We can learn from the squirrels. We can learn how to focus on the moment instead of the end. No more worries about the unchangeable, no more sadness because of what happened, just a sense of wonder of what this moment might bring...

Erik

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