Time, Money and SELF awareness.
Its 9:20 on a Monday morning, I’ve been up for an hour, had some food and drink and have sat here contemplating what to write. I have a number of stories to write but none seem to be pulling me towards action so I will just write about where I am and how I’m feeling today. It’s been a very interesting week, I met up with and spoke to a number of people over the past week, people I haven’t seen or spoken to in quite some time. Don’t say it, time just flies by. It’s funny because it really does but it can also appear to stand still, which is what happens when you are present. Have you ever noticed how hours seem to disappear when you are truly focused on something or enjoying yourself intently. Time seems to literally disappear. Basically you are not aware of it, time has no relevance to what you are doing so in fact it isn’t there, it doesn’t exist in those moments when you were present. Just like when a child doesn’t have any concept of time, they are just being (until we shatter that for them)
Time is such a controlling factor of our lives, there are hundreds of books and information on time management from businesses to training courses that teach you to maximise revenue with the ability to achieve high results. Time keeps us governed, it controls our days, and it determines who we see or what we do. It’s a huge part of our lives so why is it we find it so hard to give ourselves time to do the things we want to do in life. Two big factors are money and time, two big thorns in our lives. Some would disagree and say without money you cannot do anything and without time you wouldn’t know whether you were coming or going. I understand that at this point within reality it seems we cannot survive without money and time. We can however learn to make them work for us and not the other way around. How do we do that? I guess the same way that businesses do. We teach ourselves, which is another action of Self love.
Some examples of how the choices we make in our life can take away our time –
I spoke to an old friend last week who has just had his second baby. In fact I spoke to two friends who have recently had their second child. When speaking to them they both agreed they are controlled by the system, the system of survival, the system of money and time. I will link time and money together as they are almost one and the same. I will change my friends name as I am not 100% sure they want me sharing their life story.
John is in a situation where his job has recently indicated that he may be made redundant because of the current economy melt down (Which I’m not sure too many have noticed is occurring, or if they have then I’m seeing a hell of a lot of consumers spending money in shops.) “That’s another addiction right there which takes our time and money”.
John has worked for a company for five years giving all his time to them but when all is said and done you’re just a number on a pay sheet. John has a mortgage, a car to run and four people to feed and clothe, him included. When I speak to him about society and the traps of consumerism, debt, mortgages etc he says he would love to flee Babylon as he calls it, but one of his children has a slight disability and so he relies on the National Health Service to support and monitor his child through the early years of growth. He has grown a vegetable patch and would love to live in another country and live of the land like a farmer but that’s not possible right now. In fact he has to do other business on the side in order to make ends meet. He doesn’t possess a credit card and tries his upmost to live with what he has. Do you think he has any time or money to give to himself? He hasn’t even bought himself any clothes in years. Do you think he votes? Or has any time to watch documentaries to understand what his government is doing? Do you think he has time to meditate or have holistic healing treatments to realign his meridians? Do you think he has time to research alternative ways of living and ways he may be able to help his child other than what’s being told to him? The answer of course is NO. John doesn’t have time or money to read, develop or understand his Self or the games he is conditioned to living in. He has no time to learn ways to free him-Self from the traps of society. That would mean stripping away engraved belief structures and would cause a lot of initial upheaval to himself and his family. I would say very beneficial in the long run but that’s not necessarily his viewpoint. He is the funniest man I have met and I love him very much. He will always survive but there will be big struggles as there are for all of us.
I am painting a picture here of some people who I have first-hand knowledge of that are living deep in societies clutches. I know many more of course because 90% of the population are one way or the other. This will hopefully help paint a picture of how all of our time is taken by outside influences while we live unaware of the fact or if we do know, we don’t know what to do to change it. (It’s not common knowledge and if it was the world would be a very different place) Our own personal actions are what we are in conflict with when we realise that we can start to change our actions and accept we have the ability to change and it is our responsibility, nobody else’s. I too have lived in that conflict for many moons.
Me.
A daily routine for me was to wake up go to the gym, ok that’s good for body and soul I agree, a good start. Then I would need some money. My outgoings were up to £1500, that’s only rent, phone bill, credit cards, food, travel, gym, and internet. That’s not to add on any monthly subscriptions like imdb, love film, spotlight, Equity, car insurance, tax etc, (you get the picture). I’m sure you have the same things to pay out if not more. Ok so on top of that I was striving to be an actor, which as you may know 90% of actors are out of work struggling and doing 10 different jobs to pay the bills. Plus I thought why not become an Entrepreneur and start a global company, that’s bound to make me successful (in fact that got me into £25,000 more debt) so then surely if I start an internet business it will make me billions of pounds when I sell it in five years as that’s what happened with YouTube and a number of other online businesses!! This wasn’t earning me any money either and in order to be an actor you need to act so I jumped on board a number of acting projects and produced some films along the way. Again, that all takes time. I was certain it would lead to success and money so I would have the time to live the way I wanted to live. Those outcomes will create opportunity for me and then I will be happy surely? Well then, just in case they don’t work out I thought I’d better invest in property because that’s what everybody else does and what would I do if I don’t have a pension? Property will supply me with that. So time is invested in the fear of the future and the need for money, and the fear of not having money causes me to make many choices, and take actions that move me further away from my Self and the life and beauty all around me.
I’m not saying I wasn’t always happy along the way while doing these things but each one had a level of expectation attached and that expectation was money and success. All expectation creates is suffering. You can see the conflict I was in. Society promotes that conflict; it’s what drives us on one level.
All these actions in some way took me away from my Self and absorbed all my time. That’s not entirely true, every experience teaches you something about your Self so the art is to have no regrets what so ever. Each experience is an opportunity for us to grow and learn. Unfortunately Most of the choices we make are to earn money, if we didn’t have to earn money nearly all of the population would act differently. Now I know we are in a monetary system but it’s as if we are being pulled along by that system completely blind unto life and what it has to offer us right now. This system that motivates striving for betterment, for more, more, more and more is and has taken life away from us. We end up living in fear and over time stress becomes the norm. In fact because we are adaptable creatures we just learn to live and accept life with stress. The connection with our families, friends, nature and life becomes completely detached. We have no other choice than to detach from ourselves because there just isn’t enough time to personally give to ourselves, we have no time to be still, we have no time to learn what we want to learn, we have no time to spend time with the people we love, we have no time to be creative, we have no time to exercise, we have no time to research the answers to our questions, we have no time to meditate or pamper ourselves, we have no time to bathe ourselves, we have no time to BE alive and enjoy BEING alive. If anything we have forgotten what BEING alive means. In some cases people are forgetting to breathe. People are dying of stress, the mind gets so stressed that the brain forgets to tell the heart to beat. It’s happened and that’s next level.
Friend number two, great guy also haven’t seen him for quite some time. He’s a millionaire, has a beautiful two year old daughter and another due in March, Pisces like me. He has a lovely wife and a thriving business which is growing as we speak, owns a lovely house and has some very nice vehicles, he reads the newspapers and watches the news and all in all is a law abiding citizen. He feels the government is fraudulent but votes every year. He doesn’t believe we should be at War but says that’s not in his control. He feels your vote can and does make a difference. He gives a little money to charity and enjoys his life and his family. He is one of the most genuine guys I have had the pleasure of meeting; he has given me work over the years and loaned me money. He doesn’t cause harm directly to anybody and lives a positive life. He works harder than most people I know and like everybody has his own troubles to deal with on a daily basis, along with all the other things like business, paying mortgages, being a loving supplying father and loving friend to many. Does he have time to do inner work? Does he have time to keep himself fit? Does he have time to research the truth of our monetary system? Does he have time to research the actions of large corporations and governments he is governed by? Or where his foods are coming from and if they are from a good source? Does he have time to understand the functions of the body and explore the spirit realm? Does he have time to enjoy just being alive and spend quality time with his family and friends? I am sure if I asked him he would say NO. Not as much as he’d like but that’s life! He’s happy and may not even want to give more to himself or explore the human body and the minds abilities. He’s alive and kicking and sometimes that is enough.
The point here is there is NO TIME to do it all. And of course on one level everybody’s choice is down to them. The things we do are obviously our choice but would we make those choices if we had or knew another option?
One main question in life is – Am I doing what I really want? Or Am I doing what society deems I should? (i) Being the operative word.
Take consumerism for example, we are told by outside influences that we should own, buy, need, the things that we don’t actually require. We follow like sheep the ever changing trends, styles, moods of other people in order to keep up with or to prove we are who we think we are. We buy things that have no use what so ever because we are lead to believe it serves a purpose. We read and listen to other’s who we decide to hold in high regard and we think if we own, possess or act the way they do then we will be in the place of high regard in which we put them. Just in that very action we take away the ability to be held in any high regard by ourselves. We give away our light. We obey and allow our judgements to be perverted by authority, our judgements our mind our affections and our life are being perverted by things that have no value and this creates sorrow on a mass scale.
Up until 30 years ago there were only 10% of the natural planets resources consumed. In the last 30 years we have consumed another 30%. The things we buy have no life span, half of them have no use and most stuff we buy is thrown into landfills within six months. Not many people understand where their waste actually goes and we all think that recycling is helping the planet and reducing the waste used. Little did I know that of the 100% we recycle only 15% of it is actually recycled! The rest is just dumped as it has always been in a hole in the ground. The only thing that will be left when the whole of the human race becomes extinct will be plastic. (And maybe some cockroaches of course)
Did you know the food we waste, the food we literally throw away daily which isn’t off or out of date could feed the whole planet. There wouldn’t be any starvation. Imagine that. With Self awareness this is possible.
Why do we believe we need, need, need, more, more and more? Is it not insanity that we consume things that we just don’t need in order to exist? I understand the main objection here from most is “well it’s nice to have things; it shows we are doing well and I like buying things, I like to look good and live comfortably”!
There is a vast difference in living by your means and requiring the basic necessities in order to survive sustainably; in contrast to aimless habitual consuming that becomes an addiction. Whereby you become attached to your things more than your own life! There is also a massive difference between the action of consuming things with knowledge of where they come from, than consuming things without knowledge of where they are from or what line of problems they have created before they reach your needing hands!
We think that we cannot make a difference and we think we are not doing anything to contribute to the mass dysfunction on the planet. Just stop for an hour and rather than look outward take a big look with your eyes, mind and heart open at the insanity that is within us. Look within at the habits we have adopted with no apparent reason, look at our actions and the choices we are making which actually have no true pleasing effect on ourselves or anybody else around us.
When you start to notice the madness of your actions it doesn’t mean you cannot have a great life, doesn’t mean you won’t own nice things or be able to experience lovely things. In fact you will experience real beauty, real love, and real feelings of joy. Not superficial feelings from inanimate objects that only give a very short feeling of illusionary joy. You will live a life true to YOU not because you have been manipulated and coerced into thinking it’s what you NEED. It’s in the act of purchasing that the joy is had, usually by the time you get home the buzz has worn off. It’s like chocolate or coffee, when it gives you the quick high which is shortly accompanied with the not so good low.
I know a woman who is a shopaholic and also in a lot of emotional pain. She is completely addicted to buying things which give her a short lived emotional break. She hardly ever used the things bought and often gave them away for no cost. And then went out and purchased the same things again. Or more often than not changed one collection for another beginning a new interest and starting a new addiction. All the while complaining that life isn’t that great, she is obese and has a number of body pains internally and externally. She wished for more money to do the things she liked most. Did she have time to do the inner work? Did she have time to exercise or research foods that were good for her and would give her more energy? Did she have money to put into healing her body? Of course not but she did have time to go shopping online, on the high street or in catalogues. There is always time for that. The pain is a part of the habitual act of self-abuse, the short lived relief of self-harm, and the sweet sorrow act of the tempory fix. The ego within us that wants and can only survive with conflict and pain needs to constantly create obstacles and hurdles to keep us in those destructive habitual patterns and away from our true Self. When asked why the time wasn’t spent on more pressing things in life that would make her deeply happy rather than superficial short time happiness, she would reply “I am doing what I know!” Translated as “I know not what I do!”
The key here is UNAWARENESS. Who is really aware of their actions? I mean really aware. I haven’t been for most of my 32 years on the planet. The past few years I have changed dramatically but still some days I make choices or say yes to things without thinking as I follow the path of those decisions through my mind and see they do not serve me. Its constant conscious awareness and that isn’t easy. It’s being present with your thoughts actions and words momentarily. This is how you reclaim your life and start to create a new life. A pure life based from who YOU are as a living breathing organism.
If you are reading this post then I hope if anything it allows you to take TIME for YOU. Change does not happen instantly but by just observing your actions and asking a few personal questions your life can change dramatically.
Whether you choose to believe it or not we are all interconnected and all of our actions have a knock on effect to each and every part of life. Like a ripple on the Ocean our decisions create energy which passes across the whole earth and into the universe. Some of you will find that very hard to believe. As you connect more and more to who you are, detaching yourself from the manmade world and its conditions, by understanding the systems and processes that this manmade life has created and how we function within it. You will start to see how you are connected to it all.
We are our society, we are our governments, we are our fashions, we are our habits, and we are our addictions. We create them, we say yes to them and we give them life. When you realise this, you can start to say NO to what doesn’t serve you and YES to what does.
When we become aware of time and money we can detach from the clutches they have on us. When you no longer have a need for unnecessary money other than what you require to develop your true inner self you become free of the madness that keeps you imprisoned. That madness is the illusion. Time is manmade, money is manmade. We have created it. I know we use it right now, I know society is controlled by it. We have to be at work at 9am and we have to meet people at certain times. We require money to travel, we require money to eat and drink and have the essential survival requirements. I know all of this.
But just think about how time and money control and obstruct you from truly having time and money for YOU. Use these two manmade creations to your benefit not to your detriment. And then you can enjoy every living moment without any undue fear, stress, anxiety, depression and all other negative emotions they can create.
Once I realised this and stopped fearing the idea that I was running out of time and I wasn’t earning enough money. I realised all the things I needed and wanted were not even required to live the richest life I could live. Then everything changed.
- The things that make me rich in this life are breathing healthily, deep grounded positive breathing, and not short unhealthy stressful grasping for breath.
- Being as mobile as you can, taking care of and understanding the functions of your beautiful body. Making it the most physically honed it can be. Giving it the nutrients it requires to function efficiently and not poisoning it at every chance.
- Observing myself, my habits, my actions, the words I use, the people I associate with and the life all around me. Observing society, governments and the systems in place. Then asking do they serve me or us a species. Really? Could they function in a more sustainable way which would serve us all?
- Basking in the joy, wonder, amazement and mystery of this life we live.
Being aware of the beauty all around you makes you richer than the richest man in the world financially.
- People go to museums to view photography and art, most people want to capture everything they see on a camera or canvas but you needn’t do any of this as life is full of new art and photography every second. You couldn’t capture all the beauty if you tried and no camera really shows the magnificence of just seeing, feeling, smelling and being with life all around you in that moment.
- Real connection with yourself and life, people say our time in these bodies is very short yet we take that for granted because we feel time is running out and we need to be successful in order to have more time and live how we’ve dreamed. I cannot tell you how many people over 60 have said they would live differently if they had another chance. Why is that? It’s because they start to appreciate life when they know it’s almost gone.
- Die before you die. Detach from all the madness, all the insanity and reclaim your life NOW in this very moment. Enjoy the fact that you are alive; you are a living breathing organism. You are of the ones who have flowered onto this earth. Don’t wish you did it differently when you are dying, wilting and losing energy. Stop and think and ask yourself, what am I doing today that serves ME? Once you serve yourself you will be able to serve everybody.
- Many people have started to label and bracket what this type of living is, whether it’s spiritual or religious or any other label. This has no label other than life. This is your life and what better way to live it than detach from all negativity, fear and manmade illusion. Live in the love, joy and truth of life. Live in the wonder, amazement and peace that are all around us. Live in the unknown and learn that that is the only place of knowing. Revel in the not knowing and feel who you truly are.
- Awareness has allowed me to support and create new ways of living which will help and sustain life while I’m on this planet. Self awareness really does transform the way we abuse ourselves and the planet. We are one with all of life.
The only place I choose to BE now is aware of my surroundings and extremely grateful for the richness I possess within. Every single person is on their own journey of self discovery, every person is exactly where they need to be to grow and learn. Whether they realise this or not is another story. Some may never choose to connect to life the way I have but if it does become a choice of yours and you do choose to return home to the beauty of life, I can guarantee you will be the happiest you have ever been. You will live rich and have a full life of beauty. This is what you were created for. Your birth into this world is extremely beautiful and a complete wonder. Just absorb that for a moment, think about you and your body and how it functions, its complete design. How can we take that mysteriously beautiful creation for granted? It blows me away every time I think about it.
“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but we wait so long to begin it”. Anon
Love and Light
Simon x
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