Love, Peace & Happiness …is responsibility

Love, peace & happiness is responsibility. A responsibility to others & to yourself. Every choice you make might be helpful or hurtful. It’s not helpful or hurtful to yourself –or– helpful or hurtful to another. See that if you hurt another, you are hurting yourself, & when you help another, you are helping yourself. You can turn it around as well; when you hurt yourself, or help yourself — others are part of it. There is no separation. There is no self-destructive person that is not hurting others. There is no self-loving person that is not loving others. There is no separate self, completely separate, unconnected from all selves. See all of humanity as one living being. See all animals as one living being. See all of nature as one living being. Now see all of that as one living being! See life itself, not as your life, but as Life. Life living life! We are all part of it, but at the same time, we are it. Let’s honor it, cherish it, respect it — let’s love it.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. For some it is a silly holiday that is completely ignored. For others, it is full of expectations & desires; desires to be loved & desires to love. In my opinion, any chance one has to reflect on the importance of love is a good opportunity. So this year, add a new context to the holiday. Make it not a reminder of romance, or friendship, or consumerism, or expectations — but make it a reminder that each & everyday is an opportunity to love. An opportunity to take full responsibility for the unlimited love we have available to us, & within us. It’s an opportunity to ask ourselves: Am I truly being loving & kind to myself? Am I being loving & kind to other living beings? Am being loving & kind to my community, to my environment, to nature, to the world? Can I improve on this? Can I be more self-expressed in this area? Can I be more generous? Can I be more active? Can I be more bold? Can I be more fearless? Can I love deeper? Can I be more sincere? Can I be more grateful? Can I be more helpful?

There is a slokah that I learned when I first began studying yoga. From the moment I heard it, it resonated with me. If one is practicing being more loving, & practicing being more responsible, I think it’s good to repeat it. It’s good to remind ourselves. And it’s good to let that reminder inspire loving being-ness in who we are & loving kindness in all that we do.

Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu

lokāḥ = worlds, especially the underworld, the earth and heaven.
samastāḥ = all, together, all together
sukhinaḥ = happiness, well-being
bhavantu = may all this be

May all beings everywhere be happy & free,
May my thoughts, words & actions contribute in some way
To happiness & freedom for all.

There is a quote from Sri Harilal Poonjaji that is very strong. It reinforces & drives home many of the points I try to share continuously in my blog posts. When I read the quote, it resonates with me deeply.

All that you are attached to,
all that you love,

All that you know,
someday will be gone.

Knowing this, & that the world is your mind
Which you create, play in, & suffer from,
Is known as discrimination.

Discriminate between the Real & the Unreal,
The known is unreal & will come and go.
So stay with the Unknown, the Unchanging, the Truth.

Tying the two quotes or verses together, understand that the Unseen or Unknown, or the dark, or the underworld, or even the tiny life forms we take for granted, like bacteria & insects, that live under us or on us — love that, just as you love close friends, lovers, & family. Respect & honor the mystery of life. See it all as connected & sacred. Find humility in the fact that you can not know it all, or understand it all, but you can love it all. This kind of unlimited unconditional love not only brings fearlessness into your everyday existence — but it also liberates you.

Why does it feel so good to love? Why do we all look for love? Why do we always long to be loved? …To set our hearts free. To no longer feel separate. This is love. This is available to us everyday. In unlimited unfathomable ways. This is yours for the taking. Take responsibility for it.

[Artwork photography by Alice Bartlett via My Modern Met.]

Question: What is Occupy Wall Street? Answer: Just the Beginning.

I’m going to present videos & photographs & information about the Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS – also #OccupyWallStreet or #OWS, written as Twitter hashtags). Following that, I’ll write a few words on how I feel about the global need for change & what I think is on the horizon. And lastly, at the end of this post, I will leave information on how you can support the OWS movement.

Occupy Wall Street, New York City

I received a FAQs sheet at Occupy Wall Street being held at New York City’s Zuccotti Park (formerly Liberty Plaza Park) near Ground Zero. What struck me is that the sheet clearly read: “We are not a protest movement. We do not protest against things, and we do not have one or two simple demands. We are a movement which does call for accountability, however – accountability to ourselves and to our country.” To me the key word is: accountability. Personal responsibility for all aspects of one’s life is very important. This movement stems out of people who are tired of living in a country that calls itself a democracy when it is not. And now they have held themselves accountable for being the ultimate source for creating this democracy.

It continues, “We must be accountable to ourselves. First and foremost, we are calling upon ourselves, and upon one another, to wake up and employ our power as citizens: to participate rather than observe, to raise our strong voices together, rather than complaining feebly in isolation. We cannot ‘whine’ about the injustices wreaked upon us if we have been complacent and silent in the face of these injustices. We must take responsibility for our own futures – and here at Liberty Plaza, that is exactly what we are doing, by modeling the kind of society in which everyone has the right to live. Here in Liberty Plaza, having lost our sense that we live in a democracy, we are reclaiming its practice.”

The next paragraph states, “Our government must be accountable to us, and corporations must be accountable to the government. We are saying definitively: We no longer live in a democracy, and we refuse to accept that. We seek an end to the collusion between corrupt politicians and corporate criminals, as democratic and capitalist institutions have become conflated. (*1) As such we must see major advances in the area of the relationship between corporations, and people, on par with the amendments which outlawed slavery and assured civil rights to all people regardless of race, sex, or class…”

I wish I could type the whole FAQs sheet out for you, but this blog post would be way too long (-it’s too long as it is!) So, I will just add one footnote that belongs to the paragraph above, I think it’s important.

*1 “In the United States, the right to become rich has become collapsed with the very notion of liberty. From the time we are children, Americans learn to confuse democracy (a system of decision-making and governance), with capitalism (a system for regulating and releasing money flows).”

Occupy Together: Occupations all over the USA

All over the USA “Occupations” have been popping up from city to city. It’s steadily growing in the number of supporters & in the number of locations.

I was so proud to see this video of my hometown, the East Bay in Northern California. The video is from Occupy Oakland (aka #HellaOcuppy).

Occupy World: Occupations all over the globe

October 15th, 2011 was a day of Global Occupation, the International Day of Action. There were Occupations everywhere.

From Paris to Palestine, demonstrations were held in over 950 cities & 85 countries.

England’s Occupy London had the pleasure of demonstrating side by side with Julian Assange of WikiLeaks. He spoke to demonstrators from the steps of Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

If this is the beginning, what is next?

No doubt about it, there is much more to come. Not only in the way of government reform, or even epidemics & environmental concerns  – but in each one of us individually in a way we haven’t been challenged before.

We will eventually find that there is nowhere to turn for a sense of true security & peace. At that point it will be obvious that it can only come from the one who is seeking it.

The only thing we can truly change is ourselves. The only place we can truly find peace is within us.

Looking for answers or solutions outside of oneself never works in the long-term.

At the same time, yes! – Occupy Wall Street & other movements are important & necessary. Especially when it comes to waking people up & taking them out of their comfort zone – their automatic way of sheepishly & passively speeding through their lives. It makes total sense to be forward moving & create the external changes needed at the moment, but after that, the work just gets deeper.

Otherwise, everything reverts back to the way it was. The work will not be done until we have uprooted the source of the confusion & suffering within us, & cultivate a new way of being.

In my opinion we need a balance between the tangible side of ourselves & the intangible side. Our culture is so wrapped up in the importance of materialistic things, or external things (anyone or anything outside of ourselves). But it is the intangible experiences of love, harmony, joy, generosity, trust, balance, peace, & more, that truly make us happy, that make us come alive & make us feel whole.

Love, harmony, & joy are states of being & they can only be experienced & generated from within. The only one that ever has control of this is us. Each one of us has the power to create & maintain these states of well-being.

For lasting change, the most important revolution that needs to take place, is the one within.

Creating a daily lifestyle for ourselves that is meaningful & healthful, as well as  building communities with others based on the values & qualities we believe in, this is what change in action is all about.

So let’s #OccupyLove!  #OccupyBliss! #OccupyJoy! OccupyAwareness! #OccupyMindfulness #OcuppyPeacefulness #OccupyOneness!

The ways you can support  Occupy Wall Street or other Occupations near you…

Every Occupation needs something, the most important thing you can give is you. Share your love & support by physically being there & by sharing your intentions (what you intend by showing your support) with others. If you aren’t able to be there in person, actions like: donating money, food, blankets, hygiene supplies, drinking water, rain gear, tarps, tents, etc, can also be a great way to show your support. So can blogging, taking & sharing photographs or video, spreading the word, & doing whatever you can to contribute.

To send a donation to Occupy Wall Street in New York, their shipping address along with a link for information on their current needs is listed below. There is also a link to all other city Occupations in the USA.

The UPS Store
C/O Occupy Wall Street
118A Fulton Street #205
New York, New York 10038

Occupy Wall Street NYC donation link

List & map of over 200 Occupy Wall Street USA solidarity events link

10/16/2011 UPDATE:
I also forgot to add that you can support by donating to a billboard in Times Square; or by showing your support with blog comments for those who stand for #OccupyLove; or by getting involved via yoga as activism; or by banking with a credit union instead of big banks like Citibank & Wells Fargo; or you can mentor a young person & share your journey of developing a more sustainable lifestyle; or you can sign petitions that stand for civil rights; or you can start a community food growing program & other sustainable projects to empower yourself & your fellow neighbors; and! …you can share this blog post on Twitter & Facebook. Here is a short link for you: http://tinyurl.com/3lgvksx

Thank you! ♥

“As I go through all kinds of feelings & experiences in my journey through life — delight, surprise, chagrin, dismay — I hold this question as a guiding light: “What do I really need right now to be happy?” What I come to over & over again is that only qualities as vast & deep as love, connection & kindness will really make me happy in any sort of enduring way.”
– Sharon Salzberg

A Celebration of Peace, Love & all things Juicy! Fruitluck in NYC with Chris Kendall & AimeeLovesYou!

Please join us for Love, Peace & all things Juicy!

It’s a Frickin’ Fruitluck in NYC with Chris Kendall & AimeeLovesYou!

Everyone is invited! Free fruitluck in Central Park. -Just bring your sweet self & some sweet fruit!

Frickin’ Fruitlucks were started on the idea of having simple raw food gatherings focused on enjoying whole fresh ripe raw and preferably organic fruits and veggies in their natural state. The focus is on fruit, no need for prep work, bowls, knives forks or any tools, rather eating whole foods as you would in nature. Enjoying good conversation, yoga, play, exercise, mediation, handstands, ahah! really anything that fits the vibe-n-flow or the roll of any individual is welcomed and encouraged. Simply enjoying the sun with some fun fruit loving peoples, raw, raw-curious, vegan, vegan-curious, omnivorous, everyone is always welcome. Sure to grow into events of epic proportions bring your friends, family, pets, kids, even that cousin you rarely see. We can go over the concepts of raw foods, the low fat raw lifestyle, fitness, rainbows really anything your heart desires!

…meet us on Sheep Meadow by the the big rock across from the sand volleyball courts! (see it in right side of photo)

For more info about Chris, check out the juicy post I wrote featuring him last year on Sunday Is For Lovers.