Attention and Creation - a Few Thoughts

If I ask "where will I be NOW and in the future"? Then I must be willing to look at the processes, thoughts and feelings, that I am entertaining. Attention is the word for the creative flow of energy that motivates things to be created.

If I allow my attention to dribble away on menial, or insignificant items of distraction, my precious energies that emerge from my creative Being will be wasted. At this time it appears to be paramount to "give attention" to those things that I want to manifest in my life, and thus in the world around.

Many "new" teachers are coming forth with seemingly new information, or "spins" on the story of what it means to be a co-creator. These ideas that they are presenting are imbedded, as I have come to find, in many ancient teachings, although our capabilities to understand some of these esoteric texts, or translated messages has diminished. There are innumerable reasons for this that are not really important to discuss here, now. You, the reader, may want to investigate because in the larger context it is important because these limitations happen both within an individual, and have been part of the collective conditioning which is one of the most important phenomena that we are seeing in the world - people are waking up to the idea that things are not quite as they seem (e.g. the Occupy movement is a manifestation, although one my jury is still out on).

The point of this message today, is for the reader to notice, or "give attention" to their attention. Where is one's creative energy going? To worries, to distractions, to contributing to greater disharmony in your life and then also in the life and world around. Of course, this idea may seem like a form of "nit picking", but is it? Imagine, what your attention accomplishes. Have you ever been able to accomplish anything without it?

In these times of change, the external world seems to be screaming for attention. One only need to turn on the TV and see the cacophony of "attention, or energy vampires" graciously offering you the opportunity to lend your energy to their cause. And that is what exactly happens, your creative energy goes to those things that you look at, lend your thoughts of comprehension to, and then entertain as part of your reality, which then brings more power to that you are observing. Now, if you add emotional energy to it, then we really get the creative energies flowing.

This is the message of the movie "The Wizard of Oz". As long as we are willing observers, and even participants, then the show will go on. This is what has been going on for a very long time with the media, politics, the bankers, and in general "the powers that were". They have been gratuitously sucking our creative energies out of us, as we "pay" attention to their magic show. You see, it doesn't matter whether or not you agree with them or not, either way, they got your attention, and they are drawing your creative energy into their game.

This is the whole idea behind "the elite", the powers that were. In fact, divide and conquer is the most basic strategy. Keep us arguing over insignificant details, or paying attention to some silly story, like sex scandals, while they are pulling some stunt behind the curtain. Remember Bill Clinton and Monica? Got your attention didn't I? - even long after the fact.

For me, the key to my peace of mind, and thus peace in my life, is to become very attentive to my attention. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it is not. And it is not so difficult to do this. Joseph Campbell said "follow your bliss". You see, we have this wonderful operating system that God, or the One Infinite Creator built us with - it is our feelings. It provides us constant and immediate "bio-feedback" about what we are creating. If we are feeling peaceful, happy, joyous then we can be pretty sure that what we are creating is aligning with our individual and the greater good of the world. If we are feeling what we call negative emotions, anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, hate - then we are likely creating something that is going down a path we may not prefer, unless we have as our goal to learn something - at the end of this process it will likely be about how to relinquish these feelings and replace them with positive ones, or of harmony and peace. I have actually come to the conclusion that all lessons are about us learning about love, but that can open up a whole other digression.

Of course, we do live in a world where polarity exists, and one of the most challenging lessons in this world is not want to fight, that which we think we disagree with, or are supposed to clear out of our lives. Actually, it doesn't make much sense to get mad at the dark, or shadows because they add so much to our experience. Where would the light and colors shine, if we didn't have dark. As we move towards more awareness of who and what we are, and what life is about, I believe we will come to have a much greater understanding of the purpose of the darker, or negative sides to life. Ultimately we cannot hide from them, for if we do, we are only deluding ourselves. I have to admit, that I am still really working on how this part of life works. Sometimes I really struggle,

I do agree with other teachers who say that there are two basic emotions, that emerge from the lower three chakras which is something more and more people are learning about. Those emotions, in words are "love" and "fear" - one emerges from a sense being in oneness, or connection, the other from a sense of separation, and a response in survival mode. Then those feeling energies go up and meet, in the center of our bodies, with the thoughts we are entertaining in our minds (the upper three chakras). These energies meet in our hearts. And then, from our hearts, we "breathe our reality into being" as put forward by Gregg Braden in his presentation "Language of the Divine Mind". Essentially, we invite the creation of "reality" from the soup of quantum possibilities (or the mind of God). This is where the waves become particles, as contemplated by Einstein.

I found Gregg's presentation to be a very good convergence of science and religion (another ploy of divide and conquer by the powers that were). This breathing our heart energized thoughts and feelings into creation is how we create our world - via the creative vehicle we call our attention.

Human beings, which I believe we are emerging into a new form of Being I might call "human galacticus" have immense powers of creation. This fact emerges in many places, but for simplicity the Bible quotes such as: "made in the image and likeness", and "you will do all I do, and more" from Jesus should suffice to get the point across.

These days, I spend much of my time bringing my attention to those things that bring me peace, or that I feel are going to make a greater contribution to the world. I have long known that pursuits to satiate my own little interests, or to just take care of my own, (stuff, job, family) not giving consideration to the greater impacts to the world around me are a dubious pursuit. And sometimes discerning what those are have not been easy. In my life, I have forgone many comforts and attachments to "what I wanted" for what I believed to be for the greater good - mainly for me to fulfill my mission in life. And, today I am not totally sure that I have not made some huge mistakes in this area, as others will likely attest. But the old adage "you can't please all of the people, all of the time" is quite true in this regard. All one can do, is what they believe to be the best they can. And Abraham Lincoln said, "I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything".
The guide for this comes from these internal mechanisms that were built into us. Steve Jobs mentioned them in one of his talks before his passing - "follow your heart and intuition".

One final suggestion relates to words; you may have noticed some "odd" terms during this essay, such as "powers that were" and "giving attention", it is very important to notice the words that we are using, their content, the program or agenda they are forwarding or contributing to. So much of what we say, we are not even aware what we are saying. The import of this suggestion is far more significant than I can relay in a paragraph or two. "In the beginning was the word" is a very well known quote from the Bible. It is not there by mistake.

The words we use, in our thoughts, when we speak or write them, have power - they are creative. They are vibrational in nature and are a creative force in our world, and in the cosmos, whether we are aware of it or not. Behind them can be powerful thoughts and feelings. And when we use them, we are contributing those energies, those creations to make our lives, and contribute to the world we live in.

George Orwell wrote about the power of words, and how "the powers that were" can manipulate the language to control. We live in a world where people are talking to themselves in their head and hurting themselves and also speaking words with power, that continue to hold in form many of the things that we as a collective community would prefer to let go of. One example is "pay attention". This simple phrase exemplifies how indoctrinated we are to think in terms of monetary exchange. What I have discovered, as I essentially forced myself out of the "fear-based money matrix", is that day to day, we "share our attention" to perpetuate a reality that has us as prisoners. I have been amazed as I have been able to "step back" and listen to the cacophony of messages (radio, TV, conversations, arguments) that bombard us, day in and day out, about money. It is like the most important thing in the world. At times I have imagined the collective energy that goes into this human created system (mainly a conditioned fear that there is not enough to go around - which is an artificially created situation), that has caused so much fear and suffering. I have seen people counting stacks of cash from their pockets, and imagined people on wallstreet watching numbers on screens, and people stressing over numbers on pieces of paper (bills and debt), and the collective attention dedicated to something that at first, was supposed to make our lives simpler, but now we have become abject servants and slaves to this creation. This is where the majority of people's lives, via there attention is going - and it doesn't seem like much fun when I watch most people.

Don't get me wrong, I see money as a very important tool, but we must put it back in right perspective. I feel things like love, sharing, service, community, family and many other things deserve a much greater portion of my creative energy. And this flow can be monitored simply by me noticing what I am giving my attention to.

Finally, I need to give credit to a friend, Ronald Wopereis, who first introduced me to the idea of the importance of our attention. If fact he has written a book on the subject "Bilocality and the inner world of attention".

All the Best,
Andy

Visit our new "business and idea incubator" the VISION Excelerator

Diversify, Cooperate, Go inside - A meandering thought stream.

I have been thinking a lot about diversification and, on the other side, specialization (what our educational system has been pushing people to do) and single industry economies. Many years ago, as I looked into the dilemma of the forestry industry, I realized that it is a very fragile system. But these "single industry" economies are ubiquitous. The situations are further exacerbated by what happens to the environment and to the social conditions of the people's who are working, essentially as slaves, for the companies.

I had never looked at my own home state (Iowa), with mono-culture systems (primarily corn, soybeans and now pigs) with the same lens until last week when I saw some farmers, with their big fancy trucks, tractors, combines and wagons come in to "mow" the cornfield down. I realized these are just toys for these guys. The old adage, "the difference between the men and the boys is the price of their toys".

In any case, any examination of these types of systems will reveal, in the long run, they do not work. The only way that they do is within the economic system as it has been put forward - where "externalities" are a cost not assumed by the companies, but are a cost that society must bear. In the case of agriculture in Iowa these relate to things like environmental damage and health costs.

Collectively we need to start looking at these systems that are going on. We are not really growing food anymore, we are growing fuel for factory animal slaughtering facilities, and to burn in our cars (ethanol). A very cursory examination of either of these can reveal that they are just a bad deal all around. We eat the meat, which comes from animals that are being fed garbage, with genetic alterations. The animals are obviously not happy. Do we not know that if we eat "sad animals" we are very likely absorbing that energy? This idea is contained in the first law of thermodynamics, "energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it just changes form". Also, the factory workers are miserable, and likely have serious soul, or spiritual issues that they have to deal with.

Do you think we Americans are happy? I don't know, we should look in the mirror once in awhile and ask the question. Yes, we apparently have a lot of stuff. And there is an abundance of "materials" to eat, but what is this stuff doing to us? Which is more important, health, or owning a bunch of stuff that we don't really need? Stuff that ends up needing all of our attention to take care of - and at the end of the game, doesn't really amount to anything, because we don't take it with us.

Don't get me wrong, this is not about another "blame game". And "guilt" doesn't get us anywhere either. These are old modems of thinking that only serve the purpose to further imprison us in our own minds. What we need to do is take a hard and fast look at what is going on. And then examine how we can re-create this "reality" into one that we prefer.

We are not victims. We created this. We have allowed our lands, our communities, essentially the world to become like the old mining company towns. Our agriculture has been mono-polized. Single industries are easy to control, and our "collective bully", the corporations, have us all cornered, while we have been mesmerized, not knowing the game that we are in. These bullies don't play fair, because they don't have any respect for themselves, or the Divine Laws of "Free Will" and the "Golden Way" (do unto others as you would have done to you). But these corporations, these "entities", are not someone to fight with, to try to subdue.

This is not an us, or them situation. The key factor is to recognize that these Entities, this situation, is simply a manifestation of our "collective consciousness". In other words, these "bullies", these "monsters", these corporations, governments or anything else we might try to blame our situation on, are simply a manifestation of our collective psyche. And the way to deal with them, is simply to love them and start taking our world back, peacefully.

You see, they (part of us) have created an elaborate game, have implemented a bunch of "rules" (called statutory laws in government) and other things that have us totally mesmerized. Essentially, they are sucking out our energy - they live on this energy - and it is primarily fear, frustration, anger. But the energy moves by us giving our attention - to these things. And it does not matter whether our energy is "positive" or "negative" - whether we love them or hate them. In fact, "victim" energy is very powerful - and it provides some of the strongest shackles of the mental and emotional prisons that we find ourselves in.

Now, how we get out of this situation may seem to be incredibly difficult - and at some level it might be. However, maybe, like the great spiritual teachings have been pointing to, almost, forever it seems, it is not so difficult.

Maybe it is like the old adage "one person at a time". If we go inside ourselves and discover what it is that is going on inside ourselves, we will begin to see how we continue to support and sustain these "scary monsters". It is like the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We have this "split personality" thing going on. But, is it possible, that it is not Mr. Hyde that is the "bad guy", but Dr. Jekyll? The establishment. In our modern society we definitely overlook the fact that the medical industry is not as noble as it seems. These days the industry is much more in the business of disease and sickness than it is about health. Disease and bad health is sure good for business. What would happen to hospitals, insurance, the pharmaceutical industry if we don't stay sick? And "doctors" are seen as the pinnacle of society - in a way we worship them, and yet if we look at the underbelly of what is going on, it is kind of seedy. (and don't get me wrong, there are great things happening with some doctors, and the healing industry, and many great people go into medicine with the most noble of intentions).

So what of this internal "scary monster" the battle between my hidden "shadow", the fear-based character that I might "battle" with, and try to hide from? (in actuality there is no hiding, I know all of my secrets). I personally have been dealing with these issues for at least 30 years. In order to overcome problems with drinking and drugs I had to look at the underlying causes for my propensity to want to escape. The drugs and alcohol were merely a coping mechanism for survival. These "personality dis-orders", or frailties were simply a symptom of deeper issues.

I think these issues stem from a very basic flaw in our understanding of the nature of life (on this world and cosmically). Whether we know it or not, this was a self imposed situation. And this is ultimately why we came here. It has to do with our belief of being separate. Feeling separate. Being separate from Divine Love. And in this experience we end up seeking all kinds of "forms" and connections to "things" and people, but at the core of our beings we still have this "secret fear" - that we really are not loved. We do feel alone, so we believe we are separate and alone - disconnected from each other and from our God. (an essay on my realization of Self-love)

Now, this idea is so contrary to what all the great teachers have told us (Jesus, the Buddha, Krishna, etc.), but we have expounded on this to such a degree, and have ourselves so distracted, and busy with our day to day life, that we never take the time to really examine the foundations of our existence. For me, this process is not so mysterious, difficult or mystical - it can all begin with asking some questions - beginning to step back and examine what is going on - in our individual lives, and for the collective of humanity and the world.

We can begin by asking the question of whether we are happy with the way our lives are going? What are we doing? Where do we want to go? Is it really possible that everything is a manifestation of love? Is it possible that we really are an extension of God, Source, Infinite Mind, and that we created "a game" where we forgot our connection to love, in order to learn and experience more about love? What would it be like to not know we are loved? How would it feel? How would we act? Is this why we are here, to answer these questions, to experience this "unknowing" - this disconnect from All That Is? - One Love?

Maybe, just maybe this world is the result of this experiment? What do you think? I have for years imagined, and used the metaphor, that life is like a video game. And we simply have gotten so wrapped up in our characters that we think the game is the only thing going on. But in actuality, as we begin to connect to "real reality" - that we are the consciousness of God, that agreed to come to this sphere of creation, to contribute a whole new set of experiences to the collective, ONE experience.

These ideas are not just "mental meanderings" on my part. If one begins to seek understanding, with a strong desire to discover the Truth of love, a great deal of supporting materials will show up. I have discovered some very powerful books that will begin to open the doors of perception, towards a greater understanding (I will provide some links below).

My process really began to open up when I found myself unable to earn money. For most of my life I had been driven by this idea that "I make the money". To this end I worked two and three jobs for most of my life - almost to the point of being a workaholic. Where this belief came from, I am not totally sure. But I suspect at one level it likely came from my parents. I suspect when I was just a little boy I watched (2 years old), and felt, them stressing and arguing about money. My father was a graduate student and I know that they struggled financially. Then, as I grew older, there came to be a "love / hate" relationship with money. My parents helped put in me ideas like "money is the root of all evil". However, it is also necessary to have money to survive (for the most part). So, here I was living my life not trusting. Yes, I trusted that the sun would shine, there would be oxygen to breathe, the molecules would hold together - but I didn't trust God to supply money. I had to earn it.

Somewhere along the line, I guess in my 20s, I had this idea come to me that I would have to face all of my fears in this lifetime. Mainly because I was a person who was seeking to "know God", and for me to truly know God, I would have to come to have absolute faith, or trust in God. If there was a place that I experienced fear, that was a place where I didn't trust the "One Infinite Creator". And, at some point in this life, which I have a feeling is a very important one (by the way, I know we don't die - we live many, many times), I was going to have to face all of my fears.

Facing my fear of "money" did come in 2008. No matter which way I turned, and avenue I pursued, projects and plans just wouldn't work out. Many ways that I had previously been able to "make it happen" - just came to a dead end. So, after really, really difficult emotional upheavals (almost literally feeling a threat to my survival), I invoked the following prayer "God, PLEASE, I want more". This sounds like a simple, unclear, prayer. But behind it was the most earnest desire that I have ever had for greater understanding, clarity, answers to questions that had been with me for much of my life, in one form or fashion.

I wanted to know what the hell is going on. When we speak and have been taught that the world and universe is based on Love, why do we have so many difficulties? Why is there so much suffering? What is going on? Why in my lifetime have I seen the world get crazier, and crazier - more war, more environmental degradation, more people suffering?

What I realize now, is that I invoked the immensely powerful prayer of Jesus from his Sermon on the Mount - "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened for you."

What I was led to was first what people call "conspiracy theory" materials. Then I was lead to ancient teachings, books, materials from all types of sources about the "Law of One" as well as instreaming messages - almost from a cosmic radio station (another idea that I had in my 20s - if we can make radios signals, wouldn't God possibly use the same tools or methods?).

Now, I continue with this process. Coming to realize that, like my experience of 30 years ago revealed, that we are "all in this together". We can't just "take care of our own" - just take care of my immediate family and everything will be fine. We must "work for the world" as I learned from the Bhagavad Gita.

Now, how I work for the world, is almost more internal than it is external. It is a process of me realizing that, by my knowledge, beliefs, opinions, feelings, I hold this "reality" in form. Essentially, as I wake up each day, and as I continue to define my reality in the NOW by my prior beliefs, prejudices and opinions, that the world will reflect that back to me.

I have learned (or remembered) that how God, or the Universe, teaches me is by being a perfect mirror. To bring to me experiences where I can see how I need to learn how to be more loving. And how to face my fear that I am not loved. Pain has been a wonderful motivator for me to want to learn more about love. I have seen at different times, that all the pain and suffering I see in the world, is simply an invitation for me to love more. To extend my love, to Be love, in every situation. And at this point in my experience, to continue to seek the Truth of Love, and to work for the world.

So, at this point, how I see to rectify this situation where "the bully" has taken over in our collective human experience, and monopolized our agriculture, and communities; where Wal-marts have gone into towns and caused small businesses to go out of business, and then left those towns when "profits" didn't suit them. To a world where it seems that a company, like Monsanto, wants to take over all of our food systems, and poison us with chemicals; pollute our waters; where companies cut down all of our trees, and fill in our wetlands to build factories and Wal-marts; where all of these, apparently, horrific things are happening. We, I, simply need to do things differently.

I see the solutions about people coming together and learning who and what we are - really! To learn that compared to the power that these apparently "evil and cruel" corporations and governments (soul-less creations) have, that We, I, Us, we - the God created Living Beings, who can tap into the Love of the One Infinite Creator, have immense powers. But we have to remember and experience these capabilities and powers. We have to re-direct our attention to "what we really want to have and experience". And how we do this is with our "thoughts", feelings and attention.

How the process begins, is actually quite simple. Breathe. Breathe consciously. And maybe even invoke Jesus's prayer. Begin to notice where your "attention" is going.

When we tap into these powers. And begin to find others, of our "Collective Oneness" we can make great changes. We can take our food systems back. We can feed all of the hungry people. We can clean up our waters, and begin to reduce the number of trees we cut for useless purposes. We can end war. We can create governments that truly accomplish what we created them for - to Serve us. We can find that there are many amazing technologies that have been developed already for us to transform our infrastructures, energy and transportation systems. What has happened is that our "collective bully" has simply hidden them from us, even though they have already been invented.

As individuals we have immense powers, but even more so, if we come together we have vast capabilities - remember "when two or more of you gather in my name". We can take things back. This video captures the idea well The Tiny Dot.

The solution is to fire the human spirit, initiate creativity, innovation, cooperation, collaboration, to diversify and realize a knowing of who and what we are. Change is coming, but it is our responsibility - the key is to find the power within. There is no savior coming to save us, we will get help - but we have to help ourselves.

If you are wondering "how do I start?" here are some great resources that I would recommend This can also provide evidence that great things are going on. We are not alone. God, Source, Infinite Love is here NOW, all we have to do is start tapping into it. And where we tap into it, is not somewhere "out there", but also inside of ourselves, and all around. The Spirit of Love sustains us, through our breath, through the sunlight, through the trees and animals, and elements of this world. Love is all around, and as more and more of us tap into this KNOWING, the process of transformation is accelerating.

Wondering where to start? - I suggest here.
The Global Citizenship Passport by Desmond Green
Here is a Summary of The Practice with a diagramatic interpretation
A wonderful book which provides "a context" for the "Game".
Spirit Guides: We are not alone by Iris Belhayes with Enid

Evidence of the "Spirit of Oneness" emerging from our Collective Consciousness
Awakening to Oneness

A set of ideas and questions that I proposed for initiate awakening. This also, to an extent, cataloged some of the first sources that have lead me to this point in time.
Light Star Study Group

An incredible book that can awaken you to the greater Truth of your power, and who and what we are. The Master Key, by Hanaal

Still, one of the best books to assist a person to begin "opening their eyes", and with a Source of ancient Wisdom, to build a foundation for "How to Think".
When Love Guides Your Thoughts, edited by Andrew Skadberg

A classic! Many of the predictions of this 100 year old book are coming to pass.
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles

Finally, a project many years in creation, is coming to fruition - this is "first run" version - the Vision Excelerator - a Dream Incubator

Love, Peace and Abundance,
Andy