ATTACHMENTS
By living in the past through our attachment to memories that then shape our future, the phantoms of past and future are only of use to the individual. Yet, as an individual grows he begins to understand that no matter how grandiose his attempts at control, life always has a way of changing and in doing. Life also destroys the imagined ability to an individual’s attempt to control life according to his own beliefs and, as a result of forcing this perspective on others, this is the beginning of tyranny. Essential teachings illustrate the futility of our attempts to control life. The emphasis is that only when one surrenders does he begin to achieve control; the control that is wanted but never knew existed. This is something we experience when we are more attentive to our intrinsic and extrinsic needs and desires.
This can be followed experientially when we have surrendered our control, our conditioned identity, over to the effortless realm of spontaneity and trust. Effortless psychological experience means not forcing, thereby allowing, a state of intelligent spontaneity. Being in this effortless realm is why the philosophy is referred to as the way of nature, because when we follow the way, we can experience the same spontaneity of nature within our own existence; as a result, we trust our path through life. This allows one to exist in the state of “effortless action”.
SPONTANEITY
The discovery of the spontaneity in life allows us to sink deeply into the awareness that we are nature and inseparable from any aspect of it. This can only be experienced if the individual is sincere in surrendering control and as a result giving his life over to something much bigger than himself. This is bigger than our personal lives. The depth of understanding is vast. This is the spiritual attitude that is expressed and lived by many adapts, gurus, masters, saints, sage’s, shamans, and yogis.
When we discover the flow moving within our own lives as the Masters do, we begin to be receptive to where life’s experiences are leading us. We seize clinging to the experiences of the past and instead become rejuvenated and love in the present. The future becomes nothing more than a mirage, as the pure transparency and reflectivity of our consciousness begins to be absorbed in the feminine warmth of the way.
When you refuse to force yourself upon life, it is discovered that you are life. All our vain attempts to control life result from the way we are raised, because our culture and society influence us to believe that we do not belong to the world. We are taught to be alienated in this world. We are raised to believe that we exist in a hostile universe, so we ought to fear one another and never trust anyone. This ideology is bringing the human race to destruction. When considering the rate at which we are polarizing ourselves, it is difficult to imagine there will be any remnants of higher and conscious life on this planet a millennium from now. Our lack of trust is destroying our civilization and also causing critical points in the animal, plant and mineral kingdoms.
IDENTITY
This type of neurosis has gotten to the point that on an individual level we do not even trust our own psychological states. We confuse our identity with our social identity, therefore acting unauthentically. Being mere shadows of who we are, we cause violence towards others, contend anyone who opposes our opinion, and hypnotically hurt those we love. All of this is done in the name of force and control which is taught through social and cultural dichotomy.
Government, organized religion, society and culture mark the physical advent of the trust that is lacking within the individual. When individuals lose their natural essence of trust, some form of external tyranny under the guise of a trustworthy figure will take its place. Many people fail to trust themselves, and this is a major reason why those people trust their governments without a question. When we surrender our power to any entity, the individual begins to become dependent on that entity. The original intent of an entity formation is to act as a servant to the individual. However, that rapidly disintegrates within a few short decades. Our lack of responsibility implies our lack of trust in ourselves. Those artificial entities are merely phantoms into which we invest far too much personal energy that would better serve our higher state of consciousness.
Individuals who sincerely trust themselves and others threaten the established order of culture, society, organized religion, and government. This trust threatens any governmental, social, religious and cultural landscape. We align with our innate trust when we are not forcing, and instead allowing life to take place. The capacity to align yourself with innate trust brings you into harmony with the entire universe. It is essential to follow this effortless Grace within one’s own mind. This is where we realize our innate freedom.
TRUST WITHOUT INTERFERENCE
If individuals growth as nature receives interference, they will lose their naturalness and be drawn into the world of animal drives, desires, attachments, and ultimately suffering. If we interfere with the natural process of any living organism, it will begin to isolate itself from the complementary parts of the whole. This isolation brings about a dissociation from the whole, so that a lack of trust plagues the mind. In attempting to interfere with others’ affairs, no matter how large or small, we are assuming that the natural experience of life is not happening spontaneously; instead we think that life is a series of controlled steps following a predicable and mechanical process.
Everything in the universe is integral and symbiotic in nature, and everything functions harmoniously according to the rhythm of the universe. It is important to allow the experiences of the universe to happen as they will without conscious interference. This is a trust in an affirmation of life that cannot be broken. By dissolving these superficial differences, each individual could live by this trust. Society and culture have been built on ideologies such as religious dogma, communism and democracy, which teach us in some way to impose our will over one another, a fear based goal and the erroneous idea that we are achieving freedom in this process. With those humanity’s selfish tendency to impose the will of one individual, nation, religion, race or gender over one another is exposed. This in itself is oppression. Through these acts, we are always interfering with each other’s natural sovereignty and independence.
PRINCIPLE
The Eccentric Bohemian recognizes the tyrannical approach of individuals and organizations who impose themselves or their system upon others. As we travel harmoniously we take reasonable measures to avoid interfering with any other life form without first receiving permission from that life form before becoming involved. This may include being asked directly or indirectly, through actions or indications, by that which assistance is being sought. We honor all choices one may make in their acceptance or refusal of assistance when it is offered. The Eccentric Bohemian must remain neutral without interfering and without forcing his or her ideals on any other life form while continuing appreciation for what it is. It is imperative that The Eccentric Bohemian remain humble and modest in all situations and interactions as necessary at the time the event occurs. This requires forethought and awareness of one’s self.
ACHIEVING CONTINUITY
In an effort to maintain harmony and balance, it is recommended to implement a few daily practices in achieving this goal.
- Each day find time in the morning and the evening to exercise quieting your mind and spirit. Allow for at least 20 minutes at sunrise and sunset to meditate, practicing breathing, and detach from negative experiences and absorb positive experiences. Allow the radiant sun light to pass through your eyelids and into your body, feeling the energy flow throughout your body.
- Remind yourself of the importance of applying the philosophical principles to your actions.
- Learn an internal cultivation art form such as Qi Gong, Tai Chi, or Taoist Yoga.
- Having a set of basic guidelines can be helpful. However realistically, guidelines don’t determine how to live; recommended guidelines are the following:
- With care, I aid those who are extended expressions of my nature.
- Be true to me
- Connect to the world as I want to be treated.
- Connect to those outside my nature with decisive action.
- To those unwilling to accept me for my true nature, no action is required. Silently let them be themselves as I remain myself.
- I own nothing; I am merely a passing custodian of items outside of my nature.
- Discover a set of practices to aid keeping the mind, body and spirit engaged and strong. Remember to choose practices that support your essence with the activities fitting the needs of the moment. Your life practices will end up being an ever-shifting mix of activities relative to your pursuits.
- Take time, relax and just explore and poke around. Have no plans. Make intuition based decisions, trusting your instincts.
- It is the pause in a breath that each step of living becomes visible for your larger life to improve. Smile when needing open possibilities. Breathe when needing a break.
“If you do not love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are unable of developing compassion for others.”
— His Holiness The Dali Lama
“Loneliness is not cured by human company. Loneliness is cured by contact with reality, by understanding that we don’t need people.”
— Anthony Dimel