We have to know when and where
to draw the line.
When to take "NO!" for an answer,
and when to give "NO! for an answer.
Being savvy is listening to our intuition
all the way.

When we think we know what we are doing,
it is time to sit for a while
in the right kind of emptiness/stillness/silence
(One thing, not three!)
until the mud settles and the water clears,
maybe after we sleep on it
and see what our dream-maker has to say
in the matter.

It is an all too easy matter for
intention and incentive to take over
the controls from intuition.
When that happens,
things take a turn for the worse
"like that."

And so the rule:
Always act out of the silence,
never in the heat of the moment!

How many wars could have been avoided
just by listening to that one!

We have to give intuition a chance
all along the way!

The real Holy Trinity
are: 

Our Original Nature,
sometimes called our "Buddha Nature,"
or our "Christ Nature."

Our innate virtues--

I'm breaking here to quote Alan Watts in The Way of Zen: 
"When we have learned to let our mind alone so that it functions in the integrated and spontaneous way that is natural to it, we begin to show the special kind of "virtue" or "power" called te. This is not virtue in the current sense of moral rectitude but in the older sense of effectiveness, as one speaks of the healing virtues of a plant. Te is unaffected or spontaneous virtue which cannot be cultivated or imitated by any deliberate method. Lao-Tzu says, "Superior te is not te, and thus has te. Inferior te does not let go of te, and thus is not te. Superior te is non-active (wu-wie) and aimless. Inferior te is active and has an aim." Or, to translate: Superior virtue is not conscious of itself as virtue, and thus really is virtue. Inferior virtue cannot dispense with virtuosity, and thus is not virtue."

--the things we do best and enjoy/love doing most.

Our intrinsic intuition which knows the truth and leads us in the way of truth through all situations and circumstances all our life long.

Living in everlasting service 
to this Holy Trinity
puts us squarely in the company
of the Christ, 
the Buddha,
and the Saints in Light,
and opens the way to eternal life,
joy and the peace of enlightenment,
liberation, realization and wonder
always and evermore.

Living as though it is so
reveals that it is so.

Do you believe in God?
It's a trick question.
Do you think Jesus believed in God?
Or Moses?

People who know God
don't have to believe in God.
Particularly people who know 
God dwells within.

God has always dwelt within.
God is nowhere "Out There!"
God is entirely and "forever "In Here!"

It is only when we recognize
the divinity that dwells within
that we are able to consciously
take up the work of identifying ourselves with
and intentionally aligning ourselves with
and serving the Holy Other within.

The Holy Other is the I Am we deny,
discount, ignore, reject, desecrate
throughout our life.

Our original nature,
our innate virtues--
the things we do best and love/enjoy doing most--
and our intrinsic intuition
are the divine characteristics
living in everyone,
waiting to be realized, recognized, embraced
and consciously/intentionally incarnated/embodied
in us all.

The gifts listed above
are holy and sacrosanct in everyone,
yet revered in only a few--
the Christs and the Buddhas, 
the saints and the "gifted"
who live as evidence of blessings and grace
in every generation,
yet concealed,
waiting to be revealed, 
in us all our entire life long.

"Who ME? I could not possibly be
confused with GOD!"
Because we have been told we are sinners
deserving only hell forever throughout our lifelong.

Wake up! Wake up! BE WHO YOU ARE!!!

Start with your intuition.
"God's voice within."
NO! GOD within!
From the earliest, 
human beings have known things
no one could know--
where water could be found, 
where to find safety,
when and where to take refuge,
when it was going to rain,
when to go to high ground to escape flooding...
All ascribed to the God Above.
All derived from the God Within.

We worshiped and made sacrifices to
the God Without
when we only needed to honor
and attend through emptiness, stillness and silence,
the God Within.

As it always has been,
so it always will be.
And it is time we tune into what's what,
and live as servants to the holy aspects
of ourselves
for as long as life shall last. 

Buddhists say they don't believe in God.
But.
They believe in karma.
They believe in merit.
They believe something/someone 
is keeping SCORE!!!

The Score Keeper is sacrosanct.
Everybody believes in the Score Keeper!!!
And lives to keep the Score Keeper happy
in order to get what they want.

Buddhists have prayer beads (and flags).
But no God.
Well, who is keeping score?
The Score Keeper is God by another name.

Everybody believes how they act
impacts what happens.
Impacting what happens
is the baseline factor
in all superstition,
which is religion by another name.
"Mojo" is another name for "God."

My name for "God" is "Intuition."
I say if we live in right relationship
with our Intuition
everything will be as good as it can be.

I embrace emptiness, stillness and silence
as one thing,
and turn to it often--
several times a day--
as other people turn to prayer,
endeavoring to align myself
with my Intuition
and live in accord with my Intuition's
will for my life.

Lao Tzu thought of the Tao
in the same way.

Everybody is trying/striving
to get something from someone/something.

We are all trying/striving to get what we want.
And think we need all the help we can get.
Gaining merit is the game.
Garnering the Payoff is hitting the Jackpot.

We are all in that line.
Rubbing some Lodestone,
carrying some Rabbit's Foot
(If that is lucky,
it certainly didn't do the rabbit 
any good!).

And we are kidding ourselves
if we pretend we are not.
By not living to get what we want
we are laying the foundation
for having what we want.

And believe someone/something
("The Universe")
is keeping score.

All Donald Trump is good for
is hate and fear.
If you are going to vote for Donald Trump,
it is because he has filled you
with hate and fear,
and continues to do so
every time he speaks.

Donald Trump is a pumping station
for hate and fear.

Fear and hate are mutually arising emotions.
They play off of each other.
They validate each other.
They need each other.

Reduce your hate
and your fear quotient drops.
Reduce your fear
and your hate quotient drops.

Try this experiment for me.
Don't listen to anything 
Donald Trump or his Assigns say
for two days,
and don't think about Donald Trump
or about anything that fans
your hate and fear during that time.
Spend all of you available time
during that time
in emptiness, stillness, silence.

Emptiness means emptying yourself
of all of your emotions, thoughts,
memories, impressions, beliefs, convictions,
certainties, etc.
so that there is nothing to stir-up
your hate and fear.

You are creating a space for yourself
that is as empty as the place between breaths.
To get to that place,
inhale for a count of five,
exhale for a count of five,
pause your breathing for a count of ten.
Repeat the process.

Do this as often and for as long
as you need to 
to establish and maintain 
an inner environment of 
emptiness, stillness and silence.

Spend two days creating,
maintaining, sustaining,
emptiness, stillness and silence.

Being aware of your thoughts,
but disengaged from your thoughts.
You can do this and still carry out
your business as usual,
but with distance between yourself
and what you are doing,
separate from all of it.

This is a meditative space
between you and your life,
separating you from all that is going on.
So that you are just aware enough to function,
but not so aware that you are on the cusp
of not functioning at all as a human being
and becoming a robot gorging on hate and fear.

You are creating a seeing/hearing/knowing/observing
place for yourself within your life.
Becoming aware of how your life impacts you
and turns you into an automation,
an automaton,
a functionary,
a robot,
a thug.

Trump turns all of his followers
into functionaries, robots and thugs
by feeding them a steady diet of hate and fear.

It is what Hitler did with the German people
in turning them against the Jews,
by filling them with hate for and fear of the Jews.

The right kind of emptiness, stillness and silence
frees you from the power of those who would
control you by telling you they will save you
from what they make you hate and fear.
They won't save you from anything.
Only you can save yourself
by turning off, tuning out, staying away from
hate and fear,
and embracing emptiness, stillness and silence
on a regular basis
throughout what remains of life left for living.

May it be so!

The right kind of emptiness,
stillness and silence is one thing,
not three,
and is the source of all that follows:
Seeing/Hearing/Knowing/Doing/Being
(One thing, not five!)
in ways that serve/exhibit/express/reveal
our original nature,
our innate virtues
(The things we do best
and enjoy/love doing most),
our intrinsic intuition--
in response to what is called for
in each situation as it arises,
no matter what,
all our life long.

Alan Watts is clear about this.

In his book, "What is Zen," 
he says that
in serving our intrinsic intuition,
we trust ourselves to respond 
in ways appropriate to the occasion
no matter what the circumstances are.

Trusting ourselves to know what to do 
where/when/how is our grounding foundation
throughout our life
as we rise to meet the circumstances
as they develop.

He advises, "Keep your center of gravity
between your feet.
Stay in the center
and you will be ready to move 
in any direction."

And adds, "It requires a certain kind of poise:
If you are here, now when things happen,
you always remain balanced."

Knowing what is called for
and responding intuitively
out of our original nature
and innate virtues 
is the prescribed way of handling
all aspects of our life.

Nothing could be simpler
or more necessary!

Of course, the catch is that 
we cannot have our way
and get what we want
and do what is called for
in each situation as it arises.

We have to grow up to meet the day each day.

Despite the disparity
it is all one.

In spite of all the hatred,
it is all one.

We are different only in our
perceptions and beliefs.

On every other level or measure
we are identical.

Take away our racial-ethnic designations,
our sexual preferences and gender orientations
and their externally imposed evaluations,
and there are no differences.

Digestion works the same way in all of us.
Inhalation, exhalation.
Walking, running.
Laughing, crying.

A Jew experiences hunger
the same way a Palestinian experiences hunger.
Responds to love and respect.
Enjoys good company
and relaxation.

A black baby and a white baby
have to be taught prejudice and bigotry.

We are more alike than different across all lines.

Why don't we act like it?
Why the socially, culturally, imposed discrimination?
Why the caste systems--official and unofficial--worldwide?
Why the barriers and the divides?
Why don't we live together in ways we all honor and enjoy?
Where do we start turning things around?

There is only  
doing what is called for
in each situation as it arises,
when, where and how it is called for,
one situation after another
all our life long--
whether we want to or not,
whether we feel like it or not,
whether we are in the mood for it or not,
for no other reason 
than because it is called for
and needs to be done.

This makes knowing what is called for
the most important thing,
with doing it where, when and how
it needs to be done
the second most important thing.

And that makes living in accord with
aligned with,
at one with 
our intrinsic intuition--
and living to serve it above all else--
the most important thing.

Everything flows from there.

Brooks Vance told his wife Louise,
at the point in their life
when they were spending more time
in the hospital than on the beach,
or anywhere else they might want to be,
"Don't add up your vulnerabilities, Louise.
It would only depress you."

"Don't think about your troubles!
Have another drink!"

Not thinking about our troubles
is the ground of all religion,
particularly the more right-wing,
fundamentalist religions,
the religions of escapism and denial,
and what religions aren't?

I've been saying for years, now, 
"Don't think/care about your chances!
Just do what is called for in each situation
as it arises all your life long!
AS though it matters!
No matter what!"

It amounts to the same thing:
"Don't dwell on your vulnerabilities,
just do what you can, here, now.
As though it matters!"

Living as though it matters
is the essential ingredient of faith
in all forms throughout time.
We have to believe it matters 
how we live, what we do.

Keep telling ourselves it matters,
and live as though it does,
has gotten us out of the caves
to here, now.
It is the only thing that matters,
believing it matters that/how we live
and living as though it does.

So, take that as your mantra
to get you through the night,
through the low places,
through the "Who cares?
Why try? What difference does it make?"
stages of our life from start to finish.

"Who cares, who cares?"
"Why not try?"
"What difference does it make
if nothing makes any difference?"

"Believe that it matters that/how we live--
and live as though it does!"

Laughing all the way!
Singing and dancing in the rain!
Even if we are singing the blues!

So what if it seems that we are
kidding ourselves?
We have been doing that from the start!
And it works!
Keep it up!
Keep it going!
All the way!

The balance point between extremes
is the place to be at all times,
in all places.

Caring/not-caring.
Wanting/not-wanting.
Good/bad.
Right/wrong.
Loving/not-loving.
Knowing/not-knowing.
Seeing/not-seeing.

At the tipping point,
we can go anywhere,
do anything,
especially the things 
that are called for,
the things that are asked of us,
required of us,
in all times and places
along the way.

In moments of doubt,
go with what has urgency,
with what is calling us,
with where our interest lies. 

Interest never lies.
Intuition never betrays us,
but remains forever true
and reliable throughout our days.

Cultivate your relationship 
with your intuition,
and go where'er she leads.
No matter what.

If you can find better advise,
take it!

How is your balance and harmony (one thing, not two)
these days?

What are the sources of instability?

What part does wanting play?

Pain's greatest contributor
is wanting things to be different NOW!

Where do we go to restore equilibrium?

We have to have a place of retreat
where we can regain our composure
and recover our grounding
center-focus-orientation.

Could be a long shower.
Or a walk on the beach by the sea.
Or a place to sit and listen
to the sound of ocean waves,
or your favorite music for finding peace...

Then dropping into emptiness/stillness/silence
(one thing, not three)
and waiting for the eventual arising
of revival, restoration, reorientation, renewal...

And back into the fray again...

Staying there hinges
on finding and maintaining 
the right ratio
between caring and not-caring
about how things are and are-not.

If we want to do it right
we have to do it in ways that
honor/express/exhibit/serve
Truth/Justice/Equality/Freedom.

We have to do with balance and harmony.

We have to do it in ways that
honor/express/exhibit/serve
our original nature,
our inherent virtues--the things we do best
and love/enjoy doing most,
our intrinsic intuition.

We have to do it with
integrity and spontaneity.

We have to do it in ways that
honor/express/exhibit/serve
what is called for/what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
no matter what,
one after another,
all our life long.

We cannot have/serve ulterior motives.
We cannot live with our best interest in mind.
We cannot act with our gain/advantage/profit/good in mind.
We cannot live with interest in or concern for
what's in it for us,
what it means for us,
what we want for ourselves or those we love
as the driving motive for our actions.

We have to be empty of all thoughts/motives/desire/fear/duty,
still and silent,
and open to the "direct arising"
of what is called for/needs to happen
in the moment it is called for/needs to happen,
in service to our intrinsic intuition
in each situation as it develops.

We step aside in doing what is called for,
and let that be that,
without looking for recognition or impact.
Just doing what needs to be done here, now, 
and moving on to doing what needs to be done here, now...