HUMAN2HUMAN

"This is something basic to be understood - the ego must come to a peak, it must be strong, it must have attained an integrity - only then can you dissolve it. A weak ego cannot be dissolved. And this becomes a problem." ~ Rajneesh The ego helped us stay alive as we wandered around the Savannah before we realized we didn’t have to be eaten by lions, tigers, and bears. We could make weapons and protect ourselves. Then tools to plant and harvest. It was necessary so that we could survive. It was crucial for our evolution. If not we would not be here today.  It is not who we are. It is there to help. But like any aspect of the whole, it must be healthy. A healthy ego looks out for us, is full of prospects and it wants to lead the way, to help, but like any determining factor real or imagined, it gets in our way. A healthy ego a well-trained ego well-mastered ego will be our lookout and know its place. But yet it will stop, block and deter when it doubts us. It sta

IT IS A QUESTION OF CARING. The two questions that can move the human race forward – “How are you?” and “How may I help?” They are signs that you care. Beyond a sign of being polite or socially astute. They are signals to people that you are there and that you are present and mindful of a situation or a state.  You may be a late guest to a party that arrives as a host is cleaning up, or a supervisor at work that sees that you are struggling or anxious and puts work demands and deadlines aside to engage in what is important. The support of those in your community. This is what is needed to help all of us, especially those of us that struggle daily with the unseen or non-material affliction.  Loving-kindness, compassion, empathy are all expressions that we are interconnected. If you cannot connect ask yourself why? If you are not able to hold a door, lend a hand, yield, or show support what are you doing? We are all in this together. We thrive when we can join togethe

They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Well, what if the tough has a compromised immune system and they’re in their sixties? They might not be that tough? And, what about those with compromised behavioral systems? The ones who cannot take direction and will do what they want and may hurt someone/   I liked to think that I am disciplined enough to listen to the scientists and take careful, thoughtful measures without panicking. But there are those who’ve already at their wits end and a pandemic is just the challenge they cannot handle because they are not sure what is and what is not under their control. A thin person may not worry about starving, but the obese person may worry where their next meal is coming from. Or the other way around – it is all about their locus of control. I know I am resourceful. I am sure that things will be ok until they are not. I can plan for the worst-case scenario yet hope for the best. We should be able to gauge where we ar

Some of us have never had to struggle or have known hunger or want. Some of us have never had to wait online or have applied patience as a virtue. Or some have never known to ration or have done without. As a child, I never went hungry. I never went without. I had everything that a child could want. There were always presents under the Christmas tree and on my birthday. But life is about more than material objects. It is about the power of connection and creativity. That is where I did not receive what I needed. Like many people my age, my father worked shift work at the plant and I rarely saw him. When I did, I feared him. My mother was there but not. She was challenged with taking care of my youngest brother who is special needs to due a fever she had while he was in utero. I think to this day she blames herself for something that was beyond her control. I was there the day she received the letter from the state with the test results that labeled him “retarded”. An a

A blood donor didn’t save my life.  Nobody died for my sins.  I do what I do, for the glory of Humanity, Humankind, The Human race. A friend told me that he works hard and does everything to the best of his ability – For the Glory of God.  As I stood there thinking to myself – Should I tell him that there is no god and that his intentions are misguided? I could not.   After my deconversion, all the reading I have done lately, and my new way of thinking – reasoning, logic, and rationality and critical thinking tells me that there is no god and that Humanism is the only Glory there is. We are good without god.   We cannot be good with god.   Looking at the world with rose-colored glasses is a delusion.   For the rose color, the blood of your lamb, not mine, colors your thinking, your reason, and your worldview.   Probably, because you are hoping, and praying that these are the end of times, and that you are special and beloved of your King, Father, Sky god,

  Our doomsday clock starts ticking the first time we draw breath. It is a fact of nature. We have a finite number of days, months, years, and minutes, moments and experiences. The question we should ask ourselves, is, how do we want to spend it? Do we want to live a full and robust life filled with new and exciting knowledge, experiences and memories? Or, do we hunker down to accept what is given and embrace the status quo? Or do we seek out new and rewarding frontiers? Do we love, share, care to make a difference in this world? Do we see opportunities for growth and strive to do better? Do we live a life of virtue and strength of character or do we fear what we do not understand and believe unconditionally what we are told to believe? Do we have faith in humanities latent nature of a higher expression of love, compassion, and unity or do we look for reasons to not trust what we know to be the truth because it is easier to be a member of the mob than a lover of wis

DEATH RATTLE ROAR THE WOLF AT THE DOOR THE FEAR OF DEATH A FACTOR NO MORE. I LIVED I'VE DIED A THOUSAND TIMES WITH EACH BREATH I KNOW THE SIGNS. I KNOW ITS FACE BEEN IN THAT SPACE INTO THE VOID  WITHOUT A TRACE NOW JUST A CLOUD LIVING OUT LOUD A MIST A VAPOR A DEATH RATTLE ROAR. Jeff Turnbull

In these tumultuous times with so much division and vitriol, it is paramount that we be mindful of what is in our minds and where our thoughts go when we are moved emotionally. Because when we think with our hearts, we are not likely to apply reason and logic and may not acknowledge the truth but embrace the truth of how we want it to be from our own bias colored perspective.                         What this comes down to is that we are quick to judge without having context or facts. We are operating from a preconceived strongly held belief that we are likely to take as gospel. We judge the first impression and everything that follows. We are stuck in a rigid non-pliable way of seeing because we have experienced something in the past which leaves us afraid of the unknown of the future, so we become static and immovable in the present. If we could only begin with what the Buddhists refer to beginner’smind or in Zen, I don’t know mind. If we can be open to come w

Like a pack of hungry wolves, we seek to eat and destroy our prey. That hunger that thirst that cannot be satisfied can eat us alive. When some of us have all that we need we want more. More than we can ever use. More and more and more that is our mantra. When disasters happen, we are instructed to consume more for the cause. But that is only instinct. However, it does not serve the good, our good or the collective good or the greater good. Our economic system is based on consumption. More hunter than a gatherer. We rely on a cheap source of energy that destroys the environment when new economies can build on newer more sustainable and environmentally friendly renewable forms of energy i.e. solar, winds, waves. We can leverage what is already there. That is Humane – for us and our home. Animals take care of their homes, dens, hives, nests, we destroy and spoil what was given us with our never-ending appetites.   Preservation and now restoration must be our focus lest we

HUMAN - ALL TOO - HUMAN  We think - therefore we are not at all that Human. At least we don't act like it. Sometimes we do. Random acts of kindness, unconditional love, selfless compassion, sometimes we rise to our potential then our soul falls exhausted from the climb and the flight. Giving liberally is viewed and considered a weakness by some and a justification by others. We must empty our souls and enliven our spirits with the thought and intention of doing and being the highest good for all not for some.  Ask yourself - is what I am about to do or say or think of the highest good serving the greater good? We can be good without a deity looking over our shoulders. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. Smile at someone and they will smile back. It is a matter of our nature and consciousness. If we are conscious we can observe our nature. We can practice doing the right thing at the moment in the here and now.  We know when we are doing the wrong thin

A TREATISE ON THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION. Bipolar I Depressive. In my early thirties that was my current situation. Finally, a name for my pain. “It’s like diabetes.” They said. “You can treat it with medication and talk therapy.” They said. “It is manageable.” They said. “You will have it for Life.” They said. They also said that I had a 1 in 5 chance of ending my own life. That is a 20% likelihood that on any given day, I will pull my own plug. That shed a lot of light, on an infinite amount of darkness. I am here, to tell you that if you are mentally ill, struggle with depression, anxiety, or addiction – if you do not – Adapt, Evolve, you will die before your time and before you know what hit you. Furthermore, if you deem yourself a stable genius the same applies. Depression will pull you down. Anxiety pushes you down. Addiction will burn you alive. Bipolar I Depressive will pull you apart, burn you alive, push you down, pull you down drown you,