Tag: Love

Some Of The Things I Live For

Scroll to the end for a short poem that ties this whole piece together! Peace. ❤️

“What is it to be alive?” I ask myself. Well, this is a part of what it “means” to be alive to me:

EXPRESSION. EMOTION. EVOLUTION. EXPERIENCE.

EXPRESSION

The mysterious nature of channeling infinite creativity, freedom of unique and individualized expression, and the treading of this vast realm of imagination and how it is somehow able to be guided into physical manifestation…

Expression, and in other words, Art… Where do I even begin?

Photography. Singing. Music. Dancing. Poetry. Writing. Painting. Drawing. Sculpting. Cinema. Theatre. Culinary. Ceramics. Animation. Architectural. Fashion. Design…

Creative expression. Imagination. New ideas. The vast world of Art.

I feel as though Art is often associated with playfulness, freedom, feeling, authenticity, rawness, and so much more. I would also say that Art is often associated with Life, although I believe that Art is as associated with Life as it is is to Death and beyond…

I feel as though it transcends this dimension entirely, and is therefore indeed an essential component of life, and so much more…

Thus, I believe that creative expression is so important, beyond any doubt!

EMOTION

The whole spectrum!

Love. Empathy. Sadness. Grief. Fear. Joy. Shame. Euphoria. Relaxation. Ecstasy. Excitement. Anger. Regret. Anxiety. Nervousness. Confidence. Compassion. Vulnerability. Wonder. Curiosity. Pleasure. Pain. Relief. Satisfaction… The list can go on forever… And these are just some of the feelings that we have words for!

Love for me is key (kind of like an anchor…), whether it be loving myself, loving others, and simply love as love in general; And from there, it gets even deeper as we begin to notice that there may be different subcategories for this mysterious Love, such as loving a romantic partner, loving your parents, loving your pet, loving your friends, loving your co-workers, loving this Earth, loving your bed, loving a toxic ex, loving sushi…

From this point, some may even debate that Love is not simply a feeling, but rather who we are at our core, and that Love may be indivisible from Source, which is also said by some to be the essence of who we truly are.

Regardless though, I believe that in this world, not even Love would exist without feelings such as pain, fear, and even suffering, because the only reason that Love exists as the concept that we understand and/or know it as is because we have some other concept that we’ve created to compare it to.

Inherently, I believe that the essence of Love, as we understand it to be, shall always exist, and that the only differing factor regarding this primordial and inherent essence of Love (Source) and the conceptual Love that we understand here is that we would not know nor understand this Love as the Love that we understand here since we’ve created this concept of Love through the existence and perception of polarity and ultimately dichotomy. (Love in comparison to other contextual identities that we’ve bound to other emotions in order to create and construct clearly-identifiable conceptual-identities, such as hate, fear, and suffering, that represent feelings that may then be measured on a spectrum in comparison to the contextual and conceptual identity of Love, whereas essential Love is the whole in which this spectrum lies.)

Therefore, I believe that Love, as an emotion that may be felt within a wide array of different subjective experiences, such as loving your job and loving your sibling, only exists as the unique and beautiful emotion that it is because we have other emotions on a perceivable scale and spectrum to compare and contrast it to, which is such a divine gift!

Although this emotional spectrum may be subjective, it exists here nonetheless. Light and dark. Positive and negative. Fast and slow. This is a world of polarity, and this polarity may be witnessed, observed, and reflected all around us, in a wide array of different forms of expression, and one of these forms may be represented by the diverse and unique spectrum of the e-motions that we have the potential to feel and experience here.

What a gift it is to experience this opportunity of feeling the feelings that we’re able to feel in this very moment, what a gift it is to be a human-being…

May we allow ourselves to experience these feelings freely, without judgement, nor resistance, as these are all a part of this unique and magickal experience of being alive.

EVOLUTION

There may always be room for growth, and we are in a constant process of death and rebirth as ourselves, as a species, and as a collective whole.

Touching upon my last point of emotions: More often times than not, once we touch a hot stove and feel pain, we tend to not touch that hot stove again…

I believe that this observable Universe is cyclical, and that the majority of this Universe is founded upon the base of cycles.

Some examples of these cycles may include the way in which the stars, moons, and planets revolve around each other due to the pull of gravity, which ultimately results in the observable cycle between “night” and “day” that we experience here on this planet, which is ultimately tied to the cycle of Time that we have been able measure here in relation to our interplanetary cycles, which is then ultimately tied to this cycle of Life.

In this cycle of life, there is also a process of death, birth, and everything in between, including reproduction (if one chooses to do so) and inevitably, Evolution.

Although within this cycle of life, there are even subtler cycles at play, most of which we are not even aware nor conscious of, such as the cycles that tend to occur on a mental level, which often manifests here in the physical as a secondary effect.

These mental cycles may also go by the names of habits and patterns, and the majority of them tend to occur unconsciously, under our radar, and may even be observable in the brain being represented by the firing of certain neurons and the activation of certain neural pathways.

These cycles function through time, and they’re only able to function and exist because of time, and over time, the more we fall into the same patterns and behaviors, the easier these patterns and behaviors become to follow.

Therefore, one of the things that I live for is Evolution, and the development, progression, and improvement of myself on my own personal journey, our species as a whole, and this entire planet, Mother Earth.

(And eventually this solar system if we become interplanetary!)

This cycle of life not only occurs on a literal level, but also on many metaphorical levels, through constant cycles of death and rebirth, fail and redo, and rest and recover…

Evolution to me means the movement of being alive, and, tied to the first point of Expression, using our creativity to not only birth new ways of being, but to also shed old one’s that no longer serve us and to take breaks in between.

Evolution to me means death, rest, and rebirth…

EXPERIENCE

The icing on the cake, and the point that I believe ties all of these previous points together: This experience of being alive, and the gift of being ourselves…

The point that sums it all up: Experience.

Whether it be experiencing a creative breakthrough, experiencing an emotion, the experience of interacting with others and the world around us, experiencing how much effort it may take to do something different from that of which has been done before, and experiencing this entire existence, Experience is at the core here, and we’re here in it!

EXPERIENCE

We get to experience time, waking up in the morning, falling asleep at night. 

Experience sense: Taste, smell, sound, touch, and sight. 

Experience talking, walking, gradient darkness and the light.

Experience feeling all these feelings, little packets of finite.

Experience Art, it's unimaginable imaginable power.

So far I'm in the stage where I bloom into a flower,

And I gaze into this present which is where it all depends,

On this decision: If I want to do this past all over again.

Experience. Emotion. Expression. Evolution.

- Jo

A deep thank you for reading!

Once again, United Being’s writing is not objective truth, but a fresh lens to consider perceiving the world through. There is no “right” nor “wrong” way of interpreting this, and I encourage all of my readers to absorb the information that I provide here, and use it as a tool to be integrated into your own unique and individual perspective, as you continue to tread and honor your own path. All my love, and genuine best wishes to you all .

❤️

The Altar Within

We are the center of our life experiences…

In the sense that we “are” the observers of our general states of mind, body, and beyond, the action makers, takers, and choosers, and the recipients of all of the effects to our causes.

With this being said, we all have the potential to alchemize our life experiences, with the deepest of work being done seated at the altar within…

“What is an Altar?”

If we look up the word “altar” online, we are often met with a wide array of ambiguous explanations defining its sole purpose, amidst a sea of diverse interpretations derived from equally diverse and varying belief systems, all of which point to slightly different symbolic meanings and beliefs about what an “altar” is essentially “meant” to be used for.

Below, I give a breakdown of what I use an altar for and what an altar is to me, with this simply being my own subjective beliefs portrayed in a symbolic sense, not a literal one.

A Designated Sacred Space…

I personally and loosely consider an altar to be defined as: “A designated sacred space that is set with intentionality and is utilized for the betterment of oneself.“

In a literal sense, a physical altar can be defined as a “table” or “flat-topped block“, which is then followed by its purpose, which is figuratively and loosely defined and influenced by various subjective interpretations and projections based on varying belief systems.

But this is what an altar is to me, and this is therefore the context that I will be referring to moving forward!

“What is the ‘Altar Within’?”

The “Altar Within” is what I consider to be the space within each of us as individuals where we find our connection to “source“, and where we are able to clearly receive answers to any questions that we have, for ourselves and from ourselves, as well as where we channel any intuitive messages and guidance.

The altar within is symbolic of an altar that we would find outside of ourselves, except for the fact that the altar within is something that we carry with us, all of the time, hence the inclusion of and emphasis on the additional word, “within“.

It serves a similar purpose in relation to a physical altar, in the sense that it is a sacred space that can be focused on with intentionality and utilized for the betterment of oneself… Except an external altar is good for extending this space into our external world and designating a space that we can interact with and conduct our physical work in that lies within this physical realm, bridging the gap between our internal and external.

“How Do We Tend to the Altar Within?”

To tend to our “altar within”, we must first understand what an “altar within” means to us personally.

To understand our altar within, we must first find our altar within, or to be more specific, create our altar within.

As I mentioned before, the meaning of what an “altar” is and is meant to be used for differs greatly depending on the belief systems of the individual, and therefore, the altar’s purpose is going to be subjective as well.

What the “altar within” means to us is going to be different for each of us, and this is where we look within for the answers.

This altar within is a space within each of us that we can tune into whenever we please, as long as we are aware that it exists and have clearly and intentionally designated it as a “center of personal development”.

This is kind of like the center of our whole experience, a place that we can re-turn to whenever we would like to receive answers, ask questions, ponder questions, center ourselves, reset, rest in clarity, and much more.

If you were in a noisy and disruptive classroom attempting to solve a math problem, sitting at the altar within would be like removing yourself from that room, and sitting in a quiet and isolated room that you have all to yourself, where you can then figure out the best route to take in solving the task at hand from a place of clarity and clear receptivity.

Tending to the altar within requires utilizing it consistently, patience, practice, invested attention, awareness, learning, vulnerability, repetition, revisiting this space, and so much more, which will ultimately vary depending on the individual who is doing the tending, although with this, I would also mention that this tending does happen naturally when we continue to rest at and revisit our altar within, accessing it in order to promote our evolution, and the betterment of ourselves as a whole!

If I were to go any deeper into this topic, this one post would end up being pages long, so here, I give you the gist of it and summarize the essence of this beautiful teaching to the best of my abilities, and from here, I pass the torch on to you, so that you may traverse inwards and discover what the “altar within” really means to you as a unique individual. ❤

“Why Should We Tend to the Altar Within?”

Sovereignty. Home Base. Neutrality.

Sovereignty.

When we tend to our altar within, we are accepting the truth that we do actually have most of the answers to our questions, and no longer have to constantly rely on seeking external guidance and insight. (All the time, sometimes it is okay to receive some insight from the perspective of another, and to ask questions to those who have had experiences that differ from our own! It is a balance!)

This is to trust ourselves, believe in ourselves, have confidence in ourselves, and to rest in our true sovereignty and personal power, accepting the fact that we are, more often times than not, capable of providing ourselves the guidance, answers, and love that we “seek”.

Home Base.

The altar within also has the potential to be a symbolic representation of a kind of “home base“ in our lives. A center-line to return to if we ever veer too far from our “path”, and a space that is always accessible to us if we would like to re-turn to a state of balance and clarity.

As I mentioned before, I consider the altar within to be a kind of center of our whole experience here, so for me personally, this always a space that I can return to if I would like a clear sense of direction, an energetic reset, or simply a reminder that everything is going to be okay, that I am safe, and that I can create whatever life I desire and dream of living from this beautiful and tender breeding ground for creation. In other words, my altar within is like my internal home.

Neutrality.

Similar to the altar within being a kind of center, I would also consider the altar within to be a space of in between, a bridge between both worlds, with it not just being “one or the other” but also both and neither simultaneously. For me, to rest in the altar within is also to respond from and rest in a place of neutrality.

Therefore, I also consider the altar within to be a unique and magnificent space of neutrality and non-dichotomy. This is why I believe that this is an amazing space to utilize and receive insight, clarity, and guidance from. The altar within is non-biased. It does not judge. It is not acting from a place of the past nor the future, it is simply providing unconditional love and guidance derived from the forever now, all that will ever be, all that ever was, and all that never was… Source.

As always, this is poured straight from my heart center, and here I share what has helped me in my own personal experiences, hence why I took the time and energy to create and produce this work of art and share it with all of you beautiful beings. May this be received in whatever walk of life you are treading at this moment, right now, which is always perfect, wherever you are… All my love and best wishes, hope this helps. ❤️

The Power of Self-Validation

There have been numerous times where I aimed to prove myself, consistently expecting to receive validation externally, seeking confirmation and permission slips outside of myself, only to realize that the validation I was missing was my own.

Affirmations: “I am enough.” “I have my own validation.” “I allow myself to be free of any expectations.” “I give myself the permission.”

What We Seek, We May Find Within.

We all have the potential to be the source of our own validation, and we all have the ability to provide ourselves the confirmation that we are already enough.

This may take practice, and a consistent devotion to oneself through making an effort each day to feel this, live this, breathe this, and believe this at a core level.

With time, and intentional, conscious, action towards being the receiver of our own love and validation, we may then step into sovereignty, autonomy, and inevitably, our true power of self-sufficiency. ❤️

Embracing Autonomy, Living in Sovereignty.

We are all sovereign and autonomous beings; It just takes realizing this, and giving ourselves the permission to be this.

Embracing autonomy and living in sovereignty is not to exclude, nor avoid, any external relationships and interactions, but to show up for them coming from a place of genuine wholeness and appreciation rather than deprivation and necessity, which is of the deepest and most authentic love.

In other words: This is to be devoted to showing up as the best, most authentic, and whole version of ourselves, which will most definitely reflect in our relationships with others.

Even when we interact with others, we are still ourselves, and even when we are in relationships with others, we are still alone, and that is okay! It is only “not okay” if we make it, and see it as something, that is “not okay“.

At the end of the day, it is us who we are left with.

We are the ones who perceive, observe, and react to our own thoughts. We are the ones who feel and fully experience our emotions. We are the ones who set our own boundaries and choose what we shall allow into our lives, and we are the ones who take, make, create, and experience the results of our own actions.

Our power lies not in running from this truth, but resting in it. Allowing ourselves to be comfortable, and content, with this concept of conscious sovereignty and autonomy. To make peace with this, to realize that we are the source, and to witness all of the genuine beauty that blooms out of this simple yet utterly divine truth, and how it may shed light on all other aspects of our lives as well, like a synchronized domino effect portrayed in this dance of life itself.

Vowing to Love Ourselves, As We Are.

We are already enough, but will we allow ourselves to see this?

Will we allow ourselves to feel this, at a core level? To make the effort and take the strides of converting this into a core belief within ourselves? Will we allow ourselves to do this, feel this, believe this, be devoted to this, and to be free of any limitations that we would have made ourselves believe?

All it takes is our permission.

All it takes is our word.

All it takes is our intention, devotion, discipline, and a vow to love ourselves, as we are.

So when will we mark this conscious devotion to ourselves?

The only one we would be waiting on is us… So when will we say “go”?

United Being’s writing is not objective truth, but a fresh lens to consider perceiving the world through. There is no “right” or “wrong” way of interpreting this, and I encourage all of my readers to absorb the information that I provide here, and use it as a tool to be integrated into your own unique and individual perspective, as you continue to tread and honor your own path. All my love, and genuine best wishes.❤️

Why Should We Appreciate?

The intent of appreciating what one already has attracts more things to appreciate.

The Law of Attraction

I would say that focused appreciation is truly at the core of any manifestation practice. If we don’t know how to appreciate what we already have, then how will we be able to appreciate all that we attract?

Creating the Mental Shift

This shift in perspective starts by setting an intention. This is to make a switch from focusing on what you are missing in life, to focusing on all that you already have. Once you set the intention to consciously make this shift in perspective, then all you have to do is follow through with your own awareness (consistency is key!).

Give it Your Attention

To be quite frank, your guides and higher-self can most definitely call bullshit if you are being inauthentic with your appreciation. This is where the focused aspect of focused appreciation comes in.

When you are bringing your attention to all that you have to appreciate in life, give it your full attention! This also means genuinely focusing on “why” you appreciate it, as well as knowing the intent that you have for appreciating it in the first place.

Get Ready for Change!

Not only does focused appreciation welcome in more things to appreciate, it also feels good! The more consistent one is with this shift in perspective, the more they will find their external world shifting with them.

And I say to you whom may hold doubt that it would work: Does it hurt to try?

All my love and best wishes, thank you. ❤

“I AM THAT ALREADY.”

How the mantra, “I AM THAT ALREADY,” created a positive shift within my life.

JOURNAL ENTRY 11/30/20:
"For today, I let myself know that 'I AM THAT ALREADY.'
In other words, I don't need to 'get' anywhere, I'm already there.
Whatever I need/want I can attract.
Whatever does not honor me or bring me joy, I can let go of.
I am already successful, at peace, complete, enough.
The only way I can lose this peace is by believing I don't have it,
by believing it is lost.
I AM that peace, and I lose it when I look outside of myself for answers, validation, satisfaction. 
So... Whatever I often try so hard to be, I am that already.
I am, that I am."

“Love, You Are Enough, As You Are.”

This is truly at the core of the mantra “I am that already.“

One cause of suffering is the belief that we are not good enough as we are. The belief that we need to obtain, achieve, or satisfy something outside of ourselves in order to prove that who we are is in fact enough.

The difficult part about this though, is that no matter how hard we work towards the things that we think are required in order to make us complete, it will never be enough, because we would have been looking in all of the wrong places (we do not even have to look in the first place).

You do not have to prove yourself to anyone… So whatever point you feel as though you need to get to in order to be enough, whatever you spend so much time desiring and aspiring to “be”, just know that you are that already.

The more you know this statement to be true, that you are already enough, the easier it will become to attract and manifest the things and experiences that you truly desire.

The energies of lack and love, of dissatisfaction and appreciation, vibrate on completely different frequencies; Therefore, they will attract completely different things.

“There’s No Need To Chase, You Are Already There.”

This goes hand in hand with knowing that we are already complete and enough as we are.

We are already where we need to be. Everything that we need or desire, we have the power to attract. We don’t need to “get” anywhere outside of ourselves to be where we want to be, it truly all happens within our being.

Whether it be slaving away at work to try and live up to a certain standard, or sticking with a strict routine in order to maintain a certain image, more often times than not: We are unconsciously doing it in the attempts to manage the perceptions of others, rather than doing it because we genuinely love and care for ourselves.

All it takes is a shift in our way of thinking, a shift to being more loving and compassionate towards ourselves. So the next time you meditate, exercise, go to work, or even something as simple as washing your face, think about why you do it.

“Allow You To Be The Source Of Your Own Peace.”

Once we realize that we are the source of our peace, we also realize that this peace can then never be lost. This can be one of the hardest concepts to accept as we live in a world filled with so many ways to escape and distract ourselves.

You can be your own friend, your own lover, your own motivation.

One of the most liberating things for me was truly realizing my worth. Stepping into confidence and letting go of all the internal self-doubt I was grasping onto. The doubt that I thought I needed in order to improve. Little did I know, the only way I could improve was by letting go of this doubt, this judgement, entirely.

So the same thing I say to myself, I now say to you: No need to worry about achieving, chasing, or living up to something “greater.” Love, you are that already, and that is more than enough.

YOU are what keeps United Being going, so thank you for your support! All my love, and I continue to wish you all the best on your journey. Namaste.

Let go, and Let Flow

Resistance of the flow happens when one allows fear-based thinking and negative emotions to take control, which causes suffering. When one ceases to resist and allows the natural flow to occur within them, without judgement or retaliation, inner peace takes over.

To make inner peace is to cease the fighting within. To allow, to forgive, to accept, to love. There is a saying that we usually make ourselves own worst enemies, that is to say, we judge our minds and our own egos the harshest. The things that we tend to judge in others, whether we’re aware of it or not, is usually a reflection of how we feel about our own identities.

We all inherently have the desire to come from a place of authenticity, but that is a difficult task when most of don’t even know how to be honest with ourselves. This is not usually intentional, but we have trained ourselves so well to avoid thoughts and feelings that make us uncomfortable that, for most of us, it has become ingrained within our mental structure.

When we become aware of the reason behind why certain emotions, thoughts, and feelings arise, instead of falling into the self-constructed pattern of judgement and escapism, the path to freeing oneself of the suffering connected to these certain emotions, thoughts, and feelings then becomes apparent.

We then realize that these thoughts, feelings, and emotions only have the power to effect us because we allow them to, because we give it our attention, whether we’re aware of it or not.

To fall into identification with things like thought and emotion is to allow thought and emotion to determine and have power over how we feel, and this includes how we feel about ourselves. This is to resist the natural flow of what is, to resist all that is love. 

When we allow these things to flow through us without judgement or fear, only with the presence of love and acceptance towards anything that arises, we then allow it to come and go, to pass through us instead of holding onto it with our attention. We then learn how to let go, and let flow.