Fractal Enlightenment

As research pushes the boundaries of what causes addiction, its becoming more evident that it is nothing more than a byproduct of an unhappy environment.

Perhaps it’s always been easier to blame the addict, as strange as it may sound you can now blame the external environment rather than the addict. We have to consider what is the cause of addiction. Each one of us wants to be happy, to feel pleasure in some form or the other.

Personally, I play games, trip out on filter coffees and chocolates. It sort of relaxes me and gives me that sense of satisfaction. But why does each one of us look for this satisfaction? Simply the joy of just being alive has been diluted with the ghastly environment we’re born into.

Working parents who have no time for us, that create broken relationships because of the lack of understanding on the micro level while on the macro level our world is obviously the same reflection. We’re bombing each other, murder, rape and pillage is what’s seen on the news.

“The reality consists only of now the present moment. It has nothing to do with the past and nothing to do with the future. It is so concentrated in this moment that if you can be in this moment, all that you are seeking and searching will be fulfilled. This moment is the door to the divine.” ~ Osho

By now you’ve probably heard the phrase “being in the now”. Although it seems pretty self explanatory and simple to do (because the “now” moment is actually the only moment that we ever can be in, technically), this is something that many of us still struggle with. Ironically, the fact that we need to be told to be in the one place that there ever is to be in, speaks volumes of our species. But, hey, we’re getting there, right?

So if we need to be told to live in the now and that means that most of us are not living in the now moment, then where exactly are we? In our thoughts about the now, of course. Or, our thoughts about the “now” that happened two years ago, or the “now” that happened two hours ago, or even the “now” that may or may not happen five years from, well, now. For many, an entire life can happen all inside of their head.

“There is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem.”-Unknown

Addiction is undoubtedly something that has plagued our society. It seems you can’t really go anywhere and find someone who has not been affected in one way or another by it. Whether it be, ourselves, that has struggled with it or a family or friend, everyone who has been in touch with the monster of addiction can agree on one thing… it isn’t easy to overcome.

Addiction comes in varying degrees, from the person who can’t quite throw out the cigarettes once and for all to the person who is spending their last dollar trying to get their next fix. And it is the various shades of gray in between these two extremes that most people find themselves. Unfortunately, many people believe that they would have to be lying in an alley way with a needle hanging out of their arm before they would be willing to admit they were addicted to something.

“Whatever you are physically…male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy–all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” ~ Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

Throughout life, other people, and even yourself, will expect things from you. This may be a role, a stage in life, career choices, etc. But the only person who ultimately decides these things, is you. And the person who it needs to be good for is you as well. The problem occurs when you are not sure. Either because you don’t know yourself enough to know what’s right for you, or if other people’s voices get muddled with yours, leaving you not knowing which way is up.

“Enlightenment is bringing a state of meditativeness into the smallest acts of your day to day life in it’s expression of grace, harmony, balance, beauty, each and every movement of the body, each and every act… do it totally perfectly, harmoniously, with your total attention and love and you will see that your deepest center starts connecting to each and every act of yours. This is how you bring the Buddha to your life.” ~ Osho

Ok, so we’ve all heard by now that we should be meditating. Doctors and medical professionals in the west are now recognizing it for it’s healing properties and calming effects on the body. However, what many people may not know is that you don’t actually have to “meditate” to meditate. Meaning… you don’t technically have to sit cross legged, with palms facing up chanting “ommmmmmm” in a room of complete silence in order to get the health benefits of a meditation practice.

This is good news for a lot of people, especially since a big part of the population have either never tried meditation, because it still just seems too weird, or have tried it and were able to do it for a minute or two before their pesky little mind stepped and said, “ok, this is getting too weird/boring/out there…. I need to stop.” So don’t feel bad if you are part of the population that doesn’t seem to be able to grasp this whole meditation thing.

“In the beginning you will fall into the gaps in between thoughts – after practicing for years, you become the gap.” ~ J. Kleykamp

There is a creative state, or ingenious space, that can be achieved during meditation where our inner genius is free to emerge between the gaps of our thoughts; where creative ideas, or even ideas that have yet to be imagined, have the potential to be born. It’s a place where “flow states” are conceived; where we become a microcosm giving into a greater creative macrocosm.

When we fall into these cosmic gaps, the entire universe is at our fingertips, at the tips of our pens and paintbrushes, and the floundering baby genius within us begins to thrash and splash about in preparation for its original dance –its unique contribution to the human leitmotif.

Discovering the gap between genius and non-genius
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

“I teach you the Overman. Man is something that shall be overcome. What have you done to overcome him?… Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman –a rope over an abyss. What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end.” That’s repeated for affect. The human condition is not, nor has it ever been, a fixed state. It is perpetually evolving, even when it seems to be at rest, even when it seems to be stagnant. We are not the be-all-end-all of human evolution. There will always be a next step, a next level. And it is up to us, to a certain extent, if that next level will be healthy and robust or unhealthy and weak.

The Übermensch, or overman, is Nietzsche’s multicultural vision of human excellence, his meta-ontological elite. On an individual level, the overman is the healthy and robust adaptation of a person who consistently practices the art of self-overcoming. Such an individual has learned how to translate their multi-fractured self into a multifunctional force of nature. Self-actualized, fully individuated, and doggedly able to adapt and overcome the path toward enlightenment, these masters are prepared to take on all comers.

“It is the job of the spine to keep the brain alert. The moment the spine collapses, the brain collapses.” ~ B.K.S. Iyenger

A building without a strong foundation is bound to collapse. Similarly, a body without a healthy spine is headed for a downfall – it leads to illness, inflexibility and stress. The spine is responsible for the energy anatomy of the body, form and functions. Without the spinal cord it is impossible for us to function even for a second.

The head, the torso and the legs, are all functioning in coordination with the brain, due to a healthy spine. The nerve endings in the vertebrae are connected to different body parts and any damage to the spine can affect the respective body part, resulting in paralysis or other problems.

“So, spine is one dimension of you, which determines which direction you go. How your spine is functioning; how the energies in your spine are functioning right now determines almost everything about where you go.” ~ Sadhguru

The seat of major energy meridians, chakras and neurons, the Spinal cord defines the quality of our lives. In a mother’s womb, the spine is the first thing that is formed and then the body, limbs etc takes root.

From a physical point of view the spinal column is an important channel for all the bodily stimuli that are transferred via the nerves to the brain. It is part of our central nervous system along with the brain. But also on a spiritual level, the spine is the source of all our energy. It is where the three major energy channels or nadis in our body lie.