62. Where does the will to live come from and can it be taught?

The will to live comes from our connection to the animal kingdom. From there we inherit all of our base traits and the instinct to survive is at our root consciousness. From that instinct we also get our sex drive, that is our ‘will to live’ on a humanity/species level. There are animals that instinctively go to their death at certain times, but only humans can contemplate suicide (because it requires an ego to define the “I” in ‘I don’t want to live.’ etc.)

I would say that the ‘will to live’ can be an obstacle to enlightenment but it is the foundation of the enlightened person. My catalyst for my experience of enlightenment was a ‘pushing away’ from existence. Furthermore, it is difficult to detach from everyday reality when you are attached to it through a desire of ‘how things are,’ based on an un-enlightened perspective. After my experience I regained my will to live through a better understanding of what ‘living’ actually is.

Yes, the will to live can be taught and learned. I believe that the best way to do this is by teaching/learning appreciation. We should appreciate our opportunity to be living. Only in a ‘living’ state do we have the ability to change who we are (and others). In between lives, without the existence of time, no change can take place. Without a living body, the senses are not experienced. We should rejoice in life :-)

61. How do you think the impossible becomes possible?

I believe that the key to making the seemingly impossible, possible, is by defining as few things impossible as is logical. In fact, the act of defining something as 'impossible' actually makes that thing less likely to happen then if one defines it as 'possible'.

I have seen and been a part of a few seemingly impossible things. In the two incidences that come to mind, in which I did something incredible, I didn't question their possibility during the moment of execution. I believe in mind over matter, that physical 'limitations' can be overcome by a strong focus of will. I believe that we all have the ability to levitate, for instance. The reason that acts like levitation are difficult to execute is because our minds have 'picked up' so many conflicting thought patterns like, 'the law of gravity' or 'seeing is believing.' We have all seen an item fall to the ground but few of us have seen someone levitate, so it's difficult for us to counterbalance our doubts and truly believe that we can do it.

I'm constantly correcting my sub-conscious by defining things as possible, as that is the first step in making those things possible.

60: How do you act when encountering a person you've forgiven in your heart, but they don't know that?

As a general rule, you should let the person know that you have forgiven them, if they seek forgiveness. If they are not looking for forgiveness, than telling them that they are forgiven will mostly likely not be received well. It’s just like preaching to someone that isn’t asking you anything. It may seem that you are being judgmental or patronizing, even if you have the greatest of intentions. Of course I’m not insinuating that we base our action completely on how others will receive them. If the relationship is valuable to you, and the person is not seeking forgiveness, you should explain to that person why they should be seeking it and why you have already forgiven them. It’s up to you to control the boundaries in your life. When you bump into this person there is no reason not to be friendly. If you don’t know any better way, then begin by treating them how you would be treated. One thing though is this: if you put your hand in your neighbors snake cage and the snake bites you, you don’t kill it… you forgive it. Just because you have forgiven it doesn’t mean you should put your hand back in the cage though.:-)

59:Do you prefer to wait for "what goes around comes around" or act without proper consideration?

I don’t believe that the saying, “what goes around comes around” necessarily insinuates waiting. I believe in living my life based on the ‘go around’ or based on my actions, and than using the results or the “come around” to modify my actions. Then, if when I modify my actions, the results are still not desired, I reevaluate my actions again. The key is in knowing when you are forcing something against nature and when you are going with the flow of it. That’s why decisions should not be based purely on logic but also on feeling. If you decide to do something and you feel that it’s wrong, don’t use your mind to justify it, it’s wrong! If you feel a certain way about something, use logic to figure out a solution, then determine how your solution feels. If you keep making these adjustments, you will make better initial decisions and adapt better to change.

The second part of the question.. As far as putting things in motion vs. thinking them through: don’t set things in motion without thinking about them, if you have the time. You should do both, feel AND think before you act, balanced. (in martial arts you must act knowing, not thinking – in life there are also time of ‘knowing’ but in general one should assume not to ‘know’ so that they can keep there ideas flexible and unattached to ego.) Again, thinking can only get you so far especially since we seldom have enough facts to make a purely logic based decision, feelings can lead to plans based on a fleeting emotion. Balance my friend.

58: What is your take on people who appear to be making money selling a path to enlightenment?(other than a book)

I believe that anyone who has attained enlightenment understands that it can’t be bought, sold, or given away, for that matter. Also, attaining enlightenment does not guarantee someone’s character because people can change.

This is a very complex question so I think I’ll use myself as an example: I believe that I’m blessed to have had my experience of enlightenment, out of appreciation I sacrifice some of my time to share what I have found out. The amount of time that I have to spend sharing/helping/answering questions is limited because I need an income in order to support myself. It turns out that I like this kind of work much more than I like my ‘regular’ job. If I were to make money by answering questions, I would be able to dedicate my life to it, thereby having more time to express positive influence.

Personally, I rather make my work available to everyone for free via my blog, because how can I sell something that was given to me? I will make the first book available in April, and I will charge money but will leave the same content up on my blog.

One way I may sell a path to enlightenment could be an instructional video about meditation. It makes sense to me that I should be able to charge money for such work especially since people with fitness videos charge money for their product. All of this is fine up to the point when I say, “If you want to reach enlightenment like I did, pick up my meditation video.” Then I would be using my influence to manipulate an audience into believing a false claim for personal material gain. That goes against everything that I believe in. However, if I were to say, “Meditation can help you attain enlightenment, pick up my video for tips on meditation.” That would be fine because I wouldn’t be making a false claim.

Putting money in front of the truth is counter to experiencing enlightenment. Being able to support yourself, while helping others in their journey, is a blessing.

57: I feel that sometimes I can be too sensitive and need to develop a thicker skin - how do I go about doing this?

I’m also a very sensitive person and I asked myself the same question for years, up until very recently. The answer is that instead of trying to reduce your sensitivity, you should manage any potential negativity that was brought about from it. Think of an instrument, it’s value is based on it’s level of sensitivity (of course we are more then mere instruments and I’m not trying to say that a sensitive person is more valuable than an insensitive one.. I’m attempting to show the value in sensitivity itself).

One technique in managing sensitivity is by not taking things personally. For example: there is no reason to be hurt when the person at the deli is annoyed with you, after working ten hours and having their co-worker call out sick. When people lash out in a negative way, it’s about who they are, not about who you are. You will never be able to control how other people act or react, you will only be able to control your own actions. It will take time before knowing this will be doing this.

Sensitivity is an instrument that is used to feel both the ups and the downs of life. I agree with Buddhist philosophy in that to experience happiness is to experience sorrow and vice-versa. I know from life experience that attempting to deny negative feelings results in the loss of those opposite positive feelings. They are connected like the yin and yang in a circle. I’m not hear to tell anyone how to live their life, but I will tell you that, what I have mentioned is the sacrifice for denying sensitivity. To answer your question objectively I would say that you develop “thicker skin” by becoming less happy with the smaller joys. One variable that I try to take advantage of is ‘point of focus.’ Not all things need to be addressed at all times. If there is an aspect about something that makes you unhappy you can switch focus. When you re-apply focus to that subject, you will still have to balance out your feelings but the time between should help you manage them.

Imagine being completely insensitive. Would you want to live like that? Now rejoice in your sensitivity. The reality is, our incarnations are very short and we are here to create and witness the universe. That witnessing is across all of our emotions. Embrace your sensitivity but don’t let it rule your emotions. Allow yourself feeling, but understand that at the end of the day, God/the Universe has your back!!

56: How do you feel about the saying "Words are cheap"?

I can’t say that that statement means the same thing to everyone, so if I say that I 100% agree, I may not be expressing how I feel. That’s one of the difficulties with communicating certain words/names (like God) and phrases (like ‘words are cheap’); they likely are attached to a strong definition that is subjective based i.e. different for everyone.

This is how I define what a word is: Words are a tool for communicating ideas. But words are greatly limited. Can you describe to me the flavor of an apple? Will everyone describe it with the same words? As a matter of fact, can you describe to yourself the flavor of an apple? If it is difficult for us to use words to describe our own thoughts to ourselves, think about the difficulty in using them to communicate to others! In fact, that’s why I can’t just answer your question with, “yes!”

I think that “words are cheap,” is similar to “easier said then done,” and that they are both trying to state, and what I believe is: that it’s one thing to say something, and another to do something. I don’t like either phrase though. “Words are cheap,” to me comes off too negative because words are our main form of communication. That’s not to mention that words are extremely powerful, both written and spoken. The phrase, “easier said then done,” to me is also inaccurate because I believe that the ratio of ‘knowing’ (knowing is like saying) to ‘doing’ is equal – try to ‘do something’ without ‘knowing’ what it is. If someone fails, did they fail in the ‘doing’ or the ‘knowing’?

I believe we need to always aspire to something that is greater than our current state. The idea of how to better our selves comes first, to describe it transfers the idea into words, and the words then need to become actions in order for them to be of value aka not “cheap!”