I found myself rephrasing this age-old Shakespearean quote a few days ago when I was in the midst of some inner-looking type of work involving this entire topic of the 'I'.

It might be necessary to start off with saying that I'm not purporting to discuss the 'I' type of I that we're all used to. I'm taking about the 'I' of existence.

Hmmmmm......

Let me start over, hopefully more clearly this time.

These are both aspects of a topic that one could be led to wonder why on earth would one even want to use any electrons of cyberspace to explain what this is all about. After all, isn't it obvious? Duh.

I am here, being. I can 'be' all day long. I be.

What is unclear or needs to be discussed in the context of an insight with this topic, right?

Well, for me, this topic is at the core of an area of my life that I'm learning a lot about and having some somewhat befuddling experiences about, so it seems appropriate to share what this appears to be all about, in the context of helping readers of these e-words, and perhaps even others who have had similar experiences but didn't quite know what to do with them.

Let me elaborate.

You see, Shakespeare's quote about not being, or not to be, in my opinion is rather ludicrous, at best. How can one not 'be'? We are being. We are humans being. All day long we are stuck with being. Even if we don't want to be, we are still being.

There is never not a moment when we are not being. Can you tell when you're not being? Can you ever have a moment of not being? Is it possible to have a moment of not being and then not know that one is not being? Is that even a possibility?

So, how is it that the question is about one's ability 'to be or not to be'. I don't think we have a choice in the matter. We are humans. Being.

Period.

One can think that they aren't being, but they still are. One can desire to not be, but if they're still desiring, then they're being. One can want to not be, but if they're still wanting, they're being. It's pretty rudimentary, at best.

Now, the topic of 'to I or not to I', that is a whole other rhetorical question. And, it's a question that is very apropos for this current time we've been thrusting through. And, it's a question deserving a proper dissecting and contextual discussion.

Can you ever say to yourself 'I am not here'? Can you ever say to yourself that 'I am not I'? Can I not be I?

How can one not be what one thinks one is? One is thinking one is, so one is that which one thinks, right?

I am what I am.

I am I.

I am.

I.

At first glance this all seems rather simplistic and still not worth discourse, but let's see where I can take us with this discussion of 'I'. Pardon the pun.

We would all agree that we're all being. When we are here, we are being. We can be. That is what we 'do': we be.

There's no questioning about that. It's a pretty obvious unconditional fact of existence: being. The fact that we exist is the concrete, definable, incontrovertible proof that we 'be'. We are being.

Now, do we have unconditional proof that we are the 'I' that we think we are and take ourselves to be? Do we know where this 'I' is situated in our self?

Do you where 'I' is in you? Is it even in you? Is it outside of you somewhere? Can you pinpoint it? Have you even thought about this to-date?

When I posed these, and other, questions to myself I found myself coming up with the only answer that made sense. The 'I' is the mind. The 'I' isn't a thing, per se, it's a conglomeration of thoughts in the mind.

Pretty out-there, eh?

But, that's not the gist of this sharing. The focus here is that this I is something that isn't what we are, truly.

How so? And why not?

Well, didn't we agree before that we are humans, being? We are creatures of being. We have proof: we exist. That is what we are first and foremost. Beings being. Beings. That's pretty simple to agree with.

What happens after that?

The 'I' enters the picture. I am a man. I am a mother. I am a brother. I am poor. I am a president. I am serious. I am fun. I am hairy. I am introspective. I am (fill in the blank). I am. I am. I am. The list is truly endless.

We are whatever series of 'I's we are telling ourselves that we are as we go through our days on this physical plane.

But, in spite of the fact that we do this, and in spite of the fact that this I-ing comes in after the fact of being, does it make it anymore true and what we are?

Of course it does: to our mind. To the sense of I that we have glommed on to when very young children and hold dearly with clutched fists throughout our life till death do we part.

It's not a pretty picture, as we're all too familiar with.

So, what is this all about? Well, do we want to 'I' or do we not want to 'I'. Can we begin to see the many I's that are in each of us and then allow ourselves to begin to experience the being of the moment when any particular I is present? Why?

Again, because that is our true essence. That is truly what we are.

And why do this, even? Well, does your many, many I's bring suffering along with them? Do you suffer over being a man, a mother, a brother, being poor or serious or the many other I's you know you assume and take on during your days?

Do you ever question if there is a different manner of being with the many moments of existence you are having? If so, this is a way to that.

To be or not to be. That is the question? No.

Again, to me, to I or not to I. That truly is the only question worthy of consideration.

Now what is your answer?

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

If you logged into my computer, you would see the large number of articles that I started to write during the past five years, but didn't finish. You see, halfway through writing many articles, articles which I considered to be very timely, insightful, and well-written, I just stopped writing and didn't finish these articles. Why? Because they were absolute garbage. Crap.

Oh, I know some of you might be thinking that the ones that I DO post are just that, but that's fodder for another time.

Regardless, let me attempt to clarify what it is I'm trying to impart via this 5th anniversary insight article.

These unfinished articles are being created by the mind. That is, the part of 'me' that isn't having the insights in the first place. The mind is but a repository for the memory of the insight. It's not the creator of the opening which the insight occurred within.

All the mind can create are thoughts, and external creations and objects. The mind can't create insights. Insights are graced upon an individual when the mind is not being focused on.

Analogously, it's as if the mental clouds part and the light is allowed to shine down upon the ground and shower the area with brightness and clarity.

When I first started this blog five years ago, it was being written from a place of mental thought. And that quickly changed whereas now it's mainly being written from a part of me that is very quiet, silent, and full of clarity and free-flowing connection with what is.

Is this something that I'm creating? No. It's something that I'm allowing.

It's in all of us. It's in me, I know that for a fact. It's also in you, and perhaps you've known it when you've had those moments that simply caused your mind to just stop dead in its tracks. Akin to having it shut up, or as I've heard people sometimes say - "I had a brain fart".

That's a very apropos way of stating the obvious. The thought was expelled and room was made in the space previously holding the thought. Of course, the space was there all along, but now it is purely empty. Void of anything, and so simple clarity of presence is seen and experienced.

It's truly a wonderful way to approach life. Doing what one can to accumulate as many of these times of clarity and insight as one can. They are so pure. They are so full of peace, and fun to boot.

Like anything in life: what's occurring is what is meant to be occurring. It's when life comes at us from a perspective that we weren't planning on that we do all that we can to stop it from happening.

But, it's already happening. It already happened. It already occurred. And yet we want it to be different than what it is.

This is akin to my experience with my insights blog. I thought that there would be an absolute potpourri of things that I would find myself wanting to write about. Absolute hundreds and hundreds of articles and all written on such a multitude of topics that it would be a labor of love over the years.

Has it become that? No. Not by a long shot.

Instead, I've just gone with what presence wants me to write each month.

As I sit here typing away on the keyboard and keeping my eyes closed so that I can focus on allowing the words to flow out of me, it becomes clear that there hasn't been a 'me' writing this blog during almost the entire past five years, but this still, silent presence inside of me.

I know, I know, this is sounding pretty esoteric. And this is correct.

This is not something that is commonly related to during our days in the world. Even when alone. This space of presence is something that doesn't need to think to know what needs to be shared to be seen.

It just shares. It just knows. It just sees. It just is.

It doesn't need to want to figure out what it needs to write so that it is clear, because it is simple clarity itself.

It truly is a simple and amazing place to be opening up to and sharing with others. Or at least doing one's best to share, and still failing miserably, as I am prone to experiencing with these articles.

But, nevertheless, this is what is so beneficial for me. So selfishly beneficial for me. Every time I sit down and begin plinking away on the keyboard to put words to computer screen I find myself entering this place of presence that opens up to me and allows me to exist in this space of peace and wonder and absolute simplicity.

And then I open my eyes and stare at what was just revealed and expressed as best it could be. So, this really isn't 'my blog'. It's a space that one opens and another, or many, enter and a subsequent sharing occurs. An experience is created, and all are touched deeply or lightly, or not at all.

There is a space in each of us that continues to read the words of others because we think that something they share will impart something upon us that will help us understand what it is that we're seeking to understand or find out. But, when the words are such that they elicit a feeling inside of the reader, that reader knows that that resonance occurred that allowed them to not just know, but to experience that resonance.

Sometimes it's known as "What the hell was that?" or "I don't understand what the dude is writing, he's weird". They're all the same thing. They're all creating an understanding, an experiencing of sorts that is resonating with the reader, you, at some level inside. Or not. And even that is a resonance in and of itself.

This whole act of writing is truly wonderful in that it allows a world to be created via these things called letters and words and then an opening inside the reader of these things called letters and words. In my case, the particular insights that have been written about during the past five years have caused people to wonder, mostly, what the heck it is that I'm trying to impart.

But, the rare few do understand because that resonance, and maybe even a similar insight, occurs revolving around what was attempted to be imparted to cause that internal opening to occur.

It's really not that complicated, but it is something wonderful to experience. Especially when the writing and the sharing is occurring from the place of presence inside. The mind can go about and create so many amazing and wondrous descriptions of so many beautiful images and concepts. But the place in each of us that lives as presence and causes insights is truly something that is not creating what is experienced.

Rather, it's revealing what already is.

That's why it's so powerful, or scary, depending upon the ability of the person experiencing the opening to allow what is occurring to transpire.

Being able to share from this free-flowing place and doing one's best to make the sharing in such a way that it is helpful to others is something that I've found that I enjoy doing during the past five years of writing this web-log. I know that sometimes my words take a second read to understand what was attempted to be relayed, as I sometimes don't do the best effort of relaying via my writing what is being felt and experienced and living inside.

But when the feeling, the experience, the presence, and the descriptive words are synchronized with the person on the receiving end of the writing spectrum and then married as one, then the true impact and meaning of the insight is experienced and known.

And, to me, that is why I do this. That is why the title of this blog is 'insights'. That is why it is subtitled '...from material to spiritual ...and everything in-between.'

Because it is about everything. And nothing. And that's all. That's the insight.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

Depending upon the person, myself included, this can be a pretty disconcerting experience. Sometimes it's most enjoyable to view and experience, and other times it's downright depressing. It all depends upon the state of mind at the time. And, the desire or ability to actually allow the feeling to just be, without covering it up with some vague thought, description, or misplaced desire.

I've written about this before but I feel compelled to write about this subject again. I think that this keeps coming up for me and the sharings of this blog of mine because it's something that is particular to all of us, and especially for those who stay aware of the machinations of the inside of the shell of the body, i.e. the mind.

Now, I'm not talking about perception, but rather the inner sensation and feelings that are present which cloud the actual perception of the present moment: the here, the now.

A case in point is the recent personal perception of discontentment that I find myself experiencing. It's not about anything in particular, just about life and existence in general. It's not something that jumps out at me to make itself glaringly obvious, but it's there in my perception of everything during my waking hours, nonetheless.

Let me explain in more details, as I don't think I'm being clear in my sharing.

Have you ever been in a situation that you weren't able to figure out and so you become frustrated and perhaps emotional due to the uncertainty of that situation? Say, something is happening to you or you're involved in some circumstance that perhaps is not to your doing and yet you're not able to remove yourself from that undertaking.

Depending upon the severity of the circumstance you're caught up in, the associated feelings can become rather overwhelming and then begin to taint the perception of what is actually occurring, both outside of you, and inside.

Eventually, the perception of the actuality of what 'is' becomes colored with the perception, and subsequently, the actuality becomes the perception in essence. The actuality of what is isn't perceived differently from the perception. They're now seen as one thing.

The clarity of the actuality of what is is lost to the perception. And then one acts and reacts from that perception, thinking that they're in relationship with what is, but in actuality they're in relationship with their own perception that the actual event was but the initial cause.

Imagine that someone does something to you and this is something that is, in essence, harmless and basically non-impacting overall. You're not physically hurt, just emotionally, or mentally. Your ego is bruised, so to speak.

Once this occurs your mind comes up with all kinds of personalized perceptions of what the actual event was, based on your history and personal happenings to-date. The actual actions of that other become laced with your personalized perception. Then you react from that perception and base your action on what you have now decided is what happened to you.

You are now a victim of yourself, if you are doing that.

Or, to be more clear about this: you're victimizing yourself and you're your own worst enemy at times like this.

You've now become the one who is perpetrating the pain that you perceive is happening to you, and that you're seeing occurring to you and towards you.

And yet, it all started with just a slight misalignment of your perception of what was being perceived and then translated into what was being seen with the mind's eye.

But, it doesn't have to be this way. I know that we all think that we know what is happening is actually what is happening. But, as you can see, if you'll reread what was written above, that the truth of this sequence of events is consistently expressed throughout our days.

Now, mind you, this is not always about so-called 'bad feelings' like jealousy, or victim-hood, or anger, hatred, frustration and gloom. No.

It can also be about 'good feelings' like joy, elation, happiness, comfort, contentment, and seriousness. I know these are not all feelings, per se, but you get my point. And, these may not even be perceived as good by some. They might be seen as undesirable, depending upon the temperament of the person doing the feeling.

I find it rather coincidental that recently I've come across multiple readings and discussions and events in my life to support and clarify this happening of events inside each of us each day. We're all trying to figure out what feelings are okay to feel, and what feelings are to be avoided, because they're perceived as undesirable or bad, so to speak.

Some will tell us that we shouldn't worry about any feelings, as we're focusing on the wrong part of the occurrence. Some tell us that we shouldn't focus on anything that is occurring in the occurrence, both inside and outside of us.

Other's state that we're not even what is occurring, we're merely a vessel through which everything passes.

Personally, I like the words that one of my favorite inner development teachers, Vernon Howard, shared during a talk way back in 1987:

"You must believe nothing; you must know everything. So right now, you can begin to know something that is both startling and very edifying - esoterically educational. And here it is, given to you very directly. It doesn't make any difference at all how you feel. It doesn't make any difference whether you're happy or unhappy, depressed, or elated, excited or bored. I am telling you something that you don't know quite how to take yet and understand, but take it as a fact. Just do that much, and you can do that.

There is nothing more important for your spiritual growth than for you to know that you are not your feeling."

But, when one is a victim of their perception, their feelings, and their thoughts, does any of this matter? Well, only if it is remembered and the dynamic that is occurring which is individual to the person in the midst of the occurrence is being seen for what it is.

You see, getting away from potentially being so obtuse about this sharing: we're doing this victimization to ourselves.

First we're creating the perception of what is happening, and then we're labelling what that perception is. It doesn't matter what that labelling is: what feeling or sensation it is that we tell ourselves we're in the midst of. We're all just being our own worst victim by participating in this victim mentality dynamic as we do. We're simply doing the worst thing for ourselves that we could be doing.

So, what is it that we could be doing that would be more supportive of our true needs? Well, for starters, we could begin to see that we're not what we label ourselves at that moment. This too doesn't need particular identification with consideration of the many expressions that are possible through the many iterations that we go through during our days. We don't need to concern ourselves with whether what we're feeling is 'good' or 'bad' or 'right' or 'wrong'.

We simply need to know that when we're in this intimate victim-centric dynamic with ourselves that we're being a victim of our personalized handling and interpretation of this event.

So, simply: stop.

Stop everything. And, I mean everything, including the victim mentality dance that occurs inside.

Do you really stop it though? No, you can't, not right now. But you can take steps toward the stopping.

How? Well, like was just written: stop. And then replace the stopping with seeing.

You see, you first have to see what is occurring before you can know when it is occurring, especially in instances such as this. You need to know that this is occurring, again, and then you stop with anything further regarding the occurring. Now, I don't mean, necessarily that you stop whatever it is that you're involved in. And, hopefully, that this isn't something hurtful to yourself or to others.

But, in the midst of the occurring you simply stop and look at yourself. See what is occurring.

That's it. That's all for now. That's all you really can do right now to change the dynamic of the event, the perception, and the labelling. Until that is seen, when it is occurring, the victim-based behavior won't change.

When it is seen, then it will be being viewed from a different vantage point. From a place in you that is brought into the event that wasn't a part of the event previously. This fresh looking brings an observation of the event that has the capability to actually wipe clean the slate that the event was written on and continued to be played out from.

This can work with anything - any event, as long as one is able to first see that being a victim of their self is not in their best interest at times like this.

Easy? No. But do-able over time.

As Mr. Howard said, "...you are not your feeling."

One can see this and also choose to not be a victim of their feelings, past, and perceptions.

Simply see the dynamic of the victim mentality in yourself and you'll stop being a victim of yourself.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

(Casey, thank you for the insight :-)

But, the ability to effectively and coherently share with my friends what just happened was actually the gist of this insight itself. Continue reading, as I'll share what I mean.

Insights of any kind, or in the example I'm about to share, can come about either because of some sort of serendipitous experience, or through what is perceived as accident. Sometimes insights can come about through diligent effort prior to the insight, and then appear when not expected, as a result of the prior effort.

The gist of the movie is the developing and deepening relationship a young college student has with a much older man, whom the student considers to be as mystical as he is annoying at times, as the man becomes a mentor and teacher to the student. The scene in the movie that has particular relevance to this insight is when the older man asks the young fellow what he sees 'going on' as they both look across a park teeming with activity during a beautiful afternoon at a local university. The student replies "There's nothing going on."

Of course, the older man wants to teach the student a lesson so he stands behind the young man and does this Vulcan neck pinch type of hold on him so that the student experiences a very different type of outlook from the one that he revealed via his answer to the older man's question. The student then sees that there are innumerable activities occurring, he just isn't paying enough attention to notice them. Essentially, he's too busy staying inside of his mind to notice what's going on outside of his body.

But, back to my insight from the other night.

My friends and I were discussing many things, but what stayed with me was the discussion on the interplay between people as they relate to one another. We all know how this goes. Something is occurring outside of us, in some manner of situation or event, be it a relationship or a viewing, and this causes activity to occur inside of us.

What would this interior activity be? Feelings, sensation, thoughts, responses.

Now, here's where this all gets good, at least I thought so the other night.

As a corollary to the description of events from the movie I watched, consider that there is not just nothing going on, but that there is nothing going on outside of us.

Think about this.

There's nothing going on outside of us. Everything is occurring inside of us. There is never anything occurring outside of us. It's all an inside job.

What does all this mean? Well, we all pretty much experience this every day of our existence. We all know what this means as this is what occurs all the time with each of us.

And, in fact, I'll bet that many of you don't even think that what I'm imparting here is even worthy of your time to read this article. So, let me attempt to go deeper.

We all know what it's like to be in relationship with someone or some thing, right? We all know what it's like when something happens in the relating that creates a feeling inside of us, as a response to that exterior occurrence.

Well, think of what we do, generally, with the experience.

Something happens in that relating and we feel something inside and then we attempt to make that inner experience an outer one. How? Well, we express our inside sensations, especially if they are part of the whole potpourri of feelings we have, and we attempt to drag whoever is 'responsible' for these inner sensations into our experience.

"She did that to me."

"It's his fault."

"You did this."

"I'm mad at you because you blah blah blah...."

"You did that and I feel this."

The list is endless how we attempt this task of roping others into our personal experience. And, we all know this.

Hitting it from another angle, think about it this way. You have a conflict with another person, say, your partner in life. That person and you argue about something and you find yourself getting angry over the discussion.

What happens then? You argue more and you express your anger and anger-based viewpoint as you argue.

Now, we all know what happens after that: generally, the other person argues back and expresses their anger at you. You want that person to see your side of the argument, and she wants you to see her basis for arguing.

And, essentially, what is occurring here as the two of you argue? Well, you both want to bring the other into your personalized experience.

"I'm mad because you blah blah blah and I want you to see it the way I experienced it."

We all know that dance.

We feel some sensation inside and then we want to bring whomever is responsible for that sensation into the same experience of the sensation. We want them to take on that sensation as we are experiencing it. We want to 'bring them into us.'

If we're angry, we want them to feel/go through/know our anger. If we're sad we want them to feel our sadness. If we're excited, we want them to know what our excitement feels like.

We are doing all that we can to make what's only occurring inside of us, an outside occurrence. But, it isn't possible.

Can we feel anger and have someone else truly experience what it is that we're feeling? No.

Can we experience the utmost excitement and joy and truly have it become a part of another's experience? Actually, no.

Can we experience anything inside of us and have any other person actually experience the exact same experience? Never.

Does this sound too elementary for you? Maybe. But, think about this at depth.

Think how many times each and every day you go to great lengths to get other people to share your experiences. And what are these 'experiences'? Well, simply, what is occurring in you.

Can you truly externalize these experiences? You can try.

You can speak about them.

You can write about them.

You can yell about them.

You can smile about them.

You can physically express them.

But, they're still only occurring inside of you. Oh, yes, there's a lot of them, all day long. But, they're still only occurring inside of you. They'll never be occurring outside of you.

Can you create an event outside of you that reflects what is occurring inside of you? Sure.

That's why we argue, make babies, and have wars throughout existence. We want the inner to become the outer so we don't have to go it alone and feel lonely throughout our existence.

We want to somehow find a way to share what is occurring inside of us with the world. Even if the world at the moment is that person standing in front of you as you angrily spew spit in their face, or share tears of joy as you laugh while describing that funny thing you experienced the other day.

It's all really amazing to me this aspect of every one of us. True, there is never nothing going on outside of us. But contrastingly, there is always so, so much going on inside of us, yet never anything occurring outside of us.

Now, I know this seems contradictory and doesn't make sense as all you have to do is look around the space you're in as you read these words, or feel the weight of your body on the chair you're sitting on or ground you're standing on, and you have proof of this seemingly contradictory insight I'm sharing.

But, you do know that no matter how much you scrunch up your eyes and tell yourself there's no place like home and you then wish things differently, you are never, ever, whatsoever going to be able to truly have anyone else experience what you do. Period.

They may know it.

They may know something similar to what you're sharing with them.

They may think they know what you mean or are talking about.

But, truly, it's not the same and it never will be.

You can never externalize what is inside of you. You are traveling this existential path in life alone throughout time. It's your experience and yours only. No one else can share it. No one else can genuinely be brought into your experiences of Life. It's yours alone.

Can you attempt the contrary? Sure.

Can you 'argue till the cows come home' (whatever that saying implies)? Yes.

Will it work? No.

So, how can this insight be of help to you? Well, with reference to the fact that 'there is never anything occurring outside of you', you can herein stop many useless efforts to bring anything outside of you into what you're experiencing.

Think of the energy and effort that will remain yours as you stop this. Think of how many arguments you'll be saved from participating in and/or trying to convince that other person of 'your side' of the argument.

Think of the positive impact you'll have in your experiences as you stop holding anyone or anything outside of you responsible for what you're feeling inside. Think of the magnitude of just that one outcome. It's truly staggering.

You'll stop trying to get others to see your viewpoint, and your side of things. And, instead, you'll just be experiencing what you're experiencing and you'll be focusing on that without making useless efforts to externalize the internal.

You'll just be there, as you already are. No embellishments, no attempts to vacuum up others into your miasma of inner sensations. It'll all just stop.

And what will be the salient result of all this? You'll learn about life from another perspective.

You'll be there...alone. As you always already were. But now you'll know it. Now you'll experience it. By yourself. With your Self. As it should be. As it is.

Remember: you already know, now you merely have to see what already is occurring all the time inside of you. It's all an inside job, always has been.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

There are several ways to think about the meaning of these words, most of them personalized, and based on our individual experiences of such an occurrence as a life-flowing situation. However, these may not necessarily be what I'm meaning when I reference going with the flow of life.

What I'm meaning is the actual flow of events that occur for each of us every moment of our existence on this physical plane. Life is all one seamless flow. It is a flow of moments that are strung together into a tapestry that begins when the body is born and ends when the physical body ceases and the mind dissolves into the void.

Think about this at length, if you can.

Think about how we humans use time, days, plannings, meetings, beginnings, endings, thoughts, desires, denials, all for the intended purpose of sectionalizing and segmenting our lives into manageable chunks that are more easily digestible and palatable, depending upon our own abilities at the time to consume what occurs in front of us.

I remember many years ago very clearly and routinely experiencing the days of the week as distinctly separate events and individualized days that each had their own flavor, so to speak. I remember a time in my life when Mondays felt so different and uniquely distinct from Fridays, and the weekend Saturdays and Sundays felt palpably different again. It was as if each day was calling for a different relationship to occur with it, depending upon its placement within the week. And, I bought into that perceived calling.

I used to feel somewhat heavy and depressed on Mondays because it was the start of the (work) week here in North America. And I felt elated on Fridays because it was the end of the (work) week and the beginning of the weekend, and the fun of not having to work. Each day of the week felt different and I found myself having a lighter relationship with each day, as the week progressed, and the weekend approached. Monday was the beginning, and the heaviest, and the weekend days were the lightest.

Needless to say, this was not the best way to go about relating to life and the flow of occurrences that were being brought to me at that time.

I know that I'm not alone in this manner of thinking that I had at the time. I've heard, and I imagine we've all heard people at one time or another exclaim "Thank God it's Friday!", right? People are living for the weekend, and in the meantime not seeing the flow of occurrences and being with that flow.

Let me explain more about what I'm particularly meaning about the flow of life.

I experienced several brief occurrences, recently, where the idea of time just stopped. It simply wasn't present. That's not to say that everything stopped for me: just the inner experiencing of this human-derived concept of this thing called 'time'.

What actually occurred these few times was that I found myself waking up and moving around my bedroom so as to get dressed in the a.m. and I clearly felt that it wasn't 'the next day'.

It wasn't 'the morning'.

It wasn't the 'early a.m. after a night of sleep'.

It just was what it was.

That is, another occurrence in the seamless flow of my existence, one that was carried over from the previous 'day' to the current 'day', that I was awakening from.

It was as if time had stopped and I was able to see that the flow of life was just one continuous and seamless flow from daylight to darkness and back to daylight again. It wasn't a segmenting into separation of 'days', it was just a flow of existence throughout the moments that I was awake, asleep, and then awake again. Light was gone, darkness came, sleep arrived, and wakefulness appeared.

I know that this might be sounding rather heady and intellectual, or perhaps even 'out there', to some of you. But, perhaps some of you even have had similar experiences and know what I'm being referential about.

You see, I bring this up to evidence a fact of life that we almost never are aware of. And that fact is that life is just flowing along, like the water in a river, and we're in the river being carried along for the ride.

There isn't a time when we're in a different part of the river that is separate from all the rest of the river. We can be at a different part of the river as it flows endlessly downward then we were at, say, a few moments ago. But that doesn't mean that we're in a different river. Or the river is different. Or that something was different in the river moments ago, compared to what is there now.

It's all one river. It's all the same river. We never leave the river and find ourselves in a different one. We're in the same river, always. It just looks different because we have a different vantage point from the current position we're at, compared to where we priorly were viewing from.

But, we do all that we can to see our current existence in life as being different and sectionalized from all the prior occurrences that happened 'yesterday', and in our past days of existence. That brings the expectation that this is going to continue forward and that makes us think that life events are something that can be stopped, or started, or changed. Or controlled.

And, this brings us the angst that most of us experience as the Mondays inevitably and undauntedly cruise towards the Fridays, or the occurrences in life seem to be keeping us separate from what we want, and what is.

When we're able to see, to experience, to understand, and then to know that life is one seamless occurrence and that we're just going along for the ride, then we're able to live in sync with what comes our way.

We're flowing with life.

The thing is, we have always been flowing with life. We have just been tricked and deceived into thinking that we haven't been, and that we've had some control over 'what is', and 'what was', and 'what will be'. It's all one big hoax.

Now, am I saying that we all sit around like milquetoasts and do nothing with our days because, hey, it's going to do what it's going to do regardless of what I do? No, of course not.

What I'm espousing here is that we understand that life is flowing and we're flowing along with it, whether we want to or not. It's occurring as it is, and the sooner we can allow ourselves to be more closely in sync with what is already happening, the sooner we're going to be able to allow ourselves to relax and be one with what was, what is, and what will be.

This is a gradual understanding, and then a knowing. It's something that if one pays close attention to can become clearer and then through direct experience, known.

There is very little that we actually control in life, with the exception of our reactions to events that occur as we're flowing with life. But, that's a topic for another article.

So, to summarize, what is it that one can take away and beneficially use from the gist of this sharing? Well, one can see that we truly aren't separate from the current moment. We might tell ourselves that we are, but we aren't.

And, because of this fact, we truly are synchronized with what is, and when we allow ourselves to act from that fact we are able to 'go with the flow' of life.

Essentially, what choice do we have? We're already in the river, we're a part of it through the fact that we exist. Doesn't it seem like the prudent thing to do to live and be one with life, as it already is?

Think how your days would be, if you were to live with existence from this fact. You'd be flowing with what is. Not resisting. Not fighting. Not struggling. Not not wanting. Just being. With what is.

Easier said than done? Of course. I know this personally. But, as I shared above, it can be experiential, and then a knowing.

Curious to know for yourself?

I invite you along for the ride. Besides, you probably don't know it but you've already bought your ticket and are in the ride. So, just allow yourself to open your eyes, look around at what is and where you are as you flow along, and then have FUN!

It may be bumpy, but oh, what a ride!

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

(Casey, thank you for flowing with me with this insight, recently.)

It's just not fair when we think that we're the one who deserves fairness and yet we are forced to accept the imbalance and unfairness of a situation.

Why is it that we want something to work out in one way and yet it ends up occurring and ending up another way, usually the way we don't want it to be occurring as? Why can't life just smoothly flow the way we want it to?

Why does it have to be so unfair and unequal and unrelenting to meeting our personalized demands of a situation and desire?

We have all experienced scores of situations that didn't turn out the way we wanted to. Perhaps we expected the outcome to be this, and instead it was that. Perhaps we did everything that we could to have the outcome be one way in the end, and that end turned out to be different.

It isn't fair that that is how life is, sometimes most of the time, is it?

And why not, why is that so hard?

Well, for one, because of these seemingly awry outcomes we have to then turn to acceptance of the outcome that we weren't expecting. And we have to then accept our personal feelings about that outcome and maybe the associated disappointment that we're experiencing because of that unexpected outcome.

We all know what it's like when a situation turns out the way we want it to. We don't have to deal with it very much because it ended up the way we tell ourselves it was supposed to. It ends up in sync with what was meant to be, we tell ourselves.

It is in alignment with the universe and our own personal desire and it wasn't meant to be any other way, we tell ourselves.

The universe loves us and wants to meet all of our needs, we tell ourselves.

There is a whole potpourri of things that we tell ourselves when a situational outcome is in alignment with the expectation that we tied to it.

Oh, and add to that the feelings that we have when something occurs that's aligned with the outcome we had planned for it. We feel elation. We feel satisfaction. We feel deserving right and maybe even indignation. We feel happiness.

We feel, good. That says it all doesn't it.

Maybe we even gloat a little and have an I-told-you-so kind of attitude, as if the situation went the way we expected it to because we just knew it would.

It's interesting how they're both opposite sides of the same coin. They both are identical reactions to the same event. One is high and one is low. One is full of glee, and the other almost despondency.

I think that for most of us, the occurrences that contain the true gold are the events that are not in sync with what we tell ourselves they should be in sync with, essentially, our expectations.

These are the events that are full of tangible value to us, if we're willing to do the inner mining and work to understand ourselves and our reaction to the unexpected outcome.

Perhaps we're feeling dejected and disappointed, and maybe even outright hurt. It's hard to be in a place like that. It's hard to have to accept that life didn't have the same outcome that we had for that event.

It's hard to have to accept the rejection or the disappointment, or the outright outrage at the end of the event. We're essentially stuck with ourselves and our feelings about the event. It didn't go the way we wanted it to. It didn't turn out as we expected. And, depending upon the individual in the midst of the circumstance, we have a multitude of reactions that can and do occur.

But, it doesn't really matter what the personalized reaction to the event is: it's what we do with it.

It really doesn't matter if we feel anger, or rage, or sadness, or disappointment, or fear, or sadness, or grief. These are all almost irrelevant. Yes, they need to be uncovered and discovered and dissolved through constructive and harmless expression. But, they aren't what the real learning and growth in the unexpected outcome can lead to.

That growth and learning comes from how we are with ourselves after an event turns out not to our liking or desiring.

There have been many books written about this. And, obviously these writings by numerous authors are occurring because this is such a necessary lesson that we all have to undergo if we're meant to learn to properly function through all the life disappointments and misaligned experiential endings during our days.

What is actually being referenced here?

Acceptance. Letting go. Being at peace with what is. One with Life.

All of that.

The art of letting go, the science of acceptance is a huge topic. It's something that we aren't very good at as a species. We excel at projecting our desires and demands upon existence, but when the paucity of synchronized outcomes is at its peak, we're at a loss for what to do with ourselves, and our feelings of... (fill in the blank.)

Is there an easy way to accept what is? No, I don't think so. It takes work to accept something that we weren't even desiring or wanting in the first place.

It's a much easier path to walk to rather just cut to the chase and have Life aligned with what we expect. At least that's what we tell ourselves to salve these experiential wounds.

This reminds me of the scene in the Bruce Almighty movie that Jim Carrey starred in several years ago. The gist of the movie was that Jim Carrey's character, Bruce Nolan, was so angry at god that god allowed Bruce to be him for a while. In the scene that is relevant here, after Bruce was given god-like powers he ended up stuck at the back end of a long automobile-clogged street and he was getting frustrated at this mechanized log-jam so he simply waved and parted his hands and the automobiles ahead of him all immediately moved to the side so as to make a straight path along the street upon which he used to drive on and out of the traffic congestion.

That is how we want our lives to go. We want everything to be exactly and continuously aligned with our demands and wants and desires. Till we die. Okay, maybe just until everyone else dies and moves out of our way by their demise.

But, we all know that life doesn't work that way. It simply doesn't.

So, what is it that we can do about this? Well, I can't summarize it here, when others need to write books about this to help their readers understand and hopefully have their lives more in alignment with what they want.

But, I can start off this topic and end this sharing with one simple tidbit of guidance and insight.

See.

Simply see that you want Life to go 'this' way, instead of 'that' way. That's all.

That truly is all that is needed right now, if that is something that you wish to change in your life.

See that you want Life to align with your needs. See that you don't want to change what you want, but rather want to say that life is unfair and isn't turning out the way it should, for you.

Life doesn't care that much about you. It really doesn't.

Life is doing what it is doing. Regardless of you. Regardless of your wants. Regardless of your desires, and whims, and expectations.

It isn't going to change.

But, you can.

And, again...how?

See.

See what, you ask?

See all that is now, inside of YOU next time life goes 'awry'. See as much of you as you can, given the internal tools that you have in your inner toolbox.

Do this as often as you can, when life invariably does what it does, and doesn't align with you.

We'll continue this discussion again, soon, but in the meantime....

See.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

I know, I know, this sounds like a rather simplistic and somewhat rhetorical question to be asking of each of us who already know the answer to this seemingly vague and obtuse question being posed.

But, what I purport is taking a really good look at yourself to see if you can, well, see yourself. You could say that you do this all this time.

After all, we're all such vain creatures that we can't allow ourselves to walk by a properly positioned mirror or glass storefront window or shining metallic wall and not go forward without taking a sideways glance at ourselves. Oh, I know, you ladies just do it to ensure that the makeup is in check on the face. And we guys do it to see how much of our overextended middle-aged belly we now have to suck in, as it just isn't as easy to do that as it was before.

Seriously, do you think that anyone actually thinks that they don't look good after priming and coiffing and propping themselves up as needed before heading out the door? It's the nature of the beast to think inside that we all think that we look good outside. We really do. We don't dress to not impress. We dress with the intent to actually look good in our minds and in the visual receptors of others who happen upon us.

Last year I saw this working women in this office building I was visiting. She was older, and dressed for work with a professional looking work outfit on, but she actually had bright blue hair. Now, I'm not talking some get rid of your grey hair dye for older women that went awry upon application and she had the old lady blue hair tint in her hair. No.

Her hair was a decidedly bright blue color. Her hair was almost brighter than the sky color I saw through the office windows in the room behind her.

I don't think she was color blind. I don't think she was senile, as she was gainfully employed, and was speaking lucidly, and people in the office related to her well, or so it seemed at least. But, I couldn't help but think to myself "What the heck is she thinking? Her hair is BLUE!"

But, you know what? I would bet that she left her home that day probably revelling in glee that she was a stand-out type of woman and that she was at least attractive and well put together. Why? Because in her mind she was.

Her particular hair color and choice therein did not fit within the normally accepted standard of the place where she worked. But, obviously, that didn't bother her in any manner. She thought she looked good enough to be seen with this bright designer hair color.

I found myself thinking this train of thoughts and subsequently I noticed that inside of me I have the same types of thoughts about my appearance.

I never, well, almost never, leave my abode thinking that I look like 'crap' on the outside. I work at dressing in clothes that give a certain appearance and reflection of my particular personality and style. But, this may not be to the liking and taste of all others I come across. After all, not every one likes everything in every way and at every time, right?

So, here I am, a middle-aged mixed ethnicity man/father, and I have a head full of long hair down to my butt which I keep braided during my workweek. Some people simply don't know what to do about that. Some people think that I'm different because of my hair style. Some people cannot tell that I am from a culture on my mother's side where the men traditionally had natural, long hair.

Other people just see a man with long hair. A man who looks different. And, yes, weird, depending upon the one looking and interpreting my look.

I remember this event that occurred several years ago when my parents and I were sitting at a coffee shop inside the local airport terminal, as they were waiting to board their plane to go back home to Canada. We were sitting around a small table in the coffee shop and unexpectedly this quite older, taller gentleman came up to the table and stood facing me and stated very loudly to me "I used to be a principal of a school and if any of the young kids at school came to school with long hair like you I was allowed to beat them with a cane!"

I think the three of us were all kind of surprised at this event, but the person who was really taken aback and embarrassed by it all, was the older man's adult daughter. She came up and profusely apologized to me and my parents and quickly explained that her dad was 'not all there', before she hurriedly escorted him away from our table.

I've always thought about that event and how it was interesting that, strong vocalized freedom of expression and possible dementia aside, this older man was simply stating what he was thinking inside when it came to his view of my appearance which, obviously, he thought of as being unacceptable.

I could just as easily walked up to the blue-hair-lady in the office and verbally, loudly expressed to her "Do you know how unprofessional you are being in this group of well-coiffed people by you thinking that your blue hair is acceptable and well-groomed? Why, I should report you to the president of your company and tell her that I'm incensed at your appearance!"

That's no different is it?

But, would that make it right?

Would it make her wrong?

Did my personal experience make my appearance wrong in the eyes of the older, taller gentleman?

To him it did. To me, I'm just being me - and seeing the middle-aged man in the mirror each day that I comb and usually braid this long hair of mine.

I don't think my hair is weird, or different, or strange, or too long, or feminine, or any other such thing. But, sometimes it is a hassle to take care of sometimes. You should see me when I'm having a 'bad hair day'.

But, it is my particular choice of hair style right now and it is subject to change if I ever decide that this look is no longer fitting for my definition of appropriateness or style in my life.

It doesn't make me weird, it doesn't right now make me think that I'm not looking my best when I walk out the door of my home. But, it does make me think about what it means to be viewing myself only through my eyes and how limiting this type of vantage point is.

I think that my appearance is acceptable. After all, it is to me. But, it's not to probably almost 100 percent of the population.

We have all thought that what we do to present ourselves to the world is acceptable to others, yet when they don't accept what we have worked so hard to present, well, they're just wrong.

We have all done at some time all that we could muster to give off this appearance of propriety and yet that appearance is not accepted by most others. We didn't go out in to the world with the intent to have shock value with how we look and come across with those who happen upon us with their eyes.

But, there it is nonetheless.

Perhaps if we all understand that our acceptance of ourselves should be and is just that. It's ours.

It's not theirs. It's not mine. It's not hers or his. It's ours, individually.

Imagine doing what you can to present yourself to the world, physical appearance and otherwise in all other ways, without having an expectation that the world outside of you would accept you.

Imagine that you were fully, incontrovertibly, unadulteratedly, unmitigatedly fine with the world not accepting you for you. The only thing that mattered was that YOU truly KNEW that you were attractive, irregardless and irrespective of what happened once you closed that abode door behind you at the start of your day.

Imagine being in the world unequivocally, and unshakably knowing that you were attractive and accepted just the way you are, right now.

Imagine how attractive you would be, no matter how unattractive you truly might be. But....

Would you care?

Would it matter to you?

Would it change what you did?

Would it change the you inside of you?

No. It wouldn't. Why not?

Because you knew the truth of you. You didn't need anyone outside of you to tell/show/give you that truth of you.

You are true.

You are true to yourself.

And, guess what? You are true to yourself. You truly, lovingly are. Right now. You always have been.

And if you're resisting these words, you just don't know it.

But, you know what else?

I've just told you this. So, for those of you who have been hanging on to the excuse and belief that you didn't know this - well, now you no longer can do that.

Be true to you. Even if your male hair is long.

Even if your female hair is blue.

The attractiveness of you will shine through.

All ways.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

What is it that is being riddled about?

Relationships.

We all have at least one relationship, the relationship with our-self, by the fact that we exist on this physical plane. We also have relationships with our parents, whether we know them or not. And we have relationships with any alive or deceased family members up our personal familial genealogical chain.

We have relationships with every other related human being on this twirling orb we live on. And, of course, we also have relationships with every other living creature and inanimate object in existence on this spinning ball in space. And, let's not forget the relationships which can't be spoken about: the ones that are so personal that only we know how they make us feel.

The list is truly endless, isn't it?

So, in spite of the fact that we have all of these relationships, why is it that we are still seeking that one unquestionable, undeniable, incontrovertible, perfect relationship? You know the one.

The relationship to end all relationships. THAT one.

The relationship that will end the pain of existence that if we're so lucky to be aware of we strive to escape, or if we're not so fortunate but instead live through unbeknownst to us -- unknowing, we strive to reach this place of completeness.

Yet, this all goes on in spite of the many dozens or even hundreds of relationships we have which are given to us, created along the way, and inherited through this mortal coil. So, this begs the question: why isn't this enough? And you know it isn't, right?

Why do we for the most part, go through our lives wanting to have that perfect relationship with that person, object, or transitory sensation that happens to momentarily cross our path during our day? The one relationship that is supposed to end all the pain and suffering and niggling knowledge of something being out of kilter in life?

Why do we do that?

Doesn't it sound like our existential Life plates are already filled and overflowing with a cornucopia of relationships of all imaginable and unimaginable kinds?

Kind of befuddling, if you ask me.

I would like to proffer an answer to the many somewhat rhetorical questions I posed above. Although this is obviously only to be taken as coming from my perspective, which some might view, as being inordinately limited in the scheme of things and life experiences and so forth: it is what it is -- my opinion only.

I surmise that the reason that we are seeking the relationship to end all relationships is because we don't have a relationship with ourselves. Period.

Or, to state it more bluntly, and simply: we don't know who we are.

We think that we do. We think that we have everything in our busy, but realistically tiny lives in a copacetic manner and state, but really we don't. And we don't know that we don't. So we continue to fill our seemingly full life with more (empty) relationships, all the while not seeing the reality of the situation we're living. We think "This time this thing, or this relationship is going to be of a different type, as those last ones didn't work."

A new man. A new woman. A better looking person in the morning mirror. A new car. A new set of clothes. That enticing container of chocolate ice cream at the local supermarket. That next television reality drama. That tasty slice of pizza. The whole pizza. That next sensual sex session, either solitary, or with someone, or many people.

Take your pick.

These are all a striving to find ourselves in relationship with something or someone, so that we don't have to be in relationship with ourselves.

Now, I don't really need to go into great depth here about what it is that we're attempting to escape from, or running towards. That's been the subject of other articles I've written. And, it may be the subject of future articles again: whatever it takes to get the message across.

My point here is that unbeknownst to us we are all striving to get ourselves into a new and hopefully lasting connection with a part of ourselves that is screaming out for connection with something, any thing, as long as the connection is made. Again, and again, and again.

This is crazy-making and setting ourselves up for hurt at every point of contact. It's setting us up for connections that are short-lived, shallow, and superficial to the greatest extent.

It doesn't create connections that are going to last and actually allow for the so-called filling of that relationship hole that we're all seeking to bury.

Is there a way out? Perhaps, if one is willing to do the work to find out. Truly find out.

Firstly, see that there is something inside that is desiring to be filled. Perhaps physically, and perhaps psychologically. Perhaps both. It's an individual thing, and only you know what fits the situation that you might be living from.

Secondly, understand that there are relationships, and there are real-ationships. Relationships are a dime a dozen. Relationships are so commonplace that everyone thinks that they know everything about them and can proffer advice to others at the drop of a hat, or for a price. Why?

Because everyone has so many of them and will continue to do so, so everyone has relationship advice to offer to those relationship-deprived folks seeking that next fix in whatever the category might be, as described above.

But, how many people actually know about a REALationship? What's a realationship? The type of relationship that doesn't fit that mold of relating where the foundation is based on need and wanting, and lusting, and escaping, and desiring to find, and pain, and given by default.

How many people actually are in a realationship with themselves, or better yet, with another person? And, that Other being someone else who actually is real with themselves and has that to offer to the relating at hand?

When two people are in connection based on what's real for the situation, a symbiotic connection occurs but it isn't based on something that is driving them to that connection. It's based on an intent of experiencing being real with the Other and with each other. It's a true seeing and an experiencing of the is-ness of each other.

This is a true relationship. This is a relationship that isn't built on the same ol', same ol' foundation that everyone has in their days and through their birth. It's not something that is found, or given.

It's created.

A realationship is real. Plain and simple it's something that is pure, and filled with genuine connection that comes from the essence of both in the partnering. It's not forced. It's not from a wanting to escape to, or run from. It's not inspired by a wanting to join so as to benefit from that transpiration. It is a bonding of the most unique sort.

Realating is real. Realating is what is experienced when a connection occurs in the most base way. Is it based on love? No.

It's based on the abject commonality that we all share. Our Presence. Our Essence.

These real relationships are relationships that are in existence because of the people in the relationship who are able to open themselves up and allow their core presence to be what the relationship, whatever type or nature it might be, is based on and grows from. This is what makes the relationship so special, so atypical.

It's something that can only occur because those in the relationship are allowing themselves to be as open and truly, genuinely vulnerable as they humanly can. No holds barred. No thing is off-limits. It's all real. It's all sacred, not through a definition, but because it just is.

Does that sound like a relationship for you?

Does that sound like the type of reality that you would want in a relationship with someone or many in your life?

It is possible.

It is do-able. But, only if you're wiling to be real.

When you open yourself up to the purity of existence as a human: the 100% special human that YOU are, and nobody else is like, or ever has been, or ever will be like -- when you allow that to show, you can't but help to have others who are like you become drawn to you like a moth to a light.

It's inescapable and inevitable. And, it's a relationship of the most real kind.

Want to move from relationshipping to REALationshipping?

Open. Just that. Open your Self. Open your relationship with your Self. Be real.

Then stay open to what happens in all your relationships. Stay real.

Develop a love relationship with the realness of you and you might just find that you'll love all relationships with you. What a sweet, unexpected Life comeback that will be, eh?

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

P.S. Thank you Casey for being Real with me.

When I don't feel particularly inspired to write something I remember my commitment to myself which included writing something that I considered to be of use to people who visit my website and read these articles, and to be of service to the good of the whole, in some way, via my words. It's not a particularly laborious task to write a thousand words or more in a short period of time, and then upload it to the website server and all that stuff.

The real hard part is getting the words out of the brain and putting them to e-paper.

One can go about writing about nonsensical subjects, or the writing can have deep meaning to the writer. But, the readers may or most likely may not have the same affect by the words as the outpouring of them from the writer.

Each of us brings to existence our own take on so many things. We each come loaded with so many opinions and perspectives by the time we each reach adulthood, or even later childhood. I see it in my children and I experience it every day with the many people that are in my life, both intimately and loosely.

Each of us believes that we are right in our perspective of whatever the situation or subject is that is at hand in front of us at whatever particular time we're experiencing it in. Each of us has this opinion or take of the situation based on what we brought to the table of that experience. Yet, we don't go into the situation believing that what we have to share, to impart, is wrong.

We believe that what we take things to be is right. And, we're going to prove to whomever is within hearing distance that we are correct in our opinion. Like, for example: me and this article, with it being 'my' words, and 'my' perspective.

It's really interesting that this is how we go to our graves, after living our life from this viewpoint. Even me, with these words. I don't write words that disagree with what I'm thinking. It's the inherent nature of this type of sharing that whatever I'm writing I assume is correct, as it's my viewpoint, after all. I generally wouldn't write something whilst thinking that what I am writing is wrong or incorrect. At least I don't think I would.

But, how many of us will argue to our end that what we see, or think, or thought, is correct and has to be the only thing that is correct in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

How many us will argue 'till the cows come home' that we are right and everyone else is wrong, no matter what their viewpoint, but especially when it differs from ours?

It's not easy to be wrong. It's not easy to admit to the wrongness of our views, especially when those views were just shared with others. Think about this e-rag of mine. Many of you probably have your own similar type of sharing that you do. Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and many other sharing type of avenues that are sure to come about in years to come.

How many of you openly share in your short sharings on those websites that you just did, or thought, or undertook something that you thought was wrong? I'll bet not many of you. It just isn't the nature of the beast to openly admit that we're wrong. It's a very hard thing to do, especially to those who are key to our existence.

It's as if there's something inside of us that is being taken out of us and stepped on and destroyed, or that we've opened up a part of our insides for others to openly see, and we feel embarrassed and ashamed to have undergone that type of inner scrutiny through the eyes of others.

It's not pretty at times to admit that one is wrong. Or that what one wrote, or said, or did was after the fact something that one shouldn't have done. And, this is only made more sacrosanct when others are involved in the wrongdoing.

Let's imagine that you write words, like I'm doing. Perhaps you write something, and the words are words that you believe with all your heart to be true and correct. And then, say, that the words turn out to be in an after-the-fact kind of way to be wrong and words that shouldn't have been shared or even put out to the universe in the first place. What would you do with that?

Would you hold your feet to the fire of condemnation?

Or, would you allow yourself to say to yourself that you did the best you could with the information you had at hand at the time of the original sharing? In other words, would you accept that you did what you thought was right at the time and that you did the best you could at the time with the information that you had at your disposal at that time?

I think that most of us would chalk the experience up to the latter. At least I hope most of us would.

You see, we all know that we're doing the best that we can given what we've got. This applies to all aspects of life, and relationships, and actions, and events. It's something that we take for granted with our existence, yet it's a part of every action that we undertake.

We don't go forward through our days thinking that everything we're doing is wrong and something that we shouldn't be doing. At least not lucidly.

I write these words with the genuine intent to share words and thoughts that I believe are of use to the readers of the words. I really believe that that is the right thing to do. And I believe at the time of the writing of each of these articles that the sharing that I undertake is of use to others. Perhaps it's not. Perhaps it's just trite dribble coming from the dross of the grey matter in my skull.

But, I still hang onto the opinion that perhaps I'm right, and given enough time the people who might come across my words are going to agree with the few cogent and salient tidbits I share from time to time.

I can only hope, again, that what I share is right. Now, am I the first to admit when I'm wrong? These days, yes. It's something that comes more easily to me as I age.

But, still, do I ever undertake something that includes the intent from the start of wrongness? Perhaps when I'm not thinking of what it is that I'm doing. We've all been there. We've all done things and later on asked ourselves how is it that we ended up doing that thing, when we really didn't want to be doing it.

The key to this situation is to remember that we set out with the intent of rightness. Although, in retrospect, the situation might have been something that we shouldn't have started out with, it was something that we undertook with the general best intent, initially. Don't beat yourself up for that. Just see that you're not always right. It's not bad to see this. But, it is humbling at times.

However, to put salve on the wound of wrongness: think of how empowering it is to exercise your right to be wrong.

Am I right? Or, am I wrong?

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

Of course, I also had the sheet and blanket over me to keep me warm as Phoenix is getting cold this time of year, finally.

I found myself tossing and turning a bit and then finally found a position of comfort. Everything felt 'just right', to quote the fairytale story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I wasn't uncomfortable, or too comfortable, if there is such a thing...at least not at first.

I was laying there in the darkness of the room and trying to doze off to slumber-land when I gradually noticed that a certain part of my lower body was not as comfortable as it could be.

Whatever.

I realized the insight at that moment of the seemingly incredible effort I go through, and all of us as well during this rote sleep time process, to create a sense of comfort so as to enable the drop off into dreamland before the subsequent waking state, usually the next morning.

It's amazing that we go to the effort that we do to create the sense of comfort that we tell ourselves that we need. And when we don't get it, say, during bedtime, we are up all night and left tired the next day as our sense of comfort was uncoming when we expected it.

But, let's extend this insight to the daytime waking hours.

How many of us wear clothes when they feel uncomfortable to us? How many of us eat food that makes us uncomfortable, or put ourselves in situations that also make us experience discomfort? We don't, at least the vast majority of us don't, right?

We do everything in our power, depending upon the situation, and the ability we have at hand at the time to remove the discomfort and the uncomfortableness from the situation and replace them with comfort and comfortableness.

And why not? Who can blame anyone for doing that? After all, it's an aspect of humanness that we want to have comfort around us and in us. We don't want to experience discomfort? Who wants to be in pain and the pain of discomfort? Nobody in their right mind.

But, I challenge you with this. I challenge that discomfort is a great teacher and one that can bring teachings to us every time of the day and week, if only we'll allow it. I wrote many articles ago about how increasing the heat when tempering steel also increases the structure of the steel and makes it stronger.

Well, analogously, increasing the discomfort in your life makes your mettle stronger, whether you believe this or not. I call it 'pleasurable pain', and this was a term I first heard from Vernon Howard.

Pleasurable pain? No, this is not the oxymoron that it appears to be. There truly is such a thing as pleasurable pain. It hurts, but it does us good. It makes us wince but also stronger to handle the next situation that inevitably rears its head of discomfort.

We all naturally want our lives to be copacetic. We all want things to be going along as smoothly as they can all the time so as to not push us out of our comfort zone and into discomfort. I don't blame you. Feeling pain is not fun. It hurts, right?

But, the pain of life is where the strong life scar is formed and created. It's stronger than everything around it. Why? I don't know. But I know that it is. The scars of life are the ones where we were pushed or forced into situations that caused us discomfort and we were spewed out the other side stronger for going through the wringer of life at that time.

Life is not about being comfortable and tiptoeing to our inevitable end. We're all going to die. And yet we do all that we can to even avoid the discomfort of thinking of that absolute unavoidable fact of living. It's not fun, but it is what will be. And it's uncomfortable, but oh so revealing when allowed to be what it is: abject discomfort.

Life is not meant to be comfortable. Life is what it is and that includes discomfort and all the so-called situations that bring that into our days.

Do you want to continue through your days doing everything you can to stave off situations of discomfort and doing all that you can to rearrange the pillows of Life around you so that you aren't falling off to sleep to virtual la-la land in discomfort? That makes for a very tiring existence.

What about just being with what is, discomfort and all? What about just allowing what already is here in your situation of discomfort to show you the part of you that does what it can to fight the situation. That's the part of you that is bringing you the discomfort, not the situation.

Again, the part of you that fights situations so that you don't feel discomfort is what is bringing you discomfort, not the situation.

Kinda a different takes on things, isn't it? It no longer allows one to blame the situation, but instead, the self. Go ahead. Make yourself responsible for the discomfort you are feeling inside, if this is due to you resisting the situation. It feels bad but creates such comfort in the long run.

Now, as a disclaimer, I'm not writing about life-threatening situations that are out of your control, or even in your control. Don't stay there and continue to get hurt or beat up. Get out. Get help. Do whatever you can to protect the body and the body of those under your care.

But, in non-life threatening situations, when you find your days full of situations that you know you are resisting because they make you uncomfortable - like speaking when you don't feel like it or doing a minor thing like taking a different route to work when the traffic is jammed - go ahead and notice the discomfort you feel about that.

It'll do you good to be with that discomfort instead of trying to make it go away so you don't have to hurt in that sense. Try it. Eventually you'll enjoy the pleasure that that discomfort brings you because along with that there will be many small lifelong-lasting insights that come with it, heretofore not seen.

My lifelong best friend attends these 10-day meditative retreats every few years. He sits in a room with a bunch of other people and meditates for 16 hours a day in absolute silence. He says that the first few days are pure torture to him and his body and he is in incredible pain associated with sitting that long.

That's not necessarily the extreme level that one has to go to go through discomfort. Discomfort is a great teacher all day long in the little things that don't go the way you think they should. In your house, at your work, in your car, with your family, in your mind. There are many situations of uncomfortableness that can teach one about one's self, and spirit.

I encourage you to stop fluffing up the pillows of Life so as to immediately remove the sense of uncomfortableness in your days. Be with those states and learn from them. It hurts, but it heals.

I'm speaking from experience: I didn't fluff the pillow or change my physical position that night of uncomfortableness. Instead, I let the situation show me what it did and what I've shared herein through this insight.

Comfort. Discomfort. Comfortable. Uncomfortable.

They're all the same when one is seeking to view and learn from the outcome inside instead of the seeming situation outside.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

If you were being held by something would you do everything within your power to cause what is holding you to let go of you and drop you to who knows where?

Well, that is what each of our minds do to us each and every day, many times a day at that, too.

We are the keeper of our mind. It isn't the keeper of us. It doesn't have the magnetic hold on us and our soul as some would have us believe. Or perhaps that we ourselves believe.

Yes, I agree, the mind is a powerful intangible instrument with very powerful potentiality as well. Placed in the wrong skull and used in devious ways it truly is capable of very heinous actions against others. We've all seen these instances in recent history. Perhaps, bringing it closer to home, we've been the instigator of these so-called 'I don't know what happened, I just lost my mind' heinous type of actions that are now memories in our mind.

But, put inside the right skull and used in a more, shall we say -- productive manner -- a mind can again be a very powerful instrument for good.

We all know what happens when our mind takes control of us. But, think of what actually happens, when that happens. Our mind, this seemingly concrete object somewhere inside of each of us takes control of our life and our actions and we are but automatons to its whims and desires.

It controls us. Or so we each think.

It's in charge of the show and it will do everything in its power to ensure that the final outcome that it pictures is carried out to fruition, right?

But, what if that fruition is something that entails actually harming the holder of the mind? Each of us, per se.

What if that action entails causing the body to react adversely to what is happening to it, because of what the mind tells it that it should be reacting adversely to?

What if that action causes the body to feel stressed and emotionally charged, say, akin to an emotional powder keg and capable of exploding at any time all the while blowing away oneself and everything, and everyone, within near vicinity?

Does that make sense?

Does it make sense that something that we believe is in charge of each of our personal games in life is in charge of us? Does it make sense that this thing, this mind, actually has all of our best interests in mind when it comes to taking care of each of us and our best interests and needs?

I'll tell you what I think. It doesn't make sense that something that is inside of us, and we tell ourselves that it controls us, has our best interests in mind when the outcome of the actions it creates is harming the keeper of the mind: essentially, each of us.

So, this challenges one to think: Does this actually mean that the mind perhaps is not in control of each of us? How can something that is inside an organism and be harming the organism be something that the organism can actually believe is necessary to the organism and something that should be operating unilaterally inside the organism? Quite unbelievable, isn't it?

I tell you, it very simply just doesn't make sense to me. Period.

This is akin to having a mental parasite inside each of us. Don't you think? I do.

You see, the mind is something that we do need for practical matters. We do need it to figure out which sock fits on which foot, when we get dressed in the morning. And we do need the mind to help us understand that when we're driving our vehicle and we come to a lighted intersection in the road that green means go and red means stop, no matter where we are in the world.

But would we be believing that our mind has our best interests in mind when it tells us that red means go and green means stop? We're liable to get t-boned in the intersection or rear-ended and end up a crispy corpse in a flaming fireball of a wreck.

Seriously.

What makes us think that our mind is our best friend? It's supposed to get each of us everything we want.

It tells us what we want.

It convinces us of what we want.

It makes us do everything that it tells us to do to get what it tells us that we need and want.

And yet we end up bereft and devoid of actual satisfying substance throughout our days and lives, to the end. This doesn't seem right to me, does it to you?

So, where am I going with this? Well, our mind, again, is a necessary instrument for practical everyday matters we all deal with through our existence. But, after that, the mind is literal dross. It's fluff. Excess. The useless fat of life.

It doesn't serve a useful purpose except to burden us with unmet desires and unsatisfactory strivings and needs.

I've learned recently that the mind is what it is. It's not going to go away. We can't kill this internal intangible parasite at the best of times. Neither do we want to. We do need it as much as it needs the body it uses for its host. But, we don't have to be allowing it to run the show and dictate the prescription for living a full life.

It can't. It doesn't.

We can, and we should though.

You see, we can take a different approach to all of this. We can understand that the mind is going to do what it does. That's a fact that isn't going to go away. It's going to be our mental mate through to the end of each of our existence's on this plane.

But, we can also understand that although we can and should allow it to do what it wants us to do as long as it doesn't harm each of us, or others, that doesn't mean that we can't begin to see our-self as something other than this all too convincing internal mental director of our life.

We can work diligently to begin to allow ourselves to begin to entertain the notion that we are not our mind. We are not it. And it is not us. We are something else. We are what we are outside of the mind. Before the mind. Behind the mind. After the mind. When the mind isn't there and pure simple presence of existence is: there we are.

This all sounds all too simplistic, but it is something that is becoming ever more so clear to me as I continue doing what I can to understand this potentially heady and very esoteric viewpoint of existence.

It's not about spirituality. It's about practicality.

This is what is whether one believes it or not. In fact, it's not about belief. It's about experiencing the simple experience of what we are, in between the thoughts and the machination that the mind puts us through each day, each moment.

There is much more to write about on this topic so stay tuned for more articles on the subject. It's something that is becoming a common part of my life and my days and it is causing a wonderful peace to permeate my existence here. Not elation, or enlightenment, but peace.

Pure simple peace.

Or, more accurately, pure, simple, peace of mind.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

One understands, one is born.
One lives and thrives, serendipity willing.

One knows that one is, but not why.
One knows that why answers what was, but not what is.

And why, although tempting, does not allure enough to show that
The knowing is not the known.

When one takes what is, and transforms that into what one wants,
Then one is living what one is meant to know.

Simply, that life is but what one creates, not what one knows.
Not what one does. Not what one thinks. Not how one dies.

But, to know that how one lives with what one has within and out
Is how to measure that life, how to gauge existence beyond existing.

Because of one's life, others are brought forth to exist.
Those others are called to bear the heaviness of the soul.

Some carry the weight willingly and with vigor.
Others are buried under the breadth of the effort to move with life.

Those who live, live.
Those who thrive, thrive.

Those who usurp life, die.
Even though the body survives, the soul is bereft.

Can one say that those truly knew of life,
Of the Life inside? Perhaps not.

But, for those who reach and hold the torch of existence,
On the behalf of the Spirit of humanity, those souls fly free.

Does one know that one is what one should be?
Does one know that one is not what one might be?

Can one say that Life is this, not that?
One can say yes as others follow no.

But, who can really know, except those who have lived,
And known....

What was, is.
What can, might be.

To see, is to know: to know is to live.
To live is to exist, plain and simple.

Is there more? Can more be?
Only when one takes the gift of life and shares it.

Be it through life, through words or self-less deeds,
The medium is meaningless without one's life shared.

A life shared is a life lived when altruism
Is able to replace the narcissism one embraces within.

To the one's in my life who shared their lives so that I exist as I am
I thank you for who you were and what you are.

Because of you I was who I were as I became who I am:
A gift of freedom was borne through the debt of life.

And although liberating and sanctifying, one is hard pressed to
express what can only be felt but so gloriously lived.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

Did I start it with the intent to share so many articles on spirituality? No.

Did I start this virtual tome to share what being a spiritual human means to me? No.

But here it is, once again. Whether one likes it or not, it is what it has been shared to be.

Several months ago my lifelong best friend came to visit me here in Phoenix Arizona and he commented on my status (still) as a single dad. He knows me better than anyone as we've traversed a diverse and sometimes spiritually treacherous journey together for the past 30 years now. The journey has been rocky for us at times, but we've both carried the other as needed through those trying elevations and descents.

Anyway, when we were having dinner one night he asked me about my search for a female partner in life. I commented that I was seeking a special connection with a woman: I was seeking a spiritual connection with a woman. He inquired as to how I defined a spiritual connection and I found myself challenged answering his inquiry.

But, as I've come out the other side of that dance with partners who've been in my life to-date, I've noticed and embraced the intangible aspect of life, and of existence. It's something that can't be spoken about, per se. But it can be shared. It can be shared through being with the other in a way outside the societal norm and expectation. It involves choosing to see the ever-present aspect of life that is always with us and yet unseeable and, yes, unknowable. Although it sounds contradictory, it is something that when one is 'seeking', does make sense, if not without consideration of the further torment when it can't be 'claimed' no matter how hard one tries to get a firm hold on it.

So, back to the question of my best friend.

I didn't have an immediate answer for him. In fact, I was actually stumped when trying to piece together an answer that felt 'right' to me and really embraced what it was that I was tasting through my spiritual journey during the last decade or so, and as I now dance alone through my existence yet wanting that to change to a pairing and a sharing.

I couldn't answer him outright. Here I'd been searching for a partner in life for a few years now and I couldn't even encapsulate what it was that I was trying to insert into the empty spaces of my busy life and overlay over some of those times too. It's kind of like that old saying that if you don't know what you're looking for, you've found it. Well, I guess I realized that I had found what I was looking for, as I'm still single. And still looking for Mrs. Goodbar.

Since that dinner, I've realized that my so-called definition of what a spiritual connection means to me is a moving containment. It has changed over the years, and yet in some areas it remains static. To me, a spiritual connection is one that includes a consideration and a focus, maybe not wholly, on the aspect of existence that can't be seen. It's there, but it can't be seen. Does that mean to focus on what we are told by others? Well, maybe, at times. But only if those others are truly in the know and on the same path as what one is seeking for their own definition of spirituality.

For me, it means spiritual, not religious. I've never been one for religion. Too structured and too 'thou shalt' and 'thou shalt not'. Please, I get way more than enough of that every day working for the many-layered bureaucracy I've chosen to work for for many years now.

So, spiritual, not religious. Spiritual, and by that I mean not just about doing. Life is about doing, but there is more than just doing. There is being. Being with life. Being with oneself. Being with existence and all the innate glories that that involves. I don't consider myself overly spiritual, but what I do do is to understand and focus on the layer of being that occurs just before and during all actions on the physical, mental, emotional and relational plane. In all ways, throughout every day. Is this extreme to some? Perhaps. But, for others, they know what I'm saying when I write that I understand that there is something here besides us. What that something is? In my opinion, no one really knows, but there is something here that is living with us.

I so, so much like the analogy of one of my current guides on this journey, John Sherman. He shares that life is kind of like reading a book. When one is reading a book and reading the words and letters that make up those words one is not truly aware that the letters are on and surrounded by the white of the page. The white of the page is there, but it isn't noticed or paid any attention to. It exists along with the words on the page, but it doesn't interfere with the words or the meaning they convey to the reader. John says that life is like that. There is an ever-present awareness that we live in and from and with and it has always been here in every one of us. But, we haven't been aware of it. Or paid any heed to it. But, just because we are (not) doing that, doesn't mean that it isn't here.

I like that analogy.

To me, it really hones in on what I work at very hard to centralize in my life and my existence, as hard as it may be at times: depending upon the situation and the person or people I'm surrounded by and relating to. I'm human after all, and the journey ain't compete yet!

But, it does make for an interesting study throughout one's days here. It's a study that I can't ever see myself giving up on. It's something that is a part of me and something that I know to exist in me and around me and all of us. Even though we aren't aware of it. Is it a belief? No, sounds like it is, but it isn't. I work to make it a knowing: a seeing of what is and always has been.

Does that mean that I go every summer for a few weeks to the mountains to sit in a cave and hum to myself? No.

Does that mean that I delve into four hours of severe meditation every day come hell or high water? No.

Does that mean that I delve into every new book and teaching and tape, and CD, and DVD, and session, and retreat, and presentation that makes its way into my life in some fashion?

To all of that a hearty 'no'. Of course not.

To me, my spirituality is fluid. It's in an ever-present state of flux. It's a focused continuous effort of separating the dross of life and finding what lies underneath to form the structure of existence in this mortal coil we all share.

Life is so joyful and such a blessing, but to understand and include in one's days the understanding and the intent to know the underbelly of life and what it has to show us that was heretofore unseen, that, THAT, is spirituality to me.

Need I say more? Of course I could (and probably will in another future article) but would it make any more sense to anyone who isn't on the spiritual path and coming from this somewhat esoteric bent in life? Probably not.

So, there you have it, and there I have it: at least for right now as I'm still evolving in this carcass and soul that I've been handed. This definition of spirituality I've written about herein will change, similar to me. But, regardless, let's see what comes of this spiritual sharing and pairing we've shared via these words, as a spiritual connection can occur via any avenue - even a very verbose, windbaggy, soapboxey type of blog entry such as this which I'm prone to creating.

Come back for more if your spirit so guides you. Especially if you're a slender, non-smoking woman. And you're single. And you're seeking -- say -- a tall, slender, multi-ethnic, single dad with a French name like, hmmmmm. . .Andre.

Tricked you, didn't I?

I forgot to mention that being spiritual can also be quite FUN!

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(P.S. I was serious about the single women comments though. ;-)

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

But, try to tell that to someone whose main focus is money and the accumulation of as much of it as possible and at almost any extent and watch out, because it ain't going to be pretty. After all, you're stepping on hallowed ground when you dare broach the subject that we, as individuals, just don't need all the money that we're led to believe we simply cannot do without.

I'm continually reminded of my Dad asking me over the years about how much money I make and where it (continues) to 'go'. What is meant by his gentle inquiry is a probing as to where do I spend my money; after all, I'm making a fair bit more than he and my mother use as they enter their 18th year of retirement, and which is a seemingly comfortable retirement lifestyle at that.

My Dad has a point, but I'll use it in a different way here.

Anyway, I'm writing this article to more so share my thoughts and insights on the entire 'need' for money, and how all encompassing it is to us, as we mostly do our darnedest to convince ourselves that we don't have enough of it, ever, and then spend the rest of our time worrying about how to 'make more'. And, if that's not enough of a proverbial hamster wheel to be running around on as we actually believe it's getting us somewhere different around the cage: we then worry that we will most likely lose what accumulated riches we've made and scurry about wondering how we're to hang onto what we've worked so hard to scrounge around and gather. It's not a very pretty picture that we paint during our days here, is it?

About a year and a half ago I had an insight, once again when I was in the shower, as water flowing over this carcass has that type of therapeutic effect on me at times, that money truly is something that isn't needed in great quantities. At the time I wasn't sure what the thought that went through my head and mind meant. All I knew what that I felt a truly great sense of relief after the insight, without yet knowing the full impact and intent of it.

Over the next few months I realized many things about that evening under the falling water when another layer of mental dust and imaginary dirt was washed from my mind. I understood that we humans spent an extraordinary and inordinately exceptional amount of time worrying about money, and about not ever seemingly having enough of it.

Turn on any television and flip through the channels and you'll no doubt find a movie about someone who's stolen money, won money, hidden money, killed someone for money, lost money, needed money, laundered money, or held someone's kid or husband or wife for ransom money, etceteras.

Or you'll find a program on one of the channels that has to do with getting a better job, earning more money, making millions on the Internet, renovating your house so you can sell it for more, improving your car so it has a better resale value, 'saving money' by buying that furniture/clothes/house/object that's on sale, saving for retirement, investing money wisely, making your money work for you in your life, being frugal, eating on the cheap, stretching your dollar.

Oh, it's insane! The list goes on and on and on. Money, money, money.

Just how much money do we need? Again, I'll state that we 'need' a lot less than most of us have. Now don't get me wrong as I'm not saying that money is useless. I'm not, and it's not. It does have a purpose. But, what I'm working hard to impart here is the simple fact that each person in this world only needs to rely upon the means to bring enough money into their life to allow the body to be comfortable, and the body of those under their care. Simple as that.

Now where it gets all wacky is what each of us defines as comfortable. Some people aren't comfortable without having the latest gourmet cat food for their beloved Fluffy. On the other end, some people, unfortunately, would be most comfortable having any can of cat food to eat as it probably is more than they've had to eat in several days. That's the simple truth of the matter in this whacked out imbalanced world we live in.

Some people just have to have that million dollar watch on their wrist to stave off the pangs of ordinariness the rest of us deal with each day, whilst in some countries one can watch millions die from lack of basic human needs due to a lack of local currency to use to obtain these most basic of needs. So, again, there is an extraordinary imbalance that is part of the human condition and yet money is still not seen as the solution to that issue.

If you're still one of us who lives to survive, think about how much time you spend during your days worrying about money. Not having enough of it probably consumes most of your thoughts. But, think about just how much you absolutely need.

Of course we all need the basics. Food, shelter, fluids, clothes. But, even still, how much of that is needed? How much of a residence is needed to live comfortably in? How many things in that abode you live in do you really need? How much does your family need to survive? When you distill it down for the absolute vast majority of us there really isn't a lot that each of us need to exist, happily, as humans.

Provide for our basic needs, give us the freedom that we all deserve, leave us to our own unharming desires, and we're pretty happy beings.

But, then mix in a little worry to the recipe. All goes haywire in a heartbeat.

A few months ago I was watching Eckhart Tolle being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and they were discussing relevant 'spiritual' topics with folks who called in through Internet telephony. One of the persons they spoke with was a young man who stated that he wanted to be spiritual and he worked very hard at it, but he still knew that he had bills to pay and things to buy for his university schooling and so forth and that he worried about how he was going to be able to afford and tend to these additional needs in his life allthewhile being spiritual.

Mr. Tolle gave a very cogent response wherein he stated that this young man did have to tend to these needs in his life, but he didn't have to worry about them.

Worry.

The innocent, innocuous, invisible killer.

The predominant majority of us have all the money we need - although we cannot be paid to be convinced that we do - but no one says that we have to worry about not having enough. We do that to ourselves.

Am I in some sort of ivory tower because I have my needs met, and those of my sons, and don't worry about making money? Am I in a prestigious position because I'm not living off of food stamps? Am I a person who can be asked about 'how can I live on my meager income', because I'm not making $1.5 million a year?

All of these are valid and relevant questions. But none of them are useful to the topic of money, and how much is needed, or not.

About 20 years ago I was told by this woman I worked with that while she was on a tour of a very blighted and beaten up neighborhood here in the big city she saw absolutely deplorable conditions of living during the tour, for both many people and many families in the barrio. She couldn't believe that people actually had to endure such abject spartan conditions day after day. She made a comment to the tour guide that 'it must be hard for these people living here' and the tour guide looked at her and immediately responded with the rhetorical question "What makes you think that they're not happy?"

This is what I'm talking about.

Money can buy comfort. But it can't buy happiness.

Money is not the reason we are placed here on this physical plane. Life is not about how much we can accumulate while we're here. It simply isn't.

So what else is this insight about? Well, it's about a realization that after the understanding is fully comprehended about how much time we spend in fear over how much money we don't have and how afraid we are of losing what we do have, that the overall sense of relief and alternate life focus is immense.

There is so much more to existence than surviving as comfortably and as long as we can. And a life well spent does not mean to live your life spending.

Take a moment to imagine that you are fortunate enough to gracefully ripen to a very old age in life and that you now are that age. You are relatively healthy, for your age, and you are very near death's door as you are, after all, in the advanced end stage of life.

Are you going to spend your remaining days struggling to get more money, even if your grandchildren will benefit from their inheritance from you? Are you going to worry that you have to make more to 'ensure you have enough' till you die? Is it even going to be a consideration? Or are you going to, hopefully, wake up enough to see how absolutely ignorantly stupid you were to spend so much of your younger years worrying about accumulating as many pieces of inked, printed small pieces of paper as you were able to get within your tight little fisted hands or under your financial control in some fashion?

I hope for your sake, now, that you're one of the smart ones who sees their way through the hamster wheel you might be running around in right now, while there's still time, and then do what you can to get off of it as fast as you can and find a whole new world outside that tiny, enclosed, limited environment with money at its center and that you can't take with you to the other side of this life.

So, am I espousing that we all need to be ascetics or diligently work at asceticism? No. Not by a long shot. What I'm trying to impart via this insight article about money is that although most people might go to their graves believing in that old saying that 'money makes the world go around', you don't have to be one of them. You can be someone who steps outside the hamster cage and sees the truth of existence. And, again, what would that be?

The 'that' would be that although important, money is not everything. It is not the magic pill to the unending wants of existence.

Dream with me for a moment and consider that you have all the money you need: more than you'll ever need for the rest of your existence. So much money that your grandchildren will be praising you because of their inheritance as the benefactor of your estate, once you're permanently laying on the other side of the grass. Now with this in mind, what would you do with your life? Really, what would you do?

Got it figured out?

When you do, figure out a way to make that happen in your life. Now that, THAT is buying happiness.

And I ask you: How can you afford not to?

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

It's still apropos, and some days even more so as the years go by with my own fatherhood, as I witness the subtle traits that I have that came from my Dad and the parental modeling he displayed as he was (sometimes struggling with) being my father.

Being a parent, and in my case, a father to three burgeoning male souls has time and again proven to be the most incredible blessing and honoring I have been given in this lifetime that I now share with my three sons. So, with that written, this past short writing is all the more fitting and one day may serve to have a similar impacting influence in the minds of my sons when they grow into manhood and pass on the baton, possibly to their own male offspring.

Dead or alive, loving or ignoring, present or absent: we all have a father, whether we like it, or him, or not. May all of you enjoy celebrating Father's Day in whatever manner you do, or don't.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

(Author's permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)