I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said~ "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
OZYMANDIAS by Percy Byshe Shelley
False narratives abound. They infect. They disrupt. They destroy. They misinform. All narratives (creative, true or false) give life to actions. They impact experience. They influence outcomes. Such narratives (the stories we are told, the stories we tell ourselves) are the stories of necessity we inhabit, are the designers and builders of our neural networks.
Even in this moment!
They are powerful. Everywhere, there is a story. Could it be the particular story or non-story of this moment is a branch of one's core story (one's deep rooted, anchored story, that which is feeding all of one's other unfolding plotlines)?
Is it an awesome story?
Might it be the story of someone who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles, the story of someone always willing to say yes to that glorious adventure? Wouldn't that be awesome?
-:
:-
Yes, we are creative beings. Our narratives guide us. This is a beautiful abiding aspect of who we are as humans. It is a mighty force. It can inspire us to bring the best of our humanity. It can lead us to transformation. It can heal us.
By its very nature, just as readily, such narratives can be co-opted (from inside or out) to rob us of genius, to cheat us of creativity, to render us fodder in someone else's story, to suppress, to toss, to incense, to ignite, to blind, to defeat, to dash us against cracked walls, to decieve, to disable us. To inflict. Pain! To kill the dreams we dream.
-: inhale :-
There is a way out. For! "If you do not transform your pain," Richard Rohr said, "you will most assuredly transmit it." Likewise, if they do not transform their pain they will most assuredly transmit it, and do! Vexingly! Just as real, there is healing. Just as real, there is a wiping of the slate clean. Just as real, there are new and exciting beginings. Such transfomational samples abound. Wonderful redesigns! Awesome. To begin such a healing process we listen. Not preach. Not judge. Listen. We listen to our bodies, our minds, our spirits, our souls. We listen. We listen to the person.
-: breathe :-
When we know better we are in an informed state to do better, for we have agency; the choice becomes ours. Choosing is a gift, a privillege of being, a pathway creator, an owned action in this dynamic world where all acts, without exception, and every condition no matter their state, have consequences known and unknown, intended and unintended, without deference or unjustified favor to its actor(s) and with total moral indifference to the state of that act's environment. " Don't give in to hate. That leads to the dark side." Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. "What we do in life echoes in eternity." General Maximus Decimus Meridius, Gladiator.
-:
:-
Self-awareness is incredibly important. "Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It's not about winning. It's about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn't let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasn't one more thing you could've done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman - you're perfect!" Coach Gary Gaines, Friday Night Lights.
At home again! Renewed. Revitalized. Connected. Flowing. Isn't it magical? One can dream again. Isn't it refreshing to be able to dream anew? There's a hero in you.
One's story is one's reality. One's reality is one's story. Building and unfolding, building and unfolding, building and unfolding, all along the way. So what happens when our building blocks are made of unstable narratives, when our creative tools are mismatched?
Instability!
During our last episode, we were reminded of a fact: no human knows everything! That is each human's challenge! It is a challenge that keeps us alive and growing. It is a challenge built into the fuctioning of our universe. It is a challenge intrinsic to the process of our becoming. It is a reminder of the grandness of our humaness, and that we have agency, and that we are not robots, and that ours - the very fact of our living - is a process of discovery: every morning ever new!
When we fail to adapt, when we opt not to replace our bad blocks and damaged blocks with known better blocks, we leave ourselves subject to the ongoing instability of a poor foundation. We lose balance. Our shaky narratives rock us off-kilter. And yet, back to point one, we do not know everything.
It is up to us.
At a moment when Nobel Prizes are being announced, it is fortuitous to be reminded that getting out into the open and into the crevices in one's finding-out operation is an adventure of life, one of the beauties of our gift to creation. That's what we've found.
Many 'truths' can appear to make sense in one paradigm, or within a certain set of situations, or in the light of a set of beliefs we depend upon, and yet can be totally false and certainly so elsewhere regardless of how innocently imbedded. But each of us has agency. So what happens when something is known to be false, discovered to be false, realized to be false, and one abdicates responsibility for revising one's narrative in accordance?
That journey remains off balance. That person''s core value remains compromised. There is a phantom in the mix. The quality of one's narrative is a measure of its stability. Our story is our reality. Our reality is our story. We have agency.
Epic is grand. Epic is adventurous. Epic is heroic. Epic is legendary. Epic is beautiful. We have learned that an adventurous life does not necessarily mean climbing mountains, swimming with sharks or jumping off cliffs. It means risking yourself by leaving a little piece of you behind in all those you meet along the way. O how grand that is! We have found as was shared by Albert Camus, there is something marvelous within in each of us. He said, "In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm, I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me there's something stronger - something better, pushing right back."
A Hero Is In You.
Embrace AUTHENTICExperiences.
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." _ Ralph Waldo Emmerson
There is who we think we need to be and there is who we really are. Knowing who we really are positions us ideally to progress to who we purpose ourself to be. You being the best you probably implies you've come to be at home with yourself, that you have worth. You've learned to be good to yourself. You've learned how to find your neutral. You've accepted the wisdom of changing gears suitably to effective speed and the nature of terrains along your journey. You know you are a rarity. Valued.
But what if you haven't got there yet?
Be yourself. Know who you are. Discover what is within you.
ELEVATE - ELEVATE - ELEVATE
I AM because YOU ARE YOU ARE because I AM
Welcome to SEASON EIGHT, 'An Epic Life' - Episode 4 - Knock - Knock - curated by Neville DeAngelou. During this episode we look inside ourselves and discover worth and value, a wealth within, when shared, enriches whosoever we encounter. We plumb these depths. We find a hero there. We learn to pause to smell the earth, to taste the rain, to touch the wind, to see things growing, to hear the sun rising and night falling. We discover ourselves to be creators of universes within universes, and how marvelous this is, fulfilling our purpose for being. We recognize that intelligence isn't knowing everything, rather, it is the ability to challenge everything we know. It is that willingness to truly consider evidence that contradicts our beliefs, and the ability to admit to the possibility that we may have been wrong, and to bask in the bright light of discovery. We honor the home deep within.
We are a peculiar people, you and I, intricately interwoven (internally, externally), marvelously made, unique, inventive, rich, exceptionally versatile, endowed with remarkable minds and an adventurous spirit, creative.
When we arrived here, we did not enter a deserted earth, a barren land absent the wherwithals to live, absent necessities for growth and progress. We stand upon the labors of those who came before us. We thrive upon their wisdom. We reap gains and suffer losses resulting from their efforts. We build there. So it will be for those arriving on the trails of us. Regardless. Their lot is contingent upon us.
What kind of ancestors will we be? Knowing who you are and what you are about in any setting or stage of life will help you focus better, find balance, and attain rhythms that function in your favor. Challenges will exist, but you will be better able to attend to what matters as well as enjoy greater satisfaction doing so.
What are we doing that will outlive us and be toward the benefit of those who come after us?
FRIENDSHIP
Experience Wonder.
We are WIDE OPEN wholly responsible for making our world a better place.
Today's pivot QUESTION: you've been plucked, gracefully, from where you are and lifted into an amazing place you approve of, where everything weighing you down or that has troubled you or causes you to devalue yourself or delays you in anyway is promptly removed - miraculously - gone - you are completely new while remaining fully enriched (all of your valued experiences and learnings and wisdom are in tack); and in that altered state you are advised (inspirationally so) to picture your new life - a life worth living hence forward - experienced just as you'd prefer it to be recorded and left for all eternity, and you picture this life that is worth your living - hold that picture - for you are then brought gently to where you are right now, and here you are, fresh and totally new:
presuming you've come to grips with your reason for being, how are you working it out, and if you have not come to grips with your reason for being how will you figure it out?
* * *
TAKE ACTION
Our actions reflect The Story we tell ourselves.
"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny." _ Mohandas Gandhi
Why not examine your life from a different angle?
As much as is affordable for matters that matter, afford yourself a 360 degree view. You may find this of great value in ways you had not imagined nor known to account for. It is highly probable you will also encounter awesome insights that are of no relevance to who you are or what you are about, and that you will make observations you are ill-equipped to comprehend. It is highly likely you will encounter delightful delusions, and disconcerting illusions, and lots of bs disguised as helpful secrets. It may very well not be incumbent upon you to contest or combat any of these, but they will inform you, and will assuredly put upon you the onus to be ever more discerning and to be ever smarter with your decisions and clearer with your intentions, for all in all these will profitably test your faith and mirror your trust, and render you that much better. As much as is affordable for matters that matter, afford yourself a 360 degree view.
Our RyoLearn VIP Vault, brilliantly designed and conveniently styled with awesome contributions from around the globe, is now unlocked, freely available to you. Click. Peruse. Take. Use. Share. We can choose to renew our minds.
ACTIONS REQUIRED
Potentiality
"An infinity of forests lies dormant in the dream of an accorn."
Learn how to behave in the most fuctional ways to achieve your goals.
Remember: it is YOUR LIFE; only you can live it. Regardless, you do not walk alone, and whether or not it is visible to us the sun is always shining. This sun by measure is ever willing, ever giving, fueling many desires. The courtship we (our planet earth) have with this super star affords our generations the richness of life we have been privileged. Our seasons. Our biodivierstiy. Our means of thriving. Gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude. It is we {{on planet earth, tilted as it is}} who orbit the sun at measurable distances every 365.242 days, bathing our various parts as we roll through life-giving light. It is we (each of us that is) by communal designs and-or decree who variously occupy and-or traverse lit and unlit portions, timely or untimely, and by whatever means we resolve to do so or for whatever resaons we reside wherever we occupy. Whatever our personal or communal story, the story of earth's romance of the sun is solid. Ours is - well - shall I say, traumatic. Even if, by some illusion or delusion, earth's said romance proves counterfactual, we know this for sure: this is your life, ONLY YOU can live it. Come alive. Our world (our universe) is discoverable; we are discovering it. May we also, in the discovery and-or the unfolding of ourselves, find balance, rhythm, and focus in useful portions. May you flourish whether your ride is in sunlight, under moonlight, or beneath shelter, rain or cloud. And may the sun keep on shining until our ways are done.
A sensible lifestyle.
Take Action
"Know what you own. Understand what you claim. Believe you can achieve what you conceive then call it by its name. Mine! The extent to which you have this clarity of mind, this purity of understanding, this strength of belief, you have the fire, the fuel, the impetus, the passion, the determination, the willpower you require to pursue and retrieve your truest desire. But do not claim what does not belong to you. It will not keep you . . . it will suffer you but for only so long."
You are valued. You are important. What you experience is important. Your intention matters. You are a whole being. You are a true wonder. You diminish yourself whenever you pit valued elements of who you are against vital elements of who you are: your intuitive self against your intellectual self, your rational self against your emotional self, your gut against your heart against your head. Don't be put at war against yourself: you are a masterpiece. An intricate being. Human!
Discovering: sobering realities
inventor
entrepreneur
creator
coach
Life: it is a dance. It gets better with practice; its music is in your heart and in your soul and in your blood and in your bones. Life; it is a dance. It gets better with practice. You have a partner – your spirit. You can have a party if you like, but choose smartly who you invite, for life – your life – is a dance. It gets better with practice, unless you stop the music or so crowd your dance floor there is no space to move or be moved within it. Explore. Yes, life; it is a dance. It gets better with practice until the dance becomes the dancer and the dancer becomes the dance and life and all of existence becomes a singular flow. Yes, life; it is a dance. It gets better with practice. Dance.
Masterpiece
a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship.
tour de force
Be at Home with Yourself
Home is a special place. Love resides there. The best journeys take you there. Hope lives there. Home leaves no question about belonging. Friends belong there. Dreams thrive there. Home is a place of forgiveness. There is no rejection there. Home is a place of rest and recuperation and rejuvination. There is laughter there. Life takes you to unexpected places; love brings you home. At home you are free to flourish. It is where you birthed your wings. Sing your way home. We live amongst viruses and bacteria: some are villains and some are monsters. Monsters breed. Villains are everywhere; you are ever in their sights. Be prepared: find your rhythm, stay in balance, keep your values and your vision in focus. Choose your friends wisely. Choose folks who are good for your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Allow your beauty to reflect the light you let in. Be all of you. Enjoy the fullness of your sacred space - Home. Replenish yourself.
Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing there is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.
expand your mind
. . .
live
laugh
love
. . .
let your light shine
Live. Laugh. Love.
Come, let us all be friends for once,
Let us make life easy on us,
Let us be lovers and loved ones,
The earth shall be left to no one.
Across the nation and around the world there is a long rumble.
It is a rumble so loud it strikes ready ears as a distant clap of a fierce thunder. It is a rumble so low, it rides beneath the noise of a thousand human fears; it can no longer be heard. Fear of flight, fear of heights, fear of sand, fear of snow, fear of monsters in the closet, fear of bugs in the pillow, fear of cats, fear of bats, fear of strangers at the door, fear of being lost, fear of being laughed at, fear of being stuck in the toilet bowl, fear of whites, fear of blacks, fear of browns, blues and yellows, fear of nakedness, fear of the unknown, fear of being hurt.
Smile. Live. Love. Laugh. Look. Listen. Learn. Be awesome. You are powerful beyond measure. You are not alone. You can do all things. I am you. You are me. We are one. Keep Sharing.
May our light shine on sprinkled seeds along The Journey.
"Live Your Life - Live it well. You are worth it."
Listen. Learn. Lead.
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up." Martin Luther King Jr.Look. Listen. Learn. YOU ARE VALUED BEYOND MEASURE. (A Place Called Ah.)
Breathe.
We are accompanied.
Balance - Focus - Rhythm
BE EVER REMINDED:the life you are living is YOUR life; ONLY YOU can live it!
The Journey - Your Voice Illuminated - Our Global Digital Radio Show & Podcast. We stop at exotic places, meet fascinating folks with intriguing stories and novel solutions to some of life's tricky problems. We play a few games too, and track remarkable characters of three classics: ILICET - A Time To Begin Again (True Story) SBL Series: 2:26 AM, The Gathering (Matchbox Mystery) and Flight Of The Fused Monkeys (5-Star Series). Life is beautiful and full of surprises. Breathe! Along our journey of life and learning we challenge ourselves toward the reaches of our highest ideals: to be our best, do our utmost, achieve our finest, wherever necessary and practicable redesigning the contours of possibility, reshaping human capability. Join our posse. We are changing the game! We welcome your perspective. Enjoy top dramatic, inspirational, mystery, scifi, and true stories. Live. Love. Laugh. Look. Listen. Lead. Learn with us. Get your FREE AUDIO of 'Sven: The High Achiever's Journey'. You'll be glad you did. Share the experience.
ILICET - A Time To Begin Again (True Story) 
