Like a dog worrying a bone, I am continuing on the subject of the speed of life. Whether you agree with the ideas about a matrix of belief waves I presented in my last blog post or not, here is a TED video with journalist Carl Honore, who spends a great deal of time promoting the Slow Movement around the world, whether it involves the slow food movement  or other aspects of living. It's worth a listen. He notes numerous studies done that point to the benefits of moving slowly - taking more time, at least for specific parts of your life, or periods of your day. Some of those benefits are more enjoyment and a better understanding of your world or your relationships and a quality of life that cannot be achieved otherwise.

Most of us are so busy rushing forward to the next activity that we don't listen to what people are saying to us. We don't take the time to truly appreciate what we are doing. We don't see what is around us. Perhaps if we did, we would find that the answers to things we are so busy rushing around trying to find are actually staring us in the face here and now. We are producing a population that spends more time doing than thinking and in the process we begin to resemble robots or worker bees more than we resemble thinking humans beings. We may as well be factory robots that work for 'x' number of hours then shut down.

Don't get me wrong - I follow the famous Nike slogan that says "Just Do it" as much as the next person. But doing it doesn't mean doing it blindly. It means don't fuss it to death and end up not accomplishing anything. It means don't expect or wait for perfection before you take the next step. It means don't just spend your life dreaming about doing things, get them done. I don't think it becomes a positive influence if we merely DO things for the sake of DOING, regardless of whether they be constructive or destructive.

Where we run in to our first problem is trying to do too many things. Pick the ones you enjoy. Pick the things that are important to you. Learn to say no to the rest. Setting some criteria for your decision making means the process becomes easier over time. Giving yourself permission to slow down and enjoy life helps too. We seem to have brainwashed ourselves into thinking that having an easy rhythm to life is a sign of stupidity or slothfulness. It's not. Frankly, blindly rushing around for activity's sake isn't particularly productive. It's just busywork.

Take some time to enjoy the mi world around you

The last post (which you should probably skim to get the background for this post) was discussing the idea that the universe likes speed. I've seen and heard the phrase bandied about in many different places when people are speaking in terms of getting what you want in life. Going for your dreams. I understand the idea behind it, but wonder if perhaps what people are connecting to are patterns of information and the resonance of thought waves as opposed to merely the speed at which you do things.

What the heck am I talking about?

Here is a quote from Gregg Braden's book "The Spontaneous Healing of Belief" that might help give a background to what I mean;

       "The revolution of scientific understanding suggests that from our personal    health and relationships to global war and peace, the reality of our lives is nothing more and nothing less than our "belief waves" shaping the quantum stuff that everything is made from. It's all related to what we accept about our world, our capabilities, our limits, and ourselves."

He is speaking about a much larger sphere of influence than I refer to here, but what he is saying is that scientific research is pointing to a connection between our thoughts, our emotions, and the physical stuff that constitutes life as we know it in this universe. This idea is huge when you stop to think about it. But it is also exquisitely simple and makes sense. Think about it for a minute.

So, to expand along my own thought lines, if the 'belief waves'  that emanate from us are connected throughout with other 'belief waves' in a quantum matrix of some kind, then it would make sense that those waves that fit the patterns and frequency of others will travel along the matrix much easier and more quickly than discordant ones. If you get the information pattern right, it will quickly absorb into the flow of other similar patterns. If the resonance harmonizes with other waves of energy, the thoughts you send out will again be quickly absorbed into the flow of similar waves. As the saying goes - go with the flow.

I am not inferring that we need to all believe or think the same things, but the universe is made up of patterns of information. For a simple example, there are information patterns for growth that move an acorn seed into being an oak tree. Each one is slightly different, but they all have the characteristics of an oak tree in the end. There are patterns of information that create a human. Each one ends up as a unique individual, but all have the characteristics that make it a human being. You can introduce the influence of an 'almighty being' or leave it out, depending on your own personal thoughts, but the patterns are set and follow through regardless of how you believe they are created or controlled. (That idea alone could produce a whole other discussion, but right now I just want to deal with the underlying basics of the framework.)

Resonance comes in to play when we consider the rhythm of the universe. The sun has a pulse of energy, the earth has a pulse of energy, humans have a pulse of energy. It is the ability to tune into this natural energy pulse and align with it that I am speaking about. Here, I think, is where the idea has arisen that speed is important. Perhaps we have latched on to the wrong word and misinterpreted the concept. I don't think that it means we should hurry up and throw things out into the world without any idea of the results it may produce, thinking that we can fine tune along the way. That idea may well be what has resulted in the global mess that we deal with today. I think what we may be looking at/for is the right thought patterns that resonate with the rhythms of the universal matrix that ties it all together.

This time of year being at the change in seasons is a good example of what I am speaking about - a change in the rhythms of the planet. In the northern hemisphere there is a ramping up of growth, and in the southern hemisphere a slowing down. We don't always pay much attention to it in our busy lives, but we do feel it if we allow ourselves a moment. Spring is always accompanied by a spurt of energy - Fall is accompanied by a slowing down, a relaxing. As a species we may have tried to separate ourselves from these rhythms, but we are still affected by them. Whether we admit it or not we are connected to and part of the information patterns and rhythms of everything around us. The energies of the universe flow through us just as they flow through plants, animals and inanimate objects. We are not somehow impervious to these influences. We are one life form among many. Perhaps if we stop trying to separate ourselves, and try instead to connect ourselves to these natural rhythms we would find the peace we are looking for.

This was sunset about a week ago. Lots of snow still on the ground, but winter does have beauty hidden within its harshness.

A week or so later, this is how the evening looks. The snow is melting, the robins and juncos are picking bugs and seeds, and plants are beginning to show sprouts of green.

Not only do these photographs look different, they feel different. They stir different thoughts and emotions within. Connect with that and go with the flow. Move with the rhythms of the universe.


If you wish to hear Gregg Braden's thoughts on how the universe functions, you will find videos on Google videos from several years ago, as well as info on his own website http://www.greggbraden.com with links to his interviews and articles. He ties together scientific research with his own brand of spirituality and it makes an interesting mix.

I keep hearing and reading the phrase "the universe likes speed" - and I am wondering. Does it really? Is speed the most important aspect to success? Is speed more important than knowledge or expertise in the subject? Does the importance of speed negate the necessity of planning projects? Or is speed merely the important part of being the first to grab the money and create a 'brand' for your product that sticks in the customer's memory?

Granted - that last aspect can be very important to big corporations that are in competitive fields and want us poor lemming-like customers to be drawn un-thinkingly to the first product that catches our attention. We are often so overwhelmed that finding a familiar product on the shelf makes us happy, even if it isn't the best or cheapest, or even if it pollutes our planet. We just want easy. We are bombarded by so many products and so many 'do's and don'ts' that easy gives the brain a moment of peace. A moment where we don't have to consider weighing any information.

But to consider speed as the most important aspect of living a successful life doesn't sit comfortably in my mind. When I look at nature itself and ask myself if this idea is borne out in the reality around me, I don't see it as being important. With some things, speed is a factor. With others it is not. To me, speed is only one aspect of life - sometimes useful, sometimes not. Consider the fact that creating universes, creating planets, is not something that happens overnight. It takes aeons. Consider how many ages it takes to wear down a mountain into a fertile flood plane. Consider how many hundreds of years some trees grow before collapsing back to add the nutrients they have stored within back into the forest floor. These are not things that fail without speed.

Yes, I know that with some insects, for instance, their lives are over in a few days or months - so speed is a factor for them. If they don't mate and lay their eggs for future generations, the species ceases to exist. But even in that case, if they are only alive for three days, one day is the equivalent of one-third of their lifetime.

Getting back to human beings - I have met some people who are constantly on the move, doing things, moving forward, tackling new projects and completing them in record time, successfully. At the end of the day they are happy with what they have accomplished. But I also know others who are vary laid back and take their time with planning and completion - who also go to bed at the end of the day happy with what they have accomplished. And at the end of a lifetime, one has not accomplished anything more important than the other. They are just different, and fulfill different needs within the universe.

Perhaps I am missing something important - maybe I'm not seeing it right, but to me, some things flow fast and others move slow. Success can be derived in either situation. It's like the yin and yang. One cannot be experienced without the other as a balance. Rivers sometimes rush. Rivers sometimes trickle. It is the ebb and flow of life. I just don't feel that one speed is best for everyone, and the only way to achieve success. Some walk to the beat of a different drummer and are just as important to the orchestration of life.

Any comments? If you see it differently, where do we differ in our outlook?

Insects don't live long. What we call speed is necessary in their short life.

Gold, on the other hand, takes ages and requires the right conditions to form. Both are necessary for life on this planet.

When I closed the curtains to the dark sky last night the sidewalks were clean, the road was clear, and it was the end of a beautiful sunny day.

Two days ago I was walking the park and watching the Mallards bobbing their heads at each other. Mating time is here.

Early this morning just after first light, this was the scene when I opened the curtains to the new day. Quite a change.

Yesterday I had actually contemplated the garden patch for a short while. Looking at the remnants of last years planting, trying to decide what the green shoots I could see actually belonged to. To wake to a new dump of snow this morning was quite a surprise. It was more than just an overnight skiff - there were about 4 or 5 inches and it was still falling. But as the day has progressed the sun appeared and much of what was there has melted again.

This time of year is always unpredictable and filled with surprises. Some of them good, some of them leave you feeling like you've been shoved five steps backwards. That was the initial feeling this morning, I must admit. The thought that rattled through my brain was "CRAP! I thought we were finished with shovelling this ____!" .... or something close to that.  But then I stopped and looked at how pretty the world appeared, all covered in white again, and my anger dissipated. I took my morning coffee to the seat by the window and watched the snowflakes until I decided I was awake enough to go out and shovel it.

At late afternoon, the sun and the breeze have done their jobs and most of the new snow has dropped from the branches and slid off the roof. The world is once again showing signs of Spring's approach.

It reminds me that life is often like that. You get shaken up as a reminder of the problems you could be facing.... then the difficulties disappear, the storm subsides, and all your frustration and anger were for nothing really. Weather comes and goes as does life. Sometimes there are lasting effects from a severe storm, but more often than not it is just a reminder of how good life really is.

If my biggest problem is whether to take boots or sandals when I travel, I think I should be very content and extremely grateful for my blessings.