"I'm not going to tell the story the way it happened. I'm going to tell it the way I [want to] remember it." Our memories shape our attitude, how we experience the world as it unfolds. Those of us with happy memories have a happy time of it, swaddled in sunlight. For those of us with trauma-filled memories, life at times is a struggle, stressful. The traumas, karma, overshadow our lives. In the shadows it's cold and we use a lot of energy to keep warm. To replace the energy lost, we often engage others, to tap into their energy, with our dramas and other attention-getting techniques. At some point, it's exhausting for those we tap into and, if they have any sense to preserve their well-being, they walk away from us. Those with happy memories overflow with energy. Their lives are terrific, always good and getting better. They generously share their energy with others, hoping to bring them happiness. Those who are happy view the past as an entertaining illusion, like a movie. It is what it is whatever it is and whatever we want our memories to make of it. They know the most important free-will choice we have in life which in turn defines our attitude: how we choose to remember the past. For those who hold onto a traumatic past, best for them to remember the traumas are now passed; that there is nothing to forget. That is, the past is nothing but an illusion....

We have it backwards. Man's best friend is not the material (dog), but the transcendental (god)....

“When one realizes one is asleep, at that moment one is already half-awake." Self-consciousness precedes universal consciousness....

"Unfortunately, most people don’t get it. They will, but they’ll have to die first before they understand that they don’t." We don't die, just transition from one form to another. That which is alive and that which is not are no different; only differentiated by our mind; all manifestations of God; all unique and all the same. Is the breathing of the ocean and its shattering sound at the shore not as alive as we are? Everything is like bubbles in a glass of sparkling water, appearing out of nowhere and seemingly disappearing when reaching the top of the glass. The bubbles don't disappear. They become one with everything as they have been from the very beginning. We recognize that the only constant in the universe is change; that no one or anything dies, just transitions. Those who realize (know) this truth don't take themselves too seriously....

Once upon a time, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, experts in their respective fields of detective work and science, went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" Watson pondered for a minute. "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically , I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?" Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke. "Watson, you dickhead. Some bastard has stolen our tent." There are always many ways to view a situation, from the practical to the profound. If not individually funny, when juxtaposed they are funny....

"No one gets out of here alive." But we all do. If our identity is our finite physical presence, our lives are finite and no one gets out of here alive. When we realize we are not solely our finite selves but one with the infinite manifestations of the universe, there is no life or death; just endless transitions; comings and goings into and out of life; like the sound and the silence between heartbeats; like the breathing and silent pause between breaths. In the silence we are in the present, before our mind distracts us by ever-changing sounds and motions. The silence is eternal. When we realize we are one with the silence, we are here forever....

The present is the pre-sent, not the now. The present is the space where every thing is before it is what it is whatever it is in the now. In the present every thing is absent. When we are in the present, we can observe the now and realize we are consciousness that creates the now....

“If you can cut the people off from their history, then they can be easily persuaded.” As reported in the Washington Post on September 1, 2020: "A committee reporting to D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has recommended renaming dozens of public schools, parks and government buildings in the nation’s capital — including those named for seven U.S. presidents [and Benjamin Franklin] — after studying the historical namesakes’ connections to slavery and oppression. The report drew a torrent of criticism, especially for its suggestion of adding plaques or other context to some of the most famed federal locales in the city, including the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. After a harsh rebuke from the White House, the Bowser administration removed the recommendations dealing with federal monuments on Tuesday evening. A White House statement called Bowser (D) 'the radically liberal mayor of Washington, D.C.' and said she 'ought to be ashamed for even suggesting' revisions to the marble monuments dedicated to presidents who were enslavers. 'President Donald J. Trump believes these places should be preserved, not torn down; respected, not hated; and passed on for generations to come.'" Politically correct renaming has been going on for some years. Maine, Vermont and New Mexico no longer celebrate Columbus Day. Instead, they celebrate Native Americans’ Day. ...

For Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse-Five, life happens all at once; sequential time is a creation of mind and doesn't exist independent of mind. While our lives may happen all at once, we are a different person at each point in our lifetime story. We can choose to be any of these people at any circumstance in which we find ourselves. Our experience is a function of the choice we make....

"Time is what keeps everything from happening at once."(1) The past is created by mind in the form of stories. Each story unfolds sequentially, within a timeline. The timeline rationalizes cause and effect as without the timeline the stories don't make sense. For example, when we tell the story of a cat's life, the cat cannot be simultaneously dead and alive. However, everything in the past happens all at once, the moment the mind creates it. Hence, the cat is alive and dead simultaneously.  The timeline is an illusion our mind creates as are our stories. In other words, our mind creates the past. The past doesn't exist independent of mind. As to the present, the true-present, it is simply nothingness with waves of light about. Our mind transforms the light into our reality, the past and its related stories. (1) From Quote Investigator: "There is no substantive evidence that Einstein wrote or spoke the statement above. It is listed within a section called “Probably Not By Einstein” in the comprehensive reference “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” from Princeton University Press."...