Open mind Open heart Peaceful soul

Fundamentalism is the greatest threat to human freedom and flourishing.

From the souls perspective there is no time, no fear, no death, and no absolutes.

When the sea of life is turbulent we yearn for the anchor of familiarity, the safe harbour of the known. As the intensity of our discomfort increases, anchoring in old ways of being and behaving become more attractive, especially when it seems we are at risk of capsizing. 
Unfamiliar waters are fun when the sun is shining, the sky is clear and the way is sure. When the storm clouds gather; the wind whips up, salt spray lashes our faces, and the rocks on the shore loom close, this is when we yearn for the known. We recall the previous comfort of the safe harbour and the strong anchor of familiarity. In these moments we forget everything that pushed us out in the first place. The feeling of boredom, staleness, repetition and stagnation that comes with the known. In our moments of doubt we value the past comforts over the possibilities that lie ahead. Should we leave behind the established and the familiar in search of something more meaningful and relevant, we set forth in the knowledge that comfort comes at the cost of our freedom and growth. The storm will test us and we will face the choice to return back to the tried and true, or seek a new anchor in the unfamiliar, and shelter in more abundant, open and equitable harbours.

Bring on Wisdom, Sound money, and the means to share it peer to peer.

Playa Grande, Costa Rica

Conscious, creative and confident women have always had a powerful affect on society. Yet they have been hampered through lack of equal opportunities in the domain of finance. Now this is changing and women can empower themselves and each other with a financial education and adoption of digital money. Bitcoin makes no gender distinction. All are welcome to participate, store their time and energy, exchange it freely without the control of others, and begin to revalue things in this decentralised and secure monetary network. Bitcoin and cryptography is a great equaliser. We need more women to see this. Men are concerned what will happen when women combine beauty, wisdom, creativity, life force and finance. There is a chance they will lose their hegemony and have to play on equal terms. It’s happening. We better get used to it.

Evolution is uncomfortable. External pressures place stress upon organisms and only those under intense stress face pressure great enough to cause new adaptations. In order to evolve to a new state something must first get very uncomfortable and desperate. So it is with our spiritual evolution. We are on the cusp of a new way of living. It’s opaque as to exactly what it is we are becoming because we have not yet crossed the chasm on mass. All we know is that the pressure on us to evolve is mounting fast. We have a choice now. Try to surrender enough to feel into where life is pushing us to adapt, or struggle against the shift, resisting it and intensifying our pain. It seems like all of society is burdened by the old ways. Most people are clinging to the past and doubling down on fear, doubt, greed and control. You can see it in their eyes, posture, and behaviour. People are afraid. Yet there are others, a growing minority who can feel these same pressures and understand it’s a spiritual push we are feeling. The push to evolve and mature as a species. They are choosing a different path, one of love over fear and freedom over control. You can see it in their eyes, posture, and behaviour. These people are full with hope, and pregnant with possibility. We are being squeezed through the eye of the needle. At Christ said, “With man things are impossible, but with God all things are possible.” It’s a divine push. We must relax into it.

Do not cower down and submit to slavery.

You cannot see what isn’t working when you are still working in it.

I believe that most people only get a complete fresh start a handful of times in their life. For some it is forced upon them by their parents; hardship, divorce, a natural disaster or a health scare. For others it is a conscious choice to make a clean break.

Regardless of why, I define a complete reset as a letting go and cutting off of the old in order to embrace something completely new. It is an opportunity that comes rarely and one that if used wisely can forever change the course of your life, allowing you a new awareness of self that does not come any other way.

I am currently experiencing a complete reset. 

I have chosen this because on multiple levels the life I was living was no longer serving me. Patterns of behaviour, thought, and emotion were deeply embedded, and try as I might I was unable to shift them. For eleven years I have been going around in circles repeating the same cyclical motion, stuck in an orbit, a gravitational pull that would not allow me to significantly change course. It was the awareness that if I could not break this pattern I would end up stuck in it for the rest of my life that finally gave me the impetus to get free.

I’m two months into my new reality and the self awareness is returning. Initially all the old behaviours, thoughts and emotions remained. “Wherever you go there you are” and simply changing environment does not guarantee changes in yourself. As the saying goes, moving to a cave in the mountains will not make you a guru. However, there’s a higher chance of gaining self awareness if you do something radically different for a time, and self awareness when combined with new behaviours is the only way to create a new person.

At this point I can get defensive. I defend my old patterns of destructive behaviour - my ego does not like to grow up. At points when my wife speaks truth to me about the pain I am causing myself and others I react and respond in the old ways. Like a snake shedding its skin or a hermit crab outgrowing its shell things get very uncomfortable, and I cling to the old. Move through this painful transition and suddenly the old is repulsive, dead, clinging like a scab over the shiny new skin beneath. I want to let it go.

Making it to this point of self awareness, being willing to face it, and then let it go takes time, introspection, honest conversation, and a completely new environment. At least this is the case for me. Too busy, too short, not a complete break, it doesn’t work. A holiday cannot provide me this, nor can a long weekend. The knowledge that I will shortly return to my life blocks me from facing the reality of what isn’t working. I’m too embedded. The only option is a full reset.

In this case it was the desire for materialistic success that was holding me back. Clinging to my stuff and my old identity I became bound by it, by the belief that I must build up material goods and prove myself as a man to those who know me best. Letting go of it all was stressful, challenging and liberating. 

Now with only a bag of clothes, some basic tech, and my loved ones, the sense of self is returning. My nervous system has relaxed and I can see that what my family really need from me is my love, time, presence and support.

I could not see this because I was stuck. How many others are also stuck, chasing the things that make them unhappy, repeating the same behaviours, thoughts and emotional outbursts without the awareness to understand why it’s not working?

How many people could do with a complete reset, a Jubilee, a fresh start?

It’s not easy, and you have to sacrifice a lot in the short term to pull it off, but what you gain is priceless.

Out of chaos the Phoenix rises, 
Fire red blood drips from its wings. 
A cry of sorrow the baby releases, 
The anguished heart of new life sings. 
Harsh is the journey of finding your way, 
Masked faces, a complex array. Here and now, there and then. 
Wishful wanting, painful loss, 
Each of us must carry our cross. 
Emergent reality comes with age, 
Buried the heart of the ancient sage. 
Timeless wisdom reborn from the past, 
Life and its lessons have not been precast. Find your own path. 
Walk it, taste it, feel and embrace it. 
You are the artist, create your own piece, 
Sing loudly, dance wildly, feast. 
Pick your direction, hold it fast, 
Climb up the rigging, sway from the mast. 
Let go of the fear that gnaws at your soul, 
Let the wild wind blow, the billows roll. A tiny fresh shoot packaged with power, 
Grows into a tree, soaks up the storm showers. 
Embrace the light, root down deep in the soil, 
Ask the tough questions, be willing to toil. 
For truth, freedom, awareness, reason, 
Kindness, goodness, liberty, love. 
Cast off from the branch and soar like a dove. Fine lines are for walking, a balancing game, 
Stand upright, cast off your shame. 
Step into the is-ness that's all that you are, 
Release limitations, aim for the stars. 
Be an example of lightness and fun,
Laugh like a child, hug, jump and run.
Your heart alone knows what's best for you,
The rise of the Phoenix is pure and true. 

Yes, sometimes a little disobedience could be exactly what’s needed to free ourselves. Doesn’t have to be violent or angry but it must be strong.

Ignorance is not bliss, Simplicity on the other hand can come pretty close. It’s no accident that as you decrease your lists of wants it’s easier to find happiness. Ten thousands years of chasing materialism, power, and control, and finding no lasting contentment in it should officially classify humanity as insane. The rare moments of bliss we experience are usually at the times we slow down and simplify enough to feel what’s already all around us. There have been some sane humans along the way. They all stand out for their simple living and simple truths. To their example we should start looking again. Before our lives become so busy, complicated and competitive there is no space left for the joy of being alive. Pura Vida

If you don’t learn to fail you fail to learn. I’m deep in learning mode.

The volatility of Bitcoin price becomes an actual issue when you spend it. It’s fine for the long term hodling, but spending it (in my case for travelling with my family) can be a roller coaster. Smaller amounts isn’t such a issue but larger spends you can notice a major loss of purchasing power over a short window. I have no doubt that this factor is affecting the medium of exchange adoption.

What’s the best application out there for converting Bitcoin to dollars and spending via debit card? I’m travelling and need an option that will do this seamlessly for me across multiple currencies.

This hits home for me. Carve your own path.

Sometimes life pats you gently and other times it hits like a spiritual shockwave into your conscious. When the shockwave hits it pays to move fast.

It is impossible to gain new perspectives without changing your mindset. You cannot change your mindset without new experiences. You cannot have new experiences without doing something differently. You cannot do things differently without placing yourself into new environments. You cannot be in new environments without letting go of the old ways of being. You cannot let go of the old ways of being without acknowledging that they are no longer serving you. Change begins with the acknowledgment that you are stuck. That growth has stopped and stagnancy has set in. Change is the necessary fuel for new mindsets and behaviours. The more radical the change the more powerful the shift in perspective.

We are suffering from a spiritual crisis. A crisis of deeper meaning and loss of the vibrancy of The Spirit. Not for the first time a spiritual darkness has fallen on the West. We have lost touch with the subtle life force we call God and have exchanged connection with it for an obsession with our own image. Much as in the story of Lucifers fall from heaven it is pride in ourselves that has become our great delusion. We gaze into the virtual world for meaning and acceptance, forever looking outwards for approval rather than within ourselves for the purpose our souls seek. We cannot evolve beyond the continuous cycle of suffering and pain if we remain obsessed with gaining social approval and material abundance. It has become more important to be liked than to be real.