If you care about changing the world, choose to be happy!

EVERYTHING that this ego-based world tells you will bring you happiness, vitality and joy, is wrong.

And I do mean EVERYTHING.

Most people who walk the path of love towards higher awareness know that money, riches, fame, recognition, career, or athletic prowess, do not really bring you happiness, vitality, or joy.

Most people believe that FAMILY brings you joy, and that it is THE most important thing in life.

In Hebrew, there is a term called "Nachat;" in Yiddish, it is pronounced "Nachas."
It is a term that refers to the joy, blessings, and pride that one gets from one's children and grandchildren.

When one imagines Nachas, one has an image of a kind, ever loving, always forgiving grandmother in a rocking chair, perhaps knitting, with all her children and grandchildren at her feet, all healthy, happy, playing nice and being lovely.

This is of course just another one of the world's illusions or fantasies. 
For most people, family brings MORE misery, not Nachas.

I am not sure that there are even a few families on this earth who fully enjoy harmonious family ties.

I imagine that is possible only if everyone is truly content in all aspects of their lives and has an enlightened mind.

In reality, the family cell is where we work out our karma and progress towards awakening.
It is not a fuzzy, joyful journey, although it has some joyful moments.

In a perfect world, there might be a family in which everyone really loves and honors one another, supports each other's choices all the time, and does their utmost to promote nothing but happiness in all those around them.

But how many people do you know who actually live by these principles?
A person can only extend that to others if she lives consistently by those rules, and applies them NOT just towards her family, but towards the whole world.

Even if that imaginary family existed, and everyone really got along with one another, and there was a constant flow of help and love, which by itself is more rare than the illusive Yetti, family and friends are NOT what can bring you what you REALLY want.

The fountain of JOY is within your OWN MIND.

Your mind is an awesome tool, and it has the capacity to elevate you to heights untold.

Your mind can energize you and renew the cells of your body, or it can make you miserable.

It all depends on the thoughts you hold and on their vibrations.

Yes, your thoughts and feelings are choices that you make.

You choose to be sad if you believe that there are "damn good" reasons to feel bad about things.
Over time, this "justified" sadness will spin out of control and you will find yourself unhappy and moody most of the time, even when there are absolutely NO apparent reasons to feel that way.

The nature of our powerful minds is very much like a broadcasting transmitter, which amplifies and attracts more messages on a similar wavelength.

We are either in tune with the thoughts that make us feel sad, or with the thoughts that elevate us and help us to feel optimistic, youthful, lively, energized and happy.

Our thought patterns generate our emotions.

If you are feeling moody, listen to your mind, and hear the tape that is playing there right now.

This tape is usually about mundane details that you need to attend to, logistics of things that you need to remember, like picking up the kids from school, watering the garden, remembering to write that email or send that report.

But in and among the logistics, there is a mind-tape about all the things that people have said or done that hurt you, all the things that you disagree with, all your childhood memories, all your worries and all the news you've read and all the ideas that you wish would be different....

You will notice that your mind-tape includes self doubts, fears, all the reasons that you will not get what you want, not find the love that you crave, not be able to manifest your dreams.....

The tape might be about why we will never have a clean earth and why world peace is a child's dream, and why the best scenario will never happen anyway, so why bother....

Now... I wish to assure you that:

It is not only POSSIBLE, but it is your RESPONSE-ABILITY, to change the channel of your reception and to choose another thought wave, and thus to change the pattern of your life.

You can either follow your mind, or follow your feelings; both will work.
Both will show you where you are at, and to what wave length you are listening.

If you find yourself feeling even slightly sad, chances are you are tuning into a lower vibration channel, one that brings you misery and that will bring more misery and thus sickness to come.
If you are choosing higher vibrational thoughts, you will have feelings of elevation, a feeling of an incredible lightness and joy.

MOST people believe that you first have to "have a reason to be happy," before you can welcome happiness into your heart.

That is a HUGE misperception of how things really work.

First you have to decide that you are tired of making yourself unhappy, and of feeling sick and tired ALL THE TIME.

You can choose happiness and peace of mind... REGARDLESS of the millions of "justified reasons" to feel sad....

The lower ego mind might argue: Aren't there major problems in the world?.... 
Problems that will go out of control if you do not worry about them?....

Environmental issues that can destroy our planet?....
Terrorism that MUST be worried about?... 
The global financial collapse that is looming?.... 
Supply and demand that no longer follows any sensible pattern...
Social depravity... 
The hydrogen bomb... 
Isis...
The Middle East... 
Iran...
Murders, corruption, violence, racism, fundamentalism...
North Korea, Mali, Pirates in Somalia......
Issues seem to come from East and West, South and North, from inside the earth in the form of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, and for some people, from believing an outer-space invasion is a "real" possibility.

Holding on to your worries is never really going to solve anything.

Feeling sad all the time will just bring you sickness, will choke up the juice in your life and will darken your horizons.

Change comes not from fighting, but from clarity.

You cannot twist peoples' arms into realizing things.

It is exactly what the terrorists are trying to do in their desperate attempt to change what will never change by fighting.

Similarly, you will not be able to affect change by fighting for a "good cause," or fighting politicians with whom you disagree.

Do you know to whom politicians listen?

They listen to their friends!

If you wish to truly change things, you must become friendly.
Stop fighting and stop struggling.
Start being happy and fun to be with.
Start LOVING and open up your heart....

There is a saying that I have often heard from the Course in Miracle's teacher, Marianne Williamson.
It is about solving the world's issues through love.

She said:

"Do you know WHY we have so many issues in the world, with terrorism, social injustices, divisions over religions and race integration? 
It is because we open our borders, but we do NOT open our hearts.
Do not bother to open your borders, if you do not intend to open your hearts!"

In other words: You've gotta love one another!

Seriously, it is no longer just a biblical suggestion, it is truly a matter of LOVE or DEATH!

You can start small.
Start by not criticizing others.
Start by loving and supporting your neighbors and friends, even if their dreams sound crazy to you.

Perhaps they are hearing their own drummer who is different from yours?

You do not have to support them financially, but support them emotionally and encourage them with your words.

Do not look at the imperfections in people, but see beyond imperfections to the goodness in their eyes....

See their hopes, feel their dreams, be compassionate to their humanity, see their vulnerability; look into their hearts....

Be happy if you are Jewish, and your daughter brings home a Muslim guy to marry.
If you are Muslim, and your son brings home a Hindu woman....rejoice and give them your heartfelt blessings!

Love the Chinese, the North Koreans, the Africans....
How can anyone NOT love the Africans.... Have you ever listened to their music? 
It is the sweetest music on the face of the earth, hands down....

LOVE will open your heart.
It will integrate, embrace, share, rejoice, and it will eventually change the tape that is looping in your minds to a joyful one.....

I can tell you from my own experience, that as you change the channel that you are tuned into in your mind, the music gets sweeter and sweeter, and it becomes so much less of an effort to feel happy....

It is like the theory of evolution, in which your monkey mind evolves to embrace the Divine Mind.

When your Divine mind is tuned into higher vibrations, it merges with the Infinite Mind and the thoughts and ideas that come to you, are so refined, so creative, so sweet, so loving, so kind and all encompassing......

The iconic poet Leonard Cohen sings to us in his raspy beautiful voice: 
"The HEART HAS GOT TO OPEN IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY......"

You can only change the world if you change your own pattern of thinking, and elevate your own mind, so that you dwell in feelings of love, kindness, unity, and equality.

I will step aside here and with utmost humility, I will shadow and interpret a song by the highly spiritually advanced poet, Leonard Cohen.

During the holidays, I was delighted to hear that the Kerikeri Farmers Market was to feature a tribute band, singing songs written by Leonard Cohen.

We made sure to get there early, with the hope of enjoying the performance while we shopped.
To my amazement, the band did not sound at all like they were even singing Leonard Cohen's songs.

I wondered why they were so off the mark....After all, they were not bad at all... 
The musicians played on the beat, and the girls had sweet voices, yet the songs lacked all the power of his messages......

Then I understood that these band members had not yet understood the encoded message in the lyrics, and thus they were unable to convey its powers to the audience.

Like the master poet Rumi, Leonard Cohen imbues his poetry and lyrics with meaning and truths that dance across many levels and dimensions.

Leonard spends much of his days now in retreat, meditating and living in a modest Zen Buddhist monastery near the San Francisco hills.

I chose this song because we are already in packing mode to go back to the USA.

Ok... So, taking a deep breath, I dive in....

"Democracy"

"It's coming through a hole in the air, 
from those nights in Tiananmen Square"

This is obviously a criticism about the kind of democracy that exists in the USA and currently in many democratic countries.

Many countries are democratic by governmental rule, but not in the hearts of its people.

The USA is a country established on democratic principles, but regardless of how much democracy in action you can actually find in the USA today, this song is not really about democracy.

On a higher level, it is about real change, equality, brotherly Love, Unity,... All the principles that True Democracy is based on.

Change is coming through a hole in the air... Almost ephemeral..... and not via changes in governmental policies....

It is going to come from the memories of those deadly days in Tiananmen Square. 
From the ashes of the dead students who stood in front of the tanks of injustice and corruption, and paid for it with bones and blood....

"It's coming from the feel 
that it ain't exactly real, 
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there"

Progress will come by loosening the edges of reality....
By letting go of the old harsh ideas of solidity and rigidity.

By embracing what FEELS good... 
By what FEELS joyful and fun and light.... 
Even if it feels that it is not exactly real....

"From the wars against disorder, 
from the sirens night and day, 
from the fires of the homeless, 
from the ashes of the gay: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

I love the imagery in this verse.

I can see the homeless dressed in rags, warming their hands in fingerless gloves by a fire that they have built in an old barrel...

I can hear the sirens of the emergency vehicles sounding night and day, instilling in us the belief that everything is wrong ALL the time....

A belief that this is a random, heartless universe....
A belief that in any given minute, you could drop dead....
Or that somebody's heart gives up.....
Any second an accident occurs... 
Sirens, like the news in the media, are the sounds of confusion and disaster that are being broadcasted as a soundtrack in the background of our lives....

I can see the ashes of all the gays who have died in vain.....full of sorrowful hearts....unloved by their judgmental friends or unforgiving families...... alienated and made to feel less than human by their churches, that turned their backs on them....

I can see all the wars that have been waged again disorders...breast cancer, M.S, Alzheimer's..... Endless forms of dis-ease and endless wars....

What a colossal waste of time, hopes and energy....

All you have to do is to AWAKEN...

Shed the delusion of a bodily identity....

Shed your delusion of a singular ego identity....

And REMEMBER your ONENESS with Life, with God... Remember who you REALLY ARE....

Open up your heart in a new and fundamental way...

Accept your Divine nature....

You are a Creator..... Now is the time to become a CONSCIOUS creator, and to start creating your reality with full awareness.

You are a powerful Spiritual Being....

Claim your true domain,

Stand strong and lofty.....

Stand above the muddy grasp of sickness and disease,

You are NOT a body!

You are free....

"It's coming through a crack in the wall
on a visionary flood of alcohol
from the staggering account 
of the Sermon on the Mount 
which I don't pretend to understand at all"

Glimpses of these spiritual realizations come to you in the cracks between the solid walls of your reality and of your dreams........

You already know everything I am speaking of... 
You sensed this when you were high on grass or when you eased your pain via the clouds of alcohol.....

You've gotten glimpses of a better, joyful, relaxed reality...

You do believe it, yet you still cannot believe that it can be true.....

For some, who put aside the use of drugs and alcohol, higher realizations can come from biblical accounts like the Sermon On The Mount.
Millions of people (myself included) attended sermons about it at Unity churches around the USA.

"It's coming from the silence 
on the dock of the bay, 
from the brave, the bold, the battered 
heart of Chevrolet: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

It is coming from the silence..... From the quiet of the forests.... From the empty docks along the bay.......from the whispers in the harbor...

It is coming from those brave souls who dare to speak about our Divine heritage....about untold abundance..... and about eternal youth..... and eternal life....

It is coming from the bold who say: "Hey, didn't the master Jesus tell us that we will do greater things than he did? 
And wasn't he able to walk on water, heal the sick, wake up the dead, manifest food directly from the universal?"....

Funny that people thought and still think, that he was a poor man...

Generations of followers took a vow of poverty, because they thought he was a poor man...

If I were able to walk on water, I wouldn't worry so much about whether or not I remembered to bring my wallet to pay for the ferry ticket to cross the harbor......

If I could manifest bread and fish from the Universal, I wouldn't worry so much about whether I had enough money in my wallet to pay for lunch.....

Jesus a Poor man? I think not!

Change is not going to come from those who are content with shallow dreams.
Change will come from the broken hearted who have nothing else to lose...

From those who are tired of feeling broken, sick and helpless or powerless all the time....

From those who are desperate to help themselves, and yearn to help others.....

From those who are disillusioned with the world and know that running after worldly power, stature, money, fame, Nachas, are all just a colossal waste of time....

Change is coming from the defunct, the broken dreams, the defunct factories like Chevrolet, that once symbolized the American Dream.....

Talking about factories, Mao Tse Tung once stood in the green countryside of China in front of a crowd of a million people.

He cast his hand across the landscape and said: "I have a dream... One day, I will see an industrial China, so full of factories... So rich.. There will be smoke stacks EVERYWHERE... 
One day China WILL become the manufacturing center of the world... 
No more unemployment! 
There will be work for ALL!"

The mad crowd cheered and whistled...

Mao got his wish.
China has become the manufacturing capital of the world.
Factory smoke stacks are everywhere, littering the countryside, polluting the air and poisoning the rivers.
The newer generation is STILL trying to clean up his mad, messy vision.......

Recently I read an article about the increase of tourism from China to Japan.

A Chinese factory owner asked to visit a Japanese factory.

He said that he marveled at how such a big and efficient factory can run with only two employees.
Everything else was done by robots, and the factory was energy efficient and non polluting.

The trip to Japan changed this Chinese man.

He concluded his story by saying that he hoped that one day Chinese people would grow to be like the Japanese people, so kind, honorable and helpful.

He estimated that it would take another fifty years.

"It's coming from the sorrow in the street, 
the holy places where the races meet; 
from the homicidal bitchin' 
that goes down in every kitchen 
to determine who will serve and who will eat"

The streets are holy.
The streets are the new church grounds....
Where you truly meet and teach and preach.

The streets, or in other words, your day to day life, is where you preach your gospel.

The things you say to your friends in your kitchens, in your living rooms, is how you demonstrate what it is you REALLY believe in...

It is also where you share what it is you judge to be wrong and what you condemn...
It is in your own kitchen that you can start to make REAL change.

Do you love ALL people?

Even those you judge to be ignorant, aggressive, rude, careless?

Do you Love all races?

All religions?

All people regardless of their fundamental views?

Or....do you engage in homicidal bitchin.... 
Bitchin about all the people and all the things that you hate and disagree with...
Bitchin about all the politicians that you blame?.... That you so love to hate....

Change will come NOT from the hierarchal top, but from your very own kitchen.

YOU decide who will live and who will die....

"From the wells of disappointment 
where the women kneel to pray 
for the grace of God in the desert here 
and the desert far away: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

Change will come from the Grace of God that is within you.

Change will come from the very soil on which mothers shed their tears and kneel to pray... 
Covering their eyes to shelter them from the heartless world they do not wish to look upon... They pray for peace for their children... They pray for healing.... They pray for wholeness.

Change will come when YOU OPEN UP YOUR VERY OWN HEART IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY....

Change will come from the dry desert of contemplation here and far away.

The desert has always been a metaphor for a place of contemplation and awakening.

A tired soul is disillusioned with the world.

It becomes aware that all the world's greenery and fruit, which represent worldly success and material toys, are nothing but mere illusions.

The disillusioned soul thus wanders like a nomad into the desert in search of higher truths.
In the desert, greenery and fruit (i.e. illusions,) do not grow.

Often this soul searching happens not by physically going to the desert or on a pilgrimage, but by going within.....

For some, it is not a conscious decision but it is as if their soul "goes on strike" or goes on a "Walkabout," in search of answers.
Some call it "The dark night of the soul," where one sinks into sadness and the soul seeks the higher Light, and for the meaning in life.

Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan went into the desert looking for answers....

Jesus went into the desert too, before he emerged with higher realizations...

"Sail on, sail on 
O mighty Ship of State! 
To the Shores of Need 
Past the Reefs of Greed 
Through the Squalls of Hate 
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on."

The USA, despite our millions of imperfections, delays and setbacks, is STILL a mighty, mighty ship.

A ship that is carrying great and glorious souls...

Powerful Souls....souls that came from all over the world... Souls that left oppressive regimes... 
Souls that got tired of economic struggles..... Of soul crushing societies....
Souls that came searching for equality... For unity.... For integration.... 
For the celebration of individuality....

For religious freedom... souls that are yearning to learn about powers and possibilities.... 

Souls filled with new dreams......

While the rest of the world may stand in judgement... 
May look at us with distaste, 
May shake their heads with disapproval... 
May criticize us with jealous eyes and even condemn our ways...
May look down on us and impose their limited understanding on us... Mistaking our powers for pride....
To them, we look vain and arrogant.

But we are STRONG because so many of us have already given up on the belief that we are helpless little beings...

Many of us have already given up the idea that we are mere mortal beings.... broken and needy and doomed to live greedy short lives and to die powerless and poor....

Despite all the setbacks we sail on....

There is a saying that small people try to become tall, by cutting off the heads of those around them.

Even though small people sent their planes of evil to cut off our tall proud heads, in an attempt to take down our towers of abundance in the heart of our financial center in NYC,

Still we persevered past the squalls of hate........

"It's coming to America first, 
the cradle of the best and of the worst. 
It's here they got the range 
and the machinery for change 
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst."

Change will starts in the USA....because it is the cradle of the best and of the worst of humanity.

We are already broadcasting our songs and our movies, our comedies and our ideas to the far corners of the earth.....

Behind the surface, our music and our movies are imbued with ideas of love, equality, opportunities and possibilities.
We are bold about our injustices and we are not afraid to appear ugly.

In the USA, we have the most people who are broken, lost, homeless, and abused.... 
We have those who are truly desperate... 
We have the most dysfunctional families......

But.....

We ALSO have the the most advanced vistas of possibilities and open horizons to grow.
Nobody will step on your dream, because they saw too many dreamers become success stories.

People know that it is in their interest to listen and embrace what might have potential, even if it does not make much sense at any given moment...

An idea that sounds silly, might turned out to be the next profitable IPO, the next Facebook, the next Netflix...the next Amazon...

And we have the most spiritual THIRST.

In the USA, we do not fear looking uncool, by believing in God.
We know that there is more to life than meets the eye.

We YEARN for change... 
We yearn for inner powers....
We yearn to awaken.... 
To know God...

Many in the world are still asleep.....like children playing in a sand box, they are mesmerized by the colorful toys of the world, and they want more toys and more pleasures....

They want boats, fancy vacations, success and approval, private jets, fame and glory..
They are unaware of how limited the joy of earthly success is.

Many people are decaying way too fast due to their erroneous beliefs in the reality of time, sickness and death....

Their beautiful bodies and glorious minds give up way too early, because they cannot carry any longer the pain and heaviness that comes from constant judgement.... From believing that death is real and.....from believing that we are separated from Life and from each other........

In the USA, we have the largest amount of households who already manifested many earthly dreams and many of us KNOW that running after MORE, is not going to get us what we TRULY want....

Even as we speak, millions of Americans sit all over the country, in cities and in rural retreats, chanting OMMM, 
Meditating, 
Looking inside, 
Stretching on yoga mats in search of power and truth.... 
Reading books...
Talking to others and learning...

We are already encoded with all the blueprints needed for growth, 
We are listening, 
singing, 
Attending workshops to learn about how to choose from the grid of possibilities and how to become Self empowered....

Do not belittle us with petty judgments!
We are sincere spiritual seekers, and we WILL find what it is we are seeking!

We WILL change this old and tired world!

We are strong and we have the machinery for change....

We have the range of possibilities, 
We have the open seeking minds.... 
The minds that have the range to embrace change..
To embrace new ideas... 
We have the fertile ground to let spiritual seedlings grow...

Some will shake their heads in disagreement, pointing to all those who are most definitely not awake yet, but all you need is a critical mass to affect change, a tipping point, NOT a majority.

And our mighty ship will keep sailing on..... 
Sailing past the reefs of hate, the cliffs of doubts, the shores of setbacks....

"It's here the family's broken 
and it's here the lonely say 
that the heart has got to open 
in a fundamental way!!!!
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

"It's coming from the women and the men. 
O baby, we'll be making love again. 
We'll be going down so deep 
That the river's going to weep, 
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!"

Change will NOT come from organizations, foundations, corporations or from politicians.
It will come from the simple women and men holding each other with love...
From our divine Union with one another, 
From our very passion.....

It will come from the power of the awakened men and women on the streets.... 
From forgetting all about our littleness, about our limitations, about sickness, about body identification and about worshipping the gods of sickness, of old age and of death....

Change will come when we reclaim our spiritual nature.
Do not search for the truth where you will never be able to find it.
Look for lasting joy, happiness and enlightenment, where they truly are....

They are inside you, as you open up your heart to Love in a new and fundamental way....

We will see real change when we awaken and feel more alive and vital than ever before.
With passionate hearts, we will be making LOVE AGAIN...

We will be reaching so high and so deep, that the rivers and the mountains are going to weep...
Nothing can stop this.... Even the mountains will shout AMEN!

"It's coming like the tidal flood 
beneath the lunar sway, 
imperial, mysterious, 
in amorous array: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

You can doubt this all you wish...
You can stomp down on your personal brake pedal... 
But you will not be able to stop this!
It is coming like a tidal flood
Beneath the lunar sway,
Imperial, 
Mysterious,
In amorous array...
It is not coming from your logical mind....
It is coming from your amorous hearts...

It is coming from your intoxication...
From the depth of your Spirit....
From the spiritual powers that lay dormant inside you.....

You might be blind to it now.....but baby, it is coming.....
It is around the millennial corner.... 
This global shift in perception......

We are powerful....
And we are coming......
And we are guided by the Light....

"I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean 
I love the country, but I can't stand the scene."

Yes, we know that the change is not completely here...
We love our country but it is hard to swallow the scene....
There is plenty that is wrong still....

We are still awakening the realization of the Light of Love in the hearts of many...

Soon, the lights will come up in every building in every city... In every farmhouse...and in all corners of the earth...

"And I'm neither left or right 
I'm just staying home tonight, 
getting lost in that hopeless little screen."

We are all children of light...
Whether we think this, or believe that... 
Taking sides will make no REAL difference.

Yes, follow your heart and vote, 
But do not do it with a heavy heart.
They are all your brothers and sisters... Look at them with love...

You can FEEL the pull upwards...
This massive spiritual awakening that is happening, and I assure you that it is REAL.
It is the opening of the Universal heart.

Do not get caught in the waves of time that come and go and go to come again...

You are eternal, changeless, perfect, sinless and divine!

Do not lift up a gun to fight for one side or another...
Do not compete and compare with your brothers and sisters.....

Open up to love and you will see an amazing divine plan unfolding in the night sky...

"But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags 
that Time cannot decay, 
I'm junk but I'm still holding up 
this little wild bouquet: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

You can doubt everything I say,
Laugh at my dreams,

You can misinterpret everything I say, based on your understanding.....but I am strong and powerful and I am as stubborn as those garbage bags that time does not decay.

I may be junk, (as in old, Un-shiny, not cool, unimpressive looking),
But I am still holding up this little wild light of mine...

I am holding up my own bouquet of flickering truth....
Waiting for my brothers and sisters around the world to awaken... 
To remember the light within them and to join me.....

I am waiting for them to lift up their own little wild bouquet......
To join me...
To remember together....
To change ourselves and to open up our hearts...

It is OUR Uni-Verse...
And I am determined to help heal it!

Won't you join us?
We do NOT stand alone!
We stand on the shoulders of GIANTS...
We have alliances that we've made across space and time......

I can feel a greater crowd is gathering around.....
The world is truly ripe for change...
It is time to look inside your own heart, and to claim your own happiness!

It is time to join the Alliances to heal this achy world.... by choosing to be happy instead of angry....

To hear the song "Democracy:"
http://youtu.be/DU-RuR-qO4Y