Relationships

Living in a campground you get to see a lot of people and how they react with each other. People are really not nice to each other. I don't know whether it is taking someone for granted or what, but people don't even really care about the people that they really care about. I see a lot of people who dominate relationships and talk to their partners as if they were infants and have absolutely no respect for them. On the other end is a person who lets this happen to them. What is it about us that lets us enter these situations.

I think people give up and settle for someone who is not really what they want or who is compatible with them. We are made to believe that the only happiness we are going to get is from some relationship. I had a friend a while ago who used to actually believe and say that if only he could get married then he would be happy. If you are not happy with who you are a relationship is not going to fix it. People are so desperate to not be alone they desperately flee to someone, anyone who will take them.

I know only about three couples that i feel are really successful and healthy from amongst my peers. John and Mehndi have been together for a long time now and they both still really like and respect each other. Jamie and Caitlyn still look at each other with such an awe and joy that it is beautiful to watch. The only other one i know is Bethany and i. I am so thankful for her, she really makes me a better person than i am when i am alone. She enhances me. I don't need her for happiness but she makes me want to be better than what i am because i want to be the best man i can be for her. When i first saw her hiking through the mountains i remembered the kind of person that i want to be. I have not felt this good about love in a long time.

My advice, be happy with who you are and do not settle. If something feels like it might not be right, do not do it. Probably a mistake. I never did believe it until i met her, but i think that someone can be perfect for you now. She has done that for me as well.

Age and Time

I gave up age a long time ago. Most of you who know me have heard that before. The more i am around people who have ages the more i feel very happy about that decision. One of the things i notice people saying that i think really has a lot of wear and tear on the human form is talking about some figure from our youth to a younger person and having them not know who it is. For example, "I mentioned Prince to Tom and he had no idea who i was talking about. I felt old." That type of thinking rings out to me as very detrimental. So many thoughts we have will make us feel older than we did seconds before. You can almost hear the creaking of people's backs as the cartilage in their spine responds to those thoughts.

Birthdays do the same thing i think. That running clock and the increasing number takes its toll. Thoughts have power. When we think something we make it real. Our thoughts and ideas create the reality around us. We feel older as people put certain information on us, but really those words should not affect how we were feeling. Let them roll away, a person on a desert island for forty years would not know who Prince is either but that should have no affect on the condition of my body. People's frames of knowledge are different but don't let that alter how you feel. I am in better shape now than i have ever been in and i really think that sticking to the idea of forsaking age has a lot to do with that.

Our ideas affect our reality. There were a group of people trapped in a mine collapse and only one of them had a watch. The one with the watch would tell the others that an hour had passed for every two that actually went by. Everyone survived the cave-in, except for the guy who actually knew how long they had been there. Think about it. Your thoughts have power, don't let them own you or your health.

The Everglades

Went to the Everglades a couple of times in the past week. Beautiful. It is amazing how close the gators are to you with nothing separating. Nature is not really the brutal nasty harsh environment that Hobbes said. Mostly it seems like nature is sleepy. Sometimes things get hungry and full of tooth and fang but for the most part, alligator food forages within inches of the jaws of the top predator around. Most animals don't take more than they need, all of them really except for us. Most of them have faith that food will be around tomorrow. We are the animal that lives in a state of fear. Jesus talked about it too. Look at the sparrow, does not the Lord provide for her. She does not worry day to day where the next meal will come from.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses though. We took my 2000 Plymouth Neon with 170000 miles down a "scenic road." It was about 12 miles long and took us three hours to do. It was one of the worst times i have had in a long while. I hope i didn't do any serious damage and that she can get me back to New Jersey in March. Oh well, ultimately the car is just a thing. Gulp.

Namaste

Lucidity

Dreaming Update. I had my first fully lucid dream last night. I was able to realize i was dreaming, begin to fly and soar out over the world and then change the location of the dream back to my hometown and maintain lucidity throughout. It was amazing. A technique that worked for me last night was one i have been using to test my waking state. When i ask throughout the day whether i am dreaming i will ask where i am and how i got there. I will try and imagine what is behind me and then turn and look to see if the scenery is correct. This allowed me to realize i was dreaming last night and allowed me to have my first fully lucid experience.

I have been training during the daytime to question my state of consciousness and the persistence finally paid off in spades. Good luck to everybody.