AndrewBrunelle.com

When you go with the gentle flow of the stream, your life flows easily and you get what you want through almost no direct action other than simple tasks and good luck.  But when you start paddling upstream, everything seems to be a struggle.  But I’ve come to realize that almost nothing we all want is upstream.  And even when we do achieve one of those upstream goals, it will not be as we expected and we will want more.  But society measures us for how far we can go upstream.  Every trophy or plaque we have on our wall demonstrates a time when we went upstream.  It is simply a diversion of who we are supposed to be.  Going upstream may get you some respect in the real world, but it is just another distraction from you going downstream to your purpose.  Even if the downstream path has some hard work, it will not feel as such, but feel like joyful self-expression.  Going downstream is simply being yourself.  And it is much more authentic to be yourself than to be someone else.

It may not be easier to be yourself, but it is defintely more joyful.  When you allow yourself to be, it opens up parts of you that can only exist when you are allowing this phenomenon to happen.  It is like tapping into a higher part of yourself, or as the new age people call it, your Higher Self.  Creative name, no?  It is almost as if you have wisdom you cannot possibly fathom ever learning in the real world, but it is inside of you somewhere and moving downstream only allows you to uncover more of it and use it to greater express yourself fully.  It is almost as if you are a conduit passing messages from a spiritual realm.  Many creative people call this state flow.  And I think they’re onto something.  Flowing is much less tiring than paddlling.  When you flow, you are simply along for the ride and any creativitybecomes effortless.  But when you are paddling upstream, you need to fight for everything you have and it is often most unpleasant.  This is why, most times, I choose to go downstream.

I often wondered how so many people could have created so many beautiful things in the world.  Be it writing or artwork, I’ll be willing to bet that most of these people were in the flow state when they created their masterpieces.  But they learned to harness the flow and use it to their advantage on a regular basis as to create many works of art that we still admire today.   All we need to do to harness this amazing ability is to do the same.  We need to stop paddling upstream and start harnessing downstream.  We just need to stop paddling and allow ourselves to go on our life’s path.  Maybe some of us are stuck behind a rock and we need help getting around it.  And some of us are attached to the praise we get for going upstream.  But all of that pales in comparison to truly following our life’s path, completely surrendering ourselves to it.  We need to just allow it into our lives.  It is definitely somewhere inside of us and we just need to find it.

Whatever brings  you the most joy, you must do.  And if you cannot fathom a way to earn a living doing so, just leave that up to the universe.  If there is a will, there is a way.  Why not make the most of our time here by exploring our deepest passions and immersing ourselves in the most abundant state of self-expression known to man?  And this may seem difficult from the outside, but on the inside looking out, it is such a joy to create that it does not even feel like the drudgery of work, but more like the joy of play.  And if a good percentage of the world can get into this state of joyous creation, just imagine how amazing we could make this world.  All it takes is the belief that is is possible.  Good luck.

People are as wealthy as the amount of value they give back to society.  We all give something to society (unless you are a bum) and it is the amount of value and the quality of that value which will determine how much we are paid for it.  But it is not just about the money.  It is also about the fulfillment we get from contributing.  If someone is not contributing whatsoever and is not a narcissistic personality disorder, than they will feel unfulfilled and probably depressed.  Sure, some of us have the ability to give more while some feel that it is out of their element to give, give, give, without receiving something in return.  And I agree that one should not give until he or she has nothing left to give because that is nothing short of self-sacrifice.  So, in order to make a compromise, I say if one is to provide good value, then one should be paid accordingly for that value.  And whomever receives that value should feel no regret in paying the correct amount for this value.  I would not suggest a Value Meal from McDonald’s as something you would pay accordingly for.

Some people love to think that all rich people are evil or self-centered.  While this may be true for a large percentage of these people, I know of many who are not the narcissistic people we all picture them as.  They are the few that look at life as having a set of rules that they must follow in order to reach their goals.  Becoming wealthy is something positive as long as it is accomplished through positive means.  Or, for the Buddhist population, constructive rather than destructive means.  If you need to destroy another to attain wealth, it is not for the highest good of all.  But if you start your wealth quest with positive intentions and continue with those intentions throughout your endeavor, you are on the constructive path.  It is through our creative self-expression that we truly shine our best.  It is, indeed, by following our passions that we can create wealth beyond our wildest dreams.  And when we are truly in our element, we will be able to outperform most people who do not have your niche as a passion and will begin to create amazing value potential.

If you have ever been in the flow state, where the work you are creating almost seems like it is coming from a higher power, then you have found your passion.  I know, in the past, when I would write in this blog, I would often get to the point where my fingers just flowed and I wasn’t even conscious of what I was typing, but when I read it back, it was so beautiful that all I could think of was, “Who wrote this?  This couldn’t have been me.”  But then I saw the true power of passion and flow.  Wouldn’t it be great if we all could harness this all the time?  Where we not only are in our element, but are also doing so well that we create such beauty we cannot even comprehend it at first.  When I look at some of the great artists’ work, I am astounded at what amazing capabilities the human body and mind have.  We all possess this quality to a degree.  All we need to do is nurture it and we will also be able to create massive value on a global scale.

I am working very hard on getting myself in optimal health and prosperity so I can be a better contributor to this blog and to other endeavors that will allow us all to become more conscious. Raising your consciousness is about the most important thing you can accomplish in your lifetime. At least I believe this to be true for myself. It is very challenging to do this, but with a concerted effort, I believe it is possible for a mass shift in consciousness on a global or even universal level. I sense a mass awakening is upon us, be it in the next ten years or the next fifty years, I can sense it intuitively. Something big is going to happen, but I am not exactly sure what. The only thing I am sure of is that it will change the paradigm by which we currently live our lives.

I have a feeling like it could have something to do with the magical 2012 number that the Mayan calendar followed. They called 2012 the end of history. Whatever that means in their context, I am not aware. But in my context, I feel that it is a unique step in our consciousness development where we no longer have the need for history because of our newfound perspective. As I see many people awakening in our world, I am almost certain that when this transformation happens, circumstances will be infintely better than they are today because the people involved will be of a highly conscious nature. Everyone’s survival needs will be taken care of and everyone will be allowed to pursue their passions. Almost every act will become effortless because it is stemming from a source of joy. The world will finally become the remarkable place it was meant to be.

Utopia is not the right word, but it is the first word that comes to mind. There are those pessimistic people who say utopias can’t work and that people will revert back to their old ways. They often say something about human nature. But if and when we have this transformational shift into a higher state of being, this way of thinking in a pessimistic way will be forgotten. Life will be so spectacular that it will be increasingly difficult to even have a negative thought. We will all work together, collectively, to rid the planet of all wrongdoing and create what we all crave: inner peace and happiness. If we all work together, we can and will fix what is wrong and encourage what is right. Now, I know wrong and write are subjective terms, so let me use constructive and destructive instead. There will be more construction and less destruction. Eventually, there will be only construction. There will be positive reinforcement of this construction and all of us will create what this world really needs. And so on and so forth.

This is just a vision I have for the future. Words cannot adequately describe it, but I feel that we all need to have this vision in our own way and then collaborate on which version is optimal for our expansion. We might as well get prepared for this now because I have no doubt that it is coming, but the exact date of this profound event is not in my awareness. I am sure that, in time, it will be. I just ask that everyone drop all their doubts and fears about what living in a paradise would be like. If we can think it, we can create it–together. That is the true magic of human nature.

When it comes to embracing my passion, it is a no-brainer for me. Comedy is my bread and butter. I am looking for new and exciting places to perform and get this off the ground floor. It is going to take a massive commitment from me to pour all my heart into it, but I know it will be worth it in the long run. If I can successfully accomplish this goal of making a living from telling jokes and just clowning around onstage, I believe it will allow me to do so much more in addition. I need to do this. This is not just a want, but it is a must. There is no other reason to live as far as I am concerned. If I do not go after this goal whole-heartedly, then I have failed my reason for existence.

I do my own thing up there on the stage and I am outside what anyone would expect. I am still working to perfect my craft and be able to go for more than 20 minutes at a time. One liners are hard to memorize. But I find it is easier to put them into little stories or relatable categories and just flow from there. I take Jerry Seinfeld’s advice to leave the audience gasping for breath…because of the laughter, or maybe the laughing gas. I truly feel more alive when I do that than any other time and time seems to stand still. Writing a joke and performing it is one of my greatest joys and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I believe you know it when you have found your passion. For me, it is unquestionable.

I study comedians religiously and I know what works and what doesn’t. I know the whole format. I understand what audiences are looking for. I can market myself to a certain crowd, one who has intelligence, humor, and a bit of sarcasm left in them. I know the value of laughter. It is worth more than any money I will ever make. But it would certainly be great to do what I love and make enough money to go around. I am setting this intention in stone, putting it on my wall or on my laptop’s screensaver and reviewing how I can get closer to it every day. My mission is now in motion.

I put this on hold for awhile as I dealt with a health problem I was having as a result of the brain tumor I suffered with five years ago. But I learned something in this experience. I can’t let anything hold me back. I can’t let anything, no matter how debilitating, obstruct my dreams. I have a unique story to tell, one from the eyes of a survivor, and one that bears repeating. And it is always better to tell a story with humor and possibly some exaggerations, purely for comic effect. Whether it be a white lie about my lactose intolerant milkman, or a funny story about how my Amish friend never calls me anymore, it is a fun ride worth enduring. And I invite you to take your passion into full gear this week as well. What other reason do you have for getting out of bed every morning? To get the daily news?

It should be obvious to anyone that the way we live our lives is not sustainable, at least here in America. Our consumption rate far surpasses the Earth’s ability to reproduce its resources. It is awfully hard to get this message out to those who do not think the same way as I do about allowing the rest of the species on Earth to have their space, too. Just because we think we are the smartest life form on this planet (and we probably aren’t) does not mean we should be allowed to take over the whole environment. It is just plain wrong. Let me compare it to if a species of aliens came down and started clearing out our homes to build superhouses of their own. If we ever stumbled upon their “property,” we would be shot or the “Human Control Center” would be brought in to “exterminate” us. I am not saying we should all move back into the woods, but have some respect for nature, the perfect balance.

I’m sure I’ve stated before that I believe the main reason we do not care for nature is because we are so far away from it now than ever before. Pretty soon, if the dominant paradigm stays in power, we will be able to accomplish everything without leaving the house. Us in our sterile little boxes, now more afraid of the outside world than ever before. We’re plugged into the Internet, the television (which reminds us constantly what a dangerous world it is out there), and other devices that further reinforce this worldview. We start losing sense of reality because all our time is spent on a machine of some sort, diverting the majority of our attention to this oil-guzzling electrosaur that we lived for hundreds of centuries without. And every day, more things come out that consume energy. More items come out that deplete our natural resources. And with the current population spiraling near seven billion, it almost seems as if a crash is coming. It is not something that anyone really wants, but it is coming and I believe it will no matter what.

A large number of jobs these days have to do with destroying the Earth and its resources. If we stop taking from the Earth, people lose their jobs. The economy falls. People go hungry on the streets, even though we have an abundant food supply. People in construction have nothing to do because no more buildings are being built. Some people would call this the next “Great Depression.” Maybe we should call it something else: “The Great Expansion.”

This will allow us to do the things we did for centuries. Plant our own food, build our own homes, and just let us be human again. It will get us all back in shape, as the increasingly sedentary lifestyle of many people leads to obesity. It will re-energize the community as a central unit of interaction. People will live closer together and in harmony. That is, after all the looting stops. But this brings me to a political statement about the War in Iraq. It is obvious we are there for oil. We know how tapped our resources are and if we can get enough for awhile, at least have more than our “competing nations,” then we will be able to defend ourselves better if there is an attack on us. As you know, our dollar is decreasing in value and oil will likely be the next form of “currency.” Whoever has the remaining oil will be in power. If we were not so dependent on this fossil fuel, maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But we are, and I don’t see it changing any time soon.

Our whole culture is brought up a certain way and it is really hard to break an entire culture’s way of life. I can start reducing, reusing, and recycling, but how does that help if most multinational corporations are dumping pollutants into streams and rivers, damaging our ecosystem to the fullest extent? I think the problem with humans is they fail to have a way to deal with problems that slowly creep up on them. If a catastrophe happens, like a tornado, people respond quickly. Look at 9/11. But if something as slow-moving as the end of oil or global warming, it is so easy for people whose agendas are fixed on the status quo to make a farce out of the whole thing. It is so easy to deny that which does not happen suddenly, but takes years, maybe centuries, to occur. If only oil did not warm our planet and was renewable…

There are solutions. There are several solutions we all can work on together. If we all move towards what I would describe as a radically simple life, one where we live in very small houses and do not drive automobiles or eat much meat, because we all know what damage those factory farms do to our ecosystem as well. We do not go out looking for external items to make us happy, but find happiness from family and friends, not from the almighty dollar. People say this is impossible, and they may be right. I, for one, believe that if the collective consciousness can band together and work towards getting this goal done, we may make at least one significant step towards becoming sustainable. We would also probably need to do voluntary population reductions, and euthanasia and other options should not be out of the question. But if we want to kill our species in one big blaze of nuclear missile strikes and widespread poverty, then we can keep living the way we do.

But right now, looking around at what I see, the crash is inevitable. And maybe after the crash, those who survived will learn from civilization’s mistakes and work towards a much better way of life. It will have some old aspects of original human culture and it will bring in some new aspects as well. I’m pretty sure Monsanto will not be a part of it, though. I suppose here I will include a few things that may help you to reduce your ecological footprint and maybe, just maybe, slow down this crash I believe will happen in the next 20 years:

Cut out the television
Need less
Give more
Live a simple life
Find wealth in simple things
Drive less
Eat less meat
Learn to be self-sufficient
Learn how to fix things
Buy high-quality items
Buy local produce
Become a minimalist
Spend time with family
Do what you love

I hope these help you on your way. I am hoping to expand the list further in the future. Get ready for the crash. A lot of these skills may come in handy. And if we avert the crash, you’ll still be better off than your neighbors. Losing everything in a natural disaster might not sting as much. I am not saying here that it is inherently bad to be wealthy and have a lot of nice things. I just want people to look at the consequences of living such a lifestyle. Thank you for listening.

Shopping malls. Factory farms. Death camps. Slavery. Corpocracies. Oligopolies. Television. The Internet. Is all of this really “progress?” Is the continuing rape and destruction of land and environment going anywhere? What are we, as a species, trying to prove by doing such things? How is this helping us raise our consciousness? The media keeping us in fear over how many people died today, that you could be murdered in your sleep by one of those faceless evil monsters that always seem to be lurking around in your neighborhood. Or the advertisements that come on for security systems right after. “If you buy this ADT alarm system, you will be safe from all predators.” The media is nothing more than an advertising medium to persuade people to further participate in the destruction of the world by buying more things that come not from the store, but from the Earth. Consumption is an addiction, but to everyone, it’s okay. No one is judged for it, and yet it is far more destructive than anything else.

And I don’t blame people for being in this sort of mindset. It is forced upon you at every angle. The next thing you buy will solve all your problems. That new camera phone will allow me to preserve my memories for just this much longer. The new laptop will be faster and easier to use, so that the rest of my valuable time can be taken up watching television shows that depict people who are living beyond any means I can ever afford. Television will tell me how to live my life and what I should consider important, not to mention which brands I should buy. It will tell me how to think and how to react to certain circumstances and I have to passively accept it as the images just keep flowing, all of which I have no control over. I am doing exactly what they want me to do, and it is making corporations a whole lot of money, but not myself. I am in debt up to my eyeballs and my house has a foreclosure on it, but at least I have that new deluxe, premium, luxury printer-copier-fax machine-toaster-washing machine combination with three free stacks of printing paper and one box of fabric softener.

I guess most of these people take their spending habits from their government. Look at how far the U.S. as a whole is in debt. If the entire government isn’t going to be responsible with their money, then why should the citizens? Why shouldn’t they just all max out their credit cards and spend the rest of their lives (and beyond) paying back to these corporations that get richer and richer from your 18% interest every month of every year? These companies even market to people with bad credit because they know that these people will make them a whole lot of money because they have a history of buying things they cannot afford. It is this type of manipulation that really pisses me off. And I feel bad for the people who are trapped in situations like that. They are dead broke and are thousands in debt and there is no way out, except bankruptcy. Then they are owned by their credit score and can’t get a loan, can’t buy a house, a car, a fucking toaster without surrendering to a credit history report.

What ever happened to saving for things until you had enough money? The joy of counting your money as you saved up for the new bike or the video game your parents wouldn’t buy for you. I’ll tell you what happened. The invention of credit cards makes it so easy to buy something now and pay for it later, at a much higher cost. But when you are out buying it, no one thinks of the consequences until the bill comes in. Then it’s like, “Oh, shit. Remember that 4-pack of HD-ready televisions we bought? Yeah, they want $8000 this month, and that’s just our minimum payment.” I love how these commercials say “No money down,” and that attracts people because they don’t have to pay for it right away, but they still get to have it. “Look at our beautiful couch. Cost us nothing, so far.” But the whole notion that buying these things will ease our insecurities and make us feel good about ourselves is just the advertising industry trying to tell us how to live. “If you don’t have and iPod, you’ll never fit in. You’ll be the outcast of society.” “Well, I’d better go pick up that iPod. I don’t want to be some loser with no friends. I must conform or suffer extreme isolation the rest of my life.” And that’s the consciousness that advertising attempts to shove down our throats. The fact that some item, some thing, will ease our problems and make life so much better. And most of the time, these advertisers are wrong.

This is why I choose (consciously) to adopt what I refer to as minimalism. You own the bare essentials. You only hold onto what is useful , beautiful or brings you joy and discard the rest. You embrace what is referred to as a simple lifestyle, but in a voluntary way. I did a joke onstage about my minimalism once that went something like this, “Instead of looking for apartments in the want ads, I look for any empty closets.” It is liberating to think this way because instead of looking for what else you can accumulate, you now look for what you no longer need to do without, like my life-size Spongebob Squarepants doll. I am further limiting my television exposure as well and the Internet, which has become my surrogate television with the advent of Youtube and other television-esque websites. I just bought this wallet online called the Jimi, which is a very small and compact wallet that only holds the minimal of items. Five cards and three dollar bills. I just don’t want to have a wallet like George Costanza from Seinfeld. I remember a quote from that episode: “Everything in that wallet I need.” And then Jerry takes out a card, “Show this card at your local Miami area gas station and receive a free ‘Save the Tiger’ T-shirt.” I guess free clothes is one of his top priorities.

Being minimalist is soothing, liberating, and just wonderful to be exact. The best part about it is I do not need to work excessive hours to meet my needs. I sympathize for the people who work 60 hour work weeks to keep up with buying all the unnecessary items they think they need, like a new outfit every week. I really feel for you, and I want you to know there is a way out. Move into a smaller house, get a smaller car, buy less stuff, sell all the extraneous clutter that has found its way into your life, quit your evil corporate job and find something that suits you, that really fits your character. Drop out of the rat race and start to slow down to the speed of life. Do only the essential tasks to bring you joy, happiness and fulfillment. Don’t buy into buying things just because your neighbors do. The one who dies with the most toys does not win. The one who dies with the most toys is dead, just like the one who dies with five dollars in his pocket and no current residence. And you can’t take that new stereo system with you. You can bury it with your body, but where your spirit is going, you might as well sell everything and give the money to charity before you depart into the big sleep. Contribute gently into that good night, and do it peacefully.

I have to admit the first thing that sparked this minimalist behavior was a movie from Hollywood. It was called Fight Club. It was the one line that really said it all to me: “The things you own start to own you.” And there were other various lines in the movie along the same premise and it was what some would call counterculture. It was what others would call Zen, enlightenment, or liberation. Now, I didn’t accept the whole film’s message and start underground boxing rings and terrorize cities, although I did so something similar on one of the college campuses I attended. It wasn’t nearly anywhere as extreme. It was only after I got out of there that I started practicing minimalism and the theory that a cluttered home equals a cluttered life.

I started listening to media sources outside the mainstream, such as anti-television personas such as Ron Kaufman, and adopted some of the philosophies of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. I began perusing simplicity sites and forums to see how much further down I could go. I surely didn’t want to end up with an empty room or an empty house, but questioning what was necessary and what made me happy as the only essentials, I began to strip down significantly. Some of my family members would gasp as they saw my perfectly organized room, free of clutter. They gave me praise for being so diligent and disciplined, but I did not do this for their approval. I did this for myself. I did this to avoid spending countless hours looking for my cell phone or glasses. I did this to feel free of the consumer culture and that mindset that rules ever fiber of our being. I breathe easily knowing the consumption will only get worse and more unsustainable until it destroys itself and completely vanishes. It will be the next step in our evolution. Some people say this will happen as early as 2012. It’s certainly possible, but I don’t see it happening that fast, but I can’t rule anything out. I try to keep an open mind.

So very few blogs of today talk about minimalism and its benefits. Simplicity is big, but minimalism is not as big, but they are essentially very similar, but minimalism is to the extreme. They should have it in the X-games. The challenge could be to see who could live on nothing but so much food, a bed, and a shack in the woods for a year. Just tossing ideas out there. I take great comfort in knowing that my wardrobe will probably last me at least five more years, except undergarments of course. The cost of a thing is the amount of my life I have to give up in order to attain it. I am not saying that everyone is trying to sell you something, but I find it interesting, studying Zen and all, which pretty much endorses the minimalist lifestyle, saying you have to buy special mats to meditate on and a Zen garden, and some sort of robe. Mostly everything, but not completely anything, is a marketing campaign and I am so glad I am no longer a part of it. Come join me in my minimalism. As long as you’re not a minimalist whose only agenda is to maximize profits, you’re golden in my book.

In our daily lives, I feel we have an intrinsic need to be inspired. We should focus on doing what fulfills us to our very core, to the point we no longer care if it makes us money, just that it puts us in a state of joy. I’ve been doing some soul searching lately looking for a solution to an impending problem with my career in the future and now that I got clarity from people around me, asking around and figuring out what it is I really want to do with my life, I get this sort of inspiration, where everything flows effortlessly. Becoming someone who can inspire others to make the same or similar changes in their lives is something I can only hope to accomplish. Being a model for improvement, for “creative self-expression,” as Steve Pavlina says in his latest podcast, which I listened to hours after I had the same realization he did. I somehow feel like reality is telling me what to do with my life, and all I need to do is keep working to align myself with it. I can fight it, or I can embrace it and come into resonance with my true purpose.

The whole catalyst for this new event happened five years ago with my brain tumor experience. It allowed me to see things through a different perspective, a perspective that is full of joy and abundance. It is seeing life with such inherent optimism that you just want to spread it throughout the world. It is living the way we truly were meant to. I’m not sure if this sort of thing makes sense to you, but it certainly makes sense to me. It is the only thing that keeps me going in the morning. It gives me so much strength just to embrace this purpose. And it feels so wonderful.

So, I know how much I enjoy writing and speaking and inspiring others to really see what you can accomplish if you really set your mind to something. I am planning on changing my career to one in communications and no longer wasting my time on the mathematics that are starting to be a royal pain. That part of me is now gone. But a better part has taken its place. I feel that if I can actively pursue this purpose, I can change lives. I can make people live better. I can do things that I never thought were possible. And this is what brings me closer and closer every day. Just thinking about my purpose and what I need to do to align myself fully with this purpose. If I can do this, then I will naturally be able to help others and be who I need to be.

When I get into my writing, and I have complete concentration, unlike I do right now, I feel like the writing is effortless. It just flows so naturally, because I am just being who I truly am. You can’t fake that. You just enjoy it so much, you feel like your heart will burst from the amount of joy that is contained within it. Even though I love to perform stand-up comedy, it is not the best contribution I can make. I can do more. I may keep the comedy on the side as a hobby, but truly helping people wake up and live the life they’ve always wanted is something I feel I can help others do. What I really need to do is keep working towards becoming the person who can do this effectively and consistently. And it will be an enjoyable process because I will enjoy the journey and the destination. That is why I know it will be worth it. It’s not about immediate results. It’s about relishing every experience.

Well, I hope this inspired someone out there in the blogosphere. I do what I can with what I have. I’m working on developing all my skills to communicate this better, and I can see remnants of improvement every day. It’s not about your life circumstances so much, it’s more about choosing to own your feelings and taking that joy into everything you do. You internally create the joy and express it outward into all of the things you do. And it allows for some intense inner peace. It is just very Zen. Just staying in the present flow state is worth its weight in gold. Good luck.

P.S. I guess the big problem I was having was what is called social drag, where people still identify you with the person you used to be. It’s just hard to get out of that, when everyone looks at you as a math person and you have moved so far away from that you never want to see another equation again. I’m a word man now. It certainly makes more sense now than ever before.

As many of you know who read this blog, I choose to live a simple life. This was a choice I made after getting ill with my brain cancer. Part of it was I saw all the trivial items that people buy as the trivial things they were. I even saw life for the trivial event it is. If you really think about it, with all the billions of people on this Earth, why is your life so special? People are born and people die every day. It is a fact of life. You could die today, you could die tomorrow, you could die 50 years from now. So, the question I asked myself was: What do I want to live for? I know I have shortcomings from the brain tumor and I am often unable to do things I once enjoyed, such as play sports and exercise without getting a headache. But I knew I could make some difference, something to put a positive spin on the life we all experience together. I feel that if I can make people feel good about themselves and help them to make the world a better place, I have done my job.

I am still in the process of aligning myself fully to this goal. There are a lot of distractions. But I have tried my best to limit those distractions. The way my mind works (now) is different from the way it used to work. My short-term memory can be shoddy at times and I have trouble concentrating if there is any noise around me. I am limited in many facets, but my ability to contribute is still there, beyond the shell that houses me. It often feels like a spirit is typing through my body, as if I am channeling wisdom from a higher source. And it is the only thing that truly allows me to forget about the limitations I have and move into the present. And that is the only time I truly have power. It is the time when I truly see everything in its true perspective. I don’t worry so much about all the things around me that could cuase stress or worry. I just tap into myself and let my fingers do the typing.

Stripping myself of all excess distractions is a work in process. There is just so much pressure to conform to societal norms. Social conditioning is just so powerful. If everyone around you still follows the script of social conditioning, then you are stuck in what is called social drag. You’ve undergone a radical shift in your thinking, but those around you still associate with the old script and the old you. For example, it is an unwritten rule that when you get out of school, you need to get a job or you are considered some kind of loser or bum. Even if the job leaves you miserable every day and you feel like there is no way out, you still need to slave at this workplace and subordinate to some guy who is just as miserable as you. But it’s not like we have a choice, right? Wrong.

If you can find a way to live comfortably without having to get a job, go for it. Understanding that meeting your needs independent of time is the most valuable commodity you can possibly imagine is the first step. You basically do what you want to do and make a great living anyway. I’ve read many books about people who follow this belief system and they are rich beyond anyone I know and they are completely fulfilled–because they are following their purpose. It is what they feel they must do. And doing it to them does not feel like work, it is an immense joy. It is a mindset rooted in abundance.

But, in order to pursue a dream like this, you need to burn bridges. You need to triage ruthlessly (borrowed from Steve Pavlina). Anything that either does not contribute to your purpose or (even worse) inhibits your purpose gets thrown or given away. You do everything you can to align yourself with the person you want to be. You start acting, looking, and speaking like the person you want to become. You start thinking the thoughts of success and a renowned faith that everything will work out okay. You put complete faith in the universe to bring you what you align yourselt with and then life gets easier. At least the part of your life that has to do with your purpose. I’m not saying doing your taxes will be a joy, but when you are in the flow state, you will just love the fact that you are alive. When you look at what you are accomplishing, you will be amazed. You will feel truly grateful that you are blessed with all these talents. You will become your purpose.

I am just so happy to be able to do this. It is a joy on so many levels. It allows me to express myself in ways I otherwise could not. This is where it all comes out and it feels wonderful. I abandon the trivial and work for principles that are everlasting. I become a man who is focused on service, rather than focused on personal achievement or stroking my ego. I no longer place my self-worth in external events because I have a sense of inner knowing that everything is all right. No matter what happens, my spirit is safe. The most fundamental part of me cannot be harmed, and that is the only part of me that truly matters. And if you haven’t made it here yet, don’t worry. Be patient. If you have the intention to do so, it will come. Things will not always go your way, but that’s okay. You have the power to choose your emotions. You have the power to respond and not react. You have the ability to invoke positive change in the world. And it will fulfill you more than anything you can imagine. Good luck.

I’ve read in multiple places that viewing life as a dream is probably the best way to feel centered in it. It also puts things in their proper perspective. If you think about it, it is not that far off. I’ve had a dream within a dream before and experienced what they call a “false awakening,” where I wake up from the dream within a dream and I’m still dreaming, but now back to the frist level of dreaming. So, to me, it is not that far-fetched that life is nothing but a dream. But if it is a dream, it is one of the most creative and imaginative dreams I have ever seen. It’s hard to really describe the feeling you get from adopting this sort of belief system because you have to try it for yourself. It is like having a lucid dream in real life. I’ve had a few lucid dreams in the past and I think becoming lucid in reality could make life that much easier and joyful to live.

When you dream and become lucid, you do not only identify with your physical body in that dream. You identify with the whole dream. It is something that is happening inside your consciousness. It is all unfolding there and anything is possible. You are open to multiple possibilities because you know it is a dream. Let’s just say, for a second, that you one day decide to view reality as a dream. So, with this belief system, anything becomes possible, with respect to your belief system. You start to identify with all of reality, and not just your physical body, and therefore, you can start influencing the universe to get things in alignment with your purpose. Every thought you have is now an intention to either swing reality in your favor or against it. And no matter where you are now, you get this inner sense of joy that drives you to take joyful actions.

You accept everything as it is and you can now choose if you want to change anything. You start to lose identification with your ego and you now realize that you are everything. I am not talking about the physical body you, but the you above it all, the you that encompasses everything. All your fear disappears and so do most other limiting beliefs, to the degree you can hold this belief system. Whenever I get into really, truly believing this belief system, I feel terrific. It is just an inner sense of knowing that this is the way reality really works. It gives you a sense of unconditional security. You are not so worried about your physical body anymore. Even if it dies, you still have the rest of you. Your body is but a small part of your whole self.

But it brings on a new responsibility. Anything that happens out there is essentially your fault. The good, the bad, the ugly. So, when something terrible happens, like a terrorist attack or a tsunami, you have to take credit for being the cause of it. I just wouldn’t go to the cops and confess just yet. It is a renowned perspective that encompasses all boundaries. You start to realize that the only limitations in the universe are your own mind. So I start to debug my mental software to only include empowering beliefs. It is a process that takes years, maybe even a whole lifetime. But it is something that increases your joy the farther you get down this path. And it is certainly better than holding all these negative beliefs. I am getting better at this every day and there are many times when I surprise myself. Things I did not think were possible are now not only possible, but a common occurrence. Beliefs shape reality. Thoughts create beliefs. Using locial reasoning, it is safe to say that thoughts shape reality. There’s a lesson in deductive reasoning.

Now I need to start monitoring my thoughts on a daily basis. Whenever a limiting thought comes into my head, I replace it with an empowering one. If I am ever thinking, “I can’t do this,” I immediately replace it with, “I can do this and I will.” It is a form of mental conditioning that works to your advantage. You need to start by accepting the truth and then moving on from there. You need to look at the dream you are living in with truthful eyes and then accept what it is you have. Then, if you feel so inclined, you can move to improve different parts of it as you move along this plane of existence. It is, by far, the most empowering way to live I have come across so far, and I encourage you to give it a shot. Good luck.

I’m working four days a week and going to school five days, so I guess some projects are thrown on the back burner for a little while. I’m not enjoying as much quiet reflection time as I am accustomed to, so therefore, my blog entries are becoming fewer and further between. And that is okay. I am fine with it. I still write quite often, but it is more in what I call “journal format.” It is not something I would post online, unless it is in something like LiveJournal. I need to take time to learning Photoreading, a new revolutionary reading system that I haven’t had the time to really look at fully. This will most likely cut down on my study time and reading time to allow more room for other ventures. The only aspect that gets to me is when you read something, it takes a certain amount of time. But you never know how much time the author spent writing it. A book you read in three days could have taken the author three years to write. Reading a book in rapid format, in my opinion, does do the writer some sort of injustice, don’t you think? If you read a book in two hours and the author spent years and years putting it together… I am just ranting right now. It will pass. Everything does.

I am not used to writing with all this structure. Word limits, parameters, college writing is a bit limiting. I hope to change this. I’ve always been different and I wish to show my colleagues how being different and daring to express this abnormality can be a great asset in any field of study. I like to think outside the box. The box is too crowded. Expanding how we do things can revolutionize the world. I do almost everything stream of consciousness now. It is so present moment thinking. It does not matter what each sentence entails, but more the end result of it all. I believe it is an accelerated form of getting in touch with the being inside you for an everlasting effect. It is about getting ideas out and then working on them from there. Nothing has to be perfect the first time. If you spend your whole life organizing and preparing to do something, trying to get it perfect, you’ll be stuck in analysis paralysis for awhile. Why not just get out there and try something? And if it fails, you improve upon it, over and over, until you get it where you need it. Experience is the best teacher here.

You cannot be a failure in the external world. You can only be a failure in your own judgment. What some call a failure, others revere as a success. It is solely a judgment call. Everything just is…whatever you want it to be. Labels are subjective. So why limit yourself by always using them? I remember reading a passage in one of Chuck Pahlaniuk’s books about how when we start using language to describe something, we take away from the fact of its being. Now it is formed into some arbitrary category, like a mountain, rather than the wonder it is, the nameless wonder. It is harder to truly just experience it, now there is some sort of subjective label attached to it. But you don’t have to apply that label. Sure, others may try and force that label upon you, but you do not have to accept it.

We all have contexts anyway where we all encode the same experiences as totally different events. Any experience you have is yours alone. Someone standing right next to you can see things in an entirely different light and it is so enlightening to see this. I love it. And respecting all points of view, no matter how far away from yours they seem, can really show you the range through which people experience supposed objective events. Our set of beliefs really do create our reality. And when you open yourself up to new beliefs, just by considering the possibility that they are true, you will start to experience different things. You must admit you do not know anything for sure and that any point of view could be right. The only thing you know for sure is that you exist. And even that could be called into question. It is the whole concept of letting go of the limiting beliefs you have and adopting ones that will empower you. What would the world be like if we all did this? We all set down our negative beliefs and moved towards a greater good, a good of all of life on Earth. The only limit are our own minds. Join me in this pursuit. The rewards at the end will be abundant.

I could go on writing for hours this way and I truly feel more enlightened when I do this. It is almost like there is this higher being writing through me. There is a way out of suffering. There is a better way of life. Find beauty in everyday things. Start noticing more. Become more present. Know that the present is all you truly have and the only time you can change. You do not change tomorrow, because tomorrow will be today, and today will be the present. When tomorrow rolls around, it will be now, so why not start now? Why put it off until a later “now?” Rise up above the confines of society and start living freer. Free of time, free of everything. Deflate your ego. Identify with everything. Realize everything is made from the same fundamental parts. In a way, we are all one. When you harm another, you really harm yourself. Have compassion. Understand that the suffering of others is really your own suffering. Send out peace and love to all of existence. And be sure to be grateful for the whole experience.

Thank you for reading,

Andrew Brunelle