"Thinking: the talking of the soul with itself."
~ Plato
Living well has nothing to do with anyone else or even the environment.
This I have learned from decades of my adventure and, a few tons of self honesty.
Understanding that there is no plateau to reach as my destination is eternal guidance.
Before I began writing this I enjoyed reflecting on all the stages I have gone through.
These are my core lenses in no certain order.
1) Pleasing Others: A whole lot of having to please others came in so many variations over the years.
2) Having To Have: this or that thing or trip or experience or conversation, those were all deeply embedded in my bones.
3) Fixing My Environment: have to get the suit, or the shoes, or the car, or the house, or the money in the bank and so forth.
About 25 years ago I stumbled across the idea of contentment. For several years after that key experience, I was related to my core three lenses above.
It was somewhere shortly after my mother passed over that I began letting go, in a very conscious way, of those lenses and what unfolded left me with contentment.
In that time I was spending much of my time walking among saguaro cactus in the pristine quiet of the Sonoran desert.
And that was a turning point in recognizing contentment.
Yes, I was still carrying around my lenses but not nearly as much. I spent more time considering where I was headed than why I wanted to get there.
Does that make sense?
Up to that point, my life had been a consideration of choices and actions.
That changed drastically when I just began seeking content and satisfaction first.
It’s accurate to depict my life as much quieter, more time feeling better, sleeping soundly, plus discovering many excellent albums and books.
I was definitely living well in that time and I knew it too.
The realization I understand is thus; living well is only about relating to your Self.
Ask and It Is Given
Esther Hicks
The Master Key System
By Charles F Hannel
The Way of the Seal
By Mark Divine
Essays
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Holographic Universe
By Michael Talbot
Happiness as Found In Forethought Minus Fearthought
By Horace Fletcher
Spiritual Economics
By Eric Butterworth
Evolve Your Brain
By Joe Dispenza
Its almost comical to me now when I look back and see how much control and power of my living experiences I handed to someone else. Some are subtle and some are not so subtle.
Health is always a good reflection topic. I remember visiting a doctor decades ago in Phoenix, AZ for a checkup. They were doing the EKG and the nurses were having a hard time getting a pulse with the electrodes. It became a big deal to them. To me, I thought I just don't fit their normal patient and they don't know “how” to deal with it. After about 30 minutes of laying on this cold doctor's office table the doctor came in and made some adjustments to the electrode placement and then proceeded to get the reading.
After some chit-chat, he became adamant that I should get on this heart medication. I refused. He got louder and more adamant. I still refused. Then the name-calling and I remained quiet but questioning myself.
I didn’t buy into his idea and have not taken any heart medication. Everything seemed to turn out okay. Maybe he had ulterior motive? Knowing what I know now about doctors receiving payments for people they sign up to get the clot shots I can see one possible motive for his conversation with me.
That was a bold moment for me standing up to do what I thought was best for me in the face (and threat) of a “doctor of medicine”.
I believe we all have our moments where we choose to listen to our inner guidance or not. More and more I rely on my inner guidance.
This, to me, is another sign of living well - being able to rely on my inner guidance.
Life clearly has a pace.
Remember the time period in your life when you just got out of bed without even realizing life has a pace?
I have identified two: an outside pace and an inside pace.
For most of my life, I have lived at the outside pace, which are the circumstances that need my attention and prioritized and then dealt with accordingly.
Some days were calm and there were periods of very hectic living.
Today, life in the outside world just seems chaotic. I don’t have issues with changes and making adjustments, but the outside world seems inherently more dangerous and violent which is being bred by new rules and customs.
This new lifestyle and culture growing in the USA does not bother me so much, because years ago I began living at the inner pace.
First I had to gain the confidence to rely on inner guidance. Once I had that established, I reality switched gears to the inner pace.
Without seeking it, I have arrived at recognizing an ease and flow of life.
It sounds off as I write that but nonetheless, it is true in my experience.
This is another one of those things they dont teach you in high school or college: the natural rhythm of ease and flow to life.
SUMMARY
Living well is about relating to yourself.
The three indications of living well are contentment, inner guidance, and easeful living.
From my perspective so far, none of those qualities have a ceiling.
Steu Mann
September, 2023