David Howenstein Blog
This blog focuses on putting spirituality into action, and is based on the book JUMBO JUMBLE (by this blog's author).
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This blog focuses on putting spirituality into action, and is based on the book JUMBO JUMBLE (by this blog's author).
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February 18 Illustrated by Miki Howenstein Life—overpowering the elements
1) The Dalai Lama was once asked, “What is the most important quality in a spiritual teacher?” His answer: “Cheerfulness.” That cheerfulness is a kind of invitation that says, “It feels good to be here. Wouldn’t you like to come too?”(Charles Eisenstein, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2013 (Kindle Edition)), 230.) 2) Morality should be joyous, an affirmation of life rather than a denial. (Thomas Moore, The Soul of Sex: Cultivating Life as an Act of Love (New York: HarperCollins, 1998), 176.) JR: Living morally is often seen as a burden because of the mistaken idea of what morality is. Ethical values give you a grounding in which you can integrate your life and become whole. And, as you come to feel “holy,” the joy of living fills your being, and your life becomes a conduit nourishing all forms of other life which you have contact with. PP: How do you view morality? As a burden, or as a pleasure? How can you make it feel more life-engendering so that you long to make morality more a part of your life? PA: MORALITY - What a Bummer! Control myself, especially when I was a horny teenager - Be for Real! Yet, I’ve found that it is moving more towards a moral life that I become intrinsically happier. I can still enjoy life’s pleasures (good food and drink, sex, play, etc) with morality meaning that I enjoy these things within certain confines. For example, playing brings me great pleasure, but if I’m only playing, I most likely won’t be able to make a living and will starve to death. Sure wouldn’t be much fun, just like too much of any of life’s pleasures. Morality indeed brings more sustainable satisfaction and joy into life.
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January 5 Illustration by Miki Howenstein I know what melts me—How about you?
Remember those times when your eyes misted with tears of happiness and joy. Perhaps you unselfishly helped another human being. Perhaps somebody, unasked and unexpectedly, reached out to help you. Perhaps you were reading a book or watching a movie or witnessing a scene where lives were being touched by love. Whenever your eyes well up with tears of joy, carefully stop and observe. What are you witnessing? Why does this touch you? What is missing in your life? Now you have a strong clue about which modifications are needed to bring more joy, more happiness, more peace into your life. JR: Finding those kinds of stories and experiences which create a wellspring of joy within yourself is a major key in self-discovery. They tell you what you treasure and can point the way to a path that brings more touching moments into your life. PP: What are three stories (movies, books, etc.) that brought you tears of joy? What do they say about you? PA: What a fun exercise this is—to start the process of discovering what really moves you, and how that can help you to find things to do which bring more heart-warming moments into your life. Better yet, share these stories with others to give them the chance to learn from you new roads to delight. Illustration by Miki Howenstein Empowerment through the art of creation 1) The greatest gift you can give anyone is a gift of empowerment and love. What could be more loving than helping people you care about get free from their limiting beliefs and ignorance about success, and empowering them to create the life that they truly want from the depths of their soul?
2) “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” JR: All of us are brought up with certain beliefs which prevent us from achieving our full potential. It is important to discover these limiting beliefs within yourself, see them for what they are, and discard the ones which disempower you so that you can then build and enable your hidden gifts. Only in so doing can you help others to do the same. PP: Think of how liberating it was when you saw the falsity of a limiting belief you once held and became more fulfilled as a result. Want to feel that way again? Find another belief that is holding you back now and do the same. PA: In my case, I was rather forced out of my limiting belief. I’d always wanted to quit my main jobs as a teacher, and become a teacher of my own school, but I didn’t believe I could do it. However, when the main school I was working for closed down, I finally made the move, got a space and began my own school (or rather small classroom). And WHAT A LIBERATION! I now face the same lack of belief in myself to proactively sell the ideas in my book Jumbo Jumble, so haven’t made much effort in doing so. But now, I’ve finally built up the courage and commitment to do so and bring vision and hopes therein to fruition in 2020. Illustration by Miki Howenstein Make goodness reign 1) The best antidote to fear is action!
2) “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.“ (Edmund Burke) JR: When we freeze up in fear, our whole being becomes paralyzed, and we are unable to move. The best antifreeze is for you to take action and, in doing so, weaken fear’s grip. You probably will still be afraid, but your attempt to overcome the fear allows you to regain some control over it, and over your life. PP: Think of a time when something was happening in your life that made you feel extremely afraid. What did you do to overcome the fear, or how did it come to pass? PA: PETRIFIED - that’s how I felt before giving the presentation for our MBA project. Our group had worked on it for more than 6 months but I was still not confident, and I was to be our group’s main presenter. And, WHAT DO YOU KNOW - I completely flubbed it. We still passed, and I went to the bar to drown my sorrows. Yet, it was a great lesson in humility, and it was only in carrying out the program to the end that I developed more confidence in myself, in terms of being able to be persistent and reliable even in trying situations. Illustration by Miki Howenstein Inside each precious living thing lies a mystery to be uncovered. 1) “The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” (Marcel Proust)
2) “Perception defines our reality.” (Henri Bergson) 3) “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” (Henri Bergson) JR: Being able to alter your perception blesses you with the ability to make new discoveries about anything. Developing new ways of seeing things introduces an element of fascination into any endeavor, even one that you practice regularly. In this sense, your increased capacity to perceive things from many angles serves as a natural stimulant in your life. PP: Stretch your imagination. Touch or hold some living thing and imagine how it perceives you. PA: To discover that there is mystery in everything, not necessarily to understand the mystery itself, brings a sense of awe into our everyday existence. Even with our various trials and tribulations, developing an eye that can increasingly perceive the mysteries in all around us not only lightens our burdens, but also may prod us to move in a direction which minimizes the struggles we must endure and more brightens our days. Illustration by Miki Howenstein Tough feeling so worn down There must be the direct and immediate experience of living itself: we must directly see, feel, touch, manipulate, sing, dance, communicate before we can extract from the machine any further sustenance for life. If we are empty to begin with, the machine will only leave us emptier; if we are passive and powerless to begin with, the machine will only leave us more feeble.
JR: Only life begets life. It is faulty thinking to believe that machines can give us life. This does not imply that machines are evil, but the concept does force us to question the foundation of our true sustenance. When we feel truly alive in our connections with other living beings, we deliberately choose the machines which further this aliveness, while understanding that other machines remove us from this life energy. Then, and only then, can we become capable of deciphering which machines truly serve life. PP: Is there any machine that zaps you of life’s energy, or gives you a temporary high but, in the end, leaves you feeling drained or powerless? Consider getting rid of it. PA: I myself love my gadgets and refuse to part with some of them. Yet, there are times when I get so trapped with them that I don’t get out into nature or do exercise (two things which I NEED to do to keep a semblance of sanity). For me, I’ve found keeping in contact with those far away (by email, skype, etc) is quite enlivening, as is reading many downloaded books on my kindle which fill me with great pleasure and inspiration. Doing a search for something and then getting stuck net-surfing with a lot of peripherals or other things that take me off course drains me, and I lose direction and power over my own course. This is but one example, and each person must find for himself that which infills you with life’s energy, and that which sucks it out. Illustration by Miki Howenstein Connecting the spiritual and the earthy Whatever stands in the way of a conscious contact between the spiritual and the material in human life, only that is truly evil. The desire from physical things, family, safety, comfort, sex—none of that is evil. These are all aspects of one of the great forces of the universe in the human animal.
No, the real evil in our lives is now, and has always been, the cloud of human ignorance and fear which prevents experiential contact between the two levels. (Jacob Needleman, “Money and the Meaning of Life,” page 115) JR: What is it that you desire? Is it spiritually uplifting or soul destroying? Does it move you towards the kind of person you want to become or lead you away from the path of your dreams? The answers to these questions determine whether the desire is to your benefit or actually works against your innermost desire. PP: What desire do you have that fills you with positive energy, is life-promoting, and moves you towards the person you wish to be? Design your life to better meet this desire. PA: Writing and getting people connected - these are two of the things which fill me positive, life-promoting energy. And yet, in terms of writing, I don’t take out nearly enough time to do it because I haven’t developed the mental stamina it takes to get going. Rather, I choose “being lazy,” and go out drinking with friends - my great weakness revealed! Awareness is the first step, and now it’s time to take action. Illustration by Miki Howenstein Sharing beauty delights one and all. Money is like manure. If you pile it up, it stinks. But if you spread it around, it can do a lot of good. If we do not use our wealth and resources to help lessen the gap between rich and poor, when the world looks back on us, people with money who didn't do anything will be remembered as war criminals. (From Ken Ausubel’s book “Restoring the Earth,” p 153)
JR: Accumulating more and more goods with the attitude that you are deserving (while others are not) or as security against a hostile world is critically damaging not only to society (in that it is taking away from the whole) but also to your own soul (in that you pit yourself against others). By sharing your wealth, others become your supporters and a deeper sense of security is created than any great wealth could ever bestow. PP: How can you use some of your wealth to build stronger relationships with people near and far? PA: When I was younger, I worried about my finances and often focused on only holding onto my money, giving little to others and, worst of all, taking money from others (i.e. by cheating my employer to get more money). I came to realize that this “closed me down” and I thought of myself as unworthy since I felt like a cheater at times. When I saw myself that way, I often felt uncomfortable around others, feeling less “wholesome” than them or fearing they’ll see the “fraud” in me. And how could it be otherwise, as I didn’t even believe enough in myself so I became a cheater, harming me much more than anyone else. Over the past few years, I’ve been making a conscious effort not to cheat and to give more freely to those I love and the good causes I support. While I still have a long way to go, I have felt a steady “opening up of my spirit” and feel more comfortable with others as there is increasing integrity between how I use my money for good and building more trusting and solid relationships. Try it - You’ll like it! Illustration by Miki Howenstein When your heart is passionate about it, you flower. There's a difference between something that stimulates you for a year and something you can be passionate about for ten years. What is the difference? One thing is not ten times more stimulating than the other. The difference is whether your heart's in it.
The traditional search for a career begins with the question "What am I good at?" But that's often not the right starting point for finding a calling. The true search is for what you believe in. When your heart's engaged, the inevitable headaches and daily annoyances become tolerable and don't derail your commitment. Let your brain be your heart's soldier. (Po Bronson “What Should I Do with my Life?” p 47-8) JR: Why do many people nowadays feel de-energized and burnt out? Very often, it is because they choose a life path that is practical or that others are also following, rather than a path that excites them deep down. Choosing to do something that has captured your heart so that the path and the passion become one fills you with an energy which makes you willing to try to overcome any obstacle which may present itself. The challenge and stimulation entailed in taking up such a course provides a fuel that never stops burning and keeps you alive. PP: Is there something you used to do that your heart was completely absorbed in? How can you bring that activity and feeling back into your life? PA: One of my many problems is that I have way too many interests. However, on the positive side, after trying them out for a while, I usually quickly lose interest in pursuing them. Luckily, there are two passions which never filled to fill my heart with joy when I was a child—hanging out in the woods and reading. I’ve been able to incorporate both of these into my work, by doing environmental projects and taking groups for hikes and through my avid reading and not-as-frequent writing. As a hiking guide (as many can testify), I make many mistakes (like getting lost at times), and yet, because of my passion for it (or because of my foolishness, others can feel better about themselves), many keep coming back. My passion for reading has inspired me to write more, and when I do, it gives me great joy. Yet, not doing more of it remains one of my life’s shortcomings. When I manage to do so, I’m sure I can flower still more. Illustration by Miki Howenstein Capturing and feeling the whole is pure delight. 1) ”Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition." (Alexander Smith)
2) “I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.” (Nelson Mandela) JR: It is impossible to transform bad relationships into good ones when we feed our hatreds and jealousies. Only through the cultivation of a spirit of love can we make more and more people our lovers (in the spiritual sense) and feel comfortable and delighted in their company. In the process, our relationships grow to become increasingly inclusive. PP: Focus on some common interest or characteristic you share with someone who you don’t care for, and witness the seed of caring for her being planted in your soul. PA: Some people just rub you the wrong way, often for no rational reason. I’ve come to understand that the feeling of “YUCK” may never wear off. At the same time, even with that feeling, I can come to appreciate and respect their good points. There is one person I know who loves gossip and especially loves to spread (usually negative) gossip about others. While I never condone this, I’ve come to learn how hurt he has been by others and how he has shown incredible kindness to a relative who has spited him. Reflecting on this and our mutual concern to help another in need has made him not only bearable, but deserving of my respect as well. |
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What Jambo Members Are SayingDavid Howenstein founded Jambo Japan in 1996. A man with many ideas on bettering the natural/human environment but also unsure how to implement them in a way to make a sustainable organization, he tried various courses of action throughout the years. Like many of you, he encountered frequent frustrations finding that the vast majority of his efforts ended in failure. However, through trial and error, he came upon a recipe for success in his adopted home. |
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