Learning to See Differently So We Can Live Differently

Have we disconnected from Nature’s Law, and with it, skewed our place in the web of life, leaving us disoriented and out of sync?

I know, for me, something never felt quite right. I always felt as if my wiring was scrambled, as if there was something wrong with me because, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make myself work the way I was expected to. The only time I ever felt at peace and balanced was when I was in nature.

Then, thank goodness, one seemingly normal day, I had the epiphany.

It wasn’t me.

It never was me.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with me.

I was perfectly fine.

The glitch was the core belief systems I was living by.

They were incongruent.

I was operating counter to Nature’s Law.

Counter to my true nature.

And believe it or not...

I am a nature being.

You are too.

My journey has taken me to this realization:

Physical reality is an energy exchange in perpetual motion.

Nothing more.

All the rest is interpretation.

And it’s our mind’s misinterpretation that gets us into trouble.

For me, there is only one question worth asking.

What is the truth?

Because I trust that, when I stand in truth, I stand in integrity—aligned and functioning as Nature intended.

What’s on offer at The Silent Power Station is this:

A progressive, expansive, all-encompassing journey back to source.

You will receive a map and a compass to help you realign with Nature’s Law—an opportunity to restore harmony within and without.

From that place of balance, your own personal Silent Power can begin to emerge.

I’m talking about an unshakable inner truth you can stand strong in and guide your life by.

Here, you’ll discover a new way of seeing the world—and a completely new way of navigating it.

That is my promise to you.

I am Aquila.

Up next: Symbolic Sight.

It stands to reason, then, doesn’t it, that perhaps — just maybe — aware of it or not, the scientist is walking a path toward Buddha-hood.

Reaching for enlightenment.
Stretching toward the stance of a bodhisattva.
To become an awakened one.

In the search for something, they are finding nothing.
In the search for unification, their means and their methods fall short.

The rational mind reveals itself as flawed — riddled with cognitive bias.

And when it seems there is place else to go,
there is still one.

It waits in silence.

Ever present

The first: Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit.
There isn’t a book on my shelf with more dog-ears than this one. It’s a great reference guide for writers. I started by listening to the audiobook, but eventually compulsion took over and a hard copy became a must have. What a gift to the writer within. Thank you, Steven. I salute you.

The second: Turning Pro.
This book flags the difference between an amateur and a professional. Its wisdom seeped into my pores while I slept. It planted quiet little seeds of honesty deep into the fertile soil of my subconscious mind. It whispered to my soul, which began to hum my heart’s song. Now it’s so loud, I can’t hear anything else. Thanks for that, Steven! (Hint of loving sarcasm in that “thank you”… in case you didn’t get it — ha ha.)

A question formed from my last post, Life After Death:

Will I treat myself, my work, my truth, and my creativity with respect?
Am I prepared to honestly admit what that quiet voice within is suggesting I do —
Stop being an amateur, grow up, own my life, and take it seriously: turn pro.

I’ve had many plans for my Substack publications. Lots of trials and errors. “Over-controlling scattershot” would be the best way to describe it. Trying to find my voice while exploring words as a new creative medium. For the most part, I’ve spent a huge amount of energy tangled up in the ego’s fear-based programs and projections about what I should or shouldn’t do. Can or cannot do.

All the while, something else — something out of view — was taking form:

• Inner confidence

• Self-worth

• Truth

• Honesty

• Ownership

Most of you know I’ve been working on a book called Nothing Is Everything: A Fusion of Physics, Quantum Physics, and Metaphysics. The process of writing this book has also presented me with an invitation — a call to truth. In the book I offer a new worldview and a new way to operate within it.

Theory is one thing. Application is the rub.

Questions, questions, questions:

“Can I — and will I — walk my talk?”
Do I believe in my own theory, in my philosophy?
Do I live by it?
Am I prepared to stand by this publicly, with conscious intent?

Or…
Is this literary work just throwaway amateur pontification?
A hot-winded blow-off, a mock fantasy play on a stage — entertainment for the audience to do with as they will?

Or are we talking about a body of work with the potential to make real impact in the world? A paradigm shifter?

And if the answer is yes — what the hell are you waiting for?

Turning Pro: Compare and Contrast

As an amateur, I had planned to just put my ideas out there and see what happens.
Let the fickle winds of social media do with it what they will.

Not anymore.

Time to walk my talk… come what may.

This week marks the beginning of a new journey. A journey of co-creation.
I’ve decided to pivot — to find a literary agent and get my book professionally published. In short, I’m turning pro.

What does this mean for you, my dear reader?

The plot thickens.
Anticipation of the next chapter will now be held in suspended animation while the planets turn and the will of the gods becomes known.

A glorious celebration of life. Not just one life, but the collective.

I experienced the preciousness of the shared journey in all its colours and textures. Time had passed but the communion of our shared history seemed to amplify the bonds. Fortify them. Meeting up again rekindled them with unabashed love and joy. I can honestly say this was the first time in my life that I had actually felt like I had been seen. That I had a place. A home. That I belonged. And I was part of family that extended way, way, way, beyond blood.

It was as if a veil had been lifted and I was able to see for the first time that I was loved. I always had been.

There was a reverence and exultation that seemed to be expressed in every hug, every kind word and every memory shared with every single person. Each face reflecting the echo of a sacred life, worthy of acknowledgement celebration.

What an honour and a privilege it has been so far to share this life with such extraordinary people. It made me hungry for more. More love, more sharing, more trust and respect. More joy, more expansion, more celebration. It filled me with a desire to imbue more sacred reverence with everything I do, touch, say and feel.

The ripple effect of one life was seen through the faces and the many lives my mother had touch. It was a confirmation: We make a difference. Our lives matter. Your life matters...so does mine and so does what we do with it.

I came back to this current life holding that sacred reverence in my heart. I turned to Substack and the book I have been working on and held this question.

“Is what I am doing or attempting to do a worthy gift? One worth living for? One worth dying for? One worth giving my life force too? Is it a worthy contribution?”

Such a clear and unfaltering response: Absolutely YES!

Then lightening shocked me with the knee jerk question that followed.

“Then why are you treat it with such causal candour? As if it is nothing but a carless folly? As if you and your life force and your gifts to the world are nothing but carless folly? Your creative gifts are not something to be forced, pumped and pushed out into the world, as if on a heartless production line…churned out? What an assault! Where is the reverence? Where is the respect? Where is the love and the care and the delicate attention it deserves….?”

…..Owch!

Life pushes and shoves us. Makes demand. The matrix nibbles at our integrity. Nibble, nibble, nibble; one little nip at at time while we sleep. It pokes and pulls. It rips and tears off little bits. Little bit here, little bit there, wearing us down. And what is that? I’ll tell you what that is. It’s the passive aggressive battering that challenges the spiritual warrior to rise. To take a stand. To make a stand. To be seen. To own this life. To make a contribution - the kind of contribution that only we can make. To create an offering that is worthy of channeling our life force into. Worthy of celebrating. An offering that is worthy of giving, living, and dying for.

More than ever now I am inspired to make my life and my work a precious gift. I want to love and caress every single word I write. Gently, tenderly, fold them, making sure they are wrapped with love before offering them up. I want to make art. I want to create the kind of beauty that is an inspiration and celebration of life - not just for me, not just for you but for the generations to come. I want my work here on Substack and the book that I am currently writing (Nothing is Everything) to be my David. Rightly aligned, I believe it has the potential to be just that and as such, it warrants been given what ever it takes to be sculpted with care.

‘Nothing is Everything’ is to be the first book of a three part series that merges physics, quantum physics and metaphysics. Yes this is Mammoth. It is big and it will take time but it is also time….so watch this space for…

MY VISION TO BE REALISED

Book 1: Physics - The Foundation Stone.

Book 2: Consciousness - The Center Stone.

Book 3: Cosmology - The Key Stone.

It's called sympathetic resonance—a phenomenon where an object vibrates in response to the frequencies of another object. When the pitch of her voice matches the natural frequency of the glass, it causes the glass to vibrate and resonate until the material can no longer withstand the stress and shatters. It's a beautiful yet delicate interplay between vibrational frequencies and structure.

We've met the monkey mind with its shiny object syndrome and survival reflexes. We've explored the robot mind with its programmed patterns—some helpful, some not so much. Are you ready to go deeper and meet the Sage Mind? Well, hang on to your hat, because that shattering you just witnessed is where it all begins.

There's more than one way to use sympathetic resonance, and it's not just with sound—it's with your mind.

The Pattern Makers

Every thought form holds an energetic pattern. Your brain is a plastic transformer that generates, creates, and recreates energetic frequencies and pattern blueprints. Throughout history, our survival has been based on this very principle—those deeply embedded instincts and reflexes from the automatic nervous system, developed over eons and eons of evolution. It all started in that cerebral mass and was eventually encoded into our DNA. It's Darwin's theory in action. Our biology is our psychology and vice versa, and they serve us in our evolutionary processes.

The ancient Buddhists were right: we create the world with our mind.

All form, all physical matter is an energetic blueprint and tells a story. It holds a history of how it came to be. As such, all form, all physical matter is an information reservoir and resource center of information that we can tap into. Past wisdom and experiences are available because every physical form is a resource center of information about its creation.

Form holds a vibration, and vibration has a radiation. That radiation, like sound, can travel through the ethers. The closer that radiation is to its source, the stronger it becomes. The more it is repeated, the more deeply embedded it becomes—like homeopathic energy imprints. Just as homeopathy works on the principle that water retains the energetic signature of substances even when diluted beyond detection, our consciousness and physical form retain the energetic imprints of repeated experiences, thoughts, and patterns. These energy signatures become encoded in our cellular memory, our biofield, creating a living library of information.

Everything—rock, tree, person, planet—radiates an electromagnetic field, has a biofield. The ancients called it an aura. I think of it as biofield plasma, like the air you see when heat waves radiate. Science acknowledges bioplasm around all living things—this field, this aura.

Within this interconnected web of energy exists what some call the third eye, a center of perception that carries a unique sonar potential. This opens pathways to heightened awareness, enabling us to sense and navigate the subtle vibrations around and within us. The third eye resonates with the energetic patterns of our surroundings, and like sonar, it allows us to interpret the depths of our consciousness and the collective environment, echoing our thoughts and emotions back to us in waves of understanding.

Our field exists within Earth's field, which exists within the solar system's field. They merge as one field. Earth's field is what Jung called the collective unconscious, which can be made conscious. Our bodies and the collective akashic records are accessible through form, through the ethers.

Transmitter and Receiver: The Truth Bomb

Are you ready for a truth? A truth bomb?

Let's first agree on a couple of basic principles. All physical matter is energy—energy vibrating in a process. That process is either growing or decaying, and that process is what creates form and the reality we call the physical world. Side note: Isn't it interesting how these two words, "physical" and "reality," go together? One is used synonymously with the other. They match and each plugs you into the same thought form—the physical is real and what's real is physical. But what if this thought form needs flipping?

How do you confirm what is physical and what is real? The program is set to believe that what is real is what your five senses can validate. If you can see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, then it must be real. But does this thought form limit us? Does it suggest that the physical world is real while the unseen world of thoughts and feelings are not?

Let's pause and backtrack to our first basic principle: All physical matter is energy. The word "physical" suggests rigid and set, but is it? Or is it actually a highly active energetic dynamic? What if we deleted that word "physical" from our vocabulary for the moment and talked about your body for what it actually might be?

What if your body—not just your brain but your whole being—is an energy receptor, a conductor, an antenna and transmitter transformer of energy?

Consider this: Are your five senses actually physical receptors, or could they be energy receptors? How do you hear? Sound waves—vibrational frequencies. How do you feel? Electrical signals to the brain. Taste? Chemical energy transmitters. And how do you see? Light vibration. Could it be that all your five senses are energy receptors processing vibration?

Even our voices—what are we sending out? Vibration, tone, sound frequencies that get transferred into electromagnetic patterns interpreted in the brain. And what about that sixth sense? Could it be found in the electromagnetic field that science confirms radiates around your body—what the ancients called your aura?

Here's where it gets fascinating: As we are 80% water, could the same principles that apply to homeopathic energy imprints apply to our consciousness and physical form? Do we have the potential to receive and retain the energetic imprints of repeated experiences, thoughts, and patterns? What if these energy signatures become encoded in our cellular memory, creating a living library of information?

What if plants, with their documented electromagnetic responses to their environment, also participate in this energetic exchange? Could there be, as some researchers suggest, a kind of bioplasmic field—a thick, vapor-like energy layer—that facilitates communication and hormone release not just in plants, but in all living systems? The questions multiply, don't they?

The Art of Tuning In

The sage mind works with sympathetic resonance, tuning into the vibration and oscillation of very particular frequencies. Then it interprets them. The mind loves to make connections—it's a matchmaker.

You've heard of the red car scenario. Want to buy a red car and you'll start seeing red cars everywhere. You give the mind the cue "red car" and it sets about making a match. Your mind is a matchmaker. Looking for truth, wisdom, and answers is no different.

This is where projections live. Look for a red car, see red cars. Look for bad, you'll see bad. Look for good, you'll see good. Look for wisdom and answers, and you'll find wisdom and answers. Look for truth, and you'll find truth. Your body becomes a magnet, your antenna tuning into vibrations and frequencies.

The Key Finder's Magic

Let me share one of my favorite stories. My acupuncture clinic was booming and I was looking to expand. The building had a whole floor above me that had been vacant for years, so I made an appointment with the real estate agent to show me through. She arrived with two bunches of keys—and I mean large, fist-sized bunches of keys, all scrambled together. Some with tags, some without. She said, "I'm pretty sure it's one of these."

I looked at her dumbfounded. "You've got to be kidding? You don't know which one it is?" There was a silence, a pause. Then I turned to my trusty work colleague, a brilliant kinesiologist—one out of the box. "Can you find it?" She said, "Sure, give me a minute." She took the two bundles. It took her less than two minutes—she handed us a key. One key. The key that opened the door.

This is how oracles work. Runes, tarot, I-Ching—tuning in. What's the right question? It's tuning into the vibration we're looking for, the specific frequency. The right question sets in motion, sets up intention to make a match.

Beyond the Noise

I was fortunate enough to lay my hands on a set of runes when I was very young. I can still remember the very first one I ever drew out—Kano, which means Opening, Fire, Torch. It was an opening to a whole new world, to the landscape of my inner world. And in there lives the sage mind.

Over the years, using various oracles like runes, tarot, and I-Ching, I learned the skills of symbolic sight and the art of inner listening. Through these mediums, I developed the skills of tuning in and using the laws of sympathetic resonance—the art of matchmaking, of learning how to hear the whispers of the inner sage.

The mind can deceive just as easily with logic and rationality as it can with fantasy and delusion. Discernment comes from listening with the inner ear and developing symbolic sight—skills we'll explore further in my next post about the seer/witness mind, the doorway to abstract intelligence.

The Three-Step Activation

When you tune in with the sage mind, three things happen:

You activate sympathetic resonance—like attracts like, creating energetic relationships between your inner intention and outer manifestation.

You develop new neural pathways—building specific routes to wisdom that become as automatic as your morning call to coffee.

Your consciousness expands—connecting not just to the records in your body, but tapping into the collective consciousness that surrounds our planet.

This enables you to access information from any time, any place in history. You learn to hear symbolically, in whole thought forms rather than fragmented thoughts—which is why picture languages are so rich in meaning.

The Quiet Sanctuary

In the quiet recesses of the mind, like a hushed reading room or a secret corner in the garden that catches the golden glow of afternoon delight, repeated practice develops a clear and easy pathway to that inner sanctum. Neural pathways into those quiet recesses become automatic, like my call to coffee in the morning.

You can find truth and knowing and wisdom just as easily, organically, without effort—just with practice.

Oracles are tools, nothing more. The magic is in your ability to be still enough to enter the void of silence, to bypass the panic of the monkey mind and the survival drama of the robot mind, and start using the robot mind to open new doors, develop new skills, or awaken old ones.

Eventually, you won't need the oracles—you'll know what they would say anyway. They become like red cars; the more finely tuned you become, the more accurate and specific the information. The more detailed your question, the more specific the answer.

The sage mind is ancient wisdom that we can access at any time. The ancient sages, the shamans of the past—their information is still available. The runes and the cards, the bones and the stones, the birds and the clouds, the flow of rivers and rains can all talk to you about truth and wisdom and answers. It's all about learning how to tune into the language of symbolic sight and silent listening—to the wisdom in your body, to the wisdom in the earth, to the wisdom in the ethers.

Set Your Sail

Still the mind, be specific in your questioning, then open and listen with your inner ear to hear the voices of ancient wisdom.

Set your sail. Make your mark. And let the matchmaking begin.

Your Turn

What would you ask the sage mind? What truth are you seeking? What wisdom do you need to access?

Remember: like attracts like. The more specific your question, the more precise the answer. The more you practice tuning in, the clearer the signal becomes.

The Robot Mind:

The program centre
Links to the body
Instrument for the physical world
Mine has a serious control issue. Does Yours?

The Morning Coffee Conspiracy

This morning, something weird happened. I woke up and my body was already preparing for coffee—before I was even fully conscious. My mouth was anticipating that bitter/sweet hit of my daily indulgence: Middle Eastern style coffee. I make it so rich, strong and sweet a spoon can almost stand upright on its own. My hands were mentally reaching for the cup, my brain was mapping the route to the kitchen. Water in the pot, perfect measure of coffee in, stove on. Turn. Go get that new tub of local honey. Top off with a big scoop. Stir. Reach for my cup before it boils over. Froth up, stove off. Let it settle and pour. Small dollop of coconut oil. First sip to the lip. Perfect...Oh Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!

I hadn't decided to want coffee. I hadn't thought, "Gee, I could really go for some caffeine right now." Nope. My body just... knew. It was already three steps ahead, running the morning coffee program like clockwork.

That's when it hit me: I'd met the robot mind.

Unlike my chatty, chaotic monkey mind that never shuts up, the robot mind doesn't announce itself. It just gets to work. Quietly. Efficiently. Automatically. No drama, no discussion—just pure, robotic execution of pre-installed programs. It's quite brilliant, really.

The Program in Action

Here's what blew my mind: this morning coffee thing wasn't a craving. This wasn't a physical addiction I was working with. This was a habit. This was a program first and foremost. It was a neural pathway firing. A program so deeply embedded from months of repetition that my body started the sequence before my conscious mind had even rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

Same time every morning. Same routine. And once initiated, that same ol' chemical cascade began preparing my system for what it "knew" was coming. Bitter/sweet 'Yummm'.

The robot mind had installed a program that I had, by choice, initiated and was now doing what it was told and running on automatic. It had become like one of my other biological operating systems I was no longer even consciously aware of. That is the power of the robot mind. And yes, I admit it, the habit has turned into an addiction, but you know what, I'm totally ok with that until...

The Day When the Program Glitched

A few days later, I ran out of coffee. You know what happened? My body threw a tantrum. Not my monkey mind with its usual dramatic flair—this was different. This was deeper. Physical. My robot mind kept running the coffee program anyway, sending chemical signals for something that wasn't coming.

Headache. Irritability. That weird empty feeling you get when your body expects one thing and doesn't get it.

My robot mind didn't care that there was no coffee. It had a program to run, and by God, it was going to run it. And what did it do? Got my legs running of course. What time was it? Will the shop be open yet? The program inaugurated very focused action. Go get coffee! Now! That is the power of the robot mind in action. Perfectly coordinated with the physical body, in action.

The "Just Human" Trigger

Then there was the incident with my friend last week. She made an offhand comment: "Well, we're all just human."

Just human?

Before I could even process what she'd said, my body reacted. Heat flushed through my chest. Punch in the gut. My jaw tightened. My shoulders pulled back. Fight mode: activated.

Just another nobody? Just as insignificant as everyone else? Just mediocre?... excuse me?

That word "just" had triggered something deep. A program installed years ago, running automatically in the background, ready to fire the moment it detected a threat to my sense of self-worth.

Again—no conscious decision. No monkey mind chatter first. Just immediate, physical, programmed response. "I am not 'just' an anybody or a nobody and I refuse to 'just' be mediocre!" Period. End of discussion. Oh dear.

The Robot's Three Operating Levels

As I dug deeper, I discovered the robot mind operates on three distinct levels:

Level 1: Biological Hardwiring
The deepest programs. Billions of years of evolution. Heart beating, lungs breathing, digestive systems running. These are passed down through DNA—our biological hard drive. Darwin's legacy living in our bodies.

Level 2: Childhood Programming
The programs installed from conception to about 7-8 years old. Both externally imposed (family rules, social conditioning) and individually developed (if I hide in the corner when they fight, they won't drag me into it). These unconscious thought forms become neural pathways that, through repetition, shift from thoughts we can access to automatic responses that sit deep in the subconscious.

Level 3: Conscious Habits
From 7 years onward, we're building on these as semi-conscious beings—our daily coffee ritual, reaching for alcohol when stressed, checking our phone every five minutes. We install these new programs predominantly on top of our childhood programming then hand control over to the robot mind to run them automatically. Without question the robot mind will be playing its part. Doing what we programmed it to do. Whether it helps or hinders matter not to the robot.

The Robot's Secret Power

Here's what I'm starting to understand: the robot mind doesn't think. It executes. It takes whatever programs have been installed—through repetition, through emotional impact, through sheer biological necessity—and runs them with mechanical precision.

Good programs, bad programs, it doesn't care. Its job isn't to judge; its job is to operate the machinery. Keep the heart beating, the lungs breathing, the habits flowing, the reactions firing.

The robot mind is the conductor of every automatic process in your body. From your morning coffee ritual to your defensive reactions to your muscle memory when you ride a bike.

It's not personal. It's just programmed.

The Plot Twist

The wild part? We installed most of these programs ourselves. Through repetition. Through emotional intensity. Through unconscious choices made over and over until they became automatic.

That coffee program? I built it, one morning at a time. That defensive reaction? I reinforced it every time I felt threatened and responded the same way.

The robot mind is just doing what we taught it to do.

The Big Question

The big question of course is this: Are you living your life or running your business—from foundational programs set up by a child? A very sophisticated child, perhaps, but still a child operating from survival mode, gathering data from the outside world, making assumptions that may or may not be true?

The robot mind speaks in absolutes. Logic is its language. But logic based on incomplete information from a developing mind isn't wisdom—it's sophisticated guesswork.

What This Means

Unlike the monkey mind that needs to be redirected, the robot mind can be reprogrammed. But here's the catch: you can't argue with it, negotiate with it, or convince it to change through logic. Push against the robot mind and it will push back.

The robot mind speaks in repetition, emotion, and physical experience. If you want to change its programs, you need to speak its language.

Here's the thing: we NEED the robot mind—it's essential for survival and function. But the programs need examination. The assumptions need questioning.

The monkey mind and the robot mind work together as a dynamic duo designed to help you navigate the outer world. They're your external guidance system. But of course, the outer world is only half the story, isn't it?

The robot mind is like the text in the drama of your life—but the real story, the real power, and the authenticity of who you really are is hidden in the subtext. Your inner life. That's where the story starts to get really interesting.

That's where your silent power lives—not in the programs of the robot mind.

Your Turn

Pay attention to your automatic responses today. What programs is your robot mind running? Which ones serve you? Which ones don't?

Notice your morning coffee ritual. Your defensive reactions. Your habitual thoughts that arise without invitation. What about those repeated self-sabotaging patterns and behaviours that you just can't shake? You know the ones - those sticky ones that you find yourself repeating over and over and over again. Repetition is the big hint, a flagging signpost pointing you directly to the culprit.

Your robot mind is working 24/7, whether you're aware of it or not. The question is: who's programming it? Because if you're not running the program, who is?

I grabbed my furry little feral monkey by the scruff of his scrawny neck, pinned him to the floor with my foot, pointed at the total chaos he'd created in just about every aspect of my life, and said, "What the hell do you think you've been doing?"

He let out a high-pitched scream: "I've been freaking out!"

That's how I discovered my monkey mind was actually my terrified inner child—trying to help me find my place in the world, figure out how life works, survive, feel safe. Fully plugged into fight-or-flight mode and on high alert all the time. Poor baby.

The Monkey Mind:

Data collection centre
Links to the outside world
Your eyes and ears
Mine is a He. Yours might be a She?

You've heard of the monkey mind, right? Shiny object syndrome ring any bells?

"What bell? Is it shiny? I love shiny bells. Where is it? Can I have it? Can I see it? Can I, can I, can I? Can you ring it? Can I ring it? Oh please, please, please, can I, can I, can I? Hey, what's that over there? Look. It's a fish or it could be a bear. Just in case, RUN!"

For those who need a quick refresher: the monkey mind is the part of your mind that's constantly chattering and easily distracted. Chaotic and totally out of control. It's impulsive, compulsive, and highly reactive. Always looking for the next thing out there in the big wide world—the wild jungle of life.

The Lightbulb Moment

Synchronicity struck while I was listening to a business seminar. The facilitator was highlighting the destructive effects the monkey mind can have on productivity—constant advertising solicitations from our phones, the internet, social media. At the same time, I was reading a Chinese medical article describing certain tumors as "knotted Qi." In Chinese medicine, knotted qi leads to blood stagnation, and blood stagnation leads to physical pathologies.

Then I remembered a saying from my Chinese medicine studies 20+ years ago:

"Qi flows where the mind goes."

If Qi flows where the mind goes, and the monkey mind is at the controls, knotted Qi makes perfect sense. Monkey Qi would be all over the place, easily knotted, and worst of all—focused outside the body, not where it's needed most.

Like most people, I'm completely self-absorbed, so I immediately began reflecting on the monkey mind's effects in my life. Red with shame, then red with fury. I was shocked. I had no idea!

The obsessive-compulsive need to catch sight and sound of everything passing by, just in case life depended on it. Tiger. Coconut. Banana. Brontosaurus. Shiny bell.

Key Points About the Monkey Mind

Its obsessive-compulsive nature never stops. It's part of its design.

You have zero chance of changing its nature or pinning it down for more than 10 seconds. (Which is all I got.)

Your monkey mind set up most of your subconscious, self-destructive programs and belief systems, then perpetuates them with high drama.

Unless consciously reigned in, your monkey mind will control your life. If the monkey mind is in control, you're out of control and living life from the outside in.

If you're out of control, you're easily controlled and highly reactive:

"Hey Monkey. LOOK. I have a shiny new bell! Quick BUY NOW!" "Oh, can I have it? Can I, can I, can I?"

"Hey Monkey. BOO!" "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Quick, run, hide, where?"

Picture it: an out-of-control monkey at the wheel of life, continually chasing the latest shiny bell or freaking out because someone said "Boo." Knotting up Qi. Exhausting, right?

The monkey mind isn't equipped to be the best CEO or primary decision maker, but he'll take the role and run with it if he can. What monkey wouldn't?

The monkey's role is external data collection. Period.

The Good News

The monkey mind may have set up unwanted programs and perpetuate them, but he isn't running them. He may be out of control and at the controls, but we can take the controls back.

What I Did With My Monkey

Naturally, I apologized for being so rough, dusted him down, and thanked him for doing such an amazing job. I told him we were making changes and asked if he was interested in a Shiny New Mission—a really, REALLY important one. A new job description that would take him on a wild adventure into uncharted waters.

Needless to say, he agreed.

I sent him ahead into the future to my dream home: The Writers Retreat. A private, secluded sanctuary—a lush tropical paradise with abundant wild fruit trees and long white sandy beaches where big blue sky meets big blue sea.

His new job: Peace Keeper. Sit high in the trees and hold peace within his heart, diligently, until I could meet him there.

It worked like magic. Immediate relief washed over me. Blissful internal silence. Real, genuine internal peace. No noise. No chaos. No panic. Just me.

Good ol' monkey just needed to be told where to go and what to do.

Of course, thinking it would be that easy was naive. Some monkeys have big ears and short attention spans. The bliss lasted 24 hours until I called in the robot for a chat about those crazy monkey programs. Little monkey caught wind of it and sprang back from those heavenly treetops.

But it was easy to send him back again—firmly, gently, respectfully. He just needed a reminder of how important his new job was.

Your Turn

What are you going to do with your monkey? Do you already have yours sorted? If so, I'd love to know your tactics.

to sculpt my gift to you—

the pearls that have formed

from the grit of the salty sea of life.

To breathe into it

my breath,

my essence,

my truth.

I dive to retrieve the jewels that sparkle,

and in it,

retrieve my soul.

Separation dissolves.

The giving and receiving have already begun

to become one.

The little boat above

of my old life

tugs and bobs about,

oars long gone.

Ropes of hopes and lost passions,

of dreams and expectations—

yours and mine—

still tangled and tied,

jerk and jar,

pull sharp,

tight,

like a noose about my neck.

Can't breathe.

I gasp.

I thought it was integrity,

but no, I am aligned.

I thought it must be responsibility,

but no, I have responded.

A mystery grips—

but what?

"*Ownership*" whispers in the wind.

Whose life is this?

Sea nymphs play.

They dance about,

they take mischievous delight

in the turbulence of my inner conflict.

I laugh.

And then

I heard it—

a wisp of a whimper

just above the waves.

Left cradled in the bow,

it's the inner child that cries,

abandoned once again

at the mercy of the tides,

at the push and pull of the outer world.

What is lost?

What is abandoned?

What is left that is still undone?

Behind the veil of my dreams

is a truth,

a purity—

a purity that is beyond

the harsh brutality of this world.

It surprised me

that my spiritual will

was the babe left crying,

so delicate,

vulnerable,

unheard,

unseen,

unnourished and unfortified,

yearning.

This is my life—

but have I claimed it?

This is my will—

but do I govern it?

This is my way,

and yet,

do I own it fully?

Do I embrace it with all its peculiarities?

Can I rock it in my arms with loving tenderness?

Give it permission to be

all that it is,

all that it is not?

For it to grow,

to become

all that it can be,

all that it wills to be?

Will I finally release the reins of the lower will—

the stubborn determination of MY WAY,

to control and conquer,

to feel safe?

Or will I follow the siren's call

into the unknown,

the elusive truth that reaches out with childlike innocence

that shimmers like a gossamer thread?

It has come to this—

the power to choose,

to answer the call,

to say yes,

come what may.

This is

my life,

my will,

my way.

I know not what,

but I surrender.

I will let go.

I will

let flow.

Eeeeeek!

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Since that day, I've been looking for a way to bring my philosophy to life, to give it form and breadth and depth.

That vision has begun to be realized while exploring my voice here at The Silent Power Station. This is very exciting. A major shift has happened that I want to share with you. A consolidation and momentum has started to build.

I was working on a prelude to inspire - but it shifted, shimmered and morphed. My prelude has become my Opus Magnum - my great white whale. And she calls me now to dive with her into the water depths of the great mystery to co-create.

For years now I have caressed her vast body with long loving strokes, as no doubt Michelangelo did with the marble that was to become his David.

I have met every scratch and barnacle. I know every curve and contour with such intimate detail. I know how she moves. Her colors and her moods.

I have looked deep into her eyes where soul to soul we merged. We are now one and she beckons me. The sonar signal has been sent. She has arched her back and fluked her mighty tail. She summons me to dive. She is calling me in and I have answered the call.

And so it is - into the silent depths of the deep blue ocean, into the void, into the cradle of life I go.

Into silent power.

I won't be posting for a while. This deep dive requires my complete attention. But when I surface, I'll have something that's been decades in the making.

See you on the other side.

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The Language Trap We've All Fallen Into

We've been programmed to believe that being "selfish" and "self-centered" are the same thing. They're tossed around as synonyms, usually with shame attached. But here's what I discovered when I went back to the source of these words—they're not just different, they're actually opposing forces.

Breaking Down "Selfish"

The suffix "-ish" means "kind of like" or "somewhat resembling." Think about it: someone acting "childish" is behaving kind of like a child, but isn't actually a child.

So "selfish" means behaving kind of like the self, but not actually being the self. It's being inauthentic. It's your ego, your false persona, your fabricated identity trying to get its needs met.

Understanding "Self-Centered"

Self-centered means being centered in your true self. Grounded. Authentic. Operating from your core essence rather than from programmed responses or people-pleasing patterns.

The Integrity Connection

Here's where it gets interesting. Remember what integrity actually means? According to Oxford: "The state of being whole and undivided. Internal consistency."

For true integrity, we need our four primary parts working together:

1. Life force sends information to the heart

2. Heart registers and sends it to the mind

3. Mind interprets and creates the plan

4. Body puts it into action

The heart is the king. The mind is the governing general. Not the other way around.

The Leadership Revolution

So what does this mean for leadership?

A selfish leader operates from their ego, their false self, their programmed responses. They're disconnected from their authentic truth and make decisions based on fear, control, or external validation.

A self-centered leader operates from their true center, their authentic self. They're connected to their inner wisdom, their moral compass, their genuine purpose. They lead from integrity.

The Brave Heart Question

Which leader would you rather follow? Someone operating from their fabricated persona (selfish) or someone operating from their authentic center (self-centered)?

Which leader would you rather be?

The world has conditioned us to be ashamed of being "full of self"—but what if being full of your authentic self is exactly what the world needs? What if your true self, operating with integrity, is your greatest gift to others?

The Bottom Line

Being a self-centered leader isn't about ego or narcissism. It's about having the courage to be who you truly are, to operate from your center, to lead with integrity rather than from programmed responses.

It's about having a brave heart—one that rules from truth and authenticity.

So I'll ask you again: Are you a selfish, self-centered leader?

If you're operating from your false self, seeking validation, making decisions from fear—you're being selfish.

If you're operating from your true center, connected to your authentic purpose, leading with integrity—you're being self-centered.

And the world desperately needs more self-centered leaders.

The question isn't whether you're selfish or self-centered. The question is: Are you brave enough to find your center and lead from there?

What does integrity mean to you? Are you operating from your authentic center, or from programmed responses? The choice, as always, is yours.

According to some American Indian tribes, a warrior isn't considered mature enough to be a chief until he has at least reached the age of 50. For a 50-year-old warrior, it means he has learned enough about life to start making some worthwhile contributions to his tribe—his legacy, as it were.

Let's play with the notion that our bodies are nothing but a blob of biological energy—that we are all energy. All life-force. And all our interactions, actions, and experiences are all energetic dynamics at play. How we think, how we feel, what we say, and how we interact with all other life forms are all manifestations of a dynamic energetic cosmic dance. Each of us a symphonic song of the cosmos, each an exquisite, unique, very individual harmonic overtone of the whole—all one. :-)

Do you search on the inside for answers, looking for a positive hit, cross your fingers and pray that it works? Or do you ferret around in the outer world, searching for counsel, stats, and the latest reports—finding comfort and confidence knowing that it's been done before, looking externally for proof and verification that your decision will be the right one?

Or are you one of those who oscillate between the two, looking for that workable compromise? In, out, in, out, in, out. Round and round and round and round and round and round we go. Paralysed. Stuck in perpetual inertia. The nightmare of an oscillating conflict between the two. On the one hand if I do this… but then on the other if I do that…

Decision making can be confusing, frustrating, and a crazy-making event. Do I hire or do I fire? Do I leave or do I stay? Do I sell or do I buy? Is it any surprise decision making can be a challenge when we are so often torn between two wildly different decision-making centers?

What if there was another way? What if our two worlds are actually one? What if, in fact, there was only one place to go for answers, regardless of the magnitude or context of the question—business or personal?

According to Hindu/Buddhist philosophy, the material world as we know it is an illusion. An illusory projection of consciousness. Which in layman's terms means the illusion is how we see it in our minds, how we believe it to be. Not necessarily how it is.

Is that true? Do you believe it? Why? Why not?

What if it was true? What if the pictures that we hold of our world and our belief systems are obscuring and interfering with our understanding and experience of reality, creating unnecessary confusion and conflict? What if it is our attachment, ignorance, and arrogance that holds us there, locking a faulty belief system in as if it were an absolute—a stubborn determination on our part to be right even if we are wrong?

We have been on a massive learning curve these last few thousand years. One of separation and examination. We have been splitting and pulling everything apart. It all started with heaven and earth when we split our inner life from the outer world. We have been splitting and dissecting and separating ever since. Us from them, men from women, work from home, thinking from feeling, money from morality, animals from nature. Even the atom and the sacred family unit have been split apart.

And now we are in trouble. Big time. We have pulled everything so far apart that we no longer know how things go back together anymore. And the worst part… it's become normal. Normal does not necessarily mean natural or acceptable.

When imposter syndrome and gender confusion become commonplace and suicide rates soar, you know we are in trouble.

When our laws are not lawful and our medicine is toxic, you know we are in trouble.

When we consciously cut down our oxygen supply, mutate and poison our food, contaminate our air and water, and wonder why we are ill—as if we are ignorant when we know full well what we are doing—then you know we are in serious trouble. Big time.

We have gone too far. Our little explorative excursion has become destructive. We have long passed the point of diminishing returns. We have lost our way.

It's time to stop and integrate what we have learned. It is time to pivot. It is time to come home. And it starts with you coming home to yourself, your soul, your truth—and then standing in that as a rock-solid beacon of light, pulsing inspiration for the rest of the world to see.