Are You Ready?

This is something that I have been thinking about for quite some time now, so much that sometimes I joke about being like Thanos (a comic book character obsessed with death). Yes, today's subject is DEATH.

Why?

Because I have found that facing the idea of your own death (as a physical form) is tremendously liberating and empowering when approached in a certain way.

What am I talking about here? Simply that once you remember that you will die, it is much easier to remember what is really important in life. Think about it for a second, or better yet, experience it fully in your imagination...

Your body is dead. You have passed on (where?). The date: tomorow. Are you ready? Have you done all that you have set out to do? Do you even KNOW what you are here to do? Do you even have a list or a basic idea of things you want to accomplish before you die?

Most do not.

Many die without ever accomplishing anything worth telling others about other than what NOT to do. How sad is that? To live your life only to serve as a bad example that others can learn from? Wow. That's pretty bad if you ask me.

You don't want to live your life so that no one ever mentions you ever again after you die, other than on a geneological tree, do you? Don't we all have a deep seated desire to live a life worth living, a life worth talking about and learning from? Don't we all desire to have a positive impact on the world and on the people in our lives?

Well, one of the principles of life is to "begin with the end in mind".

To live an amazing life, begin with your death in mind.

So take a few minutes here, now, and imagine what your funeral will be like, and what people will say about you. What do you want them to say? After that, start to live so that it becomes true.

And remember, you could die any minute, are you living in a way to make yourself proud? Are you truly being the person that, deep down, you desire to be? If not, then be that person right now. You could be dead any minute.

Hey, if you are going to die and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, not even if you release all limitations and live for 10,000 years (eventually you will have enough and move on)... why not make peace with it now and release all fear surrounding it. It's gonna happen, accept it and be happy.

On the other hand, there's nothing like the fear of immediate death to get people to drop every little insignificantly stupid doubt and limitation and just ACT. When things are life or death, all we care about is the BIG PICTURE. And as long as you use that focus to improve yourself and the world around you, I say it's a very empowering thing.

Some have called Death the greatest gift to Life.

I would tend to agree.

Make friends with Death as a reminder that Life is not to be wasted.
If you imagine Death hanging around somewhere nearby like some laid-back guy or girl, watching lazily and waiting for the time to be right, not evil or anything, just someone doing its job with a air of understanding... it might keep you focused on the "important" things a little bit more.

Death might come in the next moment, or in a thousand years (who knows). Live your life so that you are always ready, relaxed and with a loving smile on your face, and you will be an inspiration to all.

Have a wonderful life!

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin

WTF?!!!

I talk a lot about letting go and releasing and just allowing things to be as they are. Sometimes, that means that you just have to say "what the ****! That's not what I want!" and just go with whatever you're feeling.

The only question to ask yourself is "will I regret this later?". If you answer yes, find another way to release, or keep it in for a bit and quickly release appropriately as soon as you get the chance. If your answer is no, I will not regret this and I actually will regret it for the rest of my life if I do NOT do this, then go for it!

We ALL need some way to release feelings as they come up.

We ALL need to allow ourselves to completely Let Go on a regular basis.

Whatever you do, it's fine. Find the best ways for you to allow yourself to blow off your excess energy and negativity in a healthy environment(s) and you will feel so much healthier. Go ahead. Try it. Say "F*** it!" and BE YOURSELF instead of suppressing all of that individuality in an effort to fit in. Who care what others think. Who cares what others want you to be. The only way you will ever be truly happy is by being yourself, fully and completely.

So drop all masquerades, drop all trying to please.

Guys, show us you have the balls to BE who you really are. Do what you love to do, dress the way you love to dress, listen to the music you love. And Be yourself no matter what anyone else thinks, says, or does.

Girls, same thing. Well, except for the part about having balls... or whatever.

So whenever you notice yourself slipping into conformity for the sake of pleasing others, WAKE UP! Get angry for a moment, and get yourself back on track. There is no one exactly like you. There never was and never will be. So don't waste your time trying to be someone else.

Be yourself.

Fully.

No matter what others think.

When you are YOU in all your POWER, there is no more powerful force on earth. This is your birthright. Reclaim your power.

BE YOU.

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin

You Know

Here is something simple and powerful to gain tremendous clarity in your life. It's an affirmation that I've used when I felt a little bit lost. Here it is:

"I know exactly who I am and what I desire to experience."

Derivatives of this include:

"I know who I am" and "I know what I desire to experience in my life".

Like any affirmation, it doesn't really matter if you believe it or not at first. It helps to word things in a way that you can believe, so that there is no resistance on your part, but if you just repeat it to yourself enough it will be programmed into the unconscious part of your mind. Once there, it keeps repeating all by itself.

What does that do?

It means that little by little you will start noticing how you really DO know who you are and what you desire to experience. That Reality will surface in your perspective, because you focus upon it. Just like when you pick out a car and suddenly you see it everywhere. It was always there, you just never noticed it before. The same can be said of anything you can imagine.

Everything that has, is, and will be, everything that anyone can imagine - in their wildest imaginations - and so much more, already exists... and always will. It is only a question of changing our perspective, and our definition of "existing" to be able to notice it all around us.

That is why those who achieve great things say that nothing is impossible. The potential to bring any reality to expression is simply a question of noticing it. It's there. If you can imagine it, that means that it is there... or here, however you want to notice it. The fact that it is in your imagination means that it has some degree of reality already. Now, all that is left is to choose the one(s) you like the most, and focus on it(them). The more you think about it, the more energy and reality you give it. The more you write, draw, sculp, sing, plan, and act in any way to give it life and expression, the more real it becomes. Move in its direction and it will become manifest more and more.

So if you're feeling a little bit lost, or would simply like to be clearer and more confident in knowing who you are and what you want, then trust that anything you can imagine you can achieve. From that place, utter your powerful affirmation:

I know exactly who I am and what I desire to experience in this world.

Repeat it everyday, as often as possible and in the funnest way imaginable (try different voices, sing it, act it, draw it out as you repeat it, ect.). Or be as serious as death. Whichever helps you to repeat the affirmation the most. If having fun is what motivates you, do that. If it's getting pissed off about how little you have done with yourself so far, then go hard. Do whatever you've got to do to get yourself going. You might find yourself needing different approaches at different times of your life.

Soon, with much repetition, it will be programmed into you and will play all by itself.
You will believe it. You will live it. You will know.
And once you know, all that remains is to act. To BE.

ANYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE.

Deep down inside, you already know. The knowing has always been there.
You know. It is time to notice it.

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin

Unisexual Sex?

What do women want? What do men want? Which of the two is the easier question to answer? I've asked myself these and so many other questions about men and women over the years. I've studied both men and women from head to toe and from the inside out, psychologically and physiologically.

As far as I can tell, and contrary to what Mr. Freud is famous for saying, women are not that difficult to understand. Women -in general- grew up wanting to be swept off their feet, to feel like they are in a love story. Men, of course, are a little bit more simple and direct in their desires. Other than that though, we are all basically the same, with the same needs and wants, all part of the human condition.

We all desire to be happy. We all yearn for love. We all want to be free. We all want to be with someone who makes us feel alive and helps to bring out the best in us. In essence, we all want the best we can get, and to be the best we can be. Someone to compliment our personality and help us grow. Whatever that means to us.

Of course, there will always be surprises. Why? Because, while both men and women have the same basic reality as pretty much "sexless" or "asexual" or "unisexual" spiritual beings, capable of incarnating our spirits as either sex for a physical existence, once we are in that physical body our experience of the world is usually very different.

Boys are treated and raised one way, and girls another. Hormones affect the body differently as well. So yes, we do start out as basically the same "energy", brought to "life" from the same Source. And yet the experience is drastically different. This causes us to perceive, interpret and respond to the same situations in our own individual way.

This also applies to every individual person, for we are all unique but generally groups that have some of the same experiences tend to think and act alike, and to gather together.

Now, how does knowing this help anyone?

It is all in how you use this information my friend.

Remember, we are all essentially the same, yet we filter the world differently and so react differently to events. Remember this, and focus on what we all desire to experience: happiness, love, being alive, freedom, being our best. Remember that we all search for these things, and we all do what we believe we must in order to achieve these things. Whatever we do, we just don't know better.

We all do the best that we can, being who we are at that moment.

That is the most important lesson to remember when dealing with people, yourself included. And its remembering this that allows you to forgive. And forgiving yourself and others is essential to living well.

We all want the same things. We all do the best that we can. And we all go in different directions. Funny huh? Hey, if everyone was the same, we would all die of boredom or go crazy to avoid it. Don't try to be like everyone else. Comformity has its uses in some situations, but boredom is never welcome. So don't be boring.

What I suggest, and what I practice myself, is to spend a little bit of time to figure out what these concepts mean to you:

Love (warmth, comfort, passion, trust, etc.)
Happiness (joy, contentment, allowing, peace...)
Aliveness (excitement, adventure, living, moving, energy, etc.)
Freedom (release, money, power, achieving dreams...)
Being (who you really are, who you can really be...)

And then to develop them in yourself, in whatever way feels right for you. At the same time, find out how you can help transmit and awaken those qualities in others. Since pretty much everybody and everything in the entire world search for these things, developing these qualities will make you incredibly attractive, and happier, no matter what (or how much) your sex.

So men, women, we are all the same. It is what we call the human condition. It comes with the territory. Our temporary physical experience on earth. What will you do with your time here?

Charles

P.S. I won't tell you to think about the act of sex as being between two asexual or unisexual spirits though... unless you're into that sort of thing.

Hehe.

Copyright © Charles Begin

Try Smiling!

You've probably heard about the Law of Attraction and how important it is to feel good in order to manifest good things in your life. That's fine when all goes well, but what can you do when those dips in enthusiasm inevitably arrive? What do you do when you don't feel so good?

Try smiling!

It is absolutlely the simplest solution I've found to quickly get myself into a better mood.

You can use music, dance, art, exercise, writing, playing with a family pet, affirmations, inspiring books or movies... and anything else that helps you feel better. But when you need something really, really fast and really, really simple...

Smile.

As anyone knows - well, anyone who has ever studied NLP or other transformational sciences - a change in psychology is expressed by a change in physiology, and a change in physiology causes a change in psychology. That means that when you think differently, your posture and movements and facial expressions are different. And you can change your thoughts by changing your physiology (posture, movements, facial expressions, etc.).

Just try it, right now.

Smile.

Smile bigger.

Smile even bigger.

Smile as big as you can and look straight up at the ceiling.

Now try to feel depressed or angry with that enormous smile on your face and your head back. This might be the only impossible thing on the planet. Seriously. Some people even start to giggle or laugh because of how silly they feel in that position.

So here, my dear friend, is your mission: to be alert for any moment when you start to feel less good, and to instantly put a *great *big *smile on your face and to sit or stand taller wherever you are. If you can force yourself to do that, no matter how horrible you may feel, you can start to feel better... if you want.

So try smiling!

Even more!

And then when that gets easy, go ahead and laugh.

Hahaha!

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin

Do You Like Yourself Right Now?

Have you ever had a moment when you said or did something, or didn't say or do something, and immediately or sometime after the fact you realised that you didn't like yourself in that moment?

Sure, probably everyone has. I get that feeling every once in a while and it's always a powerful opportunity to take a look at who I am now and make changes now.

Now, how do you go about it?


Any clue?


The answer, is to figure out what kind of person you really want to be, and to keep that idea in mind at all times. When you can keep that idea of who you really desire to be, in the front of your mind at all times, your entire physiology and psychology will gradually change so that you fit that image you hold of yourself.

If you sometimes tell yourself, "that's not me" or "that's not the kind of person I want to be"...

Change your self-concept/self-image into one that you would love to be!

Remember who you are! You can be anything you can imagine, so imagine something that you would absolutely love. Then, think of yourself in no other way. That's the key.

Once you have chosen, think of nothing else. Only of improvements and clarifications to your ideal. As the great Earl Nightingale explained half a century ago, "we become what we think about".

Choose your destiny (the reality that you desire to experience for yourself) and think of nothing else. And it shall manifest as who you are.

It is the truth.

You will find a way.

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin

Heaven Through Hell

Sometimes you just need to go through Hell to get to Heaven.

What do I mean by that?

Simply that without going through very challenging situations and experiences, we often don't allow ourselves to receive the good that we really want. We think or feel that we don't deserve such goodness in our life.

So many of us grew up with our greatness pushed down and repressed inside of us. People telling us to be "realistic" and to "stop dreaming". Reprimanding us with vicious remarks such as "who do you think you are?" when we express some form of longing for something greater. Those remarks from others come from the pain of having their own dreams destroyed and even of the fear of being left behind because they do not believe they can follow you up. They don't want you to abandon them, or become something greater than them, and they also don't believe in their own ability to achieve something more. That is what we could call a self-generated hellish reality.

There is also the phenomenon of enlightenment being achieved spontaneously by many who are in the grips of the greatest suffering imaginable. These people suffer so much that eventually, they cannot go on and they surrender totally. They let everything go. Their ego breaks and the true spiritual power and love takes over. At that moment they may, or may not, continue to live in the physical form. And it doesn't matter at all. Similar things have happened in war, and in times of peace.

This happens everyday. Somewhere, someone has had enough, has suffered to the limits of his or her endurance (which varies greatly) and has released all attachment. They no longer hold on. And interestingly, they find that out of that despair... comes peace.

Now, if you want to put yourself through excrutiating suffering of some kind (ancient monks did it all the time - although they never went far enough to succeed, hehe) I can't stop you. Hell, I love to occasionally push myself to extremes in my physical training because of the effect it has on my ability to let go of limitations, and the way it makes me feel that I have really earned (deserve) my meal and my sleep. Its true for most of us. We all think that we need to earn something to deserve it. It's a good belief to have... except when it comes to happiness. And enlightenment.

For true happiness (and enlightenment), the only way is to let go. Laugh. Breathe. Drop all attachment to needing something in a specific way. Allow yourself to open up and just be here now.

For that to happen, you just have to give up everything.

Just kidding. LOL! You just have to give up your attachment to everything. Once you allow things to be as they are, without needing them to be different, or to change them in some way, you drop the resistance. Drop the resistance that was damming the flow and Life comes rushing in. The change you want arrives once you give up the resistance of wanting to change it, paradoxically.

Let everything go and you will know what it means to really live.
And you don't need to go through Hell for it!

Out of suffering and into joy.

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin

Simple Perfection?

For many years, I have held the belief that simplicity in all things was something to strive for. It probably started when I read about Albert Einstein and his belief that, "everything should be made as simple as possible...but not any simpler". Leonardo Da Vinci also said that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". I liked that idea of "simple is better", so I adopted it.

More recently I read many authors speaking about simplicity and equating it with beauty, with serenity, with clarity, and even with perfection. I thought, wow...can it really be that simple? Can perfection arise out of simple things? Of course. Just think of anything in nature, like a flower, or the molecular structure of water, and you can see that some of the simplest things are the most perfect. Then again, there is some extreme complexity in nature, but it all builds upon simple principles and laws.

Another idea that reminds me of the perfection of simplicity is the AK-47. Yes, the machine gun. The reason why it is so popular is that it is easy to make and highly resistant to malfunctioning. That means it doesn't brake down. Why? Because it is built with few and simple parts, and fewer parts means that there are less places where it can brake down. Less can go wrong. And if it does brake down, the simple machinery is easy to clean and repair. What's not to love? (well...maybe the part about killing things).

Here's another point. If something is complex and complicated, how many will be eager to use it? Only those who have a reason to take on the challenge; and even then, if something easier and as effective comes around, they'll drop the complicated thing for the simple thing. The simpler something is, the more it will be used, because it's easy and convenient. As long as it works well.

So this is what I have concluded so far:

Simplicity alone is not perfection.

Simplicity and completeness equal perfection.

When something is simple and complete, accomplishing the task and not needing anything else, it is perfect. In its own functional way. And if it looks good too, then it's really perfect! Just remember that ideas of perfection are different for everyone. One person's idea of a perfect car, or home, or mate will be drasically different than another's.

Other than that, in everything you do, give this equation of "simple + complete = perfect" a shot, and see what happens. Go for the things that seem to be the simplest and the most complete, and continuously distill everything to its essence. The simplest and most complete truth.

It has brought me much greater clarity and understanding.
It could do the same for you.

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin

Enlightenment

Enlightenment.

It is said that once someone becomes aware that such a thing is possible, it is guarranteed that they will someday achieve that goal.

What is it?

The simplest description of enlightenment is that it is our true, natural state as spiritual beings.

It is having our energy portals wide open instead of practically shut, like most do today.

It is being your own master, fully your Self.

It is knowing, instead of thinking about what to do and how things are.

It is a state of wholeness, completeness, and unlimited power.

All things are possible, anything can be.

It is the Ultimate, it is what we are.

Why aren't we all enlightened then? And why do those who seek it perceive it as being so much work and so difficult to achieve?

Because we get in our own way.

There is no difficulty, no struggle, if we surrender it all. Let go of "trying" and just let it be. When all else falls away, the Infinite Source of Life shines through. There is nothing to learn or to do, to be enlightened. All that is required is to drop the curtains of thought and memory, and wanting, ... and to simply Be. Nothing else. For now, nothing matters. Just Be. In stillness. In silence. In peace. In love. To get to the pure essence of what it really means to Live, all distractions must be dropped, like chains that slow you down, or curtains that block out the Sun.

For a moment, let go of everything... and glimpse enlightenment.

There you are.

Now that you have heard of it, you are sure to attain it.

No matter what happens... All Is Well.

Charles

Copyright © Charles Begin