Wherever you are, be there. Totally.

See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a situation you find yourself in, what other people say or do, your surroundings, your life situation, even the weather. To complain is always non-acceptance of what IS. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.

Ordinary unconsciousness is always linked in some way with the denial of the NOW. The NOW, of course, also implies the HERE. Are you resisting your HERE and NOW? Some people would always rather be somewhere else. Their “here” is never good enough. Through self-observation, find out if that is the case in your life. Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of these three options, and you must choose now. Then, accept the consequences. No excuses. No negativity. No psychic pollution. Keep you inner space clear.

If you take any action – leaving or changing your situation – drop the negativity first, if at all possible. Action arising out of insight into what is required is more effective than action arising out of negativity.

Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it’s no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing. Is fear preventing you from taking action? Acknowledge the fear, watch it, take your attention into it, be fully present with it. Doing so cuts the link between the fear and you thinking. DON’T LET THE FEAR RISE UP INTO YOUR MIND. Use the power of NOW. Fear cannot prevail against it.

If there is truly nothing that you can do to change your HERE and NOW, and you can’t remove yourself from the situation, then accept your HERE and NOW totally by dropping all inner resistance. The false, unhappy self that loves feeling miserable, resentful or sorry for itself can then no longer survive. This is called surrender. Surrender is not weakness. There is great strength in it. Only a surrendered person has spiritual power. Through surrender, you will be free internally of the situation. You may then find that the situation changes without any effort on your part. In any case, you are free.

Or is there something that you “should” be doing but are not doing it? Get up and do it now. Alternatively, completely accept your inactivity, laziness, or passivity at the moment, if that is your choice. Go into if fully. Enjoy it. Be as lazy or as inactive as you can. If you go into if fully and consciously, you will soon come out of it. Or maybe you won’t. Either way, there is no inner conflict, no resistance, no negativity.

Are you stressed? Are you so busy getting to the future that the present is reduced to a means of getting there? Stress is caused by being “here” but wanting to be “there”, or being in the present but wanting to be in the future. It’s a split that tears you apart inside. To create and live with such an inner split is insane. The fact that everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it any less insane. If you have to, you can move fast, work fast, or even run, without projection yourself into the future and without resenting the present. As you move, work, run – do it totally. Enjoy the flow of energy, the high energy of THAT moment. Now you are no longer stressed, no longer splitting yourself in two. Just moving, running, working – and enjoying it. Or you can drop the whole thing and sit on a park bench. But when you do, watch your mind. It may say “You should be working. You are wasting time” Observe the mind, smile at it.

Does the past take up a great deal of your attention? Do you frequently talk and think about it, either positively or negatively? The great things that you have achieved, your adventures, or experiences, or your victim story and the dreadful things that were done to you, or maybe what you did to someone else? Are your thought processes creating guilt, pride, resentment, anger, regret or self-pity? Then you are not only reinforcing a false sense of self but also helping to accelerate your body’s aging process by creating an accumulation of past in your psyche. Verify this for yourself by observing those around you who have a strong tendency to hold on to the past.

Die to the past every moment. You don’t need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present. Feel the power of this moment of the fullness of Being. Feel your presence.

- An excerpt from: The Power of Now, by Eckhart Toll

Seven Seeds

With subtle branding on a painted wall and a feature timber door being all that is used to signify the location of this cafe, it would be easy to miss it. Make no mistake, your trip inside Seven Seeds will be rewarded.

Once inside, you are greeted by a generous bike parking space, with floor and wall racks to park your steed, should you have chosen that as your mode of transport. The interior has an industrious, open, yet inviting feel. Although premium fixtures are not a feature of this cafe, it is comfortable, warm and gives a sense that you are here for something far more important. Coffee.

These guys source their own green coffee from around the globe, concentrating on estate, micro lot and single origin coffees. With onsite roasting facilities, they mean business when it comes to a caffeinated beverage.

The workspace is open, clean and visible. The baristas and staff are friendly, efficient and make the experience pleasant, without being overbearing.

You can take your choice of seats at the bar, smaller tables of 2’s and 4’s, or pull up a seat at the communal table and share the space. Ceiling gas heaters provide ample warmth on what was a cool day for this visit. Even with the concrete floors, high exposed ceilings and hard fixtures, it was a very pleasant temperature inside.

Their food menu is simple and uncomplicated. Assorted pastries, pressed sandwiches, quality grain toasts and accompaniments, that all support a casual, relaxed theme. The food looked and smelled great, unusually for me, I didn’t eat, as I was there for the coffee. Needless to say, food service was handled quickly and without fuss, again providing the feeling that their concentration was directed towards the bean.

The coffee was magnificent. All brews that left the service area were made with consistent care, and a subtle flair of coffee art. This particular day, I had a short macchiato and hands down, it was the best coffee I have had in Melbourne. Strong, smooth and rich, a perfect temperature and combination of espresso and creamy milk. I followed this by a staff recommended Aricha espresso, their coffee of the day. It was also excellent.

Upon paying the bill, I was told of the regular Saturday morning cupping sessions they hold on premises, educating their customer on their coffee selections and characteristics. Now I must confess, I like coffee a lot. I’m sure I’ll get along to a cupping session, although I am in no hurry for that.

The most important thing I look for, is a place that will deliver a consistent, high quality brew. At Seven Seeds, I am confident of enjoying the experience every time I step through the door.

- See more reviews here

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

- The Guy in the Glass, Dale Wimbrow

Heaven

- Ruka, Finalnd

Up to our necks in it.

A continuation from this post.
*****************************

The phone rings, it's Mandy.

Shit.

"Hey Mandy", I said.

"Hi, it WAS Justin at the airport", Mandy said, tersely.

"Oh, right, and...and the woman? Who was she?", I ask, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"He just said to me, you're right, It was me, and I've got some things to work out with Leanne", Mandy recalled.

"So, he admitted to some sort of relationship with her then? How did you bring it up?", I was a little concerned....

"Yes , he confessed to it. I said that we were around at your place for dinner, and that you saw him at the airport, and told us that it looked suspicious", explained Mandy.

"You fucking what?!" I shout. "Jesus Christ, I specifically explained what to do, and it wasn't that!" I was finding it hard to control the anger.

Mandy starts the justification speech, "Well, I thought by mentioning your name, it would give credibility to the story."

I couldn't talk.

Earlier that day, Mandy had rang, and said she was going to confront him, and wanted to know what she should do it. I took her through a process, explicitly stating, it is not necessary to use your third party as a supplier of knowledge. Just say what you know to be true, and ask for their perspective on that. Let them answer, it will come out by itself, no additional weight or credibility is needed.

"Well, he's now going away for 2 weeks for business, and said he won't tell Leanne until he gets back. "So I have to carry this with me, and see Leanne in the mean time, whilst we wait for him to get back", Mandy explained her quandary.

"You've got a choice to make then, haven't you", I say, almost pleased that she is in this shithole with me. "Tell, her, or wait, it's up to you".

"It's not my job, I'm going to make HIM do it", growls Mandy.

Wow, what a mess.

Mandy waits, her hatred for Justin grows, every day, and every time she sees Leanne in the mean time. Understandably. She, however, put herself in that place by deciding to confront him. And, I, well, I am up to my neck in shit. I saw it, I told someone else, it turned out to be true, I'm the rat. Justin may well end up on my door step with a gun, or at lease a big fucking bat, and Leanne's life is about to be turned upside down.

The 2 weeks passed, Mandy ground Justin down, holding him to the fact he would tell Leanne. He did. I'll spare you the gory details, but needless to say, it had been happening for a while, she was an office colleague.

Their relationship, had exploded.

And so, there were now some life changing conversations to be had between Leanne and Justin. Making things worse, they have a little boy, so it wasn't going to be pretty.

I admit to being a little fearful for my safety, for a while. I was still travelling a lot, so from then on I took a rather cautious path through the airports in particular. The rear vision mirror in the car, was also kept clean.

I was not looking forward to seeing either of them, not looking forward to that, at all.

Release me.

I was standing in the lounge room of the house I grew up in as a kid. In the corner, my Dad lay dead, in his coffin. We were to bury him today.

It was June of 1995, I was 18 then, he had died of a heart attack, his third. He was 44.

He was a man that lived life, hard. He, as many do in the country, drank, smoked, and laboured, in his case, at the local power station. He was also a supremely talented sportsman, more so a footballer. So the fable goes, the most talented full forward to come out of the Spencer Gulf. In a small country town, my Dad, they all called "Wigg", was a legend.

My Mum and Dad had divorced, when I was nine. Myself and my older brother had moved to Adelaide with Mum, what would prove to be a prosperous move for us all, at the time though, it made no sense.

Whilst it is not a day I will forget, I remember a few things about it, vividly.

We woke up early and drove to Port Augusta, I wanted to arrive early, as we had an opportunity to see him, before the procession for the burial. It was a clear day, but it was still cold. The heater was on in the house, it was a kerosene heater. That is vivid memory #1, any time I smell burning kero, I gag.

Dad was still very involved with footy. He had also been a successful senior coach, but had recently taken to coaching the under 14's. He and his mate, having fun teaching the youngsters, they loved it. He was taking them on a warm up lap, jogging and bouncing the ball around the oval he made his own, when he collapsed. By the time the ambulance had arrived, he was pronounced dead.

I took a deep breath, wiped away the tears and walked slowly across the room. I was petrified. Without a doubt, walking across that room, and looking into the coffin, has been the single hardest thing I have had to do in my life.

He looked peaceful. Strong. Well groomed, and masked with a slight smirk, he was famous for it. I cried, a lot. It took me some time until I could talk to him, I gathered myself and whispered a few things. I told him that I loved him, that I would miss him, and that I would go on to be a man he would be proud of. As I spoke to him, I tucked a gold medal in his top pocket, right above his failed heart. It may have stopped beating, but it was golden, to the core.

He must have fallen hard when he collapsed, there was a mark still visible under his eye. They had used make up to cover it, that is vivid memory #2. The smell of that makeup. I have only smelt it once since that day, it gave me chills, and I am sure the person wearing knew it, it was impossible to hide.

I guess I must have been going through a Pearl Jam phase at the time, as TEN was the album I decided to play on the final drive in to Port Augusta. The CD was on random, and as we were entering the city limits, and went past the cemetery, Release came on. All other songs had been played, this was the last one. Coincidence, most likely, but it sure was eery. I had played this song the night he died, I light a candle, sat there and watched it as this song played. That is vivid memory #3.

There are many other things about that day I remember and recall, frequently. The overweight funeral director whose tie wasn't even half way down his shirt front, the guard of honour his under 14's team made as we entered the cemetery, the amazing amount of people who turned up to pay their respects, and the love and adoration one man had, from far and wide. We shared beers, tears and laughs with many of them that night.

One of his good mates said to me as we left to drive back to Adelaide, "Son, if you turn out to be half the man your father was, you will be a fine individual."

Well Dad, I'm still trying.

Release me.

Hauntingly Beautiful

- Augie March, Vernoona