Deceit

The greatest deception is self deception. It is the root of all deceit. In a materialistic, youth-obsessed, death-phobic culture, self deception is epidemic. Television offers plastic surgery as entertainment and promotion, for example. On these shows, people in their 30's are proudly having cosmetic surgery to satisfy their narcissistic self deception. This is the height of the deceit culture. Plastic surgery does not modify genes or personality. It only redecorates them.

Is there any question as to the source of corruption and lies in our political and social structures? Self deception has become a religion in itself in modern capitalist societies among the wealthy who control society. Creating a self myth to earn celebrity is a venerated form of deception.

The natural balance to this culture of narcissistic deceit is the inevitable unrest and violence which will boil up from the increasing hordes of poor and disillusioned. This is simply the cycle of human history, since human beings have yet to master honesty and the acceptance of their true place in the Universe.

Commitment

Commitment is not complicated. Commitment to another person is being there for that person in mind, body and spirit, when being there for that person is needed and wanted by that person. It is not simply hanging around in a prespecified role and half-heartedly going through the motions. In too many cases. this is called 'marriage' or 'family'.

Commitment is a living, creative and conscious decision. It is not a name on a deed or a bank account. In these materialistic times, commitment is confused with financial contract. They are not the same. The financial contract may indeed be a mutually decided upon symbol of an ongoing commitment. However, the commitment itself is only as good as its regular renewal and verification by those partnered in it.

My practice involves serious maintenance and clarification of commitments. This is a process, alive in the present in each relationship which entails commitment. In an existential sense, every transaction in my life entails an openness on my part to commitment to honest and compassionate interaction. This applies to daily business transactions, contacts with strangers and contacts within my social network. When a society maintains this kind of practice, it is considered truly civilized.

Shadow

I watched a shadow move today. It is a tremendous meditative exercise, which helps define your place in the Universe. Sitting on a planet, rotating on its axis and orbiting a star. Find a shadow on a sunny day which you can see in relation to a background, such as a building, a rock, a tree. Focus on an edge of the shadow. Note its relation to a fixed object in its background, such a a window in a building, a leaf on the ground, etc.. Now simply relax, get comfortable and meditate on the shadow until you begin to perceive its motion. Of course, you must then experience the realization that you and the object are in motion, while the shadow is relatively fixed by its relation to the sun. Feel the earth rotating beneath you. It's a great ride.