I believe the meaning of life is to EXPERIENCE the gift of life, itself. But I’m starting to realize there is a set of rules or “Best Practices” to this grand Game of Life, as well.

Here is a link to the Turkish Mountaintop Story I mentioned.

Good morning, you beautiful being.
Welcome to this amazing day.
As you shift from the dreamstate, and your eyes begin to focus, the world awaits to welcome you.
Take your time…all is perfect and as it should be. The darkness of night is slipping into memory.
The landscape around you is being showered with heat and light by a massive star of unimaginable power.
It is but one star of the 200 billion in our galaxy. – but it is special to us.
It is the perfect distance from the earth to maintain a rich balance of life. Countless species of plants and animals are all interconnected in a constant dance of life & death.
From iceberg to tundra to desert to jungle, life thrives. And you, you awaken with a consciousness that can see, hear and experience all of this wonder.
All of this life, as well as all of the soil and rocks and water and air – is ageless. It may newly be in its current form, but it is all made of stardust.
Every atom on our planet can be traced back to the Big Bang. The ancestry of Everything we can conceive to know can be traced back to a single source.
Every rock and skin cell and water droplet is made from the same family of matter that comprises the planets of the most distant galaxy and the fuel of the most distant star.
And you….you awaken inside a body made of this stardust. You awaken to a consciousness that can perceive all of this interconnected magic.
Wow.

Our minds conspire to play a trick on us. We hear thoughts that we mistake for truth. We slip into beliefs that we are limited. That we are finite. That we are separate.
We are not.
The entire universe is a timeless, infinite mobius strip.
All we are is an integral part of all that is.
The universe is a single ever-connected unfolding event.
A vibrational kaleidoscope of waves and matter and space so vast and expansive that it is beyond comprehension.
The vantage point of human consciousness is witness to a but a tiny speck on that mobius strip of the cosmos.
And from that tiny point, Human perception can still only perceive a tiny fraction of the vibrations that make up the cosmos.
But this blip of vibrations during this minuscule fragment of time is still infinitely more than we could ever hope to comprehend or appreciate.
The fact that we are conscious to witness ANY of this miracle is a gift beyond measure.
And you… you awaken to this magnificent gift. Let the magnitude of this blessing settle in.
In this infinitely complex, timeless, and miraculous universe, you are aware of it.
What a rare and priceless gift! This body of yours is not only is graced with thriving life and existence…but consciousness! You can gaze at the stars… you can feel the wind…you can ponder your place in it all!
This awareness is something to be basked in – not understood. Awe is more important than understanding.
Understanding is a myth.
We have no vantage point to truly understand anything. We must let go of the drive to achieve, and surrender to the ability to receive.
It is arrogant to think that the knowledge of a single human lifetime – or the collective knowledge of ALL human lifetimes can compare to the timeless wisdom of the cosmos.
We are but one cell in the body of the cosmos. It is silly to think any cell can understand the workings of the whole.
The Universe is filled with perfect cycles. Of flawless harmony. Of constant movement in energy and matter.
And you…you awaken to be a part of this perfection. It takes no thought or effort on your part. You simply are a part of this harmony and Flow.

Our bodies are filled with these cycles and systems. It is what we are: From breath, to heartbeats, to healing cells. Our mind needs do nothing for these systems to thrive.
Just as the tides and seasons flow without thought, so do the patterns of our bodies.
This flow towards growth. This flow towards healing. This flow towards harmony and connection.
This is the flow of the universe.
When we surrender fully to this flow, we are in touch with the divine.
The cosmic wisdom will steer us to where we need to be. Will inspire us in the direction of growth and harmony.
And when we feel inspired. …When we feel a call towards bliss – this is the will of the universe.
And you…. As you awaken to this day you will feel the pull towards compassion, towards connection, towards Love.
As your mind becomes crisp and the world comes into focus, remember who you are and what you are.
You are a miraculous living being blessed with the rarest of gifts – consciousness.
You are the Universe’s way of experiencing itself.
Let go of the ego “shoulds” and surrender to your true role. You are a sacred witness to all that is. Your role is to appreciate, to be present, to receive, and to keep your heart open. Allow the song of the universe to pull you towards divine alignment.
Align yourself with love. Be unconcerned with outcomes but focus on integrity in this moment. The day ahead is a mystery…it is a miracle…it is to be ridden like a wave, not constructed like a road.
And you… you are now waking up fully. Ready to engage the tasks of this day. Ready to shower each person you encounter with eyes filled with Love.
You are an ambassador of the divine. Whatever you do today, know that you do so as a vessel of Love…all other responsibilities come second.
Now wiggle your toes. Wiggle your fingers. Feel the power growing in this physical form of yours. Good Morning!!!
You are beautiful! You are magical! You are a miracle!
How blessed the universe is to experience your light today!
And you.. you are alive, awake and ready to shower this day with the gift of YOU.
Thank you! On behalf of the universe, THANKYOU. The path you walk is a gift. The light you share is divine. The love you share is ever growing and inspires others.
Know that as you face this day, countless other brothers and sisters awake with this same gorgeous fire in their hearts.
You are a part of a massive vibrational shift. As you align, you help others do the same. And as more and more of us surrender to the divine Flow, a cosmic recalibration has no choice but to echo through the planet.
Thank you, Namaste.

It is hard to know where to focus our attention in this attention deficit world of pop-up ads, video billboards, and sign flippers on every corner.
It can be maddening. If we view life as something that we take a seat for and passively receive – then we are in for a frenzied ride that we have no control over.
But once you start to understand how your brain works, things are much simpler.
There are only 2 things you can put your attention on:
1) This NOW moment.
2) Your imagination.
The Now is the real visceral experience you are always having. The sensations. The visuals. The infinite richness of the universe right now.
If you are not experiencing the Now, then you are in your imagination. Whether an fantastic imagined future or potential outcome to the workday – or a memory of transgressions of yesterday – they are all generated by the imagination.
This understanding is critical.
It is critical because it helps us to understand that the imagination is a tool – and we control where it takes us.
Until we learn to discipline our thoughts, it is easy to believe that we are at the whims of our thoughts. But what we think and whether we believe those thoughts is absolutely in our control.
Without discipline, our imagination tends to pull to the dark. Our mind likes to wander to negative places of doubt, fear, & anxiety.
Fear is imagination used negatively. The future is just a story – so what is the benefit of telling yourself a story that is stressful?
People will argue that it is important to face reality. Many people who seem pessimistic actually self-identify as realists.
And as simple as this is, I don’t want to sound simplistic. There is a value to considering negative futures. The squirel who doesn’t consider a cold winter will fail to store enough food to survive til spring.
But the key here is subtle: The squirrel can imagine a pleasant future where he has plenty of food to last all winter. Then he can take action in the Now to ensure that he is headed in that direction.
Or he can imagine that he will not collect enough, or that his stores will rot or be stolen. The action taken in response to the second scenario is identical to the first. Both require collecting nuts today.
But the first squirrel does so with cheer, the second does it with anxiety.
Now this is an unfair metaphor because the squirrel doesn’t have the same cognitive abilities of a human. A human has an imagination. It is our great evolutionary gift – and curse.
We can look at tracks and imagine where an animal has been and where it is going. We can look at a field and imagine what the of rainfall it gets and what it would look like with rows of wheat. We can even imagine a combination of tastes we’ve never tried and have an idea of if it would taste good or bad.
Let’s try this: Imagine biting into a crisp dill pickle. Can you taste the briny saltiness? Now imagine biting into a candy cane. Do you think the two tastes would compliment each other well? I’m pretty sure they would not. But have you ever tried that combination?
Now imagine the sound of a loved one’s voice who has passed on. Can you hear it in your head? Can you feel a trace of emotion as you experience them in your imagination? Do you feel warm inside?
Now lets take a second and consider the difference between a memory of your cat, and seeing your cat walk by.
I heard Sadguru Vasudev, an Indian mystic, instructing his followers. He said where do you see me right now?
Many pointed at him. He said again, “where do you see me?”
He was trying to demonstrate that nothing is seen except for within the processes of the brain. Light is reflected to the eye, which processes an image upside down, the brain then flips it and sends it to other parts of the brain to be experienced.
The imagination can – essentially – send an image a sensation from one part of the brain to another to be “experienced.”
So we return to this awareness that there is just Now & imagination.
On the drive to work, we spend some of the time in the Now – focused on traffic and weather and other cars. And we spend some of our time in imagination – focused on the day ahead, the night before, and memories brought up by the song on the radio.
While imagining, An untrained mind may step out of the now and cycle through thoughts of their boss, angry about a tardiness that has yet to occur.
A trained mind can summon pleasant thoughts of a child’s morning smile, an upcoming vacation, or a boss thrilled with our recent performance.
In both cases, the drive to the work is the same distance. It takes the same time. Functionally the commute was identical. But one is stressful, the other is joyful.
Okay, but lets make it more interesting. Lets say there was an accident, you are late, and people keep cutting you off and driving on the shoulder to get ahead.
My tendency is to go straight to “YOU ASSHOLE! DO YOU THNK THE REST OF US AREN’T IN A HURRY, TOO!? DAMNIT. I SHOULD HAVE LEFT EALIER & TAKEN THE BYPASS. NOW I’LL HAVE TO DISRUPT THE MORNING MEETING, EVERYONE WILL STARE AS I FIND A SEAT…”
As my imagination conjures up this potential future, I actually feel the awkwardness of entering in the meeting in progress. My muscles contract and my stomach churns. I can feel my face heat up as I imagine the guy on the shoulder thinking, “So long sucker!” as he speeds 4 car lengths ahead.
But none if it is real. I am not late, yet. The meeting has not started, yet. The guy on the shoulder may be rushing to the hospital to donate bone marrow and save a life.
And yet, I used my imagination to create a painful Now.
Shakespear’s Julias Ceasar has the quote: A Coward Dies 1000 deaths, A hero dies but once.
Meaning that if we allow Fear to drive our imagination, we will experience the pain of imagined futures every time we think of them. On that drive to work we could die a dozen deaths as we continually imagine walking into the meeting in progress.
But the hero holds the reins of his fear. It is possible that entering the meeting will be horrible. But the hero experiences it just once – in the Now.
And life will teach us over and over – that the deaths we imagine are generally far worse than the ones we eventually endure. The embarrassment is less, the anger is less, the disaster is less.
Over time we can practice noticing where our thoughts are. Are we in the Now? Or in our imagination? If we are unhappy, we are most surely in our imagination. And if we control our imagination, can we steer our thoughts to something more pleasant? Or at least a more pleasant perspective of the same situation? Maybe imagine a better outcome or reaction?
I rmember seeing an interview with “Sulley” the captain the landed a plane on the Hudson River. As lights blinked and the system fell apart, he spoke of giving zero thought to possible disaster. He spent every second available thinking about a successful landing. Was disaster possible? Yes! Were there things that could go wrong? Absolutely! But the outcome is not helped in any way by worrying about those possibilities.
He kept a level head, landed the plane, and saved many lives.
We may not have a wing on fire and lives at stake, but every time we allow imagined thoughts to make us suffer – we die a death of a different sort.

If we are not experiencing the Now, we are in our imagination. And if we are not enjoying our imagined thoughts, we need to be critical of them and steer them to a better place.
Practice having the courage to be optimistic. Practice having the mental discipline to live as a Hero.

-John Halcyon
Dec 6, 2011

Thanksgiving Week Hug Nation! FULL episode this week, including opening meditation, belief buffet talk, hug, and all the post-hug discussion, too.
I normally only upload the talk & hug, but wanted to see if people prefer this.
Links mentioned:
Byron Katie www.TheWork.com
Rob Brezsny – http://freewillastrology.com/
Jacob Glass – www.JacobGlass.com
Occupy-Love video – http://youtu.be/BRtc-k6dhgs
Charles Eisenstein http://sacred-economics.com/

Why must we bind ourselves so that we may be free?

What is god? Who are we? And what is the experience of life? All filtered through Alan Watts, Joseph Campbell, Seth, Emmanuelle, Abraham, Emmanuelle, Bashar…and little ol’ me.

Discussion on Anybeat

I am heading to the Occupy San Diego march tomorrow.
I was asked by some people, “Why?”

I am not naive enough to think life is fair and I am not smart enough to understand politics. I recognize that there is no simple solution you can write on a sign. But even if it will never change, I still think it is good to discuss these ideas and question “the way things are.” I vote joyfully. I donate money happily. And now I will march with Love.

I have made some good decisions. And I have worked hard. But I have also been blessed. I spent some time reading through the posts on this site: wearethe99percent.tumblr.com and tried to put myself in some of the tighter fitting shoes. They may not all understand wall street. But their frustration is real…and justified.

The irony is that I don’t really believe in protests. Or that any meaningful change happens by trying to change the exterior world. But I do believe that many people coming together can help change each other. (And then the world will reflect that change.)

Besides, I know my grandpa would be there.

p.s. I have been engaged in conversations about #Occupy on Anybeat. I invite you to join me there.

Archive from July 26, 2011

There are no obstacles…just the task at hand. Thoughts about “flow” from Bruce Lee, Byron Katie, the Tao Te Ching, and David Deida. hosted by John Halcyon Styn

I am VERY excited to be speaking at my childhood church this Saturday at 5pm.

UNIVERSITY CITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2877 Governor Drive
San Diego, CA 92122

It is a wonderful, open & accepting church. And I hope that you can join me!

I went to Sunday School there. I went to confirmation classes there. At the end of confirmation classes, I told my minister that I believed that Jesus was an exceptional man…but no more a son of god than anyone else. The minister respected my opinion and asked if I wanted to be confirmed anyway – for my family. Questioning was healthy, he said. I was confirmed in front of my family and grandparents.

I had a period of anger towards the church, but it has passed. I now have a deep admiration for those who follow Jesus as a teacher, and a sadness for those who get caught in the dogmic traps of church hierarchy and rules. The term “Christian” to me, no longer means much – far too much variety lives under that umbrella. But it no longer has a negative meaning to me.

My mom (who I connect deeply with, spiritually) goes to church every week & sings in the choir. I formed 1stSaturdays.org with Jason, a devout Christian. I spent LOTS of time with my grandpa, a baptist minister. I LOVE Jesus. I love the sermon on the mount. And I love & admire many Christians. Sadly , much of the behavior seen from churches & people claiming to be Christian is not very Jesus-like. But that doesn’t diminish the teachings.

Christianity is a wonderful path for many people. If it works to help you be a more loving, peaceful person, then YAY! All religions are true and perfect for those they resonate with.

Love,
-John

Talk info:
“Attitude of Gratitude”
With John Styn
Saturday afternoon, June 25, at 5:11 p.m. on the church patio
This 5:11 Contemporary Gathering will feature “Love Ambassador” and dynamic speaker John Styn, who will address the topic of Gratitude.
Styn hosts a weekly online broadcast called “HugNation” in which people from around the world tune in to hear him address daily topics and share “virtual hugs” with each other. You can find out more on his web site: www.lifestudent.com/hub/hugnation/.

The 5:11 Contemporary Gatherings are based on Psalms 5:11. Childcare is provided and refreshments served afterwards. We are a progressive and inclusive congregation and all are welcome. We look forward to meeting you!

UCUC
UNIVERSITY CITY
2877 Governor Drive
San Diego, CA 92122

During Hug Nation, I was asked if Burning Man was becoming commercial. This is my long-winded reply.

More of my Burning Man videos at Lustmonkey.com

(second video from this week’s broadcast)

Despite the lip service we play to “being an individual,” we actually have TONS of pressure on us to pretend to be what we are “supposed” to be.

Archives will be psted here afterwards.

Live broadcast at 1pm & 6pm

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hugnation

some links that got my thoughts rolling:
‘MissRepresentation Movie’

http://www.missrepresentation.org/welcome.html

‘Dear Women’ video

1:00 broadcast. Addressing the topic of the day, the importance of empathy, and explaining the birth of HugNation.

6:00 broadcast. Addressing more of my personal emotions and the importance of being present and focussing on what we have control over. How we can be activists with each breath we take.

This was a joyous Hug Nation. Nothing morose or depressing. The topic of Death is also a celebration of LIFE!

MP3 also avail:
Hug Nation – “Death” Mar 22, 2011 by HugNation

Tuesday’s archive featuring a whole lotta gratitude and a “Baseline Resetting Ceremony.”

mp3 also avail: http://soundcloud.com/johnstyn/hugnation-march15

How I see the universe and our purpose in it.

One of the best broadcasts I’ve done. The Flow was strong.

part 1

part 2
Love definitions, “Love vs. Concern” & the role of a Lover.

On being a Cocky Bastard, becoming an inner activist, and getting in alignment.

Broadcasting HugNation from bed, I discuss my procedure and my thinking process surrounding reproductive choices.