Small Things Become Big Things

Many times when we set out on projects we can overwhelm ourselves by biting off more than we can chew. We blow ourselves up with frustration before we have a chance to successfully move forward by taking on more than we can handle. That is why starting with small changes makes more sense at first, rather than taking on the big shifts above our horizon. This is exactly what David Allen says, the creator of the productivity system GTD which stands for Getting Things Done. He turned much of the accepted practices of the time management community on its head by focusing on the mundane aspects of our world first as opposed the "pie in the sky" factors in our lives. He proposed that in the other top down systems where people's overarching lifetime goals and big picture concerns became the starting point were actually causing people to encounter things they weren't yet ready to handle. He teaches that we need to "clear the decks" of "the runway" aspects of our lives before we can graduate to the higher levels.

It is this very idea that joyfully helped reinvigorate a writing project of mine that I have been working on for varying degrees over the last 7 years. Similarly to how he tells the story I couldn't get my arms around the breadth of the project because I still hadn't been able to plant my feet firmly on the ground in the present with my day to day concerns. This block is quickly becoming dislodged as I earnestly implement his system. About an hour ago I managed to sit down and type out a rough draft of the introduction for this book with little effort or pain. It amazed me to see the words that seemed so hard to come by flying out of me with ease. I am so excited as I come face to face with the genius of working with my lifetime aspirations in this brilliantly organic and profound manner, and I can't wait to see how it informs the rest of my life.

Creative Mind Success

The following is a summary of the Ernest Holmes book, Creative Mind and Success. It is a combination of my own words and his. I originally took notes on this book which is in the public domain in August and today felt compelled to craft them into the summary you see here. I know that with the proper application of your thought process you will find this summary of value.

We are all surrounded by an atmosphere of thought. As we conform our lives to a greater understanding of this basic principle we will bring into our experience what we wish, let go of what we don't want to experience, and take in the things we desire. In order to do this we must only speak and think words that we wish to create. We must not think, speak, read, or listen to limitation of any kind. It is also important not to dwell on past mistakes. We are better served learning forgiveness of ourselves and others.

Know that you are a success now and that nothing can hinder you from accomplishing your good. Like weeding a garden it is your charge to eliminate all negative thoughts, false beliefs, and any ideas of limitation. See only what you wish to experience and declare that you are in union with Infinite Mind. You attract what you first become in your mind, and feel to be reality. It is imperative that you hold this one pointedly, and with ease.

Learn to love everyone, and send this thought out to the entire world. Refuse to see the negative side of anyone. Know that everyone wants you to have the best. Continue to affirm this everywhere you go and you will find things just as you wish them. By controlling your thoughts you can have and do what you wish to have and do. The creative flow is for you to use but not to possess.

Thinking sets into motion creative power which from an idea sets the path in motion. Learn to use this for a definite purpose, and speak it forth. Don't just see what you desire, know you "are" what you think. When looking for next steps wait in silence expectantly as the inner power supplies you with good. Know the power of words, they are sacred.

Pray with conviction as if you already possess what you need. Have a received attitude, and once again do this single pointedly clearing your mind of any separation from the Divine Mind. We all are better served applying more backbone and less wishbone to our daily lives.

Imagine yourself surrounded by a mind so receptive that it receives the slightest impression of your thoughts. Feel that every thought is received and acted upon. Center on what you want to become, what you want to accomplish, and then keep it to yourself. Say, "I am that thing" many time a day, and develop a perfect mental picture of it. Do not feel it is ever too late to start. Know that life is consciousness and is not contingent on years.

Every day give to the great Creative Mind exactly what you want to happen by seeing only what you desire, while in the silence of your soul speaking it and then it will be done unto you. Money is an effect so in order to acquire it we must find its cause which is consciousness, thus we must acquire a money consciousness. Do not be fooled into thinking of money as material, it is spiritual. Make our unity with supply by daily that all the power in the universe is bringing to us all we can use. Feel this presence of supply, and know that it is yours now. Realize your omnipotent power, speak it forth, and feel that it responds to you. Whenever you see that someone has more than you, at once affirm that you have as much as them. Whenever you see anything big say, "That means me." In this way you learn to unify with the law.

All activity comes from the mind, and doesn't mean that it comes with struggle. We must learn to comply with the Law of Activity. Use this law in our business by constantly remaining in motion. Action is life so stay alert and apply mental awareness which precedes physical activity. Think while you work, move with confidence, and a sense of Supreme Guidance to make you work more intelligently. Stay out of ruts, remain fresh. Be interested in life if you want life to be interested in you. Act in life and life will act through you.

In order to receive from the infinite, first quiet your mind within yourself and without any confusion from outward appearance. Do not be disturbed by effects. Realize the presence of Absolute Intelligence surrounding you as a mind that knows. Second get a clear picture of what you desire, and put your mind in touch with the Universal Mind saying precisely what you are waiting for. Ask for it, believe you are receiving it, and wait for it to arrive. After a few minutes declare that you now know even if it may seem that you don't. Give thanks for receiving this knowing. Do this every day until you find the direction you are seeking. A good time to do this practice is right before you go to sleep so that your subconscious has an opportunity to work on your declaration. When the direction arrives act on it with conviction, and prefect assurance.

Proceed with self-reliance by listening to your own voice and holding to your principal witness. We can't demonstrate life beyond our mental ability to embody our thoughts. We must create the mental equivalent inside us before we can hope to create it in the outside world. Destroy old thoughts with new thoughts. Know that limited thinking has no place in your mind. Sit and realize you are the center of Divine Attraction, and that all good things are coming to you. Feel your power within going out as you draw back in all that you need. Stick with this process even if you don't see immediate results.

Ask yourself, "Do I really want this thing I ask for?", "Am I willing to take for myself what I ask of other people?" When an undesired thing happens drop it, forgive ourselves, and start fresh, never to think about it again. Realize everyone is your friend by exercising absolute forgiveness and eliminating any sense of limitation. See only good never evil.

Every victory strengthens you. You will no longer have to say, "I hope" or "I believe" but will utter, "I know." Follow these instructions with absolute belief. Work on these things alone unless you are completely certain that those you are working with are in harmony with us. In order to attract larger things we must think larger thoughts. This is why we must work every day to expand our thoughts. Get a hold of the biggest thing and claim it as your own.

Always be gathering more, expecting more, and never allowing for small thoughts. Keep the main thing in your mind, and destroy all thoughts you don't wish to experience. Know "I AM," and that "All is Well." Never again say, "I fear" but instead say, "I trust"

In order to achieve prosperity hold or think of your product or service and declare into the only mind that they will accomplish that for which they are sent out. Know that every word written on them is truth, and that they carry their own conviction. See your products reaching their location with gladness, and interest. Declare this as NOW, and feel it to be true. Mentally assert that they will reach their destination safely and benefit the receiver. When the word is spoken always feel that the mind at once takes it up and never fails to act upon it.

Guard you mind by knowing that no negativity or thoughts of limitation can enter. Clothe yourself in the great realization that all power is yours. Fill the atmosphere of your homes and businesses with streams of positive thought. As you do this you will invite others in and continually draw in only the best.

When surrounded by inactivity, mentally see and declare that you are in the midst of activity. Feel this to be true, and mentally see the pace as being busy. Declare and see that your word perpetually draws in fullness. Stop all striving and struggle within your soul by knowing the truth and absolutely trusting.

To bring people into your life unite with the principle of life, not people. This is called working from the center. Realize life is your friend, and feel the Divine Companionship. Always be cheerful and do not allow your feelings to be hurt. Humanity is what they think they are. Big thoughts yield big things. Through thinking believe in truth, and what you wish to have returned to you. Eliminate negative thoughts and hold only to positive thoughts. Give thanks to the spirit of life, never argue with yourself or others, and through demonstration you shall know.

Flickering Thoughts

Flickers of thought cascade across our minds like fireflies in a jar. Our mental content is constantly changing and evolving. Thoughts rise and fall like the breath in our lungs, belly, nose and mouth. As we step back and take time to clearly see the process that is taking place much is revealed. Examine these potent flickers, integrate them into our lives, and share them with the world.

 

Communication is vital, first with our self, and then extending further outward. By connecting directly with our mental content and then communicating our findings to others we transform. It is vital to keep in mind that we are all powerful operators in today’s information age.

NYC Dance Parade

Here are a few videos I shot in 2010 during a surprise date with my wife, Enjoy, and keep dancing you life away.









Many more from this day still to come, so check back!

Condensed History of Graffiti and Street Art

Angelo Madrigale did an excellent overview of Graffiti and Street Art history within the span of an hour, and here are some of the video snippets from last nights jam packed event.

The journey begins with an overview of an art form that is uniquely American similar to Jazz.



Angelo weaves us through the early Graffiti landscape via highlights with Corn Bread, Tracy 168, Dondi, Rammellzzee, Chaz and also noting the impact of the book Subway Art.







More videos to come, and if you are didn't see the first in this series yet then click here for part one

Street Art Panel at Doyle New York

Last night I had the good fortune to sit on a panel to discuss Street Art and its evolution from the streets into the galleries, and now most recently into the auction houses. The panel consisted of Buff Monster, COST, Hrag Vartanian, and myself with Angelo Madrigale of Doyle New York hosting the event and laying down a skillfully condensed history of graffiti and street art throughout the panel. The place was packed and the mood upbeat. Kathleen Doyle got the proceedings rolling with the following story involving former Mayor Ed Koch, wolves, and the MTA.



Graffiti Godfather speaks about his personal experiences bombing the streets of New York.



Bronx Graffiti Pioneer explains Wild Style



 Stay tuned for more videos of the event in the next few days

The Shadow: Unlocking Our Hidden Self

Lurking beneath our day to day waking self is The Shadow. Jung referred to this as the unconscious elements of the mind. My personal teacher Father Max always disliked the term unconscious because he felt that the mind could not be unconscious, he preferred the new thought term of subjective to refer to the subconscious mind. Without getting too bound in semantics lets suffice it to say it is the elements of our psyche which lies hidden beneath the surface. It is important to note that Jung found that the shadow contains both negative and positive aspects hidden within it.

For years people have been developing a lot of techniques to uncover the shadow. Jung taught that by assimilating the unconscious shadow into the conscious self brings a wider breadth to that consciousness. The process is continuous and when worked with throughout a lifetime progresses with greater and greater integration taking place between the waking consciousness and shadow self.

Jung talked about two types of shadows, there is the individual shadow of things we repressed and can’t accept; and then there is the collective unconscious which is a universal, thus non-individuated aspect of the shadow.

Connie Zweig in a 1998 interview with Scott London advised that Jung instructed to work with the Shadow by “holding the tension of the opposites as a basis for working with the shadow.”  This conjures up the talk of Robert Anton Wilson with his constant reference to Reality Tunnels and all of the mindbending exercises he deploys to get his readers out of their fixed reality tunnels and begin to see the wider, more expansive way of relating to the world, and other people. Non-dualism is a way of seeing that in my view can assist in this process of awakening to a world that includes our disowned self.

This brings us to the work of Ken Wilber who has formulated a method of uncovering the Shadow by splitting our relation to an object, which can be a person, emotion, place, or situation, into 3 aspects. The first area is to view the object as something you view from afar. You begin to describe the object in terms of what it is on its own. The 2^nd phase is to begin directly relating to the object by beginning a dialogue, and asking question, then allowing the object to answer back. The third aspect is to become the actual thing. You embody what it is speaking from the point of view of the object. Lastly after the 3 aspects have been encountered there is an additional stage where the practitioner accepts all 3 aspects of the object, facing it, talking to it, and finally becoming it, and lastly accepting all 3 aspects.

Wilber teaches that by re-identifying with our splits we can then redirect our energy to work on our move towards wholeness and optimizing our abilities because we are no longer using so much of energy protecting ourselves from the parts of ourselves that we up until then have been unable to accept.

I personally have been working with this process in the form of a 21 minute writing exercise where all three aspects are handled separately for one full page in 7 minutes. I have been using this technique primarily by identifying with famous teachers that I have a great deal of respect for such as Chogyam Trungpa, Napoleon Hill and Ernest Holmes. In my experience it is amazing to watch these historical teachers come alive and begin to speak to me directly. I am getting so much from this direct dialogue I can’t even begin to tell you, and coupled with my free written daily morning pages I feel so strongly that these practices are doing much to enrich my life and integrate my whole person.  All this work has even propelled me to wish to start sharing what I have learned in the form of these blog posts.

Let me know what you think about these concepts, your own personal experiences in working with your shadow, and how you feel about the manner in which I am presenting this material?

Thanks,

David

Writing and Music

Sweet Toof Williamsburg Brooklyn NYC Street Art

Music often has a fractal structure like writing and nature. Rudy Rucker compares a novel to a score composed by an orchestra of characters. I think of a looper laying down all his tracks before he begins his song. Rucker also mentions the soloist whether it is the sax or the guitar. I think of the freestyle emcee. In a rock and roll badass kind of way Rucker speaks of the power chords as god chords, and advises us of the themes of his beloved sic fi genre. The writer builds up the concepts, juggling the action, pressing it forward, the ideas moving. The musician uses time, rhythm, repetition, patterns, and alternation. The musician becomes a radio antenna accepting the energy as fuel to help create their song.

Fractals start small and keep building in complexity infinitely. New ideas keep breaking off and expanding, all the while echoing back to the source of it's original trajectory. They say the eyes are the window of the soul, so then the doors of the mind hold hidden worlds, and the world is likened to a building. On the roof we see the infinite realm of possibility and in the basement we respect the underbelly. All the while we are advised to remember the hierarchy, the outside, the inside, and the secret.

Sweet Toof & Mighty Mo from Burning Candy Crew Greenpoint

Fear, Writing, and Presence

When things are on track we churn through life smoothly not even thinking about circumstances too closely. Not until the rug gets pulled out from under us do we find ourselves face to face with fear. This is when the pedal hits the metal and we need to start looking at our lives more closely. We can either deal with fear or run away into distractions, bad habits, mindless TV shows, you name it. We can see the trap and instead work directly with the situation, puncturing holes in the veil of confusion with the sword of insight. We must stay focused, keeping our grip on the big picture, our goals and aspirations.


Thich Nhat Hanh tells a story where a man came to interview him about all of his good works. Nhat Hanh advised him not to waste his effort writing a book about him, and instead to write a book about himself, and how he is learning to work with his own mind. This is the invitation for all of us to tell our personal journey firsthand.


Some more thoughts:

• Sensory Overload versus Media Deprivation
• Finding your spot in the world, taking your place.
• Keep Sight of your Definite Chief Aim
• Nature is made of fractals
• Starting with a Framework and Building Outward from there.
• Become a community manager  

Building up your Archive

Here are ways and reasons to build up your blog archive:

• Keep having public internet opinions
• Tag all your photos and posts for SEO nuggets
• Freewrite onto a notes document on your hard drive or in the cloud
• Be consistent
• Develop your unique voice
• Have an objective
• Ask yourself lots of questions, especially the ones you have determined are the right ones
• Trust your intuition to open up new doors and alert you to new horizons
• Gotta have Faith
• Trust the power of the Word
• Understand the strength of denials and affirmations
• Name your Good
• Get clear by unplugging from TV wherever possible
• Look for new ways to improve
• Use bulletpoints and lists to organize your thoughts
• Share what you find with others
• Approach all of your writing, even fiction with a realist attitude.
• Don't buy into critics, but that doesn't mean not read them when you are looking for other points of view
• Obey the all powerful Reality Tunnels
• Keep practicing every day
• Stay productive, and know when to step off the Hamster Wheel
• Smile as much as possible

Creative Marriage Never Ends

I woke up this morning relaxed and aware of the churnings of my mind, and I decided to visit an earlier entry I wrote about getting married a couple of years ago. The piece is called Creative Marriage. I begin by talking about letting my thoughts that build up in my head flow first in the example of a hodge podge rap piece, and second in the release of thoughts in the blog entry.

I move on to the fact that I have been married 2 years now, and quite a lot has shifted. Both my wife and I lost our jobs within a few months of each other. Now as we figure out our next steps our relationship recognizes the shift. We enjoy the time together but not working causes a strain on things naturally. We are bounded by our commitments to each other and we can take comfort that we are here working side by side, this is a true blessing.

We said we wanted to break away from the corporate life but didn't know we would be ejected more by their rules than with us writing our own tickets, and those bruises hurt as they drift into scars. Moving on in life teaches some powerful lessons and I think we are still learning a lot about those things, just look at the Tea Party, and OWS, and all the other indicators of the angry voices as the Bankers get the bailout.

We got married and are now trying to find our individual voices in this crazy confusing world. I look to see the world of Street Artchiving to be my next step. I love taking pictures of Graffiti and Street Art starting in my local neighborhood, and then expanding from there. I love the idea of working for myself and becoming an entrepreneur, this is my path, writing, and learning the ropes out here on my own generating income and surviving with the sharks without becoming one ourselves.

The thoughts get released, and the wonder comes back with the structure of the day to day play by play. Life bouncing with possibility, abundant with excitement, happy to dip back in the joy of marriage, and the movement of making sense of a turbulent journey. Happy Trails!

Stepping out of the Shadow Artist's Cocoon

As artists we must not hide in the shadows, but need to step into the light and proclaim ourselves as artists. It is foolish to wait for inspiration and expect genius to arrive at our doorstep without doing the daily work necessary to dance with our muse. Nothing happens when no effort is applied. I liken being an artist to being a king. As an artist you are at the center of a sweeping drama that is begging for you to unfold in the court of reality. As artists I insist that we all take our thrones, sit regally, and survey the world clearly, so that we can begin our dance.

Build it and they will come Julia Cameron tells us in her work centered around removing creative blocks. I accept her invitation and move into the foreground prepared to explore the universe seeking to reveal itself to me.

We are as humans an integral part of nature even if we have removed ourselves from that world in so many ways. Communing with nature doesn’t have to mean moving into the woods, we can engage with nature directly each day. This is our bridge into our souls and it is vital to our well-being. Rudy Rucker begins his Writer’s Toolkit talking about nature and fractals, how we are made up of smaller and smaller components.

Since this is a written piece let me continue to focus on writing, and bring in the elements mentioned in Rucker’s Toolkit. He begins with picking out a title. This is the rallying cry that all of your thoughts circle. This is also the tidbit that people will search for you under so you got to get a title you like and that is original so you don’t get lost in the pack.

Make Your Denials

Kenny Scharf (Opera Gallery)

Once you have got all your good out in the form of a list, freewritten, thought about, spoken aloud, and you are continually working with this idea, you can begin the 2nd step which is your denials. According to Emma Curtis Hopkins you must deny:

• Evil, 
• Matter, 
• Absence of Life Substance or Intelligence
• Hate
• Sin sickness or death

It is that easy so far, Name Your Good, and Make your Denials...

In a nutshell what Emma is asking us to do is connect directly with our ever-present and evolving sense of Good, and follow this "Good Orderly Direction" as Julia Cameron teaches, and if the word God hangs you up then switch it to a word you don't have a problem with like Love. There is nothing beneficial to be gained from sitting in a sea of doubt because your skeptical mind can't prove everything, and it feels like a constant insult.

So from the being in touch with Good, we make the denials, this is where Emma goes hardcore, not only does she deny evil, but matter all together, she see only the spiritual universe, the malleable, and the mind ether. This is the radical approach, solipsism? I can't be hung up by fancy words just yet, so let us think about what our good, and all the things Emma is asking us to deny.

As you may have guessed Emma moves from denials into affirmations in Step 3.

Blog Journal

Augustine Kofie (Opera Gallery)

Yesterday began day one of my blogging pursuit. As I look to the world I see the audience coming into focus. I see the words stringing along to create value and interest. The energy that comes from maintaining an active blog is exciting. I am steadily building my audience. I started with a basic google search, a review of wikipedia, a couple of how to's, and finally dipped into the ever powerful resource, my "personal notes."

The "personal notes" is a bloggers treasure chest if they are compiled correctly. This is where you store away all of your gems of thought to be used as blog material down the road. I like to build a web, constantly drawing out the structure more and more. My workstyle is to start to slow, and progressively build, and the choo-choo rides from there. The train analogy is good because it also reminds us to stay on track.

We have a choice in how to view our lives, either in a linear fashion with an A to B concern, or we can shift, ride the wave, get lost and no longer need to be heavily bound to time, and the weight of drudgery. We can reawaken our relationship to our world in ever moment, renewing, and shifting our consciousness to a place of presence.

To tell the truth we don't have to wait around, we can begin telling it right away from a deeply personal standpoint. I like to think about this blog as "old friends sharing our thoughts over a cup of coffee and a typewriter."

Social Media Campaign Toolkit

What is your objective? Very often this first answer is to get visitors, eyes, people to see what you are up to. I will explore this idea even further as we go along but lets push into how we are going to solve this objective.

We need to take positive actions toward arriving at our objective, and this means doing things that are good for us, the people that come in to contact with us, and society at large. These are the 3 secondary questions we must keep asking as we take the day to day actions to reach our overarching goals.

There are a million different strategies you can use to accomplish your goals, and by setting into motion this process you will begin to wake up to what those individual strategies that you need to employ.

The next thing you need to do is look at your assets, what do you bring to the table? And also recognize your even greater asset, people, what other people bring to the table. How do you want to treat the people that come to you? Good, sprinkle them with a lot of good, a lot of fairy dust, make them feel like they made the right choice by stopping by and giving up some of their precious time, rinse, and repeat.

Once you connect with people do what it takes to keep the conversation going, you want these talks to flow endlessly...

Name Your Good

Emma Curtis Hopkins wrote a landmark book in the New Thought world quite a long time ago by the name of Scientific Christian Mental Practice. I am lucky enough to have a copy that my Metaphysics teacher Father Max gave me. It is broken up into 12 steps that she refers to as the Doctrines of Jesus Christ. I often thought of using them in a less strictly religious light but retaining their core assertions. What follows is this exploration.

The First Doctrine is to Name Your Good. She suggests a Statement of Good of Being that you can repeat. She suggests we write down the name of the Good we are seeking, think of this Good, and Speak of this Good.

What is your Good?

How to churn out ideas through bulletpoints

• Set up Bulletpoints in your blogposts
• Then go back to your most popular blogposts
• Use individual bulletproofs to expand themselves into full blogposts also
• You will have a never-ending supply of material when you match your recycled most popular content with your new and current content
• Take one idea at a time, tweak it, and keep adding to your toolkit
• Make sure you help others along the way, that is how you build up good karma, acting selflessly
• Try things out, and only stick to what is working 

Inspired from a piece of...

3 Steps to Blogging Success

Synthesis Rules of the Road

• Build harmony among the many voices
• Start with a framework and expand from there (fractals)
• Explore systems transparently
• Be consistent over an extended period of time
• Go where the energy leads you
• Approach your work with a feeling of abundance
• Use each action to move forward your plans naturally and organically

Blogging Basics

Live Blog... May 21, 2012 11:25 AM Here are some of those links to get our feet grounded... How do I Start a Blog? As you scroll down this page you are asked to answer a few questions in order to jog out a suitable title for your blog. I already have my blog named PathRHINO but have now changed the way I capitalize the letters, who knows where I will end up before this is all said and done. what do you want your blog to be about? Number from 1 to 50 and put out your own answers, now you have a list that is like a golden key to what will become the content of your blog. You don't need to show it to anybody, it will soon give the character to your voice, the point of view you are creating... Then go over your keywords, graphics and audience as well, and we will return to this...

Basics for Starting a Blog

Live Blog: Blogging Basics May 21. 2012 10:30 AM I have been blogging for many years in an informal context. I always enjoyed the freedom it allows me to express myself. Now as I look to the future I have decided to blog more regularly and to take a more tactical approach. I began with a simple google search. "Blogging Basics" which led me to a website called "Blogging Basics 101" I dug in a little deeper and ended up on a page called "How do I start a blog" From there it is suggested that if one is starting out that they use a free blog platform until they are sure they are ready to make a commitment to blogging. I already have this account so I decided to use this as my first platform for blogging. As I said I have been blogging here on Blogger since 2006 but my past entries are a little unfocused and I wanted to make more headway with a clearer trajectory as I build up my archive. After you settle on a platform, in this case I arrive at you live and direct from Blogger, as Path Rhino, and this is exactly where the article directs us. It talks about answering questions and drawing out the name, and also to stay away from generic titles. TBC...