Illuminated Pathways

31/01/2016

08/01/2016

You can get benefits in as little as two minutes.

03/05/2015

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-long-marriage-of-mindfulness-and-money

Meditation, like yoga before it, has been fully assimilated into corporate America. Several large companies offer their employees free meditation training.

17/04/2015

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/ceo-slashes-pay-to-raise-company--minimum-wage--to--70-000-428053059671

A Seattle business owner is dropping his salary from about $1 million to $70,000 to help pay his workers a minimum of $70,000, too.

16/11/2014

Just something you want to know;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf4vJKZXxn8

Watch the exclusive worldwide premiere of the Origins film from November 13th - November 22nd. Get Details: http://origins.well.org

26/08/2014

YESTERDAY WAS A WAKE-UP CALL…

Looking back, yesterday was not just another day. I should have known something was up when Paul walked into my house yesterday and said something felt different today. For the last two weeks I have been researching the fundamental differences in attention and awareness between the left and right hemispheres. Well yesterday was a “Left Hemisphere Day”; although with none of the normal brain chatter that most people experience. I had just finished reading a book by Jill Taylor, “My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey”, so I was primed for near death experiences.

By the time that the banker came over for a meeting at 9:30 I was for all intentional purposes high as a kite. My morning walk had flooded my brain with Dopamine, one of my favorite bio-chemicals. All during the meeting with the banker, I could not stop laughing. I remember making the comment to him “That it was almost sinful being this Happy!” Now, I am used to being basically Happy all of the time but I was in rare form for sure.

Again, Paul commented that he felt that something was very different this morning. It was just not the same as every other morning. Little had I known how different this day would be? The meeting with the bank concluded with my gifting him some homemade Mexican Salsa and Corn Chips and out the door he went.

As typical on Monday, I jumped on my bike and headed off to the swimming club to swim laps. As I rode to the pool, I had an experience that I will never forget and will change my life forever. I was riding toward the bike crosswalk on Phoenixstraat, noticing that the light had just changed to green I turned and started to cross the road. In Holland there are stop lights for bikes! As I entered the intersection a white car ran the red light. I became aware of the car as I was probably just inches from impact into the side. The last thing that I can remember is seeing the front wheel of the bike just an inch from the side of the car. When my brain came back online I was on the ground in front of my bike. Apparently I had gone over the handle bars and the bike was just behind me. The span of time between the wheel being an inch away from the car and when I found myself on the ground was missing. I assume that my brain had gone on “autopilot” (temporary brain impairment) and taken over control from neocortex and instinctively slammed on the brakes. The left brake on my bike for the front wheel is very tight and I think it stopped me instantly which might account for the fact that I was now in front of my bike.

As I lay there, I could feel my consciousness come back online and I began to realize that I was on the ground. Two very kind Dutch women helped my too my feet. I was confused and very disoriented and stunned to say the least. I remember one of them saying to the other we need to get the license plate of that car, which had by now pulled off to the side of the rode. There was some ongoing interchange between the two women about getting the license plate and that the car had just ran the red light. They sat in their car, I assume looking back to see if I was okay. Eventually they drove off and I didn’t get their license plate. What a gift that would later turn out to be as I had no one to blame for my adventure. As I stood up, the women kept asking me “Are you okay?”, “Do you need a doctor?”, “Are you sure you are okay?”. Of course all of this in Dutch which is not my native language for sure and compounded by being dazed and confused. In response to their desire to chase after the driver, I assured them that I was fine, I was fine. In fact I felt great! In the moment that my conscious awareness had gone offline my brain had delivered the biggest shot of Endorphins that I can ever remember experiencing. I didn’t feel anything; nature’s natural anesthetic had completely numbed all physical pain and any awareness of my body.

In response to their inquiries as too whether I was okay; I looked down at my body. There wasn’t a scratch, no blood, no cuts, no abrasions, nothing! How was that possible? I looked at my jacket, a very thin nylon that should have been torn to threads. Not a mark, nothing. I looked at my jeans, same story, not a scratch. Now, I have very thin skin and can get bruised just by bumping into something. This was weird and I still marvel at coming out of this without a scratch. Later I discovered a red mark on the palm of my right hand about the size of a quarter, just red, no scrap, and no blood. How was this possible? I should be in the hospital and perhaps with just slightly different micro timing and reactions, Dead! I could have easily been under the wheels of the car and I don’t think that would have worked out so well.

As the day went on the Endorphins started to fade but it took more than an hour for sure. I started to feel my body again, it could feel that it might be getting sore in the future, but for the moment it just felt like I had a body. I put off taking any Tylenol for several hours to make sure that I was aware of any physical damage that I might have experienced and to allow myself to be in this experience which by then I had realized was one of extreme significance. Eventually I downed some Tylenol and had a nap.

When I awoke I thought to myself, I didn’t get the license plate of the driver. They ran a red light! I need to call the police. I could have been killed! They need to be held accountable for their negligence. Soon thereafter another wave of thought came over me. I didn’t get their license plate, there was no one to blame. I am so thankful that I had no one to blame, no one to chase after and point my finger. I just focused on how lucky that I was, to be alive, in this moment. As my gratitude for walking away from this experience increased over the next hours,

I began to understand that this was a message, “A Wake-Up Call”. What was the message and who was it from? Now let’s just assume for the moment that you believe in some form of God, some higher intelligence or whatever you might term in. It didn’t matter who was sending the message. Maybe, I sent the message to myself in such a way that I could not ignore it. What was the message? The answer came pretty quick “Get off your fu..ing butt and do something!” It was as clear as a bell, d**g, d**g, d**g. Over and over again, eventually I thought to myself “I get it. You don’t have to keep repeating it over and over”.

We tend to get lost in the minuscule details of our lives, the stuff that makes up each of our days. We fail to realize that in a blink of eye we could be dead. It can happen just that fast, one minute you are focused on the meaningless details of your life and you step in front of car and it’s all over. Dead…just like that! So it’s time for me to come out of retirement. I had been lulled into a state of bliss, of continual Happiness. When you hang around in that state of mind there really isn’t a need to do anything, It’s All Good. But….you are not alone. The world is a really messed up place and really needs help. The children of this generation are somewhat lost and on a slippery sloop as their connectedness to social media has further increased their isolation. It’s not enough, for You to be okay, for You to be successful, for You to be happy. You are not alone, there is a whole world out there and “they” are a lot more connected to you that you might realize. For me it’s far past time to get off my butt and try to make a difference in this world!

In closing….although this might sound really weird, I am grateful to the person who ran the red light. I am grateful that I walked away without a scratch. I am grateful that I am Alive. And finally I am grateful for the Wake-Up Call.

Jmîchaeĺe

14/02/2014

Wisdom 2.0 addresses the great challenge of our age: how to not only live connected to one another through technology, but to do so in ways that are beneficial to our own well-being, effective in our work, and useful to the world. www.wisdom2summit.com

05/01/2014

“I once was lost, but now I'm found” -- Amazing Grace.
The story of my (Don Basler)experience in Origins.

This is a story about my experience as a participant in Origins™, a five-day course by Illuminated Pathways built to raise individual consciousness. It was led by Jmîchaeĺe Keller and Paul Klein – I worked with both of them at MeetingMatrix and helped build the Illuminated Pathways BV website over a year ago. And while my experiences in Vietnam play a role here – and they are somewhat dramatic (to me anyway) they are a subset of a greater happening. Although I was freed from 40 years of Vietnam b.s. I also freed myself from a variety of personal limitations and behaviors that were just as significant.

My Origins experience took place in Delft, The Netherlands. I arrived with minimal expectations. I knew Jmîchaeĺe and Paul were somehow different and onto something. But I was not sure just what; except they both always directed 100% of their attention to anyone they interacted with. I was curious to see where this was going.

Day 1 – Awareness

I was introduced to a roomful of 12 people -- all Dutch except for Jmîchaeĺe, Drei (a Romanian), and me. English was the common language. There are no course materials, no books, no summaries, no taking notes. This course is based on doing and experiencing.
The day was spent developing an increased ability to concentrate and to really see things as they are.

We shared our observations as a way of expanding what we actually were seeing – for often one person would see a detail from a different angle that highlighted the limitations of a single perspective.

By the end of the day I think we were becoming better at controlling our attention, putting it somewhere and keeping it there and observing with a higher degree of clarity.

We expanded from awareness by removing mental constructs that cloud our perception of what is really happening around us. Using a variety of exercises we explored how we perceived and learned how to begin to see more clearly. A good day of foundation work. Looking back who would know that these simple beginnings would lead to such profound changes in my life.

Day 2 Filters

Filter – something that interferes with perceiving something as it truly is.

With specific exercises it became clear what the “stuff” is that clouds our vision and the appearance of an intuitive understanding of how to get rid of this dust.
We continue with another series of exercises. For one the task was to select a place and revisit it -- this time from an outside viewpoint – to see the place form a different perspective.

When we were told to select a place, my mind went immediately to a hill in Vietnam. Not sure why it did, but I went with it. That hilltop in the jungle was beautiful. I remember seeing the most rich and colorful rainbow I ever saw in my life there. The downside was the dead North Vietnamese and the stench of death as it grew during the three days I spent there.

Somehow the previous exercises of helped me here.. Without realizing it my awareness was able to perceive what was really happening around me 40 years ago. The filters that clouded my vision were leaving gradually.

So from the outside I revisited that time in Vietnam. I walked around observing the younger me and the radio I lived with. From the outside I took it all in and viewed it from this new perspective.
During the sessions both Jmîchaeĺe and Paul showed an awareness of the underlying consciousness in the room and identified numerous unspoken things. It was an impressive display of awareness and sensitivity. Maybe they are really more like real Mentalists.

After lunch we got back at it. This time we selected a larger place with the objective of seeing more clearly. Me, feeling cocky after my successful foray into the Vietnam hilltop, decide to take on the whole country. So I jump in with both feet and begin to explore the Filters I have about the country of Vietnam.

I start to see them: dangerous, brutal, murderous, destruction, death…and I get sucked down into the past. Next thing I know I’m sitting there with my eyes closed with tears streaming down my face. I had been here before and it was a place of pain and sadness that I had been working hard to avoid over the years. I couldn’t breathe. I opened my eyes and looked across the room.

I was bent over trying to contain the cramping in my midsection. More importantly I was wrestling with what I had discovered – the filters I was applying to Vietnam were really filters I was applying to myself. As Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
I eventually forced those thoughts into words and “shared.” We took a break after that.

It is worth noting that my experience here was the exception. There were no other overtly “cathartic” episodes. I think that my buried history just jumped up and bit me in the ass. The above summary touches on some of my issues – but there was a lot more under the surface. And to be honest I was not looking forward to more of the same. Fortunately that did not come to pass with the same intensity.

Day 3 – Perceiving and Appreciation

Wednesday was a day of more exercises. Appreciate – the act of consciously extending love. It’s a bit more than that but I’m not sure I can articulate it.

So on Wednesday we practiced perceiving, or in action a “Perceive-It”. We also explored some our thoughts. Thoughts that regularly pop up in your mind. In one of these exercises we each selected a thought. Interesting thing about thoughts is when you examine them closely and allow yourself to view them from different angles you quickly see them for what they are.

We viewed experiences from a variety of perspectives; they take on a different color! And thoughts or experiences become just an idea or experience with no substance – and it loses its ability to drive my behavior or emotions. No more “Poor me, I got screwed.”

I think the key to this process in perceiving –learning to “see” something in its bare essentials. Once I started to do this it was easier to put things in their rightful place – in the past. When we perceive we are by definition in the present. It becomes difficult to give power to the past –regardless of its one time impact.

The second part of the day focused on appreciation. Appreciation – as I understand it is consciously “allow something to be with appreciation” and bringing that to whatever your focus is on. Now this can sound kind of dumb – in fact it was a very cool exercise. No words are exchanged and we focused on feeling and sharing appreciation that to whatever your focus is on. This exercise is almost the ultimate prove of “What you give is what you get."

Day Four -- Illumination and Manifesting

Today we spent the morning working with a more formal structure. I noticed that all exercises we’ve been doing until this moment almost brought about a new, clear and effortless state of being. I began to understand why we were practicing instead of gathering knowledge. We had been practicing parts of a whole what they call “Illumination” during the first three days.

After lunch we moved to manifesting. Manifesting is an alignment of your consciousness-approach-to-living, into your daily live. It’s almost like an alignment of who I’ve always been (the real me) into my life situation. Being abled to adapt my life situation to my thru consciousness as it has emerged during Origins. Doing this exercise, I felt a lightness I hadn’t felt for years – if ever. All of my Vietnam crap – the big one-- was gone. Other junk that I was carrying was also gone.

And I was laughing. Because it all felt so damn good.

Day Five – Origins and Personal Manifest.

On Friday the final day of Origins, I completed the Origins Manifest. And it was easy. I think the heavy lifting was done earlier so things flowed.

In the afternoon we all developed Personal Manifests. This is about how I can use the full potential of what I’ve learned about who I truly am. About what I really want to experience in this live an what I can contribute. This was collaborative with Paul and Jmîchaeĺe helping distill our ambiguous ideas into practical matter. I know that sounds vague but like most of Origins you need to experience it rather than try to understand it through written words.

I spent Saturday in Delft with Jmîchaeĺe, Drei, and Hans (Paul’s brother). It’s hard to describe the connection that exists among us – the entire Origins group. Sure there’s the bonding of shared experience – but also something deeper –a spiritual connection based on love and trust. I write this from my perspective but in so many ways my experience intertwines with everyone else. And I can’t quite do it justice here.

It’s been three months since Origins. Back in the USA. Back on the job.

Everything changed – NO, I changed. My job at Rave has become stress free. I see people and situations more clearly. I am so much lighter in spirit. I smile a lot more.

I enjoy being.

05/01/2014

Daniel Goleman, author of "The Focused Leader," sits down with Sarah Green to discuss the importance of the "awareness" in leadership.

07/07/2013

Meditation and mindfulness are the new rage in Silicon Valley. And it's not just about inner peace—it's about getting ahead.

19/12/2012

Given enough time and money, your competitors can duplicate almost everything you've got working for you. They can hire away some of your best people. They can reverse engineer your processes. The only thing they can't duplicate is your culture. HIRE AWAY BEST PEOPLE Guy bumps into a competitor's st...