Perfect Order

“What you want also wants you.
If you seek the celestial, the celestial also seeks you.
There are no unanswered requests in the universe.”

~ Vernon Howard

Aloneness

"I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone." - Rainer Maria Rilke

Beautiful Spirit, Voice, a Purposeful Life

Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole 'IZ' (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997) was nicknamed "The Gentle Giant" by his admirers. He was described as always cheerful and positive, and he was best known for his love of the land and of the people of Hawaiʻi. Beloved by many, his body lay in state at the state capitol, the only nonpolitician ever to be so honored. Over 20,000 attended a memorial service and thousands were in the ocean as his ashes where scattered in the waters off of Makua Beach on the Waianae Coast of Oahu.

Iz: "Don't cry for me... go plant one tree..."

"Love each oddah. Malama. Take Care. Stop the dope, brah. It's only facade, brah. It's a thin curtain. It's only temporary. Us guys is forever. Our ancestors, our ancestors before that. ..."

'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'

"Happiness is....

an inside job" ~ Wally Famous Amos (whom I once met on a bleacher stand in Hawaii; he was sitting next to us and offered me and my son a few of his famous cookies, YUM : )

Divine Organizing Intelligence

"Look upon every experience you've ever had, and everyone who's ever played any role in your life, as having been sent to you for your benefit. In this universe, which was created by a divine organizing intelligence, there are simply no accidents." ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

Transcending Bipolar Disorder

"Just don't even talk about killing yourself. That's your mind off on it's own. The point about living with this "disease" is to recognize that impulses/feelings are not facts. Use your feelings and creativity to your advantage. When in doubt, use your brain, just think about things as logically as possible and make a decision without emotion involved. I am 42 years old, rather succesful, traveled everywhere, and have lived at least 3 lifetimes past the herd. (I have the best stories...) If given the choice between having the "disease" or not, I would choose to have it. However, it really sucks at 15. I truly know: no one diagnosed it back then... Best advice I can give (which may not work for you): figure out what you like to do, work hard, make it your career, and when in doubt, THINK. Having a bunch of ideas is easy; deploying or rejecting them requires discpline. Have fun doing it! (And do yoga- it really works.)"

"Thanks for the valuable account of your own experiences and related thoughts. I very much share your sense that a "bipolar" diagnosis "lacks the subtlety required to transcend that frame," and that the common need, for those having the diagnosis as well as everyone else, is "to take responsibility for oneself and one's moods," using whatever resources are available while recognizing that "moods will always change" and that that is, in and of itself, a positive feature of our lives rather than a negative one."

"Im a 44 yr old male, after being shown this article by a friend, I hungrily read every bit of it.I have been an artist my whole life, and a musician as well. I learned to play guitar by ear, and became very accomplished at it. Everything creative , I have excelled at, ever setting higher, almost unrealistic goals for myself, with the belief that I can do anything.I experience a prophetic high , which comes and goes seemingly without pattern. The spirit goeth where it listeth.This euphoria I have always found myself waiting for, like a drug. There have been many times when I was under its spell and hurriedly and feverishly wrote so that I wouldnt lose the creative thoughts.Unfortunately, these major ups are inevitably coupled with some terrible downs. States of depression and self loathing.In my youth I often thought of suicide to get relief, even attempted it once in my 20s.I believe these cycles have also influenced my voracious appetite for the spiritual, since I voraciously read everything from books on the greek mystery cults to alchemy.
Throughout my life, in times of depression, many people close to me have suggested medication.I would never take their advice, my belief being that I would then lose those periods of what I firmly believe are, truly, divine inspiration(laugh all u want, lol).There is an old saying,.."the moon has no light of its own".Our minds being the impotent moon,and the universal mind being the potent sun.I believe each creative is a conduit or vessel, according to varied capacity, receiving ambrosia from above.The ancient poets and prophets thought this,as well as some artists and poets do today.These periods of inspiration are the poets muse, ever spoken of.
Plato wrote of the archetypal realm of ideas, that hidden and divine source of all knowledge and wisdom.This very realm is the source and fountain from which creatives draw their water.I would have it no other way, and consider it a blessing to partake of that water, as so few are able to.The periods of depression may even be partly because of the great loss felt when that inspiration leaves us.
First we are almost immortal, able to take on anything,and next we are filled with a terrible emptiness. There are times when I look at artwork I have done and think, wow I cant believe I made that, and there are other times when I doubt I even am an artist, and think, "what made you ever think you were?".
I feel strongly that having been blessed/cursed with hypomania has allowed me to know things and do things that the average person cannot even grasp.I feel a kinship with all who have written here. Godbless"

A Morale Issue

"But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country." ~ President Obama

The Sun

"Earth receives more energy from the sun in one hour than it uses in an entire year." ~ Dow

Let Go and Flow Through Life-Changing Moments

"Within us dwells a higher order of being capable of meeting life-changing moments in much the same way as do leaves on a tree greets a shift in the direction of the wind." ~ Guy Finley

Depression

"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."

"The number one reason for suicide is untreated depression, and depression is highly treatable." ~ Kevin Caruso

"Obviously wealth is not the end all it is made out to be! Poor choice to take one's life though, being that most of the World's people must be content just to have food on the table. There are always other choices one can make even in a mental crisis. Nobody escapes the perils of existence.
Happiness begins from knowing that you woke up again today. What a fantastic gift."

Huffington Post Comment

Secret Advantage

Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances. ~ Thomas Jefferson