Zombie Life

Zombie-life and you: An Introduction

Unfortunately, the zombie apocalypse already happened. And so sorry to tell you, but yes, that means you’re a zombie. No, you didn’t escape it. But hey, at least you’re on the winning side!

So what can you expect as a zombie? Well you’re obviously overrun by irrational thought. You’re basically a monster lashing out at the world around you. Everything seems unpleasant and it’s as though your fellow zombies are all jerks and you feel like your body is decaying rapidly.

You will basically continue on this mindless rampage until your eventual collapse and your body is buried under dirt or fricasseed by fire. Well, that is unless you evoke the antidote. But nah, why would you do that? You’re a zombie and zombies don’t make rational decisions remember?

Well, except if a little bit of humanity still lives within you? Okay, if you’re not a complete zombie, I’ll explain the situation. Being an actual zombie is somewhat different than you’d expect. Yes, you have a bad attitude toward everything in your path. Yes, you tend to confront others. And yes, you do feed on human flesh, but not in the sense that you think.

Your zombie-ness comes from an unconscious adherence to a mental toxicity that’s taken over your brain. Your mind is outputting some nasty hallucinations and you’re blindly believing them while acting accordingly. Step one, is to realize that any thoughts you’re having are not to be trusted — they’re likely delusions.

No one said applying the antidote was going to be easy — you’re going to have to fight against this deluge of delusion for quite some time. You need to force yourself into believing that the outside world is NOT in a post-apocalyptic state, it’s fine. You need to force yourself into believing that everyone around you is NOT out to get you. You need to force yourself into believing that your body is NOT falling apart.

As a zombie, you have an obsession with flesh, it’s true. You over-identify with it, that’s part of your problem. EVERYTHING you do tends to center around this flesh fixation: your appearance, other people’s appearance, aging, illness, how things affect your flesh — it’s nuts. You have a flesh-based focus.

So step two, is weaning yourself off the flesh. So things like sickness and death, how your body is holding-up, injuries, what’s going on with your face, your skin, teeth, whatever — you’re done with this kind of stuff now — g’bye! You can engage in any hygienic-routine that you enjoy, but nothing that originates from a place of fear (or else that’s the toxicity talking).

Zombies live in a harsh and brutal world, so if you no longer want to be a zombie, then you must train yourself to see past the zombie-induced delusions. Trust the world you’re in and trust the people around you. Even if you think they’re zombies, and they may very well be, treating them like human-beings will help to cure your condition as well as theirs — it’s win-win.

I’ve probably said too much already for your zombified-brain to handle, so I’ll stop here. Just realize that if you have any humanity left, and you no longer want to be a zombie, then stop listening to your thoughts, they’re noxious lies that are influencing your perception. Then, stop focusing on the fragility of flesh, it feeds a poisonous perspective. If you can keep this up, more and more of your humanity will keep returning to you. Good luck!

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Clean Slate

Here comes another new day. Alleluia – Enya.

While lying in bed, right before sleep, willingly surrender to existence. See sleep as a portal, a transition into a new life that begins every morning. There is no history, no past, not a thing before the moment you awaken.

Look around, explore, and discover the world anew everyday. Remembrances are incomplete and often falsified fantasies of a time that may or may not have happened — they can’t be trusted, forget everything.

And being that it’s a new world, you have no data, no facts with which to predict the future. You can no longer make pessimistic prophesies of what’s to come. All you have is right-now.

Tear up the pages of today, don’t take them into tomorrow. As the day begins, so does a pristine adventure.

Now – Chapter 7

This is my interpretation of the book The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle.

Chapter 7

Meditation time! Sit in a non-sleep-inducing position. Eyes closed, body relaxed, breathing: in, out. Notice the breath and then notice the sensation inside the body. Feel the body, know that it’s there through sensation alone. Try to feel the sensation as energy emanating from within. Focus on that energy to the point of becoming one with it.

Remember that meditation is the practice of not-thinking. And this practice shouldn’t be limited to the duration of each session. While outside of meditation, continue guarding against the thinking-mechanism of the mind and continue feeling the inner sensation of the body.

You want to develop a connection to the dreamer of this dreamworld. This connection can be called enlightenment. There are a few methods for maintaining this connection. One is through an awareness of the energetic-sensation within the body. Another method is by literally focusing on right-now — through the conscious experience of everyday activities. Another method is through the purposeful suppression of thought — maintaining gaps between mental commentary. And another method is by surrendering to life and whatever it is you’re resisting.

Then once this connection is well-established, it becomes a portal for love to flow through — this is the bliss and elation that comes with living in the now. Additionally, silence and empty space can be used as reminders of the unmanifested — the source from which the world springs forth.

Through you, the unmanifested lives within the world, experiencing embodied existence and performing the many activities of life. Eventually you become aware of the illusion, realizing the dream. Then through you, the unmanifested transcends the world, reuniting with its source.

Thought Tolerance

Dear Rich, should I actively suppress my thoughts? That seems kinda harsh, shouldn’t I be more tolerant towards them — a bit more peace, love, and harmony? Maybe just observe them non-judgmentally?

Dear reader, have you not been listening to your thoughts? They’re straight-up evil. You can’t reason with them. They fling sh*t just to watch it stick. Being tolerant of intolerance leads to a cesspool that nobody wants to swim in. It doesn’t work, and years of Internet-based-forums has proven this point. With anything high-traffic, you absolutely NEED strong moderation.

Imagine a public restroom, now imagine some guy pinching a loaf right into the sink. Freedom of expression right? Why not? You just gotta be more tolerant bro. Or is it wrong to poop in the sink? And if that’s wrong, and a certain level of decorum must be maintained, then you shouldn’t allow your thoughts to sh*t on EVERYTHING within this world.

Your thoughts are NOT the end-product, they’re simply the byproduct of a creative mind. In other words, they’re the waste that must be disposed of properly lest that sludge pollute the environment. Don’t believe me? Just take a bit of time to watch those thoughts oozing by — notice how you feel — take ’em all in too, every last piece of pessimistic excrement.

Sick of the stink yet? Are you ready for some law and order? Then shut that sh*t down! Your goal is pure unadulterated consciousness — experiencing, without thought. Eating an apple? Then just eat an apple. “Hm, it’s an okay apple but I’m wondering…” NOPE. Shut it down — just savor the flavor. Walking down the street? Then just walk down the street. “Huh, I hope that…” NOPE. Walk — no internal talk.

And lastly dear reader, if you don’t actively control the toxicity emanating from your mind, you’re passing the burden onto everyone else. You’re like the guy randomly sh*itting in the sink expecting everyone else to just “deal with it”. If change starts within, your thoughts are ground-zero. So yes, you need to suppress that sh*t.

A Conscious You

Dear Rich, what would a more conscious me look like?

Why dear reader, that’s a very good question indeed. Why bother trying to attain a state of constant presence if there isn’t any benefit? Well in fact, there IS a plus side to being-in-the-now.

For starters, do you know all that negative rumination that tends to ruin your day? Gone. You’ll have a clear head and a clean conscience. Instead of arguing with yourself and everyone else, instead of feeling guilty and shameful, instead of forecasting the most dire consequences possible — you’ll be free. You’ll no longer be a prisoner within your own mind.

Do you know all those worries you have? Gone. What’s going to happen in the future? Who cares — not you, that’s who! You’ll be too busy engaging in the present to give any energy to false prophesies. What’ll happen five years from now? One year from now? Even five MINUTES from now? WHO CARES!

Oh boy, and did I mention the pure bliss?! Why, when you’re livin’ in the right-now you’ll be feelin’ the full joy of this moment every second of the day! It’ll be euphoric even! Just picture it, there you are, fully engaged in the activities comprising existence, and your consciousness is experiencing everything with full focused attention!

Makes ya wonder why you’re not doing it already. Well sir, no time like the present — ha! And lucky for you, the-now is literally happening right-now. Simply shut that thinking-stuff down and begin. If you believe it’s gonna take some time to put that baby to bed, you best start the work immediately — because the sooner you begin a thought-free life, the happier you’ll be.

And I hear ya, you’re thinkin: “Rich, that sure sounds good an’ all, but I’m havin a hard time swallowin what you’re sellin”. Well friend, all that skepticism is just your thoughts talkin — the precise part we’re tryin to get rid of! ‘Course it’s gonna fight back! But that’s no pal of yours, heck, your thoughts have been outright torturing you your entire life! Makin up all that scary stuff that never happened, humiliating you, frustrating you — doin whatever it could for no reason in particular.

But now it’s time for your consciousness to get its due — a thought-free turn at life. An uninterrupted experience, living without the constant commentary. Why it’ll be the life you always knew you should be livin ‘cept there was somethin holdin you back. And you’ve finally found the culprit! Those dirty good for nothin thoughts. Well say goodbye baby, ’cause you’re consciousness-realized now!

Now – Chapter 6

This is my interpretation of the book The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle.

Chapter 6

You’re under the delusion that you’re an isolated body within a physical world. This delusion leads to anxiousness and suffering. You would know your true self if it wasn’t for the mind constantly distracting you. So constant are its mental musings, that you identify yourself as the thoughts emanating from your mind.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to establish consciousness as your primary mode of being (thus diminishing the thinking-mechanism of the mind). Consciousness, instead of rumination, should become your default. One method for making this change, is by transfering focus away from the mind and into the body.

Here’s some practice: Focus on your fingers and notice the sensation, a slight pressure or tingling or just the feeling that they’re there. Then move up the arms and into the chest and head and around the body all the way down to your feet. Feel the sensation individually and then as a whole, pervading the entire body — focus on this sensation.

Although you aren’t a solitary creature crawling around a giant rock in constant struggle for survival, you aren’t beyond the body either. You have a body after-all, so you can work with it rather than fight it. And by maintaining attention within the body, you’ll have a reference point keeping you from getting lost in thought or life.

For the time being, while going about your normal activities, maintain some awareness of the energy/aliveness-feeling pervading the entire body. Focus on the task at hand but widen your scope to include the sensation within the body as well. And when not doing anything in particular, instead of getting lost in thought, focus on that energy/aliveness-feeling within.

And whenever you start losing yourself to an alleged problem, go into the body. By focusing on an inner sensation, your focus leaves the thinking-mechanism of the mind. From that steadier base, your reaction will be more grounded. If strong emotion overwhelms your ability to focus, simply observe the emotion without judgement and accept its presence.

Typically, emotions should quickly come and go. If they linger, you’re likely lacking forgiveness. Instead of grasping tightly to a hot ember, release it. Forgive people, yourself, and even life. Trust in life and stop fighting against it. Let go and let your narrative continue on a steady course.

Essentially, you are consciousness, the experiencer of existence. Yet typically, you spend much of your time unconscious, lost in a dream. But you want to become present and aware within the dream. The dream won’t end, you’ll simply become lucid. You want to switch this from a turbulent nightmare to a delightful fantasyland. And this process requires you to realize that the foundation of your dream-self as well as everything else, is a dreamer — the source of all consciousness.

And when you move focus into the body and become aware of the inner sensation, it can serve as a reminder for all this — a way to maintain a deeper state. From this depth, the external gets easier. The body feels better, lighter, no longer like a poorly aging contraption rife with decay and subject to the ills of others.

Some more practice: Focusing on a single part of the body, feel it, notice the sensation, it’s there and you’re aware of it. Do this for every part of your body. Once you’ve gone through them one by one, start at the bottom and move up the body like a scanner, from toes to head and back down again. Then, concentrate on the sensation of the entire inner body at once — focus and feel it.

If focusing within the body is tough, start with breathing. Observe the breath: in… out… in… out… follow and feel the breath. Also, whenever creativity is required, presence is the best way to encourage it. And of course when listening to others, presence makes that process a whole lot easier. And a method for becoming present, is focusing on the sensation of the inner body.

Extracting the Marrow

I was re-watching the movie Groundhog Day (1993), and since my current interest deals with living-in-the-now, I noticed that particular theme in the movie. Despite the day constantly repeating, Phil was eventually able to enjoy everyday by living in the present. When the past and future no longer mattered, sucking the marrow out of right-now became the only option.

When he clung to the legacy of his past, Phil tried to use people for short-term gain — ultimately leading to boredom when there was nothing left to attain. And when he was feeling trapped by a futureless path, Phil couldn’t enjoy the physical world anymore and eventually sunk into suicidal despair.

But by shedding the past and future, focusing only on the instant he was experiencing, Phil was able to find the fun. Despite constant repetition and guaranteed predictability, Phil extracted enjoyment from wherever he could. Within infinity, I don’t believe constant improvement is the point — the point was to develop a means to enjoy the moment.

And once he was able to appreciate the present, there was nothing holding back happiness. Even if he had sat in a park feeding pigeons, I think his loop would’ve ended — it was more about the mindset rather than good-deeds. Because again, within eternity, self-improvement and knocking-off the rough-edges can only go-on for so long until you become a polished sphere.