In simplest of words, in classical (Greek) mythology, Prometheus, a Titan god, was an advocate for humanity. Although punished severely by Zeus, Prometheus gave man the gift of fire. It is my belief that within each and everyone of us lies a prodigious and unfathomable power, that once is individually discovered & collectively applied, will be as transformative to humankind as was the discovery of fire. The parallel between the mythological gift of fire and the transformation toward higher consciousness I am witnessing is the reason I entitled my blog Prometheus Journals.
I decided to take a heuristic approach to a mid-career supplemental education of humanity because I was feeling disillusioned with my life and wanted not only more purpose and meaning, but also to find my place of contribution. I created this blog to record my personal path of discovery and daily application of principles I garnered from many sources… I felt that by writing down these principles and experiences, I would be able to glean a better understanding of them in the process, and, hopefully, share with and inspire others.
I am merely a curious student of life. When I say I want to share, I simply want to show others a door that worked for me. Everyone needs to make their own decision about what works for them. The material in this blog is meant to drive other’s curiosity, for I believe people change (i.e. raise their level of consciousness), either because they experienced tragedy and have to, or they learned enough to want to learn more. None of the material is original to me; it is a synthesis of the most practical and useful ideas and techniques that I have learned on my personal path. My sources are many, which is why I created a “My Reads…” page to shed some light on the books I have read in the past two years. (Obviously, it does not include all the books I have read and that have had influenced me over my life… a list too long to include.) I do not necessarily agree with all the insights from the books listed on the site, for they came across my desk in various ways, but they each have been a valuable source of information, ideas, opinions, and knowledge for me to discern for my own life. I also added a sub-page to “My Reads…” entitled, “My Favorites” to provide some insight to authors that I find to be like-minded.
Where has this led me? I believe my studies and personal practice of using my mind skillfully has led me back to an open-heart and curiosity for the world and opened my eyes to the amazement of life that I had before being disillusioned. It led me away from being a victim of circumstance to taking total responsibility for everything in my life, and this is empowering. It provided me with tools to make every part of my life better. Externalities (hurricanes, injuries, robberies, break-ups… basically, getting things I do not want and not getting the things I do want) still occur in my life, but my threshold is higher and my resilience stronger and more timely. I am more calm and conscious and use that uniquely human space between what happens to us and our reactions… and most importantly, I do not lose that innate inner happiness, not the shallow fleeting happiness associated with such things as material gains, but a happiness that the ancient Greeks called, ‘eudaimonia,’ a deep sense of well-being that is rooted in meaning, connection, and equanimity that is available to us all.
I have found that the most important part of learning is the application of what you have learned. You have to test ideas for yourself, and when you find what works for you, you have to apply it; you have to practice, you have to incorporate it into you daily life. Practice requires commitment and courage. Commitment to form habits & neural pathways, and courage to practice when the shit hits the fan… otherwise it means nothing. As Thich Nhat Hanh said, “It is one thing to discuss the theology of Christianity, and quite a different thing to practice the teachings of Christ.”
Learn enough to want to learn more…
Interestingly, although a field in its infancy (i.e. something to be excited about, but not overwhelmed by), neuroscience (representing a shift in the study of mental illness to mental health) not only sheds insight to what happens in my brain and body I when use my mind skillfully and practice my teachings (patience, mindfulness, kindness, compassion, meditation, etc), but it also, rightly or wrongly, provides a certain level of comfort to the skeptical part of me that was programmed by growing up in a newtonian culture. When the brain changes, the mind changes… but conversely, when the mind changes, the brain changes, and herein lies the prodigious and unfathomable power within: if you can use your mind skillfully in terms of what you think about, what you pay attention to, how you think, how you feel, and how you work with the interior world of the mind, you literally sculpt the brain over time and literally change your physiology down to each individual cell in your body… you change the neural substrates to how you experience living. I am not saying it is easy, for our current understanding of how the brain evolved and works illustrates the obstacles we face in changing, but I am saying it is possible and available to those who want to and have the will to change their experience of life.
What do I do with it? How do I share it? What are the collective consequences? Wow! This is where is gets really interesting and has become the attention of my curiosity… when I start to imagine what the world would be like if more and more people began to use their minds skillfully and raised their level of consciousness, even by just one degree… my mind runs wild… I envision not only a world of peace, but one of great progress socially, economically, politically, & technologically… Therefore, it is my quest to collaborate with others to produce innovative non-threatening secular vehicles…new doors, if you will, for people to open, explore, and discern for themselves the power they have within.
Therefore, I find myself consistently asking:
How can the insights of science and technological innovations be utilized to explore the faculties of using the mind skillfully for better health, well-being, and happiness?
How can the entrepreneurial spirit and the business sector be used in service in creating a better world through greater accessibility and scale? To fill the gap between local programs at Universities and Institutions and the price inhibitive programs like TM (Transcendental Meditation) while not being freighted with cultural and ideological baggage?
How can we create a ‘glide path’ into using the mind skillfully that is common-sensical and accessible with measurable results for people to explore and test in their own lives?
And here is some more insight to who I am:
