Al Owski > Recent Status Updates

“The next step in human evolution is not inevitable, but for the first time in the history of our planet, it can be a conscious choice. Who is making that choice? You are. And who are you? Consciousness that has become conscious of itself.”

“I'm not willing to live in a disenchanted universe”

“When you meet with people, at work or wherever it may be, give them your fullest attention. You are no longer there primarily as a person, but as a field of awareness, of alert Presence.”

“Doing is never enough if you neglect being.”

“There is too much collegiality in your conversations recently. People like a fight.”

“Look to your family of origin. What was valued there? What was repressed? What was rewarded? Sometimes the outcast of the family, if there is one, holds the clues. He or she is living out the life that the other family members will not allow themselves to live, and they are often rejected because of it.

“I became aware of this repressed side of me because I was becoming rather judgmental of people who were too emotional. I can rationalize to myself why I was like this; it's hard to survive in a world where the productions of the mind are overvalued. The academic approach can suppress the poet in you even if, paradoxically, you are teaching poetry.”

“What type of people do you hate? What type of people do you admire? Both will give you clues as to the types of qualities that you are afraid to express. People forget that we project our so-called good qualities as well. For example, creativity is something that often lies in the shadows. Bly talks about being resentful at times of being a poet for hire, and he says that everyone should be writing their own poems.”

“The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more present you need to be; otherwise, you will be forced to relive the past again and again. A genuine relationship is one that is not dominated by the ego with its image-making and self-seeking. In a genuine relationship, there is an outward flow of open, alert attention toward the other person in which there is no wanting whatsoever.”

“Whenever you are in a negative state, there is something in you that wants the negativity, that perceives it as pleasurable, or that believes it will get you what you want. Otherwise, who would want to hang on to negativity, make themselves and others miserable, and create disease in the body?”

“Negativity is not intelligent. It is always of the ego.”

“With awareness comes dis-identification from thoughts, emotions, and reactions. This is not to be confused with denial. The thoughts, emotions, or reactions are recognized, and in the moment of recognizing, dis-identification happens automatically. Your sense of self, of who you are, then undergoes a shift: Before you were the thoughts, emotions, and reactions; now you are the awareness [of those] those states.”

“But if you start honestly investigating why things have gone wrong, and you begin to unearth these shadow qualities, there is a way to change things. As James Hollis said so well—there comes a time when you realize that the only person who is in every scene of your life is you—so the only option left is to analyze your role in all of this and assume full responsibility.”

“the idea that some of the qualities we despise and ascribe to another person, entity or nation, actually belongs to us is a hard pill to swallow. And yet, recognizing this is the first step in the individuation process—the process Jung described in which we become fully ourselves. If we don't own our projections, they own us.”

“You defined the shadow as all that has not entered adequately into consciousness. People have shadows. Nations have shadows. Groups of all kinds have shadows. And what is despised in the other is usually something that lies within the shadow side of the person or group that is doing the despising.”

“The moment you become aware of a negative state within yourself, it does not mean you have failed. It means that you have succeeded. Until that awareness happens, there is identification with inner states, and such identification is ego.”

“going against the dictates of the Church... This is an important moment when feeling becomes differentiated because this is not just sexual passion, this longing for one person... This is also the first step in the West of an individualism that leads to the Scientific Revolution, which required that someone break with the existing models of the universe that had been agreed upon for centuries.”

“To end the misery that has afflicted the human condition for thousands of years, you have to start with yourself and take responsibility for your inner state at any given moment. That means now. Ask yourself, "Is there negativity in me at this moment?" Then, become alert, attentive to your thoughts as well as your emotions.”

“Only Presence can free you of the ego, and you can only be present Now, not yesterday or tomorrow. Only Presence can undo the past in you and thus transform your state of consciousness.”

“We can learn not to keep situations or events alive in our minds, but to return our attention continuously to the pristine, timeless present moment rather than be caught up in mental movie-making. Our very Presence then becomes our identity, rather than our thoughts and emotions.”

“Sometime around the Middle Ages—the period that produced the Tristan myths—the troubadours were singing their songs to women on balconies. These women were married, and unavailable to them, so they poured out their love to them in these beautiful songs that everyone enjoyed, which is why these innocent loves were tolerated.”

“The longing is the point. So if we want to connect to it, we need to catch it mid-air and stay with the feeling without letting it attach itself to anything.”

“Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you.”

“If you you can neither enjoy nor bring acceptance to what you do—stop. Otherwise, you are not taking responsibility for the only thing you can really take responsibility for, which also happens to be the one thing that really matters: your state of consciousness. And if you are not taking responsibility for your state of consciousness, you are not taking responsibility for life.”

“If you are not in the state of acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm, look closely and you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself and others.”

“The primary factor in creation is consciousness. No matter how active we are, how much effort we make, our state of consciousness creates our world, and if there is no change on that inner level, no amount of action will make any difference. We would only re-create modified versions of the same world again and again, a world that is an external reflection of the ego.”

“You've forced people to look within and figure out their shit. No one likes that.”

“Here is another way of finding inner space: Become conscious of being conscious. Say or think "I Am" and add nothing to it. Be aware of the stillness that follows the I Am. Sense your presence, the naked, unveiled, unclothed being-ness. It is untouched by young or old, rich or poor, good or bad, or any other attributes.”

“You get hooked on someone—you find "the teeth to match your wounds" as one writer put it, and then that's it. You fall into a state of rapture and possession. It is very compelling and mysterious because you can't help who you are attracted to.”

“When you hear of inner space, you may start seeking it and… you cannot find it. This is the dilemma of all those who are seeking spiritual realization or enlightenment. Hence, Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." ”