The ultimate chess game

The Ultimate Chess game

Black knight takes white Rook, White Queen takes black knight, Check Mate. Game over. If you have ever played the game of chess, it is quite interesting. A finality exists but the gamble of whose finality it is, is always up in the air till the end. There are innumerable permutations and  combinations that can play out in terms of chess moves that makes the game not only enticing to play yet very intricate. I always believed that the game you play is not yours but in fact that of the opponents, kind of like the game of poker, you play your opponents' hand.  Thinking several moves ahead and in every  direction, the game is very much like life. 

Trying to guess correctly at the next move that either you or your opponent will or will not make is risky, yet that is what we do everyday when we deal with anyone we interact with on a regular basis. We spin our wheels of our minds to the point of exhaustion and wearing down our mental tread with strategic planning. Yet sometimes I wonder who exactly is the opponent that I am facing in this chess game, if everyone is playing the same game? My answer is myself. I am in continuous play with myself and we each are outdoing the other to the detriment of the other and Ourselves. I find myself fighting with myself whether it is through decisions regarding work, home, or personal. If both sides cooperated there would be less of an effort of strategic warring and more productive construction. Yet one might say that they do not have this issue. In which case I applaud them for looking so deep within and clearing up all fears and troubles and making peace between their ego and their soul in such a way that is the goal of us all. If both sides joined hands and worked together, then perhaps there is no chess game? Well I think then the opponent will not be oneSelf yet other life challenges which can then be easily overcome, when You and your ego are in harmony. 

Sometimes a state of Stalemate occurs, a draw if you will where neither side wins. That is the start of something good. Both sides strong enough to hold their ground, and both sides weak enough to humbly concede and agree for mutual cooperation. More the stalemate, more the chance at mutual understanding. The sooner we come to this state the faster we can begin healing ourselves versus spending an exorbitant amount of energy playing a chess game between you and You.   Perhaps you like being a chess master, but the challenge of the game becomes infinitely more fun when you are playing yourself and discovering the strengths and weaknesses within between you the ego and you the Spirit. Life does not have to be a chess game that is not beatable. We make ourselves believe that to be the case, yet I too was wrong with that preconceived notion. Life is the chess board and not the game itself. Where you deploy your pieces is your strategic involvement. Imagine what "your game" would be like if you had double the pieces and all of them were under your command and no opponent. Freedom of choice, freedom to explore peace, freedom of destiny and free will for your game. The more in sync you are with Ego and soul working together the more pieces you have to be more productive to go across the board. Figure out your life board, deploy your pieces, and have a great chess game. 

Have you attained chess master status yet?

Second guessing

Second Guessing

The clock is ticking down and you are down to the last few questions on your test. You quickly circle choice as B and move on to the next question. You come back to the prior question and change your answer to C. Wrong !! You are at a restaurant and your waiter finally comes to your table and you have been going over a particular craving you have had for weeks. Yet you hurry and   pick a dish off the menu. When it arrives you realize perhaps you picked in haste. You know that a particular relationship or job is going to work out yet you ignore all of your "gut" instincts and abandon that possibility or opportunity and pick someone else or a different job thinking that that second choice will give you more happiness. Yet again you second guessed and were wrong and remain in your unhappiness.

 We live in a world where we are asked to make choices so quickly for little reward and then we usually regret our options, without realizing that perhaps the little voice within had made the correct choice in the first place and then we over ride that idea in hopes for better satisfactory experiences, which invariably are not the case. We do this in literally every aspect of our lives with such rapidity that eventually the choices we believe we are making are not our own, they belong to someone else. Whether it is the nature of the advertisement with their alluring marketing strategies to fool the mind or out of a sense of desperation we second guess our Selves all the time. The owners of our choices are usually  most content as they are profitable only to  big business or for those  with political gain. We do this all the time to the most basic of human needs such as ignoring healthy options to eat or drink, seeking out the appropriate health care need for ourselves, misunderstanding the nature of love and lust, and regrettably remaining uneducated in the schooling of our first choice. 

Second guessing is most often a choice made out of fear. It is a choice that comes out of not desiring to leave your comfort zone or at least a choice that has resemblance to familiar territory. Once we learn to trust ourSelves we are more aware of the choices we make, leaving behind the need to second guess. The more trust you have, the more alert Your choice is. The trust fosters love and compassion for Yourself and with a greater respect and awareness for the moment as you slow down in order to make the right choice.  For those who "live and die" by instinct and are successful, are usually those who are very much in tune with their Divine Self and if you ask them, they will happily inform you that they choose what they "feel" is right. When you are in this mode you cease to second guess. After all why would you if your choice is correct. Opponents of this idea will say that there is no such thing as the right or wrong choice. I would lean more towards that truly every choice is simply an experience, however the choice that makes you happier is the first pick and not the second when you adhere to this idea of synchronized "gut" instinct.

Maybe you should have turned left instead of turned right. Maybe you should have left the house a little earlier or a little later. Maybe you should have picked choice B or choice C on the test. Maybe you should have picked the "right" person to love. Maybe, Maybe, Maybe. These are all your fears talking you out of making ANY choice and live in your smallness. When you fall into the "maybe I should have.." phenomenon, you are already guaranteed to lose your way without trust or love or compassion for your primal instinct of Self to guide you. With the "maybe" you will more than likely not only not be happy with your "choice" regardless of potential differed outcome, yet also more often than not change the existing course of action that you are undertaking. 

Let go of the "maybe", the "ifs", the "but onlys" and the " perhaps" and live your life with determination and finely tuned instinct by listening to yourSelf as it navigates you through life. Moreover whatever choice you make, make sure that you make it for YourSelf and so you will derive greater pleasure from it. What ever the course you are on, see it to the end. It will always be a good end, if you jumped on it from a place of peace, knowing and trust. 

Feeling like second guessing your life? MAYBE YOU SHOULD.......

Going golfing

Going Golfing

If you have never played golf, then it is a sport worth trying to learn. You will be  probably be in the learning phase for your entire life as this particular sport is very similar to learning life's lessons every time you step up onto the green.  The presence of mind required and the focussing on the moment yet not focussing on the moment to varying degrees separates the pros from the amateurs. The level of concentration, coupled with the seemingly effortless being and not " trying to be" or rather doing and not the "trying to do" is a proportion of just the right amount that is sought by most golfers. It is not about just swinging the club and making contact with the ball, yet based on my rudimentary understanding is that it  is about the timing of the swing. There are  3 phases to the swing.  The club is first swung behind you ( hinge), then the contact, and then the swing through the contact moment ( the unhinge) .  Literally it is like past, present and future of life all occurring in one swing. It is the timing phase that you are in that will result in the ball being hit correctly.

Similarly when dealing with life, it does depend on your personal "swing" of the mind. If you are not focussed on the moment then you may miss your correct timing cycle. If you are overly present or overdo it then the moment itself can  too be  lost. Seeing the grand expansion of the moment in all its phases and choosing to just be,  aides you in getting to the right timing cycle. Sheer brute force and physical strength has little to do with the game of golf. It is more about the balance of the mind with the moment in hand. We are invariably either too quick with our reactions, our verbal agreements or disagreements and judgements that we miss the opportunity of living at the peak of our abilities. We are also sometimes too late to make a decision out of fear, doubt or past regret that we forgo the chance at a splendid future.  This is the difference between living your life on purpose and with intention as opposed to just surviving on a day to day basis. It almost like trying to break down the walls of the space and time continuum between the past, present and the future and seing yourown big picture. Similarly you can see a picture of a golfer's swing with a strobe light and see all parts occur at the same time. The question of success or failure is hinged upon at what part of the cycle does the soul get to step in and say "here I am !"

Getting the ball to where we want it to go and land is more about the vision that we choose to explore coupled with the balance of timing than divine intervention.  There are times if you play this game you will be floored by the perfection of a particular swing. That swing, aim, and execution was perfect as it was in the moment, mind-less, effortless and You played the  swing  in all its parts and not breaking it down with your mind. The skill is to get that  perfect golf swing every time and that is the same skill set needed in overcoming life's challenges. Practice, practice, practice the idea of seeing the big picture within the moment and then jump on to the carousel of life.  It is interesting that  the word golf in reverse is "flog". If you try to mess with the timing cycle in golf and not attempt the correct form  you will keep getting frustrated much in the same way you will fall off the merry go round of the universe. Throwing tantrums on the golf course in anger is of little use and does not help with your  life's decorum of expression. 

Keep your eye on the birds flying around in the sky, avoiding the squirrels and the trees, trying not to hit other golfers, is all part of being mindful of your game just as you would when crossing the busy street of life, hopefully not texting while ambulating. Vigilance is key yet with  more of an  acknowledgement of the surroundings in your life rather than a phobia of your life lest you  will  lead to an un-lived existence. Enjoying the game, and learning from each stroke is part of the life's lesson of every experience. The measure your ability at the game is a numerical score noted as a "handicap." I hope that you do not follow the same scoring system in life. There is a a saying by Paul Harvey...."Golf is the only game where you yell fore, shoot six, and write five." A little cheating in life does occur but let your score card of your life's game be as accurate as possible. I personally have yet to play a game of golf, I am still at the driving range practicing, but when I am done what a terrific game it is going to be, just hope that when I do it is not too late !  You hear the swoosh of the club passed your ear, and you turn to look in the distance for your ball landing. 

You feel a tap on the shoulder," excuse me but your ball is still on the ground where you left it "!!   It is better to have tried than never have had the courage to swing the club.