dwayne.yawned

Man is not affected by events,  He is affected by his perspective on events.  Your life situation is not your life.  The trapped think themselves free;  The free know themselves trapped.  The amount of effort  required  to feel sad or to feel strong  is the same.  Which would you chose?  The winner  of the rat race  is still a rat  This too, shall pass.  There’s always a chore;  There’s always a change;  There’s always a choice;  There’s always a chance.  Life is 100% Unfair and as such  Life is 100% Fair #philosophy #dwaynisms #yawn

WWMS   by dwayneyawned I woke up tired this morning, as I do most days. Its still dark, and there's nary a stir about the crooked house. The only thing that really keeps me going  Is knowing that breakfast will served soon. I take a middling stretch while snuggled in my alcove. There are bits of fluff and all manners of stuff floating around my personal cocoon. They've been agitated of late, my daddies. Them three keep shifting furniture around Gathering clunky bags of mess that keep disappearing And eating away at my space and territories  Bit by bit. They're also yelling at each other more these past few weeks, I don't understand what they say to each other, But it sounds like "Don't peeve me!" and "I can't trust you!", "Don't leave me!" and "Can't I trust you?" Thankfully, in the flurry and madness,  I usually get to eat thrice. ~ I slink down the narrow stairs only to come across a nearly impassable entwinement...

Still fresh out,  I am in a place  of relative calm  and clarity  and have reassessed  my priorities generally  in life:  1) Spiritual, Mental  and Wholistic Health  2) Love  3) Purposeful, Fulfilling  and Impactful Employment  4) Money  I realize it’s not worth  being someone’s rat  and blindly rat-racing  anymore.  It’s not worth wasting  time, effort, and (1)(2)(3)  just to get (4)  either. #priorities #values  

Let's Go  by dwayneyawned Let's go  let go together we'll float  we'll flow to the get go We'll keep our heads  ahead on the path one foot by one day by day soon to become a modicum of pastel sensory gasps Worn hands clasping yours pulling through pulling us through  gently running tiptoeing nimbly across cracked shells  of the ego  numbly picking up the pace now always  in the now forward marching on back  to the flow the rhythm of the let go Let's go! #poem #motivational #strive

3 Principles I will be adopting and implementing,  in career, in love and in life  Unblock - What’s preventing the natural flow of processes, emotions and aspirations from happening? These should be identified and concertedly removed. No pretenses or ego, no sweeping under the rug, no delays and full ownership.  Enable - What’s required for optimised activity, conversation and action? These should be encouraged, given a safe space and permission for experimentation and fulfillment.  Automate - Simple, repetitive and necessary tasks - from approval processes, interactions and positive habits - these should become second nature and automated via insourcing, habit formation and dedication, thereby allowing the overall focus to shift towards higher value and more significant overtures.  Will it work? This I’ve gotta live to see!  #unblock #enable #automate #philosophy #feelosophy

“Meditation is not evasion, it is serene encounter with reality” - Thich Nhat Hanh  I choose to meditate because I see it as…  1) Giving time, space and peace back to myself.  2) Learning to observe the mind as a scientist or engineer would observe a system or machine; Only then am I able to note it’s shortfalls, perform cleanups, tinker with its parameters and optimise for smooth performance.  3) Learning and practicing non-attachment and non-reaction, and the prioritization of what’s important and significant in our lives.  4) Centering - All the “selves” that are me are rolled back into one - Unity.  5) Decompartmentalising - The ability to break down mental barriers behind parts of the whole, to synergise harmonize, identity and eliminate internal tensions.  6) Manifestation of goals, dreams and positive mental states.  7) Tapping into the powers of the subconscious - I believe that we can harness near-infinite perception, hope, willpower, spi...

“You Only Live Once” - YOLO  So many youths (and adults too) use the phrase above (in fact, it’s past it’s prime and may even be considered by Gen Z to be passé - pretty ironic), usually to justify reckless behavior and risk-taking. LIVE IT UP, they say, as they down additional pints of alcohol or skip work and spend irresponsibly.  Yet, how many people truly realize the timeless wisdom that is embedded in this statement??  It is reminiscent of Memento Morí (Remember you will die), from the action-based philosophical branch of Stoicism that was popular over 2500 years ago with Marcus Aurelius and Plato as famous practitioners; of the Buddhist and Mindfulness principle of Impermanence, of the Confucian saying “We all have 2 lives, the second of which begins when we realize we only have 1”.  It seems that with YOLO, the media and pop culture machine is doing its job at keeping people more focused on a culture of immediate gratification, consequence-less thinking and bl...

Dedicated to Nick and Rus, loves of my life. Ozone  by dwayneyawned Our paths were always meant  to cross,  Though we flit  through  friends,  time and space,   Though we face this temporary loss.   Our paths were always meant  to join    Though we weave  through  fate, lust and place,   Though our lives dance  on the edge of a coin.   Our paths were always  meant  to twine,     Not once nor twice  but thrice in time.   For now, for ever,  in stanzas, in rhyme.     Around each other  in tightening orbits,   We gravitate, we rotate, we oscillate.    Dancing in love we sync  While  Deeper in love we sink.   Through the pull   of ominous forces we'll hurtle  Separation, incarceration,   compartmentalization.  Though in the moment,   all might seem unstable ...

There can be no existence without nonexistence; No difficulty without easy; No long without short; No high without low; And without the sounds of musical instruments  and  human voices,  where would  their harmony  - and cacophony - be? #taoteching #thetao #philosophy #balance

The peculiar thing about happiness is that we seem to be addicted to it, addicted to its pursuit.  The first dose brings euphoria and ecstasy. We are satisfied while it lasts and subsequently when it fades, we develop a craving for more. As we seek out more and more happiness externally, we begin to develop tolerance to it - what once did it for us no longer flies. There is a significant power creep. In this consumerist world of MORE MORE MORE we internalize and extrapolate these values towards happiness itself.  For myself, these activities that were bringing me unbridled happiness just a couple of days ago appear to be losing their lustre -  The taste of a home-cooked meal; The midnight mewls of a hungry pet; The myriad options available in the supermarket; The first bite of Nutella and peanut butter; Watching chickens pick at loose grains of rice; A warm shower; The sound of music; Watching a late night movie; Curling up with a good book; The pleasure of a Q-tip post-s...

-1 Pale apple sapling Creeping through the concrete crack. Strives, suffers, then dies. -2 Eyes closed, mind emptied Wistful in serenity. Longing for your touch. -3 Sweat drops drip drip drop, Ticking of time in reverse Tingly sun-pierced haze. -4 Cascading water, Smooth metal particulates, Small moth flies away. -5 Growling belly aches, Something with the food again - Mainly not enough. -6 Perched atop the ledge, One-eyed bird sees everything: Caged, freed, in-between. -7 Red dots creamy skin, That pestilent rash appears. Dot it in dread cream. -8 Empty plastic cup Filled by hollow and sorrow, Stained brown with misuse. -9 Lonely letter sent, Staring at eternity, Running on love spent. Wabi Sabi Totes my jam, especially while finding beauty in drab settings. I think anyone can find love in this concept too! Wabi Sabi is an offshoot of Zen that is philosophy, design principle, aesthetic and lifestyle all at once. Wabi: A lifestyle of languish, forlornness; finding transcendence from th...

I've started collecting/crafting short musings to capture the bits/pieces of enlightenment that I've been so lucky to glimpse during this time.  They'll likely form the base of a book on Free Living or poetry (OR THIS BLOG) that I'll write in full when I'm out ; Pls read on / share and I hope they bring as much insight and joy as they have brought me! "He who thinks himself free is trapped,   He who knows himself trapped is free."    "To lose oneself in laughter most deep,   one awakens from Life's deep sleep"  "That which is infinite   has roots in the heart,   branches in the mind   and flowers in the spirit.  It's abundance  makes it free and priceless.  It's splendor   is freedom itself"    "The trapped mindlessly trap;  the freed mindfully free"    "Free Living is a direction,  not a destination.   To find it one must lose,   To walk it one must let loose"  "There is defini...

STRIVE by dwayneyawned & 211 In times of strife  And the crises of life,  We look within   To our lights ever-glowing  Finding wisdom eternal  That keeps us going:    Treat others   How you'd like to be treated,  Stay in the fight   Never be defeated.  Be true to yourself,  be contented, don't compare.  Do what is Right -  Life is always fair.   Life is about Relationships,  Life is about Love -   Know where we stand   For Love wins in the end.  Hope for the best but   Prepare for the worst,   Live a life brimming   With Purposefulness.    Knowledge is power,  Manifest your destiny.  But know in your heart,  With great power comes great responsibility.  We're born into  the pursuit of happiness -  If we're lucky, we get  a few laughs in between.   Yet this too shall pass,  alas but luckily.    Standing at the e...

Having recently come out of 6.5 months of relative sensory, societal and pleasure deprivation, I notice so many areas in which there are excesses that we take for granted as so-called normalcy.  Drinks are too sweet and sugary, they replace plain water too frequently; Food is too fatty and salty, thereby causing water retention and bloating; Ease of access to nicotine is a huge drag on a calm and collected mind; There is no time to sit down and read a good book; People are too preoccupied with professions that don’t bring them Ikigai and inspiration; Alcohol needn’t be drank in such huge quantities; The questions that we should be asking ourselves (are we truly happy? what is happiness to us? what is a sustainable lifestyle? how are we trapped by our unconscious programming and societal expectations?) fall by the wayside, placated by bite-sized satiations of our manifold cravings; We spend too much time perceiving this world through other people’s lenses, other people’s screens....

As an engineer, I’ve been trained to apply the scientific methods of seeking the truth, continuous optimization and bringing improvement to mechanical and chemical systems.  Its easy to extrapolate this to the more visible and visceral elements of life and living - work, friendship, fitness, etc.  It is only of late that I realize the extreme benefit of consciously bringing this strategy to the realms of LOVE, WISDOM and SPIRITUALITY - also complex systems that require a deeper understanding, yet CAN BE UNDERSTOOD and EXPERIENCED and OPTIMISED.  Whoever said that a purpose-filled life, a love that defies the ages and a structured plan for spiritual growth could not be engineered??  Some basic principles:  1) Find commonalities, patterns, reusable equations / causations and correlations.  2) Test hypotheses and theories - Does it work? Are things optimized?  3) Never be afraid to discard failures.  4) Replicate successes. Automate successful practi...

Stay open to love, and love will fall into your lap.  Stay open to opportunities, and opportunities will fall into your lap.  Stay open to happiness, and happiness will fall into your lap.  Stay open to life, and life will fall into your lap.  Stay open to things, and all things will fall into place.  #philosophy

New lease on life - Check  Scruffy cat at foot of bed - Check  Snoozing lover gently snoring - Check   What more could someone ask for?  Hello World, I have shed some of your shackles and I would love to keep them off, maybe helping others while I continue to travel along the road towards a free life full of infinite love, expanded consciousness and the wisdom of the ages.  Thank you for spending your time and mind on this humble platform of mine.   DW <3 #firstpost #hello #goals