BE HERE NOW

 
Hello friends of the Rainbow Cloud!  I have been on quite a journey since I last made a post!  At the end of March I returned home from 6 weeks traveling in India, from the Himalayan valleys all the way to the Bay of Bengal, and many places in between.  We visited temples and holy sites, met saints and sadhus, seekers and searchers of this thing called enlightenment.  I also met human beings, of all walks, with different philosophies and practices, views and paths.  I ate chappati and drank chai tea cooked over the fire in plastic shacks with monks who slept on the ground, under the stars amidst the jungle where tigers and monkeys roam, and even a wild elephant that walks by every night to drink water out of the sacred Ganges river.

India is a psychedelic trip- no drugs necessary.  It is the highest of the high masked within the lowest of the low.  The poverty and overall standards of living are eye opening to someone used to having garbage cans, toilet seats, drinkable tap water and a relatively "rich" material well being. That's right, we in America are RICH, materially speaking.  The cows roam the streets and eat garbage and scraps, while over a billion people nudge elbows on the tight streets, filthy train stations, and dusty roads.  Yet what this country lacks in material abundance it makes up for in spiritual wealth.  India is the guru of the World- the birthplace of Sanataan Dharma, Hinduism, Buddism, Yoga, high insights and Advaita- the underlying reality of oneness, masked in this dualistic realm of vibrating opposites.

There are many "paths" to Self-Realization.  Many gurus, many teachings, and many pitfalls.  It is quite easy to be overwhelmed by which "path" to take, who's teachings to follow, and which way to go about finding the answers to these fundamental questions: "Who am I?"  "Why are we here?"  "Is there a God?"  "What is the Purpose?"  I am not a guru, and yet I am in many ways a teacher.  We are all teachers.  I can only speak from my own experience and can not profess to know THE way.  Perhaps all ways are valid.  However, I can tell you, that what you seek is right inside of you.  It is HERE and NOW.  Go inside of yourself to seek the truth of Reality.  And the Reality is, life is what you make it.  The powers of all creation lie within yourself.  The entire universe lies within your fingertips, and you are made of the same stuff as the Stars, the Earth, and the Space in between.  The inner Self is the ultimate guide.  You don't "have" the knowledge. You Are the Knowledge. All is One.

Regardless of whether you subscribe to an organized religion, meditation or other spiritual practice, it is helpful to find ways to come back to the HERE and NOW, where the soul resides and the magic happens.  Any way that gets you HERE is the Way for you.  All you have to Realize is you ARE ALREADY HERE, there is nothing to "attain," nowhere to get to. NowHere to get to.   This world is pathological.  The consciousness of Humanity is dis-eased, anxiety ridden, and out of harmony with Reality.  We have divided up "time" and "space" into this month, this hour, this fiscal quarter.  We consume stimulants to keep up with our fast cars, busy jobs, and facebook and newsweek and cable TV.  A busy mind is the result.  A distracted mind takes us away from Here and Now.

I recommend finding any practice that helps you remember that life is beautiful, that this moment is sacred, that this life is a GIFT, in all of it's happiness and sadness and beauty and ugliness.  And perhaps there is nothing to truly be afraid of.  We are in Transit, from one plane to the next.  Associate with people who uplift your spirits and nourish your soul.  Become the guru, and realize that EVERYONE has SOMETHING to teach.  Spend time in nature, and have gratitude for this experience, because it will all pass.  IT WILL ALL PASS.

I am truly grateful for all I have been given to experience in this lifetime.  Even the hard moments, even my sorrows, heartbreaks, moments of truth and divine realization.  It's time we all take a good hard look at ourselves in the mirror and accept who we are Here and Now.  From accepting the Present Moment, we can create any Reality we choose, moment by moment.  In doing so, we will create a better world for everyone and everything.

The Dalai Lama says:

“The planet does not need more ‘successful’ people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds. It needs people to live well in their places. It needs people with moral courage willing to join the struggle to make the world habitable and humane and these qualities have little to do with ‘success’ as our culture is the set."

Love, Light and Blessings!  YOU are the GURU!

-Matthew G. Eklund

Rainbow Cloud Kombucha