RIDE: RULES FOR THE JOURNEY TO THE DESTINATION

"R.I.D.E." IS TODAY'S acRONYM for  RespondING  initiatING  doING  &  enjoyING. 

Does anyone recall their first time riding on a roller coaster?  How many of us kept our eyes open during the first big drop?  It is quite natural to close our eyes or turn our heads when experiencing something visually challenging. This sensation is tied to fear.  We experience much of our lives through our five sensory faculties.  Whenever any of our senses are not engaged we diminish the effects of that event. All of our senses are interactive and somewhat interdependent. Our sense of taste and smell are intricately connected. Try eating with a head cold and see how the food tastes. The connection between hearing and seeing is just as interesting.  We tend to locate a sound with our ears and then seemingly focus on it with our eyes. Our auditory and visual relationship extends into our overall perception of the world we live in. Our perceptual system has a democratic aspect to it. For every stimulus "each sense" adds its "two cents" into a combined "pot." A decision is then made from the consensuses of all the inputs. This is unlike the blind men individually touching various parts of an elephant and making separate deductions; comparing it to a wall, a snake or a tree. It's more like each of our senses gets to vote on determining (electing) what all the senses are encountering. This is the way the r.i.d.e. works. There is a spiritually connected aspect to this as well but we will focus mainly on the comorbidity of the intellectual and psychological aspects in this post.

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​All senses affect one another in some way. This is believed to be mediated by the working memory. It is assumed that there is a subtype of sensory memory for each of the five major senses (touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell). The sensory memory for visual stimuli is called iconic, for aural stimuli it is called echoic, and for touch, haptic.  The sense of Smell may be even more intimately connected due to the location where smell is processed. The advantage of having this type of memory system allows for adjustments from ambiguity. When information from one sense is confusing, another sense can step in and clarify or ratify the perception. Most of us understand that smell affects taste and similarly sound affects vision. Simply consider the connections between the auditory, echoic and visual portions of our brain. Then think of the possibilities of erroneous conclusions if this system is compromised.  There is far more going on between our sensory and intellectual faculties.  Understanding this will assist us on the r.i.d.e. All Feelings have a meaning. Understanding the meanings of our feelings whether they originate from physical pain, emotional trauma, intuitive senses or spiritual perception is paramount in best utilizing our gift of feelings.

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Our r.i.d.e. (journey) through life is composed of voices and choices.  We are subjected to experiences that influence both our thinking and behavior.  Our "relationship with" or "response to" events shape us. This is the way the r.i.d.e. works. The meaning of circumstances is where we practice exercising our senses. If we fail to use all the senses available to us we deprive ourselves of the full benefit, lesson or message within that circumstance. Imagine keeping your eyes closed, after climbing a mountain peak, and missing the breathtaking view, due to a fear of heights.  Believe it or not many of us are traveling through life exactly like that. Many of us have developed a distorted interpretation of our own feelings. Misinterpreting the meaning of our feelings generally comes from the failure to realize that our feelings "have feelings" and that our mind(s) are not exclusively located in the head where the brain is. Most parts of our body have a mind of their own. To get the full effect out of what life has to offer us we must learn how to respond to what life has already given us. Re-spond-ing to life is like participating in a game of basketball. One of the core principles governing our r.i.d.e. is the fact that we do not play alone, life is a team sport but it is not a competition. The number of points that we score is not as important, as the effort we take to continue scoring. It's not about winning, it's about participating at the highest level we are capable of. Competition is not why we participate. Responding is how we connect ourselves into life's harmony.

Responding is how we answer life. We are responsible to know the rules of the road we r.i.d.e. on. Whether we know them or not they are at work. It is how we embrace the rules and apply the laws of traveling that determines the ease or difficulty of our journey. These principles may not follow ordinary logic or typical reasoning as they are spiritual in nature but tangible in manifestation. When we exercise our senses in synchronization with life we elicit harmony. When we exercise our senses contentiously we spawn competitive divisions. Our senses develop in light of what we determine to follow as true or false. When we embrace and believe lies we expose our senses to delusional logic. When we seek and desire truth our senses orient themselves towards finding and practicing it. We then become more sensitive to the mondegreens created by both ourselves and society. Mishearing misinterpreting and misunderstanding is no excuse for missing out! The main factor to consider is that we eventually become a part of what we believe and practice whether it is accurate or not. When we are taught wrong we SEE wrong. We learn wrong as right, false as correct and down as up that's how we "legitimately" SEE it . Once thought is constructed, our interactions function around those teachings and beliefs, we SEE all of our responses through the lenses of that construct. Our learned responses are a by-product of how we see the world! 

Initiating is the opposite of just responding to stimuli. We are, or can become, the stimulus when we choose to initiate effects by adding our energy or effort to life. Right next to enjoying the creature comforts and creations that are available to us is the ability to customize and create our own. Initiating is the start up, formation and creation of something tangible from anything (thought energy) intangible. It's not about creating something from nothing. We are simply converting one form of (energy) matter into another; just as initiating "heat" converts water's form from a solid ice, to a liquid drink or gaseous steam.  As we initiate responses (in reality every response is an initiation and every initiation a response) we in effect take control of and alter the destiny of ourselves and everything else we are in contact with. Many actions and activities are started (initiated) by one party and followed up (continued) by another. Many discoveries and inventions share this characteristic. The next part of the r.i.d.e. is working with whatever we create. When an idea takes form its even more exciting to see it working and work it. What we do with what we make is a part of "how" we are!

Doing is the way we "practice" participating in life. What we do is essentially the expression of "what" we are. The old saying that talk is cheap only applies when action does not follow words. There is a price to be paid for every expression of energy. The cost of a thought is paid for with and by an idea. The cost of an idea is paid for by a plan. The cost of a plan is paid for by performing it (doing).  What we do and how we practice any craft along the r.i.d.e. is paid for throughout the journey.  This is called paying dues. "The law of process" works through practice over time where dues are paid through perseverance. We must Recognize that everything we do individually has an effect upon everything else that happens collectively.  The r.i.d.e. takes place on a road shared by everyone and everything. This is where anyone can project their influences while perfecting their craft through practicing.

Enjoying all of the experiences of the r.i.d.e. requires an understanding of the purpose for riding. Different people ride for different reasons but we all must ride one way or another. The key to enjoying the ride is to concentrate on riding without losing focus on the destination. The destination is not a goal but one of many goals along this unlimited journey. The joy is in the journey. The thrill is in the chase. The fun is in the pursuit. Our blueprint for life is formed by the way we perceive life to be. Many of us take ourselves and life itself too seriously. Some of us have our priorities out of order while some others fail to take life seriously at all. The way we feel about things determines how much we enjoy them. We now know how the senses that interpret and convert our experiences into feelings and thought work. It's up to us now to take a fresh look and redefine how we choose to enjoy and "experience" this r.i.d.e.