At the 3-minute mark in Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma”, the narrator asks each of the guests, “What is the problem?” One by one, they are silent, speechless—as if looking for one word to describe the problem. There is a word to describe the real problem of social media. The word is “ego”.

The world is in the grip of ego. People use social media not to tell their truths or present an honest image; rather, to craft and project a false image. They use the tool not to strengthen bonds; rather, to be right or better than others. Furthermore, people become addicted to social media as an escape from lives of separation and loneliness.

When I was young, everyone was talking about the terrible effects of TV. We only had a few channels, with only a few shows that everybody watched. In different cultures around the world, TV shows determined what we talked about and defined the “normal” that we all tried to conform to at work and school. Yes, we were addicted, we were advertised to, and we fell for it. Isn’t social media only a continuation of this problem?

If anything, social media is less of a problem than the TV, newspaper, and radio. At least here we can express ourselves—reaching people with our art and ideas. Here we can form genuine relationships, reconnect with long lost friends and family, and efficiently stay updated on each other’s lives. If used wisely, the side-effects are minimal and there is no problem. The problem is that the ego is never wise.

Absent of ego, we approach social media with an open heart and mind. We share our truths unfiltered—showing real pictures and videos in the flow of life. We are perfectly open and honest about who we are. We come with the intention to love everyone, apologizing when we fail. The ego cannot do any of this, of course, and this is the problem. The problem is not the media; it is within.

Mainstream culture has gone completely insane. A normal flu is exposing the full extent of the insanity—and a large part of the problem is the 24/7, always-on social media that redistributes and dissects all the fear and thought-control coming from the centralized media and governments. But without ego, we remain absent of fear.

Without ego, the ads don’t persuade you and the algorithms can’t figure you out or trick you. Without ego, you are in control of your social media experience. You know that all authority flows from within and all wisdom and power flows from perfect love. But cling to ego and remain lost in fear, confusion, conflict, and isolation.

We can say the problem is social media; but no social media can be designed so well that it would save us from the problem of ego. Until the ego loses its grip, social media will amplify the problem and we can be glad that it does.

Only as a problem becomes increasingly obvious and unbearable are we inspired to fix it. The fix is the Consciousness Revolution, which will arise when the majority do what the few already have—transcend a meaningless life of suffering by destroying the ego.

You wake up in the middle of the night and want nothing more than to go back to sleep. Then the thoughts come. What am I going to do about that? How will I get through this? Money!

Now your heart is pounding like it is all happening now. You feel too tired to get up but can’t sleep. You replay arguments, sort through relationship issues, and worry.

Will I go back to sleep at all tonight at all? Urgh, I’m gonna be so tired tomorrow! Did I just use the word “urgh”? How is that spelled? I’m never going to sleep and I can’t just lay here all night!

On rare occasions, there is a good reason to think through something in the middle of the night when the world is still. Sometimes, a certain kind of clarity emerges that reveals an answer you have been searching for. Most of the time, however, the train of thought is pointless, worried, and circular. You stress the body, lose sleep, and if this becomes a pattern then you end up very tired and even ill. What can be done to stop this cycle?

The best way to fix this is to meditate once or twice per day—in the morning, after lunch, or any time you feel tired. Meditation trains you to not follow a train of thought. It takes practice, but once you get it then you also have to power to let go of a train of thought at night so that you can relax and drift back to sleep.

If you don’t already have a meditation practice, I recommend guided meditation. My favorite is called Meditation Oasis by Mary Maddux. Follow the podcast link on her website, try some different meditations, and just follow along as her sweet voice soothes you for 15 minutes or so. It seems kind of funny at first, but you’ll get used to it. At the end of the meditation, you stretch and go on with your day calm and rejuvenated. I always look forward to my daily meditations because it feels so good and fixes me.

Do this every day for a few weeks and you will notice a difference in your ability to go back to sleep at night. Also, you will probably not get sick anymore and will be far less grumpy and emotional during the day. These short meditations work better than a nap and you also get the benefit of learning to observe thoughts and let them go when desired.

The mind can come up with a thousand reasons not to love. Each of these reasons is backed by a strange belief that there is something more desirable than love to be gained. There isn't.

Listen to the studio version of this original song on the album Victory in a Landlocked Sea by Abscondo.

To forgive is to see something wrong as only a mistake. If an error has been made, even if it is not fixed and there is no apology at all, forgiveness is always the sane and correct response. This doesn't mean you have to go along with a person or situation that you are not inspired to go along with, but the "sin" is not an offense against you to be taken personally.

So what exactly is sin? Sin is where love is not. Anything done in perfect love cannot be an error because love is perfectly honest, open, sensitive, eternally loyal, understanding, giving, and accepting. Within the thought system of love, it is impossible to sin. Sin is only possible when you forget about love as your core value and faith; when you follow the external world's insane lessons instead.

Because so few people have learned unconditional love, the world is filled with sin. The world teaches us that to easily forgive is to let someone off the hook and condone a sinful behavior. But what is the alternative to forgiveness? Non-forgiveness? Non-forgiveness means condemning a person, punishing, attacking in some way, or withdrawing love. Does it make sense to punish someone who is acting without love by withdrawing love?

When there is a genuine willingness, it is entirely possible to correct error. But correction cannot happen if there is attack or punishment because non-forgiveness insanely teaches that the real problem (withdrawal of love) is the solution. If there is non-forgiveness, the problem cannot be solved because the conditions of lovelessness are perpetuated and the ground remains fertile for terrible, disgusting behavior.

This isn't about holding someone guilty, labeling a person as bad, and then speaking the language of forgiveness when it isn't in your heart. If there is any chance of correcting the error of sin, we need to learn to see past the error not as who a person is; rather, a simple, correctable error a person has made. Anything less than total forgiveness is an attempt to make error so real that it is an identity. How can a person change when you have made their error their identity?

By the way, learning the art of forgiveness means starting with yourself. If there is anything you feel guilty of or ashamed of, if there is anything you have not forgiven yourself for, you can now give yourself permission to do so. You can love yourself unconditionally, creating the space in your heart to easily make things right, tell the truth, and to walk the bravest and truest path of all: love.

It is impossible to commit a violent act and not harm yourself terribly. There is a price that must be paid for every protester-turned-rioter who smashes a window, loots a store, sets a car on fire or worse. That person will wake up the next morning and look in the mirror. Each of these people must live with what they have done and who they have become.

Imagine how you would feel if last night you looted a store, smashed a police car, or set a building on fire. I can’t even imagine living with this. If this is what you are going through, or if you are considering joining this movement, I want to speak to you directly.

You have been told that this destructive behavior is justified by the racism or violence of others. Those who have convinced you of this are not your friends. They knew beforehand the emotional and psychological impacts of what they have incited you to do. They have taken a sick pleasure in watching you destroying the property of your brothers and sisters, ruining the neighborhoods you grew up in, and inflicting great psychological and emotional harm on yourself.

Those who encourage such behavior or look the other way—the corporate media, the Democrats, the corporate funders of BLM, the sports commissioners condoning your movement—these people who pretend to be on your side have always been your enemies. Did you think that this magically changed?

They have incited you to toss out all the progress that has been made in the struggle for civil rights and equality, and you have foolishly accepted the bait. I know, it felt justified and sounded exciting to riot and loot; but in this ultimate act of ignorance, you are responsible for unleashing hell.

Every act of violence is harmful in every sense. Just like soldiers after a war, you will suffer from a sort of PTSD. You will turn to substances, will resort to violence as a response to every challenge, and will no longer be able to function in society as you fall deeply into poverty.

Those who are inciting or allowing violence through the Black Lives Matter movement are taking advantage of your human decency, your genuine aspiration for fairness, equality, and justice, and they are make fools of you as they stand by watching you destroy yourselves and your communities.

You have no true leaders because nobody is telling you the truth—that violence is no solution and offers no possibility of victory. That sickness in your stomach the morning after the riot, you and your entire community will have to live with that until you acknowledge life’s reality and make a fundamental correction.

There is a way out from this hell you have been bated into. The way out is true forgiveness—the full recognition of error and a letting it go. If you have committed any act of violence, there is a way to forgive yourself—though it is not going to be easy. You can find the love within and rediscover yourself as the good person you know you are. Eventually, you can forgive all those who have resorted to violence as a solution to anything (even the police, who are suffering in the same way as you).

Let go of violence and destruction. It offers only hell. The only way forward is through the thought system of love. This situation may feel hopeless right now—and it certainly is hopeless within the thought system of violence—but if you can openly recognize the fundamental error of violence, we will forgive you and we can all heal.

I fell in love with basketball in the 7^th grade. Nobody forced me into it, this was my decision. From that point on, I spent 2-3 hours a day practicing every single day until I was the best around. Sure, I had huge dreams and ambitions that were ultimately never quite fulfilled. But who cares? I was just having so much fun all the while. Basketball was mine and it was magic.

Beauty is what we are all capable of when we follow our inspirations and do what excites us. Of course, we all need money and we all need to do some work. But when we understand that work has a higher purpose, when we understand why we are doing it, we can approach even the most grueling work as a free person choosing our own path. No matter how the day is going, we can adopt a positive attitude and walk the higher path.

Outside of work, let’s give ourselves permission to do only what we find exciting and inspiring. We can extend that same freedom and encouragement to our children and loved ones. I want to inspire my children to choose their own sports or art forms. I can support their growth and development in a positive way so that there is never any pressure.

When my children go out into the world—when dealing with teachers at school, coaches, friends, bullies—my job as a parent is to let them know that I am on their side. I will never side with the teacher or coach. That’s their relationship. My job is to love them unconditionally at home and create a relationship we can all enjoy. If I succeed in this mission, if they feel my love and know that love is real in the world, they will have the power and confidence to navigate their own situations and relationships. They can handle it, and I need not interfere.

The world tries to beat us up and the path through life can sometimes seem grueling. But we are always free. We can follow our inspiration. We can approach work and school with a positive attitude; with an understanding of the reasons we are doing it, keeping that higher purpose front and center even as we also know that, in eternity, none of this really means anything.

To atone (at-one) is to be at one, or in union. The word describes a state in which you no longer perceive yourself as separate from other people, from God, or from the universe.

Christians normally use the word to mean something like “confess your sins, humble yourself, come to church and acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.” But this is not the real meaning of the word. This version is not even atonement because, to start with, a person using the word in this way is suggesting that we ought not to be at one with other faiths.  

The real meaning of the word points to real salvation. A person living in a state of atonement is honest about everything all the time and is no longer split into pieces. Here there is no perception of duality, no good versus evil, everything is one and is part of the greater good pervading everything.

Atonement is a state of being that is beyond thought and aligned with perfect love. Here there is no sin because sin is only the error of thinking and doing without love. 

To live in the state of atonement is to experience joy and peace as normal and ongoing. It is to respond to inspiration within, to live in such a way that you are wide open to people. You can easily experience whatever is happening externally because none of it has the power to shake you or bring you down.

To atone for your sins means to end the errors of ego and live at one, in truth. This is salvation, escape from ego, awakening to consciousness, or spiritual awakening—a state of union, oneness that is beyond all words and concepts.

A spiritually awakened person is someone who has learned not to lose that connection with awareness each moment. Everything happening in any situation, any thoughts of past and future—this is all going on in the background of life. Front and center of your awareness is always the present moment—now.

Noticing everything around you—the sights, sounds, textures, colors—helps you to become more aware of now, but even this isn’t the ultimate reality of now. This is still the background.

Try it now. Look around the room for a few seconds. Can you feel this moment becoming more silent and still? Can you feel that here is all the power? Here exists all of reality, now and eternally.

Most people fail to seize the power of now because they are waiting for some imaginary point in the future. As Eckhart Tolle explains, “it is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.”

The power of the present moment is also denied when we believe we are limited by the past. But the past is not here, and neither is the future. These are only ideas, concepts, and they are never exactly true because our minds cannot grasp the entirety of reality—which only exists here, now.

Some of the present reality is visible to you here, most of it is beyond your physical perception because it spans the entire universe. Always moving, but it is all here as we move and adjust with it…now…the only field where everything is happening, will happen, and ever has happened.

Join everyone in your life here. Stay here as you feel each movement, enjoy each step, notice each feeling inside you. Become aware of your breath and observe each thought. It isn’t your mind doing this. This is the real you—the conscious observer of your mind and your senses, who is inhabiting your body during life in this dimension.

Through a meditation practice and a basic spiritual practice, you can live in such a way that you are never pulled away from the present moment—the dimension where you are easily able to access all power. All the stuff of life will be allowed to happen, but now it is happening around you, for you, as you live in this peaceful stillness, greater comfort, and safety.

Here you are more effective, make better decisions, and get everything done calmly. No matter what you are doing, you never get worked up or pulled away from that natural state of joy. You never become ill and remain vital even into old age because your body is functioning properly. Here you are fully alive and unafraid even of death. Life is better here.

I have not paid attention to American politics since Obama revealed himself as a disappointment early in his presidency. My opinion was that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are going to do anything to benefit the people in any positive way—that their rhetoric is different, but their agendas are essentially the same. Yesterday, I fundamentally changed my mind about this.

We have known for a long time that there exists a probably well-meaning, but misguided global elite who are attempting to manage things. Their current agenda is to fight climate change and to create a more sustainable future for the planet. Each year, they get together at the Bilderberg meetings and in Davos to address the problems with the world and plan our future. Then, they execute on those plans through their direct influence over the world’s governments and our largest corporations (including the media).

On the surface, this seems well and good. The problem is that their agenda largely disregards or overlooks our fundamental human needs. Whether or not they planned the coronavirus pandemic, what is clear is that they have been using the media to seize this opportunity to shut down economies and to force us into quarantines and humiliating face masks. They have caused so much panic that states of emergency have been declared and democracy has been suspended in essentially every democratic country. They have orchestrated a coupe.

Against our free will, they have forcefully instituted a “new normal” in which the rights we have always taken for granted are no longer guaranteed, where fear and panic has become our only guide, and where so many of the things we used to enjoy—concerts, sporting events, going to clubs and restaurants, shopping—have become either illegal or so restrictive that it is simply no fun.

Yes, this flu is real—like so many other bad flues have been through the years—but what they are doing, from a political standpoint, is so insane that nobody wants this new normal being rolled out by a ruling elite who seem to have lost their humanity. After so many years of sacrifice, they are no longer like us. They have lost touch with what it means to be free, honest, and alive. They seem to have lost their souls.

I do believe they mean well. They really do think they are going to save the planet. But this is not the way. They are being terribly dishonest. If this truly is all about creating a sustainable future, then why not use the media to be honest about it? Talk to us. Respect us, our intelligence, our wants, and needs. If you are you right, then win our hearts and minds with your vision. Instead, you are attempting to manipulate us with fear and disinformation to achieve your objectives. You are wrong. Reality is such that this cannot and will not work.

There is only one man in the world, at this very moment, that has the power to derail their plans. He is President Trump and he seems to be in top form. More importantly, he is inspiring Americans—and he is doing it the old-fashioned way. He is rallying us to believe in the idea of America again!  

The idea of America has always been freedom—freedom from the global ruling elite. The American idea of democracy was that the people had a voice—that the Catholic Church does not possess God and that we should practice our faith in freedom—that people have a right to bear arms to protect their freedom—that freedom of speech and the right to assemble are fundamental human rights. Call me old-fashioned, but this is what I grew up believing in and I still do believe.

These entirely American ideals are not perfect, but this is the best any country in the world has done so far. Growing up, I always saw the American flag as a symbol of hope. It represented the very idea of liberty and freedom put into practice. This all changed with 9-11 and the Bush presidency. Since then—with the endless wars, lies, and massive corruption—I have come to see the American flag as a symbol of oppression and terror. The Obama administration attempted to sugar-coat the problem, but the underlying reality was just an extension of the previous administration. So many years of escalating war and violence, diminishment of the middle class, more surveillance, out of control healthcare and education costs. America has been going in the wrong direction for a very long time.

And yet, right now, I believe President Trump is changing the course of history. Forget the endless lies in the media and all the projection and hatred coming at him from all the suffering, angry people in the world. When you listen to the man speak his truth without a teleprompter—when you consider the fact that he has started no new wars and he stands behind his words—it becomes clear that this man lives and breathes the very idea of America. He is the antithesis to what the global elite are trying to do. He is fighting for his life, on our behalf, against their coup. The man is a hero.

Yes, I detest empty nationalism and I despise the use of national pride to cover up underlying corruption and injustice. However, I don’t see anything wrong with a good, old-fashioned campaign to bring Americans together, in truth, to stand for all that which is good and decent in the world.

Yes, I am concerned about the economic and environmental sustainability of the path we have been on. We do need to change course. But totalitarian governments, lies, and fear mongering is not the way. We can respond to our challenges in truth and love.

I am also concerned with bigotry, hatred, and intolerance in the world—but I do not believe that this is what Trump is promoting. Trump is only trying to help us remember how to laugh at ourselves once again, to stop taking everything so damn seriously, to wake up and stand for something once again, to create a world in which we can be free and where our lives are worth living.

The American flag can, once again, become a symbol of good. The American people and government can once again remember who we are. We can live up to our ideals. The world can be led out of this darkness and depression.