Einstein famously dug it up. Energy is matter moving really fast, matter is energy moving really slow. E=MC2.

Nothing, including you and me, is either this or that. Everything just is. 

A true study of any relativity will always guide you to this and to the present moment, where there are no relativities (separations).

The subject has been been covered a bit here, here, and here.

Perhaps the ultimate relativity to observe is the one existing between you and other.

Between subject and object. Between observer and observed.

Typically one is seen as existing totally separate from the other.

Entire societies are based off this misunderstanding. Wars have been waged. Poverty allowed.

If every thing is everything, then we know you are in other and other is in you.

Consider your most precious possessions, things dear to your heart that you would grab in the event of a fire.

Can you not see some aspect of yourself embodied in the object? And some aspect of the object embodied in you?

That can be an entry point to the understanding.

It carries through to everything else.

To you and every human being.

Every creation in nature.

Even every inanimate object.

Just as we can find the past in the future and future in the past, good in evil and evil in good, we find the subject in the object and the object in the subject—every time.

This understanding dismisses the illusion of separation.

Which puts the human ego in the crosshairs (the very reason the ego defends its position of individuality, even with a gun).

It's both.

You are you and you are also the other.

What happens when you're happy, others will be happy around you—and vice versa.

Ever notice how laughter is contagious?

How a mother knows what her child wants, the split second the child does?

The understanding should result in love.

In compassion.

If you are me and I am you, then we are one.

Your welfare is my welfare.

But we already know that.

Then the question is: why don't we practice it?

Why continue to pretend?

To solve poverty. Fix government. Save the environment. Better the economy. Etc.

It is a noble intention.

Typically what is not understood (and rightly so) is that so many of these problems are deliberately manufactured. Manufactured in the sense that those who are behind them, actually want them in place. They serve a purpose.

It's so hard to believe that it's easy to dismiss as being the truth.

If you take a look at the coordination of world affairs, you can't help but stand in awe at the sheer genius of it. The brilliance.

Do you think world leaders are so incompetent that they can't solve basic problems, such as making sure food is available for free to every human being going hungry?

That's not an option.

The truth is: they don't want to.

We have to start accepting this, especially if we are interested in change because the understanding alters our approach to it dramatically.

If I'm a world leader, I want you believing in change within my systems because that keeps you from really working at the problem at hand (my intentions and plans).

You'll waste your time and effort and life trying to create a change that will never happen. I'll let you make a little progress here and there to hide my intentions and inspire future generations to follow your path and finished your unfinished work.

But I will never let you solve the problem.

I don't want you to. I won't let you.

This is the attitude that you don't realize is there.

Just take a look at what happens to people who step up and create real movements of social change—they get killed or imprisoned and have throughout the centuries.

What every person interested in change needs to understand is this.

There is no hope in change.

There is only hope in letting go of every...single...system in place. Every one.

Banding together.

And creating new systems.

The thing is, this thought is too scary for most, the thought of cutting dependence.

But it is the only way.

"The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Silence is a destination within, an oasis, a refreshing well.

Like buried treasure, it is hard to find for most—impossible for others. Once found though, it becomes easier to locate again.

When you do reach there, you become immediately aware of the split inside.

On the one side, you can perceive and feel a deep stillness, a calm, an expansive nothingness.

On the other, the thoughts, the analyzing, the thinking.

As soon as you think about a thought—even just one, ‘Oh! I have to pay that bill, it’s late’—you have moved into doing and personal effort.

You have broken the silence, left the parking lot and are now back on the me and my highway

For those in a later stage, it will feel unpleasant to do so. As if you have split off from the flow and set out to sail on your own.

This silent place inside is the ultimate destination and the practice is to abide in it. It takes some will power at first and, of course, a choice.

You have to know better than not to leave it.

Man (emphasis on man) continues to kill man in the name of peace.

The environment continues to be destroyed in the name of development.

The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer in the name of that's just the way it is.

Unfortunately, it's not going to be the best year of prosperity, happiness and peace that everybody wished for just a few weeks ago. The turn of an arbitrary page on what is mostly a meaningless calendar, can have no such effect. 

What is different is the intensity by which human consciousness is moving, evolving, churning.

There is a change that you can feel on the inside.

It's as if very fundamental areas where we are stuck, where there are tangled knots, are being untangled by some invisible yet very direct force.

It's painful, as any true process of change is. Imagine being in a deep sleep, then all of a sudden being woken up at 2am by somebody storming in and turning on all the lights.

That degree of change, that degree of pain is going to vary for everybody.

For those that have been doing their homework for the past many years, the changes might actually be pleasant despite their unpleasantness. You will have not only have the know how but the actual self care ability to work with them constructively.

For those that have been grossly engaged in the material nature of the world's artifical society, the changes will be more violent. Crazy making and potentially destructive

This intensity, this velocity is to embraced first and foremost. We are seeing the actual carrying out of the following.

"But there is nothing carefully concealed that will not be revealed, and secret that will not become known. Wherefore what things you say in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you whisper in private rooms will be preached from the housetops." — Luke 12: 2, 3

It is a change being sponsored and carried out by Mother Nature herself and as such, is in the most sublime state of perfection and harmony that can be conceived of.

There is nothing to fear.

What is critical to remember is that no man or woman will be given more than he or she can handle at any given time.

As the doses go up and up—as they will—and it feels like too much, you can handle it.

And you will be given a break when you need it, the change will back off.

Nature knows you and your limits.

Don't fight the power.

Trust the power.

The state of the world.

What's important to remember in such times is that you are in a precious moment.

This, of course, is always true and always the case.

The moment you feel hopeless, know you are a step away from a potential breakthrough, a potential realization.

That you are not in control.

That your limited mind cannot see through to all ends.

It's time to let go and relax into the moment.

You have a great excuse to do so if things are really hopeless, no?

What you find in this letting go and relaxation into the moment, is that the information you need will be there. You're unable to hear it now because you're too active doing. Too active trying to find a solution. Using personal effort and will power.

It's the kind of information that might lead to some kind of solution.

More importantly, it's the kind of information that lets you know all is well, despite being in what you may think is a hopeless situation.

In Shotokan karate, Brown Belt 3rd stripe precedes Black Belt 1st degree.

You can spend a lot of time at Brown Belt 3rd stripe—years—learning and perfecting the katas required to pass the test to become a Black Belt.

Interestingly, the technical skill level between a Brown Belt 3rd stripe and a Black Belt is not radically different.

If either had to defend themselves, they would do quite a job.

What can be radically different is the difference in character between the two ranks.

It’s why you can spend so much time waiting for Sensei to give you the opportunity to test for Black Belt.

He’s waiting for your character to mature.

Becoming a Black Belt is much more than just your technical aptitude.

It’s mostly about how you will wield your skill and for what purpose.

How well you represent the sacred tradition and all those who came before you.

Really, the Sensei is waiting for your ego to dwindle, almost to the point where there is total indifference to earning the ultimate title.

Photo: Takahashi Sensei, Black Belt 8th degree, highest attainable rank. This was the author's Sensei, the author who made it to Brown Belt 1st stripe way back when. :)

Both entail a kind of retreating from the external world, from people, places, and things.

A going within.

Solitude is a required medium for personal transformation (as is silence).

Think about the cocoon phase of the butterfly. The fragile state the becoming butterfly is in. The necessity for solitude.

It’s the same with us.

Unfortunately though, a social stigma has formed around the practice that can cause pressure to avoid it.

Do not yield to this pressure. 

There are judgments that crop up around the all alone one.

What a loner.

He has no friends.

There’s something wrong with her.

We become afraid of that person. He or she challenges the sitcom happiness of the world.

That person has become a visible reminder of our inherent aloneness, that something internal is going on far more important than the world around and our ties to it.

The overwhelming majority ignore this area. Busying themselves with friends, events, dreams, likes, dislikes and so on.

Yet, we’re all the same.

And, we all know the truth.

One day, we must face our Selves, especially our suffering, and our aloneness.

The question is: why waste time in distraction?

Every path leads to the Self.

Every distraction, external conquest and achievement leads to the Self, as indulging in them is bittersweet—temporary and something feels lacking.

Eventually you stop.

Eventually you have to face it.

Why not now?

A single thought.

Will I be OK?

How is this going to end?

What if...?

What happens next?

Perhaps he was so firm because of what the thoughts entail.

I am in control of my life.

They declare doership.

I am the doer of my life.

They are a disacknowledgment of your connection to Nature.

And an acknowledgment of your separation, your independence.

As opposed to your interdependence.

As soon as the untrained mind experiences something unfamiliar or unknown, worry kicks in.

It's actually a protection mechanism, it's trying to help you out.

A protection against a perceived (only), potential (only) negative outcome.

How many times have you worried about something only to find out that it never happened in reality?

It's similar to a seat-belted passenger thinking they can fly the plane better during turbulence and actually attempting to storm the cockpit to do so!

We all worry, it's a naturally unnatural thing to do.

What becomes our practice when we do start plotting future action in our mind to try and avoid an undesirable outcome is.

To stop.

Literally heel the puppy.

Acknowledge the fact you are worrying.

Become aware of your inner body, either through your breathing or through sensing your arms and legs.

(You'll find your body never worries because it is deeply connected to the now.)

Doing so will require a certain degree of will power, as well as a choice.

And notice there is a lot more happening than your worry.

You are breathing.

You are alive.

You are not in immediate danger.

There are probably caring people around you that can help.

Then remember this timeless truth Rumi beautifully articulated, "Every need brings in what's needed. Pain bears its cure like a child."

To accept this requires an understanding that in your aloneness, you are really not alone.

Nature, the intelligence that holds planets in orbit and entire ecosystems in harmony, knows who you are and like a mother, knows what you need as soon as you do.

And sends it to you.

After some time and as some peace returns, you return.

Now is a great time to reach for one of your favorite books from one of your favorite teachers.

Read a little.

Just a little bit.

That’s all you need and probably exactly what you need to read to inch a little further along.

Just how pure air and pure water are seen as extraordinary—special.

That's not a totally positive testament to the state of our human affairs.

Our air is naturally pure.

As is our water.

To think of anything else being the case would be cause for serious alarm.

Similarly, we are naturally compassionate, naturally helping towards one another.

In a close-knit community or tribe, a few members coming together to aid a sick member, who can't prepare meals for the day, would not be seen as anything extraordinary but obvious.

What would be extraordinary is if nobody helped the sick one. That would indicate a sickness in the tribe.

That's precisely what's happening these days.

The problem, thank goodness, is not human nature.

The problem (and opportunity) is the container. The structures, societies, and governing philosophies that human nature finds itself in.

Energy is wasted attempting to alter those—they don't want to change, that should be clear by now.

Energy, however, is well spent creating new with those that want to.

And that is a growing number of people.