Article written by Craig Williams
“As anyone can probably tell you who has engaged in a brawl while sober, there is a distinct feeling that happens before the first punches are thrown. It is somewhere between fear, anticipation, excitement, joy and panic; a potent mixture of all of these, as the adrenaline kicks in and the body prepares itself to flee or fight, tuck tail or knuckle up. What a man does while that feeling has a hold on him will tell you a lot about him as a person.”
Paul Waggener
One of the most common traits of modern times is the obsession with virtual “reality.” It’s not uncommon to see individuals grouped together ignoring one another gazing into their phones or laptops in a somnambulistic state blindly ignoring their surroundings, or one can even see individuals walking or driving while gazing into their phones in literal technological possession. What is it about the modern mind-set which seems obsessed with worshipping the techno-god and ignoring vital human interaction? Human are literally willing to risk losing their lives as well as take the lives of others in order to gaze into a screen of virtual “reality.” Is it any wonder that the harsh often brutal truths of life are feared, hidden or ignored?
“Yes this is really happening…….”
I remember being about 16 and the group of older guys walking toward me and my friends laughing looking for a fight. My stomach was in knots and my mouth dry as I knew my friends were more scared than I was, and more importantly unable to assist in any way with any realistic level of self-defense. The small one approached me first, “Is this the one who knows karate?”, he smirked. At this point he stuck his finger in my face and told me he was going to……before he finished the sentence, I still remember the feel of my hand hitting his jaw, the feel of a bone cracking, flesh giving way rather easily, and the sight of his body slumping to the ground. Once I saw this and the fear in the eyes of his older friends, I could breathe again and I was no longer frightened……..
We often hear today of safe-spaces and trigger warnings, both modern attempts to deconstruct and dismantle the fear of uncertainty, failed attempts to make life predictable and sterilized. Scenes of death and war are banned and scrubbed from the media transmissions, images of bodies falling from towers conveniently forgotten, too disturbing to fit the planned manipulative narrative. The modern mind seeks solace in these empty spaces to avoid challenges which force growth and maturity; the modern man sees no need to learn how to fight as violence is low class and for the uneducated, exercise easily accomplished via a video game safe inside one’s house.
“Yes this is really happening…..”
I remember riding in the car on the barren plains of Tibet. The Sherpas driving were hung over from long night of drinking, the extremely high altitude made concentration tiresome and exhausting, the eyes gazed off into miles of nothingness on all sides. The roads were unpaved and unsafe, the Chinese government allowing an influx of people along these routes to visit the sacred Mount Kailas, terrestrial home of Shiva, the God of death and destruction. I was sitting in the front passenger seat watching the speedometer hit 75 MPH wondering if the driver was aware of this and wondering how long this part of the journey would last. I asked my teacher who was sitting in the backseat to pass me my messenger bag as I wanted to read a prayer book. “I will grab the book for you, which one is it?” he said. I didn’t want him to have to dig around looking for the book so I asked him to just pass the bag to me and I will dig it out. He passed the large messenger bag up front and I placed the bag in my lap and looked at the driver laughing at me, then I gazed off to the road ahead and noticed that a car was headed straight towards us. The next memory is grabbing the messenger bag and pulling it in front of my face as I crashed through the windshield, the sound of metal tearing and crashing, glass breaking and the odd simple sensation of bouncing right back into my seat unscathed. I look over and saw the driver’s face ripped open and mangled, head dangling bleeding. I had not a scratch on my entire body…….
Every day we are given a choice of potential opportunity, a chance to experience reality with our own eyes, engage with others we love or respect with words and handshakes, feel the pain of physical training and the satisfaction of molding the flesh and mind into a stronger reflection of our Souls. This can occur when we immerse ourselves in reality not when we escape into a world of “virtual” reality. How many of the stories we see on our televisions or cell phones truly affect the outcome of our daily lives? How many of these vampiric transmissions nourish and sustain us? The sobering answer is few to none.
“Yes this is really happening…..”
I remember coming home from a long journey in India and Tibet. My group was stuck on the border of Tibet and Nepal due to issues with Chinese security and terrorist concerns and we were forced to find questionable lodging for the night and cross the border into Nepal the following morning. The night was rainy and ominous, with young Chinese military omnipresent, 15 year old youths holding machine guns wearing uniforms which would fit when they were 25. We secured lodging and settled for the night. I remember waking up the next morning and looking for the bathroom. Entering the bathroom, the smell burned my nose, the floor was covered in shit and piss and the water was turned off. Turning around to return to my room I encountered a man standing in the doorway, holding a knife and asking me for my passport. I then remember my hand contacting the soft flesh of his nose and the pain of a chipped tooth slicing my knuckle wide open, and watching the man fall onto the piss covered floor holding his face………
The often brutal experiences of life are unpredictable. As unpredictable as the beautiful inspiring moments. The modern mind seeks to manipulate this as if time was a computer program, giving the viewer of “reality” the power to create an environment of false security and safety. This “reality” holds no Soul power, offers us nothing and weakens the viewer pushing him further and further away from the path of true glory, true individual manifestation. Yes, life is happening all around you. Every moment, every day you gaze into the world of the techno-god you lose this rare chance for growth and transformation. Yes it will be painful. Yes it will hurt. Be thankful for this. Revel in this. Turn away from the illusions of “virtual reality” and embrace the life that lies before you in all of its pain, suffering and joy. Yes, this is really happening…..are you ready?
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