LukeyoutheUUsing words and language, images and speech, I am trying, on this site and in the LyU podcasts, and in my life, to convey an idea: an essence, a feeling. A knowing. The idea/ knowing is this: that we are all part of one, parts of the same Life. We are expressions of the same Life no matter our beliefs or if we have none; our gender identification or sexual orientation; nationality, ethnic background, age; economic or physical situation; whether we have awareness of ourselves or not, or are the same species or not, we are all part of the same Life. Part of the same being. We may usually or always experience ourselves as individuals; but we are all also, at the same time, part of the whole. Simply and figuratively put: we all breathe. You and I and everyone breathes first in, then out the same air. This is a profound understanding, once one (if one) gets to it. Liberating. It means, finally, that I am not, cannot, truly be alone. Ever. Even if it appears, at times in my life, that I am alone. It is also supportive. It provides structure, a framework, connection. What I think and do, the actions I take, have an impact in the world. They, at least somehow, somewhere, albeit often by an unmeasurably minuscule amount, create a difference. They are, I am, part of the expression of Life. You may already believe/ know this. If you do not, I ask you to consider its possibility: the possibility that Life is in and all around us. And everyone else. Already. Now. You, too. I am talking about our/ your physical existence, yes; and also more. Your life (yes, yours, dear reader) can be experienced as more than merely existing. More than just surviving; more than only functioning. More than making it to another weekend. I am speaking about physically living, yes: and I am also speaking about having Life. About being (which we all already are) and knowing (which we can, if we allow ourselves) our connection with/ to/ in Life. Our individual and species-wide connection with God/ Source/ Universe, with That Which Is, with It, with Life. With, and in, whatever you want to call it. I am talking about becoming/ being consciously aware that we are biological units and we are also, at the same time, more. I am talking about feeling, and knowing we are, ALIVE. more If these thoughts resonate with you, I invite you to consider this, the LukeyoutheU website. To read, listen to, search out the resources that are here. Thank you for looking in. Jake Knight Four ways to investigate LyU Essays Podcasts Books Website Essays list Life is an Invitation 4min essay The quality of your life, in many ways, is up to you. The Most Important Thing 5min essay What is the most important/ better action for you to be taking right now? Podcasts info The Consciousness Shift podcast We are moving to a higher level of consciousness: a metaphysical perspective of life. Conversations with Marc podcast Ongoing discussions with an open-minded Christian about religion, philosophy, and practical matters. Heroes of the Bible and the Quran podcast Many heroes appear in both both holy books: can we, what can we learn from their stories about another faith, and ours? Luke's Perspective, and Ours podcast Luke from the Bible's look at Jesus' words, actions, and meaning, and ours: the Life they can show/ give us today. Straight from a Scientist podcast Scientific discoveries reported by their discoverers; views on the wonders of, and how to improve on, life. Books info Seven Ways to Think and Feel Better look in Like it or not, you are the (or at least a) major player in your life. Consciously choosing how you think, and what you think about, can significantly improve your life experience. Drawn from my time bicycling in and around Palm Springs. Deciding What You Want look in Two Jesus parables, one telling us to suppose that we have a hundred sheep (not that we are sheep but that we have sheep), the other that we are the owner of coins. They go on to say, to imply, that when we go after what we believe is ours, there may be risk but we can find it; and that there is celebrating on earth, and extra joyousness in heaven, when we do. Website Mystery Pages explore explore explore explore Adventures ahead! Try out different pages on this site. You are an investigator, a finder-outer. Good! Why good? Because there is always more. The universe continues to expand, and we are a part of that expansion. We can, if we choose, be a bigger part, a good part, of that increase. In LukeyoutheU, I am asking you to actively become more. To become more of your greater self. Namely, to assemble and make, to find and create, and to imagine and cause to be. The word pairings parallel the time frames in which LyU works: the past, the now, and the future. Assemble and make use of the good that existed in your personal past, and from our collective past. Remember the things you have learned from you own experience; add to your personal knowledge the experience of others that work for and help you. Not only those that help you alone but that help others also. Bring that knowledge forward into your consciousness and practice the good things in it until they become habits. Until they move from habits and what you are doing into who you are. Find and create what is useful and good from that which currently exists in your life. From what is in the world already, right now. Concentrate, focus mostly on those things. Work toward, give mental time and physical energy to them. Do not deny the bad or difficult or wrong; instead, recieve them as gifts and learn from them. Find, but, more importantly, decide, the good even (perhaps especially) in unwanted situations. Do not try to escape the wonder and good of your physical reality on this earth. Take up the responsibility and power you have. Grow into greater responsibility, power, and love to bring more. The good that exists now includes you, your being alive today. You have good within you, and an ability to add to the world. I ask you to use it. See that what exists now is real. Understand that the physical world is very real. It is real and meaningful, the result of the greater mind, including human ones, from days and centuries and millennia and eons past. This mind, this Life, of which we are a part and contributor, got us to where we are right now. Know, at the same time, that all that is physical will pass, eventually or soon, every mountain range of it. The continual process of change does not make it or you or me an illusion or, necessarily, insignificant. It makes it, us, the now. Imagine and cause to be. The now serves as a blasting off point, is the lifting off place for the what-will-be. Seek and find the helpful, useful, and good, actively create, evolve it, and yourself, into the what-will-be. Imagine it and you in your mind. Believe in it, and yourself. Believe in it with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Make it a full-bodied, your fully embodied belief. Start with mental assent, internal agreement; add to it, bring life to it with your actions and work. Understand and use your individual power and ability to shape your world, the world, and bring good. You are being asked, I am asking you, dear reader, to do nothing less than to make more Life. To bring more and better Life into your individual life, and to Life itself; to feel, experience, and know the connection of being in accord with the universe. I photographed all the header photos on this website. None of the images have been altered except the one now way above: its colors were saturated and a painterly effect added.
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