My claim: 
- "pure consciousness" (states of infinity) are of the mind
- "no-mind" (dimensionless states/zero-state) is only possible without the mind.

Psychedelics are fundamentally substances to access the mind. 
Yoga is/are fundamentally technologies to transcend the mind. 

The goal of yoga is not Samadhi, it is permanent "liberation" a state in which all striving becomes unneeded therefore purely conscious.

any and all thoughts are greatly welcomed - the can of worms has been opened!

No Mind Vs. Pure Consciousness

It is time to change the natural social reaction to moments of enchantment; Its time to stop feeling embarrassed and begin EMBRACING that which makes you wonder - that which makes you human and that which makes you alive!

We all have moments of wonder and moments of profound thought and contemplation. If this spark of intelligence is nourished, it could lead to a liberated life. 

Blessings 🙏

- Chase Storm Gielda

Sparking Intelligence

Confusion. It permeates our culture more now than ever. Constant distractions - non-stop video feeds... pictures, marketing, products, items, sales, the list goes on and on and on. How are we supposed to navigate an impossibly large amount of data every day? Our brains were not built for this kind of information “super-wave” ~`0`~ *scream emoji here* :P ...

Who's to blame for our anxiety? For our “lost” look on our face when we are asked, “howya doin’?” How the fuck are we supposed to react? We’re not fine! (at least below the surface we’re not). Why is it okay to just brush it off like it’s nothing? Because your friends do it? Because your parents do it? Because everyone else seems okay… … right? 

No. Really, no. Society is on the decline emotionally and mentally and it’s been like this for decades. Sure, intellectually, we’re great, but human beings are more than just their intellect. If it was as easy as just adding 1+2 = 3 then people really would be fine! In fact, we would have it nailed down! But emotions don’t add like that. Our lives don’t add like that. 

Why is it so easy to get confused? Because we have too many options and we can’t commit to one option. Sure, we have 10 trillion options, but it’s useless if we don’t pick one. And even if we DO pick one, we’re so “wowed!” by the very next “newest, latest, brightest, shiniest” option that we change our mind. This happens ALL the time, to just about everything we have made commitments to: where we work, what phone we have, even the shampoo we purchase! Oh and who we marry - we change our minds on that about half of the time too. 

What’s worse, our society does not promote or respect the room to even make a friggin’ decision! When is there any time to sit and reflect on big decisions like purchasing a car, getting a dog, or even having a child? That time is alloted nowhere for individuals. We are just expected to know exactly what we want right when the decision is presented! 😠 

This is the tragedy and the great misunderstanding of why the current generation is the way it is - Not just millennials, it’s everybody.

What can we do, what the heck can YOU do today (or tomorrow or whenever you decide to use this darn technique) to combat this forever battle with confusion? 

Try this:

Take the time to sit quietly with yourself. No phones, no media, no distractions. Just nestle in and sit. 

However, it’s not as simple as that, there is one more step… 

Studies have shown that plain “reflection” does not usually work. However, meditation does. Meditation has shown to be extremely effective at combating not just our confusion, but also our mental health. It can be as simple as sitting and watching the breath, or as profound as a special breathing technique like in some kriya yoga. 

As surprising as it may sound, a large part of our confusion is actually caused by our lack of commitment to the decisions that we have already made. You can simplify your life RIGHT NOW by making a resolve to those decisions. Look at how you have decided your life to be, sit on it, meditate on it. With your clarity, stick to how you have created your life, and change only what needs to be changed. 

Don’t “find” the time to do this, MAKE the time to do this. 

Blessings to you and thanks for listening 🙏

Why Is It So Easy To Get Confused

Imagine we lived in a world where all of our energy was condensed into 100 tokens per 24 hours. Now imagine that each one of those tokens counted as one action… what would you do with your tokens? 

It may not look like it on the surface but this is actually how our own bodies interact with the world around us. Have you ever tried going to the gym after studying for an exam? The two actions are completely unrelated yet somehow studying wipes us out so much that going to the gym feels like walking into a grudge match with El Macho. How does that make any sense? Before the gym, you were just sitting there, resting in a chair, reading a textbook, scribbling on some paper. It’s not like you were rushing around running errands all day - no, you were just sitting in a chair. And now your energy is wiped. 

The truth is we do have a limited amount of energy. Not just for our day, but also, for our whole life. This truth is scarier in today’s world more than ever. I mean just think about it, literally from the minute we leave to the moment we get home, businesses, street vendors, billboards, radio ads, even our friends, are all fighting for our attention. It’s as if they’re trying to take our tokens! And then, when you think you’re safe, you’re at home on the couch getting blasted with ads, watching TV shows and viral videos. Like what? It’s insane! Every moment spent scrolling through Facebook, responding to a text or an email, or even reading this blasted article you’re reading now - ALL of it is a token of your energy!

How can we retain some of that energy we’re losing? How can we study AND go to the gym? How can we keep up the stamina required to go about our day with sharp clarity and flawless balance? Well okay, sure, for one, we can put our phones down, and unplug for a bit... but that’s not a real solution. (I mean it would definitely help but it wouldn’t fix much as much you think) And that’s because there are at least two dimensions to spending energy.

There is energy ON PURPOSE, we can call this conscious energy, and there is automatic, or auto-pilot energy. Autopilot energy is like the fuel your body burns up just pumping your heart. And conscious energy is the energy used when you do something new for the first time. And everything in between is where we operate. (No one is either pure conscious or pure autopilot)

In fact, the more conscious your energy is, the easier your day is. You can study and hit the gym, and have the energy to plan, cook dinner and even crush out a bunch of projects you have been putting off. 💪💪💪

So is there a trick to become more conscious? In the case of becoming more conscious, it's really hard to prescribe just “one trick” - it’s better to look at it like a personal cocktail. And, since you’re here, I’ll give you my recipe for the type of cocktail that has worked for me:

¾ oz of consuming only media that is good for the brain and be less on my phone
½ oz of journaling
2 oz of making decisions very very specifically
A shit ton of kriya yoga
And a dash of doing things that are “wrong” on purpose (half-a-dash as needed 😂)

That is essentially my personal cocktail I drink everyday to give me the energy efficiency necessary to work full time, run a business, write articles like the one you’re reading, and still be a great dad and husband. 

I highly encourage everyone here to explore the kinds of activities that get you STOKED so your life doesn’t suck. *pun intended 😉* Because the more your life gets sucky… heh, never mind. 

Become conscious, practice your consciousness, not only will you become more alive, you will know the art of energy management.

Much love, blessings, and thank you. 

OAM Meditation

How To Manage Your Energy

Has anyone ever told you you’re dumb for not knowing something? In today’s education system, odds are, all of us have been made to feel dumb at one point or another. Which is annoying because not remembering a fact or knowing a subject matter doesn’t make us dumb. It just means we haven't seen it before. If it was seen, then you would have something to say. But since we don’t have memory of it, I guess we’re dumb. 

All this time we are going through school collecting pieces of information so we “look smart” when, really, all we are doing is training our memory and calling it knowledge. 

For generations now we have grouped knowledge and memory as the same. Literally, in today’s world, If you have a good memory, then you’re considered smart and knowledgeable. In fact, just having a perfect memory, you could  easily get all A’s in school. That is how pointless “knowledge” has become in our education system. And why it has already begun to be replaced by Google 😂

What is knowledge, then? And why learn? <-- That is the supreme question. 

What teachers or your professors don’t tell you in school is that all knowledge is contextual. Meaning, everything you “know” is only based only on the context of the surrounding subjects. No knowledge can exist without context. Nothing can be “known” without other pieces of surrounding information.

For example, I “know” to do my job at work based on the parameters or the context, of my job. Without that, I don’t “know” how to do my job. Context is everything. In fact, it’s very difficult to accept just how little can be known outside of the context. This includes even your logical proofs in philosophy class:  If A → B, not A so not B. (The statement is only true based on the premise being valid - and how do we know if the premise is valid? Based only on the context!)
Knowledge is a farce. What do you know without any context? Nothing! Reflect for yourself and see: you really know nothing. 

What can be known without context? 

I’ll try not to be too confusing here since even this blog cannot escape the context you and I have built for ourselves *haha ;)*

I will say this --> It’s important to realize that something can be both true and false depending on the perspective that is taken. It is also important to acknowledge that there are easily tens of thousands of different types of knowledge and intelligences just within your own body and mind, so try not to lose your shit if someone understands something differently than you do. 

If you want to know the truth, like the actual truth, then stop collecting knowledge. I learned this at age 16. Knowledge only leads to a stronger sense of being right. I want you to look at this and see: If you are right, does that get you any closer to the truth? I’ll say it again, If you are right, does that get you any closer to the truth? If the truth was something that could be said, then you would already “know” it. Am I right? *haha just fuckin’ with you*

Without knowledge, there is only intelligence. This is a hint for the fellow truth seekers out there… the less you know, the closer you can be to the truth. One of the greatest miracles you can stumble upon is the gift of existential ignorance → to realise you know nothing at all (outside of all contexts). Allow that void to become bigger and the truth cannot be hidden. 

Much love, 

OAM Meditation

Why Knowledge Doesn't Matter

So then, how in the heck are we supposed to understand if someone is “open”? Can it be measured? 

 *grinning smile*

That is a trick question - and I'll tell you why. 

Openness, like everything else in the world, expresses itself based on how things are in that moment. So, obviously, since life is a moving target, how open we are should match what the situation calls for. If it calls for a boundary to be set against coloring on the walls, then don’t be “open-minded”, definitely set that boundary. If calls to speak out when you know the facts are wrong, then by all means, speak out. 

This is why close-mindedness is actually a necessity. We need close-mindedness to thrive! otherwise jumping off a cliff might sound like a pretty sweet idea. And maybe it is! Who knows? (A bungee cord might make the jump more agreeable... 😂🤔). 

Crazily, the reason we don’t get along isn’t because we have differences in ideas, it’s because we don’t know when to be tolerant, of these ideas. Very few of us have the sensitivity to know what each situation needs. And that makes all the difference. I’ll say it again, we must be sensitive life to know what life needs.
So:
the first step in becoming sensitive to what life needs is to understand that closed-mindedness is necessary. Yet, with great anger and fury, it is this exact “close-mindedness” which drowns out our sensitivity. 

*with a sense of being defeated* 
What then!?
How then do we strike a balance? What can we do to remain integritous? 

We can be open.
And this is what it means to be open: you are willing to drop ANY ONE of your thoughts, opinions or beliefs as the situation calls for it. I want you to imagine your thoughts, opinions, and beliefs like they are tools that you can use, retract, detach, employ, and engage the whole world. We need not be so deeply identified with our faith, our prejudices, or political views. We can use them as needed in church, at a meeting, or at a social gathering and leave the rest of the tools at home. To be “open” is wield our thoughts, opinions and beliefs as infinitely flexible tools to craft our life and our dreams as we see fit. 

Just to wrap this up: this might seem so small, but even as I write this, I am practicing openness by deleting, taking down and rewriting entire paragraphs to fit what I understand needs to be said. It is so hard for me, for even as something as small as to parting with a well said paragraph or even a perfect sentence - it’s such a hard thing to do.

But perhaps, what helps the most is that I am committed. I am committed to truly sharing this value inherent in me - this value in seeing that life is forever dancing and that we should learn to dance with it; that life is forever here, ever present, and ever wanting to be danced with. Be sensitive to her, she will show how to dance. 

Blessings,

OAM Meditation

To Be Sensitive And Open

The truth can only be witnessed because it is literally peering at existence itself, into nature itself; it is seeing things the way that they actually are, without prejudice, without thoughts, without opinions, without beliefs, and definitely without “knowledge”.

“Why?” you ask, 
“If it is really something you can see, why can’t you report on it, why can’t you describe it and make a note of it? Why can’t you tell us about it?”

There are no words for it because it’s literal expression is “no words”, it’s literal expression, is “no thoughts”, it’s literal expression is, “non-descriptive”, it’s literal expression is, “nothing which you can ever think of because all of your thoughts are bounded and existence is unbound”. It’s literal description is unboundedness. 

So when someone asks me, “okay, if you saw the truth, tell me about it” THE MOST NATURAL RESPONSE IS SILENCE!!!!!! And the funny thing is, that is actually the best description of it! So I apologize if silence is not good enough for you, that is the literal and closest expression I can give you. 

So don’t ask someone who has seen the Truth, “what is the Truth?” they are just gonna look at you funny and shrug their damn shoulders. What can they say? What can they actually say if they are being honest? Nothing.

So for all you seekers out there, the short answer is “nothing”. Nothingness is closest to the Truth.

Why Knowledge Doesn't Matter (pt.II)

"The difference between life and death is your ability to see -- it’s hard to say it any more concise that that" --

Around seven years ago, between 2011 and 2012, I was forced into a super-conscious state without my permission while completely sober. This state is traditionally known as “Samadhi”. In Samadhi, an individual perceives* reality as it actually is; I saw the entire existence and was both all things within and without, all things above and below, and I became the space in between the lines: true nothingness. I will note just a moment here that seeing the truth for a few minutes does not make you a realized being/enlightened. I am not a fully realized being, maybe at best I am a realized seeker. On a softer note, seeing reality as it actually is does not require you to renounce your faith, or go meditate in the mountains, (although at first I certainly felt like it did need to do that). The truth is compatible with all ways of life, because it is life.

I think a solid metaphor for Samadhi is like going to heaven to visit Christ to be in all of his awesome love and splendor and then coming back to Earth to realize that the goal is not to visit Christ but to become Christ. I wish Samadhi on everyone that is able to handle it and not have a psychotic break. The only thing that kept me from sane really was my intellectual realization that nothing can be known, existentially. And without this “intellectual realization”, I would have went running the other way, maybe into insanity.

As I have hinted in the previous installments of “Why Knowledge Doesn't Matter”, intellectual realization is the realization that the fundamentals of life cannot be understood by your thought process. To be intellectually realized is to see for yourself that you are chasing down the infinite with your finite mind. It is a hopeless process. It is exactly this internal realization that caused my Samadhi. Because although I had given up on knowing what the truth is intellectually, I still longed for it. I longed for it with unreasonable intensity, way past the point of an existential crisis for meaning. As a result of this, I stopped pursuing knowledge -- literally I completely exhausted the path of Gnana. I saw that nothing could be known all the way to my core. 

This is why I have titled this series of papers, “Why Knowledge Doesn’t Matter” because I want people to see that there is more to life than their intellect. There are so many dimensions to life far beyond the intellect! dimensions that operate on a whole different level of logic and reasoning. It’s one thing to acknowledge this and and whole other thing to experience it. GO! GO! And explore other dimensions of human consciousness! This is why I teach kriya yoga! because it is literally the lightning path to seeing and experiencing other dimensions of existence holistically. No drugs, not special or impossible yoga postures, just breath work. If that is something you would be interested in, then please go to my website OAMmeditation.com and sign up to be on the email list where you will be sent instructions on how to learn this 8 minute practice.

Why Knowledge Doesn't Matter (pt. III)

All paths taken to their maximum intensity lead to the same natural ending: extinguishment - silence. To touch even for a moment immensity that life is, silences a soul.
To be silenced, truly silenced, is to be enlightened. This divine silence comes only at the mercy of our own intensity and commitment to our path. 
Like the Buddha has said, "three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth" - the truth will anyways be seen, just as it is the fate of sun to one day burn out and become nothing, it is your fate to burn brightly and dissolve into the universe. Burn karma, burn gnana, burn bhakti, and burn kriya - we are all a combination of all four paths of inevitability.
Burn, burn anyway.
- OAM Meditation

The Strangest Thing (Spiritual Concepts)

Audio clips used as devices for unique self-exploration - the content stems from a source that desires to make you more conscious of your Self.

Over-Active Mind Meditation