We live in a rat-race culture, where people are hell-bent on making more money, buying more things, showing off to whoever will watch, getting over on whoever steps in our way while we climb the perpetual ladder of success.

It’s the promise of the American Dream, for which people live, breathe and die.

Unfortunately, this path inevitably ends up in disaster, as it’s absolutely devoid of spirituality. People who adhere to the “more, more, more” mentality will never be satisfied, always searching for a new thrill, a higher high….. and after brief interludes of ecstacy, will  always be disappointed. It is also a highly destructive lifestyle to the planet, requiring extraordinary resources for one person.

Many artists and entrepreneurs have taken a different path, aligning with a creative force that demands a sensibility of searching and improving and innovating, and which invites and activates spiritual energy in the pursuit of goals.

I have followed both of these paths, but there’s a different path I’ve taken these past 10 years which in many ways has been most fulfilling, and it is the path of Nothingness.

As I have found through my studies, Nothingness is not a new concept, in fact it is a quite important aspect of many spiritual practices. No striving, no addictions, no competition. Entering the state of Doing Nothing allows for a cleansing of the negative energy that is an inevitable part of life, which in turn allows for more positive energy to flow. It allows the unfurling of tightly held beliefs. Nothingness creates access for Universal energy, which is normally crowded out by Material energy. It encourages Lightness of Being, and in turn contentment.

The most exceptional value I have come to know is a simple walk in the forest – watching the sun filtering through the trees, listening to the gurgle of a stream or the distant hoofbeats of passing deer; feeling the expanded-time lifeforce of trees; happening upon the splendor of a rare bloom of mushrooms, or forest flowers. Over time, forest walks help to re-train the fundamental connection to the Earth and by extension the Universe, giving the most exceptional perspective to the Rat Race.

My greatest accomplishment in life is not any particular event or achievement or job or experience, but learning the incredible power of silence… to heal, energize, inspire and give the most vital balance to the imbalanced world we live in.