It’s an ancient thing, getting together and talking around a fire. It’s way better than everyone watching a movie or being on their phones. It’s refreshing. We should do this more often.

We will be doing it again, Unizen. Our first of many to come – UCO Bonfires debuted last week. We had a deep connection to the elements around us, and were able to experience life in the present. The value of ‘Presence’ has been the topic of many conversations this month (both on our blog and in person). It is truly an underestimated concept in our day and age. But it wasn’t all metaphysics and philosophy. We laughed, we ate, and we roasted marshmallows for our Reese’s s’mores!

View more photos of the bonfire on our Facebook page. And don’t forget to give us a thumb’s up!

Also, keep an eye out for our next bonfire, and do join us! Visit our Calendar of Events for more info.

Book cover courtesy of Barns & Noble

“We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.”

Siddhartha by Herman Hess is an incredible story of a man living in India during the time of the Gautama Buddha. The novel follows the man’s journey of insight, self-discovery and enlightenment. It is hardly a novel, because the book is a very light read and under 100 pages. Despite hitting upon very profound and timeless concepts, the prose is simple and clear.

Siddhartha was first published in 1922 in German. The continued success and relevance of the novel for over 90 years is a clear token of its limitless potential to inform and guide the reader in any age at any age. Please take the 3 hours necessary to learn this story, and carry it with you until you achieve Nirvana!

Buy the book on Amazon, here, or read it for free online at the Gutenberg project.

This is a typical post from the very inspiring facebook page, Enlightened Consciousness. I encourage you to like their page and receive a dose of wisdom once a day in your newsreel. For those of you who don’t have a facebook, or aren’t convinced yet, here are a few more posts that might get you thinking:

Not too bad, eh? Guess what: All these posts were from TODAY AND YESTERDAY ONLY. That’s right, whoever is behind this page has a lot of wisdom and media to share, so check it out!

<<Enlightened Conscioussness>>

JANUARY 31st, 2014

There is not much to say, except this video is AMAZING. Please take a moment to hear what Jill Bolte Taylor has to share. Oh, and yes, that’s a human brain she’s holding.

This video was found on a clever little list: The 20 most popular TED Talks. If you haven’t seen at least 3 of the videos on that list, you’ve got some catching up to do!

**Update**

I discovered this:

We are living in a culture entirely hypnotized by the illusion of time, in which the so-called present moment is felt as nothing but an infinitesimal hairline between an all-powerfully causative past and an absorbingly important future. We have no present. Our consciousness is almost completely preoccupied with memory and expectation. We do not realize that there never was, is, nor will be any other experience than present experience. We are therefore out of touch with reality. We confuse the world as talked about, described, and measured with the world which actually is. We are sick with a fascination for the useful tools of names and numbers, of symbols, signs, conceptions and ideas.

That’s a quote by Alan Watts. Incredibly useful thoughts to supplement the above TED Talk.

JANUARY 20th, 2014

I didn’t know that there are springs so close to town. I might just come here all the time.

We went to the Goldspike Hot Springs! It was a great hike with lots of obstacles, but a great reward in the end: 

We had a dip in very agreeable water – at 90+ degrees on a 60 degree day, we couldn’t have asked for better conditions. Our muscles were soothed by the warm underground waters, and we hiked back to the car refreshed and invigorated! Thanks to our Unizens who came along for the journey: David, Diana, Andreas, Jackie, Donnie and Stephen!

JANUARY 17th, 2014

Spend less time worrying who’s right, more time deciding what’s right. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.

Kaboom. That’s about as legit as it gets. It’s a small excerpt from an excellent grouping of sentences written by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. and provided for here. The words take no more than 2 minutes read, and – if truly understood – will stay with you for a lifetime!

Mr. Brown courtesy of davidkiyokawa.com

DECEMBER 31st, 2013

#22. Richer experiences, not money or possessions, help you become happier.

This is a tip from Success Strategist and Life Designer, Simon Alexander Ong on his article, What I Learnt in 2013. He lists 35 fantastic items that are sure to get your 2014 off to the right start. This list gets the UCO stamp of approval. Way to grow, Simon!