How I came to Desteni

I was born and raised in Fresno California, USA until I was 14 years old. Then my parents divorced and I moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA where my mom was from. I moved back and forth from Fresno to New Orleans as a young adult never really able to decide where I really wanted to live. Finally, I met my current partner, got married and settled in New Orleans (actually the New Orleans Area as I live in Abita Springs about 40 miles north).

I was not raised with any belief system in particular. My parents believed in god, but never did we go to church or even talk about god that much. My mom would talk about god more than my dad and she would spend time with me speculating on what was really true on occasion, but there were no real boundaries set by my parents as to what to believe.

So, because I was raised to be scientific in my approach to things and was not conditioned to believe any particular thing except that god existed, I was always able to consider everything that I came across without rejecting it. Until I came across Desteni, I had read extensively on eastern and western religions, I read new age stuff like Conversations with God and the Power of Now, and I had read the bible extremely thoroughly. In fact, I had 7 translations of the bible and read it several times.

It is interesting, because although I read the bible so extensively, I was never able to pray or “hear” from god or any of that shit that the normal Christians would claim. It was really interesting because I knew what the bible said more concisely than pretty much all Christians that I knew, and was able to make sense of it far more than what they were teaching in theology, yet I did not pray because it just didn't feel right, and I never heard from god.

So, basically, by the time I came across Desteni, through my scientific approach to finding truth and considering everything from eastern to western religions and new age, I had come to the conclusion that god did not exist as a separate being, but somehow was one with me, and that all mankind would be saved, but that salvation would come through our standing up in “doing what is right” in other words we had to be the second coming and Christ would be expressed through us as us, not as some sepearte entity coming down on a horse or on the clouds. But in this, I had also realized that we did not have free-will, but that god at an appointed time would “cause” us to stand up as christ. So, even though I understood that we had to be the change, it was still god doing it in us as us as far as I was concerned. I also understood that heaven and hell did not exist, but rather hell was what we are living right now and heaven is an internal condition to be achieved through living and doing what is right.

And because I believed in god and christ but had radically different views than basically all christians, I was not able to attend church or participate in any “normal” christian behaviour, but at the same time I was also completely ineffectual as living as christ as me because I was basically waiting for him to change me rather than change myself. I tried to change myself and succeeded in limited ways, but the big thing that I missed was self-forgivness as a practical tool to change. I missed this because I had fallen on that point that christ provided this forgiveness for us on the cross 2000 years ago, and therefore I did not have to do anything in this area, except maybe forgive others at times.

So, then one day I was researching hell on the internet trying to find a video that may help me prove my point that hell did not exist to someone that was challenging me on this and I came across the portal. I cannot remember what video it was that I saw at first, but I instantly recognized the common sense that was being portrayed and was very intrigued because I had never had things explained this way before. So I continued to watch all the other videos on youtube to the point where I was watching as many as I could every day. These videos by the portal were utterly amazing to me as they were filling in all the gaps and holes that I had in my current belief system from the standpoint of common sense. For instance, up until then, I just thought I had a problem with not being able to pray - not realizing that I was actually just being self-honest with myself in this case all along. I was self-honest with myself because I would not lie to myself and make up some prayer experience just so that I can feel like I am able to pray, which is what everyone is really doing who prays. And when I was introduced to the reality that god does not exist in-fact, I welcomed this with open arms because I also already was self-honest with the fact that I could not actually, in-fact, hear from god nor even pray to god. Furthermore, I was just waiting for this god experience to happen to me, all the while doing nothing; and when I could see in common sense that god does not actually exist and that I had to be that god that I was waiting for, I was instantly relieved from the standpoint that I was actually beginng to feel that I was really in-fact understanding what is actually going on in existence rather than waiting and hoping and even inventing a form of understanding as has been the case up until then.

This all happened back in late 2007 and early 2008. I joined the desteni forum back then and asked a lot of questions and really for the most part had no problem giving up all my beliefs. It took a while, but after a few months I no longer read the bible, talked about god, or anything. I just lived my life. I wanted to join SRA training back then, but had a predicament in that my partner (wife) at the time totally did not support this and even threatened with divorce. Of course, she wanted to divorce for a lot of reasons but I saw this as a tipping point that I did not want to explore. So, after about 6 months, I put Desteni on the back-burner. But, I have to say, from that point forward, I was permanently changed in that I could not go back to any form of belief system because of the common sense that I had aquired in that initial expereince with Desteni.

So, for about 3 years I would peak at the Desteni website and every now and then hop on the forum and ask questions, at times, but I did not pursue self forgivness and self-honesty in a full-on effort because I did not want my partner to catch on and also, self-honestly, I had a form of resistance maybe even denial whereby I did not want to put forth the effort. Even though I understood what I had to do and what needed to be done, I had a lot of trouble grappling with the fact that I had to really work to make the change. I basically realized that there were no magic tricks or supreme beings out there who were going to make everything ok, but at the same time I was not completely willing to do what was necessary, myself. So, to a certain extent, I used my partners resistance to the Desteni message as a crutch to not participate.

So, about 9 months ago, I saw the “Christianity is A Cult” song/video and the “World Equality Song” video and was immensly “inspired” to push through with this again. I began watching a ton of Bernard's videos, first in secret and then I eventually built-up the courage to watch them in front of my partner. Then, I finally convinced her to give them a try and she did just to please me. Back 3 years ago I tried to convince her to give the videos a try, but she totally resisted and threatened divorce because she was freaked-out by the message. So, this was a big impovement, and after a few weeks of watching the videos, she was able to see the common sense as well, and from this point forward it was game on.

Now I am here, starting my process, something that I had “dreamed of” for 3 years now and am so excited to start. I still have a lot of fears and doubts that I know that I need to explore in self-honesty and self-forgivness, but I am ready to do this because I no longer want to participate in the illusion of this picture reality world. While I still accept and allow myself to struggle with various forms of bullshit, I know and am ready to do everything that I can to release myself from this self-created prison that I have been existing in for all these billions of years and to birth myself as life and live a real life one and equal with all as me.

Why is the Desteni message not a belief system?

To answer this let's just start with the definitions of “belief” and “system” from dictionary.com:

Belief:

1. an opinion or conviction
2. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof
3. confidence, faith, trust
4. a religious tenet or tenents

System:

1. an assemblage or combination of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole such as a railroad system
2. any assemblage or set of correlated members such as a system of currency
3. an ordered and comprehensive assemblage of facts, principles, doctrines, or the like in a particular field of knowledge or thought such as a system of philosophy
4. there are others as one can just look them-up himself.

So for instance in religion, a belief system is a system of convictions and tenants which generally cannot be proven but rather are accepted on faith and trust in others outside of self. Trust in Jesus, or God, or the priest, or the bible are all fundamental to the belief system of christianity. If trust in one of these aspects fails, the whole belief system can come tumbling down.

In a belief system, action is based on ones acceptance of the beliefs within any given system. For instance, in Christianity, because one has accepted the belief in a god and christ dying for one's sins, one therefore prays to this god and christ and acts based upon this belief. Everything that one does such as prayer, being good to others, and religious rites and traditions are all based on the starting point of one's belief. In otherwords, without the beliefs one would not act. So the beliefs in a belief system are the foundation for action.

So, in a belief system, if the starting point for action is destroyed, action can be destroyed as well. For example, if a certain priest is exposed to have molested children, those that go to the church may loose faith in their religion and no longer act. Or if one realizes that the belief system is not valid for any particular reason, one usually no longer acts accordingly. So therefore, actions that arise as a result of a religious belief system are not one's true nature as they are done because one has accepted the belief system first. This is shown because once one's belief system is shown to be no longer valid, the individual generally changes his behaviour as it was not natural to begin with and only adhered to from the starting point of belief.

Now the Desteni message's starting point is the realization that the only “truth” that exists is what is actually here, in the phsyical, being expereinced by all as one, which can only be seen for what it is through the application of self-honesty, self-forgivness, and corrective application in every breath. This is not a belief system, but rather a system of action to be lived in every breath. One is not participating in self-honesty, self-forgiveness, and corrective application because one “believes” in the portal or in interdimensional beings, which would then make Desteni a religion. One is acting because one has come to the realization that the only way one can see what is in-fact here for what it is and act in a way that is best for all, is through the systematic process of self honesty, self forgivness and corrective application in every breath.

If for some reason the portal and interdimensional beings were proven to be false, a Destonian would not loose faith because a Destonian never had faith to begin with. A Destonian would simply explore this point in common sense within self-honesty and self-fogiveness and remain constant and unfettered in his/her process of self-realization through self-honesty, self-forgivness and corrective application. In otherwords, the actions of a Destonian are not based in the accepted belief in anything or anyone nor are they based upon a personality of any sort, they are based upon the realization of what is best for all as self realized through the systematic application of self-honesty, self-forginvess, and corrective application in every breath..

One can debunk god and all religions and belief systems, but none can debunk self-honesty, self-forgivness and corrective application.

What is Equal Money - Part I: The Folly of Capitalism

What is Equal Money?

PART 1 – The Folly of Capitalism

If I were to write in detail of the folly of capitalism a book of a thousand pages could be produced. So, in this section of this writing I will just summarize the folly of capitalism as best I can in short. Let's start with some terms as defined at Dictionary.com to help us define capitalism:

Capital: 1. the wealth, whether in money or property, owned or employed in business by an individual, firm, corporation, ect.
              2. an accumulation of such wealth.

-ism:      a distinctive doctrine, theory, system or practice.

Capitalism: an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production , distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

 

So, capitalism is a distinctive doctrine or system whereby those who participate in it practice the pursuit of personal wealth and private property ownership, in other words the pursuit of self-interest and definitely not the pursuit of what is best for all. In defense of self-interest as a system that results in what is best for all, Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, famously explained that it is possible to achieve the best economic benefit for all even when, and in fact because, individuals tend to act in their own self-interest. Adam Smith wrote: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest.” But as enticing as this may sound, this clearly has not been demonstrated in the past 200 years, or so, that we have been practicing capitalism. For example, what if this butcher got a good deal on meat because it was loaded with hormones and antiboitics and there were no regulations to keep him from selling you this meat without informing you. And since it is in his own best interest to make money, because this is what capitalism is about, he sells you this meat. You eat the meat for a time and then later you get cancer. Is this really what is best for you? Now, I understand that their may be regulations in place to prohibit this, but whether there are in this case or not, you as a “consumer” have to watch your back with everything you buy because you are buying it from someone who is operating from a principle of what is best for him not you. Nevertheless, many will argue that capitilism is still a superior system because of the fact that more wealth has been created under the capitalist system then in all of human history, but the problem with this is that at the same time extensive suffering and abuse has been simultaneously manifested and upheld under this system. So, instead capitalism is really a system where one can pursue personal fortune/self-interest and whether this actually results as what is best for all is a side benefit that may or may not occure.

Now to expand on this, because there is nothing in these definitions of capital or capitalism that defines by what principle we obtain wealth one is free to create wealth in anyway possible so long as it is within the “law”. Any acquired wealth outside of the “law” is frowned upon, but if one creates wealth within the law – it is acceptable. So in essence, we may disagree morally or ethically with the way one creates wealth within this system, but so long as one's pursuit of wealth is “lawful” or “legal” we have mutually agreed that this acceptable so long as we support capitalism.

So within a system like this where the only thing that matters is that one pursue capital (wealth), many abuses arise. For instance, by supporting capitalism we have all accepted and allowed the outsourcing of labor to slave-labor states such as China which is made possible because this is within the “law”. The workers in these slave-labor states make less than liveable wages and work long hours in abusive conditions. If we had the same labor “laws” here in the western world, we would definitely be able to produce goods for considerably less. But of course, we wouldn't really consider ourselves free, if this were the case, would we? And even more-so, we westerners may actually oppose capitalism if we were at the butt-end of it in a sweat-shop.

Now, even if one believes that it is “wrong” to use slave-labor from foreign countries to make our goods, this is of no consequence because so long as this practice is “lawful” or rather “legal” it will persist. Moreover, those that are making money from this system of slave-labor will spend huge sums of money to ensure the continuance of this system through political means. So, those who may find fault with using slave-labor are over-run because they do not have the money/resources to match the political contributions of those who make the money from this slave-labor system; and therefore, change is virtually impossible. One can attempt to boycott these slave-labor made goods, but that usually means spending more money on the goods that are not made by slaves. In order to spend more money to buy these goods implies that we actually have to have more money (obviously), and in most cases we westerners don't actually have the money required to successfully boycott these goods because ironically we too are also suffering from the exploitation of slave-labor which is reflected in the stagnant and diminished wages that most in western countries have suffered recently.

Another reason this exploitation of slave-labor is often accepted and allowed is because of the hope that we too may one day be able to exploit the system and become the wealthy minority. This is promoted as the “American Dream”, which really is nothing more than a dream for the vast majority of the population. So, the huge irony in all this is that while only a small minority of the human population is prospering from this system and reaching their “dream”, the rest of the population both in the exploited regions and the industrialized countries are not benefiting from this system and reaching their so-called “dream”. Yet most in the industrialized countries still support this system because maybe one-day if they come up with a good idea and work really hard they too may be one of the elite. Piss on that, but this is what capitalism is about – becoming wealthy and reaching your dream so long as you play by the rules which often results in exploiting others for personal gain.

In fact, those who become wealthy by exploiting this slave-labor system are held-up in the system as symbols of success. Take Steve Jobs for instance. We all look at him as brilliant inventor and capitalist who we admire and hope that we ourselves may reach this type of success. But we turn a blind-eye to the fact that those who produced his products in slave-labor states were some of the most abused workers on this planet. Nevertheless people such as Steve Jobs are held up in the system as hero's who have reached their dream that we all look-up to and who give us hope that maybe one day we will have this good fortune as well, which just works to keep people supporting this system which in turn keeps it alive and the rich rich.

Now, because the capitalist system as its primary principle is the pursuit of capital (wealth) and self interest, you can trace all abuses within this system back to money and someone making money from it. This is a natural consequence of such a system with self-interest as a core principle. I may go into this in more detail in another paper, but if one does his homework in a self honest evaluation, one can see for himself that ALL wars, mass starvation, slave labor, pornography, the overuse of oil and over drilling, drilling in gulf waters, pharmaceutical drugs, the extensively abused animals in the farming system, street drugs, genetically engineered crops, highly toxic and life threatening vaccines, attorneys suing everyone for everything, poor education, the prison system, unneeded surgeries, the psychotic practice of radiating individuals to get rid of cancer (chemotherapy), nuclear energy, immense amounts of trash, fast-food, pesticides on our food, testing animals for experimental drugs and makeups, you name it – if there is a system of abuse whereby a being suffers - money is behind it ultimately, and capitalism is the system in place that makes this all possible.

So why on earth would anyone support such an abusive system that only a minority truly prosper in and the rest suffer? Because of the false hope and the fear imposed that this is the only system that we have any chance in hell of having success and happiness. What a fuck-job the elite have imposed on mankind to convince everyone that the best they can do is be a poor slave and/or exploit others. Now of course I am not blaming this soley on the elite, they have just taken advantage of a situation which is what capitalism is about. The real problem is that this system is one that we have all accepted and allowed and therefore we are all equally responsible to be the change required to bring about a system that truly is best for all. The good news is, is that as this capitalist system continues to self-destruct and more and more begin to suffer as a consequence, I am sure humanity will eventually have a change of heart.

View Points

 view points are for those who choose to live in delusion. there is reality, and there is view points. View points are a mental projection of what you have accepted and allowed to exist within and as you. This is not real. What is real is what is actually here. So therefore, we are not expressing or supporting view points at desteni as that would be deceptive - rather, we are in the process of expressing ourselves as who we are as life one and equal with all as ourselves within the context of what is actually real - not within the context of mind projected view points which is nothing more than mental bullshit. And What is real? What is real is that people are bombed, tortured, raped, starved-to-death every day because people ACCEPT AND ALLOW this within themselves when they say that this is "human nature - the animals do it too..." Right now reality is fucked because everyone accepts and allows each other to live out their bullshit points of view, instead of living here in physical reality taking responisbility for each and every thought that exists within and as you with full awareness that for every thought - there is an actual physically manifested consequence. In otherwords, for every thought that each and everyone of us accept and allow within us - within and as self-interest - somebody on this planet actually suffers the consequence. Don't believe this? You don't have to. This is not a belief system - this is a physically verifiable fact. See for yourself if you dare.

What is of Consequence

• What is of consequence is that we be the change that is required to end all abuse in this world completely and once and for all. Ending abuse is not achieved by volunteering in soup kitchens and planting trees. Ending abuse of all kinds is also not done by thinking positive or supporting "good causes". Ending all abuse is also not done by believing in certain things or by so-called "positive" actions. Ending abuse is not achieved by being a christian, a muslim, or an athiest. Ending abuse is not achieved by hope and promise - nor is it achieved through pessimism, hate, and anger. Ending abuse is not achieved by "setting a good example". Ending abuse is achieved by ending abuse within self through a process of self-perfection wherein every breath you live self honesty. This will in-turn manifest a world where abuse does not exist. This is not a belief system. This is a fact that is right now being proven in the negative - right now we all exist in self deception and thereby we have created a world of abuse. I know you don't realize how much you are self-decieved, but you are. We all are. I am, you are, we all are. So, through this process of self-honesty, self-forgivness, and corrective application wherein we transcend all the bullshit that we have come to accept as real, we birth a new world where no one suffers becauase we all live as self honesty - as "do unto another as you would have one do unto you". To accept the suffering of others in your world is unacceptable. To think that it is ok for some to suffer because we also do "good" is self deception. To focus on "the positive" as if that will bring change is deception. To be "happy" with your life is self deception. There is no happiness. There is no unhappiness. There is only what is here. No need to label yourself or your existence. That is self deception. What is self honesty is that right now in your world where people are suffering everyday, and that you are the change that is needed to end this. What is self honest is that so long as you ignore this and think positive - you are the problem. So, we are doing something about the suffering in this world - we are becoming the change. Yes, the power to change this world is within each and everyone one of us. And these videos and writings are being posted for support to support and assist each other in bringing about the end of suffering and abuse - through the self perfection of each and everyone of us. That's right, self perfection as a living reality. No more accepting that "I am only human" bullshit - that is why people suffer - becuase "I am only human" and can do nothing about it. That is self-dishonesty. That is bullshit. The message that Desteni brings is for everyone, whether you accept it oe not. Desteni itself is just the group of people that are initiating this manifestation of this as a living reality.

Let's All Stop Believing and Get Real

Reality Vs Belief: We are all here no matter what we believe. Believing does not change the fact that we are here. We do not have to believe that we are here. We are all here equally in that no matter what one believes, we are here. when you believe all you are doing is creating your own bubble reality that is separate from what is actually here. Hello believers!!! We are all right here no matter what you believe!!! You don't have to believe that we are all right here!!! Duh. So, all we are doing, at desteni, in living and practicing self honesty and self forgiveness is working towards realizing what is actually here on earth without believing in anything at all, just realizing what is in-fact here. Believing in something is doing the opposite of that. When you believe in something, you live in a mind created fantasy world. Believing in the Pope, is a fantasy. Believing in heaven and hell is a fantasy. Believing that god is going to do something for us is a fantasy. These are all fantasies because no one can actually verify these things in actual physical reality. All this just exists in your head. This is all just mind generated bullshit. None of this believing stuff has anything to do with what is here, in fact. What is here in fact exists REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE. So, if all humanity can give-up their beliefs, then we can all live in REALITY. And that is the goal. Isn't believing in something the definition of what is in fact not reality? I don't believe the sun sets in the west, right? I KNOW the sun sets in the west. See, so practicing self honesty is not a belief system - it is a way to become real in realizing what is actually going on instead of filtering your reality through the beliefs that you hold in your mind. In ACTUAL REALITY, the pope is just a guy with a very expensive wardrobe who lives in a castle and has tons of money. In reality, a guy who everyone calls Pope who is rich and lives in a castle IS OF NO BENEFIT TO ANY OF US. It is only through one's belief in the concept of a pope that we give this guy value. If we all lived in reality, then the pope would cease to exist as the pope is really just another human who is no different than any of us. The pope has to eat, shit, sleep, just like each and everyone of us. The pope has no more of an ability to be self honest than each and everyone of us. And that is what is important - self honesty. Screw if the pope "hears" from god and all that belief system bullshit - what matters is self honesty - that is something that we can all share and practice equally and verifiably. So, respecting others beliefs is like respecting others right to live in a fantasy world. Let's dump our beliefs and get real! I highly recommend it to everyone