Learning to forgive myself and others, hating myself, and allowing my mind to cloud over and act without mindfulness.  That is my biggest demon.

The online community allows we the shy the ability to be just a bit outgoing.

The online community allows we the trusting types to build friendships with others.

The online community allows we the insecure to only show the world what we want them to see, and to hide what we don't.

The online community allows us to gather and discuss something with hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions of people, all without the smell of body odor, cigarette smoke, or obnoxious perfume.

The online community allows us to walk away from someone we don't like without them knowing it at first.

I could go at this all day methinks :)

more inspiration struck me this morning...  you can read it by clicking here

Without throwing out too many cliche's....  I try to think globally by acting locally.  Being mindful of everything I do as well as my actions impact on the planet and everything that lives upon it!

Violence is never the answer, and anger only brings more anger, but to set an example for others by living a life of love, compassion, and mindfulness, we can begin to turn the tide and bring about the kind of world that we all wish to live in. 

If I am subjected to be a part of someone who's negative life, I usually just try to be compassionate and sympathize with that person and their negativity.  

To do this usually doesn't usually force me to be drawn too deeply into their negative 'vibe', but instead I try to be mindful on understanding their negativity as well as maintaining positivity of my own life state.  To do this, I mentally check myself into remembering why I am not a negative person (at least most of the time).

I then try to help them overcome their negativity by coming up with some positive way for them to address their situation.  More often than not, this tends to help them feel better.  :)

I finalized an entry on my other site this morning....  click here to read and enjoy :)

An interesting question, reworded I would answer differently.

What would I love to live without?  Money!  The cause for so much pain, anguish, and sadness in this world.  Make it go away and bring us back to trading our skills for one another's so we can learn to appreciate one another and to not take each other for granted.

However, phrased the way it was posed?  What might I learn to live without?

A significant part of everyone who's reading this today:  computers, cellphones & the television.

Yes, without the computer we'd have no Internet, and without the Internet we'd have no Zaadz/Gaia and other global communities.

Yes, without the cellphone or computer we'd be unable to talk to our closest of friends or reach someone at a time of need.

Yes, without the television we'd be unable to see with the flick of a switch what life is like on the other side of our planet, or even in the outer reaches of space.

However,

Consider the distractions of all of the above. 

Consider what humans accomplished before these distractions entered our homes.  We built our own homes, farmed our own land, and were much more self sufficient before we were able to order a pizza over the phone, and even online.

Consider how local communities and even families have disintegrated all while we stay cooped up inside our homes, bedrooms, and technology-addicted minds thanks to these distractions.  We have stopped trusting those closest to us, and instead have turned our eyes and minds to trusted "friends" on the other side of these devices by sending money to the evangelist on the TV screen or meeting what sounds like the love of our lives we've only exchanged words with in an online chat.

Consider how our children seem to be growing less, not more, intelligent in part due to these devices.  Test scores, the overall ability to think for one's self, and even child-parent relationships have degraded due to these distractions and the ease and availability of information in a few short clicks.   Am I the only one who remembers not being allowed to use an Encyclopedia in school because it was so easy to get the information required?

Consider how humans physically have grown more lazy, and in turn larger and less healthy, due to these devices.  Playgrounds have rusted out and woodlands have been replaced by dog parks and Starbucks while waist sizes, automobiles and homes have grown larger.

It is up to us, the collective conscious, to make sure our children still know how to identify the flowers in their own yard, how to ride a bicycle, how to draw a hop-scotch on the driveway, and to have a favorite book for each year of their lives.  If we don't turn inward and remember these things to which we held value in before these distractions became such a big part of our lives, we will forget how important they are for future generations as well.

All of this from a skinny guy who's been working in the IT industry for 12 years...  :)

As little as possible!

By practicing mindfulness and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, I have found myself able to stay in the present moment and tackle each of life's challenges with greater ease and with less suffering.

In order to conquer my demons, many or few as they may seem, to stay in the present moment and remain mindful is the best weapon I have in defeating those which have haunted me.

Work life and home life still have their challenges.  From struggles to pay the bills and keep the house from falling on top of itself all while building a loving and compassionate family, to the technical, political, and financial trials and tribulations that occur daily at work.  Yet the mindful reminder that nothing is permanant and everything is connected helps me to maintain a sense of balance and the ability to simply "roll with the punches" and keep a smile on all day.

My greatest wish is to think that by maintaining this state of being, that I may spread and share this gift with others around me, thus helping them to overcome and conquer their own suffering.

Like Joe, I shoot for the top in this case.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been my inspiration to pull myself out of the funk that is our Western culture of gluttony, bigotry, and materialism and as Gandhi says, "live simply so that others may simply live."

demonstrating a lifetime of reasonable simplicity on the road to enlightenment.