DEV Community: An Rodriguez

Open Images (or Any File) from WSL2 — Directly in Windows

An Rodriguez — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 20:44:00 +0000

Opening a file from the WSL2 terminal
using winopen, launching the native Windows viewer

WSL2 is fantastic.

But the moment you try to open an image from the terminal, everything falls apart.

You try:


explorer.exe image.png

Nothing happens. Or Explorer opens the wrong folder. Or Windows throws a cryptic UNC-path error.

Let’s fix this properly — with one small, reliable function.

TL;DR

To open any file from WSL2 in its Windows environment, add one small shell function to your config file.

⚠️ Limitation: this works on real paths only (no symbolic links).

Quick Setup (60 seconds)

Open your shell config file:
Paste this function:

winopen() {
  explorer.exe "$(wslpath -w "$(realpath "$1")")"
}

Reload your shell:


source ~/.zshrc # or: source ~/.bashrc

Open any file:


winopen image.png

Done.

ZSH (manual)

Edit your config file:


vim ~/.zshrc

Add this one-liner anywhere:

winopen() {
  explorer.exe "$(wslpath -w "$(realpath "$1")")"
}

Bash

The same function works in Bash.

Add it to ~/.bashrc:

winopen() {
  explorer.exe "$(wslpath -w "$(realpath "$1")")"
}

macOS, Linux, BSD (for reference)

On Unix-like systems with a GUI, the equivalent is trivial:

open file.png # macOS
xdg-open file.png # Linux desktop

WSL2 is special because it crosses OS boundaries.

Use It

Reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc # or source ~/.bashrc

Then:

winopen image.png
winopen file.pdf
winopen video.mp4

Windows Explorer opens at the correct location.

Select the file. Hit Enter.

The file opens using the default Windows application.

The Problem (What’s Actually Going On)

WSL2 runs Linux in a VM. That means:

Your files live in a Linux filesystem
Windows apps expect Windows paths
Windows sees WSL files as UNC paths like\\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu-22.04\home\username\...
Many Windows applications handle UNC paths inconsistently

So even when a command looks correct, it often fails silently.

This is not user error. It’s impedance mismatch.

Why Explorer Is the Right Tool

Windows Explorer:

Fully supports UNC paths
Is designed to browse network locations
Reliably dispatches files via default associations
Does not suffer from viewer-specific UNC bugs

Explorer is the stable bridge between WSL and Windows.

The Correct Mental Model

WSL–Windows integration has multiple layers:

Goal	Tool	Reliability
Browse WSL files	Windows Explorer	✅ Always
Open via Enter	Explorer	✅ Always
Open directly in app	App-dependent	⚠️
Guaranteed native paths	`/mnt/c`	✅

Once you use the right layer, the problem disappears.

Recommendation

Use Explorer for anything under/home/...
Let Explorer handle UNC paths
Hit Enter to open files

Simple. Honest. Reliable.

Final Thoughts

This function is tiny.

But it removes a constant friction point when working in WSL2: previewing images, checking PDFs, opening generated files.

One command. Any file. Native Windows apps.

Honestly, this one made me smile when it finally clicked — fewer hacks, less friction, and a smoother dev loop always feels good 😊

DOI: https://writing.preferredframe.com/prints/Open%20Images%20%28or%20Any%20File%29%20from%20WSL2%20%E2%80%94%20Directly%20in%20Windows/10.5281/zenodo.18396224

Introducing 'git snooze', a timed 'git stash'

An Rodriguez — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 17:55:00 +0000

One-Sentence Summary. git snooze lets you defer local Git changes for a fixed time, and forces them to come back so they can’t be forgotten.

Abstract. git snooze is a small Git tool that temporarily hides local changes for a fixed number of days. Unlike git stash, snoozed changes automatically reappear after their deadline and warn you, making forgotten work impossible.

Table of Contents

Like git-stash with a timer
The idea
What is git snooze?
How it works (briefly)
Installation (30 seconds)
Basic usage
Unsnoozing
Seeing what’s snoozed
Automatic reminders (the important part)
Extra safety
Why this exists
Source & license

1 Like git-stash with a timer

git stash is useful.

It’s also a graveyard.

People stash things “for later”… and later never comes.

Changes disappear. Context is lost. Work is forgotten.

That’s not a Git problem. That’s a human workflow problem.

2 The idea

What if stashed work had a timer?

Hide changes for N days
Automatically bring them back
Warn you when they reappear
Never rely on memory

That’s git snooze.

3 What is git snooze?

git snooze is a small Git-side tool for time-based deferral of local changes.

Think of it as:

A timed alternative to git stash that resets automatically.

3.1 Core properties

⏱ Time-based (default: 4 days)
👀 Always visible (git snooze -l)
⚠ Automatically reappears
🧠 Impossible to forget
🏠 Local-only (no history, no remotes)

4 How it works (briefly)

Tracked files (\to) hidden usinggit update-index --skip-worktree
Untracked files (\to) renamed to*.Nd.snoozed.* and ignored via.gitignore
State (\to)stored locally in .git/snooze.db
Automation (\to) a pre-commit hook runsgit snooze sweep (\to)expired snoozes are automatically undone (\to) a warning is printed to stdout

No commits. No branches. No magic.

5 Installation (30 seconds)

5.1 Download link (raw script)

👉 Download:** https://gist.githubusercontent.com/siran/3640fd147e26c88ea9db0dbe01c15d6c/raw/git-snooze.py**

5.2 One-line install (recommended)


curl -fsSL
"https://gist.githubusercontent.com/siran/3640fd147e26c88ea9db0dbe01c15d6c/raw/git-snooze.py"
-o /tmp/git-snooze \ && python3 /tmp/git-snooze install --global \ && rm -f
/tmp/git-snooze

That’s it.

Installs git-snooze to~/.local/bin
Sets one alias only :

6 Basic usage

6.1 Snooze a file (default: 4 days)


git snooze notes.md

6.2 Snooze for a specific duration


git snooze notes.md 7

6.3 Snooze everything(stash-like, but timed)


git snooze all git snooze all 14

7 Unsnoozing

7.1 Unsnooze one file


git snooze -u notes.md

7.2 Unsnooze everything immediately


git snooze -u all

Unsnoozing is idempotent and index-authoritative. Even if metadata is missing, the index is always restored.

8 Seeing what’s snoozed


git snooze -l

Output is grouped by days remaining , so you can see what’s about to reappear.

9 Automatic reminders (the important part)

On every commit:

git snooze sweep runs automatically
Expired snoozes are undone
A warning is printed if anything wakes up

You cannot accidentally forget snoozed work.

10 Extra safety

The tool refuses to snooze itself unless forced
git snooze all never breaks your setup
git snooze doctor --repair can rebuild metadata if needed
git snooze uninstall cleans up cleanly (and asks before deleting state)

11 Why this exists

I kept losing work in git stash.

Not because Git is bad — but because humans forget.

git snooze doesn’t trust memory. It trusts time.

That’s the whole idea.

12 Source & license

Provided as-is, use at your own risk.
Single-file script (Python 3.6+)
Readable, hackable, local-only
MIT-style, do what you want

👉 Source / download: https://gist.githubusercontent.com/siran/3640fd147e26c88ea9db0dbe01c15d6c/raw/git-snooze.py

✅ 100% vibe-code “certified”! 💯

git snooze -h

DOI: https://writing.preferredframe.com/doi/10.5281/zenodo.18370930

BTC, ADA, and Cardano Hydra Heads as Paperless Digital Cash

An Rodriguez — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

January 9, 2026

An M. Rodriguez

2026-01-09 9:44

Hydra heads

Cryptocurrencies already enable offline digital cash.

Hydra Heads, a feature of Cardano¹, behave like cash:

offline
off-chain
fee-less
instant
peer to peer
private
invisible to non-participants

ADA, top ten cryptocurrency

Want to try it? See the instructions at the end of the article.

Coins vs. account balance

There are two broad families of cryptocurrencies:

coins , like Bitcoin, and,
bank accounts , like Ethereum

In both cases, “the bank” is the blockchain (L1).

In coin-type systems, like Bitcoin, your wallet holds discrete spendable objects, “coins”, or UTxOs.

After a transaction is made (you give or receive coins), you can also “receive change”, or new coins, or the “spendable output of the transaction”.

Once a coin is spent, it cannot be spent again. This is cryptographically (which is to say “math”) ensured.

In account-type systems, like Ethereum, you do not hold coins but instead have an “account balance”. Before any value can be used, L1 (or a proxy) has to be consulted to avoid double spending. This requires consulting the main ledger (either directly or through a “trusted” proxy)

Also, offline spending is not possible because balances are global and mutable (somebody else could have already executed a claim on your values, in the ledger, after you took a snapshot of available balance).

This clearing of accounts is what makes current global financial system such a nightmare.

Because of this, offline, off-chain, peer-to-peer settlement is only possible in coin-type cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin-like, not Ethereum-like

Most prominently Ethereum uses an account-based model. Also, by extension, all the other ERC-20–based systems and account-model chains, including:

Ethereum
Binance Smart Chain
Solana
Tron

Discarding these for true digital cash (which requires coin / UTxO semantics), and excluding stablecoins such as:

Tether
USDC

leaves a much smaller competitive field.

Cardano’s actual competitors

For bearer-style, UTxO-based, cash-capable cryptocurrencies, Cardano competes primarily with:

Bitcoin
Litecoin
Bitcoin Cash
Dogecoin
XRP

Among these, Cardano is the only system that natively supports offline, fee-less, peer-to-peer cash-like settlement via Hydra Heads, while remaining anchored to a secure L1.

Hydra Head properties

A Hydra Head provides:

Fully offline operation Once opened, a head can operate offline indefinitely. Transactions require only peer connectivity.
Off-chain settlement Transactions are never broadcast globally.
Instant finality Payment and settlement are the same event.
Minerless and fee-less No miners, sequencers, or leaders. Participants validate and finalize their own transactions at zero marginal cost.
Double-spend resistance Enforced by the UTxO model and co-signed state transitions.
Privacy by default No external observers exist.

A working mental model

Automatic Teller Machine
(ATM)

Cardano L1 acts like an abstract bank where cryptocurrency is held.

Value is locked on L1 to fund a Hydra Head.

Inside the hydra head, that value behaves like cryptographic cash.

This mirrors physical cash: value is withdrawn from a bank and then circulates peer to peer.

Only some participants need to interact with L1. Others can remain fully offline forever.

A “cul-de-sac” monetary system

A cul-de-sac

A Hydra Head is like a monetary “cul-de-sac”.

Value enters and exits from Cardano L1, but value does not need to circulate through L1 to function.

Inside the head, money moves peer to peer without miners , fees , or global visibility.

There is no routing, no settlement layer beneath it, and no external dependency.

Like cash withdrawn from a bank, value can circulate indefinitely in a closed loop.

Only when participants choose to settle does L1 become relevant again.

Hydra Heads are self-contained monetary systems, anchored to L1 but not mediated by it.

Privacy

Privacy Policy

On Cardano L1, only two events are visible:

the head is opened
the head is closed

There is no on-chain record of:

intermediate payments
who paid whom
when payments happened
internal transaction structure

It’s like a “no log policy”. Just like cash.

If the head is private, nothing exists externally to reconstruct.

Privacy comes from the absence of observers.

Offline does not weaken security

Offline Hydra does not rely on trust.

value cannot be double-spent
invalid histories cannot be finalized on L1
final settlement is always available if participants choose to exit

Security properties hold without continuous connectivity.

Paper, QR codes, and cash without paper

A Hydra transaction is data.

It can be exchanged via:

QR codes
printed strings
NFC
Bluetooth
copy/paste
any ad-hoc channel

A signed transaction can be printed on paper and handed to someone. When scanned and submitted, settlement is immediate.

This is cash without paper.

What if the same paper is printed twice?

Money making machine.

This is analogous to photocopying a banknote.

only the first settlement can succeed
later attempts are rejected automatically
no double spending occurs

The risk exists at acceptance time, as with physical cash. The ledger remains consistent.

Hydra prevents fraud from succeeding, not from being attempted.

World cash

Cryptocurrency market by region,
2025-2030

Hydra Heads are purely peer to peer and offline-capable.

They work the same across frontiers:

no jurisdiction
no clearing system
no geographic boundary

They are effectively paperless, world cash.

Why this matters

Crypto bill

Hydra Heads provide a cash-like monetary mode:

cryptographically secure
double-spend resistant
fee-less
instant
minerless
independent of continuous connectivity

This mode exists in parallel to Cardano L1 and to traditional monetary systems, with L1 acting only as a value anchor.

Hydra Heads are not merely a scaling technique, they implement_offline digital cash_.

Try it for yourself

Two cheat sheets follow:

Running a funded offline Hydra Head on Android
Building and submitting an offline transaction and observing state changes

Hydra Heads are not merely a scaling technique. They implement a cash-like settlement layer.

Part 1:

############################################################
# GLOBAL CONSTANTS (EDIT ONCE IF NEEDED)
############################################################

PHONE_IP=192.168.1.208
TERMUX_USER=u0_aXXX
TERMUX_PORT=8022

PHONE_HOME=/data/data/com.termux/files/home
HYDRA_BIN=$PHONE_HOME/hydra-node

PC_HOME=$HOME/src/hydra
KEYS_DIR=$PC_HOME/cardano-keys

OFFLINE_SEED=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

############################################################
# 1) PHONE SETUP (ANDROID)
############################################################

# Install Termux from F-Droid (manual)
# Open Termux

pkg update -y
pkg install -y openssh proot-distro
passwd # set: aaaa
sshd # SSH on port 8022

# Check user (note it!)
whoami

############################################################
# 2) CONNECT FROM PC / WSL2
############################################################

ssh -p 8022 ${TERMUX_USER}@${PHONE_IP}

############################################################
# 3) CREATE DEBIAN (GLIBC) ON PHONE
############################################################

proot-distro install debian
proot-distro login debian

uname -m # must be: aarch64

############################################################
# 4) INSTALL RUNTIME LIBS (PHONE / DEBIAN)
############################################################

apt update
apt install -y \
  ca-certificates curl jq \
  libgmp10 libsodium23 libssl3 zlib1g libnuma1 libsnappy1v5 \
  liblmdb0 libsecp256k1-2 \
  etcd-server

############################################################
# 5) GET HYDRA-NODE ARM64 (ON PC)
############################################################

mkdir -p $PC_HOME
cd $PC_HOME

docker pull --platform=linux/arm64 blinklabs/hydra-node:main-arm64v8

cid=$(docker create --platform=linux/arm64 blinklabs/hydra-node:main-arm64v8)
docker cp "$cid":/usr/local/bin/hydra-node ./hydra-node
docker rm "$cid"

file hydra-node # ELF 64-bit ARM aarch64

############################################################
# 6) COPY HYDRA-NODE TO PHONE
############################################################

scp -P 8022 ./hydra-node \
  ${TERMUX_USER}@${PHONE_IP}:${PHONE_HOME}/hydra-node

############################################################
# 7) PHONE: MAKE EXECUTABLE
############################################################

chmod +x $HYDRA_BIN
$HYDRA_BIN --version

############################################################
# 8) PHONE: PROTOCOL PARAMETERS (CONWAY)
############################################################

cd $PHONE_HOME

curl -fsSL https://preprod.koios.rest/api/v1/cli_protocol_params \
  -o protocol-parameters.json

grep -n '"poolVotingThresholds"' protocol-parameters.json

############################################################
# 9) PHONE: SHELLEY GENESIS (PREPROD)
############################################################

# Copy from known config tree or scp from PC if you have it
# Must end up exactly here:
ls -l $PHONE_HOME/shelley-genesis.json

############################################################
# 10) PHONE: FAKE ADA (INITIAL UTXO)
############################################################

cat > $PHONE_HOME/utxo.json <<'EOF'
{
  "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000#0": {
    "address": "addr_test1vpgu5cghta2ydahksr55z88gsz6pjjp43zcatfefw3drw6sut9jxj",
    "value": { "lovelace": 20000000 }
  }
}
EOF

############################################################
# 11) PHONE: HYDRA KEYS (NODE A)
############################################################

mkdir -p /root/hydra-a/keys
$HYDRA_BIN gen-hydra-key --output-file /root/hydra-a/keys/hydra

############################################################
# 12) PHONE: RUN HYDRA NODE A
############################################################

$HYDRA_BIN \
  -n A \
  --hydra-signing-key /root/hydra-a/keys/hydra.sk \
  --offline-head-seed $OFFLINE_SEED \
  --ledger-genesis $PHONE_HOME/shelley-genesis.json \
  --initial-utxo $PHONE_HOME/utxo.json \
  --ledger-protocol-parameters $PHONE_HOME/protocol-parameters.json \
  --listen 0.0.0.0:5001 \
  --advertise ${PHONE_IP}:5001 \
  --api-host 0.0.0.0 \
  --api-port 4001 \
  --persistence-dir /root/hydra-a/state \
  --use-system-etcd

############################################################
# 13) VERIFY PHONE NODE
############################################################

curl http://127.0.0.1:4001/head
curl http://${PHONE_IP}:4001/head

############################################################
# 14) VERIFY FAKE FUNDS LOADED
############################################################

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4001/head \
 | jq '.contents.coordinatedHeadState.confirmedSnapshot.initialUTxO'

############################################################
# 15) IF UTXO EMPTY → WIPE STATE & RESTART
############################################################

rm -rf /root/hydra-a/state
mkdir -p /root/hydra-a/state
# rerun step 12

############################################################
# 16) PC SIDE (NODE B – OFFLINE, FOR TX BUILD)
############################################################

# Use Docker cardano-cli only (no hydra-node needed on PC)

cd $KEYS_DIR
mkdir -p pay

docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest address key-gen \
    --verification-key-file /w/pay/b.vkey \
    --signing-key-file /w/pay/b.skey

docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest address build \
    --payment-verification-key-file /w/pay/b.vkey \
    --testnet-magic 1 \
    --out-file /w/pay/b.addr

############################################################
# NEXT STEP (FOR NEXT ASSISTANT)
############################################################
# Build + sign a tx spending:
# 0000...000#0
# Submit via Hydra WebSocket (NewTx)
# Observe /head changing on phone
############################################################

Part 2:

############################################################
# CHEAT SHEET #2 — OFFLINE TX INSIDE HYDRA HEAD
############################################################

# Assumptions (same as sheet #1)
PHONE_IP=192.168.1.208
PHONE_API=4001

PC_HOME=$HOME/src/hydra
KEYS_DIR=$PC_HOME/cardano-keys

TX_IN=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000#0

############################################################
# 1) PC: PREPARE ADDRESSES (A = receiver, B = sender)
############################################################

cd $KEYS_DIR
mkdir -p pay

# Generate keys for A (receiver)
docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest address key-gen \
    --verification-key-file /w/pay/a.vkey \
    --signing-key-file /w/pay/a.skey

docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest address build \
    --payment-verification-key-file /w/pay/a.vkey \
    --testnet-magic 1 \
    --out-file /w/pay/a.addr

# (Sender B keys already exist from sheet #1)
cat pay/a.addr
cat pay/b.addr

############################################################
# 2) PC: BUILD RAW TX (FEE = 0 FIRST)
############################################################

A_ADDR=$(cat pay/a.addr)
B_ADDR=$(cat pay/b.addr)

docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest transaction build-raw \
    --tx-in $TX_IN \
    --tx-out "$A_ADDR+1000000" \
    --tx-out "$B_ADDR+19000000" \
    --fee 0 \
    --protocol-params-file /w/protocol-parameters.json \
    --out-file /w/tx.draft

############################################################
# 3) PC: CALCULATE MIN FEE
############################################################

FEE=$(docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest transaction calculate-min-fee \
    --tx-body-file /w/tx.draft \
    --protocol-params-file /w/protocol-parameters.json \
    --witness-count 1 | awk '{print $1}')

CHANGE=$((19000000 - FEE))

echo "FEE=$FEE"
echo "CHANGE=$CHANGE"

############################################################
# 4) PC: BUILD FINAL TX
############################################################

docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest transaction build-raw \
    --tx-in $TX_IN \
    --tx-out "$A_ADDR+1000000" \
    --tx-out "$B_ADDR+$CHANGE" \
    --fee "$FEE" \
    --protocol-params-file /w/protocol-parameters.json \
    --out-file /w/tx.raw

############################################################
# 5) PC: SIGN TX (B SIGNS)
############################################################

docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/w ghcr.io/intersectmbo/cardano-node:10.6.1 \
  cli latest transaction sign \
    --tx-body-file /w/tx.raw \
    --signing-key-file /w/pay/b.skey \
    --out-file /w/tx.signed

ls -l tx.signed
jq -r '.cborHex | length' tx.signed # must be > 0

############################################################
# 6) PC: SUBMIT TX TO HYDRA (WEBSOCKET)
############################################################

# Install websocat once if missing
sudo curl -L \
  https://github.com/vi/websocat/releases/download/v1.12.0/websocat.x86_64-unknown-linux-musl \
  -o /usr/local/bin/websocat
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/websocat

# Submit NewTx
jq -c '{tag:"NewTx", transaction:.}' tx.signed \
 | websocat ws://${PHONE_IP}:${PHONE_API}/

############################################################
# 7) VERIFY TX EFFECT (PHONE)
############################################################

curl -s http://${PHONE_IP}:${PHONE_API}/head \
 | jq '.contents.coordinatedHeadState.version'

curl -s http://${PHONE_IP}:${PHONE_API}/head \
 | jq '.contents.coordinatedHeadState.confirmedSnapshot.initialUTxO'

############################################################
# EXPECTED RESULT
############################################################
# - version increments (e.g. 0 -> 1)
# - original TX_IN disappears
# - new UTxOs appear for A and B
############################################################

DOI: https://writing.preferredframe.com/doi/10.5281/zenodo.18203718

https://cardano.org/ is a commodity cryptocurrency with token ADA, a top-10 cryptocurrency by market capitalization.↩︎

Cellphone-2-cellphone no-internet cryptocurrency payment app - Digital cash

An Rodriguez — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 18:23:16 +0000

I have been thinking for a while that a no-internet cellphone-2-cellphone cryptocurrency payment app could be developed using a Cardano's Hydra Head running on docker for ARM64.

Take this post as an open invitation for discussion: is there already an open source project doing this? are there other ways of achieving this?

I think the major hurdle is to get a Hydra Head to work on a cellphone.

I know there was at least one project I once even installed on my phone, HydraNow:

But it's not available anymore.

Seems to be related to this people: https://github.com/obsidiansystems/hydra-pay

Hydra Pay provides an open source application and suite of libraries for builders on cardano to make use of Hydra (Head). The hydra-pay executable allows you to create instances and manage payment channels on the main cardano networks.

The WebSocket API provies builders with the ability to create, manage and monitor payment channels so they can focus on their usecase.

There is also

https://developers.cardano.org/docs/get-started/cardano-wallet-js/

Get Started with cardano-wallet-js
cardano-wallet-js
cardano-wallet-js is a javascript/typescript SDK for Cardano with several functionalities. You can use it as a client for the official cardano-wallet and also to create Native Tokens and NFTs.

Also https://developers.cardano.org/docs/get-started/cardanocli-js/

And others.

It just needs our enthusiasm, development and support. Also, crypto market is booming. So, it is a great opportunity.

Read you in the comments!

Lesson 4: Money at the service of the body, and the body at the service of money

An Rodriguez — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 07:03:45 +0000

Previously, we saw that by separating from God, we created the first and only lack: the lack of God. This lack fragmented and transformed into thousands of needs. These needs were projected onto the body, and now it seems that the body is what lacks things and requires our attention. We also said that the body is the symbol of separation. Feeling its needs and working to satisfy them is the way to prove that separation is real.

When someone asks you to tell them about yourself, isn’t the story you tell them the story of your body? The place and date where your body was born, the house where your body lives, the partner your body is with, the illnesses your body has gone through, the countries it has been to. The body is the “hero,” the protagonist, of your movie. Everything revolves around it. We see the body as a full-fledged person.

Since we are so deeply identified with the body, it’s natural that we want to tend to its needs. It’s expected that we want to pamper it, protect it, and listen to it. The body asks, and the mind obeys by seeking what is needed to appease its desires. From this perspective, the idea that the body itself doesn’t need anything sounds absurd. However, this is what the Course teaches. It is explained in Chapter 27:

The dreaming of the world takes many forms, because the body seeks in many ways to prove it is autonomous and real. It puts things on itself that it has bought with little metal discs or paper strips the world proclaims as valuable and good. It works to get them, doing senseless things, and tosses them away for senseless things it does not need and does not even want. It hires other bodies, that they may protect it and collect more senseless things that it can call its own. It looks about for special bodies that can share its dream. (CE T-27.X.2:1-5)

What this paragraph means is that we have designed a system of thought that teaches us it’s fundamental lesson: “… that it [the body] is cause and not effect, and you are its effect and cannot be its cause.” (CE T-27.X.3:4).

Let us remember that the body only became part of our experience after we decided to separate from God. The body is an effect of the mind and has never ceased to be so. The truth of this idea is stored within us and constantly surfaces, although we do not take it very seriously.

For example, when we hear someone judge another by their physical appearance, we think they are a shallow person. Intuitively, we know that what is inside is what matters. When we hear that others are treated as if they were objects, we also feel indignation. We are inspired by stories of people who overcame their physical limitations thanks to their willpower because deep down, we know that the body is like a prison, and the mind longs to be free.

Through the ages we have imposed onto ourselves a system of thought that teaches and reinforces the idea that the body is cause and the mind is its effect.

This system of thought starts with the idea that the body has its impulses and needs like feeling cold, an impulse that tells us the body requires clothing and other accessories.

To procure these things, we need money, and to have money, we must work hard.

We strain the body for strips of paper, metal discs, and numbers on a bank screen. We invent countless meaningless activities to obtain those strips of paper. But do we stop when the need is met?

Instead of simply meeting a specific need, we end up squandering money on things we neither want nor need. Who cannot relate to this? Who has not wasted money on things they never used? Who has not bought things they truly did not need? We work hard to obtain something we will later discard. What sense can this make?

Yet, this system makes so much sense to us that we use the same strips of paper and metal discs to hire other bodies to do the work for us. Their job is to collect “more meaningless things” for ourselves. We also look for that special person with whom to share the illusion of acquiring more money that can be wasted on more unnecessary things. Possessing for the sake of possessing is one of the ego’s slogans. Like everything from the ego, it ends up being circular reasoning. Money serves the body, and the body serves money. The mind remains a victim of this cycle.

Jesus has a good sense of irony. When seen in this light, the entire system becomes laughable for how absurd and senseless it is. Can you see the absurdity of it all too?

Many have dared to point out the absurdity of the system. For example, in 2008, as a result of a financial crisis, the “Occupy” movement emerged as a way to protest financial injustices. There are also anti-consumption movements that highlight the absurdity and danger of centering society around the idea of constant consumption of goods and buying products. These and many other similar groups protest the system because they can see the harmful effects it has on people and the environment. However, no group points out that the real problem is that we incorrectly believe the body governs itself.

In this world, we see these problems as something very serious. We think that money is simply a fact we must live with because the body needs things. There is no doubt that we have learned very well the central lesson this system wants to teach us: the body is cause and not effect.

To prevent such an absurd system from spiraling out of control, we created rules and laws to follow. The Course assures us that, although we feel bound by these laws, we will feel deep liberation when we realize they are not really laws but part of a madness. It says this in Lesson 76 of the Workbook:

Think of the freedom in the recognition that you are not bound to all the strange and twisted laws you have set up to save you. You really think that you will starve unless you have stacks of green paper strips and piles of metal discs. You really think a small round pellet or some fluid pushed into your veins through a sharpened needle will ward off death. You really think you are alone unless another body is with you. (CE W-76.3:2-4)

It is insanity that thinks these things. You call them laws, and put them under different names in a long catalog of rituals that have no use and serve no purpose. You think you must obey the “laws” of medicine, of economics, and of health. Protect the body, and you will be saved. (CE W-76.4)

These are not laws but madness. (CE W-76.5:1)

There are many examples of these laws. For instance, the idea that we must earn a living. In the psychotherapy supplement of the Course, it says that we believe “it is ushered in by the belief that there are forces to be overcome to be alive at all.” (P-2.V.1 ).

That is, we think that life must involve effort for it to exist.

Another fundamental law is the law of supply and demand. In this world, supply is always limited, and needs are said to be infinite. According to the laws of the world, we think it is not our natural right granted by God, but a privilege we must fight for. Since supply is limited, we think we are in competition with others, who take away what we seek to live.

Jesus reminds us, however, that this law is madness and that by freeing ourselves from it, we will feel deep relief.

Let us then do what he proposes. Close your eyes for a few minutes and take time thinking about:

how you would feel recognizing that you are not bound by the laws of economics.
how you would feel realizing that you don’t have to make any effort to earn a living.
how you would feel recognizing that all those laws that seem to bind you are madness and that only the laws of God govern you.

Observe how you feel.

Isn’t that a goal you would like to achieve? Wouldn’t you put your body in service to this goal?

Practice

We have already seen that we tend to focus our lives on pleasing the body and put all our efforts into accumulating things that can satisfy it. We need to center the mind early in the day so that the goal is different. Today, we will introduce an additional element to our practice with this purpose. We will dedicate ourselves to starting the day well.

In the Morning

Dedicate about 15 minutes in the morning to the following practice:

Close your eyes and set your mind to look honestly, without deception.
Identify the beliefs you have about the laws of this world that you think you must obey. For example: “If I don’t eat, I’ll die,” “If I don’t earn money, I could get evicted,” “If I don’t take my medication, my illness will worsen,” etc.
For each belief, observe how that law makes you feel, especially when you imagine breaking it.
Release each belief with these words, said slowly and with full confidence that they will take effect:

“I believe that ---------, but that is not true; I am governed only by the laws of God.”

For example:

“I believe that I would starve if I had no money, but that is not true. I am governed only by the laws of God.”

If you practice correctly, your mind will naturally reach a state of silence where you will find no more beliefs, and you will experience peace.

Spend the remaining time staying in that state and remind yourself that this is the state you wish to remain in for the rest of the day.

During the Day

Since we have accepted the system we live in as normal for so many years, it is understandable that one morning meditation will not make it disappear immediately. For this, we need constant practice that offers a saner alternative.

Throughout the day, stay alert for any thought that suggests you must serve the body or that the body must serve money. These may include thoughts of anxiety about your work or desires to indulge the body in some craving. Be especially mindful of thoughts related to shopping or goals you want to achieve.

Whenever you catch yourself having a thought aimed at pleasing the body or achieving goals that serve the body, immediately respond with the truth:

“This thing I believe I need is not what will make me happy. I will be still and listen to the alternative God offers me.”

Always remember that the words should be spoken slowly and with attention to the meaning they carry. For example, when you say “I will be still to listen,” do exactly that.

Additionally, set a timer on your phone to remind you every 20 minutes to keep your focus throughout the day:

“Today I will not waste time trying to prove to myself that the body commands me.”

A new vision on money (intro for Dev.to)

An Rodriguez — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 10:42:29 +0000

I have been a developer for as long as I can remember.

By developer, I mean that I use computers as tools. I use them to develop mostly backend software and tooling, manage infrastructure in the cloud as DevOps, do research in computational physics, algorithmic trading, data analysis. And more.

That said, almost 10 years ago I moved to the U.S. After about 3 years of arriving, I was granted a work permit, and then I could start looking for work.

After dozens of interviews, some of which I had to reject because the company offered too low of a salary (never allow people to exploit you or underpay you; know your worth in the world, at least), or others where it was clear they didn’t know what they were doing as a company, others with millennials skateboarding between rooms, etc…

I finally landed a great position as a DevOps Engineer in a multinational marketing company. I stayed in the company for about 5 years. I learned a lot and went from a starting mid-level engineer to a Senior Engineer and Manager.

I wasn’t laid off until one year after the pandemic.

In those five years, I could save a humble nest egg that has kept me afloat in Queens, NY, where I now live (before, I lived 5 minutes walking distance from the office in Lower Manhattan).

From the first days on the job, as I was meeting some of my colleagues, I can recall my surprise at hearing some of them complain about their (great) salaries and positions. It was an impact to me that people working in an office in Downtown Manhattan could even complain about these things.

On the other hand, I could see those same people splurging money on stupid stuff (food, bars, clothes, cars).

Coming from a very bad economy in my home country and arriving in the land of the free, the situation was all-shocking to me. People complaining about having a lunch that costs a month’s salary in other parts of the world.

What shocked me the most was seeing the lack of agency in the world that some of these people felt. They felt trapped, even though they were free. They looked at me with some skepticism as my attitude seemed weird to them. For some reason, they didn’t feel as empowered as I felt. I can explain this probably because of where I came from and where I had landed. All in all, I had managed to help/continue/build the internet side of my father’s student information system for schools.

My colleagues were in a much better position economically, without a doubt. I just had debts at the time, after three years of burning my savings while waiting for the work permit.

I didn’t give it too much thought until today.

A New Vision on Money

Today I can see more clearly that the feeling of agency they lacked in their lives can be attributed to the idea that we need money to succeed.

Since there will always be people with more money than us, it feels hard to achieve their success. Because the world has taught us, or most, to measure success with numbers in a bank account.

If not money, maybe followers, engaged readers, prizes, or something else.

We worry way too much about what our surroundings think we are, and most feel that they are defined by this.

After being laid off, a first shock always emerges. What now? What am I going to do? Bills? Work?

I decided to chill down a bit and think, instead of mindlessly or desperately doing something or anything. Good thing I decided this for myself.

Not long after, my life changed for the better.

The details can be read in these series of posts I’ll be making about ‘money’, undoing our current vision on money and developing a new, better one, adjusted to reality.

I hope you are interested in reading the next posts about ‘A New Vision on Money’. I promise this is a life-changing thing to read.

I am humbly the messenger and translator. These posts were originally made in Spanish by an old friend.

Without further ado, here is the general Introduction.

Lesson 3: The root of all evil

An Rodriguez — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 06:14:05 +0000

In the introduction, we said that one view of money is that it is intrinsically evil, the root of all evils. Somehow, we have ingrained in our subconscious the idea that money is the cause of the many problems we experience. Who has not thought that without the unjust systems imposed by money, we would have a better society and a better world? And who has not thought that money has the power to corrupt anyone? “Everyone has their price,” says a famous saying.

Jesus tells us in the Course that money is an effect of a prior cause and therefore cannot be attributed with evil:

The authority problem, not money, is the real “root of all evil.” Money is but one of its many reflections, and is a reasonably representative example of the kind of thinking which stems from it. The idea of buying and selling implies precisely the kind of exchange that the spirit cannot understand at all, because its own supply is always abundant and all its demands are fully met. (CE T-4.II.1:3-5)

Separation can be understood as a process we undertook with the goal of becoming our own authors. First, we denied God as our divine Author and then embarked on a journey where we imagine that we create ourselves. The course calls this “the problem of authorship.” The problem is that we are confused about who our author is.

You can imagine this as pretending to leave home, hitting your head, and due to your amnesia, not remembering who your father is. However, just because you have forgotten does not mean your father stops being who he is. A simple paternity test could prove where you come from.

What Jesus says is that being confused about who created you is the root of all evil. Money is not the root, since money is just one of many reflections of the authorship problem. Here, Jesus is freeing money from the old and prevailing view that it is the cause of all evil. We might automatically think that Jesus is aligning with the modern view that money is intrinsically good, your divine right, a demonstration that you are doing God’s will.

However, Jesus does not align with that view either. It is clear in this paragraph that Jesus categorizes money as part of the problem by saying it is a concept that arises as a product of the authorship problem. In fact, he says that the idea it represents is the opposite of what happens in heaven.

At the end of the previous quote, we see that heaven is described as a condition where we are always abundant and have no needs. The language used is clearly associated with the formulation of the basic economic law of “supply and demand.” If there were an economy in heaven, we would say that supply is always abundant and demand is always completely satisfied.

In what sense is money a representative example of the authorship problem? Separation carried out a process of inversion as seen relative to where we are; metaphorically speaking, separation from God puts us, in a sense, “upside down.” That is, what is true in heaven, being inverted, ends up being the opposite in this world. In heaven, supply is always abundant, and demand is always satisfied. However, money, being a reflection of the idea of separation, ends up exemplifying contrary laws. In this world, supply is scarce, and demand is never satisfied. Money is that crazy idea that arises in a world where scarcity reigns.

The way to rid ourselves of the idea that money is the cause of our problems, even if only for a few of them, is by resolving the internal problem of authorship, also called the problem of authority in the course. As long as we believe that there are external or internal things that have the power to cause the calamities we experience, we are confused about who created us. Jesus emphasizes the importance of resolving this problem as soon as possible:

It is essential that this whole authority problem be voluntarily dismissed once and for all. You do not understand how important this is for your sanity. You are quite insane on this point. (CE T-3.XI.1:1-3)

Interestingly, the way to rid ourselves of this problem is by recognizing that it is a fictitious problem, a problem we have believed is there but is actually an illusion. How can we understand this? We find the key in these paragraphs:

Peace is a natural heritage of the Son. Everyone is free to refuse to accept his inheritance, but he is not free to establish what his inheritance is. The problem which everyone must decide is the fundamental question of his own authorship. CE T-3.X.11:1-3)

And also,

You cannot find peace while this authority problem continues. But the truth is still that there is no problem about this. There is no one who does not feel that he is imprisoned in some way. If this has been the result of his own free will, he must regard his will as if it were not free, or the obviously circular reasoning of his own position would be quite apparent. Free will must lead to freedom. (CE T-3.X.12:1-5)

The authority problem can be reduced to a simple phrase: “My will and God’s are different.” If they were the same will, there would be no authority to oppose and no problem at all. So, the problem is that I have used my free will to oppose God’s will. I have opposed His will by believing that I am the author of my own reality.

Each of us thinks we can shape reality as we please. That we can build our identity as we wish through our actions and the stories we weave. We plot our own story and build our own image with each passing day. We have a strong attachment to being the authors of our own reality.

If I have money problems and peace is my natural inheritance, that means I am denying my inheritance. The evidence that I am denying my inheritance is that I do not have peace due to these problems, or because I feel like a prisoner of circumstances; and not the fact of not having money. Since God’s will is my inheritance and my inheritance is peace, that means I have chosen to live contrary to God’s will. Therefore, I am using my free will to imprison myself. Complete insanity!

We do not realize this circular and insane reasoning because, instead of thinking that we have used our freedom to imprison ourselves, we simply think that our will cannot be free. And that we are at the mercy of the will of the world and other people.

Can I accept without reserves that another Being is responsible for my existence and who I am?

Can I accept that I used my freedom to deny my Creator?

Can I use my free will not to imprison myself but to be free?

Why would I not accept peace, which is my inheritance?

Practice

The way to apply these ideas in practice is by declaring your independence from the things that seem to define who you are. What things in this world do you believe define you? What things in this world have the power to alter your image?

Today, we will spend the day identifying those things that seem to be our author and declaring independence from them. Some examples:

I believe that money has the power to define who I am, what I do, or what I can or cannot do.
I believe that the opinions of others have the power to alter how I see myself and how I behave.
I believe that the lack of certain things like water, electricity, or silence has the power to alter my peace.
I believe that certain foods, drinks, or substances can affect my mood.
I believe that certain rituals can make me feel better.

Stay alert throughout the day to identify any thought that seems to indicate that the world is your author and has the ability to dictate who you are or how you feel. You will easily know this whenever you see that you have lost your peace. Each time you identify such a thought, immediately respond with the truth by saying:

I made up the idea that ———- has the power to alter me. But my true author is God, and my inheritance is His peace.”

For example, if you find yourself distressed about a debt or because someone has a bad opinion of you, you can say:

“I made up that this debt has the power to alter me. But my true author is God, and my inheritance is His peace.”

“I made up that this opinion has the power to alter me. But my true author is God, and my inheritance is His peace.”

As usual, remember to say the words very slowly and feel their meaning. It is not about repeating them like a parrot, but about allowing yourself to feel how the content those words represent has the power to dissolve illusions. Remember to apply the response to temptation until you feel an internal change. It might also help to say them with a sense of declaring your independence from those external things.

Additionally, set your phone timer to remind you every 20 minutes of the truth. It is important to keep a true idea in mind throughout the day; otherwise, your mind will get lost in daily distractions and you will think again that the world is your author. You can use this phrase:

My worth is not determined by anything in this world. My worth was established by God.

Lesson 2: The desire to possess

An Rodriguez — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 10:28:29 +0000

Before we can explain where the idea of money comes from, it is necessary to take a small detour to explain the desire to possess. After all, one of the main uses we give to money is to possess material things and also to control other people who work for us.

Do not think that by separating from God we completely forgot about Him. Deep in the mind of each person lies a burning desire to return home. God did not forget about us either. He constantly calls us with His love and speaks to us throughout the day, reminding us how much He wants us to return to Him.

On one hand, we feel attracted to God, and on the other, God attracts us as if He were a force of gravity. The Course calls these two forces “the irresistible attraction to God.”

When we think of the word attraction, we usually think of a romantic relationship. Inevitably, thoughts associated with desire, repulsion, and sometimes disinterest in certain aspects of the other person come to mind. However, in heaven, our natural state is one of total attraction to God. It is the only thing we desire; the elements of repulsion and disinterest are not present there. God is perfectly attractive.

In every relationship of attraction, there is a desire to belong. If you do not believe me, think of a soap opera - perhaps romantic movies - and remember phrases like “make me yours” or “you will be mine.”

Also beliefs like, “a family belongs to its own home,” or that some people believe that children belong to their parents.

The idea of possessing and being possessed is part of the nature of this world.

By separating from God, we did not lose that deep desire to belong. We desire to belong to God. There is such an irresistible attraction to God that we naturally want God to make us His own.

It may sound strange, but deep down, each of us desires to be possessed by God. Not in the sense that a spirit possesses a body, as seen in horror movies, but in the sense that a child belongs to their parents. That is the reality in heaven, and also in this world, even if we do not realize it. This is how Jesus explains it in the original dictation of the Course:

The truth is still that the attraction of God is irresistible at all levels, and the acceptance of this totally unavoidable truth is only a matter of time. But you should consider whether you want to wait, because you can return now, if you choose. (CE T-2.I.1:3-4)

In this world, however, we came with the idea of being separated from God. So that impulse of such irresistible attraction had to be suppressed.

One of the many ways we suppress that impulse is by avoiding God. For example, there are atheists who deny His existence. There are also those who believe in Him but think He is someone fearful or despotic and therefore undesirable. Interestingly, there are also those who want to believe in Him but strip Him of so many attributes that He ends up being a diluted God. For example, nowadays, we can hear many spiritual currents speaking of God as impersonal energy, the void, silence, universal consciousness, and also as a higher self. All these visions are attempts to avoid the desire to be possessed by God.

Suppressing the impulse of attraction is a strategy. But we also have another strategy up our sleeve: distorting the desire to be possessed by God into the desire to possess in this world.

Jesus typifies the four main ways in which we distort the attraction to God. I will only cover the first two forms that are relevant to the topic of money that we are discussing this time.

Type 1: The desire to possess bodies or be possessed by them

Anyone who has fallen in love in this world has experienced the desire to possess the body of their beloved. As I mentioned earlier, soap operas are full of phrases that reveal the human desire to possess another or to be made theirs. Jesus typifies this type of distortion with these words:

Possession can be associated with the body only. If this occurs, sex is particularly likely to be contaminated. Possession versus being possessed is apt to be seen as the male versus the female role. Since neither will be conceived of as satisfying alone, and both will be associated with fear, this interpretation is particularly vulnerable to psychosexual confusion. (CE T-2.I.3)

Here we can see that the classic roles of man and woman as a sexual couple are the product of a distortion. The man wants to possess the woman, and the woman wants the man to make her his. However, Jesus adds that neither role is satisfactory in itself, which leads to more confusion that is projected onto sex.

Type 2: The desire to possess material things

The second type of distortion occurs when we direct the desire for possession toward material things. This is the type of distortion in which money plays a part:

From a rather similar reference point, possession can also be associated with things. This is essentially a shift from type 1 and is usually due to an underlying fear of associating possession with people. In this sense, it is an attempt to protect people from one’s possessiveness, like the superstition about “protecting the name” we mentioned before. (CE T-2.I.4)

It is interesting to read that the desire to possess material things is a form of protection. It is as if the first distortion we resort to is the desire to possess other people. However, this causes fear, perhaps because we might harm the other person. The solution we find in our confusion is to divert the desire to possess bodies and turn it into the desire to possess material things. By diverting the desire, we think we are protecting the person whose body we wanted to possess.

Have you ever felt the urge to buy something expensive after a breakup or romantic disappointment? For example, I know several people who drown their sorrows in shopping when things do not go well in love. The idea proposed here is that this behavior is due to the fear caused by the desire to possess the other person.

Another interesting point that Jesus makes in his explanation is that many relationships are formed based on the first type of possession. But this is not what keeps them together in the long run. Once the romance fades, many couples remain together by sharing the desire to possess material things.

Emergency Switches

The desire to possess bodies and material things is an attempt to fill a void. Since these goals are relatively easy to achieve, the desires to possess tend to be compulsive. This means they can lead us to a state where our behavior becomes uncontrollable.

Superficially, the desire to possess bodies and things seems completely harmless. In fact, they appear to have the power to keep fear and pain at bay.

Did your partner leave you? It does not matter; there are plenty of fish in the sea, and ‘one nail drives out another!’

Are you sad? Let’s go shopping to lift your spirits.

What we do not realize is that the fear we are trying to keep at bay is the fear of returning to God. The tension created by not satisfying this deep desire grows day by day, making the internal void even more voracious. This can lead us to place even more faith in the first two distortions of the desire to possess. And the more faith we place in these solutions, the more emptiness and fear we generate. We could say we are imposing a regime of self-starvation on ourselves.

This voracious hunger, when taken to the extreme, results in highly undesirable and even criminal behaviors. Although very few reach this extreme, there is a fear in the mind of each person that, in the darkest part of our being, there is a latent criminal. Have you ever had a completely inappropriate thought cross your mind? The idea that you could actually do it is one of the many promoters of fear.

No one really wants to see themselves as the villain of the story. So, in the midst of confusion, we come up with very creative ideas to avoid reaching the extreme, hoping that this will reduce the fear. The Course says that these ego solutions follow this logic:

A child of God is efficient.
I am not efficient.
Therefore, I am not a child of God. (CE T-2.I.16:3-5)

This means that the ego’s solutions to keep fear at bay involve making you less efficient in achieving the desire you want to fulfill. For example, people who accumulate great wealth and then go bankrupt, sometimes multiple times throughout their lives. These individuals drive themselves to lose everything as a way to reduce the fear and emptiness generated by their desire to possess material things. It is similar to having an internal ‘short circuit’ that forces them to reset.

Perhaps delving deeply into the topic of possession has helped you understand the role of money a bit better. We can see that money might be a means to satisfy our distorted impulses to possess and that money itself can become the object we desire to possess or that possesses us. There is nothing inherently special about money from this perspective. It is simply a deep need for God that has not yet been healed.

Healing the Desire to Possess

The Course teaches us to redefine our concept of possession as the path to healing the distortions we participate in:

The obvious correction for all types of the possession fallacy is to redefine possession correctly. In the sense of “taking over,” the concept does not exist at all in divine reality, which is the only level where real existence is a meaningful term. No one can be “taken over” unless he wills to be. (CE T-2.I.24:1-3)

This is achieved through miracles. Miracles, which are expressions of love, are designed to fill the void left from our separation from God. By satisfying the true need, the distortions must disappear. It does not matter what type of distortion arises or how difficult and persistent it may seem. The miracle can heal it:

It is emphasized here that these differences have no effect at all on the miracle, which can heal any of them with equal ease. (CE T-2.I.21:1)

Practice

Just like in the previous practice, we will use the response to temptation and frequent reminders.

Observe your mind throughout the day. The thoughts you are looking for are those that indicate you want to possess or be possessed by something external. We have already seen some examples, but I will repeat them here:

Feeling attracted to someone else’s body
Craving to buy something
Craving to eat or drink something
Any consumption habit you cannot easily stop (checking your phone, drinking coffee, smoking, etc.)
Any idea that you must make money or strategies to achieve it

Many of these things are part of “normal life” and may not seem like thoughts to you. That is why you need to be very vigilant to recognize the moments when you think you want these things. Once you have identified the thought, respond immediately:

“I am confused because I think possessing ———- is what will bring me happiness [peace, freedom, etc.]. What I am really seeking through this is to belong to God.”

Just like in the previous practice, close your eyes and say these words very slowly, letting their meaning enter your mind and help you change your perspective. When you feel an internal shift, that will be the moment to stop. If you feel resistance, try to continue for a few more seconds. If the resistance persists, that will also be the moment to stop.

Additionally, set your phone timer to remind you every 20 minutes of this idea:

“Today, I will not fight against my irresistible attraction to God.”

Lesson 1: Why do we have needs?

An Rodriguez — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 03:49:39 +0000

The first thing to understand about needs is the picture the Course paints about our reality in Heaven. The Course describes Heaven not as a place but as a state of mind in which there is a complete absence of needs. We find this idea, for example, in Chapter 13:

Your Father knoweth that you have need of nothing. In Heaven this is so, for what could you need in eternity? (CE T-13.VIII.1:1-2)

This means that, in Heaven, we had no need for anything. However, upon coming to this world, we placed ourselves in a situation where needs became possible:

In your world you do need things, because it is a world of scarcity, in which you find yourself because you are lacking. (CE T-13.VIII.1:3)

How did we become needy? Every need involves, by definition, a lack. Lack can be understood as a void of something. That void must be filled with that which is missing. So, needing “something” is the same as wanting to fill the void of that very thing.

By separating from God and coming to this world, we discovered what it meant to be without God. The separation led us to imagine a lack—the lack of God Himself. Every need is simply a motivation. In other words, a need represents the motivation to fulfill a specific lack. The void of God at the core of our being gave rise to needs, or our motivation for change.

Having needs involves recognizing that you could be in a better state than you are now. Jesus, in the original dictation of the Course, says that needs are what motivate our behavior:

After the separation, needs became the most powerful source of motivation for human action. All behavior is essentially motivated by needs, but behavior itself is not a divine attribute. (CE T-1.48.20-21)

In Heaven, where there is no lack, behavior is unnecessary because there is no motivation for change. In this world, however, any behavior we exhibit or see in others is motivated by certain specific needs. The fact that behavior is not a divine attribute does not mean that behavior is something bad. On the contrary, behavior is the mechanism we have at our disposal to act on our desire to be better:

The body is the mechanism for behavior. Nobody would bother even to get up and go from one place to another if he did not think he would somehow be better off. Believing that you could be “better off” is the reason why you have the mechanism for behavior at your disposal. That is why the Bible says, “By their deeds ye shall know them.” (CE T-1.48.21:3-6)

All behavior must be expressed through the body. Jesus tells us that the body is the mechanism of behavior and therefore for satisfying needs. Depending on the needs someone wants to fulfill, their behavior will follow. This is why “By their deeds ye shall know them..”

However, the body originally arose as a product of the desire to separate from God. This desire required a symbol to keep us separate from our true Creator. Therefore, the symbol of the separation from God is the body. The body is like a protective barrier that keeps us separated from the rest of the world. This protective barrier is what proves to us every day that “I am me” and that I cannot be anything else.

Like any symbol, the body can change its purpose and be used for something positive. When the body is used to separate, it seems that the body has its own needs. When we use the body to keep ourselves separated from God, we become slaves to those needs and will spend our lives satisfying them. On the other had, if we made God our only need, then our behavior, expressed through the body, would reflect that motivation. Believing that we can be better off is, therefore, a good thing. It is what ultimately motivates us to satisfy the need for God, our only real need.

Since the vast majority of us use the body to keep ourselves separated, it seems like there are hundreds of different needs to satisfy before we have time to seek God.

Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs is a great example of this idea. In the chart above, we can see that it is necessary to first satisfy our physiological and safety needs before the need for relationships and spiritual fulfillment. However, Jesus tells us that this pyramid is completely wrong:

You act according to the particular hierarchy of needs you establish for yourself. Your hierarchy, in turn, depends on your perception of what you are; that is, what you lack. This establishes your own rules for what you need to know. Separation from God is the only lack you really need to correct. But your separation would never have occurred if you had not distorted your perception of truth, and thus perceived yourself as lacking. The concept of any sort of need hierarchy arose because, having made this fundamental error, you had already fragmented yourself into levels with different needs. (CE T-1.48.22:1-6)

In other words, every need is a distortion of our only true lack: God. As a result of the separation, we internally disintegrated as if we repeated the process of separating from God over and over within our own being. That is why it seems we have internal voices asking for contradictory things.

To satisfy the needs that our internal voices demand, we had to prioritize some and set others aside. One voice says it wants to eat right now, but another says you want to keep looking at your phone while lying on the couch. Another voice tells you that you would like to go out to eat, but there is also a part of you that reminds you not to waste money and that it is better to stay home.

The idea of a hierarchy of needs seems like the most sensible thing in the world. Without this hierarchy, we would go crazy trying to satisfy all the internal voices asking for contradictory things. However, Jesus questions this concept and reminds us that our only need is God.

He tells us that we have simply distorted our perception of truth when we saw ourselves as lacking God. It is impossible to lack something that is everywhere and is everything. Each of us is part of that everything. The belief that it is possible to create a barrier to keep God away led us to the logical conclusion that everyone has different needs and that certain needs are more important than others.

As we will see in the next sections, money is simply a specific case of the misguided idea that we have a hierarchy of needs.

Practice

If we want to gain a new vision of money and needs, we must abandon the old way of seeing. This begins with recognizing that our current perspective is learned, not a natural way of viewing things.

Today, we will use the technique of responding to temptation. It has two parts:

Throughout the day, observe your mind and identify thoughts of need.

For each thought of lack or need, respond slowly but without delay with the following phrase:

“Right now, I believe I need ———-, but my Self is truly asking for God.”

For example, if you feel hunger, boredom, a need for a hug, or tiredness, respond immediately with:

“Right now, I believe I need – to eat, to watch TV, a hug, to sleep –, but my Self is truly asking for God.”

Do this with your eyes closed and spend at least half a minute slowly repeating the phrase. Connect with the meaning of the phrase and how it makes you feel. Continue repeating it, slowly and mindfully, until you sense an internal shift, no matter how small. If you feel strong resistance, that is the moment to stop.

This practice does not mean you should refrain from doing anything. For instance, it does not expect you to ignore hunger and not eat. The purpose is to train your mind to recognize that it is not the body that asks for things, but a deeper desire to return to your natural state.

Throughout the day, observe your mind and identify thoughts of need.

Use your phone’s timer to set an alarm every 20 minutes. Each time the alarm goes off, remind yourself of this truth:

“God created me perfect and without lack. Let my mind be one again so I can return home.”

Write this phrase somewhere visible so you do not forget. If repeating it every 20 minutes is too challenging, set the alarm for every 30 minutes or 1 hour. Do not decide in advance if it is too frequent—just try it. It is okay if you occasionally forget to repeat the phrase.

As mentioned in the previous step, it is important that you repeat the phrase with awareness of its meaning. Do it slowly, allowing the meaning to enter your mind. The goal is not to turn this into a mantra; we are aiming to keep the idea’s content in your mind throughout the day, not just the words themselves.

First Part - Undoing Our Vision of Money

An Rodriguez — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 03:38:53 +0000

In the coming posts, we will give an honest look to the topic of needs and how we attempt to satisfy them.

As the same time we give it an honest look, we will also be applying correctives to undo our current vision of money. This way our mind will be more open and willing to accepting an entirely new vision.

Introduction - A New Vision on Money

An Rodriguez — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:29:45 +0000

There is no doubt that money is a source of concern for many people. Today’s popular culture is filled with references on how to succeed, how to get what you want, and how to achieve your dreams. Each of these goals seems to require money as a means to fulfill our deepest desires. The pursuit of money has made it evident that money has become an end rather than a means. We tend to forget about the experience we want to get and focus solely on money as the goal. Money thus becomes an idol or a god in itself.

When money becomes an end in itself, it also becomes a source of problems on its own. For example, it is well known that one of the main causes of relationship breakups nowadays is money. Families disintegrate over old grudges related to money, and even entire countries go to war over economic issues.

People with spiritual inclinations and students of A Course in Miracles are not exempt from this problem either. Many of us have completely or partially escaped the temptation to see money as an objective in itself. However, very few of us have escaped the belief that obtaining money is necessary to satisfy our needs and desires in this world. Some think that if they devote themselves to the spiritual path, they will live a life of poverty.

I have also met many people who wanted to dedicate their lives to God, run workshops, or offer psychotherapy, but they constantly find themselves limited by financial capacity or concerns. From a broader perspective, each of us has become dependent on money. Without it, we cannot live or thrive.

In the world of spirituality, there seems to be two main points of view regarding money. The first view, perhaps the oldest of the two, tells us that money is an evil force. In the Bible, for example, we find a passage that says that the love of money is the root of all evil. There is also the famous saying of Jesus that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

On the other hand, there is a very popular view today that assures us that money is inherently good. According to this view, our goal is to have money and to live abundantly. God wants you to have everything you desire. Your abundance and the world you manifest are reflections of your alignment with God and His will. The topic of manifestation is very fashionable today, and books like “The Secret” teach us how to find God’s will and attain everything we want in this world.

As students of A Course in Miracles, we should have total clarity on this topic if we truly seek peace in our lives and aim to bring peace to the world as well. What does the Course say about this issue? How can we completely escape the illusion of money and the hold it has over our lives? How can we get what we truly want?

The topic of money is intrinsically tied to the topic of needs. We can hardly talk about money without referring to the needs we are meaning to fulfill through it. So, before understanding how the illusion of money took hold, we need to understand what the Course teaches about needs. This will be our focus in the coming days.

Next: Lesson 1: Why do we have needs?

How to improve your handwriting

An Rodriguez — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 11:49:55 +0000

Beautiful print letter practice example

It is almost always inspiring to find notes of one-self written long in the past.

In my recent trip 7/2023 to my home country, I was able to check out the notebook from pre-school that my dad had carefully saved for all these years for me to have the pleasure to see.

Handwriting at five years old

This is my writing when I was a kid, in science notebook:

It reads - Planet earth: Planet Earth is where we live live more than 1000 people but in Venezuela exist 100 people. If we divide Earth in 4 parts there is more water than land. all of the planets in total are 9. we have a layer that covers us that is called the atmosphere

From when I was young, my father wisely trained me to be curious about by younger self.

Handwriting in my late teens

I also discovered much older handwritten notes like this other one from my late teens:

It reads - Nothing lasts forever, not even the best of lies - o - The more a lie lasts, the more damage it will do when it’s discovered. One has to be a man and face our own acts and responsibilities no matter at what cost. It is those moments that makes us real human beings and when time passes we will be proud of our courage.

This time, more than writing about the substance, I want to talk about the form.

Handwriting decades later - obvious decline

This is a note that I posted today on Instagram:

My hand writing as of today 2024-01-19. There has been an obvious decline over time.

It is not hard to notice the obvious decline. I figure it is because nowadays I hardly handwrite and mostly type or tap.

What I am planning to do now

I have been thinking for a long, long while (years, actually) to do writing exercises.

My father used to have formats to practice that I could match after some quick google searches.

After googling things like ways to stroke letters in print easy clear fast or is printing faster than scripting, or improve handwriting in YouTube where I found this video How to improve your handwriting without hurting your soul where a beautiful and flirty girl - apparently named Leah Eckardt - explains very clearly how your handwriting shows your inner self and proposes way on how to improve it.

In contrast to Leah, graph paper is more convenient than rule paper. Avoid white paper for initial practice.

Resources on How to Improve Your Handwriting

After some YouTube-watching, I decided to find some resources.

In the description box of this other video, called “How to Improve Your PRINT Handwriting! 🖊️” from Jetpens YouTube channel , I found a very useful resource: Print Handwriting Practice Sheets

This URL has all of the information.

Found a great website with a ton of resources to improve your handwriting.

Here’s is one example of the lower-case practice images I downloaded from the website; notice it has the order and shape of strokes:

Example format so learn to write more legibly. Notice it shows the order and shape of the strokes.

Practice, practice, practice; if you want to improve you handwriting

A common topic all-around is that if you want to get better at something, anything, you have to practice.

Practice makes perfect, they say. Although I think perfection is only something to strive for. Good enough is good enough.

In the same website you can find other resources to help you practice your handwriting at the same time it helps you better organize your life (by common standards of organization):

Monthly calendars, where you can write and plan you activities
Weekly to-do lists, again to better plan your time ahead
Coloring books (because practicing strokes it’s not just about writing, it’s about hand control, muscle relaxation, rhythm, and more)

Other useful gear to help you writing

Over time, humans have mastered the use and design of tooling to better achieve their desires.

In the case of handwriting, this translates to paper, pens, pencils, and so much more.

Just take a look at this index of the posts they have:

There is a lot of content in this website. For example, Posts by Category: Guides (904), Beginners’ Guides (78), Calligraphy Beginners’ Guides (7), Fountain Pen Beginners’ Guides (13), Pencil Beginners’ Guides (6), Stationery 101 (7), Watercolor Beginners’ Guides (6), Pens (403), Ballpoint Pens (36), Brush Pens (25), , Comic / Manga Pens (9), Fountain Pens (63), Gel Pens (54), Highlighters (19), Markers and Felt Tip Pens (43), Multi Pens (27), Refills (3), Rollerball Pens (22), Stylus Pens (3)

Definitely worth checking the website out and do some hunting-gathering stuff.

I’ll keep on handwriting, with an improved, guided, more purposeful practice; on graph paper, with a ballpoint or gel pen.

What about you?