Right now is Jesse James Hollywood’s most powerful moment

Any idea what your most powerful moment is? Was it yesterday, last week, the day you were born? Or could it be in the future: tomorrow, next year, or the day we return to our maker? Jesse James Hollywood never really figured out the answer to this question. Nor do most others. You can tell by the problems they have, the difficulties under which they tread through life.

I don’t believe Jesse’s alleged victim, Nick Markowitz, had the answer either. Nor did alleged fourteen-year-old child-killer Brandon McInerney or his alleged victim, fifteen-year-old Larry King. Nor did their families or the major influences in their lives. They didn’t realize something that took over four decades for this author to recognize. And that is this: that our most powerful moment, at all times, whether considering the past, future, or present, is right now.

POINTLESSNESS OF PAST AND FUTURE

At this moment, we have no control over the past. It is a mere pond of memories, energies stored in the world of form and mind. The future? That’s all it is. It is the future. It is not right now. The world of energy and God-consciousness swirls around us at all times, but we act as if we don’t realize this. Because our minds love to identify with form, and the thought forms of negative past or stressful future often prove too enticing to let go of.

We tend to bring into the present too much thought of negative experiences that have colored our past, shaded our present, and often destroys our futures. Jesse had this problem. He couldn’t get over the fact that his former best-buddy, Ben Markowitz, would punk him around. It ate him up. It deflated his ego. It required him to seek a violent end to his internal conflict.

Same for Brandon McInerney. His mind had been so inflated with negative feelings about the type of person Larry King was, and the actions Larry King made, that he supposedly shot Larry in the head twice at point-blank range in their morning classroom. These poor souls, and so many others like them, never figured out how to enjoy life. But you can. And here’s how.

TIPS INTO THE NOW

Use every moment you get to experience in life to count your blessings. Put the energy and thoughts and feelings into what you do have, what you presently maintain control over, not what your mind says is missing. Be appreciative of those many blessings life provides at all times that we so often take for granted. Feel the warmth of the sun upon the face, the smell of flowers and love in the air, the internal grace and beauty of each person who has shared the love – and issues – with you in life.

Sure, you’ve probably had problems in the past with many of these people, but so what? Right now is all you have. So make the best of it. Look at them, all of them, and let the grace from within emanate from every pore of your existence. Recognize that, Yes, we are created from the same thread of life. That we are both born into the world of form, and we shall both one day expire into dust and earth. Yet, we are eternal creatures fruited from the same vine of godly manifestation. That we are connected to all that is, and this will never change. That we were put on this planet to create and to generate and to learn the universal lessons that form and life bring into our Being. That we are here to love and to cherish, not destroy the love that surrounds us. That we are here to share in life’s blessings, not generate the pain and suffering that emanates on a planet so badly in need of balance.

One perspective on Brandon McInerney, his father, and death on court day

I hardly knew the man, but I understood him well. Thick, tall, and deeply troubled, William McInerney wore the weight of someone tied to the bottom of a run away locomotive. He reeked from the guilt associated with crimes his son had been charged with. I had spoken with Bill several times since I first started covering his son’s case. His face was always tight with strain, his eyes penetrating the very depths of your thoughts with self-imposed anger. But through all the insanity that was Bill McInerney, one thing stood perfectly clear to this observer: the man had a heart that beat like a frantic drum upon his very thick sleeve.

Our first meeting was actually quite bizarre. My friend, and excellent Ventura County defense attorney, Brian Vogel, was representing Bill in relation to Brandon’s case. They were sitting and talking together one day in the hallway outside of court during one of Brandon’s early hearings, when I came up to have a word with Brian. Bill ultimately introduced himself and said he knew who I was because he had read some of the things I had written about his son’s case. He liked what I had to say and he practically begged me to please help do whatever I could to help save his son’s life. I could feel the pull of his words clatsping on my mind like an anchor. I abhorred the crime Brandon had been accused of committing, but I’ve also always been sympathetic to his plight in this particular instance. Children are never adults. And this child, who was barely fourteen years old when he took Larry King’s life away, must not, in all good conscience, be allowed to spend the rest of his life in an adult men’s prison. It just can’t happen, and I’ve never wavered in this opinion. But, I have also always, in the deepest and darkest recesses of my gray matter, felt it to be out of our hands in a worldly, physical kind of way, anyway.

It is inevitable that the Ventura County District Attorney will continue to prosecute Brandon McInerney as an adult, which will lead to the child being locked away for a mandatory minimum of fifty-one years, or the equivalent of the rest of his life. Gregory Totten will not change his mind. And Maeve Fox, the prosecuting attorney, appears relentless in her persecution of Brandon. This will not change. Thus, from the ways in which the universe operates, the only way for Brandon to truly change the reality that stares him directly in the face is for him to begin to transform his life from the inside out.

The world of form has not been good to Brandon nor his family. It has generated hatred and violence in his own home. It has led to harm being inflicted upon and between his parents. It has created a child who learned to solve his problems with two squeezes of his father’s trigger finger. Brandon’s lack of consciousness in childhood created a dire crisis that would threaten his life in the present. The only way for that to change will be for Brandon to begin transforming himself from within.

And that’s what I told Bill in court that day, and any time we had a chance to talk after that. That’s what it was going to take to save his son’s life. Bill stared at me with glazed-over eyes. And then I told him about the best book I’d ever read, one we use in our Transformational Third Thursdays workshops at Bank of Books, and what it had done for me and countless others. I told Bill McInerney, in front of his lawyer and the universe, and outside of his son’s courtroom, that the wisdom espoused by Eckhart Tolle could help to change his life. It could turn him around and help push him toward his true, joy-filled destiny, one he might never have imagined could exist for him. In the next breath I urged Brandon’s dad to get a copy of Eckhart’s newest book, A New Earth, read it, and digest everything in it that resonated with him. And then I told William McInerney in no uncertain terms that he should get a copy of the book to his son as quickly as possible. Figure out a way for someone to coach Brandon, to teach him the ways of the Light, so that Brandon could begin to transform the negative energies he’s been feeding into his tragic life situation into something he would want to live with forever.

PRESENT CONSCIOUSNESS = ULTIMATE REALITY

It didn’t appear to be an accident one day in court when I witnessed Bill’s father, Brandon’s grandfather, a hulk of a man sporting a full head of white hair, overflowing from a wheelchair that could barely withstand him. I would learn later that the elder McInerney was a former Marine who appeared to be paying dearly for the negative energies he had spent a lifetime breeding. Then, a few months ago, in court, I witnessed Bill McInerney being wheeled into court in his own wheelchair, wearing a neck brace and a sadly pitiful look. I couldn’t help but dwell on the irony of father-like-son. And then a couple months after that Bill didn’t even make it to his son’s hearing because he had been arrested and charged with felonies for allegedly threatening to kill his sister and blow away the entire Oxnard Police Department. And now, today, William McInerney is dead.

I’m sure Bill never followed my advice. It didn’t resonate with him as I had hoped it might. He couldn’t see the light through the darkness of alcohol and pills and depression and guilt. Bill McInerney simply never had a chance to succeed in life because his unconsciousness was too far out of control. He was not conscious in the way he lived his life. His life was filled with negative emotions and hate-filled thoughts that bred an antagonist reality around him. He treated life as a battle, and that’s what he got. And he lost. And now, his son Brandon wheezes in his father’s shadow. They have both flown recklessly and wantonly through life in unconscious states of being that ultimately has destroyed one, and the jury, so to speak, is still out on Brandon.

That’s why it is up to us to try to help save this child, to allow him to finally see the Light of day. He must have the opportunity to be rehabilitated. He must have that one shot at life his unconscious existence never offered him before.  And, if we work really hard at this, maybe, somehow in the process we might be able to help Maeve Fox and the Ventura County District Attorney to also see the Light. “We’ve had enough death, Mr. Totten.” Two wretched souls have been wrenched from our community in this Greek Tragedy; please don’t take another. And, for Brandon, as the rest of us, we must combine our collective energies to transform this community crisis into something positive for us all. For Brandon, it’s the only way to avoid the destiny that has befallen his father. For the rest of us, it just might be our salvation.

The true nature of compassion

In The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle gives a new spin to my understanding of what compassion is all about, and I wanted to share it with you. According to Eckhart, compassion is the awareness we have of the deep bond between all living things and ourselves. But there are two sides to this bond. On the one hand, through our physical bodies, we share vulnerability and mortality with every other living physical form. We are both born into this world, and we will both end up as rotting corpses, before turning to dust, and then nothing.

Then, the time will come when all mind-forms or thoughts will die. Yet, we are still there as a divine presence, radiant and fully awake. “Nothing that was real ever died,” Eckhart says, “Only names, forms, and illusions.” Our realization of this deathless dimension, our true natures, is the other side of this divine coin. On a deep level, we recognize not only our own immortality, but that of all other living things.

On the level of physical form, we share mortality and the precariousness of existence. On the level of Being, we share eternal, radiant life. These are the two aspects of compassion. As these seemingly opposite feelings of sadness and joy merge into one “they become transmuted into a deep inner peace.” This is the peace of God.

IN CELEBRATION OF COMPASSION

In celebration of compassion, a friend of mine named John DeYoung wrote a wonderful song for his ex-wife, Dana, for her non-profit organization http://www.africainc.us, which aids schools in South Africa. The song is called “A little compassion goes a long way to making this world a better place,” and it can be found by pressing this link here: A Little Compassion

For more information on John DeYoung and his wonderful music, please visit: http://www.johndeyoung.net/.

Creating your ideal life starts with living in the Now

Please find below a wonderful piece written by Lisa Osborne at Lisa.fm, and posted by the Ventura County Star, during our last session for Transformational Third Thursdays. We very much look forward to seeing you tonight at Bank of Books in Ventura, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., for a New Year of transformation into love, joy, and peace:

---

Big change is in the air as 2008 winds down. The US Presidential election is behind us and the American (and world) economy and financial markets remain wobbly. But with uncertainty and change come opportunity. And, with the right attitude, each of us can use this time of transition to create transformation in our lives, lasting change for the better.

 You are Creating Your Life with Your Thoughts

This concept might sound funny at first, but as you start to pay attention to the commentary that’s running through your head, you will start to notice that you get what you expect out of life. If you intentionally adjust your inner voice to sound more like a helpful coach than harsh critic, you will notice that your life will start to change for the better.

Living in the moment can help you create the life you want. Eckhart Tolle, spiritual teacher and best-selling author of A New Earth and The Power of Now, suggests most of our problems can be eliminated (or at least minimized) when we live in the NOW, since a lot of time and energy is wasted fretting about the past or worrying about the future.

 Michael Mehas leads a discussion on The Power of Now, as part of the free “Transformational Third Thursdays” series at Bank of Books in Downtown Ventura.

Try putting your focus on the NOW, whether it’s giving your full attention to the person you are talking with, or noticing the detailed beauty of the trees and flowers on your evening walk. Being in the NOW can help you detach from the voice in your head (your ego).

“When we dis-identify with the mind, and get into the… appreciation of all that we’ve got, it expands our consciousness,” said Michael Mehas, a Ventura-based author and attorney. Mehas leads “Transformational Third Thursdays,” a monthly discussion group on The Power of Now at Bank of Books in Downtown Ventura.

Mehas says the Armageddon theory that most major religions refer to isn’t an end to the physical world. “What it really represents…. is a death. But it’s not a death to mankind, it’s a death to the ego. A transition out of the thought state, into a state of inner being, a higher consciousness.”

Join the “Now” Conversation in Ventura

“Transformational Third Thursdays” meets through the end of the year at Bank of Books on Main Street in Ventura. There’s no charge and first-timers are welcome, whether or not you’ve read the book. The next meeting will be held on November 20th, 7PM-8:30PM, at Bank of Books, 748 E. Main Street, in downtown Ventura. For more information, contact Michael at http://www.michaelmehas.com.

To learn more about the Power of Now, tune-in to the Lisa.fm 7 Minute Book Review, featuring Michael Mehas, at http://www.lisa.fm and http://lisafmbookclub.podomatic.com/

Bank of Books Transforms Ventura

As posted by the Ventura County Star:

Bank of Books has teamed with a local award-winning novelist to offer a yearlong series of transformational workshops and book study group at the Ventura bookstore. Titled “Transformational Third Thursdays,” the series kicks off on Thursday, January 15th with a discussion about “Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose,” based on the international bestseller by author Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth. The opening event will begin at 7 p.m. at Bank of Books, 748 E. Main Street, Ventura.

Leading the discussions will be Michael Mehas, local attorney and author of the award-winning novel, Stolen Boy. Mehas has joined with Clarey Rudd, owner of Bank of Books, to offer the workshops free to the public.

Persons at all levels of the transformative experience are invited to attend one or more of the monthly events. The goal of the workshops will be for each participant to learn how to improve their lives by ending the drama, and the pain and suffering we all create for ourselves.

“Someone once said that each person consciously generating higher frequencies of love, joy, and bliss are actually more powerful than thousands of negative thoughts,” says Mehas. “We‘re going to test that theory, determine its truth, and learn how to transform our own energies to create a more joyful reality around us.”

“Transformational Third Thursdays” spins off from the highly popular six-month free consciousness series under the same name in 2008. The series ended this past December, but Mehas felt the need to continue to help facilitate positive change through Ventura’s new “literary watering hole.”

“These transformational workshops have generated a wonderful following here at Bank of Books,” Rudd states. “And I know Michael is looking forward to building on that. They are working hard at making positive change for themselves, and for our community.”

The new series continues on January 15th, and will meet on the third Thursday of each month, concluding on December 17th. All events will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Bank of Books in downtown Ventura.

A New Earth, and Stolen Boy can be found on the shelves at Bank of Books. In celebration of transformation, Clarey Rudd has agreed to offer a 20% discount on both books.

For further information about the series, call 805.643-3154, or go to http://www.MichaelMehas.com or http://www.StolenBoy.com.

 

What a difference we can make

When I sit here and think about what Michael Hernandez, the delusional 14-year-old kid recently received, my heart cracks a little deeper. Because, like his victim, Michael is going away for a very long time. In fact, he’s going away forever. Michael was given a life sentence last week in Miami, Florida, for murdering a classmate. No parole. No freedom. No hope for Michael or his loved ones ever again.

My first thought went out to Brandon McInerney, Ventura, California’s Stolen Boy, who is facing his own battle against what will amount to a life sentence. Again, with little hope, and no shot at parole. And I wonder who the winners and the losers in all this really are.

When I see so many adults, committing such heinous acts, and getting so much better results out of their legal battles, I wonder where the equality in the justice system really lies. For instance, three days before Michael was sentenced, in Broward County Florida, Lonnie Lauriston, 23, received a three-year sentence for beating 4-year-old D’Hamonie Francois to death. Earlier this summer, in Palm Beach, 22-year-old Charles Tyson, 22, worked a 40-year deal for tossing his 9-month-old son from a moving car, then throwing him into a canal. Eventually, these two men will get out of prison, which, if they show remorse and a rehabilitated sense of societal values, should be the case. But not so for Michael Hernandez. And probably not for Brandon McInerney either.

EXTREME CONTRAST

A mentally ill child sentenced to life without parole makes a brutal contrast to so many adult killers lucky enough to cop a plea. It’s plain, looking at other murder cases in Florida and across the country this year, that the quality of the victim influences the sentence.

ANOTHER WAY

The change in the judicial system is going to be an uphill battle because there are so many political clogs to the system who don’t want to appear soft on crime. That’s why prevention is so important. Yet, there’s so many parents out there who have become completely out of touch with their children who are completely out of touch with reality, as most of us are.

That’s why I’ve begun something that I’d like to share with you. If you live near Ventura, California, I’d like to invite you to our Transformational Third Thursdays, where every month we meet on the third Thursday free of charge at Bank of Books, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Our next meeting will be held on November 20th. Here, we discuss ways of getting our conditioned ego and mind and emotional-reactive patterns under control. We discuss ways of dealing with relationships in a joyful and loving way, and tools and guides that can be used in trying to reach a troubled child or teen or parent before it’s too late.

As a spinoff, we have begun to put together a series of podcasts on related consciousness transforming issues with my new partner, Lisa Osborne.

Our first seven-minute podcast is now available and I encourage you to tap into the latest high-vibrational information available. There is a new wave of consciousness being generated that is beginning to tip the scale of existence toward universal change and societal transformation. I encourage you to become a part of it. I implore you to join us.

If you want to read more about what we’re doing, please see what the Ventura County Star has to say.