ONCE UPON A TIME . . .
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. . . in a far away land called Western Australia, a boy named Stevie was born.
As a young child he was full of joy. Somewhere along the way he lost it . . . the joy, that is. This story tells how he rediscovered it. 
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While the ego is an incredibly successful survival strategy, and its development has given humans an evolutionary advantage over all other species on the planet, it is at the root of all human suffering.
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CANCER
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My first cancer diagnosis came in April of 2013; I was 49 years old. The diagnosis was accompanied by a label: Anal Cancer.
Oh, great!! That's going to look fabulous on my epitaph. F*%#!! The diagnosis was also accompanied by a statistic: 50% five-year-survival. My second cancer diagnosis came—despite six weeks of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy—exactly one year later. This time the diagnosis wasn't accompanied by a statistic: there simply wasn't one. On this occasion a seven hour operation—which included removal of my lower bowel, anus, and perineum, as well as creation of a permanent colostomy—was the required treatment. Recovery from the surgery was long and painful. 
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I'm pleased to report that at present—2020: seven years post-diagnosis, and six years post-surgery—my body is currently cancer-free.
As a result of these diagnoses life now looks very different than it did just a few years ago. Cancer invited me to stop the forward momentum of my life and to deeply question: What's important to me? Where do I choose to put my attention? What do I want to give the remainder of my life to? And what, finally, is the meaning and purpose of life, of my life, anyway? I'm excited to report that as a result of this inquiry, a bubble of creativity has arisen in me. This creative bubble is clearly out of my control, and the best description I can find for it is, the urge to become a storyteller. The goal of said storyteller bubble appears to be to write a version of my life story which will act as the foundation for the musical that I'm being mysteriously drawn to create. The musical, whose current working title is Beyond the Mirror, commences briefly in the biblical/historical Garden of Eden. The main body of the musical, however, is set in New Eden—a city that bears an uncanny resemblance to the New York we all know and either love or hate, but in a parallel universe to ours—in the year 2020. Humanity is at a crossroads, and the future is anything but certain. Now I know this is going to sound ridiculous—coming from someone who's never written a musical before—but I keep getting a message that Beyond the Mirror will be performed on Broadway one day. Hmm, I wonder if l'll be around to see that? |
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"Every story has a happy ending. If you're not happy, your story hasn't ended yet!"
— Eli Jaxon-Bear |
WHAT DO I REALLY WANT?
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My deepest desire in this life, if I had to choose just one, is to see freedom, peace, health, and happiness available equally to all beings everywhere.
It's my sincere wish that in the near future a sufficient number of humans can realise the deepest universal Truth—as described by Aldous Huxley in his book, The Perennial Philosophy — which points to the unified, intelligent, loving nature of the universe. This loving nature is variably called God, Spirit, Being, Brahman, Tao, Emptiness, Allah, JHVH, Silence, Truth, etc., and in my own direct experience—that occurred in a profound life circumstance when my mind was overwhelmed, and stopped, in 2006—it is both the source and the inner nature of everything. This Truth lies at the mystical core of all world religions and every spiritual philosophical system. The realisation of this Truth is freely available to everyone in each moment if, firstly, they're mysteriously drawn to discover it, and secondly, they're somehow ready to hear it. All that's needed is to stop giving attention to the outside world, and to turn one's attention inwards. The mind can then return to its source—Silence, Awareness, Beingness—where the Truth is revealed in a flash of insight. One can then mysteriously awaken from the trance of separation and suffering that is the core delusion of the ego. 
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I believe that if a large enough percentage of the population wakes up, then it's possible that the dominant worldview of humanity can shift from the selfish, narcissistic, destructive, ego-centric one that is, unfortunately, so prevalent across the globe today, to a view that sees through the apparent differences and separateness on the surface of things to the interconnectedness, harmony, and oneness that is the true, essential nature of Reality.
This non-dual way of seeing and being is naturally present when all movement of the mind ceases. In this conscious stopping of the mind, all thoughts—including the "I" thought—fall back into the timeless and formless ocean of Emptiness from which they arose, and peace, purity, joy, and love are re-discovered to be one's essential nature, and one awakens, spiritually speaking. Thankfully, this new worldview is becoming increasingly evident, at least transiently, in the global responses to extreme acts of violence and terrorism, natural and man-made disasters of all kinds, and the thoughtless destruction of the environment. This hearted-centred way of being and living in the world quite naturally gives rise to compassionate, loving action. The potential outcome of such enlightened action: health and harmony restored to the environment; protection and care for all plants, animals, and human beings everywhere; a possible future for the Earth that includes humans in it; freedom, peace, health, and happiness available equally to all beings everywhere. Hmm, I wonder if I'll be around to see that? |
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As humans, the majority of us live out our lives believing that egoic experience is all there is. We suffer, to a greater or lesser degree, and we're generally unaware of the possibility of ending our suffering.
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT STEVIE AND HIS WRITING |
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"Inside your body is a priceless treasure, a gift from the eternally generous one. Look for that gift inside of you."
— Rumi |