"Personal Brand" via Mystic Philosophy

The challenge of a "personal brand" is cohesion.

…I’m all over the place.

The brand strategists say:

“What’s your niche?”

I’m a mystic.

My niche is every sentient being.

Everyone is on the path of awakening.

“What’s your audience’s need?”

Happiness.

Bliss.

The end of material suffering.

Awareness of The Transcendental Reality.

“But what’s your CTA (call-to-action)?”

To see the Cosmos in the smile of a sunflower.

To feel the beating Sacred Heart of All Creation.

To merge with the Infinite Nameless One.

To remember Your True Nature.

I post everything from Christian deconstruction, to Taoist poetry, to Buddhist masters, to highlighting the suffering of the Palestinians.

It’s all related, to me.

Social media creation & sharing is a spectrum between “dear diary” and “content strategy”. I’ve leaned a bit more towards “dear diary” over the years, but now I’m starting to consider thinking about the strategy… if ultimately my goal is to help others come to understand the joy of what I’ve stumbled upon within the world mystic traditions, okay. Then maybe it’s worth some contemplation.

I don’t have to ignore and bypass the “strategy” side of it all; but how can I continue to be real? Authentic? Sincere to myself and to the work I’m trying to do: which is putting a coal on the fire of the Awakening of All Beings?

There’s also another mystic philosophy component at play here which is that you’re not really you.

I’m not actually Bob Peck.

Thank God.

I’m the capital M, Mind, behind him, and him.

The incarnation is passing quickly.

You’re a sandcastle and yet you’re also the ocean.

A good friend of mine who also does this—shout out Daniel Tyack—told me, it’s just a mascot. Once you understand that this body, this personhood, is just a mascot for love.

For light.

For truth.

And so it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks or says… about this… blink of an eye... this dewdrop on the lily pad. It seems like all of the mystics of history are really just erasing their individuality alongside their attempts to be truly helpful.

A Course in Miracles says:

“I am here only to be truly helpful.”

That’s that “use me Lord”; without you & with You, without anything attached to the doer…

Because I’m not the vehicle, I’m not going to take you there.

You will take yourself there.

But if I can use what little time I have on this plane to share the meager gems that have transformed my own life, and my own views about finding the oasis within this dark and dusty desert, then I’ve done my job.

Ramakrishna’s Simple Images of Spiritual Wisdom (Part 2)

In my last Substack, I shared the great Ramakrishna and his humble simplicity. He was illiterate. He fell into samadhi daily. He puts such profound eternal truths in these beautiful accessible images. Here are a few more:

362.

The heavier scale of a balance goes down while the lighter rises up.

Similarly, he who is weighed down by the many cares and anxieties of this world sinks down into it, while he who has fewer rises up towards the feet of the Lord.

364.

In what condition of mind is the vision of God obtained?

When the mind is perfectly tranquil. When the sea of one's mind is agitated by the wind of desires, it cannot reflect God, and God-vision is impossible then.

410.

The tree laden with fruits always bends low. If you wish to be great, be lowly and meek.

415.

If you wish to thread a needle, make the thread pointed and remove all protruding fibers. Then it will easily pass through the eye of the needle.

So, if thou wish to concentrate your heart and soul on God, be meek, humble and remove all the spreading filaments of [outward] desire.

Podcasts

I keep guesting on pals’ pods, and I keep releasing my own podcast episodes as often as humanly possible.

There are a couple pending guest spots I’m on that I’ll be glad to share on the next article. On the as of yet unreleased The Vital Point episode in particular Jonathan Schecter and I spent an hour on the transformational Buddhist yogi, Milarepa.

And since my last Substack, I’ve published three more episodes of my podcast, Karmic Relief.

I have been absolutely blown away by these humans. It seems impossible that all 18 out of 18 episodes of this season have been phenomenal but they have been to me.

Three more episodes are coming out over the next six weeks, then I’m taking a short break to dive into a new job and the next book. I will resume recording the next season later this year.

May all beings be free and happy and at peace and alive in the Love of The Infinite Current.

Bob