WATCHING - NOW

[watching-now]

WATCHING NOW #28

WATCHING NOW #28

-John McIntosh

She strolls the endless beach in perfect rhythm with the ebb and flow of the gentle waves caressing her feet. Not far out to sea a dolphin executes an intricate acrobatic performance for her, laughing as it plunges again and again into the turquoise deep. A young family approaches, nodding and smiling as they exchange the customary greetings of happy dreamers, they do not ‘see’ her as the dolphin did. Behind them a small barking dog rushes up to her and stops suddenly, quietly tilting its head from side to side … it too ‘sees’ her. At her feet an ancient coral, sculpted by eons of the same caressing waves, displays its final form as a rocky heart. She smiles within.

Later, navigating the rough and rocky shores of a meandering creek, the many faces of Nature reveal themselves in leaves and branches, and in the warbling rush of the ever changing flow of watery life. Everywhere, the ONE Life ‘is’ … knowing IT SELF as the Love she effortlessly emanates. Birds of every color and size sing the Joyful melody of Unicity – Love Loving IT SELF in a myriad of forms, rising and falling in an instant to rise again in infinite disguises.

The dream surrounds her, but she ignores its seductive embrace, favouring the Silent Stillness to its cacophony.  It has lost its influence to the Emptiness of her Freedom.

-image by Solveig Larsen

[watching-now]

WATCHING NOW #27

JOHN MCINTOSH

The ‘embodied’ version of the SELF arises from ITs deep sleep each morning to re-create ITs play of ‘sculpting’ the intricacies of the universal dream. The Master Designer that the SELF ‘is’, in full Awareness ‘of’ IT SELF, revels in great JOY as the panorama of illusions once more emerges out of ITs nothing-ness.

Delicate details of snowflakes and spider webs, constantly morphing shafts of sunlight thrown through rock crevices eroding over time’s illusion, laughing dolphins, cobblestone pathways, winding forest trails, song birds piercing through the symphonies of insects … and, the great ‘DRAMA’ of humanity’s agony and ecstasy … ITs greatest illusion.

So real, so tangible, so believable that … until IT slips again into the deep Silence of ITs Emptiness, this miasma of conflicting contrasts ‘captures’ ITs attention ‘so fully’ that it ‘forgets’ Who IT Really Is.

All this to taste and savor and know ITs infinite potential.

-image by Solveig Larsen

BOOKS by John McIntosh https://www.johnmcintosh.info/copy-of-books

Watching Now Archive http://watching-now.tumblr.com/archive

[watching-now]

WATCHING NOW #27

JOHN MCINTOSH

The ‘embodied’ version of the SELF arises from ITs deep sleep each morning to re-create ITs play of ‘sculpting’ the intricacies of the universal dream. The Master Designer that the SELF ‘is’, in full Awareness ‘of’ IT SELF, revels in great JOY as the panorama of illusions once more emerges out of ITs nothing-ness.

Delicate details of snowflakes and spider webs, constantly morphing shafts of sunlight thrown through rock crevices eroding over time’s illusion, laughing dolphins, cobblestone pathways, winding forest trails, song birds piercing through the symphonies of insects … and, the great ‘DRAMA’ of humanity’s agony and ecstasy … ITs greatest illusion.

So real, so tangible, so believable that … until IT slips again into the deep Silence of ITs Emptiness, this miasma of conflicting contrasts ‘captures’ ITs attention ‘so fully’ that it ‘forgets’ Who IT Really Is.

All this to taste and savor and know ITs infinite potential.

-image by Solveig Larsen

BOOKS by John McIntosh https://www.johnmcintosh.info/copy-of-books

Watching Now Archive http://watching-now.tumblr.com/archive

[watching-now]

WATCHING NOW #26

JOHN MCINTOSH

When the warnings began, they hesitated, choosing to wait for the inner guidance that had always steered their course wisely. IT encouraged a ‘deeper dive’ beneath the growing fear-promoting narrative. With that ‘Open-ness’, snippets of clarity began to appear everywhere, and they pursued that ‘thread’ of sanity, always filtering whatever arose through the benign voice within. When harsh unsupported and restrictive measures began to appear everywhere, they chose NOT to comply, knowing a great LIE, with its nefarious agenda, was being perpetrated beneath the widely accepted story-drama.

At first, they remained ‘silent’ but when confronted with their non-conformity, they briefly shared an alternative view based on the empirical evidence that a few courageous and credible ones had offered to the world at great personal risk. Over the months of expanding darkness, they were often met with cruel reactions, which soon led to vilification and rejection from family, friends and society. As the world lock-stepped to the hypnotizing drone of deception, they held firm, ‘knowing’ the vast and growing archive of credible testimony that proved unequivocally that humanity ‘was’ being deceived.

Eventually they were completely ostracized from what most referred to as the ‘new normal’. As the global fear led to false promises with ‘deadly’ consequences, their resolve labeled them ‘dangerous traitors’ and many suffered greatly as a result. Nevertheless, finally the ‘rays of dawn’ began to spread and the few who knew the Truth began to gain followers – always amazed that they had fallen for the enormous deception that had brought the world to its knees. ………………………………………………………. The recent global story/drama has repeated over and over again throughout the eons on the world stage of dreams through endless disguises, while the few who Truly KNOW ‘held the Light’ for the still sleeping and imprisoned masses as they gradually shake off their chains to discover Who They Really Are.

“MASS AWAKENING - What’s Really Happening - 2020 - 30 minute Synopsis” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M62X743

“THE AFTERMATH”: The SHIFT into an Era of Peace and Light  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WXG2STN

[watching-now]

WATCHING NOW #25

 JOHN MCINTOSH

Surrounded by morning coffee-clutchers in a plush downtown parkette, a deeply troubled man sits alone. He shouts obscenities at ‘unseen’ listeners as the ‘filters’ that normally restrain the inner-mirrors of frustration and angst lying beneath the many masks most wear, have long since been shattered. Irritating, annoying and distracting the false-calm of the elegance high-end neighbourhood, he is laments the sorrow of the many the weary years of denial and comfort have buried.

Such is the eruptive force of change as an era of dysfunction surfaces ending its reign of tyranny. The collapsing house-of-cards of ‘imbalance’ is now sending violent shock waves throughout the entrenched conditioning of the collective consciousness. No stone can be left unturned for ‘True vision’ to Re-Awaken the Sleeping Giant You Are. The ‘Storm’ is upon the face of deception as the Light of Truth draws near.

https://watching-now.tumblr.com/

BOOKS by John McIntosh

https://www.johnmcintosh.info/copy-of-books

[watching-now]

WATCHING NOW #24

JOHN MCINTOSH

As I make my daily vigil to the grocery store two blocks away I shift from the sidewalk to the bicycle path to avoid a nervous looking couple, fully masked and headed toward me. I am unmasked as usual, fully aware of the nefarious agenda lying beneath the covering of faces and distancing from the natural embrace of blood to blood. Silently, I bless them as they hurry past me glancing sideways at me, somewhat disturbed by my cavalier attitude to the global threat that holds so many enthralled in its icy somnambulistic grip.

 Its been a year since the global charade began and for those who took the time to check, the death rates for the entire world did not change. That alone should raise a huge red flag as to the credibility of the inflated fatality numbers, padded with paid-for death certificates and encumbered by pre-existing conditions that were the real cause of death … 94% was the last official report by the CDC, the very organization that promotes the use of masks for what is easily provable as a seasonal flu.

 The deep sleep that grasped the Real SELF we all are, convincing IT that is was ‘not’ ONE but many and relegating IT to a tiny body-prison called a person, is mirrored perfectly in this latest hypnotic trance the majority of humanity has bought into. It matters not that the agenda behind this Great Deception was orchestrated to lockdown economies so that an ancient worldwide elite organization could bring in a New World Order and a financial reset. The real benefit that will unfold is the deep head-scratching that will ensue when this sinister plot is soon completely uncovered and overturned.

 Nothing brings one closer to Who They Really Are than questioning their reality. Its the first major step toward a genuine look within where Truth is found and this end-of-an-era drama will have that effect on billions of deep sleepers.

 I round the corner and take out my almost unused mask, the price of admission to buy some groceries. Ten minutes later, I emerge, tear off the bacteria causing device and breath deeply of the Freedom I AM.

 AMAZON #1 New Release(s) in 45-Minute Self-Help Short Reads - by John McIntosh

“MASS AWAKENING - What’s Really Happening - 2020 - 30 minute Synopsis” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M62X743

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #23

JOHN MCINTOSH

 Cold autumn rain has drawn shivering customers into the cozy warmth of a bustling corner coffee shop. Old brick and floor to ceiling windows bring the outside ‘silent noise’ into the encapsulated dream of safety, friends and conversation. This particular illusion is compelling to the false self which covets the secure feeling within the metaphor of warm blankets, close company and hot drinks. This illusory existence is bleak at best as the wandering dreamers cautiously navigate the dark streets of the competitive world of separation. Shallow smiles meet their mirrors in the polite jostling of cups and chairs as the endless dramas from the Grand Dream evoke superficial Ooh’s and Aah’s and OMG’s.

 Wide eyed gasps greet eager story-tellers as they explain the ‘gee-wiz’ dream-world of nothing-ness they are locked in shrouded in the tinsel of ‘hopefulness’. Here and there a solitary face gazes blankly into a void ... a more genuine expression of the longing for Freedom.

 Around the world these vignette echo the same story: “What is Real?”. Its the dance of Love that ‘knows’ the hapless dreamers must be ‘satiated’ with chasing their own tails, until finally – exhausted, they beseech within … and knowing NOT if anything is listening … they make the door-opening statement: “There must be a better way – please show me”. When this break-through occurs, that one steps off the stage of dreams into the Unknown where dreams fade and the Light of Truth expands Awareness.

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #22

 JOHN MCINTOSH

[a personal series]

  Today the dream stands out in stark contrast to Reality. It is as if the holographic movie of illusion is separating like churned cream.  The characters that move on the screen feel more lost within it than ever before. I walk down a sidewalk and people do not seem to see the body I am wearing … I must step aside as they approach or be knocked over. Some characters stand out like special effects creations, nearly perfect but displaying the tell-tale signs of a ‘virtual’ design.

  I have moved several rows higher in the balcony where I observe the witness I have been playing to watch the dream … it too was a projection. Images melt into waves of energy, not further apart but ONE mass of surging Light. Though this body seems to have dissolved in the Light I can feel an intense pressure ... it is the dream struggling to stay together as pieces of it fragment here and there. The cohesive nature of the mind’s story is being chipped away as it slips into the Heart. Every sound and movement is descending into cartoon-like images.

  A local aging beggar hobbles by feeling more real than the passing hordes. Perhaps he ‘sees’ a little … divorced from the fabric of the dream as he is. I close my eyes and the gurgling fountain next to me sings of Truth … it does not sleep.

  https://www.johnmcintosh.info/johns-books

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #21

JOHN MCINTOSH

 Two Latin musicians are lost in a mystical wave of the Heart. Their Joy is palpable. They are organized, commercial and professional … to the delight of the collective mind but deep beneath this thin veneer I can feel the passionate rhythm of their Love. My heart swells as in finer dimensions I am dancing in the arms of Divinity. Nearby a small child stands captivated, ONE with the God she knows so well, only recently disguised from her awareness during her brief stay in the grand dream.

Heads are buried in cell phones in the coffee clutch surrounding the eruption of Beauty pouring from the bandstand. Despite the captivity of this new technology … feet tap, bodies sway and spontaneous smiles threaten this recent jailer of the Light we are.

A sudden burst of contrasting energy enters the scene as a fully wired maintenance man, oblivious to the magical scene he has entered, sweeps quickly through the gathering chatting with the other side of the world. Meanwhile, two barely walking toddlers throw seeds into a water fountain intent on feeding every bird. Grace has undressed for me as my day unfolds.

https://www.johnmcintosh.info/johns-books

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #20

JOHN MCINTOSH     

 [a personal series] 

It is a busy Saturday afternoon as Peacocks strut along the High Street silently begging for the life-blood of acceptance … the accolades that define the crutches of life’s grand dream. Unworthiness wrapped in tinsel and the bright colored masks of fear. 

Sparrows cautiously approach the crumbs I have left on my table reflecting the empty cups of humanity’s half lived life. Beggars lurk through the crowds in stark contrast to the opulence of the environment … expressing the poverty consciousness hidden behind grandiosity. The masquerade ball is in full swing as the dance of limitation plays on. 

For me the glamor of the dream is now a hazy wave on the horizon … a blurry blend of pastel colors, soft sounds and wispy fragrances that once held my attention a captive slave. The simple descent of a leaf now holds my gaze while in silent gratitude I witness the entire universe in a moment. Such is the grandeur of ‘stillness’ without attachments or identifications.

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #19

 [A PERSONAL SERIES]

-JOHN MCINTOSH

The morning greets me with a little girl accompanied by her gramma. She passes me on the crosswalk carrying a donut as big as her tiny head. Its covered in a thousand sprinkles and as she takes a bite she is totally lost in the ecstasy of the moment. I am grateful for this beautiful message.

 I sit with my coffee and a sudden gust of wind blows my writing papers away from my table. I stand up and begin chasing after the disappearing sheets and forget I had loosened my pants as I sat down. They begin to fall as I run and with one hand half holding them up I bend over to retrieve my notes which flutter a little further away ... my pants slip a little more as I finally grasp the papers. I am laughing as I witness the hilarity of this scene surrounded by smiling onlookers from other tables. Briefly the past terror of being seen as foolish flickers across my inner eye and I am grateful that this conditioning has departed along with most of its friends.

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #18

[a personal series]

-John McIntosh

A light welcome spray of moisture is blown by a gust of summer breeze in the noon-day sun as smooth jazz serenades my afternoon. A child runs by laughing. The aromatic fragrance of newly ground coffee beans wafts by followed by a gentle scent of an unrecognized flower.  

A man with an Italian accent asks me where the museum is and I point across the street … he smiles and I am suddenly sitting with my coffee watching gondolas slip through Venetian canals. This is not imagination … the dream is not static, consciousness goes where it pleases within IT SELF.

The mortar of Life between the stiff bricks of normality is filled with Joy, we need only sink into the cracks of the flickering images of the great dream to experience Truth.

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #17

[a personal series] 

-John McIntosh 

Just off stage where a Jazz Festival is about to begin I sit right next to giant speakers that could blow-dry wet hair when pumping sound out at full blast. The shady seating area I chose has dissolved into the noon-day summer sun … Source has a subtle sense of humor especially when the mind has been allowed with its complicated analysing faculty, to make decisions. As the first quartet begins its somber first number I slip between the notes and away from the disjointed music to absorb the universal sound of Silence that always speaks of harmony. 

In its Truest expression this form of music often sounds and feels chaotic … simply noise without continuity but beneath the often uncomfortable cacophony it is ‘feeling’ into the Heart-Beat of Life. Within a chrysalis the messiness of Life marinates the caterpillar into a soup of nothing-ness that becomes the exquisite expression of a butterfly … jazz is an attempt to express that amorphous mess. Only the open heart is capable of fully experiencing the butterfly that emerges between the flat and somber notes of this ‘inner hearing’ music. 

Much of the world’s current expressions are indeed flat and somber leading many to wonder: “what is the point of being here?” It is the chrysalis phase and Life is mixing and stirring IT SELF from one form to another – from chaos to Beauty. Watch and wait in Silent Stillness and you will experience the butterfly emerging. 

Cumberland OLG ‘Jazz Festival’ -  Toronto, June 25th, 2018

-image – Paul Bley

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #16

[a personal series]

-John McIntosh

Pregnant Life soon to emerge followed by slow walking Life soon to depart ... its fading dream walking sticks tapping like a ticking clock winding down to Dawn’s arising. Male pigeons courting their best cooing dance speaking of Life waiting in the wings. Spring leaves, Life Now fully grown while fallen blossoms reveal the seeds of Life to come. Carriages filled with Life laughing, crying and pointing in wonder.

The still frozen heat of summer’s impending arrival speaks of Life’s distant harvest. The crowded moving Life along the sidewalk racing into the future and slipping into the past cannot break the silence of the moment where Life Truly Lives. No agendas, no responsibilities, no anxious waiting does Life express inside the precious Now, always allowing what comes to come and what goes to go.

https://www.johnmcintosh.info/watching-now

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #15

[a personal series]

 -John McIntosh

A wall of giant climbing leaves waves at me in the late spring breeze as I take my morning walk. Two men pass me and one says to his companion: “... there were 4 ...”. Four is both my birth and name number. Printed on his black T-shirt is a white light shining through a prism radiating a rainbow beyond. I smile at the message. The noon-day workers have emerged from their cloistered cells and wander among shops and the architecturally structured ‘Nature’ of the inner city core. They chatter excitedly like a flock of birds who have just found a cache of seeds. The competition to be heard shouts out their neediness. At that moment a sparrow arrives beneath my table twisting and contorting its head ... his own brand of gestures to be fed ... this time I have nothing for him and he quickly departs. The mirror of these two moments is clear.

 The sun is bright, the sky clear and blue and the breeze slightly cool and inviting as I sit silently in the shade. Life’s Heart beats clearly in silence as well as in in the busy landscape of the great dream yet heard there by few except those in greatest need and distress. Such is the blessing of chaos to bend the ear toward Truth. Depression can bring the wandering heart to death’s door and if physical death is replaced with the demise of the false self identity these beautiful Heart beats will be easily heard and Truth revealed.

 https://www.johnmcintosh.info/watching-now

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #14

[a personal series]

-John McIntosh

A street musician sets up directly in front of me as I drink in the noon day sun. We exchange a few words about his music. I can feel the rising tide of Life gathering around us as IT speaks to the trees, the birds, the sun and the breeze ... Life Loving IT SELF.

The Spanish guitarist pours out the mellow sounds of his culture’s life-force blended with a piercing flute he adds to the music as if he has suddenly grown extra arms and hands. The air is still ... I feel the powerful vibrations of Life while most people passing by are oblivious to the infinite ‘rainbow’s end’ they seek so hard to find surrounding them in its thundering velvet embrace. I sit in silent gratitude.

[watching-now]

WATCHING - NOW #13

-JOHN MCINTOSH

[a personal series]

I leave the ‘drag’ of the deeply mind oriented energy of the technical world while it wrestles with the moment like a wobbly washing machine. It is a world that has a fascination in its perfectly functioning manifestations but holds no interest in its linear mechanics. Always the Self chooses the instant intuitive ‘knowing’ over the organized jigsaw puzzles of the mind.

I stroll along the sidewalk breathing in the Life of the sun and as I approach a grand park thunderous booms from cannon fire quake the surrounding environment heralding the annual Victoria Day celebrations. The energy of ‘victory’ Truly is in the unseen despite the collapsing structures of ancient imbalance everywhere. It’s like unwrapping the festering garments of death to reveal a perfect gem as if birthed from the belly of Mother Earth.

A tiny boy chases pigeons as the pungent odor of cigar smoke momentarily wafts past my nostrils. Now there is an army of children chasing pigeons, one a little girl wearing a super hero cape. Their spontaneous adventure is aborted by a stern parent ready to leave for a more structured afternoon. How often Joy is missed by the fearful longing to control it and have it dance and perform ‘on-call’.

-Yorkville, Toronto