I meditate 4 hours a day, every day.  I get up at 5 am so I can meditate for 2 hours before work, then I make sure I get home in time to meditate another 2 hours, every day.  Why am I not enlightened?  And why am I not getting girlfriends? Signed, Buddhist, Long and Hard

Dear BLAH,

Dude. It’s not quantity but quality that counts (not the same as “size doesn’t matter,” but we’ll get to that later). You’re spending four hours every day meditating? Shit man, if you were any good at it, you’d be levitating by now. But no. You have expectations. And those will kill you every time.

You want enlightenment? Do you even know what it is? Sad to say, most meditators and New Age crystal-sniffers haven’t a clue. It’s something about transcending one’s body, they think. Ascension. Being one with the … something-that-sounds-deep-and-wise.

That’s bleh, BLAH. Also it’s crap.

We are not here to figure out a way to be not-here. In other words, we don’t go through all the crap of living in a body (have you thought about some of the mechanics here? Pooping, for instance? Whoever came up with that had a bitching sense of humor) just to figure out a way to not need that body anymore. Nope, we are “here” — in these ridonkulous bodies living on this awesome planet — to figure out how to really love being “here.”

And you can’t get that from sitting with your legs all twisted into a pretzel.

Enlightenment comes through LIVING, BLAH. Living and eating ripe mangoes and smelling fresh-baked bread and making people smile and fucking up. And fucking, period. Living is a way to love living. Also you will be having a lot more sex if you’re not om-ing all day sitting on a fucking pillow sniffing incense.

Go out into the world, BLAH. Hang out where people are (not like a stalker, but like a fellow human.). Take regular showers. Wear something that’s not a World of Warcraft t-shirt.

Get a life.

Love, Bitch

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Dear New Age Bitch,

I read that our thoughts create our reality. And I’m really starting to believe it! Last Christmas, the Friday before when all the malls were like PACKED I started picturing a parking space opening up right next to the shopping cart return at Wal-Mart, just like I wanted, and it really happened! A green Escalade pulled out just as I got there and there was my space. I felt so awesome and powerful. Like, totally in the flow. I could do anything.

But now I’m afraid. I mean, if our thoughts really turn into something real, what about the bad thoughts? I don’t know how many times I told everyone that I wished my ex-boyfriend’s dick would fall off. But now he wants to get back together, and of course I’ll take him back (hey, he was “just experimenting,” at least that’s what he said, and I know he’s not really gay), but what about sex? I’m afraid I used my powers on him. And I want babies some day with him, a brother for little Zooey (what? I’m not a skank — we were on a BREAK), and I would feel so … responsible if his dick fell off. Can you help?

Horny and Confused

~~~

Dear Horny,

Dude. Number one — there is no such thing as “experimenting.” Your boyfriend’s either gay or he’s bi, and you need to face facts that he’s in denial about it. Also that he likes dick. And if he lies about this he’ll lie about anything. You want a baby with him? Whoa.

But let’s talk about what the universe can and can’t do.

1. The Universe isn’t a god. Okay, so you’ve turned away from childhood Lutheranism or whatever and you’ve embraced the New Age. You take yoga classes, you wear patchouli, well la di fucking da. But don’t expect to transfer over all your ideas of some white-dude god guy sitting up in a cloud somewhere in a flowing robe, looking down on you and determining your fate like a bearded Simon Cowell. The Universe has a consciousness — everything has a consciousness, even the cells of your hairy ass — but it’s not bestowing good stuff and bad stuff according to what list of Santa’s you’re on this year. So get over it.

2. What is the Universe? Simply the accumulation of everything within it. That’s right, everything you can see, hear, touch, taste, smell, and imagine is a part of the Universe. As is everything anyone can see, hear, touch, taste, smell, and imagine.

3. The Universe has no “powers” of its own. Anything the Universe does — and again, get away from the thought that it’s a standalone entity making life hell for you (or bestowing you with stuff like nine nubile virgins) — is a result of the collective or individual efforts of any part of the Universe.

4. Your thoughts aren’t what you think. Okay, so you thought about your boyfriend’s dick falling off. But you’re not that powerful — in order to “create your reality,” you first have to believe it. I mean really believe it. And there’s a part of you that doesn’t believe people’s dicks fall off just because someone imagines it happening. If that were true, you’d all live in a cartoon world with people’s heads being lopped off and anvils and grand pianos falling from high windowsills.  [NOTE: if that is your reality, please see me after class.]

5. Your thoughts are actually your core beliefs. It’s your inner core beliefs that actually create your reality. Say you’re imagining yourself with a million dollars. Fine. But if there’s a conflicting core belief, that for instance you have to pay a steep price for getting anything good in your life, then guess what? Either you’ll get that million dollars — and lose something really important to you at the same time — or (more likely), you’ll prevent yourself from having that million dollars at all, because you don’t believe it’s possible.

What about the parking space? Stuff like that is low risk. You can create parking spaces, turn red lights green, and little stuff like that all day because 1. there are no conflicting core beliefs and 2. it’s small stuff. Low risk. But manifesting a sparkly unicorn in your back yard? That would take undoing your beliefs that 1. unicorns don’t exist and 2. you can’t manifest animals or anything beyond a fucking Wal-Mart parking space.

My advice on creating your reality?

Sure, you can create stuff like cancer in yourself. People do it every day. But there’s no use obsessing over it. Instead, explore the core beliefs that you have. Like that bad stuff happens to you. Or that you’re not in control of your body. Or maybe that you just need a good rest. All those core beliefs can result in cancer — you just have to decide what you believe.

You can also make good stuff happen. People do this all the time, too. But they’ve examined and let go of conflicting core beliefs. Try this: think about something good that you want. Maybe it’s a house. And then start looking at everything that’s connected to that thought of having a house. Maybe you want to recreate your childhood home. Maybe you want to prove to your family that you’re not a deadbeat. Maybe you’re afraid of abandonment and figure that a big solid thing like a house can’t abandon you. Whatever it is, take it out and look at it. Otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels.

But STOP thinking things like, “The Universe wants me to learn this lesson.” The fucking Universe couldn’t care shit about your lessons. You do. You are creating your reality. Figure out what it is you really want and life gets much much easier.

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