Would the real, I am, please stand up ?

As my blog title states I am Craig Lowe.
Which means different things to everybody, but its what it means to me, that really matters most.


Now that may sound selfish, uncaring and maybe even a bit full of myself.
But thats not how I mean it, my train of thought and my mission at the moment is just (I laughed as I wrote 'just' there) to be me, Craig Lowe, 24 hours a day, everyday.


Not to be the person, I think people want me to be, not to do what everyone does, just to fit in, with a group, a club or my friends (who mostly, have now accepted I am Craig Lowe, good and bad). 
If I want to walk around smiling, singing, whistling etc, its not because I'm trying to annoy people, if someone smiling and singing annoys you, surely its not down to me to stop, its up to you to have a look at your life, it must be bad if thats all it takes to set you off !?


I have been moaned at and been told to be quite, more times in my life, when I have been in a really great, happy, full of the joys of the day mood, than I ever have when being grumpy and moany. Which is really sad, when you think of it, but unfortunately true.


How many times have people asked you "What are you so happy about?" as if you should need a specific magical event to of occurred before you can be happy (your are apparently weird, if your happy just for the sake of being happy) !




This used to annoy me, still does, but where as before, I would actually end up, shutting up, or let my good mood be destroyed, now I don't listen, it has no effect on me, people looking at me strangely as I smile walking up the street, while I sing walking through the gym.


No its not fake happiness, no I'm not trying to annoy anyone. Its me, just being me.


Now I'm not for a minute suggesting, we turn the world into scenes from Grease, The Sound of Music or Glee (but that would be funny). Singing may not be what keeps your spirits up, walking around 'annoying' people by telling jokes, to be fair some are bad, but I still try. But there must be something you know makes you, even a little happier, even singing to yourself, in your head, whatever.


Yes you will get people who try to take that happiness away, but I'll guarantee for every one that tries to knock you, there will be three people who you make smile, even if its just for a few seconds, but that has got to be worth it, eh ?

Once you read the above poster, have a think, fill in the blanks

I AM ..........................................................................?

Who are you ? Do you let the real you out on show ?

Or do you, go with the crowd, run with the 'in' group, make your square peg into a round one ?

Have you buried the misfit in you so far down, you can't even remember, what the real you looks like.

Are you happily living in the shadows, plodding through life, trying not to sparkle, in case your awesomeness catches someones eye ?

Do you have a dream, a passion for something, but you dare not share it, with anyone, especially those cool 'dudes' you know, your so called peers, your superiors, your partner.

What if they laugh at you? What if they think its stupid?

Who gave them the right, to hold your life back, keep you at their mediocre level ? (the answer to that is YOU, in case you weren't sure)

Follow your instinct, your dreams, your passion.

Life is just like a treadmill, when you live it without passion, without a purpose, you maybe working hard, but your not reaching any life goals, you'l get to the end and not been anywhere truly worthwhile.

Your maybe the only person who knows your true dreams and desires, what you truly wish to be, in which case you are the first one holding you back, from that glorious life you seek. Agreed ?

Now ask yourself

"Why am I holding myself back, I know what I want, why do I not go after it?"

Are you scared?

Scared of stepping out of the 'normal', what will the in crowd think of me, if I share my ideas, goals ?

Do you feel your too old?, is the time not right ? (you will be older tomorrow and the time is always right to follow your purpose)

Do you have no idea, how to start out on your path, do you need a hand, a mentor, a guide to see you through those first steps? (Find one, investigate the subject, ask me, I'll find you one)

Maybe you have already found your lifes' purpose (awesome) You wake up 999/1000 delighted its anew day, another chance to live your perfect life, to continue on your purpose filled path.

If so, I am so delighted your reading my blog and I am (even in a small way) a part of your life and hope someday to have found my life's purpose, although I am enjoying the search.

For those that only wake up 1/1000 and really truly look forward to your day at work, another day in your life, how long are you going to allow yourself to live that way, feeling crap, counting down the days, till Friday or the weeks till you can have a week or off, as far away from your everyday existence as possible?

That my blog reader, is not life, well not a life you should be thinking of doing for any serious amount of time.

That is blah, its magnolia, its an overcast day, its background music, its not a life.

So, be you, don't be who you think people will be happy with.

Be happy and find the people that are happy with that person, the real, true you. (I'm loving you already)

Never be afraid of saying how you feel, to who you love.

Never be afraid of reaching towards the ultimate you.

If people want to mock you, its usually because they're far too scared to say and do what they would love to. They will bury their dreams in the deepest darkest place they can find, locked on a box, welded shut, never to be release until its too late, then they will realise, the dream followers, the purpose finders, the souls searchers were right all along.

Be the one, that followed, chased the dream, with all your might and passion. 

Follow the path with everything you have in your heart.

When its no longer possible, you know you can fill in the following, without regret or be in any doubt

I AM ................................................

Why Seek Freedom

I stumbled across this amazing piece today and had to share it.

It made me, stop and take a look (again) at my life, my purpose, my reason for being. Whatever you want to call it.

Hopefully you'l at very least enjoy it, but who knows it may help you discover YOU

Then you can say I am .................

With no fear in your heart or your head.

Most beings live in a world of limitation, lack and ignorance. Some of them know this, and many do not. To the majority who are in some kind of poverty, sickness or misery, they are below ordinary functionality. To many others, the world of limitation they inhabit seems somewhat happier, relative to the greater suffering of those they see around them. They may be successful in worldly terms, but they are still subject to forces beyond their control. These people we could say are ‘ordinarily functional’.

Their lives work better than most, but they remain ignorant of the true aims and workings of life, so the deepest happiness and Freedom always eludes them. Very very rarely do human beings rise to the level of ‘extraordinary functionality’. Most do not even know it is possible. After all, a caterpillar in perfect weather and with plenty to eat all the time is better off than most of its fellow caterpillars, but it is still not a butterfly. At a certain point in a person’s evolution, it becomes obvious that inner growth is THE answer to all of life’s deeper questions and challenges, including illness, difficult circumstances, our love life, all relationships, your working life, money problems, your weight, finding your purpose, becoming fulfilled, everything.

As you begin along the Path, you begin to see how the mind creates your world, down to the last detail. Reaching your potential in this life means freeing yourself from the dominion of your ego, which is another term for your conditioning. This includes beliefs, memories, programs, stories, patterns, feelings, thoughts – everything that determines your inner world and the way you see life and yourself.

In the East they call this your ‘karma’. Your karma is all the stuff you are identifying with right now, moment to moment. The only record of your past is your mind’s stored impressions of what happened, and the subtle imprints within you, at this moment, of all your past actions. Every thought, and the intention behind every action, is recorded in the infinite field of consciousness. Or, to put it another way, God knows your heart, your real motivation moment by moment. In order to be Free, you only have to clear out this storehouse of conditioning or karma. Most people never clear this out. Instead, they repeat and live out the same unconscious patterns and programs year in, year out, until they die. They are perpetually on the mouse wheel of life, never really moving up, lifetime after lifetime. 

Their karma determines their possibilities. Their relationships, the kinds of people they will meet and be around, the kind of work they will do, their money life, their health, all of this is determined by their karma. If you do not clear out your karma, you have no choice but to be controlled by it. You will continue to draw painful and difficult events and experiences into your life, and you will continue to respond to them in the same way, which will yield the same results as before. This is most people’s lives. Not knowing how to clear their karma, they live in a state of perpetual resistance, repressing and escaping from their negative feelings, to get some relief, and sometimes being taken over by them. Life is stressful, and the experience is of living in a world of forces that impact them every day, yet lie beyond their control. Relationships are difficult, and the same patterns recur for them again and again. With no understanding of the subtle law of karma, they think life is random, subject to luck, and they fail to see that each person is accountable to the Universe for his/her intention, moment to moment. They blame others, themselves and the world for their condition, or for what does not work in their lives. Or else life is not quite stressful enough to make the search for deeper answers urgent, rather than casual.

So, either way, nothing profound changes about who they are. Caught in self-concern and anxiety (wanting), life is stressful, at least some of the time. Welcome to the mass of the human condition. The alternative to this picture is to set about to clear one’s conditioning, to refashion one’s lower nature, and to let go of one’s limiting beliefs. To purify one’s intention. This is done first by having the intent for inner growth. When the intent is strong, either by inspiration or desperation, or some of both, the teachings of Higher Truth come into a person’s life. This in itself is a profound karmic event.

To have the highest teachings of Truth show up in one’s life is already a rare blessing, which is itself the result of merit acquired in this and prior lifetimes. Most beings never even hear of the Path to Freedom, even though it has been spoken by enlightened beings in every culture since the beginning of time. The highest teachings of Truth are identical in their essence, no matter what culture or moment in history they come from. When the Path DOES appear, the discerning instinctively grasp the gift that life is offering them.

As the Buddha said, “Rare is it to be born a human; rarer still to hear of the Dharma (Truth / Enlightenment / the Path to Freedom); and the rarest of all is to seek it as one’s goal in life. The moment you do, the end is certain. ” The objective of ordinary consciousness is to change the world around you, in order to get what you think will make you happy. The objective of the seeker of Higher Truth is purify and change themselves in order to reach the goal of enlightenment or Total Freedom (extraordinary functionality). This is, of course, the real prize of life. It is the ultimate meaning of this existence, to go beyond all limitation, all fear, and to realize your identity with the very Source itself, the Supreme Self within. This state of Being has been given many labels over the centuries and in different cultures: Enlightenment, Freedom, Self-Realization, God-Realization, Nirvana, Liberation, to name a few. To do this, you must have a strong and sustained intention to release all your karma, everything within you that keeps you limited and binds you to the world of ignorance and suffering.

Taken from the website  http://www.purnasvarup.org/Why_seek_Freedom.html


I am Craig Lowe

He's the Honey Badger

He's the Honey Badger, I am Craig Lowe, thats about all I have to say on this :-)

My first (little) rant and a self imposed challenge

My first little rant, has been bubbling away inside me for ages now, to be be fair its not really a rant, its more of a modern observation, shall we say.


Its about mobile phone/laptop/social media etiquette (for want of a better word). Before you go off on a rant, about my usage of these things and pots calling kettles black etc. I'm the first to hold my hand up to being guilty of a lot of the main issues I have.
That is where my challenge will come in, more of that later though.


As I say I use my mobile for checking, e-mails, facebook, twitter etc as much, if not more than the average person, that's not my gripe.


My main problem, is how addictive we, as a whole, have become to constantly looking to see who has updated, tweeted, poked, checked in, checked out, single, in a relationship, its complicated, blah de blah de blah. My own problem was really highlighted, the other night, when I was on facebook with my laptop.
Once I had finished doing, whatever it was I productively doing (noseying through that evenings updates, photos, motivational posters etc) I shut my laptop down, immediately picked up my iPhone and opened facebook, seriously !!, within 3-4 seconds, whats that all about ???


This was when I personally knew, I had to draw myself some guidelines, rules and boundaries, my challenge. Which I will come to, honestly.


This is just my personal issues, but the biggest trend, that really saddens and upsets me, is the amount of times you see people, in someone else's company, but rather than actually have a conversation (god forbid) with the person sitting next to, or across from, the actual person who they have, most likely, chosen to spend time with, sit looking at facebook, whats app, texting, whatever the preferred choice of 'communication' with their 'friends' is.


A really easy example of how addictive we have become, is to watch people in restaurants, especially couples. Now in the vast majority of cases, these two people have decided to be there, to spend time with each other, to enjoy the company, a date perhaps.
At worst, and I have seen this on loads of occasions, they will both be on their mobiles, which I find inexplicable (unless some emergency has arisen) and really sad.  Or more likely, as soon as one leaves the table, the other will immediately dive into their pocket and check as many things as they can, before they return.


Now I have thought, maybe its just me, maybe I don't have enough friends or my life isn't important enough, that I need to be contactable 24hours a day, in the off chance the world needs saving, using my special powers.


What is it in our nature, that gives us this need, to know whats happening everywhere apart from where we are, why can't we live in 'our ' moment, where and who you're with that very minute, for however long it is, ten minutes, an hour, a night, an afternoon. If you'd rather be with the person at the end of the text, chat, why aren't you, sitting, spending YOUR time with them ?
Is it just, that we have a constant, the grass is always greener, on the other side, complex. We hate to think we're missing out on something brilliant ?


When in actual fact, the something brilliant is already in your company.


As I say, I'm not knocking facebook, whats app, texting etc. I use them loads, but its the way they have become our life, rather than a useful tool, to keep in touch with friends and family, promote your business, whatever you use it for.


Do you really think its acceptable, to be on your mobile, chatting, texting, social networking (in a non emergency) when in other peoples company, really ?


How many of these things are true ?


Your whereabouts and status has to be updated every 5 minutes


People send you life changing, must be answered now, or people may die e-mails


If I arrange on Monday to meet you at 7pm on Friday, do I need to text you everyday to confirm I'll still be coming, every hour on Friday and every 5 minutes, from 6pm to keep you posted on my journey to you.


If not enough, people 'like' your posts or status, you're obviously very unpopular in social circles.


If you receive a text, message, e-mail update on your phone, everything else must stop, TV on pause etc This one could be very important.


OK, I am fed up going on now, I am even boring myself.


This is where my self imposed challenge comes in.


For the next month, I am going to restrict my social networking allowance, not to a certain amount of hours, but according to the company I am in, or rather, when I'm in company.


I can use facebook, twitter, whats app (although I don't have enough friends who actually chat to me on this anyway) as much as I like, but if I am in a 1:1 situation with a friend or at home with my housemates. I'm not allowed to have my phone on me (again with the exception of emergencies) and only allowed to check it once an hour, if at home. 


If I'm out, with friends, for dinner, cinema etc.  I won't take my phone with me. Now even reading this, I'm thinking thats not much of a challenge. But I would love to see how many people could actually do it ?


Your challenge, if you want one, is to seriously have a look at how much you use these tools, how much of it is really needed. 


Do you miss whats happening where you are ?


Are you ignoring the people in your life that really matter, the ones you chose to share your space with ?


If those people weren't sitting next to you, would you be messaging them ? You have to admit, that is strange, but maybe true.


I know, its highly likely, not one single person reading this will change a single thing, but I will change and its my blog, so thats good.




Thanks for reading (probably via facebook) ha ha




I am Craig Lowe 

I AM

I Have

This was something I wrote ages ago, but thought it suited being one of the first I am Craig Lowe posts


I have -been wrong and right, clever and stupid

I have been in love, been loved, dumped, still in love.

I have laughed till tears ran down my face and  cried till i had no more tears.

I have wiped others tears away.

I have laugh and cried when together and when apart

I have been surrounded by friends, been lonely, been 'normal' and weird (depends who you ask)

I have went with the flow, swam against the tide, followed the pack, led the way.

I have went from popular to outcast, loved and lost (but still in love),

I have stayed in comfort zones and stepped out as far as I dared.

I have followed advice.

I have ignored advice.

I have had some money(not much) and been in debt.

I have lived with people and lived alone.

I have made people laugh and made some cry.

I have sent too many messages to the wrong people, not enough to the right ones

I have had faith in others when they were lacking belief.

I have been inspired by others and inspired others to rise higher than they ever imagined. 

I have helped people to follow their dreams.

I have set some targets and reached some goals

I have reached for the stars and buried my head

I have trusted some people too much.

I have held on too long and let go too soon, 

I have been up, and down, travelled and stayed, been here,there (but not everywhere)

I have studied and taught.

I have ran into trouble and  walked away.

I have felt alive and felt like death

I have won and lost

I have always played.

I have had the best friends, got rid of the worst (most of)

I have climbed mountains and fell in holes.

I have lost things, searched and found, some lost forever.

I have had what i wanted, and sometimes been been given what I needed

I have never knowingly left anyone in a worst place than they were before they knew me, always better (or at least the same) think about it.

I have kept people close and pushed others away.

I have tried my best with mixed results, some people think I'm awesome at what I do( and who I am), others think I know nothing.

I have no doubt, whatever you think, the truth is

I have been ME

Craig Lowe