Interview with Joseph Lieungh
By: Gurpreet Dhariwal
Tags: Interview, Writers Journey, Strongmen, Good Soul, Prose

Where do you belong to? Is there anything you would like to change about the place you belong to?

I’d like to believe that I belong to my immediate family right here in the present moment, but then am I limiting my constructs of reality? Not wanting to alienate or lockout another, I feel a necessity to go out and greet them on their playing field.

Expanding the reality of who I am and where I belong remains for interpretation. I belong to a greater community, not limited by a border of states, countryside, or continent. Belonging to the human race, for they are my family, embracing all of them as brother or sister, guardian, elder, children, loved-ones as it may. On this level of existence, It would be kindness towards another that would be changed, but we travel further to our origin of existence.

Universal flight, lost temporarily in our thoughts collectively placed in our consciousness, only to be found traveling further into Great Mystery. At this level of knowledge, there is nothing to be changed but observed.

Further, into Great Mystery, there is an overwhelming peace translated into physical being. At this level of belonging nothing calls for change, there just is. Stepping into the Canvas of Life observing at all levels. Witnessing the pain and suffering within the basic level of understanding, offering a hand if called upon.

Embodying or acknowledging the existence of the Great Mystery, there is a desire for change. Further understanding of this Great Mystery, while at the same time, there is nothing else to know. I return to ‘knowing’ I belong right here at this moment in time.

At this moment, not bound by physical in of itself, I belong to the ‘Greater,’ no longer concerned with the timing of things (still working on fully arriving at this place), allowing time and space change, shift, expanding, contracting and just being. The observer effect not only changes the outcomes of experiments but the perception of reality. The deeper we go into self, the deeper our understanding and self-realization. Similarly, deeper into the cosmos, we find ourselves bound to the stardust of reality and answers existing further into ‘the field.’

2. What sets your soul on fire?

Puzzles.

Whether an actual hundred piece or a thousand-piece puzzle or a puzzle of greater magnitude, I love figuring out what makes people tick, how things work, and other alternatives if needed in this present moment.

Creativity is the fuel for my world on fire. Whether writing, painting (which I have not done in years), building, remodeling, rehabbing physical and ethereal plains, there is a sense of ‘ço-creating’ within this Great Mystery. Never forcing a piece into an unfit hole, but allowing a deeper observation to present and greater perspective to take the lead.

There is yet a more powerful propellant setting my soul on fire even great than Great Mystery itself (although truly this is The Great Mystery — finding out who we are). It would be witnessing another deducing life’s existence and accepting challenges of healing broken areas of thought within their antiquated reality. The willingness to go head-to-head with oneself is the greatest battle one must face. For those choosing to overcome internal battles, I applaud them and greet them on the plains of All there Is.

My writings combine daily collective records filled with alternative thoughts inviting a reader’s perception and understanding. Triggering thought deeper into cosmos, self and All there Is, goosebumps remain thinking about another person taking their rightful seat at ‘ the council.’

3. Which one is your favorite family memory, and why?

While the early years were traumatic, it is within the present day I find the greatest memories. Healing old wounds, ancestral damages cured of toxicities and witnessing family members choosing entryway to caverns of their souls, altering paintings depicted on historical walls, changing the hieroglyphs.

I would be mistaken to miss recalling the moment our five-year-old child (now twenty years of age) challenged my thinking while asking where God exists. “If God is everywhere, there is no place s/he is not, then am I a part of that source?” Yes of course Cal, this is true. “So, if God is within me, then shouldn’t you have more respect for me?” Lesson received.

Or the time when our three and half year old daughter (now eighteen years old), pleaded with me to find happiness. Crying and pleading with me “Daddy, are you happy?” I still get emotional, feeling that moment in time, recalling her pink and light brown floral patterned dress with matching sandals in the most adorable feet, matching her personality of brightening up the day with the biggest of smiles, broken for a moment of pleading with my broken self.

Ironically both of the lessons/ favorite family memories occurred at a similar time in life. Were they messengers tag-teaming me to furthering my understanding of this place? Was the ground fertile for planting a deeper-rooted seed? Was I merely ready for a change? This remains a ‘Yes’ answer, meaning the answer is yes to all of the above.

Our marriage and past thirty-two years together remain magical in a personal way. Always independent of one another, coming together as a whole, complementing each other’s growth into future selves. With the courage to stand firm in their way, willing to stand beside the other in support of their belief, differing understanding of ‘All there Is,’ there is a sharing of self and deeper understanding.

Returning to present-day favorite moments, including the strength of a woman stepping into her power, or kids transitioning into amazing young adults, I allow myself to feel these emotions recalling the joy of watching my immediate family grow. With tears of joy flooding my eyes, flowing past my nose and cheeks, feelings of intensity as if Spirit itself was flowing through my being.

4. Is there anyone in your life you could give your life for? If yes, why?

The truth of the matter, I have many times put my life in front of another to save them from actual harm or potential death. Thankfully I did not die and often wonder how or why I could have evaded death. One could say my purpose is not yet fulfilled or I was merely lucky.

I do give my life daily to helping another come to a place of knowing. There are many opinions as to how we should live or the sacrifices we should make. I do not believe there is a right or wrong, merely what is felt to be true at the moment. Draining my batteries, tiring my physical strength or power to continue, pushing my limits of understanding yet again daily.

Whether immediate family, friends, or those encountered throughout my day, there is always an opportunity to serve the collective community. Learning to balance ideas of helping another, giving of self, discerning a need for anything at all, a deeper understanding resulting in the truth of ‘All there Is.’

Truthfully there is nothing else to be done, written similarly over and over, illusory pictures upon our movie screen. Silent observers or active participants left for the choosing as ‘we are.’ We do not have to do anything. Our input however is what is returned. When anyone else says one should do this or that, it is merely their level of understanding.

On a more personal level, I could easily leave my spouse in time’s not understanding one another, or I could patiently wait for her ‘catching up.’ Whether catching up to a level of equal understanding or choosing to remain in her timeline, I remain giving of myself freely with dropped invitations every step I go, “go within,” while being open to new possibilities of change within my own. On this level of giving there is a deeper giving and receiving at play, this place of understanding yields the greatest of inner peace (at least for me).

5. Do you pour love into self from time to time?

In tune to this physical body, noting subtle triggers and indicators of when further self-care is needed, correcting actions or events to honor this body carrying spirit within. Am I pouring love into self or is it pouring into the collective whole?

Meaning, I do not do anything without considering why I do it. If my body tells me to get more sleep with a subtle swelling of maxillary glands, sore throat, or chills, I honor the request to recharging my batteries and heal the broken aspect of my being. Did I give too much? Take on too much pain of another? It matters not except for heeding the call of self-love. Rest now, so that I may give more freely again and again.

Deepening the practice of self-love my moments of needing further care become fewer and fewer, allowing me to move freely in and out of time and space as needed.

My favorite and most beneficial, requiring the least amount of effort, is sitting in the backyard amongst the natural settings or being in other natural settings ‘just being.’ Whether meditating, contemplating, or not-being, remaining present in the purest of self-love, in my opinion, loving myself fully.

6. How often you observe the people near you?

Daily and every minute.

Some are ‘aware ‘of their surroundings, knowing who is on their radar, within their field of reality and conscious of co-habiting on varying levels of reality. Then there are those unaware of the multiple possibilities, plains of altered realities simultaneously within another, merely fixed on the short-comings of the day, remaining in fear-based reality.

I used to play a game, actually still do it, by closing my eyes and try to navigate through our house or my work setting without opening my eyes. On a deeper level, I become aware of my surroundings and know how to navigate this physical plane. This exercise intertwines with my interactions with people, not just a physical experience but an emotional level of understanding as I have walked in the dark as so many do today just not in the literal sense.

Figuratively they remain in the dark, making decisions biased or without an understanding of their choices. Again, I emphasize there is no right or wrong just a varied level of understanding.

I am aware of those who are awakened to infinite possibilities and those who choose to remain back in their comfort of understanding.

I used to ponder why people do certain things in certain ways, but in truth, I do not know anymore. I could make scientific assessments as to why people are certain ways, attempting to map their thought process through varying suggested articles of psychological observation or I could just co-exist in the infinite possibilities surrounding my days. Did they learn behaviors from parents, self-taught, believe in what they are told about cosmic boundaries and creation itself? It does not matter. What does matter is one’s willingness to learn and grow, ever-expanding, and remaining inflow.

7. Why do you hope for? Does it change something within you or around you?

This question has many layers of understanding. At the primary level, it is my hope for acceptance and peace for self. Expanding this thought it remains for all people sharing the same breath upon this planet, transferring my desire to a greater desire. Expanding again, reaching the outer realms of this galaxy, the desire remains the same.

There is yet another layer to this question when experiencing oneness with ‘All there is’ and that is nothing, nothing to hope for amidst non-existence and existing all at once.

However, returning to a simple form, reflecting on the many times I change course, redirecting my thoughts and attention as my understanding changes.

8. How does it feel like being a woman to you?

Being a man, trying to understand how a woman feels I would probably fall short of all that has happened in the course of history. The atrocities towards females and inequalities as witnessed change presents today. There is a historical reference to the burning at the stake for my sisters and now they are rising above, no longer able to stand idle watching the destruction of our planet and being. There is a great shift on the rise and the empowerment I am feeling leaves many scared as they step aside to a new possibility of nurturing and caring way to our existence.

Being sensitive to those around me has given me a deeper understanding of the secrets of the sacred feminine. Women already know things; men have to figure it out. I would be foolish to attempt to quantify these thoughts, but merely observe the varying differences of each.

Spending much time trying to understand both, looking deeper into both sexes, one thing remains…battle between the penis and vagina. Learning to balance both these energies emitted from the same root source, we collectively and collaboratively learn an intimate dance of creation. We have all forgotten this intimate dance, this sacred song of creation but being a woman, I feel, we are closer to this understanding.

9. What you would like us to remember you for?

I used to think it was for the legacy left behind, but now I am not interested in that legacy. Instead, I prefer to think that people will remember me for always being there to help, aiding in a new way of seeing things. Maybe they will remember me, my ego craving this question, or maybe they will not. Having non-attachment to things or beliefs, transcending the idea that people will remember me.

Furthering my preferences to ideas shed by my presence, embodied ways of ‘being’ for future generations, sharing in this dance with inspiration.

10. How you would describe your life?

Fulfilling. My life is as normal or abnormal as it is seen, no expectations of how it should go, merely allowing the story to play out as it was agreed upon with my return to this place of existing thought. It is an ever-changing reality and a living Canvas co-existing within thousand, million, trillions of realities simultaneously. One can attempt to describe it or remain indescribable.

11. What keeps you on your toes, and how do you like to spend your time?

There is a constant discussion within the self, causing me to look at how things could go. Many will see it as negative or positive but are merely differing energetic beliefs of how things should be. This internal dialogue consistently keeps me on my toes, altering my steps for ‘the Greater’ collective whole.

While I do enjoy many activities bringing me joy: boating, swimming, running, cycling, writing, reading, the list goes on, the greatest enjoyment is with family or those willing to engage in alternate possibilities, sharing a traveling experience into a field of possibilities.

Spending much time in a great ‘void’ of existence, allowing new realities to take form, my greatest joy is sharing a similar encounter with another traveler, observing the Great Mystery through a shared lens of reality.

12. When life gives you a lemon, what do you make out of it?

Whatever I choose. Whether lemonade is the drink of choice or merely enjoying the presence of lemon for what it is. Typically I will just cut them in four to six slices, adding it to my water, enjoying the refreshing change to my day. Maybe it is because my body cannot handle too much sweetness, preferring to remain vulnerable as the lemon presented to me. This answer continues to change.

13. What mystery of life you would like to have an answer for?

Spending much of my later years trying to understand the mysteries of life, I have concluded that I no longer wish to know but choose to embrace the ‘Great Mysteries’ of life as it is.

14. How were you different five years ago from what you are today?

I was obsessed with knowing how things work, obsessing over self and collective belief. Five years ago I thought I’d figured everything out, realizing now I know nothing compared to “Great Mystery.’ Observing more today, speaking less, choosing words more carefully as not to change realities too drastically, and allowing natural flow to remain present.

15. What would you like to leave as your legacy? Is there any message you would like to communicate to us?

As I stated before, the legacy has changed. Asking my present self this question, I guess I would answer with a wish for those who knew me “He just Was.” Often writing in pen name of Ani Po, meaning ‘I Am Here,’ my wish for all is to come to this place of self-realization and declaring I Am Here.