Inspiring the Altruistic Moment

Biography

Greetings!

Greetings! My name is Scaughdt (pronounced”scot”), and for a number of years now I have been living a pilgrimage of sorts. I call myself a “numinous nomad” — “numinous” because it is my intention to bring the light of Inner Peace to all I encounter, and “nomad” because I have no home of my own; purpose-fully wandering from community to community relaying a message of unconditional acceptance and radical compassion. I have discarded or given away almost all of my material possessions, have no money of my own, and accept no reimbursement for the services I perform for others. I have chosen to live this way in order to more freely spread the greatest of news: that the bliss of true Happiness is a practical goal attainable by every Human Being; that the truth of unconditional Love is both real and realizable; and that each and every one of us can powerfully enable a new world order to come into being — a world order founded in harmony instead of conflict, wonderment instead of routine, and joy instead of sadness.

In the summer of 2003, I had reached a “dead end” with regards to my many years of reading and philosophizing about truth and “the meaning of life”. Even though I had absorbed my life’s teachings intellectually, my life still felt meaningless. Full of despair over my failure to find “true happiness”, I was almost ready to give up my quest. And yet, before I could do so with a clear conscience, I first had to radically apply what I had learned to “the real world.” To do so, I made a list of the moral principles in which I believed (e.g. “Love your enemies”, “It is better to give than to receive”, etc.), I journeyed to a place I felt to be sacred, and I began testing these truths by radically applying them to my everyday encounters.

For years, I challenged these moral precepts in all types of social settings — as a father & without a family, in intimate relationships & alone, with material wealth & “dirt poor”, residing in a mansion & living homeless on the street, with a stable job & as an unemployed “bum.” To my amazement, regardless of how I was living, the more courageously I applied these selfless principles, the more power-fully I enabled Peace & Joy to fill my life and the lives of others around me. After this realization became clear, I chose to dedicate the rest of my life to spreading its message – the “Good News” that Inner Peace is both powerful & available to us all — in every situation, all the time!

Despite the courage required for me to live this unusual lifestyle, I do not consider myself “special” in any way. Like many of you, I am a grandson, a son, a brother, a cousin, a father, a friend, and an “enemy.” I have also experienced many of the pains and crises that inflict much of humanity; having personally lived through divorce, the loss of a child, the death of a companion, extreme poverty, homelessness, intense hunger, severe illness and debilitating injury. From the wisdoms I have learned from my life’s many Teachers, to the various Services I have fulfilled for others, to my immersion into the Sacred Spaces I have visited during my Travels, I have been constantly and consistently encouraged to choose my current path of selflessness.

Scaught

What’s Truly in a Name?

During one of the more powerful phases of my re-Awakening, it became clear that I was more than my ego. Determined to bring this more noble version of True Self into being, I began to engage a number of practices designed to help me re-member this persona during my everyday encounters.

One of those practices was the Purpose-full shift from using my birth-name to using an alternative that would constantly re-mind me of the more Noble Man that I could always choose to become. To enhance the power of this choice, I attached an alliterative meaning to each letter of this new name, and referred to these meanings every morning for many months.

For those interested, here are those alliterative characteristics of SCAUGHDT – my True Self:

Serendipitous Sage …
I choose to gratefully engage what IS, as opposed to striving for either what could or should be. A sage’s life is constantly serendipitous.
Serendipitous: an aptitude for experiencing unintended, unexpected and fortunate discoveries …
Sage: a profoundly wise man of especially sound judgment …

Care-full Creator …
I gently co-engender my reality, doing so in order to lessen others’ suffering and enhance their sense of Inner Peace.
Care-full: to have under watchful attention; to care for affectionately; to love …
Creator: one who generates, synthesizes or manifests …

Amicable Altruist …
I give joyfully to others without becoming attached to either their current suffering or their future joy – and without desiring any reward for my services.
Amicable: characterized by or showing goodwill; friendly; peaceable …
Altruist: one imbued with both a selfless regard for others’ interests and a brotherly kindness …

Universal Umbilical …
I am aware that my thoughts, intentions and deeds directly affect every facet of the Cosmos, and that they do so significantly & eternally.
Universal: extending to, including & affecting the entirety of space-time; infinite …
Umbilical: intimately connected to; pertaining to the center; a source of nourishment …

Grace-full Gazer …
I notice my ever-present opportunities to serve others, and I See the same as privileges – instead of as burdens or difficulties.
Grace-full: imbued with kindness & mercy; an effortless inclination to benefit others …
Gazer: one who deeply perceives; one who looks intently upon …

Humble Healer …
I use every power at my disposal to enable those who suffer to re-member how to heal themselves; knowing that it is their own courageous faith that ultimately does so.
Humble: unpretentious; willingly giving honor to others; modest …
Healer: one who helps to restore another to a state of original purity or integrity …

Destiny Dancer …
I feel my innate Divine Calling, and smoothly actualize significant portions thereof in each of my moments.
Destiny: the potential “maximum actualization” resting within any person or situation …
Dancer: one who purpose-fully flows with the energetic rhythms of his/her surroundings …

Truth-full Traveler …
Wherever I Am, I reside Within.
Truth-full: an exact acceptance of & accordance with all that IS, was and shall Be …
Traveler: one to whom Home is where he/she already IS …

Teachers

To Whom I’ve Listened

On this page you will find links to quotes from many of the saints & mystics whose teachings have proved enlightening to me and whose lives have served as inspirations for my own. They have all deepened both my appreciation for and my understanding of the immense power of perfect, unconditional, selfless Love — a Love that forms the foundation for everything shared in this website.

And how did I choose these few from the millions of potential candidates? While there are specific personality traits that distinguish “True Guides” from our lives’ many “false prophets”, each of these Teachers is mentioned because the selfless version of Love that they champion happens to mirror the Love I have personally experienced to be most potent. While experimenting with radical Kindness from 2003-2005, I labeled as “Loving” all of my choices that enabled others to either experience deep-seated Peace or that brought them profound Joy. Conversely, everything I attempted that engendered discord, that brought others pain, or that increased sadness or fear was deemed to be “false.” And, while this list is by no means exclusive, these 18 Teachers all happen to espouse ideals that harmonize with my personal rediscoveries.

It is important to note that I do not consider any of these men and women to be the sources of the Wisdoms relayed throughout this website. While I lay no personal claim to the discovery of the Truths expressed herein (as they are all many thousands of years old), my unique portrayals of them have all come first and foremost from my personal experiences. In most cases, the wisdoms of these Teachers were encountered after I had already made similar re-discoveries on my own.

I also do not endorse any of these men and women as “perfect” representations of the selflessness of which I write and speak. Nor do I endorse their particular religions, creeds or unique spiritual beliefs. Like the rest of humanity, they are mirrors of the truth of Love, not perfect “masters” of the same. They are beacons of light upon the selfless Way, not “leaders” upon that path. They are to be emulated, not blindly followed.

That having been clarified, I do deeply respect each of them, I do consider them to be paragons of what it means to live as an actualized Human Being, and I do endorse all the thoughts and implications tied to the quotations from them that I have included herein …

Services

What I’ve Done

Seeing as how the message (i)am relays focuses on encouraging people to serve others with selflessness*, it comes as no surprise that I am often asked about the services that I myself have provided others during my journey.

As a Landscaper, I learned that it is best to harmonize with what the Earth desires …
As a Construction Worker, I learned that all things are innately impermanent …
As a Prosecuting Attorney, I learned that forgiveness is the only effective form of justice …
As a Basketball Coach, I learned that “winning” is worthless if it means that another must lose …
As a Home Painter, I learned that all “flaws” can be seen as beautiful art …
As a Feng-Shui Analyst, I learned that we affect our environment as much as it affects us …
As a Farmhand, I learned that death is a part of life & that it is not necessary to kill in order to live …
As a Prep-Cook, I learned that there is no job “too small” to have a significant, positive impact on others …
As a Teacher’s Aid, I learned that children are the wisest of Teachers …
As a House-Sitter, I learned that Home is wherever you are & to act accordingly …
and as a Nanny, I learned that there is nothing more important than extending Kindness to others …

It is not necessary to become a Peace Pilgrim in order to serve powerfully. Indeed, my experience has shown that it is not how one is living or what is done, but why one acts that matters (i.e. from a place of Kindness) …

*While I have performed most of the above “for free” in my life, I also earned money for a few of them before becoming a Peace Pilgrim in 2005. And yet earning money for a service does not preclude it from being selfless. Receiving benefit from helping another does dampen the power of any act, and yet if that job is done with altruistic intentions, selfless it remains – and therefore also brings a measure of Inner Peace to the one providing it.

Travel History

Where I’ve Been

Many people I have met during my journey have been interested in where my travels have taken me. Some have asked where and how my “Awakening” took place*, while still others have wanted to know where I have shared my message of radical Kindness ever since. Thus, to provide all of you with my answers to these three questions, I offer the interactive map below.

On it, the black dots ( ) represent the travels taken by my ego over the years (question 1: “Where I’ve Been”) – from its birth in Johnson City (New York) to its bigger “deaths”* in southern Mexico, on the Big Island of Hawaii, and most recently in Park City (Utah).

The white dots ( ) represent places I’ve been where I have consciously experienced powerful Lessons that enabled me to shed more of my ego’s desires and enliven more of my Soul’s selfless inclinations (question 2: “Where/how I Awakened”).

The gold dots ( ) on the map mark the various Sacred Spaces within which I have resided. Some of these Journeys have been made “in ego”– mere “vacations” when the Earth’s guiding energies unkowingly entered me at a cellular level. Other visits were “pilgrimages” engaged purposefully by my True Self –when those same energies entered not only my subconscious awareness, but immediately affected the essence of my consciousness as well …

Finally, the green dots ( ) indicate the places I’ve been since choosing to live primarily as a Peace Pilgrim (question 3: Where I’ve Served since my Awakening). These are places where I have been asked to share my Message of radical Kindness in a number of powerful ways for a number of Wonder-full people (see the Workshops section of this website for more details about each).

*While the first and last of these questions were relatively simple to answer, the second query is a much more convoluted one, as there is no one point in time or space where my ego completely disappeared and my True Self completely emerged. Rather, life seems to be a continual “dance” of ego and True Self – with the selfish ego continually “dying”and the selfless Soul being ever-more-potently reborn … Still, when we look at life as a collection of independent moments (as opposed to a gradual “river of time”), it is relatively easy to identify which of these two personas is present in any given instant.