Spiritual seekers look for self-realization or enlightenment in the future. To be a seeker implies that you need the future. If this is what you believe, it becomes true for you: you will need time until you realize that you don't need time to be who you are.....
- Eckhart Tolle
Final Words...
Groping after what is empty
and chasing echoes
will only fatigue the mind and spirit.
Beyond awakening from a dream,
and then going beyond this awakening,
what remains?
- Deshan (His final words)
and chasing echoes
will only fatigue the mind and spirit.
Beyond awakening from a dream,
and then going beyond this awakening,
what remains?
- Deshan (His final words)
Within...
Not knowing how near the truth is,
People seek it far away, what a pity!
They are like him who, in the midst of water,
Cries in thirst so imploringly....
-Hakuin
People seek it far away, what a pity!
They are like him who, in the midst of water,
Cries in thirst so imploringly....
-Hakuin
The Abyss of Freedom...
What's forgotten is that state of simplicity. That paradox of the immensity of existence, of life here and now. The fullness of it and the absolute emptiness of it. It's that quiet immensity. I was reading an old journal of mine from the mid 1980's and in it was this wonderful quote from, actually quite a few wonderful quotes from Thomas Merton that I had written down. I used to love reading Thomas Merton. But he had this very beautiful, this one line this one description and he called it the abyss of freedom. And I loved that because he's linking that very paradoxical words that only someone who's experienced that abyss of freedom will know what he is talking about. That abyss of freedom. Everybody wants freedom, not everybody wants the abyss. The emptiness of freedom. The disappearance to just a simplicity, a quietness that takes paradoxically because I am speaking but takes the words away from us. In other words takes away the inner dialog away from us and we actually begin to live in that abyss of freedom rather than to talk to ourselves about that. And so when you stop looking in the high places for truth but look in the low places, the places that are obscure, the places where nobody pays any attention. That's where you'll find what you are. That's where it will become obvious. When you start to pay attention to what you don't usually pay attention to, what's quiet. Not clamoring inside of you for attention. What's not insisting. What's not trying to take some sort of spiritual stance. That in you which does not have a theology whether it's dualistic or nondualistic. That simplicity. That very simple shining emptiness. Very easy to forget that that's what its about. That's what brings self-liberation. That's what takes us beyond our own self-obsession. Wakes us up from the dream cause that's the awakening. Suddenly you're awake from the dream of being obsessed with yourself. Past, future. You awaken even from the obsession with being a self. Because that's all being a self is, it's an obsession. One thought obsessing on another thought obsessing on another thought obsessing on another thought until it spins the illusion of a self into existence.
Adyashanti
Mount Madonna retreat 2009
Adyashanti
Mount Madonna retreat 2009
from The Light That I Am by J.C.Amberchele ...
Tony Parsons quotes from Maurice Nicholl's book The New Man saying that "he (Nicholl) explained that the word "repent" did not mean 'to show sorrow for your sins and vow never to sin again.' The word in Christ's native tongue, meant 'to turn 180 degrees and see anew.'
And what do I see when I turn my attention 180 degrees from where I usually look? I see that in no way do I resemble what others say I am. Attending to Right Here, I see nothing, but a nothing unlike any I have seen before. This no-thing is aware, is boundless, is always here, and is unmistakably Who I Am and yet no entity, nothing I can hang a name or history on. Simply said, I am Emptiness, awake to being empty.
p.156
The Light That I Am
And what do I see when I turn my attention 180 degrees from where I usually look? I see that in no way do I resemble what others say I am. Attending to Right Here, I see nothing, but a nothing unlike any I have seen before. This no-thing is aware, is boundless, is always here, and is unmistakably Who I Am and yet no entity, nothing I can hang a name or history on. Simply said, I am Emptiness, awake to being empty.
p.156
The Light That I Am
Nature of God...
The nature of God is a circle of which the
Center is everywhere and the circumference
is nowhere.
- Empedocles
Center is everywhere and the circumference
is nowhere.
- Empedocles
Why are we Silent?...
Have we fallen back into the hypnosis of ego?.. Are we afraid to speak of our
selves?.. Do we fear the unknown?.. What is the unknown?.. Is the name of the
unknown called God?.. So many questions, so few answers.. But, Quiet is the
essence of Truth.. The ego demands that we speak so that others will acknowledge
our ego.. the ego demands attention.. So , perhaps the pinacle of Truth is
Silence.. So let us all be silent in the silent Knowledge of Truth called
Prayer..........namaste, thomas
selves?.. Do we fear the unknown?.. What is the unknown?.. Is the name of the
unknown called God?.. So many questions, so few answers.. But, Quiet is the
essence of Truth.. The ego demands that we speak so that others will acknowledge
our ego.. the ego demands attention.. So , perhaps the pinacle of Truth is
Silence.. So let us all be silent in the silent Knowledge of Truth called
Prayer..........namaste, thomas
Self-Knowledge...
Be interested in yourself beyond all experience,
be with yourself, love yourself; the ultimate
security is found only in self-knowledge. The
main thing is earnestness. Be honest with
yourself and nothing will betray you. Virtues
and powers are mere tokens for children to play
with. They are useful in the world, but do not
take you out of it. To go beyond, you need alert
immobility, quiet attention.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
be with yourself, love yourself; the ultimate
security is found only in self-knowledge. The
main thing is earnestness. Be honest with
yourself and nothing will betray you. Virtues
and powers are mere tokens for children to play
with. They are useful in the world, but do not
take you out of it. To go beyond, you need alert
immobility, quiet attention.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Dream...
“Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.” .....
James Allen
James Allen
The Teaching of Gautama the Buddha...
The Eightfold Path is
Right Understanding
Right Thought
Right Speech
Right Action
The Right Action forms a list of fundamental ethical behaviors These are
the Five Precepts:
1.To refrain from destroying living beings
2.To refrain from stealing
3.To refrain from sexual misconduct (adultery, rape, etc.)
4.To refrain from false speech (lying)
5.To refrain from intoxicants which lead to heedlessness
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
Right Understanding
Right Thought
Right Speech
Right Action
The Right Action forms a list of fundamental ethical behaviors These are
the Five Precepts:
1.To refrain from destroying living beings
2.To refrain from stealing
3.To refrain from sexual misconduct (adultery, rape, etc.)
4.To refrain from false speech (lying)
5.To refrain from intoxicants which lead to heedlessness
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
Reality...
Reality is simply the loss of ego. Destroy the
ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is
no entity it will automatically vanish and reality
will shine forth by itself.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is
no entity it will automatically vanish and reality
will shine forth by itself.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
The OM Point...
Ultimately the aspirant has to realize that God is the only Reality and that he is really one with God. This implies that he should not be overpowered by the spectacle of the multiform universe.
In fact, the whole universe is in the Self and springs into existence from the tiny point in the Self referred to as the OM Point. But the Self as the individualized soul has become habituated to gathering experiences through one medium or another, and therefore it comes to experience the universe as a formidable rival, other than itself.
Those who have realized God constantly see the universe as springing from this Om Point, which is in everyone.
DISCOURSES, p. 190
Copyright 1987 Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust
In fact, the whole universe is in the Self and springs into existence from the tiny point in the Self referred to as the OM Point. But the Self as the individualized soul has become habituated to gathering experiences through one medium or another, and therefore it comes to experience the universe as a formidable rival, other than itself.
Those who have realized God constantly see the universe as springing from this Om Point, which is in everyone.
DISCOURSES, p. 190
Copyright 1987 Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust
Harmful Voices...
*"Whether a person is aware of it or not, he is assaulted constantly
by misleading and hostile voices within the mind. They speak both
through you and to you. Everyone is their target, but because of
their extreme cunning, few people ever detect and dismiss them. So
the only problem is a lack of information about these foreign voices.
The curing facts are as close as your desire for them.
It is extremely important for you to remember the following truth:
these hurtful voices ARE NOT you, and they do not belong to you, but
merely speak through your psychic system. Don't take them as being
your own voices, any more than you take radio voices as being your
own. They simply USE unaware human beings. Your true nature has
nothing to do with them. When finally dismissing these sinister
speakers you make room for spiritual health and true life."
SOLVED The Mystery Of Life, p. 145......Vernon Howard
by misleading and hostile voices within the mind. They speak both
through you and to you. Everyone is their target, but because of
their extreme cunning, few people ever detect and dismiss them. So
the only problem is a lack of information about these foreign voices.
The curing facts are as close as your desire for them.
It is extremely important for you to remember the following truth:
these hurtful voices ARE NOT you, and they do not belong to you, but
merely speak through your psychic system. Don't take them as being
your own voices, any more than you take radio voices as being your
own. They simply USE unaware human beings. Your true nature has
nothing to do with them. When finally dismissing these sinister
speakers you make room for spiritual health and true life."
SOLVED The Mystery Of Life, p. 145......Vernon Howard
Mind...
Where there is mind there is two-ness and past.
Where there is no mind there is Freedom.
Mind is strong in other-ness because
mind is mind only when it touches an object.
Mind is the worst pollution because
it is the concept of time which steals you from Love.
Mind is samsara, the cycle of hitchhiking through wombs.
Mind is description so see what cannot be described by thought.
- Papaji
`
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
Where there is no mind there is Freedom.
Mind is strong in other-ness because
mind is mind only when it touches an object.
Mind is the worst pollution because
it is the concept of time which steals you from Love.
Mind is samsara, the cycle of hitchhiking through wombs.
Mind is description so see what cannot be described by thought.
- Papaji
`
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
Vibrations...
It is the direction of the activity of vibrations that accounts for the variety
of things and beings. It is a certain degree of vibration that brings to the
earth the things of the inner world, and a change of vibrations takes away the
things that are seen into the unseen world.
From The Teachings Of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
Selected & Arranged By
HAZRAT PIR VILAYAT INAYAT KHAN
of things and beings. It is a certain degree of vibration that brings to the
earth the things of the inner world, and a change of vibrations takes away the
things that are seen into the unseen world.
From The Teachings Of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
Selected & Arranged By
HAZRAT PIR VILAYAT INAYAT KHAN
Reason...
Do not be flattered by reason,
reason is only
the child of the mind.
But true friendship
is born out of love and
is the water of life.
The footprints of the Friend
are all over the world.
Follow them and walk into life.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Rumi: Hidden Music
Translated by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001
reason is only
the child of the mind.
But true friendship
is born out of love and
is the water of life.
The footprints of the Friend
are all over the world.
Follow them and walk into life.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Rumi: Hidden Music
Translated by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001
Light and Truth...
All earthly knowledge is as a cloud covering the sun.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Truth is the very self of man. Truth is the divine element in man. Truth is
every soul's seeking. Therefore as soon as the clouds of illusion are scattered,
that which man now begins to see is nothing but the truth which has been there
all the time. He finds that the truth was never absent; it was only covered by
clouds of illusion.
Man brings unhappiness upon himself by holding in his hands the clouds of bad
impressions, which fall as a shadow upon his soul. Once a person is able to
clear from his mind, by whatever process, the undesirable impressions, a new
power begins to spring from his heart. This opens a way before him to accomplish
all he wishes, attracting to him all he requires, clearing his path of all
obstacles, and making his atmosphere clear, for him to live and move and to
accomplish all he wishes to accomplish.
As there are times when the sun becomes covered by clouds, so there are times
when the God-ideal becomes covered by materialism. But if for a moment the cloud
covers the sun, that does not mean that the sun is lost; and so the God-ideal
may seemed to have disappeared in the reign of materialism, yet God is there
just the same. ... We find that during the past few years all over the world we
have come to a phase when the God-ideal has seemed entirely forgotten. It does
not mean that the Churches have disappeared, it does not mean that God does not
exist, but that a light that was once there has been covered and has ceased to
illuminate us.
Now the time has come that humanity, after its contemplation on material gain,
must contemplate on another gain. Material gains are taken away in a moment's
time and leave man in his grave alone without any of them. ... This does not
mean that the knowledge of the world is useless, but the knowledge of the world
does not suffice the whole purpose of life. There is only one thing from which
true satisfaction can come, and that is the knowledge of the deeper side of
life, the knowledge of the source and goal of all things.
It is the receptivity of our heart and the passivity of our mind, it is the
eagerness, the thirst and hunger after truth, it is the direction of our whole
life to that Ideal from who all light and truth come, that alone can bring us
truth and the knowledge of God. All knowledge of the earth is as clouds covering
the sun. It is the breaking of these clouds and clearness of the sky, or in
other words the purity of heart, which give the capacity for the knowledge of
God.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Truth is the very self of man. Truth is the divine element in man. Truth is
every soul's seeking. Therefore as soon as the clouds of illusion are scattered,
that which man now begins to see is nothing but the truth which has been there
all the time. He finds that the truth was never absent; it was only covered by
clouds of illusion.
Man brings unhappiness upon himself by holding in his hands the clouds of bad
impressions, which fall as a shadow upon his soul. Once a person is able to
clear from his mind, by whatever process, the undesirable impressions, a new
power begins to spring from his heart. This opens a way before him to accomplish
all he wishes, attracting to him all he requires, clearing his path of all
obstacles, and making his atmosphere clear, for him to live and move and to
accomplish all he wishes to accomplish.
As there are times when the sun becomes covered by clouds, so there are times
when the God-ideal becomes covered by materialism. But if for a moment the cloud
covers the sun, that does not mean that the sun is lost; and so the God-ideal
may seemed to have disappeared in the reign of materialism, yet God is there
just the same. ... We find that during the past few years all over the world we
have come to a phase when the God-ideal has seemed entirely forgotten. It does
not mean that the Churches have disappeared, it does not mean that God does not
exist, but that a light that was once there has been covered and has ceased to
illuminate us.
Now the time has come that humanity, after its contemplation on material gain,
must contemplate on another gain. Material gains are taken away in a moment's
time and leave man in his grave alone without any of them. ... This does not
mean that the knowledge of the world is useless, but the knowledge of the world
does not suffice the whole purpose of life. There is only one thing from which
true satisfaction can come, and that is the knowledge of the deeper side of
life, the knowledge of the source and goal of all things.
It is the receptivity of our heart and the passivity of our mind, it is the
eagerness, the thirst and hunger after truth, it is the direction of our whole
life to that Ideal from who all light and truth come, that alone can bring us
truth and the knowledge of God. All knowledge of the earth is as clouds covering
the sun. It is the breaking of these clouds and clearness of the sky, or in
other words the purity of heart, which give the capacity for the knowledge of
God.
Stillness...
“Uncontrolled, the hunger and thirst after God may become an obstacle, cutting off the soul from what it desires. If a man would travel far along the mystic road, he must learn to desire God intensely but in stillness, passively and yet with all his heart and mind and strength.”......
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Four Questions...
Four Questions:
Who is awake and who asleep?
What is this lake that is continually
oozing back into the earth?
What can a human being offer to God?
What do we most deeply want?
The Answers:
The mind is what sleeps.
What recognizes itself
as God is awake.
This always-disappearing lake
is made of our appetites,
these movings-about,
this talking and listening.
The only offering you can make to God
is your increasing awareness.
And the last desire is
to be God in human form.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Who is awake and who asleep?
What is this lake that is continually
oozing back into the earth?
What can a human being offer to God?
What do we most deeply want?
The Answers:
The mind is what sleeps.
What recognizes itself
as God is awake.
This always-disappearing lake
is made of our appetites,
these movings-about,
this talking and listening.
The only offering you can make to God
is your increasing awareness.
And the last desire is
to be God in human form.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Blame...
Blame
Keeps the sad game going.
It keeps stealing all your wealth
Giving it to an imbecile with
No financial skills.
Dear one,
Wise
Up.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
Keeps the sad game going.
It keeps stealing all your wealth
Giving it to an imbecile with
No financial skills.
Dear one,
Wise
Up.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
Humility...
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility..........
St. Augustine
St. Augustine
Compassion...
In reality compassion is never willfully produced. Rather, it flows as a result of a fundamental recognition of Truth, and the embodiment of that recognition. As Dante said in The Divine Comedy, "Blessedness comes from seeing; not from loving, which comes later." See, and love flows. Released from the confines of the imaginary me, it cannot help but flood into the world, for it is the world.
And so my practice is clear: it is to get out of the way of Love. Seeing no one here, the gate opens for the movement of compassion, and I find no way top resist you, nothing with which to keep out the world.
The Light That I Am by J.C.Amberchele
chapter: Compassion
pp. 47-8
And so my practice is clear: it is to get out of the way of Love. Seeing no one here, the gate opens for the movement of compassion, and I find no way top resist you, nothing with which to keep out the world.
The Light That I Am by J.C.Amberchele
chapter: Compassion
pp. 47-8
Meditation...
“When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.”......
Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
Divine Mind...
In our spiritual practices, we consciously connect with the Mind of God for guidance and inspiration. Let us remember that this connection is always present to give light and power to our lives.
~ Margaret Stortz
~ Margaret Stortz
Thoughts...
“All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts” ......
James Allen
James Allen
Hate and Love...
“You hate someone whom you really wish to love, but whom you cannot love. Perhaps he himself prevents you. That is a disguised form of love.” ...
Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy
Importance...
'You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are.' ........
Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle
Jesus and the Essenes...
After the original founding of the Essenes by Enoch, many centuries passed in which the Essenes existed as a Mystery School, out of the eyes of the public. Finally, it was time for a major remanifestation of the Essenes, for their numbers had dwindled to the point of near extinction. Moses was the man chosen by God to guide the remanifestation of the Essenes. Both the ancient scholar Philo, and a modern scholar, Rabbi Harvey Falk (in his Another Look at the Jewishness of Jesus), informs us that Moses trained thousands of disciples as Essenes. The Essenes themselves describe that event in one of their most important texts: The Essene Book of Moses. In that text, God, at Mount Sinai, gave Moses the Essene Communions on a stone tablet. It was hoped that all the Jewish people would follow the way of life described on that tablet. But when Moses descended Mount Sinai and met with the people, it was clear that the majority were not ready to follow the esoteric Essene teachings engraved on that tablet. Heavy of heart, Moses again climbed Mount Sinai and asked God for an exoteric, easier set of teachings for the masses who were not ready to receive the esoteric Essene teachings. ("esoteric" means "inner circle"; "exoteric" means "outer circle".) God responded by giving the famous Ten Commandments on a second stone tablet; those commandments would be for the masses. Moses was to keep the esoteric Essene Communions for "the Children of Light," for only they could understand them. We read:
"And the Lord called unto Moses out of the mountain, saying, 'Come unto me, for I would give thee the Law for thy people, which shall be a covenant for the Children of Light'.... And God spake all these words, saying, 'I am the Law, thy God, which hath brought thee out from the depths of the bondage of darkness.... I am the invisible law, without beginning and without end.... If thou forsake me, thou shalt be visited by disasters for generation upon generation. If thou keepest my commandments, thou shalt enter the Infinite Garden where stands the Tree of Life in the midst of the Eternal Sea.'"
At that point, God then gave Moses the Essene Communions on the first tablet. Besides the Communions, that tablet included a synopsis of the main Essene teachings, including vegetarianism: "Thou shalt not take the life of any living thing." Our text then continues:
"And the people knew not what became of Moses, and they gathered themselves... and made a molten calf. And they worshipped unto the idol, and offered to it burnt offerings. And they ate and drank and danced before the golden calf... and they abandoned themselves to corruption and evil before the Lord."
The reference above to "burnt offerings" is a reference to "animal sacrifice". When Moses returned he found the people offering bloody animal sacrifices to their golden idol. Although he knew that these people had not "the ears to hear" the esoteric Essene tablet, -- they were given the exoteric Ten Commandments instead -- Moses preserved the Essene teachings for the Children of Light (the Essenes became known as the "Children of Light"); we read:
"And Moses hid the invisible Law within his breast, and kept it for a sign for the Children of Light."
It was at this time, according to both the ancient scholar Philo and the modern scholar Falk, that Moses trained 2,000 of the spiritual "elect" -- those Jews who had remained vegetarian and refused to participate in animal sacrifice and idol worship -- to be Essenes. AND FROM THIS TIME ON THE ESSENES EXISTED AS AN ESOTERIC MINORITY SECT. (Note: When modern scholars assert that the Essenes of Qumran were founded about 200 years before the time of Jesus, they are correct in regard to that one Essene group at Qumran; but the overall Essene movement is far more ancient.)
Although the Essenes began as an esoteric minority sect within Judaism, they went on to become the very first "Christians," called "Essene-Nazarenes" or "Ebionites". That happened as follows. Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the head priest of the Essenes, known as the "Teacher of Righteousness", had a vision: An Angel told him that a great Avatar, the Mashiakh (Christ Messiah), would come to Earth through the Essenes. But for this to occur, according to the Angel, the Essenes must follow certain disciplines in order to create a physical body capable of withstanding the powerful vibrations of the Christ Spirit, as well as a group energy powerful enough to open an "energy vortex" or "doorway" into this space-time dimension through which the Christ would enter. The prescribed disciplines were called the "Essene Halakoth". The group energy for the creation of an "energy vortex" was generated by forming Essene communal villages dedicated to practicing the "Halakoth" in a group context. In the Winter issue of "The Essene Path", Rev. Michael Robinson provided related information:
"Essene prophets who were attuned to the will of the Almighty, by virtue of their Holy meditations and their lifestyle of Righteousness, prepared for generations for the arrival of the Messiah of Peace. Genealogies were consulted and candidates were chosen and raised to a holy life. Pure diet, free of the taint of death and blood, as well as training in the Essene mysteries, brought forth children of a Holy nature, from which new candidates were chosen."
In the book, Edgar Cayce's Story of Jesus, edited by Jeffrey Furst, we read:
"... the Essenes... dedicated their lives, their minds, their bodies to a purpose, to a seeking for that which had been to them a promise of old.... Hence, there was the continued preparation and dedication of those who might be the channels through which this chosen vessel might enter -- through choice -- into this material realm. Thus in Carmel -- where there were the chief priests and leaders of this faith -- there were the maidens chosen who were dedicated to this purpose.... Among them was Mary, the beloved, the chosen one."
Again from Cayce:
"The Essenes were dedicated to their purpose and made holy Mount Carmel their headquarters. This was the original place where the school of prophets was established during Elijah's time....
"Here, the Essenes prepared themselves for several generations to open as it were a door into this realm for the Messiah.... And he became known as Jesus the Nazarene, for he was of the Essenian sect of Nazarenes in the region of Carmel."
In regard to the above references to the Essene headquarters at Mount Carmel and Jesus being affiliated with the Essenian sect of Nazarenes in the region of Carmel, there is much supporting evidence. Indeed, it is quite clear that the headquarters of the entire Essene movement was Mount Carmel in Northern Israel, not Qumran in Southern Israel, and that Jesus was primarily associated with Carmel. Equally clear is the fact that the Northern Essenes in the region of Mount Carmel were called "Nazarenes". The fact that nearly every major event associated with the life of Jesus occurred in Northern Israel, is strong evidence that Jesus lived most of his life in Northern Israel. Only four events of Jesus' life occurred in Southern Israel (his birth in Bethlehem; his visit to the temple when he was 12; his baptism by John; and his final journey to Jerusalem) and each of those events is clearly described as occurring after making a long journey from his home in Northern Israel. Mount Carmel, the Essene-Nazarene headquarters, was in Northern Israel; Qumran, the Essene Monastery where John the Baptist lived (and where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), was in Southern Israel. THERE IS SOLID CONSENSUS AMONGST SCHOLARS THAT JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS FROM QUMRAN: the location on the Jordan river where tradition tells us John performed his baptisms is exactly where the Jordan river connects with the Dead Sea near Qumran, and everything we know about John matches up perfectly with what is known about the Qumran Essenes. When Jesus came to be baptized by his cousin John, The New Testament and other manuscripts tell us that John did not recognize Jesus; obviously, if Jesus and John lived together at Qumran, they would have recognized each other. This is strong evidence that Jesus was a Northern Essene associated with Mount Carmel, not a Southern Essene from Qumran. In Mystic Christianity, by Yogi Ramacharaka, we read:
"Jesus came unannounced to, and unrecognized by John.... Although the two were cousins, they had not met since childhood, and John did not at first recognize Jesus. The traditions of the Mystic Orders further state that Jesus then gave to John the various signs of the Mystery Schools to which they both belonged, working from the common signs up until Jesus passed on to degrees to which John had not attained, although he was an eminent high-degree Essene. Whereupon John saw that the man before him was no common applicant for Baptism, but was, instead, a highest-degree Mystic Adept, his superior in rank and unfoldment."
While the New Testament does not include all of the esoteric information above, it does declare that John -- the Qumran Baptist -- DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIS COUSIN JESUS.
The fact that Jesus was not from Qumran DOES NOT MEAN HE WAS NOT AN ESSENE. Often, when orthodox Christian scholars are attempting to prove that Jesus was not an Essene, they point out certain differences between the teachings of Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. (They often point out that Jesus' doctrine is less strict in some matters than the 'Community Rule' of the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls; by doing so, they think they are proving that Jesus was not an Essene.) But they are missing the point: QUMRAN WAS ONLY ONE OF MANY DIVERSE ESSENE COMMUNITIES. Whereas Qumran was a strict monastic commune for celibate men, some other Essene communities -- such as Mount Carmel and the related Nazarene stronghold of Nazareth -- were for entire families and naturally had more relaxed rules. The teachings of Jesus were more a product of the Northern Essene environment of Mount Carmel than Qumran. I quote from Peter Lemesurier's The Armageddon Script:
"Admittedly, Jesus was often considerably more forthcoming (less secretive) than the typical Qumran Essene, but then it should be remembered that he was not a Qumran Essene. Not only was he a 'Carmelite' or 'Nazarene', a product of the Essene movement's necessarily 'ecumenical' headquarters-group, but he was the intended messianic Priest-King, the ultimate 'Interpreter of the Law'.... As such, his rank was superior by far to the rest of the Essene leadership, even to the original Teacher of Righteousness. Consequently, he was free to interpret the Law and the Prophets in his own way and to whom he pleased, as the spirit guided him..........from essene.org
"And the Lord called unto Moses out of the mountain, saying, 'Come unto me, for I would give thee the Law for thy people, which shall be a covenant for the Children of Light'.... And God spake all these words, saying, 'I am the Law, thy God, which hath brought thee out from the depths of the bondage of darkness.... I am the invisible law, without beginning and without end.... If thou forsake me, thou shalt be visited by disasters for generation upon generation. If thou keepest my commandments, thou shalt enter the Infinite Garden where stands the Tree of Life in the midst of the Eternal Sea.'"
At that point, God then gave Moses the Essene Communions on the first tablet. Besides the Communions, that tablet included a synopsis of the main Essene teachings, including vegetarianism: "Thou shalt not take the life of any living thing." Our text then continues:
"And the people knew not what became of Moses, and they gathered themselves... and made a molten calf. And they worshipped unto the idol, and offered to it burnt offerings. And they ate and drank and danced before the golden calf... and they abandoned themselves to corruption and evil before the Lord."
The reference above to "burnt offerings" is a reference to "animal sacrifice". When Moses returned he found the people offering bloody animal sacrifices to their golden idol. Although he knew that these people had not "the ears to hear" the esoteric Essene tablet, -- they were given the exoteric Ten Commandments instead -- Moses preserved the Essene teachings for the Children of Light (the Essenes became known as the "Children of Light"); we read:
"And Moses hid the invisible Law within his breast, and kept it for a sign for the Children of Light."
It was at this time, according to both the ancient scholar Philo and the modern scholar Falk, that Moses trained 2,000 of the spiritual "elect" -- those Jews who had remained vegetarian and refused to participate in animal sacrifice and idol worship -- to be Essenes. AND FROM THIS TIME ON THE ESSENES EXISTED AS AN ESOTERIC MINORITY SECT. (Note: When modern scholars assert that the Essenes of Qumran were founded about 200 years before the time of Jesus, they are correct in regard to that one Essene group at Qumran; but the overall Essene movement is far more ancient.)
Although the Essenes began as an esoteric minority sect within Judaism, they went on to become the very first "Christians," called "Essene-Nazarenes" or "Ebionites". That happened as follows. Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the head priest of the Essenes, known as the "Teacher of Righteousness", had a vision: An Angel told him that a great Avatar, the Mashiakh (Christ Messiah), would come to Earth through the Essenes. But for this to occur, according to the Angel, the Essenes must follow certain disciplines in order to create a physical body capable of withstanding the powerful vibrations of the Christ Spirit, as well as a group energy powerful enough to open an "energy vortex" or "doorway" into this space-time dimension through which the Christ would enter. The prescribed disciplines were called the "Essene Halakoth". The group energy for the creation of an "energy vortex" was generated by forming Essene communal villages dedicated to practicing the "Halakoth" in a group context. In the Winter issue of "The Essene Path", Rev. Michael Robinson provided related information:
"Essene prophets who were attuned to the will of the Almighty, by virtue of their Holy meditations and their lifestyle of Righteousness, prepared for generations for the arrival of the Messiah of Peace. Genealogies were consulted and candidates were chosen and raised to a holy life. Pure diet, free of the taint of death and blood, as well as training in the Essene mysteries, brought forth children of a Holy nature, from which new candidates were chosen."
In the book, Edgar Cayce's Story of Jesus, edited by Jeffrey Furst, we read:
"... the Essenes... dedicated their lives, their minds, their bodies to a purpose, to a seeking for that which had been to them a promise of old.... Hence, there was the continued preparation and dedication of those who might be the channels through which this chosen vessel might enter -- through choice -- into this material realm. Thus in Carmel -- where there were the chief priests and leaders of this faith -- there were the maidens chosen who were dedicated to this purpose.... Among them was Mary, the beloved, the chosen one."
Again from Cayce:
"The Essenes were dedicated to their purpose and made holy Mount Carmel their headquarters. This was the original place where the school of prophets was established during Elijah's time....
"Here, the Essenes prepared themselves for several generations to open as it were a door into this realm for the Messiah.... And he became known as Jesus the Nazarene, for he was of the Essenian sect of Nazarenes in the region of Carmel."
In regard to the above references to the Essene headquarters at Mount Carmel and Jesus being affiliated with the Essenian sect of Nazarenes in the region of Carmel, there is much supporting evidence. Indeed, it is quite clear that the headquarters of the entire Essene movement was Mount Carmel in Northern Israel, not Qumran in Southern Israel, and that Jesus was primarily associated with Carmel. Equally clear is the fact that the Northern Essenes in the region of Mount Carmel were called "Nazarenes". The fact that nearly every major event associated with the life of Jesus occurred in Northern Israel, is strong evidence that Jesus lived most of his life in Northern Israel. Only four events of Jesus' life occurred in Southern Israel (his birth in Bethlehem; his visit to the temple when he was 12; his baptism by John; and his final journey to Jerusalem) and each of those events is clearly described as occurring after making a long journey from his home in Northern Israel. Mount Carmel, the Essene-Nazarene headquarters, was in Northern Israel; Qumran, the Essene Monastery where John the Baptist lived (and where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), was in Southern Israel. THERE IS SOLID CONSENSUS AMONGST SCHOLARS THAT JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS FROM QUMRAN: the location on the Jordan river where tradition tells us John performed his baptisms is exactly where the Jordan river connects with the Dead Sea near Qumran, and everything we know about John matches up perfectly with what is known about the Qumran Essenes. When Jesus came to be baptized by his cousin John, The New Testament and other manuscripts tell us that John did not recognize Jesus; obviously, if Jesus and John lived together at Qumran, they would have recognized each other. This is strong evidence that Jesus was a Northern Essene associated with Mount Carmel, not a Southern Essene from Qumran. In Mystic Christianity, by Yogi Ramacharaka, we read:
"Jesus came unannounced to, and unrecognized by John.... Although the two were cousins, they had not met since childhood, and John did not at first recognize Jesus. The traditions of the Mystic Orders further state that Jesus then gave to John the various signs of the Mystery Schools to which they both belonged, working from the common signs up until Jesus passed on to degrees to which John had not attained, although he was an eminent high-degree Essene. Whereupon John saw that the man before him was no common applicant for Baptism, but was, instead, a highest-degree Mystic Adept, his superior in rank and unfoldment."
While the New Testament does not include all of the esoteric information above, it does declare that John -- the Qumran Baptist -- DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIS COUSIN JESUS.
The fact that Jesus was not from Qumran DOES NOT MEAN HE WAS NOT AN ESSENE. Often, when orthodox Christian scholars are attempting to prove that Jesus was not an Essene, they point out certain differences between the teachings of Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. (They often point out that Jesus' doctrine is less strict in some matters than the 'Community Rule' of the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls; by doing so, they think they are proving that Jesus was not an Essene.) But they are missing the point: QUMRAN WAS ONLY ONE OF MANY DIVERSE ESSENE COMMUNITIES. Whereas Qumran was a strict monastic commune for celibate men, some other Essene communities -- such as Mount Carmel and the related Nazarene stronghold of Nazareth -- were for entire families and naturally had more relaxed rules. The teachings of Jesus were more a product of the Northern Essene environment of Mount Carmel than Qumran. I quote from Peter Lemesurier's The Armageddon Script:
"Admittedly, Jesus was often considerably more forthcoming (less secretive) than the typical Qumran Essene, but then it should be remembered that he was not a Qumran Essene. Not only was he a 'Carmelite' or 'Nazarene', a product of the Essene movement's necessarily 'ecumenical' headquarters-group, but he was the intended messianic Priest-King, the ultimate 'Interpreter of the Law'.... As such, his rank was superior by far to the rest of the Essene leadership, even to the original Teacher of Righteousness. Consequently, he was free to interpret the Law and the Prophets in his own way and to whom he pleased, as the spirit guided him..........from essene.org
Joy...
You are the garden of Joy,
to be happy you need nobody else.
You are in the garden of Joy,
but when you think of old things, you become sad.
This Joy, this Moment, will destroy mind and suffering,
because this Moment is Happiness.
So stop going to the past moments in order to suffer.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)
Yudhishtara, 1995
to be happy you need nobody else.
You are in the garden of Joy,
but when you think of old things, you become sad.
This Joy, this Moment, will destroy mind and suffering,
because this Moment is Happiness.
So stop going to the past moments in order to suffer.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)
Yudhishtara, 1995
Zen...
The disciple asked his Master:
"Master, how do you put enlightenment into action?"
"By eating and by sleeping," answered the master:
The disciple was perplexed. "But Master, everybody sleeps and everybody eats."
To this the Master replied, "But not everybody eats when they eat, and not everybody sleeps when they sleep."...........The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
"Master, how do you put enlightenment into action?"
"By eating and by sleeping," answered the master:
The disciple was perplexed. "But Master, everybody sleeps and everybody eats."
To this the Master replied, "But not everybody eats when they eat, and not everybody sleeps when they sleep."...........The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Rising In Consciousness...
The more you realize God as the mind and soul and spirit of your being, the more you realize God as the soul of you, the more you are really thinking correctly about God, and keeping your mind stayed on him.
God is not a God afar off. He is nearer than hands and feet, closer than breathing: "I and the Father are one." Right where I am sitting, or standing, or walking or talking, there God is unfolding and expressing itself as me, and I am dwelling in thought on God when I am realizing that truth.
~ Joel S. Goldsmith
God is not a God afar off. He is nearer than hands and feet, closer than breathing: "I and the Father are one." Right where I am sitting, or standing, or walking or talking, there God is unfolding and expressing itself as me, and I am dwelling in thought on God when I am realizing that truth.
~ Joel S. Goldsmith
Freed of me...
The mind freed of "me" and its desires is free
to move in boundless space with the silent
pulse of the universe.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
to move in boundless space with the silent
pulse of the universe.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
The Mystery of Mind...
The mystery of Mind is undoubtedly the biggest mystery of all, for when he understands that he will have the key which unlocks the door to all the other problems. However, it is necessary to grasp the following: there are two phases of Mind. The first is Consciousness in its everyday form, that is, the consciousness of this time-space-matter world. He has the illusion that this consciousness is a continuous and unified whole, but actually it is like a stream of machine-gun bullets, being made up of an incessant series of disconnected thoughts. Because these thoughts arise and disappear with extraordinary rapidity, the illusion of continuous consciousness, the illusion of an unchangeable, solid world, and the illusion of a separate ego are born. The word "illusion" used here must not be misunderstood. The existence of this amazing trio is not denied for a single moment, because they are there staring him in the face. But this existence is purely relative. It is not absolutely permanent and therefore not real in the Oriental definition of that much-abused word. He must not confine the notion of Mind to that fragment of it which is used in everyday consciousness. What is called Consciousness is merely a portion of what is called Mind, or, functionally regarded, merely one of its faculties. It is the transient and relatively less important portion too. Whether consciousness lives or dies, Mind will always go on because it is the hidden source. Now this Mind in its own pure stage (i.e., unexpressed through everyday human consciousness) is utterly beyond the range of human thinking because it is Absolute, timeless, spaceless, idea-less, and matterless. It has no shape to be seen, no sound to be heard. Consequently from the average human standpoint it is a great Nothing and as a matter of fact some of the Tibetan sages did call it a Great Void. As he cannot pull it down to the grasp of his little human mind and therefore is not ordinarily aware of it, it has sometimes been referred to as the Unconscious Mind, for want of a better term. But such a description is not a good one, as it may lead to dangerous misunderstandings. A better descriptive term must be found. To quote a phrase from one of Disraeli's novels: "The conscious cannot be derived from the unconscious. Man is divine."
It is this Infinite Mind which has been called God, Spirit, Brahman, and so forth. He has to get the knowledge that his own little individual stream of consciousness has flowed out of this great source and will eventually return to it and disappear into it. This is Truth. This universal, impersonal Being is what all are after. The ones who seek it consciously are the people who have taken up the Quest. Those who are after it unconsciously take to drink and other sensual enjoyments and pursue the allurements of this most alluring world.
Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 5: The Key To the Spiritual World > # 130 ........Paul Brunton
It is this Infinite Mind which has been called God, Spirit, Brahman, and so forth. He has to get the knowledge that his own little individual stream of consciousness has flowed out of this great source and will eventually return to it and disappear into it. This is Truth. This universal, impersonal Being is what all are after. The ones who seek it consciously are the people who have taken up the Quest. Those who are after it unconsciously take to drink and other sensual enjoyments and pursue the allurements of this most alluring world.
Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 5: The Key To the Spiritual World > # 130 ........Paul Brunton
10 Ways to Change ...
Here are ten proven ways to change yourself now, and in so doing, change your past and plant the seeds for a brighter future. Study them with the wish to uncover the secrets hidden in their empowering instructions. Practice them and watch how you begin to feel the presence within you of a new kind of power that changes everything -- now and forever -- for the better.
1.Spend as much time as possible by yourself for the purpose of discovering yourself.
2.Never explain yourself to anyone out of fear they may misjudge you.
3.Always accept a little more responsibility whenever life asks you to.
4.Say "No" to anyone or anything that you fear saying "No" to.
5.Refuse to revisit your own past for a way out of any present problem you face.
6.Learn to see your own defensiveness towards others as an offense against your own right to be free of fear.
7.Whenever possible, realize that the person you are about to argue with is in as much pain as you are.
8.Leave to themselves those who would punish you with word or deed; do not return unkindness in kind.
9.Never accept any negative reaction you may have as the only possible answer to your present challenge.
10.Remember that everything you resist in life increases its weight, so accept all that you can, and quietly drop the rest.
Try just one of these simple transformational exercises sometime today and you will see -- immediately -- the great power of the wisdom that it wants to share with you. In that same moment, you'll also see that it's true: you do have the power to make your wishes come true...............Guy Finlay
1.Spend as much time as possible by yourself for the purpose of discovering yourself.
2.Never explain yourself to anyone out of fear they may misjudge you.
3.Always accept a little more responsibility whenever life asks you to.
4.Say "No" to anyone or anything that you fear saying "No" to.
5.Refuse to revisit your own past for a way out of any present problem you face.
6.Learn to see your own defensiveness towards others as an offense against your own right to be free of fear.
7.Whenever possible, realize that the person you are about to argue with is in as much pain as you are.
8.Leave to themselves those who would punish you with word or deed; do not return unkindness in kind.
9.Never accept any negative reaction you may have as the only possible answer to your present challenge.
10.Remember that everything you resist in life increases its weight, so accept all that you can, and quietly drop the rest.
Try just one of these simple transformational exercises sometime today and you will see -- immediately -- the great power of the wisdom that it wants to share with you. In that same moment, you'll also see that it's true: you do have the power to make your wishes come true...............Guy Finlay
Command yourself...
A man has to learn that he cannot command things, but that he can command himself; that he cannot coerce the wills of others, but that he can mold and master his own will: and things serve him who serves Truth; people seek guidance of him who is master of himself.....
James Allen
James Allen
WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN'D ASTRONOMER...
by: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
WHEN I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
WHEN I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
Be Free...
Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)
The secret of Bliss...
The secret to Bliss is to stop the search, stop thinking,
stop not-thinking, and keep Quiet.
The best practice is to know "WHO AM I."
You are Brahman, Know this.
If you want to do anything, just
Always adore Self.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
stop not-thinking, and keep Quiet.
The best practice is to know "WHO AM I."
You are Brahman, Know this.
If you want to do anything, just
Always adore Self.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Your nature is silence...
You are the One which is aware
of the Awareness of objects and ideas.
You are the One which is even more silent
than Awareness. You are the life which
precedes the concept of life. Your nature
is Silence and it is not attainable, it
always Is.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
of the Awareness of objects and ideas.
You are the One which is even more silent
than Awareness. You are the life which
precedes the concept of life. Your nature
is Silence and it is not attainable, it
always Is.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
Seeing...
If we live mindfully we encounter the Buddha and the Christ all the time.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
We must not look afar to see the Christ, for He is ever near at hand. He is always within us.
~ The Science of Mind, page 366
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
We must not look afar to see the Christ, for He is ever near at hand. He is always within us.
~ The Science of Mind, page 366
Unicity...
Love, not as an expression of separateness
based on emotion, but as compassion, is
that which holds the world together in
Unicity. In Unicity we do not love others,
we ARE them.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
based on emotion, but as compassion, is
that which holds the world together in
Unicity. In Unicity we do not love others,
we ARE them.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
Attachment...
Attachment is the strongest block to
realization.
- Neem Karoli Baba
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Miracle of Love
by Ram Dass
E.P. Dutton, New York, 1979
realization.
- Neem Karoli Baba
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Miracle of Love
by Ram Dass
E.P. Dutton, New York, 1979
Clear...
When the mind is as clear as a purified lake and as still as a tree in the depths of a forest, it can pick up new transcendental perceptions and feelings.
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 7: Contemplative Stillness > # 274.....Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 7: Contemplative Stillness > # 274.....Paul Brunton
One Without a Second ...
One without a Second is the same as Non Duality. It is worded that way to show that anything else (like a second) could not possibly exist.
Another way of explaining it, which Bob Adamson uses, is that the ancient traditions say there is an intelligence that exists which is Omnipresent. Omnipresent means All Present. This means Present in every location possible. No location is excluded and no location is favoured - that is what Omnipresent means.
The ancient traditions also say, that which is Omnipresent is also Omnipotent (all Powerful) and Omniscient (all Knowing). That which is being talked about is Consciousness, Presence, The One Life, Awareness, God, Intelligence Energy (as Bob calls it) - or whatever you would like to call it.
The Intelligence Energy is that which keeps the planets in their orbits, makes the tides come in and out, grows your hair and fingernails, pumps the blood through your body, animates all living things on the planet from the smallest microbe to the largest blue whale. There is certainly an Intelligence in all that (not to be confused with intellect, though) and a clear and visible energy.
If that Intelligence Energy is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient - as Bob says - "Is there any room for you and for me?" Is there any way that we could be separate from, or isolated from that Omnipresent Intelligence Energy? Could we in any way exist separately from that?
The great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi maintains that
"there is a single immanent reality, directly experienced by everyone, which is simultaneously the source, the substance and the real nature of everything that exists.... is not the creator of the universe, the universe is merely a manifestation of its inherent power and is inseparable from it." (One without a second)
This is different from saying that Intelligence Energy is the sum total of all the objects, energy and life forms in the universe. To say this implies that Intelligence Energy is made up of 'bits' - and that is Dualistic. That which is Omnipresent/Non Dual cannot be fragmented or rejoined, by definition.
So - once again - Bob says - "OK - if what the ancients say about Intelligence Energy being Omnipresent is correct - is there any separate room for me or for you?" The answer is that there is "No separate room", as Intelligence Energy is Omnipresent.
Eckhart Tolle describes our nature as a "temporary expression of the One Life". Non Duality. He did not say "part of the One life", or an "individual separate life" as that is dualistic.
That 'nails' our true nature right there and it also means that our true nature is not far away at all.
Your essential nature (meaning what is ACTUAL) is One with the OmniPresent Life - the One Life. It is not personal, isolated.
In fact it is 'running the show' for each of us right now - and always has - and that true nature is experienced by everyone. It is 'Living us' right now.
The most we can say with complete certainty is that we exist and we are aware.
That Presence - Awareness, which is our true nature.
Annata, as The Buddha called it. 'No Self'.
No individual human Be-ing that is separate from that which is Omnipresent.
No separate, isolated human soul, spirit, entity or identity.
That 'Omnipresent Nature' is the 'Buddha Nature'. It is not personal.
As The Buddha said
"Buddha-Nature exists in everyone..... Buddha-Nature can not be lost or destroyed."
Aliveness. Awareness. Consciousness. Intelligence - Energy. Buddha Nature.
All not separate from that and not even a 'part' of that - for that is dualistic too.
That is Non Duality - One without a Second.
One is All.
Written by Mike Graham, 19 Jan 2008, last edited 29 Mar 2008
Another way of explaining it, which Bob Adamson uses, is that the ancient traditions say there is an intelligence that exists which is Omnipresent. Omnipresent means All Present. This means Present in every location possible. No location is excluded and no location is favoured - that is what Omnipresent means.
The ancient traditions also say, that which is Omnipresent is also Omnipotent (all Powerful) and Omniscient (all Knowing). That which is being talked about is Consciousness, Presence, The One Life, Awareness, God, Intelligence Energy (as Bob calls it) - or whatever you would like to call it.
The Intelligence Energy is that which keeps the planets in their orbits, makes the tides come in and out, grows your hair and fingernails, pumps the blood through your body, animates all living things on the planet from the smallest microbe to the largest blue whale. There is certainly an Intelligence in all that (not to be confused with intellect, though) and a clear and visible energy.
If that Intelligence Energy is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient - as Bob says - "Is there any room for you and for me?" Is there any way that we could be separate from, or isolated from that Omnipresent Intelligence Energy? Could we in any way exist separately from that?
The great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi maintains that
"there is a single immanent reality, directly experienced by everyone, which is simultaneously the source, the substance and the real nature of everything that exists.... is not the creator of the universe, the universe is merely a manifestation of its inherent power and is inseparable from it." (One without a second)
This is different from saying that Intelligence Energy is the sum total of all the objects, energy and life forms in the universe. To say this implies that Intelligence Energy is made up of 'bits' - and that is Dualistic. That which is Omnipresent/Non Dual cannot be fragmented or rejoined, by definition.
So - once again - Bob says - "OK - if what the ancients say about Intelligence Energy being Omnipresent is correct - is there any separate room for me or for you?" The answer is that there is "No separate room", as Intelligence Energy is Omnipresent.
Eckhart Tolle describes our nature as a "temporary expression of the One Life". Non Duality. He did not say "part of the One life", or an "individual separate life" as that is dualistic.
That 'nails' our true nature right there and it also means that our true nature is not far away at all.
Your essential nature (meaning what is ACTUAL) is One with the OmniPresent Life - the One Life. It is not personal, isolated.
In fact it is 'running the show' for each of us right now - and always has - and that true nature is experienced by everyone. It is 'Living us' right now.
The most we can say with complete certainty is that we exist and we are aware.
That Presence - Awareness, which is our true nature.
Annata, as The Buddha called it. 'No Self'.
No individual human Be-ing that is separate from that which is Omnipresent.
No separate, isolated human soul, spirit, entity or identity.
That 'Omnipresent Nature' is the 'Buddha Nature'. It is not personal.
As The Buddha said
"Buddha-Nature exists in everyone..... Buddha-Nature can not be lost or destroyed."
Aliveness. Awareness. Consciousness. Intelligence - Energy. Buddha Nature.
All not separate from that and not even a 'part' of that - for that is dualistic too.
That is Non Duality - One without a Second.
One is All.
Written by Mike Graham, 19 Jan 2008, last edited 29 Mar 2008
The Kingdom is Within...
Ascetics wander shrine to shrine,
looking for what can only come
from visiting the soul.
Study the mystery you embody.
When you look up from that,
the dub grass looks fresher
a little ways off, and even more
green farther on. Stay here.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
looking for what can only come
from visiting the soul.
Study the mystery you embody.
When you look up from that,
the dub grass looks fresher
a little ways off, and even more
green farther on. Stay here.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Darkness shows Light...
I first believed without any hesitation in the existence of the soul, and then I
wondered about the secret of its nature. I persevered and strove in search of
the soul, and found at last that I myself was the cover over my own soul. I
realized that that in me which believed and that in me which wondered, that
which was found at last, was no other than my soul. I thanked the darkness that
brought me to the light, and I valued this veil that prepared for me the vision
in which I saw myself reflected, the vision procuced in the mirror of my soul.
Since then I have seen all souls as my soul, and realized my soul as the soul of
all. And what bewilderment it was when I realized that I alone was, if there
were anyone; that I am whatever and whoever exists; and that I shall be whoever
there will be in the future. And there was no end to my happiness and joy.
Verily, I am the seed and I am the root, and I am the fruit of this tree of
life.
From The Teachings Of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
Selected & Arranged By
HAZRAT PIR VILAYAT INAYAT KHAN
wondered about the secret of its nature. I persevered and strove in search of
the soul, and found at last that I myself was the cover over my own soul. I
realized that that in me which believed and that in me which wondered, that
which was found at last, was no other than my soul. I thanked the darkness that
brought me to the light, and I valued this veil that prepared for me the vision
in which I saw myself reflected, the vision procuced in the mirror of my soul.
Since then I have seen all souls as my soul, and realized my soul as the soul of
all. And what bewilderment it was when I realized that I alone was, if there
were anyone; that I am whatever and whoever exists; and that I shall be whoever
there will be in the future. And there was no end to my happiness and joy.
Verily, I am the seed and I am the root, and I am the fruit of this tree of
life.
From The Teachings Of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
Selected & Arranged By
HAZRAT PIR VILAYAT INAYAT KHAN
Renewal...
It is the renewal of the mind in the Spirit which permits the flow of Spirit into our bodies and affairs.
~ Ernest Holmes, Words That Heal Today, page 182
~ Ernest Holmes, Words That Heal Today, page 182
self-observation...
"One benefit of honest self-observation is awareness of inner
contradictions. A man who insists that he is happy discovers he
has been kidding himself. Ordinarily, we fail to see contradictions,
for no one can see what he is unwilling to see. It is like the man
who declared, 'I am not always right, but I am never wrong.' Self-
study breaks down the walls between reality and illusion, thus
making us whole."
The Power of your Supermind, p. 89.... Vernon Howard
contradictions. A man who insists that he is happy discovers he
has been kidding himself. Ordinarily, we fail to see contradictions,
for no one can see what he is unwilling to see. It is like the man
who declared, 'I am not always right, but I am never wrong.' Self-
study breaks down the walls between reality and illusion, thus
making us whole."
The Power of your Supermind, p. 89.... Vernon Howard
Meditation...
When I teach meditation, I often begin by saying: "Bring your mind
home. And release. And relax."
To bring your mind home means to bring the mind into the state of Calm
Abiding through the practice of mindfulness. In its deepest sense, to
bring your mind home is to turn your mind inward and rest in the
nature of mind. This itself is the highest meditation.
To release means to release the mind from its prison of grasping,
since you recognize that all pain and fear and distress arise from the
craving of the grasping mind. On a deeper level, the realization and
confidence that arise from your growing understanding of the nature of
mind inspire the profound and natural generosity that enables you to
release all grasping from your heart, letting it free itself to melt
away in the inspiration of meditation.
To relax means to be spacious and to relax the mind of its tensions.
More deeply, you relax into the true nature of your mind, the state of
Rigpa. It is like pouring a handful of sand onto a hot surface, and
each grain settles of its own accord. This is how you relax into your
true nature, letting all thoughts and emotions naturally subside and
dissolve into the state of the nature of mind.
Songyal Rinpoche
home. And release. And relax."
To bring your mind home means to bring the mind into the state of Calm
Abiding through the practice of mindfulness. In its deepest sense, to
bring your mind home is to turn your mind inward and rest in the
nature of mind. This itself is the highest meditation.
To release means to release the mind from its prison of grasping,
since you recognize that all pain and fear and distress arise from the
craving of the grasping mind. On a deeper level, the realization and
confidence that arise from your growing understanding of the nature of
mind inspire the profound and natural generosity that enables you to
release all grasping from your heart, letting it free itself to melt
away in the inspiration of meditation.
To relax means to be spacious and to relax the mind of its tensions.
More deeply, you relax into the true nature of your mind, the state of
Rigpa. It is like pouring a handful of sand onto a hot surface, and
each grain settles of its own accord. This is how you relax into your
true nature, letting all thoughts and emotions naturally subside and
dissolve into the state of the nature of mind.
Songyal Rinpoche
Mentalism...
We must take a higher position than ordinary religion offers and come
face to face with the mystery that is Mentalism. The nonbeing of the
universe, the nonduality even of the soul may be too mathematical a
conclusion for our finite minds; but that this matterless world and
all that happens in it is like a dream is something to be received and
remembered at all times. We are important only to ourselves, not to
God. All our whining and praying, chanting and praising, gathering
together and imagining that this or that duty is required of us is
mere theatre-play: Mind makes it all. In this discovery we roll up the
stage and return to the paradox of what we really are--Consciousness!
— Notebooks Category 17: The Religious Urge > Chapter 3: Religion As
Preparatory > # 104
.........Paul Brunton
face to face with the mystery that is Mentalism. The nonbeing of the
universe, the nonduality even of the soul may be too mathematical a
conclusion for our finite minds; but that this matterless world and
all that happens in it is like a dream is something to be received and
remembered at all times. We are important only to ourselves, not to
God. All our whining and praying, chanting and praising, gathering
together and imagining that this or that duty is required of us is
mere theatre-play: Mind makes it all. In this discovery we roll up the
stage and return to the paradox of what we really are--Consciousness!
— Notebooks Category 17: The Religious Urge > Chapter 3: Religion As
Preparatory > # 104
.........Paul Brunton
Being...
Forgetting that Being
you are lost
into the process
of becoming.
You get tied up
with becoming
something
all the time
you want to be this,
you want to be that.
You don't want to end
the becoming
into Being
wherein lies the whole secret
of becoming.
Becoming is itself not an independent
something
it's a radiation of Being,
it's a projection of Consciousness,
that basic eternal Essence
which Thou art.
- Swami Amar Jyoti
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"In Light of Wisdom"
Swami Amar Jyoti
Truth Consciousness, Boulder, Colorado, 1983
you are lost
into the process
of becoming.
You get tied up
with becoming
something
all the time
you want to be this,
you want to be that.
You don't want to end
the becoming
into Being
wherein lies the whole secret
of becoming.
Becoming is itself not an independent
something
it's a radiation of Being,
it's a projection of Consciousness,
that basic eternal Essence
which Thou art.
- Swami Amar Jyoti
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"In Light of Wisdom"
Swami Amar Jyoti
Truth Consciousness, Boulder, Colorado, 1983
Fear and Desire...
The cosmic dance that's generated between what
you fear and what you desire provides both the
energy and the momentum to keep your Game
in (e)motion.
Fear (yin) and desire (yang), however, are but
different sides of the same cosmic coin.
Although they've each taken root in the very heart
of their opposite, they still appear to chase each
other around the famous symbol of yin-yang.
In truth, though, they're really the very best of
friends.
- Chuck Hillig
you fear and what you desire provides both the
energy and the momentum to keep your Game
in (e)motion.
Fear (yin) and desire (yang), however, are but
different sides of the same cosmic coin.
Although they've each taken root in the very heart
of their opposite, they still appear to chase each
other around the famous symbol of yin-yang.
In truth, though, they're really the very best of
friends.
- Chuck Hillig
The Disunited Mind...
“The disunited mind is far from wise; how can it meditate? How be at peace? When you know no peace, how can you know joy?”.........Bhagavad Gita
Soul...
Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book
nor from tongue.
If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is
illumination of heart.
..........Rumi
nor from tongue.
If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is
illumination of heart.
..........Rumi
Self-Realization...
Without self-realization no virtue is genuine.
It is only when you arrive at the deepest
conviction that the same life flows through
everything, and that you ARE that life, that
you can begin to love naturally and spon-
taneously.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
It is only when you arrive at the deepest
conviction that the same life flows through
everything, and that you ARE that life, that
you can begin to love naturally and spon-
taneously.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
All things become One...
Jesus said, "In me, all things become one, for everything that is not of me is illusion and will pass away. Only Light abides, for Light is Truth, and Truth has no end. I tell you the Truth when I say that I am the Way, the Truth, the Light, and the Life. Walk in me, and you will abide forever, for you will be even as I AM."
Jesus said, "I am in all things; yet I am beyond all things. Not through seeking will you find me, but through Peace. Nevertheless, through seeking you will find yourselves, and then you will know Eloheim."
Jesus said, "In the Garden of Jehovah stands the holy Tree of Life. High in its branches sings a bird. Listen for the voice of the bird, for when you are properly aligned with Heaven and Earth, she will tell you all things."
Jesus said, "When the outer has become as the inner, and the lower as the upper, then will this world find peace."
Jesus said, "He who takes up the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that evil can be overcome by evil, or violence by violence? The Way of Peace requires courage and patience, but it will prevail."
Jesus said, "I am in all things; yet I am beyond all things. Not through seeking will you find me, but through Peace. Nevertheless, through seeking you will find yourselves, and then you will know Eloheim."
Jesus said, "In the Garden of Jehovah stands the holy Tree of Life. High in its branches sings a bird. Listen for the voice of the bird, for when you are properly aligned with Heaven and Earth, she will tell you all things."
Jesus said, "When the outer has become as the inner, and the lower as the upper, then will this world find peace."
Jesus said, "He who takes up the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that evil can be overcome by evil, or violence by violence? The Way of Peace requires courage and patience, but it will prevail."
Slow Down...
"We must put the Truth first. How about putting the truth first
before yourself? When you know what you consist of how easy that
becomes. What are you? What are you really like? Come on. You
can't kid the cosmic doctor. What are you really like? You don't
look at it very carefully during the day, do you? You rush through
your day so you won't have to look and see what you're really like.
Slow down. And watch how you start to tremble as you slow down.
Because you begin to see. See this is the nice thing about this
class. We go so slow here that lies aren't possible."
DVD # 33, talk 3 Questions and Answers......Vernon Howard
before yourself? When you know what you consist of how easy that
becomes. What are you? What are you really like? Come on. You
can't kid the cosmic doctor. What are you really like? You don't
look at it very carefully during the day, do you? You rush through
your day so you won't have to look and see what you're really like.
Slow down. And watch how you start to tremble as you slow down.
Because you begin to see. See this is the nice thing about this
class. We go so slow here that lies aren't possible."
DVD # 33, talk 3 Questions and Answers......Vernon Howard
Attachment...
The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be
in it, will not arrive at the liberty of the divine........
St. John of the Cross
in it, will not arrive at the liberty of the divine........
St. John of the Cross
The ego has two sides...
You cannot be both horse and rider at the same time.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
The ego has two sides: the first one is the one we know, and the next one we
must discover. The side we know is the false ego which makes us say, 'I'. What
is it in us that we call 'I'? We say, 'This is my body, my mind, these are my
thoughts, my feelings, my impressions, this is my position in life.' We identify
our self with all that concerns us and the sum total of all these we call 'I'.
In the light of truth this conception is false, it is a false identity.
By reasoning with oneself and by trying to study oneself analytically it is
possible to get nearer to the true knowledge of one's being. If we consider that
every part that constitutes our being has its own name -- the hand, the foot,
every part of our being has a different name, quality and purpose, and even a
separate form -- what is it then in man which says 'I' and identifies itself
with what it sees? It is not our head, hand or foot which says 'I' nor is it the
brain. It is something that we cannot point out which identifies itself with all
these different parts and says 'I' and mine and knows itself to be the person
who sees. This in itself is ignorance, and it is this which the Hindus have
called avidya.
How can you be that which you possess? You cannot be the horse and rider at the
same time, nor can you be carpenter and tool at the same time. Herein lies the
secret of mortality and immortality.
What has taken possession of this accommodation? A deluded ego that says, 'I.'
It is deluded by this body and mind and it has called itself an individual. When
a man has a ragged coat he says, 'I am poor'. In reality his coat is poor, not
he. What this capacity or accommodation contains is that which becomes his
knowledge, his realization, and it is that which limits him. It forms that
limitation which is the tragedy of every soul.
Now, this capacity may be filled with self, or it may be filled with God. There
is only room for one. Either we live with our limitation, or we let God reign
there in His unlimited Being.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
The ego has two sides: the first one is the one we know, and the next one we
must discover. The side we know is the false ego which makes us say, 'I'. What
is it in us that we call 'I'? We say, 'This is my body, my mind, these are my
thoughts, my feelings, my impressions, this is my position in life.' We identify
our self with all that concerns us and the sum total of all these we call 'I'.
In the light of truth this conception is false, it is a false identity.
By reasoning with oneself and by trying to study oneself analytically it is
possible to get nearer to the true knowledge of one's being. If we consider that
every part that constitutes our being has its own name -- the hand, the foot,
every part of our being has a different name, quality and purpose, and even a
separate form -- what is it then in man which says 'I' and identifies itself
with what it sees? It is not our head, hand or foot which says 'I' nor is it the
brain. It is something that we cannot point out which identifies itself with all
these different parts and says 'I' and mine and knows itself to be the person
who sees. This in itself is ignorance, and it is this which the Hindus have
called avidya.
How can you be that which you possess? You cannot be the horse and rider at the
same time, nor can you be carpenter and tool at the same time. Herein lies the
secret of mortality and immortality.
What has taken possession of this accommodation? A deluded ego that says, 'I.'
It is deluded by this body and mind and it has called itself an individual. When
a man has a ragged coat he says, 'I am poor'. In reality his coat is poor, not
he. What this capacity or accommodation contains is that which becomes his
knowledge, his realization, and it is that which limits him. It forms that
limitation which is the tragedy of every soul.
Now, this capacity may be filled with self, or it may be filled with God. There
is only room for one. Either we live with our limitation, or we let God reign
there in His unlimited Being.
Self...
The Self alone is real. All others are unreal.
The mind and intellect do not remain apart from
you.
The Bible says, 'Be still and know that I am
God.' Stillness is the sole requisite for the
realisation of the Self as God.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from "Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
edited by David Godman
Arkana, 1985
The mind and intellect do not remain apart from
you.
The Bible says, 'Be still and know that I am
God.' Stillness is the sole requisite for the
realisation of the Self as God.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from "Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
edited by David Godman
Arkana, 1985
What is Real?...
The man who embraces the world as real,
like the man embracing a woman in his dream,
ultimately awakens to find nothing there but
himself.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
like the man embracing a woman in his dream,
ultimately awakens to find nothing there but
himself.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
Definition of Noumenon...
The noumenon (from Greek νοούμενoν, present participle of νοέω "I think, I mean"; plural: νοούμενα - noumena) is a posited object or event as it is in itself, independent of the senses.[1] It classically refers to an object of human inquiry, understanding or cognition. As a concept it has much in common with objectivity. That which is tangible but not perceivable, the reflection of phenomenon.
The term is generally used in contrast with, or in relation to "phenomenon", which refers to appearances, or objects of the senses. A phenomenon can be an exceptional, unusual, or abnormal thing or event—but it must be perceptible through the senses; A noumenon cannot be the actual object that emits the phenomenon in question. Noumena are objects or events known only to the mind - independent of the senses.
It may be further contrasted with the perception and processing of a phenomenon in the human mind.........from Wikipedia
The term is generally used in contrast with, or in relation to "phenomenon", which refers to appearances, or objects of the senses. A phenomenon can be an exceptional, unusual, or abnormal thing or event—but it must be perceptible through the senses; A noumenon cannot be the actual object that emits the phenomenon in question. Noumena are objects or events known only to the mind - independent of the senses.
It may be further contrasted with the perception and processing of a phenomenon in the human mind.........from Wikipedia
Noumenon...
VOLITION, then, would seem to be an illusory inference, a mere
demonstration on the part of an energised I-concept, resulting either
in frustration or fulfilment and thereby being the source and
explanation of the notion of karma. Sentient beings are entirely
'lived' as such, as has often been noted by philosophers and endorsed
by metaphysicians, and the psycho-somatic phenomenon is inexorably
subject to causation. That is why sentient beings as such, as the
Buddha is credited with stating and re-stating in the Diamond Sutra,
are not as entities. That, also, is why, since as phenomena they are
not, noumenally—though they cannot be as entities or as anything
objective—nevertheless, they are as noumenon.
And noumenon, by definition being integrally devoid of any
trace-element of objectivity, is not, cannot be, in any sense
whatever—since all forms of being must necessarily be objective. Here
language fails us and must be left behind like the raft that has
carried us across the river. All we can say is something such as
'this, which is all that sentient beings are, itself is not'.
If this is not understood it will appear unsatisfying but, understood,
it will appear luminous and revelatory, and for the obvious reason
that the understanding is 'itself this noumenon which we are.
But here the eternal reminder is necessary: phenomena which, as the
term asserts, we appear to be, are nothing but noumenon, and noumenon,
which is all that we are, though as such itself is not, is as
phenomena (as its appearance).
'Volition', therefore, though it is not—is only an appearance
phenomenally—is noumenally and may be regarded as an objectivisation
of noumenality. As such we know it as buddhi or prajnd, as intuitional
inseeing and, knowing it, it is ourselves, all that we are, which—in
the knowing of it—we are knowing, for this which we are is this
knowing of it.
All very simple, evidently, until you try to objectify it in words.
from The Open Secret
Ch. 3 Volition
Wei Wu Wei
demonstration on the part of an energised I-concept, resulting either
in frustration or fulfilment and thereby being the source and
explanation of the notion of karma. Sentient beings are entirely
'lived' as such, as has often been noted by philosophers and endorsed
by metaphysicians, and the psycho-somatic phenomenon is inexorably
subject to causation. That is why sentient beings as such, as the
Buddha is credited with stating and re-stating in the Diamond Sutra,
are not as entities. That, also, is why, since as phenomena they are
not, noumenally—though they cannot be as entities or as anything
objective—nevertheless, they are as noumenon.
And noumenon, by definition being integrally devoid of any
trace-element of objectivity, is not, cannot be, in any sense
whatever—since all forms of being must necessarily be objective. Here
language fails us and must be left behind like the raft that has
carried us across the river. All we can say is something such as
'this, which is all that sentient beings are, itself is not'.
If this is not understood it will appear unsatisfying but, understood,
it will appear luminous and revelatory, and for the obvious reason
that the understanding is 'itself this noumenon which we are.
But here the eternal reminder is necessary: phenomena which, as the
term asserts, we appear to be, are nothing but noumenon, and noumenon,
which is all that we are, though as such itself is not, is as
phenomena (as its appearance).
'Volition', therefore, though it is not—is only an appearance
phenomenally—is noumenally and may be regarded as an objectivisation
of noumenality. As such we know it as buddhi or prajnd, as intuitional
inseeing and, knowing it, it is ourselves, all that we are, which—in
the knowing of it—we are knowing, for this which we are is this
knowing of it.
All very simple, evidently, until you try to objectify it in words.
from The Open Secret
Ch. 3 Volition
Wei Wu Wei
The "I"...
The "I" which says, "I think so and so" or "I feel so and so" or
"I do so and so" is the first thought to arise, as well as the last
one to die. This "I" is the personal ego. There can be no thinking or
feeling or willing without a prior sense of identity as to the person
in whom these functions manifest. The ego-thought is always the prior
thought, but its activity follows so swiftly as to seem simultaneous.
Indeed, the mental emotional and volitional activities flow out of the
ego's own activity--hence, there can be no real conquest or control of
mind, feeling, or body without the conquest of ego itself. This done,
victory over them follows automatically. This not done, their
subjugation oppresses their manifestation but leaves their root
unharmed. The way to attack this root is to concentrate attention on
the source whence the ego-thought arises.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 2: I-thought > # 20.....Paul Brunton
"I do so and so" is the first thought to arise, as well as the last
one to die. This "I" is the personal ego. There can be no thinking or
feeling or willing without a prior sense of identity as to the person
in whom these functions manifest. The ego-thought is always the prior
thought, but its activity follows so swiftly as to seem simultaneous.
Indeed, the mental emotional and volitional activities flow out of the
ego's own activity--hence, there can be no real conquest or control of
mind, feeling, or body without the conquest of ego itself. This done,
victory over them follows automatically. This not done, their
subjugation oppresses their manifestation but leaves their root
unharmed. The way to attack this root is to concentrate attention on
the source whence the ego-thought arises.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 2: I-thought > # 20.....Paul Brunton
Who Are You?...
To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only past and future are considered important. This total reversal of the truth accounts for the fact that in the ego mode the mind is so dysfunctional. It is always concerned with keeping the past alive, because without it - who are you?
Eckhart Tolle
Source: The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Eckhart Tolle
Source: The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Beware the ego...
Beware.. the ego hides..the ego tries to control.. the ego convinces you that
it,is you.. Beware the ego, It is the reason that you are here.. Beware the ego,
it is an illusion that is created from selfishness. . Beware the ego, it is the
wall that prevents you from knowing God.. Remember, The last shall be first, the
ego states that it is first... Love is anti-ego.. Love is the answer.. Love is
God.. Love is Reality.. Choose wisely..Choosing is why you are here........
....namaste, thomas
it,is you.. Beware the ego, It is the reason that you are here.. Beware the ego,
it is an illusion that is created from selfishness. . Beware the ego, it is the
wall that prevents you from knowing God.. Remember, The last shall be first, the
ego states that it is first... Love is anti-ego.. Love is the answer.. Love is
God.. Love is Reality.. Choose wisely..Choosing is why you are here........
....namaste, thomas
Charity ...
That best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.....
Wordsworth
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.....
Wordsworth
Meekness ...
Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth! Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.
Dhammapada - (Buddhism)
Dhammapada - (Buddhism)
A Disdain for Materialism ...
Chuang Tzu put on cotton clothes with patches in them, and arranging his girdle and tying on his shoes, (i.e. to keep them from falling off), went to see the prince of Wei.
"How miserable you look, Sir!" Cried the prince. "It is poverty, not misery", replied Chuang Tzu. "A man who has TAO cannot be miserable. Ragged clothes and old boots make poverty, not misery".
Chuang Tzu - (Taoism)
"How miserable you look, Sir!" Cried the prince. "It is poverty, not misery", replied Chuang Tzu. "A man who has TAO cannot be miserable. Ragged clothes and old boots make poverty, not misery".
Chuang Tzu - (Taoism)
self...
"Whoever I think I am changes at every new second. Therefore,
memory cannot establish a permanent self which can do something
the next minute or year."
A Treasury of Trueness, # 1397........Vernon Howard
memory cannot establish a permanent self which can do something
the next minute or year."
A Treasury of Trueness, # 1397........Vernon Howard
A Wiser Counsel...
It was one's own ignorance and immaturity which made one act in a way which now seems very wrong and to be ashamed of. It is no use accusing oneself forever and ever of it. It is better humbly to distill its wisdom, gain its constructive teaching, and uplift one's character. For a man to accept himself as he is would be foolish counsel if he had nothing more than his sins and guilt, his ego and passions, his folly and stupidity. But it is because he has a deeper self--one that links him with the gods--that it can now become a wiser counsel. Let him take it now and work upon himself with this better self.
— Notebooks Category 13: Human Experience > Chapter 1: Situation > # 413
Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 13: Human Experience > Chapter 1: Situation > # 413
Paul Brunton
The source of divinity ...
We consider bibles and religions divine –
I do not say they are not divine,
I say they have all grown out of you, and
may grow out of you still.
It is not they who give the life, it is you
who give the life.
Leaves are no more shed from the trees,
or trees from the earth, than they are
shed out of you.
- Walt Whitman
I do not say they are not divine,
I say they have all grown out of you, and
may grow out of you still.
It is not they who give the life, it is you
who give the life.
Leaves are no more shed from the trees,
or trees from the earth, than they are
shed out of you.
- Walt Whitman
Silence...
"Why are you so afraid of silence,
silence is the root of everything.
If you spiral into its void,
a hundred voices will thunder messages
you long to hear."........
Jalaludin Rumi
silence is the root of everything.
If you spiral into its void,
a hundred voices will thunder messages
you long to hear."........
Jalaludin Rumi
Beyond Thought...
The mind may accept or deny that you are awareness, but either way it can't really understand. It cannot comprehend. Thought cannot comprehend what is beyond thought......
Adyashanti
Adyashanti
Brief Biography of St. Francis of Assisi...
Saint Francis of Assisi, “the little beggar” is perhaps the most popular saint in history.
Francis was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy and his baptismal name was John, but his father renamed him Franceso, in honor of his love for France. The son of a wealthy merchant, Francis had time and money to host lavish banquets for young nobles who proclaimed him "King of Feasts." Parties and selling cloth left Francis little time for God.
A handsome, charming and educated young man, he spent his early life leading young nobles to parties. He dreamed of knighthood and longed for the adventurous life of chivalry. In pursuit of that dream, he joined in the war between Assisi and Perugia at the age of 20.
In that war, Francis fought with youthful enthusiasm, but was wounded and taken prisoner. Spending the next year in a dungeon, he contracted malaria. Ransomed by his father, a more reflective Francis returned to Assisi. Sickness overtook him and in that languishing experience he heard the first stirrings of a vocation to peace and justice.
The military victories of Count Walter of Brienne revived Francis' desire for knighthood. Under Brienne's command, he hoped to win his favor and become a knight. On his way to join Brienne, Francis stopped in Spoleto and heard the shocking news of his death. Overcome by depression, his malaria returned.
One night a mysterious voice asked him, "Who do you think can best reward you, the Master or the servant?" Francis Answered, "The Master." The voice continued, "Why do you leave the Master for the servant?" Francis realized the servant was Count Walter. He left Spoleto convinced God had spoken to him.
From that moment on, Francis began to care for the sick and the poor -- especially the lepers -- convinced that this was what God had called him to do.
A further call came in 1205, when, in a dramatic moment of prayer in the abandoned Church of San Damiano, Francis heard a voice coming from the crucifix which challenged him to rebuild the church. At first he thought it meant that he should rebuild San Damiano, so he sold some of his father's cloth to raise money to build the Church at San Damiano. His father, who was already upset about the life he was leading, took him to court, where was ordered him to pay back the money. Francis complied with a dramatic gesture, renouncing his inheritance and handing his expensive clothing to him as well. Dressed only in a workman's smock, he left town and spent the next two years as a hermit, taking a vow of poverty and dedicating his life to God.
Francis begged for his food, wore old clothes, and preached peace. He began to attract followers, and in 1209 with the papal blessing he founded the Friars Minor (Franciscans). Then in 1212 with St. Clare of Assisi he founded the foundation of the Order of "Poor Ladies," now known as the "Poor Clares." He also founded the "Third Order of Penance" (the Third Order) which included lay people. He was the first person (recorded) to receive the stigmata (the five wounds of Christ) in 1224. Out of humility Francis never accepted the priesthood but remained a deacon all his life. He had a great love for animals. His ardent love of God merited him the name Seraphic.
Francis died at the age of 44 on October 4, 1226 at Portiuncula, Italy. He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX less than two years later.
Francis was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy and his baptismal name was John, but his father renamed him Franceso, in honor of his love for France. The son of a wealthy merchant, Francis had time and money to host lavish banquets for young nobles who proclaimed him "King of Feasts." Parties and selling cloth left Francis little time for God.
A handsome, charming and educated young man, he spent his early life leading young nobles to parties. He dreamed of knighthood and longed for the adventurous life of chivalry. In pursuit of that dream, he joined in the war between Assisi and Perugia at the age of 20.
In that war, Francis fought with youthful enthusiasm, but was wounded and taken prisoner. Spending the next year in a dungeon, he contracted malaria. Ransomed by his father, a more reflective Francis returned to Assisi. Sickness overtook him and in that languishing experience he heard the first stirrings of a vocation to peace and justice.
The military victories of Count Walter of Brienne revived Francis' desire for knighthood. Under Brienne's command, he hoped to win his favor and become a knight. On his way to join Brienne, Francis stopped in Spoleto and heard the shocking news of his death. Overcome by depression, his malaria returned.
One night a mysterious voice asked him, "Who do you think can best reward you, the Master or the servant?" Francis Answered, "The Master." The voice continued, "Why do you leave the Master for the servant?" Francis realized the servant was Count Walter. He left Spoleto convinced God had spoken to him.
From that moment on, Francis began to care for the sick and the poor -- especially the lepers -- convinced that this was what God had called him to do.
A further call came in 1205, when, in a dramatic moment of prayer in the abandoned Church of San Damiano, Francis heard a voice coming from the crucifix which challenged him to rebuild the church. At first he thought it meant that he should rebuild San Damiano, so he sold some of his father's cloth to raise money to build the Church at San Damiano. His father, who was already upset about the life he was leading, took him to court, where was ordered him to pay back the money. Francis complied with a dramatic gesture, renouncing his inheritance and handing his expensive clothing to him as well. Dressed only in a workman's smock, he left town and spent the next two years as a hermit, taking a vow of poverty and dedicating his life to God.
Francis begged for his food, wore old clothes, and preached peace. He began to attract followers, and in 1209 with the papal blessing he founded the Friars Minor (Franciscans). Then in 1212 with St. Clare of Assisi he founded the foundation of the Order of "Poor Ladies," now known as the "Poor Clares." He also founded the "Third Order of Penance" (the Third Order) which included lay people. He was the first person (recorded) to receive the stigmata (the five wounds of Christ) in 1224. Out of humility Francis never accepted the priesthood but remained a deacon all his life. He had a great love for animals. His ardent love of God merited him the name Seraphic.
Francis died at the age of 44 on October 4, 1226 at Portiuncula, Italy. He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX less than two years later.
Consciousness...
Only when you can understand yourself as All Pervading Consciousness can you possibly understand that all the universe is an emanation of your mind. Everything that you see comes out of you.........
- Robert Adams
- Robert Adams
My Mind...
I had three pieces of limestone on my desk,
but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily,
when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still,
and threw them out the window in disgust.
from the chapter "Economy" in Walden by Henry David Thoreau
but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily,
when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still,
and threw them out the window in disgust.
from the chapter "Economy" in Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Contradictions...
"The more contradictions in a man the more he likes to accuse others
of having contradictions."
Vernon Howard ... 1500 Ways to Escape the Human Jungle, # 64
of having contradictions."
Vernon Howard ... 1500 Ways to Escape the Human Jungle, # 64
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson...
The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it.
In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -- my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, -- all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part and parcel of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintences, master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.
-- Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -- my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, -- all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part and parcel of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintences, master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.
-- Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Devotion without understanding ...
Devotion without understanding is only
emotion and later becomes a passion -
fanaticism.
- Swami Krishnananda
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Facets of Spirituality
Complied by S. Bhagyalakshmi
Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1986
emotion and later becomes a passion -
fanaticism.
- Swami Krishnananda
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Facets of Spirituality
Complied by S. Bhagyalakshmi
Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1986
The Mysticism of St. Catherine of Siena...
In your nature,
eternal Godhead,
I shall come to know my nature.
And what is my nature, boundless love?
It is fire,
because you are nothing but a fire of love.
And you have given humankind
a share in this nature,
for by the fire of love
you created us.
And so with all other people
and every created thing;
you made them out of love.
O ungrateful people!
What nature has your God given you?
His very own nature!
Are you not ashamed to cut yourself off from such a noble thing
through the guilt of deadly sin?
O eternal Trinity,
my sweet love!
You, light,
give us light.
You, wisdom,
give us wisdom.
You, supreme strength,
strengthen us.
Today, eternal God,
let our cloud be dissipated
so that we may perfectly know and follow your Truth
in truth,
with a free and simple heart.
God, come to our assistance!
Lord, make haste to help us!
Amen.
*Taken from The Prayers of Catherine of Siena. 2nd edition. Suzanne Noffke, OP, translator and editor.
(San Jose.: Authors Choice Press, 2001) (Roman numerals indicate the number of the prayer in
the critical edition of G. Cavallini).
eternal Godhead,
I shall come to know my nature.
And what is my nature, boundless love?
It is fire,
because you are nothing but a fire of love.
And you have given humankind
a share in this nature,
for by the fire of love
you created us.
And so with all other people
and every created thing;
you made them out of love.
O ungrateful people!
What nature has your God given you?
His very own nature!
Are you not ashamed to cut yourself off from such a noble thing
through the guilt of deadly sin?
O eternal Trinity,
my sweet love!
You, light,
give us light.
You, wisdom,
give us wisdom.
You, supreme strength,
strengthen us.
Today, eternal God,
let our cloud be dissipated
so that we may perfectly know and follow your Truth
in truth,
with a free and simple heart.
God, come to our assistance!
Lord, make haste to help us!
Amen.
*Taken from The Prayers of Catherine of Siena. 2nd edition. Suzanne Noffke, OP, translator and editor.
(San Jose.: Authors Choice Press, 2001) (Roman numerals indicate the number of the prayer in
the critical edition of G. Cavallini).
Sunlight...
Sunlight fell upon the wall;
the wall received a borrowed splendor.
Why set your heart on a piece of earth,
O simple one? Seek out the source
which shines forever.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from the Jalal al-Din Rumi’s
Mathnawi: II:708-709
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
the wall received a borrowed splendor.
Why set your heart on a piece of earth,
O simple one? Seek out the source
which shines forever.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from the Jalal al-Din Rumi’s
Mathnawi: II:708-709
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
The Word "Two"...
Only
That Illumined
One
Who keeps
Seducing the formless into form
Had the charm to win my
Heart.
Only a Perfect One
Who is always
Laughing at the Word
Two
Can make you know
Of
Love.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
That Illumined
One
Who keeps
Seducing the formless into form
Had the charm to win my
Heart.
Only a Perfect One
Who is always
Laughing at the Word
Two
Can make you know
Of
Love.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
In nature that soul finds its life's demand...
The priest gives a benediction from the church; the branches of the tree in
bending give blessing from God.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Anyone who has some knowledge of mysticism and of the lives of the mystics knows
that what always attracts the mystic most is nature. Nature is his bread and
wine. Nature is his soul's nourishment. Nature inspires him, uplifts him and
gives him the solitude for which his soul continually longs. Every soul born
with a mystical tendency is constantly drawn towards nature. In nature that soul
finds its life's demand, as it is said in the Vadan, 'Art is dear to my heart,
but nature is near to my soul.' ... nature itself is the glory of God.
The deeper we look into life the more it unfolds itself, allowing us to see more
keenly. Life is revealing. It is not only human beings who speak; if only the
ears can hear even plants and trees and all nature speak, in the sense that
nature reveals itself, reveals its secret. In this way we communicate with the
whole of life. Then we are never alone, then life becomes worth living.
What appeals to us in being near to nature is nature's music, and nature's music
is more perfect than that of art. It gives us a sense of exaltation to be moving
about in the woods, and to be looking at the green; to be standing near the
running water, which has its rhythm, its tone and its harmony. The swinging of
the branches in the forest, the rising and falling of the waves, all has its
music. And once we contemplate and become one with nature our hearts open to its
music.
When a person begins to see all goodness as being the goodness of God, all the
beauty that surrounds him as the divine beauty, he begins by worshipping a
visible God, and as his heart constantly loves and admires the divine beauty in
all that he sees, he begins to see in all that is visible one single vision; all
becomes for him the vision of the beauty of God. His love of beauty increases
his capacity to such a degree that great virtues such as tolerance and
forgiveness spring naturally from his heart. Even things that people mostly look
upon with contempt, he views with tolerance. The brotherhood of humanity he does
not need to learn, for he does not see humanity, he sees only God. And as this
vision develops, it becomes a divine vision, which occupies every moment of his
life. In nature he sees God, in man he sees His image, and in art and poetry he
sees the dance of God. The waves of the sea bring him the message from above,
and the swaying of the branches in the breeze seems to him a prayer. For him
there is a constant contact with his God.
bending give blessing from God.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Anyone who has some knowledge of mysticism and of the lives of the mystics knows
that what always attracts the mystic most is nature. Nature is his bread and
wine. Nature is his soul's nourishment. Nature inspires him, uplifts him and
gives him the solitude for which his soul continually longs. Every soul born
with a mystical tendency is constantly drawn towards nature. In nature that soul
finds its life's demand, as it is said in the Vadan, 'Art is dear to my heart,
but nature is near to my soul.' ... nature itself is the glory of God.
The deeper we look into life the more it unfolds itself, allowing us to see more
keenly. Life is revealing. It is not only human beings who speak; if only the
ears can hear even plants and trees and all nature speak, in the sense that
nature reveals itself, reveals its secret. In this way we communicate with the
whole of life. Then we are never alone, then life becomes worth living.
What appeals to us in being near to nature is nature's music, and nature's music
is more perfect than that of art. It gives us a sense of exaltation to be moving
about in the woods, and to be looking at the green; to be standing near the
running water, which has its rhythm, its tone and its harmony. The swinging of
the branches in the forest, the rising and falling of the waves, all has its
music. And once we contemplate and become one with nature our hearts open to its
music.
When a person begins to see all goodness as being the goodness of God, all the
beauty that surrounds him as the divine beauty, he begins by worshipping a
visible God, and as his heart constantly loves and admires the divine beauty in
all that he sees, he begins to see in all that is visible one single vision; all
becomes for him the vision of the beauty of God. His love of beauty increases
his capacity to such a degree that great virtues such as tolerance and
forgiveness spring naturally from his heart. Even things that people mostly look
upon with contempt, he views with tolerance. The brotherhood of humanity he does
not need to learn, for he does not see humanity, he sees only God. And as this
vision develops, it becomes a divine vision, which occupies every moment of his
life. In nature he sees God, in man he sees His image, and in art and poetry he
sees the dance of God. The waves of the sea bring him the message from above,
and the swaying of the branches in the breeze seems to him a prayer. For him
there is a constant contact with his God.
Give the ego back...
Give the ego back to the Overself and then the Overself will use it as it should be used--in harmony with the cosmic laws of being. This means that the welfare of all others in contact with the ego will be considered as well as the ego's own.
— Notebooks Category 22: Inspiration and the Overself > Chapter 2: Inspiration > # 49
....Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 22: Inspiration and the Overself > Chapter 2: Inspiration > # 49
....Paul Brunton
A Lamp unto yourselves...
Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height...........Gautama the Buddha
LIFE BEYOND EGO, OR, "YOU" DON'T EXIST ...
This is a very challenging and often threatening concept for people, strangely enough, often more so for those in the Christian church. One of the things which religious people seek is the preservation of their individual identity for all of eternity.
Sometimes this can lead to more ego, instead of less. First, we must define the term What is meant by the word "ego?" Ego is: selfishness, I, me, mine; the individual as apart from and separate from the group; serving the individual's needs, wants, and desires, at the cost and sacrifice of the needs, wants, and desires of the group.
Ego is the primal sin. For those of you who have read "In The Garden," this is hopefully quite clear. Ego is the separating point between us and the world, between us and our fellow human beings, between us and God.
Often, what happens in the church is an expansion and enhancement of ego. We believe that, sometimes, God has saved us, whatever that might mean, and that this means that we, with our individual personality, will exist forever and ever and ever. We believe that the "I, me, my" will be blessed by God and made immortal. This is not entirely true. You ultimately do not exist. Now how in the world do I attempt to gain this from the death and resurrection of Jesus?
The first thing you must understand, is that when Jesus talks about His disciples, He says that if anyone wants to follow me, he or she must take up his or her cross and follow me into life everlasting. "Taking up the Cross" has been misunderstood for centuries and taken, the majority of the time, to be some kind of affliction, whether it's a pain in the back, or a mother-in-law that we do not particularly like, or a car that does not run right. These silly examples are considered to be the cross we must bare. That has absolutely nothing to do with the reality of the situation. The cross, which we must bare, is the vehicle upon which our ego will be killed. This, too, is quite clear in "In The Garden."
Jesus had His own will in the Garden of Gethsemane, which was separate from God's will. But, the crucial point was that He said, "Not my will but thy will be done."
You can put it in the following phrase, not my way but YHWH. This works. You see Jesus died to Himself. He laid aside His own personal needs, wants, and desires, out of love and obedience for the sake of His disciples, for the sake of the proclamation, for the sake of obeying God's will.
When He did that, He was like the seed which fell into the ground and died. That is His death. The death that He died was not so much a death of the body, although that is absolutely a crucial aspect of the revelation, but the death that He truly died was even more so a death of the self will, a death of ego.
You are called to unite with Jesus. It is not enough to simply believe that He did this or that, or to sing songs, or even write lengthy pamphlets. No, it is essential that you become one with Jesus. As the book of Romans makes so clear, we must be baptized into His death and united with Him in His crucifixion, that our old sin nature might be done away with, so that we might be resurrected to walk with Him in the new perfected light.
That is an essential aspect of the Gospel. No one need follow Napoleon Bonaparte's steps in order to be a disciple of Napoleon. No one has to actually perform the experiments which Alexander Graham Bell performed in order to learn from him. But, if we truly wish to learn anything from Jesus,, then merely studying or thinking or listening or believing is absolutely insufficient.
We must merge with Him entirely. We must become one with Him, so that the life He lived, we live; so that the campaign against sin and ego which He waged, we wage; and, that the death He died and the resurrection which He experienced both become our present experiential reality. This is a merging of self into the higher order. You and your ego and your own self will must become sublimated to the point where you are willing to let God live through you, you are willing to let Jesus live through you.
This is life beyond ego. You must be able to say with Jesus, not my will but thy will be done. I look at this much like a loudspeaker in a stereo system. The world's most perfect loudspeaker has never been invented. The absolutely perfect loudspeaker would reproduce the music absolutely perfectly as it was recorded. But, speakers will add their own coloration. They will maybe make the highs a little bit too shrill. Maybe they're too dim. The bass becomes thicker or lacks bottom end. Spatial separation becomes lost because the two speakers do not work in phase, and so we cannot visually pinpoint within the stereo field exact individual instruments.
I could, of course, go on and on. Every speaker adds its own tiny little personal interpretation of the music. This personal interpretation is undesired. It is a darkening. It is a pollution. It is a decreasing of the original purity of the music. Each human being is the same way. The ideal perfect human being, Christ incarnate, is simply a channel of God's mind, God's presence, God's will. God is, if you will, the music. We are the speakers. We are here not to add in our own coloration, not to distort the sound, not to amplify things that God did not mean to be amplified, but rather to communicate and express exactly what the music intended. This is life beyond ego.
The ego is a funny thing. Just like the Bible says, "Thinking themselves to be wise, they became as fools." As we attempt to hold onto our individual ego, we actually limit ourselves. We think that if we give up, that we will become nothing, that we have to add in our proverbial two cents' worth in order to be a real human being.
But, it's only to the extent that stereo does not add in its coloration, that it becomes truly worthwhile. If we could ever find that perfect stereo that had no distortion or coloration of any kind, people would worship that sound. The speakers which add in their own interpretation, so to speak, our worthless. The more they put in their own interpretation, the less value they are. So, too, with the ego. The more ego centered we are, the more we seek our own will and pathway, the less value we have.
If you look at Jesus, there is something remarkable about Him. This man is worshipped by many, yet He said He was nothing. "Why do you call me good?" "God alone is good."
"Father, I thank you that you have worked through me." He saw Himself merely as a conduit of God's healing power, of God's resurrection glory. He claimed no personal authority, but only that which God had given Him. "The words I speak," He said "were given to me by God." And this man, who in His egolessness sought only to declare the glory of God, winds up being worshipped by millions.
That speaker system, if we ever find it, that perfectly delivers the music will be worshipped by audiophiles around the world, simply because it does not do its own thing. It is purely egoless; therefore, it expresses only the music. It is a perfect conduit for the higher message, for the source, for the music of the Son, for God.
That is why I say that the ego is a fool, pretending to be wise and haughty and puffed up, and is truly nothing. Now, life beyond ego, to most people, seems to be impossible. But, there is a verse in the Bible which I keep coming back to constantly. Galatians 2 starting in verse 20, where Paul says, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
Paul said that he didn't exist. Paul started out as a murderer. He was out to kill Christians and do whatever he could to block their lives. If a confessed, repentant murderer can, through his life of faith and devotion to Christ, come to the point that he recognizes that he does not exist, then so too you can come to the point where your ego is likewise slain.
I think the Bible is very clear on this because the temptation would be too easy to say that, well this or that was easy for Jesus, because He was the Son of God. But, I'm not the Son of God; therefore, I cannot be expected to do these things.
Ah, but the Bible says this is not the case. Jesus was the son of God, but St. Paul was just a murderous sinner, who through devotion, concentration, and faith, came to an awareness of the power and glory of the perfectly egoless state.
St. Paul's name is emblazoned in every one of the hundreds of millions of Bibles on this earth, simply because he attempted to bypass his own thinking and declare simply the truth of God--to be the best mouthpiece that he could. Life beyond ego is possible.
I wish to give you another indication that you ultimately exist, not in the way you think you do. The Bible tells us in 1st Corinthians, that eventually we will know everything about God that He knows about us. That's in 1st Corinthians 12.
But, 1st Corinthians chapter 5 also tells us that nothing and no one can understand God except the mind of God, the mind of Christ. Just as no one can understand you and your thoughts except you and your mind, so too, no one can understand God and His thoughts except for God. And if I could transplant my brain into you, then you would know everything about me that I knew. That is the only way that you could gain that information.
In exactly the same way, the Bible says, since in the promised day we are going to know as much about God as He knows about us, and He knows everything about us, how is this going to happen? Well, the only thing that can know anything about God is the mind of God. Therefore, in the glorious day of perfection, God's mind will understand God perfectly. That is a startling statement, but it is quite clear from the Biblical record.
We are promised that we will understand everything about God, but we are told that the only thing that can understand God is God's mind Himself. That's why St. Paul says we have the mind of Christ. Eventually, that mind of Christ will grow and blossom inside of us, so that we will be able to say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and eventually will blossom to the point that we see and know, with all of the angels, the height and the depth of God. We will know everything about God that there is to know. In so doing, the only mechanism that will be able to do that is the mind of God itself. Where then is ego? Where do you fit into the picture?
Obviously, this is a very high mystical type of a revelation which the Bible is giving to us, but the Bible is clear in other places, to say that we live in God, we move in God, we exist inside of God. Everything comes from Him, moves through Him, and returns to Him. Therefore, you as a little ego, are a temporary blip on the screen of infinite Godliness. And, once you, because it is you and your ego which controls your ego, allow yourself to become open to the grace of God, once you take up your cross and follow Jesus, once you become united with Him in His death, then you will be raised with Him to a glorious resurrection. That resurrection is one of absolute egolessness, wherein you flow in perfect harmony with the God of the Universe.
This is possible. There is life beyond ego, and it is the glorious fulfillment of the ages
...............from Godswebsite.com
Sometimes this can lead to more ego, instead of less. First, we must define the term What is meant by the word "ego?" Ego is: selfishness, I, me, mine; the individual as apart from and separate from the group; serving the individual's needs, wants, and desires, at the cost and sacrifice of the needs, wants, and desires of the group.
Ego is the primal sin. For those of you who have read "In The Garden," this is hopefully quite clear. Ego is the separating point between us and the world, between us and our fellow human beings, between us and God.
Often, what happens in the church is an expansion and enhancement of ego. We believe that, sometimes, God has saved us, whatever that might mean, and that this means that we, with our individual personality, will exist forever and ever and ever. We believe that the "I, me, my" will be blessed by God and made immortal. This is not entirely true. You ultimately do not exist. Now how in the world do I attempt to gain this from the death and resurrection of Jesus?
The first thing you must understand, is that when Jesus talks about His disciples, He says that if anyone wants to follow me, he or she must take up his or her cross and follow me into life everlasting. "Taking up the Cross" has been misunderstood for centuries and taken, the majority of the time, to be some kind of affliction, whether it's a pain in the back, or a mother-in-law that we do not particularly like, or a car that does not run right. These silly examples are considered to be the cross we must bare. That has absolutely nothing to do with the reality of the situation. The cross, which we must bare, is the vehicle upon which our ego will be killed. This, too, is quite clear in "In The Garden."
Jesus had His own will in the Garden of Gethsemane, which was separate from God's will. But, the crucial point was that He said, "Not my will but thy will be done."
You can put it in the following phrase, not my way but YHWH. This works. You see Jesus died to Himself. He laid aside His own personal needs, wants, and desires, out of love and obedience for the sake of His disciples, for the sake of the proclamation, for the sake of obeying God's will.
When He did that, He was like the seed which fell into the ground and died. That is His death. The death that He died was not so much a death of the body, although that is absolutely a crucial aspect of the revelation, but the death that He truly died was even more so a death of the self will, a death of ego.
You are called to unite with Jesus. It is not enough to simply believe that He did this or that, or to sing songs, or even write lengthy pamphlets. No, it is essential that you become one with Jesus. As the book of Romans makes so clear, we must be baptized into His death and united with Him in His crucifixion, that our old sin nature might be done away with, so that we might be resurrected to walk with Him in the new perfected light.
That is an essential aspect of the Gospel. No one need follow Napoleon Bonaparte's steps in order to be a disciple of Napoleon. No one has to actually perform the experiments which Alexander Graham Bell performed in order to learn from him. But, if we truly wish to learn anything from Jesus,, then merely studying or thinking or listening or believing is absolutely insufficient.
We must merge with Him entirely. We must become one with Him, so that the life He lived, we live; so that the campaign against sin and ego which He waged, we wage; and, that the death He died and the resurrection which He experienced both become our present experiential reality. This is a merging of self into the higher order. You and your ego and your own self will must become sublimated to the point where you are willing to let God live through you, you are willing to let Jesus live through you.
This is life beyond ego. You must be able to say with Jesus, not my will but thy will be done. I look at this much like a loudspeaker in a stereo system. The world's most perfect loudspeaker has never been invented. The absolutely perfect loudspeaker would reproduce the music absolutely perfectly as it was recorded. But, speakers will add their own coloration. They will maybe make the highs a little bit too shrill. Maybe they're too dim. The bass becomes thicker or lacks bottom end. Spatial separation becomes lost because the two speakers do not work in phase, and so we cannot visually pinpoint within the stereo field exact individual instruments.
I could, of course, go on and on. Every speaker adds its own tiny little personal interpretation of the music. This personal interpretation is undesired. It is a darkening. It is a pollution. It is a decreasing of the original purity of the music. Each human being is the same way. The ideal perfect human being, Christ incarnate, is simply a channel of God's mind, God's presence, God's will. God is, if you will, the music. We are the speakers. We are here not to add in our own coloration, not to distort the sound, not to amplify things that God did not mean to be amplified, but rather to communicate and express exactly what the music intended. This is life beyond ego.
The ego is a funny thing. Just like the Bible says, "Thinking themselves to be wise, they became as fools." As we attempt to hold onto our individual ego, we actually limit ourselves. We think that if we give up, that we will become nothing, that we have to add in our proverbial two cents' worth in order to be a real human being.
But, it's only to the extent that stereo does not add in its coloration, that it becomes truly worthwhile. If we could ever find that perfect stereo that had no distortion or coloration of any kind, people would worship that sound. The speakers which add in their own interpretation, so to speak, our worthless. The more they put in their own interpretation, the less value they are. So, too, with the ego. The more ego centered we are, the more we seek our own will and pathway, the less value we have.
If you look at Jesus, there is something remarkable about Him. This man is worshipped by many, yet He said He was nothing. "Why do you call me good?" "God alone is good."
"Father, I thank you that you have worked through me." He saw Himself merely as a conduit of God's healing power, of God's resurrection glory. He claimed no personal authority, but only that which God had given Him. "The words I speak," He said "were given to me by God." And this man, who in His egolessness sought only to declare the glory of God, winds up being worshipped by millions.
That speaker system, if we ever find it, that perfectly delivers the music will be worshipped by audiophiles around the world, simply because it does not do its own thing. It is purely egoless; therefore, it expresses only the music. It is a perfect conduit for the higher message, for the source, for the music of the Son, for God.
That is why I say that the ego is a fool, pretending to be wise and haughty and puffed up, and is truly nothing. Now, life beyond ego, to most people, seems to be impossible. But, there is a verse in the Bible which I keep coming back to constantly. Galatians 2 starting in verse 20, where Paul says, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
Paul said that he didn't exist. Paul started out as a murderer. He was out to kill Christians and do whatever he could to block their lives. If a confessed, repentant murderer can, through his life of faith and devotion to Christ, come to the point that he recognizes that he does not exist, then so too you can come to the point where your ego is likewise slain.
I think the Bible is very clear on this because the temptation would be too easy to say that, well this or that was easy for Jesus, because He was the Son of God. But, I'm not the Son of God; therefore, I cannot be expected to do these things.
Ah, but the Bible says this is not the case. Jesus was the son of God, but St. Paul was just a murderous sinner, who through devotion, concentration, and faith, came to an awareness of the power and glory of the perfectly egoless state.
St. Paul's name is emblazoned in every one of the hundreds of millions of Bibles on this earth, simply because he attempted to bypass his own thinking and declare simply the truth of God--to be the best mouthpiece that he could. Life beyond ego is possible.
I wish to give you another indication that you ultimately exist, not in the way you think you do. The Bible tells us in 1st Corinthians, that eventually we will know everything about God that He knows about us. That's in 1st Corinthians 12.
But, 1st Corinthians chapter 5 also tells us that nothing and no one can understand God except the mind of God, the mind of Christ. Just as no one can understand you and your thoughts except you and your mind, so too, no one can understand God and His thoughts except for God. And if I could transplant my brain into you, then you would know everything about me that I knew. That is the only way that you could gain that information.
In exactly the same way, the Bible says, since in the promised day we are going to know as much about God as He knows about us, and He knows everything about us, how is this going to happen? Well, the only thing that can know anything about God is the mind of God. Therefore, in the glorious day of perfection, God's mind will understand God perfectly. That is a startling statement, but it is quite clear from the Biblical record.
We are promised that we will understand everything about God, but we are told that the only thing that can understand God is God's mind Himself. That's why St. Paul says we have the mind of Christ. Eventually, that mind of Christ will grow and blossom inside of us, so that we will be able to say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and eventually will blossom to the point that we see and know, with all of the angels, the height and the depth of God. We will know everything about God that there is to know. In so doing, the only mechanism that will be able to do that is the mind of God itself. Where then is ego? Where do you fit into the picture?
Obviously, this is a very high mystical type of a revelation which the Bible is giving to us, but the Bible is clear in other places, to say that we live in God, we move in God, we exist inside of God. Everything comes from Him, moves through Him, and returns to Him. Therefore, you as a little ego, are a temporary blip on the screen of infinite Godliness. And, once you, because it is you and your ego which controls your ego, allow yourself to become open to the grace of God, once you take up your cross and follow Jesus, once you become united with Him in His death, then you will be raised with Him to a glorious resurrection. That resurrection is one of absolute egolessness, wherein you flow in perfect harmony with the God of the Universe.
This is possible. There is life beyond ego, and it is the glorious fulfillment of the ages
...............from Godswebsite.com
Within You...
In the physical world, you are here and everything else is without you. You are
contained in space. In the dream, all that you see is contained within you.
From The Teachings of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
contained in space. In the dream, all that you see is contained within you.
From The Teachings of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
self-pity...
"One bad feature of self-pity is the way it encourages the illusion
of having a separate self to worry over."
Cosmic Command, # 2037...Vernon Howard
of having a separate self to worry over."
Cosmic Command, # 2037...Vernon Howard
Greatness...
Greatness
Is always built upon this foundation:
The ability
To appear, speak, and act
As the most
Common Man.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
Is always built upon this foundation:
The ability
To appear, speak, and act
As the most
Common Man.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
We are the answer ...
We take long trips. We puzzle over the meaning
of a painting or a book, when what we're wanting
to see and understand in this world, we are that.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Version by Coleman Barks
"Open Secret"
Threshold Books, 1984
of a painting or a book, when what we're wanting
to see and understand in this world, we are that.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Version by Coleman Barks
"Open Secret"
Threshold Books, 1984
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