When one studies the teachings of Christ, as recorded in the New Testament, he never claimed that he came to die for the sins of mankind or even that he came to save everyone at that time. In actuality, he purposely cloaked his teaching in parables to prevent the masses from understanding the true meaning of his teachings.
Matthew 13 10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. NIV
When he did discuss his death it was to show that by being dead exactly 3 days and nights would prove he was the Messiah.
Matthew 12:39-41
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. KJV
So what was Christ's Message if it wasn't "I have come to die for your sins?" His true message about who he was and who we are is more amazing than you can imagine. The message Christ preached was not new. It was a very old message about who Christ was and who we are....................... From "the Reluctant Messenger"..
Confusion...
.."in Zen practice, we don't ignore confusion when it appears;
we actually welcome it. When confusion arises in our practice,
it means that we have discovered something new.
The feeling of confusion is an indication
that we are trying to understand something.
So welcoming confusion is actually an expression of wisdom."
~ Les Kaye
we actually welcome it. When confusion arises in our practice,
it means that we have discovered something new.
The feeling of confusion is an indication
that we are trying to understand something.
So welcoming confusion is actually an expression of wisdom."
~ Les Kaye
The Second Birth...
Those who believe in the Short Path of sudden attainment, such as
the sectarian following of Ramana Maharshi and the koan-puzzled
intellectuals of Zen Buddhism, confuse the first flash of insight
which unsettles everything so gloriously with the last flash which
settles everything even more gloriously. The disciple who wants
something for nothing, who hopes to get to the goal without being kept
busy with arduous travels to the very end, will not get it. He has to
move from one point of view to a higher, from many a struggle with
weaknesses to their mastery. Then only, when he has done by himself
what he should do, may he cease his efforts, be still, and await the
influx of Grace. Then comes light and the second birth.
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 2:
Pitfalls and Limitations > # 65...Paul Brunton
the sectarian following of Ramana Maharshi and the koan-puzzled
intellectuals of Zen Buddhism, confuse the first flash of insight
which unsettles everything so gloriously with the last flash which
settles everything even more gloriously. The disciple who wants
something for nothing, who hopes to get to the goal without being kept
busy with arduous travels to the very end, will not get it. He has to
move from one point of view to a higher, from many a struggle with
weaknesses to their mastery. Then only, when he has done by himself
what he should do, may he cease his efforts, be still, and await the
influx of Grace. Then comes light and the second birth.
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 2:
Pitfalls and Limitations > # 65...Paul Brunton
Pain...
Pain is a warning device placed by Universal
Consciousness to tell us that something is wrong and you must correct
the problem.. this refers to both body and mind... When your thoughts
are centered on the Ego (Self-ishness), then the fruit of this
thought will bring pain... When your thoughts are on Self-lessness
(non-ego)(Love), then you will attain the State of Bliss...What you
believe is real is just an illusion that is created by thought..this
is the material world... Reality, is the realization that you and God
are One... this state requires no creation, It is the knowledge that
you really exist in a state of Pure Consciousness that is known by
the feeling of Complete Love, which is Complete Un-Self-
Ishness............................namaste, thomas
Consciousness to tell us that something is wrong and you must correct
the problem.. this refers to both body and mind... When your thoughts
are centered on the Ego (Self-ishness), then the fruit of this
thought will bring pain... When your thoughts are on Self-lessness
(non-ego)(Love), then you will attain the State of Bliss...What you
believe is real is just an illusion that is created by thought..this
is the material world... Reality, is the realization that you and God
are One... this state requires no creation, It is the knowledge that
you really exist in a state of Pure Consciousness that is known by
the feeling of Complete Love, which is Complete Un-Self-
Ishness............................namaste, thomas
Freedom and Happiness..
As long as you derive
inner help and comfort from anything,
keep it.
~~~~~~~~
Freedom is not worth having
if it does not include
the freedom to make mistakes
~~~~~~~~
Happiness is when
what you think,
what you say,
and what you do
are in harmony
~~~~~~~~
Hate the sin, love the sinner
~~~~~~~~
You must be
the change you want to see in the world.
~~~~~~~~
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
~~~~~~~~
The weak can never forgive,
forgiveness is the attribute of the strong
~~~~~~~~
I think it would be a good idea.
(when asked what he thought of western civilisation)
~~~~~~~~
Mahatma Gandhi
inner help and comfort from anything,
keep it.
~~~~~~~~
Freedom is not worth having
if it does not include
the freedom to make mistakes
~~~~~~~~
Happiness is when
what you think,
what you say,
and what you do
are in harmony
~~~~~~~~
Hate the sin, love the sinner
~~~~~~~~
You must be
the change you want to see in the world.
~~~~~~~~
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
~~~~~~~~
The weak can never forgive,
forgiveness is the attribute of the strong
~~~~~~~~
I think it would be a good idea.
(when asked what he thought of western civilisation)
~~~~~~~~
Mahatma Gandhi
Attitude...
"Here I am" is to be his attitude, "humbly receptive in the silence, submissively waiting with restrained ego and stilled mind for whatever guidance comes and however distasteful to personal emotion or however unwelcome to personal judgement it may be."
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 7: Contemplative Stillness > # 275 ..... Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 7: Contemplative Stillness > # 275 ..... Paul Brunton
Two Selves...
You have two selves, the False Self that you believe that you are
and the Real Self that you are.. The False Self is the illusion of
separation from each other and from the total Energy, that we call
God.. the realization that you are not the negative false self and
the realization that you are part of the energy of God is the goal of
Mystics... this realization is found through meditation.. when you
have sacrificed the false ego completely,which means that you have
surrendered the illusion, then you find yourself in the Mystical
Union with God... which is finding yourself with yourself... I have
found this energy called God to be a force of Complete Love and
Unselfishness..............namaste, thomas
and the Real Self that you are.. The False Self is the illusion of
separation from each other and from the total Energy, that we call
God.. the realization that you are not the negative false self and
the realization that you are part of the energy of God is the goal of
Mystics... this realization is found through meditation.. when you
have sacrificed the false ego completely,which means that you have
surrendered the illusion, then you find yourself in the Mystical
Union with God... which is finding yourself with yourself... I have
found this energy called God to be a force of Complete Love and
Unselfishness..............namaste, thomas
Thoughts...
Thoughts have incredible power, especially if you have total belief
in the outcome of these thoughts.. all thoughts have outcomes,even if
you do not see the fruition immediately... If you are aware, you will
notice that negative thoughts originate from the Ego and positive
thoughts originate from a mental state of Love (Un-Self-ishness)...
The interesting part of not believing in a personal God, is that
their is no more personal being than yourself... Once, you understand
that you are the Divinity and the Divinity is not outside you, then
you will not need a personal God as you are indeed God...this
statement will not be understood by most humans, but those that have
traveled beyond the body will understand....As Jesus said;" The
Kingdom of God is within You"..and He also said;" I and the Father
are ONE"...He understood that We are indeed
ONE......................namaste, thomas
in the outcome of these thoughts.. all thoughts have outcomes,even if
you do not see the fruition immediately... If you are aware, you will
notice that negative thoughts originate from the Ego and positive
thoughts originate from a mental state of Love (Un-Self-ishness)...
The interesting part of not believing in a personal God, is that
their is no more personal being than yourself... Once, you understand
that you are the Divinity and the Divinity is not outside you, then
you will not need a personal God as you are indeed God...this
statement will not be understood by most humans, but those that have
traveled beyond the body will understand....As Jesus said;" The
Kingdom of God is within You"..and He also said;" I and the Father
are ONE"...He understood that We are indeed
ONE......................namaste, thomas
Negativity...
The negative is not of God's creation, It is the creation of
the "False Ego", this is the power of "Free Will" that we have been
given.. negativity is Selfishness, The "Power of One"(God) is
Complete Unselfishness,otherwise known as "Love"...... Reality has
always existed, but we have chosen to ignore Reality and create our
own experience due to the false ego... This is the Fall of Souls that
you have read about... The entry into reality is gained when we have
defeated the false ego, which is the illusion of duality... you can
sit and do nothing because you believe that their is nothing to do
except know Reality.. If this works for you, then continue, but for
the mass of humanity, work is required to "Wake Up" and begin to
abolish the illusions that keep us in darkness,pain, and
duality..................namaste, thomas
the "False Ego", this is the power of "Free Will" that we have been
given.. negativity is Selfishness, The "Power of One"(God) is
Complete Unselfishness,otherwise known as "Love"...... Reality has
always existed, but we have chosen to ignore Reality and create our
own experience due to the false ego... This is the Fall of Souls that
you have read about... The entry into reality is gained when we have
defeated the false ego, which is the illusion of duality... you can
sit and do nothing because you believe that their is nothing to do
except know Reality.. If this works for you, then continue, but for
the mass of humanity, work is required to "Wake Up" and begin to
abolish the illusions that keep us in darkness,pain, and
duality..................namaste, thomas
~ Does God Exist? ~
Does God exist? The only answer to this question would be:
God is all that exists. It is you and me (as separate entities)
who do not really exist. "I Am that I Am."
There can only be a mystical awareness of God that can never be
proved scientifically for the simple reason that any external or
indirect proof can only be something separate from That (Source)
which is proved. Any external proof could only be circular logic --
a dog chasing its own tail!
In a word, you cannot truly 'think' about God, because it is He who
is the thinker and the thinking. The fact of the matter is that there
is indeed a Reality that exists, but it cannot be reached. That
Reality can reach you.
Therefore, there is an extraordinary consistency in the assertions
of the mystics through all time and space. Their assertions were
totally in agreement with one another, however far apart they may be
in time, distance and culture. Reality can only be experienced.
~ Ramesh Balsekar
Nuggets of Wisdom
God is all that exists. It is you and me (as separate entities)
who do not really exist. "I Am that I Am."
There can only be a mystical awareness of God that can never be
proved scientifically for the simple reason that any external or
indirect proof can only be something separate from That (Source)
which is proved. Any external proof could only be circular logic --
a dog chasing its own tail!
In a word, you cannot truly 'think' about God, because it is He who
is the thinker and the thinking. The fact of the matter is that there
is indeed a Reality that exists, but it cannot be reached. That
Reality can reach you.
Therefore, there is an extraordinary consistency in the assertions
of the mystics through all time and space. Their assertions were
totally in agreement with one another, however far apart they may be
in time, distance and culture. Reality can only be experienced.
~ Ramesh Balsekar
Nuggets of Wisdom
I Am God...
If you develop within yourself the sacred and lofty idea, "I am
God", you will not be bothered by anything; nothing can come in your
way. Of course, it is of no use to merely utter these words. You
must first overcome your body consciousness and maintain a firm
control over your senses. At the same time, you must develop an
intense love for God and live it by continuously identifying
yourself with the divine. This will lead you to the supreme wisdom.
Or, you can express your love for God by following the path of the
servant. This will quickly remove the egoism from your heart and
fill you with bliss.
There are three successive stages on the way to God-realization. In
the very beginning you will declare, "I am a devotee of God." Here
there are two entities, one is God and the other is you, the
devotee. God is believed to be away somewhere, and your approach
will be to try to find God, to get closer to him, and become very
near to him. Gradually you progress along this path and, in time,
you will come face to face with God. Then you say to him, "Dear
Lord, I belong to you." In this second stage, you stand erect before
God and declare yourself as his own, very close to him. Then in the
third stage you know yourself to be one with God and you state, "You
and I are one."
The first stage, which is characterized by the declaration, "I am
the servant of God," and where God is cognized as a faraway form, is
dualism. The second stage, where you say directly to God, "O Lord, I
am your devotee", and feel him inside your heart, is the stage of
qualified non-dualism. The third stage, in which the ultimate truth
dawns within you and you say to God, "I am you and you are me", is
non-dualism. At that point there is no distinction between you and
God.
mukundan
(saibaba gita)
God", you will not be bothered by anything; nothing can come in your
way. Of course, it is of no use to merely utter these words. You
must first overcome your body consciousness and maintain a firm
control over your senses. At the same time, you must develop an
intense love for God and live it by continuously identifying
yourself with the divine. This will lead you to the supreme wisdom.
Or, you can express your love for God by following the path of the
servant. This will quickly remove the egoism from your heart and
fill you with bliss.
There are three successive stages on the way to God-realization. In
the very beginning you will declare, "I am a devotee of God." Here
there are two entities, one is God and the other is you, the
devotee. God is believed to be away somewhere, and your approach
will be to try to find God, to get closer to him, and become very
near to him. Gradually you progress along this path and, in time,
you will come face to face with God. Then you say to him, "Dear
Lord, I belong to you." In this second stage, you stand erect before
God and declare yourself as his own, very close to him. Then in the
third stage you know yourself to be one with God and you state, "You
and I are one."
The first stage, which is characterized by the declaration, "I am
the servant of God," and where God is cognized as a faraway form, is
dualism. The second stage, where you say directly to God, "O Lord, I
am your devotee", and feel him inside your heart, is the stage of
qualified non-dualism. The third stage, in which the ultimate truth
dawns within you and you say to God, "I am you and you are me", is
non-dualism. At that point there is no distinction between you and
God.
mukundan
(saibaba gita)
Sin...
Sin is an ancient hebrew archery term that means "Missing the
Mark"......It has been misused for so long that we no longer know what
it means... It is the Ego remaining and springing up to perform selfish
activities.. It is missing the mark in becoming One with God... It is
the wall that keeps us from happiness and freedom... It is false and a
lie, It is ego.......................namaste, thomas
Mark"......It has been misused for so long that we no longer know what
it means... It is the Ego remaining and springing up to perform selfish
activities.. It is missing the mark in becoming One with God... It is
the wall that keeps us from happiness and freedom... It is false and a
lie, It is ego.......................namaste, thomas
The Voice...
Many years ago while I was in a state of deep meditation, I found
myself in a place of pure white light.. I was surrounded and filled
with the energy of Love.. while in this state, I asked a question to
whom ever controlled this sphere of existence... I asked:" What is the
most important knowledge that I should learn,while in the physical
body?", Suddenly, a Voice answered me saying "You must treat others, as
you wish to be treated".. the fact that a voice without any physical
appearance spoke to me did not surprise me, what surprised me, was that
I was told to follow what I had heard as a boy, and forgotten....How
simple the message, and yet how powerful....... I then found myself
back in the body, fully alert..............namaste, thomas
myself in a place of pure white light.. I was surrounded and filled
with the energy of Love.. while in this state, I asked a question to
whom ever controlled this sphere of existence... I asked:" What is the
most important knowledge that I should learn,while in the physical
body?", Suddenly, a Voice answered me saying "You must treat others, as
you wish to be treated".. the fact that a voice without any physical
appearance spoke to me did not surprise me, what surprised me, was that
I was told to follow what I had heard as a boy, and forgotten....How
simple the message, and yet how powerful....... I then found myself
back in the body, fully alert..............namaste, thomas
I Am - transcribed Adyashanti talk
To me one of the greatest teachings of the whole Christian message in Christ's life himself centers around a very very simple idea. It's the idea called I am. If you get I am, you get the whole message. If you don't get I am, you've missed the entire message. So to the human consciousness, I am always refers to a historical figure. Something in time and space. Something you can point to. Most human beings in their human state of consciousness, even when they think of I am about themselves, they think about the body, the mind, what they think, what they feel, what they imagine, what they believe. Human consciousness always takes the I am and makes it into something concrete. And of course, this is what is really meant by the I am becoming historical. It becomes about something you can grasp and think about and talk about. To me, when I started my sort of love affair, in a certain sense, with Christ, it was sort of this historical way too. It was very much tied to a particular person at a particular place in time because that would fit my consciousness as a very young child. It was reflective of where my consciousness was and we are all only capable of seeing things from our state of consciousness. Very important to remember that. You're only capable of seeing things based on and from your current state of consciousness. That's why we tend to interpret everything down to our level. We interpret everything down to our own consciousness because really we don't have any choice until our consciousness changes and then everything looks different. An yet, the whole Christian message, in a sense, is this message that's based around "I am." Understanding. Not just understanding with the mind, that's of very little value. Understanding in the sense of a direct realization. Literally an awakening out of human consciousness to spiritual consciousness, one could say.
Jesus himself mentions this many many times. One of the great wonderful sayings from the Gospel of Thomas is Jesus saying this: "One who knows everything else but does not know himself, knows nothing." That's a pretty good summation of modern times. We know so much, at least we think we know so much. The modern human mind now has so many facts stuffed in it than it did 2,000 years ago. I mean it had a lot then, you realize nothing much changes, you know, just the scenery. But there is so much knowledge and of course, even many in the world of spirituality have this thought "if I could just understand more, if I could cram more spiritual knowledge into my brain then that will help me find God, or awaken to my true nature, awaken to the One and here it is, you know, 2000 years ago Jesus saying "One who knows everything but who does not know himself, knows nothing." It's quite a statement. It's another thing that happens when we do not see this gift of teaching of Christ in its true light. Christ has been made, by and large, to fit what is comfortable for human beings. Which makes Christ into a nice comfy God illuminated guy being. But if you really look at the message of Christ, this is not true at all. This was a full blooded sage, an absolute spiritual and cultural revolutionary of the highest order. It does not fit in well and it never did fit in well as his life proved never did fit in well and never does fit in well with the conventional ideas of the limited human consciousness. We keep dummying down Christ to our level. To a human level. When we miss, this was somebody that was out to awaken humanity. Make no mistake about it, this was a being who was out to awaken humanity and it got him killed. So when we see the power that is actually inherent there, in the teaching, in who he was, this was someone of great great spiritual vitality. This is someone as true spiritual awakening often is didn't fit in, as I say, it ended up getting him crucified. Because it didn't fit into the conventional human understanding of who we are and what God is. This is someone who was actually pushing outside that boundary, pushing outside the conventional boundary. Someone who actually work up from the conventional boundary who had realized the truth of their being and was speaking about it.
Jesus himself mentions this many many times. One of the great wonderful sayings from the Gospel of Thomas is Jesus saying this: "One who knows everything else but does not know himself, knows nothing." That's a pretty good summation of modern times. We know so much, at least we think we know so much. The modern human mind now has so many facts stuffed in it than it did 2,000 years ago. I mean it had a lot then, you realize nothing much changes, you know, just the scenery. But there is so much knowledge and of course, even many in the world of spirituality have this thought "if I could just understand more, if I could cram more spiritual knowledge into my brain then that will help me find God, or awaken to my true nature, awaken to the One and here it is, you know, 2000 years ago Jesus saying "One who knows everything but who does not know himself, knows nothing." It's quite a statement. It's another thing that happens when we do not see this gift of teaching of Christ in its true light. Christ has been made, by and large, to fit what is comfortable for human beings. Which makes Christ into a nice comfy God illuminated guy being. But if you really look at the message of Christ, this is not true at all. This was a full blooded sage, an absolute spiritual and cultural revolutionary of the highest order. It does not fit in well and it never did fit in well as his life proved never did fit in well and never does fit in well with the conventional ideas of the limited human consciousness. We keep dummying down Christ to our level. To a human level. When we miss, this was somebody that was out to awaken humanity. Make no mistake about it, this was a being who was out to awaken humanity and it got him killed. So when we see the power that is actually inherent there, in the teaching, in who he was, this was someone of great great spiritual vitality. This is someone as true spiritual awakening often is didn't fit in, as I say, it ended up getting him crucified. Because it didn't fit into the conventional human understanding of who we are and what God is. This is someone who was actually pushing outside that boundary, pushing outside the conventional boundary. Someone who actually work up from the conventional boundary who had realized the truth of their being and was speaking about it.
Duality...
Everything comes in pairs as death with life and darkness with light. Whatever seems to be necessary to existence is so only because its opposite is equally necessary. Duality is a governing factor of the world and everything within it including ourselves. That alone is outside the world, is nondual, which is the untouchable Reality. This is the Chinese idea of yin and yang, and the Bhagavad Gita's expression "the pairs of opposites" conveys the same idea. Duality is a fact. It is here. But it is also an illusion and the opposite truth which completes it is the nondual. We may deplore the illusory nature of our existence, but we need not get lost in it for it is fulfilled, completed, and finalized in its complement the Real.(P)
— Notebooks Category 26: World-Idea > Chapter 3: Polarities, Complementaries, Dualities of The Universe > # 10............Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 26: World-Idea > Chapter 3: Polarities, Complementaries, Dualities of The Universe > # 10............Paul Brunton
A Thought...
Not only is the world an appearance-in-Consciousness, but so is the ego. It is in the end a thought, perhaps the strongest of all; and only the Consciousness-in-Itself is the Reality from which it draws sustenance, existence, life.
— Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 5: The Key To the Spiritual World > # 138
Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 5: The Key To the Spiritual World > # 138
Paul Brunton
The Holy Man...
There was once a holy man who died and went to heaven. He approached the Pearly Gates and knocked. God came out and asked, "What do you want?" The holy man replied, "I am your servant. I have come." God said, "I'm sorry there is no room for you here. You can't come in. Goodbye."
The holy man sat down and started to gaze in silence to ponder this. "Why won't God let me in? I've been good. I've practiced the scriptures." He pondered this for six months. Finally, he said to himself, "I've got the answer." He knocked again and God came to the gate. He said, "Let me in. I'm your humble servant. The one who has chanted Your name for centuries, who has bowed to You, who has prayed to You."
God said, "I'm sorry there is no room for you here." Again, he closed the door. This time the holy man became completely upset. He didn't' know what the problem was. He'd been a good person, a holy person. Why won't that guy let me in? He said to himself, "I'm going to sit here forever if I have to, until I come up with the right answer."
Centuries passed and he pondered. Remember, he was dead anyway, so it didn't matter. After this long period of pondering why he hadn't been let in, paused and asked himself? "Wait a minute, who is this I who wants to get into heaven? Who is the I that chanted God's name? Who practiced the scriptures? Who am I?"
All of a sudden, he started laughing. The answer came. He got up and knocked on the door or heave. God came to the door and said, "Who is this?" The holy man said, "It is Thou." God opened the gate and said, "Come in, my son. There never was enough room in here for both Me and you."
So it is with us. We claim we want to be Self-realized. We don't realize we are already Self-realized. We just have to let go of the belief that I am the doer.
~ Robert Adams
The holy man sat down and started to gaze in silence to ponder this. "Why won't God let me in? I've been good. I've practiced the scriptures." He pondered this for six months. Finally, he said to himself, "I've got the answer." He knocked again and God came to the gate. He said, "Let me in. I'm your humble servant. The one who has chanted Your name for centuries, who has bowed to You, who has prayed to You."
God said, "I'm sorry there is no room for you here." Again, he closed the door. This time the holy man became completely upset. He didn't' know what the problem was. He'd been a good person, a holy person. Why won't that guy let me in? He said to himself, "I'm going to sit here forever if I have to, until I come up with the right answer."
Centuries passed and he pondered. Remember, he was dead anyway, so it didn't matter. After this long period of pondering why he hadn't been let in, paused and asked himself? "Wait a minute, who is this I who wants to get into heaven? Who is the I that chanted God's name? Who practiced the scriptures? Who am I?"
All of a sudden, he started laughing. The answer came. He got up and knocked on the door or heave. God came to the door and said, "Who is this?" The holy man said, "It is Thou." God opened the gate and said, "Come in, my son. There never was enough room in here for both Me and you."
So it is with us. We claim we want to be Self-realized. We don't realize we are already Self-realized. We just have to let go of the belief that I am the doer.
~ Robert Adams
What is Love ?....
Much has been written about Love ,but what exactly is Love ?.....
The best thoughts that I can come up with are, that Love is complete
unselfishness... It is the complete vacation of Ego... Therefore, the
source of Love, which we call God is actually an energy that is
completely without Ego... Is this why we find God so attractive ?...
How can you not love a person that is without an ego, that is
completely selfless, that is completely in a state of Love... To
witness someone who suffers because they wish others not to suffer is
acting from the state of Love.. this will actually cause us to weep in
empathy, perhaps, because for a few seconds we witness the presence of
God...................namaste, thomas
The best thoughts that I can come up with are, that Love is complete
unselfishness... It is the complete vacation of Ego... Therefore, the
source of Love, which we call God is actually an energy that is
completely without Ego... Is this why we find God so attractive ?...
How can you not love a person that is without an ego, that is
completely selfless, that is completely in a state of Love... To
witness someone who suffers because they wish others not to suffer is
acting from the state of Love.. this will actually cause us to weep in
empathy, perhaps, because for a few seconds we witness the presence of
God...................namaste, thomas
Seeing People As They Are -- Not As I Wish Them To Be
Come home to yourself. Observe yourself. That's why I said earlier that self-observation is such a delightful and extraordinary thing. After a while you don't have to make any effort, because, as illusions begin to crumble, you begin to know things that cannot be described. It's called happiness. Everything changes and you become addicted to awareness.
There's the story of the disciple who went to the master and said, "Could you give me a word of wisdom? Could you tell me something that would guide me through my days?" It was the master's day of silence, so he picked up a pad. It said, "Awareness." When the disciple saw it, he said, "This is too brief. Can you expand on it a bit?" So the master took back the pad and wrote, "Awareness, awareness, awareness." The disciple said, "Yes, but what does it mean?" The master took back the pad and wrote, "Awareness, awareness, awareness means -- awareness."
That's what it is to watch yourself. No one can show you how to do it, because he would be giving you a technique, he would be programming you. But watch yourself. When you talk to someone, are you aware of it or are you simply identifying with it? When you got angry with somebody, were you aware that you were angry or were you simply identifying with your anger? Later, when you had the time, did you study your experience and attempt to understand it? Where did it come from? What brought it on? I don't know of any other way to awareness. You only change what you understand. What you do not understand and are not aware of, you repress. You don't change. But when you understand it, it changes.
I am sometimes asked, "Is this growing in awareness a gradual thing, or is it a 'whammo' kind of thing?" There are some lucky people who see this in a flash. They just become aware. There are others who keep growing into it, slowly, gradually, increasingly. They begin to see things. Illusions drop away, fantasies are peeled away, and they start to get in touch with facts. There's no general rule. There's a famous story about the lion who came upon a flock of sheep and to his amazement found a lion among the sheep. It was a lion who had been brought up by the sheep ever since he was a cub. It would bleat like a sheep and run around like a sheep. The lion went straight for him, and when the sheep lion stood in front of the real one, he trembled in every limb. And the lion said to him, "What are you doing among the sheep?" And the sheep-lion said, "I am a sheep." And the lion said, "Oh no you're not. You're coming with me." So he took the sheep-lion to a pool and said, "Look!" And when the sheep-lion looked at his reflection in the water, he let out a mighty roar, and in that moment he was transformed. He was never the same again.
If you're lucky and the gods are gracious or if you are gifted with divine grace (use any theological expression you want), you might suddenly understand who "I" is, and you will never be the same again, never. Nothing will ever be able to touch you again and no one will ever be able to hurt you again.
You will fear no one and you will fear nothing. Isn't that extraordinary? You'll live like a king, like a queen. This is what it means to live like royalty. Not rubbish like getting your picture in the newspapers or having a lot of money. That's a lot of rot. You fear no one because you're perfectly content to be nobody. You don't give a damn about success or failure. They mean nothing. Honor, disgrace, they mean nothing! If you make a fool of yourself, that means nothing either. Isn't that a wonderful state to be in! Some people arrive at this goal painstakingly, step by step, through months and weeks of self-awareness. But I'll promise you this: I have not known a single person who gave time to being aware who didn't see a difference in a matter of weeks. The quality of their life changes, so they don't have to take it on faith anymore. They see it; they're different. They react differently. In fact, they react less and act more. You see things you've never seen before.
You're much more energetic, much more alive. People think that if they had no cravings, they'd be like deadwood. But in fact they'd lose their tension. Get rid of your fear of failure, your tensions about succeeding, you will be yourself. Relaxed. You wouldn't be driving with your brakes on. That's what would happen.
There's a lovely saying of Tranxu, a great Chinese sage, that I took the trouble to learn by heart. It goes: "When the archer shoots for no particular prize, he has all his skills; when he shoots to win a brass buckle, he is already nervous; when he shoots for a gold prize, he goes blind, sees two targets, and is out of his mind. His skill has not changed, but the prize divides him. He cares! He thinks more of winning than of shooting, and the need to win drains him of power." Isn't that an image of what most people are? When you're living for nothing, you've got all your skills, you've got all your energy, you're relaxed, you don't care, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose.
Now there's HUMAN living for you. That's what life is all about. That can only come from awareness. And in awareness you will understand that honor doesn't mean a thing. It's a social convention, that's all. That's why the mystics and the prophets didn't bother one bit about it. Honor or disgrace meant nothing to them. They were living in another world, in the world of the awakened. Success or failure meant nothing to them. They had the attitude: "I'm an ass, you're an ass, so where's the problem?"
Someone once said, "The three most difficult things for a human being are not physical feats or intellectual achievements. They are, first, returning love for hate; second, including the excluded; third, admitting that you are wrong." But these are the easiest things in the world if you haven't identified with the "me." You can say things like "I'm wrong! If you knew me better, you'd see how often I'm wrong. What would you expect from an ass?" But if I haven't identified with these aspects of "me," you can't hurt me. Initially, the old conditioning will kick in and you'll be depressed and anxious. You'll grieve, cry, and so on. "Before enlightenment, I used to be depressed: after enlightenment, 1 continue to be depressed." But there's a difference: I don't identify with it anymore. Do you know what a big difference that is?
You step outside of yourself and look at that depression, and don't identify with it. You don't do a thing to make it go away; you are perfectly willing to go on with your life while it passes through you and disappears. If you don't know what that means, you really have something to look forward to. And anxiety? There it comes and you're not troubled. How strange! You're anxious but you're not troubled.
Isn't that a paradox? And you're willing to let this cloud come in, because the more you fight it, the more power you give it. You're willing to observe it as it passes by. You can be happy in your anxiety. Isn't that crazy? You can be happy in your depression. But you can't have the wrong notion of happiness. Did you think happiness was excitement or thrills? That's what causes the depression. Didn't anyone tell you that? You're thrilled, all right, but you're just preparing the way for your next depression. You're thrilled but you pick up the anxiety behind that: How can I make it last? That's not happiness, that's addiction.
I wonder how many non-addicts there are reading this book? If you're anything like the average group, there are few, very few. Don't look down your nose at the alcoholics and the drug addicts: maybe you're just as addicted as they are. The first time I got a glimpse of this new world, it was terrifying. I understood what it meant to be alone, with nowhere to rest your head, to leave everyone free and be free yourself, to be special to no one and love everyone- because love does that. It shines on good and bad alike; it makes rain fall on saints and sinners alike.
Is it possible for the rose to say, "I will give my fragrance to the good people who smell me, but I will withhold it from the bad"? Or is it possible for the lamp to say, "I will give my light to the good people in this room, but I will withhold it from the evil people"? Or can a tree say, "I'll give my shade to the good people who rest under me, but I will withhold it from the bad"? These are images of what love is about.
It's been there all along, staring us in the face in the scriptures, though we never cared to see it because we were so drowned in what our culture calls love with its love songs and poems -- that isn't love at all, that's the opposite of love. That's desire and control and possessiveness. That's manipulation, and fear, and anxiety -- that's not love. We were told that happiness is a smooth complexion, a holiday resort. It isn't these things, but we have subtle ways of making our happiness depend on other things, both within us and outside us. We say, "I refuse to be happy until my neurosis goes." I have good news for you: You can be happy right now, WITH the neurosis, You want even better news? There's only one reason why you're not experiencing what in India we call ANAND -- bliss, bliss. There's only one reason why you're not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it's because you're thinking or focusing on what you don't have. Otherwise you would be experiencing bliss. You're focusing on what you don't have. But, right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.
Jesus was talking horse sense to lay people, to starving people, to poor people. He was telling them good news: It's yours for the taking. But who listens? No one's interested, they'd rather be asleep................ Anthony de Mello, SJ
(C) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Spiritually_Speaking .........from Lisa Day
Permission to share freely as long as credit is given.
There's the story of the disciple who went to the master and said, "Could you give me a word of wisdom? Could you tell me something that would guide me through my days?" It was the master's day of silence, so he picked up a pad. It said, "Awareness." When the disciple saw it, he said, "This is too brief. Can you expand on it a bit?" So the master took back the pad and wrote, "Awareness, awareness, awareness." The disciple said, "Yes, but what does it mean?" The master took back the pad and wrote, "Awareness, awareness, awareness means -- awareness."
That's what it is to watch yourself. No one can show you how to do it, because he would be giving you a technique, he would be programming you. But watch yourself. When you talk to someone, are you aware of it or are you simply identifying with it? When you got angry with somebody, were you aware that you were angry or were you simply identifying with your anger? Later, when you had the time, did you study your experience and attempt to understand it? Where did it come from? What brought it on? I don't know of any other way to awareness. You only change what you understand. What you do not understand and are not aware of, you repress. You don't change. But when you understand it, it changes.
I am sometimes asked, "Is this growing in awareness a gradual thing, or is it a 'whammo' kind of thing?" There are some lucky people who see this in a flash. They just become aware. There are others who keep growing into it, slowly, gradually, increasingly. They begin to see things. Illusions drop away, fantasies are peeled away, and they start to get in touch with facts. There's no general rule. There's a famous story about the lion who came upon a flock of sheep and to his amazement found a lion among the sheep. It was a lion who had been brought up by the sheep ever since he was a cub. It would bleat like a sheep and run around like a sheep. The lion went straight for him, and when the sheep lion stood in front of the real one, he trembled in every limb. And the lion said to him, "What are you doing among the sheep?" And the sheep-lion said, "I am a sheep." And the lion said, "Oh no you're not. You're coming with me." So he took the sheep-lion to a pool and said, "Look!" And when the sheep-lion looked at his reflection in the water, he let out a mighty roar, and in that moment he was transformed. He was never the same again.
If you're lucky and the gods are gracious or if you are gifted with divine grace (use any theological expression you want), you might suddenly understand who "I" is, and you will never be the same again, never. Nothing will ever be able to touch you again and no one will ever be able to hurt you again.
You will fear no one and you will fear nothing. Isn't that extraordinary? You'll live like a king, like a queen. This is what it means to live like royalty. Not rubbish like getting your picture in the newspapers or having a lot of money. That's a lot of rot. You fear no one because you're perfectly content to be nobody. You don't give a damn about success or failure. They mean nothing. Honor, disgrace, they mean nothing! If you make a fool of yourself, that means nothing either. Isn't that a wonderful state to be in! Some people arrive at this goal painstakingly, step by step, through months and weeks of self-awareness. But I'll promise you this: I have not known a single person who gave time to being aware who didn't see a difference in a matter of weeks. The quality of their life changes, so they don't have to take it on faith anymore. They see it; they're different. They react differently. In fact, they react less and act more. You see things you've never seen before.
You're much more energetic, much more alive. People think that if they had no cravings, they'd be like deadwood. But in fact they'd lose their tension. Get rid of your fear of failure, your tensions about succeeding, you will be yourself. Relaxed. You wouldn't be driving with your brakes on. That's what would happen.
There's a lovely saying of Tranxu, a great Chinese sage, that I took the trouble to learn by heart. It goes: "When the archer shoots for no particular prize, he has all his skills; when he shoots to win a brass buckle, he is already nervous; when he shoots for a gold prize, he goes blind, sees two targets, and is out of his mind. His skill has not changed, but the prize divides him. He cares! He thinks more of winning than of shooting, and the need to win drains him of power." Isn't that an image of what most people are? When you're living for nothing, you've got all your skills, you've got all your energy, you're relaxed, you don't care, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose.
Now there's HUMAN living for you. That's what life is all about. That can only come from awareness. And in awareness you will understand that honor doesn't mean a thing. It's a social convention, that's all. That's why the mystics and the prophets didn't bother one bit about it. Honor or disgrace meant nothing to them. They were living in another world, in the world of the awakened. Success or failure meant nothing to them. They had the attitude: "I'm an ass, you're an ass, so where's the problem?"
Someone once said, "The three most difficult things for a human being are not physical feats or intellectual achievements. They are, first, returning love for hate; second, including the excluded; third, admitting that you are wrong." But these are the easiest things in the world if you haven't identified with the "me." You can say things like "I'm wrong! If you knew me better, you'd see how often I'm wrong. What would you expect from an ass?" But if I haven't identified with these aspects of "me," you can't hurt me. Initially, the old conditioning will kick in and you'll be depressed and anxious. You'll grieve, cry, and so on. "Before enlightenment, I used to be depressed: after enlightenment, 1 continue to be depressed." But there's a difference: I don't identify with it anymore. Do you know what a big difference that is?
You step outside of yourself and look at that depression, and don't identify with it. You don't do a thing to make it go away; you are perfectly willing to go on with your life while it passes through you and disappears. If you don't know what that means, you really have something to look forward to. And anxiety? There it comes and you're not troubled. How strange! You're anxious but you're not troubled.
Isn't that a paradox? And you're willing to let this cloud come in, because the more you fight it, the more power you give it. You're willing to observe it as it passes by. You can be happy in your anxiety. Isn't that crazy? You can be happy in your depression. But you can't have the wrong notion of happiness. Did you think happiness was excitement or thrills? That's what causes the depression. Didn't anyone tell you that? You're thrilled, all right, but you're just preparing the way for your next depression. You're thrilled but you pick up the anxiety behind that: How can I make it last? That's not happiness, that's addiction.
I wonder how many non-addicts there are reading this book? If you're anything like the average group, there are few, very few. Don't look down your nose at the alcoholics and the drug addicts: maybe you're just as addicted as they are. The first time I got a glimpse of this new world, it was terrifying. I understood what it meant to be alone, with nowhere to rest your head, to leave everyone free and be free yourself, to be special to no one and love everyone- because love does that. It shines on good and bad alike; it makes rain fall on saints and sinners alike.
Is it possible for the rose to say, "I will give my fragrance to the good people who smell me, but I will withhold it from the bad"? Or is it possible for the lamp to say, "I will give my light to the good people in this room, but I will withhold it from the evil people"? Or can a tree say, "I'll give my shade to the good people who rest under me, but I will withhold it from the bad"? These are images of what love is about.
It's been there all along, staring us in the face in the scriptures, though we never cared to see it because we were so drowned in what our culture calls love with its love songs and poems -- that isn't love at all, that's the opposite of love. That's desire and control and possessiveness. That's manipulation, and fear, and anxiety -- that's not love. We were told that happiness is a smooth complexion, a holiday resort. It isn't these things, but we have subtle ways of making our happiness depend on other things, both within us and outside us. We say, "I refuse to be happy until my neurosis goes." I have good news for you: You can be happy right now, WITH the neurosis, You want even better news? There's only one reason why you're not experiencing what in India we call ANAND -- bliss, bliss. There's only one reason why you're not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it's because you're thinking or focusing on what you don't have. Otherwise you would be experiencing bliss. You're focusing on what you don't have. But, right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.
Jesus was talking horse sense to lay people, to starving people, to poor people. He was telling them good news: It's yours for the taking. But who listens? No one's interested, they'd rather be asleep................ Anthony de Mello, SJ
(C) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Spiritually_Speaking .........from Lisa Day
Permission to share freely as long as credit is given.
" I and the Father are One "....
It does not feel good to say that I am God,, It is possibly the
most difficult to say and to believe... This is the pain of Duality
that most humans are stuck in.. They truly do not know God and they
truly do not know themselves... this revelation of non-duality is
only achieved through meditation and the achieving of enlightenment,
which is the dissolution of the belief in the false ego... This is
why Jesus said that "You must be born again", as the enlightenment
experience is merging with God and feeling as though you have just
been born at the moment of this experience... I cannot convince you
of these Truths,, they can only be known by your own personal
experience................namaste, thomas
most difficult to say and to believe... This is the pain of Duality
that most humans are stuck in.. They truly do not know God and they
truly do not know themselves... this revelation of non-duality is
only achieved through meditation and the achieving of enlightenment,
which is the dissolution of the belief in the false ego... This is
why Jesus said that "You must be born again", as the enlightenment
experience is merging with God and feeling as though you have just
been born at the moment of this experience... I cannot convince you
of these Truths,, they can only be known by your own personal
experience................namaste, thomas
You must lose your life to find It....
Those who try to grasp Tao, lose it, declared Lao Tzu. Why? Because they are using willpower, personal willpower, instead of becoming passive and letting the Tao use them, their minds and bodies, as if they were its instruments. This elimination of the self-will is what Jesus meant when he counselled his followers to lose their life in order to find life................paul brunton
Can We Really be Attacked ?
A verbal attack meant or unmeant means absolutely nothing to a soul
that has conquered their Ego.... the main purpose of spirituality is to
identify and destroy the false perception of separation from Universal
Consciousness... this perception is called the false ego... once you
have conquered this false idea of separation from each other and from
Universal Mind (God), you never feel the pain of personal attack again
because there is no one to attack... when we feel pain at any verbal
attack, we must recognize that the problem lies within us.. stop
blaming others for deficiencies within
outselves.................namaste, thomas
that has conquered their Ego.... the main purpose of spirituality is to
identify and destroy the false perception of separation from Universal
Consciousness... this perception is called the false ego... once you
have conquered this false idea of separation from each other and from
Universal Mind (God), you never feel the pain of personal attack again
because there is no one to attack... when we feel pain at any verbal
attack, we must recognize that the problem lies within us.. stop
blaming others for deficiencies within
outselves.................namaste, thomas
Where is God ?
God is in your very being. To know him as something apart or far-away
in time and distance or as an object outside yourself, separate from
you--that is not the Way--impossible. Jesus gave away the secret: He is
within you...........Paul Brunton
in time and distance or as an object outside yourself, separate from
you--that is not the Way--impossible. Jesus gave away the secret: He is
within you...........Paul Brunton
Does God have a sense of humor ?
Love has no ego, therefore, there is no pain felt when humor is
directed at Love.... this also applies to humans, a human only feels
embarassment or anger when they are still slaves of the false ego...
Humor is the sudden realization of Truth.. this sudden realization
causes the body and especially the lungs to act in a spasmatic manner
that we call laughing... a human cannot laugh with someone that they
dislike or hate, this means that humor shared with another is
actually a sharing of Love.... I assure you that the Universal Spirit
that we call God is filled with laughter and
Love......................namaste,
thomas
directed at Love.... this also applies to humans, a human only feels
embarassment or anger when they are still slaves of the false ego...
Humor is the sudden realization of Truth.. this sudden realization
causes the body and especially the lungs to act in a spasmatic manner
that we call laughing... a human cannot laugh with someone that they
dislike or hate, this means that humor shared with another is
actually a sharing of Love.... I assure you that the Universal Spirit
that we call God is filled with laughter and
Love......................namaste,
thomas
Does God Exist ?
A man went to a barber shop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a conversation.They
talked about various subjects. When they eventually touched on the
subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go
out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God
exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned
children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I
can't imagine a loving God who would allow these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't
want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the
customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barber shop, he saw a man in the street with
long, stringy, dirty hair and untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and
unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop and he
said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I
am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they
did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed
beards, like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come
to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him
for help.
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."
As the barber began to work, they began to have a conversation.They
talked about various subjects. When they eventually touched on the
subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go
out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God
exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned
children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I
can't imagine a loving God who would allow these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't
want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the
customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barber shop, he saw a man in the street with
long, stringy, dirty hair and untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and
unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop and he
said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I
am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they
did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed
beards, like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come
to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him
for help.
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."
Enlightenment Which Stays ...
The actions of a man who has attained this degree are inspired directly by his Overself, and consequently are not dictated by personal wishes, purposes, passions, or desires. They are not initiated by his ego's will but by a will higher than his own.
Since there is no consciously deliberate thinking, no attempt at ordered logical formulation of ideas, there is also no hesitation, no broken trends. There is only spontaneous thought, feeling, and action, all being directed by intuition.
— Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind > Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 88.............Paul Brunton
Since there is no consciously deliberate thinking, no attempt at ordered logical formulation of ideas, there is also no hesitation, no broken trends. There is only spontaneous thought, feeling, and action, all being directed by intuition.
— Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind > Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 88.............Paul Brunton
INFINITE DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS....
From: Iamwithin
To: mysticalprinciples@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2007 11:31:55 PM
Subject: [mysticalprinciples] INFINITE DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS
INFINITE DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS....by Bill Skiles
Wednesday night, at 1:00 a.m. , I lay down on my bed and said, “Speak Father, thy servant heareth.” When I can remember to do that, the last thing at night, often something is revealed and no sooner had I rested in that statement, something came to me with such force that I couldn’t fall asleep. I sat there pondering it and looking at it. Is this true? Could this be? My God! And yes, yes, this scripture, that scripture; everything seemed to verify and corroborate what had been revealed. And that simple revelation, just really one line, four words; was quite startling and this talk today is going to be that which was revealed in that split second of receptivity. I consider this talk to be one of the most important I have ever made. And I ask that Consciousness guide the words so that the Word may be revealed.
Let us begin here. There are two types of flesh. There is the flesh that is grass which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven and perishes and that of course is our physical body. We come to the end of our days here on earth, the body is laid aside and it perishes. This is one type of flesh, physical flesh, matter it is called. And in this flesh, the scientists tell us, are whirling atoms. They tell us that atoms make up everything and so this physical form, this flesh is made up of atoms.
I tell you something quite interesting to me, way back in 1978-79, I hopped into a jet airline and I flew across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii and then I took a smaller plane over to Kauai and then I drove up to Hanalei Bay and I pulled into the driveway of Herb Fitch’s house. I did this because when I heard one of his talks, I knew I had to spend some time with him. I knew that this was Spirit revealing itself through this individual, through this individual’s consciousness or through Consciousness appearing as this individual. So I walked into his house and we went back to his study and we had a meditation. I did not tell him that I was thinking about atoms and their relationship to things. After the meditation he said, “I feel I must show you something.” He pulled a book down off of his shelf and it was a book about atoms. He opened the book and showed me some pictures. In the first picture there was what is called a nucleus or a neutron and a proton, and in the next picture there was an electron whirling around the nucleus. And in the next picture it was shown how most of what makes up an atom is empty space. This electron whirling around at unmanageable speeds creates the illusion of substance. It creates an illusion of matter. I can’t remember the exact conversation or what Herb said exactly, but I remember the feeling and it was: atoms are an illusion.
Since then I have taken that and looked at it every which way and pondered it and meditated, asked for guidance and I see clearly now, I understand. Mind appears as atoms. It is mind appearing as flesh; mind appearing as form. But there is no substance to that form. It is simply mind showing us an image. Even the scientists know that this is correct.
I have a book on my shelf called “The Zen of Quantum Physics” and I may get some of the terms wrong because I am not a quantum physicist but I have the general sense of what that books says and it states that when they sent some, I believe it was protons, part of an atom, down a tunnel, when they did not watch, it turned to the left; it went down the tunnel and forked to the left, took the left channel. But when they observed the movement, it took the channel to the right. Scientists, quantum physicists, to their great amazement, discovered atoms and protons and electrons, they respond to the observer. Because they tried this experiment several times and every time it was the same result. The mind looking at them had an effect, they responded to the observer. This scientist that wrote this book put forth the hypothesis, ‘that which we see in life responds to our awareness or our unawareness.” In other words, it responds to our state of consciousness.
From this I gathered that mind appears as atoms which are essentially space; very minute particles which are really mental images and respond to the mind. So mind appearing as flesh is the body that dies. In Texas , there is a huge machine, a huge building, and in it there is an atom smasher. This is how we know that atoms were not created by God. Because you could not smash one nor could you split one with an atomic bomb.
I knew a physicist when I was a young man and he was the man that gave me the first book I ever had of The Infinite Way called, ‘The Art of Meditation.’ Don was his name. Don was quite an interesting fellow. He was a physicist. He worked for the United States Government. He helped work on the project—the Manhattan project,—anyway, he helped work on the first atomic bomb and as a physicist, he told me—and I looked into his eyes, he was not lying—he told me that they were divided. Half of the physicists that worked on that project felt that if they split the atom there would be a limited effect, it would have a stopping point. It would have a chain reaction in other atoms in the universe but it would stop at a certain level. However, the other half of the physicists—and Don was one of them—were convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that if you split the atom, it would have a chain reaction throughout the universe until every atom was split. In other words, you would vaporize this entire world of matter. He was convinced. He suggested that they do not set off the nuclear explosion. But he was overruled by some government people, they set off the nuclear explosion and it was limited to whatever radius it was at that time; a mile radius or whatever. And he told me, he is still convinced, it should have vaporized the universe. And I said, “Well, why hasn’t it?” He said he did not know. He thought that maybe God limited it.
Well, be that as it may, the point is, atoms are not eternal. They come to an end. Why? Because they are mind-formed, mind appearing as form. There are two types of flesh and one type of flesh is mind appearing as atoms which is then appearing as a physical body or matter formed. And everyone knows that this material body comes to an end, it is grass, it is dissolved, it goes back into the elements. That is the first type of flesh.
But there is another type of flesh and it is called the Word. The Word is made flesh and dwells among us. This type of flesh is eternal. We read in the original Infinite Way book, “the Word becomes flesh but it is still the Word.” It does not change its substance. Out of infinite Consciousness comes the Word and the Word appears as flesh. But when the Word appears as flesh, that flesh is eternal. Consciousness formed, Consciousness appearing as form is eternal life. This is the form that can disappear from inside the temple and reappear outside. This is the form that can walk on the water. This is the form that can levitate; rise above the tree line. This is the form that can disappear in India and appear in Africa . This is the form that Consciousness can lay down and pick up again at will. This is the form that Joel referred to in the Wisdoms when he said, “If you understood the real nature of life, you could lay down this form and pick it up again at will.”
This week some new and strange and wonderful insights have come and I would like to share them with you today. So we’ll do our best to get this across. Let’s start with the 1959 Letters, a portion of it.
There are certain principles of The Infinite Way which an advanced student should know and which will aid in freeing him from the wheel of life.
Now because of our previous talks, we should understand that the wheel of life is being incarnated into the mind’s mental image of a physical life. One of our recent talks called “The Impersonal Life” has to do with stepping out of that mental image and into an impersonal eternal life. So that is what he is referring to here: an advanced student should know these principles which will aid in freeing him from the wheel of life.
One of the most important of these principles is the principle that we are not in the body.
Do you remember that exercise that he gave us? He says it is the only exercise in The Infinite Way and that is the exercise where you look down at your toes and you say, “Am I in these toes? No. Am I in these feet? No. Am I in these ankles, these shins, these knees?” And you go up your body. “Am I in these thighs, am I in these organs, am I in the stomach? Am I in the waist, the chest?” Do you remember that exercise? He says to meditate on this until you get the feel that you are not in this body. So he is assuming that you have done that when he says, One of the most important of these principles is the principle that we are not in the body.
At this moment, that may not seem to be of too much importance, but sooner or later it will be realized that this is the ultimate and the deepest secret of life, and I am going to show you why today, and the one which produces the highest demonstration of spiritual living.
We do not live in our bodies, nor are we the body. I do not inhabit this body.
When the first glimmer that you do not live in your body comes to you, it causes you to look yourself up and down, in and out, when you are in meditation, and ultimately it will bring you to the realization, “Of course! I am not in these knees, in this stomach, in this chest, nor am I up here in the brain. I know that I am somewhere else.
Eventually you will begin to realize the nature of that word I and you will see that you have been finitizing the word I: You have been using it in a purely limited personal sense as if there were an “I” separate and apart from the I which is you, as if the I which is you were something separate from the I which is my identity.
When you catch a tiny glimpse of this truth that life is not entombed in the body, you will understand the meaning of the Resurrection. It is true that Jesus was entombed, that is, confined in a tomb, just as today it appears that human beings are confined to their bodies. But when the tomb was opened, was Jesus there? No, he had risen. The Christ, the divine Self, could not be entombed: The Christ, your divine Self, cannot be entombed in a body, and some day the realization must come to you, “I am not entombed in a body; I never was entombed in a body. I live and move and have my being in God—not in the tomb of a material concept. I abide in the word of God, and the word of God abides in me—not in the body.”
I received a talk this week from someone on Mystical Principles that had been typed up and it fell in beautifully with all of this. It is a talk by Herb Fitch and he gave another little exercise which is similar to the one we just looked at. I would like to repeat that because I tried it and it was wonderful. So, I am assuming you have your eyes closed and you are resting back in and on a Sea of Consciousness .
Lift your hands up over your head just for a moment and leave them there. Get a feel of this body, from the end of your fingertips to the bottom of your feet, the end of your toes. You see this body? You feel this body? This body was not made by God. This body cannot receive the things of God, is not under the law of God, neither indeed can be. This body that you are feeling right now; this is the mind appearing as form. This is a mental image which today is and tomorrow is cast unto the oven. This is the body in which you do not dwell.
You can put your arms down and now you have a sense of this body, don’t you; this mind appearing as a physical form? But this body, we have already agreed that I am not in this body. I—you can say this to yourself—I am not in this body. I am not in this form. I am not in this mental image. I am not in this mind picture.
Joel told us, “The single most important word in The Infinite Way is Consciousness.” In one of his books, ‘The Realization of Oneness’, he says this—and you need to listen as you have never listened before. He says:
I, myself am infinite divine consciousness. This is just as true of you as it is of me. So you can say it to yourself: I, myself am infinite divine consciousness.
There is a book out titled: “Consciousness Is What I Am.”
I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am not in this mental image of a body. I have never been in that body. That is a mental image. I am infinite Consciousness. That mental image is being presented to my consciousness but I am not in that body; that body is in me, in my consciousness.
Infinite divine Consciousness; one with the Father; one with infinity. Consciousness, which is what I am, is Omnipresence Itself, I am Omnipresence.
This week it has been revealed to me, Omnipresence does not mean I am everywhere. There is another meaning. Omnipresence means everywhere is I. Everywhere is right here in I. Not that I am everywhere but everywhere is in I. Right here, everywhere is right here, right now in I.
So what do we have? We have: I, myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am Omnipresence and everywhere is right here, right now in I. This little mental image, I am not in that; that’s made up of nothingness. God did not create it; it was not made. I am not in that. I myself am infinite omnipresent divine Consciousness.
Several years ago when I had the first glimpse of this, I was attending an Infinite Way class and we were on a break and I stepped outside. I looked and I saw the waves of the ocean, the Pacific Ocean and I felt the waves—all of them—inside of my consciousness and I felt my consciousness inside of the waves. Since there is only one consciousness, it is your consciousness also that is inside the waves and has the waves inside of it. You as consciousness, are inside of all that is and all that is, is inside of you. You as consciousness are right where that tiny leaf appears to be on the ground looking up at the clouds far above. You as consciousness are up over the clouds looking down at the patchwork quilt of our towns and cities.
Farther out, you are up above the earth looking down, as you have seen pictures from the space shuttle and the Hubble space telescope. Consciousness is Omnipresence and everywhere is present right now in the I that I am and I am looking down at planet earth and I see the seas and the land and I see the clouds floating past. I see almost an aura around the planet and I see the stars in the background and I see the moon off there on the side. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness.
Pulling back farther, I see the entire galaxy known as the Milky Way and I see Mercury and Venus and Earth and Mars and I see Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto and Planet X. I see the sun and I see the meteor belt. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness and all of this is within my Consciousness.
I pull back farther and I look and I behold galaxies; different shapes and sizes, millions, billions of suns and planets. I see Alpha Centauri, I see Pleiades, I see galaxies I’m not even aware of their names and yet I know their name—I. All of this is in my Consciousness and I am seeing all that I am.
I pull back farther and I discover there are multiple universes, parallel universes and I am in each and each is in I. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness—infinite! There is no end to what I am. I look and behold there are dimensions and I am on this plane, this plane is contained in my Consciousness and so are the other planes; the astral plane, spiritual planes, heavens.
“I knew a man once,” says Paul, “whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell but he was in the 7th heaven.” There are a multitude of states of heaven, states of consciousness. In my Father’s house are many mansions and all of these mansions are in my Father-Consciousnes s; the Consciousness that I am.
I discover that there is no space because all of this is contained in my Consciousness right here, right now. Omnipresence from one point of view means that I am everywhere but from this new point of view everywhere is here in the I that I am. Before I can even take this much of infinity in, I make the discovery that “Before Abraham was I am.” And I discover that this does not mean once upon a time I was. Oh, no! No, Omnipresence means everywhere is right now in my Consciousness, everywhere, right here, right now and it means every when is right here, right now in my Consciousness, before Abraham was, I am right now. Right now, before Abraham was, I am.
Right now in my Consciousness is the 17th century, the 15th, the 12th, 300 A.D., 200 B.C. Oh God, reveal to me the glory I had with Thee before the world was for I am there right now. Before the world was, before these mental images, before this mind creation of an earth, of matter, before this was ever made, before this was ever thought of, the glory I had with God is right now in my Consciousness.
I, right now, in my Consciousness am before the world was and I shall be with you unto the end of the world and after the end of this world, I am; not I will be. Before the world was, right now is in my Consciousness and I am standing there, and after the world ends I am right now and I am standing there in my Consciousness. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am infinite.
Everywhere is present right now within my Consciousness. Every when is present, right now within my Consciousness. Every one is present right now, within my Consciousness. The consciousness that appeared as Moses is right here in my Consciousness for we are one. The consciousness that appeared as Paul is right here now in my Consciousness for we are one. The consciousness that appeared as Yeshua, Jesus, is right here, right now in my Consciousness. The consciousness that appeared as Joel is right here, right now in my Consciousness. I am everywhere, I am every when, I am every one. My oneness with Consciousness constitutes my oneness with all that is, all that was, all that ever will be is right now in my Consciousness for these are one Consciousness. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness and Omnipresence is in my Consciousness, everywhere, every when, every one, I am.
Wednesday night, as a lay down to go to sleep, I asked, “Father speak for thy instrument heareth,” and this came to me: I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am everywhere, I am every when, I am every one and these are all one and that one is I am. And then so quietly I almost missed it, I heard this: I am not in a body, a mental image. I am every where, I am every when, I am every one. I am Omnipresent and I am infinite and I am not incarnated!
I sat up and I stared into the darkness. Oh my God! I am not incarnated. I am not incarnated. I am not incarnated. I have never incarnated, I cannot reincarnate. Everywhere, every when, every one, I, infinite I, cannot be confined in the tomb of mortality. I am not in that tomb. I am outside of that tomb. I have never been entombed. I cannot be entombed. I cannot be incarnated. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I cannot be entombed. Look, look again. I am outside of that.
I was never born, I cannot die. It’s time to rise up into that which I am. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am not in a tomb called mortality. That is a mental image; a nothingness. I am outside of it. I am everywhere, I am every when, I am all that is. I Am that I Am. I am the Word appearing as form and my form is eternal, made of My substance, of the substance that I am and I can lay it down and pick it up again. I can move it outside of this building. I can move it through walls. I can move it to other planets. I, yes even I, am God. There is no other.
Now, your job, my job, as the awakening ones, is to step out of mortality and into the immortality of our own Consciousness.
Let us look at something I saw for the first time this week. This is from a 1980 class given by Herb Fitch and he says:
Everything up to this moment has been all a part of your preparation to make a decision so earth-shattering, so unexpected that only the most dedicated student of Truth would even dare to accept the challenge that this decision requires—the supreme gift of all—the transition from a temporary creature to the full realization of the eternal Son of God while walking the earth.
This mortal illusion is a stone that must be rolled away. It is the paradox that prevents you from living now in your infinite kingdom, the Kingdom of God. You must realize your identity is Spirit, you are now Spirit and Spirit does not and cannot live in a human body. (Spirit we know is the ancient’s way of saying consciousness. ) Your identity is spiritual consciousness. You are now spiritual consciousness. Spiritual consciousness does not and cannot live in a human body. Spirit lives in a spiritual body and so until you are living consciously in your spiritual body (which is everywhere, every when, and every one) then you are rejecting your identity as spiritual consciousness and the result will be division, duality and separation, which is a violation of divine rule and from it flows the absence of the Power of God.
Finally, after problems that seemed endless, after mountains and valleys that will bring you the experience of death and reincarnation. Seems like a rather stupid end to life, doesn’t it? You may wonder about it, about why we have persisted in living in this wheel of reincarnation and ask ourselves what can we do about it and why has the world not done it up until now?
We must admit to ourselves that there are very, very few teachings on this earth that dare to face the cause of human failure and human death. But to you it must become as plain as the nose on your face. There’s only one reason: Man does not live in the body that God gave him and you and I have the option to do something about that.
We are discovering why God is no respecter of persons. Why they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Why the flesh profiteth nothing. To live in a body of flesh that dies or to live in spiritual consciousness that is imperishable, this is your decision. It’s either accept or reject your own spiritual consciousness and until you make that decision, you should know you are walking on a high trapeze with no netting below. Human beings who have not developed the capacity to live in their spiritual consciousness are called dead, dead branches which are cut off and withereth. For them the transition is impossible for they have no realized spiritual consciousness.
So you see the choice between transition or reincarnation is up to you. You have been given the power to decide whether you will be a dead corpse, which reincarnates or whether you will make your transition into the Kingdom of God.
Now, we are seeing, finally, at last, that Joel, that Herb, that Jesus, Paul and John have all told us: that we must make this transition. We must step out of the belief that we have ever been entombed in a mortal existence and we must come now, up higher into the conscious awareness of infinite divine Consciousness, everywhere, every when and all one. This is what I am—and you can say it to yourself—I myself am infinite divine Consciousness.
Now in your meditations, it is time to consciously step out of the mind appearing as form and come up into the Spirit, spiritual consciousness, the Word forming Itself. One is mortal and comes to an end; one is eternal, right here, right now on earth as it is in heaven. Which one do you want to live in?
I tell you another secret that was revealed to me this week. I say it is a secret but I am sure there are many that have known it. It has been a secret to me because I didn’t see it until this week, not consciously, and that secret revealed to me this week is this: We are making the transition, coming out of the mind and into spiritual consciousness. We are moving from the mind to Spirit.
If you recall in “Beyond Words and Thoughts,” in the chapter, “Truth Unveiled”, we were told plainly that the ascension is always the same; rising above the mind to the experience of Truth itself. So the transition, my friends, for all of us is moving out of the mind’s mental images of mortality into Spirit’s recognition of infinite divine Consciousness appearing as eternal forms. This is the transition. It is done within you. You must lay down this false life and pick up your immortal identity and you must do it consciously. So in your meditations, in my meditations, let us begin to do just this.
Let us start with the recognition that this body is a mental image not made by God. It is already nothingness. Let us move to the truth that I, myself am infinite divine Consciousness, everywhere, every when, all one I am.
Let us be still and watch I am reveal Itself. Let us be quiet and listen to the I am speaking the word. Let us enter the Silence. Let us take and really practice ceasing from this image of man whose breath is in his nostrils and enter the Silence, completely empty of that mortal existence. Let us stand still and see the I am reveal itself.
This is what came this week and I tell you it startled me to make the discovery that I myself am infinite divine Consciousness and I am not incarnated. That was an experience like John told us would come in Revelation where he said everything will be shaken out of its place. I’m telling you it was an earthquake. If you catch this, it will shatter some things. It will shatter the belief in mortality. I, myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am Omnipresence, I cannot incarnate, I am not incarnated. Right now, right here, I am not incarnated.
Oh my God! Then what is this, if not I? I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am Omnipresence itself. I am Omniscience. I am Omnipotence. I am that I am. I am not incarnated. I have never incarnated. I never will incarnate. Now be done with that. Be done with that and accept who you are. I am Consciousness.
Those who have attained this level of consciousness have left us the records we have so that we may go and do likewise. It was said also in this letter from Herb that this is receiving the Purple Robe of Christ Consciousness and that Joel received this purple robe just before he disappeared from sight. All of us must receive the purple robe of Christ Consciousness. This is our only destiny. This is our one goal. This is our inheritance.
Thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine because all that I am, thou art, because now you know thou art I am.
--
Oneness in Christ
www.mysticalprincip les.com
To: mysticalprinciples@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2007 11:31:55 PM
Subject: [mysticalprinciples] INFINITE DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS
INFINITE DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS....by Bill Skiles
Wednesday night, at 1:00 a.m. , I lay down on my bed and said, “Speak Father, thy servant heareth.” When I can remember to do that, the last thing at night, often something is revealed and no sooner had I rested in that statement, something came to me with such force that I couldn’t fall asleep. I sat there pondering it and looking at it. Is this true? Could this be? My God! And yes, yes, this scripture, that scripture; everything seemed to verify and corroborate what had been revealed. And that simple revelation, just really one line, four words; was quite startling and this talk today is going to be that which was revealed in that split second of receptivity. I consider this talk to be one of the most important I have ever made. And I ask that Consciousness guide the words so that the Word may be revealed.
Let us begin here. There are two types of flesh. There is the flesh that is grass which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven and perishes and that of course is our physical body. We come to the end of our days here on earth, the body is laid aside and it perishes. This is one type of flesh, physical flesh, matter it is called. And in this flesh, the scientists tell us, are whirling atoms. They tell us that atoms make up everything and so this physical form, this flesh is made up of atoms.
I tell you something quite interesting to me, way back in 1978-79, I hopped into a jet airline and I flew across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii and then I took a smaller plane over to Kauai and then I drove up to Hanalei Bay and I pulled into the driveway of Herb Fitch’s house. I did this because when I heard one of his talks, I knew I had to spend some time with him. I knew that this was Spirit revealing itself through this individual, through this individual’s consciousness or through Consciousness appearing as this individual. So I walked into his house and we went back to his study and we had a meditation. I did not tell him that I was thinking about atoms and their relationship to things. After the meditation he said, “I feel I must show you something.” He pulled a book down off of his shelf and it was a book about atoms. He opened the book and showed me some pictures. In the first picture there was what is called a nucleus or a neutron and a proton, and in the next picture there was an electron whirling around the nucleus. And in the next picture it was shown how most of what makes up an atom is empty space. This electron whirling around at unmanageable speeds creates the illusion of substance. It creates an illusion of matter. I can’t remember the exact conversation or what Herb said exactly, but I remember the feeling and it was: atoms are an illusion.
Since then I have taken that and looked at it every which way and pondered it and meditated, asked for guidance and I see clearly now, I understand. Mind appears as atoms. It is mind appearing as flesh; mind appearing as form. But there is no substance to that form. It is simply mind showing us an image. Even the scientists know that this is correct.
I have a book on my shelf called “The Zen of Quantum Physics” and I may get some of the terms wrong because I am not a quantum physicist but I have the general sense of what that books says and it states that when they sent some, I believe it was protons, part of an atom, down a tunnel, when they did not watch, it turned to the left; it went down the tunnel and forked to the left, took the left channel. But when they observed the movement, it took the channel to the right. Scientists, quantum physicists, to their great amazement, discovered atoms and protons and electrons, they respond to the observer. Because they tried this experiment several times and every time it was the same result. The mind looking at them had an effect, they responded to the observer. This scientist that wrote this book put forth the hypothesis, ‘that which we see in life responds to our awareness or our unawareness.” In other words, it responds to our state of consciousness.
From this I gathered that mind appears as atoms which are essentially space; very minute particles which are really mental images and respond to the mind. So mind appearing as flesh is the body that dies. In Texas , there is a huge machine, a huge building, and in it there is an atom smasher. This is how we know that atoms were not created by God. Because you could not smash one nor could you split one with an atomic bomb.
I knew a physicist when I was a young man and he was the man that gave me the first book I ever had of The Infinite Way called, ‘The Art of Meditation.’ Don was his name. Don was quite an interesting fellow. He was a physicist. He worked for the United States Government. He helped work on the project—the Manhattan project,—anyway, he helped work on the first atomic bomb and as a physicist, he told me—and I looked into his eyes, he was not lying—he told me that they were divided. Half of the physicists that worked on that project felt that if they split the atom there would be a limited effect, it would have a stopping point. It would have a chain reaction in other atoms in the universe but it would stop at a certain level. However, the other half of the physicists—and Don was one of them—were convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that if you split the atom, it would have a chain reaction throughout the universe until every atom was split. In other words, you would vaporize this entire world of matter. He was convinced. He suggested that they do not set off the nuclear explosion. But he was overruled by some government people, they set off the nuclear explosion and it was limited to whatever radius it was at that time; a mile radius or whatever. And he told me, he is still convinced, it should have vaporized the universe. And I said, “Well, why hasn’t it?” He said he did not know. He thought that maybe God limited it.
Well, be that as it may, the point is, atoms are not eternal. They come to an end. Why? Because they are mind-formed, mind appearing as form. There are two types of flesh and one type of flesh is mind appearing as atoms which is then appearing as a physical body or matter formed. And everyone knows that this material body comes to an end, it is grass, it is dissolved, it goes back into the elements. That is the first type of flesh.
But there is another type of flesh and it is called the Word. The Word is made flesh and dwells among us. This type of flesh is eternal. We read in the original Infinite Way book, “the Word becomes flesh but it is still the Word.” It does not change its substance. Out of infinite Consciousness comes the Word and the Word appears as flesh. But when the Word appears as flesh, that flesh is eternal. Consciousness formed, Consciousness appearing as form is eternal life. This is the form that can disappear from inside the temple and reappear outside. This is the form that can walk on the water. This is the form that can levitate; rise above the tree line. This is the form that can disappear in India and appear in Africa . This is the form that Consciousness can lay down and pick up again at will. This is the form that Joel referred to in the Wisdoms when he said, “If you understood the real nature of life, you could lay down this form and pick it up again at will.”
This week some new and strange and wonderful insights have come and I would like to share them with you today. So we’ll do our best to get this across. Let’s start with the 1959 Letters, a portion of it.
There are certain principles of The Infinite Way which an advanced student should know and which will aid in freeing him from the wheel of life.
Now because of our previous talks, we should understand that the wheel of life is being incarnated into the mind’s mental image of a physical life. One of our recent talks called “The Impersonal Life” has to do with stepping out of that mental image and into an impersonal eternal life. So that is what he is referring to here: an advanced student should know these principles which will aid in freeing him from the wheel of life.
One of the most important of these principles is the principle that we are not in the body.
Do you remember that exercise that he gave us? He says it is the only exercise in The Infinite Way and that is the exercise where you look down at your toes and you say, “Am I in these toes? No. Am I in these feet? No. Am I in these ankles, these shins, these knees?” And you go up your body. “Am I in these thighs, am I in these organs, am I in the stomach? Am I in the waist, the chest?” Do you remember that exercise? He says to meditate on this until you get the feel that you are not in this body. So he is assuming that you have done that when he says, One of the most important of these principles is the principle that we are not in the body.
At this moment, that may not seem to be of too much importance, but sooner or later it will be realized that this is the ultimate and the deepest secret of life, and I am going to show you why today, and the one which produces the highest demonstration of spiritual living.
We do not live in our bodies, nor are we the body. I do not inhabit this body.
When the first glimmer that you do not live in your body comes to you, it causes you to look yourself up and down, in and out, when you are in meditation, and ultimately it will bring you to the realization, “Of course! I am not in these knees, in this stomach, in this chest, nor am I up here in the brain. I know that I am somewhere else.
Eventually you will begin to realize the nature of that word I and you will see that you have been finitizing the word I: You have been using it in a purely limited personal sense as if there were an “I” separate and apart from the I which is you, as if the I which is you were something separate from the I which is my identity.
When you catch a tiny glimpse of this truth that life is not entombed in the body, you will understand the meaning of the Resurrection. It is true that Jesus was entombed, that is, confined in a tomb, just as today it appears that human beings are confined to their bodies. But when the tomb was opened, was Jesus there? No, he had risen. The Christ, the divine Self, could not be entombed: The Christ, your divine Self, cannot be entombed in a body, and some day the realization must come to you, “I am not entombed in a body; I never was entombed in a body. I live and move and have my being in God—not in the tomb of a material concept. I abide in the word of God, and the word of God abides in me—not in the body.”
I received a talk this week from someone on Mystical Principles that had been typed up and it fell in beautifully with all of this. It is a talk by Herb Fitch and he gave another little exercise which is similar to the one we just looked at. I would like to repeat that because I tried it and it was wonderful. So, I am assuming you have your eyes closed and you are resting back in and on a Sea of Consciousness .
Lift your hands up over your head just for a moment and leave them there. Get a feel of this body, from the end of your fingertips to the bottom of your feet, the end of your toes. You see this body? You feel this body? This body was not made by God. This body cannot receive the things of God, is not under the law of God, neither indeed can be. This body that you are feeling right now; this is the mind appearing as form. This is a mental image which today is and tomorrow is cast unto the oven. This is the body in which you do not dwell.
You can put your arms down and now you have a sense of this body, don’t you; this mind appearing as a physical form? But this body, we have already agreed that I am not in this body. I—you can say this to yourself—I am not in this body. I am not in this form. I am not in this mental image. I am not in this mind picture.
Joel told us, “The single most important word in The Infinite Way is Consciousness.” In one of his books, ‘The Realization of Oneness’, he says this—and you need to listen as you have never listened before. He says:
I, myself am infinite divine consciousness. This is just as true of you as it is of me. So you can say it to yourself: I, myself am infinite divine consciousness.
There is a book out titled: “Consciousness Is What I Am.”
I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am not in this mental image of a body. I have never been in that body. That is a mental image. I am infinite Consciousness. That mental image is being presented to my consciousness but I am not in that body; that body is in me, in my consciousness.
Infinite divine Consciousness; one with the Father; one with infinity. Consciousness, which is what I am, is Omnipresence Itself, I am Omnipresence.
This week it has been revealed to me, Omnipresence does not mean I am everywhere. There is another meaning. Omnipresence means everywhere is I. Everywhere is right here in I. Not that I am everywhere but everywhere is in I. Right here, everywhere is right here, right now in I.
So what do we have? We have: I, myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am Omnipresence and everywhere is right here, right now in I. This little mental image, I am not in that; that’s made up of nothingness. God did not create it; it was not made. I am not in that. I myself am infinite omnipresent divine Consciousness.
Several years ago when I had the first glimpse of this, I was attending an Infinite Way class and we were on a break and I stepped outside. I looked and I saw the waves of the ocean, the Pacific Ocean and I felt the waves—all of them—inside of my consciousness and I felt my consciousness inside of the waves. Since there is only one consciousness, it is your consciousness also that is inside the waves and has the waves inside of it. You as consciousness, are inside of all that is and all that is, is inside of you. You as consciousness are right where that tiny leaf appears to be on the ground looking up at the clouds far above. You as consciousness are up over the clouds looking down at the patchwork quilt of our towns and cities.
Farther out, you are up above the earth looking down, as you have seen pictures from the space shuttle and the Hubble space telescope. Consciousness is Omnipresence and everywhere is present right now in the I that I am and I am looking down at planet earth and I see the seas and the land and I see the clouds floating past. I see almost an aura around the planet and I see the stars in the background and I see the moon off there on the side. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness.
Pulling back farther, I see the entire galaxy known as the Milky Way and I see Mercury and Venus and Earth and Mars and I see Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto and Planet X. I see the sun and I see the meteor belt. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness and all of this is within my Consciousness.
I pull back farther and I look and I behold galaxies; different shapes and sizes, millions, billions of suns and planets. I see Alpha Centauri, I see Pleiades, I see galaxies I’m not even aware of their names and yet I know their name—I. All of this is in my Consciousness and I am seeing all that I am.
I pull back farther and I discover there are multiple universes, parallel universes and I am in each and each is in I. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness—infinite! There is no end to what I am. I look and behold there are dimensions and I am on this plane, this plane is contained in my Consciousness and so are the other planes; the astral plane, spiritual planes, heavens.
“I knew a man once,” says Paul, “whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell but he was in the 7th heaven.” There are a multitude of states of heaven, states of consciousness. In my Father’s house are many mansions and all of these mansions are in my Father-Consciousnes s; the Consciousness that I am.
I discover that there is no space because all of this is contained in my Consciousness right here, right now. Omnipresence from one point of view means that I am everywhere but from this new point of view everywhere is here in the I that I am. Before I can even take this much of infinity in, I make the discovery that “Before Abraham was I am.” And I discover that this does not mean once upon a time I was. Oh, no! No, Omnipresence means everywhere is right now in my Consciousness, everywhere, right here, right now and it means every when is right here, right now in my Consciousness, before Abraham was, I am right now. Right now, before Abraham was, I am.
Right now in my Consciousness is the 17th century, the 15th, the 12th, 300 A.D., 200 B.C. Oh God, reveal to me the glory I had with Thee before the world was for I am there right now. Before the world was, before these mental images, before this mind creation of an earth, of matter, before this was ever made, before this was ever thought of, the glory I had with God is right now in my Consciousness.
I, right now, in my Consciousness am before the world was and I shall be with you unto the end of the world and after the end of this world, I am; not I will be. Before the world was, right now is in my Consciousness and I am standing there, and after the world ends I am right now and I am standing there in my Consciousness. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am infinite.
Everywhere is present right now within my Consciousness. Every when is present, right now within my Consciousness. Every one is present right now, within my Consciousness. The consciousness that appeared as Moses is right here in my Consciousness for we are one. The consciousness that appeared as Paul is right here now in my Consciousness for we are one. The consciousness that appeared as Yeshua, Jesus, is right here, right now in my Consciousness. The consciousness that appeared as Joel is right here, right now in my Consciousness. I am everywhere, I am every when, I am every one. My oneness with Consciousness constitutes my oneness with all that is, all that was, all that ever will be is right now in my Consciousness for these are one Consciousness. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness and Omnipresence is in my Consciousness, everywhere, every when, every one, I am.
Wednesday night, as a lay down to go to sleep, I asked, “Father speak for thy instrument heareth,” and this came to me: I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am everywhere, I am every when, I am every one and these are all one and that one is I am. And then so quietly I almost missed it, I heard this: I am not in a body, a mental image. I am every where, I am every when, I am every one. I am Omnipresent and I am infinite and I am not incarnated!
I sat up and I stared into the darkness. Oh my God! I am not incarnated. I am not incarnated. I am not incarnated. I have never incarnated, I cannot reincarnate. Everywhere, every when, every one, I, infinite I, cannot be confined in the tomb of mortality. I am not in that tomb. I am outside of that tomb. I have never been entombed. I cannot be entombed. I cannot be incarnated. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I cannot be entombed. Look, look again. I am outside of that.
I was never born, I cannot die. It’s time to rise up into that which I am. I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am not in a tomb called mortality. That is a mental image; a nothingness. I am outside of it. I am everywhere, I am every when, I am all that is. I Am that I Am. I am the Word appearing as form and my form is eternal, made of My substance, of the substance that I am and I can lay it down and pick it up again. I can move it outside of this building. I can move it through walls. I can move it to other planets. I, yes even I, am God. There is no other.
Now, your job, my job, as the awakening ones, is to step out of mortality and into the immortality of our own Consciousness.
Let us look at something I saw for the first time this week. This is from a 1980 class given by Herb Fitch and he says:
Everything up to this moment has been all a part of your preparation to make a decision so earth-shattering, so unexpected that only the most dedicated student of Truth would even dare to accept the challenge that this decision requires—the supreme gift of all—the transition from a temporary creature to the full realization of the eternal Son of God while walking the earth.
This mortal illusion is a stone that must be rolled away. It is the paradox that prevents you from living now in your infinite kingdom, the Kingdom of God. You must realize your identity is Spirit, you are now Spirit and Spirit does not and cannot live in a human body. (Spirit we know is the ancient’s way of saying consciousness. ) Your identity is spiritual consciousness. You are now spiritual consciousness. Spiritual consciousness does not and cannot live in a human body. Spirit lives in a spiritual body and so until you are living consciously in your spiritual body (which is everywhere, every when, and every one) then you are rejecting your identity as spiritual consciousness and the result will be division, duality and separation, which is a violation of divine rule and from it flows the absence of the Power of God.
Finally, after problems that seemed endless, after mountains and valleys that will bring you the experience of death and reincarnation. Seems like a rather stupid end to life, doesn’t it? You may wonder about it, about why we have persisted in living in this wheel of reincarnation and ask ourselves what can we do about it and why has the world not done it up until now?
We must admit to ourselves that there are very, very few teachings on this earth that dare to face the cause of human failure and human death. But to you it must become as plain as the nose on your face. There’s only one reason: Man does not live in the body that God gave him and you and I have the option to do something about that.
We are discovering why God is no respecter of persons. Why they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Why the flesh profiteth nothing. To live in a body of flesh that dies or to live in spiritual consciousness that is imperishable, this is your decision. It’s either accept or reject your own spiritual consciousness and until you make that decision, you should know you are walking on a high trapeze with no netting below. Human beings who have not developed the capacity to live in their spiritual consciousness are called dead, dead branches which are cut off and withereth. For them the transition is impossible for they have no realized spiritual consciousness.
So you see the choice between transition or reincarnation is up to you. You have been given the power to decide whether you will be a dead corpse, which reincarnates or whether you will make your transition into the Kingdom of God.
Now, we are seeing, finally, at last, that Joel, that Herb, that Jesus, Paul and John have all told us: that we must make this transition. We must step out of the belief that we have ever been entombed in a mortal existence and we must come now, up higher into the conscious awareness of infinite divine Consciousness, everywhere, every when and all one. This is what I am—and you can say it to yourself—I myself am infinite divine Consciousness.
Now in your meditations, it is time to consciously step out of the mind appearing as form and come up into the Spirit, spiritual consciousness, the Word forming Itself. One is mortal and comes to an end; one is eternal, right here, right now on earth as it is in heaven. Which one do you want to live in?
I tell you another secret that was revealed to me this week. I say it is a secret but I am sure there are many that have known it. It has been a secret to me because I didn’t see it until this week, not consciously, and that secret revealed to me this week is this: We are making the transition, coming out of the mind and into spiritual consciousness. We are moving from the mind to Spirit.
If you recall in “Beyond Words and Thoughts,” in the chapter, “Truth Unveiled”, we were told plainly that the ascension is always the same; rising above the mind to the experience of Truth itself. So the transition, my friends, for all of us is moving out of the mind’s mental images of mortality into Spirit’s recognition of infinite divine Consciousness appearing as eternal forms. This is the transition. It is done within you. You must lay down this false life and pick up your immortal identity and you must do it consciously. So in your meditations, in my meditations, let us begin to do just this.
Let us start with the recognition that this body is a mental image not made by God. It is already nothingness. Let us move to the truth that I, myself am infinite divine Consciousness, everywhere, every when, all one I am.
Let us be still and watch I am reveal Itself. Let us be quiet and listen to the I am speaking the word. Let us enter the Silence. Let us take and really practice ceasing from this image of man whose breath is in his nostrils and enter the Silence, completely empty of that mortal existence. Let us stand still and see the I am reveal itself.
This is what came this week and I tell you it startled me to make the discovery that I myself am infinite divine Consciousness and I am not incarnated. That was an experience like John told us would come in Revelation where he said everything will be shaken out of its place. I’m telling you it was an earthquake. If you catch this, it will shatter some things. It will shatter the belief in mortality. I, myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am Omnipresence, I cannot incarnate, I am not incarnated. Right now, right here, I am not incarnated.
Oh my God! Then what is this, if not I? I myself am infinite divine Consciousness. I am Omnipresence itself. I am Omniscience. I am Omnipotence. I am that I am. I am not incarnated. I have never incarnated. I never will incarnate. Now be done with that. Be done with that and accept who you are. I am Consciousness.
Those who have attained this level of consciousness have left us the records we have so that we may go and do likewise. It was said also in this letter from Herb that this is receiving the Purple Robe of Christ Consciousness and that Joel received this purple robe just before he disappeared from sight. All of us must receive the purple robe of Christ Consciousness. This is our only destiny. This is our one goal. This is our inheritance.
Thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine because all that I am, thou art, because now you know thou art I am.
--
Oneness in Christ
www.mysticalprincip les.com
A New Earth ...
When you think, feel, perceive, and experience consciousness is born into form. It is reincarnating—into a thought, a feeling, a sense perception, an experience. The cycle of rebirths that Buddhists hope to get out of eventually is happening continuously, and it is only at this moment—through the power of Now—that you can get out of it. Through complete acceptance of the form of the Now, you become internally aligned with space, which is the essence of Now. Through acceptance, you become spacious inside. Aligned with space instead of form: That brings true perspective and balance into your life.
Eckhart Tolle
A New Earth
P252-3
Eckhart Tolle
A New Earth
P252-3
Gospel of Thomas ...
'"Jesus said to them, 'When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside... then will you enter the Kingdom.'
life without a center ...
The self arises. Let it be. It is an illusion, after all, a construction of thought. You are prior to that construction, you are the awareness in which the construction arises. You are the awareness in which "you" arises. This is not clever wordplay but the actuality of things--look for yourself right now. Meditate on it. Come back to the present experience (this is true meditation). Is there anything solid there called self? Is there any clear distinction between you and not you? Where is the boundary? Are "you" contained in the skin surrounding the body? Is that what you experience yourself as?
Come back to the present experience! Without reference to the past, can you know who you are? Can you say who you are, really?
p.83
The primary delusion of human consciousness: "I am a person, in the world."
I am not in the world. Rather the world is in me. But to say, "The world is in me" implies that there may be things, events, places outside of me. No, all things are inside me. There is nothing, no thing outside. And so no inside either because outside can only be known in reference to inside.
And so there is no me (because I have no inside and no outside), and no things. Only this. There was never any separation in the first place. There was never any "me" separate from all things. That was an illusion.
p.139
life without a center
jeff foster
nonduality press 2007
Come back to the present experience! Without reference to the past, can you know who you are? Can you say who you are, really?
p.83
The primary delusion of human consciousness: "I am a person, in the world."
I am not in the world. Rather the world is in me. But to say, "The world is in me" implies that there may be things, events, places outside of me. No, all things are inside me. There is nothing, no thing outside. And so no inside either because outside can only be known in reference to inside.
And so there is no me (because I have no inside and no outside), and no things. Only this. There was never any separation in the first place. There was never any "me" separate from all things. That was an illusion.
p.139
life without a center
jeff foster
nonduality press 2007
God and man....
God is never identified with any man, nor incarnated in him. For God alone is uniquely the Unindividuated whereas all men are individualized creatures. Even the highest type of man, the sage-saviour, is a particular light, whereas God is the light itself..............Paul Brunton
The Outrageous Myths of Enlightenment...
There is this absolute, infinite, undivided awareness until the first
thought is born: the thought 'I'. When the I-thought is born, the
world is born. The world is 'not I'. The I-thought is the birth of
fear and desire. Before I am, All is. Who is there to have fear and
desire before I am? Truly, what I AM is before, during and after the
arising of the I-thought. Are there any words for it? The body is a
flowing series of sensations. The mind is a flowing series of images.
What is witnessing these sensation and images? What is witnessing
this body and mind? You are. Who are you?
The Outrageous Myths of Enlightenment
Stephan Wingate
P18-19
thought is born: the thought 'I'. When the I-thought is born, the
world is born. The world is 'not I'. The I-thought is the birth of
fear and desire. Before I am, All is. Who is there to have fear and
desire before I am? Truly, what I AM is before, during and after the
arising of the I-thought. Are there any words for it? The body is a
flowing series of sensations. The mind is a flowing series of images.
What is witnessing these sensation and images? What is witnessing
this body and mind? You are. Who are you?
The Outrageous Myths of Enlightenment
Stephan Wingate
P18-19
The Allness of God...
"I and my Father are one and ALL that the Father hath IS mine"
All -- all of thy presence, all of thy love, all of thy wisdom, all
of thy grace -- not just a tiny bit of it, all of it!
From the Art of Meditation: p. 21
"Any meditation that has within itself a single trace of a desire to
get something from God or to acquire something through God is no
longer meditation. Good is to be REALIZED, yes, but not to be
achieved: the infinity of good is already where I am; the kingdom of
God is within me. Locked up inside of our being is the presence and
power of God, the whole of the Godhead, just as perfume is locked up
in a flower. As the flower opens the perfume or the fragrance
escapes. Everyone has the allness of the Godhead locked up within
his own being--not just a part of it. God cannot be divided; God is
indivisible. God is infinite but God is indivisible. The allness of
God is in one tiny leaf--in every leaf: the allness of God is in
every individual on the face of the globe. Were this not true, there
would have been less of God on earth when the population was only 10
per cent of what it is today, and by the same token, there would be
twice as much of God on earth when the population is double. No,
there was just as much of God in the world a million years ago as
there will be a million years hence. THE INFINITE ALLNESS OF GOD IS
WHEREVER ONE INDIVIDUAL IS. That is why it is said that one Christ
Jesus can lead a million people into heaven, because one Christ Jesus
is the infinite individual Son of God and shows forth all that God
is. "Son, thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine" is not
addressed to a group but to an individual. God in Its infinite
allness, is embodied in the Son of God, in whom is our spiritual
identity. As we learn to turn within and let this imprisoned perfume
escape-this activity of the Christ, this beauty of God-then does it
come into visible being.
*******************
I once read somewhere that the original meaning of INDIVIDUAL
is "unable to be divided."
Love Kim
All -- all of thy presence, all of thy love, all of thy wisdom, all
of thy grace -- not just a tiny bit of it, all of it!
From the Art of Meditation: p. 21
"Any meditation that has within itself a single trace of a desire to
get something from God or to acquire something through God is no
longer meditation. Good is to be REALIZED, yes, but not to be
achieved: the infinity of good is already where I am; the kingdom of
God is within me. Locked up inside of our being is the presence and
power of God, the whole of the Godhead, just as perfume is locked up
in a flower. As the flower opens the perfume or the fragrance
escapes. Everyone has the allness of the Godhead locked up within
his own being--not just a part of it. God cannot be divided; God is
indivisible. God is infinite but God is indivisible. The allness of
God is in one tiny leaf--in every leaf: the allness of God is in
every individual on the face of the globe. Were this not true, there
would have been less of God on earth when the population was only 10
per cent of what it is today, and by the same token, there would be
twice as much of God on earth when the population is double. No,
there was just as much of God in the world a million years ago as
there will be a million years hence. THE INFINITE ALLNESS OF GOD IS
WHEREVER ONE INDIVIDUAL IS. That is why it is said that one Christ
Jesus can lead a million people into heaven, because one Christ Jesus
is the infinite individual Son of God and shows forth all that God
is. "Son, thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine" is not
addressed to a group but to an individual. God in Its infinite
allness, is embodied in the Son of God, in whom is our spiritual
identity. As we learn to turn within and let this imprisoned perfume
escape-this activity of the Christ, this beauty of God-then does it
come into visible being.
*******************
I once read somewhere that the original meaning of INDIVIDUAL
is "unable to be divided."
Love Kim
My Kingdom is not of this world....
I hope my stupidity will be of help to someone, who reads this. Last
night, I was meditating on the relationship between my body, my
consciousness, and God. I didn't get anywhere, so I started again this
morning. I was trying to figure out where my body was in relationship
to my consciousness & God. Then it came "God is not in the illusion!"
There I was, trying to get God into the dream.
Then I remembered Joel's talk about "where am I?". When you search your
body from head to toe to find yourself. I realized, that I am not in my
body! I have been trying to bring God inside my body?
We hear things, yet we do not hear!!
God Bless
Paul
night, I was meditating on the relationship between my body, my
consciousness, and God. I didn't get anywhere, so I started again this
morning. I was trying to figure out where my body was in relationship
to my consciousness & God. Then it came "God is not in the illusion!"
There I was, trying to get God into the dream.
Then I remembered Joel's talk about "where am I?". When you search your
body from head to toe to find yourself. I realized, that I am not in my
body! I have been trying to bring God inside my body?
We hear things, yet we do not hear!!
God Bless
Paul
Time....
Changes in the functioning of man's mind could bring about such
complete changes in his sense of time that he could veritably find
himself imbued with the sense of eternity. This continuous flux of time
which to us seems to go on forever, to them is but an illusion produced
by the succession of our thoughts. For them, there is only the Eternal
Now, never-ending.............Paul Brunton
complete changes in his sense of time that he could veritably find
himself imbued with the sense of eternity. This continuous flux of time
which to us seems to go on forever, to them is but an illusion produced
by the succession of our thoughts. For them, there is only the Eternal
Now, never-ending.............Paul Brunton
Ashtavakra Gita...
You do not consist of any of the elements -- earth, water, fire, air,
or even ether.
To be liberated, know yourself as consisting of consciousness, the
witness of these.
If only you will remain resting in consciousness, seeing yourself as
distinct from the body,
then even now you will become happy, peaceful and free from bonds.
-- Oneness in Christ
www.mysticalprinciples.com
or even ether.
To be liberated, know yourself as consisting of consciousness, the
witness of these.
If only you will remain resting in consciousness, seeing yourself as
distinct from the body,
then even now you will become happy, peaceful and free from bonds.
-- Oneness in Christ
www.mysticalprinciples.com
Time.........
Changes in the functioning of man's mind could bring about such complete changes in his sense of time that he could veritably find himself imbued with the sense of eternity. This continuous flux of time which to us seems to go on forever, to them is but an illusion produced by the succession of our thoughts. For them, there is only the Eternal Now, never-ending.............Paul Brunton
Addictions....
Addictive behavior is the conscious mind training the sub-conscious
mind to think in a controlled manner... the sub-conscious mind is the
servant of the conscious mind and seeks to bring into manifestation
any thought of the conscious mind , especially when the conscious
mind thinks with emotion... If the conscious mind believes that it
recieves pleasure from an activity then the sub-conscious mind will
act with power to re-manifest this activity... you must retrain the
sub-conscious mind consistently with the thought of pain instead of
pleasure with the non-wanted activity to retrain the sub-conscious
mind to achieve the wanted end...................namaste, thomas
mind to think in a controlled manner... the sub-conscious mind is the
servant of the conscious mind and seeks to bring into manifestation
any thought of the conscious mind , especially when the conscious
mind thinks with emotion... If the conscious mind believes that it
recieves pleasure from an activity then the sub-conscious mind will
act with power to re-manifest this activity... you must retrain the
sub-conscious mind consistently with the thought of pain instead of
pleasure with the non-wanted activity to retrain the sub-conscious
mind to achieve the wanted end...................namaste, thomas
Stages of Spiritual Development...
Life on the spiritual path can be divided into three major
periods: the first a very pleasant one, the second not quite
so comfortable, and the third not only pleasant but satisfying.
The first stage is pleasant because our thoughts are centered
primarily on changing conditions of evil, error, discord, and
inharmony into more harmonious conditions, and as many of
us have discovered, some of these changes do take place...
...The second stage is probably the longest period, and the most
difficult one. This is because in the second stage we are living
in two worlds. We have glimpsed something of the nature of
Reality, and something of the unreal nature of the phenomenal
world, gradually leading us to a state of consciousness where
we do not quickly run for an aspirin the moment we have a
cold, or immediately consult a doctor when something more
serious develops. We have little or no fear about these disturbing
conditions...
...Once we get past the second stage, which may be anywhere
from our second to twenty-second year of study, we begin to
enjoy life because now we are so completely removed from the
hates and fears of this world and from any doubts of the principles
we may have had that we can live this double life without any
reaction to ourselves...
...As a matter of fact, much more is demanded of us in
this third stage because others begin to seek us out for help,
but every problem that is brought to us is just another opportunity
for the living of the consciousness that we have attained, and at
this stage of consciousness it does not strike us as a problem."
-- Joel Goldsmith, "Realization of Oneness"
periods: the first a very pleasant one, the second not quite
so comfortable, and the third not only pleasant but satisfying.
The first stage is pleasant because our thoughts are centered
primarily on changing conditions of evil, error, discord, and
inharmony into more harmonious conditions, and as many of
us have discovered, some of these changes do take place...
...The second stage is probably the longest period, and the most
difficult one. This is because in the second stage we are living
in two worlds. We have glimpsed something of the nature of
Reality, and something of the unreal nature of the phenomenal
world, gradually leading us to a state of consciousness where
we do not quickly run for an aspirin the moment we have a
cold, or immediately consult a doctor when something more
serious develops. We have little or no fear about these disturbing
conditions...
...Once we get past the second stage, which may be anywhere
from our second to twenty-second year of study, we begin to
enjoy life because now we are so completely removed from the
hates and fears of this world and from any doubts of the principles
we may have had that we can live this double life without any
reaction to ourselves...
...As a matter of fact, much more is demanded of us in
this third stage because others begin to seek us out for help,
but every problem that is brought to us is just another opportunity
for the living of the consciousness that we have attained, and at
this stage of consciousness it does not strike us as a problem."
-- Joel Goldsmith, "Realization of Oneness"
Who is Krishna ?
Who is Krishna in the Gita? He's the perfect warrior compared to Arjuna's merely great warrior. The truth of self compared to false self. Arjuna is mighty, but he can still be bested. Not so Krishna. The perfect warrior is untouchable and unsurvivable. No sword can touch him and nothing can endure the touch of his. The Gita is the dialogue between the false self and the true state; the bridging of the paradigm gap. To say that Krishna is God is to completely miss the real point of the Bhagavad-Gita. Krishna is the truth. Arjuna is the untruth. The prize to be won in this battle is not wealth or fame or power, but the transition from untrue to true, from dream to awake, from delusion to reality.
Truth is beyond opposites. Duality is a dream. It's not a yin-yang relationship; it's one or the other. The truth contains no element of the false and the false contains no truth. There is only truth and illusion, and within illusion there is only fear and denial. Fear of truth is the foundation upon which Maya's Palace of Delusion is erected. She has no power but that we give her. Denial of fear is the motivation underlying all activities in which humans engage. This is Vanity in the biblical sense: I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. We must constantly project the illusion of self because if we don't, we aren't.
Jed McKenna
Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment
p.217
Truth is beyond opposites. Duality is a dream. It's not a yin-yang relationship; it's one or the other. The truth contains no element of the false and the false contains no truth. There is only truth and illusion, and within illusion there is only fear and denial. Fear of truth is the foundation upon which Maya's Palace of Delusion is erected. She has no power but that we give her. Denial of fear is the motivation underlying all activities in which humans engage. This is Vanity in the biblical sense: I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. We must constantly project the illusion of self because if we don't, we aren't.
Jed McKenna
Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment
p.217
What is God ?..... Who are We ?
What is God? God is Light; God is Life; God is Love. You see Light;
you are given some experience of Light, whether it is little or
more. You feel consciousness and you feel a little separate from the
body. You begin to see. Now we say, "It is my body;" but we do not
see it differentiated practically. But then, really we will
say, "This is something like a coat, to be taken off." Naturally,
God is Love and we are drops of the Ocean of All Love. Naturally,
Love is innate in us. That sprouts forth; and as it comes in contact
with that God-into-Expression Power, which is Light and Sound
Principle, it overflows. This is the state of affairs - this is the
disease, you might say, that we are to set right. For this purpose
we have joined various schools of thought called religions, which
are means to the end.
Who are we? We are children of Light under the control of mind and
the outgoing faculties. We are so identified with the body and the
outside things that we have forgotten our own Selves, what to speak
of that Great Power which is controlling each one of us in the man-
body; otherwise we could have run away, out of the body. We cannot.
There are the two open eyes, two open ears, two open nostrils, the
open mouth; but we cannot run away, out of the body. That is because
of the Controlling Power within us...................by Sant Kirpal Singh
you are given some experience of Light, whether it is little or
more. You feel consciousness and you feel a little separate from the
body. You begin to see. Now we say, "It is my body;" but we do not
see it differentiated practically. But then, really we will
say, "This is something like a coat, to be taken off." Naturally,
God is Love and we are drops of the Ocean of All Love. Naturally,
Love is innate in us. That sprouts forth; and as it comes in contact
with that God-into-Expression Power, which is Light and Sound
Principle, it overflows. This is the state of affairs - this is the
disease, you might say, that we are to set right. For this purpose
we have joined various schools of thought called religions, which
are means to the end.
Who are we? We are children of Light under the control of mind and
the outgoing faculties. We are so identified with the body and the
outside things that we have forgotten our own Selves, what to speak
of that Great Power which is controlling each one of us in the man-
body; otherwise we could have run away, out of the body. We cannot.
There are the two open eyes, two open ears, two open nostrils, the
open mouth; but we cannot run away, out of the body. That is because
of the Controlling Power within us...................by Sant Kirpal Singh
To be the Witness...
To be the witness is the first stage; to be Witness of the witness
is the next; but to BE is the final one. For consciousness lets go of
the witness in the end. Consciousness alone is itself the real
experience..........Paul Brunton
is the next; but to BE is the final one. For consciousness lets go of
the witness in the end. Consciousness alone is itself the real
experience..........Paul Brunton
Illusion is Illusion...
The mind passes through a stage when, seeking after truth, it finds out that the world is other than it seems to be, and that its material substance is not matter at all but energy: its form is illusory. But this is not the end. For the seeker does not stop there; if he proceeds farther, he may find that illusion is itself an illusion. It is next found to be derived from reality and to be a form assumed by reality. This is the sage's enlightenment, this is his experience. .............Paul Brunton
GOD HAS NO ANGER~
A constantly recurring feature of all the revelations which filled my
soul with wonder as I diligently observed it, was that our Lord God,
as far as he himself is concerned, does not have to forgive, because
it is impossible for him to be angry! It was shown that the whole of
life is grounded and rooted in love, and that without love we cannot
live. So to the soul, privileged by grace to see deeply into the
marvellous goodness of God, and to see that we are eternally united
to him in love, it is absolutely impossible that God should be
angry. Anger and friendship are mutually opposed. And he who
mitigates and eliminates our anger and makes us humble and gentle,
must surely need himself to be loving, humble, and gentle. And that
is the opposite of anger.
(Julian of Norwich, `Revelations of Divine Love')
______________________________________________________
I have extended my pacifism to include non-use of psychological
violence as well as non-use of physical violence. Therefore I no
longer become angry. I not only do not say angry words, I do not
even think angry thoughts! If someone does an unkind thing to me, I
feel only compassion instead of resentment. Even upon those who
cause suffering I look with deep compassion, knowing the harvest of
sorrow that lies in store for them.
(Peace Pilgrim `Peace Pilgrim)
_____________________________________________________________
I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to
conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy,
even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can
move the world.
(Gandhi quoted in The Dhammapada')
soul with wonder as I diligently observed it, was that our Lord God,
as far as he himself is concerned, does not have to forgive, because
it is impossible for him to be angry! It was shown that the whole of
life is grounded and rooted in love, and that without love we cannot
live. So to the soul, privileged by grace to see deeply into the
marvellous goodness of God, and to see that we are eternally united
to him in love, it is absolutely impossible that God should be
angry. Anger and friendship are mutually opposed. And he who
mitigates and eliminates our anger and makes us humble and gentle,
must surely need himself to be loving, humble, and gentle. And that
is the opposite of anger.
(Julian of Norwich, `Revelations of Divine Love')
______________________________________________________
I have extended my pacifism to include non-use of psychological
violence as well as non-use of physical violence. Therefore I no
longer become angry. I not only do not say angry words, I do not
even think angry thoughts! If someone does an unkind thing to me, I
feel only compassion instead of resentment. Even upon those who
cause suffering I look with deep compassion, knowing the harvest of
sorrow that lies in store for them.
(Peace Pilgrim `Peace Pilgrim)
_____________________________________________________________
I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to
conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy,
even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can
move the world.
(Gandhi quoted in The Dhammapada')
OM.....
The sound of Brahman is OM. At the end of OM there is silence.
It is a silence of joy. It is the end of the journey where fear and
sorrow are no more: steady, motionless, never-falling, ever-lasting,
immortal. It is called the omnipresent Vishnu.
In order to reach the Highest, consider in adoration the sound and
silence of Brahman. For is has been said: God is sound and
silence. His name is OM. Attain therefore contemplation--
contemplation in silence on him."
~from The Upanishads
It is a silence of joy. It is the end of the journey where fear and
sorrow are no more: steady, motionless, never-falling, ever-lasting,
immortal. It is called the omnipresent Vishnu.
In order to reach the Highest, consider in adoration the sound and
silence of Brahman. For is has been said: God is sound and
silence. His name is OM. Attain therefore contemplation--
contemplation in silence on him."
~from The Upanishads
The Crucifiction.....
Jesus volunteered, his was the single greatest act of Love ever extended.
He told us in his own words, "I have overcome the world."
And he proved that he was no longer in this world by
vanishing in the midst of the temple and reappearing outside on the road;
he showed us there is no law of gravity when he walked above the water;
he showed us there is no law of disease, by touching the lepers.
Jesus in his own words had overcome the world (before any crucification). And he ascended
right out of this world as evidenced by his, "I AM the Truth," "I AM the Resurrection."
When he became aware of the threatened trial and crucification, he voluntarily
chose to show us that even death is an illusion.
Even though he could have vanished at will at any time, he chose to let the
appearance of crucification continue so that there would never be any doubt
that ALL of this world is an illusion, even death.
And guess what? He was correct. All of this world is an illusion - all of it,
but it is an illusion inside the mind, not outside of it
However, out of the thousands upon thousands that saw him before the
appearance of death, only 500 saw him afterwards, because only they
had the Spiritual discernment to "see" what can never be seen with the sense mind.
Are we still blind today, or are we beginning to see through this world? Are we beginning to dwell consciously in My Kingdom right here in our very midst? Or are we still hypnotized by these
sense pictures of a world that needs improving?
With Love,
Bill
-- Oneness in Christ www.mysticalprinciples.com
He told us in his own words, "I have overcome the world."
And he proved that he was no longer in this world by
vanishing in the midst of the temple and reappearing outside on the road;
he showed us there is no law of gravity when he walked above the water;
he showed us there is no law of disease, by touching the lepers.
Jesus in his own words had overcome the world (before any crucification). And he ascended
right out of this world as evidenced by his, "I AM the Truth," "I AM the Resurrection."
When he became aware of the threatened trial and crucification, he voluntarily
chose to show us that even death is an illusion.
Even though he could have vanished at will at any time, he chose to let the
appearance of crucification continue so that there would never be any doubt
that ALL of this world is an illusion, even death.
And guess what? He was correct. All of this world is an illusion - all of it,
but it is an illusion inside the mind, not outside of it
However, out of the thousands upon thousands that saw him before the
appearance of death, only 500 saw him afterwards, because only they
had the Spiritual discernment to "see" what can never be seen with the sense mind.
Are we still blind today, or are we beginning to see through this world? Are we beginning to dwell consciously in My Kingdom right here in our very midst? Or are we still hypnotized by these
sense pictures of a world that needs improving?
With Love,
Bill
-- Oneness in Christ www.mysticalprinciples.com
Mysticism......
Mysticism from the Greek mustikos "an initiate" (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, musteria) meaning "initiation"[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is one's destiny, purpose, or an important source of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Traditions may include a belief in the literal existence of dimensional realities beyond empirical perception. A person delving in these areas may be called a Mystic.
In many cases, the purpose of mysticism and mystical disciplines such as meditation is to reach a state of return or re-integration to Godhead. A common theme in mysticism is that the mystic and all of reality are One. The purpose of mystical practices is to achieve that oneness in experience, to transcend limited identity and re-identify with the all that is. This state of oneness has many names depending on the mystical system: The Kingdom of Heaven, the Birth of the Spirit, the Third Awakening, Illumination, Union (Christianity), Irfan, (Muslim), Self-Realization, Reintegration, Nirvana (Buddhism), Moksha (Jainism), Samadhi (Hinduism), and Gnosis, to name a few.
What we are doing is becoming so still, so in tune with the IS, that we become aware of that which is. The IS was there before, but we were focused on the appearance in the mind. When we transcend that human part of us and we rest back in the IS, well then we become aware of that which is. And that which is, that which God IS, is harmony, health, wholeness, joy, perfection, completeness, holiness, peace.
..............................from mysticalprinciples group
In many cases, the purpose of mysticism and mystical disciplines such as meditation is to reach a state of return or re-integration to Godhead. A common theme in mysticism is that the mystic and all of reality are One. The purpose of mystical practices is to achieve that oneness in experience, to transcend limited identity and re-identify with the all that is. This state of oneness has many names depending on the mystical system: The Kingdom of Heaven, the Birth of the Spirit, the Third Awakening, Illumination, Union (Christianity), Irfan, (Muslim), Self-Realization, Reintegration, Nirvana (Buddhism), Moksha (Jainism), Samadhi (Hinduism), and Gnosis, to name a few.
What we are doing is becoming so still, so in tune with the IS, that we become aware of that which is. The IS was there before, but we were focused on the appearance in the mind. When we transcend that human part of us and we rest back in the IS, well then we become aware of that which is. And that which is, that which God IS, is harmony, health, wholeness, joy, perfection, completeness, holiness, peace.
..............................from mysticalprinciples group
From The Experience of No-Self by Bernadette Roberts
Perhaps the only philosophy or theology that can help us cross the stream is one that admits: when you have learned it all and lived it thoroughly, then you had better get ready to have it all collapse when you discover the highest wisdom is that you know nothing.
It is said that St. Thomas Aquinas, after writing his masterful tomes on Christian theology, suddenly had an experience of God that so silenced his mind that ever after, he never wrote a single word. In other words, St. Thomas literally fell outside his own frame of reference when he came upon "that" which no mind can comprehend nor pen describe. ...
It seems that ultimately we must go beyond all frames of reference when the Cloud of Unknowing descends, and all the thrashing around looking for a life preserver won't do a bit of good.
Nevertheless, I now see a possible line of travel that may be of use before crossing the stream. It would be to start with the Christian experience of self's union with God, whereby we loose the fear of ever becoming lost -- since we can only get lost in God. ...
But when the self disappears forever into this Great Silence, we come upon the Buddhist discovery of no-self, and learn how to live without anything we could possibly call a self, and without a frame of reference, as we come upon the essential oneness of all that is.
Then, finally, we come upon the peak of Hindu discovery, namely: "that" which remains when there is no self identical with "that" which Is, the one Existent that is all that Is. ...
- posted by Ragna to GardenMystics
It is said that St. Thomas Aquinas, after writing his masterful tomes on Christian theology, suddenly had an experience of God that so silenced his mind that ever after, he never wrote a single word. In other words, St. Thomas literally fell outside his own frame of reference when he came upon "that" which no mind can comprehend nor pen describe. ...
It seems that ultimately we must go beyond all frames of reference when the Cloud of Unknowing descends, and all the thrashing around looking for a life preserver won't do a bit of good.
Nevertheless, I now see a possible line of travel that may be of use before crossing the stream. It would be to start with the Christian experience of self's union with God, whereby we loose the fear of ever becoming lost -- since we can only get lost in God. ...
But when the self disappears forever into this Great Silence, we come upon the Buddhist discovery of no-self, and learn how to live without anything we could possibly call a self, and without a frame of reference, as we come upon the essential oneness of all that is.
Then, finally, we come upon the peak of Hindu discovery, namely: "that" which remains when there is no self identical with "that" which Is, the one Existent that is all that Is. ...
- posted by Ragna to GardenMystics
Nothing Remains...
Nothing remains; everything is subject to change. Whether you
rebel against this stark fact or resignedly accept it, it stares you
in the face unaffected by your personal attitude. Call it Buddhistic
if you like, or call it Christian if you prefer, for Jesus said: "This
world will pass away."
— Notebooks Category 26: World-Idea > Chapter 2: Change As
Universal Activity > # 5.....Paul Brunton
rebel against this stark fact or resignedly accept it, it stares you
in the face unaffected by your personal attitude. Call it Buddhistic
if you like, or call it Christian if you prefer, for Jesus said: "This
world will pass away."
— Notebooks Category 26: World-Idea > Chapter 2: Change As
Universal Activity > # 5.....Paul Brunton
Momentum of Ignorance...
There is a great momentum of suffering and confusion that every
spiritual seeker encounters. It is the momentum of ignorance which
manifests as the experience of conflict and confusion and which causes
suffering. In order to discover the perspective of liberation, which
alone transcends this entire movement of ignorance and suffering, one
needs to let everything end. "Letting everything end" means to stand
in the moment completely naked of attachment to any and all ideas,
concepts, hopes, preferences, and experiences. Simply put, it means to
stop strategizing, controlling, manipulating, and running away from
yourself--and to simply be. Finally you must let everything end and be
still.
In letting everything end, all seeking and striving stops. All effort
to be someone or to find some extraordinary state of being ceases.
This ceasing is essential. It is true spiritual maturity. By ceasing
to follow the mind's tendency to always want more, different, or
better, one encounters the opportunity to be still. In being still, a
perspective is revealed which is free from all ignorance and bondage
to suffering. From that perspective, eternal Self is realized. The
eternal Self, the Seer, is recognized to be one's true nature, one's
very own Self.
This is an invitation to let all seeking end, all striving end, all
efforting end, all past identity end, all hopes end, and to discover
That which has no beginning or end. This is an invitation to discover
the eternal, unborn, undying Truth of being. The Truth of your being,
your own Self. Let the entire movement of becoming end, and discover
That which has always been present at the core of your being.
- Adyashanti
spiritual seeker encounters. It is the momentum of ignorance which
manifests as the experience of conflict and confusion and which causes
suffering. In order to discover the perspective of liberation, which
alone transcends this entire movement of ignorance and suffering, one
needs to let everything end. "Letting everything end" means to stand
in the moment completely naked of attachment to any and all ideas,
concepts, hopes, preferences, and experiences. Simply put, it means to
stop strategizing, controlling, manipulating, and running away from
yourself--and to simply be. Finally you must let everything end and be
still.
In letting everything end, all seeking and striving stops. All effort
to be someone or to find some extraordinary state of being ceases.
This ceasing is essential. It is true spiritual maturity. By ceasing
to follow the mind's tendency to always want more, different, or
better, one encounters the opportunity to be still. In being still, a
perspective is revealed which is free from all ignorance and bondage
to suffering. From that perspective, eternal Self is realized. The
eternal Self, the Seer, is recognized to be one's true nature, one's
very own Self.
This is an invitation to let all seeking end, all striving end, all
efforting end, all past identity end, all hopes end, and to discover
That which has no beginning or end. This is an invitation to discover
the eternal, unborn, undying Truth of being. The Truth of your being,
your own Self. Let the entire movement of becoming end, and discover
That which has always been present at the core of your being.
- Adyashanti
Appearance of Separateness....
Your eyes are different from your ears and yet they are part of
the same body performing different tasks and experiencing the material
plane, which is different from other planes but still part of the whole
of consciousness... To experience the different planes of existence,
the Universal Mind (God) created more aspects of consciousness that
appear to be separate but are not....As a parent creates a child, the
child still carries the blood and D.N.A. of the parent.. both apart but
still connected...the child has the freedom to be separate from the
parent but the Spirit of God, which is Love, draws them back to Love..
Love is a joyous sensation, why?,,, because it is Home, and it is
Freedom....and most important it is Egolessness... We can only feel
Love when we have dropped the self, even if it is just for a short
time... this is the feeling of Unity with God... this is why all humans
seek Love, even if they don't know why.... Since the energy of Love is
God, Love wants to share this joyous feeling of Love(egolessness),,
this is why God created more parts of Itself, to experience Love
through all the frequencies of the Thought, that is called
Creation............................namaste, thomas
the same body performing different tasks and experiencing the material
plane, which is different from other planes but still part of the whole
of consciousness... To experience the different planes of existence,
the Universal Mind (God) created more aspects of consciousness that
appear to be separate but are not....As a parent creates a child, the
child still carries the blood and D.N.A. of the parent.. both apart but
still connected...the child has the freedom to be separate from the
parent but the Spirit of God, which is Love, draws them back to Love..
Love is a joyous sensation, why?,,, because it is Home, and it is
Freedom....and most important it is Egolessness... We can only feel
Love when we have dropped the self, even if it is just for a short
time... this is the feeling of Unity with God... this is why all humans
seek Love, even if they don't know why.... Since the energy of Love is
God, Love wants to share this joyous feeling of Love(egolessness),,
this is why God created more parts of Itself, to experience Love
through all the frequencies of the Thought, that is called
Creation............................namaste, thomas
Light and Sound...
And Charan Singh, Sawan Singh's grandson, described the Shabda
beautifully when he wrote:
"The Word combines both light and sound. The sound is meant to
determine the direction from "which it comes, and the light to enable
us to travel toward it. All religions embody these two symbols. In
the Hindu temples they use the bell or conch and the lights. In
churches, high above the roof, hangs a bell and candles are lit
inside. The Muslims put lights on their tombs, and their clergy call
from a minaret to awaken people to the remembrance of the Lord.
These symbols were meant to serve as reminders to us that both light
and sound are to be met within, and it is with their help that the
inner path is to be followed and the destination reached."9
From the outer reaches of creation, the Holy Spirit returns home to
God. We, as embodied souls, can experience God-realization and
spiritual freedom here and now with the aid of a living spiritual
teacher who can link us through initiation to this stream of Light
and Sound, enabling us to be lifted and carried back to our true home
in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. By learning how to let go to and
merge with this Life Stream of the Holy Spirit, we can experience the
Kingdom of Heaven while still alive in the physical body. This is
spiritual freedom, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.
What is wonderful about this process is that you can tangibly
experience It. As Darshan Singh put it, by using the human body as
our laboratory, we can employ meditation to see the inner spiritual
Light, hear the inner spiritual Sound, and rise above body
consciousness. This form of meditation is sometimes called
the "Science of Spirituality" or "Surat Shabd Yoga." I prefer to
simply call it "Shabda Meditation." Shabda Meditation offers us a
means by which we can confirm for ourselves the reality of this Light
& Sound Current (Shabda or Holy Spirit) and the existence of higher
levels of awareness, explore higher planes of existence and directly
experience God Itself.
beautifully when he wrote:
"The Word combines both light and sound. The sound is meant to
determine the direction from "which it comes, and the light to enable
us to travel toward it. All religions embody these two symbols. In
the Hindu temples they use the bell or conch and the lights. In
churches, high above the roof, hangs a bell and candles are lit
inside. The Muslims put lights on their tombs, and their clergy call
from a minaret to awaken people to the remembrance of the Lord.
These symbols were meant to serve as reminders to us that both light
and sound are to be met within, and it is with their help that the
inner path is to be followed and the destination reached."9
From the outer reaches of creation, the Holy Spirit returns home to
God. We, as embodied souls, can experience God-realization and
spiritual freedom here and now with the aid of a living spiritual
teacher who can link us through initiation to this stream of Light
and Sound, enabling us to be lifted and carried back to our true home
in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. By learning how to let go to and
merge with this Life Stream of the Holy Spirit, we can experience the
Kingdom of Heaven while still alive in the physical body. This is
spiritual freedom, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.
What is wonderful about this process is that you can tangibly
experience It. As Darshan Singh put it, by using the human body as
our laboratory, we can employ meditation to see the inner spiritual
Light, hear the inner spiritual Sound, and rise above body
consciousness. This form of meditation is sometimes called
the "Science of Spirituality" or "Surat Shabd Yoga." I prefer to
simply call it "Shabda Meditation." Shabda Meditation offers us a
means by which we can confirm for ourselves the reality of this Light
& Sound Current (Shabda or Holy Spirit) and the existence of higher
levels of awareness, explore higher planes of existence and directly
experience God Itself.
Spiritual Freedom...
If we wish to attain spiritual freedom, and be released from
the wheel of karma and reincarnation, that is another thing
altogether. The quest for spiritual freedom is really a quest for
soul-knowledge and God-realization, a quest to know ourselves in our
ultimate, core spiritual essence, and to directly experience God of
Itself. This may seem like a tall order; but every major spiritual
teacher has taught that soul-realization and God-realization are the
only goals worth pursuing. Paul Twitchell stated this very clearly
when he wrote:
"It is a spiritual law that we must first seek the Kingdom of God,
which is God-realization. There is little need to seek His
attributes, like love, wisdom and understanding, for they are
secondary causes and will be attained provided we have first the
enlightenment of Divine Reality . . . It was during His great Sermon
on the Mount that (Christ) urged all, Seek first the Kingdom of
Heaven and all else will be added unto you! Thereafter, He
reemphasized the spiritual law of God-realization as the primary goal
of one's life in practically every public speech."
This postulate, of itself, raises three basic questions: What is the
true nature of the Self? What is God? And how do I attain their
respective states of realization?
I. The Nature of The Self
Simply put, our true identity is Soul (also known as Surat, Jiva,
Atma or Tuza) an eternal spark of Divine Love in the Body of God.
As the 15th Century mystic poet Kabir put so succinctly:
"O Kabir, the soul is a particle of the Lord."
Kirpal Singh, a 20th Century Satguru, reiterated:
"...Soul is a conscious entity, a drop of the Ocean of All
consciousness, and in its miniature capacity carries all the divine
attributes of Godhood. Since it is environed by mind and matter, it
has lost its heritage and forgotten its origin, the True Home of the
Father. The Masters come to our help, to awaken us from this long
slumber of ignorance. All the past Masters including Christ have
been stressing the importance of this inner development of soul."
Soul is a timeless unit of pure awareness. It is not the mental
body, or the causal body, the emotional body or the physical body.
These are all protective sheaths it wears in order to function and
communicate within the harsher vibration levels of duality, psychic
energy, space, time and matter. They may be compared to a car used
for locomotion, or a deep sea diving suit used to protect the
physical body from the pressures of oceanic depths.
An important extension of this principle to understand is that, while
we are atoms in the body of God (or drops in the Ocean of All
Consciousness), we are also individuals who will continue to exist
throughout eternity. There is no point along the path to
enlightenment wherein we lose our individual consciousness and merge
back into the Universal Mind or Great Void of the Unconscious. We
are Souls. We are eternal. And we simply become points of attention
in the great wave of
Divine Love.
II. The Nature of God
The second question is, "What is God?" The Supreme One has been known
by as many names as there are languages. The closest I can come to
describing God is: an incomprehensibly vast vortex of pure,
conscious, golden Love.
It is neither an old man on a throne in the sky as seen by
traditional patriarchal religions, nor the maternal earth goddess
favored by wiccan, neo-pagan and some Hindi schools of thought.
These, and all other stated attributes, are mere reflections of the
One. Neither male nor female, Brahma nor Kali, Jehovah nor Gaia, God
nor Goddess, IT is beyond all duality. IT JUST IS!
One of the best descriptions of the indescribable - the Supreme One -
was written by Guru Nanak in the late 16th Century. In the prologue
to his classic Jap Ji, Nanak declared:
"There is one Reality, the Unmanifest-Manifested
Ever-Existent, He is Naam (Conscious Spirit)
The Creator; pervading all
Without fear, without enmity;
The Timeless, the Unborn and the Self-existent;
Complete within Itself.
Through the favor of His true Servant, the Guru,
He may be realized.
He was when there was nothing;
He was before all ages began;
He existeth now, O Nanak,
and shall exist forevermore." 6
While it is natural to be interested in the attributes/reflections of
God, they of themselves will not lead to God-realization.
the wheel of karma and reincarnation, that is another thing
altogether. The quest for spiritual freedom is really a quest for
soul-knowledge and God-realization, a quest to know ourselves in our
ultimate, core spiritual essence, and to directly experience God of
Itself. This may seem like a tall order; but every major spiritual
teacher has taught that soul-realization and God-realization are the
only goals worth pursuing. Paul Twitchell stated this very clearly
when he wrote:
"It is a spiritual law that we must first seek the Kingdom of God,
which is God-realization. There is little need to seek His
attributes, like love, wisdom and understanding, for they are
secondary causes and will be attained provided we have first the
enlightenment of Divine Reality . . . It was during His great Sermon
on the Mount that (Christ) urged all, Seek first the Kingdom of
Heaven and all else will be added unto you! Thereafter, He
reemphasized the spiritual law of God-realization as the primary goal
of one's life in practically every public speech."
This postulate, of itself, raises three basic questions: What is the
true nature of the Self? What is God? And how do I attain their
respective states of realization?
I. The Nature of The Self
Simply put, our true identity is Soul (also known as Surat, Jiva,
Atma or Tuza) an eternal spark of Divine Love in the Body of God.
As the 15th Century mystic poet Kabir put so succinctly:
"O Kabir, the soul is a particle of the Lord."
Kirpal Singh, a 20th Century Satguru, reiterated:
"...Soul is a conscious entity, a drop of the Ocean of All
consciousness, and in its miniature capacity carries all the divine
attributes of Godhood. Since it is environed by mind and matter, it
has lost its heritage and forgotten its origin, the True Home of the
Father. The Masters come to our help, to awaken us from this long
slumber of ignorance. All the past Masters including Christ have
been stressing the importance of this inner development of soul."
Soul is a timeless unit of pure awareness. It is not the mental
body, or the causal body, the emotional body or the physical body.
These are all protective sheaths it wears in order to function and
communicate within the harsher vibration levels of duality, psychic
energy, space, time and matter. They may be compared to a car used
for locomotion, or a deep sea diving suit used to protect the
physical body from the pressures of oceanic depths.
An important extension of this principle to understand is that, while
we are atoms in the body of God (or drops in the Ocean of All
Consciousness), we are also individuals who will continue to exist
throughout eternity. There is no point along the path to
enlightenment wherein we lose our individual consciousness and merge
back into the Universal Mind or Great Void of the Unconscious. We
are Souls. We are eternal. And we simply become points of attention
in the great wave of
Divine Love.
II. The Nature of God
The second question is, "What is God?" The Supreme One has been known
by as many names as there are languages. The closest I can come to
describing God is: an incomprehensibly vast vortex of pure,
conscious, golden Love.
It is neither an old man on a throne in the sky as seen by
traditional patriarchal religions, nor the maternal earth goddess
favored by wiccan, neo-pagan and some Hindi schools of thought.
These, and all other stated attributes, are mere reflections of the
One. Neither male nor female, Brahma nor Kali, Jehovah nor Gaia, God
nor Goddess, IT is beyond all duality. IT JUST IS!
One of the best descriptions of the indescribable - the Supreme One -
was written by Guru Nanak in the late 16th Century. In the prologue
to his classic Jap Ji, Nanak declared:
"There is one Reality, the Unmanifest-Manifested
Ever-Existent, He is Naam (Conscious Spirit)
The Creator; pervading all
Without fear, without enmity;
The Timeless, the Unborn and the Self-existent;
Complete within Itself.
Through the favor of His true Servant, the Guru,
He may be realized.
He was when there was nothing;
He was before all ages began;
He existeth now, O Nanak,
and shall exist forevermore." 6
While it is natural to be interested in the attributes/reflections of
God, they of themselves will not lead to God-realization.
Presence...
The only truth which is not a concept
is the sense of presence,
here and now.
'I am,' not 'I am Joe or Jane.'
This impersonal sense of presence
in the present moment
is the only truth.
Ramesh S. Balsekar, posted to The_Now2
is the sense of presence,
here and now.
'I am,' not 'I am Joe or Jane.'
This impersonal sense of presence
in the present moment
is the only truth.
Ramesh S. Balsekar, posted to The_Now2
(From John Blofield, The Zen Teachings of Huang Po
Q: Illusion can hide from us our own mind, but up to
now you have not taught us how to get rid of illusion.
A: The arising and the elimination of illusion are
both illusory. Illusion is not something rooted in
Reality; it exists because of your dualistic thinking.
If you will only cease to indulge in opposed concepts
such as “ordinary” and “Enlightened,” illusion will
cease of itself. And then if you still want to destroy
it wherever it may be, you will find that there is not
a hairsbreadth left of anything on which to lay hold.
This is the meaning of: “I will let go with both
hands, for then I shall certainly discover the Buddha
in my mind.”
Q: If there is nothing on which to lay hold, how is
the Dharma to be transmitted
A: It is a transmission of Mind with Mind.
Q: If Mind is used for transmission, why do you say
that Mind too does not exist?
A: Obtaining no Dharma whatever is called Mind
transmission. The understanding of this implies no
Mind and no Dharma.
Q: If there is no Mind and no Dharma, what is meant
by transmission?
A: You hear people speak of Mind transmission and
then you talk of something to be received. So
Bodhidharma said: The nature of the Mind when
understood, No human speech can compass or disclose.
Enlightenment is naught to be attained, And he that
gains it does not say he knows. If I were to make this
clear to you, I doubt if you could stand it.”
now you have not taught us how to get rid of illusion.
A: The arising and the elimination of illusion are
both illusory. Illusion is not something rooted in
Reality; it exists because of your dualistic thinking.
If you will only cease to indulge in opposed concepts
such as “ordinary” and “Enlightened,” illusion will
cease of itself. And then if you still want to destroy
it wherever it may be, you will find that there is not
a hairsbreadth left of anything on which to lay hold.
This is the meaning of: “I will let go with both
hands, for then I shall certainly discover the Buddha
in my mind.”
Q: If there is nothing on which to lay hold, how is
the Dharma to be transmitted
A: It is a transmission of Mind with Mind.
Q: If Mind is used for transmission, why do you say
that Mind too does not exist?
A: Obtaining no Dharma whatever is called Mind
transmission. The understanding of this implies no
Mind and no Dharma.
Q: If there is no Mind and no Dharma, what is meant
by transmission?
A: You hear people speak of Mind transmission and
then you talk of something to be received. So
Bodhidharma said: The nature of the Mind when
understood, No human speech can compass or disclose.
Enlightenment is naught to be attained, And he that
gains it does not say he knows. If I were to make this
clear to you, I doubt if you could stand it.”
From Consciousness -- Everything is That
The merging experience is very pleasant and very beautiful, and you
may or may not ever have it. If you have a particular type of
body-mind, you might experience having it every five minutes. If you
are another type of body-mind, you might have it every five
lifetimes. It means nothing whether or not this happens or how often.
I have met many people who can merge at the drop of a hat, and they
are about as free as a dog chasing its tail in a cage. Merging has
nothing to do with being free or actually having any idea what
Oneness really is.
Oneness simply means that everything is the One. Everything is That,
and everything always was That. When there is a very deep knowing
that everything is One, then the movement of the me trying to find a
past experience ceases. Movement is cut off. Seeking is cut off. The
seeker is cut off. Realization cuts everything off all at once.
Every experience that you will ever have is the One, whether that
experience is merging or having to go to the bathroom. Even when it's
beating a stick on the floor and saying, "This is it. This is the
Buddha. This is enlightened mind. It doesn't get more enlightened
than this!" It is all God.
From: 'Emptiness Dancing', by Adyashanti. www.adyashanti.org
may or may not ever have it. If you have a particular type of
body-mind, you might experience having it every five minutes. If you
are another type of body-mind, you might have it every five
lifetimes. It means nothing whether or not this happens or how often.
I have met many people who can merge at the drop of a hat, and they
are about as free as a dog chasing its tail in a cage. Merging has
nothing to do with being free or actually having any idea what
Oneness really is.
Oneness simply means that everything is the One. Everything is That,
and everything always was That. When there is a very deep knowing
that everything is One, then the movement of the me trying to find a
past experience ceases. Movement is cut off. Seeking is cut off. The
seeker is cut off. Realization cuts everything off all at once.
Every experience that you will ever have is the One, whether that
experience is merging or having to go to the bathroom. Even when it's
beating a stick on the floor and saying, "This is it. This is the
Buddha. This is enlightened mind. It doesn't get more enlightened
than this!" It is all God.
From: 'Emptiness Dancing', by Adyashanti. www.adyashanti.org
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth
Unconscious people—and many remain unconscious, trapped in their egos
throughout their lives—will quickly tell you who they are: their name,
their occupation, their personal history, the shape or state of their
body, and what-ever else they identify with. Others may appear to be
more evolved because they think of themselves as an immortal soul or
divine spirit. But do they really know themselves, or have they just
added some spiritual-sounding concepts to the content of their mind?
Knowing yourself goes far deeper than the adoption of a set of ideas
or beliefs. Spiritual ideas and beliefs may at best be helpful
pointers, but in themselves they rarely have the power to dislodge the
more firmly established core concepts of who you think you are, which
are part of the conditioning of the human mind. Knowing yourself
deeply has nothing to do with whatever ideas are floating around in
your mind. Knowing yourself is to be rooted in Being, instead of lost
in your mind.
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth p.186
throughout their lives—will quickly tell you who they are: their name,
their occupation, their personal history, the shape or state of their
body, and what-ever else they identify with. Others may appear to be
more evolved because they think of themselves as an immortal soul or
divine spirit. But do they really know themselves, or have they just
added some spiritual-sounding concepts to the content of their mind?
Knowing yourself goes far deeper than the adoption of a set of ideas
or beliefs. Spiritual ideas and beliefs may at best be helpful
pointers, but in themselves they rarely have the power to dislodge the
more firmly established core concepts of who you think you are, which
are part of the conditioning of the human mind. Knowing yourself
deeply has nothing to do with whatever ideas are floating around in
your mind. Knowing yourself is to be rooted in Being, instead of lost
in your mind.
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth p.186
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