Wisdom...
"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us." - Henry David Thoreau
The Kingdom is Within...
I have not come to teach you that which you know not; I have come to deepen in
you that wisdom which is yours already.
From the Teacings of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
you that wisdom which is yours already.
From the Teacings of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
The Mystical I...
When the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, you are ordained, but you are not ordained to be set apart. You are ordained to heal the sick, to comfort, to feed, to forgive. That is the purpose of ordination~ not that you may be glorified but that you may be better equipped to give more abundantly, to share more freely, to understand more universally that it is not only the children of your flesh who are your children, but that all children of this world are your children, and you have an equal responsibility to share with them.
You must be able to look out upon this world and say unto it: "The Spirit of God in me is your Father. You may look to the Father within me for substance and sustenance. You, friend or so-called foe, may look to the Spirit of God in me, the fatherhood of God in me, for your care."
Then you will understand this relationship that has been kept secret from the world, the invisible bond that exists among all mystics. The visible and invisible mystics of the world who have recognized I standing at the door of their consciousness, are eternally united in consciousness, sharing with one another.
I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.
~ Revelation 3:8
~ Joel S. Goldsmith, The Mystical I
You must be able to look out upon this world and say unto it: "The Spirit of God in me is your Father. You may look to the Father within me for substance and sustenance. You, friend or so-called foe, may look to the Spirit of God in me, the fatherhood of God in me, for your care."
Then you will understand this relationship that has been kept secret from the world, the invisible bond that exists among all mystics. The visible and invisible mystics of the world who have recognized I standing at the door of their consciousness, are eternally united in consciousness, sharing with one another.
I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.
~ Revelation 3:8
~ Joel S. Goldsmith, The Mystical I
Refinement...
Whether it be in the forms of art, music, poetry, literature, or
those of living, dress, behaviour, manners, or speech, the quality of
a person reveals himself in his coarseness or refinement. By that I
mean whether he is or is not on the quest which is after all an
attempt to refine ourselves from materialism to spirituality and
therefore from low quality thoughts and feelings to higher and nobler
ones.
— Notebooks Category 6: Emotions and Ethics > Chapter 5: Spiritual
Refinement > # 200........Paul Brunton
those of living, dress, behaviour, manners, or speech, the quality of
a person reveals himself in his coarseness or refinement. By that I
mean whether he is or is not on the quest which is after all an
attempt to refine ourselves from materialism to spirituality and
therefore from low quality thoughts and feelings to higher and nobler
ones.
— Notebooks Category 6: Emotions and Ethics > Chapter 5: Spiritual
Refinement > # 200........Paul Brunton
Present Wakefulness...
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche from his book: Present Fresh Wakefulness:
Basically and fundamentally, our mind is utterly empty, sheer bliss,
totally naked. We do not need to make it like this; we do not need to
cultivate it by meditating, to create this state by meditating.
Give up thinking of anything at all, about the past, the future or the
present. Remain thought-free, like an infant.
Innate suchness is unobscured the moment you are not caught up in
present thinking.
That which prevents us from being face to face with the real Buddha,
the natural state of mind, is our own thinking. It seems to block the
natural state.
Rigpa, the Natural State, is not cultivated in meditation. The
awakened state is not an object of the intellect. Rigpa is beyond
intellect, and concepts.
This is the real Buddhadharma, not to do a thing. Not to think of
anything Like Saraha said, "Having totally abandoned thinker and what
is thought of, remain as a thought-free child."
Thinking is delusion.
When caught up in thinking we are deluded. To be free of thinking is
to be free.
That freedom consists in how to be free from our thinking.
As long as the web of thinking has not dissolved, there will
repeatedly be rebirth in and the experiences of the six realms.
The method: But if you want to be totally free of conceptual thinking
there is only one way: through training in thought-free wakefulness.
(rigpa).
Strip awareness to its naked state.
If you want to attain liberation and omniscient enlightenment, you
need to be free of conceptual thinking.
Being free of thought is liberation.
This is not some state that is far away from us: thought-free
wakefulness actually exists together with every thought, inseparable
from it... but the thinking obscures or hides this innate actuality.
Thought free wakefulness (the natural state) is immediately present
the very moment the thinking dissolves, the moment it vanishes, fades
away, falls apart.
Simply suspend your thinking within the non-clinging state of
wakefulness: that is the correct view.
Basically and fundamentally, our mind is utterly empty, sheer bliss,
totally naked. We do not need to make it like this; we do not need to
cultivate it by meditating, to create this state by meditating.
Give up thinking of anything at all, about the past, the future or the
present. Remain thought-free, like an infant.
Innate suchness is unobscured the moment you are not caught up in
present thinking.
That which prevents us from being face to face with the real Buddha,
the natural state of mind, is our own thinking. It seems to block the
natural state.
Rigpa, the Natural State, is not cultivated in meditation. The
awakened state is not an object of the intellect. Rigpa is beyond
intellect, and concepts.
This is the real Buddhadharma, not to do a thing. Not to think of
anything Like Saraha said, "Having totally abandoned thinker and what
is thought of, remain as a thought-free child."
Thinking is delusion.
When caught up in thinking we are deluded. To be free of thinking is
to be free.
That freedom consists in how to be free from our thinking.
As long as the web of thinking has not dissolved, there will
repeatedly be rebirth in and the experiences of the six realms.
The method: But if you want to be totally free of conceptual thinking
there is only one way: through training in thought-free wakefulness.
(rigpa).
Strip awareness to its naked state.
If you want to attain liberation and omniscient enlightenment, you
need to be free of conceptual thinking.
Being free of thought is liberation.
This is not some state that is far away from us: thought-free
wakefulness actually exists together with every thought, inseparable
from it... but the thinking obscures or hides this innate actuality.
Thought free wakefulness (the natural state) is immediately present
the very moment the thinking dissolves, the moment it vanishes, fades
away, falls apart.
Simply suspend your thinking within the non-clinging state of
wakefulness: that is the correct view.
Controlling Others...
"Let's see why a man wants to control and influence another person.
He may hope for a material advantage, such as money. But there is
a deeper motive, a dangerously self-defeating motive. By having
power over others, he thinks it confirms his possession of a
separate ego, a separate self - for where there is the commanded,
there must also be the commander. So in order to preserve the
illusion of being a commander, he seeks every opportunity to
control and influence people and events. But since he does not,
in reality, possess a separate self, the whole show is a tragic
delusion. Sooner or later the curtain must come down on the actor,
leaving him frightened and lonely."
The Esoteric Path to a New Life, p. 34.......Vernon Howard
He may hope for a material advantage, such as money. But there is
a deeper motive, a dangerously self-defeating motive. By having
power over others, he thinks it confirms his possession of a
separate ego, a separate self - for where there is the commanded,
there must also be the commander. So in order to preserve the
illusion of being a commander, he seeks every opportunity to
control and influence people and events. But since he does not,
in reality, possess a separate self, the whole show is a tragic
delusion. Sooner or later the curtain must come down on the actor,
leaving him frightened and lonely."
The Esoteric Path to a New Life, p. 34.......Vernon Howard
Freedom...
Freedom from all desire is eternity. All
attachment implies fear, for all things
are transient. And fear makes one a slave.
This freedom from attachment does not
come with practice; it is natural, when
one knows one's true being. Love does not
cling; clinging is not love.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
attachment implies fear, for all things
are transient. And fear makes one a slave.
This freedom from attachment does not
come with practice; it is natural, when
one knows one's true being. Love does not
cling; clinging is not love.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Guru...
"At a certain point in spiritual maturity, the Self manifests to you as a guru to turn you to yourSelf. The guru shows up in the maya, in the dream, to awaken you from the dream to the Self. Even though you know it is all the Self, that doesn't mean you do not respect and honor the guru and treat him as an ordinary person who is no different from other manifestations. You honor the guru anyway.
The relationship with the outer guru lasts as long as it is necessary. It lasts until the disciple knows from direct experience that the Self alone exists. In my case a time came when it was no longer physically possible for me to be with the form of the guru. Bhagavan severed the physical relationship because he wanted me to be aware of him as he physically is. When you pass your exams in school, you graduate to the next class. We cannot enter the same class again. I graduated from regarding Bhagavan as a form and came to regard him as the formless Self. After that I was never given the chance to have a relationship with Bhagavan's physical form again.
When a calf is young its mother gives it milk whenever it is hungry. But after it has leaned to eat grass it's mother gives it a kick whenever it tries to drink milk again. After I learned to make contact with the formless Self, Bhagavan gave me a kick whenever I tried to carry on drinking the grace of his physical form. He wanted me to get all my spiritual nourishment from the formless self."
Annamali Swami
see Annamalai Swami: Final Talks
By David Godman
The relationship with the outer guru lasts as long as it is necessary. It lasts until the disciple knows from direct experience that the Self alone exists. In my case a time came when it was no longer physically possible for me to be with the form of the guru. Bhagavan severed the physical relationship because he wanted me to be aware of him as he physically is. When you pass your exams in school, you graduate to the next class. We cannot enter the same class again. I graduated from regarding Bhagavan as a form and came to regard him as the formless Self. After that I was never given the chance to have a relationship with Bhagavan's physical form again.
When a calf is young its mother gives it milk whenever it is hungry. But after it has leaned to eat grass it's mother gives it a kick whenever it tries to drink milk again. After I learned to make contact with the formless Self, Bhagavan gave me a kick whenever I tried to carry on drinking the grace of his physical form. He wanted me to get all my spiritual nourishment from the formless self."
Annamali Swami
see Annamalai Swami: Final Talks
By David Godman
Co-Dependent Negativity by Guy Finlay...
We are in unconscious codependent relationships with others whenever we find ourselves:
1. Meddling in the lives of others or allowing others to tinker with our troubles.
2. Gossiping about anything, but especially taking part in denigrating others we know and otherwise associate with.
3. Standing around and spreading any form of "gloom and doom" either in a casual conversation or in the confines of our own thoughts.
4. Agreeing with the hatred of anyone else for any other person, group, or condition.
5. Taking part in any form of a dark inner dialogue with ourselves about some imagined enemy or otherwise unwanted circumstance.
6. Allowing others to make their problems our own so that we have to carry the weight of their discontentment.
7. Entertaining any thoughts from any source -- be they from within ourselves or coming from those outside of us -- telling us that our life is without meaning.
What should be clear now is that we have to do a special kind of inner work if we wish to catch and cancel self-harming codependent behavior. It's not enough to just talk about achieving a good, contented life. Anyone can talk about that, and most do. Few will really do the interior work it takes to be free, which is why we must be different.
We must learn what it means to put the Truth of ourselves before all things. When we will strive to do this one thing, then little by little we will attract to ourselves a higher strength that has no problem saying NO to what has never cared for us. This new NO then becomes a YES to self-wholeness, the secret source of the happiness we have been seeking in all the wrong places
1. Meddling in the lives of others or allowing others to tinker with our troubles.
2. Gossiping about anything, but especially taking part in denigrating others we know and otherwise associate with.
3. Standing around and spreading any form of "gloom and doom" either in a casual conversation or in the confines of our own thoughts.
4. Agreeing with the hatred of anyone else for any other person, group, or condition.
5. Taking part in any form of a dark inner dialogue with ourselves about some imagined enemy or otherwise unwanted circumstance.
6. Allowing others to make their problems our own so that we have to carry the weight of their discontentment.
7. Entertaining any thoughts from any source -- be they from within ourselves or coming from those outside of us -- telling us that our life is without meaning.
What should be clear now is that we have to do a special kind of inner work if we wish to catch and cancel self-harming codependent behavior. It's not enough to just talk about achieving a good, contented life. Anyone can talk about that, and most do. Few will really do the interior work it takes to be free, which is why we must be different.
We must learn what it means to put the Truth of ourselves before all things. When we will strive to do this one thing, then little by little we will attract to ourselves a higher strength that has no problem saying NO to what has never cared for us. This new NO then becomes a YES to self-wholeness, the secret source of the happiness we have been seeking in all the wrong places
Devine Wisdom...
The Comparative Religionists consider, on the other hand, that all religions originate from the teachings of Divine Men, who give out to the different nations of the world, from time to time, such parts of the fundamental verities of religion as the people are capable of receiving, teaching ever the same morality, inculcating the use of similar means, employing the same significant symbols. The savage religions — animism and the rest—are degenerations, the results of decadence, distorted and dwarfed descendants of true religious beliefs. Sun-worship and pure forms of nature-worship were, in their day, noble religions, highly allegorical but full of profound truth and knowledge. The great Teachers—it is alleged by Hindus, Buddhists, and by some Comparative Religionists, such as Theosophists—form an enduring Brotherhood of men who have risen beyond humanity, who appear at certain periods to enlighten the world, and who are the spiritual guardians of the human race. This view may be summed up in the phrase: "Religions are branches from a common trunk — Divine Wisdom". ..........Annie Besant
What is Sacred?...
We use this word constantly, but, what does it mean?... Sacred is something that
is Holy.. What is Holy?.. Holy means Love.. What is Love?, Love is Non-ego..
Love in non-separation.. Love is caring about others more that you care about
your self.. What does non-ego have to do with Sacred?.. Sacred is Devine
Consciousness.. Sacred is Us.. Sacred is Reality.. Sacred is All.. There is
Nothing that is not Sacred.. The belief in the ego is preventing us from Knowing
that We are Sacred.. Become Sacred.. Become Real.. Become Your
Self.........namaste, thomas
is Holy.. What is Holy?.. Holy means Love.. What is Love?, Love is Non-ego..
Love in non-separation.. Love is caring about others more that you care about
your self.. What does non-ego have to do with Sacred?.. Sacred is Devine
Consciousness.. Sacred is Us.. Sacred is Reality.. Sacred is All.. There is
Nothing that is not Sacred.. The belief in the ego is preventing us from Knowing
that We are Sacred.. Become Sacred.. Become Real.. Become Your
Self.........namaste, thomas
On Attaining Buddhahood - Issho Jobutsu Sho -...
If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured through eternity and attain supreme enlightenment in this lifetime, you must awaken to the mystic truth which has always been within your life. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth within you. Myoho-renge-kyo is the king of sutras, flawless in both letter and principle. Its words are the reality of life, and the reality of life is the Mystic Law (Myoho). It is called the Mystic Law because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena. That is why this sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas.
Marcus Borg...
Certainly one of the great voices in helping to formulate an understanding of Jesus is Marcus Borg, a Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion at Oregon State University and author of The God We Never Knew.
Borg is a member of the often-malaigned Jesus Seminar, the group of scholars known for meeting and voting their sense of the authenticity of Jesus' words, saying by saying.
Borg's reasonable voice comes alive in a recent book that he did with N. T. Wright, a conservative Anglican clergyman and outspoken critic of the Jesus Seminar. In The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, the two men have a remarkable conversation (although, alas, it's chapter vs. chapter and not person to person) that state their opinions of just who Jesus was and what he wanted to do.
It is Borg's vision that, for me, is the more striking of the two. He presents his ideas with a clean prose I'd personally love to master, and the place where he shines is in his discussion of Jesus as a Jewish Mystic.
Borg sees Jesus in five different ways: (1) Spirit person; (2) healer; (3)wisdom teacher; (4) social prophet; and (5) movement founder. It is under the first classification that Borg sees Jesus most clearly in the identity of a Jewish mystic.
For Borg, there is a clear definition of terms. "My claim that Jesus was a Jewish mystic means Jesus was one for whom God was an experiential reality. He was one of those people for whom the sacred was, to use William James' terms, a firsthand religious experience rather than a secondhand belief.."
Borg goes on to give a straight forward definition of a mystic: "As I use the term, people who have decisive and typically frequent firsthand experiences of the sacred.."
In delving deeper into this concept, Borg differentiates between two types of experience - the kind which occur in "eyes open" and in "eyes closed" forms. The first would consist of someone who sees the world as an epiphany in which the Eternal breaks through, with "light shining through everything or bathing everything in its glow."
The second type, "eyes closed", involves experiences that are associated with contemplation or meditation, a rising up (or deepening) that brings one to communion or union with God.
Finally, in terms that are of great help to our own understanding of what it is to be a Christian Mystic, Borg mentions what he calls "defining characteristics of mystical states of consciousness." The source of these are William James' remarkable work.
•Ineffability: Direct explanation of the experiences cannot take place with words, as in, "I walked across the room and saw a bird on the window sill." Instead, one must resort to the language of metaphor.
•Transiency: One does not constantly live in this altered state of consciousness. Instead, the vision or perception will come and go.
•Passivity: One cannot make these things happen. They are, to use Christian terms, the product of grace. At the same time, there is evidence that one must psychologically prepare one's self - make the house ready for guests, as it were.
•Noetic: There is, in those who experience these mystical states of consciousness, the conviction that they now KNOW something that they didn't know before. It is a deep, certain understanding and not something merely intellectual, as in the solution of a puzzle.
•Transformative: The person finds that how they see and how the are undergo a radical change. The person who once saw the everyday world not sees the presence of God, the dance of the world.
Borg goes on to state, "The portrait of Jesus as a Spirit person is history remembered and not simply history metaphorized. This is the basis for my claim that Jesus was a Jewish mystic, for him, God was an experiential reality. He knew the immediacy of the sacred in his own experience. And this claim leads to a second claim: Jesus' experience of God was foundational for the rest of what he was."............from Christianmystics.com
Borg is a member of the often-malaigned Jesus Seminar, the group of scholars known for meeting and voting their sense of the authenticity of Jesus' words, saying by saying.
Borg's reasonable voice comes alive in a recent book that he did with N. T. Wright, a conservative Anglican clergyman and outspoken critic of the Jesus Seminar. In The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, the two men have a remarkable conversation (although, alas, it's chapter vs. chapter and not person to person) that state their opinions of just who Jesus was and what he wanted to do.
It is Borg's vision that, for me, is the more striking of the two. He presents his ideas with a clean prose I'd personally love to master, and the place where he shines is in his discussion of Jesus as a Jewish Mystic.
Borg sees Jesus in five different ways: (1) Spirit person; (2) healer; (3)wisdom teacher; (4) social prophet; and (5) movement founder. It is under the first classification that Borg sees Jesus most clearly in the identity of a Jewish mystic.
For Borg, there is a clear definition of terms. "My claim that Jesus was a Jewish mystic means Jesus was one for whom God was an experiential reality. He was one of those people for whom the sacred was, to use William James' terms, a firsthand religious experience rather than a secondhand belief.."
Borg goes on to give a straight forward definition of a mystic: "As I use the term, people who have decisive and typically frequent firsthand experiences of the sacred.."
In delving deeper into this concept, Borg differentiates between two types of experience - the kind which occur in "eyes open" and in "eyes closed" forms. The first would consist of someone who sees the world as an epiphany in which the Eternal breaks through, with "light shining through everything or bathing everything in its glow."
The second type, "eyes closed", involves experiences that are associated with contemplation or meditation, a rising up (or deepening) that brings one to communion or union with God.
Finally, in terms that are of great help to our own understanding of what it is to be a Christian Mystic, Borg mentions what he calls "defining characteristics of mystical states of consciousness." The source of these are William James' remarkable work.
•Ineffability: Direct explanation of the experiences cannot take place with words, as in, "I walked across the room and saw a bird on the window sill." Instead, one must resort to the language of metaphor.
•Transiency: One does not constantly live in this altered state of consciousness. Instead, the vision or perception will come and go.
•Passivity: One cannot make these things happen. They are, to use Christian terms, the product of grace. At the same time, there is evidence that one must psychologically prepare one's self - make the house ready for guests, as it were.
•Noetic: There is, in those who experience these mystical states of consciousness, the conviction that they now KNOW something that they didn't know before. It is a deep, certain understanding and not something merely intellectual, as in the solution of a puzzle.
•Transformative: The person finds that how they see and how the are undergo a radical change. The person who once saw the everyday world not sees the presence of God, the dance of the world.
Borg goes on to state, "The portrait of Jesus as a Spirit person is history remembered and not simply history metaphorized. This is the basis for my claim that Jesus was a Jewish mystic, for him, God was an experiential reality. He knew the immediacy of the sacred in his own experience. And this claim leads to a second claim: Jesus' experience of God was foundational for the rest of what he was."............from Christianmystics.com
Awakening...
As long as you're dreaming that you're awake,
there'll be no end to your fears or your desires.
They will only end when you become fully
awakened to your own dreaming.
Suffering finds its roots in your desire to be free
from something that's present…even if it's only a
desire to be free from dreaming the Dream.
But no desire is really spiritual…including the
so-called spiritual desire to have no spiritual
desires.
And yet, paradoxically, it's all absolutely
spiritual.
Yes! All of it.
Every fear. Every desire.
- Chuck Hillig
there'll be no end to your fears or your desires.
They will only end when you become fully
awakened to your own dreaming.
Suffering finds its roots in your desire to be free
from something that's present…even if it's only a
desire to be free from dreaming the Dream.
But no desire is really spiritual…including the
so-called spiritual desire to have no spiritual
desires.
And yet, paradoxically, it's all absolutely
spiritual.
Yes! All of it.
Every fear. Every desire.
- Chuck Hillig
Advaita...
The teaching of Advaita is to know what you are
through knowing what you are not. You are not
thoughts or the body. There is no person, no
separate, independently functioning and
controlling I.
Negate all that you know, stop the search for just
a moment and notice the simplicity of This, with no
thoughts, labels, concepts; what is left is nothingness,
what you really are.
Nothingness arising as the world.
- Randall Friend
through knowing what you are not. You are not
thoughts or the body. There is no person, no
separate, independently functioning and
controlling I.
Negate all that you know, stop the search for just
a moment and notice the simplicity of This, with no
thoughts, labels, concepts; what is left is nothingness,
what you really are.
Nothingness arising as the world.
- Randall Friend
Fearless Living...
1. When you know that what you’re looking for is what you already are -- and not what you may
become -- you stand on the threshold of fearless living.
2. No psychological fear exists without negative imagination.
3. When it comes to fear, the feel is real…but the why is a lie.
4. You cannot change one thing about times past or the fears that belong to old regrets, but you
can be in a different relationship with what is happening to you right now…and that changes
everything!
5. Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.
6. Your experience of any moment -- good or bad, calm or conflicted -- is a direct reflection of
your understanding about it. This means the only thing that frightens you about any event is
what you’ve yet to understand about yourself.
7. The universe itself is actually set up for you to succeed with realizing the fearless life, which
means you are made for whatever happens to you!
Copyright 2008 Guy Finley/Life of Learning Foundation www.guyfinley.org 541 476-1200
become -- you stand on the threshold of fearless living.
2. No psychological fear exists without negative imagination.
3. When it comes to fear, the feel is real…but the why is a lie.
4. You cannot change one thing about times past or the fears that belong to old regrets, but you
can be in a different relationship with what is happening to you right now…and that changes
everything!
5. Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.
6. Your experience of any moment -- good or bad, calm or conflicted -- is a direct reflection of
your understanding about it. This means the only thing that frightens you about any event is
what you’ve yet to understand about yourself.
7. The universe itself is actually set up for you to succeed with realizing the fearless life, which
means you are made for whatever happens to you!
Copyright 2008 Guy Finley/Life of Learning Foundation www.guyfinley.org 541 476-1200
A Madman...
Ram Tzu is a madman
He rants and raves
Spits, shouts
Waves his arms and
Talks gibberish.
All to get the attention
Of phantoms.
The authorities take
A dim view
O such behavior-
Ask Jesus.
If Ram Tzu were clever
He would lay low.
No one likes
Their existence questioned-
It's disturbing.
If you don't like
Ram Tzu's ravings
Take heart
His disciples will eventually
Render him palatable.
- Ram Tzu
He rants and raves
Spits, shouts
Waves his arms and
Talks gibberish.
All to get the attention
Of phantoms.
The authorities take
A dim view
O such behavior-
Ask Jesus.
If Ram Tzu were clever
He would lay low.
No one likes
Their existence questioned-
It's disturbing.
If you don't like
Ram Tzu's ravings
Take heart
His disciples will eventually
Render him palatable.
- Ram Tzu
The Visible...
With repeated meditation practice
the expanse of the visible universe
with all its qualities dissolves
to nothing, to where there is
only health and great joy.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
the expanse of the visible universe
with all its qualities dissolves
to nothing, to where there is
only health and great joy.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
Ram Tzu Knows...
You read the
Spiritual guidebooks.
God on $25 a Day.
You are inspired.
You can't wait to see
All the sights
So eloquently described.
It all sounds
Much more exciting
Than what you have at home.
But the fear sets in
When it's time to leave.
You try to pack
Everything you own.
Now you can't move
For the weight of it.
Ram Tzu knows this...
If you finally go
You'll travel light.
Spiritual guidebooks.
God on $25 a Day.
You are inspired.
You can't wait to see
All the sights
So eloquently described.
It all sounds
Much more exciting
Than what you have at home.
But the fear sets in
When it's time to leave.
You try to pack
Everything you own.
Now you can't move
For the weight of it.
Ram Tzu knows this...
If you finally go
You'll travel light.
God's Will...
"When we accept that God's will prevails all
the time and not the individual will, the ‘me’
as the doer gets smaller and smaller till it
gets completely merged in Consciousness."
~Ramana Maharshi 'Thirty Verses'
the time and not the individual will, the ‘me’
as the doer gets smaller and smaller till it
gets completely merged in Consciousness."
~Ramana Maharshi 'Thirty Verses'
Truth...
1. AGAIN the twelve were gathered together in the Circle of palm trees, and one
of them even Thomas said to the other, What is Truth? for the same things appear
different to different minds, and even to the same mind at different times.
What, then, is Truth?
2. And as they were speaking Jesus appeared in their midst and said, Truth, one
and absolute, is in God alone, for no man, neither any body of men, knoweth that
which God alone knoweth, who is the All in All.. To men is Truth revealed,
according to their capacity to understand and receive.
3. The One Truth hath many sides, and one seeth one side only, another seeth
another, and some see more than others, according as it is given to them.
4. Behold this crystal: how the one light its manifest in twelve faces, yea four
times twelve, and each face reflecteth one ray of light, and one regardeth one
face, and another another, but it is the one crystal and the one light that
shineth in all.
5. Behold again, When one climbeth a mountain and attaining one height, he
saith, This is the top of the mountain, let us reach it, and when they have
reached that height, lo, they see another beyond it until they come to that
height from which no other height is to be seen, if so be they can attain it.
6. So it is with Truth. I am the Truth and the Way and the Life, and have given
to you the Truth I have received from above. And that which is seen and received
by one, is not seen and received by another. That which appeareth true to some,
seemeth not true to others. They who are in the valley see not as they who are
on the hill top.
7. But to each, it is the Truth as the one mind seeth it, and for that time,
till a higher Truth shall be revealed unto the same: and to the soul which
receiveth higher light, shall be given more light. Wherefore condemn not others,
that ye be not condemned.
8. As ye keep the holy Law of Love, which I have given unto you, so shall the
Truth be revealed more and more unto you, and the Spirit of Truth which cometh
from above shall guide you, albeit through many wanderings, into all Truth, even
as the fiery cloud guided the children of Israel through the wilderness.
9. Be faithful to the light ye have, till a higher light is given to you. Seek
more light, and ye shall have abundantly; rest not, till ye find.
10. God giveth you all Truth, as a ladder with many steps, for the salvation and
perfection of the soul, and the truth which seemeth to day, ye will abandon for
the higher truth of the morrow. Press ye unto Perfection.
11. Whoso keepeth the holy Law which I have given, the same shall save their
souls, however differently they may see the truths which I have given.
12. Many shall say unto me, Lord, Lord, we have been zealous for thy Truth. But
I shall say unto them, Nay, but, that others may see as ye see, and none other
truth beside. Faith without charity is dead. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.
13. How shall faith in what they receive profit them that hold it in
unrighteousness? They who have love have all things, and without love there is
nothing worth. Let each hold what they see to be the truth in love, knowing that
where love is not, truth is a dead letter and profiteth nothing.
14. There abide Goodness, and Truth, and Beauty, but the greatest of these is
Goodness. If any have hatred to their fellows, and harden their hearts to the
creatures of God's hands, how can they see Truth unto salvation, seeing their
eyes are blinded and their hearts are hardened to God's creation?
15. As I have received the Truth, so have I given it to you. Let each receive it
according to their light and ability to understand, and persecute not those who
receive it after a different interpretation.
16. For Truth is the Might of God, and it shall prevail in the end over all
errors. But the holy Law which I have given is plain for all, and just and good.
Let all observe it for the salvation of their souls.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/essene/gospel_10.htm
of them even Thomas said to the other, What is Truth? for the same things appear
different to different minds, and even to the same mind at different times.
What, then, is Truth?
2. And as they were speaking Jesus appeared in their midst and said, Truth, one
and absolute, is in God alone, for no man, neither any body of men, knoweth that
which God alone knoweth, who is the All in All.. To men is Truth revealed,
according to their capacity to understand and receive.
3. The One Truth hath many sides, and one seeth one side only, another seeth
another, and some see more than others, according as it is given to them.
4. Behold this crystal: how the one light its manifest in twelve faces, yea four
times twelve, and each face reflecteth one ray of light, and one regardeth one
face, and another another, but it is the one crystal and the one light that
shineth in all.
5. Behold again, When one climbeth a mountain and attaining one height, he
saith, This is the top of the mountain, let us reach it, and when they have
reached that height, lo, they see another beyond it until they come to that
height from which no other height is to be seen, if so be they can attain it.
6. So it is with Truth. I am the Truth and the Way and the Life, and have given
to you the Truth I have received from above. And that which is seen and received
by one, is not seen and received by another. That which appeareth true to some,
seemeth not true to others. They who are in the valley see not as they who are
on the hill top.
7. But to each, it is the Truth as the one mind seeth it, and for that time,
till a higher Truth shall be revealed unto the same: and to the soul which
receiveth higher light, shall be given more light. Wherefore condemn not others,
that ye be not condemned.
8. As ye keep the holy Law of Love, which I have given unto you, so shall the
Truth be revealed more and more unto you, and the Spirit of Truth which cometh
from above shall guide you, albeit through many wanderings, into all Truth, even
as the fiery cloud guided the children of Israel through the wilderness.
9. Be faithful to the light ye have, till a higher light is given to you. Seek
more light, and ye shall have abundantly; rest not, till ye find.
10. God giveth you all Truth, as a ladder with many steps, for the salvation and
perfection of the soul, and the truth which seemeth to day, ye will abandon for
the higher truth of the morrow. Press ye unto Perfection.
11. Whoso keepeth the holy Law which I have given, the same shall save their
souls, however differently they may see the truths which I have given.
12. Many shall say unto me, Lord, Lord, we have been zealous for thy Truth. But
I shall say unto them, Nay, but, that others may see as ye see, and none other
truth beside. Faith without charity is dead. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.
13. How shall faith in what they receive profit them that hold it in
unrighteousness? They who have love have all things, and without love there is
nothing worth. Let each hold what they see to be the truth in love, knowing that
where love is not, truth is a dead letter and profiteth nothing.
14. There abide Goodness, and Truth, and Beauty, but the greatest of these is
Goodness. If any have hatred to their fellows, and harden their hearts to the
creatures of God's hands, how can they see Truth unto salvation, seeing their
eyes are blinded and their hearts are hardened to God's creation?
15. As I have received the Truth, so have I given it to you. Let each receive it
according to their light and ability to understand, and persecute not those who
receive it after a different interpretation.
16. For Truth is the Might of God, and it shall prevail in the end over all
errors. But the holy Law which I have given is plain for all, and just and good.
Let all observe it for the salvation of their souls.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/essene/gospel_10.htm
The Father within us...
When the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, you are ordained, but you are not ordained to be set apart. You are ordained to heal the sick, to comfort, to feed, to forgive. That is the purpose of ordination~ not that you may be glorified but that you may be better equipped to give more abundantly, to share more freely, to understand more universally that it is not only the children of your flesh who are your children, but that all children of this world are your children, and you have an equal responsibility to share with them.
You must be able to look out upon this world and say unto it: "The Spirit of God in me is your Father. You may look to the Father within me for substance and sustenance. You, friend or so-called foe, may look to the Spirit of God in me, the fatherhood of God in me, for your care."
Then you will understand this relationship that has been kept secret from the world, the invisible bond that exists among all mystics. The visible and invisible mystics of the world who have recognized I standing at the door of their consciousness, are eternally united in consciousness, sharing with one another.
I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.
~ Revelation 3:8
~ Joel S. Goldsmith, The Mystical I
You must be able to look out upon this world and say unto it: "The Spirit of God in me is your Father. You may look to the Father within me for substance and sustenance. You, friend or so-called foe, may look to the Spirit of God in me, the fatherhood of God in me, for your care."
Then you will understand this relationship that has been kept secret from the world, the invisible bond that exists among all mystics. The visible and invisible mystics of the world who have recognized I standing at the door of their consciousness, are eternally united in consciousness, sharing with one another.
I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.
~ Revelation 3:8
~ Joel S. Goldsmith, The Mystical I
Detachment...
Because it never changes, Consciousness itself
is never angry, sad, hurt, lonely or scared.
It's only the historical ego-self that seeks to validate
its separate existence by maintaining a close association
with, and attachment for, those thoughts and feelings.
When you create a heart-centered detachment to the
world, however, these passing phenomena can then be
experienced with compassionate indifference and a kind
of "holy apathy."
Detachment is the realm of unconditional love.
- Chuck Hillig
is never angry, sad, hurt, lonely or scared.
It's only the historical ego-self that seeks to validate
its separate existence by maintaining a close association
with, and attachment for, those thoughts and feelings.
When you create a heart-centered detachment to the
world, however, these passing phenomena can then be
experienced with compassionate indifference and a kind
of "holy apathy."
Detachment is the realm of unconditional love.
- Chuck Hillig
Fear...
Intellect is what brings about the sense of
fear, because it is the intellect that rejects
change and wants security.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
fear, because it is the intellect that rejects
change and wants security.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
Ram Tzu...
Ram Tzu is a Zen Master’s Master. And like a Zen Master of old if the Student is blinded by his own flame the Master smacks him, on occasion. Ram Tzu laughs at you… But only when you need laughing at. An example from the book:'Ram Tzu knows this'…You indulge in self improvement… and…All you have to show for it is an improved self.’
If this makes you mad you missed the point. Losing the self is the point not improving it. This book is not for the pious, those that take themselves too seriously.
To the truly enlightened, nothing is sacred. Ram Tzu is truly Enlightened.”
“This book will slap you back into your senses. To quote from the book: ‘You are your own worst enemy. Ram Tzu is your friend, so he will have to kill you to save you from yourself.’ “
If this makes you mad you missed the point. Losing the self is the point not improving it. This book is not for the pious, those that take themselves too seriously.
To the truly enlightened, nothing is sacred. Ram Tzu is truly Enlightened.”
“This book will slap you back into your senses. To quote from the book: ‘You are your own worst enemy. Ram Tzu is your friend, so he will have to kill you to save you from yourself.’ “
the Self...
The Self alone is real. All others are unreal.
The mind and intellect do not remain apart from
you.
The Bible says, 'Be still and know that I am
God.' Stillness is the sole requisite for the
realisation of the Self as God.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
The mind and intellect do not remain apart from
you.
The Bible says, 'Be still and know that I am
God.' Stillness is the sole requisite for the
realisation of the Self as God.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
ego...
Ego says it matters,
the Supreme says that it does not.
Even the power of decision is not from ego.
All is the Supreme Power, do not attribute it to anything else
because this only reinforces the ghosts.
Face the One.
- Papaji
the Supreme says that it does not.
Even the power of decision is not from ego.
All is the Supreme Power, do not attribute it to anything else
because this only reinforces the ghosts.
Face the One.
- Papaji
Seeing at Last...
"Who is the man who sees at last? It is the man who refuses to
settle, conclude, decide, the man who refuses comfort and security,
who bears uncertainty to the bursting point and lets it burst.
The bursting of the accumulated and the familiar permits entrance
of something entirely different from the nervous knowing of society.
With this bursting, a man becomes innocent again."
Esoteric Mind Power, p. 88....Vernon Howard
settle, conclude, decide, the man who refuses comfort and security,
who bears uncertainty to the bursting point and lets it burst.
The bursting of the accumulated and the familiar permits entrance
of something entirely different from the nervous knowing of society.
With this bursting, a man becomes innocent again."
Esoteric Mind Power, p. 88....Vernon Howard
Desiderata...
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
--- Max Ehrmann, 1927
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
--- Max Ehrmann, 1927
All is Surrendered...
Space and time, male and female, subject
and object, being and nonbeing - all are
lost in the flood of Realization.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
and object, being and nonbeing - all are
lost in the flood of Realization.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
"No Self No Problem"
"Our true essence is perfectly sublime and divine. It is the highest thing in this universe. It is the most sacred entity. The true nature that we all share is more sacred than anything else. So if we are able to simply identify with our true nature, our pure consciousness, then all of our suffering is gone. That's liberation. That's it. There is nothing more than that. Once we identify with our pure consciousness, that's enlightenment. That's liberation. That's moksha. There's nothing more than that. Then fulfillment is always there without needing anything from outside."
~Anam Thubten "No Self No Problem" pp. 27-28
~Anam Thubten "No Self No Problem" pp. 27-28
Thought Realization...
Man can produce out of his thought Satan, an angel, or a devil, and he can
produce out of his thought God. When he comes to the realization that all is
from one source and all is developing to one goal, then he begins to see that
that source is God.
From the Teachings of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
Selected & arranged by
HAZRAT PIR VILAYAT INAYAT KHAN
produce out of his thought God. When he comes to the realization that all is
from one source and all is developing to one goal, then he begins to see that
that source is God.
From the Teachings of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
Selected & arranged by
HAZRAT PIR VILAYAT INAYAT KHAN
Ram Tzu speaks...
Ram Tzu knows this
It's not your fault.
How could it be?
A shadow is not responsible
For its movements.
A knife cannot
Be tried for murder.
You have been filled
With your self.
You believe what
You are meant to believe.
You go where
You are supposed to go.
Ram Tzu does not offer advice
Who would he offer it to?
- Ram Tzu
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
No Way for the Spiritually "Advanced"
Ram Tzu
Advaita Press, 1990
It's not your fault.
How could it be?
A shadow is not responsible
For its movements.
A knife cannot
Be tried for murder.
You have been filled
With your self.
You believe what
You are meant to believe.
You go where
You are supposed to go.
Ram Tzu does not offer advice
Who would he offer it to?
- Ram Tzu
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
No Way for the Spiritually "Advanced"
Ram Tzu
Advaita Press, 1990
Experience...
To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.........
Saint Teresa of Avila
Saint Teresa of Avila
Advaita...
The teaching of Advaita is to know what you are
through knowing what you are not. You are not
thoughts or the body. There is no person, no
separate, independently functioning and
controlling I.
Negate all that you know, stop the search for just
a moment and notice the simplicity of This, with no
thoughts, labels, concepts; what is left is nothingness,
what you really are.
Nothingness arising as the world.
- Randall Friend
through knowing what you are not. You are not
thoughts or the body. There is no person, no
separate, independently functioning and
controlling I.
Negate all that you know, stop the search for just
a moment and notice the simplicity of This, with no
thoughts, labels, concepts; what is left is nothingness,
what you really are.
Nothingness arising as the world.
- Randall Friend
Initiation into Mysticism...
“Where mysticism has prevailed for centuries and centuries, initiation has always been regarded as being most sacred. Divine knowledge has never been taught in words, nor will it ever be done so. The work of a mystic is not to teach with words but to tune those who are open to that which is offered, so that the seeker becomes an instrument of God. In other words, the mystic is not the player of the instrument, but rather its tuner, and when tuned, the instrument is then given into the hands of the Divine Player, whose playing becomes more and more clearly the expression of Divine music. On this path, there are no rules to follow, because every adept is like a different instrument in the Divine symphony, but there is one basic principle which applies to the manner of life of all concerned, and that is sincerity in humility. Happiness, which is an unfoldment of the inner self, comes as an expansion of consciousness, and one could consequently say that the degree of advancement on the path is indicated by the expansion of the horizon of the consciousness. Similar to a most fruitful tree, which bends the more that its fruit is abundant, in the same way the deeper the spiritual realization of the adept, he humbler he becomes. The one who is pretentious gives no fruit. The sincere initiate hardly mentions the word initiation, and feels no need to convert others to the path, nor to seek recognition, and if asked what is derived by spiritual attainment, will only answer, to become better fitted for serving mankind."
www.sufimovement.net
www.sufimovement.net
Hidden...
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.....
Gautama the Buddha
Gautama the Buddha
Gravitation...
The trees of the forest silently await God's blessing.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
The law of gravitation is working from two sides: from the side of the earth
which draws all that belongs to the earth, and from the side of the spirit which
attracts the soul towards it. Even those who are unconscious of this law of
gravitation are also striving for perfection, for the soul is being continually
drawn towards the spirit. They are striving for perfection just the same. In the
small things of everyday life a man is never satisfied with what he has. He
always wants more and more, be it a higher rank, wealth, or fame. He is always
striving for this.
This shows that the heart is like a magic bowl. However much you pour into it,
it only becomes deeper. It is always found to be empty. The reason why man is
never satisfied is that he is unconsciously striving for perfection. Those
however who strive consciously after perfection have a different way.
Nevertheless, each atom of the universe is meant to struggle and strive in order
to become perfect one day. In other words, if a seer happens to be in the
mountains he will hear the mountains cry continually, 'We are waiting for that
day when something in us will awaken. There will come a day of awakening, of
unfoldment. We are silently awaiting it.' If he went into the forest and saw the
trees standing there they would tell him that they too were waiting patiently.
One can feel it. The more one sits there the more one feels that the trees are
waiting for the time when there will be an unfoldment. So it is with all beings.
But man is so absorbed in his everyday actions and his greed that he seems to be
unaware of that innate desire for unfoldment. It is his everyday tasks, his
avariciousness, his cruelty to other beings, that keep him continually occupied,
and that is why he cannot hear the continual cry of his own soul to awaken, to
unfold, to reach upward, to expand, and to go towards perfection.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
The law of gravitation is working from two sides: from the side of the earth
which draws all that belongs to the earth, and from the side of the spirit which
attracts the soul towards it. Even those who are unconscious of this law of
gravitation are also striving for perfection, for the soul is being continually
drawn towards the spirit. They are striving for perfection just the same. In the
small things of everyday life a man is never satisfied with what he has. He
always wants more and more, be it a higher rank, wealth, or fame. He is always
striving for this.
This shows that the heart is like a magic bowl. However much you pour into it,
it only becomes deeper. It is always found to be empty. The reason why man is
never satisfied is that he is unconsciously striving for perfection. Those
however who strive consciously after perfection have a different way.
Nevertheless, each atom of the universe is meant to struggle and strive in order
to become perfect one day. In other words, if a seer happens to be in the
mountains he will hear the mountains cry continually, 'We are waiting for that
day when something in us will awaken. There will come a day of awakening, of
unfoldment. We are silently awaiting it.' If he went into the forest and saw the
trees standing there they would tell him that they too were waiting patiently.
One can feel it. The more one sits there the more one feels that the trees are
waiting for the time when there will be an unfoldment. So it is with all beings.
But man is so absorbed in his everyday actions and his greed that he seems to be
unaware of that innate desire for unfoldment. It is his everyday tasks, his
avariciousness, his cruelty to other beings, that keep him continually occupied,
and that is why he cannot hear the continual cry of his own soul to awaken, to
unfold, to reach upward, to expand, and to go towards perfection.
Two Selves...
If we talk of knowing the Self, there must
be two selves, one a knowing self, another
the self which is known, and the process of
knowing. The state we call realisation is
simply being oneself, not knowing anything
or becoming anything. If one has realised,
one is that which alone is and which alone has
always been. One cannot describe that state.
One can only be that. Of course, we loosely
talk of Self-realisation, for want of a better
term. How to 'real-ise' or make real that
which alone is real?
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
be two selves, one a knowing self, another
the self which is known, and the process of
knowing. The state we call realisation is
simply being oneself, not knowing anything
or becoming anything. If one has realised,
one is that which alone is and which alone has
always been. One cannot describe that state.
One can only be that. Of course, we loosely
talk of Self-realisation, for want of a better
term. How to 'real-ise' or make real that
which alone is real?
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
Simple Advice...
In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
- Tao Te Ching
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
- Tao Te Ching
Practice Now...
"Practice at interrupting mechanical thoughts. This classic
spiritual exercise works wonders for you. Interrupt your
usual thoughts by becoming conscious of whatever you are
doing at the moment. Don't get lost in thought, but be aware
of yourself breathing, talking, lifting a cup, nodding your
head. Turn your attention back on yourself and catch yourself
in action. In these moments you are seeing, not thinking,
which makes life a pleasure."
50 Ways To Get Help From God, # 13........Vernon Howard
spiritual exercise works wonders for you. Interrupt your
usual thoughts by becoming conscious of whatever you are
doing at the moment. Don't get lost in thought, but be aware
of yourself breathing, talking, lifting a cup, nodding your
head. Turn your attention back on yourself and catch yourself
in action. In these moments you are seeing, not thinking,
which makes life a pleasure."
50 Ways To Get Help From God, # 13........Vernon Howard
Recital of the Sarmoun Brotherhood..(Sufi Mystics)
He who knows and does not know that he knows:
he is asleep. Let him become one, whole.
Let him be awakened.
He who has known but does not know:
let him see once more the beginning of all.
He who does not wish to know, and yet says that he needs to know:
let him be guided to safety and to light.
He who does not know, and knows that he does not know:
let him, through this knowledge, know.
He who does not know, but thinks that he knows:
set him free from the confusion of that ignorance.
He who knows, and knows that HE IS:
he is wise. Let him be followed.
By his presence alone man may be transformed.
I who know, and do not know that I know:
let me become one, whole.
Let me be awakened.
I who have known, but do not know:
let me see once more the beginning of all.
I who do not wish to know, and yet say that I need to know:
let me be guided to safety and light.
I who do not know, and know that I do not know:
let me through this knowledge, know.
I who do not know, but think that I know:
set me free from the confusion of that ignorance.
He who knows, and know that HE IS:
he is wise. Let him be followed.
By his presence alone man may be transformed.
We who know, and do not know that we know:
let us become one, whole.
Let us be transformed.
We who have known, but do not know:
let us once more see the beginning of all.
We who do not wish to know, and yet say that we need to know:
let us be guided to safety and light.
We who do not know, and know that we do not know:
let us, through this knowledge, know.
We who do not know, but think that we know:
set us free from the confusion of that ignorance.
He who knows, and knows that HE IS;
he is wise. Let him be followed.
By his presence alone man may be transformed.
As with our forebears
So with our successors.
So with us.
We affirm this undertaking.
So let it be.
he is asleep. Let him become one, whole.
Let him be awakened.
He who has known but does not know:
let him see once more the beginning of all.
He who does not wish to know, and yet says that he needs to know:
let him be guided to safety and to light.
He who does not know, and knows that he does not know:
let him, through this knowledge, know.
He who does not know, but thinks that he knows:
set him free from the confusion of that ignorance.
He who knows, and knows that HE IS:
he is wise. Let him be followed.
By his presence alone man may be transformed.
I who know, and do not know that I know:
let me become one, whole.
Let me be awakened.
I who have known, but do not know:
let me see once more the beginning of all.
I who do not wish to know, and yet say that I need to know:
let me be guided to safety and light.
I who do not know, and know that I do not know:
let me through this knowledge, know.
I who do not know, but think that I know:
set me free from the confusion of that ignorance.
He who knows, and know that HE IS:
he is wise. Let him be followed.
By his presence alone man may be transformed.
We who know, and do not know that we know:
let us become one, whole.
Let us be transformed.
We who have known, but do not know:
let us once more see the beginning of all.
We who do not wish to know, and yet say that we need to know:
let us be guided to safety and light.
We who do not know, and know that we do not know:
let us, through this knowledge, know.
We who do not know, but think that we know:
set us free from the confusion of that ignorance.
He who knows, and knows that HE IS;
he is wise. Let him be followed.
By his presence alone man may be transformed.
As with our forebears
So with our successors.
So with us.
We affirm this undertaking.
So let it be.
you and I...
There is nothing like you and I. What are you
seeing? You are seeing a part of the mind
only. You are not seeing a person. Just as
you see a wall in dream, you see another wall
here. It stands in the same relation to the
cosmic mind as the dream wall in relation to
the waking mind. This world is a cosmic
dream. When you wake up you will not see
the world. Just as you do not see the dream-
world now.
- Swami Krishnananda
seeing? You are seeing a part of the mind
only. You are not seeing a person. Just as
you see a wall in dream, you see another wall
here. It stands in the same relation to the
cosmic mind as the dream wall in relation to
the waking mind. This world is a cosmic
dream. When you wake up you will not see
the world. Just as you do not see the dream-
world now.
- Swami Krishnananda
selflessness...
The main
message of Jesus was Love and selflessness... selflessness is non-ego..
selflessness is to be without the self.. Love can only be felt when ego is not
present.. Therefore, Jesus was teaching that the only way to reunion with God is
by elimination of the false ego....Jesus was obviously a Spiritual Mystic and He
taught Mysticism to his Apostles.. This is how He was able to teach them how to
heal and perform miracles...Lawlessness is to be outside of the Law, sin is
outside the Reality of Truth and outside of the Laws of
Love...............Namaste, thomas
message of Jesus was Love and selflessness... selflessness is non-ego..
selflessness is to be without the self.. Love can only be felt when ego is not
present.. Therefore, Jesus was teaching that the only way to reunion with God is
by elimination of the false ego....Jesus was obviously a Spiritual Mystic and He
taught Mysticism to his Apostles.. This is how He was able to teach them how to
heal and perform miracles...Lawlessness is to be outside of the Law, sin is
outside the Reality of Truth and outside of the Laws of
Love...............Namaste, thomas
Unconscious people...
Unconscious people read the scriptures
like parrots saying Ram, Ram,
in their cages.
It's all pretend-knowledge.
Read rather, with me, every
living moment as prophecy.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
like parrots saying Ram, Ram,
in their cages.
It's all pretend-knowledge.
Read rather, with me, every
living moment as prophecy.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
Separate ego...
As long as you believe that you're a separate
ego, the Universe will hold you personally
responsible for absolutely everything that you
think, feel, say and do.
In life, there are neither victors nor victims.
If you're an adult and are still feeing emotionally
victimized by others, then you're in an uncon-
scious co-conspiracy with them to be victimized.
In short, others will tend to sell what you will tend
to buy.
- Chuck Hillig
ego, the Universe will hold you personally
responsible for absolutely everything that you
think, feel, say and do.
In life, there are neither victors nor victims.
If you're an adult and are still feeing emotionally
victimized by others, then you're in an uncon-
scious co-conspiracy with them to be victimized.
In short, others will tend to sell what you will tend
to buy.
- Chuck Hillig
The Supreme...
The Supreme is the universal solvent, it corrodes
every container, it burns through every obstacle.
Without the absolute denial of everything the
tyranny of things would be absolute. The Supreme
is the great harmonizer, the guarantee of the
ultimate and perfect balance - of life in freedom.
It dissolves you and thus re-asserts your true being.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
every container, it burns through every obstacle.
Without the absolute denial of everything the
tyranny of things would be absolute. The Supreme
is the great harmonizer, the guarantee of the
ultimate and perfect balance - of life in freedom.
It dissolves you and thus re-asserts your true being.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
Ram Tzu Speaks...
You clever ones
Go looking
For a Master
In a cave
In the Himalayas
Or in the forests
Of Thailand.
If you're less clever
You'll look for him
Somewhere comfortable
Like Ashland, Sedona,
Santa Fe or Santa Cruz.
Wouldn't you be surprised
To learn that
All this time
He was sitting behind a desk
In your bank?
Ram Tzu knows this…
You require your sages
To be in proper uniform.
- Ram Tzu
Go looking
For a Master
In a cave
In the Himalayas
Or in the forests
Of Thailand.
If you're less clever
You'll look for him
Somewhere comfortable
Like Ashland, Sedona,
Santa Fe or Santa Cruz.
Wouldn't you be surprised
To learn that
All this time
He was sitting behind a desk
In your bank?
Ram Tzu knows this…
You require your sages
To be in proper uniform.
- Ram Tzu
Meditation...
The practice of meditation is represented by the three monkeys, who
cover their eyes, ears and mouths so as to avoid the phenomenal world.
The practice of non-meditation is ceasing to be the see-er, hearer or
speaker while eyes, ears and mouths are fulfilling their function in
daily life.
Wei Wu Wei
cover their eyes, ears and mouths so as to avoid the phenomenal world.
The practice of non-meditation is ceasing to be the see-er, hearer or
speaker while eyes, ears and mouths are fulfilling their function in
daily life.
Wei Wu Wei
The ego...
The ego is nothing more than a shadow. Its stuff and reality are
merely that transient ever-changing play of light and colour. It
exists--a word whose very meaning, "to be placed outside," is also
metaphysically true. For he who immerses himself in its consciousness
places himself outside the consciousness of Overself.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 2: I-thought > # 29
merely that transient ever-changing play of light and colour. It
exists--a word whose very meaning, "to be placed outside," is also
metaphysically true. For he who immerses himself in its consciousness
places himself outside the consciousness of Overself.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 2: I-thought > # 29
Surrender All to Attain All...
Before you cross the threshold into dreamless
sleep, absolutely everything in the world that you
hold near and dear will have to be surrendered
and left behind.
You can only enter that empty kingdom with
empty hands, empty mind and an empty heart.
If you're coming with anything in your hands,
mind or heart, you're required to wait at the
threshold until you finally put it down.
Even the in waking world, surrendering fully to
how life really is also requires that, sometimes,
you sit quietly in the middle of your mess and
in the core of your chaos…and just wait.
Wait…with no expectations.
Wait…in your own emptiness.
- Chuck Hillig
sleep, absolutely everything in the world that you
hold near and dear will have to be surrendered
and left behind.
You can only enter that empty kingdom with
empty hands, empty mind and an empty heart.
If you're coming with anything in your hands,
mind or heart, you're required to wait at the
threshold until you finally put it down.
Even the in waking world, surrendering fully to
how life really is also requires that, sometimes,
you sit quietly in the middle of your mess and
in the core of your chaos…and just wait.
Wait…with no expectations.
Wait…in your own emptiness.
- Chuck Hillig
Basic Truth...
Basic truth is
non-denominational
non-dogmatic
universal.
When you go to the core
of the Principle
we all are One.
Once you
realize
the Absolute,
relativity
is just your
playing cards.
- Swami Amar Jyoti
non-denominational
non-dogmatic
universal.
When you go to the core
of the Principle
we all are One.
Once you
realize
the Absolute,
relativity
is just your
playing cards.
- Swami Amar Jyoti
Soul...
The
Truth is that there is only Divine Consciousness.. The idea of a soul is the
belief in Duality.. We see ourselves as individual souls just as we see
ourselves as individual egos'.. Both are incorrect.. This Consciousness that we
call soul is actually Divine Consciousness that is learning what
Anti-Consciousness is.. You can only know Love if you also Know Anti-Love
(ego).. This is the great experiment known as Life...........namaste, thomas
Truth is that there is only Divine Consciousness.. The idea of a soul is the
belief in Duality.. We see ourselves as individual souls just as we see
ourselves as individual egos'.. Both are incorrect.. This Consciousness that we
call soul is actually Divine Consciousness that is learning what
Anti-Consciousness is.. You can only know Love if you also Know Anti-Love
(ego).. This is the great experiment known as Life...........namaste, thomas
To Build a Swing...
To Build A Swing
You carry
All the ingredients
To turn your life into a nightmare-
Don't mix them!
You have all the genius
To build a swing in your backyard
For God.
That sounds
Like a hell of a lot more fun.
Let's start laughing, drawing blueprints,
Gathering our talented friends.
I will help you
With my divine lyre and drum.
Hafiz
Will sing a thousand words
You can take into your hands,
Like golden saws,
Sliver hammers,
Polished teakwood,
Strong silk rope.
You carry all the ingredients
To turn your existence into joy,
Mix them, mix
Them!
- Hafiz
You carry
All the ingredients
To turn your life into a nightmare-
Don't mix them!
You have all the genius
To build a swing in your backyard
For God.
That sounds
Like a hell of a lot more fun.
Let's start laughing, drawing blueprints,
Gathering our talented friends.
I will help you
With my divine lyre and drum.
Hafiz
Will sing a thousand words
You can take into your hands,
Like golden saws,
Sliver hammers,
Polished teakwood,
Strong silk rope.
You carry all the ingredients
To turn your existence into joy,
Mix them, mix
Them!
- Hafiz
Death and Birth...
The seeming death of the body is the real birth of the soul.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
There are two deaths, the inner and the external. The first is going into the
center, the second going into the vastness.
There is a [Hadith] which says: Mutu kubla anta mutu, which means, 'Die before
death.' A poet says, 'Only he attains to the peace of the Lord who loses
himself.' God said to Moses, 'No man shall see me and live.' To see God we must
be non-existent. What does all this mean? It means that when we see our being
with open eyes, we see that there are two aspects to our being: the false and
the true. The false life is that of the body and mind, which only exists as long
as the life is within. In the absence of that life the body cannot go on. We
mistake the true life for the false, and the false for the true.
Dying is this: when there is a fruit or something sweet and good to taste, the
child comes to its mother and says, 'Will you give it to me?' Although it would
have given pleasure to the mother to eat it, she gives it to the child. The
eating of it by the child is enjoyed by the mother. That is death. She enjoys
her life in the joy of another. Those who rejoice in the joy of another, though
at their own expense, have taken the first step towards true life. ... If we
enjoy a beautiful thing so much that we would like to have it, and then give
that joy to another, enjoying it through his experience, we are dead. That is
our death. Yet, we live more than he. Our life is much vaster, deeper, greater.
Seemingly it is a renunciation, an annihilation, but in truth it is a mastery.
The real meaning of crucifixion is to crucify this false self, and so resurrect
the true self. As long as the false self is not crucified, the true self is
still not realized. By Sufis it is called Fana, annihilation. All the attempts
made by true sages and seekers after real truth are for the one aim of attaining
to everlasting life.
We love our body and identify ourselves with it to such an extent that we are
very unhappy to think that this body, which is so dear to us, will some day be
in the grave. No one likes to think that it will die and be destroyed. But the
soul is our true self. It existed before our birth and will exist after our
death.
The soul is our real being, through which we realize and are conscious of our
life. When the body, owing to loss of strength and magnetism, has lost its grip
upon the mind, the seeming death comes; that which everybody calls death. Then
the soul's experience of life remains only with one vehicle, that is the mind,
which contains within itself a world of its own, photographed from one's
experience on earth on the physical plane. This is heaven if it is full of joy,
and it is hell if it is filled with sorrow. ... But the soul is alive. It is the
spirit of the eternal Being, and it has no death. It is everlasting.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
There are two deaths, the inner and the external. The first is going into the
center, the second going into the vastness.
There is a [Hadith] which says: Mutu kubla anta mutu, which means, 'Die before
death.' A poet says, 'Only he attains to the peace of the Lord who loses
himself.' God said to Moses, 'No man shall see me and live.' To see God we must
be non-existent. What does all this mean? It means that when we see our being
with open eyes, we see that there are two aspects to our being: the false and
the true. The false life is that of the body and mind, which only exists as long
as the life is within. In the absence of that life the body cannot go on. We
mistake the true life for the false, and the false for the true.
Dying is this: when there is a fruit or something sweet and good to taste, the
child comes to its mother and says, 'Will you give it to me?' Although it would
have given pleasure to the mother to eat it, she gives it to the child. The
eating of it by the child is enjoyed by the mother. That is death. She enjoys
her life in the joy of another. Those who rejoice in the joy of another, though
at their own expense, have taken the first step towards true life. ... If we
enjoy a beautiful thing so much that we would like to have it, and then give
that joy to another, enjoying it through his experience, we are dead. That is
our death. Yet, we live more than he. Our life is much vaster, deeper, greater.
Seemingly it is a renunciation, an annihilation, but in truth it is a mastery.
The real meaning of crucifixion is to crucify this false self, and so resurrect
the true self. As long as the false self is not crucified, the true self is
still not realized. By Sufis it is called Fana, annihilation. All the attempts
made by true sages and seekers after real truth are for the one aim of attaining
to everlasting life.
We love our body and identify ourselves with it to such an extent that we are
very unhappy to think that this body, which is so dear to us, will some day be
in the grave. No one likes to think that it will die and be destroyed. But the
soul is our true self. It existed before our birth and will exist after our
death.
The soul is our real being, through which we realize and are conscious of our
life. When the body, owing to loss of strength and magnetism, has lost its grip
upon the mind, the seeming death comes; that which everybody calls death. Then
the soul's experience of life remains only with one vehicle, that is the mind,
which contains within itself a world of its own, photographed from one's
experience on earth on the physical plane. This is heaven if it is full of joy,
and it is hell if it is filled with sorrow. ... But the soul is alive. It is the
spirit of the eternal Being, and it has no death. It is everlasting.
OM...
One in whom the syllable OM
rises steadily upward
from the sex through the navel,
and only OM, forms a bridge to God.
That one has no interest
in different kinds of magic.
That one is a spell.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
rises steadily upward
from the sex through the navel,
and only OM, forms a bridge to God.
That one has no interest
in different kinds of magic.
That one is a spell.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
Stages...
There are two stages: (a) effort, and (b) cessation of effort while waiting for Grace. Without guilt and without the use of willpower, he watches his weaknesses and desires as a mere spectator. This nondualistic attitude, which refuses to separate body from soul, is metaphysically correct; but he must place within, and subordinate to, this larger acceptance the minimum disciplines and controls and exercises. Thus the latter are modified and their harsh, rigid, or mechanical character is eliminated. The teaching of acceptance is given by Krishnamurti, but it is not balanced by the disciplines; it is too extreme, it is not complete. The balanced philosophic approach eliminates the dualism of body and soul, so criticized by Krishnamurti, yet makes a proper limited use of asceticism.
— Notebooks Category 2: Overview of Practicies Involved > Chapter 5: Balance the Psyche > # 69......Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 2: Overview of Practicies Involved > Chapter 5: Balance the Psyche > # 69......Paul Brunton
Know Yourself...
There is no `I' apart from the body or the world.
The three appear and disappear together. At
the root is the sense `I am'. Go beyond it. The idea
`I-am-not-body' is merely an antidote to the idea
`I- am-the-body', which is false. What is that
`I am'? Unless you know yourself, what else
can you know?
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
The three appear and disappear together. At
the root is the sense `I am'. Go beyond it. The idea
`I-am-not-body' is merely an antidote to the idea
`I- am-the-body', which is false. What is that
`I am'? Unless you know yourself, what else
can you know?
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Life's Journey...
Your life's journey is a pilgrimage that's always
going from one sacred space to yet another sacred
space.
And the very road that you're traveling on between
these sacred spaces is also sacred, too.
No matter what your life looks like right now, you're
always standing in the Temple of the Divine.
Your own Heart is truly the Holy-of-Holies.
- Chuck Hillig
going from one sacred space to yet another sacred
space.
And the very road that you're traveling on between
these sacred spaces is also sacred, too.
No matter what your life looks like right now, you're
always standing in the Temple of the Divine.
Your own Heart is truly the Holy-of-Holies.
- Chuck Hillig
Pure Consciousness...
Before the beginning you are pure Consciousness.
You are the Fullness of Love in Love
and the Emptiness of Awareness.
You are Existence and the Peace beyond peace.
You are that screen on which all is projected.
You are the Light of Knowledge,
the One who gave the concept of creation to the creator.
Forget what can be forgotten and know yourself
to be that which can never be forgotten.
You are the substratum on which everything moves,
let it move.
You are Now, you are Nowness:
what "I" is there which can be out of this Now?
You are Truth and only Truth Is.
- Papaji
You are the Fullness of Love in Love
and the Emptiness of Awareness.
You are Existence and the Peace beyond peace.
You are that screen on which all is projected.
You are the Light of Knowledge,
the One who gave the concept of creation to the creator.
Forget what can be forgotten and know yourself
to be that which can never be forgotten.
You are the substratum on which everything moves,
let it move.
You are Now, you are Nowness:
what "I" is there which can be out of this Now?
You are Truth and only Truth Is.
- Papaji
Fana...
The knowledge of Allah follows upon the dissolving of the ego, fana, says Sufism. But some Sufi masters go even farther and assert that it follows only on the dissolving of this dissolving (fana-el-fana). What does this strange statement mean? The answer is nonduality. What nonduality itself means is to be gleaned from another Sufi declaration: "The outer path: I and Thou. The inner path: I am Thou and Thou are I. The final insight: neither I nor Thou."
— Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind > Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 117........Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind > Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 117........Paul Brunton
Location...
You are always thinking you are somewhere, in
some place. You have to remove that idea. There
is a peculiar habit of the mind asserting itself as
located in some place, in a particular form, in a
particular condition, etc. This must be removed so
that you may know the truth.
- Swami Krishnananda
some place. You have to remove that idea. There
is a peculiar habit of the mind asserting itself as
located in some place, in a particular form, in a
particular condition, etc. This must be removed so
that you may know the truth.
- Swami Krishnananda
Problems...
Problems need to be dissolved, not
solved, because there is no solution. The
only way the problems get dissolved is, as
soon as they arise, they are merely wit-
nessed.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
solved, because there is no solution. The
only way the problems get dissolved is, as
soon as they arise, they are merely wit-
nessed.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
The Secret of the Path...
The Secret of the Path lies in the greatest of all simplicity. It is not
shrouded but very clear. It is not one that is discerned by the intellect of
humanity but by the Great Heart within. It is not known by complexity but by
the greatest distillation of simple, pure discernment. The Path is not
something that can be understood solely by the mind, but is something that is
lived by the soul, one step at a time – one healing, one struggle overcome, one
humility that transcends pride, one suffering that leads to release, one anger
that is given up to love, one Love that transcends all. The Path is where the
Lion lies down with the Lamb – where the ego surrenders to the Great I Am –
where the need to be greater surrenders to the All.
The Path is the understanding that suffering is the greatest healer – it is the
releaser from the prison of ego that chains us to the corporal. When we suffer
injustice, in that mirror we should see our own capacity for it and seek release
from this capacity. When we suffer abuse at the hands of others, we should see
ourselves in the mirror of this abuse and understand our own capacity for it and
seek release from this capacity. When we are hurt and downtrodden, we should
rejoice in the blessings of the lessons of this suffering and know that our
souls can rise above it only through a real understanding of our own capacity
to do the same. In the mirror of suffering, we see ourselves truly and this
reflection impels us to greater heights of Love that break the shackles of our
humanity to rise us to the Evolutionary Potential of our spiritual Union with
the Great Love that is our Creator.
The Secret of the Path lies most simply in a real tolerance that arises through
looking long into the reflection of ourselves in the mirror of the souls around
us and seeing that where we are weak so also are our fellows weak, where pride
leads us astray so also pride leads our fellows into harms way, where anger
destroys our peace, so also it destroys the peace of our fellows – and where
healing comes it comes only through Love. Love is the secret of the Path – love
of self that leads to Love of all others – even our greatest enemies. For truly
the greatest of those we see as being opposed to us deserve and need more than
us – the blessings of Love. Seek always after Love – resolve the pain that is
in the heart and always look after the way of Peace, of Compassion, of Love –
for this is the secret of the Path – there is NO other.
Sparrow
shrouded but very clear. It is not one that is discerned by the intellect of
humanity but by the Great Heart within. It is not known by complexity but by
the greatest distillation of simple, pure discernment. The Path is not
something that can be understood solely by the mind, but is something that is
lived by the soul, one step at a time – one healing, one struggle overcome, one
humility that transcends pride, one suffering that leads to release, one anger
that is given up to love, one Love that transcends all. The Path is where the
Lion lies down with the Lamb – where the ego surrenders to the Great I Am –
where the need to be greater surrenders to the All.
The Path is the understanding that suffering is the greatest healer – it is the
releaser from the prison of ego that chains us to the corporal. When we suffer
injustice, in that mirror we should see our own capacity for it and seek release
from this capacity. When we suffer abuse at the hands of others, we should see
ourselves in the mirror of this abuse and understand our own capacity for it and
seek release from this capacity. When we are hurt and downtrodden, we should
rejoice in the blessings of the lessons of this suffering and know that our
souls can rise above it only through a real understanding of our own capacity
to do the same. In the mirror of suffering, we see ourselves truly and this
reflection impels us to greater heights of Love that break the shackles of our
humanity to rise us to the Evolutionary Potential of our spiritual Union with
the Great Love that is our Creator.
The Secret of the Path lies most simply in a real tolerance that arises through
looking long into the reflection of ourselves in the mirror of the souls around
us and seeing that where we are weak so also are our fellows weak, where pride
leads us astray so also pride leads our fellows into harms way, where anger
destroys our peace, so also it destroys the peace of our fellows – and where
healing comes it comes only through Love. Love is the secret of the Path – love
of self that leads to Love of all others – even our greatest enemies. For truly
the greatest of those we see as being opposed to us deserve and need more than
us – the blessings of Love. Seek always after Love – resolve the pain that is
in the heart and always look after the way of Peace, of Compassion, of Love –
for this is the secret of the Path – there is NO other.
Sparrow
Never Say (Rumi)
never say
"No one knows the way."
never say
"Profound humans
can't be found."
just because
you're kept out of
heaven's secrets
you think everyone
is like you
--Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame
"No one knows the way."
never say
"Profound humans
can't be found."
just because
you're kept out of
heaven's secrets
you think everyone
is like you
--Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame
St. Francis and the Sow...
The bud
stands for all things,
even those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as St. Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of
the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking
and blowing beneath them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
~ Galway Kinnell ~
(Mortal Acts, Mortal Words)
stands for all things,
even those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as St. Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of
the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking
and blowing beneath them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
~ Galway Kinnell ~
(Mortal Acts, Mortal Words)
Intelligence...
Men of inferior intelligence quite naturally want a God who will be
attentive to their requirements, interested in their personal lives,
and helpful during times of distress. That is to say, they want a
human God. Men of superior intelligence come in time to consider God
as an impersonal essence that is everywhere present, and consequently
embodied in themselves and to be communed with interiorly too. That is
to say, they recognize only a mystical God. Men of the highest
intelligence perceive that the "I" is illusory, that it is only
ignorance of this fact that causes man to regard himself as a separate
embodiment of the divine essence, and that in reality there is only
this nondual nameless being. How impossible it is to get men of
inferior intelligence to worship or even to credit such an Existence
which has no shape, no individuality, no thinking even! Hence such men
are given a figure after their own image as God, a deity that is a
personal, human, five-sensed being.
— Notebooks Category 27: World-Mind > Chapter 1: What Is God? > # 11....Paul Brunton
attentive to their requirements, interested in their personal lives,
and helpful during times of distress. That is to say, they want a
human God. Men of superior intelligence come in time to consider God
as an impersonal essence that is everywhere present, and consequently
embodied in themselves and to be communed with interiorly too. That is
to say, they recognize only a mystical God. Men of the highest
intelligence perceive that the "I" is illusory, that it is only
ignorance of this fact that causes man to regard himself as a separate
embodiment of the divine essence, and that in reality there is only
this nondual nameless being. How impossible it is to get men of
inferior intelligence to worship or even to credit such an Existence
which has no shape, no individuality, no thinking even! Hence such men
are given a figure after their own image as God, a deity that is a
personal, human, five-sensed being.
— Notebooks Category 27: World-Mind > Chapter 1: What Is God? > # 11....Paul Brunton
Fear...
Fear can manifest only because of a belief in separation. As long as you are something apart from God you will experience, in one form or another, fear. It is subtle and hidden like a poisonous serpent coiled in the grass, liable to strike at any time--at the most unguarded moment, when least expected.
Its only power is given to it by thought, and it can be swollen by thought from a serpent into a dragon. All thoughts of evil are like toy balloons in that they are enlarged until finally the capacity is overtaxed and they burst. Sooner or later a fear will explode itself, however much or little damage it has done.
The panacea for all fear is your union with God.
The moment you are separated from ME and wander into the thought world (the vacuum of separation), you are subject to the laws of fear. The one who is filled with fear sees the ''ten thousand fall at your right hand,'' and is so convinced of the reality and power of evil that he fails to notice the one who passes through unscathed.
''Stand and see the salvation of the Lord'' has a definite, positive value to you NOW. For you are beginning to sense-see the power of being one instead of two. You are beginning to appropriate the instantaneous relief felt from this ONENESS.
This sudden appropriation of ONENESS is accompanied by the consciousness of how to eliminate the object of, or the belief in, fear. There are different ''cities'' of refuge into which you may run for every differing degree of fear; yet all are the same God. This ''running'' into God is not as symbolical as it appears. It is an actual fusing of you with the Father within you, and from that moment you are a majority, and you will know the NOTHINGNESS of the fear belief.
We arrive finally at the point, which is so full of the acceptance of God that it can and does say, ''Even if You slay me, yet I will say You are God''---and the last stand is taken. Even if You slay me---yet will I acknowledge this One and Only Power......... Walter Lanyon
Its only power is given to it by thought, and it can be swollen by thought from a serpent into a dragon. All thoughts of evil are like toy balloons in that they are enlarged until finally the capacity is overtaxed and they burst. Sooner or later a fear will explode itself, however much or little damage it has done.
The panacea for all fear is your union with God.
The moment you are separated from ME and wander into the thought world (the vacuum of separation), you are subject to the laws of fear. The one who is filled with fear sees the ''ten thousand fall at your right hand,'' and is so convinced of the reality and power of evil that he fails to notice the one who passes through unscathed.
''Stand and see the salvation of the Lord'' has a definite, positive value to you NOW. For you are beginning to sense-see the power of being one instead of two. You are beginning to appropriate the instantaneous relief felt from this ONENESS.
This sudden appropriation of ONENESS is accompanied by the consciousness of how to eliminate the object of, or the belief in, fear. There are different ''cities'' of refuge into which you may run for every differing degree of fear; yet all are the same God. This ''running'' into God is not as symbolical as it appears. It is an actual fusing of you with the Father within you, and from that moment you are a majority, and you will know the NOTHINGNESS of the fear belief.
We arrive finally at the point, which is so full of the acceptance of God that it can and does say, ''Even if You slay me, yet I will say You are God''---and the last stand is taken. Even if You slay me---yet will I acknowledge this One and Only Power......... Walter Lanyon
Opposites...
There are opposites, There is God and anti-God.. God is Love and anti-God is ego.. Ego is a false belief in separation and greed.. But God is Real and ego is ignorance of Truth.. Evil appears real because those that choose evil (ego) have some of the same powers of God to create, they have created selfishness and evil.. This energy of ego and evil are drawn to each other and create a power of evil and ego that we call satan.. This energy is powered by the ego and evil thoughts of other souls in this world and other worlds.. Thoughts have great power to create or destroy.. This is why evil souls that have died and become spirit are drawn to wars and violence, this is a way to gain the energy of ego and evil to feed upon.. If they did not gain the energy of ego thoughts, they would eventually dissolve and cease to exist.. This is why, if Love was found and shared within all humans, earth would turn into a paradise..........namaste, thomas
Levels of Consciousness...
There are levels of Knowledge within Consciousness (God).. Even those Great
Mystics such as Jesus and Gautama have not reached the deepest level of
Consciousness.. Although, They are One with God, They are still learning what
God Is.. Since, this Knowledge is without end, It becomes an Enormity of
Knowledge.. This Knowledge contains the deepest Knowledge of what exactly Love
Is..This is the Eternal Goal of All that enter Consciousness as
Non-Ego........namaste, thomas
Mystics such as Jesus and Gautama have not reached the deepest level of
Consciousness.. Although, They are One with God, They are still learning what
God Is.. Since, this Knowledge is without end, It becomes an Enormity of
Knowledge.. This Knowledge contains the deepest Knowledge of what exactly Love
Is..This is the Eternal Goal of All that enter Consciousness as
Non-Ego........namaste, thomas
Love and Hate...
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction...
The chain reaction of evil~ hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars~ must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The chain reaction of evil~ hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars~ must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Why are we here?...
God wants to Know more about Itself by sending Itself into the illusion of the material planes.. It is a process of Exploration.. We, as the Spirit that was sent into this exploration began to believe that we were the creature that we were inhabiting.. Because, the creatures seem to be separate, we began to believe that we are separate from God and from each other.. The individuality that you feel is the illusion of the ego that we believe is us.. Once, you have Realized that you are not the ego, you will then Realize that we do not have individuality.. When you have Realized Union with God through Meditation and Ego Surrender, you will Realize that what you believe is Creation and Physical is Thought that we call Consciousness that forms the illusion that we believe is real..You do not reach Reality, you merely disolve all that is not Reality.. This is called Enlightenment.. .................namaste, thomas
To Be Truth...
“Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.”
---Rumi
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.”
---Rumi
Practicing the Presence...
We, who are aspirants on the spiritual path, have reached the place where we know that the kingdom of God is to be found within ourselves: We have reached the place where we now know that all of the outer forms are useless in our search; we have reached the place where we know what we are seeking~ reunion with That from which we seem to have become separated. That cannot take place outside our own being. No one can do this for us. Only in our inner meditation, in our inner contemplation, can we find it, when inwardly we have become gentle and when we feel a depth of love that would almost make us open our arms to take the whole world in, as Jesus would like to have done for Jerusalem: "Oh, how I would love to put my arms around you and draw you in, but ye would not come. Come to me and feel the warmth of love." We, too, shall find that they would not, they will not~ except the few.
We, who are practicing the Presence, are of the few who know what ultimately will save the world. It is above all things the acknowledgment that no man on earth is our father: There is one universal Father within us, and united with Him, we are united with every spiritual child of God throughout the world. Our love for God constitutes our love for the people of the world. We no longer hate; we longer fear. We need not punish; we need not seek vengeance: We need only withdraw into ourselves and contemplate our oneness with God and with one another.
~ Joel S. Goldsmith, Practicing The Presence
We, who are practicing the Presence, are of the few who know what ultimately will save the world. It is above all things the acknowledgment that no man on earth is our father: There is one universal Father within us, and united with Him, we are united with every spiritual child of God throughout the world. Our love for God constitutes our love for the people of the world. We no longer hate; we longer fear. We need not punish; we need not seek vengeance: We need only withdraw into ourselves and contemplate our oneness with God and with one another.
~ Joel S. Goldsmith, Practicing The Presence
Love is a Rose...
" Love is a Rose but you better not pick it.. It only grows when it's on the vine.. A handfull of thorns and you know you missed It.. you lose your Love when you say the word Mine".........namaste, thomas
Mysticism and Devotion...
Mysticism without devotion is like uncooked food; it can never be
assimilated.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Knowledge and heart are just like the positive and negative forces;
it is these two things which make life balanced. If the heart quality
is very strong and intellect is lacking, then life lacks balance.
Knowledge and heart quality must be developed together. There are
fine lights and shades in one's life that cannot be perceived and
fully understood without having touched the deeper side of life,
which is the devotional side.
Mystics of all ages have not been known for their miraculous powers
or for the doctrines they have taught, but for the devotion they have
shown throughout their lives. The Sufi in the East says to himself
Ishq Allah Mabud Allah which means 'God is Love, God is Beloved', in
other words it is God who is Love, Lover, and Beloved. When we hear
the stories of the miraculous powers of mystics, of their great
insight into the hidden laws of nature, of the qualities which they
manifested through their beautiful personalities, we realize that
these have all come from one and the same source, whether one calls
it devotion or whether one calls it love.
Mysticism without devotion is like uncooked food and can never be
assimilated. 'I am the heart of my devotees,' says Krishna in the
Baghavat Gita. And Hafiz says, 'O joyous day when I depart from this
abode of desolation, seeking the repose of my soul and setting out in
search of my Beloved.' ... The life of the mystics, both the inner
and the outer, is shown as a wondrous phenomenon within itself. He
becomes independent of all earthly sources of life and lives in the
Being of God, realizing His presence by the denial of his individual
self; and he thus merges into that highest bliss wherein he finds his
salvation.
assimilated.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Knowledge and heart are just like the positive and negative forces;
it is these two things which make life balanced. If the heart quality
is very strong and intellect is lacking, then life lacks balance.
Knowledge and heart quality must be developed together. There are
fine lights and shades in one's life that cannot be perceived and
fully understood without having touched the deeper side of life,
which is the devotional side.
Mystics of all ages have not been known for their miraculous powers
or for the doctrines they have taught, but for the devotion they have
shown throughout their lives. The Sufi in the East says to himself
Ishq Allah Mabud Allah which means 'God is Love, God is Beloved', in
other words it is God who is Love, Lover, and Beloved. When we hear
the stories of the miraculous powers of mystics, of their great
insight into the hidden laws of nature, of the qualities which they
manifested through their beautiful personalities, we realize that
these have all come from one and the same source, whether one calls
it devotion or whether one calls it love.
Mysticism without devotion is like uncooked food and can never be
assimilated. 'I am the heart of my devotees,' says Krishna in the
Baghavat Gita. And Hafiz says, 'O joyous day when I depart from this
abode of desolation, seeking the repose of my soul and setting out in
search of my Beloved.' ... The life of the mystics, both the inner
and the outer, is shown as a wondrous phenomenon within itself. He
becomes independent of all earthly sources of life and lives in the
Being of God, realizing His presence by the denial of his individual
self; and he thus merges into that highest bliss wherein he finds his
salvation.
Love is Reality...
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.” ............
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi
The Illusion...
The ego is an illusion.. It is a mistake in your thinking.. you have been taught to believe that you are the ego.. because, you have more powers than you are aware of, you have created this false energy called ego, that needs constant belief in it's existence for it to continue to survive.. When you watch your thoughts, which is the ego, you can eliminate the thoughts that are selfish and unloving.. Love is anti-ego or what we call God.. The Truth is that we are already One with God, but the false belief in the ego prevents us from Knowing this.. When, you have eliminated the ego by watching your thoughts and having thoughts of only Love, then, you will be living in the state of "Christ Consciousness", which is living in the state of non-ego, otherwise Known as God...........namaste, thomas
2012...
Much is written of the end of the world.. but, does that concern us?.. you already know that death comes like a thief in the night, but, are you ready for instant death?.. Know that you cannot die.. Know that you are part of Consciousness that we call God.. Know that you are Light and Love.. Reach for the Light when you find yourself in darkness.. The Light is always available.. Turn your self and look for the Light and travel towards it.. you will feel yourself drawn toward It and will enter It within seconds.. Remember, you cannot die.. you only travel towards a different Reality..This Reality is All that Is.. This Reality is called God.. This Reality is You.. Fear Not..Love is beyond Fear.. You are Love and Light.. Fear not the number 2012.. Love conquers all Fear.. You are Love, You are beyond Fear.. Fear is the ego.. Fear is not You...You are not the ego...I will see you in the Light.......namaste, thomas
Realization...
Realisation is but the opposite of ignorance. To take the world as real and one’s self as unreal is ignorance. The cause of sorrow. To know the self as the only reality and all else as temporal and transient is freedom, peace and joy. It is all very simple. Instead of seeing things as imagined, learn to see them as they are. It is like cleansing a mirror. The same mirror that shows you the world as it is, will also show you your own face. The thought 'I am' is the polishing cloth. Use it.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That
Chapter 11
Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That
Chapter 11
The Quest...
His quest for God has reached its terminus but his quest in God will now start its course. Henceforth his life, experience, and consciousness are wrapped in mystery..........Paul Brunton
Awareness and Consciousness...
You could say that awareness isn't dependent upon consciousness. Awareness is, always, whether or not there are bits of electricity firing away in the brain to produce a solid reference point that is identified with. Whether those reference points are there or not, "corrupted" or not (as with brain injury, delusional psychosis, etc), awareness - life - always is. The small thing we seem to be is a convenience, perfectly crafted by itself to apprehend itself, with "aberrations" (altered states of mind, hallucinations etc.) thrown in for variety. Without consciousness, you are that indefinable thing variously labeled awareness, God, presence, Sunyata etc., not a thing, but some essence that simply is, and isn't bound by time or space. And that's what you are, completely boundless, infinite, and eternal, whether you like it or not.
So why do so many feel it as such a horrible thing? Probably because the reflection of the infinite - what we know as day to day life - has taken on the identity of Totality, and as each day to day story of a life comes to an end, we can't take the thought of not existing in what we believe is the only way. Fear of death, in other words. The small self loves to exist - it doesn't want to not exist. It's very understandable.
The possible "good" thing is - the reflection is no less "one" than the indefinable essence, awareness, that it reflects. Splitting it into two - awareness and reflection - is a head's up that the mind is involved, splitting away (as is its job). Take any concept with a massive grain of salt, no matter how brilliant, or simple, or direct, or seemingly "The Truth". When we just get on with it, be it, do it, think whatever we think without picking it to bits - and actually there's nothing wrong with picking it to bits - life is more smoothly lived, with less apparent suffering. And suffering itself is part of the appearance as well. Whatever it is that seems to be happening, it happening just as it must. If the small self can somehow let go of needing to be in charge of it, it can be much more efficient...but it doesn't need to be "more efficient". It only needs to be exactly as it is, or as it seems.
So many people want to train themselves to see what's right in front of their noses, and, in fact, is their nose, and the seeing of it. They are tortured by their thoughts. Well...remember that what we're calling "themselves" is probably the ego, suffering from a rather grandiose case of mistaken identity. There can certainly arise a story of the ego doing its best to train itself to see thoughts as objects, and the objects are not what you are etc., but maybe it's an easier story to just ignore those pesky thoughts. "My" thoughts can do what they like - doesn't bother me a bit. They're not "my" thoughts. They're just thoughts. Awareness is, no matter what. One way of calming down the hyper mind (that is the tool of duality) is to think of your thoughts as oneness (awareness), "thought-ing". Again, whatever thoughts come up, or seem to, are what thoughts must come up. Nothing "wrong" with any of them.
People seem to make a big deal of the story of the "awakening moment" - it's something solid the ego can hold on to and wait for, deflecting its death for "another time". Well, just remember that "what happened for me" is just another nothingness, made apparently "real", and exists only as memory NOW. It's always now o'clock. My fevered (and tolerated) brain tends to put a story to it along the lines of "I realised what I had been looking for all this time was my life, just exactly as it is." There seemed to be a "shift" but not much of one. The thing that seemed to die was the need for whatever was happening to be anything else than exactly what it was. And what it was, and is, is just life toddling along as it always has, unresisted. Very, very, very, very simple! The mind will complicate it; the mind can try explain the mystery of life in any of a billion billion ways. I don't think awareness gives a flying fart whether awakening happens or not. It's just more dust in the wind, a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing, but a hell of a lot of fun, and to be relished.
A good friend of mine (Mike over at http://thepeacefulself.com) says that the ego is comprised entirely of fear. That definitely strikes a chord. Perhaps this is a maxim: Anything you don't want, don't fight it. Go with it. Feel the fear. Actually, you don't have to do a thing...you just don't know it "yet"! And there is no yet. Awareness isn't hanging around, getting more aware while your thoughts fool around with trying to figure all this out. You are infinite, eternal, whole, complete and perfect NOW. There is only now. Full stop. And whatever it is you're looking for, it's not what you imagine it to be...boxing it in will keep it ever elusive...and paradoxically, boxing it in and trying to figure it all out is just perfect too. You're doing it. You've done it. You're here, even if "here" is doubts and pain and suffering and financial instability and bereavement. This. Is. It. ..........Suzanne Foxton
So why do so many feel it as such a horrible thing? Probably because the reflection of the infinite - what we know as day to day life - has taken on the identity of Totality, and as each day to day story of a life comes to an end, we can't take the thought of not existing in what we believe is the only way. Fear of death, in other words. The small self loves to exist - it doesn't want to not exist. It's very understandable.
The possible "good" thing is - the reflection is no less "one" than the indefinable essence, awareness, that it reflects. Splitting it into two - awareness and reflection - is a head's up that the mind is involved, splitting away (as is its job). Take any concept with a massive grain of salt, no matter how brilliant, or simple, or direct, or seemingly "The Truth". When we just get on with it, be it, do it, think whatever we think without picking it to bits - and actually there's nothing wrong with picking it to bits - life is more smoothly lived, with less apparent suffering. And suffering itself is part of the appearance as well. Whatever it is that seems to be happening, it happening just as it must. If the small self can somehow let go of needing to be in charge of it, it can be much more efficient...but it doesn't need to be "more efficient". It only needs to be exactly as it is, or as it seems.
So many people want to train themselves to see what's right in front of their noses, and, in fact, is their nose, and the seeing of it. They are tortured by their thoughts. Well...remember that what we're calling "themselves" is probably the ego, suffering from a rather grandiose case of mistaken identity. There can certainly arise a story of the ego doing its best to train itself to see thoughts as objects, and the objects are not what you are etc., but maybe it's an easier story to just ignore those pesky thoughts. "My" thoughts can do what they like - doesn't bother me a bit. They're not "my" thoughts. They're just thoughts. Awareness is, no matter what. One way of calming down the hyper mind (that is the tool of duality) is to think of your thoughts as oneness (awareness), "thought-ing". Again, whatever thoughts come up, or seem to, are what thoughts must come up. Nothing "wrong" with any of them.
People seem to make a big deal of the story of the "awakening moment" - it's something solid the ego can hold on to and wait for, deflecting its death for "another time". Well, just remember that "what happened for me" is just another nothingness, made apparently "real", and exists only as memory NOW. It's always now o'clock. My fevered (and tolerated) brain tends to put a story to it along the lines of "I realised what I had been looking for all this time was my life, just exactly as it is." There seemed to be a "shift" but not much of one. The thing that seemed to die was the need for whatever was happening to be anything else than exactly what it was. And what it was, and is, is just life toddling along as it always has, unresisted. Very, very, very, very simple! The mind will complicate it; the mind can try explain the mystery of life in any of a billion billion ways. I don't think awareness gives a flying fart whether awakening happens or not. It's just more dust in the wind, a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing, but a hell of a lot of fun, and to be relished.
A good friend of mine (Mike over at http://thepeacefulself.com) says that the ego is comprised entirely of fear. That definitely strikes a chord. Perhaps this is a maxim: Anything you don't want, don't fight it. Go with it. Feel the fear. Actually, you don't have to do a thing...you just don't know it "yet"! And there is no yet. Awareness isn't hanging around, getting more aware while your thoughts fool around with trying to figure all this out. You are infinite, eternal, whole, complete and perfect NOW. There is only now. Full stop. And whatever it is you're looking for, it's not what you imagine it to be...boxing it in will keep it ever elusive...and paradoxically, boxing it in and trying to figure it all out is just perfect too. You're doing it. You've done it. You're here, even if "here" is doubts and pain and suffering and financial instability and bereavement. This. Is. It. ..........Suzanne Foxton
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