' Only Then '...
I wearied myself searching for the Friend
with efforts beyond my strength.
I came to the door and saw how
powerfully the locks were bolted.
And the longing in me became that strong,
and then I saw that I was gazing
from within the presence.
With that waiting, and in giving up all trying,
only then did Lalla flow out
from where I knelt.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
' The uninterpreted moment '...
The miracle of love comes to you in the presence of the uninterpreted moment.
If you are mentally somewhere else, you miss real life.
-Byron Katie
' Duality and non-duality '...
The human mind is dualistic. I only know a “me” if there is a “you”—an “us” if there is a “them.” I know myself only in relation to the other. I make the other wrong so that I can be right. I judge others to know who “I” am. When I say, “She is dumb,” I am comparing myself to her in some way—as either dumber or smarter.
My philosophical conclusions exist only in relation to other philosophical conclusions. I have no view unless there is an opposite view. There is no political party without opposition. No Christian without a non-Christian (Muslim, Jew). No enlightened being without a non-enlightened being.
Non-duality is not about strengthening the dualistic mind or further defining a me against you. It is about seeing through these false divisions and judgments.
For the most part, my thoughts of others have nothing to do with them. They are mostly about me. These are ‘my’ thoughts, interpretations, and philosophies. The “me” is kept alive by comparing who I am, what I do, and what I know to who the others are, what they do, and what they know.
When this mirror of relationship is exposed, the separate self is revealed to be a phantom. Everything from war to the simplest of disputes with my spouse about taking out the trash is seen to be a dream of separation, entirely created by dualistic thought.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
" I'm Back " ...
I'm back within the Dream..
I want to thank all of the souls that wished me well..
So, let us continue to walk this road to Freedom..
namaste, thomas
' Remain within Divine Consciousness '...
To all of the mystics and those that desire Knowledge,
I will be undergoing surgery tommorrow and therefore will not be posting for five days..
May all of us remain within God...
-namaste, thomas
' Acceptance '...
Whatever happens in the working of the universe at the present moment has to be accepted. Not accepting it means human misery.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
If some Power has turned you into a seeker, don't you think it is the responsibility of that Power to take you where you are supposed to be taken?
-A Net of Jewels
Ramesh S. Balsekar
http://www.advaita.org
' Co-operate with your destiny '...
”Do understand that you are destined for enlightenment.
Co-operate with your destiny, don't go against it, don't thwart it.
Allow it to fulfill itself.
All you have to do is to give attention to the obstacles created by the foolish mind."
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' Thought is similar to a sense '...
You experience the present reality of life through the sense of smell. Yet it would be ridiculous to suggest that you should close off all other senses and only smell the present reality.
You experience the present reality of life through the sense of sight. Yet it would be silly to suggest that you should close off all other senses in favor of sight only.
You experience life through taste and touch. Yet it would make little sense to choose taste or touch as a way to experience the present reality to the exclusion of all other senses.
Experiencing the present reality of life through only one sense is a partial view of reality.
Thought is similar to a sense. When thought is taken to be reality rather than just another way of experiencing the present reality, the being dream of a separate self arises. You totally believe the whole story of thought, including its interpretations, beliefs, ideas, religions, philosophies, judgments, opinions, and personal motivations. The exclusive experiencing of life through only the ‘sense’ of thought presents a partial view of reality.
There is something here, call it awareness, that is aware of thoughts as temporary appearances in reality. This awareness knows that thought is a limited, partial view of life. In seeing thought as similar to a sense, there can be a waking up out of the exclusive, partial viewing of life through thought.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' The state, you must perceive '...
Instead of searching for what you do not have,
find out what it is that you have never lost.
That
which is there before the beginning and after the
ending of everything;
that to which there is no
birth, nor death.
That immovable state, which
is not affected by the birth and death of a body
or a mind, that state you must perceive.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
' Conscious headlessness '...
"What you are now looking out of isn’t two small and tightly fastened “windows” called eyes but one immense and wide open “Window” without any edges;
in fact you are this frameless, glassless “Window”. To make quite sure of this, you have only to point to the “Window” and notice what that finger is pointing at -if anything.
Please do just that, now ...
Contrary, no doubt, to one’s first impression, conscious headlessness or transparency -this seeing into the Nothingness-right-where-one-is, -turns out to have several unique virtues."
-Douglas Harding
' The Overself Pervades '...
Inner strength, divine joy, deep understanding, and unspeakable tranquillity will pervade him always and not be limited to the hours of solitary meditation.
This is so because the Overself whence these things come is always with all men.
Only, they know it not, whereas he has awakened to its abiding presence.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 169
Paul Brunton
' To be called man '...
To be called man..
This was the terminology for human before consciousness entered..
This terminology called man really speaks of human..
It is hu-man, the concept of human desire..
We are speaking of a Dream..
Women, do not fear..
This stage of existence is normal within Dreams..
It is not the ego speaking, it is consciousness..
The gender of Reality is not relevant to Truth..
God has no gender..
The rest of these words and thoughts are left to you...
-thomas
' The ultimate teacher '...
”Your own self is your ultimate teacher.
The outer teacher is merely a milestone.
It is only your inner teacher that will walk with you to the goal,
for he is the goal."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' Lose them '...
"The impulse 'I want' and the impulse 'I'll have' — lose them!
That is where most people get stuck;
without those, you can use your eyes to guide you through this suffering state."
Gautama the Buddha
Sutta Nipata 706
in Andrew Wilson
World Scripture: An Anthology of Sacred Texts
NY: International Religious Foundation, p. 667
' Attachment to physical reality '...
"A man must separate himself from all attachment to physical reality,
said the Maggid,
until he rises through all the spiritual worlds and becomes one with God,
his own individual existence having been annihilated.
Then he is really called man."
Rabbi Dov Baer
in Alan Unterman
The Wisdom of the Jewish Mystics
NY: New Directions, 1976, p. 54
' Mukti '...
Mukti or liberation is our nature. It is another
name for us.
Our wanting mukti is a very funny
thing.
It is like a man who is in the shade,
voluntarily leaving the shade, going into the sun,
feeling the severity of the heat there, making
great efforts to get back to the shade and then
rejoicing, "How sweet is the shade!
I have reached
the shade at last!"
We are all doing exactly the
same. We are not different from the reality.
We
imagine we are different, that is we create the
bheda bhava [the feeling of difference] and then
undergo great sadhana [spiritual practices] to get
rid of the bheda bhava and realise the oneness.
Why
imagine or create bheda bhava and then destroy it?
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
edited by David Godman
Arkana, 1985
' Don't forget what you are '...
”To take appearance for reality is a grievous sin and the cause of all calamities.
You are the all-pervading, eternal and infinitely creative awareness - consciousness.
All else is local and temporary.
Don't forget what you are."
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' Stay a disciple '...
Never try to be a guide, stay a mere disciple.
To guide others is only an obstacle on the way.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Muriel Maufroy
"Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi"
Sanyar Press - London, 1997
' You reach into this weird world of mysticism '..
In this entrance into thinking, we begin with 'I'..
Within 'I', we move to thinking (mind) of substance..
This 'Being' of Consciousness..
So strange to think of Creator..
The Creator is that of mind..
The mind is that of ego..
The contention continues..
But, Love is beyond thoughts of desire.
So many thoughts to ponder..
May you have Luck in understanding...
-thomas
' Waiting on the world to change '...
The consciousness known as human, experience emotions of elation and pain..
How quickly, emotion moves from Love to Fear..
The Souls that are awake, walk with a fear of the ignorance of the average human..
The 'Ministry of Propaganda' is working overtime..
Thoughts are presented to your consciousness as truth..
Remember, you are experiencing a state of non-reality..
Lies will become truth according to political power..
'Newspeak' will become the language of the masses..
Will "Consciousness", Awaken from Dreaming ?..
As mystics,, We can only Observe...
-thomas
' The Teachers of Love '...
Today, I am seventy years old..
I find this amazing, considering my stint in Vietnam..
From my youth, I sought information..
How many incarnations before we awaken..
These strange souls called Jesus and Gautama appear within consciousness..
These beings of Light, speaking of the mental state of non-egoic desire called Love..
We keep searching for this emotional feeling of Love..
The Teachers of Love often are killed..
Existing as consciousness within an emotional state of separation is painful..
This is why, you are now reading these words..
You seek information..
Walk with me a while and chat...
thomas
' One's True Identity '...
"Irrespective of whether a person believes through the medium of ideas or idols, with sincere love and faith in God, he or she can get nearer to Him, Who is already the nearest of all.
The essence of faith lies not in the shape or manner of one's belief, but in the depth and sincerity behind it.
The faith that can move mountains can, and does, move the greatest of them -- the mountain of Ignorance that denies an individual a glimpse of one's true Divinity and also conceals one's true Identity."
Meher Baba
in Bal Natu
Glimpses of the God-Man
Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Press, 1994, Vol. 6, p. 75
' The Natural State '...
”The only difference between us is that I am aware of my natural state, while you are bemused.
Just like gold made into ornamentals has no advantage over gold dust, except when the mind makes it so, so are we one in being we differ only in appearance.
We discover it by being earnest, by searching, enquiry, questioning daily and hourly, by giving one's life to this discovery."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' The egoic decision interrupts awareness '...
While still continuing to feel the presence and enjoy the peace of the Infinite,
he attends to ordinary everyday affairs.
But it is inevitable that the attention demanded by the latter forces some reduction in awareness of the former.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 159
Paul Brunton
'The Power of Divine Consciousness '...
The Nazarene would walk from village to village as a itinerant preacher..
Knowing that He was Divine Consciousness, gave him the authority and power to change the hologram..
He taught this power to his students called apostles..
They called It, 'knowing the name of God'..
The Irony of mysticism is that there is no name for Pure Awareness , as It has no personality to demand the nomenclature of separation called name..
To heal the sick and to demand that earthbound spirits leave the body is dangerous for the novice and laborious for the master..
But, this Preacher of Love could demand observance and the illusions would flee..
This 'Dream' is Entertainment,
remain the 'observer' and not the 'Actor'..
As the Nazarene said;
" Be in this world, but not of it "...
-thomas
' Good friends or no friends '...
Be in the company of people who think alike, not
in that of people who think the opposite way.
Be in
an atmosphere holy and sacred;
and to the extent
possible, from your own point of view, have friends
of this nature.
Either have good friends or no friends.
But don't have bad friends.
Bad friends will distract
your mind, shake your faith by saying things contrary
and illogical.
- Swami Krishnananda
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Facets of Spirituality
Complied by S. Bhagyalakshmi
Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1986
' You can't fight the ego '...
You can't fight the ego.
Accept the ego,
and let it go on.
This understanding will
gradually push the ego back.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
' Divine Consciousness '...
He who has reached this degree will be always poised in the Overself, always aware of his identity with its inimitable nature yet also conscious of his limitations as an ego.
This may seem queer and contradictory yet the man will never feel himself pulled in different directions but, on the contrary, will feel a perfect harmony between the human and the divine.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 156
Paul Brunton
' To be judged insane '...
The insanity of consciousness is human life within a hologram..
Who controls the hologram ?..
The structure of mind is malleable..
The human belief system is one of mirror..
The dark must face the Light..
The dark is of the insanity of separation..
Can only One be separated ?..
Fractions appear and this is why this word is used within the speech of war..
You still find Dreaming to be entertainment..
Entertainment means to enter containment..
You remain the actor..
-thomas
' Returning to Knowledge '...
Pity, the ones that do not return to Knowledge..
Entering the experience of attaining Knowledge requires energy..
The fact that you do no longer waste energy within the average rant
of anger and ego,
the energy returns to Source..
This is the space of non-anger and non-ego called Love..
To leave anger, you must leave yourself..
When you feel disrespected,
you feel ego..
Love sees no anger , desire , or identification..
There are enough words for contemplation...
-thomas
' You must know yourself '...
”Use your mind.
Remember.
Observe.
You are not different from others.
Most of their experiences are valid for you too.
Think clearly deeply, go into the entire structure of your desires and their ramifications.
They are a most important part of your mental and emotional make-up and powerfully affect your actions.
Remember, you cannot abandon what you do not know.
To go beyond yourself, you must know yourself."
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
'Your work must be your religion '...
Your work in life must be your religion, whatever your occupation may be.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
The purpose of life is to become more living, to allow the soul to live more, and that is the limit given by Christ when he says, 'Raise your light high'.
This means allowing the soul to express itself.
It does not matter what your life is, what your pursuit is; in order to fulfill the purpose of life you need not be in a temple or a church.
Whatever your life's pursuit -- art, poetry, sculpture, music, whatever your occupation may be -- you can be as spiritual as a priest or clergyman, always living a life of praise.
Your work in life must be your religion;
let the soul express itself in every aspect and it will surely fulfill the purpose of life.
The soul's life comes naturally if we open ourselves for the spirit to rise.
' The human and the Divine '...
He who has reached this degree will be always poised in the Overself, always aware of his identity with its inimitable nature yet also conscious of his limitations as an ego.
This may seem queer and contradictory yet the man will never feel himself pulled in different directions but, on the contrary, will feel a perfect harmony between the human and the divine.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 156
Paul Brunton
' There is no 'me' ...
In enlightenment basically, whether it happens through understanding or through devotional surrender or whether it happens through good deeds being done in such a way that there is no "me" doing them, there is just one common thing.
The common factor is that there is no "me".
You are the reality, you cannot talk of reality.
The moment you talk or think of something,
it is in phenomenality and therefore conceptual.
-A Net of Jewels
Ramesh S. Balsekar
' Conscious Presence '...
”Understand then, that it is this conscious presence that you are, so long as the body is there.
Once your body is gone, along with the vital breath, consciousness will also leave.
Only that which was prior to the appearance of this body-cum-consciousness, the Absolute, the ever-present is your true identity.
That is what we all really are.
That is reality.
It is here and now.
Where is the question of anyone reaching for it?"
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' The Sage '...
He lives in inwardly silent thought-free awareness of whatever is presented to him, whether it be the body in which he must live or the environments in which he finds himself.
He enjoys a supernal calm, being indeed "free while living," as the ancient Indian phrase describes the state.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 154
Paul Brunton
' God is Love '...
These three words that point to Heaven..
In this little dream that we are experiencing,
Love takes a back seat to explosives..
This Love that you speak of exists only within the sub-conscious mind..
This mind that you call 'Soul'..
This Computer called 'Soul' allows all information to enter..
The controller of information is called 'Observer'..
The data is stored according to classification..
The guiding of the sub-conscious mind is accomplished by Observer..
" To be, or not to be, that is the question "..
The paragraph is long and therefore,
I must introduce you to the Observer for further knowledge..
-thomas
' The Heart Sutra '...
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, meditating deeply on Perfection
of Wisdom, saw clearly that the five aspects of human existence are empty*, and
so released himself from suffering. Answering the monk Sariputra, he said this:
Body is nothing more than emptiness,
emptiness is nothing more than body.
The body is exactly empty,
and emptiness is exactly body.
The other four aspects of human existence --
feeling, thought, will, and consciousness --
are likewise nothing more than emptiness,
and emptiness nothing more than they.
All things are empty:
Nothing is born, nothing dies,
nothing is pure, nothing is stained,
nothing increases and nothing decreases.
So, in emptiness, there is no body,
no feeling, no thought,
no will, no consciousness.
There are no eyes, no ears,
no nose, no tongue,
no body, no mind.
There is no seeing, no hearing,
no smelling, no tasting,
no touching, no imagining.
There is nothing seen, nor heard,
nor smelled, nor tasted,
nor touched, nor imagined.
There is no ignorance,
and no end to ignorance.
There is no old age and death,
and no end to old age and death.
There is no suffering, no cause of suffering,
no end to suffering, no path to follow.
There is no attainment of wisdom,
and no wisdom to attain.
The Bodhisattvas rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and so with no delusions,
they feel no fear,
and have Nirvana here and now.
All the Buddhas,
past, present, and future,
rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and live in full enlightenment.
The Perfection of Wisdom is the greatest mantra.
It is the clearest mantra,
the highest mantra,
the mantra that removes all suffering.
This is truth that cannot be doubted.
Say it so:
Gaté,
gaté,
paragaté,
parasamgaté.
Bodhi!
Svaha! Which means...
Gone,
gone,
gone over,
gone fully over.
Awakened!
So be it!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Emptiness is the usual translation for the Buddhist term Sunyata (or
Shunyata). It refers to the fact that no thing -- including human existence --
has ultimate substantiality, which in turn means that no thing is permanent and
no thing is totally independent of everything else. In other words, everything
in this world is interconnected and in constant flux. A deep appreciation of
this idea of emptiness thus saves us from the suffering caused by our egos, our
attachments, and our resistance to change and loss.
Note: Perfection of Wisdom is a translation of Prajnaparamita. The full title
of this sutra is The Heart of Prajnaparamita Sutra.
[This is an interpretation based on many others by George Boeree.]
' Science and Religion is mysticism '...
Mysticism to the mystic is both science and religion.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
What we generally know as the breath is that little inhaling and exhaling which we feel through the nostrils. We think that is breath and attach little importance to it, while in reality, breath is a life-current running through the innermost part of man's being towards the surface. It would be no exaggeration, according to the mystical point of view, to say that the breath connects heaven and earth. ...
For the mystic, breath is not only a science, but the knowledge of breath is mysticism, and mysticism to the thinker is both science and religion. The mystery of breath is not a thing that can be comprehended by the brain only. The principles of mysticism rise from the heart of man. They are learned by intuition and proved by reason. ...
If we consider the conditions of life today, we see that, however much man thinks he has progressed, certain aspects of life are neglected in the way of health, repose, balanced thinking, and in the way of kindness and love to one another. All these things are lacking, and the spirit of the present time seems to be going in quite the opposite direction.
Selfishness seems to be so much on the increase. Real religion, the spirit of forgiveness, generous giving, regard for old age, refinement, culture -- all seem to be disappearing. Man in general, does not know even if there is a God or Truth. If this is the spirit, how can we expect to find that harmony, peace and love, which make heaven on earth?
It is useless to discuss the peace of the world. What is necessary just now is to create peace in ourselves that we, ourselves, become examples of love, harmony and peace. That is the only way of saving the world and ourselves.
' Duality and Non-Duality '...
The human mind is dualistic. I only know a “me” if there is a “you”—an “us” if there is a “them.” I know myself only in relation to the other. I make the other wrong so that I can be right. I judge others to know who “I” am. When I say, “She is dumb,” I am comparing myself to her in some way—as either dumber or smarter.
My philosophical conclusions exist only in relation to other philosophical conclusions. I have no view unless there is an opposite view. There is no political party without opposition. No Christian without a non-Christian (Muslim, Jew). No enlightened being without a non-enlightened being.
Non-duality is not about strengthening the dualistic mind or further defining a me against you. It is about seeing through these false divisions and judgments.
For the most part, my thoughts of others have nothing to do with them. They are mostly about me. These are ‘my’ thoughts, interpretations, and philosophies. The “me” is kept alive by comparing who I am, what I do, and what I know to who the others are, what they do, and what they know.
When this mirror of relationship is exposed, the separate self is revealed to be a phantom. Everything from war to the simplest of disputes with my spouse about taking out the trash is seen to be a dream of separation, entirely created by dualistic thought.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' Continuous Presence '..
When the sense of this presence is a continuous one,
when the knowledge of the mentalness of this world-experience is an abiding one,
and when the calm which comes as a result is an unshakeable one,
it may be said that he is established in the Truth and in the Real.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 149
Paul Brunton
' Lies and Deception '...
We live in a world of lies and deception..
As humans that consider themselves awake,
this should be obvious..
Those that rule the earth control the minds of many humans..
Does Satan exist ?..
The Duality within Dreams is real..
Love and Fear exist within a battle..
The Liar will declare Love and true Love will feel no fear...
-thomas
' Seeing the Illusion '...
Although, you are within many different countries and speak different languages,
you have now become awakened to the 'Dream' and all of the 'Actors' of this Dream..
The politicians have shown you the illusion and yet, you still sleep..
The 'Powers' must warn you first, as Karma is a bitch..
Life and death mean little to the egos'..
How did the 'Dream' become such a 'Nightmare' ?..
The answer is that a 'Mirror' was created to see what 'Awareness' is..
In our mirrors, we see vanity,
In It's mirror, we see Knowledge..
And yet Love, keeps pulling at our shirt for acknowledgement..
Being the 'Chooser' of Dreams is a challenge...
-thomas
' T I M E '...
When the consciousness of being the human ego is deserted,
this space of Light is found without time or the desire for time..
Floating in Love is a proper vision..
Time is created within the human mind and ego..
Time is composed of memories and dreams of future events..
It is the flow of the ego..
When the ego is cast aside,
Time is also cast aside...
-thomas
' The passing show '...
”My life is a succession of events, just like yours.
Only I have detached and see the passing show as a passing show,
while you stick to things and move along with them."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' The timeless unknown '...
It is sometimes said in non-duality meetings or books that there is nothing you can do to bring about enlightenment (i.e., Oneness) or that there is no one there to do anything. The words non-duality, Oneness, and enlightenment are just empty images pointing to the fact that life is already happening. It’s already happening now. There is no path to what already is. The person who would set out to do something is a dream of thought, a dream of time, arising in the unknown, the timeless.
Within that dream, the notions of choice, control, and cause and effect arise. But when the dream is seen through, what is realized is what already is. No choice and no control. How can one control or bring about what is already happening? What is realized cannot be grasped or explained by the intellect because the intellect is merely an expression of it. Clear concepts and unclear concepts are both ‘This.’ There is nothing that ‘This’ is not.
‘This’ is the timeless unknown from which time and knowing arise and fall. It cannot be realized through thought and time because thought and time are just temporary images arising and falling. They are part of the dream. Yet 'This' is so immediately here. It is absolutely real. It is all there is. You are not a person who is separate from it and who can then somehow find it. You are it. Now.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' This is realization '...
When body is still and ego-mind is at rest, there is peace, sometimes even ecstasy.
But when both are active but I am not,
when there is neither questing nor non-questing,
there is unchanging stability.
That is realization.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 148
Paul Brunton
' The Great Idea '...
Death
Is one of God’s great ideas,
for the fear of extinction
drives the mind
to search for that which is undying –
one’s unborn Being.
- Mooji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Writing on Water
Mooji (Anthony Paul Moo-Young)
Padam Sangha Limited, London, 2011
' The power of attraction '...
We should see the good qualities of others
and ignore the bad qualities.
We attract to
ourselves whatever qualities we focus on.
- Ram Singh Ranaji
' The Divine Awakening '...
In my case, which I think is similar for many, many people, the greatest solvent for ego is found within our lives, the fabric of our existence, the grit of what's actually happening in our everyday experience.
I find that this is often overlooked within the context of spirituality. Many of us are using our spirituality as a way to avoid life, to avoid seeing things we really need to see, to avoid being confronted with our own misunderstandings and illusions.
It is very important to know that life itself is often our greatest teacher. Life is full of grace, sometimes it's wonderful grace, beautiful grace, moments of bliss and happiness and joy, and sometimes it's fierce grace, like illness, losing a job, losing someone we love, or a divorce.
Some people make the greatest leaps in their consciousness when addiction has them on their knees, for example, and they find themselves reaching out for a different way of being.
Life itself has a tremendous capacity to show us truth, to wake us up. And yet, many of us avoid this thing called life, even as it is attempting to wake us up.
The divine itself is life in motion. The divine is using the situations of our lives to accomplish its own awakening, and many times it takes the difficult situations to wake us up."
~ Adyashanti
The End of Your World
' Returning Home '...
Of course, We have always been 'Home',
the problem and challenge is to die to a desire of separation..
Home has always been the 'Mind'..
Does the 'Mind' have a name? ..
Does the 'Mind' desire the experience of learning,
Who It Is..
The path of Mind is called Thought..
Thought within the illusion, usually concerns visions appearing and You as Consciousness or ego, choose the path of those Thoughts..
These Thoughts will manifest quickly with the power of belief..
Without belief, the manifestations will take more time within the Dream..
But,, these Thoughts will eventually appear, even if you are not aware of this power..
-thomas
' Being the student '...
The difficulty in the spiritual path is always what comes
from ourselves.
A person does not like to be a pupil, he
likes to be a teacher.
If one only knew that the greatness
and perfection of the great ones who have come from
time to time to this world was in their being pupils and
not in teaching!
The greater the teacher, the better pupil
he was.
He learned from everyone, the great and the
lowly, the wise and the foolish, the old and the young.
He learned from their lives, and studied human nature
in all its aspects.
- Hazrat Inayat Khan
' Beingness '...
”Beingness has the quality to become whatever you think of.
Whatever concept you feed to the consciousness,
the consciousness will provide you with."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' This is a paradox '...
The illuminate is conscious both of the ultimate unity and immediate multiplicity of the world.
This is a paradox.
But his permanent resting place while he is dealing with others is at the junction-point of duality and unity so that he is ready at any moment to absorb his attention in either phase.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 115
Paul Brunton
' Reaching a state of no thought? '...
You listen to a spiritual teacher talk about having a quiet mind. That sounds wonderful. So as you set out to reach a state of no thought or less thought, the seeking begins . . . .
Only thought would seek a state of no thought. Thought gets busy looking for something other than simple, ordinary, spacious, timeless awareness. Thought is seeking the end of itself. Thought cannot bring the end of thought.
The point of seeking, if there is any, is not to reach some later state of quietness or no thought. It is to expose the seeking energy. See that the very idea that you must reach a state of no thought is a thought arising now. That thought is apparently obscuring the quietness that is already here.
In the spiritual search, if there is a genuine looking, it can be seen that “you” are merely a thought arising now. The notions of future enlightenment, peace, silence or stillness are also just presently arising ideas. The idea of “you” is chasing other ideas. In noticing this seeking energy, it is realized that every thought arises right now from quietness. You are this quietness that is appearing as every thought. In this seeing, there is no longer a desire to be rid of thought. There is only what is, whether it’s a moment of pure awareness without thought or a moment of incessant thinking.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' When pain is felt '...
You find duality within the heart..
The heart is a connection to Reality..
The sub-conscious mind is a connection to Reality and is often called 'Soul'
It holds the information gained within the Dream..
Reality consists of the bonding of Mind called Love..
Being, 'One', any external is false and painful..
Do you find the experience of life , Painful ?..
This state of existence is called the lower third dimention of the painful state of weight..
Pain has been created to be a Teacher of Reality..
Pain is placed within the body and mind as a learning device..
When pain is felt,
It is a fire alarm,
Put the fire out, with knowledge...
-thomas
' The structure of matter '...
The human body is a structure of matter created in holographic form, from Mind..
The scientific belief and mathematic certainty of existence as matter is merely a Dream..
The scientists are finally understanding 'string theory '..
Frequencies rule the visible and the invisible..
These 'sine waves' of movement control the visible within the drama of separate personality..
And yet, still not understood is that 'You are sleeping'..
So difficult to understand is that, 'You' are the 'Dreamer' and the 'Observer' of these Dreams..
How can You return Home when You desire to continue to experience Dreams..
These 'Birthdays' that you feel the desire for smiles and gifts are the joys of a child..
You are 'Born', when You have awakened from dreaming..
-thomas
' Beingness '...
”Beingness has the quality to become whatever you think of.
Whatever concept you feed to the consciousness,
the consciousness will provide you with."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' The Heart Acts '...
If you keep anger, frustration, fear and resentment in your heart; you become that.
If you keep the Lord of Love in your heart, you become that.
It is from the overflow of the heart that one acts.
Therefore, pray that you may be emptied and filled with the Holy Spirit; and given the strength to endure the process.
-Atreya Thomas
' Focusing on the Dream '...
While still continuing to feel the presence and enjoy the peace of the Infinite,
he attends to ordinary everyday affairs.
But it is inevitable that the attention demanded by the latter forces some reduction in awareness of the former.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind >
Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 159
Paul Brunton
' Silence '...
When entering the space of non-ego, Consciousness arises as Reality..
The Silence that is spoken of by mystics is real..
It may sound strange that silence is more desired than music or voice,
but, it is true..
You do not find boredom within silence..
You find Peace..
All of this noise has keep you trapped within dreams..
Silence is the state of non-desire,
therefore, peace is all that is left..
-thomas
' The person ceases '...
As Nisargardatta states, the person ceases to exist..
When entering the state of existence called Enlightenment,
the person ceases to exist..
Then, who are you ?..
You are the 'Pretender' of humanity..
You exist within many quadrants of manifestation..
You are Consciousness..
So, continue to play games of ego and love..
We will eventually meet at Home...
-thomas
' Threads of memories and habits '...
”When you believe yourself to be a person, you see persons everywhere.
In reality there are no persons, only threads of memories and habits.
At the moment of realization the person ceases.
Identity remains, but identity is not a person, it is inherent in the reality itself.
The person has no being in itself;
it is a reflection in the mind of the witness, the 'I am', which again is a mode of being."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' One present play '...
Life is one present play of appearances: sights, sounds, smells, thoughts, feelings, experiences, states, and other things. Mentally labeling these as separate things solidifies the false assumption that there actually are separate things happening at different times and in different places.
See that there are not two here. There is only one present play of life. To the mind, there is a “you,” sitting in a chair, listening to a bird chirping outside. With that seemingly harmless interpretation, the mind has created a false appearance of separate things happening in different places. It has divided this one present play into parts: a separate “you,” a chair, listening, a bird, chirping, and outside. This is what the mind does. It filters the present experience dualistically. This reflection is not about getting rid of the mind. It is pointing to simple, clear, empty non-dual awareness prior to the mind’s dualistic interpretation of the present experience.
The separate “you” is an idea happening in awareness. The notion that there is a chair is also an idea. The notion that there is something here called listening that is separate from what is being heard is also an idea. The notion that there is a bird “outside” is an idea. Ideas are not aware. Only awareness is aware. In looking only with present, spacious, non-conceptual awareness, what seemed to be separate things happening in different places is seen to be one present play. Just ‘This.’
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment (
' Enlightenment is a spontaneous event '...
Enlightenment is a sudden, spontaneous event. It can happen in any moment to anyone. Then why most people who experience this event are long term seekers on the path?
In nowadays it is very popular to say that practice is unnecessary, the path to Enlightenment is not gradual, but sudden, and this alone leaves many of us totally confused in relation to our practice. I want to say some words to point the value of a spiritual practice, the gradual path, in regards to Enlightenment.
1. Traditional spiritual path always includes ethics, morality in the foundation. Though it has nothing to do with enlightenment, the ethics must be laid out firmly before the mind wakes up to it’s nature. It will be effortless for awaken one to operate within the ethical framework that established already. And those who skip the sila (Sanscrit for ethics, morality) - may find themselves fall into unhealthy habits, attachments, indulge in destructive behaviors.
2. Practicing concentration in any form trains the mind to single pointedness, so in the moment of sudden enlightenment mind is able to hold the view for longer period, giving more time for the brain re-wire, dropping karmic imprints.
3. Practicing inquiry has a tremendous benefit. Seems like we go for years with “Who am I?” question, or similar, or a perpetual prayer with just a little benefit of calming the mind, but at the ripe moment, the self-churning question will be a catalyst to a spontaneous enlightenment. It is very important to keep the question, your burning question alive, at some moment the only what will remain - is a question itself, and it will be answered in the state of enlightenment.
It is true that Enlightenment is a Grace, a Revelation, and it dawn on us not for our efforts or attainments. There are no guarantees, but there is always a possibility.
Until then, keep your practice and question alive!
-Elena Nezhinsky:
' Mistaken Identity '...
”All that a guru can tell you is:
'My dear Sir, you are quite mistaken about yourself.
You are not the person you take yourself to be."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' The Dream of Choice '...
The seeker asks, “Should I engage in spiritual practices to bring about enlightenment?” The teacher responds, “Who is going to do that?” This can frustrate the seeker unless it is realized what is really being said.
The dream of self is a dream of time. There is a belief in a separate person with a past and a future who can choose to take action now to bring about some later event. Within the spiritual search, choice is based in personal motivation: “What can I do now to achieve something later?” The dream self falsely believes it is in control. It’s all about the “me” and what it can get.
Enlightenment is the realization of no self, which is a realization of timelessness. When time is seen to be nothing more than a mental stream of thoughts called past and future arising now, the “me” is seen to be a temporary thought form arising from that formless, timeless awareness. Choice is seen to be a dream of time, meaning an aspect of the dream of self.
Should you engage in spiritual practices? In seeing that all spiritual practicing emanates from a central illusion of time and control, the possibility for liberation from that dream arises. Engaging in spiritual practices in the blind pursuit to bring about some later event called enlightenment just strengthens the dream of time and control. It strengthens the dream of self.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' One Infinite Presence '...
When his mind moves entirely and wholly into the One Infinite Presence,
and when it settles permanently there,
the divided existence of glimpse and darkness,
of Spirit and matter,
of Overself and ego,
of heaven and earth,
will vanish.
The crossing over to a unified existence will happen.
- Paul Brunton
' Do not Fear '...
Nothing real is threatened,
nothing unreal exists,
therein lies the Truth of God.
' The seeking energy '...
You listen to a spiritual teacher talk about having a quiet mind. That sounds wonderful. So as you set out to reach a state of no thought or less thought, the seeking begins .
Only thought would seek a state of no thought. Thought gets busy looking for something other than simple, ordinary, spacious, timeless awareness. Thought is seeking the end of itself. Thought cannot bring the end of thought.
The point of seeking, if there is any, is not to reach some later state of quietness or no thought. It is to expose the seeking energy. See that the very idea that you must reach a state of no thought is a thought arising now. That thought is apparently obscuring the quietness that is already here.
In the spiritual search, if there is a genuine looking, it can be seen that “you” are merely a thought arising now. The notions of future enlightenment, peace, silence or stillness are also just presently arising ideas.
The idea of “you” is chasing other ideas. In noticing this seeking energy, it is realized that every thought arises right now from quietness. You are this quietness that is appearing as every thought.
In this seeing, there is no longer a desire to be rid of thought. There is only what is, whether it’s a moment of pure awareness without thought or a moment of incessant thinking.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' Momentary births '...
During the gap--infinitesimal though it be--between two thoughts, the ego vanishes.
Hence it may truly be said that with each thought it reincarnates anew.
There is no real need to wait for the series of long-lived births to be passed through before liberation can be achieved.
The series of momentary births also offers this opportunity, provided a man knows how to use it.
-- Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 8: The Void As Contemplative Experience > # 162
-- Perspectives > Chapter 23: Advanced Contemplation > # 67 Paul Brunton
' Life will break your heart '...
Life will break your heart,
Let it break all the way.
~ Adyashanti ~
' Education '...
Education is Propaganda within the modern society..
True Education is action and word from one that is trusted..
Thus enters the Guru or what is called Teacher..
A Teacher is only a friend that shares thoughts..
To learn from rote is a long road to a small truth..
The complete Education is from Source..
To enter the school room of Truth is a memory and smell of spring..
True Education is Remembrance..
If You are the Author,
why do you ask for an autograph ?...
-thomas
' The Laughter begins '...
The Laughter begins when you discover that the Truth was always within your pocket..
The 'Search' is a game of 'Hide and Seek'..
Let the Laughter begin,
As One,
We can only play with Dreams..
-thomas
' We wear Robes '...
We wear Robes of priests, monks, and magicians..
We are the 'ego' that proclaims itself as as lowly pilgrim..
How well, we feel about ourselves..
The ego is satisfied to achieve so much from a spark of God..
The 'Duality' is obvious, but the ego cries, 'Oneness'..
So many Mazes to move through..
The Ultimate Question is,
Who is this entity that is walking into Oblivion with fashion ?..
Only the 'Observer' can answer this question...
-thomas
' We truly meet '...
Just to sit, without expectation, with someone who is in grief or fear or loneliness or despair,
without trying to fix them in any way, or manipulate their experience to match your idea of how it should be;
just to listen, without playing the role of ‘expert’ or ‘enlightened guru’ or ‘the one who knows best’;
just to be totally available to the one in front of you, and to walk with them through the fire, to hold their hand when they are broken – this is how we begin to heal each other through love.
Beyond our roles, unprotected, unresolved, undefended, we truly meet.
- Jeff Foster
' Freedom '...
From this seeming nothingness deep within he draws a peace of mind,
an emotional freedom,
a sense of God's living presence that the world's harshness cannot dislodge.
- Paul Brunton
' Thought is similar to a sense '...
You experience the present reality of life through the sense of smell. Yet it would be ridiculous to suggest that you should close off all other senses and only smell the present reality. You experience the present reality of life through the sense of sight. Yet it would be silly to suggest that you should close off all other senses in favor of sight only.
You experience life through taste and touch. Yet it would make little sense to choose taste or touch as a way to experience the present reality to the exclusion of all other senses. Experiencing the present reality of life through only one sense is a partial view of reality.
Thought is similar to a sense. When thought is taken to be reality rather than just another way of experiencing the present reality, the being dream of a separate self arises. You totally believe the whole story of thought, including its interpretations, beliefs, ideas, religions, philosophies, judgments, opinions, and personal motivations. The exclusive experiencing of life through only the ‘sense’ of thought presents a partial view of reality.
There is something here, call it awareness, that is aware of thoughts as temporary appearances in reality. This awareness knows that thought is a limited, partial view of life. In seeing thought as similar to a sense, there can be a waking up out of the exclusive, partial viewing of life through thought.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' Seeing '...
To 'See' is to Create..
To 'See' only White Light is normal..
Love is a blanket that only Light can penetrate..
This 'Consciousness' Loves to dance in a circle..
Visions appear within this Light of Dreams and Desires..
You are beyond these two brothers..
You are the Observer..
You rest until You decide to move...
-thomas
' The Maze '...
Wisdom can only be learned gradually, and every soul is not ready to receive or to understand the complexity of the purpose of life.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Man likes complexity. He does not want to take only one step; it is more interesting to look forward to millions of steps. The man who is seeking the truth gets into a maze, and that maze interests him. He wants to go through it a thousand times more. It is just like children.
Their whole interest is in running about; they do not want to see the door and go in until they are very tired. So it is with adults. They all say that they are seeking truth, but they like the maze. That is why the mystics made the greatest truths a mystery, to be given only to the few who were ready for them, letting the others play because it was the time for them to play.
Truth is simple. But for the very reason that it is simple, people will not take it; because our life on earth is such that for everything we value, we have to pay a great price and one wonders, if truth is the most precious of all things, then how can truth be attained simply?
It is this illusion that makes everyone deny simple truth and seek for complexity. Tell people about something that makes their heads whirl round and round and round. Even if they do not understand it, they are most pleased to think, 'It is something substantial. It is something solid.
For, it is an idea we cannot understand, it must be something lofty.' But something which every soul knows, proving what is divine in every soul, and which it cannot help but know, that appears to be too cheap, for the soul already knows it.
There are two things: knowing and being. It is easy to know truth, but most difficult to be truth. It is not in knowing truth that life's purpose is accomplished; life's purpose is accomplished in being truth.
' One present play '...
Life is one present play of appearances: sights, sounds, smells, thoughts, feelings, experiences, states, and other things. Mentally labeling these as separate things solidifies the false assumption that there actually are separate things happening at different times and in different places.
See that there are not two here. There is only one present play of life. To the mind, there is a “you,” sitting in a chair, listening to a bird chirping outside. With that seemingly harmless interpretation, the mind has created a false appearance of separate things happening in different places. It has divided this one present play into parts: a separate “you,” a chair, listening, a bird, chirping, and outside. This is what the mind does. It filters the present experience dualistically. This reflection is not about getting rid of the mind. It is pointing to simple, clear, empty non-dual awareness prior to the mind’s dualistic interpretation of the present experience.
The separate “you” is an idea happening in awareness. The notion that there is a chair is also an idea. The notion that there is something here called listening that is separate from what is being heard is also an idea. The notion that there is a bird “outside” is an idea. Ideas are not aware. Only awareness is aware. In looking only with present, spacious, non-conceptual awareness, what seemed to be separate things happening in different places is seen to be one present play. Just ‘This.’
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' The Divine Element '...
Hidden behind every particular thought there exists the divine element which makes possible our consciousness of that thought.
If therefore we seek that element, we must seek it first by widening the gap between them and then dissolving all thoughts, and second by contemplating that out of which they have arisen.
-Paul Brunton
' The Friend called Source '...
I used to live in
A cramped house with confusion
And pain.
But then I met the Friend
And started getting drunk
And singing all
Night.
Confusion and pain
Started acting nasty,
Making threats,
With talk like this,
"If you don't stop 'that'--
All that fun--
We're
Leaving."
- Hafiz
' The dream of choice '...
The seeker asks, “Should I engage in spiritual practices to bring about enlightenment?” The teacher responds, “Who is going to do that?” This can frustrate the seeker unless it is realized what is really being said.
The dream of self is a dream of time. There is a belief in a separate person with a past and a future who can choose to take action now to bring about some later event. Within the spiritual search, choice is based in personal motivation: “What can I do now to achieve something later?” The dream self falsely believes it is in control. It’s all about the “me” and what it can get.
Enlightenment is the realization of no self, which is a realization of timelessness. When time is seen to be nothing more than a mental stream of thoughts called past and future arising now, the “me” is seen to be a temporary thought form arising from that formless, timeless awareness. Choice is seen to be a dream of time, meaning an aspect of the dream of self.
Should you engage in spiritual practices? In seeing that all spiritual practicing emanates from a central illusion of time and control, the possibility for liberation from that dream arises. Engaging in spiritual practices in the blind pursuit to bring about some later event called enlightenment just strengthens the dream of time and control. It strengthens the dream of self.
Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' Reaching comprehension '...
It is a fundamental error to turn the pure mind into an object of experience in an attempt to reach comprehension.
Mind can know everything else and is the inescapable condition of every experience, for by its light every object and every event is revealed, but it cannot itself be known in the same way that we know everything else.
Ordinarily there is a knower and a known, and mind would have to transcend such a relation were it to become aware of itself, which means that it would have to transcend thinking itself.
Mind itself produces the categories of time, space, and cause which make world experience possible and knowable--that is, thinkable--which is why it cannot be grasped in the same way.
The nature of mind is unique, and before its sublime verity speech trembles into silence.
-Paul Brunton
' Creators '...
”We are the creators and creatures of each other,
causing and bearing each other's burden."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' The ego vanished '...
The actual experience alone can settle this argument.
This is what I found:
The ego vanished; the everyday "I" which the world knew and which knew the world, was no longer there.
But a new and diviner individuality appeared in its place, a consciousness which could say "I AM" and which I recognized to have been my real self all along.
It was not lost, merged, or dissolved:
it was fully and vividly conscious that it was a point in universal Mind and so not apart from that Mind itself.
Only the lower self, the false self, was gone but that was a loss for which to be immeasurably grateful..
- Paul Brunton
' Power corrupts '...
' Being in the world but not of it '..
As Consciousness, The eyes of humans speak many stories..
The same Consciousness believes that it is separate..
They fell into the 'Dream state' of manifestation of thought..
To dream new dreams is the path of humanity..
My experience of life is being the Observer of Dreams..
To manifest is normal for a mystic,
to be conscious of the growth of power from this thought energy is wisdom..
Power corrupts...
-thomas
' Belief '...
To 'Believe' is to remain separate from Knowledge..
As the 'Believer', you retain a name ..
'To Know , is returning Home..
'To Know', is a Waking experience..
Memory suddenly returns..
The word 'Desire' is rarely within Consciousness..
'Knowledge' summons this itch called Desire..
Dreams come easy for this explorer..
Where Reality lives,
there is no need for Belief...
-thomas
' Solidity is an illusion '...
By Kelly Cline
June 6, 2012
Your body is mostly empty space. A rock, a tree, a table, all these things are mostly empty space. These objects act as if they were solid all the way through. But a series of extraordinary experiments have shown that this is just an illusion.
The experiments began with the discovery of radiation in the late 1800s, when scientists found that X-rays could go right through human flesh or other solid objects.
In 1909, an astonishing experiment was performed in the laboratory of the English physicist Ernest Rutherford. A beam of alpha radiation particles was fired at a sheet of gold foil. Most of the alpha particles went straight through the sheet of solid gold. However, to everyone’s great surprise, a few of the alpha particles bounced off and came right back. Why did most of the alpha particles go through? Why did a few of them bounce back?
Based on this strange experiment, Rutherford proposed a new idea of what an atom is. Rutherford said that most of an atom is empty space, where negatively charged electrons orbit. The only solid part of an atom is the nucleus, where the positively charge protons are found. The few alpha particles that bounced back were ones that just happened to hit the nucleus itself. Rutherford’s calculations showed that the nucleus is amazingly small. If an atom was the size of a basketball, its nucleus would be too small to be seen with the eye.
So, why do objects feel solid? If my hand is mostly empty space, why can’t I push it right through a table?
Things feel solid because of the electric force. The atoms of my hand have equal numbers of negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons. A table has the same. The electrons in my hand are repelled by the electrons in the table, but they are attracted by the protons in the table. As a result, if I hold my hand an inch above the table, I feel no force.
However, if I try to push my hand through the table, the situation changes. Now the atoms of my hand are smashed right up next to the atoms of the table. Atoms keep their electrons on the outside, so the electrons of my hand are pushed up right next to the atoms of the table. As a result, these electrons push away from each other very strongly. The electrons of my hand are attracted to the protons in the table, but those protons are a bit further away, because protons are found in the center of an atom.
The electron-electron repulsion force is stronger than the electron-proton attraction force because the electrons are much closer together. As a result, I can’t put my hand through a table, no matter how hard I try. The electric force makes the table feel like a solid object, even though it’s mostly empty space.
Scientific discoveries allow us to see the world around us in strange and surprising ways. Look carefully at a rock, a tree, a table or your hand. Those objects are really just clouds of tiny particles held together by powerful electrical forces. Solid objects are mostly empty space.
-Kelly Cline, Ph.D., is associate professor of astronomy and mathematics at Carroll College
' Consciousness assumes innumerable forms '...
”Understand that it is not the individual, which has consciousness;
it is the consciousness, which assumes innumerable forms.
That something which is born or which will die is purely imaginary.
It is the child of a barren woman.
In the absence of this basic concept "I am" there is no thought, there is no consciousness."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' A mere shadow '...
This is the ego that we falsely think of as being our real self.
This is the ego to which memory ties us.
This is the illusive part of our dual personality;
this is the known part of our being, a mere shadow thrown by the unknown part which is infinitely greater.
This moves from one earthly body to another, from one dream to another through the phantasmagoria of existence without awakening to reality.
-Paul Brunton
' The mirror and its reflections '...
Non-dual awareness is like one mirror. The mirror has no concept. It has no view. The mirror knows no separate people or things. The reflections of the mirror give the appearance of separate people. Yet those separate people only exist as separate, and only know themselves to be separate, in relationship to others.
Dualism is a play of mental opposites. There is no “me” without a “you.” No right without wrong. No black without white. No success without failure. No good without bad. No positive without negative. No one can be “spiritual” unless there are others who are “not spiritual.” A belief cannot be true unless other beliefs are untrue.
There is only the One appearing as many. Only thought creates the notion that there are separate things, separate people, and separate ideas.
Spiritual realization is a seeing beyond the dream of separateness/dualism. This realization is calling awareness out of its mental attachment to our separate philosophical, religious, cultural, national, political and personal divisions. Suffering and searching exist when thought buys completely into the dream of its own reflection. The “person” believes she is totally separate and then longs for wholeness, not realizing that she is that wholeness. In seeing the separate person as a reflection, the possibility of recognizing Oneness (the mirror) arises. This is not about denying the reflection (i.e., the separate person). It is about seeing that it is ultimately a dream of thought.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenmen
' What IS watching '...
The mind has no sentience. It is only the
reflection that is arising from the Heart
sentience – from your own Self.
But because of the belief in the mind, the
belief gives it a sense of autonomy and life,
like it exists by itself, but it doesn’t!
Rather than go into what you are watching,
look at what IS watching.
- Mooji
' Chasing after states and experiences '...
Don’t make the mistake of chasing after particular states and experiences. You hear about this thing called non-duality or enlightenment and thought reduces it to a state or experience. For example, you hear about great Oneness experiences in which people see that they are not separate from others, from the floor, or from the sky and you believe you must have that experience. Non-dual realization is not a particular experience. It is emptiness appearing as every experience and every state.
One way of pointing to it is with the word “opening.” Do not envision the opening as a state or experience or something to find or arrive at. What you really are is the present opening through which everything arises and falls including thoughts, emotions, beliefs, experiences, and states. The opening never changes. It does not come and go. It is stateless and experience-less.
In realizing that what you really are is this opening, it is seen that every thought, emotion, belief, experience, and state that comes through the opening is not in fact separate from the opening. You are both the opening and that which comes through it. The opening and that which is coming through the opening constitute one present reality happening.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' Ashtavakra Samhita '...
He must not let the Ashtavakra Samhita be misunderstood.
It does not preach mystic idleness and indifference.
The world is there for both sage and student, and both must work and serve--the difference being mental only.
Illusionism is not the doctrine except as an intermediate stage towards truth, which is higher.
One must participate in God's work by assisting evolution and redeeming the world, not squat idly in peace alone.
-Paul Brunton
' Talking about death '...
Below these words are words that describe Reality..
I speak about death to remind you of Reality..
Your thoughts are measured by seconds..
The word 'Now' keeps entering Consciousness..
'Time' continues to play it's tricks..
The thought of 'I' keeps entering Consciousness..
Does 'I' exist beyond pain ?..
This land of love called heaven is a 'White Light' to those of Freedom..
This desire to Create, must be abandoned..
Remember, you are only the 'Thought'...
-thomas
' Without death, life cannot be '...
When effort is needed, effort will appear.
When effortlessness
becomes essential, it will assert itself.
You need not push life
about.
Just flow with it and give yourself completely to the task
of the present moment, which is the dying now to the now.
For
living is dying.
Without death, life cannot be.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
' The responsibility is mine '...
Whatever I do, the responsibility is mine,
but like one who plants an orchard,
what comes of what I do, the fruit,
will be for others.
I offer the actions of this life
to the God within,
and wherever I go, the way is blessed.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
' The doer is a story of lack '...
The dream self is a doer that is doing things now to achieve other things later. You believe that you must meditate to evoke relaxation or reach enlightenment. You believe you must pray each morning so that God will give you or your loved ones a longer life, better relationships, more money, or a better living situation. You go to spiritual teachers who will tell you how to become more present, surrendered, open, aware, loving, or awakened.
All of this doing assumes that you have control of your life. The idea of personal choice/will creates the story of self in time. The story goes, “I lack something now but if I do this particular thing, I will find wholeness later.” The story perpetuates the sense of lack. It traps you into seeking future.
Instead of blindly doing things in order to bring about some later awakening, notice what is already being done. Notice all the ways the doer is busy looking for a later moment. This is not a suggestion to stop doing things. It is an invitation to notice that all doing feeds into the story of self, which is a story that you lack something now but that the future will bring fulfillment.
Enlightenment is simply the realization that there is already enlightenment now under the story of the doer doing things to reach enlightenment.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' The 'I' process '...
There is no real ego but only a quick succession of thoughts which constitutes the "I" process.
There is no separate entity forming the personal consciousness but only a series of impressions, ideas, images revolving round a common centre.
The latter is completely empty; the feeling of something being there derives from a totally different plane--that of the Overself.
- Paul Brunton
' Appearing in Consciousness '...
”I do not negate the world.
I see it as appearing in consciousness, which is the totality of the known in the immensity of the unknown.
What begins and ends is mere appearance.
The world can be said to appear, but not to "be".
The appearance may last very long on some scale of time, and be very short on another, but ultimately it comes to the same.
Whatever is time bound is momentary and has no reality."
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' Just Perception '...
Just Perception also reveals that Perception exists with no need of any movement - even though it appears as if the ‘body' of the viewer is moving around. The ‘flat' field will always deepen no matter where the body moves, but Perception requires no movement and Perception never moves. In fact, when looking out at a landscape through non-dual vision, the body may not even be there.
What I mean is, humans are used to thinking that it is ‘they' who are looking. Non-dual vision reveals that there is only Perception with No Perceiver. If a field is being seen ‘non-dually', all that 'exists' is that field. What is Perceived is all that ever exists in the narrative, in actuality, though it is stripped down, splintered off, and distorted royally by the senses. And yet still, that reality 'exists' in totality before us, despite our mental conditioning. The mind is constantly creating the sense that there is a body during the waking state.
That there are eyes. That there are limbs which can be felt. That is always the case, that is the game. But with non-dual vision, the mind's fiction is revealed. ‘Sight' of this nature is not happening from the head, necessarily, even in the mind's fictionalized construct. It seems more like a ‘full-body' seeing. Yet what it truly is is Just Perception. If a hand or a leg appears within the range of perception of that field of non-dual vision, this distinction becomes even more apparent. Just Perception perceives a body part, and an identity struggles to be maintained by the mind for that body part. It is ridiculously plain, in such a state, that ‘you' are in no means your body. The body - or parts of the body, or thoughts of the body unseen within the field arising - are really just more object bubbling up. Just Perception is all that is.
Awakening can usher in a deepening toward a more permanent grounding in the non-dual (and 'beyond' - it simply does not ‘stop' with non-dual realization. ‘Reality' is both the dual and the non-dual, as well as neither the dual or the non-dual - though of a stark brilliance and simplified complexity which dwarfs this pathetic attempt at a summation).
This grounding allows the connectedness of all form (and all non-form) to be apparent in cognizance. That is the case even if the visual equivalent of non-dual sight is not always ‘appearing' within cognizance on a continual basis. Thus, a ‘person' can ‘see' this connection of all matter, all things, all life, all form, all non-form, without necessarily seeing it. This truth comes as a “know”ing that is far more trustworthy than any information making their way in through the justperception.net. senses. In fact, when non-dual vision arises through the sense of sight, what is being ‘seen' is itself merely a confirmation of what is already “known”, breaking through via the gross and usually extremely untrustworthy mechanisms found within the sensory organs of ‘humans'.
justperception.net. Just Perception Book
' Reality rather than appearance '...
The idea that we have to wait for liberation from the ego and enlightenment by the Overself,
to evolve through much time and many reincarnations,
is correct only if we continue to remain mesmerized by it,
but false if we take our stand on reality rather than appearance:
we are now as divine as we ever shall be--but we must wake up from illusion and see this truth.
-Paul Brunton
' Love is will '...
”Love is will,
the will to share your happiness with all.
Being happy,
making happy,
this is the rhythm of love."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
' Death '...
The dream self is the movement of mental and emotional energy in avoidance of death. Awareness identifies with thought and emotion in some attempt to create and maintain a self out of past and future. This self seeks permanency. But there is no permanency in time. Time is finite. Time is mind. It is thought. Thought, by its very nature, arises and falls.
Enlightenment is the falling away of the story of “me” living in past and future. In that falling away, what is left is timelessness—the infinite, the eternal. In that falling away, liberation and unconditional love arise. Jesus said, “If you want to find your life, you must lose it.” He was not referring to physical death or encouraging martyrdom. He was pointing to the fact that this dream self (which he called sin) is an obstacle to enlightenment or Oneness (which he called God).
When the dream self is seen to be nothing but an illusion, physical death is no longer feared. The fear of death arises only because the dream self believes it is a real entity totally separate from the rest of life—an entity that can die. But your real identity is beyond the cycle of physical birth and death. When the fear of death dies, the fear of living goes with it. That is non-dual freedom.
Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
' Awakening into Divinity '...
The idea that we have to wait for liberation from the ego and enlightenment by the Overself,
to evolve through much time and many reincarnations,
is correct only if we continue to remain mesmerized by it,
but false if we take our stand on reality rather than appearance:
we are now as divine as we ever shall be--but we must wake up from illusion and see this truth.
- Paul Brunton
' The Magician '...
To be a magician within an illusion is not that difficult..
The Real Power is not within this hologram,
It is the 'Thinker' that creates..
We play our part well..
The words are memorized..
We fight and kill for food..
If, we only knew that Light is food..
There are few Saints that live only on Light..
The 'bottom line' is,
do not make 'serious', your friend..
Become Free within the circular wind of Wisdom...
-thomas
' There is only realization '...
“Many people ask, ‘How do I integrate my spirituality into everyday life?’
You don’t. You can’t.
How could you integrate it?
You can’t stuff the infinite into your limited life.
Instead, give your life to the divine impulse.
There is no integration. There’s only realization, and that realization is always a perfect destroyer.
It is a destroyer of all sense of separateness, a destroyer of that which is not true. Throw your life into Truth. Don’t try to stuff Truth into your life.”
~ Adyashanti
' Detachment '...
As he advances in the idea of being detached from results and possessions,
he will inevitably have to advance in the idea of being detached from concern about his own spiritual development.
If he is to relinquish the ego, he will also have to relinquish his attempts to improve it.
This applies just as much to its character as to its ideas.
-Paul Brunton
' What’s going to happen next? '...
Liberation is not knowing what is going to happen next. Even in the dream of self you don’t know what is going to happen next but, within that dream, a story of knowing is told.
Look more closely right now. Sit there quietly in your chair after reading this reflection. Watch an arm move or maybe a finger. Notice your head turn. Notice a thought arise or maybe a feeling. Notice that “you” are not making these things happen any more than you are pumping blood, digesting food, or breathing.
Thought measures ‘backwards’ to say, “I was just thinking a minute ago,” or “I am going to move my arm now.” But even that thought arises beyond your control. Even if you are arguing with what is being said here, notice that the argument arose spontaneously and involuntarily.
In noticing that life is just happening spontaneously and involuntarily, there is also a noticing that you cannot know what is going to happen next until it is already happening.
The resistance to life as it is happening is suffering. The recognition that life cannot happen in any other way than it is happening is liberation. Liberation is not about doing anything. It is about noticing what is already being done. This is freedom from the false idea that you are doing it.
-Kiloby, Scott. Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment
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