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Issue #1394 - Friday, April 4, 2003 - Editor: Gloria Lee
Quantum mechanics describes the bizarre rules of light and matter on atomic scales. In that realm, matter can be in two places at once; objects behave as both particles and waves (a strange duality described by Schrodinger's wave equation); and nothing is certain: the quantum world runs on probability.
Although quantum rules are counter-intuitive, they underlie the macroscopic reality we experience day-to-day. Bose-Einstein condensates are curious objects that bridge the gap between those two realms. They obey the laws of the small even as they intrude on the big.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/20mar_newmatter.htm =========================================================
Ed Note: Issue #1393 from Saturday was truncated by Outlook Express, so you may have missed the last half. The entire message is on yahoo at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights/message/1393
This following article is repeated from Saturday's highlight.
Christiana, thank-you for sending this piece.
THE QUANTUM PERSPECTIVE—Part One
(All of us are affected by the war
in Iraq. Many are for it, many are against it.
Many think all war is wrong, others speak of there being ‘just’ wars,
war
that, while still being regrettable, is necessary for the
greater good.
Whatever your perspective, I think it is important to
remember that world
peace is never going to exist in a sustained way on this
planet until a critical
mass of us finds true inner peace. With that in mind, I
offer the following…)
The quest for enlightenment, for
true inner freedom, involves a deep inquiry
into who and what you really are, beyond all ideas about
who you are. It
involves a deep inquiry into the nature of reality itself. If
you are able to put
whatever religious beliefs and concepts you currently hold
aside, and look
closely at the way physical reality is put together, you
come to a remarkable
discovery. You come to the same insights arrived at by
quantum physics in
our own time, by Jesus 2,000 years ago, and by the Buddha
2,500 years
ago.
This discovery is that reality is a
unified field of energy and consciousness.
It is not the universe of separate objects and things, of
"us" in here, and the
rest of the world out there, as Newton believed, but is a
participatory
universe, where every particle, every atom is profoundly
interconnected.
Reality is so interconnected that just by observing, looking
into a system,
you affect and change the system—and are, in turn,
affected and changed by
it.
This quantum perspective brings an
entirely new, and astonishingly
contemporary—indeed, timeless—kind of meaning to the
Buddha’s
statements that, "Form is emptiness, and emptiness is
form," and "All the
ten thousand things are created by a single thought." It
allows us to hear
Jesus’ words, "I and the Father are One" in a new
way, especially if we see
the word "Father" as a metaphor for consciousness
itself. It makes it easier
for us to understand Jesus when he said to his disciples,
"This applies to
you, too. You are just as much a part of the Oneness as I
am."
We are not separate from the rest of
creation, but are one with it. Ramesh
Balsekar, a contemporary Indian teacher of
self-realization, reminds us that
in Hindu mythology, the universe was perceived thousands of
years ago as
a multi-dimensional net of jewels, each one a reflection
of, and profoundly
related to, the other. He quotes an ancient Chinese saying:
"Pick a blade of
grass and you shake the universe."
And the fundamental quality that
connects everything, as modern quantum
physics is discovering, is consciousness itself. In fact,
the quantum
scientists have come to the startling conclusion that
consciousness is a
permanent and inherent property of the universe, and that
conscious
awareness, or observership, is a mandatory requirement for
making reality
tangible. We, as observers, participants, are creating the
whole thing.
Perception, in other words, is reality.
One thinks of Shakespeare, the
brilliant playwright and—in his own way,
metaphysician—writing over five hundred years ago: "All
the world’s a
stage, and all the people many players." What
becomes clear with the
universal, quantum, or holographic perspective is that
we are scripting the
whole thing. It doesn’t happen without our thinking,
or dreaming it, into
being.
© Jim Dreaver 2003 GOT A QUESTION?
If you have a question about your
transformational journey, and what it takes
to live authentically amidst the challenges of daily life, email
it to me and I
will give you my perspective. There is no charge for
this, though it may take
a week or two to get back to you
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about my books,
tapes, schedule, and private
Transformational Counseling sessions, whether in person or by
phone, visit
my website at www.jimdreaver.com
SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
If you have a friend whom you think
would enjoy or benefit from this
message, feel free to copy it and forward it. To subscribe, send
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Mailing’ in subject line.
To unsubscribe, type ‘Remove’ in subject line.
450 Pitt Ave Sebastopol, CA 95472
Tel: 707-823-1640 Web:
www.jimdreaver.com Email: jdreaver@aol.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nagual Series II - Free Will? We Create Our
Own Reality? - NOT
"Our
nagual creates the major themes in our life. It is up to us
to fill in the details."
The
subject of free will has come up recently on the forum. It's time
to look at it
and some other baby metaphysical concepts such as 'we create our
own reality'.
We
have no free will, nor do we create our own reality. These were
concepts that
became popular during the 70's and 80's among 'new agers' and
they now have
become beliefs established in the dream of mass consciousness.
They were
necessary to bring about the realization that we are responsible
for our thoughts,
feelings, and actions. It is not a savior outside of ourselves
that will absolve us of
all of our sins. We alone are responsible for our own
salvation.
But it
is time to graduate from baby metaphysics and realize that we do
not
create our reality, nor do we really have free will. Many on this
board have come
to this realization already, or have sincerely questioned these
new age beliefs.
On the
other hand it is equally incorrect to say that all of our life is
predetermined,
that we have no choice in life, or that we are chosen for a
pre-determined destiny
that we will fulfill whether we like it or not. It is incorrect
to say that all of what
happens in our life happens for a reason. This is more baby
metaphysics. The
fact is that most of the events in an average man's life occur
accidentally.
Philosophers
would call this a paradox. But a Toltec sees no contradiction
here.
Paradoxes are for the mental body. When one begins to 'see',
paradoxes fall
away into knowingness.
Our
nagual aspect is the unstructured part of ourselves. It is
UNLIMITED. Our
destiny and major themes of our life are set up by our nagual.
Our tonal is our
personality aspect, which consists of our mental, emotional and
physical bodies,
is our structured aspect. Our personality contains our POTENTIAL.
If we fully align
our tonal to our nagual we have UNLIMITED POTENTIAL.
We
have absolutely no control over our nagual. Our nagual is much,
much bigger
and many times more powerful than we are. As organic beings we
identify with
our tonal, our personality self (mental, emotional and physical
bodies). The
average human has no awareness at all of their nagual. They only
know their
tonal, and actually know very little about that.
Mexican
Spanish has a word, mitote, which was originally a Toltec word
meaning
chaos and disorder. It was originally used to describe a
market place where you
have a thousand people talking to each other at the same time and
nobody
understands each other. The Toltecs use the word mitote to
describe the
average person's mind. Our tonal actually consists of a thousand
different I's
each contradicting each other. We have many buffers in our
personality that blind
us to our contradictions. Each of these I's have different
desires, different wills
and depending on which particular I we are identified with in the
moment, we will
make decisions and take actions that may be totally contradictory
to another
moment when another one of the I's in our chaotic market
place.
This
is the average state of the human. It is a very difficult place
to be in. From
this state it is impossible to sense or to be aware of our nagual
aspect. It vibrates
way too high. The only way out is to muster up as much
intent as we can to begin
to get some of our thousands of I's to align up.
Ultimately
we want all of these subpersonalities to align to our nagual. But
as it is
near impossible to know our nagual when living in Chaos we must
first align them
to something outside of ourselves. We may align them to a teacher
or nagual. Or
we may begin to align our-selves to books and other teachings
that ring true to
us. One by one we must rigorously stalk the I's in our tonal,
processing them while
bringing down our buffers. This is very difficult as it requires
brute honesty with
our-selves, all aspects of our-selves.
This
can take a lifetime for some. But until we are able to process
and heal our
personality selves to a degree where we have a sufficient 'mass'
of
subpersonalities in alignment, we do not have enough personal
power to access
our nagual. And true growth only begins when we are working
directly with our
nagual.
Returning
to free will and creating our reality, we can see that in a state
of chaos
with so many contractions in ourselves we are virtually
powerless. In this state
there is no way we can truly create our reality. We only fool
ourselves into
believing we can. It is very easy to fool ourselves when we have
so many buffers
in ourselves that blind us from ourselves. In this state of chaos
what we choose
and what we will is solely dependent on what particular
subpersonality we are
identifying with in the moment. More often than not, which
subpersonality is
manifesting through ourselves is determined by some thing or
event outside of
ourselves. This is not free will. The average man lives by the
law of accident, not
the law of destiny.
When
we align ourselves to our nagual we are then able to manifest the
nagual in
our lives. We are aligned to and fulfill our destiny. Living
naguals are very
powerful as they are in alignment with their nagual aspect. Their
tonal is aligned
to their nagual. In some paths this state is called
self-realization. The personality
self is fully realized (aligned to) the higher self.
Many
want to skip dealing with their personality selves and go
directly to the
nagual. They want to believe that a warrior's life is something
different than their
own. I personally am guilty of this. I wanted to have out of
bodies, run energy,
dream and have all the oohs and ahs. I got to be pretty efficient
at doing these
things. I didn't want to deal with my personality self and had
convinced myself that
'only other people have problems, I was above that stuff'. But
you can only go so
far running high frequencies of energy without working on your
tonal. Power will
eventually come and knock you on your ass. It knocked me down so
low that I
was suicidal for over a year. For more than 3 years I was in more
pain than I
could have ever imagined was possible, and I was totally
powerless. It was a very
ugly place to be in.
But
now my life is very different. I still remember those painful
years. And I can
recall my life prior to that. But when I finally made it out the
other side I stepped
into a new probability that I could have never imagined existed.
This evening
when running my nagual opened and spoke to me the entire time I
was running.
Normally, when running I open to my nagual and I get glimpses and
flashes of
knowingness on how to live my life. But tonight, my nagual opened
to me and was
in a very talkative mood ;-)
To finish three quickies .. . .
*
Eventually you will get to the place where your teacher is your
own nagual
aspect. It is not a book or someone outside of you. Then when you
speak to
others of your path you will have true origin-ality. The origin
of your knowledge
comes from your origin, your nagual.
* The
word impeccable means 'without sin'. Sin is defined as a
'transgression
against God.' As God is unknowable we are left with our nagual
aspect. I would
define sin as a 'transgression against our nagual aspect.' To be
impeccable
means to be without sin or to be in alignment with our
nagual.
* For
humans truth is not absolute. It is relative to our level of
growth. Truth has a
purpose for that particular level of growth. Often the purpose
behind the truth is
more important than the truth itself. Example - the purpose of
instilling the
belief/truth that 'we create our own reality' was to make people
aware that they
are responsible for their growth and their lives(not a savior or
God outside of
themselves). A more accurate truth is that we don't create our
own reality, our
destiny has already been created by our nagual. But, to realise
our destiny we
must align our tonal to our nagual. Only we can do this. Our
nagual will not do it for
us. Again, the purpose of this truth is the same as the first
truth - we are
responsible for our growth, no one else, no other entity outside
of ourself, we are
responsible. Whichever 'truth' you believe, the purpose is the
same, only you are
responsible for your growth, your life. Eventually you will get
to the point where
you have no beliefs/truths. You will not need them. For you will
know your
purpose.
http://www.toltecnagual.com/main/series/nagualII.htm
Thanks to Karta for posting this on several lists.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
image of "interference patterns" from http://www.culture.com.au/brain_proj/CONTENT/QUAN_03.HTM
FATE AND FREE WILL
I have
not kept up with this thread on Advaitin but here are some
thoughts and
comments on the "Fate" V. "Free Will" debate.
Will pass this on to NDS and HS
for those interested. Inquiry about Fate and Free Will is
important but there should be no
compromises. It should be taken to the limit (within one's own
mind). What does it
mean? It is the intensity of the inquiry that is needed not the
evaluation of "truth"
or "falsity" of the doctrine of predetermination (or
free will).
You
can rest assured that from the perspective of the Self, both
doctrines, "free
will" and "predetermination", are equally unreal
and have no standing what so
ever! People have pointed out that Ramesh Baleskar
states that everything is
predetermined. So what? On an issue of this subtle nature,
relying on authority is
not the best strategy, especially if the goal is that of Self
Knowledge.
It
seems to me that what Baleskar or anyone else says on the matter
is quite
irrelevant. What do you say? That is important.
The
actual inquiry on this matter, in order to be fruitful, must take
place in one's
own consciousness with focus and intensity.
Sri
Ramana once indicated to a devotee that all was predetermined. At
other
times the Sage pointed out that reading of scriptures and
spiritual practice are
premised on Free Will. Both statements have their uses in
particular times and
places. A devotee may find either philosophy useful.
The
inquiry about "Fate" and "Free Will" is a
device only to open up within to the
Self- Knowledge, the Heart, that is untouched by either fate or
free will. The
constructs of "fate" and "free will" depend
on each for meaning and can have no
independent existence.
It is
only minor teachers who are obsessed with "Fate" and
the "deterministic"
nature of the world who attempt to maintain consistency in their
responses.
Baleskar certainly fits that category.
A true
master is not interested in logic or consistency for their own
sake. S/He
has no investment in "free will" or
"determinism." These are mere tools that
maybe useful for inquiry. Once the inquiry into the nature of
consciousness starts,
that itself becomes the tool.
The
main thing is consciousness, not the constructs that have
consciousness as
their source. If you follow the constructs outwards, you see the
world and are
bound. If you follow the constructs inwards through inquiry, you
see that You
Yourself Are the Consciousness untouched by fate or free
will.
Love to all Harsha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From
the little I have read by Ramesh Balsekar, it seems he aims to
use the notion of predestination to counter the "I am the
doer"
belief: if it's predestined, what can anyone do.
However, for what it's worth, here is a quote from The
Teachings of
Ramana Maharshi in His Own Words about the question of
predestination.
"It is as though a group of people who had never heard of
radio were
to stand around one, arguing whether the man in it has to sing
what
the transmitting station tells him to or whether he can change
parts
of the songs. The answer is that there is no man in the
equipment,
and therefore the question does not arise."
Thanks to AdvaitGirl on NDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After
silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the
inexpressible, is music. ~ Aldous Huxley ~
The art of music is endowed with a supernatural origin and a
divine
purpose, more so than any other art. ~ Liebniz ~
Which of these two powers, love or music, can elevate man to the
sublimest heights? Why separate them? They are the two wings of
the
soul. ~ Hector Berlioz ~
What is best in music is not to be found in the notes. ~ Gustav
Mahler ~
Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to
the
mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness and life to
everything. Fine music is the essence of order and leads to all
that
is just and good, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless
dazzling, passionate and eternal form. ~ Plato ~
Don't play the notes. Play the meaning of the notes. ~ Pablo
Casals ~
Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the
agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and
delightful presents God has given us. ~ Martin Luther ~
Only the flint of man's soul can strike fire in music. ~ Ludwig
von
Beethoven ~
Do not fear mistakes. There are none. ~ Miles Davis ~
Thanks to Joyce on Allspirit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If
you could get rid
Of yourself just once,
The secret of secrets
Would open to you.
The face of the unknown,
Hidden beyond the universe
Would appear on the
Mirror of your perception."
~ Rumi ~
From "Crazy as We Are"; Translated by Nevit O Ergin
Thanks to Gill Eardly on RumiHafiz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It
is easier to get enlightened than to stay enlightened. More
people have
profound spiritual experiences than most realize. Having
momentarily intuited or
recognized who and what one truly is (Reality itself,
things as they are,
unmediated by thought), habitual dualistic propensities do
tend to resurface,
obscuring that fundamental existential insight and
openness. One's intrinsic
clarity and innate wakefulness is again shrouded by, and prey
to, the winds of
karma, the storm of emotionality and delusion. As a
catalyzing agent, deep
continuous meditation and uncompromising self- inquiry is the
great highway to
wisdom and transcendence. Wonderment -- wondering about
everything -- is the
key. The Buddha himself reached perfect awakened
enlightenment through such
a practice-path; we are fortunate to be heirs to his
legacy." ~Lama Surya Das
From
the website
http://www.buddhistinformation.com/tibetan/crazy_wisdom_and_tibetan_teachin.htm
Thanks to Daily Dharma
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patterns of Destiny
"The apparent is from the created and the Inward is from the Truth" -Bahauddin Naqshband.
"The
Sufis quite openly assert that they sense, and work together
with, patterns
of life and of the environment which are imperceptible to others.
Indeed, for this
reason, the Naqshbandi Sufis are called The Designers (Naqshband)
and in Sufi
poetic and other literature it is stated not only that there is a
design in the world,
but that man is part of it. Omar Khayyam, in one of his poems,
says 'Without any
doubt we are the design on the bezel of a ring'. I asked Hakim
Jan one day if he
could expand on the Design idea. As is quite usual, he chose to
answer by
means of a story. It suggested the unfamiliar idea that the
Design may be
sustained by the presence of a particular individual and may
relapse into an
'imperfection' when his presence is withdrawn.
'All
things on this world are connected', said Hakim 'and if an
imbalance occurs in
one part, it will cause upheaval in another. Thus,
people(for instance in the West)
say to people in the East, "' If you have such great
knowledge, why are your
affairs in such a state?" They do not realise that it
is people who have caused
the disorder, and that Sufi intervention represents the
maximum which can be
effected within the Design. The rest of the balancing of
the world must come
when other, very big elements are righted.
'Almost
fourteen hundred years ago, there was a man who lived in an oasis
in the
Arabian desert. His peculiarity was that he kept, as pets,
both a goat and a wolf,
which lived with him in harmony.
'A
traveller whose journeys periodically took him past the oasis,
got to know him.
He asked how and why he kept these two such ill-assorted
animals.
'The
man said, "The goat provides milk, and the wolf gives us
both protection.
One works with the other, because there is a certain
harmony in the world, in
certain parts." Then, one day, the traveller was again
approaching the Arab's hut
when he was horrified to see the wolf leap upon the goat
and devour it. 'As he
reached the spot the bedouin came running out, and
exclaimed. "A saint has
died, and the world is dislocated. There are people on the
earth whose
presence has a certain effect. Now we shall see upsets and
disasters, and
things will not be the same until matters are set to
rights."
from: Travels with a Sufi Master. by H.B.M.Dervish
Thanks to Marcos Lacerda on SufiMystic