Click here to go to the next issue
Highlights Home Page | Receive the Nondual Highlights each day
Edition # 1149 - Sunday, July 28, 2002 - Editor: Christiana
Terra Laughton
ZenPearl@yahoogroups.com
Any advice you
can give on going with the flow of the things
instead of against it? I'm trying to not force things the way I
want
them to go. I keep catching myself trying to force it this or
that
way. About the time I think okay I've got it, I don't. Like
today, I got
up and ended up in a fight of words with my dad because I
wanted to get going to hang with my sister instead of do things
the way he wanted it to go. And how does one know what the
flow of things is? Is it the way someone else wants it to go? I
mean, if I don't stand up for how I thought it should go than it
will
go the way someone else wanted it to go. So how is that letting
things flow along without trying to control it if someone else is
doing the controling? I wonder if this is something I should ask
my teacher. I just thought I'd post it here first and see the
reponse
and see what or how to go about this as I read your messages.
Wondering which cosmic flow is the cosmic flow I should follow?,
Paul responds:
Terra, you raise a great question. One that i struggle with
constantly. What immediately comes to mind is the response of
a Zen teacher: "Jump in the river, go with the flow, you
will
drown!" evolution / revolution, where does one draw a line
if
indeed one needs drawing? Is there a middle-way solution?
where does healthy assertiveness leave off and ego dominated
aggression begin? Where does compassion and sensitivity
deteriorate into masochism? for me every situation is unique
and the answer comes from a willingness to be open and mindful
and honest with our discoveries. Zen seems to actively go
against the grain of "normal" flow because normal flows
are
mandated by the three poisons.....Now its time for me to get off
my soapbox and go downstairs to take out the garbage.....
Enlightenment does not divide you,
just as the moon does not
break the water.
The depth of the drop
is the height of the moon.
Dogen
Colette offers
There is a River - Statement by the Hopi Elders
There is a river flowing very fast. It is so swift that there are
those
who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore.They
will
feel that they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know
that the river has a destination. The Elders say we must let go
of
the shore, push off into the middle of the river.
Keep our eyes open and our heads above the waters. And I say,
see who is in there with you and Celebrate! At this time in
history
we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For
the
moment we do our spiritual growth comes to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselve's together.
Banish the word Struggle from your attitude and vocabulary. All
that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in
Celebration!
Sodaiho adds:
For me this is a wonderful question as it relates so often to
everyday life and our everyday expectations. But lessons can be
learned from the other than everyday, as well.
On point, the flow does not mean that we don't struggle against
something. Life is often a struggle. For me it means a shift in
attitude during the struggle that accepts what we are doing, the
pain we are feeling, the antagonism we are experiencing, and
acknowledges the energy we are expending. And yet, we are
doing it, and we are doing it fully and completely.
The 'let go' and flow down the river is not 'going with the
flow,'
rather, it is an abdication of the helm and allowing forces
outside
of ourselves direct our travel, pace, and destination. This is
'just
visiting zen.' To enter into something that we don't want to do,
resent doing, or otherwise resist, is what we must do in order to
truly practice. In that resistance is the flow, breath it in, and
breath it out, but still do the thing. Do it as if there was
nothing
else to do, there is the flow.
art: Priti Ghosh -
Voyage
Joyce Wycoff
Innovation Network <="mailto:wake-up@thinksmart.com">wake-up@thinksmart.com
For the next
six weeks, you will be invited to explore the world in
different ways. We hope you enjoy this series from my new daily
readings book: 'A Year of Waking Up.'
To receive a sample chapter of this new book, send a blank
email <="mailto:yearbook@thinksmart.com">mailto:yearbook@thinksmart.com
Follow Your
Nose
Smells: Babies, wet dogs and cinnamon. Rain, rosemary and 
gasoline Popcorn, lavender and pine.
Go on a one day 'scent exploration.' Notice all the smells around
you ... good and bad. When you find a smell, don't just sniff it,
explore it, drink it in and truly get to know it. Here are some
ways
to explore more smells:
* Buy one or several essential oils, which can be found in most
health food stores and many drug stores. · * Go to a rose garden
and compare the scent of the different varieties. · * Saute
onions
or garlic and revel in the aroma that fills the house. · * Buy
several types of fresh herbs ... especially fresh basil, thyme,
rosemary or cilantro ... and crush them between your fingers as
you inhale.
· * Open spice jars one at a time and note each fragrance.
Inhale deeply throughout the day and see what smells come to
you. Notice any memories or emotions that are triggered by the
various smells.
At the end of the day think about what you learned about smells
and yourself?
Jim
<="mailto:lookforyourself@yahoogroups.com">lookforyourself@yahoogroups.com
Huang Po
It isn't idle talk to say There's nothing to attain. All Truth
belongs
to you today. All seeking is in vain.
You are what is already. Just see you have no head, And keep
the Inner Steady. Why wait until you're dead?
<="mailto:MillionPaths@yahoogroups.com">MillionPaths@yahoogroups.com
Ramana
Maharshi
Q: Having heard this truth, why does not one remain content?
A: Because samskaras (innate mental tendencies) have not
been destroyed. Unless the samskaras cease to exist, there will
always be doubt and confusion. All efforts are directed to
destroying doubt and confusion. To do so their roots must be cut.
Their roots are the samskaras. These are rendered ineffective
by practice as prescribed by the Guru. The Guru leaves it to the
seeker to do this much so that he might himself find out that
there
is no ignorance. Hearing the truth (Sravana) is the first stage.
If
the understanding is not firm one has to practise reflection
(Manana) and uninterrupted contemplation (Nididhyasana) on it.
These two processes scorch the seeds of samskaras so that
they are rendered ineffective. Some extraordinary people get
unshakable jnana after hearing the truth only once. These are the
advanced seekers. Beginners take longer to gain it.
some excerpts from Talks here :
http://www.beezone.com/Ramana/TalkswithRamanaMaharshi
David Bozzi
(Mars Native)
unitive_conscious_awakening@yahoogroups.com 
Women's
Cube...
Anyone ever flirt with 'Rubric's Cube?'
that thing is like, impossible!
The creators of that pitfall should have been more
forthcoming and named the damn thing,
'Women's Cube' (then I'd have been forewarned
to be more hesitant)
art: Aimea Saul - Going
Home
Father Charles
Moore
THE MASTER DIALOGUE
Masters are peripatetic: They walk around.
Jesus on the paths of Palestine, Siddartha on the Gangetic
Plain. Socrates on the streets of Athens. Lao-Tsu by the Hwang
Ho. Green Tara over the Himalya from India to China thru Tibet.
Masters greet the people they meet. A Master can look right into
you and see exactly where you are. If you are involved with greed
as a virtue that will protect you from the fear of death, the
Master
says, "Good Morning," and walks by.
But if you are disturbed by the conflict between what you have
been told and what your heart remembers, the Master says --
"Good Morning, Master."
To which you reply -- "Who? Me?"
"Yes, you. I have come with a question for you."
"You, Master, have a question for me?
"Yes. Do you remember?"
"Do I remember? Remember what?"
"Do you remember that you have the Power?
"The Power? What power? Oh, perhaps I do remember
that."
"Good. I would only suggest that you should use it. Goodbye.
Oh,
and by the way, if you should have any questions as to how to
use the Power, call me, or any other Master you may prefer, and
one of us will come to you immediately and suggest the answer
in your own voice. Have a good day."
Audio interviews of Fr.
Charles Moore, Dr. David R Hawkins and others at:
http://www.eaglecondor.net/fathercharlie.shtml
http://www.eaglecondor.net/audioondemand.shtml
Jean Horn
<="mailto:PerceptionsOfLife@yahoogroups.com">PerceptionsOfLife@yahoogroups.com
I am a dream
God is having and to get It to look at me, to notice 
me I must remember It!
or is it the other way around?
The world is the appearance of God manifesting in reality as I
am a thought that God has in order to know Itself.
We are all thoughts of God!
I know but do I believe?
I walk a million miles and find myself back at the same spot I
left
from
I ride a star across the heavens and don't leave this place
I sail upon the Sea of hope and in my dreams I remember
How do I become real and not just a thought in the dream of me?
art: S. Moeberg http://www.moeberg.dk/grafik/postkpla.html
thomas murphy
<="mailto:see-what-is@yahoogroups.com">see-what-is@yahoogroups.com
cat o' nine
tales
The i of personal identity
is an instance of dreaming
within undifferentiated perception.
Depending upon momentary point of view,
the perceiver is a cat
on any of its famous nine careers.
Every career becomes yet another lash
under the caressing whip of experience.
There is in truth no limit
to available careers
for countless careers
as one or another identity
haunt every moment.
Every incarnation
is the progeny of an objective--
a child of desire
invoking exile
from the garden of eden.
Coincident with all careers
single-pointed perception
is synchronous with
single-pointed origin.
One is again what is.
~ tomas
Paul
<="mailto:SufiMystic@yahoogroups.com">SufiMystic@yahoogroups.com
I think
Yogananda said something like... if anyone wants to know 
God badly enough, he will invent his own Yoga.
I think that is what most of us are talking about here. There is
something that all of us, no matter what tradition, come to...
All of the traditions seem to include:
silence dharma humility sincerity loving kindness mercy etc.
and I for one find that the stuff that is not transferable to the
other
traditions is probably just dogmatic stuff... yet, that is the
only
stuff people argue about. So, why not go beyond the religions?
What sort of people are those people? Do they have a name?
Well, I can't subscribe to these mideaval religions any more...
so
want to just do my own thing using what works and not using
what doesn't.
I think there are others like me...
what are we called?
maybe we don't need a label... I dunno.
art: Sunhead by Eve
Hoyt (evenon) www.eveneon.com (link no longer
active.)
Nina and Jerry
<="mailto:NondualitySalon@yahoogroups.com">NondualitySalon@yahoogroups.com
Re: Jacob's
Ladder
Nina: I have thought of that movie
several times since the car
accident I had a couple of years ago.
The accident has become a 'defining moment', it threw me
sideways in life. It directly led to radical questioning of
everything.
The connection to Jacob's ladder is that...
...I feel sometimes, often, that 'I' died in that accident and
the rest
has been 'sorting the files' prior to being 'gone for good'.
Jerry: A shock like that can blur the
distinction between life and death.
One isn't sure any longer. Then there is either escape into the
rhythm of events called life, or radical questioning, or at least
an
altered attention to what's happening and to 'what it's all
about'.
Because such a shock pulls the fingers away from the ledge, and
one falls, maybe grabbing onto something else, but nothing is
ever as it was on that ledge. To enjoy the fall, to grab only
what
happens into one's hands, to not think about it, is to be free.
Then the files, such as they are, are sorted. Whether it is
described as a fall, a journey through a tunnel, a life lived on
a
planet, it's all the same thing.