Gene Poole (left)

CHRISTIANA
from Ultimate Advaita list

There are lots of models for women to entrain their
identity within, but the most alive nonidentity model
of this era has been one in which women have tasted the
freedom, joy and respect for the sharing of essence in
and beyond form.

--------------

There are endless standards subscribed to as 'ideal'
around this globe. This is an Advaita list. We are a
minority in understanding social constructs; how they
trick the mind into forming a version of reality; and in
our unlayering of the the mind-shrouds which occlude the
truth of what is always here. If I speak of what this
"cell in the body of One" has opened up to, it changes
nothing contextually, as there really is no context.
Yet, perhaps, one voice resonating a non-standard,
echoes the potentia for change in the larger perceived
context.

All that you speak to, including the American standards,
seems predicated upon the whims and fears of masculine
libido. Perhaps, when men mature and stop lusting,
fearing, and objectifying women, a day may come when a
woman could walk topless and form would simply be
appreciated as form. Not likely to happen any time soon.

Yet, it seems you guys are waxing between personal angst
and social imponderables. Which arena do you want to
speak about here, and towards what end?

Hoping I'm not too far out on a limb, and meaning no
harm.. Christiana

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GUYS
on NDS

GREG: I was body surfing in the 60's, and skateboading
as well. Have you seen the great documentary "Dogtown
and Z-Boys"? The birth of extreme sports! Now we've got
"Blue Crush!

JERRY: I love surfing movies, but haven't seen that. I
loved the ocean feel of Blue Crush. Endless Summer is a
classic.

ANDREW: A thick narrow little hardwood board with a
green racing stripe *Sidewalk Surfer* decal and little
narrow steel wheels that made a clattery roar and
clakety clack over the cracks in the sidewalk and when
they hit a big crack they'd get stuck and send you
flying :-)

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from Daily Dharma list

"Often our attachments take over our lives. It is as if
we are possessed by our possessions. We want success so
much that we give up our real lives. We want beautiful
things so much that we only see the imperfections in
what we have; we become so attached to others that we
try to control or own them; we become so attached to
somebody that we become totally dependent and forget who
we we are...Everyday problems teach us to have a
realistic attitude. They teach us that life is what life
is: flawed, yet with tremondous potential for joy and
fulfillment...Until we learn this lesson, we are burned
again and again by our unrealistic expectations."~~Lama
Surya Das
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JAN BARENDRECHT

The human mind is constructed to need a meaning in order
to accept what otherwise couldn't. So even if behavior
looks nonsensical, violent or contradictory, the mind
invents pseudo explanations to find a "use" to it, as
humans are social animals. Non-acceptance of such
behavior would undermine that and become a burden to the
group. Hence what often looks like a double moral, and
remarks like "god's ways are unfathomable", are but a
glue (biological conditioning) to maintain society's
integrity. Bonobos display a similar behavior but there,
sex in all possible varieties is the 'social glue' to
defuse conflicts.

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HARLEN

Through lots of reading of lots of "masters" I have come
to believe that, as there is a very broad variety of
personalities and styles to every seeker, so must there
be a broad variety to the methods used by the various
gurus and teachers that arise. I can say that some
teachers, such as Adi Da, do not work for me but how can
I say that they are false or to label them? I presume
that their message works for others, just as the
teachers that I resonate with (Wei Wu Wei, Franklin
Merrell-Wolfe, Ramana Mararshi and, yes, even Wayne
Liquorman) work for me along my path. Two of those
teachers, Depak Chopra and Leonard Jacobson, warn of the
dangers of judgment, and I take their warnings to heart.

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R.K. SHANKAR
from I Am list

The indiscriminate one will evaluate the Self being like
the doer, seeing the function of the instruments (of
sense-organs), (just) akin to the senseless one's
saying that only the moon runs, seeing the speedily
going cloud.

Translation of Verse 19 of Atma Bodha by Sri Bhagawan

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JOHN METZGER
from Meditation Society of America

BAROMETER OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESS
By

SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

Here is an infallible barometer to find out the degree of your
spiritual progress. How would you feel, if:

Your clean hands or best clothes are stained.
You stumbled down or commit a blunder and are laughed at.
You are hurt accidentally or stung by an insect or scorpion.
You suffer from illness or pain.
You do not succeed in your efforts.
You do not get a thing that you want, or find that some thing you
possess is missing.
You are kept waiting for a long time by some other person.
You are insulted or abused for no reason.
Others fail in their duties towards you.
You suffer a loss or bereavement.
If none of these can disturb your peace of mind and you are
indifferent to them, you have won the struggle and achieved 50% self
control. God sends trials and troubles to strengthen your character:
Greet them and test yourself.

Swami Sivananda

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DUSTIN
from Nondual Parent

Today is Day 4 alone at home with Zoë, and we're still
kinda of getting into a groove with each other. We
totally click sometimes, and other times, not. This
morning, she gave me a little lesson about selflessness.

I wanted to put her down for a nap after her first meal
of the day, but she didn't seem as sleepy as I thought
she should be after having eaten. I played with her for
about a half-hour, noticed that her eyelids were getting
droopy, and eventually I put her down to sleep in her
crib. After her breathing became slow and regular, I
left the room and retreated to my study next door to
work on the computer. Working on the computer was what I
wanted to do this morning.

However, Zoë didn't seem to think this was a good idea,
for she awoke within minutes with a loud yell. She has
an occasional habit of doing this -- waking up instantly
from deep sleep and immediately starting to yell -- and
the best way to soothe her is to pick her up immediately
for cuddling. I did this, and she calmed down, but I
haven't been able to put her down for more than 20
minutes since that time, which was several hours ago.
Just fifteen minutes ago, she finally fell asleep in her
sling, and after doing some household chores I finally
came up to work on the computer.

Her lesson to me about selflessness was regarding my own
priorities. Lest I forget that she is our number-one
priority, she maintains an almost constant awareness of
her needs from one moment to the next. I'm beginning to
appreciate this though, when I once sort of resented it.
I think that giving her the attention she asks for is
really important. I want her to be an open and honest
communicator, and I believe this trait can be developed
through lots of good discussion.

Heh -- that's what I've come to regard her occasional
screaming sessions now -- "discussions." She just has a
lot more to say than I do at the moment

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MATTHEW

i would love to kiss my gurus feet, or even touch them
but he will have nothing to do with that kind of
silliness.

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DREAMINGAWAKEGIRL
from The Other Syntax

"What do you mean by cleaning and reordering the island
of the tonal?" I asked.

"I mean the total change which I've been telling you
about from the first day we met," he said. "I've told
you countless times that a most drastic change was
needed if you wanted to succeed in the path of
knowledge. That change is not a change of mood, or
attitude, or outlook; that change entails the
transformation of the island of the tonal. You have
accomplished that task."

"Do you think that I've changed?" I asked.

He hesitated and then laughed loudly.

"You are as idiotic as ever," he said. "And yet you're
not the same. See what I mean?"

The Strategy of a Sorcerer
TALES OF POWER
Carlos Castaneda