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NDhighlights #1246 - Saturday, November 2 - Edited by John
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk
in front of me,
I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be a friend. (Albert
Camus)
Harsha Harshasatsangh
Although much is written about Enlightenment and
mystical experiences and so forth, Self-Realization is
actually a simple thing.
As T.S. Eliot has said, and I paraphrase, we come back
to where we started and see it as if for the first
time. It is actually even more basic....It is a place,
when we recognize it, we see that we never even left
it, nor can we leave it to go elsewhere. Such is the
beauty of Sat-Chit-Ananda. It Knows It Self By It Self
and Through It Self.
Almost a quarter of a century ago, through the grace
of Bhagavan Ramana, I realized the nature of the Self.
I remember some of the thoughts which flashed in me
intuitively after the great recognition...."Of course,
of course, it is only me, what else, what else, what
else did I expect, what else could it have possibly
been!" Paradoxically, the obvious had become obvious.
On that day, I truly realized how ordinary I was in
every way and it filled my heart with gladness and
joy. And knowing my own Heart, and realizing that it
was the One Heart, all the scriptures made sense, and
all the teachings lost their hold. Over time, it
seemed like my heart was some leaky faucet that could
no longer be contained with love seeping out in
drips.... little drops, little drops, big drops......
If we see clearly with the mind, the nature of the
mind, we see that the ordinary mind is the Buddha
Mind.
So there is not much to do but to breathe in and
breathe out in gratitude, love, and awareness and go
about your daily life.
Ramon Sender meditation society
of america
The Institute of Noetic Sciences annouced in
their current newsletter the following:
One of IONS' most popular (and groundbreaking) publications
is "The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation:
A Review of Contemporary Research" by Michael Murphy and
Steven Donovan. Now this important document is live on the
web, and its fully searchable bibliography provides
researchers with a comprehensive overview of meditation
research to date. Browse and search this IONS publication at
Meditation Bibliography or
http://www.noetic.org/ions/medbiblio/
JP NDS
[Beware Those Who Weep With Realization
He reiterated that my concentration had to be total, that
to understand was of crucial importance, that the new
seers placed the highest value on deep, unemotional
realizations.
To understand, one needs sobriety, not emotionality.
Beware of those who weep with realization, for they have
realized nothing."
(The Glow of Awareness THE FIRE FROM WITHIN
Carlos Castaneda)]
J.P.
This is an interesting view - a quote from a book of
truth-fiction that was written to share the views of those who
follow the powerful ways of sorcery as a path towards
realization.
It is also a popular view amongst some spiritual practitioners
from certain approaches to nondual awareness.
The path of sobriety and complete non-emotionality may be
perfectly appropriate for some.
Profound realization can come through this approach - for
those whose natures are in harmony with this approach.
It is however - NOT the only approach - nor does it suit the
nature
of every human being.
Beware of those who judge their approach towards realization
as the supreme approach for all.
Beware of those who judge and condemn others as being
inferior in realization.
Beware of those who condemn those who weep and mourn.
Beware of those who feel superior to those who feel deeply, cry
and suffer.
Beware of those who say beware.
-----------------
There are paths in which the soul is blessed with the "Gift
of
Tears".
Rumi would be considered as an unrealized fool - because of
his weeping and passionate emotions.
Ramakrishna would be an unrealized idiot - evidenced by his
weeping and emotionalism.
Jesus would be an unrealized madman - for his weeping and
tender emotions.
St Francis would (gladly) be viewed as a fool - for his tears and
deep feelings.
Shall we prefer the infinitely open and loving Ramana Maharshi
over the infinitely open and loving Ramakrishna?
How long must we fuel our aversions for each other - fuel our
subtle superiorities over each other - battle with our selves -
wage war with our emotions and bodies - judge and condemn
those whose ways differ from our own - refuse to open to the
infinite display of natures, personalities and approaches that
are
each reflections of the Holy One?
How long must we fuel the dreamstuff that makes our planet a
nightmarish hell realm of constant genocide?
When in every heart that opens - Love is.
Unsentimentally emotional JP
Gene Poole Open Source Spirit
Learning...
Incoming information is accepted as is... no
interpretation... and response, if any, is the
same... without preamble...
But to the point of your question...
Wherever I GO, there I am... the complete deal,
history, conditioning, assumptions, illusions...
And all of that, whether it can be considered to
be 'me'... is what is simply around... by letting
it be, I am undisturbed by the synthetic agendas
which are determined by naive idealism...
Like a sea-anemone... simply open, but configured
to close around food that finds its way to my maw...
The trick (if any) is to arrange for the tide to
be 'in'... it is that refreshing flow which provides
opportunity itself...
Those who hold themselves to idealistic standards,
eventually create an arrid environment... no
refreshment allowed... a desert, devoid of juice,
in which all inhabitants fiercy compete for each
morsel of life-sustaining food...
Compare that scenario to the oceanic experience of
the anemone... simply abiding in an ever-changing
environment, which embodies both life and death...
So ask yourself... what 'standards' do I hold myself
to, and why? Is there really a payoff later, for
deprivation of myself, now?
Why not be completely selfish?
To be truly selfish... implies that one wants the
best of everything... and so, this implies that
selfishness includes the satisfaction of 'others'...
to 'get what one wants', one must on the way, give
to others, what they want...
As food is eaten, so is the eater, eventualy...
it is the acceptence of this food-chain, that
allows true enjoyment of partipation in the flow...
knowing that there are Beings who hunger for me,
just as I hunger for others... that my temporary
form, will eventually return to the stuff from
which is is made...
So move about, I do... not in idealism, but in
selfishness... 'only the best' is my motto...
why settle for anything less?
Think about it... do you 'deserve' the best?
If not... why not?
I deserve the best... and why?
Because I say so.
I really advocate that everyone simply
demand, and arrange, for the very best
for themselves... so that it is OK to
show up, warts and all, so to speak...
If each person can recognize that the
only way that any one person can win,
is by everyone winning... that if there
is one suffering loser, that the game is
tainted?
This is why my call for selfishness...
one who does not see virture in 'austerities',
will not force others to privation, in the name
of good... contentment can occur for anyone, who
is fed, and who enjoys the company of others who
are satisfied...
Cooperation... for the purpose of making it good
for everyone... is an essential component of
selfishness (which is called, by the way,
'enlightended self-interest')... leading to a
union of everyone, and the ability and willingness
to make one's own lot better, by giving only the
best...
So no matter what seems to be expected... to
give only what one can, and make it the best...
There is every possiblity that such open sharing
will take away the fear of scarcity, and the fear
of aloneness, that operate as such relentless
drivers of human destiny...
Why not, I say?
Here, there, and everywhere...
Brother Void salon.com
"The stupid believe that to be truthful is easy; only
the artist, the great artist, knows how
difficult it is."
-- Willa Cather
Many of us imagine living as a work of art, but few consider the
difficulties. First, you must dig
down deep to where your inner artist lies trapped in a
spirit-crushing day job. Having
unearthed your unruly visions, you must then be willing to suffer
for them. You must consent to
be a rough draft much of the time. You must be prepared to
destroy yourself in order to create
yourself anew. You must revel in the hardness of your hammer,
showing no pity to the
forsaken shards littering the dropcloth of your life. Finally,
having offered yourself up as the
willing clay of your own imagination, you must note, with some
chagrin, that your inner artist is
a drunken, moody son-of-a-bitch.
I am a difficult canvas.
Gill allspirit
From: 'ZEN Teaching of Instantaneous Awakening' Hui Hai
Trans. John Blofeld
A monk enquired, 'How are we to interpret correctly all names,
forms, speech and silence in order to integrate them and realize
a state that is neither anterior nor posterior?'
M: When a thought arises, fundamentally there is neither form
nor name; how can you speak in terms of before and after?
Failure to understand the essential purity of all that has name
and form is the cause of your mistakenly reckoning everything
in those terms. People are locked in by these names and forms,
and, lacking the key of wisdom, they are unable to unlock
themselves. Those clinging to the Middle Way suffer from Middle
Way psychosis; those grasping at extremes suffer from a dualist
psychosis. You do not comprehend that that which manifests
itself right now is the unequalled Dharmakaya. Delusion and
awakening, as well as gain and loss, pertain to the worldly way.
The rising (of the thought) of creation and destruction leads to
the burial of true wisdom; both the cutting off of defilements
(klesha) and the search for bodhi are in direct opposition to
wisdom.'
John Duff Centre Of Friends
http://www.tricycle.com/
Aspiration to Become a Universal Citizen
of the 21st Century
by Ethan Nichtern
Having not yet realized that cosmic superglue Union of the
spiritual and the secular, without
which a human being is at best a passive schizophrenic, and at
worst a bloodshot receptacle
for handfuls of antidepressants, I make this aspiration:
May my eyes be propped open by haunting toothpicks.
May they stay open because I love what I see.
May my ears be stuffed with porous sponges.
May the space between them retain each drop of genius.
May my nose sniff the vapor trail of memory.
May it not sneeze at all the subtle lessons.
May my tongue slobber all over the face of passion.
May it not crave the taste of celebrity lust.
May my body exude the sweat of creativity.
May it not be disgusted by its own organic product.
My my mind stay unstamped by the corporate logo of righteousness.
May it let go completely, and therefore grasp the heart.
This simple note is left not just for those praying for social
revolution,
but for those working for human evolution.
Mary Bianco NDS
The ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle:
Totally fascinated by the realm of the senses,
it swings from one desire to the next,
one conflict to the next,
one self-centered idea to the next,
If you threaten it, it actually fears for its life.
Let this monkey go.
Let the senses do.
Let desires go.
Let conflicts go.
Let ideas go.
Let the fiction of life and death go.
Just remain in the center, watching.
And then forget that you are there.
-Lao Tzu
David Hodges Live Journal
