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HIGHLIGHTS #1272 - Friday, November 29, 2002 - Edited by Gloria
photo by Al Larus
You do not get the power of your vision until you perform it on
earth for the people to see.
-- Advice to Black Elk from a Lakota Medicine Man
VIORICA WEISSMAN
MillionPaths
"Nothing is me" is the first step. "Everything is
me"
is the next. Both hang on the idea "There is a world".
When this too is given up, you remain what you are-
the non-dual Self. You are it here and now, but your
vision is obstructed by your false ideas about your self.
__ Nisargadatta
MACE MEALER
Illuminata
Vendors of Wisdom
In the marketplace
there are those who will try
to sell you your own shoes
and then repossess them
for nonpayment.
Do not be troubled,
this is only another
test of your character,
and helps reveal the nature
of desire and ambition.
It is wise however,
to check occasionally
and insure that the hand
in your pocket
is your own.
VIORICA WEISSMAN
MillionPaths
"I am . . . the divine expression
exactly as I am, right here, right
now. You are the divine expression exactly as you are, right
here,
right now. It is the divine expression, exactly as it is, right
here, right now.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, needs to be added or taken away.
Nothing is more valid or sacred than anything else. No conditions
need to be fulfilled. The infinite is not somewhere else waiting
for
us to become worthy.
I do not have to experience 'the dark night of the soul,' or
surrender, be purified or go through any kind of change or
process.
How can the illusory separate self practice something in order to
reveal that it is illusory?
I don't need to be serious, honest, dishonest, moral or immoral,
aesthetic or gross. There are no reference points. The life story
that has apparently happened is uniquely and exactly appropriate
for
each awakening. All is just as it should be, right now. Not
because
it is a potential for something better, but simply because all
that
is is divine expression.
The invitation to discover that there is no one who needs
liberating
is constant. There is no need to wait for moments of
transformation,
to look for the non-doer, permanent bliss, an egoless state, or a
still mind. I don't even have to wait for grace to descend, for I
am, you are, it is already the abiding grace."
~ Tony Parsons
JERRY KATZ
NDS
"Tim G." wrote:
> Before A-B-C and 1-2-3
> What thoughts did arise?
> Did i think about killing?
> Did i worry about dying?
> 'Remember' yet?
There IS simply awakening into whatever this is. That's the
natural life. It
is ongoing and pleasurable. Even the memories being forged, the
neural
connections are equally natural and pleasurable and part of
'whatever this
is'. That's the basis for meditation methods calling for
observing thoughts
and not judging them.
There is simply seeing of what is in front of one and simply the
seeing of the
neural connections being made. The witness is 'everything', or
'light', if you
wish. It is not affected by impressions at all.
The center of gravity of this seeing is known as I AM. I AM is
only a place to
gain one's center of gravity so that stillness can occur and the
leap beyond
can happen. In other words, I AM needs to lose itself. When it
does, there is
simply the ongoing awakening into whatever this is, without a
center of
reference or 'gravity'. That is, there is no inquiry.
With so-called enlightenment, the I AM breaks up and gives way to
the light
known as the witness, while the ongoing awakening into whatever
this is,
continues. With death of the body (which is only another
thought), the ongoing
awakening into whatever this is, ceases. If one is attached to
memories and
emotions, as I AM breaks up so do those attachments, and dying
can be
difficult ("Help me," is often heard at the last
stages. We hear it in
spiritual autobiographies and amongst ourselves in email lists),
and at some
point in the dying process it may appear that one's life is
passing before
them.
So what does it matter what thoughts arise? What I 'remember' is
that they are
all ABC, 123. Amazing I got this far without mentioning donuts.
GILL EARDLEY
Allspirit
"You need to train yourself so that at any time and any
moment
you choose, you can free yourself inwardly from your world,
from others, from the past, from the future, from the previous
thought and the next thought. This is to find freedom. Yet if
you then think you are free and have some wisdom, this is not
so. You should not be attached to solitude or to experiences of
relative freedom. When you are neither attached to independence
nor to company then wisdom will manifest."
~Chan Master Sheng-Yen
"Spiritual truth is not something elaborate and esoteric,
it is in fact profound common sense. When you realize
the nature of mind, layers of confusion peel away. You
don't actually "become" a buddha, you simply cease,
slowly, to be deluded. And being a buddha is not being
some omnipotent spiritual superman, but becoming at last
a true human being."
~Sogyal Rinpoche
Allspirit Website: <http://www.allspirit.co.uk
CHRISTIANA
NondualParent
Hi Nina.. thanks for this lovely and lively reply. My time is
limited for full reply now, but I enjoy your meanderings about
the
power of story and wanted to share these links. Do you know of
Paula
Underwood's Oneida Native American storytelling work? Here are a
few
lovely teaching stories of hers, shared with love.. Christiana
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/future/limabean.html
(Paula
Underwood: My father and the lima bean)
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/future/listen.html
( Paula
Underwood: I invite you to listen: comments on prenatal learning)
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/future/
JP
NDS
>hello, my name is john.
Hello John
I felt deeply touched by your letter.
I don't know what to say - but I'll just share what I can.
>i've been in jacksonville,fl for several
years now, and i'm looking to relocate maybe sometime soon. i
suppose i'm trying to find somewhere where there are more
"seekers". not to join some club so i can feel good
about
myself, or not feel
lost, (for where is one to be found?) just to have the option to
converse person to person with people who are exploring.
There are humans seeking understanding in every city and town
- all over the planet.
John - from my heart to yours - please feel that it's really
beautiful and natural and alright to want to feel good - or to
not
want to feel lost - or to want to share and converse and
explore person to person with other people.
You are reaching out to Life and Life is reaching to you -
always.
We are Life/Love itself reaching and touching each other.
>even though more and more i'm not sure what's the point
of this. yes i do
realize there's nothing in particular....well then why move?
You are alive right now, with lungs that breathe and a heart that
beats, with feelings and life flowing - right now - alive right
now
with every other person, creature, being and thing in Life.
In this Life that lives, breathes, feels through you.
Once John - not so long ago - you were a little boy playing.
Now you're a man -seeking peace, healing, love, work,
community.
Can you remember a time when you were a boy - when you
played and played and laughed carefree under the sun - and as
you naturally played - it didn't cross your mind to ask a
question
like "what's the point of this?"
You just played. Lived.
Just alive - feeling and experiencing and being alright with just
being. Being perfectly alright with just being, existing,
experiencing, feeling.
That's still you. That way of experiencing is still here for you
and
me - as we open our hearts.
This is a time of healing for you - for me - for all of us - for
the
whole planet.
I encourage you to do what your heart guides you to do.
>i just feel like it, not trying to escape. so please just
offer some
suggestions, if there are any. thanks
John, maybe we all - in one way or another - know what it is to
run and run in life - towards something - trying to escape from
something we feel - shake something loose - get free.
May you and me and everyone find in our hearts that living
freedom, peace and perfect acceptance.
John - I hug you tight - and wish you love and every happiness
always.
JOSEPH
RILEY
Panhala
When
you want to lay yourself open for the divine,
like a snare that is hollowed out to its depth,
like a canopy that projects a shadow
from the divine heat and light
into your soul,
then go into your inner place physically,
or to that story or symbol that reminds you of the sacred.
Close the door of your awareness to
the public person you think yourself to be.
Pray to the parent of creation, with your inner sense,
the outer senses turned within.
Veiling yourself, the mystery may be unveiled through you.
By opening yourself to the flow of the sacred,
somewhere, resounding in some inner form,
the swell of the divine ocean can move through you.
The breathing life of all reveals itself
in the way you live your life.
Matthew 6:6
(Neil Douglas-Klotz , The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual
Message of
the Aramaic Jesus)
Web version at www.Panhala.net/Archive/Lay_Yourself_Open.html
Web archive of Panhala postings at www.Panhala.net/Archive/Index.html