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NDHighlight Issue #1468 Saturday, June 21, 2003 Editor: Christiana
Absolute Absence
Presence with absolute absence,
Absence with absolute presence,
Presence with absence of being,
That is Absolute Absence.
- Shen H
photos from ibreathenow's photo album http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/ibreathenow/
Petros Petros-Truth@yahoogroups.com
"The candle illumines not for
itself. The eye sees not itself, yet with
the aid of the candle may see much. In the same way, the wise
teacher is wise not for himself, but for those who need to see.
Yet
even a wise teacher, though helpful, cannot help the unwise see
themselves unless he learns to be a mirror as well as a
candle!"
- Ancient Sufi saying
Live Webcast tonight
Please join us if you can THIS SUNDAY,
June 22 at 7pm (New
York time) for a Summer Solstice webcast with sound healer
Jonathan Goldman.
A special live webcast to anchor in all
the Solstice Blessings and
Energy that people have been manifesting throughout the planet
during this time.
Go to http://www.worldpuja.org to link to the LIVE Webcast and for
more information.
For more information about sound healing
and planetary healing
sounds, please visit Jonathan Goldman's web site:
http://www.healingsounds.com
Vicki Woodyard to NDS
There are Days
There are days when the goal of
enlightenment seems not even
desirable. When a can of chicken noodle soup and junk food
seems to fill the miserable bill. A funk moves over the mind that
nothing but time will dissipate. Who hasn't been here?
There are hours when the spirit is
absent from home and one
hunkers down for an emotional storm that suddenly veered inland
into the Ego Sea. Waves lift the little boat of self
precariously,
then drop it down again precipitately. The albatross is at hand.
There are moments when the body feels
searing pain which no
sense of unity can heal. Flesh is rendered helpless in the face
of
circumstance. Where is healing to be found? Perhaps in
moments like these we are glad that there is such a thing as
mortality.
There are seconds when suffering happens
and we are able to
rise above it. When we do, the clouds part and sunlight streams
into the battered hulk of the human soul. Our ark has held once
more and we are able to continue the voyage to what can only be
called unity.
It is a good thing that spirituality
contains the All, for otherwise
there would be no hope for success in the journey. The All
contains the pain while giving us no respite from it. There is no
respite for joy, either. When it comes, it dances on the waters
of
the wounded one as if to say, "I know. Bear me if you can. I
am
foreign to your suffering yet inherent in it."
There are eternities when enlightenment
is not even necessary.
This I have heard. Peace unbounded, seas unsailed and love
unexperienced. So we take birth again and start the endless
round all over.
There are days.....
If Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi is
the Self, we too are Bhagavan, and Bagavan is us. His words are
ours; listening to him we ourselves are speaking. He appears to
be 
without (far away in
space and time), but he is also within. He is no entitity. I am
no entity. We are no entity: we are Unself. There is only one -
and we are that. Each of us is all, and all are one. There is
only one Self, and we are all that.
- Wei Wu Wei: Ask the Awakened
Bob "calsfbob" to NDS
Two Lives
People live two lives; though to say
they live them, is to overstate
it immensely - the first happens to them, and is all they ever
talk
about, and the second is hardly even suspected, and when they
are reminded of it, they are left almost speechless.
The first life, is that outside the
window (of their senses), and the
second life, is that of the mind. The first life came out of the
ground and can be touched, and the second life was/is wholly
invented and can never be.
There is absolutely no connection
between the two lives, and all
attempts at waking up, becoming enlightened, etc., are about
merging these two lives into one - not obliterating one over the
other, not changing/improving either one or both, but simply and
seamlessly merging the two lives into one.
It's not possible to be alive, and not
be trying to achieve
enlightenment. The vastest majority of people do not call it
that, of
course, but that's what they're doing every time they get up in
the
morning - trying to achieve enlightenment, to merge their inner
life
with their outer life. There is a secret to doing this
effectively, and
not everybody knows or wants to know it - nay, the vastest
majority have absolutely no interest in knowing it. But, it's
impossible for the secret to be hidden from anyone, because it's
everywhere. People just don't look, don't know how to look, and
don't realize that the thing they're looking for is the thing
they're
looking with.
Vicki Woodyard to NDS
I saw someone for counseling last week.
I sat in his office filled
with plants and lovely things, feeling at home and well-listened
to.
I needed that. "I am shy," I said, trying to introduce
my neurosis
boldly, trying to be up-front about my agorophobia and occasional
panic attacks. "
You've got a web page where you put it
all down for the whole
world to see....and you're shy?" He said words to that
effect.
In my own mind I am shy because I am an
introvert. However, as a
writer I like to share my feelings in the most honest way that I
can.
They are raw-boned teenagers who can't seem to get enough
spaghetti and meat balls. They eat over the sink and clean out
the
fridge in a New York minute. These gangly emotions of mine are
uncontrollable. On the website I give them their space and let
them speak. Then they take the car and leave me alone in the
house and grief drifts in the windows.
I let my grief speak, telling you about
cancer and using words like
incurable and heartache, because they are part and parcel of
what make me as a writer. It is true that I know peace, but it is
so
quiet and gentle that it seldom gets the space that it is due.
Like a
kitten, it is content to play in a paper bag and go unnoticed as
it
naps on the TV.
I like to share with you what my heart
is experiencing because
someone is going through pain and suffering, too. Maybe I speak
for all of us when I write the rawboned stuff--I don't know. You
tell
me. Do you like it when I post what is going on with Bob and I?
For instance, Thursday his oncologist told him that the chemo is
no longer working and that the new experimental drug would be a
good idea. I could go further and tell you that the myeloma is
knocking at the door and there is no substance strong enough to
keep it out.
I could tell you that we have been
married for thirty-seven years
and are measuring our life by a different standard these days.
What is it? I am not sure that I even know. But the old one of
enough money in the bank and places to visit and things to do is
breaking down. That's a good thing.
Eric Pararoissien adds
... a couple spends long warm
moments close to each other just
breathing, staring at the window, the smell of the other and the
simple joy
Mark Otter replies:
Hi Vicki,
I, for one, like it very much when you
share your honesty. I'm
encouraged to do so as well, and I still believe I need that
encouragement. If there is any use for pain, other than to inform
us
when we've tried to walk through solid objects, then I think that
use
is in sharing and by so doing supporting us all in the process of
acceptance and heart opening. You've touched me deeply with
your posts and your website, as have others who've shared
similarly.
I'm wondering if you've looked at your
counselor's question. Are
you shy? Is that an identity, or is it a visitor that comes now
and
then and asks for your attention? And is there also a visitor who
could be named "not-shy"? And are you either of them?
Wondering is visiting here. So is hunger... see ya.
Jan Sultan to NDS
It takes all kinds to make the 'what is'
"It takes all kinds to make the
world." All types of characters are
part of the 'what is'. And acceptance of 'what is' includes the
acceptance of all types of weird characters [including me and
you].
If you have ever criticized anyone, then
know that that was a
rejection of 'what is'. Almost every sage, one time or another,
has
said that acceptance of 'what is' is wisdom [or words to that
effect]. Your attempt to change anyone is the same as not
accepting 'what is'.
When you criticize [or advise] someone,
you are bringing in your
'me' filter. For without your 'me' [ego] filter everything is
already
perfect. It is your ego which differentiates and judges.
Of course, on these lists, there is no
need to communicate if the
egos are not in the forefront. Every interaction is the ego's
game.
[Sorry to pop your balloon]. However, it would make things easier
if at the back of our minds we remembered the reality of
non-duality.
Gene Poole Open_Source_Spirit@yahoogroups.com
I am announcing a topic for discussion:
Power VS Force
As revealed by author David Hawkins, MD
and as described and
explained in his books:
"Power VS Force"
"The Eye of the I" "I"
Please note that we will NOT be focusing
on the use of 'muscle
testing' or 'applied kinesiology'; there are at least two Yahoo
groups which deal almost exclusively with that aspect Power VS
Force. You are welcome to subscribe to those groups, if you wish
to focus on the use of muscle-testing in this context.
We will be discussing the implications
of the Power VS Force
'equation', including the possible consquences of remaining
ignorant of it or attempting to misuse it.
I have no idea where this discussion
will go, or how long it may
last. It is my sincere hope that it will be productive.
I hereby make this disclaimer: I am not
representing myself as an
agent or teacher of Dr Hawkins materials. I am presenting only my
own understanding of these valuable concepts, in the hope that
everyone, all sentient Beings, will benefit, by the words and
dialogs which appear here.
I give all credit due, to the esteemed
Dr Hawkins, whose books I
have read, whose workshop I have attended, and whose
generousity has immensely aided my own growth and movement
into 'higher consciousness'.
Love, peace and compassion upon us all...
==Gene Poole==
Catherine and Zen Oleary spiritual-friends@yahoogroups.com
Duet on Words
Catherine
words are dangerous 
words can be treacherous
words may be luminous
words want to be us
webs of words of love
create webs of mind needs
webs of thinking with hindsight
allow love to gently grow and ignite
connecting to beings of light
waiting, waiting, then sheer delight
what is within deserves the bright
and not be kept in darkest night
drifting dreams lead to dizzy heights
catching glimmers with new insight
in the dimness of morn
a new day is born
which asks nothing
and gains everything
Words not needed
for what is seeded
then wait with love
for what is there
Zen Oleary
Dangerous Words 
I peck like a bird
for seeds in the dust,
hunt the keyboard to find
words to speak for me
but I can't find any
that fit, they all come
pre-packaged, meanings included,
like frozen dinners on sale, this
language I speak
shapes the lens I use,
the way I frame the view,
sticks me a in straitjacket
of meanings, nuances
I wouldn't notice if
I'd worn it all my life,
but I haven't,
I spoke two languages as a child,
came to know there are things
you can say in one that
can't be said in the other,
meanings the words won't allow,
twists of thought unique to each,
words of love sing across
these language gaps, but even then,
the scents of the words change,
like the aroma of coffee varies
in a hundred combinations
from the beans used
and the flavorings added,
if I say I love you,
are you hearing what I mean,
or does your private language
spin webs that I can't read
that lock me out with my own words, d
on't ask me to say I love you,
words are too dangerous for that.
© Zen Oleary
June 20, 2003
Art: Agnes Pelton: Fire Sounds, The Voice
Mr. Mustard on Livejournal
On the Summer Solstice
This morning I was awake at dawn mixing
up 
some Alka-Seltzer and the sun came in
through the window, hit the Rice Krispy
Stonehenge I had in the middle of the
kitchen, and shot a beam of light into the
pantry. I followed the light hoping that it would
illuminate the pack of yodels I had lost, but
instead it pointed to some unsalted peanuts
the Boss bought from our local health food
store. Consequently, I'm rethinking my
relationship with the universe.