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NDH #1497 -
Saturday, July 19, 2003 Editor: Christiana
from What is Enlightenment
website:
Stacey Heartspring
Encounters the Postmodern Craze of Neo-Advaita
A Truly Imaginary Spiritual
Satire
...These days the 'satsang
circuit,' with its plethora of new, or 'neo,' advaita
teachers, is attracting quite of bit of interest."
Now, don't worry, dear readers if, like me, you're in the
dark about satsangs and advaita, I did some research,
made a few calls, and am here now to present, for your
spiritual edification (and mine), this very special
event: the first neo-advaita "satsang," or
spiritual gathering, to take place without the usual
impediments of space and time.
THE NEO ADVAITA PANEL (some
surprising guests also show up)
STACEY: Welcome, everyone, to
the Fourth Dimension! Wayne
Liquorman, Esther Veltheim, Tony Parsons, Gangaji,
Francis
Lucille, and Isaac Shapiro, I'm just delighted that you
could join
me for what is certain to be a consciousness-raising
event. As
some of the most well-known Western teachers on the
current
neo-advaita scene, you trace your roots to Advaita
Vedanta, the
ancient Hindu philosophy of nonduality, conducting
satsangs with
people all over the world. This is my first satsang. So,
could you
begin by telling us what a satsang is, and how it relates
to Advaita
Vedanta?
[read this thought provoking
satire at http://www.wie.org/j22/stacey.asp]
Art: Willow_zzen
(Tamara) from LiveJournal
from An interview with Dr.
Don Beck by Jessica Roemischer
http://www.wie.org/j22/beck.asp
Having just immersed myself for
the past three 
months in Spiral Dynamics an incisive and far
reaching theory of human development, I can say
without exaggeration that Spiral Dynamics is,
indeed, one of the major breakthroughs in
mapping and managing complexity that complexity
being us.
WIE: Could you outline the
spiral model with its
hierarchy of eight memes, or levels of existence?
DB: In the language of Clare
Graves, the spiral's
"First Tier" is a set of six memes
characterized by
existence or subsistence. What that means is
that we're more like animals than like gods and
we have to deal with what are essentially
earthbound existence problems. So the First Tier
(BEIGE, PURPLE, RED, BLUE, ORANGE, GREEN)
clusters together our "subsistence" or
survival-level concerns, while the Second Tier
(YELLOW, TURQUOISE) works to create healthy
forms of all the First Tier systems in the context
of an information-rich, highly mobile global
community. While Graves identified eight levels
of existence, with a ninth on the horizon, the
Spiral is expansive, open-ended, continuous, and
dynamic. There is no final state, no ultimate
destination, no utopian paradise. It's a
never-ending upward quest, with each stage but a
prelude to the next, and the next, and the next.
WIE: And what drives the
evolutionary emergence of these stages, or memes, up the
spiral?
DB: Our crises, because they
provide the inflection points and the benchmarks that
trigger the shift up to the next level of human
development. And each level of existence, or meme, is
more like an emerging wave, a fluid living system, than a
rigid hierarchical step. Once a new level appears in a
culture, all of the previously acquired developmental
stages remain in the composite value system. In Ken
Wilber's language, each new social stage "transcends
but includes" all of those that have come before.
For this reason, the more complex thinking systems have
greater degrees of freedom.
Aweboss (Jerry
Katz) Live Journal
"Kriya is a Sanskrit word
that means 'action.' In the context
of the risen Kundalini, kriyas refers to involuntary
movements
which result from increased life force --pranic energy --
in
the body. Those who meditate or do yoga regularly may
also
experience kriyas during their practice." --El
Collie
Like chickens or ducks or
anything in a shell:
Whatever it takes to get out
crasch
LiveJournal Life In
130 Square Feet
 For me, life in a tiny house has been
truly blissful. With everything at arm’s reach and
nothing superfluous in the way, I have found a real sense
of luxury here. But I am certainly not proposing that a
house as small as mine is for everyone. I am only saying
that the scale of our homes should be as varied as the
spatial needs of their occupants and that it is these
needs, rather than imposed regulations and conspicuous
consumption, that should determine house size.
I would rather live in a world
where my life is surrounded
by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind
could comprehend it. - Harry E. Fosdick
There is no pleasure without
some degree of pain. There is no pain without some amount
of pleasure. -Bhante Henepola Gunaratana,
"Mindfulness in Plain English"
zen_within
peregrinus Livejournal
Mark Hovila
RadicalAwakening@yahoogroups.com
OK, let's say this is all a
dream. You can't get out of the dream by
doing some kind of practice to convince yourself that the
dream
isn't real. You get out of the dream by fully accepting
the dream,
by deeply looking at it, not trying to escape it at all.
You accept the
sensations, the thoughts, the fears, etc., without trying
to escape
into a more "spiritual" place.
We have been told to enquire
'who is this me?' by Ramana
Maharshi, very ernestly. This presumes that 'I' am not
'me'. Who is
making this enquiry ? Answer: 'me' + 'I', which has
forgotten its
independent 'I' nature.
Don't be quick to answer your
own question. That just brings the
inquiry to an end, back to the known. We are making a
leap into
the unknown.
Vicki Woodyard
to NDS - Thoughts too vague to matter
Listcology
I haven't even had breakfast yet and I am thinking of
what
Jerry wrote about listcology and how and why we post
here. If
everything just "happens," then a list is an
event to which
everyone is invited. The ones who come are those who had
to
be there.
We all post in a unique way. I
like to roll my posts in chopped
nuts before hitting send. Why? You got me. Even the heavy
stuff ends up with a cherry on top. I enjoy posts that
are sent
by the jesters and wags among us, as well as the artists
like
Al Larus, Sam, et al. And then there are the posts that
parse
and analyze, sifting truth from falsehood.
We exist as readers and lurkers
as well. Peeping Toms
looking into egos undressing themselves. Sometimes it is
downright embarassing the way we bare our idiosyncracies
and hearts. Our depths are plumbed by our own instruments
and we almost never admit that we, too, can be
shallow.
As far as using the list to
broaden our perspectives, I am not
sure if that happens very often. We are too entrenched in
strengthening our positions and looking in the mirror of
the
list. We see ourselves in odd, distorted ways as well as
true
ones.
Nds is indeed an ecology, a
garden and a gathering place, a
watering hole. It's a strip joint, AA and an art museum.
At
times it is play therapy, grief counseling or adult
education.
When we read the highlights we see that it is also the
art of
commingling ourselves with others. We blow bubbles and
sing songs that quickly fade but it is what we do. I, for
one,
have found my thrill on nds hill.....(The moon stood
still....and
luckily Alan took a picture :)
Jerry: That's a good report of the
scene. It's a view that clues us in
that we're dealing with something beyond netiquette, list
theme and moderation. Listcology, as it's developing,
seems
to be beyond that stuff. It's a mental/emotional group
informational telepathic quantum plasma, if you will.
Totally
flowing, giving, harmonizing. And I'll ban the hell out
of anyone
who disagrees.
But seriously, I'm interested in
where the listcology thing will go.
Benny:
Lists are a part of the social
domain as is also the street
Both encourage intercourse
whether in the physical, emotional,
mental, or spiritual realms
An airing of our laundary
a shake out of the rugs
tiny bits and pieces
all float up in the breeze
 Nonduality Salon (/\)
Jan Barendrecht
what no one can teach
beauty shows to all senses:
"in perfect silence"
Michael Read
I stumble drunkenly
from door to door
Pounding on windows
And yelling -
there is too much love!
It can't all be just for me!
Come and share!
There is plenty!
photo: Orchid cactus
Osho - Meditation
is a state of no-mind.
Meditation is a state of pure
consciousness with no content.
Ordinarily, your consciousness
is too full of rubbish, just like a
mirror covered with dust. the mind is a constant traffic:
thoughts
are moving, desires are moving, memories are moving,
ambitions are moving - it is a constant traffic! Day in,
day out.
Even when you are asleep the mind is functioning, it is
dreaming.
It is still thinking; it is still in worries and
anxieties. It is preparing
for the next day; an underground preparation is going on.
This is
the state of no meditation.
Just the opposite is meditation.
When there is no traffic thinking
has ceased, no thoughts move, no desire stirs, you are
utterly
silent - that silence is meditation. And in that silence
truth is
known, and never otherwise. Meditation is a state of
no-mind.
The first thing is to know what
meditation is. Everything else follows.
I cannot say to you that you
should do meditation, I can only
explain to you what it is. If you understand me you will
be in
meditation; there is no should to it. If you don't
understand me you
will not be in meditation.
from Xan -
Discovering the Mermaids Thor Janson
A Story of Kinship with All Life
November 8, 1977. Upon awakening
the next morning I looked over the side of my boat and
saw evidence of two manatees grazing on the other side of
the lagoon. Then one head broke the surface and looked
over in my direction. During the morning the two
gradually edged closer and closer to the boat. One was a
juvenile male about six feet long, the other, an adult
female, measured about 11 feet. Both seemed unusually
fat.
As I watched them I felt an
unusually strong and persistent attraction towards
them, a feeling I was not familiar with. I
had the strongest, though unexplainable,
impression that they were trying to communicate with me.
I
lowered my hand and lightly splashed the water. To my
extreme
surprise, the adult manatee, seeing this, came right up
to the side
of the boat and lifted her head above the water. I slowly
lowered
my hand until it was within an inch of her nose. In a
quick
movement she pushed her nose upward, nudging my hand, and
disappeared back into the water.
I could hardly believe this had
happened. I felt a mild tingling
sensation from head to feet. I put my hand back into the
water and
within a few seconds I found myself stroking a big, soft,
manatee
nose. She would stay for a few moments and then go away,
only
to return again in a minute or two. This went on for
quite some
time until I decided to see what would happen if I
entered the
water. I could not have been better received. The huge,
but
graceful, sirenium swam over to me and brushed up against
my
body. I rubbed her back. This she seemed to like very
much. We
swam together around the lagoon.
I had begun to wonder what had
become of the young male when I
happened to notice him following us at some distance.
Eventually
he too came over and allowed physical contact. This
interspecies
meeting continued for most of the day and the young
manatee
became increasingly playful. He would allow me to come
just
within reach of him and then would rocket away at full
speed
(which for a young manatee is about 12-15 mph). At other
times
he would allow me to put my arms around the middle of his
body
and we would swim together. Unexpectedly, in a quick,
jack-knifing movement, he would throw me off and swim
around in
circles. The older female was not interested in this sort
of play,
preferring to solicit my scratching and rubbing.
Near dark, after grazing for a
time on some tender grass along
the bank, my new friends swam over to me. I realized that
they
were about to leave. I can only say that I feel that a
bond of love
existed between us. I watched from the middle of the
lagoon as
they swam out of sight. I felt that this had been one of
the most
joyful days of my life.
http://www.mayaparadise.com/dugonge.htm
quotes from Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj
The world is but a show,
glittering and empty. It is, and yet it is not.
It is there as long as I want to see it and take part in
it. When I
cease caring, it dissolves. It has no cause and serves no
purpose. It just happens when we are absent-minded. It
appears
exactly as it looks, but there is no depth in it, nor
meaning. Only
the onlooker is real, call him Self or Atma. To the Self,
the world is
but a colourful show, which he enjoys as long as it lasts
and
forgets when it is over. Whatever happens on the stage
makes
him shudder in terror or roll with laughter, yet all the
time he is
aware that it is but a show. Without desire or fear, he
enjoys it, as
it happens.
http://www.mpeters.de/nisargadatta/index.cfm
Everytime you refresh a new
quote from 'I am that'.
Susan Dane
Contrary to popular opinion, the
unenlightened mind cannot grow
itself up into spiritual awareness. Illusion doesn't
"grow into "truth.
It dissolves, and what remains in its place is
truth.
Spirituality is about one
central thing--not self promotion or
self-improvement, but rather becoming the space where
Spirit
lives its life as us.
http://www.susandane.com/
Gary Merrill
ConsciousnessIsAll@yahoogroups.com
My Me Mine
Perhaps one of the most
politically incorrect things to question is
the concept of possession.
All the vested interests are
against questioning it. Religion has
amassed property, holy books, beliefs galore. Economics
supports it in the notion of the market and profit.
Politics affirm it
by nation and leadership. Science goes beyond it in its
theories
but in practice the scientists have nobel prizes.
Which is not to say communism is
the answer, that would be a
reaction. Such that the philosophy of Marx becomes
applied by
'communists'. The description becomes a prescription for
some
one to hold to.
The question, then, is there
such a thing as possession, at all?
What do we mean by 'mine'? Does anything or anyone
possess
identity?
What proof are we offered for
it? Well, I've been shopping and I
have the receipt. This house is mine (or the loan
company's)
because there are deeds in writing to say so. I gave
money for it,
and money is real. Or its mine because there are laws
which say
so, because there are police, armies, guns to protect it.
Or
because I have arms and legs to protect and define my
space.
More personally. Things are mine
because I can hide them. I can
put them behind walls, behind locked doors, in my memory.
My
body is mine because it can feel pressure, pain,
pleasure. My
thoughts are mine because I can think them, because I
have
control.
Now there is the rub. How do I
control myself? How do I pull myself
up by my own bootstraps? I have yet to find an answer to
this.
Further the alternative seems now to be true.
The alternative? That there is
no self to control, to act or possess.
In conclusion, it is not being
suggested that one possess nothing,
but that the self/possession concept was ill founded from
the first.
That the security it promises is only illusion, a source
of fear.
Lisbeth Monks_Mystics@yahoogroups.com
Wen-tzu eight 8
Lao-tzu said:
The totality of all beings goes
through a single opening; the roots
of all things emerge from a single gate. Therefore sages
measure
a track to follow once and do not change the original or
vary from
the perennial. Freedom is based on following guidance,
tact is
based on honesty, honesty is based on normalcy.
Joy and anger are deviations
from the Way, anxiety and lament
are loss of virtue, liking and disliking are excesses of
mind,
habitual desires are burdens of life. When people become
very
angry, that destroys tranquility; when people become very
joyful,
that dashes positive action. Energy diminished, they
become
speechless; startled and frightened, they go crazy.
Anxiety and
lament burn the heat, so sickness builds up. If people
can get rid
of all these, then they merge with spiritual light.
Spiritual light is attainment of
the inward. When people attain the
inward, their internal organs are calm, their thoughts
are even,
their eyes and ears are clear and their sinews and bones
are
strong. They are masterful but not contentious, firm and
strong yet
never exhausted. They are not too excessive in anything,
nor are
they inadequate in anything.
Nothing in the world is softer
than water. The way of water is
infinitely wide and incalculably deep; it extends
indefinitely and
flows boundlessly far. Increase and decrease pass without
reckoning. Up in the sky it turns into rain and dew; down
in the
earth it turns into moisture and wetlands. Beings cannot
live
without it, works cannot be accomplished without it. It
embraces
all life without personal preferences. Its moisture
reaches even to
creeping things, and it does not seek reward. Its wealth
enriches
the whole world, without being exhausted. Its virtues are
disbursed to the farmers, without being wasted. No end to
its
action can be found. Its subtlety cannot be grasped.
Strike it, and
it is not damaged, pierce it, and it does not smoke. Soft
and fluid,
it cannot be dispersed. It is penetrating enough to bore
through
metal and stone, strong enough to submerge the whole
world and
take and give. It is bestowed upon all beings without
order of
precedence, neither private nor public, it is continuous
with
heaven and earth. This is called supreme virtue.
The reason water can embody this
ultimate virtue is that it is soft
and slippery. Therefore I say that the softest in the
world drives the
hardest in the world, nonbeings enter into no gap.
The formless is the great
ancestor of beings, the soundless is the
great source of species. Real people communicate with the
spiritual directorate, those who participate in evolution
as human
beings hold mystic virtue in their hearts and employ it
creatively
like a spirit.
Therefore the unspoken Way is
very great indeed. It changes
customs and mores without any order being given. It is
only
mental action: all things have results, but it only stays
by the gate.
Thereby it is possible to find the end of the endless and
the
ultimate of the infinite, to perceive things without
being blinded
and to respond echolike without minding.
~ translated by Thomas
Cleary
OmniConscious@yahoogroups.com
Illusion
[Marilyn] Where did the illusion
come from????????
[Halim] Well, it used to be a
well illusion before it got sick.
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