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I'll share one of my Christmas stories from today that
began with my father's remembering the day after my
mother passed away.

I had given my son a book entitled, "Finding God
on the Train." It was a great little book of a man's
attempt to experience God, rather than simply worship
Him in Church.

My dad picked up the book, reading the title aloud,
and said, "I remember when I found God". Then
he went on to tell the story of the day after my mom
had passed . He was grieving really hard, and
began praying fervently. He said all of a sudden a
sense of peace came over him, unlike anything he
had ever felt. He said that for a moment he was so
peaceful and happy.....even with all he was facing and
experiencing....he was still at peace. He said he knew it
was the Holy Spirit. And he said, "Can you imagine...
that's what heaven is like....that feeling of love and peace
no matter what" And I said, "Can you imagine....that
you don't have to die to feel that way all the time....
that heaven can be here on Earth? (He gave me a
curious look, and I continued).... " Can
you imagine that I once experienced that state of bliss
for 2 weeks straight even though I was unemployed and
didn't know where my next money would come from?"

And his eyes opened wide as if
amazed. And then I told him my dream (which I'll share
because it's part of my story here....with apologies to those
of you who have heard it before):

I was in heaven, catching up with old friends, when someone
approached me saying, "the Radiant One would like to speak
to you". I went into His chamber, and beheld a huge ball
of Light. He said, "I'd like you to do something for me. I'd
like you to take 'this' (offering me a ball of light) down there
(pointing to Earth)."

I thought, gee that doesn't take a rocket scientist....it's
more the work of a delivery guy...delivering this from
here to there. Then I saw myself on Earth as a glass with holes
poked all around it, and liguid gold light pouring into
the container from above. The light filled the container
and poured out thru the pours...and I became like a
glowing lantern. He said, "Whatever you do, keep the
holes from getting dirty and clogging up". And immediately
my container was caked with mud. No light could be
seen shining out of me. I knew my job first was to
clean myself of the caked-on dirt.
~~~~~~
I told him that the only thing that separates me from
experiencing the Holy Spirit day in and day out is
my thoughts and attitudes....which act like cakes of dirt.

My dad listened to me with interest. When I finished,
he put his head down and said, "I should never have
talked to your sister the way I did the other day. I
need to learn to watch what I say."

I smiled for a minute, and then said with a grin,
"What's really neat is when you begin to watch
whatever it is you're thinking".

He raised his eyebrow, gave me a 'maybe' look....and
then picked up the book and began to read it while I
went up to do my hair.

Melody
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Maya Angelieu has said that she refuses to
allow gossip and ridicule in her house. She's said to have
ears that could hear to the other side of her house....and
when she hears someone gossiping in a negative
way about other people....., she yells, "na, na, na.....
not in my house you don't!!" She explains, that
she sees it as a kind of soul killing.....that the person
saying those belittling or ridiculing remarks about
another....just as 'talk' or 'fun' is actually trying to kill that
person. But not an outright killing...not a face to face
kind of killing....but rather an anonymous, under the cover
of night, killing...one bite at a time.

This has always rang as true to me. And it occurs
to me that it may be the ultimate 'passive aggressive' act.

love,
Melody
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I used to think that the end of the path was pure awareness. I have
had several experiences of the void or ego loss and a moment of this
bliss was greater than all the joy of the rest of my life all put
together. I now think this is but the beginning of the path.

I have since had the direct experience of God. The pure awareness was
there, the bliss was there but the Love was indescribable. It filled
all desires I ever had.

I am beginning to wonder if there is a being or state that is
permanently grounded in pure awareness and with pure love and the
power of the mind, a mind so much greater. The existence is non
physical but pure awareness-love-intelligence.

Peace, neo
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Phil Burton;

As long as one is "looking for" It, one continually misses It. It's like
looking for your reflection in a raging torrent, and anxiously worrying
that the reflection might be unsubstantial (as it is).

You are God. Why do you "look for" It?

Awareness of turmoil is perfect Peace.

Peace!

P*
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<snip>

...I'm not concerned about
the integrity of this list.

To be concerned with integrity would mean to define
soundness and completeness and then to enforce the
definition. It's an avoidance of real work.

The real work is this: Be aware.

I have no idea what a sound or complete list community is,
other than one made up of people who are aware.

Jerry
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neo;
>Dear Tim
>
>I do not like any part of the dream involving suffering. Is there
>something wrong with that?

No, because suffering is CAUSED BY not liking certain parts of the dream.
Suffering is "outside the dream" in a certain sense... in the sense that
it's very real to the experiencer, more real than anything else in some
cases. And the cause of suffering is liking certain parts of the dream and
disliking others.

Hope that made sense.

With Love,

Tim
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Are there things without virtue or sin?
Is there something that is without din?
Be it bookworms and rhinos
Or the shit flies and dinos
It is all being born from within

Without form there is nothing to waste
I'm the one without copy and paste
Whether poem or fart
Make original art
Imitation is tart without taste

Without creed or a cause or a caste
I'm the one without future or past
Having nothing to waste
I am nothing but taste
And the one who's the first and the last

Jan
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~~~
At one point I realized I was being driven Home
kicking and screaming the whole way.
Seems like a long time ago now.

xan
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>
> Must we resort to profanity to make our points? Somehow I cannot
> imagine Jesus or Siddhartha doing this.

This says more about the
limits of imagination than
anything else. What do you
figure Jesus was saying as
he was overturning money
tables in The Temple, "Have
a nice day, fellows!"? :-)

Sri Nisargadata Maharaj was
famous for his proficiency
and profligacy in profanity,
and I'm sure he wasn't alone
among the Famous Dead Guys[tm]
of nonduality in that respect.

"World-honored one, how may
one obtain the most perfect
of sublime revelations?"

"Drop dead, Ananda!"
>
> Peace, neo
>
There is that! -- Bruce
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~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Neo,

Just as an example -

Oftentimes, Bruce's posts come across to me as arrogant and egotistical.
That fact has *nothing* to do with Bruce. Guess who it has to do with?

The perceiver is the 'big picture', always. The perceiver creates a
picture in his or her mind of another's personality (based on their own
predilections and conditionings), and reinforces that picture based on
'past experiences' with that person. Then the "image" held (which is
almost always far from accurate) is blamed on the other person!

Think about this sentence: "You made me feel bad." Can you see the innate
slavery of one who utters such a sentence? If the perceiver believes that
others can "make them feel" anything, they are slaves to the world! If
someone can "make me feel bad," then I am a slave to that person. I have
given them a pair of handcuffs, thrown away the key, and begged them to
cuff me.

Hope this made sense.

With Love,

Tim
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Joshua:

Is thinking *equivalent* to ignorance?

xan:

yep

x

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