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As it rises so it falls.
Make effort and it rises.
Stop effort and it falls.
Make the choice!

Stay as simple natural Being
without thought or doership.
Out of Nothing you can do anything
and not leave footprints.
No intention is no limitation.
Just stay Quiet.
Simply do not stir a thought.

Not activating the mind is to not externalize.
There is no way or method,
just keep out of the way.
The revelation of the Self will occur
only when you do not interfere.
Keeping Quiet is giving time to this Love and Beauty.
Stay as Such.

--Papaji

____________________________________________________________________________

Waves

Waves arise and fall back into the ocean
I tried to grasp the highest wave, but the water was too wet
to hold.
Waves arise and fall back into the ocean
I tried to ride the biggest wave, but the water was soft,
and so I sank.

Waves arise and fall back into the ocean
I tried to be the tallest wave, but the wind pushed me over.
Waves arise and fall back into the ocean
Neither large nor small, I arise and fall back into God.
Arise and fall,
Arise and fall,
Arise and fall.


Here's a shorter one that's more to the point:

Does the wave fear the water from which it rises?
Then why do you fear love?

--Mark Otter

__________________________________________________________________________

JAN KOEHOORN

I once heard a story about God. After creating the world he
was very tired, as you can imagine. He said to himself:
"Where shall I hide, now that I'm done creating?" This was
a big problem for him. Suddenly it came to him, and a big
smile appeared on his face. "I know what to do!" he
shouted. "I'll hide inside the people, they will never look
for me there!"

________________________________________________________________________


MARK OTTER

I just watched a fascinating show on PBS - Oliver Sachs,
darn, I didn't catch the name of the show or the condition
that it was about. (pay attention much? - my excuse was I
was studying for a final exam in psychology tomorrow night,
but the truth is I was playing elist poster and reader...
damned addiction if you ask me. no offense meant) Anyway,
it was about a genetic condition in which people are born
deaf, and lose their sight over the course of about 30
years, ending up both blind and deaf. Oliver asked one
woman if she could have her sight back would she want it?
Oh yes, she replied, absolutely. Would she want to become
hearing? "No, certainly not." A young man, not yet blind,
but becoming so said the same thing. Wow. They both said
that they "were" deaf (part of their identity, and strongly
defended), but that in essence, they suffered from
blindness (well, they were both very positive about the
loss of sight, and willing to live their lives to the
fullest... cool people!) Anyway, I had an epiphany watching
this. This is how we are. We define ourselves by that which
we have experienced and therefore feel safe with and deny
and refuse anything outside that. (well, that's too strong,
because we are willing to grow, but mainly on our own
terms, defined by comfort level...)

I say yes! I want it all. I'm willing to not be, in order
to for it all... words fail me, but I'm sure you know what
I mean. Perhaps if I could say it in American Sign
Language, it would be more clear. I think I mean that
surrendering the limitation is worth experiencing all the
possibilities. (but I'm still testing this hypothesis...
anybody have a complete picture you want to share
(again...))?

_______________________________________________________________________

JERRY KATZ

I think that what goes on at NDS is a high level of
'nondual professionalism' ALONG WITH the very private,
seemingly inappropriate humor, silliness and other activity
that normally would reside within an inner sanctum of this
community, if it existed, and one might say it exists
wherever two or members of the group come together.

My attitude is to not try to keep the backroom out of the
front room. The backroom or inner sanctum exists in many
forms. While there's no reason pretending it doesn't exist,
there's no reason to go on and on with dark or light humor
or inappropriate or dumb stuff. It's just that there's also
no reason to deny it or to take measures to keep it out.
It's a part of our culture. It gives us our unique flavor.

Now, if you were to join something like I AM list, which
was the original NDS, you would find, implicitly, that
backroom behavior is not appropriate and is not part of the
culture there, at all. In the last several weeks, I AM has
had mild activity, but steady and high level. I AM is NDS
with a dress code.

_______________________________________________________________________________

JERRY AND DAVE ON STAYS IN THE HOSPITAL

JERRY:Dave and I were talking about how a hospital stay can
open one to the nondual perspective. I found it valuable to
face with greatest possible awareness an exteme of human
pain, and then a few days in a hospital with nothing to
stare at but the beige curtain drawn before my bed.

DAVE:Intense contrast, an excellent enlightener. But even
for those that are "there", or have "been there" for a long
time, a subtler sense exists.

For the average person, they're just happy that "the pain
is gone", I mean I've been there, I go there every time I'm
getting over something, but at the same time, one can see
that maybe the beige curtain isn't all that different...

JERRY: (Oh, it wasn't that bad. There were visitors and
other people in the room. It was my choice to draw the
curtain. And, besides, my ordeal was never life
threatening.)

These last two nights at home I miss that beige curtain. I
have to draw another kind of curtain, and it is harder to
draw. However, I have know it all my life. I have intuited
it and been familiar with it for a long, long time. It is
never fully open anyway. Everything is touched by that
beige.

DAVE: Maybe my hardest times where when I got home, strange
effects of anti-biotics, anti-inflamitories and post-op
shock etc. The old body and mind pulling at all the
curtains it could find.

It's not pain, it's not the beige curtain, it's
disorientation, fear, and the worst, doubt! Maybe doubt is
a combination of this disorientation and fear. Being all
clogged up, it's hard to "see". It's like driving on the
freeway and the hood pops up. You have to go on memory, on
instinct!

JERRY: But pain opens that curtain. It's red and not beige.
I tried to pull the curtain closed anyway. I took the
challenge to draw the curtain. I thanked God for the pain;
I laughed at myself in the mirror on the way to the
Emergency Room; I asked myself if the pain was 'me' and it
wasn't but it hurt anyway!

DAVE: I'm not sure why this is so distinct, but it is. It's
certain that pain draws a definite curtain, but, as you
say, it is red, you can't miss it. It does challenge more
obviously. It's like a door, that you kick open, and it
slam bangs open, and there it is... open. But it's open.

JERRY: And then the operation was over and there was
nothing but beige curtain. Original nature. And it was what
was. It is what is. And through gratitude and inquiry in
the midst of pain (which lasted several hours and was
greater than kidney stone pain), I saw to it that the
curtain was always, always in sight.

DAVE: The beige curtain gives us the time to realize that
it's all one and the same. For those who have been blessed
with the whisper. I don't ask for beauty over pain, nor
deny pain over beauty. I thank God for the whisper.

JERRY: I know that what I've said is not scriptural in the
sense that there is only the Self, but I'm a guy not a
scripture.

DAVE: This post can only be such. The whisper is what makes
it different. Like swirls of pixie dust in Walt Disney
movies, the whisper touches the listeners souls, wakes
their spirit to the Oneness of Self. We see it, thank God,
and for those that don't, the pain will someday, go away.

JERRY: Also, Dave, I've looked at the website on the Amazon
tour. I would love to be a part of it, though it seems
expensive. Also, I'd want to see if we could get about ten
people together. Let's keep the options open.

DAVE: I figure that there's still good time, so combining
10 people or so and looking at other unbeknownst options,
who knows what could happen. I'm looking at something
personally that could generate "unforseen" capital...
speculative for the moment, but I'd be happy to throw it in
the pot if it materializes. The Amazon Tour is a
"powerhouse"! I'd bet that "gravity" is effected there. :-)

Here's the link for those that missed it.

http://www.amazon-lodge.com

In the mean time, I'll be doing my research on "alternate
power spots", just in case.

_______________________________________________________________________________

OH

Hello all dears:

Will be leaving again in a few days, so wanted to
contribute something before i left. Somebody is making up a
page, How Old Hag Came to the Dharma and a paragraph in it
tells about the Three Answers, so thought to share that for
those who don't know - and perhaps don't care ,^)) - how
they came about.

~~~~

One evening, Neem Karoli Baba came to call. He gave me one
of his famous bear hugs....ummmm, so delicious! Was all
snuggled up in his arms, but knew i had only a few moments
with him, so quickly began to ask some questions. Was
considering moving to California, so asked him, "Where
should i go?" And he said, "Go anywhere!"

Was thinking of quitting my job, so rushed on, "Well, what
should i do?" And he answered, "Do nothing!"

Thought i would get some advice about my love life, so
asked, "Who should i love, Rob or Fred?" And he answered,
"Love Everybody!"

So i call this, The Three Answers:

"Go Anywhere! Do Nothing! Love Everybody!"

_______________________________________________________________________________

SHANKAR (from I AM list)

Bolting the latch in one room, forgetting the body, the
Lord (Sri Ramana) abided in Silence- O, Parrot!-He was
beyond words and thought.

Translation of verse 20 in the 'Parrot-Eyed (Narration of
the) Life of Sri Ramana by Sri Sadhu Om Swamigal.

Striking and breaking (the latch), the members of the
household, entered the room (in which Sri Ramana was
abiding in Silence), and even after hitting (His) body
hard, (He) did not 'rise up'- O, Parrot!-(He was a)
complete Yogi.

Translation of verse 21 of the 'Parrot-Eyed (Narration of
the) Life of Sri Ramana' by Sri Sadhu Om Swamigal

LYNNE ASKED

Could you explain to me your understanding of the meaning
of this passage (and give a bit of context)? I would be
grateful.

SHANKAR RESPONDED

Verses 20 and 21 of the said text have to be read together,
to gather the context.

Actually, this relates to an episode in the Life of Sri
Bhagawan. When He was still a boy, once his parents and
brothers had gone out, leaving Him at home. He locked the
outside gate, and went into His room, and bolted it from
inside and went to sleep.

When His parents returned from outside, they kept knocking
at the gate for a long time. Then, they broke open the gate
and went inside the house. Then, they were knocking at His
room door for a long time. Since He did not come out even
after their knocking at His room door for a long time, they
became scared and broke open the room door also.

Then, they found Him 'sleeping' very deeply. It was after
some hours of repeated attempts at waking Him up, that He
awoke.

This 'deep sleep' was the only abnormal thing about Him.

As you know, the final state of realisation is described by
Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi, as 'Waking-Sleep' or in
sanskrit as 'Jagrat-Sushupti'. Shankar,

_______________________________________________________________________________

LARRY BIDDENGER

I've been reading Stanley Sobottka's "A Course In
Consciousness", http://faculty.virginia.edu/consciousness/
Very refreshing, I skipped the physics and went straight to
the third part. This sheds, for me, a new light on the
utility of the understanding of nondoership which
surprisingly isn't depressing. It also describes
experiences of glimpsing egolessness which I've been
wondering what to do with; as Neem and oh said, do nothing.
As Ramesh would say, there is no doer, everything happens
spontaneously.

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