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MELODY ANDERSON

This reminds me of something a friend used to say years
ago:

"Fighting for God is like fucking for chastity."

He used to say it to show that fighting for one's spiritual
beliefs was 'wrong'.

And I would say: aaah, let them get it out of their system.
:-)

*****

Life sure is somethin' !

And nothing at all.

Here's to It.

_________________________________________________________________________

MICHAEL READ

SEEKER BEWARE

What do you seek
Oh lonely one?
Only Truth
I replied.

Ah, I thought you loved only ME;
I see it is Truth that you love instead.

I'm sorry, but what can I do?
I must know the Answer
So please, please, please show me
I am ready
I beg You
Why, oh why, oh why is there anything at all?

Oh, Child you are not ready,
But you are ready enough!
Knowing that you will be destroyed,
You are ready enough.

See, It is THIS!

Ahhhhhhhhhhum!

*****

I hold no beliefs. Have you lived this lifetime? I used to
think that I had a life until Grace burned me up. Now I am
enveloped in life. I did not know who I was until Grace
consumed me. There is not really a creature called Michael
Read. Only an abiding Presence.

*****

GLORIA LEE

Ahhhhh, if you could but once see those eyes.... Of all the
people met at the retreat, Michael was the one surprised me
the most, the one least like what I expected from his
posts. Perhaps he laughs most quietly to himself, but
ridicule is not in that laughter. There is no teensy even
hint of smug superiority, no judgement "against" others.
His eyes have a clear, steady gaze...infinity like the
sky... he looks kindly on our efforts and failures too..he
knows Grace is all.

Perhaps once again..email is a medium that cannot convey
essence quite so easily as presence.

__________________________________________________________________

DAN BERKOW

I am zero.
Therefore, I
am where something
becomes nothing,
and nothing becomes
something, yet
I am not something
or nothing.

Without me, there is
neither nothing or
something.

Being zero,
I have no identity,
yet am always who I am.

The universe arises from me,
yet I possess nothing.

I have no function, yet
without me is nothing done.

Zero =


Infinity.

1=0, 2=0, etc.

Exactly where something becomes
nothing, and nothing becomes
something, there is no
controversy, nothing to
see, just infinity.

*****


theories in physics can be intriguing, including things
like discrete parallel universes, the effect of the future
on the present, the nonseparation of apparent particles,
and that black holes in one universe are white holes in
another.

First hand we know this: Energy is streaming constantly.
There is constant "going in and coming out," or "going out
and coming in", whether you name this "black holes and
white holes ("wholes" ;-)) or whatever. All of this form
"sitting on" infinite flux. We construct a seemingly stable
reality that isn't. We formulate a body that lives and
dies, a sense of time involving memory and projection, and
language that uses definitions provided by thought and
society. Meanwhile, the quantum foam is bubbling all around
and through.

To say this is "undefinable" falsely implies that the
construct "definability" has a meaning ;-)

We are the Cheshire Cat.

________________________________________________________________

JERRY

Rajneesh/Osho says prayer "is a communion between you and
the whole." And he says that "prayer is still a meeting so
ultimately it also has to be transcended." ... "This
requires the subtlest awareness possible. If you can be
aware of the meeting between you and whole, then you
transcend yourself and the whole, both. Then you are the
whole. And in this whole, there is no duality..."

You, Rajneesh, and Nisargadatta seem to be on the same
track.

At the risk of mixing levels of discussion, here's a little
story regarding prayer, I've come across a naturally
nondual woman. She is a schizophrenic functioning fairly
well on her own with medication, and she is naturally a
selfless person. When she revealed that she prays for the
well-being of her friends and loved ones every night, she
was asked whether she prays for herself. She looked
surprised, and responded as though she had never thought of
the concept and embarrasingly said, "No, I never thought of
that." She replied not as someone who came to the
realization that there is no one to pray for, but as
someone who naturally never thought there was any self to
pray for. She was startled at the suggestion. This is a
woman who is always delightful, smiling, laughing and a
giver of energy.

____________________________________________________________________________

MARK OTTER

Every night, just after laying my head on the pillow, I
pray a short prayer, which often goes like this: "Thank you
Lord, for letting me be alive today. May all beings come
home to You in love, joy and peace." I think that this
prayer is slowly changing and will do so consciously now
thanks to your illumination. Pema Chodron talks about ego
as a room that is just right, just the right temperature,
just the right smells, just the right music, just the way
you like it, but it would be hard to find a room mate who
likes it as much as you do, and you spend more and more
time in there, so that if you could have food and clothing
and everything else delivered, you would, but you can't so
you go outside now and then to get food, but it's maybe a
bit jarring to be outside, so when you get back to your
room, perhaps you make sure the windows are shut and even
stuff towels under the door to keep those odors away, and
this makes you lonely and after awhile you realize how
badly you are suffering and you begin to look for ways to
ease this suffering, so maybe you crack the window just a
bit to let in a fresh breeze, and she concludes by
suggesting that as you see the importance of this
reconnection to the world, that you eventually open the
doors wide open and invite all sentient beings inside. I
think this is happening to my prayer. So, it may eventually
become not a request to an all knowing, kind God, but a
statement of my own personal intent. " Thank you, Mark for
being alive today. May all beings come home in love, joy
and peace." Opening that door to all sentient beings is the
union we desire. We control the door. We must welcome We
in. I think that is prayer. What happens after all sentient
beings have come inside? PARTY!!!!!! (with ponies if you
like, and proud free stallions as well. Everything and
everybody) (When all sentient beings come in, before the
PARTY, group hug.)

__________________________________________________________________________


HARSHA AND XAN

The following dialogue took place last year. Thought I
should post it again.

Love to all

Harsha

Xan: Everything here is relationship. That's what duality
means. "Relationship" has come to connotate the
intimate-man-woman-thing. If you decided to reject and
refuse relationships then you would stop eating food,
enjoying the view or even breathing air.

Harsha: Well stated. But there is no need to limit the
notion of "relationships" only to external perceptions such
as men, women, food, things, views, etc. Relationships
exist also in states where the perceptions are "internal"
(such as sleep or even Savikalpa Samadhis). The foundation
of all relationships is built on perceptions whether they
are external (men, women, animals, things, etc.) or
internal (dreaming about men, women, animal, things, etc,.
or having various kinds of visions in the superconscious
states of angels, heavenly objects, celestial regions,
etc.). It makes no difference whether the perceptions are
external or internal, the perceiver is in relationship with
the perceptions. Duality ends when the Perceiver and
Perceived (Seer and the Seen) merge. Mystics like Kabir and
Jnaneshwar have written beautiful poetry to describe this
"Unity."

Xan: Would you consider that the phenomenon of relationship
is not hell but opposition is? When there is consciousness
in wholeness what is there to oppose? If I am opposing
anything I short-out my experience of wholeness.

Harsha: Why can't one oppose a relationship and maintain
Wholeness. Sometimes, it is wise to walk away from a
relationship with a situation or a person. Let us say
someone who knows Karate is feeling angry with Ted. It
would be wise for Ted to make a run for it while
maintaining perfect wholeness and integrity.

_______________________________________________________________________

XAN

What's funny is the tragedy of taking ourselves seriously
... and each other. I mean, who cares about our pet peeves
and dramas? Seriously. Who is it that cares? Not negating
compassion, of course, but I've never noticed Eternity
getting bothered by any of our nonsense.

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