Click here to go to the next issue.

.I've been seeing
lately that it's good to embrace fear. Pure Life force is in
fear. Through embracing fear, one comes to Pure Life Force.
I think nervous laughter, a very partial embrace, if taken
one step further, brings one in contact with Pure Life
Force. That's what I've noticed in myself.

Jerry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Dave Oshana:

Can Enlightenment be Deepened or Lost?

There is a lot of talk about gaining and losing enlightenment. Andrew
Cohen says his students do. Apparently, Ramesh Balsekar says one goes
in and out and finally stays there. A number of Papaji followers talk
about `deepening'.

>From my perspective, enlightenment cannot deepen. It cannot do
"anything" and nothing can be done to IT.

I am infinite and eternal. "IT" cannot get any deeper than
this. I hear that Ramesh has called these temporary experiences of
enlightenment: "free samples". I don't know if he is
suggesting that these "free samples" are in fact the real
thing
i.e."enlightenment" or just copies.

"Free samples" are limited products. The infinity and
eternity of enlightenment could not be squashed into a free sample
sachet.

There is no coming and going either. Does anyone come back from the
dead? Could they? Why would they?

Following the same reasoning (briefly): once the ego has been
`killed' then what is left? If the ego comes back then it was
never dead. My understanding of `ego' is simply
identification with
this human life which is called David.

There is no half way here, but only two mutual opposites, either one
is identified with this human life or one is not.

I have tested this "enlightenment" (which I noticed exactly 2
months
ago after having called off the search and returning home). I
sought to test this "enlightenment" in order to discover if
it was just a passing physiological state. This enlightenment has
been
unshakeable, nothing has moved it. There is no coming and going.

Dave Oshana
daveoshana
@hotmail.com
www.egroups.com/group/oshana

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Greg Goode:

Hey Dave,

Welcome!!! I don't know if I've seen your posts here before. If so, pls
pardon my not welcoming you earlier.

You ask (rhetorically I think) about enlightenment coming and going.
Depends on one's definition of enlightenment. Ask 100 people, get 200+
answers. Non-identification with ego or human life *is* called
enlightenment in some definitions. And in other definitions, it is a stage
along the way towards total interpenetration, or universal emptiness, or
total omniscience, or total consciousness or light, or freedom from any
subject/object dualism, the falling away and the neither
existence/non-existence of all phenomenal whatsoever. Other defitions of
enlightenment call it the end of concerns about enlightenment..... Does it
make sense to believe that a concept of "E" is *accurate*?? Instead, such
concepts are given to be inspirational and helpful.

I'm glad you noticed something that in 2 months has not come or gone, or
shaken or changed! So why wonder about the E-word?

Love,

--Greg

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Dan Berkow:

(a bow to Dave and Greg)

How will be described
that which cannot be described?
To do so involves either contradiction
or paradox (depending on
whether one lives beyond
one's concepts).

I have no qualities; can I
"deepen" my nonexistent qualities
or "lose" who I am?

Yet, as human being, I express.
I describe, I "language"
experience.
This is joyful sharing and
movement of energy.
So, why not express "deepening"?

Here is the paradox:
"what has no qualities,
being infinite, infinitely
'deepens', without moving
and without change."

That is, It is not static,
It is life beyond life,
life in which there is no
non-life, life that has
no separation between
life-death.

It moves always into itself
as itself, without moving
anywhere.

Its infinity is simultaneous
total movement and stillness.

How can this unqualified
inexpressibility be
classified as "deepening"
or "nondeepening"?

Is it changelessness or infinite
movement?
Is it unmoveable or all movement?

Beyond movement or stillness,
beyond change or changelessness,
beyond being or nonbeing,
AM!

AM - OM - HHHHHH..OMMMMM

To know it is to unknow it.

To *be* is not "to be".

-- namaste --

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Royal:

Greetings Dave,

It is my understanding that enlightenment is a process by way of
which the soul may achieve Nirvana. On the path, it is possible to
regress, until the soul becomes one with Divine Consciousness, at
which point there is no going back. I found a definition in a
glossary of Buddhist terms and provide it for your contemplation.

'Awakening vs. Enlightenment
A clear distinction should be made between awakening to the Way
(Great Awakening) and attaining the Way (attaining Enlightenment).
(Note: There are many degrees of Awakening and Enlightenment.
Attaining the Enlightenment of the Arhats, Pratyeka Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas, etc. is different from attaining Supreme Enlightenment,
i.e., Buddhahood.)
To experience a Great Awakening is to achieve (through Zen
meditation, Buddha Recitation, etc.) a complete and deep realization
of what it means to be a Buddha and how to reach Buddhahood. It is to
see one's Nature, comprehend the True Nature of things, the Truth.
However, only after becoming a Buddha can one be said to have truly
attained Supreme Enlightenment (attained the Way). A metaphor
appearing in the sutras is that of a glass of water containing
sediments. As long as the glass is undisturbed, the sediments remain
at the bottom and the water is clear. However, as soon as the glass
is shaken, the water becomes turbid. Likewise, when a practitioner
experiences a Great Awakening (awakens to the Way), his afflictions
(greed, anger and delusion) are temporarily suppressed but not yet
eliminated. To achieve Supreme Enlightenment (i.e., to be rid of all
afflictions, to discard all sediments) is the ultimate goal. Only
then can he completely trust his mind and actions. Before then, he
should adhere to the precepts, keep a close watch on his mind and
thoughts, like a cat stalking a mouse, ready to pounce on evil
thoughts as soon as they arise. To do otherwise is to court certain
failure, as stories upon stories of errant monks, roshis and gurus
demonstrate.'

<http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/glossary.html#A>http://www.sinc.sunys\
b.edu/Clubs/buddhism/glossary.html#A


Loving thoughts from a fellow soul on the path,
Royal

>Dave:
>(snip)
>This all points to
>where none of this is.

Dan:
Yes, it points nowhere
and everywhere.
Nowhen and now.

(a bow and namaste)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Mark Otter:


Hi Gang,

What's all this fuss about boats? You know I have a canoe. Hmmm... so
Mary, are you suggesting that I drop my attachment to the Hinayana
Buddhist perspective of a solitary (and exclusive) path and join the
community (the greater vessel) of Mahayana practice? Yes, perhaps you
are right. This seemed to be the focus of my 2 weeks in New Mexico (a
beautiful land by the way). I realized that my shamanic journey is to
cross the bridge from solitary existence into community. I am impressed
by your precognition of this in your message to Harshasatsang, although
why did you post there rather than NDS? (so sloppy... oh well, I
forgive you.)

Now about that million dollars...


Love, Mark
geez, the guy is still enthralled by himself. what an ego!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Michael Read:


I went to the Oregon Coast this weekend with some friends. While
there I found a delightful little book titled
_Don't Whiz on a 'Lectric Fence_

Here are some quotes:

"Every path has some puddles."

"Don't stand behind a coughing cow."

"Man is the only critter who feels the need
to label things as flowers or weeds."

"Forgive your enemies. It messes with thier heads."

"Words that soak into your head are whispered, not yelled."

HAHAHAH and HOHOHO!

Peace - Michael

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Mark Otter:

Hi Friends,

I enjoyed Xan's report on the Gangaji silent retreat, so I thought I
would try to share with you some of the insights I gleaned from two
weeks of training to be a holotropic breathwork facilitator. Whew!
That's hard work!!! And these are courageous people. I felt much as I
did at the Diamond Hill retreat, surrounded by honesty and beauty. For
those who don't know, holotropic breathwork is a fairly intense
breathing practice, wherein one breaths deeply and rapidly for about 3
hours while listening to loud evocative music. The work is done with a
partner, who witnesses, and some facilitators who provided body work as
required and who create a safe container for the process. We each
breathed (and sat) 4 times during the two weeks, listened to lectures on
the practice, and during the second week experienced a number of rituals
(eg the creation of a sacred outdoors altar, and a moon drumming
ceremony) related to shamanism.

I arrived full of puppylike enthusiasm, and left somewhat sobered, but
more deeply committed to the work. I was directly and deeply challenged
by my own playing of the victim game, and I am more than ever committed
to dismantling it. I also was struck by the beauty and wisdom of our
Indian visitor David from Chile. He is a native Chilean (sorry I didn't
catch the name of his tribe) from the mountanous north of Chile. He's
soft spoken and very deep and compassionate. He taught us several of
his peoples' dances and took us outdoors to express our gratitude to
Mother Earth. This was a central theme to my experience here, deepening
my appreciation for the planet and learning of my need to be here, to be
part of this grand thing called life on Earth. I learned that the
Lakota's speak not of 6 directions, but 7, the seventh being the
center. I was having a good deal of difficulty being grounded and
present during a talk by a Lakota elder, and a lovely woman in the
training, who had a spiritual emergency a few years back and who had
been helped by the Lakota, sat with me and helped me stay in my body.
It is clear that I have been tryinng to flee my body and my
Earth-existence for years. I acknowledge that I made a contract to be
here and to serve the human race by my presence and so here I am. I am
grateful to Gienee for gently bringing me back into my body. My
breathworks involved a good deal of tonglen for the other breathers in
the room, and I was given a lesson in the difference between doing
tonglen and being tonglen during my first breathwork. It was so
wonderful when the trying fell away and was replaced by being. I also
had fun being the archetype of death and then seeing the joy of the game
of living and dying and living and dying that we are so keen to play.
Finally, I separated my shoulder during the first week and reseparating
it during the 3rd breathwork enabled me to break through into the
emotional pain I have around my brother's difficult life path and I was
able to release a good deal of stored up pain. I feel much lighter
after my two weeks.

There was quite a lot else as well, but these seem the most salient
details for now.

I'm glad to be back, and I fully support Mary's efforts on my financial
behalf. Please send cash. Lots of it. I promise boat rides to the most
supportive.

LOve, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
~~~~~

>>>Jerry:

His name is Aziz. Has anyone ever heard of him? Tons of
original writings at his website:
http://www.azizkristof.org/SiteMap.html

The following is from his website:

Me in Non-duality

The essence of the Non-dual perception is the desire of a
particular Me to identify itself with the Source and the
Totality of Creation. In awakening to the Oneness, which is
Enlightenment, Me may wish to negate its very own
existence. Me wants deeply to dissolve its identity within
the ocean of Existence. The personal wants to become the
Impersonal, the Universal.

So the question arises: can Me really negate its own
existence? Can it simply disappear in the experience of
Wholeness? At this point one can see that Truth and Reality
are subject to the interpretation of the individual Me with
its unique psychology and desire to position itself in a
way that suits its intelligence best. But one thing is
clearly certain: for any proclamation of I am That to take
place, the individual Me has got to be there to proclaim
it. How could the Universal be expressed, without the
existence of the particular? Me is the experiencer of all
states and cannot cease to be present. When Me dissolves,
one returns to the Original State, prior to consciousness.

Me is that which allows us to experience the I AM. The I AM
which one experiences is not Me it is that which created
Me. One can never become the Creator. It is true that
Self-realization is a state of complete Oneness with the
universal I AM, but Me which experiences this Oneness is
not this I AM. Me can disidentify with the whole universe,
but is not able to identify with its Creator. The
Self-realized Me rests upon the Ultimate Subjectivity and
experiences it through itself. Me cannot become the
Ultimate, no matter how deeply it is awakened to the
dimension of Pure Rest and Wholeness. Why? For the very
simple reason that Me always, regardless of the State it is
in, feels itself.

The philosophy of Non-duality traditionally was designed to
negate the essential presence of Me in all states and
levels of experience. The nature of Me, is from a certain
perspective, much more subtle than all the inner states,
for it is the Nearest. Me cannot simply disappear in any
state, for without Me the experience of that very state
vanishes. What I am is not eternal though it evolves
eternally within the universal I AM. It is born and it
dies. It dies, and is reborn into a new Me. Me expands
infinitely into the vastness of the Universal Intelligence.
It is the journey of the Spirit into the ultimate
experience of love, beauty and happiness.

It is possible to call the Creation an illusion, the
Creator -- emptiness, and the Soul -- non-existent. This
would be the shortest way to the impersonal. Seemingly, the
impersonal is reached by the impersonal and dissolves into
the impersonal. This is the ideal of Non-duality. But in
truth, to meet the impersonal face to face, the personal
must be there to face it. Here, the ultimate duality serves
its supreme purpose, and Me rests in full acceptance of its
supreme dual existence and truth.

Non-duality, without the awakening to Me, represents the
Wholeness of Perception in which Me refuses to see itself
as a dynamic and alive center of identity behind the
Perceived. When Me is awakened to itself for the first
time, the new and true Non-dual vision of reality is
apperceived. In this apperception, the Wholeness embraces
its very experiencer, the unique Soul, the intimate heart
of Me, as itself. This Me is an indivisible part of the
Ultimate Seeing. The Non-dual Perception is not the end of
Seeing. The evolution into the Seeing of Reality does not
have an end. And this evolution can take place only through
the Me, the mysterious perceiver of the Universal I AM.
This Perceiver is not separated from the Wholeness. It is
this part of the Totality through which the Now becomes the
Seen.

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