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Thursday November 9th


Snip from a conversation;

Tim:
Buddha would never have gotten tired enough to sit
under the tree without first breaking his ass.

Sandeep:
That is correct Tim. And that is why my suggestion that nothing which gets to
occur in
phenomenality is inappropriate, whether it be a futile attempts of trying to
break
ass, one's own or somebody else's, or whether it be the cessation of the focus
on the
ass.

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>Right now I am ambivalent. My mind is telling me I should listen to
>my friend and my mind (?) is telling me bullshit. But I can't quite
>let go and trust myself. I don't think anyone can tell me what I
>should/shouldn't do but......on the other hand I can't trust that.
>Does this make sense?

Marcia, which of these many 'I'-voices will you be influenced by? Or
can you abide the storm, relax, and have a mint julep, knowing full
well that you own the entire universe?

>I just think it is total bullshit to tell me I need to go sit in
>front of a teacher and have them teach me how to do but on the other
>hand I am lazy and indulgent.
>
>Marcia

Your laziness and indulgence would make you a perfect teacher of 'abiding'.

Abiding myself,

==Gene Poole==

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Hi Good Friends,

I bought several books in Santa Fe (and I'm trying to justify my
spending spree by posting them all... hee, hee, hee.)

Well, there is obviously a lot of talk about ultimate freedom on these
lists, as is certainly reasonable, and there is also talk about
practices. I hear several folks suggesting that practices and ultimate
freedom are less strongly linked than those of us who are advocating
practices like to think, and I think that makes sense. As I was reading
the introduction to a book of stories (Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the
Soul edited by Jack Kornfield and Cristina Feldman - see Jerry and
Harsha, even the cool guys are getting into the populist lit... I see
it as Jack's version of Chicken Soup for the Soul, a popular series...
well anyway, that's not the point I want to make here...). As I was
reading the intro, I came across this passage:

"We have all experienced moments of revelation, of profound opening.
These moments seem to touch us in an unexpected fashion, yet they can
make a transformative impression upon us. It may be a moment of walking
in nature when the chatter of our mind suddenly stills, and in the
silence we experience deep sensitivity and harmony. It may be a moment
when, conversing with a troubled friend, we feel our judgements drop
away and our hearts open. We know ourselves to be totally present, the
barriers between self and other melt, and the natural radiance of our
own compassion emerges. It may be a moment alone, when our need for
busyness and the clamoring of our thoughts cease. In that stillness we
experience an aloneness that knows no loneliness or alienation but that
speaks of a rich completeness and oneness with the rhythms of the entire
universe. These moments offer us a glimpse of our own possibilities."

Well, I ask you if you recognize what Jack is talking about, and I say
if you do, then you KNOW IT. (I like the fact that Jack doesn't
capitalize his key words, but hey...) I also am realizing that I don't
much care about the label that is put on the experience. I have it and
then later on I get caught up in my monkey mind, so is it
"enlightenment"? Am I experienced as Jimi Hendrix used to ask? Will it
last next time? If not, can I get it back again? Who fucking cares?
The point is that I like feeling that heart opening, so I intend to
allow it as often as I can. I call this practice because I am
practicing this feeling. It's like practicing the piano. Does hitting
the same notes over and over make you a good piano player? I suggest the
answer is no. I think real practicing of piano playing is noticing once
or twice during a practice session that it "feels right" and then going
after that feeling until it becomes natural. So I suggest just paying
attention and noticing when you feel the way that Jack describes (it
happens all the time, but we rush around so much, we don't usually
notice it) and then when you really can feel it and know it, you can see
what actions bring it back, and you practice those actions, so that
other people's advice becomes irrelevant after awhile because you
recognize it yourself. We have endless arguments about what makes it
happen because what makes it happen for each of us is different, so
learn to trust your own experience of it, and you can practice it
however you like.

Love, Mark
ps Ivan, "who am I?" I am the question "Who am I?" asking itself
endlessly, joyously, creatively, with love. Yum. Yes, I know this. Yes,
I am still seeking. Yes, it's fun.

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Jan B.:

...my brother's dog and cat, ... would open the fridge in a joint effort to
binge
on raw liver, but refused to drink a plate of fresh, good quality blood that I
was
losing due to an injury. The animals were
looking very reproachfully at me but I almost felt insulted :) This however
opened the
eyes to the fact that
sublimation/transmutation of feelings isn't limited to humans only :)


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> Does anyone share the feeling that communicating on this E-Group
> is sometimes like being with a group of people and everyone
> is speaking at the same time? Shelly.

You should try the chat room! Especially when Gene Poole's holding
court. I don't have the address for it, but it's on my home page:
http://www.nonduality.com

Maybe we could plan a Sunday night bash? Gene?

Jerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Aye, Cap'n!

All hands on deck, Sunday PM. Shall we say, 6 PM, Pacific
Standard
Time? Those in conflicting time zones may come earlier, it is
always
open.

Here is the URL to go to and bookmark for when that time comes:

<http://www.eScribe.com/religion/nondualitysalon/chat/>

Between now and then, clean out those scuppers, and trim
that mainsail...


==Gene Poole==


And BTW, I am still holding to the hope that I can interest some
of
you in live real-time video/audio/keyboard chat.

Go to this URL to download a FREE client, for PC or Mac:

<http://www.ivisit.com> (eye-visit... get it?)

You can participate even if you do not have a cool webcam or
microphone. You can still see and hear those who are so-equipped,
and
you can chat via keyboard.

This is better software than the popular CUSeeMe thingy, and is
totally free, no ads or other garbage.

If you do have a webcam (or even a camcorder and proper interface
cable), you will be able to share your shining visage with one
and
all.

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Hi Marcia,

you said:

So perhaps the problem is that I am having a problem.
And the problem is that someone I love is telling me
I have a problem. I could just declare that I am on
the security square and be done with it. I think that
is my biggest problem. I am fine and then someone
comes along and pushes on me and I fall over.

Marcia



This quote from Anthony deMello comes to mind:
....................
To a disciple who begged for wisdom
the Master said, "try this out: Close
your eyes and see yourself and every
living being thrown of the top of
a precipice. Each time you cling to
something to stop yourself from falling,
understand that it is falling too....."

The disciple tried it out and never
was the same again.
.....................

An this story that Mary Bianco told me also comes to mind:

It was getting dark. A skier did not see the edge of the cliff and fell
off. As he is falling he grabs on
to a branch. He held on as long as he could and died doing so. He was
found later. The branch which he had clung to had only been a few feet
from the ground.

I say just let go and fall; there is no bottom.

Love, Mark

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It happens. When the eternity is reduced to the moment, and the moment
vanishes into emptiness, one knows one's own immediacy as not separate from
oneself. When it happens, one knows that something has happened, and that it
has always been happening, and how utterly amazing, that it always has been
happening, not as a separate happening, but as the continuous, unbreakable
happening that is transparent to itself. That happening is you.

Love to all
Harsha
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So, you are describing itself
to itself without any distance
between yourself and itself?

Love,
Dan
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Tim:
<snip>
>Both within and between the lines of these words are sharks, tigers,
>lions, gangsters with automatic weapons, nuclear weapons, killing knives
>and crossbows, 'smart bombs', cobras and asps.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Asps rearranged spells spas.
Crossbows rearranged spells
boss crows.

Clearly, this is a coded message
meaning that mobs of boss crows
will smarten the bras of a company.

That's as far as I've gotten in
decoding the message "within
and between the lines".

I'm scared to go further as the cups
on my desk are moving about,
and the furniture is rearranging
itself.

Otto, I don't think we're in
Sanka's anymore.
(the wise will decipher this
sentence, also the preceding
one.)

Thanks for alerting us to the
power of this message, Tim,
and I can only guess at its
scope. The unwary may find the
remains of their reality
unscrambing as eggs pour
themselves back from
their frying pans into
their shells.

Love,
Dan

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Some say that Enlightenment is "sudden", as if struck by lightening, and one
is never the same. Some say that Realization takes place "gradually" and
just as the clouds evaporate and dissipate with the wind and the rain, Sun
eventually shines brightly. Both views are meaningful and may be helpful. No
perspective can embrace the Truth without a frame of reference and yet Truth
embraces all perspectives and admits no reference point. There is no point
in clinging to either the "sudden" path or the "gradual" path, and no point
in resisting clinging. Having nothing to gain or lose, the wise ones are
comfortable supporting many perspectives and do not mind inconsistencies.

Love to all
Harsha

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Splish, splash, I was taking a bath.

Sandeep jumped in, and the bathtub went crash!

Wu, wei, I had a good day!

Heard myself exlaim,
feelin' no pain:

"neti -- not,
let's thicken the plot"

And splish, splash, I jumped
back in the bath ...

The tub was gone
but the party's goin' on!

Love,
Dan

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Mid-Morning Meditation

Stop just now. Silence. Stillness. Allow yourself to Touch and Be Touched!

What matters most is what happens within:
look to what is pure;
hold to what is simple;
let go of self-interest;
temper your desire.

further up and further in,

white wolfe

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....this story that Mary Bianco told me also comes to mind:

It was getting dark. A skier did not see the edge of the cliff and fell
off. As he is falling he grabs on
to a branch. He held on as long as he could and died doing so. He was
found later. The branch which he had clung to had only been a few feet
from the ground.

I say just let go and fall; there is no bottom.

Love, Mark

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______


...It has been dawning on me that it is all about feeling. I am so tired of
listening
to others but especially myself tell me what I should and shouldn't do and
should and
shouldn't feel. It is that inner critic constantly blabbing away. I just don't
have to
listen anymore or I can listen with compassion and humor. No techniques
including no
techniques. Just gives it strength. I think I have finally 'figured out' <s>
what not
letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, means.

Marcia

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There is only enlightenment and it doesn't happen - that is observation, not
argument.
Regarding the veiling mind, the metaphor
of a multi-blade propeller. When the focus is on the blades unmoving, they seem
to
veil "what is behind" and that notion remains
when the blades are turning so fast that "what is behind" shows clearly.
According to
my memory, the focus on the propeller
blades is the moment the basic feelings in a newborn arise for the first time
(like
hunger, thirst, having to pee and to shit) and
unless a miracle happens (like "enlightened" parents who notice and respond
accordingly), monkey mind starts to develop.

Love,
Jan

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