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Monday February 12th


NDS

Hi Jerry...

You quipped:

<snipperoo>

>I find that as I get older I get more social. I know I'll end up in
>a nursing home on television clapping my hands and smiling like a
>goofball while some old geezer is playing a fiddle or something,
>while the voiceover is saying 'Residents of the Happy Farm old age
>home finally have their fiddle player back...". Yeah, solitude
>sounds real good right about now. This is the real challenge:
>bringing us together while keeping us away from the goddammed
>fiddler.
>
>Jerry

Really, the best way to handle this eventuality, is to start and fund
an initiative to build special, NonDual nursing homes. There is a big
difference between being an inmate in such a place, or actually
owning (or at least being part of a financial trust which owns) it.

Think of it. We could find a place in the warm, like outside of
Tucson, and rebuild it to resemble some sacred place, like where the
Famous Dead Guys once habituated in India or elsewhere. Throw in a
few stupas, a few impressive temples, and it would be a great
money-making tourist attraction!

We could all be sitting around in loincloths (actually disguised
'Depends'), being waited upon, leaning up against the sun-bleached
adobe walls, surrounded by young seekers (who would of course pay an
admission fee to enter 'NonDuaLand'). An entire community of 'Retired
Masters, who by now are completely comfortable, sitting around while
constantly spouting what sounds like nonsense.

Is there really a difference between denying you are an individual,
and being unaware that you are one? Unshaven, unkempt, constantly
breaking into weird laughter... it certainly fits the stereotype,
does it not?

Throw in a few Oriental-Style Retired Masters, or give them their own
style of retirement environment, complete with Dojos and Tea Houses;
they can chase the visitors with sticks, threatening to enlighten
them. Sake would of course flow like water.

Then there is the Kerouac Village, consisting of run-down cheap
boarding houses and late-night coffee houses. The poetry readings
would be... entertaining! The nearby distilleries and
Ganga-plantations would of course, fuel the fun.

The ability to see auras, to predict the future, to display special
powers (or at least claim to have such), to example high spiritual
disregard for 'the body'... all of these are okay in "Masters".
Otherwise, it is diagnosis... Alzheimers!

I think you can get the idea. A little planning, a little funding,
and we could all be set up not only for retirement, but the
opportunity to make Big Buck$ while coaching our young seekers while
we are at it!

What really, is the difference between an 'OM', and the droning snore
of one who is lost in 'meditation'?

I can see it now...


==Gene Poole==


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Last night this dream came:

I was in a wooded area with some small buildings about. Native
American people were gathering for a new kind of dance. It was a dance
of atonement and reconcilliation.

The dancers all held thier arms out to the side. This symbolized a
willingness to be open. The steps were a simple step, step, half step,
step, half step, step. On the half step some of the dancers would make
a quarter turn either forward or backward. On the half step someone
would speak in a formalized tone of something he or she had done in
thier life.

They would speak of the things that they had done. There was no crying
about it. It was simply expressed. "I hurt my wife. I was a
radical communist 20 years ago. I started having kids at age nine."
They relased many things.

They spoke out thier lives openly and honestly. There were some tears
shed from the releasing of the pain. But there was no crying of self
pity.

This was a new thing for the people. They were willing to be totally
honest about the stories of thier lifes. There was no blame and no
shame. And absolutely no judgement.

It was beautiful.

We are not separate from the play of the universe. We are the play of
the universe. At times the play is rough, damned rough. At other times
it so gentle.

Wisdom, compassion and understanding do not come when we hide away in
some cave or on a mountain top. They come through experiencing the
pains and joys that life offers.

It has been said that all is an illusion. While this is true, it is
not a bad thing. Though it is an illusion it is juicy and delicious.

HAHAHAH and HOHOHO!

Peace - at play in the fields of infinity - Michael



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Say, are you bored? Do you wonder what's going to happen.
Are you perchance expecting the end of the world as we know it?
Well, friends, you may not be alone. Down through history
the end of the world has been predicted many times over.

Check this out

http://www.primenet.com/~heuvelc/skeptic/predictions.htm

heeheehee - Michael


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James Traverse:


Hi folks,
Jim Dreaver will be at the Kripalu Center
The theme of the workshop is contained in the article below.

THE WAY OF HARMONY
Exploring the Yoga of Freedom and Power

by Jim Dreaver

"This is what brings freedom--the awakening to your true nature as
consciousness, as the timeless awareness behind all phenomena.'

--THE WAY OF HARMONY

For the past twenty-five years, I have been fascinated by what it takes
to
get grounded in the source of inner freedom and power, so that no matter
what
is happening in our lives or in the marketplace, it doesn't shake our
fundamental clarity and inner peace.

Stress, conflict, and an underlying sense of powerlessness are endemic
to our
society. We worry about money, deadlines, unresolved tensions at work
and
home, job security, our health, family issues, relationship problems,
and
whether or not we are doing what we really want to do in life.

Even when we feel full of confidence and self-assurance we are often
only
that way because we are winning at the outer game of life and work. In
other
words, we feel good because things are going well for us. Unless we have

developed mastery at what I call the 'inner game' then should we
experience
a reversal of circumstances, should things take a turn for the worse--as
they
frequently do, given that change is the fundamental nature of life--our
confidence inevitably falters, and turns into self-doubt and anxiety.

However, it doesn't have to be this way. It is possible to play
successfully
in life and at work without the stress and conflict that most people
live
with on a daily basis. Learning to do this involves understanding and
embodying three essential keys for accessing the source of freedom and
power
within: presence, insight, and vision.

#1: PRESENCE

Heightened mind/body awareness is the key to presence, and yoga is a
superb
vehicle for developing this. As you breathe deeply and consciously,
learn to
release tension in your muscles, and bring your focus out of your head,
into
your body, into an awareness of your immediate environment, you find
yourself
naturally more alert and at ease in the present moment. Presence itself
is
the source of your physical energy, power, and charisma. It is the key
to
seeing the facts of any situation with clarity, to making the best
decisions,
and to taking the right action.

An alert, relaxed sense of presence brings you into harmony with the
natural
rhythms and changes, the inevitable ups and downs of life, so that you
are
not struggling against reality, the way things are. You are more
balanced,
centered, in the flow. You instinctively know when to stand firm, and
when to
yield; when to move forward, and when to pull back; when to speak, and
when
to listen; when to hold on, and when to let go. At the same time, you
find it
easier to focus on your goals because your creative energy is no longer
being
inhibited by the fear of loss or failure that inevitably looms when you
worry
about the future.

Another major benefit of being truly present is that it greatly improves
the
flow of communication between yourself and others. It is easier to
speak the
truth, because you are no longer in your head, caught up in trying to
defend
or justify your ego, in the need to be 'right'--which is the mark of an
insecure ego. You are more genuinely interested in listening to others.
You
want to know what they think and how they feel. This kind of openness
and
honesty establishes trust. Trust, in turn, is the key to resolving
conflicts
and building a strong sense of teamwork, of partnership, both at work
and at
home.


#2: INSIGHT

Self-knowing is critical to mastery, and it begins with insight into
your own
strengths and liabilities. Ultimately, though, it is knowing who you are

beyond all your beliefs and ideas about who you are, beyond the 'story'
you
have created about who you are.

In my book, The Way of Harmony, I call the shift that facilitates true
self-knowing the core insight, an idea which has its roots in many
wisdom
traditions, including yoga. It is seeing that you are not your story,
your
personal history. The world between your ears that you 'think' is who
you
are, and that gets expressed in the mind and body as conflict, stress,
and
tension, is not who you really are. The more you learn to be present,
expand
your awareness, and see the inner drama for the self-generated illusion
it
is, the more it drops away. Meaning and fulfillment no longer depend on
what
you think, have, or even do, but stem from the aliveness, the joy, the
fullness of being that vibrates in your very cells in each and every
moment.

Freed of the psychological and emotional component--the incessant
concern
with 'me, myself, and I'--thinking becomes available as the powerful
creative tool that it is. You use thinking, in other words, but you are
no
longer at the effect of your thoughts. This inner clarity gives you
access to
a constant stream of wisdom, intuition, and guidance, and what you are
here
to do--your unique mission, purpose, and destiny in life--becomes very,
very
clear.

Changes, of the kind which throw most people into crisis, cease having
the
power to upset you, other than momentarily. If upset does occur, you
breathe,
get really present, and remind yourself that you are not your story, but
that
your true nature is consciousness, timeless awareness, breathing through
this
body, mind, and heart. This allows you to recover your equanimity
quickly.
The authenticity, spontaneity, and sheer goodwill you then bring to each

moment inspires the highest and best in others.

#3: VISION

Just through mastering the first two keys, you begin to influence the
outer
game in a whole new way. Synchronicity and serendipity become much more
common occurrences in your life. You don't have to 'try' to make things
happen so much anymore. You just set your intention for the future, stay

present and focused on the task before you, and creative things happen.

The key here is vision, being very clear about what you want for your
future.
Vision includes intention. In life, you get what you intend. So, if you
want
to access the source of inner freedom and power, that must be your
primary
intention--your 'inner' intention. But then you must also get very clear

about your outer intention, what you want to create, or make happen, in
your
world. You must visualize clearly where you want to be in your life. The

clearer and more inspired your vision, the easier it is to figure out
how to
get from where you are to where you want to be.

Strategic planning and goal-setting are important tools, but when the
inner
and outer intention are clear and congruent, things tend to happen by
themselves. The people you need to meet who can support you in attaining
your
objectives show up, the right doors open, connections are made,
opportunities
appear. Without even having to 'try' to, you begin to manifest truly
conscious, harmonious, and productive relationships, both in your
personal
life and at work--all as a result of presence, insight, and clear
vision.
Gratitude for life's abundance and blessings then becomes your daily
mantra,
and service to others the single most important reason for doing what
you do.

© Jim Dreaver, 2001

Jim Dreaver, DC has been guiding others in the fields of mind/body
integration, stress-management, and personal mastery for twenty years.
He is
the author of several books, most recently The Way of Harmony: Walking
the
Inner Path to Balance, Happiness, and Success (Avon),which has been
acclaimed
for its clarity, elegance, and practical wisdom. Contact him for
information
about individual and group work.


The dates for the seminar at Kripalu are March 8-11,2001

--
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LYNN
> Spiritual apathy ...
> I think it's root is fear. Of what?

~ Apathy comes from being caught between two fears:

One, that you will never reach the self-realization you long for.

The other, that you will.

The fear that your conditioned identity is dissolving
in the truth of you is very strong. It seems as if
there is an entity called *I* which fights for its life.

In actuality though, it is just the tendency of forms
to maintain themselves and to resist change...
including the form made up of ideas and memories
called "myself".

Looking into the fear directly... more closely...
leads to seeing through to what is beyond all fear.

with love
Xan

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