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Friday, December 14

GLORIA LEE

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. -- Ambrose
Bierce, writer, (1842-1914)

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SHANKAR
from the I AM list

Long Live the Feet of the Lord (Sri Ramana) who utters, "If
the 'other' dies, the mind will merge in the 'here' (the
Self)."

Long Live the Feet of the One (Sri Ramana) who utters the
Satguru advice, "That(!) is giving (over one's) life to
Isvara (the Personal God)."

Translation of Lines 11 and 12 of Song 2 of 5 Jewels in
praise of the Feet of Sri Ramana by Sri Sivaprakasam Pillai

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GILL EARDLEY
from Nondual Quotes

If the process of manifestation, which involves the
full-fledged appearance of the visible world, never truly
involves a departure from the unmanifest, undifferentiated
reality of Shiva, then it follows that the tantric path of
return consists of the recovery of this vision of the
undifferentiated unity of all things. This vision, which at
first appears to annihilate all things into the dark abyss of
Shiva, later grows into the unmilana samadhi, which reveals
the pulsating essence of Shiva actively structuring and
maintaining all the apparently finite and even inert forms of
visible reality. The yogin must come to a vision of the
inseparability of all things from Shiva.

~Abhinavagupta

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MARK HOVILA AND GREG GOODE
from the NoDoer list

GREG:
By awareness, you seem to be talking about the waking state. What takes
note of the coming and going of the waking state and all other states? What
takes note of all note-taking?

MARK:
I can't say. I can't be aware of it. But it can be aware of "me."

So in a sense, I can understand how the Absolute could not be aware of
itself. If it were aware of "itself," that would not really be Itself. The
Absolute must be the seer, not the seen. Hmm, sounds pretty
dualistic!

But what I was talking about before was the notion propounded by somebody,
can't remember now if it was Atmananda, Nisargadatta, or who, that the
ultimate state is one in which one is aware neither of oneself NOR ANYTHING
ELSE. This doesn't sound too appealing. What, no music?

GREG:
It helps to be very tired and very disgusted with life! Fear of death
might then transform into a desire to know the truth.

MARK:
Thanks, I think I know what you mean, but to tell you the truth, I don't
think that's my path. As long as I'm here for this incredibly short life I
want to have a good time. I'm trying to deal with death by living every
moment to the fullest. And in my heart I know that death is not a problem.
At one beautiful moment I saw that very clearly, when I saw (or "it was
seen," perhaps I should say) that "I" did not really exist.

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JOHN DUFF AND VICTOR MANUEL HERRERA
from Center of Friends list


It is a pleasure and a blessing having you here Victor.

Victor:
My words and views are losing their weight and I have
to Work in silence to increase the energy of my dialogues,
this involves will within me (even if some here react and say
"you have no will!!") because I just love to answer and post
messages which are meaningful to me.

John:
Such a situation should be a familiar to everyone
engaged in sincere work on themselves. I recollect an excerpt
from Nicoll recently stating that such a time is one of
regrouping, consolidating and digesting the product of
self-observation in such a time and to make effort collecting
remembrance of this state in preparation for the pendulum
swing in the other direction.

Typically, though, we become frustrated, `down on ourselves',
and wholly identified with what appears to be lack of force,
or insight, of what interested or fascinated us before.

I would not mention such a thing except that I was
experiencing such a transition several weeks ago when I read
the passage from Nicoll. As he says, this is nothing out of
the ordinary, and it is an exceptional opportunity to bring
into awareness our polar natures – the enthusiasm of working
versus deep registration of our limitations - with the aim of
maintaining awareness and memory of both experiences when in
either extreme. It is good stuff – it is the fuel of balance.

But I project here.

<snip>

Victor:
I can state my love and respect for all of you who
are Working on youselves in a higher level of understanding,
and to place myself appropriately in a step below you (or
several, at least I am in the ladder, or maybe my imagination
is cheating me).

John:
You have mentioned that higher forces can use us all
for its purposes. The task may then be seen as open-ness to
such influences in the light of ideas of non-expression of
negative emotions, non- identification, sacrifice of small
aims and `I's, etc. to serve as signposts in this opening
process.

We are all help to one another, as you have been, and will
be, help to me.

The expectation is that one of us is more awake at any given
moment. Who can predict who that one will be? To do such
predication is not to be open; to not externally consider,
and to not give attention to what is in front of one in the
moment because of some preconceived requirement or
expectation. This easily could be some stranger passing on
the street – let alone on an email list.

This is also to say, as a generalization and not to Victor in
particular, that if you get a taste of higher experiences
from an email list then one practical next task is to carry
that awareness into your life and relations outside of that
source. Extend the experience – a wish to expand.

Expectations of consistency and ladders are useful metaphors
and food for a part of us – a part preoccupied with
comparisons. This part has its utility but is not, as you
know, the whole of us.

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