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12/30/01 Sunday

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JAN SULTAN

Thinking and consciousness - Eckhart Tolle

Q] I don't want to lose my ability to analyze and discriminate. I wouldn't mind learning to think more
clearly, in a more focused way, but I don't want to lose my mind. The gift of thought is the most
precious thing we have. Without it, we would just be another species of animal.

A] The predominance of mind is no more than a stage in the evolution of consciousness. We need to go on
to the next stage now as a matter of urgency; otherwise, we will be destroyed by the mind, which has
grown into a monster. I will talk about this in more detail later. Thinking and consciousness are not
synonymous. Thinking is only a small aspect of consciousness. Thought cannot exist without
consciousness, but consciousness does not need thought.
Enlightenment means rising above thought, not falling back to a level below thought, the level of an animal
or a plant. In the enlightened state, you still use your thinking mind when needed, but in a much more
focused and effective way than before. You use it mostly for practical purposes, but you are free of the
involuntary internal dialogue, and there is inner stillness. When you do use your mind, and particularly when
a creative solution is needed, you oscillate every few minutes or so between thought and stillness, between
mind and no-mind. No-mind is consciousness without thought. Only in that way is it possible to think
creatively, because only in that way does thought have any real power. Thought alone, when it is no longer
connected with the much vaster realm of consciousness, quickly becomes barren, insane, destructive.
The mind is essentially a survival machine. Attack and defense against other minds, gathering, storing, and
analyzing information - this is what it is good at, but it is not at all creative. All true artists,
whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. The mind then gives form
to the creative impulse or insight. Even the great scientists have reported that their creative breakthroughs
came at a time of mental quietude. The surprising result of a nation-wide inquiry among America's most
eminent mathematicians, including Einstein, to find out their working methods, was that thinking "plays only
a subordinate part in the brief, decisive phase of the creative act itself."' So I would say that the simple
reason why the majority of scientists are not creative is not because they don't know how to think but
because they don't know how to stop thinking!
It wasn't through the mind, through thinking, that the miracle that is life on earth or your body were created
and are being sustained. There is clearly an intelligence at work that is far greater than the mind. How can
a single human cell measuring 1/1000 of an inch across contain instructions within its DNA that would fill
1000 books of 600 pages each? The more we learn about the workings of the body, the more we realize
just how vast is the intelligence at work within it and how little we know. When the mind reconnects with
that, it becomes a most wonderful tool. It then serves something greater than itself.

From: Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now"


JAN SULTAN

You give Light form - Gary Zukav

Not all forms are physical. A thought, for example, is a form. What is a thought formed out of? A thought
is energy, or Light, that has been shaped by consciousness. No form exists without consciousness. There
is Light, and there is the shaping of Light by consciousness. This is creation.
Energy continually pours through you, entering at the top of your head and descending downward
through your body. You are not a static system. You are a dynamic being of Light that at each moment
informs the energy that flows through you. You do this with each thought, with each intention.
The Light that flows through your system is Universal energy. It is the Light of the Universe. You give
that Light form. What you feel, what you think, how you behave, what you value and how you live your life
reflect the way that you are shaping the Light that is flowing through you. They are the thought forms, the
feeling forms and the action forms that you have given to Light. They reflect the configuration of your
personality, your space-time being.
You change the way that you shape the Light which is flowing through you by changing your
consciousness. You do this, for example, when you challenge a negative pattern, such as anger, and
consciously choose to replace it with compassion, or when you challenge impatience and consciously
choose to understand and appreciate the needs of others. This creates different forms of thought, feeling
and action. It changes your experience.

from: The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav

JERRY KATZ

The following appeared on Dave Oshana's list. It is said that people get
enlightened in Dave's company.
--Jerry


Message: 1
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 22:47:18 -0000
From: "oshanaoffice" <oshanaoffice@yahoo.com>
Subject: Oshana Miami Late March-Early April 2002 Invite

Dave has been invited to teach in Miami Late March-Early April 2002.

If you would be interested in attending or organising an event in the
Miami area or withing travelling distance then please reply to this
list message

http://www.oshana.org

MICHAEL READ

Sunday Morning Ramble

where have you been?
walking the earth

doing what?
observing man and his works

well, what do you think?
amazing

and?
i wonder

what do you wonder?
about the possibility of change

is it not beautiful now?
most definitely!

well then?
there is so much pain

your point being?
there is such a small distance between hate and love

yes... dramatic, isn't it?
and engrossing, but still i wonder

still?
yes, about a new script

ah, well, the stage is set
the actors ready
there is no script
the director is laughing
we will see what we will see

lights!
music!
cue the dancing girls!
cue the chorus!
cue the dancing boys!
cue the audience!
cue the applause!
yay!

so full of emotion
so full of quiet
aha!

something old
something new
beat your swords into plowshares
don't throw rocks
help - don't hurt
why imagine love and caring and compassion?
practice them!

take dancing lessons
learn to play a musical instrument
skydive, ski, golf and enjoy the out of doors

spend some time alone, quietly
party with friends
put charity into action
work and play
play and work
let them intertwine

know yourself
love yourself
forgive yourself
then you will
know
love
forgive
every self

you can be kind, gentle, loving and strong
all at the same time
don't kill each other
there is no justice in that

you can
be open
be honest
be kind
be accepting

you can
be mean
be hateful
be cruel
be fearful

what will you be today?
will you be death?
will you be life?

loveya - michael


JERRY KATZ

Yogi Berra might be the most-quoted sports figure, but Satchel Paige was
just as outstanding:

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching."

***

"I've said it once and I'll say it a a hundred times, I'm forty-four
years old."

***

"I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss
one that ain't never been seen by this generation."

***

"I don't generally like running. I believe in training by rising gently
up and down from the
bench."

***

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"

***

and of course his most famous advice on "How to Keep Young":

1 Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.

2 If you stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool
thoughts.

3 Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.

4 Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society. The social
ramble ain't restful.

5 Avoid running at all times.

6 Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you


GENE POOLE

NDS

Hi Jan, you replied to me:

>>From: Jan Sultan
>Subject: Re: Re: Falling into sleep... Falling into Self
>
>At 12/29/2001-07:44 PM Gene Poole wrote:
> >The actual challenge is to correctly define what
> >'you' see as 'the problem'. If you can accurately
> >state 'The Problem', the solution (if any) will be
> >immediately apparent.
> >
> >I am interested to see what you can come up
> >with, especially if it is devoid of directives.
> >
> >
> >Abiding,
> >
> >==Gene Poole==
>
>'I' don't see any problem! Do you?
>[I gave this a lot of thought and I couldn't find any problem]
>Perhaps it is non-acceptance of 'what is'?

Well, in my letter I stated that defining the problem is the thing to do.

Probably the erroneous assumption that there is a problem, is the
problem. To define this problem, is the thing.

If you get my drift here. If there is no problem, the problem is that
there is the assumption that there is a problem. And that is a problem.

It is useful to define this problem-which-is-no-problem-which-is-a-problem.

[Following that semantic transform seems to lead in and out and in... ]

>I guess for 'others' the problem is the seeking. [And getting impatient in
>a traffic jam; frustrated with others incompetence; dissatisfied with the
>'now'; getting annoyed with this or that; ... anger, greed, jealousy, lust,
>hatred, etc. which is out of control; etc.]

Yes, those are all well-defined problems, each in its own yet overlapping
class or category of problems. There is enough 'problem' in your short
paragraph to keep an army of dualistic Einsteins busy for several centuries.


>But, then all that is part of the role 'we' are playing [or have been
>assigned], isn't it?

A 'role', only in a story. Like problems, stories can be categorized, also.

>Everything is part of the play, part of the game 'we' are playing?

It can be seen to be so, depending on the POV. It would be difficult to
disprove what you have said, at least on the level of the usual convenience.

>Can you define the problem, Gene? Perhaps I didn't quite catch your question?

See above. Want to take a 'crack' at it?

It could be useful to define what is 'no problem', to start, seeing as how
that seems to be the actual default state for the unconditioned human.

What does occur, to move a person out of the default state? If this can
be understood, what may occur, to restore the default state?

>But then, nowadays, I am playing the role of 'no-mind', 'no-problem'. So
>excuse me if this mind seems a bit sluggish.
>
>Jan

I do not detect sluggishness, except perhaps locally here.

I have in mind, exploiting the potentials of conversation here
onlist. This approach
requires willingness to make words appear on screen, a vital staple
for email lists.

The quotes you post are good; I am wondering if you have a personal POV which
could be shared here, as well. You do seem to have a position or trend of
advocacy, as revealed by what you post.

More later,


==Gene Poole==

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