tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222779870536152162024-03-13T21:58:57.118+01:00Art, Light, and The Lord<i>Here are the thoughts and images of one who aims humbly for that one treasure known as Enlightenment, Moksha, Nirvana, or The Kingdom of Heaven. I share with the reader the little insight and experience I am given on this quest of Love. I will have nothing new to say, but the way I express it will be genuine and honest. If a single phrase or painting come to be helpful to others, this whole mess will be worth the while.
Well met, traveller.</i>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-11936542253894386362014-03-09T19:29:00.000+01:002014-03-09T19:29:25.719+01:00In the Paradise of Life and Death
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We, individuals, live in The Paradise
of Life and Death. It is just a term, of course, but a suiting term,
in my experience. The Paradise part of it is no exaggeration, and I
mean it in the sincerest way. The world is truly divine, and the
smallest part of it can be completely fulfilling. All we need to
experience this, is consciousness. We do not need a higher salary, we
do not need a better job, a better relationship, a better home, more
respect, or more success. Some of us might require those for other
reasons, but not for the experience of Paradise. Consciousness and
consciousness only, is needed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Perfection is in every inch. Grace is
abundant in every corner of the natural world, but typically we fail
to see this. We fail because instead of taking care of each other we
compare, compete, and hurt each other. So, we come to worry. So, we
hold tight our earthly treasures. Failing to deal with or accept
death (loss of any kind) we fail to embrace life, and trapped in this
conflict, protective and frightened, Paradise escapes our gaze. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To know Paradise here and now, we must
learn to let go. Letting go requires fearless trust – faith. It
requires letting go of strife, letting go of future, and letting go
of ourselves. To see Paradise we must pay attention to, and enter
what's right here and now. How can we do so? How can we become
fearless enough to let go of all concerns and matters, and simply
experience the world. That is a journey different for every person
and psyche, and yet it is similar. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The mind is occupied with the objects
of life, and with the problems threatening our ideas of “a good or
better life”. By steering the mind away from these concerns, and
focusing on the sense-experiences of this moment and place, we
practice letting go. Still, to manage that for any length of time, we
must see through the objects and ideas which captivates our fears and
desires, and learn to relax in the midst of the storm of being. Faith
in God may help this, or believing that at the foundation of all
things, existence is good. One must develop trust in the Universe,
trust in breathing, and trust in Life and Death. You do not need to
control this moment. You can let go of everything right now, without
losing anything of importance. I do not mean letting go of the
steering wheel while driving a car, but letting go of the rigid grasp
we all keep around our lives. Even in the face of our worst
nightmares there is consciousness, there is breathing, there is Life.
A flower is ripped apart by a sudden hailstorm. Tell me, does life
not continue? It is this protective mentality, that needs our
favorite flower, our favorite us, to remain at all cost, that stands
in the way between us and Paradise. We may have accepted death for
others, but we have not accepted it for ourselves.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When we have managed letting go of
ourselves, and embraced Death, Life can flourish freely. Then we will
be able to let go, without fear shoving us back into our minds of
worry. Then we will be able to give our attention to others, and give
our attention to the world around us. We will more easily be able to
look upon the world without judgment, without constantly weighing and
analyzing it. We may then learn how to see. When we hug someone we
like, perhaps when we have sex, or taste fantastic food, there may be
a moment when we simply receive the impression. There may be a moment
when we manage to allow things to be as they are, without adding
labels, or feeling the need to understand and control – a moment
when we do not interfere or try to gain anything – a moment of
purity, free from our ambitions. If you understand what I mean, you
can practice this same approach when looking around at simple things,
like trees, clouds, grass, gravel, puddles or anything. Practicing in
such a way Paradise may reveal itself, and you will know that you
live in the Paradise of Life and Death, like we all do. It will make
you laugh, and bring you to tears of joy, because you will see more
than beauty. Paradise is not just pretty. It is spiritual, and
connects us with the essence of all – with the Lord Himself.
Paradise is form in formlessness. It is individuality in non-duality,
and Life in Death. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We all live in the Paradise beyond Life and Death.
</div>
Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-11129034894085793932013-02-02T15:49:00.000+01:002013-04-30T22:38:01.664+02:00Something the Lord might say?<br />
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;">
I
AM</div>
I
am all.<br />
Nothing else can ever be.<br />
<br />
I
fill all.<br />
There cannot be an outside of Me.<br />
<br />
I have no
beginning.<br />
I can have no end.<br />
<br />
I am existence itself.<br />
Boundless
- Absolute<br />
<br />
Nothing can compare with Me,<br />
Because I am alone.
<br />
<br />
There is no standard or object<br />
through which I can be
understood or known.<br />
<br />
Nothing can change or influence My
being.<br />
Nothing can challenge my Lordship.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;">
Eternally
- timelessly,<br />
I remain the same.<br />
<br />
I lack nothing, because
there is nothing for Me to lack.<br />
I fear nothing, because there is
nothing to threaten Me.<br />
I seek for nothing, since there is nothing
for Me to seek.<br />
I am pure being, free from wants and desires.</div>
By
thinking of Me as an object, no matter how sublime or subtle,<br />
you
miss the mark completely.<br />
I am beyond and within the thought and
the thinker.<br />
<br />
Wherever you stand, I make up and occupy that very
spot.<br />
I am that place entire. In fact, there is nowhere else to
be.<br />
<br />
Right now, as always, we are Me.<br />
<br />
If this is the case,
then how did you
come to be? <br />
Truly, you never did.<br />
From where could you possibly
have come? <br />
What could possibly have caused your birth?<br />
Nay, I
am all, and there is no changing infinity.<br />
I cannot add a single
straw to Me. Nor can I take away.<br />
<br />
Within the mystery of Being -
My sole Infinite Being, <br />
there are simultaneous perspectives. In
two ways I constantly perceive Myself.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One
perspective is pure - a gaze which pierces all and recognizes all as
Me - an Infinite ray which sees only Truth and knows only Truth. It
is a gaze free from knowledge, superseding knowledge, and in need of
no knowledge. Forever free from delusion it rests eternally in its
own light.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
From
the same formless Infinity springs another perspective. Like its twin
gaze it never began and will never end, but its interpretation of Me
is altogether different.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Looking
straight back at its own Infinite Being, it sees form.<br />
Understanding
itself as space-time it tries to make sense of what it
Perceives.<br />
<br />
These spaces and forms of My constant play, must
change continuously. Natural as they are, they cannot escape their
temporary condition. As a flawed interpretation of My Eternal Being,
they are unable to remain, and will rise and fall away without end –
ephemerally, inevitably. <br />
This is where you
come into the picture. Seeing forms you believe yourself to be form.
Seeing change, you believe yourself to change. I am doing this.<br />
<br />
You,
my heart, is not you. You are Me, believing myself to be you. As you
watch your true Self (Me), from your perspective of relativity, you
see land, wind, and sea. You see planets, stars, and galaxies. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This
is but one of the many ways which I can seem, when I look at Me,
reading Myself as worlds. Long grass moving like waves in the wind.
Ancient volcanic rock molded by rain. Mothers comforting their
restless children. A defenseless deer surrounded by wolves.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
“stuff” that makes up My formless Consciousness and Nature is
unfathomably suggestive. I am endless possibilities. I am all worlds,
and all dimensions. <br />
<br />
How did this happen? When did I forget
Myself in you? </div>
<br />
Truly,
I never did. I am watching you. I am watching as
you, from within yourself right now. I am what you perceive as your
living flesh, and every breath you take. I am what you understand as
the myriad of cells holding you together, as well as the text before
your eyes – My eyes<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Simultaneously,
I am that perspective who interprets itself as isolated from the
truth and Being of Me, and believes itself an individual person, cut
off from neighbors, nature, and the many stars and heavenly bodies
glimmering back from the night-sky. <br />
<br />
Watching
all of these things, you see only Me. In fact, it is Me seeing Myself
as I have always done. I see Myself clearly, formlessly, <span style="font-style: normal;">AND</span>
I see Myself as the Universe you perceive. You are but an idea,
conceptualized by one of my perspectives, and brought to a
semi-existence through one of My interpretations of Myself. </div>
<br />
You,
this misinterpretation of Truth, have forgotten your True Self. Yes,
I know, even this <span style="font-style: normal;">ignorant
you</span>
is Me, but being an idea it can neither change nor hurt Me. I am
beyond change. With My good eye, I do not even see you. All is Me.
Apart from a thought – a Word – in Me, you never were. <br />
<br />
As
I speak these words it may seem I have two eyes, but in fact they are
but two simultaneous perspectives, timelessly, and eye-lessly
beholding Me. For the sake of understanding, I will here name them my
two eyes, and call them the Eye of Truth, and the Eye of Relativity.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
Eye of Truth sees and recognizes Me as Me. Its perfection and
all-seeing nature makes it superfluous to itself. Seeing all as it
is, it sees nothing. All is light beyond light. Pure boundless Being.
There is nothing for it to make out, because it is in itself all it
sees. Void, you might say, but then you do not understand.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
Eye of Relativity watches the same and only Reality, but doing so it
misses the Essence. One might compare it to being so enthralled by
the waves on the ocean that it doesn't see the water. Or perhaps by
looking at a snow-ball seeing only the ball, while being fully
ignorant of the snow. This is the way of the Eye of Relativity, whose
nature will always remain unaltered.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Through
the gaze of this Eye, My consciousness attaches itself to form. I'm
not affected by it, but the dolls spawned from the gaze come “alive”
through My life, which is without limit or end. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Being
everywhere, the Eye of Relativity fills the forms it perceives
(creates), and when those forms have eyes themselves, they share the
power of this Eye. Watching Me it sees Creation. Examining Creation,
it sees space and time. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Creation
isn't something I caused countless eons ago. I make up all worlds
now.
What you call Creation, or the Universe, is generated right now, and
only now. I am Eternal and Infinite – beyond time and space. In
your inner self, you know this. What then, I ask you, would cause me
to “one day” come up with the idea of a universe? What would
suddenly stir in me or provoke me to make something new, which didn't
exist before? I have been forever and ever. Imagine billions and
billions of years, then multiply those by yet other billions of
years, and I still was eternities before those. I have no beginning,
and I have nothing outside of Me. There is no context for me to act
or age in, but my own timeless Self. I am. Feel it in your very body,
My being. You are Me. Taste this Now from which all things arise, and
know that it is My Essence that make up Reality at all times. </div>
<br />
To
explain this, I will look closer at your every day experience, and
point out for you how you play yourself into existence, and why it
causes you stress and suffering. I will teach you about the
perspective through which you were constructed – My Eye of
Relativity. <br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Stay
with this blog. Go through the old posts. Read the accounts of holy men, monks and nuns through the ages and edges of the world, and perhaps you will find
something to kindle the work and beginnings of transformation. Maybe one day,
you will let go of your relative self, and thus come to see through
both of my Eyes. At that point, the space you now perceive between
us, will vanish in an instant. Indeed, it will have never been. </div>
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-40114850421182537942012-09-04T15:17:00.000+02:002012-09-08T18:16:03.712+02:00What is Liberation?<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%px;">
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<em>"I have told you these things,
so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take
heart! I have overcome the world."</em> (John 16:33)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What I'm about to do now is to
illustrate the impossible, which means I will fail. Still, I would
like an attempt to visualize the grand liberation. What I cover here
is by no means complete, and the pictures are just intended to make a
point. <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-Mpq2OWfKl3jUhDQwR-ky-RRGrgQJ_D6mA4g0_bkoLhQzNMPjq-a6wlC768PuGpE8a4ToAD4Ntz1l0wDwW27gwI1gHdRhEf2jsQBdemvcE4BZoLnrzKRK2caxiIadM6czjDBtl4f39qH/s1600/Stage1_life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-Mpq2OWfKl3jUhDQwR-ky-RRGrgQJ_D6mA4g0_bkoLhQzNMPjq-a6wlC768PuGpE8a4ToAD4Ntz1l0wDwW27gwI1gHdRhEf2jsQBdemvcE4BZoLnrzKRK2caxiIadM6czjDBtl4f39qH/s640/Stage1_life.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This first picture is a chart of the
ordinary set of mind. We could call it 'reality as you know it', or
perhaps simply 'you'. The mind of the normal person typically moves
speedily and rather randomly between these things, and more. We go
from worrying about one thing, to hoping for another, then we plan
some thing, and dwell on memories of others. All these pictures,
ideas, and thoughts (attachments) replace one another all through the
day – a process which normally goes on for as long as we live.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Stress, which is so very common today,
increases the speed and the weight of this “capsule” of our minds.
All things seem utterly important, yet as attachment intensifies
reality loses its vibrancy. The mind, we can say, smothers reality
(as it is). To many people (perhaps most), this confinement of <i>me</i>
is all they know. They are trapped in it, and fully dependent on it.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Liberation (salvation) is what comes into being
when “you” happen to find yourself outside of the mind
capsule. This is what the illustration below indicates. From a
constant, busy, hard to balance, ping pong-like rush from one thing
to another, you have somehow managed to let go. Yes, it can feel as if
you actually let go of something physical, like a rock. Suddenly
there is great spaciousness, peace, and a perfectly liberating
freedom... from yourself. It is so clear you can almost look at it,
much like you can behold a can of tuna. The confinement of you, with
all its attributes, is there before you, and while you still have
access to all this mind-stuff, you are now watching it restfully from
infinity. Your senses still absorb the same physical reality, but the experience of being is altogether altered. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3whQZHdhW_h5J-C4YpUpHE-yGE6fejn2XwCCLogQ1xZnwPBcfJLSzcnamcByExB3faTGirc5l7poCaigRVeDz1qK7vX1hiNIdQt9cti6mHU0pgZJBUo06iFpomsdtRoC0H3eR5OjN7eE/s1600/Stage2_liberation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3whQZHdhW_h5J-C4YpUpHE-yGE6fejn2XwCCLogQ1xZnwPBcfJLSzcnamcByExB3faTGirc5l7poCaigRVeDz1qK7vX1hiNIdQt9cti6mHU0pgZJBUo06iFpomsdtRoC0H3eR5OjN7eE/s640/Stage2_liberation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Full enlightenment would mean a
permanent shift into, and complete re-identification with, free, infinite
consciousness, but one can temporarily taste and acquaint Liberation
at any point. The main reason for spiritual practice is not to
glimpse or quickly touch this Kingdom, but to be able to remain
there, when the gates open. Any fool (like me) can manage a quick
encounter.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are two main ways of discovering
or entering Liberation (which partially or fully frees a person for life), and those are;
<i>forming the mind</i> and <i>having the mind formed. </i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">The
first way is activity – and is about making the mind calm enough to
discover reality outside of it. When it no longer jumps here and
there with great speed, we have a chance to actually see. This is
done through techniques like meditation, yoga, silence, solitude,
abstinence, charity and so on. Beliefs, which say that there is
something more to reality, than the obvious, may help since the mind
(perhaps through prayer) reaches out beyond itself for guidance and
communion. Faith, regardless of belief, is of even greater value,
since it puts absolute trust in whatever it is that holds life and
reality together. Faith is to trust the Lord, whatever the Lord might
be, and to know in the heart, that whatever brought this Universe
into existence knows how to handle it. Faith is to give yourself
fully to (completely relax into) God – ultimate reality.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">The
second way is passivity – which comes whether we wish to or not.
Reality (life as we know it) has a nasty habit of crashing now and
then. Pieces of the mind-puzzle suddenly disappears in unforeseeable
accidents or undesirable diseases, for example. This creates a space,
which is a window of opportunity in this case. When death, deafening
change, or simple inactivity strikes, most of us are too eager to
fill that gap with something new. Some people however come to see
reality with sharper eyes when they experience loss, but only those
who dare behold emptiness honestly for some time. Finally there is
the mystery of God's being and light, which for reasons we cannot
grasp, come to enter into some individuals when they least expect it.
This, supposedly, is the most effective way to go beyond oneself, and
to participate knowingly in His grace. </span>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Only
the first way can be practiced. The stillness achieved might look
strange and perhaps even pointless from inside the capsule. However,
daring to come back frequently to silence will inevitably (I dare
say) make your head slip through that boundary which separates Earth
from Heaven, and that experience, dear reader, is worth every
hardship you have ever gone through, and many many more. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: normal;">Blessed
be the struggles of everyone. Freedom to the world!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"></span> </div>
Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-25886685236195311972012-08-23T21:49:00.001+02:002012-08-23T21:49:48.766+02:00Keep Dry For the Waters of Heaven
To discover our attachments to what we
consider negative is comparatively simple. The bad news comes, we
react emotionally, and rather soon we find ourselves attached to it.
Something went wrong at work, or perhaps the house vanished in a
fire. The mind and the emotions start to race in repeating negative
circles. Why did this happen to me? Why now? Will the gods ever give
me a break?<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
With spiritual practice you get better
at noticing and recognicing the patterns, even in tiny, every-day
events you learn to see how your mind fluctuates and darkens. Since
you obviously gain a lot by not being drawn so quickly and furiously
into a vortex of negative emotions and thought-structures, it becomes
natural to keep up the effort. <br /><br />However, joy too brings
attachment. On this the Buddha was adamant, and it may seem like
backward thinking. Shouldn't I hold on to, and cherish the little
luck and joy I have in my life? When things finally go my way, of
course I shall revel in it! Everything else would be wasting the good
of life wouldn't it? - to spoil the gifts of God...<br /><br />Truly,
this is hard to realize, and I suspect experience is the key as
always. When you have that experience of a truly calm mind<span lang="en">,
w</span>hich isn't moved much by the fortunes or misfortunes of life,
you come to discover another kind of joy. Inner stillness<span lang="en">
unveils a previously hidden spring, from which true delight and
happines flows out into our being. <br /><br />I suspect most of us have
had some taste of this water, when momentarily happiness gives us the
infrequent ride for no apparent reason? When there is no obvious
cause for joyfulness but simply being alive? In either case, that
spring is there to be found, and its wealth and freshness is
astonishing. Where the joy we normally experience is dependant on the
situation at hand, and the many jesters of earthly life, this well of
water, discovered through non-attachment, simply can't dry out.
<br /><br />Certainly, we have to settle with the odd glass of it once in
a while, until we complete our spiritual journey, but the taste is so
satisfying and thorough that when a lucky stroke comes to rock us
from our position of equanimity, we firmly realize that this
promising wind will fade too. So we remain silent, watching as it
comes and goes, letting it take us where it must, while internally we
remain seated by the waters of The Lord - laughing, by the
zero-shaped pond of freedom. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-62854044286523323172012-04-23T20:36:00.000+02:002012-04-23T20:36:58.825+02:00God Can't Change... His Mind<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
All
that is subject to change is born and die away. The Lord doesn't. If
God was subject to change He would constitute no salvation. If we, in
some way, could convince Him to change His “mind”, we wouldn't be
able to trust Him. He would then be a pawn to the strongest will, or
best rhetoric, just like you and I. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It
is the Eternal nature of The Lord that makes Him worthy of our
adoration, and our deepest Love. He is the One mountain that will
never yield to the winds of change. He is the Infinite sea from which
all waves rise and fall. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Many
people believe God to be fickle. They envision Him listening
carefully to their prayers, and then after some consideration,
responding to their desires. They picture God as someone who bends
down to the drama of Man and makes decisions based on our strengths
and shortcomings - rethinking His policy with the turn of every tide.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
How
can a Father like that please anything but our personal and
egoistical agendas? <i>God saw me, he heard my cries, and because of
my honesty and need, he took pity on my soul. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Isn't
that an extremely self-centered way of thinking? The neighbor just
died from cancer, and children not far from here are drugged and sold
as sex slaves. Try; </span><i>In my cries, because I gave an honest
voice to my need, I was fortunate to experience God, and experiencing
God I was healed.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Now, it
may be, that what I'm saying suggests a very dull Lord, one who is
closer to a natural force, like gravity, than something alive, like a
Person. I believe both of these ideas to be misleading. The picture
of a magnet may be clarifying: You, a small shard of the greater
Magnet, twitch and turn in your prayer, shedding some of the covering
dirt (ego) you have gathered over the years, and thus, you make
possible for the Magnet proper to attract you. You have moved within
reach. It feels now as if He is doing the work, but He always pulled
you to Him with the same strength. Only due to the circumstances, and
your willingness to come before Him, are you now able to experience
His presence. Perhaps this may even cause changes to the events
around you, because all things move around Him. But it is not due to
a change in Him, but rather the re-alignment between you. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Everyone
alive know that strange things happen. The natural world we inhabit
is not apart from Him, and though our societies may be horrendous and
insane, His presence shines through them. The Universe is highly
dynamic and reflects a dynamic aspect of the Lord. He is everywhere,
and it is His very being (not will) that causes all events and
phenomena. Aligned with Him we live in Paradise. Separated from Him
we move through Hell. This is not because the Lord wills it, but
because He IS (what is). When we refuse to partake in Him, or hide in
a reality of our own ego-centric and individualistic making, we fail
hellishly. The Universe can't sustain illusion. That's where all the
pain comes from. It is a skewed perspective, that paints a demonic
face upon the Eden countenance of God. The Bible calls it His
judgment, and even His wrath, but there is no malice or punishing
mind behind this hammer. It is simply the result of our ignorance,
and His inevitable nature. He is love Eternal. </span><i></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>"Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday and today and forever.”</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
(Hebrews 13:8)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgA3MX46DqIpEcQpNb5lbJ-21Iyn4xCISS00hfyarLPwS2qV2x95H5phfkumUS1kCO9DzXeB6lyfx3pirddl4ICpOwcxpm6DBacKVd5H7uqVTSbWrrWN9GZ_41pYrH0AuTW0eRbZannTzE/s1600/Light+LX_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgA3MX46DqIpEcQpNb5lbJ-21Iyn4xCISS00hfyarLPwS2qV2x95H5phfkumUS1kCO9DzXeB6lyfx3pirddl4ICpOwcxpm6DBacKVd5H7uqVTSbWrrWN9GZ_41pYrH0AuTW0eRbZannTzE/s640/Light+LX_web.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"></span><span style="font-style: normal;">We
are plants that can either grow into Loving Union with Him, or turn
dry dead in the misconception and refusal of His Light. From an
isolated perspective the surrounding world becomes an enemy of </span><i>me</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
Through earnest meditation, prayer, and love we heal that imagined
disjunction, and reality is made clear to us. His eternal work
(being) becomes our own. Through us, as persons, His being becomes
action. Look at action spawned from such Unity, and behold; there is
the will of God, adapting to the situation at hand, healing the
world, so that its waves may be a never-ending melody, in tune with
His unchanging essence. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"></span><span style="font-style: normal;">When
I now pray; </span><i>May He help us find His will inside of us</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
it is not so that He may hear me, but so that I may better hear Him.
The Lord doesn't need our prayers, but when we perform them
sincerely, His voice reaches its audience, and transforms it into his
leaves. We shouldn't pray for God to shape the world into our image,
but for us to accept being shaped into His. This is not watching the
world being destroyed and calling it the work of the Lord, but to see
God's Love in everything, and to shape the world stage for its
Artistry. </span></div>
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-90207753209957685662012-04-18T20:12:00.000+02:002012-04-19T21:19:33.843+02:00Eternal Prayer - New Words<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><em>Infinite
One, our source and our true nature,<br />You, who is beyond
names,<br />Help us to find and experience your Light.<br />Through Your
existence all things are,<br />Both physical and spiritual.<br />Through
You we live and are sustained, <br />Teach us forgiveness when we
fail to remember this. <br />Strengthen us at the hour of
temptation,<br />And stear us away from the path of separation.<br />Only in
You, we are free,<br />And as You, we are glory eternal.</em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><em>So be it; truly</em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<dl><dd style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: left;"></dd></dl>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-76243448879700757822012-04-13T15:16:00.000+02:002012-04-13T17:45:18.898+02:00Existence ExistsThere is one fact that simply can't
sink deep enough into our understanding, and that is the two word
headline of this post: <i>existence exists</i>. We tend to take it
for granted 99,9% of the time, and yet we have not even come close to
fathom its significance. Pondering this one fact alone can lead to a
great awakening.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Reality, that which IS, might not have
been at all, and if it had it could have been something else entirely
– something gray, dull, mechanical, and flat. If possible, try to
see this not from the perspective through which you survey and judge
the objects of existence, but from outside of it. I ask you to look
at existence itself – at its inevitable and miraculous being. Yes,
here. Take a small step outside of yourself and behold it directly.
This is what IS. There is no other story. There is no other reality.
This is how IS-ness IS, and it actually and fully IS.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
Stay, if you may and like, with this
one fact for a couple of days. Exclude to the level you can all other
worries, questions, considerations etc. Meditate upon being
Existence. Ponder the nature of Existence, not its physical nature,
possible illusory aspect, or any detail of it at all. Look at
existence itself. It is.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I repeat the same thing over and over
because it is very likely that you do not see what it means. Existence
exists. In the mind existence is treated like an object like any
other, but existence/reality isn't an object. It is what IS. We
therefore have to let the fact sink in deeply. This is how it looks,
smells, tastes, feels, and sounds right now. Yes, it does look,
smell, taste, feel and sound. We know it, but we normally do not
grasp it. We have to detach ourselves from the “inside of
existence” perspective through which we typically perceive the
world, and behold existence <i>as</i> existence.
</div>
<br />
Let us taste the full impact of these
two words, and keep doing so. Until we laugh out loud and long at
what they say, we have not managed to comprehend their fullness. We
have not fully seen that...<br />
<br />
<em>We are.</em>
<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-75121150690461410452012-04-03T21:14:00.000+02:002012-04-04T07:59:15.535+02:00The Wisdom of Cherry PickingTo make sense of reality the mind has
to catalogue every phenomena and put them inside distinct compartments,
which it labels as best it can. One good example of the effects of
mind-boxes is the 'all or nothing'-approach which seems so very
common today, and something that Christians (for example) regularly
have to deal with. Unless they can defend every aspect, expression,
and action performed under the banner of Christianity for the last
2000 years, some people will give them a really hard time.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The same thing happens with the Bible.
If you love the book, yet refuse to defend (or believe) every
single chapter of it, you are likely to be accused of 'cherry picking',
by some atheists. What that expression means in this context is something like this "Unless you stand behind the whole tree, including the berries I have deemed rotten, you shouldn't defend it at all" This I find a very narrow-minded
(which means few and tight mind compartments) way of looking at
things.
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0yKBYSuilOdk9jcuNBcJnarfW9u2Q18iw7MEtAkJeEeB8CFsrdwqFFEv1ZeTal7jYwtxhYOKWYwakvZ0ROiXUsLvz8Mmqk_IC-HeW5dPWK0Vn28urx95857L1pktfQVibtS-oUj4Nwjz/s1600/Light+XLIX_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0yKBYSuilOdk9jcuNBcJnarfW9u2Q18iw7MEtAkJeEeB8CFsrdwqFFEv1ZeTal7jYwtxhYOKWYwakvZ0ROiXUsLvz8Mmqk_IC-HeW5dPWK0Vn28urx95857L1pktfQVibtS-oUj4Nwjz/s640/Light+XLIX_web.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<br />
If we wish to walk the spiritual path
with honesty, meaning we don't take what we hear for granted but
examine it for ourselves, I see no other way but to engage in
this kind of cherry-picking. It is impossible to understand Scripture from day
one, and even more impossible to understand <i>all </i>of Scripture.<br />
<br />
How beautiful a thing it is to read
something that inspires us, to initiate or continue on the path,
perhaps a single line from the Gospels, The Qur'an, or the Bhagavad
Gita. Imagine asking someone who just opened the Bible, why
Abraham was ready to slay his own son, and then demand that he/she
defended that <em>seemingly</em> barbaric choice of the Patriarch.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If we find anything to hold on to, in
the way of spiritual food, then let those two or three berries alone
help us begin our ascent of the tree of Heaven. Spiritual progress
and understanding happens in steps, and no book has to be embraced in
full, to reach the grand destination. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What wine does to violent men doesn't
count for all, and so it is with religions. They are indeed powerful tools of
transformation, which need to be exercised with a sense of balance,
and that's precisely why we shouldn't swallow any of them all at once. We
certainly can't defend every limb and twig while barely holding on to one, and if anyone pushes us to do so, it is wise to stick
to, and be content with, the cherries we have already cherished –
those whose taste we well know.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, was Mary ACTUALLY a virgin when she
gave birth to Jesus, and was he REALLY conceived by the Holy Ghost?
Shake your shoulders, and answer truthfully; How would I know? I'm
not looking in to that right now, because it doesn't really influence
my spiritual practice, nor my way of life. We say these words in
Church, but I'm not all that concerned with them, and the joy which
this path brings me, doesn't change either way.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As we start to engage in spiritual
practice, like meditation for example, we begin from a point of
ignorance. We don't really know what is happening. Only with time do
we start to understand what the practice does to us. While we may
happen upon blissful states, or sudden insights early on, we can in
no way understand the full effects the practice can
bring about. The same goes for reading scripture, and a religious way
of life. Slowly we have to venture ever deeper into waters unfamiliar to us. Understanding that is also understanding the importance and
wisdom of "cherry picking". We may trust the words of our elders,
masters, priests, or teachers, but we really can't defend a tower
upon which we do not yet stand, nor can we truthfully embrace those we have only
heard about.
Yet, from one berry alone, we can say that this tree bears fruit, and that it is worth holding on to. With the chance of one more fresh berry upon it, I will climb it all the way to the grave. </div>
<br />
A berry a day, keeps the devil away...
and will eventually make the walls of our compartments fall. The
Spirit can stand no such brain-made boundaries. However, if we
pretend to know that which we do not, or identify too strongly with
our favorite compartments, then accusations like "cherry picking" are
bound to make those mind-boxes into safes, in which only small and
graven idols of the Lord can be secured. His majesty and essence will
roam freely, somewhere else entirely.
<br />
<br />
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-68897417226959453872012-04-02T09:47:00.000+02:002012-04-02T09:47:05.228+02:00Underneath the WrappingAs an extension (largely a repetition
really) of the last post I thought I'd try to give some examples of
conceptual wrappings and some further explanation of what I mean by
“the abstract eye”.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When we look at <i>these</i> letters
which we are currently reading, we cannot help but silently or
loudly, utter or take in, the sounds and meanings we have been
trained to associate with them, and their combinations (words).
Looking closer at the individual letters, like this <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">U</span>,
we can see it has a specific shape, which is really all it is – a
shape, or a form. A 'u' isn't a letter anywhere but in our minds.
What we see is our minds superimposed upon the form. Typographers,
designers, and visual artists, have a better chance of perceiving the
<b>u</b> as an image, while
most people normally never consider the pure line or curve of it. All
they see is the U. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What I'd like us to do now
is to gaze at this shape: <span style="font-size: 54pt;">H</span><span>
</span>until we can behold its form free from the
concept we call 'h'. To help out we may start by picturing the
silhouette of two pillars attached to each other with a thin
horizontal construction binding them together. Perhaps it is the
ruins of a once great temple? Try then to see the form <i>completely
free</i> from any kind of meaning (Staring at it
for a long time usually helps). If we succeed it's great, but if we
don't, the fact that we can realize that H is a form, just as
“meaningless” as any other form, is beneficial. Though we
understand it as a letter, it is still that same and simple form,
which the illiterate will confirm, if we doubt it.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We typically don't add
much emotional wrapping to the forms we call letters, but some sorts
of music, some kinds of food, some occupations, and some types of
animals (for example), are not as easily kept free from such
additions. Just like the sound added to the letter H doesn't really
have anything to do with the H-form, our opinions and ideas about
heavy metal, soup, police-men, and spiders, are just that – opinion
and ideas. Even if it's true that spiders more often bite human
beings than butterflies do, they are not nasty, disgusting, creepy,
or evil, anywhere but in some people's minds. (This is also true
about police-men.) </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The emotional wrappings
may partly or fully be caused by actual facts, but hairy, poisonous
qualities don't equal fear, because if they did, all beings would
fear spiders, and loath heavy-metal. That some people love it and
others hate it (whatever “it” may be) should be enough really,
for us to see beyond our ego-centric ideas about all things.
Unfortunately, this “should be” is wishful thinking. Wrappings
don't come off that easily. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When we have managed to
look at an H, for a short moment liberated from our branding of it,
we can use this same technique on the rest of reality. Just try to
keep free from ALL ideas when entering places, and encountering
people, and you will notice how strange and marvelous a phenomenon
they truly are. Treat every moment as a new and unknown revelation,
coming to you <i>all-inclusive</i> and inevitable. There is nothing
we can change of what already is, but for our reception and
acceptance of it. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If we keep this up, we may
be invited into the next level of freedom, where form itself is
recognized <i>and experienced</i> as a concept. This is where the H
blends together with the background (which no thing can ever escape)
and starts speaking to us as the Unity it is. When that happens, we
ourselves, simultaneously blend together with the world before our
eyes and “seeing” is transformed into “being”.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
An H isn't built up
singularly by dark lines, but is equally made up by the seemingly
empty areas between the pillars, as well as the space surrounding it.
It is also fully dependent on the reader, without whom, there could
never be form, nor letters. Examining an H is examining ourselves.
Let us look beyond our ideas of it. Let us take into account all that
which is required for the revelation of an H, and study that
boundless process in action. Form and consciousness is now shaking
hands, moving closer, and as they do they begin to recognize
themselves in the eyes of the other. The merger has already begun. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-70369442956706536232012-03-31T19:46:00.001+02:002012-03-31T19:51:13.787+02:00Developing the Abstract EyeThe main reason for our inability to
experience Spiritual Reality, is our
conceptualization/objecti-fication of the World, and at the foundation
of this is our identification with Ego – our “separate” selves.
We perceive Reality as objects, and we think of ourselves as objects.
This can be overcome.
<br />
<br />
We mentally (and largely unconsciously)
wrap all we perceive in layers upon layers of concepts. These
wrappings are not only the words and ideas we superimpose upon all
things, but also the emotions and opinions that go with them. In such
a way Truth is veiled from our eyes and souls. The world we see is a
reflection of the world in our minds. Instead of receiving what IS,
we perceive what we have learned and our self-centered relationships
to it.
<br />
<br />
How then, can we remove this obstacle
to the Light? Well, why not look at abstract art? In figurative works
of art, there are often a story-line taking place in time and space,
and there tend to be objects which we know by name and experience.
Looking at such a piece we find ourselves go into thoughts and
memories. We might ask ourselves what the image is about, and what it
means? In either case, the forms in figurative art are familiar to
us, and they are hard to watch with the pure and virgin gaze we need
develop for spiritual progress.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
When we behold non-figurative and
abstract art, the game is very different. Here, the nameless,
unknown, or uncertain forms, do not as easily give rise to conceptual
thinking. They may suggest or remind us of objects we know, but
abstract works lend themselves a lot better to an open mind. The
trick is to keep the verdict at bay, and to let things remain what
they are – unknown. While our minds struggle to understand what
they see (in the “meaningless” jumble of color and form), we
should give them a fight, and let the work remain abstract – keep
it in the shadows of Mystery.
<br />
<br />
Even if we succeed in doing so, we
typically fall into another trap, which is that of judgment. We like
this, we don't like that, we would have preferred it another way, or
we are disturbed by a lack of balance, too much pink, the frame, or
any other of a million reasons. Here is where we must be vigilant.
Whenever we notice these judgments, we should try to let them go, and
re-focus our gaze on the art before us. Remember, we want to see what
IS, and get away from what we THINK about it. This may of course take
some practice.
<br />
<br />
The mechanisms of mind, including the
Ego itself, are much like little children. When we give them a
finger, they are happy for a while, but will soon start bothering us
about the rest of the hand. It is fortunately also true, that if we
ignore them, they will raise their voices for some time, but
eventually quiet down. With no confirmation at all, they turn all
silent and crawl into a corner somewhere.<br />
<br />
As we become experienced with watching
abstract art, we tend to discover other pleasures, than those
previously known to us. There arises a joy in watching the balance of
composition by itself, and the play of simple fields of color, and
brush-strokes, are suddenly enough to bring great and satisfying
experiences. The openness and suggestive power of nameless forms is a
great adventure to the mind, and we learn how to receive the artwork
without interpretation. This is a great step. Those of us who have
learned this skill, have a great tool when tracking the steps of The
Lord, and those who doesn't might still have some leads on where
(how) to look.
<br />
<br />
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<br />
Now let's leave the gallery and go for
a meditative walk in nature. While we see trees, bushes, rocks, sky,
lakes, and all the other things we know, we can learn how look at
them as we do an abstract piece of art. Think of them not as these
things you have knowledge about, but perceive them as patches of form
and color that together make up the undivided weave of reality –
the very fabric of Creation. We are so accustomed to evaluate and
judge that, even were we to walk through untouched lands, most of us
would fall into these habits of “too barren, too dense, too green,
too chaotic, too murky, etc”.
<br />
<br />
Allow me therefore to repeat: The world
is not a piece of art for you to judge as a critic. It is not a meal
cooked to please your personal taste. The world wasn't molded to suit
your specific body or mind. The world is the reality from which you
have grown, just like the straws of grass on the ground. For you to
even think about judging it, or having opinions about it, is great and swollen pride. For millions of years it has prevailed, silently,
perfectly, until right now, when you and I come here and start
uttering our preferences, as if they somehow mattered. Who cares if
we dislike the autumn, if we find birches more pleasant than spruce,
or robins more likeable than crows? Life is not about our opinions.
If we can bring ourselves to understand that, we may also be able to
behold nature (and art, and people) with less of a labeling and
judgmental gaze. Again, it is about being receptive to what <i>is</i>.
It is about <em>listening</em> with our eyes, and to do so as if <i>all </i>the
forms of life were equally important.
<br />
<br />
If we practice this, and continue to do
so, there is a great chance that the Lord will let His Presence be
known to us. All things in Nature sing His tune, and when we become
aware of that, we also hear that same voice answering from within.
That's the first step of true freedom, and a spring of deep and
saturating joy. Whenever we make an effort to listen, we can now make
out the Piper's flute on the wind, unwrapping the veils of Paradise, and its piercing benevolent Beauty!<br />
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-85121436718720479332012-03-29T15:28:00.001+02:002012-03-29T19:30:23.579+02:00Words of the Wordless - 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Light of Evening</u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Impossible to share<br />
Walking by the
lake<br />
In a crescent moon evening</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Unwrapped of thought</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And freed from self<br />
He hums with
joyous Spirit</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
If the beasts of myth<br />
Crawled onto
the shore<br />
In that elated hour of magic</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
He'd marvel no more,<br />
Than at the
already strong,<br />
Sublime, and gracious Presence</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-72902809589370013322012-03-28T13:09:00.001+02:002012-03-28T15:42:40.207+02:00Opening the RibcageWhen I
recently came across the quote below, by Thich Nhat Hanh, posted by
the Thich Nhat Hanh Quote Collective on Facebook, my heart was
greatly moved. Twice in the last couple of years I have come to see
very clearly my own shut door, by having it opened slightly to the
greater world, for a little while. Without this experience it is
really hard to understand or see what I will try to point at in this
post, but perhaps by reading the beautiful lines below we can begin
to imagine an opening of the soul.
<br />
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
“<i>Since
I learned how to love you,<br />the door of my soul has been left wide
open<br />to the winds of the four directions.”</i></div>
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">~ Thich
Nhat Hanh</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
When we
think of ourselves as separate individuals moving through a world
apart from us, there arises a great need for physical and mental
protection. The fear generated by such a perspective results
inevitably in the construction of a mental armor – a closed gate. I
believe most of us never reflect upon this part of our psyche, and we
are therefore largely unaware of it. I, at least, was almost fully
unaware of mine before I was fortunate enough to have it opened for a
while, which gave some perspective.</div>
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
As we grow
up we become reserved (mildly put), and suspicious of everything we
encounter. We keep things at a distance, and only rarely do we
somewhat dare open the gates to our hearts and souls. Thus, as we
meet new people, and even nature itself, we do so in a halfheartedly
and protective fashion, inviting them barely to the edge of our inner
gates. This mainly happens on an unconscious and automatic level, but
if we pay close attention to how we approach the world, we may come
to notice this to some extent.
</div>
<br />
My first
experience of having this armor opened, was at a Sesshin (Zazen
meditation retreat), while doing outdoor walking meditation, and just
like expressed in the Thich Nhat Hanh quote, I felt as if the wind
was suddenly allowed inside of me, and the whole scenery could then
enter through a great gate consisting of my chest. The sense of
separation between subject (myself) and object (the world) was
thereby substantially lessened.
<br />
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
Since these
experiences I have tried to remember the feeling of those moments
when I meet people, whether friends or new acquaintances, and to be
aware of how I approach them. Doing my best with being as fearless as
possible, I welcome them with my chest and body straight towards them
and as mentally naked as I can manage.
</div>
<br />
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<br />
A great
part of the spiritual path is walked by learning how to <em>receive</em>. It
is about welcoming the places, events, and people we come across and
to acknowledge was <i>is</i>. While we might be busy with making an
impression, acting, judging, and labeling what we see, the secret is
to receive what comes before us, without disturbing its revelation,
with the noise of our own self-portrayal. Even when we act, it is
vital that we listen in this way, so that we can become aware of what
we're really doing. Life is free though, and that is true even of the
most profound dimensions of it. Therefore, if we can learn to keep
the bowls of our selves empty and welcoming, Heaven will provide the
wisdom, joy, and compass for further travels. If we can muster the
courage, to slightly open our ribcages, and let the sharpness of life
touch our sensitive hearts just a little bit, then we will also open ourselves
to the winds of the Lord, and from their whispers, steadfastness and
an even greater courage will grow.<br />
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
I really
recommend everyone to study how we welcome and relate to situations
and people. How do we approach them physically (posture, direction,
facial expression)? What happens on the mental level? (emotions,
thoughts). If possible, are there changes we can make, for a more
inviting, and less protective stance? Do we welcome the world to
enter at all, or do we still prefer to keep it at a distance?<br />
<br />
That
Mystery, which brought us about, supplies us with food, keeps us
warm, and in a great other number of ways sustains our being, have we
learned how to trust it yet? To what extent do we dare bare our
hearts to its immensity?</div>
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
Love, they
say, is best done naked.
</div>
<div style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-90157197898445026592012-03-27T11:57:00.000+02:002012-03-27T12:41:21.122+02:00Body and Earth<strong>
</strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the spiritual journey consists of
a shift of focus (identity) from form to spirit, it is important that
we do not make an enemy of the body, or of matter itself. In
spiritual contexts you neither fight, nor flee, but accept and
transcend what you wish to overcome. It is much like finding an ugly
spot on your new wall-paper. As long as you do not accept it, the
spot will keep bothering you, and leave you no peace of mind, but as
soon as you accept its presence you become free of it. In a way, you
will no longer see it.
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>
</strong>The Salvation presented by Jesus of
Nazareth, or the Nirvana of Siddhartha Gautama, are Absolute. That
means they are independent of conditions. If you think that a change
of environment is necessary, you are wrong, though it might initially
be very helpful. On this issue Sri Ramakrishna speaks wisely: <i>
“...</i><span style="color: #333333;"><i>when
the trees on the footpath are young, they may be eaten up by goats or
cows for want of fencing. A fence is needed in the initial stage.
When, however, the trunk gets thicker no fence is needed. Then even
an elephant tied to the trunk will not do any harm to it.”</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(From
the Gospels of Sri Ramakrishna)</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">While
the body is not the truth of what we truly are, it is our one vessel
on this voyage, and abandoning the vessel does us no good at all. On
the contrary, it is our inability to accept and connect with the
vessel that keep us bound to it. In our problems, worries, and
ambitions of every day life, we lose contact with body and earth,
and lead a life almost fully in our minds. We think about the
frightening or hopeful future, and on other places and times which we
cannot touch, taste, smell, hear, or even see. To a great extent, we
live not in Life, but in our minds' maps of reality. In this abstract
world of ideas, opinions, plans, goals, regrets, and strategy, we
become disconnected from body and being – fully or partly lost in a
labyrinth of endless thought-patterns. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">Reconnect
now. Feel the body. Feel the weight of it, and the pressure on your
bottom, back, or feet. Can we read on without losing the awareness of it?</span></div>
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">S<span style="color: #333333;">ince
we spend most of our days primarily with the voice in our heads, it
is very good to re-establish a conscious connection with the feet,
which are furthest away from the brain. When we walk it is great
practice to make aware every single step, and the feeling of contact
with the ground or floor. As long as that conscious contact is
maintained, we are never fully lost in thought. Many forms of
spiritual practice like Hatha Yoga, Zazen, and even Martial Arts, or
any kind of Dancing, helps greatly in getting to know the body. To
welcome the body, be </span><span style="color: #333333;"><i>in</i></span><span style="color: #333333;">
the body, and </span><span style="color: #333333;"><i>be</i></span><span style="color: #333333;">
the body, helps us re-discover and experience the Oneness between
mind and body. The spiritual presence underneath and within all, is
more easily discerned when the energies of the body are welcome,
balanced, and perceived by us. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: normal;">What
I'm speaking about here is a very far cry from idolizing the body, or
any form of emotional (positive or negative) attachment to it. You
need not look in the mirror once to love and accept the physical
structure you have at your disposal. Live through this flesh and give
it the honor it deserves, but allow also its decline by age and any
disfigurements from accidents and disease. These are as natural as
its strength, beauty, and agility, and may teach us to seek in the
right place. All we need to understand really, is that some disabled
persons are happier than the girls on the catwalk, and we need to
look there no further. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;">By
making it a daily practice to make aware our breathing, or our
placing of the feet on the ground, we establish a connection with the
body energy, and the surrounding air or soil. Whenever we find
ourselves repeating or listening to a superfluous stream of thoughts
(typically a reprisal) we will gain a lot by moving focus instead to
the temple of our being – the body, and listen in to the silent sermon
held at all times in the halls of nerve, sinew, muscle, and bone. In
such a way we may come to remember the secrets of the Earth, from
which our bodies sprang and are sustained. <br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><em>"For in him we live and move and have our being."</em> (Acts 17:28)</span></span></span>
</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>
</strong>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-54119596585741428482012-03-26T10:11:00.000+02:002012-03-26T12:05:50.720+02:00One Indestructible Tower<span style="color: black;">I'm
playing with building blocks, together with my very young daughter.
Being a person trained and active in the making of art, I soon start
to envision the small “artwork” I have laid the foundation to on
our living-room floor. In a miniature fashion I'm sort of thrilled
and eager about seeing it finished. My daughter however has other
joys entirely, and finds it very amusing to destroy my construction,
when it's only half way done. With a sigh I gather the pieces anew
and start over. This time, I get a little further before CRASH, she
once more turns it to ruins (and laughs hysterically, clearly pleased
with her power).</span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">When
it happened this scene illustrated very clearly to me, what I already
knew; that our joy must be based primarily in being and doing (adding
one block to another) rather than in our goals or achievements (the
finished construction). Achievements are very elusive, ideas really,
that keep us dreaming about and dreading the future, and regretting
or lingering in the past. </span>
</div>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">When
we are not content in being, our actions are strained and restless.
The fruits of our actions (if we ever get there) end up unwholesome –
a reflection of our inquietude. Just as a starving person will care
little for the shape, form, or balance of the meal, when discontented
we sow and reap disharmony.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: black;">That
we need desire and discontentment to propel our cultures and
societies forward is simply not true. It is impossible to stay
passive on a spinning globe, where suns and seasons have us thrown
around in an ever changing carousel. That Life naturally seeks to
continue, is by itself enough to initiate action, and that action is
so much more wisely chosen and executed, from a place of contentment,
and a background awareness of eternity. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><i>Only
at that moment, when you no longer desire IT, will I dare entrust you
with IT's power. </i></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">For
balance we should get our priorities right and find our joys firstly
in being, secondly in doing, and thirdly, in achieving. As it is now,
many of us reverse this order, and only manage to live when they
manage to achieve. The rest of life is reduced to a means of “getting
<i>there</i>”, to a few highlights, in an otherwise barely bearable
existence. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">How
then can we find contentment in being by itself, enjoy doing what
needs to be done, and celebrate achievement when The Lord allows it
to happen? The answer is simply to change our focus and investments.
I believe we have all experienced forcing ourselves to do something
seemingly “boring” or “pointless” (like moving the lawn,
shoveling snow, or perhaps playing with toys with our children) only
to at some point discover it to be rather pleasant. When that happens
we have managed to shed our ambitions, plans, hunger, and fears, and
entered for a while the simplicity of being. Materials then feel more
tangible, forms more beautiful, and living things turn much more
alive. There is then happiness in being by itself, and time no longer
veils the wealth of living. </span>
</div>
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Treasures
are found where we dig, and where we dig only. Harmony and
fulfillment is discovered by digging persistently in the right
place, and that place is right here, and right now. <i>Here</i> is
the only place that will never leave us – The one tower that cannot
be destroyed, neither by the whims of men, nor the play of immortals.
</span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Can
you find (be) it? </span>
</div>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"...Provide
purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven
that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth
destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.35cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="">(Luke
12:33-12:34)</span></span></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-18622388590012843242012-03-24T10:24:00.000+01:002012-03-24T10:24:23.684+01:00The Choice<span style="color: black;">Being
angry with the thief for stealing our possessions is like being angry
with the sun when it is too hot.
</span><span style="color: black;">But the
thief had a choice, we might argue...<br /><br />
Well, then
so have we... as we turn our anger into forgiveness, and free our
minds from ego.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh740FnE4XQPb2LbBIpgB8EB94sNcRh3GDX1WzWBBOsqKxbHiyq0bbQujxIxu6ks_hXy5BJqOc-TueHa0sSNupD9vLFFTW0wl-XS_dh8ZVl-zBsMgKHNASu0m-sKrgr84omofN8rHYRCLRH/s1600/Light+XLII_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh740FnE4XQPb2LbBIpgB8EB94sNcRh3GDX1WzWBBOsqKxbHiyq0bbQujxIxu6ks_hXy5BJqOc-TueHa0sSNupD9vLFFTW0wl-XS_dh8ZVl-zBsMgKHNASu0m-sKrgr84omofN8rHYRCLRH/s1600/Light+XLII_web.jpg" /></a></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-31203087410107183322012-03-23T11:01:00.001+01:002012-03-23T20:53:29.323+01:00A Daily Dance with ShivaHave
I died yet today? Have I let go of all the energies that currently
pull me into this and that? Have I stilled myself for a while, to
assert and re-establish my contact with the ground? Shiva, the
destroying aspect of the Absolute (in Hinduism), makes space for new
life to prosper. Can I dance His dance, and experience renewal each
and every day? Do I dare be new today? What is THIS very moment? What
does it call me to be? In which way does it create me? Yes, here I
am, open and free to <i>listen.</i><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">The
struggles, obligations, demands, opinions, ideas, identities, and
worries we carried yesterday, are to be consumed in the holy fire of
being, so that we can face this moment with the freshness and
vigilance of spring. Let us taste the pure awareness of our being.
Truly it is free from all these things. It wants for nothing, but
simply is.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;">Let
us allow ourselves to simply </span><i>be</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
like that. Let's die away from all the notions we have of who we are,
what we want, and what Life is. Breath deeply, and experience the
sensations of being. Receive them in their utter simplicity. Can we
do so without adding anything? Can we do so without analyzing and
labeling what right now IS? There are no questions here. There are no
problems to solve. There is simply being. Movement. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">There,
something calls for my attention. A baby cries. Listen the sound of
it. Feel the vibration of it. Welcome the experience of it. It plays
with my ear. A small sensation of pain right there inside the ear.
Welcome pain. How do you feel? What is your nature? I walk, feet on
the floor. There is the form or the baby. How sweet. I lift it up and
pull it to my chest. Sensations. Warmth. Life. I don't demand the
baby to be silent. Feel the soles of the feet on the tiles. Feel the
pressure of the chest against the infant. I allow it to cry for as
long as it wants. I just do what I know to do, and rock it slowly
back and forth. There is no hurry. I'm not trying to be in two places
at once. There is only the matter of priority. The phone rings, and
the food in the oven calls for my attention. I move steadily to the
phone, and turn it off. How does the button feel against my finger?
Smooth. I put down the crying baby on the floor, and move to the
oven. Listen to the cries. They intensify, and change pitch for a
while. Now, the handle of the oven. A little warm. Opening. Heat in
my face. Slowly and carefully I take out the food and place it
somewhere safe. Only ever one thing at a time. Always present to what
happens. No demands. Simple being. No rush. There is the baby again.
I walk back and start comforting it once more. Stay present to the
sensations in the body, and the awareness in which all this appears.
Have faith in being. Let the baby cry.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3xzCv-w4YVBaBe2__DEvYbJPrE5jQe5vzr8jtNryhG54rTn-QOWfTLS_67WMJnuTirgwqQH80Kts2eRa2xE5z0yAJrqDDrgPP65x4DUqvCDPekNciasX5no8hGzfgoh5mYfqD3DtKE8m/s1600/Light+XXXVIII_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3xzCv-w4YVBaBe2__DEvYbJPrE5jQe5vzr8jtNryhG54rTn-QOWfTLS_67WMJnuTirgwqQH80Kts2eRa2xE5z0yAJrqDDrgPP65x4DUqvCDPekNciasX5no8hGzfgoh5mYfqD3DtKE8m/s640/Light+XXXVIII_web.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Through
a Mystery the Universe of forms came into being. It expanded and
created stars and galaxies. Stars died and planets were born. Simple
organisms and plants were brought to life, and then more complex
forms, animals, and finally beings. Was there a problem during this
process? Who went through great stress to make all this happen?
Naturally, and simply, all these things evolved. Through being, being
came into being. </span>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;">Our
lives and actions </span><i>are</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
this very process, and it is still going on. </span><i>Our</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
only problem is that </span><i>we</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
do not trust it. We do not allow it to happen as it happens. We fight
it. We thus rebel against the Lord, our maker. We make demands on
reality, and we go to war with it, to realize </span><i>our </i><span style="font-style: normal;">version
of Life, as if we, separate from the Universe, could control it by
ourselves. What happened to 'Thy will be done'? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;">I
am not talking about passivity, but speak again about acceptance, and
perspective. When does living turn into problems? Where does it
happen? What is a problem? I once saw a film about newborn pikes,
and how they grew into maturity, by consuming their brothers and
sisters. As soon as one of the siblings had grown to be a
fraction larger than the others, it ate them – swallowed them
whole. In many beautiful lakes there are great pikes swimming around. Is
the cannibalism of pikes a problem? Should we teach them manners? </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Do
we dare to let go of ego here, and see to what extent problems are
made by us? Calming down, and letting go of ourselves for a while, we
are given perspective. When we stand firmly in the purity and
simplicity of being, it is easier to see what is what, and how we
paint reality in </span><i>our</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
image, rather than the Lords. By dying away from this distortion of
Truth, and by ceasing to fight the Lord's process, we become able to
accept it for what it truly is. Seeing it clearly, we dare enter it,
and when we become One with it, we have fully entered His Kingdom.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Feel
the life-giving breath, going in and out, automatically, then ask yourself
again; What is most important today? </span>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Look
at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in
barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to
his life?" </i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Matthew
6:26-6:27)</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself..."</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
<br />(Matthew 6:33-6:34)</span></span></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-65946344881094229642012-03-22T09:30:00.000+01:002012-03-22T13:13:08.513+01:00Honesty - The Master SolventA great spiritual approach is to let
the things of the past fall aside for the freshness of the moment.
However, at times, memories simply won't stop haunting us. What I'll
write about in this post is no more than basic psychology, but
perhaps it will look a little different in a spiritual context.
<br />
<br />
I recently had cause to look at one of
my own memories, which, insignificant as it seemed, kept coming back
to me. I see no reason to go into details, so let's just say it's a
situation from my early teens where I'm given more responsibility
than I can handle. I fail in an embarrassing way, and when my friends
give me a hard time about it I refuse to acknowledge my ignorance,
which makes the situation even worse.
<br />
<br />
Though the memory of this event has
returned many times over, I didn't manage to recognize its nature,
until a few weeks ago. Now, in retrospect, the heaviness, discomfort,
and sadness of it is very obvious, and I can clearly see the
psychological attachment I had to it. Though I barely admit it even
now, I was still trying to work myself out of that situation, decades
after it happened!
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVggrfBIGC5VQNsjanf2Xh2IBkESv7gPCrusmGCCuWsxHagC21TxuqXsnSHzxT0AshulnYiFEZtNvzlQQCjQvxql9DaczMP5wg3vgIvKzYZuPX9rNR9aSNd0_pz3O9QVXGMqHnhQNYFuu/s1600/Light+XXXVII_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVggrfBIGC5VQNsjanf2Xh2IBkESv7gPCrusmGCCuWsxHagC21TxuqXsnSHzxT0AshulnYiFEZtNvzlQQCjQvxql9DaczMP5wg3vgIvKzYZuPX9rNR9aSNd0_pz3O9QVXGMqHnhQNYFuu/s640/Light+XXXVII_web.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<br />
Basically, since it wouldn't leave me,
even if it seemed a ridiculous every day event, I decided to look at
the situation again. Probably due to meditation practice (mainly) I
now managed to do so more honestly. Though staying alert to what IS,
and stop clinging to the past, is a vital and accurate piece of
spiritual advice, being HONEST, is even more important. With practice
we learn to be honest in real-time, and react in tune with who we
truly are, but if our memories aren't sorted out, we will have an
impossible time staying present.
<br />
<br />
What I could see, and dare admit to
myself, as I looked closer at that memory was: Yes, I <i>failed</i>.
I was <i>incompetent</i>. I <i>couldn't manage</i> the simple task I
was given, and I did <i>handle it badly</i>. When my friends
challenged me and teased me about it they <span style="font-style: normal;">were
mean and immature</span>, and I was <i>saddened</i> by how they were
treating me. <i>It hurt</i>. The whole situation <i>really hurt</i>.
So I wept now, 25 years after it happened, and the angel of Honesty
relieved me of my pain.
<br />
<br />
This was a truly distinct episode of
healing. The heaviness of that event was reduced to a very light and
very thin papery file in the cabinet of my memories, which I can now
bring out and look at without any sort of emotional load attached to
it. The difference is quite remarkable. I know it will no longer
disturb me. <br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When we go through such an act of
honesty once, we are given a bottle of the greatest solvent of all,
which we may use many times over if need be, and perhaps even bring
up Live. Staying present is the very opposite of looking away.
Staying present is looking pain straight in the face and saying; <i>I
can handle you, because I now accept you. I am open to your terrible
gaze, and I will not deny what you do to me.</i> That is how the
wrath of the Lord is washed away and how His light becomes clear to
us. It may take three days on the Cross, but fore Heaven's sake, it
is worth it.
</div>
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-24244219026264824852012-03-21T10:31:00.000+01:002012-03-22T07:08:28.465+01:00The Eternal Subject<span style="color: black;">We
have this idea that we can study life and reality. But while doing so
we forget that our closest access to Life is not the object of our
studies, but the one who studies. The act of studying is Reality and
Life in progress. It is a live, first-person perspective of Life. The
greatest way to understand Life is to observe observation and to be
aware of awareness. It is Meditation.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">This
experience of awareness, which is what lets us know that we <i>are</i>,
is not an object but a subject. It is actually misleading to say <i>a</i>
subject, because then we pin it down, and regard it as an object.
When we picture ourselves as objects, we move from the experience of
being, into thinking about being, which is hugely different, and may
be very misleading.</span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Awareness
(subject), as we experience it, without thinking about it, really has
no form. Looking in the mirror we see a body, but that form is
nothing like the experience of awareness. Cutting a head open we see
a brain, but that form is nothing like awareness either. When someone
pinches our arms, or tickles our feet, we are aware of it. If someone
bangs our heads to the wall we might lose conscious awareness for a
while, and so we tend to draw the conclusion that awareness is in our
brains. But is that really the case? </span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<span style="color: black;">
If
we pull the pedals out of a car it no longer functions, but does that
mean its ability to move is in the pedals? What else is required to
make the car move? When we split reality into objects we attribute
functions to objects. We say that lamps shine, plants grow, and that
cows produce milk, but is that really the case? To produce the
thoughts which rise in your consciousness right now, what do you
need? </span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQXPV7QdGd0pBrSdaTJAuPJ17__EuSWMmBHb5xxHQ6AVojijthPZn_TcZmffiuNSBiy_XL-WsMEhTNdKsSdLn9SEuLQ_HnlJcIj5N19rfJj-7fdrXchZqwEDBmOO0owpH5bw6I2Fcfsci/s1600/Light+XXXVI_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQXPV7QdGd0pBrSdaTJAuPJ17__EuSWMmBHb5xxHQ6AVojijthPZn_TcZmffiuNSBiy_XL-WsMEhTNdKsSdLn9SEuLQ_HnlJcIj5N19rfJj-7fdrXchZqwEDBmOO0owpH5bw6I2Fcfsci/s640/Light+XXXVI_web.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Water,
food (plants/animals), sunlight, heat, gravity, electricity, an
atmosphere, oxygen, space, a planet. These are some of the
constituents of a human being. We can lose our eyes, our legs, a
kidney, our memory, even our sanity, and yet survive. But if we lose
any of the above, we instantly die. If it wasn't for these and the
context we find ourselves in (the input) neither thoughts nor
emotions would appear. Isolate a brain in the remotes of space, and I
can assure you, it would neither think nor show signs of awareness.
Without oxygen most car engines don't work, and without a ground on
which to roll, wheels don't do much good. Lamps can't produce light.
Lamps can only channel the electricity and power of the Universe and
help produce light. That is what lamps do.</span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
<br />
Looking
at the world through a tube doesn't make us the tube. Feeling the
heat upon the skin, doesn't make us the skin. We now go back to
awareness, the very thing that tells us that there is <i>being
-</i> I AM. But what is it that IS...
aware? Instead of looking at awareness like an object, know it as
subject. Experience awareness, which is you. Try to stay aware of
awareness while objects and thoughts come and go. Do this often, and
don't answer the question about what <i>subject
</i>is, with your mind, because you
can't grasp your <i>Self</i>
like that. You cannot catch your own tail. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Awareness
is acquainted through awareness. By paying attention to the infant of
you, you incite it into communication and growth. A new, ancient root
is waiting to be rediscovered. It yearns to sprout into its fullness
of being – what we may call, The Christ inside.
</span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
<br />
When
we no longer allow the forms of the world to bewitch us, we rest in
the Oneness of Him. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: black;">By
Paul:</span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;">“<i>For
we have many parts in one body, but these parts do not all have the
same function. In the same way, even though we are many people, we
are one body in the Messiah and individual parts connected to each
other</i>.” (Romans 12:5)</span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><strong>By
Lao-Tzu</strong> (Approx 4-6<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup>
century B.C.)</span><br />"</span><span style="color: black;"><i>The
reason that can be reasoned is not the eternal Reason.<br />The name
that can be named is not the eternal Name.<br />The Unameable is of
heaven and earth the beginning.<br />The Nameable becomes of the ten
thousand things the mother.<br />Therefore it is said:<br /><br />'He who
desireless is found<br />The spiritual of the world will sound.<br />But
he who by desire is bound<br />Sees the mere shell of things
around.'<br /><br />These two things are the same in source<br />but
different in name.<br />Their sameness is called a mystery.<br />Indeed,
it is the mystery of mysteries.<br />It is the door of all
spirituality.</i> "</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(Lao-Tzu.
“Reason's Realisation”. </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Teachings of Lao-Tzu, The Tao Te Ching. </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rider.
Singapore. Revised edition. 1999 Paul Carus. p.30) </span></span></span>
</span></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-5587894843242677892012-03-20T12:26:00.000+01:002012-03-21T10:32:01.136+01:00The Weakness of Spiritual TeachingsThose
who could profit most from spiritual teaching have no chance to grasp
them, and those who no longer need the teachings, are the only ones
who fully comprehend their message. If you have never seen a forest,
or a plant, it is impossible to make sense of the green parts on the
map. You can stare at them for hours on end, and yet, you will only
delude yourself while trying to understand them. <br />
<br />
We
have all been invited to the greatest party of all, but it seems the
Host wrote encrypted invitation cards, and has only delivered the key
to a lucky few. Most of us have no clue as to where or when the party
is held. Now how do we get hold of this code key? <br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Can
we trust those who claim to have it? Can, yes, but I wouldn't
recommend it. Walk instead into that silent meadow, where the Manor
of our Host is situated, and sit down upon the grass before His
doorstep, and wait patiently. If He doesn't open the door, come back
again, and do so regularly until you receive it. Don't shout, demand
nothing, and expect nothing, because He can't stand ungrateful
guests. Just remain perfectly still, and as silent as you possibly
can. With some luck, He will allow your presence, and He can't hide
in that House of His forever, can he? </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQtLwKBlwE1ImQo-GanOE3gy2cfi0Meyu-O__lw0_AZKmqEa6EQujofQnySrLsd-MOpvVkzCg3S0tGpPRIU3lx5fPAFsGmIP1w5dAxmC3LfCnEwfNabuQO1-au8fTlGLx8jfXzUSuXoNR/s1600/Light+XXX_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQtLwKBlwE1ImQo-GanOE3gy2cfi0Meyu-O__lw0_AZKmqEa6EQujofQnySrLsd-MOpvVkzCg3S0tGpPRIU3lx5fPAFsGmIP1w5dAxmC3LfCnEwfNabuQO1-au8fTlGLx8jfXzUSuXoNR/s640/Light+XXX_web.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When
it comes to pass, that you make out His silhouette through the window
by the door, something will happen inside of you that you cannot
explain, and going back to that card of invitation, it will suddenly
make sense to you. Though the words looked like real words even
before, you will now see that though you could read them, you missed
out on their meaning. You may now read them for the first time, and
they will tell you what you already know. Because in that brief
glance of the Host, something utterly silent was communicated, and <i>in
you</i> the full invitation is now made visible - written on your
very being. Reading the card will pull these words from your
innermost self and into your mind, so that they may make sense also
on that level. Welcome to the party!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On these issues Paul writes very well: </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">" (1 Corinthians 2:14)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"<i>Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it...</i>" (1 Corinthians 3:2)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A 14<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> century Zen Buddhist Master puts it this way: </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Even if, for example, one were to read a thousand sutras and ten thousand sastas, if the Dharma eye has not been opened, this Buddha wisdom would not be clear. One who has not clearly penetrated Buddha wisdom will not understand even one line of sutra.</i>”</span> </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Zen Mater Bassui. “Know Your Inherit Nature Before Studying the Scriptures.” </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mud & Water</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Wisdom Publications, Boston, Revised and expanded edition. 2002 Arthur Braverman. p.89)</span></span></span></div>
<br />
If,
before this experience, you find something intriguing, exciting,
slightly attractive, or mysterious, in spiritual scripture or
teachings, stay with them, but keep them open, and keep yourself
open. Don't make up your mind about them, and don't let anyone else
make up your mind for you. Accept that you do not know, and seek the
Lord primarily in Life rather than in Scripture. A straw of grass, on the lawn
outside the Church building, has more Truth and substance than the
entire Bible. Touch the hand of another human being once, and you
will have come closer to the Truth than you will through a lifetime
of lofty ideas and thinking. <br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
No
book in the world can affect The Lord's presence and infinite being.
If we'd rather read a tourist guide to Mount Everest than climbing
the Mountain, we can do so, but though very importantly, it can
direct us to the tracks most suitable for climbing, it does a poor
job with replacing the experience of the Mountain, which, we have to
understand, doesn't come or go with books or words.
</div>
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-88056456379365644222012-03-19T11:22:00.002+01:002012-03-21T10:32:18.220+01:00Practice TimelesslyHeaven doesn't reward what we have done
in the past, nor does it reward what we intend to do tomorrow. What
do I mean by this? Do all our charity work, and hours of
prayer/meditation count for nothing? Yes, in short, that is what I
mean.
<br />
<br />
Years of spiritual practice or conduct
will of course increase our chances to endure and welcome the wind of
transformation when it comes, but if we're in that mind-set of
gathering grace, for our future blessing, we are severely mistaken.
They do not accept hand luggage on the Flight to Heaven. To enter
that plane of communion we must be stripped naked.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
With thoughts like “<i>If I only pray
regularly, and meditate every day”, I must surely reach
enlightenment/salvation in this life</i>”, or “<i>I have been far
to sloppy with my abstinence or fasting lately to expect any kind of
progress</i>” we bring Time into the equation. This is bad
practice. It is weakness of faith, and it is aiming falsely. The
actions of the Lord require no time.
</div>
<br />
When you look to the future for
freedom, or take refuge in the past, you leave the one and only place
where Life IS, and where awakening is possible – <i>Here</i> and
<i>Now. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">What you did last week,
or the minute before this one, is of no consequence in this context.
God, I dare say, will forgive the most hideous error or crime in a
second. It is not “He” but We, that hinder His Light. We must
find the courage to believe this, and to forgive ourselves, and
that's the one and </span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">only</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">
tricky part. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><br /> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLe_eCW3mM7aew9FDL1O29CJipso-cPrmQki1GKI1BvZ50C4garQCKNBMNh96JirKSlwLF_Ml4gvvZ8qZ_abMr_3yel1AvVhefzjnqwB9VDhVlywuytmnFEgJLw49U-pme-AEM9QmQLAO/s1600/Light+XXXV_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLe_eCW3mM7aew9FDL1O29CJipso-cPrmQki1GKI1BvZ50C4garQCKNBMNh96JirKSlwLF_Ml4gvvZ8qZ_abMr_3yel1AvVhefzjnqwB9VDhVlywuytmnFEgJLw49U-pme-AEM9QmQLAO/s640/Light+XXXV_web.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><br />Spiritual discipline, and a religious way of
life, are not there to merit our future salvation. We practice and
live this way to improve our relation to the NOW (Life). Whatever our
self-judgment, whatever our doubts, we should </span><i>let go</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
of them and re-enter Being (here) at once. </span><i>Here</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is where the Lord awaits us, </span><i>here</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is where He invites us, and </span><i>here</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is where we may chose to strip naked (sacrifice our egos) before Him.
Nothing we did in the past have the power to stop this from
happening, but for the mental bonds of faithlessness that cause us
to hide in Time. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">In
essence, there is no distance to The Lord. Walking there takes no
time. He is not even a step away. With a single leap of faith right
now, we can skip decades of arduous practice. Trust the fullness of
</span><i>this</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> moment. Give
yourself to</span><i> this </i><span style="font-style: normal;">place.
We have always stood, and are still standing, by the Altar of the
Lord. Do we have the faith and courage to "expose our necks" and let it
happen – to let that happen which The Lord brings, whatever it may
be? </span>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Okay
then, so we struggle some more and we suffer some more, but we are
lost when we look to the future for our salvation, and we are of little
faith until we can shed our savings on the doorstep of every day and
moment, because “</span><i>...surely I am with you </i><i><u>always</u></i><i>,
to the very end of the age.</i><span style="font-style: normal;">”
(Matthew 28:19)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
or as Paul writes: “<i>...I tell you,
</i><i><span style="text-decoration: none;">now</span></i><i> is the
time of God's favor, </i><i><span style="text-decoration: none;">now</span></i><i>
is the day of salvation.</i>” <span style="font-style: normal;">(2
Corinthians 6:2)</span><br />
<br />
It is better that we return to this <i>now</i>
(the presence of the Lord), if only for a second, than make up plans
for a future in perfect virtue. Fall into the deepest pit of Sin, it
doesn't matter. If we re-enter this <i>now </i><span style="font-style: normal;">in
faith and fully undressed (of us), the Lord will welcome us with all
of His Love, and embrace us as if we were (in our capacity of) His
One and only Son. I will even claim that; if we come with empty hands, He is unable to deny us.</span></div>
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-10105215457868507892012-03-18T10:24:00.001+01:002012-03-18T10:50:55.489+01:00The Ways of Knowing and Unknowing<i>"Using the mind to look
for reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is
awareness."</i>, says the legendary Bodhidharma.
<br />
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; padding: 0cm;">
Jesus puts it like this:
“"<i>I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You
have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have
revealed them to infants...</i>” (Matthew 11:25)</div>
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor; padding: 0cm;">
With infants he means those who
keep their minds free from conceptual thoughts and judgment – those
who manage to enter every day and moment as if they had just been
born. Here follows an attempt to demonstrate the weakness and
limitations of conventional knowledge, and an invitation to un-know the
world in our minds, which is the world of separation, and the world of yesterday.</div>
<div style="border: currentColor; padding: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: currentColor; padding: 0cm;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV97Oh9-0jGZIR7czDAoRBoqhWz-VsKQFAM-3XjROS8gxv43hyujxw42gsvy859qC354YDEJTklyXMZKYqMczWA9DH6Cr2JkOfJglW_BOQTf6VGItekKRjtJFIfE165vuQOccF9x0sD0D9/s1600/unknowing_pic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV97Oh9-0jGZIR7czDAoRBoqhWz-VsKQFAM-3XjROS8gxv43hyujxw42gsvy859qC354YDEJTklyXMZKYqMczWA9DH6Cr2JkOfJglW_BOQTf6VGItekKRjtJFIfE165vuQOccF9x0sD0D9/s640/unknowing_pic1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;">Imagine for a while that the gray area above represents the “empty” Universe. In this example it is all that exists. Even the beholder of this unknown reality is part of the grayness. </span><span style="font-size: small;">There is nothing we can say about this Universe. There is nothing to make out, no context, no nothing. We do not even understand it as gray, because this is all we “know”.</span> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUe3BzruyRArFiBi76ETK___2DK00rjJnr0iOJvtRLcDwf5GXNd9fryWtzV6W7ouYpN3vrd6KhGC3rDzCgCptvLxWGOU7tUktakovqMN7kHxRgicM0vqIUcaNs2n4mgigPvGcKQvOrvFK/s1600/unknowing_pic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUe3BzruyRArFiBi76ETK___2DK00rjJnr0iOJvtRLcDwf5GXNd9fryWtzV6W7ouYpN3vrd6KhGC3rDzCgCptvLxWGOU7tUktakovqMN7kHxRgicM0vqIUcaNs2n4mgigPvGcKQvOrvFK/s640/unknowing_pic2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now we add something for the sake of perspective. Looking at the Universe this way we suddenly have a world of form - a world of concepts. The gray area in the middle remains untouched and unchanged, but the surroundings are different. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Looking at this we now understand the unknown grayness as<em> bright</em>. This is how we perceive it. The surroundings we understand as<em> dark</em>. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Observe that these two definitions appear together. By separating one from the other, two identities emerge. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Brightness and darkness can only be understood when they exist together. They are dependent on each other.</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9Ou2N8UdHlC59PhfgKS5EL-NFpaDtCh_1I_gvQ8d64ZjabOxWEoU_cP2MwI57mWGOwOj_r_Is-2riXnz2VUtIkbfpSl6fQT7ozbpJDxg4d71hKxcGcOqVDE1jx-VcusryyRImnOfG0bO/s1600/unknowing_pic3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9Ou2N8UdHlC59PhfgKS5EL-NFpaDtCh_1I_gvQ8d64ZjabOxWEoU_cP2MwI57mWGOwOj_r_Is-2riXnz2VUtIkbfpSl6fQT7ozbpJDxg4d71hKxcGcOqVDE1jx-VcusryyRImnOfG0bO/s640/unknowing_pic3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;">What if we had added something else? While the gray area in the middle is still unchanged, we now understand it as <em>dark</em>. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Dark, is how we perceive it, but what is its true nature? Is it bright or dark? We can point to it and call it dark, but do we now actually know this unknown “stuff” of our Universe? </span><span style="font-size: small;">Its character seems to change with the alterations of its surroundings.</span> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Gw5LtLSXqj04aa-Ct6_IyuGnDVeV8jB4yYi2Wvp-vGPgujW6gTniQUXUSjF2QYtxjHypml-d_LHOZXOwVC-9ZW3ZOkwiPzdtUeytvg4PyAg7HZn5REwBAC8S8XT5-YqLvPF90LVkGXl_/s1600/unknowing_pic4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Gw5LtLSXqj04aa-Ct6_IyuGnDVeV8jB4yYi2Wvp-vGPgujW6gTniQUXUSjF2QYtxjHypml-d_LHOZXOwVC-9ZW3ZOkwiPzdtUeytvg4PyAg7HZn5REwBAC8S8XT5-YqLvPF90LVkGXl_/s640/unknowing_pic4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;">What about this? Another context and a new number of descriptions are suddenly possible. Our non-changing grayness can now be understood as<em> calm, pale, boring, sharp, uniform</em> etc, and yet it remains completely unchanged. This is something we can experience in real life too. We walk along, feeling fine, and comfortably dressed, when we happen to enter a fancy store or restaurant. Suddenly we become very aware of our clothes, and how bland or sloppy they feel. As the context changes so does our self image. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Observe that the noisy, vivid background in this example needs the straight grey to be understood as such. If our entire Universe was noisy and vivid, we would never know it. It would simple be, as it is. </span><span style="font-size: small;">(It is not the case that it would truly be noisy and vivid beyond our understanding of it. Without any other element to inter-exist with, such characteristics as noisy and vivid simply do not exist.)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrV7uyskQSm0InKu8vy70s20hGj2dVaYzIrB1DIWO_CFZtcoZsTTn25NrSdPTwW_Bxi_Cz0EGpsED-oiibsiNaOxFFYm9LOdPh-ef6VgGUjoKRTGnTv4oV46Fbg4aSHDyU3y-sTJV5ZM0/s1600/unknowing_pic5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrV7uyskQSm0InKu8vy70s20hGj2dVaYzIrB1DIWO_CFZtcoZsTTn25NrSdPTwW_Bxi_Cz0EGpsED-oiibsiNaOxFFYm9LOdPh-ef6VgGUjoKRTGnTv4oV46Fbg4aSHDyU3y-sTJV5ZM0/s640/unknowing_pic5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;">Exploring the world through our senses and understanding </span><span style="font-size: small;">it through our minds, we are confined to this domain of </span><span style="font-size: small;">relative conclusions. We are limited to a dualistic </span><span style="font-size: small;">image of the world and life in general. </span><span style="font-size: small;">We do not make our verdicts about the objects we </span><span style="font-size: small;">encounter based on the immidiate surroundings alone. </span><span style="font-size: small;">We compare also with of our entire culture of memories, </span><span style="font-size: small;">and so we can relax our experience in the fancy boutique </span><span style="font-size: small;">with memories of the bums in the street and our circle of </span><span style="font-size: small;">similarly dressed friends. In such a way we get a wider </span><span style="font-size: small;">perspective - a bigger picture, but it is still based on the </span><span style="font-size: small;">same relative understanding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">(There are also the actual illusions of vision to take into account. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Do the many grey discs in the image above have the same value and color</span><span style="font-size: small;">?)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV97Oh9-0jGZIR7czDAoRBoqhWz-VsKQFAM-3XjROS8gxv43hyujxw42gsvy859qC354YDEJTklyXMZKYqMczWA9DH6Cr2JkOfJglW_BOQTf6VGItekKRjtJFIfE165vuQOccF9x0sD0D9/s1600/unknowing_pic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV97Oh9-0jGZIR7czDAoRBoqhWz-VsKQFAM-3XjROS8gxv43hyujxw42gsvy859qC354YDEJTklyXMZKYqMczWA9DH6Cr2JkOfJglW_BOQTf6VGItekKRjtJFIfE165vuQOccF9x0sD0D9/s640/unknowing_pic1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;">So, what is the true nature of this stuff, which we cannot truly see? Is there a way to understand this unknown grayness of our symbolic Universe in a more Absolute fashion? Can we know at all without the help of dualistic comparison? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Well, there are those who say we can. By spending time with stillness and silence, one can become aquainted with it. By beholding the world without prejudice, criticism, and labelling, and accepting what IS, one can ”see” beyond the concepts of the mind. This is the way of Unknowing, which has been advocated by Mystics in the East and West for millenia. It is the way of mindfulness and meditation, and holistic communion with reality itself. It is a completely wordless way of penetrating into the core and mystery of Being itself. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Look again. What do you perceive? If you cannot go to your mind, memories or feelings to tell you what you are, then what ARE you? </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
I'll end this post with a suggestion, or perhaps it is only some questions: What if the essence (grayness) of God is so dynamic in its nature, that it can be perceived in a multitude of different ways? What if no actual change is required to bring variation/creation about? What if the entire Universe is only a matter of perspective?... one's set of mind.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-11428157124141134862012-03-17T17:34:00.001+01:002012-03-17T21:30:57.160+01:00Disarming the Gorillas of LifeAll spiritual traditions advocate
detachment, or non-attachment, as it is sometimes called. Spiritual
teachers, contemporary, and from the past, all have different ways to
explain and express this very important principle of religious
practice/conduct. Zen Master Bassui says we shall walk through this
world as if it was a village ridden with pestilence (touch nothing),
and Jesus expresses it even more radically when he states: <i>"If
anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife,
children, brothers, and sisters, as well as his own life, he can't be
my disciple. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Luke 14:26)</span><br />
<br />
Like all spiritual teachings these
are pointers meant for investigation and guidance. If they are
understood as truth in themselves misunderstandings are inevitable.
It would certainly be very stupid to love our enemies while
simultaneously hating our families. What then, do they mean? And why
should we detach ourselves from life and the many gifts of our Lord?
<br />
<br />
Just like the fish cannot know what
water is, since it is constantly submerged in it, we cannot know what
life is, until we (to some level) become free from it. When it
happens, that we come to see life, not from a point of being
submerged in it, but from a point of detachment, it is truly a
fabulous revelation. Great unstoppable laughter is then likely to
erupt, because the strangeness of life, and the incredible reality of
its being, is pure awe and tremendous joy. In amazement we look
around, and for the first time we become fully aware of the fact
that; <i>this really is! </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Just
like fire is unaware of heat, we are not fully aware us, and if we
cannot know our own nature, then how will we ever know the Lord, in
whose mysterious image we're created? As it is, we are far too
involved in the details and desires of daily life, to manage any kind
of perspective. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">
Let's put it this
way. To become free from the leashes of earthly life, we must neither
desire, nor repel the phenomena and objects we here encounter.
Neither negatively or positively charged energy can create the
stillness and spaciousness required for perspective. Only when the
energies of life are allowed to flow freely through us, without
clinging to our consciousness, can we hope to elevate ourselves
enough from the stickiness of the world, to experience what we are.
<br />
<br />
The more we have invested (of ourselves) in this world, the less
willing we will be to <i>let go</i> of it. While the mind wrestles
with the wraiths of impermanence, in its futile attempts to gain
control (over the targets of its fear), and while we struggle to
become (accepted or important in the eyes of others) we grasp
continuously at the foundation of relative existence. The Absolute
thus remains unknown.
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I get this
picture of an enormous, self-governed, artificial intelligence which
reaches out (with one of its numerous antennas of sense) and connects
to a tiny box within which a simple computer-game is running.
Attracted to that game of climbing ladders, jumping barrels, and
saving damsels in distress, the antenna inside the box forgets its
greater self (the Master AI) and freedom. It now fears the digital
barrels, and the screams of the damsel keeps it busy climbing ladders
and collecting points. What in this situation would give it the
courage and space to pause for a while, and remember its true nature?<br />
<br />
It cannot stop
the barrels from rolling, and therefore it must accept them. Not
fear, not hate, not repel, but accept them. Love is even better. Save
the damsel, love the damsel, but let go of possessive desire. (More
about love in a later blog-post). Hiding, or bailing out from life is
a repellent, negative energy decision, which gives importance and
substance to the world we are trying to transcend, so that will not
work.
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;">The
only solution available is detachment. If we can learn to accept, or
maybe even love, whatever we encounter in this world, while to the
best of our abilities, we avoid to cling, crave, desire, hate, fear,
loath, judge, or in any way become seriously involved with it, then
we may reach a point where we can see within ourselves the true
meaning of detachment, and how it strangely enough takes us deeper
into existence, and into the very soul of things..</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">With
experience, faith gets stronger, and as the presence of the Lord
becomes increasingly clear, so does our house on the rock, which no
wind in the world can move. Only from there, true detachment, and
fearless, unconditional love is possible. </span></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-66344515268756903782012-03-16T10:56:00.000+01:002012-03-22T15:34:36.512+01:00Set God Free!It
seems to me that most people who look for God doesn't really look for
God, but rather their expectations of “Him”. It seems to me they
are looking for some kind of super-parent, which will never fail
them, and who is always perfectly just. Seeking God with these kinds
of preconceptions (desires) might send us on the way, but they will
not help us find Truth.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
God,
as we think of Him, is only an idea. It is a human concept, and to a
great extent, a human invention. However, this concept points to, and
directs us towards the One Ultimate Reality, which our minds cannot
grasp, hold, or understand.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Though
icons and inner images of the Lord may serve very well to ignite the
energy, love, and desire for God or Truth, necessary to begin the
transformational process, these should never be confused with the
unfathomable mystery of God's infinite being. Any idea or portrait of
God, no matter how sublime, risk reducing The Lord to an object of
the mind, which is even worse than believing the blue areas on a map
to equal the ocean. Until we have actually swam or dipped our
toes in the ocean, our minds will try to make sense of those blue
areas. Struggling to understand them as they would any other thing,
our minds will keep searching in the completely wrong place and way.
Until the point of actual contact there simply is no way to know The
Lord. It is better then that He remains a full mystery (an X) to the
mind, and that we let Faith alone guide us.
</div>
<br />
The
Bible, from which many paint their inner maps of God, is very clear
about this:<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<i>You
saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of
the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do
not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any
shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on
earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that
moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you
look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars--all the
heavenly array--do not be enticed into bowing down to them and
worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the
nations under heaven.” </i>(Deuteronomy
4:15-4:19)<br />
<br />
</div>
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">God is not a form, and not an object. It is not the
form of Jesus that constitute the Christ, but his Oneness with the
essence of The Lord. Think about that for a while: Not an object?
Then where IS the Lord? … and may that questions serve you well. </span></span><br />
<br />“<i>Can
anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares
the LORD. "Do not I </i><i><u>fill</u></i><i> heaven and earth?"
declares the LORD.” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Jeremiah
23:24)</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>"To
Allah belongs the East and the West. Wherever you turn there is </i><i><u>the
presence</u></i><i> of God...” </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(Qur'an
2:115)</span></div>
<br />
As
I understand it God <i>fills</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
every single place and thing, and that includes you and every other
person and creature. He has no need to watch you from the outside,
but sees you fully from the inside out. God isn't something that we
find by</span><i> looking</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> for
Him. God is rather what we experience when we attune our beings to
His – when we step out of the way, to let His Light shine through
us. <br /><br />This post, this blog, contains not a single truth about
the Lord. This text is a pixel on a digital map suggesting the
reader to let go of God, as they think of Him, to find the Truth which
beyond all concepts IS, which Christians, Jews, and Muslims have come
to call God, but in Hinduism is known as Brahman, and that Buddhists
(perhaps wisely) don't name at all... though I have heard many
Buddhist teachers say things like 'The One Mind', 'The Source', 'The
One Buddha Nature' etc, because in some way or fashion, they have a
need to point towards "it".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;">Before
Michelangelo painted 'The Creation of Adam', in the roof of the
Sistine Chapel (in the early sixteenth century) the image of God as a
wise bearded fellow, simply wasn't around (as far as I know). Today I
guess most children start out with that picture, and some grown-ups
hang on to it. That in itself is not a problem, as long as our
images, no matter how refined, are understood as symbolic
representations, rather than Truth. So please, don't be provoked now
when I kindly claim that; God is an idea. God is a word and a concept
of mind. God, as you </span><i>think </i><span style="font-style: normal;">of
Him, simply doesn't exist. Set God free from the shackles of your imagination.</span><br />
<br />
“<i>Once Jesus was asked by
the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them,
"The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display. People
won't be saying, 'Look! Here it is!' or 'There it is!' because now
the kingdom of God is among you." </i>(Luke 17:20-17:21)<br />
<br />Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-60357024637618386392012-03-15T09:52:00.000+01:002012-03-15T20:25:32.317+01:00Sex and SurrenderIn instructions of spiritual nature we
are commonly advised to let go, to surrender, to die away from, to
empty ourselves, and so on. This seems to be the one trick before all
others. Even the “Thy will be done” of our Lord's prayer, points
to this <i>letting go</i>. I recently came to think about a
situation, which could shed some light over what it is to<span style="font-style: normal;">
let go. It</span> is hopefully a situation which people can relate
to, and a context in which many of us have had some kind of
experience with surrendering. Let's talk about sex for a while.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
From the perspective of a heterosexual
male: When young (typically) and inexperienced, we tend to perform
the sexual act with a lot of ideas and demands upon ourselves. We
want to make an impression, and we want our partner to be a hundred
percent satisfied with what we do (in bed). There is nervousness
about keeping it up, doing it right, and finishing off too early.
There might be concerns about length, looks, and tons of other stuff
which may cause rigidity (of the undesired sort).</div>
<br />
As important as these initiations are,
they usually don't live up to our later ideas of great sex. However,
with experience, and especially in lasting sexual relationships, we
begin to relax about it. We learn to know that we are able. We have
had some peak moments, and some rather mundane episodes as well.
Having sex is no longer such a big deal, and if we don't manage to
bring our partner to orgasm it is not the end or the world.
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
It may then happen that we manage to
enter the sexual act without presumptions, or demands on ourselves or
our partner. It may be that we trust our bodies to know what to do,
and then we simply let go into it. At that moment we become sex –
we become the love in sex. It is no longer a matter of you performing
sex, but sex is performing you. This is where, in the midst of true
ecstasy, you surprise yourself with having multiple ejection-free
orgasms, and sounding like a werewolf. It is a ride, rather than
a work towards that final reward.
</div>
<br />
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<br />
Sex of course is typically rather
pleasant, and it is therefore comparatively easy to let go into, but
those who have this experience might benefit from it in other
situations as well. There are some things that must fall into place
for <i>letting go</i> to happen. We have to drop our demands on
others, and reality itself. We have to trust the Universe and
ourselves to know what to do, and we must know that if things don't
go the way we like them to, it isn't the end of the world. In the
sexual act we are hopefully present enough to forget our calendars
and worldly concerns for a while, and that goes for other situations
too. If we wish to experience surrender, we can't keep the whole world on
our shoulders while hoping for it to happen.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Letting go is not an act. It is not something that you
do. It is what happens when you no longer protect yourself, when you
no longer try to control the world, when you no longer demand things
of the world, and when you no longer fear the result of that lack of
action on your part. Shortly put; it is Faith.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We may feel as we are welcoming, open,
and okay with the situation, but when you happen upon a highlight in
meditation, or a change of perspective during a silent retreat, it
becomes more than obvious that in our normal mode of daily life, the
vast majority of us is in constant protection, constant distrust, and
constant manipulation of the world and others.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Without a doubt; There is a terrible
and humongous need of letting go. This, we can all practice.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122277987053615216.post-77148175704019452722012-03-14T11:11:00.001+01:002012-03-15T09:37:17.430+01:00Blessed Are the Poor No MoreJesus says it is harder for a rich man
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, than it is for a camel to pass through
the eye of a needle. So poverty should be better, if one aims for
those gates of liberty. One must remember though, that in the days of
Jesus, those who were poor remained poor, and they had basically no
chance to escape poverty. People inherited their social status, and
having a career was simply not an option for the poor back then.
They had to accept their lot in life, and do the best they could of
it.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Today, at least in the west, and
increasingly in other parts of the world, the poor do not necessarily
accept poverty. They may win a lottery, they may be selected to
partake in a television show which brings them fame (and fortune), or
they might through arduous work and luck, escape their unfortunate
inheritance. This new situation makes for a completely different
mental climate.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5-7)
Jesus makes an important distinction. He say “<i>Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</i>” It is not
primarily physical poverty that matters, but a poverty in spirit. So,
we ask ourselves, What is a poor spirit? This is how I understand
it:<br />
<br />
A wealthy man, does not only have money in the bank, or in
property etc. He also carries his money mentally. He thinks of
himself as rich. Wealth has become part of his identity – his sense
of self. If he loses his money he feels like less of a man. He has
made money important to his mental balance.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One can say that from the pure state of
being, just the simple I AM, the wealthy person typically adds: I AM
<em>rich</em>... not only in conversation, but also in self-identification. He
is no longer poor in spirit. This addition to the pure awareness
(consciousness) that we enter life with, can happen in many other
areas as well, and it seems that that is exactly what most of us
is keeping busy with – to add something to our sense of self. It
might be things like: I am famous, I am powerful, I am skilled in
this or that, I am well educated, I am physically strong, I am beautiful, I am just,
I am spiritually advanced, or perhaps something like; 'at least I'm not like
him/her'. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The spiritual path is exactly the opposite of this.
While you may paint, for example, you do not mentally make yourself
into an Artist. In conversation you may present yourself as an
artist, so that people understand what you do, but you do not add it
to your sense of self. You settle with I AM. You may be: I AM
painting, or I AM framing this drawing, but you never try to become
anything else but Being. You remain poor in spirit. While one paints
for an exhibition and gathers a number of successful paintings in the
studio, it is easy to begin this adding in the mind. One may start to
envision (fantasize) about how the exhibition will bring great
recognition, great sales, and perhaps even glory, but this too is
adding to being. Every single painting, every single stroke, must be
made from scratch, from a mental point of zero. There is no building
to life, because in the end it all comes down again. Mental
structures crumble just as physical ones, but unlike the physical
buildings they hinder our way to The Lord. <br />
<br />
The Lord IS. Life
IS. Consciousness IS. It isn't this or that. When we try to become
anything but being, we are busy carving our own domain – our own
reality and tower. Regardless of our level of success, it is a bleak
and tiny castle in the halls of the Universe. This occupation of
enhancing the Ego is, in mythological language, our disobedience of
the laws of Paradise. It is idolatry and the foundation of Sin.
Because of it, we are expelled from the presence of the Lord.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The poor are blessed no more, because
they are now entitled to that same dream of becoming – of rising above
their fellow men, and to hide from the nakedness of being. Though material wealth doesn't equal wealth in the spirit, it is almost
impossible to stay mentally untainted by it. Let us now look at
ourselves and ask the question: What do I fear losing the most? Which
losses would make me feel less of a man or woman? Behind what walls or subtle curtains do I hide my poverty?<br />
<br />
“<i>...and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.</i>” (Matthew
10:39)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766023145962558353noreply@blogger.com0