Here's a big clue on how the universe works. It is a no-brainer, really. You may have seen this happen to you millions of times, and when I point it out it should seem obvious.
If you have a lesson to learn, and you ignore it, you might get away with it for a while. However, if you keep ignoring it, eventually it will get in your face so much that it becomes impossible to ignore. That's really just the way it works. Duh.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Evolutionary units
It has been a while since I have had anything to write. Life has been going at break-neck speeds, and I have just sort of surrendered to it, along with all the things that go with that. They say that learning goes in waves, and for a while I have sort of been at the bottom of a wave, stagnant, just using what I know and doing what I do. It's no big deal.
One thing that occurred to me upon reflection recently is that evolution is not just about the individual. People "work on their development" and "strive", or they do the other thing and "be"... It does not matter how you view it or where you are at in that regard. The point is that those are all individual terms. The ultimate Oneness is being viewed through the colored-glasses of the individual. Of course that is fine, and many people do this with great results. That is all "1st Quadrant" stuff, or "I" stuff.
However, there is an other aspect... looking at it from the 2nd Quadrant, the quadrant of "We". If you have a group of people, let's say a family, the group has a collective state of consciousness or level of awareness as well. The level of awareness is essentially the average level of awareness of all the members of the group. If you are a member of the family, you could raise that either by working on your own awareness, or helping other members with theirs.
If I have a wife and children, there is a collective awareness there equal to the average of our individual awarenesses. If mine goes up, the collective goes up. If the children's awareness is brought up through child-rearing, the collective goes up. I'm told the opposite is also true, where the collective awareness can bring up the awareness of an individual, if the group's level is at a higher state than the individual in question.
That makes sense, in light of some previous posts, where I talk about teachers and the concept of Bracha and how it rubs off on the student.
The whole 2nd Quadrant is about expanding the area of concern from individual, to family, to race, to nation, to world. So everything here applies to those larger groups as well.
One thing that occurred to me upon reflection recently is that evolution is not just about the individual. People "work on their development" and "strive", or they do the other thing and "be"... It does not matter how you view it or where you are at in that regard. The point is that those are all individual terms. The ultimate Oneness is being viewed through the colored-glasses of the individual. Of course that is fine, and many people do this with great results. That is all "1st Quadrant" stuff, or "I" stuff.
However, there is an other aspect... looking at it from the 2nd Quadrant, the quadrant of "We". If you have a group of people, let's say a family, the group has a collective state of consciousness or level of awareness as well. The level of awareness is essentially the average level of awareness of all the members of the group. If you are a member of the family, you could raise that either by working on your own awareness, or helping other members with theirs.
If I have a wife and children, there is a collective awareness there equal to the average of our individual awarenesses. If mine goes up, the collective goes up. If the children's awareness is brought up through child-rearing, the collective goes up. I'm told the opposite is also true, where the collective awareness can bring up the awareness of an individual, if the group's level is at a higher state than the individual in question.
That makes sense, in light of some previous posts, where I talk about teachers and the concept of Bracha and how it rubs off on the student.
The whole 2nd Quadrant is about expanding the area of concern from individual, to family, to race, to nation, to world. So everything here applies to those larger groups as well.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Dan Millman on Saving the Earth
On Dan Millman's blog there is a great post on his take for "saving the earth".
Wow! He put into words what I have been trying to say, but have been too angry at the environmentalist-tree-hugger types to express.
In a nutshell, the notion that we should all go back to living like cavemen or natives in teepees is bunk. That's not to say that we humans do not put strain on the environment, sometimes more than we have to, and sometimes we humans have little regard for the big picture. That's all true.
However, fixing that is not about going back to the "good old days." In the "good old days", no one seems to remember that the average life expectancy was 40-something.... even as little as a century ago. No one also seems to remember that people who were not related to each other that met randomly in the wilderness would try to kill each other, simply to control resources and take slaves or new breeding stock. Many environmentalists romanticize these eras, and forget the brutality that we have actually left behind in those years.
Things are better today than they were. People live longer, if nothing else, yet even if we humans never redeem ourselves and wind up destroying our own race, from the Earth's perspective.... Who cares?
The "Big Picture" is bigger than us. The Earth will go on whether we are here or not. Environmental damage can conceivably repair itself, certainly over millions after our extinction. From the Earth's perspective, it really does not matter what we do. Longer-lived species than us have died off before.
Nevertheless, there is still something to be learned from environmentalism.... if it can be done with awareness. The pollution and over zealous negativity that we humans put out into the world is a reflection of our mental disease. The more chatter we have in our brains.... the more we get sucked into our own emotional dramas.... the more we lose ourselves in the pursuit of excess.... the more the Earth becomes clouded with our garbage.
Environmentalism is not about cleaning up garbage. It is about curing our disease by becoming aware and learning to observe our mental chatter and emotional outbursts. You will never manually put a stop to the chatter or the emotions. You are not supposed to. However, you CAN learn to observe them without judgment and just allow them to be.
When that happens, the environment will improve on its own because human behavior will automatically change.
Wow! He put into words what I have been trying to say, but have been too angry at the environmentalist-tree-hugger types to express.
In a nutshell, the notion that we should all go back to living like cavemen or natives in teepees is bunk. That's not to say that we humans do not put strain on the environment, sometimes more than we have to, and sometimes we humans have little regard for the big picture. That's all true.
However, fixing that is not about going back to the "good old days." In the "good old days", no one seems to remember that the average life expectancy was 40-something.... even as little as a century ago. No one also seems to remember that people who were not related to each other that met randomly in the wilderness would try to kill each other, simply to control resources and take slaves or new breeding stock. Many environmentalists romanticize these eras, and forget the brutality that we have actually left behind in those years.
Things are better today than they were. People live longer, if nothing else, yet even if we humans never redeem ourselves and wind up destroying our own race, from the Earth's perspective.... Who cares?
The "Big Picture" is bigger than us. The Earth will go on whether we are here or not. Environmental damage can conceivably repair itself, certainly over millions after our extinction. From the Earth's perspective, it really does not matter what we do. Longer-lived species than us have died off before.
Nevertheless, there is still something to be learned from environmentalism.... if it can be done with awareness. The pollution and over zealous negativity that we humans put out into the world is a reflection of our mental disease. The more chatter we have in our brains.... the more we get sucked into our own emotional dramas.... the more we lose ourselves in the pursuit of excess.... the more the Earth becomes clouded with our garbage.
Environmentalism is not about cleaning up garbage. It is about curing our disease by becoming aware and learning to observe our mental chatter and emotional outbursts. You will never manually put a stop to the chatter or the emotions. You are not supposed to. However, you CAN learn to observe them without judgment and just allow them to be.
When that happens, the environment will improve on its own because human behavior will automatically change.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
So....
Sometimes there's these awkward pauses in a conversation with someone, especially someone you don't know well. Ever have those? People are uncomfortable with silence. They think they have to fill it. Or, more correctly, their egos think it must be filled.
In actuality, the silence contains Reality, and egos are scared shitless of Reality. By becoming aware of the silent presence that lingers over and throughout everything, you can become aware of the Present Moment, the Now, You..... and it's scary at first! The awkwardness covers up the fear.
So too it is with writing. Recently, I have found myself a little guilty about not having any compunction to write more on this blog. But you know what? There's nothing to write sometimes! That's just how it is. I want to make sure that this blog only gets things written that need to be written, rather than filling it up with my own chatter. That probably means sometimes I will not have much to say!
In actuality, the silence contains Reality, and egos are scared shitless of Reality. By becoming aware of the silent presence that lingers over and throughout everything, you can become aware of the Present Moment, the Now, You..... and it's scary at first! The awkwardness covers up the fear.
So too it is with writing. Recently, I have found myself a little guilty about not having any compunction to write more on this blog. But you know what? There's nothing to write sometimes! That's just how it is. I want to make sure that this blog only gets things written that need to be written, rather than filling it up with my own chatter. That probably means sometimes I will not have much to say!
Friday, March 27, 2009
I've been scooped!!
I mentioned in a post a long time ago that I would love to write a book about my experiences with Draja Mickaharic as a kid and teenager. Well! I haven't! The honor instead goes to my close friend, Luke Cullen, who hung out with Draja and learned with me for quite some time. Good one, Luke! I would've done it myself, but.... excuses abound.
Luke, you are the Deepak Chopra to my Love Guru. Best of luck.
To check out Luke's book and purchase a copy, Click Here.
The cover art is pretty sweet too:
Luke, you are the Deepak Chopra to my Love Guru. Best of luck.
To check out Luke's book and purchase a copy, Click Here.
The cover art is pretty sweet too:
Friday, March 13, 2009
Nitty Gritty Everyday-ness
There seems to be an underlying belief or feeling that once someone achieves some degree of spiritual accomplishment or awareness that his or her life will suddenly become perfect and free of "problems". Once in a while, I even catch myself believing this. However, it's really not true... It never happens.
When it comes down to it, evolving spiritually is ALL ABOUT problems, albeit not the problems themselves, but rather how you deal with them. Life continually tests us. What does it test us on? It tests our ability to maintain some level of attention on our True Selves while going through all the pain of life.
The pain and the problems are the teachers. You may be able to sit down and meditate in a quiet room and connect with the Oneness of all things, because you've spent years practicing, and that certainly is a pursuit that will increase your access to States, particularly the meditative State. But can you maintain any awareness of Oneness while you are in the middle of a fight with your partner or spouse about your impending financial ruin and the inevitable death of a close family member, all the while tending a sick child or three? Or does all your awareness go out the window while you revert back to believing your True Self is a big ball of emotional wreckage?
Being able to sit quietly and touch the quiet space within and around you is essential, but it is only a first step. After that, it gets harder because you need to be able to do it while living your life normally. The world was not made to function with all of us sitting on cushions meditating in forests. It was meant for us to be mindful beings aware of our divinity who go out and do what they gotta do despite that fact.
When it comes down to it, evolving spiritually is ALL ABOUT problems, albeit not the problems themselves, but rather how you deal with them. Life continually tests us. What does it test us on? It tests our ability to maintain some level of attention on our True Selves while going through all the pain of life.
The pain and the problems are the teachers. You may be able to sit down and meditate in a quiet room and connect with the Oneness of all things, because you've spent years practicing, and that certainly is a pursuit that will increase your access to States, particularly the meditative State. But can you maintain any awareness of Oneness while you are in the middle of a fight with your partner or spouse about your impending financial ruin and the inevitable death of a close family member, all the while tending a sick child or three? Or does all your awareness go out the window while you revert back to believing your True Self is a big ball of emotional wreckage?
Being able to sit quietly and touch the quiet space within and around you is essential, but it is only a first step. After that, it gets harder because you need to be able to do it while living your life normally. The world was not made to function with all of us sitting on cushions meditating in forests. It was meant for us to be mindful beings aware of our divinity who go out and do what they gotta do despite that fact.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Ah, to be a hypocrite
Over the last couple months, I have been dealing with a family move and one or two family emergencies. That stuff is still ongoing. Luckily today, I have some time to write, and I want a short interlude from the Integral stuff for now.
Life is really your greatest teacher. You may or may not have a person guiding you spiritually in life, but you always have Life to teach you, for as long as, well, you're alive.
Self-examination is one way of gleaning lessons from Life. Idries Shah and other famous sufis often talk about self-examination of behavior, or even simply being able to examine yourself. Most people are not capable of stepping back and looking at their own behavior on deep levels. Consequently, there are a lot of "hypocrites" out there. Idries Shah often used that word in his writings to describe people who are out of touch with their own behavior and wind up doing the very things that they preach against. Pretty much everyone falls into that category at some point or another, more often than not.
Hell, I've done it.
If you look around and do some digging on the Internet, you can find all kinds of people who believe in "manifestation" or "magic", or "magick", however you like to spell it. There are many other terms to cover the same thing, even the term "prayer" is used often. The underlying basis of all these things is changing your life to be something other than what it is right now. At a deep level, they are all exactly the same things with exactly the same arrays of mechanisms.
Of course, change is not always such a bad thing. You have a right to try to change your situation if you do not like the way it is going. However, sometimes it is easy to forget that there is an overarching Reality that does not change. This Reality filters down through the levels of existence and has a way of communicating things to us. Sometimes, the communication is, "Tough crap, buddy. You ain't changing this."
My attitude has generally been to trust in Reality and let it do whatever it does. Many years ago, I gave up all esoteric attempts to fiddle with Reality. I saw no point to it. Play the cards you are dealt and shut up. If you work hard and be smart, you increase your odds of having an "easy" life, but the ease of life is more your perception than anything else, so work on that perception instead, if you feel like working on something.
That right there, folks, is some hypocrisy. Good example.
Years ago I gave up trying to change the world through esoteric means, but I never gave up trying to change it through conventional means, which is even worse! Trying to change Reality even when it says, "No way, buddy" is a useless exercise. That's true whether you do it by magic, prayer, or good ole fashioned hard labor. At times when Reality will not allow you to change it, the point is to accept what IS.
When the time comes to get up off your accepting ass and move, Reality will let you know. Have no fear in that, but until that time, the best thing to do is to hang out in the Present and chill, or not chill, as the case may be in a hard situation. Sometimes, the best solution to a problem is to do nothing but wait. Other times, waiting will get you killed. The trick to telling the difference is to have some insight into what the universe is trying to tell you.
It all boils down to self-observation. Lots of lessons to be learned in that exercise.
Life is really your greatest teacher. You may or may not have a person guiding you spiritually in life, but you always have Life to teach you, for as long as, well, you're alive.
Self-examination is one way of gleaning lessons from Life. Idries Shah and other famous sufis often talk about self-examination of behavior, or even simply being able to examine yourself. Most people are not capable of stepping back and looking at their own behavior on deep levels. Consequently, there are a lot of "hypocrites" out there. Idries Shah often used that word in his writings to describe people who are out of touch with their own behavior and wind up doing the very things that they preach against. Pretty much everyone falls into that category at some point or another, more often than not.
Hell, I've done it.
If you look around and do some digging on the Internet, you can find all kinds of people who believe in "manifestation" or "magic", or "magick", however you like to spell it. There are many other terms to cover the same thing, even the term "prayer" is used often. The underlying basis of all these things is changing your life to be something other than what it is right now. At a deep level, they are all exactly the same things with exactly the same arrays of mechanisms.
Of course, change is not always such a bad thing. You have a right to try to change your situation if you do not like the way it is going. However, sometimes it is easy to forget that there is an overarching Reality that does not change. This Reality filters down through the levels of existence and has a way of communicating things to us. Sometimes, the communication is, "Tough crap, buddy. You ain't changing this."
My attitude has generally been to trust in Reality and let it do whatever it does. Many years ago, I gave up all esoteric attempts to fiddle with Reality. I saw no point to it. Play the cards you are dealt and shut up. If you work hard and be smart, you increase your odds of having an "easy" life, but the ease of life is more your perception than anything else, so work on that perception instead, if you feel like working on something.
That right there, folks, is some hypocrisy. Good example.
Years ago I gave up trying to change the world through esoteric means, but I never gave up trying to change it through conventional means, which is even worse! Trying to change Reality even when it says, "No way, buddy" is a useless exercise. That's true whether you do it by magic, prayer, or good ole fashioned hard labor. At times when Reality will not allow you to change it, the point is to accept what IS.
When the time comes to get up off your accepting ass and move, Reality will let you know. Have no fear in that, but until that time, the best thing to do is to hang out in the Present and chill, or not chill, as the case may be in a hard situation. Sometimes, the best solution to a problem is to do nothing but wait. Other times, waiting will get you killed. The trick to telling the difference is to have some insight into what the universe is trying to tell you.
It all boils down to self-observation. Lots of lessons to be learned in that exercise.
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