Reading back over some of my recent posts, I wanted to tie up some loose ends.
Remember what Idries Shah said in a few of his books, particularly Learning How To Learn, "Truth has no form." He goes on to say that it is sometimes useful to give things form so we can describe parts or portions of Truth, but really by definition these are all approximations, and inaccurate ones at that. So, when you want to take up a position on something, or even talk about it matter of factly, you need to define which what level you are speaking on. Another way of saying this is, how close to Truth are you discussing the matter? On the level of formless Truth, there are no discussions. Everything just is, and isn't simultaneously. Below that, so to speak, you can break out pieces of the whole and talk about them separately.
Discussions can be completely different depending on which level of God or Consciousness you are trying to talk about. (See the previous two posts on the seven different levels of perceiving God.)
Here's an example. If an Evangelical Christian came to me and asked, "Do you accept Jesus as the Messiah?" I would say "NO".
However, if Eckhart Tolle came to me and asked, "Do you accept Jesus as the Messiah?" I would say, "That's the dumbest question I ever heard. Of course I do."
What's the difference? The Evangelical is operating on a literal level. The questioner is literally asking me if I believe some man-made entity is the sole holder of some made-up position on the planet, which is not in my belief structure at all. The question relies on a Level 1 or Level 2 version of God, and on those levels, I do not believe that.
However, if the question came from Mr. Tolle, it would mean something totally different. Tolle defines Jesus as a synonym for Consciousness. In his definition, Jesus is a name for the Oneness behind all things. Not only that, but "messiah" has a totally different definition as well. When you are in the Present moment, without ties to past or future, and you accept the Now as it is, with all its perfection, THAT is a definition of the messiah. In that moment, the messiah comes, so to speak. The messiah, in this definition, is not a person or living being at all, but rather a state of conscious alertness and presence.
So the question "Do you accept Jesus as the Messiah?" really translates to "Do you accept that Consciousness comes into awareness when you focus and pay attention to the Present moment?"
Well, duh! That question is almost redundant, and would probably never be asked.
A good piece of advice when answering questions is to think beyond yourself and try to understand the level of the questioner. You cannot relate to people by talking down to them. Rather, you must go to where they are and relate to them on whatever level they happen to be at, and then slowly and gradually see if you can up the level a bit.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
OMG: Book II
So, continuing on with stages, one other thing that the first three stages have in common is some idea of karma. In each of those stages, people believe that their actions have some kind of effect on what happens to them in the future, or that their past actions have some kind of effect on what is happening to them now. Interpretations of this are different depending on whether it's stage one, two, or three. In stages one and two, these interpretations are more literal: "If I am bad, I will be punished." In stage three, it's more vague: "There isn't really good or bad, per se, but there are definitely things I am supposed to do so I don't conflict with God. If I conflict with God, my life might get tougher, but I'm not sure."
Keep this all in mind as we go to:
Stage 4: In this stage, God is somewhat amorphous, but by no means inactive. Actually, it is quite the opposite. People in this stage realize that everything is connected to everything else. Your thoughts and actions affect everything around you, and nothing happens by chance. In this stage, coincidences disappear. Nothing is a coincidence because it is all brought about by God, who has infinite organizing power and intelligence, although not in the conventional human sense. Karma also disappears. There is no "good" or "bad" thing you can be punished for because even the so-called punishment is there for a reason, to teach you something and to bring about other events later on that may not be so bad. In this stage, God is a nurturing, guiding, and compassionate presence that will respond to you. Qualities of this God, therefore are: Compassionate, Nurturing, Intelligent
Stage 5: In this stage, people realize that God is not only active, but is acting through everything in the world. Specifically, God is a part of the world rather than an outside observer. Physical objects are part of God just as much as non-physical ones. Moreover, every object is constantly being created and re-created from moment to moment. There is not only no such thing as coincidence, but people in this stage start to realize that they understand a tiny bit about how things DO come about, and that manifesting those things to the benefit of themselves and others is not just possible, but is a reality. It becomes clear that people have functions, and those functions involve creation, along with God. In a sense, we are co-creators with God in this stage. Qualities of this God are: Creative, Abundant, Energetic
Stage 6: In this stage, conventional wisdom on what is "self" and what is "other" starts to break down. In stages four and five, people realize that everything is connected to God, and to all other things. In this stage, everything in humanity is not just connected, it is one big thing. The concept of "self" increases to encompass not just the worshiper, but all living things. All living things are in communion with this God on a constant basis. The universe consists of this "self" and of God only. The two are in total harmony. In that sense, the creative urges of stage 5 are still there, but they are understood in a higher context: creation is something that happens on its own, but in fact, everything that should be already is. Qualities of this God are: Sacred, Intimate, Ecstatic
Stage 7: In the final stage, the concepts of "self" and "other" break down completely. The self and the God are One. Everything just is, and that is-ness is God. Furthermore, that's all there is!
As I usually add, this information is really a belief system. Your mileage may vary, and as with all people, your beliefs make your reality. What I have put here is a guide, and the credit goes to Deepak Chopra for laying it out this way. My hope is that my re-wording and shortening of this material acts as a helpful pointer to those who require some information to become a tad more aware.
Keep this all in mind as we go to:
Stage 4: In this stage, God is somewhat amorphous, but by no means inactive. Actually, it is quite the opposite. People in this stage realize that everything is connected to everything else. Your thoughts and actions affect everything around you, and nothing happens by chance. In this stage, coincidences disappear. Nothing is a coincidence because it is all brought about by God, who has infinite organizing power and intelligence, although not in the conventional human sense. Karma also disappears. There is no "good" or "bad" thing you can be punished for because even the so-called punishment is there for a reason, to teach you something and to bring about other events later on that may not be so bad. In this stage, God is a nurturing, guiding, and compassionate presence that will respond to you. Qualities of this God, therefore are: Compassionate, Nurturing, Intelligent
Stage 5: In this stage, people realize that God is not only active, but is acting through everything in the world. Specifically, God is a part of the world rather than an outside observer. Physical objects are part of God just as much as non-physical ones. Moreover, every object is constantly being created and re-created from moment to moment. There is not only no such thing as coincidence, but people in this stage start to realize that they understand a tiny bit about how things DO come about, and that manifesting those things to the benefit of themselves and others is not just possible, but is a reality. It becomes clear that people have functions, and those functions involve creation, along with God. In a sense, we are co-creators with God in this stage. Qualities of this God are: Creative, Abundant, Energetic
Stage 6: In this stage, conventional wisdom on what is "self" and what is "other" starts to break down. In stages four and five, people realize that everything is connected to God, and to all other things. In this stage, everything in humanity is not just connected, it is one big thing. The concept of "self" increases to encompass not just the worshiper, but all living things. All living things are in communion with this God on a constant basis. The universe consists of this "self" and of God only. The two are in total harmony. In that sense, the creative urges of stage 5 are still there, but they are understood in a higher context: creation is something that happens on its own, but in fact, everything that should be already is. Qualities of this God are: Sacred, Intimate, Ecstatic
Stage 7: In the final stage, the concepts of "self" and "other" break down completely. The self and the God are One. Everything just is, and that is-ness is God. Furthermore, that's all there is!
As I usually add, this information is really a belief system. Your mileage may vary, and as with all people, your beliefs make your reality. What I have put here is a guide, and the credit goes to Deepak Chopra for laying it out this way. My hope is that my re-wording and shortening of this material acts as a helpful pointer to those who require some information to become a tad more aware.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
OMG
When talking with people, I notice that there are many who are concerned with "truth". They want a definitive answer on what is true. This can be truth about any number of things, especially things surrounding the nature of God, Consciousness, Oneness, or whatever you want to call it. People seem to believe that there is somebody or something out there that can give them a definitive answer on this. My question is, even if someone did give you a definitive answer, would you believe them? Jesus himself could come down and declare the Messianic Era, and all that would happen would be a media storm of criticism and a slew of tabloid articles churned out by the papparazi that would follow him around waiting for him to get drunk and show some skin. People think they want answers, but what they often want are arguments. Answers, arguments, agreement... a Jedi craves not these things. :)
But... There is a framework for figuring out on your own what you hold to be true, at least in regards to God. This is straight out of a book called "How to Know God" by Deepak Chopra, so it's not my material. I am only paraphrasing below, as usual.
Your ability to know god is limited by the electrical impulses in your brain and nervous system. (Keep in mind that Deepak Chopra is also a physician.) Every physical sensation, and even every non-physical sensation, comes from impulses or lack of impulses in certain parts of your brain. When you look at it that way, there are basically seven different possible types of perceptions (or stages) in your brain to that thing we call God. I'll talk about some here. Keep in mind that even though I am giving these stages in a certain order, it does not mean that one is better than another or that it is somehow beyond another. They all just are as they are.
Stage 1: In this stage, God is some awesome and incomprehensible force that does things you do not understand. Your relationship with this God is based on fear and appeasement. Common examples would be those civilizations who depended on rain for crops and had no idea about the theories or principles behind rain. They were at the mercy of this terrible force for their survival. If God is angry, it won't rain. If God is appeased, it will rain. This God has qualities that echo these principles: Vengeful, Jealous, Oppressive -- Think of Yaweh in the early parts of the Bible.
Stage 2: I call this the "Get Ahead God". In this stage, God is not so scary or vengeful, but can be reasoned with. This God watches over you and judges your actions as "good" or "bad" according to its principles. If you are "good", you are rewarded with things like money, health, and cool stuff. If you are "bad", you are punished with things like poverty, bad fortune, and genital herpes. From this perspective, it makes sense to have a good relationship with this God. People who are in this stage believe in following principles to the letter so they can stand the best chance of reward. They firmly accept that this God has a genuine care and stake in the person's life. Qualities of this God are generally: Judgmental, Personable -- Think of most of today's modern Judeo-Christian religions.
Stage 3: In this stage, the character and nature of God changes. Instead of seeing God as a human-like entity that has thoughts, feelings, cares, etc., people start seeing God as some type of force. In this stage, God is no longer anthropomorphic. People who are part of this stage envision God as some kind of formless thing in the background someplace, a silent witness to everything that is going on. This silent witness watches everything, but does not interact with it because it does not relate to things in any sort of human way. It does not "care" or "have emotions", so it cannot get angry, mad, happy, or sad. Those who are in this stage are not really sure what God does at all, if anything. They know that this God exists because part of them can truly feel it and experience that presence first hand, but all it is is a presence, little more. Qualities of this God are generally: Passive, Accepting, Non-Judgemental.
Four more stages to go! Stay tuned!
But... There is a framework for figuring out on your own what you hold to be true, at least in regards to God. This is straight out of a book called "How to Know God" by Deepak Chopra, so it's not my material. I am only paraphrasing below, as usual.
Your ability to know god is limited by the electrical impulses in your brain and nervous system. (Keep in mind that Deepak Chopra is also a physician.) Every physical sensation, and even every non-physical sensation, comes from impulses or lack of impulses in certain parts of your brain. When you look at it that way, there are basically seven different possible types of perceptions (or stages) in your brain to that thing we call God. I'll talk about some here. Keep in mind that even though I am giving these stages in a certain order, it does not mean that one is better than another or that it is somehow beyond another. They all just are as they are.
Stage 1: In this stage, God is some awesome and incomprehensible force that does things you do not understand. Your relationship with this God is based on fear and appeasement. Common examples would be those civilizations who depended on rain for crops and had no idea about the theories or principles behind rain. They were at the mercy of this terrible force for their survival. If God is angry, it won't rain. If God is appeased, it will rain. This God has qualities that echo these principles: Vengeful, Jealous, Oppressive -- Think of Yaweh in the early parts of the Bible.
Stage 2: I call this the "Get Ahead God". In this stage, God is not so scary or vengeful, but can be reasoned with. This God watches over you and judges your actions as "good" or "bad" according to its principles. If you are "good", you are rewarded with things like money, health, and cool stuff. If you are "bad", you are punished with things like poverty, bad fortune, and genital herpes. From this perspective, it makes sense to have a good relationship with this God. People who are in this stage believe in following principles to the letter so they can stand the best chance of reward. They firmly accept that this God has a genuine care and stake in the person's life. Qualities of this God are generally: Judgmental, Personable -- Think of most of today's modern Judeo-Christian religions.
Stage 3: In this stage, the character and nature of God changes. Instead of seeing God as a human-like entity that has thoughts, feelings, cares, etc., people start seeing God as some type of force. In this stage, God is no longer anthropomorphic. People who are part of this stage envision God as some kind of formless thing in the background someplace, a silent witness to everything that is going on. This silent witness watches everything, but does not interact with it because it does not relate to things in any sort of human way. It does not "care" or "have emotions", so it cannot get angry, mad, happy, or sad. Those who are in this stage are not really sure what God does at all, if anything. They know that this God exists because part of them can truly feel it and experience that presence first hand, but all it is is a presence, little more. Qualities of this God are generally: Passive, Accepting, Non-Judgemental.
Four more stages to go! Stay tuned!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Get out of your own way
For people that attempt to grow spiritually on purpose, either by deliberately following some path or listening to some teacher, one common theme can be self criticism. You may be a self-critical spiritual seeker if:
You have berated yourself for missing exercises, or not doing them at all.
You have wished you could study in a monastery someplace, instead of wherever you are now.
You constantly scold yourself for letting your mind or thoughts drift.
You wish you were doing anything to evolve spiritually, other than whatever you are doing now.
Have you ever done any of those things or similar things? If you have, or if you are right now, don't stop.
That's right! I said don't stop.
Let me explain. Whenever you do one of these things, or similar things that involve criticizing yourself, you are getting lost in your own thoughts and emotions. You are forgetting who you are, i.e. Consciousness. Instead of identifying with all that there is, you are identifying with the argument or criticism inside your head. All of this noise inside your head originates from resisting what IS. When you put up resistance to what is, you create one of these thought patterns or emotional responses.
But here's the kicker, a piece of wisdom given to me my one of my karate Senseis: Don't resist resistance.
If you resist resistance, you are still resisting!
You cannot stop the argument in your head by out arguing it. You cannot stop resistance by putting up greater force against it. All you will do in that case is increase the argument and the noise inside you and ultimately you will wind up identifying MORE with the part of you that resists, i.e. ego.
So what do you do? Pay attention. Observe the resistance.
Here's an example of resisting resistance:
"Oh, look, here I go again letting my mind wander. I really should keep my mind silent. Ok, let's try to do this. Let's try to be silent in our mind. Meditation... yeah, that's it...."
Instead of doing that, let the mind say whatever it wants in this case. While it is doing that, put your mind into your hand, as they say in martial arts. Look at your hand and feel the skin over you palm and the opposite side. Feel the air flowing around your fingers. Feel the blood flowing through the whole thing.
Past this point, I personally cannot say what to do next. For me, it is a click that happens somewhere I can't define. Keep trying this and you are sure to have some experiences of your own. Just don't fall for the old mind trick of luring yourself into a fight with you.
You have berated yourself for missing exercises, or not doing them at all.
You have wished you could study in a monastery someplace, instead of wherever you are now.
You constantly scold yourself for letting your mind or thoughts drift.
You wish you were doing anything to evolve spiritually, other than whatever you are doing now.
Have you ever done any of those things or similar things? If you have, or if you are right now, don't stop.
That's right! I said don't stop.
Let me explain. Whenever you do one of these things, or similar things that involve criticizing yourself, you are getting lost in your own thoughts and emotions. You are forgetting who you are, i.e. Consciousness. Instead of identifying with all that there is, you are identifying with the argument or criticism inside your head. All of this noise inside your head originates from resisting what IS. When you put up resistance to what is, you create one of these thought patterns or emotional responses.
But here's the kicker, a piece of wisdom given to me my one of my karate Senseis: Don't resist resistance.
If you resist resistance, you are still resisting!
You cannot stop the argument in your head by out arguing it. You cannot stop resistance by putting up greater force against it. All you will do in that case is increase the argument and the noise inside you and ultimately you will wind up identifying MORE with the part of you that resists, i.e. ego.
So what do you do? Pay attention. Observe the resistance.
Here's an example of resisting resistance:
"Oh, look, here I go again letting my mind wander. I really should keep my mind silent. Ok, let's try to do this. Let's try to be silent in our mind. Meditation... yeah, that's it...."
Instead of doing that, let the mind say whatever it wants in this case. While it is doing that, put your mind into your hand, as they say in martial arts. Look at your hand and feel the skin over you palm and the opposite side. Feel the air flowing around your fingers. Feel the blood flowing through the whole thing.
Past this point, I personally cannot say what to do next. For me, it is a click that happens somewhere I can't define. Keep trying this and you are sure to have some experiences of your own. Just don't fall for the old mind trick of luring yourself into a fight with you.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Slice of time
A lot of misunderstandings arise from misconceptions about time.
"We will all be saved at the end of time."
"In the next kingdom, we will be blah blah blah..."
"The messiah will come."
These misunderstandings are not limited to religions. They can be about anything else:
"Someday I will be happy."
"Eventually I will get rich (so I can be happy.)"
If you go back in this blog and visit the video I posted on the nature of dimensions, including time you'll see what I mean.
Time is like a 4th dimension.
The video I just linked to talks about a theoretical creature that exists in two dimensions. Basically, a flat sheet of paper with no thickness would be its world. It can go across the paper, or up the paper, but it cannot come out of the page. The video then talks about what a three dimensional being would look like if it passed through that paper. The two-dimensional creature would only see a two-dimensional slice of the three-dimensional creature, like looking at an MRI or a CT scan, if you've ever done that. Check out some MRI or CT scans on the internet and you'll see exactly what I mean. That's how a three-dimensional creature would look to a "flat lander".
Our minds see three dimensions, but there are more than that. Time is a 4th dimension. Your whole timeline exists all at once. The whole timeline of the entire universe exists all at once. However, your mind can only see one time at a time! Your mind flows down the timeline, instant by instant, which produces a moving three-dimensional slice that you take to be your life.
Theoretically, if you could move your mind or other parts of your spiritual anatomy to other parts of this timeline, you can witness other times, although that's not such a big deal now that you think about it in this light. These are in fact the bases for time travel in the astral and mental bodies. The mind and the emotions are what witness time, and you think they are attached to your body in one particular instant. If these restrictions (which are merely based on belief) are lifted, you can look around at other spots.
However, aside from the tittilating prospects, there's a bigger message here. You are not a single moment. You are all moments. The Real You is actually a being that exists in more than 4 dimensions, but you can only get your mind to see 3. The Real You is the whole timeline. The fact that your mind only rides along a small portion of it at a time is a side effect that we deal with.
In that light, why struggle? Why beat yourself up over future times, when time is not the point at all? Why not just acknowledge that you are the whole timeline and be that knowing?
The one big argument that will always arise to this is Predestination. "If everything is already determined then... {insert rest of argument}"
No, everything is not determined. Yes, timelines are completely whole and set out. Sound contradictory? That's where the other dimensions come in, the 5th, 6th, and higher dimensions. You aren't just one timeline. You are an infinite number of timelines. Your mind can only move through one time and one timeline at a time. Your mind chooses which timeline to move down, but all timelines exist and they are all part of you. So, it's not contradictory.
Go and take some more asprin.
I will be on vacation for the next whole week! Expect some posts after August 21st.
"We will all be saved at the end of time."
"In the next kingdom, we will be blah blah blah..."
"The messiah will come."
These misunderstandings are not limited to religions. They can be about anything else:
"Someday I will be happy."
"Eventually I will get rich (so I can be happy.)"
If you go back in this blog and visit the video I posted on the nature of dimensions, including time you'll see what I mean.
Time is like a 4th dimension.
The video I just linked to talks about a theoretical creature that exists in two dimensions. Basically, a flat sheet of paper with no thickness would be its world. It can go across the paper, or up the paper, but it cannot come out of the page. The video then talks about what a three dimensional being would look like if it passed through that paper. The two-dimensional creature would only see a two-dimensional slice of the three-dimensional creature, like looking at an MRI or a CT scan, if you've ever done that. Check out some MRI or CT scans on the internet and you'll see exactly what I mean. That's how a three-dimensional creature would look to a "flat lander".
Our minds see three dimensions, but there are more than that. Time is a 4th dimension. Your whole timeline exists all at once. The whole timeline of the entire universe exists all at once. However, your mind can only see one time at a time! Your mind flows down the timeline, instant by instant, which produces a moving three-dimensional slice that you take to be your life.
Theoretically, if you could move your mind or other parts of your spiritual anatomy to other parts of this timeline, you can witness other times, although that's not such a big deal now that you think about it in this light. These are in fact the bases for time travel in the astral and mental bodies. The mind and the emotions are what witness time, and you think they are attached to your body in one particular instant. If these restrictions (which are merely based on belief) are lifted, you can look around at other spots.
However, aside from the tittilating prospects, there's a bigger message here. You are not a single moment. You are all moments. The Real You is actually a being that exists in more than 4 dimensions, but you can only get your mind to see 3. The Real You is the whole timeline. The fact that your mind only rides along a small portion of it at a time is a side effect that we deal with.
In that light, why struggle? Why beat yourself up over future times, when time is not the point at all? Why not just acknowledge that you are the whole timeline and be that knowing?
The one big argument that will always arise to this is Predestination. "If everything is already determined then... {insert rest of argument}"
No, everything is not determined. Yes, timelines are completely whole and set out. Sound contradictory? That's where the other dimensions come in, the 5th, 6th, and higher dimensions. You aren't just one timeline. You are an infinite number of timelines. Your mind can only move through one time and one timeline at a time. Your mind chooses which timeline to move down, but all timelines exist and they are all part of you. So, it's not contradictory.
Go and take some more asprin.
I will be on vacation for the next whole week! Expect some posts after August 21st.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
If I am what I am, then what's the point?
I am still laughing from that last PupetJi video. It's so funny and so true. If you have not watched it, go ahead and see it now.
At one point in the video, he talks about how we are unable to know what we truly are because it is unknowable. In the terminology of this blog, you cannot know the thing that is Conscious. Consciousness is there, and it has a source, but that source is unknowable in much the same way that you can't know your own eye color without looking into a mirror or having someone tell you about it. Furthermore, since that source is the source of everything, and it already has everything and is everything, there really isn't anything to do. There is no grand plan to fulfill. There is no advancement that can take us somewhere. Everything just is as it is: perfectly expressed the way it is expressed by Consciousness. Thoughts to the contrary are made by the ego in an attempt to preserve itself.
So the video then goes on with some common responses to these ideas:
If we are already there, what's the point of doing anything at all?
Why do we get out of bed every day?
Why don't we just grab a gun and start shooting people?
And so on...
The point is there is no point to anything at all. Answering these questions is not the point either, because the questions are coming from the ego in yet another attempt at self preservation. If there is even remotely a point to anything, the point would be to observe the questions without feeling obligated to answer them. Allow the questions to float there unanswered. Doing that will really piss your ego off. Try it. Observe the pissy-ness. Be the space around the struggle, and realize that this space is You.
I can put this another way.
My father is friends with a high level Zen Buddhist monk, Sensei Sejaku. If you know anything about their practice, you will know that they get up every single day at around 3am to do their meditations and devotions. Day in day out, without fail, these monks are doing this. One day my father asked Sensei Sejaku, "You know as well as I do that there really is no point to actions when seen in relation to the Oneness of all things. So why do you do what you do? Why do you get up every morning at oppressively early hours and do the same thing over and over again, even though it has no point?"
Sensei's answer was enlightening. He said, "Because that's what monks do."
So there you have it! The answer to why you should do what you do is "just because". Any other reason signifies some intervention of the ego. There can certainly be feelings behind this "just because". In other words, "I do this just because, and I happen to be enthusiastic about it." or "I do this just because, and it really sucks." Note how that is different than, "I do this because I will get promoted over that other sonofabitch." or "I do this because I will get laid." Those are driven by ego.
So the next time you are doing something, whatever it is, pay attention to it. (There we go with paying attention again. Lesson 1 is the most important.) Do it for its own sake, and do it as well as you can from start to finish.
At one point in the video, he talks about how we are unable to know what we truly are because it is unknowable. In the terminology of this blog, you cannot know the thing that is Conscious. Consciousness is there, and it has a source, but that source is unknowable in much the same way that you can't know your own eye color without looking into a mirror or having someone tell you about it. Furthermore, since that source is the source of everything, and it already has everything and is everything, there really isn't anything to do. There is no grand plan to fulfill. There is no advancement that can take us somewhere. Everything just is as it is: perfectly expressed the way it is expressed by Consciousness. Thoughts to the contrary are made by the ego in an attempt to preserve itself.
So the video then goes on with some common responses to these ideas:
If we are already there, what's the point of doing anything at all?
Why do we get out of bed every day?
Why don't we just grab a gun and start shooting people?
And so on...
The point is there is no point to anything at all. Answering these questions is not the point either, because the questions are coming from the ego in yet another attempt at self preservation. If there is even remotely a point to anything, the point would be to observe the questions without feeling obligated to answer them. Allow the questions to float there unanswered. Doing that will really piss your ego off. Try it. Observe the pissy-ness. Be the space around the struggle, and realize that this space is You.
I can put this another way.
My father is friends with a high level Zen Buddhist monk, Sensei Sejaku. If you know anything about their practice, you will know that they get up every single day at around 3am to do their meditations and devotions. Day in day out, without fail, these monks are doing this. One day my father asked Sensei Sejaku, "You know as well as I do that there really is no point to actions when seen in relation to the Oneness of all things. So why do you do what you do? Why do you get up every morning at oppressively early hours and do the same thing over and over again, even though it has no point?"
Sensei's answer was enlightening. He said, "Because that's what monks do."
So there you have it! The answer to why you should do what you do is "just because". Any other reason signifies some intervention of the ego. There can certainly be feelings behind this "just because". In other words, "I do this just because, and I happen to be enthusiastic about it." or "I do this just because, and it really sucks." Note how that is different than, "I do this because I will get promoted over that other sonofabitch." or "I do this because I will get laid." Those are driven by ego.
So the next time you are doing something, whatever it is, pay attention to it. (There we go with paying attention again. Lesson 1 is the most important.) Do it for its own sake, and do it as well as you can from start to finish.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Anything wrong?
Though I am not sure how easy it is to decipher, there is a message in the title of this blog, "Be Normal". What do I mean by that?
I can tell you what I don't mean. I am not talking about any judgments on how people decide to live their lives. If there are people that are weirdos, whatever that means, that is their business. Instead, when I say "be normal" I mean something specific.
When I was training with Draja, the curriculum involved a lot of things. Generally, it involved working out my own internal crap, reading various texts, learning various forms of magic, and interfacing with various other levels of existence. All of these things had one thing in common: they required tremendous striving, work, and sacrifice. The things I did incurred costs, at times.
After some years of this, I eventually ran out of gas, so to speak, and began to doubt my need for all this stuff. After going through a period of limbo after breaking with Draja, I soon stumbled on another way: Let it all go. Be here now. If you ignore all these spirits, magical spells being casted by so-and-so, etc. They all go away! They have little or no bearing on 99.999% of the stuff that happens in your daily existence, and most of the time that 0.001% of stuff can still be attended to by so-called conventional means.
And so, my little phrase was born: Be normal.
Consciousness is ever-present in the Now. It's there. There is nothing to do. Nothing to feel. In fact, feeling and doing can block your perception of Consciousness if you lose yourself in them and mistake them for being You. Since Consciousness just Is, there really isn't anything to DO. The silent witness behind everything is complete. It wants nothing. It needs nothing.
When I started hitting these experiences, I realized, "Why in the world would anyone ever want to do magic?" Magic, as I was taught, is generally there to get things that you want, or to get things that someone else wants. But if that thing that is doing the wanting is not You, it's your ego, then from the perspective of your True Self, why would you ever want to change WHAT IS?
The same could be said for striving. Why strive to get somewhere when you are already there? Why strive to be perfect when your True Self already is?
Egos are imperfect. Egos need to do more, be more. Although True Selves move on their own to wherever it is they appear to go within the realm of time, usually towards betterment of some sort, there is no striving behind it. That movement is different from egoic striving. That movement happens innately without being powered by desire. It can be powered by enthusiasm and passion, which have equivalent expressions in Consciousness, but not by egoic wanting.
So, that's what I mean by being normal. There are people that buy into all kinds of hoopla and hoodoo, and there are people that just live their lives and exist. People who live their lives and just exist, but do it with intention and attention to Consciousness are what I would describe with the word normal.
A corollary: Draja did a ton of magic in his day, but he did it for a reason: earning a living. Draja did magic like a plumber does plumbing. When you look at it from that perspective, the perspective of making financial ends meet, then it is different. The striving is not for obtaining some mystical goal of enlightenment. It's not striving at all. It's plumbing!
I can tell you what I don't mean. I am not talking about any judgments on how people decide to live their lives. If there are people that are weirdos, whatever that means, that is their business. Instead, when I say "be normal" I mean something specific.
When I was training with Draja, the curriculum involved a lot of things. Generally, it involved working out my own internal crap, reading various texts, learning various forms of magic, and interfacing with various other levels of existence. All of these things had one thing in common: they required tremendous striving, work, and sacrifice. The things I did incurred costs, at times.
After some years of this, I eventually ran out of gas, so to speak, and began to doubt my need for all this stuff. After going through a period of limbo after breaking with Draja, I soon stumbled on another way: Let it all go. Be here now. If you ignore all these spirits, magical spells being casted by so-and-so, etc. They all go away! They have little or no bearing on 99.999% of the stuff that happens in your daily existence, and most of the time that 0.001% of stuff can still be attended to by so-called conventional means.
And so, my little phrase was born: Be normal.
Consciousness is ever-present in the Now. It's there. There is nothing to do. Nothing to feel. In fact, feeling and doing can block your perception of Consciousness if you lose yourself in them and mistake them for being You. Since Consciousness just Is, there really isn't anything to DO. The silent witness behind everything is complete. It wants nothing. It needs nothing.
When I started hitting these experiences, I realized, "Why in the world would anyone ever want to do magic?" Magic, as I was taught, is generally there to get things that you want, or to get things that someone else wants. But if that thing that is doing the wanting is not You, it's your ego, then from the perspective of your True Self, why would you ever want to change WHAT IS?
The same could be said for striving. Why strive to get somewhere when you are already there? Why strive to be perfect when your True Self already is?
Egos are imperfect. Egos need to do more, be more. Although True Selves move on their own to wherever it is they appear to go within the realm of time, usually towards betterment of some sort, there is no striving behind it. That movement is different from egoic striving. That movement happens innately without being powered by desire. It can be powered by enthusiasm and passion, which have equivalent expressions in Consciousness, but not by egoic wanting.
So, that's what I mean by being normal. There are people that buy into all kinds of hoopla and hoodoo, and there are people that just live their lives and exist. People who live their lives and just exist, but do it with intention and attention to Consciousness are what I would describe with the word normal.
A corollary: Draja did a ton of magic in his day, but he did it for a reason: earning a living. Draja did magic like a plumber does plumbing. When you look at it from that perspective, the perspective of making financial ends meet, then it is different. The striving is not for obtaining some mystical goal of enlightenment. It's not striving at all. It's plumbing!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Boot Camp of Doom
For a while now, I've felt like writing a certain short story, but I have not yet been able to put it properly into words. The story would involve two soldiers in some unknown army at some unknown time, located in a gigantic training camp. Somewhere in that story, the two soldiers would be partnered up for an exercise where they had to do a certain drill with their swords against a wooden post that was meant to represent an enemy. In the hot sun of the open dusty training field, the soldiers would methodically swing through their drill... ONE... TWO... ONE... TWO... etc. Eventually after hours of this same drill, one soldier would become frustrated and say to the other, "I am tired of all this drilling. When do we get to do the real thing? I don't know how much longer I can take ONE...TWO... ONE... TWO" The last words were said in unison with the drill instructor, of course. Then, the other soldier would turn to him and say, "What do you mean? This isn't a drill." Suddenly, the first soldier would look around and notice that for the first time, they were not actually in the training field at all, but they were in the middle of a raging battle. As the enemies came in, the soldier swung his sword... ONE...TWO...ONE...TWO.. and four enemies fell in front of him. Then, shortly after that, he looked around and he was back in the training camp, swinging at wooden posts again.
The story is not fully formed, but the point I would try to make with it is that there are no drills. Life is the real thing. A lot of people spend their time preparing or striving for something that will come in the future, when there really is no guarantee about any future at all. They miss out on the most important thing when they do that: the Present. Everything you do, you do NOW. You either do it well, or you don't, but there is no second chance. The current Present moment is all there is.
All the exercises you can do, and all of the books you can read are of no help to any time but right now. That is somewhat liberating. It means that life is a school, and at the same time a real arena, just like in the story above. All you have to do is make the Present moment the best quality it can be, and not allow your thoughts of future moments to mess up what you are doing now.
To take this further, every single action you perform is a spiritual exercise. Those same actions are also the "Real thing". In other words, they are what counts. There is nothing to train for at some future time. A side effect of living your moments effectively is that moments will tend to have a higher quality about them, but the person who lives a perfect string of high quality moments up to the Present is absolutely no different than the person who lives only the single Present moment in high quality.
The story is not fully formed, but the point I would try to make with it is that there are no drills. Life is the real thing. A lot of people spend their time preparing or striving for something that will come in the future, when there really is no guarantee about any future at all. They miss out on the most important thing when they do that: the Present. Everything you do, you do NOW. You either do it well, or you don't, but there is no second chance. The current Present moment is all there is.
All the exercises you can do, and all of the books you can read are of no help to any time but right now. That is somewhat liberating. It means that life is a school, and at the same time a real arena, just like in the story above. All you have to do is make the Present moment the best quality it can be, and not allow your thoughts of future moments to mess up what you are doing now.
To take this further, every single action you perform is a spiritual exercise. Those same actions are also the "Real thing". In other words, they are what counts. There is nothing to train for at some future time. A side effect of living your moments effectively is that moments will tend to have a higher quality about them, but the person who lives a perfect string of high quality moments up to the Present is absolutely no different than the person who lives only the single Present moment in high quality.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Here in heaven
...and we're back!
I've noticed that for some people, the transition away from identifiying with false selves (i.e. the IS, OS, ego, etc.) is difficult because they think that this new belief structure requires doing away with a few key core beliefs they might have. Granted, if you are able to control your beliefs to the point where you can mix and match them or simply do away with them, that is helpful in developing yourself and it can accelerate the events that lead you to disidentify with your ego. On the other hand, most people have a tough time with this and attach themselves quite strongly to some core beliefs.
Particularly, there is one good example in this regard: the belief in heaven and hell. All this fuzzy stuff loosely based on Buddhist philosophy that I've been talking about is great and all, but if you want a real test to observe your own attachment to a belief, ask yourself if right now you could suddenly give up on the idea that after you die you will go to some puffy cloud haven in the sky, or some rocky firey pit if you were "bad". Some may laugh, but a lot of people who read this may not. Which one are you?
Seriously, try it. How revolted or defensive do you get when someone challenges this belief? The actual answer to whether or not there is a heaven or hell does not matter nearly as much as having you be able to monitor and observe your own reaction to this challenge. So how do you feel when you think about this? Do you get offended? Do you start trying to reason around it? Do you take up some other position about the subject?
Your heritage, upbringing, history, and background make up the things that constitute your belief system, to start out with at least.
As for heaven and hell, I will say one thing. There are even some Catholic bishops who even think that the fuzzy cloud vision of heaven is not true. For the rest of my personal answer on this, just read this whole blog and see. The answer is there.
In any case, the answer is not important. Again, your reaction is what's important. The thing that takes up a position, for or against the idea, is not you. That is your ego. The ego operates on the idea that if someone diminishes one of its theories or beliefs, then that thing is a threat. When the ego is threatened, it does all kinds of things to defend itself. It can get defensive. It can make arguments. It can get violent, or other things.
That WILL happen to you, and it's normal. If it doesn't happen when somebody challenges your belief in heaven/hell, it will happen when other beliefs get challenged. Do not worry about winning or losing the argument. Just watch. Know that you are not the argument, and be the knowing behind it. That is the Real You, and on that level of awareness, the actual arguments are not relevant to what you are.
Would you be any less if you were proven wrong? Would you be any more if you were proven right? Your emotions would go up or down, but what's the Real effect on the thing behind all that? Absolutely nothing.
I've noticed that for some people, the transition away from identifiying with false selves (i.e. the IS, OS, ego, etc.) is difficult because they think that this new belief structure requires doing away with a few key core beliefs they might have. Granted, if you are able to control your beliefs to the point where you can mix and match them or simply do away with them, that is helpful in developing yourself and it can accelerate the events that lead you to disidentify with your ego. On the other hand, most people have a tough time with this and attach themselves quite strongly to some core beliefs.
Particularly, there is one good example in this regard: the belief in heaven and hell. All this fuzzy stuff loosely based on Buddhist philosophy that I've been talking about is great and all, but if you want a real test to observe your own attachment to a belief, ask yourself if right now you could suddenly give up on the idea that after you die you will go to some puffy cloud haven in the sky, or some rocky firey pit if you were "bad". Some may laugh, but a lot of people who read this may not. Which one are you?
Seriously, try it. How revolted or defensive do you get when someone challenges this belief? The actual answer to whether or not there is a heaven or hell does not matter nearly as much as having you be able to monitor and observe your own reaction to this challenge. So how do you feel when you think about this? Do you get offended? Do you start trying to reason around it? Do you take up some other position about the subject?
Your heritage, upbringing, history, and background make up the things that constitute your belief system, to start out with at least.
As for heaven and hell, I will say one thing. There are even some Catholic bishops who even think that the fuzzy cloud vision of heaven is not true. For the rest of my personal answer on this, just read this whole blog and see. The answer is there.
In any case, the answer is not important. Again, your reaction is what's important. The thing that takes up a position, for or against the idea, is not you. That is your ego. The ego operates on the idea that if someone diminishes one of its theories or beliefs, then that thing is a threat. When the ego is threatened, it does all kinds of things to defend itself. It can get defensive. It can make arguments. It can get violent, or other things.
That WILL happen to you, and it's normal. If it doesn't happen when somebody challenges your belief in heaven/hell, it will happen when other beliefs get challenged. Do not worry about winning or losing the argument. Just watch. Know that you are not the argument, and be the knowing behind it. That is the Real You, and on that level of awareness, the actual arguments are not relevant to what you are.
Would you be any less if you were proven wrong? Would you be any more if you were proven right? Your emotions would go up or down, but what's the Real effect on the thing behind all that? Absolutely nothing.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Lego my ego
It feels like more needs to be said continuing on from that last post on functions in life. This time, however, I want to focus more on ego.
One of the major distortions that happens in religions and "spiritual systems" or paths is that they wind up thinking the ego needs to be subverted, destroyed, or denied in some fashion. Over the centuries, these distortions turn into bloated dharma on sex, morals, and all kinds of other things. Granted, some rules are good to have so that society can function. In this case I am mainly talking instead about rules that make personal life overly oppressive, when a person is not out in the real world. Aside from all the theological arguments for these rules, my point is that these rules are put in place to try and curb the ego. (Understand that I'm not trying to pass judgment on the rules either. I am just pointing out their existence as a fact.)
How useful are these rules for spiritual development? And what is the real deal with the ego as far as the old struggle of good and evil goes?
Well, I've made clear my views on good and evil, so the views on the existence of the ego go with them. The ego exists. It is. Like everything else, the ego is arising out of Consciousness, and like all other objects and concepts, the ego is another expression of Consciousness. Joseph Campbell points this out in his book "The Power of Myth" and even goes so far to point out that the ego and all the pain that it causes is just as divine as everything else.
So is the ego "good"? Is it "ok"? No. It's neither. It just is. The judgments you place on it are the ego trying to categorize itself. If you can be aware of that judgment and that desire to categorize, and then become aware that this is not the Real You, then you've discovered one path to the Present Moment. The thing that is judging is not you. The thing that is watching the judging is You.
Nevertheless, even if you are not aware of this, the ego is still an expression of Consciousness. The difference lies in the awareness, but the difference is whether or not Consciousness is aware of itself, not whether Consciousness exists or not.
So what do you do about the ego? Deny it? Stamp it out? No. You embrace it. You give it space to Be. The infinite space of Consciousness is infinitely more than enough space to contain your ego, and it does. No matter how much ego you can throw at it, it can be contained by the One. Again, the difference is whether you know this or not. Awakened people have egos, some larger than others. However, even the ones with the large egos are able to have egoic episodes and at the same time Be Present, i.e. they are able to rest as the silent witness to the ego while it is happening, and they are able to watch it happen from there.
I'm not really sure about this, but my intuition and some clues from Eckhart Tolle tell me that after enough witnessing of the ego in this fashion, it WILL start to diminish on its own, without any active doing on your part. So just know when the ego is acting, and be the knowing, not the acting.
There is another way. But it is extremely hard. Probably this way is the closest thing in real life to what you'd call the Dark Side of the Force in Star Wars. Essentially, in this other way, instead of trying to let the ego be and then to disassociate from it in order to dissolve it slowly, you do the opposite. You associate with the ego. You feed it. You inflate it as much as possible, and you identify with it intensely. After a long time of doing this (perhaps lifetimes??) eventually the ego gets so incredibly large that it cannot sustain itself. There simply isn't enough energy in the body, or the world for that matter. The pain and suffering caused by the constant feeding and maintenance of the ego becomes too much, and the entire egoic structure comes crashing down. It shatters. Of course, what is left after that is the same thing that is left after doing it the easy way: little or no ego, and a sense of Consciousness.
There are systems that embrace this route, like The Church of Satan, for example. Their teachings lie exactly along this plane, but I'm not sure if they know about the positive ending. Their ultimate stated goal in their bible is to keep the ego around even after death, so it can go out and do stuff, i.e. as a spirit. (The Satanic Bible is an interesting read for this.)
However, again, this way is not easy. Human beings are inherently drawn towards the easy way, i.e. the Light Side of the Force, if you will. :) In order to follow the Dark Side, you would have to go out of your way to do unenjoyable things, and you would suffer all along the way, since the basic result of egoic episodes is suffering. So, unlike Star Wars, the Dark Side is NOT quicker and easier, but it is still more seductive. :)
I'll be out on a business trip for the next three days, so hang in there.
One of the major distortions that happens in religions and "spiritual systems" or paths is that they wind up thinking the ego needs to be subverted, destroyed, or denied in some fashion. Over the centuries, these distortions turn into bloated dharma on sex, morals, and all kinds of other things. Granted, some rules are good to have so that society can function. In this case I am mainly talking instead about rules that make personal life overly oppressive, when a person is not out in the real world. Aside from all the theological arguments for these rules, my point is that these rules are put in place to try and curb the ego. (Understand that I'm not trying to pass judgment on the rules either. I am just pointing out their existence as a fact.)
How useful are these rules for spiritual development? And what is the real deal with the ego as far as the old struggle of good and evil goes?
Well, I've made clear my views on good and evil, so the views on the existence of the ego go with them. The ego exists. It is. Like everything else, the ego is arising out of Consciousness, and like all other objects and concepts, the ego is another expression of Consciousness. Joseph Campbell points this out in his book "The Power of Myth" and even goes so far to point out that the ego and all the pain that it causes is just as divine as everything else.
So is the ego "good"? Is it "ok"? No. It's neither. It just is. The judgments you place on it are the ego trying to categorize itself. If you can be aware of that judgment and that desire to categorize, and then become aware that this is not the Real You, then you've discovered one path to the Present Moment. The thing that is judging is not you. The thing that is watching the judging is You.
Nevertheless, even if you are not aware of this, the ego is still an expression of Consciousness. The difference lies in the awareness, but the difference is whether or not Consciousness is aware of itself, not whether Consciousness exists or not.
So what do you do about the ego? Deny it? Stamp it out? No. You embrace it. You give it space to Be. The infinite space of Consciousness is infinitely more than enough space to contain your ego, and it does. No matter how much ego you can throw at it, it can be contained by the One. Again, the difference is whether you know this or not. Awakened people have egos, some larger than others. However, even the ones with the large egos are able to have egoic episodes and at the same time Be Present, i.e. they are able to rest as the silent witness to the ego while it is happening, and they are able to watch it happen from there.
I'm not really sure about this, but my intuition and some clues from Eckhart Tolle tell me that after enough witnessing of the ego in this fashion, it WILL start to diminish on its own, without any active doing on your part. So just know when the ego is acting, and be the knowing, not the acting.
There is another way. But it is extremely hard. Probably this way is the closest thing in real life to what you'd call the Dark Side of the Force in Star Wars. Essentially, in this other way, instead of trying to let the ego be and then to disassociate from it in order to dissolve it slowly, you do the opposite. You associate with the ego. You feed it. You inflate it as much as possible, and you identify with it intensely. After a long time of doing this (perhaps lifetimes??) eventually the ego gets so incredibly large that it cannot sustain itself. There simply isn't enough energy in the body, or the world for that matter. The pain and suffering caused by the constant feeding and maintenance of the ego becomes too much, and the entire egoic structure comes crashing down. It shatters. Of course, what is left after that is the same thing that is left after doing it the easy way: little or no ego, and a sense of Consciousness.
There are systems that embrace this route, like The Church of Satan, for example. Their teachings lie exactly along this plane, but I'm not sure if they know about the positive ending. Their ultimate stated goal in their bible is to keep the ego around even after death, so it can go out and do stuff, i.e. as a spirit. (The Satanic Bible is an interesting read for this.)
However, again, this way is not easy. Human beings are inherently drawn towards the easy way, i.e. the Light Side of the Force, if you will. :) In order to follow the Dark Side, you would have to go out of your way to do unenjoyable things, and you would suffer all along the way, since the basic result of egoic episodes is suffering. So, unlike Star Wars, the Dark Side is NOT quicker and easier, but it is still more seductive. :)
I'll be out on a business trip for the next three days, so hang in there.
Friday, August 1, 2008
To those who are new here...
As I mentioned earlier, the posts on this blog build on each other at times. It's possible that if you start reading somewhere near the latest posts you'll be confused by the terms and concepts that I seem to breeze through. Thus, I recommend highly that you don't worry about reading up on the latest posts so much as starting near the beginning and working your way through the material like it was a book. Perhaps if I build up enough material, I'll actually publish, but I'm not too worried about that right now.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
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