_WAY_HOME_

Everything Is Connected, but...

2011-07-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Our attempt to understand the world

posted july 2011

Grace and Faith

2011-02-28T12:55:00.000-08:00

Grace means very little other than to have an effortlessness about one. The picture that I have has us gifted by God, of course. But then Grace is not what He directly gave us; it is merely the quality that our life takes on (ease, outwardly visible ease in all we do) after he has led us to a certain point in our spiritual journey.

Similarly, Faith is simply a
knowing how things will turn out. It has levels. At a small level, faith may be knowing that books drop when you let go of them (because of gravity, perhaps) At a large level, faith is simply a knowing that because of God in our lives, everything is going to be easy.

Faith and Grace are related. Faith brings grace and grace brings more faith.

I think there is a great deal to this. But it is the long and short of how the world manifests itself in response to what is inside us. Faith brings that, too. It is what we believe in (have faith about) that does this, especially when the faith is not in wonderfulness of creation.

Trust (faith) in Jesus and His perfection allows us to take his hand and walk beside him on the water.

Not that it is easy to live from moment to moment without doubt claiming us. It is as if we walk a mountain range, touching only the peaks of each mountain. Surly we cannot remain always at the peak. Yet I do think it is possible someday. Faith creates the grace that we are looking for. God, meanwhile, grows faith within us.
[september 2007]

This is like the problem of learning; [meanwhile there is work to be done. If the work is not done], the lesson--a thing of short-term memory--vanishes and must be reexperienced. This is because the lesson is spiritual, and spiritual things lack much physical substance. The brain cannot really store it in a memory.

The trick is to live so much in the "now" that spiritual experiences become a flow. Then one does not feel so tempted to try to hang onto the past spiritual experiences. I think it is like the story of Manna in Exodus. God gives us our daily bread and we use what we can and the rest rots away if we try to keep it for another day.
The point is the fleetingness of spiritual contact — [therefore the need of work]. I have struggled with this fleetingness as I try to hang onto gifts God has graced me with. There may be a good feeling that comes with the experience and I may want to hang on to it. But if I try to do so, I cannot. In this sense, anything we do in a state of grace probably “obtains” us some fruit. The point though, is that we don’t—indeed can’t—retain this quality.

We CAN, though, get more of it simply by coming back to the present (in humility and all that, of course.)

posted 4-1-2009 / published 2-28-2011

von guten Mächten wunderbar geborgen / today's prayer

2011-01-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

Von guten Mächten wunderbar geborgen,
erwarten wir getrost, was kommen mag.
Gott ist bei uns am Abend und am Morgen
und ganz gewiss an jedem neuen Tag.

By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,
and confidently waiting come what may,
we know that God is with us night and morning
and so is each and every day.

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]

[posted 1-10-2011]

2010-07-29T08:50:00.010-07:00

Patience [Louis Capart]

It tastes good, this ripe fruit,
of which we take a bite,
and which, by all its wounds,
at present is melting in our mouth
We needed time,
we needed years,
before seeing one day in our field,
blooming the branches of this tree.

Life had said: patience!
If you want to see paradise,
You have to wait until tomorrow.
Maybe, you wait in vain.
Tomorrow is eternity.
I don't dare thinking of this,
We're living such a short time
That there is no instant to be wasted.

It's a beautiful innocence
which makes man watch
the rain giving birth to the seed
and nature surprising him.
Since so many years,
in the same rhythm obstinately,
earth, which has given so much of herself,
learns to live slowly.

Without any reward,
it's possible that we feel cheated,
that we regret our prudence
at the end of a fulfilled life.
We know, time will be needed
When we begin again
Will we then choose to be as slow
like we are now in a hurry?

This would be a sad old age,
when man like a wound
discovers that his tree leaves him only
an ill fruit merely ripe
When we know the price of time
We are never afraid of the years
And the very last evening, in his field,
Man plants other trees.

But lets get back to that ripe fruit,
of which we take a bite,
and which, by all its wounds,
at present is melting in our mouth
We would not have had the crazy idea
seeming impatient
as to pick from this tree
a blooming branch in spring time.

It tasts good, this love,
of which we take a bite,
Even though it had not always been
as deep as it is now,
Time has been needed,
Years have been needed,
To see one day in our field,
blooming love as deep as this one.

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

Patience [Louis Capart]

Il a bon goût le fruit mûr
Que nous croquons a pleines dents
Et qui par toutes ses blessures
Fond dans notre bouche à présent
Il nous a fallu du temps
Il nous a fallu des années
Pour voir un jour dans notre champ
Fleurir les branches du pommier.
Refrain
Patience avait dit la vie
Si tu veux le paradis
Tu dois attendre demain
Peut-être attends-tu pour rien
Demain c'est l'éternité
Je n'ose pas y penser
Nous vivons si peu de temps
Qu'il ne faut pas perdre un Instant.
C'est une belle innocence
Qui pousse l'homme à regarder
La pluie enfanter la semence
Et la nature l'étonner.
Depuis tant et tant d'années
Au même rythme obstinément
La terre qui a tant donné
Apprend à vivre lentement.
Sans la moindre récompense
Il se peut que l'on soit trahi
Que l'on regrette sa prudence
Au terme d'une vie remplie
On sait qu'il faudra du temps
Au moment de recommencer
Choisirons-nous d'être aussi lents
Qu'aujourd'hui nous sommes pressés.
C'est une triste vieillesse
Quand l'homme comme une blessure
Découvre que l'arbre lui laisse
Un fruit malade à peine mûr
Quand on sait le prix du temps
On n'a jamais peur des années
Et le dernier soir dans son champ
L'homme plante d'autres pommiers.
Revenons à ce fruit mûr
Que nous croquons à pleines dents
Et qui par toutes ses blessures
Fond dans notre bouche a présent.
Nous n'aurions pas eu l'idée
Folle de paraître impatients
D'aller cueillir sur le pommier
La branche fleurie au printemps.
Il a bon goût cet amour
Que nous croquons a pleines dents
Même s'il ne fut pas toujours
Aussi fort qu'il est maintenant
Il en a fallu du temps
Il en a fallu des années
Pour voir un jour dans notre champ
Fleurir un amour aussi grand.

Waiting for the miracle (Leonard Cohen - song)

2010-06-24T08:38:00.037-07:00

"Baby, I've been waiting,
I've been waiting night and day.
I didn't see the time,
I waited half my life away.

There were lots of invitations
and I know you sent me some,
but I was waiting for the miracle,
for the miracle to come.

I know you really loved me.
but, you see, my hands were tied.
I know it must have hurt you,
it must have hurt your pride
to have to stand beneath my window
with your bugle and your drum,
and me I'm up there waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

Ah I don't believe you'd like it,
You wouldn't like it here.
There ain't no entertainment
and the judgements are severe.
The Maestro says it's Mozart
but it sounds like bubble gum
when you're waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come.
Waiting for the miracle
There's nothing left to do.

I haven't been this happy
since ?? ? ???.

Nothing left to do
when you know that you've been taken.
Nothing left to do
when you're begging for a crumb
Nothing left to do
when you've got to go on waiting
waiting for the miracle to come.

I dreamed about you, baby.
It was just the other night.
Most of you was naked
Ah but some of you was light.
The sands of time were falling
from your fingers and your thumb,
and you were waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come

Ah baby, let's get married,
we've been alone too long.
Let's be alone together.
Let's see if we're that strong.
Yeah let's do something crazy,
something absolutely wrong
while we're waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

Nothing left to do
when you know that you've been taken. ...
When they ask you how you're doing
of course you'll say you can't complain
-- If you're squeezed for information,
that's when you've got to play it dumb:
You just say you're out there waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come."

[Leonard Cohen; co-written by Sharon Robinson]

(mouse click on the title above leads to song on youtube)

posted june 2010

Amy McDonald's song - Mr Rock & Roll

2010-03-05T09:17:00.006-08:00

(click on the photo for a larger view
and (right)click on the title ("new tab") to listen to it on YouTube)

"...and there's a happy ending

Every single day..."

...... and so it was august 16, 2010

Book review: "Power vs Force" (Dr. D.R. Hawkins)

2009-11-06T09:26:00.008-08:00

A review of:
Dr. David R. Hawkins: "Power vs Force"

by: C.N., October 2007
---------------------------
Power versus Force is about modern research into consciousness. It builds upon scientific muscle testing such as you may have experienced with practitioners of any of a variety of holistic medicines. In repeatable and double blind studies, it establishes a scale of consciousness. This (non-linear) scale extends from 0 to 1000. Here is a sample of the levels and their associated measures:

20 Shame:

This is close to death. It corresponds with the emotion of humiliation. It can arise form childhood abuse such as sexual molestation.

30 Guilt:

This corresponds with the emotion of blame and associates with a process of destruction. At this level, people are victims. This is merely a function of low consciousness. At this level, one does not see sufficiently to be in control. Cruelty is common.
50 Apathy:

This corresponds with abdication and despair. Poverty and hopelessness often accompany it. The apathetic are felt as "heavy" and are often a burden on those around them.

75 Grief:

Regret, despondency are found here
100 Fear, anxiety and withdrawal.
125 Desire:

This is where Buddha thought all suffering began. It corresponds with cravings and with the enslavement that results.
150 Anger:

Hate and aggression are found here, but anger can also be good when it is not violent and makes one take a "I'm not taking it anymore" attitude. Interestingly, it may be the best way up from shame and guilt (and this insight helps us understand the value of a scale like this!)
175 Pride:

Usually considered a positive thing, it is still below the dividing line (more about this later) of 200, which separates the generally negative from the generally positive. Pride runs the US Marines very well. But the downside of price is the potential for the fall. Pride must therefore be defensive and is always vulnerable. Pride can also scorn.

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

200 Courage:

All before this level concerns primarily the self. Here begins selflessness. One must have courage to gain entrance to the higher states of consciousness. Courage begins empowerment. Here we begin to understand the book's title: force is what emanates from lower energy states, but from courage up there exists real power. Power puts more into the world than it takes out, unlike force which sucks (in a literal sense.)
250 Neutrality:

This corresponds with trust and a certain kind of release. We see a radically different way of perceiving the world evolving here.
310 Willingness:

Here we find commitment to live life as it comes at us. Willingness brings optimism.

350 Acceptance:

Here a major transformation occurs. We are forgiving and find ourselves the source and creator of our life experience. Our energy is sufficiently positive that healing may occur.
400 Reason:

Picture Einstien. Non-surface Understanding and abstraction come here. But all is not rosy. This level contains a deadly trap. In our success, we may analyse the parts but forget the whole. Beware forgetting the heart.
500 Love:

Both reverence and revelation come here. This is not low level love that is really need and masks anger, should our need go unmet (a 150-level state.) Rather, this is the level of discernment of the essence of things. We have the beginning of intuition transcending reason. 540 Joy:

Serenity and completeness are here. One runs the risk of becoming a hermit.
600-1000:

This is the level of saints and great teachers. At this level there is always some constructive work which benefits the whole of mankind. It may be done anonymously.
---
Power, as Hawkins explains it, is a fractal factor of creation. Specifically, it is an effect of a strong attractor.
The book then goes on to explain success, happiness, spiritual insight, health, and many more things as simple consequences of alignment with strong attractors while the opposites, failure, misery, spiritual blindness, disease and many more things as just as simple consequences of alignment with weak attractors (energy fields.)

Alignment is a matter of attitude and of what is REALLY important to us.

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

...an old birthday card........

2009-10-25T03:09:00.003-07:00

~ chinese proverb~.........dedicated to my best friend.

No indifference [pas l'indifférence]

2009-10-17T07:04:00.005-07:00

No Indifference --- [Jean-Jacques Goldman 1981]

I'll accept the pain,
I'll accept the fear,
I know the consequences,
and bear the tears.

I accept whatever the cost
all the worst of the best
I'll take the tears and the doubts,
and risk all harm.

[chorus] All, but no indifference
all, but no elapsing time
with days all alike
colorless days without zest.

And I'll learn the pain
And I'll learn the hurt
For the pleasure of a presence,
For a whispering.

I'll learn the meaning of phrases
The warmth of words,
I swear I won't be a "good child" anymore,
I promise to be foolish.

[chorus]

I'll give ten years for a look
I'll give castles and palaces for a rail track
A piece of life for all comfort,
A lot of certainties for still being able to desire.

I'll trade dead years for a bit of life,
I'll be searching for the key to any freakiness
I'll take all tickets to all possible journeys,
Go anywhere changing environment.

Erasing all absent hours,
Painting all in new colors
All those lying souls
And who are smiling with tears in their eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ER1olb0_s

The Secret and Universal Teacher seated in the hearts

2009-06-06T06:58:00.002-07:00

Sri Aurobindo on the "Inner Teacher" and the "word within"

Nothing can be taught to the mind which is not already concealed as potential knowledge in the unfolding soul of the creature. So also all perfection of which the outer man is capable, is only a realising of the eternal perfection of the Spirit within him. We know the Divine and become the Divine, because we are That already in our secret nature. All teaching is a revealing, all becoming is an unfolding. Self-attainment is the secret; self-knowledge and an increasing consciousness are the means and the process.

The usual agency of this revealing is the Word, the thing heard (śruta). The Word may come to us from within; it may come to us from without. But in either case, it is only an agency for setting the hidden knowledge to work. The word within may be the utterance of the inmost soul in us which is always open to the Divine; or it may be the word of the secret and universal Teacher who is seated in the hearts of all. There are rare cases in which none other is needed, for all the rest of the Yoga is an unfolding under that constant touch and guidance; the lotus of the knowledge discloses itself from within by the power of irradiating effulgence which proceeds from the Dweller in the lotus of the heart. Great indeed, but few are those to whom self-knowledge from within is thus sufficient and who do not need to pass under the dominant influence of a written book or a living teacher. (The Synthesis of Yoga, Page: 54)

Our Inner Teacher

2009-04-15T08:52:00.006-07:00

-Getting things right-

All human beings are drawn to reexperience spiritual mistakes so that they might correct the error and become spiritually perfect. This is why conversations replay in our head, sometimes. We have the opportunity to look at ourselves, most often to the hatred we participated in. Too often though, we look at the others and then find ourselves physically repeating the experience as well. We are driven to get things right.

Listening to oneself is a very healing thing. Something enters us from the spiritual realm - often experienced as "aha!" This is the basic agent of personal transformation. It is said, "You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free."

It is really a voluntary process. A person gets to choose. We either respond to truth or to lies (or, for a while, to a mix.) Response to truth loosens us from compulsions. Response to lies tightens our bondage. Truth will deliver us simply by the love (and love of truth itself) it instills.

Man is intended to be a natural being, and ultimately, God is in control, not us. We need to work with that and not work around it. Patience is merely a divine tool to refine ourselves (and by example to hold up a light for those around to follow, if they will.)

* * * *

Our Inner teacher

We have an internal guide and there is no inherent barrier to character improvement after adulthood. So obtain a little internal quietness in some chance moment of solitude and observe what lies within. Images and concepts (not words - forget the words if they are present, they are byproducts of memories of interactions with mankind and not the stuff of spirit) will present themselves. This is your Internal Teacher at work. It coordinates the experiences of a lifetime and presents them in the best order to peel back the onion of your life's wrong growth. What will be left will be golden. It will be you in your purest form, with the pollution of past trauma securely removed.

Do you know how to be still? This may also help. It is both a source of better observation as well as a wellspring of patience/love. Perhaps I should also mention that while in an inner state of stillness, Revelation happens. Observe in a state of inner stillness.

How do we approach problems?

Let me use my experience as a computer trouble-shooter to illustrate. Many will look at a cursor that no longer moves on the screen and they will say, "The mouse no longer works." But this is a subtle lack of objectivity. Really, what we see is, "The cursor no longer moves." To jump from this observation to the conclusion that it is the mouse is to mix up observational discernment with judgment -- something that crosses a fine line we should not cross. And when we jump to this conclusion, we act as if we could know (like God knows) just by seeing. But we cannot. And when we overreach like this, we create a little dream world where reality does not touch. It really might not be a mouse problem. But we are focused on the mouse and completely helpless to solve the problem because of our fixation.

All problems that we cannot solve are like this. We know too much (much that we don't really know at all.) It makes us lack humility. It separates us from the possibility of really knowing. We lack inner stillness as we are moved to fiddle with the computer mouse.

Instead, we need to come empty to the problem. Empty is the truth. We do not know. We may see partial truths - it could be the mouse, or the bios, mouse drive, the OS or the application program. But we do not jump on possibilities without testing it. In this way, we test truth.

So we come back to the need to observe from a state of inner stillness. In this state, you might also gain direct divine insight into how to resolve this problem. -- you go directly to The Source of all Understanding, instead.

Understanding is Under Standing, where we find our proper relationship of nothingness in relation to God's All. (Remembering the truth that we do not know.) There we Stand Under His influence - His will being our goal, trusting in His Goodness that our problem has a solution within His Will. In seeking the stillness within us, we connect with the Infinite Axle around which all things turn. We approach Him who sits at the still center of everything. And He will bless this approach with an influx of wisdom. We literally feel energy flowing within us (and by this hallmark, we know for certain that we have found inner stillness - a tree of life no longer denied us and a Source that makes a tree of knowledge unnecessary because we become inspired. We connect with the fallacy of Adam's choice of knowledge instead of insight and we experience why knowledge can never substitute for Him in our lives.)

No doubt this sounds deep. But it is a simple, personal thing that may easily be found in humility. It is the natural state of man. It releases you from worldly authorities. Less and less do you look outside. More and more will you look inwardly. We become childlike--for surly children are not looking outside!!

* * * * *

- Do you think we lose the Inner Teacher we had as children? I think of Inner Teacher as being a sort of intuitive process, not something based on education. In fact, I think education may encourage us to not listen to our Inner Teacher. We spend too much time reasoning about things instead of trusting the Inner Voice that guides us. ++

- Yes, I definitely think we may lose touch with our inner teacher (but we never actually lose the Inner Teacher.) The Inner Teacher has many names. It can be called knowing, as in when we know something, not in words, and with great confidence. It can take the form of what immediately precedes an "aha" experience. The confidence, with which we know, is key to understanding various spiritual words describing this same phenomena. "Confidence" comes from Latin prefix "con" meaning with and the Latin root fidelias meaning faith. So confidence is a thing with (inner) faith. Some refer to this inner knowing as conscience or the holy spirit. If you are Christian, you know that it is said that Christ sent a teacher in the form of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost. And it is further said that in His children, God writes His laws in their (our) hearts. The faith that accompanies the confidence in our inner knowing is spiritual faith of the sort spoken of when people say we must have faith.

As children, we become exposed to stress and stress alone gives us post traumatic responses to stress. These make us externally motivated (instead of our natural, inner motivated) creatures. This also tends to insert into our inner being a component that is foreign in nature to us. We perceive this as an identity. If we are very lost, we may think this identity is us. Instead, we simply have lost touch with our real being. It happens to everyone in a stronger or milder form. All must find their way on this narrow path.

But because of the Inner Teacher, it is also an easy path. So easy, sometimes, that it is hard. We look everywhere for answers and fail to notice them right under our noses (in our heart.) It is a beautiful thing.

And as we regain some contact with this Inner Teacher, now with some consciousness, we become the culmination of little children that we still are.

[C.N., May and June 2006 + February 2007 / ++ anonymous]
Posted: April 15, 2009

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

"dust"

2009-02-24T12:34:00.003-08:00

[anonymous]
posted: Feb 24, 2009

Love

2009-02-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

[anonymous, posted 02/10/2009]

"Lord, I want to know..."

2009-01-27T09:25:00.005-08:00

"Lord, I wanna know...
if I put my trust in you, Lord,
would you tell me which way to go, Lord,
would you show me which way to go.

Lord, I wanna believe...
if I give my soul to you, Lord,
would you tell me how to believe, Lord,
would you show me how to believe.

Lord, I never could see...
but if I look up to you, Lord,
would you open my eyes for me, Lord,
would you open my eyes for me."

[In order to listen to that song, recorded on an audio-cassette from a radio-program in a very bad quality way back in the year 1972 .. click on the title above.]

"To observe his uninhibited play
In stillness total and quiet stay
Utter no word nor breathe a sound
For he hides himself with you around"

anonymous
Posted on: 2009/1/26 4:48 EST
[January 27, 2009]

Truth

2008-12-22T09:55:00.010-08:00

"- Truth is hard to find because of apparent contradictions, so you have to search for it."

"- Thank God, truth is not hard to find! It swirls around us and is in everything, there for us to connect with. Contradictions are illusions that result from flawed paradigms and from non-truths which we have grasped as true - usually because of some pressure to do so.

In this I am not contradicting the above, - I see what (truth) is said here. And this is one of the most beautiful truths - that the yardstick by which we recognize truth lies within us and is an integral part of us, guiding us. Truth is easy to find because we have only to allow this guide to direct our attention. This is true observation. Realization results. Anyone who looks for Truth and writes (about) truths, would be very displeased when his words are used to pressure others into accepting something which - though perhaps "true" - yet is not the complete truth which we are only capable of grasping through our own inquiry. To use words this way is to fail to understand the depth of real truths.
The truth is that truths do not express well in words - truth being the food on which our souls feast. Words are too thin and pasty to sustain our soul. Truths cannot be confined within the bounds of mere words. So my words (and everyone else's who is searching for Truth) merely contain hints of the truth. That is all that words can do. For myself, I find little difficulty discovering truths even among words designed to deceive (as for example in most political speech.) But my delight with truth is often so direct and great that I am not motivated to wonder at the moment of realization whether some speaker of words, himself understands the truths that I have just discovered.
What is the point?
Am I going to revere the messenger more than the message?
Or do I imagine that I have some divine mission to speak against lies when truth is so easy to find for those who will sincerely look for it?
-- Ah, there is a difficulty! For if I succeed, how will I fend off all those who will begin to look on me with the reverence more properly reserved for truth (and that within us that is the true revealer of truth.)

Let us then enjoy truth."

[C.N., December 2008]
----------------------------
"A strong one-sided truth, when set forth as the whole truth, creates a strong light but also a strong confusion; for the very strength of its element of truth increases the strength of its element of error."
[Sri Aurobindo]

---------------------------
posted: December 22, 2008

Patience

2008-11-01T08:01:00.028-07:00

Patience is
- to endure which is on the way
- to be able to (a)wait
- to be able to love.

"Love is long-suffering and kind;
it rejoices in the truth
bears all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never fails; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is imperfect shall come to an end.
For now we see through a mirror, darkly; but then face to face.
Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
[the Bible, 1Corinthians - Chapter 13]

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

October 31, 2008

Time

2008-10-28T03:25:00.011-07:00

Time in the abstract may cloud the issue. In a sense, everything we are is here, now. Time is a stage upon which the drama of what we are plays out. In a sense, we don't fully know what/who we are until the play ends. But whatever reveals itself in the end is what was there in the beginning.
...the Perfect Father will be found in the Present rather than in memories or dreams... [C.N.]

As we look into the past, ‘time’ hides the details that can only be found in this moment. [N.G.]

"But do not forget this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." [the Bible, 2 Peter Chapter 3.8]

The disciples say to Jesus: "Tell us what our end will be." Jesus says: "Have you then deciphered the beginning, that you ask about the end? For where the beginning is, there shall be the end. Blessed is the man who reaches the beginning; he will know the end, and will not taste death!" [Gospel of Thomas]

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

October 28, 2008

Knowledge, Uncertainty, Humility & Doubt

2008-10-12T12:50:00.003-07:00

"There are two spiritual basis for belief systems. One is natural and grows out of who a person is -- from the inside. The other is unnatural and has been plastered over the original nature and held there through pressure. In the unnatural system, simple truths threaten to unstick what is held in by pressure. Truths, then, are an enemy.

As I see it, it is very black and white. There is reality, and everything else is dreamy to one degree or another. There is knowing within reality, and there is the unknown to us (because of our lack of intimacy with it or because it was only a dream.) It is important to understand precisely where the dividing line is.

Sometimes we may be tempted to "go beyond ourselves" to embrace what we don't really know. This may seem necessary because of some ambition that we have. But this moment of choice is our test of humility. Will we be content with the knowing that the Holy Spirit (that is, the inner teacher) has brought to us -- which is sufficient for us -- or will we judge God's sufficiency to be insufficient and cross that "line of humility" to embrace the unknown as if it were a known. This is the trying of our spirit -- a moment where we deepen our commitment to what is good and right or where we abandon it out of some negative emotion (like fear or greed, etc.)

Now nothing I've said above should be taken as a rejection of science. We may have "an inkling" that something works a particular way, and our inner inspiration makes us cognizant of the opportunity to test the idea in the arena of reality through some experiment. But embarking on such science does not have to be done by embracing the truth of the yet-unproved conclusion. I am patient, I wait for the clarity that can arise out of such experiments (which could also be called intimacy with reality.) I do not know until I know by the light of Truth shining from inside out onto the experience. The ring of truth seals it.

There is little room for (or use for) doubt in this way. There is knowing, then there is unknowing. Both are matters of certainty. I know that I know, and for the unknown, I know that I don't know. Doubt plays no role. This leaves no room for confusion.

Uncertainty, of course, is just unknowing -- but for most they will experience it with an added tension which comes from adding the judgment that "they ought to know" or "need to know" to the unknowing. The tension comes from the separation from God that is inherent in such judgment. There is a discipline of humility that eases this tension, reducing uncertainty to mere unknowing and repairing the "polarity" problem which moved one away from God, causing the unbearable tension often associated with uncertainty.

I think we learn by finding the line between knowing and unknowing, then yearning in the soul to understand. The yearning somehow speaks directly to God, who fills us. Words will not do the same thing.

So, you see, all the old truisms come together here.
- Seek and you will find
- You shall know (be intimate with) the Truth and the truth will set you free
- I will send the Holy Spirit to write the doctrine in your hearts
- Those who preserve their (selfish way of) life will lose it, but those who will give up their (selfish way of) life will find the life everlasting.

Add your own favorite to the list. The mark of the Creator is all around you. Love is the answer - but love that transmits, originating with God, through the clear lens of human, purified heart.

We must act on the truths that we see, not those that we don't see.
This is fundamental and paramount. We must also develop the humility of inaction in the face of our unknowing. Practicing this in everyday circumstances brings one to understand that both represent a commitment to the guiding inner spirit.

Neither of us has any superiority over any others on the journey. Indeed, the superiority we sometimes have over those not on the journey only happens because of how they themselves put themselves down. Human dignity of all and basic humility reign supreme. The only Superior is the Inner Spirit--sometimes called the Holy Spirit - which is our teacher."

[C.N., in June and August 2002]
----------------------------
October 12, 2008

Under Time and Conditions

2008-10-08T09:56:00.009-07:00

"In Brahman there is no effort.
He wills and His Will spontaneously produces its effect. But it produces it in time, space and causality. To demand a result now here and under given conditions is Ajnanam = ignorance by will to do it by oneself.
Care not about time, space or conditions; but will, and leave the result to God. Nothing but God exists.

Adopt the attitude I have described here and apply it to every individual act or attitude.
You have nothing else to do.
Be not troubled,
be not anxious,
be not in haste,
you have all eternity before you, ...................why be in haste?
Only do not be apathetic or dull, neither idly waste your time."
[adapted from: "automatic writings" in: "records of Yoga", Sri Aurobindo]

October 08, 2008

"Mon ami - mon maître" [Serge Lama]

2008-08-18T13:13:00.013-07:00

J'ai essayé à cent reprises.............. I tried so many times
De vous parler de mon ami.................to tell you about my friend

Mais comment parler d'une église...but how could I tell about a church
Dont l'accès vous est interdit..........where you have no access

Mais ce soir je sens sous ma plume....But this evening I sense beneath my feather
Un fourmillement familier..................a familiar prickling.
Quand le soleil du coeur s'allume.........When the heart's sun rises
L'éteindre serait un péché..................it would be a sin to switch it off

C'est mon ami et c'est mon maître.......This is my friend, this is my master
C'est mon maître et c'est mon ami.......This is my master and my friend
Dès que je l'ai vu apparaître...................as soon as I had heard his words
J'ai tout d'suit' su que c'était lui..........I knew it would be the one
Lui qui allait m'apprendre à être.............who would teach me to be
Ce que modestement je suis......................what I humbly am.
[...]
Et même s'il a de la peine.......................And even when having sorrows
Il ne vous parle que de vous....................he only would talk to you about you

Il conserve de son bel âge......................At his age
Un sourire au fond de ses yeux.............he still retains a warm smile in his eyes
Et je me dis que c'est dommage...........and I say to myself it is a pity
De vous le décrire sans cheveux...........to describe him as bald

C'est mon ami et c'est mon maître........It's my friend, it's my master
J'le vouvoie encore aujourd'hui..............I still respect him as such
Et quand j'ai mal dedans mon être.........and when I do not feel well
Je passe une heure ou deux chez lui.... I tell him, I ask him and
L'air qu'on respire à sa fenêtre..............he refreshes my soul
C'est l'air le plus pur de Paris
[...]
C'est lui qui a fortifié mon âme..........It's been he who fortified my soul
Et si je suis encore en vie.....................and if I'm still alive and well as I am
Je n'le dois pas à cette femme............I do not owe it to those I live with but...
Qui me rend heureux aujourd'hui

Mais à mon ami à mon maître.............to my friend, to my master
Et dans la chanson que voici..............And I know that in these words
Je sais qu'il va se reconnaître................he would recognize himself
Mais puisque nous somm's entre amis...but as we are here as friends

Ce soir je peux bien me permettre.........I think I can dare to
De vous le présenter aussi...............................present him to you.

.......................................As he is the author of many words* here. But this is another C.N. than any author with that same name you might find information about on the internet.

[Serge Lama --- adapted by ~estrella~ ]

[*Thank you, Curtis, for having given permission to post your words, which, as you told me, aren't really yours", but coming from another place.]

August 18, 2008
To listen to the song, click on the title above to get to the "songs" page and click on the respective song to listen to it.

"solitude enfin"

2008-07-30T02:01:00.011-07:00

Solitude enfin.....................................Finally, Aloneness,
bonjour les jardins du Palais Royal.....good morning, green spaces of the "Palais Royal"
J'arrive attends-moi,...........................I'm coming, please wait for me,
pourvu que je ne te perds pas............I don't want to lose you
je t'aime, viens,..................................I love you (Aloneness), come to me,
tu es là,..............................................here you are!

Solitude enfin.......................................Finally, Aloneness
bonjour les jardins du Palais Royal
j'esquive..............................................I'm avoiding, but,
mais parfois je ne veux que toi...........sometimes I want to see only you.
je t'aime viens, ....................................I love you, come to me,
solitude enfin .....................................Finally, Aloneness.

Solitude enfin......................................Finally, Aloneness
bonjour les jardins du Palais Royal
je t'ouvre grands les bras.....................I welcome you with wide-open arms
j'avais tellement besoin de toi...............I needed you so much,
j'étais pas bien.....................................I didn't feel well.

Solitude enfin........................................Finally, Aloneness
j'en pouvais plus....................................I couldn't go on anylonger,
j'avais plus le moral...............................I lost courage
la rage, les orages,...............................inmidst anger, storms.....
c'est bon l'silence.................................how soothing, the silence!
repos huis clos.....................................resting behind closed doors
et plus besoin de rien dire...................no need to speak anymore,
plus besoin de fournir,.........................no need to provide anymore,
c'est ça le vrai plaisir............................this is real pleasure!

Solitude enfin........................................Finally, Aloneness,
bonjour les jardins du Palais Royal
je t'aime viens ......................................I love you, come to me,
t'as un visage........................................you have a face:
il est bleu nuit, ......................................it is blue as the night,
ou mauve, ou gris.................................or violet, or grey,
ce n'est pas triste..................................There is nothing sad
les insomnies........................................in sleeplessness,
les p'tits matins.....................................early in the morning
à se retrouver seule................................and alone.

Solitude enfin........................................Finally, Aloneness
bonjour les jardins du Palais Royal
Après le déluge:....................................then the flood of:
la foule qui roule..................................rolling crowds:
le défilé des mal-aimés, .......................the train of the disliked,
des compliqués,.................................. the complicated,
des dépriments,....................................the depressing...
..............................................................

Solitude enfin.......................................Finally, Aloneness,
bonjour les jardins du Palais Royal
je me protège .......................................I protect myself,
je me défends,......................................I defend myself,
referme-toi sur moi...............................clasp me - surround me
Solitude enfin:......................................finally, Aloneness:
te voilà..................................................here you are.

(Alexandra Pandev; author: F. Bernheim)

[(right)click (and "new tab") on the title above in order to listen to the song on YouTube]

July 30, 2008

memories

2008-07-27T10:01:00.011-07:00

Walking the streets of youth a picture emerges: a picture of perfect sequence of all that which just had to happen as it had. Sequence of feelings and emotions of that period like several little instances filled with those vivid colors as if to illustrate the eternal play, eternal movement of Life as a manifestation of a Will greater than we....................

A play where each little detail had its purpose, all fitting for the beauty and glory of the true Source. This (little town) had been a stage of great play of perfectness however desperate some moments might have been.

People walking around, hurrying, shopping, shouting, looking, talking... they cannot see “it”. While running on it, they cannot see the stage upon which this play had been performed. These streets had been the stage: they aren't anymore. But that does not matter: for the world invisible flashlights seem to illuminate for a little while instances of the past, as if to let relive some moments with their respective purpose or meaning for a short while just for the Glory of the one Source which pervades everything without fault.

The closing scene: the whole picture, so near yet so far; nearness being expressed by perfect understanding of each action, error, emotion, feeling and thought of those past moments and their place in the sequence of the Big Picture. Remoteness being expressed by the impossibility of identification with this evolving personality of the past who is no more. Yet, identification is ever-possible with the Being as a soul-witnesser who had been observing at that time and is observing right now.

A feeling of great awe is the consequence: as each instance of the past, so each present moment has its purpose and meaning, but none of them is so important as to worry about it. Each of them is in the hands of the eternal play of universe, and its Source is greater than we. We act, but we have nothing to “do”; all what is needed is to agree with our existence. We only need to observe, to marvel at the great mystery, seemingly hidden but visible in the outward picture, the manifestations of what is ever-present behind all this: the Real, which supports all these outer events, which creates anew through these outer events.

"What is visible through the spiritual eye is real”, so there remains only stillness and awe... “all what is and acts, it is under Your Will."

In this light, all what happens right now, all wonderings and worryings right now seem to tell "no need to worry, you have not any control over things, you cannot make things happen. All is obeying the Great Will."

"It is not about DOING, but is about BEING.

BE, and in the stillness of being, you will understand.

There may be little to do, very little."

..........thank you.

July 27, 2008

Creating the distance

2008-06-30T12:29:00.006-07:00

"The inner eye, as we might call it, sees by a different, non-physical light. This seeing, too, must run the gauntlet of the mind's preconceptions. If we can achieve the right mind set, it too reaches our mind. There it becomes meaning.

When you have succeeded, you will experience what you see with a sensation as if you were a little distant from the scene that you observe. Some have described it as like watching a movie. You are seeing the world, but you are not really a part of it. When you achieve this, that is it. That is all of it. There is nothing more to train you to do. But as you go from scene to scene looking with your new vision, there will be a lot about the world that you will discover. It will be a fascinating and never ending joy.

The beauty of this mental state is also that it gives you a chance to choose your reactions rather than to have reacted before you even have a chance to think about what you want to do or say. This allows patience to express itself through you. Because love is patient, it allows love to express as never before in your life. ...................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There are actually split seconds in which the options present themselves. These are very critical moments to watch for, and with one-pointedness of mind, they will become apparent. These moments of decision last approximately 1/10 000 th of a second, as estimated by kinesiologic testing. The miracle arises in this gap. In this instant, the Holy Spirit is present and available directly by God's grace. In the ego's minute gap, the Holy Spirit empowers the opportunity, and this is the “space” in which free will operates. It is this moment that the warrior can choose mercy or cruelty, life or death.

Prayer and spiritual commitment give assent to the Presence as the Holy Spirit to 'create a space', as it would seem, in the progression of the sequences in temporal time for that critical instant of awareness. Based on the laws of the universe, that split instant does not open unless invited. God forces no one to choose Him. All spiritual progress is by invitation and free choice, which are consequences of prayer and spiritual intention, for these gaps are hidden gifts.”

[Dr. David R. Hawkins; "I - subjectivity and reality", p 101-102]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

".............. You will also find that you begin to see many things very clearly, things that used to be quite unclear. Like my art friend, you are developing a kind of vision that sees unerringly. And you paint on the canvas of life according to the accuracy of what you see. Your life itself will become a great work of art, beautiful for others to behold.

But you won't be thinking about that. And you won't realize that it is happening until after it is well begun. Furthermore, if you seek to create a beautiful life through this practice, you will lose the objective state of mind that is needed to accomplish the task. Therefore, you must only pursue my directions with a sincere desire to see things as they really are.

The biggest obstacle to seeing things as they are lies in your ego tendency to seek glory. Unfortunately, we all want to see ourselves in the best possible light. This will block your seeing. The inner eye, what I call the spiritual eye, cannot accept blinders that limit it's vision. It is all or nothing. You either open the eye and see whatever is there, or you close it. Many close it rather than see what they are really like.

I would like to make a plea with you not to do so. There may be a great fear that you have to overcome. It takes a bit of courage to face the truth about yourself. But when you muster that courage, you will find that the truth is much less than you feared. Yes, you are a nothing. But everyone is a nothing. So what!

We embrace truth, or we embrace darkness. Truth is literally a light by which we see, by which the inner eye grasps the scope of the scene before it. When we reject the truth about ourselves, we become unable to see. It would be the same with physical light. If we kept all light from falling upon us, yes, we would not see ourselves. But neither would we see anything at all. Our physical eye depends upon the light reaching it for sight. Similarly, if we block the light called truth from reflecting upon us, then neither will it reach our spiritual eye. So you must be willing to see yourself and let yourself be seen.

This is the nature of the fear you will face. At one time or another, we have all cheated in order to stand on that pedestal just a little longer. And so we all fear facing reality.

But there are two reasons why, when you get courage and face it, that it will be very bearable. One reason is that the cheating was not a fully conscious thing. This is hard to understand until you let truth in, because without this light of truth, you aren't fully conscious. You think you are conscious, but you are not (the wise call it a dream state.) When you summon the courage to look, you will become conscious and by that experience, will see your previous unconsciousness. So it will not be such a big deal.

But the biggest reason that you will find your fear unfounded is that in the moment that you summon the courage to truly look at yourself, you will find that you've changed. What you see will not be yourself, it will be who you used to be, even if just a moment before. Now, you are still nothing, but you are no longer less than nothing. And the nothing you are is a good nothing, who does not hurt others any more in order to raise himself up onto that pedestal. Be prepared, then, to see your insignificance. It will be one of the first truths you see.

The Mechanics of Inner Self-observation
No one distinguishes in their language, but there are two ways to see. "I see the house across the street." Reflects seeing with the physical eye, revealed by physical light. But, "I see that you're irritated." Is a thing of the spiritual eye. The difference lies in how meaning is attached to the latter revealing that the light of truth always shining has been received by the spiritual eye and perceived as meaning by the mind.

Awareness is a crucial ingredient in this process. It is like the retina of the spiritual eye. Experience somehow slams into us, caught by our awareness as it makes its impression inside of us. It activates certain tendencies to respond, like light fires up rods and cones in the physical eye. And if we can remain objective and watch this process, the experience translates into meaning in the mind.

All too often, we cannot remain objective. Then we go on automatic pilot. There is little awareness. We react instinctively (and in character, I might add, a character we often resist seeing, for which reason we have shut out truth.) And we see nothing. No meaning congeals except later, we will have a sense of failure for our overreaction. And we will react automatically to that, too, trying to do something about it rather than just seeing it and not reacting further.

And so, seeing outwardly with meaning depends on clearly seeing inwardly. And this is the secret.

Gaining Attitudinal Altitude
Remember the goal. It is similar in nature to the goal of the artist who seeks to see what he is about to paint in that special way that allows him not to be affected by preconceptions. It could be described as achieving a certain "distance" from his subject. It is a frame of mind that isn't very much by itself, but which enables a process that would be impossible or very difficult otherwise. It makes something easy.

The state of mind consists of seeing the world with a little distance between you and the scene. You draw yourself out of the scene. You see as if looking through a camera that lies slightly behind and above the physical eyes. You see from here whether you look inwardly at your thinking or whether you look outwardly at the world.

But to begin with, you look inwardly so that you can arise out of your dream state and raise your awareness. Your awareness is essential to help you know when you are seeing in this special way. Notice the "distance" between yourself and the scene you see with your eyes. This is the objective way of seeing.

Love is a power. But you will not feel it come through you. It just will. And it will affect everyone around you. Some for good, some not. Be prepared for possible fireworks. Your patience and love convicts those who have no love. They will feel condemned. And if they aren't ready to face themselves, they will externalize their feeling, blaming YOU for condemning them.

You, of course, have done nothing of the sort. You have just watched the scene in this objective way you now have. But you need to understand this response. Be ready to forgive them and overlook their reaction. They cannot help themselves. They are on automatic pilot. They have never understood how to turn it off. But you give them a chance now. Your love in its perfection, if you overlook and don't judge their error, gives them the first chance that they may have ever had. This is the nature of the effect you will forever have once you commit to this way of patience."

[C.N. 09/01/2002]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 30, 2008

Words

2008-06-28T13:06:00.004-07:00

"Words are only approximations to meaning.
Meaning lies deeper and involves a connection with the "intention" or "direction" of a word used in context.
It is almost a connection of the spirit."
[C.N. 03/28/2002]
-------------------
June 28, 2008

Beauty

2008-06-02T12:53:00.005-07:00

Beauty

Beauty is the special divine Manifestation in the physical as
Truth is in the mind,
Love in the heart,
Power in the vital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beauty is the way in which the physical expresses the Divine -
but the principle and law of Beauty is something inward and spiritual
and expresses itself through the form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beauty is Ananda taking form - but the form need not be a physical shape. One speaks of a beautiful thought, a beautiful act, a beautiful soul. What we speak of as beauty is Ananda in manifestation;
beyond manifestation beauty loses itself in ananda,
beauty and Ananda become indistinguishably one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Sri Aurobindo, "Integral Yoga")
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeing beauty is also:
seeing the soul behind, the spirit,
seeing two lines , hues, harmonies and expressive dispositions... thus bringing into the object something that is in oneself, transmuting it by adding out of one's own being to it - as the artist too does something of the same kind but in another way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
(idem, adapted)

---------------
June 02, 2008

The two Birds

2008-04-27T03:08:00.017-07:00

"Like two birds
of golden plumage,
inseparable companions,
the individual self and the immortal Self
are perched on the branches of the selfsame tree.
The former tastes of the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree;
the latter, tasting of neither,
................calmly observes."
[The Mundaka Upanishad]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I am Arjuna.
Mounted upon my chariot
in the midst of a great battlefield,
I am bewildered.

Mankind is arrayed for destruction;
all those I cherish, now in opposition.
I’d rather flee in disgrace and dishonor
than to lay my hand against another.

My most intimate friend and
only confidant holds the reins.
Knowing me better than I know myself,
he alone I can trust and believe.

For he is my Self and I am confusion.

All that the mind can conceive, with its symbols, are mere metaphors.
Although the metaphors contain a life which is greater
............................than that of the symbols themselves;
they can never bring to mind the essence of life itself."
[anonymous]

..........April 27, 2008 ....................................................................................

"Un jour finir pêcheur" Gérard Manset (1985)

2008-04-15T00:56:00.014-07:00

Un jour, finir pêcheur....................One day winding up as a fisherman
Parce que ça grandit l'homme.......Because that's what elevates man
Heureux comme ça,.......................To be satisfied with this
Pas gagner plus d'argent................no earning a living anymore.
Le matin, me lever,.........................Get up in the morning
Pas connu, pas guetté,....................unknown, unexpected by anyone
Parce que ça fait mal,....................because that's what hurts,
Ça fait mal a l'homme,..................That's what hurts man
La célébrité....................................Being known.
[...]
Parce que ça grandit l'homme,.......That's what elevates man:
De vivre sans parler,......................To live without speaking
Vivre sans paroles..........................to live without words
Et d'apprendre à se taire,...............and to learn to keep quiet,
Regarder sans voir.........................Not seeing them while looking
Les enfants qui dansent..................at the dancing children at
Au bord du miroir...........................the edge of the mirror.

Mais c'est toujours trop loin,...........But all this's still too far away
Toujours dans le noir,....................still in the unknown
Inaccessible,...................................inaccessible,
Pareil au cœur de la cible..............just like a bull's eye of a target.

Un jour, finir pêcheur,..................One day winding up as a fisherman
[...]
Mais c'est toujours trop loin,.........But that's still too far away
A portée de la main,......................within reach, but...
Inaccessible,.................................inaccessible
Pareil au cœur de la cible..............just like a bull's eye of a target.

Un jour, finir meilleur,...................One day being a better man
Tuer le mal de l'homme,................annihilate the pain of man
Se libérer de tout,..........................getting rid of all
Prendre dans la mer.....................Taking out of the sea
Les coraux, les vipères,..................corals and vipers
Et tout ça dans la main,................and all this with one's hands
Sans lumière et sans gaz...............Without light, without gas
Et sans barbe qu'on rase,..............without shaving a beard...

Un jour, finir pêcheur,....................One day winding up as a fisherman
Avaler le compteur,........................swallowing the counter
Regarder sans voir.........................not seeing it while looking at
Le calendrier.................................................................the calendar
Qui tombe en poussière..................which crumbles into dust.
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................How far is the earth,
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................How far is the earth!
Le calendrier..................................The calendar
Qui tombe en poussière..............................crumbles into dust.
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................How far is the earth,
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................how far is the earth.

[note: this is a very personal translation-interpretation]
[(right)click ("new tab") on the title above in order to listen to the song on YouTube]
---------------
April 15, 2008

on Love

2008-04-14T00:36:00.015-07:00

"I know that in similar circumstances my wife and children would greatly miss me. I teach them, however, that their great love for me is just the beginning of the journey. I know that it is part of my job to see this love transferred ultimately to God.
Their love seeks the Perfect Father to find completion of themselves and will be found in the Present rather than in memories or dreams."
----------------------------------------------------------

"Man is a portal through which the spiritual factors enter the physical world. To the degree that we are connected to truth and thus the spirit of Truth, love flows from us into the world. [6/14/2002]

Love is a power that we are designed to conduct. When love flows through us, there is no "spiritual friction" to create a feeling. It is feelingless. Much that people think of as love is not. A good test is whether in describing it one can substitute the word "need" for "love". False love, the one better described as "need", is based on the pain of need.

Real love is described well by St. Paul "Love is patient and kind..." Need is not patient nor is it kind because it **needs**. It cannot afford the luxurary of kindness. Those of us who can find patience and kindness and allow it to flow through us have found love and its Source. As it flows through us to create a beautiful effect around us, it leaves its mark on us, giving us grace and peace. We are whole, needing nothing. Therefore "love is not jealous or boastful" (as St. Paul continues.) "it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irratable or resentful. It rejoices in the right." The grace and peace within us is the rejoicing. Our connection to God, the source of this flow (and the Presence in the present), is a deep contentment. The connection roots us solidly. We need nothing. We can bear all. Patience is perfected. The physical body is a marvel that sets man apart from angels and all other conscious beings of the greater creation. Only man is designed to be able to choose to follow God or not, thereby making love of the Creator possible."
[C.N.,01/19/2004+05/10/2004]

-----------------------
David R. Hawkins, "Power vs Force", p. 90:
[...] Love [..] is unconditional, unchanging, and permanent. It doesn't fluctuate - its source isn't dependent on external factors. Loving is a state of being. It's a forgiving, nurturing, and supportive way of relating to the world. Love isn't intellectual and doesn't proceed from the mind; Love emanates from the heart. It has the capacity to lift others and accomplish great feats because of its purity of motive.

April 14, 2008

"Un jour être pauvre" - Gérard Manset (1985)

2008-04-12T22:24:00.010-07:00

Un jour, être pauvre, .....................One day, being poor,
Détaché de tout.............................attached to nothing,
Sans pleurer de rien,......................no tears for anything

Sans rire de tout,............................no laughing..

Comme un enfant qui repose..........Like a child

Dans la vérité des choses................who rests in the Truth of things

S'écarter de tout, sortir,.................letting go of all, getting out of all,

Se tenir debout...............................and standing still

Comme un enfant...........................like a child being born
........sort.du ventre. et hurle,............................and crying...

S'écarter de tout...............................letting go of all.

Un jour, être pauvre,.......................One day, being poor,

Détaché du reste,............................unattached to the rest,

De l'autre coté du mur....................on the other side of the wall

Pas le moindre geste,......................no gesture at all

Pas la moindre trace de haine,........not any sign of hate

Pas la moindre trace de fêlure, .......not any sign of fissure
........................trace de brûlure,...................no sign of burn

Le moindre sentiment d'oubli..........but not any forgetfullness, either.

De l'autre coté du mur,...................On the other side of the wall

Pas la moindre trace de fêlure,........not any sign of fissure
........................trace de brûlure,...................no sign of burn,

Le calme au fond du lac..................the calm in the depths of a lake.

Un jour, être pauvre.......................One day, being poor

Sur un quai désert,.........................at a desert quay
Etre un bateau vide........................being an empty boat

Tout le monde à terre....................all people on shore.

Comme un enfant qui repose..........Like a child

Dans la vérité des choses,...............who rests in the Truth of things

S'éloigner de tout, ...........................leaving all that behind
.................apprendre............................................and learning

A tenir debout..................................to stand still,

Sur la mer immense et douce, ........in the huge and smooth sea
.................apprendre,.....................................................learning

A tenir debout..................................to stand still.

[(right)click (and: "new tab") on the title above in order to listen to the song on YouTube]

April 13, 2008

Peace as a natural state

2008-04-04T12:39:00.010-07:00

Peace is a "natural state of man". Peace can't be "taught". And if it IS taught, it isn't really peace but merely a veneer of peace covering over roiling emotions beneath. That isn't to say that we can't help people find peace. Just that real peace goes far deeper than anything that can be taught.

If one tries to acquire peace by some intellectual effort, then one may only have a veneer of peace--like the quiet "peaceful" person next door that goes out and stuns the neighbors by committing this horrible crime. He surely had a veneer of peace; he wanted to believe so badly in his peacefulness because he wanted so badly not to be what he knew inside he was. But such is just an existence based on a lie and consequently,negative energy courses through his very veins. Eventually, something has to give. That would be the explosion that "surprised" everyone because he was such a "good" boy.

So beliefs are central. There is some capacity inside us all that allows us to sort out true beliefs from false ones. Ideally, this process should be followed before we accept any beliefs. But when false beliefs find their way in, we can know them because of the "friction" the energy they give off creates inside, guilt. If we are ready, we can then recognize them as lies. If we are not ready, we will try to believe the guilt comes from something else (usually something we look back upon as a silly notion.) In this way, we know the truth and the truth sets us free, as the old saying tells us. Free because while we believed falsely, an energy expressed itself through us without any consent by us (other than the implicit consent derived from our allowing ourselves to believe wrongly.) Neither did we have control over ourselves. But as the lies become exposed, we are restored to a peaceful state where we once again can choose.
I suppose one could say a peaceful state is simply the state of having this freedom while a lack of peace is a life lived compulsively.

So, the natural state is peace. It is like the natural state of humans being health. If we get rid of the bad habits, defective environments, or other ill influences, peace (or health) restores itself.
There are people who work at health and those who work at peace. Some succeed. But it is my view that not understanding that it is a natural state can lead to problems. Specifically, one can begin to be drawn by fear ("if i don't DO something, all is lost"-kind of thinking.) That is by far the greatest danger. One cannot obtain peace through fear. Fear itself destroys inner peace.

One might say that everything stems from the spiritual realm. Lack of health (and peace inside) have more to do with a problem in the spiritual realm than with anything physical. In many ways the phsycal realm is insubstantial and the breeding ground for illusion. Much that we are "taught" lends substance to the physical realm and hence easily contributes to illusion. This in turn affects health and peacefulness.

From another direction, things that lead us toward materiality, by strengthening our connection with physical reality, also lead us away from spiritual reality with its perfect health and peace. This is the secret of most of the seven deadly sins. Greed, gluttony, lechery, anger, envy, and sloth all relate to people connecting strongly to the physical realm. The other deadly sin, pride, lies in the spiritual realm but is the spiritual blindness that is necessary for there to be any allure of the physical realm. All together, engaging in these strengthens our bond to the physical while at the same time dulling our connection to the spiritual. Let me substitute "mortal" for "physical" and things make even more sense.

Mortality itself represents degeneration. The mortal progress to life's end with degeneration and death. "Spiritual" is the opposite of "mortal." As we disengage with the mortal--by seeing it's illusary nature, a kind of truth setting us free - we naturally engage with the spiritual with its perfection which lies beyond the possibilities of the physical (all of which eventually decays.) At these moments of disengagement, health and peacefulness flow from the spiritual realm to fill us. This is the secret of many "miracle" cures. Go interview someone whose cancer went completely into remission and you will find someone whose whole perspective on life changed (before the cure.) Many will tell you that surgery kept them alive but that their change of heart cured them. And if you examine the essence of this change of heart, you will find at its core a loosening of the grip of mortality and a strengthening of the connection to the spiritual.

Man (meaning women too) is created perfect, in the image of God, as God is perfect. Hence, health and peacefulness are natural states to man as also with God. But as we become connected to physical materiality (and disconnected to God,) health and peace wane. And this connection to mortality comes about as we place more faith in physical senses doubting our "inner eye" (which produces common sense and which naturally sees through the illusions of materiality, being spiritually based.) Perhaps I should mention that the return to health and peace reverses this process, following the inner eye/inner teacher/common sense which act represents the disconnection with materiality in preference for a connection with the spiritual. In a sense, it is a thing of faith, an act of faith, to believe in one's common sense.

Health and peace flow from this as much as degeneration and a restless mind flow from doubting common sense (which is to say, believing more/having faith more in the material world with it's "experts.") So the key to both health and peace is to foster the connection to the inner Self. This strengthens the spiritual ties and severs the physical ones. In this way health and peace are naturally acquired without effort on our part to acquire them. And this is the natural state of man.

Clearly it is possible to mount physically-based counter arguments to what I've tried to create as a spiritual appeal. I suppose your understanding will be dictated by which appeals more to you. If you cannot connect to the humble (prideless) then materiality will have a magnetic appeal that draws you away from whatever common sense may resonate (inwardly) with my (outer) words. Then there will be little sense to be found here. Perhaps you see that I've also spoken to the issue of where understanding comes from--its source will not be physically found.

God gives us "knowledge" (some would say "understanding") of this "hidden" way directly via a mechanism that He crafted to be a part of us. This key to His kingdom lies within us all awaiting questions. To these questions, via this mechanism, He pours understanding into us in a way that is marked by His great sense of timing and carefully measured out so as not to overflow the delicate vessle that recieves it, us. When this understanding pours in, it is marked by an energy that cannot be contained completely - our cup overfloweth and escapes our mouth as "Aha!" Our substance is strengthened by this process.

As people grow spiritually, they come more firmly into contact with how much they'd "forgotten" peace (or denied real health.) The physical realm is mostly a realm of illusion and that the essence of divine man lies beyond the reach of physicality in the purely spiritual realm (where real life and truth reside.) I believe that our real life is lived in the spiritual realm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Truth is not hidden. What makes it hidden is a person's complexity. The way itself is so simple that it requires some refinement of our own simplicity even to recognize it. This is why humility is requisite.

Another way to think of it is as a polarity. We are made in the image of God, which means imho that we have an inherent spiritual perfection. Because of illusions we operate under, we may labor with various disease or lack of peacefulness. But peace, health, and awakening from illusion are natural--meaning they are a part of the perfection of Creation (and what, since we're asking this kind of question, does this say about God?) One has to work to maintain illusion, etc. And most of the world does seem intent on maintaining the slavery to physicality that is represented by the rebellion that makes us think we are God. A kind of polarity attained in this rebellion repells us from Truth just as two North pole magnets repell. We are the polar opposite of God, the small of which He is the large. Together we are something beautiful. But if the small tries to be the large, it is even worse than when workers decide they are the boss. There needs be one authority in a structure, for several create chaos.

Mostly, man creates chaos because of his pride (attempts to be God.) These lead to being bound by materiality, with the appeal to the other six deadly sins. Also, this brings disease--inwardly and outwardly--and need I say lack of peace. But man with a resigned will, humble and small, finds a perfect fit with God and a clear path. The Secrets of this way are in plain view, not hidden at all. But those creating chaos blind themselves and cannot see. Only from their point of view is the way hidden.

And if they desire to continue in their error (despite the pain it brings which is always a force moving them toward Truth--what does this say about God) then they will also blame God for their own error. This isn't so different from how wrong people always blame others for their problems. In the case of God, they will imagine that he is cruel, doesn't care, or hides the truth from them. Their anger at God will only deepen their the polarity problem, driving them away from spirituality into the maw of mortality/physicality. But the way remains there. And as the pain that their error brings upon them increases, they must reject the True way again and again because the offer is an open one (and what does this say about God, that being the object of raw hatred, He still offers his love.) All the way to the grave, if one is so foolish as to reject truth unto death (and many do) the offer is there.

The commandments, and in particular the 1st commandment, are things that are good for man. They aren't there for the good of God. The first commandment should be particularly paid attention to. It is good to love God with all one's heart.
--------------------
C.N., January 2004

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

April 04, 2008

On Reality and Awareness

2008-03-21T09:53:00.007-07:00

These deeper foundations are about character, spirit, reality and truth. But in the absence of these, it is about lies and their mesmerizing effect.

I once saw a show that featured a hypnotist who walked around and hypnotized people who were then filmed in hypnosis to produce a fascinating TV show. In one episode, he hypnotized a lady in a public park. She was then told that under the concrete walkways in the park there lived a people who were being hurt by the passers by above who walked over them. Then she went into action. As each person or couple came down the walkway, she accosted them trying to get them not to hurt the people who lived below the path. To the walkers on the path, she looked totally loony.

A most important part of my foundational beliefs is that people act in a completely understandable manner if you know what beliefs they have. For the TV viewers watching the hypnotized woman in the park, her actions were completely understandable. We had the advantage of knowing what weird belief had been slipped into her inner being.

Most of the time, we don't have any such advantage. Nonetheless, it is important to FIRMLY KNOW that if we only knew what beliefs lurked there, then everything a person does makes sense. This knowledge changes our perception. Now we can look at the actions of people as a kind of window into their belief system, their souls. It may also give us some patience with otherwise scary behavior.

Another (important) side of this example is how sacred we should hold beliefs. Look at how a fairly simple lie, when slipped past the usual guard of common sense (that defends us against false beliefs entering into us,) can cause us to enter into a kind of dream world where what seem sensible actions to us are viewed by those around us as truly insane. Indeed, when we believe lies, our acts are out of harmony with the universe (reality.)

Yet another (important) side of this example is how the awakening from this "dream state" is to be effected: simple truth suffices. That is, at some point the hypnotist may say, "it isn't true what I said about the people beneath the concrete." (or the woman may simply awaken from the hypnosis in a day or so - hypnosis doesn't last unless reinforced.) So this is a sense in which one knows truth and truth sets one free (old biblical saying.)

Lastly, there it the issue of how one acquires lies to believe in. Hypnosis can do it. But there are many things that have the same effect as hypnosis. Principle among these is hatred. When a person hates, it is like being hypnotized but without a hypnotist. Instead, everything in and around the person has the power of the hypnotist to implant suggestion (lies) deeply into our being - right past common sense which sleeps instantly upon hatred arising. Children are particularly vulnerable; adults can acquire a very small measure of resistance to the process. Love, of course, is the absence of hate (and little more) and we need to seek this state of existence by looking inward. Then we are in a position to assist others.

Somewhere along the way, as children we fall into resentment/hate. This moment of failure (everyone has it because as children we are too vulnerable to resist) programs us with lies from everything around us (we love the color of the room, we find the room comforting, if someone yelled at us, whatever he believes about us we will come to believe, we will believe in yelling, etc.) Then all of these lies that have buried themselves deeply within us start to shape our actions. So long as we hold onto the hatred, the lies will remain firmly entrenched.

Indeed, our life lived from these lies is the reinforcing factor needed to keep the "hypnosis" alive in us. That is, the room, the color, or whatever was in that original scene exerts an influence over us that subtly reminds of that event. This gives the opportunity in the present to reexperience a part of it. Hatred/resentment will flash within us, perhaps a bit below a conscious level, but if it is there, it does it's work to reinforce these lies. The result is that we don't awaken.

But one day, perhaps we will. Every bit as much as these programmed lies has the power to reinforce the lie, they also have the power to release us. Each time we reexperience a part of the scene, we may also hold ourselves back from resentment/hate. If we can succeed in doing this, then the lie simply evaporates within us and has no more power over us - and in this way, we CAN and do change deeply, raising our consciousness.

So those are the secrets of how people can be glazed over and not aware of the reality they live within - how they come to be that way, and how they can return from that existence.

Reality, then, when one comes back to it, is mostly about the Presence of God that exists in the present. God, really, IS Reality and without Him, nothing is. When you rise up from the mesmerized state of existence that most think of as reality, you will feel His presence. Indeed, you will understand that you found Reality only because He called you to it (and this may be a relief since you will understand that it isn't up to you to call others. Still, many search and your casual words may be His instrument - often in ways you don't foresee - to call other seekers.)

Awareness is the natural state of all and all drift toward it. Only a cycle of fear and hatred that one will not let go of will block its manifestation within us. Awareness is as easy as having hands. We didn't have to think about how to grow them - they are just there. But many are not aware. For them, there is some block. If we know the roots of such problems generally, and if we are patiently humble and have taken the splinter from our own eyes, then we will know what to do to help. It will come to us because of our own awareness and common sense.

But there are no guarantees, understand. Every living being has a choice and may choose not to relinquish hatred in preference for love. These you can't force. To force is to abandon love yourself.

It is not about DOING, but is about BEING.

BE, and in the stillness of being, you will understand.

There may be little to do, very little.

------------------------------------------------------------------
C.N. November, 3, 2003

March 21, 2008

(On Meditation) -- The Discovery of the Self

2008-03-17T12:57:00.013-07:00

The question was, "Where am I, the true me? Am I my body?" It was not a question in words.
What came of this was a wonderful and terrible time of great awareness. But mostly it was wonderful. I became very aware. In so doing, I "felt" where the real me was--not my body, not my mind, not my thinking. I was a speck located near what eastern religious types call the third eye. And this speck had little but the capacity for questions, watchful awareness, understanding (belief) and awe.

As I experienced the beingness of this speck of nothingness, I became an observer of my thinking, which went on without any active participation on my part--just watching with occasional questions. The thinking had mostly to do with memories of experiences. The questions were generally of the sort, "Why am I remembering THAT?" The answers came instantly, again not from me. They were such complete answers that there was no question about their truth.

This experience of awareness lasted for about a half hour.

I learned how I had once been a very aware child. I learned about the personal trauma that set me on my wrong path. I learned about judgment's wrongness and how hate crept into me as a consequence of judgment, displacing the simple love that children naturally know, which love we must return to as adults or perish because of our hate.
I learned that this is a divine law,"You become what you hate." I learned that when we are ready to abandon judgment, we can come back to being ourselves...

I learned that this return to self is done layer-by-layer, like peeling an onion. There may be many layers. It is not a thing that can be accomplished by hard work, either. Hard work only COMPENSATES for failure to allow the real work to be done by God's leading, giving only an illusion, a shadow...

The experience ended somewhat slowly as I saw how, with awareness, one can truly know what to do every day of one's life. How decisions become unnecessary, because with sufficient awareness, there really is nothing to decide. And here I made a mistake that cost me my continued awareness at this wonderful level: I thought that the wonderful awareness was by itself all that I needed--I thought that in some sense I had "arrived."

No, awareness by itself is not sufficient.
One must come to love the Source of this awareness, Itself.
Without such love, one is always susceptible to accepting lies, however subtle, and these lies cut one off from Truth, shutting down awareness.

So freedom is merely the capacity to will one's actions to be aligned with the Divine plan because of one's love for the Creator and His wisdom. We are free to express love for our Creator by doing His will, or not. That is the only choice.

When we align ourselves with truth through, we find ourself drawn slowly but surely back to God. Wonderful experiences abound. We feel that our life is blessed, and it is. Through our natural appreciation, our bond to Truth strengthens. Slowly, we align with the true Self, discarding the layers of false identities. We find more and more that those things that give us (spiritual) difficulties in life stem from having joined with some lie that implanted a false identity (and with it, gaveus a dream that separated us from Reality.) As we emerge from such lies, we are living examples of how truth awakens and sets one free.....................................................

------------------------------------------------------------------
C.N., October, 27, 2002

March 17, 2008

dialog continued

2008-03-04T11:40:00.007-08:00

"Can you really love Me in all my appearances?

I think not; you only see me where you see you.

Find Me within you and see without you."

N. G., feb. 23, 2008

March 04, 2008

dialog

2008-03-04T11:19:00.009-08:00

"- O Great Reader of Ripples,

could the play of the ripples on the surface of the sea tell us something about how far, how long?

- Yes, my son, they can! But first, you must notice yourself as the ripple."

N.G., feb. 19, 2008 re-edited

March 04, 2008

entering God's Temple

2008-02-09T07:28:00.005-08:00

"Discussing philosophical subjects on and on,
standing outside,
before the closed door of God's temple, -
how do you want to enter?
Discussions never end,
so stop them where they stand,
- you will be left unsatisfied, overcome this and,
- be still, open the door, and enter in God's temple.
You may have to sit for a while.
Do not chat,
do not ask,
do not look,
sit still.
In the silence, you will hear.
Be.
-"...and in the stillness of Being, you will understand."-"
.
February 09, 2008

"That I want thee, only thee..."

2008-02-04T09:43:00.010-08:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That I want thee, only thee---

let my heart repeat without end.

All desires that distract me, day and night, are false and empty to the core.
As the night keeps hidden in its gloom the petition for light,

even thus in the depth of my unconsciousness rings the cry--

-`I want thee, only thee'.
As the storm still seeks its end in peace

when it strikes against peace with all its might,

even thus my rebellion strikes against thy love and still its cry is---

`I want thee, only thee'."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

February 04, 2008

words - The Word

2008-01-20T07:00:00.006-08:00

Words are just an envelope
and the Wordless Meaning flows at both ends,
filling us,
refining us,
bringing us closer to Him.
As we draw closer,
we discover that we are brother and sister
and Children of God.
(C.N. june 2007)

the world - a mirror

2008-01-20T06:45:00.004-08:00

the world is a mirror

...

"The world is an infinite set of holograms".
"Power vs. Force" by David R. Hawkins

friendship

2008-01-20T06:36:00.005-08:00

"Friendship does not depend on things like space and time.

Overcome space, and all we have left is Here.

Overcome time, and all we have left is Now.

And in the middle of Here and Now, don't you think that we might see each other once or twice?"

(adapted from: "Jonathan Livingston Seagull")

Creation

2008-01-20T06:33:00.006-08:00

"The truth is that you are not the one creating anything. It is the idea or the concept that is seeking to express itself through you. You are here to be a channel for the work of God to manifest through you. Therefore it is not about being qualified but it is about being chosen."
[source: mindreality . com]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"[...] we have our own unique parts to play.
UNDER GOD, WE ARE THE MATERIAL AGENTS OF CREATION."
[C.N., feb. 17, 2007]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Creation is and we can either participate in it or not."

Creation is and we participate either consciously or unconsciously in it...

joining

2008-01-20T06:26:00.003-08:00