"Karmanology" Instead of Psychology

 Did you let it pass through?

Michael A. Singer

Now that is a question a "karmanologist" would ask a client on their couch.  (Not sure if there is such a thing called karamanology lol...it was a term I heard Michael Singer using and it stuck). A psychologist might ask about what happened in your past and might get stuck there by saying, "Oh you are repressing a challenging memory in your psyche." The psychologist focuses on the "psyche" but doesn't go beyond.  

Instead of calling it "a repressed or suppressed memory or emotion" as a psychologist might, the karmanologist would say..."Oh you have some samskaras blocking your energy flow and that is why you are suffering. You need to let them pass through?"

Psychology and Psychologists

 A psychologist might agree to some extent. They would then spend all your sessions tying to help you, as a psyche, to "cope" with the challenges of life and this so called trauma stuck within you. He or she will empathize with your resistance , condoning it, because that is the "normal thing" to do. They will respond to each life challenge you share with, "Oh that would be so difficult.  I see why you feel the way you do; why you did what you did. I see your pain and I validate it."  

They will help you to improve your life in a way that soothes the psyche, protects it, makes it stronger. They will help you to learn and focus on what you want from life.They will help you find ways to manipulate, fix, and control the life outside yourself that will do just that by working on you attaining your "smart goals."  

Then they will help you to change or avoid those things that you don't like. They will help you to create mental safe- spaces to go where you can hide from life when it does something you don't like but can't control.  You will hear alot of "This is healthy" in other words, "This is good, right, and should be." and "This is unhealthy" in other words "This is bad, wrong, shouldn't be." And if you ask, "Healthy or unhealthy for what?" you will discover , in one way or another, for "The psyche." 

The thing about this type of therapy is that it is a treatment that you never really leave.  You will need to go back again and again. Hmm!

Karmanology and karmanologists

A karmanologist, on the other hand,  would not spend any time soothing a psyche or empathizing with your resistance.  They would say, instead, to every life challenge you present with, "Oh wonderful!!! Great!! I am so glad life is so challenging for you! I mean I know you are feeling all these human emotions and they are aren't comfortable but man...this is great. This can get you to a higher place. Let's hope you get more. For now... get over this thing you are bothered about! It's done! Over! Let it go! Let that stuff that it triggered come up, though, even if it hurts. And it is going to hurt!  Deal with that. We want it up and out! " 

A karmanologist will not spend a second soothing the psyche...instead they will rejoice at its attack.  They do not want to help you build it up, strengthen it or soothe it.  They want to see it disamantled by all these challenges you are complaining about. They want it gone! They will not encourage you to set "smart goals" or find ways to get what the psyche wants.  

They will not tell you to resist Life's hardship either...they will tell you to relax into it. They know that the source of all your problems has nothing to do with Life not catering to your likes or dislikes. Your so called suffering has nothing to do with whether or not Life is obliging...it has to do with the fact that you have the audacity to like or dislike. 

Karmanology, if it were to be a real thing, uses spirtual anlaysis rather than psychoanalysis...Self-reflection rather than self-reflection. It uses Consciousness-Being-Therapy rather than Cognitive-Behavioural-Therapy. These fall under the title: Purification and Realization. 

Purification and Realization?

Purification  is all about releasing those samskaras you trapped inside you. Therapy will be built around you, first of all, examing how your likes and dilikes get you into trouble. Then you will work on giving up your likes and dislikes and experiencing what is as it is.  Therapists trained in these methodologies know that the outside has nothing to do with your suffering...other than triggering  what is inside. They will remind you, maybe not so gently, that you are responsible for what is inside you...no one or nothing else.  But "Response-able" means you have the power and ability to change how you see and respond to Life. Instead of how to avoid or cope with those samskara triggers, he/she/they will tell you to embrace them. 

The realization part of this approach is aimed at helping the client to see that they are not the problematic entity they call "me" but that which is watching this human do what it does. The psyche will be explored as it thinks, does, and suffers the way it does. You will slowly be helped to see that you are not your psyche...that it is just a protective shell you created and wear. Who you are...beneath that shell... is not suffering. Only this thing the mind created is.  You are the One that is observing this human suffer. Then, when you are ready, the Karma therapist will encourage you to trace back the Observer to its Source...and man oh man...healing will be complete! 

Wow! That is what I believe the difference is between a psychological therapy healing and a yogic one. Karmanology would be a very healing therapy in the world,  don't you think?   Which method would you choose to end the suffering in your life?

All is well.

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe/ Sounds True ( February, 2026) The Art of Spirituality: From Practice to Liberation.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rl3glOzxtI&list=PLyOuAoSmZkKoESr2acNWwhznusbBkKXsT&index=1

Living Simply

 Einstein said, "I didn't arrive at the understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe through my rational mind." He got there through intuition [attunement with the space]. 

Ram Dass

Ram Dass tells us in the below linked podcast that,

As long as I kept looking for things in time, I kept suffering. 

He reminds us that freedom from suffering is as simple as changing one's mind. We have to see that who we thought we were and our understanding of the world we live is often just a result of our socialization and conditioning.  It isn't reality. We were taught what absolute reality was...but now we need to look at what we were taught, this so called "absolute reality", and see the relativity of it. We need to 

 ....stop moving from one space to another with a set of definitions of who we are 

Who we are isn't who we think we are...We need to start examining what we are is this space that has nothing to do with body or what roles we have taken on; nothing to do with what we have or what we do.  If we look at the wisest and most peaceful people in the world we will see that they live simply: have little, do litle, say little etc.

the source of their satisfaction lies in the nature of their being rather than in the nature of their having or their doing.

The quality of wise people seems to be the simplicity of their life. Instead of the "man over nature" mentally most of us in the west have been conditioned to believe is the way to go...the wise and peaceful go the "man in nature" route. It is all about attuning to what is rather than intellectualizing.  They see themselves not as the "doing" or the "having" but as the "being."

Contemplating this , I need to remind myself that I am not what I sense, have, do, or how I am indentified by self or others. "I am"...simply that...that "I am" that may do something or that may take on a role. I am... and then I teach; I am... and then I write, I am... and then I parent; I am... and then I grandparent; I am... and  then I practice yoga etc. I am... first and foremost. So, it really doesn't matter what I do, what I have, who I am with, where I am living. "I am" first. That doesn't mean, I cannot do, or own, or make choices...but by knowing that "I am" first and foremost, the choices I make will be based on what is better for the "I am", rather than what will serve this "identification " or "idea" I was taught to have of myself and the world. It will mean less struggling and striving. With that realization we can experience  the peace in living simply.

Living simply, however, is not easy for us humans is it?  We don't yet understand the beauty and  perfection of simplicity. We do not yet understand that we are not the roles we have been conditioned to take on. We do not understand that we simply are

an entity that has taken birth and is passing through a series of experiences, all of which are useful to help one awaken to the reality  of Self.

Instead, most of us continue to live stressful lives of striving, struggle, pain and suffering because we identify with our these "little mes" and continue to buy in to society's view of absolute reality:" Have more! Do more!" This creates problem after problem, dissatisfaction after disatisfaction, craving for relief after craving, and crsisis after crisis. We turn away from the beauty simplicity offers to solve this problematic living when all we have to do with each and every "crisis" is bring it down to the simplicity of breath.  To focus on breath rather than it.  That seems too simple, doesn't it?  

Yet, in that breath focus, we can create distance and find the empty space that surrounds us, that will free us from the suffering we are identifying with.

It is the space around experiences that gives one leverage from the pain...that space is just pure awareness. Who we are, is that awareness...a being who is identified with the space [rather than the problematic 'me']. Such a person, doesn't lose their ability to think and act...in fact [it becomes] more optimal...One goes beyond concepts of this or that....beyond polarities...This doesn't mean that one is unable to live with polartities...one gets beyond them.

The above is somewhat paraphrased.

It would benefit us all to live quietly, empty, openly, and spaciously...tobreak this identification with intelliect, senses, social roles, and bodies.Suffering, Dass tells us,  comes from attachment, or identification or clinging  to oour senses, to our thoughts to our models of self, The more we do it, the more we suffer. I want to stop doing it. I want to live simply. What about you?

Ram Dass/ Be Here Now Network ( January 2026) The Delight of Simplicity feat. Daniel Goldman. Episode 296.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaRIim72uQ8&t=1s

"simply chopping wood and carrying water"

in yoga along the way as you do all these mediattions and purifications you devlop all thse [ciddhis] and we tend to get lost...seduced by the own powers, of teh own mind...

there is another way of knowing

 I did not arrive 

what brings us home is the when the identification with teh knower rather tahn the known is broken...

The Soft Approach to Advice

 Advice is like snow- the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I was looking for a quote so I could complete a quick entry today (company coming in a few hours and I need to freshen up this place a bit). I seen the author before I seen the quote and jumped to put it down.  Sammy boy was the poet I most gravitated to and did papers on in my English Lit classes. Once again, I had to put down and analyse his words.

Of course, I always taught students in my Communication classes at the college to be very, very careful with unsolicited advice. ...to avoid it unless they were directly asked for it...and then to deliver it softly. Advice that comes out harshly tainted with judgement and conviction on the other person's part will be grating. It will not be received well.

Softer, with the least amount of effort and force is the best way to approach naything, isn't it? 

All is well. 

Doing What We Love

 You go to work for the same reason an artist paints in the woods in her spare time when no one will ever see the painting..... "I have something in me that wants to express itself and work is the manifestation of that expression." And someday you are going to find out that it doesn’t make any difference what you are doing. It is the expression and the act of doing it that brings about joy, that brings about fulfillment. Work is not a place that you go to get something so you can be fulfilled. Work is a place that you go that in sharing and giving you achieve a state of fulfillment.

Michael A. Singer

I was reminded of the above truth yesterday, many hours after I wrote the entry I did yesterday about "not working." I was wondering what to do with the books I have already written in my questioning , "should I write more?" This ego didn't get the compensation egos expect from "work" ...especially  "finished works" that took much effort, struggle, and time.  It did not get the right kind of feedback other than , "Maybe you shouldn't give those books to others...they are not quite good enough yet."  That one line from one person led me to abandon a project I was so passionate about.  I gave up on the books I already wrote in this little series and I gave up the notion of writing the others I intended to write.  I also abandoned the books and the teaching I was hoping to offer to newcomers to help them improve their English...to help break down those barriers of connection they may be experiencing in a new country. Not only did I abandon these things I chastised this human I call "me" for having the arrogance and audacity for even writing them...and actually handing out a few copie sto ohers. "Who does she  think she is?" I was observing myself go through a very challenging and heavy sense of failure intensified with shame. Nasty! Why?  Becasue I wrote some books. Duh!

When I was writing all these books I wrote I was not focusing on the outcome.  I was not focusing solely on getting to some proverbial podium...I was like the guy climbing the skyscraper...climbing for the sake of climbing...loving what I was doing...enjoying the process even though it required time and effort...It was, for the most part, effortless action and non-resistance that I offered these projects as well as passion...a great deal of passion.  I felt inspired...I felt connected to each moment I was writing these books....time just flew by. I felt a purpose for being here...like I had some worthwhile thing to offer the world. It really wasn't about ego...but ..

Ego did pop in again and again...to wonder about the perks, the path  that would generate an income while I did what I loved ( teach). It was not only the writing and the creating part of these projects that motivated me...it was the teaching.  Man, I truly just love to teach! Redeemer ego wanted to use these "soul-inspired" projects to redeem this "me" and when "me" got anything but redeemed from these completed works...when there was no "fruits of action" to claim, Shamer ego qickly replaced ego. That one bit of constructive feedback from another just validated Shamer's presence. Sigh! So, I chastised myself for my arrogance, slipped all the books in a box, out of sight, and gave up even talking about them, let alone  doing anything with them. I was embarassed. Ego was so prominent, I forgot why I wrote them in the first place.  I forgot how I felt when I wrote them.

I also forgot how much I love to teach and how my soul is constantly looking for avenues where I can teach...like for example here or in my vlogg.  Shamer will still come in with, "Who am I to teach anyone anything?" followed by a Redeemer that says, "Maybe you will reap rewards  for teaching in some way. Imagine getting paid for doing what you love to do? Maybe, teaching in this way will save you? Maybe it will put an end to Shamer once and for all?" Then, just as quickly Shamer will pop back up to say, "Not so quick buddy! Who do you think you are "teaching" anyone anything.  You do not have the qualifications. Your writing is far from perfect.  ...and look people are telling you it isn't good enough!  Shame on you for thinking otherwise!" 

When the ego twins are not battling it out, teaching is a truly giving experience for me.  I know I was made to be a teacher of some kind. I "open" when I teach. Sure, I need money and it would be nice to be paid for what I love to do...but truth is I just love teaching. And because of that, I am good at it. Its my thing...just as climbing was the thing for the guy on Netflix. I don't need to get to the top, I just need to climb. :)

YYesterday, I sat down at my desk in the office in eye view of  the language learning book I had given up on. I felt the cringe in my belly...a sign of some repressed and suppresed thing I was resisting. With this stuck feeling, I visualized Shamer having Redeemer down in a headlock, and  I wanted to "do something", anything to escape this feeling of shame induced stuckness. I seen myself resisting the feeling and the moment I was in, looking for something more or "other than." A common but unwholesome trait...for sure...but through it something wanted to be heard. As I looked at the book in front of me, I felt this compulsion to open up the Youtube channel full of tutorials I created to support the learning this book offered.  I opened it up and the next thing I knew I was opening up a blank power point presentation creating another tutorial.  It felt wonderful!!! I felt so absorbed and lost in the process!  I remembered, again, why I wrote the books I wrote - for the joy of it. There was no "me"...just this teacher creating teaching material. I said to myself..."It doesn't matter if anyone other than these 4 subscribers I have on my channel ever hear of me; it doesn't matter if I make another cent in my life teaching...I can still teach.  I can teach for the sake of teaching; just like I come here to do what I do here for the sake of something I do not understand." I felt such purpose and passion and joy just doing what some would call " a stupid powerpoint presentation."

In those hours there was no Redeemer or no Shamer...there was no ego at all... and it was so freeing! 

"I I have something in me that wants to express itself...and this work is the manifestation of that expressing.

All is well

W

A Void or a Rut?

 A spiritual void is a, often uncomfortable, stage in a spiritual journey characterized by feelings of emptiness, lack of purpose, and disconnection from a higher power. It represents a "spiritual cacoon" phase following a dark night of the soul where old identities were dissolved but new ones haven't yet emerged. It is not a permanent state, but a necessary, albiet difficult period of rest and inner reorganization.

AI Overview

Since I moved to this spot almost six weeks ago...I did not "do" much in terms of "social productivity"and purpose. I didn't make a cent to offset the cost of the transition. Nor, did I embrace the solitude for deeper spiritual connection. Sigh!

 The idea was that this would be much more affordable in the long run...but we are not in the long part of the run yet.  We are just getting out of the blocks. It wasn't such a graceful start for this human I call "me". She has already tripped over her own feet, nose-planted into the track, and is now having hard time getting back up. "Awkward!" :) I spent a lot and haven't worked to earn an income to repay what was spent...only because the opportunities have not arrived for a shift I could take or get to. (And to be honest...I avoid because I hate being on call...a thing from my days as a casual nurse that still haunts me...I prefer a predictable routine when it comes to work.) I applied for work on-line...flunked an assessment I thought would come so naturally to me...even if I were to get the job after that...they can no longer get a hold of me because I have lost my phone. (I bought out my phone a while back with the intention of reducing my phone bill. Life has a great sense of humour, doesn't it lol?) Anyway...a lot of debt and little money coming in. (I am sure others can relate to that one :)) So, I have a bit of a "cringe" feeling when I look at my bank account , especially when I have loved ones calling me to say, "Could you lend me this until I get paid?" I seem to be their only option for the things that are "needed."  Isn't that ironic considering the state of my financial affairs? Like really.  I also feel the need to find the money somehow and in someway, even if it means going into much greater debt, to get a loved one into a program that she feels might  may save her life...or at the very least, save me, in the sense of  my being able to say, "I did everything a parent could possibly do. The rest is up to you." So...I can at least make peace with any possible outcome.  Sigh!

This move was not only meant as a finacial salvation or a means to assist those I left behind to become more socially, financially, and emotionally independent of this "me" (which is not working very well for some...let me tell ya), but also for this me to gain a little "peace and space" to focus on the healing I have to do. Hmm! Not so successful in that area either lol. I have been called down to assist with the "consequence of my leaving" or pulled into that dramatic consequence via phone many times a day since I closed those doors behind me.  Think of that line from the Godfather, "They keep pulling me back in!!" . Sigh! Pretty heavy. I have not, as of yet, had  as much peace as I assumed I would find here. I do find it out there when I am walking (when I don't hear robins singing lol), when I do my Tai Chi and yoga practice, and when I meditate.  But...I have not been meditating enough ...for one reason or another. Sigh! I may not be able to control much but I can control how many times I sit to meditate and how long I stay there. Sigh! (How many sighs was that?)

Writing? Other than what I write here, haven't done much of that either.  I sat down at my desk yesterday in the small office we created and pulled out a novel I was working on...and it was like, "What do I do with this? What do I do with anything I wrote?  Just let them sit on my book shelf collecting dust?" I was stuck!

Why am I so forking stuck?

Could it be that I am in what some would call the "spiritual void", a place where I feel "stuck" but I am not really stuck?  I did very recently go through a "dark night of the soul" where I really had a good look at my ego identities and began the process of getting beyond them. I observe the way things are working out now: no calls for work, failing an assessment, losing my phone, the distance between here and there so I cannot "respond" as quickly as others would like; no money to the point of soon not being able to lend 20 dollars to a suffering other; not having a car; this feeling of isoation and "boredom."  Maybe... all are exactly as they should be so that I do what needs to be done...focus on this human and heal? Sigh.(must go back and count all the sighs I put down here lol) . Maybe? It would be nice to attribute some higher meaning to this thing I am experiencing. I would like to think of it as a temporary cacoon that I will emerge beautifully from...instead of a rut that is sucking me in. 

All is well

Being Unconditionally Okay

 When you are okay...it becomes the motive of action ...you want to express yourself, you want to fix what is wrong without wanting to be compensated...you are filled with love, joy all the time. In that state you want to express the beauty that you feel like an artist wants to paint. 

Michael Singer

While most of us are going around the planet saying, I am not okay! How can I be okay? or I am not okay and I have given up finding a way to be okay, Michael Singer reminds us,

There is a way of being okay unconditionally.

He tells us we are divine creations experiencing this Life through our human forms.  Hmm! If that is so, are we giving this divine creator, this infinite, timeless energy, or "God" something beautiful and amazing to experience by soaking in every momentary offering that unfolds in front of us and using it to create beautiful expressions of what is, that God can enjoy experiencing through us?   Or are we taking this infinite, Divine Essence down to some tiny slum in our mind that we call "my life"  saying, "This is all there is to see!"

I know what I tend to do. What about you?

I want to be unconditionally okay.  I want to paint beautiful works of art that express the beauty of this Life...but too often I am too busy taking God down to the slums. 

Unconditional Wellness: An Example

There is a big difference between conditional and unconditional wellness, right? I know I talked alot lately about "conditional wellness"-  the problem with succumbing to the human tendency towards striving to get to some condition, place and time other than this.  I compared it to an athletic pursuit aimed solely at getting to the podium.  Maybe, I didn't stress enough that not all athletic pursuit involves unhealthy striving. As long as we are embracing each moment training, practicing, performing as if it, itself, was the achievement than the sport is a beautiful expression of Life...something worthy for God to see the world through. We can take God out of the slum and into the "zone" or the "flow". 

 I watched a dude on Netflix climb a skyscraper yesterday.  For 12 years he thought about climbing that building. He visualized it; and he trained and strained to develop the endurance, strength and skills necessary to accomplish such a feat.  Was this unwholesome striving? Was this conditional or unconditional wellness?

It was unconditional because his well being was not dependent on getting his goal met.  He just wanted to climb for the sake of climbing.  He wanted to experience something different for the sake of experiencing.  Sure, he had to train to be able to do that but when I watched him training I could see that he enjoyed that too. His verbalized goal, I heard,  wasn't to get to the top...it was "to climb a skyscraper." Sure, he had to visualize some proverbial "end goal" before he began but he didn't stomp down all those moments that would take him there. He wasn't escaping each moment or running away from what is.  He was climbing into each moment, embracing reality and its challenges ( pain, wind, slippery glass and steel, etc).  He was embracing the suchness of Life. He was embracing each and every moment as he climbed.  Doing such a dangerous thing meant that he had to concentrate on every step along the way as if it was the only step.  He simply climbed one ledge at a time. He expressed to the commentators throughout the climb that he could not think about the summit up ahead. He could not think about the distance beneath him.  All he could think about was the step he was taking, the moment he was in. He was definitely in the moment and he seemed, by the expression on his face, to be truly appreciating it.

There was no striving, resistance, or effort observed in the actual climb either.  It literally looked like he was flowing up the building. He was in the flow, as he and others commented. defying gravity, defying fear, and defying human limitation.   It was beautiful effortless action...full of graceful, resistance-free movement...His climbing reminded me of the line from that Chinese poem, 

"Entering the forest, he does not disturb a blade of grass; Entering the water he does not make a ripple". 

It was as if he was dancing with the building instead of struggling against it. It was a beautiful, though terrifying, dance to watch.

One would expect a grand reaction once he reached the top and  achieved this major goal but his reaction did not change much from the one he expressed at the base of the building to the one he expressed at the top. It was all awesome...no moment better than the next. It was like his expression of accomplishment and "getting somewhere" was no different from one floor to the next. Throughout the climb, he would get to a certain point, turn and face the crowd with a huge smile and a wave.  Then he would stand on the edge of wherever he was, look about him, and comment on the "amazing view."  He was able to take the time to enjoy the view. Whether he knew it or not, he was giving God a unique and powerful view to experience as well each and every time, something very few humans could give. The outcome didn't inflate him, telling me that his being on that building wasn't about serving ego.  It was much deeper and at the same time much simpler than that.  He was experiencing and honoring Life and thereby doing what he was put on the planet to do...fully experience what it is like to be a human- who just happened to climb- in this world.

He was okay with being a human.  He wanted to express that okayness, that joy, that love through his art medium...climbing. He was expressing beauty for all of divine creation to see and experience through him. He may not call himself an evolved human ...but it was an awakened master I watched climbing that skyscraper. 

All is well. 

Michael A. Singer/Temple of the Universe/ Sounds True ( January 26, 2025) Why You Do What You Do: The True Path to Inner Freedom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME3eEbk1A7w

The Line of Least Resistance

One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things. He moves in harmony with the present moment always knowing the truth of just what to do.

Wayne Dyer's translation of Verse 8 of Tao Te Ching in "Change You Thoughts; Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao (2007)

I am obsessed these days with giving up my habitual human pattern of resisting reality so I can simply fall into the flow of Life.  Where I once efforted and felt the need to "force" this human to do things....which often equated to struggling against something...I am determined ( I suppose determinantion is a form of force...my bad lol) to relax into what is and follow the line of least resistance.

That is one of the reasons I resumed a Tai Chi practice, a practice based on ancient Taoist and Zen philosophy. I want to observe, understand, honor, and go with Life energy rather than against it. 

Even though you can not describe energy or you cannot even describe reality everyone knows perfectly well what it is...you simply feel it. And you feel energy through a multitude of vibrations..

Well if that is the case, crazy lady, why do so many humans strive, work hard, struggle against, and fight to survive this energy?

Hmm!

Watts tells us that we can't feel all these waves of energy at once. So, we learn to select using our very selective sensory organs and our conditioning. We learn to consciously choose what is important and what is unimportant; what is pleasurable over what is unpleasurable. We are conditioned to determine what is worthy and what is unworthy of our living experience. And we are taught to actively pull the pleasurable into our experience and forcefully push the unpleasant out of our experiences. Our selecting leads to preferring andtensing up against...both requiring resistance which is like struggling to swim against the natural flow of a current. 

So, why Tai Chi and what does it have to teach about going with the flow?

Many thing, in fact. One of the simplest things this ancient practice (based on both Taosit and Zen philosophy)  teaches, which can have the greatest impact on our lives, is how to step mindfully but without effort...

Huh?

Watch how you step and make each step count. Place the heal...slowly, gently on the earth and then naturally roll forward onto the balls of the feet when moving forward; step slowly, gracefully backwards by placing the balls of the feet on the earth before rolling onto the heels.  With each step ground, balance...find your stable center before moving to the next step. Take one step at a time. This is the same directions given in Zen walking meditation.  We do not need to stomp our feet mindlessly down with force, effort, and speed to get up ahead somewhere fast. Each step can be a breath...each step can be an effortless and resistance-free "Yes" to Life as it is. As far as Tai Chi as a martial art...There is more grounding power, more balance and stability in the step that is mindful, natural and relaxed than the step that carries force.

Alan Watts reminds us that everytime we do something we are falling...if we knew that we wouldnt make a sound when walking

 Entering the forest he does not disturb a blade of grass; entering the water he doesnt make a ripple. Zen saying about a man who follows the line of least resistance

As with Tai Chi, the line of least resistance isn't about purpose, effort, striving to achieve a goal, muscle strength, overpowering, struggle and working hard...it is about allowing, noticing the flow and going with it. We will find our greatest strength when we do that, our greatest peace. We need to be more like water.

Water seeks the low level which  men abhore...nothing in the world is weaker than water and yet it can overcome the hardest things 

Lao Tzu/ Alan Watts

Hmm! Something to think about.

All is well.

Alan Watts/ Alan Watts Oficial Org. (December, 2025) Beyond Good and Bad-Seeing Reality as It Is/Meditation and Flow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TQLFqHegVc

Letting Everything Have Its Nature

 

Everything has its nature...

Buddhist teaching

Rattle snakes have their nature and we pick up that vibrating energy when they pass in front of us. Both we and the rattle snake feel fear.  That is natural. The rattle snake isn't the problem. The fear we feel, even though it is uncomfortable, isn't the problem.  The vibrating energy in the rattle snake and the vibrating energy in us is not the problem...if...we let this energy do its own thing... pass through... without resisting.

Huh? 

If we use all the vibrating energy of of our conscious awareness to resist that vibrating energy of the snake as it passes through our five senses...we will have a problem.  If we use the vibrating energy of our awareness to focus so intently on the energy of the snake that the fear intensifies into resistance of what is, so that we supress it and repress it...store it away from conscious awareness...that energy of the snake becomes stored and locked inside us leaving a samskara. We will then have a samskara labelled, "I am afraid of snakes" to add to all the other bricks that make up a human psyche. If we do , as most humans do, do what we can for the rest of our life so that this stored vibrational energy we resisted in this stored samskaras never makes it up into conscious awareness again...man...do we ever have a problem. We will do whatever we can to escape the discomfort this psyche experiences when it comes to "snakes". We allowed resistance to put another brick on this psyche that we will spend the rest of our lives building up, maintaining, and keeping safe and comfortable.  We will then live by the belief that "I will only be okay if I never have to see, hear about, or experience this snake fear again!" 

Of course, Life in its natural rhythm will allow snakes to slither past us in one form or another  again and again.  We cannot ...no matter how hard we try...make Life the way we think it should be. Life just is.  The nature of things just is.  The energy in us...even fear...just is. The problem isn't this energy doing what it does; The problem is the resistance.  

We need to allow Life to be Life...we need to allow its energy to enter and merge with our energy and then let it all go...because everything is just One energy....coming and going, arising, dissolving, slipping in through our senses and slipping out. That energy is not something foreign and harmful to anything but our mind made personalities.  It can not harm who we really are.  We are that energy...not an enemy of it. 

Practice "this is bothering me"...and don't resist.

Michael A. Singer

All is well.

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe/ Sounds True ( January, 2026) Following the Spiritual Path of Non-Resistance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I44-ae4uLMA&list=PLyOuAoSmZkKoESr2acNWwhznusbBkKXsT&index=1

You Have Enough

 

Samtusta, you have enough.

Thich Nhat Hanh

I have been thinking an awful lot about samtusta lately (once I remembered the name for this state of being completely satisfied with what is, that is :)). I truly see at some very deep level of understanding that it isn't where we are in life, what we are doing, who we are with, what we have or don't have...that makes us feel happy or not happy.  It is where we are "inside" that counts. We really do not have to make big changes in our lives, achieve this or that, get this or that, or put an end to all difficulty and challenge in order to feel satisfied. We simply need to be pure and clean in here.  It is not a "moral" cleansing that is required but a samskara cleansing. We need to remove those knots in the way of experiencing the peaceful flow of shakti through us. 

So, where ever you are at right now, whatever is happening around you, regardless of who you are with...regardless of how wonderful or how awful your mind is telling you it all is...instead of automatically running into "change"...stop, breathe , and look inward towards that which you are running from. Remind yourself you have enough. This satisfaction and awareness of enough is just buried under something that does not serve you. 

Everytime I feel the urge for "something different" or "more than this" lately, I stop, take a breath, and remind myself that I am wanting to run away from some samskara turbulence inside me.  I remind myself that runnng won't help if I end up just dragging this thing along with me. I tell myself to relax instead...and to feel and experience what is inside as unpleasant and counterintuitive to the mind it might be. Several layers of story related to that "feeling" may come up, including the story related to the trigger that seemed to have initiated the feeling. I tell myself that it is "just a story";  that is unnecessary to the healing process and what is important is the feeling trapped beneath it.  I go there to feel whatever is happening inside in my body first, than in my heart.  I gently encourage a movement upwards. As of late it seems to go only so far as my upper belly...but that is enough for now. Sigh!

Purification and healing in the truest sense  is quite a process.  It is going to take some time. When I get discouraged over the slow progress...I just remind myself of the beautiful state of being I am looking for: Samtusta...and then I keep going, knowing that I already have enough.

All is well. 

What level of Student Are You? Naive, Intermediate or Fully Perfected?

 To the naive student mountains are mountains, waters are waters; to the intermediate student mountains are no longer mountains, waters are no longer waterss, but  for the fully perfected student, mountains are once again mountains and waters are once again waters. 

Qingyaun Wixein's saying as quoted by Alan Watts

What type of a student are you? Are you still naive, seeing mountains as mountains, waters as waters? Or are you an intermediate student...who no longer sees that which is perceived with the five senses  as the whole reality? Or are you awake enough to see these things, play with these things, but at the same time know they are merely reflections of light? Are you able  see beyond the apparent reality of these things to that which cannot be seen by the physical eye? 

Hmm!

Watched the Matrix last evening...and it was cool to see the character Neo advance from a naive student, to an intermediate student, and finally to a fully perfected one. 

All is well!

Instead of a Fight, Life Is a Flow

 

Those who flow as life flows, know they need no other force.

Lao Tzu

All these axioms in the self help movement about the need to find our purpose needs to be looked at: "Find what you love to do and do it!"  "Keep going! Don't let anything stop you!"  "Fight until you acheive your dreams!" "Dream it and you will acheive it!" 

As you may be able to tell by now, I no longer fully adhere to those proposed suggestions for a "better life".  Though I believe it is important to do what opens us up to love simply for the sake of doing what we love...I am starting to see that this attachment to outcome and this need to struggle and fight the current to get to some "idea" up ahead  in a future that never comes...is not so wholesome. It keeps us out of our life experience here and now, and stuck in striving mind. You may have noticed by now, that mind is not the greatest place to be. It is not a heck of a lot of fun in there. lol

Living our lives fully and with so called "purpose" is not about the "doing" though we can still do.  It is not about the wanting, or the dreaming...though we can still want and dream. It is not about planning for tomorrow though we can still plan.  It is about being here and now .  It is about simply  noticing what is happening in us and outside of us at any given moment without the need for judgement, interpretation, narrative and  story building.  It is about flowing with what is instead of selecting from it and fighting against it.

Hmm! 

All is well 

Self-Improvement?

The Buddha said that wisdom must come only from the abandonment of selfish craving or desire....One who abandons that desire attains  nirvana...which is supreme peace, liberation. Nirvana means, in sanskrit, blow out...that is exhale the breath. The opposite... desire... is to breathe in. Now if you breathe in and hold it you lose your breath but if you breathe out, it comes back to you.  So the principle here is, if you want life don't cling to it. Let go. 

Alan Watts

It should be easy then for us to surrender our breath to Life by breathing out our selfish desire and craving. But it isn't easy. We may spend most of our lives trying to improve this human being by giving up the self for the Self but we just can't seem to do it. It isn't easy giving up that self no matter how much of a rascal it might be.   Why?

How can I surrender myself when my self is simply an urge to hold on...to cling...to cling to Life...to survive. I can see rationally that by clinging to myself I may strangle myself...like a person who has a bad habit as a result of which he is committing suicide but can't give it up because the means of death are so sweet.

So, we are habitually clinging, addicted to keeping this mental construct of "me", this  self concept of "my mind" alive. We cling at the same time we embark on these journeys of "self-improvement" which often include some psychological, physical, financial, social or spiritual goal and mission. It is like we, as self, are saying to self:

Kindly let me help you or you will drown [says the monkey putting the fish up a tree].

Self improvement...no matter how we do it is like a vicious circle. Alan Watts reminds us,

if you are really aware of your own inner workings you will realize there is nothing you can do to improve yourself...because you don't know what better is and you, who will do the improving, is the one that needs to be improved

Putting effort into improving is the opposite of improving

You can't be unself conscious on purpose....you can't be designedly spontaneous ...and you cannot be genuinely loving by intending to love...

An example from this human's life

when the degree becomes the point in the game of one-up-manship instead of learning for the sake of learning

I love learning.  I love learning for the sake of learning.  Most of my learning to date is informal, self-directed and not attached to a degree. (And there are decades of that type of formal as well as informal learning). I just love learning and I enjoyed the moments of felt experience I had during the process of randomly taking one course or another for no other purpose than to pursue my interest in the subject. If the years of university learning were directed by degree focus, I could have a PhD by now. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the process, there is a part of me that craves the "perks" of education that go beyond the love for learning.  The PhD still looks to me like a podium might look to an Olympic athlete...something to dream of, something to strive for. It would be, in my mind only, the ultimate symbol of my success over myself...the ultimate symbol of self-improvement. I often regret that I didn't direct my university learning into degree programs that would feed the craving and clinging needs of this self I am trying to improve: socially ( through recognition), financially (through better paying job opportunities: making money is a measure of your economic worthwhilenes),  and mentally and emotionally by creating in me an idea of "self improvement and success". There is, then, no real measure of my improvement here. At the same time, it is very challenging to look into this "craving" I have because it makes me feel like I failing in my truest mission to improve my spiritual self...the one that can transcend ego-grasping. I have obviously not improved there if I am still craving the ego perks of higher education. 

This idea of self-improvement, in whatever form it comes in, takes me around in circles. I don't seem to be doing much improvement. Then I hear Watts say:

The whole idea of self improvement is a hoax...there is nothing you can do to be better...

If we realized there is nothing we can do to improve ourselves or make the world a better place...this gives us a breather in the course of which we can simply watch what is going on...watch what happens

This helps me to look beyond my compartmentalization of this craving tendency ...the spiritual craving to transcend the ego mind is no better than or no worse than my craving to externally improve myself through a degree. 

The real world is not spiritual...it is not material...it is simply... [He claps here.... indicating...it simply is!]

Then he says,

Trying to improve yourself is like trying to lift yourself into the air by tugging on your own bootstraps.

No matter how much we strive to self improve by social and physical world standards, we will not succeed. Nor will striving to get beyond the mind so we can improve spiritually save us.  These intentions to improve are all constructs and ideas where we assume incorrectly that we have control. We don't.  What we simply need to do is breathe in and breathe out as we "notice" this Life blowing in and out of our awareness. 

Our job here is to notice and experience, not to improve.

All is well.

Alan Watts/Official Alan Watts Org ( September 16, 2025) Mind Over Mind: Self-Improvement, Grace, and the Paradox of Control. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHXisYGjvmM&t=2s

Stand as a Rock; Know Who You Are- the One Self

 

Everything must complete the circle and come back to its source. 

Soul is not a force; neither is it thought. It is the manufacturer of thought, but not thought itself; it is the manufacturer of the body, but not the body...

You are only one; there is only one such Self, and that One Self is you...

When it is all One, who is there to hate, who is there to struggle with? When it is all He, with whom can you fight? 

"Tat Tvam Asi" (That thou art)...

Know that every thought and word that weakens you in this world is the only evil that exists. Whatever makes men weak and fear is the only evil that should be shunned...

Stand as a rock; you are indestructible. You are the Self, the God of the universe. Say- "I am Existence Absolute, Bliss Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, I am He," and like a lion breaking its cage, and be free forever. What frightens you , what holds you down? Only ignorance and delusion; nothing else can bind you. You are the Pure One, the Ever-Blessed.

Silly fools tell you that you are sinners, and you sit down in a corner and weep. It is foolishness, wickedness, down right rascality to say that you are sinners...

Is not the whole universe you? Where is there any one that is not you? You are the Soul of this universe. You are the sun, moon, and stars. It is you that is shining everywhere. The whole universe is you? Who are you going to hate or fight?

Vivekananda (n,d.) Chapter 2.5.12: Immorality [on the perfect, eternal, all knowing Oneness...of which we are a part ... expressed in the Vedas] Complete Works. Kindle Edition

Wow! These words hit me hard as I read them before falling to sleep.  They need no added interpretation.

All is well 

Drift like a cloud and Flow Like Water

 And you suddenly see through the whole sham of things. You realize "you're that" (we won't put a name on it.) You're that and you can't be anything else. So you are relieved of fundamental terror...to live without hangups...to drift like a cloud and flow like water....seeing that all life is a magnificent illusion...a playing of energy...and there is absolutely nothing fundamentally to be afraid of. 

Alan Watts

Hmm! During my practice of Tai Chi and hatha yoga I consciously try to move this body like a cloud (there is actually a form called "Cloud hands"in the 24 Yang style) and to flow like water. My intention is to have this "That"  that "I am" this Chi, this Chit Shakti....flow freely within this "me" and then to have it flow into this experience of Life. I wish to experience the play of energy so I am relieved of "fundamental terror."

Hmm!

All is well!

Robin Song and Suffering

 Suffering is your perceptions clashing with reality. 

Sven Schneiders

I heard a robin singing yesterday as I walked along the cedar-lined trail close by.  I felt a twisting in my gut as I heard that beautiful song.  Why? It is January on the Atlantic Canadian coastline...a very challenging climate for migrating birds like Robins, to endure. Knowing that on the conceptual level, my mind automatically said "This isn't right. This shouldn't be.  Robins don't do winter. He /she should have flown south months ago. The poor thing will likely suffer and perish if the weather gets any worse and it will likely get worse.  Something terrible is happening to our atmosphere and environment that is confusing the natural flow of things. This isn't right." 

 From there I found myself thinking about climate change, a suffering world, the suffering beings in my own little life, and my own puny suffering. Though it was not articulated...this thought emerged from the depths of my psyche: "There is so much suffering in the world!" I then felt an uneasiness throughout the rest of the day that I tried to escape through my Tai Chi practice, yoga, housecleaning, knitting, reading etc.... Whenever I thought of that robin, I felt the compulsion to "do" something that would bury the thoughts and feelings associated with that trigger. I couldn't seem to distract enough. I still feel that knot in my gut this morning.

A beautiful song...followed by a host of negative thoughts.  Hmm! What went on in there?

Well, I think there were two things going on...Firstly, there was an instinctual alarm going off signalling my perceptive "survivor's" brain to determine when there is something out of order that might validate my need to be on alert and secondly there was  a habitual and negative pattern of responding to such things followed by resistance occuring. 

Yes...it was instinctual to feel alarm when one hears such "dissonance"...My physical brain knew automatically that the song, though beautiful and soothing in spring, was highly "unusual" in winter.   It picked up the unsuitability of that sound. It concluded that this sound should not be heard this time of the year. This  "should not" led to a physical reaction to prepare this human to fight, flight, or freeze.   Almost automatically I felt something was "wrong" and the belly clenched up. From amygdala to belly in a matter of milliseconds. 

The second part of that is that the resisting mind kicked in with the alarm from the amygdala and the subtle reactivation of the sympathetic nervous system.  Instead of simply just accepting that there was a robin singing around me in winter...I automatically went into resistance mode... "No! This is wrong, bad, shouldn't be?" 

Shouldn't be?

Where does that "shouldn't be" get us?  Nowhere.  Why? Because...It is.  That simple... The reality is: there was a robin out there for whatever reason. Right time/wrong time...doesn't matter.  There was a robin singing outside on a cool January morning. 

From the "shouldn't be" the resisting mind gathered the forces of the negative mind to prove its point...to validate a deeply held core belief that "there is too much suffering in the world"...and a host of negative thoughts emerged, also it seems, automatically...I was pulled into "suffering mind"...a mind that perceives and dwells in the suffering and misery of the world. I concluded that the robin was suffering or would suffer miserably because it was in a time and place it "shouldn't " be in. From there it just got more negative as I pictured it searching for food it couldn't find, freezing, and starving to death. Now there was a good dose of compassion and genuine concern for the well being of another wrapped around all that thinking...a sense of inter-beingness and connection etc ....which is always wholesome...yet the perception of the possible turn of events was very negative, unskillful, and unwholesome. I automatically assumed the worse suffering because the mind judged the situation as "bad, wrong, shouldn't be."  It validated my core beliefs about suffering. From there the suffering of those around me filled my mind. It was uncanny how fast it all seemed to happen. Then, I went into resistance mode trying to forget about the robin and all the thoughts it brought with it, to distract and numb as I supressed and repressed...which just made all the other things I had stuffed come up. This brought me to this one truth...this human I call "me" suffers when things are not as she assumes they "should be" and she automatically gets lost in negativity related to a core belief which leads to her resistance-to -suffering behaviours. 

What can be learned from this?

Well, obviously I must explore and counter this deeply held core belief that comes up with triggers that "there is too much suffering in the world".  Do you have such a belief you too need to counter?

Is there too much suffering in the world?

There is suffering for sure.  But is there too much or just enough to wake us up? What is this suffering and where does it come from, anyway? That suffering, I see clearly,  does not originate "out there" when things seem out of place.  It originates and blossoms in the human mind when we assume things should be different than what they are and we then resist the reality of what is. Suffering is a "perception" not a life happening. 

Is that robin actually suffering? January is not the most suitable time for a robin to be here. True. That robin may be colder than it is in June. True.That robin may be more challenged to find food. True. But...does the robin actually perceive suffering or just hardship? Does the robin resist the fact that it is here? Or does it simply accept that it is here regardless of its winter challenges?  It is still singing the most beautiful of songs afterall.  Truth is, we don't know why some robins are not all flying south these days.  That is between the robin and whatever changes are taking place in nature/Life. It just is.

This robin was not there to validate that "there is too much suffering in the world". It was just a robin singing in winter...It had nothing to do with this human called "me". Hearing it, though, indirectly  reminded me to look at this belief and to see my reaction to it (negative thought correlation and resistance to what is)...to relax into it and  to counter that belief with a more positive truth. 

We can explore and heal our minds and thus get beyond suffering.

All is well 

The Beauty In Being Humbled

 

A mistake that makes you humble is better than an achievement that makes you arrogant.

Unknown

I had an eye -opening experience yesterday, a humbling one, one that put ego in its place, and left me a little "off" as I contemplated it throughout the day and even into the night. It is an experience I am grateful for despite what it did to my poor old ego lol.

I believe I failed something that I assumed would come so easy to me...an assessment I used informally on others in so many different ways over my years as a tutor and in writing a book (by a name that ironically encapsulated the purpose of the testing). The experience yesterday was as humbling as having the pre-read assessment of other books I have written resulting in a "not quite good enough" from someone before I did what I intended to do with them. Hmm!  I recognized ego being deflated as I was tested...knowing when I was getting it and when I wasn't hearing or pronouncing what I was supposed to.  On hindsight I now know what I could have done to make the results better but during the testing that " know-how" somehow escaped me. And I "over thought" the answers instead of allowing my natural language speaking ability to lead the way. I didn't perform well lol. 

Though I knew at the closing that I didn't do as well as I thought I would and felt a sense of "embarrassment" and " failure" as the air hissed its way out of ego's balloon...I also felt so much gratitude for the experience. I recognized that this human had some work to do, not only in regard to phonemic and phonological awareness...but also in putting a way a need to make ego appear greater than it was. It was humbling! I am grateful for that humbling. 

It also gave me the opportunity to experience what it is like to be a struggling reader on the other side of that assessment, be it formal or informal. Though I believe I have always been very empathetic, caring, patient, and encouraging with my struggling readers pointing out their strengths and potential...this added new light to any similar endeavors I might potentially take on in the future ( if I ever do after this testing that is...lol). I recognized, as well, the importance of having the right degree of "know-how" in the person working with each student who is struggling to read...(or in the author of a book purporting to have the ability to assist others in such matters. So, I need to go back and practice all that I am asking others to practice :)   

When it comes down to teaching in any of its forms...it is about the student and not the ego of the teacher/tutor/ strategist/ or author. I want each student to get what they need to succeed...and if I am truly not skilled enough to provide that...so be it. I need to accept that reality and excuse myself from the table so someone who is skilled enough can sit down.  The axiom that fueled my approach in nursing, and later in my approach to teaching became loud in my head..."First...do no harm." Sigh!

So, I sincerely thanked the assesor for the experience and walked away feeling a mixture of things as I processed what happened. It did trigger some old samskaras, of course, but it also showed that I am opening up new neural pathways in response to such perceived failures.  I am seeing the learning, the growing opportunity, and the healing that can come from being humbled. That, I believe, is a beautiful thing.

Be it as it may.

Unknown/Michael Singer

All is well.

. 

Not Letting Yesterday Take Up Too Much of Today

 Don't let yesterday take up too much of today.

Will Rogers

Can't every quote of the day apply in some way to the teaching/ learning which is actually the  learning/teaching I do here?  This one certainly can.  

Just a few entries ago, I spoke about the need to get away from the human attachment to time as a linear process...and to see the eternity in each moment we are in so we can "live" today.  I also often speak of samskaras. Aren't samskaras all about allowing yesterday to take up too much of our day?  Isn't that stored and stuffed stuff responsible for how yesterday prevents us from truly having the felt experience of today? Is this simple yet sage advice from Will Rogers something an enlightened  yogi might say, or the Buddha might have taught? It is, at least, something we should all remember.  

We need to let go of our attachment to yesterday, our samskaras that create this idea of "me"based on a past story.  We need to stop being so attached to this "history" which is nothing more than a story we tell ourselves and others. If we want to be free to experience the "felt experience" of Life we need to let go our yesterday focus...and live here and now. We cannot let yesterday take up too much of our days.

All is well

The Driver Isn't Ego

 

If you are working on something you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The Vision pulls you.

Steve Jobs

I often try to justify and rationalize why this 60 + "crazy lady" is spending her time here spewing off all this "crazy talk" in words and video. Though I obviously have an ego and it still pops up every now and again looking to gain something from this experience...it is not the driver of this vehichle I am in. It spends most of its time, in fact, in the back seat screaming "OMG...What are you doing? Why are you turning there? Why are you going there? Don't go there, don't do that! That's not the right way! You are making a fool of yourself. Let me drive for F*&^ (fork) sake!" 

The driver has to do a lot of "ignoring ego" to concentrate on the road and to keep this car moving.  So, it isn't egoic motivation that puts me here every morning. Though ego likes to see the big numbers on the stats page and does the worrying about how this will turn out in the negative way ( Will people/bots/ whatever use the site for ulterior means? Will they reject it, dismiss it, diminish it, and judge the "me" creating it?) , the driver cares very little about all that.  It is able to notice what ego is saying and doing without getting all distracted by it. It stays focused. It has something to do...a place to get to ( I really don't know where that place is lol) and It just keeps going. It is like the driver knows what It is doing and where It is going even if I don't. Sigh!  This human I call "me" is just going along for the ride. 

As for Ego...ego can get out of the vehichle any time it wants to. 

All is well

Effortless Action and Non-Resistance

 Act without striving. Work without forcing.

Lao Tzu

All is well!

No Room For Effort

 In the practice of buddhism there is no room for effort.  Sleep when you are tired, move your bowels, eat when you are hungry. That's all. The ignorant will laugh at me but the wise will understand.

Zen MasterRinsai/Lin Chi

As I practice Tai Chi and think about "Chi" I want to know more about  the philosophies from which it orginated. I discovered in my research that it came mostly from Taoist thought in ancient China, dating back about 4000 years. It also incorporated other Chinese influences over time: Zen Buddhism (which itself was influenced by Taoist thought), for example, and it later evolved into a gentle martial art created by Shaolin monks.  There is also some Confusism in its elvolving thought and practice. Today, Tai Chi is often viewed as no more than a "gentle exercise done in parks by old people". It is so much more than that. As we do with yoga, we sometimes confuse the orgins of the exercise with the philosophy that started it. Though the original Tai Chi may be 4000 years old the actual physical exercise that is done today is only hundreds of years old. Why would we do the exercise other than to "move our aging bodies in a gentle way"? 

I want to know more about the philosophy of Zen and Tao.  I have such a hard time distinguishing the differences between the two.  I listened to Alan Watts this morning in hope that he would shed some light on that. I discovered, however, there were more simalarities than differences. I can relate those simalarities to the practice of Tai Chi.

Two things that stuck with me, as I listened to his lecture, were these ideas of "effortless action" and the uniterrupted flow from "thought, after thought, after thought" which is equivalent to "only this moment."

Effortless Action

Well Tai Chi is all about effortless action.  If you watch the forms being performed by a master...you will see an effortless flow from one movement to the next.  It doesn't look challenging (I am discovering it is more challenging than it looks)...it looks effortless. As a martial art it incorporates the idea of least amount of effort and tension as well. The idea is to relax into the opponents energy, and instead of resisting and tensing up against it ...to harmonize and flow with it...to use it and your own "chi". So the fight becomes a "dance" rather than a struggle. 

Tao is about getting  free from karma without announcing it or challenging it,,,

The taoist shows you the short cut by using intelligence rather than effort, using cleverness rather than muscle...

No Progression in time

There is also no progression in time in Taoist /Zen thought. We are the stream of consciousness and we are not changing as things change.  We can only be in this moment.  There is only this moment.

ShoboaGenzo/Alan Watts: "There is no such thing as a progression in time.  The spring does not become the summer. There is first spring and then there is summer.  In the same way, the you now does not become you later. 

The continuinity of the person from past to present to future is as illusionary as the red rings on a barber's pole. 

Our seeming to go along in a course of time...doesn't really happen 

There really is no problems. We make problems by connecting these events in time to each other. We block the stream of eternal and ever present consciousness when we do that, creating the illusion of suffering. 

Suffering exists but no one who suffers; deeds exist but no doers are found...a path there is but no one that follows it. nirvana there is but no one that attains it...Buddhagosha's Vishuddhimagga

As long as you are in the present no problems exist.

Q: What is the mind of a child? 

A: A mind is a mountain stream ? Thought after a thought after thoughter with no block. [no hesitation...automatically...no connection to each other...this is the stream of consciousness]

Blocking consists in letting the stream become connected, chained together...when such a thought arises it seems to be dragging its past or resisting its future....when the blocking stops, you have broken the chain of karma. This is nirvanna.

We need to learn to see things in their suchness. 

Q: What makes dying a problem?...

A: You are dragging a past...all the things you collected and stored in your psyche...identifying you as you say you are...memory...into this one experience, creating a problem with it...all that has to go...and that is why we don't like death...we do not want to let go of this idea of "me" and all we clung to...without this accumulation of events stored and blocking the stream of consciousness, death would not be a problem...

What we cling to, what we dread...spoils the taste of what we have to experience today

The taoist trick says...simply live now and there will be no problems 

Everyday is a good day on condition they come one after another... and yet there is only this one...you don't link them...things just do what they do....it has no meaning, it has no destination; it has no value...

Until we are awakened and truly understand the nature of suchness, we must not link one thought to the other, one moment to the next. Onnce we are there though, we can begin to observe these links again.

When you are firmly established in suchness and there is just this moment you can begin again to play with the connections...only you see through them...and now you see they don't haunt you...because you know there isn't any continous you running after them that originated in the past and that will die in the future

To the naive student mountains are mountains, waters are waters; to the intemediate student mountains are no longer mountains, waters are no longer waterss, but  for the fully perfected student, mountains are once again mountains and waters are once again waters. Qingyaun Wixein's saying as quoted by Alan Watts

Hmm! So much to learn and think about...but without effort and without connecting each new thought to the other. :) 

All is well.

Official Alan Watts Org/ Alan Watts (2020?) Taoist Way-Full Lecture.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql4wGGTDapA&list=PLk-d6iSPJdcUet3g8CkTOGhzbgbhIQZm7

The Use of "We" over "Me"

 Some of you think the world would be better off this way, with all the newfound peace, love, and understanding. Enjoy that opinion. Relish it. Because it may be the last one you ever have.

Carol addressing the others who are okay with the infection Pluribus ( Apple TV) 

I was watching Pluribus last evening and listening as the "ego-less"  characters infected with the virus expressed themselves as "we". Though Carol, one of the uninfected, resented the use of that pronoun, resented the loss of ego, and resisted the letting go of the belief in "individuality" and "separation" she was gaining great respect and admiration for the infected. She was seeing what could be: this sense of joy that came from inside, not outside; this "Oneness" with all Life...the inability to do any harm to others, the inability to lie; overwhelming compassion and empathy...selflessness etc. She openly called them "weirdos" but gradually found comfort in their presence.  Still, she was greatly resistant to letting go of her own individual ego and sense of "self" for the joy that the others promised would come with the "joining". 

Two things crossed my mind as I watched this program: "Wow! It sounds like Yoga...and the infection is actually samadhi...they all have the ciddhis and everything. " And "Human lonliness and chronic dissatisfaction  is being used to draw the human race in. The "weirdos" are all acting like they have been hypnotised and indoctrinated by a cult leader. And Carol is resisting that and trying to bring it to light. Yet, there is no mention of a leader???" Hmm! Either way ...the infection is described as being a form of freedom, an end to human suffering in any of its forms, complete knowing, Bliss and Enlightenment. 

At this point, all we see is that the use of "we" is a contraversial thing...we cannot, as viewers, judge it as "bad" or "good" at this point. 

So, I wanted to write about this use of pronouns that us "uninfected" tend to overuse this morning.  Lo and behold...what showed up as read on my stats page this am: at least two entries where I spoke of "My and Mine" over the years. Pretty cool.

All is well.

Future and Daily Routine

 The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.

unknown

Took another quote of the day to ground my thinking and writing this morning. 

Hmm! So what will happen in the future is likely related to whatever it is we are doing now. What am I doing now? What routine have I established since I have moved in here?

 Every morning I wake up and come here with a cup of tea.  I read past entries. I listen to some external source of wisdom.  I write. Then I meditate, practice Tai Chi, do 30 minutes of hatha yoga.  Morning...gone. In the afternoon: I clean and tidy, go for a 40 minute walk, commune a bit with nature (discovered a family of deer I try to see on every walk), may or may not do a yoga nidra in the afternoon. I read. I knit, watch TV, read again, and meditate in the evening.  Amongst all that I feed myself and others ( including the animals), I take care of basic needs, I may walk the dogs a bit ( they require a shorter walk than the one I do), I am still working on the house,  I communicate with those in need to make sure everyone is at least still alive. What do I "not" do that my mind is telling me has to be added to my routine? Work! I am looking for remote teaching/tutoring work to add to my routine-and of course, I still have those books I told myself I would be inspired to finish in this new area ( the novel and the non-fiction one on Fear and Shame). On top of that I know I still need to work in some paying form. 

So, what does this daily routine say about my future.  Well if I keep going without paid work...I am going to be very, very poor in the future. lol. Hopefully, from what I do incoporate into my routine...I will become more awakened or at least more in touch with my Chi/shakti with my morning practice.  At the very least, I will become more fit. I already feel myself becoming more toned in different muscle groups since I started the Tai Chi practice and the walking. This I am hoping may mean lower levels of cholesterol in the future and stronger bones. My biggest goal is to heal at the deepest level, to experience more of a flow within, and more of a connection with the flow of Life energy. I think my daily routine is indicative that that might happen. 

What about the writing? Well the blog writing may never go "external" but what it offers me internally is something that will add to my future life in a positive way. It is healing and helping me to get closer to my ultimate goal. If I don't write and submit these other books, however, they will go nowhere, help no one.  So, I need to add that type of writing to my routine.

I also have to change or add to some of my routine if I want a healthier future. 

If I do not add some "money-making activity" to my daily routine now...there will be no change in my financial status in the future. 

Anyway, I do agree that we set the pattern in the now for how Life will respond in the future.  Even with our thinking alone...we need to intend positively so we live positively. Hmm!

All is well

The Secret of Success?

 Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.

Swami Sivanada

I didn't know what to write about this morning so I looked up the quote of the day. And...it was from a yogi. Go figure.

What is even crazier is that I woke up thinking about the little writing books I wrote with such fevor and passion this year.  I kind of gave up the "outcome"  for the writing of them after receiving some less than positive feedback from someone about my flimsy intentions for them.  My egoic self dreamed of some type of minor success...recognition...some finacial compensation even...but it dreamed of an outcome of redemption mostly.  Much of what I do has this motivation for redemption entwined in it. I am looking for the things I "do" or "create" to "lift me up" from these messy life circumstances and from this messy mind this human is living through. The writing of this series was a small act. I did put my heart, mind, and soul into the act itself...I enjoyed the process. The outcome was not successful in outer world terms but maybe it was successful in inner world terms.  Maybe, enjoying the process while detaching from outcome is truly the secret of success.  

All is well.

Watching and Learning From Ego in the Political Arena

 

One of the penalties of  refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

Plato

It is hard to look compassionately and with forgiveness at those in political power who are doing autrocious things against humanity....and doing so with such great arrogance, self-righteous conviction, dishonesty, and, I have to say, "utter stupidity".  It is hard to believe the fact that these leaders got voted in, elected, and preferred by the majority. It is even harder to accept the fact that they simply represent the collective mind set. It is hard not to automatically go into "fight mode", taking sides, further polorizing,  rallying against "them" on the other side, to hate them and anyone who follows what we judge as "sick ideologies" etc as we ask the universe, "This is how humanity thinks? This is how humanity wants to live? The world is falling to pieces. Is it hopeless now?" 

But accept is exactly what we must do...accept, learn, and grow from what we are observing.

Accept, Learn, and Grow!

It would be easy to get lost in that mindset of resistance, anger, blame, and defeat after a few minutes listening or watching  any news ( that doesn't come from Fox :)) and to feel like the world is falling a part. It would be easy to give into the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, believing that the human race is doomed and there is nothing to be done about it.

But...

There is another way of looking at this.  

The world is not falling a part ...it is simply changing, evolving as it is meant to do. So is the human race.  Like all evolutionary changes that occur in a species, awareness of what no longer serves comes into the forefront prior to the change taking place. Before that behaviour, that physical trait falls away, the unnecessity of that thing becomes obvious.  That land animal (Pakicetus, for example) transitioning into a beautiful marine whale...no longer needs the tail or legs. The unnecessity of tail and legs becomes obvious before they change to flippers and a fluke.  It doesn't need the teeth for mashing up its prey any more...mouths change. Through a process of many steps, it slowly evolves into an intelligent, highly social and more peaceful creature that is much more suited for the new environment it is in. 

Ego No Longer Needed

What are we seeing, that is becoming so flamboyantly obvious, in our political leaders that represent the social mind? We are seeing ego in its most obvious form.  We are seeing selfishness, and greed.  We are seeing the dangerous use of "I, me, and mine" both in reference to the leader themselves and the nations they represent. We are seeing the idea of "separation" being propagated which leads to defense and attack...and then even greater separation. It is becoming so very obvious that this "ego" does not serve humanity in any way, shape, or form through the flamboyantly destructive actions of these leaders...

It is becoming so obvious, is it not,  that egos are in the way of us achieving what is now needed in this ever changing environment: peace, compassion, harmony, balance, unity, and most of all love? We have to see the separate and collective ego for what it is- how it is anything but useful- before we can put it aside to morph into this more evolved state we are heading toward. What greater way to see it than when it is put in the forefront of our societies, when we see what these egos can do when they are given power.  This becomes obvious: These egos are not only no longer necessary...they are counterproductive to our survival. 

So, though it is challenging to look at those in political power with forgiveness and compassion...we can see that their exploitation of ego is serving humanity more so than it is harming it. We can see how useless and destructive these concepts of "I, me, and mine" are.  This dispaly is assisting with necessary change by allowing humans to see how this mindset does not serve. Change will come from that realization...great change! Instead of putting all our energy into fruitlessly  hating and resisting what is happening in the political forefront, we simply need to sit back and observe knowing that this is taking us to a higher place. 

What about forgiving them?

Remember: these leaders are still in the Pakicetus stage of evolution and they are just doing what Pakicetus' do. They may fear the change ahead and are simply trying to protect what they know. 

They know not what they do. Luke 23:34

Besides...they represent the collective mindset or at least some parts of the dogma we are still clinging to, the egos we have yet to let go of.  They are showing us that we still cling to egos within our little selves. So yes,  they are worthy of our compassion and our forgiveness. They are us. Some parts of each and everyone of us are still clinging to those egoic ideologies these leaders represent.  Otherwise, they would never have been voted in. 

From here...we must accept that all this is happening.  We do not need to agree with it or like it but  what has happened has happened.  There is no changing the past. Then ...we need to observe this thing called "ego" and its destructive nature on this very obvious stage we have been given to watch it on.  Observe objectively. See the importance of "awareness" and "realization" over ignorance, resistance, and judgement. 

Breathe! Breathe alot! 

Instead of giving into the negativity of this experience...start training the mind to see the positive.  Know that change is coming, change is ineveitable, that the the human race is evolving and it it is always going forward, never backwards. The process of adaptation to change, however, involves firstly becoming aware of what is no longer needed for survival.  These power hungry egos so flamboyantly dispalyed in the political arena, and still so quietly hiding in us....are no longer necessary. We need to let them go for the greater good. When we let them go, we can morph into the compassionate, peaceful,  loving and wiser creatures we are meant to be as this world continues to change around us.

This is not a world falling a part.  It is simply a world changing.

The measure of a man is what he does with power.

Plato

All is well.

Gurus Engaging in Misdeeds?

 In Hinduism, a spiritual guru enjoys more respect than even parents because he not only gives his disciples a spiritual rebirth but also leads them on the path of liberation. Hence, he is even considered God in human form, and at times even ritually worshipped. Unfortunately, this sentiment is often exploited by fake gurus who assume the role of a spiritual master without necessary qualifications and engage in misdeeds.

 https://www.hinduwebsite.com/buzz/ten-signs-of-a-fake-guru.asp

Misdeeds?

I watched a 2024 Andre Duqum podcast last evening as he interviewed this very charsimatic and calming personality dressed like a vedic monk...someone I never seen before. I was immediately drawn to the interviewee.  His persona seemed so "trustworthy" and attractive because it seemed so "humble". He spoke with such quiet conviction. I seen the powerful charisma in him. I wanted to look at him and I wanted to listen to him...and I wanted to believe him. That was when the first red flag was planted in my gut.  I asked out loud, "Is this a form of subtle hypnosis? Is he authentic or a cult leader?" 

I watched Andre interview him.  Though he was a pleasant, professional and receptive interviewer...I noticed that the expression on his face was not one of complete openness...especially over the discussion on the monk's experience of "samadhi" after one meditation experience.  Another little red flag. 

Then the monk, (who will remain unnamed for now in respect for the podcaster) began to speak of this organization he headed and his definition of "bhakti" which really meant- devotion to him as the guru.  That was the biggest red flag. I needed to investigate more. So, I did research today.

The first thing I discovered was that though he dressed like a vedic monk...he was called a "neo-Hindu religious leader". He wasn't accepted amongst traditional hindu leaders.  That was a very big flag. Then I seen that he went beyond the notion of "Tat Tvam Assi" to call himself ...in a sense...an incarnation of God. Not so humble! Red flag! Finally, I began to read that there were allegations made against him. Most of the publicized  allegations were against his right hand man who he himself publically claimed to be an incarnation of Shiva. Hmm! He was God and this disciple was Shiva? In his disciple's ashram, which I assume would be under his control, horrific abuse was said to have occurred. I went on to listen to the testimony of people who "escaped". 

It was brutal and it stirred up my interest in cults again. It  made me question, once again, the problem with devotion to a guru who has such charisimatic abilities. 

Oh man...how does one trust someone claiming to be a spiritual leader out to serve our best interests and spiritual growth? Truth is - we can't.

Be careful with those professing that the "sweetness of bhakti" is best experienced by serving another human being with a hungry ego.

Hmm! All is well. 

The Beautiful Dance

 What matters is what you experience...what you feel...

You are capable of a constant open flow of this river of joy that is always passing through your heart.

Michael A. Singer

Energy is a real thing no matter if we can or cannot see it or intellectualize it or pick it up on a MRI or even what we name it: Shakti, Prana, Chi, Qi. Energy is real.  How do we know? Because we can feel it...we notice it inside us...we experience it.  We are aware when we are up, and we are aware when we are down. That is energy moving in us. 

I remember what the Tai Chi Master taught us in those early classes I took in the 90's. He suggested that we rub our hands together and slowly pull the palms a part...what we experience in the palms is the vibration of energy. The palms are holders and distributers of "Chi" (what energy is called in this practice) and the position of the hand is a very important part of it. Of course, Tai Chi is a martial art and every position of the hand/palm is either a defensive (retreat and protect) or offensive move ( strike) but it is not a "resistance" or "fight against the opponent" art.  It involves a balancing, relaxing, harmonizing and working with ...not against...the energy of the opponent (the energy of Life). There is no resistance in Tai Chi. There is an openness to the energy the opponent is expressing towards us...and Tai Chi is a means of absorbing, using, and letting go of that energy as well as our own.  It is a passsing on of a relaxed and calm Chi from us. Hmm! 

Tai Chi offers a wonderful analogy for life and dealing with reality. Handle what is coming at you. Relax first...get yourself balanced...lean this way gently, gracefully, purposefully, slowly...pause...lean this way gently, gracefully, purposefully, slowly.  Stay open . Allow the energy to flow from the other, from Life...and allow it to harmonize with the energy in you. It becomes a dance.  Watch a  true master doing a practice and see how beautiful and graceful of a dance it is. You can see the "flow" in the soft and subtle movements. It is absolutely beautiful. 

Using the energy  that is always there within us and outside of us as we process through Life can be  a beautiful dance. That is why I am coming back to Tai Chi.  I want to "feel" and experience Chi (Shakti, Prana). I want to dance with the energy of Life.

We all need to start letting go of the stuff we tend to store inside us that blocks this energy flow...and this tendency we have to tense up and resist Life so we learn to stay open...not just when we are practicing Tai Chi but in whatever we do.

All is well. 

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe (n.d) Extra Talks: Working With Your Inner Energy Flow.https://tou.org/talk-archive/

The Omnipresent and Immortal Soul

 You were never born, and you will never die. What is this birth and death that we see around us? This belongs to the body only, because the soul is omnipresent.

Vivekanada

Michael A. Singer shared that same sentiment in the Mayim's Breakdown Podcast I now love to listen to. This is what a yogi sees...no birth, no death...A yogie sees the soul or Self beyond the body and mind. Hmm!

All is well

Dr. Mayim Bialik (January 6, 2025) Michael Singer: Why We Never Truly Die.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6vudReNC8&t=9s

Swami Vivekanada (n.d.) Chapter 2.5.12 Immortality. Complete Works. Kindle Edition

Inside

 

Passion is divine energy wanting to express itself.  Energy is blocked. Passion is very holy.  It is actually saying, "I want that shakti!" 

You do not need a spiritual practice. You are a great spiritual being...you are beautiful ...you are  filled with shakti.

The outside world has its nature. [And the inside world has its as well...independent of the outside.]

All is well!

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe/ Sounds True. ( January 5, 2025) Spirituality Beyond Rules: Transmuting passion into Divine Flow.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RszOb0bH9g8