Raise Your Self! Look up!

The higher thought processes can free you from your lower self. 

Michael A. Singer.

Raise your Self! Just raise yourself.  Look up!

I often tell my students during hatha class to keep looking up. whether their eyes are open or not. I want them looking up toward the sky during most asanas and I want them lifting their gaze to the sixth chakra or above during seated or meditative practice.  "Just keep looking up". 

It no longer seems natural for us to look up, does it?

We are habitually drawn to, unfortunately, as in little me's never ceasing dramas, that which is down.  Ego brings us down, Spirit (or whatever you want to call it) naturally pulls us up. Focusing on this body, heart, and mind, and what is happening to it brings the energy of  consciousness which is meant to be elevated and euphoric...down. Most of us are spending our lives looking down rather than up.

I love Singer's reminder to his podcast audience last Sunday that this powerful flow of energy called Shakti is within us all.  For most of us,  it will remain coiled up and asleep at the base of our spines our entire life without us even knowing it is there ( Kundalini).  For yogis, however, who seek to gently and gradually wake this sleeping energy up, to unblock the Sushumna so Shakti can flow up through the higher chakras...there is the possibility that we just may experience that magnificent flow within us at some point in this life time. If we can do our best to stop creating more blockages to the flow with our preferences, resistance, supression, and repression; if we can learn to release and relax into life; if we can learn to refocus our awareness and to look up away from all that  we are so addicted to looking at ...keeping the gaze of consciousness on the subject of consciousness rather than the object...we just might wake up that coiled energy. So, look up instead of down...is my mantra.

Though I remind my students and  myself how important it is to keep the gaze up to where that higher energy comes from...sometimes I slip and find my focus pulled down as I did a few days ago. I found myself looking down into the muddy whirlpool of a "me" in a body that is constantly making noise that seems so difficult for others to hear because that just may be the way it is supposed to be, a "me" who is surrounded by the thick mud of circumstantial drama as it keeps getting  pulled down into it like quicksand. I find myself sinking, sinking, sinking until all I can see is the mud on either side of me.  This is what happens when I forget to keep my gaze up, when I fail to fall back into a much purer, mud free flow I cannot yet see or feel but know instinctively  is there. I forgot to look up. I got stuck in the mud, of human drama.

Whenever I realize I once again n fell into the mud of  mind created suffering rather than the clear, healing  flow of Shakti...I sigh...and return to my yoga practice. Again, and again, and again. My practice is all about not closing or resisting to what life is giving me, therefore, not adding more blockages to the Shakti flow.  It is about creating space for the samskaras to arise and be released as they are so inclined to do. It is about allowing: allowing  Life to be exactly as it is and allowing whatever I stuffed in my psyche to emerge so I can let it go. I know that is the only way to go.

How do I know it?

I don't know. I just do.  Though I practice all kinds of yoga : Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Kriya Yoga, sometimes Japa Yoga, and Raja Yoga...I think it is  the Jhana Yoga that has gotten me so far. I am trying to use the higher thought processes to bring this "me" up and out. I study and write what I learn from masters who studied and wrote because that is so natural for me.  I teach as I learn because that too is natural for me. Though I am keenly aware of the limitations of concepts and such knowing...I often use this means to raise me from the mud. 

I am not sure if I will ever truly expereince the free flow of Shakti within me in this carnation but somehow the learning I am doing is pointing the way there. If  I get there, this  method of freeing myself from the mud will be totally obselete, I am sure. It won't matter once I am floating in the Shakti.

As I practice Jhana and all other forms of yoga; as I take each step and breathe each braeth...I need to remember to keep looking up. Keep looking up.

All is well 

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( March 17, 2024) Shakti-A Deep Dive Into Your Energy Flow. https://tou.org/talks/

Every Act is a Vehicle for Transformation

 May your every act in life, down to your very breath, be a vehicle for bringing matter into spirit and spirit into matter. May you become a transformation so you can live in the world but not of the world, so you are both the word and the silence, you are the form and the formless, with every breath.

Ram Dass

I have been out of commission the last few days. :) I have been up and down and all around physically, mentally, and emotionally.  I was pulled into the drama of being me in a body that was crying for attention, a mind that "thought it needed" to know why the body was crying out, and all this in the midst of the never ceasing drama occurring around me. Let me share a bit of the narrow story I was allowing my consciousness to focus on. ( Beware: It might be a little longwinded.)

I was booked for a simple procedure everyone my age  is recommended to have. I literally refused this procedure twice before because I didn't think I needed it and I did not want to waste tax payers money. That was before certain minor issues I was having were becoming more and more prevalent and annoying.  So, I eventually  straight out asked for this test because I thought it would give the answer as to why I was having that pain in my LLQ since 2017, and the other associated things.  A cyst under 4 cms could not be the cause of all this, I thought. There had to be something else.  

You see, I have a mind that needs to understand this body's signs and symptoms  in pathophysiological terms....just as a mechanic needs to understand why the car they are driving is acting up.   It drives me crazy when it doesn't make sense. I don't want all the fancy tests and procedures...I just want to be able to see and understand what is going on in my body. A sensible explanation...two miniutes in length...is all I need. If a plausible explanation makes sense to me...if I can see that this is related to this and that is caused by that...I am okay with whatever is thrown at me...but if I am told, "It is all good," when this body is still making all this noise,  I will respond with, "Tell me why it is all good when I still have this or that going on.What is causing this or that?  I am not asking you to fix it...I am just asking you to tell me what it is so I can understand it. "  

I don't want to hear that it is all good when this body is so noisy....you know? What is this body wanting me to hear?  I will do whatever I can, first,  to figure it out myself so I do not need to go ask someone else. I don't want to bother anybody with the body's nonsense.  I don't want all these tests and stuff.  If I can handle it on my own.  I will handle it on my own.  I have a fairly sound understanding of pathophysiology and I figure out about 85% of my stuff on my own. 15 % I can't .  But for the 15%  I can't figure  out ...I go to the experts. That is what drives me to health seek. I am not afraid of being ill.  I am not afraid of dying...but ...I have to understand what is happening so I can make peace with it. When I present or show up for a test, I am just needing an explaination as to  what this body is saying because at those times I can't understand its language. It is not the symptoms, or the possibility of being ill that bothers me...it is the "not knowing" what the body is saying that I have a hard time with. Sigh!  It is just the way my mind works! 

Anyway.... so I have been having a heck of a week with all that is going on around "me" prior to this procedure date.  I was really pulled from my Seat of Self and into the drama, as much as I didn't want to admit it.  That could have intensified the symptoms.  (The body does respond to stress, does it not? I possibly narrowed my focus on to the body's noise.) So, as the symptoms intensified...purely psychosomatic or not...I was even more determined to have this procedure explain the nature and cause of my symptoms once and for all. If I could find peace in what the body was doing I would have more space for handling the life circumstances. So, I was determined to have this procedure no matter what! I wanted to put an end to the not knowing. I wanted the  peace I assumed an answer would bring...regardless of that answer.  Despite the circumstances occurring around me, despite everything I might be feeling etc...I was determined!

Yet...it seemed that fate had other things in mind. 

Well the day before the procedure and while I was prepping for it...D. and I came down with the stomache flue...very high temps, nausea...the whole works. I mean sick. Like what are the chances of that? Still, I was not going to cancel! I needed an answer.  So, there I was having to prep with the most God awful stuff in the world ...making myself sicker than I already was but I was determined! It was very, very challenging. At one point I was laying on the bathroom floor sweating profusely...I think the sweat was coming out of my eyeballs...almost convinced I was going to die. I wasn't sure if it was the heart or the stomach but man...sick! 

Anyway...I get through it and I show up for the procedure ( fever had broken in the night so I was feeling better that way but literally wiped out.) 

I wait with the knowing that soon I would find out what has been going on down there for years now.  I would have this peace.  I am not nervous.  I am repeating "Om mani padme hum" to myself.  I am speaking to the support around me I cannot see...saying, "Whatever this is, it is. Give me the strength to make peace with it all." The nurse gives me the sedative and I go out.  

I didn't remember much right after the procedure  but I do remember now...the alarms going off behind me and some pressure in my belly and chest...not much just enough but I was still too drowsy to react.  Then I remember being wheeled back down to my cubicle,,,someone telling me it is over and asking how I am feeling...someone  calling for an ECG...someone  saying, "She had some ST changes during the procedure." 

I am too drowsy to wake up.  Infact, I don't really care about that. I want to know about the scope. I fall back to sleep and am awakened by an ECG tech putting leads on me. Everyone is asking if I am okay.  I am. I am pleasantly drowsy...no pain anywhere. I fall back to sleep. Then D. is there and the nurse.  I am told I had some ST changes during the procedure. Still not concerned. I am just wondering what the scope showed. I am told the ECG will be faxed to my doctor and I still don't care.  ST depression I have had plenty of times. I am shown the report and it is compared to the last one...Sure there are chnages but I have seen such changes before.  Not concerned.  What about the scope? 

They begin to prepare me for discharge.  I am super light headed but no chest discomfort what so ever. I see the surgeon walking down the hall . I feel my heart racing.  I need to know. They are talking about my ECG and my heart history.  He comes in and tells me right away that I had some ST changes during the procedure and that I need to see my doctor...to take my ASA etc...that the ECG report was faxed. I nod my head. He starts to walk away. Huh? "What about the scope?" "Oh scope is good. It is all good?" I am stunned, "It's good?"  The nurse beside him tries to reassure me, "That's a good thing." They do not understand that I just need an explanation as to what my body is doing.  I think I thanked him...I hope I did. He walks away. I reassure the nurse that  there is no reason for concern about the ST changes. She tells me to follow up with my doctor. I tell her I will even though I know I probably won't.   I go home and spend the hours up til now  very lightheaded with no answer for my need to know mind. 

The symptoms I was having that led me to the procedure continue. The symptoms I was having after it linger on as well. The drama continues around me.  I have no energy to help anyone. I think of how good it felt to be out of it for the 20 minutes I was out lol but know in my heart that is not what I want or need.  The peace I am longing for is not found in a temporary sedative...nor will it be found in an explanation for what my body is doing. 

The answer is not what I need to have peace! In fact, I didn't get my answer because I was not meant to... It was like wow....I really am not supposed to know am I? Why else would this thing in my heart that I spent decades trying to get people to diagnose and  had such a hard time proving to others was  even real show up distracting all  from the purpose at hand.  In my health seeking history for one bizarre reason after another, I never did get answers to all that was going on in my heart and with the other issues in this body until decades after presenting with them. I always seemed to go decades seeking and not finding. It would literally take decades for the answers to show up. Why would this situation be any different?

This is part of my karmic journey, my learning. For some reason, this having a mind that needs to know and the subsequent  not knowing is meant to be.  I am not supposed to find peace in an answer, in knowing conceptually what is going on in this body I have been given. I am supposed to find peace in the not knowing. It really doesn't matter what is happening to this vessel.  I am not it. I think the learning is telling me I am to have faith in this process... a process I don't understand or need to understand.  Hmm! 

Someday, maybe I will truly get that everything I do, every single thing that happens to this "me"  is a  vehicle for bringing matter into spirit, and spirit into matter. Maybe someday I will realize that I am more formless than form. Maybe, someday I will realize that the peace I am looking for is already in me. 

All is well. 

The Cost of Sat Chit Ananda

The Song of Samadhi 

Lo! The sun is not, nor the comely moon,

All light extinct; in the great void of space

Floats shadow-like the image-universe.

In the void of mind involute, there floats

The fleeting Universe, rises and floats,

Sinks again, ceaseless, in the current "I".

Slowly, slowly, the shadow-multitude

Entered the primal womb, and flowed ceaseless,

The only current, the "I am", "I am". 

Lo! 'Tis stopped, ev'n that current flows no more,

Void merged into void-beyond speech and mind

Whose heart understands, he verily does.

Swami Vivekananda

(Meditation and Its Methods, page 25)

                                                                          

                                                                            All is well!

One Truth-Many Paths

We should always remember that the truth of the Self is the same, but when presented to you through words and forms and modes, it may appear in different ways to suit the individual or the trend of the age. That means rituals can be modified, language can be modified. But the truth can never be changed because truth is always the same. ...That is why, whatever be the scripture, whether from the East, West, South, or North, the basic truth should be in agreement. Satchidananda, page 13

I feel the urge to tie three recently learned streams of thought  together: The mantra I have been practicing again, what I am learning from Vivekananda, and what I listened to today and yesterday from Michael A. Singer.  Do they line up ? Absoultely. It is so uncanny how these things have been lining up. 

A few days ago, for some reason I returned to the Buddhist meditation mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum". Not sure why, but I felt pulled to it. I have since been reading up on its meaning, "The jewel of the lotus." Waht is teh jewel of the lotus? Enlightenment. 

Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha.The Dalai Llama

 That very same day,  I came across this from Vivekananda's, Meditation and Its Method: You Cannot Know God Until You Know Yourself . ( A book I have been reading for the last week or so) : 

Imagine a lotus upon the top of the head, several inches up, with virtue at its centre, and knowledge at its stalk. The eight petals of the lotus are the eight powers of the Yogi. Inside, the stamens and pistils are renunciation. If the Yogi refuses the external powers he will come to salvation...Inside of the lotus think of the Golden One, the Almighty, the Intangible, He whose name is Om, the Inexpressible, surrounded by effulgent light.  Meditate on that. (page 14)

It was like wow! Not that I am trying to make this into something mystical or magical but sometimes things, like teachings, line up in a very serendiptious, non-scientifically explainable way for me. Can't help but say, " I guess I really  am suppose to meditate using this mantra."

 This connection between an ancient Yogic teaching and a Buddhist one reminded me of this line I always recite to myself, from Swami' Satchidanada's translation of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Truth is One; Paths are many.  My writing and learning has been based on that line. I have spent the last 25 years trying to connect the paths.  

In my practice, I am also not looking for what Patanjali referred to as Cittis...those yogic powers that can be attained through samadhi, that can be visualized as the petals surrounding the center of the lotus flower. I am looking for enlightenement, a "merging" with this OneTruth, Self, God. I am focusing on the center, the jewel of the lotus, when I meditate or when I practice in every way I practice. I am renouncing the powers surrounding enlightenment for enlightenment. 

So what does that have to do with Michael A. Singer's teachings, crazy lady?

Well,  he began by explaining that all the true paths to truth are taking us to the same place. The title of his podcast is, "Many Paths-One Destination". What is that destination he is referring to? He was not speaking about going or getting somewhere.  He was speaking about not leaving. about falling back into what we always were, what was always there: God consciousness, the highest vibration, merging with Self...like a drop of water falls into the ocean and becomes absorbed in what it is.  He was speaking about the need to rest in the Seat of consciousness and then fall back into that consciousness. The intended path for the Yogi, is to stop pouring this precious energy of consciousness down and out on little me's dramas.  It is about going  in and up to Who we always were. It doesn't matter how we do it it...as long as we are going in and up. 

In his podcast, Singer explains Patanjali's meditation steps: Pratyahara (premeditation, withdrawal of the senses), Dharna ( focused or single pointed concentration), dhyana( focusing on consciousness itself) and Samadhi...where the merging happens. This is what I read last night from Vivekananda's book: 

• There are three stages in meditation. The first is what is called [Dharana], concentrating the mind upon an object. I try to concentrate my mind upon this glass, excluding every other object from my mind except this glass. But the mind is wavering....
• When it becomes strong and does not waver so much, it is called [Dhyana], meditation...
• And then there is a still higher state when the differentiation between the glass and myself is lost-[Samadhi or absorption]. 
• Meditation means the mind is turned back upon itself ( page 15)

Singer kept stressing over and over about the importance of this higher state of consciousness focusing on consciousness.  Attempting to go there...or better put...not leave there like we tend to do when we are pulled down and out into our distractions....is the One True Spiritual Path. 

Wow! I just see all these teachings lining up so perfectly for me in what seems like coincidence.  But something tells me, it is more than coincidence.  As somewhat of a Jhana Yogi by nature ( I do think that is the natural path for me on my way back to this destination I never left) I am being guided a bit by something I do not understand.  Not saying it is mystical woo-woo...just something I can not see or explain...a vibration, maybe. Maybe, all so called coincidence is purposeful vibration? 

 Yogis, centuries ago, have come to see all of Life as a vibration. They have been aware of the quantum field a lot longer than scientists have. Science is slowly catching up. Instead of doing what the yogis did...exploring consciosuness directly and firstly before examining the world outside, however,...scientists are making their way from the outside in. 

Just a different path, maybe, to the same Truth. 

All is well. 

Dalai Llama (2002) Om Mani Padme Hung.  Shambala Publications. https://www.shambhala.com/snowlion_articles/om-mani-padme-hum-dalai-lama/

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( March 15, 2024) Many Paths-One Destination. https://tou.org/talks/

Swami Vivekananda (2019) Meditation and Its Methods. New Delhi: General Press (Kindle Edition)

Patanjali/ Sri Swami Satchidananda( 2011)  The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Buckingham: Integral Yoga  Publications.

Observing with Equanimity.

Can you watch what is going on in your heart and mind with equanimity?  If so, you have fallen back into the seat of the Objective Observer.

Started the below podcast this morning but was drawn away from it again and again by the world around me. The above statement is the thing I was left with before the distractions. Will listen again tomorrow.

All is well.

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( March 15, 2024) Many Paths-One Destination. https://tou.org/talks/

Aware

 You are not a human being. You just happen to be aware of one.

Michael A. Singer

From Wave to Ocean

 I am no longer the wave of consciousness thinking itself seperated from the sea of cosmic consciousness. I am the ocean of the Spirit that has become the wave of human life. 

Yogananda

Every single drop of consciousness is the same, Michael Singer tells us in the below podcast. What it shines on differs from person to person, wave to wave, but consciousness is the same.

Great beings know this. Knowing this is Yoga. The state that Christ was in and what he taught was the essence of yoga.  

I actually only opened Monday's podcast today and it was all about what I wrote about yesterday...who is enlightened and who isn't and why. etc. 

We are this amazing consciousness. Most of us spend our lives being pulled from deep consciousness/awareness of being (God) down to personal consciousness, 

Why? Consciousness identifies what it is focusing on. 

Spirituality is all about focusing...not on what the light is shining on...but the light itself.

Hmm! All is well. 

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe. ( March 11, 2024) The Light of Consciousness. https://tou.org/talks/

Mind as Trap or Liberator?

 Not here to fix the world.  You are here to bring down something beautiful to the moment in front of you.

Michael A. Singer ( not exact, exact words maybe...but close :)) 

I had to remind myself of that a lot this morning. I am a day behind in my listening practice. Every morning I try to listen and read wise words from people who are awakening and who have awakened. Why? Because I want to awaken. 

 I have been pulled away from the height of this  practice over the last few days because I am dealing with the projected suffering of another. To be honest, I feel a certain degree of resistance to this suffering that is more or less thrown in my direction.  I have empathy and compassion but it is loaded down with my reluctance and resistance...I find myself physically feeling it in my gut and closing off.  I am  also aware of myself feeling a certain resistance to my resistance: "You are supposed to be waking up and accepting and embracing Life as it is.  This is Life. Deal with it!"  The twisiting in my gut gets worse as I hear that.

Then I hear this other little voice within me saying, "I don't want to deal with this right now. I really don't.  Maybe after my practice I will have more of that peace and light to share with this individual.  Maybe I will be more open."  I am reminded of the above quote  from the podcast this morning and this, (again somewhat paraphrased):

The only ones that are the part of the solution are the ones that can sit at the table and say, "That is not what I would do but I can understand why you think and feel that way."

 I resist some more telling myself I need my sadhana to evolve to the point I can handle things like this better. Then another little voice counters..."But this is part of your practice.  This will help you to wake up too."

Man, back and forth, I as this "troubled human," go. I just got called away again and I tried to remind myself and the other of these quotes but it did not go over very well. I was not validating enough which I see, and I could be right off the mark, in this person's eyes is equivalent to allowing myself to be pulled down into their very low, negative and toxic perceptions and emotions so I understand where they are at.  I don't allow myself to go there.  I know this person is there and it breaks my heart but I do not want this consciousness that is pouring through me and that can be so healing pulled down, and  eventually lost in that very narrow focus. I know it would not be beneficial to either of us. I see that this person is trapped in the mind...it is a curse for her.  I am hoping to free the mind. I want it to be a liberator not a trap. 

Man ..all this shows me that I am far from fully awakened...I am just in the early stages of  waking up where I am still yawning and stretching. Hmm!

Ironically, I was intending to write about the difference between a fully awakened individual and one that is still waking up when I sat down here this morning and before I even listened to Singer's podcast. There is a big difference right?  I don't look at Michael A. Singer and Eckhart Tolle, for example, as fully enlightened masters or rishis...I look at them as humans evolving beyond their humanness...learning so much about consciosuness as they do...knowing it is there...but not completely pulled into it...not completely merged with it in the way say, Ramana Maharshi, Rama Krishna, Meher Baba, Mahavatar Babaji (Yogananda's guru's guru's guru) was etc. (The way, of course, Christ and the Buddha were). Mind you they are much more awake than I am and that is why I, like a flower pulled by the heliotrophic effect to the sun, lean in their direction.  But do I think they have reached what those who have spent years in a cave without any distarctions have ? No.  One is likely still sipping the last of their coffee or crunching the last piece of their toast.  The other might already have the dishes in the dishwasher and heading off to work...but they are still not fully awake. Very few humans reach that state. I don't have any unrealistic notions about reaching that state in this life time but still I try to wake up more and more each day. Why?

If your consciousness is not distracted by your personal thoughts and emotions...what happens to it? It is not pulled down. A depressed person is pulled down into low negative stuff...a positive person is pulled down into positive stuff ( still pulled down because they are identified with  emotions and thoughts ...distracted by it).  An enlightened being is not pulled down, not distarcted. Singer ( again somewhat paraphrased...I was very distracted during the listening and the writing and couldn't get every exact  word down.).

I am so sick of being pulled down. Are you? Imagine being able to stay up there in that higher energy, the  Sat Chit Ananda, like the fully enlightened ones did and do?  Hmm! Imagine bringing that to the table and into every problem others are having? Wow! Game changer.

Anyway, I did not help this person today with any peace I might have been oozing.  I did not help my practice, and I did not help myself get a little farther away from the thing in the way of a liberated mind...me. Hmm! But I did observe and expereince it all as the conscious awareness. That has to stand for something, doesn't it?

All is well.

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( March 10, 2024) Mind can be a blessing or a curse. https://tou.org/talks/

• 
  

Yogis Open Up to the Energy That Is

He alone is the yogi who, after long practice in self-concentartion, has attained to this truth. The Sushumna now opens and a current which never before entered into this new passage will find its way into it, and gradually ascend to ( what we call in figurative language) the different lotus centers, till at last it reaches the brain. Then the Yogi. becomes conscious of what he really is, God Himself. Vivekananda, page 11

 Michael A. Singer opened up his podcast from Thursday, (I only had the opportunity to listen to it this morning) with a talk about that state a true yogi reaches after years of practicing in a cave, free of all worldy distarctions. "Purified mind", he calls it.  The Buddhists would term it shunyata ( empty mind) and Nirvana. The Christians might refer to it as Salvation or heaven. 

The bottom of the lake is our own true Self;  the lake is the Chitta[mind-stuff] and the waves the vrittis[cyclical movements of conscious energy]...Then there is the state called Sattva, serenity, calmness, in which the waves cease, and the water of the mind-lake becomes clear. page 15

Man wants truth, wants to experience truth for himself; when he has grasped it, realised it, felt it within his heart of hearts, then alone , declare the Vedas, would all doubts vanish, all darkness be scattered, and all crookedness be made straight. page 15

He then gently approached the topic of God and linked all that  flows through us with energy.  Everything is energy, as science is finally realizing ...that which yogis realized long ago. ...which I strongly believe to be true.  But then again...what is belief?

What right has a man to say he has a soul if he does not feel it, or that therefore is a God if he does not see Him? If there is a God we must see him, if there is a soul we must perceive it; otherwise it is better not to believe. It is better to be an outspoken athiest than a hypocrite. page 10

Everything is energy...a vibration...but there is a place beyond all this energy that we can all reach. It is all about returning to the source and re acquanting ourselves with who we are. It isn't easy:

The human mind is like that monkey, incessantly active by its own nature; then it becomes drunk with the wine of desire, thus increasing its turbulence. After desire takes possession comes the sting of the scorpion of jealousy at the success of others, and last of all demon of pride enters the mind, making it think itself of all importance. How hard to control such a mind! page 10

But there is a tried and true  process to follow...a process the ancient rishas practiced.:.

First  hear, then understand, and then, leaving all distractions, shut your minds to outside influences, and devote yourselves to developing the truths within you. page 15

Think of  a space in your heart, and in the midst of that space think that a flame is burning. Think of that flame as your own soul and inside the flame is another effulgent light, and that is the soul of your soul, God. Meditate upon that in the heart. page 11

Anyway, distracted right now by someone elses' crisis I have been dealing with off and on all morning so I am going to step away.  Just trying to say once again that the teachings all line up, don't they?  The One consciouness is the source of those energy vibrations lining up the way they do. 

All is well

Michael A. Singer ( March 7, 2024) It's all energy. https://tou.org/talks/

Swami Vivekananda (2019 ) Meditation and Its Methods: You cannot Believe in God until You Believe in Yourself. Kindle Edition

Mastering the Bell; Inviting the Sound of Presence

 Om Mani Padme Hum

Popular Buddhist Mantra 

The above chant as I probably mentioned many times before  means , "Praise to the jewel in the lotus,"referring to the Divine within us all. 

I was reminded of that today upon listening to an old video with Thich Nhat Hanh from 2013.  In this video he was speaking to the idea of becoming a "Bell Master"...a person who rings the bell before, during, and after a dharma talk or practice .  I was introduced to the bell upon viewing the dharma talks from  Plum Village many years ago and have developed a deep respect for them and their meaning.  I was since gifted a lovely singing bowl and have been  learning to make it sing so I could use it during my yoga practice.  I can make it sing. I am, however, more intrigued by the prospect of using it as a bell  because I love how simply waiting for and then  listening to the rising and dissolving of each bell sound  brings me right back into the present moment. I couldn't understand why it had that effect on me until I listened to the below video. 

In the nonviolent language of Zen, the initiation of sound is referred to as "inviting the bell to sound" rather than striking or hitting the bell. I find that choice of words so soothing. Before beginning the bell a master must be centered and peaceful. A mantra/gatha can be used to ensure this peace:

In Breath: Body, space, mind in perfect oneness

Out Breath: I send my heart along with the sound of this bell.

In Breath: May the hearers awaken from their forgetfulness

Out Breath: and transcend  through the path of anxiety and sorrow. 

The bell is invited to ring three times at the beginning and ending of the session. It begins with a half sound to warn hearers that a full sound is about to happen very soon. This is done to prepare both the bell master and the hearer for the full sense of  the complete  sound. We need to stop talking, stop the body, stop the thinking to receive the full sound of the bell ( the voice of the Buddha). Hearers are given a ten second preparation time which equates to one full consciosu breath: four seconds for breathing in; six  seconds  for breathing out. 

Then the master invites the first full sound. With the full sound, everyone has the opportuinity to breathe in and out three times

"I listen...I listen.....I listen," on the in breath. And on the out breath "This wonderful sound brings me back to my true home."

The Bell Master is very conscious and considerate about giving the hearer enough time and space to receive and absorb each full sound of the bell. The time span from when the bell is first stroked to the time the next invitation for full sound occurs allows hearers three deep in breaths and three deep out breaths, followed by a ten second pause. 

I am going to practice this for the sheer joy of inviting and receiving the bell sound, as well as for being able to offer that healing invitation for presence to others.

All is well. 

Thich Nhat Hanh/ Quentin Genshu ( 2020?) How to Really Be Yourself All the Time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdlqUt3PfaY&t=1s

Wanting No More?

 If you sleep, desire grows in you like a vine in the forest. Like a monkey in the forest you jump from tree to tree, never  finding the fruit.- from life to life, never finding peace. If you are filled with desire your sorrows swell like the grass after the rain. But if you subdue desire your sorrows shall fall from you like drops of water from a lotus flower.

The Buddha

I know from what was read in the last few days my back and forth on"wanting" could be a little confusing for readers.  In 2017 I was trying out the "Law of Attraction", at the same time I was going deeper into Self. My life seemed to be a mess: I was sick, having to go off work again and again,denied support, and therefore barely surviving financially. Family life seemed to have one major issue after another etc. My whole focus was on these seemingly great problems unfolding in front of me.  I was desperately trying to escape my situation...looking for more, "craving" more actually. Thus my interest in what the Law of Attraction might provide= hope.  

I was also practicing yoga and studying Buddhist sutras and dogmas. These ancient wisdoms, ironically,  were reminding me of truths that were the opposite of the "wanting" prescribed by the law made popular in The Secret. They were all about accepting "what is". They prescribed "wanting and craving" as the problem...not the solution.  I would find some peace in these ancient teachings that resonated in every cell of me. But when Life threw another major challenge my way I found myself craving and wanting again. "How can I accept this?" I found myself shouting out to the Universe, turning to this idea, once again, that I might be able to think what I want into our lives...reaching  for a life line of hope to get myself and my family through this mess.  So yeah, I went back and forth between these two seemingly polar opposite approaches to Life for many years.  

What the Law of Attraction gave me in terms of hope was so superficial. It handed me a flimsy rain coat and a picture of a rainbow to hold on to  in the midst of a storm.  What the ancient teachings gave me was a solid shelter to return to again and again no matter what was happening out there. One approach  turned "me" outward as I looked up at the sky crying, "Please, please, stop raining down on me!"And the other approach ripped right through the raincoat, the form I call  "me" standing there drenched  with a picture of a rainbow in her hand [dreamboard]. It ripped right through everything this "me" seemed to have going on to the unharmed, untouched being beneath the "me". The shelter from this storm, I soon realized, was not out there, it was in here where it always was. There really was no storm, anywhere but in my mind.  The  sun was still shining brilliantly below that stormy cloud cover. It was always there.  The learning from these ancient teachings showed me that I created cloud cover with my resistance to what  Life was throwing my way...and that there was really no "my way" or "me".  Who I really was ...was this shelter.  I knew this truth! I was home! I knew it didn't matter what was happening to me or around me ....who I really was was okay. It was like Wow!

Of course I am still very much unevolved.  I still slip away from the shelter again and again.  I still have this impression at times that I am being poured upon by challenging life circumstances. I still slip into old habitual ways of perceiving and responding to Life.  I still find myself wanting and even "craving" for  Life circumstance to be different than what it is sometimes.  That is happening less and less though.  You will not see too many entries like the ones I wrote on wanting in 2017 or before anymore.  I see now that "Not wanting" is not the cancer I thought it was...'Wanting" is actually the life sapping malignancy. Realizing that, I have evolved, (at least a bit).

Well, that is what I have come to see. 

All is well. 

Life is Only Difficult For Evolution's Sake: Be the Living Dharma

Dharma may be misunderstood as the wise teachings. There is a spoken dharma and a written dhharma, but there is also a living dharma...Radiating peace and joy and life all around us is what we call the living dharma.

Thich Nhat Hanh, page 120

I was multitasking today.  I was listening to the wisdom shared by Eckhart Tolle  and collecting passages of meaning as I read through Thich Nhat HAnh's book, Fear, at the same time.  This is what I came up with.  I am using exact quotations because I could not, obviously, say it any better than these two wise people did. Anything with an ET behind it is from Eckhart Tolle; anything with a page number behind it is from Thich Nhat Hanh. They will not be in the usual purple to indicate they are quotations but they are,

On Challenge and Difficulty

•  Evolution happens only when there are obstacles...a demand for more energy. ET
• Humans do not awaken as long as they are in their comfort zones...they need to be taken out of their comfort zones for evolution of consciousness to happen. ET
• Quan Yin [Avalokiteshvara] is the boddhisatva who can listen and understand the sounds of the world, the cries of suffering.page 117
• The suffering inside us reflects the suffering of the world. page 122
• You want to do something - first of all to survive, and then to help reduce the suffering. page 122
• When we see the suffering in the world, we know by comparison the suffering inside us is hardly nothing.  page 122

Intelligent/ Right Action

• Intelligent action emerges as long as it is aligned with what is. ET
• Is wisdom present...the higher intelligence that operates through you when you are in touch with the vertical dimension? ET
• [With acceptance of what is]The path of right conduct will appear; we will make good use of our time and energy to do what's needed and not be carried away by senseless pursuits that can destroy our bodies and minds. What we need to do will become clear. page 33
• What we do, say, and think continues on after the act is done, and its fruits follow us. page 37

Karma

• Karma is the ground on which we stand. We have no other ground. We will recieve the fruits of any act we have done, whether wholesome of unwholesome. page 37

The Two Dimensions; Being In the World but Not Of It.

• To represent the two dimensions of reality [Tolles vertical and horizontal plane analogy], we use the image of the wave and water. Looking at the dimension of the wave, the historical dimension[ Tolle's horizontal plane], we see the wave seems to have a beginning and an end. The wave can be high or low compared to other waves. The wave might be there or not there; it might be there now but not there later. All these notions are there when we first touch the historical dimension: birth and death, being and nonbeing, high and low, coming and going, and so on. But we know that when we touch the wave more deeply, we touch water. The water is the other dimension of the wave.[Tolle's vertical dimension]. It represents the untimate dimension. page 48
• If the wave is capable of touching the water within herself, if the wave can live the life of water at the same time [Tolle's intersecting point between the vertical and horizontal plane?], then she will not be afraid of all these notions: beginning and ending, birth and death, being or nonbeing; nonfear will bring her solidity and joy. Her true nature is the nature of no-birth and no-death., no beginning and no end.That is the nature of water. page 48
• The first step is to practice in the historical dimension, and the second step is to practice in the ultimate dimension. page 49
• Our daily lives need to have a spiritual dimension to help us develop our capacity for taking good care of our pain and fear as well as our happiness. page 77
• ...we all long for peace and security.  page 91

Knowing/ Insight

• The two modalities of knowing are conceptual and direct knowing through awareness. ET
• The way out is in. page 73
• It is the energy of mindfulness that empowers you to recognize your pain and sorrow and embrace them tenderly. page 76
• Don't let your mind carry you away with thinking, judgments, irritation, strong feelings, and projects. page 80
• Instead of blaming others, we can look at our own being and work on whatever unskillfulness on our part may have contributed to our difficulty with another. page 84
• Most likley the other person has also been a victim of wrong perceptions. page 97
• The kingdom of Heaven can be hidden by a cloud of ignorance or by a tempest of anger, violence, and fear. page 101
• To repent means to wake up and be aware that our fear, anger, and craving are covering up the blue sky.  page 101
• When you throw a rock into the river, no matter how small it is, it will sink to the bottom. But if you have a boat, you can keep many rocks afloat. page 125
• Descartes said, "I think therefore I am," but most of the time, the truth is more like, "I think, therefore I am not really here." page 127
• We need some joy and happiness to give us the strength to transform suffering. page 132
• If you're capable of producing a feeling of joy, a feeling of happiness, then you'll also be able to handle painful feelings. page 134
• So we have to train ourselves to look in such a way as to see things more deeply and see their ultimately empty nature. page 142
• So in your daily life, you keep that insight of nonself, of emptiness, of impermanence alive... You have to really see the nature of emptiness in yourself and others. page 142=143
• But in the beginning, we can use the teaching, the notion of impermanence, as an instrument to help bring about the insight of impermanence. It's like a match and a flame. The match is not the flame, but the match can bring about the flame. And when we have the flame, the flame will consume the match. When we have the insight, the insight will burn away the notion. page 144

Reality and Accepting What is

• It is madness to argue with what is. ET
• "Nothing is created; nothing is lost." Antoine Lavoisier page 51
• We have not come from anywhere, and will not go anywhere. When conditions are sufficient we manifest in a prticular way. When conditions are no longer sufficient, we no longer manifest in that way. This dosesn't mean that we don't exist. page 52
• So to say that after something disintegrates there's nothing left is a wrong view, called the view of annihilation. page 54 ( Hanh uses the burning piece of paper analogy)
• "This is because that is. This is not because that is not." The Buddha page 62 
• Stopping and looking deeply are one; they're two saspects of the same reality. page 80
• We need to have a nonviolent attitude towards our suffering, our pain, our fear. page  85
• Being there with what is beautiful and healing inside us and around us is something we should do each day. And it is possible to do this in all your daily activities. page 114
• We don't try to grab onto the painful sensation, and we don't try to push it away. We just acknowledg its existence.  When a painful feeling comes, we do the same thing. 135
• Every time the pain manifests, we have to let it manifest; we should not push it down. We shouldn't try to suppress it. We should let it come and take care of it. page 139
• The nature of reality transcends all notions and ideas, including the notions of birth and death, being and nonbeing, coming and going. page 147
• We let go of our wrong perceptions of reality so as to be free. page 147

The Cause of Suffering= Resistance and Reactivity to What is

• The world drama gets amplified through ego reactivity. ET
• The basis of suffering is ignorance about the true nature of self and the world around you. When you don't understand , you are afraid, and your fear brings you much suffering. page 68
• Your response to what's going on around you will be quite different if you are solid and not overwhelmed. page 73
• While another person is able to allow the mountains, the glorious sunrise, the beauty of nature penetrate fully into his body or mind, we are blocked by our worries, our fear, and our anger, and the beauty of the sunrise cannot really enter us. Our emotions prevent us from getting in touch with the wonders of life....page 75
• Now its a strong habit that many generations of your ancestors had before you and transmitted to you - the habit of running, being tense, and being carries away by many things, so that your mind is not totally, deeply, peacefully in the present moment. You get accustomed to looking at things in a very superficial way and being carried away by wrong perceptions and the negative emotions that result. This leads to behaving wrongly and making life difficult. page 79
• We don't want to open the door for our fear, our sorrow, and our depression to come up, so we bring in all manner of other things to occupy us....Distraction is the policy for many of us. page 86
• We have been taught to keep our fear out of sight and unacknowledged. page 91
• "I have looked deeply into the state of mind of unhappy people and have seen hidden under their suffering a very sharp knife. Because they don't see that sharp knife in themselves, it is difficult for them to deal with suffering. page 92
• As long as you continue to hang onto it, your pain magnifies and grows so large, you want to punish those you think are the cause of your suffering. ,,,see their great hatred but what is driving it? Perceived injustice.page 93
• Scientists tell us that all objects are made mainly of space and that the amount of matter in a flower or a table is almost nothing at all-put together, all the matter in a table would be smaller than a grain of salt. ...we still think of the table as big and solid. page 142

The Present Moment/Embracing Presence

• The past is gone, and the future is not yet here. So the place where you should look for the Kingdom of God or the Pure Land of the Buddha, the place where you should look for your happiness, your peace, and your fulfillment, has to be in the present moment. Its so simple and clear. page 44
• "The miracle is not to walk on water or fire. The miracle is to walk on earth." Zen Master Linji. page 56 (in line with Singer's teachings)
• Look deeply straight in front of you at what is wonderful in the present moment. Mother Earth is powerful, so generous, and so supportive. Your body is so wonderful. When you have practiced and you are solid like the earth, you face your difficulty directly and it begins to dissipate.  page 57
• "The past no longer is; the future is not yet here; there is only one moment in which life is available, and that is the present moment." The Buddha page 57
• Even amid the wonders of the present moment, it may be that you have a number of difficulties;but if you look deeply you will see you still have maybe 80 percent postive things to be in touch with and enjoy. So don't run. page 80
• In our daily lives, every single moment we can help the kingdom of God reveal itself. 102
• Really try to be there, for yourself, for life, for the people you love. page 112
• Walk with your feet, not with your head. Bring your attention to your feet and walk.119

The Power of Awareness/Consciosuness

• Our consciousness is like a circle in which the bottom part is our store consciousness, and the upper part is our mind consciosuness. page 39
• There is a whole river of feelings flowing in us day and night. Every feeling is a drop in that river. A feeling is born, manifests, stays for a time, and then passes away. We can sit on the bank of th river of feelings and observe, recognizing each feeling as it manifests, and seeing it remain seeing it pass away. page 136
• We shouldn't identify with the  feeling, nor should we try to push it away. We're free even from our own feelings. page 136. 
• There are strong emotions that are very painful, zones of energy that manifest from the depths of  our consciousness. page 136
• In the earliest hours of the morning, a lotus flower is still closed. As the sun comes up, the sunlight begins to touch the petals. The sunlight doesn't just surround the lotus flower; its photons actually penetrate the lotus flower with energy, and soon the flower will open. That is exactly the same as what we do. When we embrace our pain, particles of the energy of mindfulness and concentartion begin to penentrate like photons, into the zone of pain. And this will bring relief after some minutes. page 137
• It's like when a room is cold, you turn on your radiator, and it emits waves of heat. Those heat waves don't chase out the cold; they embrace and permeate the cold, and after some time, the air becomes warmer. There is no violence in this; there's no fighting. page 138
• A seed from the depth of consciousness manifests, it stays for a while as a zone of energy, and then it goes back down to its original place as a seed. page 139
• There is a  river of mind flowing in which every thought is a drop of water. We sit on the bank and observe the manifestation and fading of each thought. We can simply recognize them as they arise, as they stay for some time, as they go away. We don't need to grasp, or fight, or push them away. page 140
• To gladden the mind, we use a practice  called selective watering. page 141
• First, we allow the negative seeds to sleep in our store consciousness, and don't give them a chance to manifest; if they manifest too often their base will be strengthened. [habit formation] page 141
• Second, if a negative seed manifests into mind consciousness, we help it to go back to store consciosuness as quickly as possible, where it can sleep s a seed. 141
• The third practice is to encourage wholesome mental formations to manifest in our conscious mind. 141
• In the forth practice, when a good mental formation has manifested, we try to keep it there as long as we can. page 141
• Concentration has the power to burn away afflictions, just like sunlight focusing on a lens can burn a piece of paper underneath. page 142
• When we look at things in terms of interbeing, we see that the subject and the object of consciousness can not exist seperately. It's like left and right; one can't exist without the other. 145
• Whenever we perceive something, whether it's a pen or a flower, the object of perception and the subject of perception always manifest at the same time. When we are conscious, we are always conscous of something; when we are mindful, we are always mindful of something; when we think, we always think about something. So object and subject always manifest at the same time. 145

Wisdom

• Wisdom can only arise through awareness. ET
• Only wisdom -which  is inseprable from the arising of awareness-can save us.ET
• By practicing  nonattachment and sharing this wisdom with others, we give the gift of nonfear. Everything is impermanent. This moment passes. The object of our craving walks away, but we know happiness is always possible. page 60
• [The Buddha taught his disciples on his death bed]...that they should look for the teacher within rather than relying on the teacher outside-that the body of the teacher may disintegrate, but the teaching has already entered the student. If you go back to the island of yourself, you will see the teacher.
• The seed of wisdom, of perfect understanding, is in each of us. page 78
• We have enough intelligence, courage, and stability to help the blue sky reveal itself again. page 102
• When scientists enter the world of elementary particles, they have to put aside their habitual way of looking at things as existing seperately. page 142
• The contemplation of impermanence can help us transform the delusion in manas so it becomes wisdom. page 146

All is Well!

Eckhart Tolle (Feb 6, 2024) Embracing Uncertainity: Eckhart tolle explains the Power of Not Knowing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVLX5a6nmzU&t=638s

Thich Nhat Hanh (2012) Fear. New York: Harper One.

Not on External Conditions

 I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude, and not on external conditions.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Fear, page 158

This is one of the learnings I want to leave behind for my children, my grandchildren, for children everywhere.

All is well. 

Living Up to Words

In spiritual discourse words are not the thing, they only point to the thing... We use the words to point to something that is beyond the words....Just learning the words will do nothing to your state of consciousness.

Eckhart Tolle

If I get to  leave anything behind when I leave this body, I would want to leave behind  the truths  that I am discovering through all I am learning.  The only means I have to do so...is through words, and limited further ...through words in my own language. As someone who presently works with multilingual learners, I realize how limiting that is. 

Words themselves are just pointers and I have to wonder what do they end up pointing to when they are translated from one language to another?  So much can be lost or convoluted in translation. Of course, I do know in my heart that words and concepts mean  nothing compared to the "experience" they direct us to. 

Am I living Up to My Words?

Eckhart Tolle, in the below linked podcast, was mentioning how some people talk the spiritual talk beautifully but do not walk the spiritual walk. ( He did not express what he was saying in those exact words lol). He was saying how he was observing some people on YouTube who can masterfully articulate spiritual concepts but who are likely not experiencing them at the level of consciousness the words are pointing to. For a second, I thought he was referring to me. Not that I articulately master speaking and writing but that I am not living up to my words.  

I wonder then: 

Have I just mastered the terminology of spiritual discourse or am I living up to it? I come to this medium so I can use my words. As someone who conceptually identifies as "writer" and "speaker", I do love words and they are a natural expression of meaning for me. I use them to learn and I use them to share learning, thusly to enhance anything I have learned. This little platform is a means for me to express what I am learning, just as much for my spiritual sake as for anyone else's.  It is like my canvas. So I splatter the words I am seeing in my head all over this canvas, creating, I hope, something of value. What I am creating on this canvas, is a map, that's all. It is a map that shows the way to the buried treasure within each of us. The map is in English but is there enough of the nonverbal to direct all seekers of truth, even multilingual learners to the truth within themselves? 

Tolle, tells us, we communicate better when there are gaps in the concepts...when there is something there beyond the words.

Maybe, right now, I do not have enough gaps for consciousness to shine through my words? That's okay I trust the process. I accept that I am not an Eckhart Tolle or a Michael Singer and will likely never be.  I may never reach more than one or two people in the way Life wants me to reach people in this life time. That is perfectly okay with me. I am just doing what I feel called to do regardless of reception. 

Right now, I am only reaching, it seems, besides a few loyal readers ( thank you!), a large number of bots in Singapore and surrounding countries.The Universe may be telling me with this that I am not ready for a greater reception of readers...because I, as the writer, speaker, artist, and map maker am not ready.  It may be telling me the spiritual discourse is still percolating in me and I am not yet living up to the words of it. Maybe there has to be less words and more gaps to reach people in the way they need to be reached.

Hmm!

Few people may even see what I put here let alone understand it or get something from it...but I leave it anyway.  It is my "gift", I guess,  to a world I have been a part of for so long.   Outcome is not my focus but  I have  to have a certain faith  that others will benefit from what I share, if not now, someday when it is truly needed. I am okay with posthumous reception of this gift. Infact, realization of  the temporary nature of my body, is one of the reasons I am so pulled to come here to leave behind my learning.  

I leave the world my words, and my map to the truth.  And I will spend the rest of my time here trying to live up to my words.

All is well! 

Eckhart Tolle (March 5, 2024) From Suffering to Awakening: Embracing Consciousness in Virtual Worlds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCZ84F_l0J0&t=7s

On Nirvana

Dwelling in the present moment,you'll find that you become very interested in investigating all of life, and you discover many wonderful things, many ways to practice. This doesn't mean you get lost in your thinking; it means you observe reality as it is and discover its true nature.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Fear, page148

An Unconditional and Open Way of Approaching Life?

Imagine living a life where no matter what is happening outside of you or inside of you...you  remain open, happy, full of joy and absent of fear.  Hmm!  Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? The mind definitely tells us it is too good to be true and psychology ( which is the study of and the treatment/therapy which attempts to appease the mind) will tell you that isn't possible.  We are conditioned to go about our lives, then, grasping for things out there/ desiring, preferring, judging and clinging in order to make the not okay insides reasonably okay.  We are conditioned to determine what is "bad or wrong" for us on the basis of how it triggers all the stuff we have stored inside  and to do what we can to resist it ( avoidance, denial, supression, repression etc). We are taught by the mind and our conditioning that getting this or that, achieving this or that, finding this or that in a "special relationship"  will make us happy and therefore should be our "goals". We are also taught that avoidng that which makes our stored stuff rattle a bit inside is the thing to do. Therefore we live lives of conditional happiness and our motivation for living becomes seeking that which will make us happy and pushing away that which makes us unhappy.  We are not okay unless life unfolds in front of us exactly as we believe it should. We resist everything else big time! It becomes  a very small and "conditional" existence! 

Another Approach

But spirituality offers another approach. It doesn't ask, "How should life be; what  can I do; and what can I avoid in order to be temporarily okay inside? It asks, why am I needing these things to be okay inside? Why am I not okay inside? What do I have to do to be permanently okay inside? 

This brings me to the Four Noble Truths again. First Noble Truth: There is suffering; Second Noble Truth: There is a cause for suffering which is desire, craving, or preference. The Third Noble Truth: There is a way through suffering to freedom;  and the Forth Noble Truth: The Eight Fold Path is the way to freedom from suffering. 

Hmm! What the heck does that mean crazy lady?

We suffer because we desire and crave for things outside and inside to be a certain way.  We suffer because our prefering has led to the creation of a psyche ( the sum total of all our stored experiences). Our psyches want only pleasure and for  the outside world to not touch it or our stuff in an unpleasant way. (Buddhist might refer to this craving and deluded psyche as the Manas, Hanh, page 146). We suffer because we are  putting conditional demands on happiness and joy, erronously believing that the outside world determines our happiness and joy, and therefore our suffering. We neglect to see our responsibility in that and therefore our power to transform suffering into freedom.   

There was a word from Hanh's book that kept rolling around in my head since yesterday.  And of course, Singer brought up that word in his podcast today.  The word was "Nirvana". Nirvana is basically the extinction (the "putting out of flames" of all notions and afflictions including craving). It isn't something we go to or attain.  It is something we already are but just don't realize it because our wrong perceptions are in the way. 

Nirvana is the true nature of reality. Things as they are. Nirvana is available in the here and now. You are already in Nirvana; you are Nirvana, just as the wave is already the water. page 147

What would we expereince if we extinguished all our wrong ideas, all our stuffed samskaras, all our conditions, and all of our fear? Life would be amazing wouldn't it be? We need to clean out our minds and our hearts to experience the open spaciousness of Nirvana, to experience what we already are. We need to choose to live unconditionally rather than conditionally if we want to be free. 

Breathing in, I observe the disappearance of desire. Breathing out, I observe the disappearance of desire. 

Breathing in, I observe cessation. Breathing out, I observe cessation.

Breathing in, I observe letting go.  Breathing out, I observe letting go.

All is well.

Michael A. Singer/Temple of the Universe (March 4, 2024) Living a Life of Unconditional Openness. https://tou.org/talks/

Thich Nhat Hanh ( 2012) Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm. New York: Harper One.

A Breath Practice of Transforming Garbage Into Flowers

 

Sorrow, fear, and depression are like a kind of garbage. But these bits of garbage are a part of real life, and we must look deeply into their nature. We can practice so as to turn these bits of garbage into flowers. In the practice of Buddhisn, we see all mental formations-including compassion, love, fear, sorrow, and despair-are organic in nature. We don't need to be afraid of any of them because transformation is always possible. With just a smile and mindful breathing we can start to transform them. 

Thich Nhat Hanh, Fear, page 109.

I am not sure what the ethics and copyright rules are around taking the steps of a modified ancient practice. as offered in a modern book, and sharing those steps here.  I believe they were the Buddha's teachings and can be found in many Buddhist texts and lectures, in one form or another, so I assume  they are meant to be shared. The author of this book I am referring to  was all about helping all of us be more peaceful inside so the world could become more peaceful outside.  

Of course, one could ask, "Well, that may be true but who are you, crazy lady, to be the one sharing a Buddhist practice?" I would answer...I am certainly not a dharma teacher and I wouldn't even call myself a Buddhist. I am just a learner fascinated with discovering the truth of who we are, I am, then,  a no body and no-self and it is okay, possibly, for no-self, which is the basis of Buddhist teaching, to be sharing such a practice. :) 

Anyway,

I love this practice shared by Thich Nhat Hanh in Fear ( pages129-148).  I know from my practice of it over the years that it is very effective in transforming fear into fearlessness. It is, actually, helpful in transforming monkey mind into mindful mind, and our garbage into flowers

Breathing In; Breathing Out:

For the Body

Exercise 1: Breath Awareness Focus= Awareness of being alive: "Breathing in, I am aware I am breathing in; Breathing out, I am aware I am breathing out."

Exercise 2: Building Concentration= Following and enjoying the full length of the breath: "Breathing in, I follow my in breath all the way from the beginning to the end; Breathing out, I follow my out breath all the way from the beginning to the end." 

Exercise 3: Body Awareness= Connecting mind with body. "Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body.  Breathing out, I am aware of my whole body." 

Exercise 4: Releasing Tension and Pain from the Body=Taking care of the body and letting go. "Breathing in, I am aware of some tension and pain in my body; breathing out, I calm and  release tension and pain from my body." 

For Feelings: 

Exercise 5: Awareness of Feelings=Recognizing and Calling forth Joy=Noticing, allowing, expereincing, looking deeply, and releasing. "Breathing in, I feel joy; breathing out, I know joy is there." 

Exercise 6: Awareness of Feelings=Recognizing and Calling forth Happiness=Noticing, allowing, experiencing, looking deeply, and releasing. "Breathing in, I feel happiness; breathing out, I know happiness is there."

Ecercise 7: Awareness of Feelings=Recognizing and Allowing the  Pain=Noticing, allowing, expereincing, and looking deeply. Allowing mindfulness and concentration to embrace the pain. "Breathing in, I know a painful feeling is there; breathing out, I calm the painful feeling. "

Exercise 8: Awareness of Feelings=Embracing and Releasing the Pain=Embracing  feelings with tenderness, noviolence, and soothing calm  and then allowing for the gentle release of  the pain. "Breathing in, I calm my mental formations; breathing out, I calm my mental formations."

For the Mind:

Exercise 1: Awareness of the Mind and Mind Sates= Recognizing, allowing, expereincing, and looking deeply into "thinking". "Breathing in, I am aware of my mind; breathing out, I am aware of my mind."

Exercise 2: Gladdening the Mind=Positive Reconstruction/Selective Watering of Seeds. "Breathing in, I make my mind happy.  Breathing out, I make my mind happy."

Exercise 3: Concentrating the Mind=Focusing and looking deeply. (Keeping insight of nonself, emptiness, and impermanence alive.) "Breathing in, I concentarte my mind; breathing out, I concentarte my mind."

Exercise 4: Liberating the Mind= Freeing mind from afflictions and notions.(Keeping insight of nonself, emptiness, and impermanence alive."And when we have the flame, the flame will consume the match. When we have the insight, the insight will burn away the notion."page 144) " Breathing in, I liberate my mind; breathing out, I liberate my mind."

For the Objects of the Mind:

Exercise 5: Contemplating Impermanence= Concentrating and a breakthrough into the heart of relaity (nonself, emptiness, and impermanence). Touching the nature of impermanence in everything we observe.  "Breathing in, I observe the impermanent nature of all Dharmas; breathing out, I observe the impermanent nature of all Dharmas. "

Exercise 6: Contemplating Non-Desire, Non-Craving=Noticing, allowing, expereincing,Looking deeply into , and Releasing all of "mana-originated" cravings. "Breathing in, I observe the disappearance of desire; breathing out, I observe the disappearance of desire." 

Exercise 7: Contemplating Nirvana-the extinction of all notions. "Breathing in, I observe cessation; breathing out, I observe cessation."

Exercise 8: Touching Nirvana(True Nature) and Letting Go into the Present Moment="extinction of the afflictions brought about by our wrong perceptions" page 147. "Breathing in, I observe letting go; breathing out, I observe letting go. "

We can turn our suffering into freedom, our garbage into flowers! Don't take my word for it. Try practicing this for yourself...or better still, Thich Nhat Hanh would say, practice with a Sangha.

All is well.

Thich Nhat Hanh ( 2012) Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm. New York: Harper One

Yogananda on God

God can live without man's love, but as the wave cannot live without the ocean, so it is not possible for man to exist without the love of God. 

Yogananda, The Yoga of Jesus.

From Michael A. Singer's podcast this morning, I was drawn to the teachings of Yogananda on God.  "God", for most of us,  is a complicated concept we term a "belief" and something we slap on That which  we truly do not understand...cannot understand as long as we are identified with our mental garbage.

Hmm!

On Belief

Belief is an initial stage of spiritual progress necessary to receive the concept of God. But that concept has to be transposed into conviction, into experience. Belief is the precursor of conviction; one has to believe a thing in order to investigate equitably about it. But if one is satisfied only with belief, it becomes dogma—narrow-mindedness, a preclusion of truth and spiritual progress. What is necessary is to grow, in the soil of belief, the harvest of direct experience and contact of God. That indisputable realization, not mere belief, is what saves people. (The Yoga of Jesus)

On Misidentifying Who We Are with the World of Form

Essential sons of God, clear reflections of the Father untarnished by delusion, have become sons of man by identification with the flesh and forgetfulness of their origin in Spirit. Deluded man is just a beggar on the street of time. But as Jesus received and reflected through his purified consciousness the divine sonship of Christ Consciousness, so also every man, by yoga meditation, can clarify his mind and become a diamondlike mentality who will receive and reflect the light of God. (The Yoga of Jesus)

On Finding God

Never mind if at first you cannot see God or hear His knock at the gate of your heart. For a long time you have been hiding from Him and running away in the marsh of the senses. It is the noise of your own rowdy passions, and of the flight of your heavy footsteps in the material world, that has made you unable to hear His call within. Stop, be calm, pray steadfastedly, and out of the silence will loom forth the Divine Presence.  

(Inner Culture,1939 )

It is by freeing oneself from earthly desires that one gains entry into the kingdom of God.( The Yoga of Jesus)

When will you find God? When all your desires for other things are finished. When you realize that the only thing worth having is Him. When every thought, every feeling is drenched with the love of God. (Inner Culture,1939)

All is well!

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( March 3, 2024) Understanding Your Relationship with God Consciousness. https://tou.org/talks/

Paramahansa Yogananda (2007) The Yoga of Jesus, illustrated edition. Self -Realization Fellowship

Parmahansa Yogananda (1939) Inner Culture Magazine: Self-Realization Fellowship.

Inward Significance

 

The aim of art is to represent not the outer appearance of things, but their inward significance.

Aristotle

The Imperfections of My Outer Self

I  get so  surprised when I go back to see what was read recently and see glaring typos or spelling/grammatical errors. I still see the improper use of ascribe/prescribe,subscribe; effect/affect; and then/than(even though I know so well which one belongs where). I see, on occassion, poor sentence structure. I see my pet peave...the result of a lazy finger when I am typing fast: "teh" for "the", "taht" for "that", "becasue" for "because".  As well, as many, many more typos and errors. 

These imperfections are like little stains on the clothing or something in the teeth  of a person standing up to speak. No matter how great the message is, one cannot help but stare at the imperfection, to the point they are distracted from hearing the message. They walk away from the lecture not thinking about the soul changing question, "Wow! Who am I? What is Life all about and am I living it the way I am meant to?" but with questions like, "Did she know she had that big ketchup stain on her shirt? Is she just a sloppy person who doesn't care?  I wonder what she would do, if she knew she had some brocoli in her teeth and we could see it every time she opened her mouth. Would she be as embarrassed as I am for her? " 

People seem to get stuck there, don't they?  I know I often do.  If I am reading a book from someone with a great message and it it is poorly written...I am out of there! The person with the message looses all credibility for me. I don't hear the message. 

Attracting the Hyperactive Ego? 

Ego has its preferences.  Ego is attracted to certain things and distracted by others. It is like a fussy kid with ADHD.  In order to break through to truth, we need to break through the ego but to do that we need to keep that ego listening long enough for truth to dissect it.  We need to attract it, and avoid distractions ...knowing how easily it is distracted. We need to be able to lead it to truth and then hold it still long enough so what is inside and behind it can shine through. So sometimes, we do need to offer it the guise of what it prefers...to dangle a carrot in front of its nose.  The carrot needs to be appealing...

Is this "me" appealling enough? I seldom think about how appealling I am to others these days.  I seldom even look at myself in the mirror ( and not for self rejecting reasons.) How I appear is the last thing on my mind. I suppose that shows.  I just do not see the importance of it...my appearance ranks so low on my priority list. Yet, (I guess you could say...)  I have a message I want to share...an important message that I strongly believe  should speak for itself....a message that has nothing to do with "me", other than possibly come through me. Yet, if I am the one delivering it...should I polish up my own ego a bit, create an outer image free of typos and distractions so other egos are drawn to me as the speaker and at the same time not distracted by me as the speaker? So I can hold them just long enough so the message does its thing of penetrating through egos to hearts, minds and souls?  

I don't know.  I am just not in that  realm of outer concern anymore.  I am really not.  I have been moving away from that concern for decades now...I even have had people tell me years ago, "You are  certainly no Diva and  more of a "wreck" than anything". I felt a sting then, though it was not the intention of these individuals,  of being shamed by that comment.  But now I see just how unimportant my appearance was and  is to me. 

The thought of putting effort into creating a more appealling outer "me" is draining.  Why would I put my energy there? I would rather go inward and do the work there. Does that make me a yogi or some one with self-deprecating depression? Psychology would wonder if I was the latter. They are not all wrong.  I am to some degree "self"-deprecating.  I no longer see the "self" as something I need to pamper and fluff up, to preen and embellish.  I actually see it as being in the way of me going deeper. 

Outwardly appealling or not in all my human imperfections, I am seeking inward significance!

All is well. 

Yoga: The Supreme Goal

As the sun lights up the world, the Self dwelling in the field [the body] is the source of light in the field. Those with the eye of wisdom distinguish the field from its Knower and the way to freedom from the bondage of prakriti [world of form which includes thoughts, feelings, preferences, samskaras], attain the  supreme goal. 

The Gita (Chapter 13:33)

Yoga or union is the supreme goal. In order to attain yoga/union with Self we  must be able to see the distinction between the Knower and the known. We must also be able to see the way to freedom by recognizing what is blocking us or keeping us in bondage.  Our attachment to the body, to our thoughts and feelings, our dramas as "little me" keep us from  attaining the supreme goal.

A yogi, then, is anyone who sees the truth of this statement and begins the practice path towards this freedom whether this goal is attained in this lifetime or not.They make purification of these bondages/blockages priority.  I have committed myself to this path and that is why I call myself a yogi.

Synchronicity

I get blown away again and again by the like mindedness of yogis. Just yesterday I randomly answered two questions from the jar. One on relaxing anxiety and the other on "Why do you call yourself a yogi?" Then when I came to my morning practice today, which included listening to yesterday's podcast from Michael Singer,  I hear him  speak to this idea of what a yogi is. And I am like wow.  (He also addresses what I spoke about in my other video about relexing self, not the emotional energy that is disturbing self.) Exact same topics/ same timing. Coincidence or serendipity? The practical mind says coincidence or "you just subconsciously regurgitated what you learned from him etc". The wiser mind of the yogi (not that I am wise yet...lol) says," no there is more to this".

I am not saying  some metaphysical woo-woo is going on here...but I believe  there is an interconnectiveness to consciousness. I am not alone in believing this. Have you ever looked into studies done on synchronicity like  Carl Jung's psychology studies, Sheldrake's "morphic resosonance" in  biology studies, Ernzt Lazlo's  "chaos theory" or Bohm's studies in physics on the "holographic cosmos"?  Synchronicity/ serendipity is more than mere coincidance. How does it work? Consciousness is universal.

 A yogi is someone who studies consciousness ....and there is only One consciousness we all share.  So, really it isn't that far fetched that what we write and speak about , as yogis ( myself a very underdeveloped one at this point)  lines up so perfectly, so frequently, is it? I am truly not "copying" him. Whatever comes out of me comes out spontaneously and authentically.  There is no doubt his words and his teachings are in me as I assimilate all I learn. He has helped me to understand my practice so much better but what I say or put out here comes from some place deep within me.  It really does. So, I cannot help but believe that him speaking about what I just spoke about isn't woo-woo but it is more than mere coincidence. 

Regardless, this is why I call myself a yogi:

All is well.

Note: My spell/grammar check is off her for some reason.  I type so fast there is bound to be many typos. Sorry.

The Bhagavad Gita as translated by Eknath Easwaran (The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, 2007) Kindle Edition

Michael A. Singer/Temple of the Universe ( February 29, 2024) No Growth Without Change. https://tou.org/talks/