Good, Bad, and Is

Most of us label our daily circumstances and experiences as either good or bad. This is all there is to the comparative dualistic mind. However, there is one other response which to label that most of us miss. IS . Is is. Good and bad are subjective perspectives and judgements on life . IS is objective reality. To live authentically in the present moment we need to relate to reality and go beyond the
illusion of the subjective mind. This is true of our on self image. We need to look at ourselves as we are . This is the beginning to liberation!

Beyond the Pain , The Stillness

There are two types of pain we experience in our lives. Physical pain and psychological pain. One of the four noble truths the Buddha spoke of is the truth of suffering. He was primarily referring to psychological pain in this case. This kind of pain is not caused by circumstances, but by our resistance to our circumstances. So what is the antitote to suffering ? Accepting and embracing our circumstances whatever they may be. The path is beyond!!! You can also experience this with physical pain as well. When you go beyond pain in all it's forms there is stillness. And in the stillness you meet your soul! When you meet your soul in stillness you experience the Tao!!! At that point you bless your pain as the pathway in to your true Self!!

Naturally Divine

Don't expect God to be unnatural! God or divinity is the most natural thing in the world. It is our distorted , illusory consciousness that is unnatural! From that kind perspective we seem to expect God to prove him/herself by acts of the supernatural. This is unfortunate and the tragedy of the current state of human awareness. Humans were, and still are, created by life in God's image and likeness. We cannot and should not use our humanity as an excuse for unconscious behavior and selfish destructive thoughts and actions! Now a new age of divine humanity is arising as a shift in conscious awareness is transforming humanity back to the garden , as Joni Mitchell put so well years ago. Embrace this transformation and see what happens !!! You will realize your true state of total naturalness !

Okay to just "Be"

It's okay to just "be". In the hustle and bustle of modern life the intense mindstream of doing, acheiving or getting someplace, can pull us away from our beingness. This creates a disunity of mind and body which causes all sorts of problems. It can cause severe stress which leads to physical, mental, emotional, and spirtual breakdown!!! We become disconnected from life and our consciousness becomes trapped in our thoughts and emotions. We need to allow ourselves to "JUST BE".
Not to be something or become somebody. To know our Real Self as we are. Unfortunately this can also be a problem even with so called religious people who are on a mission to save the world. They get so wrapped in the "mission" that they forget who they are and lose themselves in a world of delusion! Two thousand years ago Jesus said " The Kingdom Of Heaven is at Hand". So where is it now? It is hidden in your own beingness. You need look no further!!!

Be Patient with Your Awakening

We are all in the process of spiritual awakening. Except for a few exceptions, awakening is a gradual process whereby our consciousness slowly dis-identifies from total identification with form and realizes itself as pure awareness. True patience arises from our realization that we are eternal beings in the midst of our own awakening.Be patient and give yourself all the time you need to wake up until you realize that you don't need time anymore. Be patient through your suffering until you realize that you don't need to suffer anymore. All paths lead to this moment!!!

Direct Connections

Laughter is our direct connection to the joy of Being. It is the central place of the Divine. Through this connection we can feel the One Life that we are all connected to.
This becomes the base for realizing unity and peace in the world. To get there however , most of us need a stepping stone . This is the breath. The Breath is the direct connection to the essential life energy of the Divine. It is our connection to Life itself. Without it , life ends in this world! Through highly conscious, deep breathing we can feel the robust energy of our life force and reconnect to the Source. Once reconnected we can feel the Joy of Being from which cleansing , liberating, divine laughter will spring forth from the depths of our souls. This Divine laughter is the energy that can heal the world. It's power is greater than any religious dogma or new philosophy. It is greater than any government or political system.
Through the breath and laughter we can recognize the Divinity within us all!!!

Monasticism

Some attempt to find God through living a monastic life of self denial and self sacrifice. They seclude themselves either mentally and emotionally, or in some cases even physically in a monastery or ashram, in an effort to become pure and selfless. However noble and righteous this may seem , it may be more destructive than helpful. It really depends on the motive for their monasticism. If it arises from fear or an attempt to escape the evil world, then they are just creating another hellish prison for themselves. The hell in their minds will just follow them into the seclusion. The only way back to the source or Tao is through the world. The Tao is our transcendent reality. We therefore should embrace the duality of the world and ultimately transcend it. This is what Jesus meant when he said that he had overcome the world. He did so with a transcendent embrace not through fighting or resisting evil. He taught us to turn the other cheek. God created all things of the creation. If we deny any of it, we deny the source. We came to this world to discover the parts of our inner self that still do not know God. You won't find your shadow in a monastery. It will be revealed to you by life itself , our greatest spiritual teacher. Be Alert!!!

What is really permanent?

Most of us are looking for stability, security, and some sense of permanence in life. But , what is really permanent? The only "thing" that is permanent is "no thing"
No thing is the basis or ground for all things. All manifested things are fleeting and constantly in a state of change ultimately returning to no thing. In other words we are born from the primordial purity of nothing and return there when we die, back to the source. In that sense enlightenment is nothing. If you make enlightenment into a thing or object to achieve , you will never find it because all things are fleeting and impermanent. The enlightened state is your essence which cannot be found or lost! It is who you really are , pure divine essence beyond any form yet hidden in the forms of life!

Letting Go

Letting go is the place of transition between samsara and nirvana. It is the narrow pass through neck of the hour glass. But, can we really let go totally? Can we let go of all our pleasures and all of our pain? Can we let go of all our security blankets we feel that we must cling to for our very survival? It seems simple, profound, challenging, yet it is ultimately unavoidable. How long it takes is up to each one of us. In the end it simply is, no doing , no future. Embrace it!!!

The Face of God

Last night I saw the face of God !!! No it was not a vision during deep meditation, nor was it a pillar of fire or burning bush. It was a simple look on the face of my friend as she gazed at her young son who was earnestly begging for a pet rabbit. As the young boy repeatedly petitioned his mother with gentle caresses on her hand and melodic tones of asking, her gaze and countenance became a glow with radiant peace and love that new no opposite. An intense yet profoundly gentle smile which she was totally unaware of hit my spiritual antenna with a jolt . If we could all see that gaze the way I did last night in each other, heaven would magically appear in front and all around us!!!

The Medicine Buddha

In Tibetan Buddhism there is Buddha referred to as the Medicine Buddha. His committment is to heal all sentient beings from physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual afflications leading to their liberation and enlightenment. He is the King of medicine and is the color of lapis lazuli. He sits in the vajra lotus position with one hand in the mudra of supreme compassion and generosity holding a myrobalan plant of great medicine. In his other hand he holds a begging bowl full of long life nectar. The different hand positions represent the profound paradox of life. One hand is giving with complete compassion while the other is a begging bowl representing one that may be in need. Finding the balance between giving and receiving is the key to health on all levels. Most people who would find themselves in the position to have to beg for survival may not be capable of compassionate giving . These mudras represent a profound trust in life that if one is truly giving in any circumstance without regard to themself, life will fulfill all their needs and more!
If one meditates on the Medicine Buddha, Their own health and powers of healing others will greatly increase. It is also said that even upon just hearing the name of the Medicine Buddha one will avoid re-birth in the lower realms.

Looking in the Mirror

What do you see when you look in the mirror in the morning? Do you see yourself as you truly are or do you focus on the things you don't particularly like. Do you only see the wrinkles, pot belly, sagging this and aching that. Your body is the temple of your life energy. It has an inherent intelligence that has developed over two billion years. It regulates all the extensive and necessary functions that allow you to live and enjoy life. No matter what you see , be kind and loving to your body. It is a miracle of existence. Loving and caring for your body is the foundation for loving and caring for others. It never stops caring for you no matter what attitude you bring to it each day. In essence your body is not your possession. It belongs to and comes from the earth and is made up of the basic earth elements. Your physical health is the basis for your emotional health!

Who Are You????

To understand who you are, you must understand who you are not! In other words life will and must dismantle your own self image. The self image is the raw material out of which the masterpiece is carved. The masterpiece is that which remains when all illusion and confusion is dropped or stripped away! It is there within you longing to be revealed.

Chasing the Illusion

As we grow up in this culture we are taught that it is our right to pursue the American Dream! WE are then taught and programed by our teachers, politicians, religious leaders , and especially the media what the exact details of our dream should be. Is that dreaming or is it conforming to the societal system? Are we masters and creators of our life,or have we been brainwashed into believing in Illusion? Is our true creative genius being cultivated and nourished ,or is it being stifled and suppressed? Are we courageous enough to really allow that which wants to creatively manifest through us blossom, or have we given control of this over to those who would take it from us? In the act of ceding this power to others, we have lost our true freedom and creativity. True Freedom cannot be legislated! It is not a gift from the government or society as a whole. It is not attained or bought through financial wealth and success. It doesn't come from seeking or chasing or becoming anything. True freedom comes as we turn within and discover who we are ! It comes from knowing our inner reality not from chasing illusions. If you chase the American Dream you just might find the American Nightmare !!!

The Tao & the Intellect

The intellect can only know "about" the Tao. It is indirect knowledge. At best a rode map to realization. At its worst a source of confusion and conflict with another's knowledge "about" the Tao. The intellect can talk about it forever without getting any closer to it. Direct knowledge comes through the conscious mind located in the heart center, and the awareness mind located in the being center just below the navel. The mysterious gate starts from there into the eternal Tao!!! So study, but do so with this awareness! Once you have the map that is right for you, drop it!

Pain is not Pain

Pain is only painful because the mind labels it as so. If you remove the conceptual label, it reveals itself as a form of energy. It then becomes easier to allow it to be as it is. If your allowance is total it can be transmuted into spiritual energy for your growth! This process is not necessarily easy, however it does present an opportunity to make progress on the spiritual path. If you can transcend resistance to pain or attachment to pleasure, a deeper dimension within you will open up!This is called the path of tantra. The middle way is not a fixed position in the middle. It is realized through experiencing and transcending the polar extremes resulting in true balance. This is the door to the middle way. The Buddha within is on the other side of that door!

From Success to Samahdi

Most of us live for the dream of success or, because of failure , are just trying to survive. In either case, success and failure are not mutually exclusive! They are like the light and shadow sides of our selves. The same is true for pain and pleasure. This is the stuff of samsaric existence. What is Samsara? When we live in samsara we live on the periphery or circumference of life. We do not know our center!The circumstances of life have us firmly in there grip much like a tornado. Because of this we seek certainty or security by attaching to those things that we believe will protect us. Our hearts become closed and fearful of being hurt. In other words, we exist in a defensive posture trying to hold on as the Bull of life takes us for a ride.This is why no matter how much success we have, we are not content or satisfied. Out of a sense of lack or fear we always want more.
If we can somehow break this samsaric cycle and move to our center, like the center of the tornado or eye of the hurricane, we can find stillness and peace. This is Samahdi. From the peace and bliss of samahdi , we can witness our life without getting caught up in the circumference. From this place our hearts can truly open and live without fear. Samadhi is the doorway to Nirvana and liberation. The path from success to samahdi is through the fear and hell of the tornado to your center. In samahdi, you are not!

The Practicality of Our Oneness

Unitive Consciousness is the state of awareness describe by many sages , mystics , and enlightened masters of the past and present. In this state of spiritual awakening, you clearly perceive and feel the total oneness and unity of humanity and the universe. It is a remarkable experience that is felt at the core of your mind , heart , and being. It dramatically changes or transforms you forever!
However, most of humanity has never experienced this profound state of consciousness.Instead, they focus on the things that seemingly separate and isolate us turning our perception of life into a struggle to "get the most Out of life" even if it is at the expense of others!
Let us focus on the practical aspects of our oneness , or what I would call our common ground . This is not dependent on a spiritual experience or change in consciousness. We all share and walk the same earth . We all sleep and dream at night. We all have to eat and breath to survive. We all must put our clothes on and off, and use the restroom in basically the same way. We all feel the warmth and light of the sun in the day, and gaze at the moon and stars at night. We all see the beauty of the flowers in spring, and the brilliant colors of the trees in the fall. We all have a mind, heart, soul, and spirit. In essence we are all energy and basically the same. We are all one humanity! When we miss this reality, our minds are turning our perceived differences from the beautiful tapestry and variety of life into a conceptual illusion of seeming separation. This literally takes the life energy out of life. So instead of getting the most out of life , you separate yourself from the tremendous flow and energy the universe was created by and with. It is a sad state of affairs the we unconscuosly and literally turn ourselves into the walking dead in the spiritual sense. Look at this one more time and try to see our common ground!!!

The Transcendent Dimension

In Life we always have a choice. We can resist, fight, avoid, run from, attach to, enjoy, or transcend our circumstances. How we relate to Life is up to each of us. True freedom ,however, is only possible thru transcendence. How can we be transcendent and free? Transcendence is only possible in the place where there is no resistance and no attachment. It is the door into our eternal dimension, where our authentic self lives. And how do we find that door? Meditation is the path to find that door.It is the only path to Freedom!!!

Eternal Life

Eternal Life is not a gift from God for good behavior on the earth. Eternal Life is our birthright. It cannot be earned or taken away! All forms are born and die , temporal and everchanging. However, we arose from that which is never born and never dies. We arose from the Eternal Tao and we are Eternal. Even scientists confirm that energy cannot be destroyed , it can only be transformed. We are essentially energy that can and will be transformed , but will never die. Eternal Life is our birthright!