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Saturday, December 31, 2011

"Song of Life" by Libera



There's a whisper in the dark
As a new life comes to be

Then a song begins to form
As it finds the harmony
With a chorus of sound
Of the world all around
Now it blends in the tune
Joining the endless song of life

We shall never be alone
As we link our hearts in one
Joining voices from above
All in the miracle of life
Through the ages we will grow
Only time will ever know
As our voices magnify
All in the miracle of life.

Love plays along in our lives yet to come
As we join the song of life


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.

~ Deepak Chopra ~

Ideas Are Not Truth


One has to be aware of this total process, of how ideas come into being, how action springs from ideas, and how ideas control action and therefore limit action, depending on sensation. It doesn’t matter whose ideas they are, whether from the left or from the extreme right. So long as we cling to ideas, we are in a state in which there can be no experiencing at all. Then we are merely living in the field of time—in the past, which gives further sensation, or in the future, which is another form of sensation. It is only when the mind is free from idea that there can be experiencing.

Ideas are not truth; and truth is something that must be experienced directly, from moment to moment. It is not an experience which you want—which is then merely sensation. Only when one can go beyond the bundle of ideas—which is the “me”, which is the mind, which has a partial or complete continuity—only when one can go beyond that, when thought is completely silent, is there a state of experiencing. Then one shall know what truth is.

~by Jiddu Krishnamurti from his book “The First And Last Freedom”

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Free Awareness - Inescapable Seeing (Video)

~ Bentinho Massaro ~

*Note - Intentional silence at the beginning of video


http://www.free-awareness.com - There is a natural Seeing happening right now, that is free from you doing it. It's inescapably the case. Every experience confirms this seeing to be the source of the experience. Commit to recognizing this natural Seeing, and the human experience will benefit tremendously.

Sign up for a powerful and entirely free newsletter which will introduce you to Freedom Directly:

Cultivating Joy

~by Thich Nhat Hanh

If you want to garden, you have to bend down and touch the soil. Gardening is a practice, not an idea. To practice the Four Noble Truths, you yourself have to touch deeply the things that bring you peace and joy. When you do, you realize that walking on the earth is a miracle, washing the dishes is a miracle, and practicing with a community of friends is a miracle. The greatest miracle is to be alive.

We can put an end to our suffering just by realizing that our suffering is not worth suffering for! How many people kill themselves because of rage or despair? In that moment, they do not see the vast happiness that is available. Mindfulness puts an end to such a limited perspective. The Buddha faced his own suffering directly and discovered the path of liberation. Don’t run away from things that are unpleasant in order to embrace things that are pleasant. Put your hands in the earth. Face the difficulties and grow new happiness.

One student told me, “When I go to parties, people seem to be enjoying themselves. But when I look beneath the surface, I see so much anxiety and suffering there.” At first, your joy is limited, especially the kind of joy that is just covering up suffering. Embrace your suffering, smile to it, and discover the source of happiness that is right there within it.

Buddha’s and bodhisattvas suffer, too. The difference between them and us is that they know how to transform their suffering into joy and compassion. Like good organic gardeners, they do not discriminate in favor of the flowers or against the garbage. They know how to transform garbage into flowers. Don’t throw away suffering. Touch your suffering. Face it directly, and your joy will become deeper. You know that suffering and joy are both impermanent. Learn the art of cultivating joy.


Ego Is Nothing To Be Proud Of. It Only Turns People Off.

~Pamela J. Wells~

Monday, December 12, 2011

Tibetan Flute - Nawang Kechog - Daily Prayer And Practice Of The Dalai Lama




Nawang Khechog (also known as Nawang Khechong) is a Tibetan flute player and composer.

Nawang was born in Tibet, but following the Chinese invasion of 1949/1950, his family moved to India, where Nawang studied meditation and Buddhist philosophy. He spent eleven years as a monk, including four years as a hermit meditating in the Himalayan foothills under the guidance of the Dalai Lama.

A self-taught musician, Nawang's expression springs from his emotions and his life experience traveling the world as a Tibetan nomad. In 1986, he emigrated to Australia, where he first performed, and his recordings achieved bestseller status. Nawang is best known for his collaborations with Kitaro, including performances on Kitaro's Grammy-nominated Enchanted Evening and Mandala albums. He has received international acclaim for his live performances with Philip Glass, Paul Winter, Laurie Anderson, Paul Simon, Natalie Merchant, R. Carlos Nakai, and Baba Olatunji.

Friday, December 9, 2011

The Inspired Heart: Book Review


Like a patchwork quilt, each story and each connection in Jerry’s life is a patch, a snapshot in time, of his life journey of self-discovery, deep within and beyond the surface level of appearances, which normally reveal only a reflection of what the eye can see. No longer satisfied with this surface level of identity, Jerry decided to embrace what he refers to as “the mystery” of life, the essence of life, beyond illusion. He needed to let go of all forms of identity; this included what he and others identified him as—an artist, a reflection of his passion.

Along the way, he met some incredible people, with whom each had a story to tell. Jerry unconditionally accepted them, regardless of what difficulties they were going through at the time. With that often quiet stillness and presence that he allowed, uncontaminated by the mind, he was able to be in that space openly and freely, which allowed others to share in that space openly and freely, without fear of judgment or ridicule. The usual illusory walls of separation found in most human connections crumbled and disappeared into thin air when the people he met and encountered for the first time felt that unconditional presence and love.

In being there for them, he was also able to be there for himself, unconditionally. Regardless of what difficulties arose for him along the way, he found that each one worked itself out. The mystery and his intuition carried him forward. Regardless of which direction it took him, he went with the flow of life, with complete acceptance of every experience, every moment, and every outcome.

He awakened to the true essence of life, which has no identity, no labels, just pure awareness. Free from attachments, now he is able to create art, unconditionally, without expectations, without judgment, without attachments to it or to the outcome. He is now able to go beyond appearances and dive deep into the unknown, into the mystery of life, which is now reflected in his artwork.

-Pamela J. Wells, Freelance Writer, www.selflessbeing.com



Jerry's Website: In the Hands of Alchemy

Jerry Wennstrom Pacifica Graduate Institute Lecture
In this video Jerry shares his unusual personal story, insights and photographs of the large body of art that he created throughout his lifetime. It is an intimate and in-depth guided tour of the creative journey and psychological process of an artist. Jerry articulates his quest, not just for creative inspiration but also for that "quantum leap" that sets one on the path of an inspired life. Paradoxically most of the paintings shown here were destroyed by the artist in 1979 and as stated in the video transformed into a more complete and whole way of Being. The sculptures presented here are only part of the entirely new body of art that has emerged.



Thursday, December 8, 2011

Egoic Suicide

~by Pamela J. Wells

The ego is holding the rope and giving you a choice, either me (the ego, the imagined false self) or your physical body. Either way, it is a death; but the egoic mind trained and programmed like a computer, has delusional thoughts of worthlessness and the need for acceptance, which is based upon false delusional societal norms.

From the individual to the collective, our sick egoic state of consciousness poisons the air that we breathe. With each breath we take, we mentally and verbally, shoot double-edged swords out of our mouths, penetrating us and those with whom we intend them for.

We act as if suffering is our birthright and we will defend it with all our might if and until we hit rock bottom, and when we hit rock bottom, we either awaken and allow the ego to die by seeing our own delusionally ego created thoughts (initially, formulated in the mind and then made visible through physical, material constructs); or, we allow the ego to kill us, first mentally and emotionally, and then, ultimately, by killing our body by way of our own hands.

Awaken, consciously, and let the ego (the false self) die, or continue to sleep while awake, unconsciously, and let the ego live. Awaken or suffer, it is your choice. Awaken and fully live your live, or remain asleep and continue to suffer. It is your choice, not societies. You are in control. You always have been in control. You just didn’t know it.


Copyright © 2011 Pamela J. Wells. All Rights Reserved


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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Instead of Attachment

Great message and great sense of humor:)


Ajahn Brahm talks about enjoying our possessions like family, relationships and identity without being attached to them. Attachment comes from fear and enjoyment comes from letting go of fear.

Friday, December 2, 2011

From Seed to Bloom

~By Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche



Bodhichitta, the seed of enlightenment, grows where it’s cultivated. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche explains six traditional contemplations for developing awakened heart.

The Sanskrit term bodhichitta means “mind of enlightenment,” “seed of enlightenment,” or “awakened heart.” Fundamentally, bodhichitta is the aspiration for others to be happy, to be free from suffering. Absolute bodhichitta is the realization of emptiness, which happens fully at the first bhumi, the path of seeing. Relative or conventional bodhichitta is more immediate. Relative bodhichitta has two aspects: aspiration and entering. Aspiration is positioning ourselves to do something. Before we do something, there’s a thought process involved: we contemplate it. In aspiration, we contemplate all sentient beings having been our mothers, we vow to repay their kindness, and so on. Such thoughts are the heart of contemplative meditation.

We begin by doing sitting meditation until we experience some peace. Out of that we conjure up an intention: “Today I will try to be kind to others.” Then we actually enter, engage in the practice.

Traditionally, we are offered six quintessential instructions on how to generate bodhichitta, all rooted in the ground of equanimity. The point of first cultivating an attitude of equanimity is to open up our view. We tend to have fixed ideas of friends and enemies, and based on that view, we see the world through the lens of good and bad: sharks are bad and bunny rabbits are good; democracy is great and communism is bad.

Equanimity is a spacious, vast, and even state of mind; it does not take sides. It’s not about being untouched by the world, but letting go of fixed ideas. How else are we to develop compassion and loving-kindness for everyone and everything? Equanimity levels the playing field—we are not excluding anyone from our practice. It’s like dealing with two fighting children. Since we’re more experienced with all kinds of trials and tribulations, we know that what they’re arguing about is not really important. We enter with an unbiased view, which is equanimity.

Most of the time we’re trying to figure out a problem based on our attachment. We all believe that if it were not for that one particular person who really irritates us, we’d already be compassionate and understanding. If only that one person weren’t in our way! But she has our number and calls it a lot. Generating bodhichitta helps us deal with problems involving helping others. There are six ways in which we can cultivate this attitude.

The first way is to consider that all sentient beings have been our mothers. Basically, it is our mother who gives us unconditional love. She nurtures and supports us and takes care of us when we are weak. Traditionally, it is said that genuine courage is like that of a mother protecting her child from danger. Regarding all sentient beings as having been our mothers means that at some point, everyone has shown us love and care. The Buddha said that we have all experienced endless lifetimes. If we take this to be true, then every being we encounter has been our mother, father, brother, sister, enemy, friend—everything. If we don’t believe in life after death or rebirth, we can understand this in the context of our present life. From the moment we were born, we’ve had friends who have become our enemies. We’ve been in good situations that have turned bad. We’ve been in bad ones that have turned good. The point of this first instruction is to help support our equanimity by reducing our attachment to relative notions of good and bad.

The second way to generate bodhichitta is to think of the kindness of others. We can contemplate what others have done for us in great and small ways. If all sentient beings have been our mothers, they have, of course, all been kind to us at some point. Even that person who’s got our number has done something good for us—maybe just by passing the salt. Contemplating the kindness of others helps us see the positive aspects of any situation. These are often hard to see—sometimes we just want to stick with our negativity—but this instruction begins to loosen us up. With the budding view of bodhichitta, we begin to look at life and see what is good, even in a bad or chaotic situation. Trying to see things in a more positive light by thinking of the kindness of others churns up our mind and lets the bodhichitta come out.

The third instruction on generating bodhichitta is to repay the kindness of others. This is almost like taking a vow. If we have the view that those who have helped us includes everyone—that even animals have cared for us in some previous lifetime—every encounter becomes an opportunity for us to practice repaying their kindness. This contemplation is part of the aspect of the Mahayana school of Buddhism called the “great activity.” It’s called “great” because this attitude is so vast that it’s difficult to imagine. If we had this attitude even for a moment, we’d begin to see that everyone we meet has helped us, directly or indirectly, and we would want to repay his or her kindness. By taking this attitude in working with others, we could experience our lives in a completely different way.

The fourth way to generate bodhichitta is to develop loving-kindness by contemplating the delightful qualities of others. If we care for someone, we naturally find something delightful in him; that’s what draws us in. In the middle of a meadow, if we saw a mound of dirt with a single flower growing out of it, we would still be able to see the beauty of the flower. We wouldn’t think, “The flowers are beautiful except for that one, because it grew from that pile of dirt.”

So rather than contemplating the shortcomings of others, we see their good qualities and generate loving-kindness towards them. Loving-kindness is associated with wanting others to enjoy happiness. What generally hinders our wanting other people to be happy are heavy emotions such as anger, jealousy, and pride, which obscure our mind. Developing kindness towards others takes the energy out of this emotional confusion.

The next instruction is to generate bodhichitta by contemplating compassion, which is the desire that everyone be free from suffering. Compassion does not mean taking pity on others or having sympathy: “Oh, you poor thing!” Compassion is empathy based on understanding what suffering is. Not only do we see the suffering of others, but we also feel it directly. If we love and care for others, we do not want them to have a hard time. Seeing the suffering of someone who’s very close to us heightens our sense of compassion. We think, “This could happen to me.”

The final instruction on how to generate bodhichitta is to commit ourselves without question to following these instructions. Even though in post-meditation we may not be able to do the bodhichitta practice continuously, we keep our determination strong. We will be kind and compassionate and we will take delight in all beings, with the knowledge that they have helped us. Even if we are the only person in the entire world practicing in this way, we will not stop doing it. Such an adamantine commitment gives us the steadfastness and conviction of the Buddha sitting underneath the Bodhi tree.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is spiritual director of Shambhala, an international network of meditation and retreat centers. He is the author of Turning Your Mind into an Ally and Ruling Your World.

From Seed to Bloom, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche Shambhala Sun, January 2007.

Source: Shambhala Sun


Arousing Bodhicitta



Bodhicitta
It means an individual who has taken love and compassion
into their heart in a strong way, where they have, in a sense,
dedicated their life to trying to help others.

~Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

"Change the World, Start with Myself.”

 This idea is called Bodhicitta: 
The wish to become an omniscient Buddha so I can be of  perfect help for others.

"Even when you can't speak, your heart will remember what your mind has forgotten!"

~ Lauren Benfield ~

What is the self? ~Peter Russell (Video)



In an interview with the creators of "Leap!" the movie, Peter Russell 
answers the question: "What is this 'I' or 'Self" we always refer to?"

Monday, November 28, 2011

Iqbal’s Spirit Did Not Die. It Found Its Way Through the Children That He Inspired

By Pamela J. Wells
Originally Published on 7-4-11

“We have a slogan at school when children are freed. We all together say we are free. And I request you to join me today in raising that slogan here. I will say, “We are,” and you will say, “Free.”

~IQBAL MASIH, 1994~

Iqbal Masih was born in Muridke, Pakistan. He lived his young life, unfortunately as a child laborer, which began when he was just 4 years old. He lived in Pakistan with his family who needed money to pay for their eldest son’s wedding, so they borrowed 600 rupees (around $12) from a carpet factory owner who was rich and influential in their community. They exchanged their son, Iqbal, for the money.

The factory owner would not release Iqbal until the debt was paid; unfortunately the family could not afford to buy back their son. The owner always had the option to sell the boy or any of the other children to another factory owner if he so desired.

Iqbal and several other children were forced to squat before loom and weave carpet in the factory. These special carpets were sold on the world market for high prices. He worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. He could not make mistakes or else the owner would add fines to the sum of what his parents owed. There was always the threat of the children getting a beating, or being hung by their legs for punishment in a back room. Many of them had visible scars on their hands and their feet from being whipped or struck with sharp metal tools or sticks because they had fallen asleep while at the loom. 

Many times, the children would accidentally cut themselves with the carpet knives and, to stop the bleeding, their wounds were dipped in hot oil, or matchstick powder would be put in their cuts by the foreman who lit them up so that the blood and skin would quickly bond together. Their main concern was getting the children back to work quickly.

 

At the age of 10, Iqbal knew he would remain indebted and enslaved to the carpet owner forever seeing that he would never have the money needed to pay off his family’s debt. The sum of the debt had reached 13,000 rupees, which had increased due to the charges for his lunch that he ate each day, a bowl of rice, and also fines for mistakes.

A human rights organization, Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF), helped him “to escape and go to school.” He completed 6 years of school within 2 years. He joined BLLF, campaigned against child labor, and “became a world-renowned child rights activist.”

In 1994, at 12 years old, he traveled as a spokesperson for the BLLF throughout Europe and the U.S. speaking to children who were the same age as him about what he had went through as a child slave. He called for a boycott of the carpet industry in Pakistan and an end to child labor. 

One of the schools he had visited just before receiving his human rights award was Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy, MA. After he had told his story, they asked him, “Why are you going to go home when you know you are in danger?” And, he said, “I need to finish what I started.”

In 1994, Iqbal attended a press conference in Stockholm, which the Swedish Industrial Union had organized. He told the reporters, “Now I am not scared of the factory owner. He is scared of me!” 


Later, that same year, he received the Reebok Human Rights Youth In Action Award in Boston. He had a carpet tool in one hand and a pencil in the other, standing in front of the audience, he began to speak of child labor and the horrors of it.

The audience rose to their feet as he told them, “We have a slogan at school. When children get free, we all together say, ‘We Are Free! We Are Free!’”

“We are…..” he said, filling the room with his voice.
“Free!” the crowd shouted.
“We are…..” he said again.
“Free!” the audience shouted again in-kind.

Iqbal helped thousands of children that were in bonded labor get released, which caused the Pakistani carpet industry to begin to wane. They had lost a lot of money from him speaking out. On April 16, 1995, on Easter Sunday, Iqbal was murdered in his native village while riding a bicycle. He was only 12-years old. 

Iqbal’s story had made such an impression on the students at Broad Meadows Middle School that they decided to take the anger over his murder and turn it into positive action, so they decided to raise money to build a school in Pakistan because they said that that was his dream. Amanda Loo, a 13-year old student there, co-founded, with her classmates, “A School for Iqbal,” and in 1996, they eventually raised $150,000 and built a 5-room schoolhouse that would also be used as a community health center in Kasur, Pakistan, near Iqbal’s hometown. 

10 years after his death, “A School for Iqbal,” raised enough money to build 8 schools around the world. Another program was also launched by the children’s organization that provides Pakistani women with loans “to buy back their children from slavery.”


Broad Meadows Middle School students testify before Congressional Roundtable on Youth Activism in Washington, D.C. At the microphone is Meagan Donoghue, 8th grade. From left are USAID administrator Brian Atwood; Democratic Congressman William Delahunt, of Maryland; Katie Sault, 7th grade, and Elizabeth Bloomer, 7th grade.

Amanda and other classmates testified before Congress shortly before the schoolhouse was finished about what she had learned of child laborers. Amanda also joined an international cause, Global March Against Child Labour, was flown by the garment-workers union, UNITE, to Geneva Switzerland, where she gave a speech against child labor.

Amanda said, “Once you meet kids who’ve been through this, 
you can’t just talk about it. You have to go out and do something.”


Copyright © 2011 Pamela J. Wells. All Rights Reserved


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Selfless Being YouTube Channel: AwarenessConscious

Check out the YouTube Channel that I created awhile back: AwarenessConscious 

I share video's on spirituality, conscious awareness,
as well as other related videos.



Art & The Creative Life: Jerry Wennstrom - Pacifica Graduate Institute




This video was created from a lecture and art presentation by Jerry Wennstrom for "Engaged Humanities and the Creative Life" a depth Psychology program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara CA. The seminar was facilitated by Dr. Ana Mozol Ph.D.

In this video Jerry shares his unusual personal story, insights and photographs of the large body of art that he created throughout his lifetime. It is an intimate and in-depth guided tour of the creative journey and psychological process of an artist. Jerry articulates his quest, not just for creative inspiration but also for that "quantum leap" that sets one on the path of an inspired life. Paradoxically most of the paintings shown here were destroyed by the artist in 1979 and as stated in the video transformed into a more complete and whole way of Being. The sculptures presented here are only part of the entirely new body of art that has emerged.

See art here: Hands of Alchemy Art

Other Contributing Faculty Lecturers in the Engaged Humanities program include: Stephen Aizenstat Ph.D. Ph.D. Evans Lansing Smith Ph.D. Robert D. Romanyshyn; Allen Bishop Ph.D. Carol S. Pearson

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Hsin Hsin Ming: Verses on the Faith Mind


~ Seng T’san~

The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth then hold no opinion for or against. The struggle of what one likes and what one dislikes is the disease of the mind.


When the deep meaning of things is not understood the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail. The way is perfect like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess. Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things. Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in inner feelings of emptiness. Be serene without striving activity in the oneness of things and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves. When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity your very effort fills you with activity. As long as you remain in one extreme or the other you will never know Oneness. Those who do not live in the single Way fail in both activity and passivity, assertion and denial.


To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality; to assert the emptiness of things is to miss their reality. The more you talk and think about it, the further astray you wander from the truth. Stop talking and thinking and there is nothing you will not be able to know.


To return to the root is to find the meaning, but to pursue appearances is to miss the source. At the moment of inner enlightenment there is a going beyond appearance and emptiness. The changes that appear to occur in the empty world we call real only because of our ignorance. Do not search for the truth; only cease to hold opinions. Do not remain in the dualistic state; avoid such pursuits carefully. If there is a trace of this and that, the right and wrong, the Mind-essence will be lost in confusion. Although all dualities come from the One, do not be attached even to this One. When mind exists undisturbed in the Way, nothing in the world can offend, and when a thing can no longer offend it ceases to exist in the old way. When no discriminating thoughts arise, the old mind ceases to exist.


When thought objects vanish, the thinking-subject vanishes, as when the mind vanishes, objects vanish. Things are objects because of the subject; the mind is such because of things. Understand the relativity of these two and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness. In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable and each contains in itself the whole world. If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.


To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult, but those with limited views are fearful and irresolute: the faster they hurry, the slower they go, and clinging cannot be limited: even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment is to go astray. Just let things be in their own way and there will be neither coming nor going. Obey the nature of things (your own nature), and you will walk freely and undisturbed. When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden, for everything is murky and unclear, and the burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness. What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separations? If you wish to move in the One Way do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas. Indeed, to accept them fully is identical with true Enlightenment. The wise man strives for no goals but the foolish man fetters himself. There is one Dharma, truth, law, not many; distinctions arise from the clinging needs of the ignorant. To seek Mind with the discriminating mind is the greatest of all mistakes.


Rest and unrest derive from illusion; with enlightenment there is no liking and disliking. All dualities come from ignorant inference. They are like dreams or flowers in the air; foolish try to grasp them. Gain and loss, right and wrong: such thoughts must finally be abolished at once. If the eye never sleeps, all dreams will naturally cease. If the mind makes no discriminations, the ten thousand things are as they are, of single essence. To understand the mystery of this One-essence is to be released from all entanglements. When all things are seen equally the timeless Self-essence is reached. No comparisons or analogies are possible in this causeless, relationless state.


Consider movement stationary and the stationary in motion, and both the state of movement and the state of rest disappear. When such dualities cease to exist Oneness itself cannot exist. To this ultimate finality no law or description applies. For the unified mind in accord with the Way all self-centered striving ceases. Doubts and irresolutions vanish and life in true faith is possible. With a single stroke we are freed from bondage; nothing clings to us and we hold nothing. All is empty, clear, self-illuminating, with no exertion of the mind’s power. Here thought, feeling, knowledge, and imagination are of no value.


In this world of Suchness there is neither self nor other-than-self. To come directly into harmony with this reality just simply say when doubts arise, “Not two.” In this “not two” nothing is separate, nothing is excluded. No matter when or where, enlightenment means entering this truth. And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space; in it a single thought is then thousand years.


Emptiness here, Emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before our eyes. Infinitely large and infinitely small; no difference, for definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen. So too with Being and non-Being. Don’t waste time in doubts and arguments that have nothing to do with this. One thing, all things: move among and intermingle, without distinction. To live in this realization is to be without anxiety about non-perfection. To live in this faith is the road to non-duality, because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

Words!
The Way is beyond language, 
for in it there is
no yesterday
no tomorrow
no today.

Verses on the faith mind of Sengstan (Sosan) 3rd Zen Patriarch, translated from the original Chinese by Richard B. Clarke, Zen teacher at the Living Dharma Centers, Amherst, Massachussets and Coventry, Connecticut.

Thank you for sharing this Ralph:)

Conscious Connection

~by Pamela J. Wells



We need to be conscious of how we communicate with others; how we communicate with people with whom we have just met or only engaged in a few words with, such as our interactions with cashiers or other people who are in service jobs. We need to be conscious of how we communicate with people we do know, friends and family.

We have to ask ourselves, "Am I communicated to others from a source of ego, from a place where I am further separating myself from others and creating disharmony, or am I communicating with others from a source of conscious awareness, where all that arises comes from that place of emptiness, that higher awareness, where biases and perceptions do not come into play, where there is only love and kindness?"

Our connection with each other lies, first, on that invisible, spiritual plane; and then on the physical plane of what we see, where how we communicate with each other can either create an illusion of separateness, an invisible wall that appears real, or we can communicate from our natural state of being, our true nature, that shines in the presence of each other. It comes from an unconditional place, where it does not matter how the other person responds. Let your light shine, and in doing so you allow the other person the space to shine as well.


Your State of Consciousness Determines What Kind of World You Create (Video)

~Eckhart Tolle


Friday, November 25, 2011

Guru Nanak

O mind, what are you searching? 
Inside and outside it is one only. 
It is the concept that makes you 
feel inside and outside. 

Once the earthen pot bearing the 
name Nanak is broken, 
by getting rid of the concept 
that I am the body, 
where is inside and outside? 
It is "I" only prevailing everywhere.

I-AM-ness (Ongoing, Unchanging & Ever-Present)

Ken Wilber - I Am Big Mind (Video)


Ken Wilber, is an American author bridging mysticism, psychology, 
and philosophy into “an integral theory of consciousness.”

THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF HINDU ETHICS

~by Sri Swami Sivananda

The ethics of the Hindus is subtle, sublime and profound. All religions have taught ethical precepts such as: “Do not kill, do not injure others, love your neighbor as yourself,” but they have not given the reason. The basis of Hindu ethics is this: “There is one all-pervading Atman. It is the innermost soul of all beings. This is the common, pure consciousness. If you injure your neighbor, you really injure yourself. If you injure any other creature, you really injure yourself, because the whole world is nothing but your own Self.” This is Hindu ethics. This is the basic metaphysical truth that underlies all Hindu ethical codes.

The Atman or Self is one. One life vibrates in all beings. Life is common in animals, birds and human beings. Existence is common. This is the emphatic declaration of the Upanishads or Srutis. This primary truth of religion is the foundation of ethics or morality or science of right conduct. Morality has Vedanta as its basis.

The first thing you learn from religion is the unity of all selves. The Upanishads says: “The neighbor is, in truth, the very Self and what separates you from him is mere illusion.” One Atman or Self abides in all beings. Universal love is the expression of the unity. Universal brotherhood has its basis in the unity of Self. All human relations exist because of this unity. 

Yajnavalkya said to his wife Maitreyi: “Behold, my dear, not indeed for the love of the husband is the husband dear, for the love of the Self is the husband dear.” And so with wife, sons, property, friends, worlds and even the Devas themselves, All Are Dear, because the one Self is in all. If you injure another man, you injure yourself. If you help another person, you help yourself. There is one life, one common consciousness in all beings. This is the foundation of right conduct. This is the foundation of ethics.

~by Sri Swami Sivananda - Publication: All About Hinduism

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Swami Chidananda in Spiritual Mood (Video)





Sridhar Rao, as Swami Chidananda (9/24/1916 - 8/28/2008) was known before taking Sannyasa (embracing a life of renunciation), was born to Srinivasa Rao and Sarojini, on the 24th September, 1916, the second of five children and the eldest son. Sri Srinivasa Rao was a prosperous Zamindar (a rich landlord) owning several villages, extensive lands and palatial buildings in South India. Sarojini was an ideal Indian mother, noted for her saintliness.

At the age of eight, Sridhar Rao's life was influenced by one Sri Anantayya, a friend of his grandfather, who used to relate to him stories from the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Doing Tapas (austerities), becoming a Rishi (sage), and having a vision of the Lord became ideals which he cherished. His uncle, Krishna Rao, shielded him against the evil influences of the materialistic world around him, and sowed in him the seeds of the Nivritti life (life of renunciation) which he joyously nurtured until, as latter events proved, it blossomed into sainthood.

The family was noted for its high code of conduct and this was infused into his life. Charity and service were the glorious ingrained virtues of the members of the family. These virtues found an embodiment in Sridhar Rao. He discovered ways and means of manifesting them. None who sought his help was sent away without it. He gave freely to the needy.

Service to lepers became his ideal. He would build them huts on the vast lawns of his home and look after them as though they were deities. Later, after he joined the Ashram (hermitage), this early trait found in him complete and free expression where even the best among men would seldom venture into this great realm of divine love, based upon the supreme wisdom that all are one in God. Patients from the neighbourhood, suffering from the worst kind of diseases came to him. Service, especially of the sick, often brought out the fact that he had no idea of his own separate existence as an individual. It seemed as if his body clung loosely to his soul.

The final decision came in 1943. He was already in correspondence with Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj of Rishikesh. He obtained Swamiji's permission to join the Ashram. Towards the end of 1948, Gurudev nominated him as the General Secretary of The Divine Life Society. The great responsibility of the organization fell on his shoulders. From that very moment he spiritualized all his activities by his presence, counsel and wise leadership. He exhorted all to raise their consciousness to the level of the Divine.

On Guru Purnima day, the 10th of July, 1949, he was initiated into the holy order of Sannyasa by Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj. He now became known as Swami Chidananda, a name which connotes : "one who is in the highest consciousness and bliss." In August 1963, after the Mahasamadhi of the Master, he was elected as President of the Divine Life Society. After election, he strove to hold aloft the banner of renunciation, dedicated service, love and spiritual idealism, not only within the set-up of the widespread organization of the Society, but in the hearts of countless seekers throughout the world, who were all too eager to seek his advice, help and guidance.

To Read More of Swami Chidananda's bio visit: HIS HOLINESS SRI SWAMICHIDANANDA SARASWATI MAHARAJ

The Divine Life Society

Ego - Wisdom of Non-Discrimination (Video)

~Thich Nhat Hanh


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Change Your Mind Change Your Brain: The Inner Conditions (Video)




If happiness is an inner state, influenced by external conditions but not dependent on them, how can we achieve it? Ricard will examine the inner and outer factors that increase or diminish our sense of well-being, dissect the underlying mechanisms of happiness, and lead us to a way of looking at the mind itself based on his book, Happiness: A Guide to Life's Most Important Skill and from the research in neuroscience on the effect of mind-training on the brain.

Speaker Bio: Matthieu Ricard, a gifted scientist turned Buddhist monk, is a bestselling author, translator, and photographer. He has lived and studied in the Himalayas for the past 35 years.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Isa-Upanishad VII

HE who perceives all beings as the Self, for him how can there be delusion or
grief, when he sees this oneness (everywhere)?

HE who perceives the Self everywhere never shrinks from anything, because
through his higher consciousness he feels united with all life. When a man sees
God in all beings and all beings in God, and also God dwelling in his own Soul,
how can he hate any living thing? Grief and delusion rest upon a belief in 
diversity, which leads to competition and all forms of selfishness. With the 
realization of oneness, the sense of diversity vanishes and the cause of misery 
is removed.

~The Upanishads: Translated By Swami Paramananda (Book)

Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Upanishads: Translated By Swami Paramananda

Something Must Be Happening Already (Video)

~Mooji


Satsang with Mooji, 5th February 2010 in Tiruvannamalai (India)

After recognition often comes a question: 
"How to get firm in this?" 

Only when you think you are an object, 
you will start to think if it is true or not true, 
is it firm or not firm? 

Inquire into this, who is firm and not firm? 
Who is asking this question?

Stay just in the place of seeing, observing... 
and this question will die in front of you.

~Mooji

Through Meditation We Can Come To See That The Only Thing That Makes Us Suffer Is Our Own Mind.

~Adyashanti



The task of any useful spiritual practice is therefore to dismantle cherishing the thoughts, opinions, and ideas that make up the false self, the self that is seeking. This is the true task of both meditation and inquiry. Through meditation we can come to see that the only thing that makes us suffer is our own mind.

Sitting quietly reveals the mind to be nothing but conditioned thinking spontaneously arising within awareness. Through cherishing this thinking, through taking it to be real and relevant, we create internal images of self and others and the world. Then we live in these images as if they were real. To be caught within these images is to live in an illusory virtual reality.

Through observing the illusory nature of thought without resisting it, we can begin to question and inquire into the underlying belief structures that support it. These belief structures are what form our emotional attachments to the false self and the world our minds create.

This is why I sometimes ask people, “Are you ready to lose your world?” Because true awakening will not fit into the world as you imagine it or the self you imagine yourself to be. Reality is not something that you integrate into your personal view of things.

Reality is life without your distorting stories, ideas, and beliefs. It is perfect unity free of all reference points, with nowhere to stand and nothing to grab hold of. It has never been spoken, never been written, never been imagined. It is not hidden, but in plain view. Cease to cherish opinions and it stands before your very eyes.

~by Adyashanti

 “Do not seek the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.” ~Seng-ts’an

Image: Meditation By The Lake by Nat Sakunworarat at publicdomainpictures.net