manitou

The catch-22 of it! The human condition. The dual human side of me asks.... Why? Why? Why? The integrated flip side of the coin says Because. Because. Because. Also, for your daily dose of synchronicity: A rare Stradivarius violin that belonged to a Russian-American virtuoso and was used in the "Wizard of Oz" soundtrack sold at auction in New York Thursday for $15.3 million, just below the record for such an instrument, according to auction house Tarisio. The violin, made in 1714 by master craftsman Antonio Stradivari, belonged to virtuoso Toscha Seidel, who not only used it on the score for the 1939 Hollywood classic, but also no doubt while teaching his famous student Albert Einstein.

This is very interesting, Stirling! As the fear of death lies at the bottom of all fears, it stands to reason that this is the case. I wonder if the one feared the two, and then the ten thousand in some subtle way. I shouldn't even put it in the past. It's all now, still happening. Still happening. Still happening.

YESSSS! (Fist pump) I say this all the time! It is such a perfect metaphor

Someone earlier mentioned Alaya. It is my understanding that this is the universal soul. Is that not what we've been talking about all along? That it's all one big soul, one big consciousness, that is wanting to come into self awareness? That it is the Dao returning from the 10,000 things back to the One? Reversion is the action of the Dao, as it says in the DDJ. (Yutang, I think) The more my own understanding morphs, the more I see that the Dao (God, Alaya, whatever you want to call it) is Will. Just sheer Will. Will to go through this physical exercise for some reason, and return to itself in this living, breathing physical/spiritual form. To align one's self with the principle of Love seems to be the most effective way of getting through this way; all other alignments are distractions and requires self correction down the line. But it doesn't really care how we do it or how long it takes. It'll get done one way or the other, through many faces and many philosophies. Through kindness or through cruelty. Maybe I'll change my name to Will.I.Am. Shirley he gets it. So does Morgan Freeman.

And from whose perspective would reality be defined?

I agree, they can all be burnt. I've brought this up ad nauseum on this board, but it's the only perspective I've got. When I went through the steps of recovery, once the 'leaves' that you mention are identified and seen (step 4), then a little later there is a process of making amends to people we have harmed, regardless of how painful this is. It is this very amends process that is productive of eliminating conditioning and unwanted obscurations. It is this very process that ultimately produces clarity. I wish I could have eliminated those qualities by just thinking about them, but for me it took something more, as with others recovering from addiction. This is the very thing that reduces the ego so that further progress can be made. Without ego reduction, there is just more cogitation. The ultimate awareness can't get through the thick ego. Humility must be present first. It is then that it dawns on us. And the process isn't a black and white happening. It is shades of grey, always. Awareness, at least in my case, is intermittent, depending on how much I find myself buying into worldly conditions. But now, there is always that overriding awareness of the play of the cosmic dance and how that is not really who I am. It's just a question of remembering it. I'd sure like to live there. Maybe one day....

What always comes to mind for me is the breakdown of molecules into smaller and smaller parts, into atoms, nuclei, quarks, neutrinos - and probably all the way down to where it is just thought, and there's nothing there at all. It boggles my mind that form, any form, can retain its shape at all - and why things don't just fly apart. Surely even the densest-thinking lump of coal has enough consciousness to keep its shape. It's all living, it's all moving, and in my view, conscious to some degree. I remember being fascinated by the Monsanto ride at Disneyland when I was a little kid, where it made you smaller and smaller and it took you into a world of miniscule particles. I've always remembered that. That, and throwing up on the teacup ride.

I just came back from Iceland with Covid. I took the meds, Paxlovid, and was rid of it in just a few days. Actually, my doc said exactly the opposite - not to lay around. But maybe she was talking about the meds, as she said something about blood clots too.

There's your puppy. That's exactly the realization. Along with the realization that your Higher Self doesn't live up in the clouds somewhere. It is you one and the same with You. And Me. And Him. And them. And It.

I don't know if it's possible to look at, and make inferences, about another without projection from within. That's the only way we can identify it, if it is contained within ourselves. As to religions, many of us were dealt those when we came into this life. I think people get into trouble when they set themselves up as experts and trade on this knowledge - either for financial profit or for emotional mileage. They can stop growing, thinking they have all the answers. This is when things get jammed up. Religions are great for growth, until they're not. The dogma needs to be shed at some point and the journey beyond involves learning to think with our own brains. I see this as a process that sits somewhere between the transcension of the dogma and the entrance into nonduality. The thing that's been outgrown, the religion, is seen for what it is, and sometimes that manifests itself as being quite ridiculous, once seen from a distance. Sometimes it's just as simple as 'does that make any sense at all to my brain?'. I think we were issued these things for this particular reason, to sort this out, and life takes us through all sorts of twists and turns in order to get there.

This is an odd phenomena. I think of the times in my life where my life has been threatened (or I thought so afterwards!) and as I look back, I realize that fear was not present during the occurrence - not until afterwards. The time a big truck swayed into our motor home on the freeway, nearly colliding - the time we nearly got blown off the edge of a road by a huge wind gust coming down the mountain into Reno - the time I walked into my home to find all my belongings piled in the middle of the room and a burglar in the house - things like this, something just comes up and handles without thinking. After the burglar emptied his pockets and left the house, my knees started shaking and I hit the ground. I was terrified. But not when it was happening.

Yes, I did post that. And yes, the undercurrent is in me when I am not in consciousness. It is precisely this fear that I use as a tool to remove myself from the undercurrent, when I catch myself doing it. Pleasant Experience is one with the whole, it is a consciousness that transcends nouns and becomes a verb instead. It IS the experience. It's so subtle that it's...well...ineffable, as Stirling says. And it is not stagnant, it is dynamic. We ride two horses - one physical, one metaphysical - and it's a very easy thing to remount the physical horse at any given moment, letting our thoughts and fears and ego lead us around by a ring in our nose. Once the ability to jump off the physical horse onto the metaphysical horse has been developed, it becomes our choice, as it says in the DDJ. No, I think that after the awakening, one rides the metaphysical horse once in a while throughout the day. Then, with sincerity and great desire as our propellers, we find ourselves riding the metaphysical horse more and more often. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I will find that I'm on the metaphysical horse most of the time. Or even all of the time. It is this horse that we will ride into our death, hopefully. The one that does not fear what's next, because what's next has already happened and we're just playing catch-up. Love of form and love of thought seems to be the thing that prevents rising to this level. If one is captivated with the form of a particular dogma, knows that dogma well, and considers themselves to have expertise in that dogma, this reinforces the sense of separateness, reinforces the false self, and gratifies the ego to the point where hope may be lost. One may need to recycle through again and again. Many awakened people have come through dogma and finally discarded it, realizing this quagmire of seeming separation. One who identified with Islam and transcends, becomes a Sufi. One who identified with Christianity and transcends, develops the Christ Consciousness. One who was entrenched in an ism of any sort has a way to transcend it and find that which we are all looking for - the answer to the question that we know not what the question even is! All we know is that it moves us upward, it propels us through life situations and through religions and through marriages and seeking it in all Form and Forms. There are two crucial components to developing and trying to maintain this state. The first, is to do the inner work. What I mean by that is to diminish the ego, find ways to quash it - let the other guy 'win'. If this is too painful to even think about, then that's exactly the barricade that needs to be removed. I was fortunate in that I had the 12 steps of recovery as a guide for the last 40 years. Those steps are one big ego cruncher, the great equalizer. The second component is to develop the ability to be without thought. The thinking process must be transcended in order to reach this state. We must develop the ability to turn our thoughts on and off at will. If one hasn't been a long time meditator (and most here have been, I imagine) and learned to do this through meditative processes, there is a simple way that I have found to enter into this mindless world. Taking a sound bath. I've talked about it before, but maybe it bears repeating. I walk the dogs a couple times a day, and sometimes I take a sound bath while walking them. The first step is to establish awareness of the inside of the nostril - to feel the cool air in the nostril while inhaling, and then feel the warm moist air while exhaling. That's all. Just to notice for an extended time the difference between the two. If thoughts start getting in the way, like a shopping list or fear of something that's about to happen, draw your attention back to the temperature differences in the nostrils. The second component is to listen to everything, without giving preference as to whether it's a mockingbird or a leaf blower. Listen to it all as a symphony - the leaf blower is merely a drone underlying the other sounds. Notice the smallest things too, like the scruffy sound of your shoes hitting the pavement, the tinkle of the dog's tags. Take it all in. When the thoughts return, bring your focus back. By doing this, you are leaving no room for thoughts. You are totally in the moment. There is no room to think about Buddhist structure, or whether you're right and someone else is wrong, or whether you agree or disagree. This state, the Zen mind, the beginner's mind, is the entrance point. It is maintaining This Mind that becomes The Practice for those of us who are willing to abandon all else, all rightness and wrongness, all good and bad, and be willing to be looked upon as a total fool......it is that length that one must become willing to go to to. There are no alternative facts here. All paths will end up in the same place. Continual emphasis of one particular way as being 'the right way' has become a barricade. I don't know the magic change that happens, all I know is that it does. Once you've 'gotten' this, maybe there's a chemical change or something that has taken place. All I know is that one is now Grounded in a way we haven't been before. There is no more searching for anything, because the heart is at rest. The answers come, when the problem is presented. The answers aren't projected out into the future - they're right here and right now, and they unfold in us as the moment requires.

what one sees as heartless and selfish may not be the case. Is it possible that those folks dwell in an is-ness that accepts all conditions, seemingly good or seemingly bad? Of course, if rudeness or obvious bad intent enters into it, there's yer sign. It says something in the DDJ about the sage having the choice of entering the emotions and stream of the world, or dwelling above it to some degree, not reacting to the phenomena. I think that goes back to the straw dogs reference again. The Dao doesn't seem to care - if it cared, life would be fair. It is not. But the agape and unconditional love that is present to us, the grace, the constant opportunity of redemption when we get ourselves into a pickle - this love cannot be denied. I don't know what it is. Mutual attraction, maybe even gravity. Maybe the spark between the hand of man and god on the ceiling. But whatever it is, it is there and accessible to everyone. Maybe those selfish Buddhists and Advaita devotees haven't gotten around to their inner work yet.

This. There is no beginning and no end. This stream of energy we're riding was our consciousness before we were born, and will be after we die. When that is understood and integrated, the fear of death leaves us when in consciousness. How often we can stay in consciousness is both a skill and a choice. If we have a monkey mind and cannot find the stillness and clarity, then we are not able to access this. No doubt this is why a Muslim is to pray 5 times a day; to return to consciousness over and over during the day, or at least that's the plan. Once the level of understanding that is attained by people such as those on this thread, the practice then becomes one of stilling the mind and practicing operation from that locus. It is sporadic at first. It gets less sporadic the more one stays in the consciousness of this awareness. It is in this frame of reference, not attained by thinking about it, that the One is realized. We realize (self realize) just who we really Are. No one can tell you. You must realize it for yourself. The self realization will bubble up, once the brain is disengaged. It cannot be spoken. It cannot be contained in a word or a thought. It cannot be understood from a mental perspective. It can only be experienced. And once experienced and Practiced from then on, life gets more and more beautiful. The beauty of Acceptance, of letting things take their course, of knowing the male yet keeping to the female - this is the reward for all the years of seeking. It's worth every book, every lecture, every master, every rinpoche, every bit of fools gold we've tried to take for ourselves. I'm new at this. But I finally know what the 'peace that passeth all understanding' means.

That's a lovely night light you've got in there...

Not so, Bindi. When one is in awareness, you are One with the Whole. When that is the case, there is no room for fear, as you are part of everything. This is what the DDJ talks about when it says that nothing happens to the sage. Sometimes I wonder if this is how snake charmers do it. Being in Oneness, achieving self-awareness, is not something that can be argued. It happens when it happens. The one thing that prevents its arising is ego and argumentation. Things don't resonate until they do. By you 'not buying it', as you say, you are driving your self awareness further away and firming up your spiritual conditioning, which is the very thing you want to get rid of. You don't have to buy anything. Just be open minded about everything. You're so close, but you have to let the cogitation go. You can't think your way into it. Best to develop the beginner's mind at this point. If you've developed the ability for no-thought at all, it will be found here. Best wishes.

As in 'His Thusness?' That's good!

I think that's passe now. I think it's 'that's really Fire!' is what it's about. I don't get it, but oh well.

LOL. What, she has no sense of humor??

This is a good point, but recall that the action of the Dao is reversion. For some reason it seems to want to take a back dive and return to self, the Oneness of Beingness.

I may have used the wrong terminology here, Bindi. For me to have said 'dive' indicates an action. That's not quite right, I was speaking more metaphorically. It's a dropping, an allowing. Allowing the conditioning to disperse so that the clarity can be experienced and recognized. I'm almost seeing enlightenment as a physical thing, like a switch in the brain which toggles when needed for clarity, for answers, for seeing reality. Reality isn't a particular set of conditions. It's the is-ness, the one-ness of all life. It is total acceptance of what is. Our condition on this planet is to ride two horses, for some reason. To be born into the world of duality, illusion, stories, writing our own story which we mistake as reality. Perhaps our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to tear off the mask of duality and experience the is-ness as reality. In the DDJ it makes reference to the Dao treating us as straw dogs. As we are all one entity in different skin bags with different conditioning, does it really matter at what point we live or die, and in what manner? That thing inside us that 'doesn't move and doesn't age' is the real You. All else is of the Head, and it's the head that gets us into trouble when it leads to separation of ourselves from others. I woke up this morning realizing that I was a verb. I am not a noun, I am not Barbara, separate from Bindi. I should like to change my name to Pleasant Experience, if I didn't know it would confuse the pension department. A Pleasant Experience is what we can all be, whether we are experiencing the company of another, or washing our car. We can turn the car washing into a pleasant experience if we want, or we can also look at it from the point of view of the car! It's happy to get washed! One big pleasant experience. One big verb! As I was walking the dogs this morning, I saw that someone hadn't picked up their dog poop in the green belt. I picked it up for them. I created a Pleasant Experience for future dog walkers, who would probably have walked home fuming about the person who didn't pick up their dog poop. I'm not speaking of people-pleasing here. That's a horrible state to be in, stemming from insecurity. Instead, Pleasant Experience stems from total acceptance of everything and everyone, every condition. No judgment, to the very best of our ability (that ramification of enlightenment is a lifelong process, we just get better and better at it), no opinion, no thinking of someone else as lesser than you or greater than you, loving your brother as yourself (doesn't mean you have to take in every homeless person you come across, but to not fear the moment when one of those situations is presented, and to act in the way that Clarity tells you to - whether that's to give a few bucks or just smile as you pass by). I've always had this undercurrent of fear inside me, stemming from who knows what. It manifests as a tendency toward anti-socialism, staying apart from people, mentally (and subtly) pushing people away. Sometimes pretending that I don't see them, sometimes purposely turning a corner so I don't have to socially interact with them. I realized just this morning how very subtle this is, as I was about to turn a corner before having to say good morning to someone else. How ridiculous! Pleasant Experience doesn't have to do that any more! Pleasant Experience can realize that it's all one big huge experience that the Dao, for some inexplicable reason, has rigged up for itself. We're just a tiny cog. The sooner we realize that Things Just Is is the sooner we find the peace of heart we're really looking for.

Well put, Steve. I couldn't agree with you more. It's like there's this place at the bottom of the well, or the space inside the spoke of the wheel, that can be relied on and trusted for everything. It underlies mind, mind is just conditioning. This is beyond conditioning, and it knows the answers at any given moment. All it takes is being Still to access it. It opens like a lotus and the Way emerges. It is always there, only our conditioning gets in the way at any given moment. Until we remember to dive down through the conditioning into the lotus again... Inhabiting the place of the lotus at all times seems to be the ultimate goal. This can be done, but that seems to be the challenge post-awakening, for the rest of the time that we're chopping wood and carrying water in this dimension.

Yes, my Depends. They only have 3

Sorry for the double post. This is a new phone with different features. Haven't mastered it yet. When Nyophul Rinpoche said 'free from complexity' in @Stirling's post, it alludes to the odd way in which problems are solved from this mind. It's just a question of standing back, mentally, and allowing the answer to arise. Opinion or pre-conditioning don't seem to be part of the equation. It's all about getting ourselves out of the way

Interesting. Opinion, happiness or moral behavior. It doesn't seem that any of it is really relevant once the non dual has been realized.