manitou

Eckhart Tolle says a wonderful thing - that suffering burns the ego out. Physical suffering, mental suffering. We are to suffer, apparently, until we realize we don't have to. When we develop the ability to stop labeling things as Good or Bad, this too is the end of suffering. The Is-ness is what we must walk through - those things that we have somehow attracted to ourselves because our inner I Am knows exactly what it needs for development of enlightenment. It is constantly trying to shed ego by making ego appear over and over until the surrender is reached. The error of thinking that we can somehow control Life is what needs to be surrendered. It is all just part of the form-world, the 10,000 things. For enlightened living, we must face what's in front of us with honesty and love. And this includes honesty and love for ourselves and each other. The inner honesty is found by 'gnowing' ourself - through self examination, and one of the best ways is to see yourself in another's eyes. Are we getting into arguments often? What is it that we're trying to protect? If we're arguing often, our ego is running rampant and protecting itself. Surrendering to the fact that other people have a point of view that's just as valid as our own is part of the equation. Some people actively look for the faults in themselves. Some folks wait for them to be exposed in meditation, following their own thoughts to their genesis. There are any number of ways to break down the ego, which creates the illusion of being a separate entity from the rest of humanity. What's the best way to love in this situation? That's a good question to ask ourselves during the day. Sometimes Love means just listening to someone, perhaps someone that no one else wants to listen to...but just giving a little of your time. After all, when you look into someone's eyes and seeing their black pupils, this is the void of Awareness - the pupils. There is a network, invisible, but extending pupil to pupil, whether it be human or animal. This is 'God' seeing itself, Life reaffirming that which Is, and seemingly growing in its own direction. I'm pretty sure the end of the path is Love, although it seems like anything but in the world today. But sometimes it must get messy before Life straightens itself out. We just need to Leave Life Alone.

The trick is not to label something as good or bad.

It seems to me that if one consistently tears down other people's philosophies, all it does is bolster the ego of the person doing the judging and criticizing. This is a very undesirable situation and leads to tunnel vision of the highest degree. Honest questioning of each other's outlooks (and they are outlooks until the flame is found, as Steve alluded to) is always a desirable thing - but the tone is the giveaway. A consistently negative tone is a clue that the negative person is not looking for honest dialog, but instead is merely a means to an end....to make the negative person feel superior, separate from his human family. This does so much harm - not to anybody else - but to the negative one. The ego becomes a high wall that he or she is unable to see over. Thread upon thread, I see the same negative tearing down process. It is as though someone has thrown a blanket of hostility over the conversations. This is not the act of the Sage, one of the Three Treasures is not Hostility.

That's an interesting idea. Being ex-cop and ex-military, I'd love to hear an expansion on this? I haven't thought that out as you seem to have - but something inside me tells me there's truth to it.

Nice article, Steve. I like the fact that it mentions something looking into the eyes of the guru and seeing yourself. We are life recognizing itself...

I have used the technique of having someone lay prostrate on the ground (healing ceremony) so that they are open to new suggestion. It seems to pull the tunnel vision out of people somehow, if they are willing to surrender.

The back of the fortunes in the fortune cookies is a good place to start. I learned how to say Watermelon - but I can't remember it now. Funny, I've been thinking about the same thing - only I would do it to try to keep my old brain alive.

I'm not sure I said I experienced death - I just said it felt like home. But because it was at such an extreme and felt so BASIC - I don't see anything wrong with holding this experience in the mind as a place I can return to upon physical dissolution. I am no doubt living in illusion with this, but if it takes away fear of death I don't really see the harm in it. Do you? I wish the same loss of fear for you too, Karl.

I may have posed this question a few years back, I can't remember. In the 1950's, my folks would take us up to our mountain cabin in San Bernardino, CA. It was an elevation of 6,000 feet, all coniferous habitat. There was a bird that I would hear all the time, but I could never see. But it had a most distinguished call - it was the first 5 descending notes of the "Portuguese Washerwoman", whoever remembers that old song. (I think we had the Percy Faith record?) But the 5 descending notes were (high) C, B, B, A, A. The notes were pretty equidistant in arrangement. Can anyone determine who that was? I've lived in coniferous forest in adulthood - same elevation - same mountain range - for 12 years, and never heard that sound, although I was always listening for him. Maybe he's extinct now..

Thanks, TI. Couldn't have said it better myself. You nailed it. This is one of the best statements I've ever seen on this forum. Thank you!

You're no doubt right, Karl. But here's the thing. That shared (and mutually experienced) place that we ended up in, caused us both to lose fear of death. So if it's a dual illusion, it seems to serve a grander purpose, as far as I'm concerned. Again, I'll take it. I'm not going to plunge into a head trip about it

No. Not the personal consciousness. the only thing I can equate my understanding to is the incredible golden tunnel experienced during an act of tantric sex. While in the golden tunnel, there is no individual identity; only the glorious golden essence and the incredible sound of the shine. It was such an incredible set of experiences. One comes away from something like this knowing that that place felt like Home. That's the closest I can get - that it Felt Like Home. and there were no questions, nothing left unsettled. Just sheer Love. Undefined, unrestrained. Just Love. I'll take it.

Maybe it does't.

Don't you find that the longer you're at this, the more you move into Love - of yourself, your brother, the earth? The only thing I am sure of in all this, is that the plant grows toward the light. I equate the light with love. Underlying this morphing does seem to be a direction - a direction toward the light. I look back at all the 'apparently necessary illusions' - the alcoholism, the inability to get away from an abusive fellow for an extended period of time - and utilizing that time to rearrange 'my' innards to get to the metaphysical point that I am today. Enlightened? Who knows. I know that I no longer ask myself if I am... And don't you suspect that there is a hierarchy - that our idea of Enlightenment at this phase of existence - is far inferior to another form of enlightenment that may be further into the elusive future for mankind? For some reason, it's all unfolding within the illusion of Time - it must need to do so for some reason, although it's all happening Now. That which we fear has already happened and played out. This is just something I sense in my soul, and masters of many traditions have found to be their soul conclusion as well. It's a dwelling place I have come to after many years of peeling the onion and studying the comparative philosophies of others. I will continue morphing, as we will all do (unless we are one of the 'intellectual ones' on the forum who have not taken the time to look within).

Do you really think that losing fear of death is looking toward an afterlife? I think that you will agree that you will die. All fear stems from fear of death. Once fear of death is minimized and ultimately gone - all fears are minimized and ultimately gone. I do realize that mentioning death and continuing consciousness may be at odds with many other minds. Perhaps it is looking to the future and not staying in the now. On the other hand, we do have to have something to talk about here.... My idea that consciousness continues, both before and after life, is just in the reflection of nature. Trees die, they fall, bugs enter. Mushrooms grow on them, animals live in them - life goes on. It doesn't die, it just transforms. That's what I mean by that, Karl. I'm really not one for spinning nice little stories.

Thank you, 3bob. Wow. How metaphysical can we get? illusion. I would think that yes, illusion is connected to non-illusion. Non-illusion is sheer collective self-awareness of No Name realizing itself. All our separate dramas, attached to that, are illusion - however apparently necessary illusions for the development of No Name. Illusion is the phenomena. What is real, iMO, is the morphing of the SELF REALIZATION of No Name. As is the intent for us human beings. Self Realization. I think we mirror the phenomena, micro to macro. I'm thinking we can ask the goldfish in the fishbowl some of these questions....

I just made my way through every word of the Avatamsaka Sutra, and there is much emphasis on the hierarchy of enlightenment. One thing that hasn't been mentioned much on this thread is Fear. To be in the Now, truly being able to stay there, involves the loss of fear. At the terminal end of this is loss of the fear of death. It is this loss that creates freedom, the freedom to be in the Now. We are afraid of the Now that's coming up next. It's a type of anxiety, even if there is nothing threatening us. But most of us do have things that threaten us, that keep our thoughts in turmoil and fear. Bad health, living with someone that's overbearing and fearful, financial insecurity, loss of job and not knowing where the next one will be - any number of conditions that keep us frozen in mental projection. And that mental projection never seems to go to the highest and best. It always seems to find the worst possible case scenario and we fritter away at that. To remove that kind of fear is just done one day at a time with Awareness. As soon as we become Aware of our mental fritterings, that they are only fritterings and as such are not real, then and only then do we have a chance of seeing them peel away. One technique is to turn around and look at all the mental angst you've gone through in the past about some upcoming condition, and see that each and every time, you made it through! You were just fine. You've been just fine all along. You will be just fine tomorrow. And when you die, you will be Just Fine. Because we realize Who we really Are, that there is no entity outside of ourselves (and combined Life as a whole) that is directing traffic or doing any judging at all. There is nothing to fear. We don't really die. we are Consciousness itself, and as such we will change forms, through deaths and lifes. We can understand this loss of fear intellectually, but the challenge is to truly lose it in our bodies and our minds. This is what takes a little intentionality - to see the fear in our reactions, to see the fear in our mental projections. And we can start with Today. What is it Today that you are thinking about? Are your thoughts unkind toward someone? Are you in a subtle competition with someone in your everyday life? Are you living with someone that frightens you? I have lived 30 years with someone that frightened me. He's recovered now, but at the beginning he was a violent alcoholic. I needed this in my life, for my ultimate window of freedom. Every single day I was fearful. This went on for years, even through his recovery. I was afraid all the time that 'something' would set him off and he would go drink. I was doing the 'walking on eggs' dance day after day, skirting around his moods. And then I took things in hand and went to Alanon, the purpose of which is to learn to live with the alcoholic. I was unable to get away from him - I wasn't strong enough, and the True Self inside me must have known that this is exactly what I needed. So it became a daily process of internally 'allowing his behavior' and not buying into it. Alanon taught me to just Be during his behavior, to let it pass, to not react to it. They gave me the method, I had to apply it daily. So just the Awareness of the fear of him was all it took to get the process started. Once I stopped matching his dynamic with mine. I was able to step back, observe the fear, and see where it stemmed from. It all stemmed back to my dad, of course - his way of disciplining, his way of just being. Loud and angry. And when I finally removed my dynamic from his drama, the drama seemed to stop. I'm happy to say that today, this guy is a jewel to live with. It's a ball of memories, that's all it is. And those memories weave together and create our story, our illusion of what Reality is. And each one of us has a separate illusion of Reality, until we're able to shed the story. Once we shed the story and we're not playing the role of Victim or Perpetrator, that story of yesterday can be put to rest. And when yesterday is dealt with, there is no fear of tomorrow. The Now becomes visible and is a most wonderful place to live.

Steve, what an incredible post. And the above paragraph is just about the most succinct list of characteristics I've ever seen all in one place, lol. I think your differentiation of Awakening v. Enlightenment is perfect. I don't know about the kundalini being necessary for Enlightenment either, Bindi - but I do think kundalini energy being risen is necessary for the third eye - I think it creates a point of triangulation. (Duh!, lol) I can only speak to this from my own experience; I did not have the ability to triangulate character points in another until the kundalini rose. Triangulating character points in another, being able to truly see the other person in all their depth - this is a result of knowing the full depth of yourself. This, to me, is Seeing, a capability discussed much in different traditions. What some of the traditions don't emphasize is this aspect of the equation. I was brought up in the Christian church, and I don't once recall emphasis on the changing of the inner person to find the Divine within. Buddhism has it, Yogi philosophy has it - but Christianity, in my experience only, doesn't seem to emphasize it. Rather, they don't feel the need, apparently because Jesus has 'done it all for them', and reliance on him only is such a simple thing to do. I think this is why enlightenment is in short supply within Christianity, at least as I see it. (An exception? I'll bet Pope Francis has transcended his box, but still has to function within it. I really like this man - he truly walks his talk. Now, I'm sure someone will post scads of Nazi stuff relating to the Catholic church. Please don't. I'm looking at the man as he is today, not someone stuck within the confines of Catholic history.) So if a path takes you through yourself, the Real Deal will be found. If it doesn't, you will know about Enlightenment, but you won't know Enlightenment. That's my take, at least.

I'll take it one step further. I'm losing the need to prove anything to myself either.

Do you rub your head up real hard against theirs, like my kitty does mine, lol? Try making that little sound in the back of your throat when you hug people. You might get interesting reactions.....

Interesting, about the promoting the healing of bones. My cat jumps from tall fences and I do worry about how hard she lands sometimes. Maybe the purr is the body's way of healing their hairline fractures, or something. Fodder for thought. When my kitty wakes me up in the morning, on my chest purring because she's ready for the Meow Mix - I like to purr back at her. Just a low rumbling sound in the back of my throat does it - and she just loves it. She keeps rubbing her head up against mine so hard, it's like she's trying to get in there. What incredibly subtle and wonderful animals they are. Oh. And the gifts they bring! How could we live without them??

I think that was an excellent post, Nikolai. Sometimes awakenings happen in dark paths. Alcoholism or drug addiction, for example. In my case, alcoholism brought me to my knees and I had to do something about it. Part of recovery from a horrible addiction is to go within and do a personal inventory of all resentments; then examining those resentments and finding my part in the activity that caused the resentment; then going to the person and offering an apology for my part of the disagreement. It's always two-sided. But this process, once started, never ends. A recovering person must check their motives for things constantly. and because going within has straightened out my behavior and thought process, life has changed incredibly. For some of us, this does lead to Awakening - and usually the recovering person - at the same time - will discover the Buddhist path, or the Theosophical path - or any path that is abstract and emphasizes the inner purge. So the stage is set for the lucky alcoholic to not only reap the benefits of intentionally changing his thought patterns, but the ladder of Awareness becomes visible as the alcoholic spends the rest of her life going toward the flame - understanding 'the higher power of our own understanding' - which of course can't be understood verbally because it is ineffable - but the higher study and the deeper purging combined creates the Awakening, the Synthesis, of the two dynamics. No longer are there huge problems. There are no problems. We are always okay in the here and now. I can't believe how gentle and flowing life is now, compared to the cluster-f***k it was before.

Interesting question. If mind reaches pure light and recognizes pure light, then surely it is dual? If mind reaches pure light and no longer recognizes the light because it is the light, perhaps this is extinction? No separation.

I'm just picking up on the analogy of this One Flame being untamed desires. What a beautifully succinct way to put it. I'm seeing the Washington Monument at this moment in my mind. The monument itself could represent the 'dynamic force of altruistic work', as you put it - if one includes altruistic work to mean our studies, our searching out words from other people and other philosophies - those pieces of other minds that we use to fashion our own spiritual quilt. However, the monument you see in the reflecting pool is another thing all together. If you're standing at the far end of the reflecting pool and seeing the reflection too, then the reflection represents all the Inner Work necessary for self realization. I note that the reflection is the same size as the monument.

The courage to not give up sounds like a great mindset. Develops the Intent muscle, lol.