manitou

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Everything posted by manitou

  1. Im new

    A wonderful age to have found this path! I think you'll have a lot of fun here. Namaste.
  2. I just happened onto this site

    Welcome Bob - delighted to have you here. - you couldn't have found a more interesting forum!
  3. Hello

    Delighted to have you here, Jack!
  4. .

    Delighted to have you here, Rudolf -
  5. The Moral Problem

    That's beautiful, Grandmaster P. Thank you for your sentiment and, in fact, the entire body of your posts.
  6. The Moral Problem

    Another excerpt jumped out at me from the same book. My apologies for its length - 3 paragraphs. But it does go to the Awakening. "The Transition to the Awakened Consciousness is a Copernican change which not only transforms the essential level of the individual involved, but alters his whole relationship to the subject-object world as well. When Copernicus demonstrated the superior power unfolded by regarding the sun, rather than the earth, as the center of the solar system (emphasis mine) the world was not destroyed as an empiric fact, but its relationship and significance within the whole was radically changed. This transformation, while affecting astronomy most immediately, produced secondary effects with ramifications reaching far into different phases of social life. This change has brought enormous clarification with respect to many vitally important problems that had formerly been quite obscure. The Awakening involves such a change, only in a much more radical sense. When It has come, the whole life of the individual is affected, and part of the effect is a profound clarification and simplification of a vast number of obscurities. So much is this the case that if the Awakened Man chooses to direct His force within the subject-object field, then in whatever compartment He may focus His attention He has superior capacity as comparedc to others who have not the advantage of His perspective. He now looks down on things in their relationships, rather than being involved in those relationships. The highest excellence in government, business, engineering, science, religion, art, etc., are at His command, restricted only by the limitations of his personal vehicle. But before a man can operate upon relationships from Above, he must first break his bondage within those relationships, and in part this is represented by unlearning what has been previously learned. It does not follow that all previously acquired knowledge will be found false. To a greater or lesser extent, the Realized Man may still be able to judge it correct. its Significance, however, will be radically changed, and He will be enabled to tie together parts that formerly had seemed irreconcilable. He stands outside and above the "game," as it were, and so is enabled to play with a master's hand. Even though from the highest standpoint relative or subject-object knowledcge has been completely Transcended and no longer affords a field of function, it does not therefore follow that it has not served a useful purpose in its time. Man builds a certain integration while in the subject-object field without which Recognition, as a self-conscious achievement, is impossible. The training in subject-object knowledge serves something of the function of a scaffold in the construction of a building. When the building is ready, the scaffolding may be and should be abandoned, for it ceases to be, in general, any longer valuable. The man may now enter the building which, in this case, represents the Transcendent or Cosmic Consciousness. However, a scaffolding should not be wrecked while workmen are still standing upon it. So the Compassionate Man who has found the Building to be ready and then enters into It will also leave the scaffold standing until all others have likewise left it and Entered In. I really like the part about Copernicus' realization that the Sun was the center of the solar system. What a great metaphor. But it seems to work two ways. On one hand, he is inferring that WE are the microcosm to the macrocosm. But the other inference is that once the Consciousness is had, that all is One because we must also infer that not only are we the I AM, but also the person standing next to you (although perhaps not in consciousness). To look into the eyes of another, be it Man or Animal, is to look into the eyes of 'God'. To stay in this consciousness, to understand the I AM of everybody (and everything), is a huge modification of our normal way of seeing things. When he says 'Before a man can operate upon relationships from Above, he must first break his bondage within those relationships, and in part this is represented by unlearning what has been previously learned.' This is something I know a little about. My default setting is to get into terribly co-dependent relationships with people, but knowing that about myself, I can act to the opposite willfully. This I must do every day of my life. Joe and I are both recovering alkies, and as such, have spent over 30 years trying to get this right. Early in our relationship, I was in bondage to his drinking - only I put myself there because a) at that time he was pathetic and easy to CONTROL, and because I was constantly walking on eggshells when he wasn't drunk, because I was afraid that if he got mad about something he would get drunk. This is what us co-dependents do. (Many years of Alanon have helped me a lot with this). And yet this push-pull was the very thing that attracted me. My contorted insides from the patterns of my youth spelled this out for me in just about every relationship I've ever been in. It wasn't until I searched within and pinned down my own patterns and their onset, that I was able to begin to make a change with this. And the funny thing was, when I stopped trying to 'control' his moods and drinking, the darned guy got sober! And he's been so for 25 years, lol. So now....if he gets mad, so what? Sometimes I can find myself falling back into the pattern unwittingly, but it makes itself apparent pretty quickly. At that time, I will usually ask myself "What would you be doing if he wasn't sitting there?", and then I'll go do it, just disregarding him and his mood completely. It took me years to learn to "stay in my own lane". But I'm pretty sure this is what the author is saying about the bondage of relationships. Doesn't mean not to have them. It just means don't fall into bondage within them - and this is something totally within our control.
  7. The Moral Problem

    Certainly a combination of both! But the forum can be useful for observing our own reactions and seeing how much ego we still have to contend with. As it says in the TTC, 'what is to be deflated must first be inflated'. This forum constantly kicks off inner work for me - and shows me that the flames of ego are still there to do battle with. The 'true' Jihad.
  8. The Moral Problem

    Maybe inevitable in the sense that all causes have merged into the Effect that's happening Now? I agree that love and compassion is the unconditional acceptance of every outcome. Morality is certainly part of the system, I would think. If, as Merrell-Wolff suggests, we strip ourselves down to our original 'loving self' (or God-self?) the causation is going to be quite different than if we were inputting from a place of selfishness and ego. Our causative input up to that point would have been positive, not negative. As we touch and interact with any dynamic with compassion and love as our basis, the dynamic will change of its own accord. Hearts soften around us in response to our own heart, and our energy bodies will elevate the situation without us even being aware that it's happening.
  9. Gods created out of Fear

    Yes, we tend to imagine the worst case scenario and assume that's going to happen. Maybe we should reset to imagining the best case scenario instead.
  10. I like "All Time and Space are Yours". it immediately removes anxiety and reminds me who I am.
  11. Gods created out of Fear

    I've thought similar thoughts. Mine tend to realizing that if I weren't detained by this particular red light, or construction traffic----that I may well have been in an accident. LOL, at least that's an easy way to get over being impatient about it.
  12. Gods created out of Fear

    Do you say this in context of the Ideals being of a religious nature, to be transcended? Or do you say it because our ego propels us upward toward attainment, and the ego is something to be tamed?
  13. The Moral Problem

    And the reason you don't constantly peruse the future is that you leave the 'results' of any actions taken to the cosmic forces that Be, and adjust your actions accordingly - because you are no longer fixed in one position. As Castaneda would say, the "assemblage point (our point of perception) has become movable" and we become capable of thinking on our feet and adjusting to conditions adeptly. As opposed to trying to keep hammering a square peg into a round hole because either our ego or our personal identity has become enmeshed in our original intended result. Somehow we develop an inner sense that 'everything is as it should be at any particular moment'. Whoever shows is supposed to be there. Whoever didn't show wasn't supposed to be there. Yes, the story does get remote, doesn't it? I've thought of this phenomena previously too. The more integrity we gain as a human being - a real human being - the less important the trappings become. Such as what we do for a living, how much money we have, etc. We develop an sense of the inner quality that we were intended to possess, and at some point in time, if we're lucky, we realize that this is the only real prize to obtain. Real human being-ness.
  14. I've seen that look of bad intent, lol. It's time to split. It's usually when the goat is reared up, looking off to one side, and giving you the evil-eye with his one eye that's looking at you. That crazy baby goat has more joy for life than probably all of us put together. And yes - the images of the goats in the trees were AWESOME! This is a highly spiritual thread.
  15. Gods created out of Fear

    LOL. I just know that you were boat ballast in a previous incarnation, Marbles.
  16. The Moral Problem

    Aah, Relativity strikes once again.
  17. Gods created out of Fear

    I've wondered this too. We hear about it instantaneously. Surely there have been periods in the world's history that have been every bit as violent. But the fact that we're hearing about it instantaneously is all part of the process, IMO. We are communicating across the world at the speed of light now, whereas years ago it took months to send a letter across the Atlantic. It seems to me that there are many conditions in the world that are now concurrently stretched to their limits and are about to snap. I think this fits in with the reversion of the Dao, if you look at it with really long eyes.
  18. The Moral Problem

    Good point. When the need for morals arise, the Tao is lost. The true Tao flows from within us. It's the Acquired Personality that disrupts the flow. Ossified tribal taboo. Agreed. This is how it must have started, and it's grown into a behemoth now. What drives me nuts is the soccer mom mentality on cable news that always wants to "make sure it NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN". like each and every time some little thing comes up - some strange accident or odd occurrence - there's a big push to legislate the heck out of the problem so it Never Happens Again. What we've ended up with is a structure of rules and morals that is stifling. and truly ossified.
  19. Please help me understand this!

    Besides, the guru wouldn't be the guru if he was at the whim and call of everyone else's emotions. He wouldn't take on a new student because he was afraid that rejecting him would hurt his feelings. The guru would understand that suffering from rejection (or, say, an inferiority complex) was just the other side of a superiority complex, and that part of the student's path is accepting whatever may be. Actually, the guru is doing the student a service by rejecting the student that's not ready for him - otherwise it would be a waste of both of their times. He's also doing a service by throwing that student into a tailspin because he was rejected. Working through that will probably do more for the student than a traditional encounter with the guru. Some would call it Tough Love.
  20. The Moral Problem

    and what a Catch-22 that is. To seek it is to miss it. When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear.
  21. The Moral Problem

    Actually, I did get permission from the franklinmerrell-wolff.com institute (or ashram) to quote from his book. If any other nuggets jump out at me, I'll use this thread to discuss, if anyone's interested.
  22. The Moral Problem

    It's as though there is a tent pole that is always grounded in Love or Compassion, and all things are seen through those eyes. It colors everything that you mentioned above with the ultimate purpose of Love, and decisions are made within that framework - even if the decisions are nasty. They are all accepted as part of the system, seen without 'judgment' (not judgment in the sense of determining which way to go; but judgment in the sense of labeling something as 'good' or 'bad', right or wrong. The nasty decisions are made this way too, only the highest road is taken on any decision. Compassion extends to both the highest and the lowest. I think the awakening we're talking about here transcends the typical decision making process. sure, we use all the faculties and conditions you mentioned. But to get to the part where our inner intuition becomes more usable, this is where the Acquired Personality needs diminished in some ways in order to obtain the clarity. If a personality is filled with resentment and hatred toward others (any persons at all!) then the inner lens is distorted. If the personality is filled with greed and anxiety, the lens is distorted. This is the inside job I'm referring to.
  23. The Moral Problem

    .....serves as both an anchor to stabilize us and a beacon to guide us. Can it be said any better than this? It is a total re-integration of the person, somehow - and the hearing of the voice that guides us always and the decision-making process becomes a no-brainer. It's as though 'choice' has left us - and there is only one good answer to anything.
  24. peaceful warrior take 2

    Love thy enemies - but see them for what they are and maintain the proper stance. To label them as an enemy at all is to cut off 50% of our options.