From this...to this...and finishing here.

[Gerard]

Let's take a look at the following sequence:

 

 

 

 

What do you see?

 

Why happened exactly during the process?

 

 

Is there a way of returning to the first stage represented in this other picture:

 

 

 

We all come to this world as one true spirit and return to that state for a brief moment before the eternal cycle starts all over again but during that beautiful instant an experience is felt. This experience will be different for everyone. I think working towards attaining the true nature and remaining in it is a worthwhile goal.

 

Using Sri Ramana's words:

 

Mind is consciousness, which has limitations. We are originally unlimited and perfect. Later on we take on limitations and become the mind.

 

 

Note: I decided to open this thread because yesterday I was walking down the escalator in the local shopping centre and I looked into a baby's eyes, an old soul that was very interested in its surroundings, and I saw our "true nature" as opposed to the eyes of the rest of the humans that were walking around. Every day I pray for their final awakening. Please do the same.

[strawdog65]

Let's take a look at the following sequence:

 

 

 

 

What do you see?

 

Why happened exactly during the process?

 

 

Is there a way of returning to the first stage represented in this other picture:

 

 

 

We all come to this world as one true spirit and return to that state for a brief moment before the eternal cycle starts all over again but during that beautiful instant an experience is felt. This experience will be different for everyone. I think working towards attaining the true nature and remaining in it is a worthwhile goal.

 

Using Sri Ramana's words:

 

Mind is consciousness, which has limitations. We are originally unlimited and perfect. Later on we take on limitations and become the mind.

 

 

Note: I decided to open this thread because yesterday I was walking down the escalator in the local shopping centre and I looked into a baby's eyes, an old soul that was very interested in its surroundings, and I saw our "true nature" as opposed to the eyes of the rest of the humans that were walking around. Every day I pray for their final awakening. Please do the same.

 

 

Beautiful post Gerard!

 

What I see when I look at the first picture is complete openness without judgment.

"Being" in its most natural state.

 

The ruin of our natural state follows in the next pictures.....

 

In the final picture I again see this beautiful openness. A sense of welcome, without judgment.

 

I feel it is the state of acceptance without judgment for what this moment brings of it's own accord.

And the ability to fully exist without any expectation , to just "be".

 

Thank you Gerard.

[Gerard]

You are most welcome, my friend.

 

Between the first and the last, it is our task to peel off layers and layers of mind so we can conclude our journey showing one photo in our IDs:

 

The sage's with the baby's expression.

 

Methods to attain that state many but the ones that place great emphasis on the mind work best. Best of luck in your spiritual journey.

[3bob]

That isn't your ex is it?

[adept]

...

Edited January 4, 2011 by adept

[Marblehead]

Yep, I see the uncarved wood in the first and last pictures.

 

I see two very unhappy people in the middle two.

 

The first is full of potential. The last has nothing left to attain.

 

 

The middle two? Will they ever attain peace and contentment? Doubtful but you can never tell.

 

Yes, for many there is a full cycle within this life cycle. Who knows what the middle two will not attain direction and find what they are looking for, Or realize that what they were looking for wasn't worth all the trouble?

 

It has been said that no matter how lost we become there is always a way back to the Way of Tao. It just has to be realized that it is here (the Way of Tao) where lasting peacce and contentment can be found.

[manitou]

Comparing my own physical reactions to seeing each photo;

 

The baby of course was love; I could almost feel my heart chakra open. There are no habits of personality present in the eyes yet.

 

The woman was sorrow; my heart reached to her

 

The intense man was almost like a jolt when I got to him; there is much power and self-confidence in his eyes and yet there is almost a hint of cruelty. His power jumps out at you.

 

And the last...aaah. There were no habits of personality. He is at peace. He is at One.

 

 

Interesting thread, Girard -

[Starjumper]

The intense man was almost like a jolt when I got to him; there is much power and self-confidence in his eyes and yet there is almost a hint of cruelty. His power jumps out at you.

 

No, he's looking death in the face and he thinks he fucked up, as in the previous picture.

[Starjumper]

Pure undifferentiated innocence

 

 

Poisoned by our society.

 

 

 

"I think I've been poisoned"

 

 

"I tried to tell you"

[Starjumper]

"cooooo - cooooo"

 

 

"Man this is some strong shit"

 

 

 

"I LIKE golfing!"

 

 

"I like golfing too"

[3bob]

masks.bmp

 

difference is only apparent (or of relative states), see the same in all and all will be seen.

 

Om

Edited January 2, 2011 by 3bob

[Easy]

Hey,

 

I think 3bob is on to something and, yes, thanks Gerard for posting a possibility for a little self-examination through discerning what one projects upon the photos.

 

When I was an 18-year-old university student I was asked what I wanted to be when I got out in the "real" world and without thinking I said, "A wise old man." I was talking about the wisdom derived from the cult of experience not the cult of transcendence. And that was the quality I projected onto the third photo. I saw some compassion in the man's eyes and a little bit of worry for another.

 

I realized I should have been looking to see if I saw skepticism in him too when I caught myself mentally framing a first draft of this reply that went something like this:

 

"The difference between the third and fourth photos began with one of the men being born a Brahman in the latter part of the 19th Century, India. A man who was privileged enough as a youth to remain in school at the age of 16 in that place and time and to know that for his high caste tradition temples were a refuge of protective custody where a young devout Iyer could quickly cultivate profound loyalty in a devoted servant who would beg alms for him, cook his meals for him and change his diaper when he was too screwed-up on the divine "I" to do it himself... Alright! Now there's a real connection between the first and fourth photos...."

 

But then I though better of pursuing that particular drift because one can get "time out" from this sort of tight-ass forum for being too explicit. Plus that draft was a little too cynical...is there cynicism in the face of the third man? Maybe cynicism comes from knowing that in the prisons where I have worked (stories found here) the peace of protective custody is a wonderful preservative of the innocent gaze, that and being professionally photographed enough times to know well how to pose. (Try "Ramana Maharshi" on Google Image Search.)

Edited January 2, 2011 by Easy

[Apech]

How long does the 'being Amy Winehouse' stage last? I'm worried now.

[三江源]

How long does the 'being Amy Winehouse' stage last? I'm worried now.

 

heh hehe. And it can recurr at any age.

 

As we age, we just learn about waterproof eye liner.

[King Kabalabhati]

LOL at "I like golfing too"

[Aetherous]

Edited January 4, 2011 by center

[King Kabalabhati]

As a father of three I would like to point out that the innocent child is not always looking at the world through bright shiny eyes.. The perception (and impression) of an infant is constantly affected by feelings of hunger, pain, insecurity and discomfort from the very start. Naturally a sage must go beyond that, deeper into the original existence.

[3bob]

another photo, hell this guy doesn't look to "bad". (in the picture)

 

Edited January 3, 2011 by 3bob

[Otis]

As I come into my middle age, I am hit with the question of how the next half will be.

 

I look around me, and I see some friends and family on what I call a "shrinking-V" path. That is: what is possible, comfortable, available for them, gets smaller and smaller over time, as they exclude the risky, the unknown.

 

And I see others (who are aging very well) who are on "expanding-V" paths. They are adding new skills and experiences all the time, are not afraid of growth, risk and adventure.

 

Note that it is not the risk-averse (those who would religiously avoid the Amy Winehouse phase) who stay young. They become old the fastest, by selecting out all the experiences that threaten their security and/or comfort. Even if they haven't incurred the wear and tear of a rough life, they have no capacity for new things. They stay soft on the outside, but hard on the inside. They learn to vote Republican, see only their own religion as true, and hate immigrants and young people (gross generalizations, sorry).

 

The "expanding-V" people I know do not avoid stress; they just don't take it personally. They play with the extremes, but their hearts stay joyfully in the center. And their bodies and faces reflect that joy.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Otis

[Otis]

As a father of three I would like to point out that the innocent child is not always looking at the world through bright shiny eyes.. The perception (and impression) of an infant is constantly affected by feelings of hunger, pain, insecurity and discomfort from the very start. Naturally a sage must go beyond that, deeper into the original existence.

Yeah, this comes up whenever there's the question of whether babies are examples of our "original nature". Parents are perfectly aware of how much id is played out by the kids, so they don't exactly seem enlightened.

 

But I think there are really two different paths being described here. One is maturity, which is the ability to place my immediate needs within context of a greater world. Of course the newborn has no maturity, in that sense.

 

The other path is freedom from delusion, which is the undoing of all the conceptual lenses that we've created to control our experience of the world. I do believe that the newborn is free from the "should", the "no", the "impossible", and all the other oppressive dualities that arise with language and conditioning. That is where their innocence is.

 

In our society, so much effort is put into "fixing" the lack of maturity in children, usually through creation of belief/delusion and conceptual framework. Those delusions, of course, actually inhibit the long-term maturation process, because they bind the perspective, rather than opening it up. The ideal, IMO, is to raise the child as a Buddha, through encouraging a broadening of perspective, without reinforcing any one fixed perspective, too much (including that of the parent). That way, the kid can learn about how they interact with the world, without all the self-blinding beliefs, adjectives, and social expectations that we use to encourage "maturity".

Edited January 3, 2011 by Otis

[Starjumper]

another photo, hell this guy doesn't look to "bad". (in the picture)

 

 

Did you ever wonder why fascist governments thrive in Christian countries?

 

What were the first colonist really trying to get away from anyway?

 

Remember, the cross is a symbol of death and torture.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Starjumper7

[Gerard]

As a father of three I would like to point out that the innocent child is not always looking at the world through bright shiny eyes...

 

This exercise is not abouy the wordly baby; it goes beyond; it's about the Buddha nature we all sentient beings keep deep inside (what the Nyingma school calls "Dzogchen"). Our task job is reveal it instead of adding more garbage onto it, and let me tell you it's well worth the effort.

[3bob]

Did you ever wonder why fascist governments thrive in Christian countries?

 

What were the first colonist really trying to get away from anyway?

 

Remember, the cross is a symbol of death and torture.

 

... read Alan Watts on his cross analogy if you will?

[Starjumper]

... read Alan Watts on his cross analogy if you will?

 

sorry, too busy, if you can put it here in a couple of sentences that would be nice. if I can find it again, always a challenge in this place =)

Edited January 4, 2011 by Starjumper7