The Soul: individual essence

[Ulises]

[Otis]

Excellent share, Ulises!

 

I was going to excerpt some parts that really resonated with me, but the truth is, I think the interview is rich and full from start to finish. Great illumination on finding one's own path, and balancing inner and outer guidance (among many other things).

 

If other readers have shied away from finishing the read, because of length, I highly recommend checking it out when you have the time. Very worthwhile!

[Ulises]

Thank yoy, Otis, very kind of you!

I find especially interesting his insights about the pitfalls of fundamentalist "ilusionism"/nihilism, increasingly prevalent in the so called "Neo-Advaita" scene...and his exciting view about the coming unfolding of art, music, ecology, medical research etc. as new forms of noetic midwifery...sounds beautiful!

[manitou]

Ulises - thank you for taking the time to type that out. That was wonderful. It's all good.

[Ulises]

Ulises - thank you for taking the time to type that out. That was wonderful. It's all good.

 

 

 

thank you, dear; fortunately I could find a PDF somewhere else... ; )

[Ulises]

A similar experiential view about the soul from the kahunas...

 

The Oversoul

 

The Hawaiian word for the higher, immortal, spiritual aspect of the self is 'aumakua, a term that might be translated as "utterly trustworthy ancestral spirit." It could also be interpreted as "the spirit that hovers over me," revealing why so many perceive it as a benevolent winged being or guardian angel. It can also be considered as 'our ancestor' as the word 'makua' means parent, and 'au' means time... our parent in time. It is variously known in the West as the higher self, the god self, the angelic self, the overself, or simply as the oversoul.

 

Occasionally, individuals who have a spontaneous mystical experience or lucid dream will find themselves in the presence of an immensely powerful and beneficent god-like being. The average person usually interprets this event, and attendant conversation, as a visit from a deity, a mythic spiritual hero, or even 'God,' and of course, we must always acknowledge the possibility that this may be so. But most often, the supra-human visitor and source of that uncommon dialogue is that person's own god-self, their oversoul.

 

The kahunas understand that our oversoul is always in contact with us, throughout every moment of our life. The ease with which this connection may be achieved reveals that when we are embodied here on Earth, the spirit world is not in some faraway, remote location. The invisible realms are all around us, all the time, and our oversoul can be accessed right here, right now, once we know how.

 

The kahuna perspective reveals that our oversoul is in constant attendance, carefully watching everything we do, listening with concern to every word and thought, monitoring every choice and decision, silently applauding when we succeed, silently feeling concern when we fail. It never interferes with our life, nor does it ever tell us what to do. This is because the power of individual choice and free will is always honored.

 

Our oversoul contains within itself all the experiences garnered in our past lives, and thus it possesses all the knowledge of which we ever might have need during our lifetime. It communicates best with us through the medium of inspiration, sending us ideas and hunches, dreams and visions, revealing it to be the source of our intuition.

 

Through providing its embodiment (us) with intuitive guidance, our personal oversoul serves as our primary spirit teacher. Often when we sit in silence in meditation, a feeling of tranquility may begin to pervade us, filling us with a sense of utter peace. We may notice that if we consider some problem at such moments, the answer to the dilemma usually appears in our mind.

 

Our oversoul is the source of that feeling of tranquility as well as the origin of the information that arrives in our conscious awareness in response to need. This is why my great Hawaiian friend, the kahuna nui Hale Kealohalani Makua, was found of saying "You will never find a better teacher than yourself."

 

From the kahuna perspective, the oversoul is also the ultimate source of who and what we are, serving as our personal creator. In this capacity, it is the immortal soul-aspect that resides always in the Upper Worlds, the one that divides itself, sending in an energetic hologram of its essence, a seed of light that takes up residence within our body at the beginning of each new life cycle. This essence contains and reflects the totality of the character that we have developed across countless lives.

 

The divine breath (of life) that the Hawaiians call the Ha, is the vehicle through which this spiritual transfer occurs. When we are born, we receive our Ha with our first breath, and it remains with us throughout life until we release it with our last.

 

It is the divine breath that conveys our immortal soul's seed into our new body at life's inception and then carries it back to its oversoul source at life's end-a reincarnational insight that is clearly reflected in the Judeo-Christian traditions that proclaim with authority that God breathes life into form. In Latin, the word for breath is the same as the word for spirit-- spiritus. In Hebrew, the word for spirit and breath is also the same-- ruach.

 

For the kahuna, however, it is not some monotheistic, authoritarian, creator-god that breathes life into us, listens to our prayers, and sends occasional messengers to Earth who usually get treated badly. It is our own personal god-self--our oversoul, our 'aumakua-our own immortal spirit soul, who gives us our breath of life, and the messenger is us.

Hank Wesselman

 

http://www.sharedwisdom.com/article/hawaiian-perspectives-matrix-soul

[manitou]

thank you, dear; fortunately I could find a PDF somewhere else... ; )

 

sorry, I'm a bit of a dinosaur....

[Ulises]

sorry, I'm a bit of a dinosaur....

 

 

not at all, you might have been right

[Eric23]

Sat down with a fresh cup of masala chai and read it through. Thank you for sharing, very illuminating.

[Otis]

Through providing its embodiment (us) with intuitive guidance, our personal oversoul serves as our primary spirit teacher. Often when we sit in silence in meditation, a feeling of tranquility may begin to pervade us, filling us with a sense of utter peace. We may notice that if we consider some problem at such moments, the answer to the dilemma usually appears in our mind.

 

Our oversoul is the source of that feeling of tranquility as well as the origin of the information that arrives in our conscious awareness in response to need. This is why my great Hawaiian friend, the kahuna nui Hale Kealohalani Makua, was found of saying "You will never find a better teacher than yourself."

Great metaphor.

 

We were just discussing the meaning of "higher self" on the karma thread, and I think that metaphor is describing the same territory.

 

The only reason why I'm less fond of the "oversoul" metaphor is that it still suggests something that is "out there", although the last sentence in the part that I quoted above, suggests that the Hawaiians don't take the metaphor too literally. They seem to see that source (as I do) as part of my self, just not the same part that I normally consider "me".

 

The point I'd like to reach is not just having that "oversoul" inspiring me, and giving me guidance when I slow down and ask, but also really taking charge of my life. I'd like to see it involved in every moment, not just when I'm meditating. So that "I" and my "oversoul" work as a team, making every decision together.

[Ulises]

Great metaphor.

 

We were just discussing the meaning of "higher self" on the karma thread, and I think that metaphor is describing the same territory.

 

The only reason why I'm less fond of the "oversoul" metaphor is that it still suggests something that is "out there", although the last sentence in the part that I quoted above, suggests that the Hawaiians don't take the metaphor too literally. They seem to see that source (as I do) as part of my self, just not the same part that I normally consider "me".

 

The point I'd like to reach is not just having that "oversoul" inspiring me, and giving me guidance when I slow down and ask, but also really taking charge of my life. I'd like to see it involved in every moment, not just when I'm meditating. So that "I" and my "oversoul" work as a team, making every decision together.

 

 

Beautiful! Hank Wesselman (and David Spangler and Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee) is speaking about "partnership" with the archetypal energy/es

[Aaron]

Hello Ulises,

 

I wanted to thank you for posting this to the forum. I think it was wonderful, and though I might disagree with some of the things said, I think the methods by which Faisal recommends one seek awakening are quite practical.

 

I do believe that the seeker should seek and the teacher should guide with a gentle hand. After all, you can give a man a fish and he can eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he can eat for a lifetime.

 

Another point I liked was the idea that just because one reaches enlightenment, doesn't mean that they are free of emotions or attachments. This idea has always bothered me, not only because of my own experience in this regard, but also because it seems to view the self, the physical and emotional self, the part we identify as us, as somehow being a bad thing, something that holds us back, when in my opinion, as Faisal also states, it is only through the examination of self that we can truly understand the god spark that is within us.

 

In my own experience the idea of three selves is an illusion, in fact we are only one self. We are body-mind-spirit, there is no separation of the three. It is the belief that the mind (or ego self) causes pain that lends us to this desire to abandon it. The fact is it is every bit as much of us as the other parts and can never be separate. As Faisal states, the spirit seeks individuation. We seek to understand the nature of our separation, not understanding that there is no separation, that the god spark within us is not merely a spark, but a blazing light that resounds within everything in existence.

 

The only way for one to be truly awakened, in my opinion, is to first be rid of this false sense of self, this idea that we are individuals. It is by awakening to the knowledge of the totality and singularity of existence that we finally can reconcile the ego self with the spirit and god self. It is then, when we cease to be passengers of vehicles of flesh, and instead understand that we are not only the flesh but everything else that exists that allows us to understand the true nature of our existence, that even if the breath leaves this body, that I am still alive because you breathe. I am still alive because the trees grow and the rocks sit on the hillside. I am still alive because trillions of miles away suns are born and die, only to be born again. That's the beauty of it all.

 

Anyways, thanks for your post. I am going to start a thread about self if you'd like to stop by. I think it's a very important topic to contemplate and I'd love to hear your own thoughts about it. Although I admire your posts, I think you have some very important things to share and I hope you will.

 

Aaron

Edited April 30, 2011 by Twinner

[Otis]

In my own experience the idea of three selves is an illusion, in fact we are only one self. We are body-mind-spirit, there is no separation of the three. It is the belief that the mind (or ego self) causes pain that lends us to this desire to abandon it. The fact is it is every bit as much of us as the other parts and can never be separate. As Faisal states, the spirit seeks individuation. We seek to understand the nature of our separation, not understanding that there is no separation, that the god spark within us is not merely a spark, but a blazing light that resounds within everything in existence.

Excellent! I agree completely!

[Gerard]

Dakini - What do you see are the challenges we face as twentieth century westerners

on a spiritual path?

 

Faisal - The emphasis on No Self is one of the biggest pitfalls we have fallen into. How

can we let go of something we don't have? We try to get rid of a Self that we have

never experienced. It cannot work!

Many spiritual seekers are caught up in what I call the Prejudice of Enlightenment.

Seekers become attached to the Absolute and slip into dualism, viewing everything

else as phenomena and relating to the Absolute as real and phenomena as illusion.

Many of the spiritual seekers in the West have fallen for this prejudice and this is what

stops us from staying in a spiritual state.

 

No one ever said anything about getting rid of the ego. Trascending the self is experienced without ever seeking for it. Only those who fear losing the ego will stop themselves from staying in the spiritual path. This is not a race, it is a lifestyle using common terminology. Some may take 6 lifetimes of practice others 300 until they finally learn to let go and purify their spirits of karmically bonding habits.

 

No one said this is going to be easy, otherwise we would be able to find Buddhas and saints in every corner of all the countries of this planet.

[Ulises]

Thank you for your kind answer, Aron

These days I don't really have much to say, just to share that the handful of possible certainties are collapsing one by one (and it feels a big relief). Brad Keeney shares an amazing moment of collapsing beliefs in his latest book "The Flying Drum"(highly recommended)

 

These days there's a lot of crying... and from time to time (increasingly), a wonderful wild laughter...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do9nVERxrHw

Edited May 1, 2011 by Ulises

[manitou]

That was a wonderful video.

 

Somehow, we remanifest second after second. The laughter of the man who realized he didn't exist came from the same place inside me when I realized one day that all the spiritual reading, all the studying over the years brought me to the same place: nothing, lol.

 

But there is one thing that I think is real and is intertwined in everything there is and everything we are: Love. To follow the path of love from this point on, and learn the lessons that life brings us from this point on, and handle things with as much love and compassion as we can from this point on....I think this is our mission, as enlightened ones. To utilize love in every situation, even upon meeting a wild animal or a nasty son of a bitch.

 

Love doesn't mean being stepped on. Love means holding one's ground as lovingly as possible, and seeing below the nasty habits of another. To understand that the reason he has nasty traits is because his folks passed them down to him - and that their folks passed the traits on down to his folks. The bad behavior and negative attitudes are the gift that just keeps giving down the generations; unless and until someone steps up to the plate and makes the effort to stop the dynamic right now, with himself. This is where the Magic Mirror comes in, the mirror that tells us that every other person we see is merely a reflection of what we are. To see things in others that are undesirable or unconscionable and to recognize them....all this tells us is that we have the very same trait inside ourselves, because we are capable of recognizing it. Or as we used to say as little kids..."It takes one to know one." (Which was usually followed up by "I know you are, but what am I?" at my school, lol)

 

How very simple things are for children. How very complicated it becomes as they grow up. But the simple was the wisdom.

[Otis]

Love doesn't mean being stepped on. Love means holding one's ground as lovingly as possible, and seeing below the nasty habits of another. To understand that the reason he has nasty traits is because his folks passed them down to him - and that their folks passed the traits on down to his folks. The bad behavior and negative attitudes are the gift that just keeps giving down the generations; unless and until someone steps up to the plate and makes the effort to stop the dynamic right now, with himself.

Great stuff, Barb.

 

The above, in particular, made me think of people I've met, who have displayed racism. I guess if I hate the person for their racism, I'm probably just reinforcing it, because my hatred will make them more entrenched in their belief. But if I can love the person, and just accept the racism, there may be room for me to model a different path, and actually help make a change.

[manitou]

I believe love to be the greatest weapon there is.

[Otis]

I believe love to be the greatest weapon there is.

Two of my greatest heroes, Gandhi and Dr. King, would agree with you.

[deci belle]

Another point I liked was the idea that just because one reaches enlightenment, doesn't mean that they are free of emotions or attachments. This idea has always bothered me, not only because of my own experience in this regard, but also because it seems to view the self, the physical and emotional self, the part we identify as us, as somehow being a bad thing, something that holds us back, when in my opinion, as Faisal also states, it is only through the examination of self that we can truly understand the god spark that is within us.

 

It's all the individual has to work with! ❤