Discussion on Readiness article

[Mal]

 

Many people are interested in my healer’s training program and want to know when it will start and qualifications required of the students. I don’t know when or if ever. I let celestial masters choose. I teach seminars to draw interested people. I teach retreats as a screening agent. To find 10 right people may be a wish too high, but if there is one right person comes to the door, I will be there to serve. If you just want to be trained as a skillful healer, take my retreats as much as you can as an opportunity. Every retreat will be a bit different from now on. But to be qualified as a ready student is a different issue. I am not easy to please. There is nothing you can offer me, other than your readiness, which will interest me.

 

Readiness:

1. First readiness: you are born ready, which means that you are after something life after life. Your goal drives your determination and devotion. Your goal is your priority to exist. Your action is compelled by subconsciousness. You create your karma.

2. Second readiness: everything you do in this life enhances your readiness. When the opportunity arises you will not miss it. Your goal drives your determination and devotion. You will give up everything for that goal. Your goal is your purpose for this life. Your action is compelled by determined consciousness. You change your karma.

3. Possible readiness: conditioned readiness, which means if I am called for it, if I see the signs, if I have time and money, if it does not conflict with my other plans and schedule, if I don’t have to give up my other hobbies, if it is not too much trouble, if I feel like it, and so forth … Your action is compelled by a fluctuating mind. Your actions are swayed by your karma.

4. Unreadiness: You think about it, but it’s merely a thought and you never take any action on it or there are always obstacles preventing you from taking any action. Your actions are compelled by your karma.

 

Most people (that are interested in a spiritual path) are in the third category. Only the first and second categories of readiness count to be ready for walking on the true spiritual path. When you are ready, everything comes your way. You are honest and humble. You have a pure heart for all your passions. You have the ability to see your own faults. You are easily correcting yourself and moving on with your life. Your priorities are straight. You are not looking for personal gain to increase your individuality. You determine to change your karma with everything you’ve got. You are willing to use every breath to obtain your goal regardless of what comes. You are not bound by your personal issues or take anything personally. Your compassion and loving kindness is unconditioned but wise. You are able to see and accept the true as it is. You have a high goal. You are cultivating, cultivating and cultivating, regardless of the outcome.

 

When you are not ready, you are the opposite of readiness. You have a lack of faith, have doubts and regrets all the time, don’t trust yourself or others, have a hard time to accept truth and want to live on your own fantasized ideals. You are unable to see your own faults but complain about others for all your failures. You easily give up your effort for your goal. You prefer phenomena to reality. Your six senses are all outward and unable to turn around. Personal gains dominate your heart. You are always looking for results and returns and are always conditioned in your actions. You can only hear praise not criticism. You don’t really know what you want. Your actions are dominated by your emotions. You are not truthful to yourself. You willingly dwell on the illusions.

 

Everyone likes to hear the good about themselves but I am here to make myself very unpopular. Nevertheless, I am not trying to praise anyone or disparage anyone, but simply to share a truth for those who are longing to walk on the spiritual path. I do not mean to say that one that is not ready for one thing, is not ready for anything. It is just a straightforward response for those who have been asking me about readiness or want to know what my opinion of readiness is.

 

Through my experience of teaching and healing, I am starting to be aware that even when one wants to restore his/her health, he/she has to be ready for it. Meaning one has to set one’s priorities straight and be willing to do whatever it takes.

 

Jenny Lamb

http://www.easterninternalarts.com/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/EasternInternalArts

 

I loved Jenny's post on the levels of Readiness

 

reminded me of this

 

But here’s the bottom line, excuses kill

your chances at success. And you NEED to stop

making them and face the truth: you need to

practice!

 

The truth is, some people don’t KNOW that

they are making excuses. They’re just doing

what they NORMALLY do (make excuses) and they

wonder why they have not made ANY PROGRESS in

their life...

 

So here are the top 10 most popular excuses.

 

THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR EXCUSES FOR WHY PEOPLE

AREN’T AS SUCCESSFUL AS THEY CAN BE:

 

1- I wasn’t born with the gift of intelligence.

I’m just not smart. Bad luck, I guess.

 

2- I wasn’t born psychic. I didn’t inherit that

gift in my genetics.

 

3- I’m too broke. I don’t have the money or

resources to be spiritual or evolve. That’s

for rich people with yachts and mansions.

 

4- I don’t have time. I’m too busy rushing

around, taking care of children, feeding people,

cleaning the dog, washing the windows, and

doing everything except what REALLY matters.

 

5- My family won’t approve. If anybody finds

out I’m into this kooky spiritual stuff, they’ll

think I’m crazy and stop loving me.

 

6- I suck at visualization. I don’t know how

to use my mind’s eye. I guess I just wasn’t

cut out for using my own mind.

 

7- I don’t believe in the supernatural. And

I don’t believe in ghosts, haunted houses,

or psychics. It’s all a big fantasy world people

get caught up in.

 

8- I don’t know anybody psychic, and surely

I can’t do this on my own!

 

9- I don’t have a binaural beat track, so how

I can go into trance without some external

tool or toy?

 

10- I fall asleep every time I meditate. Yup,

that’s right, I can’t sit still for a single

minute without passing out on the spot.

 

As you can see, just about all of these

excuses are complete crap, and deserve to be

laughed at.

 

It’s sad people lie to themselves inside

their head to justify their lack of willingness

to JUST DO THE EXERCISES TO GET THE RESULTS.

 

I regularly get letters from people PRAISING

the fact that they just made a major breakthrough

or massive success in their practice.

 

But occasionally I’ll get an email from

somebody who goes: “I’ve been trying your

techniques for 20 years and still have never

gotten out of body. You’re just a huge fraud,

because your techniques obviously don’t work.”

 

And I shake my head and roll my eyes.

 

It’s so silly.

 

Chances are, that person has NEVER DONE ANY

of my exercise regimens or plans I lay out in

all my programs.

 

They probably dipped their toe in the pool,

and maybe tried something ONCE. And if it didn’t

work IMMEDIATELY, then they acted like an upset

child and tried to blame me, rather than

THEMSELVES!

 

It’s the ULTIMATE excuse. And it’s an

INSTANT SIGN that the person you’re dealing

with is a complete loser.

 

I know that sounds “mean”, but it’s an

accurate description, and you know it!

 

Now I’m not saying they can’t rehabilitate

that poor attitude - they certainly CAN - but

first, they need to realize they are thinking

like a total chump!

 

Copyright 2011 Robert Bruce (extracted from an email)

 

 

I haven't met either Ms. Lamb or Mr. Bruce, however, for some reason I feel a bit off to see their names in the same thread.

 

 

yes they do feel rather different don't they, Jenny's obviously isn't from an advertorial.... but I do feel they are pointing to the same "issue"

 

and I liked the 1st post so much, and as Jenny is coming to Australia I though I'd go with something other than BTT

 

and then today I though I'd try for a discussion.

[RiverSnake]

Good stuff. Liked the stages of readiness by Jenny Lamb. I think she actual has an account hear on the taobums?

[Informer]

[Aetherous]

and then today I though I'd try for a discussion.

 

Well, Sifu Jenny's post actually bothered me when I first read it. Quite a bit.

 

When I started the spiritual path, over 10 years ago as a kid in high school, I gave my all to it. Every day I would spend hours reading online about the subject, then meditating. I ended up leaving my friendships, and would lock myself away from my family to meditate. It became my life completely. My every thought and action was for it.

 

I did meditations in which I gave my entire spirit, mind and body (yes, I actually faced physical death multiple times) for the purpose of gaining experience, or at least personal knowledge, about spirituality. To truly understand. Enlightenment...whatever it meant.

 

Learned a few different paths and gave myself fully to them. The results were often unimpressive. As the years went by, I slowly lost the intensity and reckless abandon that I once had. I did gain some experience, and some knowledge...

 

Now, I look back, over 10 years later...and I am currently a doubter. Apparently I would not seem ready, according to Sifu Jenny's perception (she doesn't know me, but based on what she wrote).

 

If she is actually a good teacher, then why wasn't she there when I was the best student on the face of this earth? I was of first readiness, more so than maybe anyone who was alive at the time...and now, I feel that I've been around the block and have seen through all the BS. Previously, I would have given my life completely for understanding (and made that choice a few times). Now? Nope. THAT kind of passion is gone. These days I am looking for results...something more tangible...a teacher that meets us on the level...one who believes in the saying "there are no bad students"...one who appears synchronistically, and who doesn't try to lure in students instead of teaching them.

 

But I have nothing against Sifu Jenny. I don't know her, and haven't taken her seminar or workshop. Got her video, and it's pretty nice. Just saying how her readiness post made me feel...even though it was written for everyone, it made me feel completely misunderstood as an anonymous potential student, reading it.

[Path]

what jenny lamb mentioned is already cushioned enough to allow those with certain ego to digest and allow them an oppotunity to understand themselves; and what it takes to walk the path.

there are rules and laws that the cosmos operates with; the complexity of explaining it varies, depending on the practitioners understanding or willingness to wake up.

to know it, one must self realize.

i made many errors in my path to know this. i have no idea how to cushion what i want to say to help others not mess their opportunity to be under genuine teachers guidance; so i'll stop here and leave your inner knowing to shape your fate.

[lienshan]

I loved Jenny's post on the levels of Readiness:

 

1. First readiness: you are born ready, which means that you are after something life after life.

 

and then today I though I'd try for a discussion.

1. First question: If we are born ready, the readiness of karma, why doesn't she teach newborn babies?

 

Because the new creditcard isn't yet validated and thus isn't ready?

 

or

 

Because the old creditcard was overdrawn in previous life and thus isn't ready?

[de_paradise]

Interesting reply Scotty. I have sometimes mused that if I had gotten on the path earlier on in life, things would have advanced all that more quickly. Perhaps not. I think in general the readiness characterization is just observations based on what most people go through, a kind of ignorance at the beginning, and then an acceleration. Longer term over decades or if you add in actual attainments that should happen along with one's bhakti, this characterization would not be very robust. Another thing is that a Forest Gump would perhaps be charecterized as ready if he was told to do it and he unthinkingly did the practises.

 

Anyway, I always appreciate it when a non-beginner is frank about their situation, feelings, pitfalls, not hiding behind some facade of uber-guru like some on this forum.

[Mal]