The Kingdom of God is ever present, for those that have eyes to see, and ears to hear. What did Jesus the Christ mean? I have eyes to see and ears to hear, yet I don't see or hear the Kingdom of God. Were do I look? Were do I turn my head to hear?
As I look and hear from eyes and ears of the flesh, I can only see and hear things from the visible. material world. The phenomenal world has beauty and uniqueness, and a certain vague, universality about it; like a snowflake, its pattern is distinctive in all cases, but its structure always has six points. How many different pattern, permutations, can nature create? Answer, How many grains of sand are there? However, regardless of the almost infinite possible patterns, it is that hint of unity that attracts us. We therefore, can occupy an entire life time searching for the one pattern that leads us to the essence of the snowflake. Take science for an example, they have been searching for the "missing link," that spices of ape-man that bridges the gap between ape and man. They have been searching since Darwin. Or, 'once we map the human Geno of the brain we will understand the human essence.' Or, 'once we find the "god particle" we will understand the mysteries of the Universe.' However, all science can really find is more paradox. Our rational mind is not capable of penetrating paradox to find satisfactory understanding. That which is beyond the phenomenal world cannot be known through the rational mind, but we need the self-awareness of the rational mind to take us to the threshold of the world within, the spiritual world. In order to know the world beyond the material world we must see and hear with spiritual eyes and ears. Rumi, a Sufi poet put it this way, "We rarely hear the inward music, but we are dancing to it nevertheless."
We humans have begun to search, what we call the "last frontier," outer space, not full well understanding its great risk and difficulties, but the idea of searching inner space is beyond, even our imagination. Even the most bright and courageous of our race would stop and hesitate at the paradox of using their consciousness as a light to explore the depths of their unconscious. Meister Eckhart, a philosopher, mystic of medieval Germany, explains "The soul has two eyes, one looking inwards and the other looking outwards. It is the inner eye of the soul that looks into essence and takes being directly from God." Who has the spiritual and moral courage to look God directly in the eyes? Turns out, that going back 5000 years or more there were ancient sages who had found a way into the inner circulations of the unconscious, traveled there at will, and came back to tell of their great adventure. Not only did they tell of their adventure, but also told of their method of entry into to the unconscious, and have passed down that method to generation after generation in an unbroken chain, to those who are prepared to walk the inner path. Pythagorus, an ancient Greek philosopher, and one of those later travelers into the inner world, used the letter Y to explain and distinguish the two paths. Maximinus, an ancient Romeman poet wrote a poem using the Pythagorean Y as the object of his poem:
The Pythgorean Letter two ways spread,
Shows the two paths in which Man's life is led.
The right hand track to sacred Virtue tends,
Though steep and rough at first, in rest it ends;
The other broad and smooth, but from its crown
On rocks the Traveller is tumbled down.
He who to Virtue by harsh toils aspires,
Subduing pains, worth and renown acquires.
But who seeks slothful luxury and flies,
The labor of great acts, dishonor'd dies.
What these brave, ancient voyagers of the inner world found is that the manifest Universe is issued from and sustained by the Infinite. Remember now, that this Infinite is called by many names, God, Vishnu, Jehovah, etc. but each name gives no meaning to It, because a name is finite. It is absurd to use the finite to describe the Infinite. If you try to objective the Infinite you will wind up within a paradox. If these ancient voyager's discovery wasn't sublime and fantastic enough, they also discovered that the Infinity, wonders of wonders, is within us. We in It; and It in us. St. Paul, in his Letter to the Colossians, Chapter 1, verses 25-27, centuries later echos the ancient voyagers findings: ..."It is the task of fully proclaiming his (God's) message, which is the secret he hid through all past ages from mankind but has now reveled to his people. God's plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God."... The Christ Principle, the Buddha Principle, the Infinite, the face of God is within you; you are It, you are That. There also is an echo of this profound thought practiced every day by way of a pose, usually practiced in India, but not strictly. It is also practiced in our country, as also in many other countries. The pose is taken when meeting another person: hands are placed together in prayer position and placed by the heart, there is a head bow at the same time saying a Sanskrit word, "namaste." Namaste means, 'the divine in me, recognizes and acknowledges the divine in you.'
It is because we are essentially a spark of the divine, that the Kingdom of God is ever present. It is the outward looking eye of the soul that captures our attention and builds a veil, dimming the vision of our inward looking eye of the soul. We must learn that the inward eye of the soul sees into essence, and is the vehicle that can unite us with the Divine. We will let Jakob Bohme, the Mystic Cobbler, have the last word, "For the Book in which all mysteries lie is man himself; he himself is the book of Being of all beings, seeing he is the likeness of the Divinity. The Great Arcanum lies in him; the reveling of it belongs only to the Divine Spirit."
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
air jordan's
My local T.V. news station reported about the frenzy, holiday shoppers displayed over the purchase of particular items. The report I want to focus in on was the new Air Jordan gym shoes. I am not certain of what city or the name of the store of the report, but it showed young males lined up, waiting for hours, to be able to buy a $180 plus, pair of gym shoes. The report showed the doors of the store being opened early in the morning as the young males pushed and shoved their way in, and sprinted to the place of purchase. I had witnessed other T.V. reports about the "Black Friday" crazed consumers, but none reached the ferocity of the gym shoe group. Of course these were young, aggressive males playing a game of who can buy the shoes first, but as I was witnessing the frenzy, it seemed there was something more going on. Part of the frenzy could be easily placed on the use of marketing strategies, the implication that there was a limited supply of shoes for sale, and the opportunity for very enthusiastic consumers to get first crack at the scarce items by a 6:00am openings. These strategies amped up the frenzy by many degrees, but there seemed to me to be a deeper cause, a primary cause for the greater ferocity.
I had to ask myself the question, "What was the motivation for these young men to stand out side for hours, in front of a store to purchase a pair of $180 gym shoes?" On a deep psychological, level these young men where motivated by a desire to bolster and ease the pressure on their low self-esteem. The "sporting" of the "Air Jordan's" would bolster their self-esteem on several levels: it would express their "with it" fashion sense, it would express their savvy decision to affiliate with the greatest, basketball super star, Michael Jordan, and would express and enhance their male prowess.
As I contemplated this process of compulsive behavior, I remembered I have witnessed it many times, under many different guises. For instance, two people arguing over politics, one a progressive the other a conservative, and inevitably the argument erupts into an exchange of anger. How about, co-workers on the same level, where one makes a remark about the other's job competency. The co-worker whose competency came under question is seething to the point of revenge. These examples are quick scenarios that compulsive behaviors are played out with great frequency in our every day lives. Compulsive behaviors are ubiquitous through out human interactions because their origination lays deep within the human psyche and once developed, cannot be willfully contained.
There is a Sanskrit word, samskara, which describes this condition of deep compulsion: deep conditioned tendencies to particular ways of thinking and acting, usually negative or self-willed, which have been dug in the mind through many years of repeating the same thoughts over and over. I should add, that these mind-molds are so acute and ripe that when they are triggered, can manifest unconsciously. This unconscious manifestation of deep seeded mind-molds reminds me of a old, 1956 science fiction film called, "Forbidden Planet." The plot, with out getting too detailed was, an earth scientist, Morbius was sent to a planet to study the race of beings that resided there and seemingly, with out a known cause, vanished. He was to find the cause of their mysterious disappearance. It turns out that the race of beings were the Krell. A highly advanced race that had created a massive energy depot that supported their own mental capacity. They were able to materialize any desire they might have thought. The unintended consequence, however was that not only did they create their desires, but also unconsciously created "Monsters of the Id." These monsters of the id were created from deep seeded, self-willed mind-molds, and manifested unconsciously as destroyers of any force or resistance that stood in the way of fulfilling the primary desire. Eventually the Krell's entire civilization was destroyed by their unconscious creation of these Monsters of the Id.
Above we have discussed the definition of mind-molds, using the Sanskrit word "samskara." More interesting and enlightening is an inquiry into the process of development of mind-molds. Here it should be no surprise we use another Sanskrit word, "asava" to aid in our quest for understanding. Asava means, an intoxicant distilled from fruits, flowers or trees, and is used in the Dhammapada, (a Buddhist book of the teachings of Buddha) as a reference to the process involved with human sensations.
The Buddha would say that for cognition to happen three elements must come together: the eyes, the object, and the act of attention. When all three come together there is sensation The initial times you indulge your senses in a particular way there is only a sensation. It has no emotive energy behind it. When however, you start thinking about the pleasantness or pain of the sensation over and over the process of asava begins. The fermentation of that sensation begins and the craving is brewing until intoxication appears. Then it cannot be classified as a sensation, but as an obsession. At that point you cannot help thinking about it; it cannot help thinking about itself.
If the Buddha said that now that I have exposed and brought your awareness to the process of mind-molds my job is over, I turn the work of dissolving them to you. That would be like giving a lighted candle to some one who is ankle deep in gasoline, and say ' now that you can see where you are try not to burn yourself.' The Buddha being a master psychologist and the Compassionate One would not leave us in the lurch, but would reach back his hand and teach us tried and true practices that would assist us in changing negative mind-molds into positive mind molds. He would remind us however that success rests in our hands.
One of the most effective practices for change is meditation, for it is a practice that gets to the heart of behavior, the mind. The practice of meditation trains and disciplines the mind, (read my blog on "meditation-a discipline of mind). Another practice is changing one thought for another; changing a negative thought with a positive thought. A perfect example of this is The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of thy Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;...
There are other practices and strategies, but the above two are powerful. You could gain a synergistic effect by combining the two; using St. Francis's prayer as a point of focus with your meditation. Memorizing the prayer and saying it silently to yourself at a pace where you can give one pointed attention to the meaning of each word.
So! Are you, an ordinary person, ready to open and enter the door to the "fantastic voyage within;" where you search with the light of consciousness into the depths of the unconscious, and come back whole to tell the tale.
I had to ask myself the question, "What was the motivation for these young men to stand out side for hours, in front of a store to purchase a pair of $180 gym shoes?" On a deep psychological, level these young men where motivated by a desire to bolster and ease the pressure on their low self-esteem. The "sporting" of the "Air Jordan's" would bolster their self-esteem on several levels: it would express their "with it" fashion sense, it would express their savvy decision to affiliate with the greatest, basketball super star, Michael Jordan, and would express and enhance their male prowess.
As I contemplated this process of compulsive behavior, I remembered I have witnessed it many times, under many different guises. For instance, two people arguing over politics, one a progressive the other a conservative, and inevitably the argument erupts into an exchange of anger. How about, co-workers on the same level, where one makes a remark about the other's job competency. The co-worker whose competency came under question is seething to the point of revenge. These examples are quick scenarios that compulsive behaviors are played out with great frequency in our every day lives. Compulsive behaviors are ubiquitous through out human interactions because their origination lays deep within the human psyche and once developed, cannot be willfully contained.
There is a Sanskrit word, samskara, which describes this condition of deep compulsion: deep conditioned tendencies to particular ways of thinking and acting, usually negative or self-willed, which have been dug in the mind through many years of repeating the same thoughts over and over. I should add, that these mind-molds are so acute and ripe that when they are triggered, can manifest unconsciously. This unconscious manifestation of deep seeded mind-molds reminds me of a old, 1956 science fiction film called, "Forbidden Planet." The plot, with out getting too detailed was, an earth scientist, Morbius was sent to a planet to study the race of beings that resided there and seemingly, with out a known cause, vanished. He was to find the cause of their mysterious disappearance. It turns out that the race of beings were the Krell. A highly advanced race that had created a massive energy depot that supported their own mental capacity. They were able to materialize any desire they might have thought. The unintended consequence, however was that not only did they create their desires, but also unconsciously created "Monsters of the Id." These monsters of the id were created from deep seeded, self-willed mind-molds, and manifested unconsciously as destroyers of any force or resistance that stood in the way of fulfilling the primary desire. Eventually the Krell's entire civilization was destroyed by their unconscious creation of these Monsters of the Id.
Above we have discussed the definition of mind-molds, using the Sanskrit word "samskara." More interesting and enlightening is an inquiry into the process of development of mind-molds. Here it should be no surprise we use another Sanskrit word, "asava" to aid in our quest for understanding. Asava means, an intoxicant distilled from fruits, flowers or trees, and is used in the Dhammapada, (a Buddhist book of the teachings of Buddha) as a reference to the process involved with human sensations.
The Buddha would say that for cognition to happen three elements must come together: the eyes, the object, and the act of attention. When all three come together there is sensation The initial times you indulge your senses in a particular way there is only a sensation. It has no emotive energy behind it. When however, you start thinking about the pleasantness or pain of the sensation over and over the process of asava begins. The fermentation of that sensation begins and the craving is brewing until intoxication appears. Then it cannot be classified as a sensation, but as an obsession. At that point you cannot help thinking about it; it cannot help thinking about itself.
If the Buddha said that now that I have exposed and brought your awareness to the process of mind-molds my job is over, I turn the work of dissolving them to you. That would be like giving a lighted candle to some one who is ankle deep in gasoline, and say ' now that you can see where you are try not to burn yourself.' The Buddha being a master psychologist and the Compassionate One would not leave us in the lurch, but would reach back his hand and teach us tried and true practices that would assist us in changing negative mind-molds into positive mind molds. He would remind us however that success rests in our hands.
One of the most effective practices for change is meditation, for it is a practice that gets to the heart of behavior, the mind. The practice of meditation trains and disciplines the mind, (read my blog on "meditation-a discipline of mind). Another practice is changing one thought for another; changing a negative thought with a positive thought. A perfect example of this is The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of thy Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;...
There are other practices and strategies, but the above two are powerful. You could gain a synergistic effect by combining the two; using St. Francis's prayer as a point of focus with your meditation. Memorizing the prayer and saying it silently to yourself at a pace where you can give one pointed attention to the meaning of each word.
So! Are you, an ordinary person, ready to open and enter the door to the "fantastic voyage within;" where you search with the light of consciousness into the depths of the unconscious, and come back whole to tell the tale.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
addendum to my two cents-again
I am back with more frustration.
I'm leaving behind the rest of my kind, and removing myself from the race.
I'm washing clean society's scene, and rinsing my mouth of bad taste;
Withdrawing from muzzled mouths, machine-gunning blanks words with each round;
From too polite salutations and too contrived departations;
From the printed accounts of gruesome, terrible crimes;
From the noise and the dirt and the slum and the grime,
I'm leaving this ocean of bullshit far, far behind.
As the earth spins in orbital glide, the sun shades its back and lights its front side.
Untolded lives end with the night, untolded lives begin with the light.
Life seems to float on a pool of extremes,
Flowing from best to worst or worst to best, with occasional levellings.
I'll not be swayed. I am determined to leave, and once gone there will be no weeping on
my shirt sleeve.
Withdrawing from an economic mutation: freeze enterprise, castlepolism, and presschasing
power; from increase the exports, decrease the imports, tariff davenports, duty free
whiskey quarts; from inflate the dollar, deflate its value, tax all the income-who is the victim?
From grow with the country-consume a T.V.; use a lawyer regularly to gain a 3% rate in G.N.P.
From inflation, taxation, and money orientation, I am taking leave of it all, and I'll burn my credit cards as a symbol of withdrawal.
As the earth spins in orbital glide, the sun shades its back and lights its front side.
Untolded lives end with the night, untolded lives begin with the light.
Life or death, dispositions of mind, where place the emphasis?
The decision is mine.
I'll not bend. My mind is made up. I'm withdrawing from a political circus that features
corrupt; from the codes and statutes obstructing my time; from the courts and their
justice, mentally blind; from the in-forms, the out-forms, the forms for forming forms, and the formed forms from forms. Take all the forms, roll into a wad then blast it into orbit and form a new moon.
I'm leaving. I tell you, and it isn't too soon.
As the earth spins in orbital glide, the sun shades its back and lights its front side.
Untolded lives end with the night, untolded lives begin with the light.
There are flowers that open full bloom to the sun, and close tight to the moon;
Accommodating the change of day in a most thoughtful way.
I'm leaving! and when I'm "safe in my sylvan home, I'll tread on the pride of Greece and Rome.
Safe I'll be, without ambiguity. Safe I'll be separate from society. Safe I'll be withdrawn from
that which annoys me.
Egad! I am a fool. To escape is mad. I am only accepting the good part of the world while
withdrawing from the bad.
I'll use flower wisdom: accept life's extremes, then accommodate the differences as my
awareness deems.
I am going to stay; mingle with my kind; accept all behavior as human and where I can,
adjust and refine.
I wrote a poem in the early 80s called, "Withdrawal," It was a general rant about the political and economic conditions. There was a phrase "dropping out," a carry-over from the 60s, and it spoke to my feelings then. I would picture myself up north in Minnesota, some where by Lake Superior, breathing the fresh air, reading Emerson, and just being, "...safe in my sylvan home, I'll tread on the pride of Greece and Rome..." At the same time I was reveling within my imagination, their was a nagging thought of "copping out," another 60's carry-over phase. I could not step away from the feeling of responsibility I had for my family, neighborhood, city, and country, and the poem expressed that paradox. My great urge was to leave all that frustrated me behind and withdraw, but at the same time I felt a deep responsibility to stay put and work it out. Here is the poem:
I'm leaving behind the rest of my kind, and removing myself from the race.
I'm washing clean society's scene, and rinsing my mouth of bad taste;
Withdrawing from muzzled mouths, machine-gunning blanks words with each round;
From too polite salutations and too contrived departations;
From the printed accounts of gruesome, terrible crimes;
From the noise and the dirt and the slum and the grime,
I'm leaving this ocean of bullshit far, far behind.
As the earth spins in orbital glide, the sun shades its back and lights its front side.
Untolded lives end with the night, untolded lives begin with the light.
Life seems to float on a pool of extremes,
Flowing from best to worst or worst to best, with occasional levellings.
I'll not be swayed. I am determined to leave, and once gone there will be no weeping on
my shirt sleeve.
Withdrawing from an economic mutation: freeze enterprise, castlepolism, and presschasing
power; from increase the exports, decrease the imports, tariff davenports, duty free
whiskey quarts; from inflate the dollar, deflate its value, tax all the income-who is the victim?
From grow with the country-consume a T.V.; use a lawyer regularly to gain a 3% rate in G.N.P.
From inflation, taxation, and money orientation, I am taking leave of it all, and I'll burn my credit cards as a symbol of withdrawal.
As the earth spins in orbital glide, the sun shades its back and lights its front side.
Untolded lives end with the night, untolded lives begin with the light.
Life or death, dispositions of mind, where place the emphasis?
The decision is mine.
I'll not bend. My mind is made up. I'm withdrawing from a political circus that features
corrupt; from the codes and statutes obstructing my time; from the courts and their
justice, mentally blind; from the in-forms, the out-forms, the forms for forming forms, and the formed forms from forms. Take all the forms, roll into a wad then blast it into orbit and form a new moon.
I'm leaving. I tell you, and it isn't too soon.
As the earth spins in orbital glide, the sun shades its back and lights its front side.
Untolded lives end with the night, untolded lives begin with the light.
There are flowers that open full bloom to the sun, and close tight to the moon;
Accommodating the change of day in a most thoughtful way.
I'm leaving! and when I'm "safe in my sylvan home, I'll tread on the pride of Greece and Rome.
Safe I'll be, without ambiguity. Safe I'll be separate from society. Safe I'll be withdrawn from
that which annoys me.
Egad! I am a fool. To escape is mad. I am only accepting the good part of the world while
withdrawing from the bad.
I'll use flower wisdom: accept life's extremes, then accommodate the differences as my
awareness deems.
I am going to stay; mingle with my kind; accept all behavior as human and where I can,
adjust and refine.
You can see that the writing of my poem seemed to quite my frustration, but did not dispel it. I have learned to put the objects of my frustrations into fluid concepts, realizing that there is a dynamic process operating that shifts all things alone a circular path. For instance, if the liberal, political bar has current impetus and exuberance, it will not be long before the conservative, political bar will over take the liberal bar, with its own impetus and exuberance. The particular energy of one extreme has within itself the seed for the creation of its opposite, and as prescribed by nature, the wheel will also land at the center. There is an ancient Chinese symbol called Tai-Chi Tu (diagram of the supreme ultimate). It is a very common symbol and most people know it as the symbol of Yin and Yang. It is a precis symbol showing the movement of the principle of extremes and the inherent cosmic balance. So the best remedy to political frustration is patience. When the conservative have political dominance, their own energy will create impetus for their liberal replacement and visa, versa. Its inevitable!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
my two cents-again
Back in March 04, 2009, I wrote a blog entitled, "my two cents." Its intent was to relieve some of my frustration about the "great recession." Well my frustration has swollen again, and I am feeling the need to let some of it out.
What is troubling me is the ideas coming from the presidential candidates. With all of their professed experience and political wisdom I assumed they would understand more of the process of law making; especially since some candidates are or were members of Congress or governors. There seems to be no connection with the platforms they aspire to as a possible president and the process to enact their ideas. This is baffling to me. Also baffling to me, is that the guardians of our democracy, the press and we the people, let this pass without saying, 'Will your ideas be able to pass the 435 members of the House of Representatives. and the 100 members of the Senate?' With the entrenchment currently locking up our Congress, I believe that that question is vital, and to put a wobble into the mix, who really knows what the 2012 political make up of Congress will turn out to be. Yet, the candidates go on like their ideas will automatically become law merely on the strength of their vocal declarations. It seems that in their zeal to become president they unconsciously display their ignorance, and in like manner, our non-questioning displays our unconscious ignorance. Any ideas without the will to enact them are impotent.
Another troubling point comes from the candidates use of sarcasm and criticism. They seem to think that if they use sarcasm and criticism, on any level, it some how shows their wisdom, and of course, if they say these wise things, repeatedly in a sarcastic and critical tone they can sway the minds of the voters. The voters who hear these sarcastic and critical opinions over and over tend to use these opinions as "talking points" for arguments, and they can become strengthen when other people they relate to reinforce these opinions. It is my experience that a critic is not the wise man or woman. The critic is unconsciously exposing his low self-esteem and the accompanying crutch of arrogance. The sarcasm is used like an adjective providing an emotional power to his criticism. A wise man need not use criticism, because he washes all opinion through the strainer of his center of authority, his heart of hearts. He washes opinions clean, contemplating their validity, and either discards, accepts or rewashes them. Here is a suggestion in light of our discussion from Gautama the Buddha: "Do not accept something as true because of repeated hearings; nor because it is in scripture; nor because of logical arguments; nor because of philosophical reasoning; nor because it agrees with a preconceived idea; nor because of a person's seemingly ability; nor because it comes from your teacher."
"Be lamps unto yourselves. Betake yourselves to no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth, as a lamp."...
Here is a list of troubling ideas candidates say:
"The American people want this, that, and the other thing." When they say what American people want, they are not talking about all 35o,000,000 million of us. They are talking about what a relatively small minority of ideological sympathetic people want. What the majority of the American people want is, according to poles, for elected officials and corporate businesses to do their public and civic duties and find solutions to our country's domestic economic problems and bring economic justice for all.
" We must get government out of the way of business in order to grow our economy. Then the market forces can self-regulate our way back to economic health." The self-regulating markets are seen as some kind of mystic entity with omnipotent powers of balance. These markets are man made, and are therefore subject to the greed, hubris, and mistakes innate in the human condition. I do not know about you reader but my retirement account took a 50% decline, while it was in hands of the smartest money managers. I don't trust self-regulating markets.
"We are so many (put in your own percentages) away from the GDP before the "great recession." Using the GDP output of the middle 2000's as a bench mark goal for our economy to return to health, is insane. Why would we use a mark of high risk, closed eye regulation, and greed as an economic bench mark. Lets set realistic goals, sound goals set by healthy standards for the common wealth, in which to grow our economy.
Lastly, as a way of tribute, I like to hail the democratic movement for economic balance and justice coming from the "Occupy Wall Street-the 99%" group; especially those from the Oakland, Cal. area.
What is troubling me is the ideas coming from the presidential candidates. With all of their professed experience and political wisdom I assumed they would understand more of the process of law making; especially since some candidates are or were members of Congress or governors. There seems to be no connection with the platforms they aspire to as a possible president and the process to enact their ideas. This is baffling to me. Also baffling to me, is that the guardians of our democracy, the press and we the people, let this pass without saying, 'Will your ideas be able to pass the 435 members of the House of Representatives. and the 100 members of the Senate?' With the entrenchment currently locking up our Congress, I believe that that question is vital, and to put a wobble into the mix, who really knows what the 2012 political make up of Congress will turn out to be. Yet, the candidates go on like their ideas will automatically become law merely on the strength of their vocal declarations. It seems that in their zeal to become president they unconsciously display their ignorance, and in like manner, our non-questioning displays our unconscious ignorance. Any ideas without the will to enact them are impotent.
Another troubling point comes from the candidates use of sarcasm and criticism. They seem to think that if they use sarcasm and criticism, on any level, it some how shows their wisdom, and of course, if they say these wise things, repeatedly in a sarcastic and critical tone they can sway the minds of the voters. The voters who hear these sarcastic and critical opinions over and over tend to use these opinions as "talking points" for arguments, and they can become strengthen when other people they relate to reinforce these opinions. It is my experience that a critic is not the wise man or woman. The critic is unconsciously exposing his low self-esteem and the accompanying crutch of arrogance. The sarcasm is used like an adjective providing an emotional power to his criticism. A wise man need not use criticism, because he washes all opinion through the strainer of his center of authority, his heart of hearts. He washes opinions clean, contemplating their validity, and either discards, accepts or rewashes them. Here is a suggestion in light of our discussion from Gautama the Buddha: "Do not accept something as true because of repeated hearings; nor because it is in scripture; nor because of logical arguments; nor because of philosophical reasoning; nor because it agrees with a preconceived idea; nor because of a person's seemingly ability; nor because it comes from your teacher."
"Be lamps unto yourselves. Betake yourselves to no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth, as a lamp."...
Here is a list of troubling ideas candidates say:
"The American people want this, that, and the other thing." When they say what American people want, they are not talking about all 35o,000,000 million of us. They are talking about what a relatively small minority of ideological sympathetic people want. What the majority of the American people want is, according to poles, for elected officials and corporate businesses to do their public and civic duties and find solutions to our country's domestic economic problems and bring economic justice for all.
" We must get government out of the way of business in order to grow our economy. Then the market forces can self-regulate our way back to economic health." The self-regulating markets are seen as some kind of mystic entity with omnipotent powers of balance. These markets are man made, and are therefore subject to the greed, hubris, and mistakes innate in the human condition. I do not know about you reader but my retirement account took a 50% decline, while it was in hands of the smartest money managers. I don't trust self-regulating markets.
"We are so many (put in your own percentages) away from the GDP before the "great recession." Using the GDP output of the middle 2000's as a bench mark goal for our economy to return to health, is insane. Why would we use a mark of high risk, closed eye regulation, and greed as an economic bench mark. Lets set realistic goals, sound goals set by healthy standards for the common wealth, in which to grow our economy.
Lastly, as a way of tribute, I like to hail the democratic movement for economic balance and justice coming from the "Occupy Wall Street-the 99%" group; especially those from the Oakland, Cal. area.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
the longest night of the year
Today is Dec. 21, 2011, and it is the longest night of the year. Its technical term is, the Winter Solstice, and in meteorological parlance it marks the beginning of Winter. The Winter Solstice, along with the Spring Equinox, the Summer Solstice, and the Autumnal Equinox are related to our Earth's 365 day, course around the Sun, and the affected, play of light and dark as it relates to earth's 23.6 degree inclination. This cosmic phenomena equates also to our four seasons, and to the four quadrants of earth, North, East, South, West. Through out antiquity humans have recognized the cyclical movement of the four quadrants, and have aligned its movement to their lives. For instance, the American Indians believed that each quadrant was associated with unique powers: the North, with endurance and strength, the East, with renewal and growth, the South, with potency and flourishing, the West, with harvesting and completion. When the tribe or band would embark on new initiatives or personal endeavors they would first invoke the blessing of the four quadrants. They stand facing to the North entreating its blessing, then to the East entreating its blessing, then to the South, entreating its blessing, then to the West entreating its blessing.
Many of us believe the above rituals and similar, are based on superstition rather than solid, scientific facts. After this calculation we have a nice niche to fit all similar rituals on, superstition. Listen to what William Wordsworth says about our lack of awareness to the workings of Nature:
"The world is too much with us, late an soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not"...
More accurately, I believe, the cause for our unawareness is ignorance and fear, that a deeper look into Nature would disturb our self imposed order. It is a sickness of soul-a soul left derelict while experience, feelings, things are neatly colored, fit and formed together; a safe grid were everything is fixed.
Nature points with crawl, with bleat, with eccentricity, to the essence of things. In Her the whole of life is reflected. Therefore, jump into the River of Nature; join it as you would your mother and father; lay back and enjoy the ride home.
My wish is that you have a wonderful holiday and that the new light of the Winter Solstice brings you good fortune.
Many of us believe the above rituals and similar, are based on superstition rather than solid, scientific facts. After this calculation we have a nice niche to fit all similar rituals on, superstition. Listen to what William Wordsworth says about our lack of awareness to the workings of Nature:
"The world is too much with us, late an soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not"...
More accurately, I believe, the cause for our unawareness is ignorance and fear, that a deeper look into Nature would disturb our self imposed order. It is a sickness of soul-a soul left derelict while experience, feelings, things are neatly colored, fit and formed together; a safe grid were everything is fixed.
Nature points with crawl, with bleat, with eccentricity, to the essence of things. In Her the whole of life is reflected. Therefore, jump into the River of Nature; join it as you would your mother and father; lay back and enjoy the ride home.
My wish is that you have a wonderful holiday and that the new light of the Winter Solstice brings you good fortune.
Friday, October 28, 2011
the city and the cross
One day, while driving to downtown Minneapolis, heading east on Interstate 394, I reached the point where the full skyline of western downtown loomed up before my eyes. I have witnessed this sight many times, and each time have marveled at the grandeur of the city, and thought about the mastery we humans have over our material world. There in the city stand huge and complicated buildings, intricately designed and shaped, differing landscapes, transportation systems, and cultural elements all blended into one specific space. This compact space allows a relatively smooth flow of thousands of people in and out of the city to do their business, participate in the arts, or be entertained. The city is a spectacular testament to the creative mind and physical capability, of humans beings.
On this particular day not only did I see the familiar city's western sky line, but also in the southern foreground, I saw a church with a dome and on top of that dome was a cross. What a striking contrast I thought. Here amid a forest of lofty buildings was a church, a dome, and a cross. It did not reach into the sky as high as the city's skyscrapers, but to my mind, it appeared as grand a sight as the skyscrapers. Given the great number of views I have had, I wondered why I had missed seeing the church?
As I pondered that question, the answer clearly came to mind. When we see something that attracts us, we centralize our vision around that which attracts us; especially objects of towering size, odd shapes, or colors. Thus when I first saw the Western Minneapolis Skyline, I was awe struck by its enormity. Its community of skyscrapers, captured my attention to the exclusion of all else within the landscape. Its major attraction for me was its towering size, but with each succeeding view, it became more expected, more normalized. This normalization of view allowed me to decentralize and expand my vision to include the church, the dome, and the cross.
I have learned that there is a basic fallacy built into sense perception, and that fallacy is, not to take appearance for "true" reality. For example, determining the character of a new acquaintance by the kinds of cloths he or she wears, seeing a coiled hose and believing to be a snake, seeing a fallen leaf on the ground and believing to be a squirrel or bird etc. In this regard there is a saying I have heard, it goes, 'Believe none of what you've heard secondhand, and believe half of what see.' I succumbed to the fallacy of sense perception when I first saw the Western Skyline of Minneapolis, believing that its essential reality was in its great physical size, design, and shape. My myopic view stayed until my view was extended to include the domed church with the cross on top. This extended view has taught me to always look beyond appearances to the more universal realities beneath the surface realities.
Although the skyline and the domed church produced a dramatic, visual contrast, I did not feel they were in opposition. Here at once, was a community of skyscrapers, grand complexes of human ingenuity and domination over earth's elements, and here also was a church and a simple cross pointing to the heavens expressing a meaning beyond the physical, and both were created by the mind of human beings. Each creation, an expression of our comprehensive essence in relationship to the realities in which we live our lives. The skyscrapers are an expression of our connection and relationship to our physical/visible realities, and the church and cross are an expression of our connection and relationship to our spiritual/invisible realities. Both connections and relationships are real, but the spiritual connection and relationship is more real, owing to its more universal and immutable characteristic; more simply, it endures longer. It is for this reason we should allow our spiritual aspects to direct and control our mundane aspects, thus building our lives upon an ever-enduring spiritual rock rather than a relatively transient physical foundation. All the masters who have walked upon Earth have recommended this kind of spiritual leadership. It is the way of wisdom.
How do we acquire this inner spiritual leadership? It is acquired by seeing from the eye of your heart, and in order to achieve that you must turn your mind inward. By turning your mind inward you begin to observe the streams of your mind and the patterns of your thoughts and actions. This vision from the eye of your heart arises continuously, yet, at first it may be obstructed by the rigidity of your thoughts. As you continue to cultivate your inner vision, a safe and effective crossing place is created where you may step over a habit of rigid thought that may be causing resistance. Thus, this kind of "multiple vision" of viewing the streams of thought in your mind refines the process of thought and action patterns, making clearer their causal effects and providing an insightful path on which to move towards right action.
There is within all human beings this great capacity of mind that stretches and penetrates every aspect, from the mundane to the cosmic. Yet because our intent lies within the mundane we live behind a mind veil that prevents and limits us from the opportunity to recognize the light of true reality that lies beyond the veil. When Gautama the Buddha walked the earth, curious people would ask him what he was, "Are you a devil, an angle, a god?" The Buddha would answer, "I am awakened." In this simple answer the Buddha exposed a great insight into the make up of human beings, and extended a hand of hope for the lifting of the veil covering our mind. As an awakened human being, the Buddha shows us that we have an innate connection to the spiritual realms, and that the great abilities he had developed are within the scope of human possibilities. Therefore, in order to fulfill our destiny as human beings we must awaken from our deep, sleep of ignorance. We must lift the veil of mere appearances in order to see and follow the light of true reality that leads us to our true destiny.
On this particular day not only did I see the familiar city's western sky line, but also in the southern foreground, I saw a church with a dome and on top of that dome was a cross. What a striking contrast I thought. Here amid a forest of lofty buildings was a church, a dome, and a cross. It did not reach into the sky as high as the city's skyscrapers, but to my mind, it appeared as grand a sight as the skyscrapers. Given the great number of views I have had, I wondered why I had missed seeing the church?
As I pondered that question, the answer clearly came to mind. When we see something that attracts us, we centralize our vision around that which attracts us; especially objects of towering size, odd shapes, or colors. Thus when I first saw the Western Minneapolis Skyline, I was awe struck by its enormity. Its community of skyscrapers, captured my attention to the exclusion of all else within the landscape. Its major attraction for me was its towering size, but with each succeeding view, it became more expected, more normalized. This normalization of view allowed me to decentralize and expand my vision to include the church, the dome, and the cross.
I have learned that there is a basic fallacy built into sense perception, and that fallacy is, not to take appearance for "true" reality. For example, determining the character of a new acquaintance by the kinds of cloths he or she wears, seeing a coiled hose and believing to be a snake, seeing a fallen leaf on the ground and believing to be a squirrel or bird etc. In this regard there is a saying I have heard, it goes, 'Believe none of what you've heard secondhand, and believe half of what see.' I succumbed to the fallacy of sense perception when I first saw the Western Skyline of Minneapolis, believing that its essential reality was in its great physical size, design, and shape. My myopic view stayed until my view was extended to include the domed church with the cross on top. This extended view has taught me to always look beyond appearances to the more universal realities beneath the surface realities.
Although the skyline and the domed church produced a dramatic, visual contrast, I did not feel they were in opposition. Here at once, was a community of skyscrapers, grand complexes of human ingenuity and domination over earth's elements, and here also was a church and a simple cross pointing to the heavens expressing a meaning beyond the physical, and both were created by the mind of human beings. Each creation, an expression of our comprehensive essence in relationship to the realities in which we live our lives. The skyscrapers are an expression of our connection and relationship to our physical/visible realities, and the church and cross are an expression of our connection and relationship to our spiritual/invisible realities. Both connections and relationships are real, but the spiritual connection and relationship is more real, owing to its more universal and immutable characteristic; more simply, it endures longer. It is for this reason we should allow our spiritual aspects to direct and control our mundane aspects, thus building our lives upon an ever-enduring spiritual rock rather than a relatively transient physical foundation. All the masters who have walked upon Earth have recommended this kind of spiritual leadership. It is the way of wisdom.
How do we acquire this inner spiritual leadership? It is acquired by seeing from the eye of your heart, and in order to achieve that you must turn your mind inward. By turning your mind inward you begin to observe the streams of your mind and the patterns of your thoughts and actions. This vision from the eye of your heart arises continuously, yet, at first it may be obstructed by the rigidity of your thoughts. As you continue to cultivate your inner vision, a safe and effective crossing place is created where you may step over a habit of rigid thought that may be causing resistance. Thus, this kind of "multiple vision" of viewing the streams of thought in your mind refines the process of thought and action patterns, making clearer their causal effects and providing an insightful path on which to move towards right action.
There is within all human beings this great capacity of mind that stretches and penetrates every aspect, from the mundane to the cosmic. Yet because our intent lies within the mundane we live behind a mind veil that prevents and limits us from the opportunity to recognize the light of true reality that lies beyond the veil. When Gautama the Buddha walked the earth, curious people would ask him what he was, "Are you a devil, an angle, a god?" The Buddha would answer, "I am awakened." In this simple answer the Buddha exposed a great insight into the make up of human beings, and extended a hand of hope for the lifting of the veil covering our mind. As an awakened human being, the Buddha shows us that we have an innate connection to the spiritual realms, and that the great abilities he had developed are within the scope of human possibilities. Therefore, in order to fulfill our destiny as human beings we must awaken from our deep, sleep of ignorance. We must lift the veil of mere appearances in order to see and follow the light of true reality that leads us to our true destiny.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
the path of the mystic worrior
In my last blog, I used the term "mystic warrior." The term is used in connection with our awareness of the duality of our human nature, and the discovery that a battle is waging between our higher self and our lower self. As we turn our will towards entering the battle we symbolically become a mystic warrior. I first head that term while I was listening to Ed McGaa, the narrator of a tape on Black Elk's power-vision. For those of you who have never heard of Black Elk, there is a famous book written by John G. Neihardt, called "Black Elk Speaks" dictated from the Ogalala Indian's narrative of his life. Black Elk was the forth generation Holy Man of his band.
In his power-vision, he describes a place, ..."where three streams make one big one-a source of mighty waters-and something terrible was there. Flames were rising from the waters and in the flames a blue man lived. The dust was floating all about him in the air, the grass was short and withered, the trees were wilting, two legged and four legged beings lay there thin and panting, and wings were too weak to fly."
This part of Black Elk's vision expresses a universal, mythological theme rooted in the essential composition and collective experience of all human beings. The theme represented is the duality of our human composition; our shadow side/material side in opposition to our light side/spiritual side. We have seen this theme repeated over and over through out all human cultures: in the bible, by the allegory of Cain and Able; in India's epic, The Mahabharata; in European Literature, with King Arthur and the search for the Holy Grail; in the U.S.A., Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter.
The blue man symbolizes our shadow side with its negative expressions of selfishness, greed, deceit, untruth, corruption. Black Elk symbolizes (not the physical Black Elk, but spirit Black Elk which the Grandfather named Eagle Wing Stretches) our spiritual side.
In Black Elk's vision, the blue man is defeated. ..."Then the black horse riders shouted, "Hoka Hey!" and charged down upon the blue man, but were driven back. And the white troop shouted charging and was beaten; then the red troop and yellow. And when each had failed, they all cried together, "Eagle Wing Stretches! Hurry!" And the world was filled with voices of all kinds that cheered me, so I charged. I had a cup of water in one hand and in the other a bow (gifts given to Eagle Wing Stretches by the West Power) that turned into a spear as the bay (the horse Eagle Wing Stretches was riding) and I swooped down, and on the spear's head was sharp lightening. It stabbed the blue man's heart, and as it struck I could hear the thunder rolling and many voices that cried "Un-hee!" meaning I had killed. The flames died"... "then the four troops of horsemen charged down and struck the dead body of the blue man, counting coup, (the act of striking an enemy, dead or alive, with a stick conferring distinction) and suddenly it was only a harmless turtle."
Eagle Wings Stretches, successfully defeats the blue man, not by using brute force, but by using the spear of knowledge. The troops of horsemen that first attacked the blue man relied on their physical might and their material weapons, and were quickly beaten and driven back. The gift of the cup of water and the bow given by the West Power represented, respectively, the power to make live and and to destroy.
Taking the symbolism of this part of Black Elk's vision and applying it correspondingly to the actual history of Black Elk, it is clear that his spear of knowledge is his book, "Black Elk Speaks." That book is the light of knowledge which has, and continues to attack and defeat the ignorance of our ego side. The moment we decide to enter upon the path of spiritual actualization, we are enlisting in the great war of knowing thy self. Of all wars, this is the most fearsome and terrible. It has great men like Goethe to say, "Know thy self? If I knew myself, I'd run away" or C.G. Jung to say, "The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely." What is so terrifying is that we do battle with kindred aspects of ourselves-the light side and the dark side; and conflict not only comes from outside sources, but also from habits of mind, laden with deep and powerful emotions, caused by experiences from both this life and past lives. All these aggregate, kindred aspects of ourselves confront and vie for conscious domination in rapid and continuous succession.
As warriors of the mystic realm, we are granted access to the symbols of the power of the Soul: the sword of power, the spear of will, the helmet of knowledge, and a coat of mail, the links of which are made of all of our past experiences. These symbols provide us with a crystal clear vision of the means of which we are to do battle.
The many spirit voices are calling you, saying, "Hurry!" You reply, "Hoka-Hay!" and charge until final liberation. Fair well, my brothers, my sisters.
In his power-vision, he describes a place, ..."where three streams make one big one-a source of mighty waters-and something terrible was there. Flames were rising from the waters and in the flames a blue man lived. The dust was floating all about him in the air, the grass was short and withered, the trees were wilting, two legged and four legged beings lay there thin and panting, and wings were too weak to fly."
This part of Black Elk's vision expresses a universal, mythological theme rooted in the essential composition and collective experience of all human beings. The theme represented is the duality of our human composition; our shadow side/material side in opposition to our light side/spiritual side. We have seen this theme repeated over and over through out all human cultures: in the bible, by the allegory of Cain and Able; in India's epic, The Mahabharata; in European Literature, with King Arthur and the search for the Holy Grail; in the U.S.A., Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter.
The blue man symbolizes our shadow side with its negative expressions of selfishness, greed, deceit, untruth, corruption. Black Elk symbolizes (not the physical Black Elk, but spirit Black Elk which the Grandfather named Eagle Wing Stretches) our spiritual side.
In Black Elk's vision, the blue man is defeated. ..."Then the black horse riders shouted, "Hoka Hey!" and charged down upon the blue man, but were driven back. And the white troop shouted charging and was beaten; then the red troop and yellow. And when each had failed, they all cried together, "Eagle Wing Stretches! Hurry!" And the world was filled with voices of all kinds that cheered me, so I charged. I had a cup of water in one hand and in the other a bow (gifts given to Eagle Wing Stretches by the West Power) that turned into a spear as the bay (the horse Eagle Wing Stretches was riding) and I swooped down, and on the spear's head was sharp lightening. It stabbed the blue man's heart, and as it struck I could hear the thunder rolling and many voices that cried "Un-hee!" meaning I had killed. The flames died"... "then the four troops of horsemen charged down and struck the dead body of the blue man, counting coup, (the act of striking an enemy, dead or alive, with a stick conferring distinction) and suddenly it was only a harmless turtle."
Eagle Wings Stretches, successfully defeats the blue man, not by using brute force, but by using the spear of knowledge. The troops of horsemen that first attacked the blue man relied on their physical might and their material weapons, and were quickly beaten and driven back. The gift of the cup of water and the bow given by the West Power represented, respectively, the power to make live and and to destroy.
Taking the symbolism of this part of Black Elk's vision and applying it correspondingly to the actual history of Black Elk, it is clear that his spear of knowledge is his book, "Black Elk Speaks." That book is the light of knowledge which has, and continues to attack and defeat the ignorance of our ego side. The moment we decide to enter upon the path of spiritual actualization, we are enlisting in the great war of knowing thy self. Of all wars, this is the most fearsome and terrible. It has great men like Goethe to say, "Know thy self? If I knew myself, I'd run away" or C.G. Jung to say, "The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely." What is so terrifying is that we do battle with kindred aspects of ourselves-the light side and the dark side; and conflict not only comes from outside sources, but also from habits of mind, laden with deep and powerful emotions, caused by experiences from both this life and past lives. All these aggregate, kindred aspects of ourselves confront and vie for conscious domination in rapid and continuous succession.
As warriors of the mystic realm, we are granted access to the symbols of the power of the Soul: the sword of power, the spear of will, the helmet of knowledge, and a coat of mail, the links of which are made of all of our past experiences. These symbols provide us with a crystal clear vision of the means of which we are to do battle.
The many spirit voices are calling you, saying, "Hurry!" You reply, "Hoka-Hay!" and charge until final liberation. Fair well, my brothers, my sisters.
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