Friday, April 29, 2005

And, Coming into the Stretch, The Truth is Ahead by a Nose.

I keep getting that feeling that this summer and fall are going to bring remarkable changes. I’ve always held that comments of this order are best restrained. After all, what’s the point of such a wide generalized comment? It prepares us for nothing. Something’s going to happen in the woods tonight, somewhere, somehow… It sounds like it could be a song.

Lately though, I’ve been taking my own measurements on gravity and density and watching the gauges of social and environmental pressures. There’s been a pattern of exposures and discoveries. We see that a 1200 dollar a night male prostitute has been having regular sleepovers at the White House for the past couple of years. How far out is far out?

Menawhile, David Ray Griffin, an eminent and respected theologian; the author of 22 books, will be on C-span 2 at 10:30 EST tomorrow with a powerful indictment of the administration on the 9/11 attack. Mr. Griffin says it’s patently obvious that they ‘orchestrated’ it. He says it is clear that the towers came down by timed demolition and points out much of the same information that I’ve been at pains to record since 2001.

He received a standing ovation from a packed hall at Claremont School of Theology in California. This is a well respected scholar and marks the first time that such a thing will receive such widespread viewing. It’s been mentioned in various press reports that at least 50% of the public now believes the administration lied about Iraq. Slowly, like a plant materializing from the darkness of the Earth the truth is sprouting up everywhere. Bloggers across the globe are noting the connections between Mossad and 9/11. Blair has been exposed by Lord Goldsmith’s testimony. Everywhere, if you are watching, the truth is leaking through the seams; even my own “9/11 was an Inside Job” album is due to be played on the internet’s #1 radio program which is broadcast in 60 countries, complete with an interview. I’ll be providing the details for that when the time approaches.

Mainstream media is silent. But it is apparent that somewhere in the background, massive forces are at work toward exposure. It is the way of it. The affairs of humanity work according to the laws of nature. It is possible to counteract these forces for a time, but the forces always remain. Take away an airplane’s capacity to resist gravity and you get the predictable results. When you throw in the news of economic indicators and a host of correlative information you get the ingredients for big change. I don’t want to go into much detail here; that’s more for Smoking Mirrors. This isn’t the forum for temporal sludge. I do point out a few major indicators because they give some weight to my introductory statement at the beginning of this post. In other words, I have my reasons for saying what I do.

People get rich or go broke trying to anticipate change. The thing with change, especially as it affects large bodies, is that it is always slower than we expect and then faster than you anticipated; Einstein anyone? The huge form in your rear view mirror may not be gaining on you with any great speed. It’s a curious feature of life that we often can’t remember when it first appeared or how it got so big. It’s there now however. It’s there and it is not going away and it is not getting smaller. Incrementally it is a degree closer every day.

When big things go out of balance it is not at any one point that we notice the effects. We begin to notice the effects everywhere. Often the effects seem unrelated. This is because the cause is often submerged below the level of the appearances. Often the appearances are not themselves indicators of the cause but, rather indicators of other appearances on the horizon. Most people can see that there is no captain at the helm of the ship of state, or worse; the captain is drunk. There’s too much overcompensation in the steering. The speeds are varying and erratic. Reactions in other locations reveal evidence of the whole world seeking to come back into balance. We see what Yeat’s implied by the ‘widening gyre’.

Some might say I am an alarmist in this respect. I do not intend to be unless it is the observations of a good neighbor informing you that your house is on fire. My feeling is and always has been that all things work for the best. I believe that all of this is the long awaited actual balancing of grievous errors. God is about to set our house in order. This may not come about in any entirety over the summer and the fall, but it is coming.

Those who have studied the matter know that God sends us the great benefits of a world teacher every 2000 years or so in consonance with the dawning of a new age. This teacher’s impact may be one thing during that teacher’s time of direct physical presence and something altogether different over the course of ensuing history. That time is at hand. This teacher is composed of the actual conscious, living substance of God. This teacher is God. I’m not going to hair-split about obvious anomalies in chronology, such as Buddha and Lao Tzu appearing at midpoint in a century, or Mohammed for that matter. These were not avatars. Avatars are world saviors and have a particular job.

Your new avatar is in process of manifestation now. One of the curious effects of this being’s approach is that he drives all the darkness before him. The avatar comes from the inner planes gradually assuming a greater density as he comes into manifestation. Students of arcane teachings know that the real enemies, the really bad (relatively speaking) enemies of humanity are resident on the inner planes. The avatar scours this area first. So it is that we see so many outbreaks of insanity as the avatar moves. These entities are basically stealing cars to get away. They hi-jack warm bodies, inattentive warm bodies, with a result much like that of the Garadene Swine. On the surface it appears that people and events are going haywire. You can think of it as a mother bathing a muddy child. The child isn’t very happy about the affair.

It may be that the housing for the avatar walks here already, awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit, as did Jesus prior to the baptism at the River Jordan. Or it may be that he is quickening the womb of matter as I write these words. These logistical points aren’t the compelling issue. The compelling issue is the ‘issuing forth’.

Like so many things; like the big object in the rear view mirror or through the windshield- if you prefer, it’s suddenly, suddenly, just there.

All through human history there has been this arrogant assumption, in the minds of those who seek to control events and circumstance, that they are the arbiters; that they have the power, the connections, the intelligence and grasp to orchestrate and effect conditions. It often seems so and that is because our sense of time is not nearly vast enough to see the time lapse unfolding and resolution of the whole. But history shows us of the coming and going.

There is but one power and all of us are mere vehicles for its expression. We are willing stewards, fitting examples- or a particular lesson for the rest. We do nothing of ourselves and even the most cunning among us do not know whose intentions we actually serve.

So, be watchful as the grand drama unfolds. A personal surrender to the greater balance, always rebalancing, is the best way to go; “Be of good cheer.” as you have heard. We now live in the times so long spoken of. You’ve got a ring side seat to the greatest show on Earth.

Dozens of lines of scripture enter my mind as I write this but I will not thicken this work with the references. Maybe you can hear them too. In the final analysis there is one comforting reminder that we can take everywhere with us. There is one thought that will banish fear and assist us in our own desire and efforts to slip the cloud of our unknowing and help wash away the film of our ignorance. God is Love. God is Love.


A SMALL NOTE. We are now approaching visitor number 10,000 (it should happen today some time) since this site started to gain a readership about 6 months ago. Thank you one and all.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Walking in the Darkness and Looking for the Light

I’ve got this song ‘Fade Away’ and the chorus goes,

“Don’t let me fade away and disappear from sight
These hands they pull at me, I have no strength to fight
By myself I’m nothing, with nothing more to say
Don’t let me disappear, don’t let me fade away.”


It’s the second line I’m thinking about today. I can feel those hands sometimes. It’s like a scene from one of those old comic books I used to read as a kid; maybe ‘Tales from the Crypt’. A guy is walking somewhere spooky and hands come out of the ground to pull him under. Most monsters; the walking dead, vampires, werewolves and assorted, are metaphors for things within ourselves. I’m not saying there aren’t real vampires and werewolves. All you have to do is spend some time in Hollywood and you will meet a bunch of them. We are often confused as to what real monsters are.

I was terrified as a child. I knew those monsters were out there. The tragic irony to my situation is that I could not cry out for help because I would be beaten. That was one hundred percent certain. The monsters were only 90% certain. The funny thing is, after I had gone through some changes while coming out of my teens I was no longer afraid of monsters, even when creatures from the lower astral realm materialized in front of me. I made them my friends. It became like having a large hunting beast accompanying me on my journey through the night.

There’s an animated movie called ‘Monsters Inc.’ this particular film is very real in terms of how things actually work. In the film the monsters feed on fear. That’s exactly how it is. Fear is like perfume and it does attract. Some people have a real problem with animals, dogs scare them and the dogs know this. The reason is that human fear smells just like anger to a dog. There’s always a reason for things.

I’ve studied at the martial arts my whole life. A fairly large understanding of it came to me during an acid trip. I downloaded a schematic, more or less. It was obviously a past life re-entry. In very little time I had an understanding of it that was well beyond anything I could have gained in such a short time. It didn’t take in my personality initially though and I didn’t even recognize it as a martial art for some time. I thought it was some kind of dance connected to Lord Shiva because there were all sorts of Nataraja-like aspects to it. It was some time before I got into formal training and it was only much later that I assumed it as a daily yoga. At some point it became an automatic part of my general body language. From that moment I found I could walk anywhere and never have a problem.

The key to the martial arts is never having to use them in an actual confrontation. That potential confrontation should be diffused before such an occurrence and without the other party being aware of it. Now of course, someone could come out of nowhere and clock me for no reason this afternoon (not that there is ever no reason). Stranger things have happened. But so far, this has been consistent. My only recourse in this regard has been to stop conflicts, to intercede, and that has happened a few times and half the time with no contact at all. However, such things don’t usually happen at all anywhere that I am. And I’ve been in some bad bars. You carry your world with you.

The strangest thing about this is that, up until fairly recently, I was prone to behave in an outrageous manner when fueled up and in the air. I really liked to have a good time to the maximum allowable degree. Even through all of this the peace remained pretty consistent. I think of all the hard eyes I’ve encountered and all the things that never proceeded from there. I lived in Hawaii for quite some years and I can tell you that nowhere else I’ve ever been has had so much violence in it. The macho head space of the locals and Kanakas is right there in front of you. I used to hear stories all the time and the papers had some example nearly every single day. I saw some things too.

I’ve got a reason for giving out these small vignettes and it’s not about me personally. Personally I bore myself these days and that’s good. It’s been real hard getting rid of some of the deep, deep impressions and reactions that just don’t seem to want to leave, but I try. Those hands are still reaching out and I have to be mindful.

Now, I spent some time in violent prisons and other dark bardos and I hitchhiked back and forth across America from coast to coast a lot of times. I know I got picked up by killers on occasion. You can feel these kinds of things. But it always worked out. I’ve had guns and knives pulled on me and assorted threats of mayhem; most of which I can’t even remember anymore.

As I look back on my life I can see that the degree to which I suffered bodily harm and psychological punishments was directly relevant to the degree of fear I felt. I am not entirely without fear now but the fear I have is different than what is usually understood to be fear. And there is a sense of rightness, a sense of enveloping protection that I could not begin to describe.

I read somewhere that those who love much are forgiven much. It must be true. I know if I had not been pounded into the ground I would not have been tenderized to this degree. I know that the beatings were intended to open up the Love and to propel with great force toward the source of Love. I owe a real debt of gratitude to those who beat the shit out of me. In some respects I remain one of the walking wounded with a chronic schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. The thing is, you have to get these identities to talk to each other. Having multiple personalities can be a good thing if they only operate within the parameters where their talents lie.

We spend so much time regretting our lives and what we have done and become. We do not see the value of it all. We read things negatively based upon the pressures of common social understanding. None of these people know anything; they are just as messed up as you are. We have to make friends with the creatures of the night because they are not what they appear to be. We have mislabeled them. The meaning of the name Adam is, ‘namer of things’. That’s something to think about.

In any moment in which we find ourselves, the opportunity for real and dynamic change exists. We can walk away from what we have been and forge a brand new path. It is always hardest when we are trying to change. But you either do it or you get into arguments with yourself by thinking about it. There’s nothing to think about. Yes, it’s always two steps forward and one step back.

Someone is very definitely looking out for you. It’s why you are searching to begin with. You were seen coming before you even knew you were looking. The more you accept this mantle of protection the more smoothly everything in your life will even out. Few of us have anywhere near the obstacles of some. And some of those folk have moved well beyond where we now stand. It’s pretty hard to be serious about you personal problems when you remind yourself you are not in Iraq holding a dead child in your arms next to the ruins of your house.

There’s no such thing as age. You yourself can feel that you are the same age you always were since the moment the awareness of yourself came out of the transitional process. It’s never too late for the important things. You’re not going to die, it only seems that way and it’s the best thing that could happen or it wouldn’t happen because everything happens for the best. The critical issue we all face is how gracefully we respond to the loving hand that shapes us. Everything is a matter of degree. A slap is a caress of a greater degree. The closer you get the softer it is. There’s no need to be constantly jerked back onto the road. You’re not a dumb beast. You can anticipate. But first we must accept that there is, in fact, a guiding hand.

Visible sings: Songwriter by Les Visible♫ Fade Away ♫
'Fade Away' is track no. 3 of 10 on Visible's 2006 album 'Songwriter'
Lyrics (pops up)

Songwriter by Les Visible

Monday, April 25, 2005

Absolutely Everything; it's All in your Mind.

I regret that I have often been away of late. It’s possible that my usual inclination to write at only a certain time is at fault. There’s no imperative that demands I do this. It’s just habit. Perhaps if I adjust my mindset to include any time of the day there will be less obstruction in the processing. Thanks for all the emails. I am sorry to disappoint through my infrequent offerings here. I’ll try to do better. I’m in the midst of attempting to move my external reality to another location and dealing with all of the considerations of other people, finances and the like, while still remaining active at my projects has narrowed the time window on other things- such as this. Alright then, let’s get on with it, whatever that turns out to be…


/ It’s all in your mind. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. You’ve heard it when you were imagining things and someone told you it was all in your mind. You’ve observed people laboring under grave delusions that eventually compromised them or cost them their life. If you didn’t see it up close then you heard or read about it.

We’re all aware of the meaning of allegories that tell us about the mighty trees that grow from little seeds. We’ve also been told that if we had the faith of a mustard seed we could command a mountain to throw itself into the ocean. Let’s consider the first aspect. Problems, all problems, start as a single idea. They’re easy to attend to when they are small. A wise person catches these problems before they gain any great size. A wise person, always mindful of propensity for error and the capacity of lies to hide like weeds among the flowers is watchful. He is smart enough not to trust himself.

Every thought that you think is potentially an object or a situation. We seem not to be aware of how things grow over time, even though we can see the examples externally at all times. People ask, “How did things get like this?” they wonder what deception allowed for things like the Gulags and the rise of Hitler and all the bad guys that history shows us came and went. We wonder how entire nations were deceived. Large groups are deceived the same way individuals are, in their minds. ‘Seduced’ might be a better word. We get seduced through specific avenues; our appetites, desires and our fears are the primary courses. We are often seduced by the idea that there is an easier way.

As I’ve said before, there’s only one mind- period. What we consider to be our individual minds, which house our sense of identity apart from others and makes up our personalized expressions, is only the place where we touch the one mind. As long as we think of ourselves as individualized expressions of something apart we are susceptible to lies and misdirection based on inclination. We are also in peril, certainly doomed as an individual expression and played off and against the myriad of phenomena.

One who knows they have no real personal existence is spared the constant sense of gain and loss that is the inevitable cosmic re-balancing that takes place. Such a person also acquires a real identity. You may lose one thing but you gain something else. Every force in this world, everything you are told about world conditions and behavior is a lie. The biggest lies have the largest P.R. firms at work in their behalf. You are nothing more than a host for vampire operations that suck you dry and throw you aside. You cannot win in this game because just like the carnival and casino games, they are either rigged or favor the house. Over the long haul, you lose. It doesn’t matter what you have accumulated or how powerful you appear to have become, you lose.

The very seed ideas that brought Hitler, Mao and Stalin and the rest into power are at work today. They feed off of the fears; enmity and misunderstanding that exist collectively in the psyche of humanity. The engines of agenda are always at work to build the armies of the future. Everything that happened in Germany; Russia, China, Rwanda and Cambodia are rebuilding the stage for a repeat performance. Today, as Americans kill Arabs; as people are slaughtered in the Congo, while corporations poison and bankers exploit, everyone who dies as a result becomes a warrior and a revenge driven engine for retribution. Everyone participating has a role. The former victor will find himself behind the concertina wire of the future. It is a certain, definite result. It has been said that from a single drop of innocent blood spilled, ten thousand warriors will spring up. This is truer than we know.

Sure, you can believe this life is all there is. You can believe you are a meat puppet. You can believe you got to get yours now. You can look upon your holdings and smile inwardly at your acumen and savvy. It is to your sorrow that you do not see that the bum in the street; the statistic in the paper, the crack whore on the avenue and the patient in the I.C.U is your next template.

It doesn’t have to be this way for you. You can make a personal adjustment at any point. Even if you have to climb out of a world of shit you can do it more expediently than you might think. The first thing you have to do is let go of all resentments toward anyone and everyone. You have to accept the dharma of a righteous portal. You have to unequivocally admit to yourself that you do not know and refuse to accept the lies that are manifested like flies round an open toilet. You have to give way and allow ‘the’ mind to reorient you. The whole of the world around you is collectively going in the wrong direction. It may be hard to grasp this, but observing the realities that result from what you can observe, it is not hard to see.

Those who presently sit atop the world’s order and wield the powers of life and death are grooved toward painful instruction in the not so distant future. Those who support these efforts of violence and obfuscation are themselves grooved toward supporting roles in the drama. You need not wonder how millions came to be involved in tragic spectacle. You can see that it happened. Are you interested in a part? Are you rehearsing at this moment?

The sad fact is that nothing in this world is worth having. It just isn’t. It is set up to break your heart. The good news, the very, very good news is that it is all happening for a reason and the sooner you catch on the sooner your suffering will go by the way. The reason that nothing in this world is worth having is that it is all temporary. It is also because this world is a shadow of the real world and you are being tested and sometimes tortured into learning that this place of endless struggle and loss is merely a launching pad. There are other, better locations and you can rehearse for them just as surely as you are rehearsing your next tragic-comic role. You can enter into a relationship with another location while still in this one. We should be very careful whom we seek out to be our friends. We should make every effort to make friends in locations that make the priciest resorts and residences of this world look like a culvert dwelling outside Calcutta by comparison.

There is a Buddha called the Buddha of Unbearable Compassion. This Buddha looks upon the carnage of this world recognizing he can do nothing to change a thing. It is all a matter of choice. Those who have passed through this vale of tears with messages of hope and redemption should be listened to. One should inquire in ones heart as to the truth of their offerings. One should be most careful of the official interpretations and institutions erected upon their seeming departure. These who have brought us these messages have not gone anywhere. You can place yourself under their protection. They are not all different entities. They are the same, appearing differently for the benefit of catering to particularized inclinations within us. We are not all inclined to the same face. One should search among these great portals and see which of them appeals.

Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch; the Pope and all institutions and Las Vegas style amusement parks of the mind will not help you one bit. All the big examples and millions of smaller adherents to temporal gain and dogmatic mumbo jumbo are not the ones to follow. I know it has an overwhelming appearance. It looks real. Why would people throw their lives and money at these things if they weren’t real? The whole world can’t be insane, can it? As a matter of fact, yes.

Find a good friend. Good friends are hard to find. You have to look. You have to surely make as much effort as you make for all the illusions you work so hard to materialize. In the end, it comes down to what you want. Do you want a piece of the action no matter what it costs? There you go. Do you want the truth, even if it requires the end of you as you know yourself at this time? Do you want to go on believing that you are who you think you are? Have you had enough and just want to find your way home? These as the questions you have to ask yourself. One thing is certain; whatever course you choose, life will instantly begin to adjust around it and turn it into your world. That’s an example of a very real power that you have.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Deciding whether to do Your Job or get the Hell out of Dodge.

In the Buddhist tradition there are Bodhisattvas and Arhats. The activities of the former are concerned with assisting others in their quest for Liberation. The activities of the latter are concerned with just getting out of the mix entirely. This is woefully simplistic but it serves for what I am going to say.

Supposedly there are four castes in the Hindu system; actually there are five- The highest caste is Brahman, they are the priestly caste, followed by the Kshatriya who are the warrior castes, then the Vaishya- the merchant class and then the Sudra who are the workers or peasant class. Finally there are the untouchables whom they say are casteless; but isn’t that a caste anyway? It’s like saying you are the lowest of the low and you don’t even have a definition, however, that ‘is’ a definition.

Possibly you think, “Well, that’s off the wall, a system that condemns people to a position for life without hope of promotion.” Have you ever been to England? I rest my case. I might add that such a caste system is very prominent in America as well. It’s designed in such a way as to promote a particular illusion, defining it otherwise, but hey, ‘if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck’ it’s probably not a seat cushion; then again…

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Boston Brahmin’. We know too that there is a class of people who automatically get into the right schools and the right clubs and meet the ‘right’ people. Yes, certain people from all walks of life may get into the right school. They may not get into the right club however. They may meet the ‘right’ people. Who knows where that might lead? Yes, some people even crack the system in a big way; athletes, entertainers, artists and criminals (grin). Some people marry up (or down). Some people gain that sycophantic niche; there to bask in reflected glory as a Boswellian catamite. As we’ve seen, appearances are just that. The thing with appearances is that they are always there and as a result we become accommodated to them and deception always follows at some point as a matter of course. It doesn’t matter how much you tell yourself you are watching television and that you are apart from it. At some point you get sucked in. That’s its job.

The Gnostics had the idea that there are two Gods. One of them is evil and he created the world in which you live. The other God comes to save you out of it. In fact they are just two aspects of the same force; ‘lord of the light and of the darkness’

If you study yogis and the lives of yogis you get the idea that detachment from the world is the goal. In most cases they seem inclined to help others to do the same. You also notice that they seldom polarize with the doings of the world, i.e. get political, protest etc. Often they have no comment on the specific evil doers and exhibit a mastery of avoidance in confrontation with the Kissinger’s and Rupert Murdoch’s and Bush’s of this temporal sphere. You get the odd exception like Gandhi but Gandhi’s métier was non-violence; though it did lead to confrontation.

This is all about my little event the other day; basically a non-event actually. I addressed it though because it gives an example of something I’ve wanted to talk about anyway; is the primary concern of the yogi, occult scholar, metaphysician or spiritual personality about a general withdrawal from the world circumstance or should it involve speaking out against injustice? Should it involve telling the truth if that truth leads to conflict with the unchanging corruptions of this realm?

Maybe I’m just too un-evolved at this point to realize that playing Don Quixote is just that. Maybe it’s a romantic notion that hasn’t yet unraveled to the heart of the matter. I feel like I should point things out because of the high level of suffering that attends not understanding what is happening around you. Realized yogis have the capacity to clarify the minds of those they instruct so that gradual liberation takes place regardless of conditions and doesn’t require public demonstrations of resistance to evil. Didn’t Christ say, “Resist not evil”?

I expect there is more than a little Kshatriya in me. I note that incarnate world teachers on occasion do stir up a great deal of conflict, whereas the yogi ordinaire is seldom seen at this sort of thing. You get your Bhagwan Rajneesh now and again, or Da Free John who manifest a chaotic environment which is explained as a needed radical transition out of the grip of the sub matrix. The juries still out on those guys, at least as far as I’m concerned; if people can cut world leaders all that slack then I guess I can give the benefit of the doubt in these cases. Yogis go nuts too though.

So what am I or any of us to do, if we feel the strong pull to place a different definition on world events, that contrasts with the powerful message of mind control put out by demonic entities, that seek a wide enslavement of human consciousness? Doing so is going to bring flack. Of course I note that you can get flack no matter what; might as well have a good reason.

It seems to come down to the fact that it can be difficult to define evil and difficult to avoid becoming a monster in the pursuit of monsters. It seems also that, if everything is under control; and it is, that there isn’t anything to worry about. However, I am of the opinion that we all have a job to do. You can look at the job of being an undertaker as being unattractive and repulsive but it would be a much nastier place without them.

Are we our brother’s keeper? Surely it is always best to become more aware of the evil in ourselves before we go looking to correct it elsewhere; a large section of many major religions seems forgetful of this. And it is interesting to note that there are one set of behavioral rules for world leaders in politics and religion and another for the rank and file. Many people, possibly most people, get very confused about what’s okay and what isn’t; all manner of gratuitous laws keep coming around to legislate morality. Yet the arbiters, enforcers and constructors of these moralities are selectively casual about their own behavior. Depending on your caste you’re more or less likely to feel the whip.

Should one who works to disentangle themselves from the snares of the world, point out the snares of the world and the authors of these snares, even though the authors will then be compelled to react against such disclosure? Is it worth the certain backlash to labor in defense of humanity by telling the truth; thereby bringing slime, character assassination and enmity upon yourself? I suppose only you can know that.

Personally I prefer to speak to the means of extraction rather than to be overly concerned with the perpetrators of confinement. The names and faces change all the time but the essential conditions and principles with which you must work remains the same. I don’t hit the streets to riot in defense of liberty, though I know it’s going to happen over and over again; quite often these people wind up taking the places of their oppressors and doing the same job once more. It’s a conundrum, no mistake. It’s one of those intricate puzzles we must each encounter and resolve. I can only hope my own growth will stay constant in respect of my challenges so that I may often learn ahead of my mistakes; always remembering that mistakes are inevitable.

If no caste system were ever placed upon the human condition it would manifest automatically, regardless. If you’ve got a job, I’ve been told, do it with all your heart. …and never let your righteous distaste for the malefic efforts of scoundrels rob you of your ability to monitor yourself. Never allow yourself to be robbed of your compassion. It’s the least you can offer knowing that there but for fortune and the grace of God go us one and all.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Come Let us Reason Together.

I always wanted to say that. Maybe it's similar to Richard Brautigan wanting to end a book with the word mayonaise. As far as that book went I think it would have been better just to have used 'mayonaise' for the text entire.

This isn't a real entry and I am sorry for that. I got half a dozen emails today about a slur directed at me over at BOTF by someone who's been in the habit of that on occasion. It seems I can never get quit of that place. So my time was instead taken up writing a piece at my alter-ego Smoking Mirrors site. Every so often something bad gets said over there about me. I'm less concerned with that than I am with the fact that no one there ever defends me(grin). I also have to hear about that too. I once had many a friend there and I can't remember ever in my life losing so many friends without actually having done anything. But what are you going to do? You leave home and everybody that stayed behind is pissed that you got away.

Maybe the hardest thing that any of us have to deal with is the distance between who we want to be and who we think we are. Well, in fact, who we are is not who we think we are in the world of appearances and certainly not what others say we are in the world of appearances. So we should take comfort in the fact that under the stains and shadows of our garments and beyond the distorted mirror of our own minds image reflected back to ourselves we are all bathed in light, worthy of Love and immortal, perfect in fact. The way I look at it, it's just going to give me new material.

I'm confident that on the average there will always be about 4 posts a week here. So I owe you one and we'll start reflecting on what that might be... now.

Godspeed.

Monday, April 18, 2005

Just Because You Can't See it...

doesn't mean it isn't there.

Those who study in the metaphysical realm know that there is a specific process by which everything manifest comes into being. It’s called precipitation and is moves through four actual realms to the product in your hand. It moves from the archetypal to the creative to the formative to the material plane. It starts as an idea. Paul Foster Case gives a good example of the process. Imagine the idea of sitting down- that is the archetypal realm. In the creative realm all of the blueprints of the various kinds of chairs exist; the things you might sit down in. In the formative world is the process of making the chair; you can include procuring the wood and shaping and joining it here. On the material plane you have the actual chair. This principle applies to everything you can see and touch.

In the same way, all of the qualities of your persona exist as well. You are shaped. Unfortunately for many of us, we were being shaped before we had any hand in it and have had to work after the fact, were we so inclined, to improve upon the bundle of reactionary impulses that we achieved through telepathic invasion. We shape ourselves, or not and we ‘are shaped’ inasmuch as we allow ourselves to be, from a higher mind, or haphazardly according to our idea of what we should be. Independently we exist as something perfect already. True evolution is really a matter of unloading false identifications and embracing an original idea. But, we know better, don’t we?

I cannot hope to include all of the various associations and levels involved in this in a simple piece such as this. The onus is upon the reader to follow these thoughts out to obvious conclusions in respect of things like, ‘karma’, ‘samskaras’ and the like. People have the natural inclination to remain as they are. It’s why they ‘grow up’ vertically as children and then ‘grow out’ horizontally as adults. We are opposed to change, no matter how desperately we believe we wish for it. Enter pain; pain is provocation for growth. We don’t like pain but it is necessary for us in order that we might attain to that blessed destiny so far beyond what we can imagine.

Individuals have their challenges as do communities; nations, planets and planetary systems.

A few years ago, when I still lived in the former land of the free; The United States of America, I managed a jungle resort on the road to Hana on the island of Maui. This resort existed on about two acres of beautifully landscaped jungle gardens. It was a mini Shangri-La. I noticed one morning, out of the corner of my eye, what I can only describe as a shimmering sheet of iridescent silver following me as I walked on the property. It was a rectangular affair, perhaps a foot long and four or five inches wide. It was not constant but rather fading in and out of view. This would not be the first supernatural phenomenon I’ve ever run into. There have been many and many of them were far more powerful in the time they lasted than this. On this occasion I wasn’t psychedelicized. Over a period of several days this shimmering presence followed me around the grounds. I was ecstatic. Sometimes there was more than one. Sometimes there were none but most of the time there was one around.

I didn’t know what to make of this. I ran into a former girlfriend of mine during this time and I told her about it. She said she would have to come and check it out. When I returned from this encounter I found that this presence(s) was gone and it/they never returned. I was very disappointed. Later this girlfriend and a number of other people came out to the resort to attend a party I had thrown. The subject never came up. 'They' heard me talking about them (even at the distance of some miles) and they went away. I hope that I have learned to keep my mouth shut about things I would prefer not to lose.

I’m mentioning this because something similar just happened this morning. I won’t be saying anything more about it. Recently I’ve had a number of brief moments where something similar happened. The other times I have found myself in a state of dis-ease and low energy, grasping for some clarity and stability through what I can only describe as periods of intense pressure that I have had difficulty processing.

It’s said that we all have a Guardian Angel. The definition of this relationship is sometimes called; The Intelligence of Trial or Probation. Most people think initially that our Guardian Angel is a protective influence and that isn’t untrue, it’s just incomplete. The major job of this force is a process of ‘testing’ designed to guide us out of our confused state into a greater knowing (although ‘knowing’ isn’t to be confused with knowledge per se.). The combination of fire and water produces steam. We can become ‘steamed up’ as a result of situations that result from our engagement with this force. Anger and resistance are two by-products that occur when our acquiescence is not gracefully applied.

We are always dealing with a recurrent misperception in our minds about our role in this process. It’s just natural for us to think that we have something to do with it. In fact, the entire process is going on all the time independent of our efforts. Those of us who long for a heightened state of understanding believe that we must strive and aspire at all times. The conundrum is that this is true and untrue simultaneously. We’re really most required to be remembering constantly that the process is taking place and to allow, as much as possible, for it to take place unhindered. This process, which seems so complex from every perspective, is in fact, very simple.

Once again I find myself talking all around something with the intention that comprehension will occur as a by-product of reasoning it out. I am not alone in having cried out more times than I can remember, “Why don’t you just take over completely? Why don’t you just bypass all of my resistance and defeat every misguided effort on my part to interfere?” The thing is that we are meant to be co-participants in all of it. We’re not just robots; even if, in the end we find that total surrender is our only contribution. No doubt some of us would be glad to totally surrender at any time. But we have not yet touched the deeper parts of ourselves that we need to surrender. We are not in comprehension of what it is we are supposed to be surrendering. I guess I would say that the moment you discover anything, let it go, no matter what it is. But that’s just an idea and hmmmm… well now… words…

It’s been said by various oracles and teachers that we often are making our greatest progress when we seem to be the most confined; confused, despairing, lost, and out of touch with any sense of presence or grace; when we don't 'seem' to be progressing at all. We can think when we feel abandoned that that is the case. We too often define God according to our experiences of the world or what we understand about ourselves. Long before you thought about coming this way you have been guided here. You’re not dealing with the fine print on an insurance claim in this relationship. You’re not dealing with temporal agency.

Nothing you do is more important than to remember that, appearances and emotions aside, you are in the presence. A time will come when you will feel a sudden consciousness that has a will, clarity and a discipline of self far beyond anything you have ever discovered in yourself. You will feel understandably bereft when it departs. This is the benefit of faith. Faith has been called “the SUBSTANCE of things unseen.” And everything is made out of that substance.

So, when the mundane seems everywhere about, both within and without; when the gravity of manifest appearance presses down, when you’ve lost it and turned your ire on yourself or on others, it is good to remember (my motto), just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there and just because you can doesn’t mean it is.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to a Post.

Amitabha

I came here today expecting to put something up. I had something in mind. then I thought, "No, I don't think so, not today." then I thought I would say that and I went to do so and the page wouldn't load and then I got a message saying I has an 'internal server error' and that I should write the webmaster and explain what I thought I might have done to cause this. Heh heh... funny. Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow. I'm working pretty hard on my music and that is what called me away. You can go and hear some of the new work, if you are so inclined, by clicking on the 'Music Site' link to the right.

In the future if you see the picture of the Amitabha up without any text it will mean I am at that moment working on a new piece. It will be a sort of Early Warning System. See you tomorrow.

Tangling with Thorns on the Way to Wonderland.

Ah well, I almost didn’t make it here again today. I’ve been working on my various web pages, minimalizing everything and related projects go forward as well. Also I have found a property which seems ideal for all of our needs and aspirations inasmuch as they can be carried out within the limitations of this terrestrial bandwidth. It is remarkable how it reflects what I've been looking for. So, there’s this and that and of course there is this too. But here I am; only a little off my usual time frame.

I’ve been thinking about ‘baggage’. We’ve got so much of it and a good portion of it we don’t even identify as such but it is. Anything but our essential self and it’s mechanisms of expression are baggage. If there’s a ‘me’ or a ‘you’ and it has colors and sounds and circumstances where it appears other than it actually is and in all of its movements and noises and varieties of expression it goes on to manifest more and more apparent permutations of itself it could eventually gain the appearance of an entire world. It would be pretty difficult to separate the real from the unreal. It might seem impossible to locate the source of all that phenomena. That’s actually the situation we are in, big wise and small wise.

If you had gone running pell mell down a hill and stumbled and fell into a tangle of thorns; getting out might seem more painful and problematic than getting in. A slow and careful extraction of every thorn would still be an uncomfortable procedure. It would be made even more unpleasant by rising impatience with the situation. Some would go into a frenzy of wrenching, willing to suffer greater wear and tear for the relief of a speedier exit. This might well serve to only embed one deeper into the thicket with the addition of all that added pain. Sometimes finding our way out of something that we seemed to have gotten into with very little difficulty can take a much longer time to get out of.

Where do you go after you have gotten out? That’s not the only thicket of thorns in this world; nor is it the only kind of danger and confinement that might present itself. I’m thinking of all the tales that are allegory for the real circumstances we all find ourselves in at one time or another; though, because of the magic of appearance, an ogre may not look like a classical ogre and so on. There’s Theseus and Odysseus and even Alice in Wonderland and many others.

Our life is such a journey. It’s often dressed in mundane characteristics though. We don’t usually see fantastic beasts and shape-shifting tempters and temptresses. Everything is cloaked in the ordinary; if you can call what occurs here as ordinary in the sense that ordinary might mean normal. Actually what passes for normal here is a clear definition of crazy in the cosmic sense and vice versa.

In most stories there is always the impression given that most of the people don’t survive. Hundreds of people go into the minotaur’s cave and one or two come out. In all the legends where the king sets a test for the willing; where one either achieves a great fortune or dies as a result of failure or in the attempt, there are few success stories. That’s because the degree of difficulty you think you see is only a veil for other, possibly greater difficulties. Sometimes there are swamps and fires and what-have-you as well as thorns. Remove all of these challenges and you still have one problem you can’t get around. That problem is you.

Here’s an interesting thought. Let’s take a golden-haired youth and make him a football hero who gets the girl, has wealth etc; sort of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof if you will. Now, looking at it, you can see he surmounted many a challenge on his way to the collective prize. He was left with one challenge he failed though; coming to terms with, or better put- understanding himself. And all that he was and got was none of what he wanted and had the taste of ashes.

Looking from the outside it appears that some favored few (given our numbers it’s millions); are invited everywhere, have wealth to spare, can travel to exotic locales, get to rub up against expensive flesh (little do they know), hob nob with all the other ‘hail fellow well met’ bonhomie laden counterparts, flushed with the good life and patted down with the after-shave of success. That’s how it looks from the outside. That’s not how it looks from the inside and therein you have one of life’s greatest illusions and the eternal lure into one of its greatest misfortunes. The worst kind of thorn thicket is the one you don’t know you are in.

The interesting thing is that whoever does get trapped in the thicket isn’t you. You, essentially, cannot be confined in such a manner. One could learn a great deal by reading the Bhagavad-Gita. Well, the Pilgrim’s Progress continues. So does the search for those many grails of many names. What would you do with the Holy Grail? If it’s an actual object then it would surely put you in even more danger than the possession of Mowgli’s jewel be-crusted elephant goad. I know that there are physical objects that have power for those who understand their use. They don’t attract me though. I happen to know that the Holy Grail is an internal affair, the way to which is blocked only by the shadows of one’s false self. All the blind alley’s and circumlocutions are attended by one guide or another in the service of the false self.

We live in this world that looks so depressingly ordinary. Where are all the chimerical creatures and members of the Devic Realm and fairylands? We read stories about princesses in towers guarded by a black knight. The black knight is your ignorance. The tower is your spinal column. The princess is your Kundalini. Wait a minute; who are you? (grin)

I’m of the firm opinion that you are not going to get past the perils on your own. You have to have a guide. You’ve the automatic guide of the false self and his army of Legion and you’ve certain other guide options; or maybe it’s only one option. Those who say the new avatar is Lord Kalki and those who say it is the returning Christ are both correct. We need to find the clothes most comfortable for us to wear to the benefit of our understanding. It’s critical to remember that the crucifixion of Christ is one of the most important elements of mind control for the established church. Some say there was no crucifixion. Some say it wasn’t Jesus who was crucified. Some say it was Simon and some Judas. One thing for sure, probing into such things and discussing them is sure to make the Luddite’s and wolves in sheep’s clothing howl. I’ll go so far as to say that nothing is what it appears to be and that historical record is mostly fabrication and written to the benefit of controlling interests. I’m certain that there ‘is’ a Christ and that Christ is a manifestation of God, but NOT the only one; though he is unique to this point in being the most complete expression of divinity to date.

Then again, as long as you are wearing clothes (metaphorically speaking) they can be snagged on thorns. Crucifixion is a symbolic representation of the relationship of Spirit to Matter (It is interesting to note that what you usually die from in crucifixion is ‘suffocation’). Both are composed out of the body of God. But, in order for the relationship of duality to exist- shadow must come with light; in order for us to have a world in which to experience life; to have a stage upon which to gesture and display, sorrow and joy must be handmaidens. If we get lost someone has to go looking for us; ‘thank God’ for that.

Now, I’ve been in a few briar patches, for whatever reasons. Sometimes you don’t need a reason, not paying attention will do. I like honey too but I’m not about to brave the bees for it. In other words, I don’t like honey that much. No, actually I like honey a great deal and I would risk far more than bee stings to get it. But I’ve my own definition of honey.

For some the goal is Disneyland and its got golf courses and graveyards and they’re both in the same place. In Disneyland the bad stuff is behind the scenery in the Soylent Green factory. For some the goal is Wonderland, though ‘wonder’ can take many forms. Many want to get out of this world but have no clear idea of what waits beyond, or ‘where’ it waits. Once again, I’d have to say; you need a guide. There are more worlds at more levels of varyingly refined substance than you can imagine. Even the most beautiful of worlds may be no more than a temporary flower in a thorn bed; at least it bears consideration. So, before I decide I want to go anywhere, I will have to decide why I want to go and whether what I am after can be found there. What do you want? Making God the fruit of desirous quest promises a reduction in painful entanglements. In other words, go to the source and in the process, all extraneous thorn catching devices will melt away along with the thorns.

Saturday, April 09, 2005

The Fixation of the Volatile- Quicksilver Messenger Service.

I’ve mentioned it many times and I’ve heard and read it many times and, like you I get it or I don’t get it; I remember it and I forget it- it’s the nature of the thing and one of the mysteries that make a balanced life problematic… And that is that there is ONLY one mind. There is no ‘your mind’ and ‘my mind’. There’s no such thing. I know it appears to be the case but it is not. This individual mind that we ‘think’ we possess is an illusion. It is an illusion just as certainly as the one that makes us think we are something apart from everything else. We aren’t. Like it or not. Our thinking so is what puts us into conflict with everything else and makes our life so much less fulfilling and enjoyable than it might otherwise be.

We are a ‘school’ of fish swimming in a common ocean. Our idea of an individual mind is just that place where we touch the one mind. We are individualized by our personal perception of it. What we think it is is based on what we have so far reasoned it out to be according to the report of the senses. The idea of a separate conscious and subconscious mind is also fallacious. They are just different levels of the same mind. People who are able to enter into deeper levels of trance know this.

The one mind is eternal. The idea of the individual mind is mortal. In your lives you progress to ever more refined states of expanded personal mind limitation until you are able to resolve into the one mind. Now here appears a phenomenon that seems to be at odds with some of what I just said. You do not lose your individuality when you become one with the universal mind. You lose your wrong perception of what that individuality was and you recapture it in a whole new way. I am not so foolish as to attempt to go into further explanation of this. In any case, you’ll find out.

There are enormous practical benefits to unifying with the one mind, not the least of which is a reduction in suffering. The more desperately one holds to the idea of a separated self the greater the suffering.

The mind is quicksilver, mercurial, ever restless, never still. Stilling the mind is the point at which, one might say, life truly begins. The manner I use to effect this is that of casting out thought. I practice emptying mind of extraneous chatter; a deeper conversation emerges. This conversation- the voice of the silence- has ALWAYS been going on. You just haven’t been hearing it. Maybe long ago you heard it but you didn’t like what it was saying because what it was saying ran at cross purposes to what you want. The universal urge is not toward a greater intelligence. That intelligence is behind the urge. It precedes it.

I don’t empty my mind just to make it empty. I make it empty so that it can be filled with something else. This is an important point.

The alchemists- practitioners of The Western Mystery Tradition- speak of the seven precious metals, more commonly known as the planets. The Eastern Tradition speaks of the seven chakras. Each of these chakras is an entire world; a planet. If you could take an elevator up the virtual spinal column and it opened up into any of these environments you would be impressed at the scope of comprehensive detailing; truly they are an entire world. The alchemists also speak of three elements; Mercury, Sulphur and Salt. The Eastern Tradition speaks of the three Guna’s; Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. You can think of them as; thought/thinking, passion and inertia. Of course there are many permutations but this will do initially. If you think of Rajas as a fire, maybe add a little Tamas and you will get smoke which will cloud thought. You can extrapolate exponentially on this.

The one mind is conscious. That would seem to be obvious but often it is not. Therefore if it is conscious then you would share in its consciousness if you were conscious in it. “I and my father are one.” Everything you see is a product of thought manifested through precipitation. For most of us this precipitation happens over such a period of time that we see nothing magical about it. Speed it up and it becomes very magical. It is magical. Adepts can precipitate things instantaneously. The speed at which things appear is not necessarily the most important feature. That they appear at all is what’s important. So, whatever level you are at you have this capacity since you have the capacity to think. You are capable of this magic. Focus is key and a mind empty of chatter is far more competent at it.

Passion, Rajas, Mars, whatever you want to call it, gives energy to the precipitation of what is thought. Life is very simple at the essential level, regardless of the complexity of possibilities. A cluttered mind further complicates ones capacity to act and think clearly.

For most people, the idea of the one mind deciding what is best is an intrusion. Somehow we have the idea that we know better. Of course we are given the opportunity to find this out. That’s where suffering comes in. The greatest delight in life is to want nothing. There’s nothing wrong with sampling the foodstuffs at the buffet table. However, the need to over indulge will eventually lead to your being bent over a trough. It’s not about the food usually that is causing you to act like a pig, it’s the lack of something else. Yeah we look everywhere for what we want but what we want isn’t out there. Tag, you’re it.

Now whether you are of the ‘come to Jesus’ mindset, or dwelling in Buddha mind, or whatever your inclination may be, they are all essentially the same. This I have on good authority from those who have directly experienced it; Ramakrishna for one. Most people lie to me, some few don’t. I’ll listen to all of you but I will only accept some of it. Most people don’t lie intentionally or with intent to mislead or injure another. Most people don’t even realize they are doing it most of the time. One of the reasons I can’t be lied to is that I let everything I hear vibrate in the universal mind and the universal mind reverberates in respect of its degree of reality. It’s not that I know anything. I don’t. I don’t have to… heh…heh…

It is far better to be a little kid and to be able to ask your parents for the answer to everything; especially if your parents happen to be God. It is much less beneficial to have to rely on the extreme limitations of your own information; not that that stops most people.

If you are in a crowd of noisy people it is much harder to hear someone speaking than it is in a quiet room. It is possible to have the degree of concentration necessary to ‘tune out’ the interference but that takes work. Learning anything takes work and application. It depends on what you want. Your desires are what drive you to know about specific things. To each their own, so they say; for myself I would rather weave my desires into a single strong cord. After all, when you get down to it there is only one thing any of us really want. Call it Peace of Mind. Call it Harmony. Call it Love. Depending on your disposition it could be any of them. Just as the various paths lead to the same thing, though it may seem different to you, so are these all the same essentially and more could be added.

The place you begin anything is inside. Eventually your environment will reflect what you are; “as a man thinketh- so is he” You can literally think your way into paradise just as certainly as you can think your way into Hell. Words and actions follow thought. “Where your heart is, so therefore are your treasures also.” Is all of this just too simple to understand? Then why is it so hard for so many people? Is it too complicated? Uh …duh. Is it not on good authority? Maybe Jesus and Buddha got it wrong? Think about it.

Friday, April 08, 2005

Some Flowers and Digressions in my Pathway.

Well now, onward and upward- as I like to say. It’s a gray day here today. I like to think that the weather, overall, in a place where it could be better- given its location- is often an expression of the general mindset of the populace. I live, somewhat against my aspirations otherwise, in a small town in Germany that dates back to about 800AD. It’s one of those picturesque postcard towns. It’s not a poor town. Europe doesn’t have the sort of thing America does. It lacks the wide disparity between rich and poor. It has nowhere near the crime. Of course all larger urban locations anywhere have the sociopathy and moral ambiguity that is the general product of too many people pressed too close together in a place where everything is for sale. Even so, Europeans are much better behaved.

Germany is a depressed place mentally and emotionally. Each country I’ve been to has certain characteristics. Depression I notice here. No matter where we are though, we do not have to buy into the overall vibration. We’re affected by it. If we stand in the rain we get wet. But life isn’t, in it’s essence about what goes on outside of us but inside of us. To some degree we are what we think and how we feel. What we think and how we feel is based on our interpretation of experience and circumstance. Change your view and you change your world; sooner or later.

Well, this isn’t what I was going to talk about so let’s just move on. I like to have a free range capacity when I write. I might be on my way somewhere, or in the middle of something and just want to stop and say, “Look at that.” Or maybe go kick dirt clumps in a field for a moment before I head off toward my destination. I like digression. We digress in our lives more than we probably think we do. Most of us have no idea where we are heading. The difference between our perception of events, the perceptions of our fellows and the truth of events is often very dissimilar. So is the difference between where we thought we were headed and where we wound up.

From the time I first realized I was here and then started looking around and where I am today I’ve come across many individuals who have moved me. Most have moved me away; some have moved me in for a closer look. At some point- and I don’t know when it happened, it wasn’t all that long ago I developed a fairly fine-tuned lie detector; a truth perceiving capacity. All along I had a sense of whether something was bonafide or not but my own desires often compromised my perceptions. It’s kind of like how you can’t cheat an honest man. That’s a very true statement, once it is properly understood.

My interest in the arcane, the occult, the spiritual and metaphysical has been with me all my life. I can honestly say that this interest has superseded all other interests overall. I don’t have that much interest in terrestrial affairs and there isn’t much there to surprise me. 99% of the time I don’t even have to consciously register any of it; its origin, intention and unavoidable conclusion are patently obvious. I’ve been able to affirm this in hindsight enough times where it’s not a mystery. The lives lived here and the things they encounter have been repeating in the same relationships and results for thousands of years. The technologies have been different and the fashions change. The rest of it doesn’t change except to constantly keep changing into the same thing over and over again.

In the midst of this have come and gone the occasional extraordinary individuals. These individuals and their lives interest me. I’m not interested in blood relationships, real estate, bank accounts, eating in restaurants or call girls in my hotel rooms. I’m not interested in micro managing the lives of offspring or sending out Christmas cards; going to the PTA, sitting in meetings about how to improve a bottom line or even much contemplating the lines of anyone’s bottom; I’ve more of an eye for the marvelous symmetry of natures beauties though than I am in how to make money off of it. I’ve much more interest in art than in business. I’ve less than a zero interest in the usual activities or day dreams of the 99%.

This isn’t meant as a criticism of them. Everyone has a right to their interests and their dreams and all interests and dreams have fees and consequences. As far as the basic morality of community standards, I have certainly offended them more than the majority; I think.

In my progress through this vale of tears I’ve been influenced by the work of a few people. I’ll leave the various artists in their various fields out of the equation; if they were any good I probably liked them. Though I am familiar with most of those whose names have come into view as spiritually inclined I am only impressed with a very few. These would be Ramakrishna; Ramana Maharshi, Pantanjali, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Amitabha Buddha, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Meher Baba, Guru Bawa, Omar Khayyam, Paramahansa Yogananda and his lineage. I am also impressed with various alchemical and occult writers; Paul Foster Case, Arthur Edward Waite, Basil Valentine, Thomas Vaughn, Paracelsus, Eliphas Levi and Cornelius Agrippa to name but a few. Then there are those new thought writers like Joseph Brenner, Ernest Holmes, Alice Bailey and a few others. I’ve omitted a few but not many.

What all of these people did was tell me the truth. All of them had a sense of service as well and none of them seemed inclined to make a business of their efforts. These features are key to my appreciation of them. This is not to say that I haven’t left out many righteous, selfless and brilliant, God-intoxicated individuals; I have. Some of them I don’t know about and some of them just didn’t make the cut.

I am less than amused by 99% of those who consider themselves proponents of the new age. Most of these people have no shame. I’ve no use for the Rudolph Steiner’s and Emanuel Kant’s who though possibly accurate, make me want to smother myself with a pillow. I’m not into witchcraft in order to maximize and legitimize my sexual opportunities and quest for personal mystery and power and Satan worship is only a fascination with God’s rear end.

I deluded myself about a lot of things for a lot longer than I wished I’d done. I’ve compromised myself to get along. I’ve lied out of convenience. I’ve been less than I might have been on my way to being what I am. We can’t use the mistakes of our past as some sort of bizarre justification for a continuation of the same. If we do we are a fool. We shouldn’t let past failures imply that we shall always fail. We shouldn’t condemn ourselves for stupid things we did when we were stupid. We should never let peer pressure influence our awareness of what we know to be right. Not if the might of the world appears arrayed before us should we waver in our faith in the source of all power. But zealous outrage and a passion to change anything but ourselves should be viewed as the dangerous business it can often become. I’m reminded of Nietzsche’s comment on becoming a monster.

The people I mentioned never steered me wrong; would that we had more of their like. It amazes me that there are so few. It amazes me how pedestrian are the interests and pursuits of so many. I always feel like I got off at the wrong stop.

Well, I don’t know how this is all going to resolve itself; not the details anyway. The end I know in part- but not the landscape through which I’m going to pass.

I look at all these teachers; these other teachers that I haven’t mentioned. They sit on their chairs in front of their followers and talk of flowery nonsense. Some of these people have some wisdom and capacity. Some of them are telling the truth up to a point. But a great many of them are running a con. I remember quite a few of them that I felt uneasy about and the things that followed for them.

The first requirement of being ‘a master’ is to actually be a master. That presupposes knowing from whence comes the mastery. We never know what we might face. We never know what might be exposed; what traps are laid, what tests wait, what moment may come in which we find ourselves an example of what not to do. Given the opportunity of a wider celebrity in anything, it is a wise soul who knows when to keep their head down, not forget the provision train and remember the examples of the past.

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Fiddling With the Dials for Better Reception, Part 2.

It was around 3:00 this afternoon when I realized that I hadn’t yet done my meditations and, oh yeah, I was going to complete the piece about my personal practices and disciplines. So I went and meditated and now I’m here about an hour later writing this thing.

What happened was I started working on this new song and then it occurred to me, down the road that I’d just blown right past my usual routine. The thing is; I don’t have a usual routine. I have what I usually do but sometimes don’t do. It’s better to have a fixed process, inasmuch as possible, and so it is better to go right to ones meditation as soon as one can after awakening. It sets the tone for your day. It’s good to do it in the same place and the same time. There are reasons for this. I think you can figure out what they are so I will leave it at that.

When I am set some way, across some days, into my routine and am not being plagued by personal inconsistencies brought about by a taste for altered mindsets, or any of the various hobgoblins that steal ones time and attention; at least in my case, I begin my day with some variation of The Sun Worship- which serves also to loosen one up. Then I go into my yoga which is a combination of various martial arts forms and dynamic tension. Following that I meditate.

I open my meditation by saluting the Amitabha Buddha and asking him to make it possible for me to live in his Pure Land while I am yet in this body; that I might become a window into his kingdom and that I might seamlessly pass fully there upon the release of this garment; or whatever may actually occur. The Amitabha, over the course of a great many years and austerities and the completion of some 48 vows (or so) achieved enlightenment and refused to pass over until every other sentient being had preceded him (more or less). According to the Amitabha, you can call his name sincerely in your dying moments and he will transfer you to his Western Pure Land (alleged to be somewhere in Manchuria- certain of the Heavens interpenetrate with the physical realm- one needs the eyes to see however), no questions asked. You can also reincarnate there over and over and work out your karma in his kingdom. I’m all for that. He’s got the best plan I’ve come across and, for whatever reason, I’m a big fan.

Next I salute The Man on the Beach and request that we might meet again, soon- and that I might have the benefit of another conversation with him. Who and what he is to me I do not know. I do know that as a result of our encounter my Kundalini was awakened.

Next I salute Lord Kalki, the coming avatar and ask that the waters of his presence might flow into my being and transform me into his likeness so that I might reflect his being into the manifest realm.

Next I begin a period of; I’m not sure what to call it. It is like chanting but it isn’t that. It’s a low rubbing, but oscillating, vibrating series of sounds that follow a pattern known to itself. Sometimes I will begin with the repetition of some variant of ‘Ram’; Ram and Om and Amon and ‘Hiram’ and many variations all point to… well, maybe you get the picture. Then I go into this sound pattern and it provokes moving mudras and other special effects and I can generally feel and move with the indwelling presence. Then I will meditate for a time. My general focus is union with the divine. I don’t spend any time asking for anything. There isn’t anything else that I want; not really. Sometimes I will be riding on waves of gratitude, or it might be Love but it’s all about union and becoming more and more completely a part of the divine.

When I come out of it I take a few minutes to integrate. I recommend against just jumping up and heading off for the next thing. Then I’ll get up and go write this, unless I write it just before I meditate (which sometimes happens). Then it’s on with the day which involves writing and composing, recording and; who knows what?. Through the day I try to remind myself, as often as I can remember, of the divine presence. When I walk down the street I let my footsteps beat out a pattern of remembrance. I may repeat Amitabha every time my foot hits the ground. There are many things I practice when I’m moving through the public realm. If I don’t then I’m fair game for it’s marketplace of attractions. I like to walk in the woods.

Before I go to bed I may meditate but often I do what I do when I am in bed. I lay there and I reach and I interact in my mind and my heart with the divine and whatever thoughts I may have about that. It is at this time that I may engage in some visualization about possibilities in my life; where I might live, what I might do, things that might happen for me. I always leave the ‘might’ in there because I have no way of knowing what is best for me and I would rather leave that in God’s hands. I try to remember to ask God to please come into my dreams and my sleep time and grant me teachings. I may repeat something like “Be Still and Know that I Am God”, or quietly vibrate my variation on the Ram-Om sound.

There’s not much else I do. I try to stay with a few things. Something may drop away. Something may evolve into a further refinement; often that is the case. I believe you do yourself no good switching from one thing to the other as is the case with many new age butterflies. I’ve little use for much of anything that has a new age imprimatur. Probably because there isn’t anything new and there never will be; things forgotten will of course be rediscovered, but they are not new. I have some difficulty being around people who are doing big business around their spiel.

I’ve no patience with- and immediately reject any system- that can be learned over the course of three weekends and comes with certifications and such and… now you can go out and instruct others and collect a fee. I’ve no patience with anyone who presumes to teach Tantra; the possibility that they have any idea what they are talking about is slim. I’ve no use for formalized religion- in my own life. Few yoga teachers have a clue. As long as they are just teaching stretching based on yoga principles, that’s ‘probably’ okay.

As far as the truth goes, hardly any of the people purporting to possess it have it. Real fountains of the living waters are few and far between. If you are sincere, you will find it interesting how the teachers you encounter become more refined as you become more aware. Accept nothing, test everything.

I often repeat from memory the first mediation in the back of “The Way to the Kingdom”. I don’t have a copy of it anymore but I will write it out and put it up sometime in the next few days.

I eat a basically vegetarian diet, except that I also eat fish (of which I am very fond) now and then. My diet is based around brown rice and vegetables. It can get pretty exotic. I eat usually once a day in the late afternoon or early evening. I eat fruit at odd times when I want something. I drink a lot of apple juice and other juices and I have a couple of cups of fine black tea in the mornings. Sometimes I smoke American Spirit cigarettes but that is more and more a thing of the past. Once in a while I’ll have an espresso.

That more or less completes a sketchy outline of what I’m about. I’m not sure I recognize the guy but I do as far as I was able to go. Since it came up here; I’m going to write next about movements and teachers and what I think about a lot of them and who I admire and a few things like that. Be well.

Visible sings: Down The Roads by Les Visible♫ Down The Roads ♫

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Fiddling With the Dials for Better Reception, Part 1.

Over the course of doing this- I don’t know what to call it really; It’s not a ‘blog’. Whatever this is, in the process of doing it I’ve gotten a number of emails asking how I go about my own personal program and if I had any general ideas. That covers so much ground ‘out here’ that I hardly know where to begin. Of course you ‘begin at the beginning’; taking into consideration that it began you to begin with.

I’ll have to cover some ground first. That ground may not seem germane initially but it all connects. So, essential Buddha is not Buddhism. Essential Christ is not Christianity and so forth and so on. Truth is neither the definition nor the elaboration. Think of a naked body and a clothed body. Consider the ‘idea’ of a body.

Getting where you want to go should not be confused with the territory you pass through and it shouldn’t be understood as a location you are going to arrive at. There is a basic confusion in the mind that has to be overcome and you won’t be the one doing that either. We’ve all heard variations on the theme of, “Be here now.”, “Be still and know.” And I could get lost in the attempt to define what that means. However important the reality behind these thoughts may be, they are meaningless to a mind not properly placed to understand them. Its like, “let it flow baby.” Yeah sure, boom!!! …right into the abyss.

Just as our body is composed of different systems working together (we hope), so also are our mental and emotional bodies. Think of the sun as the center of the solar system and the planets in their courses as well as the interplay of various gravities. You get the idea of a dynamic tension that maintains the arrangement. We’re just like that. The various features of our being all exert forces of gravity; attraction and repulsion that make up the particular person we are and define the quality and intensity of our relationship to ourselves and others. You get the idea.

It stands to reason that the ideal situation is a harmony between the related bodies; everything working in concert with everything else. You can see how difficult this is when you throw in environmental circumstances and all of the permutations of everything acting for or against the defining self we assume ourselves to be.

This ‘defining self’ sees itself as something apart from the other defining selves. The senses report this and we base much of what we think and do on this evidence. Let’s say, for the sake of example that there is a living absolute truth that, as you move away from it becomes further and further veiled in relative degrees of untruth. We have a connection to this living truth and each of us is separated from perfect comprehension of it by veils of varying thickness. Call them ‘samskaras’. These cloud our perception of the light that pervades everything. Many who have experienced moments of enlightenment say that when it happened they saw that everything was filled with light. In fact, everything is made out of light. We are light in extension.

So, we’ve got light and we’ve got darkness. Those whose samskaras (resident karma) are thin have a more or less constant awareness of the presence of light. For those whose samskaras are thick there may be no idea of this light at all. There is another light though, a false light, that gives the impression of sight. Entire worlds go on there and they seem as real as real can be.

In Kabala there are 3 designations of; AIN: Nothingness, AIN SOPH: Limitless and AIN SOPH AUR: Limitless Light. You can find the same things mirrored in the mystical side of every faith. Here I should say that Kabala is not a Judaic tradition in its origin. Ageless wisdom is not part of any faith. Even the Hebrew alphabet was taken from the Chaldean which preceded it. Traditions expropriate; it’s what they do. I say this to point out that what you find, the deeper you go, is that you are dealing with a living thing that has worn various outfits according to the seasons of human experience but it isn’t any of them. Here is where it all goes wrong; confusing the clothes with the body they are worn on. The world is a fashion war. People are arguing about the permutations of fashion. And this is true in religions as well as social systems, political systems etc. To be frank I could say its all bullshit and this is the heartbreak of the matter.

What one must conclude, or what I conclude, is that we are helpless, powerless children. All our vain assumptions to the contrary are what causes us look so ridiculous and behave so badly. Now, either you believe there is a conscious living God who is well disposed to you or you have to continue in the darkness until you learn otherwise. Simply put, that’s how it is.

I realize I’ve been wandering all about here, sketching out a bare idea. I could write a book on most of the paragraphs that have preceded this one. People have done so already, over and over. Maybe you should start hitting yourself up side the head with any of these books until you get it. That might be more helpful than trying to find out what the contents of the book have to do with the perception of reality; the actual, living perception of it.

So, God is real, God knows where and who you are. God is inclined to help you. God is truth. God is Love. You must come to the understanding that God is conscious within you now. Subsequently, your job is to open more and more to this understanding and provide God with more access and less resistance. There are many paths up the mountain and there are all sorts of addendum and variation to what I am saying but let’s not be concerned with that. Because no matter who you think you are or where you find yourself it is the same thing essentially. The relationship and where it needs to go are basically the same. The harmony between the planets and the sun that I spoke of exists forever in the mind of God. God possesses the harmony you seek. God is inclined to experience this harmony in you. There is a perfect law that guides you step by step on your way.

To digress for a moment, it is less about finding something out than it is about remembering. Brother Lawrence was on course when he spoke about, “practicing the presence of God”. Constant remembrance of and constant practice of the presence of God is the key. How you go about this is a matter of choice. Yesterday Ben mentioned Ramana Maharshi in the comments section. Ramana is an enlightened being. He got there by asking “What am I.” I’ve also heard, “Who am I.” He did it without ceasing and he got the answer.

It is critical to understand that the process of God Realization is something that is accomplished in you through the good offices of your Holy Guardian Angel (also God in a particular suit of clothes). You cooperate in this, you do not affect it. It is of cardinal importance to realize that the process occurs independent of your efforts. You can participate in the process through cooperation or you can oppose it. You aren’t going to be doing it. Accept that it is taking place and look at every event in your life as a part of it. Hunger and aspire, reach and surrender. Believe.

This is obviously going to take a Part Two so we will continue tomorrow. In closing I will leave you with a couple of things I work with, that I repeat in my mind every day. They may not be for you. This is just to answer the question of what I do. Tomorrow I will give the rest of them. There aren’t that many of them. And tomorrow I can go more personal about my end of the equation and what I expect from the things I practice as well as; why these particular things?

Please forgive me if I have been less than clear in my efforts here. For one thing, I write this out as it occurs to me. I don’t take the time that I might to analyze it all. I don’t take the time to play with the possibilities of different ways to say it. It just comes out and then I give it a cursory look over for spelling and grammatical errors. Perhaps I should be more careful but I haven’t the inclination; either I’m guided or I’m not. I fully believe that God will correct my errors. I’m a work in progress just like you. Always when dealing with the personal angle it is more problematic than otherwise. Also, I have limitations in respect of what I can say; limitations in my understanding and limitations in my gifts of expression. I am hopeful that I will attain a better capacity but for the present… limitations. See you tomorrow (God Willing).


The PATTERN on the TRESTLEBOARD

This Is Truth About The Self

0.
All the Power that ever was or will be is here now.

1.
I am a center of expression for the Primal Will-to-Good which eternally creates and sustains the Universe.

2.
Through me its unfailing Wisdom takes form in thought and word.

3.
Filled with Understanding of its perfect law, I am guided, moment by moment, along the path of liberation.

4.
From the exhaustless riches of its Limitless Substance, I draw all things needful, both spiritual and material.

5.
I recognize the manifestation of the Undeviating Justice in all the circumstances of my life.

6.
In all things, great and small, I see the Beauty of the Divine Expression.

7.
Living from that Will, supported by its unfailing Wisdom and Understanding, mine is the Victorious Life.

8.
I look forward with confidence to the perfect realization of the Eternal Splendor of the Limitless Light.

9.
In thought and word and deed, I rest my life, from day to day, upon the sure Foundation of Eternal Being.

10.
The Kingdom of Spirit is embodied in my flesh.


THE EMERALD TABLET OF HERMES

True, without falsehood, certain and most true, that which is above is as that which is below, and that which is below is as that which is above, for the performance of the miracles of the One Thing. And as all things are from One, by the mediation of One, so all things have their birth from this One Thing by adaptation. The Sun is its father, the Moon its mother, and the Wind carries it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth. This is the father of all perfection, or consummation of the whole world. Its power is integrating, if it be turned into earth. Thou shalt separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, suavely, and with great ingenuity. It ascends from earth to heaven and descends again to earth, and receives the power of the superiors and of the inferiors. So thou hast the glory of the whole world; therefore let all obscurity flee before thee. This is the strong force of all forces, overcoming every subtle and penetrating every solid thing. So the world was created. Hence were all wonderful adaptations, of which this is the manner. Therefore am I called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. What I have to tell is completed, concerning the Operation of the Sun.

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

The Master Game and The Company Store.

In the dance of life; the game of life, we deal with two things; essence and product. The one is single, profound and unchanging. The other is legion and constantly in change. One effects change and the others are changed. At this time, perhaps at all times, there is always the hope and often the reliance upon the latter to provide the former. Essence proceeds only from itself. It does not proceed from any product. This is where idolatry comes from and all the practices and principles that are also that but which masquerade behind many presumed faces of the divine.

We, the bedraggled refugees from parts unknown; we are ever hopeful that some new product; some new theme, some less taxing process or some Transformer toy will finally do for us what we have long sought to do for us; that which only ‘essence’ can provide.

Maybe you’ve been looking; many people are. Maybe you’ve been looking in traditional ways, occult or shamanistic paths, new age alternatives or what have you; and believe me… we have. We have every dimension of possibility; old and new, ‘new and improved’, better than new, cheaper than stolen, frightfully expensive- so as to guarantee exclusivity, inscrutably arcane and ‘simple with easy to assemble instructions’.

The very complexity of choices is as mind numbing as the contents of many. Of course it’s essence alone that you want. You couldn’t be satisfied with anything but essence because nothing else works in the long run. There are many short-term palliatives that provide an initial sense of relief or accomplishment. A lot of things feel good for awhile because they change where you were enough to give an illusion of improvement.

If you start looking on the internet you begin to find hundreds of oracles with an indication of an essence connection. There’s the preliminary rap, the promise of deepening levels of understanding and there is always the link to The Company Store. At the company store you get: videos and inspirational music CD’s, books and t-shirts and flash cards and talismans and… well, it’s quite a list. The idea is that the products are going to lead to the essence. That’s not going to happen. At the same time, everything in your life is designed to lead you to essence; whether it is serendipitous encounter or an opportune disappointment. Essence is leading you to itself, even when it is leading you through an enormous mall or a sexual amusement park. Every single event in your life, no matter how seemingly insignificant or irrelevant is a definite interaction between you and God.

So, though the company store will never provide you with essence, the passage through it has some relationship to your recapturing of essence.

It is an always insoluble mystery; or a difficult hurdle, or a recurrent deception, or; let me count the ways… It’s a wonder how, though essence is housed within us and gives us life; (we would, in fact, have no life without it.) it’s a real puzzle how we are constantly led back to the search external as if somehow essence will materialize out of something appearing before us when essence can only appear inside us. What to do?

How bad do you want it? Essence is going to blow the cover on every dark corner of your concealed parts. Maybe it isn’t essence you want. Maybe it is the appearance of essence that you want. Hardly anyone wants reality. What they want is the ‘perception’ of reality. Proceed directly to the company store. You have to remember that the personality has its needs. It’s most important need is survival. If you threaten its survival it is going to act to protect itself. This can come in many forms. It usually leads to some sort of compromise and then back to the company store.

All the time while you are looking, here there and everywhere; all the time while you are browsing the company store, essence is watching you, measuring you, tapping you on the shoulder, nudging you and leading you- relative to your level of sincerity and passion- to essence- short route or roundabout. It’s comical and it often hurts as well.

What I know is that I do not know. I will never know; but there’s more to it than that. Knowing that I do not know, I know that no one else does either. So whatever I hear from anyone, my thought is, “Well, that’s their version.” I look at their version and I contemplate its indications and applications. Essence usually will give me a perspective as well. Just as essence resides within us, so does everything else. We are a universe in miniature. If it’s out there, it’s in here. We have every one of us, the capacity to do anything we have ever heard of. We are capable of great surprises. We are capable of injuries and heroics that would come as a great surprise. We don’t know who we are.

It’s acceptable to not know who we are. It is less acceptable when we do not know who we are and embark upon a career of telling people who they are while opening a company store.

Does that mean we should all shut up? Does it mean no one has the right to say anything? However any of that might be true it has no meaning because it’s not going to happen. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We learn by doing. We learn from our mistakes; sometimes that just makes us cleverer.

Some of us are artists and that is our product. As long as we are clear that we are artists and not representatives of essence with a company store, there’s no harm there. One thing many teachers do not understand is that they are certain to wind up at the place they are leading others to; that’s the lesson attendant. You can take the words of a former envelope of essence and you can repeat them as your own. You can reshape them with a personal touch. But unless you possess the essence that spoke them in the first place you do not possess the power of the essence they declare. You can present essence as product. You can let essence present you as product. It’s a very complicated subject in one position and too simple to explain in another.

In any case, I think you know what I mean. There’s a basic honesty within that comprehends what’s what, even when our mind and our personalities are telling us something else. The hardest thing there is to it is having the unshakeable resolve to always defer to essence over appearance. It is very hard to shut yourself down when you don’t know and don’t know what you are talking about; to be able to say “I don’t know.” when the potential and motive to talk your way around and out of it exists; barring that you can always fall back on the faraway look of wisdom in your eye and point to the company store.

There are real teachers about. Essence calls to essence. I encountered a teacher not long ago who said almost those exact words when discussing human romantic relationships; he was putting forth the idea of commitment and fidelity at the time. Today he’s got at least two girlfriends and his wife is gone. I’m not knocking him. I just want you to know how difficult the game can be.

It’s possible that essence considers you a fit vehicle for some effort on its part. But essence isn’t going to protect your personality from the lessons needed for its evolution in terms of transforming its behavior and character flaws. It really is a good idea to keep your head down when engaged in this manner. It’s a good idea to be real direct about, “I don’t know.” It’s important to never forget how very small and unimportant we are in a certain sense; to run from praise and personal responsibility for what may well be the temporary appearance of the grace of essence in the manifest realm. Fortune very often comes in on the arm of one and goes out on the arm of another.

Even though I am far from complete and fully realized, I can’t help wanting to help. It affects me that people suffer, even if I understand the purpose of it. Decreasing human suffering seems to me to be one of the most noble of human avocations. However, as the disclaimer states, “first do no harm.” Essence is free and as a result finds it very hard to breathe and move in the company store.

Next up; some simple techniques.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

The Chattering Monkeys in the Stationary Trees.

Well, here we are again; somebody writing and somebody reading and somebody thinking. Next thing you know somebody says something to someone else and complexity ensues; funny thing complexity, it all comes out of something too simple to ever explain or expound upon. One can talk around the thing forever; many people do.

There is so much talk. And sure, we can consider this just more of it. I used to read a lot of different people, trying to get a handle on what was happening. I found a few resources that never disappointed me and, as time passed, most everything else has become chatter. Some of it is beautiful chatter and some of it is convoluted arcane chatter and some of it is agenda driven chatter. Eventually most of the chatter just falls into the backdrop of the hum underneath. Some of the chatter crystallizes into temples and institutions which promote specific chatter for the benefit of those seeking some sort of a home in the midst of the ongoing change that is life. Unfortunately, life being what it is, no home can be more than a temporary location. It’s good to get some fuel if you’ve found such a rest spot. One hopes that fuel doesn’t add confusion to the next stage of the journey.

I’ve formed the opinion that chatter is basically irrelevant to anything meaningful. Leaning on a more powerful personality is a carry over from early dependencies of our childhood when we had the idea of protection from the elements in our parents, or whatever gave us some idea of safe harbor. But the ship sails eventually, doesn’t it? We find we are on our own, sailing through a world of dreams we can’t seem to wake up from. Eventually we reach an age where we have wound up somewhere, puzzled, reflecting back, wondering how we wound up where we did and why. Death looms. For many the television and radio, or any number of chatter mechanisms are employed throughout the day as a distraction from looming death.

We had this life; we went there, we did that, we worked or skated, had and lost relationships, or wished we could have lost them. What did it all mean? It’s a curious phenomenon. There are very few people for whom the intention to solve life’s mystery is preeminent over available distractions. For those in whom such intensity burns there is always the greater distraction of setting themselves up as captain of the ship; the need to play daddy or mommy on a grand scale.

What I’ve found is that you have to meet someone along the way. Try to think of yourself as a house in a neighborhood. Seen from above, in the night, each house is different depending on the degree and quality of light emanating from it. A certain light is attractive to the watcher above. In business, certain people stand out according to their energy and intelligence. These people are earmarked for promotion. Quite often as they progress they are faced with tests that challenge their inherent morality. Ambition is very important too. Ambition is usually not associated with morality; of course we might be at pains to determine the definition of morality- but let’s say morality is what is generally accepted as being the right thing to do. This may not be the most helpful choice when advancing in business. So, if you’re interested in meeting someone then you need to be concerned with the quality of your light.

Religion and all of the new constructs that are emerging as alternatives would also be businesses. Either an organization prospers or grows or it dies. So many people feel that it is important to disseminate the truth they have found. One wonders how the truth managed before their arrival. Maybe you have heard the name Sanat Kumara. He has alternatively been called, ‘The Planetary Logos’, ‘The Ancient of Days’, it’s said he came from Venus. I won’t be getting into all of the history associated with the name. You can google that. What I want to do is create an image. Let’s say that this Sanat Kumara is the grand body of aggregate humanity in which each one of us is a cell. Think of your own body. If you think of your foot you instantly feel it. If you think of any part of your body your mind goes to that location. There are power centers in your body; your brain, your heart, your abdominal brain, your sex organs. Each of these could be considered a virtual city of cells with a specific intelligence that rules that zone. If you think about it you can see where one city might be in opposition to another. Wars could take place between these cities over differing goals. We all know people where one city seems preeminent. We shed cells in every location every day. A process of refinement is taking place. Life is growing itself.

Many of us find ourselves in cities that are uncomfortable for us, or perhaps where ‘the thrill is gone’. You would think that the idea of migration to another city might be attractive. There are problems with that though. Maybe you don’t know anyone there. Maybe you don’t know where to go. This brings us to things like faith and determination. If you don’t grow, you will die. Of course, consonant with this are many good arguments that will tell you, you can find everything where you are; don’t worry it will all come to you, when the pupil is ready the master is waiting; that sort of thing.

I’ll tell you what I think. I think you have to try very hard so that the light of your sincere intensity will attract someone who may be watching. I think you strive and aspire and do not quit; because nothing, NOTHING is so very important as this. You try and you try and then you surrender. There’s a dynamic. You can’t just surrender without having struggled. I don’t know, off hand, of any teachers who did, or that they got very far.

It is certain that your struggle will lead you to a place where, for a time, nothing will make sense. In this place may be feelings of despair and desolation. It’s been referred to as The Dark Night of the Soul, among other things. I can tell you that you don’t need to join any organizations, although you may pass through many on your search. I tell you that many opportunities to stop searching will appear in ever newly emergent guises. I can tell you that it is impossible to fail if you do not give up and that when you must give up you will still be uncertain but it will turn out well.

We do not know how consistently we are watched. We are not in a position to know this. That is why faith is so important. Unless we get past the chatter we will not go anywhere. We may even begin to chatter ourselves. How can one distinguish one monkey from another in a forest of chattering monkeys?

Real teachers are out there. They fill every need and are specific to each personality. Frauds wait in every location along the way. Someone has set themselves up to chatter at every location. This is a world of magic and fun house mirrors; a labyrinth of boxwoods; a place of many faces. Because the essential light of divine intelligence is seated in every human heart, though- for purposes of demonstration- the journey seems to be outward, it is always moving in two directions at once and will arrive simultaneously in both of them at the given moment.

You can’t actually get lost but you can think you are. You can’t actually die but you can think you do. Focusing of the mind and controlling thought is key; opening the heart to an ever greater Love is key. All of the challenges that beset as a result of this effort are for the purpose of strengthening. You would never survive the winds higher up without strengthening.

I like to think of weaving the chatter together and making pleasant musical nonsense out of it. If you can imagine that something has everything under control and that your job is to play the conductor in terms of harmonizing your life, you won’t go far wrong. Of course you won’t actually be conducting but it will look like it… (Grin).

Love blends everything into one. The mind attempts to divide the unity. It’s fairly simple until it becomes complex. It’s always simple again though, so long as one is capable of resolving back into the love when they realize the emergent complexity has resurfaced again. Watch this particular feature in your heart and mind and see what you think.


(NOTE- I'm not putting up a new post today because many of you who read here do so while at work, or don't come by on Sundays which is when this post went up. However- I would like to direct you to my other site Smoking Mirrors (accessed through the links on this page) where i have placed a new post. I wound up writing so many things there, that should have more correctly caused the post to be put here, that you might want to go by and check it out. Have a wonderful day...)