Nonduality
Meditation: “Are We There Yet?” (funny)
The scene: a group in meditation. The teacher guides them to “open their attention”, and “simply Be in awareness”, and observe, notice the thoughts going by, the feelings as sensations in the body, the entirety of their experience… The teacher starts to end the session and encourages the participants to gently open their eyes. A…
Read MoreThe Enlightenment Contest (funny)
The scene: a spiritual retreat … someone gets up, in the evening, after the meditation and dialogue: “I have a little announcement. Since everyone here is interested in not only becoming enlightened, or perhaps thinks they already are, and furthermore would love very much to gain full recognition for it and prove something to their…
Read MoreOn Beyond Spiritual Bypassing
This article is not about showing you how not to do spiritual bypassing (or telling someone else how not to do it) but will make a case that the concept has very limited usefulness and should probably be abandoned. I hope to communicate the fact that it’s a term we would do better to replace…
Read MoreThe Garden of Bliss
In the garden of bliss there are no formulas no principles only the sun blazing away unknown All to all sweet as infinite love has no opposite pure perfect absolute beyond the mind beyond thought no intermediate direct silent Presence
Read MoreThere Is No Such Thing as Enlightenment
I once heard the spiritual teacher (of Advaita, Non-duality) Francis Lucille tell his students (who he would rather refer to as “friends”): “Would you rather be enlightened, or happy? Would you rather be enlightened and unhappy, or unenlightened and happy?”. While I laughed and thought this very insightful, part of me also was taken aback:…
Read MoreBeyond the Event Horizon of Thought
Definition: “Thought” – The energy used to form the contents of experience. At this point in my life I find it harder to avoid feeling and thinking there can be only be one reality and one consciousness. How could you not? The answer is, by believing that Truth or Consciousness (or “innate health” as they talk…
Read MoreNotes on Prophets, Mystics, Sages, Philosophers and All That Good Stuff
Last night I watched an entertaining musical from the 70’s, Jesus Christ Superstar. I saw it when I was a kid. Very enjoyable music and great lyrics. Then for something less dramatic and more meditative before bed, I read some of The Gospel of Thomas until I got sleepy. (http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gthlamb.html) My reflections this morning: In…
Read MoreThe Reality of Universal Consciousness
Jesus said, “I shall give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has never occurred to the human mind.” – The Gospel of Thomas The hard thing to grasp about Universal Consciousness is that it is not something that can be sensed by…
Read MoreThe Simplicity of Truth: A User Guide
One of interesting things about what we call spiritual truth, is how once you see a truth, how self-evident, obvious and simple it seems. “Duh, why didn’t I see it before?” You can then not not see it. And it can be puzzling why others don’t see it when you point out the seemingly obvious…
Read MoreHealthy Egos and Spiritual Development
Must one must first travel the arc from infant to healthy separate self or ego—a well-adapted adult ego in one’s environment and community—before passing down the other side of the rainbow, to the post-egoic state of non-dual understanding, happiness and peace, love and bliss? I’ve heard it suggested more than once, and in more than…
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