Self

If a man considers that he is born, he cannot avoid the fear of death. Let him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any birth. He will discover that the Self always exists, that the body that is born resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the root of all mischief. Find from where thoughts emerge. Then you will be able to abide in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of birth or the fear of death.

-Ramana Maharshi

The Winged Energy of Delight

As once the winged energy of delight
carried you over childhood's dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out
until they span the chasm between two
contradictions ... For the god
wants to know himself in you.

--Rainer Maria Rilke

Peace

If we can reach the understanding of what we actually are, there is no better remedy for eliminating all suffering. This is the heart of all spiritual practices.

Kalu Rinpoche, "Luminous Mind"

Service to Others

It is critical to serve others, to contribute actively to others' well-being. I often tell practitioners that they should adopt the following principle: regarding one's own personal needs, there should be as little involvement or obligation as possible. But regarding service to others, there should be as many possible involvements and obligations as possible. This should be the ideal of a spiritual person.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Thou Art God

My Guru told me;"Trust me. I tell you; you are divine. Take it as the absolute truth. Your joy is divine, your suffering is divine too. All comes from God. Remember it always. You are God, your will alone is done." I did believe him and soon realized how wonderfully true and accurate were his words.

-Nisargadatta Maharaj

The Price of Happiness

A bar of chocolate, a long soak in the bath, a snooze in the middle of the afternoon, a leisurely stroll in the park. These are the things that make us the most happy, according to new research from The University of Nottingham. In a study commissioned by the National Lottery, Dr Richard Tunney of the University's School of Psychology found that it's the simple things in life that impact most positively on our sense of well being.

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An Act of Faith

An act of meditation is actually an act of faith--of faith in your spirit, in your own potential. Faith is the basis of meditation. Not of faith in something outside you--a metaphysical buddha, an unattainable ideal, or someone else's words. The faith is in yourself, in your own "buddha-nature." You too can be a buddha, an awakened being that lives and responds in a wise, creative, and compassionate way.

-Martine Batchelor, "Meditation for Life"

Be Here Now

Be here now.
Don’t anticipate, don’t yearn for things of the past.
Let the past go with forgiveness
and let the future go with no anticipation.

Each of us contains a being that doesn’t die and a
being that does die.

Everything must change except the soul.

Your preparation for dying is done by identifying with
your soul, not your ego. Identify with your soul now.

There are realms other than the one we are meeting on.
Planes where we see the souls that we have known
in the past as just souls.

We won’t meet them in their clothing of mother or father,
or uncle or aunt.

Then….sensual planes, planes with color, music…
Planes which have no form…
This plane is where all of it starts.
This plane is the womb, the beginning of things.
This plane is ecstatic. It’s the ultimate creativity.

Dying is the most important moment that exists
in any incarnation.

It’s important that you not be so overwhelmed by
the process of dying.

I wish you a process for dying that doesn’t overwhelm you.
I wish you a moment of dying that you can be conscious of.
I wish you a future incarnation in a plane of incredible light.

Ram Dass; "Be Here Now" from Graceful Passages

A Jerusalem for the Future

In an interesting vision for what a future Jerusalem and its Temple Mount may look like, contemplate the photo-montage above. It was sent to me by Alice Despard, and is the work of a modern visionary who is drawing deeply from all the Abrahamic traditions. The link below takes you to this interesting website.

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Dying

Your vital energy is returning to the Source,
Like the flowing stream returning to the ocean.

Heaven is our Father, Earth is our Mother,
All people are our brothers and sisters,
and all things are our companions.

In this gentle, peaceful journey,
You are forming one body with heaven and earth.
Entrust yourself in the transforming and
nourishing care of the Cosmos.
Listen to the voice of love in silence.
Your have heard the Way;
Return home in Peace.

Tu Weiming, The Gift of Life

Praxis

Practice what you have learned, for theory without practice is like a spirit without a body. One who is content with learning alone is not learned, for the truly learned seeks more than mere words. Divine guidance entails self-mortification, without which contemplation is unattainable.

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Form and Formless

The outward form of things passes away, but the essence remains forever. How long will you be besotted with the shape of the jug? Cast aside the jug, and seek the water. If you look too closely at the form, you miss the essence. If you are wise, you will always pick out the pearl from the shell.

-Rumi

The Craziest Love

This circle of lovers
is the craziest bunch I’ve ever met.
We rant like the truly possessed,
groping with clutched fingers
to give voice to the least echo of
the Word beyond all words,
the moment beyond all time.
We probably should be locked-up
for our own safety,
except the lunacy in which we connect
is the only sane intent
in this universal dream-sequence of foolish pursuits.

So here’s our prenuptial agreement:
I’ll keep shaking you awake with my folly,
and you return the favor.
--Charles Radican

Sometimes When You Realize

Sometime, when you realize
in your deep despair
how use to the stagnant waters
of this normal madness
you have become,
you may descend
into a deeper cellar
and drink from the dangerous liquor
of your own most ancient vintage.

Head bursting from that pure proof,
you must find the heart
to throw the thick log
of whom you thought you were
onto the living flame
that you truly are.

And you will be in wonder
Amid all the escaping light, amid
the scattering embers,
stampeding like wild horses
into the edgeless dark of heaven,

where you may take your place
among the constellations of the gods,
and finally realize
you are on a journey
you have no power to stop.
-- Charles Radican, Seattle, Washington

What is Consciousness and Reality?

We always assume we know, but here are two related articles that put doubt on our perceptions of what we know about consciousness and reality. Could it be that as Don DeLillo has said...

Being here is a kind of spiritual surrender. We see only what the others see, the thousands who were here in the past, those who will come in the future. We've agreed to be part of a collective perception.

consciousness

reality