Power Tolerance

    Ultimately, we know that matter, including our own body, is a form or expression of energy. Each of us operates at, and thus is able to safely handle, benefit from, understand & resonate with, a specific level of energy or power. Too far above one's level feels unpleasant, disorienting, dangerous; too far below feels uninteresting, has little benefit. And the power or energy level at which each of us operates is somewhere along the spectrum, from brutishly greedy & destructive, to sublimely nurturing & creative.
    Spiritual evolution appears aimed towards progressively increasing our vibrational energy, ultimately to perfect harmony with the Divine nurturing, creative source.

    There are some who, for example, dogmatically believe that the earth is flat; that science is just one of many conspiracies of the intellectual elite, etc. Most of us (in a generous moment) would consider such beliefs to be caused by lack of education, resulting in scientific naivete.

    "Knowledge is power" has long been the mantra for those hoping to get rich & powerful ASAP. Materialism is exclusively concerned with this base level of knowledge. According to materialism, nothing exists beyond the physical. Again according to materialism, the spiritual or metaphysical are nothing more than irrational wishes like children's belief in Santa Clause. 

    So many materialists dogmatically believe that if something can't be measured / counted, then it can't exist, can't be 'real.' Not only spirituality, but all the other most meaningful aspects of life fit this category: love, empathy, generosity, beauty, inspiration, creativity, all of the arts, etc. No problem, because materialists consider life itself to be completely meaningless. Many of us simply have not had any education in even the social sciences, never mind spiritual matters, so our society as a whole, lacks basic knowledge & understanding in these fundamentally important matters - we are stunningly naive spiritually. 

    Scientism's dogmatic exclusivist claim (if science can't prove it's existence, then it doesn't & can't exist. Anyone who says otherwise is childish, irrational, or delusional.) is a reaction to theistic religions' equally problematic dogmatic claims of religious exclusivism (every religious sect asserting exclusive claims on their one & only true 'God.' All other 'Gods' being labelled heretical, wrong, evil).  

    Legitimate science has nothing to do with dogma. Spirituality has nothing to do with dogma or religious exclusivism. Science clearly has a very important role to help us survive in comfort & safety. Spirituality is crucially important, allowing us to understand our true nature, the meaning of life, and how to live together in love & harmony.

    BOTH science & spirituality are absolutely necessary for a wholesome, healthy, balanced life. 

    Our almost exclusive reliance on the left hemisphere's narrow materialistic perspective, while disparaging the broadly inclusive perspective of the right hemisphere of our brain is our present global blind spot & the ultimate cause of our present global crises, that Iain McGilchrist has researched, written & spoken about most intelligently & eloquently: https://channelmcgilchrist.com/home/

    “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.” Omar N. Bradley, General US Army

    “Although the final breakthrough is not in our power, yet we move toward this end when we strive for the open mind. Striving for this objectivity is a difficult movement, it means leaving behind mental constructs & security blankets that, until now, we never knew we had… I know of no other path than that of the open mind which leads to this end.” Bernadette Roberts, “The Path to No Self”

     Many are only capable of resonating with their own sect which is personally & tribally self-serving ("spiritual materialism"). We build up a lot of creds in our tribe over a lifetime. So thinking & especially speaking & behaving outside of our tribe's narrow little box requires a lot of strength & bravery. One identifies with & depends more than one realizes on one's public persona: 'respected church elder,' 'respected man of science,' 'secular atheist cynic,' etc. The thought of being being excluded from & shunned by one's tribe, being labelled 'heretic,' 'fallen' or 'irrational,' 'soft in the head' or 'senile' is often considered too high a price to pay for becoming authentic - true to oneself.

    Mystics & rapidly increasing numbers of spiritually-independent seekers of Truth  - like Rami Shapiro - are sufficiently open mind-hearted to clearly see what mystics of all traditions & ages have been pointing to. http://www.johnlovas.com/2015/06/perennial-philosophy.html
    “A Judaism without tribalism accepts as true only those Torah teachings that promote justice & compassion. Everything else we understand to be the pronouncements of tribal leaders in search of (self-serving) power.
    Both, however, are worthy of study. We study the Torah of justice & compassion to see the best that we are capable of. We study the Torah of power to see the worst.”
    Rami Shapiro. “Judaism Without Tribalism: A Guide to Being a Blessing to All the Peoples of the Earth” Monkfish, 2022.

    "Once we have died to the false self, we have a hope of getting out of our own way and meeting the Holy One face to face.”
    Mirabai Starr. “Caravan of No Despair. A Memoir of Loss and Transformation.” Sounds True, 2015.

 

“Within each of us, in the ground of our being, powers reside for the healing of our world. These powers do not arise from any ideology, access to the occult, or passion for social activism. They are inevitable powers.
Because we are part of the web of life,
we can draw on the strength — and the pain — of every creature.
This interconnection constitutes our ‘deep ecology’:
it is the source of our pain for the world
as well as our love and appetite for life.”
Joanna Macy 

 

    "These grace moments that happen to all of us are very powerful. Sometimes there’s a moment of oneness, in the aftermath of which we’re never quite the same. But almost always these moments are extremely delicate, very subtle. And we can’t make them happen. The thing is, we can freely choose to assume the stance that offers the least resistance to being overtaken by the oneness we can’t attain."

    James Finley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMgm9547hQE

 

    “In Presence, you are One with all life. And from this place of fullness, completeness, wholeness, you create - or rather, you allow creation to happen. You manifest – or rather, you allow manifestation to move through you - with a spirit of playfulness, ease, lightness. You let go of goals, comparisons, all ideas of success, even the idea of manifestation itself!
    Manifestation through relaxation. Creation through surrender. Building up through letting go. Power through effortlessness. These are the wonderful paradoxes of your creative heart.” Jeff Foster

 

    “Surrender – what an amazingly powerful word. It often engenders the thought of weakness and cowardice. In my case, it required all the strength I had to be brave enough to follow the invisible into the unknown.
    Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart & soul without regard for personal results. Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself – because it was.
    By now, I had become thoroughly convinced that the constant act of letting go of one’s self-centered thoughts & emotions was all that was needed for profound personal, professional, & spiritual growth.”
    Michael A. Singer “The Surrender Experiment. My Journey into Life’s Perfection,” Harmony, 2015.

"The beautiful thing about compassion
is that when it spontaneously arises in you,
an inner door opens into an experience of love,
which is our part of fundamental reality....
When the inner door opens,
it becomes effortless
to reach out & connect with others.
This is why the greatest antidote to insecurity
and sense of fear is compassion.
It brings one back to the basis of one's inner strength.
A truly compassionate person embodies a carefree spirit
of fearlessness, born of the freedom
from egoistic self concern."
The Dalai Lama

    “‘Alo’ means ‘in the presence of’,
    ‘ha’ is the ‘breath.’
    The power of the breath is identified by Hawaiian people as more than the air one                draws in and expels from the lungs -
    It is the impulse to breathe,
    the very life force itself,
    the divine spirit in us." Alice Holokai

 

    And now, a simple yet powerful breathing practice for you. With each in breath, feel the nurturing energy you attract. With each, much slower exhalation, feel the warm energy rising from the base of your belly (hara / dantien), up your spine, further warmed up by your heart center, spreading outward to all the rest of your body, and finally up to and outwards from between your eyebrows (third eye).
    Keep repeating gently, patiently, effortlessly, nurturing your entire body, and the world.

 

Make Your Own Music - by Molly Hahn www.BuddhaDoodles.com