Fear and Confusion turn Peaceful

    At times we become weary from the heaviness of life, and need to get away, if only for an hour or so. Pleasant, healthy getaways include playing with little children or puppies, walking or jogging outdoors, gardening, listening to or playing music, joking or watching comedy, reading a book just for fun, playing games with family and friends, etc. Most of us don't 'play' like this nearly enough. 

    At the same time, almost all of us have an understandable, visceral fear of death. We're so afraid of the dreaded "D" word, that we expend a lot of energy avoiding / ignoring / neglecting / delaying even things we associate with it: proper nutrition, proper health-care, exercise, meaningful discussions about sickness & death, meditation, meaningful spirituality, wills & estate planning. Many of us mistakenly assume that opening our minds & hearts to the deepest, most meaningful aspects of life will somehow "make us soft," threatening our ability to earn a living or even to survive. Fear of death confines many of us to the shallows of life's profoundly vast & deep ocean.

    “We look like (we're) rich from the outside, but mentally we have problems. (We're) all about 'face.' We don’t know how to talk (sincerely - from our true Self). We can’t ask for help. So many people are alone with their problems, and stuck, and their hearts aren’t touching. … It’s not that people lack friends. Facebook, Instagram— scroll around and you find (people) bursting with mugging, partying companionship. It just isn’t real, that’s all. There’s a real me and a masked me (and a) lonely gap in between ...” https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-incredibly-true-story-of-renting-a-friend-in-tokyo?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

     “Our hearts do not need logic. They can love and forgive and accept that which our minds cannot comprehend. Hearts understand in ways minds cannot.” Lois Wilson “When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story” 2010 TV Movie – Prime Video

    "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." Blaise Pascal, French philosopher

    “the only thing really needed is to descend alone ... down into the silent depths of yourself to listen, and wait, and learn.” Peter Kingsley “A Book of Life.” Catafalque Press, 2021.

    "I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity." Albert Einstein

    “It is perhaps the ultimate paradox: At the heart of our loneliness, at the core of our longing for life, we find an exquisite aloneness, a Oneness with all creation, our true salvation.
    We find God in the forsaken pit of the psyche; we find the Divine in the abyss.
    We find astonishing light in the darkness of ourselves.
    This is the true enlightenment. To be alone and to be found, to be lost and to be saved, all before the moment even begins.” Jeff Foster

“In the beginning, mind is like a torrent rushing down a gorge.
In the middle, it flows gently like the river Ganges.
In the end, it’s like a stream returning to the sea.”
    Tilopa, 10th century Indian sage, on the progress of meditation over the stages of its practice

“If you look for the truth outside yourself,
it gets farther and farther away.
Today, walking alone,
I meet her/him everywhere I step.
S/he is the same as me, yet I am not her.
Only if you understand it in this way
will you merge with the way things are.” Tung Shan 

 

    Amoda Maa's pointers to help you find your true Self:

    “True healing is what happens when consciousness recognizes its own wholeness amid what appears to be broken or wounded.”

    “Moving from the stillness & silence of being gives you the freedom to start wherever you are, without having to change, fix, or improve anything. … simply but utterly present in what you do, work becomes spiritual practice.”

    “The real question is: Are you willing, whether your experience is tranquil, turbulent, ecstatic, tragic, opulent, or austere, to give yourself wholeheartedly to what is truly alive in you?”

    “If you truly want to enter the ‘kingdom of heaven’ and be free of suffering, you must put down the burden of all acquisitions and be fully here, in this moment, without a story. This freedom is available to you here and now if you are willing to die, in this moment, as empty awareness.”

    “When the dream of separation becomes unbearable, and you have the courage to honestly say you have had enough of suffering, then awareness has the possibility to turn back in on itself and recognize the deeper dimension of formlessness that exists prior to all forms.”

    “All forms are transient, even the most spiritual ones, and without an anchor in the deepest dimension of beingness that does not come and go, the vicissitudes of the world will threaten to wipe out the satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment derived from external manifestations.
    Your true purpose and fulfillment have nothing to do with what you imagine yourself to be, but everything to do with what you do with who you are beneath and beyond all forms. The invitation is to stop asking, ‘How can I manifest my dream of a better life?’ or ‘How can I do something special / important / unique / spiritual in the world?’ and to turn your attention to the primary purpose of your life: awakening out of the dream of separation. Your true purpose is an inner, not an outer one. Without staying true to this, you will keep on chasing dreams.
    If you are on a path of spiritual inquiry, your commitment to realizing your inner purpose prior to finding your outer purpose is likely, over time, to unravel all agendas and expectations of what you should be doing, what you will be doing, and even of what you want to be doing. This unravelling allows the revelation and release of an essential quality of beingness that wants to express itself through you as you. Not as a future dream, but as a present moment reality. This quality of beingness exists prior to conditioning, and is experienced as a subtle felt-sense (such as clarity, playfulness, devotion, or harmony) when you are still and silent inside.”
    Amoda Maa. “Embodied Enlightenment. Living Your Awakening in Every Moment.” Reveal Press, 2017. HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED WISE, VALUABLE BOOK

Amoda Maa "Falling Open in a World Falling Apart"

Basics

    “What is the greatest wonder in the world?
      Every day men see others called to their death, yet those who remain live as if they were immortal.” The Mahabharata

    “It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” Krishnamurti

    “Whenever I tried looking outside, instead of in, I’d be crushed by an overwhelming heaviness and sadness until I remembered again. It took quite a while for me to see that most of what goes, among so-called adults, by the name of depression isn’t a disease or defect at all.
    On the contrary, it’s a perfectly natural response to the pull of the divine which is always disturbing and disrupting and disorienting – straining to reorient us towards a totally different dimension. And it’s those who seem best adjusted ((most 'normal')), armed like tragic soldiers with their psychological theories and fanciful facts, who are most helplessly trapped in their strange delusions.”  Peter Kingsley “A Book of Life.” Catafalque Press, 2021.

    “Spirituality is the indefinable urge to reach beyond the limits of ordinary human existence that is bounded by unconscious forces and self-interest, and to discover higher values in ourselves and to live them consistently in our relationships and roles. It involves developing practices that aid us in rising and expanding, perhaps beyond the merely good to the transcendent, in the process of looking inwards rather than outwards for our own morality and guidance. Above all, it means becoming a more loving and compassionate human being, in thought, word and deed.” Maya Spencer MD “What is spirituality? A personal exploration.” 2012. https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/members/sigs/spirituality-spsig/what-is-spirituality-maya-spencer-x.pdf?sfvrsn=f28df052_2

     “Freedom is what we do with what is done to us.” Jean-Paul Sartre

    “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Rumi

     “I can nourish myself on nothing but truth.” St. Therese of Lisieux

    “There is a voice that doesn’t have words. Listen.” Rumi

    There have always been among us people who perceive much more & process what they sense far more deeply than the average person. "Sensitive - The Untold Story" a 2015 documentary on Prime suggests that about 20% of people (and over 100 species of animals) fit this category. Artists, serious meditators, mystics, saints & other spiritually-inclined folks may also overlap with this 'highly sensitive people' (HSP) category.
    An important brain function is as a reducing valve to prevent us from being overwhelmed by the shear volume of data surrounding us. This appears to be diminished in HSP, and the resulting frequent overwhelm may inspire them to be more curious & deeply introspective.

    “To imagine that some little thing - food, sex, power, fame - will make you happy is to deceive oneself. Only something as vast and deep as your real self can make you truly and lastingly happy.” Nisargadatta Maharaj

    “Our yearning for Truth actually comes from Truth.” Adyashanti

    “As you watch your mind, you discover your self as the watcher. When you stand motionless, only watching, you discover your self as the light behind the watcher. The source of light is dark, unknown is the source of knowledge. That source alone is. Go back to that source and abide there.” Nisargadatta Maharaj 

    “The consciousness in you and the consciousness in me, apparently two, really one, seek unity and that is love.” Nisargadatta Maharaj

“Even if death were to fall on you today like lightning,

You must be ready to die without sadness and regret,

Without any residue of clinging for what is left behind,

Remaining in the cognition of the absolute view,

You should leave this life like an eagle,

Soaring up into the blue sky.”

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

 

Leonard Cohen - In My Secret Life (Live in London)

Accepting, Forgiving & Embracing

    Acceptance is “being open to seeing & acknowledging things as they are in the present moment; acceptance does not mean passivity or resignation, rather a clearer understanding of the present so one can more effectively respond.” Shapiro SL, Schwartz GE. “Intentional Systemic Mindfulness: An Integrative Model for Self-regulation and Health.” Adv Mind Body Med 2000; 16(2): 128-34.

MANY situations call for our acceptance – now!
    Thoughts & emotions of sadness etc about past events, and fear etc of future imagined events need acceptance now.
    The thought of death – our own & that of our loved ones – though frightening, is best dealt with a friendly, open mind & heart. These existential fears take time to fully accept, but there’s no wise alternative. If we “lean into” (rather than keep avoiding) even the hardest things with curiosity, self-compassion & acceptance, at our own pace & possibly with expert guidance, we benefit greatly in the long run!
    Anger over just having broken something or some other current mistake, needs acceptance now. Our repeated outbursts of anger - held within or vented - actually cause unnecessary suffering. This is completely avoidable by gradually learning to accept that we cannot control the world to keep us consistently safe & happy.
    Each bout of anger = non-acceptance, which we ALSO learn to gently accept, knowing that anger will gradually diminish, replaced gradually by equanimity (imperturbable peacefulness, despite a constantly changing environment).
    Even while participating in a meditation course, there are many things we’re called to gently accept. A great example is feeling the warmth radiating from our heart area!

     The first few times I practiced Loving-Kindness meditation, especially directed towards myself, my heart area felt nothing (remember the wrestler 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin?). That was some twenty-five years ago. Since then, I've practiced & guided others in this profound meditation hundreds of times. Over the years, my chest very easily radiates warmth with little or no coaxing.
    However, like myself originally, I find almost all those taking meditation (MBSR) courses have solidly armored hearts. This armoring process is a natural, background event akin to acquiring calluses - "growing a thick skin" - from prolonged hard manual labor. For us to survive life's many & varied hardships (war, homelessness, poverty, racism, physical / emotional / sexual violence, etc, etc, etc) many of us toughen-up to an extent that even we ourselves are shocked. As an extreme example, what (armoring-up) changes must take place for a soldier to survive a year of combat in a war zone? For civilians, it's not possible to comprehend the extremely difficult de-armoring such soldiers (should ideally) undergo before they could safely re-enter their home & civilian society.
    We have millions displaced from their homes due to war, famine & poverty in refugee camps all over the world; millions who've suffered early childhood trauma (ACE studies); and millions who continue to suffer from poverty & racism. A much larger proportion of our population than we realize are heavily-armored. Armoring usually includes a strong aversion to accepting, embracing & gradually shedding one's own armoring! Once armored, we have great difficulty realizing that armor is not only unnecessary now, but that is actually blocks our ability to live a happy, wholesome life.
    If YOU were now told, "You are armored", would you angrily deny it? And how would you interpret that response? OR would you reflect on it, "Well, I suppose I could be" with gentle, relaxed curiosity?

    WHEN repeatedly practicing Loving-Kindness meditation is not able to set the heart free, there is a "Forgiveness Meditation" to help initiate this de-armoring process.
    Bhante Vimalaraṁsi “Guide to Forgiveness Meditation: An Effective Method to Dissolve the Blocks to Loving-Kindness, and Living Life Fully.” CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.
    Of course consulting a trauma therapist may also be wise.

KINDNESS
Naomi Shihab Nye

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the
window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness, you must travel where the
Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple
breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you
must know sorrow
as the other deepest thing. You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day
to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

 

"Quiet Reflection" ... by Mollycules www.BuddhaDoodles.com

No Worries Old Friends!

    Serious, skillful, regular meditation practice gradually & progressively ensures awakening - an endless process which is usually very different from what we had initially hoped for, yet is what we needed. "But meditation is not for everybody."
    Many older folks are rigidly stuck in a closed loop of negative thought patterns. Most of them have no interest in meditation or any other deeply meaningful spiritual practice, but might be open to one or two sessions of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

    "I think the Greeks had a more subtle understanding of drugs: we tend to either celebrate them or condemn them. They called them ‘pharmakon,’ and a ‘pharmakon’ could be either a blessing or a curse, a poison or a medicine. Whether it’s one or the other doesn’t depend on the drug so much as the context in which it’s used and the reasons for which it’s used. The drugs aren’t inherently good or evil; it’s very contextual. And that’s a subtle idea. It's about set & setting. Set & setting definitely affects all drugs.

    Psychedelics offer people benefits, particularly as we age. We become more deeply mired in the grooves of habit, the older we get. We have developed a set of very sophisticated algorithms to get us through the day, get us through arguments with our partners, get us through how we do our work — it all becomes kind of habitual, and very efficient for that reason But there’s a trade-off — habit dulls us to reality. Habit helps you get stuff done, but habit cuts you off from experience, fresh experience, from seeing things with fresh eyes. ... maybe psychedelics are wasted on the young. I know lots of young people who’ve had very powerful and valuable experiences. But I think they have a unique benefit to people as we get older and as we’re thinking about death, as we’re thinking about these spiritual questions, but also as we’re set in our ways and as a result, losing contact with experience. On psychedelics, there’s a kind of cleaning the doors of perception that’s going on.
    There’s a wonderful metaphor that a Dutch neuroscientist working in London gave me. He said, ‘Think of the mind as a snow-covered hill and your thoughts as sleds going down that hill. Over time, the more runs of the sled, the deeper the grooves, and it becomes very hard to go down the hill without getting drawn into the grooves. They become attractors. Think of psychedelic experience as a fresh snowfall that fills all the grooves and allows you once again to go down the hill, along another route, any route you want.’ I thought that was a beautiful metaphor." Michael Pollan and Katherine May - The Future of Hope 4 - On Being with Krista Tippett : https://onbeing.org/programs/michael-pollan-and-katherine-may-the-future-of-hope-4/  EXCELLENT Interview

    “It’s important to note that the kinds of problems psychedelics seem to be effective with, have a lot in common. They’re all at the end of the spectrum where people’s thinking becomes too rigid, too trapped in deep grooves of habit, whether mental habit or behavioral habit, people in these loops they can’t break out of.
    And what the psychedelics seem to do is give a real jolt to the system that gives people the kind of perspective on their lives that can actually break the mental habit.
    And it needs to be accompanied by lots of therapeutic intervention … these are guided ... People are very carefully prepared in advance, told what to expect, how to deal with difficulties if they come up because frightening things can happen, especially if you’re facing your mortality. And then during the experience, the guides are with you the whole time. … the idea is to basically give you a sense of safety. So you can surrender to what can be a very disturbing set of mental events. And then after the session, you come back, usually the next day … and you have an integration session where you tell the therapist what you saw, what happened, what you’re puzzled by, and with the therapists, you try to come to some interpretation of what’s happened and figure out how you can take the lessons, the insights, and apply them to the conduct of your life." Michael Pollan & Chris Bache EXCELLENT interview : https://batgap.com/michael-pollan-chris-bache/