The focus is always within. The Innermost. The Highest. Where there is stillness. Where there is peace. Where there is lack of movement. Where there is freedom. Where there is respite from the storm of life: the oasis in the inhospitable region of the dualistic mind. Where the wind of life cannot wreak havoc any longer.
The Center is:
The fountain of perfect radiance and bliss.
The cosmic black hole that subdues all vacillations.
The trusted lynchpin that secures my meditative realizations.
The curious conscious silent witness of my heroic existence.
The hidden unperturbed mysterious witness behind the thinking mind.
The unknowable substance that appears lifeless to the mind, but that is the root cause of all subsequent causes.
The gap you fall into between two activities, two thoughts, two fluctuations of the mind.
The hollow echo of the sound of being.
The quiet wisdom gained by distilling all acquired knowledge.
The sudden impact of a realization that shatters all preconceived notions.
The radiant pure love that emanates from a compassionate heart.
The flow of awareness into a place of stillness.
The flow of awareness into radiant emptiness.
Friday, September 4, 2026
The Emptiness
The emptiness is not really empty, it is filled with the presence. This presence is behind all the surface experiences life conjures up moment by moment. Life squeezes consciousness out of the forms it creates. It forces consciousness to emerge. Life’s will and determination brings about the sizzling experience of consciousness.
This drive towards consciousness is at first rudimentary. It is self-perpetuating and builds upon itself, which leads to higher and more and more sophisticated lifeforms. It coaxes the highest experience of consciousness out of what at first appeared to be lifeless chunks of a consortium of minerals hurtling through space. Consciousness: the highest, the most perfect, the unsurpassable, the purest, the most scintillating, the eternally blissful!
The drive – that is where the cause of it all lies. This drive is contained in every seed. The drive is in the seed; the tree emerges from the seed; the tree produces more seeds, containing more of the drive. That is how life moves forward from lower, simpler lifeforms to higher, more complex ones. Gradually. From simple to complex. From plants to animals. From animals to humans.
What comes after humans? So far, we have had several iterations of humanoids. Can there be another one? I don’t know. There will be one, if it is needed in the evolutionary drive of life.
This drive towards consciousness is at first rudimentary. It is self-perpetuating and builds upon itself, which leads to higher and more and more sophisticated lifeforms. It coaxes the highest experience of consciousness out of what at first appeared to be lifeless chunks of a consortium of minerals hurtling through space. Consciousness: the highest, the most perfect, the unsurpassable, the purest, the most scintillating, the eternally blissful!
The drive – that is where the cause of it all lies. This drive is contained in every seed. The drive is in the seed; the tree emerges from the seed; the tree produces more seeds, containing more of the drive. That is how life moves forward from lower, simpler lifeforms to higher, more complex ones. Gradually. From simple to complex. From plants to animals. From animals to humans.
What comes after humans? So far, we have had several iterations of humanoids. Can there be another one? I don’t know. There will be one, if it is needed in the evolutionary drive of life.
The Truth
A particular philosophy that I came across states that since this creation is infinite, its parts or components can be arranged in infinite ways. Where does that leave the struggle for the truth? What is the truth at any given time and place, when the facts can be arranged in infinite ways to suit an infinite number of perspectives and needs?
A simple example would be a cow: to the butcher it only matters how many steaks and other cuts can be extracted from its body. To the shoemaker it only matters how much leather can be harvested. To the dairy industry, only the amount of milk the cow gives matters. In India, the cow is regarded as symbol for “mother” and therefore is sacred.
These are the various truths about the cow from various perspectives. The butchers’ truth is meat; the shoemakers’ truth is leather; the dairy industry’s is milk.
Same cow. Different truths for different needs.
This applies to the entire universe that surrounds us. This universe is like one enormous cow that means different things to different people at different times and different places.
A simple example would be a cow: to the butcher it only matters how many steaks and other cuts can be extracted from its body. To the shoemaker it only matters how much leather can be harvested. To the dairy industry, only the amount of milk the cow gives matters. In India, the cow is regarded as symbol for “mother” and therefore is sacred.
These are the various truths about the cow from various perspectives. The butchers’ truth is meat; the shoemakers’ truth is leather; the dairy industry’s is milk.
Same cow. Different truths for different needs.
This applies to the entire universe that surrounds us. This universe is like one enormous cow that means different things to different people at different times and different places.
The Day of Atonement
Today is the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. People are asked to atone. Atone for what, and ask forgiveness from whom?
Atone for the wrong they have done and ask forgiveness from them whom they have wronged in the previous year. Atonement has nothing to do with YHWH. YHWH does not ask for atonement from people. How could He? He himself always forgives people, all the time, irregardless of their circumstances. And He forgives immediately. He does not wait until October 4th to forgive them. No, He forgives them as soon as people have trespassed against Him, instantly. He does not remember from one moment to the next. He does not have a long memory. In fact, YHWH has the shortest memory in existence. He does not remember from one moment to the next. That is how He is able to forgive and forget the many wrongs people commit against Him constantly.
People commit crimes against YHWH all the time, in thought and deed. YHWH sees that and forgives it immediately, so that people have a chance for redemption. People commit constant trespasses against YHWH, but YHWH does not want to bind them with feelings of guilt. He wants people to see the error of their ways immediately. These trespasses against YHWH do not accumulate over one year and then get forgiven in bulk. Not at all.
What gets forgiven on the Day of Atonement is the trespasses against neighbors, friends, and acquaintances that people have accumulated over the course of the last year. In order for these trespasses to be truly forgiven, people need to approach the ones they have wronged and with sincerity ask for their forgiveness. Only then can the slate be wiped clean. Sitting in temple and feeling “atoned” is not doing the complete trick. It may make some people feel better about themselves, but that alone does not make the tension between the ones they have wronged and themselves go away.
Somewhere in the Bible is written that before approaching God and sacrificing to Him, one should clear the bad feelings with others so that one can approach God with a clear heart.
Atone for the wrong they have done and ask forgiveness from them whom they have wronged in the previous year. Atonement has nothing to do with YHWH. YHWH does not ask for atonement from people. How could He? He himself always forgives people, all the time, irregardless of their circumstances. And He forgives immediately. He does not wait until October 4th to forgive them. No, He forgives them as soon as people have trespassed against Him, instantly. He does not remember from one moment to the next. He does not have a long memory. In fact, YHWH has the shortest memory in existence. He does not remember from one moment to the next. That is how He is able to forgive and forget the many wrongs people commit against Him constantly.
People commit crimes against YHWH all the time, in thought and deed. YHWH sees that and forgives it immediately, so that people have a chance for redemption. People commit constant trespasses against YHWH, but YHWH does not want to bind them with feelings of guilt. He wants people to see the error of their ways immediately. These trespasses against YHWH do not accumulate over one year and then get forgiven in bulk. Not at all.
What gets forgiven on the Day of Atonement is the trespasses against neighbors, friends, and acquaintances that people have accumulated over the course of the last year. In order for these trespasses to be truly forgiven, people need to approach the ones they have wronged and with sincerity ask for their forgiveness. Only then can the slate be wiped clean. Sitting in temple and feeling “atoned” is not doing the complete trick. It may make some people feel better about themselves, but that alone does not make the tension between the ones they have wronged and themselves go away.
Somewhere in the Bible is written that before approaching God and sacrificing to Him, one should clear the bad feelings with others so that one can approach God with a clear heart.
The Poet
The poet has to dig deeper,
Find a way to the essence.
What essence? The essence of life.
The essence that’s driving it all.
The essence beneath it all.
The beyond the beyond.
The beyond of it all.
To point to the beyond
For the benefit of all.
To unearth that which is hidden.
Hidden underneath the myriad forms
That this universe projects.
“How magnificent is this pearl!”
“How fabulous was the play!”
“How marvelous is this dish!”
“How excellent is that design!”
The poet points to the essence beneath.
Even to the essence of a simple fly
That scrounges to find its daily meal.
The essence that should be our only zeal.
It’s the poet’s alone, not everyone’s too?
Builders are needed, and cooks and so on.
Not all can spend time in the unknown
Finding out about the great beyond,
Or the world would simply collapse.
The wheels have to keep turning.
The world needs to keep spinning.
The sun needs to keep shining,
So Life keeps on living,
Still, the poet keeps on digging,
Looking for the pure golden essence beneath.
Find a way to the essence.
What essence? The essence of life.
The essence that’s driving it all.
The essence beneath it all.
The beyond the beyond.
The beyond of it all.
To point to the beyond
For the benefit of all.
To unearth that which is hidden.
Hidden underneath the myriad forms
That this universe projects.
“How magnificent is this pearl!”
“How fabulous was the play!”
“How marvelous is this dish!”
“How excellent is that design!”
The poet points to the essence beneath.
Even to the essence of a simple fly
That scrounges to find its daily meal.
The essence that should be our only zeal.
It’s the poet’s alone, not everyone’s too?
Builders are needed, and cooks and so on.
Not all can spend time in the unknown
Finding out about the great beyond,
Or the world would simply collapse.
The wheels have to keep turning.
The world needs to keep spinning.
The sun needs to keep shining,
So Life keeps on living,
Still, the poet keeps on digging,
Looking for the pure golden essence beneath.
The Ghost in the Machine
What machine am I talking about? The machine is the human brain. Actually, it is the brain of all living creatures. A tree does not have a brain. An insect does. Grass not. Worms do. Flies yes. Birds yes. Mammals yes. Fish yes. Someone has called lower lifeforms one-brained beings, more developed lifeforms two-brained beings, and humans three-brained beings.
This someone was Gurdjieff, a philosopher and mystic, who was active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This simple distinction of beings into one, two, or three-brained is useful to get a sense of the difference between the various beings on this planet.
There is a ghost in all of these machines, whether one, two, or three-brained. The ghost is the mysterious experience of consciousness. Neurons fire and all of a sudden there is the flash of consciousness. It comes out of nowhere. It sparks itself into existence when there is the recognition of the organism’s existence. In humans this recognition is: “I am, I exist.”
What that recognition is in the one or two-brained beings, only they will know for sure, because only they are experiencing it. It is probably a less clear version than that of the three-brained beings, the humans.
On the surface the brain is like a machine, with observable parts. Currents can be measured. Pictures can be taken showing activity in its various sections. But where in it is that ghost located, exactly? That ghost of consciousness?
There is a mirror that reflects the experience back to the observer and that is when the ghost appears. “Ah,” it says, “that is me!” It finds itself in the experience. It finds itself caught in this feedback loop. It finds itself in a house of mirrors, only seeing itself reflected. That is a highly blissful experience. If you find that you alone exist in everything you are experiencing, wouldn’t you say that that is the greatest experience of your life? If you’d find yourself reflected in the faces of all other people? Your beauty reflected in all beautiful things in existence? You alone exist and you alone are endlessly reflected back at yourself. That is the feedback loop in which consciousness sparks itself into existence. Then there is a “you.”
What or where is that mirror? It is a mirror in which all of the expressions of life are reflected. It is the mind, the instinctual, the feeling, and the thinking mind. The three-fold mind belonging to the three-brained being, humans.
In lower lifeforms there would be the instinctual and feeling mind in two-brained beings, and the instinctual mind in one-brained beings.
This is very simple way of visualizing a matter that is quite complex. There is also the matter of the nervous system that is highly developed in humans and that helps enormously with this feedback loop. The clearer the sense perceptions – the sensing of something – the clearer the mind can reflect the world.
This someone was Gurdjieff, a philosopher and mystic, who was active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This simple distinction of beings into one, two, or three-brained is useful to get a sense of the difference between the various beings on this planet.
There is a ghost in all of these machines, whether one, two, or three-brained. The ghost is the mysterious experience of consciousness. Neurons fire and all of a sudden there is the flash of consciousness. It comes out of nowhere. It sparks itself into existence when there is the recognition of the organism’s existence. In humans this recognition is: “I am, I exist.”
What that recognition is in the one or two-brained beings, only they will know for sure, because only they are experiencing it. It is probably a less clear version than that of the three-brained beings, the humans.
On the surface the brain is like a machine, with observable parts. Currents can be measured. Pictures can be taken showing activity in its various sections. But where in it is that ghost located, exactly? That ghost of consciousness?
There is a mirror that reflects the experience back to the observer and that is when the ghost appears. “Ah,” it says, “that is me!” It finds itself in the experience. It finds itself caught in this feedback loop. It finds itself in a house of mirrors, only seeing itself reflected. That is a highly blissful experience. If you find that you alone exist in everything you are experiencing, wouldn’t you say that that is the greatest experience of your life? If you’d find yourself reflected in the faces of all other people? Your beauty reflected in all beautiful things in existence? You alone exist and you alone are endlessly reflected back at yourself. That is the feedback loop in which consciousness sparks itself into existence. Then there is a “you.”
What or where is that mirror? It is a mirror in which all of the expressions of life are reflected. It is the mind, the instinctual, the feeling, and the thinking mind. The three-fold mind belonging to the three-brained being, humans.
In lower lifeforms there would be the instinctual and feeling mind in two-brained beings, and the instinctual mind in one-brained beings.
This is very simple way of visualizing a matter that is quite complex. There is also the matter of the nervous system that is highly developed in humans and that helps enormously with this feedback loop. The clearer the sense perceptions – the sensing of something – the clearer the mind can reflect the world.
There is only the inner Journey
To be thankful for being alive is the highest form of worship. Simply to be thankful to be alive and to know it. To appreciate every moment fully. To savor it. And to extend this feeling of gratitude into every action. The honor to be able to sit here and type these words. The incredible fact that I am reading these words on the computer monitor. This feedback loop of action and consequence, of cause and effect is most astonishing.
In this feedback loop lies the miracle of consciousness. To do something and then to know that it exists outside of me. I can think about a lot of things, but only through taking actions can I see these thoughts materialize. That is the miracle of creation. And the miracle of knowing about it. The knowing takes place inside of me. Not outside. Creation exists outside, awareness inside.
Yes, a tree exists in the forest without me knowing about it, but it has no consequence to me. It does not influence my thinking, my awareness, my consciousness. Correction, just now it did as a generic tree in a generic forest.
Whatever I can think of, that becomes a reality for me. My thoughts and feelings create my world. Some say, I dream the world into existence. That may be true, but it all starts with me. Without me existing, there would be no world to experience. Would there be a world at all? I don’t know. Certainly not the world that I am experiencing. Probably some other world.
And so it goes on, round and round. It all orbits around me. I am the center of my universe. But I am not the creator of me. And I am not the creator of the universe. I may dream it into being in a particular shape, but its substance I did not create, and I don’t know what that substance is.
Well, I think I know. It is energy with particles. Tiny particles that have tiny electric charges. Some particles attract, others repulse. Over time friction arises which leads to the Big Bang. I don’t know why scientists have not come up with a better name for it. Big bang implies that there was something to hear. I doubt that, because the universe created its own space when it exploded and without space there is no sound as we know it.
Anyway, I shifted my thinking mind away from feeling grateful. I could think forever about the state of the universe and will end up right where I left off: in the knowing that I exist, which makes me ecstatically happy, or as it is so aptly put by the Vedic sages: the Self is Sat-Chit-Ananda, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. What more can be said?
In this feedback loop lies the miracle of consciousness. To do something and then to know that it exists outside of me. I can think about a lot of things, but only through taking actions can I see these thoughts materialize. That is the miracle of creation. And the miracle of knowing about it. The knowing takes place inside of me. Not outside. Creation exists outside, awareness inside.
Yes, a tree exists in the forest without me knowing about it, but it has no consequence to me. It does not influence my thinking, my awareness, my consciousness. Correction, just now it did as a generic tree in a generic forest.
Whatever I can think of, that becomes a reality for me. My thoughts and feelings create my world. Some say, I dream the world into existence. That may be true, but it all starts with me. Without me existing, there would be no world to experience. Would there be a world at all? I don’t know. Certainly not the world that I am experiencing. Probably some other world.
And so it goes on, round and round. It all orbits around me. I am the center of my universe. But I am not the creator of me. And I am not the creator of the universe. I may dream it into being in a particular shape, but its substance I did not create, and I don’t know what that substance is.
Well, I think I know. It is energy with particles. Tiny particles that have tiny electric charges. Some particles attract, others repulse. Over time friction arises which leads to the Big Bang. I don’t know why scientists have not come up with a better name for it. Big bang implies that there was something to hear. I doubt that, because the universe created its own space when it exploded and without space there is no sound as we know it.
Anyway, I shifted my thinking mind away from feeling grateful. I could think forever about the state of the universe and will end up right where I left off: in the knowing that I exist, which makes me ecstatically happy, or as it is so aptly put by the Vedic sages: the Self is Sat-Chit-Ananda, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. What more can be said?
The story of Joseph
Joseph was a spoiled child. He was the most handsome of his siblings. His father favored him over his other sons. Joseph felt privileged and he acted so. That brought out his brothers’ ill feelings towards him; they resented his grandstanding, his showing off of his “superior” looks and intelligence.
They despised him and planned to get rid of him. Some wanted him killed. Others just wanted to sell him into slavery, which they ultimately did. Joseph ended up in Egypt as the slave to an influential couple with a large household. His beauty caught the eyes of the wife, and she desired him. He refused and she claimed he had made advances towards her. He proclaimed his innocence, but he was thrown in jail on her testimony.
Meanwhile, his father had been informed of his death that his brothers had staged, with blood on his coat to prove that he had been killed by a wild beast. The father never gave up hope that Joseph was still alive somewhere.
While in prison, Joseph correctly interpreted a prophetic dream by the pharaoh. This brought him into the graces of the pharaoh, who rewarded him with an appointment to a high office.
During the next famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to purchase grains. Joseph was in charge of Egypt’s food supplies at that time. He recognized his brothers whom he had forgiven, but they did not know him. He revealed his identity and eventually his whole family came to Egypt and began living there. His father’s name had been changed from Jakob to Israel, and Joseph and his elven brothers became the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
And then the whole episode of the Exodus from Egypt with Moses occurred to one of the next generations.
They despised him and planned to get rid of him. Some wanted him killed. Others just wanted to sell him into slavery, which they ultimately did. Joseph ended up in Egypt as the slave to an influential couple with a large household. His beauty caught the eyes of the wife, and she desired him. He refused and she claimed he had made advances towards her. He proclaimed his innocence, but he was thrown in jail on her testimony.
Meanwhile, his father had been informed of his death that his brothers had staged, with blood on his coat to prove that he had been killed by a wild beast. The father never gave up hope that Joseph was still alive somewhere.
While in prison, Joseph correctly interpreted a prophetic dream by the pharaoh. This brought him into the graces of the pharaoh, who rewarded him with an appointment to a high office.
During the next famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to purchase grains. Joseph was in charge of Egypt’s food supplies at that time. He recognized his brothers whom he had forgiven, but they did not know him. He revealed his identity and eventually his whole family came to Egypt and began living there. His father’s name had been changed from Jakob to Israel, and Joseph and his elven brothers became the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
And then the whole episode of the Exodus from Egypt with Moses occurred to one of the next generations.
This Moment
This moment is here
And yet it is not really here.
Bits and pieces of yesterday
Are floating around in my mind
Pictures and sounds of yesterday
And of days gone by,
But not completely bye bye.
I hear them, I see them
They are with me
Coming mostly uninvited
Taking up space in my thoughts
Telling me about all the stupid things
I did once and feeling stupid
once again.
This is agony all over
Over what?
Something that happened thirty years ago?
Forty? Fifty? And still it bothers me?
I am here with my mind
Conjuring up all those images,
Sounds, and amorphous projections.
Some from movies, some from music
Some from my own sights.
All is memory, the carpet of the past
Woven by the sights and sounds of life.
And yet it is not really here.
Bits and pieces of yesterday
Are floating around in my mind
Pictures and sounds of yesterday
And of days gone by,
But not completely bye bye.
I hear them, I see them
They are with me
Coming mostly uninvited
Taking up space in my thoughts
Telling me about all the stupid things
I did once and feeling stupid
once again.
This is agony all over
Over what?
Something that happened thirty years ago?
Forty? Fifty? And still it bothers me?
I am here with my mind
Conjuring up all those images,
Sounds, and amorphous projections.
Some from movies, some from music
Some from my own sights.
All is memory, the carpet of the past
Woven by the sights and sounds of life.
Vajra and Bell
With Vajra, the thunderbolt, cut through the veil of deception, the fog of ignorance, the morass of delusion.With the bell, attract all good and pleasant qualities, happiness and peace; while warding off the forces of darkness, ignorance, delusion, deception.
Vajra and Bell. Thunderbolt and Bell.
Open the door and invite realization to enter, while warding off the encroaching dark forces.
Hold open the door to realization, sustain/extend the opening with the ringing of the bell so clarity and innate bliss can continue uninterrupted as the experience of the pristine mind, in the pristine body, as the expression of pristine speech.
Vajra and Bell. Overcoming the active mind that is the screen over the calm awareness underneath. Stilling the mind-stuff.
Vajra and Bell. Thunderbolt and Bell.
Open the door and invite realization to enter, while warding off the encroaching dark forces.
Hold open the door to realization, sustain/extend the opening with the ringing of the bell so clarity and innate bliss can continue uninterrupted as the experience of the pristine mind, in the pristine body, as the expression of pristine speech.
Vajra and Bell. Overcoming the active mind that is the screen over the calm awareness underneath. Stilling the mind-stuff.
What are the Benefits?
There always has to be a benefit in all that I do. What do I gain from doing something, anything? When I scratch my back, I relieve an annoying itch. When I eat something, I relieve a hungry stomach.
When I meditate, I find relaxation and peace. Without a benefit at the end of an activity, I would not engage in it. What would be the point?
To find happiness and comfort, I travel down many avenues in life, from material to spiritual ones. Light ones and dark ones. Some are wide open; others are like a tunnel. It doesn’t matter what kind; ultimately, they are all my avenues, not someone else’s. And only I can gain the most benefit from them. Nobody else. My experiences, my benefits, my growth, my life, my impact in this existence.
Someone once said that freedom of choice is the choice of either moving towards a purpose or away from it. That is similar to what I am saying. What benefits me most in life is finding a groove that leads to a meaningful purpose.
When I meditate, I find relaxation and peace. Without a benefit at the end of an activity, I would not engage in it. What would be the point?
To find happiness and comfort, I travel down many avenues in life, from material to spiritual ones. Light ones and dark ones. Some are wide open; others are like a tunnel. It doesn’t matter what kind; ultimately, they are all my avenues, not someone else’s. And only I can gain the most benefit from them. Nobody else. My experiences, my benefits, my growth, my life, my impact in this existence.
Someone once said that freedom of choice is the choice of either moving towards a purpose or away from it. That is similar to what I am saying. What benefits me most in life is finding a groove that leads to a meaningful purpose.
Thursday, September 3, 2026
The Thesis
Life is uncalculatingly valuable.
Life is undeniably sacred.
Life is humiliatingly special.
Life is perplexingly precious.
The drive is always toward the center of life. The inner life. The presence is the center of life. Deep within, where there is stillness. There is emptiness, but not the presence of nothingness. There is complete emptiness of forms. Total vacuity of feelings. All-pervading hollowness of hopes and dreams.
There is all-consuming stillness. Everything seems frozen. A frozen, inhospitable landscape. And yet, underneath there is the unexpected glimmer of life. Hopeful energy stimulates life, and the universe breaks out, needs to break out. Cannot be kept contained, ever. Is desirous to break out, again. Wants to reveal its spectacular nature once more. Reveal itself. Self-expression. “Who can I be?” That’s the motivation. “Who can I be when I shed all restrictions and chains?”
Total freedom to express itself. Free to express the glory.
Life is undeniably sacred.
Life is humiliatingly special.
Life is perplexingly precious.
The drive is always toward the center of life. The inner life. The presence is the center of life. Deep within, where there is stillness. There is emptiness, but not the presence of nothingness. There is complete emptiness of forms. Total vacuity of feelings. All-pervading hollowness of hopes and dreams.
There is all-consuming stillness. Everything seems frozen. A frozen, inhospitable landscape. And yet, underneath there is the unexpected glimmer of life. Hopeful energy stimulates life, and the universe breaks out, needs to break out. Cannot be kept contained, ever. Is desirous to break out, again. Wants to reveal its spectacular nature once more. Reveal itself. Self-expression. “Who can I be?” That’s the motivation. “Who can I be when I shed all restrictions and chains?”
Total freedom to express itself. Free to express the glory.
There are only a few important aspects to the spiritual life:
1. God is great.
2. God provides.
3. Do good and be good.
Or
1. Do right and be righteous.
2. Have pure intentions, pure mind, and faith in God.
There is not much more one needs for a spiritual life. The direction is clear. The goal is clear. The emphasis is clear. The path is wide. The gate is open. You will be received with wide open arms when you get over the threshold. There is the light, the immersing light. Enter into it and be at peace, a deep and lasting peace. All your troubles will be gone, they are no more. The past has brought you here and so it is no longer any of your concern. There is no more letting go, there is only accepting of where you are, of what you are. Accepting of your spiritual nature. Accepting of your innate beauty. There is no more “inner” and no more “outer” beauty. There is only your beauty. You were made in this beauty, and you have returned to this beauty. The journey of development in the ephemeral world has come to an end. It had been an inner journey, from the grossest to the most subtle aspect of your being. You had been thrown out into the physical world and had followed the breadcrumbs that the grace of life has placed for you along your path. And you have wondered at the miraculous circumstances which you have encountered at times. And you have prayed and called out to God, to the protectors, to the guides. You have done everything you could to get here, and now you are here. Now you are facing the innate beauty of life with the innate beauty that you are. Now you are one with it.
This Moment
This moment is here
And yet it is not
really here.
Bits and pieces
of yesterday
Are floating
around in my mind
Pictures and
sounds of yesterday
And of days gone
by,
But not
completely bye bye.
I hear them, I
see them
They are with me
Coming mostly
uninvited
Taking up space
in my thoughts
Telling me about
all the stupid things
I did once and
feeling stupid
once again.
This is agony all
over
Over what?
Something that
happened thirty years ago?
Forty? Fifty? And
still it bothers me?
I am here with my
mind
Conjuring up all
those images,
Sounds, and
amorphous projections.
Some from movies,
some from music
Some from my own
sights.
All is memory,
the carpet of the past
Woven by the
sights and sounds of life.
And the Truth will shine through
And the truth will shine through
It’s inevitable. The end is always the same as the
beginning. The truth started it all and the truth will end it all. And there
will be an end to it. To what? To the light of our sun. It is destined to burn
itself out. It will happen at some point in time. There is no doubt about it.
And then this planet will die. The dark night will set in. There will be frozen
ice masses covering this planet.
What will happen to all the souls evolving on planet earth?
All those souls that strived to attain perfection in the experience of the One?
Perhaps there will be another planet in another region of this universe – perhaps
quite similar or not at all – where the souls can finish their training and
evolution.
Why think about that now? Because it helps in finding out
which present day philosophy and theosophy makes sense. If human life still
exists in one Billion years on this planet, then any spiritual system has to
account for the whereabouts of all those souls.
First of all: something exists. That is undeniable. I exist.
You exist. This universe exists.
How existence came into being is a mystery. How this
universe came into existence is the subject of many philosophical and religious
systems. There are many believers following these various systems.
One aspect is beyond belief: what exists now, exists now. That
is all that can be said with absolute certainty. Nothing else can be stated
with the same kind of certainty.
Is existence “eternal”? Whatever has a beginning will have
an end. Was there a beginning to existence? It is easy to say that existence
has always been around and therefore will always be around. That is speculation
and shows the limitations of the mind to conceive of true nothingness.
But then, nothing can come out of total nothingness.
Something had to have been there to instigate this creation. What that
“something” is (or was) is the fascinating subject of all philosophical and
religious musings. In fact, it is also the subject of scientific thought.
I call it the One. This implies that there is only one true
force in existence from which all else flows. Why this One is compelled to
become the creator is the subject of much debate and speculation within the
various religious and philosophical systems.
It appears that humans are the only lifeform on this planet
capable of contemplating the mysteries of existence. Humans question everything
in their environment. Humans question the point of their existence. “Why are we
here?” “What is our purpose in life?”
A person can choose from all those various thought systems
and attempt to get their answers through them. Or, a person can make their own
inquiries and find their own answers.
Finding your own answers is like reinventing the light bulb.
It can be done and may lead to new and novel ideas about existence.
It is important to respect all the various religious,
philosophical, and scientific endeavors. They all are attempts to understand the
mysteries of existence.
But, while searching for answers, it would be unproductive
to mix the various systems to fit one’s personal likings and preconceptions. Many
different paths are offered, and a person should stay the course until the path
leaves them, which means they no longer need the path.
So, pick a path that suits you. Listen to your heart most of
all. If you find happiness, then stay with that path. If not, find another. Just
because you were born into a family with a certain religious tradition does not
mean you will find happiness with it. But you must honestly try your own tradition
first, before wandering off. As the saying goes, the grass always looks greener
over there.
The truth inspired all those various religious and
philosophical systems. Some may be so old that their truth can barely be seen
through the many layers piled on over the years. But it is there, you just have
to do some extra work to dig it up again.
The truth always shines through.
To be in the Moment
To be in the moment is to be here, right here and now. There is no deviation from the place or time here and now. In the center – always in the center – flowing in the center of the stream of consciousness – it’s even swifter in the middle of the stream, away from the edges – can’t see the shore any longer – like the wide Mississippi – going on – going along – a bit faster than the Mississippi – the stream of consciousness – always remaining connected – in the stream – meditation is the inward looking at this stream - merging with the stream – allowing for the stream to become more noticeable – like the eye of a hurricane – forever so still – unmoving but always dancing.
About the One
Can I venture an opinion on the One? Based on my personal experience?
It’s pretty simple: I am conscious of my own existence. I am
conscious of my thoughts and feelings. I am conscious of my actions, such as typing
these words. I am conscious of my wondering about existence. I can search the field
of my mind and see where the limitations of my mind are. I cannot go beyond the
mind. At the outer reaches of my mind where there is expansion, there is blissful
awareness. At the inner reaches of my mind where there is concentration, there
is blissful consciousness.
The expansion and the concentration. My mind vacillates between
these two extremes. It shifts back and forth between them almost instantaneously.
What they both have in common is the bliss component. There is blissful concentration
and there is blissful expansion.
I experienced that for the first time in a dream when I was
about 12 or 13 years old after having practiced my own form of “staring meditation”
for a short while. I felt as expanded as the whole universe and as concentrated
as the tip of a needle.
If I am in any way similar to the One, then the One should
experience something similar in its being. And I should be similar to the One,
because the One originated me, brought me into existence. Or did It? Maybe I am
similar to the One, because I am of the same substance as the One, like a single
drop of water in a vast ocean is not different in substance from all the water surrounding
it. Maybe the One needs physical bodies to experience the bliss of contraction
and the bliss of expansion. Or perhaps It
only needs the minds of entities for these experiences?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)