My body and I woke up feeling energized and in good spirits. My body felt renewed. I bounced up out of bed and stood stiffly upright on my knock-kneed legs. As my face and mouth contorted into a wide yawn my muscles shook all of my body. My arms stretched out taut seemingly reaching out to embrace the whole of humanity. My belly fat jiggled as I shook uncontrollably. A gaping noisy yawn from my throat brought tears rolling down the sides of my cheeks, and I was happy.
After enjoying a refreshing shower my body and I got dressed. There was an awful grumbling bellowing from my stomach. My body was saying that it was time to feed itself. I felt the freshness of the air as it was passing through my mouth filling up my body’s lungs with the life elixir of oxygen. I could feel my body’s powerful heart beating in the body's chest cavity as it pumped vigorously pouring more than a gallon of blood through all its veins and arteries, awashing and sustaining all of the body’s tissues and organs. I patiently waited and watched with interest as the hands effortlessly fixed my body and I a low carb, low sugar breakfast that I thoroughly consumed with relish and gusto. My body’s brain and mind became acutely awakened after my haughty breakfast. My body and I went out into the world to start our day.
I watched as my body placed its right foot forward and then its left foot forward as it sauntered me down Center Street towards Franklin Ave headed for ShopRite. While making my way through the park on Center I started to taste the salt of sweat seeping from the pores of my body, dripping off the brow of my massive head, burrowing into my eyes, snaking its way into the nostrils and seeping over and into my tongue and gums. My legs were now stepping less stridently. My body was saying it was tiring, to sit it down. As I relented the body sagged and sat its butt down on a park bench. “Ah! Isn’t this relaxing!” I said out loud to no one in particular. My body then proceeded to flop itself down as its legs jutted out, spreading forward wildly. Its long outstretched arms flailed out as its huge strong-man hands arched across in opposite directions to grip the top of the park bench. “How sweet it is!!” my mind exclaimed loudly to itself. As I sat there lazily my eyes began to focus on a family of swans swimming on the still pond. My lips formed a curious broad furtive smile as I sat with widening eyes transfixed and wide open ears perked up. My body even tingled a little as my brain processed the scenery of a pride-filled father swan and a doting mother swan playfully fussed over their six little ones. I sat and bonded with this dad as I laughed out loud, enjoying the “The Proud Swan Family Show”.
After a good thirty minutes my body told my mind that I was now thoroughly rested and that it was time I moved on to new experiences. We, my body and I, picked ourselves up as we briskly meandered on our way towards having our ShopRite shopping experience.
At end of the day I "stand back" and contemplate about my body and I. Who is really in charge here? Is it I who am in charge of my body or does my body "simply" runs itself. I know for certain if I was given the simple task of making sure to take a regular breath every second all the time I would fail miserably at it! I am glad I don't have to worry about making my heart beat! I really appreciate my body being responsible for that!!
However, I feel strongly that I give my body meaning and purpose. Without "me/I" my body seems purposeless. What is the purpose of that thing with a roof, rooms, closet space, a stove etc? What is the purpose of that thing with four legs, a seating and a backing? A chair would not exist as such if it did not "live" to serve as a purpose and meaning for me. A house is not a home if no one lives in it. A car "achieves its destiny" only when it "lives" as transportation.
The whole universe seems to be an extension of our bodies. Without us our bodies along with the whole of existence seems purposeless. Our center of awareness, or consciousness itself, "I", it seems to me, brings existence to life.
If I exist outside of time and space then why do you see me changing and growing in space and time, you ask? Because of our nature as a duality. I strongly identify with the various changing, growing appearances of Charley that is constantly being transformed in space and time. In my apparent nature, I live in time and space. However, the more real essential you lives outside of time and space. Our constant coming into being (from a cell to a baby to the person you are now , etc) must be balanced with and contrasted to the essential nature. This center, consciousness itself, is the well spring of existence.
It is beginning to look like you, me, we, sentient beings, are that which is timeless and infinitely spacious, or conscious awareness itself.
you are THAT which is the self-projecting projector that is self-generating the timeless, infinitely spacious screen. You are THAT which is alive with the experiences called existence.
The unborn, undying essential center, consciousness itself, is THAT which brought existence into being; THAT within which the whole universe is embodied. THAT which brought cellular life into being; THAT which became THAT which I identify with as "The Body & I"
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
"I"
Awareness is the witness to experience. It is like a projector screen. A constant stream of changing impressions arising from your objective and subjective experiences is being projected onto this screen. These impressions of reality appear, persist and change but the subjective projector screen is always a constant; it is always being “written on”. Your awareness has the essential property of wholeness. The center of this wholeness is your consciousness. This allows you to distinguish between YOU and THINGS that are NOT YOU. Things appear, persist for awhile and go through changes. However, this center is a constant background. Conscious awareness remains essentially unchanged while it constantly watches a constantly changing scenery of changing appearances.
Consciousness is not some supernatural entity foreign to material reality. It is a phenomenon rooted in objective reality. Let us compare consciousness to the hands. Your hands are material things interacting with other material things. As the hand feels out its world, it experiences a constant stream of impressions. These “feel” imprints, or experiences, come and go but they essentially leave the hand unchanged. The hand has all these experiences without losing its “HANDNESS”. That is, it remains itself as it continues to have constantly changing experiences. Theses marks made by it and on it come and go but your hand remains your hand.
The complexity of the brains of sentient beings is, unarguably, unsurpassed. The mind is an extremely subtle “organ” rooted in the material brains of conscious beings. Impressions made on our material organs of sight, hearing, feeling , smelling and touching are transformed via complex brain processes into mental perceptions. These external stimulations are transformed into the mental impulses of the mind. There are different levels of complexity of the mental, with our thoughts being the pinnacle of this complexity.
The mind has the property of wholeness. Your mind may appear to be a separate “body” from the brain but it emerged from it and remains deeply and firmly embedded in the brain at all times. Just as your hand “witnesses” constantly changing experiences and remains essentially unchanged by its worldly experiences, the impressions of reality coming through your material organs of sense (eyes, ears, etc) is projected onto the subjective screen that is the mind. Some of these perceptions become our thoughts. Thoughts are mind stuff. They come and go. Similarly to the hands, the mind’s center of conscious awareness witnesses these constant comings and goings but remains essentially unchanged.
Another name for your consciousness, or center of conscious awareness, is "I".
Consciousness is not some supernatural entity foreign to material reality. It is a phenomenon rooted in objective reality. Let us compare consciousness to the hands. Your hands are material things interacting with other material things. As the hand feels out its world, it experiences a constant stream of impressions. These “feel” imprints, or experiences, come and go but they essentially leave the hand unchanged. The hand has all these experiences without losing its “HANDNESS”. That is, it remains itself as it continues to have constantly changing experiences. Theses marks made by it and on it come and go but your hand remains your hand.
The complexity of the brains of sentient beings is, unarguably, unsurpassed. The mind is an extremely subtle “organ” rooted in the material brains of conscious beings. Impressions made on our material organs of sight, hearing, feeling , smelling and touching are transformed via complex brain processes into mental perceptions. These external stimulations are transformed into the mental impulses of the mind. There are different levels of complexity of the mental, with our thoughts being the pinnacle of this complexity.
The mind has the property of wholeness. Your mind may appear to be a separate “body” from the brain but it emerged from it and remains deeply and firmly embedded in the brain at all times. Just as your hand “witnesses” constantly changing experiences and remains essentially unchanged by its worldly experiences, the impressions of reality coming through your material organs of sense (eyes, ears, etc) is projected onto the subjective screen that is the mind. Some of these perceptions become our thoughts. Thoughts are mind stuff. They come and go. Similarly to the hands, the mind’s center of conscious awareness witnesses these constant comings and goings but remains essentially unchanged.
Another name for your consciousness, or center of conscious awareness, is "I".
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
THE LONG EMBRACE
It’s Thanksgiving. I am having dinner with good friends. They happen to be half brothers; we are seated around the table. To the left of Johnny Kool De'Ego is Lewdecrous D. Id. (Lewd for short). He is the short one standing on the chair picking his nose. To the right of Johnny is His Majesty Emperor Gold D. Superego, the one with the diamond bejeweled crown dressed like King Henry The Eight.
“I could eat a horse or even a pair of sneakers I am so hungry!” Lewd complained loudly.
“Do I have to be in the same room with THAT thing?” sneered D. Superego, turning up his nose.
“I think he’s kinda cute, don’t you think, Charley?” Kool asked me as he patted D. Id on the head. I nodded and smiled sheepishly.
“You think he is funny? Look at him! Will you please wipe the mucus sliming down your nose!? Don’t you feel it dribbling into your mouth and falling off your chin onto my Fine China!? You PIG!! How disgusting!!” D. Superego ranted.
“Hey, Gold D, can we start eating already? Lewd is right we are all hungry”, Johnny pleaded.
“I MUST say grace. The victuals MUST be blessed. I will not touch one unconsecrated morsel ‘til I give thanks and praise to my Almighty God, and neither will you!” thundered His Majesty.
“Put a sock in it, you pompous blowhard”, replied D. Id, standing on the table, scratching himself.
“Lewd, come on now, chill. We have a guest. Don’t let him leave with the wrong impression. We should give thanks. There are a lot of people worse off than us. Let Gold D say grace so we can enjoy this delicious seven course Thanksgiving meal”.
(As D. Id climbed down off the chair he let loose a loud fart)
“Oh my God!! That’s it! I am through with him!!” D. Superego screamed, having a fit.
“What? Like you never. . .”
“Well I never! How dare you, you little impudent ape!” protested His majesty, seemingly mortified at the suggestion that he also passes flatus.
“Hey! Back off! I’m just keeping it real! Yeah, Real” said D. Id, Standing tall, giving D. Superego the middle finger.
(De'Ego is standing between them now, preventing them from coming to blows)
“Guys! Guys! Can’t you guys behave for even a minute? Both of you just cool it” reasoned De’Ego.
“I demand an apology now! Right right now! You hear me, Johnny; I will not stand for his insolence. Tell him to apologize, or else I am leaving!” demanded The Emperor, standing stiffly.
“I ain’t Apologizing for shit! I don’t need you! Go ahead, make my day. Leave, damn it!” retorted D. Id
(Kool looked at me. I tried not to make eye contact with any of them).
“How about those Yankees!” I said, trying to change the subject.
“OK. Lewd, my little brother, please. . . sit. Gold D, you really need to calm down some. Remember your heart. We almost lost you because of that heart attack last month. And you, Lewd, you were worried sick about him. You spent a week by his bedside. You spoon fed him chicken soup when we brought him home. You even read him his favorite poems. You know you love and need each other. Come on, at least shake hands”
(The two, D. Id and D. Superego, shook hands, grudgingly)
“Come on! Yous two can do better than that! Hug each other! You know you want to!” cheered on De'Ego as he pushed them in each other’s embrace.
I sat transfixed in amazement. Look at them. Each of them are so different yet they seem to need each other.
I sat there smiling as the three half brothers D. Id, De'Ego and D. Superego, hugged each other in a long warm embrace.
LESSONS LEARNED
Let us examine the lessons we can learn from this not-so-tall-tale.
On the one hand we are often times earthy, coarse, unrefined, etc. We have to eat, but we don’t have to eat like pigs. We have to use the bathroom but we don’t have to piss on fire hydrants. We necessarily need to indulge our carnal desires (but. . . get a room!).
On the other hand we have a wondrous spirit about us. We are prideful. We have high standards and values. We strive to maintain a sense of morality. We have to maintain standards of decency, after all, we are civilized human beings. But we don’t have to be holier-than-though. We have to strive for high spiritual ideals but we don’t have to be super self-righteous. We should do the right thing. It is proper to be an example of what is good and kind but we should not be unforgiving of those "of a lesser God".
Ego (Common Sense): "Guys! Be realistic. We must eat to live! We can manage without stuffing, over-stuffing ourselves and without eating unhealthily (like a hog) or worse, not eating at all!!"
We should strive to find balance in our lives. We need both body and spirit. Above all else, we have to have compassion for ourselves and embrace everything that is in each of us.
“I could eat a horse or even a pair of sneakers I am so hungry!” Lewd complained loudly.
“Do I have to be in the same room with THAT thing?” sneered D. Superego, turning up his nose.
“I think he’s kinda cute, don’t you think, Charley?” Kool asked me as he patted D. Id on the head. I nodded and smiled sheepishly.
“You think he is funny? Look at him! Will you please wipe the mucus sliming down your nose!? Don’t you feel it dribbling into your mouth and falling off your chin onto my Fine China!? You PIG!! How disgusting!!” D. Superego ranted.
“Hey, Gold D, can we start eating already? Lewd is right we are all hungry”, Johnny pleaded.
“I MUST say grace. The victuals MUST be blessed. I will not touch one unconsecrated morsel ‘til I give thanks and praise to my Almighty God, and neither will you!” thundered His Majesty.
“Put a sock in it, you pompous blowhard”, replied D. Id, standing on the table, scratching himself.
“Lewd, come on now, chill. We have a guest. Don’t let him leave with the wrong impression. We should give thanks. There are a lot of people worse off than us. Let Gold D say grace so we can enjoy this delicious seven course Thanksgiving meal”.
(As D. Id climbed down off the chair he let loose a loud fart)
“Oh my God!! That’s it! I am through with him!!” D. Superego screamed, having a fit.
“What? Like you never. . .”
“Well I never! How dare you, you little impudent ape!” protested His majesty, seemingly mortified at the suggestion that he also passes flatus.
“Hey! Back off! I’m just keeping it real! Yeah, Real” said D. Id, Standing tall, giving D. Superego the middle finger.
(De'Ego is standing between them now, preventing them from coming to blows)
“Guys! Guys! Can’t you guys behave for even a minute? Both of you just cool it” reasoned De’Ego.
“I demand an apology now! Right right now! You hear me, Johnny; I will not stand for his insolence. Tell him to apologize, or else I am leaving!” demanded The Emperor, standing stiffly.
“I ain’t Apologizing for shit! I don’t need you! Go ahead, make my day. Leave, damn it!” retorted D. Id
(Kool looked at me. I tried not to make eye contact with any of them).
“How about those Yankees!” I said, trying to change the subject.
“OK. Lewd, my little brother, please. . . sit. Gold D, you really need to calm down some. Remember your heart. We almost lost you because of that heart attack last month. And you, Lewd, you were worried sick about him. You spent a week by his bedside. You spoon fed him chicken soup when we brought him home. You even read him his favorite poems. You know you love and need each other. Come on, at least shake hands”
(The two, D. Id and D. Superego, shook hands, grudgingly)
“Come on! Yous two can do better than that! Hug each other! You know you want to!” cheered on De'Ego as he pushed them in each other’s embrace.
I sat transfixed in amazement. Look at them. Each of them are so different yet they seem to need each other.
I sat there smiling as the three half brothers D. Id, De'Ego and D. Superego, hugged each other in a long warm embrace.
LESSONS LEARNED
Let us examine the lessons we can learn from this not-so-tall-tale.
On the one hand we are often times earthy, coarse, unrefined, etc. We have to eat, but we don’t have to eat like pigs. We have to use the bathroom but we don’t have to piss on fire hydrants. We necessarily need to indulge our carnal desires (but. . . get a room!).
On the other hand we have a wondrous spirit about us. We are prideful. We have high standards and values. We strive to maintain a sense of morality. We have to maintain standards of decency, after all, we are civilized human beings. But we don’t have to be holier-than-though. We have to strive for high spiritual ideals but we don’t have to be super self-righteous. We should do the right thing. It is proper to be an example of what is good and kind but we should not be unforgiving of those "of a lesser God".
THE NEED TO EAT
ID Sense: "I need to eat otherwise I'll die! As a matter of desire, I'll stuff myself like a hog every chance I get!!
Superego Sense: "If I have to eat like the ID, I'll dine less than the bare minimum or not at all! I'll rather die!!"
Superego Sense: "If I have to eat like the ID, I'll dine less than the bare minimum or not at all! I'll rather die!!"
Ego (Common Sense): "Guys! Be realistic. We must eat to live! We can manage without stuffing, over-stuffing ourselves and without eating unhealthily (like a hog) or worse, not eating at all!!"
We should strive to find balance in our lives. We need both body and spirit. Above all else, we have to have compassion for ourselves and embrace everything that is in each of us.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
NOW
I stubbed my toe on a rock April first twenty-twelve at one minute past twelve noon. It was a sunny springish Monday afternoon. I stubbed my toe on that same stone three days ago. You guessed it. Yes. I am a time traveler. Why, you don’t believe me? Well actually I only travel in the middle part of time. The NOW. I don’t need to travel to those other parts of time, the past and the future. I have that stone with me now. . . and now. . . and now. . .
If I spread out a handful of rocks all around me when are they? They are now. If I walk up to a rock when is it? Now. If I pick it up now when is it? Now. Can I pick up the rock in the past or the future? No. I can only pick it up NOW. Think of time as rocks positioned in a straight line from left to right. Events (the rocks) are moments of time. Time can be likened to an infinity of rocks layed out in a straight line from left to right. When you walk past the rocks in the direction of left to right this is like time “moving forward”. Way behind you is a rock in a place called WHEN I WAS. Way ahead of you is another rock in a town known as WHEN I WILL BE. Once you walk past a rock you are forbidden to turn around and pick it up. You are only allowed to pick up rocks ahead of you. . . now. . . and then pick up the one in front of you, now. . . When you get to a rock ten paces ahead you can only pick it up in the the present, or the now portion of time. For a rock further up ahead you have to wait until you reach it, and then you pick it up. . . NOW, because you are forbidden to skip ahead. You are only allowed to pick up the rock a mile ahead by stopping at each stone behind it; first passing the stone to your immediate left before you can get to the stone to your immediate right in the line. You stop briefly and pick up a stone now. You can't clearly see the stone to your immediate right and you are forbidden by time to touch it.
To exist is to experience this moment NOW. If you are not experiencing at this moment you do not exist. Within the real world outside of the subjective experiences, there is no past or future, just NOW. You are blind to any given piece of reality until your awareness comes in contact with it aided by the senses. Awareness is blind until you have an interactive experience. You cannot experience a piece of reality until your conscious awareness touches it. . . NOW. . . and NOW. It can make an impression on consciousness again. . . NOW. You can pretend and imagine ‘experiencing ‘ subjectively ‘touching it in the future’ in your mind but you can only experience any piece of objective reality when you actually interact with it, NOW.
I was born as Charley and first experienced the world outside of the womb in 1957. Charley appeared as a mischievous toddler around 1960. I, Charley, appeared as an intellectually curious teenager in the 1970’s. Then Charley experienced is first occasion as a proud father when his first daughter took her first breath of air in 1988, and the first occasion of a second daughter September 8th 1989. I remember seeing her popping her head out staring at me and wailed away crying until her mother and I bonded with her and she was consoled. Essentially I remain CHARLEY through all these different appearances and experiences. I remain essentially who I am.
The truth is that, essentially, time lives inside of you; you do not live in time. These experiences and appearances arise within and pass through the essential unchanging YOU. YOU are like a cinematic screen. The scenery and the dramatics keep changing and moving but the screen is unchanging and unmoving; in your essential nature YOU are this constant unchanging and unmoving presence. Consider yourself as an INFINITELY HIGH IMMOVABLE MOUNTAIN. From the infinite summit a future rock is tumbling toward your "I" of awareness. As it inches on down, you barely perceive it until it touches your conscious awareness, NOW. This rock experience then proceeds into the infinite past. All that is left of the original rock experience is the impression it leaves imprinted on your subjective awareness. You can re-visit the subjective impression of the original rock experience, but only by recalling it anew. . .NOW
We use the concept of ‘dates’ to book mark and track these experiences and constantly changing appearances as they come into being, NOW and pass away. . .NOW.
True, without the concept of time ""I"" would have a great deal of difficulty organizing the accumulating impressions constantly being made by the many many various unique appearances and experiences that just keep piling up quickly as ""I"" interact with the objective external world, but time is really subjective.
You are like a blind man with only the sense of feel/touch. You can’t “see” the objective rock until you touch it, and when you touch it the time is now. It’s six-o-clock now and I am subjectively recalling/looking at the impression of the rock experience. . .NOW.
“What time is it" you ask? Why, it is now. Welcome, fellow time traveler. Travel with me to the now; we have to do it at this moment because this moment is the only time we have NOW.
If I spread out a handful of rocks all around me when are they? They are now. If I walk up to a rock when is it? Now. If I pick it up now when is it? Now. Can I pick up the rock in the past or the future? No. I can only pick it up NOW. Think of time as rocks positioned in a straight line from left to right. Events (the rocks) are moments of time. Time can be likened to an infinity of rocks layed out in a straight line from left to right. When you walk past the rocks in the direction of left to right this is like time “moving forward”. Way behind you is a rock in a place called WHEN I WAS. Way ahead of you is another rock in a town known as WHEN I WILL BE. Once you walk past a rock you are forbidden to turn around and pick it up. You are only allowed to pick up rocks ahead of you. . . now. . . and then pick up the one in front of you, now. . . When you get to a rock ten paces ahead you can only pick it up in the the present, or the now portion of time. For a rock further up ahead you have to wait until you reach it, and then you pick it up. . . NOW, because you are forbidden to skip ahead. You are only allowed to pick up the rock a mile ahead by stopping at each stone behind it; first passing the stone to your immediate left before you can get to the stone to your immediate right in the line. You stop briefly and pick up a stone now. You can't clearly see the stone to your immediate right and you are forbidden by time to touch it.
To exist is to experience this moment NOW. If you are not experiencing at this moment you do not exist. Within the real world outside of the subjective experiences, there is no past or future, just NOW. You are blind to any given piece of reality until your awareness comes in contact with it aided by the senses. Awareness is blind until you have an interactive experience. You cannot experience a piece of reality until your conscious awareness touches it. . . NOW. . . and NOW. It can make an impression on consciousness again. . . NOW. You can pretend and imagine ‘experiencing ‘ subjectively ‘touching it in the future’ in your mind but you can only experience any piece of objective reality when you actually interact with it, NOW.
I was born as Charley and first experienced the world outside of the womb in 1957. Charley appeared as a mischievous toddler around 1960. I, Charley, appeared as an intellectually curious teenager in the 1970’s. Then Charley experienced is first occasion as a proud father when his first daughter took her first breath of air in 1988, and the first occasion of a second daughter September 8th 1989. I remember seeing her popping her head out staring at me and wailed away crying until her mother and I bonded with her and she was consoled. Essentially I remain CHARLEY through all these different appearances and experiences. I remain essentially who I am.
The truth is that, essentially, time lives inside of you; you do not live in time. These experiences and appearances arise within and pass through the essential unchanging YOU. YOU are like a cinematic screen. The scenery and the dramatics keep changing and moving but the screen is unchanging and unmoving; in your essential nature YOU are this constant unchanging and unmoving presence. Consider yourself as an INFINITELY HIGH IMMOVABLE MOUNTAIN. From the infinite summit a future rock is tumbling toward your "I" of awareness. As it inches on down, you barely perceive it until it touches your conscious awareness, NOW. This rock experience then proceeds into the infinite past. All that is left of the original rock experience is the impression it leaves imprinted on your subjective awareness. You can re-visit the subjective impression of the original rock experience, but only by recalling it anew. . .NOW
We use the concept of ‘dates’ to book mark and track these experiences and constantly changing appearances as they come into being, NOW and pass away. . .NOW.
True, without the concept of time ""I"" would have a great deal of difficulty organizing the accumulating impressions constantly being made by the many many various unique appearances and experiences that just keep piling up quickly as ""I"" interact with the objective external world, but time is really subjective.
You are like a blind man with only the sense of feel/touch. You can’t “see” the objective rock until you touch it, and when you touch it the time is now. It’s six-o-clock now and I am subjectively recalling/looking at the impression of the rock experience. . .NOW.
“What time is it" you ask? Why, it is now. Welcome, fellow time traveler. Travel with me to the now; we have to do it at this moment because this moment is the only time we have NOW.
Monday, March 14, 2011
"I" AM JUST ENJOYING THE RIDE
An individual’s consciousness is a witness to his experiences. The conscious awareness chooses which experience the person is going to have. Thereafter his awareness just sits back and watches as the experience occurs. No effort needs to be made by me. My body just has the experience. “I” do nothing but watch the action. “I” say ‘I am going to the kitchen to make me a sandwich’, and my body just does it without any other input from me. “I” do not pull any strings; my legs pick me up from where I am sitting, walks me to the kitchen, and my hands make me a sandwich. If my body was just a puppet I would have to pull its strings to maneuver my arms, legs, neck, torso, etc in very careful, detailed and meticulous ways to get from point “A” to point ”B” to eventually get to the kitchen after arduous concentration and with great care. This is hard work! But I do no work whatsoever. None. My body parts just “know” exactly what to do; my legs, head, neck, torso, arms, hands and fingers are pre-programmed wonderfully to maneuver dexterously to accomplish almost any task I ask of them.
In fact when it comes to my body “I” am mostly an absentee landlord. It appears “I” don’t have to be a constant presence to direct most of the tasks that my body is involved in. For example, there are instances I jump in my car, turn on the ignition and don’t recall how I got to work! I have taken this route so often my body does not need me “present” to get me to work. “I” think: ‘If I leave now I should get to work by seven pm’. Then I look up, it is fifteen minutes before seven pm and I see my right hand removing the car keys from the ignition. I was not “present” for the whole six mile journey. After you “show” your body a few times how to do something it appears no longer to need you. All "I" do is nothing, except to sit back and enjoy the ride.
In fact when it comes to my body “I” am mostly an absentee landlord. It appears “I” don’t have to be a constant presence to direct most of the tasks that my body is involved in. For example, there are instances I jump in my car, turn on the ignition and don’t recall how I got to work! I have taken this route so often my body does not need me “present” to get me to work. “I” think: ‘If I leave now I should get to work by seven pm’. Then I look up, it is fifteen minutes before seven pm and I see my right hand removing the car keys from the ignition. I was not “present” for the whole six mile journey. After you “show” your body a few times how to do something it appears no longer to need you. All "I" do is nothing, except to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
God & Anti-God
Man made God and the Anti-God, The Devil, in man's image. The Devil is God's alter ego, and you cannot have one without the other. God is the projection of our highest good ideals and The Devil is the projection of our highest evil "ideals", which is the opposite. They represent the grandeur of the human spirit and the human imagination writ large but detached. God and Anti-God, or The Devil, are man's delusions of grandeur: The real good & evil in man as projected larger than life onto the real world of human earthly affairs.
The evolution of God in human spiritual culture parallels the evolution of the struggle between ignorance and knowledge. As positive knowledge evolves it displaces ignorance, slowly displacing the delusions of a god born out of human ignorance of the world around him.
If you flip the first verse in the gospel according to Saint John in the bible it reads like this:
"In the beginning was THE HUMAN IMAGINATION,
and THE HUMAN IMAGINATION was with THE MAN,
and THE HUMAN IMAGINATION was THE MAN".
Then flip it back:
"In the beginning was THE WORD,
and THE WORD was with GOD,
and THE WORD was GOD".
The human spirit and the human imagination (THE WORD), if left untethered from its grounding in reality, can detach itself and grow so expansive that it takes on a life of its own.
God and The Devil begun as the misunderstood forces of nature. In humanity's formative years its technology was sticks and stones. Puny, defenseless and ignorant little man could barely shield himself against the larger than life gods and demons around him. At least that is how he was imagining the misunderstood and unseen blind forces of nature arrayed for and against him. These invisible forces of nature, even if unseen, are still real so they must have a cause.
We know today that the cause of a solar eclipse is due to the moon's shadow being cast unto the earth when the moon gets between the earth and the sun. Imagine hunter-gatherer man looking up in the noon sky and witnessing the awesome and frightening spectacle of the sun turning black and darkness descending upon him and all around him. Due to his ignorance regarding astronomy, he probably would have said something like:
"OH, MY LORD MY ONLY GOD, PLEASE PUT BACK THE LIGHT IN THE SUN. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, DEAR LORD, IF I HAVE GRAVELY OFFENDED THEE. I PROMISE I WILL WORSHIP YOU AND ONLY YOU FROM NOW ON. I FORSWEAR THOSE OTHER FALSE GODS OF MY ENEMIES. I PROMISE I WILL WORSHIP YOU, AND ONLY YOU, AND NO OTHER GODS OR DEMONS!"
This overbearing and capricious god takes an abiding and deep personal interest in the affairs of men. There is a love-hate relationship between this god and men, his children. He will fly off in a jealous rage if the man even entertains an inkling of another god. If you break his rules the punishment may be severe. Woe unto the man if he ignores or breaks this god's commandments. Every transgression of these commandments, no matter how slight, is marked down in his little black book. The man is asking for serious trouble if he ignores this god or tries to hide and think he can get away with doing impermissible deeds behind his back. The man sometimes forget how severe the punishment can get: risking his God's wrath. Worst yet, risk having his soul burn in hell's fire for all eternity.
Needing to find the cause of things happening the way they do, the man asks himself: "Why are things the way they are?” Here is one answer he came up with:
I know the cause. Yes. It was that accursed
disobeying woman. She is not the only one to
blame though. I am at fault too. God has been so
good to me. Giving me this beautiful and
bountiful Garden of Eden. I wanted for nothing.
I cursed the day you made HER from one of my ribs!
Forgive me, Lord, I didn't mean to curse!
Look at us now. Working hard all live long day under
the searing heat of this hot daylight sun. Sweating.
I hate to sweat!
I warned her so many times about that guy. I warned
her not to listen to that snake in the grass. But she
always had that "Devil may care" attitude about her.
I knew we would come to ruin sooner or later if we
messed with that apple tree of knowledge. This
tree is dangerous because each of its fruit contains
both good and evil knowledge. You can't enjoy the apple's
goodness without also becoming a little poisoned by its
vile evilness.
She was such an irresistible temptress; beguiling me
with her feminine wiles into taking a bite out of
that fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
Looks familiar? Most should recognize the above narrative as the gist of the biblical Adam & Eve story. It says that the cause of our current predicament is as a result of the fall from God's grace of the "First Couple". A case of the sins of the mother and the father being visited upon their children, us.
Man literally dreamt up God and Anti-God, heaven and anti-heaven, which parallels the actual heaven and hell the world can be at times.
The evolution of God in human spiritual culture parallels the evolution of the struggle between ignorance and knowledge. As positive knowledge evolves it displaces ignorance, slowly displacing the delusions of a god born out of human ignorance of the world around him.
If you flip the first verse in the gospel according to Saint John in the bible it reads like this:
"In the beginning was THE HUMAN IMAGINATION,
and THE HUMAN IMAGINATION was with THE MAN,
and THE HUMAN IMAGINATION was THE MAN".
Then flip it back:
"In the beginning was THE WORD,
and THE WORD was with GOD,
and THE WORD was GOD".
The human spirit and the human imagination (THE WORD), if left untethered from its grounding in reality, can detach itself and grow so expansive that it takes on a life of its own.
God and The Devil begun as the misunderstood forces of nature. In humanity's formative years its technology was sticks and stones. Puny, defenseless and ignorant little man could barely shield himself against the larger than life gods and demons around him. At least that is how he was imagining the misunderstood and unseen blind forces of nature arrayed for and against him. These invisible forces of nature, even if unseen, are still real so they must have a cause.
We know today that the cause of a solar eclipse is due to the moon's shadow being cast unto the earth when the moon gets between the earth and the sun. Imagine hunter-gatherer man looking up in the noon sky and witnessing the awesome and frightening spectacle of the sun turning black and darkness descending upon him and all around him. Due to his ignorance regarding astronomy, he probably would have said something like:
"OH, MY LORD MY ONLY GOD, PLEASE PUT BACK THE LIGHT IN THE SUN. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, DEAR LORD, IF I HAVE GRAVELY OFFENDED THEE. I PROMISE I WILL WORSHIP YOU AND ONLY YOU FROM NOW ON. I FORSWEAR THOSE OTHER FALSE GODS OF MY ENEMIES. I PROMISE I WILL WORSHIP YOU, AND ONLY YOU, AND NO OTHER GODS OR DEMONS!"
This overbearing and capricious god takes an abiding and deep personal interest in the affairs of men. There is a love-hate relationship between this god and men, his children. He will fly off in a jealous rage if the man even entertains an inkling of another god. If you break his rules the punishment may be severe. Woe unto the man if he ignores or breaks this god's commandments. Every transgression of these commandments, no matter how slight, is marked down in his little black book. The man is asking for serious trouble if he ignores this god or tries to hide and think he can get away with doing impermissible deeds behind his back. The man sometimes forget how severe the punishment can get: risking his God's wrath. Worst yet, risk having his soul burn in hell's fire for all eternity.
Needing to find the cause of things happening the way they do, the man asks himself: "Why are things the way they are?” Here is one answer he came up with:
I know the cause. Yes. It was that accursed
disobeying woman. She is not the only one to
blame though. I am at fault too. God has been so
good to me. Giving me this beautiful and
bountiful Garden of Eden. I wanted for nothing.
I cursed the day you made HER from one of my ribs!
Forgive me, Lord, I didn't mean to curse!
Look at us now. Working hard all live long day under
the searing heat of this hot daylight sun. Sweating.
I hate to sweat!
I warned her so many times about that guy. I warned
her not to listen to that snake in the grass. But she
always had that "Devil may care" attitude about her.
I knew we would come to ruin sooner or later if we
messed with that apple tree of knowledge. This
tree is dangerous because each of its fruit contains
both good and evil knowledge. You can't enjoy the apple's
goodness without also becoming a little poisoned by its
vile evilness.
She was such an irresistible temptress; beguiling me
with her feminine wiles into taking a bite out of
that fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
Looks familiar? Most should recognize the above narrative as the gist of the biblical Adam & Eve story. It says that the cause of our current predicament is as a result of the fall from God's grace of the "First Couple". A case of the sins of the mother and the father being visited upon their children, us.
Man literally dreamt up God and Anti-God, heaven and anti-heaven, which parallels the actual heaven and hell the world can be at times.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
THE CIRCLE OF LIFE; briefly
I am connected to my family. Without each of them I could never reach my full potential. We are a unity and this is where my strength continues to come from. Staying connected gives me purpose. Our shared experiences nurture my unique strengths and also serves to help me recognize my weaknesses.
This union can be illustrated by the circle. The circle consists of a center, radii and a circumference. The circumference of the circle represents the place and time in which the family members are having their shared experiences. Just as the circumference of the circle cannot be complete without connecting its individual points together, each individual is a unique personality that completes the family. Look at the circle again. As each radius journeys outward along its own path together with the other radii, each remains firmly anchored by their common center. The radius of the circle represents the outward unique blossoming of each individuality as it grows out from a common center but along its own freely chosen path of development. Their continuing interaction at the circumference nurtures each's inner potential to its fullest and each goes forward in health and strength.
Each of us emerged from the same one center and sustains our personal growth by remaining anchored to the one center. Each one of us can best fully express his or her inner unique selves as body, mind and spirit through their shared experiences only while remaining grounded within the family circle.
This union can be illustrated by the circle. The circle consists of a center, radii and a circumference. The circumference of the circle represents the place and time in which the family members are having their shared experiences. Just as the circumference of the circle cannot be complete without connecting its individual points together, each individual is a unique personality that completes the family. Look at the circle again. As each radius journeys outward along its own path together with the other radii, each remains firmly anchored by their common center. The radius of the circle represents the outward unique blossoming of each individuality as it grows out from a common center but along its own freely chosen path of development. Their continuing interaction at the circumference nurtures each's inner potential to its fullest and each goes forward in health and strength.
Each of us emerged from the same one center and sustains our personal growth by remaining anchored to the one center. Each one of us can best fully express his or her inner unique selves as body, mind and spirit through their shared experiences only while remaining grounded within the family circle.
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