The sexuality of an individual who attained Christ-realization is a controversial subject, to be sure. Even in this day of acceptance – or at least, tolerance – in most of the Western societies of orientations other than heterosexual, asking the question: "What would Jesus be like sexually?" is likely to raise indignant condemnation and furious objections among a large part of the population. However, this subject is vital to the understanding of the direction in which humanity is heading in the next loop of its evolutionary spiral. Moreover, to anyone striving to achieve self-realization, ascension, or whatever else this state of being is called these days, this question is of prime consideration. Thus, I feel that time is ripe for these thoughts to be offered. As in every other article, the only reason I use 'he/his/him' is simply to avoid awkwardness of expression; both genders are implied everywhere.
Let us first consider what functions sexuality is meant to serve. Obviously, its most apparent purpose is the propagation of species. However, this is the biological function and is not the only one. The human body is divine spirit expressed in flesh. Thus every biological function of the human body also has a sacramental dimension to it. Whether we choose to acknowledge the spiritual side of, for example, sex or not, its validity would not cease to exist. The component of sex that is metaphysical is immense and we ignore it only because we do not understand it or do not want to understand. To a person who transmuted his animalistic instincts and put them to the service of his spiritual essence, sexuality will be a direct expression of his spiritual beliefs, whatever they may be for this particular person.
Now, what kind of discipline of the personality would an individual engage in, who desired to be the fullest expression in flesh of the Creator's universal love towards all of His Creation? It should be clear that such a discipline would involve the balancing of all aspects of his being – mind, body, and spirit – in such a way that no person, action, situation, etc. would be judged any differently than any other – to be precise, there would be no judgment at all, the only reaction, or, rather, response, of such an individual to any situation being love. On the surface of it, this doesn't always seem to be the case, if we examine, for instance, the words and actions of Jesus – unarguably a man of Christ-realization. He scolded hypocrites, drove money-changers out of a temple, and so on. However, Jesus in fact never did have any judgment against anyone in his mind, as the scriptures say many times. Such actions on his part were simply meant to highlight to the people the inconsistency of some of their behavior with their own inner Christ – the Christ that Jesus saw within every single person he met – and were done with nothing but love in his heart towards the offenders.
Thus, the person who succeeded in balancing his being in such a way as to view everyone and everything with love, would obviously see no difference between a hot and shapely 20-year old girl and an overweight, bald, and supposedly ugly middle-aged man – he would emanate love completely equally toward both of them and would see each of them as equally attractive. For a man whose physical being is in full subordination to his awakened spiritual nature, this means that he would be fully bisexual – without any preference whatsoever towards any gender. There is a tendency towards one gender or another, to be sure, but it becomes less and less pronounced as the true inner spiritual nature of the seeker is awakened more and more.
Of course, many people who strive to become fully realized beings, most notably yogis, do not engage in sex at all. They prefer to harvest this energy and redirect it towards inner work. However, if they did, I believe their preference would be just that: no preference – full bisexuality. Both heterosexuality and homosexuality would be distortions to such a person. Obviously, all this is not to mean that an avatar of the Christ consciousness would engage in indiscriminate and unwelcome sex with anything that moves, simply because he loves everything. This would be too simplistic an interpretation, even more ridiculous than saying that every homosexual man wants to have sex with every single male he lays his eyes on. Sex is an expression of love, yes – but only one of many.
There is, unfortunately, scant historical data on this point. There weren't many full expressions of the Christ consciousness among humans, and those whose teachings were recorded, fewer still. The Bible is hardly a 100% accurate source of information on Jesus, as many apocrypha which did not serve the interests of the Church fathers were thrown out of the official set of scriptures. Also nothing on this subject has reached us from the teachings – at least the exoteric ones – of Gautama the Buddha. However, it can be argued that humanity's consciousness at the time when, for instance, Jesus was teaching, was completely unprepared not just to accept, but even to hear different takes on a question so badly mired for thousands and thousands of years in controversy and distortion. So his choice of teaching such ideas would, more than likely, be through metaphors and allegories. A look at the Gospel of Thomas confirms this; verse 22, for instance, contains a very clear exposition of the foregoing.
The consciousness of mankind changed significantly since 2000 years ago. It is now time to stop speaking in riddles and offer these ideas openly. To be sure, this is not a 'call to arms' – "come, let's all force ourselves to become bisexual." Spiritual growth is a uniquely individual process, will take each one of us on a different path, and cannot be forced. This is simply an invitation to consider that our spiritual nature is asexual – there are no genders on 'the other side', and so the closer we get to that spiritual nature, the more directly we will manifest that asexuality in human biological terms. Every human has a Christ within him – if he would only choose to acknowledge and awaken Him. My belief is that 'letting out' the Christ within is where humanity's spiritual evolution is taking us in the next few hundreds or thousands years, and it is simply a question of deciding to come along for the ride – or being left behind for another time and place. And it seems to me that, since sexuality is such a fundamental and integral part of our being, both physical and spiritual, such questions are now more timely than ever.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Watch your thoughts...
Parents often hear their children – usually preschoolers – tell seemingly incredible stories and usually dismiss these as plain fantasy. Yet children are conditioned by adults to see the world the way adults see it – a process which takes years and usually, unfortunately, succeeds impressively by the time the child is 7 or 8 years old. Only a small minority of parents, those spiritually attuned to the world around them, recognize that children see and perceive much more of that world than adults do. Toddlers often remember bits and characters from their immediate past life. Some talented children draw people's figures surrounded by halos of different colors, depending on the person's mood or condition, not having yet 'learned' from 'knowledgeable' adults that auras are not supposed to exist. A child also doesn't distinguish between vivid images from his dream world and the real world until after he's several years old.
So, those parents who are aware of these things will usually recognize such stories as real on some level of the totality of our existence and will not discourage them. However, some stories can tax even their ability to understand and accept what may or may not be real to their child. How about this, for instance: "There was a little baby at my mommy's home and he didn't listen to mommy, and he got a big boo-boo on his face and a lot of blood came out." Of course, you know for a very solid fact that no such thing ever happened. Or do you?
Because of the nature of the growing up process, children pick up thoughts more readily than adults do. Something that would cause only a vague feeling in a grown-up, will have a much more solid reality to a child. If you think something with a strong emotion in the presence of a child, you can be sure that he will pick it up. And the thought is real to him, just like his dreams are real to him. A mother who comes home from work exhausted and with no physical or emotional energy left to deal with a misbehaving child can perhaps be forgiven for letting a quick thought like, "Gosh, I wish you fell and hurt yourself for not listening to me when I say stop running around the house like a maniac," to flash for some nanosecond in her tired brain. However, letting an emotionally charged, highly negative thought persist in your mind can be very damaging to your child's emotional and spiritual health. Due to the influence that parents have on their children, it is more likely than not that he will accept the thought and make it his own – which is very much the same as if you repeated it out loud until he started believing it.
So, whether you say to your child – or to someone else in his presence – "You'll never amount to anything," "You're good for nothing," "He's a weakling" – or whether you think these thoughts with belief and emotion, it really makes no difference: it will affect your child, and you can be sure that it won't be for the better. So what is the solution? Same as it has always been. Encouragement works better than criticism. See your child as you want him to be, not as you think he is – which is only your opinion, and not always a correct one, for you are also a human. Accept him for what he is – a unique and precious child of God – and let him grow in his own unique and precious manner. When you do this, you will no longer have to worry about your thoughts: they will take care of themselves.
Of course, it would be preposterous to say that fantasies don't exist in a child's inner world – they most definitely do and with much more prevalence than with adults. It's just that parents should apply discernment in figuring out what is a harmless fantasy – and what could be a warning sign of a future problem, and so equip themselves to deal with each situation in the most appropriate manner.
So, those parents who are aware of these things will usually recognize such stories as real on some level of the totality of our existence and will not discourage them. However, some stories can tax even their ability to understand and accept what may or may not be real to their child. How about this, for instance: "There was a little baby at my mommy's home and he didn't listen to mommy, and he got a big boo-boo on his face and a lot of blood came out." Of course, you know for a very solid fact that no such thing ever happened. Or do you?
Because of the nature of the growing up process, children pick up thoughts more readily than adults do. Something that would cause only a vague feeling in a grown-up, will have a much more solid reality to a child. If you think something with a strong emotion in the presence of a child, you can be sure that he will pick it up. And the thought is real to him, just like his dreams are real to him. A mother who comes home from work exhausted and with no physical or emotional energy left to deal with a misbehaving child can perhaps be forgiven for letting a quick thought like, "Gosh, I wish you fell and hurt yourself for not listening to me when I say stop running around the house like a maniac," to flash for some nanosecond in her tired brain. However, letting an emotionally charged, highly negative thought persist in your mind can be very damaging to your child's emotional and spiritual health. Due to the influence that parents have on their children, it is more likely than not that he will accept the thought and make it his own – which is very much the same as if you repeated it out loud until he started believing it.
So, whether you say to your child – or to someone else in his presence – "You'll never amount to anything," "You're good for nothing," "He's a weakling" – or whether you think these thoughts with belief and emotion, it really makes no difference: it will affect your child, and you can be sure that it won't be for the better. So what is the solution? Same as it has always been. Encouragement works better than criticism. See your child as you want him to be, not as you think he is – which is only your opinion, and not always a correct one, for you are also a human. Accept him for what he is – a unique and precious child of God – and let him grow in his own unique and precious manner. When you do this, you will no longer have to worry about your thoughts: they will take care of themselves.
Of course, it would be preposterous to say that fantasies don't exist in a child's inner world – they most definitely do and with much more prevalence than with adults. It's just that parents should apply discernment in figuring out what is a harmless fantasy – and what could be a warning sign of a future problem, and so equip themselves to deal with each situation in the most appropriate manner.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
A Gift For All Occasions
The honor and duty connected with the choice of being a human being, although quite challenging at times, is not without its virtues. Every one of us has been endowed with a multitude of precious gifts. There is one in particular that can be used to improve virtually any situation or relationship. This gift is light.
Light is a tool of unlimited flexibility. When you find yourself — or another person — in a difficult situation, relax, close your eyes, and visualize sending light to that person or situation. Make the light as pure and of the highest vibration as you can imagine. Then visualize the person or situation enveloped in this white light and ask that it be used for the highest good of the person or everyone who is involved. The whole thing takes just a couple of minutes. It looks like a very simple exercise that can't really make much of a difference, doesn't it — after all, 'light' is such a nebulous and intangible concept? And yet, if you were to try it just a few times — wholeheartedly, with no reservations or doubts as to its effectiveness — you will be surprised with how tangible and very real are the results of something so incredibly easy and simple. Sending light works and produces changes that you can observe. To someone who doesn't expect that it would make any difference, at times the results can actually be a bit startling — although pleasantly so.
You can take this even further and, in addition to 'emergency sessions', dedicate 10-15 minutes at the end or beginning of your day and send light to all the people and situations who you think can benefit from it: people you know who grieve, friends in a difficult relationship, situations with no positive outcome in sight, etc., etc. — the applications are limitless. Do it regularly and you will see these people and situations change for the better — quickly and noticeably. However, it is important not to place any expectations or intentions that the light be used in some specific way or for a specific outcome. We do not have the complete picture of every situation, and those unseen friends whose help is activated by sending light have a much better view of how and where exactly your offer of assistance can best be applied.
It is important to note that seeing how powerfully light works can get to your head and make you unduly proud of your newly found 'ability'. It is well to remember at all times that the light is not ours but the Creator's: that's where it springs from and also its final destination. We are only channels for this light and simply direct it to where, in our estimation, it can be used with benefit. As such, our role in this process is not to 'create' what's already created, but to apply our will to making ourselves as pure and undistorted channels as we possibly can, for the purer is our heart and the clearer our energy web, the more effective will be the inherent power of the Creator's light transmitted through us.
Light is a tool of unlimited flexibility. When you find yourself — or another person — in a difficult situation, relax, close your eyes, and visualize sending light to that person or situation. Make the light as pure and of the highest vibration as you can imagine. Then visualize the person or situation enveloped in this white light and ask that it be used for the highest good of the person or everyone who is involved. The whole thing takes just a couple of minutes. It looks like a very simple exercise that can't really make much of a difference, doesn't it — after all, 'light' is such a nebulous and intangible concept? And yet, if you were to try it just a few times — wholeheartedly, with no reservations or doubts as to its effectiveness — you will be surprised with how tangible and very real are the results of something so incredibly easy and simple. Sending light works and produces changes that you can observe. To someone who doesn't expect that it would make any difference, at times the results can actually be a bit startling — although pleasantly so.
You can take this even further and, in addition to 'emergency sessions', dedicate 10-15 minutes at the end or beginning of your day and send light to all the people and situations who you think can benefit from it: people you know who grieve, friends in a difficult relationship, situations with no positive outcome in sight, etc., etc. — the applications are limitless. Do it regularly and you will see these people and situations change for the better — quickly and noticeably. However, it is important not to place any expectations or intentions that the light be used in some specific way or for a specific outcome. We do not have the complete picture of every situation, and those unseen friends whose help is activated by sending light have a much better view of how and where exactly your offer of assistance can best be applied.
It is important to note that seeing how powerfully light works can get to your head and make you unduly proud of your newly found 'ability'. It is well to remember at all times that the light is not ours but the Creator's: that's where it springs from and also its final destination. We are only channels for this light and simply direct it to where, in our estimation, it can be used with benefit. As such, our role in this process is not to 'create' what's already created, but to apply our will to making ourselves as pure and undistorted channels as we possibly can, for the purer is our heart and the clearer our energy web, the more effective will be the inherent power of the Creator's light transmitted through us.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The Sound of Mind Listening, Part III
(This is the third and final part of the article. Please read Part I and Part II first.)
The following brief and high-level classification of meditation types is purely subjective; others may organize them in totally different ways and I am sure there are plenty of sources that describe other meditative activities not mentioned here.
Having said that, on a high level, meditations can perhaps be categorized in five ways:
1. The fundamental empty-mind meditation.
2. Asking for and receiving guidance.
3. Focusing on a spiritual concept to enlarge one's understanding of it and to make it more operative in one's life.
4. Guided or 'procedural' meditations, for bringing out certain desired qualities in oneself.
5. Focusing on symbols and sounds to enhance one's creative and manifesting abilities.
The empty-mind meditation is not only a necessary preliminary step to the other types, but also a major activity in itself. It gradually allows for the working out of suppressed emotional and mental issues, thus balancing the practitioner psychologically and physically, as well as slowly thinning the veil of forgetting, thereby resulting in a better connection to his intuition and other paths of guidance from the unseen realms. Prolonged practice, perhaps employing koans or mantras, can also bring one to the profound experience of kensho ("enlightenment" or "self-realization"), alternatively known as samadhi (strictly speaking, samadhi is a closer equivalent to satori than to kensho), which is one of the ways to obtain freedom from the wheel of rebirth.
Within the realm of the second category of activities lie all things that have to do with guidance. Each one of us has a virtually unlimited source of guidance, which only waits for us to acknowledge it and start asking for its assistance. This source is composed not only of our own deeper knowledge from other incarnations and between-incarnation experiences — those things that are part of the depths of our subconscious mind — but also of discarnate beings who are attracted to us by our current and past activities. This includes our spirit guide(s) and other associated entities.
The key to receiving such guidance is to truly desire and to ask persistently for whatever it is you wish to know. Sooner or later an insight will be given. The insight can take the form of a seemingly random phrase, headline, image, etc. that grabs your attention and resonates immediately as unmistakably true and relevant, or a dream (which will probably require some interpretation), or a synchronistic occurrence that is too unlikely to be a simple coincidence, or a result of a creative process like painting or writing, or a direct communication that simply appears as a thought within the mind. The latter, when it happens during a meditation, is called channeling and can be developed into a stable communication link that provides valuable insights pretty much upon request. Insights given via synchronicities can take many forms; one that happens rather often and is not always understood for what it is, is when you repeatedly see the same numbers — on clocks, car license plates, receipts, etc. There are two basic ways to interpret such occurrences: one is to consider the number itself — for instance, the repeating number could be a zip code or a telephone area code when you seriously contemplate moving and not sure if you should and, if yes, where; the second is to consider what you are thinking of when the repeating number is sighted — it may be a hint to pay more attention to that line of thought. However, whatever is the way that guidance comes to you, a major key is how you ask for help: it is extremely important that the question/assistance is requested with pure intent — i.e., that you do not lie to yourself about your motives for asking for what you do. For when your motives are not what you claim them to be and there is no integrity in the asking, you can easily fall into the trap of faulty and misleading 'guidance', which can quickly take you down a very wrong and dark alley.
Under the third heading, the idea is to focus on a pure spiritual concept in order to better experience it and enhance one's understanding of its finer points, and to bring this new understanding into one's life and actions. There are beings in the Creation who emanate pure vibrations of such fundamental spiritual concepts/emotions as universal love, wisdom, power, will, unity, etc. By holding in one's mind the intention to tune into such a broadcast, it is possible to "ride the vibration," so to speak, and to experience its true meaning more deeply and fully, thus embuing oneself with it and bringing more of that emanation into one's daily life and interactions with people.
The division between the third and the fourth categories is rather blurry, as the two are closely related. There are many tapes available on the market that guide one towards bringing out or improving a certain quality or aspect of one's personality. Such meditations can also be found online or in print. For example, you may desire to become more balanced and to develop a better capacity for non-judgment, thereby becoming a more pure channel for Creator's light — a path towards becoming a healer; or build a more radiant, stronger aura; or to release attachments, experience forgiveness and let go of karmic involvements; etc., etc. Information about these and many, many other similar in concept types of meditation are readily available to the sincere seeker. Certain types of prayer can also be said to fall into this category.
The last heading deals with developing one's creative and manifesting abilities, which are brought forth by the faculty of clear and sustained visualization of symbols and focusing on certain sounds. This is a huge subject in itself which begins to broach the realm of magic. An interested seeker can find plenty of relevant information on this course of spiritual evolution.
The following brief and high-level classification of meditation types is purely subjective; others may organize them in totally different ways and I am sure there are plenty of sources that describe other meditative activities not mentioned here.
Having said that, on a high level, meditations can perhaps be categorized in five ways:
1. The fundamental empty-mind meditation.
2. Asking for and receiving guidance.
3. Focusing on a spiritual concept to enlarge one's understanding of it and to make it more operative in one's life.
4. Guided or 'procedural' meditations, for bringing out certain desired qualities in oneself.
5. Focusing on symbols and sounds to enhance one's creative and manifesting abilities.
The empty-mind meditation is not only a necessary preliminary step to the other types, but also a major activity in itself. It gradually allows for the working out of suppressed emotional and mental issues, thus balancing the practitioner psychologically and physically, as well as slowly thinning the veil of forgetting, thereby resulting in a better connection to his intuition and other paths of guidance from the unseen realms. Prolonged practice, perhaps employing koans or mantras, can also bring one to the profound experience of kensho ("enlightenment" or "self-realization"), alternatively known as samadhi (strictly speaking, samadhi is a closer equivalent to satori than to kensho), which is one of the ways to obtain freedom from the wheel of rebirth.
Within the realm of the second category of activities lie all things that have to do with guidance. Each one of us has a virtually unlimited source of guidance, which only waits for us to acknowledge it and start asking for its assistance. This source is composed not only of our own deeper knowledge from other incarnations and between-incarnation experiences — those things that are part of the depths of our subconscious mind — but also of discarnate beings who are attracted to us by our current and past activities. This includes our spirit guide(s) and other associated entities.
The key to receiving such guidance is to truly desire and to ask persistently for whatever it is you wish to know. Sooner or later an insight will be given. The insight can take the form of a seemingly random phrase, headline, image, etc. that grabs your attention and resonates immediately as unmistakably true and relevant, or a dream (which will probably require some interpretation), or a synchronistic occurrence that is too unlikely to be a simple coincidence, or a result of a creative process like painting or writing, or a direct communication that simply appears as a thought within the mind. The latter, when it happens during a meditation, is called channeling and can be developed into a stable communication link that provides valuable insights pretty much upon request. Insights given via synchronicities can take many forms; one that happens rather often and is not always understood for what it is, is when you repeatedly see the same numbers — on clocks, car license plates, receipts, etc. There are two basic ways to interpret such occurrences: one is to consider the number itself — for instance, the repeating number could be a zip code or a telephone area code when you seriously contemplate moving and not sure if you should and, if yes, where; the second is to consider what you are thinking of when the repeating number is sighted — it may be a hint to pay more attention to that line of thought. However, whatever is the way that guidance comes to you, a major key is how you ask for help: it is extremely important that the question/assistance is requested with pure intent — i.e., that you do not lie to yourself about your motives for asking for what you do. For when your motives are not what you claim them to be and there is no integrity in the asking, you can easily fall into the trap of faulty and misleading 'guidance', which can quickly take you down a very wrong and dark alley.
Under the third heading, the idea is to focus on a pure spiritual concept in order to better experience it and enhance one's understanding of its finer points, and to bring this new understanding into one's life and actions. There are beings in the Creation who emanate pure vibrations of such fundamental spiritual concepts/emotions as universal love, wisdom, power, will, unity, etc. By holding in one's mind the intention to tune into such a broadcast, it is possible to "ride the vibration," so to speak, and to experience its true meaning more deeply and fully, thus embuing oneself with it and bringing more of that emanation into one's daily life and interactions with people.
The division between the third and the fourth categories is rather blurry, as the two are closely related. There are many tapes available on the market that guide one towards bringing out or improving a certain quality or aspect of one's personality. Such meditations can also be found online or in print. For example, you may desire to become more balanced and to develop a better capacity for non-judgment, thereby becoming a more pure channel for Creator's light — a path towards becoming a healer; or build a more radiant, stronger aura; or to release attachments, experience forgiveness and let go of karmic involvements; etc., etc. Information about these and many, many other similar in concept types of meditation are readily available to the sincere seeker. Certain types of prayer can also be said to fall into this category.
The last heading deals with developing one's creative and manifesting abilities, which are brought forth by the faculty of clear and sustained visualization of symbols and focusing on certain sounds. This is a huge subject in itself which begins to broach the realm of magic. An interested seeker can find plenty of relevant information on this course of spiritual evolution.
The Sound of Mind Listening, Part II
(This is the second part of the article. Please read Part I first if you have not yet done so.)
In practical terms, even though there are many types of meditation, all of them are based on the same foundational principle: the ability to clear the mind of thoughts at will. Thus, the "empty mind" meditation should never be thought of as a lesser form of the practice compared to other types, for without it, no other meditation will be effective.
The basics of the posture — straight spine, crossed legs, etc. — are widely available from many other sources and I will not here go over these. In terms of the practice itself, however, the following tips may be of some help.
It is well to begin by relaxing the body, regardless of whether you're sitting or lying down. Any relaxation technique that works for you is, of course, fine. The breath is a key not only for physical relaxation, but also for stilling the thoughts at the next stage, so it will be of help to acquaint yourself with basic breathing techniques; various types of breath counting used in Zen meditations are usually quite sufficient. They are simple, easy to learn, and you will use them again and again, so it is worth getting a good hang of them.
Once the thoughts begin to quiet down, the beginner will be faced with an onslaught of whatever was forgotten, suppressed, brushed away, etc. Trying to force these away will not work. The best way to handle these is to have a piece of paper and a pen handy, and whenever such a thought pops into your mind, to simply write it down. The mind can then relax, knowing that the item will be addressed, and can move on to the next thought of relative importance. After a few months you will find that the uncontrollable surfacing of thoughts has died down significantly, and it will be much easier to still the mind, if not to total and sustained emptiness — which is a feat even after a few years of practice — then at least to a state of lazy non-thinking where thought ripples are relatively weak and are easier to observe and dismiss.
Once you achieve this stage in your practice, when the thoughts that pop up are no longer various to-do items and writing them down would be of no use, it can be helpful to sit for a time with the Vipassana awareness meditation. This meditation helps you to learn to observe whatever stimulants you find in your meditations and let them pass gracefully, without losing your peace and balance.
You will feel when Vipassana has served its purpose and you can move on to stilling your mind and focusing on emptiness. There are many, many techniques, of which you will find a few that work best for you; two that work pretty well are described briefly below. Imagery and details to stabilize and calm the mind are omitted and should be added if needed; these are best picked personally by you to suit your temperament. Both techniques result in a clearer mind if practiced for a few minutes, or as long as you find necessary.
The first one is to imagine yourself sitting in the middle of a clear pond, in the center of a large, beautiful lotus flower whose petals are fully open. The still and clear water lulls your mind into a peaceful state, and the clear blue sky above helps maintain this feeling. As thoughts arise, visualize them being enclosed in clear bubbles lifting from the pond; the bubbles float up slowly to the sky and disappear out of sight.
The second technique is to see yourself lying on your back in an expansive green meadow on a breezy summer day. As you look at the sky, the thoughts that stir in your mind are the clouds up above. You look at the puffy white cloud that appears, then lazily move your eyes back to the clear blue area of the sky, letting the cloud move with the wind out of your view. The blue expanse becomes larger and larger until there are almost no clouds left.
Once the mind is empty and you can maintain stillness for a number of seconds or longer, you can start experimenting with other types of meditation (described in part III) — or continue to hone your ability to remain free of thoughts for longer and longer periods of time. Most likely, if you continue your practice, you will come up with your own schedule of meditation that mixes empty-mind and other meditation types as you need them.
Naturally, neither this sequence nor the techniques are by any means the only ones; everyone's path is different. Many people will find it quite sufficient to follow, for example, a simple Zen-like practice of counting breaths and focusing on koans. It's just one of many paths, portions of which have worked for myself and others.
(The conclusion of this article is in Part III)
In practical terms, even though there are many types of meditation, all of them are based on the same foundational principle: the ability to clear the mind of thoughts at will. Thus, the "empty mind" meditation should never be thought of as a lesser form of the practice compared to other types, for without it, no other meditation will be effective.
The basics of the posture — straight spine, crossed legs, etc. — are widely available from many other sources and I will not here go over these. In terms of the practice itself, however, the following tips may be of some help.
It is well to begin by relaxing the body, regardless of whether you're sitting or lying down. Any relaxation technique that works for you is, of course, fine. The breath is a key not only for physical relaxation, but also for stilling the thoughts at the next stage, so it will be of help to acquaint yourself with basic breathing techniques; various types of breath counting used in Zen meditations are usually quite sufficient. They are simple, easy to learn, and you will use them again and again, so it is worth getting a good hang of them.
Once the thoughts begin to quiet down, the beginner will be faced with an onslaught of whatever was forgotten, suppressed, brushed away, etc. Trying to force these away will not work. The best way to handle these is to have a piece of paper and a pen handy, and whenever such a thought pops into your mind, to simply write it down. The mind can then relax, knowing that the item will be addressed, and can move on to the next thought of relative importance. After a few months you will find that the uncontrollable surfacing of thoughts has died down significantly, and it will be much easier to still the mind, if not to total and sustained emptiness — which is a feat even after a few years of practice — then at least to a state of lazy non-thinking where thought ripples are relatively weak and are easier to observe and dismiss.
Once you achieve this stage in your practice, when the thoughts that pop up are no longer various to-do items and writing them down would be of no use, it can be helpful to sit for a time with the Vipassana awareness meditation. This meditation helps you to learn to observe whatever stimulants you find in your meditations and let them pass gracefully, without losing your peace and balance.
You will feel when Vipassana has served its purpose and you can move on to stilling your mind and focusing on emptiness. There are many, many techniques, of which you will find a few that work best for you; two that work pretty well are described briefly below. Imagery and details to stabilize and calm the mind are omitted and should be added if needed; these are best picked personally by you to suit your temperament. Both techniques result in a clearer mind if practiced for a few minutes, or as long as you find necessary.
The first one is to imagine yourself sitting in the middle of a clear pond, in the center of a large, beautiful lotus flower whose petals are fully open. The still and clear water lulls your mind into a peaceful state, and the clear blue sky above helps maintain this feeling. As thoughts arise, visualize them being enclosed in clear bubbles lifting from the pond; the bubbles float up slowly to the sky and disappear out of sight.
The second technique is to see yourself lying on your back in an expansive green meadow on a breezy summer day. As you look at the sky, the thoughts that stir in your mind are the clouds up above. You look at the puffy white cloud that appears, then lazily move your eyes back to the clear blue area of the sky, letting the cloud move with the wind out of your view. The blue expanse becomes larger and larger until there are almost no clouds left.
Once the mind is empty and you can maintain stillness for a number of seconds or longer, you can start experimenting with other types of meditation (described in part III) — or continue to hone your ability to remain free of thoughts for longer and longer periods of time. Most likely, if you continue your practice, you will come up with your own schedule of meditation that mixes empty-mind and other meditation types as you need them.
Naturally, neither this sequence nor the techniques are by any means the only ones; everyone's path is different. Many people will find it quite sufficient to follow, for example, a simple Zen-like practice of counting breaths and focusing on koans. It's just one of many paths, portions of which have worked for myself and others.
(The conclusion of this article is in Part III)
The Sound of Mind Listening, Part I
(This is a three-part article on the practice of meditation)
The art and practice of meditation is universally acknowledged as the first and most essential ingredient, the sine qua non of the spiritual path. It is perhaps unnecessary to reiterate the reasons why this is so — as the basics are widely available from many other, better qualified sources — however, to preserve the continuity of information, I will touch upon what makes meditation or contemplation the cornerstone of spiritual seeking.
The human mind can be likened to a tree. Its branches are the conscious mind. The upper part of the trunk is the immediate subconscious — intuitively perceived thoughts and ideas that come up relatively easily if we open ourselves to them by quieting our thoughts just briefly. The lower we descend down the trunk, the deeper are the parts of the subconscious mind that we touch. Finally, the roots of the tree consist of four parts, with each successively deeper: the racial mind, the planetary mind, the Logoic (or archetypal) mind, and the Cosmic mind.
Now, the totality of our Self is far greater than what we think of as ourself. This Self, which can be loosely referred to as the soul, has experienced numerous incarnations — possibly on other planets and realms in addition to Earth — went through an enormous variety of situations, and thus contains within it the knowledge and wisdom which, if given a pathway into our consciousness, can help us lead a life that will be vastly more balanced and fulfilling than the one we are presently living. The conscious mind is very much like the tip of the iceberg, with most of the complete body of our knowledge lying beneath the surface of the conscious thought processes.
However, this complete wisdom of ours is not inaccessible. It is so designed that the veil of forgetting which lowers over our mind at birth hides the true vastness of our personality, in order that our divinity may not be apparent, thus preserving our freedom of will to believe as we choose. The veil makes our actions and reactions a more accurate measure of our current state of progress, unbiased by the knowledge of how we 'should' be acting in any given situation because of some prior karmic involvement. For it is the heart-felt, in-the-moment reaction to a situation that is a true measure of who we are — not a dry intellectual understanding based on how others have acted in similar circumstances or how we have acted three thousand years ago. And yet the veil is designed to be semi-permeable. If we become aware that there is far more than just our conscious mind, and it is our sincere desire to access the experience of the larger Self, the veil can be penetrated and relevant insights received.
What meditation, or stilling the conscious thought process, achieves is allowing the richness of the subconscious mind, hindered less and less by the pressure of unceasing thoughts above it, to slowly surface and become accessible when desired. It makes the veil of forgetting thinner and thinner as we persist in our practice, with the insights becoming easier and easier to perceive — whether as intuition, helpful dreams, synchronistic signs, etc.
Starting the practice of meditation can be rather discouraging. Consider what happens in the daily round of activities of an average busy man or woman. A thought of some "to-do" comes up, but because we are busy with something else and don't have time for it, we chase it away. The thought does not in fact go anywhere — for it was not addressed — but is suppressed below the current thought stream. Another 'untimely' thought comes up, and is similarly suppressed. Thus, the immediate subconscious of an average person is full of such thoughts that will burst onto the surface as soon as the conscious mind attempts to quiet down. Thoughts and emotions are suppressed with differing degrees of 'thoroughness': for instance, an experience of abuse many years ago may be so painful that it can be pushed deep down out of reach of our conscious mind, from where it will not be easily pulled up, and there will give rise to a psychological or physical disorder.
It is this seeming impossibility of stilling the mind that plagues the beginner and may be a serious deterrent to continued practice. And yet, if he were to persist, in the course of several months the larger bubbles of lightly repressed thoughts and emotions would come up to the surface, where they hopefully will be addressed and released, thus clearing the channel for the finer and more valuable insights of the deeper mind.
(Article continued in Part II)
The art and practice of meditation is universally acknowledged as the first and most essential ingredient, the sine qua non of the spiritual path. It is perhaps unnecessary to reiterate the reasons why this is so — as the basics are widely available from many other, better qualified sources — however, to preserve the continuity of information, I will touch upon what makes meditation or contemplation the cornerstone of spiritual seeking.
The human mind can be likened to a tree. Its branches are the conscious mind. The upper part of the trunk is the immediate subconscious — intuitively perceived thoughts and ideas that come up relatively easily if we open ourselves to them by quieting our thoughts just briefly. The lower we descend down the trunk, the deeper are the parts of the subconscious mind that we touch. Finally, the roots of the tree consist of four parts, with each successively deeper: the racial mind, the planetary mind, the Logoic (or archetypal) mind, and the Cosmic mind.
Now, the totality of our Self is far greater than what we think of as ourself. This Self, which can be loosely referred to as the soul, has experienced numerous incarnations — possibly on other planets and realms in addition to Earth — went through an enormous variety of situations, and thus contains within it the knowledge and wisdom which, if given a pathway into our consciousness, can help us lead a life that will be vastly more balanced and fulfilling than the one we are presently living. The conscious mind is very much like the tip of the iceberg, with most of the complete body of our knowledge lying beneath the surface of the conscious thought processes.
However, this complete wisdom of ours is not inaccessible. It is so designed that the veil of forgetting which lowers over our mind at birth hides the true vastness of our personality, in order that our divinity may not be apparent, thus preserving our freedom of will to believe as we choose. The veil makes our actions and reactions a more accurate measure of our current state of progress, unbiased by the knowledge of how we 'should' be acting in any given situation because of some prior karmic involvement. For it is the heart-felt, in-the-moment reaction to a situation that is a true measure of who we are — not a dry intellectual understanding based on how others have acted in similar circumstances or how we have acted three thousand years ago. And yet the veil is designed to be semi-permeable. If we become aware that there is far more than just our conscious mind, and it is our sincere desire to access the experience of the larger Self, the veil can be penetrated and relevant insights received.
What meditation, or stilling the conscious thought process, achieves is allowing the richness of the subconscious mind, hindered less and less by the pressure of unceasing thoughts above it, to slowly surface and become accessible when desired. It makes the veil of forgetting thinner and thinner as we persist in our practice, with the insights becoming easier and easier to perceive — whether as intuition, helpful dreams, synchronistic signs, etc.
Starting the practice of meditation can be rather discouraging. Consider what happens in the daily round of activities of an average busy man or woman. A thought of some "to-do" comes up, but because we are busy with something else and don't have time for it, we chase it away. The thought does not in fact go anywhere — for it was not addressed — but is suppressed below the current thought stream. Another 'untimely' thought comes up, and is similarly suppressed. Thus, the immediate subconscious of an average person is full of such thoughts that will burst onto the surface as soon as the conscious mind attempts to quiet down. Thoughts and emotions are suppressed with differing degrees of 'thoroughness': for instance, an experience of abuse many years ago may be so painful that it can be pushed deep down out of reach of our conscious mind, from where it will not be easily pulled up, and there will give rise to a psychological or physical disorder.
It is this seeming impossibility of stilling the mind that plagues the beginner and may be a serious deterrent to continued practice. And yet, if he were to persist, in the course of several months the larger bubbles of lightly repressed thoughts and emotions would come up to the surface, where they hopefully will be addressed and released, thus clearing the channel for the finer and more valuable insights of the deeper mind.
(Article continued in Part II)
Friday, September 15, 2006
Alex Grey
Alex Grey is the foremost spiritual artist of our days. The mystically evocative qualities of his art are so tremendous that, at least to me, he is easily on equal footing with the greats of the Renaissance.
Some videos to indulge your senses and delight your spirit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08R8tgvXa7o&NR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvXASWDMtBM&NR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzTCjC04T08
Some videos to indulge your senses and delight your spirit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08R8tgvXa7o&NR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvXASWDMtBM&NR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzTCjC04T08
Thursday, August 10, 2006
A Good Quote...
is worth a thousand words.
***
Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
~ Albert Einstein
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.
~ Albert Einstein
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
~ Albert Einstein
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
~ Albert Einstein
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
~ Albert Einstein
You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
~ Anne Lamott
A designer knows he has arrived at perfection not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
~ Confucius
It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.
~ Confucius
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
~ Confucius
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
~ Confucius
All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing.
~ Edmund Burke
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Nothing is so contagious as an example. We never do great good or great evil without bringing about more of the same on the part of others.
~ Francois de La Roche Foucauld
Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them.
~ Francois de La Roche Foucauld
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
~ Frank Outlaw
Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice, more drunkards than thirst, and perhaps as many suicides as despair.
~ Gautama Siddhartha Buddha
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
~ Gautama Siddhartha Buddha
I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
~ Groucho Marx
Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.
~ Henry Ford
Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
~ Jesus
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.
~ Margaret Mead
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Be the change that you want to see in the world.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Don't listen to friends when the Friend inside you says "Do this."
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
~ Robert Heinlein
Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
~ Talmud
It does as much harm to the fabric of the universe to take offense as it does to give it.
~ Unknown
If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
~ Yogi Berra
Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
~ Albert Einstein
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.
~ Albert Einstein
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
~ Albert Einstein
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
~ Albert Einstein
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
~ Albert Einstein
You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
~ Anne Lamott
A designer knows he has arrived at perfection not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
~ Confucius
It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.
~ Confucius
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
~ Confucius
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
~ Confucius
All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing.
~ Edmund Burke
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Nothing is so contagious as an example. We never do great good or great evil without bringing about more of the same on the part of others.
~ Francois de La Roche Foucauld
Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them.
~ Francois de La Roche Foucauld
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
~ Frank Outlaw
Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice, more drunkards than thirst, and perhaps as many suicides as despair.
~ Gautama Siddhartha Buddha
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
~ Gautama Siddhartha Buddha
I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
~ Groucho Marx
Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.
~ Henry Ford
Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
~ Jesus
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.
~ Margaret Mead
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Be the change that you want to see in the world.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Don't listen to friends when the Friend inside you says "Do this."
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
~ Robert Heinlein
Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
~ Talmud
It does as much harm to the fabric of the universe to take offense as it does to give it.
~ Unknown
If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
~ Yogi Berra
Friday, August 04, 2006
Dropping a Shoe: a Parable
The caterpillar wasn't happy. The leaves on his tree were half-wilted, brownish, and tasted like brownish half-wilted leaves. The weather was cold and windy, and he didn't like it at all. And for whatever feathery reason, the neighborhood birds seemed to frequent his particular tree much more often than all the other trees combined, so even on a sunny day he could not stretch his forty fuzzy feet, turn his belly towards the sun, and get himself some dark-green tan. And the caterpillar wasn't happy at all. In fact, with all the nature against him, he felt miserable and sorry for himself.
But one day the caterpillar woke up with a vague but strangely pleasant feeling. Something wonderful stirred inside him, and as he grabbed onto that feeling, he decided that starting today he will not feel sorry for himself. No, sir, he will not. He will feel good about himself, no matter what the weather is, or how threatening the birds are, or how wilted the leaves.
The days went by and he realized that these things were not bothering him as much as they did before. And it felt good. No, no, scratch that, not just good. He felt exhilarated. He felt full of energy. He felt safe even when birds were flapping their wings just a couple of branches away. The leaves seemed a lot greener and juicier than usual, and the weather warmer than yesterday. He felt good about his body. He was neither too thin nor too fat — just perfect. He felt expansive. His vision became so incredibly clear, as if a muddy film came off his eyes. And he sensed some sort of electric-like buzzing in his flexible long body which, frankly, felt quite good.
At first he thought he was going nuts. You know, just a little bit. Maybe some hormonal imbalance or something. But somehow it all felt like it was supposed to be this way. There was just one teeny problem. There was a tiny anxiousness in the caterpillar's heart. Things were all just too good now — the abundant food, the newly found safety, the happiness which somehow felt natural — and the overall great way he felt about himself. Somewhere in the back of his tail there was a feeling that this paradise could not last forever. A shoe was going to drop. He didn't know which shoe, and where it was going to drop, but he positively felt that it will drop. And he was apprehensive. Just a little bit.
As he was dozing off in the sun after enjoying a plump leaf, a strange creature appeared right next to him, out of nowhere. She had a body similar to his, but much more shapely and adorned with colors, and there were two brilliant wings attached to that body. The creature was breathtaking. The caterpillar's jaw dropped and a small piece of the leaf fell out. The creature opened her perfectly shaped mouth and said, "How are you feeling, dear Caterpillar?" Her voice was so melodious that the caterpillar became positively enchanted. He pinched himself (gingerly) on the belly to snap out of it and said, "Ahh, uhmm, ehhh, well, I'm fine, thank you." He thought a bit and, for some reason feeling an affinity with this creature and that he could trust her, added, "But I have this feeling..." The creature somehow seemed to know his thoughts, as if she was a trained psychologist, because she immediately picked up his sentence, "...of anxiousness? You feel great, but there is some apprehension, like it's all just too good to be true, right? You feel like a shoe is going to drop. Don't you?" By now the caterpillar gave up on pulling his hanging jaw back up and just covered his mouth to prevent more bits of the leaf from falling out. He mumbled something like "yes", or perhaps it was "maybe", or even "what are you, a destiny's child?"; we can't tell, for it wasn't too clear. But he wanted to know. And finally, excited, in a very loud whisper he asked, letting all the half-chewed pieces of his green lunch fly out of his mouth, "Is it? Is it going to drop?!" The creature smiled kindly and said, "Yes. It is going to drop." "And then what?!" demanded the caterpillar loudly as if his life depended on the answer. "Oh, you'll see!" said the creature, suddenly lowering her beautiful wings, rising into the air, and flitting away so gracefully like no bird ever could.
He was still thinking about that "You'll see," when a clear liquid started coming out of his mouth, quickly hardening into a thin shiny thread, and he felt a sudden urge to spin it around himself. And as he did, one thought played over and over in his head, "The shoe is dropping! THE SHOE IS DROPPING!!" But then, all of a sudden, as he very soon found himself suspended in a cocoon, the anxiousness just evaporated. Somehow he knew that everything was going to be alright. "So that's what it was all about!" he thought, slipping into a well-deserved sleep. And as he did, a dream began to unfold. He dreamt of strange, beautiful creatures. Creatures with perfect bodies, brilliant wings, and melodious voices. Creatures with freedom to fly.
But one day the caterpillar woke up with a vague but strangely pleasant feeling. Something wonderful stirred inside him, and as he grabbed onto that feeling, he decided that starting today he will not feel sorry for himself. No, sir, he will not. He will feel good about himself, no matter what the weather is, or how threatening the birds are, or how wilted the leaves.
The days went by and he realized that these things were not bothering him as much as they did before. And it felt good. No, no, scratch that, not just good. He felt exhilarated. He felt full of energy. He felt safe even when birds were flapping their wings just a couple of branches away. The leaves seemed a lot greener and juicier than usual, and the weather warmer than yesterday. He felt good about his body. He was neither too thin nor too fat — just perfect. He felt expansive. His vision became so incredibly clear, as if a muddy film came off his eyes. And he sensed some sort of electric-like buzzing in his flexible long body which, frankly, felt quite good.
At first he thought he was going nuts. You know, just a little bit. Maybe some hormonal imbalance or something. But somehow it all felt like it was supposed to be this way. There was just one teeny problem. There was a tiny anxiousness in the caterpillar's heart. Things were all just too good now — the abundant food, the newly found safety, the happiness which somehow felt natural — and the overall great way he felt about himself. Somewhere in the back of his tail there was a feeling that this paradise could not last forever. A shoe was going to drop. He didn't know which shoe, and where it was going to drop, but he positively felt that it will drop. And he was apprehensive. Just a little bit.
As he was dozing off in the sun after enjoying a plump leaf, a strange creature appeared right next to him, out of nowhere. She had a body similar to his, but much more shapely and adorned with colors, and there were two brilliant wings attached to that body. The creature was breathtaking. The caterpillar's jaw dropped and a small piece of the leaf fell out. The creature opened her perfectly shaped mouth and said, "How are you feeling, dear Caterpillar?" Her voice was so melodious that the caterpillar became positively enchanted. He pinched himself (gingerly) on the belly to snap out of it and said, "Ahh, uhmm, ehhh, well, I'm fine, thank you." He thought a bit and, for some reason feeling an affinity with this creature and that he could trust her, added, "But I have this feeling..." The creature somehow seemed to know his thoughts, as if she was a trained psychologist, because she immediately picked up his sentence, "...of anxiousness? You feel great, but there is some apprehension, like it's all just too good to be true, right? You feel like a shoe is going to drop. Don't you?" By now the caterpillar gave up on pulling his hanging jaw back up and just covered his mouth to prevent more bits of the leaf from falling out. He mumbled something like "yes", or perhaps it was "maybe", or even "what are you, a destiny's child?"; we can't tell, for it wasn't too clear. But he wanted to know. And finally, excited, in a very loud whisper he asked, letting all the half-chewed pieces of his green lunch fly out of his mouth, "Is it? Is it going to drop?!" The creature smiled kindly and said, "Yes. It is going to drop." "And then what?!" demanded the caterpillar loudly as if his life depended on the answer. "Oh, you'll see!" said the creature, suddenly lowering her beautiful wings, rising into the air, and flitting away so gracefully like no bird ever could.
He was still thinking about that "You'll see," when a clear liquid started coming out of his mouth, quickly hardening into a thin shiny thread, and he felt a sudden urge to spin it around himself. And as he did, one thought played over and over in his head, "The shoe is dropping! THE SHOE IS DROPPING!!" But then, all of a sudden, as he very soon found himself suspended in a cocoon, the anxiousness just evaporated. Somehow he knew that everything was going to be alright. "So that's what it was all about!" he thought, slipping into a well-deserved sleep. And as he did, a dream began to unfold. He dreamt of strange, beautiful creatures. Creatures with perfect bodies, brilliant wings, and melodious voices. Creatures with freedom to fly.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Psalm of Lebanon
Adonai! Adonai!! Hallowed be Thy Name!
In the wadis of Gaza I turned my eyes to Thee, beseeching Thy grace, but there was nought to behold but Thy ire.
In the valleys of Lebanon I sought the light of Thy mercy, but Thy lightning was all that struck me.
O Source of All That Is! Thy right hand pours forth compassion, and out of Thy left spews fury. With Thy right palm hast Thou honored the children of Israel that they may serve Thee. Wilt Thou not pour the light of Thy compassion upon them in their hour of darkness? Wilt Thou not breathe the life-giving mercy into Thy holy city? Will Thy right not behold Thy left and make them one?
O Joy of Creations! Show the true face of Thy boundless mercy! May Thy light descend upon Thy people and soften their hearts. May the blade rising high from Thy holy mountain be not a dagger of death, but a sword of Thy light. Temper the hearts of Israel, and thaw the hearts of her foes that they may behold each other in peace. For art Thou not the God of mercy?
O Lord of Light! Those apostles of darkness who admit not of Thy endless compassion, may the sword of Thy truth sever them from Eden on Earth and cast them into the void, that they confuse not the hearts of the simple and the innocent. May Thy truth guide Thy people forever and ever that they may light the way for others towards Thy Kingdom. May Thy light be straight and narrow upon them that they stray not onto paths dark and wild, but may it illumine their hearts that they be priests in the temple of Thy infinite compassion.
In the wadis of Gaza I turned my eyes to Thee, beseeching Thy grace, but there was nought to behold but Thy ire.
In the valleys of Lebanon I sought the light of Thy mercy, but Thy lightning was all that struck me.
O Source of All That Is! Thy right hand pours forth compassion, and out of Thy left spews fury. With Thy right palm hast Thou honored the children of Israel that they may serve Thee. Wilt Thou not pour the light of Thy compassion upon them in their hour of darkness? Wilt Thou not breathe the life-giving mercy into Thy holy city? Will Thy right not behold Thy left and make them one?
O Joy of Creations! Show the true face of Thy boundless mercy! May Thy light descend upon Thy people and soften their hearts. May the blade rising high from Thy holy mountain be not a dagger of death, but a sword of Thy light. Temper the hearts of Israel, and thaw the hearts of her foes that they may behold each other in peace. For art Thou not the God of mercy?
O Lord of Light! Those apostles of darkness who admit not of Thy endless compassion, may the sword of Thy truth sever them from Eden on Earth and cast them into the void, that they confuse not the hearts of the simple and the innocent. May Thy truth guide Thy people forever and ever that they may light the way for others towards Thy Kingdom. May Thy light be straight and narrow upon them that they stray not onto paths dark and wild, but may it illumine their hearts that they be priests in the temple of Thy infinite compassion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
