Guru Voodoo

For every one that actually knows what they're talking about, first hand, there are many thousands who know some rhetoric; and, how to spin it, so that it seems appealing and makes them sound as if they actually know what they're pretending to. Some of these mimic others' words so well, that they really believe that they do know what they're talking about. And many speak of the necessity of following a guru (et al.), a tradition or a book to reach the truth.

I strongly disagree. There are so many confusing and conflicting teachings out there that lead to nowhere. Relying on outside directions only leaves people spinning in circles, going nowhere or wondering which way to go, until they've drilled themselves into deep holes. And keep in mind, that the majority of these spiritual tour guides are primarily just trying to sell you a book, a religion, some prayer beads, a weekend retreat or whatever else they can peddle.

The truth is flagrantly simple and it's right in front of our noses, we're bathed in it all the time; and, it can only be uncovered through diligent personal investigation. No doctrines or words, not even from one of the rare few who do know, can get you there.

As I've said before, there's no obligation to realize the true nature of being. If it makes you happy to dabble, to feel like you're on a spiritual path or safely tucked within a community, or to ignore it all together, that's OK. But if you actually want to get to where the paths allegedly lead, it requires a steadfast personal commitment, and a strong compulsion to know for yourself. No one else can take you there.

It's not bad to compare notes, but that particular understanding can't be given, it can only be earned.

I Glasses

At our cores, once we've cut through all the layers of illusion that we mistake for our selves, we're left with a vacuum. A void, emptiness, a veritable black hole of beingness. And this absence of self is so dazzlingly dark that it burns the retinas of our minds eyes. So we create brightness glasses that filter out the nothingness with shiny somethings that we can identify with, and don them whenever we look inward. This quickly becomes habitual, and we end up wearing them continuously. Then the whole world is viewed through this filter of selfy somethingness, and interpreted and valued accordingly.

When we design our glasses, we fashion them such as to let other people know who we want to be. Thick black rims for those who want to appear intelligent. Little round wire frames for those who want to look artsy. Aviators for those who fancy themselves the adventurous types. Wrap-arounds for the cool crowd, and so on. If you're ever unsure whether or not you've achieved the look you're going for, just gaze into another's glasses. As it so happens, they're all mirrored on the outside, for everyone's convenience.

But with these glasses perpetually pasted to our faces, decisions are made from false assumptions and goals are set based on erroneous reasoning. Societies veer wildly off of their ideal courses, because everyone's views are so drastically distorted by their I glasses. And our shared planet suffers, too - all because people can't abide their naturally nebulous nature.

We, the world and the universe are all full of unknowns and unknowables. The part of our minds, whose job it is to gather everything into nice discernible packages, will never be happy about this. But that aspect isn't destined to occupy the drivers seat, and we're under no obligation to give its wishes undo priority.

Convincing a world full of people to lose the shades that define them and their world (and make them look so cool) may be an insurmountable ambition. But for the rare few who sincerely wish to live a truthful life, it's the only option. And let's face it, it's much better to be cool, than to look cool.

Happily Ever After

People like to feel good. Go figure.

The idea of crossing the finish line and having everything from there on out flow to us and for us, like milk from mother's nipples, is extremely alluring. So we get far-flung fantasies like a permanent state of blissful enlightenment and eternal leisure in heaven, as a divine reward.

And in every day life, we maintain goals that we believe, once achieved, will grant us that sense of peaceful relief that we so crave. If I can just get that promotion, graduate, pay off these loans, find my perfect mate, finalize this damned divorce, complete the remodeling, get our kids through school, whatever – then I'll be able to coast, contentedly.

Right. How many finish lines have you crossed so far? And yet, somehow, contentment still manages to elude you. But, none the less, the fantasy remains in tact. Whether it's making it to the end of life, or just to the end of the week, “happily ever after” is there, just waiting to give us a big hug.

How is it possible that such a far fetched notion, that's consistently proven false, continues to be so widely embraced? What will it take for people to come to the realization that the only happiness available, is that which we can find right now?

Life is awesome. People are entertaining. Nature is inspiring. Chores are blessings. Just to be aware is amazing, to be able to act and interact, even more so.

As a general rule, what do you focus on? Sitting in traffic, are you pissed off at the traffic light, worried about the clock or the fumes, or are you noticing the wind tickling the trees, the person gleefully singing along with the radio or that one over there, who's laughing with her kids? As you tend to your tasks, at work or home, where does your mind usually roam? What attitudes do you nurture as you stand in line? What do you think of in your idle time?

Our thoughts and our feelings are well within our power to either choose, or let loose. Sometimes the boat steers itself just fine, and life gets stale if we never wander into uncharted waters. But when we see that it's piloting itself toward a rock or a reef, maybe a little guidance would be appropriate. Or when it's hung up on a shallow shoal, perhaps, hop out, put your shoulder into it and set it free.

There's simply no sense in waiting around for circumstances to do what they surely won't. Where do you want your mind to be? How do you want to feel?

For my part, as if I have anything to say about it, I wish you a “happily ever now”.

When Clothes Want to be Naked

Humans have a bit of a conundrum. We all have egos – beliefs about who and what we are; and, we all want (for lack of a better term) to know the mind of God. The problem is that people think that they are their egos; or perhaps more accurately, egos think that they're people. And, the ego clearly can't know what it's like to be without itself.

But slews of fanciful notions are spun about how we can keep our egos, and still experience full freedom from them. And people buy into these fantasies, flocking to them in sky blotting droves. Any intelligent person, making an honest assessment, could see the fallacy of it, but the allure is so strong that it's glare obscures common sense.

If I were to claim that one could remain dressed and be naked at the same time, no one would entertain the thought for a second. But if my clothes had a strong desire to be naked, they'd line up to listen to lectures and buy self help books and CDs that promised to teach them just how to achieve it.

Funny - until you consider how many people consistently stake their spirituality and spend their savings on snake oil, whose hawkers claim that they'll allow egos to effortlessly slip into selfless awareness.

The End of the Line

“I'm on a quest for the truth.” “I'm on a path to spiritual enlightenment.” “I'm seeking union with my god.” However it's conceived or phrased, many people feel like their on a great journey to some high and idyllic destination, where they'll find, or be granted, some ultimate reward. But I've got breaking news. Whatever the path is, it leads to where you're standing, right now. As long as it's thought of as a destination or a goal, that very conception keeps pushing it away. It's similar to how water pushes floating fluff away, as you reach for it. But the fluff isn't really the goal, it's just another distraction. What everyone really wants, is to feel their connection to the very water that they're already immersed in. It may take a lot of work to shed all of the preconceptions that obscure the reality, but the end of the line is always, and can only be found, here, now.

Question(s) D'jour

This is for all of faith. Not just of religious faith; but also, for anyone with any other kind of spiritual belief system. If they're too scary to field, then just ignore them. But if you're willing to test your faith, they're the most crucial questions you could earnestly try to answer.

Understanding that faith, by definition, is belief in the unprovable:

Why do you harbor your beliefs?
and
Why do you believe what you believe?

Chocolatey Goodness

People have many erroneous notions of who and/or what they are. Discovering our true nature is a mater of peeling away the layers of illusion and delusion to find the very essence of being. Getting to the creamy center – or is it chewy hazelnut, maybe something fruity … ahh, perhaps it's amaretto infused chocolate. That one sounds the best to me; ergo, that must be what's there. Notions of just what the center is, are some of the most insidious obstructions to our honest acceptance of who or what we are.

I often tell my students that the most important thing that they can do is nothing. But that's really not quite sufficient, for the average seeker. It's pretty much impossible to do nothing, long and completely enough, for all of the false ideas to evaporate on their own. The mountain of suppositions and beliefs that we tote around needs to be systematically deconstructed. And this is only possible for someone who has an earnest desire to know the truth, regardless of the consequences.

Unfortunately, most would rather be reassured that their beliefs are accurate. They think they just need one final bit of knowledge to pull it all together. Or they feel that, if they could just get anointed by someone divine enough, their faith would solidify to the point that the heavens would open up and glory would rain down, washing them wholly (or would that be, holy) pure. Perceiving themselves as being on a path toward _____, is enough to make them feel spiritually adequate. Where as, the truth can only be found, here and now.

People are so accustomed to being something and feeling such and so and to aspiring toward whatever, that, to give that up, seems like it would be the end of it all - the final curtain. And, in a sense, I suppose it is. But it's only the last hoorah for a conglomeration of ideas. The ground isn't pulled from under foot, the body doesn't disintegrate, the mind isn't left a lifeless vacuum - life goes on. It's just seen through different eyes, digested in a different manner and acted upon with a different attitude.

So then, “what's at the core?” the mind will query. I could say nothing or emptiness. I could say contentment or understanding. But anything I'd say would just get tossed onto the pile of flotsam and jetsam that needs to be shoveled away in order to uncover the answer.

The easier question to grapple with; in fact, the one that needs to be answered - time and again - is, “what isn't there”. And I'm sorry to have to report, as painful as it may be to hear, that it isn't amaretto infused chocolate.

K v K

Knowledge is highly useful. It's our catalog of what things are, how they work, how they're related to us and each other, what's most important, which to avoid, and all other accumulated details that make up our world concepts. Many consider this our only truthful and reliable faculty.

We also have a capacity to know things without first learning them and then retrieving them from our file cabinet. I'll refer to these, respectively, as “knowledge” and “knowing”.

Knowing may sound like gobbledygook to many who utilize it all the time. They may know that the car that just pulled onto the street in front of them is going to drive like a 10 year old on a joy drive. That the shorter register line is going to move more slowly than the long one. They may know the root needs behind someone's camouflaging phrasing. Or inexplicably and unexpectedly glean a better way to accomplish a familiar task.

Knowing manifests in a myriad of different ways. Everyday problem solving - summoning a new understanding from a pile of collected tidbits, wouldn't be possible without knowing. Invention and scientific discovery are typically a combination of acquired knowledge coupled with inspirational knowing. Those “Eureka!” moments are knowing incarnate.

It's not magical or super natural. It's just another basic function of any mind. And I'd stress here: not just the human mind. You might call it common sense or intuitive comprehension. It's just as valid as knowledge – perhaps, even more so, as knowledge grows out of knowing. But, no surprise, they work best in tandem. You could consider them the yin and yang of our understanding.

A Human-being Living in a World of Human-doings

To date myself, most people spin like 45's, some even 78's, while I'm more of the 33 rpm ilk. (For the unenlightened youths, there was a time when the preferred medium for musical storage was vinyl discs. Different types, of which, spun at different speeds.)

When life is driven by aggressive ambition to accomplish and achieve ever more, lists become oppressive and schedules are stretched until the seams split. Living adopts an intensity, not unlike that required in serious sporting endeavors. Life is seen in a different time frame and felt with a harsher intensity. Priorities and motivations get skewed. And, as most can't imagine life as being legitimately interpreted when it's seen from another's window, they feel no need to learn to relate in another's language, or see the world in a different light.

To be honest, I've seen the world as a mad rush to an imaginary finish line, and I really have no desire to shift back into that head-space in order to connect with those caught up in it. More is not necessarily better. Too much, by definition, is worse.

There are inherent, sympathetic rhythms that all of the natural world moves in accordance with. They tick in time to an intergalactic metronome and are expressed in universal and personal, seasonal and timeless, planetary and particulate scales. It requires uncommon (though not unnatural) openness and sensitivity to feel and act in conjunction with these universal tides.

We are well served by syncing up and living in consort with the rest of the orchestra. It brings us peace, helps us to connect with our intuition and allows us to realize our potential in arenas we'd, otherwise, never know were possible. This, in itself, makes the practice worth while. The ease and synchronicity that infuse life, as a result, are convenient bonuses.

But the go-getters and do-morers of the world have largely lost the sense, and remembrance, of what it feels like to be connected in such a way. They carry on at break neck speed with little in their sights besides their fantasies of fulfillment. Thoughts consumed with planning and scheming, listing and dreaming.

Can such an person even comprehend the worth in befriending a bug, listening to leaves or losing one's self in the reflections dancing on the surface of rippling water?

It is, of course, common to find people comfortable with and capable of embracing multiple view points. But the bulk of societies current seems to gravitate into the rapids. And, as much as I like shooting real rapids, on the river of life, I prefer to enjoy the scenery, listen to the birds, sing to the squirrels and graze with the clouds.

Tough Pill to Swallow

No matter how altruistic our intentions, all of the knowledge that we harvest and all of the beliefs that we rely on are hindrances to our awakening to truth.

Knowing untainted, unfiltered and uninterpreted truth, cannot happen as long as there is a self, an ego, a sense of “I am this”. I have difficulty using the term enlightenment for the same reason that I have trouble using the term God. There are so many different ideas about what it is that to just throw it out there would be saying a million different things, most of which, wouldn't be what I'd intended.

There's a way to hold one's self where there's inner quietude. No chatter, emotional currents or compulsion to change. Things are known or understood, without being recollected, or being translated into words, images or any concrete, tangible or communicable form. The individual is empty. There is awareness, but not presence, in the way it's typically conceived. The presence that is there extends well beyond the boundaries of the body and the individual's life and condition. It's centered, more or less, in the body, but it doesn't seem/feel like it's bound to it.

This state simply can't be realized as long as one clings to their ideas of self – period.

Hard Earned Lessons

As recently addressed, knowledge is a collection of discernible, presumably factual, tidbits that comprise our world view. But there's another valuable collection we carry with us, that's somewhat less tangible, but equally useful. We've all had experiences that provided us with understanding & perspectives that add greater depth or texture to our existing comprehension.

A teacher once told me that we have to fail in order to learn. I could see that failure would teach us how not to do things; but, at the time, I didn't grasp the more subtle lessons that we receive, only, through enduring hardship.

It's important to know how to deal with the emotions that arise when we encounter unexpected difficulties. How to accept them, weather them and move beyond them. And, as well as being important for our own well rounded development, such experiences are also critical for our ability to relate to others, in their full range of reactions to the human condition.

Until suffering through great loss, one can't truly empathize with someone who's experiencing it. Living with terminal illness or chronic pain is unimaginable to the uninitiated. Making a catastrophically bad decision, hurting someone you care for, being duped, betraying yourself, breaking something precious, … Life offers us endless camouflaged opportunities for growth and personal expansion.

Of course, we can never really accumulate a complete understanding. Even having been a child, someone who's never been a parent can't grasp the feeling of complete and unyielding committal to another's well being that accompanies accepting the role. (Not that all parents get that one.) A person born into and accustomed to living with wealth can't comprehend what it's like to work two or three jobs and still not be able to fully provide for one's family. Likewise, one who works on a factory line has no idea what it's like to be responsible for the lives of hundreds or thousands of families with every day's decision making. And so on.

Compassion and empathy. Meaningless, even foolishness, to those without. But for those who embrace them, they're what draws us out of the safe and sterile world of the mind, enabling us to feel connection. Like we're an integral part of the world and global family of all life, rather than lone competitors, in a free-for-all, on a hostile field, with no time outs.

We're all life long works in progress. Relish your further education, however it's presented to you. My hope is that this understanding will help you to hold a lighter heart, the next time life deals you a dose of adversity.

Keep in Touch

Inhale deeply, closing your eyes.
Pause briefly, taking inventory of the moment.
Exhale gently and fully, letting everything dissolve.
Linger there, allowing it to settle in.
Resume normal breathing, opening your eyes.

Practice isn't about achieving, as much as, familiarizing. It's not like we move into a better place or state. It's that all the distracting crap that we identify with fades and we find ourselves being what's left. The more we understand this, and the more familiar and comfortable we are with being "not self", the easier it is to touch home base.

A one breath meditation is like pushing the reset button, receiving a comforting embrace of unconditional love, dropping weighty unwanted baggage or taking a step back from whatever the situation (in or out) to gain a clearer perspective.

You could set a timer on your computer or watch to remind yourself every hour, 15 mins, whatever. Transition times between tasks are natural places for a refreshing pause. When you notice that you're feeling out of balance. When someone else needs your full attention. When the answer is eluding you. Anytime is a good time to move closer to feeling in harmony with your Self.

Preformed regularly, this practice has the potential of being more meaningful, practically speaking, than meditation or prayer. Not that it's a replacement for deeper practices, but it greatly helps to integrate the insights gleaned from them into every day life. So ...

Inhale deeply, closing your eyes.
Pause briefly, taking inventory of the moment.
Exhale gently and fully, letting everything dissolve.
Linger there, allowing it to settle in.
Resume normal breathing, opening your eyes.

Repeat as needed.

The Most Important Meal

The most important meal of the day
is sleep.

If I was Created

No one ever decided “I think I'll make a Thatcher today”. Nor a people, a planet or a universe. If I was created, it was as a footprint, a yawn, the crumbs of a fallen branch, the sweet putrid odor wafting from compost, the ache of a bruise from a bump, cascading waves sweeping through tall grass, a fossil reproduction of an extinct spider, the billowing mist lifting off of a waterfall, resounding echos of a sharp clap or a broad crater left by a speck of space dust.

There's a faulty assumption that there has to be a creator behind any and all creation. The earth spins, it's hot core colluding with centrifugal force, to push the crust, that shakes the snow burdened mountain top and loosens a rock, which bounces down the mountainside, crushing a waning flower and spreading its seeds before splashing into the river, where it alters the flow, shelters small fish and anchors generations of moss, slowly eroding into grit that the current ushers to the ocean, where it settles on the floor, is drawn back into the molten core, eventually pressed to the surface to cool, becoming stone that will one day rise above the clouds, awaiting the next big shimmy.

Creation without a creator. The spin, the shake, the bounce, the splash, none of it was intentionally manifested. There was no giant hand shaking the earth globe to make it snow, and no divine master who was inspired to bring me into existence.

I am, simply, a bounce - or maybe a splash. I haven't quite figured that one out yet.

A River Runs Through Us

Wisdom is not held deep within us. It doesn't belong to us, nor could we possibly contain it. It swirls through the stars, and flows through us, the animals and the trees. Even the air, water and rocks are privy to its glory. I can see how it may seem as though it's inside of us, since we need to go deep within, rise above, burrow through, sneak behind or settle below our chaotic selves, in order to connect with it. But the inspiration that we find when we do so is free, timeless and without language or personality. To stake claim of it, is like staking claim of the universe – stabbing the earth with a flag and proclaiming that all within eyeshot, now belongs to the furling colors.

No one has wisdom, we can only channel it.