YES & KNOW (Immigration)

"YES & Know"
(Illegal Immigration:  What Should We Do?)
December 2, 2013

Q&A from a Sociology Class at College of the Siskiyous, Weed, CA.

“Prejudice and discrimination continue to have dysfunctions.  They interfere with people’s welfare – from diminishment of their sense of self to inadequate nourishment and early death.” (Henslin, 2011, p.240)

Until we begin to discover that we are all the SAME at the core, nothing will actually change.  People are kept out of the country because of their seeming “differences” and people are brought in that way as well.  This has been going on since the beginning of time and it will not change just because people drop their prejudice because another will always come along.  You can see this in India … they have a caste system even though it is all people from India.  The same would happen in America, it used to be that people didn’t want you here because of your religion, now it is because of the Country you are from, next it will be because you have blue eyes and not brown.  However, if somehow, God Knows how, we all begin to see that at the Core of us is the Same thing, it is possible that it may shift something very radically or dramatically, as it did for the one that wrote “Amazing Grace.”  “I was blind but now I see.”  It is said about John Newton …

"Newton often openly mocked the captain by creating obscene poems and songs about him that became so popular the crew began to join in. He entered into disagreements with several colleagues that resulted in his being starved almost to death, imprisoned while at sea and chained like the slaves they carried, then outright enslaved and forced to work on a plantation in Sierra Leone near the Sherbro River. After several months he came to think of Sierra Leone as his home, but his father intervened after Newton sent him a letter describing his circumstances, and a ship found him by coincidence. Newton claimed the only reason he left was because of Polly (his future wife)." (“Amazing Grace”, 2013, para 4).

What was apparently seen was that what he was doing … he was doing to himself … that we are always doing it to ourSelf, that the one held prisoner is one’s Self in different “costume.”  Under the costume of bodies and beliefs about who one is, is who one IS.

Even if (which it is already happening), we become a world where there are no “boundaries” to abide by, there will still be some kind of prejudice to deal with if we do not see that the bodies are just costumes, not good or bad, just simply not who one is.  Just like if you put a costume on for Halloween and play a part it doesn’t make you that part, it just makes a player of that part.  It doesn’t mean that you throw away the costume (though you could if it no longer fit), you just discover that you are not the costume.

At the root of everyone is a seed that is planted to know theirSelf.  You would think this is simple but people spend so much time developing the character that many do not wish to know that they are not what they created.

The great thing about discovering who you Are is that you can appreciate all the costumes once you realize they are not real.  People in spirituality get caught up in the whole “this is all illusion” but what is over-looked is that it is simply the “costume” that is not real.

So back immigration, there is no simple answer, well yes there is … the simplest answer is always “Who?”  “Who” is this happening to? and following that to the Core.

However on the surface these questions of immigration will always be a problem until “who” is at the Core is discovered.  It will always be something that someone wants to keep away or out of whatever they are in.  And what one resists does persist; take a look at the things you resist, don’t they keep showing up for you?

When you discover that there is no “out” to what you are “In” then you begin to allow things to come, you are not resisting because you know the one that comes … is You (not you the personality).

People want to come to America for “The American Dream” you cannot tell what each dream is for each one that comes … they come because they want something to be different than how it currently is, some will make it and some won’t, however, the fact that we have signs on a roads such as this …

(Click HERE or photo for story about the Sign.)

reveals how desperate people have become in their lives that they would risk the lives of their family to make a change.   To be on the other side of this road saying “No!  You cannot come here” is the insanity that we currently live in.  

We do not see that it is ourSelf in another that we deny.  Ultimately, the sign the one is holding says “I am too afraid of what I will lose if I let you in.”  What is forgotten is “I am my Brothers Keeper.”  

My Brother’s Keeper

Am I my brother’s keeper?
Yes I am
I am his voice when he can not speak
I am his strength when he is weak
Am I my brother’s keeper?
Yes I am

I am his provider when he is in need
I am his arms when he can not reach
Am I my brother’s keeper?
Yes I am
I am his justice when he is wronged
I am his friend when he is alone
Am I my brother’s keeper?
Yes I am

I am his courage when he is afraid
I am his comforter when he is dismayed
Am I my brother’s keeper?
Yes I am

I am his hope when he does not believe
I am his truth when he is deceived
Am I my brother’s keeper
Yes I am

I am his guide when he has gone astray
I am his aide if he needs help along the way
Am I my brother’s keeper
The answer is yes
I am him, I am her
I am my brother’s keeper.

~Anonymous 
(“My Brothers Keeper”, 2010)

Brother has no gender, color, creed, race, ethnicity, country, status, age, body, identity, likes and dislikes.  When you wake up (die) and discover that the one you held back, held down, maimed, killed, raped and tortured is your own Self, remember to laugh (Cosmos has a strange sense of humor.)

What will change in regard to immigration once one discovers who they truly Are, do it and we will See.

Cited

Amazing Grace. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace

Henslin, James M. (2011).  Social Problems.  Boston, MA:  Ally & Bacon.

My Brothers Keeper.  (n.d.) Retrieved  December 2, 2013, from

http://poeticpointsofview.blogspot.com/2010/06/poem-my-brothers-keeper.html

SILENCE (MEDITATION)

February 16, 2013

One of the things that can be rare in this world is being Silent.  It used to be more common, there were longer pauses between words in conversations and the movies of old had fewer words, more innuendos. 

Though drawn to things that are of a quieter nature, that doesn’t mean that there is internal quiet.  Many times there is such gratitude that will arise for having designated times for Meditation.  Without Meditation there would be few stops/pauses during the day to put the attention on Silence/Stillness.  It is not that it isn’t always there, it is, however; the attention will be on what is going on in the world, schoolwork, thoughts about everything and anything under the sun.  And then there is a stopping that comes with Meditation, things slow down and the attention is drawn towards what doesn’t move.  The things of the world, all the problems seem to fall to the side and are not important.  As one arises from Meditation, those things re-appear yet don’t have the energy or strong pull towards them that was there prior to Meditation.

Recently, things have gotten busier, especially this week.  Yesterday a neighbor offered up a ride on his dirt bike.  We left shortly before Meditation time and when we got to the back roads it was time to sit.  Mentioned that there would be no speaking during the next half hour.  Usually, it is looked at with a strange sort of “umm ok?”  Which it was and so off on the bike we went.  There is a gift in Silence that unless one checks it out, cannot be shared. 

A Red-Tailed (Chicken Hawk) Hawk flew directly over us; which was amazing and the trees were brilliant, and the smells of Spring were in the air, there was the sounds of water running from the creek and the sky was brilliantly blue.  There were moments of fear/excitement that would arise from the sense of not having control.  The bike slid on some ice and we fell and since we were going slow, there are just bruises, but there was no ability to complain and without outward complaining, inward complaining doesn’t last long.

We dust ourselves off and picked up the bike and sat and ate some lunch.  There was listening to the stories that were shared and watching as the food is eaten and there is a sense of ease with not speaking that is not there when one is thinking of what it is they would be saying.  It is just listening and experiencing what is actually going on.

Though the preference here is to sit Silently (to not be active during a designated Mediation time), one does not have to sit somewhere alone to be Silent, you can set aside a time, at anytime to do it.  Though I would suggest that one set aside the time to sit silently in Meditation as a way to begin quieting the mind and then move into a “walking or active” Meditation, only because the impetus to speak will be very strong in the beginning and so it is best for one to begin to sit quietly with eyes closed and allow all distractions to be there and to sit in spite of the distractions.

Many times when people are around during Meditation time, they think that they must be quiet, but that is not the case, the noise is welcome, because where the attention is … is Stillness/Silence and so all noises and activity around are welcomed in it.  If you demand that the world be a certain way for you to sit in Meditation, you will not ever sit in Meditation. 

You just sit, Silently, sit and watch until the thoughts and activities exhaust themselves.

Ultimately, one will find that all of their life is in Silence/Stillness/Meditation, yet this isn’t seen while the attention is on the thoughts, actions.  So first things first … one leads into the other.

SUICIDE

February 11, 2013

This morning during Meditation the topic came up to write about suicide.  This is not an easy topic to talk about, well it is easy to talk about but maybe it is not so easy to hear, we shall see.  Today is the anniversary of my significant other, of nine years, Mark’s death.  It is not surprising that this would be a topic of discussion, but it is surprising in that it showed up.

All “suicide” stems from one thing.  Suicide stems from the belief in the “I” thought.  Without an “I” there is no one that would commit suicide.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that “I” don’t know how powerful thoughts can be.  Have attempted suicide on a few occasions and do know how dark it can get and how strong a belief can become.  So this is not about belittling the power of the mind.  Instead let’s shed some LIGHT on it. 

Let’s take this slowly if we can. 

Thoughts of suicide appear when one is paying attention to thoughts and not who they ARE.  You are not a thought, if you were, you couldn’t pay attention to it … you would be it.  So when someone attempts suicide it is because they have placed all the attention on a “thought” and in turn created it into a belief and then believe the “belief” is true.  It is always something about a past or future that cannot be changed but is not let go of.  The person imagines something about themselves and/or the circumstance they “think” they are in and see no way out, but how could one, you have to be alive to see it.  Suicide wouldn’t exist if everyone would just wait to see what happens, instead of just assuming they know what will happen.

Let’s look at an example of how a “thought” becomes a “belief.”  Let’s use warts (heh) as an example.  If you have ever had a Plantar’s Wart, you know that it starts out small (like a thought) and then over time it gets harder (like when you keep paying attention to a thought) and then eventually it is so hard that you have to get it cut out or nitrogen to remove it (a belief becomes solidly believed and suicide seems the only option). 

So if you can see this … if you can see the thought become solid and believed in, then you also can see that the undoing of the belief is the undoing of Suicide. 

One does not have to kill the “I” thought or any thought and killing the body will not kill the “I” thought, because the “I” thought is not the body. 

How sucky will it be if you kill the body (thinking it is you) only to come to find out that you weren’t the body and now you are without a body but still *think* you exist.  There is a good book on this, it is not the Truth, but it is a good pointer and can be helpful in seeing things from a different perspective.  It is called “Stephen Lives.”

It writing is not about killing the “I” thought, it is about beginning to see that it is not real. 

Only you can stop paying attention to the thoughts, the quickest way to begin doing this is to look and see who is watching the thoughts. 

You can’t be the thought if you are watching the thought, so who is watching? 

This will take some practice because you have been watching the thoughts for so long, you believe them to be true. 

Look how strong beliefs are; if we didn’t have them, there would be no war, there would be nothing to fight over, if you didn’t believe there was something to fight over.  And how do you begin to see that there is nothing to fight over, by beginning to STOP and take a look, honest look around you and see if anything that you believe or are thinking, is actually happening, or are you just “thinking” about it. 

If you are just “thinking” about it then it is not real, it is your imagination and you must wait and see what shows up.  Stop assuming you know what is going to happen, you don’t. 

Begin to start waiting to see what will happen, you might be pleasantly surprised.

If you are having thoughts about suicide and how awful everything is, you may want to at first, get some help with the emotional part of it, that can be assisted by certain medications and am not saying that everyone should be medicated (you actually do not need it … but it can be helpful in the beginning - just to get you to a place where you can begin to see that thoughts are not real). 

There are benefits to medication as well as some awful side-effects, so watch yourself, make a plan not to be on them for very long and do the work.  Self-investigate.  Do this with the question “Who am I?” and write down everything that comes up.  If it is something that you can change or alter then it is not who you are, do a process of elimination until there is nothing left (no beliefs about who you are, all that is left is who you Are, without beliefs).

Continue to bring yourself/attention back to the moment you are IN.  Not the one you are “thinking” about, the one right in front of your face.

Please feel free to write privately.

There is also a movie called “The Bridge” (that is a link to the full movie) that can be watched online by clicking that link, it is well done and can offer, again, some insights.

JEALOUSY

Wiki says:  “Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness and disgust.”

Recently the word "jealousy" has been appearing along with the thoughts to write something about it, so that maybe something could be seen.  In the picture above with the eggs, there is a look on the one eggs face that may imply that it is mad that the other two eggs are together, or maybe it is upset that they are resting and it is not, or that they look content and it is not.  The underlying thing of jealousy is that someone or something has what you don't and that you want it.

The quickest way to see jealousy without having to change it, is to see that there has to be a "you" to have the emotion "jealousy" without the "you" jealousy is just an emotion that is labeled.  And to take it a step further, emotions are just energy; like a wave that rises and falls (one doesn't try to change a wave, but many try to change emotions, instead of just letting them be until they subside).  

So jealousy can be great tool for watching emotions rise and fall without doing anything about them.  To just have them.  And it can be a great tool in the seeing that there is no "you" to be jealous, for when the depth of this realization comes, you will laugh that you were always and only jealous of your own self. That might be a big jump but let's look, if you find that there is no "you (no individual you)" then you begin to realize at the same time, that it is the same for everyone and that the "sameness" that animates the appearance of "you" is the "same" in everyone.  In this seeing, or just Knowing, you don't have to see it, because in the world it appears as if we are all different and separate, but that is only because the attention is on the "world" and not what the world appears "IN."  That doesn't mean that you might not still feel the emotion as real, but you will know who you are jealous of; and in That Recognition once again rest in yourSelf.

Jealousy usually appears when there is either a fear of loss, that something you have or want will go to someone else, and it also appears when one does not feel adequate enough to retain what one has.   So the goal of this writing, if there is one, is to help the reader begin to use jealousy, when it arises, as a way to bring the attention back to theirSelf, instead of projecting it outwards.  You can use any example of jealousy. I just had one the other day and it was with my own child.  We both took a motorcycle class, we both drove bikes for two days, we were tested on our riding abilities and on our studies.  He passed both tests with flying colors and rave reviews from the instructor. I on the other hand did not pass the written test and just barely passed the driving.  He was thrilled, as was I for him, and yet at the same time, the feelings arose of not being good enough, that my son was better than me, that I was not good at anything in life, that I was a failure (Now you can look at all those sentences and see that if you remove the word "I/me" then all that are there are thoughts and feelings, but with no one to place them on they would just rise and fall, but with an "I" they stay around because they have someone/something to stick too.)  The more one can begin to see the "I" thought as an illusion, the less energy and intensity emotions have.  The gift in this jealousy arising was the opportunity to once again see that it takes an "I/me" to keep it alive and without it, life just happens and moves on.  It only stays (the emotion) if it is kept fed with the "I/me" thoughts.

This might be challenging to point to, but with no separation, with no "I/me" in either the form of my son or myself, there is just one thing going on ... in seemingly two forms, one getting a license and one not getting a license but that doesn't separate Self from Self.  Just like the one writing this and you reading this are in the same Self, that doesn't change that the writer writes this and the reader reads it, even though it is only One receiver/giver, appearing as more than one, yet only one and even less than one.  It is quite challenging to point to the simplicity of "Less than One."  And one might say, well who are you pointing this out too ... if there is only one...less than one ... myself :o)

So self :o)  When jealousy arises the next time and it will cause this is the training ground for remembering who you Are.  When it arises, possibly begin to see that it takes an "I" to be jealous and so you could begin by asking "Who am I" that is jealous.  You also could look at what you are afraid of losing and why you must hold on to it so tightly, if it is trying to get away and you could offer it release from your grasp.  (Which includes beliefs about yourself ... like the example above ... the willingness to let go of the belief in the "I/me" thought, drops all the beliefs and who would want to hold on to beliefs like the ones above?)

You could also look at the "other" that you are jealous of and KNOW without understanding...that it is yourSELF in another form that is receiving it, and therefore, what would you keep from yourSelf?  This may not ease your discomfort but if you are coming from the space of WHO YOU ARE then it will, but if you are coming from the space of "who you think you are" then it can be quite challenging to see and let go.  So begin to place the attention on "who you are" by discovering who you are.  When you hear the words "I/me" begin to allow the possibility that it is a lie and all thoughts that attach to it are also lies.

A CLEAN SLATE (Revisited)

(Photo taken from Christa's Blog)

2:31AM -  Woke up this morning in a painful panic and with a burn on my arm, I think it is from Tony’s Joyster’s Bracelet (Side Note:  Just because you are a Clean Slate, does not mean that there are not consequences to actions in this world, do not look to this world for proof of who you Are.) rubbing back and forth (I probably shouldn’t have slept in it) and the song “They don’t want to see me Shine.” (Side Note: When you hear a song like this, know that everything that appears comes as a gift, everything, even what one might call haters are a gift, there wouldn't be this song without them.  Everything comes to Serve Awakening.)   So I will call  at 3am (done) to get the internet back up.   

So I was feeling sort of panic’d and sad and scared like who would want someone like me … and again the whole story of how my whole family doesn’t like me blah blah blah.  And then I saw something I hadn’t before and maybe I wouldn’t have if Thomas hadn’t just recently said “I don’t believe in your clean slate.”  And I have been looking at that … do I?  And then this morning I saw it.  No one can give you a clean slate…you are a clean slate.  How can someone give you what you Are?  SMILE!   LIGHT BULB. 

I am.  You Are. In between I am/you Are ... A Clean Slate.  If you are waiting for someone to give it to you, you cannot see that you are IT.  You are brand new each moment.  You don’t have to believe it to be it, just see it, see the empty clean slate that this life is lived from.  Thoughts may come … like they did here and say that you are all kinds of things, good things, bad things, but they just fall away when you see what they are written on.  Each moment you are gifted the opportunity of a blank clean slate.  Let whatever comes … come and then watch as it just slides off the Emptiness that is you.  An Empty Clean Slate.  The only way you can see this is to stop creating yourself with stories that say you are not a Clean Slate.

When Wayneji said those things to me yesterday if felt like they were sticking on me.  That they were true.  That they would be believed.  But it was me that was believing it was true, I don’t know about anyone else, but I was beginning to believe the words were true and then I saw, not even Wayneji can give me a Clean Slate, it is not waiting on the approval of another, it is just Seeing that it already IS.  You cannot be given what you already Are.  Even if someone comes to you and offers you a Clean Slate you still have to be the one to See that it IS for you.  Once you see it for yourself…then you can offer it…because you aren’t offering it “from you” you are pointing one to what is already There/Here for everyone.

It is amazing the darkness that comes before the dawn. 

What a precious gift, there is a great appreciation here for the negativity that shows up and continues to push or open one up to what it is In.  It’s not usually the good times that makes one stop and see what is really going on.  It’s when you are afraid, or when you have doubts, or when everyone leaves or when the chips are down, or your flat broke or sad and depressed.  Those are the times (seemingly) when the most is seen, because you are willing and open to begin to see things another way.  

When things are great…who wants to See?  No one wants to See when times are good and going smoothly.  It’s when we are sick and feeling lost that we call on the Self (God, Love, Light, Whatever you call the Self) and listen the most clearly.  We call because we know it is There/Here.  

Funny how one will be on their hands and knees when the chips are down claiming to believe, but when the light comes on, they jump up and pretend they had not been there.  How often I have done this, yet right now it seems so obvious, that it is not about what anyone else thinks or says about you, others may come, the world may come to test and see if you Truly Know who you Are.  This is a Gift, because each one comes to push you deeper into Knowing.  Not believing or wanting…but actually Knowing, without proof that you are the Clean Slate that everything is written upon and only you can see it for yourself.  So be thankful for all that comes to clean your windows, so that you can See.

Shine On.