TO WHOM DO THESE THOUGHTS COME?

This can be one of the most important questions of your lifetime.  The assumption that there is “someone” to whom the thoughts come to and arise for … is a lie and it is a lie that is inadvertently perpetrated by most everyone you know. 

Thoughts do not arise for anyone … they just arise … if you pay attention to them they strengthen, if you don’t they disappear.

As you pay less and less attention to them you begin to become aware of what they arise IN.  This Awareness becomes stronger and the attention gets placed on the Awareness more and more fully, until you begin to see that you cannot be the thoughts. 

Once this discovery is made, you become Aware of the Self.  The Self that everyone is IN.  There is no out of it; however, very few are Aware that they are IN it (because it is not an “It” – there are no attributes to Awareness).

Awareness of Self becomes the Sanctuary until such time that a Sanctuary is no longer needed and Self is the only Thing (that is not a thing) that remains.

That you are reading this is proof enough that you are ready to begin to come from the Awareness of Self as opposed to coming from an idea of an individual and separated self.

The assignment for today:  Anytime that you hear the word “I” in regards to you or anyone – you replace it with “who.”  No as a question, as a replacement to both the question and the answer.

You change your assumption from that in which there is an “I” that exists (Blind Faith for this day will serve you well), to one in which the “I” thought doesn’t.  You keep the assumption that doesn’t exist and that you have been unknowingly lied to by most everyone in your life - since the day you were born.  Just like they have been.

Again, you meet the word “I” with “who.”

Soon you will not need Blind Faith or proof that this is so.  However it takes a bit of Blind Faith and Vigilance in the beginning for the Self to be Revealed.  It has been covered over for Centuries and although it can be Revealed in an instant, it usually takes a bit of probing and investigation into the non-existence of the “I” before it is Seen to be so.

Any and all reports of what is discovered is welcome here.

You are being most delicately unraveled.

DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU THINK.

DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU “THINK”

This can be radical to the way we have been taught to be in the world; to not care about thoughts in a world where what we “think” is given so much importance.  If someone were to come up to you and say “I don’t care what you think” you might become offended as if it is a personal attack and yet … you are not what you “think” and we are going to take a look at how this is possible.

Let’s use the thought “I am wonderful.”  First, do you have any idea where it came from?  If you do not know where it came from then how can you take it personal if someone else doesn’t “care” about it.  You cannot be the thought “I am wonderful” if you didn’t create it, but was only aware of it.  Now, if you can slow down enough to put the attention onto what is “Aware” of the thought “I am wonderful” you can you begin to see something here that you didn’t before.  You can see that if you are Aware of the thought, you cannot actually be the thought.

You may now see that you are not the thought “I am wonderful” and since you aren’t sure where it came from … let’s come from the Awareness of the thought and look at the thought itself “I am wonderful.”  Who is the “I?”  If one is not the thought, but one is Aware of the thought, who is the “I” referring too?

The more this is looked at … the less power the thought “I” has in making you believe that you are what can be thought.  If the thought “I” is seen as false then the word “Who” becomes revealing.  The thought “who?” does not need you to care about it; the thought “I” does.  “Who?” clears the thoughts to the revealing of what is Aware of the thoughts.  “I” creates a sense of an individual and separateness from what is Aware of the thought “I.”  

All thoughts that come can either be clung to by keeping the “I” thought as real or dissipated by replacing “I” with “Who?” which clears all thoughts and leaves only the Awareness of what is actually happening.

For today, do not care about what is thought.  Watch them come and watch them go.  When you see a thought that says “I am so wonderful” question “who” to that “I” not expecting an answer, just as a referencing back onto the thought itself.  “Who is so wonderful?”  “I am.”  “Who am I?”  Let the circle be there, the circle leads one to discover that it cannot be understood; it has to be left alone.  This is where the watching/Witnessing comes in, you simply watch all of the thoughts come and go and if you are believing a thought is real, question it with “who?”  To whom do these thoughts come?  The impetus at first will always be to say “I/me” but you are not a thought “I/me” so use it as another opportunity to drop the thought “I/me” and be empty in “who?”  Eventually, it will apparent and when someone says to you, “I don’t care what you think,” you will agree.  :o)

Namaste.

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

FINDING A PIECE OF TRUTH

"Finding a Piece of Truth"
March 10, 2013

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

One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with his attendants. He saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him. Mara’s attendant asked what that was and Mara replied, “A piece of truth.”

“Doesn’t this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, O Evil One?” his attendant asked. “No,” Mara replied. “Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it.”

This has been a funny scenario for me and even saying that is similarly funny, because there is no “me.”  But since there has been a learning, since apparent birth that there is a “me,” then it can be quite challenging at times to see that there is not.  It is truly all a matter of what the attention is on, whether it is a presumed “me,” or on the Stillness that one is In.

How does that relate to the above Zen Teaching, because “me” is the belief and even saying “no me” creates a belief.  So one’s hands are tied in a sense to being able to share anything about truth.  However, one can continually point and this is Known to work because “I” have been continually pointed and one might say “well who has been continually pointed?” and you might smile or you might frown … it depends on whether you are going to try and figure it out or whether you will direct the attention towards who you Are.

Words are like a balloon around air and you can use the example of Air being Truth … without the balloon/words … there would only be Truth/Air that includes all thoughts/balloons.

One of the funny things that have come to “me” to do (in a sense but not really) is to find ways to point … just like the Zen Teachers … all pointing must be away from understanding and yet it is understand that leads the Student to the Teaching … so eventually the Student must begin to see that although their understanding led them to the Teacher/Pointer, their understanding is now the block to the Teaching.

This is what surrender is … that the Teacher knows you because the Teacher knows theirSelf and all things that come from the Teacher (no matter how you interpret to understand them) are for the Self, to steer you (in a sense) away from who you thought you were, to the Awareness of who you Are.

So the Zen Teaching above is perfect in that the minute you think “ah ha I got it” is the instant it is gone.  Who would get it?  “Who?” is the wind blowing through your ears and the answer to all questions.  Who?  :o)

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.

PRAYER & STILLNESS

(I AM is not a thought)

The following is in response to a question raised in Western Religion Philosophy Class at College of the Siskiyous.  Weed, CA.

Prayer

“Prayer has been an essential part of Christianity since its earliest days. Prayer is an integral element of the Christian faith and permeates all forms of Christian worship. Prayer in Christianity is the tradition of communicating with God, either in God's fullness or as one of the persons of the Trinity.”  (Wikipedia, 2013.)

Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with Prayer, though at it’s premise in the way most seem to use it, perpetuates two lies; one that there is something that the one praying is separate from and two, that things can be some other way than how they are.  They are both actually the same thing.

Prayer is actually saying that the one that is being prayed to … isn’t doing a good enough job and could do better.  It would be just as wise to begin to accept things how they are and the possibility (the very real possibility) that you don’t know how things are supposed to be.  Then you begin to grow out Faith (which does not require any prayer) that everything is perfect and unfolding perfectly and always has, even though you may not understand why or how it is unfolding.  If you still require “prayer” then possibly one might pray to begin to know this … to begin to have Faith that this is so.

Things cannot be any other way than how they are, if they could they would be.  That seems pretty easy to see (as long as you are willing to stop telling a story of how things should be and just begin to experience them exactly as they are).  If something is going to be some other way, just watch … it will … things are constantly shifting and changing and if one begins to stop listening to the thoughts about how things should be and begins to pay attention to how they are … the mind begins to become quieter and quieter.

“Vygotsky theorized that very young children don’t think silently to themselves the way adults do — at first they only “think” by speaking out loud to their parents, siblings, or caregivers. Later, this develops into “self-talk” (if you’ve ever been around young children you may have noticed them mumbling to themselves when they’re alone in their rooms). Later still, self-talk internalizes, and becomes inner speech (what adults experience as thinking — or at least one type of thinking).” (Moyer. 2013)

This is what is being pointed to.  You weren’t born thinking.  You were born in Stillness and came into a world of noise “thinking.”  You “learned” to “think” prior to thinking/thoughts there was only the natural state of simply “Being” Aware of everything in Stillness.  This is how it is right now, begin to stop paying attention to the thoughts and begin paying attention to the Stillness.

On Stillness

“The Jesus Prayer or “The Prayer” has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Churches. It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use being an integral part of the eremitic tradition of prayer known as Hesychasm meaning "to keep stillness"). (Wikipedia. 2013.)

Not surprisingly, this Prayer is popular in the East, but not in the West.  The East has been immersed for thousands of years in the practice of placing the attention on Stillness, not the thoughts.  Thoughts are given a great deal of importance in the West, because it is what most identify with as “who they are” as part of or sometimes the entire identity/personality, however, if this is really honestly looked at.  How can one “be” a thought? 

When one becomes ready to let go of the thought “I” … Stillness (in a sense, rushes in and fills all of everything) then there is no room for the thought “I” there is only Stillness … just like when you were a child and you didn’t “think” to exist … you just existed in Stillness.  That is where one returns (though has not ever left), they release the thought “I” back into the Stillness from which it appeared.  No “I,” no problems (who would have them), no prayer needed in Stillness, one would not be still to pray for something.

This does not mean that the world stops, you just begin to experience it from a place of Eternal Stillness.  The mouth will still move (for some) the body will as well, there will look like there are problems but there will not be anyone there for the problem, there will just be a watching of all of the movie playing out, which also includes people praying for things in the movie. 

Another way of seeing this is like going to a movie, you sit there in Silence (which is not Stillness but it is a close in the world pointer).  Sometimes you have a “thought” that you would like the movie to go some other way than how it is going.  However, you cannot change the movie just because you *think* it should be some other way.  Most people should be able to see this analogy.  This is how it is with life and prayer … life/the movie is playing out for your entertainment (feel free to ask “who’s”) and “prayer” is like the “thought” in the movie theater … it doesn’t hurt anything to have it but it doesn’t change a dang thing either.  :o)

Cited

Wikipedia, (2013). Prayer.  Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer,_meditation_and_contemplation_in_Christianity

Wikipedia, (2013). The Jesus Prayer.  Retrieved from: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Prayer

Moyer, J.D. (2011) Sytems for Living Well. “Why I Pray as an Atheist.”  Retrieved from:

http://jdmoyer.com/2011/07/25/why-as-an-atheist-i-pray/