http://www.kaleshwar.org

Dear Divine Souls,

The first days of my return to Penukonda were highlighted by a lunch with
Swami in his office.  As usual in casual moments with Swami, Telugu dance movies
blared from the TV, very loudly.  I spent many hours with him, and he asked me to
tell you my impressions of that wonderful time.

Swami is my big son.  That is what he tells me, something he repeated several
times during our conversation.  In the Divine Mystery Fort Volume One he signeda
statement that I was his soul parent.  I am his soul father and Monika is his soul
mother. He constantly reminds us that these were not empty words and that soul
parents have a special energy channel whose meaning will become clearer in the future.

As Swami's soul father I want only the best for my "son."

It is no accident that negativity would attack Swami as he released the first volume
of The Real Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ.  This book series will open the world
to the path to greatness followed by Jesus.  Imagine the change that will flow when
there are thousands, or millions, of the highest level masters.

Throughout history nature has protected the status quo by casting doubt on
those who seek to end the cycle of oppression that afflicts us all. Jesus was
executed for threatening the the existing order, and now Swami repeats the
truth that was so threatening when it came from Jesus - we are not small
creatures doomed to live lives of pain and then disappear, instead we are
beings who contain creative powers of untold magnificence; and it is easier
to reach these powers than to continue living in helplessness.

One of the challenges of Jesus' lineage, as great as it is, lies with their
failure to fully assume their own greatness, instead relying on the nearly
infinite compassion offered by Jesus.

Swami greeted me with a heart-to-heart hug that enveloped me in his huge
love and grace, and it was tempting to just become nothing and know that he
would take care of everything, just as he did in the past.  But then Swami started
to talk, and he made it clear that was not what he wanted from his students. 
Yes, he loves us but he also wants us to step into the same greatness that was
offered by Jesus.  

Be a creator not a victim. We have to take the world's response and
transform it into divinity.  The mistakes that blocked Jesus' full expression
came from the students, and it is us, today's spiritual students, who have
to correct that mistake.

The world is filled with negativity, but that negativity always is accompanied
by opportunity.  The energy is always both positive and negative.  All too often
we look at the negativity only as the world sees it.  A master sees the hidden
positive energy and uses it to make a new creation.

Swami has said that the present troubles in the world, and in Swami's life, are
Mother Divine's birth pains.  She is not punishing us.  Every mother suffers
during birth, but that pain disappears once the new baby is born.  We are about
to welcome a new baby, full of promise and potential.

New babies are a time when families celebrate, no one concentrates on
the birth pains.  Our family is about to be blessed.
We are present at the birth of the real game.  
We are family.  This is our time of celebration.

During this time of birth Swami has asked that no telephone or video
conferences originate from Penukonda.   I will try to transcribe some old talks
and forward them to you; a small way to continue to share the energy. 
I thank the people doing transcriptions.

I also want express my thanks for donations that have made it possible
to spend time in Penukonda.

And the love that surrounds me here is also wonderful.  I was greeted by a
room outfitted by Clint and Monika with everything from food to toothbrushes
to puja items to sheets and cleaning supplies.  I am being treated like a visiting
prince and I thank everyone.

And, of course, the love and support offered by Debora is what opened this
doorway, and makes it possible to remain here.  My infinite gratitude goes to her.

Love Always,

Philip

A close dear friend has just had 'An Experience.'
When she was telling me about it she ran out of words - unexplainable.
And I got the message.
"The Truth cannot be said..." says Lao Tzu. And it can be heard.

When I have something happen that I cannot explain - even to myself,
after floating in it for a while, I am interested in checking it out -
both for me, and so I can attempt to share it.

We don't have many in the West who have had the experience, or who have been
able to anywhere near share it while they are in the experience.
In the East it has happened more often, so they got good at attempting to
explain the unexplainable. So I check out what I remember the sages saying
on the subject. Confirming.

When a close friend has the non-experiencing experience it is fun.
First, delight - for them. Second, yet another confirmation - for me.
Third, a warm fuzzy feeling that if it can 'happen' to us, it can happen to
anyone.

Although I have had unconditional awareness as my priority all my life,
when an 'It' happened there was a realisation that it did not reveal itself
through anything I did, rather, it was my not-doing - just being alert and
available. So it felt/feels like a gift, a blessing.
And that is not an adequate description.

Neither she nor I had an exceptional circumstance at birth.
Our parents were not virgins, or dreamt of Elephants, or anything like that.
Just normal. So if an awakening level can happen to us, it can happen to
anyone. Anyone.

It is true that we all seem to be born with different levels of aptitude,
for different subjects, but to me, when I hear of someone 'popping' I feel
it is possible for anyone - who wants it enough. Quite a few people have
written to say they are having the unexplainable happen to them lately.
Great.

Now this is what is interesting to me: it is so, so simple, yet with so many
'seekers' so few who will listen/hear.
And it seems that it has always been so.

We have written about this many times, and it does not seem to sink in.
All you have to do is listen without the mind. "Those who have ears..."
Don't try to understand because it is not understandable by/with the mind.
The mind does not have the capability/capacity to understand beingness.
In fact it is the barrier. So not agreeing, and not disagreeing. If you do
either, agree or disagree, the message is not going in past the mind.
Just listen. Let it in.

So here is what you do. If you can, get as close as you can to the person
who is in 'The State' while they are sharing - but don't worry if they are
not present - this state is not dependant on space or time.
You can catch it anywhere.

Then, when they share do not use your mind to attempt to understand - it is
not understandable - even to them - it is of another
dimension/frequency/language.

See if you can 'feel' what they are attempting to share - remembering, they
do not 'understand' it either. Feel. Just to get you down out of the head,
try using your heart, belly, then let them go as well. Be as open and not
knowing as you possibly can.
It is there - already, just needs to be blended with.

If you want it enough...

To view this article better go to:
http://www.newrealities.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=914&Itemid=1120

When you have a Guru, Avatar, or just someone you know that represents truth and love, it becomes easier for our mind, which is so dependent on proof on the physical realm to understand. So that is why there are people like Dr. Narayan Datta Srimali, Pia, Jesus Christ, Mohammad, and Shirdi Sai Baba, and other saints and simple people that walk this earth. We are guided by the force, but as humans, we do need a physical guide.

When we operate on a more subtle and energetic level, a human guide is not so necessary, as we start to realize that we are just as all-pervasive as these avatars. We may not have the same knowledge and powers as them, but we are all capable of loving one in the same. That is why all spiritual paths still honor the path of love as the ultimate sadhana. Forget all the yoga, mantras, tantras, meditations, and any other techniques taught by the masters, just be simple and surrender to love. Then, we can see that we are one with our enemies, one with our lovers, one with our biological family, one with our spiritual family, one with strangers, one with everyone, one with animals, one with plants, one with nature, one with the weather, one with the cosmos. The oneness, connectedness, the love is the spiritual path. We can walk this life in love with the entire world, even through the obstacles, social problems, diseases, and natural calamities. The question for the Nirmalas of the world, are you in love with life, or locked in lust? Find the clarity, the truth behind your thoughts, actions and emotions, and offer whatever you have to the almighty, omnipotent energy that is connecting us all.

When I went to Acupressure school we learned about 72,000 meridians, energy channels, in the human body. In yoga, they say 16,000 nadis. Some other schools say more, some say there are only 14 major channels related to organ systems and so forth. It goes on and on. But no matter how many highways we draw on the human body, there is still only one meridian that pulses throughout  all. This is the same one channel that links us to God, people, planets, stars, waters, earth, everything. So, no matter what spiritual path you follow or not, or medical system you believe in, or culture you live in, we are all one.

Bhairivi has a blog on this website at: http://www.newrealities.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=9&id=170&Itemid=1181

 

Here is the long story: 

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...
We rented a large villa in Southern Italy, Villa Volpi, close to the border
of Switzerland. It was set in ten acres of botanical gardens, had a
waterfall gushing out of the rocks into a deep rock pool, and was right on
the shores of Lake Maggiori.

After a while sixty-six of us went into a sort of seclusion - to experiment
and meditate on the possibilities of human consciousness.
We had many amazing experiences - including visits and suggestions from
aliens and ascended masters. That is a whole story in itself.

One of the residents shared a story with me.
I had this message brought to me many times by psychics.

At last... here is the story - from a land even more far away -
on another planet in fact - Roximillion.

This small planet was Black and White - White sand and Black rock mountains.
In the middle of the sand was an ivory coloured building made from a gently
glowing material. The building was one large high space with a small
balcony.

The hall was filled with volunteer beings from all over the universe.
We had come together, once again, to assist in the change of consciousness
of a planet - the beautiful Planet Earth.

These beings needed to be manifest into material form.
We did that through sound.
I was on the balcony radiating the Tonings, and as the frequencies flowed
the beings turned into White-robed people - first androgynous, then
transforming into male and female.
As this process took place the vibration of love was absorbed into the
materiel form.
(Many, if not most/all of you reading this may have been there.)

In order to be effective in the dense vibration of earth we had to be born
into human bodies, and we had to come into this dimension without knowledge
of where we had come from - otherwise our frequencies would have soared and
we could not have stayed in a body.

Some of us were voted into being 'the awakeners' - to awaken the ones who
are to be the awakeners to the many. The whole project is about awakening.

So there you have it.
True?
No idea.
Nice story though, eh.

What is true - for sure, is that when we will allow ourselves to be ready,
higher levels of consciousness can be absorbed, and thus awaken the dormant
mature being.

Depending on the describer, the Third Chakra it is situated at or just below
the navel. There are many descriptions for this centre.
The Physical Power Centre. Survival. Ego. Self definition. Communication.

It is said that if this centre is not developed the person does not feel
grounded, or a firm sense of themselves. Very few open this centre.

To display integrity and to look efficient it is said that in Japan business
men display their efficiency by emphasizing the centre - which they call The
Hara, by standing with their legs apart at should width, and have their
knees just slightly bent.
Try it - it gives the feeling of being firm and centred.
Buddha is often depicted with this area well rounded.

Being the centre of survival there is also residual anger.
We all have it. Childhood is very frustrating - let alone everyday living.
We can either express it, suppress it, or just let it be.
The latter is rare.

If we suppress it the energy goes inside, and eventually creates imbalance -
usually to the point of an illness.
Two ways of expressing - in the moment, or we let it build up and then
explode. Expressing it we become unpleasant to be around - touchy, hard to
please, 'pain in the ass.'

(Incidental, a recent survey showed that 45% of all marriages end in
divorce; 65% of all second marriages end in divorce; 85% of people in
marriages say they are unhappy in their relationship. 85% percent!!!
The figures for 'unfaithful' partners are staggering.)

There is another aspect of the centre that is more esoteric.
Some say that it is the communication point for connecting with the
universes. Thus we interpret the feelings as intuition and have the terms:
"Butterflies in the stomach." 'Gut feeling." The information is received at
this point, transferred to the heart, then passed to and interpreted by the
brain.

The jump to the fourth/heart centre is The Big One.
After that jump it can be a freewheeling.

______________________________

My energy for the Chakras is dissipating.

There is lots of info on the web. Google:
http://www.google.com.au/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=heart+chakra&ie=UTF-
8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=-l0YTJrcDcTQcf-xjaYM

I do encourage you to check. Please. Here is why:

Just recently a young man came to help with some heavy work on the property.
To move some soil he needed to use the Ride-On Mower - with a trailer
attached. It is a Zero-Turn machine - turns on the spot - if you are not
careful. The two back wheels are independently driven and are used for every
movement - starting, stopping and turning.

He thought it would be easy - so he jumped on - and the machine took him for
a ride!



We are living inside a machine about which we know very, very little, and
when we entered it, not only did it have some pre-programming, we were not
given an instruction book. And who reads instruction books anyway!

And the 'facts' we have been told are dependant on what country and religion
we were born into. And according to some recent archaeological discoveries,
what we thought we were proud of discovering - is ancient and outdated - by
peoples who lived thousands of years ago. We just don't know 'nufin mate.

Science is telling us that we are only using a tiny fraction of our mind
capacity.  If you buy a new gadget, even if you do not feel like reading the
instruction manual, at least there is some curiosity about what the thing
will do.

It maybe that the heart Chakra has a lot to do with curiosity and learning.
It is the centre point. It could be called The Top of the Hill - after which
the flow is easy.

Please read at least some of the description on the Google link.
Here's one: http://www.spiritual.com.au/articles/healing/heart-chakra.htm

James Taylor (lovely man/singer...)
"And since where're on the way down, might as well enjoy the ri-ide"
____________________________________________________

Once again - lots of basic info on Google about the Fifth Chakra:
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&&sa=X&ei=ZTwkTNq
VMoPRccuV1acC&ved=0CBcQBSgA&q=fifth+chakra&spell=1
What I am going to talk about are some things I do not see mentioned there.

------------------------------

It feels to me that there is no doubt that major changes are happening - on
many levels - both individually and collectively.

The major suggestion is not to hold - anything, in any way. Not only
physically and life situations, but any idea about what you think you do and
do not know about what you think is reality.

As in the classic example of the crystallise transforming into the
butterfly, this transformation requires disintegration - before the new can
emerge.

It feels to me that many of us are in a process of disintegration.
If we allow it is a wonderful adventure. If we resist it feels like hell.
Dark night of the soul and all that.

As the energy reaches the throat area there is an integration of what has
happened on the other levels, and a need to express.
When the energy reaches the throat area strongly, and we resist, we get all
sorts of disturbances in that area.

For nearly all of us, our childhood was an painful experience of not being
allowed to express ourselves. If we were asked something and did not answer
the way the grown-up wanted us to - trouble. In school especially.

So the energy connected to the words we were not expressing, built up, and
compacted in that area.
When the impulse/urge comes to stop holding, and express, it tends to
explode out. No worries. If it is too much for your closest, attend a
workshop designed for such release.
And, be aware not to get addicted to the process.
Releasing in that way can be very temporally uplifting - and thus addictive.
Then you get stuck - again.

When the energy reaches that area you may feel a bit overwhelmed.
It is usually very strong - because, the lower areas now being open, nothing
is holding it back. When you have reached the stage of not holding back in
this area it will affect the whole of your life. Everything will get 'more.'
In every way. Wonderful.

----------------------------

Here is a more esoteric point. In the East there is a tradition of awakening
- so all the levels have been plotted.

It is said that when person reaches this fifth level they are aware of a
choiceless choice. Realising that they are going to open completely they
have to decide, right then already, if, after fully opening they are going
to attempt to share their experiences, or whether they are going to remain
silent until it is time to pass over.
A person who awakens and shares is called a Bodhisattva, and a person who is
going to remain silent is called an Arhatas.

Now here is the thing. If a person opens on all levels, their motivation,
for almost anything, will not longer be there. No motivation, no sharing.
Arhatas.

So if you feel you are going to attempt to share, Bodhisattva, you have to
hold on to a bit of 'stuff.' It is called: "Pegging the Fifth."

Many of you who are going through stuff now are doing so because you are
going to share. And the more you go through to open, the more you have to
share - because you have had almost the same experience, come through it, so
can share from a deep vibrational level. So don't be in a hurry!

Coincidence you reading this at this time? Oh no. There are no coincidences.
If it was not appropriate for you to be reading this - then you wouldn't be.
Almost everybody on IML are in a process of waking up - in order to share
when the changeover times happen. 'Coming soon to a consciousness near you.'

As always, not to take anything too seriously, and consider:
'Nothing is more, or less important than anything else.'
When you wake up to this realisation you will laugh!
You may say:
"How come I was so silly - and didn't see it. It is so obvious"

So slow down, and take a new look - at every little thing.

Don't be in a hurry.
Enjoy every level, for every moment is unique onto itself.

Happy uniqueing...

'Doing.' Major subject.

It is so simple and obvious to me. I have shared it so many times.
I don't have the energy to write about it to a great depth. It is so subtle.
We can Skype again. In the meantime....

Simply: healthy doing is not doing, it is allowing. That says it all.

If you are sitting comfortably in your garden chair, and your mind keeps
going to the unpleasant thought that you have left the gas on - if you keep
sitting there - you are doing something - you are holding back.
If you get up and check it - you are not doing anything, you are just
allowing.

It is almost impossible to explain to minds that have been trained only to
'do.' We have not been encouraged to develop our intuition.
Yet almost all of the great breakthroughs have come through that way!
Just look back.
But too uncertain, unpredictable and uncontrollable for the average
undeveloped/ mediocre/intellectual person.

I know this may not seem relevant at his stage, but let's take it as a
hypothesis: Everything is always perfect. Always. Just because we cannot see
the perfection at the time, does not mean it is not so. Just look back.
And even if it is not true, let's assume it.

You say you have to choose people for your new department,
and how to do it without 'the doing.'

Please tune in. All your anxiety and uncertainty has to do with being
'right' and identifying with having a certain outcome.
You want things the way your mind (and your father/peers) wants them.
Of course.

And, that may not be the maximum potential - for something much bigger than
what you are seeing. We not only don't know, the mind is not capable of
'knowing' the future - because there isn't one!
Have to stay open for the unknown/unexpected.

(You may think you are choosing 'the right person' but often, geniuses are
right on the edge of sanity.)

What we call the future is created by the present, and the more we use the
past for determining the future, the less possibility of something totally
new emerging. The mind can only operate from the past.

We don't know. But we can sense, feel.
May not be obvious to the mind, but our senses intuit something.

Again, look back. It is so obvious.
(In fact, the ancients were/are still ahead of us in many scientific ways!
But that is: Another Very Big Story.)

You also mention that I say that any practice becomes an interfering
interface to being present.

It is not possible to be in the present while using a practice.
A practice is an interface - it is between you and the moment.
A practice is of the mind. Life is the present.

In the East, as a technique, Mantras are given by masters. If the person
says them enough times, millions, the effect is supposed to become
automatic. But it is still an interference to the purity of the moment.
Buddha's saying: "If you meet me on the way, kill me."
(A little extreme don't you think? A thank you would be more sweet?)

Making 'the right choice' has to do with being unconditionally present.
Totally there, unconditionally. Listening. Sensing. Feeling.

The mind cannot do that.
What the mind  says is: "Listen to me. I remember the past. Your past,
things you have read, and with my experience we will choose the best
possibility.

But you see, it is the past.
Although many major breakthroughs have built on the past, they were not the
past. The past is past - therefore, not a breakthrough; not creative.

In the beginning the 'greats' were not only not accepted, they were derided,
laughed at.  Like the great masters of the past - you have to decide - acceptance by your
peers,  the mediocre - or the unknown?
Some compromise is wise, but the main feeling? - Your/The Truth.
As I see it, you are being guided for something big - so a bit of compromise
may be appropriate.

As you continue to wake up you will come to realise that there is a flow to
life. Life is living itself. If you tune in, and flow with the flow you will
experience blissful fulfilment.
If you decide to decide for yourself, it just takes a bit longer.
So no need to take it seriously.

Anthony de Mello (4 September 1931 - 2 June 1987) was a Jesuit priest, psychotherapist and writer who became widely known for his books on spirituality. From: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_de_Mello

"I wish to become a teacher of the Truth."
"Are you prepared to be ridiculed, ignored and starving till you are forty-five?"
"I am. But tell me: What will happen after I am forty-five?"
"You will have grown accustomed to it."
Wellsprings : A Book of Spiritual Exercises (1985), p. 19

• Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don't know it, are asleep. They're born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. You know — all mystics — Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion — are unanimous on one thing: that all is well, all is well. Though everything is a mess, all is well. Strange paradox, to be sure. But, tragically, most people never get to see that all is well because they are asleep. They are having a nightmare.

As quoted in Approaching God : How to Pray (1995) by Steve Brown, p. 94
The genius of a composer is found in the notes of his music; but analyzing the notes will not reveal his genius. The poet's greatness is contained in his words; yet the study of his words will not disclose his inspiration. God reveals himself in creation; but scrutinize creation as minutely as you wish, you will not find God, any more than you will find the soul through careful examination of your body.
Awakening : Conversations with the Masters (2003), p. 24

"What, concretely, is Enlightenment?"
"Seeing Reality as it is," said the Master.
"Doesn't everyone see Reality as it is?"
"Oh, no! Most people see it as they think it is."
"What's the difference?"
"The difference between thinking you are drowning in a stormy sea and knowing you cannot drown because there isn't any water in sight for miles around."
Awakening : Conversations with the Masters (2003), p. 221
[edit]One Minute Wisdom (1989)

• The finest language is the one that is not spoken.
• If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people.
• Obedience keeps the rules … Love knows when to break them.
• No one can help the fish to find the ocean.
• Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one's awareness of one's ignorance.
• Can one talk about the ocean to a frog in a well or about the divine to people who are restricted by their concepts?
• Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose?
• The Master is not concerned with what we believe — only with what we see.
• The Master would frequently assert that holiness was less a matter of what one did than of what one allowed to happen.
• Nobody can be said to have attained the pinnacle of Truth until a thousand sincere people have denounced him for blasphemy.
• A good teacher offers practice, a bad one offers theories.
• If you never condemned you would never need to forgive.
• Wisdom comes to those who learn nothing, unlearn everything. That transformation is the consequence not of something done, but of something dropped.

These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness.
This is what Wisdom means: To be changed without the slightest effort on your part, to be transformed, believe it or not, merely by waking to the reality that is not words, that lies beyond the reach of words. If you are fortunate enough to be Awakened thus, you will know why the finest language is the one that is not spoken, the finest action is the one that is not done and the finest change is the one that is not willed.

Introduction
To a disciple who was forever complaining about others the Master said, "If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth."

Transformation
To a visitor who asked to become his disciple the Master said, "You may live with me, but don't become my follower."
"Whom, then, shall I follow?"
"No one. The day you follow someone you cease to follow Truth."

Discipleship
"Why is everyone here so happy except me?"
"Because they have learned to see goodness and beauty everywhere," said the Master.
"Why don't I see goodness and beauty everywhere?"
"Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside."

Projection
There were rules in the monastery, but the Master always warned against the tyranny of the law.
"Obedience keeps the rules," he would say. "Love knows when to break them."

Revolution
"You are only a disciple because your eyes are closed. The day you open them you will see there is nothing you can learn from me or anyone."
"What then is a Master for?"
"To make you see the uselessness of having one."
Blindness
The sun and its light, the ocean and the wave, the singer and his song — not one. Not two.

Identity
"Help us to find God."
"No one can help you there."
"Why not?"
"For the same reason that no one can help the fish to find the ocean."

Discovery
To a visitor who described himself as a seeker after Truth the Master said, "If what you seek is Truth, there is one thing you must have above all else."
"I know. An overwhelming passion for it."
"No. An unremitting readiness to admit you may be wrong."

Humility
When you are guilty, it is not your sins you hate but yourself.

Violence
Is there life before death? — that is the question!

Irrelevance
Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one's awareness of one's ignorance.

Wisdom
When you come to see you are not as wise today as you thought you were yesterday, you are wiser today.
Whatever is truly alive must die. Look at the flowers; only plastic flowers never die.

Flow
The Master was exceedingly gracious to university dons who visited him, but he would never reply to their questions or be drawn into their theological speculations. To his disciples, who marveled at this, he said, "Can one talk about the ocean to a frog in a well or about the divine to people who are restricted by their concepts?"

Restriction
People who want a cure, provided they can have it without pain, are like those who favour progress, provided they can have it without change.

Healing
A disciple said to him, "I am ready, in the quest for God, to give up anything: wealth, friends, family, country, life itself. What else can a person give up?"
The Master calmly replied, "One's beliefs about God."

Belief
Every word, every image used for God is a distortion more than a description.

Comprehension
The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao-tzu's dictum: Those who know do not say; Those who say do not know.
When the master entered, they asked him what the words meant.
Said the master, "Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose?"
All of them indicated that they knew.
Then he said, "put it into words."
All of them were silent.

Words
When I speak, you must not listen to the words, my dear. Listen to the Silence.

Comprehension
Silence is not the absence of sound, but the absence of self.

Emptiness
The Master is not concerned with what we believe — only with what we see.

Non-Instruction
The Master would frequently assert that holiness was less a matter of what one did than of what one allowed to happen.

Trust
Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it.

Thought
A thought is a screen, not a mirror; that is why you live in a thought envelope, untouched by Reality.
Any time you are with anyone or think of anyone you must say to yourself: I am dying and this person too is dying, attempting the while to experience the truth of the words you are saying. If every one of you agrees to practise this, bitterness will die out, harmony will arise.

Revelation
The Master would insist that the final barrier to our attaining God was the word and concept "God."

Incompetence
A disciple was one day recalling how Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed were branded as rebels and heretics by their contemporaries.
Said the Master, Nobody can be said to have attained the pinnacle of Truth until a thousand sincere people have denounced him for blasphemy.

Persecution
The Master never ceased to attack the notions about God that people entertain.

Prayer
A good teacher offers practice, a bad one offers theories.

Cultivation
The feigning sleeper can delude others — he cannot delude himself. The false mystic, unfortunately, can delude both others and himself.
Deception
If you never condemned you would never need to forgive.
Judgement
A zealous disciple expressed a desire to teach others the Truth and asked the Master what he thought about this. The Master said, "Wait."
Each year the disciple would return with the same request and each time the Master would give him the same reply: "Wait."
One day he said to the Master, "When will I be ready to teach?"
Said the Master, "When your excessive eagerness to teach has left you."
Aggression
"What is love?"
"The total absence of fear," said the Master.
"What is it we fear?"
"Love," said the Master.
Fearlessness
The Master insisted that what he taught was nothing, what he did was nothing.
His disciples gradually discovered that Wisdom comes to those who learn nothing, unlearn everything.
That transformation is the consequence not of something done, but of something dropped.
Purification
A writer arrived at the monastery to write a book about the Master.
"People say you are a genius. Are you?" he asked.
"You might say so." said the Master, none too modestly.
"And what makes one a genius?" "The ability to recognize." "Recognize what?"
"The butterfly in a caterpillar: the eagle in an egg; the saint in a selfish human being."

Genius
Much advance publicity was made for the address the Master would deliver on The Destruction of the World and a large crowd gathered at the monastery grounds to hear him.
The address was over in less than a minute. All he said was:
"These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness."

Humanity
"What kind of a person does Enlightenment produce?"
Said the Master:
"To be public-spirited and belong to no party,
to move without being bound to any given course,
to take things as they come,
have no remorse for the past,
no anxiety for the future,
to move when pushed,
to come when dragged,
to be like a mighty gale,
like a feather in the wind,
like weeds floating on a river,
like a mill-stone meekly grinding,
to love all creation equally
as heaven and earth are equal to all
— such is the product of Enlightenment."
On hearing these words one of the younger disciples cried, "This sort of teaching is not for the living but for the dead," and walked away, never to return.



Happiness is our natural state.


As you identify less and less with the "me," you will be more at ease with everybody and with everything.


I'd much rather hear you say, "I've come awake," than hear you say, "I'm sorry."


No reality fits an ideology. Life is beyond that.


We're always dying to things. We're always shedding everything in order to be fully alive and resurrected at every moment.


Happiness is not something you acquire; love is not something you produce; love is not something you have; love is something that has you.


The most ruthless murderers are those who kill for their ideas.


They follow, not their common sense, but what they think their Scriptures say.


My commitment is not to consistency but to the Truth.


The law is a necessary evil and as such must be cut down to the barest minimum.


When someone offends you, you can raise your spirits to heights where offenses cannot reach.


All God statements were poetic or symbolic expressions of the Unknowable; people, however, foolishly took them as literal descriptions of the divine.


Work becomes spiritual only when it is transformed into play.


The Master persistently warned against the attempt to encompass Reality in a concept or a name.


Yes!


A religious belief… is not a statement about Reality, but a hint, a clue about something that is a mystery, beyond the grasp of human thought.


There's nothing you can do to see — it is a gift.


There is something whereby each broken thing is bound again and every stain made clean.


One always treads with a joyful step when one has dropped the burden called the ego.
No one is exempt from talking nonsense. The great misfortune is to do it solemnly.
Introduction
The Master in these tales is not a single person. He is a Hindu Guru, a Zen Roshi, a Taoist Sage, a Jewish Rabbi, a Christian Monk, a Sufi Mystic. He is Lao-tzu and Socrates; Buddha and Jesus; Zarathustra and Mohammed. His teaching is found in the seventh century B.C. and the twentieth century A.D. His wisdom belongs to East and West alike. Do his historical antecedents really matter? History, after all, is the record of appearances, not Reality; of doctrines, not of Silence.
Introduction
The Master was allergic to ideologies.
"In a war of ideas," he said, "it is people who are the casualties." Later he elaborated: "People kill for money or for power. But the most ruthless murderers are those who kill for their ideas."
p. 7
You will seek for God in vain till you understand that God can't be seen as a "thing"; he needs a special way of looking — similar to that of little children whose sight is undistorted by prefabricated doctrines and beliefs.
p. 8
"When you speak about Reality," said the Master, "you are attempting to put the Inexpressible into words, so your words are certain to be misunderstood. Thus people who read that expression of Reality called the Scriptures become stupid and cruel for they follow, not their common sense, but what they think their Scriptures say."
He had the perfect parable to show this: A village blacksmith found an apprentice willing to work hard at low pay. The smith immediately began his instructions to the lad: "When I take the metal out of the fire, I'll lay it on the anvil; and when I nod my head you hit it with the hammer." The apprentice did precisely what he thought he was told. Next day he was the village blacksmith.
p. 19
Those who make no mistakes are making the biggest mistakes of all — they are attempting nothing new.
p. 20
"Tell me," said the atheist, "Is there a God — really?"
Said the master, "If you want me to be perfectly honest with you, I will not answer."
Later the disciples demanded to know why he had not answered.
"Because the question is unanswerable," said the Master.
"So you are an atheist?"
"Certainly not. The atheist makes the mistake of denying that of which nothing may be said... and the theist makes the mistake of affirming it.
p. 21
"What is the secret of your serenity?
Said the Master "Wholehearted cooperation with the inevitable."
p. 22
My commitment is not to consistency but to the Truth.
p. 31
To those who seek to protect their ego true Peace brings only disturbance.
p. 33
A disciple asked, "Who is a Master?"
The Master replied, "Anyone to whom it is given to let go of the ego. Such a person's life is then a masterpiece."
p. 47
Wisdom can be learned. But it cannot be taught.
p. 53
"The law is an expression of God's holy will and as such must be honored and loved," said the preacher piously.
"Rubbish," said the Master. "The law is a necessary evil and as such must be cut down to the barest minimum. Show me a lover of the law and I will show you a muttonheaded tyrant."
p. 67
Some people write to make a living; others to share their insights or raise questions that will haunt their readers; others yet to understand their very souls. None of these will last. That distinction belongs to those who write only because if they did not write they would burst... These writers give expression to the divine — no matter what they write about.
p. 70
One year of life is worth more than twenty years of hibernation.
p. 73
"Name one practical, down-to-earth effect of spirituality," said the skeptic who was ready for an argument.
"Here's one," said the Master. "When someone offends you, you can raise your spirits to heights where offenses cannot reach."
p. 80
Look for competence not claims.
p. 84
"What is the work of a Master?" said a solemn-faced visitor.
"To teach people to laugh," said the Master gravely.
p. 85
Before creation Love was. After creation love is made. When love is consummated, creation will cease to be, and Love will be forever.
p. 91
The master never let a statement about God go unchallenged. All God statements were poetic or symbolic expressions of the Unknowable; people, however, foolishly took them as literal descriptions of the divine.
p. 95
The Master once referred to the Hindu notion that all creation is "leela" — God's play — and the universe is his playground. The aim of spirituality, he claimed, is to make all life play.
This seemed too frivolous for a puritanical visitor. "Is their no room then for work?"
"Of course there is. But work becomes spiritual only when it is transformed into play."
p. 96
("Leela" is more commonly spelled "Lila")
"What is my identity?"
"Nothing," said the Master.
"You mean that I am an emptiness and a void?" said the incredulous disciple.
"Nothing that can be labeled." said the Master.
p. 109
The master enjoined not austerity, but moderation. If we truly enjoyed things, he claimed, we would be spontaneously moderate. Asked why he was so opposed to ascetical practices, he replied, "Because they produce pleasure-haters who always become people-haters — rigid and cruel."
p. 111
When God means you to be a healer he sends you patients; when he makes you a teacher he sends you pupils; when he destines you to be a Master he sends you stories.
p. 112
The best things in life cannot be willed into being.
p. 114
You can will an act of service but you cannot will love.
p. 114
A disciple, in his reverence for the Master, looked upon him as God incarnate.
"Tell me, O Master," he said, "why you have come into this world."
"To teach fools like you to stop wasting their time worshiping Masters."
p. 127
The Master persistently warned against the attempt to encompass Reality in a concept or a name. A scholar in mysticism once asked, "When you speak of BEING, sir, is it eternal, transcendent being you speak of, or transient, contingent being?"
The Master closed his eyes in thought. Then he opened them, put on his most disarming expression, and said, "Yes!"
p. 131
The master made it his task to systematically destroy every doctrine, every belief, every concept of the divine, for these things, which were originally intended as pointers, were now taken as descriptions. He loved to quote the Eastern saying: "When the sage points at the moon, all that the idiot sees is the finger."
p. 132
A religious belief… is not a statement about Reality, but a hint, a clue about something that is a mystery, beyond the grasp of human thought. In short, a religious belief is only a finger pointing to the moon. Some religious people never get beyond the study of the finger. Others are engaged in sucking it. Others yet use the finger to gouge their eyes out. These are the bigots whom religion has made blind. Rare indeed is the religionist who is sufficiently detached from the finger to see what it is indicating — these are those who, having gone beyond belief, are taken for blasphemers.
p. 134
Said the self-righteous preacher, "What, in your judgment, is the greatest sin in the world?"
"That of the person who sees other human beings as sinners," said the Master.
p. 139
"What can I do to see Reality as it is?"
The master smiled and said, "I have good news and bad news for you, my friend."
"What's the bad news?"
"There's nothing you can do to see — it is a gift."
"And what's the good news?"
"There's nothing you can do to see — it is a gift."
p. 152
People who want to rise above a well-cooked meal and a well-tailored garment, are out of their spiritual minds.
p. 157
"My life is like shattered glass." said the visitor. "My soul is tainted with evil. Is there any hope for me?
"Yes," said the Master. "There is something whereby each broken thing is bound again and every stain made clean."
"What?"
"Forgiveness"
"Whom do I forgive?"
"Everyone: Life, God, your neighbor — especially yourself."
"How is that done?"
"By understanding that no one is to blame," said the Master. "NO ONE."
p. 169
"I seek the meaning of existence." said the stranger.
"You are of course, assuming." said the Master, "that existence has a meaning."
"Doesn't it?"
"When you experience existence as it is — not as you think it is — you will discover that your question has no meaning."
p. 171
Isn't there such a thing as social liberation?"
"Of course there is," said the Master.
"How would you describe it?"
"Liberation from the need to belong to the herd."
p. 172
One always treads with a joyful step when one has dropped the burden called the ego.
p. 177
Ideas kill people.
p. 180
[edit]The Way to Love (1995)
The Way to Love : The Last Meditations of Anthony de Mello


If you want to know what it means to be happy, look at a flower, a bird, a child; they are perfect images of the kingdom. For they live from moment to moment in the eternal now with no past and no future.


The day you are happy for no reason whatsoever, the day you find yourself taking delight in everything and in nothing, you will know that you have found the land of unending joy called the kingdom.
If you want to know what it means to be happy, look at a flower, a bird, a child; they are perfect images of the kingdom. For they live from moment to moment in the eternal now with no past and no future. So they are spared the guilt and anxiety that so torment human beings and they are full of the sheer joy of living, taking delight not so much in persons or things as in life itself. As long as your happiness is caused or sustained by something or someone outside of you, you are still in the land of the dead. The day you are happy for no reason whatsoever, the day you find yourself taking delight in everything and in nothing, you will know that you have found the land of unending joy called the kingdom.
To find the kingdom is the easiest thing in the world but also the most difficult. Easy because it is all around you and within you, and all you have to do is reach out and take possession of it. Difficult because if you wish to possess the kingdom you may possess nothing else. That is, you must drop all inward leaning on any person or thing, withdrawing from them forever the power to thrill you, or excite you, or to give you a feeling of security or well-being. For this, you first need to see with unflinching clarity this simple and shattering truth: Contrary to what your culture and religion have taught you, nothing, but absolutely nothing can make you happy. The moment you see that, you will stop moving from one job to another, one friend to another, one place, one spiritual technique, one guru to another. None of these things can give you a single minute of happiness. They can only offer you a temporary thrill, a pleasure that initially grows in intesity, then turns into pain if you lose them and into boredom if you keep them.
If you search within your heart, you will find something there that will make it possible for you to understand: a spark of disenchantment and discontent, which if fanned into flame will become a raging forest fire that will burn up the whole of the illusory world you are living in, thereby unveiling to your wondering eyes the kingdom that you have always lived in unsuspectingly.
It is the desire for "the more" that prevents clear thinking, whereas if we are discontent, not because we want something, but without knowing what we want; if we are dissatisfied with our jobs, with making money, with seeking position and power, with tradition, with what we have and with what we might have; if we are dissatisfied, not with anything in particular but with everything, then I think we shall find that our discontent brings clarity. When we don't accept or follow, but question, investigate, penetrate, there is an insight out of which comes creativity, joy.
Mostly the discontent that you feel comes from not having enough of something — you are dissatisfied because you think you do not have enough money or power or success or fame or virtue or love or holiness. This is not the discontent that leads to the joy of the kingdom. Its source is greed and ambition and its fruit is restlessness and frustration. The day you are discontented not because you want more of something but without knowing what it is you want; when you are sick at heart of everything you are pursuing so far and you are sick of the pursuing itself, then your heart will attain a great clarity, an insight that will cause you mysteriously to delight in everything and in nothing.
[edit]Anthony De Mello : Writings (1999)

All I did was sit on the riverbank handing out river water. After I'm gone, I trust you will notice the river.
A master was once unmoved by the complaints of his disciples that, though they listened with pleasure to his parables and stories, they were also frustrated for they longed for something deeper. To all their objections he would simply reply: "You have yet to understand, my friends, that the shortest distance between a human being and truth is a story."
p. 8
The master was never impressed by diplomas or degrees. He scrutinized the person, not the certificate.
He was once heard to say, 'When you have ears to hear a bird in song, you don't need to look at its credentials."
p. 76
All I did was sit on the riverbank handing out river water. After I'm gone, I trust you will notice the river.
p. 82

Dim lights

THis is some of the best talks I have found on living in the present moment. -Alan Steinfeld, NR founder

For more information go to:  http://www.demello.org

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at 9:09am

As my term as president of the Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy(ASP)
winds down, my message to the membership in our summer newsletter highlights
an issue that is critical for the integration of spirituality, psychology and healing:
The spiritual bypass. With more and more of the public embracing spirituality it’s
an issue of growing importance. Those who are drawn to the spiritual bypass believe
that psychological issues of everyday living can be bypassed or transcended by
achieving spiritual consciousness—call it enlightenment or any other term for
higher consciousness. The spiritual bypass is often the main motivation for people
suffering from psychological stress and conflicts to join a spiritual path.
“If I can leap to higher consciousness, I don’t have to deal with all my
messy psychological sludge” is the compelling thought.

Spiritual teachers frequently explicitly or implicitly reinforce this view.
I’ve attended many satsangs (spiritual gatherings) where the guru or teacher
gave short shrift to queries about personal problems by directing seekers to the
“real self.” “If you know who you really are the illusory personal issues will
evaporate?”

Now that’s a seductive and irresistible invitation. Who wouldn’t prefer to
vaporize the nagging and often painful pushes and pulls of living in the world
with a one size fits all bypass to the bliss of higher consciousness?

Not so fast. In principle the spiritual bypass should work. If there is a
higher consciousness that is the ground of consciousness, and the ego, or
our personalities, are conceptual manifestations of the all inclusive awareness
consciousness, then achieving “enlightenment” should defuse the manifest self.
But as therapists, counselors, or just sensitive observers we know that in
practice it doesn’t. Personal issues persist even as seekers make progress
toward achieving higher states of consciousness through meditation and other
practices.

Spiritual enlightenment, or what the Buddha called waking up, is not a one
step leap for most of us. Therefore, the exclusive pursuit of the spiritual bypass
is likely to intensify personal issues. Denial and avoidance eventually lead
to implosion.

That was highlighted last year in the New York Times story about the
Buddhist Master who, came down from the monastery after 35 years to enter
psychoanalysis. His pesky personal problems refused to yield to his deep
states of meditation, or what he thought was his highly evolved consciousness.

The facile response of psychologists and spiritual healers that I spoke to was:
“He really wasn’t enlightened”-–implying that if he were he would still be
cloistered in a state of happiness and bliss-–and his personal problems nowhere
to be found. While that may or may not be true, from the practical point of view,
since relatively few make it to the spiritual mountaintop, we are stuck struggling
with our personal demons while at the same time reaching for higher ground.

Perhaps the real issue is the either/or fallacy: Either I’m stuck in my limited ego
shell or I graduate to the total freedom of transcendence. The fact is, though, that
we are stuck with both. But stuck only applies to either/or. If you reject the
personal ego self for the spiritual self you will face the dilemma of the Buddist “Master”
whose inner turmoil came back to haunt him. If you seek truth, happiness and
peace strictly at the ego level you will journey on a lifelong quest that will repeatedly
bring you back to square one. If you embrace both as part of the one reality
while making higher consciousness ( what I call omni consciousness) your default
setting, you will experience the full range of human experiences—good and bad
—but they will not control, define, or torture you. You will not be stuck!

The spiritual bypass is clearly a complex issue that is central to the practice of
spiritual psychotherapy and counseling. It also raises fundamental questions
about the nature of “enlightenment” and the relationship between pure awareness
consciousness and the personal self.

Let’s give the spiritual bypass the attention and critical examination it deserves.
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational
psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches “Psychology and
Spirituality in Film” at Marymount Manhattan College and is producer and host
for Phoenix Rising Television Productions. In addition to his work in radio
(“The Longevity Report”), he is a longtime contributor of commentary and
opinion articles to numerous major newspapers and other publications. He is also
the President of the Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy and is the
main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education
that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India.

— — —
Bernard Starr on YouTube:
Interview with Constitutional Litigation Attorney Frank Askin on the
legality of the war in Iraq
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDtV6vkru80

George Stoney: A Life In Film
Produced and directed by Bernard Starr and Rita Satz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDZzQlhR5Rg

Edith O’Hara: A Passion For The Theater
Produced and Directed by Bernard Starr and Rita Satz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-iJqiX9gtw

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 Part 1

Many of you are reporting that you are experiencing unusual behaviour.
This could be: A Good Thing - a new level of awakening is happening.
And it is - for many.

In the East the stages of awakening have been documented.
The most detailed is said to have been written by Patanjali.
It is said he has documented every possible level and symptom of awakening.
Trouble is, even apart from being written in Sanskrit, in order to
understand what he has written - you have to be awakened!
Then you don't need to read his writings - you can write your own!

Although there are variations, many of The Symptoms are similar.
They are called: 'Confirmatory Signs' - meaning they are an indication of
the level you have attained / remembered.

As most of you will know, the Eastern map of the body is sectioned into
several centres in the body - usually called: Chakras.
Different approaches declare varying numbers of these centres ranging from
three - to lots. The most popular is seven and that is what we will use as
an example.

----------------------------

Often the first level is depicted as a coiled snake - at the Base Chakra -
at the base of the spine.
As the snake uncoils the energy is said to move up through the body -
opening up the chakras, and thus the levels of consciousness.

In my experience the centres do not always open evenly, or sequentially -
so don't jump to any conclusions too early. And, it is true that, if the
centres do not open sequentially then there can be extra discomfort.

Discomfort (Dark Night of the Soul) is experienced in proportion to the
level of acceptance / resistance.

Over the next few paragraphs I will be describing just some of most usual
experiences. Then you can check your 'progress!'

----------------------------

After the first signs of awakening the energy of the 'sleeping serpent'
moves into the second level: The life-giving Sexual Centre.
Of course this level is always activated, but when the awakening energy
moves into it the sexual energy is felt differently - and very strongly.
(Then, in pops guilt.)

The awakening energy is very different from what people normally feel.
When most people feel sexual it is the reproduction instinct that is
restricted and pressured by the suppressed/negated/denied/conditioned/fear-
oriented religious programming. Lust. Very sinful.

(If people feel free to have sex when they feel like it - in theory at
least, we will not get much done. And then, people will not be controllable.
So the basic instinct is denied - so people feel guilty - and have to come
for forgiveness - otherwise they can't go to heaven.
Heaven must be full of very boring people.)

When the awakening sexual energy starts to move it can feel (wonderfully)
overwhelming. It takes over the mind and body - which, if accepted, and not
resisted, in a delightful way.

The actual sexual act is then very different from what has previously been
experienced. It is softer. Instead of a contraction in order to have an
orgasm, it is a gentle expanded feeling that slips into a flowing - and
often ongoing delightful experience. There is a strong feeling of love - for
the partner, oneself, and the universe in general. The feeling can last for
days. Or forever - if you will let it.

Your whole view of life changes. You are in love. Not the usual kind of
self/only-one-other love, but an expanded feeling that includes - everything
and everybody. There is dance and song in everything you do. You glow.

Then the sexual energy drops into balance.
It is not longer an issue - one way or the other, and you will become aware
that that energy we call sex is included in absolutely everything.

Then the energy moves on up to the next level - the Hara / survival / anger.
More of that in the next instalment.

In the meantime, do enjoy the sexual level.
(It is very, very rare to meet an uninhibited person)
Without the guilt it is truly delightful - and, although it may not
completely disappear, it will diminish in importance to you.
So don't miss this delightful stage! (And don't get too addicted either)

Happy sexual exploration...

-----------------------------------

PS.
Western Tantra is not Eastern Tantra.
There are many schools/disciplines' of Tantra, and one of them includes
intimate sexual contact with a partner. Although sex is included, the
emphasis is not on the sex (no orgasms please) but intimate union with God.

Eastern Tantra is conducted by a Tantric Master.
The first stage is meditation. After a certain level is reached the Master
pairs off couples. Each person is to see their partner as God - therefore
even to look at the partner is too presumptive. After a while, looking, then
speaking, then touching, then sexual intercourse - with God.

For you? No need to take it so seriously.
Having fun as well is more balanced.