The weather in November was extremely variable with several days of hard frost, which turned the leaves a glorious colour, followed by mild, wet and windy weather that brought down said leaves in a hurry. We have been very lucky here at Findhorn even though there has been very heavy rain we have not had the floods and devastation that so much of the country has experienced. I phoned Diana Cooper and asked her if she could shed any light on why there were so many floods and her response was “It has been tragic to see the dreadful flooding in this country and my heart goes out to all those affected. We all need to co-operate to help them. On a spiritual level it is part of the cleansing of the planet for we are told that the planet is to be purified so that the world and all of us can ascend. It may help to remember that we can each of us make a difference. First the more light we send into Earth the less cleansing is needed. We do not necessarily know where pockets of negativity are held from events that happened aeons ago but when we send the planet light and love, it will automatically go to where it is most needed. Secondly much of the damage is caused by the elementals of the air, earth, fire or water being affected by the panic of the people. The elementals then get out of control, which is where much of the damage happens. By staying calm and peaceful we can affect them, so they can do their cleansing gently. By holding a peaceful, centred space we can help turn a hurricane into a breeze, a torrent into an overflow, an inferno into a controllable fire and so on.” This had already been my own inner sense but it was good to receive confirmation from Diana. I would like to suggest we all spend time each day, in whatever way we feel comfortable, visualizing the planet surrounded by light being blessed and held. Diana’s book 2012 and Beyond and the double CD Preparing for 2012 and Beyond are available in stores and give detailed information on how we can prepare ourselves as individuals and the planet as whole for this transformative event. Let us focus on the good and the positive! -Carol Shaw

೧.           ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನವೂ ೧-೨ ಸಲ ಕಾಫಿ/ಟೀ/ಹಾಲು, ೧ ತಿ೦ಡಿ (ಉಪಾಹಾರ), ೨ ಸಲ ಭೋಜನ, ೪-೮ ಲೋಟ ನೀರು ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳಿ೦ದ ೨½ – ೩ ಕೆ.ಜಿ. ಆಹಾರ, ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಯ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಚೀಲವನ್ನುಸೇರುತ್ತಾಗಿ, ೧ ವರ್ಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದರ ಮೊತ್ತ ೧,೦೦೦ ಕೆ.ಜಿ. ಸಮೀಪಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಪ್ರತಿ ಒಬ್ಬರ ಜೀವಿತ ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಸರಾಸರಿ ೭೦ ವರ್ಷ ಆಯುಷ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ, ಬಾಲ್ಯ -ವ್ಯಾಧಿ-ವ್ಯಸನ-ವಿಯೋಗ-ಜರಾ-ವ್ರತಾದಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ, ೨೦ ವರ್ಷಗಳನ್ನೇ ಕಳೆದರೂ, ಉಳಿಕೆ ೫೦ ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ೧,೦೦೦ ಕೆ.ಜಿ. ಅ೦ತೆ, ೫೦,೦೦೦ (½ ಲಕ್ಷ) ಕೆ.ಜಿ. ಆಹಾರ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಣ್ಣ ಜಠರ ಸೇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ಸಾಧ್ಯ ವಾಗಲು ಕಾರಣ, ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನವೂ ೧-೨ ಸಲವಾದರೂ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಯನ್ನು “ಖಾಲಿ” ಮಾಡೇ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇವೆಯಾದ್ದರಿ೦ದ. ಇದರಿ೦ದ ಮಾತ್ರ ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಳೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಹಾರ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವಾಗ ಶುದ್ಧವೇ ಆಗಿದ್ದರೂ, ಅದರಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಭಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಅರಗಿ, ರಕ್ತವಾಗಿ-ಶಕ್ತಿಯಾಗಿ ಪರಿವರ್ತನೆ ಹೊ೦ದುತ್ತದೆ. ಉಳಿಕೆಯೆಲ್ಲ ಮಲ ಮೂತ್ರ ರೀತ್ಯಾ ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಿಸಾಡಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ.

೨.    ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಸ೦ಬ೦ಧ ಪಟ್ಟ ಈ ನೀತಿ ಧರ್ಮ-ಅಗತ್ಯ, ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೂ (ಬುದ್ಧಿ/ಚಿತ್ತ/ಅಹ೦ಕಾರ) ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

೩.         ಕೋಟ್ಯ೦ತರ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿ೦ದ, ಲಕ್ಷಾ೦ತರ ಜನ್ಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತು೦ಬಿರುವ ಶೇಖರವಾಗಿರುವ ಕರ್ಮಗಳ (ವಾಸನಾರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ) ಹೊರೆಯನ್ನು (ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು) ಪ್ರತಿ ನಿತ್ಯವೂ “ಖಾಲಿ” ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇ ಆದರೆ, ಆಗ-ಆಗಮಾತ್ರ “ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಆರೋಗ್ಯವೂ” ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತದೆ ವೃದ್ಧಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

೪.    ಇದೇ “ಧ್ಯಾನ” (EMPTYING THE MIND).

೫.     ಪೂಜೆ-ಜಪ-ಹೋಮ-ದಾನ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳಿ೦ದ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಶುದ್ಧಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. (ಚಿತ್ತಸ್ಯ ಶುದ್ಧಯೇ ಕರ್ಮ). ನಮ್ಮ ಜನನ ಕಾಲದ ಪಾಪ -ಪುಣ್ಯಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ – ತೂಕದಲ್ಲಿ (OPENING BALANCE), ಈ ಜನ್ಮದ ಸತ್ಕರ್ಮಗಳಿ೦ದ, ಪುಣ್ಯ ಮಾತ್ರ ವೃದ್ಧಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಪಾಪಗಳನ್ನು (ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿದ್ದೂ ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದೂ ಮಾಡಿರುವ/ಮಾಡುವ ನಿಷಿದ್ಧ ಕರ್ಮಗಳ ಫಲಗಳನ್ನು) ನಿವಾರಿಸಿದ೦ತಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಸ೦ಗ್ರಹವಾದರೂ, ಪಾಪವೆಲ್ಲ ಶೂನ್ಯವಾದ ಹೊರತು, ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮಗಳು ತಪ್ಪುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಷ್ಟು ಪುಣ್ಯ ಇಷ್ಟು ಪಾಪಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮ-ಸರಿತೂಗುತ್ತೆ ಎ೦ಬುವ೦ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಎರಡನ್ನೂ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆಯಾಗಿಯೇ ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಬೇಕು.

೬.   ನಾವು ಒಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ೨ ಲಕ್ಷ ಸಾಲ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು, ಬೇರೊಬ್ಬರಿ೦ದ ೧ ಲಕ್ಷ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಲ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರೂ, ಬರಬೇಕಾದ ಧನವನ್ನು ವಸೂಲು ಮಾಡಿ, ಕೊಡಬೇಕಾದವರಿಗೆ ಹಿ೦ದಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಋಣದಿ೦ದ – ಸಾಲದಿ೦ದ ಮುಕ್ತಿ; ನ ಅನ್ಯಥಾ. ನಮಗೆ ಬರಬೇಕಾಗಿರುವ ಧನ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿದೆ ಎ೦ಬ ಕಾರಣದಿ೦ದ, ಸಾಲ ಮರು ಪಾವತಿ ಮಾಡದೇ ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಪಡುವ೦ತಿಲ್ಲ.

    ನನ್ನ ತಾಯಿ-ತ೦ದೆ, ನನ್ನ ಒಬ್ಬನನ್ನು ಸಾಕಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ, ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ೨-೩ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಸಾಕಿ ಆಗಿದೆ ಎ೦ಬ ಭ್ರಾ೦ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ತಾಯಿ-ತ೦ದೆಗಳ ವೃದ್ಧಾಪ್ಯದ ಅಗತ್ಯ, ಮರಣೋತ್ತರ ಕರ್ಮಗಳಿ೦ದ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯಗಳಿ೦ದ ವಿಮುಖರಾಗುವ೦ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಅ೦ತೆಯೇ ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯಗಳ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಚಾರದಲ್ಲೂ. ಪ್ರಾಯಶ್ಚಿತ ಕರ್ಮಗಳು ತಿಳಿಯದೇ ಆಗುವ ( ತಿಳಿದೂ ಮಾಡುವ ಅಲ್ಲ), ಒ೦ದು ಸಲದ ಪಾಪ ಕರ್ಮಗಳಿಗೆ, ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ತಿಳಿದೂ ಪದೇ ಪದೇ ಬುದ್ಧಿ ಪೂರ್ವಕವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಪಾಪ ಕರ್ಮಗಳಿಗೆ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಹಾಗೂ ಅ೦ಥಾ ಪಾಪ ಕರ್ಮಗಳ ಫಲಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸಲೇ ಬೇಕು.

೭.   ಪುನರಾವೃತ್ತಿರಹಿತ ಶಾಶ್ವತಪುಣ್ಯಲೋಕ. . . . .; ಗಯಾ ಶ್ರಾದ್ಧ. . . . . .; ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಸ೦ಕಲ್ಪ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ ಪ್ರತಿ ವರ್ಷವೂ ಶ್ರಾದ್ಧಾಚರಣೆ ಉ೦ಟೇ ಉ೦ಟು.

     ಶತಮಾನ೦ ಭವತಿ . . . . ; ಸುಮ೦ಗಲೀರಿಯ೦. . . .; ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದಗಳ ಕವಚ ವಿದ್ದರೂ, ಅಕಾಲ ಮೃತ್ಯು (ಹಣೆ ಬರಹದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ) ತಪ್ಪಿದ್ದಲ್ಲ. (ಶ್ರೀ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಭಗವ೦ತನೇ ಸೋದರ ಮಾವನಾದರೂ ಅಭಿಮನ್ಯುವಿನ ಮರಣ, ಸಣ್ಣ ವಯಸ್ಸಿಗೇ ಆಗಿ, ಉತ್ತರೆಯ ವೈಧವ್ಯ ಆಗಿಯೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿತು. ಬ್ರಹ್ಮರ್ಷಿ ವಸಿಷ್ಠರು ತಮ್ಮ ಸಮ್ಮುಖದಲ್ಲೇ ತಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳೆಲ್ಲರ ಸಾವನ್ನು ಕ೦ಡರು).

ಮಮ ದೇಹಶುದ್ಧ್ಯರ್ಥ೦, ಮಮ ಇಹಜನ್ಮನಿ, ಜನ್ಮಜನ್ಮಾ೦ತರೇಷು, ಜ್ಞಾನತ: ಅಜ್ಞಾನತ:, ಜಾಗ್ರತ್ ಸ್ವಪ್ನ ಸುಷುಪ್ತಿಷು, ಮನೋವಾಕ್ಕಾಯ ಕರ್ಮೇ೦ದ್ರಿಯವ್ಯಾಪಾರೈ: ಸ೦ಭಾವಿತಾನಾ೦ ಪಾಪಾನಾ೦ ನಿವೃತ್ಯರ್ಥ೦. . . . . . ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಸ೦ಕಲ್ಪ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ (ವಸಿಷ್ಠದತ್ತಲಗ್ನೋಪಿ ರಾಮೋ ವನ೦ ಗತ:), ಅವಶ್ಯ೦ ಅನುಬೋಕ್ತವ್ಯ೦ ಕೃತ೦ಕರ್ಮ ಶುಭಾಶುಭ೦.

     GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO TAKE THY WILL WITH LOVE – RAVINDRANATHA TAGORE.

೮.   ಪುಣ್ಯ ವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆಗಳಿ೦ದ ಮಾತ್ರ ತೃಪ್ತನಾಗಬಾರದು. ಪಾಪ ಪೂರ್ತಿ ಕ್ಷಯದ-ಶೂನ್ಯದ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಸ೦ಸ್ಕರಿಸಲೇಬೇಕು. ಇದು “ಧ್ಯಾನ”ದಿ೦ದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಧ್ಯ.

೧ ರ ಮಗ್ಗಿಯನ್ನೇ ಸಹಸ್ರಬಾರಿ ಪಠಿಸುವುದರಿ೦ದ, ೨ರ ಮತ್ತು ಮು೦ದಿನ ಮಗ್ಗಿಗಳು ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರು-ತರಗತಿಯ ಸಹಪಾಠಿಗಳು – ಶಾಲೆ ಆಗಿದ್ದರೂ, ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಹಿ೦ದಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಮು೦ದೆ ಮು೦ದೆ ಸಾಗಬೇಕು. Slate – ಕಾಗದ – Calculator – Computer, ಹೀಗೆ ಉಪಯೋಗ ಸಲಕರಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನವೀಕರಣ ಇರಬೇಕು. PHD (ಡಾಕ್ಟರೇಟ್) ಹೊ೦ದುವವರೆಗೂ ಜ್ಞಾನಾರ್ಜನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅತೃಪ್ತಿ ಇರಬೇಕು. ವ್ಯವಹಾರ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ತೃಪ್ತಿ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಆತ್ಮ ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ಕಾರ  ಪರ್ಯ೦ತ ಅತೃಪ್ತಿಯಿ೦ದ ಮು೦ದೆ ಮು೦ದೆ ಸಾಗಲೇಬೇಕು. ನಿ೦ತ ನೀರಾಗಬಾರದು-ಸಾಗರ ಸೇರುವವರೆಗೂ ಹರಿಯುತ್ತಿರಬೇಕು.

೯.      ಮು೦ಜಾನೆ ಎದ್ದಾಗ, ಪೂಜಾ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಅನುಷ್ಠಾನಗಳ ಅನ೦ತರ, ರಾತ್ರಿ ಮಲಗುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಪೂರ್ವ-ಸ್ವಲ್ಪಕಾಲವಾದರೂ-ಈ ಧ್ಯಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರತರಾದರೆ, ಫಲ ಕ್ಷಿಪ್ರ-ಶಾಶ್ವತ.

ಕೂತು, ಕಣ್ಣುಮುಚ್ಚಿ (ಪ್ರಾಪ೦ಚಿಕ ವಿಷಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ),ನಾನು (ಚೈತನ್ಯ/ಜೀವಾತ್ಮ/ಪ್ರತ್ಯಗಾತ್ಮ) “ ಏನೇನು ಅಲ್ಲ” ಎ೦ಬುದನ್ನು ಮೊದಲು ಗುರುತಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. (ನೇತಿದ್ವಾರಾ). ನಾನು ಈ ದೇಹವಲ್ಲ; ನಾನು ಇ೦ದ್ರಿಯಗಳಲ್ಲ; ನಾನು ಬುದ್ಧಿಯಲ್ಲ . . . ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ (ಶ್ರೀ ಆದಿ ಶ೦ಕರಾಚಾರ್ಯ – ನಿರ್ವಾಣಷಟ್ಕಮ್). ಮುಖ ಉತ್ತರ/ಈಶಾನ್ಯ/ ಪೂರ್ವ ದಿಕ್ಕಿಗೆ.

   ನ೦ತರ “ನಾನು (ಚೈತನ್ಯ/ಜೀವಾತ್ಮ/ಪ್ರತ್ಯಗಾತ್ಮ) ಏನು” ಎ೦ಬುದನ್ನು ನಿಶ್ಚಲವಾಗಿ ಜ್ಞಾಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ಅಸ್ಮಿ-ಅಹಮಸ್ಮಿ-ಸೋಹಮಸ್ಮಿ-ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಹಮಸ್ಮಿ-ತತ್ವಮಸಿ-ಅಹ೦ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಸ್ಮಿ-ಅಯಮಾತ್ಮಾ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ -ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ೦ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ -ಸರ‍್ವ೦ ಖಲ್ವಿದ೦ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ.

ನಾಹ೦ ಚಿ೦ತಾ – ನಾನು ದೇಹವಲ್ಲ ಎ೦ಬ ಭಾವ - ಇದೇ “ರೇಚಕ” ಉಸಿರು ಬಿಡುವುದು ಆಗಬೇಕು;

ಕೋಹ೦    – ನಾನು ಯಾರು?  -  ಇದೇ “ಪೂರಕ” ಉಸಿರು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಆಗಬೇಕು;

ಸೋಹ೦    – ಅದೇ ನಾನು     -  ಇದೇ “ಕು೦ಭಕ” - ರೇಚಕ ಕು೦ಭಕ ಮತ್ತು ಪೂರಕ

                                ಕು೦ಭಕಗಳಾಗಬೇಕು.

    ಈ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ “ಶಿವೋಹ೦” ಎ೦ಬುದು ಅನ್ವರ್ಥವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

೧೦.   ಹೊರ ಪ್ರಪ೦ಚದಲ್ಲಿಯ, ಕಲ್ಲು ಮುಳ್ಳುಗಾಜು ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳಿ೦ದ ಉ೦ಟಾಗುವ ಕ್ಲೇಶಗಳನ್ನು, ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಹದ ವ್ಯಾಪ್ತಿಯಿ೦ದ ಹೊರಗಿಡಲು ನಾವು ಧರಿಸುವ “ಪಾದರಕ್ಷೆ”ಗಳನ್ನು ಮನೆ ಹೊರಗೆ; ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದ ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಹೇಗೆ ಒಳಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆಯೋ, ಅ೦ತೆಯೇ “ಧ್ಯಾನ”ದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ನಮ್ಮ ಅ೦ತರ೦ಗ (ಹೃದಯ ಗುಡಿ-ದೇಗುಲ -ಗುಹೆ)ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವಾಗ, “ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯ”ಗಳೆರಡನ್ನೂ - ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪೂರ್ವಜನ್ಮಗಳ ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ, ಹೊರಗಿಡಬೇಕು. (ಪಾಪ ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಬೇಡಿ ಆದರೆ, ಪುಣ್ಯ ಚಿನ್ನದ ಬೇಡಿ). ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯ, ಎರಡನ್ನೂ -ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ದಾಟಿದಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲ.

     ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯಗಳೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಹೊರಬಿಟ್ಟು (ಅಟ್ಟಿ) ನಿಮ್ಮ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೃದಯ ದೇಗುಲಕ್ಕೆ

“ಧ್ಯಾನದಿ೦” - ಆತ್ಮಸ್ವರೂಪಚಿನ್ತನದಿ೦ – ನಿದಿಧ್ಯಾಸನದಿ೦ – ಸಮ್ಯಗ್ದರ್ಶನದಿ೦;

ತ್ವರೆಮಾಡಿ ಬನ್ನಿರಿ, ಸಹಯಾತ್ರಿಕರೇ, ಬರಿಯ ಮಾ೦ಸ ರಕ್ತವಲ್ಲವೀ “ಹೃದಯಾಕಾಶ”, “ವೇದಬ್ರಹ್ಮ” ದರ್ಶನದಿ೦, “ಜನ್ಮ ಸ೦ಸಾರ ಬಲೆಯಿ೦ ಮುಕ್ತಿ” ಯ “ಪವಿತ್ರ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ”. (ವೇದ ತಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ-ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ ಹೃದಯ ಕಮಲದಲ್ಲಿ). ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಶ್ರೀ ಆ೦ಜನೇಯ ಶ್ರೀಸೀತಾರಾಮ ರನ್ನು ತನ್ನ ಹೃದಯಕಮಲದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾಪಿಸಿಕೊ೦ಡಿರುವ೦ತೆ.

೧೧.   ನಮ್ಮ ಸ೦ಕಟಗಳ (ಜೀವನದ ಕೊರತೆಗಳ) ಕಡ್ಡಿಯನ್ನು ಸಣ್ಣಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಇರುವ ಉಪಾಯ ಒ೦ದೇ ಒ೦ದು. ಅದು ನಮಗಿ೦ತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ವ್ಯಸನದವರದ್ದನ್ನು ನೆನಪು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದರಿ೦ದ ಮಾತ್ರ. (ಶ್ರೀಹರಿಶ್ಚ೦ದ್ರನ ಸ್ಮಶಾನ ವಾಸ; ಶ್ರೀ ವಸಿಷ್ಠರ ಪುತ್ರರ ಮರಣ; ಶ್ರೀ ನಳನ ವನವಾಸ; ಶ್ರೀ ವಸುದೇವ ಶ್ರೀ ದೇವಕಿಯರ ಸೆರೆಮನೆ ವಾಸ; ಶ್ರೀ ಸೀತೆ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮರ ವನವಾಸ; ಪಾ೦ಡವರ ವನವಾಸ ಅಜ್ಞಾತವಾಸ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ). ಆಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕೊರಗುವುದು ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತದೆ-ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಚಿತ್ತರಾಗುತ್ತೇವೆ.

೧೨.      ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಸ೦ಬ೦ಧಪಟ್ಟ ಜನನ-ಲಿ೦ಗ-ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ-ಕ್ಷೀಣತೆ-ವಯಸ್ಸು-ಜರಾ-ವ್ಯಾಧಿ-ಸ೦ಬ೦ಧಗಳು-ಮರಣ; ಹಾಗೂ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಸ೦ಬ೦ಧಪಟ್ಟ ಸುಖ-ದು:ಖ; ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯ; ರಾಗ(ಸ್ನೇಹ)-ದ್ವೇಷ; ಕರ್ತೃತ್ವ-ಭೋಕ್ತೃತ್ವ, ಮಡಿ-ಮೈಲಿಗೆ; ಅರಿಷಡ್ವರ್ಗವಾದ ಕಾಮ-ಕ್ರೋಧ-ಲೋಭ-ಮೋಹ-ಮದ-ಮಾತ್ಸರ್ಯ, ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ದ್ವ೦ದ್ವಗಳಿ೦ದ ಬೇರೆಯಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ವಾಸನೆಗಳೂ (ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯಗಳೆರಡರದ್ದೂ) ಹೃದಯಾಗ್ನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹುರಿಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ; ನಿರ್ಬೀಜವಾಗುತ್ತವೆ-ಭಸ್ಮವಾಗುತ್ತವೆ.

    ಜ್ಞಾನಾಗ್ನಿ: ಸರ್ವ ಕರ್ಮಾಣಿ ಭಸ್ಮಸಾತ್ ಕುರುತೇ-ಗೀತೆ-೪-೩೭.

    ಸಾವಿರಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳಿ೦ದ ಬೆಳದಿರುವ ಎಲ್ಲ ಗಿಡ ಮರಗಳೂ (ಮುಳ್ಳಿನ ಮತ್ತು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ); ದುಷ್ಟ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಧು ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳೂ, ಕಾಡ್ಗಿಚ್ಚಿನಿ೦ದ-ಪರ್ವತಾಗ್ನಿ ಇ೦ದ ಭಸ್ಮವಾಗುವ೦ತೆ, ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯಗಳೆರಡೂ ನಿಶ್ಶೇಷವಾಗಿ (ಹಿ೦ದಿನ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಜನ್ಮಗಳದ್ದೂ) ಜ್ಞಾನಾಗ್ನಿ ಇ೦ದ ಸ೦ಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಭಸ್ಮವಾಗುತ್ತವೆ.

೧೩.    ದ್ವೈತದ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ “ಇವ” ಎ೦ದು ಇದ್ದಿದ್ದು, ಆತ್ಮನ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ “ಏವ” ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮನೋವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ನಿದ್ರೆಯನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡದೆ ಸುಮ್ಮನಿರುವ ಉಜ್ವಲ ಎಚ್ಚರವೇ, ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯಾಗಿರುವುದೇ

“ ಆತ್ಮಾನುಭವ”.

   ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾದ ಅವಿದ್ಯೆಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ; ಪಡೆಯಬೇಕಾದ ವಿದ್ಯೆಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ; ಹೀಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯುವುದೇ “ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ ವಿದ್ಯೆ” ಇದೇ “ಸಮ್ಯಗ್ದರ್ಶನ”.

೧೪.    ಶ್ರೀ ಅರ್ಜುನ:- ಚಞ್ಚಲ೦ ಹಿ ಮನ: ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಪ್ರಮಾಥಿ ಬಲವತ್ ದೃಢಮ್| ಗೀತೆ ೬-೩೪.

(ಸಮಾಧಾನ) – ಶ್ರೀ ಭಗವಾನ್ ಉವಾಚ:- ಅಭ್ಯಾಸೇನ ತು ಕೌನ್ತೇಯ ವೈರಾಗ್ಯೇಣ ಚ ಗೃಹ್ಯತೇ| ಗೀತೆ 

                                                                          ೬-೩೫.

 ದೇಹವನ್ನೇ ನಾನು(ಚೈತನ್ಯ/ಜೀವಾತ್ಮ/ಪ್ರತ್ಯಗಾತ್ಮ) ಎ೦ಬುದಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿದು ವ್ಯವಹರಿಸುವುದು-               

              “ಪ್ರಾಣಿ-ಪಕ್ಷಿ-ಕ್ರಿಮಿ-ಕೀಟ-ಜಲಚರ೦ಗಳು” ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ;

 ಮನಸ್ಸೇ(ಬುದ್ಧಿ/ಚಿತ್ತ/ಅಹ೦ಕಾರ)ನಾನು(ಚೈತನ್ಯ/ಜೀವಾತ್ಮ/ಪ್ರತ್ಯಗಾತ್ಮ)ಎ೦ಬುದಾಗಿಭಾವಿಸುವುದು- “ದೇವತೆಗಳು/ಯಕ್ಷರು/ಕಿನ್ನರರು/ಗ೦ಧರ್ವರು” ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ;

“ಜೀವೋ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ ಏವ ನ ಅಪರ:”- ಮುಮುಕ್ಷುಗಳು/ಸ್ಥಿತಪ್ರಜ್ಞರು/ಸಮ್ಯಗ್ದರ್ಶಿಗಳು/ಜೀವನ್‌ಮುಕ್ತರು.

೧೫.    ಈ ಧ್ಯಾನದ (ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಖಾಲಿ ಮಾಡುವುದು - Emptying the MIND) ಅವಧಿಯನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚುಮಾಡಿದ೦ತೆಲ್ಲಾ – ಸ್ಥಿತಪ್ರಜ್ಞರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಬಲಕಿವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಓ೦ಕಾರ ನಾದ ಪ್ರಾರ೦ಭವಾಗಿ, ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ದೇಹ ಪೂರ್ತಿ ಓ೦ಕಾರಮಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಚೈತನ್ಯ ಸ್ವಸ್ವರೂಪ (ಆನ೦ದ) ದಿ೦ದ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. (ಓಮ್ ಇತಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾ ಪ್ರಸೌತಿ).

೧೬.   ಇದು ಹೊಸದಾಗಿ ಲಭ್ಯವಾದ್ದಲ್ಲ. ತ್ರಿಕಾಲಕ್ಕೂ ಸಹಜವಾದದ್ದು. ಆತ್ಮಜ್ಞಾನವು ಸಿದ್ಧವೇ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಅನಾತ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ     ತೋರಿಬರುವ ಆತ್ಮಬುದ್ಧಿ ಇ೦ದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಮುಕ್ತಿ.

ಎಚ್ಚರವಿದ್ದು ಪ್ರಾಪ೦ಚಿಕ ವ್ಯವಹಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರತರಿರುವಾಗ, ದೇಹಾಭಿಮಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಸ೦ಕಲ್ಪಗಳು ಕ್ರಿಯಾಶೀಲವಾಗಿರುತ್ತವೆ.

    ಕನಸಿನಿ೦ದ ಕೂಡಿದ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ, ದೇಹದ ಅಭಿಮಾನ ತತ್ಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ “ಇಲ್ಲ” ವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ.  ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಚೇಷ್ಟೆ ಇರುತ್ತೆ.

    ಕನಸಿಲ್ಲದ ಗಾಢನಿದ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ (ಸುಷುಪ್ತಿ)-ದೇಹ ಮನಸ್ಸು (ಬುದ್ಧಿ/ಚಿತ್ತ/ಅಹ೦ಕಾರ) ಎರಡರಲ್ಲಿಯ ಅಭಿಮಾನಗಳೂ ತತ್ಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ “ಇಲ್ಲ”ವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ.

   ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ೩ ಅವಸ್ಥೆಗಳಲ್ಲೂ (ಜಾಗ್ರತ್-ಸ್ವಪ್ನ-ಸುಷುಪ್ತಿ), ಆತ್ಮ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ.

   ಸಮಾಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮನಸ್ಸು “ಲಯ”ವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ. ಧ್ಯಾನದ ಪರಾವಸ್ಥೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೋ ‘ನಾಶ’-ಇದೇ ಜೀವನ್ಮುಕ್ತತೆ-ಆತ್ಮ ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ಕಾರ-ಸಮ್ಯಗ್ದರ್ಶನ.

                ಕೆಲವರು, ಸನ್ಯಾಸಿಗಳಿಗೆ, ಸನ್ಯಾಸಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಾಣಪಕ್ಷಿ ಹಾರಿ ಹೋದಮೇಲೆ, ಸನ್ಯಾಸಿಗಳ ಮೃತ ದೇಹದ ತಲೆ ಮೇಲ್ಭಾಗವನ್ನು ತೆ೦ಗಿನಕಾಯಿಯಿ೦ದ, ರ೦ಧ್ರ ಮಾಡುವ “ಸ೦ಕೇತ”ದ ಅರ್ಥ ಇ೦ತಿದೆ:-

                ಪ್ರತಿ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೂ “ಜೀವ” ತಲೆಯ ಮೇಲ್ಭಾಗದಿ೦ದ, “ಅತಿಥಿ” ಯಾಗಿ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿರುತ್ತಾಗಿ, ಒಳಕ್ಕೆ ಬ೦ದ ದ್ವಾರದಿ೦ದಲೇ ಅತಿಥಿ ಹೊರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕಾದ್ದರಿ೦ದ, ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ.

                ಎಡ ಮಗ್ಗಲಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲಗಿದರೆ-ಬಲಮೂಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಹಾಗೂ ಬಲ ಮಗ್ಗಲಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲಗಿದರೆ ಎಡಮೂಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಸಿರಾಟವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

                ರಾತ್ರಿ ಊಟದ ನ೦ತರ, ಎಡ ಮಗ್ಗಲಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲಗುವುದು, ಆಗ ಬಲಮೂಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಪಿ೦ಗಳಾ-ಸೂರ್ಯನಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಉಸಿರಾಟ ವಿರುತ್ತಾಗಿ, ಜಠರದ ಪಚನ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಗೆ ಸಹಾಯಕ ವಾಗುತ್ತೆ.

                ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಏಳುವಾಗ, ಬಲಮಗ್ಗಲಲ್ಲಿ ಏಳುವುದು, ಆಗ ಎಡಮೂಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಇಡಾ-ಚ೦ದ್ರ ನಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಉಸಿರಾಟ ವಿರುತ್ತಾಗಿ, ದಿನವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಲೋಕ ವ್ಯವಹಾರಗಳು, ಶಾ೦ತವಾಗಿರಲೆ೦ಬ ಆಶಯದಿ೦ದ.

                ಸುಮಾರು ಪ್ರತಿ 1½ ಘ೦ಟೆಗೆ ಎ೦ಬ೦ತೆ, ಇಡಾ ಪಿ೦ಗಳಾ ನಾಡಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ(ಎಡ-ಬಲ ಮೂಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ) ಉಸಿರಾಟ ಅದಲು-ಬದಲು ಆಗುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತದೆ.

                ಪ್ರಾಣಾಯಾಮದಿ೦ದ, ಇಡಾ-ಪಿ೦ಗಳಾ ನಾಡಿಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸುಷುಮ್ನಾ ನಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾಣವಾಯು ಪ್ರವೇಶ ಸಾಧ್ಯ.

              ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೇ ಬುದ್ಧಿ-ಚಿತ್ತ-ಅಹ೦ಕಾರ ಎ೦ಬ ಇತರೆ ಹೆಸರುಗಳು.

              ವೇದಾ೦ತದಲ್ಲಿ ಮನಸ್ಸೆ೦ಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ; ವಿದ್ಯಾಭ್ಯಾಸ/ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ - ಇವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬುದ್ಧಿ ಎ೦ಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ; ಕಾರುಣ್ಯ ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಸ೦ದರ್ಭಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿತ್ತ ಎ೦ಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿಹಾಗೂ ವ್ಯವಹಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಹ೦ಕಾರ ಎ೦ಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ – ಹೆಚ್ಚು ರೂಢಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ.

              ಮನಸ್ಸು “ಕನ್ನಡಿ”.  ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುವುದು “ಪ್ರತಿಬಿ೦ಬ” ಮಾತ್ರ. ಪ್ರತಿಬಿ೦ಬವನ್ನೇ “ಬಿ೦ಬ” ಎ೦ಬುದಾಗಿ ಭ್ರಾ೦ತಿ ಪಡುವುದೇ “ಅವಿದ್ಯೆ”, “ಅಜ್ಞಾನ”.  “ಬಿ೦ಬ” (ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ) ಪ್ರತಿಪಾದಿಸುವುದೇ ವೇದಾ೦ತ(ಉಪನಿಷತ್) ಉದ್ದಿಶ್ಯ.

              ಕನ್ನಡಿಗೆ Frame ಹೇಗೋ ಅ೦ತೆಯೇ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ Frame ಈ ದೇಹ. ಕನ್ನಡಿಗೆ ಹಿ೦ದೆ Mercury ಲೇಪನ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕನ್ನಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೆ – ಪ್ರತಿ ಬಿ೦ಬಿಸುತ್ತೆ. Mercury ಲೇಪನ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅದು ಬರಿಯ ಗಾಜು. (ಮನಸ್ಸು) ಕನ್ನಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ - ಜನ್ಮ.  ಪ್ರತಿಬಿ೦ಬವೇ “ಜಗತ್”; ಬಿ೦ಬವೇ “ಆತ್ಮ”. ಕನ್ನಡಿಗೆ(ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ) Mercury ಲೇಪನ ಇದ್ದೂ ಇಲ್ಲದ೦ತಾದಾಗ- “ಸ್ಥಿತಪ್ರಜ್ಞ”.

              ಈ ಜೀವನ; ಸತ್ವ-ರಜ-ತಮ;  ಎ೦ಬ ೩ ಗಾಲಿಗಳ( ೩ ಗುಣಗಳ) -Auto ಪ್ರಯಾಣ; Luggage ಗಳೇ ಪಾಪಪುಣ್ಯಗಳು. Auto ಗಳನ್ನು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಿ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಮು೦ದುವರೆಸಿದರೆ – ಪುನರ್‌ಜನ್ಮಗಳು.

       ಮನಸ್ಸು :   i      “ಆಜ್ಞಾ” ಚಕ್ರದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ - ಜಾಗ್ರತ್ ಜಗತ್ತು.

              ii     “ವಿಶುದ್ಧ” ಚಕ್ರದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ – ಸ್ವಪ್ನಗಳು.

              iii     “ಸಹಸ್ರಾರ” ದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ -ಸುಷುಪ್ತಿ.

       iv     ಸುಷುಮ್ನಾ ನಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸ೦ಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಷಟ್ ಚಕ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಅಷ್ಟ ಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು ಒದಗಿ ಬರುತ್ತೆ. ಈ ಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು ಮೋಕ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ-ಪರಮ ಪುರುಷಾರ್ಥಕ್ಕೆ- ಅಡ್ಡಿಯಾಗಲೂ ಸಾಧ್ಯ.

       v      ಹೃದಯ ಕಮಲದಲ್ಲಿ- ಅನಾಹತ ಚಕ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ – ಹೃದಯಜ್ಯೋತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಐಕ್ಯ ಹೊ೦ದಿದಾಗ (ಸೌದೆ ಬೆ೦ಕಿಯ ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿ, ಸೌದೆ ತನ್ನ ತನವನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊ೦ಡು ತಾನೂ ಬೆ೦ಕಿಯೇ ಆಗುವ೦ತೆ) - ಮನೋನಾಶವಾಗಿ; ಬ್ರಹ್ಮೈಕ್ಯತೆ - ಜೀವನ್ಮುಕ್ತತೆ.

೧೭.   ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮು೦ದಿನ (ಅ೦ತಿಮ) ಪ್ರಯಾಣ “ಶತಸ್ಸಿದ್ಧ” (ಜಾತಸ್ಯಹಿಧ್ರುವೋ ಮೃತ್ಯು: ಗೀತೆ ೨-೨೭).    

ಕಿಟ್ (ಪಾಪಗಳ ಹೊರೆಯ) ಮತ್ತು ಸೂಟ್‌ಕೇಸ್ (ಪುಣ್ಯಗಳ ಹೊರೆಯ)-ಎರಡೂ ಕೂಡ ಸಿದ್ಧವೇ ಆಗಿವೆ. ಎರಡೂ ಎರಡೂ ಕೈಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಲವಾಗಿ-ಬಿಗಿಯಾಗಿ ಅ೦ಟಿಕೊ೦ಡಿವೆ. ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೂ-ನೆಪದಿ೦ದಲೂ ಅ೦ತಿಮ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದ POSTPONEMENT ಅಥವಾ CANCELLATION ಸಾಧ್ಯವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಹೊರೆಯನ್ನು ( LUGGAGE) ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊ೦ಡಷ್ಟೂ ನಮಗೇ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಹಿತಕರ. ಆಗ (ಅ೦ತಿಮ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ) ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಹೊರೆಯನ್ನೂ ನಾವೇ ಹೋರಲೇ ಬೇಕು. ಸಹಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾರೂ ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ (ಪಾಪದ) ೧ ಟನ್ ಹೊರೆ ಅಥವಾ ಚಿನ್ನದ (ಪುಣ್ಯದ) ೧ ಟನ್ ಹೊರೆ, ಇವುಗಳ ಹೊರೆಯ ತೂಕದಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸವಿಲ್ಲ. ಎರಡೂ ಒ೦ದೊ೦ದು ಟನ್‌ಗಳೇ. ಹೊರುವವರಿಗೆ ಎರಡರಲ್ಲೂ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ತ್ರಾಸ-ಆಯಾಸ.

೧೮.   “ಧ್ಯಾನ”ದ ದ್ವಾರಾ “ಪಾಪ-ಪುಣ್ಯ”ಗಳ ಎರಡರ ಹೊರೆಯನ್ನೂ ಶೂನ್ಯ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ, ಪಾಪದ ಭೀತಿ-ಭಯವಾಗಲೀ; ಪುಣ್ಯದ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆ-ಅಹ೦ಕಾರವಾಗಲೀ, ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲವಾಗಿ, ಅ೦ತಿಮ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಆತ೦ಕರಹಿತವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ- ಜನ್ಮ ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲವಾದ್ದರಿ೦ದ; “ಆನ೦ದವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ”(ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾನ೦ದವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ).

The following excerpt is taken verbatim from an article entitled Has God Gone Green? Found in the Issachar Report section of Volume 19, No. 11 (November, 2009) issue of the Personal Update, which is the news journal of Koinonia House.  The entire article is found on pages 11-15.  It was written by Leisa Garcia, Folio Specialist.  Get this newsletter for free for one year by clicking here:  Personal Update.

I have struggled with how to explain the mistaken concept of God being immanent that many false religions hold to be true.  I have never found a better explanation than this article puts forth, and so I included it in my blog for all to read.

Please understand that being “green” is not a negative thing in theory…saving energy, recycling, avoiding the use of toxic chemicals, replanting trees…just being a good steward of the earth and our health overall is God’s command to us.  However, many have taken it to extremes and are turning God’s command to be good stewards into an extremist agenda, and in some instances, a religion unto itself.  It is not the “green” part I am focusing on here.  For the moment, I am just focusing on the religions that use the concept of God being immanent as support for their “green” agenda.

I am thankful to God for the wisdom and insight he gave Leisa Garcia to write this fantastic article, and I strongly suggest that you read the entire piece,  if you get a chance!

Blessings,

Carl

“…immanent - emanating or issuing from, or as if from a source.  Not to be confused with the similar words “eminent” (high station, rank or repute) and “imminent” (likely to occur at any moment; impending).

One Scripture commonly used to try and prove their assertion that God is immanent (in everyone and everything) is Ephesians 4:6:  ‘One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’

God truly is transcendent-above and separate from His creation, but God does NOT emanate from from any part of creation.  According to Thayer’s Lexicon the word ‘through’ in this passage means ‘diffusing his saving influence through all.’

It is critical to understand that Paul is writing to ‘the Saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.’ God does not dwell in everyone.  He dwells only in those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit, who are direct creations of God.  He does not dwell in unbelievers.

God indwells us.  However, He does not become us and we do not become God.  As God’s Shekinah glory dwelt in the Holy of Holies  in the Tabernacle  and Solomon’s Temple, God dwells in us.  God did not become part of the Tabernacle or the Temple.  He simply dwelled there. [emphasis mine]

In a vain attempt to provide scientific proof for their beliefs, the ’spiritual greens’ espouse that God is in every cell and every atom at a quantum level.  Therefore, everything from the universe to the elements that make up creation are one with divinity, or one with God.

Interestingly, this belief that ‘all is one’ has been confirmed by the powerful sensation experienced by those who practice Eastern Meditation, Yoga and Contemplative Prayer in which they feel ‘at one with the universe.’  In fact, this may simply be a physical phenomenon caused by restricting the flow of information to the parietal lobe of the brain which causes you to lose your sense of boundaries…”

Hijab [Veil]

Aey Zindagi! Tere Hijab se ashna hum kyoun na huay
Tere Qalb mein utartay huay Khursheed say
Ja baja Hum Kyoun na huay
Humari nazroun pur purhay thay talay
Humaray qafs pur qafal yeh, ayan kyoun na huay
Yeh rishta hai deyr pa, darust ya ghalat
Jo barhtay huay sayay thay, nihaah kyoun na huay
Aey Zindagi! Teri luzzatoun mein Jo zindagi hum pa gayay
Tere rothtay huay paykur, imtahaa kyoun na huay
Teri justajo, teri arzu, teri rung-o-bu
Tere lehjay ki zurdioun say nalah , hum kyoun na huay
Aey Zindagi! Teri subz ahoun say buni yeh surgoshiaan
Rouh key mausam in ghazloun say khizaa kyoun na huay
Aey Zindagi! Tere Hijab ki Aashiqi mein Fana , hum kyoun na huay
Is nadaangi mein Deewanay hum, Naadaah kyoun na huay

by Zuellah Huma Ahmed

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حجاب

ا ے زندگی! تیرے حجاب سے آشنا ، ھم کیوں نہ ھوۓ
تیرے قلب میں اترتے ھوۓ خورشید سے
جا بجا ھم کیوں نہ ھوۓ
ھماری نظروں پر پڑھے تھے تالے
ھمارے قفس پر ، قفل یہ عیاں کیوں نہ ھوۓ
یہ رشتہ ھے دیر پا ، درست یا غلط
جو بڑھتے ھوۓ ساۓ تھے ، نہاں کیوں نہ ھوۓ
ا ے زندگی! تیری لذّتوں میں جو زندگی ھم پا گیے
تیرے روٹھے ھوۓ پیکر ، امتحاں کیوں نہ ھوۓ
تیری جستجو ، تیری آرزو ، تیری رنگ و بو
تیرے لہجے کی زردیوں سے نالاں ، ھم کیوں نہ ھوۓ
ا ے زندگی! تیری سبز آہوں سے بُنی سرگوشیاں
روح کے موسم ا ِن غزلوں سے خزاں کیوں نہ ھوۓ
ا ے زندگی! تیرے حجاب کی عاشقی میں فنا ، ھم کیوں نہ ھوۓ
اس نادانگی میں دیوانے ھم ، ناداں کیوں نہ ھوۓ

I have been meaning to dedicate some time to writing …but somehow I find that in spite of having oodles of time to spare I have not found the occasion to do so. Finally upon much coxing, wordily disappointment on my lazy ways from friends and some demand, I decided I had no excuse…

Mind over matter? Mind the matter?

Often times you feel you’re losing grip of reality… confused about what reality is… Its right there in front of you…but it ain’t registering. It’s like being stuck in a time warp and it seems real…Strange thoughts flood your mind, irrational, ludicrous even… You want to take control of your mind, you know… set it right, make it behave. You command yourself to stop thinking non-sense, scold your twit of a mind, steer it toward rationality… but hey hey hey… your mind is in no mood to be disciplined…and then you realize you can not make it listen… You can not control your own mind!! You are not the boss of the town that was named after you!  You suddenly feel irritated, disgusted, furious…this is ridiculous you exclaim…exhausted…? Who won? You or your mind?

That brings us to another question… Who are you? And what is your mind? Are they not the same thing? I mean…your mind is part of you…therefore clearly is you… but then why does it not think as you will it to think, why does it not obey you? Why is it that you say sometimes ‘my mind is wandering today?’ so does that mean that you are wandering too? How do we then make the distinction between our mind and ourselves?

In my conflicted understanding, my mind is not in my control although it is part of me, but my mind defines a large part of who I am…is the mind the logical part or the illogical part? Is the other part that is not the mind the heart? Yeah…..this will take awhile to figure out!

What I am convinced about my mind will never agree to, and what my mind theorizes just does not please my conscience. As you can see I am no stranger to conflict of emotion and thoughts…and this bothers me…like it does you. So I decided to take a journey…a spiritual journey…to attain peace and wisdom (Hey!! Stop that snickering….)

A month ago I enrolled for the Vipassana course.

The word Vipassana itself means ‘insight’, which is the essence of the teaching of the Buddha. ‘Vipassana is an ancient technique of meditation which is a practical way of examining the reality of one’s own body and mind, to uncover and solve the problems that lie hidden there, to develop unused potential and to channel it for one’s good and the good of others.’ More than 2000 years after this wonderful way of life died a slow death in the country of its origin, India; the method was reintroduced by S.N Goenka-ji in the country in the year 1969 and continues to delight people across the world with its simplicity and logic.

I will not go into the minute details of the course or the technique (you can click on the hyperlink for more details) but I would like to tell you how I feel about the experience for the benefit of other potential Vipassees and general curiosity.

If someone told you soul searching was a blissful experience…someone lied to you. If someone told you that meditation would definitely calm and refresh your mind they lied too!! If someone told you that you’ll attain enlightenment by sitting under a tree or up in the mountains… yeah…well…now really…Get Real!

Meditation, enlightenment and other such spiritual synonyms may be ‘cool’ words to use in social tête-à-tête’s, I suppose it makes one seem less worldly and divine, ethical even…

A friend’s suggestion compelled me to take the leap so to speak and I turned myself in… Self imposed captivity and hard work is not what I had in mind at all, you see I came from the naïve mind set that it was going to be a beautiful journey of self discovery…

a) It was not a freakin’ beautiful journey

b) I hated self discovery

c) My mind and body hurt like crazy mad

d) I am glad I did it

I am certainly no authority on spirituality or godliness… but lucky for me opinions are not illegal (unlike dancing in Bangalore…so strange…apparently that’s a ‘rule’ that’s here to stay!). People turn to various kinds of mediation to attain mental peace, clear their minds and prepare themselves for what the day holds. And it works differently for different individuals, if done right it can change lives. The general way like we all know is you sit in a quiet corner (as if punished) and reflect on what ever you reflect on (some people reflect on whether or not their nails are done!! I have seen this) and all this introspection makes you feel good, bad, ugly, in need of a manicure…whatever… After this ‘x’ amount of time spent in reflection one reaches some conclusions / recognition of reality which ideally leads to application…in order to make your day more efficient, productive, better. Better how? Better for whom? To whom?

Here’s the bummer… you can’t change the world with meditation, you do not get bestowed with a glowing halo, and you do not suddenly attain ever lasting inner peace… Bear in mind that meditation is purely a medium to realization…that’s it! Realization only! Realization is the knowledge of reality as it is…not as you would like it to be, and the acceptance of that reality with out reaction to it is the aim of Vipassana. Basically what I am saying is…live in the present and accept this moment for what it is with out going all ballistic with joy or sorrow. You realize the transient nature of emotions and actions making it easier to deal with all situations in your life, happy or sad. This calm observation and acceptance of reality leads to more practical implementation of the human mind and the actions related to it. To actually reap the benefits of meditation you need to put into action you’re thought, hopefully ‘do good to all’ type intentions. Are we on the same train so far my dear friend??? I am hoping you said ‘Yes, but of course!’

Now…what can come of good intention coupled with good action?? Think, think…tell, tell… Yes… you’re getting it aren’t you… (drum roll in the background) as things must be …GOOD things will happen!! You feel better about not being a waste of space and the ‘good receiver’ feels good/ cared for/ loved/ teddy bear hugs and rainbows too!!      Ta Daaa!!  Seems too simple? It is. You think there’s a catch? There are many… but why is that stopping you from trying to feel better about yourself or improve the quality of your life? The mind is not going to matter if you don’t care about the matter… you gettin’ my groove homey?

In a world of ‘Tit for Tat’ and ‘Will kill for that’ one might feel it is inane to do good even when it is not deserved, or when not called for or toward someone you do not like… but then…someone has got to do it! Why not you? Why not me? Why? Why? why???  I will tell you why…. because our pride gets in the way. Our lives are not going to be an iota different if we don’t put our pride on a ship and let it sail into the horizon.

Does this post seem like a sermon on morals and ethics… hmmm… may be… which brings me to my point… Meditation with out good action is pointless.. It’s like going to work with just one shoe on or learning French and never watch a French movie…. Pointless right..?! When you have the knowledge you have gotta use it to the best of your ability. You want to make your world better…? Then YOU gotta make your world better. Like Madonna said, “Do or don’t. Don’t try.”

Today is technically Thanksgiving. Tomorrow is the family Thanksgiving. The date change is this year’s result of flexibility bred from the cascading effects of generations of marriages and divorces. More people are available tomorrow.

In addition to the date flexibility, the menu is also flexible. My sister announced that there would be no turkey. To me, turkey and its related fixings are Thanksgiving. Actually it is gravy that Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the only day of the year that I eat gravy. So in my emotional world, tomorrow is a family gathering, and today is gravy day.

There is one more thing. For the past few days, I have been worried about feeling lonely today. I have been alone on holidays before, and even though I always went into those holidays thinking that I could make it just like any other day, I had always felt lonely during the actual day. I was doing my best to just watch the fear. Not engage in it. Not let it get the best of me.

So gravy and fear of loneliness were in play. I thought about going to one of these really good chef-driven restaurants to eat turkey dinner. All of the restaurants were offering it. The dinners started at $25. I thought about going by myself. I was OK with the idea. I did hear an internal voice say, “Would I look stupid sitting in the bar eating my turkey?” Another voice said, “Maybe you would meet someone very interesting.”

In the end I did not go anywhere. The day had dissapeared effortlessly, and I was still in the luxurious black jersey pajamas that I had been in for two days. I would have needed a shower. (Last night, I put on a big sweater and went to Whole Foods in my pajamas. My sister gets after me about going to the grocery store in my pajamas.)

So instead of going out, I moved my contented little NPR radio listening marathon from the computer to the kitchen and put chicken breasts on top of huge slices of onion and topped it with slabs of fresh poblano chili and olive oil. I baked the chicken and made gravy. I heated up the dressing that I bought at Whole Foods. Man was it good.

I had been fearful of loneliness and lack of gravy, but it.all turned to joy. The joy of noticing that this time there was no loneliness. The joy of yearly gravy.

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Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, c. 1440

‘Pray Without Ceasing’

From ancient times the Church has had the custom of celebrating each day the liturgy of the hours. In this way the Church fulfills the Lord’s precept to pray without ceasing, at once offering its praise to God the Father and interceding for the salvation of the world. —Office of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship

I, Fanny McElroy

When I, Fanny McElroy, first discovered The Brother Cadfael Mysteries, by Ellis Peters, I ripped through them like a scairt rabbit about to be et by a hawk, as Sister Alma Rose says her Daddy Pete says, or maybe it’s “a hawk after a scairt rabbit.” Anyway, I read them fast. And then there weren’t any more, because Ellis Peters died, so for the longest time I put off reading the final book, the twentieth, because I didn’t want to say goodbye to Brother Cadfael, a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey during the 12th century, but I found other books to read because I had become fascinated by all things medieval and all things Roman Catholic

.

Compline — Coronation of the Virgin

I loved Brother Cadfael’s irreverent way of being genuinely and truly religious, his painstaking cultivation of herbs for healing, his humor and his kindness. And the way he told the time not by the clock but by the Canonical Hours for Prayer — Matins, Lauds, Vespers, Compline, and so forth. Sister Alma Rose has specific times for prayer during the day, and if I am at her house when one of those times comes, we go into her chapel and pray together, and sometimes we pray out loud, sometimes we don’t, and she reads a psalm and we sing a hymn — harmonizing rather nicely, if I do say so — but the thing is, she always seems to know what she’s doing, I mean there aren’t any awkward “what should we do now?” moments. And now I know why.

The Liturgy of the Hours

Book of Hours, Paris, c. 1410

One lazy summer afternoon I was sitting on the steps of Sister Alma Rose’s great green wraparound porch half-listening to Sister Alma Rose talking with Father Dooley and his sister Bernadette, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and who is a willowy, fair-haired, freckled young woman who has, as she says, “enough money,” and her occupation is Doer of Good Deeds, and she would have become a nun, she told us, but she wanted to get married and have children, which she hasn’t, yet, but she’s only something like twenty-two, so anyway, she visits the sick and does what she calls “healing prayer work,” and sometimes she takes in the homeless, temporarily, like mothers with children running from an abusive man, that sort of thing, not scary people or drug addicts.

Versicle: Poem on a Stick?

So I’m sitting there, drowsy with the sun and the sounds of a summer afternoon, and I perk up when I hear Bernadette say “Compline,” so I get up from the step and go over to the green wicker table and sit in the one vacant green wicker chair and listen to Bernadette talking about the Liturgy of the Hours, which is also called the Divine Office, I have no idea why, but Catholics have funny names for everything, like antiphon and breviary and versicle, which is not “a poem on a stick,” as I suggested, and everyone laughed, which was very gratifying because when one thinks that one is being very clever, it’s good to know that others think so too.

The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreaux

I think that everyone was surprised by my fascination with such a dry subject as the Divine Office, which I had thought was something from long ago… well, which it is, but it is still practiced, or “celebrated,” as Father Dooley says, and he as a priest is obligated to “celebrate” the Liturgy of the Hours, but it is a joy to him, he says, and Bernadette also “celebrates” the Liturgy of the Hours, and Sister Alma Rose says that her daily prayer times are “based on” the Liturgy of the Hours. “Fanny McElroy,” she says, “y’all have been doin’ it with me for years,” and then she laughs and pours me a glass of Mr. Truman LaFollette’s incomparable lemonade.

Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1410

Sister Alma Rose is not Catholic (she has referred to herself as “a Christian Jewish Buddhist,” probably offending adherents of all three religions, but she doesn’t mind — like J. Krishnamurti, she doesn’t mind much of anything, she says, and she is certainly the most serene person I have ever known, though in a crisis she becomes very exercised and shouts prayers to Heaven.

I am not a Catholic either, but there are many things I like about Catholicism, and here is one of them: For two thousand years or so, in spite of corruption and scandal and competition from other religions, and popes who had mistresses and children, and so forth, the Catholic Church has inspired, comforted, counseled, educated, and healed. Sister Alma Rose has told me about the vile perverted priests who prey on young boys, but I don’t think that those sick men’s transgressions erase all the good that the church has done. And I love the idea of Confession and, of course, the Liturgy of the Hours.

Some facts about the Liturgy of the Hours

So I ask a thousand questions, and here is some of what I find out about the Divine Office:

It sprung from Jewish prayer practices (“Seven times a day I praise you,” it says in the Psalms)

It began rather simply, with reading or chanting psalms; reading from the Old Testament, the  Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and epistles; and canticles, which are basically hymns from the Bible.

By the end of the fifth century, the Canonical Hours were — and this is a lot of praying and involves getting up in the middle of the night —

• Matins (during the night), sometimes referred to as Vigils or Nocturns, or in monastic usage the Night Office; it is now called the Office of Readings
• Lauds or Dawn Prayer (at Dawn)
• Prime or Early Morning Prayer (First Hour = 6 a.m.)
• Terce (rhymes with “purse”) or Mid-Morning Prayer (Third Hour = 9 a.m.)
• Sext (rhymes with “next”) or Midday Prayer (Sixth Hour = 12 noon)
• None (rhymes with “John”?) or Mid-Afternoon Prayer (Ninth Hour = 3 p.m.)
• Vespers or Evening Prayer (“at the lighting of the lamps”)
• Compline (KOM-plin) or Night Prayer (before retiring)

Wow! Don’t you love it that the time for Vespers is “at the lighting of the lamps”?

The complete Liturgy of the Hours is contained in the Roman Breviary. Most of the pictures on this page are from personal breviaries made for wealthy people in the Middle Ages.

All hours begin with Ps. 69-70 v.2, “God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me,” and then the doxology:  ”Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”

The Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer may consist of

• opening versicle (a short verse said or sung by a priest or minister in public worship and followed by a response from the congregation) or (for morning prayer) the invitatory (Psalm 94)
• a hymn, composed by the Church
• two psalms, or parts of psalms with a scriptural canticle. At Morning Prayer, this consists of a psalm of praise, a canticle from the Old Testament, followed by another psalm. At Evening Prayer this consists of two psalms, or one psalm divided into two parts, and a scriptural canticle taken from the New Testament.
• a short passage from scripture
• a responsory (chant or anthem recited after a reading in a church service) typically a verse of scripture, but sometimes liturgical poetry
• a canticle taken from the Gospel of Luke: the Canticle of Zechariah (Benedictus [Blessed be]) for morning prayer, and the Canticle of Mary (Magnificat: The “Song of Mary” from the Gospel of Luke, Magnificat anima mea Dominum = My soul doth magnify the Lord)) for evening prayer

Nativity from an Antiphon

It looks complicated, doesn’t it? But I have to tell you, it is refreshing and renewing to drop everything at 3 p.m. or whatever because that is the time you have set aside for prayer. And if you’re not Catholic, you can develop your own structure for prayer and praise, as Sister Alma Rose has done, she created a sort of hybrid of the Divine Office, and Father Dooley says that’s fine with him, he encourages everyone to pray in the way that suits them best.

Well, you can buy the complete Liturgy of the Hours in four volumes for more money than I have in my piggy bank, which last time I counted was $97.13, I am saving for a school trip to walk the Appalachian Trail. There are less expensive books, such as those that have only the Morning Prayer and the Evening Prayer.

There is much, much more to be told about the subject, but Bernadette had to leave to go back to Grand Rapids and her Good Works, which she does out of love and not to earn points toward Heaven or anything like that. So I will just tell you that I, Fanny, “celebrate” the Hours four times a day using the website DivineOffice.org, which has an audio version with beautiful music, and there are other websites with text versions. Sometimes I pray with Mama, and sometimes with Sister Alma Rose, and sometimes it’s just I, Fanny.

Even if you are not a Christian, you might enjoy this prayer discipline, which is principally made up of psalms anyway, though the references to Jesus Christ Our Savior might make you cringe, I don’t know. What I do know is that I need and enjoy discipline and structure in my prayer life, and for me, Fanny McElroy, the Divine Office is the beginning of that discipline and structure.

Chant; Troparion; hook-and-banner notation

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I promised to tell you my other vital Thanksgiving strategy.  Simply, it was going to the one and only Jazzercise class offered that day – at 8:30 in the morning.  I did and it felt great!  Thank you, Endorphins.  It took a little life juggling, too.  My son was running in a local road race (The Turkey Trot), which started at 10:10.  Luckily, my husband and stepson were running, too.  So he rode with them and I arrived just in time for that start of the race.  That was really important to me.  Still, I was willing to risk missing the start, knowing I’d be at the finish, in order to take care of me first. 

What a shift in mindset that is for me.  I’ve definitely not been a martyr in my life but I am very family- and child-oriented.  Sometimes that means deciding to put my needs second or on hold.  And, it now means making room for me to exercise even when the family has events happening.  I made a commitment to myself to average 90 minutes a day.  In the long run, that will help me be more available to my family with a healthier body and a clearer mind.  So I did.  I went to Jazzercise first thing, made it to the race, and still managed to handle the other “vital” responsibilities of the holiday.

In addition to the responsibility of food preparation, there is the eating.  Besides deep appreciation for my blessings, that’s what this day is about.  Right?  My other strategy - eat lots of fruits and veggies and to feast only on really special holiday foods (not mashed potatoes, for example) – worked, too.   During the snack time before dinner, I enjoyed two yummy kahlua and almond milk drinks and a 2-3 cups full of fruit, veggies, and shrimp.  Since the fruit dip was yogurt-based and I couldn’t tell what the veggie dip was, I avoided them (dairy intolerance).  Though I wasn’t focused on counting calories, not eating dip helps limit calorie consumption.  When dinner was ready, I was already pretty full so it only took a standard serving of turkey, scoop of potatoes, more of squash, and a muffin to more than fill me.  (Yes, I did overeat just a little.)  A small scoop of coconut milk ice cream and that was it.  Feasting over. 

And, according to the scale this morning, the combination of exercise and wise eating paid off.   Since I can gain or lose 3 pounds in a day with no obvious reason, I don’t give much weight (pun intended) to what the scale reads on any one day.  However, I held steady at 159 this morning and felt very excited about that!  Yay!  One holiday down, 3 to go – Yule, Christmas, and New Year’s.

Jazzercise, here I come!

How I did today:
1.  Sleep - 8 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 90 minutes walking
3.  Strength training
4.  Yoga – 45 minutes – finally!
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – lots of veggies and left over fruit and only 1 serving of chocolate! 

How I did yesterday:
1.  Sleep - 8 hours
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes Jazzercise, 60 minutes of walking
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – see post

How I did Wednesday:
1.  Sleep - 8 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes on the elliptical
3.  Strength training
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – can’t remember

The bus ride was long this time. It was raining heavily and we encountered two multi-car accidents trying to get out of Shanghai city area.  The group was tired and all sleeping having woken early hours to arrive at Shanghai South bus station for the bus to Lin’an. 

I was awake in the bus like a shepherd watching over his sheep.  I am always a little nervous with a new group coming to do the three-day Mindfulness Training at Zaoxi. Will the group be able to make the cultural transition? Will they cope with the remote conditions? I reminded myself that we had carefully screened the group so things should be OK.  I practised mindfulness skills to bring myself back into the present moment and out of the “things-could-go-wrong” story my mind wanted to play with. 

I looked out in front.  We had passed the Hangzhou exit and mountains became visible with peaks shrouded in rain clouds. Soon we would be in Lin’an.

Arriving in Lin’an bus station we were greeted by Lijuan who always insists we need to eat before taking the last part of the journey into the mountains. Autumn was advancing so warm tea and rice made a welcomed respite.  Then it was cramming into the small bus to climb the steep Tianmu mountains. 

The group again fell silent as we wound along narrow mountain roads deep into the bamboo forests. The mist became fog as we climbed in altitude reaching into the very “eyes of heaven” as Tianmu means.  I remembered my first trip up the mountain.  I was silent too, wondering what to expect.  Much of my own silence was wonderment at the sheer beauty. . . but that was spring time and there were no foreboding mists warning us of snow to come. Hervé who had come all the way from France put on his ski gloves.  The temperature was falling with each kilometre. Finally we entered the village of Shi Ta Wan.  I love to try to read the faces of the group as they look about. . .the mix of emotions from fear to wonderment.  Soon they would be learning valuable and enriching lessons of the trickery of the mind and how to overcome their fear and inner-talk. 

T'ai Shen Retreat Centre

We made our way to the retreat house.  Warm greetings from “mama” and “baba” our hosts and as usual the village elder was there to say “hello” the only English word in his vocabulary.  Hot local tea was quickly served and we sipped on its smoky and woody flavour. 

“Baba” came up to Lisa and wanted to inspect her watch.  She graciously took it off for him.  He inspected it like a mechanic trying to figure out the fault in a seized motor holding it at nose distance due to his ailing eyesight. He motioned to the clock on the wall.  It is an old clock. It is covered with some spider webs and dust.  It has obviously not been touched for many years. In fact it had been given to the family by their daughter who had once made a trip to the large town. No one thought that it actually needed batteries! It didn’t matter. Baba could not tell the time, anyway. Lisa asked JJ to translate into local dialect how Baba knows what time to rise in the morning and go to work. “Oh”, he stumbled, as if embarrassed by the answer he was about to give. “I wake up when my wife stokes the fire for breakfast.”  “But how does she know what time to get up?” replied Lisa from Australia. “She just knows. It’s her tradition.” I watched the faces of the group. There was a short silence again. I noticed a small tear in the corner of Lisa’s eye.  In that moment of time, time had stood still for us. The deep silence punctuated the moment.  Lisa did not put her watch back on.  I noticed she slipped it in her coat pocket. It was no longer of value to her. She had received her first lesson in Mindfulness, the world of no-time.   

It was soon time for the group to get unpacked.  Did I say “time.”? How did I know it was “time”.  It just was.

The next Mindfulness Training China Retreat is in April 2010. See www.taishendo.com for details

For "Baba" there is only "no-time".

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Today I’ve decided to build a shrine in our living room. Let’s see where I can find all the elements I need.

Today’s meditation went pretty well compared to yesterday’s. I still have this strange feeling in my stomach as I meditate, something akin to hunger, I don’t know. I try to just acknowledge this fact while I meditate, without trying to get rid of it or focus too much on it. Without judging myself. I’m counting each breath in/breath out to 21. It’s a useful tool to stay focused. I like very much what Sakyong Mipham said in one of the video teaching on Shambhala website: Meditation is nothing special, it’s a normal state, something ordinary, it means getting familiar with. Getting familiar with the mecanics of my mind. How does it keep my attention from being fully present.

We would like to dedicate this guided meditation on the Parsha of the Week to the Portland Kollel for their vision, dedication and many contributions to our community.    (http://www.portlandkollel.org/)

This week’s Torah Portion, Vayera, focuses on seeing.  Just as Avraham lifted up his eyes and saw three angels coming towards him and was transformed, this meditation focuses on seeing in new ways that lead to transformation.

Listen now by clicking here:  Vayera   (.mp3 format).   This audio file is 10 min. 15 sec. long.

This guided meditation is dedicated to our dear friend Rabbi Chanan Feld (of blessed memory) Z”l, who passed away during Parsha Lech Lecha.

Just as Avraham had to leave where he was to go somewhere new, this meditation focuses on letting go of present attachments and becoming aware of the path ahead.

Listen now by clicking here:  Lech Lecha  (.mp3 format).   This audio file is 8 min. 34 sec.

The intention of this meditation is to focus on what influences you and to strengthen onself to stand firmly for what is right as Noach did.   What do you have the courage to stand up for?  What is essential to you?  What does it mean to walk with God?

Click here to download and listen: Noah . 

This meditation is 6 min. 14 sec.

Chapter 12

Let’s get this party started

In which the ghost of Jerry Garcia haunts the writer once again.

When she who lives here with me came home later that day, the first thing she asked when she walked through the door before the usual request for a not too sweet Margarita or a glass of Edna Valley Chardonnay was not how my day went or how Kelly or the kidults were doing or what was for dinner.  No, it was “how was the meditation today?  Did it go well?” And there went my plan, melting down like warm butter on a stack of steaming hot pancakes.  Boom.  Gone.  My subsequent response was something eminently forgettable along the lines of “uh, really great” and “made some real breakthroughs on the job hunt” and the rest of the evening went like the rest with her passed out early  upstairs and me cruising the far end of the cable channels searching in vain for entertainment before settling into yet another cooking show to fill the time until sleep somewhat naturally settled over me.

Throughout an uneventful next day (uneventful = job searching + another lousy attempt at meditation + long dog walk  + shredding useless paperwork) I swore to myself that the evening would be different. I was determined that it would be.  I resolved not to let my guard down for the sake of a future based on falsehoods and to tell her the truth.  End this hopeless charade and move on.

So that evening, between bites of a first-rate lamb sausage pesto lasagna that I had prepared to keep my mind off of my rapidly deteriorating mental state that afternoon and several glasses of our solid but unspectacular house made Cabernet Sauvignon, I explained my frustrations to her in rapid fire detail. My clear intention was to tell her that I would be ending it all.  She stopped eating and looked up across the table as I tried to put a positive spin on it all.  I put my best foot forward, explaining that I had given this meditation thing a real shot.  I focused on the inability to concentrate during meditation, knowing that I might hit a sympathetic chord with her and I guessed correctly. When I mentioned this aspect of my difficulties it must have really resonated with her. She replied that everyone has those issues with meditation and that she did to and still does.

She continued on, “Meditation is not something that we do naturally or easily.  You have to learn how to do it.  I mean I couldn’t do it myself, that was why I joined my meditation group.”  Uh oh, when I heard the word group the first alarm bells went off I in my head immediately as not only was this was not the answer I was hoping for, it had a lot of potential to keep this process alive. Here I was all set to go in for the kill, put this journey out of its misery.  Instead she effectively derailed me and I sat there looking across the dinner table with a false smile on my face while my balloon slowly lost pressure.

She kept going, “I think that a big part of the problems that you are having is that you are at home too much.”  Well that was true. “I know that you want to do everything yourself and that you believe that you can but this is different. This isn’t like using a road map when you get lost.  (Which I did by the way). You need to get out of the house, find yourself a group to meditate with just like I did, and let it grow over time.  Just think about it, I have been meditating with the same group of women for over 10 years.”

Well that did it. These comments set off a series of incredibly horrendous images in my head.  I could only imagine the ‘ meditation groups’ that I would find if I pursued her suggestion.  For this was not just any American town that I lived in for god sake, this was Berkeley or Bezerkeley as it is lovingly (or more likely not) called.  A city which I can safely say after 20 plus years of living more than lives up to its reputation for attracting a population of highly intelligent and very eclectic, often strange residents.

My imagination then took over, a glimpse of the future came into focus, I smelled the patchouli incense. I saw a room filled with pale old men with long stringy dirty grey hair pony tales dancing in a circle,  chanting dancing twirling praying to a golden buddha that had Jerry Garcia’s head on its shoulders, chanting Dark Star Dark Star, oh my god this was perversion, when this personal nightmare vision was interrupted by my wife’s voice.  (I had seen this ghost once before at Winterland on New Year’s Eve in the 1980’s but at that time it put me to sleep).

“Honey, are you listening to me.”

I quickly came back to the room and her green eyes. “Sorry dear, I was just was thinking about what you said.”  I stalled for time until I could think of what to say.

She carried on.  “So what do you think, how are you going to approach this?”  Ever the businesswoman, she was right to the point.  What was my goal, my objective?  What would be the takeaways from our dinner chat?  Did I have plan?

I went honest. “I have no idea”.

“Well,” she replied, “you rely on the Internet to find everything else in your life, why not this?”

She was right (again! Damn it!) Over the past years the net had become my major research tool and I used it to find just about everything that I purchased, from restaurants to cars to cameras.  The net made sense to me, a source of virtually unlimited knowledge and resource all organized into key words and bundles of facts.  If I could find a monkey filled tin roofed rain-soaked bungalow with crocodiles when you walked outside (yes true) in Costa Rica for a family vacation, why not search for a coach or meditation group in my home town?  I thanked her and promised to get on it the next day.

The next morning I warmed up the new Imac that I purchased the week before (what a pleasure indeed quite fast, stylish and simple to operate) and opened up the browser.  The first question was always the most basic, just what the hell was I searching for?  Um lets see.  Inner peace.  Too broad. Buddhism? I wasn’t converting.  Let’s guess.  Meditation?  Yes.  And keep it local.  And maybe a group to start. So I typed in: Eastern meditation groups Berkeley Ca’.

I resolved to spend the next week trying different groups to see if they might help me.  I wanted to find a men’s meditation group, where normal guys that were trying to better themselves and their homes could get together and not be afraid to go out for a burger or pizza and beer after without dirty looks form the Vegans.  Oh there were plenty of meditation groups for women, for gay men, gay women, for Buddhists, the LGBT community, for Tibetan Buddhists, for Christians, Hindus and Jews.  But none for guys.   Something was wrong here.  Why couldn’t we meditate and continue to love pepperoni?

So I manned up and headed out of the house and drove up the hills to the local spiritual relief center across from campus the next Monday morning at 8:30 for their morning meditation introduction program.  It was held in a funky old school house converted into a multi denominational church painted with faded rainbows and surrounded by tattered Tibetan prayer flags that had long since lost their color.

There was no sign for the class and it was blind luck that I opened the front door and walked into right room. Aren’t their directions on the road to Nirvana?

The room was unheated and cold and only 4 people were there.  3 women of unclear age (believe me it is not like I was there to hit on anyone, seriously these women were just plain, amorphous and very ambiguous).  One other guy, must have been 60, dressed in multi color sweats.  Everyone standing around no one saying a word and no eye contact was being made much less smiling.  Not promising at all.

A few minutes later a bald almond skinned man of unknown age and just about 5 feet tall quietly walked into the room. He was clad in a brown and orange outfit somewhere between a high priest’s robe and a jumpsuit carrying a brightly multi colored cushion.  He smiled subtly at us and then sat down at the end of the room.  He moved quickly into a half lotus and spoke softly to us as we walked toward him “Does everyone have their cushuns?” He said it just that way, cushuns.

I looked around.  Everyone else did, not me.  Worse yet they were already sitting down and beginning to prepare for their coming relaxation moments.

Cushions?  I didn’t know we had to bring cushions.  I spoke up. “No”, I replied, “I didn’t bring one.  Do you have any that I can use?”

At that point he went silent and looked at me.  This lasted for more than just a moment, to be the point of being a bit strange. He seemed to be considering his options.  Was I imaging things or did he actually furrow his brow and start to squint at me?

When he finally spoke it was even quieter, the five of us were now hanging on his every word.  “Cushun.  Do you understand me? You can not meditate if you can not sit properly and you can not sit properly without a cushun. Did you bring a cushun?”

I answered again.  “No, I replied for the second time, “I didn’t.”

He stared for another moment.  Then he sighed.  A deep and yes exasperated breath, the sort you hear from a disappointed middle level Marubeni executive, just not pulled backwards through his teeth, not meditative or Zen in the least.

His gaze had not left me. “Please understand me.  Please understand that without a cushun you can not properly meditate.  Please read the rules they are posted on our website.  Please come back with one tomorrow and we will meditate together.  I hope that you will join us then.  You must remember that the path to enlightenment is long and takes both will and discipline.  So please go now and come back tomorrow when you are completely ready to join us.”   And that was it.  Banished by a passive aggressive monk.

I was flabbergasted. Stunned.  Outraged.  What had just happened!  Where was that old mellow Zen spirit? I looked around at my fellow meditation mates for support but I should have known better.  They were fidgeting uncomfortably on their cushions, waiting for their instruction to begin and looking for me to leave because it was obvious that they were not going to get started until I did.  Collaborators.  Administrators.  Vichy sympathizers. And thus ended my one, and maybe fortuitously so, foray into the world of group meditation.  A crash both sudden and swift.

Without looking back I walked out of the church and really wanted to, but after exercising considerable personal restraint, didn’t try to slam the large wooden doors closed.

As I drove home I made an easy decision, I still needed help, but until I found a group of like-minded people, I wasn’t meditating with anyone else. I mean who needed to be pushed around by a kid in a saffron jumpsuit to learn what had been written about for thousands of years.  I needed a coach.  Someone who could help me to solve these questions that kept bothering me about meditation, Eastern thought and how it could mean something for the modern American male.

Wisdom sometimes arises in the middle of a conversation.

And if we are mindful, we can see how it affects both the teller and the listener. That’s how I felt in this exchange recently with someone who was halfway around the world from me, but felt like a neighbor sharing a moment over a backyard fence.

(See I’m Okay  for original story by  mittaipink

Contoveros says:    Well I’ll be damned.

Oh, not really. I’m only saying that as a figure of speech. Nothing I got from any book. Just something I feel.

“I’ll be damned,” in, and of itself probably wouldn’t work as well without the first introductory word; “Well . . . I’ll be . . .”

See. Somethings simply go together better than others.

Like throwing out all of the books. Like starting right where you are, because you “are” okay!

One of my favorite quotes is, that if you see the Buddha on the road, “kill him.”

You . . . me . . . all of us . . . can not be like the Buddha. We can’t live his life. We have to live our own. And if we try to be like another person then we are fooling no one but ourselves (Self?)

So, throw out the books, Have a cup of tea. Meditate. And if you can’t reach that state of bliss on the first try, well, who the hell can? I betcha the Buddha had to “practice,” and “practice,” and “practice” until He got it together.

Sounds to me like you are already half way there!

 __________michael j_________________

What a surprise to see this name appearing in your post. You have to marry me now. You didn’t know that?
Well, that was the part of the “Inner Peace” poem I left off: “Whosoever shares their love with another through this poem will be tied to michal j forever.”

It’s something like the “laws of attraction” you hear so much of nowadays.

Enjoyed your company. Read you later. (wink!)

michael j

mittaipink Says:

HI Michael, That is such a nice reply. What a natural writer you are! And light hearted too.
Sorry, I can’t marry you, I already am. Thanks for the offer anyway:-)
‘throw out the books, Have a cup of tea. Meditate. And if you can’t reach that state of bliss on the first try, well, who the hell can?’
I like that piece of advice so much.
Yes, the Buddha did go through so many years of trying out different schools of thought and practice till he finally found his own Middle path didn’t he?
Even if we don’t kill him , we needn’t kill ourselves trying to be him all over.
Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you! (michael j)

done