11.26.07
Posted in Thoughts at 3:16 pm by Administrator
Not long ago, a man I knew died. He had cancer for the last 2 and a half years. I was privileged to work with him in those last two years of his life. At first we were utilizing EFT and the Yuen Method. In time, we became friends and I left the therapeutic realm to others.
At his memorial service I was asked to play the mandolin. I was happy too. This man had attended one of my For the Love of Zeppelin concerts, and although he said he appreciated the musicianship that went into our performance, our volume and 70’s rock style were not his thing. He also came to a show at the Brew Pub where I played mandolin with the irish group. That was much more his style. So I was happy to play two songs at his service.
When we first began working together I had no doubt it was possible for him to overcome this and live the life he intended, because if he did live his intention was to drastically rearrange his priorities. My faith in his chances of survival did not falter, until the last two times I saw him.
Much of our interaction in those last few visits revolved around his coming to terms with death, and probing of the meaning of life and spirituality.
Make peace with death now. Do not wait. Find the meaning of life now. Do not wait. Though these may seem far off and impossible to understand, death comes quickly, and through practice and commitment, understanding is available. Also, do not wait to arrange your priorities by the standards you intend. It is this very thing that might dissolve the boundry between living and dying. This is what I’ve learned from the man I knew, that is no more.
At some point in eternity the light must come on, and now is the best time for it.
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11.21.07
Posted in Spirituality, Thoughts at 4:07 pm by Administrator
There are things that grab our attention. These are sensational and different from our ordinary experience. They are perceptions that act as sign posts to call us forward.
It is good to pay attention to these sign posts and follow them. Too often though, people just want the shiny sign posts and forget about their intrinsic value.
In my experience most are drawn to spirituality because their lives are not what they ideally want. I know this was the case with me. I saw myself as a puny little human and wanted to experience the boundless bliss of cosmic consciousness. Because really, that was so much more special than my present experience.
So I read the works and studied with the masters. I followed the path outlined by them, always looking forward to that day when my little self would vanish into puff of scintillating light. Meditation experiences rose and fell. Life continued. There were still good days and bad days, but in the center of all that calmness descended.
As time passed, it became clearer that right now I already am and have always been one with the all. What I am right now is it. There is no escaping.
Masters speak of transcending duality, and the dualistic nature of the world. That IS the nature of this world. Things rise and they fall. Things are born and they die. Moods change. Thoughts come and go. That is the nature of the world. But you see, our real Self is not the world. It is timeless and the support of all these things.
To transcend duality does not mean to destroy the world, or to escape from it. It means to see what really IS, to identify with that which we really are.
So what does all of this have to do with glamour? Well, I just wanted to share that it is great to be pulled in a certain direction by sensational spiritual experiences, but don’t mistake those for the source of the experience. Getting caught up in the sensationalism is no different than getting caught up in TV dramas, or exciting adventures in life. It’s all entertainment. In the end, there is nothing special about spiritual discovery. It is as normal as your day to day existence. So find peace there, and know that all of that is IT. Let your worship and your prayer be the remembering that every little thing has the Divine under the surface. Every little thing is fantastic if you let it be that way.
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11.19.07
Posted in Spirituality, Thoughts at 3:51 pm by Administrator
Well?
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11.02.07
Posted in Thoughts at 8:51 pm by Administrator
What if instead of living through the screen of past experiences and imaginations we forgot about all that and lived simply within the contents of the present moment?
Or, if that doesn’t seem possible, what if instead of letting the mind turn over painful poisonous thoughts, we turned our attention to God?
Imagine that, letting the past, the imagination, and the useless thoughts of the mind take care of them selves, while retraining our attention to focus on the only reality of the present in as God!
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