We spend much of our time locked into habitual behaviour and thought patterns in our day to day existence. This causes us to switch off, doing things in a detached automatic repetitive pattern rather than considering each moment as fresh and new. The Universe is constantly creating itself. We are constantly in uncharted territory, though often behave as if we've been here a million times before. We relegate things to categories within a heirarchical system. Washing dishes = complete auto-pilot mode while reliving conversations we had earlier that day or something else that draws our attention from the 'tedious' task in the here and now. When everything is automatically labelled and categorised like that we become out of touch with reality, experiencing only black or white, or dull grey in autopilot mode...but not the full spectrum of colour that lies between the poles of dark and light that becomes evident when the flip between those extremes cease and we are able to get full spectrum awareness. We come-to when something appeals to us or scares us for example, extremes of 'bad' or 'good'. This leaves us constantly reacting against an opposite, like scales that are never balanced, just always tipping completely one way or the other, and unable to experience that point of harmony where balance is achieved, causing both sides of the scales to 'magically' both levitate causing a third force that is neither one side or the other but both sides at once-and more (synergy). When balance is achieved, it's not about one side or the other battling it out on anymore, it takes it all up to another level alltogether where the point of gravitational balance creates a central pivotal force that transends the restrictions of dualty creating new potential. Everything is down to perception, and most in modern industrialised society are so over-stimulated we have difficulty coming down a bit in vibration to stay fully immersed in 'mundane' experiences. But every moment in life contains the full meaning, past-present-future all rolled into one. And each moment is eternal and fully accounted for in terms of the whole. It's useful to, every so often, view the nature of reality from different perspectives in order to 'keep it fresh' , and stay connected to the central point ('here and now') of your experience wherever in space and time your existence manifests at any given moment in this Universe we are all an intrinsically interwoven part of. We all have weaknesses, and are all here to improve our selfs/souls, and should therefore be understanding, patient and forgiving with ourselves when we fault providing we are sincere in our hearts in wanting to achieve a worthy, honourable goal. "This isn't a dress rehearsal"...this is the actual show!
Top post Nursey!! Here's something I thought i would add along similar lines. I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned the hard way that some poems dont rhyme, and some stories dont have a clear begining middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the most of it without knowing whats going to happen next.
Nursey, The post is well wriiten. Is it your writing or is it an article from somewhere? I used to believe most of the things you write in the piece above. I did not know it at the time, but most of that philosophy is the framework for Eastern Religion, specifically Hinduism. It makes great sense on a cerebral level, and it offers an explaination of life and spiritual things that seems to "work." The problem I found with it after years of believeing it wasthis - it left me "centered", but I felt very dead and empty inside. It worked for my brain, but it didn't work for my soul. I started studying "religion" in 1988, and actually earned a BS degree in Theology. I think that messed me up more than the New Age teachings did. Orthodox Christianity, the form most of the world knows, is just as hollow. I can tell you this from my experience - all "ways" do not lead to truth. There are several themes that seem to be repeated in all religious systems, with the exception of spiritual Christianity (SC?). Please understand that I do not thing that being the exception proves anything. I am just talking about patterns. Examples - 1. All systems other than SC, includung basic Judaism, believe that we do not really die. They teach some form of soul migration, reincarnation, soul sleep, etc. Only SC teaches that death is a final state of being, and that it only happens once. Yes SC believes that there is live after death, but it requires the intervention of God. In other words, you really are going to die, and anything past that God controls, not you. This is significant for reasons I can explain later if you are interested. 2. All systems teach some form of enlightenment - "your eyes shall be opened" SC says that the problem with man is that his eyes are opened. This sounds like SC wants everyone to be blind and ignorant, but it is so much deeper than that. "Blindness" in th FC sense does not ignorance, it means full knowledge. It means being able to see so clearly that you no longer "see" what is evil. Remember the spectrum of light? What if evil is a certain wavelength in the spectrum, and "good" is in a certain spectrum. If your spiritual eyes were opened fully, and the light of "good" shone with overwhelming brightness, wouldn't we be "blind" to evil in a positive way? It would still be there, we are aware it is there, but it is covered by a superior light. More later. It is an involved concept. 3. All system teach some form of progression that ends with humans becoming "perfect" or "gods." based on their actions and choices. FC is the direct opposite of this. It teaches that we will never be Gods, and the perfection we will achieve is given as an act of mercy and love. It is not something that can be learned or earned. 4. All other systems teach that it is up to the individual to detemine what is right and wrong for themselves. These systems deny a universal morality, and make the immutable laws of the universe dependant on personal interpretation. FC teaches that their is a code of morality that is consistent across the cosmos. What most people don't get,however, is that this code was put in place to serve man, and not for man to serve it. Pretty deep here too, so more later. If you read this far thanks. Just trying to provide food for thought. Barry
Sorry, it should read SC and stands for Spiritual Christianity. I don't really know anything else to call it. It is just a term I use to describe someone of the christian faith that rejects the labels of Baptist, Catholic, etc, and does not subsrcibe to the rules based, legalist, hell fire and brimstone theology of mainline Christianity. I believe they were called "Jesus Freaks" back in the 1960's. Hope that makes sense. Barry
Checkmate: glad it 'hit the spot'. Your follow up makes sense to me also. Yes, it's my own, otherwise i'd have accredited the author or linked back to its source. Well, i'm not going to try and find your way for you, or go into lengthy philosophical debates about what i know (preferring to keep it as simple as possible). I've written from my own experience, which i'm a keen observor of. There's nothing there that requires you to accept as truth anything you can't perceive directly for yourself. Though an in depth understanding yin and yang (or 'Universal compass'), the simplest thing in the world, and yet so complex...(paradoxically)...will significantly ground and empower. Also, read some basic bhuddist philosophy and a bit about 'the Tao' (which have the philosophy of yin and yang at their root, as did a martial art i did {Shorinji Kempo} for a few years). But all these words are not exactly it and are only there to guide you to your own personal central ground, which only you can know. If there was an invisible force that is beyond our minds ability to perceive by itself, (imagine it as a circle cut out of a piece of cardboard), then i (and all guiding words) am actually only describing the part which can be perceived (the cardboard) in order for you to get the sense of the indescribable invisible hole. Don't confuse the mental construct for the experience itself. If increasing awareness and transcending dualty (conflict between the poles) leaves you numb, i'd suspect that you weren't really transcending them, and that the state you experienced wasn't pure 'here and now' but rather your own forced mental (ego) construct of 'it', and what you experienced was only your mind increased to full power and not the full spectrum (all levels) of your being/soul. I know that would leave me feeling 'numb'. Head and heart, mind and emotion, are also two ends of a pole that needs to be in harmony for you to fully experience the 'here and now'. It's a balancing act which takes patience and perseverence before you start to see any results. Just like learning to ride a bike. And at first when you succeed, you might be wobbling all over the place, but as time goes on a greater sense of that elusive 'not this not that but something else' begins to take hold. I'm not well versed in physics, but i believe it's the equivalent of quantuum thinking, which goes beyond binary which only gives a flat, linear version of the world, and not the all encompassing multi-dimension of quantuum thought. Here's a post i did for another forum a while back... But I do believe that it's imperative to arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can about what's going on. Information spreads by osmosis. Each person counts, and no matter how miniscule a difference you can make, it all adds up. Who knows what could be accomplished if enough people receive enough information. Even if we can't change it, surely it's better to know that you were one of the ones who tried. Your 'fatalism' more often than not appears to amount to sticking your head in the sand or at other times, denial. As troubling as it can be, surely it's better to face truth than a sugar coated reality? And even if the sum total of all your best efforts amounts to no more than a grain of sand, i think that grain of sand will be all it takes to tip the scales in terms of your conscience. I think everything you know adds up to whatever you are at any given moment. I think that what you know changes you intrinsically, and what you are is the signature of every one of your actions, even down to each breath or beat of your heart. So everything that you do is permeated with all that you are. And every action sets into motion another action (domino effect). And the exact frequency of a persons actions will travel through everything else those actions set in motion. . "Einstein once said that anyone studying physics long enough is inevitably led into metaphysics." When a quantum situation is observed, it changes. The observation itself becomes part of the equation. And now i will throw you by agreeing with Islam in saying "only God is perfect".
Nursey much of what you're saying sounds a lot like what my Kung Fu teacher used to teach, out of curiosity, are you into meditation and if so what type?
Nursey, you amaze me. I am not saying I agree with you on everything, I am just admitting publically that your depth of thought amazes me. I thought of you today when I saw this quote - "I've always felt that a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously " - Abigail Adams (American letter writer and first lady (1797-1801), wife of John Adams, 2nd US president, and mother of John Quincy Adams, 6th US president, 1744-1818) Do you write anything creative or non political? Poetry, etc? Barry
Excellent post. I totally relate to the not seeing things, just focusing one thing and letting everything else go by. It seems like the only time I have ever just sat back and let my mind see everything around me, was when I was stoned. I need to get into meditation or Tai Chi or some other sort of relaxing art, where I can just let my mind go wherever it desires.
bro trust me on this you need A LOT of petience for both, i've infact doen both for over 2 years and it never worked for me... it can be very frustrating, if you're going to try it tho i suggest you be very picky about who you shuld study under, there's a lot of quacks and even more nut jobs
Cool, thanks for the warning. Maybe I will just put on some monk chant from the net and sit here in silence with some candles burning. Or just drink myself into a stupor.
No offense Robman, but you just hit accidentally hit on a very good point. My experience with meditation and drinking revealed to me that they are both the same - checked me out of reality for a while, but when you open your eyes the next morning, the same old mess is still there. What I mean is this - neither drinking or meditation were able to make lasting changes in my life. Barry
so you meditated to experience a different reality??... should've stuck with the acid... (speaking of acid... i once worked with a born again christian preacher.. one of those "SC" christians.. he found god whilst on acid) why not try meditating to understand this reality better.. then when you open your eyes in the morning this mess will make more sense
Sorry about the entry above, hit the wrong buttton. Interesting about the acid. Most of the people I know who have a "religious experience" on acid have an encounter with a very different God than the one I refer to. Acid opens a spiritual window, not doubt. It "lifts the veil" so to speak. So did this SC friend of yours turn into a religious freak, or is he OK? Just curious how he ended up. Oh, and I'm not an anti-meditation person, I just personally don't do it. Barry
I used to do a little bit of ZaZen meditation when i went to Shorinji Kempo (which apart from the actual fighting techniques, taught a little bit of acupressure {Shiatsu} and meditation too). But like most people, i don't have the patience to sit down and 'officially' meditate, but i'm always meditative whatever it is i'm doing, meaning i'm always aware. Not always 'pure' (free from mental chatter), but always aware. Sometimes circumstances become conducive to a spontaneous meditative state of calm. "The lotus position is nice and stable, and great when you don't have chairs, but it's hardly a requirement. There's nothing "enlightenment-sucking" about chairs, or any particularly mystically significant about the lotus position. What it does is keep your back straight and keep you from wobbling (sitting merely cross-legged is not adequate for that purpose. Sitting in your chair with your hands comfortably on your knees (not clasping) and your back straight and away from the back of the chair, is perfectly adequate for most office (or computer desk) chairs. Do turn off the monitor though..." ZaZen To Robman, the best advice i could give is to find out if there is a Shorinji Kempo club nearby you could join. I have total respect for it. There is so much good stuff i could say about it, and i'm not in best communicative mode right now (not long woken up), so spend some time investigating the official World Shorinji Kempo site. Many of the benefits i reaped (on all levels) from my three years i dedicated to it are still with me to this day, 14 years later. And ucicare, the only writing i do is the stuff i do online, mainly here and another forum i've posted at for a few years.
This started off as a response to ucicare's post in the bi-polar thread, but due to where it went i've decided to add it to this thread. It includes a few of the different perspectives i view reality from to 'keep it fresh' from an over-familiar, habitual manner of perception. I might not always be technically perfect in my analogys, but i think they are accurate enough to make any refinements a case of hair splitting, and are operative enough to convey the analogy's meaning. It really isn't ready for posting, its a bit messy and need several of its strands tied up, but i can always add to or clarify any meanings after. I do my best to describe what i see with the tools i have, and sometimes i'll be better at it than other times, so bear with me as i go sprawling off in different directions at times. I can't always put in as much energy, focus and intent as i did with the initial post in this thread. Another of those Arab proverbs springs to mind... While the word is yet unspoken, you are master of it; when once it is spoken, it is master of you. --- Egyptian Proverb Which reminds me of taoist proverbs... "those who know do not speak, those who speak do not know." "Existence is beyond the power of words To define Terms may be used But are none of them absolute In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words, Words came out of the womb of matter; And whether a man dispassionately Sees to the core of life Or passionately Sees the surface, The core and the surface Are essentially the same, Words making them seem different Only to express appearance. If name be needed, wonder names them both: From wonder into wonder Existence opens. Lao Tzu Perhaps it's the same as i said earlier - 'taking things down to their lowest common denominator in order to address the root of an imbalance. Buddhism states that every human is born with the potential for Buddha nature - it is inherent in every one of us. Buddha nature is a state of total Oneness (a state of complete harmony as symbolised by Yin and Yang, and not the dualistic world of black and white conflicting opposites). This could also be called a state of absolute truth...reality in it's purest, at it's most (live and) direct This isn't just a state of spiritual harmony, but of all aspects of being. This shows how yin and yang are at the root of all aspects of ancient Chinese wisdom, from medicine to philosophy, from astrology to agriculture. And each opposite end of the pole contains the seed of the other, and the bounderies between the opposites aren't clearcut straight from one to the other. Which is how yin and yang is perfectly symbolic. I believe we are all born , coming out of the darkness of pre-existence into this world, already knowing everything...yet that at that stage we are so at one with 'the All', that our intelligence or consciousness exists at the macrocosmic level, expanded to the 'outermost limits' of the Universe, and is still finding its way into physical being. And that parents don't put information into their child in order for it to learn, the child is full of information already, it just needs guiding. I remember reading that new born babies brains are practically free from wrinkles, and that the wrinkles form as the child is flooded with experience(s). This gives the brain a far greater surface area. But although we are 'blank' at birth, we aren't 'empty', in fact the opposite, we're 'full' of 'nothingness'. So as the child gains experience of existence on this physical plane, it's cosnciousness contracts becoming increasingly located or pinpointed in it's physical being. The first three years of a child's life are said to be the most formative, and this is the period of the child's most intense physical developement where the child goes from helpless and totally dependant to fully mobile and basically co-ordinated. The next ten years are spent refining these until the next stage in the road to adulthood - puberty. At this point, the emphasis of developement goes from physical to chemical, though these categories are not always clearly defined with each lending weight to the other. Once a person reaches adulthood as defined by their sexual maturity, the first two stages of developement (physical and biological) have been completed, leaving the next stage, the one that is not so obvious but of just as immense importance to the well being of the whole organism, the psychological maturing. This is where so many whose constitutions were sturdy enough to make it through the first two stages without too much difficulty start to reflect the disharmony that is inherent in our culture. So many people stop really developing when they reach adulthood, because they perceive that as being the point of completion , when in fact, it is only the completion of the obvious - the physical developement, and in fact they have just reached the very beginning of a new stage, the next sphere of existence. It reminds me of the martial art i did. White belt was beginner, then yellow, green, blue, brown, black. But black wasn't the end - completion, it just marked the beginning of a whole new sphere of training, through to eighth dan. And the higher in dan, the more 'spiritual' the training. Though having said that, those top dans in Japan spend hours each day revising each and every one of the techniques - including the white belt techniques - in order to find ever more streamlined and energy efficient ways to do them, it as a living, evolving system. Picture the whole Universe as being just one substance - energy at differant frequencies of vibration. The most dense matter being the lowest in frequency, liquids higher, gas higher and so on. The picture of an oil cooling tower used for distillation is a good analogy. It contains one substance at differant frequencies of molecular vibration. Asphalt, lubricating oil/waxes,gas oil,kerosene, straight run gasoline,natural gas. Like the diagrams? :lol:
I like the diagrams. They do show evidence of cross firing in your synapses, however. I bet that is a rush! I do have one question - if the entire universe is energy, why am I so tired? Barry
