Byron Katie - The Gentlest Thing in the World

The gentlest thing in the world is an open mind. Since it doesn't believe what it thinks, it is flexible, porous, without opposition, without defense. Nothing has power over it. Nothing can resist it. Even the hardest thing in the world — a closed mind — can't resist the power of openness. Ultimately the truth flows into it and through it, like water through rock.

"When the mind first becomes a student of itself, it learns that nothing in the world can possibly oppose it: everything is for it, everything adds to it, enlightens it, nourishes it, reveals it. It continues to open, because it's in a fearless, undefended state, and it's hungry for knowledge. And when it realizes that it's nothing, it can penetrate everywhere, even when there's no room for it, no place to receive it.

People are afraid to be nothing. But being nothing is only one aspect of it. Not only is it nothing to be afraid of, it's a cause for celebration. Without your stressful story, there is no stress — obviously! When you don't believe your thoughts, there's only laughter and peace. There are names for a place like that. I call it heaven. And how can people know what nothingness is while they still believe what they think? 'Something is better than nothing' — can you absolutely know that that's true?

The truly open mind doesn't have a goal or a purpose other than to be what it is. It's not attached to concepts of self or other. It realizes that ultimately there are no humans, there is no mind. When the mind opens, you lose everything, gratefully. I'm sitting here as a woman, and in the next realization I'm a galaxy or an ant. It doesn't matter. You lose everything, and then there's the reentry. On a good-hair day, don't you love to look in the mirror? That's what it's like. You're looking in the mirror at nothing, delighted. When you're nothing, it's always a good-hair day. […]

Mind appears, if it appears, only to end itself. The projected world goes first, then the mind that projected it. No trace of it remains. Silence is all that's possible — the openness of never having existed in the first place. That's where I live. When it's over, it's over. You can't create or uncreate it. You wouldn't want to.

 Byron Katie, in "A Thousand Names for Joy"

http://www.thework.com/index.php

Futility of Search

The disciple looked at the Master. So calm and peaceful while he himself was so agitated, restless and confused.

He asked the Master, “What do you know that I don’t know?” And the Master simply replied, “I know nothing.”

“But you understand something that I don't.” The Master said, “I have understood that there is nothing to understand.”

The disciple persisted, “But I see that you have reached.” In a matter of fact tone, the Master added, “Yes I have reached where I was.”

“Yet, I can see you have become extraordinary.”

Master: “No, I have become very ordinary. I only accepted things as they are.”

The disciple was frustrated now.  “Master, don’t speak in riddles.  Just tell me what I should do?”

Master: “You have to do nothing, just be. Just allow life to flow, don’t interfere. Rest in your beingness.”

However, the disciple was lost, and even more frustrated.  His mind wanted activity while the Master kept pointing out that there is nothing to do, just rest.

Finally out of compassion, the Master suggested, "Watch your breath, watch the rising and falling of your stomach, focus on your third eye, on the bottom of your spine, chant your mantras and all that.  They are basic activities to quiet the mind.  When you give a tree to a monkey, the monkey goes up and down till he become tired.  Then he finally rests.  In that resting, insight finally awakens. "

--Author Unknown

Kahlil Gibran - Song of the Soul

In the depth of my soul there is

A wordless song – a song that lives

In the seed of my heart.

It refuses to melt with ink on

Parchment; it engulfs my affection

In a transparent cloak and flows,

But not upon my lips.

How can I sing it? I fear it may

Mingle with earthly ether;

To whom shall I sing it? It dwells

In the house of my soul, in fear of

Harsh ears.

When I look into my inner eyes

I see the shadow of its shadow;

When I touch my fingertips

I feel its vibrations.

The deeds of my hands heed its

Presence as a lake must reflect

The glittering stars;

My tears reveal it, as bright drops of dew

Reveal the secret of a withering rose.

It is a song composed by contemplation,

And published by silence,

And shunned by clamor,

And folded by truth,

And repeated by dreams,

And understood by love,

And hidden by awakening,

And sung by the soul.

It is the song of love;

What Cain or Esau could sing it?

It is more fragrant than jasmine;

What voice could enslave it?

It is heartbound, as a virgin’s secret;

What string could quiver it?

Who dares unite the roar of the sea

And the singing of the nightingale?

Who dares compare the shrieking tempest

To the sigh of an infant?

Who dares speak aloud the words

Intended for the heart to speak?

What human dares sing in voice

The song of God?

In the depth of my soul there is

A wordless song – a song that lives

In the seed of my heart.

It refuses to melt with ink on

Parchment; it engulfs my affection

In a transparent cloak and flows,

But not upon my lips.

How can I sing it? I fear it may

Mingle with earthly ether;

To whom shall I sing it? It dwells

In the house of my soul, in fear of

Harsh ears.

When I look into my inner eyes

I see the shadow of its shadow;

When I touch my fingertips

I feel its vibrations.

The deeds of my hands heed its

Presence as a lake must reflect

The glittering stars;

My tears reveal it, as bright drops of dew

Reveal the secret of a withering rose.

It is a song composed by contemplation,

And published by silence,

And shunned by clamor,

And folded by truth,

And repeated by dreams,

And understood by love,

And hidden by awakening,

And sung by the soul.

It is the song of love;

What Cain or Esau could sing it?

It is more fragrant than jasmine;

What voice could enslave it?

It is heartbound, as a virgin’s secret;

What string could quiver it?

Who dares unite the roar of the sea

And the singing of the nightingale?

Who dares compare the shrieking tempest

To the sigh of an infant?

Who dares speak aloud the words

Intended for the heart to speak?

What human dares sing in voice

The song of God?

- See more at: http://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=794#sthash.uabrHxZW.dpuf

Eric Baret - Lack of clarity

"The insight does not consist of seeing our true nature, for this is impossible, "being" can never be experienced; the insight is of what we are not. We see our mechanisms, our arrogance, our fears, our limitations, very clearly without experiencing any desire to change them. Facing these facts is an act of humility. Seeing clearly " what we are not " is what, in the East, is referred to as insight of what we are. It is important this be clear, because most people fantasize, think or visualize an insight of what they are, rather than an insight of what they are not."

"It is our lack of clarity that prevents us from seeing that people we imagine to be entitled to grace because they make huge efforts in sadhana, are in fact totally caught up in the becoming process. They live in a state of constant tension, in wanting to become something, wanting to be free. In wanting, there is no room for anything. Wanting to be free, wanting to be rich, to be beautiful, to have a red car, all amount to exactly the same thing. There simply is no room for anything in wanting. The few people who have been audacious enough to describe the descent of grace have all said that at that moment they were just silent and quiet."    

     

A Spiritual Conspiracy

Art http://parablev.deviantart.com/

Author unknown

On the surface of the Earth exactly now there is war and violence and everything looks horrible.  But, simultaneously, something quiet, calm and hidden is happening and certain people are being called by a higher light. A quiet revolution is settling from the inside out.  From bottom to top. It is a global operation. A spiritual conspiracy. There are cells from this operation in every nation on the planet.
You will not watch us on TV. Or read about us in newspapers.  Or hear our words on radios. We do not seek glory.  We do not use uniforms. We arrive in several different shapes and sizes. We have costumes and different colors. Most work anonymously.  Silently we work out of the scene. In every culture in the world. In large and small cities, in the mountains and valleys. In the farms, villages, tribes and remote islands.

We might cross paths on the streets. And not realize ... We follow in disguise. We are behind the scenes. And we do not care about who wins the gold of the result, and Yes, that the work gets performed. And once in a while we will cross paths on the streets. We exchange looks of recognition and continue following our path. During the day many are disguised in their normal jobs. But at night behind the scenes, the real work begins.

Some call us army of consciousness. Slowly we are building a new world.  With the power of our hearts and minds. We follow with joy and passion. Our orders reach us from the Central Spiritual Intelligence. We're throwing soft bombs of love without anyone noticing; poems, Hugs, songs, photos, movies, fond words, meditations and prayers, dances, social activism, websites, blogs, acts of kindness ...

We express ourselves in a unique and personal way. With our talents and gifts. Being the change we want to see in the world. This is the force that moves our hearts. We know that this is the only way to accomplish the transformation.  We know that with the silence and humbleness we have the power of all oceans together. Our work is slow and meticulous. As in the formation of mountains.

Love will be the religion of the 21 century. Without educational prerequisites. Without ordering an exceptional knowledge for your understanding. Because it is born of the intelligence of the heart. Hidden for eternity in the evolutionary pulse of every human being.

Be the change you want to see happen in the world.  Nobody else can make this work for you. 

We're recruiting.  Perhaps you will join us.  Or maybe you have already joined.  All are welcome. The door is open.

Source picture http://dharmacomics.com/

On the surface of the Earth exactly now there is war and violence and everything looks horrible.  But, simultaneously, something quiet, calm and hidden is happening and certain people are being called by a higher light. A quiet revolution is settling from the inside out.  From bottom to top. It is a global operation. A spiritual conspiracy. There are cells from this operation in every nation on the planet.

You will not watch us on TV. Or read about us in newspapers.  Or hear our words on radios. We do not seek glory.  We do not use uniforms. We arrive in several different shapes and sizes. We have costumes and different colors. Most work anonymously.  Silently we work out of the scene. In every culture in the world. In large and small cities, in the mountains and valleys. In the farms, villages, tribes and remote islands.

 

We might cross paths on the streets. And not realize ... We follow in disguise. We are behind the scenes. And we do not care about who wins the gold of the result, and Yes, that the work gets performed. And once in a while we will cross paths on the streets. We exchange looks of recognition and continue following our path. During the day many are disguised in their normal jobs. But at night behind the scenes, the real work begins. 

 

Some call us army of consciousness. Slowly we are building a new world.  With the power of our hearts and minds. We follow with joy and passion. Our orders reach us from the Central Spiritual Intelligence. We're throwing soft bombs of love without anyone noticing; poems, Hugs, songs, photos, movies, fond words, meditations and prayers, dances, social activism, websites, blogs, acts of kindness ... 

 

We express ourselves in a unique and personal way. With our talents and gifts. Being the change we want to see in the world. This is the force that moves our hearts. We know that this is the only way to accomplish the transformation.  We know that with the silence and humbleness we have the power of all oceans together. Our work is slow and meticulous. As in the formation of mountains. 

 

Love will be the religion of the 21 century. Without educational prerequisites. Without ordering an exceptional knowledge for your understanding. Because it is born of the intelligence of the heart. Hidden for eternity in the evolutionary pulse of every human being. 

 

Be the change you want to see happen in the world.  Nobody else can make this work for you.  

 

We're recruiting.  Perhaps you will join us.  Or maybe you have already joined.  All are welcome. The door is open.

- See more at: http://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=777#sthash.zPvOSFy3.dpuf

On the surface of the Earth exactly now there is war and violence and everything looks horrible.  But, simultaneously, something quiet, calm and hidden is happening and certain people are being called by a higher light. A quiet revolution is settling from the inside out.  From bottom to top. It is a global operation. A spiritual conspiracy. There are cells from this operation in every nation on the planet.

You will not watch us on TV. Or read about us in newspapers.  Or hear our words on radios. We do not seek glory.  We do not use uniforms. We arrive in several different shapes and sizes. We have costumes and different colors. Most work anonymously.  Silently we work out of the scene. In every culture in the world. In large and small cities, in the mountains and valleys. In the farms, villages, tribes and remote islands.

 

We might cross paths on the streets. And not realize ... We follow in disguise. We are behind the scenes. And we do not care about who wins the gold of the result, and Yes, that the work gets performed. And once in a while we will cross paths on the streets. We exchange looks of recognition and continue following our path. During the day many are disguised in their normal jobs. But at night behind the scenes, the real work begins. 

 

Some call us army of consciousness. Slowly we are building a new world.  With the power of our hearts and minds. We follow with joy and passion. Our orders reach us from the Central Spiritual Intelligence. We're throwing soft bombs of love without anyone noticing; poems, Hugs, songs, photos, movies, fond words, meditations and prayers, dances, social activism, websites, blogs, acts of kindness ... 

 

We express ourselves in a unique and personal way. With our talents and gifts. Being the change we want to see in the world. This is the force that moves our hearts. We know that this is the only way to accomplish the transformation.  We know that with the silence and humbleness we have the power of all oceans together. Our work is slow and meticulous. As in the formation of mountains. 

 

Love will be the religion of the 21 century. Without educational prerequisites. Without ordering an exceptional knowledge for your understanding. Because it is born of the intelligence of the heart. Hidden for eternity in the evolutionary pulse of every human being. 

 

Be the change you want to see happen in the world.  Nobody else can make this work for you.  

 

We're recruiting.  Perhaps you will join us.  Or maybe you have already joined.  All are welcome. The door is open.

- See more at: http://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=777#sthash.zPvOSFy3.dpuf

Papaji - Baggage

Sometimes when I see people who are too serious about some foolish thing I think of something the Maharshi used to say:
When you are traveling on the train
will you keep the baggage on your head or under your feet?
This is the difference between the Wise
and the rest of the universe.
The Wise do not carry their baggage,
but almost everyone does.
Thinking of friends and finances and things not even come or already gone is carrying your baggage. This is the difference between living in peace or suffering. It depends on where your baggage is.
If you feel that the baggage you are carrying is of no use, drop it down. Then walk away Enlightened into the realms where very few have gone. Don’t carry anything.
"

H. W. L. Poonja

Rabindranath Tagore - Brink Of Eternity

In desperate hope I go and search for her
in all the corners of my room;
I find her not.

My house is small
and what once has gone from it can never be regained.

But infinite is thy mansion, my lord,
and seeking her I have to come to thy door.

I stand under the golden canopy of thine evening sky
and I lift my eager eyes to thy face.

I have come to the brink of eternity from which nothing can vanish
---no hope, no happiness, no vision of a face seen through tears.

Oh, dip my emptied life into that ocean,
plunge it into the deepest fullness.
Let me for once feel that lost sweet touch
in the allness of the universe. 

John O'Donohue - A Blessing For One Who Is Exhausted

When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight,

The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.

Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.

The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.

You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken for the race of days.

At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.

You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

‿︵︵‿︵︵‿︵༺♥༻︵︵‿︵︵‿︵

 John O'Donohue, from "Blessings"

http://www.johnodonohue.com/

Wahiduddin - The Turn

http://wahiduddin.net/

Chuck Surface - The very Dance of Shiva and Shakti

I have experience the vanishing of time, space and myself,
And found that even without being alive, I Lived.
Without space in which anything could appear,
Without time in which anything could be perceived,
Still... I existed, prior to the arising of... any thing.

In that Nothingness prior to any thing,
I am Fullness.
Not that which is alive,
But Life Itself.
I Am.
Neither the perceiver,
Nor that perceived.
For both exist in and as me.
Perceiver, perceived, and perceiving,
I Am.
And here, now, in this Dream of space, time, and infinite objects,
Pure Being exists as me, thinking, moving, speaking, writing.
The Radiance of that Pure Sun shines, even in the Dream of form.
The Water of Life pours like a river into this manifest form,
From that Ocean of Satchitananda.
Intoxicating, dissolving the sense of embodiment.
Flowing from the Heart like waves, flooding the Experience of Being.
Shining from the Heart like the Radiance of the sun,
Into space and time, as space and time,
Touching everything, being everything.
The Infinite that I Am does not refer to space.
The Eternal that I Am does not refer to time.
The Infinite and Eternal that I Am
Exist where space and time have never existed.
But from which, in which, as which, everything arises into existence.
The Joy that I Am has no Sorrow as its counterpoint.
This Joy exists where both joy and sorrow have never existed,
In timeless, spaceless, objectless Being,
The Pure Joy of Satchitananda.
Open-eyed Samadhi, here in manifestation.
Space and time arise within me, as me.
This dream of endless objects, this Lila,
This Dance, arises within me, as me.
This Radiance shines from me, into me, as me.
All that has been, all that is, all that will be, I Am.
This "I" that is written of does not refer to "me",
But to all who Are, and all that Is.
The very Dance of Shiva and Shakti.
The Lover and the Beloved dancing as two,
Embracing as One.

www.GardenOfTheBeloved.com

Ramana Maharshi - Dialogue on Self-Inquiry

The following conversation comes from the diary of a devotee called Sri Yalamanchili who met Bhagavan in 1928 and had a discussion with him on self-enquiry. It was published in Arunachala Ramana in February 1982:

Question: How to realize the Atman?
Bhagavan: Whose Atman?

Question: Mine.
Bhagavan: Then you yourself have to do it.

Question: I am unable to do and know it.
Bhagavan: To whom is it not known?

Question: To myself.
Bhagavan: Try to know who is that ‘myself’.

Question: That is what you have to tell.
Bhagavan: [Smiling] It seems you have come here to test me. Will it really benefit you if I tell you what you are? Will you be satisfied if I just tell you? Ask yourself ‘Who am I?’ After questioning you will get the answer within yourself, and that will satisfy you.

Question: I have been doing sadhana for a long time but in vain.
Bhagavan: You will have to search for ‘I’ [aham]. Then, the apparent ‘I’ will vanish.

Question: Please give me the details of the process.
Bhagavan: Mind is, in reality, a bundle of thoughts. And every thought springs from the ‘I’. So, it is the first thought. Instead of dwelling on the secondary thoughts, the seeker has to concentrate on the primary thought, which is this ‘I’.

Question: What is the difference between a thought and the ‘I’?
Bhagavan: Thoughts are not independent. They have a standing only when they are associated with the ‘I’. But the ‘I’ can stand by itself. Actually, this ‘I’ is also not independent. In its turn it is supported by the Atman.
Again and again it rises from the Self and sinks there. It subsides in deep sleep and it comes out again in waking. We have to find out the place of its birth with an introverted vision.

Question: I have been questioning in this way but getting no answer.
Bhagavan: If you ask this question with zeal and proceed inward, the false ‘I’ disappears and the real ‘I’ emerges.

Question: What is the real ‘I’?
Bhagavan: This is what we call ‘soul’ or ‘God’.

Question: When I start the enquiry numerous thoughts come in the way and obstruct me. When I eliminate one, another appears in its place. It seems there is no end.
Bhagavan: I am not telling you to grapple with the thoughts. There will be no end if you do it that way. Here lies the secret: there is the ‘I’, the source of all thoughts, and we have to catch it and see from where it arises. This is absolutely necessary. As a dog traces his master by following the track of his smell, you have to follow the inner development of the ‘I’ to reach its source, which is the [true] soul.

Question: From this I understand that one can reach the source by one’s own effort.
Bhagavan: It is by the grace of God that you come to desire to know yourself. This desire to know yourself is itself a clear sign of the Atman’s grace. So, there is grace already working as the source of your effort. Grace is not an external quality of the Self but its very nature. It abides in your Heart, pulling you inward into itself. The only task you must do is turn your attention inward and search the source of ‘I’. This is the only personal effort we have to put in. That is why [one can say that] where there is no grace, there is no desire at all for the quest for the Self.

Question: Is there no need for a Guru then?
Bhagavan: When it is necessary the Self itself will take the form of an external Guru and initiate you into the process. He will push you in and hand you over to the inner Guru who is already there. Finally, the Atman, which abides in the Heart, embraces you there.

Question: Now, may I know sir, what is the distinguishing feature of this method?
Bhagavan: The sense of ‘I’ is always present in us. So, it is relatively easy to find the Self through this ‘I’, which is an emanation of the Self. Further, if, before the ‘I’ ramifies into many forms, we put our attention via this method on the parent-form of the ‘I’, this makes for the direct dissolution of the ‘I’ in its source.

Otherwise, if you begin the enquiry when the ‘I’ has already taken many forms, you will be swept away by its illusive power and never reach its source.

Question: The Self is nameless and formless. How then can we find it by the questioning of this ‘I’ that has a name and a form?
Bhagavan: The false ‘I’ or ego stands between the soul and the body, and connects them. Now, soul is conscious while the body is inert. The false ‘I’ binds them together. So, it is also called the knot between matter and spirit [chit-jada-granthi].
From this we see that it has its feet in the Self and its head in the body. Therefore, by enquiring into the origin of the ego, we can easily proceed and reach the formless Self.