The identifications, the barriers, the divisions, the group belonging; these are the things which cause prejudice, conflict and violence. True austerity is not material austerity but psychological austerity; to give up identity, to give up nationalism, religious identity, group affiliation, political ideology, your self-importance and status and belief in money and power. This is true austerity and renunciation, self-abnegation.
When there is no "you" then there is awareness and truth. Truth destroys illusion, this is the action of awareness.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
"I" Do Not Want to End
We thrive on continuity. We want everything to continue, the good and bad, anything to feel like "something". And we want it to continue with "me" being associated with it. It is "I" which we want to continue. "I" is the ego, the conglomeration of ideology, identity, experience, feeling, and thought. When the thought that "I" will not continue with "you" comes, we panic; the thing we cling to for security is threatened and we feel dread and fear.
The thing is the "I" does not exist.
The thing is the "I" does not exist.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Nothing New
We follow old patterns, think old thought, respond from what is already established; we do not think spontaneously or have an original thought. Nothing springs up on it's own, it's all borrowed from conditioning and operating mechanically.
It's strange when we see that we're doing this, when we silently observe and begin to understand what we are doing, it falls away naturally. Then we have direct perception, wholeness, action comes from silence.
It's strange when we see that we're doing this, when we silently observe and begin to understand what we are doing, it falls away naturally. Then we have direct perception, wholeness, action comes from silence.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
A Quiet Mind
What it takes to hear the chatter of the mind, it must need to be very quiet to hear the chatter.
We are accustomed to being busy, inside and out. Our survival seems to be dependent on our willingness to be busy all the time; the stress, totally unnatural, comes to seem natural. And when it stops, we are lost.
And the chatter continues.
We need that quiet. We need things to stop.
You don't need to try. Anything that can hear all that chatter must be quiet.
We are accustomed to being busy, inside and out. Our survival seems to be dependent on our willingness to be busy all the time; the stress, totally unnatural, comes to seem natural. And when it stops, we are lost.
And the chatter continues.
We need that quiet. We need things to stop.
You don't need to try. Anything that can hear all that chatter must be quiet.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Freedom, Energy, and Space
Generally how we live is in limited space. We think in specific patterns, follow certain doctrines, and have ideas about ourselves. These are limited space. They create barriers, division, violence. And they limit energy. Energy is only allowed within a certain space.
To take on a task, to see clearly, to take action, there must be energy. When energy is confined, it is limited. Like the prisoner confined to a cell, then allowed another limited freedom on the yard, we are unable to bring energy sufficiently into our lives because our lives are limited by thought.
When we consider freedom, we are considering space. When there is less freedom, space has been limited. When space is limited, energy is corrupted, broken up and broken down, and not available. It might be available in a limited way, but not in a complete way. And complete energy is what brings action.
And action is what changes lives.
To take on a task, to see clearly, to take action, there must be energy. When energy is confined, it is limited. Like the prisoner confined to a cell, then allowed another limited freedom on the yard, we are unable to bring energy sufficiently into our lives because our lives are limited by thought.
When we consider freedom, we are considering space. When there is less freedom, space has been limited. When space is limited, energy is corrupted, broken up and broken down, and not available. It might be available in a limited way, but not in a complete way. And complete energy is what brings action.
And action is what changes lives.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Mental Projections
The mind is accustomed to projections. These projections are done in time: What has happened and what will happen. These are illusions. Time and thought create fear and distortion.
When the mind is caught in habit, it becomes mechanical and can't stop it's wheels from turning. It becomes a worn-out machine, deteriorating.
In old-age, the mind accustomed to projecting, does it on its own and this is dementia. The hallucinations seem real and can even create terror, and always confuse.
Unfortunately, people are encouraged to project; whether it is the technique of modern psychology of visualization or the tradition of religion, people are taught to make things up and to follow preconceptions.
Unwittingly, we destroy ourselves.
When the mind is caught in habit, it becomes mechanical and can't stop it's wheels from turning. It becomes a worn-out machine, deteriorating.
In old-age, the mind accustomed to projecting, does it on its own and this is dementia. The hallucinations seem real and can even create terror, and always confuse.
Unfortunately, people are encouraged to project; whether it is the technique of modern psychology of visualization or the tradition of religion, people are taught to make things up and to follow preconceptions.
Unwittingly, we destroy ourselves.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Vulnerability
It happens when there's no barrier, when you see someone as they are, when you see yourself; when there is no you and them.
You feel open and you feel like anything could come in, like a flood. For this reason, some do not want to be vulnerable. I guess that's why there are so many barriers, so many divisions, walls thrown up for protection: And this is why no one can see and no one relates to one another.
It feels like you could be wounded. It feels like you could fall endlessly. It feels like there's no floor, no wall, nothing to catch you. There is no safety. There is no security.
And that's where you're finally safe.
You feel open and you feel like anything could come in, like a flood. For this reason, some do not want to be vulnerable. I guess that's why there are so many barriers, so many divisions, walls thrown up for protection: And this is why no one can see and no one relates to one another.
It feels like you could be wounded. It feels like you could fall endlessly. It feels like there's no floor, no wall, nothing to catch you. There is no safety. There is no security.
And that's where you're finally safe.
Image and Identity
It should go without saying, or should be obvious, and seen as a fact, that identity, ideology, and group belonging leads to division. Who I am, my ideology, and my group is opposed to your group. It is part and parcel of identity, ideology and group belonging for it to have, inherently, division. These things create division, feed division, and so create conflict and violence. It is the very basis of war and starvation.
Status and self-importance are part of this phenomenon. Putting some people up higher leaves others down lower; and then you have the countless justifications for this arrangement, all, get this, rooted in ideology. Religious, economic, political ideology all lead to coercion, division, conflict, war, violence.
And no one wants to accept these facts. We are secure in living this way, we think: In spite of the fact that it leads to insecurity, really; it leads to antagonism, deprivation, crisis. It is the crisis.
Thought interferes with clarity; thought is the image, the identity, the ideology, the countless years of things hammered into the psyche until they are repeated over and over again, mechanically, and become unconscious; we do it without knowing we're doing it; we are divided without knowing why, we are ruthless and don't know why.
Like robots programmed to behave a certain way, we continue to go to war, exploit, and become more and more self-important.
We respond with venom and hate, violence. Or we escape in ever more intricate fantasies, which are, ironically, the source of the problem in the first place.
We make up who we are, we fabricate it through thought, through these identities and collections of ideas and propaganda. And we do it willingly, without a second thought. We willingly breeze into our cages and remain there. And anyone trying to free us is attacked. We venture out of the cage but stay close to it to retreat back into it at the slightest sign of trouble.
We are doing it. We create the whole mess and we can end it.
We end it when we wake up and see it.
Sleep is what causes us to continue the crisis, the chaos, the misery.
The illusion of separateness, the illusion of labels and identities, the image which acts as a barrier stands between us and truth.
Seeing it, it dissolves, the lies crumble, time crumbles, the image is obliterated, and we see.
Status and self-importance are part of this phenomenon. Putting some people up higher leaves others down lower; and then you have the countless justifications for this arrangement, all, get this, rooted in ideology. Religious, economic, political ideology all lead to coercion, division, conflict, war, violence.
And no one wants to accept these facts. We are secure in living this way, we think: In spite of the fact that it leads to insecurity, really; it leads to antagonism, deprivation, crisis. It is the crisis.
Thought interferes with clarity; thought is the image, the identity, the ideology, the countless years of things hammered into the psyche until they are repeated over and over again, mechanically, and become unconscious; we do it without knowing we're doing it; we are divided without knowing why, we are ruthless and don't know why.
Like robots programmed to behave a certain way, we continue to go to war, exploit, and become more and more self-important.
We respond with venom and hate, violence. Or we escape in ever more intricate fantasies, which are, ironically, the source of the problem in the first place.
We make up who we are, we fabricate it through thought, through these identities and collections of ideas and propaganda. And we do it willingly, without a second thought. We willingly breeze into our cages and remain there. And anyone trying to free us is attacked. We venture out of the cage but stay close to it to retreat back into it at the slightest sign of trouble.
We are doing it. We create the whole mess and we can end it.
We end it when we wake up and see it.
Sleep is what causes us to continue the crisis, the chaos, the misery.
The illusion of separateness, the illusion of labels and identities, the image which acts as a barrier stands between us and truth.
Seeing it, it dissolves, the lies crumble, time crumbles, the image is obliterated, and we see.
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