Friday, July 2, 2010

The Goat, The Meditator and the Sky of the Dormant Mind by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"


Three Zen monks went to a mountain cave to contemplate the Ultimate Reality.


Three years later, a mountain goat walked by the entrance to the cave.


The first monk said, "Did you see that?"


Three years later, the second monk said, "What?"


Three years later, the third monk said, "If you guys don't shut up, I'm outta here!"



The meditator usually has an object upon which to meditate. The appearance of an object is the reason that the ego-I arises from the Heart in order to grasp or identify with its object. Object meditation can therefore be counter productive for realizing the Pure I that rests as the Heart. It is more likely to perpetuate duality by encouraging objectivity.

Meditation offers the physical body many benefits and indeed helps the active mind to settle into harmony. It also may focus a highly distracted mind into deep concentration with a single pointed, yet objective focus.

However whether the object of meditation is "external" such as the flame of a candle or whether the object is "internal" such as one of the many extraordinary, altered states of consciousness that can be realized through deep meditation, the presence of the object itself may cause the ego-I to arise.

Ecstatic states are indicators of 'progress,' yet trying is also counter productive. Altered states appear on their own accord, when the 'mind' is being purified and as vasanas or tendencies dissolve. The one trying for the beauty of an altered state is ego's desire for attainment of an object and is an obstruction.

The false I arises from the Heart to attach to the most extraordinary object. Those are two reference points which is duality; the witness and the objective altered state. No matter how divine that altered state may seem, it is easily a distraction to Self-realization.

This arising is very subtle indeed. It will be recognized as movement as the dormant mind shifts into activity in order to possess or attach to the ecstatic state. Just be as you are, Being I. It is the mind that moves, not you. In other words, stay home as the Heart. You are there before, during and after every ecstatic state.

Only Self-inquiry deprives all objectivity, that is focusing all of the mind's attention on Being I alone. Again, not awareness of I (two reference points), but rather Being I.

In this, the tendencies of mind burn away and what we are referring to as 'mind' completely dissolves. Once the mind has dissolved, the false I never arises again.

Subsequently, objects are no longer perceived as objects. There is only the Pure I (Absolute) ... AM (the non-objective universe); Self-realization is realizing the Totality as none other than Self.

Meditation cannot remove the reference point of the meditator; the one who is practicing and who needs more time and experience to become in the future what it already is: Pure I shining as the Heart.

Just as in the example above of the three Zen monks, as soon as the meditation is disturbed, the dormant mind will once again become active and the temporary deep peace offered by the sky of mind will disappear. The false I will continue to arise and attach to all objects, rather than resting as the Heart. For three years, the Zen monks enjoyed the dormant mind. Yet the idea of the goat immediately reappeared as soon as there was a break in meditation. Dormant mind is not Self-realization.

The same is true for breath control and breath retention. With breath control, thought does indeed slow and offers the possibility to realize what is 'between' and beyond each thought; in this example, objective space.

With breath retention, we have cessation of thought. Even right now, if you would like to take a deep breath, hold it for awhile and listen within, you will quickly notice that there are no thoughts. The effect however is only temporary. Mind has simply fallen into a dormant state and will quickly become active again as soon as the breath is released.

Likewise, mantras and chanting, while being totally enjoyable and effective in mesmerizing the mind into a calm and blissful state, the effect will only be temporary. Though recommended, it is the same for silent prayer that is free of motivation or what I call adoration.

The point being is that Self-inquiry is direct and will prove to be successful.

The highest and purest 'teaching' of all is radiant silence and this is why satsang appears. Satsang is far more than sitting with a "teacher" conceptually discussing information about enlightenment. A scholar may offer helpful information from a dual perspective, but is not offering satsang.

True satsang is being 'associated' with Pure Beingness and the spiritual power. Whether one is conscious of the spiritual power or not, this radiance burns the tendencies of mind and without even really knowing why, the mind rests as deep peace.

In silent sitting, it is recommended to simply rest, free of all effort to "move deeper" and in complete surrender, allow the radiance. The 'burning' of tendencies happens on its own accord.

Even here, the most profound glimpse during silent satsang or what is referred to as darshan, may be only a temporary abeyance of mind into a dormant state. So persistent Self-inquiry during all that is being done during the day is required.

If you are graced with the opportunity for darshan, there is nothing more powerful and effective than radiant stillness.

Do not be confused however, the sage is not the form. The true guru or sadguru is the Pure Beingness that is already shining within. If a sage is required, one will appear in form; always pointing on the "outside" back to who you really are, with a tremendous attraction from "within."

If words are spoken by the sage during satsang, contrary to what has been said, nothing can truly obstruct the perennial flow of radiant stillness. Wise words dispel ignorance, but indeed might also engage the ego by trying to learn or understand what is being said. Nonetheless, deep within, the radiant stillness is burning. The waves on the surface of the ocean does not effect the ocean's depth.

The power of silent darshan is still the most effective.

So why all these words?

Well ...

If all you heard here were words and concepts ...

You consciously missed the greater silent teaching ...

Nonetheless, the radiance flows ...

 

 

Katie Davis Website www.KatieDavis.org

(Free videos, free downloads, free monthly Friends of the Heart Newsletters with more articles on spiritual awakening and Self-realization)

 





Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Pure Mind by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"

Questioner: What is "pure mind" and what is meant by "killing the mind"?


Katie: When you use the word "mind," where is that word pointing?


Questioner: Thoughts. Does it include feelings? Emotions? I don't know.


Contributor: It includes all, but the point is who's behind the mind? Killing the mind is simply to distance from it just as an observer.


Katie: When I use the word "mind" it points to thoughts and just as you say the mental-emotional aspect of the mind, mental images, physical energies and ever more subtle layers of the intellect. It includes both perception and cognition, understanding and the idea of selfhood, as well as the subject-witness.

Our primary concern is identification with thought and first and foremost, the "I" thought that is the body. This association is an illusion. Nothing wrong with the beautiful body of course, but when we limit ourselves to the body only as identity, we cannot be aware of the greater consciousness that we genuinely are.

The first step then is to observe thought which leads to "detachment" from thought. Instead of riding along on a train of thought, with detachment, thoughts float by like leaves in a river of consciousness, while we remain still. Thoughts are free and so is the one watching.

The mind is stilled, meaning there are not thoughts. Although, enlightenment is more than the blank mind state. We have shifted from the projecting power of mind to the resting power of mind successfully and that is beautiful ... yet not Self-realization.

When they speak of purifying the mind, they are speaking of tendencies or vasanas. The mind is a mirror that is covered with fog, much like the bathroom mirror after taking a shower. To clear the bathroom mirror, we merely open the door. To clear the mirror of the mind, we turn the mind within through Self-inquiry. Turned within, the mirror is cleared by the light of consciousness. It happens by itself.

When there are no more tendencies, we realize that there is no such thing as a separate mind. All is consciousness. So in fact, there is no 'mind' to kill. Anyway, the one that would try to kill the mind is the same mind. It just won't happen!

Even the separate sense of self, the ego-I, is merely an altered state of consciousness. So we hold onto it and focus all attention on the feeling of I-ness. This is the paradox. Even though it appears as a false I, we focus attention upon it.

Not awareness of I, which maintains duality, but rather Being I.

In attention, thought is stilled. It does not become the ego's story of "I am this" and "I am that." The altered states will burn away and the Pure I that you already are shines as the Heart.

Being I ... simply BE STILL ... as you are.

The effort in trying to still the 'mind' is only more agitation. It is the same divided 'mind' that it is trying to still itself. Mind cannot be 'fixed' at the level of the mind. Instead, we focus attention and realize the perfect peace that is beyond the mind ... that already is. In this, what never was dissolves.



Contributor: And purity is equanimity, equanimity to all that goes on mind. It's identification with likes and dislikes which causes the bondage and suffering.


Katie: Just as you say, when we observe thoughts, it does indeed 'distance' the observer, so that thoughts do not use us.

Thoughts are not really problematic. It is the identification where we 'lose' who we are.

I might point out that identification requires time.

So when we are solidly and consciously in the body (part of the content of the present moment), we are no longer lost in the head and less likely to attach to compulsive thinking.

That present moment is appearing within time. It is appearing within the formless NOW that is completely free of time, free of the content of the present moment and indeed already free of thought.

The body is a perfect tool for presence. Attend its breathing and the past and future fade away.

Time = mind = suffering. Remove time from the equation and the identification and suffering disappear.



Contributor: And it's so wonderful to be distanced from the thoughts and actions, a kind of kingly feeling. You know this very well, Katie!


Katie: Indeed, purity is equanimity and innocent stillness.

Free of identification with the ego-I, we are also free of all of its judgments that become likes and dislikes that separate us from the beauty of all experience and the stillness from which it arises ... all is whole and complete ... equanimity.

The tendency is to try to manipulate likes and dislikes. Or some will even work for years on judgment. Instead, what is prior to judgment? When the ego-I thought falls ... all judgments, concepts and beliefs fall along with it.

How could there ever be equanimity and peace with a separated I?

That one believes in separation and therefore only perceives separation.

"ME" against the world, for or against God; separate from everything.

How is it possible to be separate from something called the Totality?

No wonder that tiny thought feels alienated, lonely and fragmented. Separate from love, separate from happiness, separate from every person and thing. No wonder it is sad, fearful and angry!

Yet when we look for it ... it is nowhere to be found ... other than the thought of separation.

Instead of seeking enlightenment, seek the "I."

From whence does it arise?

You will find that it (YOU) are already shining as the Heart that is beyond all and All.

Nonetheless, don't toss that ego "I" out. Focus attention ... Being I.

All the altered states (tendencies/vasanas) burn away ... effortlessly so.

Such simplicity ... Be Still.

Being I.

People speak of how complex Self-realization is.

It is the MIND that is complex and the 'mind' is not.

Each time attention shifts to I am this or that ... and gets lost in the story, just stop.

No big deal. Be still, being I, during all that is being done.

False identification is false bondage and needless suffering.



Contributor: "It is the mind that is complex", "being I is so simple" This sums up your flowing explanation. Well, what you have written is so insightful and it is befitting to be posted on your blog for the benefit of all other friends. Thank you, K!


Katie: Being I is so simple ... So much love and thank you for the suggestion about the blog. There have been many fine and creative ideas offered today.

Some schools refer to the pure mind as nirvana blue or what I call the blue void. This is still an experience. 

Whereas enlightenment is no experience at all ... beyond the experience of no experience. You are prior to consciousness.

Nirvana is the realization of pure consciousness or full emptiness. It is the highest happiness that is transcendental bliss. 

Pure consciousness is the unconditioned 'mind' and its state is perfect lucidity and clarity. Ecstatic bliss is divine love ... deep, cool blue with extraordinary luminosity.

Whereas YOU, dear Heart Friend, are That which makes all possible. 

Not one word that I could say would be true. If you remember enlightenment, it is not enlightenment. No memory! I am beyond cognition, so I remain the Great Mystery. I only BE who I am.

Indeed, I am beyond all and All ... that is Self-realization; realizing who I am as the Totality.



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Saturday, June 5, 2010

You Are Already the Ultimate Reality by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"


Perhaps you have heard now that Self-realization is a possibility for every human being. Previously, enlightenment was considered to be available only to a gifted few, who were referred to as saints or sages. Today, this is not so and in fact, you have the opportunity right now to be free of the idea of time, separation and therefore free of all psychological suffering.

The only obstruction is a case of mistaken identity. Commonly, people assume that they are the body only, with its given name, since this is what we were conditioned to believe; a finite body born into time that will eventually die and, during this relatively short lifespan, live within the confines and limitations of the physical form with its conditioned attitudes and beliefs that lead to either pleasure or pain.

Perhaps through chance, we finally hear the remarkable good news that we are indeed not the mind-body involved in a psychological process of becoming something more. Indeed, we hear that we are already the Ultimate Reality that is inseparable from unconditional love, causeless joy and perfect peace; a universal intelligence, within which the entire universe is appearing!

Further, we are told that once realized, it will seem so simple and obvious that we will be dismayed that who we really are was ever overlooked. Nonetheless, as unbelievable that this might seem, it is still relatively rare that one will hear this message and become curious enough to realize the truth. This is indeed changing as all things do.

The invitation today is to look to discover the truth, so that all that is false is directly perceived. When that which is false is noticed, it spontaneously falls away to reveal a deeper truth.

With learning rather than looking, we only acquire new beliefs. For example, someone might have taught you what honey tastes like, where to find it and many other interesting facts, but you cannot say with any certainty that you know honey, until you have had the direct experience in the tasting.

Honey however is an objective experience; something other than we are. So when we hear the pointer to seek the source of the ego-I thought, we begin seeking it objectively. Traditionally, this is what the mind naturally does, when it looks for the source of things. It seeks among the separate things themselves. Normally, the mind searches among objects.

Contrary to what the ego thinks, you are not just another object appearing in the world. While ultimately not quite true, YOU are the SOURCE of all objects. So to realize this, the looking must be within you.

Today's message is to merely turn within. Habitually, the mind's attention is turned outward and it experiences only what is in space and time. The mind turned outward is the home of the ego-body, its world and suffering. With the mirror of the mind turned inward, the light of consciousness burns all of the fog off the mirror. When the fog is cleared, it is able to reflect pure light. Then, all is bathed in radiant love's light!

Self-realization calls for turning the mind's attention within. There is an unfathomable and timeless dimension within you, whose portal can only be accessed right now, through the physical body into its inner body that is beyond thought, emotion and form. This dimension is not an object. It is essentially who you infinitely are.

Mind turned outward is space, time and suffering.

Mind turned within is timelessly the Heart of all being.

When we turn within, it is essentially the beginning of a new life.


Katie Davis Website www.KatieDavis.org
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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Roses for Awake Living by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"


The Way of the Heart

When the human being is consciously fulfilled, blessings appear in every aspect of our lives. Full embodiment of the Heart is the precious gift that becomes the art of Awake Living. We live the natural way of the Heart in a profoundly human manner that is globally undivided. This unity is in cooperation with humanity, the living earth, its vital environment and in harmony with the welfare of its creatures.

The quality in which we live is not one of personal choice that is mentally selected as a right way based upon moral virtues, but rather the organic outcome of total surrender to the Heart. The spirit is consciously integrated as we contemplate our relationships, professions, investments, health, schools and politics. It is not that living becomes a spiritual practice, but rather our multi-diversity is appreciated as a symphony of love in action.

We have assimilated a balance in our daily lives that includes the spiritual in every encounter as it appears. We are virtually a free instrument of the Heart and selflessly serve Its way. Awake Living is conscious that we are being lived for the good of the whole.


Four Roses

The roses are limitless in this abundant Garden. Today, I offer you four; they are compassion, service, gratitude and unconditional love. Each has been chosen for its fragrance, brilliance and foremost for its power in turning the "mind's life" around, to the open way of the Heart.


The pink rose of true compassion is a gift of basic goodness to alleviate the suffering of others. Compassion flows from the emptiness and its cultivation purifies the mind. You allow your heart to be touched and are deeply empathetic with human conditions, while compassion stirs you to right action. Compassion is the work of goodwill and fosters gentle kindness. You are the whole and embrace the creatures of the earth and protect the natural beauty of nature.

This compassion includes a feeling of the joy that appears in others' lives with equal warmth and gratitude. You care for life for what life is and for who you are.


The white rose is a gift of purity and innocence in the silence of serving others, the earth and its creatures. It is silent in that the service is selfless and humble, free of personal interest or concern for outcome. With no motive in service, the quality is far beyond the mind and its ideas.


The fuchsia rose is one of gratitude for the life that appears each moment. You express gratitude to others, the greater life for its abundance, the earth for its trees, the sea for its gifts, other living creatures and insects for their service to life and even the weeds that you pull as you smell the earth to grow your rose garden. In the end, gratitude just overflows until a grateful Heart is all there is.


The red rose of unconditional love is the greatest, since virtually every soft petal contains all of the others and indeed, the entire Garden of Awake Living. This affectionate gift appreciates life's truest passion for loving with patience, humility, forgiveness and emotional maturity. You are kind and in harmony with living, instead of throwing life around.

We have differences in the human mind and have differing perspectives, however at Heart, we are one life in essence. Awake Living is not attached to individual perspectives as though they were our personal identity. We are open to the whole, so that human diversity is respected with tolerance or perhaps even fascination.

This receptivity emulates a love that offers a broader reality for the family, spirituality, society, workplace, environment, science and the arts. In this manner, we live in cooperation and acceptance with mutual appreciation and enthusiasm.

Since we are love, we are not searching where to get it. Instead, we are watchful for every opportunity to overflow the greatest gift of the Heart.


Katie Davis Website www.KatieDavis.org

Free videos, free downloads of e-books, chapters and articles, free monthly Friends of the Heart Newsletters with articles and poetry on spiritual awakening and Self-realization.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Now Playing - A Film by God by Sundance Burke, Author, "Free Spirit"


God's film is Now Playing, but many of you do not experience it, as you are giving your attention to the trailer of a coming attraction; produced by mind and entitled, I Can't Get No Satisfaction. You won't be available for God's film until your interest in this coming attraction ends. However, your interest may never end, because you are the star of this film in production and you just can't wait to see your name up in lights.

Who can blame you, given the circumstances? After all, you are assuming this role for good reason. This script is speaking to you. The theme of your screenplay is dissatisfaction. Your main idea is that something about this moment should change in order for you to be happy. That something could be anything.

A follow up to that concept is that you will need more time for the change to appear. So your film is set in a future time and place. Since this moment is lacking and no other time is here, your desired change has to be written now. As you are the only screenwriter for the movie, it's up to you to imagine and conceive the storyline for your future experience. Your desired changes to the present must follow your motivation, which is again dissatisfaction. As you dislike this moment or desire to re-create it for whatever reason, your unhappiness is being expressed just as you think.

First of all, you might not like yourself. Then again, you might not like others. What if you don't like the way the world is right now? Surely, that calls for a big change. However, maybe you adore this moment and don't want it to change, even as it changes right before your eyes.

As you write your own version of the present, your film is taking shape. Soon it will be developed, but not yet. There will be writes and rewrites, one after another, until you are finally satisfied with the look and feel of this moment. However, let's take it from your first judgment. Everything is going along great and then your star makes an entrance into the scene. Right away, we get a sense of your character's anxiety by witnessing the body language. Then the monologue begins:

"This peace can't last. It never has. Nothing ever works out for me as it should. Why can't I just be happy? If only things were different. I remember when times were good. This moment can't be it. Surely, there's got to be more than this. If I just keep waiting, something great is bound to happen or maybe something bad. No, I can't wait. If I don't make something happen, nobody will. Although, I'm not certain if I can do it. I don't know what to do. In any event, I just need more time."

By the way, how long have you been working on this film? Seems like forever, doesn't it? Just when you think you've got it all right, something happens to upset you and just like that, you've got another scene to write and also direct. Hey, no one said filmmaking was easy. Who knows this better than you?

I've got another idea for ending your movie if you're open to hearing it. As I see it, since your theme is dissatisfaction, what would be more dissatisfying than being unable to satisfy your dissatisfaction. Wow, that's truly dramatic, isn't it? Who knows, it might even help you discover a surprise ending. I mean, what if your character gets so fed up with being dissatisfied and unhappy that he just gives up trying to change the moment in any way?

In this circumstance, its hard to say how he would act. Maybe it's better not to write this ending. You could just leave it up to the moment and see what happens, when your character finally realizes that his situation is utterly hopeless. When he realizes that he can't think of anything to make the present other than it is, he might just accept it fully and be satisfied. Of course, this would change your theme, but you have to admit that it's a great twist on the direction you've been heading.

I know that you have been really busy producing your film unconsciously, but if you can be pure attention for just a moment, I've got an unbelievable proposition for you. Right now, I am watching a terrifc film. It's got everything. I would like you to realize it, as well. It's called Now Playing and it's being created by God as we speak. I don't know him personally, but I am witnessing his production and it feels truly alive and dynamic. While your movie has cost you an arm and a leg to produce and distribute locally, God's film is available now and it's playing everywhere. Best of all, it's free, if you are.

So, as far as the price goes, you can realize Now Playing, if you surrender to this moment as it is, because that's the price of your attendance. And when I say, this moment, I mean exactly This! So, forget about the idea of changing anything here. The script is already perfect. Every detail is being taken care of, so nothing is missing. The set looks and feels authentic to this present time and place. All the actors are in perfect form. Every performance is seamlessly happening and each is Oscar worthy in its own right.

This is real movie making in its truest form, so nothing is being edited out of the story. Not one of us hits the cutting floor. Everyone has an appearance in this film and though the reviews aren't always flattering, the acting is phenomenal. The fact is, Now Playing is not only the perennial winner of best film, its our life as we know it; uncut, uncensored, spontaneous, supersized, formatted to the big screen of awareness and therefore available to any being. Now let's relax, be quiet and open our eyes, because it's showtime!


Sundance Burke is author of Free Spirit: A Guide to Enlightened Being
Sundance Burke Website is at www.SundanceBurke.org


Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Friends of the Heart May Issue by Katie Davis and Sundance Burke

The Friends of the Heart May Issue is Now Posted at:



Free monthly articles on spiritual awakening, non-duality, enlightenment and Self-realization


In This Issue:

"Ego-ji and Fear, Anger and Sadness" by Katie Davis, Author, Awake Joy

"Nothing Ever Happened" by Sundance Burke, Author, Free Spirit

"Warrior Silence" by Ethan Walker III from Soft Moon Shining




Saturday, May 8, 2010

"Have You Seen Our Mother?" from Soft Moon Shining: Poems for the Mother of the Universe


Brother Wind

Have you seen our Mother?
   
Was she sitting alone and silent
   
on some lofty snow capped peak
      
as you crossed the Rocky Mountains
      
on your way to caress
      
the vast prairie grass lands?

If you see our most beautiful Mother
   
please tell her I am calling her
   
and that I can no longer contain my love

Sister Earth
Have you felt our Mother's footsteps
   
as she walked across your endless lands
   
planting the seeds
      
of creation and dissolution?

Have you heard her singing her sweet song
   
of compassion and love?
      
If so, tell her that her child
      
who loves her so very much
         
has awakened from his long nap
         
and yearns to hug his Mother once again

Sister Ocean
Has our Mother passed through your rivers today
   
on her way to direct the waters of eternity
   
up into her garden of clouds
      
floating in the deep blue sky of primal awareness?

Or have you felt her moving in the unfathomable depths
   
of your inky black belly
      
where she often goes to stir
      
the boiling cauldron of destiny?

If you know where our sweetest of Mothers is
   
please tell her
   
that I am unable to stop the flood of tears
      
that rises from the well of my deep longing
         
and that I yearn to hold her
         
and to be held by her again

Brother Sun
Nothing at all escapes your warm life giving gaze!
   
Please look all around now from your high place
   
and tell me if you see our Mother's dancing form
     
as she goes about her many tasks
       
- can you catch a glimpse of her shadow
       
as it plays on the steep cliffs of revelation?

If so, please tell her to come for her child
   
who stands now in his crib
      
gripping tightly and shaking
      
the constraining rail of the ego
         
crying Mother! Mother! Mother!
            
unable to find contentment in anything but her

If you see her
   
please kiss her affectionately for me
   
and tell her to come quickly
      
as I am through sleeping and dreaming
         
and only want to be with her


"Soft Moon Shining: Poems for the Mother of the Universe"
By Ethan Walker III


Photo Credit: Facebook Page "Moon"


Happy Divine Mother's Day to all Friends of the Heart

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Ego-ji and Fear, Anger and Sadness by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"


The invitation of this reading is to allow it to be "multi-dimensional." That is to say, the words are flowing as a river through consciousness and are only pointers. There is something deeper here, something ineffable; the radiant stillness within. This stillness is behind and permeating every word.

If you are not aware of the stillness now, please take a moment to be conscious of the breath and follow it into the silence. While reading, if you find that you are only reading intellectually, please take a moment to stop; consciously breathe. Are you aware of being? The truest teaching is not within the words. The words always point to the stillness.


The phantom named ego is an altered state of consciousness, whose primary belief is the mental idea of "me." Its false assumption is that its identity is the body and that it was born and therefore must die. In identification with the mind-made self, you cannot be conscious of the magnificent Heart that you genuinely are. Instead, the ego believes itself to be only a fraction and its mantra is "me against the world."

This sense of separation creates the delusion of a tremendous pain gap that manifests in the life situation as all forms of negativity; from a general sense of unease, impatience or frustration, to anger or rage, sorrow or misery and fear, dread or even terror. I suppose that one could say that in its altered state, Ego-ji is fear.

For the ego that thinks it is the body, the deepest fear is the threat of death, annihilation and extinction. With great compassion and understanding, we could note that anyone who still believes that their identity is the body is under a constant sense of threat and more likely than not, unaware of the related stress and negativity.

This fraction is in constant search to complete itself through some other, causing anxiety or trying to escape all that it suspects to be a threat. Whether seeking pleasure to avoid pain or trying to escape what it fears, its baseline within time will always be some form of fear.

The most armored state of the ego and therefore the most fearful is anger. When we encounter an angry ego, the misperception is that it is very powerful, when in fact it is demonstrating the strongest need to control in order to protect itself. When we directly investigate and allow anger to consciously arise within us in order to feel it fully, understand its structure and how it perpetuates, in that acceptance, the anger begins to dissolve.

Just underneath the anger as it fades away, we then encounter the next protective layer of the ego, which is sadness. Some cultures have conditioned the ego to believe that crying is a weakness. When in fact, this ego state of consciousness is allowing more vulnerability and is therefore less fearful. When we allow the sadness to fully arise consciously, after first resisting the emotion, it is similar to a floodgate opening. The emotion gushes forth and allows a certain freedom in the release. In its emptiness, one may even realize the birth of true compassion.

Once again, if there is a willingness to attend, allow and understand the accompanying psychological voice and how it perpetuates negativity, we have brought what was previously hidden and subconsciously operating into the light of consciousness. When we completely allow and accept the emotion, it begins dissolving.

If you are courageous and curious enough to investigate the next layer of the ego's negativity, you will encounter fear; the least guarded and protected human emotion. As with all of these negative emotional states, there are many degrees of intensity within the same emotion. So if you are inviting in fear for the purpose of investigation, why only allow a little bit? Let this be the opportunity to follow it from fearful to terrorized to petrified of death or extinction.

A helpful question might be, "Is there anything deeper?" Follow it into the "valley of the shadow of death" and find out whether death is a reality.

Psychological fear is always based on what the ego imagines and never on what is actually happening. For instance, the survival instinct might arise if a tiger jumped out right now from behind your computer screen. For certain, the body intelligence would immediately jump to safety. This is not the fear of which I am sharing. Psychological fear is purely psychological, without clear and present danger. Fear arises due to imagining what might be, so it is a chronic future fixation that is based on separation.

Without time, the ego does not exist. The identification with the ego-I requires the delusion of time and separation. So when we are fiercely being now, separation and its fear are not possible.

Likewise, when we apply the Self-inquiry question, "Who am I?", the mind's attention is turned inward and therefore the veil of ego is immediately dropped. Instead, we look to see from whence that thought is arising.

In either case, whether being now or through Self-inquiry, whatever is subconscious or unconscious will eventually arise into consciousness. This is important, since the darkness cannot survive the light of consciousness and this is the true liberation to which I point. This liberation is not possible if you assume what I am sharing to be true as another belief. It is only available to the brave heart who wants to know the truth by directly investigating.

One could say that there is no escape. In fact, the sooner that you are willing to allow and investigate the deepest fears of the psyche, the sooner those imaginary fears will dissolve into the pure love that you genuinely are right now.

Listen ...

Ego-ji is scared because it imagines that is is separated. It is then angry, because it is imagines its weakness in sorrow. It is sad because it is defending against what it imagines fear to be. It greatest fear is the imagination of what death is.

The truth of the matter is that Ego-ji was never born and cannot die. Ego-ji itself only exists in its imagination. Upon this revelation, it all seems quite amusing and yet when caught up in the dream, it is a nightmare. The opportunity of the awakening is to free all of these ghosts and see things aright. In this, you are fearlessly free. In fact, you are free now and yet may not be conscious of the fact.


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Sunday, May 2, 2010

"Before the Awakening - Forgiveness and Allowing - The Relative Truth of People and Things" by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"

In Hawaii, the pink rose is named the Lokelani and symbolizes compassion.


We enter the temple of the Heart as love. You already are the Abode of Radiant Love.

Yet, when we begin shifting attention out of the head and into the physical body to be present, we become aware of emotions that were previously unnoticed, perhaps for many years.

With the ego's idea of self-protection, these emotions will often prevent the deeper inquiry required to enter the inner body, which is the only gateway to stillness. This inner sanctum rests just underneath the painful emotions; ego's separation theory and therefore personal desire and fear.

If the ego tries to avoid the negative emotions by escaping, the ego succeeds and your opportunity to realize what is already free of the ego and its emotional states will vanish.

If the ego resists the negativity, it will persist. Either consciously or unconsciously, the negativity will continue to have an impact on the body and its life situation. In fact, resistance is likely to make the negativity even stronger.

The only option is to allow the emotion to be just the way that it is and feel it fully in the body. You will notice that the ego's thinking quickly aligns with the negativity, which makes the emotion stronger. With great curiosity and compassion, the invitation is to allow the deeper emotion in order to gain greater understanding about how thinking is directly related to your emotional states and see how the negativity perpetuates.

I am not suggesting that you try to change anything or manipulate the thinking. I am inviting you to merely look and allow it all to be as it is, so that it is directly observed, felt completely and understood. There is really no other choice, since it is as it is anyway! However, in conscious allowing, we may be able to arrive at acceptance. 

Acceptance is not resignation. In acceptance, one could say that there is a willingness to suffer and when it arises, it is welcomed. Uncomfortable, yes, but we are genuinely patient, compassionate and it is alright.

Attention and allowing are consciousness and this consciousness is deeply harmonic and unifying. When we watch and feel emotions fully, the consciousness begins transforming the negativity into the perfect love that it genuinely already is. No effort is required and the transformation happens by itself. It does require attention and allowing.

I understand that feeling the emotions may be quite painful or even what seems to be unbearable. However, most of the pain is in the resistance or in our imagination about how difficult these emotions might be. In this, we merely fear our imagination. Instead, become curious enough to find out if the deeper emotions are as they seem.

It is often said that the pathway to freedom takes a courageous heart. While this is true, allowing is also highly intelligent. You may quickly leap to the realization that you are the awareness within which the suffering is appearing. Yet, the suffering will continue to perpetuate, although "no one" suffers.

This is not the true freedom to which I am pointing. Suffering will not be fulfilled until it is known. That which is known is past. You have rightly heard the good news that Self-realization is the end of all suffering. May you equally hear that there is no escape? In fact, IN is the only way out!

Everyone has had painful past situations that they have had to endure. Although the ego would have you believe that yours is certainly unique and the worst!

We do not need to go into the past to process the story. In fact, we cannot keep telling a painful story and get rid of the pain.

Indeed, the hidden emotions will always arise as conditioned reactions to our present life situation. This is the past that still lives on within you. Some are so deeply embedded in the psyche that they do not even surface until we begin to go within.

You may have already tried to forgive the person or situation, yet the forgiveness might have remained only mental and somehow escaped the ultimate forgiveness of the heart. True forgiveness has no external requirement, which means that it is free of dependence. It has nothing to do with anyone else or even the storyline. Real forgiveness is the power of the timelessness within you that is already free of personal history.

One aspect of forgiveness is frequently overlooked. Have you equally forgiven yourself for the perception? While dual in nature, in Hawaii we have a healing practice called Ho'oponopono that is currently spreading worldwide. The practice assumes personal responsibility for all that is resisted, avoided, judged or negatively encountered. Ho'oponopono then addresses the deeper question, "who am I?"

Before the awakening, when we realize that the life story is a self-projection, self-forgiveness becomes primary. Just as a movie projector projects images onto a screen, so that we can enjoy the movie, what remains unconscious and unattended within you is being projected right now in front of you this very moment, so that it can be consciously seen. The world that you are presently experiencing is a projection of altered states of consciousness within you.

In other words, both the victim and the victimizer have their roots within you. While the ego may adamantly deny this and continue to blame so called others, through direct observation you may find that what I am sharing is true. When you have allowed, attended and understood what seems to be within, you are freed.

Of course, you then realize that you have indeed always been free and that you have been needlessly suffering.

Ho'oponopono is based on four beautiful expressions that are directed only within:

"Please forgive me. I am sorry. Thank you and I love you."

In short, please forgive my projection, I am sorry for perceiving in this manner, thank you for bringing what was unconscious into consciousness, I love you, Divine and self."

While dealing only with the ego state of consciousness and the Divine in a dual manner, the healing does take full responsibility for negativity until this responsibility is fulfilled and until you are free of the ego.

Before active meditation is possible, the most powerful tools that are readily accessible to everyone are silent sitting, a willingness to look within, allow the emotions, feel them completely and observe how they operate without changing anything, as well as Self-inquiry. You will discover that there is nothing wrong with you!

In this willingness, what was perceived as negativity dissolves and you are able to enter the temple of the Heart as love. You are freed for the deeper inquiry into the formlessness within, realize who is looking and ultimately, realize that which is making everything possible.


In closing, you are already the Ultimate Reality.

If you can already hear what is being shared in the pointer directly above, there is no one who is not ready here and now. Surrender the "I am forgiving" (being this) and "I am unforgiving" (being that) to rest only as "I am." "I am" is the bridge that crosses over to who you already are.

Who am I? is the only essential question, whether questioned now or later.

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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Sadness and True Compassion by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy," - My Sweet, Crushed Angel by Hafiz

 
Sadness and True Compassion by Katie Davis
 
Just let the dream fall apart. 

It is disappearing anyway. 

The pain is in the holding on and in the resistance. 

It is breaking down this very moment ... 

Perhaps to reveal another. 

Can you just allow this moment to be as it is? 

When the body falls to sleep every night, 

The daytime dream falls away anyway. 

Yet, you love it! 

Just let go. 

If you would just surrender; 

There is great beauty in the breakdown. 

Perhaps in the surrender of what appeared to be person, 

A profound detachment from all form may appear. 

Detachment should not be understood by the mind as separation. 

Instead, the magnificence of the witness comes to the forefront. 

Detachment happens spontaneously by itself, 

Rather than one contrived by the idea of spiritual practice, 

And then enforced by the ego. 

Detachment allows the fullness of being-consciousness-bliss, 

That is free of all form and as an experience is one of complete connection. 

This is still only a reflection of course, 

Since a reference point of subject persists. 

The pure attention that the witness is, 

Naturally turns to its formlessness, 

Still in search of its perfection. 

Its fascination is the empty void of all experience. 

Maintaining its subject reference point, 

The void appears objectively. 

It is the Heart dimension appearing as separate and still subtle experience. 

The witness always has an object and this objectivity disappears with the witness. 

When the void appears, sometimes a deep fear and sadness arise. 

The witness is completely free of the appearance of the world of form, 

It is free of the ego-I and its personal dream that is apparently falling apart. 

Free of the delusion of the personal suffering, 

We are invited into the deeper well of the collective. 

One of the most beautiful gurus on the inner way appears. 

Her name is Sri Sadness. 

Brave Heart that she genuinely is, 

She is willing to suffer the story of all mankind throughout all time. 

O, humanity's sweet sadness, 

How utterly deep and empty you are! 

So completely alone, 

The darkness seems endless. 

Yes, I see you appearing there helplessness and despair. 

It takes utter misery to allow you ... 

Or perhaps the most courageous, curious and welcoming heart. 

Even hope has scurried away to some other divine dimension 

That has always seemed just out of reach in some future time or space. 

Is hopelessness what you imagined it to be? 

To truly know you, I become you. 

 Such magnitude! 

Beauty arises as emptiness births true compassion. 

Never has there been such an infinite silence! 

Realize directly once and for all, 

That there is a heart to darkness. 

No one seeks, no one escapes and no one knows. 

The radiant love that the universal witness is, 

Merges with sadness and the darkness cannot survive the love of the merger. 

This is not the ultimate reality, 

Yet it offers greater understanding, 

For what still may appear as some other. 

You are more able to offer gentle kindness, 

And a genuine and true helping hand. 

Having known the deepest collective pain, 

You are consciously set free. 

Unless you cry, you will never discover, 

That tears gently dry in the Morning's sunlight. 

By the way, Sri Sadness is not fulfilled until you know her completely. 

One could say, she is one of the last gatekeepers. 

Tears may still flow ... tears of pure joy.

My Sweet, Crushed Angel by Hafiz


You have not danced so badly, my dear,

Trying to hold hands with the Beautiful One.

You have waltzed with great style,

My sweet, crushed angel,

To have ever neared God's Heart at all.

Our Partner is notoriously difficult to follow,

And even His best musicians are not always easy

To hear.

So what if the music has stopped for a while.

So what

If the price of admission to the Divine

Is out of reach tonight.

So what, my dear,

If you do not have the ante to gamble for Real Love.

The mind and body are famous

For holding the heart ransom,

But Hafiz knows the Beloved's eternal habits.

Have patience,

For He will not be able to resist your longing

For long.

 You have not danced so badly, my dear,

Trying to kiss the Beautiful One.

You have actually waltzed with tremendous style,

O my sweet,

Oh my sweet, crushed angel.

~ Hafiz ~
I Heard God Laughing ~ Translated by Daniel Ladinsky  

You are invited to the Katie Davis Website at www.KatieDavis.org
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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Nisargadatta on Ambition - AwakebyKatie Blog by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"

Causes and results are infinite in number and variety. Everything affects everything. In this universe, when one thing changes, everything changes. Hence the great power of man in changing the world by changing himself.

For this [seeking Reality], you need a well-ordered and quiet life, peace of mind and immense earnestness. At every moment whatever comes to you unasked, comes from God and will surely help you, if you make the fullest use of it. It is only what you strive for, out of your own imagination and desire, that gives you trouble.

Accept life as it comes and you will find it a blessing.

You are convinced of the reality of your circumstances, of the world in which you live. Trace the world to its source and you will find that before the world was, you were and when the world is no longer, you remain. Find your timeless being and your action will bear it testimony.

This is the most urgent task. You cannot see yourself as independent of everything unless you drop everything and remain unsupported and undefined. Once you know yourself, it is immaterial what you do, but to realize your independence, you must test it by letting go all you were dependent on. 

The realized man lives on the level of the absolutes; his wisdom, love and courage are complete, there is nothing relative about him. 

Keep quiet, undisturbed, and the wisdom and power will come on their own. You need not hanker. Wait in silence of heart and mind. It is very easy to be quiet, but willingness is rare.

You people want to become supermen overnight. Stay without ambition, without the least desire, exposed, vulnerable, unprotected, uncertain and alone, completely open to and welcoming life as it happens, without the selfish conviction that all must yield you pleasure or profit, material or so-called spiritual.

Abandon every attempt, just be; don't strive, don't struggle, let go every support, hold on to the blind sense of being, brushing off all else. This is enough.

Refuse attention [to what comes to the surface], let things come and go. Desires and thoughts are also things. Disregard them. Since time immemorial the dust of events was covering the clear mirror of your mind, so you could see only memories. Brush off the dust before it has time to settle; this will lay bare the old layers until the true nature of your mind is discovered. It is all very simple and comparatively easy; be earnest and patient, that is all.

Dispassion, detachment, awareness - free from memory and expectation - this is the state of mind to which discovery can happen. After all, liberation is but the freedom to discover.

Excerpted from Chapter 95 "Accept Life as it Comes," I Am That, Nisargadatta

Photo Credit: Timothy Conway, www.enlightened-spirituality.org



Friday, April 16, 2010

Deep Being by Sundance Burke, Author of "Free Spirit"



~ Silence ~

It is not so much that one should be quiet, as opposed to noisy.

Rather, the depth of one's Being is silence.




~ Stillness ~

It is not so much that one should be still, 
as opposed to active and changing.

Rather, the depth of one's Being is unmoving awareness.


~ Spaciousness ~

And, it is not so much that one should pay more attention 
to space than objects.

Rather, the depth of one's Being is pervading light.


~ Free Spirit ~

It is not so much that one should seek to be free and oppose being bound.

Rather, the depth of one's Being is unfathomable.


~ Transcendence ~

The trouble seems to be that the human mind sees 
two options in every position; either for or against.

However, one's Spirited Being 
simply does not have one place, let alone two.





Monday, April 12, 2010

Bathed in Love's Light, All Is Beautiful by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"


 In one instant of quietude and self-surrender, the great stillness consciously emerges.

Previously unnoticed, the light shines through somehow.

This profound stillness is here right now, yet if you are reading with the mind, you are probably overlooking it. Instead, listen as within and join us.

The first glimpse of the sublime is so divinely quiet and radiant that every thought in the universe is humbled. The sense of awe and wonderment silences the mind. Since the divided mind has never experienced anything more powerful than itself, it falls to its knees in gratitude, devotion and adoration. When it then dissolves as the illumination, the bliss of pure being is all that remains. Bathed in love's light, all is beautiful!

This emerging is the end of "your" life as you had previously known it. It is also the conscious beginning of being the unchangeable mystery within which all is appearing. 

For many, when the radiance then fades, the ego begins a compulsive search for what it thinks that it attained. When in fact, it is in the absence of the mind-made self that the timeless love that we genuinely are bursts into full bloom. What has never been attained or lost cannot be reclaimed. The resolution is to be still combined with Self-inquiry.

Heart is the abode of pure love that burns the appearance of all opposites into itself. Whenever one thing changes, everything changes. Indeed, the power of changing the world lies only in our willingness to surrender and realize who we truly are.

Self-realization is our true Individuality. Pure "I" stands alone beyond all and is dependent on none. What we previously thought of as a person is in fact non-existent as far as identity and therefore no "individual" at all. That one is totally dependent, vulnerable and therefore fearful in maintaining the delusion of its separation.

This is not to say that the body, its magnificent sensing and its life situation fade away. To the contrary, free of our past conditioning and compulsive thinking, the body's intelligence is truly free of the ego's limited ideas. The senses are no longer paled by the dust of the mind and become intensely alive. The love that we authentically are flows into the life situation and everyone and everything upon which you consciously shine are likewise illuminated in love's light. After all, there is only you ... appearing as all.

In spiritual circles, the idea of detachment is widely misunderstood. The ego that is already alienated in its idea of separation hears about the concept of detachment and then dutifully tries to further separate from the body, its beautiful sensing and all so called others. This is not the detachment of which I speak. Self-realization is not about becoming an isolated nothing!

True detachment is not something that is contrived by the mind and then enforced by the ego. It occurs spontaneously and effortlessly and is in fact the end of alienation and separation.

Real detachment allows a magnificent connection, since only the ego "I" has been eliminated; the one that never existed in the first place. This glorious connection is far more than the unity of all people and things. It is so divinely intimate that even the word connection is too much separation. The spiritual realization is that there is only the divine appearing as all.

So instead of detaching from all things and people that gift this beautiful life with form, detach from the one who hopelessly is trying to separate; the ego "I" that is also attempting to own everything. Within that tiny concept of self is what appears to be "your" suffering and is reflecting as all of the lack and conflict in the world. To hold on to that separating concept is sheer selfishness and then you "own" your own limitation that is perceived as all, while blaming so called others.

Even this direction could be misunderstood. Forget about seeking enlightenment. Hold on to the "I" thought and through Self-inquiry, follow the golden thread of consciousness back home to the Heart. All departure was a delusion.

In true Individuality, our uniqueness and distinctions as human beings thrive, since we are no longer limited to that tiny image of self that at best can only be a reflection and no more than a fraction. As a fraction, we lack; as the totality, we are already whole.

Truly, we are infinitely creative and while divinely diverse, there are no differences. We are a symphony of one love in action and each has their instrument to play. It is recognized that competition and exclusion were the ego's way of living. That way can only lead to more suffering. Ego's mantra is that if you lose, I win. Instead, we can applaud the trumpets, celebrate the flutes, harmonize with the violins and truly love the global beat of the drums as they keep us in cadence with the Heart's way of living.


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