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#2214 - Thursday, July 28, 2005 - Editor: Jerry Katz
Hi. This issue features Gabriel Rosenstock, Vicki Woodyard, and Jim Dreaver. The selection from Jim is from his mailing list. Directions are included if you want to receive a couple mailings per month from him. He's a very clear writer, as you'll see. --Jerry
Gabriel Rosenstock and
so
it is hard to
'see'
A dunce once searched
for a fire
with a lighted lantern ..
Had
he known ..
what
'fire' was ..
He could have
cooked his rice
much sooner
~ Zen Flesh, Zen Bones ~
~ Trans - P.Reps & N senzaki ~
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Vicki Woodyard
We are all trying to get
back into the garden, but we don't have a hand
stamp. Lord knows we need one. Why didn't we think of
getting it
stamped before we left the place? I was taking a bath this
morning
(some of my best thinking happens there) and it struck me that
the womb
and the garden are one and the same.
We are ejected from the paradisical womb and find ourselves in
the
world. We think we are of it, but that is a sheer
impossibility. It
hurts, so we want to get back home. Going in utero again is
not an
option, but perhaps we can coccoon at home. You know, get
just the
right mattress, snacks and electronics. Somehow HH Gregg
does not seem
to be the right place to purchase paradise. Some prefer the
catalog
approach to Eden....whatever. It ain't gonna work.
Some seek Eden in mental nonduality. They take daytrips to
the place
and spend all day fiddling with their fig leaves. Poison
ivy is
everywhere and no one will give you a lift when you need to go
see your
mother. Notice I didn't say "want to." That
is just too darned normal.
I met a man once who said he could give me a backstage pass to
the
garden. That way I could see God up close and
personal. He would be
taking off His makeup after the show and I could get my picture
made
with Him. I took my digital camera but God never
showed. I guess God
is like Jerry Lee Lewis or George Jones. They are
incomparable
performance artists, but you have to put up with their
occasional
no-shows.
Okay, some of you are ready to draw and quarter me for comparing
God to
Jerry Lee. Hey, I'm just a writer. There is one more way
that we might
be able to return to the garden. Seems to me that Shakti
Gawain wrote a
book with that title. I never read it. Anyway, here's
the deal. You
might not believe this, but I have it on good authority that we
really
never left.
Now you are asking me, "Then how come I'm so
miserable?" Good
question. You are miserable because you are asleep.
But like the man
dreaming he was a butterfly, you may be just dreaming that you
are
asleep. Oh, dear, I am getting in over my head.
I hope by now that your attention is beginning to wander so that
I can
end this essay quietly. You see, I don't have any answers
or backstage
passes. Would you like a really good macaroni and cheese
recipe?
The Buddha taught that there were three
fundamental laws, or tenets of life, and the first of them is the
law of anicca, or impermanence, which is that everything
is always changing. The seasons come and go, day turns into
night, the climate changes, our body grows and matures and then,
like all living things, begins eventually to wither and die. We
can’t stop change, and to resist it causes suffering, or dukkha,
which is the Buddha’s second law.
So, when you see the truth of this, you don’t hold onto things, onto forms. You don’t keep insisting that things be a certain way. You learn to flow with the ups and downs of life, to take action when you need to, and to wait patiently when patience is what is required.
There’s a story I read once, told by
Achaan Cha, the Thai Buddhist master who was Jack Kornfield’s
teacher. I forget the exact wording of the story, but it had to
do with a beautiful crystal, or glass goblet someone had given
him as a gift. As he held the goblet up and admired it, he told
the students around him that for him, the glass was already
broken.
When they asked what he meant by this, he
said that one day, a year from now, or ten years, or a hundred
years, something would probably happen—an accident a fire,
an earthquake, or someone would just drop the goblet—and it
would break. Because he knew this, it meant that he could
appreciate the goblet, he could enjoy using it, without any
attachment. He had already said goodbye to it, so every day that
it was in his possession was a blessing.
Wisdom is seeing the big picture, seeing
the inevitable unfolding of events. It’s looking ahead, and—to
use a very practical expression—visualizing the worst-case
scenarios. Then you are prepared. If the worst-case scenario does
happen, you can take action to deal with it. It’s not that
you obsess about what happens in the future, but you remain aware
of and open to the possibilities. You honor the past without
clinging to it, you keep an eye on the future without obsessing
over it, but all the time your awareness is grounded right here,
in the present.
The third fundamental tenet that the Buddha
taught—and the three of them are inter-related—is the
law of anatta, or no-self. He said that the “self”
we take ourselves to be doesn’t exist, except as an idea, a
concept, in our mind. This is pretty much the same teaching that
Jean Klein gave me, and it is the understanding that is
communicated in all the great enlightenment traditions.
It is the attachment to notions of “self,”
to the idea that “I am this” or “I am that,”
to the whole inside-our-head drama called “me, myself, and
my story,” which creates the resistance to change. You know
what I mean. It is the fixed positions people take and cling to
for security, whether it’s a personal belief, religious
belief, a political belief, a cultural or national belief, or
something else. Everything is always changing—the anicca,
or impermanence the Buddha spoke of—and here we are,
desperately trying to cling to some part of what is inevitably
going to change. It is this clinging, this resistance, which in
turn results in dukkha, the suffering.
But the real cause of suffering is the
primary clinging, the clinging to an idea of “self,” to
this idea that I am “somebody,” that I am my personal
history. Let go of that, see that it isn’t even real—which
I call the core insight, the insight of insights—and you are
free. Then you live without needing to cling to any concept of
“self.” Then there is no struggle with “self”
esteem. You’re not holding onto any image of a “self”
that needs validation or approval, that feels pleased with itself
on some days, and hates itself on others. Then there is no more
suffering. You always feel good inside, because you’re in
touch with the underlying goodness of life.
Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda’s teacher,
put it this way: ‘I used to have a personal history, but
then, like smoking and drinking, I saw that it was no longer
necessary, so I dropped it.’
Stop reading and think about that for a
minute, the notion of dropping personal history. It is very
freeing. As it begins to happen, an enormous weight starts to
leave you—the weight of the past. Then you open up to the
deeper silence that is here now. You open up to the creative
power of being itself.
Then you can flow with the endless changes
in life. You can embrace change and use it to your advantage.
Then you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. You don’t
have to defend yourself, because no matter what anyone says, you
don’t feel attacked. Every moment is fresh and new.
Then you can set about doing what you came
here to do. You can set about writing the new story of your life.
You can use thought in a conscious, creative, intentional way.
You can pursue the goals that matter to you. You can begin to
realize your dreams.
ŠJim Dreaver, 2005
Upcoming Events
Sat July 16, 3.00 pm—5.00 pm, Palo
Alto Satsang
Jim will hold the second in a series of
monthly satsangs, third Saturday of each month, in Palo Alto at
the home of Srikrishna. $10 donation.The address is 1873 Mark
Twain St, Palo Alto, CA 94303. Tel is 650 - 321 9918
Directions: From SFO, take 101 South
towards San Jose (or) From San Jose, take 101 North towards SFO.
Exit Embarcadero West towards Stanford University, leave 3
signals (St. Francis, Greer, Louis). Turn left into second
by-lane (100 ft. before the 4th signal at Newell Rd; no traffic
light or Stop sign at
Mark Twain St.; first by-lane is Bret Harte. The house is on the
left.
Wed July 20, 2005, 7.30 pm—Satsang
in Sebastopol, CA
Kirtan (Sacred Chants) by Taravali
There is a transmission that occurs in satsang (‘sharing of truth’), an immersion into the energy of silence, stillness, and presence. After a short meditation to soak up this energy, we engage in a dialogue that explores the teaching of liberation, and that is focused and transforming, often playful and humorous, and always unconditionally loving.
What becomes clear is that we are not our
stories, not our beliefs, not even the separate ‘I’ or
‘me’ thoughts. Rather, we are the consciousness, or
awareness, that is the source of everything. Once we finally get
this, we are freed from everyday human suffering—from
self-doubt, anxiety, negative emotions, and personal reactivity.
It usually takes a number of years of
intensive inner seeking to see through the illusion of the
psychological/emotional self and fully awaken to our true nature.
However, by coming to satsang regularly, it is virtually assured
that you will enjoy longer and more frequent periods of authentic
clarity and inner peace, as well as a renewed sense of passion
and purpose.
$10 donation. Location: 7737 Healdsburg
Ave. Email Jim at jdreaver@aol.com for directions, or call (707) 829-9551.
Satsang in Sebastopol is held every third
Wednesday, same time, same location.
Esalen Institute—Dec 11-16, 2005
Jim will again be teaching at Esalen, a 5
day retreat on ‘The Art of Awakening.’ Contact www.esalen.org (but won’t be listed
on Esalen’s site till August).
Private Sessions
A private session with Jim is a unique
opportunity to spend time with someone who embodies and lives his
message. You will be invited to look deeply into yourself, to the
stories, beliefs, and images you still cling to, and that prevent
you from realizing your full potential for clarity, inner peace,
and joy now.
Private sessions generally last an hour and
are conducted in person or over the phone. Affordable fees. Call
707-829-9551, or email jdreaver@aol.com.
‘Before I just couldn't understand
your message about letting go of my
"identity". All I could do was say, yeah, but how
do I let go… and if I'm not my "identity", who am
I? But now, as a result of our session, I could literally
feel things shift in every fiber as I saw that "I" was
not real. I am simply awareness itself, before any concept
of “I,” “me,” and “mine". I’ve
been seeking for seven years, and now, here it is. Awesome, huh?’
--Ann Smith, Homedale, Idaho
Bio
Jim Dreaver, a
native of New Zealand, a Vietnam veteran, and a former
chiropractor, was a student of Western Advaita Vedanta master
Jean Klein for many years, and now teaches in the same nondual
tradition. He is the author of THE ULTIMATE CURE; The Healing
Energy Within You (Llewellyn), which focuses on accessing the
deep spiritual energy that is the source of all healing. His most
recent book, THE WAY OF HARMONY (Avon), is a practical guide to
integrating awakened consciousness into work, relationships, and
daily life.
To Be Added To Or Removed From This List
If you have a friend whom you think would enjoy or benefit from
the message in this wisdom mailing (sent out every 2 weeks), feel
free to copy it and forward it. To be added to this list, send an
email to jdreaver@aol.com and type ‘Wisdom
Mailing’ in subject line.
To be removed, type ‘Remove’ in subject line, and hit
‘Reply’ button.
377 Furlong Rd
Sebastopol, CA 95472
Tel: 707-829-9551
Web: www.jimdreaver.com
Email: jdreaver@aol.com