Nonduality Salon (/ \)
Being our minds are literal and childlike, I would think that we can take 'control' and tell it what to do.... train it in the way we would like it to automatically do one day.
Something is off to that thinking for me tho.... To be in a state of 'no thought', I just had to be in a willing state... to be willing to see something, or someone, differently. For me to reach a state of acceptance, I just have to be willing to receive this state.
The state of mind that is our inheritance is 'already tHere'. We just have to be willing receive it. Nothing to do, nothing to eliminate, nothing to add or replace....
*Never forget what you need to remember *
I've seen in my own life that it is when I look for another way of seeing and give my willingness to see differently, that peace has come. Soooo simple, but dangit, it works for some strange reason... This is the main gist of ACIM -- it came about when the person who scribed the Course was conflicted about different things in the world and she asked herSelf "there must be a better way...".
There is no problem that is not already solved.
Sounds so simple, yet I didn't quite understand this. Of course, what's to understand? Just do it.
I had a couple of problems one day back in 94 -- woke up early one morning, ready to get my house in order since I had recently moved to my own place --mow the lawn, vacuum the house. I went outside and tried to start the mower. I cranked and cranked for 30 minutes to no avail. Oh well.... I'll go inside to vacuum. Wrong. The damn thing wouldn't work either! They had both been in storage for quite a while.
I sat down to quieten my frustrated mind. I hadn't done my 'lesson of the day' from ACIM, so I opened the book to my next lesson, which happened to be "Let me recognize this problem so it can be solved." Wow. Boy, I needed to hear that since I was wrought with a couple of goodies. It went on to say, ''if you could recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer because you would see its relevance. Perceiving the underlying constancy in all the problems that seem to confront you, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all..." I gave my willingness to understand what this really meant.
I said the words to myself a few times, then sat silently for a few minutes, allowing the words to sink in. The doorbell rang -- it was around 8:30am and I never had visitors at that time!
It was my Uncle. He had been out driving and decided to stop. Now I lived waaaaay out in the country, so this was unusual. He asked why my lawn mower was out. I whined about my *problem* with the mower, and he said ''no problem." He put the mower in his truck and drove it to a neighbors house a few miles up the way to fix. It would be ready later in the day (at a great price of only $15!).
We came back home and went in the house for some coffee. He asked why the vacuum cleaner was sitting in the middle of the room. He commenced to sit down, take it apart, and fixed it. Ran like a charm after that.
At that time, I was beginning to realize what ''there is no problem that is not already solved'' meant. Sometimes we have problems in our life and we search and search for the answers. We get into a place of fear and think we are separated from God and must begin our search for answers. When all along, the answer is already there, but our search, based on fear, keeps us from seeing that this is true.
When we quieten our minds and remember that there is no separation that occurred, nothing to fear, nothing to do, the answer is always there.
* An optimist says "Good morning, God!",
a pessimist says "Good God, morning!" *
More Taoist Circle
Two words:
There is only One.
taotg
There are no rules
but this One:
There are no rules.
Now there are rules.
taotg
Some people like castor oil
tgs dad
I am I said
but does that make it so?
Clearly not,
but veiled beneith the words
She is but I am.
taotg
Soon, soon
said the rabbit to the snake
as she ran around in circles
looking for escape.
taotg
There remains to be seen
that which is not seen
taotg
Who gives this woman to this man?
"Her Mother and I"
"But how can we give
that which is not ours to give,
that is but the wind, the trees,
the stars, the sun...?"
"We do not give, but only return"
taotg
Cya!
xxxtg
* My son says I never listen to him. At least I think that's what he says *
> Knowing how the mind works and applying this knowledge is important. The major part is "under the surface" and a lot of activity is going on there.The "minimum requirement" to prevent anger is imagining yourself to "solve" all issues with a smile. When this is done repeatedly, it starts a "life of its own" under the surface and will become self-fulfilling, as "solving all with a smile" is "natural behavior" in one's "natural state". (Jan)
Jan, I question this, not because I know better, but I see this as an 'act as if'. Hey and if it works, it works! I question though.... would this truly be eliminating whatever is needing eliminating. It seems to me to be more on the line of manifesting and creating, which is ok, but is the *crap* still there, only covered up?
I can see this would be a form of tolerance, which may be the whole point. Does the the smile truly take on a life of its own? This seems so simple. I thought we were here to chip away - maybe this is true sculpturing.
* Always avoid temptation unless you can't resist it *
Every morning its the same thing. My son Joshua and I get up at 6:30am, get him ready, drive him and his cousin Chase to school. Not much is said in the mornings - I try to talk and lighten things up, but no one wants to respond. The drive to school is no different. I say "have a great day!" when they get out of the car, and get no response back. same ol same ol, day in and day out.
Chase spent the night with us last week. Normally, we have three alarms to go off in the morning to assure ourselves to get up. Something went wrong with all the alarms that next morning. I woke up at 8:15 and rushed the kids up. We were laughing soooo much at the total hilarity of the situation with the mishaps of the clocks. Making up all kinds of funny excuses to give the school office - Terrorists came in during the night, etc. etc.
We laughed and talked the whole way to school while rushing about. They jumped out of the car and told me "Have a great day! I love you! " etc. etc. with such enthusiasm.
When I picked them up, I found they had a 'great' day that day (usually I get a response - "ok", or "it sucked"). and they chatted all the way home with such passion!
It made me realize how unpassionate our lives have become. The passion, the joy, is there I know, but there is so much blocking the awareness of it. It seems that spontaneity brought it out.
I would adore having many more moments like this in my life -- hey, I'll settle for one long continuous moment for the rest of my life. cannot figure out how to do this, or better said - undo our drudgery automation. Being enthusiastic to the kids in the morning does not undo this.
We had one other day full of passion and laughter a while back -- Joshua, three of his cousins, and I were sitting on the dock of a lake fishing. I reached for something and my chair toppled over, with me in it, head first into the lake. I came up laughing and they had the BEST time over this the rest of the day! They, along with the ripples to others, laughed for a few days everytime they saw me, telling everyone.
This is a gift I would love to give them over and over again. I just don't know how to without being late or falling headfirst in a lake daily (although I've considered the possibility....). Suggestions are welcome!
* Shifts Happen *
To even see someone as this 'Idealist', would be to interpret their intentions -- to judge them by their words, what they say, what they are wearing, what they do, etc. - there is no way you can know the true intentions of another until you know your own true intentions.
Learning is infinite,,,,until we learn and share the infinite we can only teach with words which are limited,,,,Combine both ,,,,,experience as you teach,,,,teach what you experience...true knowledge is never ending,,, ...(Sharlene)
Right now I'm trying to find a balance as I said. What I see now is that the infinite Knowledge is something we cannot really teach - Knowledge is something that is our inheritance and that is in each one of us to know.
So you are saying to teach, ie share, what we have learned (Knowledge we have received) from putting the Knowledge to use in our own life? I'm seeing that that would be teaching from experience, rather than teaching for confirmation or teaching in order to learn.
If that is true, this is great! I can see that it would bring you into a state of Being instead of just yakking about all you know but cannot put into use. It takes you out of the Teaching to Learn stage to the more advanced levels of Teaching. It's like I knew this - I could teach it even, but I really didn't know.
Can we really learn from someone else's experiences? Personally, I think we can, but I'm really not sure. (or is this just a matter of, if you think you can, you can -- if you think you can't, you can't)?
* Funny, I don't remember being absent minded *
Since we are talking about Real Qualities that Lobster and Dan shared, I'd like to share those mentioned from ACIM which have been quite meaningful and enlightening to me in my life, once I began focusing on giving these away (in order to receive):
TRUST - Brings Peace (All other traits rest on Trust). Once trust is achieved, "the others cannot fail to follow."
HONESTY - Brings Peace of mind (perfect honesty, consistency in thought, act, and words - such are the truly honest)
TOLERANCE - (it speaks a lot about judgement here, and that we do not judge as 'to judge is to be dishonest, for to judge is to assume a position you do not have.' 'Judgement destroys honesty and shatters trust.')
GENTLENESS - 'The might of God's teachers lies in their gentleness'
JOY - Joy is the innevitable result of gentleness
DEFENSELESSNESS - Brings peace and joy
GENEROSITY - Giving away (any of these attributes) in order to keep for yourself protects them forever in yourSelf.
PATIENCE - 'Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait, and wait without anxiety.'
FAITHFULNESS - Based on trust to giving ALL problems up to the One Answer. Faithfulness, combines in itself the other attributes of God's teachers....
Being consistent, it is wholly honest
Being unswerving, it is full of trust
Being based on fearlessness, it is gentle
Being certain, it is joyous
Being confident, it is tolerant
OPEN-MINDEDNESS - Brings peace. Comes with lack of judgement. As judgement shuts the mind against God's Teacher (the Holy Spirit or whatever you want to call it), so open-minedness invites Him to come in. As condemnation judges our brothers as evil, so open-mindedness permits him to be judged by the Voice for God on His behalf. As the projection of guilt upon him would send him to hell, so open-mindedness lets Christ's image be extended to him. ONLY the open-minded can be at peace, for they alone see reason for it.
* Everyday people are straying away from the church and going back to God *
Some are so busy talking about spirituality and growth, they have no time to grow, Those that say the most, do the least,,,,,thats where simplicity rules.. (Sharlene)
I have to agree with you here. I'm one of those -- I've been stagnated for years! Been teaching ACIM for so long that I had forgotten how to be a student and allow myself to grow. It has just been recently that I've realized this and am doing what I can to drop the teacher act.
This is wonderful what you say here and I hope that anyone who hasn't really 'moved' in a while, will understand the importance of it. Since I've stepped back a bit, I find I'm learning new things pretty much immediately! (I'm having to bite my tongue to not teach them - still do tho)
I was talking to my uncle yesterday - he is in his 70's. He showed me an old photo of a woman boiling her family's clothes in a big black kettle. Used lye soap to get them clean. He said washday was an all day job back then. He remembered how clean the clothes would get and how fresh they would smell. Said they would get just as clean as with today's new technology washing machines, where we really need do nothing.
It reminded me of how the yogi's and many of us today would go thru such an ordeal of cleaning their mind, body, and spirit, via *sacrifice* - like cleaning clothes in the boiling pot - an all day job. But with today's technology and all that we have learned, thanks to their showing us the way, we can just skip all that we thought were sacrifices to eliminate and surrender our desires, giving up what was never needed, to be replaced by something even more wonderful than we ever expected.
The real Power is in not balance, not chastity, not fasting (or anything you think you have to *do*). It is in surrender.
There seems to be a fine (invisible) line that we cross and turns our thoughts into different thoughts that become desires. Love (meaning anything or anyone you love) which turns into thoughts of desires turns into lust and/or bliss. We think we love, when all that we are doing is blissing, mistaking those feelings for Real Love, ie. love of sex, love of food, love of God, love of another...
What is Real Love? It is something you love and allow to come to you, through you, through the giving up, the surrendering, of your desires. It is something that we, as humans, have no inkling of, so there is no chance of us finding it by searching, nor indulging in, to discover it. If we search or indulge for this Love, we only experience bliss, which is temporary, deceitful, and prone to show its opposite. It hides the Truth, the Love. Does denial mean 'giving up' (the sex, the food, My God, that man?)'?? No. But it does mean giving up the thoughts of desires for that which you want, allowing True Love, minus all desires, to come into your being. No bliss, no lust, no desires.... only Love is left.
We, in this world and our 'normal' insane way of thinking, think of this as sacrifice.... I have to give this up (waaaaaa) and never have it! Bah! Flipping this thinking to 180 degrees to the sane way of thinking, is to give up and surrender the *thoughts of desires*... in order to get that which we truly want, Love... True Love without the desires and bliss. What sacrifice is there in that?
* If someone told me I'd be me one day, I'd of studied harder *
I have to admit that yesterday I realized I didn't even know what the heck IAM is. I thought I knew before - I thought I was living it. I realize I am not. I've had experiences that have shown me the IAM within me.... and I continuously live that way from what I was shown -- living from a point of *seeing* the IAM, instead of *being* the IAM. Kinda hard to explain.
My mum visited me this week (Hi MOM!) and we had discussions on this exact thing. I can see the beauty,love, and blessings in everything, and if I cannot, I can ask for reinterpretation and see it eventually... I can 'create' (for lack of a better word) material things of this world as needed to bring me peace... I do realize that all my needs are already met, and once recognizing that fact, they are... And if others are irritating me for some reason, I can go within and receive peace....
For the first time in my life, I have peace outside myself. And if I don't, I know it will come...
But I realized that this was NOT enough! I was seeing, but not being. I can create all kinds of things outside myself, but to create within me the changes I want, the love to be and feel, the peace within, things of that sort, I don't have it. I am not IT. The IAM is still outside of me and I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE IT. I don't know how to bring the external internal.
That is what I want more than anything. I cannot advise because I really don't know how. Any pertinenent info I can give anyone would be how to create their own reality outside of themselves. As for the commitment I will make to the cause, I cannot think of anything that I'm not doing now, other than being honest. So I'll be honest from now on. That's my commitment.
David: I will not make ultimatums.I (simply) AM.
Harsha: I will not make commitments. I (simply) AM :--)
tg: I will not do windows. I AM (simply)
OK. I'll tell you what I've learned so far. I've been posting to the K list for a couple of years, and this one. Almost everytime I post, I cringe, hoping against hope no one will respond unkindly to me. (hey I'm a sensitive sort).
Since I've been here, you called me on some 'stuff'. I tell you it got to me and sent me for a whirlwind. I had fallen and could not get up! Thank goodness for a couple of angels in disguise here on the list who said the right things to get me on my knees at least.
I needed to understand as I didn't want this ever to occur again -- to be affected by mere words. I communicated with who I needed to, I contemplated, studied, quieted my mind, etc.
I realized that words I say and what others say are just their opinions. No more, no less. I didn't have to take it to heart. I didn't have to argue the point with them. I didn't even have to believe them! I knew this before, but I got this on a whole 'nuther level.
I got that it is our responses to others opinions that really matter. Are we responding from fear or love? I found that others opinions to our responses (if they disagree) really don't need responding to, as they are just stating their opinions. If they are disagreeing and have offered a better solution, I can choose to look at it and see if it is a step up for me and learn from it. If its just a darnright nasty reply, I can choose to still respond from a playful point of view -- not to argue or fight against their opinions, but to just love them for who they are. and, I can even argue if I so choose to, just for the fun of it - not from taking it serious.
Now to incorporate all of this into my life.... LOL
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