WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Go beyond the teachings of the Great Teachers and let their lives speak. Some came from obscurity (Marcus Aurelius and Jesus, for example) and some from wealth or power (Buddha, St. Frances and Lau Tzu, for example), yet, as Joseph Campbell would say, none of them lived the life they thought they would. In the final analysis, however, they all ended up giving us their roadmap for how to live a decent life, which maps are more alike than they are different. In the beginning, we all have a set of talents and capabilities. One of the things we do as children is learn how to use them in an “appropriate” way. Due to the training we receive as children, we may wear them around our necks, carry them in our pockets or drag them along behind us on a string. Somewhere in the maturation process, we have to decide whether to use our capabilities and talents as we have been taught or as they have been given to us by our Creator. Or, as one could say, after we grow up physically we also need to grow up psychologically and spiritually. Easy to say, hard to do. This involves the examination of and possibly the partial or total discarding of what we have been taught by the society in which we were raised. Enter pain! Pain is an opportunity to learn but we must be willing to experience it in order to learn and grow stronger. We can choose to experience pain in order to learn or we can choose to avoid it, and in time, become stunted. The choice is between light and joy or shadows and sadness. As we go through the days of our time here, we make that choice over and over without really realizing it. When we have avoided pain too much, there usually comes a situation which we cannot avoid. A lesson to be learned will not be denied. Instead of attempting to control others and the situation in which we find ourselves in order to avoid the pain of growth and understanding, would it not be easier to control our reactions and our willingness to step into situations which we instinctively recognize as difficult? Those who choose to take this journey of growth resemble the early European explorers who set out into an uncharted ocean with no proof of their beliefs, no map, and a sack lunch; or the wild geese who travel thousands of miles every year with no map, no compass and who do not pack a lunch. While this process may seem daunting and even scary, it is not impossible. We have a compass (our instincts) a map (the teachings of the Great Teachers) and a lunch (access to someone else on the journey). What do we have to offer each other on this journey? – the knowledge that we are not alone and that, as we progress, just as there are others to whom we can reach up, there are others to whom we can reach back – after all, we are all students and we are all teachers. We can choose to place ourselves in the cycle of being helped, learning and growing, and helping others – frequently simultaneously. The good news is - there is no perfection. As Joseph Campbell put it, at any given time we cannot know what is “right” and what is “wrong”. We simply cannot see far enough nor understand well enough. The best any of us can do is lean toward the light. We are all in the same boat so grab an oar and try not to hit your neighbor with it.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
FEAR
Being a child – I was taught: “Take care!”
“Take care – for there is danger all around you!”
The parents – their intention was so pure!
Being children themselves – they were told exactly the same,
“All that is unknown – can be an enemy”.
Fathomless are the roots of fear born down on us.
Now, being aged – I can understand their concern.
Is society not just a vessel, filled with rules? LISTEN
Everything is well-defined.
Off-side is punished heavily. “IT”. All what I’m seeing is a facet of You.
All is to dam the danger. The eyes, which are looking also!
So, the masses are controlled. Why can’t I find You?!
But what is really the danger? Listen, please, listen . . .”
Who has the courage to mention it’s name? Look at your reflection in the mirror . . .!”
Only a sea of suffering leads us to its origin. “Be quiet . . .
Then we’re starting to discover: “Feel . . .
How unfamiliar we are with . . . the world inside. “Feel . . .”
LAWS
Life has laws, which the plants, the stars and all that is alive, have to obey.
Sometimes humans try to change those rules.
They beat the laws with stones and sticks and guns and even chemicals.
The unfailing result will be a rubbish heap.
What Energy decided – we cannot change.
All the powers He bestowed on humans, have a place of their own.
Intuition comes first.
Then the twins, called Mind and Feeling.
They all have values of their own.
They cannot work alone.
The only thing that’s asked from us
is to let them work together.
Please Energy, give us insight into Your laws.
June 30, 2024
WHO ARE WE?
If we are doing it correctly, who we are changes a tiny bit every day. Joseph Campbell was fond of the concept that we live best and are most alive when we are neither what we were nor who we will be, but in the act of “becoming”. In this fluid state, the question becomes much more difficult, and the more deeply one looks into oneself, the more intricate the answer becomes. Does each of us have a reason for living? If so, is that reason of our making or is it part of a greater whole? Are we here to help others? Is there meaning to life itself? Obviously, the answers to these questions depend on the individual. When looking around at those near us, whether we think there is a larger purpose or not, people on both sides of the discussion still behave in reasonable ways toward those around them. People still hold doors open for one another. People still say “please” and “thank you”. People still return lost objects whenever possible. (Granted, in this age where so many are extensions of their electronic devices, these behaviors are practiced less.) Do these behaviors come from the fact that we know that the only way civilization will survive is if its members are civilized toward one another, or are they simply rote behaviors that we learned as children? Does it really matter? In either case, don’t these civilized ways reflect who we are? When we cooperate with others we give everyone involved a kind of freedom – we take charge of ourselves and relinquish a perceived control of the situation and/or others. Isn’t this what the Taoists refer to as living wu wei? (See The Slippery Art of Wu Wei by Solala Towler In The Empty Vessel, Winter 1994). We all have core values. How solid are they? The answer, once again, will vary from person to person. Through our behavior or our words, we share our understanding of life and civilization with others as others have shared their understanding of these concepts with us. If we are doing it right, everyone is a teacher and everyone is a student. We are all bridges. If our lives and the way we are able to live them are so intricately intertwined with the lives of others, what about greed? There was a kind and caring woman who worried about starving children around the world. She was a spiritual person so she meditated on the situation. After some time, she realized that we had been given all that was necessary and that mankind had simply gotten the distribution wrong. Along with having such a large portion of the population totally devoted to their electronic devices, we seem to have developed an insatiable need for “more”. More what? More of everything! There was a time when the American dream was for one’s children to have a “better” life – that used to mean, physically easier. The meaning seems to have shifted to “more” of everything on which one can lay one’s hands. Practically speaking, there is only so much food one person can eat, only so many cars they can drive, only so much clothing they require to be comfortable and only so many houses in which they can live. What event happened and when did it happen that enough is no longer enough? One wry comment to this quandary was “Even if you had it all, where would you put it? “. Maybe as one of the things we are, we could spend more time being happy about what we have and less time trying to get more than we need. Perhaps Joseph Campbell had it right – in the state of becoming there is no time for attaching to things nor attempting to control others – do our best to be kind, respectful and considerate of others (which he referred to as living a decent life) and just live and “become.”
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
BARS
Furiously we’re pulling the bars of the cage.
The cage in which we imagine to be prisoners.
But iron can’t be bent by hands!
A vague idea of wings is often floating through us.
Wings . . .
Flying. . .
To be there, where borders are unknown…
Little human, you’re dreaming of space,
But you’re afraid of the width inside yourself!
To go there without restrictions . .
THAT is freedom!
It’s that terrible fear that keeps us encaged.
PASSWORD
The sea of the ten thousand of things . .
So wide, so boundless great . . .
So immeasurably deep. . .
If heading for course –
There will grow a contact between you and the boat
and the winds and the clouds.
If the helm slips through your fingers –
Your ship will capsize.
And you will be drowned.
The art of navigating
is like going on the sharp of a knife.
Balance is the password.
April 28, 2024
SEEING
There is an old directive that goes “don’t forget to stop and smell the roses”. Yes, to properly experience the rose we have to slow our frantic activity (both mental and physical), direct our attention to the rose, and let ourselves experience its sweet aroma. Unfortunately, too many of us stop there, when, in truth, that is only the beginning. In a society where there is rampant conspicuous consumption, products which are designed with built-in obsolescence in order to increase sales, and the wide-spread idea that everything can and should be replaced by something “better” (read more expensive than what someone else has), it is far too easy to let that type of approach to life infect our spiritual thinking. Spiritually speaking, it is to our advantage to see things rather than simply look at them. When we look at the rose, do we see past its beauty to the miracle of its existence? We need to stop. Sit down. Clear our minds. Only then can we truly “see” the rose in its entirety. The miracle of the rose is far more nurturing than its beauty and aroma. If we would take the time and trouble to use this approach throughout our lives, we might be able to “touch” the hem of the garment of the Creator. This world in and of itself, without considering the existence of people, is incredible in its intricacy and simplicity. If we could set aside our personal perspective for just a few minutes and see whatever is before us as thoroughly as we can while we are in human form, we could begin to see that many of our blessings are wasted on us because we are following the carrot of “more”. If you give someone a gift, do you feel warm about it because they say thank you or because you can see that they enjoy it? Why would the Creator see our treatment of his blessings in our lives any differently? It’s appropriate to say “thank you” but it would seem to be far more genuine, as well as rewarding to us, to really enjoy the blessing. Why don’t we stop on a regular basis and recognize our blessings? Do we have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear? Does the sun come up on our part of the world every day? Are there other people with whom we can interact, from whom we can learn and grow, with whom we can share a laugh or a good cry? Do we go into a green space or a park or a forest where we can be alone and be nurtured by Nature? Do we follow the desire of our hearts, helping others by opening a door, offering a meal, inventing something to help ease pain or suffering? To take it a step further, why do some of us have so much more than others. Capitalism says workers need an incentive which we have translated to mean improving our standard of living. It is time to differentiate between incentive and greed. As a character in a TV show once said: “since when is having enough not enough? And even if you had everything, where would you put it?” Once we have noticed the concept of sharing – which should not be translated into either enabling those who want someone else to take care of their needs while they sit idly by, or giving so much that it impoverishes the giver, we can implement that understanding. Each of us needs to follow our own star in this regard, rather than simply using the existence of government programs or organized charitable groups to excuse our lack of thought, caring and introspection. Please be aware that this entire discussion is not limited to “things” but, more importantly, includes our invisible blessings such as having a fully functioning body and mind. Begin by recognizing that, there being no perfection in this dimension, there can be no such thing as a life without pain, be it mental or physical. None of us truly knows what another is experiencing, so looking wistfully at the life of another is not only counterproductive, it is a barrier to one’s own peace of mind. If we must look without, isn’t it wiser to look at those who are “less fortunate” so that we can truly appreciate our own situation, even though it may not be exactly as we would have it be? So, in the face of chaos, confusion, pain, and frustration (much of which is often in our lives to teach and guide us) – let’s not forget to stop and smell the roses!
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
THE ROSE BUSH
The little rose bush looks so small, almost poor.
Yet, one of her buds is full-grown!
In the corner of the garden, the sun can caress her one hour only.
Today she enfolded her red-velvet petals.
Radiating, she’s being a rose!
Without complaining, without questioning, her roots search for the food.
She built stems, and leaves and buds and thorns.
The crown of her work is her scenting flower.
Does she herself think this way?
RIVERS
As a door to the Ocean,
rivers need freedom to stream.
Barriers are causing trouble.
Energy of water means to move,
The banks are setting the limits.
Only, when the “unformed” water
sufficiently will have been “formed”-
The streams can be united in the Oceans.
Isn’t it exactly alike while compared with humans?
First – life is teaching them their limits.
After time-less time -
having gained the proper insight –
They will be united in the Ocean of Life.
February 25, 2024
GROWING (UP?)
There are lessons to be found in the history of humankind upon this Earth. In Chinese culture it was once proper to break the feet of young girls and bind them tightly so that those feet could not grow and develop normally, thus producing the highly prized “tiny feet”. This not only caused deformation of the feet but also great pain. In other cultures, other such “controls” over the physical development of children have been practiced – for instance, tying a board to the forehead to flatten the forehead. Why were all these things done? In the name of fashion, which many times had to do with the physical characteristics of a person or child of high rank in that particular society. At the time of the Tudors, it was popular among women of rank to alter their hairline because Elizabeth had had a fever as a child which left her with a hairline substantially further back on her head than was normal. Today we see these things as silly or even barbaric. This leaves one with the question of why, then, are we stifling our own minds and spirits and those of our children today? The possible reasons for such actions on the part of the ancestors who set this pattern are myriad and, unfortunately, negative. Will we, or our children, if allowed to have inquiring minds, discover the weaknesses in the approach of our society in the ways in which we interact with each other within our society and with people from other societies and even the Universe itself? Will those who come after us condemn us for the destructive effect our presence has had – unnecessarily – on this planet? Will we, or those who come after us, come to see that some of the rules by which we live are unnecessarily restrictive, preventing cultural and spiritual development, our lip-service notwithstanding? In attempting to break these mental shackles will those who come after us create a world which we might not recognize? Will they reach back into history and bring forth ways which have been forgotten or pushed aside in mankind’s relentless search for more of everything except, of course, spiritual growth (consideration for others and the concept that one’s rights end where the rights of another begin spring to mind)? Once we, or they, are off the shackles which have been placed upon us and we have discovered that there is a world, a philosophy and life beyond the limitations which we have been taught, or are attempting to pass on to others, will their development and its resulting effect on mankind surpass our current levels so much as to frighten those who have refused the journey and tried to keep others from making it? Who can say? What can be said, however, is that limiting the development of mental tools which help us develop a personal philosophy, or the tools with which to direct thought so that it stays focused in a positive direction, goes against the very heart of our existence as part of Creation. If we truly want to grow as we grow up, and want the same for those who come after us, we must have the courage to make our own journey. We do not have to make it alone. Many have come this way before and we can find their guidance and encouragement in the philosophies which are part of the heritage of every culture. Obviously, since we are all different with different backgrounds, different capabilities and different hopes and dreams, no two journeys can be the same. In this respect, people are like snowflakes – no two are alike. There is nothing amiss in, for instance, taking the teachings of Jesus and applying them to one’s life using the approach of a philosophical Daoist. For the Daoist, the practice of wu wei is highly regarded. Alan Watts calls it “knowing the principles and structures of human and natural affairs so well that one uses the least amount of energy in dealing with them”. Wu wei has also been described as “an active and dynamic engagement with things as they are. (see “The Slippery Art of Wu Wei” in The Empty Vessel, Winter 1994 issue). This is a description of one way to find our proper place in Creation using the concepts taught by Jesus – i.e. kindness, consideration, honesty, etc., eschewing the control of others, manipulation of others, and the teaching of fear and violence that have become so prevalent in our world. The greatest error is not in how one seeks a personal relationship with the Creator – it lies in ignoring the Creator’s aspects among us – the beauty and complexity of Nature, a rainbow, a singing bird, the refreshing taste of clear, clean water, the rustle of leaves in the fall, the warmth of sunshine, the blanket of stars at night, and so many other aspects of the Creator which are part of our existence. As the Buddhists tell us – when one stops before the majesty of a mountain or the beauty of a sunset and says “aah”, one has participated in Divinity. And as Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
MOLTING FEATHERS
Molting feathers is not easy.
It makes you feel sick, sad and vulnerable.
Be quiet little bird!
Inside your wings another plumage already grows!
You’ve done this job before.
Take your time and rest.
The sky and the sun are looking forward for you to come again.
LOST KEY
I’ve lost my key.
Its nowhere to be found!
It’s dark and foggy.
Rain starts pouring down.
Where can I go?
What can I do?
A flash!
What a stupid human!
I’m the key myself! December 23, 2023
BALANCING LIFE
Existence seems to be about balance. Nature is constantly adjusting in order to remain in balance. Barring human interference, the preditor-prey numbers are constantly rebalancing to maintain their appropriate ratio. This holds true even up to and including the larger balancing of the entire planet as, over geological time, arid areas become lush and areas which once produced dense forests or vast grasslands become arid. This leaves us wondering why mankind is so terribly out of balance. On the whole, mankind seems to only take, eschewing any meaningful give. This seems to hold true not only for our relationship with our planet but also for our relations with one another. There have been those who suggest another way. “Cast your bread upon the waters – after many days it will return to you.” “Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.” “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” Notice that in each of these suggestions, “give comes before “get”. Yet, on the whole, we go on grasping, accumulating, avoiding personal commitment, and, of course, claiming the responsibility for all that is “wrong” lies with someone or something other than ourselves. Only a few organized charities are truly addressing the needs of those whom they aspire to help. Instead, they provide “help” as they perceive the need which is often not what is truly needed but is what is easy to do, or, worse yet, that which will bring in the most in donations and grants. To go a step further, charities provide a way for donors or volunteers who follow the party line without thought, to believe that somehow they are giving of themselves so that they can avoid spending time and effort getting involved in truly helping others. To help in this way, of course, means that we have to have some thing to give which, in our minds, justifies getting ours first. Unfortunately, charities, as well as many of our government-backed social programs are doing as much or more enabling as truly helping. They measure their success in numbers which statistics have no resemblance to real helping. Their systems are not set up to distinguish a real cry for help from expectation or entitlement. To distinguish need from entitlement, one must take the time and effort to know and understand the situation. Time spent unobtrusively watching and listening to those to whom one intends to reach will reveal the true need. Our system of charities and social programs has obviously failed to do the sort of involvement on the person-to-person level required to get it “right”. Since the answer is not in larger organizations, perhaps smaller boots-on-the-ground organizations would work better. Our current methods of “helping” are, for the most part, only deepening the chasm between the “fortunate” and the “unfortunate”. Obviously, this is adding to the resentment and poverty which have historically triggered revolutions and wars. If we are to undertake the effort of correcting this imbalance, please note that true balancing includes the recognition that not all situations may have a total solution. Again, there must be a balance. We may be reduced to simply trying to meet their needs as a pat of trying to instill balance between give and take in our own lives. This should carry with it the knowledge that what is required of us is to do our best. If we have done our best, that is all we can do.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
PIONEEERS
To perform their cruel power,
Night and Darkness need each other.
A flash of artificial light is used for tracing victims.
The dirty tricks to still the hunger of that couple –
The devil can invent them only –
Although the remembrance of Peace is deeply asleep –
Always there are humans,
Risking their life and their possessions.
When mentioning Justice and Balance,
They are the only,
passing on,
the knowledge, long forgotten:
“II is Light, only Light, that exists.”
PHOENIX
It was Your will, that formed me to a human.
It was Your Spirit, who ploughed the ground of consciousness
In deep furrows You sew the “knowing”,
“to be a spark of Fire Spirit.”
Nostalgia for that blaze is the essence of humans.
However we try to disguise it –
You’ll counter those efforts eternally.
Aeons we’re at work now.
The results look sad.
But somewhere in me lives:
“Being a spark of Fire – I’ll burn!
And once . . . once return out of the ash to the Fire”
MR./MRS. EGO
Our strongest enemy is Mr./Mrs. Ego.
But the greatest friend we have . . .is Mr./Mrs. Ego too!
To work out this enigma is leading to the target. . .
Knowing ourselves. October 29, 2023
BALANCING ACT
As sensate beings, we all have a great deal of balancing to do in our lives. We balance between work and play; between activity and rest; between sleeping and being awake; between duty and freedom of action; between thought and rote; between physical and spiritual; and the list goes on. In order to do all of this, we need to be able to choose. Therein lies the difficultly – how do we choose? It is this to which the Great Teachers have addressed themselves over the centuries. Or, more simply, how to live a decent life. There are as many definitions of what a decent life is as there are people on the planet. How to do it is more complex. Everyone has their own set of interests. Depending on the society in which one is living, they can be very basic or very intricate. In either case, balancing must consider the surroundings of the individual. We must consider both the immediate and eventual consequences of our actions. This must, of necessity, include the limitations of the environment in which we all live. There is not an infinite nor endless supply of food, water, and shelter. Where is the line between storing up for “tomorrow” and hoarding so much that others are deprived of access to a necessity? Moving away from the more obvious, our balancing needs to consider the rights, powers, and privileges of others as we exercise our own. Societies and their members have been attempting to get this balance right for quite some time now. For instance, John Stuart Mill wrote a well-thought-out essay entitled On Liberty circa 1859. His basic conclusion was that all people have the God-given right to the freedom to do whatever they want. The obvious limitation to this being, of course, that everyone’s rights must cease before impinging on the rights of others. In other words, it is a balancing act. This particular concept is of importance to those of us who attempt to balance our physical and spiritual lives. What each of us considers a proper balance in our own life has no bearing whatsoever on what another person needs to establish as their balance. Yet, there seem to be a great many people in this world who believe they have the right to do just that. There are also a large number of people who wish to abdicate their right to balance to others who are usually people with paper on the wall, for instance, doctors. lawyers, and ministers. Although many try to justify this abdication by claiming ignorance of the subject, the bottom line appears to be that abdication or no, we are all ultimately responsible for what we do. Any person taking the advice of an “expert” is still the one suffering consequences if something goes awry. Like it or not, we are each responsible for who and what we are as well as what we do. We come into this world a blank slate – we begin to learn the basics of living on the physical plane. We learn to walk, talk, feed ourselves, etc. Due to environmental pressures, our natures, and our misunderstandings, we do not balance this development against the continued work on the spiritual garden which already exists when we get here. As a result, our spiritual garden goes untended and grows up in the weeds of physical acquisition - be it things or attitudes. While in this life we all need to learn to be as good a juggler as our particular talents will allow – not just be another clown.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
CONCLUSION
Looking at the mirror –
There is the face.
The other side reflects the back.
The right side shows right
The left side left.
The center?
The center does not reflect.
The center is what IS.
HIRE AND LETTING
We know, we’re more than our body.
But why do we ignore the right of that house?
Could we live our life without?
That house, it seems to be a hotel,
with many rooms and many guests.
There are often quarrels.
Rarely there is peace.
Because we are the owner of the dwelling –
we are supposed to set the rules.
So we can make it hell as well as heaven!
May be, the nicest way is just between!
Only, when we keep the inhabitants on terms of peace –
We can pay attention to the job, we’re hired for.
WHAT A PROSPECT!
When I dare to surrender to “be happy” –
It is radiating on all sides.
My problems, the concern for those whom I love –
Everything is still acute.
But don’t have to search for a way out.
That miraculous “knowing” – “things are good as they are” –
One might name it absolute Trust.
What a prospect it offers! August 27, 2023
THE NEXUS WITHIN
The information has been with us for generations and in spite of all the variations on the theme, mankind simply has not tumbled to the “nose” on its face. Each individual is a unique nexus between the physical world in which we live and the spiritual plane to which we aspire. If you visualized this nexus it might appear like the narrow part of an hourglass. Instead of letting through grains of sand to mark the passage of time, it is letting grains of understanding come from the spiritual plane into the physical plane. We commonly refer to these grains of understanding as intuition, instinct and/or common sense, which are, of course, the voice of the Creator within each of us. Recognition of this nexus is all around us. One of the most forthright is Joseph Campbell’s statement in the introduction of his book The Inner Reaches of Outer Space to the effect that we live in a universe of nuclear furnaces pulling away from each other at the speed of light, and each of us is but a speck of dust on the very small rock orbiting around a minor furnace – when one can recognize that and still understand that each of us is an integral part of the entirety of Creation, then one is ready to begin one’s spiritual journey. There are other indicia: the search for the Holy Grail (not the cup of Christ!), the ethical training which is the foundation for learning any of the martial arts, the more recent idea of the rainbow connection, etc. Just as Creation is balanced in its physical expression, so are we to be balanced between the physical world in which we live and the world that lies beyond that which we can experience physically. The other part of this equation can be accessed only through that nexus or passage that lies within each of us. Through the use of time and energy in peaceful contemplation one can learn to receive communications from that other dimension. Those who have, in the past, been able to do this have joined the ranks of those to whom we refer as the Great Teachers. They brought to mankind, not their views, already thought out and ready for consumption, but basic information for use by the individual in the individual’s own journey. Each of us, as part of Creation, has a responsibility to take the raw information given to us by the Great Teachers and use it to create our own spiritual feast. Just like creating our dinner, we need to use those parts of what the Great Teachers have given us that our minds and hearts can accept and digest. At the same time, we need to recognize that as we grow stronger in our ability to hear and accept communications through our own nexus, we may be able to accept and digest more of what has been presented on the buffet. All of the Great Teachers have taught essentially the same thing – how to live a decent life. Obviously, then, ethics are the meat and potatoes of our spiritual feast. Ethics are vital to our ability to interact with one another in a peaceful and productive way. Ethics help humankind survive itself. Lack of ethics has led to crisis after crisis on all fronts. When it comes right down to it, action without ethics is brutality! As individuals we can best navigate this world in a civilized and decent way by strengthening our nexus and listening closely to our instincts, intuition, and common sense. In other words, follow the Golden Rule. (For more see The Nexus Within @ Musings @ this website.)
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
COUNTERCURRENTS
When you let Life stream through you,
There is openness on all sides.
No blockades.
No dark secluded sloughs.
Where streams are mixing they only grow to greater streams.
With countercurrents there is bumping.
Out of that the new, the following is to be born.
The circle of events may seem to be destruction.
In reality the forms are changing only.
Who can count the coats of Life?
It is streaming, streaming, steaming. . .
I know myself to be a drop in the Ocean.
GO ON! GO ON!
Body . . .
Conglomeration of cells and juices . . .
Tangible . . .
Palpable . . .
Bordered by a skin . . .
Inside a mixture of thinking, feelings, fears,
and still thousands of other things . . .
A chaos of coming and leaving. . .
That is the arena, in which we’re planted on this globe.
Once upon a day a longing for the front door key arises.
The searching can last years and years!
Then . . . going outside and simply look and look!
Sometimes Ariadne shows the heart of the clew.
Keep that as a precious present.
Start to work with it.
Again and again we’ll find another pieces of the thread!
Go on!
Go on!
Go on! June 25, 2023
CHOICES – WE ALL GET THEM
Life is filled with choices – some we think of as large, some we think of as small. Perhaps one of the most meaningful is how we choose to go through life. In the heyday of the hippie “go with the flow” many eschewed the life of structure for one of “hanging loose” and instant gratification. Those are the two extremes. These days most people are somewhere in between. As with most important things in life, it seems best to actually choose our path rather than just let it happen. This is not choosing a goal like what career to follow, but, is the HOW to do it. We can choose to be uptight and rigid or to be relaxed and flexible. We can choose to be what others have taught us or morph that teaching into something that is uniquely us and, therefore, likely to be more effective in our life. For this, we require some notion of “how it goes”. If one thinks about life by envisioning it as a river flowing to the sea, one can spot the various parts of life. There is the mainstream with the current traveling on; the edges along the banks, more peaceful but moving, nonetheless; and areas of backwater where some piece of debris floating there show us that the water is simply swirling round and round, perhaps eventually to return to the mainstream, perhaps not. Many choose to deal with this river by getting a boat and trying to make it to the other side. The idea of the ferryman rowing a boat across the river Styx to “heaven” is a very ancient way of looking at the situation. (circa sixteenth century B.C.) Following suit, in the modern world we tend to join with others (usually under the label of some structured religion) to get across to the ”other side”. When we do this, we often completely miss or shortcut the point of the river. The river is to be experienced. When one is able to “relax” into life, it will carry us forward to the sea. As with so many things, with practice it becomes easier. The sea is, of course, being the metaphor for the ultimate goal, which is to rejoin the Universe or the whole from which we initially separated in order to have the life in which we currently exist. If we can let ourselves join the flow of the river, just floating, the river will take us past the destruction of rocks, reefs and rapids to a peaceful bay protected from damage by the storms of life but exposed to the teachings of the storms. This, too, has come down from ancient times in the form of the concept of wu wei, spoken of by Lao Tsu as non-speaking and non-action. (circa 500 B.C.) (See The Empty Vessel, Winter 1994 issue for an excellent in-depth discussion.) If one just wants to get through life, relying on others to make all the necessary choices, by all means, get in the boat. If one believes that we are all here to learn, grow, and help one another, it would appear that eschewing the boat and going with the flow is the better choice.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
STORM AT SEA
Foam is flying in flakes along the beach.
The sand from the land
is running in whirling clouds through the air.
A seagull gets stopped in his flight.
Little human,
As long as you jubilantly stand a storm –
It’s you who is able to quiet the storm in yourself.
THE RIVER
The river is streaming, streaming. . .
Day and night and year after year. . .
Without causing disaster, we cannot slow down its speed.
To accelerate the water isn’t possible either.
Human life has some resemblance with a river.
There are moments we can “look at our life stream” as a neutral spectator.
Becoming conscious of such an event,
Is fading away to unknown regions.
What we look upon as “water of our river”,
Are they the things of daily life?
And “the Spectator” what our “I” really is like?
THE RULER
When “little me” is ruling –
there is “here” and “there” –
The pain of separation bites.
When “The Self” is ruling –
there is peace and oneness.
In whatever place the other may be.
For “The Self” there is no time –
There is no distance.
Only Oneness in a multiple of “forms”.
The freedom of choosing the ruler,
in a present life,
Humans do not value it always.
Sometimes they throw it in a cupboard and forget it April 23, 2023
COMFY?
It is at the same time one of the great truths and one of the great mysteries that the only road to being comfortable is to walk the road of discomfort. Perhaps that is because this world as we know it is all about balance. Nature, one of the Great Teachers, shows us this every day in the way that populations of animals and plants ebb and grow according to the interaction of consumer with and the availability of that which it must consume in order to live. Additionally, there is little or no exclusivity in populations; predators live among their prey, diversity reigns and it is beneficial to all. Humans have not always understood nor accepted this truth of Nature as it applies to us as part of Nature. Much is made of the rights of the individual without reference to the fact that one person’s rights end where they impinge on the rights of another. Also, those rights must be balanced with responsibilities. We stress our differences instead of our similarities and, therefore, our “rights” as individuals instead of our responsibilities to live in peace and harmony not just with those with whom we can identify, but, of far more import, with those from whom we differ in obvious but really unimportant ways such as race, gender, religion, and culture. (See Richard Haass’ book The Bill of Obligations for a detailed discussion)
One of the most well-known tools to strike this balance in our individual lives is the art of wu wei. (For an excellent article on the subject of wu wei see The Empty Vessel magazine, winter issue, 1994.) Far too often people are busily trying to control others while unable or unwilling to control themselves. Much misery has been caused over the centuries when one person or small group of people set themselves up as being above others in some way such as knowledge or wealth. This situation has often been known as dictatorship. It may be in the way people are governed or in what they are required to believe spiritually. It has been said that no matter how “big” or powerful one is, there is always someone bigger. Even the most powerful, violent dictators have found this to be true, even if the someone bigger is Death. As King David said in Psalm 89:48 “Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?” Once one recognizes the fallacy in the “bigger than everyone else” thinking, it becomes much easier to recognize that there is a pattern to life. Letting that pattern lay itself out without our interference usually results in much better outcomes. Our best bet is to take charge and relinquish control; that is, take charge of oneself (emotions, druthers, prejudices, etc.) and relinquish control of the situation and others. This leads to a more peaceful and pleasant existence for everyone. Stop worrying about what we don’t have and start enjoying what we do have. What better way to show our thanks to the Creator! (Talk {prayer} is cheap.) Life is not about conquest (except, of course, of one’s self) but about learning and growing (being, therefore, uncomfortable for at least a little while) and helping one another; which can be facilitated by following the teachings of any one of the Great Teachers. It has been said that to survive is to let go of old habits, new friends, and, if the situation demands it, like the lizard, shed one’s tail. And so, the discomfort of growing pains is the road to the comfort of peace and harmony.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
LISTEN
“IT”, all what I’m seeing is a facet of You.
The eyes, which are looking also!
Why can’t I find You?!
“Listen, please listen . . .”
Look at your reflection in the mirror. . .!”
“Be quiet . . .
“Feel. . .
“Feel. . .”
THAT, WHAT IS LOOKING
“That, What is Looking At all”,
does not sleep, “IT” is the sleep.
“IT” does not watch, “IT” is the watching.
“IT” does not eat, “IT” is the food.
“IT” does not drink, “IT” is the quench of thirst.
The total Kaleidoscope of events. . .
They are like balloons, which are floating . . .
Freely. . .
Without a rope.
A prick – they cease to exist.
“That what is looking” thinks new ones.
New ones, again and again. . .
“IT” does not know fatigue.
As long as humans see apart
“That what is” and the balloons –
There will be as many problems as there are balloons.
When they recognize “What Is” there is “To Be” only.
February 26, 2023
YOU CAN TOO
In his book The Passover Plot, Dr. Hugh J. Schoenfield gives us what he refers to as “a new interpretation of the life and death of Jesus.” It is a scholarly (although quite readable) exploration of the subject with abundant references. It is both fascinating and befuddling. In those days little communication between distinct areas of the world was possible. As it is with individuals, these discreet areas of the then known world each had a slightly different idea of who and what Jesus was. One is left with the idea that one cannot know the answer unless allowed to inquire of Jesus himself. This process of discovery holds within itself many other questions relating to Christianity. Is the concept of the Trinity really just a compromise made by the founders of the Church in order to bring disparate beliefs together? As choices were made regarding the validity of pre-existing beliefs which formed the foundation for the belief that the Church would espouse, was the “correct” choice made regarding the definition of words or usage of that particular belief? Is the foundation of Christianity deeply flawed because of an early effort to continue to exist through mere numbers, or perhaps worse, through misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the language or references in use at the time? IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER!! By believing that It does matter, we limit ourselves in what we are able to do and, therefore, in our individual relationship with The Creator.
The real importance lies in the understanding for one’s own life, of the teachings of any of the Great Teachers. They all taught essentially the same thing – how to live a decent life. Each of them was outstanding in his or her own time which, of course, is the reason that their thinking has been with us in our “Wisdom Library” for, in some instances, over a thousand years. Mankind, however, is wont to lionize the teacher and ignore to a great extent the teachings. For instance, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is reported as having said two VERY important things. The first is: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The second is: whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because am going to the Father. The importance lies in the message, not the messenger. Those who focus upon the messenger can be found as active members of a religious structure which may or may not be encouraging its members to excel past the works of that messenger and certainly not to question or alter the “true belief”. Those who focus on the message can be found actively attempting to spread truth and kindness in a world that is currently practicing neither. They are using limited resources to address a seemingly limitless problem. This, of course, means that they must discern among those who want “help” and reach out to those who will take the help offered them and go forth to help themselves and others. Obviously, those who simply want to be taken care of in the style to which they wish to become accustomed must be passed by. If you look at efforts others are making to benefit mankind with longing, REMEMBER: YOU CAN TOO.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
AMBASSADORS
Instruments, machinery –
What they are producing. . .!
I like to call it magic!
And still . .
That handful of brains inside human skulls –
There their cradle stood!
Before hands could start to build them –
There they were “seen”!
And then to know just a tiny part of the brains to be active by now!
It is the throne hall of the body.
The King has not yet arrived.
He sent some ambassadors.
When they already are able to “work magic” -
How powerful the King will be!
Once upon a day the Monarch will move to His seat.
Then the King gives audience!
BARS
Furiously we’re pulling the bars of the cage.
The cage in which we imagine to be prisoners.
But iron can’t be bent by hands!
A vague idea of wings is often floating through us.
Wings…
Flying…
To be there, where borders are unknown.
Little human, you’re dreaming of space,
but you’re afraid of the width inside yourself
To go there without restrictions…
THAT is freedom!
It’s that terrible fear that keeps us encaged.
December 29, 2022
WALK ON
It is one of the great mysteries (and difficulties) of life that we are so very limited by our minds.
We have elevated the use of our minds until, on the whole, humankind is out of balance because the elevation of our minds eclipses the intuitive understanding that often forms the basis of invention and progress for the species. Creative individuals who are well-recognized in their chosen field are those who have learned the rules and then go beyond to create something quite different that would not have been possible had they continued to color within the lines. Among these intuitive thinkers we often find teachers. A true teacher guides students in the hope that they will surpass the teacher, and when that occurs, celebrates a victory over ignorance. Of course, this has been best demonstrated by each of the Great Teachers in his or her own way. A teacher of arithmetic can only teach because that teacher has learned about arithmetic and applied it. They teach us that 2+3 = 5, 3+2 = 5, 1+4 = 5, 4 + 1 = 5, and 1+1+1+1+1 = 5. Some students may stop at 2+3 = 5 and say that any other way to arrive at 5 is invalid – much like those who insist that their way is the only way when it comes to spiritual matters. Not only does their saying such a thing not make it so in the physical plane, such statements are equally invalid in the spiritual plane. When our creative leaders arrive at a new place, it is nearly always further defined by further thinking, intuitive understanding and experience. A true teacher not only exposes students to the information and understanding possessed by the teacher but by inference tells the student that the student will be “safe” going where the teacher is, intellectually and spiritually. One of the difficulties we cause ourselves by lionizing our minds and ignoring our intuitive understanding is that we exacerbate the idea that we can stand on ground which we have not yet traveled. We often have general ideas about that place to which we have not yet journeyed, but we cannot know all about it because we have not yet experienced it. Unfortunately, the human psyche is such that this gives rise to fear. The true teacher can assuage these fears and lead forth. In the field of substance abuse counseling it is felt that the best counselors are those who were once substance abusers because experience is a far better foundation for teaching someone else, and that experience seems to make the teacher’s position more valid in the eyes of the students. How do we move forward spiritually? We limit the use of our minds to being the tools they were intended to be, allow ourselves full access to our instincts, intuition and common sense, recognize that we are not alone on our journey even though it is ours alone, access the experiences of others who have traveled the road before us, and recognize that we not only don’t know everything, we hardly know anything. It is a tall order but not impossible because others have done it and are doing it. If students do not learn, stretch and venture, they cannot grow. Remember, if your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough! We must grow, not only for ourselves, but for those who follow us. Rise to the challenge. We are all students and we are all teachers.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
THE PROCESS OF RIPENING
In spring the fruit trees blossom.
They look just like fairy-tales.
However would life be without a portion of rain,
hail, frost, storm, or other disasters?
Every part of nature has its own destination.
A few of the blossoms have to grow to an apple or a pear.
Comparing this process with a human life –
they resemble each other.
After being attacked with all sorts of troubles, day after day –
the only wish that is left,
is to be smashed on the ground, to be finished or dead.
But if Fate has decided I have to grow into a ripened fruit –
I just have to answer it.
THE RED THREAD
That little piece of coloured rope,
Combining all with all,
is laying in your hands but loosely.
Do you let it go, then you’re spinning on earth,
Looking for some hold desperately.
Ariadne didn’t roll out a red carpet for us.
What she gave, was just that ball of rope.
On the way there is so much to be seen…
So much to experience . . !
So much, that’s threatening and fearful . . ..!
A single time you can enjoy some rays of sun!
The attention isn’t directed on the cord always. Have you found it at last,
By inattention it can be slipping out of your fingers. quietness returns.
When the hours of the day are finished . . . Ai ..! Darkness is not dark any more.
Bravely you’re going on,
Where is my thread!? trusting that wonderful thread.
October 30, 2022
APPROACHING
As each of us seeks our own spiritual path, we all struggle with what we and others “know”. (see Vol. 28 No. 3) Most of us have been raised in one particular theological structure. Many of us have found that structure no longer “fits”, if, in fact, it ever did. We all seek a relationship with our Creator, but if the structure in which we were raised does not provide it, what do we do? By observation, it is clear that The Creator who created each of us and the universe in which we live, is beyond anything which we can understand, describe, or reach. We are limited to what we can see, touch, hear and reason, all of which are within this Dimension of the Pairs of Opposites and, therefore, less than The Creator thereof. Over the centuries people (artists and philosophers) have tried to use images and words to describe The Supreme Being. Of course, since those images and words are of this Dimension, they always fall short, no matter how great or inspired the artist or the wordsmith. From our position as spiritual beings stuck in physical bodies, we cannot hope to wrap our minds around the distance that separates us from The Creator, the differences in how we see things, or how to bridge that gap. Some theologies attempt to explain The Creator with human traits like emotions, speaking of The Creator as simply a big version of a person who happens to live in the sky. Not only is this type of thinking disrespectful, it leads to limited thinking on the subject and submits itself easily to a structure which is for humans, about humans, and run by humans for human goals. The good news is The Creator did not bring us this far just to turn His (or Her) back on us! We have been sent The Great Teachers. Each of these teachers has their own style of trying to help us find a way to start our own path. (See Great Teachers under the heading “About Us” in this website.) These teachers very generously shared with us, each in his or her own way, what their personal path looks like. Or, to put it another way, how each of them approaches The Divine. None of these teachers considered him or her self to represent the consummate or only way to spiritual development and enlightenment – their “way” is not them but is, instead, their teachings, all of which are surprisingly similar. Not everything these teachers said or did spoke to everyone who heard or saw them. (Buddha’s sermon of the flower was only understood by one disciple). We all have been given Free Will. It can be used to seek out the ideas that seem to best “fit” our current wonderings and needs, spiritually speaking. All of the great teachers are essentially teaching the same thing – how to live a decent life. For the would-be student, therefore, the most comfortable path is most likely the one that will work best. If not, no harm done since all the presentations represent thoughts on how to live a decent life. Joseph Campbell once said that he “played around” a bit among the various teachings so probably would never have the experience of a saint. Perhaps, in his willingness to create a “coat” which fit him, he, in fact, surpassed the experiences of a saint since he was not bound by only one way of thinking. When a student is willing to see the benefits or “truth” in the various teachings, the student is most likely to find a way which works for him or her. Once again, our old friend the Thou Experience is helpful since it recognizes that The Creator is in all things and all beings. Perhaps the first step in approaching The Creator is to accept all that has been given us regardless of how we see it from our perspective (positive or negative) and be willing to approach The Creator with an open heart.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
DESPITE OF . . .
Feeling independent. . .
Feeling in balance . . .
Feeling guided by the Sun of the Heart. . .
Despite of:
Having to clean the kitchen –
Having to go to the dentist -
Having to pay tax –
Having to get on with boring people –
Having to work, while wishing to sleep –
Having to take medicine –
Feeling unhappy sometimes –
Having a thousand other burdens hanging on my neck –
And despite of all those troubles, to experience freedom –
Might that be called an art of Life?
INTERTWINING
Taking and giving.
Giving and taking.
Yin and Yang.
Together the circle.
Feeding each other.
Is alone giving –
It’s lingering away,
Bleeding to death.
Is alone taking –
A pit of concrete,
Without a bottom
Giving, taking
Taking, giving –
Intertwined in balance –
grow to the “Oneness of the Circle”. August 28, 2022
WHICH WAY IS UP
People consider their lives as presenting them with problems. Many of our “sayings” indicate this: “There’s always a bump in the road”, “Life is never easy”, “It’s always something, isn’t it”, and, of course, blaming someone else, “Murphy is in charge of that”. Given the ongoing existence of “problems” the real question becomes what we do about any given “problem”. Mankind seems to have a disturbing tendency to get things upside-down, giving us the mistaken idea that “knowing” is the goal. Our thinking about things runs the gambit from “I know” through “I think”, and “I suspect” to “I sense”. If one “knows” then one has made up one’s mind and, generally speaking, is unwilling to admit any more information into the equation. For instance, the person who “knows” the definition of a word and says that the dictionary is wrong if it disagrees. One who says they “think” may or may not be willing to admit of further evidence, often depending on whether the new information buttresses their particular position. The person who says “I suspect” has a definite leaning toward what they think they know being directly applicable to a given situation, is usually unwilling to take a stand for fear of being wrong, but will, in a group situation, become more secure in their position if others are of the same mind, even though additional evidence may not be present. The person who “senses” the proper response or the proper path to take to get to a response, is really the only person open to learning from the situation. “Senses” infers the inclusion of that which lies beyond what is knowable – the spiritual. If one believes that The Universe is trying to teach us, then this is the only appropriate position toward that end. If you want your cup filled, it must have room in it. If you want to learn, you must admit (most importantly, to yourself) that you do not know everything. As with so many other spiritual things, there is freedom in surrendering.
Whether in our family, neighborhood, community, or society “our way” is never the only way. Approaching life and its opportunities to grow (problems) with that understanding helps each of us not only understand the accept the “other” (the Thou Experience) but broadens the individual’s perspective thus enabling that individual to have access to more than one way to address the opportunity (perhaps even melding two or more for a new approach) for growth and change in that individual’s life, both physical and spiritual.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
WHAT A PROSPECT
When I dare to surrender to “be happy”,
it is radiating on all sides.
My problems, the concern for those whom I love –
Everything is still acute.
But I don’t have to search for a way out.
That miraculous “knowing” – “things are good as they are” –
One might name it absolute Trust.
What a prospect it offers!
BORDERS
Whenever a border is experiencing itself as a border –
Will is growing to break through.
A view of endless space is dawning!
That’s for the one, who’s standing at the frontierspost.
Having past the customs the country is so strange, so new!
Not a single trustful thing is left.
Does it require the attitude of pioneers to go that unknown way?
Who is an enemy, who is a friend?
The voice inside is that the only landmark?
As long as you have fear to loose whatever you possess –
As long as you will hold whatever you have
You’ll have nothing and you’re loosing all!
Awaken in the space without a border!
There is no mine, nor yours.
“Being” only exists!
A SHORT WAY?
Look at the sky.
Reflect it.
Sun or wind,
Clouds either hail –
Let it happen without comments.
Accepting what’s coming or leaving –
Is leading straight to the Target
It sounds so simple
But the struggle with Ego makes it a hell. June 26, 2022
OPEN OR SHUT
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. It is as if he could see into the future and see our time. Today so many people are watching the stage play of life but they have left the curtains closed! There are commentators willing to tell everyone what is going on, but isn’t it better to see for yourself? And, isn’t it the same way with our spirituality? There are many people with varying degrees of capability (real and imagined) who are willing to tell others how they must pursue their spiritual life. Where do they get the hubris to think that they should interfere between the individual seeker and his or her Creator? If one seeks a personal relationship with one’s Creator, it requires individual thought. It requires thinking about what others over the centuries have written and attempting to apply their wisdom to one’s own spiritual situation. It requires getting in touch with and learning to listen to one’s own feelings (not emotions). Current pronouncements are always suspect because they have not yet stood the test of time. While the thoughts of those from the past (who have been recognized as possessing wisdom) may not be of our time and, therefore, their wisdom may require some adaptation, the basic wisdom has been, is and will continue to be wisdom. Humankind does not need a new wheel to be invented, it merely needs to take a minute, think a bit and apply such perspectives as the Thou Experience to arrive at higher quality solutions. It seems that the usual methods of those who have set themselves up as “experts” on what others should believe and how others should behave have leaned heavily on secrecy. Those “in charge” seem to believe that their “students” are lacking in wisdom and/or common sense, or even spiritual acumen. Setting themselves over others and holding on for dear life to that position seems to be their main goal. Earthly kingdoms have risen and fallen while the “fathers” wield power over those not privy to their understanding. This has occurred enough throughout man’s history that it has become a pattern. It is, perhaps, easier to see when you view the story of the Wizard of Oz as a parody on mankind’s spiritual history. There was lots of mystique until the curtain was pulled back and the wizard was revealed as simply a carnival charlatan who had come to Oz through no capability or intent of his own and was using all the tricks he knew to keep himself over others. Why would he do this? FEAR. Because he was fearful of being in a new place, he engendered fear in others in order to, in his view, keep himself safe. The parallels just keep popping up!
Opening the curtain allows the student to see the whole of Creation as it applies to that individual. Nature is one of the Great Teachers. The student can also see up close the successes and failings of others, feel the energies of a given situation, consider the possible outcomes on oneself and others of any given action or inaction, and participate at any chosen level. Take heart! When one can see its truth, one can see its beauty! It’s called living and it brings us closer to others and our Creator, helping us grow in stature, strength and wisdom. Isn’t it what we are here to do?
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
LITTLE COMRADES
The big, lumbering crowd . . .
So sluggish, so uncountable . . .
They’re yelling, they’re crying, they’re laughing . . .
It sounds so empty.
It doesn’t sing a song.
Sometimes their mind is developed enormously.
But they look straight on only,
with a pair of blinders grown on their head.
In the center of the mass, a little star is sparkling here and there.
Miles in the vicinity they’re often the only ones.
Their sparkling is but very weak then.
Still . . .
Their shining is to be noticed!
So off and on those little torches are meeting other ones.
That means a feast!
There voltage is extending!
INSTEAD OF . . .
Those little stars, they come and they go.
And come again . . . A fellow human taught me a lesson,
So long and so often, till the total crowd awakens. so new, so immensely surprising,
I hardly dare to believe it.
TEST But innerly recognizing it,
was so unbelievably strong -
How do I get to know my strength, I just have to accept it as true.
if there is never a resistance?
The words in which it was expressed?
The pain, the bitterness, the loneliness . . . “To surrender to ‘IT’ is not losing the battle
They are attributes of the process. but winning the game.”
Instead of fighting, fearing,
Sometimes a fellow human is causing the event. there is freedom in cooperation with life.
Is that of any importance, matter of fact?!
The opportunity to try your strength, your trust,
That’s the point, that counts!
Human, off’ring me the possibility to exercise,
I’m in debt with you! April 24, 2022
THE RULES
As mankind multiplied and learned to live together for protection and companionship, there were created rules. Rules are like the supporting hands of the parent teaching a child to walk. Mankind began with rules – for instance, the Ten Commandments, and progressed to a more relaxed, but equally imperative – do unto others as you would have them do unto you, which, of course requires thought. In the Christian Tradition, this progression has been slowed somewhat, particularly in the society which can be referred to as the United States of America, by the Puritan Tradition. The RULES became the basis for an unforgiving legal system which, interestingly enough, now has a side called Equity allowing for the differences in situations in an attempt to strike a balance between people rather than blindly applying a rule. When the RULES were relaxed through social advocacy movements seeking to empower particular groups which had been ignored or subjugated by the empowered, the newly empowered had to learn how to exercise, in a responsible manner, the rights which they had not previously been allowed to fully exercise -- and those who had inappropriately exercised power over others had to learn how to live in a society with more equality. Since this was accomplished by rule rather than reason, the idea that everyone has rights was kept but the effect on others of the use of those rights (the balance of responsibility in the use of those rights) has been nearly lost. The child has learned to walk but is wearing hobnailed boots to walk on anyone who might get in the way. We are living, rather uncomfortably, in a time when how we deal with one another is of paramount importance, but in which the rules we have had in our past are inadequate due to our numbers and attitudes. As a society, there is too little thought and too much thoughtlessness--we do not think, we simply react. We are in the uncomfortable stage between stringent rules and the implementation of a more thoughtful and widely applicable tradition. The recognition of the rights, privileges and feelings of others, in practice as some distant concept, must come forth as a basic part of human interaction.
The vehicle to bring forth this type of thoughtfulness may be our old friend the Thou Experience. It comes to us from the traditions of Daoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The main idea is that The Creator is within each of Its creations and, therefore, the person standing in front of you is part of the Creator which also created you, and, obviously, the reverse. In other words, all of us are brothers. In its application it is very much like “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” but, the realization that The Creator is within Its entire creation, makes the application of that thought more imperative. The application of the Thou Experience in daily life has several benefits. It leads to the practitioner being more internally peaceful, thus, there is less stress (dog-eat-dog at work and play), more thought – in all senses of the word, and the practitioner generally achieves a more pleasant life. It would appear that we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. The alternative is clearly the eventual pulling apart and destruction of any society which cannot overcome the idea of BIG ME--little you. Let’s give the child proper shoes and the understanding that nobody should step on anybody else’s toes.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
TAG PROBLEMS?
The symbol of Yang and Yin –
Identical and opposite.
Good and bad and light and dark –
With an encyclopedia of names we indicate your operating
The sunshine makes us happy, we feel caressed and safe.
When darkness comes, we look for shelter and protection.
The part of the symbols are absolutely alike.
They are neither good nor bad.
Do we make a tag-shop of them?
Is it the unwritten circle, that matters?
TAO
Tao is not to be found in the North.
As less in the South.
It hasn’t a place, where it dwells.
But still. . .
All what we hear . . .
All what we see . . .
All what we smell . . .
All what we touch . . .
THAT is Tao.
Once was said:
“The one who speaks about Tao, does not know Tao.
The one who knows Tao, doesn’t speak of It”.
The one who thinks of Tao . . .
discovers, not a thousand thoughts can reach It
But living one’s days in trust of Tao,
finds himself in the Heart of Tao.
February 27, 2022
FUZZY
While we live on this Earth we are continually faced with choices. We have been given thoughts and philosophies to use as tools with which to make these choices. Many of these tools come to us from the history of the various structured religions. There are the Ten Commandments, the Tao te Ching, and the Upanishads, to name very few. No matter what or where they come from, they all boil down the same thing -- respect for others. This idea is not to be applied only to those folks with whom we agree or whom we like, it is to be applied to all people. As mankind multiplied and covered the Earth, it broke into pieces and slivers. Some became isolated and some withdrew. As a result, there are major and minor differences in viewpoints as to what is “right”. Most people try to do what is “right” within their cultural understanding. This is all well and good as long as one recognizes that what may be “right” for one may not be “right” for another, even within the same cultural understanding. It is also true that what may be “right” for one at a given time may not be “right” for that same individual at another time. Col. Sherman T. Potter once made the comment: “There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. The wrong way is to continue to try to get someone else to do it the right way”. The Constitution of the United States enumerates several rights which it says are given to every person. The Bill of Rights goes further, and court cases have defined these rights more specifically. The point is EVERYONE HAS THEM. An apparently good rule of thumb is that one’s rights are inviolate until the exercise of them begins to impinge on another person’s exercise of their rights. Consideration for the feelings and situations of the other person is a good foundation from which to make these hair-splitting decisions. One neighbor may want to set off fireworks to celebrate our freedoms, but do they need to consider their neighbor who, as a result of his or her honorable service to his or her country has PTSD and is sent into a state of extreme emotional distress by this type of loud noise. OF COURSE! The physical world is not the only place where these ideas apply. They also apply in the practice of spirituality. For many people, their relationship with their Creator is personal. What they do and how they do it is really no one else’s business as long as it does not impinge on the rights of another. Our Creator has provided each of us with many benefits. Those benefits (some say blessings) are to be enjoyed by every individual. To accomplish this, each individual must have respect for the enjoyment of these benefits by others. In the final analysis (as with so many things) the concept is easy, the application may be hard – each of us needs to enjoy what we have and let others do the same -- it is a two-way street. Civilization will only survive if people are civilized.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
ASTONISHMENT
Life,
wondering, I’m looking at you.
You can use every crumb of material.
You’re making and breaking and rebuilding again!
Whenever you beat a human to pieces,
which like a worm, each becomes another form –
or . . .
lay rotting beside the road,
sometimes open, sometimes covered by some sand
it leaves you cold.
Human,
Do not try to put in irons
what forever will be streaming.
Dare to be a drop of the sea!
Without form, you’re forming ages.
BLESSED MOMENT
To recognize the Self in the beloved ones . . .
Unspeakable great!
Matter changes,
becomes transient, more tenuous. . .
Every life is building forms, belonging to it.
Culture, century and gender determines.
In the rare, but very blessed moments of deeper seeing,
The Eternal SELF crystallizes Itself,
And reflects the Self of the other.
BLUE AND GREEN
What is called blue by John –
Mary says:
For me it is green.
Neither John nor Mary know
that green and blue are just some names.
As well as John and Mary.
Nothing really is, what is looks like.
“IT” is fooling us in a thousand folds of forms
When humans think:
They’ve put their hands on some –
A magic wand dissolves them in the air.
To become as flexible as “IT” Itself –
only tells what rules the play. December 26, 2021
HOW GREEN IS YOUR VALLEY?
Observation tells us that life is a cycle. Sometimes it is cycles within cycles (Ezekiel’s wheel within a wheel or the hoops of Black Elk). This cycle includes times we consider as positive and times we consider as negative. These attributes we assign are, of course, the result of our own personal perspective. The “negative” part of a cycle has sometimes been referred to as a valley. This “valley” is where we learn what will help us grow into the next “positive” part of our own personal growth pattern. Actually, it is not really “negative”. We only feel that way because learning from the circumstances which life gives us is often difficult and sometimes painful, physically and/or mentally. If the student can remember this, then he or she is free to search within the circumstances for the lesson which is there. This is very difficult since one has to put aside, as much as possible, the pain of the circumstances surrounding the lesson and question the validity of positions not previously examined. Life does not simply write the individual’s lesson on a blackboard or an assignment sheet. The student must search for it. As is the case with so much of life, the main lesson is attached to several less obvious lessons. It helps to think of this group as something positive – for instance, a bouquet of flowers. There is something which the student must discover, it relates to that particular student, it has a direct bearing on the rest of the life of that student, it directs the energy of the student to that part of the student’s psyche which is ready and able to undergo the growth, and when viewed in the rearview mirror, is powerful, beautiful, and basic for that individual student. This type of investigation is spiritual in nature, therefore, meditation and conversations with others of the spiritual bent are often helpful. While in the “valley” one’s frame of reference and personal perspective are of limited use. The student, if willing to learn, is on unfamiliar ground with very few useable points of reference. Often a trip through the “valley” involves the student in a very close examination of the student’s own basic nature – not what was taught or what was thought by others but the truth of that student. Navigated with willingness and openness, the “valley” becomes an adventure which is of great benefit to the student. The green of the student’s valley depends entirely on whether the student can embrace the lesson(s) and learn how to implement them in his or her own life, or whether the student fights the lesson some or all of the way. The former is a green and lush valley growing fruit which is to be gathered and carried forward into the remainder of the student’s life. The latter is arid and grim. The choice is ours!
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
WAYS
“Energy”,
You created darkness and light.
You created fire and water.
You created life and death.
You are One.
Whatever You created, is in parts of two.
Opposed to each other always.
The area, where the collision takes place is called “earth”.
Also “vale of tears”: or “madhouse”.
Conscious or not –
The way from “two to One”,
Everyone is chasing for.
According as we recognize You inside “two” –
We are finding ways to “One”.
WATER
Streaming . . .
Streaming . . .
Streaming . . .
Sitting astride on a wave,
I’m swaying on the rhythm.
Fearful trembling
when wild winds are furiously tearing through the water,
crested waves exploding to pieces.
Also they’re bursting into thousands of drops –
water always stays water.
Streaming on like before.
Building new waves,
new crests,
flaky foam.
And me?
Life created water.
It modeled me to a human.
Universal Energy,
Do I have to learn,
Trusting upon You,
just to stream like water? October 31, 2021
BACK AND FORTH
For the most part, it is human nature to move forward. Humans are into better, faster, easier, or, as we call it, progress. For several decades we have been highly focused on this thing we call progress. Our physical world has conveniences, short-cuts, and better ways which were not around even forty years ago. To the extent that this “progress” has given us more time to do with as we please, we have, generally speaking, filled that time with activity. More time on the computer, more time being entertained with activities such as concerts, movies, television, sporting events, etc. It is very popular to be “on the go” – racing from work to the structured activities for our children, to shopping, to family gatherings, to one event after another – only to fall into bed at the end of the day feeling totally exhausted. We seem to have been taking our cues from the various rodents that spend their days running inside an exercise wheel. Are we really getting that much more accomplished than those rodents? If anything, our society is in more disarray than ever. Humans are too busy to notice where they are running or why.
It might be far more beneficial in both the short and long run to stop, take a step back, and think about what we, as individuals, are doing with the time we have here on this Earth. Many children have grown up to be good, productive, upstanding citizens without the benefit of being pushed to over-achieve in various sports. Their exercise came from playing a game of pick-up ball on the neighborhood vacant lot and helping with chores around the house. A great country grew from understanding and mutual respect, both of which, if done properly, take time and effort – which may explain why they are so rarely practiced today. Life is about balance. Using all our time pursing “stuff” or doing what others want us to do with our time puts each of us woefully out of balance. For us to be properly balanced, each of us needs to cultivate our individual spirituality, whether by meditation, prayer, contemplation, information gathering, or simply sitting and communing with Nature. On the whole, there seems to be a school of thought which says that spirituality can be accomplished by attending structured events, adopting what is espoused there and, of course, doing it often. While this may help if approached with a proper attitude, it cannot be the whole enchilada. Our individual, personal, time-alone effort is required to develop that one-on-one relationship with our Creator. Humans have “progressed” and thereby given themselves more time to call their own. We give a very small percentage our daily hours to the building of a relationship with our Creator. Perhaps using the benefits of “progress” to take a step back and balance our lives might give each of us an improved quality of life. That is more than the rodents can say.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
BARS
Furiously we’re pulling the bars of the cage.
The cage in which we imagine to be prisoners.
But iron can’t be bent by hands!
A vague idea of wings is often floating through us.
Wings…
Flying…
To be there, where borders are unknown…
Little human, you’re dreaming of space,
but you’re afraid of the width inside yourself!
To go there without restrictions…
THAT is freedom!
It’s that terrible fear that keeps us encaged.
HAVE WE?
The sun is shining over good and evil.
His light is absolutely neutral.
When we talk about love, we think of giving and receiving.
But the sun is only giving. . . giving . . .
He never asks for an exchange.
What however might a human have to offer?
Isn’t he living by the grace of sunlight only?
Source of Light, in the process of giving, you’re becoming what you are.
Have we humans too those possibilities?
LISTEN
“IT”, all what I’m seeing is a facet of You.
The eyes, which are looking also!
Why can’t I find You?!
“Listen, please, listen . . .”
“Look at your reflection in the mirror. . .!”
“Be quiet. . .
“Feel . . .
“Feel . . .”
August 29, 2021
ASPIRATONS AND LIMITATONS
For spiritual seekers, our “journey” is the embodiment of our aspiration to return to The Creator. Because we are spiritual beings trapped in human bodies, we tend to find physical world ways of making this journey. We try to communicate with Our Creator through thought (meditation), language (prayer), and action (deeds). The first two of these are attempts at telling Our Creator our own side of the equation between us. Any being who created the known Universe, already has that information. It has been observed that “He knows our hearts”. Perhaps then, what we are doing is presenting ourselves in a way that we hope will make us acceptable to Our Creator. For those who engage in public prayer it may be as much about presenting ourselves in a “desirable light” to those around us as about communication with Our Creator. It all depends on motive. After all, when Jesus instructed the disciples regarding how to pray, he began with the preparation which was “go into your closet”. Of course, the third method, ”deeds”, requires the consideration of motive as well. If someone finds a homeless, orphaned child, takes that child in, providing clothing, housing, food, education, etc., we don’t know if that person has done a good thing because we cannot know that person’s motive. Their motive may be “doing the right thing” and it may be to have someone to take care of them when they are old. It would appear then that physical world methodologies fall short of serving us well in this effort to fulfill our aspirations. Our next step, then, it would seem, is to put the physical world aside and place ourselves squarely on the spiritual plane, as best we can. How to do this? FEEL. Using any of the various tools available to put our minds at ease and shut out the chaos of the world, we can feel our way along. This has sometimes been called “being at one with . . . . “ . The most straightforward is to develop a oneness with Nature. Opening up to the immenseness of the sky, the whispering of the wind, the power of a storm – that is, feel them, don’t think about them. This sort of activity helps us get in touch with the vastness of Creation. As Joseph Campbell observed in the introduction to his book The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, when one realizes that we are each but a speck of dust on a small rock rotating around a minor nuclear furnace among the many millions of such furnaces speeding away from each other at the speed of light, and can also recognize that each of us is an integral part of Creation then we are ready to begin our spiritual journey. From the foregoing, it can be deduced that the use of words in thinking about or talking to the Creator is ill-advised. Words are always limitations, the true spiritual language is feelings. “Oneness” beginning with “oneness” with Nature seems a much more productive path. If one uses the “oneness” approach, one also avoids the psychological problem of, once we give The Creator human attributes, making The Creator more like us and less a being of whom we cannot conceptualize. We have taken the majesty and the magnificence of The Creator and substituted an ordinary and knowable being with human frailties like fear and hatred. We have created our own roadblock to the very thing which we instinctively seek.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
JUST FOR A SECOND
I have the feeling of going mad
by the multiple of manifestations.
In an earsplitting chaos
they’re buying me –
do not stop for the gate of my skin,
but penetrate the pore
Dragging me off in the stream of their delusions!
The crucial moment . . .
The uproar strikes me dumb . .
Manifestations are fading away . . .
Oneness . . .
Universal Love . . .
PRAYER
To communicate without words . . .
The most glorious communication!
Almost angelic!
But . . . being humans-
We’ll have to look for words once upon a time
There may be misunderstanding them!
That’ll hurt!
If so – let us incline our heart to the source of that glorious contact.
LOVE
Analyzing Love . . . !?
Forget it!
When she touches us, it’s like sunshine in the winter.
Her endless forms and facets . . .
Not a million of words can explain them.
Neither a song can express.
She follows the ways of the heart.
She’s fragile like a flower,
but stronger than Death.
She is the Core of Life.
WHO will be able to analyze THAT?! June 27, 2021
BEYOND BEYOND
As humans even the most gifted of us is limited. We are limited not only by the capability of our physical bodies, but by the limitations of our minds. We cannot possibly conceive of the being that created us. We try to compensate for this by imagining that The Divine is like us. It seems to be of no effect to attempt to correct this error. (see Psalms 50:21) Perhaps the closest to solving this human problem comes from the Natural Religions where The Great Spirit is in everything. We use our minds to deal with everything, ideas, structure, and relationships. Once the mind enters the picture, limitations are set and the spiritual is pushed into the background where it languishes. Religious thought is of no help because it, too, even if inspired, comes from the mind of at least the teacher, if not added to by the students. In the best of circumstances, the human mind is subject to some biases and prejudices. In the worst of circumstances, it spews hatred and violence toward “the other”. Searching for the “right” religious structure is of no help since all human thought is subject to these limitations. It’s rather like wanting to go to the moon and searching for a vehicle which will take us to the top of the earth’s highest mountain only, like Adam in the Book of Adam trying to regain Eden. How, then, do we transcend our minds and activate our spiritual journey? Let go! Accept that humans cannot conceive of The Divine, let alone understand it. Set aside all the fears and problems created by knowing with the mind and put in their place the peace and security of knowing in the spirit. It is difficult to face the unknown, but, that is not needed in this instance. The Divine has given us the tools to make our spiritual journey. If we will set aside our fears, set aside our need to “know”, set aside our pre-conceived notions (whether from our training as children or subsequently) and listen to that still small voice within which is still and small not in reality, but because it is trying to get each of us to shut out the physical world and listen. The practice of The Thou Experience requires us to recognize that small piece of The Divine within the other. Therefore, it is within each of us. Take from each Great Teacher that which sings to you. Observation of Nature reveals that there is “an intelligence” at work. Feel Nature – the breeze, the softness of the Earth, the solidity of the rock. Listen to the songs of the birds, the sound of moving water, the whisper of the trees. Let go of who and what you think you are because what you think you are only serves to separate you from the whole. Become one with what is. As Joseph Campbell once said - When you realize that you are a speck of dust on a very small rock orbiting around a minor nuclear furnace in a vast and undefinable universe, and at the same time realize that somehow you are an integral part of it all – then you are ready to begin your spiritual journey. Weaving the teachings of the Great Teachers into your journey as and when appropriate as touchstones or guidance can be helpful as long as you maintain a balance. The real prize is your individual journey. No one can tell you how, when, or whether. It is there, within each of us for the recognizing, traveling and achieving.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
MOLTING FEATHERS
Molting feathers is not easy.
It makes you feel sick, sad and vulnerable.
Be quiet little bird!
Inside our wings another plumage already grows!
You’ve done this job before.
Take your time and rest.
The sky and sun are looking forward for you to come again.
INSTEAD OF . . .
A fellow human taught me a lesson,
So new, so immensely surprising,
I hardly dare to believe it.
But innerly recognizing it,
Was so unbelievably strong –
I just have to accept it as true.
The words in which it was expressed?
“To surrender to “IT” is not losing the battle
But winning the game.
Instead of fighting, fearing,
There is freedom in cooperation with Life.”
LOOKING AND SEEKING
A fish in the Ocean, looking for water. . .
Humanity in action, searching for Life. . .
They’re looking, but don’t see!
April 25, 2021
DO WHAT??
It is unnerving to contemplate what the future will say about the time in which we are living. It sometimes seems the only good thing is that humankind has turned it into such a mess that it encourages us to seek our spiritual path and spend as much time there as we can manage. As King David said in Psalm 89 line 47, “For what futility you have created all of mankind!” Yet, humankind has survived . Perhaps we can again. Societies are tearing themselves apart. As we learned from the Fall of the Roman Empire, it is from within that great societies, cultures, or empires fall. Unfortunately, history does not record the inner workings of the survival of mankind. No charts or details have survived. We can often see the beginning or certain episodes, but the day-to-day techniques of growing and maintaining are rarely available or clear. Obviously, we have to manage to find our own way through the morass. Where do we start? It might be that the best place to start is with each individual - each to be responsible for him or herself. Carve out those who genuinely cannot fully manage this and supplement their situation. We can be caring without enabling. We can help as we are able - not as we are “expected”. We can be compassionate without being controlling. We can refuse to take responsibility for others or their difficulties or expect others to take responsibility for ours. It would, obviously, be a balancing act which would extend far into the future. As we cannot speak for other societies, we also cannot speak for one another. An individual is just exactly that - an individual. The purpose of a society is for each individual to receive that which they require. As the French say - Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Since each member of a society would have these rights, so each individual member’s rights stop when they impinge on those of another. Toward this end societies develop a government the job of which is to protect these rights for each individual. This is a very difficult balance because there will always be those who demand more than others, or worse, demand all that there is. Finding and maintaining this balance will depend on as many members of a given society sincerely cooperating in the effort as possible. Again, it is an individual thing. It seems clear that any effort which does not take the individual into full account - both as to their needs and their responsibilities - will be fighting an uphill battle. It also seems obvious that this will be a complex and intricate process. Fortunately, we have a blueprint for the effort. DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU! The response will not always be positive but the effort has to start somewhere, Every natural disaster gives us an opportunity to practice. Remember, none of us is alone, we are simply individuals who must each walk his or her own spiritual path.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
SHARING
Sea and clouds and the wind -
Pureness, beauty, joy, oneness -
The waves, the sun, and clouds,
they are all in action,
fully aware of their power.
And yet that unspeakable oneness!
I’m feeling like a speck of dust.
But the second I surrender -
I’m part of the game - sharing that Oneness.
SCRAPING OVER
When cultures are scraping over each other, is hurting.
It brings sadness and nostalgia.
Where is my home?
The loneliness, the separation is so heavy.
There is crying inside.
But in that chaos of misery,
Something is growing.
Very carefully,
Meticulously almost.
Joltingly
By the method of trial and error.
With depth’s that are boundlessly deep.
It’s listing humans over the border of cultures
It will rally mankind to what it really is:
A living facet of Borderless Being.
February 28, 2021
THE DIFFERENCE
Aspiring to the spiritual while living in the physical is an ongoing effort. Recent scientific experiments in quantum mechanics indicate that humans do not accurately perceive their environs. There is an important difference between trusting and taking for granted. Like so many things, this is a spectrum with many steps along the way. The butterfly sitting on a Giant Sequoia was asked if the tree was alive. His response - oh, no, it hasn’t moved since I got here. He took for granted based on casual observation. We take for granted that the sun will rise every morning - more of less in the east. We take our personal existence for granted but realize that we are temporal beings and one day will cease in this plane. Circumstances soon teach us that we cannot take for granted those things which we need to keep us alive. When examined closely, there are very few things in which we can truly trust. Those who are fortunate have others in whom they can trust. In certain circumstances, we cannot even trust ourselves. Oddly enough, the things which are most trustworthy are the things we consider most ephemeral - the spiritual. Of course, this is the basis for our aspiring to the spiritual. This dimension of the pairs of opposites in which we live where we cannot correctly perceive our environs is so burdensome in so many ways that we seek peace and contentment. When the children of Israel fled Egypt, they had no idea of where they were going other than - somewhere else. There were some among them who knew of and how to use the signs and wonders, so the children followed them - more or less. We don’t really know anything about the other dimension(s) but in moments that are all too few we have been allowed to feel beyond the here and now and it is so overpowering that for a few moments the physical plane is shut out and we belong. Some call this Heaven, some call it Home - it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we don’t take it for granted. Instead we must continue our efforts to strengthen our souls and trust in the destination, over and over.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
SOMETHING GREAT
World of forms, you are so threatening,
With the power of your frequency,
you’re renting and destroying!
You’re creeping and sneaking underneath and round the back!
In the darkness of wasting away,
A sea of fears is lashing.
The dread of setting free, what’s dead already.
Yet, there’s something dawning in that chaos.
Something great and unassailable.
Not bound to any form.
“Energy”, Who’s forming forms as well as breaking them -
You are . . . LOVE.
STILL MORE
Light and dark are coming and leaving,
following the laws,they are subject to.
Nature settles their rhythm.
Together they’re building the total natural day.
Still there is more.
Eyes cannot see it.
It’s caressing, it’s soft and it’s warming.
It emanates a dazzling brightness.
It is breathing.
It is alive.
It is the Core of what IS.
With many, many names it’s indicated.
Yet it wants to be discovered.
Every being has to search for himself.
Blessed the road to the door of his heart.
December 27, 2020
THE MIGHTY
All humans are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among other things, He has given each of us Free Will. We all know that might does not make right, and yet we live in a world where shouting down the opposition to force others into doing it your way has become the thing to do. As with all things, there need to be a balance. Waves nay crash on the shore, while glaciers are silent but irresistible as they change the world around them. The song birds fill the air with their music while the great birds of prey soar silently in the skies. The greats sequoias may murmer as the winds blow through them, but their growth cannot be heard. Spiritual inspiration does not come with the rumblings of human life but instead, comes in the quiet times. In fact, the most profound spiritual experiences often shut out the sounds of life going on around the recipient, wrapping the recipient in a cocoon of silence and peace. A seeker of the spiritual must seek silence and peace away from the racket made by humans who fear anything or anyone different. The constant and loud demand by leaders, as well as those who would abdicate their spiritual responsibility, that everyone should walk the same spiritual path flies in the face of the fact that all humans are unique in their own right, and that we must, therefore, each exercise our Free Will and walk our own spiritual path. Yes, the paths all go the same general direction (toward the Creator_ but they are not straight and there are no two alike. The Great Teachers show us that although their message is essentially the same, their approaches are different and their methods of teaching the great truths are different. (“In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you”) Securing the space and time for peaceful spiritual pursuits is difficult in the best of times. We are not living in the best of times. The times in which we live may be challenging, but they area necessary to rebalance our society which is woefully out of balance toward the negative. During such times it is the job of a seeker of the spiritual to be an example. How? We continue to walk our own path, seeking guidance as we go; continue in our basic spiritual understand that, while in human form we must play the hand we are dealt, do our best, help others (not enable them) as well as be responsible for ourselves; and interact with others in a way which allows them to see The Creator within each of us. Being an example is not always successful, in fact, many times one does not see the results even if they may be positive. Even this has a good side in that it strengthens our Faith. The Maori proverb says that if you face the sun, the shadows fall b4ehind you. If we are journeying toward the Light, the negativity will fall behind. This journey is not be made with passivity but with gusto and humility. The Creator will give the spiritual what they need to continue in their journey toward Him. Passively trudging through life is not journeying toward The Creator. Instead of trudging, or, worse yet, sitting by the side of the road, we must be walking down the road, see the positive and learning from our experiences so that, with the help of our Creator, we will get back the The Light.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
BARS
Furiously we’re pulling the bars of the cage.
The cage in which we imagine to be prisoners.
But iron can’t be bent be hands!
A vague idea of wings is often floating through us.
Wings. . .
Flying. . .
To be there, where borders are unknown. . .
Little human, you/re dreaming of space,
but you’re afraid of the width inside yourself
To go there without restrictions . . .
THAT is freedom!
It’s that terrible fear that keeps us encaged.
SECURITY
Isn’t it that we’re all looking for?
A baby hasn’t any idea what it means.
But if it’s missing, when he’s dropped on earth –
In efferent forms, his life becomes a rubbish heap.
How to build some self respect?
To love themselves is foreign language.
Heaps of substitutes are tried.
Often they are totally directed to their lonely world inside.
Yet – longing for some company intensely.
But – when offered warmth by fellow-humans –
they roughly push it aside.
And yet, they are so terribly vulnerable.
Puzzle of life,
Where’s the exit from this labyrinth?
Are love and trust the proper winkers?
October 25, 2020
SHADOWS
As the old saying goes: “There’s good news and there’s bad news”. The good news is that our focus is wrong and the bad news is that our focus is wrong. Due to the bombardment of information from our five physical senses, we are mostly focused on our physical existence in this physical world. We are actually only passing through this mortal plane and just need to be in physical bodies to do it. We are essentially energy and, according to our science – for what that is worth, energy cannot be destroyed. For many centuries there has been an idea that our bodies die but our souls go on. The idea of what we who have been exposed to the Christian Faith refer to as “soul” has many other names in many other cultures and religious, including some much older than Christianity. It is in ancient stories of the Native Americans, the Hindus the Buddhists the Egyptians, and the ancient cave painting, among others. The rule of Spontaneous Arising holds that there must be some truth in the idea. As the observation of the grandeur and elegant of Nature tell us that there is a greater intelligence beyond what we can see and understand, it follows that our physical self is merely the shadow of our spiritual reality. Faith is the belief in something that cannot be proven. Religion is the attempt to explain or understand that which I beyond our capability to understand. In other words, we are struggling to become comfortable in an area where we do not and cannot fully understand what is going on around us and within us. The teachings of the Great Teachers are intended to help in this effort. Of course, they each taught in a different manner, owing to the fact that different people learn in different ways, be it parable poetry, prose, example, etc., all of which are an attempt to put each of us in touch with the true language of the spirit – feelings, intuition, inspiration. It should be clear that we cannot all walk our non-physical world path in the same way, as we are encouraged to do by structured religion. As we are all individuals, we must all find our won way. It is true that we can receive help from others through the legacy of one of more Great Teachers and/or through the examples of others such as the Dalai Lama and others who seem to be living a life from which we can lean. Given that our physical life is temporal, does it not make sense that part of the reason we are passing through this mortal plane is to learn to stay focused on what is really important – what we take with us when we leave? May we not be here simply to test our implementation of that which we have learned on another plane? Is our temporal existence on this Earth simply a small part of our timeless journey? The answers to these questions are not important. The importance lies in the asking. Where this physical life is simply the shadow of what we are on another plane or if this physical life is all there is, does it not behoove us to bee an example of kindness, caring, responsibility for oneself, if for no other reason that to make this a better world in which to live? An ongoing effort to change our focus from our shadow existence to our non-physical path existence can yield benefits to both planes of existence. Everybody loves a win-win.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
THE ARENA
”IT”. . .
“UNIVERSAL LOVE”. . .
Worlds that have a similar meaning.
Humans are “parts” of “IT”.
So we LOVE as well in essence!?
“ONE” created two.
Two. . .
Two. . .
Two. . .
Subdued to duality –
searching for the “Unknown One” –
That is the arena, where daily life has to be lived.
But even there the “unwritten knowledge” is to be found:
“ONE’ is “INSCRUTABLE BEING”.
BODY
Body, you’re a marvelous instrument.
We know you but so shallowly.
You’ve a sound, a timbre, a colour of your own,
As long as life is streaming through your veins –
You’re building form after form.
Unfailing are your ideas.
You make life perceptible.
Tangible.
Real
But when it lets you loose –
You fall to pieces.
Instrument – however creative you are –
Yet – you’re not what you look like!
That, what makes you alive . . .
That great unknown . .
Humans want to possess that !
That it is their Being, their Core. . .1
The door to that secret possibility is the form, in which they are living.
Everyone has to unclose it for himself. August 30, 2020
EXILE
Exile is defined, among other things, as “to be banished or expelled from one’s own country or home”. Throughout history, exile has been part of cycle that also included being freed. The children of Israel, although they originally went into Egypt willingly, became captives of the Egyptians and Moses led them out of Egypt. When the Babylonians conquered Israel, it took a decree from Cyrus II, The Great, and Joshua’s leadership to take them home. Historically, exile has been physical. We are currently living through a case of exile which is psychological and spiritual. Our ways of life which we have, as individuals, developed from the teachings of the Great Teachers is being pushed aside for a way of life which does not recognize the divinity in the other, nor does it admit that there can be more than one way to access our mutual Creator. Whether we are outnumbered or not is not clear, but certainly, those who are lacking in the kindness and consideration which we treasure are more vocal and in positions of power. Our situation has parallels to that of the children of Israel once they escaped the Egyptians who pursued them. They had among them those who were greedy and sought the power to continue the enslavement of the majority of the population. Look at the story of the Golden Calf. Unfortunately, when dealing with humans, usually the majority are easily swayed and the real battle is between those who approach society with a positive attitude which includes an ethic of caring and kindness and those who approach society with a negative attitude of getting what they want regardless of the consequences to anyone else. Right now our society is terribly out of balance. It is in the nature of things that balance will be restored, much as it is in Nature. For us, the question then becomes one of what shall we do? It is very difficult to “hold your own” when one feels isolated. To combat this, we can have conversations about this subject with others whom we know of be of similar mind. This might even lead to an inspiration to be passed on for the good of the cause. We must continue to practice our personal Ethic as we have been, even though it may be more difficult and less rewarding than it has been in the past. We can practice the art of skepticism with regard to situations – for instance – is the current nationwide anger about racism truly solvable with legislation (a solution which has not fully succeeded in the past or we would not be having this national outrage) or should we reach out and try to educate those who would enslave or suppress others or their right to their beliefs? After all, none of us will be free until all of us are free. Yes, this is an outrage, but is it also an opportunity to think things through and develop a society which is much improved now that we know what mistakes not to make? We can also be alert for some who will lead us, like Moses or Joshua, into a better society, remembering to be skeptical here as well as there may be “false prophets” among those who would lead. These are difficult times for many reasons, but that fact does not relieve us of our responsibilities to be thinking, caring, kind, and productive people. Each of us can let the Spirit speak through our lives and in our own, small way be a force for positive resolution.
THOUGHTS FROM TIL
MOLTING FEATHERS
Molting feathers is not easy.
It makes you feel sick, sad and vulnerable.
Be quiet little bird!
Inside your wings another plumage already grows!
You’ve done this job before.
Take your time and rest.
The sky and the sun are looking forward for you to come again.
MOLECULES
Life is building forms via arranging-re-arranging.
Subdued to laws?
Chaotic?
Creating, destroying,
hesitating, sometimes even tender.
Always incalculable.
Alarming and extremely difficult to live.
But. . .all what’s breathing, is clutching to it.
That, what’s experiencing the process consciously,
Is passing through a rich event,
unassailable for the arranging-re-arranging happening.
Is it a “meeting” with the “Builder of the molecules”?
PIONEERS
To perform their cruel power,
Night and Darkness need each other.
A flash of artificial light is used for tracing victims.
The dirty tricks to still the hunger of that couple –
the devil can invent them only –
Although the remembrance of Peace is deeply asleep –
Always there are humans,
risking their life and their possessions.
When mentioning Justice and Balance,
They are the only,
passing on,
The knowledge, long forgotten:
“It is Light, only Light, that exists. June 28, 2020
