What out For...

[dizzydoll]

* Watch your mind ('Oh - there goes another thought!') with a part of your attention at all times. Allow Space to arise around your thoughts – then you are the observer, not the thinker. Do not take your mind too seriously.

* Watch out for when you are in Suffering – which could be as small as mere irritation or impatience. This means that you have “lost” the Now. Suffering requires the Past and Future, as well as a “little Me”. Being aware that you are in Suffering brings Knowing to it, but do not get caught up in thinking about “having lost the Now” Then step back into the Now using the usual Portals – Surrender, Nature, Sense Perceptions, Inner Body, Spiritual Texts, Sensing the Inner Field of Now, etc.

* Watch out for Labeling and Judgments. Recognize them as such and let go of them

* Watch out for (bring your awareness to) repetitive or conditioned responses in yourself and look intensely at these, without judgment or commentary. Watch them as they actually occur whenever possible. Examples are situations where you feel ill at ease, have the same dispute again, or the same thing irritates you again, or perhaps you become full of pride, or take the high moral ground, have feelings of superiority, or sitting in judgment over others - (all Egoic Self stuff – both sides of the duality)

* Watch out for Identifying with a Mental Position. Look out for defensiveness which shows a mental position has been identified with and you are defending an illusion (your Egoic Self). Look out for Repair mechanisms to the Egoic Self - actions which rebuild the sense of self after it has been “damaged” or “threatened”

* Watch out for things that cause resistance to accepting the Isness of Now. Notice and Accept! Watch out for things that “Weren't meant to be like that”, and accept them. They are as they Are! They could not be any other way.

* Watch out for Judging others – when you judge others you are in essence judging yourself. Notice that.

* Watch out for the story in the head. There is no story that is you, or leads to you. Every story leads away from you. You are what exists before all stories. You are what remains when all the stories are understood. Notice it when it occurs.

...

These are some thoughts from Eckhart Tolle's philosophy of life. Has anyone read "A New Earth" and what are your thoughts of the book. Another interesting paperback is "The Power of Now". Any thoughts?

[dizzydoll]

A Question for the Ego...

The Lost Ring:

When I was seeing people as a counselor and spiritual teacher, I would visit a woman twice a week whose body was riddled with cancer.

One day, however, I arrived to find her in a state of great distress and anger. 'What happened?' I asked.

Her diamond ring, of great monetary as well as sentimental value, had disappeared, and she said she was sure it had been stolen by the woman who came to look after her for a few hours every day. She said she didn't understand how anybody could be so callous and heartless as to do this to her. She asked me whether she should confront the woman or whether it would be better to call the police immediately.

I said I couldn't tell her what to do, but asked her to find out how important a ring or anything else was at this point in her life. 'You don't understand,' she said. 'This was my grandmother's ring. I used to wear it every day until I got ill and my hands became too swollen. It's more than just a ring to me. How can I not be upset?'

The quickness of her response and the anger and defensiveness in her voice were indications that she had not yet become present enough to look within and to disentangle her reaction from the event and observe them both. Her anger and defensiveness were signs that the ego was still speaking through her.

I said, 'I am going to ask you a few questions, but instead of answering them now, see if you can find the answers within you. I will pause briefly after each question. When an answer comes, it may not necessarily come in the form of words.'

She said she was ready to listen. I asked:

'Do you realize that you will have to let go of the ring at some point, perhaps quite soon?
How much more time do you need before you will be ready to let go of it?
Will you become less when you let go of it?
Has who you are become diminished by the loss?'

There were a few minutes of silence after the last question.

When she started speaking again, there was a smile on her face, and she seemed at peace. 'The last question made me realize something important. First I went to my mind for an answer and my mind said, 'Yes, of course you have been diminished.'

Then I asked myself the question again, 'Has who I am become diminished?' This time I tried to feel rather than think the answer. And suddenly I could feel my I Am-ness. I have never felt that before. If I can feel the I Am so strongly, then who I am hasn't been diminished at all. I can still feel it now, something peaceful but very alive.'

'That is the joy of Being,' I said. 'You can only feel it when you get out of your head. Being must be felt. It can't be thought. The ego doesn't know about it because thought is what it consists of. The ring was really in your head as a thought that you confused with the sense of I Am. You thought the I Am or a part of it was in the ring.

'Whatever the ego seeks and gets attached to are substitutes for the Being that it cannot feel. You can value and care for things, but whenever you get attached to them, you will know it's the ego. And you are never really attached to a thing but to a thought that has 'I,' 'me,' or 'mine' in it. Whenever you completely accept a loss, you go beyond ego, and who you are, the I Am which is consciousness itself, emerges.'

She said, 'Now I understand something Jesus said that never made much sense to me before: "If someone takes your shirt, let him have your coat as well." '

'That's right,' I said. 'It doesn't mean you should never lock your door. All it means is that sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.'

In the last few weeks of her life as her body became weaker, she became more and more radiant, as if light were shining through her. She gave many of her possessions away, some to the woman she thought had stolen the ring, and with each thing she gave away, her joy deepened.

When her mother called me to let me know she had passed away, she also mentioned that after her death they found her ring in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Did the woman return the ring, or had it been there all the time? Nobody will ever know.

One thing we do know: Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at this moment.

[Buh4Bee]

Very powerful. What a beautiful story to illuminate (can you call it?) a life lesson.

[dizzydoll]

Very powerful. What a beautiful story to illuminate (can you call it?) a life lesson.

Thank you, I agree Jersea and I love Echardt Tolle... he really is such a gentle soul with much valuable information to pass on. Have you ever seen any of his YouTube links, he is so cute with a refreshing sense of humor. He really could have been a comedian with that face.

Here is another, now this is really interesting:

Spirituality vs Religion

Many people are already aware of the difference between spirituality and religion. They realise that having a belief system, a set of thoughts you regard as the absolute truth.. does not make you spiritual no matter what the nature of those beliefs are. In fact the more you make your thoughts, your beliefs, into your identity the more cut off you are from the spiritual dimension within yourself.

Many religious people are stuck at that level. They equate truth with thought and as they are completely identified with thought, their mind, they claim to be in the sole possession of the truth in an unconscious attempt to protect their identity. They dont realise the limitations of thought. Unless you believe, think, exactly as they do.. you are wrong in their eyes. And in the not too distant past they would have felt justified in killing you for that. And some still do, even now.

The new spirituality, the transformation of consciousness is arising to a large extent outside of the structures of the existing institutionalised religions. There were always pockets of spiritually even in mind dominated religions, although the institutionalised hierarchy’s felt threatened by them and often tried to suppress them.

A large scale opening of spirituality outside of the religious structures is an entirely new development. In the past this would have been inconceivable especially in the west, the most mind dominated of all cultures, where the Christian church had a virtual franchise on spirituality. You couldnt just stand up and give a spiritual talk or publish a spiritual book unless you were sanctioned by the church. And if you were not, they would quickly silence you.

But now even within certain churches and religions there are signs of change. It is heart warming and one is grateful for even the slightest signs of openness, such as Pope John Paul ll visiting a mosque as well as a synagogue.

Partly as a result of the spiritual teachings that have arisen outside of the established religions, but also do to an influx of the ancient east and western teachings a growing number of followers of traditional religions are able to let go of identification with form, dogma and rigid belief systems and discover the original depth that is hidden within their own spiritual tradition, at the same time as they discover the depth within themselves.

They realise that how spiritual you are has nothing to do with what you believe but everything to do with your state of consciousness. This in turn determines how you act in the world and interact with others.


Eckhart Tolle
A New Earth -
Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

[kittypaws]

Wow! You have enlightened me!
thank you sooooo much.

[dizzydoll]

Wow! You have enlightened me!
thank you sooooo much.

Thank you so much, my favorite kitty. lol. I havent seen you around lately. Here is another story. I will add more as people read them.

This Too Shall Pass

“According to an ancient Sufi story, there lived a king in some Middle Eastern land who was continuously torn between happiness and despondency. The slightest thing would cause him great upset or provoke an intense reaction, and his happiness would quickly turn into disappointment and despair. A time came when the king finally got tired of himself and of life, and he began to seek a way out. He sent for a wise man who lived in the kingdom and was reputed and enlightened. When the wise man came, the king said to him, “I want to be like you. Can you give me something that will bring balance, serenity and wisdom into my life? I will pay any price you ask.”

The wise man said, “I may be able to help you. But the price is so great that your entire kingdom would not be sufficient payment for it. Therefore it will be a gift to you if you will honor it.” The king gave his assurances, and the wise man left. A few weeks later, he returned and handed the king an ornate box carved in jade. The king opened the box and found a simple gold ring inside. Some letters were inscribed on the ring. The inscription read: This, too, shall pass. “What is the meaning of this?” asked the king. The wise man said, “Wear this ring always. Whatever happens, before you call it good or bad, touch this ring and read the inscription. That way, you will always be at peace.”

“Those words inscribed on the ring are not telling you that you should not enjoy the good in your life, nor are they merely meant to provide some comfort in times of suffering. They have a deeper purpose: to make you aware of the fleetingness of every situation, which is due to the transience of all forms–good or bad. When you become aware of the transience of all forms, your attachment to them lessens, and you disidentify from them to some extent.

Being detached does not mean that you cannot enjoy the good the world has to offer. In fact, you enjoy it more. Once you see and accept the transience of all things and the inevitability of change, you can enjoy the pleasures of the world while they last without fear or anxiety about the future. When you are detached, you gain a high vantage point from which to view the events in your life instead of being trapped inside them.

When you are no longer totally identified with forms, consciousness–who you are–becomes freed from its imprisonment in form. This freedom is the arising of inner space. It comes as a stillness, a subtle peace deep within you, even in the face of something seemingly bad. This, too, shall pass. Suddenly, there is a space around the event. There is also space around the emotional highs and lows, even around pain. And above all, there is a space between your thoughts. And from that space emanates a peace that is not “of this world,” because this world is form, and the peace is space. This is a piece of God.”

Teachings from -Eckhart Tolle “A New Earth” Chpt. 8

[blazeofglory]

I like this story so much and in fact I like Sufi stories so much. This is one of my favorites. I find great truths told in ancinet stories whether it is Tao or Zen or Sufi or Vedic. They are great reservoirs of knowledge.

I never get tired of reading them. In fact I find classics more telling and inspiring. I like Socratic or platonic philosophies so much and I think all great sources of knowledge flow from ancinet stories. I am again enjoying fairy tales, mythological stories or legends for they reveal to me the greater truths