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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 25 2015 : 4:11:54 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by BlueRaincoat
Maybe we're all born yogis, if it were encouraged culturally we'd all grow up as yogis?!
Bingo.  |
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1532 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2015 : 01:32:41 AM
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There is a headland not far from where I live called Fairyland. It sicks out into the ocean past the barrier reefs. I like lying on the huge granite rock there with 180 degree view of only the turquoise Indian Ocean and the blue, blue sky above. You cannot tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins. With my back rasping on the warm rock, I stick my legs up in the air and looking into this sphere of blue, I can 'see' myself hanging out in space, stuck only by my back to Earth - like a magnet to the fridge door. It is exhilarating (and a little scary  )
The talk of swinging upside down brought this to mind. It is good (and fun) to change your viewing angle - it can lead to all sorts of profound discoveries.
Sey   |
Edited by - SeySorciere on Nov 26 2015 02:02:01 AM |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2015 : 4:35:19 PM
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That sounds sublime, Sey. All I can say is: now I want to go there.  |
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1532 Posts |
Posted - Nov 27 2015 : 01:25:50 AM
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| Any time, Bodhi, any time. You would be most welcomed. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Nov 28 2015 : 1:15:37 PM
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Blog #47: The Five Senses — Hearing
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-47-the-...ses-hearing/
In AYP, there is much talk about inner silence. The goal of Deep Meditation is to cultivate a condition of inner silence permanently—not only during the meditation session, but perpetually, throughout all states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. How does Deep Meditation purport to achieve this? Well, it's simple...the technique refines a sound inside the mind, nervous system, and deepest reaches of our being, thereby merging the sound with inner silence through gradual purification and opening. It's kind of like dissolving sugar in water. Sugar = the mantra. Water = inner silence.
But to practice this method, we need our sense of internal hearing. That's right—our sense of hearing is given the utmost priority when boarding the flagship of the AYP armada. After all, what use is an inner sound (the mantra), if there is no one to to hear its vibration? There must be a subject to hear, and an object to be heard. The process of refinement and absorption is a dance, a game, an interplay between subject and object.
Our instrument of inner hearing becomes intimately connected to the mantra as we descend through dense layers of subconscious obstructions. It is a beautiful, bizarre, and multi-faceted journey, and one I've been trekking for five years now.
Initially, I thought I would be writing this blog all about the amazing external sounds in life, like my favorite music, or the splendor of a Georgia accent when spoken by a compassionate woman, or the exquisite attributes found in Mother Nature (the rushing and roaring of waves; the rippling of a breeze through a canopy of trees; or the symphony created by the chirping of crickets at night—enveloping and enriching their surroundings with a chorus of lullabies and ancient whispers.)
But the inner guru guided me towards the sounds of the interior. And come to think of it, the mere act of reading creates inner sounds, does it not? As you're reading the words of this blog, can you notice the internal voice that is reciting what you're eyes are picking up off the page? You see, you have your own personal narrator. How else could you comprehend the meaning of this transmission?
Through meditation, I've become quite familiar with my own narrator. He has many opinions, many things he wants to say, many songs he wants to sing. I listen to him. He is part of the seed of my individuality (not the terrible "ego" so often cited, vilified, and misunderstood in popular spiritual rhetoric). He is not my enemy. He is my closest friend. He is a reflection of me...me, being the silent witness listening to his holographic ideations, fantasies, and recollections. He is connected to my silence, and my silence shapes and informs him.
Actually, they are One. I have yet to find a way to sever or disconnect the inner voice from my silent core of awareness. They are married eternally, and divorce is not an option. Though the inner and outer voice of Cody may be limited in its time and scope on Earth, the inner silence will never forget him, nor permanently erase his signature sound and vibration. Somehow, the silence will preserve and retain the seed of individuality. I can't prove it to you, yet I know it to be true. It is the knowingness of silence, beyond prophecy or premonition.
Anyway, I won't stop chasing the mantra down the rabbit hole of inner silence, and I have my sense of hearing to thank for this hopeless addiction I've picked up along the way. Here I am, just a pathetic bliss addict, chained to the audible melodies of my own mind, falling into a chasm of infinite peace and joy. What a disaster!
So, if you dare...sit down, tune in, and listen to the sound. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2015 : 01:27:12 AM
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Blog #48: The Five Senses — Vision
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-48-the-...nses-vision/
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time...like tears...in rain."
So spoke the epic villain of Blade Runner with his dying words, right before his head slumped over and his hands released the white dove he had so tenderly and fervently been holding.
I only know a handful of other movie scenes that have touched me with that kind of power. Who can deny the emotional potency of watching a favorite film and feeling its images sink into the innermost regions of the heart space? There is something special about viewing motion pictures on screen, precisely because they relate to the substance of our real-life movies that occur off screen. Yes, living life is like living in a movie. But in real life, the movie is being projected by the light of pure bliss consciousness onto the screen of our sensory perception. So, in some sense, a Hollywood movie is a dream within a dream.
In another magnificent and profound film called Contact, the main character is an astronomer who gets catapulted into a wormhole and bears witness to a stunning cosmic event: the birthing of stars. With dropped jaw and tears of joy streaming down her face, she humbly quivers: "They should have sent a poet."
I remember first watching that movie and immediately thinking: "I've got to get into that wormhole." I never would have imagined that only several years later I would be reading the following words in digital print on the AYP website: "One hundred thousand years to cross our galaxy at the speed of light? We can meet on the other side right now, and be back again in an instant. The universe is our playground when we are reborn in the divine flow resulting from the marriage of abiding inner silence and our ecstatic awakening. We are here, everywhere, and nowhere. Free!"
Science fiction can become reality, but to make it so, we need vision.
Vision is not only a sense we perceive through our eyes, but also an instinct and intuition that transcends the details of the visible Earth environment. The kind of vision I'm referring to reaches into the realm of the invisible, the unknown, the mysterious. It's the kind of vision that would compel a person to take up AYP techniques and to strive for access to the interior dimensions of our Being.
In tandem with vision are also desire and action—the two other necessary ingredients needed to achieve travel through the intergalactic wormhole. Infused with persistence and consistency, plus some cosmic samyama, the formula becomes complete. All that is required is to fill in the blanks. Simple, albeit a little daunting.
On a less grandiose note, I wanted to mention that I wear contact lenses due to some nearsightedness. Without the contact lenses, it's difficult for me to see far away objects. The visual scenery takes on a watery fuzziness, kind of like an impressionist painting. Even if I had perfect 20/20 vision, there would still be a limit to what my physical eyes could behold. Fortunately, what my physical eyes lack, my inner eye does not. There is much more scope and magnitude to be experienced inside, and outside too. Even those who suffer blindness, like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, have proven that artistic or spiritual vision is not stifled by minor handicaps. There is always a way to go further.
Peering into the distance, I see a faint but magical horizon. It is within reach. It is already here and now. It is our destiny.
Thank you for reading. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2015 : 9:41:35 PM
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Blog #49: The Five Senses — Touch
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-49-the-...enses-touch/
I've deliberately saved the best for last. After all, what is better than touch? Can you honestly say that sight, sound, smell, or taste hold a candle to the ability to feel, and to be felt? Not likely.
Even so, all the senses work together. It's not like they're in some kind of fierce competition. Each plays its perfect part, and touch weaves them all together to form an ongoing experience of wholeness. It is this quality of wholeness that makes the essence of the human experience sublime. As horrifying, traumatic, diseased, or fragmented as things can seem to be in dark times, our center of inner silence remains wholly intact. That is the indestructibility of our Self.
I had an early childhood experience that confirmed the power of stillness in relationship to feeling and touch.
I was 8 years old, returning to my school classroom from a field trip. A group of us were shuffling off the bus in a hurried, excited fashion, as children tend to do. En route to the classroom, I was talking to a friend behind me, when I extended my hand forward to prop open the huge, metallic, self-closing door in front of us. My split attention between the ominous door and my lagging friend cost me big time. The door was slammed abruptly from the other side by another youngster who was unaware of my presence or movement. On my right hand, the tip of my ring finger somehow got wedged in between the hinge of the door. Snip! Off it went. The sheer velocity of the slam cut the tip off so efficiently that it was painless and only momentarily shocking. I screamed at the sight of blood gushing from my finger, simultaneously realizing that part of it was dismembered. But very quickly, I regained composure as the witness fully set in and took the injury in stride.
They rushed me to the hospital, and I soon made it to the operating table, where the surgeon was able to sew the severed piece back together (my teacher had retrieved it off the floor and placed it in a cup of ice). During the minor operation, I was only locally anesthetized in my hand, thereby allowing me to stay awake during the procedure. I got to watch the doctor re-attach the flesh. He said: "I've never seen anyone of my patients watch me like you're doing now. They usually look in the other direction." I didn't quite know how to respond to his observation. Though my detachment and calmness felt completely natural, at that age, I didn't yet have the context or vocabulary to describe my native state. Inner silence and meditation weren't exactly part of the curriculum in elementary school. So, I think I just shrugged my shoulders and remained quietly fascinated with the spectacle.
Of course, in the following weeks of healing, there was plenty of pain and childish shame I had to carry around, but underneath, the witness stayed persistent and unshaken. If only I had possessed the knowledge I have now, I could have maximized and deepened my native awareness then. But it would take decades of trial and error to find my way to the path of yoga and higher consciousness. Nevertheless, I had been undoubtedly touched by inner silence, and there were certainly other traumatic, childhood experiences in which the witness became so palpably present.
Fast forward to the present day, and the ball game is a little different. After chasing peace and ecstasy for over a decade via artificial means, now I'm healing from a different kind of injury: addiction to drugs and alcohol. The purification and opening is perpetually felt inside and out. Self-pacing is remarkably important. There is only so much I can handle, and the readiness of the nervous system has to be listened to as the guiding barometer. Sometimes it gets pretty fuzzy, since I can constantly feel the surrounding field of Being as the extended body of awareness. No more hiding nor denying the connection. Therefore, it's imperative that I am well-buffered by inner silence and a resilience in mind, body, and spirit. It's an art, and a science. And AYP is my favorite textbook.
May you, Reader, be touched by inner silence, in your own time, in your own way, in the good times and the bad. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 07 2015 : 7:22:11 PM
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Blog #50: Happy Birthday, Jeffy!
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-50-happ...thday-jeffy/
Jeffy—that's what I call my twin brother. His real name is Jesse, but I prefer to bend the identity. That way we don't take each other too seriously. For the same reason, he calls me Corey. See, it's a level playing field.
I'm not going to write about being a twin, because I need to keep some aces up my sleeve. I've been transparent enough, and probably too transparent already. But divulging anecdotal details in a purposeful fashion is what I feel called to do, especially because I'm threading the needle between AA and AYP—two anonymously founded organizations. All of us in recovery and spirituality can't be anonymous. Visibility and public appearance are needed, just as much as discretion and privacy are.
On that note. when asked about destiny, Bob Dylan said:
"It's a feeling you have that you know something about yourself—nobody else does—the picture you have in your mind of what you're about will come true. It's kind of a thing you kind of have to keep to your own self, because it's a fragile feeling. And if you put it out there, somebody will kill it. So, it's best to keep that all inside."
In short, I think he's saying: "Don't talk that much about your dreams. Just make them happen." This rings very true. The champions, the masters, the artists who produce compelling work...they usually just dive into their creative process without worrying too much about fanfare. The final product speaks for itself. The real substance is not in the promotional glitter, but in the quality of craftsmanship and devotion to the chosen ideal, which is something paradoxically unique and universal to each person.
Time will tell what the future holds for us. Until then, silence is golden. Inner silence, yes, and even silence in words and actions.
34 years, and still kicking... |
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sunyata
USA
1505 Posts |
Posted - Dec 07 2015 : 7:54:42 PM
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| Happy Birthday!!! to you Both. You are doing amazing with AA ~sharing the light. |
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lalow33
USA
966 Posts |
Posted - Dec 07 2015 : 8:59:49 PM
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| Happy Birthday! Love the "Hearing" post. |
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Dogboy
USA
2193 Posts |
Posted - Dec 07 2015 : 9:22:06 PM
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Happy B-day Jeffy & Corey  which is which ? |
Edited by - Dogboy on Dec 07 2015 9:23:21 PM |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2015 : 01:02:09 AM
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Sunyata Lalow33
Dogboy : I often wonder which is which! Believe me, the lines get blurred.  |
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1532 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2015 : 02:43:40 AM
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Happy Birthday
Sey |
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So-Hi
USA
481 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2015 : 08:37:33 AM
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| Well Happy Birthday and just remember ya heard it here 34 is a great age. |
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lalow33
USA
966 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2015 : 11:02:19 AM
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| Dogboy, who the heck is Corey? Is this an inside joke? |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2015 : 11:23:50 AM
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Corey is a name my twin brother calls me (as I mentioned in the latest blog).
Thank you, So-Hi and Sey.  |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 10 2015 : 7:16:02 PM
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Blog #51: Pornography
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-51-pornography/
This is a delicate matter. This touches upon the most intimate aspect of our body and being. This is important.
First, let me say: I have much to learn, or perhaps to unlearn, in this arena. I have stumbled, tripped, made progress, had moments of clarity, and most importantly, turned to AYP for guidance on the often taboo topic of sexuality.
Pornography is the selling of sexuality, as well as the extreme externalization of its details. Porn displays nakedness and the various kinds of intercourse for purposes of stimulation, arousal, intrigue, and obsession. Porn is a lot like using drugs and alcohol to get high. There's something artificial about it: a quick shortcut, a prosthetic substitution for the real thing.
But I'm not going to talk about porn in terms of a right vs. wrong morality. Instead, I'm going to talk about it through the lens of cause and effect. I think there is more truth and usefulness to be gleaned from the latter option.
The driving cause behind porn, just like any other addiction, is the desire for union (bhakti). But the effect of porn falls significantly short of its predicated goal and desire. Why? Because, in the dynamic of porn, the interior of the human being is diminished and dismissed in order to shift the viewers' and participants' attention to the exterior. This shallow focus creates an imbalance between the inside and outside dimensions, and whenever there is an imbalance, there will be detrimental results. All of life thrives on harmony, balance, and keeping things in blissful proportion.
I was having lunch with a friend recently, and he asked: "Do you think lust is evil?" And I said: "No, I just think it's incomplete."
The beauty of the exterior is meant to entice us further into the interior. When I say "interior", I mean many things, but namely: emotional content, personal history and narrative, dreams and aspirations, long-term implications, procreation and family, spiritual dimensions, and so forth.
I quit watching porn around the same time I got sober. But adhering to the code of brahmacharya—preserving and cultivating sexual energy, thereby walking and abiding in the creative force of God—is about much more than renouncing a transgression, or resisting a temptation. It's about cultivating a new relationship with the divine feminine. When that occurs, there is no "resistance" to any temptation. The so-called temptation is not desired whatsoever, because it is seen for what it is: a shallow, incomplete version of the fullness that we have been seeking all along. It's not that we have to deliberately avoid lust or erase the exterior beauty of the physical form (with all its lovely curves and edges); it's just that we begin to see deeper into our Self, thereby finding more bliss, ecstasy, and pleasure than what is found on the limited surface.
Again, I am still a novice in this particular area, but I didn't want to hold back from posting a blog about the principles and ideals to be worked towards.
There is no value in repressing sexual desire or condemning the transgressions. The only real transformation is through elevating the desire to a higher plane of functioning and union. Therefore, I'm not advocating some kind of legal prohibition of pornography, though I certainly encourage the voluntary renunciation of it. Rather, I'm challenging myself and others to peer deeper into form and chase the thrill into stillness.
More stillness, more pleasure. So it goes. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2015 : 10:15:59 PM
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Blog #52: Martial Arts
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-52-martial-arts/
A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract, and when he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, "I" do not hit—"it" hits all by itself. — Bruce Lee
Jose was a phenomenal champion. He deserved to go a little bit longer, but I still feel at the end of the day: precision beats power, and timing beats speed. That’s what happened. — Conor McGregor [immediately following his knockout of Jose Aldo in a record-breaking 13 seconds]
When I took judo lessons from the seasoned master Ed Maley, the first thing he taught me was how to fall. Not how to throw someone, nor arm bar them, nor put them in a chokehold, but first and foremost, how to gracefully hit the mat when tumbling down. This priority of learning how to absorb collapse and defeat has profound implications well beyond the scope of judo, as I have discovered in recent years.
Judo literally means the "gentle way", since there are no strikes or blows exchanged. It is more of a style of self-defense than aggressive fighting. The favoring of non-violent resolution obviously has profound implications, just like learning to fall.
I remember reading one of Yogani's forum posts, or maybe a lesson, in which he said that the real test of inner silence comes during situations and scenarios of adversity. When inner silence is solid, challenges can be taken in stride, and conflict can be transformed into something useful. That is why UFC president Dana White said of Conor McGregor: "He eats pressure for breakfast." For the martial artist or spiritual practitioner, adversity and pressure become opportunities for purification and opening, rather than events to be constantly feared. Or, as Walt Whitman wrote: "The pleasures of heaven are with me, and the pains of hell are with me. The first I graft and increase upon myself; the latter I translate into a new tongue."
In the realm of recovery from addiction and substance abuse, there is plenty of challenge, both on the individual level and within the broader cultural ideology. There are obstructions to be dissolved, and new solutions to be put in place. Much of the work that needs to be done revolves around shaking off a stale identity and uncovering our real identity and vast potential, which is beyond psychopharmacology, ultra-masculine theology, or black-and-white morality.
In fact, I think we can apply Conor McGregor's key terms of precision and timing to the recovery equation. How can we be precise? Well, we can follow the techniques of Deep Meditation, Spinal Breathing, Samyama, and so on. These methods require a mild level of precision, though there is an abundance of room for flexibility. By favoring the mantra in a way that allows it to refine, precision becomes not so much about striking a certain spot as it does staying consistent with returning to a signature vibration that will change with time, thereby sinking deeper into silence.
And timing? Timing is important, because we are not rushing for speed, but rather implementing a daily routine over the long term that will yield beneficial results. With samyama in particular, the timing of repeating sutras between long intervals of silence creates more traction for stillness to move outward. There is no need to rush. We only need to set a rhythm and keep touching the same essences to achieve depth and fruition in our nervous system.
Finally, when we are in the zone, as Bruce Lee said, the doer is undone. The "I" that is moving us is beyond encapsulation or identification. It just is. This is the miraculous occurrence of stillness in action. This is the purpose of yoga. This is our origin, and our destiny.
I bow to the masters. |
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kumar ul islam
United Kingdom
791 Posts |
Posted - Dec 15 2015 : 4:06:28 PM
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| thankyou bodhi your insight of porngraphy is most profound |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 15 2015 : 4:07:23 PM
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| Glad it resonates, kumar. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 17 2015 : 11:00:55 PM
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Blog #53: Secret Santa
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-53-secret-santa/
This week we had a Secret Santa gift exchange at my workplace. I gave one of my co-workers exactly what she had requested on her list: a candle, lip gloss, and nail polish. For the nail polish, I chose a color called "Naked", mainly just to get a laugh out of her, which worked out well. (The color itself was lovely too).
On my list, I also got to request 3 things, which were: world peace, eternal life, and a cheeseburger. The anonymous benefactor who received my list ended up giving me none of those things, and instead gave me a stick of pepperoni sausage, a ball of Gouda cheese, and last, but certainly not least, a Harry Potter cap with the emblem and name of Gryffindor inscribed on the front. (Gryffindor is Harry Potter's dormitory inside Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft).
Being an enthusiastic fan of the books and movies, I was pretty stoked to receive the Harry Potter paraphernalia. Since I'm prone to fantasizing about supernatural abilities and occurrences, I don't shy away from letting my dreamy mind indulge in the epic story and magical characters. But it got me thinking about the mythology of Santa Claus, and about how we use that fictional story during Christmas.
I remember when the Santa Claus bubble popped in my childhood. I had broke into my mom's trunk the night before Christmas and discovered some fraudulently labeled gifts bearing Santa's name. Right then I knew for sure that the jolly, white-bearded, sleigh-driving man was a hoax, a fabrication, a myth created by our parents to give us a sense of hope and longing. Oh well, I wasn't too disappointed.
And what about Jesus Christ, whose name is married to the December holiday, and whose birth is celebrated in churches around the world? Is he, too, a myth?
In The Secrets of Wilder, the protagonist John undergoes a near-death experience in which his soul awakens in a realm of pure light, filled with saviors coming and going to and from countless worlds. Lo and behold, Jesus himself (in light body form) approaches John and assures him that after completing his mission on Earth, he will re-join the light beings. Furthermore, Jesus confirms that all of existence comes from the singular One, or Father, who is boundless, much like the i am vibration. John's visit is short-lived, and he returns to his pain-filled Earth body, albeit with his inner silence still intact and unfazed.
It is a profound scene, needless to say, and since the story is told within the context of a novel, there is no representation of that scenario being factually true. Yet, even the most mildly imaginative reader will be left wondering about the implications and possibility of such a place.
There is a woman named Glenda Green who tells a non-fiction account of seeing Jesus. She claims that Jesus, or Jeshua, manifested to her in the form of his light body. They had long conversations in her art studio, and he answered important spiritual questions. Like Wilder's adventure, Glenda's narrative is also compelling, and she has created an impressive painting that colorfully displays her perception of Jesus.
Whether it's Jesus, Santa Claus, or Harry Potter, we all need a chosen ideal to aspire towards. Even if we can never grasp or ascertain the entirety of life's mystery, we can still take steps towards getting closer to the center of our Being. It seems incredibly logical and reasonable to assume that we will encounter many levels of scenery along the way, including various dimensions and different kinds of life-forms. There is nothing particularly supernatural about that assumption—it's just common sense based on observation.
Come to think of it, the beacons of hope, like the Harry Potter cap I received from the Secret Santa exchange, are part of the eternal equation. And for that reason, I think I misspoke when I first wrote that I did not receive any of the gifts on my list. A Gryffindor hat is indeed a piece of eternal life, I now believe.
Maybe I'll find a portkey right around the corner.
Dream on, and Happy Holidays! |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Dec 18 2015 : 04:49:52 AM
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quote:
And what about Jesus Christ, whose name is married to the December holiday, and whose birth is celebrated in churches around the world? Is he, too, a myth?
After spending time is eastern philosophy, I am digging in Jesus Christ these day's, and ask myself the same question.....
So many layers in myth's, story's, legends... like all the layers in human-beings, we will probably never get the same answer on our questions at the same time.
Happy Holiday's Cody, may all your wishes come true |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 18 2015 : 12:11:50 PM
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| Thank you, Marjoleine. I'll be interested to hear what you discover about Jesus. Please share. Also wishing for your dreams to come true. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 21 2015 : 11:12:52 PM
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Blog #54: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
http://ayprecovery.org/blog-54-the-...n-the-sword/
What has outlasted all the military battles of the world, and all the victories and defeats of fallen empires?
Words. Yes, words. They are the encapsulated vibrations of sound—the meaningful characters which form stories to help us understand reality, shape it, and surrender to it. Words are so important that hordes of people have deemed certain texts and manuscripts nothing short of divine. Plenty of Christians believe that the verses in the Bible were written by God himself. Even in AA, the Big Book is held in very high esteem. Once, at the end of a meeting, I was having a conversation with a gentleman, and he said: "Bill Wilson didn't write the Big Book. God did." I nodded and chuckled silently.
From AYP, I've quoted and paraphrased Yogani countless times. His words are crucial to me, not because I assign them a Godlike status, per se, but because they are highly practical and contain instructional imperatives that help me achieve my goals. In Psalms, it's written: "Be still and know that I am God." In AYP, it's written: "Easily favor the mantra." Simple. Profound. Powerful.
My uncle once proclaimed: "Life is tone, and tone is life." Language, spoken and unspoken, carries a tone, at all times. For instance, consider the holiday phrase "Merry Christmas". What a difference it makes when that greeting is uttered with gusto and warmth instead of half-heartedness or discontent. It's the difference between Tiny Tim and Ebenezer Scrooge. The words can be exactly the same, but the underlying tone can make all the difference. The emotional content within communication cannot be underestimated or undervalued.
With the practice of samyama, we paint the unspoken sutras with tones that barely hover above silence. They are released as faint whispers, mild murmurs, and light remembrances of our designated set of thought-essences. The closer they are to stillness, the more amplified their resonance will become. It is an exercise in delicacy and finesse. It is the refinement of passion into sublimity.
Words, when combined with music, are doubly powerful.
When I got sober about 5 years ago, my much-needed shift in gears happened on the tail end of a breakup. The breakup was catalyzed by a confession I had made to my significant other at the time. I remember the occasion vividly. I was overwhelmed with guilt and anxiety. I had kept a secret bottled up, and I couldn't bear the deception any longer. Suddenly, the quintessential moment of clarity swept over me. There was pure silence in my mind, then arose the words: "I reach out from the inside."
Those are the lyrics from the Peter Gabriel song In Your Eyes. The melody was playing as clear as a bell inside of me, almost as if I was listening to a radio version. It was a perfect, imprinted rendition of the tune, and it was exactly what I needed at that moment to come clean and settle the score. Ever since that occurrence of purification and opening, I've never doubted the power of words or music.
That is why the pen is mightier than the sword.
Happy Holidays, and I will end this entry with some more verbal jewels from the song In Your Eyes:
In your eyes, I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes, the resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes, I see the light and the heat
In your eyes, Oh! I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes... |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2015 : 04:19:07 AM
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quote:
"Be still and know that I am God."
Words are the son of God....if spoken from silence words can be God self.
I don't consider myself as Christian but lately the Words are whispering to me, and reveal there beautiful depths. |
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AYP for Recovery
