Saturday 17 April 2010

I Greet Thy Love, Not With Vain Thanks, But With Acceptance Bounteous.

God is just a name, a label, an idea; unadorned existence given some clothes. It is interesting to see what onus of meaning is put upon this idea, the rituals attached, the civilisations created, the rules defined and followed and defended. We are so frightened of our own existence and boundlessness that we seem to need to capture it, define it, and give it comforting parameters. We take our pondering on existence and the feelings of fear and awe it engenders and take that to be the most important thing; our conclusions about life seem more important than life itself. In the global unfolding story, our fear has caused us to provide ourselves comfort at the expense of our environment and the needs of others; but this is not the only story. Greed and need are balanced by openness and acceptance. There cannot be one without the other.

But the stories don't have to be so important. No matter how heartfelt the duty or how strongly the details of the story are believed, there is, in fact, no story, not really. There is here and now, what is, the task at hand, the energy of the task, the presence of the moment. That's all there is, before we categorise, prioritise, stamp and label, quantify, postulate, agonise, or judge. Even the labeling and endless sorting out is the energy of the moment. There is no goal but this; and if goals come up, they can be a playful game, or a passionate endeavour, or a nonchalant happenstance. They need not be the validation of the story, of the ego, of the convenient persona that hops from chapter to chapter. When we sleep, we die, and there is no one that mourns our passing. When it seems we are here, what can be done within the story is nearly limitless; and, like a haiku or a sonnet, can still shine with freedom within what seems a prison or, when the glass is half-full, useful limitations.


Back to the analogy of non-duality, or enlightenment, as a film; the characters limited in their actions, unable to choose what they do even in the midst of apparent choices weighed and made. When films break the forth wall, as in the last clip from The Purple Rose of Cairo, it challenges our tidy notions and concepts about nonduality. Well, I include this clip from Ringu, a Japanese horror film, because I love horror movies and the menace and terror that ensues when known reality breaks down - always a possibility! The void of nothingness becomes more tangible when what we regard as unshakable is shaken. Sadako, the evil child in the well, has cursed a video; if you watch it, you'll die in seven days. The guy in this clip watched the video seven days ago - uh oh.

23 comments:

tom sullivan said...

Clothes make the existence.

Unknown said...

Nicely said Suzanne. What a fortune we find ourselves in today, with the ability for many people who have come and are coming to know their true nature of ultimate health in the midst of anything at all, with the incredible power of the internet, to share this wisdom, so that many more people may finally come to recognize by their own power the primitive and no longer pertinent belief in a separate deity to worship and to simply know whatever is arising as a perfect reflection of themselves and a perfect appearance of god itself.
Your shares are brilliant and wise.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Tom, you bet - I love dressing up!

No One In Particular said...

Wow Sal, high praise Dude, thanks.

Cedric said...

I just wanted to say that I like your artwork on each and everyone of your posts. It appears that creativity has found an unhindered path of expression through that story known as Suzanne.

Bob Seal said...

"I'm dead already my dear"
LOL.
That came out sounding like Fagan from Oliver Twist!

"Some more toons are up on the blog for U my Dear"
:)

No One In Particular said...

Hi Cedric, thanks for noticing Dude.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Bob, my son was just in his school's production of Oliver! playing one of Fagin's gang. He got to pick Fagin's pocket of a pocket watch during "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two." Proud? You bet! Those kind of skills come in handy.

I'll check out your latest.

Anonymous said...

Ahhhh... the void - the Abyss from which all things issue.

What if god was one of us, or ALL of us?

Or, to be Gumpish, Consciousness is as Consciousness does.

Enjoying your work, and must plunder your posts further, but must say I am glad I found your site.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Mr. Madstone, thanks for your fun comment!

Brenda (betaphi) said...

I don't like spooky stuff. I would never watch a video that has a curse on it. eewww. I have had experience with known reality breaking down though. Television sets used to pop on or off when I walked in the room. whewww. Glad that's over with.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Brenda, your aura, or energetic field, or whatever the granola-heads call it, was controlling the TV? HOW TOTALLY COOL!!!!!! Jealous.

Anonymous said...

"When we sleep, we die, and there is no one that mourns our passing."

'Cause everyone else is usually dead at the same time. :) And how fussy we all get about "dying" every night. Ahhh... what it feels like to relax into the cool sheets.

“I've met God across his long walnut desk with his diplomas hanging on the wall behind him, and God asks me, "Why?" Why did I cause so much pain? Didn't I realize that each of us is a sacred, unique snowflake of special unique specialness? Can't I see how we're all manifestations of love? I look at God behind his desk, taking notes on a pad, but God's got this all wrong. We are not special. We are not crap or trash, either. We just are. We just are, and what happens just happens. And God says, "No, that's not right." Yeah. Well. Whatever. You can't teach God anything.” - Chuck Palaniuk

Who do ya s'pose "God" is?

Barry said...

Our story-making can seem quite mysterious, at least to me. On the one hand, stories serve to obscure the reality of the moment; on the other hand, stories are the moment itself, as it unfolds in storytelling.

When I get this, I can relax. When I don't get this, then the weeds rise up around my entire life.

Tu Danh said...

Your posts are truly heart-wrenching. Everytime my ego tries to throw a tantrum, I come back to your blog and there I am reminded I am really the wonderful nothing and that is in itself enough.
I felt half dead most days recently because of the pain of knowing somebody I love is in her terminal staged cancer. Yet when I came back to that which is always present, there is nothing, not even the peace my ego is always looking for. It's there, live as it is and "I" or my "partner" will be okay. Thank you, thanks for your beautiful words.

No One In Particular said...

Hi Barry, weeds are very adaptable.

No One In Particular said...

Hi Tu Dahn, you've very welcome.

Anonymous said...

That old fart Maharshi once said that the source of this drama is ones belief or "I-thought" and to find out where that is coming from. When you find out where its coming from you find out you aren't that at all.

I find it very comforting to know that whatever label is there, really is just there for a convenience, nothing more, not to be taken seriously.

Mike has it good, enjoying the death that the sleep state brings although that not being it, it seems to be a lot closer to our natural state then the waking state.

Its as easy as knowing that we are merely seeing a dream 1 and a dream 2 (Sleep and waking) both very enjoyable states to watch! ;)

Still enjoy reading your posts missy, you just keeping ironing with that one hand... and i'll keep chopping with one hand, maybe someone will notice! ;P

No One In Particular said...

Hey Liberated...who cares if they do or not?

Christine said...

"But the stories don't have to be so important."

I try to to remind myself of this every day! (And it helps.)

Gabriel said...

I notice. but who am i? (i no know, but goddamnnn.... :-)

..silly nonsense is ok too, apparently.
(there's certainly no deficit..:)

No One In Particular said...

Hey Gabriel, don't knock silly nonsense. It is the overriding quality of the story's unfolding!

Kaushik said...

God as a clothed nothing--I like the analogy. Is spirituality much different? Leonard Jacobson talks about the "spritualized" ego; it's very tough nut to crack.

Thanks, very insightful post.