There doesn't need to be a subtle shift in perception for enlightenment; there doesn't need to be any change at all. Change is impossible; whatever its face, eternity is always this. Enlightenment - awakening - is no more nor less than this, whether it's before thought judges it or not; the judgmental thought is this, too. The endless moment is this, always this, no matter what the mind seems to be making of it. Awakening is ordinary, mundane existence, just as it's always been, but very few minds will believe this.There doesn't need to be a deepening of present awareness. There doesn't need to be more and more alpha waves, out-of body experiences, or the becoming of bliss and love itself. It can be about loving all, or falling in love with everybody, or frankly remaining a little wary. Although these apparent experiences may, indeed, occur, they are no less or no more this than anything else. This is all experience. Just as it always has been, is, and will be.
There is no correct method. All methods are correct. Some methods are correct in that they teach us of their inappropriateness, or untruthfulness. Life itself, exactly as presented, is always the best spiritual practice. However the story seems to unravel is unimportant. Once the pointlessness of life's story is apprehended, perhaps life's story can finally be revelled in. Perhaps realising that nothing matters in and of itself makes everything precious, in and of itself. Perhaps the loving feelings in the satsang or the therapy spread to the important relationships already a part of the story: spouse, children, girlfriend, boyfriend, mother, father, friends. Perhaps without the fear of certain dreaded outcomes, intimacy becomes natural. But even the faltering, human attempts at union with others (who are not truly other) is also beauty manifest. The muddling attempts are This; the blissful, honest communion is This; there is no escaping This. You are This.
OK, I've been looking for a decent embeddable clip of this scene for a couple of years...it could be better, but it'll have to do - apologies for the ads. WHY do the Coen brothers continue to make fabulous movies, when M. Night Shyamalan seems to have gone completely off the rails? It's just not fair. There is no need for me to add to the accolades The Big Lebowski has garnered over the years, so I'll just say that this scene is the best crafted character introduction I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing: the socks...the nail...the purple uniform...the goatee...the hairnet...the tongue! Jesus is definitely already here, and in a big way. Enjoy.
51 comments:
So why do so many not get it?
Why do billions of people not get it if that is all there is to it?
Wouldn't you think everyone would get it automatically?
Naaah. There is something missing there.
1) They DO get it, and actually
2) There is nothing to get. This is it. Also,
3) There is nothing missing, ever.
check out steven norquist's talk here,
http://www.nevernothere.com/steven-norquist
he told these hard core seekers to turn away from it. strange
and what's the deal with mike ayers? gone without a goodbye? what's up with that?
tom
Hey Tom, the pointers change without notice, often seeming contradictory, as is the nature of duality. Go figure.
Mike is having a hiatus. He made his blog private because it's the only way he could go offline without deleting all the content. I guess he's attached to it! It's not for any reason other than he feels he needs to move on at the mo, he says he may return to it eventually.
Yes nothing needs to change, even the self doesn't need to drop as is often believed these days. However the reason people don't get it is because the attention is put on the stories, the appearance, hope and fear. We have been trained to do this. Anybody can choose at each moment to recognise the bright empty cognisance and to keep doing this until trained back to the natural state. I urge everyone to do this and don't be satisfied with the intellectual understanding that this is it. Nobody else is going to do it for you.
if you and stepvhen are speaking from the same "place" why aren't you in agreement?
there's nothing to get but there is something to see. to know. to realize.
Hey Anonymous, nobody is going to do it at all...
Hi Anonymous, apparent contradictions are just part of the fun. Duality gets such bad press...there's nothing wrong with it.
yeah, nothing wrong at all. sure.
'I just f***ing killed someone and it was ahmazing': The sick diary entries of teen who strangled and stabbed neighbor, aged 9 Alyssa Bustamante was 15 when she killed Elizabeth Olten in 2009 She wrote: 'As soon as you get over the "ohmygawd I can't do this" feeling, it's pretty enjoyable... Kay, I gotta go to church now' Olten's mother called killer 'not even human' at hearing on Monday
http://12160.info/profiles/blogs/i-just-f-ing-killed-someone-and-it-was-ahmazing-15-years-old
tom
Hey Tom, there are millions of exammples of heinous crimes...getting over that ""ohmygawd I can't do this" feeling" sounds like a textbook example of the ego feeling separate - very separate indeed - not to mention the brain chemistry of a sociopath. The resistance to letting go of judging these terrible crimes as "wrong" is perhaps the ego's greatest, most justifiable excuse for remaining contracted. Just a thought. Saying "there is nothing wrong" is more about acceptance, rather than approval. Anything can arise...including being moved by compassion, changing direction, training as a psychiatrist and trying to help such personalities. Amongst many, many, many other potentialities.
so the best thing to do is to wake up, not just cope. all that stuff '
"being moved by compassion, changing direction, training as a psychiatrist etc" is all dream crap.
"Saying "there is nothing wrong" is more about acceptance, rather than approval."
that'll never wake anyone up.
As ever, you say it perfectly, Suzanne.
I enjoyed that clip, but I've never got the Cohen Brothers or the Big Lebowski. Perhaps I should give it another go.
Has Mike 'gone private'? Hmmm, to think of it, he has gone quiet lately. And why not?
Enjoyed this. Better than a walk in the fresh air after the big meal I just ate. The film clip is just perfect.
THANKS
Hey Tom, it'll never wake anyone up because this is already awake. This is wakefulness. This is it. There is no way to get it "wrong". Absolutely everything that seems to be, without exception, can be labeled "dream crap". And so it is. There is nothing wrong with dream crap unless you are judging some dream crap as preferable to other dream crap, and there's nothing wrong with doing that, either.
Hi Viv, the Coen brothers are definitely flavoured Quirky American and one's tastes have to be so inclined to "get" them. Thanks for the kind words.
Hi Julian, how are ya? Thanks.
Oh Suzanne, I'm so glad someone else cries noisily when a film or weepy moment appears on-screen. It happened to me this morning and for the first time ever I actually didn't know and couldn't work out why I was crying. I was watching a music video and there was a small boy in a child's car following his mum up the path. I'm crying now just writing about it. It's as if putting a name to the feeling it gives me would never hit the mark. No name, no word can describe the vast somethingness of it. Thankyou for being a fellow weeper.
hey suzanne--
here's how it seems to me--from mind chatterings
the second you throw out words --well it's already too late--and alas so too with movie clips (though I just want to yum yum eat it up for this one)
discussions will trigger
it's too easy --once the target (ie discussion) is set up--to make the hierarchy --you will never zero in on zero--
all concepts are limited
acceptance comes after an action or thought--while approval can be given before or after action or thought --seems approvals are heavily influenced by cultural programs
there is nothing to do/there is everything to do
trusting the ever-present beingness of what is my user friendly compass
advaita is quite wrong minded, like the way zen is taught, over reductive and it's hurting your progress
i think you have had a valid awakening experience/touch infinity, it gives a certainty no-one else gets but you need to move to the next plane which includes stopping watching movies
the only advaita teacher i have seen who is reasonably on deck is karl renz and i think he is still not quite there, in part because all the viral exposure of teaching the usuall cfs and partly sick is killing !
i know joan tollifson btw, while talented, she has some severe shortfalls in her approach and has has benefited from a lot of contact with toni packer
any way, keep your eyes open at prague and think about what i am saying which is that the viral exposure to the people who listen to this sort of thing is a very unwonderful and unneeded crucifixion !
please feel free to contact me, anyone who ever gets that certainty of how things are, are uncountably few and the endless blather by the copying idiots is depressing
once you start really seriously working on what the "revelation" shows it's really about 4 hours a day in one way or another and you cannot afford the waste of a day that watching a movie does
it's not a communal truth, it's an individual truth !
i wonbder if you can hear this, my experience of advaita teachers so far is like a non sequitur for not listening !
Awakening is ordinary, mundane existence, just as it's always been, but very few minds will believe this.
Reading this I remembered a little story from Mooji.
Here is the link to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpGE8baXfPw
It is not necessary that there should be minds to believe something that can’t be believed.
There is just aliveness.
AYANOMA
Hey an3drew, obviously I'm not ready for the next plane. It seems the thought that arises is - what next plane? This is the plane. Watching movies arises. Or not. It's all the same thing. Depression arises...copying arises...viral exposure arises...not a single Advaita teacher being on deck arises...harsh, Dude, BTW...and it's all the same thing. Now I'm off to watch Hanna by Joe Wright and if the film is as good as the Chemical Brothers soundtrack, I'm in for a treat! So to speak.
Hey AYANOMA...nothing is necessary at all. Conversely, everything is necessary. At the same "time"! Mindblowing. In SUCH a nice way.
to "some-one in particular'
you are being a bit silly and don't know sense when you hear or read it !
hopefully i am past explaining things to people who don't want to hear !
hey this reply just arises, let it fall away again and you can continue your walking sleep undisturbed
fraud ! yeah let that just arise !
being called a fraud , just let that arise !
the fact of being a fraud, oh well lets sweep that under the carpet !
when you know the infinite then movies are going to appear for what they are, mental candy floss like the advaita turge !
i was thinking, why am i taking the trouble to point out what i am writing out to you?
the direct communication of infinity with ourselves is a very precious, unique and rare event
you have had that, don't squander it please !
you need to be more in touch with nature and not swamped by the non survivable urban enviroment
Hey An3drew,
Many thanks for the fraud comment. Noted. What is an Advaita turge?
I doubt if there is one way to be, one path to follow, one correct unfolding, one flawless lifestyle, one perfect setting, one absolute goal. This is that, whatever this is, whether it be urban or rural, film or the dream, fraud or genuine, aware or contracted, busy or still. Whatever is, and whatever judgement arises, it is what it is, and as it must be; always yet another face of love, if love is your preferred label for this. We cannot know the infinite for we ARE the infinite. We are not separate from the infinite.
I have to say I really enjoy your comments and they are far more interesting than most! Again, thanks. I have to go now because all this walking sleep and sweeping the fact of being a fraud under the carpet is absolutely exhausting!
'It can be about loving all, or falling in love with everybody, or frankly remaining a little wary.'
A breath of fresh air Suzanne thanks. I still get things cropping up in your blog that reflect things I'm into (could not spell synchro..y) and you just remind me so what....off to injoy some alpha waves then worry about our dog with a sore leg. Bless ya.
turge is a very dense portmanteau/neologism
combining the latin turge/turgeo meaning "inflated swollen bombastic"
the english turbid, turgid, turd, surge, purge
i guess you will know what hyperlexia means ; o )
we are the exclusion of the infinite, theology and philosophy 101
at times in life we are the identity of the infinite withourselves and that is what your "awakening experience" is about
one sees it in a way that one remembers and that's what is so important
i had a similar experience about 1992 and its taken me literally about 18 years to make reasonable sense of it
i have actually found advaita quite helpful as they don't rubbish that sort of thing like they do in zen, but it's really a beginning and it's very noticable in advaita how they don't progress from that experience
generally my observation is teaching stops progress and inducts all sorts of less than wonderful health problems so i for one keep clear !
i don't say the fraud question is unmixed, you have done two very unfraudlike things, you have replied in a humorous and courteous vein, ie you can handle my posts and have not banned me or removed my posts which is the usual
in fact i would say you are the first person in this sort of area not to ban me or remove my posts in response to direct criticism !
of course they lack that direct contact with infinity so they never understand the role of self abatement revealing ..... so to speak !
in plain english there's sorta two levels, the prosaic one which is the daily life thing, trying to bring some observational powers to what life is and how it works and building in a cautious openness and skills for that like you have in your reply
that people can understand and can actually be taught somewhat tho self-taught is again really what it all boils down too
and there are relatively exceptional events which are an identity or a strong identity occurrence in infinity and actually they may occur relatively frequently
but the reality of most of life is what i call "seeming" which is just the humdrum as you point out, only where advaita goes wrong is it elevates this seeming to the identity with infinity , so when they say that i know they are missing the understanding and experience of that and it's missing even in the best advaita teachers i am afraid !
in all my experience and travelling over many many years, toni packer and perhaps george bowman were the only ones that seemed to understand that
it's like a basic law, hardly anyone understands, maybe one or two in a generation and that's about it, where you have a mass approach and adviata and zen are like that you don't have adequate understanding or experience !
in poetry like charkes bukowski, syliva plath, emily dickenson, larry eigner it's much clearer, i think because there is so much nautral ability !
wow. i haven't tapped in (here) for awhile, but this thread seems to be a bit of an arg[u]ment-ative, judge-mental, juicy, Whole display of spiritual one-up-man-ship.
as always, good, clean fun.
i hope that no-one takes any-one seriously...but when they do... is that not just a path to Now.Here?
-the beginning :)
To No One In Particular and an3drew
an3drew wrote: you cannot afford the waste of a day that watching a movie does
Please tell me who is watching a movie?
AYANOMA
**in plain english there's sorta two levels, the prosaic onewhich is the daily life thing, trying to bring some observational powers to what life is and how it works and building in a cautious openness and skills for that like you have in your reply that people can understand and can actually be taught somewhat tho self-taught is again really what it all boils down too and there are relatively exceptional events which are an identity or a strong identity occurrence in infinity and actually they may occur relatively frequently **
You're railing against teachers in one breath and shelling out your weak willed curriculum in the next. Again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis
**but the reality of most of life is what i call "seeming"**
Is that what you call it? Wow. You're important. You name things, I want to be just like you when I grow up.
**which is just the humdrum as you point out, only where advaita goes wrong is it elevates this seeming to the identity with infinity , so when they say that i know they are missing the understanding and experience of that and it's missing even in the best advaita teachers i am afraid !**
Well it's a good thing that they got you around to instigate quality control. We wouldn't want this whole thing getting out of control and progressing in conflict with your hallowed opinion.
**in all my experience and travelling over many many years, toni packer and perhaps george bowman were the only ones that seemed to understand that**
Get a room.
**it's like a basic law, hardly anyone understands**
Except for you because you are awesome.
**maybe one or two in a generation and that's about it**
In our generation it's you. Because you are great.
**where you have a mass approach and adviata and zen are like that you don't have adequate understanding or experience !**
Of course not how could one. One must kneel before the genius rockstar of our generation (you) if we are to be blessed in the juicy manna of the gods
**in poetry like charkes bukowski, syliva plath, emily dickenson, larry eigner it's much clearer, i think because there is so much nautral ability !**
You name drop like a 14 year old boy trying to impress the girl next door.
We get it. You are great. Everyone here agrees. You are great.
You have it all worked out. All of it. You understand that films are for idiots and that infinity can only be found by wasting 18 years of your life and name dropping other people. You are to "thinking for yourself" what Justin Bieber is to the Beatles.
You are to wisdom what Kei$ha is to Madonna. You are to truth what a barrel of fish entrails is to caviar.
But, and this is a big but, you are highly entertaining.
**turge is a very dense portmanteau/neologism combining the latin turge/turgeo meaning "inflated swollen bombastic" the english turbid, turgid, turd, surge, purge**
**i guess you will know what hyperlexia means ; o )**
Do you know what Hyperbolic means? ｡◕ ‿ ◕｡
**we are the exclusion of the infinite, theology and philosophy 101 at times in life we are the identity of the infinite withourselves and that is what your "awakening experience" is about one sees it in a way that one remembers and that's what is so important**
Nice identity you got there. Sounds very special. It must make you feel very important like you've really achieved something with your life. You are one of the few who have seen this far, you deserve to be remembered for your brave actions even beyond the point of your own death. Congratulations you have solved your existential crisis. In theory. Erroneous, pompous, theory.
**i had a similar experience about 1992 and its taken me literally about 18 years to make reasonable sense of it**
Really? 18 years? That's embarrassing.
**i have actually found advaita quite helpful as they don't rubbish that sort of thing like they do in zen, but it's really a beginning and it's very noticable in advaita how they don't progress from that experience**
You found it helpful but it wasn't the full picture? That somehow means that the help you did get from it is obsolete?
Again, you are a random name on a blog. Prove you know what you are talking about, show me that you know. If you truly are god... send me a sign...ahem
**generally my observation is teaching stops progress and inducts all sorts of less than wonderful health problems so i for one keep clear !**
Did it make you go crazy? Did sitting in the lotus all day give you a bad back? Is that your fault for doing this stuff or their fault for telling you to?
**i don't say the fraud question is unmixed, you have done two very unfraudlike things, you have replied in a humorous and courteous vein, ie you can handle my posts and have not banned me or removed my posts which is the usual**
Oh god. Typical pompous self serving over the top rubbish. Who are you? Why does your opinion matter? I swear to Vishnu if you say you are consciousness I will be very unhappy!
**of course they lack that direct contact with infinity so they never understand the role of self abatement revealing ..... so to speak !**
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis
Hi Anonymous, thanks, keepin' it fresh certainly seems to arise as a goal.
Hey An3drew, wow impressively extensive and thorough reply. Perhaps this discussion is about relative vs. absolute, mundane vs. infinite. I'm afraid any current pointing arising from roundabouts here is that it's all the same thing, so, I'm afraid I'm not the one or two of the generation that get it. Bummer. But oh well.
LENNY! How the hell are ya? Miss you. Thanks for dropping by at a rare moment of controversy!
Hey Ayanoma. Yes.
"I'm afraid any current pointing arising from roundabouts here is that it's all the same thing"
: o (
how do you differ from stephen?
ayanoma, my reply has some links to films so i have put it up here
An3drew, I don't differ from StepVhen. Or you.
lol, if you're not different from me you've got worries :o )
well i guess we are all well on autistic spectrum, that's a sameness of quite large sort !
you did dodge the question tho, which is how do you differ from stephen
maybe stephen can offer an opinion?
Can't think of much to say but lovin it and the two and fro with comments nothing playing with nothing appearing to play something :-) Its just now and no one is turning up.
hey, no-One!
it was GREAT, to come in and check out some of your non-suff, since i was doing no-thing anyway, and the conversation seemed to be going nowhere. but do you know what? nobody Knows no-thing any-way, and there's nothing more fun than speaking with no-one (which is kind of like talking to one-self, but not Really).
Love (as All-Ways),
lenny
well, mostly it comes too late for all of us, it came early for me and i forgot, it got lost is life's tempestuous stream
i'm not being critical but our stupidity is blinding !
A thousand names for Lebowski! I noticed youtube has the full doc Paris is Burning - an amazing film from the early 90s. At the end one of the street kids explains: 'like religious people want to pray together, gay people just want to be together.' Blogging's just a way to be together. Thanks NOIP!
Hey And3rew, sorry it's taken me so long to respond. I believe StepVheN and I differ in what we're defining "enlightenment" as, and of course, these labels are subject to constant change.
Hey Muman, thanks for stopping by.
Hey Lenny, God how I've missed your wordplay! Thanks for that.
suzanne, if you want to be armored and insincere then there's not much i can say or do is there?!
the "non dual" or advaita palaver is a good cover but in the end it's just a cover and when it comes off, the malnutrition is revealed !
Hi and3rew, what is the armour? What is being covered up? What is the essence of the malnutrition? What I am, or what you are, or all that exists (or however we're putting it today) is all of what seems to appear, what is heard, what is thought, what is felt, etc. I am That, in popular phraseology. How can All cover up All?
well you are only fooling yourself !
the malnutrition is because you have not looked around enough in quality literature but wasted your time in, shall we say "unredeeming films" and that sort of thing !
it's so hard to get the spare time for the necessary solitude, you just can't afford to waste it and set yourself back with imbibing rubbish !
also you need to get in touch with nature and natural surroundings, the uk has alot to offer
health is another basic, i have extensive writings on diet and supplementation
fish oil for instance !
it's not that the all covers up all, but reality is the exclusion of all, that is what the awakening experience shows and you have lost sight of that, perhaps looking for some security, social acceptance or potential income in advaita
it is so hard to make sense of the awakening experience because the information out there and what people say is so wrong and schizophrenic !
it's full of pretenders!
the natural human condition is schizophrenia, you are the one who is sane, why buy and sell yourself into the schizophrenia ?
lol rick archer of batgp!
and3rew, nothing is ever wasted. How could it be? If it is, it is. There is no yearning for acceptance, social or otherwise - all accepts all. The ultimate security is no interest in the outcomes of the unfolding story, and this is what is, here and now. The exclusion of all - interesting concept. Whatever we label "reality" is subject to constant change, and doesn't need to be figured out, whether it's "the exclusion of all" or "schizophrenia;" this goes for any apparent part of the manifestation that cries out for labelling, understanding, compartmentalisation and judgement by the mind. Whether it's nature, fish oil, films, solitude or company, it's all the same thing. The "awakening experience" doesn't need to be made sense of. Whatever is, is.
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