"THERE DO EXIST ENQUIRING MINDS, which long for the truth of the heart, seek it, strive to solve the problems set by life, try to penetrate to the essence of things and phenomena and to penetrate into themselves. If a man reasons and thinks soundly, no matter which path he follows in solving these problems, he must inevitably arrive back at himself, and begin with the solution of the problem of what he is himself and what his place is in the world around him. For without this knowledge, he will have no focal point in his search. Socrates’ words, “Know thyself” remain for all those who seek true knowledge and being."

VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, BY by G.I. Gurdjieff, p 43

13 December 2010

Internal Considering & The Holidays


email:


D: "I have been reading and on the fourth read of Self Observation by Red Hawk.  It has really helped me to understand better. Right now I deal with pain from siblings who did not help me take care of my parents for ten years. Intellectually I understand but I "judge" them still and feel anger off and on.  The work is such nourishment for me and helps me like nothing I have studied before. Identification with my "family" of origin is my intense work now.  My passion for art suffers from the grief of letting them go and also the joy of letting them go."

L: "Hello D...  Thank you for your letter. ... Sorry, I don't know the name Red Hawk or the book. Can you tell me who that is...

It is very hard to be objective when it comes to family and very close friends. Examining and processing past (and even present) events and hurt feelings toward your siblings surrounding your parents long term care in the light of what real work on oneself  brings can be so healing. I worked for many years to learn how to release ... anger, hurt and resentment toward my family ...  so that I could come to a place of [less subjective] understanding and simply Be and Love them ... unconditionally. My Heart appreciated the release. It was in that prison along with everyone else until I let go. It is necessary to let go of the old dreams, plans and expectations and simply Be in the reality that truly is in each moment [I Am] in a state of acceptance - present in the moment.

This inner Work is an example of the voluntary suffering Gurdjieff spoke of. You are experiencing that, as you acknowledge that you are being nourished by the work of self observation. You will see more and more often as you work toward emotional freedom that if you can be present to both what you are experiencing emotionally and identified with, [without being taken by the experience], it will be easier to let it go and something else, [something Higher] begins to take place in you. Real Love, Understanding and Compassion will come to take the negativity's place.

Really the truth is, at the bottom of it all is some poor little "i" or group of "i's" somewhere inside, measuring and counting - keeping score of how much love "it" got for how much love "it" gave and retelling "it's" sad old stories and lies to itself. When you can see those "i's" clearly in a moments of  Being, the pain subsides and is transformed ... True understanding comes, bringing the Love those poor little "i's" have been wishing for [all your life] from those outside yourself  "they" expected to get it from.  You begin to get that Love from yourself, from your Higher self.

Gurdjieff's idea that every stick has two ends serves well when one can stand, whole, in the middle. Whenever I get the poop end, I turn it around and look at what is there on the other end.  I verify this for myself over and over again.

I am also an artist and find that when my [outer] work is interrupted by ... emotional issues, I am identified. I need to stop everything and sit until I am no longer identified with whatever has taken me. Then, when I return to the ... [outer work] , I am so much more present and so much better at my craft...

Be Peace
Be Love
Be Well
BE

L.

28 November 2010

Spring Giddiness

"Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.

I would love to kiss you.
The price of kissing is your life.
Now my loving is running toward my life shouting,
What a bargain, let's buy it.

Daylight, full of small dancing particles
and the one great turning, our souls
are dancing with you, without feet, they dance.
Can you see them when I whisper in your ear?

All day and night, music,
a quiet, bright
reedsong. If it
fades, we fade."

  from The Essential Rumi, translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, 1995

22 November 2010

The Work is Alive and Well


"A. You wrote: Yes, it's through NYC and Paris that I was put in touch with the teacher from India.

L) Good... ... ... What is your 'gut' feeling about the experience?

A) I value lineage as well, for the same reasons, except not wholeheartedly.

L) This is wise. Not everyone is what he or she appears to be. One must be patient and extraordinarily discerning - especially in the work these days - but where does that ability come from? This is a problem for most of us. As we mature on the way we get better and better at it (discernment) if we are making sincere efforts. It is a wait [actively] and see process. During that process infinite patience and sincere efforts are required. One has to always be in question about everything, like a clinical scientist. This is good inner work. So, whether the 'teacher/guide' or "foundation" turns out to be a looney or a sham or not you are still ahead of the curve any disappointment can wreak.

My very first guide in the work told me, "You must question everything, even yourself." and "This [work effort] is like trying to jump over your own knees." and "You will try a million, million times." And my beloved movements teacher shouted at me - "Keep moving, L, keep moving." (I had a tendency to give up when things became  difficult).  These seemingly simple cautions served me well while at the foundation and do to this day. 

A) The Fourth Way, from what I understand, isn't supposed to be permanent.

L) I've discovered that many words like "supposed to be"  and "should" shouldn't" don't really serve us well, to me they are red flags. Nor do labels serve us well either, have you noticed how everything has a label or a category? What is the "Fourth Way" anyway I wonder? http://laloblogs.blogspot.com/2010/10/let-dream-go.html. For those not on the actual way it is a label for a set of ideas in the formatory. For those truly on the way there is only the work [the activity - not the word or its definitions] and the work is far more and far beyond Gurdjieff and his teachings. G's method is what Ouspensky referred to as a 'map'. It is a wonderful map but not the destinations themselves. The destinations are inside each of us who sincerely perseveres - no matter what. Together we are a combination of forces - the work or the way on earth - and together we are connected with a higher combination of forces no longer in the earthly physical (except in that these forces are in us and accessible if we learn to be and are open to them). 

A) It [meaning 4th way] comes in and out of history for a purpose, taking on a certain form, and then dying to it and vanishing from sight.

L) I agree, the label "Fourth Way" will disappear from *sight* - but only to those who are not searching. It will always remain visible and accessible to those who wish for it; those who practice the work with those who are now and have been on the way - just as it was for G and his friends and those who found G. When I refer to the way, it is to something higher, beyond "4th Way" theory. Many call the way God; again, a word meant to define what cannot be defined.
 
A) For it [ I hope by "it" he means the teaching] to not degenerate into its opposite would mean that the Foundation has at least some Men #5 at the helm, which I have no clue about.

L) "It" is not soley to be gleaned from the "Foundation" people [another label like the Sarmoung, etc.] Men and women #'s 5 - 7 do exist, a few may be here and there on earth. I often wonder if the Dalai Lama among others, 5th pr 6th - never having met him f2f I do not know. G and Madam are not gone, nor are Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddhas, or the Ghandis or any of the extraordinary guides who have left the physical body. We who seek, are less than drops of water in the Ocean they are; they still exist - a higher combination of forces - which we have access to whenever we sincerely wish for and work to be able to open to the higher.  In my sleep, I doubt this truth; I believe this is a fairy tale, imagination, when I am Awake, I AM joined with that higher energy.  Have you had glimpses of this experience?

Are you keeping up with______. I am finding it very interesting and receive notices when anyone posts there. It is more practical than theoretical - even though the usual suspects respond to posts there as well - not everyone on _____ is playing with a 'full deck" as you may have surmised from all the bickering that goes on. However, a task, any task is an opportunity to work with others and compare notes. Seek out those who have been educated at the source schools but don't believe everything you 'hear' verify everything for yourself through your own studies and efforts. What is real and true will become clear.  

Be well, A
L ......::::::;;;;;;; wanders away to wash the dishes, wondering if her own deck is full today. ;-)*

18 November 2010

The Value of Stories

"I would ask you to remember only this one thing," said Badger. "The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. That is why we put these stories in each other's memory. This is how people care for themselves. One day you will be good story-tellers. Never forget these obligations."



Crow and Weasel by Barry Lopez
North Point Press
1990







... all I would add is that you strive to tell stories consciously. L.

Be Well,
Be Happy,
BE

16 November 2010

Journal: Instructions for Mourning Properly

Grief is a very interesting experience.

Letting go... how does one do that? It's such a popular concept. Dime store advice and methodologies abound. Cast your net for five seconds and there it is, the perfect solution for what ails you. At least, a lot of words about how to cure what ails you. In reality it's best to arm oneself with all the information and theories one can, read everything on what happens during the mourning process and then walk through the fire- suffer until the suffering is over.

This is a natural process. Know you are suffering and why.   Be present as much as possible to what you are feeling, listen to what the mind is saying, it's sure to run through a million scenarios, memories and more. One can be a little self destructive during this time, especially if a lot of self blaming and guilt are attached. Be mindful of how the body is reacting to all this emotion and take care of it during the process.   Journal the experience - write it all down, the good, the bad and the ugly! Honor your feelings, allow yourself to feel. Be a drama queen/king, don't be a drama queen/king. See the drama queen/king in action Cry as much and for as long as it takes. Yell at God. (S/he won't get mad at you.) Take internal notes and pictures along the way, accept yourself as you are, in the most sincere way. Be gentle with yourself, experience what you are experiencing, Get help if you start to think dark thoughts or are drinking too much or relying on drugs to dull the pain.  Allow others to help. Claim your privacy when you need it. Go underground and listen.  Remember to come up for air once in awhile. Don't stay in there for too long (keep a calender) and remember to bathe and change your clothes once in awhile. When the fog begins to lift, be nice to yourself, don't push too hard - take baby steps. Remember to tell God you were sorry for yelling at him/her.


Studies have shown that there are five [basic] stages to mourning:   
  • Denial, disbelief, numbness
  • Anger, blaming others
  • Bargaining (for instance "If I am cured of this cancer, I will never smoke again.")
  • Depressed mood, sadness, and crying
  • Acceptance, coming to terms with the reality of the situation
  "When someone we love is gone from our lives, it is as if a piece of us has been torn away. The loss rends the fabric of our lives and the wound must be repaired. Grief is that process by which our minds heal this hurt. For us to go on with our lives and again risk caring about others, we need to let go of those we love who are no longer with us. Through this process of mourning, we gradually accept the loss. We allow the dead to be gone from our lives.
At the end of mourning, there is still sadness, but it is a wistful sadness that is tempered by the happy memories that we still possess."  Glenn Brynes, Ph.D., M.D.


BE Good
BE Love

13 November 2010

Journal: Juggling

Vintage 1960's Men's or Woman's Lounging Robe or Smoking Jacket
I forgot what it was like to juggle so many balls in the air at once. I'm a little rusty, but am beginning to remember how. The demands of the outer situation are keeping me on my toes and that  magical door to no-time has reopened.

Forced to come out of seclusion, grief is not so  overwhelmingly present; the ice has begun to crack and crocuses are peeking through the snow. They're smiling at me, and from time to time, I smile back. See, the other end of the stick; it's not so bad ;-)  Perhaps the mourning is almost over, we'll see.

In any case, I've decided to add some vintage items to the shop, things I've loved for a long time. It's time to let them go.
L.
My Ten Little Russian "Indians" are almost 100 years old

01 November 2010

Changes


A few months ago, faced with yet another catastrophic change, I decided to grab the "other end of the stick" and opened a second online store, this one just for jewelry and small sculptures. It's interesting how this current situation just creeps in when I want to close my eyes to rest late at night, even after all these years of getting free. The mind keeps playing with it, keeping me up til the wee hours. The work, inner and outer, is a blessing. When fully focused for the most part then the mind has something else to do. The silly thing! Stop by and take a peek  at the stores:TheLittleSilverFox and LaloBean... art for the heart; and check out the new studio blog:http://lalobeansstudio.blogspot.com/  New stock is added weekly, so  please come back often and refer your friends.

Be Well
Be Peace
Be Love
BE

23 October 2010

Watching In Silence

From this different perspective, the echo of my own voice, my own words, my own thoughts and impulses are loud and clear. Something in me watches, listens, records - a silent clinician making note of  what is seen from this perspective. Too much talking about what I see, even to myself, ends the experience. In silence, I gather new information about this me that I have become as my life has progressed without benefit of consciousness and begin to know what I truly am - without the stories.
 Be Silent
Be always watching
BE

Let The Dream Go

Let Go
21-Mar-10 LL


Let go those old books written by sages,
and new books written by the blind and forgetful. 
Let go your own crippled notions.
There is no room to carry all that on this leg of the journey.
The pablum fed on in your early years has already been digested.
Leave off regurgitation
lest you become more ill still.
You are not a baby any more.
Toss aside that worry crutch.
Burn the fear!
What is true will remain and what is not will fall away.
Fill yourself with resolve to move forward now;
Dine solely on the solid food of real Men.
Eat your own experience for sustenance.
Be brave, would be Warrior;
the time for false starts is over.
The locked doors you have been banging on all these years
will open -
when you do not use brute force on them.
They cannot be opened by your head brain.
Be smart.
BE and they will open.
Just BE.
Empty that huge cranium,
clean it out; scrape and sweep away the crusty clutter.
Make room for your life.
Leave the comforting whirr, whirr, whirring in that cavernous illusory maze
you believe to be the “Be All and End All”.
Live out loud.
Live in the open.
Step into your body complete,
Open to your senses,
Full of so much more interesting adventures
Than those habitual escape routes dreaming can conjure
BE

 ©
2011 ~ Laura Lopez

21 October 2010

In Cases of Stubborn Attachment

I’m sure you’ve seen movies where someone has to yell at a beloved animal friend to make it leave for its own good. Sometimes it is necessary to do this with other human beings who have become too attached to us and are stuck in imagination about the relationship.  If they are allowed to remain so emotionally attached they will never get unstuck, they will never grow.

So… after many suggestions, conversations and exhortations about the need for them to expand their horizons, if the resistance to doing so is so great that they are unable to move forward, we take a deep breath, make our faces look ugly and do it. We Act.  Hearts breaking, we put on a great show and shout, “shoo!!!” gesticulating wildly at them. We force them out of their self imposed prisons -  we force them to fly. The heart aches, but there it is, the bare naked truth; it is time for change. The love for these dear ones is not gone from the heart, if anything it is greater than ever. “I wish you all the best." you think. and pray for their safety and well being day and night. And you grin and bear what comes, donning your new masks every time you see them again. Some spit on you, some play monstrous head games, some try to kill you, or destroy you however they can. “One day”, you pray, “one day they will understand.” Is that so? I remind myself.

May you hear with ears and heart that can hear and may you BE Blessed and Blessed and Blessed. Amen, Amen and Amen!
L.

01 September 2010

Polishing Being

"There's no courage", The Prophet said, "before the war has begun."
Drunkards vaunt their bravery when you speak of war.
But in the blaze of battle they scatter like mice.
I'm astonished by the man who wants purity
And yet trembles when the harshness of polishing begins.

When a person beats a carpet again and again
It's not the carpet he's attacking, but the dirt in it."
                                                                               ~ Rumi

29 August 2010

One Guru

"An aspiring monk wanted to find a Guru. He went to a monastery and his preceptor told him: "You can stay here but we have one important rule - all students observe the vow of silence. You will be allowed to speak to me once every 12 years".

After practicing silence and meditation for 12 years, finally the student could say his one thing, he said: "The bed is too hard."

After another 12 years of hard silent meditation, he had the opportunity to speak again. He said: "The food is not good."

Twelve more years of hard work passed. His words after 36 years of practice: "I quit."

His Guru quickly answered: "Good, all you have been doing anyway is complaining."

;-)
Be Peace
BE

18 August 2010

The Blind Men & The Elephant by John Godfrey Saxe

                I.
It was six men of Indostan
 To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
 (Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
 Might satisfy his mind.

                 II.
The First approached the Elephant,
 And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
 At once began to bawl:
"God bless me!-but the Elephant
 Is very like a wall!"

                 III.
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
 Cried: "Ho!-what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
 To me't is mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
 Is very like a spear!"

                 IV.
The Third approached the animal,
 And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
 Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
 Is very like a snake!"

                 V.
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
 And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
 Is mighty plain," quoth he;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
 Is very like a tree!"

                 VI.
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
 Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
 Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
 Is very like a fan!"

                 VII.
The Sixth no sooner had begun
 About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
 That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
 Is very like a rope!"

                 VIII.
And so these men of Indostan
 Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
 Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
 And all were in the wrong!

                 MORAL.
So, oft in theologic wars
 The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
 Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

 

11 August 2010

Where Fear Cannot Live

ASCENDING, LL 2002

"Fear tingles in me.
Gripping  at my innards like a tap dancing fighter
It wrestles with my emotions and head brain
In the arena of my body.

Creating an anxiety
that spreads throughout my cells like a rash,
Causing an 'unpleasant itching' in my heart
And exaggerated tension in the tummy.

With attention awakened, I stop everything and am very still.
Hmm...
Here's a clue.

A sensation at the back of the head is whispering stories.
I can hear them clearly now,
Whereas before there was only a vague "not feeling so good".

Know the difference in sensations and where they fall in you.
Learn the body's mode of communication well.
The sensations of knowing what is real and and what is true do not live there,
At that spot in the head.
That is the ego's place
Recognizable by it's dull sensation.

Listening sensing carefully, I realize it is that snake, ego
Rummaging around in old files in the 'formatory apparatus',
Reading off the past presenting it as the now
To do it's fear mongering.
The liar is trying to fool me.
That is what is causing  this"fear".
It is trying to fool my sweet heart into total upset.
It is trying to trap my being in it's illusion with it's snaky whispering.

Shh....
More vigilant now, more present...
Shh... quieter still,
I shine the light of Attention on them,
That secretary of the filing cabinets and the sneaky snake.
In the shadows I see
Ego desperately wanting to regain lost ground.
It wants its "throne" back, it wants to "live".

It wants to be Laura.

In the illumination of this revelation
The cellular rash clears instantly.
Tension, that 'itching'  in the heart area
and tummy go away.

Ahhh, I am myself again.
O' Happy day.
Breathing freely.

Peace and Blessings
Peace and Blessings,

Thank you GOD, The All.

Peace and Blessings
Peace and Blessing to You
All eternity long. "


~ L. Lopez 8/11/2010

08 August 2010

STAY CLOSE, MY HEART


 "Stay close, my heart, to the One who knows your ways;
Come into the shade of the Tree that always has fresh flowers.
Don't stroll idly through the bazaar of the perfume-markers:
Stay in the shop of the sugar-seller.
If you don't find true balance, anyone can deceive you;
Anyone can trick out of a thing of straw,
And make you take it for gold
Don't squat with a bowl before every boiling pot;
In each pot on the fire you find very different things.
Not all sugar canes have sugar, not all abysses a peak;
Not all eyes possess vision, not every sea is full of pearls.
O nightingale, with your voice of dark honey! Go on lamenting!
Only your drunken ecstasy can pierce the rock's hard heart!
Surrender yourself, and if you cannot be welcomed by the Friend,
Know that you are rebelling inwardly like a thread
That doesn't want to go through the needle's eye!
The awakened heart is a lamp; protect it by the hem of your robe!
Hurry and get out of this wind, for the weather is bad.
And when you've left this storm, you will come to a fountain;
You'll find a Friend there who will always nourish your soul.
And with your soul always green, you'll grow into a tall tree
Flowering always with sweet light-fruit, whose growth is interior."   
~Jalaluddin Rumi


Rumi was one of the great spiritual masters and poetical geniuses of mankind; he founded the Mawlawi Sufi order, a leading mystical brotherhood still in existence today.
 

This poem is  warns us to not allow ordinary things to deter us from our spiritual sojourns from the ordinary and mundane to the miraculous. He exhorts us to stay on the path and to remain steadfast to find what  is highest in self - to find God, whom he calls the Friend.
 

Along with Tolle, I am  cautious about using the word "God" . It has been so misused and abused. Very few truly Know GOD, but those who do,  know that GOD is not a word or the ordinary concepts, myths and stories. God is not 'dead", meet GOD in the NOW.
 

Peace and Blessings, Peace and Blessings, May you find your Way.
 BE LOVE
BE PEACE
BE COMPASSION
 
BE

04 August 2010

Why?

“We can’t say why we search, except that there seems to be an innate need, in each human being, to know who one is, what we’re here for, how to live more poetically.” — William Segal

24 July 2010

Observer Watching


From this different perspective, the echo of my own voice, my own words, is loud and clear. Something in me watches, listens, records what is seen in the silence of this perspective. Too much talking about what I see, even to myself, dissipates the experience. In silence, I gather new information about this me that I have become as my life has progressed without benefit of consciousness and begin to know the conscious me that I can be - without the stories.

21 July 2010

Do Not Squander Your Hard Earned Pay


Do not squander your hard earned Pay.
Baby steps, my friend,
Lest you trip and fall.

Your work is not done at first light,
Nor even at the ten thousandth.
Wait a while longer and see where,
Moment to moment,
Yearnings and learnings fall in you
And how they fit in the Now.

Too much excitement over new discoveries,
Too much talking -the Ego's boasting -
Takes experience into the head brain and
Makes you drunk with the illusion of "mystical" power
And imagined Being.

In squandering your riches this way,
Carless-ness surely ensues.

Before you know it,
Revelations become clouds of confusion and babble.
No "bravado" can save you there.
No "bravado" can Awaken you there
In that sleep.

Many would be prophets walk that road
For a long time,
Lost Emperors in "new robes".
Using "tricks" to fool the masses,
They end at the End -
Empty shells
Of tatter and regret.

Work where God Lives.

Stay until you are able to Under- stand
Without quotation marks.
Stay until you Know
Your cellular structure
and the Way of things 
Intimately.

Respect your self.
Know that body is not yours alone
Know those magical glimpses of Life
Are gifts from the Beloved.
Know That which is Highest in You - is in All.
Know that each Breath is the Master
Living and Breathing You without a wink.

Learn to focus in and focus out at the same time.
Without losing sight of the one or the other.

Be Brave
Be Honest
Be Truthful
Be Sincere
Be a Warrior
Be Compassion
BE LOVE
BE

Not from the mind
But from BEING.

This is a Path.
The doorway you seek to Freedom is always Here.
In this moment and this moment and this moment....

c 21 July 2010
Laura Lopez

03 July 2010

You Are A Sleeping Machine

The truth is hard to hear.

The ego is in denial of reality all the time.

The moment it gets a glimpse of itself, it starts the "blame game"; often beginning with whoever or whatever gave it the opportunity to see itself - clearly - in action for a moment or two. It goes into kill mode trying to ensure it won't happen again.

After all, it wants you to stay in your comfort zone - that is it's cozy little home.

I see you staring daggers.
False love turns to false hate in the same breath my friend.

Don't shoot the messenger.
The messenger may be your only true friend.

She appears at the behest of your real wish to BE.

Be Calm in the midst of that ego tantrum.
Watch it wiggle and squirm.
Don't be taken in or frightened by its lies.
Shed that snake's "skin".

Then, you will see who you really are under there.
That's the road to Freedom.
Begin to BE Free for the first time in your life.
This is my Prayer for you.

Peace and Blessings,
Peace and Blessings


Be Peace
Be Love
Be Listening
Be Watching
BE
~ by Laura Lopez, 3 July 2010
` por mi Alma

19 June 2010

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY






"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, 

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, 
but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children 
as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 
and He bends you with His might 
that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let our bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 
so He loves also the bow that is stable. "

~ Kahlil Gibran

16 June 2010

Conversations

"Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence?" ~
 Sai Baba

09 June 2010

Repetition

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." ~ George Santayana


"Gurdjieff taught that man must create/develop a soul through the course of his life by following a teaching which can lead to this aim, or he will "die like a dog".


Stop chasing that tail!
Get real about your study,
Awaken to your true reality
Be  Still
Be Peace
BE

07 June 2010

Psst!

"Outside of right doing and wrong doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." ~Rumi

About Resistance on Waking I

Question:  http://ajourneymanswayhome.blogspot.com/2010/06/resistence.html

Comment:
 "So, who (which part or "i") wakes up prior to the part of you that appreciates Qi Gong? "It likes, it doesn't like." Eh? So, which "i" wakes up, unaware that another part of you likes Qi Gong and appreciates how it helps the total Being?"

"I wonder who is awake first when I become aware of my own being as I wake from deep sleep and the rest of me begins to catch up. Who is it that resists and does not want to proceed into the next moments? Just then, in those first moments of becoming aware of self awakening, there is a small space in time to watch those first "i's" gather and and to hear their individual songs (stories). I have the opportunity to objectively observe them "waking" up in their sleep, already talking, complaining, etc. ..."

We can apply this question at any moment we begin to awaken a bit from sleep or daydreams, etc. We can be curious about what is really going on in those moments. That kind of curiosity, that of the 'watcher' or 'observer' - allows me to silently, without the 'head brain', gather more information about those little devils, those illusive little "i's".

Be Observing
Be Peace
BE

17 May 2010

True Heart


"The best of all true things is a true heart.
Without truth ~ no happiness, 
though you try a million tricks." 
~ Kabir


Surrender
Listen
Be Patience
Be Unconditional Loving
BE

12 May 2010

"When the Going Gets Tough...

The tough get going."

Is there a "tough guy" amongst the many parts of your self? Is it allowed to speak for you without consulting the rest of your Self? Are you constantly getting stuck paying for what it says and does?
Bravado and lip service won't do.  Real inner work takes a different kind of courage. Real inner strength is built up little by little; real inner strength is achieved through patience with everything ~ including this "tough guy" and your self. Listen to your "tough guy", find out who it is and what it wants. Does it want to be right or does it want to Be?

Know Your Self
Be Watchful
Be Listening
BE

08 May 2010

LISTENING

One millionth ear,  all the rest ~ head brain;
What a sad recipe!
Listen from your body.
Listen with your entire cellular structure.
That space between the ears has another purpose.

Be Listening
There is more to the world than you.

BE

07 May 2010

Songs of Kabir

"Into the looking-glass cavern
the dog goes running.
Seeing his own reflection,
he dies barking."

Be Listening Now, Stop "thinking" about it, Be Attentive to your inner life Now, it will all be over in a flash.
BE in the moments
BE

06 May 2010

On the Road to Mecca

from "The Vision of the Mystic" by Hazrat Inayat Khan

"At one time I wanted to take a friend to meet my [teacher]. This friend was a very material man, restless and pessimistic and doubting and skeptical. And everyday I urged him to come with me and meet my [teacher]. 'But,' he asked, 'what can he do for me?' I said, 'You can ask him something.' He said, 'I have twenty thousand questions to ask, when could he answer them?' I said, 'You can ask one or two of the twenty thousand, that is already something.' 'Well,' he said, ' one day I will see. And indeed sometime later he came along, but the moment he reached my [teacher's] presence he forgot every single question and did not know what to ask. He was sitting spellbound and breathing the atmosphere of the master's presence; he had no desire to ask a question. And after the interview, when we were leaving the house of my [teacher], he again began to feel inclined to ask twenty thousand questions, this time of me, and when I asked him why he had forgotten them there, he only answered, 'I cannot understand why.'"

"Where do questions come from? Very often they come from the restlessness of the mind. And does any answer satisfy them? Never. During my travels I went thrice to San Francisco, and each time I saw a lady who always asked me the same question. Each time I answered her, and each time when I came again she asked me the same question. This meant for fifteen years there was a question and there was an answer; but that answer was never heard. One ear heard it and the other ear let it out again and the question remained there alive. A question is a living being, it does not wish to die; the answer kills it, and therefore those kindly souls that wish to cherish the question, keep the answer away, although the question calls out for an answer. Do not be surprised, therefore if for twenty years a person asks a question of two thousand other people and gets two thousand answers. It does not mean that the answer that he gets does not satisfy him; it only means that he does not wish to have the answer. He only wishes to cherish the question."

Listen, the world is breathing. Listen, your heart is beating, Listen. Can you stop talking long enough to hear anything real? Listen. Stop being so full of yourself and deaf to everything and everyone else. You are like a radio or television that is on day and night, day and night using up all the wattage in the place! Listen!
Be Listening
BE


02 May 2010

PEACE


"Love your tribe- make peace with the other tribes- integrate and widen the tribal boundaries until they disappear."- Evolvefest

Listen
Be Peace
BE

30 April 2010

Every Moment

Vessel

Every moment there is an opportunity to 'come back' to my-self. I can stop for a moment and in that moment I can take a deep breath and relax the body - releasing tensions in muscles. I can let go of the chatter in the 'mind' and return to awareness of my own presence -my body here, in this moment, in the now. I can awaken to the reality that I am not just a talking head; I am a living breathing organism.

As I return to my self perhaps, if I am quiet enough, I can see that what I truly wish for in my heart of hearts cannot be found outside of my self in worldly striving, it is here, in this Peace. Everything I truly wish for can only be found through Being in this moment and this moment and this moment and so on. When I forget and am taken again by the outer world and lose the connection to self, in every moment I have an opportunity to stop, breathe, let go, and return.

Stop
Breathe
Let go
Be Still
Return
Be Peace Full
BE
  

26 April 2010

Who Is Talking?


This morning, as body and mind were waking up, I noticed a stream of words going through the head. I wondered what was being said and who (which part of me) was talking so early in the morning with such a forward moving energy. I listened to the internal chatter for a bit and recognized it as the part of me that plans my work day. It was already laying out the schedule, making lists and expressing worry about whether this or that item would sell. As I listened to it, I noticed it's force lessening and disappearing like a wisp of smoke. That part was replaced by another. This one complained about a disagreement it had become attached to. It was reliving the argument, listing its grievances. It also disappeared under the light of my attention. I waited a few moments longer, all nice and cozy under the covers to see if any other part had something to say; none did. Except for breath and heart beat, there was a beautiful silence internally. I closed my eyes and began the morning exercise of bringing my attention to all parts of my body, one by one, head to toe - re-membering myself. More connected now and much more awake, I consciously recited "gratitudes" for everything  and everyone I would come into contact with today. Aware of self in movement, I rose, showered and dressed, still listening, still conscious of self as Being, now making my work day lists - intentionally.

I know that there will be forgetting to remember self, but I am prepared - my intention is to be aware of self in movement. I know there will be many  times when the clamor of "talking" in my head will come with associations to what I see with my eyes and I will be 'taken', however, I also know that I don't believe everything I hear in that mode. I know what I want. I wish to BE.

Be In Self
Be in Movement
Be Listening
BE

18 April 2010

TIME

Finding Balance, 2009

"To be identified with your mind is to be trapped in time: the compulsion to live almost exclusively through memory and anticipation. This creates an endless preoccupation with past and future and an unwillingness to honor and acknowledge the present moment and allow it to be. The compulsion arises because the past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Both are illusions." ~Eckhart Tolle, from The Power of Now

17 April 2010

Living



"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." ~Lao Tzu

15 April 2010

Breathing


"Empty-handed I entered the world,
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going -
Two simple happenings that got entangled."
~ Kozan Ichikyo

10 April 2010

Why Do You Come To The Work?

Why do you come to the Work? This is a question one needs to keep in front of oneself. People come for many reasons; and as the years pass during the study of self, self remembering is added to the question, and the revelations keep coming. Honesty and sincerity are necessary  to uncover the truth within oneself - for oneself.

Many in the work feel they are superior to those not in the work. They feel their practice gives them an edge over others and the others are 'less than'.  The one who thinks this is less than all. He has lost his way. Get hold of that 'superiority', grab it by the neck and don't let go until You are master.

Be Kind
Be Compassion
Be Good
BE

06 April 2010

Patience

Mastering patience is necessary. You must first find out what it means to Be patient; what patience really is. Patience is not what you automatically 'think'.  Practice patience in all things, with all people and situations, with yourself, with everything. Practice this all the time. Practice until you do not have to practice any more because you can Be patient, even when you act swiftly.

Be Still Inside
Be Patient
BE

05 April 2010

"Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’" HH, Dalai Lama

The Octave of Easter


This entire post is taken from Wikipedia:

"The term Octave of Easter [can] refer to the eight day period from Easter Sunday until the Sunday following Easter, inclusive; or it may only refer to that Sunday after Easter, the Octave Day of Easter sometimes known as Low Sunday.

That Sunday is also known historically as St. Thomas Sunday St. Thomas Sunday is so called because the Gospel reading always relates the story of "Doubting Thomas," in which Thomas the Apostle comes to believe in the Resurrection of Jesus only after being told by the resurrected Christ to place his finger in the nail marks and his hand in His side. In the Gospel accounts, this event takes place on the eighth day after the Resurrection, hence their significance for this Sunday (John 20:19-29

In the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and certain Eastern Catholic churches, the first Sunday after Pascha (Easter) is known as Thomas Sunday, after the Gospel passage read that day (John 20:19-31) which recounts the story of Christ appearing to the Apostle Thomas in order to dispel his doubt about the Resurrection. It should be noted that among Eastern Christians Thomas is not so much remembered as "doubting Thomas," but is rather remembered for his confession of faith: "My Lord and my God," thus being the first to publicly proclaim the two natures of Christ: human and divine.
The entire week from Pascha to Thomas Sunday, known as Bright Week or Renewal Week, is considered to be one continuous day. The hymns chanted every day are identical to those chanted on the Sunday of Pascha, with the exception of a few parts that are taken from the Octoechos (the "Book of the Eight Tones"). Each day has a different tone: Easter Sunday is Tone One, Bright Monday is Tone Two, and so on through the eight tones (skipping Tone Seven, the "Grave Tone"). On Bright Friday, in addition to the normal Paschal hymns, special stichera and a canon in honor of the Theotokos (Mother of God) are chanted in commemoration of her Icon of the "Life-giving Spring." During all of Bright Week the Royal Doors on the Iconostasis are kept open—the only time of the year when this occurs. The doors are closed before the Ninth Hour on the eve of Thomas Sunday. However, the Afterfeast of Pascha will continue until the eve of the Ascension.

Be Peace
Be Love
Be Good
BE