"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

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