tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84063656129990938872024-03-17T20:03:25.730-07:00BarnashramThe Spiritual Center and Natural Farm of the Bhaktivedanta Society, offering us Sanctuary from the Insanity of Life.Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-76293916240592996302024-03-04T14:01:00.000-08:002024-03-04T15:34:46.597-08:00STOP AND BE PRESENCE!!<div dir="auto"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfEcJwT4BH8gF4T-bWCpCyp6xVSLD3zAG3FszHg1DWFqIwuPr-p9OBGLfC-WmuHkNbesr_NZKbVWnTmTLxemhO-qwBLg60YP16i590IJBB2nquJMDMrPQVEri5LKtSICOgocj04ofFKzGPlYDzYhk03ClyDD3Zx7KuaD-XQoxyRHh0wvsCFsQt1TPhCI/s455/source-consciousness-flowing-through-human-heart-bringing-light-love_124507-156027_1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="455" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfEcJwT4BH8gF4T-bWCpCyp6xVSLD3zAG3FszHg1DWFqIwuPr-p9OBGLfC-WmuHkNbesr_NZKbVWnTmTLxemhO-qwBLg60YP16i590IJBB2nquJMDMrPQVEri5LKtSICOgocj04ofFKzGPlYDzYhk03ClyDD3Zx7KuaD-XQoxyRHh0wvsCFsQt1TPhCI/w200-h183/source-consciousness-flowing-through-human-heart-bringing-light-love_124507-156027_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>There is an often told tale, usually attributed to some Native American or other indigenous people, about the Two Wolves. As the story goes, you have two wolves living within you - One is Love & the other Hate. The principle question is, 'which one do you feed?' </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">It's a nice story, as it suggests that we have the power to choose how we act and react in this world. That we are the determiners of our fate. Is is true? It's the old question of choice versus free will, and that's a really REALLY tough question that some of the most brilliant thinkers have yet to make utterly clear. :-) At the least, there is the APPEARANCE of free will. But then characters in a movie or book or play appear to have choices, when the script has long since been written and determined. </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">But I would write the story in a different way. I would ask that you consider the two Desires that fight within you - The desire for material enjoyment, and the Desire for God/Truth/Liberation/Freedom - whatever you want to call it. </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Everyone has these two very distinct and different selves, which you might go so far as to say your False Self and your True Self. Everything within the sphere of the material realm is the false self. Imagine the Matrix. No matter what is happening there, be it good or bad, loving or hating, light or dark - IS still the matrix. There is no reality to it. It's a play. A game. A dream, that when you wake up from it, you realize humorously, that it meant nothing! </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Today, we see a plethora of dualities: You have the left vs right, literally on the verge of a civil war in the US. You have those behind the Palestinians versus Israel. There's still the whole Russia versus Ukraine situation. All the variety of so called gender issues. Then we have all the science versus conspiracy theories, jabbed versus unjabbed, globalists versus nationalists, and on and on and on and on...... </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">But ALL of that is in the Matrix. It sucks you in like watching an accident take place. You WANT to look away, but you can't avert your eyes and attention. Where is it going? Which side am I on? What will happen in the end? It's ALL distractions!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">But distractions from what? They are all the distractions from the Observer of the drama. They are distractions from YOU - the True You. </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">STOP AND BE PRESENCE!!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Who/What you are is Presence. You are the Awareness within which the entire matrix drama is occuring. Just like the dreamscape you awaken from each morning, the entire world reality that calls you so feverishly, is another dream...just a longer more continuous dream. But a dream nonetheless. </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">You are NOT the body. You are aware OF your body. You are actually in an appearance of being trapped within this physical form. In reality, you are simply observing through the body/mind structure. Your True Self is completely unconnected to the material realm, and vastly larger and more important than anything that happens here. This is all a blip in the radar. Your True Self is Eternal and always free. </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">STOP AND BE PRESENCE!!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Sadly, about 90% of even the so-called spiritual teachings in the world are also Matrix driven giberish. Yes, they may point you in a so called spiritual direction, but then most get entangled within the subtle webbing of those 'teachings'. When what they're meant to do is to point you BACK to the Self!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">STOP AND BE PRESENCE!!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">YOU are the point in all this. You are the one who is observing. You are the one who is distracted by what you observe. You are the one who actually KNOWS the truth, if you simply stop and be it. When you stop...just BE. Right now, STOP and just BE. If you're lucky, or clear, you'll notice that you are simply the Presence that is Right Here, Right Now. Then a thought arises, an idea, some more thoughts, an image. These are NOT you. These are things arising. So...</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">STOP AND BE PRESENCE!!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Stop again. Stuff is going on. Let it go on. Don't try to stop it, but don't be it. Be the Presence, the Awareness itself. Rest in That. That is the "other wolf". The Real. </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">The more you can stop and be Presence, Rest in Awareness, the greater that grows. Or more accurately, the more you recognize the depth of it. Just as when you are put in a dark room, at first you can 'see' nothing, but as you become acclimated to it, your recognition grows! </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">What are you? Not the billions of things you are attached to or identified with. When you say "I", what are you talking about? You, the Awareness, the Presence. </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">STOP AND BE THAT PRESENCE!!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Let go of the world and all its trying to shove down your throat and into your mind. It's just a movie that really doesn't mean much. You have two 'wolves' - the material and the spiritual.......which one are YOU going to feed?</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto" id="aqm-signature"><div dir="auto" style="color: black;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #33b5e5;">______________________________</span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #33b5e5;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #33b5e5;"><a href="http://Linktr.ee/ajathomas">Linktr.ee/ajathomas</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #33b5e5;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #33b5e5;">If you haven't done so already, please consider signing up for new blog post notifications. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: black;"><br /></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-6338702491908008282023-11-18T16:15:00.000-08:002023-11-18T16:15:24.537-08:00How To Become God Conscious INSTANTANEOUSLY! <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCoEFs31t_WjZOIM34scXrdwq-1tXRHhzs5kryK2zGrdVRcao4dOA6HV3nh6xcpeG81waBHKTV8wQqdNB7dm8znSzwk2l48Crm-08hSRDbleV5mxZhBnjbIMSEUXWcUZq8_Sb_6kt16Pvrk0k6ECOc1LjDZ6ojYVQ94goIVd6_SZKDyrypeV4tEYYxrI/s403/20231118_160950.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCoEFs31t_WjZOIM34scXrdwq-1tXRHhzs5kryK2zGrdVRcao4dOA6HV3nh6xcpeG81waBHKTV8wQqdNB7dm8znSzwk2l48Crm-08hSRDbleV5mxZhBnjbIMSEUXWcUZq8_Sb_6kt16Pvrk0k6ECOc1LjDZ6ojYVQ94goIVd6_SZKDyrypeV4tEYYxrI/w285-h320/20231118_160950.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>Most people assume that to attain God consciousness must take many thousands of years or even lifetimes. But is it possible to become God conscious instantaneously? Perhaps not in the way you're thinking, but YES!<br /><br />You may think this is kind of a "cheap shot" but Consciousness is what you are, what you perceive, what is the basis for everything. You arise within consciousness. Your thoughts arise in consciousness. Space arises in consciousness. So, how do you become God conscious instantaneously? Simple - Think of God! <br /><br />When you think of, or feel, or meditate on God...you ARE God conscious! Whatever you are thinking of, you are 'that' conscious. So thinking about food - you're food conscious. Thinking about sex - you're sex conscious. Thinking about politics - your politics conscious. And so on and so on and so on. <br /><br />I know this feels like a stupid and too simple of an answer - but is it? What do you think God consciousness is? Flashing lights? Knowing everything that is? Having omnipotent powers? Reading others minds? Walking on water? Those aren't God consciousness - those are powers, siddhas, abilities that may be nice, but have nothing to do with God consciousness. God consciousness is simply the consciousness OF God. <br /><br />The problem is, that we think of God for a half second, and then we think of food, sex, TV, the weather, those damn Republicans/Democrats, money etc. The reason it generally takes thousands of years/lifetimes, is we are not consistent! <br /><br />There's an old saying that 'you can have ANYTHING you want, but you can't have EVERYTHING you want'. There are unlimited success stories of people who decided they wanted something, and they put 100% of their energy into that thing. They fashioned their life in such a way that their goal was their entire focus - the ate, breathed, slept that goal. They are "Goal Conscious!" <br /><br />When I was younger, I was incredibly frustrated that I couldn't get up early in the morning to meditate. Every morning, the same thing. The alarm would ring, and I'd keep hitting "snooze" time after time until an hour had passed. I seriously considered trying to figure out a way to attach a gun to my alarm, so that if I hit 'snooze' more than once, it would shoot me!! :-D Obviously, I never did that, nor do I recommend it, but I think you get the picture of how dedicated (or fanatical) one could become. <br /><br />So consider How Important Is God Consciousness to YOU? Is God consciousness the "ANYTHING" you must have? Or is it just a cool idea, but not for you. You still need to 'make money' or 'find that true love', or finally get those damn Republicans/Democrats out of office? Just how important ARE those things? <br /><br />You are going to die! At the end of this lifetime, whether it's 80 years from now, or 8 seconds from now, you will be giving up this body and moving on. What do you want to have achieved? A lot of money? True love? To become the world's best <input thing here>? I'm not judging....Really, I'm not. But we ARE what we decide to be. And that includes God conscious.<br /><br />Okay, so back to the problem - We think of God, and then we think of something else - again and again. So how does one be God conscious all the time? Answer: By being God conscious all the time! <br /><br />In my tradition, which is Vaishnavism, there is a verse that tells us: shravanam kirtanam vishno, smaranam pada-sevanam, archanam vandanam dasyam, sakhyam atma-nivedanam.....These are the 9 ways of performing service to God:<br />1. Hearing<br />2. Chanting <br />3. Remembering<br />4. Serving the feet <br />5. Ritual worship<br />6. Praying<br />7. Service<br />8. Friendship<br />9. Surrendering the Self<br /><br />Most traditions have similar methods or words, but they give you a variety of methods to keep your focus on God. Hearing can also include reading. Kirtanam means chanting, or speaking, or discussing. Remembering is what we first spoke of - Think of God, including His attributes, qualities, greatness, pasttimes, etc. <br /><br />One of the simplest means to continously remember God is prayer, meditation, or repetition of a name of God. Many traditions also speak of the greatness of the Holy Names. Whenever you are chanting God's name - you ARE God conscious in that moment. <br />Again, in our tradition, we chanted the Hare Krsna Mahamantra - Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare - a mantra that is given in ancient Vedic texts. <br /><br />The wonderful thing about chanting God's name is that you can do it anywhere, at any time, or any place. It can be done out loud, or simply in the mind. It can be done while you're doing most other things, from the moment you wake up to when you go to bed - brushing your teeth, showering, dressing, cooking, eating, much of your work, etc. Eventually it will also show up while you're sleeping as well. All this time, you are focused ON God! THAT is God consciousness. <br /><br />Ideally, when chanting (or praying, or listening, etc) one should actually be focusing one's attention on God, and not just repeating the words or sounds thoughtlessly. But as it is said that God is Absolute, so His name is Absolute and non-differerent from God. In other words, God's names ARE God. Actually EVERYTHNG is God or God's energy, but especially those things, such as the Name, which are directly related to God. In fact, one could simply chant "God, God, God, God...." <br /><br />Another Vedic verse which is a favorite of mine is: Smartavyam satatam vishnur, vishmartavyo na jatucit, sarve vidhi- nishedhahsyur, etayor eva kinkarah <br /><br />"One should ALWAYS remember God, and NEVER forget God; All the other rules and prohibitions are the servants of these two principles (to always remember, never forget). <br /><br />What happens when you always remember and never forget God? THAT is truly God conscousness, and its effects absolute and purifying. But in can start in THIS instant. Right now, in this moment. Carrying it on is up to you.<div><br /></div><div>deep love</div><div>Aja</div><div><br /></div><div id="composer_signature"><meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4">_____________________________</font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><a href="http://linktr.ee/ajathomas">linktr.ee/ajathomas</a></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br />हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे <br />हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे<br /></font><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-85800140004619211852023-09-18T15:12:00.000-07:002023-09-18T15:12:28.436-07:00Could THIS Be the Truth?<span style="color: #2b00fe;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_OgAXOn4hG0_xq9E0zA8gNXKhmkuFXXM5ZaBt0bVYHycTFlIjt6-imgbosGIAMVYu2S3-IelEgNyKEs6YRtRxnH5aWixPG-STArqKvA4Q53LUkoFo-JaoFj5lh0oleBNvlLeVbjCheIRlxMXTx9w_GWTjhb_84DAnH4JwnnaKORQi3ttYhFopfr0vXs/s640/d65a29ada55aead91f1149d91118afb3.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_OgAXOn4hG0_xq9E0zA8gNXKhmkuFXXM5ZaBt0bVYHycTFlIjt6-imgbosGIAMVYu2S3-IelEgNyKEs6YRtRxnH5aWixPG-STArqKvA4Q53LUkoFo-JaoFj5lh0oleBNvlLeVbjCheIRlxMXTx9w_GWTjhb_84DAnH4JwnnaKORQi3ttYhFopfr0vXs/s320/d65a29ada55aead91f1149d91118afb3.0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>"The whole life of the philosopher is a preparation for death." - Plato<br /></span><br />I'm going to look at something a little different, and it might be a bit much for you. But over the last year or so, I've been seeing a lot of articles and videos of this topic come up, and I find it both fascinating and compelling. <br /><br />I'm not sure how I first came across it, but I have to attribute my interest in it to a Godbrother of mine, Gregory Calise, who sadly passed away in 2016. When I first starting reading his articles, I had no idea, at first, that he was both a fellow disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami, and for some time, a local resident here in Oregon. Once I started searching for more of his work, I learned more about him, and ultimately that he had died. I also got in touch with his daughter Chintani, who also shared some extra things with me.<br /><br />However, this topic, which I have yet to get to, is far more widespread than Greg's writings. In fact, I've found entire websites, Reddit forums, and Youtube channels about it. It is most commonly referred to as The Reincarnation Soul Trap, the Prison Planet Theory, Soul Trap Matrix, etc.<br /><br />But let's begin at the beginning - or rather at the End! The end of it all. What happens at the time of death? Or more specifically, after death. <br /><br />This, of course, is highly debated amongst various religions and philosophies - everything from nothing, to some form of paradise or spirit world (Heaven, Valhala, Sto'vo'kor), entering into Brahman, or Reincarnation back to earth or some other realm. Since we tend to look at things from a Vedic perspective, I lean toward reincarnation, particularly as I've had some pretty vivid remembrances of past life experiences. <br /><br />And according to most followers in reincarnation, the general beliefs are that you are reborn according to your past activities or karmas, which determine your next body - higher or lower. But the ultimate goal is to STOP the reincarnation cycle and become free - Moksha! And how that is achieved can also be a hot topic of debate. <br /><br />But that's not what I wanted to discuss. What is relatively new to the conversation is the idea that reincarnation is NOT natural. We are not meant to return time and time again to another body, where each time our memories are wiped clean, and we start fresh with almost NO idea what we're doing here, how we got here, or what our purpose is. What if THAT is planned!? And not by a benevolent god or God, but by someone else? And for nefarious purposes!<br /><br />This is the Reincarnation Soul Trap Matrix theory (or any variation of that name). The basic idea is that our planet (or perhaps our universe) was more or less captured by a dark entity - often referred to as the Demiurge, and/or the Archons, who have created this reincarnation system in order to feed off the energies of the beings within it. This food, which is generally called "Loosh" is a result of any and all emotions, but particularly negative ones - hate, anger, fear, anxiety, depression - and that the world is actually set up to increase these negative emotions among the residents. Ever wonder why humanity has nearly ALWAYS been at war? Why people are always ready to hate someone or some group or why we are always divided between ourselves? Does THAT sound like paradise? <br /><br />Supposedly these entities create this situation for the very purpose of feasting on our emotions. These are the "gods" of the old and new religions. Although in the past blood sacrifices were common, sometimes by the <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpyTNg4ibxf0FXIhk23RHqjLXVjfJqXf1j-9WYbEt5xTWWh_WVcRA4mJMAmUbhg_9iTHHm5VziiwKE2joilGL_pKyfo08K6_BHXKaVqBIjyvWtooErWOZST9F-4DcVsUoK7Ha3E2S9T5kdXC1rWPRYina_w6lty_SOxgnbi5rW3pR-n3rUmfhd-MWJoc/s492/20230918_144602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="492" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpyTNg4ibxf0FXIhk23RHqjLXVjfJqXf1j-9WYbEt5xTWWh_WVcRA4mJMAmUbhg_9iTHHm5VziiwKE2joilGL_pKyfo08K6_BHXKaVqBIjyvWtooErWOZST9F-4DcVsUoK7Ha3E2S9T5kdXC1rWPRYina_w6lty_SOxgnbi5rW3pR-n3rUmfhd-MWJoc/s320/20230918_144602.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>thousands (theoretically not today..hmm), presently, simply the population at each others' metaphorical and literal throats allows these entities to live long and 'happy' lives. Rather reminiscient of the Matrix movies "Copper Top" analogy. We are simply here to feed the higher-ups. (Also a little like the dark side of capitalism, though I'm not sure of a better system.) <br /><br />The Trap: Originally, this physical plane of existence was meant to be a place of learning and experience. You, as a free soul, would come to earth with the idea of 'trying it out' - see what it's like to experience a body and physicality with all that encompasses it. At the time of death, you would go back to your original cosmic home - free again. But after the take over of this world, that didn't happen anymore. <br /><br />Much of the evidence for this theory comes from those who have experienced NDE's (Near Death Experiences), as well as from remote viewing, practitioners of OBE's (Out of Body Experiences) and even very old philosophies, such as the Gnostics. <br /><br />Due to modern emergency medicine, literally millions of people have died, often for minutes, and even hours, and returned to tell their stories. If you've read or seen any of these stories, you're familiar with common threads that run through them - leaving the body, being pulled or directed 'into the light', often meeting with deceased friends or relatives, or even meeting with mystical beings, like angels, Christ, or even God. They also report being overcome with feelings of love and compassion, beyond anything we could ever imagine. Research suggests that upwards of 18 MILLION people, just in the United States, have had an NDE! <br /><br />Now what does this have to do with a Soul Trap? Well, first, all these people came back to their bodies, otherwise they wouldn't have been NEAR death experiences. And often they were ENCOURAGED to come back, and sometimes simply TOLD that they had to come back, even against the desires of the person telling the story. According to the Soul Trap theory, these entities are on a far higher level of understanding, or even technology, than we are. The friends and relatives and even mystical beings are not real, but simply projections provided to assure you that all is well, and that you'll follow their instructions. The feelings of love and compassion are a combination of the natural freedom and love you feel being free of the physical, plus more projected 'love' from the entities - some even describing it as a kind of etheral hallucinogen. "Everything is fine and wonderful.....now get BACK in that body!" <br /><br />I recognize that this is rather a dark, and not particularly happy, positive, light filled story - that we are nothing but a "Loosh Farm" for dark entities, who suck off our emotional energies day and night to feed themselves for their own longevity, as well as power for their continued conquering of the universe. But look at history and the facts of things. What percentage of the population of the planet are truly happy all the time - or even MOST of the time? How much of the news is about loving and beautiful happenings? How often are you worried or angry, or even overjoyed? How many politicians and celebrities are asking us to support Ukraine, to continue piling up deaths of both Ukraine and Russian peoples? How often do you scroll Tik-Tok, Facebook, or Instagram just to see a puppy or kitty video or ANYTHING that will make you happy for a moment???<br /><br />The Bhagavad Gita tells us that this world is duhkhalayam-asasvatam - it is a temporary and miserable place, and the Bhagavatam tells us padam padam yad vipadam na tesam - that in the material world, there is danger at EVERY step. Nor can we ever escape the four problems of material existence - janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi - birth, death, old age and disease, no matter how much we want to. <br /><br />In Bhagavad Gita 8.16, Krsna tells us <br /><br />a-brahma-bhuvanallokah punar avartino 'rjuna<br />mam upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate<br /><br />"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, ALL are places of MISERY wherein REPEATED birth and death take place. But one who attains My abode, o son of Kunti, never takes birth again." <br /><br />I know I've barely skimmed the surface of this topic, and trust me, I've been doing some deep dives - there's a WHOLE lot more to be said and a lot of evidence behind it. My whole life has been about the pursuit of truth, who we are, and why are we here. I've followed the ideas of reincarnation for decades, and am quite confident that it is true. And more importantly, that we are meant to get OUT of it. But the soul trap part?? I don't know about all of it, but a lot seems to make sense. Are all the gods of the old religions really just hungry for 'Loosh'. Do they 'trick' us into coming back again and again in order to maintain their food supply? The Bhagavatam also tells us that jivo jivanasya jivanam - that one life is food for another. And we see that everywhere. In order for anything to exist, it's generally taking life energy from someone or something else, plants, animals, humans. So who's to say that WE'RE at the top of the food chain???<br /><br />So, how DO we get out of this trap, according to the folks who follow this theory? There are a number of ideas - Enlightenment and devotion to the REAL God, but the basic premise is that YOU are a sovereign Divine Spark and always have Free Will. You are under no obligation to follow their instructions. (So if you happened to spend the last few years wearing masks and getting shots, you may not be a candidate for escaping the matrix .🤔 ) They say that rather than facing or entering INTO the light, that you look the other way, or straight up, or into the Void. Don't follow their dictates that you "Go this way, please". Project yourself elsewhere, particularly toward the Supreme Godhead, or Divine Absolute. <br /> <br />I'll finish here with another quote from the Bhagavatam:<br /><br />"The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect dischage of occupational duty, is to REMEMBER the Personality of Godhead at the End of Life." Bhagavatam 2.1.16<br /><br />If this topic fascinates you, or you'd like to know more, please feel free to do some more research, or contact me. I'm no expert by any means, but I'd be happy to discuss the ideas with you further. <br /><br />In deep love<br />Aja<div><br /></div><div>_____________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>Want to make a donation to help support our work?</div><div><br /></div><div>Send to <a href="http://paypal.me/atma108">paypal.me/atma108</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Blessings!</div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-6825009332977361692023-09-01T16:53:00.001-07:002023-09-01T16:53:38.584-07:00The Power and Simplicity of "I Am"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbb4cbdn-_boLvT9u2O4sf_Bn0JLxI55u-11utdnhgGnSUyWzKJBzpXqYMYS0kUDtuqRs6LZugSFyPsaVwypfIUuHNauUPR4NSLqWRu_FatIHymqIV0WQT6Figa2xsjsgjvebb0LOAb2HqC_qQBsX-3_uVU_Q9lkkJRJF0hSsjeMoprIT1XPTK3759AI/s225/335aeead68c076d54c27f197a924e9dc.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="224" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbb4cbdn-_boLvT9u2O4sf_Bn0JLxI55u-11utdnhgGnSUyWzKJBzpXqYMYS0kUDtuqRs6LZugSFyPsaVwypfIUuHNauUPR4NSLqWRu_FatIHymqIV0WQT6Figa2xsjsgjvebb0LOAb2HqC_qQBsX-3_uVU_Q9lkkJRJF0hSsjeMoprIT1XPTK3759AI/s1600/335aeead68c076d54c27f197a924e9dc.0.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>There's a famous saying that you should never talk about politics or religion. So, let's go ahead and talk about religion! What do you believe? What 'religion' do you follow? Is it the correct one?? <br /><br />So, how many religions are there, anyway? Go ahead....take a guess. Well, what the internet tells us is that there are anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 different religions, which includes churches, congregations, faith groups, tribes, cultures and movements. And that might not include relgions that are no longer around. I know it doesn't work this way, but if you were to divide the population of the earth by that higher number of 10,000, that would give each relgion over 3/4 of a million followers. Obviously, there are a few religions which have far more, and a majority that have far less. <br /><br />I've been interested in spirituality and religion for a very long time, going back to young chldhood and more seriously in my teenage years where I would read books on ESP, hypnosis, or whatever I could find that I thought would provide answers. Later in college, I did an independent learning contract at Evergreen on Comparative Religions, where I explored primarily Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. Realistically, it was a fairly light weight study, and mostly done to satisfy my own interests in Truth. But it was through that study that I was introduced to Bhagavad Gita and became a Hare Krishna monk for some years. <br /><br />Some years later, after the Spiritual Master passed away and the whole thing became even crazier than it was, and I delved into a variety of other paths and processes in a search for Truth. But one of the things that I recognized is that to a very large degree, we can't know the truth of these 10,000 religions. Which are true and which are false? Are any true? Are they ALL true? Some are diametrically opposed to others. Following them is a matter of faith. And while faith is a extremely powerful thing, it doesn't necessarily satisfy that desire to KNOW what is true. <br /><br />But the other thing I realized is, does it even matter what the truth out THERE is, if I don't even know WHO I AM? Does it matter what I believe if I don't know what I am. This thing called "I" is the foundation upon which EVERYTHING rests. Our entire lives are based on "I". I AM so and so. I WANT so and so. But what IS that "I". Thus began my journey into Self Inquiry. <br /><br />What is amazing is that we are that "I". We don't have to, and shouldn't, accept any beliefs about it. We are that and can inquiry INTO that "I", to fully discover who we are. So even right now....<br /><br />WHO IS READING THIS? (I AM)<br /><br />For most people, the word "I" is simply a given. Or when they call themselves "I", they're referring to the whole package - the body, the mind, the thoughts, the feelings, etc. It's just this nebulous "I-ness" with it's ups and downs, goods and bads, happy days, sad days and so on. But that is NOT what the "I" is. "I" is that which is AWARE of all those things.<br /><br />WHO IS AWARE OF READING THIS RIGHT NOW? (I AM)<br /><br />Nisargadatta Maharaja, an Indian teacher who passed away in 1981, presented some of the best understandings of this:<br /><br />"The 'I am' came first, it's ever-present, ever available, refuse all thoughts except 'I am', stay there." <br />or, "Consistently and with perserverance separate the 'I am' from 'this' or 'that', just keep in mind the feeling 'I am'."<br /><br />The great benefit is that "I am" is never not with you. You ARE that I am. <br /><br />WHO IS AWARE OF CONFUSION AT THIS MOMENT? (I AM)<br /><br />At first, it might seem strange. It can be difficult to separate "I" from all the things you associate with yourself, particularly your thoughts and emotions. But you are NOT your thoughts OR emotions - you are AWARE of your thoughts and emotions. <br /><br />WHO IS AWARE OF THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS? (I AM)<br /><br />Self inquiry is NOT a religion, nor a set of beliefs. In fact, an important aspect of Self inquiry is letting go of beliefs, as they, to a huge extent, are what makes up your false persona. (Persona means 'mask' or literally to sound-through - as in the old Greek masks that actors wore while performing.) So nearly everything that you consider 'you' are simply your beliefs and ideas. In fact, one of the dictionary definitions of 'Belief' is a 'habit of the mind'. <br /><br />Now this is definitely not meant to say that religious beliefs are wrong or bad. History is filled with both wonderful, and not so wonderful things that have occurred because of religious beliefs - hopefully a few more wonderful ones than the not so great. I still have plenty of my own spiritual beliefs that I hold to. The point is that Self inquiry is NOT about what is or isn't true, but rather about a DIRECT EXPERIENCE of Who You Are. <br /><br />WHO IS AWARE OF QUESTIONS ARISING? (I AM)<br /><br />For instance, it is my understanding that Buddha never spoke about God. There's been some issues because it's often considered that Buddhism is a "Godless" religion. But the Buddha's teaching were about the fact that there is suffering, and there is a way to end that suffering. Period! That's what it's about - NOT whether there is a supreme deity or not. It's practical advice on how to end suffering. Those teachings were turned into a religion.<br /><br />Similarly, Self inquiry is not about whether there is a God or not, but rather literal Self-Realization - to realize, or actualize, or 'know' the Self, i.e. You AS YOU. <br /><br />Now the simplest answer to who you are, is Awareness. But knowing that doesn't necessarily help you unless you can actually realize that. One clue is that anything you are AWARE OF is not who you are. For instance, you can be aware of space, or mind, or thoughts, or even infinity, but if you're aware OF them, then that's not who you are. But can you be aware OF awareness?? Not really. (Although trying to be aware of awareness can be fairly powerful in helping you to "get it".) <br /><br />WHO IS AWARE OF AWARENESS? (I AM)<br /><br />Here's a few more thoughts from Nisargadatta Maharaja: <br />"The 'I am' has brought you in. The 'I am' will take you out. The 'I am' is the door. Stay at it. It's open."<br />"Remain focused on the 'I am' till it goes into oblivion, then the eternal is, the Absolute is."<br />"Hold onto the 'I am' to exclusion of everything else. The 'I am' in movement creates the world, the 'I am' at peace becomes the Absolute."<br /><br />A favorite book of mine is the Ashtavakra Gita, which is the discussion between a teacher and his student, while and after he is awakening to the Self. The fourth verse of the first chapter states: <br /><br />yadi deham prthak krtya chiti vishramya tishthasi | <br />adhunaiva sukhi shanto bandhamukto bhavishyasi || <br />"If you detach yourself from the body and simply abide in consciousness, even in this moment, you become happy, peaceful and free from bondage." - Ashtavakra Gita 1.4<br /><br />And isn't that what everyone truly wants.....to be 1. Happy, 2. Peaceful, and 3. Free? That's what the "I Am" is - the ever present, already existing doorway to happiness, peace and freedom. So while fully abiding in the Self as Awareness may not seem easy at first - it IS simple! Just keep coming back to the "I am". It can be done anywhere at any time - all the time. Who is aware of reading, eating, driving, walking, breathing.....<br /><br />WHO IS RESTING IN AWARENESS? (I AM)<div><br /></div><div>with deep love</div><div>Aja</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #03a9f4; font-size: 85%;">_____________________________</span></div><div id="composer_signature"><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;">Want to make a donation to help support our work?</div><div style="font-size: 85%;">Send to <a href="https://paypal.me/atma108">Paypal.me/atma108</a></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br />हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे <br />हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे<br /></font><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-2204199513801327102023-08-13T16:00:00.000-07:002023-08-13T16:00:38.833-07:00Gayatri Mantra - The Sound of Divine Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2w8pWEvZ8ZX6F4KeYCzSClOlPDRo4lTNdhNZrFKdUyuKf4iSccq5t_Sykf4i4Z5fs6maiYnI4qIVce3V_aeSUFGkPW-5y26po5lwNwEkhXYDCUyhFvpvoWtR7ff3qHy2_CLu0h0PHwpgaq3Yz4Sw7NbwJThYC_Rx59UzNxj1V2pJ7asL9qNtt-yWbMY/s1304/fc96f2581b9121df6b8816c046b6b2ac.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">ध<img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="1304" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2w8pWEvZ8ZX6F4KeYCzSClOlPDRo4lTNdhNZrFKdUyuKf4iSccq5t_Sykf4i4Z5fs6maiYnI4qIVce3V_aeSUFGkPW-5y26po5lwNwEkhXYDCUyhFvpvoWtR7ff3qHy2_CLu0h0PHwpgaq3Yz4Sw7NbwJThYC_Rx59UzNxj1V2pJ7asL9qNtt-yWbMY/w200-h180/fc96f2581b9121df6b8816c046b6b2ac.0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>There are thousands, if not millions, of mantras - for every deity, pupose, or occasion. In general, a Mantra is a Sanskrit (or other language) sound which is meant for releasing or delivering (traya) the mind (mana) -- Mana-Traya -- Mantra. Not ALL mantras are necessarily used for that, but the ones that we're interested in generally do. <br /><br />And although I don't usually talk much about mantra - focusing more on Self Inquiry - mantras have had a powerful and postive effect on my life and particularly my spiritual journey. Two mantras in particular have been a huge part of my life - the Hare Krsna mantra (which I still chant daily hundreds of times), and Gayatri mantra. <br /><br />Gayatri is both a specific mantra AND a poetic or verse style, with "gayatri" mantras for nearly every deity of the Vedic culture - often times two, three or more! But most often when people speak of "Gayatri mantra" they're referring to the "Savitri Gayatri" the Gayatri verse in praise of, and invoking the divine light of the Sun, or God, as the Sun is considered the local representative of the Light of God. <br /><br />This is how Gayatri mantra looks in the Sanskrit Devanagri script:<br /><br />ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः<br />तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं<br />भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि<br />धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥<br /><br />Transliteration: (i.e. one you can read if you don't read Sanskrit)<br />Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah<br />Tat savitur varenyam<br />bhargo devasya dhimahi<br />dhiyo yo nah pracodayat<br /><br />Word for word meanings:<br /><br />Om - God, the primordial sound from which all originates,<br />bhur - The earthly plane,<br />bhuvah - The heavenly plane,<br />svah - The causal plane,<br />tat - The Absolute. Or "That",<br />savituh - Traditionally 'Of the Sun', but also 'Of God', the Source of all,<br />varenyam - Worshippable,<br />bhargah - The Divine Light; that which is ever expanding,<br />devasya - Of God, Of the Divine,<br />dhimahi - Let us meditate upon,<br />dhiyah - Our wisdom, intelligence (buddhi), our meditation,<br />yah - Who,<br />nah - us,<br />pracodayat - Enlightens, enthuses, awakens, quickens<br /><br />My simplistic translation:<br /><br />"Om, let us meditate upon that Supreme Lord of all existence, the Worshippable Divine Effulgence and Source of all that is, that He may enliven, awaken and enlighten our intelligence."<br /><br />And another translation, perhaps more poetic translation (not sure from whom)<br /><br />"Oh, creator of the universe. We meditate upon thy supreme splendor. May thy radiant power illuminate our intellects, destroy our ignorance and guide us in the direction of enlightenment by purifying our inner hearts."<br /><br />But in either case, and basically all translations, the idea is the same - we are invoking or callng upon the Light of the Divine, which permeates ALL the levels of existence, and meditating upon that Light to awaken us, to purify and enlighten our mind, heart and intelligence. So, it's essentially a prayer to God or the Divine to fill us with that Holy Light and assist us on our spiritual journey. <br /><br />The nice thing about Gayatri, is even though it's in Sanskrit, it's pretty non-denominational. You're not addressing some specific Deity of the "Hindu pantheon", but rather the Divine Light Itself - no matter WHO it may be coming from. :-D And your intentions when chanting Gayatri can be addressed toward whatever Divinity you look to, whether Vedic, Christian, or none at all. <br /><br />Sometimes, Gayatri is also refered to as Tri-Sandhyam, as it is traditionally been chanted at the three (tri) conjunctions (sandhya) of the day - dawn, noon, and dusk, which are considered very powerful moments energetically of the day. <br /><br />It can be chanted out loud or silently. It can be said once or hundreds of times. It is not only used for personal en-LIGHT-enment, but for the purification of the atmosphere, environment, or even water. Perhaps you are familiar with the experiments of Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto. (Look him up) He found that by 'energizing' water with sounds, thoughts, emotions, etc, he could then freeze that water and see the results. Below are photos of un-energized water, and then water energized with Gayatri mantra.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbob2f6yCqAgDrXMwkdwgU5f1Du12l-l5LYoq29d-zQQ7Y63mhPuJhdJu3hcZQyxBMrtD8Ukja27By-slMBQZLTsdGkSY104lvxHcBgom6LJm0YQ0IPIMA_GFnIgZcnnAnWX35r_CKsNMMp6v7JXwLXj1czi8AzsObM-G3txCEhOgL-13gTffrCUzJ-K4/s600/2bb1d8005e9508dc9eb3522cbdaa01dd.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbob2f6yCqAgDrXMwkdwgU5f1Du12l-l5LYoq29d-zQQ7Y63mhPuJhdJu3hcZQyxBMrtD8Ukja27By-slMBQZLTsdGkSY104lvxHcBgom6LJm0YQ0IPIMA_GFnIgZcnnAnWX35r_CKsNMMp6v7JXwLXj1czi8AzsObM-G3txCEhOgL-13gTffrCUzJ-K4/w200-h200/2bb1d8005e9508dc9eb3522cbdaa01dd.0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65Z3Yn6wp2n0nGD4l097pB2Jdpa0bsyTtku-Or5cRHqUi8UHsqtC65qQXKmfa6Tdj4KO495DD0Jr6eUTbBL2pBJnqV0FJtzz0gM2WT3h23Izitzbl9oT_Gwrp_D4CwNlZpTgIcMSb0WWmZB4jRI0YXr2TgX61aJTWVMj9Y98Kn2l4QpVz-lthWSQGc50/s600/7f02938e9f135ab66fba503ee4ea10c6.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65Z3Yn6wp2n0nGD4l097pB2Jdpa0bsyTtku-Or5cRHqUi8UHsqtC65qQXKmfa6Tdj4KO495DD0Jr6eUTbBL2pBJnqV0FJtzz0gM2WT3h23Izitzbl9oT_Gwrp_D4CwNlZpTgIcMSb0WWmZB4jRI0YXr2TgX61aJTWVMj9Y98Kn2l4QpVz-lthWSQGc50/w200-h200/7f02938e9f135ab66fba503ee4ea10c6.0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Gayatri can also be used to purify or energize food or water, offering those things to the Divine while chanting the mantra out loud once, 3 times, 10 times, or even 108 times, thus purifying them. We used to chant Gayatri over quartz crystals for people to wear, carry with them, or put on their altars to help disseminate that pure energy. </div><div><br />Often people use a "japa mala", a string of beads of wood, crystal, or other materials to chant a specific number of mantras at a time, much like a rosary. The most common number is 108 beads, plus a "head" bead making 109. One chants one mantra on each of the 108 beads, and then turning around when they get to the 'head' bead. Of course, there is no hard rule on the number of times. <br /><br />For some time, we were monthly performing a Gayatri Homa - where on the Full Moon day, we would chant Gayatri 108 times while offering ghee and rice into a 'homa fire'. This is a very powerful ceremony that not only benefits the individual participating, but is said to profoundly purify the environment as well. Hmmm....perhaps we should start that up again. <br /><br />Each letter of the Gayatri is also said to correspond to specific points on the body, thus energizing those points and energy channels, which makes a nice meditation, helping to envision divine light moving throughout one's body.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioue92-B1VdiDSqS7Pa0Xt4S3Oypt10_pSj3_KjEN9UylNtVpZ-hY-E52wIxuQ7qVXHnD1RwlyyAr2GFNPjm4WksbwHarpVxKL3pIYaFNhiA3-GO1jkazJQ4tUZjR5AfKtG12eHxyGThVN9DezqE3ZCYIZqJ7BKQTf3HxW9Dlgqs66PbjWF33OsoGbbl8/s720/8d1e7c92bec7fe0b72e6682891d1ab79.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="720" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioue92-B1VdiDSqS7Pa0Xt4S3Oypt10_pSj3_KjEN9UylNtVpZ-hY-E52wIxuQ7qVXHnD1RwlyyAr2GFNPjm4WksbwHarpVxKL3pIYaFNhiA3-GO1jkazJQ4tUZjR5AfKtG12eHxyGThVN9DezqE3ZCYIZqJ7BKQTf3HxW9Dlgqs66PbjWF33OsoGbbl8/w200-h188/8d1e7c92bec7fe0b72e6682891d1ab79.0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>If you'd like to know how to pronouce Gayatri mantra, there are many videos on Youtube. Make sure it's actually THE Gayatri and not a gayatri to some specific deity. In other words, it sounds like the words that I've written above. There will be slight variations on how it's pronounced, the rhythm, and the melodies - just find the one that feels the best for you. </div><div><br />If mantra feels like something that would be advantageous for your spiritual journey, and it definitely can be, I highly recommend Gayatri mantra. Make it a part of your daily life. Thousands have found powerful spiritual, mental, intellectual, and bodily healing results!<br /><br /><b><u>What others have said about Gayatri mantra:<br /></u></b><br />"Because the Gayatri mantra is especially meant for God realization, it represents the Supreme Lord. This mantra is meant for spiritually advanced people, and when one attains success in chanting it, he can enter into the transcendental position of the Lord."<br />( Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada - Bhagavad Gita As It Is 1972, Text 10.35 - purport )<br /><br />"Gayantam trayate yasmad gayatri tvam tatah smrta: one who chants the Gayatri mantra is gradually delivered from the material clutches."<br />( Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya-lila, Text 2.8.138 - purport - Srila Prabhupada)<br /><br />"...Gayatri the supreme creative energy of the divine. It endows its devotee with true wisdom. A subtle, uninterrupted current of divine energy starts flowing through the inner being of the devotee, cleansing his intellect, mind and emotions of the perverse, perverted and dark thoughts, feelings and desires. The effect of sincere and steadfast Gayatri Sadhana is swift and miraculous in purifying, harmonizing and steadying the mind and thus establishing unshakable inner peace and a sense of joyfilled calm even in the face of grave trials and tribulations in the outer life of the Sadhak.". (Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya) <br /><br />"The great mantra of Gayatri has a unique contribution to make in the impending new age. Its impact on the moral and ethical renascence of this new scientific-intellectual age will be unequalled, unparalleled and extraordinary. " ( Pandit Sriram Sharma Acharya)<br /><br />"Of the many methods of yoga one of the most potent is the yoga of Gayatri mantra. Mantras have powers to endow one with remarkable abilities. The Gayatri mantra gives the devotees spiritual as well as material benefits." (Sri Ramana Maharshi)<br /><br />"Even divinities like Brahma pray to Gayatri because Gayatri makes possible the realization of Brahman. Gayatri removes from you the propensity to evil actions." (Rishi Bharadwaja) <br /><br /><b><u>For more information:<br /></u></b><br />If you'd like to know more about Gayatri, japa malas, homas, mantras, or anything else, please feel free to just ask! Add a comment below or write to me at my email. <br /><br />I also wrote a relatively short booklet specifically on Gayatri, entitled "Gayatri Mantra - The Sound of Divine Light" You can download either a reading or printing version (as well as other books) from my dropbox site - <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z9f5q6hagjaufx7/t8DWXrUGqq">https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z9f5q6hagjaufx7/t8DWXrUGqq</a><div><br /></div><div>With Deep Love</div><div>Aja</div><div><br /><div dir="auto" id="composer_signature"><meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4">_____________________________<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4uJf9iTQxPB4ss5nx19g9h3CbuYu49mFF9IVc6FhBdmBjVjhhxnVjFKPxSDCZNdxputrOlxdkdYeXUGX7e57jjQ1Ug5t2bZeFskwvWvqjHjX_tNN9EV6SykJ9YGDW5ohMieDF2f0C1HGIchFD4U5YRpGBGRUG8FeApvSkDMncH43GMIlPR8cul2lUgjA/s600/2bb1d8005e9508dc9eb3522cbdaa01dd.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><a href="http://linktr.ee/ajathomas">linktr.ee/ajathomas</a></font></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-79639242970804197342023-07-18T17:20:00.001-07:002023-07-18T17:20:25.763-07:00Where Did The Interest In Spiritual Enlightenment Go?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EPs3m7dacXhC0gN1kwrN8fjB9f0B7tQoLJrgxTfC3SLYv2xcfAWFPF8NyMvwez56fSCE7Urie3IDSRq_q4Hih6Wl4-2r0s-6Be5JwD_5mXrJEBAq6jDhBpW2DHYq_UsKmCG70JoFe-ssBmKe-I4O4mQ5XqTGnX8Qtwo2LbsNEfxxU2ck95N4xi8ZvWg/s900/cell-phone-addiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EPs3m7dacXhC0gN1kwrN8fjB9f0B7tQoLJrgxTfC3SLYv2xcfAWFPF8NyMvwez56fSCE7Urie3IDSRq_q4Hih6Wl4-2r0s-6Be5JwD_5mXrJEBAq6jDhBpW2DHYq_UsKmCG70JoFe-ssBmKe-I4O4mQ5XqTGnX8Qtwo2LbsNEfxxU2ck95N4xi8ZvWg/s320/cell-phone-addiction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I've noticed something over the last few years. Perhaps you have too. Nobody really gives a crap about spiritual topics anymore. Those of us who ARE interested in spirituality are a dying breed - quite literally. <br /><br />The deep search for spirtual truth has always been there to some extent, and I magine, if you could really track it, you'd see that as a goal it has ebbed and flowed over the decades in one form or another. <br /><br />For me, being a "Boomer", i was present for the great tide of Eastern spirituality with interest in the Transcendental Meditation craze, the Hare Krishna invasion, and a slew of spiritual teachers like Muktananda and Swami Saccidananda, Guru Maharajj, Krishnamurti, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and even Ram Dass, the preeminent student of Neem Karoli Baba.<br /><br />But the 60s and 70s passed, and we moved into the 80's and 90's where new crazes were taking place. One that was very big for awhile was crystals. The one that became the biggest was probably the non-dual (advaita) schools, primarily based on the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaja. Following in their footsteps, a whole barage of non-dual western teachers were born - Gangaji and Adyashanti being two of the most popular. <br /><br />Buddhism was also very big, popularized to some extent by Alan Watts, and the Tibetan Buddhist movements of Chogyum Trumpa and the Dala Lama himself. But I apologize that my remembrance of such things is limited as I never had much of an interest in Buddhism. <br /><br />Around 2010, Eckhart Tolle came out with The Power of Now (which was actually pu blished after my book - In This Moment), and being featured on Oprah, zoomed to notoriety, and I remembered seeing the most unlikely folks reading it everywhere - busses, coffee shops, everywhere. <br /><br />But then things seem to begin to fade. There were fewer new spiritual teachers, and the ones that were there seemed to be losing momentum. Sure, there were some diehards who never gave up, but overall, other things were taking the interest of the people. <br /><br />I remember back in the 90s and early 2000s, we used to speculate what would be the next big craze, as we watched crystals fade and non-dualism come to the fore. And then it just seemed to kind of stop! <br /><br />So what happened?<br /><br />Cell Phones!!! That's what I think anyway. With the popularity of cell phones and social media, people started communicating more, but in a less meaningful way. What became popular was no longer the meaning of life, but current events, politics, and social justice. We now had an avenue to immediately correct and argue with everyone around. We decided that injustices were rampant in the world and we were damned well going to fix it. Life purpose and meaning fell to the side and fixing everything that was broken took precedents. Or at first. <br /><br />Then we just got addicted. Why spend time searching for real answers to life's questions and it's meaning, when we could look it up online. Why have any thoughts of our own, when we can just see what everyone else thinks. The online world became a replacement for the real world - just one giant distraction from anything and everything that is importlant.<br /><br />At least, that's what I think. I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on it.<div id="composer_signature"><meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4">_____________________________</font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><a href="http://linktr.ee/ajathomas">linktr.ee/ajathomas</a></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-27487679677908890682023-07-09T14:52:00.000-07:002023-07-09T14:52:43.472-07:00What Is Consciousness?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURZIVS0t_FO3MU5Mrq51WscPLQ57FzvvBJR3kZNQthoQ0pXedVwiFaeQSKKitwJBsRQr3267uMwe38lFEStS4CsyH8dNhQdcCU2FdO2rI281kYjHXlzYOsiW4lf1ohZ-7zBzyHVRIsGehrJLLrANCgLxGIrQj8Vv_PL9OBp5o6A2feWCuASpUKj5c7I8/s925/20230709_144616.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="925" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURZIVS0t_FO3MU5Mrq51WscPLQ57FzvvBJR3kZNQthoQ0pXedVwiFaeQSKKitwJBsRQr3267uMwe38lFEStS4CsyH8dNhQdcCU2FdO2rI281kYjHXlzYOsiW4lf1ohZ-7zBzyHVRIsGehrJLLrANCgLxGIrQj8Vv_PL9OBp5o6A2feWCuASpUKj5c7I8/w200-h173/20230709_144616.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Today, I received an email from a dear friend, who simply wrote, "Could you explain what is consciousness?" I'm just glad he didn't add "In 25 words or less". :-D Although, in some ways, you can answer it in 25 words or less - Consciousness IS. Or even What is, IS Consciousness. <br /><br />There are a number of ways of looking at consciousness from a "spiritual" perspective. This of course differs from Western science's view of consciousness, within which, many still believe that it is generated by and localized in the brain. It also depends on how you recognize Consciousness itself - as individualized, all encompassing, Universal, Cosmic, Godhead, etc. <br /><br />Everything we experience is consciousness....Period! We ourselves are consciousness. Anything that we know or conceive of arises in and as consciousness. Due to consciousness, you are reading this now. Consciousness is reading this now. Our tendency is to say, "I am conscious", but what is the "I" that is conscious? It is consciousness. <br /><br />Now, you could distinguish this in another way. In Sanskrit, the Absolute/God is defined as being/having the three characteristics of SAT, CHIT, and ANANDA. SAT is Beingness, Existence, or IS-ness if you will. Somethiing exists....that's all. CHIT is Consciousness. Not only does this something exist, but it has awareness. And finally, ANANDA translates as bliss, or perhaps more accurately, pleasure or enjoyment. YOU are also this SAT-CHIT-ANANDA - you exist, you are conscious, and you enjoy. <br /><br />So Consciousness is the principle of knowingness. You might say that SAT is the principle of Presence. You are Presence, and you are Consciousness. Everything you experience is arising IN and AS Consciousness. Take the dreamstate. When you are dreaming, there is a YOU and all the things that you are experiencing in that dream - people, places, experiences. But all of them are recognized - once you are awake - as nothing but consciousness in a dream. Somehow, when our awake mind is involved, we no longer consider that everything we are experiencing is simply consciousness, which it is, but as separate objects that are distinct from us and consciousness. But they're not. Imagine in this moment, that you are asleep, and having a lucid dream, recognizing that everything you're aware of is dream consciousness. So, Consciousness IS everything. It is prior to anything you experience and any component of what you consider you, including the concept of "I". The "I"-thought is actually also arising in consciousness! <br /><br />There is another aspect of Consciousness, which is what is IN consciousness, and our apparent choice as to how we perceive that. So, we might consider Consciousness as "neutral" - neither good nor bad. But what we choose to fill that consciousness with or what influences it becomes an expession of that consciousness. Thus people speak of God Consciousness, Christ Consciousness, Krishna Consciousness, Buddha Consciousness, etc, as opposed to Material consciousness, Maya/Mayic consciousness, illusory consciousness, bodily consciousness and so forth. In other words, one is 'filling' their consciousness with thoughts, words, ideas, actions relating to Godly, higher, spiritual, enlightened things, or with "lower", material, temporary and illusory experiences. The idea being that one raises one's consciousness and the other lowers it. Of course, consciousness itself can not be raised or lowered - it simply IS. Although if you think of it as something like water or space, either could be 'filled' or tainted or pure. But even there, those things are not changed, it is what is IN them that purifies or pollutes. <br /><br />You can also simply Recognize Consciousness as Primordial, Infinite Presence within which EVERYTHING is occuring, all the time. (See my recent post <a href="https://barnashram.blogspot.com/2023/05/where-is-god-everywhere.html" target="_blank">Where is God? Everwhere</a>.) <br /><br />"What is Consciousness?" is also a very powerful question, which can be used as a method of Self Inquiry, rather like "Who am I?" The very nature of inquiring into, resting or abiding in and as Consciousness points you to the Direct Experience of Consciousness Itself!<br /><br />I want to add that, "What is Consciousness?" is a HUGE question, and there are many differing views amongst scientists and spiritualists alike. I'm simply offering one view, which is all any of us can really do. :-D<div><br /></div><div id="composer_signature"><meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4">_____________________________</font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><a href="http://linktr.ee/ajathomas">linktr.ee/ajathomas</a></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-58587313003771265142023-07-01T14:40:00.004-07:002023-07-02T07:16:20.674-07:00The I AM Meditation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEYmbkrUFQgteN2fD63x---46BeKTGeV189tg_lhuKDIIpc6M3bUJkV9boRKm5r393KztquLx35PaK69jGt5QDv6kd2ZELgfH5k0UfG_ToR2Uyso1NwQQAttkVlsLdoMmr_Z1HhobqS_wNzerfx0GNTsz5OvwAYAZXduXRHQnWHNA1sU4V6N_O1RlCCI/s395/e53165d20502d1e080819aeaa31e7801.0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="395" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEYmbkrUFQgteN2fD63x---46BeKTGeV189tg_lhuKDIIpc6M3bUJkV9boRKm5r393KztquLx35PaK69jGt5QDv6kd2ZELgfH5k0UfG_ToR2Uyso1NwQQAttkVlsLdoMmr_Z1HhobqS_wNzerfx0GNTsz5OvwAYAZXduXRHQnWHNA1sU4V6N_O1RlCCI/s320/e53165d20502d1e080819aeaa31e7801.0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div>Self Realization is based on one simple idea - to recognize and reside as that which you are - the Self. And that Self is NOT the body, NOT the thoughts, NOT the emotions, NOT your dreams, NOT your political or social views. In fact there are far more 'NOT's here than there are anything else, because basically anything you relate TO is not the Self. <br /><br />You could relate to it as Presence, Consciousness, Awareness, the Absolute, but until it's recognized or REALized, those are also just concepts, though they give more of a clue. <br /><br />One thing that does point quite well, is the phrase "I AM". Even in the Bible there is a reference to "I AM": </div><div> </div><div><i><b>"Moses said to God, 'Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ' What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you."<br /></b></i><br />So, even God describes Himself as 'I AM', as 'I AM' is prior to and beyond any and all descriptions. Similarly, who you truly are is beyond and transcends all concepts and descriptions. Some terms for God that might get close could include Presence, Consciousness, Awareness, the Absolute. Are you getting the point here? Thus anything that we 'think' of ourselves as being, just as anything we 'think' of God as being, comes far short of the Reality. And yet, it IS what we are!<br /><br />Various teachers have suggested that you just 'Reside as you are' or 'focus on the Self', which sounds wonderful, but may leave you saying, "HOW?" How do I just reside or focus on my Self if I don't know what it is? Or you think of your self as your body, or your ideas, your dreams and so on. You might even think of your Self as your 'higher' thoughts and ideals, your 'astral' self, your dream self. But I AM is prior to all of that. <br /><br />Although I hate to use the word 'technique', one 'technique' for recognizing the Self is the "I AM" meditation. This is simply the repetition of the words - I AM. It can be done with the breath "I" (in) "AM" (out). It can be done while walking. It can be done while eating. Basically it can be done anywhere and anytime. <br /><br />Ideally, like any meditation, it's not so much about the words "I AM", but rather what they point to. With each repetition, it's essentially asking you to consider and recognize just WHAT that "I' is. Remember, I AM are only more words, but when you seek what or who is the experiencer of those words, the thinker of those words, the one to whom the words are arising, you may directly realize that Self. <br /><br />It's a little like pointing your finger at the Moon and repeating "Moon, moon, moon". It's neither the finger pointing, nor the word 'Moon', but it may get you to look beyond the finger and the words to the direct experience of the Moon. It's not the words "I AM", nor the breath, nor the technique, but it guides you in the direction of the Presence of I AM...which by the way, is always and already Present!<br /><br />Here's how Nisargadatta Maharaja described his own Awakening: "When I met my Guru, he told me, 'You are not what you take yourself to be. Find out what you are. Watch the sense I AM, find your real Self…' I did as he told me. All my spare time I would spend looking at myself in silence…and what a difference it made, and how soon! It took me only three years to realize my true nature."<br /><br />So, PLEASE, take this opportunity that human life has offered us, to KNOW THY SELF!<div><span style="color: #03a9f4; font-size: 85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #03a9f4; font-size: 85%;">_____________________________</span></div><div id="composer_signature"><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4">linktr.ee/ajathomas</font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-53405460014612915492023-06-25T11:39:00.000-07:002023-06-25T11:39:19.284-07:00My Experience with "Spiritual" AI<p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC-1vyBE1g_crbRLOw-L-DF1951SQLKly1NEmKsGRQF29mOcCFtbvG-1IQ94KKfzVKueplqxm-fro0VIkX5qdg4T1-slr-eej0Woa0H7sj73chAD7niHE9a_vC-8ysc3QWiNHqyGzymHqA5tyKYT42cHnJP7LrTVouaiUWsqix-QC6p8XMh0jabOVxHI/s400/7fb70cf6c87c2542b880b04a867c0d06.0.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="400" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC-1vyBE1g_crbRLOw-L-DF1951SQLKly1NEmKsGRQF29mOcCFtbvG-1IQ94KKfzVKueplqxm-fro0VIkX5qdg4T1-slr-eej0Woa0H7sj73chAD7niHE9a_vC-8ysc3QWiNHqyGzymHqA5tyKYT42cHnJP7LrTVouaiUWsqix-QC6p8XMh0jabOVxHI/w320-h297/7fb70cf6c87c2542b880b04a867c0d06.0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eckhart (evidently)</td></tr></tbody></table>A few months back, I came across something that really shocked me. It was a website called AskEckhart.com. It claims that it "is a spiritual artificial intelligence chat program (that) helps you find answers to spiritual, emotional and philosophical problems." I'm guessing that they chose they name Eckhart because of the popularity of Eckhart Tolle, the multi-millionaire teacher and author of notable fame. I also doubt he has anything to do with it. <p></p><p>My initial reaction was "Why would ANYONE go to a computer for spiritual guidance. I even thought I should start AskAja.com so people would have the option of an actual person. </p><p>But I put all that aside and decided to actually check out the site. </p><p>There is a free version, from what I can figure out, seems to only give you so many answers at a time. I didin't have too much to ask, so never ran into any problems. But there's also a paid version where you can earn credits somehow. Don't know how that works. Don't care.</p><p>I have to admit, I was a little impressed as it included a "Suggested Reading" section which lists a number of notable teachers including Eckhart Tolle, Meister Eckhart (Ahhh TWO Eckharts) Rumi, Krishnamurti and Nisargadatta Maharaja, alhtough tapping on the person simply took you to the Wikipedia post on them. I didn't really read the articles, as they're probably written by the AI. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgftWThCT063_ip_FvdoazJdle2qWkmXmkyIbH-bXytC7ADmpR-13_wS2B46YkHyqJnUKb9hKMOpDE9jqhqvx6tFXmytKCQ_jKGZy-x1EfHh879-mpbujC1hHaS1IiF7Xq0uyGeAcfHs61mORFmVBMF3M_4fNYEbtyIIWitOonw8TmrV1ED4kJapRN6HnQ/s1129/a3096166f4397fb76f7b7585d777f0c6.0.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgftWThCT063_ip_FvdoazJdle2qWkmXmkyIbH-bXytC7ADmpR-13_wS2B46YkHyqJnUKb9hKMOpDE9jqhqvx6tFXmytKCQ_jKGZy-x1EfHh879-mpbujC1hHaS1IiF7Xq0uyGeAcfHs61mORFmVBMF3M_4fNYEbtyIIWitOonw8TmrV1ED4kJapRN6HnQ/s320/a3096166f4397fb76f7b7585d777f0c6.0.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I decided I had to give it a chance, and I asked it some basic questions. It generally doesn't give you the full answer at once, but stops in the middle of a sentence, and then you have to hit continue. In one answer, not included here, it stopped in the middle of a sentence, but wouldn't continue. Perhaps that's the meditative pause of the master! :-) Or maybe my time was up! </p><p>So here are the questions I asked it and it's response. Overall, they're not horrible answers. They're AI answers, by which I mean there's no Soul there. Like reading a high school report.</p><p> _________________________</p><p><br /></p><p>QUESTION: What is the essence of all religions?</p><p>Eckhart AI: The essence of all religions is the recognition of a higher power or divine presence beyond the world of form. They teach us to transcend the egoic mind and connect with the eternal essence within ourselves and all beings. Religion guides us towards love, compassion, and unity, reminding us of our interconnectedness and the importance of living in harmony with others and the natural world. While specific rituals and beliefs may differ, at their core, all religions point to the same timeless truth of Oneness and the potential for transcendence of suffering through spiritual awakening.</p><p><br /></p><p>QUESTION: What is the best spiritual practice?</p><p>Eckhart AI: The best spiritual practice is to be fully present in the Now. Cultivate awareness of each moment and observe your thoughts, emotions, and sensations without judgment or identification. Be a witness to the mind's activity rather than getting caught up in it. Stay connected to the stillness within, where true peace and joy reside. Remember, it's not about following a specific technique or ritual, but about awakening to your true nature as pure consciousness.</p><p><br /></p><p>QUESTION: How to realize the self?</p><p>Eckhart AI: To realize the Self, let go of identification with your thoughts and emotions. Observe them without judgment or attachment. Shift your attention from the incessant mental chatter to the space of stillness within you. Practice mindfulness and presence in your daily life. Be fully engaged in whatever you are doing, whether it is eating, walking, or listening. Focus your awareness on the present moment and bring a sense of deep presence to each experience. Don't seek understanding through the mind alone; it can only grasp concepts and create more illusion of separation. Instead, turn your attention inward and feel the aliveness of your own being. Be aware of the sensations in your body, the breath flowing in and out, and the spaciousness that exists beyond thoughts. Recognize that you are not just a separate individual but a manifestation of the One Consciousness that permeates all of life. Embrace this sense of unity. Let go of any notions of past or future, as they exist only in the mind. To realize the Self, let go of identification with your thoughts and emotions. Observe them without judgment or attachment. Shift your attention from the incessant mental chatter to the space of stillness within you. Practice mindfulness and presence in your daily life. Be fully engaged in whatever you are doing, whether it is eating, walking, or listening. Focus your awareness on the present moment and bring a sense of deep presence to each experience. Don't seek understanding through the mind alone; it can only grasp concepts and create more illusion of separation. Instead, turn your attention inward and feel the aliveness of your own being. Be aware of the sensations in your body, the breath flowing in and out, and the spaciousness that exists beyond thoughts. Recognize that you are not just a separate individual but a manifestation of the One Consciousness that permeates all of life. Embrace this sense of unity. Let go of any notions of past or future, as they exist only in the mind. To realize the Self, let go of identification with your thoughts and emotions. Observe them without judgment or attachment. Shift your attention from the incessant mental chatter to the space of stillness within you. Practice mindfulness and presence in your daily life. Be fully engaged in whatever you are doing, whether it is eating, walking, or listening. Focus your awareness on the present moment and bring a sense of deep presence to each experience. Don't seek understanding through the mind alone; it can only grasp It seems the response got repeated. My apologies for that. Here is a more condensed version: To realize the Self, let go of identification with thoughts and emotions. Observe them without judgment or attachment. Practice mindfulness and presence in daily life. Focus on the present moment, allowing a sense of deep presence to arise. Shift your attention inward and feel the aliveness of your being. Recognize your connection to the One Consciousness that pervades all of life. Let go of notions of past and future. Be still and allow the truth of your own existence to reveal itself. Remember, it is not a destination to be reached, but rather a continuous journey of awakening to your true nature as pure awareness.</p><p><br /></p><p>QUESTION: How do you do self inquiry</p><p>Eckhart AI: Self-inquiry is a powerful spiritual practice that can lead you to a deeper understanding of your true nature. Here's a simple way to engage in self-inquiry: 1. Find a quiet and comfortable space where you won't be disturbed. 2. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to relax your body and mind. 3. Begin by asking yourself the question, "Who am I?" Allow the question to reverberate within you without seeking an intellectual answer. 4. Instead of seeking a verbal or conceptual response, bring your attention to the feeling of "I" or "me" in your experience. Notice any thoughts, emotions, sensations, or images that arise when you ask this question. 5. Stay present with whatever arises without judgment or analysis. Simply observe and allow it to be as it is. 6. If the mind starts to wander or gets caught up in thoughts, gently bring your attention back to the question, "Who am I?" 7 Continue inquiring into your direct experience, exploring the sense of "I" or "me" and questioning any beliefs or identifications that arise. 8. Let go of trying to find a specific answer or reaching a conclusion. Allow yourself to dwell in the question itself, embracing the mystery of not knowing. 9. Remain open and receptive, allowing insights to naturally emerge from within. Trust the process and surrender to the unfolding of your self-inquiry practice. Remember, self-inquiry is not about finding answers or accumulating knowledge. It's about cultivating a direct and experiential understanding of your true nature beyond the mind-made egoic self. Be patient and persistent in your self-inquiry, and allow it to deepen over time as you continue to explore the question "Who am I?" with an open heart and a curious mind. (Not bad on this overall.)</p><p><br /></p><p>QUESTION: How much time should be spent doing self inquiry?</p><p>Eckhart AI: The practice of self-inquiry is not about trying to allocate a specific amount of time. Instead, it is about cultivating a continuous awareness and presence throughout your day-to-day life. It is about being attentive to the patterns and movements of your mind, observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment or identification. Rather than setting aside rigid blocks of time for self-inquiry, strive to bring mindfulness into every moment. Notice when the mind starts to wander into unconscious patterns or when you become identified with thoughts or emotions , and gently redirect your attention back to the present moment. This constant awareness is what deepens your understanding of yourself and helps dissolve the illusion of the ego. So, it is not a matter of quantity but rather the quality of presence that you bring to each moment. (This was sort of a trick question, and I was actually impressed with its answer.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Okay, now I decided to see if I would show up. I did and I didn't! :-D</p><p><br /></p><p>QUESTION: Who is Aja Acharya? (My name with the title I was given.)</p><p>Eckhart AI: Aja Acharya is the founder of a spiritual community and an influential teacher who has helped many individuals on their spiritual journeys. Aja Acharya is known for his deep understanding and direct approach to spirituality, guiding seekers to realize their true nature and find inner peace. However, it is important to remember that in the grand scheme of things, individual identities are just roles played by consciousness, and ultimately there is only One Self that we all share. So while Aja Acharya may have wisdom to offer , it is essential to remember that the true understanding and realization come from within yourself.</p><p>QUESTION: Who is Aja Thomas? (My everyday 'ordinary' name)</p><p>Eckhart AI: I'm sorry, but I don't have any information on an individual named Aja Thomas. It's possible that they are a private individual or not widely known in the context of spirituality. Remember that in the realm of spirituality, true understanding and knowledge come from within oneself, rather than being dependent on external figures or identities. It is always beneficial to explore and discover your own inner wisdom and truth.</p><p><br /></p><p>SIGH!!!</p><p><br /></p>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-18148216951012447582023-06-18T17:29:00.000-07:002023-06-18T17:29:18.877-07:00I Identify As.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0QeCrxKm6dO3_UF7GF4C-SiCwHY0reQ9YKZPLjspZjjIOa_N-_zXdEaBSBXK6kCbChMMome9lBN2Ax_Y8-83Ljp7ocfnvystJpJg8Y9YHZgaHEqQivo2EpmfOC5xz_gjPyTUcCwpxnYzRqRcDFif9NDXqE1xX3KrW56YhN_AK6n5sJKBV6ZfDcY0M/s1621/0e0eec80a9c6ef1b7e1b73f1c935902d.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1621" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0QeCrxKm6dO3_UF7GF4C-SiCwHY0reQ9YKZPLjspZjjIOa_N-_zXdEaBSBXK6kCbChMMome9lBN2Ax_Y8-83Ljp7ocfnvystJpJg8Y9YHZgaHEqQivo2EpmfOC5xz_gjPyTUcCwpxnYzRqRcDFif9NDXqE1xX3KrW56YhN_AK6n5sJKBV6ZfDcY0M/s320/0e0eec80a9c6ef1b7e1b73f1c935902d.0.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Everyone identifies as SOMETHING....and that's the problem. I know, you're thinking this will be some kind of anti-woke diatribe on how everyone is identifying as something other than they obviously are, but it's not, exactly. This is about identification in general.<br /><br />As the last post showed, there are innumerable quotations on how we are NOT the body - at all. And yet, now apparently vast numbers of people (or so we're told) not only identify with their body, but identify with it in strange ways - and not just the gender thing. People identify as other races, as animals, as different nationalities, as babies, as inanimate objects. There's really no end to it, as you can now, evidently, identify as anything you want. <br /><br />But what ARE we in the first place? <br /><br />If one takes the time to actually inquire, using their God-given discrimination, they can begin to question all the things that they normally identify with. By simply questioning if you ARE something or if you are aware OF that something, you can quickly realize that, chances are, you are aware OF it and not actually it. For instance, although our consciousness is spread through the body, and therefore are very aware of every part of it, we still say "my body" and not "I body". My body, my hands, my feet, my head, my stomach, my heart, my my my.....<br /><br />Similarly, we are aware of our thoughts - "My thoughts" not "I thoughts". And our emotions and feelings, although there we tend to say "I'm sad" or "I'm happy" with is less awkward than "I am aware of sadness" etc. But are we really sad? On some level, we can still determine that somehow I am separate from the sadness - the sadness, like happiness, will come and it will go. None of them are permanent states, usually. <br /><br />This process is called in Sanskrit 'Neti Neti' (not to be confused with the single neti as in the nose washing pot). Neti neti is 'na iti na iti' or 'Not This Not This'. As you consider, "Am I ........?" the blank being anything - body, parts of the body, the mind, the thoughts, the feelings, whatever is arising - one can ponder it for a moment and then recognize that they are AWARE of it, not it. <br /><br />This process generally may take awhile, but bit by bit, one can see that anything they are aware of is not who or what they are. <br /><br />So what are they? What ARE you? <br /><br />Well, I can tell you, but that's obviously not the same. You are Consciousness. But until you've gone through some kind of process, just telling you that means nothing, as you will not have had the direct experience of it. (Even the word 'experience' is not exactly correct, as experience suggests an experiencER and an object experiencED - where this is direct.)<br /><br />I've often given the analogy of an orange. I can describe an orange forever. But that won't give you the experience. So you can taste an orange and that gives you the semi-direct experience. I suggest taking it even a little further - it's more like BECOME the orange! Except in this case (neti neti), you don't become anything, but rather removing all the things that you're NOT and then, that which you are shines as obvious. <br /><br />So while it's certainly fine if you want to identify as something, it might be nice to consider that any identification is, in essence, an illusion. We are living in a reality where we really have nearly no clue of who and what we truly are. Even the things that we THINK we experience through our senses, are an illusion. We identify as 'seeing' things when something called light, theoretically bounces off an object, hits the eye and is translated into an image somewhere in our brain. Same with all the other senses. They're just relayed patterns. We could be in the Matrix. Or your brain could be in a belljar in New Jersey. The point is stop putting all the identification with the out there (which includes the body), but with THAT which is experiencing it all, "in here".<br /><br />(Note: I say the body is 'out there', because as you play this game you begin to recognize that there isn't a place where the body stops and the 'world' begins. There is no here and there - only here. In fact, there is no 'out there' because ALL of it is here. It's all arising in this Consciousness, which has no real demarcations.) <br /><br />Thus, if you want to 'identify as' something. Maybe identify as Presence, Awareness, Consciousness, THIS-ness, THAT-ness, the Absolute. You're at least getting closer!! :-)<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 85%;"> ____________________________</span></div></div>Click the link below if you'd like to receive our posts by email:<br /><a href="https://follow.it/barnashram?action=followPub&filter">https://follow.it/barnashram?action=followPub&filter</a><br /><br />Donations are always appreciated:<br /><a href="http://PayPal.me/atma108">PayPal.me/atma108</a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-46365665693165712242023-06-13T14:52:00.000-07:002023-06-13T14:52:43.290-07:00You Are NOT Your Body! A Compilation of Quotes<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA3Ygeku_W77WTvwSJntZ1VoL7dRzEOjbJzmyXqUhRfa0KR0w5S-W7ZMXbHOKBui_Yc9Lo2ZJVslAkMwgFrh4YZzv0RnzhR6XI-71wa-C3osjsaeMZRbDRX7WdR69d8H2feX69sxpeKrLsmtIwnRnnoGXg0nnavt_3Lvswl952ii0Mtv_YzN4BWuz/s982/20230613_144204.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="982" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA3Ygeku_W77WTvwSJntZ1VoL7dRzEOjbJzmyXqUhRfa0KR0w5S-W7ZMXbHOKBui_Yc9Lo2ZJVslAkMwgFrh4YZzv0RnzhR6XI-71wa-C3osjsaeMZRbDRX7WdR69d8H2feX69sxpeKrLsmtIwnRnnoGXg0nnavt_3Lvswl952ii0Mtv_YzN4BWuz/s320/20230613_144204.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Nearly everything we do, every moment of every day, is based on a single principle - that I AM this body. We take it for granted. It's obvious. This body is here...I not only identify with it, I AM it. Oh, well sure, I have a mind or something, which is part of my brain, and I have feelings, which are either part of my body or maybe my brain. But the bottom line is that "This body is who and what I am!" And this body is part of this world, so everything that happens in this world is deadly important to me. The sad, or amusing, part of it is that when you ARE dead - decades from now or possibly in a few minutes - NOTHING from this so-important world will mean anything to you. None of it!<br /><br />I first came to this idea of not being the body more than 50 years ago, when I began studying spiritual and religous philosophies as a teenager. But it was truly cemented by repeated statements from my future spiritual teacher and others, when, I began to do an Independent Study Project on Comparative Religions in University. <br /><br />Here's one of the quotes from Srila Prabhupada:<br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"First spiritual knowledge is this, that 'I am not this body.' Then the spiritual knowledge begins. Otherwise there is no possibility of spiritual knowledge."</span> - His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada<br /><br />Most people are perhaps vaguely aware of this, sensing that they are more than this body, but don't go much beyond that. It is what it is. But what struck me at first, was NOT simply the concept that I'm not this body, but if I'm not this body, what am I? This took me on a decades long search and deep inquiry to eventually Realize that answer. But more on that another time.<br /><br />Recently, I came across this quote, by another character of some fame:<br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter."</span> - Yoda<br /><br />Which gave me the idea for this post. Just how many people HAVE made references to the fact that we're not this physical body? This took me on a brief journey through the internet, picking out the quotes that quickly came up. In other words, Google's idea of 'not the body' quotes. I'm certain that there are probably thousands more, from nearly every philosophy and religion. And there are many that reference you are MORE than your body, or how important your body is. But for my purposes, I "cherry picked" a few that I liked. In most cases below, I say a bit more about the author. Some of these people, I'm not actually a fan of, and some, I have no idea who they even are. But what follows are the quotes I picked up. You may want to try a search yourself. It's actually quite fun and fascinating!<br /><br />ENJOY!<br /><br />"Always know and remember that your are more than your physical bodies " - Robert A. Monroe (Monroe founded the Monroe Institute - researching states of consciousness, astral travel, and popularizing the term 'Out of Body Experience'.)<br /><br />"We are far more than our bodies and personalities. The inner spirit is always beautiful and lovable, no matter how our outer appearances may change."— Louise Hay (Motivational author and publisher, mostly on alternative health)<br /><br />"You are more than your physical body." - Dr. Nikita Patel<br /><br />"You are not your body; you are not your brain, not even your mind. You are Spirit. All you have to do is reawaken to the memory, to remember." — Brian Weiss (American psychiatrist and author specializing in past lives)<br /><br />"You are not your body; you are the eye. When you see the spirit, you are free of the body. A human being is an eye – the rest is just flesh and bones. Whatever your eye sees, you are that." - Rumi (Sufi mystic and poet)<br /><br />"You're not the body, you have a body. You're not the mind, you have a mind....Something within you knows that within you is the answer." - Michael Beckwith (New Thought author and minister)<br /><br />"You are not a human being. You are not your body, you are not your mind, and you are not your soul. These are things that You have. The You that has these things - indeed, that has given your Self these things - is far bigger than any of them, and even all of them put together." - Neale Donald Walsch (Author and speaker. I knew Neale back before he was a 'somebody', and well, um, enough said.)<br /><br />"Your body is not who you are. The mind and spirit transcend the body." — Christopher Reeve (Reeve for anyone who's younger, and may not remember him, was an actor who played as Superman in the original movies, and then in a tragic accident was paralyzed from the neck down.)<br /><br />"We are not our bodies, our possessions, or our careers. Who we are is DIVINE LOVE and that is INFINITE." - Wayne Dyer (Self help author and motivational speaker)<br /><br />"You are not a body. You have a body. You are a soul." — Abbi Glines (American novelist)<br /><br />"You are not your body. You are actually an extension of the power that created the whole universe." - RuPaul (American Drag Queen and host of RuPaul's Drag Race - I found this particularly funny and interesting)<br /><br />"You are not the body. You are the immensity and infinity of consciousness." — Nisargadatta Maharaj (Indian spiritual teacher)<br /><br />"You are not a soul, you are not a mind, you are not a body. You are the controller of all three." - Harbhajan Singh Yogi (Commonly known as Yogi Bhajan was an Indian-born American entrepreneur, yoga guru, and spiritual teacher)<br /><br />"It's not your body, it's not your choice, because you got that from God. He gave that to you." - Norma McCorvey (The infamous 'Jane Roe' in Roe vs. Wade)<br /><br />"Watch, witness. Your body is not you; your mind is not you. You are just a pure witness." — Rajneesh (Rather infamous Indian spiritual teacher)<br /><br />"Or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own"- 1 Corinthians 6:19 (Bible)<br /><br />"You are not on this planet to produce anything with your body. You are on this planet to produce something with your soul. Your body is simply and merely the tool of your soul. Your mind is the power that makes the body go. So what you have here is a power tool, used in the creation of the soul's desire. — Neale Donald Walsch (see above)<br /><br />"You are not just your body. You are the life inside you, you are consciousness. You can embrace the sky. You can become the ocean." - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Indian spiritual teacher - Founder of the Art of Living foundation)<br /><br />"Your body is not the real you. It's just the physical house you live in. The real you is your spirit, which will live on forever." — David Berg (Founder of the Children of God)<br /><br />"It's not about the body; you are consciousness. That's what you are. Your consciousness is already out of your body. You just need to get into your consciousness." - Thomas Campbell (physicist and author of 'My Big T.O.E.' Theory of Everything)<br /><br />"When you just sit in silence the wind blows through you, the sun shines in you and you realize you are not your body you are everything." - Anita Krizzan (author and I assume poet. I actually have no idea who she is, but found some very interesting quotes by her)<br /><br />"Sometimes the weight you have to lose is not in your body but in your soul." - Claudio (No clue, except possibly the Claudio in Shakespeare, but don't think so)<br /><br />"You are a spirit in a body.. not a body with a spirit… So making the body beautiful is fun but making the spirit beautiful is the main goal of this life.. read that again." - Unknown<br /><br />If you've read this far....Thank you. Now make your spirit beautiful.
<div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 85%;">_______________________________________________</span></div></div>Click the link below if you'd like to receive our posts by email:<br /><a href="https://follow.it/barnashram?action=followPub&filter">https://follow.it/barnashram?action=followPub&filter</a><br /><br />Donations are always appreciated:<br /><a href="http://PayPal.me/atma108">PayPal.me/atma108</a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-83675247179626471832023-06-11T15:20:00.002-07:002023-06-11T15:27:40.612-07:00The Only Real Solutions Are Spiritual<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOaOHYf2qN0M3PncyP5YVfMBEloQAwkoWU9nMEYRENwF8VjTOnovAaA9nDBGTsDXf5UOWoWmy-ygtgGAxIpr_jFxzS3PdzP3SA5DEDbwQZMNguYhAAhOxkxIzcgrdDuUi-LaWPMllzeVRjrxh2k8Lt0hP4nIrvbdqHgNSn6XQf3PI6RcE1h9vLFwDe/s900/thumb.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOaOHYf2qN0M3PncyP5YVfMBEloQAwkoWU9nMEYRENwF8VjTOnovAaA9nDBGTsDXf5UOWoWmy-ygtgGAxIpr_jFxzS3PdzP3SA5DEDbwQZMNguYhAAhOxkxIzcgrdDuUi-LaWPMllzeVRjrxh2k8Lt0hP4nIrvbdqHgNSn6XQf3PI6RcE1h9vLFwDe/w200-h150/thumb.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"We Cannot Solve Our Problems with the Same Thinking We Used When We Created Them</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">"</span> Albert Einstein<br /><br />Most all of our problems today are material problems - whether they are economic, political, social, environmental, racial, mental or physical. And all our solutions, have similarly been material solutions. We continually apply material solutions to material problems, because it's the only thing the majority of people know today. <br /><br />The problems that we currently have are really not much different than the problems humans have had for thousands of years...Birth, death, old age and disease. But today, we focus on national and global so-called problems. Things that really don't affect us at all. Plus they're expanded upon, the information repeated endlessly, and more than anything, blown up by the media and our access to the internet. <br /><br />For our entire history, up until the last few hundred years, each person's world was relatively small - the community they lived in, whether that was an isolated and primitive part of the planet, a rural farming area, or small town. Global problems essentially didn't exist as far as we knew. And many problems that arose were outside of the individual's capabilities to correct...Tornados, volcanos, or tsunamis, torrential rainfalls or severe droughts or an epidemic. These generally can NOT be escaped. As the old adage goes "Shit Happens!"<br /><br />But the one solution that existed in nearly all the world was a deep faith - usually in God or a higher power of some kind. In other words, a faith in something that transcendended our normal and daily existence - something totally beyond the normal material sphere. Such a faith allows one to accept things as they are, knowing that, ultimately, the solutions are out of our hands...and personal desires. That somehow, they are due to "divine will".<br /><br />Sure, there are material solutions to some material problems, but they don't alleviate ALL the problems. In fact, as often as not, the solutions create new problems of their own, sometimes worse than the original problem. We don't really solve problems....we just rearrange them! (The history of the last few years could present several examples that I won't go into here.)<br /><br />But one thing that is consistent in all our so call problem solutions is the desire to control. We don't like things as they are, so we create a solution to change it to our will. We want to be the master of all situations. We want things better or easier or faster or healthier, or more diverse or less painful, more just and less evil. We don't seem to be able to just "be" with things as they are.<br /><br />Recently, I came across an interesting quote from J.R.R. Tolkien. It's actually relating to his character Tom Bombadil, but I think it can be applied to life in general:<br /><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"The story is cast in terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship, moderated freedom with consent against compulsion that has long lost any object save mere power, and so on; but both sides in some degree, conservative or destructive, want a MEASURE OF CONTROL. but if you have, as it were taken 'a vow of poverty', renounced control, and take your delight in things for themselves without reference to yourself, WATCHING, OBSERVING, and to some extent KNOWING, then the question of the rights and wrongs of power and control might become utterly meaningless to you, and the means of power quite valueless." </span> (emphasis added)<br /><br />When we let go of our deep need to have things as WE want them to be, and accept, surrender, even LOVE things as they ARE, we begin to transcend our personal and limited ego desires. We can begin to see things as part of a larger and perhaps more perfect Divine Will. It is hard, because our entire earthly existence seems to be based on having things OUR way, doing what WE want, and experiencing the outcomes WE desire. And things just don't seem to work that way. But as Krishna tells us in Bhagavad Gita: <br /><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego--he alone can attain real peace."</span><br />Bhag. Gita 2.71<br /> <br />________________________________________________________________<br />Click the link below if you'd like to receive our posts by email:<br /><a href="https://follow.it/barnashram?action=followPub&filter">https://follow.it/barnashram?action=followPub&filter</a><br /><br />Donations are always appreciated:<br /><a href="http://PayPal.me/atma108">PayPal.me/atma108</a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div id="composer_signature"><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><font color="#03a9f4"><br /></font></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-22778526493459768152023-05-30T15:08:00.002-07:002023-05-30T15:08:27.055-07:00Where is God? Everywhere!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Where is God? </span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3SjcRZRkt1fMfcI701pUUzLi61tY8m1doqEhGcvQKowxqaJ1MfO_uwouiB1MFz3dU1Yk6rbBDIVO4YqCzVLVvZ55Kb0R_croXrQ0u-_np5UjKuanRpKJAcIy1iLvB8sBdkta6jaOeHHukoN5RseskrstUCoE-ShWbZqDHbCR1L7B6KJ_yX6VuJgt/s630/God.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="630" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3SjcRZRkt1fMfcI701pUUzLi61tY8m1doqEhGcvQKowxqaJ1MfO_uwouiB1MFz3dU1Yk6rbBDIVO4YqCzVLVvZ55Kb0R_croXrQ0u-_np5UjKuanRpKJAcIy1iLvB8sBdkta6jaOeHHukoN5RseskrstUCoE-ShWbZqDHbCR1L7B6KJ_yX6VuJgt/w200-h127/God.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Generally, most people conceive of God as being "in heaven" or up there somewhere in some spiritual domain that is separate from us. (This assumes, of course, that you believe in God or something "God-like".) Many proclaim that "God is with us", but don't really have a clue as to what that means. I think the majority of people don't really even think about it much, sadly. <br /><br />For the last 50+ years I have been studying God and spirituality, much of it being focused on the Vedic and Eastern philosophies - though not exclusively. <br /><br />In the Vedic text Sri Isopanisad (verse 5) it proclaims:<br /><br />tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike<br />tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ<br />"He moves, He does not move; He is far away, He is very near; He is within everything and He is outside of everything." - <br /><br />The basic premise is that God is everywhere. How can that be? Because, ultimately, there is nothing but God, and the energies of God, which are non-different than God. <br /><br />Just like the Earth. Everything on our planet, is nothing BUT the planet. With the possible exception of a few stray meteorites, everything that is here arose from the Earth - the rocks and trees, mountains, valleys, all the birds and bees and critters large and small, all the people including you! It's all just various manifestations of the Earth.<br /><br />Similarly, it's said that God created the "heavens and the Earth." From what did He create it all? From Himself. In the beginning there was only God, so He created everything from His own energies. Everything is an expansion of the Absolute....IS the Absolute. <br /><br />So, how then to find God? And how does it relate to us? It's actually relatively simple, though not necessarily easy. God is ever present and one only needs to turn their attention to God, the Absolute. Recognize that everything you see, hear, touch, experience IS God. Right now, as you read this, see it as God. The phone, computer or other device you're reading it on is God. The hands that may be holding it are God. The sounds you are hearing are the Absolute. (In the Gita, Krishna actually says, "I am the sound in ether." Ether being the subtle medium which carries all sound.) Everything you are touching, every thought you have, every emotion you experience is arising from the Absolute - God.<br /><br />In the Vedic perspective, they say that everything is God's Shakti or energy. However, it also says that God and His Shakti are non-different. Just as the rays of the Sun are non-different from the Sun, everything is non-different from God, the source. <br /><br />So, the simple part is that God is everything everywhere. The hard part is to remember it or more accurately recognize it. That is the whole crux of the problem. We are distracted by our tendency to name everything as something separate - separate from us, separate from each other, and separate from God. We give it all names to differentiate each thing from the other. Just as a prism separates the one light into the various frequencies of color, our minds separate the One Absolute into the "10,000 things" as the Tao Te Ching calls them. <br /><br />But everything is simply vibrations - frequencies. The universe is the spectrum of God...all His various energies and frequencies - but all just God. Some of it "higher" and some "lower"; some "good" and some "bad" but all of it God. <div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZQ5ZftDm86R4SCc5fQdoKmQb1FZnXwNPgtwAHlCEGPWFmxqxCXIVdUP2QZNxzmglFTUGfkV9qU5OOWeRZInSYhfm2_QuzwNlWIFEHd4vo6khr3NQybZbxgf28d5wX_Iei2rKjk2-DuHP5SJ0EIZA9axzPYTSiOAPaJ3XZDwN1_MbVOAnAfFyK5un/s800/a2000353-800px-wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="800" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZQ5ZftDm86R4SCc5fQdoKmQb1FZnXwNPgtwAHlCEGPWFmxqxCXIVdUP2QZNxzmglFTUGfkV9qU5OOWeRZInSYhfm2_QuzwNlWIFEHd4vo6khr3NQybZbxgf28d5wX_Iei2rKjk2-DuHP5SJ0EIZA9axzPYTSiOAPaJ3XZDwN1_MbVOAnAfFyK5un/w200-h160/a2000353-800px-wm.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Again, the prism separating the various frequencies of the one pure light into various color frequencies. Not good colors and bad colors - just colors. Not good light or bad light - just light. <br /><br />Nearly every religious or spiritual text speaks of the necessity of continuously remembering the Divine, whether it's "praying ceaselessly" or "Always remember Me". In Bhagavad Gita, for instance, there is at least 8 references to 'constantly', 'always', 'continuously' etc. That is the secret to Self or God Realization - a determined effort. <br /><br />Perhaps take the opportunity yourself to experiement with it. for just for a little while. Maybe half an hour or even an hour. Try timing it. Simply express to yourself (either verbally or simply in your mind) that everything you become aware of is God - the Absolute - the Divine - whatever you want to call it.<br />"These hands are God...<br />"These thoughts are God...<br />"This reluctance is God...<br />"Those sounds are God...<br />"This sensation is God...<br />"This emotion is God...<br /><br />Simply immerse yourself in God-ness. <br /><br />Good Luck and God bless!<div><br /></div><div id="composer_signature"><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></div></div></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-39665459388657429762023-05-26T15:45:00.001-07:002023-05-26T15:50:39.778-07:00Trigger the 60s Virus<div dir="auto"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwX-oBaDteIJu95Xuj2Ycxp50Smh7iGxb-WAOxt6d0Tz5Ka_7lnulPIfGAf0cZGfi2yVDhG27oIMHfwsTTBzq979tLcKsTcKZhVSMtrgojo9vl7TtQXrF1AHN343880fnrgwBdOQIMUpHSayABV0CFB_4cYguouBjGXthCbQY83yJ5B6SmAS2fa0V/s310/download%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwX-oBaDteIJu95Xuj2Ycxp50Smh7iGxb-WAOxt6d0Tz5Ka_7lnulPIfGAf0cZGfi2yVDhG27oIMHfwsTTBzq979tLcKsTcKZhVSMtrgojo9vl7TtQXrF1AHN343880fnrgwBdOQIMUpHSayABV0CFB_4cYguouBjGXthCbQY83yJ5B6SmAS2fa0V/w200-h105/download%20(1).jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>There are two phrases that have plagued me for years - "Trigger the 60's Virus" and "Trigger the Enlightenment Virus." In fact, some 16 years ago, I wrote about both of them and how they plagued me back then in an OpEdNews piece. However, back then, as troubled as times were, they were NOTHING compared to today. I often reminisce of life in the 60s and early 70s with hippies and flower chldren dancing in fields in the sun, and Yes, we really did those things. One time, having registered myself as a Minister with Kirby J. Hensley's Universal Life Church, I married 50 people together (including myself) as we all held hands in a large circle and each called out their name as I would ask, "Do you___________ take all of us to be your loving companions for all of eternity" - or something to that effect. (I suppose we're all still 'married', since we never got a divorce! :-D)</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">The general idea was that we wanted to love everyone! We wanted to end the killing in Viet Nam, and we all had a general distrust of the government. We wanted to live freely and simply, preferably going back to the land. Simple Living and High Thinking was a phrase my teacher often spoke, meaning that we didn't need a complicated life, but we could exist with minimal necessities and spend more time considering the deeper questions of Who we are; what is Truth; What is God, loving one another and seeking Enlightenment. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwQV3OfMx8Am3JD-BKJxL8_iE9qindf2usVkauGxOmKUFml8_zYcd1E996AC0ZNmBJZJdfrL9DJqci3Fu9TlglGXC7lqHuX7UYoWB6wfEOHBgnrdFKO7ERcFwcQvjScOVnuyMuFh7G40ZOrGGFWY2admT9fhnplVWdpmUY3Um-XEFEWu0dxklrwRB/s300/Flower_Power_by_Bernie_Boston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="300" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwQV3OfMx8Am3JD-BKJxL8_iE9qindf2usVkauGxOmKUFml8_zYcd1E996AC0ZNmBJZJdfrL9DJqci3Fu9TlglGXC7lqHuX7UYoWB6wfEOHBgnrdFKO7ERcFwcQvjScOVnuyMuFh7G40ZOrGGFWY2admT9fhnplVWdpmUY3Um-XEFEWu0dxklrwRB/w200-h127/Flower_Power_by_Bernie_Boston.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Life wasn't meant to be spent at a 9 to 5 job, living in the suburbs or the city. It definitely wasn't about which political party was right - they were ALL wrong. And it absolutely wasn't about fighting our own (or proxy) wars resutling in the deaths of tens of thousands, or even slipping toward the possibility of nuclear annihilation! </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">And yet, here we are - at a time when hardly ANYONE speaks or inquires into spiritual truths. Instead, we are immersed in Politics - and not just politics, but politics abundant with hate for the "other" side - whichever that may be. We pay allegiance to "The Current Thing", whatever IT may be, or more strangely, whatever the government or media tells us it is. We went from understanding their lies and propaganda, to buying into everything - hook, line and sinker. We have tossed away Truth, discernment and intellectual discrimination for safety and laziness. Not only that, the newer generations bad mouth and belittle those of us, the Boomers, who lived during those times, and tried to positively change the world with Love. We went from placing flowers into the barrels of the rifles that were pointed at us at protests, to happily funding the rifles, tanks and aircraft of those that are killing others. In fact, those of us against war or government and media controls are often labeled as "Haters!" While back in the day we encouraged exploration and thinking outside of the box, now those who think for themselves are considered "Radicals" and "Enemies"! </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">The bottom line is that we are STILL Human Beings. The same questions and problems that have been pondered by philosophers for centuries are still with us. Life is meant for fulfilling destinies, exploring Nature and the Self, and understanding what it is to Live and to Love. Where did those things go to??? </div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">So below is the original article "Triggering the Enlightement Virus" written in 2006</div> <div dir="auto">_________________________________________________</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">OpEdNews Op Eds 9/25/2006 at 8:23 AM EDT</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Triggering the Enlightenment Virus</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">For some years now, I have had this thought that re-emerges in my head from time to time - "Trigger the 60's virus". Now, to be honest, I'm not sure if this is something that came through me, or if I picked it up somewhere else. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. In fact, if it came from somewhere else, perhaps it's symbolic that the idea is working...I now have the virus. For those of you who might be old enough to have lived through the 1960's, the summer of love, and all that, there is a recognition, that it was an unprecedented period in history. Although very embryonic at that time, still, there was a sense or foreshadowing of what was to come, and seems to be happening now. The 60's represented a period in history where the existing memes were being deeply questioned. At that time, the principle one was, of course, Viet Nam, however, there were other ideals arising of love versus hate, collectivism versus extreme individuality and independence, return to rural and agrarian versus metropolitan life, etc. Even the idea of Enlightenment was first to really emerge here, with the Beatles going to the Maharishi and the budding of the TM movement, George and his sitar studying with Ravi Shankar, the Hare Krishna devotees chanting on street corners. But in many ways, like pre-pubescence, it was short lived, and we entered into the late 70's and 80's and onward into even more massive materialism, and domination by the media, government, and the various ills that weigh upon society on a much grander scale today.</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Now, we are at a new point. I am totally convinced of it. I feel it to the core of my Being (or perhaps better from the core of Being). I see it echoed by spiritual teachers in all traditions. Suddenly, it was as if we turned around, and it was happening. In Joseph Chilton Pearce's recent book, Biology of Transcendence, he speaks of research which points out that the brain goes through very specific changes at certain ages in early life - around 3 or 4, again around 12 to 15, and once more at around 18 to 22 (I may have these ages wrong by a few years), where the whole chemistry changes; certain synapses are created, others destroyed, specific things are sought (primarily meaning in life), and so forth. It takes a certain maturity for these things to happen. Similarly, globally, as a species, we seemed to have reached one of these points. We are evolving to the next stage, potentially a stage that may be occurring for the first time in human history. It is an age of Global Awakening, an Age of Enlightenment.</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">As someone who has been teaching about Enlightenment and Consciousness for nearly 20 years, for most of it, there wasn't a whole lot of interest. Suddenly, you see people talking about it on talk shows, on the street, on buses. Perhaps not in a deeply serious way, but still, it's in the air. But it's a little like talk about a cure for many diseases - something of a remote possibility, but not taken too seriously. It's time to change that!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Trigger the Enlightenment Virus!!!</div> <div dir="auto">Our culture, our world, has been deeply infected with a virus. This virus has been going on for quite some time, and its hold is insidious and pervasive. It is the virus (or viruses) of egoism, narcissism, materialism, fragmentation and divisiveness. Whereas we used to have tribes and families, we now have billions of independent entities, each vying for personal fulfillment and even supremacy. Even the so-called nuclear families of the 50's and 60's have passed on, and a huge percentage of children grow up in single parent households. Our culture has become terminally ill. If you watch TV, you see that half the advertisements are for things that no one needs, while the other half are for medications to cure them from the diseases they have acquired from those very things - many of them for obesity, depression, and anxiety. What we essentially have is a virus of anti-Enlightenment, in all its various forms. We need to trigger the Enlightenment Virus!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">What does the Enlightenment Virus look like?</div> <div dir="auto">First, it is an understanding of what Enlightenment or Awakening is. It is the recognition that we are not the ego-based individuals we think we are. The spiritual teachings of a wide variety of traditions essentially tell us the same thing - You are Absolute Consciousness - the sense of an individualized and localized self is part of this Infinite and Absolute Consciousness. When you inquire into the thing you call "I", it is not the body or the mind or the emotions, although all of those things are occurring IN Awareness, you are in fact that Awareness within which the personality 'you' is arising.</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Secondly, it is the recognition that this is not something for some 'Special' people only - the Jesuses, the Buddhas, the Mohammeds (or any other well known, living or dead, spiritual teachers) - but is in fact the normal reality, which we have simply missed because of our infatuation with the phenomenal reality. It's like looking in the mirror and completely identifying with the person IN the mirror, rather than recognizing you are the person that is gazing AT the mirror. It only requires spending some time to look at the 'looker' and realizing that behind it all, the 'BIG' looker is the real, impersonal, and ever-present YOU.</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">Thirdly, it is spreading this virus. This is the most important part, and, for now, perhaps the most difficult. The Anti-Enlightenment Virus is SO pervasive, that it literally drowns out all other ideas. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And to make matters worse, for many, they don't even know there is a needle. But Enlightenment is a reality, and it is possible to spread it. That's what teachers have been doing for centuries. But commonly, the virus has been mutated to a belief system, which is another type of Anti-Enlightenment virus. Real Enlightenment has nothing whatsoever to do with belief systems. It is an actual and concrete recognition of Who One Is. What's more, this virus has a tangible effect on deeper layers. It has an advantage. Unlike traditional memetic viruses, which need to be spread AS a belief system, the Enlightenment Virus is spread not only through mental and intellectual understanding, but also by 'resonance'. Most people who have spent time with a deeply Enlightened being recognize that there is more going on than simply seeing and hearing; there is an energetic influence taking place. This is what Alan Lithman in his ground-breaking book, An Evolutionary Agenda for the Third Millennium calls Evolutionary or Integral Activism:</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">"Motivated by an evolutionary Force... this integral activism (i.e. Enlightenment Virus - ed.) effectively reunites the once-polarized paths of peace and power;invoking an invincible evolutionary dynamic that acts directly, vibrationally upon the body, cellular and terrestrial; not simply overpowering from without but setting up a resonance that "agitates" the "particles" of consciousness in the surrounding material field. In effect, this "agitation" awakens and quickens that same power locked within each crystallized form; setting in motion the consciousness equivalent of a nuclear chain reaction; catalyzing and releasing this truer power and potential lying dormant (i.e., unconscious or half-conscious) within each being and form; freeing that power to consciously transform the instrumental vessels it inhabits; out-sustaining the counter-reactive resistances through an inexorable takeover from within...in effect, "radioactivating" the particular field through which one acts; shaking it (i.e., vibrating it at an accelerated rate) from its present status quo trance; provoking in the most positive and profound sense a mutation of consciousness."</div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto">This is the mission of <a href="http://www.OneMillionAwake.com">www.OneMillionAwake.com</a> - To spread this enlightenment virus around the globe; to document and assist 1,000,000 people in their Enlightenment, so that this all-important Enlightenment Virus can infect the world, eventually overcoming and wiping out the Anti-Enlightenment Virus. Remember, at first it is a joke, then it is possible, than plausible, then inevitable. Be a part of this Virus!</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div> <div dir="auto">(author's note: the paragraph above was part of the article, but the One Million Awake website is no longer with us. However, if you'd like to see some of the articles from that time, you can go to <a href="http://onemillionawake.blogspot.com">onemillionawake.blogspot.com</a>)</div> <div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-73287626807572586272023-05-16T08:19:00.000-07:002023-05-16T08:19:20.200-07:00Where Have I Been - Part Two - A Year Later! :-D<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xIvh4YkztZ3gm0MdxcdMk5ay9mh7LT5QkwJ5JYSYSdfmwV_D7GjWAamMvhvqKaVEff6aZQANfsZj3i_oNeg1_MFYqvyHBJ2vUlo96sjFnM8ZMQDjCZdLqOuqmuXmk_MV9Rx2yuFQT6PMk-vzU6kON7wOAayFiShKtcPs38IYFseT90eGn9bHpg0A/s2048/ac020b7eb9b8642b1780605322406be6.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xIvh4YkztZ3gm0MdxcdMk5ay9mh7LT5QkwJ5JYSYSdfmwV_D7GjWAamMvhvqKaVEff6aZQANfsZj3i_oNeg1_MFYqvyHBJ2vUlo96sjFnM8ZMQDjCZdLqOuqmuXmk_MV9Rx2yuFQT6PMk-vzU6kON7wOAayFiShKtcPs38IYFseT90eGn9bHpg0A/s320/ac020b7eb9b8642b1780605322406be6.0.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Back nearly 2 years ago, Feedburner, who was responsible for sending out my blog whenever a new post was written, discontinued their service. So honestly, it was a bit frustrating to write blogs, knowing that they wouldn't be sent to any subscribers, and would have to just be chanced upon amidst the millions and millions of other blogs and websites. "Sigh!"<p></p><p>During that time, I occasionally looked for a <a href="http://Follow.it" target="_blank">Feedburner alternative</a>, and only recently came across Follow.it - a subscription service that offered to replace the functions of Feedburner, and so much more. You can "follow" or "unfollow" and manage your subscriptions to Barnashram or other sites, very easily! Now, for those wishing to <a href="https://follow.it/barnashram?action=followPub&filter" target="_blank">subscribe to the Barnashram Blog</a> can do so without problem, and HOPEFULLY, this will give us more encouragement to write. (Whether you like it or not :-D)</p><p>I have also created a <a href="http://Linktr.ee/ajathomas">Linktr.ee</a> site which can connect you to other aspects of what I'm doing, or send you to our book 'In This Moment' on Amazon, or let you share a donation with us. </p><p>For most people, this probably seems like very little after far too long, but I must admit, my technical skills are for "crap". Fifty years ago, I actually did some very Basic computer programming. But now, it has far exceeded my understanding and I can barely operate my requiredly ever present cell phone, what to speak of navigating strange websites, links, and all that. I would much rather sit in the woods with my grandson Odin (as in the photo above). </p><p>But sitting and playing with my grandchildren often encourages ideas to flow, both on how life could and should be, but also on the deeper aspects of Reality and the Transcendental nature of the Self and the Divine and, the one thing we all look toward - Love! And the nature of the world today seems to inspire anything except that. </p><p>Also, I want to encourage you, that should you have a question on my life, your life, life in general, or simply want to reach out - please don't hesitate to do so. I'm here...at least for now. </p><p>with Deep Love</p><p>Aja</p><p><br /></p>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-84333743154466329432022-05-22T12:01:00.000-07:002022-05-22T12:01:14.168-07:00Where Have I Been?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnoyRxOYujElsTJl97B5OPO-voZaymPzCIqOEVBs8HsyMBC43dkr3JZsgsbfs9NDa28q814VeBIrsiKnXOFnjIWp4O2F6SX1HkxOE3pfMiHj3-MzbWeOUkq4k9mOJpWAQkJ0PWTZXl4wxso3LsnFEQDcFpgVr4x_E1SW3lZRTEHGNHi6crSdWQAfr/s1600/52f9e964bdb5d17ee8e1cb3fe9b0b2fc.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnoyRxOYujElsTJl97B5OPO-voZaymPzCIqOEVBs8HsyMBC43dkr3JZsgsbfs9NDa28q814VeBIrsiKnXOFnjIWp4O2F6SX1HkxOE3pfMiHj3-MzbWeOUkq4k9mOJpWAQkJ0PWTZXl4wxso3LsnFEQDcFpgVr4x_E1SW3lZRTEHGNHi6crSdWQAfr/w240-h320/52f9e964bdb5d17ee8e1cb3fe9b0b2fc.0.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>So, it's been a LONG time since I wrote anything. Why? I don't really know. A LOT has happened in the last few years, one of them being that I became a grandfather. Now in itself, that's not unusual, except that I never thought I would live to see it. While my own children started coming when I was 25, all my children are well into their 30's, or even 40's, and, my health being what it is, I just assumed I'd croak before any grandkids came along. But, thankfully, that was not the case, and in September 2017, my first grandson Odin was born. A couple years later, 2 months apart, Oskar and Oona were born. <p></p><p>If you don't have kids or grandkids, you can probably never fully understand what it means. Excuse the analogy, but its a little like trying to describe sex to someone who hasn't even reached puberty. It's not within their mindset to really grok. (If you don't know what Grok means, look it up - it's a great word.) But in any case, receiving Odin into my life opened my heart like nothing else I'd ever experienced. Suddenly I had an understanding of "Unconditional Love" that had never come even with my own children. It was like exponential! </p><p>I'm certainly not blaming my grandkids for not writing, even though it IS a little bit like falling in love, where nothing else matters. But it is a part of it, to be sure. So what else? Well, you might have noticed that a few other things have changed in the last few years as well, like the ongoing destruction of everything that many used to hold near and dear - Common Sense, Freedoms, Truth, Honesty, Trust, Stability, Sanity! Or perhaps Reality has simply been revealed on a much wider scale. However, Love & Attachment DO have a way of diverting one's attention from potentially deeper things, like the meaning and purpose of Life. </p><p>On one level, we really DON'T know much about this reality. After all, as I've always asked, "What do you KNOW to be true?" Is the world that we experience 'out there' any more real than the dream reality we experience while asleep? Or is the dream reality the real world? Is any of it real? When it comes down to it, about the only Truth you know, is that You Are, or 'something' exists which experiences 'something' else. "You" are aware OF existing, of having a body and mind, of having experiences in a 'world'. But the concreteness of that existence, that body and mind, that world, has no way of being confirmed, or at least not as something real or eternal. All of it is fleeting - some faster than others. Your thoughts change from second to second; your body changes every day. (This body I have now, is CERTAINLY not the body I had 20 or 40 or 60 years ago!) There are cycles which continuously move us through times of life, seasons of the year, emotions, life and death. Everything is moving, and "We" individually are the ever-present witness of all of it, and the only apparent continuous 'thing'. </p><p>But over the last few years, we've "Witnessed" something way outside of our normal reality! Things we could scarcely have ever imagined - Riots and marches around the country; a questionable worldwide pandemic; possible medical tyranny; abuses of power; the revelation of vast criminal pedophile and trafficing rings; near complete destruction of true democratic process; an incredible division between the people, to the point of states talking of secession; violent protests deemed "mostly peaceful", while true mostly peaceful gatherings are dubbed "Terrorist insurrections", and on and on and on. Then of course you have the little things, like men can now have babies, it's a crime to call someone by the wrong pronouns, men are winning women's athletic events, and if those things aren't enough, according to experts, we are closer to World War 3, with this whole Ukraine/Russia fiasco, than we were even during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962! </p><p>So what have we GAINED? Vast unemployment and homelessness, and skyrocketing deaths from suicide, drug overdoses, and domestic violence! Alcoholism and drug abuse - both prescription and recreational have also gone through the roof. And as I write this, the United States is experiencing massive shortages of baby formula! But it's okay, because we're sending 40 BILLION dollars to Ukraine. </p><p>So, where am I going with all this? Is it just a political tirade to vent your grievances? No. Yes. Maybe. See...What DO you know for sure? For instance, today on Sky Australia News (or something like that), they reported that Joe Biden has hired a fancy high priced lawyer to protect him from prison, in the very real possibility of Impeachment after the mid-term elections. Is it true? I have no idea - but it's certainly not anything I've heard on American media - not that I pay much attention. </p><p>But the WHOLE thing is exactly like being in a car wreck - where everything goes into slow motion, as your car spins around, and you wait for the inevitable to happen. But in his case, it's NOT that slow, as we've been watching it for the last few years, AND we have no idea what the Inevitable IS in this case - World War 3, United States splitting up; a worldwide totalitarian tyranny, mass starvation and death....Or, the dawning of some new world Awakening. Or BOTH! But the result is VERY high levels of stress, all around the world. Imagine being in a multi-year car wreck! It just keeps spinning and spinning and spinning. </p><p>So, what to do??? Honestly, I can only give the same suggestions I would ever give - Remember the Center! Who is witnessing the spinning? To Whom do all these strangenesses arise? What do you KNOW to be true? Who Are YOU? Rest in That....the I-ness, the God place, your heart-space, the Self...Do your best, and let God sort out everything else. And remember that old blessing/curse.....May you live in interesting times. They don't get more interesting than this!!</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_7MJW14ARCT7YP6M48E9Q" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2508" data-original-width="1624" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPa8NyPTK3yuR_EkeuvmO13_m8lu-qW93skyfXvsZzPSOpFcA5UfJQudW0ZRYk-B0OvsVt4RNt0X9b48JG9xZCP1Hwgc5vGeksyDT-uTdPw2I1cW-CkFv5Q7BmamjjLGeGqPnpGhZ25fN1BQ2_5SIAmY6LEkPT01bWWg64bYJQLwqrYx34V5CrtOE/w129-h200/ItmCover300.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Aja's book - In This Moment, is now available on Amazon Kindle. <div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_7MJW14ARCT7YP6M48E9Q" target="_blank">Click HERE</a> to see it on Amazon. <br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-70629779921696389542020-12-22T13:53:00.002-08:002020-12-22T16:46:14.628-08:00Fight For Reality - Not Each Other<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7aOHq3tyDc/X-JpcMmShvI/AAAAAAAAKOs/37LcZu7T41kzQcN-xb7pbHUfjUJqP0l4gCPcBGAsYHg/s1279/Screenshot_20201222-113720_1.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="852" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7aOHq3tyDc/X-JpcMmShvI/AAAAAAAAKOs/37LcZu7T41kzQcN-xb7pbHUfjUJqP0l4gCPcBGAsYHg/s320/Screenshot_20201222-113720_1.png" /></a></div>Years ago, I read a book entitled 'Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits', by Bill Porter (Red Pine). Bill was convinced that there were still many Buddhist and Taoist monks living in the hills and mountains of China, in spite of the anti-religious sentiment of the Communist Chinese. And so, at some risk, and with a few dead-ends, he seeks help, follows rumors, and ultimately is able to locate a number of hermits who have been living for years, hidden away in their mountain sanctuaries. <p></p><p>One story particularly struck me, and it's been a few years, and I no longer have the book, so I'll do my best to paraphrase it. Bill comes across an older monk, one who had been living in the mountains for like 50 years. He asks this monk, what his thoughts were on the Cultural Revolution, which had taken place between 1966 and 1976, and was launched by Mao Zedong, with the aim of preserving Chinese Communism and purging capitalism and traditional elements from China - which would include the old traditions such as Buddhism. </p><p>The monks response, was basically, "The what?" He had no clue as to anything regarding revolutions that had taken place. In the years that he had been meditating in the mountains, an entire culture had changed, millions had been killed, and the hermit remained unaware and untainted by it all, continuing his simple and sacred life. </p><p>I was reminded of this fascinating story because of what's happening in the world today, and 2020 in general. While America appears practically on the verge of a civil war between Democrats and Republicans, along with high pitch rants on both sides regarding covid lockdowns, the disease's alleged fatality rates, an economy collapsing around the world, with millions out of work, an enormous rise in suicide rates.....I can't help but get pulled in to the quagmire of it all, considering who is right and who is wrong! Which side holds the truth of the matter, and which side is either deluded, misinformed or outright lying. And the problem is, that the whole thing is tantalizing to the mind, exactly like watching a car wreck that you just can't take your eyes off of. And it just keeps going and going, with no end in sight. Both sides of the various debates are unflinching, and who knows where it will ultimately end up - literal civil war? The end of government as we know it? Death and famine in the streets? A New World Order? Or perhaps nothing much at all?</p><p>And yet, for that monk in the mountain, and others like him, it does not matter. Whether he is still there, or he has been replaced by equally dedicated seekers, what happens in this world is of literally no importance. It is an ILLUSION - A story only that has no bearing on who he is and what he strives for. It is a DISTRACTION!!! And as the professional golfer, Tom Kite says, "You can always find a distraction if your're looking for one." And that's exactly what we tend to do - seek something to distract us. </p><p>"But what's more important than the world situation?" one asks. Almost anything, I would respond - Love, Family, Friends - but especially knowing Who and What you truly are. Why are you here? Is it to watch other people fighting over illusory rights and wrongs, or perhaps to join in the fight yourself? Granted, when you see things falling apart around you, it's difficult not to care or get involved. But does that truly fulfill any meaningful purpose and especially the purpose of your life? Or is it simply Maya's trick to keep you in illusion by identifying with your personal body and/or the body politic? </p><p>For those who are sincerely dedicated to knowing a higher Truth...knowing Union or Yoga, Krsna states in Bhagavad Gita:</p><p>"One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with undeviating determination and faith. One should ABANDON, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, all material desires born of false ego and thus control all the senses on all sides by the mind. Gradually, step by step, with full conviction, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence, and thus the mind should be fixed on the Self alone and should THINK OF NOTHING ELSE." (BG 6.24-25) (Emphasis added....obviously) </p><p>So what ARE those material desires born of 'false ego'? Essentially anything that has to do with your attachment and identification of YOU with the body, and everything related TO the body. The body is a vehicle only, and one which you will be giving up anyway, in the not to distant future. It is impermanent! But YOU are not. You will continue to live. Gita says "ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano" - You are Unborn, Eternal, Ever-Existing, Undying and Primeval." And as long as we are forced to live in these bodies, we will continue to suffer birth, death, old age, and disease. But when one can commit to the Realization of Self, beyond the false ego, then one achieves the Supreme Abode, far beyond petty politics or worldly affairs. </p><p>So, as much as you can, and to your best ability, turn inward! Abandon the bickering and fighting, out there and within your own mind, and seek real Truth. Let go of all those things which would distract you from Reality, and immerse yourself in the Self! I'll try to join you there!</p><p>_______________________________________________</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_IV-UFb36CMVRW" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="487" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZGbT6ZSKd60/X-Jp4_2nXWI/AAAAAAAAKO0/G9Xdl-ZiR7ItxPaIJpZRWipF8RnjvXVdwCPcBGAsYHg/s320/Resizer_16061610493260.jpg" /></a></div>In This Moment is available on Amazon Kindle. <div><br /></div><div>To check it out, please click on the book picture or go to</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_IV-UFb36CMVRW">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_IV-UFb36CMVRW</a></div><p><br /></p></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-12597505108515677572020-11-23T14:28:00.000-08:002020-11-23T14:28:22.995-08:00Well, I Finally Did It!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_IV-UFb36CMVRW" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="487" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d_0QrtNHH1s/X7wzzXDvYuI/AAAAAAAAJws/O3W-LV2WWUMxMrbn0s5YhRsFMOrNpnjVACPcBGAsYHg/s320/Resizer_16061610493260.jpg" /></a></div> After nearly twenty years, I finally put my book, "In This Moment: Teachings On The Nature Of Consiousness," up on Amazon as a Kindle ebook! Originally written in 1999 (I actually broke my printer producing the covers myself), and then republished in 2002 (using an ACTUAL printshop this time), I published it under the ATMA Institute name, doing the entire process myself. I still have a very few of the original 2nd printing stashed away, however, they won't last forever. (Every once in awhile, I'll see one for sale on Amazon for some exhorbitant price because they assume they're out of print. Sometimes for hundreds of dollars!) So, I'm very pleased to get it on Amazon, for the low, low price of $3.69<p></p><p>So what IS this book, you ask? "In This Moment" is a compilation of many of my writings and teachings on the nature of Reality, each one being a sort of mini-lesson with practical techniques for directly experiencing the Reality of Infinite Consciousness. In one sense, they focus on different ways and angles of answering the question, Who Am I? Prior to our body, our mind, and all of our pre-conceived ideas and beliefs, what IS that thing we call "I"? And how is that 'directly experienced' or Lived? </p><p>Here is a short excerpt from the chapter entitled "Truth Beyond Belief":</p><p> "Truth, however, is available to us. It is as close to us as our breath or our heart beat. It is the very fabric of life. But, unless you directly experience this, it is just another concept, a belief. There are methods for directly experiencing Truth, and many of the better religions and philosophies have those methods built within them, although they are often lost within the dogmas, concepts and personality cultism. The problem is that many of these methods are themselves indirect, unclear, and often very, very slow, taking maybe years, decades or lifetimes to achieve the goal. There actually is a method by which one can directly experience the Truth, Self, Enlightenment, God, the Kingdom of Heaven within, the Christ Consciousness, whatever you want to term it, in a very short time. It’s called Self inquiry and it can take you beyond beliefs, beyond concepts and misperceptions. It is a quantum shift in consciousness to a direct, subjective experience of Truth. Truth beyond belief!"</p><p>Prior to publishing it myself, I had sent it to Literary Agent for review. While she ultimately declined it, saying it wasn't the genre of books they represented, she added, "I definitely have a much deeper recognition of my own consciousness." Best rejection I ever got as it completely fulfilled the book's purpose! </p><p>I've been very blessed to have the award winning author of Middle Passage, Charles Johnson, as a friend (and Sanskrit student), who was kind enough to offer these words about the book:</p><p>"In these beautiful essays, Aja Thomas comes before us as a gentle liberator, a teacher of skillful means who uses humor and empirical evidence to reveal the true nature of the Self; and, by doing so, he offers a profound vision of how we can experience each moment of our lives with happiness, joy, and unshakable peace. The spiritual gifts---and ancient wisdom---Aja so generously provides on these pages deserve our deepest gratitude."</p><p>I hope that you will take the opportunity to read "In This Moment," as an offering of my heartfelt realizations and love. Or consider sharing it with friends whom you think would be interested. </p><p>Here is the link:</p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_IV-UFb36CMVRW">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P21N1T7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_IV-UFb36CMVRW</a></p><p>May you be blessed on your journey!</p>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-61264840932426685522020-11-08T18:04:00.001-08:002020-11-08T18:04:29.271-08:00Woke Versus AwakeNearly everyone is aware of the term to 'be woke'. It has gained substantial popularity over the last few years. T-shirts and bumper stickers have come out with "Woke as Hell" or "Woke as F*ck", "Get Woke", "Stay Woke", etc. etc. <br><br>Upon first hearing the term, I thought it was great. "Wake up from the illusion", I thought. Understand the nature of reality, and the sleeping, dreamlike nature of this world. Wake up to the True Reality of Pure Awareness, Divine Consciousness. But No.....This was NOT the context in which people were using it. <br><br>Of course, they thought they were - in a sense. Get woke to the horridness of injustices upon society! <br><br>Wikipedea defines WOKE as:<br>Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK) is a political term originating in the United States referring to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice.<br><br>Merriam Websters defines AWAKE as:<br>intransitive verb<br>1 : to cease sleeping : to wake up<br>2 : to become aroused or active again<br>3 : to become conscious or aware of something<br><br>Now, granted, the second and third meanings could be construed to indicate becoming aroused and active and conscious of injustices. But the first and primary meaning, and generally accepted meaning, is to wake up from sleeping. <br><br>But what about AWAKE? What does it mean to be awake in a spiritual sense? Thousands of teachers for thousands of years have told us to "Wake Up!" Not to injustices in the material world, but rather to the very unreality of this material world. Some say it is real but temporary, while others say it is totally a dream, no more significant than your sleeping dreams. But in either case, the idea is that YOU are identified with this material world, with your body, your personal sense of ego - all of it with great attachment. You believe yourself to BE these things - your body, your name, your gender, your race, your nationality. But is this YOU? Are you your name, or do you HAVE a name? Are you this body, or do you HAVE a body? Are your thoughts YOU, or are you aware OF your thoughts, feelings, emotions? So, your body is of a certain gender, nationality, race, size, shape, etc. but is that you, or your body? YOU are not male or female, white or black, big or small, American or Indian. You are That which is Aware of the body and its characteristics. You are the Witness of your body, thoughts, feelings, and emotions. <br><br>The Vedic scripture Srimad Bhagavatam (3.27.14), for instance, tells us that..... "Although a devotee appears to be merged in the five material elements, the objects of material enjoyment, the material senses and material mind and intelligence, he is understood to be AWAKE and to be freed from the false ego." Here, the term 'devotee' refers to the enlightened person, the saintly rishis and devotees of God, and 'false ego' refers to that very identification with the body and personality. In Sanskrit, ego is called 'Ahankara' which literally means I-maker - that which creates the identification as "I" and with the body. In other words, most are asleep to their true nature.<br><br>In Bhagavad Gita, 2.66 it says, "What is night for all beings is the time of AWAKENING for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening (Wokeness) for all beings is night for the introspective sage." So, as people are 'WOKE' to these material 'injustices', they are quite literally asleep to much deeper and eternal nature of themselves as Consciousness - free from all labels and conceptions.<br><br>While individuals all over the planet are fighting over various 'social injustices', it only creates division between those various groups. One group is oppressing another. This group is victimized. Those ones are evil. And on and on and on..... But that IS the nature of the material world. Bhagavad Gita tells us that it is duhkhalayam asasvatam - it is full of misery and it is temporary. The vedas tell us that one animal is food for another. Is it fair? No. Can it be changed? Maybe. But its been this way since the beginning. That doesn't mean we have to like it or even accept it. But that is NOT the real problem. The real problem is how to get OUT or to transcend this material suffering. In other words to AWAKE. <br><br>Bhagavad Gita says in 5.18, that "The humble sage, by virtue of TRUE KNOWLEDGE, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]." True Knowledge (Vidya), means to be spiritual AWAKE. The sage recognizes that each of us is a spiritual being, TEMPORARILY embodying a particular body. Each of us has Karma (previous actions) which determined our current body and everything that goes with it. Niti Shastra even tells us that such things as the lifes<font face="sans-serif">p</font>an and time of death, a person's wealth, even their education is 'written on the forehead while in the womb'. <br><br>So being WOKE to the injustices of the material world is nothing! It means you have the intelligence to see what is happening, and hopefully might choose not to act that way yourself. But we can go beyond that and AWAKEN to our true spiritual nature, to a permanent solution, and help others to do that as well. As Vivekananda Swami stated, "AWAKE. Arise. Stop not until the goal is reached." The real goal of Spiritual Awakening!<div><br></div><div id="composer_signature"><div><br></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-78193937719611240252018-10-01T13:42:00.000-07:002018-10-01T13:44:06.276-07:00I Am....I Am Not<div>I am NOT...<br> ...Man nor woman<br> ...Liberal nor conservative<br> ...Straight, gay or other<br> ...black, white, yellow or brown<br> <br> And I am NOT this body or mind<br> Not the concepts & beliefs that bind<br> And pit one against the other<br> <br> For I AM...<br> The Pure Awareness of Being<br> Untainted & Transcendent <br> Within which all these imaginations arise...</div><div><br></div><div id="composer_signature"><div><br></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-84586170848898685522016-09-11T15:53:00.000-07:002016-09-11T20:22:24.681-07:00The Love Declaration - A covenant for transforming humanity - By David SeacordToday, as I was cleaning up, I came across a 4x6 card, stuck in between an Oregon Corporation fee payment sheet, and an older sheet of directions for some herbal formulas. I remember getting it several months ago while sitting and chanting on the Willamette waterfront, handed to me by David Seacord - the author/channeler of it, where I briefly read it and stuck it where I would ultimately find it today - perfect timing! Just earlier today, while walking with my wife, I said to her, "There is not enough love in the world." Then this poked itself out at me. Universe - Such a Silly Wabbit!<br />
<br />
"I am your partner<br />
in awakening from fear.<br />
From this moment on,<br />
at all times,<br />
under all conditions,<br />
I declare I am<br />
and I will be,<br />
for All Beings,<br />
a Conscious Source<br />
of Absolute Love;<br />
and, I promise,<br />
I will serve only this Love,<br />
in you,<br />
in me,<br />
and in all,<br />
no matter what,<br />
for the rest of my life."<br />
- David Seacord - 1986 thelovedeclaration.org<br />
<br />
Doing a basic search for David Secord or for The Love Declaration, I came across this Youtube. At the time, I didn't know who this was, but followed the links and trail until I found out. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/nqO5wBzTTqA">https://youtu.be/nqO5wBzTTqA</a><br />
<br />
Both of these touched me deeply!<br />
<div>
I hope they do you as well.</div>
<div>
In Love</div>
<div>
Aja</div>
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<span style="color: #0091bb;">हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे <br />हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे</span></div>
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Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-3059405891920472462016-06-30T22:42:00.001-07:002016-06-30T22:42:29.599-07:00Transcendental Time Machine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of those common topics of conversation, perhaps more among young people than us serious 'adults' is, "If you had access to a time machine, where would YOU go?" <br />
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While, obviously, if you had a time machine you could go both forward into the future, and backward into the past, surprisingly, most people don't think about going into the future, but rather into the past. Perhaps it's because we are very aware OF the past, but not so much of the future. In fact, for many, the future is a frightening thing - both individually, and as a society or planet. What might the future look like? Will we even still be here as a species? Will there be alien invasions or a take over by the robot servants? World wars? Famine? Or some type of Utopian world? I think, for many, it is too much and too abstract to think about, and SO...we think where in the past we would want to visit.<br />
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While young kids may think "Dinosaurs!", others consider very specific persons or events. A very common answer is "I would go back to the time of Jesus!" While this may be due to our western, Christianized background, it is telling that so many would think of wanting to see the Son of God during his life, during his ministry. <br />
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However, this is an answer that you receive now. Of course, the idea of a 'time machine' probably didn't even occur to people back then, but do you suppose that 50 or 100 years after Jesus, that they would have had that same response..."I want to go back to Jesus' time"? Not very likely, as 50, 100, or even 200 years after Jesus' death, very few still had heard of him; perhaps some rumors, or an off-hand comment, but it wouldn't be for quite some time that the world would so impacted by his life and pastimes.<br />
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What made me think of this, was the life of my own spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada - the Founder and Acharya (Teacher) of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), or "Hare Krishnas". And yes, I can imagine you thinking, "Huh?!" I will try to explain:<br />
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Although the name Krishna or Hare Krishna is practically a household word, that wasn't always the case. Sure, some who were a bit more educated knew about it, or those particularly interested in Indian culture, but most people, if you asked them who Krishna was, prior to the 1960's, wouldn't have a clue. But in 1965, at the age of nearly 70, Prabhupada (Bhaktivedanta Swami), boarded a freighter with about $7 and a trunk full of books he had written, and headed to America, landing in Boston in September of 1965. Between then, and his passing November 14th, 1977, a mere 12 years, Srila Prabhupada had circled the globe more than 11 times, opened 100 temples worldwide, written or translated some 60 books, initiated more than 5,000 dedicated disciples, had hundreds of thousands of followers, and fulfilled a prophecy made hundreds of years earlier, that the Holy Names of God - Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare - would be carried to every town and village. In other words, he single-handedly, in his 70's, started a worldwide spiritual movement, that has become a revolution. <br />
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So, what does this have to do with a 'time machine', you ask? Well, looking into the future a bit, say 100 or so years, perhaps more (and maybe a lot less), I truly believe that Krishna Consciousness will be a major and driving force in the world. Even at this time, there are many influential people who are either favorable to or actually ARE Krishna devotees.<br />
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Take Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, for instance. She readily admits to being a devotee of Krishna, and in fact, took her oath of office ON a Bhagavad Gita, the primary 'gospel' of the Hare Krishnas. And many suspect that she would likely be a vice-presidential candidate with Bernie Sanders! Imagine...a Hare Krishna IN the White House.<br />
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Most people are aware that George Harrison of the Beatles was into the Krishna movement, but few realize just HOW dedicated he was, actually asking Prabhupada if he should shave his head and be initiated, as well as having given thousands of dollars for the printing of Prabhupada's "Krishna Book", as well as the beatiful 17 acres Bhaktivedanta Manor - outside of London. <br />
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Speaking of George, there was also Boy George, the musician who was dedicated to Krishnas and wrote the song "Bow Down Mister." Additional people who were interested or outright followers - Bob Dylan, Russell Brand, Peter Sellers, Steve Jobs, Allen Ginsberg, Polly Styrene, Alfred Ford (initiated as Ambarisha das), Neil Diamond, Peter Sellers, and the list goes on. <br />
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Believe it or not, there is actually a youtube channel called "Hare Krishna in the Movies" which shows clips from hundreds of movies and tv shows, that have featured either devotees themselves (often in the background chanting), as a major plot focus, or innumerable satires and comedies. (We're easy to make fun of. :-D)<br />
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Now, imagine 100 or 200 years after the passing of Jesus, where Christianity has barely begun to make a mark, and then consider how just 39 years after the passing of Srila Prabhupada, there are tens of thousands of dedicated disciples, and quite literally millions of Krishna followers who regularly chant Hare Krishna, what to speak of many, many millions more who have been to temples, read Prabhupada's books or have just been influenced in some way - doing meditation, reading Bhagavad Gita or other Vedic scriptures, becoming vegetarian, and so on. Just to give you a clue - Over half a BILLION of Prabhupada's books have been printed and distributed around the world in dozens of languages! So...my sincere belief is that in one or two thousand years, who/where will people want to go in their time machines (assuming they don't actually have them by then)? <br />
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"I want to go and see Srila Prabhupada when HE was here!!!"Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-69160407041918510802016-05-24T09:31:00.001-07:002016-05-24T09:31:15.401-07:00Not This Not ThatI find it VERY interesting that I continuously identify with things somewhat unconsciously. This morning, I read an article about the Indian Holocaust - the murder of millions of Hindus by Arabs,Turks, etc over 800 years. And I'm thinking "How could they do that to us?" <div><br></div><div>US? Really? Since when was I an Indian? Sure, I've had a strong identification with the Vedic/Indian culture for decades and was initiated as a Brahminical priest 40+ years ago, in India, but that doesn't make this American/Scandinavian-bodied white boy an Indian. In fact, the very purpose of my initiation was to recognize 'Aham Brahmasmi' - I am NOT this body, I am part and parcel of God, beyond all bodily designations.<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">And yet, that identification remains.<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">What is particularly ironic is, while identifying as Indian, the Indians simultaneously bug the heck out of me. Not actually the Indians per se, but the fact that when I joined our Krsna movement years ago, there was hardly an Indian to be seen, other than the Founder/Acharya, Srila Prabhupada, who started it. Now, at least locally, it is almost entirely Indian bodied souls who visit the temple, interspersed with a few whities like me. So, on the one hand, my ire is raised when I think about the Indian Hindus being slaughtered by the millions, the same ire is raised when I think that MY Hare Krsna movement has been conquered by those same Indians. I really don't blame them. After all, it IS their religion, and I am a relative late-comer to the party. But there IS that damned identification.<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">Similarly, I watched a video on how incredible efforts to build tiny house shelters for the thousands of homeless in California is stomped on by the local officials - confiscating the homes, breaking them, taking parts, etc. Now, I'm certainly not homeless, nor do I live in California, yet still, I identify with the victims almost as if I am one of them. I'm not. Yes, there is certainly a healthy dose of empathy and compassion, which is good, but I don't need to identify myself as a victim. <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">I am constantly identifying myself as one thing or another, completely in opposition to the idea that I am NOT this body or this mind. But we WANT to identify with something 'out there': I am an old man; I am an American; I am spiritual but not religious; I'm a Hare Krsna; I'm an ex-hippie (more hippie than ex); I am This; I am That. It's like there's this NEED to be a part of something - to have understandable parameters, boundaries, definitions - almost as if I NEED something to Defend! <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">In Sanskrit, they say 'ahara, nidra, bhaya, maithuna' - we have a need to eat, sleep, defend and mate - they are the basic requirements/rights of every living entity - humans AND animals. Lately, they're even getting mixed together, as, in an attempt to improve my health, my doctor and my wife are trying to take away my "eats" (really 'treats'), and I am defending them to the max! What good is this life if I can't enjoy my God given right to eat unhealthy food? In fact, I even use my "I'm not this body" philosophy to defend my eating less than healthy food - "What does it matter if my body dies? I'm not this body!"<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">Even amongst my 'spiritual peers', those who share, more or less, the same Vedic philosophical background, there are huge gulfs between various factions - Where does the soul originate?; what are the true qualifications for the Guru?; what is the ultimate spiritual outcome?; etc etc etc. And, the way in which these factions sometimes speak to, or about each other, you'd think they had stolen candy from a baby, and THEN kicked the baby in the head...repeatedly! <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">Ultimately, what I'm finding, is it can often be very difficult to integrate any kind of belief system with a working and practical model for living. How do you 'believe' one thing, but act in another - something which is referred to as 'Cognitive Dissonance' - a tendency to either believe one thing but act differently, or even to hold two distinctly different and opposing beliefs simultaneously. It tears us up. <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">A case in point - garbage. No one WANTS to contribute to garbage, but it is virtually impossible to NOT create it. Buy ANYTHING and it is wrapped in plastic, put in a box, and then put in another bag, so you can carry it home. Sure, you can "bring your own bag" - Whoo hoo! - but there's still the first two coverings. I mean, for thousands of years, the vast majority of our history on our planet, there essentially WAS no garbage, at least nothing that wasn't for the most part biodegradeable and would simply disappear back into the earth in a few minutes, days, weeks or years. Now, every one of us is producing huge amounts of garbage which sits for aeons, and it's almost impossible to avoid it. Our very lifestyles, even the simplest, is detrimental to our environment, if we're using electricity, any electronics, automobiles, even bicycles, which still require a manufacturing process to produce them. So we fight to STOP garbage, and at the same time, our God-given right to produce it to the tune of 2.6 TRILLION pounds per year! How do we live with this? How do we live LIKE this? But who of us is willing to go back to living simply, raising every morsel of our own food and making our own clothes, shoes, houses, furniture, wagons, candles, from materials in our immediate vicinity? It is a post-modern dilemma! And all because we identify with This or That.<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">But our identification, much like this rather rambling blog, is Not This, Not That! :-D<div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div id="composer_signature" dir="auto"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><div><font color="#0091bb">____________________________</font></div><div><font color="#0091bb">हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे <br>हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे<br></font><br></div><div><br></div></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-44921320535082374442016-05-21T10:27:00.001-07:002016-05-22T07:08:41.227-07:00Appearance Day of Lord Nrisimhadeva<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday, May 20th, 2016 was Sri Nrisimha Caturdasi or the Appearance Day of Sri Nrisimha - the half man (nri) and half lion (simha) incarnation of God. <br />
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In Vedic and specifically Vaishnava theology, Nrisimha (alternately Nrsingha Narasimha Narahari etc.) is the 4th of the Dasavatara or 10 predominant incarnations of Visnu - that go:<br />
1. Matsya - the Fish Incarnation<br />
2. Kurma - the Tortoise Incarnation<br />
3. Varaha - the Boar Incarnation<br />
4. Nrisimha - the half man/half lion incarnation<br />
5. Vamana - the Dwarf Incarnation<br />
6. Parasurama - the Warrior Incarnation (Rama with an axe-parasu)<br />
7. Rama (Ramachandra) - the Kingly Incarnation<br />
8. Krsna/Balarama - the Cow Protector Incarnation<br />
9. Buddha - The Wisdom Incarnation<br />
10. Kalki - The Redeemer Incarnation<br />
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(Some of the 'descriptions' are of my own making.)<br />
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What I've always found somewhat interesting, is that while most 'religions' have an issue with Evolution, if you look, you can see basically an evolutionary flavor to the list of incarnations, starting with a marine form, going to a reptilian, then mammal, then between animal and man, to a 'primitive' or small version of man, to a warrior, kingly man, simple village/forest dweller, an 'enlightened' being, and ultimately a redeemer! <br />
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Of course, God comes in a myriad of forms - said to be as endless as the waves on the sea. In fact, everything is to some degree or another, a projection/emanation/expansion of God. And in Bhagavad Gita, Krsna says "Of all creations, I am the beginning and the end, and also the middle" (10.32) and later, "There is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulences....Know that all beautiful, glorious, and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor...But what need is there for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire creation." (10.40-42)<br />
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In the case of Nrisimhadeva, the Lord acts as ultimate protector to those devoted to Him. While I won't go into the whole story in detail, (it can be found in the 7th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam) it tells of a very young boy (Prahlada) who is the son of the king of the demons (Hiranyakasipu). Prahlada is very devoted to God and even preaches to his classmates in the demon school. His father upon hearing this makes numerous attempts to kill his own son, but in each case, the Lord saves Prahlada from certain death.<br />
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In the end, when his father asks, "Where IS this God of yours?" Prahlada says, "He is everywhere, father!" Hiranyakasipu then begins pointing at various items in the palace and asking, "Is he here? Is he HERE? Is he in this pillar?" And smashes the pillar with his sword, at which point Nrisimha bursts forth miraculously, takes the demon upon His divine lap, and with His sharp nails proceeds to completely disembowel the demon! (Yeah, I know. Pretty politically incorrect!)<br />
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To many, the whole scene seems ghastly - a demonic father trying to kill his own son, and God ripping out the demon's intenstines and wearing them as a garland. I mean, gross, right!? And yet, thousands, if not millions of people take great solace in this idea of God as ultimate Protector. (In Krsna temples around the world, it's often one of the most popular holidays.) <br />
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But isn't it understandable? We like to think this world can be all roses and sunshine, but the truth is, there is a vast amount of Evil out there. We tend to either ignore or hide from many of these truths, but brutal treatment, beatings, assault, rapes, murder are being carried out at every moment. It's happening RIGHT NOW, somewhere to somebody - much of it by religious, social, or governmental organizations that we like to think are doing good. But it's there, and it's NOT likely to go away any time soon, if ever. We like to think that we are evolving, but when you look at the state of world affairs, you sometimes wonder if we aren't devolving! <br />
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But, the story, ultimately points toward looking to God for strenth, shelter and protection; that we are NOT going to find it within this material sphere, where suffering and mayhem sometimes seems to be the daily fare! Whether He/She will burst out of a pillar is up for speculation, but He IS ever present! He is closer than our own heartbeat; He is manifested everywhere and within everything....so we don't have far to look! We just have to open our eyes and our hearts.<br />
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Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8406365612999093887.post-31621261660453724862016-05-13T13:49:00.001-07:002016-05-13T13:49:26.407-07:00Loving God SimplifiedWhen it boils down to it, the essence of it all, I have very little doubt that the end goal is Love! But not just any old love - Supreme Love - Divine Love - Love of and for the Absolute Godhead! What could be more sublime!?!?<br><br>BUT....Occasionally, I find myself overwhelmed by the amount of information available about the 'correct' method of developing love of Godhead! <br><br>I can certainly understand some basic do's and don't's, most of which just make sense. And even some of those are disputable and vary from one group to the next; but as you go deeper, you find that there are more subtle rules and ideals that must be followed, and the deeper you go into a particular sect, the more specific those rules and principles become. And that's where I often start to become a bit disturbed - bewildered, if you will. And that is ALSO where I begin to see clashes, disagreements between one group and another.<br><br>For instance, if I just say, "Hey, everyone...Do your best to Love God and love your neighbor," most religiously minded people will agree and give you a hearty pat on the back. But if I say, "Love God, but you have to do it through 'This' person, or in 'That' way," then suddenly I find certain people love me and others, well.....not so much! <br><br>I also believe that there ARE higher and lower understandings and approaches to God, and that certain elements may have subtle and powerful effects that we may not be very aware of in our mundane states. Our diet, for instance, may very well impact the subtle energetics of our body, thus allowing (or preventing) certain 'flows'. <div><br></div><div>Karmically, too, behaving in certain ways can hamper our 'evolution'. Personally, I have not consciously eaten any meat in more than four decades, and can't quite ever see myself doing so. But I also don't believe it is impossible to eat meat and love God. I have friends that do so. <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">But I'm talking about even MORE subtle things - which Name of God you use, whether you turn clockwise or counter-clockwise, bow to the ground or just nod your head. It's like whether you use silverware or not when eating Pizza! The POINT is to get the pizza into your mouth - NOT HOW you got it there!<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">Tolstoy tells a famous story known as The Three Hermits. In extremely shortened form goes something like this: <br dir="auto">There were three hermits who lived on an island, and had become quite famous as saints. The local bishop came to visit them, and asked them about their spiritual practices. <br dir="auto">The hermits told him, "We simply pray, 'Lord, you are three, we are three, have mercy on us.'" The bishop thought this was totally unsatisfactory and not in line with the church, and so spent some time teaching them the proper liturgies and prayers. <br dir="auto">The bishop leaves the island, and having traveled some distance from the island in his boat, soon sees a glowing light coming toward him, which turns out to be the three hermit brothers running ACROSS the water! </div><div>"Father, father," they cry, "we have forgotten the prayers that you taught us." <br dir="auto">"No worry," says the bishop, "Our father hears your prayers. Please pray for me, a sinner!"<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">I love these stories of the simplicity of loving God. I have many friends and acquaintences who like to delve deeply into extremely esoteric aspects of the Vedic and Gaudiya philosophies, and, in the past, I was much more enthusiastic to do such things myself. But as I get 'longer in the tooth', though I still like to dabble, my real loves are the most simplistic - chanting one mantra, and reading one book. For me, those are the Hare Krsna Mahamantra - Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Ksna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare; and the one book - Bhagavad Gita. <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">While, truthfully, I am slightly envious of those who have the mental and intellectual power to remember vast numbers of verses and repeat stories throughout the night, for the most part, I am increasingly contented to simply delve into those two things - mantra and Gita - and find that there are universes of truth and love in just those. Or, as others have said, "Better to dig ONE hole, ten feet deep, than TEN holes, one foot deep." <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">In our Gaudiya tradition, we revere a man by the name of Srila Haridas Thakur, a moslem by birth, who was so dedicated to the chanting of the Holy Names, chanting 300,000 names daily, that he is referred to as Nama-Acharya - The Teacher of the Holy Names. We know very little about him. I don't know if we even are aware of whether he could read or write - but he is famous, because he chanted the names of God - day and night! <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">Or there is a story that when Lord Caitanya traveled through South India, he came across a brahman in the temple who was holding Bhagavad Gita, upside down, and tears were flowing from his eyes, while others laughed at him. When asked, he explained that his guru told him to read Bhagavad Gita, but he did not know HOW to read, so he simply held the book and thought of the mercy of Lord Krsna in instructing Arjuna and his heart burst open with love. <br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">Many times while I was teaching Sanskrit, students would ask how important it was to pronounce the mantra exactly right. My standard response was, and still is, Most important is your heart! Pronunciation is second. God hears our heart more than anything, our words second.<br dir="auto"><br dir="auto">So while it CAN be very fun and absorbing to learn the intricacies of various spiritual sciences, it CAN also be a distraction - just one more thing to absorb our mind, rather than focusing on the main goal, which is Loving God. And worse, it can be something to disagree and fight about, the need to be right, to defend YOUR viewpoint. There's another famous saying, having NO idea who said it first, "You can be happy, or you can be RIGHT." Because often they are NOT the same. And you can be right OR wrong, and still be happy, because you recognize....It really doesn't matter. What matters is...Did you get the pizza into your mouth!? Or in other words - DId you develop Love for God?<div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div id="composer_signature" dir="auto"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><div><font color="#0091bb">____________________________</font></div><div><font color="#0091bb">हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे <br>हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे<br></font></div></div></div>Ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07971754119388351058noreply@blogger.com3