Yes, the great communicator once said, and many will remember: "Government is not the solution to our problem, government *is* the problem."
And likewise, the sage said: "Teachings and systems and religions are not the solution to our problem, they *ARE* the problem."
Of course, although most ordinary humans hearing the first "great one-liner" will readily agree, because most detest the government - even in America, where the government is considered to be the most generous on Earth - almost no ordinary human could be found to agree with the second "great one-liner", because most are totally fascinated by the existence of teachings, systems, and religions on Earth.
How can this be? On the one hand, governments though accepted as necessary - if only to keep people in line, and foreigners at bay, so that all can benefit - are rounded believed to be overly-intrusive, too-large, and a necessary evil; but teachings and systems and religions are considered as absolutely necessary, and something that could never be done without.
Just consider, for a moment, a world where 1) governments did not exist, and a world where 2) spiritual teachings did not exist.
In the first case: if governments did not exist - no central command, no bodies of laws, no police, no military, no organized institutional services - ordinary life would crumble into mass chaos (presumably): everyone for themselves, the rest be damned!
In the second case: if teachings, etc., did not exist - no books, no people walking around telling other people there's something noticeably wrong with them and their lives - how would you ever discover "the problem" and how could you ever discover "the solution"?
Yet, seen from one clear perspective, governments and teachings are the EXACT equivalent of each other; the first for the masses of humans living in one external place, and the second for the masses of "I's" living in one inner place.
Perhaps, there's is something going on here - with the disdain for the one and the acceptance of the other - that is not only backwards, but deleterious, and might explain why so few humans ever do actually profit by their teachings (in the sense of "being"), but can only talk about their apparent understanding (and therefore, acceptance and approval) of their (apparently chosen) teaching.
Backwards? Yes. The real rebel, must LOVE inner governmental control, even if he has to overthrow the current king, and establish himself as omnipresent and omniscient ruler, while HATING external teachings and systems and religions of other men as mere pretenders, usurpers and puppet rulers which they actually are.
(an "escape hatch" for those so-inclined to squeeze through.)
First, you must "get really small,"
then you can pass through anything,
even "death" and "life."
But always remember, a "back door" is NOT an "escape hatch."
Everything produced here is
© "Praybob in Nirvana"
Monday, June 14, 2004
Lettuce never wilts
Let us never wilt in the face of the daunting task before us: that of expanding our consciousness and becoming a real, living human being, before the worms have their final say upon our remains.
Everyone has almost enough of what it takes to start the journey from imagination to reality, but one can not discount Luck and good genes, and an almost built-in tendency to achieve what is, or has finally become, our heart's desire.
Always remember what the sages have taught from earliest times: "Enlightenment, Liberation and The Awakening can't be taught: if you are born with the potential, it can be encouraged and ultimately activated, and that's the way it is."
"You're Either Born With The Capacity Or You're Not."
Everyone has almost enough of what it takes to start the journey from imagination to reality, but one can not discount Luck and good genes, and an almost built-in tendency to achieve what is, or has finally become, our heart's desire.
Always remember what the sages have taught from earliest times: "Enlightenment, Liberation and The Awakening can't be taught: if you are born with the potential, it can be encouraged and ultimately activated, and that's the way it is."
"You're Either Born With The Capacity Or You're Not."
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Intelligence, and otherwise...
Why do most people "trust" their supposed experience over their presumed intelligence? Is it because they, somehow, know that in relation to their supposed experience, they have almost no intelligence?
If those people somehow acquired (through some kind of effort, for it doesn't happen mechanically) Intelliigence - and not the kind of ordinary intelligence that allows you to open bank accounts, purchase used cars, and keep your pets fed - the kind, with a capital I (and spelled with three i's), that when seen in relation to their supposed experience, would literally dwarf it, they would (somehow; mysteriously at first and then with full comprehension later) Trust their Intelliigence, not only to correctly evaluate all external events and occurrences, but internal ones as well.
In that way, all questions that ordinarily mechanically arise due to mis-understanding, and mis-apprehension, and mis-take - such as judgement, anger, depression, confusion, criticism, and all other forms of dis-satisfaction - would, not only no longer arise to the surface (and become, as they do now, an influence - sometimes negatively - upon their consciousness), but would sit there, like the good little boys and girls (pets, your errant dogs of desire) they actually are, held "in check" by... that... third I.
Dig it or don't.
If those people somehow acquired (through some kind of effort, for it doesn't happen mechanically) Intelliigence - and not the kind of ordinary intelligence that allows you to open bank accounts, purchase used cars, and keep your pets fed - the kind, with a capital I (and spelled with three i's), that when seen in relation to their supposed experience, would literally dwarf it, they would (somehow; mysteriously at first and then with full comprehension later) Trust their Intelliigence, not only to correctly evaluate all external events and occurrences, but internal ones as well.
In that way, all questions that ordinarily mechanically arise due to mis-understanding, and mis-apprehension, and mis-take - such as judgement, anger, depression, confusion, criticism, and all other forms of dis-satisfaction - would, not only no longer arise to the surface (and become, as they do now, an influence - sometimes negatively - upon their consciousness), but would sit there, like the good little boys and girls (pets, your errant dogs of desire) they actually are, held "in check" by... that... third I.
Dig it or don't.
Some gibberish...
No one speaks gibberish. No one makes clearly incorrect statements as though they are true. People don't say, "2 + 2 = 5", or "A day lasts for 15 hours", or "Murder is the best solution for dealing with difficult people". Everything you've ever read by anyone, every sentence, contains a parenthetical ('I believe this to be true.').
All words which emanate from any human's head/mouth, are believed to be true and valid for themselves and their listeners. Regardless of content, there is a tacit acceptance by the speaker, that that very content is meaningful, pertinent.
This is a form of collusion between the speaker and the other thoughts in his head at the time, that he is conscious of at the time. In fact, the collusion is between the very thoughts themselves, and the speaker has no particular role in that.
If you read/hear something, from any source (including your own brain), where the content is deemed to be "the truth", then it is faulty.
Only that information, which points the listener back to the very receiver of that material energy (the mind), thereby turning thoughts in on themselves, is of any operational value, to one wanting to discover the truth for himself.
The best teaching is "Shut up!" "Zip it!"
Think but don't speak, Think but don't believe.
All words which emanate from any human's head/mouth, are believed to be true and valid for themselves and their listeners. Regardless of content, there is a tacit acceptance by the speaker, that that very content is meaningful, pertinent.
This is a form of collusion between the speaker and the other thoughts in his head at the time, that he is conscious of at the time. In fact, the collusion is between the very thoughts themselves, and the speaker has no particular role in that.
If you read/hear something, from any source (including your own brain), where the content is deemed to be "the truth", then it is faulty.
Only that information, which points the listener back to the very receiver of that material energy (the mind), thereby turning thoughts in on themselves, is of any operational value, to one wanting to discover the truth for himself.
The best teaching is "Shut up!" "Zip it!"
Think but don't speak, Think but don't believe.
Enlightenment Research
Something that is missed by virtually ALL so-called self- styled commentators on "Enlightenment Research", is that the more one gets clued-in to what's really going on, the more one sees parallels between processes out-there in Life, and the inner process of awakening - that is, can "Read" Life and convert that "New information" into "New energy for awakening".
Generally, all mention made of such physical phenomena, current and past human events, is negative - pointing to some problem that should be fixed - and usually presented as examples WHY man needs to work on himself and "WAKE UP, dammit!" The more 'enlightened' such people think they are, the more they criticize what they see and experience out-there, and especially, within themselves. For such people, the world IS coming to a slow, inevitable end, just as they personally are, and if it were not for their personal efforts, all would be lost.
Ordinary men have no idea what sleep is, nor what awakening is, but a few are so irritated by that clear understanding, that they are driven to investigate those ideas further. However, there is no apparent source of information about them that is satisfying. Dictionaries and Encyclopedias are of little to NO use, nor are books, tapes, seminars of self-selected "awakened teachers". At best, all of that is as useless as yesterday's newspapers.
****
You move energy to higher parts of the nervous system in only one way - by experiencing New information. However, New information is not now, nor ever CAN be found in the external world. That which IS found in the external world is "has-been" information, at best info-tainment. "God is Love" is no longer an enlightening concept, nor is "Love your neighbors as yourself", nor is "Remember yourself". IF they were, you'd already BE fully conscious by now, wouldn't you? As ideas, they are fun to think about, discuss with your friends, but useless for your own awakening.
Info-tainment includes everything ever written about awakening, enlightenment, from all sources - and it has NOT the required spin-factor, to enliven, to "quicken" starving neurons. Info-tainment is pre-digested brain-food, and not worth the time it takes to chew it, read it, hear it. To those who've caught a glimpse of this, continuing to waste time in this way, simply makes them gag, and they don't DO that anymore.
Generally, all mention made of such physical phenomena, current and past human events, is negative - pointing to some problem that should be fixed - and usually presented as examples WHY man needs to work on himself and "WAKE UP, dammit!" The more 'enlightened' such people think they are, the more they criticize what they see and experience out-there, and especially, within themselves. For such people, the world IS coming to a slow, inevitable end, just as they personally are, and if it were not for their personal efforts, all would be lost.
Ordinary men have no idea what sleep is, nor what awakening is, but a few are so irritated by that clear understanding, that they are driven to investigate those ideas further. However, there is no apparent source of information about them that is satisfying. Dictionaries and Encyclopedias are of little to NO use, nor are books, tapes, seminars of self-selected "awakened teachers". At best, all of that is as useless as yesterday's newspapers.
****
You move energy to higher parts of the nervous system in only one way - by experiencing New information. However, New information is not now, nor ever CAN be found in the external world. That which IS found in the external world is "has-been" information, at best info-tainment. "God is Love" is no longer an enlightening concept, nor is "Love your neighbors as yourself", nor is "Remember yourself". IF they were, you'd already BE fully conscious by now, wouldn't you? As ideas, they are fun to think about, discuss with your friends, but useless for your own awakening.
Info-tainment includes everything ever written about awakening, enlightenment, from all sources - and it has NOT the required spin-factor, to enliven, to "quicken" starving neurons. Info-tainment is pre-digested brain-food, and not worth the time it takes to chew it, read it, hear it. To those who've caught a glimpse of this, continuing to waste time in this way, simply makes them gag, and they don't DO that anymore.
Self, or No-self, more again
On first blush, these two POV's would appear to be somewhat contradictory. 1) the self is always there, just not realized, and, 2) the self is never there, and there is no true self to realize.
This is the beginning of the dislocation that can never be fixed or repaired by the mind, because it is the mind that dislocates. So the question the ordinary mind must eternally (or until you die) grapple with is: "Well, you ol' brain you, is there a Self at all, or is there NO self at all? Huh? Which is it?"
The lesson is in the asking, not in the attempted answering.
The lesson is in discovering the why's and how's of asking.
The lesson is in knowing what knowing is.
The enlightenment is in the understanding, not in the attempted explaining. (present explanation notwithstanding... ;^)
As soon as a person says he knows the results of such inquiry, he's just joking and should realize it. As such, all thought is mere speculation.
You can know for certain, without speculation, that the steakknife blade has just - ouch! - cut off most of your forefinger.
You can not know for certain, without speculation, that the enlightenment-training-course you've been on for the last umpteen years - ouch! - has resolved the self/no-self question.
Really, what's the damn point anyway? "self" is just a word that the brain uses to describe momentary neural responses and resonances that keep the brain from suffering a meltdown, and continuing to function somewhat reliably within the greater organism mankind and organic life on earth. There's no need, either, to discuss it, to think about it, to answer it, or to speculate about it. It's just - top to bottom - entertainment for a bored intellect.
What's necessary - and this has been true for millennia - is to control the mind. That's what all teachings are about at their core; mantras, mindfulness, remembering yourself, chanting a word or phrase, twiddling little beads between the fingers, watching the in/out breath. One thing and one thing only - discovering what the "dead brain" is doing (that part of the brain everyone is born with - bar none), from the moment one acquired language, till right this moment... and then one dies. Nothing's changed for anyone, from about the age of 6 or 7 till today, as far as the ordinary brain is concerned. The ordinary brain still, without fail, answers each and every door, picks up every phone, and thinks every "thought" that appears in the head, and because the "I" identifies itself with the thought, therein lies the "problem" and the "solution", could one but grok it.
It's operating without control - uncontrolled mind activity - and all the chit-chatting about unresolvable issues (self or no-self, my guru is enlightened and you're not), as well as the tricks and methods noted above, while entertaining, are just about not dealing with the reality of that.
From instant to instant, one can't control their own neural activity, and are more like an injured animal in the forest, bleeding from countless wounds, unable to stop the bleeding, than a budding conscious being they so wish they were right now - except for the infernal speculating that goes on ad nauseum.
This is the beginning of the dislocation that can never be fixed or repaired by the mind, because it is the mind that dislocates. So the question the ordinary mind must eternally (or until you die) grapple with is: "Well, you ol' brain you, is there a Self at all, or is there NO self at all? Huh? Which is it?"
The lesson is in the asking, not in the attempted answering.
The lesson is in discovering the why's and how's of asking.
The lesson is in knowing what knowing is.
The enlightenment is in the understanding, not in the attempted explaining. (present explanation notwithstanding... ;^)
As soon as a person says he knows the results of such inquiry, he's just joking and should realize it. As such, all thought is mere speculation.
You can know for certain, without speculation, that the steakknife blade has just - ouch! - cut off most of your forefinger.
You can not know for certain, without speculation, that the enlightenment-training-course you've been on for the last umpteen years - ouch! - has resolved the self/no-self question.
Really, what's the damn point anyway? "self" is just a word that the brain uses to describe momentary neural responses and resonances that keep the brain from suffering a meltdown, and continuing to function somewhat reliably within the greater organism mankind and organic life on earth. There's no need, either, to discuss it, to think about it, to answer it, or to speculate about it. It's just - top to bottom - entertainment for a bored intellect.
What's necessary - and this has been true for millennia - is to control the mind. That's what all teachings are about at their core; mantras, mindfulness, remembering yourself, chanting a word or phrase, twiddling little beads between the fingers, watching the in/out breath. One thing and one thing only - discovering what the "dead brain" is doing (that part of the brain everyone is born with - bar none), from the moment one acquired language, till right this moment... and then one dies. Nothing's changed for anyone, from about the age of 6 or 7 till today, as far as the ordinary brain is concerned. The ordinary brain still, without fail, answers each and every door, picks up every phone, and thinks every "thought" that appears in the head, and because the "I" identifies itself with the thought, therein lies the "problem" and the "solution", could one but grok it.
It's operating without control - uncontrolled mind activity - and all the chit-chatting about unresolvable issues (self or no-self, my guru is enlightened and you're not), as well as the tricks and methods noted above, while entertaining, are just about not dealing with the reality of that.
From instant to instant, one can't control their own neural activity, and are more like an injured animal in the forest, bleeding from countless wounds, unable to stop the bleeding, than a budding conscious being they so wish they were right now - except for the infernal speculating that goes on ad nauseum.
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