THE WAY
To follow the way means that we want to use our life to realize our potential and realize that there is more to life than short-termed goals.
No code of conduct can give us all the answers, but if we understand the principles that underpin reality, it becomes easier to find the answers within.
To complete a journey of Self-Realization we need to understand life and the forces that drive us
Our understanding arises from the pool of our common humanity and manifests naturally when a person reunites the source of our life.
THE PERSPECTIVE
In essence, the entire perspective may be expressed in three simple points: 1) There is a common source and support of everything; 2) We all come from that source; 3) And each one of us is accountable for everything we do.
Our essence is not the physical or mental. Anyone who gets touch with this essence will be naturally led by it to its source, beyond the limitations of time, space and the law of karma.
This then is the object of our journey. But we are handicapped because we experience life through our mind and five sense organs and usually fail to recognize who we are. As long as we distracted will continue to be limited thinking only the physical /mental is real. We think we can know everything with intellect and presume we are in control when we understand only words and concepts.
Einstein spoke of the way in which our understanding is distorted: “ A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of the consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
How to withdraw our attention from the world and concentrate it so that ultimately we can detach ourselves from the distortions of body and mind? It is not so simple. There is a catch and that is the law of karma. Because of this it is hard to recognize the source apart from mind and matter.
The record of everything we have ever thought or done since our individual consciousness left its source and became encased in a mind and body bind us as conditioned beings. Once we understand that what we do now binds us in the future, then we have a practical basis for a moral that can guide us as to what we should and should not do to become free.
Living consciously, so that we are always aware of the consequences of what we do is, therefore, our way of making ourselves seaworthy for a voyage to a higher level of consciousness.
THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT:
THE IMPERATIVE FOR CONSCIOUS MINDFUL LIVING
The inescapable principle of compensation, or karma, is recognized by all the great religions and wisdom literature throughout the world. Though the scope of the law is vast, its application is very simple: whatever we give, we have to take; whatever we take, we have to give.
Across the vast span of creation, this law maintains a perfect record of giving and taking. We are all captive – limited to the realms of mind and matter. And as long as we are victims of this duality, we cannot know perfection and unity.
It is this one law of karma that drives the creation. (Four dimensions: 3 spatial, one time, and the law of karma). Through the principle of opposition (yin & yang), actions and reactions, this universal law generates the force that produces the multitude of natural laws governing the visible physical universe. This includes the laws of physics, genetics, environmental balance and much more – by which modern science explains life. It also governs all activity at the more subtle levels of mind, which cannot be known or quantified by the intellect. This simple principle of cause and effect creates all diversity. It marks the formidable dividing line between the Oneness of Spirit and the complexity of mind and matter.
From the Tao Te Ching, which elaborates the divide between Oneness (of spirit) and complexity (of mind).
There are ways, but The Way is uncharted by verbal expression.
The Unchanging Name cannot be conveyed by words
As words can only convey mental conceptions.
Spoken names can be applied to it, but the Absolute is ineffable.
One may say no-thing-ness (Wu Chi) is both
The transcendental and imminent Reality,
And existence is the mother of the “10,000 things”.
When the mind becomes empty of ‘thingness’,
One may perceive the subtle presence of Ultimate Reality.
From the perspective of existence,
One may distinguish individual beings.
No-Thingness and individual ‘being’ are the same in source
But become different when manifested.
This Truth is the subtle profundity
And that which is sought in every earthly endeavor.
From the writings of Dr. Stone
The universe is run by principles and laws which were established in the very beginning. This is the world of opposites. Until we reach beyond the realm of good and evil, there will be joy and sorrow, sickness and health, life and death. The patterns of energy descends and crystallizes into definite geometric proportions. The direction of energy travel is as precise as the weaving of any design. There can be no favoritism in the law of cause and effect.
Even the experience of a transcendent grace does not upset this mathematically balanced procedure; it merely transcends it by a higher vibratory keynote of finer energy. All polarity effects are from above downward. The higher always rules the lower. The cause rules the effect. Life rules form. Mind patterns and will, rule matter.
When our attention is scattered, mind and emotions set many causes into action. Concentrated attention could be very helpful in avoiding irresponsible thinking and inconsiderate action which is the ground work for many miseries.
Education as we have it today is not the answer. Higher consciousness is more than 'information' or mental prowess. Constant attention and concentrated inner awareness are necessary to become aware of the finer and deeper energies.
Wherever the attention and consciousness dwells, there it acts and expands itself. Consciousness is like the sun, and attention forms its rays. Wherever these are directed, expansion and growth take place, as in Nature. This is the law of life and growth, internally and externally. Knowing this, we can aim high for the top fruits in life.
Dr. Stone says, mind is fed by mind substance and thoughts. Emotions feed on feelings and sensations. Man / woman does realize the great truths of their own being, otherwise they would not try so hard to evade them for material distractions.
Man / woman is not a senseless machine, but subject to constant shifting of desire and mind impulses. Each person is a rule or law unto himself. One can find what they need for the next step, according to their desire impulse and mental makeup, if one will study himself. We, ourselves are the unsolved problems to ourselves. "Intelligent interest always finds a way."
"When force compels, then life rebels." Force is the law of suffering and unhappiness. The problem is not simple because the mind and desires are not simplified. We ourselves cannot meet that constant flux and impact of desire without inner conflict. This is the obstacle toward obtaining happiness in this life. To still the mind and to simplify desires, is the way. Easy to say and hard to do!
When the real Self becomes the object of one's own search, then one is not lead astray by external interest and discoveries or theories.
The ACU-Polarity newsletter is brought to you Ezekiel's impersonations of Elvis Presley in the Christmas play 'Elfis and the Sleigh Riders and Gabriel's one man juggling act.
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Sanskrit Philosophy
The first general principle to be examined, translated from Sanskrit means: That which exists is One: Sages call it by various names. This concept is also stated as The One in the Many.
It teaches that there is perfect Unity. It teaches there is perfect unity in all life, in the entire world. All that lives is one life, one in essence, permeated and vitalized by the one universal being. It is in that Universal One that all things live and move and have their being. Until we see the essence of life, we will make much of distinctions. We will see duality. It is only in the great Universal One, in the Spirit Infinite, that we come to realize that we are all one in interests with a universal kinship.
Along with this concept is another Sanskrit expression which in a general way supports the same fundamental idea. It sums up our kinship with all that lives. It forms a rational basis for a universal love. It lays the foundation for a common interest, and universal brother/sisterhood, even including all living beings. Translated it is: Thou art that.
First this teaches that this individual is that individual. It means that every individual is so closely akin to all others that no real distinction can be made between them. In a very real sense each one is identical with every other one and we are all of the same divine source and essence.
Secondly, we could regard ourselves as living a part of the Infinite life and as expressing divinity in every act of our lives, just as a spark from the great central sun, identical in substance.
As a part of ones searching discrimination, one should be acquainted with the four modes of mental action. They are: (1) Scattering, running out after all sorts of objects, pleasures, works, friends, properties, etc., etc. This is one of the most troublesome qualities, and it must be over come before concentration can be effected. (2) Darkening, dullness, laziness, then injury, evil of all sorts, ending in destruction. (3) Gathering, striving to overcome the scattering and darkening tendencies and reversing the processes and beginning to gather the mind at one point. (4) Concentration, the one-pointed form of mental action,which, when perfected, leads to samadhi and mastership.
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TAOISM
Oriental medicine is rooted in Taoism. Tao, Wu Chi, Wu Wei, Tai Chi, Yin / Yang, the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, The Tao Te Ching, the writings Chuang Tzu are all aspects of this medicine, even if it is an obscure underpinning. The rise of communism in China over the years, until recently, has suppressed some of it's more spiritual aspects. With this in mind, it seems to discuss what is Taoism would be appropriate.
Early periods of Chinese history a form of practices came to be know as Taoism. Its conception is shrouded in obscurity.
Quoting excerpts from the Hua Hu Ching, Chapter 81, by Master Ni, Hua Ching:
"There once was a great white bearded Master who appeared at the boundary of the Central Territory (China) on his journey west. Followers came from everywhere to sit at his feet, for he was a model of Universal Harmony. His teaching was simple, yet profound. His instruction was neither ordinary religion, nor worldly wisdom. Yet, it revealed the Truth of every aspect of the Universe. The followers went to the garden where the Old Master stayed and awaited his precious instruction."
A wise disciple saluted the Master, saying please instruct us. How should we who are motivated to attain the correct awareness of their true nature calm their minds? What path should they follow in order to attune their minds harmoniously to all aspects of life?
A - One should follow the Integral Way to calm their mind and harmonize it with all aspects of life. Hold no antagonism toward any living thing whether it be born of womb, moisture or any other kind of transformation. Dissolve all discrimination of individuality and absorb all things into a harmonious Oneness. The virtue of a highly evolved being embraces all people and things and dispels the darkness that isolates them.
An integral being settles their mind. They unite the mind with the unnamable subtle origin of the multi universe in which there is no past present or future. This is how the integral being deals with their mind. All mental structures must finally be relinquished if one is to reach the ultimate and subtle truth of Oneness.
All of the far reaching, unfaded teachings of the ancient sages come from the same source: the subtle truth of great Oneness. Different expressions are merely the result of different times and places. To the integral one, the particles are not small nor is the universe vast. It is merely the relative mind that labels them so.
As the Old Master was about to conclude his dialogue - "my beloved friends, I have talked a lot. Did I really say anything since you have been with Me? Since I started my journey to the west, I have not said one thing. The subtle truth cannot be concluded in words. The subtle voice of the universal origin has been speaking since the beginning of the Universe. To those whose energy can respond to it, the Sound is very distinct. To those whose energy cannot respond to it, the sound is muffled and obscure. The subtle melody of universal life is eternal and constant, yet only those who are in consonance with it can perceive it.
Beloved friends, listen only to one who speaks with life. Obey that law which is so subtle it cannot be written. Follow the one who does not show himself. Worship the unformed, embrace the unnamed and unite with what is not entrapped by any form - that which existed before heaven, earth or man. Offer unconditional love to all life and trust the invariable, positive nature of the Uni-verse.
From the Ancient I Ching: First is the idea of correcting deficiencies or 'working on what has been spoiled'. It is stated in the Oracle that once this work has begun, careful monitoring is essential if the work is to proceed correctly and regression is not to set in. Enlist the aid of association of the "Superior Man/Woman" and this will bring success.
What has been spoiled through one's fault can be made good again through one's work. It is not fate that has caused corruption, but the abuse of human freedom.
Once we have given cautious and appropriate deliberation that this is the path we want to follow then we enter it safely and avoid relapse. To avoid relapse, decisiveness and energy must take the place of the inertia and indifference that have led to decay. This means abandoning the false and returning to the true. Working on fundamental, getting rid of falsehood and returning to reality.
Originally there is nothing to cultivate, nothing to realize; since there was no defect, nothing to correct. But after degeneration, when the fundamental is established, the path develops. Once you recover your potential, it is like it was always there; this is attaining great development in decay.
The way to correct that which has been spoiled, is not by empty tranquility, by running away from our life; It is necessary to work in the midst of great danger and difficulty, like 'in the Dragon's pool," and the 'tiger's lair.' Only then can one restore one's original being, cultivating it into something indestructible.
The skillful correction of that which has been spoiled is done by using the strength and clarity of the Great Man/Woman to break through our own ignorance. This is flexible use of correcting the corruption originating from neglect in former times. We lack the strength to bring about this reform alone. This all creates an honorable new beginning.
The second idea from the I Ching (by the way, there is a strong opinion by some that the I Ching is not solely meant to be a book of divination, but more over a book of Wisdom. Any book can be used as divination, for example, one could simply open the bible for the message of the day) - the second idea is gentleness and ceaseless penetration.
This is the idea of that which is small is developmental. Success comes through attention to details, and humility. The change is not brought about by the result of great force, but an unremitting nature of a gentle force that penetrates the cloaking mist to expose the heart of life. This requires a goal and guidance from the Great Man.
The dark principle, in itself rigid and immovable, is dissolved by the penetrating light force, to which it subordinates itself in gentleness. Penetration produces gradual and inconspicuous effects. Like the two guys smoking pot and floating ceiling. One asking the other, "I wonder when this stuff starts taking effect?"
Gentle penetration should be effected by influences that are ceaseless, that never lapse. Results of this kind are less striking to the eye, but are more enduring and complete. That is what makes it so powerful.
This is making progress by flexible obedience. Not hurrying, yet not lagging, gradually step by step - going from near to far, from low to high, reaching everywhere. If one is flexible and obedient, they can long endure. By gradual progress one can penetrate to what is deep, eventually arriving at Self Realization which enables one to have God Realization.
Another foundational text by Chuang Tzu says, " The perfect man or woman employs their mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing; it refuses nothing; it receives, but does not keep. Thus one can triumph over matter, without injury to oneself.
The idea is that when we become too closely bound up with matter, we descend to its level to our own detriment. In Indian philosophy this is the great precept of vairag - detachment from the world while still living in it. It is the Wu Wei of Chinese philosophy, non assertion of the self - often translated as non action.
Paraphrasing from Chuang Tzu on the Tao of unstrained living:
"The Need to Win"
When an archer (bowler, golfer, etc.) makes a shot with no goal in mind,
he has all his skill.
If he shoots for a championship, he is already nervous.
If he shoots for the prize, he sees two targets - And has lost the focus.
His skill has not changed, but the prize divides him.
The need to win drains the power to concentrate.
From complete Vairag, perfect mental detachment, one enters Nie-Pan, Nirvana. Then one becomes one with Tao. In this way one attains the state of mind like the Sun, shinning upon all alike, yet asking nothing in return.
Wu and You
We return to a Taoist theme as it is an underlying philosophy behind Oriental Medicine as mentioned before.
Wang Pi is a well known commentator on the I Ching and Tao Te Ching, which are foundational text of Taoist philosophy. In explaining the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching, Wang Pi, as translated by Richard John Lynn says, "Nothingness" wu, is a key concept.
Wu is the perfect absence of conscious design, deliberate effort, prejudice or predilection.
You is the presence of conscious design, deliberate effort, prejudice, or predilection. You literally means, "somethingness" as contrasted with "nothingness" of wu.
You can also mean "being" as contrasted to "non being." You is the phenomenal existence of creatures / humans, the physical phenomena in general or what is termed "the 10,000 things."
Wang Pi identifies wu with the action of Tao or the Natural. The Tao always acts out of nothing, wu wei, and thus never functions deliberately or with conscious design. It never acts out of something.
To put it in more familiar terms, Tao never acts out of ego or the passions of the mind. It does not calculate; nor does the man/woman of Tao calculate because they are one with Tao.
For Wang Pi wu wei is not the absence of action but always the absence of deliberate action with an end or calculated "selfish" result in mind.
Wu is the principal attribute of all that is natural. To act out of nothing, and thus in accord with the Tao, inevitably results in success, safety, contentment, and happiness. This is what could be referred to as "living in the Will of God."
Somethingness always involves differentiation, division - a sense of separation from the source. You or "somethingness" is the principal attribute of all that is artificial. Wang Pi points out that when creatures and humans act out of something, and thus in violation of the Tao, failure, danger, dissatisfaction and misery result.
If one neglects the roots and attacks the branch tips, one invites imbalance. (Lynn, pages 17,18)
Therefore, pristine simplicity may be embraced - Wu!
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In Search of the Philosopher's Stone
The title of this part of the newsletter has been changed a little. You know the philosopher's stone is said to change base metals into gold. The base metal is the negative mind, and the gold is the Light of higher consciousness and real life. It is the search for that experience, or knowledge and understanding, that transforms one into that higher life - permanently.
Searching for this type of knowledge, a few questions and observations present themselves:
What is the energy that powers the universe and makes the planets spin in their orbits? What makes the seasons change according to certain patterns and carry on the processes of birth, living, and dying?
Is this energy an imitation from a conscious being, or is it simply an inert force? Since these powers of nature seem to behave according to apparent laws, are these laws an accident or was there a pre arrangement - a blueprint before the manifestation? How are we, as humans, related to these powers and laws found in Nature?
If there was an accident, a big bang or a blue print, when and how did it happen? Can we, as meager humans, know the answers to these questions? This in itself is another question.
In order to prepare ourselves to 'experience' this type of knowledge, do we have to understand what is good? Is there evil? If there is, is it to be avoided to live a life of truth? These questions face every individual, whether we consciously address them or not.
Many a man and woman have addressed these issues, and truck loads of books
have been written. So many people have had their day on the planet and departed. And still these fundamental issues remain fresh - demanding resolution if one is to live a conscious existence.
What has been referred to as a horizontal movement, where there is greater understanding of the physical universe, has apparently increased in recent times. But a vertical movement, where one can answer the questions of ultimate reality, the origins of time and space and the problem of death, seem to be right where they were in the beginning.
In fact, much of the apparent progress in human understanding to make life more comfortable and promote convenience in human life has taken our understanding into a deep forest, lost and distracted in intellectualism and materialism. Invention, theoretical proposals and imagination take great flights, but doubt remains.
Our on-line server is working well. Invention and technology have produced insights into the physical environment. But, ultimately physical instruments can only perceive physical objects no matter how subtle the instrument.
This has lead many to believe that nothing exists beyond the physical. They believe that the idea of solutions to ultimate reality are simply devices to explain the unknowable.
Even those who have considered the issues and established or accepted a belief system about a subtle and more real life beyond the physical may still not be completely happy.
Along with the experience of time and space, one basic law of the universe seems obvious. That is of cause and effect. This law happens not only in the cosmos but also individually.
Cause and effect, the law of karma, reaping and sowing, translates into the law of life on an individual level.
What ever action that has been performed by body, mind and consciousness can send that individual into various regions and life experiences to harvest those actions.
First thing, when we recognize the situation, then we take steps to terminate our attachment, conditioning, ignorance and bondage. For this we try to move vertically to the source of existence which is our destination.
From the source we might then answer these questions, or they may not be relevant any more.
The Tao Te Ching
I think, besides the Bible, the Tao Te Ching is the most often translated book. One of the patrons of Acu-Polarity brought a recent translation by Stephen Mitchell into the office. It seems appropriate to discuss the first chapter. The first chapter leads to the whole secret of the Tao Te Ching.
The Tao that can be named is not the True Tao. As Stephen Mitchell stated it, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name".
May I substitute Word for name and say the Word that can be written in any book or scripture is not the True Word, not the Real Word or the living word as when it is written down or spoken it becomes a concept.
Then he says, "The unnamable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of things." So like I say "hello Bob" or "this is a tree" . This gives designation of an object or a particular person, like Bob.
Now if I saw Bob on the street and said, Namaste, the Hindu greeting which translates as "I salute the God within you", then the eternal, the real is being acknowledge, not the particular.
Then he says, "Free from desire you realize the mistery". What mystery? Well, if we all knew that, then it would be no mystery. Mystery means something hidden.
The mystery is hidden because we are thinking ... continuous projection of feelings, imaginings and thoughts of situations that we feel will help us build a better existence; or that creates other
distracts away from the reality of what is happening in the present. "Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations".
"Yet mystery and manifestation arise from the same source". It all depends on what we are tuned into as to what we perceive as reality.
The 'unmanifest' in Chinese philosophy is referred to as Wu Qi, the great No-Thing'-Ness from which everything arises. In fact, it is only a level of consciousness. It is all consciousness. What level of consciousness we are tuned into is what we perceive as our reality. As stated above, tuned into desire we are tuned into the manifested universe at some degree or another.
With the mind empty we perceive the Source, the No-Thing-Ness / Wu Qi.
Chapter One of the Tao Te Ching ends with the saying that this is the gate to all understanding and the experience that everyone is searching for, whether they know it or not.
Koshas
We may not be aware of this fact, but there are more bodies that make up our
life than just the physical. According to Ayurveda, as taught by Dr. Lad in
his book Textbook of Ayurveda, there are several sheaths known in Sanskrit
language as koshas. These are vibrations of the mind used to carry out its
multifarious activities that penetrate the physical body but are much more
subtle and profound.
Dr. Stone (founder of Polarity Therapy) refers to the ultrasonic core which
runs through the center of the spinal cord - in the cerebral spinal fluids -
to connect mind, body and consciousness. The koshas are: the sheath of
bliss, the sheath of knowledge, the sheath of mind, the sheath of prana (life
energy) and the sheath of food.
The most basic kosha, is called the sheath of food. It is equated with the
physical body. The physical body needs food, water and air. It is
associated with the first or root chakra (non-physical spinning energy
centers related to the autonomic nervous system). It relates to survival
issues.
Out from this kosha is the electromagnetic field of the body. It is the
pranic or energy body also known as the etheric body. This kosha relates to
the second, water chakra. It is involved with procreation, prestige and self
identity.
The third, fire chakra relates to ambition, achievement, power and control.
This is technically called manomaya kosha. It is related to manas, the
aspect of mind that is directly linked to sense perception. Dr. Lad points
out that what we know as the astral body includes the prana kosha and the
mano kosha. These relate to the emotional nature of a person.
The sheath of knowledge is associated with the air chakra located in the
center of the chest. This is the ahamkar, the AI am@ aspect of the mind.
It has to do with emotional love. The sheath of knowledge also is
incorporated into the next kosha.
The kosha of intellect is related to the budhi aspect of mind. Cosmically
it is known as mahat or cosmic intelligence. It is also termed the causal
body as it is on the pattern plane where the blueprints and causes for
manifesting the physical plane are drawn according to the law of karma. It
has to do with communication.
The sixth kosha is related to third eye. The mind, body consciousness and
awareness are intertwined here. As Dr. Lad puts it, Athis is where Alpha
meets Omega.@ This is also part of the bliss sheath.
The bliss kosha is beyond the koshas because it is beyond the mind and
physical body. The mind cannot use something it cannot become aware of.
This is the level of Self Realization which prepares one for God Realization.
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Mysticism - the Past and Future
I predict that the religion of the future will be a "scientific" mysticism. The very nature is of the universe is a mystery. Not that it is an occult undertaking, but that it is hidden from normal waking consciousness.
John Davidson, in his book Treasury of Mystic Terms, says that wherever man exists, so does mysticism. Mysticism is a transcendent experience that is not a philosophy or religious doctrine but is an expansion of normal consciousness.
Though it is not religious doctrine, the one who has this experience often expresses the experience in terms that are associated with the most profound association with the divine. If the experience is written down in prose or verse, these writings often become the sacred scripture of religious doctrine.
No amount of reasoning or study can replace the mystic experience. This experience is open to all who take interest in having it. It also has been had by the testimony of many of the world"s greatest men and women.
All mystic experience obtains a certain common understanding. The expression of that understanding assumes widely different aspects according to the mystic"s disposition, time and place. This mystic understanding can be found in all cultural traditions of the world.
According to traditional Western sources, the earliest known recorded or written history dates from 3,000 to 4,000 B.C. This is not as early as the previous civilization referred to in the Indus valley.
The Sumerians are often considered the earliest as they left written remains. The Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient epic about a semi divine hero who goes in search of wisdom and immortality. He finds the "Plant of Immortality - Herb of Life - at the Fountain of Youth."
Zoroastrianism was well known throughout the Middle East in ancient times. It was mentioned by Plato and the Magi, Zoroastrian sages, were said to be present at the birth of Christ.
John Davidson mentions that Zoroastrian doctrines (which were written in the Avestan language) are echoed in the Vedas and the three world religions that have emanated from the Middle East - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Terms like "aeretatat" in Avestan translates into "amartyata" in Sanskrit and immortality in English. Avestan "manthra" translates as word and becomes "mantra" in Sanskrit which is normally understand to be a word or phrase repeated to bring a heightened state of awareness.
Embrace the Chaos
Maybe you don't feel this way, but after watching a newscast one could easy conclude that we are living in a kind of neurotic fairy tale. Buildings and societies constructed on shifting sands that would appear as a convincing reality at the time but soon change from an auto parts store to a Walgreens. We can be swept along with the chaos of the moment.
The point has been made that once we have enough to eat, clothes on ours backs and a roof over our heads, then why go on 'obsessively' trying to improve our conditions. This can become an end in itself and a pointless distraction that prevents us from getting clues to a deeper reality.
Sogyal Rinpoche says he thinks the greatest achievement of modern culture is its brilliant selling of samsara (worldly life) and its barren distractions. Modern society seems to be a celebration of all the things that lead away from the truth, make truth hard to live for and discourage people from even believing that it exists. The consumer machine keeps us greedy to keep going and feeds off the need for excitement, anxiety and depression. This creates an environment of addiction around us.
One reason we can have so many difficulties is because of ignoring of the truth of impermanence - anitya. We assume that permanence provides security and impermanence does not.
The whole physical universe is nothing but change, activity and process. A totality of flux that is the ground of all things. Every subatomic interaction consists of the annihilation of the original particles and the creation of new subatomic particles.
The subatomic world is a continual dance of creation and annihilation, of mass changing into energy and energy changing into mass. Transient forms sparkle in and out of existence, creating a never-ending, forever newly created reality.
Brain Hines say in his book God's Whisper, Creation's Thunder, "Chaos is everywhere and that's O.K. Not in the sense of confusion, but in the mathematical meaning of this term; behavior that is so complex, so sensitive to small influences, that it appears random. Scientists are discovering that chaotic behavior is basically the way the world works. This should come as a relief to anyone who is trying to make sense of life. One mathematician writes that today's science shows that nature is relentlessly nonlinear. So whatever it is that God deals in, it is not explicit formulas. Or at least those designed for pen and paper.
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The Kiss the Sky Yoga Sutras (Aphorisms)
An aphorism or sutra is a terse saying that carries a general truth and deep meaning.
1. "Watch the thought, feel the emotion without judgment or analysis."
Can we detach ourselves from the mental dialogue long enough to look at what is going on inside? Can we aware the movements of the mind without identifying them? Can we observe the reactions that the thoughts and emotions promote? Can we become the witness to allow ourselves to evolve into higher life?
2. "Aware, observe, witness and detach."
3. "Obtain the utmost unoccupiedness." Can we trust our intuitive response in the moment enough to allow the calculating mind to take a relaxation?
4. "Live in the eternal now." Since this is all we really have why not be in it as much as possible.
5. "Kiss the Sky," "Kiss the Sky," "Kiss the Sky." You can fill in this one. If higher states of consciousness do not carry a sense of bliss. peace and happiness, they may not be worth having.
Winter 05
The human body has five organs of sensation and five of action, (the five organs of action are the mouth, hands, feet, organs of reproduction and organs of elimination). All are under the control of mind.
The control of all systems (motor and sensory currents) are by the individual mind, some bringing impressions to the mind, and some taking away orders from it.
Knowledge of the environment is possible only when the object to be known and the particular sense organ and the mind are all in one line.
Interpretation of internal stimuli or impressions are at the mind centers. When the senses are closed, mind contemplates the external experience by way of recital. (Sar Bachan p. 170).
Recitation and contemplation of the external world is continuous. There is a perpetual (the Chinese say the earth is perpetual and Heaven is eternal) whirl and motion of the mind at the five sense centers.
The mind can attend to only one sense at a time. This constant whirl and occupation of the mind makes it oblivious to what is going on deeper inside.
The body is the material characteristic of the mind. The power of awareness and concentration for acquiring knowledge is due to spirit or soul quality. The disassociation of the mind from sense organs and stoppage of its constant motion by concentration is the object of all yoga.
The question has been asked, "In objective reality, what would this world look like?" Even science says that it is all vibrations. We experience the world the way we do because we are tuned in to a certain frequency.
In the electronics of the universe there are three currents: positive, negative and neutral. According to ancient yoga teachings, in our forehead are three currents or veins called 'nadis'. The nadis are translated as 'tubes' or energy pathways. These veins are know in Sanskrit as: Ida, the negative current on the left; Pingala, the positive current on the right; and Sushumna, the neutral current in the middle.
These nadis intertwine to form the chakras - the energy centers that carry out the sensory perceptions and provoke individual actions.
These centers have been discussed in depth in previous newsletters and in the ACU-Polarity book.
Nadi currents, like the rivers of the planet, can and have become polluted. The solution to many of the planetary environmental problems lies in disassociation with the mind and its negativity. This is the cleaning up of our internal environment. This leads to association with the deeper aspect of who we are and what our true needs are.
It is easy to see the negativity in someone or something external. But it takes true insight and strength, courage and bravery to see the problem in ourselves and to take appropriate corrective action.
Mr. Sasaki Removes the Veil
It is written that the person who masters Hatha yoga is the knower of the veil. The veil is the various aspects of the mind and it's projection, the physical body.
Veiled from what? Truth and reality. So to know all the details of the mind and body is good, but that doesn't answer the fundamental question of who we are.
Mr. Sasaki enlightens us about what real knowledge is like:
"One day I wiped out all notions from my mind. I gave up all desire. I discarded all the words with which I thought and stayed in quietude. I felt a little queer - as if I were being carried into something, or as if I were touching some power unknown to me ... And zzt! I entered. I lost the boundary of my physical body. I had my skin, of course, but I felt I was standing in the center of the cosmos. I spoke, but my words had lost their meaning. I saw people coming toward me, but all were the same man. All were myself! I had never known this world. I had believed that I was created, but now I must change my opinion: I was never created: was the cosmos: no individual Mr. Sasaki existed. " Zen Master Sasaki.
The world is theater
The world is like theater. It is not what it seems
to be and nothing related to it is permanent. If we
develop a worldview that puts life situations in their
appropriate perspective, it will give us the strength
to keep from drowning in life's storms. "Everything
is honored but nothing matter that much." This is
because the things of lasting, meaning true and
eternal are within us, not in social, economic or
politically derived situations.
The main difficulty we can face in recognizing our
real need is that becoming too engrossed in life
situations, building castles in the air, we can miss
the inner purpose. As Ekhart Tolle states it, we need
to discern the difference between our life situation -
physical body, friends, possessions, etc. - and our
life.
The constant preoccupation with life situations
distracts to the extent that it can keep us in a
circle of suffering and unhappiness. If we can "root"
ourselves within, which means within our own
consciousness, then it is possible to find balance
that happiness and freedom we often try to find
outside. The constitution of a particular country
does not necessarily give, nor can it take away, one's
inner freedom.
To a certain extent, the true death is to break the
bonds of the false identity that we have constructed
associated with the physical body.
Special note: Do not try these practices at home
without consulting your enlightened spiritual advisor.
A Yogic Theory of Evolution
It is suggested that you take this as traditional wisdom and not as doctrine that must be accepted or rejected.
In the creative process one could classify all living beings into the wheel of eighty-four. This means the total number of species of living creatures is counted as 8.4 million. This includes 3,000,000 types of tress and plants; 2,700,000 types of insects; 1,400,000 kinds of birds; and 900,000 varieties of marine and aquatic creatures. There are 400,000 types of men/women, animals, heavenly beings, disembodied spirits and others who inhabit celestial spheres. All go spinning as in a merry-go-round, in one life after another � in a horizontal movement This all occurs in a time frame, according to Yogic scriptures, of creation going through a cycle of four phases or yugas. Each successive age is less spiritual and twice as short in duration as the previous age. The cycle starts with a Golden Age, the era of Truth known as Sat Yuga. During this age the world is steeped in a high level of spirituality.
Each yuga is in increments of 432,000. Sat yuga is 4 X 432,000 = 1,728,000. You can also assume that humans live longer and healthier and purer lives during this time.
Sat yoga is followed by the Silver age known as Treta yoga. Treta yuga lasts 3 X 432,000 = 1,296,000 years. Treta yuga is followed by the Bronze age known as Dwapar yuga. Dwapar lasts 2 X 432,000 = 864,000 years.
Dwapar yuga is followed by the Iron age known as Kali yuga which is the age were are in now. This is known as the era as ignorance. The people are weak and the leaders are corrupt. Kali yuga last 432,000 years. There is one point here, even though conditions are the worst during this era, the opportunity for spiritual development is the greatest. It has been pointed out that you can only graduate from a university at a certain time of year and no other. It is the yogic teaching that soul can only achieve moksha, soul liberation, and God Realization during kali yuga. From this point of One of these cycles of the four yugas makes one mahayuga (4,320,000). At the end of kali yuga, there is a dissolution (pralaya). Then the creation begins again fresh and new.
At the end of 1,000 mahayugas, which is called a Kalpa (also known as a cosmic day) there is a Maha Pralaya. This is total annihilation of the physical, astral and causal planes. These regions are drawn up into precreational condition for an equal amount of time (known as a cosmic night). Then it begins again, fresh and new. Wu!
Truth and the Time Process
By the very definition of Truth it would have to be something beyond the time process. Anything involved in the time process would be subject to change. Truth would have to exist today, as yesterday, tomorrow and at any time or place it would be the same. If something is one thing today and something else tomorrow, appears one way in an Ancient culture and in another way in modern society, then it would not be the nature of Truth - the beyond the infinite (space) and eternal (time).
The time process must include the nature of unreality. Maya is the space process. These two, time and space, are the fundamentals involved in illusion. Add the law of karma, cause and effect, and you have the formula for the core process of the three worlds (physical, astral and causal).
The question is often asked, why did God create this world? In a way, He did not create the world because it does not exist in truth. It only exists in the mind. How can this be? How does it work that this world is not real?
If we are watching a movie, and start wondering how the movie came to be, and if we climbed up on the stage and started tearing down the screen, we could never solve the problem of how the movie came to be. We would obviously have to turn around and go into the projector room and study the film and camera to understand how the movie was projected on the screen. Then we could realize that the actors were not involved in a live performance and the roles they were playing were only made up to tell a story to entertain and distract the viewers.
Less obvious to we humans is how consciousness is projected on the screen of the five elements (ether, air, fire , water and earth as the consistency of matter not the elements of chemistry).
Being fooled by the five senses, the ego and time bound mind, we start the study of Truth by looking without instead of within. The scientific tendency is to take the projection as reality.
looking at a pencil, for example, we would tend to think that it is an object outside what we consider ourselves. It has shape, color, volume and substance. It is communicating its reality through the senses of touch and sight. It seems like certain sensory nerves are sending impression to the brain and the interpretation is deciphered at the brain centers that yes, indeed this is a pencil. Through memory and past experience one knows what it is and its utility.
What is difficult to understand is that the pencil, the universe is not external to consciousness being interpreted within, but is within consciousness being projected out. To know the reality of the pencil or the universe, then we would have to turn consciousness on its self. This can only be done by stilling the mind and thoughts, which stops the distraction of the time process.
In chapter one of the Tao Te Ching it says in effect that when the mind moves the manifest, the '10,000 things' as 'being' can be known. When the mind becomes empty, the unmanifest (Wu), as the 'source' of all being can experienced. Wu!
Do not believe the illusion
One of the ideals of Taoism is to become a real person, which means to become an integrated person, whole like in a wholyman/woman.
For those who have given consideration to the subject, by reasoning and observation we can understand that this world is like a dream. However, after realizing this, it is not that easy to live this fact in our actual life experience. It is more likely that we may think the world is like a dream, but in fact take it as a stern reality. This is why there is so much worry about the ups and downs of life.
The reason that we can find it so difficult to be clear on this is because it is only a mental concept and not fully integrated into our being. When we get true knowledge of the nature of reality, our behavior and actions are automatically adjusted and modified accordingly. This is the principle of acting in accord with the Will of God, of Being in the Flow. It is Wu Wei action less action, effortless effort.
From the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 38 we read:
A person of integral virtue is not aware of their virtue,
Therefore they are truly virtuous.
A person of incomplete virtue tries to be good,
Therefore is not truly virtuous.
A person of whole virtue does nothing,
And yet, leaves nothing undone. (In other words you could say they let a higher consciousness act through them).
A person of incomplete virtue thinks they are doing it,
Therefore their action is not whole.
The person of integral virtue dwells on what is real, And not on the surface, On the fruit and not the flower.
Therefore, integrate the One and reject the other. (Integrate the One whole and rejecting the other means otherness as all is One, considering ourselves as apart and separate from the rest of the uni-verse).
In objective reality, what would this world look like? Even science says that it is all vibrations. In a way, we experience the world the way we do because we are tuned into a certain frequency.
From Deepak Chopra's book The Return of Merlin, as Arthur is watching Camelot being destroyed by forces of darkness, he awaits his Master, protector of the kingdom, Merlin. Quoting, Many myths shroud the end of Camelot. These myths arose because the truth was too deep for people to understand. When Mordred, the force of darkness, launched his furious assault, Arthur did nothing.
Arthur opens a note sent by a courier falcon from Merlin, their first communication in years. It read, Do not believe the illusion. Remember the teachings, I am here.
We can compromise our ideals and lose our perspective because we believe the illusion, taking it to be real.
Immortality
A mere and meager mortal hillbilly philosopher is hardly in a position to comment, with authority, on the lofty subject of immortality. I do not practice Taoist meditation, but Surat Shabd Yoga.
All the books say not to practice meditation simply by reading a book. It is advised that we need personal and live contact with a teacher who is an adept to help us personally at every step.
Having said that, it could be helpful, though, to take an intellectual look through the eyes of Taoist philosophy and meditation practice at the subject of immortality.
Life is a continuous cycle that almost everybody has to go through over and over again, in the form of life and death. So, immortality means one is no longer subject to birth and death. No longer falsely identified with the physical body and material life.
The cycle is broken by a process called �cultivating Tao.� This means seeking immortality through consistent effort guided by Taoist principles. In order to attain immortality, one has to cultivate it. Those who succeed in becoming immortals are said to have attained Tao, the way of nature.
Essentially this way has four interrelated, ascending steps: 1) Refine foods into essence (called jing); 2) refine essence into vital qi (Eva Wong calls this vapor); 3) refine vapor (qi) into primordial spirit (shen); 4) Merge primordial spirit into the void (means the unmanifest). Wu!
According to Taoist philosophy these are the milestones in seeking immortality.
An important method to refine foods into essence is fitness exercises, which improve digestive power and enhance vitality. Healthy foods are needed for production of essence.
According to this school of thinking, essence can be used in having sex and producing children, or it can be used to refine essence into qi. Of course, we Americans would like to do both.
The more essence one has, the higher will be ones level of qi energy and the stronger will be ones immunity and health.
The relationship between excellent health and immortality is well explored by the ancients who used the term "internal elixir" to describe refined spirit, and the term external elixir to describe robust health. The ideal is to embark on the journey in search of immortality (refine the internal elixir) by refining the external elixir (having good health). Or as Bikram said to me many years ago when I told him I wanted to meditate, you can't meditate unless you're in good health.
Personally, I would think that good health is an ideal help, but not a must for spiritual development, but I'm already in over my head.
The cultivation of internal elixir is referred to as the training of the spirit, aimed at refining qi energy into spirit, while the cultivation of external elixir is referred to as the training of the body, aimed at refining essence into qi energy.
One of the basic tasks for cultivating immortality is said to be the restoration of the primordial balance between body and spirit. It is believed that without considerable length of life, one cannot go through the lengthy process of cultivating immortality. Here, what is needed is not enthusiasm, but persistence. Enthusiasm is like a thunderstorm; it never lasts for long. Persistence is like the drop of water which will, in due time, penetrate a rock.
Chinese sages are said to have referred to the entire process of cultivating immortality as gathering medicines. Medicines refers to essence, qi and spirit, the three treasures.
Tai Chi Rotation
Proper exercise, according to Hua-Ching Ni in his book Tao the Subtle Universal Law, includes Tai Chi movements that are based on cosmology and patterned after the movement of the universe.
The universal law and the law of individual being is the principle that the human body is a miniature universe.
Gentle movement aims to guide an individual's energy through his or her microcosmic energy network in a manner that follows cosmic law.
Tai Chi movements provide realignment with universal law. By observing how one's own body and energy operate while performing Tai Chi, one may discover, experientially, the law inherent in individual being.
The principle of Tai Chi movement is that undivided oneness is the root of all movement. Cosmically speaking, undivided oneness is the origin of every manifestation hence everything. The technical term to describe the undivided oneness is Wu Chi. Tai Chi proceeds from Wu Chi and Wu chi includes Tai Chi.
Movements may be explained in terms of yin and yang. The full leg is yang and the empty leg is yin. Up and out is yang, in and down is yin. Breathing in is yang, and exhalation is yin.
The movements of Tai Chi exercise are a continual sequence of yin and yang movements coordinated with inhalation and exhalation.
Stillness and movement alternately follow each other. Ideally, in Tai Chi movement, there is a stillness that enhances quiet sitting meditation and provides a balanced activity. In activity one learns to look for stillness. In quiet sitting one looks for the creative.
Gentle, rhythmic movement brings about the constant flow of energy. This is referred to as constant virtue, the constant quality in this type of movement.
The movements are a series of circles that reflect the cosmic laws of the Earth spinning on its axis as it orbits the sun. The movement of the sun orbiting the galactic center of the Milky Way, and the Milky Way following a circular pattern as it moves through the universe form cosmic circles. This is why these movements are referred to as Rotation; hence Tai Chi Rotation.
By training the mind to remain calm and relaxed, the brain and central nervous system may receive and transmit information more accurately and thoroughly. The spine is kept erect so there is good communication between mind, body and consciousness.
The ingredients and principles of Tai Chi movements are described in the Yoga and Tai Chi Rotation book and are:
TAI CHI INGREDIENTS:
1) Balancing the chi and blood
2) Building energy and
3) Knowing the sequence of movements and breathing
PRINCIPLES OF MOVEMENT
1) Be natural and relaxed
2) Breathe slowly and deeply
3) Establish groundedness through the lower body and legs
4) Move slowly
5) Practice regularly with concentration throughout the exercise, trying to exclude any other thoughts.
Relax
Spine straight
Breathe deeply into the area of CV 6 below the navel to CV 17 in the center of the chest.
Move from the waist. This area is called the yao shi. The waist includes the area of the hip socket and the area below the navel, CV6 and the alignment of the spine. Turn the waist (yao shi) to initiate movements.
Separate Yin and Yang. The movement of weight goes from the full/yang or weight-bearing leg to the empty/yin or non-weight-bearing leg.
