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Showing posts from September, 2006

Triggering the Enlightenment Virus

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...

Pretend I'm Dying

When I look around and see the situation in the world, like many people, my reaction is, "Whoo boy! What a mess!!" Next is the thought of what can possibly be done to improve the situation. But, there is a problem – in order to solve the various crises of the world, it's going to require a significant change in the way people view and act in the world. However, very few are willing to do anything that will significantly impact their own lives. Global warming? "Oh, well, my one little SUV won't make much difference, and I sure love the roominess. I mean, come on, I still need to look good, right?" So, how does one get anything done? How does one make an impact on the world? What would actually cause people to initiate action? And then I came up with it: Pretend that I'm dying. Better yet, pretend that I am a young child and I am dying. Works every time. For instance, a young boy could come up to you in the street, not well dressed, pretty pathetic lookin...

Never More Enlightened

The reality is, you will never be more enlightened than you are right now! It's like happiness. If you're not happy now, nothing, NOTHING will make you any more happy in the future. Nothing will change that - nothing will change who or what you are. Certainly circumstances will change. Circumstances always change. That is the nature of the flow of life. But the moment you depend on some circumstance to make you happy, you're sunk. As Socrates said, "He who is not contented with what he has, will not be contented with what he doesn't have." Enlightenment is the same. Enlightenment is not something to be achieved. It is like happiness - it is what is already present when you let go of their being something wrong, like the idea of NOT being enlightened. When you recognize that the "I" that is seeking, is itself nothing of real substance other than an idea of seeking, and that the sense of Presence, of 'I AM'-ness has always and already been pres...