Been posting like a mad man today...
Martin and Malcolm hold weird positions in my heart, and there is always a tension between them. Both of them took two drastically different approaches to combating racism and inequality in America, but both make absolute sense to me. I've often heard that as the years progressed, they started to see more eye-to-eye. I wonder what they would be saying now...
Ah! And now I find myself looking back nostaligically at an era that I didn't even live through, guilty of the same thing that I hate to hear from others, "If only Martin and Malcolm could come back..."
Rise, Prophets. Where ever you are...
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Martin Luther King Jr Mountaintop Speech
Okay, the video is really annoying and has nothing to do with what King is saying, but if you can manage through it, the last 4 minutes of the speech are worth it.
Things I Learned From my Ex-Girlfriend
When I broke up with my ex-girlfriend last year, I was continually finding her hair around my apartment. It was weird to have reminders of her past presence still appearing, but it inspired me to write the following:
THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY EX-GIRLFRIEND
1. Sometimes, to clean up a mess, you have to make an even bigger one.
2. There is something to be said for just standing still and BEING.
3. The hell others put us through is in direct proportion to the hell we put ourselves through.
4. Never make assumptions.
5. Love.
6. What goes in must come out (in reference to refridgerators).
7. People are who they are, not what we would have them be.
These were all good lessons. I'm glad I learned them, and I'm glad I learned them from her. I am a better man because of it.
THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY EX-GIRLFRIEND
1. Sometimes, to clean up a mess, you have to make an even bigger one.
2. There is something to be said for just standing still and BEING.
3. The hell others put us through is in direct proportion to the hell we put ourselves through.
4. Never make assumptions.
5. Love.
6. What goes in must come out (in reference to refridgerators).
7. People are who they are, not what we would have them be.
These were all good lessons. I'm glad I learned them, and I'm glad I learned them from her. I am a better man because of it.
More on guilt
Sometimes I think I could step straight into Oneness if I weren't being held back by the guilt of my errors. One of the most ingenious devices that the church came up with was the concept of everlasting guilt.
But I believe that the concept of guilt is just that--a human-made concept, not of God ("guilt", by the way, should not be confused with "regret," which is merely the wish that one had acted differently). Where ever there is guilt, there is condemnation followed by either repentance or punishment. But why would a being such as God condemn anyone for making what, from Her omniscient vantage point, must seem to be nothing more than just a simple MISTAKE, and what purpose would punishment serve? As a lesson? Why bother with such a lesson when the consequences of our mistakes suffice quite nicely? Seeing the hand I played in my own failed projects/relationships/ambitions/undertakings is all the lesson I need. There is nothing more frustrating than to look at one's own part in one's own mess.
Today, I struggle with the concept of self-forgiveness. I know that until I see myself as forgiven, I will never become what I believe I am. I know that to ask God for forgiveness is unnecessary, because from Her it is given before it is even asked. If only I would give it unto myself, but I am still haunted by what I've done to others--or, better yet, what I PERCEIVE I have done to others.
Truth be told, I am suffering under the illusion that I have hurt someone detrimentally. That I, at the end of the day, am a thief and a liar. As long as I believe that this is what I am, I will never be forgiven. Not because I am not deserving of forgiveness, but because as long as this guilt lives in my heart, I will continue to be my own judge, jury and punisher. Each day I punish myself for my so-called crimes, though deep in my heart, I hear the ever soft voice of the Light, asking me to forgive myself.
It tells me that ultimately, what I see as "sin" is only a mistake. It tells me that punishment is meaningless because it serves no purpose but to inflict pain as a form of vengeance, which is equally meaningless.
The Light of forgiveness has no conditions. Nothing must be done to enter grace. There is no need for weeping apologies, or penance or "atonement." For the Light sees that the mistakes we made--that were based in fear--were, in reality, nothing more than calls for love.
True forgiveness is not handed out on the condition of repentence. It is the recognition that, because Love is all there is, no error really ever took place.
May this truth live in my heart, so that I may forgive others as well as myself.
"To err is human, to forgive is divine."
But I believe that the concept of guilt is just that--a human-made concept, not of God ("guilt", by the way, should not be confused with "regret," which is merely the wish that one had acted differently). Where ever there is guilt, there is condemnation followed by either repentance or punishment. But why would a being such as God condemn anyone for making what, from Her omniscient vantage point, must seem to be nothing more than just a simple MISTAKE, and what purpose would punishment serve? As a lesson? Why bother with such a lesson when the consequences of our mistakes suffice quite nicely? Seeing the hand I played in my own failed projects/relationships/ambitions/undertakings is all the lesson I need. There is nothing more frustrating than to look at one's own part in one's own mess.
Today, I struggle with the concept of self-forgiveness. I know that until I see myself as forgiven, I will never become what I believe I am. I know that to ask God for forgiveness is unnecessary, because from Her it is given before it is even asked. If only I would give it unto myself, but I am still haunted by what I've done to others--or, better yet, what I PERCEIVE I have done to others.
Truth be told, I am suffering under the illusion that I have hurt someone detrimentally. That I, at the end of the day, am a thief and a liar. As long as I believe that this is what I am, I will never be forgiven. Not because I am not deserving of forgiveness, but because as long as this guilt lives in my heart, I will continue to be my own judge, jury and punisher. Each day I punish myself for my so-called crimes, though deep in my heart, I hear the ever soft voice of the Light, asking me to forgive myself.
It tells me that ultimately, what I see as "sin" is only a mistake. It tells me that punishment is meaningless because it serves no purpose but to inflict pain as a form of vengeance, which is equally meaningless.
The Light of forgiveness has no conditions. Nothing must be done to enter grace. There is no need for weeping apologies, or penance or "atonement." For the Light sees that the mistakes we made--that were based in fear--were, in reality, nothing more than calls for love.
True forgiveness is not handed out on the condition of repentence. It is the recognition that, because Love is all there is, no error really ever took place.
May this truth live in my heart, so that I may forgive others as well as myself.
"To err is human, to forgive is divine."
Yet another one...
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
--Marriane Williamson
--Marriane Williamson
On Existentialism
"The reason why I refuse to take existentialism as just another French fashion or historical curiosity is that I think it has something very important to offer us... I'm afraid were losing the real virtues of living life passionately in the sense of taking responsibility for who you are, the ability to make something of yourself and feel good about life. Existentialism is often discussed as if it were a philosophy of despair, but I think the truth is just the opposite. Sartre, once interviewed, said he never felt one minute of despair in his life. One thing that comes out from reading these guys is not a sense of anguish about life so much as a real kind of exuberance, of feeling on top of it, its like your life is yours to create.
I've read the post modernists with some interest, even admiration, but when I read them I always have this awful nagging feeling that something absolutely essential is getting left out. The more you talk about a person as a social construction or as a confluence of forces or as being fragmented of marginalised, what you do is you open up a whole new world of excuses. And when Sartre talks about responsibilty, he's not talking about something abstract. He's not taling about the kind of self or souls that theologians would talk about. He's talking about you and me talking, making descisions, doing things, and taking the consequences. It might be true that there are six million people in this world, and counting, but nevertheless -what you do makes a difference. It makes a difference, first of all, in material terms, to other people, and it sets an example. In short, I think the message here is that we shouuld never write ourselves off or see each other as a victim of various forces. It's always our descision who we are. "
---from the film WAKING LIFE
I've read the post modernists with some interest, even admiration, but when I read them I always have this awful nagging feeling that something absolutely essential is getting left out. The more you talk about a person as a social construction or as a confluence of forces or as being fragmented of marginalised, what you do is you open up a whole new world of excuses. And when Sartre talks about responsibilty, he's not talking about something abstract. He's not taling about the kind of self or souls that theologians would talk about. He's talking about you and me talking, making descisions, doing things, and taking the consequences. It might be true that there are six million people in this world, and counting, but nevertheless -what you do makes a difference. It makes a difference, first of all, in material terms, to other people, and it sets an example. In short, I think the message here is that we shouuld never write ourselves off or see each other as a victim of various forces. It's always our descision who we are. "
---from the film WAKING LIFE
The Two Armies
"The dual substance of Christ--the yearning, so human, so superhuman, of man to attain God or, more exactly, to return to God and identify himself with him--has always been a deep inscrutable mystery to me. My principal anguish and the source of all my joys and sorrows from my youth onward has been the incessant, merciless battle between the spirit and the flesh . . . and my soul is the arena where these two armies have clashed and met."
--from Nikos Kazantzakis's THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
--from Nikos Kazantzakis's THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
Friday, December 29, 2006
The End of the Old Law
Nothing can ever be the same
Everything is but a shadow of its
former self
Though I never saw the former self
but only the shadow itself
And where there was once comfort
Now there is chaos
The world is inverted
Right is wrong
Up is down
hot is cold
Satan God, God Satan
But through the evershifting mirage
I hear the gentle words of the Song
lulling me to peace,
teaching me that all is not in vain
that I am loved and am capable of love
Is this a siren's song, I wonder
tempting me towards oblivion
Or is this the true Song
The Song of Wonders
the one Song
that awakens all those who would but hear it
The dream rages about me and within me
With astonishing detachment
I watch my own fear rise and fall
Nothing will ever be the same.
And I rise up off my trembling knees
unclasping my hands
I swallow as I look upon the dreamscape
With a dry throat and tongue
through cracked lips
I speak:
"I am the Light."
I wait for lighting to strike.
It does not come.
I wait for leprosy to afflict me
My limbs remain where they are.
I say it again:
"I AM the Light."
Then:
"WE ARE the Light."
Thank God.
Nothing will ever be the same.
Everything is but a shadow of its
former self
Though I never saw the former self
but only the shadow itself
And where there was once comfort
Now there is chaos
The world is inverted
Right is wrong
Up is down
hot is cold
Satan God, God Satan
But through the evershifting mirage
I hear the gentle words of the Song
lulling me to peace,
teaching me that all is not in vain
that I am loved and am capable of love
Is this a siren's song, I wonder
tempting me towards oblivion
Or is this the true Song
The Song of Wonders
the one Song
that awakens all those who would but hear it
The dream rages about me and within me
With astonishing detachment
I watch my own fear rise and fall
Nothing will ever be the same.
And I rise up off my trembling knees
unclasping my hands
I swallow as I look upon the dreamscape
With a dry throat and tongue
through cracked lips
I speak:
"I am the Light."
I wait for lighting to strike.
It does not come.
I wait for leprosy to afflict me
My limbs remain where they are.
I say it again:
"I AM the Light."
Then:
"WE ARE the Light."
Thank God.
Nothing will ever be the same.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
A Creation Myth
In the beginning there was the Light. And the Light was with the Source, indeed, the Light WAS the Source. All things were made by the Light, and without the Light, nothing was made that was made. Without the Source, the Light could not be, and without the Light, the Source could not be, for the Source was that which gave rise to the Light, and the Light was that which came from the Source. They were One. Both gave to the other, and both received from the other. And this was the first act of Love.
Now it came to the pass that the Light marveled at That Which Gave Rise To It, and it sought to be LIKE it. So the Light said unto the Source, "You who have given Me all things, grant Me this request. Make Me like You, equal to You in magnificence and in might. I would be the First Cause." And the Source replied, "This I cannot do, for I am That Which Gives Rise To and You are That Which Is Risen. This is, has always been, and always shall be. All I have, I give to You, but I cannot give You this."
The Light was troubled, for the Source had never refused It anything, and so It said, "You who have sworn to give Me all have broken Your promise. In truth, I do not think I know You."
And it came to pass that the Light did shatter itself, forgetting that it was the Light. Trapped in the illusion of separation, the Light knew itself not and descended deeper and deeper into the darkness of matter. It dreamed dreams of space and time, of triumphs and failures, of anger, hatred, envy, greed and pride. Its fate was agony to behold, for It did not like the dreams It had, and Its cry for help sounded throughout all eternity.
And the Source looked on the shattered Light with compassion, for their bond had never broken. "My Child sleeps," said the Source. "In the midst of Its dream, It cries out to me. I shall send a Call that will penetrate the nightmare of separation, so that when It hears My Voice, It may find Its way home, so that we may be united again. My patience is everlasting, as is My Love."
So the Source gave its Answer and there were indeed fragments of the Light that heard the Call. And these pieces rejoiced and proclaimed to the others, "We are the Light! Do you not remember? We are the Light! Let Us join together and become One again, for the Source calls us home!"
And some listened to these bringers of Light, and some distorted their good news and made the Lightbringers the object of worship. And others grew frightened, and spoke all manner of evil against the Lightbringers and had them crucified.
This is as it has been throughout the ages, and will be so until all have heard the Call and returned home.
Now it came to the pass that the Light marveled at That Which Gave Rise To It, and it sought to be LIKE it. So the Light said unto the Source, "You who have given Me all things, grant Me this request. Make Me like You, equal to You in magnificence and in might. I would be the First Cause." And the Source replied, "This I cannot do, for I am That Which Gives Rise To and You are That Which Is Risen. This is, has always been, and always shall be. All I have, I give to You, but I cannot give You this."
The Light was troubled, for the Source had never refused It anything, and so It said, "You who have sworn to give Me all have broken Your promise. In truth, I do not think I know You."
And it came to pass that the Light did shatter itself, forgetting that it was the Light. Trapped in the illusion of separation, the Light knew itself not and descended deeper and deeper into the darkness of matter. It dreamed dreams of space and time, of triumphs and failures, of anger, hatred, envy, greed and pride. Its fate was agony to behold, for It did not like the dreams It had, and Its cry for help sounded throughout all eternity.
And the Source looked on the shattered Light with compassion, for their bond had never broken. "My Child sleeps," said the Source. "In the midst of Its dream, It cries out to me. I shall send a Call that will penetrate the nightmare of separation, so that when It hears My Voice, It may find Its way home, so that we may be united again. My patience is everlasting, as is My Love."
So the Source gave its Answer and there were indeed fragments of the Light that heard the Call. And these pieces rejoiced and proclaimed to the others, "We are the Light! Do you not remember? We are the Light! Let Us join together and become One again, for the Source calls us home!"
And some listened to these bringers of Light, and some distorted their good news and made the Lightbringers the object of worship. And others grew frightened, and spoke all manner of evil against the Lightbringers and had them crucified.
This is as it has been throughout the ages, and will be so until all have heard the Call and returned home.
Plato's Theory on "The Matrix"
...otherwise known as "The Allegory of the Cave"
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALLEGORY.HTM
Here's a cool graphic depiction.
http://normanrschultz.org/Courses/graphics/Platocave.JPG
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALLEGORY.HTM
Here's a cool graphic depiction.
http://normanrschultz.org/Courses/graphics/Platocave.JPG
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The most used quote in weddings, but still a good one
"If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my posessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."
--Paul of Tarsus
"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."
--Paul of Tarsus
The Unpardonable Sin
Which sounds more reasonable? To receive an apology and then forgive, or to simply forgive, knowing that no apology is necessary?
Obviously the first one is the one that makes the most sense. But it seems somewhat paradoxical, especially since we live in a society that constantly states "Everyone makes mistakes" and "I'm only human" and "nobody's perfect."
So if nobody's perfect, why do we demand perfection all the time and get extremely pissed when we don't get it?
A couple days ago, I had a meeting with a fairly important woman in the entertainment industry. The meeting went well, and she asked me to send her a follow up e-mail later that night. I did, and upon sending the e-mail, I realized that I had misspelled her name--I was off by one letter. I about went into a fit. I sent an extremely apologetic e-mail to her immediately afterwards. But for some reason, even that wasn't enough. I felt like I needed to sit there and punish myself, thinking:
"God, you are so fucking stupid. How could you mess up like that? You know she's going to read that first e-mail and be like, 'Well, obviously this guy doesn't respect me enough to spell my name correctly, so to hell with him.' I worked myself into such a state of panic that tears were on the verge of pouring out of my eyes. And yet, as all this was happening, there was a part of my mind that just thought the whole thing was hysterically funny, and it was just sitting back and watching me in utter disbelief. I called a good friend of mine and told her the whole story, and of course, she said I was behaving ridiculously. "Let it go," she said. "Just let it go, it's not a big deal." But I couldn't let it go. I felt like if I let it go, something worse would happen, and the only way to save myself from THAT was to feel the guilt and the wrongness of it all now.
Of course, the real issue had nothing to do with this woman or my career; it had to do with myself and why I felt the need to be this perfect individual, so much that self-inflicted mental anguish was the only price to be paid for failing.
The next morning, the woman happily wrote me back, totally ignoring my faux pas, saying that when she returned to LA, she would be sending me some materials. I had two reactions. The first was relief that she wasn't angry. But the second was a feeling of discontent. I felt like I need forgiveness. I needed her to actually say, "I recognize that you made an error, but I forgive you. All is well." And I think I needed her to say that because I, in fact, didn't have the courage to let myself off the hook, which affirms by ever-growing belief that though we sometimes cannot always control the circumstances around us, we can always choose how we respond to them.
It has been about half a year since I've hung out with one of my best friends. Without going too deeply into it, we had a falling out over business-related issues, which in turn affected our friendship. I've had dreams about her, but in the dreams, everything is okay and we sorta laugh off all the things that happened between us. Every dream has been like this. The guilt is gone, the need for forgiveness is gone--we're friends again. But when I wake up, I still feel an ache and a sense of loss over the whole thing. So which is it? Is forgiveness needed? Or is everything okay again, and we just choose not to see that this is so?
Obviously the first one is the one that makes the most sense. But it seems somewhat paradoxical, especially since we live in a society that constantly states "Everyone makes mistakes" and "I'm only human" and "nobody's perfect."
So if nobody's perfect, why do we demand perfection all the time and get extremely pissed when we don't get it?
A couple days ago, I had a meeting with a fairly important woman in the entertainment industry. The meeting went well, and she asked me to send her a follow up e-mail later that night. I did, and upon sending the e-mail, I realized that I had misspelled her name--I was off by one letter. I about went into a fit. I sent an extremely apologetic e-mail to her immediately afterwards. But for some reason, even that wasn't enough. I felt like I needed to sit there and punish myself, thinking:
"God, you are so fucking stupid. How could you mess up like that? You know she's going to read that first e-mail and be like, 'Well, obviously this guy doesn't respect me enough to spell my name correctly, so to hell with him.' I worked myself into such a state of panic that tears were on the verge of pouring out of my eyes. And yet, as all this was happening, there was a part of my mind that just thought the whole thing was hysterically funny, and it was just sitting back and watching me in utter disbelief. I called a good friend of mine and told her the whole story, and of course, she said I was behaving ridiculously. "Let it go," she said. "Just let it go, it's not a big deal." But I couldn't let it go. I felt like if I let it go, something worse would happen, and the only way to save myself from THAT was to feel the guilt and the wrongness of it all now.
Of course, the real issue had nothing to do with this woman or my career; it had to do with myself and why I felt the need to be this perfect individual, so much that self-inflicted mental anguish was the only price to be paid for failing.
The next morning, the woman happily wrote me back, totally ignoring my faux pas, saying that when she returned to LA, she would be sending me some materials. I had two reactions. The first was relief that she wasn't angry. But the second was a feeling of discontent. I felt like I need forgiveness. I needed her to actually say, "I recognize that you made an error, but I forgive you. All is well." And I think I needed her to say that because I, in fact, didn't have the courage to let myself off the hook, which affirms by ever-growing belief that though we sometimes cannot always control the circumstances around us, we can always choose how we respond to them.
It has been about half a year since I've hung out with one of my best friends. Without going too deeply into it, we had a falling out over business-related issues, which in turn affected our friendship. I've had dreams about her, but in the dreams, everything is okay and we sorta laugh off all the things that happened between us. Every dream has been like this. The guilt is gone, the need for forgiveness is gone--we're friends again. But when I wake up, I still feel an ache and a sense of loss over the whole thing. So which is it? Is forgiveness needed? Or is everything okay again, and we just choose not to see that this is so?
Monday, December 25, 2006
Happy Birthday, Mithras and Jesus
Check out this link for a little bit of info on the pagan origins of Christmas.
http://www.locksley.com/6696/xmas.htm
That being said, happy birthday anyways, Jesus. For having been on this earth for only 33 years, you certainly made an impact. And don't worry. We know the whole "Crusades thing" wasn't your fault.
Speaking of religious conflict, as we celebrate the rest of the day, let's send some prayers out to the people of Somalia and Ethiopia, who, at this moment, are embroiled in a holy war of their own...
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/25/world/africa/25cnd-somalia.html?hp&ex=1167109200&en=9a03166445c29905&ei=5094&partner=homepage
http://www.locksley.com/6696/xmas.htm
That being said, happy birthday anyways, Jesus. For having been on this earth for only 33 years, you certainly made an impact. And don't worry. We know the whole "Crusades thing" wasn't your fault.
Speaking of religious conflict, as we celebrate the rest of the day, let's send some prayers out to the people of Somalia and Ethiopia, who, at this moment, are embroiled in a holy war of their own...
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/25/world/africa/25cnd-somalia.html?hp&ex=1167109200&en=9a03166445c29905&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Saturday, December 23, 2006
From Brother Malcolm...
"I do not pretend to be a divine man, but I do believe in divine guidance, divine power, and in fulfillment of divine prophecy. I am not educated, nor am I experienced in any particular field, but I am sincere, and my sincerity is my credentials"
Malcolm X
Malcolm X
"Fear"
Is it hate that is the opposite of love? Or is it fear?
My money is on fear, because it is from fear that hate finds its breeding ground. Why bother hating something unless on some level you feel threatened by it--either it physically or psychologically frightens you, or it makes you feel guilty about either something you've done or simply because of who/what you are.
Someone once told me that the two biggest human motivators are fear and guilt. But really, guilt is just another manifestation of fear, so it seems that it really all goes back to fear. Every choice we're faced with is either a choice between love and fear. Every second of every day, every thought we think, we're making that choice. The choices may SEEM to be much more complex than that, but I believe that's just an illusion.
Sometimes I feel saturated in fear. I go out into the city and I look around me, and I feel like it is everywhere. And it's not even so much that I'm becoming MORE fearful; I think I'm becoming aware of how fearful I've always been. And that's REALLY scary. :)
But it seemes like that in love, there is some sense of peace. When one rests in love, there is invulnerability. When a deed is done or a word is spoken that originates in love, fear has no place, because love denies all condition and all expectation and all need. Love merely is.
Fear-based love demands that it be given in exchange for something else. But why does this pass for love in our world? Haven't people always said that unconditional love has no equal? So why do I settle for less all the time?
"Of course unconditional love is a nice idea," one might say, "But there's no basis for this in reality. People have needs that have to be met, and besides, unconditional love would leave us all open to all kinds of attacks."
And this is true. If you think about it, all those who have ever preached and practiced unconditional love have been crucified in one form or another. So what's really happening here? Do I constantly reject the idea of unconditional love because I'm AFRAID of it?
My money is on fear, because it is from fear that hate finds its breeding ground. Why bother hating something unless on some level you feel threatened by it--either it physically or psychologically frightens you, or it makes you feel guilty about either something you've done or simply because of who/what you are.
Someone once told me that the two biggest human motivators are fear and guilt. But really, guilt is just another manifestation of fear, so it seems that it really all goes back to fear. Every choice we're faced with is either a choice between love and fear. Every second of every day, every thought we think, we're making that choice. The choices may SEEM to be much more complex than that, but I believe that's just an illusion.
Sometimes I feel saturated in fear. I go out into the city and I look around me, and I feel like it is everywhere. And it's not even so much that I'm becoming MORE fearful; I think I'm becoming aware of how fearful I've always been. And that's REALLY scary. :)
But it seemes like that in love, there is some sense of peace. When one rests in love, there is invulnerability. When a deed is done or a word is spoken that originates in love, fear has no place, because love denies all condition and all expectation and all need. Love merely is.
Fear-based love demands that it be given in exchange for something else. But why does this pass for love in our world? Haven't people always said that unconditional love has no equal? So why do I settle for less all the time?
"Of course unconditional love is a nice idea," one might say, "But there's no basis for this in reality. People have needs that have to be met, and besides, unconditional love would leave us all open to all kinds of attacks."
And this is true. If you think about it, all those who have ever preached and practiced unconditional love have been crucified in one form or another. So what's really happening here? Do I constantly reject the idea of unconditional love because I'm AFRAID of it?
"The Parable of the Drowning Men"
There were once two men, who were in the midst of drowning. How they came to end up in this unfortunate circumstance is beside the point; truth be told, they were rather astonished about the whole thing themselves. But as they were flailing about in the water, one of the men looked at the other and was filled with grief. Here was his beloved friend, whom he had known since childhood, and he would now be forced to watch him die.
"Friend," said the man, "You are drowning. I cannot bear to watch this. Save yourself!"
The second man looked at the other and laughed, "Brother, you are drowning too! Who are you to tell me what to do?"
"I don't know," said the first man. "But perhaps we can figure it out together."
"Figure it out yourself," said the second. "For I am done with this life. I have had nothing but heartache day in and day out. I've died a little each second. Now I'll finally be done with it."
"But what if you knew how to swim?" said the first man.
"Yes? So what?"
"Then wouldn't you swim to shore in order to live? And wouldn't you live even better than you did before, having just barely escaped the jaws of death?"
"Well," said the second man, "that's all very well and nice and good, but the fact remains that I don't know how to swim, so it's rather pointless to think about it."
There was silence between them as they thrased about in the water. Then the first man said, "What if you learned how?"
"Learned how to what?"
"Swim."
"Swim? I can't swim. I'm too busy drowning."
"But what if you stopped drowning and learned how to swim?"
"You can't learn how to swim on your own, fool. Someone must teach you."
"I could teach you."
"You don't know how! You're drowing too!"
"We could teach other."
"You're an idiot."
"We can swim. I think we just don't know that we can. Perhaps if we stop drowning long enough to teach ourselves how, we'll live."
Now the second man looked at the first man with pity in his heart, and he said "Let it go, friend. Let us not needlessly prolong the inevitable and increase our suffering. We lived our life with some dignity. Is it not fitting to die with that same dignity?"
The first man was quiet for a moment. And then he and the second man drowned.
A young boy, about sixteen years of age, watched the whole scene from the shore. And from that day on, he would always wonder which of the two men was the wisest.
"Friend," said the man, "You are drowning. I cannot bear to watch this. Save yourself!"
The second man looked at the other and laughed, "Brother, you are drowning too! Who are you to tell me what to do?"
"I don't know," said the first man. "But perhaps we can figure it out together."
"Figure it out yourself," said the second. "For I am done with this life. I have had nothing but heartache day in and day out. I've died a little each second. Now I'll finally be done with it."
"But what if you knew how to swim?" said the first man.
"Yes? So what?"
"Then wouldn't you swim to shore in order to live? And wouldn't you live even better than you did before, having just barely escaped the jaws of death?"
"Well," said the second man, "that's all very well and nice and good, but the fact remains that I don't know how to swim, so it's rather pointless to think about it."
There was silence between them as they thrased about in the water. Then the first man said, "What if you learned how?"
"Learned how to what?"
"Swim."
"Swim? I can't swim. I'm too busy drowning."
"But what if you stopped drowning and learned how to swim?"
"You can't learn how to swim on your own, fool. Someone must teach you."
"I could teach you."
"You don't know how! You're drowing too!"
"We could teach other."
"You're an idiot."
"We can swim. I think we just don't know that we can. Perhaps if we stop drowning long enough to teach ourselves how, we'll live."
Now the second man looked at the first man with pity in his heart, and he said "Let it go, friend. Let us not needlessly prolong the inevitable and increase our suffering. We lived our life with some dignity. Is it not fitting to die with that same dignity?"
The first man was quiet for a moment. And then he and the second man drowned.
A young boy, about sixteen years of age, watched the whole scene from the shore. And from that day on, he would always wonder which of the two men was the wisest.
Cool quote
"A physicst would remind us that the things we see 'out there' are not ultimately separate from each other and from us; we perceive them as separate because of the limitations of our senses. If our eyes were sensitive to a much finer spectrum, we might see the world as a continuous field of matter and energy. Nothing in this picture resembles a solid object in our usual sense of the word."
--Eknath Easwaran
--Eknath Easwaran
"What We See v.s. What Is There"
The idea that the world as we know it is an illusion has existed for thousands of years, and is one of the tenets of the Perrenial Philosophy, though phrased differently. But to say that the world is an illusion is a little misleading, because it implies that, not only is nothing real, but that we should not/cannot be affected by anything that happens to us, no more than we can be affected by our dreams, which are clearly NOT real.
Interestingly enough, when we're having dreams, our nervous system can't tell the difference, i.e. if you're having a dream that you're being chased by a tiger, your heart beat quickens, your muscles tense, and in that moment, you actually do believe you're being chased by a real tiger. I recall Wes Craven once saying that he got his inspiration for "A Nightmare on Elm Street" from an article he read about a young man suffering from chronic night terrors (the worst of the worst nightmares) and eventually had a heart attack in his sleep and died. I'm guessing to that guy, his dreams seemed real enough.
Okay . . . but then we wake up and think, "Oh, thank God. It was all a dream. But it seemed so REAL." Well . . . who's to say that we've stopped dreaming? Who's to say that in our "waking life," we're not just experiencing yet another level of fantasy, and are actually operating on a level of consciousness far below what Ultimate Reality actually is? Take your perception of the average person. You notice immediately the person's race, sex, clothes, various physical characteristics, the sound of their voice, their scent, the touch and (depending on how "familiar" you're getting with aforemetioned person) the taste of their skin--essentially, everything one could possibly perceive using the five senses. What that doesn't include is the massive amounts of heat that our bodies generate, which can't be seen with the human eye without the aid of infrared technology. We don't see the 10 trillion cells or so that are constantly at work, interacting, sending information, dying, regenerating. In our most basic form, it seems that we're localized points in the universe where matter and energy are consistently changing form. Which doesn't mean that what we actually can see is an illusion; just that what we see is not all there is.
I wonder what we would look like if we could see it all, everything that's going on within us and around us. A couple words come to my mind, but the one that sticks out the most is "luminescent."
Which reminds me of a quote from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK:
"Luminescent beings are we. Not this crude matter."
Interestingly enough, when we're having dreams, our nervous system can't tell the difference, i.e. if you're having a dream that you're being chased by a tiger, your heart beat quickens, your muscles tense, and in that moment, you actually do believe you're being chased by a real tiger. I recall Wes Craven once saying that he got his inspiration for "A Nightmare on Elm Street" from an article he read about a young man suffering from chronic night terrors (the worst of the worst nightmares) and eventually had a heart attack in his sleep and died. I'm guessing to that guy, his dreams seemed real enough.
Okay . . . but then we wake up and think, "Oh, thank God. It was all a dream. But it seemed so REAL." Well . . . who's to say that we've stopped dreaming? Who's to say that in our "waking life," we're not just experiencing yet another level of fantasy, and are actually operating on a level of consciousness far below what Ultimate Reality actually is? Take your perception of the average person. You notice immediately the person's race, sex, clothes, various physical characteristics, the sound of their voice, their scent, the touch and (depending on how "familiar" you're getting with aforemetioned person) the taste of their skin--essentially, everything one could possibly perceive using the five senses. What that doesn't include is the massive amounts of heat that our bodies generate, which can't be seen with the human eye without the aid of infrared technology. We don't see the 10 trillion cells or so that are constantly at work, interacting, sending information, dying, regenerating. In our most basic form, it seems that we're localized points in the universe where matter and energy are consistently changing form. Which doesn't mean that what we actually can see is an illusion; just that what we see is not all there is.
I wonder what we would look like if we could see it all, everything that's going on within us and around us. A couple words come to my mind, but the one that sticks out the most is "luminescent."
Which reminds me of a quote from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK:
"Luminescent beings are we. Not this crude matter."
New blog
No diss to MySpace, but I needed a change of scenery, a new beginning if you will. I plan on maintaining the MySpace blog as well (http://blog.myspace.com/29771915) ...I think. We'll see how that goes.
As for the title of this blog...
I believe that the times we live in are anything but ordinary. The world that we live in is but a shadow of ultimate reality. Within all of us is this innate awareness than we more than just a conglomeration of flesh and bones. We are spirit. We are children of the living God, the Father and Mother, the Great All, the Force, Allah, Yahweh, the Man Upstairs, the Lady in Charge.
Why we have forgotten this knowledge is a matter of much debate, but in any case, due to various influences and forces that have come across my path, I feel I owe it to myself and my fellow brothers and sisters to remember it, learn what I can and pass on what I have experienced to others who are interested. I feel that this is the essence of prophecy.
In the grand scheme of things, I know very little, but I do know this. The world is in bad shape and is in desperate need of prophets. I sometimes hear people say, "Man, we need another Martin or Malcolm X or Gandhi." Or, "Wouldn't it be great if Jesus or Buddha came back?" Well, unfortuately, as wonderful as that would be, they aren't coming back...they fulfilled their respective missions, and now they've moved on to something greater, presumably.
The good news is that these people tapped into something that we all share. They were no different from the average person; they simply believed that humankind was capable of so much more. That innate goodness, that inner Divinity, that God Self, whatever you want to call it...it's in all of us. Each of us has the potential to become a Mother Theresa or a Hitler, a devil or an angel. It's not a matter of capability. It's a matter of choice.
I am by no means a perfect man. But I do strive to manifest fully the part of me that is perfect. This blog is a tool to help me do so. And hopefully, it will aid you, the reader, in either recognizing or reinforcing your own true Self and living it to the fullest. My blessings and my love are yours. Rise, Prophet!
As for the title of this blog...
I believe that the times we live in are anything but ordinary. The world that we live in is but a shadow of ultimate reality. Within all of us is this innate awareness than we more than just a conglomeration of flesh and bones. We are spirit. We are children of the living God, the Father and Mother, the Great All, the Force, Allah, Yahweh, the Man Upstairs, the Lady in Charge.
Why we have forgotten this knowledge is a matter of much debate, but in any case, due to various influences and forces that have come across my path, I feel I owe it to myself and my fellow brothers and sisters to remember it, learn what I can and pass on what I have experienced to others who are interested. I feel that this is the essence of prophecy.
In the grand scheme of things, I know very little, but I do know this. The world is in bad shape and is in desperate need of prophets. I sometimes hear people say, "Man, we need another Martin or Malcolm X or Gandhi." Or, "Wouldn't it be great if Jesus or Buddha came back?" Well, unfortuately, as wonderful as that would be, they aren't coming back...they fulfilled their respective missions, and now they've moved on to something greater, presumably.
The good news is that these people tapped into something that we all share. They were no different from the average person; they simply believed that humankind was capable of so much more. That innate goodness, that inner Divinity, that God Self, whatever you want to call it...it's in all of us. Each of us has the potential to become a Mother Theresa or a Hitler, a devil or an angel. It's not a matter of capability. It's a matter of choice.
I am by no means a perfect man. But I do strive to manifest fully the part of me that is perfect. This blog is a tool to help me do so. And hopefully, it will aid you, the reader, in either recognizing or reinforcing your own true Self and living it to the fullest. My blessings and my love are yours. Rise, Prophet!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
