Pain And Its Cousins

Everybody's life is centred around the pain they feel..The topic of pain is so vast I could talk for hours on it.

Here's a poem of mine:
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"In this world...

Beautiful flowers want the rain to stop...

And wounds want more pain...

Beauty wants to feel ugly...

Life wants to die..."

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Pain transmuting into pleasure is something known to all of us....and it is a dangerous game that pulls a person deeper and deeper, to a level where the person does NOT want the pain to transmute into pleasure. He or she starts wanting PURE pain...along with its cousins...pure terror, pure violence, pure hell.

The person actually starts PRAYING for things like..'ONENESS with pain, fear, torture, endless suffering'.

My blog entry on the (non-existent) 'Devil' talks of this phenomenon briefly...check it out, its interesting.

Plan to write more on PAIN, soon.

Hyperlink: Devil and Hell.

My Artwork (Psychedelia Goddess)

Artwork entitled "Psychedelia Goddess"

Software used: Photoshop CS2 9.0, Contort 2.0.

More Psychedelia

Welcome To Reality (My Poetry)

An old poem of mine, many years old.

"WELCOME TO REALITY"

In this world...

Beautiful flowers want the rain to stop...

And wounds want more pain...

Beauty wants to feel ugly...

And life wants to die.




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Ego Sex to Superconscious Sex

This blog entry is on a topic that not many are aware of. It is all about ego movements and how two egos can communicate in a manner that is genuine, full of love, and MAY lead to consciousness expansion that helps both egos evolve. i.e. "From ego-sex to superconscious-sex".

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the founder of Naropa university, writes about the necessity of spiritual maturity, ripeness, and surrender in the student, before a teacher can give a consciousness expanding transmission to the student. He talks of not letting morality come in the way of emotions. Surrender means total surrender. The bible says 'Empty thy vessel...'

The purpose of this spiritual transmission is to transmit wakefulness to the student. Increase the student's awareness.

A certain ego dance has to happen before the student and the teacher reach positions in which an explosive spiritual-love transmission happens. A transmission of fierce, powerful, electrically charged, spiritually charged love from the teacher to the totally surrendered student, that not only expands the student's consciousness, but also the teacher's consciousness! The teacher is always desperate to give...the student should be hungry to receive and totally surrendered.

Here are Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's views on this matter. Wonderful stuff. From the book 'Journey without Goal':
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Wherever a student comes from, the student's attitude is very important. To receive transmission, a student should be humble and open but not wretched. Being humble in this case is being like a teacup. If we are pouring a cup of tea, the cup could be said to be humble. The cup has a sense of being in its own place. When we pour tea into a cup, the cup is at a lower level and the pot is at a higher level. This has nothing to do with spiritual trips, higher consciousness, lower consciousness or anything like that. We are talking pragmatically. If we are going to pour tea into a cup, the cup obviously should be lower than the pot. Otherwise we would be unable to pour anything it.

Water obviously has to flow down. It is very simple. Like a humble cup, the student should feel fertile and at the same time open. Because tea is going to be poured into this particular cup. The cup has a sense of open expectation. Why not? We are no longer wretched people who are not upto the level of receiving teaching. We are simply students who want to know, want to learn and receive instructions. Also one cup is not necessarily better or more valuable than another. It could be made out of many things---ordinary clay, porcelain, gold or silver---but it is still a cup as long as it can hold water or tea.

To be a proper cup, we should be free from spiritual materialism, thoroughly ripened and brought to spiritual maturity, so that transmission can take place. Then, in our basic being, we feel the quality of "cupness" ; we feel our whole existence thirsting to receive teaching. We are open to the teachings. That is the first step in transmission: Like the cup, we are on a certain level of experience that is not absolutely wretched or full of holes. We don't feel that we are deprived.

In fact, being a cup is an absolutely powerful thing: there is a sense of pride because our cup has such a strong quality of cupness. The teapot cannot help but fill it with knowledge or teachings. The teacher cannot wait to pour into us. We are seducing the teapot with our cupness: our pride, our self-existence, and our sanity. Two magnetic processes are taking place: the cup is magnetised by the teapot and the tea pot is equally magnetised by the cup. A love affair takes place; a fascination takes place.

Transmission means the extension of spiritual wakefulness from one person to someone else. Wakefulness is extended rather than transferred. The teacher, or the transmitter extends his inspiration rather than giving his experience away to somebody else and becoming an empty balloon. The teacher is generating wakefulness and inspiration constantly, without ever being depleted. So for the student, transmission is like being charged with electricity.

Transmission also requires the dynamic expression of the student's own emotions. As students, our aggression, our lust, and our stupidity are all included. According to vajrayna, everything we can think of, including the emotions, is workable. In fact, transmission cannot take place without emotions because they are part of the food of transmutation. And since they are also energetic and powerful, we do not want to exclude any of them. As long as we separate our philosophy and our concepts of morality from our emotions, there is no problem. This does not mean that we should be completely loose, seemingly free from philosophy, morality, and ethics, but that self-existing take place constantly. To receive transmission it is absolutely necessary to be an ordinary human being: confused, stupid, lustful and angry. Without those emotional qualities, we cannot receive transmission. They are absolutely necessary. I do not think this is a particularly difficult requirement to fulfil. Everybody seems to have a pretty juicy helping of them.

Our emotions are regarded as the wiring or electrical circuit that receives transmission. We could say that we have three wires---one for passion, one for aggression, and one naivete, ignorance or slothfulness. These three form a very busy electrical device that would like to receive transmission. We are hungry for it; we are dying for it. And on the other side, there is the electrical generator, which is somewhat smug, knowing that it is ready to transmit at any time.
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Labels: Tantric sex, tantra, mystical sex.

Human Selfishness & World Hunger

Akio Morita, one of the founders of Sony Corporation, writes briefly about world hunger in his book 'Made in Japan'.

He says that way back in the 1980s, he saw a genetically engineered plant that could produce thousands of tomatoes from ONE PLANT.

Then he wonders...WHERE is this technology? WHY is it not being used? WHY has it been hidden from the world?

Here is Akio Morita's brief biography, from the SONY USA website: SONY USA, AKIO MORITA.

World politicians keep talking about ending world hunger...but secretly they crush and suppress EVERY technology that can end world hunger.

Technology that can end world hunger VERY much exists, in my opinion. If scientists have made genetically modified plants than can produce thousands of tomatoes from one life cycle, it means they can do it with many many other foods and crops too.

But they don't want to share it with the world.

Because it is....'bad for business'.

All world problems are due to a quality that most humans have. Its called Brutal Selfishness.

George Michael, in his song 'Praying For Time' sings....'charity is a coat you wear, twice a year....'

Here is the video of 'Praying For Time'.

Equations of pain (My Poetry)

A poem I wrote a few years back:

Addictive clinging

Equations of pain;

My nemesis is to remain

Forever entrenched in misery

Burning in a hellish eternal flame...

Eye Candy from India, Part - 2 (Indian Sadhus)

Indian Sadhus....

Please wait while the flash loads...

The images are from the book "Culturas Tradicionales•Hinduismo•Sadhus", photographs © Thomas Kelly. His work can be found at www.asianart.com.

Slash performing "The Godfather" theme. (Expression of Sorrow)

I find all variations of the 'The Godfather' theme to be a great expression of sorrow.

Love all versions. Slash seems to go out of tune for a few seconds (he's stoned I guess!) but recovers soon. Love the dude!

The secret of survival if you ask me... is learning how to generate POWER in a state of sorrow, learning how to generate strength in a condition of weakness.

Death Part 1 (My Poetry)

(This is my first post, on a series on 'Death.' )

The following is a poem I wrote, when I was going through a bad phase, a few years back.

It is based on the 'The Doors' song, 'The End'.

This is the end
My only friend, the end;
Can you picture what will be
in a world beyond we see;

Will it be fine?
Or will I be
desperately in need
of a stranger's hand, in a strange land...

What if this act of madness is in vain?
What if death does not kill the pain?

What if my nemesis is to remain
forever entrenched in misery
burning in a hellish eternal flame...

Goddess In the Making

Caprice Bourret represented as a goddess in the making, using Photoshop CS2 9.02. (See Artwork above.)

In the graphic...her Manipura Chakra (Navel Chakra) is fully open. The Navel Chakra represents energy and dynamism. People who have endless amounts of energy have active Navel Chakras.

Her Vishudda Chakra (Throat Chakra) represents wisdom and powerful speech. In the graphic, her Throat Chakra is not fully open. Half-open Chakras do not mean the person has wisdom...in fact, a person who thinks/knows that his or her Chakras are open or opening tends to slip into psychosis, mania, violent mood swings, and delusions of grandeur.

The light at Caprice's Throat Chakra is dimmer than the light at her Manipura Navel Chakra. Represents that she is still evolving.

Her Ajna Chakra (slightly above her eyebrows) represents intelligence and analysis abilities. This forehead Chakra is dimmer than the other two (Throat and Navel) Chakras.

A slightly open forehead Chakra may delude the mind into thinking that it is better than the rest. The mind is expanding, adapting, and may slip into delusion in the process.

As time passes, the lights in these three Chakras will wax and wane. Chakra openings are never by the book.

Most people report that Chakra openings are always accompanied by psychosis, delusions of grandeur, wanting to save the world, 'chosen one' fantasies.

Chakra openings are also often accompanied by fearful hallucinations.

Sometimes the person who's Chakras are opening is not aware that his or her Chakras are opening.

The opening Chakras can turn the person into a 'Higher, Stronger Ego'...an ego collapse follows after which some stability comes.

Strong waxing and waning of the ego may happen many times before any real stability comes, but it definitely comes. The peace that passeth all understanding.
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Sexual energy flows upward into Caprice Bourret's navel, throat and mind..."Goddess in the Making."

The Real Buddha

The above is TOOMAS ALTNURME's "Female Buddha". (Looks quite hot if you ask me! I plan to make my own versions of Female Buddhas out of Caprice Bourret and Angie Everhart...will post them on this blog when I am done.)

"The Buddha adapts to everything"...wrote Dr. Fritjof Capra Ph.D, a very close associate of Werner Heisenberg, in his cult book "The Tao Of Physics", a book on the close relationship between modern physics and ancient eastern mysticism.

I'd agree totally. The REAL Buddha is not a static entity. The REAL Buddha is a dynamic, ever expanding, ever evolving, powerful entity who does not bow to anything. The REAL Buddha adapts to everything. All torments, all suffering, all sorrow. The REAL Buddha does not lose his or her peace, calm, balance. It is impossible to destroy the real Buddha. If the real Buddha goes down, he or she bounces up as soon as possible.

Because the REAL Buddha's true nature is evolution, strength, expansion, growth, peaceful co-existence with the cosmos.

If the illusion of hell is built around the REAL Buddha, he or she will cope. Will make a home in the hellish illusion, and rise up from there. Back to where he or she belongs. In the realm of reality, in the realm of bliss.

The evolving Buddha's trajectory is often called the 'Evolving Spiral'. An iterative process.

Evolution out of chaos and delusion may confuse the evolving Buddha at times, may seem circular and destructive at times, but close scrutiny will reveal an upwardly evolving spiral.

The Observer Effect (Quantum Mechanics and Mysticism)

I am familiar with the 'Observer Effect' phenomenon, having studied Quantum Physics in one semester, but am now studying it in greater detail. Am studying it from the mystical point of view now.

It is not just Quantum Physicists who say what is expressed in the following writeup.

Descartes is a person who might have had ideas that are in tune with the "Observer Effect". (Need to confirm this.)

Will make another blog entry on this subject soon.

The following (quoted text) is written by Alex Paterson, and is from the page OBSERVER EFFECT.


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THE OBSERVER EFFECT
Fundamental to contemporary Quantum Theory is the notion that there is no phenomenon until it is observed. This effect is known as the 'Observer Effect'.

The implications of the 'Observer Effect' are profound because, if true, it means that before anything can manifest in the physical universe it must first be observed. Presumably observation cannot occur without the pre-existence of some sort of consciousness to do the observing. The Observer Effect clearly implies that the physical Universe is the direct result of 'consciousness'.

This notion has a striking resemblance to perennial esoteric theory which asserts that all phenomena are the result of the consciousness of a single overlighting Creative Principle or the Mind of God.

There is a delicious irony in all this. Contemporary Western scientific theory postulates that human consciousness is solely a result of the workings of a physical brain, yet if the observer effect is correct, the physical matter comprising a brain cannot come into existence until it is the subject of observation by some pre-existing consciousness.

NOTE: For an excellent introduction to Quantum Physics in laymen's terms see:

1. 'A World with a View' by Ross Rhodes.

2. 'A Cybernetic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics' by Ross Rhodes.


FOOTNOTES:

1. The still-dominant "Copenhagen interpretation" of Quantum Theory developed by Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, and others says two basic things:

a.) Reality is identical with the totality of observed phenomena (which means reality does not exist in the absence of observation), and

b.) Quantum mechanics is a complete description of reality; no deeper understanding is possible.

In effect, this says that observable phenomena are the whole of reality; and any speculation about a deeper underlying reality is meaningless. Bohr stated it unequivocally: "There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum description" (in Herbert 1985, 17).

(SOURCE: David Bohm by Will Keepin.)

Copyright © Alex Paterson 1999

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Furthur Reading:

"Reality Versus Imagination" by Advaita Vedanta Scholar Remez Sasson.

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Surya Namaskaram

Sun worship (Surya Namaskaram), best performed without clothes...one with the environment, freedom.

She Moves In Mysterious Ways...

A poem I wrote in college days, admiring coastal Karnataka weather. I love South India, it is way too beautiful...
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"Mother Nature"

The orange glow of the evening sky
teases my senses

The trees dance with the wind
like the swaying hips of a graceful woman

I take a walk
and sit outside the 9th block

And watch
mother nature's alluring moves

Sometimes ferocious, sometimes tender...

Suddenly there is powerful thunder

And mother nature's gentle meanders

turn fast, furious, fierce, feisty...

I get mesmerised by her beauty

and wish

that the moment freezes eternally..

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Devil or Satan & his cronies, and their Hell

An innocent girl stands and watches the ugly looming figure seducing her, trying to woo her...

(The following are Ozzy Osbourne lyrics from the song Mr. Tinkertrain.)

He sings...'Would you like some sweeties lil girl, come a lil closer...I'm going to show you a brand new world tonite...I've got a one way ticket...to take you to the other side....so come and dont feel shy...'

"I've got a palace full of fantasy...Ready made just for you and me...Once you're there I'm gonna take you for a ride...I got a one way ticket...To take you to the other side...I've got a one way ticket, so come along and don't be shy..."

So come along and play my game
You'll never be the same

Close the curtains and turn out the lights
Beneath my wing it's gonna be alright

A little secret just for you and me

I've got the kind of toys you've never seen

Manmade and a bit obscene

Little angel come and sit upon my knee.....
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The innocent girl succumbs.....and the ride through hell begins....
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This story repeats itself everyday in this world. Usually in a psychological sense.

Hell seems to exist in everyday life, everyday relationships and not just in fantasy.

But it's not real.

The Devil is not real either.

What people call "The Devil" is nothing more than an anthropomorphism of emotional pain. Vampires, demons, demonesses etc. are also the same thing. Attribution of human like characteristics to emotions and phenomena.

Epilogue:

"When I reached hell, I realised there was nothing there. From a distance it is a very seductive horror show, with graceful vampiresses, evil temptresses, powerful demonesses with beautiful-ugly faces, sharp teeth and fantastic figures and blood dripping from their mouths....but when you reach there, you realise there is nothing there."

Illusion of Doership (or Freewill)

In the meditation for November 27 in A Net of Jewels (1996), Ramesh Balsekar says,

"Breathing goes on by itself while the deluded individual thinks it is he who is breathing. Thoughts come from outside, arising spontaneously through intervals of mental vacuum, and he thinks it is he who is thinking. The thoughts get transformed involuntarily into action, and he thinks it is he who is acting. All the while, he is doing nothing but to misconstrue the actions of the Totality as his own action."
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Ramesh Balsekar is 100 % right. Breathing happens on its own. Body temperature is maintained on its own, you are not doing anything to maintain your body temperature at 98.6 F.

The body heals on its own, no one can FORCE himself to heal.

Sleep comes on its own, no one can FORCE himself to sleep.

Emotions manifest on their own. Moods manifest on their own. A person cant even change his mood if he wants to.

A person can't control his thoughts. A person can't STOP his thoughts no matter how difficult it gets to deal with them.

The Eagles sing "You'd give anything to silence...those voices ringing in your head.." in their song 'Learn to be still.'

Have you, the person, been able to STOP your thoughts even for a minute, over the last few decades? Nope.

A lot of times when one is driving a car...one gets lost in thought...then suddenly pops back into the present moment and realises that the car has taken a wrong turn.

So...who was driving the car? Who was turning the steering wheel? Who braked at red lights, while YOU (the illusory doer) were lost in thought?

In my post 'Kill the Thinker' (currently offline) I have used Chaos Theory to ponder whether the Thinker exists...it appears that thinking happens automatically and spontaneously...that nobody is doing any thinking. The Thinker can exist only if thoughts were being willed...

And it follows that if there is no thinker...THERE IS NO DOER.

But there is indeed someone, and he or she is the Buddha Within, or the silent, peaceful witness of life as it unfolds. This Buddha Within is NOT affected by the human emotions that flow around him or her. The Buddha Within does NOT participate in the dance of human-life, only WATCHES it as it happens...peacefully. He or she is in a state of deep sleep, waking up slowly as time passes.

Coming back to the illusion of doer ship...

The illusion of doer ship is the biggest problem in this world.

The illusion of doer ship leads to song lyrics like the following.

1. "We're prisoners walking through this world all along." -- The Eagles. (Desperado)

2. "To the game we stay a slave." -- Metallica. (Wherever I may roam.)

3. "Welcome my son, welcome to the machine...what did you dream? It's alright we told you what to dream." -- Pink Floyd (Welcome to the machine.)

Summary:

Breathing happens on its own, emotions and moods come and go on their own, thoughts that hurt cannot be stopped, events that hurt cannot be stopped, still the person thinks he or she has control over his or her life. The fact is that the person has no control over the events of his or her life. Life happens to the person, the person is not in control.

The evolving Buddha realises this and accepts everything as it is. And peacefully waits for the point where he or she can rise up and take control of his or her life, become a doer. This point is 'enlightenment'.

My Conclusions:

Nature does not allow doership (freewill) to be given to people with hostile emotions.

Taking over control of one's life is not possible through violence, it cannot be forced. Control comes on its own at enlightenment - i.e. after complete acceptance of life as it is.

The violence that manifests in this world...one could say its just the 'whole' going through a work-in-process phase in which it is cleansing humanity. No one is doing it. It is all happening on its own.

Self Esteem Swings and The Buddha Within

The state of mind shown in this photo is nothing to be afraid of. Entitled 'Bad Dream' by Lovisa...yet another great photo from her deviantart gallery. The state of mind shown in this photo is exactly that. A bad dream. AN ILLUSION.

Very high self esteem is as unhealthy as a very low self esteem. A person's view of himself/herself should be balanced. Some amount of swinging is ok but it must not be extreme.

An interesting thing is...the swing between high and low self esteem may not be as extreme as it seems....

Because life in this world has reality in it, it also has illusions in it.

We see our world through a VERY heavy Mental Lens.

This lens is right in front of our eyes, always has been; And will reveal itself, if we use common sense. And develop our powers of observation.

Sorrow

This photo reminds me of a poem I wrote, in my younger years.

SORROW

Something in me dies
As I see you sit there
Trying to suppress tears
Lost in silent despair...

What are you?

Victimised purity?
A crazy mystery?


Or just a hollow façade
Trying to entrench an identity?

Worry (If You Worry, Will Life Spare You?)

The following is based on a letter I sent to this friend of mine about a year back...a 23 year old girl who was about to face the ultimate challenge in life....living on the street....I wanted to send her some money, but she was saying no....I was in a quandary...

Thankfully, she ran into her 'knight in shining armour' around the same time...an ex-boyfriend who came back to her, rescued her from street life...she wanted him back anyway....

I've modified the letter a bit, and added some song lyrics that I love....

Dear XYZ,

I understand how serious your problems are.....living on the street is no easy task....but if it happens(I hope it doesn't), you just have to go through it, I guess. Everything in life comes and goes, including bad, rough parts of life. The bad parts also come to an end, although sometimes one feels that the bad parts will never end. But they end. Always.

And one always always comes out of the bad parts as a better, stronger person. 'This too shall pass'. No bad situation lasts forever, though when its happening, it feels like its not going to end ever....but that is totally wrong.

I have faced many tough problems in my life, but I have not faced the problems that you are facing...I'm not exactly rich or something, I too have to fight to pay the rent, but I have never been homeless. I am far from broke, I am well-off, but life does get tough some times, financially. So I understand what money problems are, and the madness they can generate in a person.

Its not easy to stand back and see the problems you are facing without getting emotional.

But is worry going to help in any way? Is worry going to create the money required to pay the rent? So why worry? Is worry going to make sure your brother does not get fired from his job? Is worry going to make sure your brother does not use your money to support his bad habits?

There is a difference between worrying about the future and planning out the future. I am not trying to trivialise your problem, I know how serious it is, but...its like, you've got to power-lift 400 lb in the future, and you have not done it before. Can worrying about the fact that you have never lifted 400 lb going to help you lift 400 lb? You either worry about lifting it, or you plan out how you're going to lift it and then go ahead and lift it.

So just lift it. Just goddamn lift it, and not worry about lifting it. Worry has no place in life, it is a waste of priceless energy. Everyone has limited energy, why waste it on worry?

Do not have mercy on life. Fuck everything, fuck everyone, rise up and just DO IT! Without worrying. There is NO TIME TO SPARE, for worry. Life does not spare people who worry too much, does it? If you worry, will life spare you?

If you worry about the problems you have to face tomorrow, will you be able to sleep? And if you don't sleep, will you be able to deal with tomorrow's problems properly? Isn't it going to make life tougher? So why worry? What use is it? In fact, why WORRY about any problem at all, tomorrow's, or next week's? Does it help, does it solve anything?

There is no 'how' involved in giving up worry. All you have to do is stop worrying. Like Eckhart Tolle says...'How do you drop a hot piece of charcoal that is hurting your hand?.......You just drop it. No HOW involved. Period.'

In case you have to live on the street, why worry?....Will worrying about it help you deal with problems of the street? Will getting emotional about it help? If you worry, get emotional, will the problems vanish? If you worry, will life on the street get easier?

Life on the street has to be approached like a warrior would approach it. Silently, with full awareness of what is going on....emotionless...clinical...and sometimes brutal...NO MERCY.

People develop respect for people who have a brutal demeanour. This is VERY VERY important. A brutal demeanour. A bitch, if I may use the word. I come across as a totally merciless bastard to some people. It is necessary. Keeps the wolves at bay.

A brutal warrior like attitude can manifest along with a compassionate attitude. This is not a contradiction. You can be compassionate and brutal both. If you do not understand these statements, it does not matter....just watch your mind-body's reactions to them, as they pass across your eyes. Watch these statements, watch your reactions to them, that is all that is required.

Coming back to worry and feelings of weakness and the 'I just can't handle life anymore' feeling...

Just WATCH such hostile feelings silently, as they pass through your mind-body. Just watch. That's all. You'll realise the meaning behind what I am saying, if you do what I'm saying...i.e....WATCH all such negative feelings peacefully, without feeling afraid of them.

Watching hostile feelings peacefully, without giving in, weakens their hold on you. They start dissolving. The more peaceful you become, when hostile feelings grip you, the stronger you become.

You might wonder HOW hostile feelings can weaken, if one watches them. The answer is...'Evil cannot bear presence, evil cannot survive the light of awareness'. This statement, made by many many mystics, has great depth, great wisdom. Your hostile feelings are evil that cannot stand being exposed to the light of your awareness. Evil hates being discovered, watched.

Some word the abovementioned wisdom as...'Real evil always runs in the shadows, attacks from the shadows...it is afraid of the light.'

Hostile feelings within a human are real evil. When observed peacefully, they lose energy and strength.

Hindus talk of the goddess overcoming her inner demons. These inner demons are hostile feelings that the goddess directs at herself. (She eventually overcomes inner demons...and whacks a bunch of assholes in the outer world before she finds her peace, but 'outer demons' are out of scope of this blog entry!)

If someone says the Goddess destroys inner demons through violence...it is incorrect. The real story is that she destroys inner demons through acceptance of their existence, and peaceful WATCHING of these violent demonic emotions as they rise in her.

All mystical schools say the same thing. Hostile feelings, if observed as they rise in the mind-body, if observed without giving in, if observed peacefully..will lose their strength.
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Led Zeppelin sings the following, about life in this world...very very wise words...'Crying won't help you, crying will do you no good.'

Eckhart Tolle grew up on the street. There was a phase in his life when he had nothing. No home, no money, no security.

He'll say the same thing....'DO NOT CRY IN FRONT OF SOMEONE ELSE...MOST OF THEM ARE SADISTS.'

Eckhart Tolle has a very simple solution on how to deal with situations and people that make you angry, helpless, make you feel like you are going to lose your balance....and what to do IN THAT MOMENT when you are angry and about to lose control. This solution is not different from what I have written before.
Solution:

Hold your anger, the unstable feelings, the violence, the crushed feelings, the manifesting trauma....hold all these hostile feelings in your mental space...and...pause...just pause....that's all....

If you manage to PAUSE just when you are extremely angry and frustrated.....then...in just a few minutes, the anger will clear up on its own, provided you do not give in to any mental-movies...i.e. "that bastard, I'll do this to him, I'll do that to her, and that will happen, then that will happen, I will kill all these bastards..."

If you give in to mental movies, the anger and the frustration will re-inforce itself. The only solution is to watch the mental movies peacefully. Without fear.

You asked me about pranayam. I started pranayam recently, so I don't know the effects as yet. But it makes sense. Deep breathing provides more oxygen to the brain and relaxes the mind in the process.

Eckhart Tolle once said.....'most human problems can be attributed, in a way that cannot be understood, to the statement...'they don't breathe properly...'

Pranayam is about deep, systematic breathing. It fills the brain with oxygen, and stimulates it, and many many people are saying they managed to overcome depression, anger, stress and anxiety, through daily pranayam. Tolle talks of the importance of proper breathing, though he does not use the word pranayam.

I recommend you start prayanam immediately. There is no need to bother about techniques....just take time out to breathe deeply, and do it especially when the anxiety gets too much. Find a way to remind yourself to remember to breathe deeply when the paranoia gets the better of you.

Take care,
Your friend,

The Illusion Of Suffering Part 4

Many people end up telling themselves 'It's all over. The story of my life is beyond repair.'

The thing is...the 'story' forms in the current moment and reflects emotional states. Human life is like a bunch of movie scenes that nobody is making and nobody is directing since humans do not have free will and are mere dream entities.

All you are looking at is a mirror that continuously shows various emotional states.

If the emotions change, the 'frangmented disjointed movie scenes' will change too. There is no logic, continuity, depth in these human non-stories. All they do is reflect instantaneous emotional states.

What you think your life story is, is not true vision. It is delusion. Hallucination.

"Vision already holds a replacement for everything you think you see now." ACIM Lesson 023.

Reactions in the mind-body should be observed as these statements are read. An unseen layer of tension and resistance may be seen as this blog entry is read.
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Real comfort can come from nowhere except from deep within.

And it is ever present.

The 'Buddha within.' is always at peace. The deep, calm, serious, peaceful person who is reading these words...

The Buddha within is your default state. Always was.

'Buddha in the Veins'.



'Buddha in My Blood'.



And to all those of you who are suffering very badly...

Here's to the beautiful wonderous dream...which is already unfolding in your life, but you're not able to see it currently due to heavy hallucinations induced by horrible feelings floating in your vicinity...

(Olivia Newton John - Magic)

Dust In The Wind

Kansas sings 'All we are is dust in the wind'....

We are not even dust in the wind actually.

Some facts about our existence.

1. We live for 80-90 years, the universe is approximately 13 billion years old.

2. We are inconsequential on the cosmic scale. Take a look at the following animation, made by using images from rense.com.

The Sun's diameter is 109 times that of the earth....i.e. its volume is 109*109*109=1.3 million times the volume of the earth.

You need 1.3 million earths to fill up the volume of the Sun!

The above graphic shows that the Sun is invisible on a scale on which Antares (photo 5) is a supergiant. Antares' diameter is 700 times the diameter of the Sun...i.e. its volume is 700*700*700=343 million times that of the Sun.

i.e. You need 343 million Suns to fill up the volume of Antares!

Let us look at some more facts.

A star named "VY Canis Majoris" has the largest diameter out of all known stars, 1800 to 2100 times that of the Sun.

i.e. You need 9.3 billion Suns to fill up VY Canis Majoris!

Let us look at some other facts.

A star named "LBV 1806-20" , located approx. 40,000 light-years from the Sun, is 38 million times brighter than the Sun.

i.e. you need to put together 38 million Suns to get the brightness of one LBV 1806-20!

If the Sun is as bright as a 1 watt bulb........LBV 1806-20 is as bright as a 38 million watt bulb!

Despite its phenomenal brilliance , LBV 1806-20 is virtually invisible from the solar system. Its distance from us is so huge that its light gets obscured on the way.

The distances within our galaxy are so huge that even a star that shines brighter than 38 million Suns is invisible to us!

Antares, VY Canis Majoris and LBV 1806-20 are just three stars.

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has 400 billion stars...

And the Milky Way is just ONE tiny galaxy among more than 130 billion galaxies in the known universe.

Total number of stars in the universe is estimated to be: 50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. (50,000 billion billion).

Kansas rightly sings...'All we are is dust in the wind'......but isn't our pride beyond imagination?

So the questions are........

Where do we stand? What is our importance, if any, keeping in mind the frightening scales of distance and time, in the cosmos?

Kansas sings:

"Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind,
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky..."

(Sarah Brightman singing 'Dust in the Wind' and 'Who Wants to live Forever'.)

The Illusion Of Suffering Part 3 (Thich Quang Duc)

On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk from Vietnam, burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon as a protest against repressive policies of the Catholic Diem regime. Buddhist monks asked the regime to lift its ban on flying the traditional Buddhist flag, to grant Buddhism the same rights as Catholicism, to stop detaining Buddhists and to give Buddhist monks and nuns the right to practice and spread their religion.

While burning, the monk Thich Quang Duc showed no signs of discomfort, pain or fear. He was at peace. It is said he was not under the influence of any drug at the time.

Assuming that this incident happened exactly as is reported...it points to something.

It points to the illusion of suffering. In my view.

So the question arises...HOW he could self immolate without feeling pain and discomfort and fear.

The answer could be that he had seen through the illusion of pain, fear, suffering and all such emotions. He had realised that such emotions cannot be real.

So what is the evidence that this HYPOTHESIS (that pain and suffering are an illusion) has some substance to it?

There can be no undebatable evidence really. Only pointers.

Many spiritual teachers say we humans are going through the 'dream of suffering'. Plenty of them say it. Not just one or two.

Our experience with sleep proves that only when the dream is over does one realise that it was all a dream, and never happened. We were just THINKING that it was happening. (If we think something is happening, it does not mean it is happening, of course.)

This...to me...is a very strong pointer.

But the strongest pointer is that mystics have been talking about the 'dream of suffering' for thousands of years.
___________________

The fleeting nature of this life is self evident. The audio-visual quality of memories of what happened just 10 minutes back are no different from the audio-visual quality of memories of what happened 10 years back.

CONCLUSION:

The audio visual quality of memories of what happened 10 minutes back, logically speaking, should be stronger than the audio-visual quality of memories of what happened 10 years back....but is it?

This question opens one's mind to a huge number of questions. One answer forms, then another one forms, the mind dances.....but this question is worth remembering, from time to time.

Just the mere consideration of this question, and WATCHING mental-emotional reactions as this question is considered is a good way of seeing how one's perspective towards this question evolves.

As one's perspective towards this question evolves, a certain amount of detachment from life occurs. Which is always a good thing.

The Face Of Sanity

Sanity exists, in this world...!!

Control Freaks and Love

This post is just hypothesis, a flight of fancy. It is important to WATCH mental-emotional reactions that appear as this post is read, nothing more. No conclusions need to be drawn on how the blog owner looks at life and people!

In engineering, there is a term called 'degrees of freedom'. It refers to movement---lack of it, or ability for it, in a mechanism or machine part.

All engineering is about limiting and controlling the 'degrees of freedom' in a machine (or mechanism), so that it works in whatever way the designer wants it to work.

So a machine is nothing more than a set of components that control each other, communicate with each other in a strict manner, and move in set, predictable patterns.

So what are people who enjoy limiting the 'degrees of freedom' in other humans?

The graphic below, of a machine like skull and bones, has 'meat meter' written on its forehead. This is a very accurate representation of such people, because such people are just 'meat meters' who meter and barter human meat on a daily basis.

Such people can't be called alive, because they do not treat other people like they were alive.

They are machines because they want to control, restrict, and want others to be like them---move in set, predictable patterns that THEY wish to see. Such humans are nothing more than the 'Central Processing Unit' that controls and runs a computer.

Such people (machines pretending to be humans) treat even their own children like they would treat a machine. Control, restrict, bend, crush.

Machines in human form have robotic emotions. If one watches such people carefully, one will realise that one is talking to some kind of a machine...the proof will evidence itself in terms of the more or less predictable and C-grade emotional reactions in such people....and a total lack of mercy. Only pretense of mercy. Machines in human form just 'operate', optimise the flow of human meat through their systems. That's all.

No one who is sane will admire and respect a control freak who's passion in life is to take away other people's freedom and restrict them in some way. Restricting or wanting to restrict another human even in ONE way means that you have a 'machine' controlling your head.

So there is no such thing as 'conditional love'. It has to be unconditional. Machines put conditions on their environment, not life.

A person who is a control freak is not a free person. A control freak responds to control. A person who wants to control also wants to be controlled, although it may not be obvious. It is not human, it is just a machine. Binary machine. The binary states being 'Control me' and 'I want to control you'. These are signs of machineness. Nothing else.

Attributes of a machine walking around in human form:

1. Stresses too much on discipline and protocols and procedures.

2. Wants to control, restrict, bend, optimise, barter.

3. Wants to spy on you because it wants all the information possible on you, so that it can control you.

A great song by Pink Floyd....named 'Welcome to the machine' has the following lyrics.

'Welcome my son, welcome to the machine....
Where have you been?
Its alright we know where you've been.
What did you dream?
Its alright we told you what to dream.'

The Illusion Of Suffering part 2 (Learn To Be Still)

This is part 2 of my blog entry 'The Illusion Of Suffering'.

The lyrics of this song 'Learn To Be Still' by 'The Eagles' run very deep..they talk of the need to be STILL and WATCH what is going on in one's life, in one's mind...in the world in general.

Being STILL and WATCHING is all that needs to be done. From a certain point of view, it is not incorrect to say that stillness and awareness grow on their own, without anyone doing anything. (See my blog entry 'The Dance Of Life'.)

Evolution is a process that happens on its own. But one must be aware of the value and the healing that stillness and watching provide.

___

'Learn To Be Still' lyrics:

It's just another day in paradise
As you stumble to your bed
You'd give anything to silence
Those voices ringing in your head
You thought you could find happiness
Just over that green hill
You thought you would be satisfied
But you never will-
Learn to be still

We are like sheep without a shepherd
We don't know how to be alone
So we wander 'round this desert
And wind up following the wrong gods home
But the flock cries out for another
And they keep answering that bell
And one more starry-eyed messiah
Meets a violent farewell-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still

Now the flowers in your garden
They don't smell so sweet
Maybe you've forgotten
The heaven lying at your feet

There are so many contradictions
In all these messages we send
(We keep asking)
How do I get out of here?
Where do I fit in?

Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for you to awaken
And someday you will-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still

You just keep on runnin'
Keep on runnin'
___

They sing 'Its just another day in paradise'....then they sing 'maybe you've forgotten the heaven lying at your feet'.

They seem to be saying that life is already perfect, that life never went wrong at all. That all suffering is an illusion.

There are so many contradictions
In all these messages we send
(We keep asking)
How do I get out of here?
Where do I fit in?

Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for you to awaken...

And someday you will...

(Just) learn to be still...


Over here they are saying that thinking about the deep, painful questions of life is of no use. The mind does not have the ability to answer such questions.

The essence of the song is...'Learn to be Still'. Through stillness and calm watching of what is going on, awareness of life will grow and as awareness grows, all answers will come on their own, when the time is right.

Waiting for answers, desperately seeking answers to painful questions is a part of the illusion that the mind has built. The mind does NOT want any answers, the mind does NOT want to solve any problems. And it cant.

Only stillness, WITHOUT slipping into what Pink Floyd so beautifully expresses as the 'Comfortably Numb' condition, is the answer.

As stillness comes, awareness grows and understanding of life deepens. And painful questions answer themselves. Slowly but surely.

Life seems to flow in a vaxing and vaning manner because it is in the nature of the ego to vax and vane.

.......

The Eagles sing 'Its just another day in paradise'....then they sing 'maybe you've forgotten the heaven lying at your feet'.

These statements are not at all vague. So many spiritual paths say that suffering is an illusion.

Here are a few paraphrases....I do not have the sources at my disposal currently.

'Only that which is real is real, and deep down life know what is real. Illusions fight with themselves all the time, and illusions will wear themselves out when the time comes.' --- A Course In Miracles.

'A Course In Miracles' says that only illusions fight with themselves. Life does not fight with itself. The illusion that life is fighting with itself will wear out when the time comes.

'Stillness Speaks'--Eckhart Tolle.

All through this book named 'Stillness Speaks', and in his other books, Tolle insists that humans are in the grip of illusion. That real life is not and cannot be in conflict with itself.

Eastern mysticism talks of 'Maya' and insists that suffering is an illusion.

Such messages that come through, about the illusion of suffering, are everywhere. More examples will be added to this blog entry, in time.

Luminous Emptiness

"The Death Process as Described in "The Tibetan Book of the Dead."

I. The Moment of Death, and the Clear Light of Pure Reality.

First of all there will appear to you, swifter than lightning, the luminous splendor of the colorless light of Emptiness, and that will surround you on all sides. Terrified, you will want to flee from the radiance, and you may well lose consciousness. Try to submerge yourself in that light, giving up all belief in a separate self, all attachment to your illusory ego. Recognize that the boundless Light of this true Reality is your own true self, and you shall be saved!

Few, however, are those who, having missed salvation during their life on earth, can attain it during this brief instant which passes so quickly. The overwhelming majority are shocked into unconsciousness by the terror they feel...." - Tibetan Book Of The Dead





This image reminds me of a book named 'Luminous Emptiness', by Francesca Fremantle, a disciple of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the founder of Naropa University, a university dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism and other miscellaneous eastern mystical schools.

Here is a short story I wrote based on this photograph:

"Luminous Thunder of Consciousness"

As the colourless light of emptiness reveals itself to the girl...she feels afraid.

The light comforts her, assumes various forms to amuse her and console her...but still she feels afraid.

"The human forms around you are just dream phenomena, not people says one. I look like a being to you but I am not a being. In fact, all the beings around you are formless life, conscious emptiness, pure innocent platonic love, talking to you."




"Just hear what we have to say", say the formless beings in chorus.

"If you do not understand what you hear, have faith...and keep listening, keep watching...and allow life to flow through you without resistance, allow the words to flow without resistance...all we are doing is shining the light of awareness on the demonic forces that are around you, so do not be afraid, just watch, and hear our words, and the light will grow...the demonic energy will transmute into bliss..."

"To do our job, we have to say and do crazy things...we cannot explain why, you won't understand right now."

"Just quietly listen to, and watch the dance that formless life does, as it displays its platonic love, its wonder, its power. Do not fear...we are here to restore you, not destroy you."

"Liberation through hearing during the Bardo phase, like the book 'Luminous Emptiness' says..."

"You will feel ok as your awareness increases and you see the reality of the pseudo-horror around you..."

And the dance continues...

Dreidel

Lyrics of 'Dreidel' by Don McLean. A wonderful song about life's dance, and how it makes us dance.

I feel like a spinning top or a Dreidel
The spinning don't stop when you leave the cradle
You just slow down
Round and around the world you go
Spinning through the lives of the people you know
We all slow down
How you gonna keep on turning from day to day?
How you gonna keep from turning your life away?

No days you can borrow, no time you can buy.
No trust in tomorrow. It's a lie.
And I feel like I'm dippin' and divin'.
My sky shoes are spiked with lead heels.
I'm lost in this star car I'm drivin'.
But my air sole keeps pushin' big wheels.
My world is a constant confusion.
My mind is prepared to attack.
My past a persuasive illusion.
I'm watchin' the future it's black.
What do you know?
You know just what you perceive.
What can you show?
Nothing of what you believe.
And as you grow, each thread of life that you leave
Will spin around your deeds and dictate your needs
As you sell your soul and you sow your seeds
And you wound yourself and your loved one bleed
And your habits grow, and your conscience feeds
On all that you thought you should be
I never thought this could happen to me.

I feel like a spinning top or a dreidel.
The spinning don't stop when you leave the cradle.
You just slow down.
Round and around the world you go
Spinning through the lives of the people you know.
We all slow down.
How you gonna keep on turning from day to day?
How you gonna keep from turning your life away? Oh..

I feel like a spinning top or a dreidel.
The spinning don't stop when you leave the cradle.
You just slow down.

The Dance Of Life

The play of this life...all a happening, nobody is doing much. All events that unfold in this world are happening on their own. People are just puppets who are a part of the happening, they are not doing much. Even the little that they do is an illusion.

What people are actually doing* is totally different from what they THINK they are doing.

It is a 'Living Dream' that is unfolding. Eckhart Tolle terminology.

The 'Living Dream' is based on an 'awakened reality', but it's a fictitious version of the 'awakened reality'.

*The 'Living Dream' does not have any doership, only an illusion of doership.

The following video shows how life moves in this world...no one is doing anything...it is all flowing on its own.

Link: SnabbStart

Panis Angelicus

Two versions of Panis Angelicus that I am fond of...

By Luciano Pavarotti and Sting, 1992:

By Chloe Angnew, a beautiful singer from Ireland. Very pretty girl and sings well too.

Himalayas on Roerich

I was always fascinated by the Himalayas and their surrealistic, mystical beauty. My last trip to the Himalayas was 5 years ago, and I remember the fantastic timeless feeling they instilled in me. Time seems to have come to a standstill, in the obscure recesses of the Himalayas.

Here is a wonderful photograph named 'Himalayas on Roerich'. Named after Nicholas Roerich.

Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947) was a russian who spent most of his life in the Himalayas, painting them with a crazy passion. Nicholas Roerich is considered a mystic by many.




This photograph reminds me of a poem I wrote in my college days.
___


"The orange glow of the evening sky,
teases my senses, allures me

I take a walk
and sit outside the 9th block

And watch mother nature's hypnotic dance

Sometimes ferocious, sometimes tender

Fast, furious, fierce, feisty...

I get mesmerised by her beauty...

and wish that the moment freezes eternally..."
____

**9th block was the name of my college hostel.

Image link: Himalayas on Roerich.

Symptoms of Inner Peace

Words of wisdom that I found on the page: Symptoms of Inner Peace by Saskia Davis. She is the former director of the "Northwest Center for Attitudinal Healing".

Symptoms of Inner Peace

by Saskia Davis

Nothing like a little humor to add insight into the traits we seek to emulate...

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

• A loss of interest in judging other people.

• A loss of interest in judging self.

• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

• A loss of interest in conflict.

• A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

• Frequent attacks of smiling.

• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than (try to) make them happen.

• An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

WARNING:
If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.

Secrets

Paisley's new blog 'secret… secret… i’ve got a secret….' reminds me of a movie I saw, a long time back. A 1972 Jacqueline Bisset movie named 'Secrets'.....

Jacqueline Bisset (left) plays a housewife who has some problems with her husband. The movie takes place in the course of one day. In the late afternoon while her husband is being interviewed for a job, Jacqueline is approached by a man who says that she resembles his dead wife.

As she gets to know him, an affair develops. Her husband meanwhile has a relationship with the female interviewer. Finally, both the affairs only help to strengthen the marriage. Great movie.

Paisley's new blog's concept: Anyone who wants their secrets revealed through her new blog can leave an anonymous message there.

Here is the link: http://fragmented-paisley.blogspot.com/2007/08/secretsecretive-got-secret.html

Like Paisley writes.....
"all comments will be emailed to me [first],, not posted on the blog [directly]... that way no one will ever know who you are.. or what sordid,, sacred,, secrets you've got hiding in your closet!!!!.....c'mon....you know you want to!!!!!"

Hypocrisy Part 2

The case of Zeenat Aman

Zeenat Aman (left) is an Indian film actress, now 57 years old, who seduced an entire generation of Indians, with a career spanning well over a decade.

She was also Miss Asia-Pacific in the year 1970, is blessed with a very high IQ, and studied fashion and journalism at Los Angeles. I have seen many of her interviews and movies, and she has a fantastic personality. She is a woman to be admired, and was greatly admired by hundreds of millions of Indians for over a decade. More or less a cult following.

Her rough treatment by the world is human nature manifesting, which looks for excuses to haul others down.

She overdid her seductive roles by Indian standards, and they can't handle it.

She does not act in movies anymore, has not done so in a long time, apart from two tiny appearances in the last 15 years.

The amazing thing is that the Indian masses still enjoy her old movies, but criticize her anyway for being a sexually expressive woman.

Zeenat Aman's personal life has been tragic too. Lost her father when she was 13, gave up everything for a TV actor she fell in love with, when she was in her early 30s (at the peak of her career). The marriage was unsuccessful.

The many TV interviews I have seen of her, she comes across as a remarkably decent, intelligent, strong, dignified woman who has led a very difficult life and carries her pain very gracefully. A graceful lady who seems to be as beautiful on the inside, as she is on the outside.

Further Reading: I've Forgiven Men Who Ill Treated Me

Welcome to the NOW

I am convinced life is divine...because I see beauty as an attribute that comes from the deepest level of life. The level that is beyond matter.

Beauty cannot be of biological origin. A matrix of atoms, protons and electrochemical impulses cannot be 'beautiful', at least not in the sexual sense.

Ones who look at sexuality only in terms of biology and biochemical, electrical responses are subconsciously reducing life to a mechanical, electro-chemical reality.

Pause and look carefully at the following photos.

What *feeling* do they generate in you?

"Thoughts and feelings" that only generate references to anatomy do not qualify as real feelings.

Thoughts that try to apply some kind of 'facial symmetry thumbrule/formula/database' to judge these faces as beautiful or ugly --- such thoughts do not know what beauty is. Or its opposite, for that matter.

Once again...do they look like photos of a bunch of proportionate or disproportionate facial anatomy?

Or is there anything 'whole' emanating, exuding, flowing out towards you?

Do you see an "emanation of the indwelling life" like Bryant would ask?

If you can see this radiance, this something that is exuding...welcome to the NOW!

Photos: Brooke Shields, Preity Zinta & Gillian Anderson.

Hypocrisy

Update: Somebody just commented anonymously, that 'this blog is not about spirituality'. Well...all I can say to that person is *kiss my @$$*.

Moving on---

I received some hostile comments on my last post (Psychosis or Transcendence) recently, comments that have been deleted. This post is inspired by these comments.

Two people had problems focusing on the text of the post, and got fixated on the accompanying image which has mild nudity(The Cosmic Dancer). This happened although the image fits perfectly with the text of the post.

Many people---their unevolved emotional worlds cannot see the difference between art and porn. They have way too many sexual hangups.

The sexual hangup is a cross cultural phenomenon, it exists in every culture, at every socio-economic level. You will find this hangup in the ghettos of an orthodox Indian town, you will find this hangup in the uppermost echelons of New Delhi. You will find this hangup in the royal circles of London, you will find this hangup in the snobbish circles of New York. You name a place, and this hangup will be there.

Please note that I am not talking about movie stars, playboy models and the like. They are a different breed altogether although they come from all kinds of backgrounds and socio-economic levels. They get used to things like nudity, although even they are not totally free of hangups. I know this for sure, having studied many pornstars and movie actresses, through their interviews. Their hangups are less intense, but are very much there.

The 'sexually liberated person' is VERY VERY rare. The ones who come across as sexually liberated are (most probably) pretending. I have seen some people who are actually liberated, but it is very rare.

M. Scott Peck, reknowned psychiatrist, who's theories are taught at many good universities all over the world, writes in his book, 'The Road Less Travelled'....

[Paraphrased]: "Sex is a problem for Jane. Sex is a problem for John. Sex is a problem for the husband, sex is a problem for the wife. Sex is a problem for everyone, including Scott Peck."

(I don't have the book with me right now, hence the paraphrase.)

Here are some examples of Indian hypocrisy. Indians pray to a naked Kali (an Indian goddess who is naked most of the time!) in temples, but these people will drive you crazy with their sexual orthodoxy and sexual hypocrisy. They cannot handle the strong emotions generated by sexual issues/nudity and create havoc, destroy when stimulated.

For example--recently, Hindu fundamentalists went on a rampage in an Indian town named Lucknow...because they were against Indian girls wearing jeans & trousers in public.

Although secretly the same men love seeing women in tight clothes, jeans etc...hypocrites.

The same problem exists everywhere. For example, a girl I know was telling me that girls in her community, somewhere in the United States of America, are not allowed to wear jeans or tight clothes...now...I highly doubt that men in that american community do not like seeing women in tight clothes! She was also telling me that women in her community are not allowed to watch 'HBO' because it has 'dirty Hollywood movies'.

These are not examples of 'decent people imposing bans on indecent people', this is ALL nonsense, all hypocrisy.

Somebody might say that people belonging to upper socio-economic echelons are in general casual and cool about sexual issues and nudity. This is incorrect. They pretend to be casual and cool. They are NOT casual and cool, on the inside!

The playboy model or the movie actress who takes her clothes off on camera is NOT sexually liberated. She is just "BOLD".

Pornstars are also NOT liberated, sexually! Just very very "BOLD"!

The surprising thing is that my other post with nudity--the one on 'Sadomasochism, Nurture and Love' that I posted 15 days back--did not attract bizarre comments--although it carried no warnings--- though I have changed that now, it is hidden like the cosmic dancer in 'Psychosis or Transcendence' is hidden.

My ArtWork - Dzydzilelya Ania

Dzydzilelya is the Polish Goddess of love, marriage, sexuality and fertility...

Made using Photoshop CS2 9.0.

Psychosis or Transcendence?

To the left is my version of Fritjof Capra's famous 'Cosmic Dancer'.

Click to enlarge.

The original 'Cosmic Dancer' by Capra has a dancing Shiva surrounded by cosmic particles and lit up cosmic particle streaks.

Instead of Shiva, I have portrayed supermodel Cindy Crawford as the Cosmic Dancer here. Much more appealing to the eye. ;-)

This version of the cosmic dancer was made by me using a playboy photo of Cindy Crawford and Adobe Photoshop. Its my first attempt at photomanipulation.

Fritjof Capra is the author of the cult book, 'The Tao of Physics' which compares the parallels between mysticism and modern physics. A book inspired by none other than Werner Heisenberg, one of the fathers of quantum physics.

On Page 360 of The Tao of Physics, Capra writes on Werner Heisenberg's role in his project:

Heisenberg's book 'Physics and Philosophy', his classic account of the history and philosophy of quantum physics, exerted an enormous influence on me when I first read it as a young student. The book has remained my companion during my studies and my work as a physicist, and today I can see that it was Heisenberg who planted the seed of The Tao of Physics. I was fortunate to meet Heisenberg in the early 70s. I had several long discussions with him, and when I finished The Tao of Physics I went through the manuscript with him, chapter by chapter. It was Heisenberg's personal support and inspiration that carried me through those difficult years, when I went out on a limb to develop a radically new idea.

i.e. Werner Heisenberg, one of the fathers of quantum physics, endorses mysticism---something that is not about 'rational thinking', but about 'feelings and meditative awareness'.

In the introduction to The Tao of Physics, Capra writes:

Five years ago[1969], I had a beautiful experience which set me on a road that has led to the writing of this book. I was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing when I suddenly became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance. Being a physicist, I knew that sand, rocks, water and air around me were made of vibrating molecules and atoms, and that these consisted of particles which interacted with one another by creating and destroying other particles. I knew also that the Earth's atmosphere was continually bombarded by showers of 'cosmic rays', particles of high energy undergoing multiple collisions as they penetrated the air. All this was familiar to me through my research in high-energy physics, but until that moment I had only experienced it through graphs, diagrams, and mathematical theories. As I sat on that beach, my former experiences came to light; I 'saw' cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I 'saw' the atoms of the elements, and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I 'heard' its sound, and at that moment I knew that this was the Dance of Shiva, the Lord of Dancers worshipped by the Hindus.

I had gone through a long training in theoretical physics and had done several years of research. At the same time, I had become very interested in eastern mysticism and had begun to see the parallels to modern physics. I was particularly attracted to the puzzling aspects of Zen which reminded me of the puzzles in quantum theory. At first, however, relating the two was a purely intellectual exercise. To overcome the gap between rational analytical thinking and the meditative experience of mystical truth, was, and still is, very difficult for me.

They [readers of this book] will find that eastern mysticism provides a consistent and beautiful philosophical framework which can accommodate our most advanced theories of the physical world. Mysticism is an experience that cannot be learned from books.

What Capra describes in the above passage is a 'satori' or a state of sudden, temporary illumination of the mind. When higher mental faculties open up suddenly (if only temporarily), a vision that can (sometimes) be translated into a work like The Tao of Physics, is 'seen'.

The reader must have noticed that Capra writes he "saw" the atoms......"heard" the sound of energy dancing. He writes this way because he is not talking about literal seeing or hearing. This is a reference to the opening up of the mind. Or Consciousness expansion. OR...STEPPING BEYOND THOUGHT, INTO THE REALM OF DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH REALITY.

In my post on 'beliefs', I have written:

"All of us have direct experiences with higher truths, but most of us dismiss them as vague feelings or temporary mental dysfunction.....but there are some who don't....not saying 'hallucinations' are not mental dysfunction---what I am saying is not all 'alleged hallucinations' are mental dysfunction. Some may be visions. Satori."

In Capra's case, it was a genuine satori that inspired him to write The Tao of Physics.

An experience with satori is not a 'rational' phenomenon. It is not psychosis either. It is transcendence.

The Tao of Physics is full of examples of how mystics gather information. It is pretty direct about how mystics realise higher truths by transcending the known world. Werner Heisenberg endorsed it all. And I doubt Werner Heisenberg was deluded or insane.

*** A short note on satori: My understanding of satori is that it is a sudden & temporary illumination of the mind. As compared to Enlightenment, which is sudden and permanent.

Soulmates

Soulmates is a topic I have pondered often. The human lives a short life, has relationships that have very little substance in them and then vanishes, or so it seems.

Even otherwise, it is very difficult for even a genuine relationship to survive the madness of this world.

I believe it is all due to the immature emotional worlds that humans have. Immature and overtaken by negative feelings and selfishness.

I believe eternal soulmates exist. I believe multiple eternal soulmates also exist...but I feel soulmates will come into a human's life (to stay, once and for all) only after his/her emotional world matures.

Immature (and often selfish and negative) human beings cannot fall into long lasting relationships. So, even if one meets an eternal-soulmate-to-be, the relationship will not last.

But I believe they will meet again, in some other lifetime, when both are ready...and this time it will be eternal**.

By "ready" I mean people who are serious, unselfish, patient, and comfortable with their dark side.

Unselfish at least with the person they claim they love.

I believe that the presence of REAL romantic love can defeat death and turn people into eternal beings.

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**I have approached the subject of 'eternal life' in one of my blog entries, 'The Journey'.
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Update:

At the beginning of this blog entry, I wrote that most humans have relationships that have very little substance in them. I'd like to elaborate on that here...i.e the *substance*.

In her blog 'The Art Of Intimacy', Jennifer Jones writes "Love is what we do". The complete text of this post can be found here: Love is something that we do.

This makes sense. Because talk is easy...it's the actions that matter. I always found the phrase 'I love you' very corny, and people who use it at the drop of a hat, odd.

Feeling love and allowing it to translate into actions are two different things....real love ALWAYS brings with it real action. Or at least the pure, genuine intention of real action.

Without effort/action, or without the genuine intention of real action, it is not love.

Question:What about goddess worship? Should I not worship the goddess, who is prior to everything, including my soulmate?

Ans: Your soulmate is nothing but the infinite reaching out to you, in a form that melts you...and makes you FEEL life to its proper depths...instilling in you all the qualities that make you a human she can admire.

Your soulmate is your personal goddess. Make no mistake - She IS a real goddess by virtue of her influence over you. She is the infinite one, the one prior to all else, prior even to manifestation.

She is your cosmic mother. And when you are with her, you find yourself saying "I am home!".

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Update August 3, 2013:_______

Some songs to let your imagination drift...

Random Thoughts (Guest Author)

It is not easy to step beyond thoughts, at many points in life. Once gets overcome by anger, fury, and says/does things that one regrets later.

At the same time, the mind needs to do this, to keep itself together.

But the very fact that one is aware of all this means one is already going beyond such thoughts.

And all this can be avoided to a large extent. By not mixing with people more than what is necessary.

Everybody works, everybody is busy...but...I feel a person who TRULY focuses more on his/her work, than on people, will be able to lead a healthy, balanced life.

Apart from focusing on work, regular exercise helps one deal with the hostile emotional world, of self and others.

Exercise and work calm the mind. The situations that used to hurt, don't hurt that much anymore.

Eckhart Tolle says one should not worry about stepping beyond thoughts, but focus on the 'gap between thoughts'.

The silent space between thoughts IS the door that takes one beyond his/her thoughts, although this may not sound very convincing at first glance.

While working, you may notice that you are not paying attention to your thoughts, but are focused on the task at hand. This state of mind is called 'presence'.

Presence automatically takes you beyond thought.

The more you live in presence, the more the personality evolves, the more you go beyond old thought patterns.

Deep breathing, on a regular basis, will also do WONDERS, in making a person feel healthier and stronger.

Only recently, a very critical medical emergency, a heart attack, was controlled, just through DEEP BREATHING.

If deep breathing can do so much for the human body, you can imagine what fantastic benefits deep breathing can provide to the human mind.

Eckhart Tolle's Awakening

The following passage is from Eckhart Tolle's book, 'The Power of Now'. He describes his spiritual awakening...

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I have little use of the past and rarely think about it; however I would briefly like to tell you how I came to be a spiritual teacher and how this book came into existence.


Until my thirtieth year, I lived in a state of almost continuous anxiety interspersed with periods of suicidal depression. It feels now as if I am talking about some past lifetime or somebody else’s life.


One night, not long after my 29th birthday, I woke up in the early hours with a feeling of absolute dread. I had woken up with such a feeling many times before, but this time it was more intense than it had ever been. The silence of the night, the vague outlines of the furniture in the dark room, the distant noise of a passing train--- everything felt so alien, so hostile, and so utterly meaningless that it created in me a deep loathing of the world. The most loathsome thing of all, however, was my own existence. What was the point in continuing to live with this burden of misery? Why carry on with this continuous struggle? I could feel that a deep longing for annihilation, for nonexistence, was now becoming much stronger than the instinctive desire to continue to live.


I cannot live with myself any longer.’ This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware what a peculiar thought it was. ‘Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, then there must be two of me: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ that ‘I’ cannot live with.’ ‘Maybe’, I thought, ‘only one of them is real.’


I was so stunned by this strange realization that my mind stopped. I was fully conscious, but there were no more thoughts. Then I felt drawn into what seemed like a vortex of energy. It was a slow movement at first and then accelerated. I was gripped by an intense fear, and my body started to shake. I heard the words ‘resist nothing’ as if spoken inside my chest. I could feel myself being sucked into a void. It felt as if the void was inside myself rather than outside. Suddenly, there was no more fear, and I let myself fall into that void. I have no recollection of what happened after that.


I was awakened by the chirping of a bird outside the window. I had never heard such a sound before. My eyes were still closed, and I saw the image of a precious diamond. Yes, if a diamond could make a sound, this is what it would be like. I opened my eyes. The first light of dawn was filtering through the curtains. Without any thought, I felt, I knew, that there is infinitely more to light than we realize. That soft luminosity filtering through the curtains was love itself. Tears came into my eyes. I got up and walked around the room. I recognized the room, and yet I knew that I had never truly seen it before. Everything was fresh and pristine, as if it had just come into existence. I picked up things, a pencil, an empty bottle, marveling at the beauty and the aliveness of it all.


That day I walked around the city in utter amazement at the miracle of life on earth, as if I had just been born into this world.


For the next five months, I lived in a state of uninterrupted peace and bliss. After that, it diminished somewhat in intensity, or perhaps it just seemed to because it became my natural state. I could still function in the world, although I realized that nothing I ever did could possibly add anything to what I already had.


I knew of course, that something profoundly significant had happened to me, but I didn’t understand it at all. It wasn’t until several years later, after I had read spiritual texts and spent time with spiritual teachers, that I realized that what everybody was looking for had already happened to me. I understood that the intense pressure of suffering that night must have forced my consciousness to withdraw from its identification with the unhappy and deeply fearful self, which is ultimately a fiction of the mind. This withdrawal must have been so complete that this false, suffering self immediately collapsed, just as if a plug had been pulled out of an inflatable toy. What was left then was my true nature as the ever present I am: consciousness in its pure state prior to identification with form. Later I also learned to go into that inner timeless and deathless realm that I had originally perceived as a void and remain fully conscious. I dwelt in states of such indescribable bliss and sacredness that even the original experience I just described pales in comparison. A time came when, for a while, I was left with nothing on the physical plane. I had no relationships, no job, no home, no socially defined identity. I spent almost two years sitting on park benches in a state of the most intense joy.


But even the most beautiful experiences come and go. More fundamental, perhaps, than any experience, is the undercurrent of peace that has never left me since then. Sometimes it is very strong, almost palpable, and others can feel it too. At other times, it is somewhere in the background, like a distant melody.


Later people would occasionally come up to me and say: ‘I want what you have. Can you give it to me or show me where to get it?’ And I would say, ‘you have it already, you just can’t feel it because your mind is making too much noise.’ That answer later grew into the book you are holding in your hands.


Before I knew it, I had an external identity again. I had become a spiritual teacher.

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Spiritual Sex Part 1

I have often come across people who say 'sex is a spiritual experience' or 'sex should be a spiritual experience'. But they can't elaborate on what spiritual sex should be like. This blog entry is an attempt towards discussing 'spiritual sex'.

I believe that sex becomes spiritual when the people involved allow their minds to fall silent during the act. Imagine a sexual scenario in which your mind is silent and still and calm. If your mind is still and calm, the mental lens vanishes.

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(The mental lens is explained in this blog entry.)
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So, when the mental lens is no longer there, you experience the sights, sounds & sensations of sex perfectly clearly. Sex now becomes more enjoyable because your senses are no longer dullened by the mental lens. Becomes more erotic.

This kind of sex should be performed slowly, in a calm manner. Each moment of sex becomes perfect when the minds involved are calm.

The partners should avoid talking during sex unless it's necessary.

Two minds can connect with each other at a very deep level if they are silent and calm. Sex acts as the catalyst. This kind of sex is spiritual, it is holy.

Summary: The sexual experience becomes more intense when the mind is calm. Because the mental lens is not there and there is oneness between the partners.

Image in this post is entitled 'The Symphony of Love'. © 2005-2007 Lovisa: Lovisa's Art