Conversations with Dog - Chapter 6

6

So if you spent all your time in the present you couldn’t accomplish that “mastery of the world.”

            Well, I’m not sure I would call what we have achieved "mastery."  But we are able to build knowledge, to see further because we can “stand on the shoulders of giants,” thank you Sir Isaac Newton for that wonderful phrase.  

So if you live only in the present you can’t do those things.

            Yes, and changing our world has its blessings, and also its curses.  On one hand, so many of us have the leisure time to take up transcendent paths.  On the other hand, we have been lax with our technology, poisoning our water and air.  We also often waste our leisure time on television or other mindless activities.  We fail to use that time for mindful activities. 

So how does living in the present help?

            Most of us do not just live in the present.  Our ability to do the things we can do, is based on our ability to picture the future, to plan a direction in which to work.  Remembering the past is important so we can learn from our mistakes.  But our creativity comes from right now, the present.  If you spend time being creative, whether writing, drawing, or making music, you are right here, right in the present.  The world just disappears.  When a scientist is being creative, the same thing happens, everything else disappears.  All of our creativity comes from some level of recognizing Source.  Why do two scientists at opposite sides of the world have a breakthrough at the same time?  Maybe it was the right time for this to happen.  Oh, you could say that the scientific background was developed to a certain point, just at that time, so that those scientists could make that next leap.  But, I’m not sure that is the whole explanation.  Source needed that information to be available to us. 

Why did Source need that information to be available?

            It is part of how we appreciate Source.  The physical and spiritual worlds slowly reveals hidden knowledge.  That is why we will never solve all problems.  We can never answer all questions.  Even if we could get halfway to knowing everything each time we leap.  But as we leap, if we only get halfway over and over again, we will never get there.  We can never quite reach utopia.  If we did reach utopia--it would look like Source.  Then Source could not appreciate itself.  Also, part of our evolution is concerned with figuring out this physical world, the exterior.  We try to elucidate the workings of our body to improve our treatment of the sick.  We improve our knowledge of chemistry, so we can make better materials to build our world and perhaps make our lives easier.  With increased knowledge of our physical world, maybe we could feed and provide shelter and energy for more people.  Then more people could have more time for fun.  And for some of us, more time to engage in a path toward spiritual evolution.

So thinking in the past, present, and future are all important?

            Yes, but the past and future are very different from the present.  When you are in the present you are in direct contact with Source.  You are no different than Source.  That is why the whole world seems to disappear.  Then you say something like “I forgot where I was and then I woke up.”   But, the integration of being in the present, and the creativity it allows, with our abilities to see the future possibilities and past mistakes, that integration allows us to manipulate our world. 

So, enlightened beings just live in the present.

            They could if they so chose.  They have the ability to come back down to our level, and use the knowledge of the past and the future.  They can do this since they transcend our usual level of functioning, they are existing at a higher level. 

What are these different levels and how do you know what is higher?

            Although the truth is that everything is Source, we humans partition our world in order to understand it.  Reductionism has its merits.  You can take things apart to see how they work.  However, to be useful you must put stuff back together.  And we do.  We found out how to grow food more efficiently.  We can harness energy to improve our communication with telephones and computers.  We found that improvements in sanitation can extend life.  Even modern medicine may have some contributions to our living better lives.  Perhaps we will extend our knowledge of transcendent paths, such as meditation and movement, to integrate with traditional medicine to create new ways of treating disease. 

You really get off track easily. 

            I just have too much fun with this.  Anyway, Ken Wilber describes the partitioning we do to understand our world in terms coined by Arthur Koestler, the holon.  Holons are whole/parts.  Everything is a part of something else, but also a whole within itself.  The easiest example to understand is atoms, molecules, and cells.  Two atoms of hydrogen combine with one atom of oxygen to become a whole, single, molecule of water.  Water is a critical molecule within a cell, but only one part. Other parts of the cell, other molecules, are sugars, proteins, and fats.  The cell is another whole.  Cells are parts of our bodies, another whole, and so on.  The atoms are also made of subatomic particles, so atoms are another whole.  So that’s the physical relationships of holons. This is also the explanation for why we constantly evolve to more complexity.  What Wilber calls Spirit-in-action, the drive of parts coming together to form holons of greater complexity.  A great example is the evolution of single-celled creatures to form multi-celled creatures.  This is the exact opposite of entropy, which is the tendency for things to fall apart. 

(footnote:  A brief history of everything)

And there are spiritual holons?

            Wilber also does a nice job of laying out the concept of the interior, or psychological / spiritual parts of self, where you must ask someone what they think.  You can’t put electrodes on a person’s head and find out what they are thinking, at least not yet.  The exterior, the physical body, you can dissect or use sophisticated molecular biology to see how individual molecules work together and see how the body or brain performs certain steps.  But, that reductionist view can’t tell you if a person is a republican or a democrat.  It can’t tell you where consciousness is located. 

How do interior holons work?

            We usually think about our world as divided into the psychological and the physical worlds.  Again the brain / body split. And when you integrate the brain  / body you form a holon, the centaur, an integrated self.  To get to holons past this point you transcend the self.  These stages are not usually described by western psychology.  Yet, these stages are well described by the eastern philosophers.  These higher stages always include and contain the lower stages.  For example, an enlightened being can access all the “lower” functions and function quite well in the world.  They can easily, also, hide their enlightenment. 

So another part of evolution is spiritual?

            Personal spiritual evolution is important.  But, we must also evolve our interactions with each other.  We must evolve our social exteriors.  We seem to be much further ahead with our understanding of the physical world, than our ability to interact with each other.  We have the capability of poisoning our world with enough radioactivity to kill all humans.  We may have just enough social evolution to avoid that step.  But that is not entirely clear.  We haven’t reached the point where we would avoid even building such weapons.  That is a sign that we are too far ahead on the physical side. 

And you humans seem to make a mess wherever you go.

            Yes.  That observation, of our failure to clean up our environmental messes, is another indicator of our deficiencies in social evolution.  Some of this stems from the creation of a new entity.  The corporation.  This entity can act as a collective person.  One problem is that this entity, the corporation, does not necessarily have a conscience.  Corporations exist to make money.  Perhaps one of the next steps in our social evolution will be to give a conscience to corporations.  Wouldn’t that be nice? 

So how would an evolved corporation function?

            A fully integrated, or evolved-enlightened, human cannot cause harm.  I think it would follow that a fully integrated, or evolved-enlightened, corporation also could not cause harm.  How can this be done?  Some corporations already try to achieve goals of causing no harm, and even contribute to the evolution of our world.  For the rest of the corporations, I assume changes must be made through the same way that corporations were born, through legislation.  As an evolved society, we must evolve our laws.  I’m not so sure that an evolved corporation would make any less money. 

What if we don’t evolve our social exteriors adequately?

            Then perhaps we will just kill ourselves off.  Source does not care.  Source will wait with infinite patience for the cockroaches to evolve and appreciate Source.  And that’s not to mention what may be appreciating Source on other planets, or as other forms of life perhaps we cannot even imagine.   

Conversations with Dog - Chapters 4 and 5

4

So how do you get transcendence, this feeling of recognition that we are already merged with the Source?

            Basically you surrender completely.  Let the Source be your guide.  But for most of us we take up some sort of practice.   The most important one is meditation, and then maybe some sort of movement practice.  Years of some practice that puts us at intermittent contact with recognizing that we are the Source.  Eventually, something changes in us.  Maybe structurally in the brain.  Probably a new set of neural connections.  That would explain the 5-20 year gap most humans experience, between first recognition and subsequently a more continuous appreciation that each of us are Source.  If that human lives almost all of their time in recognition, then we call that human an enlightened being.  One who is “awake.”  And many times we kill them. 

Ooo...Kill them?

            Yes.  If you keep your truths to yourself, no one will care about you.  If you become famous...maybe change the way people think...that ticks some people off.  Watch out.  Either the establishment may try to get you, or some fringe group will want to get rid of you.

Aren’t you worried.  You are being pretty blasphemous in this book. 

            Well you never know.  First of all I am not any kind of guru.  If--we--become famous--we--may have to worry.  I don’t think that is going to be a big problem.  We are hiding this stuff behind a parody.  Besides, you are a great watch-dog. 

Yes,  I am.  Let’s focus in on these pathways.

            A first rule on pathways is that you must use your own individual creativity to mold you own path.  Oh, you can borrow techniques from books or teachers.  That will start you off.  But, somewhere along the line, you will have to mold for yourself those higher steps.  That will come naturally. 

OK.  How do you start?

            I like to put paths into two loose categories.  Movement and meditation.  Movement can be in any form.  Traditional eastern forms are tai chi, Aikido, karate, judo, qui jong, yoga.  Western forms include Feldenkrais, Alexander techniques.  Lots of routine exercises indoor or outdoor, cross-country skiing, bicycling, or even weight-lifting can be used as part of your path.  The tough part is keeping to a routine.  Joining a group is helpful. 

And meditation?

            Meditation is the even tougher part for some people.  Some people just can’t sit down and meditate.  Some advocate trying a different method every several months.  You know, if at first you don’t succeed, try again.  The overall goal is to be in the present.

What do you mean by that?

            Most of us live our lives thinking about the past and the future.  We have great difficulty focusing on the present. Find a comfortable position.  Keep your head straight, but loose.  Your back should be comfortable, not too straight, not slumped.  You can sit on the floor, if that is comfortable.  Put a pillow under your buttocks.  No, you don’t have to be in a lotus or half lotus position (but they are very stable positions).  You can sit on a chair.  You can even lay down, but, laying down often leads to sleep.  You can close your eyes or leave them open.  Your focus should be soft, you can think about seeing using your peripheral vision.  Take 2 to 3 deep breaths in and out.  Then take relaxed breaths.  Traditionally you can start by counting your breaths.  Start with one, end at ten, repeat.  When your mind wanders.  Don’t get worried.  Refocus on your breath.  You can take those thoughts and imagine that you place them in your hands, or throw them down the sink, or just watch them drift away. 

So, that’s all there is?

            If it was only so easy.  There are books upon books written on different methods, and solving barriers to meditation.  I’ll tell you a few more.  I like the questioning paths.  Ask the question, “who am I?”  Also, “what is another?”  Ask yourself “who said that?”  The most important part of this method is asking the question.  You don’t want an answer in words.  The answer closes the path.  You want to feel what is the truth.  It won’t be in words. 

So is movement separate from meditation?

            No, meditation at first should be practiced in a quiet place, far from distractions.  But, even early on you should try to meditate while doing other things, especially stuff you may not like doing.  Washing dishes, cleaning, folding the wash.  Watch everything you do.  Watch your breathing, the movement of your body, the feel of water or soap or folded clothes.  You can transform the most mundane tasks into a religious experience, just by being in the present.  Meditation should also be used while on those movement paths.  You will get the most out of movement exercises by being in the present. 

So you do these things, movement and meditation, and you become an enlightened being.  Right?

            Wrong!  No one can be enlightened.  No self can be enlightened.  I can never perform an enlightened act.  Source can perform an enlightened act, as Self.  Enlightened actions can occur.  But, I can not be enlightened.

Are you sure you know are you talking about?  You are loosing me completely.  Maybe it is that awful ginger tea.

            Sorry.  I get carried away.  I’m just trying to say that, when there is true recognition of Source, the ego, the feeling that we are a separate entity, disappears.  Recognition also leads to the disappearance of past and future.  There is only...now.  No concept of time.

There are some consequences of that?

            There may be.  I have never had a paranormal experience.  Except perhaps for this bizarre telepathic communication with you.  But, let us speculate that recognition of Source tells us that the past and future exists at the same time.  Maybe in some paradoxical way that we cannot understand using our rational minds.  That could be the key to why some people have paranormal experiences.  It could explain seeing past lives, not necessarily your own past life.  Maybe it could explain uncanny predictions of the future, or psychics telling the police where dead bodies can be found. 

So, we should all try to get these paranormal experiences.  They sound like fun.  You would be great at parlor games, you could be the life of the party.  Grow rich on the stock market and pork-belly futures. 

            Well it sounds good.  Psychic healers certainly feel they have abilities that they use only for good.  For most of us, it may be that the paranormal, if it exists, should be avoided.  It is a distraction for most of us on our paths.  It may lead some people on a path to harming themselves or others.  Particularly, some persons could get caught up in using those abilities to control others. 

All this stuff can be pretty powerful.  What happens if it falls into the wrong hands? 

            That is why the kabbalists, Hebrew mystics, hid their teachings inside esoteric writings.  Yes, humans that are partially enlightened can harm a lot of other people.  For example the classic “guru problem.”  Sexual exploitation and financial exploitation.  There may be some risks of telling people how to get on the path.  My feeling is that the more people know, the less susceptible they will be to these partially enlightened gurus.  Those guys violate the commandment of “love everyone,” (harm no one).  Keep your eyes open for shady gurus.  I would not go so far as to say “trust no one.”  Be alert.  If you need a guru.  Build up trust slowly.  Watch out for requests for money or sex.  If you are uncomfortable with something, bounce it off of someone outside of the influence of the guru. 

You mentioned surrender.

            That’s another hard part.  Leaving yourself open to what Source has to offer you.  It has been described as “emptying your cup.”  Source cannot fill you, if you are already filled with your desires, attachments, and ego.  

What about other paths?

            We could go on and on.  Some advocate the graphic arts, music, writing.  The Vendanta  (?correct?) speaks of the intellectual path compared to the path of love.  

So this book is part of your path.

            Absolutely.  That is why I am driven to write this book.  The Source is doing all this writing.  I’m just sitting back and enjoying.  Pure pleasure.  Lots of fun.  I recommend it to everyone. 

What about intellectual paths compared to the path of love. 

            Most of what I describe above are intellectual paths.  You use your brain and body and try to get on a path.  A different path could be through intense prayer, expressing your love for God, a time honored path.  That is common to many western religions.  You can become a hermit or you can bring your love to people who are needy.  Service to the poor.  Important paths.  But you do not have to be monk or a nun or live the life of a hermit.  That is a lifestyle choice.

So you don’t have to leave your family?

            Absolutely not.  Although that can be tempting.  You can have a family, buy a house, have children.  But those can be harder routes, unless you incorporate those family interactions into your path.  As Bill Murray said in the adaptation of Somerset Maugham’s book “The Razor’s Edge,”  “It’s easy to be a monk on a mountain.”  Then he went back to town to have a job and interact with people once more.  It is harder to live a conventional life in an enlightened manner.  Oh no, I’m agreeing with Neale again.

How do you know what path is right for you?

            Listen to your self.  What gets you excited?  What is fun?  You may need to impose some self-discipline.  Ultimately, you have to listen to your intuition.  You can also listen to your sense of economy.  You don’t have to give all your money away.  Also, paths change.  At some point you may need to change your path in the course of your personal evolution.  Persons who write about achieving enlightenment, say they then abandoned all paths and practices.  Like a raft you would use to get across the water.  Once you have crossed the water, you can abandon the raft.  There is just no need for it anymore. 

What else can help you?

            Some enlightened readings say that you really can not do anything to hurry your path.  If you are to achieve recognition, it will occur no matter what you do.  I’m not sure I agree.  I think you can start by “cleaning house.”  Live a life “as if” Source was leading you.  Live life one step more simply.  Turn off the television, play games with your children and other adults.  Spend time with nature.  Have a job where you don’t harm people.  Devote yourself to helping others.  Get psychological help if you come from an abusive background.  You may need professional help if you carry that anger within you.  Then you are plowing the field, making it fertile, allowing the seeds of your path to grow. 

Waxing poetically?

            Yes, too much fun.  I’ll put further readings, my favorite ones, at the end of this book.  I’ll even annotate them.

5

So what if one is not interested in this meditation or self improvement stuff? 

            There are no requirements by Source, or God, or what ever you wish to call “the All,” for taking up any kind of path.  If you are happy with who you are.  There is no reason to change.  On the other hand there seems to be a lot of unhappy people around.  Some are just unclear what they want to do in life.  Some are in high paying jobs, but unsatisfied.  Others feel like they are in dead end jobs, or jobless, unable to navigate their world successfully.  Others are prone to addictions to alcohol or other drugs, sex, television,  computer games, the internet, even work.  They cover-up the emptiness they feel, despite being busy all the time.  These are people who have stopped growing.  They long for something.  They substitute mindless activities for mindfulness. 

Mindfulness? 

            Yes, a great word.  Jon Kabat-Zinn has published on his methods of mindfulness-meditation. A wonderful place to start.  Using standard scientific methods to evaluate his program, he has shown that his methods work.  The goal is to live in the present.  Not that you shouldn’t plan for the future.  But, if you think almost continuously about the future, or you are constantly thinking about the past, then you are not living now.  If you are not living now, you can not enjoy what is in front of you.  Mindfulness means being aware of what is happening right now...now...now.  The more time you spend living in the present the happier you are. 

(footnote:  Full Catastrophe Living)

Why would living in the present make you happy?

            Because the future really doesn’t exist, so if you spend all of your time there, then you are in fantasy-land.  The past doesn’t exist either.  The past is what we remember it to be.  What we remember is not always accurate.  The present is all there is.  Every second we recreate this person we call a self.  The entity we call self doesn’t really exist.  Like the phoenix arising from ashes anew, we recreate this person we call “I.”  I did this, I did that, and I’m going to do some other thing.  Meditation focuses on what is happening right now.  Experience the sensations right now. 

What if you have health problems and can’t exercise, can’t do that movement stuff?

            Health problems can limit what sort of movement practice you can do.  But many of these can be adapted for persons with restrictions or disabilities.  Sometimes you can strengthen your body to a point where you could do even more.  For those that can do very little, warm water pool aerobics can be very gentle, because your body is supported by the water. 

What if you are in chronic pain?

            For certain types of chronic pain, particularly in terminal disease such as cancer, strong medications, particularly narcotics, may be required.  For persons with other forms of chronic pain, and even in cancer pain, these movement and meditation practices can transform their lives. 

For instance?

            We don’t understand some forms of chronic pain, particularly those with a large component of fatigue.  Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and related syndromes are poorly understood.  John Sarno calls these the tension-myalgia syndromes, and advocates teaching the mind that the expression of pain is an inappropriate outlet of anger, and sometimes this requires psychotherapy.  There is little that traditional medicine can do for these syndromes.  Many sufferers turn to alternative therapies for help.  No alternative therapies have clearly been shown to cure, although some may be helpful.  I advocate movement and meditation practices .  These practices may not cure these syndromes, but, they can lead to a better integration of the mind and the body, and decrease pain. 

(footnote:  Sarno’s book)

What do you mean integration of the mind and the body? 

            You caught me on that one.  That term is really thrown around without taking the time to understand what that means.  Most of us walk around feeling as though there is a little person sitting in our heads and looking out of our eyes.  We call that entity “the mind,” or “our brain.”  We feel the body is a separate part that carries the brain around.  The brain simply tells the body what to do.  We now know that the brain and the body are intimately connected with two way communication.  The sensory output from our bodies influence how our brain works.  When we learn certain movement practices, the brain changes in response to those movements.  What we eat affects how we feel.  Hugging someone, especially hugging your dog, can have great healing effects on the body / brain.  Directly boosts the immune system and decreases the likelihood of depression. 

I knew that.  We both get health benefits from our attention to each other.   

            The movement and meditation can help you feel that everything is working together.  You “heal” the artificial duality, where you think that the brain and body are separate.  Ken Wilber calls this integrated brain / body “the centaur.”  It is one of the steps in healing the splitting we are so prone to do.  Once you feel that the brain and the body are one, you can take the next steps toward recognizing that we are not separate entities from everyone around us, and we are not separate from anything.  We are all Source.

(footnote: A brief history of everything)

So how does that help chronic pain?

            The realization that “we are all Source” is intimately associated with living in the present.  When you are continuously only aware of the present, the fear of pain disappears.  Pain is simply another sensation.  The fear of pain relates to the future experience of pain.  If you don’t fear pain, the sensation of pain is transformed.  Pain becomes something else, a sensation, but not a sensation that damage is occurring.  Of course, for most of us, this lasts only a short while.  But that first step can change the cycle of pain and fear of future pain. 

And happiness?

            You are happy when you are satisfied with what you have.  If there is no future, you can’t long for those material things you think will make you happy.  If there is no future you can’t pine for that relationship that will make you happy, and you can’t fear the ending of a relationship that would make you sad.  No past means you can’t color the past with an idea of how perfect things were, or how awful they were.  There is only now.  When there is only now, everything is interesting.  The simplest encounter can leave you roaring with laughter.  It is really the most fun you can have.

So that is why dogs are happier than humans.  We do not live in the past or future, we live right now. 

            I think that that is true.

So how come I’m sad when you scold me?

            You are sad at the time, but that quickly passes.  You don’t mull over the fact that you will now be sad for the rest of your life.  As soon as something else happens, like someone comes over to pet you, you have left that sadness.  It doesn’t exist anymore. 

Then again dogs have not built libraries and constructed towers of knowledge, delving deeply into how our world works.

            Yes, that is true.  Let’s take that up next. 

Conversations with Dog - Chapters 2 and 3

2

So what do you think is a universal truth?

            Well, there are no absolute truths you can put down in words.  Truth exists within each of us.  We can recognize an absolute truth only through feeling the truth within ourselves.  To paraphrase a great eastern sage “the truth that can be written is not the absolute truth.”

Lao Tzu.

            Yes.  How did you know that?  Don’t tell me you read too. 

No.  I don’t read.  But, I get the information from the same source.

            You mean Lao Tzu’s dog? 

Hey.  Lao Tzu would have been nowhere without his dog.  But no, I didn’t get that from his dog.  I got that information from...well this starts to get difficult.  You said yourself, we can’t really write down, speak, or put certain concepts into words.  So we need to approximate the important concepts, if we are to use words.  You said that Neale got some stuff wrong.

            Yes, I did.  I guess I don’t believe that anyone has the last word on God.

Precisely.  I agree.  Who do you think has the “last word?”

            I guess no one can.  Sentient beings can get pure knowledge, may be even the truth from “the All,” “the Source,” “God,” “the Force”  whatever you want to call it.  But, that concept is filtered through our poor animal nature before it can be written into words.  So, words cannot be used to tell the truth, only to get close to the truths.  Truth can only be felt inside you.

Words are like a finger pointing at the moon.

            Exactly.  Hey!  Have you read all of eastern philosophy?

No, I have never “read” anything.  My job is usually to be a dog, and you better believe it is a lot easier than doing this stuff.  But, we need to agree on some language.  I like “Source.”

            That’s OK with me.  I like the term Source.  It has less connotation than a lot of other terms.  So how does a dog get knowledge from the Source?

Beats me.  Remember, I am here to help you.  That’s what dogs are good for.  No one loves you like your dog.  I was just given a different role starting today.  I don’t know how it happened, I don’t know when it may end.  

            You mean this may stop sometime?  I was just starting to have fun.  I guess we need to get as much work done as possible.

You bet.  Also, I won’t be talking with you in eyesight or hearing of any other humans.  It gets too messy.  While we are writing you should keep this to yourself as well.  When you are done with this book, you can tell anyone you want, or no one if you want.  Dogs don’t need fame and glory.  But, they do need water, thank you, my bowl is empty.

            Sorry, Midnight.  I’ll get you some water, and me another cup of tea. We should get some work done. 

3

            So.  Source is everything.  As the sages say; the 10,000 things come from the Source.  I can feel that truth when I meditate. 

But, Neale does a good job of describing the partitioning of Source into the physical realm “the 10,000 things.” 

            Yes.  A little wordy.   But, he does do a good job.  I get the feeling he was definitely in touch with Source when writing those passages.  We are in this physical state so that Source can appreciate Itself.  The split into good and bad, pretty and ugly can only be appreciated in the physical world.  If you recognize Source, the duality ceases to exist.  But I don’t like his concept of the “Triune that is God.”  His Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit as knowing, experiencing, and being.  He also says the Triune has been called superconscious, conscious, subconscious, as well as mind, body, spirit.  Too complicated. 

I agree.  So, how would you put it?

             I like to think of this age old concept of “the three” as the third way, a more evolved way, of looking at any set of opposites.  So, the third way of looking at pretty and ugly might be termed Beauty.  When you can see Source within everything, the concepts of pretty and ugly disappear.  When the Hindus say “namaste” they mean “whatever your outward appearance, I greet the Source within you.”  If you appreciate that concept you can detect Beauty within the ugliest of circumstances.  Again, we cannot really appreciate what we are talking about using words.   Try this.  Think about it as pretty and ugly as the base of a triangle.  Now put Beauty at the apex of the triangle, above pretty and ugly.  That’s about the best I can do to show the relationship between “the three.”

So what about good and bad.

            Yes.  That is a tough one.  I think Neale gets close to explaining why there is so much disparity in the world.  Why there are terrible disasters, wars, children starving.  But I can’t agree that we, as a society of humans, have simply made it this way.  That we are responsible for all the bad stuff in the world.  I feel that a closer truth is that the good and the bad are part of our evolution.  The yin and the yang.  The balance results in the greatest good and the most awful bad.  We can evolve toward greater good and, perhaps thinking optimistically, the bad will rise up toward good.  For a more pessimistic possibility, the bad could get worse as the good gets better.  I am unable to discern the truth between these two possibilities.

So what is the reason for good and bad?

            We get caught in the cycle of being attracted to the good, pretty, and pleasureful things and experiences.  We experience attachment and desire for happiness.  We are repulsed by the bad, ugly, and painful experiences.  So we reject these experiences and try to avoid suffering.  But, we must experience both.  We must reach that point where we are not attached to pleasure and we do not avoid suffering.  When we achieve that balance, we are free.  True freedom.  If you desire nothing, then you are truly free, and you have everything. 

Please explain further.

            What a taskmaster you are.  All that fueled by dog chow.  OK.  Suffering is important because it leads to action.  If we feel pain we do something about it.  Suffering can lead to the thirst for inner knowledge.  The desire to relieve that suffering can lead to evolution of the self, bring it closer to the Source and merging closer to It.  We could say that self becomes Self.  Self with a capital “S” is the Source.  We recognize that we are no different than Source.  Essentially, that is what the Buddha wrote, as well as many other sages throughout history.  It is the balance of wisdom and compassion.

Wisdom and compassion? 

            Wisdom is when we spend time merged with the Source.  Compassion is bringing that wisdom, that knowledge or recognition that we are always merged with the Source, back to the physical plane to help relieve the suffering of others. 

I don’t understand your statement “if you desire nothing, you have everything.” 

            It is easy to see that, once you have your basic needs met, if you don’t lust for anything, then you have everything you need.  What is more difficult to understand is the situation where you do not have your basic needs met.  Perhaps you are in constant pain or you don’t have enough food, water, or shelter.  How can you desire nothing under those circumstances?  That is what transcendence is all about.  Transcendence is when you recognize that you were never really apart from Source.  It is not easy.  If you survive your challenges, you have a chance to reach that level of transcendence.  If you die, you return to the Source.

So, do you have to suffer to transcend this mundane world?

            Absolutely not.  We can transcend by many means.  There are infinite paths.  Finding the right one is not so easy.  However, I feel that we are all evolving as a species.  Part of that evolution is that more people are recognizing that there is no self, only Self, only Source.  We start to see that most of us live our lives asleep.  When we start to see that we have been asleep, we are on the path to recognition.  Anyone who has read this or any other book on any aspect of transcendence is already on the path.  These paths are open to anyone.  No suffering required. 

So, why do we hear so many tales of suffering, prior to this so-called transcending the self and reaching the point where we recognize that everything is Source?

            Good point.  I think there are those humans that are basically born recognizing this.  We hear tales where a 2 year-old precocious child seems to understand deeply and becomes a guru, usually in India.  I hate to think of what might happen to a child like that in the US.  Probably we would take him or her to a psychiatrist and medicate them until they stop talking like Jesus Christ.  But more seriously, I think that any adult who starts down that path and touches the Source finds some very pleasurable feelings generated.  Remember the word “rapture” is frequently used in Christian mysticism.  We you break away from the Source, after that brief encounter, nothing on earth looks good anymore.  This has been termed the “dark night of the soul.” 

So all this searching can lead to depression?

            Yes.  For many seekers there is a period of years, 5, 10, 20, 40 years, before they integrate recognition into their life.  Until that integration occurs, their life can be filled with mental anguish.  Only during certain times of successful meditation, or other brief recognition of Source, do they have that intense pleasure.  Then they leave that, and it feels extremely painful.  Painful compared to our everyday existence.  The worst kind of pain and suffering you can have is mental pain.  Physical pain is far easier to deal with. 

Never end a sentence with a preposition.

            Oh, so now you can correct my English?  I thought you were supposed to keep me on track?

Sorry.  Actually,  I hear a car pulling into the driveway.  We will have to continue this tonight. 

            I don’t hear anything.

No, of course not.  If you were a dog, you could. 

Conversations with Dog - Intro and Chapter 1

 Some have you have read this.  Really the origin of this Blog. 

In this time of COVID,  for those who are cooped up, and for those who have not read this before, I thought I'd share a chapter per day. 

Conversations with Dog

An uncommon serious parody

Book 1

by Nad Jacob Sean Rellum

Copyright Daniel Muller, September 1998

Introduction

            You are about to have an extraordinary experience...again.  You are about to have a conversation with my dog.  Midnight is, I had thought, a very ordinary dog.  Yes, smarter than most.  At least dog smart, I had thought.  You have been taught to think that is just not possible.  You can talk to your dog, but she can’t talk back. 

            You may be right, it may not be possible.  Nevertheless, I have to write down these conversations.  I may get carted away to the local institution for medication and psychotherapy.  But then again, look what happened to Neale.  He got rich! 

            So I am willing to brave the naysayers.  Call me a blasphemer, a guru, or--perhaps worse--a plagiarizer.  These conversations happened to me.  The truth is always evident when we are ready for it. 

            This book will not address all the questions we have ever asked about life.  It will correct some mistakes that Neale made in his best selling book.  It directly addresses sex...I hope to spend a lot of time on sex.  Sorry folks, no photos or even line drawings.  This book will also address the hereafter, paths, and roads well worn and less traveled, but none of them will lead to God.  They sure won’t lead to the Devil either. 

            I have to apologize to Neale.  I never met him, but, I really did like his books.  I think he did a great job of trying to correct 2,000 years of misinformation.  It is just that there is information from my conversations with my dog that needs to be published.  Everyone who has read these words agree, all three of them.  Most of all I have to thank Neale, because without his books, I never would have thought of this title.  And, maybe my dog never would have started talking to me. 

            Perhaps when we are finished you will see the truth.  Naked and untouched by human hand, or canine paws.  Perhaps not.

            The truth exists.  You can find it in you.  But, as you will see, no one can tell you the truth.  You have to find it yourself. 

            I need to say now that I am--after reading the wisdom in this book--a lot less embarrassed by my own life.  I have been having fun.  I hope that you will have fun reading this little serious parody.  In the end, having fun is what it is all about.  I know that’s what we all need. 

            I’ll tell you about a few semi-serious “grown-up” responsibilities as well.  But that’s just all part of the path. 

           

Madison, Wisconsin

Rosh Hashanah 1998

1

            In the fall of 1998--just before the high stress of the Jewish holidays--my dog started talking to me.  It was a beautiful Sunday morning.  I was out on my backyard patio reading the New York Times book review and drinking a cup of ginger tea.  I was noting that Neale’s book was still on the best seller list, for the past 91 weeks, in the non-fiction section, no less.  Then I heard my nemesis.  The woodpecker was starting to peck through the cedar siding of my house again.  I picked up the dog’s tennis ball and lobbed it at the woodpecker.  Then I heard...

Don’t do that.

            I looked around and didn’t see anyone.  My 10 year-old son was at Hebrew school.  I looked for my 16 year-old son, but noted that it was 9:15 am.  The 16 year-old would not be up for at least three more hours.  I peeked around the trees, but, there were no neighbors in sight.  I sat down again and picked up the paper. 

Do you want to know why you shouldn’t do that?

            I sprayed a mouthful of tea all over the paper and nearly fell off my chair.  “Alright, who’s hiding?” I said out loud.  Then I noticed that I didn’t hear any words out loud.  I was hearing these words in my head.  I’m going crazy, I thought to myself.

No, you are not going crazy.

            Well if I’m not going crazy then why am I hearing this?

Because, I am talking to you.

            OK.  Who are you?

I’m sitting by the back door.

            My dog is the only creature at the back door.

R--i--g--h--t!!!

            My dog, currently staring at me with her big brown eyes and wagging her tail, is talking to me?

Well, talking is not the best term for what we are doing.  We really are not using our vocal cords.  I usually make barking or whining sounds when I’m talking to you.  You make strange guttural vocalizations when you talk to me.  We are really communicating by telepathy. 

            I don’t believe in telepathy.

That’s OK.  You don’t have to believe in it to do it. 

            So why have you decided to talk to me after seven and a half years of living together?

Because you are ready.

            What do you mean by that?

You have spent the last 30 years searching diligently for the truth.  You have read half a library of books on religions of the world, the Kabbalah, Buddhism, Zen, the Tao, the Vendanta, western and eastern philosophies, Christian mysticism.  You studied Aikido, Karate, meditated, and gave up alcohol.  Still you are unsatisfied, unable to feel fulfilled in what you are doing.  I’m here to help you find your way out of all that mess. 

            OK.  Why today?  Why just now?

What were you doing when you first heard me?

            I was throwing your ball at the woodpecker.

No, just before that.

            I was lamenting to myself that Neale’s book was still on the best seller list.

Yes, and you were jealous and you thought you had some better ideas than he.

            I suppose so.  That would be a good way to describe it.  I thought there were some significant ideas missing or incorrect in his book.  What were you telling me not to do, not throw your ball at the woodpecker?

No, you know I don’t really like to play fetch with that ball anyway.  That woodpecker drives me crazy too.  You know, you can put tin foil strips to keep him away.  But, I digress.  I was telling you not to lament Neale’s success.  I want to help you write your own book. 

            Tin foil will keep the woodpecker away?

Listen.  Forget the woodpecker.  We have more important things to discuss.  I’m here to help you put those ideas down on paper.

            Paper?

Well, whatever.  Go get your portable computer, it is the late 20th century.   Neale was happy with yellow sheets of paper, you know.

            Yes, but who do you think I would let type this stuff?  The last thing I need is to have someone else reading my dialog with my dog.  I don’t even like being on locked wards when I’m the physician.  So where do we start?  How about the big truths?

What big truths?

            Look, are you going to be helpful or not?

I am being helpful.  My job is to challenge everything you say.  I’ll also help with writer’s block.

            OK.  Let us start with questioning what is truth.