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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.
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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.
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