Totally Transparent

Well, maybe not totally… 

As I said before

Maybe like Ivory Soap

99.4%

Nick Ardagh called this Translucence… 

http://arjunaardagh.com/tag/the-translucent-revolution/

And I recommend his book for practices that may be helpful. 

Of course it was during meditation that the above title arose… 

That was the feeling… 

Then toward the end of meditation

when the ego pops back together… 

The ego starts making commentary on what just happened… 

Oh goody, that was fun, let’s call it TT! 

Within it… 

There is no naming… 

There is no one there to do any naming. 

---

A brief interlude: 

Currently reading Alan Watts’ biography, “In My Own Way”

And, yes, he endorses both meanings. 

In Chapter 10 he is describing conversations with those who feel that hard work and asceticism is the road to enlightenment… 

I don’t think Alan Watts clearly states his path

But, my translation of his path is that of what we might label “tantric” 

He fully embodies food, drink, sex, nature, and intellect, along with meditative practices to fully open to who you are… 

An ordained priest and a married adulterer...

He did leave his order… 

This book came up during a conversation with my dear friend Rick this morning

We have lovely wide-ranging conversations from Mandelbrot to religion and entheogens… 

I mentioned that what we are doing is “seeing through” the ego… 

Seeing the ego for what it is

A construct

A useful construct when used to walk in the world

A burden

 

If you don’t know that you are a slave to it… 

Same thing with religion

Often useful to teach kids some religion

Rules to live by… 

And to see through these teachings… 

Perhaps so they have something to reject later… 

We have an ego to help us survive in the world as we are growing… 

But, then, in order to truly grow to the next level

We must see through the ego

See what it is… 

A fluctuating, self-preserving, eddy current in a stream,

or

wave on the ocean (thanks Rick!) 

Realizing

Feeling into this truth

Allows you

to take off

or put on

this ego overcoat

To change the coat to whatever color or fabric is needed

A continuum of ego

Regulating whatever is needed

 

It this very moment

Flowing with whatever is arising

Realizing the tendencies of your ego… 

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/02/just-stranger-in-strange-land-part-1.html

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/02/just-stranger-in-strange-land-part-4.html

Transparent and Translucent

We are talking about the same thing… 

Enlightenment, Samadhi, Nirvana… 

This is the long-term argument… 

How do we get there? 

This is my take on “The Path”

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/04/enlightenment-part-5-final-secret.html

Perhaps, the argument will always be there of the “Hard Road” versus the “Easy Road”

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/05/helicopters-and-enlightenment.html

In the end

There is no “Hard Road” nor “Easy Road”… 

Each one of you must walk your own path… 

Everyone else is telling you of their own paths… 

Reminds me of the song “I Did It My Way”

Source… 

All-That-Is and All-That-Is-Not… 

Is playing a game of hide and seek…

Source cannot see itself

Except through your senses

Source

Cannot enjoy this day

This conversation

Without being more than One Thing… 

Yet, seeing through the game

Seeing through the ego construct

Can be pure bliss…

Also, sometimes, pure terror… 

As the ego is seen… 

Ego feels torn to shreds

Then the light, and dark, of

 

Empty-Fullness

Arises

Transparency

Arises

No Karma

Nothing can stick… 

All light shines through… 

Seeing clearly… 

This is offered… 

In

Each

And

Every

Moment… 

Risks of STER, and therefore, remember The Three Commandments

Today we continue our dialog from yesterday.   Please read that one first. 

In their book, Stealing Fire, Kotler and Wheal do us a great favor and not only extoll the virtues of STER, but also warn us against possible risks. 

Of course they are not as succinct, nor as complete, as

            The Three Commandments    :-D 

Remember that there is a strict order to The Three Commandments. 

          1-There is only one Source.

                    2-Love everything.

                              3-Enjoy yourself.

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-second-commandment-love-everything_24.html

They outline the risks of STER as follows, pp 202-9:

Selflessness, can feel as though you are G-d.  Mistaking your little self, for Source… 

Timelessness, a feeling that can lead to overconfidence, and life threatening, or at least career threatening, mistakes in the physical world. 

Effortlessness, can lead one to be a “bliss junkie.”  With risks of addiction to ecstatic drugs, or high-risk behaviors. 

Richness, they warn, “not to dive too deep.”  Don’t try to go to the deepest limits of consciousness, it is limitless, and you may not make it back… 

They even come up with an equation:  Value = Time x Reward/Risk… 

Time, is the learning curve.  For example, how long to master meditation vs “the peek at the peak” from taking an enthogen… 

Reward, is the retention of positive insights… 

Risk, the chance you could lose your life, or your mind, perhaps with extreme sports, unprotected sex, or using powerful drugs in the bathtub or rooftop… 

You may be able to calculate an overall Value for any method… 

Further, in the book, pp 213-218, they then go on to try help you formulate a possible plan or flow to your unfolding… 

Only one glaring error, p 88, describing one of Roland Griffith and colleague’s studies, they write that 3 grams of psilocybin were given to volunteers, the dose was 30 mg per 70 kg.  I suspect that they were probably mixing up their own use of dried mushrooms… 

A more general criticism relates to where they fail to distinguish between the map and the territory.  STER is just one of many maps of the territory.  As so, maps are useful, but incomplete.  They also fail to make explicit that the territory is our baseline state of consciousness.   A state covered over by our survival ego.  This later understanding might help one to better choose a path, or paths, toward “letting go.” 

Nonetheless, a good book, highly recommended. 

Let me know what you think… 

Namaste

Boredom, Pain, Addiction

Saw a movie last night, “Little Fish.” 

Very depressing… 

Great acting.   But, I don’t like to watch these types of depressing movies. 

You might ask why? 

This is because I see and hear these kinds of stories all the time in my clinic. 

Stories of addiction, and those who have pulled themselves out of addiction. 

Many times still living life on the fringes, sometimes disabled, sometimes in low-level jobs.  Often, due to a history of criminal activity and incarceration. 

Often, still very unhappy. 

There are success stories, particularly if young enough to go back to school and obtain meaningful work.  Most often, working with addicted populations.

And these are the lucky ones who have either government or commercial insurance. 

Otherwise, I would not be seeing them in my current clinic. 

Many years ago I volunteered in a free clinic.

That population was even worse off. 

Often, not even showing up for appointments or follow-up appointments. 

Sad… 

Where does all this come from? 

I remember being a bored adolescent and smoking pot and dropping LSD. 

Luckily, I never tried anything truly addictive such as cocaine or narcotics. 

And, I had several amazing experiences using LSD as a 16 year-old, which opened my mind to other realms of consciousness.   Eventually leading me to martial arts and meditation. 

I also had some adequate level of cognitive and emotional intelligence, and a family that loved and cherished me.  

 

We were lower middle class, no car, but always enough food on the table, and eventually we even owned our own home. 

Many, many people do not have these advantages…    

Many of these addicts and former addicts have a history of abuse and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  They often have chronic fatigue and chronic pain syndromes. 

They are sometimes self-medicating for both physical and emotional pain. 

Many times, their physical pain is amplified by their emotional pain. 

Not all addicts are poor, but I suspect they are all in pain… 

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2014/02/philip-seymour-hoffman-died-recently.html

How do we stop this epidemic? 

It would be nice if no one grew up abused... 

There are some amazing treatments,

right now,

mostly illegal… 

But, being studied again, after many years of neglect… 

I feel like I have been writing ad nauseum about the treatments of PTSD and addictions with Schedule 1 drugs such as MDMA, LSD, psilocybin… 

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2014/02/gateway-drugs.html

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2014/10/of-drugs-evolution-of-consciousness-and.html

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2017/01/psychedelic-deficiency-syndrome-pds.html

So, listen to The Heretic already!  :-D

Sometimes, I am just not very patient… 

Instead, I will advertise this great new book I’ve been reading:

Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work, by Kotler and Wheal. 

They put together a book outlining studies and programs for pushing the limits of human potential to it’s highest levels. 

They outline mediation practices, entheogens, new training programs using visual and audio stimulations… 

I like they way they outline the states of consciousness which may allow growth to a higher level of being human, beyond what we might label a “normal adult.” 

They label these states as having a sense of STER:

Selflessness, that is, ego-loss…

Timelessness

Effortlessness

Richness, perhaps think of the Buddhist term “Empty, Fullness” 

I like it! 

And, these are the same practices that can help those in need… 

However, we need to make these trainings available to everyone… 

Not just the SEALs and Silicon Valley billionaires… 

And, we need to start in the schools… 

Teaching the young to be more than they could ever think they could be… 

Read the book,

I am not recommending the movie… 

Watch something uplifting! 

Namaste