Okay, so I've got to update this place!

It's been about 8 months since I posted here, mainly because I decided to publish some of my website articles, etc. between covers (and add new items, graphics, etc.). This resulted in a book titled "A Planetary Sojourn" (cover on my website at -- which you may have already visited.
A quick overview of recent events should include Eric Christensen's launch of his excellent Trips Festival documentary and his interview on David Gans' 'Dead to the World' on KPFA-FM.
Also launched in June was U.C.Press's history of our composers/artists' collaborative from the early sixties titled "The San Francisco Tape Music Center: 1960s Counterculture and The Avant-Garde" bundled with a DVD of some of the best sound-light-instrumental pieces of that era. We had an overflow crowd for the launch at the Haight-Ashbury branch of the public library - lots of fun and I think the event was video'd by the Center for Contemporary Music folks (the 'daughter' of our parent group, alive and well at Mills College).
Again, here's an interview with the book's editor and various culprits on Dean Suzuki's Discreet Music (Emergency Circus) KPFA-FM show.
If that wasn't enough, along came Alastair Gordon's amazing 300-page all-color coffee-table book titled "Spaced Out: Crash Pads, Hippie Communes, Infinity Machines And Other Radical Environments Of The Psychedelic Sixties" that devotes a dozen or so pages to our rural open-gate ranches, photos and history that I've archived here.
Whew?
Alastair and friends opened a "Spaced Out" blog on MySpace, and linked it to one that generously outs me as some sort of explorer of alternate realities. Okay, there may be some truth to their views, but really-truly all I did was -- well, what was it -- and still is it -- anyway? Wanna tell the hairy accordion player?'
Speaking of music, my CD publisher Locust Music also has a MySpace blog for me that plays samples of some of my sixties' electronic pieces.
Having buffed my nails to a high gloss on my non-existent lapels, I'll sign off for now but promise to return soon with other recent hair-raising adventures and insightful mullings about just how we can achieve a massive planetary bliss-out for all beings before we go the way of the dinosaurs and let the raccoons take a turn at creating a paradise planet.
As Always, wishing your illusory self-refreshing pristine awareness embodiment/ emanation a festive absorption into the light while still planetside. And if you're already absorbed, wishing you a double-scoop of your favorite flavor. I'm having mine today on an amrita cone! Why scramble for crumbs if you can sit at the table with all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, purring and swishing your tail in delight?

"One of my teachers used to say, once you have turned towards
the light, it doesn't really matter how far away it seems as
long as you keep your eye on it."

from Stephen Levine, bless him.

Enough-ing and Stephen & Ondrea Levine

Here's something that I thought might be of interest. It's from from
Stephen Levine's book "A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It
Were Your Last." Stephen worked with hospice patients for many years
and wrote a number of excellent books from the Buddhist perspective,
including "Who Dies?" and "Turning Toward The Mystery." "Turning"
has become one of my all-time favorite books since I discovered it last
October.
I never have met Stephen and his wife Ondrea, although they taught
meditation in the Bay Area for many years. These days I gather they're
living in seclusion, and I recently heard that Ondrea's cancer has
returned and Stephen's not in the best of health himself. Many of the
thousands of people they've helped over the years are rallying to their
assistance.
I learned about their situation here.

In the chapter about how so many in hospice lament about how they
feel their lives have been a failure, there was this (slightedly edited)
quote:
-=-=-=-=-=-=
One fellow with cancer spoke how... right on the other side of his
feelings of 'not-enoughness' was a remarkable insight: he saw the
value of not being able to satisfy his desires. It caused him to discover,
like the Buddha, the cause of all his suffering. It was not only the
impossibility of satisfying every desire, much less keeping it that
way; it was not because of not getting this or that or losing it the next day.

The cause of suffering was desire itself.

He saw that it was not in the attained object of desire that satisfaction resided, but in the absence of desire. He mentioned that when he received something he wanted, he noticed a momentary spiking of pleasure and the experience we call 'satisfaction.' But to his surprise, the satisfaction did not come from the 'having that something,' but because the light of his innate nature was for a moment no longer obstructed by a mind full of desire.

HERE'S THE SENTENCE MOST INTERESTING TO ME:
It was the absence of desire that offered that feeling of satisfaction, of
temporary completeness, not the getting of the thing desired.

The very nature of desire is one of dissatisfaction with any moment in
which the object of desire is not present. Desire lives more in the future than in the present. It has a quality of longing rather than being. He saw that the mind was doomed to feel something of a failure if it did not comprehend that it is unfulfilled desire itself which, like a hungry ghost, always calls out for more.

This recognition of the painful nature of desire did not make him
desireless, but allowed him to treat desire with new respect. He said
that he did not even care if his 'lotus ever bloomed' (metaphor used
earlier for enlightenment) now that he had found it. This reminded me that
one of my teachers used to say, once you have turned towards the
light, it doesn't really matter how far away it seems as long as you
keep your eye on it.
-=-=-=-=-=
Ramon:
Okay, so at first glance the phrase "The cause of suffering is desire itself"
may not seem a new thought. But put in the context above it aquired for
me a real depth. Looking at the context again:

The momentary desirelessness triggered by receiving the object of desire and not the actual object received was the source of his feeling of fulfillment.
Which of course turned me towards cultivating desirelessness directly ("I am enough, I have enough, I have experienced enough, I have done enough, I have lived enough, etc.) which I now call 'Enough-ing." In other words, the momentary desirelessness triggered by receiving the object of desire and not the object received was the source of his feeling of fulfillment. Which of course turned me towards cultivating desirelessness directly ("I am enough, I have enough, I have experienced enough, I have done enough, I have lived enough, etc.) which I now call 'Enough-ing."

Of course Enough-ing is also the antidote for that most common
illness in our First World consumer culture called "Affluenza." There's a
documentary of that title, along with its sequel "Escape from
Affluenza," which we've shown on our Monday night series.

Wishing you and all beings ENOUGH already!

Happy Happies!

Here's a belated posting of something I emailed some friends:

Happy Winter Solstice, everyone! The origin of present-giving this time of
year (in my imaginings) goes as follows: “The sun is disappearing! The sun is disappearing! It’s being stolen by an evil magician! Quick! Give presents to everyone in the hopes that one of them is responsible and will change their mind!”

Originally I think a young virgin was thrown into a volcano. The Old
Testament taught us to substitute an animal as a burnt offering. The New Testament taught that, inasmuch as God had sacrificed himself to himself, no more
burnt offerings were necessary. As an animal lover, that’s a relief! Now if we only could get rid of feed lots and devouring flesh via the invention of nanotechnology’s protein replicators.

Actually God is the REAL burnt offering as She continues to burn out of love and
compassion to keep us living creatures here on Gaia growing and de-lighted!

I also imagine that we come first to this planet as humans. If we prove at the very
least harmless to the life form (better yet, nurturing and loving), we then have the
freedom to come back ‘within the Garden’ as anything we want — a humming bird, a dolphin, a redwood tree — over and over! But if are destructive and mean as humans, we have to keep coming back as humans until we awaken. I think someone like Donald Trump, when he departs, will look back at his life and say, “Oh dear, I truly oinked it up at the trough in a very greedy manner! I should return as a starving beggar in Calcutta a few dozen times to balance things up.”

This puts me somewhat at odds with most reincarnation believers, who tend
towards the idea that if we do poorly as humans, we come back as dogs (how insulting
to the ever-loving canine species!). My wonderful American mother Julia said
she wanted to come back as a lapdog in a good family. As someone who more than
fulfilled the role of a caring and compassionate human, I’m sure she received her wish. Woof! Woof! “Hi, Mom!”

The Garden, which we are so busily attempting to destroy, really does exist. I call it ‘The Gaian Life Form’ because I believe it’s a single consciousness shared by all species — except humans, whose self-reflective awareness slows us down a half-second out of the Present Moment that is shared by all others.

Anyway, I’ll take Dave’s good advice, fold up my soapbox (fits nicely in my saddle bag) and canter off into the sunset... “Hi yo, Rocinante! Awayyyy!”

“Just who was that man in the Groucho Marx glasses and mustache?”

Wishing all beings everywhere freedom from suffering in the New Year.


“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” The Buddha Shakyamuni

Where's I Been?

Just in case there are regular readers who wonder where th' petunias I've been, I ran into some weird glitches in the archived postings - links linking to nowhere - and got discouraged after correcting a half-dozen. Also, ahem, I've swept a lot of my website short pieces into a book titled 'A PLANETARY SOJOURN' that I'm publishing soon - more about that when it happens, although I'm quite pleased with the cover - and the feedback I've received from a few readers of the uncorrected proofs.
I was going to include some of the postings from this blog, but the book already was almost 350 pages long, which is long enough. So now I'll start a SECOND collection that I'm titling "NON-DUAL IN THE SUN." More about that ditto.
In the meanbetimes, I'll honk my horn a little more by a link to David Gan's Grateful Dead radio show where he interviews documentary filmmaker Eric Christensen about his "The Trips Festival." The film covers the historic January 1966 weekend blow-out that took the Merry Pranksters Acid Test format into a three-night expansion -- and also unintentionally ushered in the Hippie Era. I was privileged to participate.
Wishing all illusory pristine awareness embodiments a festive absorption into the light!
And don't forget to celebrate Perihelion, this year on January 3 - high noon for us Pacific Standard Timers. We're 5 million km closer to the sun if measured from the opposite end of Mother Gaia's twirl.

Sun-Sun-Sun!

For me, the 'whispered teaching' is: "the radiant star in the center of
our blue sky is THAT." Our PHAT THAT, so to speak.

Matter and spirit are a unity, notes on the same scale, or as Ram Dass
once said, "We're all just slowed-down light."

So when I read wonderful quotes such as

The Koranic verse, "God is the Light of the heavens and
the earth" (XXIV: 35), has been interpreted by the traditional
Islamic clergy to mean that God is the source of all
illumination for the heavens and the earth. The Sufis, on the
other hand, take this to mean that God is the very being, the
reality of the heavens and the earth.

This gives me a wonderful laugh, because all these deep thinkers and
vibrational ecstatics of course are right on, but just don't see what's
literally staring them in their kissers. Of course if you live in a
high-sun environs where literally there's nothing but blazing sun
all day every day, it becomes important - a necessity - to shade
yourself from the Presence, but with it you also lose the basic
Understanding. Too bad our bodies are so fragile. We have to create
shade and ornamental rose windows to filter the View.

Dedicated sun yogis like temperate climes - coastal foggy areas
that draw veils across the Divine Face in a rapturous peek-a-boo,
and of course those incredible aboreal temples... forest glades and glens.

The insight that there is only one Absolute Being in the
whole universe, and that whatever exists does so through
His existence, has been called the philosophy of the "Unity
of Being" (wahdato'l-wojud).

Of course, what did you expect? And the Big Bang was Absolute Being
seeding Herself through all space and time. Aditi! Great-to-the-tenth-
power GrandmaHattie!

Bringing it down to our galactic neighborhood (reality was designed for
the naked eye, not for fancy telescopes) Absolute Being manifests locally
as our star, which of course also shines from the innermost chamber of
our heart (that sings 'Al-lah-lah-lah' every second). As without, so
within... as above, so below.

To be more precise, however, this is not a philosophy
at all. A philosophy is something invented by the mind and
hence subject to change. The awareness of the Unity of Being,
though, is a perception of the heart and consequently ever-
lasting and unchanging.

The good old human penchant for abstract thought has caused a lot of
trouble. You can learn Solar Awareness from almost any other species,
cows for instance. No thought required! And I love the way the birds
follow the sun over the horizon by climbing higher and higher into
the treetops to sing one last loving goodnight to the light...
So wise!

In the words of Shah Nimatullah:
"Throughout the world
and everything within it,
Whatever is seen is but a reflection of a ray
from the Face of the Friend."

Mitra = Sun's name as 'Friend' in Sanskrit...

And repeating that earlier quote from Zajonc's "Catching the Light; The
Entwined History of Light and Mind:"
"Light itself is always invisible. We see only things, only objects, not
light."

Hm, wonder why that's true, hm, hm... (ha-ha-ha!) Maybe that's how
Yahweh became the 'invisible God...'

(Apologies for these ramblings... but just had to say a few words.)
Rigpa = realizing I am the sunlight in this body...? YUM!

Adam W's Suggestion - And an Aziz Quote

"Adam W" wrote on the Way-of-Light list:

I have come demonstrate to myself, that all we need to do is
absorb ourselves in awareness - which takes two things:
(1) Time and therefore patience.
(2) Discipline to maintain single pointed focus of relaxed
attention in one's own awareness.

Ramon: Absolutely! It makes me wonder if perhaps now is the time to strip
away all traditional/cultural trappings (non-English terms, etc.) from
the basic teaching and put it in concise, vanilla-modern terminology that
anyone can understand. Of course that's what J-P and others here have
been doing... but hey -- what about dumping anything but the most essential?
Awareness of awareness does it for me very well... although there
definitely are levels - awareness-of-awareness-of-awareness? I think
almost all teachings must end up here, yes? For example, here is Master
Aziz's description of the various levels, edited for conciseness:

1. State of Presence
This state represents the awakening of Awareness, which
gives birth to the permanent sense of I Am within the mind.
2. Being
...The experience of Being is an energetic expansion into the
vertical reality of the Now. . . [and is] felt all-over the body
(does not include the Heart if it is not activated) but the main
direction of energy is downwards towards the hara and beyond.
3. Absolute State
In this profound realization the Soul moves fully to the State
of unbroken Rest. . . . We have to notice, however, that in the
Absolute State the mind and consciousness of the Soul have not
yet merged with the Source. At this stage of realization one
experiences the unity with Reality only within the Being
aspect of I Am.
4. Awakening of the Heart
This significant level of awakening opens the door to the
Divine Dimension. The Heart is the realm of the Soul, the
Beloved, Love and Grace. . . . However, the deeper and true
awakening of the Heart requires the Purification of Intention
and realization of the Soul.
5. Transparent Me
. . .The awakening of the Soul takes place in the Heart but it
needs to deepen through further merging with the whole of the
Inner State. The shift to Transparent Me gives birth to a very
holistic experience of oneself and represents awakening to
pure subjective existence of the Soul.
6. State Beyond Polarities
. . .Here one moves beyond polarities of the Inner and the
Outer, the Here and the Now. The State Beyond Polarities
represents a radical integration between Awareness, Heart
and Being, where all the three aspects of I Am merge into
One State. Through this integration a deeper absorption into
the Beyond takes place. The State Beyond Polarities is an in-
between state - between Presence and Absence - as one has not
yet fully moved to the Other Side.
7. Transcendental State or The Second Absolute
In the First Absolute, the Soul reached the unconditional
absorption into the Beyond, through the gateway of Being.
However, her consciousness still remains outside the Absolute.
In the Transcendental State, it is the Consciousness of the
Soul, her I Am in the Mind, which shifts to the Beyond. The
Mind, the Ego and the sense of separate identity are being
uprooted, so the Soul, as a Pure Me, can fully move with the
whole of herself into the Divine Realm. Entering the Tran-
scendental State, which is the realm of Absence, is a begin-
ning of a very complex process of dissolution of the Ego
and the Subconscious Mind. For the completion of this
process, the Me needs to fully surrender its existence to
the Beyond.
The end result is Complete Soul Awakening. The Soul returns
to its Original State and all the links with the human mind
become severed. This is what is called Liberation. Liberation
is not reached by negation of our human existence but through
The Realization of the Soul.
. . .
Ending of Karma, Purification and healing are essential in
order to release the burden of the past. They do accompany
all the way the process of inner awakening. For healing to
take place, one has to be in touch with the light, of the Soul
and open to the dimension of Grace. Everything that stands on
the way of our completion has to be gradually removed,
transformed and transcended. Spiritual Path should not be
seen as an escape from earthly challenges and difficulties
of human life. It is through becoming a real and fully
conscious human being that we can face these challenges and
transform all difficulties. Only from that place we can truly
move beyond our human identity and finally transcend earthly
existence.

Although Aziz currently is in seclusion and his website closed, this site
gives a brief overview and links to his books:

Of course 'terms' and 'descriptions' of the indescribable will vary...
Speaking for this particular illusory self-refreshing pristine
awareness embodiment/ emanation, I find 'personally' that:
1. just dropping into a lightly held awareness of awareness
2. utilizing a 'voluntary' blink to detach from any thought stream
3. smiling to keep the endorphins bubbling, and
4. resonating the sleep breath to stay within the heart
is really all I need!!!
Er, with an occasional self-arising tongue-tip held firmly between
the teeth while I suck on my uvula. It's sort of like the threading-
a-needle focused expression. But then, once on that other shore, one
dumps the boat and... Everything furthers!
Thanks again, Adam!

Fixation And A Number Of Good Quotes

Playing catch-up with recent postings:

R quoted Rinpoche:
"It is much better to sit next to Indra and eat happily..."
Ramon: - and pass the amrita, please!

J-P quotes Abhinavagupta:

Concentration and calming the mind. If this meditation
is difficult, take a simple object like a stone or a piece of wood,
place it in front of you, gently focus on the object without
blinking, allow nothing else to take hold of your mind.

There's that 'without blinking' suggestion again. Not blinking sure stirs
up the solar plexus energies! And smiling widely while doing so allows
tearing to continue to bathe the corneas. (Of course I'm 'doing something'
again, but perhaps 'staring as if in amazement' is self-arising?)

Referencing J-P's Vijñânabhairava Tantra quotes, I was overjoyed some
years ago to find one of my favorite self-discoveries (nursing on the
uvula/soft palate) listed there, (right next to the 'not-blinking
suggestion again):

LIE DOWN AS DEAD. ENRAGED IN WRATH, STAY SO. OR
STARE WITHOUT MOVING AN EYELASH. OR SUCK SOMETHING AND
BECOME THE SUCKING.

Also in "Zen Flesh Zen Bones," and also published by Rajneesh

52.
A. Lie down as dead. Enraged in wrath, stay so.
B. Or stare without moving an eyelash.
C. Or suck something and become the sucking.

-=-=-=
As for item "A" above, it makes me think of Ramana's teenage experience.
Except the 'enraged in wrath' I don't understand, unless this has to do
with frowning fiercely while stiffening the body in a rigor-like state.
Hm, trying it right now, I sense an 8-pulses-per-second visual strobe
effect.

I enjoy little mnemonic devices, such as the tip of the tongue held
between the teeth. Also, sometimes nothing's happening in my mind
except a random melody, and melodies seem to dissolve other thoughts,
yes?

I also like Alan Wallace's 'Awareness in Empty Space' exercise:

"Imagine yourself as a child lying on your back, gazing up into
a cloudless sky, and blowing soap bubbles through a plastic
ring. As a bubble drifts up into the sky, you watch it rise,
and this brings your attention to the sky. While you are
looking at the bubble, it pops, and you keep your attention
right where the bubble had been. Your awareness now lies in
empty space."

B. Alan Wallace, "Tibetan Buddhism From the Ground Up"
Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365
Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok

I've also been enjoyng Arthur Zajonc's "Catching the Light; The Entwined
History of Light and Mind" Oxford Univ Press, 1993 A quote that I found
of interest because I'd never thought of it before:
"Light itself is always invisible. We see only things, only objects, not
light."

Perhaps we cannot 'see' light in the same way that we cannot see our
buddha nature? Perhaps light IS awareness? Quoting from an 'R' posting:

The sambhogakaya is that dimension in which the
potentialities of sound, light, and rays the three fundamental
sources of manifestation, appear as the pure vision of the
mandala, the origin of the tantric teachings.

Hm, why are 'light' and 'rays' listed separately? And sound? My
happy inner melodies?

A Great Evening at New College, Santa Rosa

Hallo, faithful reader! I seem destined to update this blog once a month,
but then in more than one posting. Here goes with a backlog of good items:

On March 24th at New College North (Santa Rosa) Arty Kopecky, New Buffalo's archivist, produced a fundraiser for the Green Valley Village community.

Delia Moon was great, as always, and got the audience to sing the chorus
of 'The Wheels Of Change,'composed by Josh at Wheeler's in 1969 or so.
She also talked about how she came to start another community -- a real,
open-hearted sister!

Kei and Michael from Green Valley Village, and Deirdre from Avalon
Springs both spoke about their new communities. James from Oxy's Art &
Ecology Center described their educational program.

Arty Kopecky did a great job of mc-ing the whole business and keeping
things rolling. Later Nick and Tanya Alva sang songs from the woork-in-
progress Morningstar Musical, including my own "Oh Friends, Tell Me Why..."
that I wrote in 1966 after a group LSD trip (after a 10-day brown rice
diet). They're forging ahead with plans for producing the show...

FLASH! May, 2007, at the Spreckles Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Save one of these dates: Opening night Sat. May 3rd, additional performances May 4th, 9th, 11th, 16th and 18th

All I can remember talking about was my 1968 epiphany when I realized
humans were invented by trees as portable fertilizer factories (along
with other creatures). What a great moment! I no longer had to search
for meaning in my life, for what my task was in the Kosmos!

"At least once in your lifetime, fulfill your true destiny! Go
fertilize a tree," I told everyone. And I quoted a dear friend who said
'Shitting in your house is so barbaric.' Actually gorillas do shit in
their nest, but have the good sense to build a new one every night.

Hm, found some scribbled notes...

Morningstar Ranch was in a sense 'burdened' by belonging to the Divine
Mother, and thus having to function as a 'mothering' healing center open
to anyone -- which is why we were basically overrun. The previous owner,
poet and activist John Beecher, via the Catholic Church, had dedicated
the land to The Virgin Mary, something we didn't find out until the mid-
Seventies. But it did explain why people kept having visions of the Goddess
at Morningstar, both on and off psychedelics.

'Village' is in our DNA. Humans are try-out applicants for the Garden of
Gaia. If they're loving and caring - or at least harmless - they can
reincarnate as a butterfly, a dolphin, a redwood for as long and as
often as they wish. Otherwise, it's just back to yet another half-second
delayed, self-reflective human time around to 'get it right.

If you want to start a community, buy a cow -- or a goat. Then the
four-footed being calls the meetings. If I called a meeting at the
ranches, someone always would say, "And just exactly WHO elected
You God?" or something like that. But if you wanted milk for your
morning coffee at Wheeler's, you showed up for morning milking.
And during the general chat around the cow's rear end, various
topics of general interest would be discussed.

IN 1968 I said we were 20 years ahead of our time but now, 40
years later, I read in the March 22 Home and Garden section of
the N Y Times that a couple living in lower Manhattan are trying
to live by eating only food grown within a 200-mile radius, not
using toilet paper or paper products, not using elevators, making
their own whatever they can make, etc. So the 'low imprint'
lifestyle (that I named 'Voluntary Primitivism') has finally made
it to the Big Apple, but it took twice as long as estimated.

'Paths' are just worn-out spots in the meadows made by animals
afraid of what might be lurking behind the next tree or rock. Paths
wear down the landscape. Better to forget your paranoia and just
strike out cross-country. Leave no tracks!

Finally, I quoted Suzuki Roshi: 'Everything is perfect as it is, but
there's always room for improvement."

Various Books

Regarding Dzogchen texts, there are two books I like a lot –
Longchenpa’s “You Are The Eyes Of The World” (Snow Lion Press,
translated by Lipman and Peterson) and “The Supreme Source: The
Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde” by Kunjed Gyalpo
(Snow Lion Press, translated by Chogyal Namkhal Norbu and Adriano
Clemente).
I just finished two books – Lynne McTaggart’s (“The Field”) most
recent “The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your
Life and the World.” In my opinion, McTaggart is too commercial in
her approach to this stuff, but the results of various double-blind experiments that she reports -- about how positive thinking, healing
at a distance, etc., work -- are fascinating. “Intention” is a current
buzz word, what with ‘The Secret’ film, Wayne Dyer and other motivational types on Public TV.
The most recent book I read, “Science and the Akashic Field” by
Ervin Laszlo, is more profound, (Inner Traditions, 2004) and his
Integral Theory of Everything comes very close to my own thoughts.
Laszlo is a heavy-hitter in philosophy, systems theory and future studies. .

On another topic, I’m beginning to get some interesting responses from Thwizzler beta-testers, including this one posted on a Yahoo list:

I am writing this with hope that you will do yourself a
favor and contact Ramon to test drive a pair of his
Thwizzlers!I was amused when opening the package a couple
of weeks ago to find this amazing product inside. What a
great stress reliever!
I have experimented with his invention and have discovered
a marked decrease in my blood pressure even after only 5
minutes of use. I was very excited with this result as I
have a very high BP that has been hard to control.
I have also noted that this exercise improves relaxation/
pleasure sensitivity... I am certain that we can all use a
little more joy in our lives. Ramon's invention can help
you re-train those senses we have unfortunately been taught
to suppress.

My offer to mail a beta-test pair of Thwizzlers to anyone
in the continental USA for free is still open.

J-L wrote (on the Yahoo DzogchenPractices list regarding the
etymology of Trekcho:

Basically Khregs refers to'rigidity' or hardness, and chod
pa means 'to cut', 'to eradicate'. It is short for Khregs-
se chod-pa, which indicates both a process and a state,
meaning 'Eradication of the Rigidity'. You can put whatever
you want under Rigidity: ego-grasping, mental elaboration,
passions, ignorance, etc.

Comment:
J-L, first of all many thanks for your efforts to shed light on
some of these amazing practices. Your quote re: “Eradication of
Rigidity” reminded me of something I thought about once regarding
the saintly Ramana Maharshi’s teenage decision to find out what
it was to die. I realized that, as a Hindu, he had more familiarity
with dead bodies than we have in our so-called ‘advanced’ countries,
and would have understood how a body stiffens into rigor mortis.
Thus his attempt to duplicate death would have included the
stiffening of all his muscles. I recently found verification of
this in a quote from his description of the event as follows.
Various versions can be found on line.

The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inward and I
said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words,
'Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is
dying?... This body dies.'
I at once dramatized the occurrence of death. I lay with my
limbs stretched out stiff, as though 'rigor mortis' had set
in and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to
the inquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly closed
so that no sound could escape, so that neither the word 'I'
nor any other word could be uttered.
'Well then,' I said to myself, 'this body is dead. It will
be carried stiff to the burning ground and there burnt and
reduced to ashes. But with the death of this body am I dead?
Is this body I? It is silent and inert but I feel the full
force of my personality, and even the voice of "I" within me,
apart from it. So I am Spirit, transcending the body. The body
dies, but the Spirit that transcends it cannot be touched by
death. That means I am the deathless Spirit.'
All this was not dull thought; [rather] it flashed through me
vividly as living truth which I perceived directly, almost
without thought-process. 'I' was something very real, the only
real thing about my present state, and all the conscious
activity connected with my body was centered on that 'I'.
From that moment onward, the 'I' or Self focused attention on
itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death had vanished,
once and for all. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken
from that time on.

Comment:
Rigidity, concentration, fixation – all these words point me towards
an application of the will that seems necessary first of all before
one can relax and still retain ‘focus,’ as it were. This topic came
up earlier in DzogchenPractices in the discussion on Zhine and the
need to fix the gaze without blinking on the meditation object. This
comes up of course in Patanjali’s ‘tratak’ exercise as well as in
some Theravada Buddhist exercises involving fixation on a ‘kasina,’
more or less a mandala, until the afterimage is burned into one’s
awareness. It seems to me that Dzogchen’s “relaxation” and Trekcho’s “relaxation of rigidity” implies a previous state of intense applica-
tion of the will to develop one-pointedness to a permanent stage –
after which the ‘relaxation of rigidity’ makes great sense, but not
before. Thank you again! Very helpful!

The Five Pathways That Light Enters The Body

So J-P(on the Yahoo list DzogchenPractices) points to the Highest
Teaching (sudden) but doesn’t offer any easy way to get there. J-L
offers multlifold graduated steps to the View, but warns that the
highest stages are unattainable unless one finds a teacher and
preferably goes into seclusion.

Meanwhile, just smiling and blinking trigger for me an outpouring
of ecstatic bliss that is quite fulfilling, thank you very much!
And I suppose, over time, I will learn just to allow thoughts to
evaporate on their own without my needing temporary support (blinks)
to sneak between them to those light-filled realms. But meanwhile...
YUM! (smile)

J-L writes:

... inside the physical eyes opens the upper extremity of
the Kati channel connecting the pupils to the center
of the heart. It is within this channel that the glow
of Awareness (the visions of Clear-Light) arises. To
make things easy, this channel is designated as the
channel of light (?od kyi rtsa).

Question:
whenever I meditate (gaze) on the sun, my heartbeat increases
considerably and an intense bliss arises. Is this because of
the Kati channel's connection to the heart center?

J-L continues:

Now, some texts say that there are four or five channels of light...

Comment:
By coincidence, the text below on color therapy and holistic healing
also discusses five pathways by which light enters the body:
“The Neurophysiology of Light- The Five Pathways” by Dietrich Klinghardt (1995)
in which the author describes as follows (briefly excerpted from the
only two chapters translated from the German):

The Neurophysiology of Light: the Five Pathways
1. The optic nerve travels from the retina, past the
pituitary gland via the temporal lobe to the occipital
lobe of the brain. This part of the visual system
is dedicated to informing the conscious part of our
brain of our surroundings.
2. An additional nerve bundle is leading directly from
the retina to the hypothalamus (retino-hypothalamic tract).
This explains the above mentioned strictly physiological
effect of color on the ANS (Autonomic Nervous System):
3.A side-branch of this nerve tract reaches the amygdala
directly, bypassing the hypothalamus. The two corpora
amygdaloidea are truly the color sensitive area of
the limbic system and highly responsive to the color the
eyes are exposed to. A study demonstrated that each mono-
chromatic color frequency excites specific neurons. If
adjacent, but dissimilar color-wavelengths are used, the
same neuron stays unexcited. Each frequency in the
color spectrum therefore has its own specific neurological
and psychological effect. ... The profound effect of light
stimulation to the retina on the body’s metabolism has
long been established through the work of the brilliant
German ophthalmologist Fritz Hollwich, M.D.,Ph.D.
4. A fourth nerve connection from the retina follows the
lower optic tract, which is not used for vision, and
reaches the transpeduncular nucleus in the midbrain. This
nucleus is also light and color sensitive. From here the
signal travels via the superior cervical ganglion back via
the brainstem to the pineal gland. This pathway is –
amongst other less understood functions – responsible for
the circadian day-night rhythm and the melatonin production
in the pineal gland when it gets dark. This pathway has
been given much attention lately in research concerning
the treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Via secondary
interneurons all of these pathways are connected with each
other and virtually each area of the brain.
5. A fifth, and maybe most exciting way in which color
finds it’s way inside the body, i.e. the subconscious mind,
the immune system, the limbic system, the nervous system,
etc. - has only recently been discovered. There are more
and more scientific hints that light can charge particles
that travel in the lymph and blood as well as axonally inside
the nerves. Researchers at the University of Vienna, Austria,
found that albumin is one of the proteins able to be charged
by colored light – and able to deliver this charge to tissues
far away from the site of exposure. Through the outer layer
of the skin light also affects pigments, fluorescent particles
in the body fluids and inside the cells which travel in the
blood and lymph. After being energized - in a color-wave-
length and frequency-specific way - they are transported to
their target sites where the light-energy is discharged. These
light-discharges have an organizing and activating effect on
cellular organelles and the cell metabolism in the target
tissue (such as the brain or inner organs). ... The German
scientist Fritz Albert Popp PhD confirmed the prior research
of Russian scientists, and published many of his own papers,
on the fact that all cells in an organism use subtle light
emissions to communicate with each other constantly. Cells
gossip, inform, celebrate and grieve. Only cancer cells
behave differently: they do not emit light. Recent research
in stem cell therapy brought to light another astounding
phenomenon: when cells are ill or in distress, they also give
off “microscopic” sound signals. If the sound of a group
of dying cells is artificially amplified, it sounds like a
group of weeping and grieving women. Injected stem cells
(from embryonic umbilical chords) follow this signal and settle
in the area to lend their support.
Stem cells are compassionate. Cells care for each other.

At the risk of repeating myself...

jax wrote on the Yahoo DozgchenPractices list::

Now I recommend you have faith in what I have presented
and the Way as taught in the Sudden School of Chan and
demonstrate devotion to the task of cutting-off all concepts
and beliefs of every kind in just this very moment! If not
now when? But remember when the time happens for you it
will be in that current moment of now... so why wait, the
future now is identical to this now... get it?

Comment:
At the risk of repeating what I just wrote in another reply, blinks
(already a self-arising phenomenon) cut off all conceptualizing for
a brief instant.Why not blink voluntarily twenty times in a row and
see what happens?

Of all the various usages I’ve been investigating (resonating the
trachea as if in deep sleep, smiling, revitalizing the facial nerves
with the Thwizzler, subvocally ‘Ah-ing’ on both inhale and exhale,
unblinking eye fixation, flaring the nostrils on the inhale)
blinking seems the most useful because it can be done anywhere with-
out drawing undue attention (unless face-to-face with the boss).
For the latter moments, it may be wise to move southward and just concentrate on the undulation of the anal sphincter while breathing.
which expands out on the inhale and draws in and up on the exhale.
I learned this from observing my dog’s rear end when he barks.
Teachers come in all shapes and sizes!

(Blinking on my heartbeat as I write this – ahhhhh!)

Centipede's Dilemma - Which Leg To Wiggle First?

J-L wrote on the DozgchenPractices Yahoo list:

Again in this perspective, Dzogchen is truly a unique Path
but as you see, the real cursus or curriculum encompasses
the practices of Sutras and Tantras. That´s how Tibetans
are trained and that´s why they reach some signs, realiza-
tions and accomplishments. And that´s probably because
they don´t approach the Path in this way that many
westerners mistake Dzogchen and Dzogchenpas ...

Comment:
Let’s recap J-L’s full posting:
We start first with good motivation, then reflections on the 4
thoughts leading to actual renunciation of samsaric existence,
then the extraordinary preliminaries leading to purification of
the 3 doors, and only then can Calm Abiding lead to control of
the mind. Once Calm Abiding has been perfected in all its 9
stages [jhanas?], Superior Insight leads to the No-self and the
emptiness experience. Only then will the Generation Stage lead
to siddhis, which can then take us to the Perfection Phase leading
to experiences of Bliss, Clarity and Non-discursiveness (all non-
regressive). Only by achieving all the above-mentioned will the
outer and inner Rushen lead to the distinguishing of mind (sems)
from Mind (nyid). Once the Rushen have been accomplished, then
the Training of the Three Doors can induce the natural ease of the primordial state and lead to stability in Trekcho which, once
stable, can develop into The Four Vision of Thogel. And only
in the ultimate stage of the Four Visions of Thogel can one attain
The Rainbow Body.

Well, all this is truly fascinating, and I am very grateful to
J-L for his input, but it makes Dzogchen’s ultimate stages sound
almost unattainable.

The 1% Solution (only 1% of practitioners will reach the goal)is
NOT a solution, to my way of thinking. So instead of muddling about
with esoteric techniques supposedly only possible in a monastic
setting (or on lengthy retreats), an exercise that can be compared
to Nero’s fiddling while Rome burns, I might suggest that all the
amazing spiritual talent displayed here could perhaps be applied to
discovering the very simple methods that I am convinced Mother Light
created that might allow the vast unwashed hordes busy killing,
raping, plundering and basically creating a hell-world out of the
Garden of Gaia to bliss themselves out of whatever nightmare state
is holding them captive.

Nicht Wahr?

Hello-ing A New Friend

Hello, RS!

Just today I discovered your very interesting website via
a posting of a quote from you on the NonDuality Salon (via
ND Highlights) that I immediately saved. It begins:
"For me mystical ecstasy is a feeling and a realization."

It's wonderful to read someone who is not afraid to talk
about 'mystical ecstasy'! And also about what I usually
refer to as 'zero-ing out...' In fact recently I tried to
describe is as a formula:although my math-inclined friends say it’s nonsense.
I describe its meaning as ‘zero-ing out through any number
of the levels that present themselves equals Foreverland.’
Foreverland is a poetic term for Nirvana – I’m constantly
trying to find modern English equivalents for foreign
phrases.

My main interest these days is summed up on this page of my website:

Some might consider me as hopelessly hedonistic,
but I would perhaps change that to ‘hopefully’...
because the only hope I see for our poor planet is
to find easily accessible methods for a larger percentage
of beings to increase their bliss tolerance than the reported
1% that Buddhism ‘enlightens’.

Also, I think the time for ‘secret’ or ‘whispered teachings’
is long past, and all and every possible method should be
shared as widely as possible, including the shaman’s
paths and all the most esoterically held exercises. Frankly,
I think I may have stumbled in my own back-assed
way onto a number of them (tracheal resonance,
blinking to swat thought streams, etc.) but also try to keep
a sense of humor about it all (smile).

Thank you for introducing me to the term ‘apophatic.’
Do you consider it related to the so-called Christian
‘Via Negativa’ and in Hindu, ‘Neti neti?’ I’m somewhat
familiar with these ‘dark night’ experiences, and perhaps
my essay on ‘Light’ you might find of interest:

I don’t consider myself to be part of any particular lineage
or ‘path,’ although I have met many mostly unknown enlightened
teachers, perhaps summed up in this essay.
http://www.raysender.com/volsimp.html

I’m interested to read that you live in the Bay Area. My wife
Judith and I have been happily settled in San Francisco’s Noe
Valley for 24 years. We run a free-admission speakers’ series
at the Noe Valley Ministry on odd-calendar-numbered Mondays.
The series is six years old, and the seventh season will start
this September.

My personal experiences tell me that matter and spirit are
intrinsically one Holon and that our star the Sun is a conscious
entity we might as well refer to as Our Mother Goddess Self. Of
the current crop of teachers, I especially admire Adyashanti,
Master Aziz Kristof in Poone (currently in seclusion), the
Christian contemplative Bernadette Roberts, and my spiritual
friend David Spero. For a sampling of his talks and videos, see www.davidspero.com

Also, I’m continually amazed by Ken Wilber’s ability to inhale
all East and West traditions and map them in marvelous ways. If
I were a 20-yr-old, I’d intern in Boulder for as long as I --
or they -- could stand it. Interesting gathering of folks.

On top of all that, I realize I might just as well continue to
throw all this silly nonsense out the window and just remain
seated, fat and sassy, on Mother’s lap where upwelling gratitude
means downpouring Grace. Go gettum, Sri Sri Ma!

Quote from jax on the DzogchenPractices list:

Dzogchen is the sound your hear that is part of your
world of sensory experience... all sound is the mantra
of Rigpa as it is. The samaya of Dzogchen is simply "to
remain undistracted"...but even that notion is too
dualistic as it implies there is "someone" who should
avoid being "distracted". Rigpa never is distracted
from the state of Rigpa... the "self" does not exist,
as it is only a concept or thought of "me" that arises
from and within Rigpa, and therefore has no volition of
its own to be distracted or not. There does not exist
an entity that get's distracted, who by practicing "non-
distraction" can realize Rigpa. There is "no one" that
realizes Rigpa or Enlightened Awareness. Buddha's main
teaching was "anatman" or absence of self. He said there
is no personal self or individual... that was the whole
liberating realization of the Enlightenment! He also
realized at that same moment that "no one" else exists
either. Hence he states in the Diamond Sutra that there
are no sentient beings to save or liberate. To think so,
he said, would be still suffering from the root delusion,
that there is some "self" entity.

That's the key premise of Dzogchen: there is "no one"
to liberate, and "no one" to attain enlightenment. "Being"
is all there is and Being is who you always are. That
perfection cannot be added to nor diminished. That's why
there is nothing to "practice"! Who would do the practices?
Explain that...

God Can Spot Faked Orgasms

Last night I listened to a teleconference hook-up between Ken Wilber
and Centerpoint's Bill Harris - funny how I like Monroe Institute's
Hemi-Sync CDs but HATE (sorry, your Holiness) Harris's Centerpoint's
competing Holo-Sync as well as what I view as their sales-pitchy
approach. I guess if I was to apply Wilber's 1-2-3 analysis technique
to that feeling, I'd come out seeing this dislike as a projection
from my own shadow. Okay, okay, I'll own it! (smile)
But in general, I found the discussion helpful, the basic idea
being to integrate the four basic fundamental perspectives (interior
and exterior views of the individual and collective: "I, It, We,
They) the three bodies (gross, subtle, causal) and the '1-2-3 of
God or three faces of Spirit (first-person, second-person and third-
person) The chat will be posted in a few days and, if accessible to
all, I'll link it here. It's definitely worth a listen, despite its
being basically a sales pitch for the Integral Life Practice Starter
Kit at the 'reduced price' of $199 (with a few extra goodies).
Searching for the above posting, I ran into Ken's hair-rising
account of his near-death gran mal seizure last December.
Definitely
worth a read!
The guy has an extremely debilitating health problem but,
despite it, is publishing multiple volumes a year. Amazing!

An excerpt from the Cohen-Wilber chat that may/may not apply to a
'devotion' discussion on a non-dual list:

COHEN: But when face to face with God in second person [I-Thou], one's
ego is on the chopping block. Unless an individual lines up with this
absolute dimension of spiritual evolution and transcendence, it won't
really matter what kind of experiences he or she has – the fundamental
narcissistic core will remain untouched. And unless a serious dent is
made in that narcissistic core, I wonder how deep our participation
can really be in the creation of the future. I really wonder whether
we'll be free enough to actually be able to do it, unless at the
deepest level we've been brought to our knees.

WILBER: That's an incredibly profound point. And I think you're right
that if we don’t come to terms with that in some way or another, we're
not going to actually be as free as we can be because, unknowingly we
will be mistaking some remnant of our ego – some remnant of our first-
person perspective that we have now turned into an I - I, an Atman,
a grand pure Vedanta witness – for the Absolute. That's the last refuge
of the ego.

COHEN: Absolutely. And the subtlety in all this is staggering.

WILBER: So you have to say: "Wait a minute: I have to face something
that I completely surrender to. I have to face something greater than
I could ever imagine myself possibly to be." You have to utterly
surrender with devotion and actually want to do it, because second-
person perspective carries a naturally welling-up of infinite Love
and gratitude. So it's not something that can be forced. If you're
forcing it, then it's not really a true transcendental surrender.
You're not truly in love; you're just faking it.

COHEN: That's right.

WILBER: And God can spot faked orgasms.

Faith-Devotion versus Direct Experience

On the list Way-of-Light@yahoogroups.com jax wrote:

I would disagree with Tulku Urgyen on his statements above.
I will argue that we don't need to connect with the com-
passionate power of Buddhas in order to discover our
enlightened Nature. It's irrevelant. And to say that
we have to open ourselves to this connection or there
is no way this buddha nature can help us, is silly.

Thanks, Jax. 'Faith,' I always have felt, sidetracks from direct experience.
I suppose if you're a total beginner, it might be necessary the way a
so-called starter motor is required to turn over the main engine - the
so-called 'donkey engine' (hee-haw!). But in many religions it becomes
a major factor that detracts, leaving us as donkeys and direct experience
in the hands of the priesthoods (donkey drivers). And then we're REALLY
off track!

When our thoughts cease there is only this naked Presence
easily experienced. How does it feel? Observe the stillness as
being one with it, you are It.

Yes!

Without vibrational waves of thought, it feels serene and
spacious. When Being "vibrates" as the creation and energy
of thoughts... that vibration becomes the "experience", no
longer the serene and spacious intrinsic Presence of the
Stillness of Being with all it's infinite qualities.

Yes! Beautiful!

As Buddhas or Being, we "vibrate" or we are still. In the
moment of "Stillness" we must notice the initial primordial
first "vibration" that always spontaneously arises: this is
the Knowingness of Being (yeshe) that we don't notice when
we are "vibrating" various thoughts and energies that fill
our space of Awareness (like static on a radio).

I would only expand that to 'that we USUALLY don't notice when we
are vibrating"... Ultimately, stillness and 'vibration' just occur
as 'essence and expression' ( Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche). And ' the
initial primordial first "vibration" that always spontaneously
arises' is really always there, isn't it, in stillness? Like our
heartbeat, or like nuclear fusion in the core of the 'still' sun...

The first step is to experience the "Stillness" aspect of
our Being in between thoughts. In that Stillness all the
qualities of our Buddha Nature/Being are experienced
spontaneously... flashes of Wisdom as to the true nature of our
Beingness arise in the moments of total and complete stillness.
In reality there really is no total "stillness" as the subtle
energies of the Sambhogakaya are alway arising. These
arisings are called Wisdom (yeshe) and they are the radiance
of our Being. The "stillness" is called the Dharmakaya. In
Dzogchen the pure aspects of the Dharmakaya is called Kadag
or primordially pure essence, i.e. the "stillness". The
pure and spontaneous vibrations or energies that arise from
Kadag is called Lhundrub. In the state of mind as "no-mind"
devoid of the vibrations of coarse thought, this Lhundrub
quality and it's Knowingness (yeshe) flashes forth as actual
experience. That's our first experiences of our authentic
True Nature or Buddha Nature.

Let's start with "essence and expression" as described in Tulku Urgyen
Rinpoche's quote from "The Fourth Dharma of Gampopa" as quoted by roo
in another posting:

We have one mind, but we need to distinguish between its two
aspects; essence and expression. Understand this analogy for
the relationship between these two. Essence is like the sun
shining in the sky. Expression is like its reflection on the
surface of water.

COMMENT: Nice, although I prefer to think of 'Expression' as the sun's
own rays of light.

... Let's call the sun in the sky buddha nature, the unmistaken,
undeluded quality, this essence itself. The reflection of the
sun upon the surface of water is an analogy for our normal
deluded thinking, the expression. Without this sun in the
sky it is impossible for this reflection of the sun to appear.
Although here is actually only one sun, it looks as though
there are two. This is what is called one identity with two
aspects. Essence, buddha nature, is like this sun shining in
the sky. This expression is our thinking, which is compared
to the sun's reflection.

COMMENT:
Let's try to de-Tibetanize jax's excellent post, and also de-metaphorize
Tulku Urgyen's lovely metaphor, assuming, at least for the sake of this
posting, that my basic experience of spirit and matter as being basically
the same is correct:
-=-=-=
Between the arising of one thought and the next exists a view into our True Nature. From this True Nature shines forth spontaneous and effortless emanations and 'understandings' from the innate stillness of their origin (just like the sun and its rays).

Anyone can have this experience.

Everyone 'understands' and emanates in the same manner, and thus IS
HAVING THIS EXPERIENCE. In fact, inasmuch as spirit and matter are the same, there is no need to do anything other than feel how you, as The Solar Being, naturally produce light through your 'release of gravitational energy' as you continue to 'collapse into your core'. In actuality, the 'innate stillness' of your nature is a roaring furnace as your solar being continues to contract from a gas cloud (a 'thought in the mind of the 'galactic mother'?), compacting hydrogen into helium while releasing light particles (love) and neutrinos (consciousness that penetrates everywhere) as a by-product of this.
-=-=-=-=-=
Additional note:
Curiously, the understanding of both neutrinos and consciousness remain unresolved issues for science. Neutrinos, however, seem to oscillate between various states. Here's a quote from 'How Does The Sun Shine?, " a paper published in the Nobel e-Museum,
www.sns.ias.edu/~jnb/Papers/Popular/Nobelmuseum/paper.pdf

In 1998, the Super-Kamiokande team of experimentalists
announced that they had observed oscillations among
atmospheric neutrinos. This finding provided indirect
support for the theoretical suggestion that solar neutrinos
oscillate among different states... we do not yet know
what causes the multiple personality disorder [???] of
solar neutrinos. The answer to this question may provide
a clue to physics beyond the current standard models of
sub-atomic particles....Experiments are underway in Canada,
Italy (three experiments), Japan (two experiments), Russia,
and the United States that are attempting to determine the
cause of the oscillations of solar neutrinos, by finding
out how much they weigh and how they transform from one
type to another. Non-zero neutrino masses may provide a
clue to a still-undiscovered realm of physical theory.

COMMENT: and of course consciousness 'oscillates between various states
and stages,' so there we go! Neat, huh?

Hot Rocking Great-Uncle!

From today's e-mail to a nephew:
I’m up to my usual eccentric adventures, looking into the connection between the rocking forward-and-back motion practiced in Judaism (generally known as 'davenning' but more correctly termed 'shukkeling' -- ‘shuck and jive?') and the same motion used by Islamic students when reading the Q'uran, the leg-humping our Riqui likes to do - the crib-rocking babies do, and also what Dr. Wilhem Reich named the 'orgasm reflex' - a movement of the head and hips forward, back arched, that he felt was an indicator of the 'un-armored' musculature that allows for healthy sex (although the term itself refers to a non-genital-focused, full-body energy release. Add to this why Quakers were named 'Quakers,' and Shakers ‘Shakers,' and you begin to get the picture.

Because of this, I now rock very slightly now when I sit in meditation (and at the computer), in time with my heartbeat, although it also can be done on the exhale. I think there are more and more subtle levels of this movement - it doesn't just have to be the pelvic forward thrust (the 'bump' in the strippers/bellydancers' slang) or that a lot of body workers get into (Reich, Alexander Method, etc). Head forward is easy for me, back arched ditto, but it's unfreezing those hips that's more difficult. I practice in bed before falling asleep.

This is all because I’m still convinced there’s an easy, built-in way to increase everyone’s bliss tolerance that does not require translating ancient Tibetan or Sanskrit texts into English. And also because my continued face-tickling with a Thwizzle stick in each hand keeps sending me into paroxysms of delight (I now love to do it even while watching the evening news)... I did send you the Version One of this gadget? Version Two is much simpler, just a Thwizzle stick in each hand that allow the user to stimulate the facial nerves with the mylar ribbons... Amazing how such a simple device can – well, sensitivities to this do seem to vary from person
to person, which also is interesting. And of course just touching the face with a flower has the same effect, basically...

The current spiritual buzz seems to be Byron Katie, just in Chicago for a workshop and to promote her new book, “The Thousand Names For Joy” that she and her husband, translator Stephen Mitchell, put together out of his translation of the Tao Te Ching. You can download a few sample pages here:
http://www.thework.com/books.asp
I like this quote:

If you stay in the center
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.

From the little I’ve read of her, I think she’s terrific. No Tibetan, no Sanskrit. And she gets high marks from people who have gone the whole Tibetan/Sanskrit route. Katie bases her teaching on asking yourself four questions:

The Work consists of four questions and a turnaround. For example, the first thought that you might question on the above Worksheet is "Paul doesn't listen to me." Find someone in your life about whom you have had that thought, and let's do The Work. "[Name] doesn't listen to me":
Is it true?
Can you absolutely know that it's true?
How do you react when you think that thought?
Who would you be without the thought?
Then turn it around, and don't forget to find three genuine examples of each turnaround. As I began living my turnarounds, I noticed that I was everything I called you. You were merely my projection. Now, instead of trying to change the world around me (this didn't work, but only for 43 years), I can put the thoughts on paper, investigate them, turn them around, and find that I am the very thing I thought you were. In the moment I see you as selfish, I am selfish (deciding how you should be). In the moment I see you as unkind, I am unkind. If I believe you should stop waging war, I am waging war on you in my mind.
The turnarounds are your prescription for happiness. Live the medicine you have been prescribing for others.
The world is waiting for just one person to live it. You're the one.
Examples of Turnarounds
Here are a few more examples of turnarounds:
"He should understand me" turns around to:
- He shouldn't understand me. (This is reality.)
- I should understand him.
- I should understand myself.

"I need him to be kind to me" turns around to:
- I don't need him to be kind to me.
- I need me to be kind to him. (Can I live it?)
- I need me to be kind to myself.

"He is unloving to me" turns around to:
- He is loving to me. (To the best of his ability)
- I am unloving to him. (Can I find it?)
- I am unloving to me (When I don't inquire.)

It gets explained more here

Of course we all are aware of this othering /‘projecting on others’ business we all do, but Katie puts it very simply. The way I’ve always explained it: “If something is wrong between me and someone, it’s better to assume it’s mine and not theirs, because if it’s mine I can change it. If it’s theirs, I can’t.” Of course it’s much easier in theory than in practice.

I've ordered Katie's book, despite my resolution never to buy a book again that costs over ten bucks.

Froth Above the Waves

roo wrote (on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DzogchenPractice/):

Bottom-line in all this is this: awareness naturally arises
from within oneself AND as an infinite arising everywhere,
spontaneously. This is exactly as ALL realized (experienced)
masters state. We EACH display at any given time a teacher
teaching...regardless of 'where' (here, there, now or then) or
what form this teacher/teaching arises as, whether directly
and within (called >direct mind-to-mind transmission/
introduction), or in-person and directly >face-to-face with
each of us, OR even from NATURE itself, in and as our normal
course unfolds from day-to-day!!!

Yee-ha! What she sez, and I use the feminine pronoun because when Truth is transmitted, I always hear Mother's voice. And Mother has no lineage except the Unmanifest. She gives birth to and is the whole effing manfestation - literally! - Foreverwhere! - while dancing with a ferocious smile on her lover's body!

and roo again:

One particular point which is strongly indicated by Thinley
Norbu Rinpoche (Dudjom Rinpoche's son) is that if we have
received transmission and pointing-out instructions -at-
any-time- ...even in past lives, that our understanding will
(perhaps) naturally unfold in this life as well. This will
take place in differing "strengths and degrees-of-unfoldment"
depending how much we seek to re-familiarize ourselves
whatever teachings have a natural type of usually unspoken
appeal for us.
He vehemently states that in such cases, there is natural and
profound understanding and abilities to comprehend these
teachings at whatever point these are encountered, and in or
from whichever form (books, teacher/gurus, within oneself,
bumblebees, sticks or stones)...and that there would be no
reason to go and have the same introductions again...just to
satisfy those on the outside looking in. He states how
redundancy is coemergentwith fulility, as thought and
thinking compounds and deepens our conceptuality.

I presume 'fulility' is a typo for 'futility'... although even then I'm not sure I understand that last sentence. Redundancy is okay with me. I've forgotten more samadhis that I can possibly even evoke. Forgetting is for the joy of rediscovering the light buried in the most amazing places! What else is the universe for? What I _do_ remember is that the pointing-outs I've received have been during THIS one and one-only planetary lifetime and, if I have a secondary purpose to being ploinked planetside as a portable fertilizer factory for trees, it's to demonstrate that you can realize total hilarious relaxation into Solar Consciousness while embodied in a poop bag, even the first time around. No zillions of anguished rebirths necessary, folks, unless once you've been proven harmless to the Life Form you want to come back (within the Garden of Gaia this time and not as a supplicant) as a rabbit, a hummingbird, a tree, etc. I aver this this despite having made every conceivable idiotic mistake short of something that would trundle me off to the pokey. Thus I can cry "I am you!" to the least of my brethren/ sistren, and prove it.

I do believe (echoing roo) that we receive transmissions from books, music, trees, birds, lizards - even rocks! I've received direct written-word transmissions from (short list): Milarepa (1966), Lama Govinda(1967), Evans-Wentz (1966), Sri Aurobindo (1967), The Mother (1967 including shaktipat from 12,000 miles away), Sat-Prem (2004), Gurdjieff (almost died laughing reading 'All and Everything' in 1966). There are more recent ones too, but I think that suffices.

In K.S's clarification on the need for a guru-in-the-flesh for the tantrica, he wrote:

If you truly are a "solitary realiser," I am so happy to hear that
you have found your true path - dzogchen is not for everyone,
that's why Lord Buddha taught 84,000 different paths - but if
you are a tantrica, please don't lose your way. Unwavering
trust is needed here.

Finding a guru-in-the-flesh is a great great boon, a great privilege. It's like finding your true love planetside, isn't it? I've had many spiritual friends, even many teachers, and now even a few like roo and jax I call 'spiritual coaches,' (attached to my choo-choo train) but my TRUE teacher is the one pointed to in jax's posting from Tulku Urgyen's son Chokling Rinpoche, but certainly not original with him:

The true guru will awaken from within your heart. It is said,
the guru is not outside but within. This means that you are
face-to-face with the true guru the same moment you recognize
the nature of mind. Please understand this!

And if we look again, this true guru must be none other than The Mother Light, yes? And where does this Mother Light reflect Herself in the so-called projection of so-called outer space? Hint: when you do the blue sky meditation, you are asked to turn away from The Big Watermelon-
Ripener She-selfies...

N'est pas? If the Lord Buddha taught 84,000 different paths, where d'you think HE was taught them? In actual fact, all paths just merge into The Divine Play, the Solar Lila where all and everything dance in the golden meadows... In my sometimes humble opinion -- and puhleeze don't go astronomical on me and point to worlds beyond our solar system -- it's just the half-second delay caused by our self-reflective consciousness that takes us OUTSIDE of what everyone INSIDE the Garden of Gaia understands perfectly. THAT which WE ARE displays Truth optimally without the need of telescopes and atom-smashers. Woof? Moo?
(sigh...)
From where Gratitude meets the Grace brought to you by She who Manifests First from the Unmanifest, and Cleans Up Last...

But watch out for False Positives... they do come along...

Ramon

jax:

When you come to the place where there is nothing at all you
could call effort, that is the moment when you find yourself
in the nature of mind: free from your thoughts, feelings,
emotions and conditions

So all that's left is to sing and dance a leetle song I wrote in 1967:

Just where you are
Is the nicest place to be
Just where you are
Earth touches Eternity
Just where you are,
The sunlight's on the sea,
And where you are,
Is never far,
From me!

Dissolving into Grace

One good ol' way to avoid ego-inflation and stay out of the
'separate self' nonsense, comparable to the Hindu 'Neti-Neti'
path (in Christianity, the 'Via Negativa'), is just "zero-ing
out", dissolving into nothingness. Almost immediately Grace
descends. Doesn't really matter how one conceives it, really,
but the I-Thou as one of three aspects of That... (I-I, I-Thou,
We) always reminds me of the more loving aspects of the manifestation.
Each of the three (I-I, I-Thou, We) is a good check on the others.
Also it could be written as a formula (although I'm math-challenged):

zero to the nth equals the infinity sign, which I define as:
"dissolving the small isolated self through the Zero Point
as deeply as possible and through any number of levels leads to
'foreverwhere' (the self as infinite, or the Descent of Grace)."
Inasmuch as I have no idea what I'm doing in terms of the math,
I would be delighted for any corrections/suggestions to the formula.
Twinkles,
Ramon

OKAY - so what's up with all these nutsy exercises?

Faithful reader, the thought may have occurred to you, 'Why the hell
doesn't Ramón just settle down with one practice instead of flit
from this to that seed syllable, from this exercise to that?
Well, the truth is that once you've 'crossed to the other shore,'
(even if there is no shore to cross to nor any vehicle necessary
nor any Ramón a-roaming) all that's left is "Lila," the 'dance in
the fields of the Goddess...' li-la-la-ah-ling around.
Here's a definition of Lila I found online:

"There is an old Sanskrit word, lila [lee´la], which means
'play.' Richer than our word, it means divine play, the
play of creation, destruction, and recreation, the folding
and unfolding of the cosmos. Lila, free and deep, is both
the delight and enjoyment of this moment... It also means
'love.'
"Lila may be the simplest thing there is - spontaneous,
childlike, disarming. But as we grow and experience the
complexities of life, it may also be the most difficult
and hard-won achievement imaginable, and its coming to
fruition is a kind of homecoming to our true selves."

- by Stephen Nachmanovitch, Free Play

Michael Murphy is quoted from a 2005 Conference on Sri Aurobindo's
teachings:

"A fully liberated and illumined soul can traverse
and enter into the various realms that correspond to
the outer koshas. As an expression of the Divine Lila,
an illumined soul can assume any form it likes and eat
any food it desires, all the while chanting, "Oh wonderful,
oh wonderful, oh wonderful!"

So, am I declaring this poop bag "fully liberated and illumined?" Har!
'Liberated' and 'illumined' are past participles. When we describe the
indescribable, 'present-tense verbs' - or better, 'present-relax -
snuggle closer to the _____ -- er, natural state?'
Here's another quote:

[When] we sit in the unknown, as the unknown, and in
the midst of the ashes of all our beliefs and ideas, a
kind of sprout may push up, breaking through the dreamy
fabric of our consciousness, a kind of awake-ness, and
this awake-ness has no name, though people like to name,
and so we have all the sutras and commentaries and what-
not, but at heart, it is really a very simple thing, the
most simple thing there is, our original innocence.

~ Bob O'Hearn
Awake within these various sheathes (subtle, mental, emotional and
physical) of the human instrument, Lila can explore and enjoy all the
delights of its peaks and valleys, its rivers of energies and waves
of bliss. The mantra of all mantras remains for me the one I've chanted
for at least 50 years: "May all beings, including this one, be peaceful
and happy forever!"
(Watching three children jump in a rain puddle Saturday and
laughing -- "Oh Wonderful!") Ah-la-lee-la-loo-yah!
Wonderfully yours in this originally innocent selfitudinous state,
swimming "free and deep" like this beastie from The Deep

meditation tips - tch-tch!

j wrote [as a meditation suggestion]:
> Leave your mouth slightly open, tongue suspended, not touching above or
> below.

Thanks! Interesting tidbit that I hadn't run into before. But how do you keep your mouth from drying out? I guess by continuing to breathe through your nose...

>Fix your eyes in a gentle stare straight into space and don't move.
>Eyes fixed will stop the movements of the mind.

Glad to read an affirmation of my interest in eye fixation, to which I also
attach blinks to shunt thought-trains (choo-choo) to a siding.

My current upon-awakening favorite: doing a number of little 'tch-tch' baby
sounds by drawing air through a small opening between the lips, over the
tongue whose main section is touching the roof of the mouth. That way I
have to create a slight tension to suck in the 'tch-tch's....'
Feel the released energy!

Click HEREFor a similar, earlier exercise based on 'Geeking..'

'Braman' as mantra

This creation is Brahman; Brahman alone is aware
of this creation. . . . When one enquires into the word
'Brahman', the ALL is comprehended. When one similarly enquires
into the word 'creation', Brahman is comprehended. However,
that consciousness which is the basis and the substratum
for all such notions and their awareness is known by the
word 'Brahman'. When this truth is clearly realized and
when the duality of knowledge and known is discarded, what
remains is the supreme peace, which is indescribable and
inexpressible.

To resonate BRAHMAN as a repeated mantram:

On the exhale:
Motorboat the lips (called a 'bluster' when a horse does it) for the "B"
and
Resonate a French 'R' in the back of the throat for the "R"
close lips tight for the ending "HHHHUMMMNNNN"

Motorboating the lips and doing a back-of-the-throat 'R') simultaneously
takes a little practice, but is worth learning.

"Explode" it a little on the exhale.

Try it ten or so times... for an indescribable and inexpressible lingering
peace!
(at least for this particular illusory self-refreshing pristine awareness
embodiment/emanation!)

Letter sent to MAPS

Letter sent to MAPS (The Multidisciplinary Association
for Psychedelic Studies)
Hello:
Thanks so much for the important work you are doing - I've contributed
modestly a few times to your efforts, I believe, and will again when
I can. Other than expressing my gratitude, I wanted also to describe
a current project. Although trained as a composer of music, I also have
published a few books as well as three or four articles in the Co-Evolution
Quarterly/Whole Earth Review in the 70s and 80s. Right now I am writing
an essay on how physical light is transformed in the human body to an
emotional upwelling of happiness-joy-love -- even bliss. (I’ve always
described light as ‘vertical love’ and love as ‘horizontal light,’ with
the heart/cardiac chakra as the transformer.)

My latest informational tidbit came recently over the phone from an
opthamologist who practices Syntonic Optometry (color therapy): "twenty
percent of the stimuli entering via the optical tracts is shunted to
the hypothalamus, the limbic system and no doubt the amygdala also."
I imagine this is not earth-shattering news for those in neurophysiology
or related fields, but it was news to me. Elsewhere I have read that
there are basically five pathways by which light enters the body, four
of them through the brain and then of course the fifth via the skin.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to view the brain as basically
a light-absorbing 'sponge'.

I also wonder whether the basic urge to alter consciousness, which
Siegel in his book "Intoxication' labels the Fourth Drive, can be
reduced to the urge to re-experience the soft-focused, wide-open visual
perception of our infancy when photons were processed directly into
pleasurable body states and not shut out by our indoctrinated concen-
trated, focused, frowning attempts to ‘learn, understand, read, etc.’
Regressive states seem to be triggered by deep meditation and various
altered states triggered by entheogens, etc.

I think evolution began to select for focused traits early on when
we left ‘paradise’ (proto-human existence in Africa?) and had to cope
with staying warm (hunting for food and furs and firewood). Hunting
itself seems to require intense concentration on a specific visual
target. Homo Habilis 'space cases' froze to death (ant and grass-
hopper fable). Of course there always was one ecstatic that the clan
tolerated because he/she would report back from the other realms –
and thus became the shaman, the forerunner of the priesthood that
ultimately became yet another ‘filter’ between the dionysian direct
experience and the individual. (Sovatsky, in the quote I attach,
sums up how the Apollonian mindset co-opted the ecstatic/charismatic
dionysian. Religions never approve of the ecstatics, and either
marginalize them until they are safely dead and can be beatified
or else kill them outright).

Anyway, on the topic of how light transforms into delight, the most
information I've been able to find so far has been via the Seasonal
Affective Disorder websites. Of course I also stumble on line into
all the New Age inner light folks, but I'm really interested in how
photons get transformed into well-being states - and then, ultimately,
methods to improve this transformation. Right now for me, soft focus
wide-open eyes seem to trigger energy flows in the solar plexus
region -- something relatively simple to try.

I have also developed a few other simple exercises in the process
of looking for easy access to ways to improve the average persons
bliss tolerance thresholds. The most recent involving purring/
snarling and also nursing on the soft palette and uvula. They are
posted on my blog at: www.raysender.com/blog-1.html

Any advice or suggestions regarding the light-to-delight phenomenon
gratefully received!

Thanks again,

Knife, fork and spoon for the Bodhisattvas' table

Well, I just continue like the bumblebee who, although aerodynamically
unstable, just goes ahead and flies anyway.

How?

At the risk of repeating myself, I find that voluntary blinks keep me
out of my head and in the solar plexus center -- out of which we once
grew from a single cell. The question is, are these blinks 'self-arising'
or am I still caught up in the delusion of 'searching'?

Same goes for the 'resonant breath' and keeping the tongue tip between
the teeth.

Tongue between the teeth? Certainly that is 'doing something!'
However, when we 'concentrate' to thread a needle, we tend to put
the tongue tip between the teeth. When we relax the soft
palate to fall asleep, we dssolve into the 'resonant breath.'
So both these 'gestures' are natural ones that arise on
their own. As for these blinks, since we blink naturally, and we
can blink ourselves out of the thought stream, even with the eyes
closed, I don't see why not!

I don't feel as if I need any more than these three 'instruments' --
they're like the knife, fork and spoon at the table of the bodhi-
sattvas! The blink as the vajra thunderbolt, the ringing uvula/soft
palate as the ghanta (bell), the holding the tip of the tongue as
the -- oh heck, the whatever-you-want-to-call-it!

"Just pass the amrita, please -- in the human skull cup!"

Yum!

Blinks, pro and con...

Sister K. wrote:

Please don't BLINK. This would be DOING something
rather than observing without judgement, wouldn't it? This
would be trying to MAKE tsomething happen, which was not
in the instructions. Stick with the cycle no matter what your
mind tells you to do...( AND it will try to trick you and keep
you from following the instructions for sure if it can..)

My only instructions come from the Buddha who said (paraphrasing)
"Don't take anyone else's word for it, including mine. Find out for
yourself." Which is what I feel I am doing.

As for the blink being 'DOING something,' we blink all the time and thus
naturally experience a micro-second outside of the thought-stream. Why
not just increase this naturally occurring event to our conscious advantage?

I would also say the same for another exercise I use, which is the
self-arising 'sounding breath' from our sleep cycle. I find that ten rounds
of resonating the trachea, septum and soft palate creates an intense
relaxation very similar to that experienced in sleep. Since both the blink
and the 'sounding sleep breath' (call it a snore or a purr if you preferrrr)
are self-arising, I see nothing 'wrong' in using either of them.

As I said, what we have experienced through following
the Buddha's instructions is that
1. He "did not fixate or concentrate on the object of
meditation" The discovery is not there.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'discovery.' Also, I'm curious as to where
you find in the Buddha's teachings a differentiation between 'absorption
jhanas' and 'aware jhanas' I do understand that this whole jhanas
business seems to be up for serious interpretations that vary a lot.
Reading Bhante Vimalaramsi's "Anapanasati Sutta: A Practical Guide To
Mindfulness of Breathing and Tranquil Wisdom Meditation," I begin to
see how the Tranquil Wisdom approach differs from the fixation
(absorption) in his explanation.
I don't see why we should practice one to the exclusion of the other.
Let's keep in mind that the Buddha's own path included many years
of concentration practice before he developed the 'Middle Path.'
Using a muscle as an example, often before we can truly relax
the muscle we first must apply our will to tense it. THEN we can achieve
a total relaxation. I think it's the same in mediation. To achieve a
total relaxation of that buzzy buzzy brain we must first focus it with
intention on a particular object, such as the breath. Once we have
achieved the ability to fix our awareness to the breath as object,
then we can relax.

Rather, his instructions and the many drills he practiced
with the monks and nuns in training make it clear that the
object of meditation does not lead us to where we are
attempting to go nor reveal this knowledge and vision of how
things actually are.

The teaching on kasina I suggest can be viewed as a teaching example
of 'fixation/concentration' on an 'object of meditation'. Admittedly
it's one of the least-taught methods, but it does seem to include an
application of the will. For those unfamiliar with the kasina meditation,
here's a quote from the dictionary Yellow Robe - The Original Buddha's
Teaching to Liberation

kasina: (perhaps related to Sanskrit krtsna, 'all,
complete, whole'), is the name for a purely external
device to produce and develop concentration of mind and
attain the 4 absorptions (jhána q.v.). It consists in
concentrating one's full and undivided attention on one
visible object as preparatory image (parikamma-nimitta),
e.g. a colored spot or disc, or a piece of earth, or a
pond at some distance, etc., until at last one perceives,
even with the eyes closed, a mental reflex, the acquired
image (uggaha-nimitta). Now, while continuing to direct
one's attention to this image, there may arise the spotless
and immovable counter-image (patibhága-nimitta), and
together with it the neighbourhood-concentration (upacára-
samádhi) will have been reached. While still persevering
in the concentration on the object, one finally will reach
a state of mind where all sense-activity is suspended,
where there is no more seeing and hearing, no more
perception of bodily impression and feeling, i.e. the
state of the 1st mental absorption (jhána, q.v.).

COMMENT: From further reading into the jhanas, I do not agree with the
statement above that 'all sense-activity is suspended... in 'the 1st
mental absorption' etc. I understand that Bhante Vimalaramsi
differentiates between two types of jhanas - and I would be
interested in knowing just where this occurs in the suttas,
by the way.

What's wrong with absorption anyway? Are we afraid of 'bliss
bunnyhood'? I find it very pleasurable to, for instance, walk with
my terrier while keeping my awareness fixed in the solar plexus
via occasional blinks. Thoughts occur 'somewhere' but, like
clouds, they just float across the sky. I'm aware of my surroundings,
but not attached.

Fixation, or concentration any object leads into a deep
state of "absorption" which then in turn takes away clear
awareness of the states one can move through which are
supposed to match the experience of Sariputta found in MN-111.
(Check out the dhamma talk on MN-111 at the website at www.dhammasukha.org .)

I must tell you that the sound quality on this talk is quite poor,
to the point where it's really quite difficult to hear what's
being said. However I did find a text version of MN-111 translated
from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. First jhana, according to Sutta 111, includes "directed
thought, evaluation, singleness of mind." Now if 'singleness of mind'
is not another term for concentration, or one-pointedness, what is?
"Directed thought and evaluation having disappeared," Sariputa then
enters second jhana. However "singleness of mind" still remains, so
I would assume concentration still is being applied. Singleness of mind
also remains in all further jhana descriptions up to the final arupa
jhana of 'neither perception nor non-perception.'
Finally, upon Satiputa's cessation in Nirvana, the Buddha comoments,
"If a person, rightly saying it of anyone, were to say, 'He has attained
mastery & perfection in noble virtue... noble concentration... noble
discernment... noble release,' he would be rightly saying it of
Sariputta if he were to say: 'He has attained mastery & perfection
in noble virtue... noble concentration... noble discernment...
noble release.'
I would point out that 'noble concentration' occurs in the Buddha's
description. My feeling is that until the seeker has achieved a certain
ability to remain 'fixed' on the object, then "relaxation while still
fixed" does not come into play, and 'just relaxing' puts the cart
before the horse. I am not suggesting that BV's approach is not very
helpful. It is. But I think before one can hitch up the 'cart,' –
i.e. relaxing into loving kindness for all beings everywhere (including
oneself) – one must harness the horse and train him to respond to a
gentle 'giddy-up!'
However, instead of the 'fierce gaze' and locking the eyes in the
forehead of some yoga concentration practices (tratakam), I think
easier and gentler methods to achieve singleness exist, and it is
here that I personally find the blink very helpful.
To follow in the Buddha's footsteps I think one must look at his
whole life experience as well as those of his followers. And mostly
when we look, we find people who have ALREADY PRACTICED
concentration/fixation meditations for years, so for them the
'letting go' was the dropping of the other shoe.
I think the same goes for Dzogchen/Mahamudra in Tibetan Buddhism.
These very elegant 'let-go's' only make sense in the context of having
already mastered the ability to hold onto the meditation object..

If one really wants to do what the Buddha did in his
meditation, one must therefore remember, and not get tricked
into believing there is something important about staying on
the object like GLUE.
This is not it. He did this for about 6 years and then he ditched
this and he followed what is being explained here.

I tend to see the Buddha's path as including his previous experiences,
and then view his final teaching in the context of what he had already
achieved. So we're then looking at the totality of his achievement.
He may have turned away from the extreme approach of these earlier years,
but he must have during that time evolved certain abilities that allowed
the teaching to have the impact it did. Only in my layman's opinion,
of course.
Wishing our illusory self-refreshing pristine awareness embodiments/
emanations a festive absorption into the light while still planetside,

Secrecy - UGH!

jax wrote:

The traditions of "secrecy" go back to the earliest
times.... And Lamas teach and actually BELIEVE that grave
illnesses can come about from violating the secrecy injunctions.
This applies mostly to Thogel and certain other advanced teachings...

Secrecy is no longer necessary, in my view. It just slows things way
down and creates priest castes and hierarchies. Good for raising
money, however (smile), like your tulkus, jax - and similar to the
way the Catholic church used to sell indulgences, annulments,
bishoprics, etc. Probably still does!

In my view, much much more emotional instability is caused by the
billions who are caught up in samskara suffering than by what would
be caused by allowing open access to the so-called whispered teachings.
Example: the breath-of-fire technique now used by rebirthing and
holotropic work once was considered 'too dangerous' to share. But
we took it up as Patanjali's "bhastrika pranayama" on the commune
in 1966 and found it very helpful, despite the occasional over-
enthusiast who might pop an eardrum.

Of course there also are those historic tantric techniques that are so
repulsive/strange that perhaps are better kept under wraps -- and hopefully
no longer practiced. See, for example, Victor and Victoria Trimondi's
THE SHADOW OF THE DALAI LAMA -- Sexuality, Magic and Politics
in Tibetan Buddhism and the annex area to the book itself that lists
many critics of the Tibetan paradigm:

Critical Forum for the Investigation of the
Kalachakra Tantra and the Shambhala Myth
In Sanskrit, Kalachakra means "The Wheel of Time ", but it is
also the name of the supreme Tibetan "Time God". The
Kalachakra Tantra is held to be the last and the most recent
(10th century) of all the tantra texts that have been revealed,
and is considered by the lamas to be "the pinnacle of all
Buddhist systems."

Over more than 25 years, many hundreds of thousands have
been “initiated” through the Kalachakra Tantra by the XIV
Dalai Lama. Of these, large numbers are illiterate people
from India. But even the "educated" participants from
the West barely know anything about what this ritual
actually entails, since alongside its public aspect it
also has a strongly guarded secret side. In public, the
XIV Dalai Lama performs only the seven lowest initiations;
the subsequent eight of the total of 15 initiations continue
to remain top secret.

There is no talk of these eight secret rites in the pamphlets,
advertisements or brochures, and especially not in the
numerous affirmations of the XIV Dalai Lama. Here, the
Kalachakra Tantra appears as a dignified and uplifting
contribution to world peace, which fosters compassion with
all living beings, interreligious dialog, interracial and
intersubjective tolerance, ecological awareness, sexual
equality, inner peace, spiritual development and bliss for
the third millennium ("Kalachakra for World Peace"). The
motto for the whole show is quoted from the XIV Dalai Lama:
"Because we all share this small planet earth, we have to
learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with
nature." The highly focused, extremely tantric initiation of
Tibetan Lamaism thus garners the kudos of a "transcultural
and interreligious meeting for world peace".

But are the Kalachakra Tantra and the Shambhala myth truly
pacifist? Do they really encourage harmony and cooperation
among people? Do they make any real contribution to freedom
and justice, equality of the sexes, religious tolerance or
ethnic reconciliation? Are they a comprehensive, politically
humanist, democratic and nonviolent contribution to world peace?

Over the past few years, increasing criticism has been leveled
at Tibetan Buddhism, the history of Lamaism, conditions
among the Tibetans in exile and the XIV Dalai Lama himself,
criticism which is not from the Chinese quarter.
Historians from the USA have begun questioning the
widespread glorifying whitewash of Tibetan history (Melvin
C. Goldstein, A. Tom Grundfeld). Critical Tibetologists have
raised accusations of deliberate manipulation by official
Tibetology (Donald S. Lopez Jr.). Tibet researchers have
investigated the "dreams of power" that are activated and
exacerbated by the "Tibet myth" nurtured by Lamaists
(Peter Bishop). Prominent politicians have had to admit
the evidence of their own eyes that the Chinese are not
committing "genocide" in Tibet, as the Tibetans in exile
continue to claim (Antje Vollmar, Mary Robinson). Former
female Buddhists have condemned, on the basis of personal
experience and with great expertise, the systematic and
sophisticated oppression and abuse of women in Tibetan
Buddhism (June Campbell). Psychologists and psychoanalysts
have investigated the aggressive and morbid character
of Lamaist culture (Robert A. Paul, Fokke Sierksma,
Colin Goldner). From within the Dalai Lama’s own ranks,
overwhelming evidence of his intolerant, superstitious
and autocratic nature has been amassed since 1997
(Shugden Affair). Lamaism’s rituals have also been
subjected to strong criticism. The humanistic, peace-
loving, tolerant and ecumenical intentions of the
Kalachakra Tantra and the Shambhala myth it contains
have been interrogated in a comprehensive study
(Victor and Victoria Trimondi). Biting criticism of
the XIV Dalai Lama and his system founded on magic
has also been broadcast in German, Swiss and Austrian
television (Panorama, 10 nach 10, Treffpunkt Kultur).
In Munich, on the occasion of a visit by the Tibetan
religious potentate (in May 2000), there was even a
split in the SPD, whose "pro-Dalai Lama" wing had
invited the Tibetan "God-King" to a gala event. The
media as a whole has been equally divided: the Dalai
Lama has been accused of, among other things, having
an undemocratic and autocratic leadership style,
suppressing any political opposition, acting to
repress religious minorities; letting policy be
determined by possessed oracles rather than through
dialog and debate, deliberate falsification of
the history of Tibet, maintaining uncritical relation-
ships with former members of the SS and neo-nazis,
defaming critics and conducting misogynist rituals.

As a graduate of the Open Land/Open Gate hippie commune movement,
and also heeding Stewart Brand's comment "Information Wants To
Be Free," secret practices always raise a red flag for me. After
all, secrecy is what our world governments practice to hide their
horrible deeds. Secret torture centers are hidden away in eastern
Europe, secret spying on citizens, secret plans for a shadow
government and martial law in the USA.

Just what use can anyone think of for secrecy that does not
carry a heavy negative spin? I can't think of any. I think
it was designed by various patriarchies as a method to
accumulate power. I'd also include Scientology amongst these,
where you must pay as you go for more information.

Threatening grave illnesses on those who violate secrecy
injunctions does not sound like something the Buddha would
have approved of. Did the Buddha make use of whispered
teachings? Not to my understanding!

We need a new 'open source' paradigm to deal with current
realities, and not just drag the whole caravan load of
ancient customs along under the mistaken assumption that
they're all still necessary. Of course we can reverse-
engineer some of these secret methods (and I think I've
latched onto a few over the years) but it's time-consuming,
and what we need these days is a good, no-nonsense method
to dissolve into the dharmakaya that's easily accessible
to the vast unwashed hordes. Of course, being an hippie
optimist,I remain of the view that Nirvana will be available
in a pill form in ten years or so.

Go gettum, Kaya-persons!
YEE-HAW!

Loss of Awareness in jhana, and Ramana

I appreciate your reply, M.J. And understand what you’re saying, especially
‘wakeful sleep’. But I still think that inasmuch as ‘the sounding breath’
is self-arising (through deep relaxation in sleep), it offers us a key to
that final door that might otherwise take 20 years sitting in a cave,
something that few of us are willing to do – or capable of doing – these
days. Luckily, Mother is very beneficent.
This remark of yours was especially helpful:

”concentration is not opposed to such total relaxation. The
word 'concentrate' means to focus on one centre, and in order
to experience total relaxation we must be focused in our real
centre, which is our true and essential self.”

I understand now that there's a stage where Concentration and Relaxation
become the same. This is something I had been wrestling with for some
time - i.e. how to remain on the meditation object (which requires some
application of focus/fixation) while at the same time going ever deeper
into relaxation.
Yesterday I visualized 'concentration' as a golden ball gradually
sinking into a deep ocean of relaxation, and found this helpful.
Regarding this from your book
The Happiness of Being page 13 (that you pointed me towards),
how did Sri Ramana know he went through a true ‘physical death’
experience, i.e. that his heart ‘stopped beating’ and that he was
‘out’ for 20 minutes?

Sri Ramana merely simulated the signs of physical death.
But he explained on several occasions that he
did not merely simulate it, but actually underwent the
experience of physical death at that time. Because he fixed his
whole attention so firmly and intensely upon his
consciousness of being, not only did his breathing cease, but
his heart stopped beating, and all the other biological
functions that indicate life also came to a standstill. Thus his
body literally lay lifeless for about twenty minutes, until
suddenly life again surged through it, and his heartbeat and
breath started to function as normal.

To put this into perspective, here is a quote from “The Jhanas”
by Ajahn Brahmavamso, page 29 of 46, distributed free by The
Buddhist Fellowship, Singapore

A lay disciple once told me how he had “fluked” a deep
jhana while meditating at home. His wife thought he had
died and sent for an ambulance. He was rushed to hospital
in a wail of loud sirens. In the emergency room, there was
no heartbeat registered on the E.C.G., nor brain activity
to be seen by the E.E.G. So the doctor on put defibrillators
on his chest to re-activate his heart. Even though he was
being bounced up and down on the hospital bed through the
force of the electric shocks, he didn’t feel a thing! When
he emerged from the jhana in the emergency room, perfectly
all right, he had no knowledge of how he had got there,
nor of ambulances and sirens, nor of body-jerking defibrill-
ators. All that long time that he was in jhana, he was fully
aware, but only of bliss. This is an example of what is meant
by the five senses shutting down within the experience of jhana.

Comment:
Although I disagree with Ajahn B regarding the shutting down of
the five senses in_ all_ jhana states (including the the lower
four jhanas,) this reported experience cannot be disregarded,
and does seem to reference Sri R’s own.

I thought you also might find the following of interest.
It was quoted on the Way-of-Light Yahoo list
that focuses mostly on Tibetan Dzogchen/Mahamudra:

From the Choying Dzod By Longchengpa From Chapter 9:
"Awareness, involving no plans or actions, no coming or
going, entails no time frame or antidote, so drop reification
and effort.
If there is a deliberate frame of reference, it is a cause of
bondage.
Do not rely on any fixed construct whatsoever - let go in evenness!

It is of no concern whether or not all phenomena are timelessly free.
It is of no concern whether or not the way of abiding is pure by nature.

It is of no concern whether or not mind itself is free of elaboration.
It is of no concern whether or not anything has ever existed within
the fundamentally unconditioned, genuine state.

It is of no concern whether or not samsara and nirvana
are by nature a duality.
It is of no concern whether or not all thoughts and expressions
are transcended.
It is of no concern whether or not confused attempts
at proof and refutation are demolished.
It is of no concern whether or not the view to be realized has
been realized.

It is of no concern whether or not you meditate
on the ultimate meaning of the true nature of phenomena.
It is of no concern whether or not you engage in examination,
since there is nothing to accept or reject.
It is of no concern whether or not the way of abiding
has ever existed as the fruition.
It is of no concern whether or not you have traversed
the paths and levels of realization.

It is of no concern whether or not you are free of all obscurations.
It is of no concern whether or not the development and
completion stages perfect your true nature.
It is of no concern whether or not the fruition of liberation is
attained.
It is of no concern whether or not you wander in the six states of samsara.

It is of no concern whether or not the nature of being
is spontaneous presence.
It is of no concern whether or not you are bound
by dualistic perceptions of affirmation and denial.
It is of no concern whether or not you have arrived
at the enlightened intent of the true nature of phenomena.
It is of no concern whether or not you follow
in the footsteps of masters of the past.

No matter what arises, even if heaven and earth change
places, there is a bare state of relaxed openness, without any
underlying basis.

Without any reference points nebulous, ephemeral and
evanescent - this is the mode of a lunatic, free of the duality
of hope and fear.

With unbiased view and meditation,
ordinary consciousness that is caught up in reification
collapses.
Without the entanglements of wishful thinking,
there is no "thing" to strive for or achieve.

Let whatever happens happen and whatever manifests
manifest.
Let whatever occurs occur and whatever is be.
Let whatever is anything at all be nothing at all.

With your conduct unpredictable
you make the final leap into awareness
without the slightest basis for determining what is spiritual
or not,
and so this bare state with no reference point
is beyond the cage of philosophy.

Whether eating, moving around, lying down, or sitting,
day and night you rest in infinite evenness,
so that you experience the true nature of phenomena as their
equalness.
There are no gods to worship, no demons to exorcise,
nothing to cultivate in meditation this is the completely
"ordinary" state.

With this single state of evenness, the uncontrived ruler
that has no pride -
there is oneness, a relaxed and unstructured openness.
How delightful!
Things are timelessly ensured without having to be done,
and free of effort and achievement, you are content.

Blinking, and merging Concentration-Relaxation

Thanks for your detailed response, Sister K. Perhaps I should rephrase as
"Blinking removes one's awareness from the thought flow"? Awareness - pure
consciousness - of course continues. You said below what I was referencing
(ah, terminology!):

To see a moment of "no mind" , "still point", or what Bhante
terms "pure mind," one only has to learn to watch closely
while TOTALLY still with the body as one RELEASES> and
then RELAXES> RESMILES>
At that point, one will see a tiny CESSATION which is the
same as what you are talking about. This is the mundane
Nibbana. To identify this brings a zeal(meaning enthusiasm
and confidence) to the student because now you truly know
this state is a REAL STATE

Just yesterday I understood there's a stage where Concentration and
Relaxation become the same. This is something I had been wrestling with
for some months - i.e. how to remain on the meditation object (which
requires some application of focus/fixation) while at the same time going
ever deeper into relaxation. I think this is a merging of the Relax-Resmile
-Return sequence on your six R's list.
Yesterday I visualized 'concentration' as a golden ball gradually sinking
into a deep ocean of relaxation, and have found this quite helpful.
Thanks for your detailed response! And of course, while following the
Buddha's instructions, we should each remain true to our own view. Next
time you 'Recognize' how your attention is pulled away,' try
blinking. It immediately centers my awareness in the hara (solar plexus)
and out of my head.
Beams and Blessings,

Recent Familiy Happenings

I hope any faithful reader of this blog tries out the "blogfeed via Atom"
button on the bottom of the left column menu. I tend to post in 'bursts'
every three or so weeks, it seems -- whenever the list of blog-possibles
gets too long..
Anyway, here goes catching up!
First some general news. We had two great weekend trips to Sonoma
County recently, one for an evening event at New College North in
Santa Rosa that celebrated intentional community in the form of the
new Green Valley Village. We overnighted at Friends Home, a Quaker-
run retirement community in town, and enjoyed the half-dozen residents
we encountered. Quakers and their fellow-travellers can be relied upon
to be righteous folk, in the best meaning of the word 'righteous' -
'lighteous?' -- 'compassionate?' - you get the drift.
The Green Valley visit the next day was truly inspiring - a new intentional
community just a few miles from where Morningstar Ranch was shot down
in flames by the County establishment almost exactly 40 years ago.
Hopefully times have changed and officialdom now realizes that intentional communities have been part of the fabric of life there since the
1850s, and will treat them with greated understanding -- and enthusiasm!
The April 1st weekend saw us back in Occidental for 'Silly Day' - or
'Clown Day'/'Fools Day,' which gets better every year in my opinion,
although I think we could use some dedicated face painters to include
the kids more. This year it also coincided with a local artists' opening
and the new Harmony Union Cultural Center, which allowed us to greet
many friends on one location.
The parade on Sunday was just great, and it felt as it the town merchants
were getting behind it with enthusiasm. Sausages were being barbecued
outdoors, and a bellydancing troupe stood danced on the roof of one store
while throwing lacey undies into the crowd. An electric band supplanted
the acoustical instruments of the paraders, so there was something for
everyone.
We forgot our camera, but I'm attaching a few photos by John Shiflet.
Polish your red nose, and plan to come next year!

Awakened State Defined - Sunbathing, Anyone?

Roo: [Here it's necessary to include a comment from this text which has
been adapted from TUR's "As It Is", volume I, the chapter with the same name...starting on page 49]
"Here is nothing superior to meeting face-to-face with these three
kayas of this awakened state. Isn't this true? Seeing here is no
thought overcomes or expels any previous thought. As the sun shines,
here is no darkness. While seeing, it is impossible for any thought
to either linger or to be formed. The delusion is completely
dissolved. The awakened state is free of thought. But merely thinking,
"I want to be free of thought" is not the awakened state. It's just
another thought. The same goes for checking: "Is here a thought now,
or is this free of thought?" Isn't this just another thought as well?
It's necessary to rest totally unmixed with or unpolluted by thought.
This awakened state is free of thought, yet vividly awake. If we
train in this steadily and gradually, this becomes the fully awakened
state, buddhahood."

RAMON: Within the solar presence, here is total dissolving of all
delusion. Just imagine yourself lying on a sunny beach, totally
absorbed by the sunlight. Ah! Buddhahood!

Is Living In Perpetual Bliss Practical?

E.E. wrote:

> What I question is perpetual Bliss as meaningful to an entire world
> population. Where would science be? Where would medicine be? Where
> would the endless possibilities be of nearly infinite life in good
> health?
I don't see living in blissful serenity an obstacle to creative work
of any type. Just the opposite, in fact. I personally attempt to 'live
in the heart' and just use mind the way I use Google on line --
as a research tool. Admittedly, to keep from attaching to mind as
something other than just a useful tool can sometimes be easier said
than done!

As I've probably mentioned before, Ken Wilber's differen-
tiation between 'states' and 'stages' I think can be useful
to sort out the difference between 'states' (ephemeral) and
'stages' (permanent) in the 'Wilber-Combs Lattice:'

The Wilber-Combs Lattice
         States: Gross   Subtle      Causal   Nondual
                 (natural )   (visionary)   (formless)   (union)
Integral Stage
Pluralistic Stage
Rational Stage
Mythic Stage
Magic Stage
Archaic Stage

Quoting (again?) from a dialogue with Wilber in WIE Magazine's last
summer's issue where the levels are developed further (apologies if
I'm repeating myself):

[QUOTE]
Evolving Worldviews, Expanding Self

Although the spectrum of consciousness includes twelve colors to denote
twelve specific levels, stages, structures, or waves of development, for
ease of explanation, Wilber often uses a simpler, three- or four-level
scheme pioneered by developmental psychologists like Lawrence Kohlberg
and Carol Gilligan. Tracing the most general contours of psychological
growth, this scheme highlights the fact that increasing consciousness
corresponds to a broadening of worldviews and an expansion of one's
sense of self.

Egocentric ("me"): A stage characterized by narcissistic self-absorption,
bodily needs and desires, emotional outbursts, unsocialized impulses, and
an incapacity to take the role of the "other"; seen today predominantly
in infants and young children, rebellious teens, wild rock stars, and
criminals. (Infrared to red)

Ethnocentric ("us"): An expansion of self-identity to include one's family,
peers, tribe, race, faith group, or nation; the adoption of socially
conformist rules and roles; commonly seen in children aged seven to
adolescence, religious myths and fundamentalism, the "moral majority,"
Nazis, the KKK, right-wing politics, patriotism, sports teams, school
rivalries. (Amber)

Worldcentric ("all of us"): An even greater expansion of self to embrace all
people, regardless of race, gender, class, or creed; a stage of rationality
that questions rigid belief systems and transcends conventional rules and
roles; commonly seen in late adolescence, social activism, multicultural-
ism, science, moral relativism, liberal politics, the "global village,"
New Age spirituality; the emergence of integral cognition. (Orange to
teal)

Kosmocentric ("all that is"): An identification with all life and
consciousness, human or otherwise, and a deeply felt responsibility for the
evolutionary process as a whole; "superintegral" cognition and values;
innate universal morality; spirituality beyond merely personal motivations;
an emergent capacity, rarely seen anywhere. (Turquoise to clear light)
------------------------------------------------------------
WILBER:
Now these stages, which we also call 'structures' or 'levels,' show
up in all human beings, so we have to take them into account. One of the
real problems is that you can have a spiritual experience - a profound taste
of emptiness, or pure nonduality, or absolute oneness, or radiant, luminous
absolute bliss/love - and when you come out of that experience or even
while you're in it, you'll interpret it according to the level or stage
you're at. The evidence for this is now just overwhelming.
So understanding stages is the first piece of the puzzle. The second piece
is states of consciousness. States of consciousness generally tend to come
and go; they are temporary. The natural/meditative ones are waking
(gross), dreaming (subtle), deep steep (causal), witnessing, and nondual.
And then there are nonordinary states, such as drunken states and stoned
states. And you can have any of these state experiences at virtually any
level or stage you're at. You can be at any level and have a waking,
dreaming, or deep steep state. You can be at any level and experience
a meditative state. You can be at any Level and actually go through
Zen training. What's so astonishing is that a Nazi can complete Zen
training. That's the point - states can be experienced at any stage
you're at.

E.E. writes:
> Maybe the question becomes, although the Buddhists and other
> philosophies and religions profess and initiate non-violence. . .
> what are these groups providing to the world's populations relief
> of suffering except a number of paths which are very difficult to
> understand and to follow for any average person engaged in life,
> family, occupation and the like? Not that I am belittling that,
> but how does that relate to an entire world scheme of the next
> thousand years?
I have the same question, E, and for this reason work on the OBEATA
(Oceanic Beatitude Easily Available To All) Project that focuses on
exercises that can dissolve lateral body tensions and increase 'flow,'
either as stand-alones or as preliminaries to meditation. For example,
facial tapping exercises release tension around the eyes, lips and
nose that make breath-awareness meditation much more rewarding for
the beginner. See:
http://www.handle.org/activity/facetap.html
E.E.:
> I could also make a case where if everyone was non-violent and
> compassionate, there might be no need or interest in or for
> technical innovation. Could the planet support a continuing
> population growth without imploding on itself. I just wonder
> where it is all going.
I think we're on an extraordinary evolutionary path that, for better or
worse, we're going to walk together up to and through (for example)
nanotechnology's amazing potential (and dangers). All the more reason to
develop the Relaxation Response to where it can decrease the enormous
suffering of the world's creatures - and help distribute economic and
scientific benefits. With the advances being made in the neurosciences, I
think it's only a question of a few more years before we will trigger
Rigpa-similar stages via something like the SHIVA magnetic coil helmet
developed by Dr. Michael Persinger in Canada.

[quote from "Tests of Faith"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1423450,00.html
Thursday February 24, 2005
The Guardian ]
As neuroscientists unpick the biological mechanisms behind religious
experience, others are considering what to do with the information. At
Laurentian University, Todd Murphy and Michael Persinger are developing
devices they think can stimulate parts of the brain to enhance spiritual
experiences. Others see the possibility for drugs designed to boost
spirituality. Newberg says this would be underpinning a practice that has
existed for hundreds of years with scientific understanding. "If you talk to
a shaman who takes a substance so they can enter into the spirit world,
they don't think that diminishes the experience in any way," he says.

jax replied to E.E.:
> In Rigpa/Awareness you work better, you love better, you enjoy your life
> more... and you're a better human being. And of course you always
> conceal a slight smile, a sense of mirth that "if only everyone could see
> things in such a completely free and liberated manner! They could find
> so much more joy and meaning within their own lives... not because of
> material possessions and status, but from the pure joy that arises from
> a heart that has been enlightened from within. "

Ten loud purrs of agreement, motorboating the lips on the exhale, each
followed by a half-dozen clucks on the soft palate/uvula!