text:
The following quote is in one of the lessons of the course, but it seems very appropriate here:
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A practical, humorous, and down-to-earth guide for applying the Principles of Truth in daily life
Happy Birthday 'old man', I am right behind you! Lol
I've grown less and less interested in "the world" yet, I live in it. Strange. But I'm a strange dude. Thank you for your thoughts and the wisdom imparted, D.R.
At my age of 64, what you are writing is on target with my life as it is now. I don't watch or read the news anymore. There's nothing "new" in the news. When I watch TV, it's something I am truly interested in or find amusing. And its via TiVo: Fast Forward is one of my favorite features. So is the ability to delete at any time. I do make mistakes: 'Gee, it sounded good...".
The people and events that truly matter are those I'm personally involved with in the present moment. These are the true context for me to work out my life's challenges and my true responsibilities.
Sometimes I wonder why our society tries to prolong life as long as possible on either end of the spectrum. It's as though death is not a normal part of the life cycle...as though the number of years are the critical factor. Is it because we should; or is it because we can?
So, I'm at the age and station in life when I know that none of us is bullet proof. I'm actually at ease living life from my perspective.
What a beautiful entry to the blog. Thank you. That this world is as we see it is such a great truth that causes me to be ever diligent about what I am seeing. It is my responsibility what I "see". Looking out the window onto the sun dappled foliage I am in awe at this transcendent beauty of Gaia that enfolds us and sustains us here on this earth walk. May we all be blessed with the ability to attune ourselves to the beauty of nature - the ever giving beauty that has no end. This love that we are is beauty. And this beauty that we are is love. With love, Mayuri
In the few short months since I have returned to the Course, I can truly say that my life has been transformed. The prison of chronic disease is not only becoming tolerable. I find that the Shakti inherent in the Course has shifted my thinking process. Instead of battling disease or struggling to heal, I have been graced with the ability to transcend the karma and be in space of peace and contentment in spite of my drama...and in being able to do this, my physical body is responding and I am becoming healthier!
I have come to realize what a treasure the Course was for me 30 years ago. What a joy it is to be able to cozy back into it. My spiritual life has catalpulted into a new level very quickly since
I have had the opportunity to have the darshan of the Truth in this manner again.
Having lived in New York City for over 20 years, I now find myself living in Missouri. It is such a boon to be in nature. Just "being" is so easy to do. Communing with nature is sadhana, it is practice.
The downside has been I have lived the life of a solitary yogini for many years finding very few kindred souls spiritually.
It is wonderful to have the satsang of this community...people who have such immense hearts, great joy and incredible understanding.
As I approach 60, I really look in the mirror and so often think, "Well we all get old and ugly," but I didn't think it would happen to me so soon! Funny, I don't feel any different even though the outside has changed. I really appreciated this sharing on the blog this month as this is something that I am still in the process of learning how to live with poised in the consciousness of the Self.
Salutations to you and birthday Blessings, Ram. As we all celebrate Spiritual Independence on the 4th of July and the Power and Love of Guru Purnima.
So grateful for the the teachings of Truth. 'My story' is' in part, that in 2003, at age 55, a genetic degenerative process surfaced in my body, I could no longer work or function in the world, and by 2006 vision, mobility, balance became advanced enough to make me home-bound. At first of course I was devastated, yet I hung on to the teachings with great might...
Although I would still not complain if my body miraculously healed now, this lifetime, I (too) have never been happier, truly! From this situation I am forced out of the world as I knew it, externally....functional, yet so tense, cutting myself off from the joy of/from silence, stillness of the heart, the moment.
Loss of physical ability forced me out of the world as I knew it, to face myself, and therefore find my true Self.
Neat, now I am finding true joy, rather than desperately trying to attain outer imaginings to make me whole and worthy...(the "if only I was------, then I'd be good enough" syndrome).
One of my adult sons told me today that just before he awakened this morning his Guru came to him in a dream. While he told this I experienced such joy and humor rising, as I felt myself saying to close friends and family, "it is fun isn't it, this lifetime, challenges, difficulties and all"!
It felt so liberating to truly laugh and love.
Thank you for helping me and so many reach such healthy, thriving state.
I am struck by the your question about the world, "do we see it as it is?" I have contemplated this at length and I really feel that it is impossible to "see it as it is" because we only see the "mirror." I cannot see what others or the world see of "me" or even the world because each perspective is so vastly different. The course has given me so many good ways to look at this. Lately, when I see myself or a "person" I try to imagine them at the end of their life. You know the moment when someone passes and all the people who love them get together and feel the love and greatness of their soul and the profoundness of their life, no matter what they have or haven't done? Then, I imagine the living person in the web of all that right now, and I "see" in a bigger dimension. Often, it is simply summed up by a light over their head or even the "blue pearl." Naturally, being human, it's a stretch for me with some people, but brings me greater understanding, compassion, and oneness with "others." Once again I thank you for the course and the community sharing.
YEA! for tuning in to Nature! Thank you for this reminder, Ram. Have I ever regretted tuning in to Nature? I can't think of a single time. The only times I don't return stronger, more centered, from time spent in nature are the times when I was not Living in the Truth of the Present Moment - lost in some melodrama or the other. In fact, I think I hear the woods and the garden calling me now!
Thank you, Ram and Kay, for all that you do. And thanks to all participants in the Course and the Blog. Like time in Nature, time spent reading the Lessons, the Blog, and everyone's comments always takes me to a better place.
Love & Blessings, Amy
I had to laugh with total understanding at your reaction to your reflection in the mirror. It can be startling, especially as we usually have no expression at this time. So it's not quite as others see us...but that is their problem anyway, right?
Somewhere, you wondered about the 70s.It gets better. Well, the body slows down, but 'life' is better. This is from one who always prints out the lessons since she doesn't cotton to the new-fangled devices,even though, admittedly, the computer is quite an asset.
May your birthday be the best ever, with many more terrific and beautiful ones to follow.
I had a dream not to long ago that I was dead and that all the people I knew were meeting each other. As I was waking up, I heard myself say i should have passed sooner if I knew this would happen! I really don't think about my death or my growing older. I do see the image in my mirror. I was told by an 80 year old man years ago to always say to myself when I look in the mirror that "I am beautiful." I love my life in this present moment.
When I was visiting with family the other day, I noticed the striving. I started to get locked into the conversation and then felt myself just let go. I was able to be with them without expectation or having to share. I know it is from the course. Dear Ram happy birthday to you. You are great!!Thank you for being in my world.
Ram, I like what you say, "The only thing that can 'end' is the cessation of individual consciousness". For so long I've been concerned about how the world will survive...all the 'poor' souls that have to 'die' because of this tragedy or that disaster. Yet, presently the Course has transformed for me these limited ideas of what IS really out there and what is MY 'role' in all of this.
What's out there as you so simply put it is what we choose to manifest. My view of the world may 'seem' distorted due to an emotional obstruction that has taken center stage in my awareness and is reflecting all this 'yuck' around me, or my world seems polished as a shining diamond..everything is beautiful, love is everywhere.
I'm becoming aware that in order to experience a beautiful life here right now, I have to constantly come back to the present moment with love.
You have truly touched my heart again. I am looking for the words to tell you how magnificent my life is. There is such poignancy and richness, such sweetness and joy. I am so happy that I live in the San Francisco Bay Area surrounded and immersed in beauty in spite of the city that surrounds the Bay.
I am 61 years young, and I am also ageless and timeless. Every time I have discussed this with people who are much older than I, they tell me they are always surprised at the person they see in the mirror because they don't feel any different limited emotional level than they did when they were young. For me, this validates what Ram says in the course about the eternal oneness. We are all externally changing and internally the Same.
My ego still has trouble with the concept that life can be about Ease. It seems to me that the need to change things especially about myself is quite dominant. In the course this month my lesson is talking about Priorities and the necessity of letting everything go, while being totally dharmic and responsible of course, and seeing what still remains. What a beautiful month this is while living into the reality that this priority gives me.
Happy Anniversaries and Birthdays To Both of You, Karuna Colette
The truth that is staring me in the face is the alarming realization that I am a loser, particularly financially. Fortunately, I am on the right lesson that I can keep my sense of humor about this but I really need to change. Any suggestions?
Love and blessings.
Always re-reminding myself. am aware of many many automatic patterns that i keep reminding myself are only my thoughts and not what is so. today i was caught for only 30 min. its getting quicker and quicker that i re-remember.
and nature, could not live without her. i love the birds. somehow just watching them feed immediately brings me back to the present, back to the heart, back to my love. jaya, jaya, thank you.
"Everything is so beautiful." I often experience this so deeply but am at the same time so aware also of how often I "forget." Thank you for the reminder to stay tuned in to the Mystery in which we are imbedded. Everything else then falls into perspective.
It is absolutely wonderful to hear people who are thriving. I aspire to reach that place. Today I lived from a loving place. A lot has to do with the support of the course in training and the universe. I too was faced with some challenge that turned into a gift. In the past I would read a lesson and say why didn't you tell me that yesterday. Presently I know how to process my reactions. I read the lessons and participate in yoga. So many of my issues seem to get taken care of as soon as I read the lesson. Nice. Happy happy birthday.
This much anticipated July blog entry feels fresh, green, warm, nourishing to me .... Thank you Ram. And it so 'amazingly' fits in with much of my current lesson ... but then everyone probably says that!
Contemplating mortality, life, Nature, the Oneness of All, the temporariness of forms, the sense I get that everything is fundamentally 'okay', and that I am changing for the better ...Yes : ) Sensing more personally in my life that challenges, sufferings of all kinds are just part of Nature's cycles ... that they are just as much filled with Grace as softer, easeful, gentler experiences, if I make the effort to choose to see them that way. Grace never goes 'away' whether life seems soft or harder. The flavours of Love?
It is so lovely to feel more consciously incontrovertibly part of the Whole 'shebang', the All! ... life, death, Nature, animals, humans .... And to feel more able to not be so readily sucked into familiar limited identifications. I always feel more courage, as well as en-couraged, through the blog, and the Lessons in particular.
The older I am getting physically in this incarnation, the younger I am feeling in some ways, strange to say? The mind and heart are becoming lighter, and the body seems less of an impediment and more like a friend!
Happy and most Blessed Birthday month to you Ram, and Kay, and the Course too : ) Thank you for being 'you', and being here, offering your service so richly and gracefully, and unconditionally, for us to learn, apply, and awaken much more deeply. (Anne-Bindu)
Anonymous, whenever thoughts of money problems would arise for me I would repeat the 'mantra', I always have more money than I need. Part of the 'trick' is to believe in the 'magic' of these words. Words have power and it is belief that empowers them. Give it a shot it might just work for you too!
For the past 4 month I have been taking care of my 2-6month old grandson, what a delight!! And challenging because he lives in Shanghai (China) so I live now in this enormous city with occasional parks and millions of people who also want to enjoy nature in the city!
No FB and no blog available (friends send copies).
But...what a great challenge; I find myself more interested in the "outer world" but in an easeful and lighthearted way. Less judgemental and less wanting to change anything..... What a blessing. Now I am back in Sydney for a vacation and more then ever appreciate nature, the ocean, sun and moon rises and big blue sky's. Right now I experience such peace in my heart with all that is!
The Course has helped me enormously to reach this state! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank-you Rico!
I am going to try this!
Hello, everyone-
I just got back from a trip and was able to settle into reading this blog and comments, which I treasure.
My last lesson (June 15) didn't arrive in my email until after I had left, and not having a printer I for the first time read my lesson off my lap-top. I can attest that I really missed holding the paper version in my hands! There was something different for me in the way I could absorb its energy.
Now that I am back I have printed off my new lesson (and the one I could only read on computer) and it is my loyal companion once again.
FB, your response to your situation inspired me so. I loved your share ""it is fun isn't it, this lifetime, challenges, difficulties and all"!
Happy Independence Day to All. Love KJ
First of all I wish to thank you for the Course "Living in the Truth of the Present Moment." I find this Course a Blessing in Itself, however I do have a few questions I would like to ask.
Here goes: In Lesson 3 it says and I quote: "The Witness observes: 'This is happening; it's something that happens.' It has no description or judgment regarding it, no opinion about it, no like or dislike concerning it. There is the simple observation of what is….The ultimate goal of the soul is to experience the conscious realization that it is one with and the same as the infinite Being or universal Consciousness, which was never born and will never die, which projects the play of the cosmos upon it own screen of space and time."
Because of my past religious upbringing I have difficulty in understanding this first part where God has no judgment just observes, since God is Love how can He just observe all the difficult and cruel things that are going on in the world?
I know that apparently He is projecting a movie on a screen and that we're just actors, but actors only make believe that things are happening, while in reality nothing is being physically done to them; whereas in our real world people are being hurt and are suffering along with many other difficult things happening to them.
How can God be insensitive to this, especially in the religious aspect of it? The Bible showed how God is a Loving God and in the beginning He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses in order to keep Law and Order, there it shows that He does have Judgment. I know that the Bible is one of the books among many that have been written about God, what are we to believe among them and where did creation of the first human start if not according to the Bible? This can be a confusing issue I find.
Also I do believe in Prayer and Giving Thanks to God which you encourage us to do, but if God only observes how can He Bless us?
Beyond these questions I know that the Universal Energy, the Shakti, is doing its work and at times I do have a sense of well-being and Great Love that builds up within and I am grateful for such experiences.
In the last few years or so I have this numbness that happens now and again in between the eyebrows and the forehead and at times tightens between the eyebrows, can you explain what this is?
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my questions and I am
looking forward to continuing the Course. Warm regards, Lorne
Dearest Ram and Kay,
Happy Happy, anniversary, Ram's birthday, and course anniversary! Wow, what a month of celebration for you! It seems quite appropriate for you guys that this is the month of celebrating freedom and the Guru.
The blog post and the lesson I am currently reading are as usually are complete relevant to my life and study right now. For over 30 years this has been the mostly the case with the lessons anyway. They have always been a confirmation and a clarification for me of what I already know to be "Truth", but may not have been able to verbalize or cognize. Thanks for the clarity and the loving guidance.
My husband and I are camp hosting at a campground at a beautiful, peaceful and very still mountain lake. Our duties are minimal and because the lake is very low and gas prices are very high the occupancy is quite low (we don't always know what is for the best). It's much like being on a meditation retreat in a pristine natural setting. This work situation just fell into our laps (what comes unbidden) and even though we have considered doing camp hosting for years we had not really pursued it. It just came about serendipitously, as the best things often do. We are both soooo grateful for this opportunity to spend so much time in nature. I really relate to leaving behind the constant vibrations in the air when living in a town or city. It's incredible to experience the contrast of continual rajas with predominant sattva in our surroundings.
Let me just say that the lessons are a steady background and context for enriching this time of contemplation, meditation, and samadhi (samyama) "Here and Now".
Thank you again and again for all you offer
Thanks to each of you for your birthday wishes, for your love, your gratitude, your support, and your loyalty. It has been a great day to hear from so many that I never anticipated hearing from.
Many wonderful surprises.
I will get to the unanswered questions above very soon. A lot is happening right now. A little patience will go a long way. Love to each of you.
It seems if we could attain fearlessness we could offer greater service to the world. How can fearless ness be attained?
Hi Ram, thanks for the blog.
I loved what Shane said..he and I are very aligned!
As you know I love Mother Nature!!!!
I am very interested in the world, in fact I pay more and more attention to the world because the world is just the reflection of collective consciousness which is not at all separate from me in any way.
I look carefully , observe things, developments, trends, Nature, Machines, evolution and get a peek into my own SELF, after all it's the ONE'S DREAM.
I think there is a big difference in actively and consciously engaging the world and getting "lost" in it.( although getting lost in it is part of the game too).
Studying language, culture, social structures, ect is the same as self inquiry. I can either go deeper and deeper into quietude, into inward states or expand more and more in the 'outer' world as a way of self discovery. Either way, whether "in" or "out" yoked with an intention for clarity or discovery, I believe we will experience more and more of our infinite Nature. If we choose to move inward that doesn't make the world disappear, because as far as I can see, the further out OR in you go, everything looks more and more the same ( think of 'the power of 10' ..subatomic structures look just like the milky way :)as above so below/ As within so with out ).
So I see this Sameness as beautiful and also the difference as beautiful. I mean if Sameness was the only point...well then why would there be difference. Sameness manifests as difference.
And I get that a point you are making is to stay aware of that which is watching the discovery- whether inward or outward.
After many years of reading the course, including the two courses preceding this course in its present form, today I have finally gained access to two things: the first is finding where to post, although Ram has told me twice. It is tucked away at the bottom under "comments". I wonder if that was an impediment for anyone but me.
The second realization has been creeping up on me slowly and has finally dawned today on me completely. I have always read the lessons through various mental filters like: "Yeah, yeah." and "I already know this", and " this won't make a difference", even before I have read it, and certainly while I am in the process of reading. I even heard the words spoken with the most boring intonations my mind could muster. However I found that I could CHOOSE to be in the moment while I was reading, to remember a deeper part of myself, and let the words become and be, a form of vital truth. To help with this I slowed my inner "reading voice" down, when I read the lessons, so that it became new and unfamiliar, and that broke up my automatic listening and different projections. Now I can really be in the moment with it, and get the highest from it. I read each sentence individually, like a sutra, which also breaks up the automaticity, and let it sink in as well. For a while I had even tried reading the lessons backwards, sentence by sentence. But reading it normally works much better now.
This was and is, by the way, not so much of a decision at the mental level, although paradoxically it includes that. It is an inner choice, which leaves me relatively thought free even when I am thinking and getting the principles that are being "explained".
Before I embarked on this new way of being with the lessons, I actually had a number of "thoughts" that presaged my current lesson, which then confirmed and impressed these ideas on me in a deep way. I am also clear that all the work I have done up to this point has been leading me to this place and teaching me how to be open to it, and put everything into an ongoing practice.
I recently remembered that thirty five years ago, at a yoga retreat in Canada, I had this same experience listening to an Indian teacher, whom I knew quite well, and therefore did not take as seriously as I might. I asked him if it was OK to listen to his words and have them be the highest truth through the exercise of my will. He said yes, but that I was missing the most important point: that the ability to consciously choose was the source of power, and not necessarily his words in particular, and it could be used all the time, for everything. And then of course I forgot about it, until now.
So I have read Ram's posts back to March, and look forward to the new lessons, as well as reviewing the earlier ones. I am clear that this principle is a central one for all aspects of life. It is very exciting. And I am grateful.
Thank you.
Lorne, you write a beautiful, open, and candid comment. Yes, most of us have been taught through the orthodox religions that God is judgmental and either rewards or punishes, according to how closely his 'law' has been followed. Of course, this would be conditional love, and we cannot understand God's state if we do not experience unconditional love.
You are early in the course, and soon the things you question will become obvious. The Upanishads, one of the great texts of the East, say that God is the Witness of the mind. God also witnesses everything without judgment, for He knows Himself as pure Consciousness, and knows that this entire universe is a play of Consciousness.
Each individual experiences their just and rightful karma. You might not be able to see in this particular incarnation why something is so, but if you saw their last three incarnations it would be obvious why they are going through whatever they are experiencing.
God, pure Consciousness, sees everything as a part of Itself. There is nothing separate or different to consider. This is our true and eternal state. Everything else is the play of the mind, the experience of all thoughts, cause and effect as the Law of karma.
To think that God couldn't bless us as well as observe us is to greatly limit God's absolute power. He (She, It), being omnipotent, has no limitation.
The numbness between your eyebrows could mean anything you believe about it. My advice is to be the One observing the experience. It doesn't matter what the experience is. The only thing that matters is our conscious at-one-ment with the Witness or Observer. Our true nature is the Knower or all that is known and the Seer of all that is seen. This is how we eventually learn to see and experience ourselves, as our true Identity.
Anonymous, fearlessness is an attribute of a Master, a Siddha, an enlightened Being. As long as there is fear, we are limited to individual ego. Fear arises when we see another. When we experience the Oneness and Unity of all, there is no fear, there is only contentment.
Michelle, your comment is beautiful and clear. I love the way you describe things to be. I agree with everything you say, and I love that you see and appreciate the perfect balance between inner and outer. It is hard to expand on anything you said. What you said was all anyone needs.
Thank you for visiting us here in the comments. I love the way your mind works, so I love to hear from you now and then.
Daniel, I love your absolute honesty. Always have. You offer such a clear and instructive view of things. Thanks for sharing some of your experiences with the course. You never cease to amaze me.
Hi D.R.
maybe it's just me but I heard some foreboding language in that last blog.
I was confused by the contrast of these two statements
"It would be great if every one of us who are not yet attuned to nature would make efforts to be so. Alone, here and now, everything is always fine. Yet around us the world that mankind built is in a downward cycle."
" It will be for your benefit if you will put the external world in the background, and put your inner state as the foreground of your attention. Our inner state can remain solid and stable even if the world around us collapses. It is eternal, all-pervasive, indivisible, and indestructible."
Is attuning to nature the same as attuning to our own inner state? I've lived in a city for my whole life and now experiencing deep yearnings to get out and live in place more surrounded by and in tune with nature.
I also found this conclusion to have a tone of forewarning:
"The blog 'community' is very special in many ways, and it will continue to grow stronger over time, when we might need it the most." Granted my ears may be attuned to foreboding and forewarning having just spent a challenging weekend with a parent who is "coming to terms" with having cancer and by "coming to terms" I mean freefalling in a spiral of despair and negative projections about the future. Good Times...
Thanks, Jessie
Jessie, it seems like you got a good dose of karma in this lifetime. In a sense being attuned to nature is the same as being attuned to our inner state. I remember when I first began meditating, I would find a place in the park that surrounded our city, and I would hear birds chirping and the soft breeze rustling the leaves, and it would all seem as though it was happening within me, not outside of me. I heard birds chirping within myself. I felt the breeze blowing through the leaves as blowing through myself--there was no difference. Everything had been merged into One, and then I realized it had been One all along.
Yes, the blog community is growing stronger, and the course community is growing stronger as well. And there is a very good chance that we will need this knowledge, this understanding, and this experience before the planet changes any more than it already has.
I don't feel there is any 'foreboding' in my writing, but only an observation of what is actually already happening.
There will be harder days ahead, and there will also be days so glorious you might never have thought you could experience such a thing, or that you were worthy enough, which is where many people have a problem.
We call the course a Course of Training because the process of participation is a 'training' for living in this world, as it is now and as it will become. It is positive to understand that there are others out there much like ourselves who are doing the same work that we are, participating in the same training.
We must be adaptable, we must develop tolerance and endurance. These are each aspects of spiritual evolution, which the individual experiences as an expansion and elevation both within and without.
Everything in the future is much greater than anything we might have guessed could happen. This conviction comes from knowing our higher Power is beneficent and all-loving. We haven't been left to fend for ourselves. We have invisible helpers all around, who are able, eager, and willing to aid us--we simply need to open up to their help, to being as receptive as possible. At this point things become intuitively obvious.
From the blogpost:
"we can learn to shut out the outer world even while fully participating in it, playing our own karmic role the best we can—which is true dharma— while relating easily to others and competently attending to responsibilities."
In my solitary, silent, still moments I have no ambitions and am content simply Being - hearing the birds sing "inside Me" similar to the way you describe, Ram. This is becoming my lived experience more and more.
However, sometimes when I am "in the world" around good friends or family or professional associates who don't share this awareness, I can still get duped into a sense of the "insufficiency" of my life - the thought "I'm not (whatever) enough" - and feel that active, rajasic pull of needing to "be somebody." (Maybe that's all the Capricorn influence in my chart ;)
While I know my current karma to include a certain level of active participation in the world, (which I truly enjoy and am not trying to get rid of,) I would like to favor contentment in my inner experience.
Ram, I would love to hear what you might offer me around the fading of ambition. And it seems to me that the older ones among us here may have some useful things to say about this.
I know I cannot take anything with me on my final exhalation. How to let go of it while still breathing?
You're reply filled me with incalculable gratitude, tears of Joy.
I'm on lesson 12 right now, got behind and am reading that and then 13 until the next one comes.
Yours in the ranks,
Ram, thank you for your response to Jessie; I love your last paragraph about our opening up to the invisible helpers all around. For the first time ever in my life, during the last year or so in my course participation, I have begun to feel this sense of protection and let old anxieties and fears go.
Your words about Nature in this blog and recent comment are particularly apropos to my recent experiences. Typically I live a suburban life (middle aged working mom who shops at Target....); we have lots of strip malls and also some nice woods.
But in the last month I have traveled to two extremes. A special trip for my 25th wedding anniversary brought my husband, kids and I into big city living for about a week negotiating rush hour on subways etc.. Now we are in a rural Maine cottage by a lake with hardly anyone around.
As much as it was exciting and stimulating to be in the city I do feel attuned to the difference in vibration. The course has helped me appreciate being in nature (without lots of people around) so much more than I used to. As a strong extrovert with a "busy mind" I used to need a lot of stimulation (and thrived on emotional drama far more than was good for me)
The course has helped me prioritize harmony, peace, spending some alone time with my soul BEING, and contentment. I am happy to watch myself now be able to look peacefully at a lake for a long time without feeling "bored".
Thanks for the constant reminders you give us. Love KJ
What stood out for me is the statement, "It will be for your benefit if you will put the external world in the background, and put your inner state as the foreground of your attention". It feels like a great amount of wealth is contained in those words and is valuable to contemplate. It's a reversal of our ordinary conditioning.
I have come to admire people who are on a path of love and/or masters like my Guru, who demonstrate this state as their priority. It was hard to relate to in the beginning of my spiritual practices. Now in my early 60's, I more often think of the vast number of saints and sages through history, and the numbers of people here and there who are committed to a path of love and truth, and it seems natural and do-able. I feel this shift in me, as I participate in your Course. I love that quote for its validation, inspiration and the subtle command it contains along with its wisdom.
With love,
Lorne, from what I recall, the Old Testament, or Torah, talks about a first set of tablets which Moses originally brought down from Mount Sinai. When he saw the wretched state his people were in upon his descent, he smashed these tablets against the ground. He later returned with a second set of tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments, also referred to by some as simply the Ten Utterances. There has been speculation about what was written in the first set of tablets, but regardless of what it might have been, Humanity was not ready. The Ten Commandments might seem like judgement, but it simply defines/ed what is/was acceptable and not acceptable, or "right" and "wrong", if you will. In some of the letters attributed to St. Paul, found in the New Testament, he describes "The Law", which includes the Ten Commandments, as a "curse". He teaches that God is Love, that Love is to be our guiding principle, and that freedom from "The Law" is found in Love. This is at least what I recall from when I read the New Testament years ago. One can take teachings such as these literally and use them to prove that one is right and that others are wrong. One can also read between the lines, so to speak, and see the truths that such teachings reveal within one's own heart. I hope my "story" helps you in some manner.
Anyway, I enjoyed reading your latest entry in the blog, D.R. Butler. My plate is pretty full right now, but I wanted to check in. Your comments about the ethers constantly assaulting us when we live in cities caught my attention, having lived in cities all of my life up to now. I have always experienced a greater sense of peace when I get out of the city and reconnect with nature. Also, although I am merely 53 years old, I sure don't look as good when I look in the mirror as I once did. Fortunately, the Course is helping me focus more on the beauty to be found in the Truth of the Present Moment, as well as "nature" as it manifests within me despite being a city boy through and through.
Dear Ram,
Thanks for this month's post, which again brings me back to what is real. A great deal of my sadhana these days is dealing with the insistence of the "apparent" world, the one in which the bank account and the post office and the administrators live. I am coming to the end of the first year of the course and have gotten so much out of it so far. And yet, and yet, I keep treating it like a bunch of memorizable sayings, a loose bundle of things and I have to be careful and keep checking to make sure I haven't dropped anything. I don't even notice at first that I'm looking out at the world from a very worried, fearful place. Will I have enough? Will difficult things happen? (Yes, of course, and yes, of course.) I get stuck thinking that if I do some process just right as if it were a spell or a chemistry experiment I'll get the outcome I want.
And my work is remembering to keep things in perspective, and discerning what's real from what's just insistent. And when I get fearful of things going wrong, I have to remember that everything is actually perfect.
And now I see that I'm bringing worry to Lesson 23, where you write "... but for now it is best to establish a strong foundation, which includes getting personal life and relationships in order... if our physical life, our personal karma, is not in order... then they will be much greater distractions than you might suspect."
I don't feel that these things are getting that much more cleaned up a year in. As a friend, husband, and father I continue to make many of the same mistakes I always have. My life has many of the same issues in it, and even some new ones. Can you tell me a little more about how to get these things in order?
Thank you for sharing ang for your question.
I could sure use suggestions, insight and help getting my karma in order! I am putting the effort in on a practical level and asking for Grace. I have asked others for help as it has become quite detrimental and distracting. At the same time, I realize everything is Perfect and is as it needs to be for my ultimate benefit - including getting my outer stuff in order.
Ram, I feel that a significant breakthrough has come....being on Lesson 11, which emphasizes the 'what you see is what you get' truth, an old enormous and lifetime issue (with certain family members I have known and love all my life, and or theirs), of ever-present either in stifling to niggling proportion, came into focus! That of how I can describe their suffering in uplifting, beneficial for all, positive ways, rather than the old negative (for all) ways. For the past several days I just was not fully applying the principle to this specific issue. Then upon today's reading it occurred to me, "OK, try adding the word 'becoming' to your view". My thoughts became, "everything is perfect as it is for the expansion and evolution of our souls..,she or he or we are 'becoming' radiant, independent, mature, confident, joyful, fearless, content, grateful, cheerful, sociable, etc persons". The more positive descriptions I could think of, the more came...and I was able to fully apply this principle of truth!
I guess it is ok to add 'becoming' whenever I couldn't quite feel 'already are', because it allows me to see and feel 'already are'. It is exhilarating!
This also frees me of that lifelong issue of feeling I am responsible for the complete well-being of "others", yet empowers me to be a source of upliftment, empowerment, warmth, kindness, encouragement, safety, love, etc. to/for 'others' (myself included).
Hello D.R.
I just got lesson 14. But have only read through lessons 12 and 13 once. Would you recommend I try to keep reading 13 with 14 or just focus on 14?
Also is it alright to quote from lessons after 12 with questions in the blog discussion?
Hello Ram,
I find it difficult to draw the line between being diplomatic / "appropriate" and staying integrate, true with myself and others. I grew up in a muslim family and recently (for the last few years) I've been experiencing each year -- few days before the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan -- a dilemma. In my daily life, the practices I'm embracing to nourish my relationship with the Transcendent do not include any of the fundamentals of the orthodox religion and I usually feel totally at peace with myself. Yet when it comes to the fasting month of Ramadan, the "communitarian" aspect of this practice is so strong that I feel a "pressure". I'm not comfortable in committing to the fast only out of respect for a religious tradition and obligation, but in the same time I have not attained yet the degree of courage to tell the whole family gathered around the dining table at night to break the fast : "You know guys, frankly, I'm not into this, I'm just concerned about being content from one moment to another, I just meditate, read the Course, etc." I would dread getting into an ideological conflict or even just an "ideological cold". Now, here is my issue: fear of conflict. Out of this fear, I would find it easier to endure the physical hardship of all the fasts of the world than telling the family directly, "do your stuff, I do mine". But in the same time I'm not at all comfortable in committing to a practice only to honour a cultural custom. Now, back to my initial question: how to draw the line between being diplomatic (not hurting anyone's cultural sensitivity in my close surrounding) and being true to the form my own sadhana took quite organically and naturally in the past years?
Thank You, Ghayas
Hi Ram,
I hope this finds you and yours in the best possible way. I love your message, but have a question. You mention that we are free when we know the unchanging self. In reading this, I initially took it to mean being free from karma. Am I correct? Would this mean that the karma of one's present lifetime simply needs to play itself out and that we can be free from being pulled into it on an emotional level, thus avoiding the creation of more karma? Please help me understand. I thank you in advance for your time. Love,Julian
Ghayas, it sounds like you are feeling trapped by the cultural circumstances involving your family of origin. but perhaps some of this is just in your mind. Is there really a need to make any declarations or even say anything about it at all? Depending on how important it is to you to maintain good ties with your relatives, perhaps you could just look at your muslim traditions and practices from a more expanded perspective rather than from a more contracted "either this or that" perspective. I don't know how open-minded your "orthodox" family might be, but I understand that there are some versions of Islam which touch more upon the heart of a universal spirituality, namely the Sufi traditions. I do feel for you since I understand that "muslims" in the west have to struggle with the reality of adjusting to the more pluralistic societies of the West, that old struggle between tradition and change. I wish you the best.
I will get to the unanswered questions as soon as possible.
Ghayas, I see fasting (meditating, praying) as a way to connect to your own source and in doing so you become more productive. It is amazing how long a day is and how strong one is when eating is out of the picture. I also find that a lot of the time "what we are going to eat next" becomes the focal point and the meal is the highlight of the day. Like you say you can feel a lot more connected reading a lesson under a tree than roling around a house full of hungry people. As Julian says do you have to say anything? Grab your favourite chocolate bar and your favourite lesson in your favourite spot and sink in the moment. Or you can fast...don't eat just read. It is only food after all. Love to you
Reading the words of the blog is like a huge gulp of oxygen after being oxygen deprived at a high altitude--I feel rejuvenated and so much more peaceful. Two of ny alcoholic son's children have been visiting with me this summer and went back to Europe just this past Saturday. While they were here I didn't have time to think but once they left, I became depressed thinking about my son's disease and their circumstances. Then I started reading the blog and all this sweet, uplifting loving energy flowed through me. We are so blessed by this. Thanks to each of you for your words--and to you dear D.R. And Kay for your loving service.
Dear Ram,
What is your opinion on how Creation started for the first human couple?
What does Yoga teachings have to say on such also, besides the understanding
that Consciousness created the Soul?
I also understand that we must work on our Ego and not let what others
say or do affect us, but isn't there a fine line that we must use accordingly because of how others can start to manipulate us if we just let everything
go by and they will then think that they have the upper hand in dealings
and therefore abuse the situation?
Thank you in advance for listening. Always reading the lessons with an Open Heart, Thank you for Them. Love, Lorne
Many of you choose to email us your blog comments and if that is the only way you can post them, we are happy to continue to do that for you. However, if it possible for you to post your own comments, it will be appreciated. Here are some simple instructions that you might want to copy and paste somewhere where you can find it easily:
Blog Instructions
1. open the entry that you wish to read
2. click on the entry title after it is open (this will open the comments, so that they will appear at the end of the entry, in the same typeface as the entry)
Scroll to the end of comments
Click on 'post a comment'
Type your message in 'leave a comment'
Type what you see in the 'word verification' and hit 'enter' (sometimes I find it necessary to type it again and again, as Google seems to have some glitches there)
Click on 'name/url' or 'anonymous' and choose the name you wish to be posted under
D.R. moderates all comments, so you will not see your comment immediately (usually posted within a day or so)
(The best way to view an entry and its comments is to bring up the entry, click on the title of the entry, then scroll down and you will automatically see the comments in the same typeface.)
Thanks for trying this for yourself. With love, Kay
Hello to everyone who reads this...please note:
when you are reading an older archived article of these writings and you wish to leave a comment to something you've read, please keep in mind that if you go to the end of the older article and post your comment, it will automatically appear at the end of that article and not at the end of the current one.
If you'd like your contribution/question to be seen and read by people reading the current entry, please post it in the 'comments' there.
And a warm THANK YOU for all the sweet birthday blessings and love you poured on me yesterday. With love, Kay
Marga, your question, as always, is very intriguing. You have a way of articulating questions that make all of us look a little deeper than usual.
It is true that ambition fades as we grow older and more spiritually mature. I have no ambition to do anything, including continuing to write. Yet I get these questions from people, and what else is there for me to do but to respond to them? The Course of Training evolves primarily from the questions most people seem to feel are most important to be answered or clarified. And so in the course we have a handbook for living on the planet Earth, which is the way I see it.
Each of us has a certain dharma, or right action that results in the best interest of all involved, and this dharma is often independent of ambition; it just happens.
Marga, since I have personally experienced you through a Vedic Astrology reading via Skype audio, I can assure you that are you doing your dharma perfectly. Your monthly newsletters are so clear. You offer a true service, which is the greatest blessing.
I know very little about your personal karma, yet I do know that it is all simply stuff running off, another version of the karmic movie, and exists independent of your dharma, which is helping people to understand themselves and their lives in greater and more expanded ways.
Probably, like my writing, this will continue long after you have any real 'ambition' to do it. You don't even have to think of it as something you do. It is more truthful that it simply happens.
I wish I could tell you what great people post comments here, and have posted in this thread, but it would just take too much time. Of course, I don't personally know all people who post here, yet the ones I have gotten to know are such exceptional people. I wish I had the time to share with you what I have come to know about them, as it would deepen your appreciation of our community.
In case anyone wonders, it is up to you whether you consider yourself part of the 'blog community' or not. You can have it either way you like. Some people don't care to be parts of any group, even a subtle one such as ours, and we certainly don't impose anything on anyone. From my perspective, everyone is included and no one is excluded, but that's just the way I see things.
Justin wrote, 'I don't feel that things are getting that much more cleaned up a year in (the course). As a friend, husband, and father I continue to make many of the same mistakes I always have. My life has many of the same issues in it, and even some new ones. Can you tell me a little more about how to get these things in order?'
Justin, what you say is true for all of us. We are never going to be ideal, and our lives will certainly never appear to be ideal in all ways. We will continue making the most stupid mistakes and saying embarrassing things that we have no idea what they came from.
This is just human life happening. The secret is to stop identifying with it and caring about it. Our basic reason for being here is to know, feel, and experience our own true Nature, which is the Reality even when we're being totally off the wall on a personal level.
In the course we explore the 'superficial and superfluous realm of thoughts and emotions' that are part of being a human individual, and come with the incarnation as much as the physical body itself.
Our work is not to get rid of it, improve it, or change it in any way. The true inner work is the present moment awareness of the Self, the pure Awareness of Being.
When we are aware of the Truth, and LIVE in the Truth of the Present Moment, it won't matter what is happening in the realm of karma. It is simply the way the movie of this individual life is manifesting right now. Everything passes except the Witness of all that happens. The seen constantly changes, but the Seer remains eternally the same.
Kaunteya, the same reply applies to your comment.
Jessie, it is always best to focus on your current lesson. If any previous lessons got only one reading, or not enough attention on your part, go back and read them whenever you have the opportunity to do so. There is too much in every lesson for everything to be understood clearly after only one reading. It's not a matter of merely 'knowing' something. It's a matter of how we actually live our life here and now, and this is what the process of rereading each lesson leads to.
If each lesson is read only once, it is certainly better than never reading it at all, yet this is not a true and complete experience of the transformation available through participation in the course by referring to the current lesson as often as possible. This actually changes something on a subtle level, and the results are also experienced physically.
Ghayas, you never have to make a point of telling your family and others of the tradition you were raised in that you no longer share their same beliefs and values.
Do they really pay that much attention to what you do? Couldn't you just 'pretend' to do it for their sake without really getting involved? If you have fear around this it feels like you might be too enmeshed with family and/or past tradition.
Someone raised in the Christian traditional, for example, can continue to share holidays such as Christmas or Easter with their family of origin without making a big point of simply wishing to live in the Truth of the Present Moment.
Maybe I don't fully grasp what you are asking. If this is true, please let me know.
Thanks so much, Ram.
It's reassuring to have a gut feeling I've had confirmed by you. What I'm getting from your response to my question about ambition is that, just like it's possible to have thoughts but not identify with them or focus on them or act on them, it's also possible for ambition to flood the system from time to time but not need to do anything about it. Instead, to see it as more "weather" passing through the cloudless, endless sky.
It's taking some getting used to, doing what I do with no ambition motivating it. It can feel very...um... unsexy. What to do.
I love thinking of the Course as a handbook for living on planet earth. That is very much how I experience it. Thank you for all you do.
Julian said, 'You mention that we are free when we know the unchanging self. In reading this, I initially took it to mean being free from karma. Am I correct?'
Being free certainly includes being free from karma. From a place of freedom we simply watch the karmic movie, unaffected by any of it.
There is a lot more to being free, however. It includes being free from the mind and ego, being free from the past and future and the sense of passing time, being free from the need to improve or make better, being free from identification with this particular person and life, being free from emotional reactions, negative emotions, and so on. There are many aspects to being free. We explore all of them in the lessons of the course via email.
Marga, being 'unsexy' is not one of the ways I would describe you.
I have not been reading the lessons recently (for at least several months) - some not at all, some only once. And, in fact I've not always read all of them over the last 4 years. That puts me behind in understanding, transmission, etc. and I certainly have not imbibed the lessons at this point. I would like to continue, but don't know if you would advise it at this point.
Please advise. What should I do at this point. I can't "catch up." I can perhaps begin again. But where should I begin? Or should I just move forward from the present moment. Or, does the fact that I've not been reading the lessons mean that they have moved forward, but I have not, and therefore I should discontinue at this time? I await your response and your advice.
Rima, I appreciate your honesty. Reading the lessons is the thing to 'do' in the process of experiencing the Course. Many people resist reading them, and especially rereading them, imagining that they already understand the contents after they have already read them once.
The Course is not about a lot of reading. Reading is simply our way of tuning in. You can simply begin now and 'move forward from the present moment.' What else can any of us do, really?
Read my response of July 21 to Jessie. The answer is the same for you. It requires some discipline to refer to the current lesson as often as possible, yet this is the transformative element. The rereading of the lessons expands us inwardly and deepens our understanding. It is not about 'learning' something. It is about being exposed to the energy of the Present Moment.
Thank you so much for your response, Ram. I am humbled in remembering just how much work I still need to do and I feel a bit overwhelmed at this time. For one thing, my pride gets so much in the way sometimes so it's not always easy for me to be grateful to those around me who challenge it. Blah, blah, blah...oh, poor me (LOL). I am grateful to have you as a guide, Ram, and I'm grateful for the Course.
Is it true that I will forget about this incarnation shortly after the last exhalation? Like a dream that I've just woken from and barely remember? I was singing the other day and had this disconcerting experience of being "outside my body" inside my body.
I felt completely dissociated from the act of singing, which was happening on its own with great passion as I watched with cool indifference. Was there a warm feeling of love behind the indifference? Or was this indifferent coolness my natural state, the state of the Perceiver?
Hahaha! I guess 'sexy' is "in the eye of the beholder" as they say, so maybe I ought to "change the prescription of my glasses" as a great being was known to say...
Also, picking up on what Michael said ~ the "cool indifference" he speaks of ~ I too, am very curious to hear what you have to say about this, Ram. This is related to my feeling of a lack of ambition, and the 'unsexiness' of that.
Indifference is a good word for the feeling I have of being in the present moment, not grabbing on to ambition, or expectation, or any sense of what should happen next. In the past when I've encountered this indifference I've quickly buried it, thinking that something was wrong - there's no juice in it, after all. Aren't I here for juice? (Says the limited identity..) It's taking some getting used to, to stop fighting the indifference.
Can we quote and reference lessons after lesson 12 in this blog?
Yes, it is okay to quote and reference any lesson of the Course in the blog comments and even on Facebook. We simply ask that you not share whole lessons with others after Lesson 12 in order to interest them in the Course. If nothing from the first 12 lessons interests them, they are clearly not interested.
Michael, we can remember very little of this incarnation now while we are still in it. We remember details from here and there, but for the most part we have forgotten all about it. Besides, is there anything in the incarnation itself actually worth remembering? The only thing truly worth remembering is the eternal Self.
Your description of yourself while singing reminds me of how I experience writing. I don't know if it's 'cool indifference' so much as it is detachment and dispassion.
Marga, I think you also are confusing indifference with dispassion.
Dear Ram,
Why does grieving for a dead loved one feel so good sometimes? Even though I miss my Father's physicality, grieving feels like a connection to something even more pure than what was when we were physically together. In many ways I think I know him better now than I ever did before. When he comes to me in my dreams it feels like our love for one another is so much stronger. Can you elaborate?
Thank you dearly.
Thank you, Ram - after I read your response there was a split second when I forgot all about this incarnation and was simply present, as a point or node of awareness. It felt cool and peaceful, and I noticed that this was same experience I had while singing. I really appreciate your comparison between singing and writing, which validated and clarified a valuable glimpse of the Truth that I might have disregarded.
Ok, yes - detachment and dispassion. Is that what this is. I remember the word "vairagya" from text chants in my guru's ashram. I don't remember ever consciously (successfully) practicing dispassion, or vairagya. Interesting to now identify it.
Katie Lorah, your question is something near and dear to my heart. I was surprised to see that the day of my father's funeral was one of the most blissful days of my life. There was so much Light present, and a great sense of freedom. I looked at his body in the coffin, and felt his freedom from it, his joy of being back in the subtle realm again.
The physical world is the most difficult realm to feel close in, or to see each other's true nature in. On the subtle realms such things are more immediately obvious. We explore this much more deeply in the course than I can go into here. The topic is vast.
It is very natural to be more attuned to another subtly than was ever possible physically. In the physical body, there are all these karmic restrictions. When the incarnation is over, the restrictions no longer apply.
I also have to work on this one from the other direction. The downside of having a daughter at 50 is that there's no way I can get out of knowing that she'll still be relatively young when I leave this body. And since she was about 6 years old I talked to her about the subtle body and the subtle world, as it is always more substantial and lasting than the physical realm. And I feel that knowing about this subtle connection is very empowering for both of us, as we are prepared to view the eventual transition as a positive happening.
This is turning out to be long. Perhaps I will expand more on this in an upcoming blog entry, or in a new lesson of the Course. There's a lot to go into here for one who sincerely wishes to understand how things work.
I forgot to address the question, 'Why does grieving for a dead loved one feel so good sometimes?'
The answer is because grief, like any other emotion, can be experienced as blissful.
Bliss has no polarity, no opposite. Therefore it pervades and permeates all emotions, as well as everything else, simultaneously. In this way, even when we are experiencing intense grief, we can also be blissful.
Bliss (in Sanskrit--Ananda) is an eternal aspect of our own Self. It never changes or fluctuates, and it is never absent. It is the tandem of the mind and ego to create endless melodramas to experience negative emotions, and such things serve as distractions from the Bliss that is always already present.
Marga, yes, that word, "vairagya" is one that the Guru referred to often. The translation is 'dispassion,' yet the English word does not contain the same depth as 'vairagya.' It is a state that has confused many people, because they worry that they are not so worried about things, and even that they are not as interested in certain things. This loss of interest and concern is a great freedom that allows the inner Self, expressing in and as us, to enjoy this life much more fully.
Anyway, this is the word that most accurately describes what you have been experiencing. It is a good thing, not a bad thing.
Going back over the comments in this thread, I realized I had not responded to one by 'Anonymous,' who wrote:
"The truth that is staring me in the face is the alarming realization that I am a loser, particularly financially. Fortunately, I am on the right lesson that I can keep my sense of humor about this but I really need to change. Any suggestions?"
Yes, two suggestions. One, apply the principles outlined in the lessons, for if they are actually applied, you will not describe yourself in such a limiting way.
Seeing yourself as a financial loser is using the same powerful principle, except you are using it against yourself instead of in a way you might prefer.
We have to realize how powerful our descriptions of ourselves are. They create our image of ourselves and ultimate the reality of our physical life. Therefore it is very important to think only of what we actually want and NEVER of what we don't want. If we think of what we don't want, we use the Creative Power of the Universe to create what we don't want. How out of control is that?
Describe yourself as you want to be. It might take some imagination and discipline, but at least you'd be doing the best you can possibly do.
Thanks for your response. I do sincerely wish to understand how things work and, as a member of this course, I would truly love for there to be a lesson on this topic, and/or a new blog entry.
I must admit that the grieving was process was not always enjoyable for me. I was only 22 when he passed and it has taken years to get where I am now. His death afforded me a great opportunity for inner growth, even if I didn't always recognize it as such. When it first happened I didn't really allow myself to grieve and consequently developed a fear that I would somehow forget him, the way he looked, the way he laughed. But now when I grieve he feels so close to me, and it only gets stronger.
Thank you.
I had barely left my property the other day when I encountered a gov't agent parked dangerously on a blind curve. When I stopped to speak to him he became angry, hostile and belligerent. He threw his card in my window when I indicated I meant to write down his licence. I drove on, but I was shaken and frustrated at his repeated interruptions when I tried to speak civily. I put on a chant and watched how quickly my mind left the drama behind, and returned to a neutral state. As I drove the 30 miles into town I began to plan my phone call to his employer at the assessment office, and that got me thinking about the fellow and where he was coming from. No stranger to anger, I knew his day had probably already started badly before I met him, and I began to recall the teaching to not take it personally. He was an angry man, and I knew exactly how that felt.
I chatted for a half-hour with his employer, who eventually admitted that the fellow was known to get 'quite passionate' in office discussions, but never before with the public. We actually had an interesting and fairly enjoyable discussion about to deal with an angry employee. I told him I fully expected the guy to have a totally different perception of the encounter, coloured by anger, and that I could relate to that, and accept that he would hear a different story from mine.
Nevertheless, when the employer emailed me the next day to say he'd dealt with it, and to apologise for his employee, I got a little "passionate" myself when he outlined the excuses the man gave, and the blame he had heaped on me. Again I dropped it, but it resurfaced while I was exercising, and my mind was just starting to recreate the drama when suddenly the word 'BLAME' leaped up in front of all the other thoughts. It stopped my mind! A moment later, the teachings about the benefits of receiving blame flooded my being, and I began to laugh - and laugh - and laugh! Long, deep laughter, from the belly, from the Heart! A few minutes later, another bout of laughter would arise, then another, and another. When I told a friend about it later, she said, "That guy did you a favour." Because nothing is ever as it appears to be. Later that evening, I came across this in my lesson, " For our exercise these two weeks, let's work on experiencing empathy. Instead of trying to convince another of the fundamental rightness of our own perspective, let's focus all our energies on understanding his perspective, seeing life as he sees it. It is a great exercise for opening the heart."
Lorne, I was reading my earlier comment to you about the Ten Commandments. I would like to expand as follows: My own understanding of Old Testament law is that it sets guidelines for spiritual practice. The same could be said about any other set of "rules", including those set in the Koran or say, any given Christian denomination. Ultimately, what matters is the destination, not the map. You could also have your nose so buried in a map to the point where you don't even notice the journey. You might even pass by other travelers who are using another map, and say that they are using the "wrong" one. One can also be focused on a "destination" whereas perhaps we are already "there". That's why I believe that Love indeed does free us from "the curse". The Kingdom of God lies within.
Thanks very much for your explanation of explaining in lesson 10. It has tied a lot of things together for me. I often find myself saying, you really don't need to explain that to me. I also find myself literally stopped in my tracks by a why or why do you want that to happen. You are right on about the boundaries that can create in a relationship.
I love this focus on the subtle level of being. It feels so good. One way I experienced it was when a friend suddenly landed in hospital for a serious injury. Because I'm not family I wasn't allowed access for a few days. I decided that each time I thought of her I would fill that moment with love. As it happened, there were many such moments for the next few days. When I was able to see her yesterday, we were very close and altho I only had 10 minutes, it was perfect. I learned something about the reality of the subtle plane and how powerful and real the love is.
With love,
I will answer everyone's questions here before I post the August entry, which could be soon.
Lorne asked a bundle of decent questions, including one about the origin of the 'first couple.'
For the life of me I cannot remember back that far. How do we even know it was a single couple? Maybe there were several couples, or couples-to-be, instead of one couple in particular starting everything.
Remember that our Course is 'Living in the Truth of the Present Moment.' Asking questions about the original couple is ultimately only curiosity regarding the past. Knowing the answer would not benefit our inner growth.
Lorne asks, 'Here goes: In Lesson 3 it says and I quote: "The Witness observes: 'This is happening; it's something that happens.' It has no description or judgment regarding it, no opinion about it, no like or dislike concerning it. There is the simple observation of what is….The ultimate goal of the soul is to experience the conscious realization that it is one with and the same as the infinite Being or universal Consciousness, which was never born and will never die, which projects the play of the cosmos upon it own screen of space and time."
Because of my past religious upbringing I have difficulty in understanding this first part where God has no judgment just observes, since God is Love how can He just observe all the difficult and cruel things that are going on in the world?'
Notice, Lorne, how you introduce the concepts of 'difficult' and 'cruel.' We know how things appear, in our own lives and in the lives of others we know, as well as a media that constantly describes the world for us, even offering visual images to make it seem really real.
I would think God's point of view would not be to describe the world of the individual in a negative and limiting way. Who wants an incompetent God who can't do the slightest things? He is capable of more than mediocrity.
We want a God that does everything. And this is what we've got. Relax and enjoy the show--there is 'fine drama' coming your way.
We don't have to 'do' anything except remain lighthearted and loving and appreciating the humor in the appearance of this world. You will find this easier and easier as you go along. In the physical realm in particular, such things 'take time.' Maintain a strong conviction regarding the conclusion, if you know that it is in the best interests of everyone involved to do so. This is dharma. Dharma is living for the whole rather than for the part.
it would be nice if the sakti may use my blog-comments to assist any others! i have more questions than answers as i stroll thru life; i am a walking question. but when it comes to ram, i become silent. as the biblical prophet zephaniah 3:17 put it: "eternity, your source of power, is within you. it bonds upon you with merriment. IT SHUT UP IN GAZING LOVE. its shrieks for you, chanting". so, i merely drops hints to pay heed to this or that he has said. also, i have tried my goggle and my open id to communicate.
it was a great participation in the course that you offered to me by making me aware of the blog!
p.s. one of my favorite christian hymns is "as the deer", whose lyrics remind me of the bengali enraptures siddhas. it goes: "my soul longest after thee...you alone are my heart's desire... to you alone may my spirit yield".
OK, speaking of the first couple, how's this for synchronicity? I just opened my email to my current course, Vol 2, Lesson 20. It's titled "Inner Growth through..." gulp -- of all things, "Relationships". Well, I'm really stoked by this new section of your course. And I congratulate myself for getting all the way here!!!!! That's commitment! I was just about to look for a best book on the subject. My enthusiasm doesn't mean, I've learned, that some contents in this lesson/section won't bug and annoy. But then course buddies, meditation and other subtle level things like dreams will help clarify. The process sometimes reminds me of boot camps I used to attend where the more you interacted with the team, the better it got.
With love,
I'd like to share a few experiences about how the principle of Creative Thought espoused in the Course of Training have brought about a series of highly desirable consequences in my life.
Three years ago I began visualizing the feeling of gratitude and wonder I would have if I had a person who would help me with organizing and planning in my job as Director of Music for a catholic church in Greenville, NC. I steadfastly maintained the feeling and early in 2010, a woman with three degrees in music AND her husband (two degrees in music) appeared and offered their services. Their assistance is monumental and constant.
Two years ago I applied the same principle to getting more people in my choir. This year the choir grew from 20 to 37.
This year I visualized a strong tenor. I felt intense gratitude, knowing that he would arrive at the perfect time, without knowing how. Last Sunday a young couple approached me after Mass with their two young boys. They were both attractive, with bright smiles, and a musical aura. They explained they had just moved from Pennsylvania five days before and were impressed with the music ministry and wanted to join the choir. Jessica has a Masters in Voice Performance, has served as a choir director and accompanist, and Chris put in two years of study in voice. Guess what - he's a tenor.


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I would love to see him win another major title again. He is too talented not too. However, if it is to happen, it is going to be at least 12-18 months from now. As we all know, a lot of people will be fired in 12-18 months in the E'.
Mick Foley takes a licking and keeps on ticking
Carlos Alberto Ramon
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#Legends. #Champions.
Originally Posted by John Cena rapping on Paul Heyman
DON'T kick KENTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1pvcUyC820
DON'T kick KENTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1pvcUyC820
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The Courts, perhaps, but I'm thinking those homes nearest to the main road and overhead LRT rail will not be so happy about it later on. Not yet for now.Originally Posted by AllUrban
I've always been thinking the rail should be along the road further behind next to the industrial area. LRT whizzing to n fro can be quite audible from a far distance and I think. As I said, maybe people aren't quite aware of this possibility.


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text: Johanna from Taloja ja Toiveita (House and Hopes) was head over heels when she laid eyes on a funky, and, of course, expensive, chandelier made out of felt. Johanna recreated the draped look with strips of satin ribbon and a wire lampshade frame (and lots of patience!). By varying the number of loops, you could [...Read More]


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Millions of dollars are being raised in the wake of the deadly Oklahoma tornado.
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States seek to improve how they deliver mental health care: In Georgia, a revamp shows success stories; Connecticut seeks an agreement to better care for children with mental health problems; and in Texas, lawmakers back a diversion program to keep the mentally ill from jail.
(Daily Report) May 21
Long-awaited update of "the psychiatrist's bible" has stirred controversy.
(Daily Report) May 20
A selection of health policy stories from Oklahoma, Texas, California and Massachusetts.
In advance of its release, the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has triggered debate and controversy surrounding the many changes included in this 947-page book.
(Daily Report) May 17
A selection of health policy stories from Texas, Kansas, Georgia, Wisconsin and California.
Check out what's new on KHN's blog, Capsules.
A selection of health policy stories from North Dakota, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Oregon, Oklahoma and North Carolina.
(Daily Report) May 16
This week's articles come from The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Fiscal Times, The Weekly Standard and the New Yorker.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
(Daily Report) May 14
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every time i wair this perfume , may man goes crazy...he love it ... and i go out to work and everyone in my office loves it... clean and strong but not over powering at all. i love this perfume , the other one i love is stroll in the dark from jennifer lopez almost like it and better ....
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List/Grid Tag Archives: Key Ring
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This year's Relay For Life of Marquette University's theme is a super heroes theme: Saving the World One Relay at a Time!
The journey to end cancer starts with a single step. The American Cancer Society invites you to take that step with us by joining the global Relay For Life movement. When you walk to end cancer at a Relay event, it's your opportunity to not only honor cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost, but also to raise awareness about what we can do to stay well from cancer and raise money to help fuel the world's largest walk to end cancer.
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Seeking a new understanding of voodoo
The Religion WorldIn the west African nation of Benin, a voodoo priest has sought to bring the practice of his faith, which goes on mostly behind closed doors, out into the open, according to the New York Times. Many people in Benin practice voodoo, or voudoun, along... -
Benin legend Orchestre Poly-Rythmo premieres 'Pardon'
Pop & HissIf you didn't know any better, you might easily mistake Orchestre Poly-Rythmo's "Cotonou Club," for a long-lost gem from the legendary Benin band's 1970s heyday. In a Wax Poetics interview last year, frontman Vincent Ahehehinnou described his 11-piece... -
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Sign up to win the Fox Rocks Lunchbox! K-Mack announces a new winner every Monday and Thursday at 10am drawn from all entries. We visit the winner at work and deliver the coveted FOX ROCKS LUNCH BOX, filled with great prizes every Tuesday and Friday...Tags: Tuvalu, Antigua and Barbuda, Cyprus, Benin, Syria
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2 Stowaways Arrested on L.A. Container Ship
LOS ANGELES- Two suspected stowaways are under arrest after they were discovered aboard a Los Angeles-bound containership. A joint federal team was called early Sunday to investigate a report of two stowaways on board a container ship en route to the...Tags: Benin, Police Arrests, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, Los Angeles
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Series | Countries | Live Scores | Fixtures | Results | News |
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JM Anderson, JM Bairstow, IR Bell, RS Bopara, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, AN Cook*, ST Finn, C Kieswetter†, EJG Morgan, SR Patel, GP Swann, IJL Trott, CR Woakes |
Australia squad | |
GJ Bailey, MJ Clarke*, XJ Doherty, PJ Forrest, BW Hilfenhaus, DJ Hussey, MG Johnson, B Lee, CJ McKay, JL Pattinson, SPD Smith, MS Wade†, DA Warner, SR Watson |
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in North Bethesda, Ma
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Fun Korean Waves: Culture Language ESL Music Food - DC VA MD
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16 Meetup Groups match "Chinese Speaking" near Annandale, VA
In 2001 I studied Chinese calligraphy at the Smithsonian Resident Associates with an artist from Shanghai. That summer I enrolled in Chinese language courses at the Northern Virginia Community College. I have been studying Chinese ever since. In 2010 I completed a graduate program at the Hopkins- Nanjing Center (HNC). Shortly after I returned to the US I started the Arlington Chinese Corner hoping to meet others in Arlington with similar interests and to find opportunities to keep speaking Chine …
I took over this group to create a forum for Chinese language study and practice at UMd College Park, on campus, nearby campus and other places in DC and MD for exchanging Chinese Language Study. I have been studying Chinese for 10 years and would like to continue to learn with other students and teachers and native speakers who wish to help foreigners learn chinese. I live in Arlington VA, but I have been to college park to visit the confucius institute so hopefully I can schedule events each m …
There are no upcoming Meetups.
Networking opportunities for Chinese young professionals in D.C., and American professionals who want to land a career in China. We do happy hours, meet at places that offer best cuisine, and go group hiking on holidays.
WHAT: Friendship Archway community networking event on 3rd Sundays 12:30PM to 2:30PM You are invited to join Chinese Americans for One City! Join members of the Friendship Archway Alliance to bridge cultural, digital and other divides and strengthen harmony and unity in Washington D.C. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED! Once a month connect with friends, old and new, at this free community event in Chinatown, Downtown Washington D.C.! Meet Chinese, Asian, Pacific Islanders, multi-cultural and people of all …
The Falls Church/NoVA Chinese Language Meetup Group was organized in June 2010 by Si-chi Huang. The purpose of the group is to organize cultural, educational, social function activities, and other shared activities with Chinese as the primary language of communication. This group is open to both native and non-native Chinese speakers. Language learners of all levels are welcomed.
This is the Ni Hao Playgroup. We are based on DC metropolitan area and focused on providing a Chinese-speaking environment in which the kids (and parents) can enjoy speaking/learning Chinese.
Meetup details are available only to members.
This group is to meet other folks interested in the Cantonese/Chinese culture. In this meetup we will do events where people can get to know other people better like dining out. We will try to do events in Virginia, DC, and Maryland. Inactive users will be deleted. Users with too many no shows will also be deleted.
If you have an interest in speaking the Thai language (language of Thailand), join our informal group to learn!!! Each workshop focuses on topics of interest for speaking Thai.....Shopping, Food/Restaurants, Medical, Social, Visiting Thailand with fun activities to reenforce the lessons in each workshop. If you plan to visit Thailand, have Thai relatives or friends, or you have Thai parents and would like to improve your Thai language skills.....this would be a great way to learn. All levels of …
There are no upcoming Meetups.
Meet and mingle with fellow Chinese speakers and learners! Together, we practice speaking Chinese and give Chinese members practice time in English as well. We are a supportive meetup that helps everyone: beginning or advanced, out-going or not.
Meet and mingle with the MCLC Meetup Group fellow Chinese Speakers & Culture Lovers! Come to practice speaking, reading, listening comprehension, and writing in Chinese! If you are interested in learning the Chinese language, exploring Chinese culture, seeking opportunities in China, looking for conversation partners, meeting more friends, or offering help to the others, come to MCLC - the place to be!
Do you occasionally feel inadequat at work or in a relationship? Do you want to talk about issues that face Chinese American women in this area over a glass of wine, or tea? Do you have a favourate book that is about women's work and relationship issues that you would like to share and discuss? Do you want to talk about a meaning movie or documentary that may inspire us al? ... Or do you like girls gathering laughing talking making delicious food together and enjoy it?... if so, come and join u …
There are no upcoming Meetups.
Interested in learning a foreign language? Wondering where you can find Spanish classes? Need someone to practice French with? Want to learn more about Arabic? Or are you just someone you speaks multiple languages who wants to meet other language enthusiasts? Come join us to learn about foreign languages - any language! This group is for people who want to learn, are learning, or teaching a foreign language and want to meet others who are doing the same. We do not limit our group to any one lang …
歡迎您參加DC/MD/VA 台灣聚會! Welcome to the DC/MD/VA Taiwan Meetup! We're a non-political social club in the greater DC Metro area for those who have roots or significant life experience in Taiwan or an overseas Chinese community. Members include native Taiwanese, Chinese-Americans, and some non-Chinese with a connection to Taiwan. We enjoy having local friends who share the spirit of Taiwan! We welcome singles, couples, families...people of all ages! Membership is FREE. Some events may include a …
There are no upcoming Meetups.
Hello and Welcome! We are group of people interested in practicing our foreign language speaking skills. The group meetings take mainly at food locales in Olney, MD. If you speak a foreign language such as Chinese, French, Korean, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Russian or other and would like to practice your conversational skills don't hesitate to join! Here you can come share what you know and learn from others. People from all levels are welcomed! Please take a moment to fill out the qu …
This group is for young Asian professionals or anyone who enjoys being part of the group in their 20s and 30s. If you like dancing, drinking, socializing, going out or love taken pictures, please join and we will keep you update on our monthly plans. We plan happy hours, events and activities in many of DC popular clubs, lounges and locations for people to meet, make new friends and a change to network. This group is open for single, married, new comers, college students, foreign students and an …
There are no upcoming Meetups.
Play Mahjong and Daily Mandarin Conversation, Digital Painting as yourself is a painting master, Reading Club to share our daily reading, Meditation
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A Hopeful Offense
In my neighborhood, there are almost thirty Jewish synagogues. These congregations include Reformed, Orthodox, and Hasidic Judaism. And, of course, our city is full of secular Jews who have long left any traditional form of their faith. So, on any …Read More
Preach the Gospel, and Since It's Necessary, Use Words
There's a popular saying often repeated by Christians. It has found new life on Facebook and Twitter. Maybe you have even uttered these words, commonly at tributed to Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary." I …Read More
The Bible, the Whole Bible, and Nothing but the Bible: An Interview with Eric J. Alexander
Tabletalk: Describe how God first called you to ministry. Eric Alexander: From as early as I can remember, if anyone had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would not have hesitated to answer, "I …Read More
God-Centered Preaching
"People are starving for the greatness of God," observes John Piper, "but most of them would not give this diagnosis of their troubled lives. The majesty of God is an unknown cure. There are far more popular prescriptions on the …Read More
The Origin of Calvinism
Of course, like every other man besides Jesus Christ, John Calvin was imperfect. His renown is not owing to infallibility but to his relentless allegiance to the Scriptures as the Word of God in a day when the Bible had …Read More
The Pastor and the Funeral
The subject I have been asked to write about was one of my greatest fears upon entrance into pastoral ministry. But today I consider it one of my greatest privileges. Why? Because of the historicity and glorious message of the …Read More
Happy Pastors
As the star of the television series Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe suits up and labors in some of the most dirty and dangerous work environments possible. To date, he hasn't tried pastoring. But pastoring qualifies as a dirty job …Read More
An Outpost of Jesus' Kingdom: An Interview with Mark Driscoll
Tabletalk: What do you believe is the ultimate purpose of the church? Mark Driscoll: The biblical marks of the church universally and its expressions locally are many (for example, the Word, sacraments, discipline, discipleship, mission/evangelism, love), but their overarching …Read More
Preaching Christ
The church of the twenty-first century faces many crises. One of the most serious is the crisis of preaching. Widely diverse philosophies of preaching vie for acceptance among contemporary clergy. Some see the sermon as a fireside chat; others, as …Read More
Our Dear Asag, Remember: our abysmal sublimity does not so much want to tear down "godly" ways as to build up his own. From the apex of temptation in the garden to the present, his conspiratorial plot has always been …Read More
Unregrettable, Hard Words
2 Corinthians 7:8–9 "For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it …Read More
Potent Preaching
We don't understand God. What is it about Him that so often leads Him to mute His power, to hide behind the weak and lame? It's not as though He doesn't understand His own power. His Word …Read More
A Literate Ministry
Consider, if you will, how difficult (and sometimes annoying) it is when you encounter computergenerated voice menus when you make telephone calls. The emphasis is almost always on the wrong syllable, the monotonic and a-rhythmic cadence is unnatural, and one …Read More
He Who Has Ears…
Everyone loves a story. Whether young or old, we all enjoy hearing, reading, or seeing a good story unfold. Stories are remarkably powerful things. They stir-up our imaginations and excite our affections. They instruct us and inspire us. They intoxicate …Read More
Too Good to Be True?
In 1935 I was baptized and then raised in one of the largest "mainline" Protestant denominations. But by age twelve I was so disappointed with the pastors sent to us, all preaching the old liberalism so popular in those years …Read More