“A Blank Piece Of Paper…”

Intentionally blank pages at the end of a book. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Archivin’ it! This was one of my first posts – I was definitely channeling some wisdom from somewhere for this one. It was originally titled, “I Wish.”

 

I wish that I had something profound to write about at this very moment, but I’m just not feeling it. That’s the nature of being a writer – writing beckons you, even when you don’t think you have anything to say. A blank page is an intimidating, and yet compellingly beautiful thing. It patiently waits for your words, and has the great decency not to point out what a load of blather you just coughed up. Can you imagine such a thing playing out that way among humans? A perfectly reasonable appearing adult walks up and throws up all over you, and says, “Thank you. I needed to unload that someplace, and you look like the perfect spot for it.” No, that wouldn’t end well; there aren’t many “blank pieces of paper” walking among us. We would take that personally, (at least I probably would). But not a blank piece of paper, (or computer monitor). It makes no judgment, because receiving the thoughts, words, feelings and emotions of others – without any judgment – is what it is designed to do.

Hmmm…now I must return to the first sentence of this post and declare it to be a falsehood. In fact, it was only true for two more sentences, and then something profound began to “come forth.”  I started writing this blog entry a mere twenty minutes ago, with absolutely no idea of any subject to expound upon, and by simply “thinking on paper,” a powerful analogy that describes the essence of what the Spirit, the “Self” [capital "S"], the Christ Consciousness, the Buddha, FILL IN THE BLANK , would have us be, quietly slipped up from my deepest Self and made its way to the page. Wow…heady stuff!

The ultimate goal of our spiritual walk is to become a “blank piece of paper:” to attain the realization that we are here in this physical form for no other purpose than to experience, without judgment, what is presented before us; to move beyond the subjective evaluations of what is “good” and “bad” that our environment has conditioned us to believe; to be pure awareness – which is what we have always been and have failed to realize. There would only be ONE thing, ONE energy, radiating from one who has attained such a realization, who is a human “blank piece of paper” – and that is pure, Divine love.

But, there are precious few who are willing to let go of their attachments. There are precious few who realize, or even wish to consider, that love in its highest form has no element of a need to “possess” anything or anyone, or make any judgment. I certainly can make no claim to be such a one who has fully realized this truth. I am no “blank piece of paper” by any stretch. Nevertheless, I DO set about the work of attaining that full realization every day: to merge with the Divine within, to rest in the love and bliss that is all that remains when you “erase” the conditions that you, (with the media’s help), have established to be happy.

I encourage my students to write every chance that they get, no matter if they think that they “have anything to say” or not. In my book, I phrased it this way: “Writing is an outlet for you and a conduit for God. You need to do it. It is that important.” This post, which started as “nothing,” and ended with great power, is a perfect example of that phenomenon coming to pass – yet again. Write, write, write! The world needs the wisdom that is locked within you.

Many blessings to all…

Rising Hawk

“Time To Pull Some Weeds…”

English: The moment of revealing four noble truths by buddha 2600 years ago to 1st 5 disciples. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What is a “diseased” thought? Here are a few examples:

Fear.

Unhappiness.

Negative expectation or anxiety about the future.

Doubt.

Anger.

Envy.

Being judgmental of yourself or others.

Hatred.

. . . There are many others. Have you ever had any of those?

Well, unless you’re the Christ, have reached a Buddha state or some other form of what people like to call “enlightenment,” the answer is obvious – of course you have. Maybe you’re having some right now. What did you do, or are you currently doing, with those thoughts?

Thankfully, even though the media keeps us constantly aware of any and every heinous crime that they can find, most folks do not go on killing sprees in response to any hatred or anger that they feel. More often, they will explode verbally or, there are those who compartmentalize these thoughts and feelings in a little room in their brain and lock them up. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Wrong. None of the above reactions to a “diseased thought” will do anything to reduce the damage that this mental “disease” will do to YOU. Zachary T. Bercovitz, M.D. had this to say:

“Some patients I see are actually draining into their bodies the diseased thoughts of their minds.”

That’s bad.

Sure, in cases of simple irritation, blowing off some steam may temporarily relieve the pressure, but all of these thoughts have ROOTS.

So, metaphorically speaking, even if you clip off the top of the plant, it will grow back unless you pull it up by the roots. And pulling up diseased thoughts by the roots is the ONLY way to keep them from growing back again and again, continuing to rudely express themselves in your life. They will either express themselves outwardly, or they will grow inwardly – which is the “draining into the body” to which Dr. Bercovitz was making reference. When that happens, they manifest as mental and physical ailments and fatigue. Next stop – the family doctor.

You get some pills to “cure” the manifested symptoms, but the root of the plant remains. Time to get out your gardening gloves and begin pulling up some diseased thoughts. Get them out of your mental garden and give the most powerful tree that exists – unconditional love – some room to grow.

It won’t be easy; your ego thrives on having lots of “positions” to cling to, and is convinced that your survival depends on not giving them up. The mind will fight. But, there is no other task that you could set your hand and heart to accomplish that will more dramatically and positively alter every aspect of your existence.

To reach the state of UNCONDITIONAL love is the only true “enlightenment” that means anything.

Many Blessings To All…

Rising Hawk

“I Didn’t Say It Wasn’t TRUE…”

Divinity (Photo credit: Dimitri N.)

The story is alive and well.

What story?

It doesn’t really matter . . . just pick one. I am referring to religions and spiritual paths.

ALL of the major religions, (and most of the lesser one’s, too), had their beginnings in stories that were written long before you and I ever took form in our current body. For all intents and purposes, all of it is nothing more than mythology.

Now, don’t get mad or indignant . . . I’m just pointing out that your God did not sit down and write the story through which you came to know Him/Her/It. The power of the God you know was a bright, shining seed of truth that came along, and then volumes of written material was built around this seed after the power was no longer walking and teaching among us; that doesn’t necessarily make it untrue. Mythology, invariably, has some basis in truth, even if only vaguely, through the expression of larger archetypes that influence our experience of life.

Did Jesus exist? I believe that He did. But know this; He didn’t write a single, solitary word about His life or what He thought. All that we know of Him was recorded, years after His death, by others. I don’t know where you come from, or who you know, but it is a fact that humans sometimes “spin” things in ways that suit their agenda. Again, I AM NOT saying that this occurred in your religion – there is no way that I could know that – but one would be wise to keep this in mind. The exclusion of the role of women in many male-dominated scriptures ought to be a red-flag for any thinking person.

The same is true of the Buddha. He never wrote a single word of his philosophy for anyone to follow; others wrote down what they recalled him saying – and there is a lot of writing that conflicts with other writings, just as in the Bible. I’m only scratching the surface, here.

What about the Druids? They were an oral culture – they made a point of not recording their beliefs and rituals in writing – it had to be memorized. We have no writings from ancient Druids regarding their truths – most of what we know about them comes from the writings of Julius Caesar. And frankly, he was more than a bit of a villain himself, so I would be hesitant to take his word as unbiased and true. After all, he was perfectly OK with feeding Christians and slaves by the thousands to lions in the Coliseum for sport, and he somehow found the ritual sacrifice of a human as abhorrent; an odd dichotomy of morals and ideals to say the least.

And what of shamans and “medicine men” of myriad and diverse, indigenous cultures, effectively wielding power from visions and oral transmissions from those that preceded them in the role.

Throughout the history of mankind, “Gods” and “Goddesses” have been added and subtracted, denigrated and revered, yet the power has NEVER changed. All of these myths are based around some kernel of truth – some gem of eternal wisdom – one that many spend their lives trying to get to; reaching for that singular truth.

Drum roll please . . . this is the part where you might expect me to reveal what I believe to be that “kernel of truth.” Well, that isn’t going to happen, because I don’t know.

What I DO know is this: there is a great power, available to you and me, whatever “myth” we have chosen as our personal touchstone for knowing Divinity. Miracles happen, people are healed in ceremonies, things happen every day that can only be attributed to something greater than all of us.

But there is one, common denominator for those who live in and experience this power, (via whatever story to which they have chosen to hitch their wagon), or were brought up to believe, and that is FAITH.

No matter the house that you choose to play in . . . whatever or Whoever you envision Divinity to be, He/She/It appears to respond to that, ONE thing – FAITH.

I could write for hours about this if I wasn’t so tired – and so inadequate, at times, to express the “cathedral-sized” concepts that the unseen power that we know as God places in my head.

As I always do, I will ask you to do one thing – meditate upon what I have said, and see what is given unto you.

Many Blessings To All…

LOTD

“A Bloody Business…”

You cannot stop hate with hate, and you cannot stop violence with violence, and you cannot bring anxiety to an end by worrying over a solution. If you possess any knowledge of the teachings of great spiritual masters, you have already heard this. This begs the question, then, why the “warlike” imagery that is now the header of this blog? That is a fair question.

It is there because I have sat down with people who desire peace in their lives, and have found that I had to wage “war” on well entrenched ideas that were in direct opposition to their stated goal. This is done with love and patience – but that does not mean it is a “clean” affair. These ideas – these powerful, controlling, and limiting perspectives – do not simply go away because you ask them nicely. These are the fierce “dragons” that I have written of in an earlier post [http://risinghawk.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/the-dragon-lord/].

No, believe it or not, the ego can be quite attached to these negative and harmful positions. Meditation practice is often the recommended route to escape from these clinging and determined dragons. I am not in disagreement with meditation and its ultimate value; in fact, I encourage it – be it awareness meditation, mantra meditation, [particularly the powerful Sanskrit, Shakti mantras, which I teach], or focus meditation, or basic breathing techniques. All of that comes with a caveat, though. Go ahead and give it a try, and watch what happens.

The dragons don’t go away; you will find yourself distracted, frustrated, uncomfortable and, after a while of what seems like a no-win endeavor, you may even become despondent of ever succeeding in finding that elusive peace. In mantra meditation, some of the more powerful Sanskrit mantras can even seem to send you in the opposite direction as they accomplish their cleansing and aligning work. To practice long enough, to stick with it, is a WAR with the dragons of your mind. If anyone tells you differently, I would consider them to be a fool or a liar. It required years of the Buddha’s life to reach the place of peace, where the dragons were dispatched and his mind was free, and he battled and suffered greatly during the process. Enlightenment, or whatever term you wish to use is, metaphorically speaking, a bloody business.

Most people don’t have the stomach for the battle, or the patience to see it through, or to even start for that matter. If you wish to be free, you must take up the sword, and the enemy is your very own mind.

Achieving peace within one’s own self is not a journey for the weak. It requires tremendous courage and determination. You must be willing to pick up the sword and hack away at many of the ego positions that you have come to hold dear.

I will say again that I am speaking metaphorically, but you will fight no greater battle in your life than the one to clear your mind of the dragons that soar through the recesses of your gray matter, belching flame and carrying messages of doom and fear.  They are quite real in their world, and that world is the realm of your thoughts. Do you have the courage to enter into that darkness and fight your way through to the light?

Such journeys are less perilous with a guide, and the power that is Gawain of the Coire, a veteran of many battles, is here to assist you if you so desire. This entity has power available that can bring clarity and light your path – and singe the tails of many a dragon. The sooner you begin the battle in earnest, the sooner you shall be free.

Many Blessings To All…

Gawain of the Coire

“The Tricky ‘End-Around’ Play…”

Why do I do what I do?

Why do I spend my time developing, devising, and teaching people methods to “attain” that which is already present?

I often ask myself this question. The entire premise seems ridiculous when viewed as I just described it. And “What is he talking about,” you may ask.

The term for it that is often kicked around is “enlightenment.” This word conjures up images of half-naked sages in mountain caves, or wise ones in flowing robes, and a whole litany of associated notions. Just for the record, the outward appearance and the actual state itself are not related – at all.

If you come across a half-naked sage throwing dust on his head, or a man or woman in a saffron-colored robe with a bald head, or a person in some other form of “priestly” attire, or a very spiritual tile, you are looking at an advertisement.

I do not mean that to be taken in the often negative connotation of capitalist commercialism, (though that may sometimes be the case). What I mean is that these people are outwardly presenting the fact that they have a story to tell – specifically, about how they “discovered” what was never missing, how it changed their experience of life in a positive way, and maybe how what they learned could help you, too.

Personally, I find myself less and less interested in the idea of “enlightenment” when it comes to sharing and teaching. I AM enlightened…and so are you. The very moment that we take the position of wishing to attain the state, we “lose” it: You get caught in the trap of looking for something that isn’t missing. But there is a challenge. Although you are enlightened, that fact may very well be hidden from you from the master of illusion – your brain.

This is what ALL of the teachings about “enlightenment,” or finding true and lasting deep peace, or being the embodiment of compassion, and so forth, are designed to address. We need a method of “getting around” our brain and selfish egos – and they play AMAZING defense.

You see, if you aren’t worried about anything, and have no expectations, no fear of death or rejection, and move through life without a care – totally at peace with the ebb and flow of existence – well, your ego does not like that at all.

I can recall when I first “realized” a glimpse of this state. The very first, (and immediate), words that arose in my mind were, “I have to re-think everything about my life now!” And that was quickly followed by a panicked, “You can’t do this!”

What is your brain going to do if you aren’t worrying – if you aren’t thinking everything to death? How can you relate to anyone or anything if the precious “identity” that you have worked so hard to build is no longer valid? What happens when you “die” to self, (as Jesus, Buddha, and practically every other spiritual giant has taught us we must do in order to see God)?  I have the answer to those questions: nothing changes except your perspective. All of your interactions are filled with…peace…and Divine love…and compassion.

So, I teach methods to manage that tricky “end-around” play against a stubborn and relentless defense. And I do this in an effort to end the mental suffering and anguish that so many put themselves through every day. And your realization of that dynamic peace will spread like wildfire into every nook and cranny of your existence.

There is nothing to attain – but that “nothing” is hidden from many. My desire is to bring the light into those shadows, and to watch every sentient being break their self-imposed chains and fly free.

Many Blessings To All…