Meditation and Non Duality

A week and a half ago, I was on a radio show out of Charlotte, NC. You can listen to it here.

This recording generated a number of questions sent to my email.  Below is a conversation that seemed particularly beneficial.

Question and Comment: “I listened to it early this morning before work and I’ve been thinking about the exchange all day, in between bouts of awareness, of course. I’m left with the overall impression that it doesn’t really matter what the outward appearance of my life may be or how I behave, just as long as I am in the moment and fully aware, I am serving the One Oneness. Am I getting it? Mr. Brusque didn’t think meditation mattered and that’s how I sometimes feel, too. Anyway, I just felt like letting you know that I found the radio chat thought-provoking. Life sometimes feels completely meaningless to me and sometimes a very cruel game, but I’m still here enjoying Nature and waiting for formlessness to reclaim “me.” I appreciated your analogy of dancing as a practice. I love to dance!”

Response: “Yes, it doesn’t really matter the outward appearance, however, it does help to have a life at least somewhat acceptable to your current manifestation, and one that is of benefit to humanity and the environment.

Yes, being the Oneness and also being appropriate, not driven by compulsions or aversions. is how you know your on the right track.

Yes, I have occasionally thought meditation doesn’t matter, so I can see both perspectives, however, what I have found through experience is that meditation is a lot like taking a shower.  If you just do it, once a day, your consciousness is cleaner and it’s easier to know that oneness.  Just like when a person is clean, they are less likely to get sick or infections.

Remember a time when you felt refreshed and well rested, and how you could handle so much more, vs. being tired and cranky and how the littlest thing irritated you. To take the analogy a step further, think of people you’ve know who don’t care much about cleanliness…they often stink, and while they are ok with it, it can be hard to tolerate!  Think of all the people who could care less about being mentally or psychologically “showered”, they can be rude, depressed, mean, impatient and annoying…often hard to tolerate.  Yet, as I have found, having been one of those people, all that changes, by an occasional meditation “shower”.

Meditation has a profound effect on the nervous system and the hormonal system, which helps people be more refreshed and happier (as much as they can be, without being silly) which allows them to function in a more peaceful way.  It may not make you smile all the time, as some people say, but you will understand more and have more inner peace, and the cruel game of life, will be seen with detachment as just that.   It is also possible, the cruelty will no longer be there, as it gets cleaned out of your inner psyche and consciousness.

The problem most people have is they either put TOO much stock in meditation, or not enough.  They don’t understand the balance.  Most people like either/or and don’t accept the possibility that both sides have merit and can be integrated, which is the best way to do it.

If the “be here now” people would be here now, once a day in meditation too, and the constant “you must meditate every day” people, would “be here now” more often when not meditating, we would see more harmony everywhere.

Yes, I too often feel the meaningless of life.  But it is not for us to find meaning, it is for us to create it.  We are not to know what life is for, but simply what life is.  What it is “for” is up to us.

As for waiting for the formless to reclaim you, you will be waiting a long time.  Even if you die, you will temporarily lose body consciousness, but will quickly identify with another body, or another dream scape.  This is another thing that most people miss about meditation, if they would practice it as the yogis intended, people can learn to reclaim formlessness at will.  Meditation sets up the stage for us to explore and identify with the formless. Then, no matter where we are, we can experience the formless in form, and vice versa.

So I would say, meditate once a day, just like you would take a shower.  In time, it becomes enjoyable, and once you can easily internalize your awareness, you can then dive into the formless, or at least learn to feel it out and experience it.  Think of meditation as a skill, and not something special.  The more conscious attention you put to the skill, the better you get it at.  Then you don’t have to wait for the formless, because you’ve learned to dance between form and formless!

Is it easy.  Yes.

Does it take a long time.  I would say so.

I’ve been practicing every day for 12 years, between 1-3 hours a day.

Do I always like it?  No.  But remember, as Stephen King would say “Inspiration is for amateurs.”

It has eventually turned into an experience, such as getting in a nice refreshing, relaxing hot bath.  So I look forward to it.

Is it worth it.  Yes.”

So You Want to Be Enlightened Part 2

Two or three newsletters back I began a series called “So You Want to Be Enlightened”.  This was of interest to me, because, being in the counsel and spiritual growth field, you hear a lot of strange ideas of what it is like and how the process works.  My goal was to give basic information that is accurate and useful.

This is part 2 of that series, and I hope you enjoy it.  I discuss the role of “Craving” as being the prime suspect in causing us problems in life, blurring our ability to know our naturally enlightened state, and also being a problem that causes most of the problems in the world at large. Through simple shifts of view point and helpful recommendations you can begin to make consistent progress in your own realization of enlightenment.

We’ve Left the Dark Age, Believe it?

According to Swami Sri Yukteswar, we are at least 200 years beyond the Dark Age, or the Kali Yuga, and at least 200 years into the Electric Age, the second age on the way to a fully enlightened society.  Of course, there would be 2,200 years left into this second age, but isn’t it amazing what we’ve accomplished so far?  In only, 200 years…

If you doubt, check out this talk.

Self Inquiry Talk Part 2

“God’s Grace is always free.  It’s the rest you have to pay for.”

Desire and Intention Setting

I was recently asked, via email: “I need some clarification on intention setting.  Let’s say I set an intention.  What do I do with the desire aspect?  The wanting aspect?”

Response: “The desire and the wanting are not important, or at least, they are only important in the beginning.  They are just there as a signal to say, pay attention to this. Once you get the message you don’t have to keep replaying it. Intention setting is just like planting seeds or ordering food at a restaurant.  The initial “inspiration” or desire arises.  You feel good that you want to order some pasta, or that you want to plant a rose garden.  Now you know what you want.  Next all you have to do is create the plan.  Order the food from the server, or get out your tools till the earth and plant the flowers, per the directions. Then that’s it.  More than likely the food is going to come, and the flowers are going to grow.  As you’ve seen, in past experience when you place an order or plant a seed.  There is no need to obsess or focus on the desire, as again, that is only the messaging system to get you to take notice.

After you take notice, you take appropriate action, and let the results be what they may.

Of course the more experience you get, the better the possibility of each successive success will be!”

Why Seeing the Best in Others and Expecting the Best of All Possible Outcomes Changes Your Life

We are creatures of habit. Our choices are habitual.  Our thoughts arise and fall by habit. The people we choose to socialize with is based on habit. The foods we eat, the moods we feel, the health we have, is all, 97% of the time, based on habit.

All of these habits, create our life experience, and they reveal the expansiveness (or smallness) of our conscious awareness.  How is that so? Well, our consciousness awareness is either free to make choices based on the reality of the moment, or it is confined to repeat conditioned behaviors, we have either been taught, or we allowed to persist by not exploring other options.  The more freedom you have in the moment, the larger your conscious awareness.  The less freedom you have, to choose something other than a habitual reaction, the smaller your conscious awareness.

Often times, what we expect from other people or situations, does not arise from anything more than our habitual thoughts about those people and situations.

I’m sure most of you have heard this idea before, and have tried to change your life experience by changing your thoughts about your self, others and situations, and have been frustrated to find that it didn’t work very well.  Then you lost sight of the truth, that your experience is a clear reflection of how identified you are with a particular way of being, and you fell back into your habitual consciousness, and experienced the same things again.

The problem was not the application of the principle, that your expectations color your experiences, it was that you didn’t understand how much effort you have put into getting where you are now, and you underestimated what was required to make the change.

When you are prone to identifying with depression, anger, anxiety, poor finances, poor health, or any other negative attribute, that state feels natural and easy. When you try to think positively, or feel that you can take care of your self financially, or that your health can be strong and vital, it may feel like a “crock of crap”.  You don’t believe it.  Because up to this point, your experiences have definitely shown you that the “reality” is that you are unhealthy, unhappy, and prone to unenjoyable relationships.   That is because you have allowed your self the habit of experiencing that particular reality over, and over, and over, and over again, so much so that it feels fixed and stuck, and not matter what you try to do it never changes.  The thought that it can never change is just testimony to how often you have engaged in that habit.

There is a lot of effort, time and force behind habits that seem impossible to change.  That is like energy.  Just as in science, to stop an object from moving forward, you have to apply an equal and opposite amount of energy just to stop it!  Now to get it rolling in the other direction, you have to add even more force!

What is a good place to start to change your life, now that you know the mechanics of your situation?  The best place to start is to start seeing the best in others.  See beyond the personality you are used to seeing, and wish and feel for everyone, that they are happy, fulfilled, and self aware. You can only truly experience happiness in and with others, if you have nurtured the ability to experience that within your self. You can only feel fulfilled in and with others, if you have cultivated that feeling within your self.  By seeing self awareness in others, you are seeing that they too have the ability to expand their consciousness and not act out of habit, but out of freedom in the present moment. Then you increase that ability within your self.

It may be that circumstances change very little in the beginning of this practice, but that is to be expected, as you have just, only now, decided to direct your energy in a different direction, and so it will take time and consistency to continue building more momentum and energy in this new direction, until a shift occurs, when your present efforts have equaled and then overcome the habits of your past.  Then you build on the positive momentum and your life begins to fall into place as you have wanted it to for so long. In this way, you realize your freedom, that you are a being, not of circumstance, but of your own creation. And that is a very liberating thought indeed.

You want certain areas of your life to be different?  Admit how you have thought about those areas before.  When it comes to work, service, finances or health, really take a moment to admit what your attitude has been towards those areas.  Knowing that is what your past habits (attitudes, thoughts, choices, actions) have created, now decide what you would really like to experience.  And start seeing the best of all possible outcomes in every area of your life.  No matter how fake it feels.  Continue seeing and feeling the best of all possible outcomes, until the best of all possible outcomes feels as real as the negativity used to be.  Then you will find that your pessimism or negativity actually feels fake and silly.

See the best possible outcomes for other people first, if that is easier. The more you do this, the more you change your inner view of your self, because once again, you cannot see it for someone else unless it’s possible in you first.

Begin daily in your meditation, spend 5 minutes every day, doing your best to see and feel the best possible out come for others.  Pay attention during your daily life, and if someone experiences good fortune, acknowledge it, and feel good for them.  If someone is experiencing frustration or something troubling, look beyond that habit (that you both have), and see a timely and fulfilling resolution to the experience.  The more time and attention you put to this practice, the stronger it becomes, and then your energy is auspicious, fulfilling and illuminating.

This is an often overlooked process, that is one of the main pillars to your happiness and well being.

Another important pillar of change, is acting differently based on your different attitudes and thoughts.  You act the way you do, because of how you think.  Support the change of attitude and your new change in thinking and how you see the world, by acting as if those thoughts were true for you. Then your actions support your inner change, and your inner change will also support your actions.

Example 1 :  By feeling and thinking I am healthy and happy and vibrantly alive, you would also go out for a job or do some yoga and enjoy it, because that is what people who feel that way do.

Example 2: By feeling and thinking I have good healthy relationships, you will ignore people who are pessimistic and tiresome, yet be compassionate, as you now know that is just your habit, and you will find circles that are uplifting and positive and working for the good of humanity, because that is what healthy minded people do.

Example 3: By thinking and feeling that you are spiritually awake and aware, you will meditate every day, working to feel a sense of joy and surrender as you practice, and you will do your best to live the loving principles of your chosen spiritual path, as that is what a spiritually aware and awake person does.

Example 4: By thinking and feeling that you have good financial health, you will avoid wasting money on frivolous things, you will happily engage in work that pays your bills, and you will save a portion of your income, feeling good about your ability to manage money well, because that is what a financially healthy person does.

When you think about doing these things, you may not initially like the idea of what is required, because that is your habit.  It’s just your habit.  Are you your habit?  Do you just want to be a ball of habits, cravings and unfulfilled desires?  Or do you want to have freedom and a life you can feel good about?

I know you have the potential to change. I see you joyfully undertaking the challenge to be what is best for you and the world. It is a challenge, and one that is quite fulfilling once begun.

What’s the Point?

A month or so ago, a mood passed through my evening.  It wasn’t a terrible one.  As I’ve grown, meditated, and kept my eye open, I’ve moved quite a ways from the depression and that was common in youth.  Yet, every now and again, my contemplations can turn a bit hopeless, however, interesting things happen when that occurs now.  There is a presence that responds to that passing memory of past mental habits, with an answer.

During that evening, I laid down to sleep, and internalized my attention.  I looked around my internal landscape, and was paying attention to all the beliefs that I held from other people, in regards to having “achieved” something in life.  And I thought to my self, “really is this all there is?”

After several minutes of believing other peoples ideas about money, fame, perfection, I became acutely aware of my body.  I became aware of the trillions of processes, and interactions that were occurring, all in harmony, just so I could have the opportunity to experience life. Down to the minutest detail of what kind of organization and intelligence it takes, just to animate a human body so consciousness can experience every day, completely obliterated any moodiness.  I also then felt and realized that this was not even revealing the complexities just to enable one single human mind to function sensibly, and there over 7 billion minds on the planet, and seemingly infinite varieties of bodies (animal, plant, human and other) all existing beyond mental comprehension!  And here I was asking, “Is this all there is!?”

I felt a smile cross my face and a warmth in my chest, and the next thought was, “what else does there need to be!”

The following video, further illustrates this point, in a way, that my words cannot…

 

Changing Bad Habits

How to Stop a Bad Habit

Healthy Habits are Good For Everyone.

Habits are neither good nor bad. Some habits help us feel alive and happy, such as the habit that encourages us to take a walk once a day, or the habit of meditating before we go to sleep at night. Other habits can cause us difficulty, such as the habit of getting angry too often, or the habit of eating fatty sugary foods.  Our life experiences are full of habits, and when the life enhancing habits outweigh the destructive habits, we are closer to living a happy fulfilled life.

The first step in changing our habits is to be honest with our selves about what we want to experience in this lifetime. Maybe you enjoy smoking, or sleeping in late, or not exercising. Maybe being angry makes you feel powerful, or being pessimistic and sad makes you feel smugly self important. Maybe that feels good and comforting to you on some level. Maybe, out of habit, you are used to it and can’t imagine what it would be like to be different. Maybe that’s all you want out of life. That’s fine. Just admit it and be at peace.

Or maybe, you want to feel energetic, and happy, and optimistic. Maybe you want to accomplish a certain thing, such as writing a novel, making a good salary, mastering an art form, or being able to volunteer your time for charities. And maybe you don’t know how right now. You don’t know how, because all of your habits up to this point have not been supportive of your intentions.

When changing our life habits, the best way to do it, is not to focus on one individual habit and try to force your self to change. The best way to do it, is to have a vision of what you want to experience, and then take stock of your habits to see if they are directing you towards the actualization of that vision.  While, it’s still not always easy, its much more effective if you are working to change your experience rather than singling out one habit and try to force it out of your consciousness without a proper context to rally your energy to make it happen.  Other wise, it seems like you are simply punishing your self for doing something you seemingly enjoy.

Here are a few examples:

You enjoy smoking.  You find it relaxing and soothing. However, you notice that you are developing chronic phlegm, higher blood pressure, and your heart doesn’t feel as strong as it used to.

Ineffective Option 1: You can try to force your self to stop smoking. And every time you have a cigarette, you say to your self, “I really need to quit doing this thing I enjoy, because it’s bad for me.”  You will probably continue to smoke, while strengthening the idea you are killing your self, by affirming how bad it is for you, thus creating a self fulfilling prophecy.  Why would you do that to your self?

More effective Option 2: Instead of focusing on the act of smoking, you begin to wonder what you’d like your life to be like.

You realize you are a parent, and you’d like to be healthy and happy to give your kids the best role model.  You realize you’d like to live a long time, to see your kids grow up, and you don’t want to be a burden on them when you are old, or have them have to make the decision to take you off the breathing machine that is keeping you alive.

You remember how good it felt, to be able to hike for hours and enjoy picnics without panting or feeling like you can’t breathe.

You know you would save a lot of money, by not buying cigarettes, and by not needing to go to the doctor so often, and you could quit complaining about how you can’t take your wife or husband out to eat because you are broke.

Now every time you smoke you can ask your self, “Is this temporary pleasure worth it?  Or do I really want to be strong, fit, healthy for my self and my family?”  Hopefully, your sense of values are strong enough that you can bear the temporary discomfort of giving up smoking, for the greater good.  Can you go beyond your own immediate dependency?  Can you expand your consciousness to take into consideration how this one simple act you repeat often is contributing in a major way to your future life circumstance and the life circumstances of those around you?

This could be applied to any health promoting habit from diet, to dependency, to exercise. Have a reason to start a good habit, and the bad habit will fall away easier.  Focus on living, not punishing your self.

Spiritually Speaking…

Spiritually speaking, maybe you have the habit of over eating, sleeping in late, staying up to late, and or watching too much TV.  All of these can get in the way of an effective meditation practice.

Meditating in a chair is just fine. Keep your back straight and your head up!

Overeating can tax your bodies vital forces and make you dull and lethargic.  Effective meditation occurs when we are energized and alert, yet relaxed into the process.

Staying up or sleeping too late, can interfere with the bodies chemistry and make us confused and interfere with our ability to concentrate. Meditation works well, when we are able to sit still, and almost effortlessly flow our attention to our chosen object of meditation, be it God, Light, Love, or Self Knowledge.

Too much Television or Internet surfing or too much of any kind of entertainment (including excessive socialization and talking) fills our consciousness up with useless images and ideas, which may take longer to digest and process. When we sit to meditate, depending on how much stuff we have on our minds (based on how much stuff we mentally ingested), can influence how long it takes to experience a therapeutic meditative state.  Once the ripples on the surface have stilled, then we can see the light in the water. All that entertainment and over thinking, can create choppy waters, and it’s all based on how much we have to process, how much we’ve ingested mentally.

Again, self honesty is helpful.

Do you really want to understand what it means to be enlightened, spiritually speaking?  Do you really want to know the peace that passeth understanding?  Or do you just like the idea of being a spiritual person? If you like the idea, then you will go through the motions of trying to meditate every day, but you won’t address the habits that get in the way of having an effective meditation practice.

Now, look at your life.  You decide you do want to be at peace.  You do want to know what you are, beyond name and form, and you do want to understand what all of those spiritual masters have realized.  Then compare your habits. Don’t stop the habit, because you know it’s bad for you. Stop it because it’s not giving you the support you need to experience what you want. Then consider what habits (probably the opposite of what you are already doing) will contribute to what you want to experience.

Remember habits are just habits. They are as strong as you make them, by indulging in them, and repeating them. If you have trouble starting good habits, it’s because you haven’t been practicing, or haven’t found the proper motivation that really inspires you. Take your time.  Be honest with your self, and choose what you want. Then choose the habits that support it, until they are as natural as the bad habits once were.

Then you may find, that the desire to smoke is just a memory.  The craving to watch television falls away, and you’d prefer to go for a walk, because you’ve experienced the enjoyment, the strength that walking gives to your body, and how it calms your mind.  You go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier to meditate, and you see that you are happier throughout the day, and think more clearly, and you feel like you are a part of something larger than your self.  Now that you have had the experience, you actively choose the habits that support your ideal.  You are doing this all of the time anyway, so why not claim your life, and choose to use your habits positively, rather than let them rule you.

New Years Resolutions 2012

Courtesy of the Brevard Yoga Newsletter:

It’s a yogic paradox. At the dawn of the New Year, many of us will choose a path to better ourselves.  Using our highest qualities of insight, we choose what aspects of ourselves are ripe for change.  We embark, courageously towards a better version of ourselves by deciding what is adding to our growth and what is taking us away from it.  At first glance, we are supremely in tune with the re-mastered song of our dance.  We are humble as beginners.  And then, we notice, as we pass our reflection in that storefront window, or stare down with our all-knowing eyes and all-giving hands that, Shoot, we look goooood,’ or, perhaps we do so much good, like, waaaay more than anyone else ever does.
Ironically, the ego loves self-improvement.  That’s part of the reason we are so attracted to New Year’s resolutions.  And, for those on the path to union, encouraging the ego to become more than it used to be, king-like even, could easily become a little distracting.  So, could you be just as happy that your best friend lost 10 pounds or quit smoking before you did? Could you lay down your efforts at the foot of your family, your community or the Divine without adding the jewels to your own crown?  Can you imagine winning your marathon and then laying your medal at the feet of a stranger in a wheelchair at the finish line?  That kind of inner resolve would really be worth celebrating.
Whether we fail or suceed, being mindful as we approach these new intersections of choice becomes the real challenge of our New Year’s resolution.  Dealing consciously with the inflation brought by our success, or the deflation caused by our failures, should be more than a footnote on the page of our intention.  It’s important that one’s success does not enable their judgement of others, and that one’s failure does not land them in a puddle of self-loathing.  Instead, we can choose compassion for ourselves and others.  The journey is the destination.
In Sanskrit, the word for ego is ahamkara, literally, the “I maker.”   Resolutions help us see ourselves, our egos, and they may create a new self-image, a stronger sense of ‘I’.  ‘I’ stands by itself, ’I’ stands for ‘individual’, ‘in divide’ or ‘in duality’.  That’s the paradox.  Can we improve upon ourselves, not to create separateness but to instill union?  Buddhist teachers attest that the ego is like an apparent puddle in the middle of a desert-dry highway.  It’s an illusion.  Swami Muktananda said that our real ego problem is that our ego’s aren’t big enough.  He said that we identify with our limited self when what we really should idedntify with is the pure awareness, power, and love that lives at the heart of everything.  It’s not that you aren’t special, it’s that everybody is fabulously special.  So, resolve to improve upon yourself with an attitude of teamwork.  Whether you beat your best friend to your goal or they beat you, be equally happy, for everyone else is another face of You.

Knowledge that Liberates Consciousness

This morning, as I read the latest issue of Truth Journal, a publication put out by Center of Spiritual Awareness, I came across the following statement on page 8.

“To have accurate knowledge of our true nature and Ultimate Reality, neither arduous, costly travels to distant destination nor long discussions with philosophers or sages are necessary. We only have to be informed about it once from a reliable source, learn how to allow our innate knowledge of it be unveiled and Self-revealed,  and skillfully do what we need to do.”  -Roy Eugene Davis