The challenge we often find is that of being a fish out of water. And this is a thing for which to be thankful; the opportunity to practice in real time. Our prayer should not be that we are always submerged, but that we become amphibious, adaptable to whatever the day brings, whatever the Universe presents. Further, that we may recognize that the Universe didn't create any of this willy-nilly, independently of us. The Universe that we experience without is in large part an expression of the Universe within. Further still, there really is no within or without independent of each other. There is only this and we are as much screen as we are the projection as we are the viewer. There is no separation in reality, only in degree. We have to open the channel, clear the way for expression, put pen to paper and let it flow. The flow is informative, providing clarity. It comes from on-high, which is nothing less than a deeper portal of our own psyche, which again is not something that exists independently within a Universe, but is an individualized expression of all that Universe implies with all potential contained, intently awaiting actualization. Practice is simply alignment. Form is irrelevant.
Image: The Transformation of St. Ignatius. The University of Scranton
The challenge we often find is that of being a fish out of water. And this is a thing for which to be thankful; the opportunity to practice in real time. Our prayer should not be that we are always submerged, but that we become amphibious, adaptable to whatever the day brings, whatever the Universe presents. Further, that we may recognize that the Universe didn't create any of this willy-nilly, independently of us. The Universe that we experience without is in large part an expression of the Universe within. Further still, there really is no within or without independent of each other. There is only this and we are as much screen as we are the projection as we are the viewer. There is no separation in reality, only in degree. We have to open the channel, clear the way for expression, put pen to paper and let it flow. The flow is informative, providing clarity. It comes from on-high, which is nothing less than a deeper portal of our own psyche, which again is not something that exists independently within a Universe, but is an individualized expression of all that Universe implies with all potential contained, intently awaiting actualization. Practice is simply alignment. Form is irrelevant.
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I have been considering my practice lately. I appreciate all my teachers, all the traditions I have experienced, the lessons I have learned or am still contemplating. However, I honor true simplicity and honesty more than anything. I am fortunate that my teachers have emphasized simplicity and practical application in their teaching. These may be the hardest concepts to share, but the most important just the same. So I am grateful when I find someone who clearly says what I can't seem to formulate myself. There are times when I hear or read something that totally speaks my mind, in a way much better than I could have articulated myself. The following transcript is just such a thing: "So yes, get to know the eternal essence of Being, but don't turn it into a philosophy you preach: go be it and then live it naturally in the world. Express yourself and follow your dreams and intuition. Don't tame your free Spirit with a mind full of spirituality." The Rest "It is simply an illusion to think that there is some final posture or state of mind that you will achieve one day that will give you lasting peace and all your toils will be over. The illusion of a final success or reward is as unreal and unattainable as finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
The crux of yoga is to give your all to courting the impossible, to freely enter into solving puzzles that have no easy or quick solution. You do this not because you love frustration or failure but because there truly are no final or explicitly tangible answers to basic questions about what constitutes mastery or finality in a posture. Postulate questions and then enter into research to find answers to those questions. Contemplate possibilities and allow your self the space to put those possibilities into play. Entertain puzzles and work to find skillful and intelligent solutions to those puzzles. By working this way you understand you are not your body. You are not your thoughts. You were never born. You will never die. You are consciousness." David Garrigues On the monitor before us, cryptic fragments of source code flash by. While earthly physicists still struggle to find a unified mathematical framework for all phenomena—the No Man’s Sky equivalent already exists. Before us are the laws of nature for an entire cosmos in 600,000 lines “Whatever is around you,” Murray mused, “it actually doesn't matter whether it exists or not, because even the things you don’t see are still going about their business. Creatures on a distant planet that nobody has ever visited are drinking from a watering hole or falling asleep because they’re following a formula that determines where they go and what they do; we just don’t run the formula for a place until we get there.” ‘What are the chances that we’re living in a simulation?’ The programmer considered the thought before offering a hedge. “My answer,” he said, “was basically that, even if it is a simulation, it’s a good simulation, so we shouldn’t question it. I’m working on my dream game, for instance. I’m more happy than I am sad. Whoever is running the simulation must be smarter than I am, and since they’ve created a nice one, then presumably they are benevolent and want good things for me.” THE REST OF THE STORY |
AuthorRodney J Owen CategoriesArchives
June 2024
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