New Spiritualibus Blog Posts – Excerpts

Know what you know
Look, see what you see
And dare to leave it at that
Free to feel what you feel
Be aware of your being
Conscious of what is
What and who we are
You — and I — and all
Individually one by one
Collectively intertwined
Woven together so close
Like threads in a tapestry
With its front and back
That can differ greatly
Turn the right side up
But know the flip-side
Will reveal connections
Beyond the pretty faces
Wisdom unravels karma
Honesty can work it out
Few words are needed
When action is clear
Ego on lasting leave
To relish the moment
Of present fulfillment
Looking into the eyes
The divine in everyone
And everything that is
Coming our way of life
Sound, light — and love.

“Know what you know” — very and nothing special

Exploring consciousness is observation, not opinion

I realize how confusing descriptions of consciousness can be. You do not have to immediately understand what is being pointed to… Just acknowledge the mystery of consciousness, drop any fixed views you may have about it, and keep practicing.

Different traditions and even different lineages within a tradition describe the experiences of pure awareness and luminous consciousness in their own way and give varying instructions as to how to practice with the experiences. The result is that it can be confusing to you as you try to interpret particular meditative states and figure out what to do next. My advice is to stay focused on your experience, do not try to interpret it, and, above all, beware of feeling as though you are special for having the experience. At the same time, do not deny that you “know what you know.”

Please remember that knowledge brings with it responsibility. One honors knowledge; one does not use it for glorification or exploitation.

“Awakening through the Nine Bodies: Exploring Levels of Consciousness in Meditation” by Phillip Moffitt, p. 34 & 211

No words, but action — a cool setting sun

Why am I still here
After all these years
Given away my status
Asked to be demoted
Let go of all affiliations
Depersonalized divine
Developed an allergy
To any trace of dogma
Purged my scriptures
Of fixed terminology
Revived simple words
Discarded trademarks
Price paid for honesty
So here I am after all
In spiritual freedom
Found by detaching
Letting go of most all
Even what was essential
And helped me stand up
Like scaffolding or staff
Letting go such crutch
No matter how grown
Very close and dear
Time came to stand
On my very own feet
That’s why I am here
Not still, but all now
More real than ever
Answering a quest
Why I am still here

“Embraced in silence” — so close, and yet so far — in memory of Elaine

Why I am staying away from institutions

There once was a man who was a seeker of God. He had traveled the world spending time with deep spiritual teachers of every sort he could find. He sang the 99 names of Allah. And he spent months in silence with Buddhists, Hindus and in Christian monasteries. He danced with Sufis, did vision quests with shamans and trained with Shaolin Monks. Then one day, he heard that were he to climb a certain secret mountain deep in the Hindu Kush, that were he to reach the top, he would meet God and find total enlightenment.

This was a very dangerous quest because the mountain was very remote and was difficult to climb for even the most experienced climbers. But the greatest danger came from the many bandits that always saw spiritual seekers as easy pickings.

The devil heard about this upstart and sent his demon to follow him and report back. The seeker headed up the mountain with the demon not far behind.

It was a difficult climb, but eventually, the seeker made it to the top. Standing at the very top of the mountain, standing on his tippy toes, the seeker reached up, higher and higher… and grasped hold of ultimate truth, met God and became cosmically aware! The seeker now knew all of the secrets of the universe and existence!

Naturally the demon was terrified and ran back to the devil with his report, fearing how his master would react. To his surprise, the devil just leaned back in his chair, yawned and said, “It’s not a problem. I’ll just tempt him to institutionalize it.”

— from the post “Religious Institution” in the blog “A Religion of One” by Reverend Russ

Miracle colors of nature before a surprisingly normal sunrise

Labels enable talk
About what works
And what does not
To find one’s way
In life’s context
Of many realities
Unfolding ever more
Always another step
To find what works
Learning not to claim
One to be the only way
Free of dogmatic chains
Which do tie one down
To a one and only path
In a vast infinity of all
And spiritual freedom
To recognize one’s own
The clear choice of one
Unique and individual
In the relative harmony
Of life, of love, and spirit
The light and the sound
The divine in everyone
As God realizes itself
Every moment anew
Not because but in spite
Of one’s labels and chains
Allowing one to harmonize
By just letting go detached
With eternal compassion
And the love of soul.

“Gently rotating fifth wheel” — a plea for peace

Labels enable talk about many things

Many ancient traditions are going through difficulties in an increasingly secular modern culture that is in great need of spiritual healing to overcome various forms of neurosis, partly developed by the way we live. In part this has to do with the fact that those traditions are still using archaic language and methodologies that don’t resonate with people anymore or are hard to relate to. The forms need to be updated from time to time as they meet a new era.

The mind-blowing popularity of hatha yoga is not an indication of those ancient traditions being alive or well understood by the masses. Yoga is becoming more and more like a fitness exercise imported from India, spreading all over the world after much of its profundity has been stripped off to fit consumerism. This is neither a good nor a bad thing. It’s just what is happening. No doubt that such a trend has many beneficial aspects. There is also a longing among many of us for something deep and profound…

To have more complete healing or spiritual awakening, it’s important to work with subtle dimensions of our own being and to purify psycho-physical karmic habitual patterns that hold us back in invisible chains of pain and suffering… Countless individuals have had life changing epiphanies that might be hard for others to understand. Many of them have profound experiences through Tantric and yogic practices — such as “unblocking the knot of the channels” — in which the body becomes healthier, the mind becomes more wholesome, and a sense of openness develops through which new streams of joy, love, and creativity flow.

— From the foreword by Anam Thubten Rinpoche to “Awakening through the Nine Bodies: Exploring Levels of Consciousness in Meditation” by Phillip Moffitt, pp. IX-X

Once upon a time there was snow