Explanations

i have written my perception on various thoughts i have read and the primary reason i write is so that I will not forget.

reading a sentence somewhere may start a chain reaction which may link passages in other texts and thus i have a train of thought in that instant - but it may slowly fade away like the morning mist; so i try and put it down and give myself the opportunity to review it later and perhaps add a further link into that chain.

reading an "explanation", however, does not remove ignorance. things are still exactly the same after simply reading an explanation. 

and what is ignorance ? is it not just our own apathy towards facing the truth. i have no ignorance of hunger - i know the condition completely and have learnt how to conquer this state of being. so ignorance is not "i have not been taught" but rather "i am turning away from learning"

life is always presenting us with the opportunity to learn. choosing not to do so is ignorance.

all this, of course, happens within the frame work of time and since i am not outside the time stream, i must float along - sometimes right at the very top and sometimes, drudging the muddy bottom.

one must be vigilant, for change is perpetually ongoing. never use "time" as an excuse.  if you know its nature, apply it as an opportunity to be prepared for when the change comes. hence, removing this ignorance is ultimately in your own best interest and while it is natural to do so for primarily material gain, those who are floating at the top of that stream always seem be gazing out at the horizon... what are they looking for ? don't they have it all ? who can explain it to them ?

even then it is not too late. time thrusts forward unceasingly - it is never ever too late.

once you recognize a state of non-comprehension of the "how & why", muster up your courage and seek out the answers. this must be done by you and for  you for none can learn for you. lift your veil of ignorance with the strength of your own wisdom.

understanding of what is True ( That which is not subject to "Time" ) is the slow flame that cooks us to perfection so that we may emerge forth as the delicacy that nature intended : all the varied ingredients merging into a delicious whole.

yet it all seems so daunting : learning !

we get one tube of ointment from the doctor and off we dash to the Net to learn every possible side effect of the drug and within a month of treatment, we are veritable experts regardless of how complex the explanations ..  and all this for a swollen toe.

you can get swept down the river or you can navigate it to some degree and enjoy the expanse that Time shares with you.

either way, there's no getting off this ride for now.

live well.

Petit four

i enjoy reading larger texts and trying to wrap myself around the Consciousness that wraps Itself around me... it's like a child rolling around the bed and getting lost in the voluminous fluffy quilt.

but sometimes, i find seeds of contemplation in the simpler aspects of life.

for those who may wish to share those little flashes, drop by and savor the softer Musings at: http://www.facebook.com/TheIrreverentsMusings

do comment and share your thoughts

live well.

Questions.

" i have a question .. " 

how many times have you uttered these words to a priest or holy man? more importantly, how many times have you listened to the answers ( a good way to gauge would be if you can remember the answer ) and then how many times have you applied the answer to your life : life, not the series of tomorrows to come but the relentless happenings of the right now.

take a moment to ponder. jesus, buddha, krishna - none of them stopped sorrow. sorrow and confusion were in abundance even at their time and has multiplied exponentially since...

so what was their greatness ? 

they had a faith; a system to approach life and they applied that system to their own lives - it is not something they could impose upon anyone so they lived it themselves and as it worked, they tried to share their faith or knowledge with those around them out of their sheer love of humanity and creation as a whole.

but how many listened ?

yes, i may quote the bible or gita or any other venerable text but those are just words - if i speak them without the fragrance of truth emanating from my life then those words are merely propaganda - they simply add to the chaos.

so what's the answer? in fact, where does the question stem from?

if you are aware you are confused, it must be a immediate awareness - you cannot ask a question based on a future emotion or frame of mind - you perceive your current state of mind instantaneously. hence, if you are open to the answer - having put aside your own barriers of prejudice and ego - the antidote to your sorrow must also be applied to your immediate happenings, the sum of which equate to your life, and from this application, a Truth is discovered within yourself - a revelation !

listen, ponder, adopt, live and discover the glory of the christ way of life, the buddha way of life, the krishna way of life...

Truth cannot be given to you. there are no answers to your questions.

it is only in the living of the Truth that all questions are finally laid to rest.

live well.

Recognize

it was a good day.  i paid my eyes $2,000 for showing me a morning rainbow. i paid my legs $3,500 for getting me to and from work and the rest of my body earned $9,300 for its share of the day's labour.

doesn't sound right ?  isn't that the way you interact with your body and the services it provides you ?

strange... yet that is how we view every other transaction, every other act ( noble or otherwise ).

yes, even with noble acts we anticipate a deposit into our "good deeds" account - a definite payout due to us at some future date - all of us keep accounts with the Universe.

tragically, this very consideration wraps the noose of time tighter around our being.  

ponder : we declare a belief in "God" who is accepted to be beyond time and space and yet with every breath in which we barter our actions against future gain, we are imprinting a time stamp on our continued existence ... the two seem to be an antithesis of each other ... how does one bask in the Timeless when we are constantly cementing our being into the very fabric of time itself ?

yet we must all act ... quite a quandary - what are we missing ?

perhaps it is our failure to recognize the Universal Principle that binds the cosmos together; that Force is accepted to be Eternal and all Pervasive which would indicate that nothing is really ours - our very existence is borrowed from That ( as is the rest of creation ) and hence, as with our body parts, we are to act in harmony with all other aspects of the universe with no expectation of payment, reward or merit - we do it because we are an expression of that One Existence just as our legs take the rest of our body where it wishes to be.

recognize the Universal in the particular and then act... to the extent this recognition takes hold in your psyche, to that extent shall you be at peace for your essence gradually falls into synchronicity with the Source of all ( within which even this expression of "you" exists )

live well.

Clichés

the self help religion seems to be gathering momentum; we read the best sellers, you-tube the talks and google the sites so reverently...

the irony, of course, is that we keep looking outwards for someone to help us without wishing to lift a finger to help ourselves!  an odd self help technique indeed... a twisted belief that simply reading something will make it so.

we wish to change inside; stop the pain, empower our being, raise our consciousness but all through an immersion in the external phenomena of researching the miracle-method of the month.

the magnificent phrases and cliches that roll off silvered tongues are truly to be admired. but how do those magic catch words intrinsically help us ?  

even a caterpillar knows it has to first withdraw itself totally from the external, spend some time in silence and then emerge, resplendent and transformed ... how is it, that after reading, watching and hearing so much, we refuse to do the same - our rush outwards is unceasing and ever accelerating towards an ultimate frustration that engulfs us in a stupor of  self pity until we start all over again with a new "system" ; pinning all our hopes of redemption on a new secret revealed..

when viewed from the vantage point of serenity and wisdom, those who KNOW have laid out the path in every age... there simply is no new way, merely the correct understanding in contemporary times of what it takes to walk the road that has already been so lovingly paved in anticipation of your arrival.

align yourself to something that stirs you, live it, surrender to it, be devoted to it without compromise - merge your being into its essence.

if perfection is what you seek, only you can find it.

live well.

Who, What, Where ...

ever feel like you're not sure whether you're coming or going ? or even why you continue doing all the things that seemed so important when you started and now simply don't .. 

all that time gone, all that energy spent and yet somehow, you feel like you haven't moved at all... like a fly suspended in amber.

sure, you may have more things; wealth, homes, status and so many friends... now you are "somebody" .. yet, somehow, you wonder... does anyone know the real me?  do i ?

in truth, who am i ?

what did i really want out of life ? did i find it or did i try to obscure it with my self-imposed value system on the things that i did find instead ? 

did i look in the right places... did i even know where to look for what i did not know i wanted through this  person called "me" whom i do not even know ?

wow - what a mess !

but that's not me, you say. what's the touchstone ? it's really very simple... are you happy? not a sometimes happy, not a "i'm in a good mood" happy - the happy, blissful, continuous peace that you long for but are painfully aware you lack.

now, naturally, the question presents itself.. so where do i go from here ?

well, as with most pursuits that have gone off-track... you need to go back to the basics ! re-visit the Who? What? Where? and if the search is sincere, the How? will present itself...

life has a way of presenting crossroads... which path you choose to take is yours alone...

live well.

Internal Vs External

"look within" : how many times has someone said that to you ?

what exactly are they referring to ? and given the expanse of the universe vs the tiny me contained with my 5 foot 10 framework, wouldn't it be more logical to look for whatever it is i am seeking out there ?

unfortunately, the outside ( relatively speaking ) will always be conditioned or governed by its primary elemental factors.. it simply cannot function past its nature and will always be limited as such. if we were to seek anything in such an arena, the result of our efforts would, thus, also confined to the outer limits of its intrinsic conditioning - just as a pet on a leash can only wander as far as the length of the leash would permit.

what about this "inside" ? 

ever try to communicate with yourself while you are dreaming ?  can the you, lying in bed, step into your dream and have a little heart to heart with the you who is having a bad day in the dream world .. no ? 

everyone dreams, and yet you cannot communicate within your own distinct levels of consciousness which you experience intimately every night; so how does one tap into an "inside" that most have no experience of whatsoever, add to which our ongoing surge outward constantly repels us ever further away from that core, within which, all we truly seek is already contained.

the fallacy lies in our perception : we see the two as distinct and exclusive - yet the source is One. every wave contains the ocean's water.  

alter your perception so that this One is recognized in everything we experience. as the "outside" is bathed with the waters of singularity, we start to truly see that one is merely a reflection of the other.

ultimately we comprehend that our mind is our personal hall of mirrors - if dissipated and frantic, we get lost in the mutilated visions "outside";  but, if we train ourselves to be centered in silence ( KNOWING there is nothing other than That )  and then allow that which IS to simply fill our being - we automatically exist as we are "inside" - Infinite and Non-Dual.

so look within, and make your world beautiful. 

live well.