As we continue the construction of the Somanath Temple at Mount Soma, we thought it would be nice to show some images of the Temple and Mount Soma that have been taken over the past few years.
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We will continue to update this portfolio as Mount Soma continues to grow.
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When we say we’re beyond science and we’re just going to be one with God so we don’t want to talk about consciousness in terms of science—two things happen.
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First we go into denial of a big part of the way our physiology functions and has been conditioned to function.
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Secondly, the notion of God is merely an echo until the greater physiology is capable of maintaining a lively connection with the transcendental level in its awareness.
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One way to define God is to say that God is a personified value of that transcendental realm. Or it may be better to say that the transcendental realm is the objective perspective of God. Take your pick. The point is that if you can’t hold that transcendental value in your being and you start talking about God then you’re talking about some astral echo or whatever it is your physiology can maintain. Everything just becomes emotional and all you end up doing is reinforcing that level of your being over all the others, throwing off the integration of all the levels.
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It’s the sticky universe at work. In the name of becoming one with God you become more stuck, more blocked from becoming one with God.
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Human evolution isn’t about being in denial of the self-interacting dynamic of existence and what it manifests. Human evolution is about being able to function in all of that dynamic without losing your identity to it.
Understand another by finding that person within yourself and exploring from there.
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Morality is based in subtle principles of nature. We access those principles by refining the finest fabric of our own being and sensing what resides within us. This enables us to live in harmony with our own nature.
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Human nature finds its unification with all of nature, all of existence, within the transcendent. By living in harmony with our nature we live in harmony with all of nature. We further our evolution, happiness, and fulfillment. We become beacons of morality for all of society.
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Throughout the ages, moral rules of conduct have been formulated based upon the behavior of evolved people. These rules have been passed down from generation to generation to support and uphold humanity, and have become revered as time-tested codes of conduct.
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But nature cycles. As nature cycles, the laws of nature cycle as well. We live in a time when many look at the ancient codes of moral conduct and shake their heads. They point out rules that make no sense in modern times and feel they have no alternative but to reject the dated rules altogether. Our rapid-paced, fast-changing society has lost moral maturity.
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When we look for guidance, responsible custodians of moral wisdom are difficult to find. Many of the ancient teachings are clearly from another age, for another people. In today’s society the benefits of pursuing a moral life are obscured by our spiritual immaturity and short term, material interests.
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The seemingly amoral phase we are in is a normal stage in the process of change. The lack of spiritual clarity and moral base will inspire deep thinkers to come forward and breathe new life into our world. New understandings will be established that will assist this generation and future generations to live a life consistent with our evolving nature and with the nature of existence.
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The process is, after all, eternally dynamic. We discover, uphold, and move past social conventions. The wisdom that dwells in our hearts is our guiding light.
Sometimes life feels like we’ve been sloshed around in a washing machine. Sooner or later life contrives to pry our fingers off the reality we’ve been clinging to and leaves us in free-fall, feeling lost and devastated. We call it divorce or getting fired or mid-life crisis. We wind up in the abyss, the void, the unknown or whatever your present perspective would like to call it.
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When this happens Mother Nature is teaching us a lesson about herself. It’s frightening but at the same time we are learning to let go of identity with a single reality. It’s not simply an intellectual process any more than playing the violin comes from an intellectual understanding of music.
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We are compelled to let go of each new-found reality one by one until we don’t feel it necessary to hang on so tightly any longer. We learn to move freely from one reality to the next as the moment calls for.
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Eventually we realize that life is not made of a single pie-in-the-sky ultimate reality.
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The process can feel threatening and be uncomfortable at times. It’s the churning process of life.
I saw a Marine recruiting commercial that basically said, “Commit to something greater than yourself.”
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In actuality, they are appealing to the longing within all people that calls out, “Commit to something greater than the personality level. Commit to the divinity that you are.”
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Why is that so difficult? Because it is Kali Yuga – The Age of Ignorance.
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Know that the rewards you can reap are beyond comprehension.
Navigating the waters of life is not a simplistic matter.
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Cookbook approaches birth narrow living.
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The more you embrace the abstract nature of life,
the more fulfilling your life becomes.
I received the following email and thought you might get some chuckles from it.
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A Paraprosdokian (from Greek “παρα-“, meaning “beyond” and “προσδοκία”, meaning “expectation”) is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.
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Some Paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.
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• I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
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• Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
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• I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
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• Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
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• The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on the list.
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• Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
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• If I agreed with you we’d both be wrong.
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• We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
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• War does not determine who is right – only who is left.
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• Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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• The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
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• Evening news is where they begin with ‘Good evening’, and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.
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• To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
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• A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.
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• How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
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• Some people are like Slinkies … not really good for anything, but you can’t help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.
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• Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
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• I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted pay checks.
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• A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don’t need it.
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• Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says “If an emergency, notify:” I put “DOCTOR”.
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• I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
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• I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with “Guess” on it… so I said “Implants?”
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• Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
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• Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
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• Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America ?
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• Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
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• A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
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• You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
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• The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
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• Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.
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• A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.
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• Hospitality: making your guests feel like they’re at home, even if you wish they were.
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• Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
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• I discovered I scream the same way whether I’m about to be devoured by or seaweed touches my foot.
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• Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
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• There’s a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can’t get away.
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• I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not sure.
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• I always take life with a grain of salt, plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.
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• When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
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• You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
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• To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
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• Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.
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• Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever.
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• A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.
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• If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?
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• Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
The “Wheel of Karma” is based upon a Buddhist concept. It translates into replacing one identity with another one in the pursuit of finding the “ice-cream-cone-in-the-sky-reality” that will do it for you.
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EXERCISE: See how The Wheel of Karma has played out in your life:
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• Think back to what your identities were like in kindergarten, in elementary school, then in high school, during your college years and/or when you first hit the job market, maybe in different relationships or in your marriage…
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• Describe your different identities.
(Come up with at least 3 examples, more is even better)
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• Feel into the different milestones of your life and notice how the identities you aspired to have changed over time.
We live in an age where we can pick up a book of the teaching of some enlightened Master and, after an afternoon’s reading, decide we get all that he is saying. This is called the I-get-it Syndrome. It keeps you stuck.
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We function from our conditioning. Our life experiences condition our awareness and feelings to function a certain way. What we think is mostly a function of how we have been conditioned to think. What we feel is mostly a function of how we have been conditioned to feel. So, when you read the teachings of a great enlightened Master, you perceive onto them and say, “Oh yeah, I get that.” The teachings are viewed through your conditioning.
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Thereby, the Master’s words are heard on a superficial level.
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We decide that we understand something simply because we intellectually understand it.
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In that manner, Knowledge is lost. True knowledge is found as one awakens to one’s inner essence. Knowledge does not come from out to in.
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True Knowledge is attained from within and radiates out.
The Truth about Religion and Flatlining
