People have many diverse motivations in life. Some strive to make money. Others are devoted to mastering a musical instrument. Some aspire to higher and higher levels of education. Some are dedicated to certain principles, that is to say their beliefs regarding being in the right as much as possible. Still others focus on accomplishing whatever task may be at hand.
But after it is all said and done, there is one thing that brings more fulfillment regarding how you live your life than anything else. That, quite simply, is how other people feel about you. Do they respect you as a person?
The odd thing about all this is that that most fulfilling aspect of your life is very simple to attain… yes indeed, very, very simple. The only problem is that people do not have their attention there. They focus more on motivations such as the ones listed above. That is done at the expense of gaining the respect, love, and good feelings of others. Simply making a habit of keeping your finger on the pulse of how others are feeling about you is the simple yet profound key to it all. And even more amazing is that you do not have to always do it perfectly. Mistakes in this regard are not really a problem. You have only to do your best to correct the mistake and move forward. And the correction need not be a dramatic act. A simple acknowledgement is usually quite enough. That in fact, will gain you more respect than if the mistake was never made in the first place. You may think the acknowledgement is a swallowing of your pride or and undermining of your stature, but in truth, it is exactly the opposite.
I encourage you to just try it. Go ahead and focus on whatever task is at hand, but keep your finger on the pulse of how your actions are compelling people to feel about you as a person and do your best to make that a very positive feeling. You will find that in doing so, whatever the task at hand may be, you will be more successful in the accomplishment of it. At the same time, over and above the accomplishment of the task, you will find greater fulfillment in life.
It is really all so simple. Just do the Surya Ram Meditation as instructed and keep you finger on that pulse of respect. Respecting others is the key to attaining their respect and love, is the key to success in whatever task you may embark upon, and is the key to fulfillment in a life well lived.
One final point: It is not so much about how you behave when everything is wonderful and everybody is getting along that gains the respect of others. It is more about how you behave during conflicts or disagreements. Do you just try to prove your point, make yourself right, or make the other wrong? Do you stonewall any perspective or feeling other than your own? Or are you working with the relationship in a manner that will gain the respect and appreciation of others. Never forget that this is how you gain your own self-respect and appreciation. Never forget that you have not won over a person, just because you have silenced them.
Real conflict resolution, and I mean resolution within your own heart and mind, comes not from winning an argument, but instead it comes from winning the respect of others.
The following quote is true in all fields of life… politically, philosophically, socially, morally, economically, and so on. The field of spirituality is no exception. Like a reed blowing from side to side in the wind, society swings like a pendulum through varying degrees of perception of truth.
Though all things are rooted in Truth, few see the Truth underlying all things. Yet people cling to their current notions of truth. This is the way of the world.
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” – George Orwell
We are in the process of finding a suitable video camera for the online live video of the temple at Mount Soma. It should be up and running before too long. Thanks for your patience.
Like all children learning to play a musical instrument, my daughter gets frustrated when she has to play the scales. At such times, with frustration, she decides she doesn’t want to play piano anymore.
Playing piano is an art. It is learned through practice. Even if you are enlightened, it doesn’t mean you are a good pianist. It requires practice.
Perhaps the most challenging art in all of life is dealing with people. It takes practice. Frustration is part of that process. Like children with music, adults often feel inclined to give up on learning the art of dealing with people. They would prefer to live in a bubble, isolated from the world. This is just like the ostrich burying his head in the sand. The ostrich may think that makes him safe, but in truth, it makes the ostrich more susceptible to danger.
The simple truth is that life is all about people. Your ability to deal with people directly affects the degree to which you are successful in life. Success in this regard is measured on all levels: personal fulfillment, financial success, happiness, the list goes on. The sooner you accept that and dedicate yourself to cultivating the art of dealing with people, the better off you will be. As with playing the scales, you will become frustrated. You will hit the wrong note many times, but practice makes perfect.
I offer many tools to assist you in the process. It takes time to learn those tools, but learning them is just the beginning. You must practice their application over and over again. You are not just learning to play a musical instrument here. You are embarking upon the greatest challenge of life, second only to the attainment of enlightenment.
All of the confusion, superstition and distortions around the notion of God have lead people to deny the existence of God. I do not believe in the distortions, superstitions and confused notions either.
Do you believe in science? Science tells us there is a unified field… one thing out of which all things are born and all things are in their essence. Just assign the name “God” to that one thing. Then, if you do not believe in God, you do not believe in science. Of course, the scientific understanding of the unified field is still in its infancy. As you deepen your understanding of that Unified Field, you will deepen your understanding of God. As a physics and math major in undergraduate school, the son of an electrical engineer, and the brother of a PhD in physics, what I discovered in my rational approach to that understanding opened me to remarkable realizations.
To the rationalists out there, I do not ask you to abandon your rationality. I ask you to use it to investigate that rational sequence for yourself. It may well test your own affinity to dogma, though you may currently not think of it as dogma.
Perhaps you prefer to not even consider this. The choice is yours but the potential is enormous.
Every chain has its weakest link. When the psychology is stressed, aspects of the physiology are stressed, and vice versa. During those times, the psyche crumbles into the weakest link of its chain, which we call the Psychophysiological Addiction.
“Addiction” is the right word. It is a habit. For some people, it’s fear. For others, it may be anger, depression, sadness, feeling hurt, not wanted, not appreciated, not liked, rejected, and so on. You would do well to know your Psychophysiological Addiction. If you’re not sure, in all likelihood, your friends and loved ones can tell you.
The power of its grip is not to be underestimated. During those times, it is your world view. Everything that happens is perceived in a manner that justifies it, that proves it, that confirms its perspective is truth. It is very difficult for a person to see past it. It is an addiction as powerful as an addiction to a drug or any bad habit. Everyone knows how difficult it can be to break a bad habit. It is even more difficult to do so when it is self-justifying.
You have an idea what it takes to break a bad habit. Use those resources to move past your Psychophysiological Addiction. At the same time, don’t judge yourself along the way. Breaking a bad habit is a process. Awareness of your Psychophysiological Addiction is a huge first step well begun, half done. The other half requires tenacity and courage, self-honesty, and humility. In a sense, this is not so much about getting rid of it, as much as it is cultivating a healthy relationship with it which entails first seeing it and then working with it constructively.
Be gentle with yourself, but be tenacious.
Some speak of enlightenment as a state of non-attachment. However, the state of non-attachment is generally misunderstood as an outward state of no material possessions or affinities. That is not correct. Such non-attachment on the surface of life is more a personality trait than an attribute of enlightenment.
There certainly is the state of being where you are eternally awake to that which is the source of all that is… one with all that is. On that level, you need not cling to (be attached to) anything because you are already one with it. You do not desire something when you already have it. However, the surface of your life is still active on the level of duality… separation. On that level, desires still exist.
“Cross realm projection” means taking the laws of nature on one level and trying to project them upon another level where they are simply not valid. That type of error is the source of the notion of no desire or attachment on the surface of life. It is nonsense. Enlightened people still love their families. They still have desires. They are still compelled to act, for example, out of their desire to help others. However, they are also simultaneously awake to the level of their being that is eternally one with everything… non-attached… desire-less.
The Law of Subtraction, in the deepest sense, refers to your depth being overshadowed by less and less. The Sun shines forth more and more as the clouds are subtracted away. On the more relativistic (i.e. more dualistic or superficial) levels of life, the Law of Subtraction means the discarding of unhealthy habits, addictions, lifestyles, etc. Slowly your life is lived more in harmony with your true nature. In so doing joy, happiness, fulfillment etc. are experienced more and more fully. This sort of distinction (between how laws of nature apply differently to the depth and the surface) is critical in many areas of life.
Do not forget the concept of “Cross realm projection.” You will see it come up many times in your life in one form or another. Non-attachment (freedom from desire) is just one example. I invite you to post other examples in your comments to this blog.
Do not forget the Law of Subtraction and how it applies differently to different levels of life.
Do not forget the distinction between non-attachment on the surface as opposed the depth of life.
Do not forget this explanation of desirelessness… what it is and what it is not.
The Sun within is always shining. It need only be revealed to each and every level of your being in a manner unique to each level.
As opposed to adding, take away. Continue doing so until all that is left is essence, truth. Neti, neti, neti… not that, not that, not that… until the only thing left is no-thing-ness… pure ‘is-ness’… pure consciousness…pure Being… the source of pure Knowledge… the home of all Knowledge. Thereby, you come to know the One… who and what it is you truly are… Divine. Thereby, you come to know what is useful and what is not.
When asked what I teach, tell them, “The Law of Subtraction.”
The world of spirituality has been shrouded in a garb of mysticism, dogma, laws, rules, and pomp. No wonder so many today are rejecting it. The wheat has been lost to the chaff. The Truth of who and what you are has been buried beneath the indoctrination of lifetimes… conditioning, programming, samskara. Information must be used to free you, not to overtake you. How unfortunate: However well intended, so much beautiful spiritual knowledge has been distorted and misused to overtake people instead of emancipating them. After all, it is called spiritual emancipation for a reason!
Truth is not attained. It is revealed… uncovered. It is already there within you. Nothing need be added. It need only be found within. You merely subtract away this and that and that until your own inner wisdom is uncovered. This is the real purpose of spiritual doctrines and teachings… to awaken you to what is already there within you. I use spiritual texts to reveal what lies beyond all texts. When asked what I teach, tell them the Law of Subtraction. I take away, I unencumber, I free, until you are left with essence, the grandeur of your own being… the Divine, the Truth. This is called true spiritual teaching… the Law of Subtraction. It is an art. It is a science. The diamond is perfected by chipping away and polishing. Nothing is added. There is only to be taken away.
I was asked the following question:
I feel I need a sense of ego to get me moving in a direction. A feeling of deserving, with my back straight and ready to face the day. But then I tell myself it is a lie, that it is just ego and I become deflated. My question is without a false sense of self, what makes you feel worthy or motivated?
To which I respond:
The answer to your question lies in the question: “What is it that motivated you to ask this?” It is a sense of Self. Your relationship with your Self is one of doubt… but the Self shines through anyway in the form of this question. You are well intended. That is the Self shining through. Doubts merely dance around it, like clouds around the sun. What a wonder that something so ethereal as a cloud can seem to shroud the almighty sun.
Life is all about your relationship with all things in life. Know your relationship with the Self for whatever it is. Then you come to understand it. Then you evolve it. That is an organic, i.e. a natural, process. Meditation and reflection move it along much more quickly. You are doing well. But do not try to turn an apple into an orange. The humility of your relationship with your Divinity is a thing of beauty. No need to judge it harshly. Embrace it, not only for what it is, but also for what it will naturally blossom into.
The Truth about Religion and Flatlining
