If you were at class in SF, please take a moment to add a comment about one or two of the most impactful, interesting, or important points that came up or experiences you had over the long weekend.
As I reflect on the three days, I feel there were many things that came up that would be valuable to share, not only for people who have been to other classes, but also for those that have never attended a class and wonder what they are like.
“Your direction, not your intention, determines your destination.” – Anonymous
I remember as a kid being inspired by a short essay Emerson wrote about circles. Every culture is a circle with a high and low end. Every religion is a circle. Every ethnic group is a circle… even every individual. There is no end to circles. Even the horizon goes around 360 degrees to form a circle.
All too often when generalizing about people, focus is placed upon the low end of the circle, as if that defines the entire individual or group. Implying this is demeaning, damaging and misleading.
Why not focus on the high end of every circle, but not blindly focused. That would be called denial. But lean in the direction of moving every individual, subculture, culture, nation, and all of humanity forward in the direction of the high end of the circle. This is called evolution. Proper discernment is of course, as with all things, essential.
Stringing crises together with moments of quiet trepidation between and calling that life is no way to live. It is as if everything is viewed as unstable and ready to pop at any moment. Periods of fear and worry between one turmoil and then the next.
Time to make the shift.
Imagine a life of contentment… stability. An inner knowing that all is well. Satisfaction. Knowing that there is a solid base that supports and sustains you day after day with an even keel. You are secure. Your life is supported. Your life works.
Walk through your day with confidence in this. What you feel you radiate. It permeates the walls and furniture in your home. It overtakes the clothing you wear.
What you expect is what you create.
Expect Happiness.
Evolution is a journey, not an epiphany.
Truth is not a concept, rule, idea, law, principle or notion.
Enlightenment comes through a lifestyle, not an excursion.
Your karma lies within you, mostly as your thoughts and your emotions.
Spirituality is not emotional indulgence.
Spirituality is not intellectual derivation.
You can justify anything with the intellect, and people do.
The depth of life is simple. The web it weaves is complex.
The longest way is the short cut.
“Fear or Stupidity has always been the basis of most human actions.” – Albert Einstein
“Failure does not come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting back up.” –Anonymous
Many failures are not acknowledged as failures, but instead are viewed through the eyes of denial… “Oh, that wasn’t for me anyway” or “Oh, I’m glad I finally found something better than that.” Such denial is the most common form of “not getting back up.”
It requires strength, courage and self-respect to acknowledge failure as just another failure, and to then get back up and try, try again. Fear and stupidity masked as strength, courage, and self-respect are by far the more common basis of human action than are true strength, courage, and self-respect.
Yet when I view people, I see the depth within them as them. That depth – who they realize themselves to be once they see beyond the surface – is an infinite reservoir of strength, courage, self-respect and all great things.
Most allegiances are not determined by a fair evaluation but rather by familiarity and impulsive loyalty. This includes not only spiritual convictions but also personal and political points of view. Blind allegiances to friends, spouses, groups, and philosophies rule most individuals. Unfortunately, the most common exceptions are the impulsively militant crusader and the rebellious teen.
Though clearly the case, it still amazes me how biased people are. No matter what the specific issue, republicans across the board consistently defend the Republican Party line views as do the Democrats. The other day I asked someone what they thought about all the scandals plaguing the current administration. They responded that they have not been watching the news and so they knew nothing about it. In the very same breath they gave their opinion about the validity of the claims. No knowledge… just opinion.
That seems to be how most people function. They have already chosen a side, which dictates their perspective. To live better you must be able and willing to look deeper. The process is called discernment. It is the path of evolution. It is most precious. It is most rare.
With the completion of so many homes, buildings, and cottages here at Mount Soma, I have learned a great deal about color.
First, I learned that samples of paint chips are nearly useless. Many times, a group of people would put their heads together to pour over paint chip samples and finally came to an agreement. After the paint went on the wall, everyone was amazed (and occasionally horrified) how different it looked.
Second, a color may look great on one wall and completely different on another, even in the same room. Throw in the different times of day, and direct or indirect sunlight, and you would be certain it is a different paint entirely!
A significant percentage of the population is colorblind. I count myself in that category, at least to some small degree. My experience is that I see all the colors. I know all the colors. However, it is as if the color receptors are just weak. In certain lighting, or up against certain other colors, a color can get somewhat ‘lost’.
To understand color and our relationship with it is to understand LIFE. We all have some types of ‘receptors’ that are weak. For some people, it is about dancing. Everyone can see what a good dancer looks like. But the integration of that in our own bodies may be weak. Knowing a good dancer when you see one does not make you a good dancer.
With others, it is as if the ‘intelligence receptors’ are weak. They know what logic is… but to follow along in a conversation and arrive at a logical conclusion evades them. Confusion, emotion, brain fatigue, or tangential thoughts take over. To be completely honest, I feel sometimes that my weak color receptors gave me the gift of understanding the weak ‘mental receptors’ that many people live with throughout their lives. It helps me understand how some are baffled by my inability to distinguish colors at times. It is indeed difficult for us to imagine what life must be like for another with a weak receptor in an arena where ours is strong.
Now, combine this with the second point above: In life, anything can be viewed from many different angles, perspectives, belief systems, and contexts. The possible combinations of situations are endless. How is it possible then to fathom the hue, tone, shade, feel, and truth of a particular color? How can one fathom their way through life?!
And trying to mix paints defies everything. To make your own custom colors is a mind expanding and humbling experience. No wonder creativity is so elusive for so many!
Now the first point, namely, sample paint chips. It is very challenging, if not impossible, to learn about life from paint chip samples. At best, it is knowledge with a small “k.” To find Knowledge within yourself is what life is ultimately about. Scholars are not scholars if they have not found Truth within themselves. Teachers are not teachers if they do not know their subject from within. Yet, so many go out into the world with their deck of ‘paint chip samples’ and believe themselves to be authorities, scholars, teachers, gurus, etc. They wear their paint chips as badges of honor, degrees of accomplishment, or licenses to practice.
Some may read all this and find it to be depressing, “How will I ever figure it all out?” But never forget, the beauty of life lies in its unfathomable, sublime, and elusive nature. It is something to be in eternal awe over. Beauty lies in the elusive nature of Maya, the Goddess, the Source.
The parallels of color with life are endless. Jyotish (the study of the interaction of the spectrum of variables that form life, existence, and its function and operation) is the study of color. “Jyotish” even means light.
I received the following question:
I am embarrassed to say that with regard to “God” I think I have some sort of “chosen” status. I can best express the Vanity of it by saying I feel like I have some special inside track. I suspect it comes from my Irish Catholic family background where I was strongly encouraged to become a priest, a special vocation for special young men specifically chosen by GOD, and I bought into that belief system. This fallacy distracts me from my efforts to evolve even while I know it’s some ego game. Any suggestions to help me move beyond this? Thank you.
To which I respond:
Yes indeed. You do have a special connection with God. You are one with God. You feel that specialness deep within. Good for you for acknowledging, even embracing, that! It is not a bad thing. It is a great thing.
How beautiful that everyone has the specialness! What an exquisite universe! The place people get confused is that they do not understand this. “How can everyone be special,” they may ask. Or they may try to affirm specialness on the surface of life, on an egotistical level. That is just confusion around the deep nature of life.
It is said that all are created equal. This is a profound statement of the depth. We are all one with the Unified Field, the source of all that is… God. See? People mess that notion up when they think it means we are all equal on the surface. That is self-evidently not so. How remarkable that people, in their confusion, try to make it so! Honestly, some of us are more artistically inclined than others. Some are more intelligent. Some are just naturally better dancers. We are like flowers… diverse, like roses vs. daisies vs. orchids. Yet each is rooted in and born of and one with the same one Mother Earth.
So hold on to the sense of your specialness, your divinity. It is 100% valid and it is most precious. How beautiful that you do know and have always known it, and no one could ever convince you otherwise. Embarrassed by that? Absolutely not!
The challenge of Kali Yuga is that you are led to believe Kali Yuga does not touch you, but instead, is about everyone and everything other than you and the select few with whom you see eye to eye.
Most of your karma is in your mind and in your heart. It is a trance, a mirage, an illusion. To live better, you must look deeper, deeper, and ever deeper.
I am here… I can help you with that… if only you are willing to look beyond your current identity.
Look inside. Your potential is infinite.
The Truth about Religion and Flatlining
