the concrete and the mythos

We live in the concrete and the mythos. The realist part of us is reeled in by concreteness and we in-cyst that only matter matters. It is here that we say Jesus was only a man, Buddha a story, Lao Tzu a tall tale. We wish to set our solid ass down in a non-metaphysical chair. We try so hard to be so sane and not be fooled. What fools! When we claim the mythos we are, we walk with Beauty, commune with Wonder. We know where Jesus lives and laugh the Buddha laugh. We travel with Lao Tzu aboard his buffalo and know the secrets of the Rose.

Presence of Being

Era I - God-centered
Era II - self-centered
Era III - Presence-centering

Within the past few hundred years, the human species has moved from being God-centered to being self-centered. God-centered means that God is "out there" ruling the world. We all know what self-centered means.

Self-centered has not worked out very well. It is time now to move to Presence-centering (ing not ed). This allows and is Presence of Being.

When the inner infinity and the outer infinity are realized to be the same infinity, we realize Presence of Being. We become a conduit of vast Awareness, a capacious opening of energizing Flow. This is our destiny. This is our practice.

sit in the seat at the center of your soul

Long years ago the words came to me, spoken deep inside: "Sit in the seat at the center of your soul." I have followed that practice with good result. Now this pre-dawn morning I read:

"Self-knowledge reveals to the soul that its natural motion is not, if uninterrupted, in a straight line, but circular, as around some inner object, about a center, the point to which it owes its origin. If the soul knows this, it will move around this center from which it came, will cling to it and commune with it as indeed all souls should but only divine souls do. That is the secret of their divinity, for divinity consists in being attached to the center. One who withdraws far from it becomes an ordinary man or an animal." -- Plotinus (The Essential Plotinus, tr. Elmer O'Brien)

I know this is true for me.

consider

Consider a vast ocean. Consider that the ocean and its air conspire (breathe together) and create a vast cloud. Consider that the cloud rains trillions of zillions of droplets. Consider one of the droplets. Deep within it is a residue. Upon it creatures swarm. They call this residue within the droplet Earth. They go about their droplet business, drinking Slurpees and otherwise feeding off the residue and its creatures, even launching forays into the residue's immediate surrounds, confident they are the lords of creation, masters of the universe, and most not remotely aware that their droplet exists among a gazillion of others nor that their droplet will eventually merge with the ocean, and in some sense has never left it.

get this

When death is your companion, life is rich.
When life is your companion, you ARE death.

A cup is of no value without empty space. When emptiness is the cup's companion, the cup is rich with fulfillment. Emptiness allows fullness.

When the cup is emptiness's companion and the cup falls away, emptiness is still emptiness. Death is life and life is death.

The formless forms and the form becomes formless.

Models of Human Transformation

I have observed that at least six major models of human consciousness and thus of human transformative ability exist: the Human Potential Movement Model, Empty Circle Model, Absurd Model, In The Fold Model, Sack of Meat Model, Multiple Personality Model. I look to address each in turn.

First up to bat: Human Potential Movement Model

The human potential movement model assumes that each human is pyramidic in nature, operating out of a broad base of consciousness and striving to reach and to identify with the Apex of the pyramid, where one’s awareness shines forth with great light similar to that of the Great Eye depicted on the U.S. dollar bill. One has then reached the epitome of one’s powers; the Secret has been revealed and one can manifest all one desires via the law of attraction and live comfortably, self-made, forever and ever. Beings of a higher wisdom are channeled by Apex reachers, and all within the movement yet to reach such heights, still scaling the pyramid walls, respond to the Apexian as folk formerly responded to the prophets of old. This is a very American upwardly mobile mystical model and is a thriving spiritual industry. Books, workshops, credentialings, videos, courses, and gurus abound.

Major assumption: The entire cosmos is geared toward the evolutionary advancement of humans and will assist those who open to its help. Humans exist in the following categories: Those Who Have Made It, Those Who Have Almost Made It, Those Who Are Striving To Make It, Those Who Suspect There Is Something To Make, The Great Unwashed.

Upside: Excitement, purpose, challenge, participation. Very American and thus appealing: lift yourself by your own bootstraps (and when you do forces will come to aid you). Believes in progress.

Downside: Self-centered (even though it is a "higher" spiritual self), guru-following with potential to be led astray, evangelistic. Believes in progress.

shaping up and shipping out

Am deeply appreciating the understanding that as we pass on, we do not immediately know that we have died to this world. We continue on the familiar path we have already chosen.

Makes me think that this life now is the afterlife of a previous existence. I do have some memories. I love it. Life-and-death are a continuing evolution of consciousness. Forever. No end.

In the Marines we were told as raw recruits during training at Parris Island that we had to "shape up or ship out." With our human situation, it's shape up AND ship out. No one understands this better than a geezer who knows s/he is closer to shipping out time. At times I can see what I am moving into and it is mighty fine. I am in shipping shape.

sensing and seeing

The multiplicity of humankind came from a primal substance. The primal substance can be sensed and seen by those who can sense and see. We are that primal substance continuing to multiply in form. The primal substance was brought into being by the Source, the Source of All. The Source brought the primal substance into being. When one is quiet and still, one can sense the primal substance of which one is formed. When one is quiet and still, one can sense the Source. One can sense the Source producing the primal substance, the primal substance from which the multiplicity of humankind was formed and is forming.

shaping up

Compared with the Transcendent, none of us is very smart. But we work with what we have, with who we are. I turn myself over to the Transcendent for shaping. At times, I try to take myself back, thinking I can do a more satisfactory job. The Transcendent makes no fuss, says okay, give it a whirl. I always come back with skinned knees or a banged head. I say okay, please let's go. We walk together, my consciousness enveloped in the Transcendent consciousness -- separate but Together. I am happy now, feet on the ground, head in the heavens. Shaping up.

resolving our dilemma

In accord with age-old terminology, let us call the spiritual forces of the Unseen the realm of the heavens, or the heavenly, and the denser spiritual energies forming into matter and the Seen, the realm of the earth, or the earthly. These realms interpenetrate, interwhirl. Perhaps the Tao sign gives the clearest pictorial representation of this: the eternal mutual chasing of the dark by the light and of the light by the dark while each contains a portion of the other.

As earth beings, we tend to identify with the realm of the Seen, of denser energies. We tend to call the the realm of the Seen the "real world." We say that only matter matters. As heavenly beings, we know that is not so. We know the powers of love, of releasing ourselves from all attachment to the denser energies of matter. When thanked for our lovingkindness, we say no matter.

This is the dilemma of being a human. We can get caught between these two forces (di-lemma means to be stuck between two (di) situations (lemmas). The answer is to not pit them against each other and to feel as if one has to make some sort of forced choice between them (earthly vs. heavenly, worldly vs. saintly, demon vs. daimon, devil vs. angel, material vs. spiritual) but to allow these two forces that we are to inter-spin.

The heavenly energies cry out to be known, seek embodying; the earthly energies call out for nourishment and growth. The flower of the lotus (a plant deeply rooted in muck and darkness) opens when the heavenly body of the sun appears, turns its face to the sun all day, tracking its movement. Both sun and lotus are happy because each is fulfilling its function. The brilliance of the sun is wed to the darkness of the muck. The lotus has resolved its di-lemma.

service

"You've got to serve somebody" sang Mister Bob Dylan. And he was right. At the very least you serve yourself. But you did not create you. You are an energetic being in an energetic universe, a swirl in a swirling of energy continuously unfolding out of Mystery. This energetic universe is composed of forces and beings more advanced in awareness than you and of others less aware than you.

Whether you realize it or not, you have a counterpart within that realm. There is a you invisible to the physical eye manifesting itself spiritually. This spiritual you serves or is aligned with one or another of spiritual forces. These forces have personalities, have essences, have names, names arising out of them as identity. The name of the essence I follow (at times more closely than others) is Jesus. I say this as a statement of fact, not to persuade you to "come to Jesus." You will follow whom you will follow. But rest assured, you are following the energetic path of "somebody," some realm of forces. You do not stand alone.

"I was naked and you did not clothe me" states it well. Your spiritual lord (to use the older terminology) and teacher asks to be clothed by you. If you do not allow it, this plaint is lodged against you. In our physical manifestation, we serve as "clothing" to the spirit we are and to the order of the spiritual being we serve. This is our service. All else follows.

surface tension

Who is it raising this cup, pouring its liquid into a void? What is this void and fertile lacunae posing as a human with card i.d.? The waterbug skates and skims the surface giving little thought to the hungry trout below. The void speaks: I love you so much I could eat you up! We are both thrilled and terra-fied!

prancing ponies

Hahaha. We come into this world as a representation of the Mystery and then we look into a mirror and catch a view of ourselves and we in-cyst that we are someone and we prance around on our little ponies of personality for a while and then dissolve and return to the Mystery and we say well I guess I really screwed it up that time didn't I but there is no need to say anything because all is already understood and we dissolve into the Mystery for recycling and hell is resisting the dissolution as we cling to the prancing pony we imagined ourselves to be. Hahaha.

bringing down the house

Reality is spherical with no bounds, save what we create with our fears, our hesitations, our angers (and what is anger but fear thrown outward?), and our self import. Reality is spherical with no bounds. Infinity is in every "direction." Eternity is now. Thus time and space dissolve. "Parallel" universes abound. Everything is happening right now and if it ain't happening now, baby, it ain't happening!