a laugh...

Did you hear about the yogi who was having a filling put in a tooth. When the dentist asked him if he wanted novocaine, the yogi said "No. I can transcend dental medication."

integrity...

a friend recently posed a question....are you comfortable with being the person you are and can you look back at the events in your life with a degree of acceptance and comfort...

just set me exploring a bit...

we show different sides of ourselves to different people and various perceptions come together and reach a kind of agreement as to my identity.there are certain associations people might make when relating to me.I could be all of that , more or none of it..We do exist in the context of the other in mind spaces.

I am what I am, i may or may not be what you think I am...a perception , a filter comes into play when we view each other..in effect we relate to images of the other we have created within ourselves rather than to the other...The experience of the other is totally within us...

so it is with events we go through...we evaluate them , judge them...whereas experiencing is an end by itself...a complete event...evaluation and judgement inhibit our abilities to experience.

There was a time when I used to judge myself and consequently others very harshly against projected ideals and benchmarks of acceptable norms and behaviours.

Today, I see a difference. My ability to accept myself for whatever I am as well as to accept others is much greater.

episodes in life have had various hues...from the embarassing to the frustrating to the pleasant, the humiliating, the threatening, the life-shattering and so on. Successes co-exist with failures and crash-landings...just as praises co-exist with condemnation...

But they are a reality i cannot deny...neither can i erase them...i have survived through them and there is a kind of comfortable co-existence in acceptance..a few people have in the past evinced surprise at certain open sharings I have done in this very blogspace.I am not ashamed or uncomfortable with various expereinces I have had which would qualify as first person integral spaces that have evolved in awareness.

It is also true that I may not share all with due respect to people who have occured and are occuring in my life....and shared spaces more often than not involve interpretation and judgement ...an actual realtime experience with it's infinite permutations and possibilities is very different from any perception of the same...hence discretion is often demanded , albeit with integrity in awareness...To me, every space i have shared in any context is sacred and i respect and thank every individual I have encountered in my life, some in great friendships, others in violent differences and disagreements, yet others in a casual acquaintanceship...each interface has contributed towards my identity as of this moment as it continues to do so...a process evolving on its own as well as in a synergetic confluence of my interaction with spaces, people and things.

and creating, moment by moment, this awesome process we term as "life"......

freedom....

When we re-orient our perceptions or choose an alternate concept, are we not merely rearranging ourselves cosmetically. Genuine freedom is an inner state of being independent of circumstances.It is not a repositioning or a changing of circumstances which at most gives temporal relief; it is rather a "happening" within. In true freedom, there is no choice....we just are in flow....the way we are...

In search of freedom and happiness

Man invents excitements and escapes.

Are freedom and happiness

Cultivated attitudes of mind ?

Or are they the outcome of internal being

Unrelated to mind?

- Dada Gawand

pearls...

"Who gives will receive.
Who forgives will be forgiven.
Who dies will be reborn."

-St. Francis of Assisi

centering...

Just remain in the center, watching then forget that you are there.
- Lao Tzu

Deekshas and the hormones of joy -Christian Opitz,neurophysicist

Christian Opitz is a neurophysicist, biochemist, herbalist and author. He has developed a new paradigm of healing called Radiant Life that combines whole brain functioning, raw food nutrition, exercise and nature awareness. Christian has taught in Europe and the United States for the past 15 years.

An excerpt from his observations on deeksha processes offered at The Oneness University...

Until now, I mostly emphasized the effect of diksha on various brain centers in my writings. An equally important aspect of the process of awakening the brain is the change in hormone and neurotransmitter production. I would like to give an overview of some of the significant changes in regards to hormones and neurotransmitters that I have found in people who have been receiving diksha for a while. First, let's take a look at some of the important neurochemicals and their effect on our experience of life: DOPAMINE: Produced in the substantia nigra in the mid-brain, this important neurotransmitter is almost always out of balance in modern people. We need sufficient dopamine to feel alive, vibrant, to be able to concentrate and have good discernment. Lack of dopamine leads to boredom, depression, brain fog, one merely exists but is not truly alive. This in turn leads to cravings for dopamine stimulation, mostly through destructive means. Intense but short-lived dopamine stimulants are, for example, cocaine, amphetamines, junk food, aggressive behaviors and conflicts with other people. Those suffering from ADD are restless and often have hyper-aggressive tendencies because they are desperately trying to stimulate some dopamine production. Too much dopamine at once leads to a dulling of the dopamine receptors and that in turn has undesirable consequences. Delusions, including hallucinations that are mistaken for genuine mystical experiences, often go together with prolonged overproduction of dopamine. People addicted to computer games have similar dopamine imbalances, which shows an interesting correlation between the addictions to virtual realities, whether on a computer screen or on the screen of one's own mind. In some people, excessive dopamine can lead to stuttering. People who stutter usually have twice as much dopamine in their system than average people. It is easy to see that for a balanced spiritual awakening, we want a consistent level of dopamine without the detrimental effects of extreme highs and lows. A consistent dopamine production goes hand in hand with awakened frontal lobes, which Bhagavan associates with God-Realization. Given the fact that dopamine is essential to feel truly alive, it makes sense that we need it to also feel the Source of all life, OXYTOCIN Oxytocin is the hormone of love, open-heartedness and gratitude. Happily married people produce more oxytocin, but relationship stress severely decreases it. Oxytocin is the neuro-chemical foundation for compassion, for truly caring for others. When we care for others, we ourselves are rewarded many times over, because oxytocin regenerates the body and induces a very deep sense of well- being. Love is great health insurance because of oxytocin. Indifference and cruelty are accompanied by very low levels of this hormone. I assume that these biochemical facts are one of the reasons behind Bhagavan's emphasis on setting right relationships. The production of oxytocin is severely hindered in most people today and this often starts at birth. In the late 1940s, medicine began to use drugs at birth as if it were some kind of disease. Among those drugs, petocin (synthetic oxytocin) is used to induce contractions and thus birth, on the hospital's schedule instead of following the natural interaction between baby and mother. Whenever we receive a huge dose of a synthetic version of a hormone, our receptors are overwhelmed and the body's own production can be compromised. If this happens at birth, there can be permanent damage and a life-long pattern of producing too little oxytocin. It does not help much that the most important bonding phase between mother and child right after birth has become a medical procedure of taking blood, measuring the baby, cutting the umbilical cord too early and not allowing the baby a direct bonding with the mother and thus a gentle entrance into this world. The combination of petocin and the lack of empathy for the newborn baby in medicalized birth procedures are almost certain to severely compromise oxytocin production. It is interesting to note that heavy drug use at birth, from petocin to pain killers to even some psychedelic substances that are no longer used, was introduced after WWII. When the first generation of babies who came into this world on drugs had arrived at young adulthood in the 1960s, they where the first generation to seek a deeper meaning of life through drugs. I believe the lack of natural oxytocin caused by drug use at the entrance into life can set up a strong recapitulation pattern of seeking life through drugs. CORTISOL: The opposite of oxytocin, in terms of effects on our life experience, is cortisol, the stress and death hormone. We need cortisol in life-threatening situations, but, as Dr. Hans Selye discovered, we tend to overproduce it much of the time when there is no threat to survival in sight. On cortisol, all of life takes on the quality of struggle, including relationships and even the spiritual search. Cortisol activates the parietal lobes, which are supposed to give us a sense of our physical boundaries. When overactive, this sense of physical separateness is extended to our general experience of ourselves and we then feel existentially separate. This is at least part of the reason why Bhagavan emphasizes the deactivation of the parietal lobes. Cortisol makes us walk around with chronically over-activated parietal lobes. In that state, we are not able to feel our feelings fully, to embrace ourselves as we are. Being in the here and now, being in the flow, requires abundant oxytocin, sufficient dopamine and low levels of cortisol.

THE EFFECTS OF DIKSHA: Although it is very difficult to measure hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain directly, electromagnetic signature testing allows for some conclusions about the effects of diksha in this regard. One of the main effects I have found with people who have been receiving diksha for a year or longer is a regeneration of receptors for both dopamine and oxytocin. This automatically leads to greater efficiency of these neurochemicals and a decrease in cortisol production. Diksha can also regenerate the substantia nigra, where dopamine is produced, and this directly shows up in changed electromagnetic brain patterns. Many times I have observed a natural release of addictive patterns through diksha that were clearly related to low dopamine levels. Another interesting parameter is the electromagnetic communication between the brain and the heart. This seems to progressively get stronger in people through diksha and is one of the most important energetic correlations of the flowering of the heart and true compassion. In some of the Dasas and in Ron Roth, this connection was off the charts when I measured them. Oxytocin is the biochemical bridge between the brain and heart. From the data I have gathered so far, diksha seems to be effective in strongly enhancing oxytocin in the vast majority of people. I also believe that this is one of the aspects of birth trauma that can be healed through diksha and that this effect makes diksha so worthwhile for children. Even though children are not supposed to enter into an enlightenment process, growing up with lots of oxytocin will give them a much more beautiful life experience. Finally, the neuro-chemical effects of diksha are one reason why other methods people utilize for inner transformation can become so much more effective when people receive diksha. If someone does not need meditation anymore to lower cortisol, meditation can go to much deeper levels right away. If emotional or physical healing work is done on a person who already has high levels of oxytocin, the receptivity to receive healing is enhanced. The synergy of diksha with specific methods of inner transformation is a fascinating subject for more exploration and the role of neurochemicals is essential for the effects such synergies produce.

Freedom....

Heaven of Freedom
-by Rabindranath Tagore

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee to ever-widening thought and action
- Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake...

With wishes for a genuine flood of freedom, joy and love to engulf each of our lives internally and thus externally....

Happy Independence Day...

"our' experience..

Our experience of the other person is within ourselves; not in the other.

Message from ascended Master El Morya through the channel Catherine

This message was received through me in January 05 before I knew about Deeksha or AmmaBhagavan but I would like to share it with you

- Catherine , as posted in www.onenessforall.com on August 12, 2006.


My Dear Ones this is your Elder Brother El Morya . Greetings!
I wish to give you encouragement on your path as light workers, healers and trail blazers in the new consciousness spreading now upon the planet Earth like a new fragrance.
Each one of you has a particular mission to perform. I tell you this is not for the faint hearted. Courage is needed at this time to bring to birth this New Heaven and New Earth, for that is what it will eventually be.
If you do not know why you are here or what it is you have to do please go within and ask "knock and the door will be open to you" to borrow the words of the Christed One. This is not an empty promise. Your role will be revealed according to Divine will. Each one of you is infinitely valuable and the Divine Plan can not unfold without you. You are here to Bring Heaven on Earth, nothing less.

Each one of you has your own speciality or gift, perhaps one, perhaps many. These gifts are your to use in the service of the whole.
Your path may not be easy, but even so rejoice knowing that your struggle is the struggle of the birth pangs of a New Birth of consciousness. You will see many seemingly alarming occurances in the coming months and years I urge you not to be afraid or loose heart it is part of the cataclysmic change of the planet and her inhabitants and not truly a cause for fear.
The future is assured - there is no way the momentum of change can be stopped. All Beings are on a spiritual path; the difference is yours has become conscious.
Blessed are you Dear Ones who can find perfect trust in the goodness of Life itself that will ensure your safety and your return to the perfection of Being.

Yours In Divine Love and Service

El Morya

A reply received to a question about Enlightement and the feeling that I dont do enough. Feb 05

-catherine

My dear ones, it is not so much about doing as about Being ! You are a Being that is so much more magnificent than you could dream.
By Being you can radiate the vibrations of Peace, Unconditional Love and Power, you become a transmitter of these energies on the Earth Plane.
This has a great effect in raising the vibrations and conciousness of all around.
You do not need to be doing anything...........just radiate your magnificent self

The state of Enlightenment is not something for which you can strive because the feeling of striving will stop you becoming enlightend.
Drop all thoughts of striving, all feelings of ambition even spiritual ambition.
Enlightenment is about letting go, about getting rid of, rather than acquiring anything.
The obstructions to Enlightenment are like the dirt on a window
Get rid of the dirt then you will see clearly.

Do not strive to become Enlightend; just clean away all of the erroneous thinking
The window will sparkle and show your true Self.
Enlightenment will gently arise as the Sun rises above the horizon at dawn.
And the Son of God will be revealed.

- El Morya

zen quotes...

When we don't understand,
mountains are mountains.
When we begin to understand,
mountains are no longer mountains.
When we finally understand,
mountains are mountains again.
-traditional Zen saying

Things are not what they seem to be -

nor are they in a different way.
-Gempo

life force...

Reason is powerless in the expression of love.

- Rumi

Bhaja Govindam...

Adi Sankara's clarity of express never fails to amaze. Was recently reading his immortal work Bhaja Govindam, where he extolls an old man breaking his head over Sanskrit grammar to think of the Supreme alone, for language or grammar is not going to aid his liberation.

How often do we fall into such traps....where we hold onto the finger pointing to the moon rather than look at the moon itself. Our lives , if we observe closely are akin to buying a car, trying to maintain it as best as we can, but rarely using it for the purpose it is intended, i.e. travel.

All our efforts are directed towards augmenting our lifestyles and enhancing our comforts....a vehicle taking precedence over the act of travel in explore our life seems intended for...

Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam

Govindam Bhaja Moodhamathe.

Sampraapte Sannihite Kaale,

Nahin Nahin Rakshati Dukrin Karane....

unconsciousness..an epidemic...

A fire broke out in a house in which a man was fast asleep. They tried to carry him out through the window. No way. They tried to carry him out through the door. No way. He was just too huge and heavy. They were pretty desperate till someone suggested, "Wake him up, then he'll get out by himself."
"Man is unconscious", says Sri Bhagavan. "There is enormous suffering in every individual. Like the rats that eat away the hands of a leper and he is unconscious of the bite having lost all sensations, people are unconscious of the suffering that gnaws at their being."
There are a lot of things going on inside you to which you have never paid attention. For instance you could be helping a person not knowing that you would rather not help if given a choice. If you go a step further you will see ulterior motives in helping him. The aim need not be monetary or physical but a simple craving to project a good image. Many forces are acting behind the scene, of which you are unconscious.
A person who denies that he is suffering is telling a plain lie to himself and to the world. His tail is on fire and he is not accepting it. You do not know yourself.
The first step in the path of enlightenment is to be conscious, to see the prison that holds you. The state itself is a benediction.

- from onenessuniversity.org

peace...

"Peace is the inner nature of humankind. If you find it within yourself, you will then find it everywhere."

~Ramana Maharshi

our base nature....

We are eternal, ecstatic beings pretending to be something else.

- Rumi

vulnerability.....

I am having a strange experience with technology space at the moment. For the last few years Yahoo messenger has been an integral part of life and communication therein. I do not know when or how long back I registered with yahoo. It seems like an ancient moment, a distant memory, almost like when I was "named" by my parents..Recently, I received an email mentioning that my password had been changed. I had not done any change. The result being that I cannot access any of my yahoo services.When i go into my standard "forgot password" menu, it is not even recognizing my date of birth.

A moment of helplessness with mails being exchanged with yahoo customer service...Wonder what the outcome would be.....

But a deeper realization....virtual spaces have become such a reality in our lives and have enhanced our basic vulnerabilities...my yahoo id is a critical part of my "identity"...and i feel a strange sense of violation of space...my yahoo was home to my "passwords" list for everything..my banking and other trading aspects...like a bank locker taken for granted...not to mention friends and relatives who might be trying to be in touch...offlines and all...

and suddenly I have lost the key with remote possibility of retreival....I do not know if my space has been hacked into....it is possible...it can be a technological error...

but look at my vulnerability...a moment of discovery of my dependancy....

a lot of critical data is in memory, but still....

observation...

If we observe carefully, what seems imperative at a given point of time acquires a redundancy at a different time.What seems imperative today seems redundant sometime later....and a lot of our decisions are based on this perspective of imperativeness brought on various factors. Hence, it is imperative and critical to be aware of the factors and their influences on us....

our thoughts?

Thoughts flow through you and not from you. You are not the originator for the thoughts. Hence, your thoughts are not your thoughts. You just are tuned in to them in the realm of the universal mind. To identify with them ; condemn oneself, feel guilty, feel proud , feel frustrated etc is hence unintelligent.

One is a process within a process, dynamic every moment of the way.

- inspirations from Sri Bhagavan