Observations about the “Feel good” Spirituality

“Feel good” spirituality is needed for the vast majority of individuals. It is the starting point of the journey of self knowledge. “Feel good” Spirituality is based on the presence of something which most think is the “I.” The importance of it is in the hope of permanence, for we all know that our experience of Life is momentarily, a spark in time. Most individuals are afraid of even thinking what it is like to experience death. Thus, the need of having “Me,” as the resilient center of attention beyond death.

For instance, consider these: “ You have chosen to be incarnated on this planet and signed up your contract plan of Life with your angels.” That will give the “I” certainty that this experience is in fact, something chosen and prepared for his own good and not a random occurrence. Also, there is another certainty: The “I” will survive after death. Otherwise, how is it possible to sign up for a contract for the “next vacation plan” on Earth? Angels are something like “travel agents” to help us pick our destination and accommodation.
Even this statement has a “feel good” taste behind the screen: “Understand and apply the 7 laws of the Universe and all the secrets will be yours.” Sounds good? The first law being: “All is mind.” There are so many interpretations of that, but merely consider that there is an “I” looking for enlightenment at the end of the “study.” The mind is “I.”

Even in the Brahma Kumaris, I remember a talk about angels and someone asked something like: “ Is it true that not every BK will be an angel?” The answer by the brother center in charge was : “Everyone here will be an angel.”
Great answer. Everyone was happy. Feel good spirituality.

On the other hand, there is another “study” where the subject of study, the student and the teacher, are the same.
That teaching is called “Peeling the layers of the onion.” What is the object of that study, the aim and objective?
To peel the layers. That is it. There is no prize money, titles, medals or recognition at the end of the task. There is a “reason” for that.
Typically those things are given to a “somebody,” the diploma reads something like this: “In recognition of the intense and tireless contribution of the work you have done and the years spent blah, blah, blah.” Then, that piece is signed by another “somebody” together with its seal of approval.

In peeling the layers of the onion, there may not be “someone” to take the diploma and the prize. How come?

Have you ever peeled an onion? It is an interesting experience to peel one. Take one layer of skin, then another and another, etc. until you find the “core” which is…. nothing, emptiness. All those layers were the different types of “I,” making up a pretty big onion: There are the external layers of identity such as gender, race, religion, philosophies, etc. Then the more internal layers of traumas, beliefs, traditions, conditioning and even the more internal related with family roots, and past life experiences, for example. All of those layers make up the big onion, but yet; there is an incognizable quality, an essence in that onion which defies concepts: That which makes an onion into an onion. That ‘essence’ is no longer an “I” made of skin layers.

Those who are motivated to “peel the layers” of their own selves are a different kind of “truth seekers” for they do not look for truth but to know themselves, but yet to discover a different “self” every time a layer is removed, is daunting until we come across to that ‘essence” which does not look like or feel like any of the previous skin layers.

It is said: “ Be nothing, to become everything.” Once the layers of the onion are peeled, we say that there is nothing, right? That is the scary empty part where “feel good spirituality” has a market niche. However, the onion is not there. That is the finding.
Thus, when our center of attention is not there; paradoxically we find everything: The Totality, the Universe, Life itself.

That cannot be “Feel good spirituality,” for there is no “I” to cater to.

The need to transcend and non-duality

A friend wrote: “Felt it. No need to transcend anything. Trying to transcend something that I am not. Non-dualism is where it’s at.”

The above is very important. “Felt it.” That is the first indication of how genuine a realization may be. While for most, it could be something like: “I understood” or “I thought,” here a feeling conveys a deeper significance, for it is beyond the mind.

While many religions teach to transcend the “bad” in us to only have the “good,” what is actually happening is an inner division: Two sides in the same person, where none could ‘win’ for one side complements the other. How could you transcend greed? When living in the mind, we believe that we can do that by acting in a generous way. However, acting (DOING) is not enough to change BEING (greed.) Then, we could use some repression based on some belief system or we can even write down how many times during the day we acted in a generous way to make it a “sanskar.” However, none of that takes care of greed.

Now, let me go a bit further. Some ‘spiritual’ individuals may want to transcend the body, for they have even felt that they are not the body. What they are, could be labeled as soul, spirit, source, etc. Any name will do. The important aspect is to realize that we will start denying that which we think/ feel we are not.

That perspective has a problem. In order to live in our current physical realm, we need the body. How could we make a philosophy of living by denying that which we need to live? That denial could go on: Deny sex, deny any sensual aspect of the body like dancing or sports, deny any pleasure coming from the senses, deny anything that could get someone addicted through the experience of the body.

In the end; that experience of continuous denial, truly promotes a lack of self love.

On the other hand, if that person observes his every feeling and action; that person will be aware when the threshold of feeling in harmony has been crossed. For instance, whenever we eat a meal. It could be truly delicious and then the “I want more” will arrive. I could stuff myself and pay the consequences or I could leave from that experience satisfied and in harmony with ‘what is.’ “Stuffing yourself” apparently has no consequences, but as our level of awareness ‘improves,’ then we will be able to observe the ramifications and how addiction comes into the picture.

Observe that “I” am not denying anything but just observing. As learning comes by assimilating an experience, naturally the path of least resistance will be followed without struggle. Many believe that observation is superficial. They do not want to go deeper into the emotional source behind the action.

Someone who has experienced a religious path of self denial (path of high resistance,) will immediately know what I am talking about. That experience is important to observe how we have reacted and that is the benefit if we learned from that.

Someone who does not know anything about spirituality or religion, will be living by following the “normal” dictates of society and its conditioning, which means violence at every corner with few sparks of generosity here and there. For example for many in that world; sex is not fully understood. It is a “problem.” As many have the same problem, then the word “normal” has been used to cover the issues. However, what is “normal” is not necessarily healthy. The end result will be an individual who lacks self observation, awareness, who is not interested in self knowledge at all; that is until things start turning sour, then this person will look for help and then experience for the first time the ‘benefits’ of self denial: That which was ‘good’ or ‘normal’ turned into ‘bad.’

Due to the above explanation, we could see that different paths are needed and they fit individuals according to their stage or conscious level. However, that level of consciousness will change and that is where an inflexible spiritual path becomes a burden. Time to change.

“Non-Dualism is where it’s at,” my friend said. In the BK murli there is a concept known as “neti neti” which is part of Hinduism. That translates as: “Neither this nor that.”

While the mind makes a distinction and creates a duality, a different consciousness could perceive the unity of all, neti neti. The BK world explains this through the knowledge of the “eternally repeating cycle of time,” where there is a togetherness as a movie reel which is continually being played. For instance, while for spectators the movie “Captain America: The first avenger” is just a movie which could be played many times with the same outcome; for every starring participant like the “Captain” (Steve Rogers) there is a particular role, an individuality which brings particular virtues and defects that his role has, which will be necessary in that movie at a particular sequence. “Captain America” is not the same individual for the 2.5 hours of the movie, for ‘he’ has interacted with others, things have happened to ‘him.’ ‘He’ has learned new things and changed into a different character, little by little although most will not realize that.

When we are able to perceive that movie as a ‘holistic scene’ where everything filmed was needed, then we are observers. If Captain America knew about this 2.5 hours of filming of himself, he wouldn’t take everything happening there so seriously as “his life,” but rather he could be amazed to feel himself as something alive; able to perceive things with his senses, although he knows that ‘he’ is part of the film. That actor can be an individual while knowing to be the movie reel itself.

That is to be a detached observer in a way; that is to experience non-duality, for there is no separation between ‘him’ and the 2.5 hours movie and everything it brings. It is in this consciousness when non-dual feelings could be felt, like Love; for what is there to hate or be afraid of if ‘you’ are the movie itself?

In “New Age” jargon, that state of being is known as the experience of the “5^th Dimension” and that change is where some humans will be able to experience in their current life times.

The Spiritual process of BEING rather than DOING

I find myself sharing in this blog my own process. As I observe now, the most important process I have been into is the recognition of what is known as BEING as the main factor in spiritual transformation.

Although that word BEING has been written many times in many articles in capital letters to make a contrast with DOING, there are very few who could grasp the meaning as they haven’t been aware of their own changes.

BEING is difficult to define or explain. Because BEING is not part of the mental realm and the use of words to describe objects. Let me put it in a context then:

I recall the time when I was playing with toys when I was a kid. Then little by little, the activity withered away. Toys weren’t my thing anymore. Did anyone prohibit me from playing with toys? No. Did I get a long preaching about the need to stop playing with toys? No. It just happened. That is a change of BEING.

How do I know that? There was no need to play with toys again. I did not have the ‘temptation’ to play with them. There was no suffering or sacrifice on my part.

If we go into this change with awareness, we could observe all the little tweaks brought by destiny and exactly know the process. However, since I did not look at those changes back then, all I have left is the recollection of my memory and theories as to why that happened: New hormones were appearing in myself. An interest in females which wasn’t there before as kids, came up. The ‘concept’ of playing changed and I was conditioned to play sports instead, where the seriousness of winning over losing was stressed; and a long list of other ‘reasons’ which we will obviate by using the catch all word: ‘etc.’

Now let me take that same example into the spiritual ‘world.’ Observe the direction of the self: “I want to achieve something.” For example: “I want to be an angel.” “I want to be self-realized.” “I want to become a well known guru.” “I want to have out of this world, blissful experiences.” “ I want to know God.”

Most individuals will start spirituality through an objective. Even if they did not have an aim and some ‘experience’ happened to them, then that opened the door for them to find out and want more of that, thus an objective sooner or later came up.

In our society to have objectives in Life is praised. We could label that person as intelligent, serious, competent, etc. His life will be driven to ‘accomplish’ those things. However, in the spiritual realm to have an objective is the engine of that person to supersede Life and destiny. That willingness to achieve, that narrow minded idea of well being or happiness or success, is what is known as ego, the “I,” which as we could see; works very well in ‘normal’ society but it does not in spirituality.

I did not will/want to stop playing with toys. It just happened. I could play with them now, but it is not the same. BEING has changed.

Let us observe the following: “If you want to be good, you need to follow these commandments.” “If you want to conquer ego, follow this recipe.” “If you want to……DO this.”

Isn’t that way a mere “cut/copy and paste” from the conditioning of society? Sure it is. Could BEING truly change by following that way? No, in my experience.

In Brahma Kumaris there is a concept known as “sanskaras” or “samskaras” which are impressions or psychological imprints which remain in the soul when there is a reincarnation. Basically, old habits, predispositions will be experienced again. The classical example: If ‘I’ was a heavy smoker in any of my previous lifetimes, then that habit will come up again.

Fine. How do we deal with that?

“You must not smoke. It will kill you. It will harm others around you.” “ A Golden age soul does not smoke.”

Therefore, that ego-mind will try to change that habit to fit into the new ideas (whether true or false, that does not matter to the actual change of BEING ) by using repression. It is believed that we can change an old habit by replacing that one with a new one. That is the gist of many religious creeds: Repetition of actions, mantras, prayers, etc. However, the habit will be there. It will be buried in our consciousness but it will come up again. Repression gives the sensation that the ego has conquered the activity. It could be repressed in our whole lifetime, but it will come up again and when it does, it will be even stronger.

It is not the DOING of the ‘I’ the one which could bring a change of BEING by using rejection and repression.

It has been observed that violence is the root cause of many self imposed behaviors such as smoking. If we were aware, we could observe the first time when smoking took place: The sensations, the need behind such action. Perhaps then, we could observe some of those same sensations the following times. Then, we could realize that the act of smoking is merely an expression of a deeper emotion. That is how we could resolve the puzzle. That is known as “healing.”

Once that inner violence is acknowledged, the need to express that violence through a cigarette could change. The same holds true for any other habit which is causing self destruction. To know the cause, the driven force, means to take care of the issue.

Observe how important it is to acknowledge our emotions, to observe them and to follow them in their expression. Observe how superficial it is to heal a broken arm with a bandage of repressions. Once the emotional response settles, there is change.

What is the function of that “I” then, who is always willing to fix things by DOING new things and suppressing the old? That “I” needs to be out of the way and allow for observation to take place.

In fact, we cannot change until we have some recognition of that “I” or ego-mind . As long as we fully identify with it as being “me,” there is little that could be done. Except perhaps to use repression and fear as the tools to mitigate its expression.

However, as that fear increases so there will be violence and thus, whatever we ‘touch’ will have the recognizable stamp of on going self inflicted misery.

Awareness is the key to change without DOING a thing, for once we intently observe, then we know and by knowing there is change without choice. Otherwise, we are an easy prey to our conditioning and the surroundings of our collective consciousness.

The essence of spirituality (part 2)

It is important to repeat this: An individual living by perceiving Life only through his mind (THINKING) is unable to know Love as a non-dualistic FEELING. However, that individual will know what most refer to as ‘love’ which is a dualistic emotion. Fear or hate could be the opposite of that ‘love’ depending on the context. Those 2 emotions have a common ground, as one can easily become the other.

To meet Life we need to be open to expect the unexpected. The mind does not want that. The mind wants security, certainty. Failure to meet that expectation will bring suffering which in time, could lead to an out of balance mind. How come? In Life to experience pain and pleasure are part of the experience of duality, thus unavoidable; but suffering is optional. Psychological suffering comes after the fact and remains there.

How do I know if I am living in the mind?

That person usually daydreams. For example: Listen to a song. Observe how we could listen to that same song many times, because we ‘like it.’ There is no longer appreciation of music but it becomes background sound for daydreaming. In the mind, repetition degrades the original experience, although we want to enhance it. Look at a flower: Do you hear your mind saying:”pretty or ugly.” That inner voice is proof that we are living in the mind. The word “pretty” becomes our output. “oh! How pretty!” We say. Whenever we have words as an immediate response to our observation, we are not truly looking at the flower. Any words in our head will distract us from observing; for when we truly observe there is inner silence, no judgment or commentary. It is in that state how our actions could be unrehearsed by the mind. In other words, they will be authentic.

When you wake up, observe how readily you will turn the cellphone on and get engaged in non essential things in that ‘virtual reality.’ Some even have their devices running all night, not realizing the negative sleeping effects a cellphone or any device transmitting EMF has. In our world, we have abused our eyesight and the mind uses this sense more than any other to release ‘free movies’ in our minds based on memory. Computers, cellphones and ‘virtual devices’ have improved our ability to get in touch and to pass information all over the world but paradoxically, they have handicapped us even further, in our ability to feel Life.

Many will say that it is ‘impossible’ to be without words in our heads. That is because they have not observed themselves yet. Language is conditioning. We need to use language to communicate with others, but there is no need to mentally talk to ourselves. Is there?

How do you start perceiving Life through the heart center or feelings?

In my experience, by healing our emotional body. We have accumulated so much trauma which we have not forgotten even though time has gone by. An intense trauma will linger in our consciousness, although hidden by the memories of many other experiences. Those traumas will make us fearful or violent and those emotions will need to be released to be clear from that trauma. Along with that, we will need to have time in Nature as a source of deconditioning from the mental ways of society. Then of course, limiting our reading habits and accumulation of constant information. Instead we will need to become involved in the arts; such as painting, drawing, playing music and dancing and vast self observation to finally realize our automatic and highly conditioned daily activities. Any sort of structured learning/activities should be minimized. This is a process of deconditioning from a heavy pattern.

Do you have to make a decision in Life? Consider not using the old formula of weighing pro vs. con. That is too mental. Instead FEEL what is right for you and go with it. Eventually, any structured ‘knowledge’ on how to act, should be left aside. No fool-proof formulas will be needed. Every moment in Life should bring its newness thus boredom will not be.

I have found that the moment when I wake up in bed, that is a fantastic time to observe the content of the mind. If you remain in bed, you are still in a state where your senses are not fully awake yet. Observe the torrent of thoughts without judgment. When we observe intently as if that movie of thoughts was all there is and we give our 100% energy to look at it, then the current of thoughts will disappear. It is an illusion as if someone was trying to subdue our will by releasing thoughts which we have not consciously willed. It is when we do not realize that the mind is taking us into ‘movie time,’ (that is when we are not 100% ‘present’ or detached from those thoughts) when those thoughts could become strong emotions and anxiety or even depression could settle depending on our degree of “sleepiness.” If you are serious about this finding, willingly slow down your actions during a time, so you are fully ‘present,’ as you take a step, close the door or even prepare your meals. In that way, you will be ‘awake’ when the mind starts another set of ‘movies.’ This is known as “conscious movement.”

The challenge will be for those whose life depends on being in constant touch with society and its structured way. That is why, many serious seekers have decided to live away from society as to create the necessary space to observe and avoid being sucked into the same old rut. That is the challenge.

This is not another rebellion against society or a reactionary movement. It is sort of what someone from AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) is expected to do: Stay away from alcohol and do whatever it takes to be sober. If that person was to resume his Life as he always has done, then he will be trapped in no time. However, with an extensive ‘break’ from the old pattern and a high dose of inner observation, that person will gather the strength and wisdom to join the ways of society again, but he will not be lured by it. When we merely run away from ‘temptation’ without being aware of how the pattern reoccurs, we are physically taking ourselves out of the issue through repression, but mentally we are still trapped.

I understand that by sharing this, many will be wondering if this should be posted in this blog. I feel that what I am sharing here could be helpful for those who would like to take a step further in their inner observation and therefore in their inner knowledge. Without this ‘basic’ step, no matter what religion you follow or philosophy or ‘practice,’ there is very little that we could ‘do’ to help awaken ourselves.

Self realization is mostly a process of ‘awakening’ from a long lasting sleeping pattern of unconscious living.

The essence of spirituality – Part 1

Awareness. That is the essence of spirituality. End of report.

There are many levels of awareness according to our consciousness. There is a time when we separate things through awareness: There is “I,” and “You,” together with all the other pronouns and then “Me” and the rest of the world. Then, the well known “inside” and “outside.” However, there is a level when we could become aware of the togetherness of all.

Consciousness cannot be ‘improved’ through ‘practice.’ However, there has to be a willingness beyond anything else in life, to know “thyself.” Knowing thyself means to know Life as well. It is not one and then the other but knowing one, you know the other. We are one.

Consciousness changes as we experience the different facets of Life. We are never the same. It is the awareness of those changes while they are happening, which brings further sharpness in that quality of awareness.

We could interchangeably use the term “observation” with awareness at one level, but they are not the same at a different ‘higher’ level of consciousness.

Together with willingness to go through this seldom walked path, there has to be utmost honesty to be able to perceive where we ARE in consciousness. When that honesty is not there, we could accept many beliefs as ‘true,’ when in fact, we have never experienced them. While living in that self lie, there is no way to go further. Something may be ‘true’ but if it is not in our experience, we are only lying to ourselves. That is dishonesty.

In spirituality, we are not concerned in “getting the right answer” as it is in society. We are concerned in BEING true to ourselves. What good is it to know that we are “eternal souls” when we do not have that experience and we do not act as if knowing that? How could that knowledge help us in our quest for self knowledge? If we have the “right” answer as the thing to find, then we could never accept other turns which Life may bring us. If there is something that I have learned and that I would like to convey to all readers, it is that “every path is different for every individual. Although these paths have the same destination, although at different times.”

In society we have learned “not to reinvent the wheel” and some religions believe that all we need to DO is to follow what someone else like a “saint” or religious leader has done. However, my experience is that in spirituality the “wheel has to be reinvented” for every path, every experience, every perception is different in Life. Thus, all we can do is share our own experience and never a ‘method’ or a ‘system’ that will allow us to ‘get there.’

A person who is just a “baby” in spirituality and listening about the different perceptions of consciousness will say: “ So one perception must be the right one. Who is right ?” He just wants an answer. Something intellectual to give him the idea that “he knows.” This type of person usually will be living life just to enjoy his senses. He will eat anything at any time as long as it tastes “good” (based on conditioning or even imitation), or she could believe that a mirror is her best judge. She will not become aware of how her judgment about her physical observation came to be. The majority of the people on Earth are still at this level. The more conditioned they are through the media and the marketing machinery of society, the less capacity for judgment of their learned values, they will have. These individuals will tend to live life just like their parents did, perpetuating all the unhealed issues which came from living in a ‘modern’ society.

As this ‘modern’ society seems to endlessly migrate from Nature into walls of concrete and roads of asphalt, (where entertainment means to distract the mind from BEING himself) then this individual will lose his capacity to appreciate his connection with mother Earth and therefore, his ability to FEEL. In turn, this person will be worshiping the mind and living a world of “virtual reality,” where the mind takes over his life.

The end result is a person who THINKS all the time: “I think I love you.” They will say. “I think we should DO this.” “I think the solution is that.”

These individuals are unaware that reasoning has a limited scope. Thought usually perceives the surface of matters while supporting separation. These individuals are unaware that thought is from the past, as it comes from our conditioning and previous experiences. Thought cannot bring enjoyment, happiness and peace which at the same time, is what they want.

The gist of thinking is to compare, to analyze, to dissect things in parts, to extrapolate based on fixed premises and to bring the past to our mind to be articulated by our language, which has been catered to polarize meanings: It is black OR white. There is no awareness that there could be something in between. Those analytical capacities are very useful in the “office world” and to operate in “Life in the head” through philosophies and all sorts of beliefs and even scientific discoveries, but those ways have no chance to understand our emotional subjective reality or yet another human or a different species which is unable to ‘speak.’

That type of individual has been trained to exploit, subdue and compete with another. That type of individual will kill to obtain what he wants and will rationalize all sorts of separations made through his morality, to conquer anything he wants. That type of person is not sensitive enough to ‘see’ beyond his mind. But yet, those “qualities” are admired and watered down to be “politically correct” and taught to others as values to pursue to “succeed in life.”

When a person is able to perceive his feelings, emotions and thoughts without identifying with them and able to live life while self observing his every movement, thought and feeling; then that individual is in the process of transitioning to a different way of living: FEELING. Perhaps then, she will realize how absurd it is to say “I think I love you.” Moreover, that person will be able to observe one of the greatest lies of all time since the time of Descartes ( I think therefore, I am) , which is that human beings are not truly rational beings but rather emotional beings. – I FEEL therefore, I AM.

Since that type of person is unable to FEEL Love, beauty, peace and joy, all they have left is the “idea” dictated by their beliefs of what those ‘things’ are.

Thus, they will “practice” those ideas. As a consequence, the FEELING beyond thought is never known; but merely an idea mixed with emotionality which they carry as a response of defense against the environment (the outside) which they want to subdue. That perception of what “I want” and what the “outside brings,” creates a conflict (ego) which is usually solved by conquering the other through some form of violence.

How is it possible for this person to experience Love, beauty, peace and happiness then? It is not possible, but paradoxically these individuals “talk” all the time about these FEELINGS as the “right solutions” to the problems in humanity.

That is their extent of disconnection with their reality and the limitation of their awareness.

(Will continue)

Your reality is what you believe that to be

The above is not used in the typical “feel good spirituality” where we believe to be millionaires to “attract” money or wealth.

The above means that what we believe right now about ourselves and Life, is the way we will behave and respond to the different faces that Life may present to us.

Observe one belief that you have. That is the border that we will not be able to easily go across. However, beliefs are not “bad.” They have their own timing and they act sort of what a baby playpen does: It is protection in a way.

I am thankful for the beliefs I had as a BK follower at that time. Otherwise, I could have gone astray. In fact; I was heading into that route when the BK experience appeared in my Life.

However, as my consciousness and experiences in Life allowed me to see a different “reality,” then my beliefs changed and as I wasn’t going astray anymore; my beliefs kept changing until realizing through conscious experience both, the benefits and detriments of beliefs.

Once the path of going into greater consciousness is accepted as your core living value, then things may turn around to test you.

Like many, I have had many disappointments in Life. In fact, every time something appeared which apparently was “good” for me, it changed around no matter how much “positive thinking” and “making my own reality” through my mind, I practiced. That told me that all of those “feel good schemes” that mainstream spirituality sells for a bargain, did not work for me. It may work for another though.

Now I realize that those disappointments have created the opportunities for my development by placing me in unforeseen situations. Otherwise, how on Earth ‘my’ BEING was going to move into a ‘higher’ direction? By reading books? By intellectually understanding concepts? No! That does not work. If you have ‘decided’ to evolve as a BEING and move into the direction of light, then Life itself is your teacher and there will be many disappointments to scale down that ego. The “I” has expectations and disappointments are the other side of the complete experience.

Sometimes I wanted for something to happen and did everything in my power for that to occur, but the outcome went another way. “Feel good mainstream spirituality” will teach us ‘methods’ and ‘steps’ to take to “get what we want in Life,” or better yet : “To get what we deserve.”

Now I understand, that “getting what I want” is not what my spiritual path is allowing me to experience, but rather to expand my consciousness and be able to maneuver in every Life setting, thus whatever ‘I see’ or perceive is only the reflection of who I am. Let me explain that.

The physical senses perceive things. That perception varies among people. For instance, let us take what we recognize as physical beauty. It is conditioning. The mind will tell us while looking at another: “pretty” or “ugly,” a duality. Words create a mood and most will act based on that. However, when you look at someone, as long as your own BEING has beauty; there is no way to sense ugliness even if we could perceive lack of physical harmony in another. Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is your own reflection, seen in the outside mirror of that which you are ‘looking at.’ Beauty is in the BEING of the beholder.

Again, we could see lack of proportion, lack of something; but there will not be a rejection in us, a revulsion or disgust. It will be as if we were looking at the uniqueness of someone. Our senses will give us a description of shape, which in turn is affected by our social conditioning; but beauty is not there.

Therefore, if we believe to be beautiful but when we observe, we find disgust and ugliness; then our belief is easily discovered as such, just a belief. That belief wasn’t real.

Moreover, the observer IS the observed. I am not saying that if we see a pot, we are the pot. If we see a pot, what we FEEL is what we ARE. That is the mirror. What our senses perceive is not ‘truly’ what is real. Any scientist can attest to that. What we FEEL is the reality of that experience. Let me dissect that: Our senses will give us a perception, however; the “reality” of what truly that is, cannot be known. According to scientists, a pot of clay is a mixture of atoms or particles separated by space. In general, we do not perceive that. Our perception will be driven by conditioning and previous experiences. Thus, if we cannot know what is there, then reality is what we feel about that experience. That feeling is the true known outcome of the experience of relating with ‘another object.’ Observe a roach. Observe a table. Be aware of the feeling. That is our reality at that time, who we ARE. This realization goes over any concept or idea or even wonderful experiences that we may have had in the past, for spirituality is about the now, thus; timeless.

Therefore, when we find great opportunities in disappointments and in receiving something from Life that we did not want or expect, then observe how you FEEL. If you feel good either way, then we are cooking! (‘improving.’) That is what in other religions is known as “accepting God’s will,” or it is also stated as “as it is inside, it is outside.”

It is important to observe that we are no putting up a show to ourselves where we ‘see’ everything as beautiful, great and super. Honestly acknowledge what you FEEL to find out who you ARE. That is the unmistakable gauge to measure where we ARE in spirituality.

* ( The use of ‘ ‘ rather than ” “, denotes that I could not find a better word to express myself. Thus, that word may be inaccurate.)

Reasons are out, feelings are in

At this time, many changes are going on with our planet, the Earth. Our minds may try to understand them, but there is no opportunity to grasp that, as reason is unable to go beyond the surface of what is perceived. Nevertheless, changes are manifesting as everything in Life is constant change.

Mental health is an issue now and we may witness first hand, how many individuals will experience issues with their minds. Most individuals have invested in a world created by their minds and in that world, to be ‘right’ is of utmost importance.

We want to do the ‘right thing.’ We want to prove someone else that we are right. We believe that our beliefs are the right ones, the true ones. We defend our ideas of morality because those are the right ones. With that kind of compulsion it is very easy to confront another who in turn would like to put down our ideas, our beliefs, our moral standards and use their reasons, logic and arguments to try to change our minds.

Observe the conflict, the clash. As they may want to prove that idea X is the true, the right one; we may react and respond with idea Y, which is the most suitable in our view. When the mind is focused in a particular idea, there is no chance to listen to another. It is a waste of time. At this time, most are unable to listen to something different to what they already know, for that little knowledge or idea they believe to know will give them comfort, security. Thus, conflict will unavoidably escalate: From changes in the tone of voice, then into heated arguments and finally into the use of force with their already known consequences.

That has been world history in a succinct paragraph. All we need to do is memorize some names and some places with dates, add the label: ‘The battle of…’ and we are good to go! Many times I wonder about the value of history as it is taught today. It is the same ‘concept’ of struggle and fight for some ideal liberation. Heroes and villains are made up according to the perception and bias that we subscribe to. However the root, the seed it is found in a profoundly disturbed personality meant to create separation, disagreement, conflict. Greed, envy, and that sickly desire to compete and compare with another to become ‘better,’ are the great liabilities that we owe to Life.

At this time is more important to maintain our feelings in a good vibration. As James Brown would put it: “I feel good! It feels nice, like sugar and spice…” This is something serious to consider, for that mood will be ‘you.’ In other words, protect that mood of feeling good. Many times to be right, will change your day into night!

Whenever the mind is engaged, it will do what it does best: Separation, antagonism, differences. That mind created conflict will fill our self with negativity, which then will break into our emotions through repetition. As we emit that emotional negativity many times, then that becomes a habit; which in turn will be food for many entities surrounding us. Thus, we will be forced to emit that distressing sound of negativity as an addiction, thanks to forces outside our will which many are unaware of. That is the ‘reality’ of most of humanity at this time; our ‘World History’ not told by books and researchers.

In order to keep our sanity and spiritual vibe as high as possible, we may need to walk out from many ‘battles’ where we know to be ‘right,’ if we want to defend that which is precious at this time: Our feelings.

I feel the above is highly important at this time and it applies to all. The above is a recipe for ‘success’ according to time. Later on, it will change. What is the sense of defending through reasoning something which another will not listen to? It is just masochism. Like hitting your head on the wall even when knowing that that will hurt.

Defend that ‘feel good vibe’ at every occasion and you will be safe and good… “So good, so good. I got you!”

All “good” answers are according to time

Man is inherently bound with life and time. In the Brahma Kumaris and many other religions there is the idea of becoming like the perfect portrait of ourselves as it was in the “beginning.” Even though it is a laudable direction, there is the fact that “now” is not like “before.”

There is an issue when a religious philosophy has a mental picture of what “should be,” and that is to pretend that “what is” does not exist, judge it as wrong or worse yet, insinuating a complete rejection.

To illustrate, sexuality and gender distinction are good examples. Someone following a spiritual path may identify her/himself as being bisexual, pansexual, homosexual, transgender/transsexual or any other term which is not related with being ‘straight.’ If we take that fact into the situation of a philosophy like the Brahma Kumaris or even Christianity, we could have many arguments based on the “truth” of those religious beliefs which show what “should be.” For instance: “Lakshmi and Narayan were female and male. That is what existed in the Golden age, thus; that is what is right.” or “God created male and female to live with each other as husband and wife. Anything else is not the law.”

Life is not an ideal picture to be held in our minds, or an unmovable paragraph which conveys some truth. This misunderstanding is the one creating havoc and suffering in many human beings.

Someone ‘smart’ may argue back: “We should strive to be the highest, the purest and not fall to something less than that.” Therefore, if I am a BK I will exclude sexuality from my life, for that is the way the Golden age is, according to my belief. Moreover, I will avoid mingling with people of the opposite gender which are attractive to me, to avoid ‘falling into temptation.’ However, in that solution there are 2 issues: 1) A promotion of homosexuality. 2) A consent for repression: If there is a temptation, then there is suppression which is not healthy for a follower after sometime. That same issue is happening in the Catholic religion, where gender separation has been offered as a ‘solution’ to live closer to God. What are the results? Promotion of homosexuality and sexual practices with children. Thus, we cannot hide the diversity of gender identities and sexual orientations at this time. We may need to take the veil out of our eyes and see what “is” rather than what “should be. ” The follower may need to take a deep look at themselves, be honest and act accordingly. If your nature is not according to what a religion promotes, then repression will be unavoidable. Then perhaps that particular belief is not for you at that particular time. That may change later on, as Life is change and to flow in Life we will need to learn to swim using the momentum and direction of those waters. This is not a license for debauchery, which is the other extreme. That honesty should remain in the discovery of attachment, addiction and neediness in our lives, for that awareness will give us something to ‘work on’ no matter what faith we decide to follow. Balance is the key.

That “perfect” world in Heaven or the Golden Age did not know about duality in Life. This world “now,” is full of it. See the difference?

I used quotes in the word “perfect,” for that is another illusion. This should be clearly understood by any Brahma Kumaris follower, for in an eternally repeating cycle every moment is unique, eternal and repetitive. Thus, what is the need to use labels to praise one experience at one point in time and then to belittle another? There is no sense, for those moments will appear again.

That which I just tried to explain, will be very difficult to convey to a Christian or most any other believing in a monotheistic, free-will type of religion. That brings my second point, there couldn’t be further understanding because their own beliefs trap them into a limiting world. In other words, their beliefs, philosophies, etc. allows for borders to appear and with that limitations. A Christian believer could be very smart, but he will move under the limits of that which is known as “Christianity.”

How is that person going to open up to another notch of consciousness? By the experience of something different. Typically that which was rejected will come back and hopefully there will be an opening this time for newness; as intellectual backgrounds are static; then perhaps a personal experience will truly move his consciousness, for that cannot be denied. You see, it is great to debate another on intellectual terms as to what is right and what is not, but when you experience something which is against your beliefs, then that will shake you and allow you for the first time to look at something different.

That is why acceptance is key. With that sort of acceptance there is no need to know any philosophy or any “truth,” uttered by anyone. Acceptance does not mean to participate in something which does not resonate with us. Acceptance means to acknowledge and to allow it to be, although it doesn’t seem like ‘perfection.‘

My friend Mathias told me one time, “the search for perfection only brings suffering;” and that is the experience of those looking for it at this time. But yet, suffering is not bad or good. It is merely a consequence of following a particular path. If we are aware to learn from that, then that experience will be invaluable. The other side is that suffering may bring trauma which is another notch of experience in our quest for perfection. The good news is that healing of that experience comes when we understand and acknowledge its worth in our lives; that is when we accept it.

As our beliefs and securities are left aside, then we will be open to know different things, different answers which will be valuable at that particular time. We cannot find “the answer,” but only what seems to be working for us at one point in time. As we move on, those answers will move on as well.

Greater depth in Life is not found by intellectual pursuits. Depth comes through assimilation of Life experiences, then that becomes an insight which cannot put static frames of beliefs upon new experiences, but rather; will allow us to see possibilities rather than a tunnel vision of what ‘should be.’

Every belief has a time to BE and a time not to BE. Any answer given according to the consciousness of a person, will be without a doubt; the “right” answer.

Will resume writing on August 18, 2021. Until then ! 🙂

Above all: Be honest with yourself

Out of the many meanings the word “honesty” could have, “integrity” is the one that I refer to in this article. What is integrity? To be true to yourself, that is complete and undivided.

In a society where we are taught to comply and “fake it til you make it,” I feel it is important to observe this quality of honesty. I feel it is the most important quality a seeker could ever have.

In my time as a religious seeker, I was believing in things that I did not experience. Part of that comes from that fear to be left out of the ‘chosen’ crowd and another part is because of sheer compliance with the norms: If we belong to a particular faith, then we are expected to comply. It is the same with belonging to a political party, a team, even to a country. We will find that the level of influence the collective consciousness has into an individual is directly proportional to his lack of self observation.

In my Christian times or even Brahma Kumaris experience, I experienced that issue of lack of self honesty, integrity. It is understandable, for no one is expected to be by himself in a spiritual path and make some spiritual progress. We may need support from others, what is known in BK parlance as the ‘spiritual family.’

However; if ever by yourself, then it is a twofold path: It is a great opportunity to climb to new heights as long as you have the discipline and the openness to accept and learn from the tests that Life will throw at you; or it is the best opportunity as well, to fall little by little into darkness: To be the protagonist of the famous fable of the ‘boiling frog.’ We need a degree of keen awareness to be able to make it or you will burn away into a comfort zone of lethargy.

My sister “Raysha,” has a spiritual path of her own. She is into “cover yourself with a violet light and send a white light of blessings to the world,” Chakras, kundalini, mudras, dimensions, magic… etc. Get the point? That path works for her because she experiences those things and can “see” those things having an effect on her and she has unique spiritual gifts. Typically, she is the one chosen to work with Nature and ‘elementals’ as she can relate at a level that ‘normal’ people wouldn’t. When we see all the wonders of the world as magical, we are not far from what is. My friend Mathias once told me:”First was magic, then philosophers wanted to interpret and explain to others, finally came science where you had to rationally explain your findings.” Have you been in Disney’s “Magic Kingdom”? The kid fully enjoying it is not the one asking questions like: why? how? That ain’t real, right?” This life experience is like that “Magic Kingdom.” Where we are meant to enjoy this ride not to ask questions during it and miss the moment.

What good is to know theoretically something that you cannot experience? That is only information which could be good to participate in programs like “Jeopardy” or to get some on-line certification in “spiritual studies.” That is all.

My path on the other hand, is ‘Down to the Bone’ (like the musical group.) Observation, awareness, feelings, intuition, discipline. That is all, folks! No magical powers… Some may say “good intellect” as some BKs used to say, but that was the Avyakt7 from way before. Some of the intellectual, philosophical, sort of scientific writings that one used to write, are not part of my experience today. Sometimes I even attempt to read those and they do not resonate with me. Too much mind! However, that experience has been integrated in the one existing today. The Universe speaks to me through other means. For instance, I have signed up to receive free daily emails from “J. Krishnamurti online,” a daily quote. That is usually the first thing I read in the morning. I have been amazed at the synchronicity: It is usually what I need or what I need to decipher inside me. Krishnamurti was sharing his own experience but that has been made into an intellectual trip to nowhere by many intellectual people. Unless you had similar experiences leading you to understand beyond the limitations of words; you will not understand, no matter how smart or ‘educated’ you could be. We cannot explain what is water to someone who has never experienced it.

I experienced that being honest with myself meant that those things which are not part of my experience, are just that; not part of my experience although for many others it could be.

Therefore, as I understood that my mission was to have my two feet firmly planted on the physical realm, my spiritual dimension opened up as I was true to my mission. Nevertheless, I will not make the mistake of belittling other people’s experiences or spiritual/religious paths; for my sister’s path has helped me tremendously.

The Universe is immense and full of mysteries! There is too much information for a little human mind and everyone of us has its own strengths to help each other out in the common good. Therefore, my previous search for the “true path,” or the “true belief system,” or to know the “truth,” all of that is out of my system; although at one point in my spiritual career, those items were very important for me.

Someone “spiritual” one day told me: “As it is inside, it is outside.” I thought that to be a lie. But, I used to repeat it and sound “spiritual” with others because that phrase was ‘in’ the spiritual repertoire. I thought that I needed to “practice those skills” and whenever I experienced a gray day in my life, I only had to say to others that it was beautiful! I am sure, many seekers have gone through the same experience. ‘Fake til you make it’ does not achieve any influence in the realm of BEING, which is the one which truly matters.

Now, I could experience that as you ARE, that is how your vision IS and while some may perceive problems and obstacles, others may see those as challenges, opportunities to conquer. Different perceptions, none of them right or wrong. Nevertheless, without those problems or challenges there could not be a possibility to blossom in the spiritual realm, no matter how great our information or experience is on chakras, karma, dharma, spiritual dimensions, ascended masters, etc.

Spirituality is not an intellectual endeavor (although it may start there.) It is completely experiential and every experience is different for different individuals, thereby; we may need to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge our own experiences only as another route to “get there,” which is different from someone else. It is in understanding this, how openness to diversity and variety could take us to experience Life in a different dimension, which will have a positive effect in our BEING.

A deeper view of Duality through poetry and painting

“The fool thinks that the egg comes from the bird-or else that the egg comes from the bird. The wise man knows that they come from each other. The egg falls from the bird and, grotesque as it sounds to say it, that is all there is to the doctrine of the fall. The bird rises from the egg, and that is all there is from the doctrine of evolution. Logically contradictory as the two doctrines are, until imagination “marries” them the truth, Blake believes, will not be born.”

Extract from “Blake’s fourfold vision”. by Harold C. Goddard – Pendle Hill pamphlet page 18.

The above quoted paragraph is from a small treaty on William Blakes’s life and poetry. Blake was an English poet, painter and printmaker. He was believed to be ‘crazy’ due to his spiritual visions and misinterpreted poetry. Needless to say, he was little known during his lifetime. Even today when reading some of his poetry (“The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” comes to mind) most conditioned individuals will not understand the depth of what he is trying to portray with the limits of dualistic words and his worldly experience at that time.

He is quoted saying:”Improvement makes straight roads, but the crooked roads without improvement are the roads of genius.” That may not make much sense, until perhaps we see his painting of “Jacob’s ladder.” (Here is an article I wrote as a BK almost exactly 9 years ago https://explore7.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/exploring-the-meaning-of-the-ladder/) That ladder is not a straight ladder. With greater depth, we could realize that “Improvement” is only a conditioned human ideal.

Blake came to my attention as I was understanding the picture of the “Ladder” of Brahma Kumaris, 9 years ago. I just recently saw that pic again, and further understanding came. I wanted to know more about Blake and ended up buying this booklet by Goddard for less than 3 dollars on-line. Goddard does a very good job expanding the depth of intellectual understanding by giving plenty of citations and quotes from others, but he lacks the spiritual experiences to go beyond that realm. That is one of the shortcomings in my view, from having academia translate or figure out the meaning behind mysticism. You have to have the experiences to know.

Blake had an unprecedented understanding through his visions of what duality really means. The worldly background or experience he had to explain it, was the doctrine of Christianity; thus using God, demons and angels, to explain his visions and realizations. He was an artist not a religious seeker and he used that religious background in his poetry.

“… and the original Archangel …. is called the Devil or Satan” he said. Interestingly, the rebellion of good (Archangel) vs the reign of good (God) became evil. Sort of like, positive pole together with positive pole will repel each other. Now, try telling that to a Christian or to those giving sermons on-line whose idea of duality is a straight line defining good from evil. Interestingly, “Free will” comes to the rescue of that God, for the Archangel could have done otherwise, and therefore the idea of punishment is justified . All of that could be gullible and in fact, it was for many centuries; until we discover predestination…

Definitely, there is so much depth that we could go into based on Blake’s views but it could be misunderstood. I just want to add some points based on the quote at the start of this writing, the rest is for the reader to ruminate upon: “Imagination” does not marry two opposites (Blake used the word ‘imagination’ to describe how two opposites could be together) if we use the dictionary meaning of that word. It is the mind only making that separation of angels and devils. Nevertheless, Yes that separation exists… but it doesn’t.

What do you mean?

Ah! That is a long talk and many experiences to go through to understand.

Now in the “Spiritual talk” we use the word INTEGRATION rather than “imagination” for what Blake perhaps, tried to explain.

How do you integrate good and evil? Well, You don’t.

What do you mean?

That is another long talk and many experiences to go through.

The doctrine of the fall of man is a religious view, while evolution is a mix of religion and science. Both are explanations of the purpose and destiny of man and both are creations of a dualistic mind which supports struggle, fight to survive; while Nature does not operate through that duality, but rather complements, balance, harmony. Observe that our perception of Life is biased due to our conditioning.

Who is first, the bird or the egg? It depends on your point of reference. Goddard didn’t know that; but yet he chooses “who is the fool and who is the wise” (duality) based on judging different perspectives.

“The roads without improvement are the roads of genius,” Blake said. But also of madmen and mystics. It all depends on your point of reference. Ask Albert Einstein, in doubt!