meditation and spiritual growth

As we walked down the narrow rocky corridor members of the tour group voiced fascination and excitement.

The walls of sandstone on either side were carved millennia ago by underground rivers. Striations in the rock covered the ceiling and walls. The narrow passageway dipped to the left, and then to the right. The hollow access widened and then narrowed. The underground labyrinth inspired our imagination and instilled a sense of adventure.

We were on the Grand Avenue Tour at Mammoth Cave, and the limestone walls gave way into a large underground chamber known as Frozen Niagara.  There we viewed the 75 foot high flowstone formation, along with other Stalactites (hangs from the ceiling) and Stalagmites (rises from the floor).  A bit later we ended up in the Rainbow Dome, and stood in awe at the spectacular display of calcium carbonate cave formations.

For me the best part of this job is watching the wonderful expressions of discovery on the faces of our visitors. If I can help to stir the imagination and inspire our children and adults, I consider this a good day. As a Park Ranger I’m dedicated to introducing our guests to the wonders of planet Earth.

I’ve had many jobs over the last fifty years. I started out delivering newspapers and then working as general labor it a knitting factory. We made sweaters, blouses and skirts. In the 1980’s I saw these textile jobs moved overseas and many of my friends were left without work. I went to night school and earned an associate’s degree in Accounting, mostly because there were plenty of promising jobs in that field.

I worked for many years as an Accountant but I was never truly happy. I did my job with honesty and diligence, but it was just a means to pay the bills. I know that some corporate accountants say one plus one is whatever management wants it to be, but for me it was always two.

It wasn’t until I retired a few years ago that I found my life’s calling. There was an opening for tour guides at Mammoth Cave. I lived in Edmonson County for most of my life and enjoyed fishing on the Green River. I had spare time on my hands and remembered how I loved walking the caverns.

Now as a Park Ranger I found the job of my dreams. I finally got my grove.

In the Western World finding that niche in life, where you thrive and blossom is often called Living the Dream. In the East it’s called Living your Dharma.

But it’s more than just finding the right job, that perfect life partner, or having a comfortable lifestyle. It’s about discovering who you really are, and what actions in life are best suited to exercise and cultivate your natural born talents. Following such a course accelerates your personal growth and also contributes to the well being of the human race.

The need to live your Dharma is an important theme found in the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

It’s based on the observation that various Natural Laws seem to be operating in the Universe. These laws create, sustain and destroy (transition) all aspects of relative life – in order to keep the universe running in a smooth, progressive, orderly fashion.

On a personal level that means aligning your thoughts and actions to flow in accordance with Natural Law.

Proper choice and pursuit of job, family, religion, health, exercise, ethical behavior, duty, social responsibility, marriage, self development and meditation – lead to greater benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, and faith in life.

Some may call this “The Law Eternal” (Sanatana Dharma), the “Path of Righteousness” or the “Dharma Gate” (as in Taoism), but in all cases it refers to living your full potential.

Flow with the rhythm of creation, and just Be.

When you follow your own Dharma, it …

• Fulfills your destiny
• Gives you the feeling that everything in the World is just right
• Highlights your best qualities and abilities
• Improves you family, community, city, state, nation, and world
• Improves your health
• It challenges you to grow, evolve and succeed
• Make a difference in the World
• Makes you feel generous and significant
• Makes you feel that you know what you are supposed to be doing in this life
• Provides opportunities to express your values and knowledge
• Increases Self esteem
• Makes daily chores and tasks seem less like work
• Turns you into who you were meant to be
• Unfolds your passion and fascination for life
• Utilizes your unique creative energies, bringing a thrill and excitement to life
• Draws you closer to the people that you love
• Becomes more empowering
• Allows you to feel fulfilled and happy
• Develops self respect
• Ushers you into peace

§§

The Mahayana Buddhist tradition of the Three Dharma Seals refers to the three life attributes shared by all living beings.

They consist of the mysteries of existence, impermanence (anicca – non self), and nirvana.

Everyone must deal with these three Worldly traits. Following one’s Dharma offers the best hope for navigating safely through the maze of personal existence.

The first Dharma Seal is impermanence:

As time passes by nothing remains the same. Even a flowing river, from one moment to the next, contains different water. A new car turns into a pile of rust (3rd law of thermodynamics) over time. Children are born, become adults, and then perish in old age. Mountains come and go. The Seas rise, fall, and dry up. What was once fertile land becomes a desert. The Sun exhausts it hydrogen fuel and balloons outward to become a Red Giant Star, swallowing up the Earth and all the inner planets. One galaxy ends, and the next is born.

Our space/time/causal world is in constant motion. By living your Dharma you take advantage of the opportunity to change, advance, grow, and rise to bliss consciousness. Going with the flow, rather than against the current of time, maximizes bliss and mental peace.

Everything continues to exist, only its form changes over time. A leaf falls from the tree and returns back to the soil. Elderly people die and their bodies return back to the Earth.

Holding on and not accepting inevitable change is a source of suffering.

It has been said that in the present moment the past and future also reside simultaneously. To us on this hard physical plane of existence, past/present/future appear distinct and separate. We seem to live the present, remember the past, and dream about the future.

But on the higher planes of existence as we move from the physical, to etheric, and then to the mental sphere of activity (our thinking level) that solid distinction begins to dissolve. The past becomes almost as real as the present. All too often the past haunts our present lives with resentment and the sting of unfulfilled wishes.

How we behave in the present is governed in large part by our past actions. Who we are on an individual level is the sum total of what we have gone through in the past. It has been said that 40% of what we do every day is by habit. Mental impressions (samskaras) and personal biases based on religion and societal norms all too often dictate how we act. We want to be free, but we can’t escape their clutch.

On the Buddhic level which is experienced in Enlightenment, the influence of time, although still acting on our bodies, has no other influence.

An essential reason of why time exists is because the speed of light is not infinite. It takes time for light to travel. It does not move instantaneously.

In fact, light traveling through various dense media actually slows down. Some current physics experiments have virtually slowed light down to a crawl.

It takes time for information to travel from one place in the universe to another.

When we look at a sunrise we see the Sun as it was 8 minutes ago. That’s because it takes 8 minutes for the light to reach us from the sun.

Speed of light	Average mean distance of the Earth to the Sun	Light travel time
300,000   kilometers/second	149,597,871 – kilometers	8.317 light minutes
186,000   miles/second	92,955,807 – miles	8.317 light minutes

As we look out into space we are viewing farther and farther back into the past.

Look at:

Jupiter, and see it as it was – 45 minutes ago
Saturn, and see it as it was – 75 minutes ago
Pluto, and see it as it was – 5.5 hours ago
The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, and see it as it was – 4.3 years ago
The center of our Milky Way Galaxy, and see it as it was – 30,000 years ago
The Andromeda Galaxy, and see it as it was – 2.6 million years ago

Now as a thought experiment, imaging that your awareness is everywhere at once. You can see what is happening right now in front of you, and also what is happening right now at the farthest edge of the Universe. All now, all here.

Well then …
when your awareness is at the outskirts of Jupiter, you are watching what will been seen by an observer on the planet Earth 45 minutes from now. So from that perspective, you are currently watching the future.

Not so for the person on the Earth, if their awareness is limited to where they are at that moment in time/space. But for one with unbounded cosmic awareness (Atma), the past/present/future all reside at once, in the eternal now.

The concept and perception of past/present/future only has relevance to one with limited conscious perspective.

The second Dharma Seal is non-self:

This is the observation that the individual self is not permanent. There is no eternal individual soul or self.

Many religious and philosophical systems suggest that after death the human soul continuous on, either in another world (heaven or hell) or through the process of rebirth comes back to Earth.

The prospect of living eternally either in heaven or hell is not supported by this doctrine. But a temporary stay based upon the fruits of karma is.

Destiny and karma act on an individual life and collectively influence the course of events in society. The Enlightened person is still the recipient of their karma, but it is no longer binding.

All phenomena acting on the body and mind of a person are non-self influences.

In Buddhist teaching this lesson is sometimes taught in terms of the “five aggregates,” which are:

1. Form – as perceived by sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
2. Sensation – as pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent.
3. Perception – as objective experience of the phenomenal world.
4. Mental formation – as memories, thoughts, and imaginations.
5. Consciousness – as cognitive and noncognitive.

These constitute the basics of personal existence.

The third Dharma Seal is nirvana:

Nirvana is a state where craving, hatred, suffering, and all forms of ignorance come to an end.

The delusion of the ego/self has been extinguished. When the small self dissolves into the large Self, all doubt and hardship suddenly evaporate. Death and the influence of time are transcended.

Nirvana is eternal peace and contentment.

Through the principal of transcending the relative world (via meditation) enlightenment is realized.

§§

Finding and living ones Dharma is essential for every individual being. The Park Ranger at Mammoth Cave found his purpose through walking, teaching, and silence.

You should take an inventory of your life to help determine what set of activities and goals you are best suited for.

Search you heart to find your Dharma. Live it fully, in tune with nature, to ride the crested wave of life.

Peace be with you.

On a flat plain nestled 1,731 meters above sea level, stones mysteriously wander across the landscape.

This occurs at Racetrack Playa; a dry, vegetation free, desert basin area. Located in the Western part of the United States (Death Valley), it’s about 4 kilometers long, and 2 kilometers wide. The bed is composed of stratified clay, silt, sand, and other commonly soluble salts.

No one has ever seen them move, but the trails that they leave are ample evidence that rocks as heavy as 115 kg scoot across the surface like sailing vessels. Flat bottom rocks move in arcs and straight lines. Some move in one direction for awhile, and then another. Round bottom boulders travel more toward the right or left, in haphazard manner, as they tumble across the dry lake.

The dancing rocks are thought to move every 2-3 years. The trails last about 5 years. Stones with jagged bottoms leave grooved tracks as they travel. Sometimes stones turn over and the trail takes a sudden turn.

These rolling stones inspire our imagination.

Scientists have many theories to explain what propels these stones on their mysterious adventure. High winds are certainly involved, and the dry lake bed needs to be wetted (or iced) in order for the winds to be able to overcome the coefficient of static friction and start moving the heavy stones. High winds and a slick surface make movements across the plain possible.

As with an enlightened person, these stones remain in silence (do not move) until prompted by nature. When the right conditions exist, the sailing stones move. When the need of the environment requires it, an enlightened person is moved to action.

Death Valley is the lowest point in the United States, at 86 meters (282 feet) below sea level.
It is almost completely flat and holds the record for the second highest temperature ever recorded on Earth, a blistering 58^oC (136.4^o F).

Death Valley spans 3.4 million acres. Its flat plains and towering mountains are home to over 600 plant species; and 17 mammal, fish, and snail species that exist nowhere else in the world. The desert tortoise, coyote, ringtail cat, bighorn sheep, lizards, snakes and birds, call this their home.

How did Death Valley get this way?

• 1.4 billion years ago this area was covered by a shallow sea. Then the metamorphosed Precambrian basement rocks began to uplift. (These rocks are still visible today at Badwater).
• 550 million years ago the sandy mud flats gave way to harder carbonate rocks.
• 270 millions years ago – the Death Valley region was near the Earth’s equator.
• 250 million years ago the Sea began its withdrawal.
• 225 million years ago tectonic collisions from the west caused erupting volcanoes, mountain building, and further bed compression.
• 65 million years ago the withdrawal of the Sea is complete; after 160 million years of volcanism, thrust/faulting and mountain building.
• 30 million years ago the Pacific and Farallon plates intersected at the subduction zone, dividing the Farallon plate in two. The Death Valley basin was born. The Black Mountains began to rise, and the Panamint/Cottonwood Mountains moved westward.
• 24 million years ago river and lake deposits continue.
• 186,000 years ago the area filled with glacial fresh water. Lakes and rivers (Amargosa River, Lake Trcopa, Lake Manly, Panamint Lake and Searles Lake) became a part of the landscape. As faulting continued, Lake Manly grew to be 160 km in length and 183 meters (600 feet) deep.
• 10,000 years ago all the lakes were gone and dry land reigned supreme.

Geologists tell us that subduction continues. The Valley is sinking and the mountains move further apart. At some point in the future the Valley will open to the Sea and once again fill with salt water. As the mountains move further westward that area of California will separate from continental North America and become an island unto itself.

Modern day Death Valley features include:

Badwater Basin
This is lowest point in North America. Fault scarps and salt pans are still visible.

Death Valley dunes
The beautify Desert sands

Devil’s Golf Course
Ample Salt deposits

Furnace Creek
Water

Harmony Borax works
Early mining (20 Mule Team Borax) in Death Valley

Racetrack Playa
The mysterious wandering rocks

Saratoga Springs
The Desert oasis

Ubehebe Crater
The Maar volcanoes

As human beings we desire, think, and act. We direct our will toward the fulfillment of personal satisfaction.

For the deluded, pleasure and pain appear to be different. A lifetime is spent avoiding pain and pursuing pleasure.

But pleasure and pain are just two aspects of our relative life. It’s far better to transcend both. Reach for truly lasting happiness – the eternal bliss of enlightened consciousness. Unfettered by time and space, you become truthfully free.

Be like the wandering stones of Racetrack Playa. Act when propelled by nature. Act for the betterment of all mankind.

Meditate every day to develop your full potential.

Since the beginning of mankind’s first steps on the Earth we recognized that special kinship with this beautiful, blue world. The Native American people lived on the land in harmony with the seasons and the rhythms of the creation.

Here are a few words worthy to ponder, and use as a guideline for a life well lived.

———————————————————————————————————————
Algonquin Tribe

The Great Spirit is in all things, he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us that which we put into the ground she returns to us….
(Big Thunder)

———————————————————————————————————————
Blackfoot Tribe

What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across
the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
(Crowfoot)

———————————————————————————————————————
Cherokee Tribe

O’ GREAT SPIRIT
help me always
to speak the truth quietly,
to listen with an open mind
when others speak,
and to remember the peace
that may be found in silence.
(Prayer)

May the Warm Winds of Heaven
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit
Bless all who enter there.
May your Moccasins
Make happy tracks
in many snows,
and may the Rainbow
Always touch your shoulder.
(Prayer)

———————————————————————————————————————
Coast Salish Tribe

May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong.
(Chief Dan George)

The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle. But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing he will curse me. Have I done all to keep the air fresh? Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild’s fondness?
(Chief Dan George)

———————————————————————————————————————
Dwamish Tribe

… all things share the same breath – the beast, the tree, the man … the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.
(Chief Seattle)

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.
(Chief Seattle)

The wind that gave our grandfathers his first breath also receives his last sigh and the wind must also give our children the spirit of life.
(Chief Seattle)

———————————————————————————————————————
Hopi Tribe

Lose your temper and you lose a friend; lie and you lose yourself.
(Proverb)

———————————————————————————————————————
Lakota Tribe

Lakota Instructions for Living:

Friend do it this way – that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.

If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
(White Buffalo)

———————————————————————————————————————
Mohican Tribe

When it comes time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.
(Chief Aupumut)

———————————————————————————————————————
Navajo Tribe

I have been to the end of the earth.
I have been to the end of the waters.
I have been to the end of the sky.
I have been to the end of the mountains.
I have found none that are not my friends.
(Proverb)

———————————————————————————————————————
Pawnee Tribe

In the beginning of all things, wisdom and knowledge were with the animals, for Tirawa, the One Above, did not speak directly to man. He sent certain animals to tell men that he showed himself through the beast, and that from them, and from the stars and the sun and moon should man learn.. all things tell of Tirawa.

All things in the world are two. In our minds we are two, good and evil. With our eyes we see two things, things that are fair and things that are ugly…. We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil, and we have the left hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things two, all two.
(Eagle Chief)

———————————————————————————————————————
Ponca Tribe

There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled,
which leads to an unknown, secret place.

The old people came literally to love the soil,
and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of
being close to a mothering power.

Their teepees were built upon the earth
and their altars were made of earth.

The soul was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.
That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of
propping himself up and away from its life giving forces.

For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply
and to feel more keenly. He can see more clearly into the mysteries of
life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him.
(Chief Luther Standing Bear)

———————————————————————————————————————
Pueblo Tribe

Hold On
Hold on to what is good,
Even if it’s a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe,
Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
Even if it’s a long way from here.
Hold on to your life,
Even if it’s easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand,
Even if someday I’ll be gone away from you.
(Prayer)

———————————————————————————————————————
Seneca Tribe

Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit.
If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about
it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?
(Sogoyewapha)

———————————————————————————————————————
Shawnee Tribe

According to the Native People, the Sacred Space
is the space between exhalation and inhalation.
To Walk in Balance is to have Heaven (spirituality)
and Earth (physicality) in Harmony.

So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about their religion;
respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.

Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
even a stranger, when in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.

Abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
and robs the spirit of its vision.
(Chief Tecumseh)

———————————————————————————————————————
Sioux Tribe

Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.

And I say the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy…

But anywhere is the center of the world.
(Black Elk)

And while I stood there
I saw more than I can tell,
and I understood more than I saw;
for I was seeing in a sacred manner
the shapes of things in the spirit,
and the shape of all shapes as they must
live together like one being.
(Black Elk)

Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other,
thus should we do,
for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World.
(Black Elk)

It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will in time disturb one’s spiritual balance. Therefore, children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving.
(Ohiyesa)

Oh, Great Spirit
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me, I am small and weak,
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have
made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand the things
you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have
hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy – myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my Spirit may come to you without shame.
(Chief Yellow Lark)

———————————————————————————————————————
Ute Tribe

Earth, Teach Me
Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.
(Prayer)

———————————————————————————————————————
Other sayings …

Treat the earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.
(Ancient Indian Proverb)

Respect means listening until everyone has been heard and understood, only then is there a possibility of “Balance and Harmony” the goal of Indian Spirituality.
(Dave Chief, Grandfather of Red Dog)

Honor the sacred.
Honor the Earth, our Mother.
Honor the Elders.
Honor all with whom we
share the Earth:-
Four-legged, two-legged,
winged ones,
Swimmers, crawlers,
plant and rock people.
Walk in balance and beauty.
(Native American Elder)

Certain things catch your eye,
But pursue only those
that capture your heart.
(old Indian saying)

———————————————————————————————————————

We are all Native peoples of the Earth. Live in harmony with creation.

Ho! Mitakuye Oyasin
We Are All Related

Human birth is favored by nature.  We are born with intellectual astuteness and the physical warewithal to explore, ponder, and contemplate the mysteries of the universe.

While other egocentric beings are caught in the web of time/causality and are limited by their mental faculties, we have both the inclination and apparatus (the human nervous system) to understand and stretch our lives toward the infinite.

As politicians and ecologists debate the Earth’s ability to support the current (7 billion) human inhabitants, an important consideration if often missed.  At no time in the recorded history of the human race has the potential for development of consciousness been so favored, or been so great.

Every day is an opportunity to meditate, and transcend suffering and egocentric induced limitation.

Buddhist theology enumerates that there are 31 levels of creation.

The Formless Realms (arupa-loka)
31.  Sphere of Neither perception nor non-perception
30.  Sphere of Nothingness
29.  Sphere of Infinite Consciousness
28.  Sphere of Infinite Space

The Form Realms (rupa-loka)
27.  Peerless devas
26.  Clear sighted devas
25.  Beautiful devas
24.  Untroubled devas
23.  Durable devas
22.  Mindless devas
21.  Very Fruitful devas
20.  Devas of Radiant Glory
19.  Devas of Unbounded Glory
18.  Devas of Limited Glory
17.  Devas of Streaming Radiance
16.  Devas of Unbounded Radiance
15.  Devas of Limited Radiance
14.  Great Brahmas
13.  Ministers of Brahma
12.  Retinue of Brahma

The Sensual World (kama-loka)
11.  Devas Wielding Power Over the Creation of Others
10.  Devas Delighting in Creation
9. Contented devas
8.  Yama devas
7.  The Thirty Three Gods
6.  Devas of the Four Great Kings
5.  Human Beings
4.  Demons
3.  Hungry Ghosts
2.  Animals
1.  Hell

Now at first glance it’s easy to think that since Human Beings occupy the 5th of 31 planes (in the 16^th percentile) we are very low on the evolutionary ladder.   However, in reality we are in the middle.  We straddle between the physical plane and all of the higher mental planes.  As such, all realms of creation are available to us.

It has been said in the scriptures (Theravada Buddhist Pali Canon and others) that the higher beings (devas) are so enthralled by the beauty and splendor of those worlds, that they do not even contemplate enlightenment.  They are just not interested.

Our unique sensitivity to pleasure and pain, and our ability to develop virtue and wisdom to the degree necessary to set ourselves free from all kingdoms (time/space/causality), make human birth rare and cherished.

After years of following the footsteps of suffering and the false hopes of finding permanent happiness in this physical realm, we learn to turn within and develop our faculties to their fullest extent.

Other theological and philosophical systems have (more or less) than 31 delineated categories of life.  Some divide that spectrum to include both the animate and inanimate expressions of nature. But in each of those systems, humanity straddles the unique position of developing the full outer value of life (physical) and the full inner value of life (bliss consciousness).

Our sense of limitation (ego) and access to all levels of mind (chit) propels us toward enlightenment.

Just looking at numbers the human race is dwarfed by our multifarious world and universe.

For example:

1) How many atoms (the building blocks of matter) are there in the Universe?
A recent calculated estimate gives the number of atoms in the observable universe to be close to 10⁸⁰.

That is …

100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 … atoms.

2) How many stars are there in the Universe?
The observable universe contains about 1 septillion (10²⁴ ) stars organized into more than 80 billion galaxies, which themselves form clusters and super clusters.

That is …

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 … stars.

3) What is the size of the observable Universe?
The diameter of the observable universe is estimated to be about 28 billion parsecs (92 billion light-years), putting the edge of the observable universe at about 46–47 billion light-years away.

That is …

47,000,000,000 … light years OR
4,465,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 … kilometers OR
2,763,600,000,000,000,000,000,000 … miles.

4) How many plants are there on the Earth today?
Scientists have found approximately 250,000 different types of plants (not including fungi, algae - seaweeds and cutivars).

Annuals
Biennials
Perennials
Shrubs
Bulbs
Creepers and Climbers
Flowering and Ornamental Tree

5) How many insects are there on the Earth today?
There are 900,000 different kinds of living insects.
At any one time, it is estimated that there are some 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects alive.

6) How many reptiles are there on the Earth today?
There are about 9000 species of reptiles on Earth.
The species are grouped into the following orders:
• Order Squamata Lizards and Snakes
• Order Chelonia/Testudines Tortoises and Turtles
• Order Crocodylia Crocodiles
• Order Rhyncocephalia Tuataras (of which there are only 2 species)

7) How many birds are there on the Earth today?
Estimates indicate that there are about 100 billion birds living today on the Earth (re: Cornell University).

8.) How many fish are there on the Earth today?
The first global census of marine life logged 230,000 different species.  There are billions upon billions of fish in the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers.

9) How many animals are there on the Earth today?
Scientists who study animal life are called zoologists. They have recorded 6,000 species of reptiles, 1,000 species of amphibians, and 15,000 species of mammals.

These daunting numbers do indeed highlight how rare human birth is.

10) How many human beings have ever lived on the Earth?
It is estimated that 108 billion people have lived and died on the Earth.  The human population
• around 8,000 BC was about 5-million;
• around 1 AD was about 300-million;
• around 1750 was about 795-million;
• around 1900 was around 1.6-billion;
• and in 2012 will be over 7-billion people.

(For Theosophical fans, if you subscribe to this teaching, the Earth is currently in the 4^th round of 7, and humanity in the 5^th stage of 7 of evolutionary development).

11) What is the current Human population on the Earth?
7 billion people and counting – 7,000,000,000

§§

Of all individual expressions of the divine (ego-based creatures) in the World and Universe, humanity has the most promise.

Anchored in the physical realm, with ample mental capacity to explore and become aware of all levels of consciousness, we can and do reach for enlightenment – the pinnacle of evolution.

We enjoy and suffer according to our destiny.  So set your own course for spiritual development and rise beyond fate.

For those wanting to go beyond the temporal sadness and happiness that current life may be offering you, close your eyes and meditate to break that cycle.

Human birth is rare.  Cherish every minute since it cannot be replaced.  Set yourself on the pathway toward permanent bliss consciousness and enchantment.

And now, after a long and busy day, it was time to rest.

We left base camp early in the morning just as twilight started to break. My friend Giuseppe and I (Cristofer) were leading a group of eight climbers on a trek up the southwestern face of Pico del Aneto, a peak 3,404 meters high, in the Pyrenees Mountains which borders France and Spain.

Five of the climbers were somewhat experienced as they had traversed mountain passes before. But the newcomers, three young ladies, were lured to the trek by the open air and sense of adventure.

Over the past sixteen years I have led expeditions to Monte Perdido, the Tena Valley, Vallée de Barétous and the Piedmont Plane, Sant Maurici Lake, and dozens of other mountain sites. That’s because I love the great outdoors and the excitement of exploring new world vistas.

By mid morning we stopped just short of the tree line (2,300 meters). After a snack and brief rest we left the virgin forest of majestic Beach, Silver Fir, and Scots Pine, and followed the ascending path of prior travelers. The trail was marked by a few distinctive piles of rock (cairn) arranged in a pattern pointing the way to the summit.

Around noon we encountered our first glacial escarpment. We rested and ate a hearty lunch.

The view from this altitude was astounding. We saw snow covered peaks in every direction. The thin wispy white clouds overhead sparkled as the rays of the sun bounced off those high altitude floating ice crystals.

Equipped with survival gear, ice picks, and crampons (spikes) for our boots, our team carefully made way over the frozen landscape that we encountered. My watchful and experience eye steered us away from any overhanging snow cornice or gulley that could present a mortal danger.

After traversing the ice for two hours we neared the mountain summit, and were now leaving the white panoramic terrain behind us. More and more rock formations (nunatak) were protruding through the snow drifts.

We had a round of team pictures and then set off for the summit. After two more hours of climbing, skirting a rock chimney, multiple adjustments to the belay line, sidestepping a crevasse, and just plain old fashion walking, we approached the summit plain. We would camp here tonight, away from the snow and protected by the winds, before attempting the final push to the summit tomorrow morning.

After dinner we watched the sun set amidst a blaze of red and crimson hues of color. The sparkling clear sky soon filled with the myriad stars of the firmament. Our beautiful planet Earth nestled in the Milky Way between the Sagittarius and Perseus spiral arms speeding through the universe, on an oasis of life and intelligence, the higher manifested expression of cosmic design.

I have always thought that we are not individuals born and thrust helplessly into this world. Rather, we are nature’s begotten expression of the divine manifestation of life.

Although everyone was asleep I was still awake. That seems to be the norm for me, at least for the past three years. I do go to bed at night and lie down, but I sleep only for about 4 ½ hours, if you could call that sleep. I lay down and my body rests but my mind is awake inside. I don’t drift off to unconsciousness. Rather, it’s an eternal, silent wakefulness, that permeates my awareness at all times.

This started rather abruptly about three years ago. One day I was out with my friends at the restaurant. After dinner I had my usual dessert, which is a chocolate ice cream Sundae. I like hot chocolate fudge and whipped cream on the top.

But after that I started to feel afraid and just not right. Disparate images flashed through my mind. I felt a sense of impending doom and that something horrible was about to happen to me. Then suddenly bliss dawned.

I later learned that this was the last gasp of my ego. One final attempt to hang on and keep me imprisoned in the field of time and space.

§§

Here is what others have said about Enlightenment …

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.”
(Albert Einstein)

“…the past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Both are illusions.”
(Eckhart Tolle, from the Power of Now)

“It is not that we love to be alone, but that we love to soar, and when we do soar, the company grows thinner and thinner until there is none at all. …We are not the less to aim at the summits though the multitude does not ascend them.”
(Henry David Thoreau)

“What should I do—how should I act now, this very day . . . What she would resolve to do that day did not yet seem quite clear, but something that she could achieve stirred her as with an approaching murmur which would soon gather distinctness.”
(George Eliot)

“The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence.
It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the ‘Living Infinite…”
(Jules Verne)

“Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! ‘Have courage to use your own understanding!’–that is the motto of enlightenment.”
(Immanuel Kant)

“Feel nothing, know nothing, do nothing, have nothing, give up all to God, and say utterly, ‘Thy will be done.’ We only dream this bondage. Wake up and let it go.”
(Swami Vivekananda)

“Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.”
(Huang Po, The Zen Teaching of Huang-Po: On the Transmission of Mind)

“Knowing others is Wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.”
(Lao Tzu)

“Whoever sees me sees the teaching.”
(Buddha)

“If you would listen, sir, in the sense of being aware of your conflicts and contradictions without forcing them into any particular pattern of thought, perhaps they might altogether cease.”
(Jiddu Krishnamurti, Book of Life, the Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti)

“There is no enlightenment outside of daily life.”
(Thich Nhat Hanh)

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
(Lao Tzu)

“Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.”
(Zen Proverb)

“No one saves us by but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”
(Buddha)

“I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.”
(Thomas Jefferson)

§§

Here is how others have described their final transition to Enlightenment …

Eckhart Tolle, from The Power of Now:
One night not long after my twenty-ninth birthday, I woke up in the early hours with a feeling of absolute dread. I had woken up with such a feeling many times before, but this time it was more intense than it had ever been. The silence of the night, the vague outlines of the furniture in the dark room, the distant noise of a passing train – everything felt so alien, so hostile, and so utterly meaningless that it created in me a deep loathing of the world. The most loathsome thing of all, however, was my own existence. What was the point in continuing to live with this burden of misery? Why carry on with this continuous struggle? I could feel that a deep longing for annihilation, for nonexistence, was now becoming much stronger than the instinctive desire to continue to live.

“I cannot live with myself any longer.” This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware of what a peculiar thought it was. `Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the `I’ and the `self’ that `I’ cannot live with.” “Maybe,” I thought, “only one of them is real.”

I was so stunned by this strange realization that my mind stopped. I was fully conscious, but there were no more thoughts. Then I felt drawn into what seemed like a vortex of energy. It was a slow movement at first and then accelerated. I was gripped by an intense fear, and my body started to shake. I heard the words “resist nothing,” as if spoken inside my chest. I could feel myself being sucked into a void. It felt as if the void was inside myself rather than outside. Suddenly, there was no more fear, and I let myself fall into that void. I have no recollection of what happened after that.

I was awakened by the chirping of a bird outside the window. I had never heard such a sound before. My eyes were still closed, and I saw the image of a precious diamond. Yes, if a diamond could make a sound, this is what it would be like. I opened my eyes. The first light of dawn was filtering through the curtains. Without any thought, I felt, I knew, that there is infinitely more to light than we realize. That soft luminosity filtering through the curtains was love itself. Tears came into my eyes. I got up and walked around the room. I recognized the room, and yet I knew that I had never truly seen it before. Everything was fresh and pristine, as if it had just come into existence. I picked up things, a pencil, an empty bottle, marveling at the beauty and aliveness of it all.

Sri Ramana Maharshi recounted:
One day while sitting quietly in his Uncles house Venkataraman unexpectedly was filled with terror and fright. He felt that death had come to claim him. He was in good health up to now and so was perplexed as to why this was happening.

He lay down stretching out his hands and legs. He held his breath and closed his eyes.

The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: Now that death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying?

This body dies . . . But with the death of the body am I dead? Is the body I?

The body dies but the Spirit that transcends it cannot be touched by death. That means I am the deathless Spirit.’

All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truth which I perceived directly. . . From that moment onwards the ‘I’ or Self focused attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death had vanished once and for all. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time on.”

Saint Teresa of Avila:
“The hour I have long wished for has now come.”

Ananda:
The Venerable Ananda, one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha.
Ananda was the only one left at the time of the first council of Buddha’s own disciples who didn’t become an Arhat. He was Buddha’s attendant. He heard every word that Buddha taught, and memorized them all, but he didn’t meditate much because he was too busy.

Sometime after Buddha’s death, there was a meeting of all the Arhats, but since Ananda wasn’t an Arhat he couldn’t go. So he kept meditating, trying at the last minute to become enlightened, and it got to be midnight, 2, 3 o’clock in the morning of the first council of Buddhist Arhats, but still he couldn’t make it, even though he was the repository of all of Buddha’s words. All the other Arhats wanted him to go, but he couldn’t since he wasn’t an Arhat.

Finally it got to be 3:45 in the morning, 15 minutes before the 4:00 wakeup call. Finally, Ananda just gave up and said, “Oh ********, I’m not an Arhat.” Then he got enlightened, because he saw things as they were. It was the end of the struggle. No more trying to become an Arhat, and he became an Arhat.

Meher Baba:
One day in 1912, while Merwan was sitting outside his house, suddenly his inner sight opened. He saw the divine effulgence of God most clearly and immediately lost all bodily consciousness. Although his eyelids remained open, he was merged in divine bliss.

Buddha:
According to Buddhist tradition, he sat through the night until a glimpse of the morning star suddenly provoked a state of perfect clarity and understanding. He experienced unexcelled, complete, awakening.

§§

We all enter this world to fulfill dreams.

If your dream is selfless service to humanity, chances are you entered into this world as an enlightened child.

If your dream involves personal growth and more earthly experience, chances are you have some work to do before becoming enlightened.

If your dream involves trying to survive and being on top of the world no matter what the cost, chances are meditation and spirituality do not resonance within. Such activities probably appear to you as folly.

What is your dream?

Enlightenment does not happen somewhere else. There is no special heaven or magical place/time that you need journey to. It happens here and now. Any moment is the right moment. Today is the right day.

Depending upon your level of consciousness at the time of birth, your path to enlightenment may be gradual or sudden.

Cristofer’s path was sudden.

Having been born already vastly evolved, Cristofer was just a hairs breath away from transcending that final gap between thought and silent bliss consciousness. Most likely Cristofer never practiced mediation or gave spiritual growth a second thought. That’s because he was always living a naturally innocent, pure, and benevolent life.

Things always seemed to go his way, and he was always there at the right time to lend friends and strangers a helping hand.

After eating his Ice Cream Sundae his mind suddenly became very silent, and his small self, recognizing the coming extinction, made a last gasp. But the small self dissolved to become the large Self, and time/space/causation was transcended forever more.

It’s not that eating ice cream brings on enlightenment. But rather it was the right time for Cristofer to transition, and eating ice cream just happened to be what he was doing just then.

The uniqueness of the individual remains intact after the Enlightenment transition. Everyone retains their memory, life preferences, and cherished ideas.

Spiritual teachers who have gained enlightenment in a SUDDEN manner are usually the proponents of:

- you are already enlightened so nothing needs to be done
- just let go of your small mental image and you will be there
- be here now, fully in the present
- no teacher or guru is ever needed, just look within yourself for guidance
- just realize that Thou Art That, and bliss consciousness will dawn for you.

On the other hand, the majority of Earth’s human inhabitants are fully ensnared in the music of the spheres (the illusion of Maya) and need to be shown the way.

Half of the world’s population (Christians, Jews, Muslims and others) believe that the goal of life can only be achieved in another realm, aka heaven. There is only one lifetime, so reach for heaven, your eternal reward.

The other half of the world’s population (the Eastern religions) believe in personal transformation, reincarnation, and continuing on until enlightenment is reached.

Logically these views are diametrically opposed. Either there is one life on Earth and at the end you spend an eternity in heaven or hell, or there is no afterworld so you cease to exist, or there are multiple lives to be lived in search of perfection.

So half of the world’s population is wrong? Or maybe everyone is wrong?

What do you believe?

Most people are on the gradual path toward enlightenment; some more gradual than others.

Spiritual teachers who have gained enlightenment in this GRADUAL manner, thru practicing mediation and other spiritual disciplines for years, are usually the proponents of:

- seek out a person (guru) who has found the way, and ask him/her to teach you
- the path to enlightenment takes time, as the mind and human physiology need to change
- needing to work at becoming enlightened
- using some technique to quite the mind and advance spiritual growth
- perseverance will eventually triumph over illusion and suffering
- bearing your karma as best you can
- triumph over pain, suffering, and limitations occur through continued and persistent effort

For those on the GRADUAL path, the contrast between meditation and activity lessens day by day.

Remember when you first started meditation and you experienced deep rest and significant relief from stress? But then over time that restful alertness during meditation made its way into your physiology, and benefitted your daily activity.

Day by day the mind and body act from a more restful and dynamic platform. And eventually you reach a point where almost nothing seems to be happening anymore during meditation. During meditation, and during activity, you feel the same.

You are now a hairs breathe away from enlightenment. Your status now is the same as someone prepped for the SUDDEN path. Enlightenment can come at anytime.

It’s important to meditate every day, no matter where on the spiritual path you are, even if you feel nothing is happening. It will smooth out your life experience and unfold more happiness.

Meditate every day to unfold your full potential, and blossom into a life of blissful awareness.

The teachings of Kabbalah have long provided wisdom and practical instruction for spiritual development. In a previous post (A seaside morning meditation  (Kabbalah) we covered Kabbalah meditation practices.

For your enjoyment and thought provoking opportunity, here are some Kabbalah traditional stories. These highlight its practice and display the ethical/spiritual side of the teachings.

§§

THE DANCING EGG

Once, the family of Mr. Time and Mrs. Space gave birth to boy triplets. The one who was born first was called Yesterday. The next one born was called Today. And the last one born was called Tomorrow.
One day, many years later, they were walking in the forest together, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, and they were having a discussion about the nature of existence: where did they come from, why were they here, where were they going, and so on . . .

Suddenly, a bird flew from a tree and landed near them. To their amazement, she began to speak: “For the one among you who can answer this riddle, I will transform myself into a beautiful princess and live with him forever.”

The riddle was: “How can an egg dance without breaking?”

Yesterday said, “I’ve seen worlds and time but I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Tomorrow said, “I have no experience with such nonsense and I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Today said, “I think I have an idea. There’s one way an egg can dance without breaking and that’s by being a mime.”

So the bird transformed herself into a beautiful princess.

And then, she did something even more surprising. She reached into her pocket and took out an invisible egg. With a flourish, she cracked the egg into an invisible pan and proceeded to cook it over the invisible fire that she had prepared for the purpose.

When the egg was done, she offered some to Yesterday and Tomorrow. Then she took half of the cracked shell, transformed it into a crown, and placed it on Today’s head, making him a prince. She placed the other half on her own head. Today smiled. They kissed a tender kiss.

And the clever princess took hold of Today’s hand and away they danced — stopping now and then to pirouette, hand-in-hand together.

§§

A FISH STORY

Once, there was a fish who lived in the great ocean, and because the water was transparent, and always conveniently out of the way of his nose when he moved along, he didn’t know he was in the ocean.

Well, one day the fish did a very dangerous thing for a fish. He began to think: “Surely I am a most remarkable being, since I can move around like this in the middle of empty space.”

Then the fish became confused because of thinking about moving and swimming and he suddenly had an anxiety paroxysm, and thought that he had forgotten how. At that moment he looked down and saw the yawning chasm of the ocean depths, and he was terrified that he would drop.

Then he thought: “If I could catch hold of my tail in my mouth, I could hold myself up.” And so he curled himself up and snapped at his tail. Unfortunately, his spine wasn’t quite supple enough, so he missed.

As he went on trying to catch hold of his tail, the yawning black abyss below became ever more terrible, and he was brought to the edge of a total nervous breakdown.

The fish was about to give up, when the ocean, which had been watching with mixed feelings of pity and amusement, said, “What are you doing?”

“Oh,” said the fish, “I’m terrified of falling into the deep dark abyss, and I’m trying to catch hold of my tail in my mouth to hold myself up.” So the ocean said, “Well, you’ve been trying that for a long time now, and you still haven’t fallen down. How come?”

“Oh, of course, I haven’t fallen down yet,” said the fish, “Because, because — I’m swimming!”

“Well,” came the reply, “I am the Great Ocean, in which you live and move and are able to be a fish, and I have given all of myself to you in which to swim, and I support you all the time you swim. But here you, instead of exploring the length, breadth, depth, and height of my expanse, are wasting your time pursuing your own end.”

From then on, the fish put his own end behind him (where it belonged) and set out to explore the Great Ocean.

§§

The Horizon

As a child, I was fascinated with the horizon. I clearly remember my first encounter with this mysterious moving edge.

One day after school I found myself walking unconsciously in an unfamiliar direction. Suddenly I realized that I had gone far away into the fields. Looking to the horizon, with those majestic mountains of my birth place calling like a flute, I told myself: I should be home now, dinner will be waiting, my family is going to worry about me.

But under those blue skies the landscape captivated me entirely. I stood immobilized by awe. The thought formed: I want to go to the horizon, I want to live on the edge of the world, I want to be where the horizon is.

And my legs walked and walked and walked. The only focal point ahead of me was a single tree on the horizon line. One majestic tree. My fascination increased.

As I walked I decided: I’m going to meet this tree, it must be the tree of life itself. I had learned about the tree of life in school and now I was headed straight towards it. I could think no other thoughts. I could see only the tree.

The afternoon sun warmed me and I was not tired of walking. I just wanted to meet the horizon and rest under the tree. With the whole heart of a determined child I wanted to sit under that tree.

And then, I was looking up through its outstretched branches.

In the haze of my fatigue I concluded that this must be the edge of the world, surely. I had reached my destination. I sat down under the tree and read. And I understood, or pretended to understand, what I read.

Before I knew it the sun was going down and I had to get back home. I stood up and looked beyond the tree, and there, amazingly, was another horizon. I made a few attempts to walk toward it. I turned right, left, and found the horizon on all sides calling me, embracing me.

As one sage said, “I wandered in pursuit of my own self. I was the traveler and I am the destination.” In all of my travels since then I have walked toward that horizon and that tree.

§§

The Beginning

Once upon a time, after a great cataclysm that almost obliterated life on this planet, a small group of peasants, who were very old, were the only survivors of the global disaster. They were struggling to survive by farming the blighted earth. But the earth was so damaged that their efforts to cultivate a few food crops were in vain.
Finally, in desperation, one aged man, wiser and more courageous than the rest, proposed to go out into the world in search of food. The other villagers were too frightened, discouraged, and weakened by illness and hunger to accompany him, so he decided to set out alone.

He found a path into the large dark forest that stood on the edge of the village fields. As he entered the forest’s shadowy depths, he began to feel uneasy, and with good cause. No sooner had he reached a point where he could no longer see the village fields behind him, than a host of strange and fearsome creatures began to attack him. An upright writhing serpent crept up behind him, a hairy crawling beast without a name threatened his ankles, a sharp talons flying thing with great flapping wings descended from the sky upon him.

Despite his terror and infirmities, for he was very old, the man fended off the terrifying apparitions as best he could, know he had to continue on his quest for food.

Suddenly he heard a sound like none he had ever heard before a haunting wail of utter misery, the thin and pitiful cry of an abandoned child. He could not possibly ignore it. He stepped off the path and made his way through the trees and underbrush, following the needy cry as if entranced

Pushing aside a leafy branch, he stepped into a small clearing. He saw before him the ruins of an ancient temple, its stone walls covered with moss, its cracked columns grown round with vines. The cries seemed to come from within the temple, so he mounted the worn stone steps and entered through a low, arched doorway.

Once his eyes had adjusted to the dim light inside, he saw a small figure huddled in front of a simple altar. It was moaning softly, rocking back and forth, its head bent upon its knees and half hidden by its encircling arms. He crossed the uneven marble floor and knelt in front of the strange little being. Reaching out a weathered hand, he lifted its head so that he could look at its face.

But what was this? The being had no face; its head was featureless, a smooth white oval, without eye or mouth or nose or ear, as blank and seamless as an egg.

He drew back, horrified, staring at this human form that looked sightlessly towards him for a moment and then quickly covered its terrible blank face with its hands, as if anguished by the revelation of its deformity.

The old man remained motionless, battling his impulse to flee from this travesty of humankind. Frightened and bewildered as he was, he sensed that the creature was suffering almost beyond belief. Tears came to his eyes and he felt his heart expand. Instinctively he reached out to the poor miserable creature and embraced it. It collapsed against him, its shoulders shaking with sobs.

Steeling himself against the horror of that blank visage, he cradled its head gently in his hands and turned it up towards him. Gazing intently at its eyeless face, as if to will a response into existence, he caressed the featureless oval. Its skin was soft and flawless, like that of a baby.

He felt an odd sensation growing in his hands. They were warm, so warm that they tingled. They seemed to move without his willing them to do so. Quickly they began to mold the little creature’s smooth resilient flesh, making an indentation for eyes, shaping a nose, a mouth, ears. His hands moved now more rapidly and deftly until a fully human face, which seemed to have been waiting for a touch such as his to take form, looked back at him.

For a long moment, he and the newborn person gazed into each other’s eyes. And then the person, whose fresh and perfect features reminded him of everyone who had ever been dear to him in the past and who might become so in the future, smiled. With this benevolent and grateful smile, which the old man matched with a joyous smile of his own, the two joined hands and walked out together into the waiting world.

§§

The Great Puzzle

Remember, that every movement breathes. Move silently between the thought and the movement. Pierce the space and stillness with the gentle movements of your body. Think horizontal. Think vertical. Integrate both with one conscious movement. The breath, movement and consciousness is the power and miracle of being and moving. As you move inside the silence of yourself, gently touch and be touched.

§§

The Oath That Could Not be Fulfilled

“The deceased, despite their intentions and promises, are unable to reveal to the living their experience in death.”

Rabbenu Jehiel, the father of Rabbenu Asher, had a friend in his city who, like him, was exceedingly devout. The two very dear friends were both elderly men of deeds who exemplified high levels of both learning and piety. They took a mutual oath that the first to die would appear in his friends dream to tell him what occurs in death and to reveal the path of the soul after death.

On the day that his friend died, when Rabbenu Jehiel was in the cemetery prior to the burial, he stood and said to those assembled, “Listen my masters, my friend who lies here dead before me and I took an oath together, and so I remind him in your presence, to fulfill his oath.” Then everyone noticed that the deceased’s coffin was shaking somewhat, and they opened his coffin thinking that the dead one may have come to life. But only his eyelashes moved, and it was agreed by all that the blinking of his eyes was a sign that he was unable to disclose anything.

Nevertheless, thirty days later, the deceased Hasid came and appeared to the rabbi, Rabbenu Jehiel, requesting his forgiveness concerning the oath, for he was not permitted to tell him anything.

§§

From Affliction to Rest

“A student who witnesses a scene of affliction is able, through Tikkun Olam, to bring the afflicted to a state of rest.”

One day the sage Rabbi Jacob Abulafia came before my teacher, the Ari. My master spoke first and said to him, “Your honor want to go to Egypt and requests of me that I write a letter for him,” And Abulafia answered, “Yes, it is so my master.” The Ari continued,” May my master go in peace and may the Lord be with you on your journey. Indeed, great benefit will come of your going there because it is a matter of necessity.”

He asked him, “What is the necessity?” that was after all, a journey of his own choosing. The Ari responded, “Upon your safe return you will surely fathom my words.” My master immediately wrote the letter on his behalf and gave it to him, warning him yet again concerning this matter and urging him to proceed quickly with his journey. And so he did.

He set out and journey to Egypt where he was greatly honored out of respect for the Rabbi and for himself. Afterward he set out to return home to Safed, may it be built and established quickly in our days. He left with a caravan. One day the members of the caravan were resting as was their custom, and the sage also rested. And as he got down from the donkey, a deep sleep immediately came over him and he slept for about an hour. When the others got up to go they woke the sage from his sleep. He rose and untied the donkey, and the donkey strayed. And again the wise man was overcome by deep sleep and slept about two hours. Seeing no one when he awoke, he shuddered and shook and began to run about in a state of trembling and great distress.

As evening approached he saw a plower and oxen coming into view. He rejoiced and thought, “I will go with them,” and he ran toward them. On reaching the site, he noticed that the plower was cruelly beating the oxen. A little while later he saw that the plower had turned into an ox and the ox had become a man who placed a burden upon the other and began to beat him harshly. This continued for some time. The sage was terrified. He had no place to flee since he did not know where he might find an inhabited place, and he was exceedingly agitated because he could make no sense of any of this. And he wrote from him all the acts of penance and the ascetic practices that he had to fulfill in order to attain Tikkun for the souls of those men.

And they appeared to the sage in a dream and said to him, “May the Lord bless you. May your mind know rest just as our souls found rest from the very day that you commended to perform the acts of penance that the Rabbi indicated to you. For with the very first acts of penance on your part we were brought out from the difficult labor that you saw and were allowed to enter into Gehenna (Hell). Similarly, with every further act of penance that you performed, we were brought out from a heavier to a lighter yoke until we were brought into our own place (our present place).

§§

The Stench of Pride

“A proud person is more odious than a dead animal”

It happened that a Hasid, walking along the way, met up with Elijah the prophet, and walking together, they came upon an animal carcass that had been thrown out along the path. The carcass gave off such a terrible stench that the Hasid raised his nose to keep from having to smell the animal. Elijah, however, passed close by the carcass without reacting.

Later, they saw a man in the distance coming toward them and walking with a pronounced gait, and though he was still some distance away, Elijah the prophet raised his hand to his nose. When the Hasid asked the prophet why he had not reacted when they passed by the dead animal, Elijah explained that this man, in displaying such pride, gave off a greater stench that did the carcass.

§§

The Relativity of Wealth

“A parable of the relativity of piety”

Two men each have a thousand gold coins. One lives in a village where none of the villagers possess anything approximating that amount of money, and without a doubt, he considers himself superior to his fellow villagers. The other, who resides in a city of many merchants and officials, regards his wealth as amounting to very little, and it is as nothing in his eyes.

Similarly, one who is distant from God and from his Holy beings and devout ones considers himself superior to whoever is of lower level that his. But the pious who are always aware of God’s Presence humble themselves to the ground before Him, for in their reflecting upon the level of God and of His holy beings and His devout ones, they are ever humble in their own eyes.

§§

Devotion to Prayer

“A great sage is praying with such intense devotion that he is unaware of guests who come to his house”

Three great sages once came to the house of our teacher and Rabbi Mordecai Masnut, a man of great learning and wealth and piety, in connection with a matter relating to a mitzvah. Among them was Rabbi Abba Mari. They found Rabbi Masnut sitting upon his knees, his face directed upward with his hands spread out, reciting the blessing after meals. So intense was his devotion that he paid no attention to the learned men who had come to his home. He was even unaware that anyone had entered.

Then, upon completing his prayer and reciting the final blessing over a cup of wine, he stood up and greeted his guests, “May your coming be in peace. Do not regard my oversight as a sin, but forgive me, for I was engaged in a conversation with my Maker.”

§§

Kabbalah quotes …

“Misdirected life force is the activity in disease process. Disease has no energy save what it borrows from the life of the organism. It is by adjusting the life force that healing must be brought about, and it is the sun as transformer and distributor of primal spiritual energy that must be utilized in this process, for life and the sun are so intimately connected.”

“Rhythm is the basis of life, not steady forward progress. The forces of creation, destruction, and preservation have a whirling, dynamic interaction.”

“Every phase of evolution commences by being in a state of unstable force and proceeds through organization to equilibrium. Equilibrium having been achieved, no further development is possible without once more oversetting the A journey of a thousand miles starts in front of your feet. Whosoever acts spoils it. Whosoever keeps loses it.”

“The pure impulse of dynamic creation is formless; and being formless, the creation it gives rise to can assume any and every form.”

“Force never moves in a straight line, but always in a curve vast as the universe, and therefore eventually returns whence it issued forth, but upon a higher arc, for the universe has progressed since it started.”

“I was looking for something. I mean, I’d begun practicing yoga and, you know, I was looking for the answers to life. … I know there’s more to life than making lots of money and being successful and even getting married and having a family.”

Love is the single most necessary ingredient for human happiness, and relationships, and it is the purest expression of the soul making it also a Godly act.

There is selfish, narcissistic, indulgent, self centered love, and selfless, giving, caring, love.

The essence of the soul like a diamond buried in the ground is always a diamond and although the diamond may be covered with grime and is in the need of a good polish, it is nonetheless a brilliant stone.

A gentile once came to Hillel and asked him to teach him the entire Torah / Bible while he stands on one foot. “What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to them and the rest is the commentary of this principle.” Hillel the greatest sage in his time unequivocally stated that the entire Torah is for one goal and that is to teach man how to be nice to one another.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that when a Jew is happy for another Jews successes and is sad over his losses this is dearer to God than the prayers of Rabbi Yishmoel Cohen Godal in the Kodesh Hakodoshim on Yom Kippur. So when you are genuinely happy for your fellows successes and when you are genuinely sad over their losses than you have given God greater joy than Rabbi Yishmoel Cohen Godal (the holiest Jew of his time) when he was praying in the Kodesh Hakodoshim (the holiest place in the world) on Yom Kippur (the holiest day of the year).

Rabbi Aikvah says “Love your friend as you love yourself” is the founding principle of the Torah / Bible.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that it makes sense that a soul will come down to this world and live sixty seventy years in order to do for a fellow a favor; a materiel favor, and certainly a spiritual favor.

The Baal Shem Tov teaches that the main mitzvah/commandment of “Love your friend as you love yourself” is to think about things that cause you to love your friends.

Love is a reciprocal feeling. Just as water/mirror will mirror the face that peers into it similarly love is a reflection of hearts.