Recently, my friend Hasan Awan was reflecting on the subject of nonduality and the Direct Path as espoused by Rupert Spira. He asked me for my thoughts. Here they are. I had to do some research, as I had not previously heard of the Direct Path as a distinct teaching. According to Spira’s teacher Francis Lucille, the Direct Path is …
The Mystical Itinerary….
We can observe the mystical journey in the levels of spiritual practice and in the lives of the great mystics. If we are to take this journey, we have to start with a longing for God, for Love, for the Self of All, for the bottom line of existence. Where most of us start is a state of outward-turned inertia. …
Love of Life….
Love of life Despair Too out there / lost in externals Self-contained When we look at this Foursquare painting of the fourchotomy “Love of life”, we can see that we have choice. Where we direct our will is always vital. We all have despair, and we have to face it sooner or later. When we face it head …
From Despair to Love….
At this time of year we tend to put aside our differences and come together to celebrate the Joy of Life. We celebrate the triumph of God over the shrunken, alienated self. We celebrate the birth of a Great Being, the Incarnation of God. We feel God’s compassion and Love for all of us. We recall the triumph of Good …
Baba’s Prasad….
My Guru is Swami Muktananda. Baba left his physical body on October 2nd, 1982. At the time, I was seven months pregnant with my first son. Baba had been clear that I would have a boy. He had been clear that he wanted the child born in India. He had been clear that it would be an easy birth. And …
Actively Passive….
No matter what we may think, no matter how we appear, we always have agency. If we appear passive, we have chosen that. And we chose passivity for a reason: we believe that it is a viable strategy. Passive Active No responsibility Burdened with responsibility Many years ago, I knew someone who was an abuser. And when he was called …
Thanksgiving….
Two years ago, just before Thanksgiving, my mother spoke her final word: “No!” After that, her body relaxed, and the nurse thought she was resting. Actually, her body had ceased to be alive. When we first saw her body over twenty-four hours later, it looked as if she were resting. Her skin had color and was still supple. The only …
Knowing What We Bring to the Table….
If we are going to undertake spiritual practice, then we have to know what we bring to the table. Until we are clear about our own systems, we can only go so far in sadhana. We are required to know what we bring to the table and discern how appropriate it is at any moment. An important element that people …
The Destructive Power of Positive Thinking….
Positive thinking is so often seen as a good thing. We get messages all the time that we should look at life as full of possibilities that can all be fulfilled if we only believe. The tendency is that if we look at things realistically, we are told we are being negative and closing off possibilities. The fact is, whether …
Understanding Grace and Right Effort….
Baba used to say that the bird of paradise has two wings, Grace and self-effort. First, we need the right self-effort to earn Grace. And then, if we fail to continue the right effort, we will squander that Grace. Right effort ultimately means resting the will in the Heart. This may sound easy, but it is extremely difficult. The Heart …