face the mirror the facts disappear I am Knowing missing me no reflection just a story the mirror breaks there I am
Baba’s Full Moon Dream….
in an outdoor amphitheater someone asks what about sadhana? I ask have you experienced been in the Bliss light of God for two weeks at a time? I fall into that experience brilliant pure white light filled with Bliss nothing else I come back return to here the person answers no I speak spiritual practice is not about knowing the …
Hymn to Muktananda….
not the outfit not the religion not the ritual All was the Self of All not the education not the money not the pedigree All was the Self of All not the institution not SYDA not something else All was the Self of All not someone else not the things not the place All was the Self of All Swami …
The Way Up….
As we practice, we disentangle more and more out of each of our perceived vehicles, and we keep heading back to the Perceiver. And each time we disentangle, we then are able to see in a greater way what’s actually going on. If we are involved, we have myopic vision. We’re caught in the problem, yet we’re so sure we …
Understanding Authority….
Baba was fond of the saying, “Only those who can obey can command”. He was himself a great leader, and he had attained that by wholeheartedly obeying his Guru, Nityananda. If we want to understand authority, we each have to willingly submit to authority. Once we have gained this understanding, we can relate with our own and others’ authority appropriately. …
Trouble with Authority….
Authority means to have authorship with regard to power, decision-making and requiring obedience. This authority applies to ourselves and others. If we have a problem with authority, then we have a problem with agency—ours and others’. If we judge authority as bad, we will never take on authority for ourselves. When we refuse our own true agency in this way, …
Artist Talk….
Nasruddin is considered the wise fool in Sufi traditions; stories about him offer us lessons on multiple levels. One of my favorite stories is about Nasruddin’s soup. Once Nasruddin’s friend brought him a duck. They decided to make soup with it. They cooked the soup and sat and enjoyed it. After his friend left, Nasruddin put the soup in the …
Perfect Mistakes….
Mistakes get a bum rap. People are terrified of them. They will do anything to avoid them. They will feel that they cannot make, and are not allowed to make, any kind of mistake. And they juxtapose mistakes with perfection. Being perfect is not making a mistake, they feel. That is where they aim to be. That is how they …
In the Ash Tree….
Our backyard is filled with birds. During the winter months we feed the birds, and they are always here. Today the sun was out and we had eight inches of snow just beginning to melt. Though it is spring, we just finished a rather wintry storm. The snow had just melted off the branches of the ash trees close by …
Maya and the Five Kanchukas….
In the cosmology of Kashmir Shaivism, God (Shiva) manifests the world out of Himself in a series of 36 principles, or tattvas. The first five tattvas are called pure; it is not until the sixth tattva that forgetfulness of our true nature becomes apparent. The sixth tattva is Maya tattva. Maya conceals God’s true identity. The word “maya” comes from …