So much language these days is about change, transformation, on all levels and in all sectors of our lives. The law of change is always working, but in what direction are we going? That depends on what we are doing now. So nothing is static, though we may think it is because it moves so slowly. The transformation I desire …
My Second Morning Reflection….
My second morning reflection at Caux on 24 July 2012: I want to share an experience that I had many years ago. This contributed to directing me to where I am now. During the monsoon of 1977, one of my tasks as head of security was to make sure mangy dogs didn’t get into the ashram. I blocked the ashram …
My First Morning Reflection….
My first morning reflection at Caux on 11 July 2012: “Let it be plainly understood that we cannot return to God unless we enter first into ourselves. God is everywhere but not everywhere to us. There is but one point in the universe where God communicates with us, and that is the centre of our own soul. There He waits …
My expertise is not….
My expertise is not because of my body’s plumbing and orientation. It has come from many years of discipline, discernment, nonattachment and Grace. Someone earns the right to be called an expert by devoting many hours, days and years to their subject. Expertise does not come lightly. To think that anyone can take a workshop and then be an expert …
First thoughts on Caux….
We came up the steep mountain on Sunday 8 July. Not sure what was ahead, I really did not care because the view was magnificent. Everything I imagined the Alps to look like–Ian had not deceived us. Our room has large French doors looking out over Lake Geneva, the towns below, the French and Swiss Alps, and a most classic …
Human security….
Human security starts within. The single greatest source of human insecurity is ignorance. Human security is the removal of ignorance; ignorance of who we and everyone truly are. You, the actor, are okay. The character, the lower self, is in fear for its life. To be truly secure you must let go of the character. That means not being identified with …
Gurupurnima….
Today is Gurupurnima, the Guru’s Full Moon. Everyday I bow down in deep appreciation for my Guru, Swami Muktananda, and all that he gave and continues to give me. The Guru is said to not be a person, body or a personality, but manifests in a being that has purified himself/herself and has then become one with his Guru and …
Who am I?….
Who am I? At any given moment, I appear to be the furthest thing out that consciousness has enlivened. So “who I am” changes from moment to moment. My job is to return to Me and stay there, and not identify with what I enliven. This seems so easy, “just be myself”; however, it requires intense work and Grace. We …
Grandiose self assessment is….
Grandiose self assessment is as detrimental to living fully as low self assessment. They are both faulty and cause decision making that brings the person to misery. There is no harmony when we operate from our self-esteem. Self-esteem is just a set of ideas that we have identified with; we have allowed our actions and decisions to be informed by …
St. Symeon’s discussion….
St. Symeon’s discussion of contemplative prayer in the Philokalia might serve as a good reference point for the practice I teach. He establishes three levels of attention and prayer. The first level relates to the five senses, with God as Other; the practice makes use of outward props such as icons, statues and formal ritual. The second level relates to the mind, …