True wisom comes from the mind

A man stood on the edge of a river.  Although it was narrow, the current was strong.  The angry water seemed an image of his mind, throbbing and tossing with the eight material activities.  He decided to let them flow out of his mind into the water.  His mind became calm and his heart content.

Suddenly, he heard a shout for help and in the white foam of the waves he saw a man from the village.  He hated this man because he had sex with his wife, stolen his livestock, and then beaten him at wrestling.  Then another cry for help came to his ears.  In the water, he saw a very holy saint whom he respected greatly.  He had helped him in times of trouble and eased his mind.

Both men were being dragged to the edge of a dangerous waterfall.  He knew they would be drowned.  With great effort, he hurled his hunting rope to the other side.  The noose tightened fast around a rock and he tied the other end to a tree.

Both men caught on to the rope and pulled themselves to safety.  But once on the riverbank they began to fight.  The holy man started screaming, 'I tried to stop you jumping in and you pulled me in with you.  Now look at me! I'm soaking wet'

The other man just laughed hysterically and punched the holy man in the nose.  'You do-gooders are all the same,' he said.  'I never asked you to help me.'

At this, our brave hero became upset and confused, and his body tensed up.  He suddenly realized these men were not real but personifications of the 8 material activities. 

With a yell, he pushed them back into the river.  They plunged over the waterfall down into the seething water.  He sat on the riverbank exhausted, the screaming still echoing in the rocky gorge below.  True wisdom in the mind creates its own freedom.  Or, does it?

Doubt sneaked into his mind like a thief.  He started panicking about pushing the two men back into the waterfall.  What if he was wrong?

-Traditional  Bon story from The Tibetan Art of Living by Christopher Hansard p. 87-88.

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How are you conditioned by 8 material activities?

Do you feel shame, loss, guilt, suffering?  Do you seek achievement, fame, approval and happiness? Energy generated inside is the core of all our perceived troubles.

What's the lesson at hand?

At any given moment, each of us is faced with some perceived threat to what we think we know.  Each situation is itself a wise teacher, providing we are willing to recognize it.  Human beings will often rationalize their conclusions or begin to doubt.  What about you? 

Something is always affecting our senses.  We perceive as we do as the result of adopted conditioning.  To realize the world we initially see isn't what we think it is, is a key step to recognizing lessons that become available.  Its easy enough to say, " I wouldn't do that again" or, "I would see that coming next time," but you can also benefit in the now.

For example, if a parent grounds a child as a form of punishment, that parent could decide to be more or less strict the next time around.  Yet, that parent could also choose to reflect on the reflex to judge and control, and choose to communicate differently.  Opportunities to learn lessons about ourselves crop up all the time.  Yet, do we listen? 

Consider a scenario where your partner loses a job or forgets a special occasion.  What is your initial reaction? Do you reject and reprimand or love and forgive? What do your choices tell you about the attention or disregard you give your own inner wounds?

Who could forget that memorable period at the office? Another case where you didn't get the promotion or responsibilities expected.  You may still hear echos of self-destructive comments in your head, "I didn't deserve it anyway" or, "They don't appreciate me!" 

Aside from that, you can't ignore your recent fender bender.  You may try to convince yourself you weren't paying enough attention to the road.  In your head, you fervently deny you were imagining an x-spouse as the target or some other unresolved calamity.  

And the unexpected break-in of your home? Its easy to say now it would be in your interest to have copies of key documents in places other than on your personal laptop. Why do you keep questioning what you didn't do? Shift instead to focus on what you can.

Its easy to begin to discern the common reaction.  You focus on something other than yourself, your pain, suffering and disillusionment. This relates to situations other than those that seem to bother you now.  The real reasons behind your feelings and behavior often stay hidden.  You choose not to face them.  It may seem easier to project lingering discomfort and anger on something or someone else.  You always have other options.

The lesson at hand invites you to question why you turn away from your true self.  Acknowledging and accepting it is the key to peace, contentment and wavering love.  The situations you create and experience are clues to how you truly feel. No matter what the situation, you always have the choice to look inside yourself.  How can you shift your mind to help you grow and expand awareness? When will you feel grateful for all you are?

Why does life seem to hard?

People will readily admit aspects of their lives are hard.  The same people will expand on these beliefs and unknowingly hold themselves back from living a different kind of life.  Does this sound like you or, anyone you know?  Would you like to shift things inside you?

Life doesn't have to seem like an uphill battle.  Make an effort to listen to yourself.  How are you thinking right at this moment? What kinds of words are you using to describe your feelings and experiences to other people?  The more you realize your action shapes your life, the more informed you will be, and the more prepared to change your thinking. 

Imagine how your life will be from the moment you decide things are easy.  Would you be motivated? Would you feel driven? Would impetus become unnecessary? If you're already where you need to be, does hope lose meaning or, shift to take on new significance?

One of the most shocking things to realize is you always find in life what you are looking for.  That is, if you choose to find challenges,  they will find you.  You may choose to be stretched, to be confronted with situations you have never experienced before. 

We all make conscious and unconscious choices.  Everything happens exactly as it should, even if part of you is reluctant to accept you get what you asked for. Why would you hesitate to accept value in discomfort? Realize balance requires two sides to perception.

Each experience is bringing you face-to-face with hidden fears, misplaced pride and inflated self-importance.  Dissolve them. You may need to taste the unknown to learn to stop manipulating or misinterpreting the world you think you know.  What is it you think you are meant to learn from your hardship? What have you already gained? Is it worth it?

Carlos Castaneda & 3 facets of Toltec knowledge

Carlos Castaneda was apprentice to a Mexican Indian 'sorcerer' named don Juan. Under his guidance and also his disciples, Castaneda evolved to heighten his awareness and uncover unlimited courage which led him to accept total freedom. What does this mean?

Specific tutelage led Castaneda to obliterate all rational fears and consciously jump from atop a flat mountain into an abyss. Trust and tremendous discipline led to this incomprehsible act. Perceptual teachings shifted his mental states, perception and focus.

Ten years later, Castenada recollected the process of learning at different levels of awareness. His 'right side' knew don Juan as a sorcerer. Castaneda's 'left side' knew his teacher as Toltec seer and nagual who taught him to bring his mind to focus on anything with uncommon force and clarity. As such heightened awareness isn't susceptible to normal recall, it required staggering effort to recover facets of ancient knowledge:

1)  Mastery of Awareness- the Toltec way reveals each human being has capacity to enlarge the perceptual field. We can evolve to where we can assess not only the external appearances, but also the essence of everything. Discerning energy assemblage points is key. You become minimally conscious of surroundings and shift total focus elsewhere.

2) Mastery of Stalking- the Toltec way explains the act of moving the assemblage point as steadily and as safely as possible. It is the method of imprinting principles at such a deep level of consciousness that human conditioning is bypassed. Natural reactions of refusing and judging suddenly appear offensive to reason.

3) Mastery of Intent- the Toltec way is learning to break the barriers of self-created perception. By intending a new position of assemblage point, and by intending to keep it fixed long enough, you will assemble another world and escape the one you knew. This shapes changes in visibility, physical, mental and other states.

Darren Hayes & 3 reasons for real choices

Darren Hayes (known as solo music artist and in the band Savage Garden) describes his view of success as being able to sleep with a clear conscience. He admits he was initially inspired to pursue a musical career because he was moved by the ambition and accomplishments of stars such as Michael Jackson and Madonna.  As Darren got-to- know himself, he realized he had deeper reasons for his real choices.  Consider these three;

1) Inner integrity. As Darren found the courage to be honest with himself, he sensed a void inside that he was seeking to fill. He also grew to realize life isn't about seeking to feel complete with things outside the self. As he detected inner barriers he had erected, he began to uncover untapped energy, talent, strength and his underlying motivation.

2) Imbalances. As Darren evolved to connect with his authentic self, he realized paying attention to how he felt about what other people did helped him to identify reasons for his own feelings.  As he discerned imbalances between how he felt and how he wished to feel, he connected this to the fact he was leading a different life than the one in his vision.   As he took responsibility for these imbalances, he took responsibility for his life’s direction.  Sensing the process led him to transcend earlier, more superficial motives.

3) Karma. As Darren has faith in karma, he believes past lives influence how events unfold.  He experiences challenges, but decides he will draw from courage and inner drive to solve his perceived problems, rather than blame them on who he might've been.  In his mind, he invites obstacles in hopes he will teach himself to resolve them.  This is an example of how he realizes his own freedom.  He forms his reality and is aware he does it.