True Meditation
True meditation has no direction, goals, or method. All methods aim at achieving a certain state of mind. All states are limited, impermanent and conditioned. Fascination with states leads only to bondage and dependency. True meditation is abidance as primordial consciousness.
True meditation appears in consciousness spontaneously when awareness is not fixated on objects of perception. When you first start to meditate, you notice that awareness is always focused on some object: on thoughts, bodily sensations, emotions, memories, sounds, etc. This is because the mind is conditioned to focus and contract upon objects. Then the mind compulsively interprets what it is aware of (the object) in a mechanical and distorted way. It begins to draw conclusions and make assumptions according to past conditioning.
In true meditation all objects are left to their natural functioning. This means that no effort should be made to manipulate or suppress any object of awareness. In true meditation the emphasis is on being awareness; not on being aware of objects, but on resting as primordial awareness itself. Primordial awareness (consciousness) is the source in which all objects arise and subside.
As you gently relax into awareness, into listening, the mind's compulsive contraction around objects will fade. Silence of being will come more clearly into consciousness as a welcoming to rest and abide. An attitude of open receptivity, free of any goal or anticipation, will facilitate the presence of silence and stillness to be revealed as your natural condition.
Silence and stillness are not states and therefore cannot be produced or created. Silence is the non-state in which all states arise and subside. Silence, stillness and awareness are not states and can never be perceived in their totality as objects. Silence is itself the eternal witness without form or attributes.
As you rest more profoundly as the witness, all objects take on their natural functionality, and awareness becomes free of the mind's compulsive contractions and identifications. It returns to its natural non-state of Presence.
The simple yet profound question "Who Am I?" can then reveal one's self not to be the endless tyranny of the ego-personality, but objectless Freedom of Being -- Primordial Consciousness in which all states and all objects come and go as manifestations of the Eternal Unborn Self that YOU ARE.
© 1999 Adyashanti. All rights reserved.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Stove Gallery - Albuquerque
Well, my friends down at the Stove Gallery in Albuquerque are hard at work changing the world. I found a couple of good articles about their work online, here and here. They also have their own home page (which needs some search engine optimization). I have also added a link to them in my links section. If you are ever in Albuquerque be sure to stop by and tell them John sent you.
An Old Dream
I had mentioned in a previous post that a lot had been happening for me "spiritually" lately. I won't go into much detail but what is happening now makes me think of a dream I had a long time ago. It was one of those dreams that was so vivid and meaningful that it sticks with you and becomes part of the story of your life.
The dream itself was no more than an image. In the dream a grey robed and hooded figure stood half leaning back against a long wooden table. His face, if it was there at all, left no trace in memory. The table he was leaning on was covered with stacks and stacks of mostly very large, hard bound books. The room itself was small and rustic. Stacks of books similar to those on the table crowded every corner of the small room. The only other remarkable feature about the room was a fireplace in which a fire was blazing. The fireplace was to the left of the table and was clearly visible despite the large stacks of books.
In his right hand the hooded figure held a book upright and open facing me. Across both pages was inscribed a single word: JNANA. With his left hand he pointed to the book.
The dream itself was no more than an image. In the dream a grey robed and hooded figure stood half leaning back against a long wooden table. His face, if it was there at all, left no trace in memory. The table he was leaning on was covered with stacks and stacks of mostly very large, hard bound books. The room itself was small and rustic. Stacks of books similar to those on the table crowded every corner of the small room. The only other remarkable feature about the room was a fireplace in which a fire was blazing. The fireplace was to the left of the table and was clearly visible despite the large stacks of books.
In his right hand the hooded figure held a book upright and open facing me. Across both pages was inscribed a single word: JNANA. With his left hand he pointed to the book.
Who is Jed McKenna?
I don't know for certain but my best bet is that Jed McKenna is another name for the teacher known as Adyashanti. Either that or Jed McKenna is Adyashanti's evil twin brother. Anyway even though the works of Jed McKenna are fictional the similarities in their teachings, their realizations, and their lives are difficult to miss. I highly recommend both teachers. The great thing about Adya is that even if he is not Jed McKenna he sure fills in a lot of the blanks. Here is a taste of Adya:
Monday, May 19, 2008
Some reading . . .
Well it has been an interesting few months, to put it mildly. A lot of things happening in my life on the spiritual and personal fronts.
I just finished reading two books my wife bought me for my birthday. The first was Into the Wild. I had previously seen the movie which I enjoyed. The book added some more depth to the story. The real mystery in my mind was whether, if he had lived, Christopher McCandless would have been able to enter into a more mature relationship with his parents and thus with the rest of society. I say with the rest of society because so much of how he dealt with others was a result of his relationship with his parents. He left home mainly to escape what he saw as their stultifying and dead-end existence. But I guess that is the way most young people see their parents as they hold down jobs and do all the mundane things necessary to live in the world and to provide for their children the best way they know how.
The other thing that struck me was that he was ready to walk out of the wilderness, and quite possibly begin mending those relationships. But due to various, mostly accidental, events he died alone in the wilderness. He had run so far away from home and when it seemed he was finally able to begin his emotional return he died. It is a tragic and ironic story.
* * **
The other book she bought me was The Last American Man. I can't remember the author at the moment (Elizabeth . .. ?) and I don't have the book in front of me. The book itself is the story of Eustace Conway, a modern mountain man and the founder of the Turtle Island Presevere. His life story is fascinating and filled with amazing adventures and reminded me in many ways of Tom Brown, Jr. I have to wonder if those two have ever met. I enjoyed reading it so much that I stayed up way too light last night to finish it.
It is an interesting book because it is written by a woman and she does recount his amazing adventures but she also paints an honest portrait of a man who is so driven and consumed by his sense of personal destiny that he has difficulty maintaining personal relationships. His life is consumed by his work, and though he desires a family deeply it seems he is unable to compromise his life and work even an iota to achieve that desire. If he didn't want a family it would be different, but the fact that he wants one and wants one so badly is very sad. When I finished the book I said a little prayer for him that he would find what he was looking for.
The book is well written and insightful. The author is an admirer but also a woman. As with most women she has a deeper understanding of relationships in her pinky finger than he has in his whole body. Her insight into his childhood, and particularly the influence of his father is illuminating. In the end you see a person both amazingly accomplished and sadly inept. A person who knows that there is something wrong with him and even has an idea where the problem lies, but hasn't a clue how to fix it. I can certainly sympathize with him there.
I just finished reading two books my wife bought me for my birthday. The first was Into the Wild. I had previously seen the movie which I enjoyed. The book added some more depth to the story. The real mystery in my mind was whether, if he had lived, Christopher McCandless would have been able to enter into a more mature relationship with his parents and thus with the rest of society. I say with the rest of society because so much of how he dealt with others was a result of his relationship with his parents. He left home mainly to escape what he saw as their stultifying and dead-end existence. But I guess that is the way most young people see their parents as they hold down jobs and do all the mundane things necessary to live in the world and to provide for their children the best way they know how.
The other thing that struck me was that he was ready to walk out of the wilderness, and quite possibly begin mending those relationships. But due to various, mostly accidental, events he died alone in the wilderness. He had run so far away from home and when it seemed he was finally able to begin his emotional return he died. It is a tragic and ironic story.
* * **
The other book she bought me was The Last American Man. I can't remember the author at the moment (Elizabeth . .. ?) and I don't have the book in front of me. The book itself is the story of Eustace Conway, a modern mountain man and the founder of the Turtle Island Presevere. His life story is fascinating and filled with amazing adventures and reminded me in many ways of Tom Brown, Jr. I have to wonder if those two have ever met. I enjoyed reading it so much that I stayed up way too light last night to finish it.
It is an interesting book because it is written by a woman and she does recount his amazing adventures but she also paints an honest portrait of a man who is so driven and consumed by his sense of personal destiny that he has difficulty maintaining personal relationships. His life is consumed by his work, and though he desires a family deeply it seems he is unable to compromise his life and work even an iota to achieve that desire. If he didn't want a family it would be different, but the fact that he wants one and wants one so badly is very sad. When I finished the book I said a little prayer for him that he would find what he was looking for.
The book is well written and insightful. The author is an admirer but also a woman. As with most women she has a deeper understanding of relationships in her pinky finger than he has in his whole body. Her insight into his childhood, and particularly the influence of his father is illuminating. In the end you see a person both amazingly accomplished and sadly inept. A person who knows that there is something wrong with him and even has an idea where the problem lies, but hasn't a clue how to fix it. I can certainly sympathize with him there.
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