Pacing Ourselves

[tribunalofmercy]

Watching children released from school for a holiday break, in the west, has often been associated with the scattering of field mice (as I often put it)...its Chaotic, haha.  And I see the spiritual awakenings of the west in a similar way...

Growing up, my home life was quite traditional, predictable...boring   But Seriously structured...Christmas comes to mind.  For one thing, here we put up Christmas trees and decorate them, etc - in my home the tree was put up Exactly one week before Dec 25.   Dad would bring up the (artificial) tree, put on the lights, then Mother would get the Traditional ornaments and tell me about Each one, every year.  They Had to be put on certain branches, the same every year.   

My Mother had a box of silver tinsel (like thin spaghetti) that she used Every year; the same tinsel, from a long box, looking each year as though it had Never been used...we would put the tinsel on the tree, one strand at a time, one strand to each branch...once a strand was hung over a branch, my Mother would measure to make sure that the two ends were Perfectly even.   (seriously)

I've seen television shows where the tree is haphazardly done, but people had Fun decorating it.  And Christmas mornings when children rushed to the tree to see what "Santa" had left for them....that was Not our tradition   We were as organized and methodical as the military.

Anyway, I am seeing now, how the alignment of the Universe is allowing Much Knowledge to be "thrown around" here, to more and more people, those of us both with and without the ability to recognize the responsibility that comes with it; it is Chaos.   Wouldn't it be nice if we were fully trained and Ready for such knowledge?  That we knew what to do with the precision of a fire drill, where we all lined up and took our stash of new-found wisdom to its Designated Locations and Waited There??    But no.

There is a saying on t-shirts here:  "Please be patient; God isn't finished with me yet."    I'm thinking of ordering, like, a Hundred of them - for me, and to pass out to others at the door.  

[tribunalofmercy]

Consider, if you will, the example of one who has recently found Answers in a Church; he learns the commandments of Christ, but here it has been taught in a way that is colored by the thoughts of those who Teach it, so often. Not unlike when we raise our children (the story from another post), teaching them to clean their rooms and take out the trash…again, that is not the Whole of the lesson of responsibility, is it? Only a foundation for correspondence to a more Expanded way of seeing responsibility, as we Grow. Here we have long forgotten that, and it comes to us now – but Slowly.


There is something to be considered in our interactions – I Know this, but it bears Thinking about, regularly. If, for example, my neighbor comes home, carrying a crumpled bag from McDonalds (where he has had Fries with that), and carelessly throws it on the ground, looks around at the condition of our neighborhood residents then says to me, “Drinking (alcohol) is a SIN.” - what is my response? To him there is awareness of the one, but ignorance of the other.


Hint: That is a Rhetorical question; any response I may give, comes from ego. Any response. Even my Thoughts, at this point, lean toward ego, if I am not mindful. “Right thinking” may be to consider what has been said, because truly, the thoughts I have should not be about Him at all, but about Me. Anything about Him, or anyone else, is irrelevant, but it seems if there is something that I can learn about myself from this exchange, it is to my benefit, because we are where we Are, at any given moment.


“Right thinking” is something I am learning Here, at the GodLight – at least in a more useful form; I have seen it before but it has not been so cultivated, from the standpoint of my accepting it as a Way of Being, rather than just learning to hold my tongue about any thoughts or opinions I may have


These things take Time.

[donq]

When I was a child, I had a hard time before my examination. I had to be very careful not to eat any ant. As I was told (and I did believe it was true) that eating one ant could make me being stupid for seven days. So, 8 days before my examination was so important. Hahaha.
And I always upset everyone in my family. Every time my mother bought some fish from the market (to kill and cook at home), I always freed then in a pool nearby. Both because I felt pity of them and more than that, I don’t like to eat any fish. :-)

Looking back from now, what was the point of doing that? Hmm…I think it’s like this:

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said,
"It made a difference for that one.”

(I used to read the story but the above is quoted from Loren Eiseley.)

P.S. Hmm….again, it might not be relevant to your post. Just want to share my thought. :-)

[mojomojo]

Over the last few days, I have been reading "The power of now" by Eckhart Tolle, again,
And every time I read this book something new catches my attention,

"The ultimate purpose of the world, lies not within the world, but in transcendence of the world.
Just as you would not be conscious of space, if there were no objects in space, the world is needed for the unmanifested to be realised."

As a Buddhist would say,
"If there was no illusion, there would be no enlightenment."

If we do or say the right thing, dealing with the ego, coming from the ego, matters not, we can not be the perfect person for everyone at every situation.
We can only free ourselves, from mind, then every word and deed comes from spirit.

Throwing starfish back into the ocean, may be interfering with the destiny of the starfish,

Maybe the starfish will be back on the beach tomorrow.

" The enlightened one, enters the pool, and leaves, without creating a ripple."

[tribunalofmercy]

That's the thing, isn't it...Monty, you see through what I say (starfish); you know that it is just my trying to make a Difference...and yet, Robert is also right, because trying to make a Difference is not always helpful.


I'm having a real problem with the balance in that particular area, because I still Know that "I cannot give you (something), but you can Have (it)". (Also that I am Completely un-perfect, and have many things to learn myself). There are other things that go with this, things that are spiritual yet quite controversial, yet I cannot separate what is Happening, from what has Been happening in life, all along. And still it comes from ego.


The number of those waking up in the western world is increasing tremendously; we are being told to be "Love and Light"; then we are being told to "look after ourselves first, because others must Find their own paths"; we are being told to be ONE with everyone, but please, don't BOther anyone else with any truths, because everyone has their Own truth.


We are told, by some, that we must practice three things: discretion (I'm not good at that), unification, and being self-sustaining. We are told to Fear change, and then to Trust change. By others we are told to Trust, rely on Everything we are told by our higher/inner selves no matter What is said; don't be afraid to say Exactly what you think, feel, what is happening, etc. We are still told there is good and evil, then we are told there is only the Relative. We are told God is Real, then we are told God is NOT real. etc, etc. Does anyone really think there is NOT a battle going on, a real one, for our minds?


What is the difference between "now", in our new 'age of enlightenment" (quote, unquote) and any OTHER time so far? We are still given mixed messages, just like television would do to us; and there are those who both have No clue, and those who are awake who are moving forward but without seeing.


I watched the move "Divergent" last night from library, which is not spiritual but reminds me of several Other shows/movies that have come out of late, where we are Advanced, 'ascended', a Utopia of sorts is created, but really it was a lateral move...we did not really Evolve to get there. We were still human, with All our ways of thinking.


Back to my point - The spiritual path is one of ever-unfolding need for discernment, and it is simply Hard to know. Of course my Christian background demanded that I share with others the Need for the spiritual path. I do not feel the need to demand that Anyone see things from a Christian perspective, which is why Christians are unhappy with me, lol - but still the battle goes on within me as to whether - and WHEN - I should Ignore my brother who "appears to be" struggling, and whether/when I should offer myself in some way.

At this particular moment, it just appears the answer is a Fine Line...and there will be someone to "correct me" no matter What choice I make, or do not make.

[aceofcups]

Robert you said in your post- " The enlightened one, enters the pool, and leaves, without creating a ripple."

Is the ripple caused by the action or the ego-mind attachment to the action? Didn't think Tolle was promoting non-action persay... more exploring from what state of Being and Presence it is done?

 Was Tolle creating  a ripple when he wrote his book?

but i could be wrong

[tribunalofmercy]

I want to be overly-candid for a minute, throwing discretion out the window...lol. See, in life, we may be taught things - we may 'believe' one thing or another, but 'taking it into ourselves'; BE-ing; is another thing, isn't it? In spite of how mature we are, or not, at any given moment, that is what is kind of Happening, to those who are now being awakened. It's not just about "believing" a new thing, for many of us; it is Change, right down to a cellular level...like trusting our Inner Self...how can we doubt? Yet I still feel a need for discernment. This is why I have said, in the past, that I feel truth Itself is now up for grabs.


When I woke up for the first time, 27 years ago, I became aware of something deep inside me, on a core level - something I identified as my Soul, because I was taught at the time about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as truth. So my mind creates visual images of what is happening to me, you know...."she" (my soul) appeared to me, deep inside, as a toddler - Me, in that way - awake, with attitude, still a toddler but the one I intuitively trusted to show me ultimate Right and Wrong, when I got confused. Because her eyes were Clear.


The Christian teachings of the Church keep us trusting, as children, in God to guide us and take care of Everything for us, though ace quoted something the other day in another thread that was interesting: "Until I am enlightened, I go for refuge to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha"....enlightenment is growing from the child to the adult, perhaps?


Anyway, last year when I was "awakened" again, that Core Self - my 'toddler' that had Remained so for so long, suddenly appeared, to my mind's understanding, to Grow - Quickly. She was 12, then 15, then a young adult, dressing herself in Battle Gear for what was/is to Come. (seriously -scared the bejeebers out of me, at first)


It is Not just me; I see it. It is an Inner awakening that is happening, so any idea that the newly awakened are only experiencing a change in thoughts, or beliefs, is Not the whole of the story. I may not like all of what I am seeing, but I am aware that it is Real - not just 'some new fad'. Walking in wisdom is crucial, but what are we waking up to? Truly?

[mojomojo]

No, sorry, Ace,
That quote was not from Tolle,
If I remember correctly, it was from a Zen Buddhist, explaining the laws of karma,
It was a long time ago when I read it,
But the quote always stuck in my mind,
Again sorry for the confusion.

Yes, Tolle is very much for living in the now, and connecting through the present moment, the state of no mind, much the same as Zen.
No, I never heard him promote non action, but I reckon he did create a ripple when he wrote the book, both in the physical and spiritual,
for me living in the present moment, trying to maintain a state of no mind, is very powerful,
what do you think?



Robert.