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Being Spiritual
Regarding the performing of spiritual practices, or behaviors, or of doing some things in order to be "spiritual" or avoiding some behaviors because they are not spiritual, etc.... ______________________________ How does one practice being spiritual or unspiritual? Funny we seem to do fine at one but not the other! We have a choice, do you think? What results do we hope for in practicing to be spiritual? When do we get our certificates of spiritual practitionership? I thought I was practicing hard at raising a spiritual sweat for many years without knowing either answer, but now i just do what i want and observe the results. No squat. no stoop down, no bend over! Doesn't seem to have the sweat implied in most "spiritual" regimens, nor the guilt, but that is what it says i will be doing in the last lesson after I lay down my spiritual bar bells. I think, if we are living beings, our expressions are 100% spiritual--just like our Creator, Who actually does the expressing. There just ain't nothing else but! Get it, you all? Joseph ______________________________ 03 May 2001, 07:25:04 PM How does one practice being spiritual or unspiritual? > That is a very good question, Brother Nolen. I would like to think we
have a choice in the matter, as the definition of choice indicates a power,
right or liberty to choose. But, if we are truly being guided moment by
moment along the path of Liberation, does that imply choice, especially if
we have given that choice over to the One Life to direct? I guess we could
think we had a choice, but what if what we term a choice is merely the One
Life giving us the direction we need to go? What if choice is just a
placebo to placate our egos as we are driven along a very fixed groove on
the path of Return? ______________________________ Spiritual or unspiritual is a dualistic--pairs of opposites--concept. All actions produce evolutionary change, no matter what man may call them. I have concluded that i get more mileage in change from actions normally considered to be unspiritual--but what I am "wanting" to do. Who or What, with what lesson in mind, stimulates our wants? Haven't you noticed that man is tricked into giving "bad" names to certain wants like "ego." This so imprisons students early on the Path that the compression in suppression will ensure seeing through this little trick. Delusion induces realization of reality. A very useful, evolutionary, so-called mistake. And, God, do we defend our shackles. Joseph
Choice At a certain point on the Path, the question of Choice seems to be of almost overwhelming importance--as if if our spiritual self image depended upon what choices we make. I can promise you this importance fades. You will become infinitely trusting of the wants of the moment hauling you up the ladder of expanding awareness and understanding. And that's sufficient. Joseph ______________________________ > This is good... but... Isn't "choice" still involved when we are finally at a point when our wants have earned our trust to make the decisions that were once delegated to "choice"? Aren't our wants now making the choices? Perhaps our concerns regarding making the right choices weren't really in the service of " spiritual self image" at all but were, rather, an effort to to the best we thought we could at the time.
Kevin ______________________________ Good question. The solution we come to, IMO, is this: We must have observed over a period of time the evolutionary results of any and all actions that we take and the timeliness of the lessons that are learned without intent. The repeated impact of this gradually builds confidence in That which seems to be guiding our choices. In "doing what You want," be aware of your motivation, and watch but do not be concerned with the results. If you can. Unconcern is impossible until you realize Who the Doer really is. This a quite natural unfolding process that all pass through in the Lord of Life's good time. Your concern over trusting choices is right on time. Joseph Choice is the act of volition we make from the "want/desire that is dominant in consciousness. In most instances, IMO, we are not even consciously aware of what we want, we just act automatically. It is the longer range choice problems that give most esoteric and other students fits. "Am I doing the right thing?" "Is this God's will or my will?" "Because i don't like the look of it, I suspect this is God's will." Guess the use of that dilemma and Who invented it. Joseph ______________________________
== Choice== Am I "the doer" or "the done", Or am I God, just having fun? Should I "hold on", or just "let go", Or are my "trials" just one big show for an audience of ghouls getting joy from tortured fools? Does it really matter what I think or do if I am not the doer? Is it all the same? the Gold, the Lead the Angel, and the Sewer? What choice have I to pick and choose? I choose what I desire. What choice have I to pick and choose? Desire makes the choice, not I, and then brings on the fire Which burns away the dross, which only feels like loss, cause' I made that "thing" the object of my desire. Trick-fucked once again into doing what the ONE wants done. Yaszm Boss! "I gave it to you, and now I take it away." "So, Who's your Daddy?" It is not my journey. It is THY journey. Enjoy the Ride. ======== You do what you want to do. You have NO choice in that. Desire evolves through expression. RL ______________________________ Red Lion, you really nailed it with your last post. IMO, the hinting questions that you ask in semi-verse form will provoke more thought than anything i can think of. What a belly laugh i got from it. Others will to and that big guffaw means recognition of reality. Plus the attractive irony it suggests. I also sent your post to many friends who are not on the pfc list. This is a very ancient and wise device/form used to present taunting questions about accepted dogma. No answers, no lectures, no attacks, just questions that suggest a startling alternative. This form is not my metier but I sure would like to be so inspired as that is exactly where this comes from. --inner inspiration! What a weapon in the struggle to apprehend reality. A classic! Joseph______________________________
Greetings Mr. Divine Paradox, a.ka. Red Lion, a.k.a. ?, ;-) You write: You do what you want to do. You have NO choice in that. Rey: The action of the True Will is what seems to me to drive the Want/Desire turning it to Love, which in turn leads to service and further down the road...the propagation of Light. But that is the reader's digest version, there are seemingly many steps to the shaping of this perception toward physical manifestation in Assiah. In all of this, I have found what seems to be a choice...but a choice with only one right answer to the direction in which I NEED to move in order to be in greater harmony with the One Life...at least from the perspective of my personality. So, the choice is No-Choice...and yes, this is a Zen Koan. :-) Red Lion: Rey: And on that note, I would like to share another post written awhile back from the Red Lion that really speaks to this issue of the Divine and Human perspective as to who is guiding whom. BTW, excellent post as always. From the Words of the Red Lion: Like the Divine Paradox, I think it's all a question of perspective - Human perspective Vs. Divine perspective. Right now, K14 (Temperance) comes to mind. OK, under the inspiration of K14, guiding me, here's my hypothesis . . . . . The One Doer is in fact working (like a Smith at the forge) on it's vehicle - US - pounding here, heating there, dousing with water, etc... in order to anneal and strengthen its vehicle into a more capable vehicle for the One Doer's experience and expression. Now, from the vehicle's perspective, it probably feels itself getting stronger as it successfully navigates the trials and fires of life, but it's typically not aware of who/what is behind the mask that it sees/feels when it is aware of itself. As a result, the vehicle thinks that it is doing it (when successful), and that fate /chance /devils /others/ blind laws of nature are acting against it when unsuccessful or in pain. Now, it would seem, that at some point in the ONE's plan for that vehicle, the ONE would bring that vehicle to a point where its Desire to see what's behind the mask it sees of itself, would become greater than its fear of disappearing/dying in the process. This point (where desire/love becomes stronger than fear), is a result of the ONE's work at strengthening that vehicle's ability to hold and transmit power. In other words, at some point in the strengthening process, the person desires: "Man, Know Thyself", and becomes willing to find out the answer, no matter what it may be - be I a God, or be I dust. And it is that DESIRE TO KNOW (which comes from the ONE), that finally overcomes the desire for pleasure/comfort and the desire to avoid pain (fear) to the point where the person WANTS TO KNEEL before the Inner Teacher, and is willing to do so (K5). And along the way, the person also must discover that it is the "desire to know, for the sake of sharing" that ultimately leads to the satisfaction of their desire - in other words - Service. So basically, the solution to the Paradox of ego, is to Do what you want, because ultimately you'll want to know what the hell is going on and THAT will lead to the solution of the problem/paradox of ego. |