Category: Perceptions

  • Essence Unlimited

    What is Essence? Is it Limited or Unlimited?

    essenceThe term essence is being used in a lot of conversations these days, from marketing products to psychology to spiritual growth. Exactly what is essence?

    Here is the etymology of the word essence ( I am using bold letters to draw your attention to specifics)

    essence –     late 14c., essencia (respelled late 15c. on French model), from L. essentia “being, essence,” abstract noun formed in imitation of Gk. ousia “being, essence” (from on, gen. ontos, prp. of einai “to be”), from essent-, prp. stem of esse “to be,” from PIE *es- (cf. Skt. asmi, Hittite eimi, O.C.S. jesmi, Lith. esmi, Goth. imi, O.E. eom “I am;” see be). Originally “substance of the Trinity,” the general sense of “basic element of anything” is first recorded in English 1650s, though this is the base meaning of the first English use of essential.

    Pretty straight forward – until we dig a little deeper (from Wikipedia):

    In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. The concept originates with Aristotle, who used the Greek expression to ti ên einai, literally ‘the what it was to be’, or sometimes the shorter phrase to ti esti, literally ‘the what it is,’ for the same idea. This phrase presented such difficulties for his Latin translators that they coined the word essentia (English “essence”) to represent the whole expression. For Aristotle and his scholastic followers the notion of essence is closely linked to that of definition (horismos)

    Digging a little deeper into essence, horismos and Aristotle via the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

    Aristotle turns to a consideration of the next candidate for substance: essence. (‘Essence’ is the standard English translation of Aristotle’s curious phrase to ti ên einai, literally “the what it was to be” for a thing. This phrase so boggled his Roman translators that they coined the word essentia to render the entire phrase, and it is from this Latin word that ours derives. Aristotle also sometimes uses the shorter phrase to ti esti, literally “the what it is,” for approximately the same idea.) In his logical works, Aristotle links the notion of essence to that of definition (horismos)—“a definition is an account (logos) that signifies an essence” (Topics 102a3)—and he links both of these notions to a certain kind of per se predication (kath’ hauto, literally, “in respect of itself”)—“what belongs to a thing in respect of itself belongs to it in its essence (en tôi ti esti)” for we refer to it “in the account that states the essence” (Posterior Analytics, 73a34–5). He reiterates these ideas in ?.4: “there is an essence of just those things whose logos is a definition” (1030a6), “the essence of a thing is what it is said to be in respect of itself” (1029b14). It is important to remember that for Aristotle, one defines things, not words. The definition of tiger does not tell us the meaning of the word ‘tiger’; it tells us what it is to be a tiger, what a tiger is said to be in respect of itself. Thus, the definition of tiger states the essence—the “what it is to be” of a tiger, what is predicated of the tiger per se.

    Quoting A. H. Almaas, a highly regarded spiritual teacher of our times:

    What Essence Is: Essence is not alive; it is aliveness. It is not aware; it is awareness. It does not have the quality of existence; it is existence. It does not love; it is love. It is not joyful; it is joy. It is not true; it is truth.

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    So clear as a bell, eh? The essence of you is you – what it is that fundamentally exists. Now, is that the body, the mind or something more subtle? See, words don’t quite do it when it comes to knowing essence. The knowing of essence is in the being essence – experiential knowledge.

     

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  • Personal Transformation

    The Point of Life is Transformation

    change transformationPain & Suffering – the ego likes to avoid as much of this as it can, unless, of course, our identity is one who suffers. Every time I encounter a person asking for spare change, I wonder how much change they really want in their life. How much “change” do any of us really want? How much change can God spare, probably a lot. How much can we endure, probably a lot less than opportunity offers.

    I read A Million Miles in a Thousand Days by Donald Miller yesterday on a flight home from San Francisco.

    We get robbed of the glory of life because we aren’t capable of remembering how we got here. When you are born, you wake up slowly to everything… God is slowly turning the lights on… The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe life isn’t that big of a deal, that life isn’t staggering… We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we’re given – it’s just another sunset, just another rainstorm, just another child born, just another funeral.

    This is a wonderful book for all kinds of reasons. I think it is one of the best self-help books ever written because it isn’t so much giving you advice on how to change as it is a revelation on how change is possible – and how it is possible to reawaken to the glory of life and get out of a life that is dull, boring, normal and familiar to the point of being inert.

    In a way, it reminded me of Michael Crichton’s book Travels.Crichton, too, talked about how pain, difficulty, struggle, suffering and confronting the known limits of ourselves is the crucible for transformation.

    As Donald Miller says:

    If the point of life is the same as the point of a story, the point of life is character transformation.

    A Million Miles in a Thousand Days – take the journey.

  • Enneagram Character Traits Continue to Surface

    Enneagram Point 8 Characteristics Still Smiling at Me

    enneagram point 8A couple of recent Enneagram conversations with new friends resulted in me observing that some of the point 8 character traits are still functioning in my psyche.

    My first encounter was with someone who had attended an online webinar with David Daniels (an enneagram person I haven’t seen in 20 years or so). My conversation partner thinks they may be an 8 on the enneagram. We managed to spend several hours chatting about most things under the sun without resorting to arm wrestling or shouting – proving once again that 8’s aren’t all aggression all of the time.

    The point 8 enneagram trait that was first to jump into my conscious awareness was – we’d rather have bad news than no news.

    Those 8’s – are they a riot or what? Eights have this connection with truth, but that doesn’t always play out in a good way as they can be prone to “my way or the highway” and “might makes right.” The significance of which can lead to distorting the “truth” to a relative position or perception. In my case, it was simply a matter of wanting clear communication.

    In my first conversation, I made several references to how important communication is to me, especially in regards to friendship. Being forthright is an art to cultivate. Just blurting things out won’t do, but it’s one place to start if that’s all we have going for us. Developing sensitivity, steadfastness and a non-judgmental attitude are  essential – and it seems, a life-long endeavor on my part – that sensitivity thing, what a challenge! I may actually have to be more present in life – what’s up with that?

    The second encounter with the enenagram occurred at Roast & Toast, a local coffee shop. I was sitting down at a table when I noticed a gent next to me, had a copy of Richard Rohr’s book on the Enneagram. I hadn’t seen that book in years and I said so to the gent. As it turns out, I was speaking to a local minister who is using the book to help with research on his Ph. D.

    We had a long chat which ultimately left me feeling very sad. The conversation opened around the enneagram and the power of silence for transformation ( perspective on this can be found in The Void). The conversation turned toward a recent incident in the church… What was sad, was how entrenched & fixated some of the people involved were… leading to another member having to resign a position. All of this in the name of God & morality.

    Aha, that 8 thing – wanting to pick up the sword in defense of the underdog and take off a few of those sanctimonious heads! Alas, all that practicing presence seems to have taken a toll on me as I simply felt sweet sadness…

    I found it quite interesting to find myself in 2 enneagram conversations in one week with total strangers. Perhaps stranger things will happen.

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  • Turning Toward the Truth

    Reversing the Mirror of Perception

    turn toward the truthMaking the turn toward the real, reality, the truth, True Nature, God…. however you refer to that most sublime, all encompassing life force, is, for most of us, not an easy or simple thing. For most of us, it’s a process – a process of continual unfoldment as we turn, turn again, and again and again.

    Turning toward the truth usually involves many instances of falling asleep, choosing a goody or two over the truth, the occasional inertia or better idea that takes us back to our habits, familiar life or comfort zone. Our ruts are deep, which leads us to believe that it takes effort to abide in the truth. It takes effort to get out of the ruts and increase our capacity for the truth – until the truth grabs us by the heart or dazzles our minds in a manner that the gravity of our ego life begins to ease up.

    Another form of turning again and again toward the truth involves discovering and revelation as what we once thought of as “the” truth broadens and deepens. So, we continue to turn toward the truth as we are opened up and refined.

    Fundamentally, turning toward the truth means reversing the mirror. The quest for reality or the life of truth is something to be gained. It’s not something we are going to achieve and put into practice in our life. The truth is the life. What we bring to the truth is our little ego-life – which seems pretty big and significant to us, since it includes everything we see and believe.

    Turning toward the truth means bringing our life – moment by moment – to the truth, living in accordance and alignment with how we know the truth. What we read last night that hit home, what we learned in a workshop last weekend, what we experienced in our work sessions or daily practice – we bring that to the truth by applying it and living it in our daily lives.

    I’m not not talking theory here. I’m talking rubber meeting the road, walking the talk – and not in an easy way, but in a life or death way. No room for excuses or the champion (judge, jury and executioner) of excuses the superego / inner critic.

    Turning toward the truth means reclaiming my aggression if I’m aggression intolerant, standing my ground or staying the course if I’m weak-kneed — all-in-all — no matter what our conditioning, turning toward the truth involves a vulnerability far exceeding what we thought thought was needed when our heart or mind was touched by that first scent of the real that set us seeking.

    All my life seeking

    Answers, insight, meaning

    Never here

    For a second

    Thinking about here

    I’m elsewhere

    Poor creature

    Here is vulnerability

    Beyond imagining

  • The Life & Death of Suicide

    The Agony, Loss, Suffering, Sadness, Emptiness & Perhaps Peace of Suicide

    suicide roseRecently, two of my business peers suicided in the same week.

    My main source of income comes through Internet Marketing and specifically helping my brother and his wife with their real estate business in San Ramon, CA. It was a sad day when I heard that a friend and real estate colleague who I admired and liked had committed suicide. It took me aback as he always seemed so positive and he did so much to help others. According to friends, he had a history of depression and had recently broken up with a woman he was madly in love with. He went to his storage shed and put a gun to his head.

    A few days later, I heard that another Realtor and colleague had also committed suicide. It seems his financial challenges brought him to a point of despair and hopelessness that led to suicide.

    These aren’t my first intersections with suicide or death. In my family, suicide has always been frowned upon and carried a stigma of cowardice and personal deficiency.  I think my father contributed most to this attitude, which isn’t surprising being the military man he was – heavy on judgment and short on compassion and empathy.

    As I reflected on the loss of these two friends, the lives and circumstances they left, and the shock felt in the local communities, I recalled the times I had felt so despondent and hopeless that thoughts of suicide entered my brain. As a teen, I think I had more than a few thoughts of suicide as I went through periods of inadequacy and feeling like nobody gave a damn about me and that my presence would not be missed. Those moments of angst were imbued with a distorted sense of martyrdom.

    As an adult, I once followed a stream of suicidal thought into a very dark place. It was that exploration that helped me to see the value of deep psychological and emotional exploration. That inquiry has served me well as I have encountered other times when depression, emptiness and hopelessness seemed all-consuming.

    What I notice with these two recent suicides is loss, sadness, love and appreciation for two very different, but the same, friends. I notice that my everyday separating boundaries become porous and the experience is more we than me and them. I am blessed to recognize no sense of judgment from my past conditioning.

    There’s a lot of sweetness and appreciation for us all.

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  • Humility

    What is Humility?

    • Humility: the state of being humble
    • Humble Origin: 1200–50; Middle English  ( h ) umble  < Old French  < Latin humilis  lowly, insignificant, on the ground. See humus
    • Humus: < Latin:  earth, ground; akin to Greek chamaí  on the ground

    humble humilitySoul without Shame posted a quote on Facebook today about Self-Evaluation vs. Self-judgment. This got me to thinking about humility. My friend, Greg, tells me that humility is the objective assessment of one’s strengths and weaknesses. I hear this as a clear objective look at oneself or one’s situation… and I always include motivation to know more, to see more clearly.

    We need to acknowledge our humility, which is not just being good and spiritual. Humility means to objectively see that you do not know, not to think that something is wrong with you because you cannot know. Nobody can know. You cannot know the mystery. The only thing you can know about the mystery is that it is unknowable and untouchable. You see it, you perceive it, but you do not know what it is. The moment you try to penetrate it, you forget you are trying to penetrate it. – A. H. Almaas – Diamond Heart 4: Indestructible Innocence

    Taking note of the above, we could say that humility involves being on the ground, grounded. We could be aware of the vastness and magnitude of reality in relation to our limited perspective. We could see what we see – and want to know more, have more revealed to us, to get more intimate with ourselves, to be more in harmony with life or the divine. We might feel blessed or the presence of grace to have insight, frustration, confusion or even feeling lost.

    Humility might include an understanding or intimation that we cannot “do,” an objective hopelessness that what we might feel is needed to satisfy or complete is beyond our capacity to do or even know what is needed next. So, humility, seeing things clearly, can include a profound vulnerability. We might be scared or full of wonder.

    Just pondering humility…

    Words can Kill

    The world comes knocking
    at the wise man’s door
    like all good guests
    laying problems at his feet
    quietly, he feeds them
    as gluttonous appetites
    ravage the evening’s meal
    bloated with their own assumptions
    they raucously depart
    hidden in the corner
    a hungry servant
    died on table scraps

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