Open-Secrets

Category: Questions

  • Why Inquire?

    Why Inquire?

    What is Inquiry as a Spiritual Practice?

    Money Spirituality Consciousness InquiryMy friend Mayuri has just published her first book – Money, Spirituality, Consciousness: a guided inquiry into our personal relationship to money.

    Reading the first chapter, Why Inquiry? – resulted in a personal epiphany for me on an issue and exploration that has been going on for over 6 years around brilliancy and intelligence. It was a very cool experience.

    I was reading the book on flight from Detroit to San Francisco – probably somewhere over Nebraska (though I don’t think that was a influence). It was like the heavens opened up or the Red Sea parted and there was a vision, an understanding of a question that I had spent many hours delving into. As I was drawn deeper into the vision/understanding, I very deep, deep space opened in my belly – an immense, endless space and I was at peace with myself in a way for the first time in my life. Everything, including me was simply fine as it is.

    It was not anything specific in what Mayuri was saying in the book, but more a way that her simple explanation of inquiry as a spiritual practice landed in my mind that seemed to trigger the epiphany – a simple change in orientation or perspective that opened things up. In a way, a remembering of the simplicity and a letting go of the complexity that had built up over time.

    Here is a small excerpt from the chapter on inquiry:

    By watching any very young child, we can recognize how fundamental inquiry is to being human. And just as it is for that little one, our inquiry needs to be experiential. We make contact with what is happening inside ourselves, right where we are, as we are, by being present moment to moment with our experience. Doing inquiry—which we can define simply as an open and open-ended questioning of our experience that leads us to a living understanding of ourselves—is the most natural and simple thing in the world.

    Inquiry will lead us to recognize that all of our reactions and negative emotions contain elements of unresolved past experiences, which color and even obscure our perception and don’t allow us to clearly see the world as it is. Until we can resolve those experiences through inquiry, we aren’t free to be an objective human being—that is, one who can appropriately respond rather than merely react. Thus, our journey is a matter of applying those same natural attributes of curiosity and openness that we had as children in order to see ourselves with more clarity now, so that we can wake up to what we are doing and how we are living. In moments of clarity, our consciousness is actually transformed. Over time, as more of those moments of awareness accumulate, we are transformed and become more of who we are. Ultimately, we have full access to our total potential, and we recognize directly the essence of who we are—which is the truth of our very Being.

    Money, Spirituality, Consciousness is a must read for anyone who wrestles with the huge divide that seems to exist between money and spirituality.

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  • 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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  • Disintermediate the Teacher?

    Keep the Teacher, Disintermediate the Ego & Superego

    disintermediateThe other day I had an insight into an experience that happened 43 years ago. That experience rocked my world and set my feet on a journey that has yet to end – but, is no longer dominated by going, getting or becoming. I used to think of that experience as my first “spiritual experience.”

    I was 19 and hanging out with a bunch of my college friends. I asked a simple question, received a simple reply, and the strangest thing happened… I felt a thick substance descend into my body from the top of my head. When it reached my shoulders a feeling of “welcome home” flooded me… I felt comfort, acceptance and peace. When the substance reached my heart, it felt a single point penetrated my heart. The sensation was ecstatically painful. A radiance flooded out of that point. The experience turned on a dime as something in me set out in search of itself…

    And that is where I see that things went askew… as I now see how my separate self, ego-self, normal self/mind reacted to that experience, immediately engaged it and enmeshed itself in a life-long journey and search. I wonder what would be different if a teacher had been present – one who knew of essence and the point of existence. How would my journey have unfolded if in that moment of time I had the wisdom and support to simply settle into the immediacy of that experience instead of picking up the “flame of the search,” I might have simply recognized then that there is no where to go. The experience was a revelation about what is here, always here – mostly hidden by our beliefs, ignorance, assumptions… what the heck, I was 19 – it was a blessing just as it was/is.

    The capacity to not follow thoughts, impulses and feelings, but to rather stay in the immediacy of the experience with no predisposition to “getting” anything from it – seems to be more of what is happening as I sit. More and more revolves around relaxing – allowing the body to relax, feeling the psychic structures and allowing them to relax… relaxed awareness in the now – no journey, nowhere to go. There’s interest, but not in being able to describe or understand my experience – most of that is driven by the past – thank you very much superego, your love and protection is no longer required.

    Don’t disintermediate the teacher, disintermediate the separating boundary – be with immediacy. What happens then?

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  • The Nondual Duel

    Nonduality is Not the Final Word on Reality

    I recently received this email from a fan of Open-Secrets:

    http://www.scienceandnonduality.com/SAND2012-self.shtmlJohn there are many nondual psychotherapists, among them Stephan Bodian, author of ‘Wake Up Now’, and the authors of ‘The Sacred Mirror’ and ‘Listening From the Heart of Silence’.  who criticize all progressive approaches.  They say to put all ones resources into realizing oneself AS  aware Presence first and then return to embody the Realization into ones personality afterwards.  
     
    They claim that the Diamond Approach keeps one endlessly mired in one’s history and is sort of an endless treadmill that never really crosses the gateless gate.  It can be too easy for the ego to think of these states and stations as attainments for the personality, and that the direct approach cuts through the ego activity much cleaner. 
     
    I understand and agree with Hameed that this seems like pushing oneself into a condition that might not be the natural unfoldment of the souls dynamism, and that by surrendering to where one is in the moment is much more appropriate. 
     
    I only say this because they have started an online journal that looks very interesting and are asking for contributions from bloggers and others interested in the field of nondual psychotherapy.  I would personally love to see a discussion started on the benefits and shortcomings of the direct / progressive paths.  I really like your blog and would love to see someone with a background in the Ridhwan school represented in the journal.

    if you are interested the web address is  http://undividedjournal.com/    Thanks for your awesome blog. 

    I make no claim of being established in nondual realization, though I have had enough experience of the nondual to recognize it and compare that state with others.

    Here’s where my curiosity leads me in regards to the above:

    • I’m curious about why this has significance to the author of the email. It’s an interesting point that he brings up, but people have been misunderstanding and taking exception to A. H. Almaas and the Diamond Approach for years. In addition, the DA is just one of many valid teachings and paths that assist people in moving toward the truth and realization of reality.
    • My experience is that many people have experiences of the nondual, but then reify their experiences into intellectual understanding which can then be debated for the rest of time. Rumi had the same problem with intellectuals of his day.
    • I have no idea if Stephen Bodian lives and abides in the nondual and I am making no assertion about him. If he does have the position stated above, then my curiosity wonders about “nondual positions” an oxymoron in its own right, and the answer to this question – Is there no value in learning and developing skills and insight that move one in the direction of reality and help to ease daily suffering?
    • It’s true, some people become endlessly mired in working on their object relations. Some get endlessly mired in meditating, or efforting toward nonduality. Ego identity, loves the muck and the mire – intellectual debate about the merits of anything can be a mire.
    • Almaas does not see nonduality as the end-all of the spiritual journey. It is just one manifestation of the infinite potential of True Nature. No one manifestation of TN has any more or less merit than any other – except to the subjective consciousness of the experiencer. Almaas has, over the past 6 or 7 years, been teaching more and more about Total Being and Freedom. This is what he refers to as the 4th turning of the wheel of the Diamond Approach. The 3rd turning of the wheel is associated with nondual awareness.

    These are a few of my first response thoughts. Now, I am returning to…

    BTW – Almaas will be speaking at the 2012 Science & Nonduality conference in October – sounds like a reat opportunity to get his personal take on all of this.

     

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  • Another Suicide, More Reflection

    Suicide, the Endless Why?

    Loss of Love SuicideTwo days ago I learned that another friend had committed suicide – this on the heels of two other friends’ suicides in February. Here again, I experienced a shock and a why – though, I suspected what the precipitating circumstances were in this case, and I was correct – love, relationship and loss – more complicated than this.

    During the night and the next day  I found my mind and heart circling the big WHY? of suicide and the sadness that seems natural when life ends too early and too tragically.

    According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) nn 2007, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for 34,598 deaths. The overall rate was 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. An estimated 11 attempted suicides occur per every suicide death.

    Almost four times as many males as females die by suicide. I wonder if that is because so many men are more estranged from their feelings than women.

    As I look at the 2007 figures for suicides involving young people, I now remember that last May, a friend of mine was distraught because a close friend of hers daughter was believed to have committed suicide by jumping off a well-known bridge.

    • Children ages 10 to 14 — 0.9 per 100,000
    • Adolescents ages 15 to 19 — 6.9 per 100,000
    • Young adults ages 20 to 24 — 12.7 per 100,000

    When I think of my friend, I see her with a bright smile and a happy heart – part of what seems to fuel the endless why.

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  • Warrior Mindfulness

    United States Marines get Mindful

    The U.S. Marine Corps is experimenting with mindfulness training for combat troops. Imagine a line of combat soldiers in the lotus position.

    The Department of Defense and others are studying the effects of mindfulness on a soldier’s working memory capacity – a cognitive resource that powers complex thoughts. Stress can diminish the level of this resource throughout the day. Soldiers embracing mindfulness training reported better athletic performance, relief from anxiety, stronger memory, better sleep and more facile mental activity.

    Mindfulness is most often associated with spiritual pursuits and discipline.

    Mindful Marines may bring a new set of images to the concept of the spiritual warrior. Can boot camp for the spiritually inclined be far behind?

    Mindfulness & Combat

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