Here and Now...What's Happening?

[Ernie Nemeth]

I'm working my as off. Regular 9 to 5 and now more side jobs than I can handle. I'm gonna make myself sick if I don't slow down - I feel it coming....

It is not hard to see that this job has done wonders for me, and it seems like work will not run out with this company for a few years. These last two months has improved my stamina and overall muscular strength. The extreme heat has caused me to sweat for ten hours a day and my body took the opportunity to excrete a great deal of toxins that have built up over the years.

This experience reminds me of the time I stopped driving. That time I was forced to carry my tools and materials on my back to survive and my legs and back got very strong. So much so that now I can bound up the stairs of the condo we're building even better than the twenty year olds can (and I am a thirty year smoker, but you'd never know it). I started this job with the sorest muscles, I'll admit, but I used meditation (every morning) to soothe, strengthen and rejuvinate my muscles and joints - I actually can rid myself of any pain in less than twenty minutes of meditation.

Perhaps the most significant change has been my ability to keep my emotions in check (most times at least) and to foster a positive mental attitude in general. I do not approve of work in this world because of the overcurrent of exploitation that often rides along with it. I do not like being used as a slave, and nothing really has changed in that area - only my attitude toward it. The job is secondary, my work is primary. And I have a whole group of unsuspecting innocents to administer to.

Without much effort on my part, except to always be helpful and understanding (my nickname at work is "Ernesto, The Great"), my coworkers have learned that I have knowledge in many areas beyond electrical and have come asking for my opinion on many issues. Some of these are: the current financial situation, how to cancel all debt, the Freeman movement, spiritual advancement and experiences, even dream analysis (which I'm not that good with, since I don't like to dream, but by opening myself to the Source I can offer bits of wisdom), ongoing political wranglings, and world events from the perspective of truth as apposed to the spin of propaganda, etc.

I'm not saying I have created converts, I am saying I have sown the seed of truth, which is my purpose. And here's the rub - whenever I start on one of these topics I always think of my friends here and try to emulate as much as possible your understandings and advanced wisdom, which I like to think I share to some degree. So thanks for that. I will never forget all you wonderful people - even when I'm worked to the bone and cannot find the energy or time to keep up with all the goings on in the here and now.

And my attitude? What has changed? Well, that's easy. I used to and still do hate this modern world. But what I have realized is that I LOVE LIFE! I love this life. I love the tremendous potential that from time to time peeps through this human construct. I love the children, and the innocent adults, and the trees and flowers and birds. I love the sun and the moon and the stars. I love this earth, our mother. I just love the natural world! I'm in love with life! I wish we could live in a world where I could love our society as well - and that is my purpose. To use truth to plant the seeds of a future world where I can honestly say - I love this modern world and everything in it. That is my dream and my ambition and my goal. I have no other.

I march into the future with no fear and full of the verve that is the signature of all life.

hugs

[another bob]

Posted by Jenci (here)
So what I have learned to do is not grasp any of the individual pieces but rather just let the information flow in, neither grasping or disregarding it. I've stopped trying to make sense of it all and in doing that I have found that, in time, the pieces tend to slot into place by themselves and when they do that they reveal a much bigger picture.

The irony in all of this spiritual seeking which I actually find very amusing is that the spiritual journey has been about me discovering that I am the eternal and yet the realisation is that although I realise that and I thought that realisation of that was the purpose of this life, I now realise it's not.

It has become apparent that the purpose of this incarnation for me is to just experience this - the nitty gritty, down to earth, human experience. Rather than being a human realising I am a spiritual being, I am a spiritual being having a human experience.

Great post, Sister! Some fundamental wisdom, Thank you!

"Spirituality is what we create when we don’t realise Oneness. It’s a fog, it’s a hue that we like to exist in. Right.....we become spiritual people. It’s this higher fantasy life."

Excellent! Could be offered at every forum thread here about "What is the right spiritual path?"

Adyashanti – Or do even one step better and go “who says I have got to go to a retreat to realise anything?” Get rid of that thought pattern. Jetison that one, it may save you a few bucks ! [laughter]

....As if there is more truth on a retreat than there is here! Or there is in your backyard. As if !

I've mentioned before that, when I moved from the East Coast back to California in 2000, I used to attend Adya's gatherings, based on a friend's introduction. At the time, there were only about a dozen folks or so who'd show up in Palo Alto, so it was rather intimate and cozy, with a lot of opportunity for sharing perspectives and so forth.

Over time, his reputation as a good speaker grew, and a community began gathering around him, and so he eventually moved his show to a bigger venue in Berkeley, and it became rather formalized, with several hundred attendees, and a woman stationed at a table by the entrance selling tapes and asking for a $10 "donation" to get in. I didn't mind paying, but once, just for research purposes, I told the woman I didn't have the $10 to "donate". She said I couldn't get in then, so I raised a bit of rukus about false claims and they let me pass.

At any rate, once I was re-united with Mazie again, I took her with me for the Sunday Satsangs, and we had a lot of laughs in the process. After a few months of attendance, including one retreat, we were sitting in the audience one Sunday morning, and both of us had the simultaneous realization that we didn't need to be there at all. We looked at each other, began laughing, and then both of us spurted out at the same time, "We can do this at home!"

We then got up and walked out in the middle of the show, went to a nearby restaurant for a nice breakfast, and have never been to anything like that again, or bothered with any teachers' road shows.

[Mark]

Posted by another bob (here)
We then got up and walked out in the middle of the show, went to a nearby restaurant for a nice breakfast, and have never been to anything like that again, or bothered with any teachers' road shows.

An enlightened perspective, that. Adya and others do great work for many, but at a certain point, you realize that you "already know all this", have access to the same sources they have access to, and the need for that kind of validation is no longer necessary.

[Ernie Nemeth]

Yes, I've held this same notion throughout my journeys. Even in the midst of a retreat I'd have this "detached" part of myself that would reserve judgement.

I respect a master and learn what I can but my path is my own and rituals, I've experienced, often tarnish the radiance of any truth.

Authority is always with the self, through direct connection with the Source. My truth is unique on account of my unique perspective.

Could that be another way of saying, all is holy?

Everywhere and everything is holy, marked with the divine stamp of creation.

[Mark]

Posted by Ernie Nemeth (here)
Yes, I've held this same notion throughout my journeys. Even in the midst of a retreat I'd have this "detached" part of myself that would reserve judgement.

I respect a master and learn what I can but my path is my own and rituals, I've experienced, often tarnish the radiance of any truth.

Authority is always with the self, through direct connection with the Source. My truth is unique on account of my unique perspective.

Could that be another way of saying, all is holy?

Everywhere and everything is holy, marked with the divine stamp of creation.

I think so, Mr. Nemeth. I still watch Adya, Tolle and others. I nod and agree with their points, I recognize their experiences as my own. The space these individuals have reached is not a space that is unreachable for many, if the work is done, or not done, depending upon where you are at in your own personal evolutionary growth.

In that light, the perspective you put forth is also enlightened: "All is holy".

My impression of the matter also agrees with yours, in that it is indeed all good, or all is well. No matter where anybody is or what they are experiencing, it is exactly what they are supposed to be doing, they are exactly where they are supposed to be, in that moment. Where we are is where we have "brought ourselves" by our thoughts, words and actions, so how can we be anyplace else besides where we are supposed to be?

The extreme aspect of this perspective is when bad things happen. Lost jobs, lost relationships, mistakes, regrets. Are they supposed to have happened exactly the way they did? Is there really a lesson involved?

In the pain of the moment and even longer, it's easy to resist the idea that everything has meaning and what we go through is meant to happen. But, hopefully, we all arrive at a space in our lives where we can look back on whatever happened and recognize how it took us from one space and place to another and that we actually did learn something about ourselves and the world by going through it, no matter how negative or traumatic we perceived it to be at the time.

Through time and with the necessary growth, it becomes possible to make that space between the lesson and the understanding lesser and lesser. Eventually, one reaches a space where peace and equinimity reign, as all experiences are understood for what they are in the Now moment of living them. At that point, there is no barrier, no separation between the experience and the experiencer.

That is when the absolute recognition that all is holy can indeed be internalized and lived 100% of the time.

[Jenci]

Posted by another bob (here)

Posted by Jenci (here)
So what I have learned to do is not grasp any of the individual pieces but rather just let the information flow in, neither grasping or disregarding it. I've stopped trying to make sense of it all and in doing that I have found that, in time, the pieces tend to slot into place by themselves and when they do that they reveal a much bigger picture.

The irony in all of this spiritual seeking which I actually find very amusing is that the spiritual journey has been about me discovering that I am the eternal and yet the realisation is that although I realise that and I thought that realisation of that was the purpose of this life, I now realise it's not.

It has become apparent that the purpose of this incarnation for me is to just experience this - the nitty gritty, down to earth, human experience. Rather than being a human realising I am a spiritual being, I am a spiritual being having a human experience.

Great post, Sister! Some fundamental wisdom, Thank you!

"Spirituality is what we create when we don’t realise Oneness. It’s a fog, it’s a hue that we like to exist in. Right.....we become spiritual people. It’s this higher fantasy life."

Excellent! Could be offered at every forum thread here about "What is the right spiritual path?"

Adyashanti – Or do even one step better and go “who says I have got to go to a retreat to realise anything?” Get rid of that thought pattern. Jetison that one, it may save you a few bucks ! [laughter]

....As if there is more truth on a retreat than there is here! Or there is in your backyard. As if !

I've mentioned before that, when I moved from the East Coast back to California in 2000, I used to attend Adya's gatherings, based on a friend's introduction. At the time, there were only about a dozen folks or so who'd show up in Palo Alto, so it was rather intimate and cozy, with a lot of opportunity for sharing perspectives and so forth.

Over time, his reputation as a good speaker grew, and a community began gathering around him, and so he eventually moved his show to a bigger venue in Berkeley, and it became rather formalized, with several hundred attendees, and a woman stationed at a table by the entrance selling tapes and asking for a $10 "donation" to get in. I didn't mind paying, but once, just for research purposes, I told the woman I didn't have the $10 to "donate". She said I couldn't get in then, so I raised a bit of rukus about false claims and they let me pass.

At any rate, once I was re-united with Mazie again, I took her with me for the Sunday Satsangs, and we had a lot of laughs in the process. After a few months of attendance, including one retreat, we were sitting in the audience one Sunday morning, and both of us had the simultaneous realization that we didn't need to be there at all. We looked at each other, began laughing, and then both of us spurted out at the same time, "We can do this at home!"

We then got up and walked out in the middle of the show, went to a nearby restaurant for a nice breakfast, and have never been to anything like that again, or bothered with any teachers' road shows.

That's a great story, Bob. There was a time I would have been very jealous that you were so close and able to get to see Adya. At the beginning of 2011 I found out he was making his first trip to London. So I checked his website frequently looking for the details and as soon as they were up I booked my place. I was really excited but had many months to wait.

Anyway the day finally came in August and I went off to London for the day. When I got to the building there was a huge queue outside and I got to speak to people in the line who were equally as excited and looking forward to the day.

So we go into the hall and all the seats are full and then Adya walks in and starts us off with a meditation for 30 minutes. Then he began speaking and immediately the thought came to me "what am I doing here?".

In all waiting for the event to take place the person who needed to go had fallen away.

I laughed to myself.

I even bought a signed copy of his Falling into Grace book. A year later it is still unread.

[another bob]

Posted by Jenci (here)
I even bought a signed copy of his Falling into Grace book. A year later it is still unread.

A great story too, Sister!

I know that, here in the States, Amazon will buy back books, even if they didn't originally come from them. You could sell them the book back and then buy a popsicle-making kit -- they're cool! :-)

[Mark]

Posted by another bob (here)
I know that, here in the States, Amazon will buy back books, even if they didn't originally come from them. You could sell them the book back and then buy a popsicle-making kit -- they're cool! :-)

Now THAT is money well spent!

Although I'm supposed to be giving up sugar, I suppose you could use natural juices instead!

Sira and I have started doing Crossfit, a workout program and chain of gyms across the US and Canada that emphasizes "ol skool" workouts, a lot of heavy weights, sprinting, rope climbing, pull ups.

As a result of that, we are now on the Paleo-diet, which I find benign enough, as the only real changes to what I already do is no grains, no processed foods and no sugars outside of fruit. The past two years of being with her have totally changed my diet anyway, so this is just another progression. Taken with the 3-times a week jogging, 2-4 kilometers each outing, it's been really good getting back in shape after so long being a couch potato. Still a ways to go to gently rehabilitate my body, but it is nice to go in the closet and wear clothes that you haven't been able to wear in, oh, way too long to admit in public!

[another bob]

Posted by Rahkyt (here)
Still a ways to go to gently rehabilitate my body, but it is nice to go in the closet and wear clothes that you haven't been able to wear in, oh, way too long to admit in public!

Well Brother, that was my problem too. Mazie loves to bake, which is fine for her, given that she is down to 99 lbs. and needs to gain. It's just that the stuff she bakes is so good it's easy to eat too much, so I was adding more weight than I needed to survive Bill's coming hypothesis. Consequently, she bought some popsicle kits and now she purees mangos, strawberries, blueberries, cherries and limes, pineapple, peaches, and whatever other fresh fruits are available, and creates yummy frozen treats that totally satisfy the craving.

[Carmody]

Posted by Ernie Nemeth (here)
Yes, I've held this same notion throughout my journeys. Even in the midst of a retreat I'd have this "detached" part of myself that would reserve judgement.

I respect a master and learn what I can but my path is my own and rituals, I've experienced, often tarnish the radiance of any truth.

Authority is always with the self, through direct connection with the Source. My truth is unique on account of my unique perspective.

Could that be another way of saying, all is holy?

Everywhere and everything is holy, marked with the divine stamp of creation.

with a centered perspective, one might say that, yes. But, a bit less evolution would have one assigning too much worth to the self.

Which brings me to the point of my post. I just realized why I don't like much of what is in country music.

Too much of it's underlying character.....is Narcissistic.

[another bob]

Posted by Carmody (here)
I just realized why I don't like much of what is in country music.

Too much of it's underlying character.....is Narcissistic.

True of most pop music, though there are always exceptions:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=PKpQRjj_WbU

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4f0p5KqdU9U

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=q06AvQF5NOw

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Rahkyt (here)

Posted by another bob (here)
We then got up and walked out in the middle of the show, went to a nearby restaurant for a nice breakfast, and have never been to anything like that again, or bothered with any teachers' road shows.

An enlightened perspective, that. Adya and others do great work for many, but at a certain point, you realize that you "already know all this", have access to the same sources they have access to, and the need for that kind of validation is no longer necessary.

Rahkyt, digging your new picture and my apologies to your lady friend if i've offended.
Tee, hee.

[another bob]

OK, one more . . . maybe y'all can come up with another . . .

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qZwm4kPllJg

[Mark]

Posted by WhiteCrowBlackDeer (here)
Rahkyt, digging your new picture and my apologies to your lady friend if i've offended.
Tee, hee.

LOL TY WCBD, Sira plays around and says she's not going to let me go outside alone anymore in a month or two but I say it'll be deep Fall then and we'll all be wearing long clothes then anyway so it's ok.

These crossfit cult members we're in with now - and some DO consider it a cult because they're so hardcore about their training - have amazing bodies. Not too bulky, not to striated or cut, just right.

We're just tryin' to 'get back right' again and reflect the best form that we can considering our ages and health.

Tai-chi looks fun too!

[astrid]

Weird.
Of late i write these long posts and then delete them,
not sure what's going on with that.

[Marianne]

Of late i write these long posts and then delete them,

Astrid! I wish you would post them.

[benevolentcrow]

I was besotted and smitten at the Barn House Vintage Event! Amazing stuff!
There were probably a thousand people in line to get in. One of the top 5 Vintage Events in the Country! Too Cool! So much fun!

[Eram]

Posted by another bob (here)
True of most pop music, though there are always exceptions:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=PKpQRjj_WbU

I absolutely looove country music when it's written and played with positive intend.
This song brought tears to my eyes.

I reminded me of the time that I lived in LA for 3 months.
Don't have much nice to say about LA, but we (The girl with whom I was then and me) did a tour through Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California (San Fransisco,Berkely), which was the nicest trip ever.
We rented a car (a real American gas slurper) and played country music all the way.

There is so much to tell about the US these days. The land of the corrupted souls, nest of the illuminati etc etc, but my experiences from that trip showed me a completely other perspective.
The people we met during that trip had so much positiveness in them. They where curious to who we where and what we had to tell. They showed friendliness, offered help when needed. Ahh... that was a good trip.
There's so much positiveness in the US. People who have a free spirit. Willing to explore and create!
There is a huge gap between what you can read about the US in the media (alternative and mass)... the picture that arises about the people there, and what you experience when you travel there these days.
I wish that there will be opportunity to do such a voyage once again sometimes.

edit to add:

here is one talented girl from Holland

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ds8pl1PLyyI

[another bob]

Posted by Wakytweaky (here)
There's so much positiveness in the US. People who have a free spirit. Willing to explore and create!
There is a huge gap between what you can read about the US in the media (alternative and mass)... the picture that arises about the people there, and what you experience when you travel there these days.
I wish that there will be opportunity to do such a voyage once again sometimes.

Glad you had a chance to meet the people, Brother! I've been back and forth across this land, and all over the globe in my time, and I generally found that people everywhere are pretty much the same -- they all want to love and be loved, to be free and happy, and they are basically good and generous. Politics and religion divide people, unfortunately, and make them believe stupid lies about themselves and each other, as well as about the nature of existence.

Some say that humans are just sneaky and dangerous animals, but that is not so, since most have a light being soul within them that just needs to step up and take responsibility for the human's behavior. If the humans allow this "Higher Self" to guide them, all the greed, envy, hatred, fear, and intolerance would be rendered obsolete. I guess it just takes time for folks to understand this, and until then, there will continue to be suffering.

The suffering itself will eventually motivate people to snap out of the false gods' spells and dark enchantments, and find out who and what they really are. In the meantime, since we're on the subject of country music, here's a lullabye for those weary of the struggle:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=i1wZVVMKojw

[astrid]

Posted by Marianne (here)

Of late i write these long posts and then delete them,

Astrid! I wish you would post them.

Believe me you don't, lol

I'm still trying to formulate the energetics into a pattern/ shape that is recognizable, and can then be
translated into human-ish linguistics.
Yes i know, I'm talking gibberish, but that's why i have been deleting things,
I re read it and seriously i have no idea WTF I'm going on about, lol.

sign of the times maybe.
I mean normally it's a struggle for me to articulate to others, now it seems i can't
even communicate coherently to myself, lol.

Quite possibly, the dimension I'm working in/with/ through, right now has some unfamiliar patterns,
so its a bit like having to learn a new language, or something.
Dunno.

It's interesting not knowing things though,
i kind of like that feeling of free falling , i must say.,.