Uradiance

  We speak of opening our eyes, opening our minds, opening our hearts. We speak of opening the 'third eye,' the 'crown chakra,' the 'manipura.' Can one part of ourselves be open without another? To be partially opened is still to be closed. There is only one pure unconditional opening to the infinite, the Self opening to the Self in All. Let the whole body open, let every cell open. Let every photon open and become Light. Let the bud be annihilated in the flower, like this hibiscus on my back porch, opening to the sun. Nature is full of sacraments that hint about our fundamental blossoming, the blossoming of All into All. Whatever opens for a moment in time - a bud, a cocoon, a heart, a supernova, bouquet of wine in a crystal cup - re-capitulates what opens in eternity, now and forever. Here is the trick of the trickster, who creates everything from nothing: this opening has always already happened! Our primordial liberation and release, ...

  Can a character lost in a dream change the dream? Why waste a lifetime trying to turn nightmares into illusions? I have but one short moment: let me spend it waking up. I cannot change the collective dream of this world, but I can witness it. I can become the Seer who is not lost in the images I see. The dream is fleeting, unsure, flickering with gain and loss, success and failure, pleas ure and pain. But the Witness to the dream is changeless, eternal, unblemished by shadows, spacious as blue sky beyond the clouds, Self-luminous in a magisterial silence of pure bliss. The dream goes on for thousands of lifetimes, but awakening only takes a moment.  To arouse the Witness is the deepest seva , the greatest service one could ever perform for one's self and others. For witnessing-awareness irradiates the shadows, thins the dream, and back-lights it with the dawn, inspiring many dream-characters to awaken.  Dear friend, you are the Witness who outshin...

My lower self said to my higher self, "I dare you to switch places with me,  just for a little while." So we did. Angels took animal bodies, heaven clothed  herself in earth, pain and beauty merged in a single teardrop called "human being."  It was only for a moment, though it seemed a thousand lifetimes. Afterward  we both agreed: no higher, no lower, no self. Only wonder. LINK - 'Why the Buddha Touched the Earth': Article from Ecological Buddhism

The sign of an authentic Guru is this: he does not want you to pray to him for your enlightenment; he wants you to establish the state of turiya, the eternal Witness, in your own heart. True liberation is not a guru-disciple relationship. It is the radiance whose Self-luminosity outshines every relationship. The is why the Yoga Vashista declares: "For the liberated, real devotion is not a relationship between I and Thou, but a relationship between I and Am." A Guru does not teach you to worship the Light, but to be the Light. A Guru is not interested in teasing your thirst with drops from the glance of his eye, but in quenching your thirst completely. He does that by filling your heart with the ocean of guru-tattva, the Guru within. We must remember that Jesus did not merely say, "I am the Light." He said, "You are the Light." Years ago, I was sitting with my teacher Maharishi - who never claimed to be a personal Guru. He explained the subtle ...

This blade of grass is a miracle, because it Is. It's thingness is a blade of grass, but its Being is divine. All creatures are bathed in the nectar of Divine Existence, which is bliss. However fallen, broken or small, the creature floats in an invisible sea of perfection, the Being of the Creator. Normally, we see the forms and objects of the world as foreground, their mere Existence as background. But now we are shifting to a new stage of human consciousness: to see creatures as background, and uncreated Existence as foreground. The earth, the stars, and every blade of grass are bathed in divine beauty. Merely To Be is the miracle. Why not dwell in perpetual astonishment? Why not bow down to every drop of dew and every cricket, not because it is a thing, but because it Is, and Isness is God? If you don't understand this, I'm sorry. I can't explain it. Just walk barefoot in the wet grass at dawn, and watch a plum bud blossom.

The Upanishads declare: 'Ano raniyan mahato mahiyan': 'one atom of the smallest is greater than the greatest.' Quantum pioneer Sir Arthur Eddington articulated this principle for modern physics: 'When the electron vibrates, the whole universe shakes.' Cosmic power manifests through the humble juiciness of the little, the personal, the least act of compassion, the close-at-hand. 'Insofar as you ha ve done it to the smallest one of these, you have done it unto Me' (Mat 25:40) The answer never lies in what is big, but what is intimate. When banks get too large, break them up into local credit unions. When spiritual movements get too large, break them up into local shamanic circles. Jesus said, 'Wherever two or three are gathered in my Name, there am I in the midst of them' (Mat 18:20) He didn't say, 'Two or three isn't bad, but more is better.' He didn't say, 'Start small, then grow your numbers with a bi...

Remind me about every horrific injustice in the world, and I will remind you of this dragonfly, settling on a silent unfolding galaxy of fern, after gentle rain, a beam of sunset rainbowed through one shimmering wing.

If I got exactly what I think I want today, how long would I feel fulfilled? A week? An hour? A minute? Would I not wake tomorrow morning with the same restless desire, the same anxious wanting, that isn't quite sure what it wants? This restlessness is what Buddha called "dukkha," often crudely translated as "suffering." The first Noble Truth: our human experience is pervaded by "dukkha." But "dukkha" is much more subtle and subversive than blatant pain. It is a ceaseless subliminal anxiety beneath my persona of comfortable habits and smiles. "Dukkha" is a voice that constantly complains, never realizing that what it really wants is relief from its own whining. What the mind really wants is Silence. True Silence is not the absence of noise, but the taste of eternity. I don't have to wait til the end of my life to taste eternity. I cant taste the Divine Presence right now, at the end of this breath, at the beginn...

God is a wildflower, can't be cultivated, grows in cracks and broken paths, no Latin name, no hothouse routine, no creed... Let the radiant unexpected blossom of the Nameless outshine every concept. Existence itself is the miracle, the wilderness where we grow.

Whatever happens, surrender the quest . Let I relax into Am. Spirituality is the radiance of wholeness.  When I have the courage to give up the search for a God separate from Creation, a Spirit separate from the Body, a Heaven separate from the Earth, a Higher separate from the Lower, and a Christ separate from my own Heart, that courage is "spirituality." Seekers look for the better part, the supreme "Good." But s eeking one facet prevents me from being the whole diamond. My very quest for the holy is a flight from wholeness. My search distances me from my healing. These words , " heal," "holy" and "whole," share one root. Holy healing does not flow down from above, it radiates from wholeness.  In early Christianity, t here was a word for holy healing wholeness: t he All.  In Greek, the word is πάντα, "Panta . "  Ephesians 1:2 3 describes Christ-Consciousness as "the wholeness who fills A ll in All ( τὸ ...

This is joy... a Summer walk, seeking nothing, and discovering on a broken fence morning glories, a Winter walk at midnight,  seeking nothing, and hearing the whisper of falling snow. This is sorrow... a Summer walk, dreaming of snowflakes, a Winter walk at midnight dreaming of morning glories. "Joy is the love of what is; sorrow is the love of what is not."  ~Sri Sri Ravi Shankar  

"One who sees stillness in action, and action in stillness, is wise." ~Bhagavad Gita 4:18   Don't just look at this flower, look at it's stillness. Then you become still. You and the flower, one breath. To know the stillness of the Seer in the stillness of the flower, is to be still and know that I Am God. It is not mere action that restores the health and justice of the world, but the breath of stillness. This is a mystery. From dynamic silence, great works are born. You are the breath at the center of the world, an the world is the flowering of stillness. Photo: Forest Trillium, ' Glen's Images '

What armored my heart made me weak. What softened my heart restored my power. What ripened my heart was God's breath. What broke it open, exposing the seeds, was your love. Now rest in the wound you have given me, and I will protect you.

A master never offers a political or economic program for changing the world. That is like trying to change the reflection in a mirror without changing what looks into it. A master offers the transformation of consciousness, which is the field from which the world arises. Before I judge whether the rose looks sweet or the thorn looks bitter, let me taste the Seer.

Beyond the name of God is the natural mantra, So-Ham, "He I Am." Beyond So-Ham is Om, the vibration of silence. Beyond Om is the sound of your own breath dissolving in the heart. Beyond this sound is the voice of a frog, the song of a thrush, the cry of a hungry child...

"Aho aham namo mahyam daksho nastiha matsamah, asamsprasha sharirena yena vishvam ciram dhrityam!" "I am wonderful, I bown down to me! There is no one as skillful as I, holding up the universe since the beginning of time without touching a thing!" ~Ashravakra Gita 2:13 The West would surely misinterpret this as egotism, not realizing the deep sacrifice of the Self, an unconditional surrender and total loss that upholds the cosmos with humble hollow emptiness. Only one who has become Nobody could sing these verses!

Given the choice between saying "I don't know" and inventing a conspiracy theory, 99% of humans will invent a conspiracy and look for a scapegoat. Only the wisest are able to remain in the divine space, the infinite possibility of "I don't know." When Bodhidharma brought Buddhism to China, the emperor called for him. After a formal reading of all the emperor's merits and achievements, the monarch asked Bodhidharma, "Now what have you accomplished?" Bodhidharma answered, "Wu." Nothing. The emperor inquired further, "How much merit have you acquired?" Bodhidharma answered, "None." Exasperated, the emperor finally asked, "Then who are you?" Bodhidharma answered, "Don't know." Was it a declaration or an imperative? "Don't know" became his most powerful sutra, the two words in this classic Zen portrait of Bodhidharma, sitting in meditation.

The path awakens as awareness of awareness. The path ends as awareness of awareness. Therefor, there is no path, just this awareness, now. The entire spiritual journey consists in a space-less shift of attention from the seen to the seer. Then, through the very act of seeing, subject envelops object without being overshadowed by it. Creation is a single Am with billions of I's , one for each moment of perception. In the midst of the most ordinary perception, simply rest as awareness , letting the object shimmer in the ocean of your attention. Honor the seamless transparency, the boundless blue sky, of your Self. Be what as you actually are, before any thought or belief arises. You are radiant, all-pervading, inviolate. You outshine the world. "The light shines in darkness, and the darkness cannot overshadow it." ~John 1:5

Why worry? Right now, you could be savoring God in a breath. Five times during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Don't worry" ( meh phoebe in Greek). At the climax of the Bhagavad Gita, 18:66, Krishna told Arjuna, "Don't worry" ( mah sucho in Sanskrit). In each case, "Don't worry" is the precise translation. Could it be any clearer? Both Christ and Krishna teach us that a surrendered heart need not be anxious. When you're worried about something, just remember: if you weren't worried about this, you'd be applying exactly the same worry to something else. Then look deeply into the energy of worry, rather than the object of your worry, which is really on a thought, and less real than the energy worry itself...  That feeling is just electricity in your nerves. Let it dissolve into free energy, into lively awareness, into bliss. Worry is pent up bliss. Worry diverts converts itself in...

Desire for wealth, fame, and a better world, for title, achievement, and moral merit, along with every anxiety about the future of the earth, will completely vanish with the sound of the first robin on a Spring morning, if the heart is immersed in one moment of gratitude. What holy book or words are needed? This thanksgiving breath of gratitude is the deepest prayer, the jewel at the center of creation. In one tiny droplet of the heart are clustered galaxies, celestial worlds, all sentient creatures of heaven and earth, trembling, immersed and purified. The greatest service I can perform for humanity is to be grateful for something very small in this moment. All good works and creativity flow from this.

When we listen to the voices of war, we plant seeds of war in our own hearts. When we listen to the voice of silence, we plant the seed of peace. Now gaze at the shimmering pearl in the tidal pool of this breath and become pure light.

Anything that becomes an 'ism' suffers the death of its life energy. 'Ism' turns the verb into noun. The Quaker Way became Quakerism, the power of Peace became Pacifism, the Tao became Taoism, the Way of Buddha became Buddhism, the brilliance of Marx became Marxism, and the infinite power of the Feminine became feminism. When we let go of the Ism we can return to the life energy.

"Capacity of the senses for enjoyment is limited, but desire of the mind is infinite."  ~Sri Sri Ravi Shankar This is the root of my addiction and suffering. I seek fulfillment through the senses, instead of turning to the diamond bliss of pure consciousness, which alone can satisfy this mind's yearning for the eternal. O my soul, meditate, then radiate. Repose in the Self, then act in the world. Resting in contentment, innocent overflowing love, and self-effulgent joy without entanglement, be a Blesser, not a Seeker. O my soul, you are the Light!

I took this photo at midnight on Ash Wednesday. Miracle in my front yard. First cherry blossom of the new year. Proof that Jesus never died, he was only in samadhi. What shall I give up for Lent? So many sins, where do I begin? Yet I could not even be aware of my sins if this diamond Witness within me were not already taintless and free. The virgin silence of pure awareness is immaculate, without sin. Only that which is liberated observes what it is not. This cherry bud bursts out of my own Being, ands I know that the Seer transcends the seen. This blossom is created to liberate my un-created awareness. This brokenhearted bud is my savior. Eternal Life sees from the center of the cross. The garden sees through the light of the desert. The sinner sees himself with the eye of Christ. Alone in the wilderness with this cherry blossom, I bow down.

O Lord, our deep work is your Being. Even a Sabbath moment, a single breath, one clear taste of Being, is enough. Let this wine-stain of eternal beauty spread through the fabric of time, until the ordinary of our whole day is sweetened with your Presence.

To the bud, the blossom is a catastrophe. Caterpillars don't believe in butterflies. Night fears dawn, the Destroyer of darkness. The rain that ruins your picnic waters my garden. Cling to the part, and everything is a problem. Embrace the whole, and nothing is wrong.

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Gospel of Matthew 11:28)   "Give up all religious duties and just surrender your life to me: I will deliver you from all your sins, don't worry." (Bhagavad Gita 18:66) The Spiritual Placebo For both the weary of heart and the spiritual seeker, the world is full of placebos. Not only is most medicine a placebo. Wealth is a placebo. Fame is a placebo. Food is a placebo. Sex is a placebo. Knowledge is a placebo. "Spiritual practice" is a placebo. "Selfless service to humanity" is a placebo.  "I" am a placebo. The "placebo effect" occurs when an "inert" sugar pill appears to produce relief from disease, but the relief has no actual cause-and-effect relationship with the pill. This placebo effect explains a great deal about our spiritual life as well. Every material o...