This blog is to give people the opportunity to share experiences and observations related to teachings presented in The Daily Now.
The blog is moderated and the guidelines for blogging are:
1. Share from personal experience.
2. Advice giving is held in check.
3. Speaking is from a place of ‘not-knowing’.
4. Cross-talk is generally avoided and not invited.
5. Observe and allow.
6. There is no ‘one’ who knows.
I watched SK’s videos – Disappearing part 1 and 2. I think people would find Scott’s ideas in those videos very different from most teachers and sages of non-duality.
For instance NM’s realization of his and our true nature the Absolute
Ramanas ultimate SELF – our true self
ET’s The awareness that sees – who we really are
FL’s that which truly sees these words – our true identity
for Scott these are all thought positions that all disappear because all thoughts disappear. Freedom is not having any thought positions that need to be remembered. He might say dont even remember any of this. I’d like to know what people think of Scott’s views in Disappearing part 1 and 2.
Larry, that’s for the invitation and pointer to look at these videos. I’m stuck in a motel room in Minneapolis and it the perfect thing to do.
I think that what Scott says in the Disappearing videos is just taking the teaching to the next step, which is to complete nothingness as nothingness.
I think at one point, even Eckhart acknowledges that his teaching is incomplete. Adya says there is ‘nothing to believe’ by which I think would include ‘true nature’, ‘true self’, ‘who we really are’, ‘our true identity’ – these are all approximations giving the mind something to chew on.
That’s my view for now. I’m open to others, as well… j
This morning I watched SK’s Basics 1&2 and I understand what was being pointed to in Disappearing. It would have been better for me to have watched Basics first. The concepts or the way they were presented in Disappearing were confusing for me. I would say that Scott in general is very informative, helpful and points to reality in new and interesting ways.
I’m going to watch Basics tonight, I’ll let you know how it is for me. j
Yes J, and another SK video gem that was really great for me was /Spiritual Awakening is Not a Hidden Secret./ I hope everyone is watching Scott’s videos.
BTW mf, ‘I’ have also tried to avoid writing the words ‘I, me, you.’ Sometimes ‘I’ use ‘from here’ or ‘I’ll’ say ‘agreed’ instead of ‘I agree’ but it’s difficult. Some are very good at it but not ‘me’ so ‘I’ go back and forth.
Thanks for the heads-up on the SK videos. I didn’t get back to those but will soon. I’m back in ‘real’ life so it’s harder. I’ve been watching the Love video by Hebard and Rupert, and the Hebard interview of Greg Goode. Also, reading Goode’s book (Standing as Awareness) which I think is very (excellent) good. (I had an extra copy but I gave it to somebody or I’d sent it to you.) Damn near thought I woke up this morning in the airport – something was letting go.
He referred to something called “Lucknow talk” which I think was were Nisargadatta lived, or one of those teachers. Anyway, everyone was going around talking without using the words ‘I’ or ‘me’ or the like. By everyone, I’m not sure if that was the locals, or the Westerners who were visiting. I think his point was that it didn’t work and is unnecessary.
I refer to ‘this body’ and find it helpful. Also, when talking to others (clients) I refer to ‘the form’ meaning ‘their body’, which I think is helpful. Most people I talk with aren’t into this teaching so it throws them at first but I think that’s okay. They seem to get it, and it helps distance personal identify from what they are experiencing, which is always good. j
Heads-up on an upcoming blog I’m going to do.
At the EMDR conference, there were several talks on dissociation. In the old days that was called “Multiple Personality Disorder” then it changed to “Dissociative Identity Disorder” – from ‘multiple personalities’ to ‘parts.’
The new thinking is that ‘we all’ have ‘parts’ in our personalities. There are two kinds: “Apparent Normal Part” (the ANP) and “Emotional Part” and (the EP). An ES (emotional part) would be a ‘fairly’ isolated neuro-network with its own feelings, body sensations, images, and negative cognitions, and any combination there in. Some parts have a distinctive ‘I’ thought and some don’t.
That is pertinent here (nondual spiritual world) for a couple of reasons (and I need to develop this further); however, for now I’d say, 1) some of the EPs have a sense of self; and 2) You can ‘clear out’ one EP but another (or the others) can, and probably will remain.
This means, to me, that you could do TPP, for example, on one or two parts and even though those might lose their emotional charge, others would remain. And that could seem confusing.
This also means that you could do self-inquiry and determine you don’t exist in one part, but another part still wouldn’t be convinced because it is not linked neurologically. And that could be discouraging and confusing, and may be exactly what is happening. That is, I clear out one part both in realizing that I’m not that part as an identity, and I can neutralize or integrate the emotional charge – but still there are other ESs, emotional parts that are not cleared out. There may be many of these, like 1000s, within any one neuro-network (i.e. brain/person/identified self).
Different parts have different ages, depending on when they were formed and the extent to which they are stuck in ‘trauma time’ – that is, stopped progressing age-wise through time.
Parts may have intra-psychic conflict with each other and therefore tend to resist and deny each other, which keeps them stuck.
Parts exist in sub-neuro-networks. Most are linked into the main network (the ANP) however the linkage is weak and may miss factors like time sequencing and emotional maturity as developed by the system as a whole. Some parts are totally isolated in neuro-networks of their own, which means that when they are activated they are hard to get out of and may not be remembered.
One example would be a father who gets angry at his kids, often for no apparent reason, or for an historical reason, such as he was treated the same way by an abusive father or parent. He will be a real nice guy, to a point, and then a switch flips and he is angry, demanding, going off on a tirade, that kind of thing. Because he has no linkage to the main network this can go on for hours until it wears it self out – goes to bed, passes out, etc.
The ANP doesn’t like this part but also can’t deal with it; therefore, it ignores it.
Eckhart’s pain body would be a simplistic example of a part.
I haven’t seen any spiritual teachers talk about this. Like I say, I’ll develop this more. I think it is important and another missing piece in the nondual spiritual literature.
hi jordan,
i would be very interested in learning more about this. keep us posted!
namaste
mf-
One more thing about “this is all “bull.” My cat was very sick over the weekend, throwing up, diarrhea etc. I sat in the bathroom thinking..”this IS all bull” I started done the path of “Why is this happening to an innocent sweet cat.” And generally how unfair the world is.
I’m a little saner today and I realize sickness and death is going to happen and I cannot control it.
This thing called life is everything “in sickness and in health.” It’s all the same to life or whatever you want to call it.
Being raised Christian it’s easy for me to fall into something like ” I must be doing something wrong for this horrible thing to happen.”
Some of those old beliefs still surface in times of stress.
My cat is better today and the opposite belief “Ah there is a God” popped up. These old beliefs have me coming and going, in good times and bad.
Ultimately it seems I have no control over what happens but apparently neither does some higher power.
I woke up this morning with the thought that I was going to die too one day. Like it was a new revelation. Very odd.
sounds utterly depressing. (no offense to you joy and your process)
Yeah, really really depressing to the ego. And I think that is why we are here to rid ourselves of this suffering.
And that is why we don’t give up even though we think it’s all bullshit sometimes.
An obvious parallel here would be Soul Retrieval work. It’s not new that ‘a person’ expresses multiple aspects – or – perhaps it is better said as ‘a multiplicity of being’…
Joy, I assume the following is what you were referring to because it is what came to me when I read SK’s blog today.
SK: “How can you need something other than this? This is precious.”
Does ‘this’ include your child dying in your arms from starvation, dehydration, etc? Would’nt you be searching for something other than ‘this’ like food and water?
Does ‘this’ include experiencing severe unbearable pain from a catastrophic desease? Would’nt you be searching for something other than ‘this’ like a reduction in pain?
For me, ‘this’ is big enough to include searching for something other than what is arising in the present moment.
Yes, I don’t think they mean you stand by and just watch someone or something suffer. You do the best you can physically (go to vet, go to doctor) take medication even for pain if need be.
With pets, unlike people, no one will care for them if you don’t have the money. The all night vet is particularly expensive. I had to steal from Peter to pay Paul (so my rent will be late)
In some other countries, people have to watch their family and friends die of curable diseases…no medical care or medication. I guess they surrender and care for them as best they can. I don’t know.
Joy you must be right about that. Sometimes I don’t fully understand what a teacher means.
btw, I used to live with a women who had many cats. She would save hungry street cats. Soon we had 12 or more cats. She had no money and I was paying all the vet bills. I could’nt watch them suffer and so I also had to pay the 24 hour vet. Very expensive.
Friends and family rallied round and chipped in this week to help cover expenses. I am extremely grateful. However, I have become a little stressed…living in the future. What if he gets sick again? blah blah
I kind of feel like a failure…I took on the responsibility of this cat and I am failing. I mean he doesn’t think I’m a failure. He is just so sweet.
Maybe I just have this underlying feeling “I’m a failure.” Yeah I think I do. No wonder I’m failing.
Hello Jordan,
The statement that you made regarding your interpretation of Ivan Rados and migraine headaches seemed to miss the essence of what he was saying; not that all headaches came from a lack of presence,but the resistance to what is in the moment.
And it is simple….that is also the point
Thank-you
Thanks Sharon. When I re-read that I realized that I was meeting his comment with my own resistance. At least I don’t have a headache!
MB: The real facilitator of The Presence Process is our Inner Presence. It does not allow anyone to be hurt by what they go through as we shift the condition of our emotional body. We are not to be concerned in any way that our children may be emotionally scarred by the diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, or sleepless nights they experience. These conditions unfold as gifts to liberate them as gently and efficiently as possible and are facilitated in every moment by the most compassionate energy in creation. These experiences come as a blessing. In the healing ceremonies of the Native American Church they call vomiting “getting well”.
—
spoken truly like someone who doesn’t have children nor is directly responsible for any. i’m not so sure about not being concerned if your kids are sick. so, does this mean that you don’t take them to the doctor? that you let them dehydrate or run a high fever (which could result in death) without taking care of them and just believe that your Inner Presence will take care of them? sorry if i sound cynical but couldn’t our Inner Presence as MB defines it, be quite alright with it if our children are dying? maybe death IS getting well in this context. How is what MB is saying here any different from people who refuse to allow their children to go to the doctor or have lifesaving surgery, citing prayer and god as the only healing they need?
Yeah,actually sounds a little nutty. I wonder if this has been removed from the new addition.
That comes from The Daily Now, which is quoting the Companion book. I doubt that it was in the first edition of TPP, as Namaste was careful about not wanting to get sued.
I agree btw, ‘nutty’.
thanks guys, i was wondering….
hey, maybe i’m growing. usually i would want to buy MB’s above statement hook, line & sinker! (ok, since i don’t sail i have no idea what this expression literally means, but it FEELS like what i felt).
I certainly don’t remember every time I felt sick as a kid, so I have no strong reaction to the MB quote. He did not say that all illnesses that children have ‘don’t hurt’ or that all illnesses (or injuries or whatever) are ’caused by parents’.
I would also point out that if there is one rule of waking up in one’s life it is this; I Promise You It Is Going to Hurt.
Scott and Nis are both pointing at the illusion of the person – the seperate self. We have all been told over and over . . .’you are a seperate person’ and it appears to be true. For ‘me’ the more it is looked at the more it is seen thru, not from an intellectual point of view, but from a sense ‘I’ can’t explain. Many of us that follow these teachings have a ‘sense’ that the seperate person is an illusion.
There’s this ‘sense’ as the mind keeps singing,
I don’t know where to go,
I don’t know what to do,
I don’t know who I am,
I don’t know what is true.
Today’s SK
“Love just eats the self away. Bit by bit, the you that you take yourself to be is devoured.”
I love the fact that he uses the word “love.” It’s pretty scary to my egoself and it seems hearing the word “love” is less threatening.
“In allowing the body and mind to be absolutely open to the experience of sensitivity in the present moment, the truth reveals itself automatically.”
As MB says: “It’s not about feeling better it’s about getting better at feeling.”
Or something like that. I keep conveniently forgetting this. My egoself just wants to feel better.
NM: “You as a person, imagine that the Guru is interested in you as a person. Not at all. To him you are a nuisance and a hindrance to be done away with.”
I had to lol as I read that. Something about it was extremely funny.
Maybe the shocking truth of it.
Yeah, I love that one too. Gotta admit, Nis is a straight shooter!
It seems to boil down to, thoughts, emotions, sensations (this person) are arising and disappearing in ‘that’ which we are.
Are we being and seeing ‘that’ which our thoughts, emotions and sensations are saying we are not being and seeing?
I’m reading “How to Attain Enlightenment” by James Swartz and I think it is great.
I think it’s scrubbing thoughts, emotions and sensations so we can end up with a clear mind. With a clear mind, the reflections are pure – no reflection, which would be the non-dual, natural self.
I think the answer to your question is ‘yes’ but I’m not sure.
The next question is not to be answered but is a pointer I can relate to. It sounds like a riddle.
What is subtly present that is not a thought, a sensation, an emotion, or an object, but all these arise from and disappear into?
SK: “Every state is exactly as it should be because it is exactly as it is.”
JVS: Even Texas.
Even California? lol
Sometimes when I read SK (like today) I get the feeling that something in me has been shaken up a bit…maybe my desperate grip on thinking “I” can “rearrange the furniture.” It’s very subtle but there is something about his language that resonates with me.
But is’nt thinking “I” can “rearange the furniture” also exactly as it should be, because it is exactly as it is?
The direction that’s happening here is states, thoughts, emotions, sensations appearing exactly as they do but without the intense self identification with them. It seems for now I am going toward identifying more with what these states, thoughts, etc arise from and disappear into than the states, thoughts, etc themselves. It is a responce to the suffering that’s been experienced by identifying with certain states, thoughts, sensations, emotions.
Embarassment still arises when spelling mistakes are seen but there is not as much self identification with them. They just happened the way they had to. When this is seen the feeling of embarassment quickly leaves.
well, it’s the ego (or thought) that rearranges the furniture which is yes, all part of the one. However, it (the ego) is also not real. Um…paradox again.
There are great pointers updated every Monday on John Wheelers site.
http://www.naturalstate.us/pointers
Kip:
“Hopelessness
is the greatest gift.”
I kinda get this. I don’t find it depressing. It feels peaceful.
Like ahhhh there is nothing I have to do. And really so many things are hopeless. lol Makes me laugh a little.
I like to read Kip there is a lot of peace in his words.
SK: “An incredible peace and freedom is realized when there is a shift from attachment to everything to a realization of pure awareness or emptiness.
We can get stuck in pure awareness though.”
Many of us have not yet realized the incredible peace and freedom thru the realization of pure awareness or emptiness. Once that is realized ‘then’ it can be seen that nothing is appearing as everything. One step at a time.
1. First there is a mountain
2. Then there is no moutain
3. Then there is
I clearly saw today that I or the mind goes around thinking . . .’I Know I’m this body and I Know all these things, these objects are real.’
But I don’t really know anything for sure and I certainly don’t know anything about the reality of this objective manifestation. I just assume it’s real. To realize what I actually am, I can no longer take any of these beliefs for granted and I’m willing to.
btw, I realize I post much more than anyone else, but it’s just what’s happening.
Sometimes I visual myself as a shining ball of white light and laid over the light of me is a tangle of emotions. Each of these emotions has a color, so many colors that I have become dense with them, dark with them, and it’s this unique blend of colors that forms my presence here, my individuality.
The circumstances in my life mirror these emotions of me and place them in front of me where I can see them untangled, layer by layer. If I can shine my light on them, the emotions become transparent. Still there, but I can see through them to the light underneath.
The more transparent I become, the more transparent the world around me becomes until all I see before me is my own light reflected back at me. At which point I realize the light I regard as mine is in itself a reflection. My entire existence as an individual is for the purpose of revealing others to themselves.
And I can’t ever get it wrong because I am always a perfect fit for the world I see, the world seeing me.
Really nice and nice to hear from you.
Thankyou Carol, . . . Beautiful
lovely…
JVS: I think this is true of a lot of therapists. They think if they can label someone – borderline personality, bi-polar, etc. – then they know what it is, when, in fact, what they know is the label not the person.
Isn’t that the truth! Maybe it’s for billing purposes. lol
SK: “Thought creates an imaginary boundary between you and life.”
Last night I read this question. . .’Is there anywhere you cannot find yourself?’ What comes up for you?
The answer came immediately with certainty . . .’No, I am in everything. I am everthing.’ Later the mind thought . .does that make sense? So this is something that knows before common sense.
After that there was a feeling of love for everyone and everything.
Larry: “Last night I read this question. . .’Is there anywhere you cannot find yourself?’ What comes up for you?”
I know this isn’t what is meant here exactly but it’s what came up for me this morning.
Where did I find myself? In my son who bugs the crap out of me.
The one outstanding person in my family that still really bugs me. WHY? Because we are so alike.
I think I have realized this before on some level but I always eventually push it aside and go back to it being about him.
I’m thinking he may be a really dark shadow side of myself that I really don’t want to see or really even admit to and thus never resolve.
MB “Whenever we tell someone about our inner work we are talking to a person who cannot assist us in any way and disempowering the only one who can; ourselves.”
Oops I do this ALL the time. Does he explain how this disempowers us?
I think he does, maybe tomorrow. But isn’t is clear?
Through talking about it we are seeking validation – “Oh, aren’t you brave, wonderful, adventurous” or though non-validation, “What are you into now?, When will you ever let it go?, What’s next?”
Like that.
Ah yes…hmmm every time I open my mouth. lol It doesn’t feel that way much of the time but yes I can see it. Sometimes very subtle..even in just ordinary conversations.
Wonder if that is why MB stopped writing on his website?
Yeah, I think I find myself ‘through thought’ in everything. I see a lamppost and I think, “I could run into that, so I need to avoid it,” and in that way I am identified with it. I am identified with the avoiding of it.
With everything I see, there is some part of me identified with it, as me (my guitar, dog, wife) as not me (another car, a passerby, an auto shop) as ‘not-me.’ Still I am in it and it is me, actually through identification and as Oneness – no identification.
joy you said: I’m thinking he may be a really dark shadow side of myself that I really don’t want to see or really even admit to and thus never resolve.
and possibly once you do see or resolve whatever it is within yourself that is being projected by your son, then you’ll be able to see the parts of him that are NOT you that maybe you can’t now. does that make sense?
of course, i am relating this to myself and my son as well… man, parenting. wow. it kicks your ass.
That would be nice..wouldn’t it. I’ve had a few glimpses of him…
this is a question for whoever would like to answer:
has anyone listened to Kip’s meditation CD’s? What was your experience over time? i really like his ‘poems’ in the DN but am curious as to the efficacy of the CD’s. if anyone has thoughts or experiences they are willing to share i would be glad to hear them.
namaste
marie-francoise
I did get Ocean Euphoric from Kip. The funny thing is I don’t meditate. I just play it and relax. It is helpful for relaxing as it is what I describe as peaceful.
The music or sounds are most of the time a continuous organ like sound with others sounds that come and go similar to human voices, wind, chimes, water moving, animal like sounds and sounds I cannot describe, most likely produced by synthesizers.
You can listen to samples on his website. I just listened to a few. Very pleasant, I would buy a set if I had the extra money.
cool. thanks
btw Jordan I have the book, /How to attain Enlightenment/ by James Swartz. Had it for a while but never read it. Since you said you thought it was great, I started reading it last night and so far I really resonate with what’s being said. It’s clear and easy to understand. So far I also think it’s great.
The following is comming from a place that is before and knows more than the mind ever will.
Whether you agree or disagree with anyone, whether he/she/they have hurt you or loved you, whether they are good or bad, saints or sinners, Love them all.
Namaste
MB: “We cannot evolve through applause.”
lol
This is so good on so many really subtle levels.
I mean, I don’t want to get booed off the stage (by society) I still want that applause.
I was actually booed off years ago but I think there is a part of me that still wants to be “successful.” This thought is repugnant to me so I think I’m getting somewhere.
Do I hear the sound of one hand clapping at least?
ah joy, you can’t leave us hanging like that…so you got booed off stage? come on. share.
Booed off the “stage of life”..years ago. I guess cause I used the word “actually” you guys thought I was being literal.
However, I played the congas for a short time in a really bad Latin Jazz band and although we were never actually booed off no one ever payed the least bit of attention to us. Being booed off would have been better.
RS: “That-Which-Cannot-Be-Named which is sometimes referred to as ‘I’, Being, Consciousness, Knowingness . . .”
Yes i call it or name it ‘I’, Being, Consciousness, Knowingness or usually Awareness and think of it as a divine, infinite thing or a glorified object.
Am ‘I’, Being, Consciousness, Knowingness, or Awareness typing on the keyboard and watching the monitor or is the keyboard just being typed on and the monitor just being watched?
I was actually booed off years ago…
How here’s a story I want to hear!
Most of the time we say ‘I’ there is an assumpton/belief. The assumption/belief in a person . . .a seperate ‘me’ imprisoned in a body-mind. Why not question these beliefs/assumptions and what they are pointing to. This can be fun.
It may be seen that there is just what is happening or apparently happening now and the space it appears in? The person being imaginary.
“This can be fun.”
I agree. I’m going to a parent teacher conference today for my granddaughter and I’m looking forward to talking to “one who believes herself to be a teacher.”
I remember being intimidated by my own children’s teachers.
I do feel very free today.
“Elizabeth talks too much in class.”
“Oh… ”
Crickets
crickets! lmho!!
Seriously, I wasn’t prepared to deal with what I encountered at the parent-teacher meeting.
I spend a lot of time listening to audios and videos of ego-less “teachers.” So I truly wasn’t prepared for the shock of being in the presence of such incredible negative energy. She is in junior high so you meet with a number of teachers together at a table. Almost immediately I felt an energy, that if the conference had been about “me” I would have walked away and never returned to that school.
I know what is wrong with our school system and it’s not about how well trained are teachers are…it’s about who they are! Perhaps a guide line for hiring teachers should be how compassionate and kind they are.
And Elizabeth tests gifted and all her grades are good except for Algebra. What did the other parents have to endure?
Joy
Your experience reminds me of the song ” They scorned us for being what we are !! ”
(Something the Irish ( English ? ) do not know !! ??
Yes, that’s perfect! Thank You
SK: “That field is “love.” Love is not a position.”
JVS: See, I don’t think that defaulting to the ‘L’ word is all that helpful. IMHO, it is used by too many people, too many religions, in to many ways to be of much use. If it means everything it means nothing – of course, that might be the point.
I’m curious. What word would you prefer was used here in place of Love?
================================================================
I’ve been watching some U.G. lately. Hadn’t looked him up for a long time. My latest impression is that he makes Nis look like a huggable uncle.
We are so rarely in the presence of people who do not want to fix us, change us, or make an ego-enhancing exchange with us. Imagine, a room full of people who don’t WANT anything!
I’d say that was heaven on earth.
And I wouldn’t be invited. lol
Yeah, especially with that story about getting booed off the stage. I had it pictured-projected wayyy better than that! My little imagination went wild. We’d be checkin’ your id at the door.
I don’t know what word I would use. I’m scheduled to have a conversation with Scott this week, I’ll talk to him about it.
==========
What U.G. are you watching?
Just the U.G. available on various websites.
The “Om Tat Shit” rant had me laughing my a** off tho.
Like Nis, UG is the guy you’d go to ’cause he had the one thing you wanted and of course, he is not going to give your personal bladdity blah 10 nanoseconds of airtime. I love his willingness to cut through spiritual materialism.
“Just the U.G. available on various websites.”
How about some links to some of the better sites…
j
muhhahahaha. I disclaim responsibility for determining better or worse sites for UG. It’s Halloween. Happy Surfing!
Just remember, with freedom comes responsibility.
I love him…the more I listen to him the more I find him incredibly compassionate. Beautiful.
Oh remember now, you asked!
There’s a few up on Stillness Speaks
Some on YouTube
Some on MindTV
and lots of stuff (including the books) on the UG website
But remember. Beware of those offering ‘shoddy goods’ and watch out for rotting garden slugs and Om Tat Shit.
Or. As Nis stated, “There is nothing you can do to speed it up, and nothing you can do to slow it down”.
In a question addressed to Nis in Sunday’s DN, the questioner was referring to UG Krishnamurti.
Thanks for saying that. I had no idea.
There is a clear memory of bliss and peace. It may have been before the body was born. There was the absence of knowing thru the mind. There was just being. Just being is bliss and being knows without thought.
Scott’s post about the child and the bug not being seperate but just one life living itself was experienced as true.
Remove the thought story of seperation/individuality and it’s all just happening the way it’s happening.
Or maybe the story of seperation cannot be removed by a ‘me’. It just was removed by life, beingness or whatever it’s called.