What Is It That I Do?

 

I spoke with an old and dear friend today and the same pattern emerged of guiding the conversation to connection with a higher power. Now I know that for me this is the dominant state of being however I also direct the traffic of conversations toward realization that we are all connected through a power greater than ourselves. Unfortunately, individual ego can obliterate any awareness of that and create the illusion of separation.

The spiritual director helps you notice how the higher power, spiritual or sacred is active in your daily life, in your state of awareness. I took a Spiritual Direction program in the 1990's and found my way of being. Since then it has been my outward expression of the inner reality of my life. 

We all have that awareness within us and it only takes a little 'step' to realize how wonderful the sense of being connected with it is. Then it is simply a matter of cultivating that awareness on a more constant basis. 

We will know a new happiness and a new freedom. Suffering and constant worry and concern will slip away. We will live in Peace.

Verity, Don't Settle For Less

 Verity is the quality or state of being true or real.

As Joan Suval often implied, what people say is true, it is their perceived truth. 

What I seek is the eternal state of being true, devoid of personal opinion, prejudice or bias. It appears when we look inward consistently, sometimes over a long period of time. 

As I Move Forward

In psychology, curiosity falls under the category of wisdom. It is associated with openness to new solutions, a reduced fear of the unknown, and overall life satisfaction.Types of Curiosity: Psychologists often break it down further. Epistemic curiosity is the formal, conscious desire to acquire new knowledge (like studying a new subject), while perceptual curiosity is the sensory-driven drive to explore the world around you.

Integrity is the quality of possessing strong moral principles and consistently acting with honesty, regardless of whether anyone is watching. Rooted in the Latin word integer (meaning whole), it represents the alignment between your internal values and your outward actions, as well as the completeness of your character. Derived from its root word, integrity also describes a state of being complete and undivided. For example, it can refer to the structural soundness of physical objects (e.g., a bridge) or the intactness of cultural heritage sites.

My life is guided by these principles. Neither Saint nor Villan, I go about my day to day life energized by both. 

A Villain to Some

 

It struck me today that to some people I am a villain in their story. To others I am a good guy. To me I am who I am, and seem neither good nor bad. 

Yogi Ram Suratkumar has been quoted saying something similar. Do what you are led in good conscience¹ to do, there are always critics!

When I know I have behaved poorly I apologise and try to make up for any loss. Otherwise, when communication and explanation fail, I must accept the outcome. Integrity, to me, is more important than being liked. 

And so it goes.

I have explored much in life with a curiosity to delve with passion and attentiveness into what many consider sacred and profane. My bio here pretty much covers it. Technology, religion, sexuality, parenthood and more have been a focus at various times. Some have accompanied me along the way. Few remain connected. Integrity is the key.

When it's over it's over! And then I've always found something else to be curious about by staying alert and having patience. 

¹To act or speak in good conscience means to do so based on strong moral or ethical principles, without feeling any guilt or doubt. When you do something "in good conscience," you believe it is genuinely the right thing to do and that you are not compromising your integrity.

AI Dumbing Down

 

Problem solving, such as writing essays or correcting a map, isn’t supposed to be easy, and of course it can be tedious. It isn’t just the production of solutions – it’s the training of endurance by way of sustained attention. 

It’s a way of learning what one thinks by attempting to say it. An AI or LLM can reproduce the appearance of that activity, but it can’t replace it, because the value lies not only in the object produced but in the transformation that occurs in us during its making.

To do so we must look inward, and as we do we are transformed. The world around us we are accepting as 'Reality' is an outward manifestation of our inner reality. And we are accepting a reality that is more and more and illusion created by those least qualified to create a noble world. That's my humble opinion. Take a critical look at those creating content. Are they what we want to be? Are they the expression of our values, our thoughts and our relationships?

Asking the critical question, 'Why do I accept this?' is one key element in regaining our sense of what it is to be truly human. Is there a need to be more than human? Why?

Becoming

 

Sometimes all it takes is a word, a sound, something seen. And a different world opens up. Or the real world that has opened before is once again visited, viscerally.

I was watching an old PBS interview by Bill Moyers, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, when Mr. Campbell spoke the word. Something like, "... and we are Becoming." Suddenly I was floating, second by second, on a cloud-like wave. 

It was another way into the space created by reading the words of Ramana Maharishi, " ... it flashed through me vividly as living truth which I perceived directly, almost without thought process."

If you haven't heard of either man I suggest looking at this amazing discussion by two dedicated minds. I've read many of Joseph Campbell's books and listened to many interviews by Bill Moyers. I met Mr. Moyers when he came to one of my Yoga classes and gushed shamelessly. A big fan, I'm sure I said.

Cultivating this space, this sense of becoming, is the fruit of Self-Enquiry, of seeing the unseen and realizing who we really are.

Freedom From the Past

 

Many things are not easy. Realizing the role self-will plays in continued suffering is high among them. Everything, it seems, is stacked against this insight. From an early age the pressure to be self actuated is intense and unrelenting. I'm not arguing against it. In some of us, perhaps almost all of us, the reliance on ego experiences alone outstrips the benefits.

In other posts I have opened up the positive effects of ego-deflation, surrender, and Self-Enquiry as antidote to the sufferings caused by self-will. Here I attempt to sort out the lingering and recurring effects on those who choose to reverse this trend, especially in relationships. Specifically, the problems associated with unblinking reliance on Forgiveness to cure our emotional and spiritual woes.

Forgiveness is considered to be a powerful tool for reclaiming power, attaining emotional freedom and improving health. Unless there is ego-deflation these methods inevitably lead to protecting self-image, restoring a sense of control and regaining a sense of superiority. In fact, it bolsters up the ego that helped cause the problems in the first place.

So what to do? Over many years I have found that genuine compassion, a spiritual practice as opposed to psycho-therapeutic, is selfless, empathetic and leads to freedom. It is certainly a more difficult undertaking and one which requires vigilance to not resume the inflated ego but rather focuses on the wrongs we have done others.

Referred to as the practice of being hard on ourselves and easy on others, it has not gained a lot of adherents over the years. By its' very practice it minimizes the reliance on self as elevated in relationships and inserts us as co-creaters in misery. Asking what I have done to fuel the unease in relationships requires a different approach, a leveling of the power dynamics usually perceived in uncomfortable relations. It pulls the rug out from under being a victim. Others no long are perceived as having more power.

Personally, I have experienced qualified relief by focusing on forgiveness but have been relieved of all burdens by admitting my role and not expecting anything in return.

The resulting freedom is directly experienced as a miracle. Years of resentment disappear without a trace.

Forgiveness is a state of mind such that the forgiver makes an effort, through prayer or other means, to absolve the other for perceived wrongs. 

Compassion is a state of being in which the separation between forgiver and other has attenuated as a result of seeing the actions of each as contributing to perceived wrongs.