T.o.N. (Theory of Nothing)

[Drifter]

Emotions are the tools-of-the-trade to the ego.
Inter-fear is his 'favorite game', he's a control freak, and laughs his ass off as we dangle like puppets from the string!(exit stage right) and we're none the wiser for it?

Sort of like being glued to a railroad track, and thinking either of tackling the oncoming train in anger or letting it run over you in fear. The result is the same, so why worry?

[Drifter]

The Razor's Edge is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham written in 1944. Its epigraph reads, "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard." —Katha-Upanishad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Razor's_Edge

I took a peek through the doors when you first posted it a while back, Drifter. I remember having a convo with one fellow about the nature of the self and how one must or must not seek correction if one is to find it.

In the east some might be inclined to forfeit the search for fear of finding the incorrect correction, and in the west some might be inclined to search for fear of never finding it. Then of course there is the kind of search like a ton of bricks falling on our heads, and we clear the bricks for fear we might miss what we're looking for.

[Drifter]

yes the conceptual artistry is amazing between author and painter, reminds me Salvadore Dali(in his case - Dali's - it came from the same mind though).
Dali had the same surealism in his work though it was more potrayal of the physical.

Hey drifter, that's an amazing website .. i've seen it, i like the way the images merge together .. it's an awesome delight ..
a bit like those magic eye pictures .. where if you relax the focus of you're eyes a 3D hidden image magically appears in the picture ..

melanie..

[Drifter]

If it all stems from the subconscious functioning, and one can rewire it, great changes can be experienced beyond belief; if before sleep relaxation is brought to "extremely" deep levels, the subconscious is eventually retrained to maintain this state under all circumstances. It's like a highway route to "enlightenment," where you get eight hours or so of meditation a day instead of one or so.

The Right Path?

Beautiful indeed is the bond between Teacher and Disciple: the
sense on the part of the disciple of utmost confidence and love,
so that nothing, he feels, could be hid from his Teacher's
knowledge; and on the part of the Teacher, the understanding, the
compassion, the love, yea sometimes and often indeed, the
commendation. If the disciple has gratitude towards his Teacher,
the Teacher in a sense has gratitude towards his disciple, for he
sees in him the growing life of a new Master of Compassion to
flower forth in the eons to come.

On the difficult path of discipleship the aspirant is sustained
by the love of his guide, but he must walk every step along the
pathway to victory alone. He is not carried there. Every step
he himself must take. In ordinary human existence we make our
own way in the world: we feed ourselves, we inform ourselves, we
train ourselves. If that is a necessity here, it is tenfold the
same necessity in the esoteric life. There must we ourselves win
everything; because we are simply bringing out what is within us;
our own will, our own consciousness, must become awakened, fully
awakened, and by our own efforts.

Spiritual light comes from within; the disciple does not receive
light -- the light of the spirit -- from outside. All that the
Teacher can do is to help the disciple to brush away the
enshrouding veils of selfhood. All spiritual illumination comes
to him now, and ever will come to him, from the Master within
himself. There is no other possible pathway to the Light. All
growth is from within; all illumination is from within; all
inspiration is from within; all initiation is from within.

Aspiration is real prayer; it is us constantly raising ourselves
from day to day, trying each day to go a little higher towards
the god within. This means harmony, inner harmony, peace.
Having harmony and peace within, in the mind, in the heart, that
state of mind and heart will reflect itself in the physical body
and the body will function harmoniously, which means that it will
function in health.

Moreover, an atmosphere of lofty conceptions and of kindly
thoughts clarifies and refines the auric atmosphere around every
human being, and it is the bounden duty of every disciple on the
Path to aspire towards high and noble things, for this refines
the atoms of the entire constitution.

The disciple should have always in mind the consciousness, the
brooding thought, of these teachings. This SUPER-CONSCIOUS mind
is the divine essence of the disciple, on and in which this
brooding consciousness dwells. Such is meditation: taking a
subject for thought and dwelling upon it in thought in an
impersonal way, meanwhile searching within for the answer, for
more light upon it; and if this method of meditation be
faithfully followed, finally light will come. Exercise makes it
so easy; habit endows it with such attractiveness, that finally
the time will come when one will be meditating all day long, even
though the hands may be busy with the daily tasks.

One does not need to go into his private chamber and to sit or
stand or lie and, with an effort of the will, try to whip the
brain to think of certain things. Concentration means centering
the mind on a point of thought or object of thought and holding
to it. It is easy to accomplish and the way to do it is to be
interested in a thing. Then the mind automatically will
concentrate itself on that thing.

But the best form of meditation is the constant thought,
yearning, aspiration, to be one's best, to live one's noblest,
and to keep this thought with one day and night. If this
yearning is derivative from the spirit of compassion, welling up
in the heart like a holy river of energy, it will lead one
quickly to the Gates of Gold.

The next step on the Path is taken when the disciple is ready: it
all depends upon the disciple; the Teacher can do nothing except
to awake him; the disciple is the one to decide. For when the
disciple is ready, the Teacher is waiting.

There comes a time in human evolution when a man or a woman
arrives at a point where he wants to concentrate all his energies
-- spiritual, intellectual, psychical, astral, vital, physical,
everything -- on one object, namely, to make himself a fit
servant and servitor of his fellow human beings without any other
distractions or calls of duty. This is called CHELASHIP: the
state of discipleship. But this path of discipleship is for the
few.

Those who follow this pathway of spiritual progress and
illumination -- disciples of the esoteric life, living the
Chela-life -- have pledged themselves to give up self for the
world, to have no personal property, and to give up life and all
that there is to the holiest Cause they know. For these
disciples of the Life Beautiful non-resistance is right; they
have sworn never to strike back; never to lift a hand in
self-defense if the attack be on the Chela alone; never to
protect one's personal self against libel or slander, that is, if
it be only for the protection of the individual's personality; to
turn the other cheek when smitten; and give one's shirt also when
the cloak is asked. But even these Chelas are pledged to check
wrong, to stay the pathway of evil-doing, to stop it if possible,
when the evil-doing is directed against another; because an
esotericist will do for another person what he may never do for
himself.

Chelaship, or the training for Masterhood, is a strenuous and
heart-stirring work. Every step of it is joy, although at times
psychological reactions come which must be guarded against. The
Chela-life may be likened to the man who is engaged upon some
important, fascinating, most interesting, but very strenuous
physical work. He labors, he tires, the breath comes quick and
fast, the sweat bedews his brow, and bedews his body, but yet he
feels growing under his hand, as it were, a work of marvelous
beauty. He is inspired to give to it every ounce of strength
that is in him. The Chela knows that over the distant hills,
perhaps for him, if his karma is favorable, not so far distant,
there lies the Temple of Wisdom, and that its doors will open for
him if he can reach it, and reach it clean and strong. If he
reaches it with soiled feet, which feet that he has not washed
with the tears of his eyes and the blood of his heart, he must
retrace his steps, or wait until the time come when no longer
will the heart bleed, and no longer will the eyes be blinded with
the tears of selfish personal devotion to merely personal ends.
Then the eyes will be lightened with the undying inner flame, and
the heart will, as it were, beat only for others, because it will
be utterly self-forgetful. Then beauty, then inexpressible joy,
then unimaginable strength and peace will enter into his life.

[Drifter]

Contd:

Chelaship in itself is not difficult. In itself it is easy,
almost inexpressibly easy. It means giving up pain, giving up
sorrow, giving up anger, giving up lust, giving up selfishness,
giving up all the things that injure us and blind us and cripple
us and retard us. It means us being clean, sweet, fresh, pure,
and beautiful. It means beginning to live the life of an
incarnate god. It means becoming at one with one's inner god,
ever more and more; a little at first, a little more at the next
effort, and so forth; for at each effort the Chela gains more and
more of the inner light, of the inner life, of the inner
inspiration -- of the inner Buddhic Splendor. In other words, it
means becoming ever more and more at one with the inner Master.
In every human being there is now, even now, an exalted entity, a
Mahatma.

Be self-forgetful; be impersonal and therefore unattached to
matter; be detached and therefore impersonal. Be great of heart
and great of soul, and then you can attain. Bear injustice with
equanimity, thereby you become magnanimous -- great of heart.
Never strike back; never retaliate; be silent; be patient.
Protect others; protect yourself not at all. Do not be swept
away ever by anger or passion. Not only do they not pay, but
thereby you make bad karma that one day you will have to meet and
overcome.

Forgive injuries. With a heart filled with love for all that is,
and complete and perfect forgiveness of all injuries, past,
present and to come, you surround yourself with a mighty
protective power, for these spiritual energies purify the heart;
they stimulate the intellect; they elevate the soul. Thus will
your soul shine through your body like a lamp shining through
glass, and you will illuminate those with whom you are; by your
peace, by your quiet, you will lighten and will light the pathway
for them.

Be bold in your learning, but not overbold. Be courageous as you
press forward on this old, old Path of the ages leading to the
Heart of the Universe; but be not rash. Guard well your speech,
lest something pass out unseen with the words; for you can never
recall it. Dare, Will, Know, and Be Silent!

Let yourself grow naturally as the flower opens its petals; as
the bud opens its heart. Is there any reason or need why the
eyes should be continuously blinded with tears, and why the feet
should be continuously washed with the blood of the heart?

Do not be discouraged if you fail, if you do not live up to your
noblest. Do not even waste time in regretting; it is weakening.
Simply make up your mind: I will not do it again! And then if you
fail, repeat: I will not do it again, for by so doing I alone am
the loser. The day will come when, by the constant repetition of
the mantra, the continuous aspiration of both the heart and the
mind, and by the continuous striving to be the best, the most
beautiful that is in you, you will suddenly be it, suddenly you
will become it.

In living the Chela-life you simply exchange things that you
detest inwardly, that you hate, for things that are beautiful,
helpful: exchanging weakness for strength, ugliness for beauty,
blindness for vision, darkness for light.

Do not struggle; do not strive; do not fret; do not worry
yourself. Be natural; be patient; be calm; be peaceful; be not
impatient, be very patient. Take things as they come and strive
continuously; strive after what you love best and feel to be
truest and let all the rest go. Do your duty by all, no matter
at what cost to yourself, and you will find that there is an
unspeakable joy in it all. Then, sooner or later, there will
come the opening of the inner eye, the Vision, the opening of the
inner senses, the becoming cognizant of the most wonderful and
strange things around you.

The spiritual faculties are within you, and can be cultivated to
an infinite extent. When the inner eye is opened you shall have
spiritual clairvoyance -- vision of universal sweep, limited only
so far as you as an individual can interpret, can receive, can
contain -- and the spiritual ability to see and to see right, and
in seeing, to know that your seeing is truth.

When you have allied yourself with the god within you, the
spiritual power will show you how to see things at whatever
distance. You immediately see things at enormous distances
through the inner spiritual eye. Your consciousness is there,
whither you have cast it. You can sit in your armchair and see,
with eyes closed, all that you care to see at great distances.
This can be done not only in this exterior world but you can
penetrate into the interior and invisible worlds with this
spiritual vision, and thus know what is going on in the worlds
spiritual and ethereal; and remember also that these inner and
invisible worlds are the basis or root of this mere cross-section
that we humans call the physical universe.

In Tibet this power is call the "hpho-wa," the power to project
your consciousness (that means also your will) to any distance
that you may please: on earth, to the moon, to any other planet,
to the sun. This is possible because the cosmic spaces are your
home. You are they and they are you. The very powers that work
in them are also in you. The very substances out of which they
are born and built, you also are built on. You are native there;
and therefore manifesting such a power is a natural thing to do.

Another spiritual power is true and genuine clairaudience: the
ability to hear with the spiritual auditory power or faculty --
the inner spiritual ear -- even what the gods are saying and
doing. Having this power you can hear the music of the spheres:
for every celestial orb, as it swings along its pathway, sings
its own majestic paean, and everything on earth or elsewhere,
animate or so-called inanimate, being a collection of atoms, is
therefore a symphonic melody, a symphony, the aggregated volume
of sound being composed of the notes of each and every singing
entity; our physical bodies themselves are embodied song.

Every little atom is attuned to a musical note. It is in
constant vibration at speeds that are incomprehensible to the
ordinary brain-mind of man, and each such speed has its own
numerical quantity, in other words its own numerical note, and
therefore sings that note; so that had you this spiritual
clairaudience, the life surrounding you would be one grand sweet
song; and you yourself would sing a song; your very body would be
as it were a symphonic orchestra, singing some magnificent
incomprehensible, musical symphonic composition.

With the awakened power of the inner spiritual ear you would hear
as a song the opening of the rosebud, and its growth would be
like a changing melody running along from day to day. You would
hear the green grass-blade grow. You could hear every hair on
your head as it lengthens in growth; for growth is movement. The
growth of a little child you would hear as a prolonged chorus of
singing atomic entities.

[melanie]

Thankyou drifter for the excerpt .. [The right path ?] .. it was an enjoyable read ..

saving on bandwidth .. not that there isn't plenty of it ..

much appreciated ..

melanie..

[N0B0DY]

When he asks, "Do you catch my drift?" he means it, Melanie, and all that in only two breaths!

More power to you two, and some bandwidth to boot too!

[Fluent Piffle]

Turn your back for 5 minutes, and another 20 pages of childish drivel appears!

Still, it's all going to plan, so all is well...Hey, I think there should be more mention of 'God'. You're slacking a bit!


pif.

[Drifter]

Practicing Humility Definition

Let us also look at another very useful tool for the present moment. That tool is the practice of humility. This word humility has so often been misunderstood. If you look in your dictionaries you will often find that the word humility is simply defined as "the practice of being humble". Well, there's not much help there with that, is there? Look at it as a verb - to humiliate. Now, that doesn't have the essence of higher qualities surrounding it, does it? When you humiliate another person, you make them feel "dis-graced". In other words, you disassociate and disempower them from being in a state of grace. Let me suggest to you here that you have been disassociated from a state of grace by others, in the way in which this word today is presented to you. To be humble, to practice humility, is not to be disassociated from grace. To practice humility is the very opposite, it is to BE grace. And what is grace? Grace is the energy that comes from the Holy Spirit, the feminine aspect of the energy of the Source. Grace and humility, in its true sense, is to become the energy of the Mahatma; to allow the vibration of the I Am Presence of Mother/Father God to flow through your being, and integrate it into yourselves to such an extent that all that once was the lower self is dissolved, through love, into this higher energy and this higher state of being.

http://www.greatdreams.com/walkin.htm

[N0B0DY]

"Hey, I think there should be more mention of 'God'. You're slacking a bit!"

If you wish to talk about god, I have no problem with that, pif. Though it helps if the discussion can be applied to the absolute state, as the cause of relativity. Like from stillness to motion, or timelessness to eternity, or void to infinity. Something to that effect.