The two Birds

"Like two birds
of golden plumage,
inseparable companions,
the individual self and the immortal Self
are perched on the branches of the selfsame tree.
The former tastes of the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree;
the latter, tasting of neither,
................calmly observes."
[The Mundaka Upanishad]
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"I am Arjuna.
Mounted upon my chariot
in the midst of a great battlefield,
I am bewildered.

Mankind is arrayed for destruction;
all those I cherish, now in opposition.
I’d rather flee in disgrace and dishonor
than to lay my hand against another.

My most intimate friend and
only confidant holds the reins.
Knowing me better than I know myself,
he alone I can trust and believe.

For he is my Self and I am confusion.

All that the mind can conceive, with its symbols, are mere metaphors.
Although the metaphors contain a life which is greater
............................than that of the symbols themselves;
they can never bring to mind the essence of life itself."
[anonymous]

.

..........April 27, 2008 ....................................................................................

"Un jour finir pêcheur" Gérard Manset (1985)

Un jour, finir pêcheur....................One day winding up as a fisherman
Parce que ça grandit l'homme.......Because that's what elevates man
Heureux comme ça,.......................To be satisfied with this
Pas gagner plus d'argent................no earning a living anymore.
Le matin, me lever,.........................Get up in the morning
Pas connu, pas guetté,....................unknown, unexpected by anyone
Parce que ça fait mal,....................because that's what hurts,
Ça fait mal a l'homme,..................That's what hurts man
La célébrité....................................Being known.
[...]
Parce que ça grandit l'homme,.......That's what elevates man:
De vivre sans parler,......................To live without speaking
Vivre sans paroles..........................to live without words
Et d'apprendre à se taire,...............and to learn to keep quiet,
Regarder sans voir.........................Not seeing them while looking
Les enfants qui dansent..................at the dancing children at
Au bord du miroir...........................the edge of the mirror.

Mais c'est toujours trop loin,...........But all this's still too far away
Toujours dans le noir,....................still in the unknown
Inaccessible,...................................inaccessible,
Pareil au cœur de la cible..............just like a bull's eye of a target.

Un jour, finir pêcheur,..................One day winding up as a fisherman
[...]
Mais c'est toujours trop loin,.........But that's still too far away
A portée de la main,......................within reach, but...
Inaccessible,.................................inaccessible
Pareil au cœur de la cible..............just like a bull's eye of a target.

Un jour, finir meilleur,...................One day being a better man
Tuer le mal de l'homme,................annihilate the pain of man
Se libérer de tout,..........................getting rid of all
Prendre dans la mer.....................Taking out of the sea
Les coraux, les vipères,..................corals and vipers
Et tout ça dans la main,................and all this with one's hands
Sans lumière et sans gaz...............Without light, without gas
Et sans barbe qu'on rase,..............without shaving a beard...

Un jour, finir pêcheur,....................One day winding up as a fisherman
Avaler le compteur,........................swallowing the counter
Regarder sans voir.........................not seeing it while looking at
Le calendrier.................................................................the calendar
Qui tombe en poussière..................which crumbles into dust.
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................How far is the earth,
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................How far is the earth!
Le calendrier..................................The calendar
Qui tombe en poussière..............................crumbles into dust.
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................How far is the earth,
Qu'elle est loin, la terre...................how far is the earth.


[note: this is a very personal translation-interpretation]
[(right)click ("new tab") on the title above in order to listen to the song on YouTube]
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April 15, 2008

on Love

"I know that in similar circumstances my wife and children would greatly miss me. I teach them, however, that their great love for me is just the beginning of the journey. I know that it is part of my job to see this love transferred ultimately to God. Their love seeks the Perfect Father to find completion of themselves and will be found in the Present rather than in memories or dreams." ----------------------------------------------------------

"Man is a portal through which the spiritual factors enter the physical world. To the degree that we are connected to truth and thus the spirit of Truth, love flows from us into the world. [6/14/2002]

Love is a power that we are designed to conduct. When love flows through us, there is no "spiritual friction" to create a feeling. It is feelingless. Much that people think of as love is not. A good test is whether in describing it one can substitute the word "need" for "love". False love, the one better described as "need", is based on the pain of need. Real love is described well by St. Paul "Love is patient and kind..." Need is not patient nor is it kind because it **needs**. It cannot afford the luxurary of kindness. Those of us who can find patience and kindness and allow it to flow through us have found love and its Source. As it flows through us to create a beautiful effect around us, it leaves its mark on us, giving us grace and peace. We are whole, needing nothing. Therefore "love is not jealous or boastful" (as St. Paul continues.) "it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irratable or resentful. It rejoices in the right." The grace and peace within us is the rejoicing. Our connection to God, the source of this flow (and the Presence in the present), is a deep contentment. The connection roots us solidly. We need nothing. We can bear all. Patience is perfected. The physical body is a marvel that sets man apart from angels and all other conscious beings of the greater creation. Only man is designed to be able to choose to follow God or not, thereby making love of the Creator possible." [C.N.,01/19/2004+05/10/2004]

----------------------- David R. Hawkins, "Power vs Force", p. 90: [...] Love [..] is unconditional, unchanging, and permanent. It doesn't fluctuate - its source isn't dependent on external factors. Loving is a state of being. It's a forgiving, nurturing, and supportive way of relating to the world. Love isn't intellectual and doesn't proceed from the mind; Love emanates from the heart. It has the capacity to lift others and accomplish great feats because of its purity of motive.

April 14, 2008

"Un jour être pauvre" - Gérard Manset (1985)

Un jour, être pauvre, .....................One day, being poor,
Détaché de tout.............................attached to nothing,
Sans pleurer de rien,......................no tears for anything

Sans rire de tout,............................no laughing..

Comme un enfant qui repose..........Like a child

Dans la vérité des choses................who rests in the Truth of things

S'écarter de tout, sortir,.................letting go of all, getting out of all,

Se tenir debout...............................and standing still

Comme un enfant...........................like a child being born
........sort.du ventre. et hurle,............................and crying...

S'écarter de tout...............................letting go of all.

Un jour, être pauvre,.......................One day, being poor,

Détaché du reste,............................unattached to the rest,

De l'autre coté du mur....................on the other side of the wall

Pas le moindre geste,......................no gesture at all

Pas la moindre trace de haine,........not any sign of hate

Pas la moindre trace de fêlure, .......not any sign of fissure
........................trace de brûlure,...................no sign of burn

Le moindre sentiment d'oubli..........but not any forgetfullness, either.

De l'autre coté du mur,...................On the other side of the wall

Pas la moindre trace de fêlure,........not any sign of fissure
........................trace de brûlure,...................no sign of burn,

Le calme au fond du lac..................the calm in the depths of a lake.

Un jour, être pauvre.......................One day, being poor

Sur un quai désert,.........................at a desert quay
Etre un bateau vide........................being an empty boat

Tout le monde à terre....................all people on shore.

Comme un enfant qui repose..........Like a child

Dans la vérité des choses,...............who rests in the Truth of things

S'éloigner de tout, ...........................leaving all that behind
.................apprendre............................................and learning

A tenir debout..................................to stand still,

Sur la mer immense et douce, ........in the huge and smooth sea
.................apprendre,.....................................................learning

A tenir debout..................................to stand still.

[(right)click (and: "new tab") on the title above in order to listen to the song on YouTube]

April 13, 2008

Peace as a natural state

Peace is a "natural state of man". Peace can't be "taught". And if it IS taught, it isn't really peace but merely a veneer of peace covering over roiling emotions beneath. That isn't to say that we can't help people find peace. Just that real peace goes far deeper than anything that can be taught. If one tries to acquire peace by some intellectual effort, then one may only have a veneer of peace--like the quiet "peaceful" person next door that goes out and stuns the neighbors by committing this horrible crime. He surely had a veneer of peace; he wanted to believe so badly in his peacefulness because he wanted so badly not to be what he knew inside he was. But such is just an existence based on a lie and consequently,negative energy courses through his very veins. Eventually, something has to give. That would be the explosion that "surprised" everyone because he was such a "good" boy. So beliefs are central. There is some capacity inside us all that allows us to sort out true beliefs from false ones. Ideally, this process should be followed before we accept any beliefs. But when false beliefs find their way in, we can know them because of the "friction" the energy they give off creates inside, guilt. If we are ready, we can then recognize them as lies. If we are not ready, we will try to believe the guilt comes from something else (usually something we look back upon as a silly notion.) In this way, we know the truth and the truth sets us free, as the old saying tells us. Free because while we believed falsely, an energy expressed itself through us without any consent by us (other than the implicit consent derived from our allowing ourselves to believe wrongly.) Neither did we have control over ourselves. But as the lies become exposed, we are restored to a peaceful state where we once again can choose. I suppose one could say a peaceful state is simply the state of having this freedom while a lack of peace is a life lived compulsively. So, the natural state is peace. It is like the natural state of humans being health. If we get rid of the bad habits, defective environments, or other ill influences, peace (or health) restores itself. There are people who work at health and those who work at peace. Some succeed. But it is my view that not understanding that it is a natural state can lead to problems. Specifically, one can begin to be drawn by fear ("if i don't DO something, all is lost"-kind of thinking.) That is by far the greatest danger. One cannot obtain peace through fear. Fear itself destroys inner peace. One might say that everything stems from the spiritual realm. Lack of health (and peace inside) have more to do with a problem in the spiritual realm than with anything physical. In many ways the phsycal realm is insubstantial and the breeding ground for illusion. Much that we are "taught" lends substance to the physical realm and hence easily contributes to illusion. This in turn affects health and peacefulness. From another direction, things that lead us toward materiality, by strengthening our connection with physical reality, also lead us away from spiritual reality with its perfect health and peace. This is the secret of most of the seven deadly sins. Greed, gluttony, lechery, anger, envy, and sloth all relate to people connecting strongly to the physical realm. The other deadly sin, pride, lies in the spiritual realm but is the spiritual blindness that is necessary for there to be any allure of the physical realm. All together, engaging in these strengthens our bond to the physical while at the same time dulling our connection to the spiritual. Let me substitute "mortal" for "physical" and things make even more sense. Mortality itself represents degeneration. The mortal progress to life's end with degeneration and death. "Spiritual" is the opposite of "mortal." As we disengage with the mortal--by seeing it's illusary nature, a kind of truth setting us free - we naturally engage with the spiritual with its perfection which lies beyond the possibilities of the physical (all of which eventually decays.) At these moments of disengagement, health and peacefulness flow from the spiritual realm to fill us. This is the secret of many "miracle" cures. Go interview someone whose cancer went completely into remission and you will find someone whose whole perspective on life changed (before the cure.) Many will tell you that surgery kept them alive but that their change of heart cured them. And if you examine the essence of this change of heart, you will find at its core a loosening of the grip of mortality and a strengthening of the connection to the spiritual. Man (meaning women too) is created perfect, in the image of God, as God is perfect. Hence, health and peacefulness are natural states to man as also with God. But as we become connected to physical materiality (and disconnected to God,) health and peace wane. And this connection to mortality comes about as we place more faith in physical senses doubting our "inner eye" (which produces common sense and which naturally sees through the illusions of materiality, being spiritually based.) Perhaps I should mention that the return to health and peace reverses this process, following the inner eye/inner teacher/common sense which act represents the disconnection with materiality in preference for a connection with the spiritual. In a sense, it is a thing of faith, an act of faith, to believe in one's common sense. Health and peace flow from this as much as degeneration and a restless mind flow from doubting common sense (which is to say, believing more/having faith more in the material world with it's "experts.") So the key to both health and peace is to foster the connection to the inner Self. This strengthens the spiritual ties and severs the physical ones. In this way health and peace are naturally acquired without effort on our part to acquire them. And this is the natural state of man. Clearly it is possible to mount physically-based counter arguments to what I've tried to create as a spiritual appeal. I suppose your understanding will be dictated by which appeals more to you. If you cannot connect to the humble (prideless) then materiality will have a magnetic appeal that draws you away from whatever common sense may resonate (inwardly) with my (outer) words. Then there will be little sense to be found here. Perhaps you see that I've also spoken to the issue of where understanding comes from--its source will not be physically found. God gives us "knowledge" (some would say "understanding") of this "hidden" way directly via a mechanism that He crafted to be a part of us. This key to His kingdom lies within us all awaiting questions. To these questions, via this mechanism, He pours understanding into us in a way that is marked by His great sense of timing and carefully measured out so as not to overflow the delicate vessle that recieves it, us. When this understanding pours in, it is marked by an energy that cannot be contained completely - our cup overfloweth and escapes our mouth as "Aha!" Our substance is strengthened by this process. As people grow spiritually, they come more firmly into contact with how much they'd "forgotten" peace (or denied real health.) The physical realm is mostly a realm of illusion and that the essence of divine man lies beyond the reach of physicality in the purely spiritual realm (where real life and truth reside.) I believe that our real life is lived in the spiritual realm. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Truth is not hidden. What makes it hidden is a person's complexity. The way itself is so simple that it requires some refinement of our own simplicity even to recognize it. This is why humility is requisite. Another way to think of it is as a polarity. We are made in the image of God, which means imho that we have an inherent spiritual perfection. Because of illusions we operate under, we may labor with various disease or lack of peacefulness. But peace, health, and awakening from illusion are natural--meaning they are a part of the perfection of Creation (and what, since we're asking this kind of question, does this say about God?) One has to work to maintain illusion, etc. And most of the world does seem intent on maintaining the slavery to physicality that is represented by the rebellion that makes us think we are God. A kind of polarity attained in this rebellion repells us from Truth just as two North pole magnets repell. We are the polar opposite of God, the small of which He is the large. Together we are something beautiful. But if the small tries to be the large, it is even worse than when workers decide they are the boss. There needs be one authority in a structure, for several create chaos. Mostly, man creates chaos because of his pride (attempts to be God.) These lead to being bound by materiality, with the appeal to the other six deadly sins. Also, this brings disease--inwardly and outwardly--and need I say lack of peace. But man with a resigned will, humble and small, finds a perfect fit with God and a clear path. The Secrets of this way are in plain view, not hidden at all. But those creating chaos blind themselves and cannot see. Only from their point of view is the way hidden. And if they desire to continue in their error (despite the pain it brings which is always a force moving them toward Truth--what does this say about God) then they will also blame God for their own error. This isn't so different from how wrong people always blame others for their problems. In the case of God, they will imagine that he is cruel, doesn't care, or hides the truth from them. Their anger at God will only deepen their the polarity problem, driving them away from spirituality into the maw of mortality/physicality. But the way remains there. And as the pain that their error brings upon them increases, they must reject the True way again and again because the offer is an open one (and what does this say about God, that being the object of raw hatred, He still offers his love.) All the way to the grave, if one is so foolish as to reject truth unto death (and many do) the offer is there. The commandments, and in particular the 1st commandment, are things that are good for man. They aren't there for the good of God. The first commandment should be particularly paid attention to. It is good to love God with all one's heart. -------------------- C.N., January 2004

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April 04, 2008