The Serene Way

“Only human beings can change their evil ways, their ups and downs, pitfalls, shortcomings, anger, pride—all their bad qualities. Then they can experience their own divine nature.”

Paramahamsa Hariharananda

In Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche states, “Hatred and anger, when truly recognized, arise with diamond like clarity, free from grasping; this is the ‘mirror like wisdom.” Here is the wonderful imagery of the mirror, a reflection upon the surface. When we are not in front of the mirror there is only the reflective surface; it is only when we stand in front of it that we see a reflection of our physical self. There are many surfaces upon which there are reflections, whether a mirror, a conversation, or words upon a blank piece of paper. Each of these allows us the opportunity for realization and an unfolding of awareness of the self. To that end, when we fight or argue, we are arguing against and with ourselves; the mirror absent of the divine self.

Anger and resentment can manifest with righteous indignation. A recent posting, titled “The Secret & Law of Attraction as Fabrications of Greed”, elicited the following response:

“I read the article you posted and thoroughly agree with its central precepts. These are concepts that I have felt inwardly to be true for a long time.

However, the downfall of the materialism which you mentioned, that the Gnostics and Cathars considered to ruin the souls of men and lead them away from the path of light, can only be achieved by the demise of world Jewry and the final destruction of ‘man-centred’ Judaeo-Christian thinking everywhere.

The Jew is the archetype of capitalist man and only stands to gain from a sterile economic worldview. That is why you find them as the the spiritus rectus behind globalisation and the New World Order—the ferment of decomposition of peoples and nations.”

In this response we see a concept that singles out a cultural/religious group in order to place blame. To be true to the facts, this group was given, by another religious group, the fiduciary responsibility that these ‘Christians’ were unwilling to shoulder based on the dogma of their belief system. Even then, there was an occlusion from society for those that were given this usury provision. Historically speaking, there has always been a division based on class, economic background and heritage, whether the kings and queens of ancient Egypt, the caste system of India, or the hierarchy of any other society, old or new. The only concern involves the society that creates this segregation and separation and continues to maintain the illusion of elitism.

A ‘man-centred’ ideology is not limited to Judeo-Christian belief—it is a fact of the world around us, no matter the cultural or religious background. It is this ‘man-centred-ness’ that prohibits forward movement and progress. It matters little what we say ‘against’ current belief systems; it matters little that we ‘point fingers’ or argue and feel resentment towards any group. It is what we can do individually to change our self, our immediate circle of influence in terms of acceptance and tolerance offered with compassion, that is important.

The manifestation of anger can result from something as trivial as squeezing a tube of toothpaste from the top. Again, the egocentric person feels resentment when their preferences are seemingly disregarded. This resentment unleashes anger. The tube of toothpaste has no feeling whether it is squeezed from the top or bottom. It is within the self that these emotions are created with various ego-centred rationalizations. These too are illusions of the mind, the distorted reflections of the mind upon the mirror.

Anger and resentment are currently observed every day as ‘road rage’. There seems to be a sense of entitlement to space and an inability to have patience (i.e., tolerance, consideration and empathy). The space is not ours, as space itself is an illusion and we are merely here to ‘tend’ to this world and each other. We are integrally connected to all that is around us; cause and effect is a ‘two-way street’—that which is given out is returned.

I have seen cars weave in and out of traffic to get to the ‘head of the line’, speeding as if in a race. There is little difference in the minute or two gained, or reaching the next street light before someone else. If we are moving we will get to our destination. In the meantime, if we appreciate all that is around us, we realize acceptance and tolerance.

Many times I have been cut off while riding my bicycle in traffic. Luckily, on a bike you can stop pretty quickly, and being out in ‘space’ you are able to breathe. It is within this breathing that we are able to manifest tolerance and compassion, and experience the wonder of the world around us.

We can only change our self. We can alter how we react to the mirror in front of us. It is with awareness that we can transmute anger and resentment—whether they stem from economic or cultural factors, religious elitism, or simple daily stressors—into a realization of compassion, tolerance and acceptance on a Path to Light.

©T.S. (Tim) White, 2008

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www.TheSereneWay.com

“In every one of us there is the yearning for life, for knowledge, for happiness.”

Swami Yatiswarananda, Meditation & Spiritual Life

Recently I heard, “When one lives with an open heart there is no need for protection.” This is a simple truth; it is on a Path to Light that we develop this ability of detachment from the energy, reactions and actions of others, as well as our self as defined by the ego. There are lessons along the way that assist in reaching this goal, one of which is discernment: ‘the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure’ or ‘the power to distinguish and select what is true’. Now, there’s the rub: what is true and real and how do we distinguish it?

We often look to our external environment to provide knowledge and happiness. Osho, in The Book of Secrets, says, “Whatever society has given can be taken away again…” This simple statement illustrates the transitory nature of possessions and culture as a means to happiness. A culture lasts only as long as it controls its members or holds that influence, in which case we give away our control to an entity other than our selves. When we think of knowledge, we usually think of it as coming from outside our self. In the age of the Internet, there is a particularly muddy situation as information comes at us so rapidly, yet with many caveats. We must consider who is promoting the information, who financed the research, and what is the purpose of disseminating the information. Whether it be possessions, culture or information, discernment is key in order to sift through this endless barrage.

When it comes to culture, the ‘con’ keeps us all believing in regulations and social manners that keep us in control. We can look at the history of organized religions and how they have risen and fallen throughout history. They have used knowledge as their power base, keeping the masses uneducated in order to maintain a façade of stability. To bring this closer to home, we can see the same thing with the current economic turmoil. In this case, the economic culture has brainwashed society into believing that ‘bigger is better’, promoting the worship of the almighty dollar—values monitored on the screens of the global markets. These are ‘cons’ of outrageous proportion that affect society in its entirety.

There are everyday smaller ‘cons’ in each of our lives, which are employed by the egocentric to manipulate and control, though these are not nearly as evident as those of organized religion and global finance.

I was social networking and received a couple of notes from a ‘self-help’ practitioner. The first two were misaddressed and indicated “how may I ‘serve’ you”. The one correctly addressed said, “What do you need me for; you have your own gig”. I cannot comment on the practice of this person or their ability to help others, but I use this incident to illustrate a point: what a person says to your face may not be what they say behind your back. This is not walking the walk or talking the talk; it is this sort of double-face that necessitates discernment.

There are those that see us as ‘marks’, offering the snake oil remedy, the quick fix; again, the ideology that purchase will buy happiness surfaces. At a health and wellness expo I attended, there was a doctor promoting a machine that costs thousands of dollars. We were discussing the science and research behind this product. He made a most interesting statement: “Say anything to get them in and make the sale.” Here, a person of knowledge and apparent cultural status was ‘buying’ into society’s acceptance of information manipulation in order to sustain the economy of greed and excess.

There are unnerving trends in the ‘self-help’ industry (which is what it has become); it is big business. Recently, I have seen seminars and products promoted as ‘recession insurance’ or ‘recession proof’. But in reality there is no insurance against recession. It is only our ability to deal with the repercussions that can be developed. There are those who play against our fears and insecurities for their own self benefit. Again, discernment is necessary in order to have ‘the ability to understand and discriminate between relations’.

Conscious awareness is necessary for discernment. This allows an ease in identifying those factors that require our attention. This is an individual process; that which works for one may not work for another. It is within that we find the answers, the knowledge and truth. It is here that we can tap into those concepts that resonate with our life’s purpose.

Conscious awareness can assist us in penetrating these façades by developing the ability to judge wisely and objectively, thereby revealing authenticity. This action requires an internal search for our own authenticity. When we discover the authentic self, when it is revealed, then whatever bombards our senses can be dealt with in a positive and constructive manner. I have been known to jump in where angels fear to tread. This has led to many wonderful experiences, each one of which I appreciate as a lesson. Some situations are repeated until the lesson has been fully realized. A simple truth evolves from the experience and can be utilized in a practical manner in other situations.

Life is a rollercoaster; without the ups, the downs have no meaning or reality. The reverse is also true: all is defined by its opposite. Upon accepting that life is full of opposites, these opposites lose their power, as they are non-reality, transitory and illusory.

Once there is a conscious awareness of the mind and its machinations, then we can begin the journey to our centre, our heart. There we can manifest a condition of understanding with complete honesty and detachment. This creates trust within our self. Once established, we can see the truth in others—a gift of discernment on a Path to Light.

©T.S. (Tim) White, 2008

All rights reserved.

www.TheSereneWay.com

Tolerance, Acceptance & Understanding

The roles that we are ‘assigned’ by society are part of our cultural heritage and environmental experience, often thought of as patriarchal though, I have to admit that my upbringing was much more matriarchal in its construct. The major role of mother/grandmother in the family was much more dominant, from my perspective at least.

Through a cultural/historical evolution we have stereotyped specific attributes as masculine and feminine.

There is a teaching in Yoga that there are three major channels of energy, one central and balanced to which we strive and the other two on either side being sun and moon energy. It is here that I tend to shy away from the association of masculine-sun and moon-feminine and prefer to the description of active and reflective energy or character traits taken to that level. In this way we are no longer making unnecessary associations based on gender only the energetic aspects of personality, both are necessary for a balance to be achieved. One does not exist without the other. Our emotions can be associated with one of these energies, just like the magnetic field of the earth or a battery both are needed to complete the circle of energy, ebb and flow. When we place positive and negative in this instance there is perhaps only a slight thought of good and bad. Yet, when we use that in a description of traits then there is more of a judgement. They are neither, they must be in order to be complete and return to balance, only with one more dominant can anything be accomplished no matter what we call it, masculine/feminine, active/reflective, right/left (again we have an association with right being correct and left being associated with evil if raised in a particular religious environment). The sun energy is the active force and the moon the reflective or nurturing energy. Like the changing of the seasons we need both in order to manifest upon the physical plane we have to act, yet the act can only take place after the idea or thought has been brought to the conscious mind. Thus, the latter is the reflective energy of creation. Both in tandem give rise to the manifestation of anything within that which is All on a path to light.

© T.S. (Tim) White

All rights reserved