We shall listen for Thee β we shall not pray in humble silence wrapped in earth we shall listen for Thee the spirit of the river and the spirit of the sea shall be their deepest meaning the clouds shall pass and we shall see the words will come to be the flight of the dove calling us back in truth and in love and we shall have listened to Thee β The Creation In the beginning the heart full of mirth Let go of the heaven and the earth And the heart was without form and void and brightness was upon the face of the deep The heart had awoken from its invisible sleep And the heart fell still upon the face of the waters And there was a new love like a dynasty of devoted daughters Silence knew the inner light And the heart saw the light and it was good And the heart divided not the light from the darkness and brought light Into the depths of the night And the evening and the morning were the first day And to draw pleasure from form cramped the heart And formed it forever apart And the heart saw it was not good The silence opened and embraced the world in its Grace And everything could find its time and its place Which was here and now in the heart And the earth was free to create, To love and to hate And the heart was free just to be And to truly see And the evening and the morning were the second day And the formless appeared in the heart And there was joy For the heart had a new toy Stable and bright With which to develop its inner sight And the heart saw that it was good And the evening and the morning were the third day And the heart made a body in that inner sight To suffuse that body with true light So that the heart may cool its age-long fire So that the heart may find love beyond desire Craving could cease And the future could finally rest in peace And the evening and the morning were the fourth day And the heart could see all the way inside And the past had nowhere to hide From the love of new eyes Or from the hearts of the wise And the evening and the morning were the fifth day And the breath so refined So undefined Filtered the dust of the world Until its innermost heart Never apart Formed a vessel of formless glass In which the suffering of creatures may arise and pass Safe and without a sound Distilled into meaning more and more profound Until the seeing was crystal clear And the crystal held so dear That to see the suffering was to be free of that suffering and free of fear And the evening and the morning were the sixth day And the heart did rest in peace And the peace was eternal release And the evening and the morning were the seventh day. The Beautiful Princess The Princess was as good as she was beautiful, As kind as she was dutiful And yet there was a huge surprise Waiting behind her bottomless eyes “I am disgusted by this body,” said the Princess “It’s a revolting, putrid, horrible mess.” “And yet you shine so brightly,” said the Prince Failing not to visibly wince “That is why,” said the Princess, “the heart is free. Free to be seen and to see.” “What do you see, Oh Princess?” said the King-to-Be? “I see a great palace Wrapped in an even greater chalice As high as the sky I see clouds as white and sweet as finest wine I see climbing to the heavens the strongest vine A stair Made of air So fine I see that it at its end The galaxy will be Thine There at the end of time" “And shall I have your hand?” He said. “The hand is made of sand It is already dead,” She said. “Then must I die too To be with you?” He said. “You that was never born Shall wear the heavens and be so worn Like a vow forever sworn.” She said. “What must I do?” He said. “To see this skin, So frail, so thin. That is your task.” She said. “I can see only your lovely face Full of grace What again do you ask.” He said. “See too the light that shines Through and beyond what form confines.” She said. “The skin Is really very thin,” She said. The Prince was enchanted One day her wish would be granted As surely as his blood was red (And just as soon as he could get out of the Royal bed.) And the Princess left the land of the real With its little itchy feel To tenderly care In the open air And the Prince would follow When he could borrow the fare And the time of the world passed yet all was well For the life of the heart remained strictly parallel Evaṃ Feelings are highly addictive in and of themselves. As practitioners we must be wary of this and be out to steady our minds in the face of feelings rather than reflexly indulge in pleasure or to try to get away from pain. Body awareness helps – awareness of movement and posture. The physicality of the body has a steadying, grounding effect on feeling.
When feelings are not noted consciously they will turn into moods. Pain or discomfort will make us grumpy. When a pleasant feeling ends we will unhappy. With mindfulness however we can take feeling as information or feedback, and try to act skilfully. People who meditate to open up to their feelings over-sensitise and turn neurotic. They can also become confused as to which feelings are self-generated and which are a response to something or someone else. People can even imagine they are beginning to feel other people's feelings directly, as if feeling has become some kind of energy like electricity. This is all deluded. It is not possible to directly feel other people's feelings. This is not empathy. All feelings arise out of perception. Empathy comes from sharing the perception of another person, seeing something for a moment through their eyes. The most powerful feelings come from the most powerful perceptions. And a truly open mind is like a question, not an answer. I offer this for your reflection Ajahn Kalyāno http://www.openthesky.co.uk It seems that the use of the drug DMT is on the rise amongst people seeking spiritual experiences just like LSD was in the 1960s and 70s. However, because of the way it acts on the nervous system new claims are being made with regards DMT as to the nature of the drug experience. It is claimed that DMT removes filters that normally exist to real phenomena, rather than fabricating an experience. There are several facts that seem to go against this view. Firstly you can have a good or bad trip on DMT just the same as on acid, in fact all kinds of things can be experienced by different individuals. Secondly there is no evidence to show that people tripping on DMT together in the same place ever see the same visions. (Perhaps it is the case that a lack of such objective reality in any such ‘spiritual’ experience is being assumed.) Thirdly a person’s perception of reality is altered by DMT, it is not just that new realms of experience are added.
So overall DMT seems to be a very similar drug to LSD only more powerful by all accounts. Short term it may induce ‘high serotonin syndrome’, the symptoms of which are: • Confusion. • Agitation or restlessness. • Dilated pupils. • Headache. • Changes in blood pressure and/or temperature. • Nausea and/or vomiting. • Diarrhoea. • Rapid heart rate. There is little evidence available on long-term effects of DMT but these may be assumed to be similar to LSD and involve the exacerbation of any underlying mental illness, and deluding effects such as ‘depersonalisation’ or ‘denormalisation’. I offer this for your reflection Ajahn Kalyāno http://www.openthesky.co.uk/ Introduction When we look at the world is as though we look through different windows. The practise of Dhamma is to make these windows complete and proper - calm, clear and kind. Then, if we see clearly, there is no reason to think about the world any more. Furthermore we see that by adjusting our eyes we are changing our perception and we, indirectly, become the master of the mind. We create a peaceful, humble world the truth of which is universal and beyond time and space. It is as if the mind becomes time itself. |
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