FORGIVENESS #2

“I’m gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside, aint gonna study war no more.”  African American spiritual song.

 

When we hold onto resentment and judge we may suffer more than the one we are resenting. We carry a burden around with us - as an albatross around our necks. To forgive and be forgiven or at least make the attempt is to lighten the spiritual burdens we all carry.

 

“Forgiveness is the most completing gift we can experience for we all have its sweet need.” J. O’donahue

 

Repent with joy, forgive with joy. You are returning to yourself and are back on the path.

 

It’s all about cosmic union. Go forward with forgiveness which is essential to substance and Joy.

 

Forgiveness encompasses:

What we have done to ourselves (to our Higher Selves and hence to our Creator.)

What we have done to others.
What others have done to us

 

These three components - according to the circumstances - may need to be approached differently.

 Forgiveness of self – the little self and its choices and actions (the Higher Self is pure.) 

Grant forgiveness!

 

Forgiveness of others. 

Give forgiveness!

 

For those that we have wronged. 

Ask forgiveness!

 

Once we have done this. whether accepted or not, we are better able to return to our Higher Selves.

Forgiveness for what we have done to our Selves - our higher Selves, made in the image of the Divine.

The more we embrace the hypnosis of unskillful and toxic sentient pleasures, the more the soul distances it-Self from the body leading to a measure of soul "sickness" or even soul loss. The body and the soul should be as one. 

A body caught up in cravings and attached to sentient pleasures distances the soul.

"From the sound of my sighing (equanimity, peace, harmony)

has my essence (soul,)

cleaved onto my flesh (body.) King David

 

“And if your friend does evil to you, say to him, “I forgive you for what you did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself?”  Nietzsche

 

… The only real truth is God’s love for us. This is what it is to heal and be healed - to surrender to this.

 

God’s love is not a test. God is not a test of love.

God's love does not seek worth, God's love creates worth.

Gods' love is not the test, karma is the test and levels the spiritual playing "Field." God will forgive us for these sins - these sins to the Self, to that Self-made in the image of the Creator. “Jesus died for our sins”, that is the sins to our Selves, not necessarily those done to others (for the latter we have to ask them for forgiveness.) But we also have to forgive ourselves. This will make it easier for us to forgive others and ask others for forgiveness for any grievances related to our actions. 

If it is challenging to find forgiveness for the small self's dysfunctions, make a trade; forgive your-self for something and then also give forgiveness or ask forgiveness of someone you have offended or injured as an equalizer towards one's worthiness. Imagining oneself in front of a spiritual tribunal may induce us to do this. We will have to account for our karma to such a tribunal when we cross the veil between the worlds. We may as well work on it now.

"To err is human, to forgive, divine."

Self-condemnation and recrimination have no place in spiritual transformation or healing. They strengthen guilt which can lead to shame. Regret and remorse are about what we did wrong, not who we are. Toxic shame and guilt are about feeling bad about who we are rather than only our actions. We all do bad things but this does not make us bad. The higher Self is pure.

 

“Self-condemnation strengthens guilt which is one of the greatest obstacles on the path of realization.” (And also healing and curing.) Sri Swami Rama

 

Self-condemnation, guilt and shame sometimes make us believe that if we beat ourselves up (or others do it for us,) it will make us perform better but usually the opposite is true. Self-recrimination and non-constructive criticism from others and positive outcomes are frequently inversely proportional. Functional M.R.I studies and neuroscience have shown that self-condemnation or self-recrimination, severe guilt and shame can shut down the higher consciousness of the prefrontal lobe of the brain allowing our primitive, survival brain centers and monkey mind to predominate. 

We all need to practice self-compassion, universal self-acceptance (U.S.A.) or an unconditional positive regard for ourselves (and others.)  Self-compassion reduces anxiety, depression and increases happiness, optimism, positive emotions and self-worth. Self-compassion does not mean enabling  – we have to acknowledge and admit to any unskillful actions of the little self or ego - often aggravated by the shadow and monkey mind. We need to treat ourselves as we would a good friend.

Owning and expressing our unskillfulness in words decreases the impact of what we have done in causing others and ourselves harm. Suppressing our emotions aggravates our misdemeanors and our equanimity. 

 

Guilt, and shame and a feeling that one does not deserve to be well is also antithetical to one’s healing or being cured. Some believe that sickness is God’s way of punishing them for the errors of their ways but ... 

"Shit happens!" Bumper sticker wisdom

The Creator punishing us because of our actions is an untruth and a nocebo effect or a way of self-hexing. Just as self-condemnation has no place in spiritual transformation, the same is true for the power of guilt and shame to immobilize the Inner Healer. The Inner Healer is part of the soul. They both have the capacity for healing when we let go of toxicities in their way. Everyone deserves to be healthy as well as spiritually transform. Toxic guilt and shame are antithetical to both.

 

FORGIVENESS #1

Merit on a judgmental level is the balancing of evil and good deeds.
Merit is the credit we receive on the side of good.

 

This blog logically follows the one on karma. Forgiveness goes hand in hand with karma. Forgiveness helps us to clean the karmic slate before we end our lives and go to the other side where we have to reconcile with our actions. To the extent we forgive ourselves from the sins to the higher Self, forgive others for their harmful behavior towards us and ask forgiveness for what we have done to others our karmic profile can be improved. This also pertains to our loved ones, mothers and fathers, and grandmothers and grandfathers, where forgiveness should be a priority before death. This will also help them when they ultimately face a spiritual tribunal for the errors of their ways.

 

Concerning forgiveness:
Kabbalah first teaches that you determine whether or not given the same situation you would do it again – not because of the eventual consequences that may have turned out badly but because of your assessment of the “rightness” of your actions.
Is it how you would desire being treated?
if your answer is no, then the next step is how do you make this known to all who have been hurt, scandalized and diminished by this action.
As you assess and attempt to make amends you will risk ridicule, rebuff and refusal.
It is important to accept total responsibility. Do not comfort your conscience with high-minded excuses, reasons or assurances.
Acknowledge the pain you have inflicted.
To ask forgiveness for it, is to repair in full whether or not the pain is removed or the forgiveness granted.
Understood of course, is that the offense is not continued or repeated. If it is an illicit relationship, it is discontinued; if it is stolen property, it is restored.

 

In Kabbalah repentance actually means much more, namely, returning to our Higher Self. This "Return" is properly understood as the Creator 

 saying “return to me…” 

Certainly, there is regret for harm done but to truly repent is to return to one’s place with God in gratitude and joy, not in shame and guilt – in the determination to right all wrongdoing but through the happiness of right-doing.

It is a manifestation of ultimate intent and giving; restoring to God what is God’s through our mindset, our heart-set and our actions. Apology and regret are baby steps, too often motivated by shame and fear.
Scurrying and struggling with love and joy is not just to return to our proper place but also to be of cosmic significance with acts of amendment.
These acts restore sparks of holiness and by so doing, we transform transgressions into meritorious offerings.
Kabbalah calls this “return” the highest level of repentance.
With right understanding and action we can create the conditions for transgressions to become merits.

 

“In forgiving and letting go we can then exalt in treasuring what we truly most treasure. John. O’donahue

 

There are many reasons for giving and receiving forgiveness. These contrast with some popular dogmas and misconceptions such as;

 I don’t get mad I get even, forgiveness is being weak, I will never condone, reconcile … etc. This does not mean that we forget the harm that was done. We can remember the lesson but still forgive. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciling the relationship.

When there is a continual rerun of old tapes and stories we get stuck in, and become our stories. This is counterproductive to spiritual transformation. Some of the biproducts of forgiveness are:

 

Compassion

“We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty” G.K. Chesterton

“…. What counts is to restrain the blaze in the hours of desire and let it flow into the hours of prayer and service.”  Talmud

 

Remorse. Redemption and Hope 

“A person cannot find redemption until s/he sees the flaws in his soul and tries to efface them. Whoever shuts out the realization of his flaws is shutting out redemption. We can only be redeemed to the extent to which we see ourselves.” The Talmud

 

Karma can be mitigated through forgiveness. Karma is about the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. Forgiveness can help to erase some of those consequences.

 

“It is very dangerous to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities…”
Soren Kierkegaard

"To err is human to forgive divine."

 

Cleansing

“Iniquities are etched upon our bones such that traces remain even when God forgives. One must acknowledge and confess the wrongdoing to have the stain cleansed and the record removed. “ Ezekiel

 

 Healing

“When a deep injury is done to us we never fully recover until we forgive.” Alan Paton

 

Return to the Higher Self or Soul. Sacredness.

When you no longer need to be right, the perfection of your soul will shine through.

The soul yearns to do the Creator’s will and clings to the body when all is well.
A body caught up in cravings and attached to sentient pleasures distances the soul.
The soul withdraws causing illness.
The body’s unskillful attachments needs to be broken so the soul (essence) can return to the body.

 

“From the sound of my sighing has my essence (soul) cleaved onto my flesh (body.)” King David the psalmist

 

Forgiveness is critical in allowing redemption from soul sickness or loss. “Sighing” refers to the equanimity attained when the soul returns and cleaves to the body again after it has separate as a result of malevolent actions. This is similar to the parable of the prodigal son or daughter returning in wholeness to the divine Father/Mother. 

 

Return is the key … joyously turning from doubt, suspicion and indifference to trust, hope and love. Return is speaking of the soul’s essence again lodging comfortably in the body.

 

“Forgiveness is part of the treasure you need to craft your falcon wings and return to your true realm of Divine Freedom.” Hafitz

 

No one is perfect. All of us are on a journey towards spiritual perfection and some of us are further back along the countless wheels of samsara of our lifetimes than others. 

 

“To confront a person with his own shadow is to show him his own light.” Carl Jung

 

“To listen a soul into disclosure and discovery is the
greatest service one human being can offer another.”

Quaker saying

 

Contrition and redemption are always possible no matter how strong the ego, how unskillful monkey mind or how dark the shadow or the evil inclination. However, one has to be capable of seeing it and having the strong intention to do something about it because of remorse and regret. There are those few with soul loss, however, who may be incapable of redemption. The soul has divorced from the body completely - ego, shadow are now alone and influenced by all the wrong forces. The tricksters and dark forces also hold sway.

 

Without forgiveness it will be difficult to truly find the serenity we desire to go forward spiritually. Ancient wisdom has shown, and now neuroscience is proving, that forgiveness may be vitally important for the one doing the forgiving not just the one who is being forgiven. 

Forgiveness increases the immune system and our T cell counts. AIDS patients who forgave the person that transmitted the virus lived longer and had fewer complications than those who had not. Compassion also enhances immunity. Cynicism relates to the tendency to hold a grudge. Cynicism decreases our T cells and immune system. Guilt, shame and lack of self-forgiveness (self-condemnation) can increase pro-inflammatory factors leading to atherosclerosis, some auto-immune disorders and some cancers. Forgiveness of Self and others is healthful! The effects of guilt and shame include; a decrease in self-motivation and control, being less accountable rather than accountable as well as depression and “dis”-ease (sickness within) which can lead to disease.

 

We are all worthy of forgiveness and we all made in the image of the Creator with a pure soul. Ego (the small self,) Monkey (Narrow) Mind, our Shadow, Store Consciousness, a negatively primed subconscious and tricksters get in its way of our pure nature. We are a ray of Divine light and a tiny yet significant imprint of the Infinite One’s Light or “Flame.” As above so below, as without so within. Forgiveness is to return to purity, holiness and wholeness.

 

 

 KARMA #5

 

Love

 

“Love is the most universal, formidable and mysterious of all the cosmic forces.” De Chardin

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”  Rumi

Last week we discussed the Karmic importance of joy. There are only two feelings; love and fear. Love has numerous ways of expressing itself; empathy, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, gratitude, joy et al.

Our soul is made for joy and the more we truly love the more we will experience it and become its very essence.

There are two autonomic nervous systems, sympathetic, which is more fear based and parasympathetic, which induces a relaxation response and is more love based. Sometime ago the Maharishi university described the Coherence arising out of the relaxation response found in meditators. They found that when a critical number of meditators practiced in a city the crime rate dropped indicating that their Coherence spread out beyond the meditators. The ancestors teach that our Coherence may also have a positive energetic effect on the supernal worlds above. 

Guarded heart or gracious heart. Protective self or Expansive Self. Dutifully committed or passionately empty.

The HeartMath institute have done research on heart Coherence which occurs when the heart rate variability comes into harmony with balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. They have shown that the heart sends out more signals to the brain than vice versa and if there is heart Coherence there are positive emotional and cognitive effect on the brain. 

The law of attraction is a philosophy suggesting that positive (love vibration) thoughts bring positive results into a person's life, while negative thoughts bring negative results. These positive effects may arise out of a loving Coherent heart which creates positive non-fear based emotions in the brain and beyond us as well. Others will often then respond to us more positively. 

The Ancestors teach that the mind controls the heart - hopefully, rather from Spacious Mind, than Narrow or monkey Mind. This is true but it is also true that the heart controls the mind and this arises out of physiological heart Coherence, usually from some form of inner practice.

The yogis say that the most difficult chakra to open is the heart chakra.  It is also an easy chakra to close. Kabbalah teaches that students who have mastered Tiferet – the heart of the Tree of Life and the sephirah (energy center) of love – can then teach themselves.

The heart has profound effects not only on the brain but also on the journey of the soul.

 

The soul’s language is learned by listening with the heart. It has many sounds including that of silence. Its eloquence is universal.

  

The rational mind often gets in the way of what the heart must embrace in order to coax the soul to open.

What is not sought by the heart, do not seek. What is not given with the heart do not offer. What is not received with the heart do not take in…

When the heart is muffled the soul shrinks.

“To awaken the heart is to awaken the dormant soul.”            M. Gandhi

“Only love can generate the healing fire.” Agnes Sanford

To be a powerful healer one must love everyone no matter what the healer thinks of them. This is love as a commitment, not necessarily a feeling or a sentiment. One also need not like them or have anything more to do with them other than giving them a helping hand in that present moment. In other words –  “Namaste” – I see the divinity in you. We all are made in the image of the Divine and even the worst of us, have a spark of divinity within us – hidden or not.

 

God’s love does not seek worth, God’s love creates worth.

God is not a test of love, God’s love is not a test.

 

The Creators loves us all as well as all of the other Beings of nature. The Creator continues to love us in spite of our failings. This love is unconditional - karma, however, is conditional. The Infinite One will forgive us for anything we have done to our Higher Selves made in the Creator’s image but not what we have done to our fellow humans. For that we must seek their forgiveness. Giving forgiveness and asking for forgiveness is a loving energy which heals both ourselves and others.

 

If the law does not serve love do not serve the law.

 

The Ancestors do not tell us to disobey the law because the penalties could be spiritually counterproductive. We do not serve an unjust law if we have right thoughts, intent and opinions even if we cannot do anything about it. During these crazy times the only recourse we may have is to vote or protest in some non-harmful way and hope for the best. Do not depend on the hope of results - love anyway.

You cannot control results only your actions.

You cannot control outcomes only your choices.

Our guides on the other side of the veil in the Astral loose their free will. The only way they can exercise their intent is through the free will of a living loved one or another one chosen for them. In this way they can do service and complete work they never did in their previous life times. They love us and it is a loving gesture to help them by allowing them to help us. This requires our permission, we have to ask to receive because free will is a cosmic law. In this way we lift them up and in a sense they come alive again. Love is the catalyst that allows them to cross the veil between worlds and send their messages of support. When we show gratitude for what they do we also manifest love and we enhance their love for us.

 

You will come from doubt to belief,

from belief to understanding, 

from understanding to knowing, 

from knowing to feeling (being heart-felt - loving)

This is the way.

Determine well your heart’s desire for in releasing your intention its energy will affect its holiness or unholiness.

 

If one studies the fallen gurus, yogis, priests, shamans etc. we can see that they usually had profound knowledge, understanding and wisdom of spiritual principles but when they achieved complete control over their devotees they became heartless. They became corrupted by either power, position, persona, pride, fame or greed. Many manipulated and abused their students financially, physically, mentally, spiritually and sexually. They commonly used autocratic techniques by making their followers believe that only they served the truth and could show you the way to God and it was to be followed absolutely. Many deviated downward from the heart chakra to the power chakra of ego and totally lost the love vibration. They and others with profound spiritual knowledge who abuse their power will be held to a much higher standard than the rest of us.

 To those to whom much is given, much is expected.

Among all who possess great wisdom only those who act wisely, act from love. If study and prayer do not serve justice and compassion they are but a conceit and a hollow sound.

 It is easy to become reattached to the third chakra and loose the way because of all the enticements of unmitigated power. Power corrupts and complete power corrupts completely.

Love embraces compassion, empathy and forgiveness.

We need to be compassionate with those younger souls who maybe further back along the spiritual spiral than we are. We may have been even worse in prior lifetimes.

 

“We are all climbing toward the summit of our heart’s desires. Should the other climber steal your sack and your purse and wax fat on the one and heavy on the other, you should pity him. The climbing will be harder for his flesh and the burden will make his way longer. And should you in your leanness see his flesh puffing upward, help him in a step; it will add to your swiftness.” Anonymous

 

“Love heals people… both the ones who give and the ones who receive it.” Karl Menninger

 

The Ancestors expand on the teaching – love your neighbor as yourself – and say that this may not always fit the person you are attending. That individual may not want to be loved in the way that you love yourself. Rather we should rather love them as they would like to be loved without enabling them. 

This applies especially to those close to us, those whom you do not intend to walk away from afterwards. To them the Ancestors urge; of love, be a little more careful.  For the rest, as Jesus taught ; “turn the other cheek” – rather than losing our power to them, walk away, take the high road unless they are doing us physical harm or even better still make of your opponent a dance partner.

Love nurtures you, gives you safe haven but you decide, you choose, you are responsible. The consequences are yours. There is wisdom; there is folly; there is love; there is lust; there is surrender; there is willfulness.

We do not "fall" in love we "grow" in love. It is easy to confuse romantic love with true love when the feeling may be lust arising out of good chemistry early on in the relationship. It is said that we cannot mess with chemistry but chemistry can mess with us. Romantic love usually lasts about a year depending on the chemistry. This is when we project our needs onto the other and convince ourselves they are being met. Often they are being met in a contrived, insincere way so as not to lose the chemistry. After a year - more or less - we begin to get a reality check about who are partner truly is as they do of us.

If we can love fully many of the other requirements of karma come into play naturally, notably.

Correct injustice – heal the planet.

Do no harm to any of the Four Beings of Nature.

Subordinate ego to the higher Self.

Having joy and gratitude.

 

But I say to you; deeds of love are worth as much as all the commandments of the law… not learning but doing (service) is the main thing.” Talmud

 

“Love implies generosity, care, not to hurt another, not to make them feel guilty, to be generous, courteous, and behave in such a manner that your words and thoughts are born out of compassion.” Krishnamurti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KARMA #4

Judgment and having Joy, the other factors that determine our karma

Judgment 

Never judge in a condemnatory way, never with disavowing and lack of love. 

You must support emotionally without condoning.

 

The judgment of the 99 neither validates nor invalidates the worth of the one.

The many and the few do not speak to value – only to popularity.

Popularity is not to be equated with value.

 

With social media, popularity is now evaluated by how many “friends” one has and how many “likes” one gets, when many have not even met these friends – good or bad. Some are getting depressed and are even suicidal about the opinions of others that; “cannot even find the door to their own lives.”

 

“When you talk to people do not "weigh," a soul that weighs suffers harm.” Talmud

When you no longer need to be right, the purity of your soul will shine through.

 

Slander and gossip are a toxic consequence of judgment. The Talmud adds that when you slander you “kill” (the souls) of three people; yourself, the one (or ones) that are listening and whoever is getting character assassinated.

There is a story about a rabbi in a small ghetto in Eastern Europe who one day was seen taking groceries from a stall in the market. The attendant was not there and an observer noted that he left without paying. He spread the rumor to the community that their rabbi was a thief. The rabbi was removed from his position and from that time on had to earn a subsistence living, cutting and delivering wood. On one occasion the person who spread the rumor saw the rabbi burdened under a load of wood and felt sympathy for him. He went to the hovel that was now his home to make amends. When the rabbi opened the door, he told him that he was sorry for what had happened and related the story of the unpaid groceries. The rabbi was upset that he had not come first to tell him what he had seen. He explained that the stall belonged to his son in law who gave him permission to take food whenever he wanted.

The congregant felt terrible and asked what could he do to reverse the damage. The rabbi suggested he write a letter about the mistake and take it to a nearby hill on a windy day, tear it into as many pieces as he could and then throw it into the wind. The congregant was exuberant and thanked the rabbi profusely. The rabbi then added; “But, I am not finished. Now you need to go and pick up every piece of paper and then the damage will be repaired.”

Sometimes the judgments we make that cause harm will have karmic consequences that are onerous that we cannot even imagine. The rules of accountability beyond the veil are much more severe than on the earth plane.

 

“Judge not that you not be judged, for what measure you judge, you will be judged, 

and for what measure you mete, it will be measured to you again.” Matthew

 

This man would be responsible to the extent of the measure that he had meted out to his rabbi with all its implications.

When we judge we may gossip, slander and character assassinate or covet what someone else has. Covetousness may lead one to want what someone else has or prevent them from getting what they want or even destroy what they already have. Hence the commandment; “do not covet your neighbor or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Witchcraft and Sorcery arise from a heart of envy and are the ultimate evil rendered by covetousness.

 

“Never judge another human until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.” Native American proverb

 

“Actions arise from conditions. Do not judge then the former until the latter is well understood. If you have eaten what the judged one has eaten, and worn his clothes, and thought his thoughts, and felt both his joy and pain then you may say you have stood in his place but only briefly compared to the length of his stay. So still you may not know the past or present plights that plague him. 
Our judgments are frequently fraught with error and usually tainted with arrogance. Compassion and love are our salvation and joy.” Hillel

 

We would not be able to see fault in another unless it was already part of our own shadow. When we judge, and point fingers at another there are often three fingers pointing back at us. We project our shadow onto others so that our Egos can feel better about our little selves.

 

“When you see a worthy person endeavor to emulate him, when you see an unworthy person then examine your inner self.” Confucius

 

It is challenging not to judge – discernment and discrimination may help us to take our judgments to a sweeter level. The Ancestors teach us to "sweeten our judgments." It is very difficult not to judge. We should judge the action and not the person. We all have the potential for the divinity within us. Maybe we can temper our judgments with kinder words such as he is different, she is intense ...

Joy

Sometimes I go about pitying myself and all the time I am being carried on great winds across the sky.” Ojibway

 

Joy has a different flavor to it than happiness. Joy is an exuberant, sometimes almost ecstatic feeling found in the present moment. Some folks are naturally joyful, most of us, not so much except, in special circumstances. Happiness has many synonyms: Serenity, Well Being, Equanimity, Harmony, Balance, Inner Peace, Connection, Belonging, Meaning…

 

Cleanse the lens, adjust the focus, rid what clutters and impedes.
Shed and shie what keeps the soul from joy.

 

Remember that you are made not for brokenness and sorrow but for wholeness and for joy.

 

“In the song of the rushing torrent hold onto the joyful assurance: I will become the sea. And this is not a vain supposition, it is absolute humility because it is the truth.” Tagore

 

“A truly wise person is always joyful. The best way to live joyfully is to believe that life was given for joy. When joy disappears, look for your mistake.”

Tolstoy

 

We need to find equanimity in amongst the play of light and dark. 

Father Toomy teaches that serenity means being active and aware. It is something that requires our attention and our effort. Rare are those who live in joy, for most of us it is about serenity et al...

 

“Serenity is not a passive condition but an undisturbed peace of mind, active and aware. This can also be quiet joy, sometimes ecstatic joy, always deep within spirit and light of heart.”  Father Toomy

 

We need to be able to coexist with the profane around us without being discouraged. The temptation is to give up hope and be influenced by the challenges in the ebb and flow of life which may seem to be getting worse day by day. We must resist going to the dark side when there is just as much and even more light around us – if we look for it. The dark side is more vocal, so it has the appearance of being in the majority which is not always true. Sometimes they "doth protest too much" because the dark does not want to be overwhelmed by the sacred. 

Avoid too much social media, T.V. and toxic movies. A regular meaningful spiritual practice, done almost daily and also whenever needed is essential for maintaining harmony and balance in today's world.

 

“Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin“ 

Joshua Heschel

 

We need to be able to savor the moments between the evil and good,  the light and the dark, striving to coexist with the negative or profane but not to assimilate it. It is not easy, spiritual practice can save us.

 

“Savor! Give yourselves to savoring, even the doubting, even the struggling. Savor it all. You are only to savor it to be worthy of it. It is the way of actualizing.” Father Toomey

Be careful of what you touch, what touches you, and where you immerse.

 

We are given the gift of being in a sensory body which we lose when the soul travels to the light after death. We need to appreciate, have gratitude and be responsible for that special gift which is temporary.

Ingratitude; “a, horrible and unnatural 
crime...” David Hume

“Gratitude is the moral memory of humankind.” G. Simmel 

Gratitude is synonymous with happiness and is a form of prayer.

 

Attend to your well-being especially happiness which is

sometimes found in hidden recesses always in

gratitude.

 

Your gifts are only gifts if you find them thus to be – your heart makes them so. Be grateful and you will be happy. Happiness leads to great empowerment.

Spacious mind is about gratitude and joy. Narrow mind is about acquisitiveness.

 

There is no joy as transforming as the joy of gratitude.

 

Where there is gratitude there is light.

Next week we will talk about the last essential karmic requirement - Love

KARMA #3 

The next overriding principles determining our karma and which challenge our free will are: 

Subordinate Ego to the Higher Self.

Practice Love.

Be in Joy and savor the opportunity of being in a sentient body and of fulfilling one’s task or mission.

SUBORDINATE EGO TO THE HIGHER SELF 

(Ego’s Triad on the Tree of Life)

All must be done for its own sake, not for reason of an outcome.
All is a journey not a destination and it is a continual arriving.

We need to do things for their own sake and not because of any ego driven agenda – hidden or otherwise. If rewards were always immediate there would be a huge incentive to always perform correctly because of the gratification we would expect from our actions. We would be no better than a well trained animal driven with a Pavlovian response.

Karma depends not only on what we do but how we do it, why we do it and how we feel about it. If the last is grudgingly or because it benefits us only materially there will be a karmic consequence or it will be karmically neutral. 

Although all three below are derived from ego and overlap, it is helpful to distinguish between them.

 

1. Ego or self-Cherishing

2. Desirous Attachment

3. Judgment

 

Ego – self Cherishing the Persona

 

“God cannot be realized if there is the slightest trace of pride.”  

The Upanishads

 

The search for the Real, True or Higher Self or soul is at the core of all spiritual motivation whether we know about it or not or do anything about it or not. We are made in the image of the Divine. The Higher Self or Soul cannot be realized in the presence of a dominant ego.

 

“To know the real Self to be one’s own is the greatest attainment… To know wrongly the non-self, such as the ego, to be the Self is no attainment at all. One therefore should denounce this perception of taking the non-self for the Self.”

Sri Sankaracharya

 

Ego (together with Monkey Mind and the Shadow) get in the way of our connection with the Higher Self.

 

Do you listen with your heart or are you hearing with your ego. The possible peril is not a punishment, it is a consequence. Choice is not enough, action must follow.

Intent, willingness, openness and trust – if you want it all you must offer all.

 

Although Ego is necessary for self-mastery there comes a time when it gets in the way of spiritual growth. Non-Attachment to the ego is commendable - attachment to the search for the Self or one’s soul is essential. Attachments to Ego, Desirous Attachment or Judgment will become the conditions for tying us more adherently to the "yolk of ego" and inheriting more lifetimes.

 

The challenge is relief from ego, how to be free from its tyranny.

The way is relief from ego, surrendering and releasing one’s instinct for protection and cultural conditioning; subduing its tyranny but with respectful and grateful acknowledgement for its appropriate worth. The “prize” – the place of arrival – is relief from ego and a true sense of the pleasure of its place.

 

Jung doubted that the Western Mind could ever truly get rid of Ego. It seems only possible fleetingly in the Oneness Experience or Unity Consciousness when the Knower, the Known and the process of Knowing fuse into one thing. Maslow called this a Peak Experience which occurred among other things during childbirth, orgasm, unravelling a scientific mystery, extreme sporting escapades, partaking in drugs or entheogens, while dancing (when one becomes the dance,)  in nature and other circumstances. It cannot be anticipated and usually comes for most of us through grace. 

“In the samadhi that comes at the end of reasoning and discrimination no such thing as “I” exists but it is extremely difficult to attain as “I” consciousness lingers so persistently. This is why humans are born again and again.” Sri Rama Krishna

 

Whatever the stimulus, this ecstasy or rapture is temporary and we soon return back into a sense of duality. The challenge is to be aware of this duality and still see the divinity and our oneness with others.

 

God does not measure results, only the trueness of intent and the fervor of effort. This is why there is such joy in daring one’s best.

If God were after numbers he would have made the way to him abundantly apparent and attractive – enticingly so, ego free and forever lasting. And of course, S/He has also granted us our own lens for seeing and our own will for choosing what we see.

 

“The Light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed… the shadow of shadows, on the deed alone.” W.B. Yeats

 

Doing things for their own sake and without any personal agenda is the crux of ego subordination. Our deeds must be done for the greater good without consideration of any reward or pay back. 

 

 Desirous Attachment

“More possessions – more worry.

More generosity – more peace.

There is nothing wrong with possessions, only to being possessed by them.” Hillel

 

There are many guises of ego's self-cherishing, desirous attachments which are often driven by greed: 

These include; Pride, Prestige, Possessions, Fame and Power. There is nothing wrong with desire but being attached to the object of our desire is a negative attribute that fulfills only temporary satisfaction or entertainment. Concerning power we see this more and more with the rise of autocratic power in the world today and yesterday. 

“There is no room for God in him who is full of himself. The sages tell us concerning the proud man; God says; “I and s/he cannot dwell together in the world.” Talmud

Until you empty yourselves of pride God cannot be realized.

As fame can enslave, so can the costs of money impoverish. Make sure the need is worth the price. To overpay can rob the Self.

“By attributing worth to tangible objects humans becomes attracted to them; attraction brings desire for them; desire leads to competition and dispute. These create anger and the result is delusion. Delusion completely overcomes man’s sense of right and wrong.” Srimad Bhagavata

"Power corrupts and complete power corrupt completely."   Lord Acton

 

Given full power, greed becomes an enslaver of the greedy – fear becomes first a bully, then a torturer and then a killer.  

 

“Nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man’s character give him power.” A. Lincoln

The ego is never satisfied, the more it gets the more it wants. 

“Greed is not stilled with money any more than thirst with salt water.” Ksemendra

Karmic merit arises out of spiritual transformation. Attachment to the latter is much harder than attachment to "stuff." We are given the challenge of being in a sentient body and more than ever, the boundless temptations of technology and the hypnosis of ubiquitous materialism. Steve Jobs once instructed his employees that their task at Apple was not to give people what they needed but to tell them what they wanted. Many entrepreneurs follow this mantra. 

Non-Attachment is not the same as detachment which implies denial, resignation, desperation, a giving up, rather than a giving in to a higher vibration and something much bigger than oneself.

 

Concerning detachment, one of its paths leads to a lifeless world without enthusiasm or hope, a place of indifference where one could become ensnared in hidden traps of dejection and despair, where one no longer cares to love nor dares to trust.

 

The Ancestors teach that ulterior motives are greatly under-rated. It is good to donate money in order to build a hospital or anything else that can help humanity but if it is attached to an agenda it may be karmically neutral. It is better to give charity – even if it is to get our face in the media or for a tax deduction - than not to give it, but the act may not have spiritual merit depending on our intent. 

 

Emperor Wu asked, “I’ve built temples and ordained monastics; what merit is there in this?”
Bodhidharma replied, “No merit.”

“Give up owning things and being somebody. Quit existing.” Rumi

 

Rumi is telling us to attend to our needs and not our wants, to keep it simple. It is the want that is our enemy and not the need. Desire is normal but attachment to it is not transformative unless it's about the desire for “Becoming” more spiritually of who we truly are. “Being somebody” speaks to attachment to one's persona.

 

“Behind my work was ambition, behind my love was personality, behind my purity was fear, behind my guidance the thirst for power. Now they are vanishing and I drift. I come Mother, I come, in your warm bosom – floating where-ever you take me – in the voiceless, in the strange, in the wonderland. I come a spectator, No more an actor.”   Swami Vivekananda

 

Having to maintain stuff gets in the way of our spiritual work. Simplifying our lives and getting rid of attachments leaves more time and energy for inner rather than outer work.

 

There is always enough as long as one is free from the compulsion for more. Narrow mind is about having – Spacious mind is about being.

 

“  … Abundance is not an achievement of the acquisitive but rather a legacy of the perceptive – a realization of plenty – not an acquiring of more – a delight not a desire.” Hillel

 

Of all the teachings of the sages some most agreed upon as being both fundamental and elemental were those about abundance and delight.

 

Desirous Attachment is antithetical to the principle of impermanence. We cannot take “it” with us. At the end of the day the only thing we can take is our karma and how we dealt with our experiences.

Moreover, material attachments can hamper the soul’s journey during transition after death causing the spirit to either become earth bound (lost between the worlds) or to inherit a lower vibration in the Astral.

The only things that live on are love, truth and the soul.