Oneness

Within the spiritual community there is a great deal of discussion about Oneness.  My most favorite book is titled that. I notice that everyone I hear or read, human or channeled, has the same description with very little variation. The only explanation is that we are all connected together in Oneness. blah, blah, blah. Nice words and everyone nicely nod their heads in agreement. Then there is the analogy of the drop of water in the ocean. An individual is that drop, that part of the ocean, a part of all in the oneness.


That's all nice. But something about it always bugged me. I felt it was simplistic and everyone says the same thing in explanation, which still feels incomplete. Of course, one factor is that some people can easily get the idea that they will lose their identity of self and, furthermore, that is a good thing to do so. I don't think people want to go there. I certainly don't. I suppose when you get very close to Creator, that urge for merging into the ultimate Oneness might be desirable and preferable, but we are so far from that concept it isn't worth considering, let alone choosing.

I've mentioned this dilemma often in groups, but I seem to be alone in my quandary. Most say nothing, but those that do, want me to give up my fight and surrender to the concept. I have it backward they say; we are all connected and my problem isn't oneness, it is the separation I feel.

I think they confuse my passion for a question to be a personal angst. My issue is not in the concept and the connection with all, it is the inadequacy of our language and it appears no one wishes to make the concept better. In my gut I feel the explanation is incomplete!!!

EUREKA! I found it!! In meditation early this morning a simple little change fixes everything. The metaphor of the drop in the ocean is incomplete. We are not simply a drop in the ocean, just like every other drop and part of the whole in Oneness. Oh, we are, indeed that, but so much more. Don't look at ourselves as part of the whole, but rather the whole is within us! All of the strength and power and wisdom of the whole ocean is, indeed, within our drop. We are that powerful. We are God. We are Creator. All of that strength is indeed within each one of us.
Our society has minimized each of our lives so that we consider ourselves to be insignificant - nothing more than a drop of water in the ocean. So the spiritual effort is to say "We are not alone. We are all connected together in Oneness. Isn't that nice, our sense of separation is wrong, for we, and all of nature, are connected.". That has made my gut say it is incomplete. While that says each person is not shit, I will say NO. FAR FROM IT. YOU ARE GOD. YOU ARE SO POWERFUL YOU CAN CREATE A UNIVERSE. YOU CREAT EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE IN THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE. THAT IS AMAZING. STAND UP AND RECOGNIZE HOW POWERFUL YOU ARE. YOU CREATE. YOU CREATE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU MIGHT DESIRE.

Whew. So Oneness isn't wrong. But from where we are in our 3rd density existence it points us in the right direction but doesn't go far enough. Oh, I'm sure many will say that they know all of this, but my experience of the Oneness discussions does not reveal the fantastic, most important elements of the concept. Don't just think that we are part of o whole, but that the whole is in us. A small rearrangement in words, but a fantastic rearrangement in thinking. Oneness! We are Oneness! All together. We are God. We are Creator. We are One.
And I Love You.
The Old Monk

Enlightenment and The Illusion

At our Common Thread meeting last evening, we had a delightful speaker, Charlie Day, who spoke to us of Buddhaism, meditation, and enlightenment.  Charlie had a wonderful presence about him and a great joy for his topic. One thing I notice about the spiritual path is that a great many people treat it as very serious. Either that or they are naturally very serious people. But I suspect people have a preconceived idea that an enlightened person has no personality or that if they are void of judgments (which is a goal), then they must also be void of personality or joy. If that is the case, then I have no interest in enlightenment, nor will I emulate what people think to be enlightened and lose my humor. My intent is to be Zorba The Buddha and to have a delightful time destroying stereotypes. But Charlie didn't lose his joy or humor at all, and I find that very, very refreshing. He also coined the phrase "Buddha Babble" is priceless and one I intend to use quite often from now on.

He spent a fair amount of time discussing the illusion of life that the ego uses to run rampant.  My paraphrasing may be off, but one point he made was that the ego cannot comprehend that which created it (which is, of course, the illusion itself).  That sound cute; I like it, even though it sound a bit like Buddha Babble.

Also recently, at a Saturday morning bullshit discussion, a friend, Tom Porter, also brought up the illusion concept........ Everything is an illusion that we create, so nothing really matters as a consequence..... I hear that a lot and read it even more, but I'll tell you, it sure feels real.  And as I play the game within the illusion, I have to write my mortgage check every month and watch my bank balance tumble to the point I have to scramble occasionally, while at the same time intending not to give it too much energy to attract more of the same, which doesn't matter, because everything is perfect as it is, and if any distress is brought to your attention, it is that you created it and need to release it within the illusion which doesn't matter anyway so chill out. Blah, blah, fucking blah!  I've not gotten too many comments from people on this blog. Probably, because I write arrogantly with no room for discent. Not my intent, though.  And I would like to think I can consider other opinions. So call out bullshit if you see it. And help me resolve the illusion/reality issue. Regardless, I love you.

The Old Monk 

ps: I've added Charlie's web site to my links at the left.  And if you don't know The Common Thread, their link is there also.

November, 2010 Election Results

I'm Back!!
A good friend, Barbara, asked me recently why I wasn't blogging and my answer was weak. So with some self-analysis, along with her suggestion to branch out on my topics (spiritual or otherwise), I have some fresh energy.

My focus from now on will be topics that excite my emotions and new thinking. So we'll see if I can be interesting. Topic #1: The mid-term election last week. I could have been miffed by the republicans winning, but I am not. I just see all of it as just more of the same ol', same ol'. They are becoming more and more polarized, which we should expect leading up to 2011 and 2012. One channelling I read recently said that it doesn't matter because all will be replaced by spiritually advanced souls with our new higher vibration world. Until then, of course, absolutely nothing will get done politically because both sides are more and more entrenched. The republicans by thinking they have a mandate and the democrats by being reactionary to the republican arrogance. Sigh.

But one item was tougher for me to release. Probably because I suspect I had been a gay monk many times in previous lives, or maybe a current life issue to release. But the vote on the Supreme Court retention was so disheartening. I can argue both sides of almost any political or philosophical issue - abortion, welfare, war, etc. But the argument against gay rights has absolutely no rational other than simply fear. I will discuss this in length in a future post.

A dear, dear friend of mine is a lesbian and I knew she would be heartsick with the result. In fact, she did stay home from work the next day, because of the issue. So, since I knew how she felt and also to help me deal with the disappointment, I wrote her an email which I copied to all my spiritual contacts in my email address book. Apparently, some friends liked it, so I am printing it below. Enjoy.

Hi Love,

A couple comments.

#1 every day more and more of the older people transition. The people who cannot embrace change and, therefore, fight for the care-free life their imagination had when they were children. Of course, not all older people are like this, but it is a common characteristic of age and fatigue.

#2 every day young people are waking up and looking at the world beyond their own personal life issues. The young people may very well grow old and intransigent, but their world is far broader that the one of 2-3 generations older.

So we have change continuously through our years and every now and then we get a marker to see how far we have come. We had some of those over the last few years, principally the Obama vote and the Iowa Supreme Court decision. What happened yesterday was not a marker, because broad society did not answer the question. People under 30 don’t understand this as a question while the old can’t stretch their thinking. This will change daily, daily, daily. In a short time (even without the immense vibrational changes) this will be a non-issue. You and I just need patience.

Which brings me to the next point. The universe always gives us the right answer if we are simply listening. I am, once again, reading my book, “oneness” and this morning I read the attached 3 pages. You are most likely more evolved than I, but I was shown what I can look forward to in my growth. Once I can transcend the automatic knee jerk response to the people and situations that I created for me. And recognize it is not forgiveness but a transcendence to my attachment to the outcome. Easy to think – tougher to say to you now – and still tougher to do. Well, we’re works in progress, right?

I love you. We’ll get there.
Love, Stevie

Peace and Love are getting stronger and stronger every single day. I feel it as are most spiritual people I talk to. As I said above, we'll get there.

Love and blessings to all, always.
The Old Monk

The Tree of Life

SOMETIMES I THINK AS I WRITE AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS WELL BAKED. THAT'S WHAT I THING OF THIS FOLLOWING POST - IT'S A LITTLE HALF-BAKED. THE IDEA IS GOOD, BUT THE METAPHOR GOES A LITTLE TOO FAR. I DON'T LIKE IT VERY MUCH ANYMORE, BUT I'M NOT DELETING IT - PROBABLY FOR DISCUSSION FODDER AS TO WHICH PARTS ARE WEAK. THANKS, ALL. LOVE, ALWAYS. The Old Monk, 11/12/10.

It seems most if not all civilizations on earth have held a metaphor of “The Tree of Life”. Here is my version:

All of us on earth live beneath a Tree of Life. It is huge, covering all of us easily and completely. Its branches are beautiful and overflowing with all the nourishment we would ever want. To make our story easy, it is an apple tree with perfect fruit easily within an arm’s reach to pick whenever we wish. It is always full and ripe; there is no season without perfect tasty apples ready for us. We all live together under this magnificent Tree of Life, and there are many types of people:

Some people enjoy their days doing whatever interests them. When they are hungry, they reach up, grab an apple, and eat it right there. They know the Tree will always be there and the fruit will always be available and their lives are complete.

Some people don’t know the tree is there (maybe this is most people). Their heads are constantly down and they eat the fruit they find on the ground. Sometimes they get a perfect ripe apple. Sometimes it may be more rotten.

Some people have crafted a basket and pick apples to put into the basket. They don’t need all of the apples now, but they accumulate them anyway for a variety of reasons:

• They may be afraid that a season of drought will occur, or
• They wish to share with their friends, or
• They see people who are crippled in one way or another and cannot reach a branch or don’t know how to reach one. These people share from their basket.
  

Some people go to great effort to create large canvas bags in which they can put many, many apples. Some of these bags are so large they are too heavy to be moved, so the person sits and guards the bag so it is not stolen by anyone else. These people are often like those with baskets sharing a small portion with friends or those who cannot reach the branches. Usually these bags have apples that are so old in the bottom of the bag that they are rotten and putrid, but the bag owner doesn’t notice this.

Some people, as we have mentioned above, may be crippled physically or mentally and are unable to reach the fruit. Some of these see the fruit, some don’t. Some rail at their situation, sitting and screaming demanding help that they sometimes get and sometimes not. So often they eat the rotten fruit on the ground. Some see the problem and build ramps and towers for them and others like them to be able to reach the branches. Of course, both types of people do get help from the basket people and the bag people and others.

Some people see the branches and can reach them, but choose not to. They go to the basket people and bag people and sometimes the crippled ramp people trying to get apples from them. Sometimes that works and when it doesn’t, they pick fruit that may be under-ripe or over-ripe from the branches that are closest to where they are at the moment. Or they eat the rotten fruit on the ground.

Some people see the fruit and want it, but they don’t believe they are smart enough to pick the fruit or think they are not worthy to have something a luscious as a fresh apple off the tree. So they eat the rotten fruit on the ground.

Some people are clever and talk to those who consider themselves unworthy or not smart. The clever people say, “I will take care of you and I will make you worthy, so I give you permission to pick the apples if you give me one apple for every two that you pick. Just put it into my canvas bag. But if you don’t pick enough apples fast enough, I will demand that you give me two apples for every three you pick.”

You see where I am going with this story. I am sure you can think of many other types of people who also live under the tree. And please don't dissect my examples too critically. I have consciously not labeled each type of activity with a name, for that particular judgment lends itself to harsher judgments. There are many motivations for each activity. We are all learning and experiencing as we go along under this Wonderful Tree.

So what’s my point? It doesn’t have to be hard. If we all picked from the Tree as we need it, we would all get along, we would all be happy, and we can experience what we want to when we want to. Or we could all have baskets and share. Wouldn’t that be wonderful. That option is available to us. The Universe really is like that Tree of Life. Full of abundance. Full of everything you might want to experience without pain or discomfort. We just need to open our eyes, look up, and KNOW that the Tree is there. Well, we’re looking and I love all of us for it.

The Old Monk