Pointing To The Moon

All the Buddhist texts talk about duality...

"All the Buddhist texts talk about duality," Gil said. "Can you explain this to me?"

Hamid had become more preoccupied by Oy, who had stopped to photograph the paw prints of a large tiger that had preceeded us toward the pass...

Gil persisted. "Does it mean that whatever we see is actually taking place inside our heads and therefore does not really exist?"

"Something like that," Hamid responded... "Buddhist philosophy reveals that what appears as external and self-existing is ultimately a function of consciousness; it has not inherent existence. To say that reality is nondual doesn't mean that all is illusion, but that appearances arise in conjunction with our perception. When we recognize that perception dictates our reality, the forces of greed, anger, and delusion lessen and we attain a freer responsiveness to the events around us."

"You mean we don't get attached?"

"Right, we just recognize them as the play of consciousness, a kind of virtual reality. This isn't just artful fantasy," Hamid continued. "Science recognizes the same thing; that reality does not exist separately from our perception."

"So what's real then?" Gil asked. "Just this collective and intersecting delusion?"

"No," Hamid answered. "That's the whole point of Buddhism--to wake up from this collective dream and to recognize that there are no inherent boundaries between external reality and the circuitry of consciousnessness. If we could live in full awareness of this nondual reality, there would no longer be any basis for alienation, greed, anger, fear, and all the other mental poisons that Buddhism speaks about. We would take responsibility for our own perceptions and begin to work with them, in full consciousness of our interconnectedness with other beings." -- a conversation from The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place, by Ian Baker

direct experience

I don't normally include astrology here. This isn't about astrology per se:

"Sag is an inspiring fire sign, giving you the enthusiasm to convert others to your side or to take on the Great Books. Just be aware that any conventional course of study or travel plan will be upset by the planet of surprises and left turns. If you attempt to spread the Word, your message may come across as shocking or jarring ... or maybe you'll try to proselytize a familiar message, only to be disrupted by someone who challenges your belief system.

After all, Uranus is in Pisces. Sagittarius governs world religions, major schools of philosophy, higher education ... the Big Ideas. Sag[ittarius] trades in theories and opinions and belief systems, whereas Pisces chucks it all out the window and goes for direct experience of the Divine. What good are ideas, if they hold you back from connecting directly with the Source? You can talk and write about God, or you can just surrender to Him or Her.

Which would you choose?" - Jeffrey Kishner

The Right Question

My comment on Curt Rosengren's review of The Right Questions on 800-CEO-READ blog.

Thanks Curt. I really liked Ford's book as well. On a moment to moment action basis, I find it helps to simplify even further as I can't juggle ten questions in my mind. I noticed she had two choices for each question, and so I boil it down to just these two choices within one question: Is this an act that affirms my highest Self or an act that affirms my Ego?

"A Native American Elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: 'Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.' When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, 'The one I feed the most."