The FREEDOM Blog

Resting in quietness. So little to do or say. The winter calls into deep chasms of peace, With no regard for the rest. Nothing to seek Nothing to attain to Nothing even to Be Absolute Presence Absolute Absence Unborn Eternally Unborn

As you can probably see, we've changed the name from Atma Enlightenment Blog to The Freedom Blog. The reasons for this are several: 1. To far too many people, the term enlightenment has too much charge or meaning associated with it. In India, the term is referred to as mukti or moksha, which literally mean to be free, released... i.e. freedom. 2. Enlightenment (or the concept of it) has an either/or quality to it - you are or you aren't, and while there is some truth to that, it is more involved than a simple dichotomy, and again goes back to that charge or association of the concept. 3. Freedom entails much more. The basic principle of freedom (or enlightenment) is letting go of ALL concepts, habitual patterns, beliefs, etc. and that includes those associated with living in the world via body, mind, intellect, and so forth. Enlightenment, in concept, generally means a non-dual REALization, a true recognition that there is only ONE thing going on here. By it's nature, the

"The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off. " Gloria Steinem Since the last email/blog I have received quite a lot of responses. - in fact, probably the most responses I've ever received. And rather than being negative, or people asking to be taken off the list (only received 1 of those), people were very supportive. If anything, I felt that people were and are angry, confused, or feeling hopeless, but in many cases, perhaps felt badly about that anger, and wondered what benefit it had, and what they could do. So first, I'd like to reprint something which just came in my mail in the most recent issue of LA Yoga Magazine, Andrew Harvey (author of The Divine Feminine, Teachings of Rumi, etc.) said in an interview: "The patriarchal mystical systems have demonized anger, because they are terrified of the potential deranging force that it can unleash. But they're also terrified of the ways in which outrage can lead to a fundamental readjustment

"To think deeply in our culture is to grow angry and to anger others; ad if you cannot tolerate this anger, you are wasting the time you spend thinking deeply. One of the rewards of deep thought is the hot glow of anger at discovering a wrong, but if anger is taboo, thought will starve to death." Jules Henry I recently found the above quote in the book, Walking on Water by Derrick Jensen. If you don't know about him, you should. There are a number of Youtubes, and he has quite a few books out. The only one I've read is the above, but I'm enjoying it. What is Derrick Jensen about? The end of civilization. Me too! Not too long ago, a friend said he looked down on the city and said to himself, "This isn't going anywhere." But I disagree. See this link as proof: http://survivalacres.com/wordpress/?p=716 The Link mentions how they burried a car 50 years ago and would go to whoever could guess (back then) how many people would be living in Tulsa in the

  What DOES it mean to be human? Virtually everything that you have learned is wrong. It is NOT your fault. The problem is, nearly everything you learn has somebody's agenda behind it, very often the obvious ones of making money, etc., but very often hidden. This is why our western society is so very sick. We are taught about political, social, cultural, gender, and religious correctnesses. We are NOT taught about HUMAN correctness. We are told we should follow the laws of the government, but not the universal laws. We are told we should follow the "correct-ness" laws, but not the human laws. We believe we can make up the human laws. We can not!   The largest organ of the body is the skin. In a grown man, it covers about 19 square feet and weighs about 8 pounds. A piece of skin the size of a quarter contains more than 3 million cells, 100 to 340 sweat glands, 50 nerve endings and 3 feet of blood vessels.  Many people are aware of research done with monkeys not allowed

Greetings once again... In the last blog (which you should read before this one) we talked about the Box Game. YOU (consciousness) enters into the 'Box', also known as 'you' (the body, mind, memories, concepts, etc.), which it then identifies with. However, strictly on the material level, it continues even further - just to give you a clue of how little you probably understand of who or what you are. So it looks like this (sort of) YOU - the Absolute you (Box) - the person-hood, per-sona, actor, fiction within the material world and the new one (note the quotes) "you" This last entity "you" neither YOU nor you are probably even aware of. "You" is the corporate entity that is functioning within the governmental society. It is the one which has a social security number, a drivers license, votes, makes $$$, pays taxes, etc. You can generally tell when 'you' receives mail because instead of being addressed to Joe P. Citizen, it will b

Okay... Let's play a game. First, a few terms and ground rules, or something: ------------------ Terms: you (or You if beginning a sentence) - That which most people think they are, i.e. their body, their mind, their emotions, the whole Per-Sona or personality thing. YOU (still YOU if beginning a sentence) - That which is observing the above.... Awareness, Consciousness, Self, the Seer, the Witness, Atman, etc. Box - Basically another term for 'you' (see above terms), and/or for any of the other personalities out there. ------------------------------ Rules: There may not be any rules. You have to decide. You see, this is the question which has been perplexing thinkers (and completely over the head of non-thinkers) for millenia. Okay, so it looks something like this: There is a box, in fact, countless billions of boxes. They are all part of the game, and in the game - they ARE the game. Awareness, (YOU) then drops into these boxes and pretends to be that box (much like you m

I'm not sure where this came from, but recently I, or someone has been referring to me as Buzzkill Baba. Actually, it seems quite appropriate, since my motto is "Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Of course, nearly everyone these days, whether they will admit it or not, is afflicted, or comfortably afflicted or afflicted comfortably or... Nonetheless, as long as I can remember, there has been a tendency to zig where others zag. So, as it is common these days to try to paint a bright face on the darkness that rages, my tendency is to paint it darker, as dark as possible, and still, probably it is lighter than the reality. The bottom line - people don't want to see the truth, or as Edward R. Murrows said, " Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit." Perhaps I am just masochistic. Or perhaps, I really enjoy the Truth. But either way, on to the question... "Would you push THE button

Okay, maybe not the "Ultimate" Blog, but pretty damn close! I've been saving these for something, a book, or part of a book, or some special occasion. Well, it's Wednesday...no Thursday. That's special enough. It's NOW! Everyone is familiar with the question, "Who Am I?" The purpose of this question is not to answer it from a logical, mental position, but that it directs you and guides you, ultimately, to what is BEYOND, 'who' you are, more to what you might say is, WHAT you Truly are, prior to all words, concepts, beliefs, or even EX-perience - the the Pure Subjective Recognition of Self. Well, over the years, we formulated a whole bunch of similar questions. We did this for several reasons: One, some people have problems with the 'who'. Second, utilizing other questions helps see it in a different perspective and some other question may 'resonate' better. Third, for the fun of it. First, some understanding of the 'proc

Yes, I know, I haven't written much lately. And it's not because there is nothing to say, it is because there is way TOO MUCH to say, and, like looking at an overgrown garden, you sometimes just don't even know where to begin, so you don't begin at all. But the recent death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn caused me to pause for a moment and just write. So here I am just writing. Why did his death cause a pause? Because much of his life was about "the lie" particularly the lie of government, but also our own lies. Take a few moments and google Solzhenitsyn and quotes. Read a few of the things he said. “He wrote that while an ordinary man was obliged “not to participate in lies,” artists had greater responsibilities(:) “It is within the power of writers and artists to do much more: to defeat the lie!”” Our world has turned upside down. We have taken our present day "civilization" as normal. It is NOT. It is far from normal. It is brutally and deeply sick.

There is a wonderful analogy used in Brahma Samhita to describe the difference between Vishnu and Shiva. However, I would like to steal this analogy for a slightly different purpose: Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is (for our purposes) the Absolute, the pre-coognitive Is-ness, the Infinite Being. Shakti is that which arises from the Shiva - the manifest, the relative, the objective. So, you might say they are the "Spiritual" and the "Material" or the Absolute and Relative existence. Shiva is pure unadulterated Milk; Shakti is Yogurt. What is the difference between milk and yogurt? In one sense, nothing. Yogurt is nothing but milk, and yet milk to which a bacteria has been added, which under fairly simple circumstances begins to cultivate itself more and more. Still milk, but now cultivated, or you might even say contaminated. When people say that all is the Absolute, they are correct - All is Milk. However, there is a culture in that milk, a bacteria, that makes it milk an

I have often spoken of the necessity of community to foster a sense of belonging. Too often, those seeking Awakening are mired by their own sense of not-belonging and generally speaking, the traditions of Enlightenment have come through cultures that have had a strong sense of community or tribe or belonging on one level or another. But I've recently realized something else that amazed me. Many people are looking for spirituality WITHOUT God. Not that it isn't possible, but it is, to a large extent, the norm these days. Understandably, God has a bad rap. People see God or at least the word 'God' as representing a more Judeo -Christian old judgmental man in the sky kind of thing. This is a concept, and the concept must be let go of, but that doesn't negate the Reality which it represents. You may let go of your issues with your father; break away from him as a parent figure; etc. but that doesn't mean he stops existing. Or another example, in Vedanta, they often

I love Barnashram - our little mini-community of 3 human residents and an expanding number of 'others'. We now have 9 Chicklets (they're not quite chicks any more, but they aren't chickens either. But besides that, I love the sense of community that is developing. The biggest thing lacking in today's world is community! We actually take pride in not needing anyone, in being an individual, ready to fight the world alone; and yet, inside, many are devastated, depressed, and exceptionally lonely. It is a sickness that is pervading everything. Many don't even realize it, and yet keep questioning, "What is wrong?" but are unable or unwilling to open their hearts and realize that what they truly want and need is love and intimacy with others. "Trigger the 60's Virus" - Sure, we were young and naive back then, but there was a beauty and exploration that has since either died or gone into deep hibernation. Back then, I had a family. In fact, a

I just finished a wonderful book by John Robbins entitled 'Healthy at 100' . I know, it hardly seems like Aja's kind of book, however, it was incredibly diverse in speaking of what makes up health, and what those cultures look like which have consistently had the most centenarians and supercentanarians (those who live past 110). I have often put forth the premise that if you could define and describe paradise, every facet of it - birth through death, education, family relations, community, education, spirituality, economics, EVERYTHING, and then flip that 180 degrees, you would have current western civilization, or lack of it. (Mahatma Gandhi was once asked "Mr. Gandhi, what do you think of western civilization?" To which he replied, "I think it would be a good idea.") Anyway, I digress. The point of this story is that Robbins, in this book, similarly shows how, in many ways, my contention is correct: this society is exceptionally unhealthy. In onechap

Today, I received, as a slightly belated birthday gift, a donation from my friend, Susanne, in Switzerland, a donation for $540 (ten times my present age) with the note, "Il faut cultiver notre jardin" Although I recognize a few words from the French, including Garden, I went to an online translator, which produced the result, "We must cultivate our garden." Now I have definitely received less than perfect translations from the translator, but accurate or not, it IS perfect... We must cultivate our garden – our interior gardens and our exterior gardens. A garden is a wonderful metaphor for so much of what we experience, and are, as life! And from personal experience, I can say and see, that both attention and neglect have very powerful consequences. For the past few years, we have totally neglected our 7 acres and consequently it has become overrun with weeds, particularly blackberry vines. Even cutting them down is only a small step because the hidden roots will co

Another way of looking at the Who and the What you are is recognizing the Relative and Absolute spheres of existence. First, understand, even if it is intellectually based, that they are One thing, but manifesting as the two separate aspects. Next, let's define them a bit more. (I know that all of this appears to be a mental or intellectual exercise, and yet, it increases the understanding by which you can pass it all up.) The Relative .................... The Absolute Who..................................What Shakti.............................Shiva Material.............................Spiritual Left Brain........................Right Brain Objects.........................Subject Plurality.......................Singularity Contraction.......................Expansion Limited.......................Unlimited Phenomenal........................Noumenal Active.............................Passive And so on and so on. Again, these are only labels for the 'many' and the 'one&#

"Accept everything about yourself--I mean everything, You are you and that is the beginning and the end--no apologies, no regrets." -- Clark Moustakas Herein lies the power - the ability and willingness to accept absolutely everything about what AND who you are. Not only that, but to accept EVERYTHING unconditionally, that comes down the pike. Our mind (not our true nature) wants to evaluate everything and accept some things and reject others. So while Mr. Moustakas is correct, I would go even further and say, one must accept everything, not only about yourself, but about everyone, everything, unconditionally. How does one do this? By disappearing. At every moment, thousands of things are occurring to which we give no thought and no judgment - cars passing by, little sounds or feelings, an infinitude of sensory inputs large and small that arise at every moment to which we pay little or no heed. But then that one, that particular thing comes along and we find ourselves happy,

One of the great advantages of becoming older is the clarity one gains regarding death. As the body begins to act and react in ways which it never did before, one is forced to look at various aspects of life that were never quite as "in your face". Death, to most, has an ominous sound to it. It is depicted as the Grim Reaper, the skeletal figure draped in black. People flee from it, consider it an inappropriate conversational topic, skirt around the issue, joke about it, etc. But as one begins to actually lose energy, experience more aches and pains, as well as seeing the loss of a gradually increasing number of friends and relatives, the unquesionable reality of one's own physical demise becomes apparent. There is a wonderful story in the Indian epic Mahabharata where the King Yudisthira is given 100 questions by Dharma, the Lord of Death. One of the questions is, "What is the most wonderful thing in the world?" to which Yudisthira answers, "That every d

"The exact contrary of what is generally believed is often the truth." -- Jean de la Bruyère What are you doing for Freedom - yours or anyone elses? There is NO time for complacency, comfort or ease. My master used to say there are three things that must be extinguished immediately: fire, debt and disease. Our country, our culture, the entire western civilization is diseased. Not only is it diseased, it IS a disease. And like many diseases, it has infiltrated itself so deeply into our psyche, like the worst type of cancer, that no one can distinguish it - like a tumor that is so deeply nestled and entwined within the brain, that to remove it would mean certain death. But in some cases, death is far more appealing than diseased living, or at least it should be. “It’s interesting to reflect that if all insects were to disappear from the earth, within fifty years all forms of life on earth would perish. We depend on them that thoroughly. But if all human beings were to disappea

"The ultimate ignorance is the rejection of something you know nothing about and refuse to investigate." – Dr. Wayne Dyer Many years ago, I remember hearing from a friend that the only people who are happy are those who are totally in ignorance and those who are totally free. The rest are always trapped in some form of suffering. While perhaps not totally true, it would certainly appear to be more true than not. The bulk of people, as Thoreau pointed out, live lives of quiet desperation. Today, that quiet desperation is not quite as quiet. Often, I am accosted by those who try to live in bliss by putting on a brave face, but mostly, it is a form of denial. As things fall down around them, they choose to not see what is happening in order to maintain a false sense of happiness. If the truth is pointed out - whatever that truth may be - they choose to ignore it. Now the obvious - "ignore" and "ignorance". It is not coincidental that they share the same roo