'Surrender to the present moment, where problems do not exist. It is here we find our joy,are able to embrace our true selves and discover that we are already complete and perfect '
Your words have become my daily meditation. The perfection, the simplicity, every quote and poem point to what is truly happening in the moment. With a bow. 💕🙏🤸🏽
"Out of the blue" I have high blood pressure. Why? I need to figure this out. It is demeaning to have high blood pressure. I am doing something wrong. I have to get it figured out. I have to get it fixed before my doctor's appointment. [I'll bet all that will really help my blood pressure. 🤡]
Our 12-year old standard poodle, Belle, died at the end of July from an aggressive form of anal sac cancer. In June she was her happy, healthy 12-year old self. At the end of July she was dead.
I have a picture of Belle (I have many pictures of Belle 😍). In the picture she is looking at me - you might know the look - Belle was (is) much smarter than me. She says, "Tom, if we were present there and then you have the capacity for presence in this moment. Is there more than that? By all means, take pleasure in the moments we were together; by all means do what you can about your blood pressure; and most of all, presence is here now."
My doggy companion also passed a few years ago when he was 12. It took weeks for me to fully realize he wasn't there anymore. He used to sleep on the bed with me and I miss his furry warmth.
Great work, Joan. This really says it all and ties in so well to the Toni Packer quote with which you began your last essay. The Buddha-Hitler metaphor cuts through a delusion that can bedevil even long-term practitioners.
"But life isn’t like that. As Thich Nhat Hanh put it, “No mud, no lotus.” We can’t have only good, only sunshine, only happiness."
Yes, life isn't like that now. But does it have to be like that always? With the lotus analogy... how about growing a lotus in a vase providing the necessary ingredients and eventually doing away with mud? Likewise, can we change the NOW(now, past and future) collectively that the future holds more sunshine and happiness than it is now? Can life move towards increasing Buddha content and reducing Hitler content? Instead of being active part of this change, why embrace a defeatist attitude of accepting the evil as part of the Totality?
I'm not advocating defeatism in any way whatsoever. But I'm suggesting that false hope is a delusion that inevitably ends in disappointment. Yes, there can be apparent progress. We've gone from bows and arrows to nuclear weapons and industrial civilization--a great improvement in some ways, but obviously these advances brought with them new problems. And yes, certain problems can be corrected. We may find a cure for cancer. Humanity has made giant strides towards a world without slavery, racism, sexism or heterosexism, and perhaps one day all these things will be no more. People can sometimes sober up from an addiction. I've been part of political movements for change as well as individual psychological work and spiritual work, and all of this has changed my life for the better. But new problems continue to arise. And if you watch your own mind and your own life, I'm pretty sure that you'll find that you are not always loving, compassionate, kind or wise. I'm guessing there will always be psychopathologies, brain anomalies and humans who do terrible things for myriad reasons. Of course, you don't have to believe me. If you want to pursue the pipe dream of utopia on earth, go for it. Maybe it will bring you great joy.
"I'm pretty sure that you'll find that you are not always loving, compassionate, kind or wise".
Yes of course! Hence my interest in meditation(especially of the loving kindness type) to make a kinder version of myself and work towards reducing of the suffering. We could try all we might and still fail but at least we would have tried.
If we just accept the way it is and don't try:
Non dual framing: IT will regret that IT didn't even try.
Dual framing: God will not be pleased that we didn't even try.
However, this approach of accepting as-it-is seems to be an easier path to joy. I don't have to work towards a utopia. Call this the way it is a Utopia/Sacred and be joyful and celebratory. Isn't it? I'm unable to accept this Totality as all-sacred. It is sacred and profane.
Isn't it myopic to look at the span of bows and arrows to nuclear weapons? That is just a small window in the backdrop of billions of years of evolution of life on this planet. Isn't it a great progress in Life's evolution journey that such compassionate creatures(Bodhisatvas) are born who are willing to take up so much suffering onto themselves to alleviate the larger Suffering? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangha_Tenzin. What real utopias are possible if we are all willing?
Vijay, I'm not trying to convert you. I'm just expressing how I see it. You seem to have missed the central point in this article: "The awakening journey is only right now. Let me repeat that: The awakening journey is only right now. Paradoxically, it can seem to take decades to actually really get this one simple but crucial fact: NOW is the only time that counts. Now is the only time that actually exists. Instead, the mind loves to think about me and my future and trying to figure out how to get there from here, and in the process, we endlessly overlook the only place we ever actually are."
This is what you are doing. Endlessly overlooking by over-thinking, arguing, worrying or fantasizing about what you or the world might become. You don't seem to hear anything I say. For example, I wrote: "Relatively speaking, there are obviously all kinds of diseases, injustices, acts of cruelty, problems, mistakes and other forms of suffering, and we have a natural desire to heal what is broken. Is life perfect or imperfect? It’s not either/or, it’s both/and. Understanding and embodying Big Mind doesn’t mean we leave a flat tire flat because 'everything is perfect as it is.' That perfection includes our urge, ability and action to change the tire."
Joan, I understand you are not trying to convert me or anybody for that matter. You are expressing as you see it. But unfortunately, I'm unable to see what you are seeing. I see in this expression is beautiful poetry that is very attractive and assuaging. I'm trying to comprehend/see what you are trying to point to beyond the poetry.
I have read the post in entirety. I'm following the high-lighted instruction:
'Turn your attention to this very moment, right here, right now. Be what you already are and cannot not be.'
I have attentively turned my attention to this very moment and what I felt to be was that in this moment is that an inquisitive ape(me) in front of a computer typing it's thoughts, sitting in a room, on a ball of a planet, racing through the cosmos.
So, even if that means I'm over-thinking, arguing, worrying or fantasizing... doesn't it mean I'm being what I already am and I just cannot be otherwise?
Joan, the problem with words is that they are just that 'words'. In the absence of telepathy, it is hard to understand what you are pointing at. There should be behavioral co-ordinates to awakening I believe which can be seen in Ramana. He was so attuned to nature around him that he could communicate with cows and monkeys around him. He used to arbitrate monkey quarrels. His pain tolerance was beyond any ordinary human. That is some evidence to his awakening. On the other hand Nisargadatta didn't seem to show any signs of awakening through his behavior as he behaved like any ordinary person losing temper on the drop of a hat. Output from Nisargadatta is words(however beautiful). As for words, ChatGPT also can write articles on non-duality as below(not that great. but ChatGPT is just a toddler):
Embracing the Present Moment
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of thoughts, plans, and worries. We often find ourselves lost in the past or projecting into the future, missing the richness of the present moment. But what if we could pause, take a breath, and truly experience the now?
The Simplicity of Being
At its core, the present moment is all there is. It’s a seamless flow of experiences, ever-changing and ever-present. When we let go of our mental constructs and simply observe, we begin to see the beauty in the ordinary. The rustling of leaves, the warmth of the sun, the sound of our own breath—each moment is a unique tapestry of sensations and experiences.
Radical Acceptance
One of the key teachings in Zen and Advaita is radical acceptance. This means embracing whatever arises in our experience without judgment or resistance. Whether it’s a pleasant sensation or a challenging emotion, we can meet it with openness and curiosity. This doesn’t mean we become passive or indifferent; rather, we engage with life fully, without clinging or aversion.
The Dance of Awareness
Awareness is not something we need to attain; it’s our natural state. It’s the backdrop against which all experiences unfold. By cultivating mindfulness, we can become more attuned to this ever-present awareness. We can notice the subtle shifts in our thoughts and emotions, and see them for what they are—transient phenomena passing through the field of consciousness.
Practical Steps to Presence
Pause and Breathe: Take a few moments throughout your day to pause and take a deep breath. Feel the sensation of the breath entering and leaving your body.
Observe Without Judgment: Notice your thoughts and emotions without labeling them as good or bad. Simply observe them as they arise and pass away.
Engage Your Senses: Tune into your sensory experiences. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel right now?
Practice Gratitude: Reflect on the things you are grateful for in this moment. Gratitude can help anchor us in the present and cultivate a sense of contentment.
Conclusion
Embracing the present moment is a practice, a journey of returning to the simplicity of being. It’s about finding peace in the midst of chaos and discovering the profound beauty in the ordinary. As we cultivate this awareness, we begin to see that the present moment is not just a fleeting point in time, but the very essence of our existence.
Just like ChatGPT, I can read all the material on Advaita and absorb the words and I can generate similarly beautiful word salad. I can claim I'm awake. I need not change any of my behavior. I can argue that all my human shortcomings are also part of my awakening. Do you see why I ask myself for a stabilized practice, compassionate behavior and any other measurable results? Without such rigor don't you think anyone can claim to be awakened? Does an awakened person sit with 70 million dollar bank balance while so many sentient beings are tortured in factory farms? https://bwcarter.medium.com/should-eckhart-tolle-have-a-net-worth-of-70-million-a1ac9e5041fa
Thank you, so many helpful pointers for staying right here. And so many lines I love "But we can discover how we create hell on earth through our self-centered delusions." - my meditation, grateful to you Joan.
1. I enjoy loving-kindness practice, but I'm inclined to believe I do too little. So that doubt is now gone, thank you.
2. I have always been close to obsessed with the "equalization" of Hitler and Jesus, at least in theory, but your take has brought clarity. My mistake was that I chose Jesus as the counterpoint to Hitler, whereas - at least according to the Jesus story - he was not a do-gooder but self-realised, i.e. not in separation, whereas Hitler was. I now see that I should perhaps have chosen myself, when I'm in "do-gooder" mode, as the counterpoint. Then I experience separation in the sense that Hitler might have. I hope this makes sense.
3. I often find myself believing that I am not stabilized in awareness, and I try hard to question my conviction that I'm not awake yet, but I usually conclude that work must first be done, and I dutifully perform my rather lengthy mantra practice every day; yet it is so difficult not to attach a goal to it. My mind seems to insist that I must be doing it for a reason, and that it serves a purpose. Your piece clarified that too, which puts a very different complexion on such practices. I find it beneficial doing mantra practice and meditation, so I don't think I will stop, but your comment has made me more clearly aware of just who is doing these practices, which is such a comfort.
Thank you, John. I see no problem with meditation or any other practices that we enjoy and find helpful in some way. I meditate every day. Suzuki Roshi spoke about the importance of practice not being result-oriented, but he added that we do want to bake good bread (the Zen Center ran a bakery back then). Another favorite expression of his was "not always so." And he said, "You're perfect just as you are, and there's room for improvement." When we try to conceptually and verbally nail down whether practice requires effort or effortlessness, or whether there is any choice or only choicelessness, we can't really say. It's yes/no. 🙏
Joan, sure I’m stopping to comment. I’m hearing you but just not understanding you. Can I continue to request 1-1sessions? Or that’s a No too perhaps how hopeless I am as a student. All I experience is All and mostly my ignorance of All. My experience is just that of an inquisitive ape who is marveled, thrilled, shocked, amazed , reverent and irreverent, by the immensity of IT. I just am not able to imagine how it could be from your experience. Perhaps similar to mine as a member of same species. Or perhaps you have morphed into a new species at the level of consciousness. I do know Bodhisatvas exist such as Ramana, Christ, and countless other Buddhas. They are the mutants of our species that carry the seeds of our only hope without which our planet is headed towards doom. How many more generations of sentient life does one think can our planet sustain given the direction the planet is headed? That’s alarming! Isn’t it? Perhaps your sensing on the Reality is different. I don’t understand what it is. Your words are not able to communicate IT for me. I don’t really want to miss a potential Bodhisatva in making purely out of the arrogance of an ignorant ape(me).
I will also in parallel reach out to the Sam Harris Waking up community to see if anyone can recommend a more suitable teacher for me for my unique personality/situation.
I fully support you in finding someone you resonate with to work with. If you could work with someone in person, rather than online, that would be ideal. Your "problem," in my view, is nothing unique or uncommon. It is the obsessive unnecessary thinking to which humans are prone. You are not hearing because the mental noise is drowning out the silence. The greatest teacher is silence. Stillness. Listening. Being.
You are not hopeless by any means, and I will respond soon by email about another 1-1 session. I find it tiring and usually a waste of time to have extended discussions in Substack comments about matters that can never really be put into words, and when someone is very caught up in the thinking mind, as you tend to be, I find it especially tiring. I lose patience.
I think the fellow named John had some very good advice for you on an earlier post thread: "If you are new to these teachings, as I think you said, it might be wise to listen a lot and speak little, for now. Let the teachings soak in over time, be gentle with yourself, and apply patience - lots of it - and things will begin to fall into place. Blessings to you." I'd say, take that to heart. Be still. Be quiet. Stop talking. Listen. Listen to the traffic and the birds. Feel the breathing. Just be here. Don't take your thoughts so seriously. Be still. Be quiet. Don't ask "how" to do all that. Just stop asking. Be quiet. Discover. ❤️
Joan, in our 1-1, please let me know if you are willing to discuss morality and awakening with topic below:
As per Peter Singer's drowning child thought experiment, the more riches a person is holding on to is more an indicator of their apathy to the suffering of drowning children. My question is around the morality of awakening with celebrated awoken people hoarding millions and millions of dollars.
Please don't respond with 'Overthinking' disease diagnosis and 'Silence' medicine prescription to questions such as these. That is not my disease and the cure I need. I have enough silence practice(guided/unguided sitting meditation practice, nature walks, floatation tank floats etc). Although I'm not any champion Samadhi state achiever, I believe I have decent control over the volume on my thinking processes to amp up and down as necessary. I would hence rank myself somewhere above average statistically if I have to guess what the mental states of people around me would be. So, I don't accept the label of an over/obsessive/compulsive thinker.
I'm looking to discuss these moral-philosophical matters with you when I'm interacting with you. I don't think you have given any straightforward response to these questions and have only responded with so many tautologies of the absolute truth of 'Here and Now' and chided me to be silent. As far as the words 'Here and Now' go, they are as true and as inconsequential as the statement 'The Universe Is'.
So, the feeling of not hearing is mutual. You feel I'm not hearing your answer and I feel you are not hearing my question.
i love this: "I'm all for love and kindness and compassion, even for people we don’t like and those who do terrible things. But I find this emerges naturally from open aware presence and clear insight. When we really see someone, we don’t want to hurt them, and we understand that they could not, in this moment, be other than exactly how they are. We may dislike what they do, and we may take action to stop them, but we don’t hate or blame them. And when we really see ourselves, we know that we contain it all, the darkness and the light. There really is no “other” from the awakened perspective."
and thank you for sharing this Ramana Maharshi quote:
"Experience takes place only in the present, and beyond and apart from experience nothing exists"
and this Dogen one:
"No creature ever comes short of its own completeness. Wherever it stands, it does not fail to cover the ground."
Lots to mull over in this one, Joan - thanks. Compassion, yeah....certainly feels more genuine when it has arisen organically rather than adopted as a conscious behaviour, doesn't it - and the actions that result are somehow more intuitive as well. Although I'd rather have a forced "compassion" than none at all, I think.
Regarding the perfect/imperfect dichotomy...I get the problem with using either - just another example of the issue of the duality of language, I guess.
Joan, Thank you so so much for your clarity and perspective. I have struggled with loving-kindness as well as resentful-hurt. With this understanding I see those are happenings they occur in conditions that are not personal or willful. I cannot conjure up hate and compassion cannot be contrived. I am told to forgive? It’s like being told to hurt! Too much pain in thinking I could’ve and should’ve.
This whole piece is amazing but those last few paragraphs really cut straight to the core of it all. Wonderful!
It is wonderful! I thank you very mi ch your gifts
'Surrender to the present moment, where problems do not exist. It is here we find our joy,are able to embrace our true selves and discover that we are already complete and perfect '
Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now.
Thanks again Joan 🙏
Your words have become my daily meditation. The perfection, the simplicity, every quote and poem point to what is truly happening in the moment. With a bow. 💕🙏🤸🏽
Thanks Joan! I get it. (Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha)
"Out of the blue" I have high blood pressure. Why? I need to figure this out. It is demeaning to have high blood pressure. I am doing something wrong. I have to get it figured out. I have to get it fixed before my doctor's appointment. [I'll bet all that will really help my blood pressure. 🤡]
Our 12-year old standard poodle, Belle, died at the end of July from an aggressive form of anal sac cancer. In June she was her happy, healthy 12-year old self. At the end of July she was dead.
I have a picture of Belle (I have many pictures of Belle 😍). In the picture she is looking at me - you might know the look - Belle was (is) much smarter than me. She says, "Tom, if we were present there and then you have the capacity for presence in this moment. Is there more than that? By all means, take pleasure in the moments we were together; by all means do what you can about your blood pressure; and most of all, presence is here now."
Thank you Belle.
Than you Joan.
Love.
Tom
❤️
Condolences over the loss of Belle. In my experience, losing a beloved animal companion can bring forth such deep grief. ❤️
Heart felt condolences, Tom.
My doggy companion also passed a few years ago when he was 12. It took weeks for me to fully realize he wasn't there anymore. He used to sleep on the bed with me and I miss his furry warmth.
I love watching the videos of this ex-neurosurgeon who went off-grid and enjoying his time with his pooch: https://www.youtube.com/@GoobieAndDoobie
Great work, Joan. This really says it all and ties in so well to the Toni Packer quote with which you began your last essay. The Buddha-Hitler metaphor cuts through a delusion that can bedevil even long-term practitioners.
Thank you, Robert. ❤️
Thank you for a good read. _/\_
Thank you Joan. As always, poetic and beautiful.
"But life isn’t like that. As Thich Nhat Hanh put it, “No mud, no lotus.” We can’t have only good, only sunshine, only happiness."
Yes, life isn't like that now. But does it have to be like that always? With the lotus analogy... how about growing a lotus in a vase providing the necessary ingredients and eventually doing away with mud? Likewise, can we change the NOW(now, past and future) collectively that the future holds more sunshine and happiness than it is now? Can life move towards increasing Buddha content and reducing Hitler content? Instead of being active part of this change, why embrace a defeatist attitude of accepting the evil as part of the Totality?
I'm not advocating defeatism in any way whatsoever. But I'm suggesting that false hope is a delusion that inevitably ends in disappointment. Yes, there can be apparent progress. We've gone from bows and arrows to nuclear weapons and industrial civilization--a great improvement in some ways, but obviously these advances brought with them new problems. And yes, certain problems can be corrected. We may find a cure for cancer. Humanity has made giant strides towards a world without slavery, racism, sexism or heterosexism, and perhaps one day all these things will be no more. People can sometimes sober up from an addiction. I've been part of political movements for change as well as individual psychological work and spiritual work, and all of this has changed my life for the better. But new problems continue to arise. And if you watch your own mind and your own life, I'm pretty sure that you'll find that you are not always loving, compassionate, kind or wise. I'm guessing there will always be psychopathologies, brain anomalies and humans who do terrible things for myriad reasons. Of course, you don't have to believe me. If you want to pursue the pipe dream of utopia on earth, go for it. Maybe it will bring you great joy.
"I'm pretty sure that you'll find that you are not always loving, compassionate, kind or wise".
Yes of course! Hence my interest in meditation(especially of the loving kindness type) to make a kinder version of myself and work towards reducing of the suffering. We could try all we might and still fail but at least we would have tried.
If we just accept the way it is and don't try:
Non dual framing: IT will regret that IT didn't even try.
Dual framing: God will not be pleased that we didn't even try.
However, this approach of accepting as-it-is seems to be an easier path to joy. I don't have to work towards a utopia. Call this the way it is a Utopia/Sacred and be joyful and celebratory. Isn't it? I'm unable to accept this Totality as all-sacred. It is sacred and profane.
Isn't it myopic to look at the span of bows and arrows to nuclear weapons? That is just a small window in the backdrop of billions of years of evolution of life on this planet. Isn't it a great progress in Life's evolution journey that such compassionate creatures(Bodhisatvas) are born who are willing to take up so much suffering onto themselves to alleviate the larger Suffering? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangha_Tenzin. What real utopias are possible if we are all willing?
Vijay, I'm not trying to convert you. I'm just expressing how I see it. You seem to have missed the central point in this article: "The awakening journey is only right now. Let me repeat that: The awakening journey is only right now. Paradoxically, it can seem to take decades to actually really get this one simple but crucial fact: NOW is the only time that counts. Now is the only time that actually exists. Instead, the mind loves to think about me and my future and trying to figure out how to get there from here, and in the process, we endlessly overlook the only place we ever actually are."
This is what you are doing. Endlessly overlooking by over-thinking, arguing, worrying or fantasizing about what you or the world might become. You don't seem to hear anything I say. For example, I wrote: "Relatively speaking, there are obviously all kinds of diseases, injustices, acts of cruelty, problems, mistakes and other forms of suffering, and we have a natural desire to heal what is broken. Is life perfect or imperfect? It’s not either/or, it’s both/and. Understanding and embodying Big Mind doesn’t mean we leave a flat tire flat because 'everything is perfect as it is.' That perfection includes our urge, ability and action to change the tire."
Joan, I understand you are not trying to convert me or anybody for that matter. You are expressing as you see it. But unfortunately, I'm unable to see what you are seeing. I see in this expression is beautiful poetry that is very attractive and assuaging. I'm trying to comprehend/see what you are trying to point to beyond the poetry.
I have read the post in entirety. I'm following the high-lighted instruction:
'Turn your attention to this very moment, right here, right now. Be what you already are and cannot not be.'
I have attentively turned my attention to this very moment and what I felt to be was that in this moment is that an inquisitive ape(me) in front of a computer typing it's thoughts, sitting in a room, on a ball of a planet, racing through the cosmos.
So, even if that means I'm over-thinking, arguing, worrying or fantasizing... doesn't it mean I'm being what I already am and I just cannot be otherwise?
Joan, the problem with words is that they are just that 'words'. In the absence of telepathy, it is hard to understand what you are pointing at. There should be behavioral co-ordinates to awakening I believe which can be seen in Ramana. He was so attuned to nature around him that he could communicate with cows and monkeys around him. He used to arbitrate monkey quarrels. His pain tolerance was beyond any ordinary human. That is some evidence to his awakening. On the other hand Nisargadatta didn't seem to show any signs of awakening through his behavior as he behaved like any ordinary person losing temper on the drop of a hat. Output from Nisargadatta is words(however beautiful). As for words, ChatGPT also can write articles on non-duality as below(not that great. but ChatGPT is just a toddler):
Embracing the Present Moment
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of thoughts, plans, and worries. We often find ourselves lost in the past or projecting into the future, missing the richness of the present moment. But what if we could pause, take a breath, and truly experience the now?
The Simplicity of Being
At its core, the present moment is all there is. It’s a seamless flow of experiences, ever-changing and ever-present. When we let go of our mental constructs and simply observe, we begin to see the beauty in the ordinary. The rustling of leaves, the warmth of the sun, the sound of our own breath—each moment is a unique tapestry of sensations and experiences.
Radical Acceptance
One of the key teachings in Zen and Advaita is radical acceptance. This means embracing whatever arises in our experience without judgment or resistance. Whether it’s a pleasant sensation or a challenging emotion, we can meet it with openness and curiosity. This doesn’t mean we become passive or indifferent; rather, we engage with life fully, without clinging or aversion.
The Dance of Awareness
Awareness is not something we need to attain; it’s our natural state. It’s the backdrop against which all experiences unfold. By cultivating mindfulness, we can become more attuned to this ever-present awareness. We can notice the subtle shifts in our thoughts and emotions, and see them for what they are—transient phenomena passing through the field of consciousness.
Practical Steps to Presence
Pause and Breathe: Take a few moments throughout your day to pause and take a deep breath. Feel the sensation of the breath entering and leaving your body.
Observe Without Judgment: Notice your thoughts and emotions without labeling them as good or bad. Simply observe them as they arise and pass away.
Engage Your Senses: Tune into your sensory experiences. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel right now?
Practice Gratitude: Reflect on the things you are grateful for in this moment. Gratitude can help anchor us in the present and cultivate a sense of contentment.
Conclusion
Embracing the present moment is a practice, a journey of returning to the simplicity of being. It’s about finding peace in the midst of chaos and discovering the profound beauty in the ordinary. As we cultivate this awareness, we begin to see that the present moment is not just a fleeting point in time, but the very essence of our existence.
Just like ChatGPT, I can read all the material on Advaita and absorb the words and I can generate similarly beautiful word salad. I can claim I'm awake. I need not change any of my behavior. I can argue that all my human shortcomings are also part of my awakening. Do you see why I ask myself for a stabilized practice, compassionate behavior and any other measurable results? Without such rigor don't you think anyone can claim to be awakened? Does an awakened person sit with 70 million dollar bank balance while so many sentient beings are tortured in factory farms? https://bwcarter.medium.com/should-eckhart-tolle-have-a-net-worth-of-70-million-a1ac9e5041fa
Vijay, please stop commenting. You are not understanding anything I say. The conversation is going nowhere. Please just STOP!
Thanks a bunch Joan. Particularly loved the interaction with Vijay. That’s probably the devil in me lol.
"You don't have to stop being a wave in order to be the ocean"
"No mud, no lotus."
Ahhhhhh
Thank you, so many helpful pointers for staying right here. And so many lines I love "But we can discover how we create hell on earth through our self-centered delusions." - my meditation, grateful to you Joan.
Good grief! Three of my issues got the chop:
1. I enjoy loving-kindness practice, but I'm inclined to believe I do too little. So that doubt is now gone, thank you.
2. I have always been close to obsessed with the "equalization" of Hitler and Jesus, at least in theory, but your take has brought clarity. My mistake was that I chose Jesus as the counterpoint to Hitler, whereas - at least according to the Jesus story - he was not a do-gooder but self-realised, i.e. not in separation, whereas Hitler was. I now see that I should perhaps have chosen myself, when I'm in "do-gooder" mode, as the counterpoint. Then I experience separation in the sense that Hitler might have. I hope this makes sense.
3. I often find myself believing that I am not stabilized in awareness, and I try hard to question my conviction that I'm not awake yet, but I usually conclude that work must first be done, and I dutifully perform my rather lengthy mantra practice every day; yet it is so difficult not to attach a goal to it. My mind seems to insist that I must be doing it for a reason, and that it serves a purpose. Your piece clarified that too, which puts a very different complexion on such practices. I find it beneficial doing mantra practice and meditation, so I don't think I will stop, but your comment has made me more clearly aware of just who is doing these practices, which is such a comfort.
So, with much happiness, thank you, Joan!
Thank you, John. I see no problem with meditation or any other practices that we enjoy and find helpful in some way. I meditate every day. Suzuki Roshi spoke about the importance of practice not being result-oriented, but he added that we do want to bake good bread (the Zen Center ran a bakery back then). Another favorite expression of his was "not always so." And he said, "You're perfect just as you are, and there's room for improvement." When we try to conceptually and verbally nail down whether practice requires effort or effortlessness, or whether there is any choice or only choicelessness, we can't really say. It's yes/no. 🙏
Yesss, thank you for replying and providing more helpful pointers, much appreciated Joan!
Clearly and Beautifully spoken 💕
Joan, sure I’m stopping to comment. I’m hearing you but just not understanding you. Can I continue to request 1-1sessions? Or that’s a No too perhaps how hopeless I am as a student. All I experience is All and mostly my ignorance of All. My experience is just that of an inquisitive ape who is marveled, thrilled, shocked, amazed , reverent and irreverent, by the immensity of IT. I just am not able to imagine how it could be from your experience. Perhaps similar to mine as a member of same species. Or perhaps you have morphed into a new species at the level of consciousness. I do know Bodhisatvas exist such as Ramana, Christ, and countless other Buddhas. They are the mutants of our species that carry the seeds of our only hope without which our planet is headed towards doom. How many more generations of sentient life does one think can our planet sustain given the direction the planet is headed? That’s alarming! Isn’t it? Perhaps your sensing on the Reality is different. I don’t understand what it is. Your words are not able to communicate IT for me. I don’t really want to miss a potential Bodhisatva in making purely out of the arrogance of an ignorant ape(me).
I can’t be more sincere than that.
I will also in parallel reach out to the Sam Harris Waking up community to see if anyone can recommend a more suitable teacher for me for my unique personality/situation.
I fully support you in finding someone you resonate with to work with. If you could work with someone in person, rather than online, that would be ideal. Your "problem," in my view, is nothing unique or uncommon. It is the obsessive unnecessary thinking to which humans are prone. You are not hearing because the mental noise is drowning out the silence. The greatest teacher is silence. Stillness. Listening. Being.
You are not hopeless by any means, and I will respond soon by email about another 1-1 session. I find it tiring and usually a waste of time to have extended discussions in Substack comments about matters that can never really be put into words, and when someone is very caught up in the thinking mind, as you tend to be, I find it especially tiring. I lose patience.
I think the fellow named John had some very good advice for you on an earlier post thread: "If you are new to these teachings, as I think you said, it might be wise to listen a lot and speak little, for now. Let the teachings soak in over time, be gentle with yourself, and apply patience - lots of it - and things will begin to fall into place. Blessings to you." I'd say, take that to heart. Be still. Be quiet. Stop talking. Listen. Listen to the traffic and the birds. Feel the breathing. Just be here. Don't take your thoughts so seriously. Be still. Be quiet. Don't ask "how" to do all that. Just stop asking. Be quiet. Discover. ❤️
Joan, in our 1-1, please let me know if you are willing to discuss morality and awakening with topic below:
As per Peter Singer's drowning child thought experiment, the more riches a person is holding on to is more an indicator of their apathy to the suffering of drowning children. My question is around the morality of awakening with celebrated awoken people hoarding millions and millions of dollars.
Please don't respond with 'Overthinking' disease diagnosis and 'Silence' medicine prescription to questions such as these. That is not my disease and the cure I need. I have enough silence practice(guided/unguided sitting meditation practice, nature walks, floatation tank floats etc). Although I'm not any champion Samadhi state achiever, I believe I have decent control over the volume on my thinking processes to amp up and down as necessary. I would hence rank myself somewhere above average statistically if I have to guess what the mental states of people around me would be. So, I don't accept the label of an over/obsessive/compulsive thinker.
I'm looking to discuss these moral-philosophical matters with you when I'm interacting with you. I don't think you have given any straightforward response to these questions and have only responded with so many tautologies of the absolute truth of 'Here and Now' and chided me to be silent. As far as the words 'Here and Now' go, they are as true and as inconsequential as the statement 'The Universe Is'.
So, the feeling of not hearing is mutual. You feel I'm not hearing your answer and I feel you are not hearing my question.
Please let me know.
dear joan,
thank you for sharing this as always!
i love this: "I'm all for love and kindness and compassion, even for people we don’t like and those who do terrible things. But I find this emerges naturally from open aware presence and clear insight. When we really see someone, we don’t want to hurt them, and we understand that they could not, in this moment, be other than exactly how they are. We may dislike what they do, and we may take action to stop them, but we don’t hate or blame them. And when we really see ourselves, we know that we contain it all, the darkness and the light. There really is no “other” from the awakened perspective."
and thank you for sharing this Ramana Maharshi quote:
"Experience takes place only in the present, and beyond and apart from experience nothing exists"
and this Dogen one:
"No creature ever comes short of its own completeness. Wherever it stands, it does not fail to cover the ground."
thank you for covering all this ground!
much love
myq
Hey Joan, hey everyone!
Lots to mull over in this one, Joan - thanks. Compassion, yeah....certainly feels more genuine when it has arisen organically rather than adopted as a conscious behaviour, doesn't it - and the actions that result are somehow more intuitive as well. Although I'd rather have a forced "compassion" than none at all, I think.
Regarding the perfect/imperfect dichotomy...I get the problem with using either - just another example of the issue of the duality of language, I guess.
Thought-provoking as always....
Joan, Thank you so so much for your clarity and perspective. I have struggled with loving-kindness as well as resentful-hurt. With this understanding I see those are happenings they occur in conditions that are not personal or willful. I cannot conjure up hate and compassion cannot be contrived. I am told to forgive? It’s like being told to hurt! Too much pain in thinking I could’ve and should’ve.