Archive for May, 2008
Monday, May 12th, 2008
Chapter 4—Perspective
There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so: to me it is a prison. —William Shakespeare So the world, grounded in a timeless movement by the Soul which suffuses it with intelligence, becomes a living and blessed being. —Plotinus Key among our efforts to climb beyond both personal and collective suffering [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 4 - Perspective by Michael McAlister
Sunday, May 11th, 2008
Part Two – The Summit
After we’ve begun to climb past the tangle of egoic living, we begin to uncover a clearing beyond anything the mind can grasp. It’s as if we’ve literally climbed past the tree line and into an open space on the other side of everything that used to trap us. In spiritual terms, we are approaching [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Part II: The Summit by Michael McAlister
Saturday, May 10th, 2008
Non-Reincarnation
Life after death, or life after life, depending on how one looks at it, is one of the more fascinating aspects of spiritual practice since we’re not really sure what happens when we die. There are plenty of scriptural teachings to suggest that reincarnation exists. Maybe it does. Certainly, this would make things easier on [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Friday, May 9th, 2008
Rehearsal
A big part of living a conscious life means that we are living fully at every moment, aware and accepting of the fact that at any moment we might die. At this point of experience, everything simultaneously becomes a gift and a mystery. But there is a common spiritual confusion with this carpe diem attitude. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
No Fixed Self
Our fixed sense of a self, which we spend so much effort and energy maintaining, is only a creation of our minds. Again, this small self, or ego, is just as a dream—a phantom generated by our minds in order to stabilize the chaos of Infinity. Hearing this is disturbing to the ego since it [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Death
Die before you die and you shall never die. —Sufi saying Now when the bardo of dying dawns upon me I will abandon all grasping, yearning and attachment, Enter the undistracted into clear awareness of the teaching, And eject my consciousness into the space of the unborn Awareness. As I leave this compound body of [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
The Rubber Band Effect
Another important realization as we climb occurs when we see that meditation won’t necessarily keep us happy. Meditation, done correctly, merely affords us direct and continual exposure to the deep silence underneath whatever is happening right now. Exposure to deep silence reminds us that all things are temporary, including anything we think might make us [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Monday, May 5th, 2008
It’s Not about Bliss
The purpose of a deep stillness practice is not to seek a lowering of our blood pressure, or to get a break from the kids, or to escape our situation. Meditation might, in fact, lower our blood pressure, ease the tension we might feel with our kids, and help us deal with our pain in [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Seeking
What we are looking for… is what is looking. —Wei Wu Wei The more you know the less you understand. —Tao Te Ching The small self is always seeking outside itself for stability. Once it finds something that it feels will protect it for a while, it will attach to it. But the small self [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
Chapter 3—Fear
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. —Bertrand Russell The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. —Carl Jung Fear is ego’s fuel. This is because ego’s role in our life experience is to defend itself against all [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 3 - Fear by Michael McAlister
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
The Big House
It is important to remember that the events of insight are neither the measure nor the point of meditation. Rather than the flashiness of the Zen awakening experience called satori, our Path to Enlightenment is only about incorporating disciplined and conscious stillness in our day-to-day life. It’s a simple recipe for each of us: stop [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chapter 2 - Grasping by Michael McAlister
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism arises when any religious organization, or any person, attaches so intensely to some version of truth that it must be defended. In this space, the ego continually seeks security by playing out its drama of “attack and defend.” This drama offers all sorts of teachers and practitioners an opportunity to commit to various forms [...]
