what has happened to the American experiment in Democracy?

Democracy in name;fascism in execution
What happened to government by the people?!
The hijacking of America
The purchase of influence in politics (through campaign contributions)
"Pay-to-play" politics.
Government for sale
The best government(leadership) money can buy!
see "the role of money in elections"
If you have enuf money you can buy a political office.
If you have 200 to 300 million dollars you can even bid for the most powerful office of all--the office of the president!
How did American democracy turn into corporate fascism?
(see article below titled "Corporatism")

Politicians are reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them.

Politicians no longer serve the people.Rather they work for entrenched money interests,special interest groups, and multinational corporations who fund their campaigns. Corporate lobbyists have hijacked the political system. The economic interests of these corporations take precedence over the interests of the people.Large corporations are milking the government at taxpayers expense.
(In Canada oil companies despite earning record profits are susidized by the taxpayer to the tune of 1.5 billion dollars annually!In the time that oil prices have increased 400%,royalties have decreased from 3 to 2 dollars /barrel.The sellout/giveaway of this public resource to America is a national folly.)


The greatest threat to American democracy is from within.
It is corruption and the betrayal and collapse of moral values.
(see "the moral bankruptcy of America")
(see "the betrayal of the American Dream")
(see "Third World America" by-Arianna-Huffington)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35976438/Third-World-America-by-Arianna-Huffington-Excerpt

We often hear politicians touting America as the best example of democracy in the world.But democracy is government by the people and for the people.'
but in America gov't. serves the interests of corporations above the public interest. This is the opposite of democracy.This is the definition of Fascism!
Real power in America rests not with the people but with "Big Business" wch spends billions (4 billion spent by corporations lobbying gov't. last year)to influence the vote and to shape policy decisions.
When the government no longer acts on behalf of the people it is undemocratic.
The political process has been hijacked by corporate interests ,and America has become a fascist state.The vision of democracy is a shattered dream!
It is hypocritical to pretend to be fighting for Democracy abroad, when the principle of Democracy has been betrayed at home.

If you are a wealthy individual or corporation and want to influence the outcome of an election,there is no limit on the money you can spend to market your candidate and buy them an "elected public office.
This reflects a crucial flaw in the American so-called democratic political process!!
We expect the judiciary (the law court system) to function impartially and independently.Why are legislators (the lawmakers)and candidates for elected office (the ones who make the laws in the first place)not required to separate themselves from corporate interests?
When private corporate and public interests come into conflict we must ensure that the public interest takes precedence.
We must not buy into the Big Business lie that their interest is identical with the public interest.
If the state does not regulate the behavior of corporations ,
and if politicians are unwilling to alienate corporations wch provide them with campaign contributions...then the state and it's lawmakers are essentially ruled by corporations!


The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?
~ Ian Bremmer

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Might this be a better model of Democracy?!

Governments independent of party politics could be answer for partisanship

Published: April 06, 2011

To the editor:

We have a real opportunity in Canada to become a true democracy. We can have a government where our MPs and MLAs represent the wishes of the majority of their constituents.

Currently we live in an elective autocracy. We can elect a dictatorship of the right, centre or left. If we elect the Conservative coalition nationally we choose those who were either members of the Progressive Conservatives or the Alliance. The policies of this right wing coalition are determined by the international business community that provides the funds for their multiple election campaigns.

If we elect the Liberals, the policies are determined by the Canadian, particularly the Ontario business community, that provides the funding for their election campaigns.

If we elect the New Democratic Party the policies are set by organized labour that provides the funding for their election campaign.

If the citizens of Quebec elect the Parti Quebequois the policies are determined by those who want Quebec to separate from Canada and who provide funding for this party’s election campaign.

I don’t know about you, but none of these groups represent me nor do they deal with the issues I am concerned about when they are elected.

I believe most Canadians want their government to represent their values. In my experience most Canadians want their fellow Canadians to have jobs that pay them a living wage, affordable education for our children and grand children, and accessible and affordable health care and medication for all citizens.

Most Canadians want the needs of those who are unable to support themselves to be met. We do not want the mentally ill, physically challenged and mentally challenged to be living on the streets.

Frankly, I don’t see our elected representatives dealing effectively with these issues. Rather, they are busy serving business or organized labour. Our representatives don’t seem to represent us.

We can solve this problem by eliminating the party system. All we have to do is select an individual to run as an independent in every riding in Canada. This individual should be the most trustworthy and self giving person that we can find in our riding. This person should be someone who is interested in giving service, not attaining power and control.

We then have to convince our fellow constituents to vote for this individual. Considering the dissatisfaction that most of us have with our elected representatives who seem more interested in gaining power, control and a good pension than serving us, this should not be difficult.

Once we have a parliament or a legislature full of independent candidates, they can elect from amongst themselves a Prime Minister and a Cabinet.

In the future, legislation would have to be passed to provide equal funds to all candidates who wish to run for office. This legislation would also eliminate donations for election campaigns to political parties or individuals and they would not be allowed to use funds other than the government provided funds. Our representatives could use social media to gain our opinions in order to help determine how they would vote on each issue that comes before the parliament or the legislature. Each individual  MP or MLA would have a free vote on each issue.

If we really want a democracy we must select the best independent candidates that we can find, nominate them and elect them.

Robert C. Anderson,

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Corporate greed, corruption, and the coming collapse of America as we know it
by Mike Adams

The U.S. government, once crafted as a system that would serve the interests of the people, has devolved into a system of plutocracy where corporations control both the government and the people. Virtually every government regulatory department, for example, is now run by the corporations it is supposed to be regulating. Just look at the FDA, USDA, FTC, FCC, NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and most other government regulatory bodies and you'll find a room full of politicians and bureaucrats who utterly disregard the People while prioritizing the financial needs of influential corporations.

Our nation's policies on health, finances, agricultural, national defense and even education are increasingly slanted towards enriching the corporations, usually at the expense of the People. Even worse, the People have come to fear their government here in the United States, and any time a government gains so much power that the people begin to fear it, the scenario is set for police state atrocities against the citizens. In a healthy society, you see, the government fears the people, and it's this fear of being replaced or kicked out of office that keeps government bureaucrats in line. But in America, that's been lost, replaced by a tyrannical system of government that treats the people like common criminals. Don't believe me? Just try to board an airplane without being detained and searched against your will. Try to bring a bottle of water on an airplane and see how much "freedom" you still have left in America today.

How did the corporations gain so much power over government and the people? It's simple: Campaign finances. The corporations hire hoards of lobbyists who dart in and out of lawmakers' offices in Washington, leaving behind trails of cash and corruption. Most lawmakers hardly ever meet with the actual people they claim to represent. Instead, they spend their time cavorting with corporate rabblerousers who operate based on the simple principle of greed. Think Enron, but times a thousand. That's who controls Congress today.

To keep the People in line, public protests have been limited and outlawed in many areas, where new fenced-in "free speech zones" have been set up to force protestors to protest out of the way somewhere. (Note to all: If free speech is limited to a "zone" then it isn't free speech at all!) At every turn, the U.S. government seeks to marginalize the power of the People and expand its own reach and power, usually at the behest of the wealthy corporations pulling the strings backstage.


The natural cycle of collapse and rebirth
So where is it all heading? To a desperate place, unfortunately. It's a natural cycle of nation states. Following abundance comes greed, then corruption, then police state tyranny, then collapse. After the collapse there's rebirth, reconstruction and a new cycle of abundance until the whole thing repeats itself over and over again, one century after the next. Read your world history to hear this same story repeated over at least fifty empires that once existed on Earth. The American empire will be no different: It will drown in its own greed and corruption, collapsing into a state of moral and financial bankruptcy, and then will likely be reborn as a series of smaller nation-states like the Washington / Oregon / Idaho / Northern California region that has very different values and interests than, say, the Texas region.

During all this, there will be lots of social unrest, poverty, personal bankruptcy, police state arrests and perhaps even the widespread use of detection camps to indefinitely hold troublemakers who dare to protest or speak out against government corruption. This is what's coming for America, and the interesting part is that almost nobody in America seems to be able to anticipate this. Yet the writing is on the wall, and it's as obvious as the dot-com crash was before 2000.

I publicly predicted the dot-com crash starting in 1998, and urged everyone to get out of the market through 1999, 2000 and right up until the bursting of the dot-com bubble in early 2001. All this time, nobody listened. Virtually everyone was caught up in the insane illusion that we would all get rich by selling each other pieces of paper with increasingly large numbers written on them (those are the stock prices, you see). Almost everybody was swept up by Groupthink, believing that the laws of economics had changed forever. CNBC became the of unbridled greed, and brainwashed idiots at the American Enterprise Institute were publishing books predicting a Dow of 36,000 that would create infinite wealth requiring no effort or productive work.

Meanwhile, I was urging everyone to sell their stocks, which of course made me look utterly insane given that everybody else in the world was telling people to keep buying -- including all the stock brokers and investment fund managers, who it turns out know almost nothing useful about finances or investments and are just as easily swept up by Groupthink as anything else. When the bubble finally burst, I was completely out of the market and lost nothing. But many people I knew lost big portions of their life savings.

Now, I told you that story to tell you this: What's coming in America's future is going to be far, far worse than the dot-com fiasco. Imagine the financial market breaking down, the U.S. government defaulting on its debt, the dollar going through massive hyperinflation, wiping out the value of the life savings of virtually all Americans. Think it can't happen here? That's what the Groupthink thinks. But it will happen here, and the massive corruption in our government is making sure of it. Whatever dollars you have in the bank will, in a few years, become virtually worthless. Hyperinflation is inevitable. Study the history of Germany following World War I to gain additional insight on this topic.


Sacrificing the future for today's profit
When the corporations run a nation, that nation has no real future, because corporations only think in terms of the next quarter, not the next generation. Corporations will naturally do whatever they can to maximize their profits right now, including poisoning the children with vaccines, poisoning the population with toxic food products, sacrificing the financial future of the nation for short-term gain, destroying the environment, ignoring the health care needs of the People, inciting war so they can sell more profitable weapons to war-torn countries around the world, and so on. Essentially, corporations will sell out the future for higher profits today, and that's exactly what they've done in America.

America has no real future. Not a good one, anyway. I give the nation anywhere from 5 to 25 years before it will self destruct under a mountain of debt, disease and corruption. You can thank the corporations and corrupt politicians for that. They've thrown away the dream of a nation that was once great and could actually be great again, if not for the greed.

My message to all U.S. citizens is to prepare yourself now for what's coming. Get out of debt. Get healthy. Invest in your education and learn some practical skills like gardening, bicycle repair or natural medicine. Own some productive land and learn how to use it. Be near a source of fresh water. When the oil runs out, and the fresh water tables are drained, and the financial system collapses, and the real estate bubble bursts, life is going to be a whole lot harder than it is today. Forget about shopping malls, must-see TV and the latest fashions. Most families are going to be struggling just to put food on the table.

This is all several years away, of course. And until then, most people are going to continue the pursuit of even more debt and disease, oblivious to the future that awaits them. A great book to read on how that future might play out is The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler. Or The Party's Over: Oil, War and The Fate of Industrial Societies.

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http://www.stansberryresearch.com/pro/1103PSIEOAVD/OPSIM526/PR

(Viewer discretion is advised)

Breathe in; breathe out!

ONLY Breath



Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,

not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion or cultural
system.



I am not from the East or the West,

not out of the ocean

or up from the ground,

not natural or ethereal,

not composed of elements at all.



I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world

or the next,

did not decend from Adam or Eve

or any origin story.



My place is placeless,

a trace of the traceless.



Neither body or soul.



I belong to the beloved,

have seen the two worlds as one

and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner,

only that breath breathing human being.



from "The Essential Rumi" translations

by Coleman Barks"


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to feel the movement of breath/life within you....is this not joy! Is this not paradise enough?
And if not, what might joy be?

Meditation on one's breath enables one to remain grounded and centered in the face of all life's challenges! Whatever difficulty one encounters, one simply breathes through it!

Breath warrior: meditating on one's breath is like shielding oneself with the armor of God!
Focusing on one's breath brings one's awareness into the present moment ...,wch after all is the only moment that we can ever be assured of!
All we ever really have is our current breath!

Give me a firm place to stand and I will shift the world
--Archimedes
We each have such a place!
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Are You Looking For Me? (Kabir Poem in 4 Different Translations)

"The Kabir Book -- Forty-Four of the Ecstatic Poems of Kabir",
Robert Bly:

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
you will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine
rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding
around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but
vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me
instantly --
you will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.

"Kabir -- Songs of the Divine",
Jagessar Das:

Seeker! Why do you seek me?
I am already with you.
You will not find me in pilgrimages or idols,
Nor in isolated retreats and withdrawals.
You will not find me in temple or mosque,
Nor in what you call holy cities and sacred mountains.
You will not find me in recitations or austerities,
Nor in the observances of fasts and deprivations.
You will not find me in rites and rituals,
Nor in yoga and renunciations.
You will not find me in air or matter,
Nor in the vast expanse of space.
You will not find me,
Inside the void of meditation.
You will find me,
In the breath within all breaths.
Seek me there,
And you will find me instantly,
As immediately as the blink of an eye.
Kabir says, "Friends listen!
I am wherever you are."

This one is from "Says Kabir...
A Collection of One Hundred and Ten Poems of Kabir,"
Sushila Mahajan:

Where do you look for me, dear?
I am closer than close to you.

Neither in temple-mosque am I,
nor in Kaba-Kailash,
nor in rituals, nor in yoga-ways.

Neither in goat-sheep am I,
nor in axe-knife,
nor in skin-tail,
nor in flesh and bone.

He who yearns, finds at once,
far from the crowd,
I live in a quiet refuge.

Listen to me in the void, says Kabir,
in between all the breaths.

"Songs of Kabir",
Rabindranath Tagore:

O SERVANT, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am inside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque:
I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies,
nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker,
thou shalt at once see Me:
thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."

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Always Remember To Be Who You Are

Absorbed in the Breath
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
Jhana means to be absorbed or focused in a single object, as when we deal with the breath.

THE FIRST JHANA has five factors: (a) Directed thought: Think of the breath until you can recognize it clearly without getting distracted. (b) Singleness of object: Keep the mind with the breath. Don’t let it stray after other objects. Watch over your thoughts so that they deal only with the breath until the breath becomes comfortable. (The mind becomes one, at rest with the breath.) (c) Evaluation: Let this comfortable breath sensation spread and coordinate with the other breath sensations in the body. Let these breath sensations spread until they all flow together. Once the body has been soothed by the breath, feelings of pain will grow calm. The body will be filled with good breath energy. These three qualities must be brought to bear on the same stream of breathing for the first jhana to arise. This stream of breathing can then take you all the way to the fourth jhana. Directed thought, singleness of object, and evaluation act as the causes. When the causes are ripe, results will appear. (d) Rapture: a compelling sense of fullness and refreshment for body and mind, going straight to the heart, independent of all else. (e) Pleasure: physical ease arising from the body’s being still and unperturbed; mental contentment arising from the mind’s being at ease on its own, unperturbed, serene, and exultant. Rapture and pleasure are the results. The factors of the first jhana thus come down to two sorts: causes and results.

As rapture and pleasure grow stronger, the breath becomes more subtle. The longer you stay focused, the more powerful the results become. This enables you to set directed thought and evaluation (the preliminary ground-clearing) aside, and—relying completely on a single factor, singleness of object—you enter the second jhana.

THE SECOND JHANA has three factors: rapture, pleasure, and singleness of object. Rapture and pleasure become stronger in the second jhana because they rely on a single cause, singleness of object, which looks after the work from here on in: focusing on the breath so that it becomes more and more refined, keeping steady and still with a sense of refreshment and ease for both body and mind. The mind is even more stable and intent than before. As you continue focusing, rapture and pleasure grow stronger and begin to pulsate. Continue focusing on the breath, moving the mind deeper to a more subtle level to escape the motions of rapture and pleasure, and you enter the third jhana.

THE THIRD JHANA has two factors: pleasure and singleness of object. The body is quiet, motionless, and solitary. No feelings of pain arise to disturb it. The mind is solitary and still. The breath is refined, free flowing, and broad. A radiance—white, like cotton wool—pervades the entire body, stilling all feelings of physical and mental discomfort. The breath fills the body. Mindfulness fills the body.

Focus on in: The mind is bright and powerful, the body is light. Feelings of pleasure are still. Your sense of the body feels steady and even, with no slips or gaps in your awareness, so you can let go of your sense of pleasure. Singleness of object, the cause, has the strength to focus more heavily down, taking you to the fourth jhana.

THE FOURTH JHANA has two factors: equanimity and singleness of object, or mindfulness—solid, stable, and sure. The breath property is absolutely quiet and still, free of ripples and gaps, like an ocean free of currents or waves. The mind, neutral and still, lets go of all preoccupations with past and future. The present is neutral and still. This is true singleness of object, focused on the unperturbed stillness of the breath. All aspects of the breath energy in the body connect so that you can breathe through every pore. You don’t have to breathe through the nostrils because the in-and-out breath and the other aspects of the breath in the body form a single, unified whole—even and full. Mindfulness and alertness converge into one, giving rise to great energy that can dispel all inner darkness.

From Keeping the Breath in Mind, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

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Extricating oneself from the snares of illusion

Vast and vicious is the maze of illusions
whose intricate tentacles suck us dry



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< The life/soul of the body is the breath!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Breathe


by Marie Bennett

from "Worship"



This is the air I breathe

This is the air I breathe

Your Holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread

This is my daily bread

Your very Word spoken to me



And I'm desperate for You

And I'm lost/dead without You

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To those who say "when there's nothing left but breathing , there's not much quality left,.." let them try to live without breathing.
To those who say "one ought to want more out of life than simply breathing..".they have not realized all that breathing has to offer!  There is no greater treasure!

Who knows what is right and what is wrong?

In ancient times when men were men and women were
women there lived a man who had a horse and a son.> >
> > . One day his horse ran away.When his neigbours
> > heard of this they came to offer the old man their
> > sympathy for he was known to them for his humility
> > and
> > this event was in their eyes a great misfortune.
> >
> > . But the old man seemed unaffected and
> > all he would say was:"Who knows what is right and
> > what
> > is wrong,what is good and what is bad?"
> >
> > . Shortly thereafter the horse
> > returned and brought with it five other horses.
> >
> > . The neighbours were quick
> > to
> > offer the old man their sincere congratulations on
> > his
> > good fortune. .
Again he would only
> > say:"Who knows what is good and what is bad,what is
> > right and what is wrong?" . It then
> > happened that his son in the course of training the
> > wild horses fell off one and broke his leg.
> >
> > . Again
> > all
> > the old man's neighbours came to
> > commiserate,assuming
> > that he would be grief-stricken by this
> > occurence.They
> > were again surprised to find him unperturbed:"Who
> > knows what is right and what is wrong?"
> >
> > . Well the son's
> > leg did mend but he was left with a permanent limp.
> >
> > . And then
> > one
> > day the king's army passed through the village and
> > conscripted every able-bodied young man into the
> > army,except the old man's son who was spared because
> > of his conspicuous limp.
> > .
> >
> > It' all good!

> > . Good and evil,pleasure and pain--all come from
> > the same source.Behind the duality of right and
> > wrong,good and evil ...is unity/oneness.If we do not
> > rise
> > above duality and embrace oneness we can not attain
> > perfection and peace.
> >
> > . This understanding affords one contentment
> > whatever life's condition.Often what we see from
> > our
> > limited personal perspective (observational frame of reference)
as good fortune turns
> > out
> > badly ,and what seems to be misfortune turns out to
> > be
> > a blessing in disguise.
> >
> > . Most of what we learn is partial
> > knowledge.When we can see from another point of
> > view--e.g. to see goodness in someone in whom we
> > previously were only able to see wickedness--then
> > only
> > do we have complete knowledge.
> >
> > . All sensation whether
> > pleasure or pain is caused by energy impinging upon
> > sense organs.Why do we presume to be the best judges
> > of what is right and what is wrong? Have we no faith
> > that the Judge knows what he is doing,that He knows
> > his work and does what is best? . If a
> > person
> > were to drop a heavy weight ,and in so doing hurt
> > his
> > own foot,he would not blame his hand for having
> > dropped it,realizing himself in both the hand and
> > the
> > foot. In like manner the wise man is tolerant when
> > harmed by another,thinking that the harm has come
> > from
> > himself alone.

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There is nothing good or bad, but
> > > thinking
> > > makes
> > > it
> > > so.
> > > I don,t think anyone can live a
> > > "personal
> > > life"
> > > that
> > > is completely blameless,faultless,or sinless.
> > > If sin is in the eye of the beholder
> > > there
> > > will
> > > always be someone who sees what you "do"
> > > or
> > > "don't do"
> > (damned if you do and damned if you don't)
> > > as hurtful and injurious to
> > > themselves.Even
> > > though
> > > the
> > > intention is helpful rather than harmful
> > > there
> > > will
> > > always be someone who sees your action
> > > (or
> > > inaction)as
> > > the cause of their own hurt,as an
> > > impediment
> > > to
> > > the
> > attainment of their own desire(s).
> > Even saints (like Christ who was believed
> > by
> > his
> > followers to have lived a sinless life)have
> > been
> > criticized to death.(Christ was crucified for uttering
the blasphemy of having attained perfection:"I am the
Truth" and "I and my Father are One")

> > Saints are immune to abuses and harsh words.
> > > None
> > are
> > so tolerant as the
> > saints. Therefore the saints and the
> > > > great
> > > > > souls advise seekers of wisdom to be tolerant like
> > > > > earth. They wish them to be so
> > humble
> > > as the earth.
> > > > > neither to speak any harsh word nor entertain
> > > > > any evil thought towards anybody.
> > The
> > > > > earth
> > > > > imparts this teaching.
The most one can
> > expect
> > > > of
> > > > > > > > oneself
> > > > > > > > > is
> > > > > > > > > > to be sensitive to the feelings and needs of
> > > > > others
> > > > > > > and
> > > > > > > > > to
> > > > > > > > > > try not to say or do anything that
> > > will
> > > > be
> > > > > > > > > > experienced
> > > > > > > > > > by them as hurtful--to behave toward
> > > > them
> > > > > as
> > > > > > > you
> > > > > > > > > > would
> > > > > > > > > > like them to behave toward you.
Often what
> > we
> > > > > first
> > > > > > > see
> > > > > > > > > due
> > > > > > > > > > to our limited vision and
> > > understanding
> > > > as
> > > > > > > > harmful
> > > > > > > > > > turns out to be a blessing in
> > > disguise.
So
perhaps
> > > > > we
> > > > > > > > should
> > > > > > > > > > not
> > > > > > > > > > judge what happens to us as being
> > good
> > > > or
> > > > > > > > bad,but
> > > > > > > > > > accept with gratitude everything
> > that
> > > > > comes
> > > > > > > our
> > > > > > > > > > way,everything that life brings us
> > > .Even
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > > grief
> > > > > > > > > > and
> > > > > > > > > > the pain we should count as joy.
> > It's all good!
> > > The creator has created his creation with both
> virtue and sin,truth and falsehood,summer and winter,
> youth and old age.

> > > > > > > > There is no right and no wrong from the
> > > > > > > > absolute viewpoint--from the viewpoint
> > of
> > > > the
> > > > > > pure
> > > > > > > > and
> > > > > > > > perfect essence wch is beyond body and
> > > > form..
> > > > > > > There
> > > > > > > > are only events and experiences and the
> > > > > > > > meanings that we make of(give to) them.
> > > > > > > > It is in the fall from oneness into duality
and multiplicity that all the strife and conflict
apparent in this world originate.
> > > > > > > > > This
> > > > > > > > > > does not mean that we should not do
> > > > > > everything
> > > > > > > > in
> > > > > > > > > > our
> > > > > > > > > > power to avoid causing harm/distress to
> > > > others
> > > > > or
> > > > > > > > > > oneself.But if it happens despite
> > > one's
> > > > > best
> > > > > > > > > > efforts....we must acknowledge that
> > > > > > somethings
> > > > > > > > are
> > > > > > > > > > beyond our power to control.
>We should have the courage to apologize for the injury we have caused
>and to request /receive
>forgiveness.
> > > > > > > > > > Change is the fundamental principle
> > of
> > > > > life.
> > > > > > > > > Pleasure and pain, loss and
> > > > > > > > > gain, , victory and defeat
> > and
> > > > > > > > > righteousness
> > > > > > > > > and unrighteousness are the
> > > > > > > > > two opposite aspects of
> > > Nature.
> > > > > > > > Sometimes
> > > > > > > > > one aspect gets stronger and sometimes
> > > the
> > > > > > > > > other.
> > > > > > > > > He who is granted happiness at one
> > time
> > > > will
> > > > > > > receive sorrow at another.It is not to be
> > > > > avoided.
> > > > > > But must be patiently endured like the
> > > > > weather and the changing of the seasons over
> > > > > wch we also have no power to control.

When there is no hope of help from any
> > > outward
> > > > source (whenwe have reached the limits of our own resources)then only do we turn inward toward
> > God(as a last resort).And
> > > > when
> > > > one sees this one realizes that all the
> > > > troubles,conflicts,and temptations which we
> > > encounter
> > > > in our life are for our good;they are blessings
> > in
> > > > disguise ...for they turn us inward toward God.
> > > >
> > > >

The greatest challenge in life is the cultivation of
thankfulness--to learn to accept/receive all the gifts that
come with being alive.A thankful heart is the greatest virtue!
And the greatest sin is the sin of ingratitude--to be blind to all the beauty and blessings wch surround us simply by virtue of having been given life and awareness.

Joy to the world

A cup of joy from me to you!

http://www.castlemountains.net/flashmar/A_Cup_Of_Joy.swf

God is alive;it's the Devil that's dead!

The Devil--God's misunderstood angel

Devil's Advocate:Sympathy for the Devil

According to the Christian Creation Story:

One day God asked his angels for a volunteer to perform an important service for Him--to function as a tempter of man.
He said that man needed to be tested (subjected to adversity) in order to develope to his fullest inner potential.Whoever accepted this task would be separated from God and would be maligned,  villified and demonized  as evil.
All the angels were fearful of being separated from God and none stepped forward except Lucifer ,who was willing to subordinate his own desires in order to serve his beloved Lord.
Now when God created man He requested that man refrain from judging "right" from "wrong". God felt that man lacked the wisdom to accurately distinquish good from evil ,and requested that man refrain from any such judgment lest it be based on narrow self-interest--namely that "good" would be judged to be everything wch promoted man's selfish desires,and "evil" all that hindered or opposed them.
So Lucifer's first task was to test Adam and Eve's loyalty and obediance to God--a test wch they failed miserably.
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband. . ."
Contrary to common belief it was not the devil/snake that ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil--it was Eve and Adam!The Devil did not (and does not) have the power to make them commit acts of sin/evil.The Devil did not make them do it! They did it of their own choice and free will.

The Devil is a loyal servant of God--acting according to God's will and direction!
The Devil does not act of his own will,but with the authority of God.
The Devil --although vilified,yes,even demonized by man --is really the most loyal devotee of God!
Why does man blame the evil in the world upon the Devil when it is man's own doing!
Why does man not take responsibility for his own choices and his own actions?
We can't blame everything not to our liking on the devil. That's too simplistic,and it's not how the world works!
The devil is an archetypal villain upon wch we project ,and thereby distance ourselves from , the evil that is in our own hearts.
This strategy of shifting the blame for one's own bad behavior to someone else (scapegoating) has been used by man since the beginning. The "blame game" is the oldest trick in the bk!

Be not of those who publicly curse the devil,and secretly serve him.

"The inhumanity that is done to another destroys the humanity in me"

--Immanuel Kant

"Beyond Good and Evil"
--Friedrich Nietzsche

The Devil is innocent until proven guilty!

"The God Delusion"
--Richard Dawkins

"The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit:
A Return to the Intelligence of the Heart"
-- Joseph Chilton Pearce

Do we know right from wrong?

Is man capable of distinguishing between what is right and what is wrong?

The First Prohibition--thou shalt not judge

Why did God ask man not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of "Good and Evil"?

the role/value of adversity/adversary

Adversary = one that contends with, opposes, or resists :an opponent or enemy

The name Satan means adversary in the Hebrew language.

Does the Devil exist, or is he a fictional character (like Santa Claus , the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Bogeyman)fabricated by the human mind and projected outward upon the external world as a scapegoat to be blamed for our own behavior.
The Devil does not make us do it!
The Devil --although vilified/demonized by man --is really the most loyal devotee of God!
see "The Devil--God's misunderstood angel"



" My son ,despiseth not thou the chastening of the Lord,nor faint
when thou art rebuked by Him.
For whom the Lord loveth He
chasteneth,and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.
If you endure chastening ,God dealeth with you as with sons;for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Now no chastening for the present seemeth
to be joyous,but grievous:nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the
peaceable fruit of righteousness." .
Hebrews 12;5-11

Purification by passage through the furnace of affliction:When Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man,it first disciplines his mind with suffering,and his bones and sinews with toil.It exposes him to want and subjects him to extreme poverty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his mind,hardens him,and remedies his deficiencies.
Therefore men of exceptional quality and wisdom attribute these powers/gifts to the trials they have endured.

Man is like a child who requires parental guidance and discipline. A child would not willingly choose to be reproved ,nor would man choose difficulties for himself.Both would choose a life free of obstacles and trials--a life of comfort and ease.But it is only through confronting and overcoming adversity that we grow.

When adversity strikes and our life's experience suddenly goes contrary to our plans,expectations and desires,our trust in life and the universe is undermined/challenged.We cannot understand how such events can lead to a realization of what we have preconceived/imagined to be our highest good.
But what would life be without challenges and adversity? How we respond determines their effect on us.
Adversity can be experienced as an opportunity for growth and expansion,for the discovery of hidden personal strenght and other intangible qualities.
Adversity creates the opportunity to bring out the potential that is in us.
It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we grow.
Struggle is essential to growth!
Adversity challenges us to stand above the immediate experience in wch we find ourselves immersed,in order to see the larger spiritual picture.
Adversity shatters the barriers of protection we have constructed around us thereby liberating us from the shell/shackles of constraint wch obstruct our growth. Personal growth does not occur except in response to resistance,antagonism and adversity.

Perhaps this is why human beings always seem to need an enemy, an adversary, an opponent,and why democracy (like marriage) requires a "loyal opposition". (see "the need for an enemy")
An enemy is an object of hatred and hostility!
If a task is too easy and we always seek comfort, nothing changes in the brain.
Muscles wch do not push and pull against an opposing force become weak.
A man who is content with what he's got will not strive to achieve/gain something more.

Even in the midst of hardship it is possible to find reason to experience joy.
Who has not looked back at a difficult time in their life and seen it as a blessing in disguise!

No one seeks out suffering or pain ,but we must admit that adversity (like pain) does serve a purpose in the grand scheme of things.
Adversity causes us to slow down and turn inward,to reassess our values and priorities, and to strenghen our relationships with self, family,friends ,and God!

Rising to the challenges of environmental adversity:
Without challenging factors(stressors) from the environment we would lose our capacity to adapt to change and become less able to cope with parasites, predators, pathogens,and disease.Even our muscles and bones would atrophy and become weak if we did not have to use them daily to overcome the opposing force of gravity.
The brain does not develope without challenges.

Sometimes adversity overwhelms us--undermining our health and our capacity to cope and survive.But unless it kills us, adversity usually makes us stronger.

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."
--Albert Einstein

Life is good to us by giving us the vital ability of suffering.
Through suffering, we recognise and appreciate joy and happiness.
"We're like blocks of stone, out of which the sculptor
carves the forms of men.
The blows of his chisel, which hurt us so much, are what
make us perfect.
The suffering in this world is not the failure of God's
love for us; it is that love in action."

--C.S.Lewis

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

In the following story in the Bahá’í Writings, Bahá’u’lláh tries to explain how our attitude and feeling about what happens to us (especially in times of distress or crisis) is different if we have trust that all things will work out in our best interest.

The story refers mainly to man’s search for the Divine,... but it is applicable to handling a critical illness or any other seeming adversity :

There was once a lover who had sighed for long years in separation from his beloved, and wasted in the fire of remoteness. From the rule of love, his heart was empty of patience, and his body weary of his spirit; he reckoned life without her as a mockery, and time consumed him away. How many a day he found no rest in longing for her; how many a night the pain of her kept him from sleep; his body was worn to a sigh, his heart's wound had turned him to a cry of sorrow. He had given a thousand lives for one taste of the cup of her presence, but it availed him not. The doctors knew no cure for him, and companions avoided his company; yea, physicians have no medicine for one sick of love, unless the favor of the beloved one deliver him.

At last, the tree of his longing yielded the fruit of despair, and the fire of his hope fell to ashes. Then one night he could live no more, and he went out of his house and made for the marketplace. On a sudden, a watchman followed after him. He broke into a run, with the watchman following; then other watchmen came together, and barred every passage to the weary one. And the wretched one cried from his heart, and ran here and there, and moaned to himself: "Surely this …, my angel of death, following so fast upon me; or he is a tyrant of men, seeking to harm me." His feet carried him on, the one bleeding with the arrow of love, and his heart lamented. Then he came to a garden wall, and with untold pain he scaled it, for it proved very high; and forgetting his life, he threw himself down to the garden.

And there he beheld his beloved with a lamp in her hand, searching for a ring she had lost. When the heart-surrendered lover looked on his ravishing love, he drew a great breath and raised up his hands in prayer, crying: "O God! Give Thou glory to the watchman, and riches and long life. For the watchman was Gabriel, guiding this poor one; …, bringing life to this wretched one!"

Indeed, his words were true, for he had found many a secret justice in this seeming tyranny of the watchman, and seen how many a mercy lay hid behind the veil. Out of wrath, the guard had led him who was athirst in love's desert to the sea of his loved one, and lit up the dark night of absence with the light of reunion. He had driven one who was afar, into the garden of nearness, had guided an ailing soul to the heart's physician.

Now if the lover could have looked ahead, he would have blessed the watchman at the start, and prayed on his behalf, and he would have seen that tyranny as justice; but since the end was veiled to him, he moaned and made his plaint in the beginning. Yet those who journey in the garden land of knowledge, because they see the end in the beginning, see peace in war and friendliness in anger.

     (Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 14)

What is the best identity the brain can construct?

the Supreme Identity
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 2:12 AM
From: "bill dality"

Light is the essence of all material forms,yet it does not perish when they perish. Why identify with the bodily form rather than the immortal essence within?!
Know thine own secret nature to be immortal.
Why would you think yourself to be anything less!
Liberation/salvation is knowing this with certainty (without doubt).
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:20:29 -0500 (EST)
From: "tomas @yahoo.ca>
Subject: Re: What is the best identity the brain can construct?
To: "bill dality"

Anything which can be described has an identity.
If there exists something without boundaries it already got a property by which it can be described,namely its boundlessness, so it has an identity. However having an identity does not necessarily mean that one is an identity.
If you reach an absolute detachment from your identity, you reach a state
of being not an identity.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


You don't think it's possible to have existence and awareness without
limiting boundaries fabricated by the mind?
It should be possible to embrace a greater identity than that of a perishible
material form wch is destined to dissolution/death.
How about an identity wch is boundless(has no limits or boundaries)?
Perhaps any identity by definition is finite and limited.
Perhaps an identity without any boundaries is no identity at all; that is , the absence of identity!

In transcending one's personal identity(as a drop)one merges with the ocean and embraces a transpersonal identity(universe,light,/energy)wch has no limiting boundaries and is not perishable(i.e. it is immortal)
During the brief time that we are alive within this body we have the opportunity to embrace a transpersonal identity ;that is, to transcend our identification with the perishable body.
The mystical experience of "oneness" is in essence a transformative change in one's identity whereby one relinquishes/transcends a constraining bounded identity and embraces a more inclusive transpersonal identity (such as light/energy/God) wch is co-extensive with the universe(one with all that there is)
Unless one's sense of self pierces through the boundary of one's own skin and embraces something ever greater (a greater self) one remains stultified in one's spiritual and human development.
Nothing liberates the human spirit from confinement to self more than the birth of a child,and the experience of love.
A human being who does not grow beyond himself--who lives only for himself and the gratification of his own desires--remains stunted and stultified. One must love and serve something greater than one's self.All men must have something greater than themselves to love. They must be able to access the Divine!! (that wch is worthy of love)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




From tomas
Subject: I-DENT-IT-Y ?
To: "bill


LIFE IN ANY FORM WITHOUT IDENTITY IS IMPOSSIBLE.
NO MATTER HOW YOU TRY TO GET RID OF IT. EXISTENCE OF
ANYTHING IS INEXTRICABLY TIED TO IDENTITY. GET RID
OF YOUR EXISTENCE AND THEN ONLY THEN YOU GET RID
OF YOUR IDENTITY.
CHICHA COCA EDIC T OM STILL IDENTIFIABLY ALIVE.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


http://www.hafizonlove.com/index.htm

Identity

Identity is a very illusive thing. It is given to us, yet we embrace it and own it as if it was always our own.

When we are first born, we come to this world with no identity. Then somebody says, he is the son of so and so, or she belongs to such family… and thus our first identity is acquired.

We wear different identities throughout our lives like different clothing. We have a nationality which is the garment given to us by the virtue of the geographic location of our birth. Of course we have our family. Then we go to school and are given performance identities, such as a grade "A" student. We enter adolescence and are given social acceptance identities such as captain of the football team, or leader of the gang.

Once past our teens, we assume responsible identities such as a doctor or a mechanic. Of course being all of these responsible things, and wanting to fit into the society so badly, we take the bold step of forming our own family by becoming a spouse and eventually a parent.

The more successful among us, adopt larger families such as becoming the CEO of a corporation, or the President of a country, or simply the head of a clan etc.

And when we die, we are eulogized by acquiring the new identity of being among the blessed, while we lived a good life on earth.

But are these really who we are?

Identity in life is more like the snake‘s skin. Once we outgrow it, it is time to shed it and get another one.

Don’t misunderstand me. Identity is a very practical and useful thing to have. It helps us sort things out in neatly packaged ways, and thus makes living and relating to others much easier – at least on a practical level.

But identity is also the straight jacket of the soul. As human beings, we are so much more than the labels we are given. These labels are merely masks that the soul wears. But if we are not careful, the masks will stick to the soul and we will forget to take them off.

Identifying with our identity is perhaps the biggest blow we can give to our soul, which is always flowing, and ever so defiant of definition. How can the soul be the infinite potentiality that it is, if it is restricted to a particular shape and description of its vessel?

Yes, I say. Liberate the soul. Shed the identity. Get rid of the old self. Become a "nobody", and make room for the next mask.

© Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
November 2004

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Who we are depends on how we choose to define ourselves.
Perhaps the best identity is the extinction of all identity.
Any specific identity by virtue of being limited is incomplete.
To say that "I" and "God" exist is a denial of the Oneness of God.
I am afflicted with fear when I separate "You" from "me".
When "I" am no more, then God is his own mirror/devotee and fear is dispelled.

Zen Wisdom

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead
of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just
pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt
and leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal
your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be
promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a
couple of car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their
shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and
you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to
fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it
was probably worth it.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.Someday the statue and some day the pigeon!

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half
and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark
side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips
are moving.

20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you
need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a
laxative on the same day.

Everything in Nothingness

When you have become everything
What is that fragment
of a moment we
call a lifetime?
(there is more than the
short span of one lifetime
to consider)
The dust of my bones
blanket the planet
from tens of thousands
of lifetimes,
and you say I am not
one of your people
because this body
carries the blood
of the conqueror.

How do you know
that on some good day
to die, your cavalry
bullet did not pierce
my war-shirt, and
my blood did not soak
into the red, red earth

When you are all of space
what is that speck of dust
called a human body?
What is that cluster
of particles we call
clan, race, gender, species,
self
Buddha... God?

I have felt the fullness
of life inside of me
and given birth, and death.

My skin has blistered
in the fire of the stake,
and I have laid in heaps
of bodies in large pits
under fresh snow.

The greed of humans
knows no end,
but when the layers
of my grasping self
fell away,
then
I became everything
and nothing.

-- Jeff Brooks --

The One,the only One

The doctrine of no soul/self(anatta)

The final desire to be rooted out is the desire for continued separate existence or individual awareness. For the drop to merge into the ocean it must give up all hope of individual immortality.

A salt doll journeyed for thousand of miles and stopped at the edge of the sea. It was fascinated by this moving liquid mass, so unlike anything it had seen before.

"What are you," asked the salt doll. "Come in and see," replied the sea with a smile.

So the salt doll waded in. The further it went, the more it dissolved till there was only a pinch of it left. Before the last bit dissolved the doll exclaimed in wonder, "Now I know what I am "...and became drowned/immersed/absorbed in the ocean of unity.

This does not, as some suppose, entail a loss of individuality. "The drop is not poured into the Ocean; the Ocean is not poured into the Drop." The self and the entire universe are simultaneously experienced as an inseparable/indivisible unity.

Dissolve your ego (which is nothing but your 'values,' your education, your 'shoulds' and your 'should nots', your scriptures, your morality, your so called religion, your seeking of pleasure and avoidance of sorrow, your planning for the future, your running to reach somewhere), and discover your essence which was always there, which is all that you truly ever have. The passing-away of individuality (self-extinction)is accompanied by everlasting life in God.We can identify fana with Nirvana unconditionally. Both terms imply the passing-away of individuality.Annihilation(fana) into God is emancipation/liberation from the confinement of personal existence. Absorption in God or union with God means eternal life--eternal life with and in God.(The Christian is not without participation in absorption and eternal life. Jesus said, "I and my Father are One") If in absorption there remains awareness of self as subject/observer there remains duality and perfect union is not achieved. As long as one retains consciousness of the least distinction between God and self one has not attained perfect union with God.

When you merge with the Light you forget who you are.. I know nothing about God, I know nothing about my guru and I know nothing about my own self .

Faqir Chand:"I listen to only one Sound, which is an unbreakable tune, about which I cannot say any word. It is what it is. But what does it give to me? It gives peace and bliss. Now at this age of 92 years I do not care for the sound and light too.

Why? Because light is seen by "Me" [Self] and sound is heard by "Me" [Self]. Then who is great? Light or sound or He who sees it and listens to it? Who is great? Light is great or "I" [as Transcendental Self] am great? Sound is great or I am great? The self of mine is the supermost Element of consciousness in my body. If that is not there then sound is of no value and light is of no value to me. That is what I have realized." In other words,without awareness there is no means to experience anything.
The Buddha said we must give up the view of a separate uncompounded essence (such as light or energy)as subsisting in all compounded things. Attachment to or identification of self with even this must be relinquished,because any such identity is (born of) an illusory fabrication of the discriminating mind/intellect wch seeks to fragment/divide the Oneness

Liberation is [spiritual] annihilation of existence,
And merging with the whole [cf. what the Buddha calls 'Nirvana'],
For the material universe and the [individual] consciouness is only ephemeral."

One must always be willing to let go of the self that one thinks/believes one to be (shedding of all self identification = removing the layers of self)because no matter what one thinks one self to be (no matter what identity one assumes)that thought form is limited. One's real self is without limitation and cannot be represented /symbolized by any thought form.

dhikr, an exercise well known to Western readers from the careful description given by Edward Lane in his Modern Egyptians, and by Professor D. B. Macdonald in his recently published Aspects of Islam.

The first stage of dhikr is to forget self, and the last stage is the effacement of the worshipper in the act of worship, without consciousness of worship, and such absorption in the object of worship as precludes return to the subject thereof." inducition of the state of trance called 'passing-away' (fana), is the climax and raison d'être of the method.

"Simran" is an Eastern term for repeating a Name of God -- the
Remembrance of God by repeating his Name. This is a spiritual
exercise in Sant Mat that's for the most part done mentally, "with the tongue of thought," as often as possible during the day and night, as well as during meditation practice when one listens to an inaudible sound (shabd).

Nirvana/fana is not the abolition of personality. It is the completion of personality. In that state of supreme illumination, you feel the oneness of subject and object When subject and object fuse into Oneness no separate distinguishable entity exists (cessation)

Ibn Arabi says:"Do not think that you exist, with an essence and qualities and attributes - for you never existed, nor do exist, nor will ever exist. You have not entered into Him, nor He into you. Without being, your essence is with Him and in Him. You were not; nor are you temporal. Without having any identity, you are Him and He is you. If you know yourself as nothing, then you truly know your Lord. Otherwise, you know Him not. You cannot know your Lord by making yourself nothing. Many a wise man claims that in order to know one's Lord one must denude oneself of the signs of one's existence, efface one's identity, finally rid oneself of one's self. This is a mistake. How could a thing that does not exist try to get rid of its existence? For none of matter exists. How could a thing that is not, become nothing? A thing can only become nothing after it has been something. Therefore, if you know yourself without being, not trying to become nothing, you will know your Lord. If you think that to know Allah depends on your ridding yourself of yourself, then you are guilty of attributing partners to Him - the only unforgivable sin - because you are claiming that there is another existence besides Him, the All-Existent: that there is a you and a He. -Ibn Arabi

If you think you are different from God,you are in duality.

for 'I' and 'God' is a denial of the unity of God. Since I am no more, the high God is His own mirror.when you act from hope or fear of other than God, who is the lord and sustainer of all things, you have taken to yourself another god to honour and venerate.

"Yourself is the hurdle, between your Love and you." The Beloved is all, the lover just a veil. - Rumi



Allah is the only really existing being. There is nothing except Him. The existence of everything else is illusory. Liberation of the soul can be achieved only through full realization of the oneness of atma, and Brahma. The spiritual journey is a journey of the human being as the illusory being to the stage where he may not see anything but Allah. This journey is a process of purifying one's heart and one's soul. Clean the mirror of your heart so that He can see His face clearly.



There is only one Truth/The Primal Truth/The Doctrine of One


God is One

To know God is to know His Oneness --Imam Ali

That which hides Him is His oneness. None but Himself can hide Him. The veil that hides Him is His own being. He hides His being with nothing other than His being the Only One

--Ibn Arabi

"Excuse me," said a very young ocean fish, "You are older than I so can you tell me where to find this thing called the Ocean?" "The Ocean," replied the older fish, "is the thing you are in now." "Oh this? But this is water. What I'm seeking is the Ocean," said the disappointed young fish as he swam away to search elsewhere.

Stop searching, little fish. There isn't anything to look for. All you have to do is see.

Imam Ali said:
"To say that God is one has four meanings; Two of these meanings are false and two correct. As for the two incorrect meanings, one is that one should say 'God is one' and be thinking of number and counting. This meaning is false because that which has no second cannot enter into the category of number. Do you not see that those who said that God is the third of trinity [i.e, the Christians] fell into infidelity? Another meaning is to say that so and so is one of this people, namely as a species of this genus or a member of this species. This meaning is also not correct when applied to God, for it implies likening something to God and God is above all likeness.
As for the two meanings that are correct when applied to God, one is that it should be said that God is one in the sense that there is no likeness unto Him among things. God possesses such uniqueness. And one is to say that God is one on the sense that there is no multiplicity or division conceiveable in Him, neither outwardly nor in the mind nor in the imagination. God possesses such unity."

Buddha said: "This unity alone In the world is boundless in its reality, and being boundless is yet one. Though in. small things, yet it is great; though in great tbings, yet it is small. Pervadmg all things, present in every minutest hair, and yet including the infinite worlds in its embrace; enthroned in the minutest particle of dust, and yet turning the great wheel of the Law; opposed to all sensible phenomena; it is one with Divine Knowledge; it is manifested as the effulgent Nature of the Divine Intelligence of Tathagata" --Surangama Sutra


The delusion of separateness:

Beware the discriminating mind wch in an attempt to separate and distinquish itself from the Oneness (tries to conceive a second) seeks to fragment the Oneness into such dualities as subject/object ,self/notself. For it is possible in thought (but only in thought) to separate oneself from the One and to cleave/profane the fundamental inalienable/indivisible integrity of the Whole/One.
It is our own thoughts which separate us from God.
By the discriminations of analytical thought we build a net within wch we become imprisoned.We escape by recognizing that our cage is of our own ignorant making.

We can think ourselves so far out of Oneness that we can bring discord,disease and dissolution upon ourselves.The thought of unity/oneness returns us to our source and re-establishes a condition of harmony. When we occupy our attention with thoughts of separation/aloneness/limitation/imperfection we create discord instead of harmony.When we take what is simple (one) and make it complicated we create confusion.
The individual(indivisible) unit is still an integral part of the whole--contained within and inseparable from the whole/One. God is that immanent Reality which is the very life and soul of the universe--a power that is present both in the world and the soul of man.Indeed it has been claimed that God's throne is in the heart of man.Look in your own heart," says the Sufi, "for the kingdom of God is within you." He who truly knows himself knows God.
It is possible through reason and study of the scriptures to come to an understanding that union with God is a real possibility and the source of our true happiness, and even to discover the means to atttaining this union.We are thinking beings ,and rely on our God-given faculty of rational thought to survive.
But do not become entangled/ensnared in the illusory distinctions of the intellect wch rob us of the experience of Oneness.Wherever there is division into "this" and "that" there is no Truth.Knowledge of God (apprehension of Truth)is not accessible to the senses or to reason.
Union with God can only be attained through meditation.The only way to purify the mind is through meditation.In 'meditation' (muraqabat) we recognise a form of self-concentration similar to the Buddhistic dhyana and samadhi
Reasoning may be helpful in guiding ourselves and others toward this awakening,but to attain the experience reasoning must finally be left behind (at the point at which it becomes an obstruction), and one must leap to a supra-rational intuition/insight. A silent understanding of It can be attained but the insight achieved transcends expression or description in words.It can not be enclosed in words.


The man travelled on until he came to the Master in sannyasi robes. He spoke in the sannyasi language and asked, "For years I have been seeking God. I have sought Him everywhere that He is said to be - on mountain peaks, the vastness of the desert, the silence of the cloister and the dwellings of the poor." "Have you found him," the Master asked. "No. I have not. Have you?" replied the man.

What could the Master say? The evening sun was sending shafts of golden light into the room. Hundreds of sparrows were twittering on a banyan tree. In the distance one could hear the sound of the highway traffic. A mosquito droned a warning that it was going to strike. And yet this man could sit there and say he had not found Him.

After a while the man ,his wandering soul taking no time to rest (still restless),left disappointed, to search elsewhere.

Thus are we betrayed by our own expectations!


forget the sharp divisions
into wch words carve the universe.
Love returns the pieces
To the unity of oneness
Those who have not realized God will wander,
homeless in this world, destitute in the next.
But watch the lovers dance with ecstasy,
as they merge into the oneness of God.



Give up the endless differentiations of thought
wch only separate us further from the source
of our common unity

All this learned talk is ignorance.
Religion is not a matter of discussion


May your heart be filled with unspeakable joy!

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"Those who have made everything One, enjoy peace and rest of spirit"
-- Bok of the Sagacious

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If all is One ,what is there to fear!

The pure and perfect light wch is the universal essence of all particular perishible forms is inextinguishable! We need not wait for death to awaken to this awareness.
Why identify with that wch is perishible?

The Sufi concept of the passing away(fana) of the individual self in Universal Being
is similar to the Buddhist "nirvana".In both the pasing away of individuality (the drop) is accompanied by everlasting life in God (the ocean). This transition is accompanied by an extinction of desire and of the grasping/fearful condition of the mind and ego.

To think/say that "I" and "God" exist is a denial of the Oneness of God. When I am no more , God only exists and God is his own mirror and devotee.
Fear afflicts me when I separate "You" from "me".
Therefore merge with the One and become fearless!


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The concept of Non-dualism (Oneness)
The experience of Oneness is also known as Enlightenment

Non-dualism is like seeing and experiencing the Truth that lies behind the forms in the world, and realizing that the Essence that all forms arise from is undivided and absolute, whereas the forms are many and relative, i.e., forms are all impermanent. A good example is yourself. You are an ‘individual,’ yet that word contains a clue. Place a hyphen between ‘indivi’ and ‘dual.’ The prefix ‘indivi’ is also found in another word, ‘indivisible’, meaning whole, or one, not able to be broken. The suffix ‘dual’ on the other hand, is plainly obvious, and means ‘two.’ So now you see the apparent paradox of yourself. You are both ‘dual’, or of two parts, and ‘indivi’(undividable) or one part.

the good/evil dichotomy

Absolut evil - does it exist?

Answer from Jesus: (through Kim Michaels,
http://www.askrealjesus.com/C_ABOUTUS/kimsstory.html)
The short answer is that absolute evil does exist but only temporarily.

In other words, absolute evil has no absolute or permanent existence.
The key to understanding this mystery, which has confused numerous seekers over the ages, is to understand the two basic forces of creation, namely the yin and yang, or the masculine and feminine. Everything is created through an interaction of two forces. The important point in this context is to understand that the two basic forces of creation are not in opposition to each other. The two basic forces are complementary, meaning that they do not have opposite or mutually exclusive qualities. Instead, they have complementary qualities. They are two sides of the same coin, and they supplement each other.

Some religions teach that God forms one polarity which is good and that there must be another polarity which is the opposite of God, namely absolute evil. These religions tend to make it seem like evil is just as necessary as good and that only the interaction of the two forces will create a world. This is a very subtle, and for some people very persuasive idea but I must tell you that it is a lie. In fact it is an absolute lie perpetrated by absolute evil.

When God created this universe, God defined a set of principles, or laws, that guide the evolution of this world. Certain beings decided to rebel against not only God’s laws but also God’s intent to create the universe. Therefore, these beings set themselves apart from God and God’s creation. The essential understanding is that when you rebel against God’s law and set yourself apart from God, you do not create something that forms an opposite polarity of God. In other words, evil has not suddenly become a necessary part of creation.

God’s creation evolves through a harmonious interaction of the two complementary forces, namely the active and passive, the masculine and feminine. Neither of these forces are evil. Both of these forces are absolute good and they are not in opposition to each other or to the basic purpose of creation.

Absolute evil, therefore, is a force that has set itself apart from and stepped outside of the basic polarity that creates the universe. Absolute evil is a force made of beings who have said, “We want no part of God’s creation.”
(But how is it possible to separate oneself from creation --wch is an all-inclusive whole?--J.C. Bok)
What you need to understand is that evil can never form a polarity with God. Everything is created by an interaction of two polarities. When they come together, they do not oppose each other or cancel each other out. Instead they complement each other and through their harmonious union create something that is different, that is more, than the original state.
If you were to take absolute good and put it together with absolute evil, there would not be creation. Absolute good and absolute evil are not complementary forces; they are mutually exclusive. If you put the two together, absolute evil will disappear instantly, as the darkness disappears when you turn on the light in a room. Absolute evil is simply an absence of absolute good, and therefore it has no existence of its own. It cannot continue to exist in the presence of absolute good.

When certain beings rebelled against God’s law, they essentially stepped outside of God’s universe. They cut themselves off from God,(perhaps it would be more corrct to say that they alienated/estranged themselves from God,their Source.--J.C. Bok) and therefore they no longer receive energy directly from God. This is not because God hates these beings or wants to punish them. God simply defined laws for how a being with free will receives energy. When you violate those laws, when you refuse to plug your light into the socket, you can no longer receive the energy.

So what has happened is that certain spiritual beings cut themselves off from God. These beings cannot receive energy directly from God, yet they cannot continue to exist forever on their own energy. In other words, when these beings cut themselves off from God, they had a certain amount of God’s energy. God did not take that energy away from them but allowed these beings to create their own world as being apart from God. These beings could create their own world, but they could only use the energy they had at the beginning. They could not receive more without coming back into alignment with God’s law and vision.

So when the rebellious souls started running out of energy, they had to find a way to steal energy from those who can still receive energy directly from God. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of planet Earth had descended into a lower state of consciousness, and this allowed certain dark beings an inroad into this planet and into the consciousness of humankind. The dark beings have since then created numerous schemes designed to cause human beings to misqualify the pure energies of God so that the dark beings can steal the energy and continue to exist. The dark beings are like vampires that suck the lifeblood, God’s energy, from human beings.

In their attempt to gain control over the inhabitants of Earth, the dark beings have used many clever schemes. As part of this effort, they have created a number of philosophies that seem to justify their existence. One of these philosophies is the idea that since everything must have an opposite, there must be something in opposition to God. Therefore, absolute evil must be a necessary part of creation as the opposite polarity of absolute good. As I have attempted to explain above, this is a lie.

Absolute evil does not form a polarity with absolute good. Absolute evil is not a necessary part of God’s creation. Absolute evil is a consequence of the fact that God gave all of his sons and daughters the gift of free will. When you have free will, you can take one of two approaches. You can recognize the fact that in order to create anything that is sustainable, God must define certain laws which insure the sustainability of the universe. You can realize that these laws are not a restriction of your freedom. Therefore, you can choose to exercise your free will within the context of God’s laws. This has two advantages. By following God’s law, you have the security that you will always have a stable platform for your creative expression. In other words, you cannot suddenly do something that will destroy yourself or the entire universe. At the same time, you still have unlimited opportunity to express your individuality and creativity within the context of God’s law.

The other option you have as a consequence of free will is that you can choose to completely and absolutely rebel against not only God’s law but God’s intent to create. Because God has given you free will, God allows you to make that choice. However, consider the mechanics of making that choice. You are essentially saying to God, “I will have nothing to do with you.” Because God respects his own Law of Free Will, God will not only allow you to make that choice, but God will also take the consequence of that choice. The consequence is that God will leave you alone, and when God leaves you alone, you are completely cut off from God.

God will never violate your free will. In other words, when you have cut yourself off from God, you will remain cut off from God indefinitely, unless you change your original choice and say, “God, I want to come home.” Contrary to how certain dark forces have portrayed God, namely as an angry and judgmental Being, God has no anger and no judgment of dark forces. Such beings can, at any moment, choose to change their original rebellion against God. The moment they express their sincere intent of coming back to God, at that moment God would be perfectly willing to help them do so.

Unfortunately, when a soul cuts itself off from God, it inevitably begins to build an image/concept of God that is out of touch with the divine reality. Therefore, such beings cannot understand or accept the unconditional love of God. They project their own qualities of conditionality, relativity, anger and judgment upon God. Therefore, they do not fully accept that they have the option of coming back to God. As a result, they continue to attempt to justify their original decision to turn away from God. In doing so dark forces also attempt to make human beings accept that evil is a necessary part of creation. They want to make human beings accept that absolute evil is as vital for creation as absolute good, and therefore it is acceptable to align yourself with absolute evil.

Many souls on planet Earth are fooled by these subtle lies. This is not because these souls are evil, or because they have rebelled against God. It is largely because most people on planet Earth have descended into a lower state of consciousness in which they do not understand God, especially the unconditional love of God. Therefore, many souls do not believe that they are worthy of God’s love. They think God is angry with them and that God will judge them harshly. They think they are sinners who are not worthy of coming back to God. Therefore, if you are not worthy to come back to God anyway, why not simply align yourself with the dark forces who tell you that it is actually OK to do whatever you want and that God’s law is a restriction of your freedom.

When I walked the Earth 2,000 years ago, I made an extremely important remark [quoted from Proverbs 16:25]. I said, “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.” The dark beings have attempted to promote the idea that the world is created from two opposite forces, namely absolute good and absolute evil. They have attempted to create the impression that there are two viable roads and that both roads lead to the same end result. In other words, the true goal is to get back to union with God, but you can attain that goal in two different ways. You can choose the high road or the low road, and these dark forces want you to believe that both roads ultimately lead to the same result. This is another subtle and pervasive lie.

When you align yourself with absolute good and express your free will within the context of God’s law, God will give you more life, more energy. This is expressed in the parable of the talents. The servant who had multiplied his talents was given more in return. If you align yourself with absolute evil, then God will respect your free will and leave you alone. The result is that you will not receive more energy from God. Therefore, you will gradually spend the energy that you have. Eventually, you will run out of energy and there will be nothing left. There will be no more energy, and therefore there will be no more you. You will simply disappear. Your soul will be erased as if it never existed.

Right now the dark forces can argue that by using black magic you can gain power and energy. This is true because there are still many human beings on planet Earth who are receiving energy directly from God. In other words, there is still energy which can be perverted by black magic and therefore stolen by dark forces. However, if this perversion of energy continues until it reaches a critical mass, then the entire planet could be cut off from God’s energy. At that point there would be no more energy coming from God, and therefore the planet and all dark forces upon it would quickly self-destruct.


When God created this universe, he made you a promise. He promised you that if you would align yourself with his laws, he would guarantee you a stable platform for your creative expression. It all goes back to the old question, “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” Will you serve absolute good and therefore attain life and absolute reality. Or will you serve absolute evil and therefore ultimately self-destruct.

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All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for enough good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. - Plato