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Adyshanti - What Is Awareness?
June 3, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 2 Comments
Awareness, it’s the whole enigma, the eyeball trying to see itself, the sound of one hand clapping. It isn’t you, you can’t be it, it’s ever present and we don’t notice.
The simple timeless state of awareness is the heart of all this spiritual jiggery pokery, nothing like a good paradox to confuse the mind into believing itself. It won’t make any sense until you have direct experience, but you never know which pointing finger will finally reveal the moon.
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out more
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Go See Amma - 6 Reasons Why
May 26, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 2 Comments
On Thursday Amma begins her annual US summer tour. If you’ve never been to see her and wonder whether you should here are six reasons why.
1: There are spiritual teachers who have knowledge, there are spiritual teachers who have wisdom and there are spiritual teachers who have shakti, there are spiritual teachers who are enlightened. From personal experience I can tell you that Amma it’s something beyond all of these.
When we have the idea that enlightenment is some kind of completion it is very difficult for us to comprehend anything beyond it. I am convinced by my own experience that enlightenment is the beginning of a whole new experience in consciousness evolving. As such I do not believe it its possible comprehend just what or who Amma is, and i don’t advise trying.
2: Amma Has been a touring the world and hugging people for decades now, she has made the analogy that a life of service is like an incense stick burning to ash to offer its fragrance of the world. My point is that it won’t last forever, so if you’ve never been make sure you do while you still can.
3: The analogy I will offer Re: number one and two is this. if Jesus or Buddha were alive and you could go and just be with them, even for a day - wouldn’t you go? And if Jesus or Buddha don’t inspire you just replace them with whatever spiritual figure does. Well, would you go?
4: If you are sincere about your desire to spiritually evolve, then Amma can help you, all you have to lose is your pride.
5: After spending years with her in India and other parts of the world, it seems to me that Amma cam to Earth on a mission - it’s us - humanity. We can be as positive as we like (and I’m not saying not to be) but we are walking a tightrope through a pivotal time in earth’s history and we may not make it. At it’s core the outcome will be decided by our level of consciousness. (Read more of my thought on this here)
The point is, we are all in this together, we are forging our collective future in every moment, and as I see it, if we are conscious of this we can best serve by doing everything we can to raise our own consciousness.
6: It’s free. All public programs are completely free, all you have to do is show up, and if you want a hug be willing to wait. If you go and want a hug, go early. Whatever you do, stay as long as you can as close as you can and be as receptive as you can - to the energy of Amma’s consciousness. This is especially true when you go for darshan (hugging).
| Seattle | 05.28-05.31 | |
| San Ramon | 06.03-06.13 | |
| Los Angeles | 06.15-06.19 | |
| Albuquerque | 06.21-06.25 | |
| Dallas | 06.27-06.28 | |
| Iowa | 06.30-07.01 | |
| Chicago | 07.03-07.04 | |
| New York | 07.07-07.09 | |
| Washington DC | 07.12-07.13 | |
| Boston | 07.15-07.18 | |
| Toronto | 07.21-07.24 |
Visit the US Amma website for details of public programs and retreats - Go and Enjoy!
If you aren’t in the US check the main site for other Amma world tours.
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out moreRam Dass - Still Hip
May 23, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
Many times over the years I meet someone, usually in the baby boomer generation who tells me that Ram Dass was their first introduction to Eastern spiritual ideas. Now, nearly 40 years after the landmark publication of his book ‘Be Here Now’ he is still going strong.
For those of us who have grown up in later generations it is hard to imagine a world where the richness and diversity of spiritual knowledge from the great land of India are not readily available. Maybe because of that it is harder for us to appreciate just what a trail blazer Ram Dass was on his return from India in 1969, inspired by the teaching of his Guru Neem Karoli Baba and Baba Hari Dass.
Admittedly, he was slowed down over the last decade by a stroke in 1997. That life change became a deepening of Ram Dass’s spiritual journey and not a hindrance to it.
Hidden deep within all of us is a primordial fear of death. Despite his many years of work with the dying through the ‘Dying Project’, his stroke brought Ram Dass to direct experience of his own mortality.
Of that debilitating event Ram Dass later said, "I had been superficial and arrogant and the stroke helped me to be humble. I had gotten power from helping people and now I need help for everything. That was the grace. The stroke happened to the ego, and when I could witness the pain, my life got better."
Now 79 and with a new hip replacement Ram Dass is still teaching on retreats and giving satsangs. Recently some of these activities are being made available to those outside Hawaii through the internet as Ram Dass continues to inspire new generations of spiritual seekers.
This Sunday May 24th, renowned spiritual teacher will give satsang with guest speakers Lei Ohu Ryder and Lama Gyaltsen at The Studio Maui.
Find out what else Ram Dass is up to in the near future and how to sign up for online satsang at http://www.ramdass.org
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out more
Karma And Relationships
May 22, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 2 Comments
In relationship, more accurately with intimate/committed relationship there is karmic compatibility. This means that both people have the same unresolved/unhealed/incomplete energy (not in every way of course - but in significant areas).It’s that pesky Law of Attraction again.
This ‘karmic’ energy usually manifest as a polarity, one person holds one end of the spectrum and the other person the opposite. In manifest behaviour/characteristics, it then looks very different - opposite in fact. The relationship then dances around the ‘appearance’ of this duality as the two people seek resolution within themselves.
When one steps out of this dance and chooses to find healing within themselves and without the drama of the
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out moreRamana Maharishi - His Life Story
May 2, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 1 Comment
Ramana Maharishi is one of the giants among 20th Century spiritual masters. One of the rare people to spontaneously awaken to truth almost instantly without any prior spiritual practice, or even interest.
Today there are many Ramana wannabe’s with some spurious claim to connection with him as a lineage teacher. Ramana was the lived embodiment of Advaita Vedanta, it wasn’t a ‘philosophy’ he studied and then espoused, it was the truth of his living experience.
I recently found this full length film on Ramana’s life and Saturday seemed like a good day for a movie. There are days when I really miss India and some part of my heart is always there. Movies like this give a little fix to that part of me and while Arunachala didn’t really do it for me like it does for many this film stirs good memories.
There are many books of Raman Maharishi’s teaching, my personal favorite is..
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out more
Time Of Great Spiritual Change
April 29, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
There is at this time a massive effort going on to raise the collective vibration of human consciousness and more help available than we imagine. It is important that we ask for help, in many cases it is only when we do that it can be forthcoming in all the ways possible. It is also advantageous if we are really clear on exactly what we want help with. For example if we have an area in our psyche where we experience contraction, fear or any kind of limitation, that is a good thing to ask for help with. As I have written about all over this site we evolve by unwinding and transmuting these energies of limiting past.
There are very real and disastrous potentials if we don’t. So all spiritual endeavor at this time is for the good of all. The ‘reward’ for reaching a certain degree of spiritual
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out moreSpiritual & Philosphical Tweets
April 25, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 2 Comments
Twitter is a buzz phenomena on the internet right now and I have been tweeting for a while as @consciousone. I have ‘met’ some really interesting, gifted and talented people on twitter that I sincerely hope I meet in person some day.
For anyone who doesn’t know what it’s all about it is communicating, sharing and connecting using 140 characters or less. Basically a sentence.It isn’t much to work with but it can help hone an idea to it’s essence.
Below are some of my past tweets loosely on the themes of Spiritual and Philosphical musings, I will also make posts of tweets on Mind & Meditation and another of Love, Unity & Oneness
◦ What one thing can you do everyday to raise your consciousness & vibration? Can you do it more?
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◦ God has been at play a very long time, for humans to think we are the peak of his creation is beyond arrogance
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◦ Having someone open the door is very different from knowing how to open it yourself
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◦ Just Be It
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◦ How would u be different if every word, thought & deed led to either the demise or salvation of human life?
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◦ If this moment could be the one of your enlightenment, how much more attention would you give it
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◦ I invite you to believe in the real possibility of enlightenment in this life
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◦ The Stillness i salways present. Do you feel it?
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◦ The Silence is always calling, do you hear it?
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◦ Non of the maps & models of reality are reality or truly map or model it, reality is too big, too simple & yet also too complex
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◦ Awakening is to realize you always were, you just didn’t notice
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◦ Not this body but this body,not these feelingsbut these feelings,not these thoughts but these thoughts.To be human is a paradox of wonder.
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◦ Imagine a world that does not operate on the exchange of money!
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◦ If there were no need to earn money, what would you do with your time on earth?
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◦ Fundamental change only comes from Raising Consciousness, for which there is no ceiling
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◦ Balance is static = death - Equilibrium is fluid = life
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◦ The only place to get anywhere is from exactly where you are
You can follow me on twitter for more waxing lyrical by clicking on the icon top right of the home page.
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out moreOn Retreat With Adyashanti
April 22, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 2 Comments
It is a couple of weeks ago now since the retreat with Adyashanti finished, and I finally feel ready to write about it. It was a truly powerful experience, not in a dramatic flashing lights and fireworks kind of way, but in a subtle and deeply penetrating way.
The retreat was held at Mount Madonna Retreat centre, nestled in the Redwood cloaked hills above San Jose. A beautiful space built with love and dedication over many years. The retreat was in silence which for some may sound like a challenge, for myself a blessing and effortless. My hermit nature loves silent retreat. What a gift it is to have all your basic needs taken care of, and the only requirement is silent meditation.
It has now been more than half my lifetime that I had been doing spiritual practice and that spiritual evolution has been central to my life. In that time I have met and seen many spiritual teachers of different persuasions and philosophies. Many hold satsang in the manner that Adyashanti does, where there is a dialogue process of self enquiry, many sadly are doing little more than spiritual theatre. Adyashanti is the real thing, he is
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out moreOpening To The Divine Truth
April 13, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 3 Comments
Our spiritual evolution is a process of opening to the Divine, as the truth both within and without. The egoic personality is a fractured consciousness caught in the illusion of separation. All places of separation are places where we experience limitation - whether it is physical, emotional, mental or at any other dimension of our being. The spiritual process of unifying and healing them will take us out of limitation. There is no limit to how far that can expand. There is no end to the journey of consciousness evolving.
From the position of separation there are only so many possibilities, and they will all be limited. Our level of consciousness dictates the possibilities we can perceive and understand. Erronously when we are bound in identification with the egoic personality we believe our
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out moreHow To Find Happiness - Adyashanti
March 30, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 2 Comments
How to find happiness, don’t we all want to know?
The pursuit of happiness outside ourselves can only lead to sorrow because anything attained can be lost. Even the search within ourselves can lead to suffering because of unconscious beliefs and misperceptions. In his sword-swinging yet playful manner, Adyashanti cuts to the heart of what’s really true and points to the causeless happiness that comes with knowing the sacred reality of who we are. How to find happiness? - Waking up to our true nature, it’s the only show in town!
“You are a Spiritual being having a human experience" Living Liberation is the missing manual Find out more
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