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Yearly Archives: 2008
For most of us, a part of the journey of awakening will involve a process of letting go of layer after layer after layer. You sit, you see through something, you feel this tremendous release, and your mind says, “Wow, I’ve really seen through this thing. I’m getting pretty free.” But are you free? How can you tell if you are or aren’t?
A friend of mind just help me to see how you can tell whether you are free on a subject or not. It’s so simple, I really can’t believe I missed it. Ready? Here is it:
If you still give a hoot about it, then you aren’t… Read the rest →
Tagged with: freedom, letting go
I’ve recently written quite a bit about the topic of control. Over and over, as I look at my life, as I watch others experience their lives, I keep coming to the same simple realization: we don’t have control over our lives. We are lived by something, a force that operates through our bodies and conditioned minds. We are lived by LIFE itself. And whatever “we” are goes along for the ride.
Interestingly, as I was in the midst of writing my recent posts on control, I got to travel to San Francisco to hear Adyashanti give a weekend workshop. And guess how he started his first talk? Yes, of course, he started discussing control. I… Read the rest →
Tagged with: control
In case you can’t tell, I’m a bit of a puritan purist when it comes to spirituality. Awakening or enlightenment is what it is all about! But isn’t there more to spirituality than just awakening?
I suppose it depends upon what we mean by spirituality. If you look at it as an observer, you would think that spirituality was about everything but awakening. At least, if you listen to the voices in the world of spirituality speak, you will rarely if ever hear anything about awakening. So, yes, spirituality deals with far more than awakening. In it, we find everything from angels to zen and so much in between.
Let me hear from you. Is it more than “concerned with spirit,” ie, the non-material? Is it more than enlightenment?… Read the rest →
Tagged with: spiritual awakening, Spirituality
I have a good friend with whom I often disagree on spiritual issues. I think on some level we enjoy our disagreement, even though on another level we often react to each other as if to say, “Are you nuts?” Recently we exchanged a few emails, and I sent him a message today that I’m quite certain he won’t like. Afterwards, I thought, “Hey, if my friend won’t like it, I’m sure it will irritate others, too.” Of course, that means I need to publish it here. 
Truth is a not a state of being or consciousness or anything. The truth is what is. When you awaken, you simply drop… Read the rest →
Tagged with: enlightenment
I’m thrilled to report that I’ve recently gotten a little “love” from some great websites in the past week. First, Dennis Waite at advaita.org.uk has published one of my essays, What Happens When an Awakened One Dies, on his highly respected site on Non-Duality. I’m deeply grateful to Dennis for the honor.
Secondly, Michael Jeffreys has been kind enough (crazy enough?) to quote me on his page of spiritual quotes. Thanks, Michael, I’m honored.
And, as always, I’m grateful to you, my readers, for making this site a lively and fun place to explore the truth together. Namaste.
All of our thoughts are conditioned. We all are thinking exactly along the lines we are conditioned to think. Programmed like a computer. Anybody who thinks they are actually choosing of their own free will the line of thinking that they have is completely deluded by their thinking.
Tagged with: Adyashanti, spiritual awakening, thinking
To continue my recent theme about control, let’s take a look at the real heart of the issue. In previous posts, I discussed how the idea of being in control is pretty much illusory and how you can’t even control what your next thought is going to be. In this little essay, I want to look at the controller, the you that has no control over anything.
From the beginning, the idea of control over one’s life, one’s thoughts, one’s actions, anything and everything, presupposes that there is a someone who is in control. That stands to reason, doesn’t it? If there is control, there must be a controller.
So, find him or… Read the rest →
Tagged with: nothingness
Eric left the following as a comment on my last article:
Before enlightenment go to work, pay mortgage; after enlightenment go to work, pay mortgage. (An old Zen saying i just made up.)
I love it! A great re-working of a classic Zen saying. I got to thinking how to apply it specifically to my life right now, with regard to my daily activities. Here is one I thought of just now:
Before enlightenment, fix breakfast, take kid to school; after enlightenment, fix breakfast, take kid to school.
So, what I would like for you all to do is make up your own versions, using things from your life, and leave them in the comments. It would be fun to see how we can apply… Read the rest →
A few days ago, I wrote about not having control over your life. So far, I would say the comments are running an even split: some agree, some think I’m off my rocker. So let’s dive into this subject a little further. Let’s talk about your thoughts.
IF you have any control over your life, then you almost surely would agree that your thoughts, your mind, your thinking plays a tremendous role in that control. Makes sense, right? To have control over my life, I must make choices. To make choices, I must think about the options. I must decide things, weigh the pros and cons, look at the possibilities.
Furthermore, there are… Read the rest →
It seems to me that blogging tends to come in 2 basic flavors. One flavor is where the blogger writes big, long, complete essays on a topic. For the most part, my articles have been of this type. The other flavor has the blogger firing off short, to the point items. These posts never try to be complete, but they nonetheless often communicate something vital to the reader. I’m going to start experimenting with these types of posts. And here is the first one for you.
When you get right down to the nitty gritty of spirituality, you find a very stark realization staring you in the face. And that realization is: you are not in control… Read the rest →
Tagged with: control
A while back, my friend Jonathan Mead over at Illuminated Mind wrote an article on enlightenment in which he said:
“Your realization that everything is non-dual will not break all of the previous self-limiting and fear-based beliefs you have with yourself. Breaking those agreements will require hard work and perspiration to change.”
I’ve intended for a while to write a brief article on this comment of Jonathan’s to offer a different perspective. So, here goes:
To be honest, his statement runs counter to my experience and that of others. When the realization of no-self dawns, not merely an intellectual understand, but a true realization, beliefs disappear. As Ramana Maharshi pointed out, the belief… Read the rest →
Tagged with: enlightenment, Ramana Maharshi
Recently, I’ve written some articles concerning death and rebirth. The first one touched on the fate of an awakened one after the body dies, and the second one focused on past lives and reincarnation. I want to continue the discussion of rebirth and past lives today.
In my prior article, I took a position on past lives that caused quite a bit of disagreement. To be honest, what I was presenting wasn’t really what I believe about past lives or reincarnation because, to be honest, I don’t have the slightest idea what happens. And for the most part, I don’t think anyone really can know. But, you never know!
So, how about a counter point, one that is different from… Read the rest →
Tagged with: death, realization, spiritual awakening
What if all suffering is born from one thought, one idea: the thought “I am separate from everyone and everything?” Then the cure for all suffering would be simply to drop this belief. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? Drop one thought, one idea, and you are free forever.
But what does that mean, drop this one thought that I am separate from everyone and everything? That would be dropping the belief that I am me. There really isn’t any way that I can pretend to myself or others that Tom is one with everything. I mean, Tom inhabits a body, thinks thoughts about himself, spends large amounts of time fixated upon the thoughts, feelings and… Read the rest →
Summer is a great season. A time away from school for kids, a time of travel for families, and a time for enjoying the outdoors. Here in Missouri, it does get a bit hot in the summer, but this summer is a very strange exception. Only one week of hot weather. School begins tomorrow for my kiddo, and he just might wear long pants.
And what does this have to do with the spiritual journey? Not a thing. Well, at least not overtly. The spiritual journey has seasons, too, some hot and sweltering like summer, others cold and dreary like winter. Summer is a time of growth for crops and everything that grows. If there is… Read the rest →
Tagged with: spiritual growth
To encounter the absolute is not yet enlightenment.
I have commented before upon this one line from the Sandokai, but today I want to take a different look at it. As the years have gone by, and my experience with teachings and teachers and the whole world of spirituality has increased, I’m beginning to see this one simple line as probably the greatest bit of wisdom that every spiritual teacher should know by heart. For so many doing the spiritual gig have encountered the absolute but not yet seen that fully flower into enlightenment.
What does it mean “to encounter the absolute?”
The Absolute. How to explain what is beyond explanation? Many people have had spiritual experiences. You meditate and experience bliss. You walk in the… Read the rest →
Tagged with: enlightenment, Sandokai
Behind most spiritual practices is the belief that you have to get someplace you’re not- a destination called realization or enlightenment. But realization isn’t someplace else; it’s the naturally occurring human state. It doesn’t belong to anybody. It’s who we all are. Spiritual practices also set up many pictures of what this state looks like. For example, when I described how much fear was present, people told me the fear meant that something must be wrong, because fear was an indication that I wasn’t in the proper state. But fear is just what it is, and it’s there too in the vastness of who we are.
I love the subject of past lives or reincarnation. I went to a “psychic” once who told me that I was one of Napoleon’s generals. I guess that explains why I love speaking French, eat French food and I’m 5 ft 6 in tall (can’t be taller than the Emperor!).
Yet even though I love the subject of past lives, I have to say that I don’t have much investment in the concept. I don’t find the subject particularly important to the spiritual journey. Moreover, I can’t even really say that I “believe” in them. Let me explain further.
Past Lives and Memories
The entire subject of past lives hinges upon one thing: memories. Many people remember the events of a life that,… Read the rest →
Tagged with: reincarnation, spiritual awakening
Today’s post is by Evan Hadkins at wellbeingandhealth.net.
I’m a blogger. I’d like to make my income from blogging and a membership course that I plan to open in early October. None of which is happening at the moment. Making my income this way exists only in my imagination, only as a desire. Which brings me smack bang up against the nature of desire and our imaginations.
Imagination can be a drawback – we can pretty much always imagine things being better than they are. Which is a pretty certain recipe for discontent and frustration. And yet building and creating anything means bringing something from nothing: and imagination is vital. Which leads… Read the rest →
A reader sent me the following questions:
Something I have never quite understood is that after we come to this realization of the one self that we are not our [the] body or the mind or the thoughts, then we see the body die what then? And what is the difference in the death of a realized one and a unrealized person?
What happens when the body dies? That is a question that has plagued mortal man from the earliest days. So much of religion is basically an attempt to answer that question, with enough theories of heavens and hells to keep us debating for the rest of our lives.
So let… Read the rest →
Tagged with: death, realization, spiritual awakening
A few months ago, I addressed the frequently heard question of spiritual inquiry: who am I? Although there are debates about what form the question should take (I personally prefer “what am I?), the point of the question is quite simple: asking the question encourages you to turn within, have a look, and see what you discover. If you’ve never tried it, the results may surprise you! (Hint: don’t be shocked if you don’t find “anyone” when you look.)
Let’s have another perspective on the question, “Who am I?” I invite you to once again give your attention to the great master from the sock drawer, Puppetji.
Tagged with: Puppetji
Larry Melton
I had the pleasure of interviewing a wonderful spiritual teacher, Larry Melton, who lives and teaches in Davis, California. Larry was a student of Adyashanti’s for a few years, and then after he experienced a profound spiritual awakening, he was asked by Adya to teach.
Our conversation is focused primarily on Larry’s experience of spiritual awakening, how that developed over the years he spent in spirituality, and what all of that has meant for his life. We also discussed awakening quite a bit, and it was fascinating to hear Larry’s perspectives and insights. I think you will agree. So click play below to listen now, or download the mp3 and take it with you on your iPod.
Tagged with: Adyashanti, spiritual awakening
In spiritual life there is no room for compromise. Awakening is not negotiable; we cannot bargain to hold on to things that please us while relinquishing things that do not matter to us. A lukewarm yearning for awakening is not enough to sustain us through the difficulties involved in letting go. It is important to understand that anything that can be lost was never truly ours, anything that we deeply cling to only imprisons us.
Tagged with: Jack Kornfield, spiritual awakening
In my last article, I shared some ideas about the proverbial “enlightened guy.” As I mentioned, I prefer the term awakening as it has a little less historical baggage associated with it, but no matter, I think we all know at least something about the subject, no matter what we call it. As spiritual awakening is one of the primary topics of this site, I thought it would be good to have some more discussion about it. And interestingly, Adyashanti provided just what I needed.
Here is an excerpt from a satsang Adyashanti did at the April 2008 silent retreat of his that I attended. I’ll let him do the talking, then… Read the rest →
Tagged with: Adyashanti, spiritual awakening
The other day I wrote a little article commenting on Eckhart Tolle and Oprah. A reader left some comments concerning Eckhart and the general issue of enlightenment, and rather than reply in the comments, I thought I would do a short article in response.
I think it is safe to say that my reader and I may not see eye to eye on the subject of enlightenment. I won’t try to summarize his point of view, but I encourage you to read the comments on that post.
Let me being by saying that I’m not really into the term enlightenment, so I will use the word awake or awakening. Just a matter of preference. Less… Read the rest →
Tagged with: enlightenment, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ramana Maharshi
I recently received an email from Ariel Bravy that I really enjoyed and couldn’t wait to answer. With his kind permission, I’m going to answer it here. Ready? I’m going to break the email down section by section and respond to each part. Here we go:
Hey Tom,You seem to be a pretty spiritually advanced seeker as well and I was wondering
if I could bounce some ideas off of you. Perhaps you could help bring some
clarity to something I’m looking at…
I’m going to start off with one of the first things Ariel mentions, not because I’m nitpicky today, but because it is something that I feel… Read the rest →
Tagged with: ego, free will, spiritual awakening
A short and sweet article for today. I simply want to state my gratitude to Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey for what they’ve given us with their collaboration a few months back in the excellent series of webinars on Oprah.com. And what have they given us? A populace buzzing with interest in our passion: spirituality. And not just any old spirituality, not your garden variety spirituality that sounds like the humdrum world of church and religion. No, I’m talking the kind of spirituality that ultimately leads to spiritual awakening.
You see, Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth, is really about spiritual awakening. He never says it in his book, for quite likely good reasons, but… Read the rest →
Tagged with: A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle, spiritual awakening
Those who awaken never rest in one place.
Like swans, they rise and leave the lake.
On the air they rise and fly an invisible course.
Their food is knowledge.
They live on emptiness.
They have seen how to break free.
Who can follow them?
Now that I’m back and have had a few days to reflect upon my experiences, let me share with you my overall impressions of the retreat. Actually, I should say retreatS as I also did the 3 day Level 2 Coaching training following the 9 day retreat. Yes, 12 days of nothing but Sedona Method. Well, that isn’t quite true, as you will see in a moment. Here, then, is a list of my impressions, in no particular order:
1. At First Glance, It Seems that the Sedona Method Has Evolved
When I first began the Sedona Method, the material that was presented was all about “releasing,” which you quickly discover is a process for allowing any… Read the rest →
I’m home in Missouri after a long day of driving and flying. Sedona is 2 hours north of Phoenix, so a bit of driving was in order before I could catch my flight from Phoenix to Dallas and then to Springfield. Traveling can be exhausting but somehow deeply satisfying.
In the next few days, I plan to post some additional articles on my experience at the Sedona Method Retreat, as well as the 3 Day Level 2 Coaching Training which followed. A great deal arose for me, and I have a number of things to share with you.
But first, I need to rest, get some sleep, buy some groceries and hang-out with my kid. Talk to you soon. Namaste.
While retreats can be many things, and can provide many different benefits to people, I often find that it is the little comments by the guy up front that really makes or break my experience. One simple change in wording of an oft repeated phrase or instruction can make all the difference.
While Hale Dwoskin, the head honcho of the Sedona Method and heir to Sedona Method creator Lester Levenson, is many things to many people, one thing he is for certain is a master at training and teaching. He can often find just that perfect turn of phrase that really makes a difference. I think the following items from Hale that made it into my notebook will suffice for almost everyone’s spiritual development:
- Can you let the body-mind
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