Comments on: Adyashanti Retreat Report No. 2

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:56:02 +0000

@Mahalo I will be at the November retreat. I just got back from a weekend with Adya. I really dig his stuff. Maybe we will bump silently into each other! Aloha….

By: Mahalo

Mahalo — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:11:37 +0000

Tom,

Thanks much for your sharing. I will be attending Adya’s retreat at Asilomar in November and “the retreat before the retreat” has certainly begun.

Actually, it has been under way for some time, but is in a higher gear now. Your message serves as a touchstone and to clear the way a bit more.

Yes, your writing lets me feel like I am there…and it will make me feel like you are there when I am there

Found some bowing emoticons here
http://www.deviantart.com/#order=9&q=bowing+emoticon

With a bow to you,
Mahalo

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:01:39 +0000

@Wanda Thanks for the book recommendation. I will check it out!

By: wanda van damme

wanda van damme — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:23:05 +0000

Hi Tom,
For awakening, read “Joy” by Alexander Lowen. About how to exit your ego and become YOU

By: Michelle Vandepas

Michelle Vandepas — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:40:40 +0000

I love these personal stories and life born of experience so we can all get what you are getting. As I @ on twitter, keep the personal. (are you getting my replies on Twitter?) Michelle Vandepas's last blog post..Jai Lee Living Beyond Belief Podcast

By: Davidya

Davidya — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:50:06 +0000

Magnus - great observation. The people that irritate are often the ones expressing that which we resist. When we stop so much resisting, the irritation drops. A friend of mine had long had difficulty with family reunions, in spite of being a spiritual teacher. Last year, he was finally able to just be with it the way it was. As he had stepped out of his side of the dynamic, the enmity dropped and he restored a number of once poor relationships. Bowing we might say is the practice of allowing that steps past our story of resistance. Davidya's last blog post..Eckhart on Oprah 9

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:07:58 +0000

@Magnus I must confess: people who knew “back then”, and even some a bit more recently, would probably say, “You know, Tom was a nice guy, but kind of arrogant.” Yes, it is true. But one of the beauties of the journey for me has been humility. I have simply had to confront the fact that I don’t know anything at all. The bowing is an expression of that humility, a reminder, a pointer. I couldn’t agree with you more.

By: Magnus

Magnus — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:17 +0000

@Tom and Shadowduck
Dissonant; clearly a useful tool! I would also love to read more on how you approach dissonant people, or those who your lesser self feel dissonant with
I often find, the people who push my buttons, are also my greatest teachers.
Jack Kornfield write inspiringly in ‘After the Extacy: the Laundry’ about bowing and how he learned to bow to everyone. It is a beautiful and genuine practice, indeed. I feel, humbleness is an essential balancing factor in this whole spiritual search thing I’m in. A path without humbleness is a dangerous path, all too easily leading one into a false sense of enlightenment, which is arguably highly dangerous not only to ourselves, but those around us.

Love,
Magnus

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:50:39 +0000

@shadowduck It was fantastic, to say the least. Thanks for the suggestion. I might right more about bowing and “dissonant” people.

By: Shadowduck

Shadowduck — Sun, 04 May 2008 11:59:19 +0000

Thanks for the report, Tom – I have to say I’m a little jealous! The retreat sounds fantastic, maybe someday I’ll be in the position to experience it for myself. #8-)

The main thing that jumps out at me from this post is the idea of bowing, particularly the imperceptible bow to “dissonant” (what a lovely choice of term) people. Will you be writing more on that at some point? I’d be interested to read what you have to say in more depth on the subject.

Shadowduck

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:57:33 +0000

@Magnus Welcome and a pleasure to read your comment. I can’t say enough how the bowing has been working in and through me. I love bowing to everyone. It is a great humility to do so. Thank you for your comments and your kind words of praise.

@Sasmita Hey you!! Glad to have you here and leaving a comment to boot. Excellent. I know we’ve discussed Adya plenty, and I can’t help but thinking that you would really enjoy a retreat with him and his presence. I bet you would get a bang out of it. Let me know how the bowing goes. Feel free to leave comments any time. It is great to see a good friend here.

By: Sasmita

Sasmita — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:52:35 +0000

Hey Tom,

Thanks for writing such a wonderful summary of your experience. I enjoyed reading it and want to go to an Adya retreat myself. I’m also excited about trying the bowing. There are a few people at work that I’m going to try it on and will let you know how it goes.

Love,
Sasmita

By: Magnus

Magnus — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:20:21 +0000

Hi Tom!
Thank you for sharing all this. There is an earnesty and openness in your way of adressing all of this which has a beautiful radiance to it. The type of radiance which will leave noone un-touched.

I love to hear of the power of being right there, bowing to everyone. As you, I have many times said to myself ‘I wish there was more likeminded people around me’. But there aren’t, because my mind is mine and it is different. One must, as you so lovingly point to, see that what unite us is really something quite different, much more simple, really.

I could say a thousand things of how great it is with all this sharing of yours, but suffice to say, your words are deeply inspiring. They awaken dormant knowing within me, remembering the power of silence and pure being.

I bow to that in you which is I.

By: Raymond Chua

Raymond Chua — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:46:42 +0000

Hi Davidya,

That’s really a beautiful explanation.

:-B

Raymond Chua’s last blog post..The Law of Attraction of the Time Management

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:20:41 +0000

@Balanor Thanks for your comments. You are right: this moment’s knowledge is all you have and need.

@Davidya. Thanks. Yes, stepping back.

By: Davidya

Davidya — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:49:12 +0000

Tom - just wanted to complement you on your response to Raymond. You summarized it beautifully. The art of stepping back. Davidya's last blog post..Happiness Everlasting

By: Balanor

Balanor — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:16:02 +0000

I enjoyed your trip and experiences very much…wish you’d talk about sounds more often….i want to know about the wind brushing the trees in Monterey…is it the same to you as the wind in the Ozark countryside…and the feel of it!..is it biting or caressing…the smells of the ocean breeze mixed with forest scents….that’s me too…I’d like to experience freezing gales in the North sea, but the prison…my body….will shut down and ruin everything…so I read the perfect storm and dream.
My Yaqui grandpa gave me clarity with his “manana” concept. “my son, put all your dreams and realities in the manana basket. For now, just experience this moment. This moment’s knowledge is all you will have and need….the rest is in manana’s basket. Failures and successes go in manana’s basket. The hunger you felt this morning and the beating your papa gave you before now are also to be put in the manana basket. The scent of that senorita shall have a place in the manana basket as you do not want it to confuse your next scent. Be present and all the things in the manana basket will be there for you manana.
And as he lay dying,”muchacho, can you imagine what a great burden my manana basket would have been for me! I am so lucky that it is waiting for me manana.

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:02:25 +0000

@Davidya I always appreciate your contributions and comments. You very often “say” what I might have said or wish I would have said. :-B

@JEMi, is Davidya is right. The ego is a master of engaging you in its craziness. You are the awareness that is aware of the ego/mind, and by keeping you in a trance to it, it keeps itself going. Let it be really means something more like STOP. Not a doing stop but a ceasing stop. Then the mind can get quiet ON ITS OWN because you are not giving it energy. No power = quiet mind. You will get there. The fact that you are as young as you are and even looking at this stuff means that you will be moving along the path and finding your way. And thank you, I appreciate having you here.

By: JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You

JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:57:39 +0000

Davidya: Thank you for the reply – I read it and thought “geez… its so true!” The struggle to stop struggling begets more struggling!
And that ego of mine, well, I’m working on it When I experienced what it was like to actually let go, even for just a moment, it was exhilerating..a first time experience. I take your tip to heart, thank you

Tom: I harbor LOTS of noise. Sometimes I don’t think its even natural. Thats why as I read about the fact that there was such silence for such a long amount of time, I was intrigued. I imagine after sometime, the noise would dissipate and I long for that. So I try my hand at meditation and things like that. The best part of all of this is “practice makes perfect”..finding my way to get there through trial and error and learning for those who know (like you)

I appreciate this blog

JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You’s last blog post..Self Fulfilling Prophecies: Getting Your Life Back

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:51:39 +0000

@Raymond :-B

@JEMi Hey, it worked! I’m glad you felt like you were there. Every writer’s intent. You would love a silent retreat. The beauty is all the people around you give your mind tons of things to fixate on. You get to really hear it chatter away. And then you realize, hey, wait, it’s just NOISE. It doesn’t mean much if anything. Noise, no better or worse than the sound of the wind. And then things get a lot quieter.

By: Davidya

Davidya — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:24:19 +0000

Hey JEMi Theres a little trick to not fighting. Even your push to "let it be" can be a resistance. Like Tom describes how the mind settles just by being seen, its the same with this. Struggling with struggle just causes more struggle. Resistance to resistance. The ego knows no other way. It requires a new looking. "Just let it happen" means observe. See the struggle or resistance. When you just see it without judging it, it is seen through. Then you can 'just let it'. You have shifted from ego mode to the observer. And remember that the scary part is not because its scary, its because the ego is afraid to loose control. When you step past that, what remains is peace. Davidya's last blog post..Greatful

By: JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You

JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:57:45 +0000

Wow Tom – I feel like I was there

You write very well!

I find myself wondering about what that silence with so many others would have felt like for me. I have experienced moments of silence that have really helped me
But with so many others for that amount of time? Maybe one day I’ll do that too – with words like vibrant and alive to describe the experience – I sure am curious!

And I’ll tell you what – I hear “Just let it happen” and theoretically I understand but its actually one of my biggest struggles. I fight everything.
This year – I’m much more in tune with the things that I’m doing..how I’m going about it and so I can catch myself
Even a week down the line, I’ll say “hey..JEMi..let it be”

Its empowering, it’s scary for me, and it never ceases to amaze me how much I benefit from letting things happen.

All in all, wonderful post Tom – thank you for sharing!

JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You’s last blog post..Self Fulfilling Prophecies: Getting Your Life Back

By: Raymond Chua

Raymond Chua — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:41:57 +0000

Hi Tom, Thanks for the explanation. I got it now. :-B Raymond Chua's last blog post..The Law of Attraction of the Time Management

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:32:54 +0000

@Annie Glad you liked the anti-spam question. Pretty effective so far! I’m glad you enjoyed the report and bowing story. It was my heartfelt pleasure to share. :-B (my new symbol for bowing).

@Raymond Ah, my friend and I had to ignore each other because it was so tempting to break silence out of old habits. We are such habitual creatures, walking around in the trance of our egos that we do things very unconsciously. Ignoring my friend and others was necessary to maintain silence. Yes, the mind was engaged, but the point of silence isn’t to still the mind, it is to be confronted with the minds relentless chatter and to see it for what it is: noise. Not to be stilled, no more than one would need to still the sounds of birds or the wind in the trees. And when you get it that all the mind is is noise, it gets quieter all by itself.

By: Raymond Chua

Raymond Chua — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:22:55 +0000

A very nice sharing, Tom.

I can’t imagine how it feels like to ignore each other.

What’s the point?

I mean, even though you are not talking but your mind is busy to consciously avoiding it.

:-B

Raymond Chua’s last blog post..The Law of Attraction of the Time Management

By: Annie

Annie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:16:47 +0000

I loved the anti-spam question 2+3= ?

I had no idea for a moment after reading your bowing story – thankyou tom – it really brings about a sense of gratitude and humility, thankfulness and joining.

grazi

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:10:24 +0000

@Davidya Cool! I like (_ _)

By: Davidya

Davidya — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:41:34 +0000

per http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/smileys.html, it would be something like:

(_ _)

or –

or m(_ _)m

Evidently all Japanese in origin. ~8*)

Davidya’s last blog post..Greatful

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:18:11 +0000

@Davidya You know, I’m going to refrain from commenting on your comment. It was well written and stands on its own. Let me just say “you’re welcome.” Hey, we need a new smiley for bowing. :-B

By: Retreat Forward « In 2 Deep

Retreat Forward « In 2 Deep — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:50:02 +0000

[...] Retreat Forward April 29, 2008 Recently, Tom Stine returned from a weeks silent retreat and wrote about his experience. It reminded me of my own experiences. I’ve been on retreats as short as 2 days and as long [...]