Written on February 20, 2010 by Tom Stine
What does it mean to be infinite? The answer seems obvious, straight out of high school math: infinite means without limits. We could even say something like “it goes on forever.” Okay, that’s infinite.
But does that have any meaning for us? Spirit, God, the Divine, Consciousness, these are often called “the infinite.” If any of these words have some relationship to what we really are, then that would make what I am and what you are infinite.
But still, the question is begging to be answered: does this have any meaning for us? I would say yes, it certainly does. In a very real sense, I am infinite. And anything that seems to be finite, or not-infinite, would therefore be a false appearance. Because all that I am is infinite.
Infinite. Everything. Everywhere. Without limit.
Therefore:
I extend in all directions.
I have no boundaries.
I have no end point.
I contain everything. And more.
All things are what I am.
There is no limit to me, no end.
All past, all future, Now, these are a within me because I extend forever.
If this body dies, a new one will follow.
If this planet dies, a new one will follow.
If this galaxy is consumed by a black hole, a new galaxy will be born.
If this universe collapses, a new one will expand.
If awareness ceases, a new awareness will arise.
I would suggest that you take a look at something “finite.” If you look closely, you will find that everything in your life that seems to be a problem is a perfect example of a finite thing. If you look even more closely, really look, you will start to see the infinite in your problem. If what you see is not infinite, then it is a false appearance. Behind the seemingly finite is the infinite.
Pick something in your life with which you struggle. It could be money, relationships, health, your job, you name it. Just pick something. Sit for 10 minutes with it. Look at all the ways this thing you are struggling with seems to be composed of limits, of boundaries, of edges, of blocks to clarity. Really look! Now feel into it. Feel the edges, the limits, the aspects of it that say “impossible” or “can’t” or “shouldn’t.” Now look past these limits to the infinite beyond. There, you see it? Yes.
This, then, is the infinite nature of everything. Namaste.
Written on January 13, 2010 by Tom Stine
Previously I’ve written about the lack of real control that we have in our lives (see No Control, No Control, No Control and Who Is in Control? and many others). To properly discuss control, however, requires a bit more to be said on the subject than I’ve said in the past. In this article I’m going to attempt to provide some clarity on a somewhat confusing topic.
I think control is confusing and also quite problematic for most people because of the essential issue confronting everyone (and by everyone I mean everyone, not just spiritual seekers). That essential issue is the answer to the question, “What are you?” That’s the key to the whole control question. If you are convinced that you are the little human body with a little human brain, then I think I can safely say that you have virtually no control over your life.
I say virtually no control because there is no doubt that the human mind has some sort of influence on how the body functions and moves through life, so there is a semblance of control. But even then, this influence is nothing more than that: influence. But control? Forget about it! The amount of control that the human mind has over the events, actions, decisions and details of a human life is laughable at best.
I know that many of you have watched The Secret. For that matter, you’ve grown up in a either a western or a westernized culture with it’s emphasis on self-determination, hard work, and “going for broke.” You’ve been taught over and over again that if you simple dig in and try harder, exercise your will, your inner strength, etc., you can make anything happen. But I’m sorry to tell you that every bit of that is a farce, a deception, a belief system that has no resemblance to actual experience.
First of all, you have no control over your thoughts. You can’t decide what you are going to think. If you will sit for even a moment and watch, your thoughts simply arise and then fade of their own accord. They are based upon your experience, your conditioning, the sum total of your life. Even better, notice how irrelevant they are 99% of the time to what you are experiencing right now.
At this moment, you are reading this article on control. If you pause, close your eyes, and watch your thoughts for a few minutes, notice what will come: the guy you met last weekend at a party, the bill that is due next week, the dog you saw running on the beach, the fact that it is 0 degrees outside (although it is toasty warm inside). But none of that is what is happening right here and right now. Thoughts arise, thoughts fade, and there really is no controlling what you are going to be thinking from moment to moment.
Secondly, let’s get real for a moment: even if you could control your thoughts, do you honestly think that your mind can manipulate external reality and cause new cars, new houses, new jobs and new women (and/or men) to enter your life? Just because you “held a thought” in your awareness for a few minutes each day? Now don’t misunderstand, I’m talking about “your mind”, that little hunk of energy that contains the thoughts specific to the body called Tom or Bob or Sue or Helen, the thoughts that are tied to the brain and nervous system of that body. Does that have control over new houses, new cars, etc.? Influence, sure, but control? Control? Real honest to God control? Okay, didn’t think so.
As an aside: I know that I’m not going to make a lot of spiritual and new-age people happy with the above. Oh, well. Someday I’ll write more about the effect of mind on experience. There certainly is some sort of process going on, something that sort of looks like the mind giving rise to our experience, something that seems like a “Law of Attraction” or something similar. But the key point above is this: that little bit of energy you call “my mind” isn’t the force driving your life and experience. My advice: give up trying to manipulate Life and to attract goodies into your experience. It isn’t going to work the way the Secret folks would have you believe.
Okay, so at the level of the seeming separate human being, governed by his thoughts and residing in a body with a brain and nervous system, there is no control over life. It is a fantasy at best. But, thank God for you and me, that little human body and brain has nothing to do with what you really are. What you are is none of that. The human body and brain are contained within what you are. That human body and brain are simply part of your experience in the manifest world.
So, what are you? You are Life itself. We use many fancy words in spirituality to attempt to describe what you are, words like Consciousness, Life, God, Awareness, Awakeness, The Now, Presence, Brahman, you name it. All just words attempting to get a grip on what it is that you are. But they point to something far larger, far more immense, and most assuredly more powerful than the mere human being you have come to think you are.
Let me bring back a diagram I used in a previous post:
What’s looking out of your eyes, what you really, truly are is the Void at the top of the diagram. You are the very source of awareness and consciousness, and as these you experience a Universe or maybe even many universes. All that you see, all that you hear, all that you taste and touch and smell, all this arises out of what you truly are. Everything in the manifest world, everything around you, is you!
So, from the only level that really matters, the level of Consciousness, of Life, it is quite pointless to discuss control. In a certain sense, you could say that you have complete and total control over everything. But that isn’t really the right way to phrase it, because that implies that there even is such a thing as control. Control is just an idea, a concept, that minds create. But in the reality of what you are, there is nothing to control.
Look at the dictionary definition of the word control:
Control: to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command.
The very word control implies manipulation, an attempt to change things so that they will be “better” in some sense. But look at the reality of life: everything, everything, everything is Life, is coming out of the unmanifest, the state of pure potential, spirit. It is all arising not by accident, not by some grand cosmic mistake. It is arising from the very substance of what life is. How can there be a mistake anywhere? How can there be a single, solitary thing that Life wants to change right now within its creation? Or to ask it another way, what would God want to change in His creation at this particular moment?
All is as it is. Right now. Perfect. Whole. Complete. Part of awakening is the recognition of this unalterable fact. The very idea of awakening would indicate that this recognition is so. You are awakening to what you are. You are coming into a full, complete understanding of what you are and everything else is. You see everyone and everything as this whole, full and complete.
And finally, I think that many people get the notion that somehow there will be some sort of perfected, absolute, ultimate blissful state at the end of the spiritual path, a state where nothing changes. Well, it may or may not end up being blissful, but it will certainly not be unchanging. While everything may be perfect right now, that doesn’t mean it won’t change into yet another form of perfection. Change is what makes us believe there is time, for change is always occurring. Always change.
There is a much better way to live life. I will write more about this topic later, but suffice it to say it involves that interesting word flow. Spiritual people are always paying lip service to the notion of “going with the flow,” but wanting to control is the exact opposite. There is a movement to life, a flow, and if you relax into it, cooperate with it, this flow can flower and blossom in your experience. It’s called miraculous for a very good reason!
So drop trying to control what you never could and never will control. You’ll be infinitely happier for doing so.
Written on January 6, 2010 by Tom Stine
credit: µµ
I have a good friend who often debates with me the seemingly separate experiences of “emptiness” and “everything” that arise as a part of awakening. I often take the emptiness side of the debate, as the awakening I experienced was very much one of emptiness as all sense of what I am, a “me,” a self, an “I” as an individual completely vanished. I spent a delightful 24 hours with not one shred of identity. “I” was as empty as can be.
My friend, on the other hand, got the “everything” part first. You see, awakening seems to have two aspects to it, if we can call them that, an emptiness aspect and an everything aspect. Someone who has fully realized the truth of their being knows themselves to be absolutely empty, nothing, no self, no “I” anywhere and, at the same time, everything in existence. That’s the full realization.
Recently, my friend sent me an email in which he said:
“I had my first direct experience of emptiness yesterday during an hour long
meditation. It was a shock. Still processing it.”
The discussion that follows is based on my reply to him with some additional thoughts:
Be careful with emptiness! I say that half-jokingly, but the old Zen guys used to warn about “getting drunk on emptiness.” I know exactly what they mean. I can “dive” into the emptiness at times and appear to be completely free of everything. It can be a bit intoxicating and also quite liberating. And when I come out of the emptiness? Ah, now that’s what’s curious! I’m not quite as free somehow and often seem to get a touch lost back in the mind. However, every time I spend a little bit of time in emptiness, the “problems” I have get lighter and lighter and the freedom deeper and deeper. Someday all that is going to cease.
One of the first real tastes I had of everything occurred when I was sitting one day and really looked at some things around me and recognized that the emptiness was in everything I was looking at. Then it hit me: everything I see IS emptiness. And then I got a taste of everything. A week later, I did a little more of that, and then I knew that I was the tree I was looking at, and I could literally feel the tree. “We” were nothing and everything at the same time.
That said, something I heard Adyashanti say once, and Nisargadatta used to talk about often, may be the resolution to our debate about emptiness and everything. Nisargadatta would talk about being “beyond” both emptiness and everything. Beyond all hint of manifestation. Beyond all opposites. While he would EXPERIENCE everything and nothing, he knew that what he was, in fact, was beyond even that. He would say that what he was contained everything and nothing.
Adyashanti calls this The Void. He says there’s absolutely nothing he can really say about it except maybe to say that everything, including emptiness, arises out of the Void. If you can say anything about it, it would be that The Void is pure potential. And even that isn’t it. It isn’t a state, it isn’t anything. Yet, it is what we all are and everything is.
I’ve been intrigued lately by a retired physicist, Amit Goswami, who wrote one of the most popular textbooks on quantum mechanics (for physicists, that is, so he is the real deal when it comes to science). He was in “What the Bleep.” I’ve tried reading one of his books, but he isn’t the best writer. He’s too scattered, and he really doesn’t get the extent to which the idea of “consciousness” goes. But, that said, he’s still worth reading, and he helped me construct a model of how the manifest arises. It goes something like this:
Before I go further, please note: the above diagram is a MODEL of how the apparent world might work, not Reality. It is something to play with, something for the mind to have fun with as it tries to make sense of what it will never make sense of. If it helps, great. But never, ever take things like the above as the Truth. They aren’t. That said….
The cool thing Goswami did for me was help me see where consciousness fit into the picture of how the physical world works. The key is that awareness or consciousness doesn’t arise out of the physical world, but is the generator of the physical world. I knew that from my spiritual experiences, but I was having some cognitive dissonance from all the science and psychology I had learned in the past. Now I get it. One small belief change and it all seems to work.
What’s really amazing is how the manifest world, beginning with the notion of Everything and through quantum particles, atoms and the visible world arises and subsides quite spontaneously and frequently in and out of consciousness and the Zero Point Field. Real, observable quantum particles arise and collapse back into this ground state. All of our seeming physical universe is a continuous play in and out of consciousness. Needless to say, I will have a lot more to say about these ideas in the future.
The Zero Point Field is a very interesting concept. I had heard of it, but I thought that some New Agey people had taken an idea in physics and distorted it and came up with a goofy explanation of all the woo-woo stuff out there. However, if you read the actual physics, the Zero Point Field is a very solid concept in the world of quantum physics. It is a massive, infinite background “field” of “energy” (neither term really means anything, but that’s a different story) out of which literally every aspect of physics arises. It is so fundamental that every physics equation written ignores it because they can’t do anything with it. From what I can tell from the physics, and interfacing it with the spiritual, the Zero Point Field is the first manifestation of Consciousness. Or, who knows, maybe they are co-equal. Hard to say. But fun to play with. Nonetheless, there really is an interface between the spiritual and the manifest world, and it is right there at the boundary of consciousness and this field of energy. How cool is that?
Namaste.
Written on December 22, 2009 by Tom Stine
This article is one of five articles on forgiveness posted today by several different writers. At the end of this article is a list of links to the others. Forgiveness is an excellent topic for the holidays as, to me, Jesus exemplifies forgiveness more than any other spiritual teacher. And while we have no idea when he was actually born, thanks to history, we celebrate his birth in three more days.
I have a somewhat radical perspective with regard to forgiveness. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “I can forgive, but I’ll never forget.” Well, I’m sorry, but that isn’t even within a hundred miles of forgiveness. As long as there is any perception of wrong doing, any perception of injury, any perception of being hurt by another, then you have not only not forgiven, but you, yourself, are trapped by your own inability or unwillingness to forgive. Even worse, the only person who is suffering from your unforgiveness is you!
Why is this so? Why would my unforgiveness be a cause of my suffering? The cause of my suffering is what the other person did to me! That certainly sounds reasonable. After all, one would argue, if the other person hadn’t hit me, yelled at me, abused me, raped me, left me, abandoned me (and on and on), then I would not be suffering. I think it would be hard to find 5 people that would disagree with that position. It is simply how the vast majority of the world thinks.
But let’s look at this situation for a moment. At the moment the incident took place, you were experiencing pain. I grant you that. There is no question that in the moment, really, honest pain, anguish and hurt occurred. I do not mean to imply that this is not the case. Pain is a hard thing to endure, and it is often difficult to get through. But as soon as the incident is over, what is happening now? Well, something different. Something without the pain. As always is the case, life moves on to something new.
So, where is the painful incident now? In memory. It is now a thought. It is also a feeling attached to the thought. More than likely these thoughts and feelings will form beliefs, such as “I must be a terrible person for such a thing to have happened to me.” And as these thoughts are repeated, as the feelings are regenerated, as the experience gets ground into the psychological-mental-emotional system, a whole complex of suffering gets built around the memories of the experience. But please notice, because this part is very important, all of it is now 100% in your mind. The incident may have occurred in the seemingly real world, but now that it is over, it is gone and exists only in the mind.
This state of affairs is both a curse and a blessing. It is a curse because an event that happened once in the past is now replaying in your awareness over and over and over again. It is traumatic in every sense of the word. But it is a blessing because you can now let it all go since it exists only in the mind. It won’t be easy, and recovery from memories that are traumatic are some of the toughest to let go of, but you can let it go. And letting it go, completely letting it go, is forgiveness. True forgiveness. The kind of forgiveness that matters.
Believe it or not, you can let go of a traumatic memory and all the emotion and beliefs attached to it to such a amazing extent that you will have a hard time even remembering that the event took place. It will feel as if it was a movie that you watched once upon a time and are now recalling. There will be nothing really left of it. It won’t be repressed, supressed, denied, or any of a dozen other psychological methods to try to get it out of your mind. As a matter of fact, almost surely you will have to re-experience a major portion of the traumatic event, even to the point of feeling all your anger, shame, guilt, fear, horror, etc., again. It can be brutal and rough. But on the other side is a freedom like nothing you’ve ever seen or felt. Believe me, I know from my own experience.
And that is why I can make the bold claim that I did in the title of this argument: “There is nothing to forgive.” EVER!! When you truly forgive, when you finally let go of something to the extent I’m describing, you will see in no uncertain terms that there is nothing to forgive, and, more shockingly, there never was!! You are healed in a way that is absolutely miraculous. The past is past, gone, never to return. It was only in your mind and now is gone! You are truly free.
Can there be any doubt that those strange words of Jesus, while hanging on the cross, came from a man who knew, really and truly knew, that there is nothing to forgive?
Forgive them for they know not what they do.
How true! How perfect! Jesus could look at his tormenters and have nothing in his heart but true forgiveness, a forgiveness that sees nothing to forgive, ever. To have that utter openness of heart is the greatest blessing by far.
If you want to read more about this somewhat radical view of forgiveness, I would suggest A Course in Miracles. The main theme of The Course is not miracles, as the title would suggest, but forgiveness. The Course says that true forgiveness as I’ve defined it above is the key to freedom, awakening and, ultimately, miracles.
The Other Forgiveness Articles
Beyond the Known
And last but not least, my good friend Takuin has produced an amazing e-book, “Beyond the Known.” It is a delightful, easy to read and stunningly beautiful book. And it has a great price: free. Please head over to takuin.com to download a copy.
Written on October 25, 2009 by Tom Stine
- Money quote: “For $10,000 you could hire a coach AND a therapist for a year who will give you INDIVIDUALIZED therapy and coaching.” #
- Money quote #2: “Nothing replaces individual prayer, meditation and your personal connection with God on a daily basis.” That is soooo true. #
- The more I read about most main stream spiritual teachers the more I think I must be nuts to be doing spiritual teaching! I guess I am nuts! #
- blah blah blah blah blah blah enlightenment blah blah blah blah…. if it weren’t so damn funny, it would be pathetically sad.
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- Assertions are usually wrong and denials, right. -Nisargadatta Maharaj #
- Only by denying can one live. Assertion is bondage. Nisargadatta #
- To question and deny is necessary. It is the essence of revolt and without revolt there can be no freedom. -Nisargadatta Maharaj #
Written on October 11, 2009 by Tom Stine
- Is there such a thing as enlightenment? The skeptic says “no!” But if you are enlightened, you’ll say “no” too. #
- Of course, I guess I should ask, who’s the one that is enlightened? Ah, so obvious! No one to be enlightened. #
- Reminds me of Sailor Bob: “the only difference between an awake one and one who isn’t is that the awake one knows there is NO difference.” #
- Clarity. Always clarity. When in doubt, sit, wait for clarity. To quote Valentine Michael Smith: “Waiting is.” #
- Wifi at 29,000 ft. Now you can tweet 6 miles high. Too bad, huh? LOL #
- I have a friend who thinks that awakening INCREASES the personality and the EGO. What say you Twitter-ites? You can already guess my views. #
- RT @Takuin “To live is to suffer” — Buddha “To think is to suffer” — Takuin #
- RT @guruphiliac I’ve found that some folks seem to carry a certain, hard-to-pinpoint comfort with their discourse that says “veracity” to me #
Written on September 27, 2009 by Tom Stine
- No “I” no problems. No “me” no problems. #
- Just think: every problem you’ve every had is GONE when you drop this silly belief called “me”. #
- If there’s no “me” then there’s no “you.” And vice versa. #
- Who has a monopoly on Truth? No one. Ultimately you have nowhere to turn but to your Self. You have to find the answers within YOU! #
Written on September 13, 2009 by Tom Stine
- Is it just me or do most spiritual teachers and writers seem to be lacking a sense of humor? Good God, lighten up! #
- “Tom, what’s the purpose of having friends and family?” That one is easy: entertainment! #
- One thought believed separates Heaven and Hell. And any thought will do. — Adyashanti.
And that one thought can be “I’m enlightened.” #
- Or “I’m NOT enlightened.” #
- Some books are much better when listened to as opposed to being read. A New Earth is one of them. Eckhart is beautiful to hear. #
- No matter what I write down, it isn’t true. No matter what I think, it isn’t true. Or feel. Nothing!!! Woohoo!!! #
- Now I know why the Buddha said: “I’m on to you house builder. You will build no more houses here!” #
- I can’t stop you from believing in falsehood. But you can stop believing it now! #
- Are you waiting to cross the “enlightenment” finish line? Good luck, because you never will. There is no finish line! #
Written on August 30, 2009 by Tom Stine
- What if everything you have turns out to be nothing? Oops! Oh, well, you can have more fun when you realize it’s nothing. #
- Can spirituality make your life better? Yeah, sure it can. That’s what the experts say, right? Jesus’ life sure turned out great.
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- What happens when you point that alive, awake Presence at a “problem” you have? Try it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. #
- What if you discovered that the person you’ve been your whole life really is just a character you’ve been pretending to be? Hollywood is me! #
Written on August 16, 2009 by Tom Stine
- Every time you say “I am this” or “I am that,” about whom are you talking? I WHO? Seriously, where is this “I” you are so convinced of? #
- Go through everything around and say, “this is what I am.” Do it for everything. Then recognize that they are all nothing, too. Like you. #
- What is awakening? What is enlightenment? We do our best to describe the impossible to describe. Oh, well. At least you can have fun trying. #
