Written on April 9, 2008 by Tom Stine
Why do you write? What got you involved in spirituality? Leave your answer in the comments.
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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.
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.
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?
We always want someone else to change so that we will feel good. But has it ever struck you that even if your wife changes or your husband changes, what does that do to you? You’re just as vulnerable as before; you’re just as idiotic as before; you’re just as asleep as before. You are the one who needs to change, who needs to take medicine. You keep insisting, “I feel good because the world is right.” Wrong! The world is right because I feel good. That’s what all the mystics are saying.
What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.
If a man speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the beast that draws the cart.
What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadow.
on April 10th, 2008 at 12:22 am
I got into it because I became intensely curious. I wanted to know if it was at all possible to write about the realization with clarity. It hasn’t happened yet. But when I say “clarity,” I mean in the expression of writing. What has happened - this realization - is clear, but it has not been expressed in words with the purity of direct living.
I am not even sure if it is possible. But one can only try one’s best.
I wanted to write it as a real expression, with concrete language, without turning it into a concrete and unchanging state. Because it is not a state to be had, or an idea to cling to. It is life in its most…reduced form. (I am not sure that “Reduced” is quite the right word.)
Because I receive a good amount of e-mail, many of my posts are written as a question and answer type dialogue. But I do not think of it as giving an answer. A question is posed, and whatever arises is written in response. But it isn’t “me” giving a definite conclusion.
I think the problem might be, the word is not the thing, but at the same time, the word IS the thing. It is and it isn’t, and language may not be suited to a direct, timeless, and pure expression; at least in a way that can touch everyone that reads it.
I may be, as my brother would say, pissing up a rope.
I write all the time, but I do not post everything. It has reached a point where there are fewer and fewer words to reach the point. There are some days I sit at the cafe to write, and only manage one sentence. There is no disappointment, though. Sometimes a sentence is as good as a book.
A friend of mine died recently, and afterward, my writing took a new dimension. But I have not posted much since that happened. I have talked a little bit about it on my blog, and am nearly ready to resume a posting schedule. But I am not sure how well it will go over.
But, long story short, I guess I write in order to discover.
Thanks for asking the question, Tom.
Takuin Minamoto - Tokyo, Japan
Takuin Minamoto’s last blog post..Dr. Quantum and the Slit Experiment (Re-Post)
on April 10th, 2008 at 2:28 am
There are a couple of different levels to why I write.
The first answer is because it is my natural way of expressing myself. I’m very wordy: when I understand something the understanding comes in a phrase, when I think something through I use words.
The second answer to why I write is to make contact with people. I find connecting deeply with others to be profoundly nourishing.
Another is that I hope to make my living as a blogger. The quest to make my living doing what I love has been a theme of my adult life.
Finally I hope that the information I provide will help people live more healthy and joyous lives.
What got me involved in spirituality?
I was brought up in a church, which was mostly a positive experience for me. However I found that the disciplines we were meant to engage in (’prayer’) didn’t ‘work’ for me. So I eventually gained the courage to stop pretending. Instead I just read and then wrote about what I read. This was really the beginning of my own spirituality. It also lead me to get interested in how our physical selves are us.
Evan’s last blog post..Self-Improvement for Dummies.
on April 10th, 2008 at 8:28 am
@Takuin How to write about realization? A bit difficult. I find that the more concrete the subject I write about, the easier it is to write. When the topic gets more ephemeral, such as with awakening, I tend to get a tiny bit spacey and have a hard time writing! I’m thinking, therefore, of writing a bit more about practical spirituality, whatever that is.
I really enjoyed your comment. I welcome more.
on April 10th, 2008 at 8:30 am
@Evan thanks for writing. I enjoy reading your comments and your blog posts. I too have enjoyed making contact with people through writing. It has been a lot of fun.
on April 10th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Hey Tom Stine,
I really like your videos!
It feels like you really talk from the heart; it feels very honest and profound. I like that.
You’re also really “steady”, and you even have a nice calming voice. Couldn’t get better than that.
I love the fact that you feel that blogging and helping other people is your “life mission”, I feel kind of the same way.
Maybe not as deep as you, but I definately see where you’re coming from.
Great video, great archive, and I just look forward to reading and hearing more from you mate!
- Alex
Alex Kay’s last blog post..How Learning to ?Talk Woman? will Triple Your Success with Women
on April 10th, 2008 at 10:54 am
@Alex Hey, I really appreciate the compliments. Thanks. The videos are a blast to do. I just turn on the camera, clip on the mic, and see what arises. Very in the moment. And thank you, it is from the heart.
A pleasure having you here. I’ve been enjoying your blog, too.
on April 10th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Some may enjoy the webcomic I made about Tom’s videos…
http://mojo1000.com/1000cuts/i-want-my-zen-tv.html
MonkMojo’s last blog post..i want my zen TV
on April 10th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Hey, nice cartoon. Everybody, repeat after me: I want my zen tv. I think I will change the name to zen tv.
on April 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Tom
After our podcast I have loved your blog posting and this video. I feel as though I know you. You didn’t mention before that it was Norm Shealy who you first found on your healing journey! Nothing like starting at the top.
Michelle Vandepas’s last blog post..How to Be Inspired To Keep Going
on April 10th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
@Michelle Thanks, Michelle. Yep, Norm Shealy. I keep meaning to write an autobiographical “my spiritual journey” article or series of articles. Norm plays prominently. He really did get me started. He is an amazing man, and he has lived here in southwest Missouri for 25 years (or more). He loves it here. He has a farm north of town and his “energy healing” school. How do you know about Norm?
on April 10th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
This is the first video I’ve ever viewed on your blog and it was quite fitting for the moment that I am in now as well as the curiosity/pull that I feel
I can feel the magnitude of how spiritually has come into your life though the way that you describe its impact.
Thanks for sharing Tom.. you help put a contented face into this subject that I am now exploring. Keep it up (looking forward to your podcasts!)
JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You’s last blog post..Half-Assed: Becoming Half Your Size
on April 10th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Thanks JEMi. Glad to have you here!
on April 10th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the video.
I really love what you have shared with us all this while.
Keep them coming.
Raymond Chua’s last blog post..You Probably Have Seen This But …
on April 11th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Hi Tom,
Glad you liked the comic. You have a nice comfortable way about yourself, and it shows well on camera. I too look forward to more.
MonkMojo’s last blog post..i want my zen TV
on April 11th, 2008 at 8:10 am
@Raymond Thanks so much. My goal is a video each week. We shall see!
@MonkMojo Again, thanks. You guys are making me glad I’m doing the videos. And about the comic: I LOVE comics and cartoons. When I taught high school a billion years ago, one of my students did a caricature of me and another teacher. I’m 5′6″, and the guy I taught with was 6′4″. We taught science and math together. So, the student draws me very tiny standing on a lab stool with other guy towering off the page patting me on the head. The kid was nervous at first for me to see it, but when I started laughing and couldn’t stop, he relaxed. It was hilarious. I had that drawing for years until my dog, well, pee’d on it. Damn dog!
on April 12th, 2008 at 3:51 am
Thanks, very interesting video. Whilst i may not share your views on spirituality, it did make me think, especially about what I do and why I write a personal development blog.
David Rogers’s last blog post..Start Making Friends
on April 12th, 2008 at 9:22 am
@David. Glad you liked the video. I’m glad it made you think. And, no, we don’t need to share views on spirituality. But we do share the world, and it is fun for all its diversity. Thanks for stopping by.
on April 13th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Great passion Tom!
That’s why I appreciate bloggers very much. You are very passionate about your topic, and you are spending so much time and energy sharing them to the world.
I believe your blog will be growing and successful.
Keep up the good work!
Robert
PS: I need to learn Podcasting from you =)
Robert | reason4smile’s last blog post..How to be successful, uniquely yours
on April 13th, 2008 at 10:08 am
@Robert Thanks! I’m having a blast doing this. It is the most work I’ve done in a long time, but I’m not putting out a lot of “effort” to do it. Hey, I’d be glad to share what little I know about podcasting and making videos. It really is pretty simple if you don’t worry about the details too much. I got to noticing that a lot of good stuff in audio-video land is very poor quality, so I thought, hey I can do at least that well.