http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ Collection of Thoughts Tag: True en Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:26:47 +0000 http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/687#post-15723 Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:38:07 +0000 abstractprophet 15723@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>star... :)</p> <p>when i saw adya on the weekend he said one of the greatest moments in his life was after one of the first retreats he ran where he witnessed his wife awaken... upon arriving home after the retreat and opening the glass doors she turned to him and said "i do not need you anymore"... </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/687#post-15689 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 06:23:19 +0000 starlight 15689@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>Realizing Your True Nature<br /> Awakening to the truth is a deep realization of what you are as an experience. What is it that is feeling? What is it that is thinking or sensing? This is not about coming up with the right name for it, so don’t name it for a moment. It’s about just noticing, just experiencing. Feel it. Sense it. Welcome it. Spiritual awakening is realizing what occupies the space called “me.” When you listen innocently, you’ll see that there really is something more here than a me.</p> <p>Your me is always experiencing this moment in relation to some other moment. Is this moment as good as it was two weeks ago? Will it be the same today as it was yesterday? The me worries about what it knows and whether or not it is good enough to get enlightened. Your me might call itself Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Advaitan, atheist, agnostic, believer, or nonbeliever, but no matter what your me is identified with, when you become very open and relaxed, you can suddenly be aware that something else is occupying your body-mind. Something else is looking out from your eyes, listening from your ears, and feeling your feelings. That something has no qualities. Realizing your true nature is realizing what is present without qualities. We can call it the emptiness of consciousness, the Self, or the No-Self. To directly experience this emptiness—the aliveness of it—is spiritual awakening. It is to realize yourself as beautiful nothingness, or more accurately, no-thing-ness. If we say it’s just “nothing,” we miss the point.</p> <p>When your image of the me takes a break, you’ll find all you are doing at that moment is just being open. You feel quite relieved that you are not trying to get to another moment or a better experience. You feel yourself just being in a very relaxed, easy sense of peace. You haven’t gained anything at all—you’re not smarter, you don’t necessarily know more than anyone else, and you haven’t suddenly become holy. If you are resting as your own true nature, then you feel that there is really nowhere else to go.</p> <p>At that moment, you feel as if your path has ended. It can be hard to end it when so much is invested in your path, but if you really want to be free, you must want to know the truth more than anything else. And when you do, you find that the truth is so damn empty. There is so much nothing to it. There is so much nobody there, just a very vivid awakeness.</p> <p>But even then you can realize the truth and still not operate from it. You can have a very deep awakening experience and still not function from that awakening because the me is still convinced that a me is necessary. The me always brings you back into relationship with another—it can be me and the world, me and my job, me and the dog, me and whatever. Have you noticed how the way you relate to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations is often slightly adversarial? How it’s never quite the right moment? How it’s almost perfect, but not quite? The Buddha said, “All suffering originates from craving, from attachment, from desire.” This is the movement of the me who always wants a little more out of the moment.</p> <p>The me is clumsy. As my mother used to say, “You’re like a bull in a china shop.” Did you ever hear that? If you let your mind imagine a bull getting loose in a china shop, that’s how the me is. It’s knocking things over, things like the most precious china. With a whisk of its tail, there goes . . . grandma’s four-generation-old antique china cups! Boom—they’re gone. When your me is operating, it’s like that bull. It tends to make a lot of noise because it’s always in a slightly adversarial relationship with its moment. It produces noisy thoughts, feelings, beliefs, or opinions. It also likes to search, moving its head around, scanning for the right emotion in the body, scanning through the mind for the right concept. It’s always in movement like a radar, looking for the right thing to happen.</p> <p>As soon as you move your attention away from the radar scan, you start to notice something else. Inside, there is something that is not creating nearly as much noise as the me. This something else, this openness, this awakeness, is not searching for the next moment or scanning for the right emotion or experience. You can get the sense of it now. What does it feel like to simply be awake? Whether you think you are awake or not doesn’t matter—don’t worry about that for now. What does the awakeness itself feel like? What is the experience of that awakeness before you try to be more or less awake? Just with a willingness to open, you can start to feel it. How does this awakeness feel? How does this openness feel? Just by bringing your attention there, just by noticing without any effort, this formless or empty sense of being heightens itself as if to say, “Someone is finally paying attention.” </p> <p>When this openness is present, you can recognize how it experiences your body. How does openness experience a feeling, emotion, or thought? How does it experience the movement called “me”? Allow yourself to get a real taste of this. This openness is in a completely different relationship with everything that exists, starting with you. It’s in a different relationship with the moment; it’s not going anywhere. Have you noticed? It’s not trying to achieve something else. It hasn’t elevated you or demeaned you. Start to sense the profound innocence of this openness. It’s not perceiving from the past—not from the last moment, much less from the accumulation of a lifetime. It’s perceiving only in this moment.</p> <p>Openness has not accumulated anything, so it’s free. It has a profoundly innocent but wise relationship to everything. It is something primary, awake, and alive. You can sense how incredibly precious it is. When you look right into it, there is nothing there. Let yourself experience this openness, this nothingness. Let yourself see how it experiences your body and mind right now, in this moment. It’s so different from the experience of the me. This nothingness is the peace that surpasses all understanding, and it’s right here at your fingertips.</p> <p>Awakeness is inherent in all things and all beings everywhere, all the time. This awakeness relates to every moment from innocence, from absolute honesty, from a state where you feel absolutely authentic. Only from this state do you realize that you never really wanted whatever you thought you wanted. You realize that behind all of your desires was a single desire: to experience each moment from your true nature. You find that simply walking outside and seeing a leaf in the breeze or seeing a street person on the corner is the most exquisite of experiences. You don’t need anything big; each moment has a beauty all its own. Even the very ugly moments have a beauty when experienced from this innocence, this beautifully disarming state of awakeness.</p> <p>During any moment, you can ask yourself, “What is it like for emptiness to experience this moment? What is it like for awakeness?” Really listen, because openness is quiet and soft. You can’t insist upon it. You can’t grab for it, so don’t reach. Just open. Look for the openness, feel from the openness, and relate from the openness. It can freak you out if you’re not used to it. If you find yourself in a place that you don’t like, just ask how openness is experiencing this moment. A shift happens, and you find yourself saying, “I’ll be damned—it’s actually enjoying this!”</p> <p>This relationship from your heart, from the truth of your being, from openness—is something that can’t be taught. I remember what it was like when I went as a Buddhist to undertake the precepts. You read through them, study them, and kind of take them inside. You do whatever the little me does with them, like deciding you are going to do a really good job of it—until you find out otherwise. You think you know what the precepts are, then you really awaken to your true nature and realize that this is how your true nature naturally sees things. It’s very simple. That’s it. Now you don’t need any precepts because your true nature sees that way all the time. You don’t need to be reminded of how your true nature sees. You only need to be reminded of what your true nature is.</p> <p>So if you want to find out how openness relates to each moment, just go inside. Be that openness. Be that emptiness. All you can do is ask yourself, inquire for yourself. How is it relating to this thought in my head? To this person? To this moment? You can see this. Go directly to the source, to the only authority that is finally liberating: your own awakeness, your own emptiness perceiving this moment. It will teach you how to live.</p> <p>Berkeley, California, March 17, 2002 </p> <p>© Adyashanti 2006 </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/569#post-12566 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 17:31:04 +0000 starlight 12566@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>"Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you...Split a piece of wood, you will find me; lift a stone, I will be there."</p> <p>(gospel of Thomas) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/569#post-12565 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 17:19:20 +0000 starlight 12565@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>dancing on the light of bright star! </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/569#post-12564 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 17:06:16 +0000 BrightStarDancer 12564@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>Every person is a child of God. God loves you more than you can possibly fathom in this very moment, what is stopping you from loving yourself ? </p> <p>If you embrace and love every single aspect of your being without judgement at all times, you will love yourself as God loves you....then, and only then can you love others equally without any conditions whatsoever.</p> <p>Jesus did not judge others, for he never judged himself. </p> <p>He came to remind all of us of who we truly are.... We are brothers and sisters, himself included, we are the entire family of God.</p> <p>Jesus was able to be others-centered, for he was complete in his love for himself. </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/569#post-12563 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 16:47:43 +0000 BrightStarDancer 12563@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>'' We can only share with others that we which we first harness and understand for ourselves. ''</p> <p>The above is a quote of mine, here's another:</p> <p>'' When we learn to love ourselves exactly the way we are, in every single moment of our existence, wholly and truly, without judgement or conditions of any kind.... so too shall we love the whole of humanity.''</p> <p>Do you think that Jesus loved himself ? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/569#post-12304 Sat, 08 Sep 2007 01:46:54 +0000 AsI 12304@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>But that's it for me on this thread.</p> <p>Again, have a nice 'life'. </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/569#post-12303 Sat, 08 Sep 2007 01:45:11 +0000 AsI 12303@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>"these are not my words...but the words of God from the Bible..."</p> <p>And, your interpretation. Read The Gospel of Thomas and feel the love. All you Christians think believing in Jesus is the way. (Are you allowed to read that?)</p> <p>Not in my 'name', but in my 'nature'. His words...his words...they were meant for us to SEE the 'Christ' within-just like Jesus.</p> <p>"Do you not know who you are?" Jesus flat out tells you.</p> <p>(And then there's more.) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/569#post-12298 Sat, 08 Sep 2007 01:24:56 +0000 Purpose101 12298@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>You see...there seems to be a lot of emphasis to focus and go within deeper and deeper...but where do you end up? not much...except more self-centerdness...</p> <p>to free yourself from self-centeredness, one must be God-centered first...</p> <p>a lot of new age and self-help have things in common...they are essentially all revolved around one's own self...essentially, it is self-centered...</p> <p>most of new age teachings are about your own self reaching "enlightenment" or a "higher consciousness." Even Buddha himself cared more about himself than any other person to the point of FOCUSING on his own journey...to the point, he actually left his own family members to be alone myself to reach "self-enlightenment"...</p> <p>on the other hand, you look at Jesus...and what did Jesus do...He didn't spend time alone...instead, Jesus went out to OTHERS to reach out to them...He talked to the prostitutes...basically, he would be out there talking to the hookers today while most "church goers" would shun away due to their religious arrogance...</p> <p>Jesus would talk to the tax collectors...who likes talking to the IRS simply to love them? Jesus would talk to a whole bunch of fishermen...in today's world, Jesus would talk to a whole bunch of construction workers and love them...</p> <p>you see, Jesus was about being OTHER-CENTERED rather than being self-centered....Jesus cared more about OTHER people than himself to the point He even DIED for other people...in fact, Jesus Christ died for the entire sins of the world...including yours...</p> <p>that's what love is...it's looking at Jesus Christ's life...and when you really study who He was...being other-centered...you will learn what the most amazing love this world had ever experienced ever in history...</p> <p>like Jesus said..."repent for the kingdom of God is near..."...repent to God...and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ...you will gain everlasting life...these are not my words...but the words of God from the Bible...</p> <p>BJ<br /> <a href="http://www.Purpose101.com" rel="nofollow">www.Purpose101.com</a> </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412/page/2#post-11005 Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:36:45 +0000 abstractprophet 11005@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>all praise be to yahweh the most high...</p> <p>yod hey vod hey... :) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412/page/2#post-10970 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:55:54 +0000 svetlu 10970@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>Hi, everybody. I just try to understand what are you talking about. In the beginning it was by the topic and at the end something different. The topic is Open Heart Prayer/Meditation. And I would like to add something about it.<br /> Kabbalists said: "What is the work of the heart? - Prayer."<br /> You have been created in such a way you do not know what your own true intentions are. Desires come from your heart, but you have no power over them.<br /> Prayer is not what the lips utter, but the desires within your heart. The Creator reads the desires within your heart.<br /> The ZOHAR, the TORAH and all other books of Kabbalah speak of those who attained the spiritual worlds with their desires and properties while living in our world.<br /> The Kabbalah is method of prayer requires introspection, that you look inside your heart and truly ask yourself: who am I? The prayer in Kabbalah means judge yourself!<br /> You don't learn this in prayer books. But if you work at this, you will reach the level of desires and requests of the authors of the ZOHAR and the TORAH. </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412/page/2#post-9264 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 11:18:53 +0000 abstractprophet 9264@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>consider that the heart is what gives us life... in considering this the heart can be recognised as a gift from essense that like essense breaths life into all... </p> <p>listen to your heart... that 'statement' has never made more sense...</p> <p>1love... :) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412/page/2#post-9216 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:22:54 +0000 starlight 9216@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>the heart chakra is a source of energy referred to, or labeled as, the Anahat Chakra;</p> <p>it is said to be the home of Self, and as you put it, the path to the Source...</p> <p>if it is the home of Self, than Self is just energy;</p> <p>if it is the path to Source then...</p> <p>is Source not energy?</p> <p>whether we call the source energy, spirit, heart, god, soul, consciousness, add infintum...</p> <p>how are they different? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412/page/2#post-9215 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:10:16 +0000 starlight 9215@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>how are they different? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412/page/2#post-9214 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:33:53 +0000 tinydot 9214@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>True Source/The Creator is beyond the Pure Consciouness...it is more than just "Pure"</p> <p>Our Inner Heart is the real spark of the Divine Source, the part that is always pure, untouched by impurities. Our Inner Heart, as the spark of the Divine Source, always knows what Divine Source wants from us.</p> <p>Our True Self is located at the core of our heart.</p> <p>agreed, that it is more a fact of what we are, instead of who? :)<br /> "who" is refer to the physical body form (male or female) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9213 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:37:27 +0000 starlight 9213@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>is the heart different than the source? is our True Self, different from either? and is it not more a fact of what we are, instead of who? </p> <p>could it be that the heart is the very essence of source?</p> <p>is that source not Pure Consciousness? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9211 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:18:29 +0000 tinydot 9211@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>beloved star:)... that's a very good question indeed:):)</p> <p>what is heart?<br /> - our heart is the center for receiving the blessings of Divine Love and Light from The Creator.<br /> - our heart is the center of feeling the peace, calmness, love, gratitude and joy because the blessings of Love and Light are radiating every moment of every day.</p> <p>our heart is an our non-physical heart that resides in the center of our chest, at the level of our armpits.</p> <p>our heart, is therefore, the:<br /> - key to our connection to The Creator<br /> - center of peace<br /> - center of calmness<br /> - center of true happiness/joy<br /> - center of love<br /> - key to our physical, mental and emotional health<br /> - key to our spiritual growth<br /> - the center for heart intelligence </p> <p>at the core of our heart is our True Self, the spark of Light and Love. it is our true identity and who we really are at the deepest level of being, beyond all boundaries of space and time. this spark is the purest aspect of our deepest self and is directly connected to the Ultimate Source of Light and Love, The True Source. </p> <p>if you are really interested to learn about heart and if i may suggest you, you can visit: <a href="http://www.heartsanctuary.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.heartsanctuary.org</a> </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9210 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:21:56 +0000 starlight 9210@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>much conscious love your way too... :) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9208 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:20:22 +0000 abstractprophet 9208@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>1love star.... :) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9207 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:14:32 +0000 starlight 9207@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>what gets hurt? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9206 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:13:51 +0000 abstractprophet 9206@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>no thing gets hurt... but is that an excuse to be hurtful... </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9205 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:13:13 +0000 abstractprophet 9205@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>the first comment of the post i think you are referring to wasn't directed at gates... </p> <p>yes i admit i have difficulties accepting all... i have stated many times it is next to impossible... i can say though that in recognising that god is all it is becoming easier... :) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9204 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:11:53 +0000 starlight 9204@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>what gets hurt? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9203 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:10:25 +0000 abstractprophet 9203@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>the hurt is an expression of the one... a manifestation of that which is... :) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9202 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:05:12 +0000 starlight 9202@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>and too, what you said was quiet contradictory...did you accept the way the creator expressed itself through gates? ROTF... </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9201 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:03:48 +0000 abstractprophet 9201@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>it is true that god is all there is.... no questions... </p> <p>star... how did you arive at the understanding that god is all there is... did you follow an apparent path... at any point did you feel a need to forgive those who you had judged and hurt in realising that you are equal in every way in the heart of divinity... </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9200 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:00:04 +0000 starlight 9200@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>you avoided the question...</p> <p>what gets hurt? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9199 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:54:45 +0000 abstractprophet 9199@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>because you have moved beyond heart &#38; hurt does not mean that it does not exist for others... furthermore,,, if this is what the creator wishes to express as td it should be accepted... remember all is an expression of conciousness... and as such all should be valued... :) </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9198 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:46:18 +0000 starlight 9198@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>gates, is this spirit that is stirred and awakened one's own spirit?</p> <p>is this heart the path to the spirit?</p> <p>and does everyone have this individual heart path to the spirit?</p> <p>if you believe the scriptures, then you have to acknowledge that GOD IS ALL THERE IS...</p> <p>is GOD forgiving GOD? what sins? what gets forgiven?</p> <p>and is your path the only one? </p> http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/topic/412#post-9197 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:38:52 +0000 starlight 9197@http://collectionofthoughts.com/bbpress/ <p>td, what is heart? </p>