Are you stuck?

I have a question. “Has wisdom ceased, revelation stopped, was there a time somewhere in the past when knowledge was capped?"

For years I was deeply involved with the fundamentalist christians, they believe when the bible was completed the canon closed, god stopped speaking to us. That all needed information was contained between the pages of the bible and anyone who said they "heard from god" was deceived, that those messages were from the devil. BOO!

I know know many who know me here are not fundamentalist christians and don't carry that around with you, but let me make an observation....

In the buddhist community, I'll only speak of them now for they are who I'm most familiar, but I would not be surprised if you find it also relates to the practice you may be involved, or one you know of...

I have been chastened more than once; first as a christian, now as a buddhist for saying, asking, “why do we continue to do things as they were done 1000, 2000, 5000 years ago?” Their answer to me, “this is truth, this was seen by such and such a lama, an enlightened being, the buddha said it, etc etc.”

I say that before there was (you fill in the gap) there was something else, and when the new thing arose it became "truth" so why if at that moment people were willing to accept change (btw this is the nature of all things) why do they now stay so attached to the past.

Is there not a perpetual stream of consciousness passing by each moment, is not space "information" and is not that information fresh each moment?  If you say Yes, then why not from the foundation of what was can we not make was is?

I say, no reason, none other than our propensity towards attachment, attachment to a teacher or teaching that offered us something we like, something that may have touched us. It is like tasting ice cream for the first time and falling in love with vanilla, it being your first taste, then forever putting up your nose to every new flavor Ben and Jerry creates. Oh want a waste of good information and great flavors...

This is what we do, at least many of us... I for one have been tired of it for 30 years. At times for the sake of fellowship (it is a lonely road I walk) I'd return, returned just to find myself asking the same question, “why with all this ice cream pouring from space am I still eating only one flavor, one that by now is old and tired, one that no longer relates to my palate?"

Imagine if we stopped at the horse or rubbing two sticks together.

I'm not trying to rewrite anyone’s life or practice, just see me as one who shouts from my sixth story window alerting those of what I see from my vantage point.

I love you all....

Be wise, be clear, be happy, and please be brave... gabriel

Evolve

Leave this place a better you

Before you begin, let me offer these words. I’m not apologizing, but I do realize many of you have and or are still working very hard for what you have and believe that it is a good thing to accumulate stuff, money, etc, to live a big life, have nice things and to leave your children with a fine inheritance… Good good…

These comments are not meant as an attack, but instead as commentary on American consumerism, something that has brought our country nearly to its knees and by extension has made others appear as competition, instead of our sweet brothers and sisters and fellow suffering beings. I ask you consider these things…. I wish you all only well… gi

My friends… If we don’t not evolve, then, we have wasted this precious life, if we stay as a human being, as an individual, stagnate, die the way we were born, then, this life has been lost.
I believe our lives, this precious opportunity, is a classroom for each one of us, but unlike school, we are not forced to learn, it is only done through our voluntary, intentional actions. We must evolve, little is learned when we just take this ride, when we just feed our base needs, desires, and lusts… In order to evolve, to raise up to a different level of consciousness, it takes practice, a practice of living awake, watching our minds as the stream of conscience passes before us, as we walk down the street, drive our cars, make love, to ask ourselves, what do we see, and how are we reacting to it?

Many of us live with a very reactive mind, like babies, Id-driven, we feel, we see, we do… Little comes before our eyes that we do not react to, always evaluating what things are, evaluating how we fit into things, it’s all ego, thinking it’s all about us, someone yells, “are they yelling at me?” cuts us off in traffic “dammed fool!”, she smiles “mmmm… she must like me, wants to make love with me”…

Living like this bring us nothing, not looking beyond ones nose, not seeing ourselves as interconnected with all things, not knowing how powerful we really are, not finding out what abilities we have, not seeing our potential. All these cause us to stand still, to end this life as we began it… as a child, one that came to this world with a karmic load, one who leaves it with an even greater one; one who has just sucked air for 70-80 years, consumed this earth resources, and returned nothing….

Please please my friends, realize that our lives are precious, our potential unlimited, and the harm immeasurable when we live this life just lusting to satisfy our needs, wants, and desires. Believe me. This life is soo much more... before my illness, I too was caught up in this rat race, my goals based on things to attain, things that would demonstrate how well I had done, things that would offer me access to people, places, and things I saw as valuable, things that I thought would bring me and my family joy. For me they brought little happiness, much misery, almost killed my body, and severely injured my mind. When I write I write what I know through experience, I don’t sit from afar and judge, I view myself and my life and say the things I’ve learned, hoping that by sharing these I might help some escape the suffering I have experienced…

Lately I see so much of this shrouded in spiritually… The Christians have the “name it and claim it” bunch, who believe god wants them rich, full of this world crap. The new age folks have “The Secret” another way to have what you want, just by placing your intentions there… All good, but it’s not what life’s about… Look at their videos, people standing in front of their BMW’s, big homes and boats … Is this it?

All that stuff rots away… It is a trap, a path to continuing suffering, for we get, it rots, we suffer, we try to replace it, if we can’t we suffer, if we can, we waste our resources doing so, just to find it loses it luster way too fast, then we suffer again. Round and round and round… Why even begin?????

Please ask yourself as I do… What do I value, what do I spend my time thinking of, working towards, what am I saying to my children with my consumerism, is this life to be used as such, is there no better use, no better focus?

When it’s over have I left this world a better place, are my children better prepared to live their lives than I was? Have I not only left them money and property, but an inheritance of wisdom, compassion and joy?

If you have questions, would like to talk, or just make a comment… please feel free to contact me… I won’t preach at u, I gave that up, but I will lovingly try to assist you in awakening…

I wish you all much joy… gi

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