03 Mar Way Of Way 110
One can live without a mind but not without a heart....
28 Feb Way Of Way 108
Each of us stars in their own play and plays roles in other people's plays. As many plays are not popular, people who star in their own play often spend most of their time in roles in other people's plays. To have these people who are in minor roles in the plays of others perform best, we treat them like special guest stars. Maybe one day they will be stars; but, if not, at least they'll enjoy their roles more than otherwise and that will make our play a better play....
26 Feb Om And Oh
"Om" and "oh" are the sounds before words were born. "Om" is the incantation at the beginning and end of chapters in the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas and Upanishads. It is the sound made in ceremonies relating to the rites of passage such as weddings and during meditative and spiritual activities like yoga. It is the sound of the universe that's meant to encompass all sounds; the sound attesting to our consciousness; the sound recognizing the divine. Likewise, "oh" is a sound used to express our awakening, our immediate emotional reaction to something to which we have just been made aware. The expression "Oh my God" is the most common expression heard at the moment of orgasm. In this context, "oh my God" means one is awakened to one's oneness with God; one's oneness with the universe before the beginning of time and as nothing becomes everything: the Big Bang. As "Om" is an incantation that's chanted as "Ommmmmmmmmm," "oh my God" seems more consistent with the pace of approaching sexual climax than "Ommmmmmmmmm my God."...
24 Feb Taisha
Takeshi Fuji, photographer Shiga, Japan, 2/2/2022 There are 8 million gods recognized in the Shinto religion in Japan, a number that in traditional Japanese culture is considered synonymous with infinity. Taisha (coincidentally, pronounced like my name, Teicher), is the oldest and biggest shrine in Japan where it is said that all the gods meet annually. This photo, not of the Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine, is metaphorically Taisha. It depicts a reflecting light path over water (coincidentally, "teich" in German is "pond") and through a shrine to the sun god, the origin of everything. The sun god is seen rising over mountains and through clouds. The mountains are opaque, ignorance, which requires great efforts to climb above. The clouds are translucent, our mind which otherwise is what shrouds the light that is everywhere....
22 Feb The Face Of God
Each of us has a soul. But there is only one soul. The face of the soul is the face of God. Invisible. Our mind masks the face of our soul. Our mind has an infinite number of faces. Fearing the nothingness beneath our mask, few dare remove it. But only then can we see the face of God....
19 Feb Way Of Way 102
Unless they are sold things, people buy very little....
16 Feb Way Of Way 99
At birth we separate from being one with the universe. At death, we reunite with the universe. Blessed are those united with the universe in life, for they do not suffer death....
16 Feb Way Of Way 98
Who we are is revealed by how we describe others. But that's rarely how we see ourselves....
12 Feb Mindlessness Meditation
Meditation is a practice that puts us at twilight, the space between the states sleep and awake. It’s purpose is to bring us to a calm and restful place by disengaging us from the stimulation which our sensory organs and mind use to claim our attention. In this space we simply exist. Sometimes called "mindfulness meditation," it is perhaps better termed "mindlessness meditation" as we are now free of identities and attachments of our mind's construction. While there are countless meditation techniques, one approach is three short daily meditations. In these meditations we sit still in a quiet place with our eyes closed, uninterrupted by our senses. We focus on our breathing for maybe 20 breaths without our mind disrupting us with thoughts. If interrupted, we start again until we reach 20. Breathing-in is energizing. Breathing-out is relaxing. The space between exhaling and inhaling is completely dark and silent, a void that our mind would prefer we avoid. This is the present. The present is the "pre-sent," the space before the universe expresses itself as manifestations that are sent out and received by our senses. In the present there is nothing and we are now one with nothing. Moreover, we realize that all our life experiences are not in the present but in the now. The now is when we initially experience the manifestations of an inherently nothingless universe. Hence, the now is not the present but the past as it is initially. As the past has no independent existence outside our mind, the past is an illusion. Hence, our life experiences as we know them are an illusion. While meditating, as we are calm and restful, we can easily drift off to sleep. But to complete the meditation we need open our eyes and awaken. We are now reborn. Everything is new to us, as we’ve never seen it before (which we hadn't as everything is unique from one moment to the next). Now, everything is unadulterated by our mind's meanings, categories and generalizations and fresh to our senses which heretofore had been numbed by memories of past stimulations. In our rebirth, we slowly and gently separate from being one with nothingness (which is ultimately one with everything) and assume our finite bodily being. Soon after we engage with the new yet familiar world in which we find ourselves until our next meditation which is like all others and unique. It is through mindlessness meditations we come to realize the universe has no beginning and no end; that it has infinite manifestations; that it is ever-changing, in constant transitions; that it cannot be described beyond that it is what it is whatever it is. Upon knowing this, we know we are the universe and as such we never die as death, like all else we experience, is an illusion....
08 Feb “Terrific”
“Terrific.” The play of life in three Acts The word "terrific" in the 19th century meant terrible and has since transitioned into meaning wonderful. Likewise, the play “Terrific” begins as a tragedy and ends as a farce. In Act 1, we are children, unadulterated by memories. We experience the present as it unfolds without preconceived notions; everything is new and unique. In Act 2, as adults, we no longer experience things as they are; but as we are. Our memories frame our experiences; comparing them to others that not real, as they exit only in our mind. In Act 3, we return to our unadulterated, childlike mind. Act 1 Emergence of Self Act 1 begins at birth; a happy time, a sad time. While the most joyous moment in a parent’s life, birth starts a tragedy for newborns as they enter the stage crying. Newborns feel the tragedy of it all; that before birth they were one with everything and upon their birth they they are finite in space; from oneness with everything to duality, the finite self and everything which is not the self. This is animal consciousness which is the basis for much of the conflict in the play of life. After birth, we learn the ways of human life on Earth. We are socialized to perceive, think and behave in the ways of the socialization circles (family, religion, nationality, education, special interests, etc.) in which we are members. Thus ends Act 1, the transition from otherworldly, the time before birth and after death, to the human experience. Act 2 Life Experience In Act 2, each of us assumes various roles in the play. Roles include career, family, religion, personal relationships, social group identities, passtime interests, etc. Most of us take these roles seriously, take ourselves seriously and forget that these roles are simply roles in a play and not who we truly are. We are oblivious of who we are before birth and after death: one with the nameless infinite, God. As we make our way in the play, our mind creates memories and stories that are the foundation of our identities and roles. The stories frame our experiences. We don't experience things as they are but as our mind has defined them. This is karma. Karma often leads to live unhappy lives and precludes us from realizing our potential, divine consciousness. While our lives are often difficult dramas, they are an entertaining farce to those in the audience viewing the play. The audience are the gods like those from Mount Olympus who Homer tells us in the "Odyssey" effuse the air with a deafening sound of laughter. Act 3 The Transition In Act 3, each actor is written out of the play's script with their bodily death. However, Act 3 is the transition of our essential self, God, to a seat among the gods in the audience where we can enjoy the farce, the play "Terrific." The transition is the realization that life is a play; that we are not finite but one with everything; temporary, ever-changing and interdependent expressions of God. As we let go of our finite bodily form, we embody wisdom and compassion and realize life is terrific. Epilogue Most of us never come to realize during the play of life that we are just actors. We take ourselves and our roles seriously. We are oblivious as to whom we were before birth, one with everything, and that we will again be one with everything after bodily death. This makes our lives great dramas, but at the cost of much suffering. Those of us who are enlightened actors know that life is a play and that we are gods with temporary human roles. For these enlightened actors, regardless of their various roles, life is terrific as they have a good laugh making their way through the play of life. As to the audience of the gods, the actors on stage cannot see them in the dark theatre. The dark space is nothingness. But as from the audience come forth gods to act on the stage, it is from nothingness that everything springs. When we see the world metaphorically, as above, that is the world we live in; as Gods....