F.: Yesterday’s post generated considerable reaction:
1. “Why would you call natural living spontaneous? Please elaborate.”
2. “Spiritual living eliminates ego…it is not one of its ‘roots’.”
3. “Your visitor is correct. What you call supernatural living, which I call religious living—is best. You would do well to know that everything is God’s will.”
4. The original site visitor also reacted: “Actually, you got me all wrong. I live my life with my head in the clouds but with my feet planted firmly on the ground, so there is no magical thinking or fantasy involved with my spiritual way of living. (I also find you to be very rude).”
5. “You are very patient, constantly repeating the same lessons that constantly fall on deaf ears. It’s why I quit teaching first grade. Thanks for your posts.”
F.: Regarding #1: I’ll treat your question about living spontaneously in a separate post.
1. “Why would you call natural living spontaneous? Please elaborate.”
2. “Spiritual living eliminates ego…it is not one of its ‘roots’.”
3. “Your visitor is correct. What you call supernatural living, which I call religious living—is best. You would do well to know that everything is God’s will.”
4. The original site visitor also reacted: “Actually, you got me all wrong. I live my life with my head in the clouds but with my feet planted firmly on the ground, so there is no magical thinking or fantasy involved with my spiritual way of living. (I also find you to be very rude).”
5. “You are very patient, constantly repeating the same lessons that constantly fall on deaf ears. It’s why I quit teaching first grade. Thanks for your posts.”
F.: Regarding #1: I’ll treat your question about living spontaneously in a separate post.
Regarding #2: What persons do speaks louder than what they say. When religious or spiritual persons separate, ego is at work. When religious or spiritual persons label, ego is at work. When religious or spiritual persons judge and divide, believing that those they accept as “good” go to a “good” geographical locale after “death” while those they deem “bad” go to a “bad” locale, ego is at work. When religious or spiritual persons speak of their dualities of “better” and “best,” ego is at work. And when religious or spiritual persons believe that everything that happens in their lives is being micro-managed by a god that is paying colossal and unlimited attention to them and the petty events in their relative existence—arranging encounters that allow persons to meet “the love of their life” or arranging accidents that kill five-year olds because “god needed another little angel”—then massive ego is at work.
Regarding #5: After offering the teaching for a couple of decades, my teacher estimated that one in a million will read or hear the Advaita message, understand it, and Realize fully. So it is.
Regarding #4: I, too, am familiar with the author you quote. He wrote of many dualities, the idea of living with a head in the clouds and feet on the ground being only one. He later saw the harm being done by much of his early writings, so he amended some of his concepts when he saw that many who were taking his earlier perceptions to heart were becoming spiritually intoxicated. He therefore recommended that, after gaining physical and mental sobriety, people attain spiritual sobriety so that they might eventually attain the highest level of sobriety he discussed: emotional sobriety. More importantly, I suggest to you as I suggest to all: ignore what all persons say if they want you to adopt their beliefs and their ideas. You know who they are, but Who Are You? Ignore what they claim to know and find what You already know—within—but have forgotten. Since the Advaita teachings offer a similar invitation to that author’s suggestion that you awaken and get free of living in a state of mental, emotional and spiritual intoxication—more on that topic will be offered in tomorrow’s post. Now, to #3.
Regarding #3: If "everything is god’s will," then the words posted on this site yesterday are god’s will. Why are you challenging them? Ha. If everything is God’s will, I suggest you watch one newscast tonight and then tell me you’re impressed by the way the god of your conception is managing this realm. I take it that you believe in a “Divine Plan.” If “divine” means “lovely” and “blissful,” do you really believe that everything that is happening is lovely and blissful and according to plan in this relative existence?
Next, if everything is God’s will, then there is no self-will? Evidence of the will of false selves abounds as persons act out in ways that result in the boundless misery that persons experience in their relative existence. But more to the point, most who use such magical thinking do receive a reward in the relative existence (so they will continue such thinking). If “everything is God’s will,” then you and all persons who believe the same are freed from any responsibility for the (relative) harm you generate via your (false) self will. You have nothing to learn for you’ve never made any mistakes…all that happens having been the fault (or part of the plan) of your god. You are free to disavow any failures in this relative existence and can spin everything as a "success" since you had nothing to do with the events and they are all god-approved, right? The perceived freedom (in the relative existence) from liability, guilt, and responsibility is a great selling tool for those who set forth that magical belief.
Finally, sharing that belief allows you to display to all what a spiritual being you are, does it not? It allows you to show how every trivial act in your relative existence is made important by pointing out that a divine power is involved in the micro-management of every detail of your existence. Believing that everything is god's will, you can join those who do not have to learn basic science principles but can blame recent hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes on a god that is sending some very harsh messages to the people of the world. Actually, that belief fixates you at the third level of a seven-step journey to reality. Fixated at that stage, you will remain out of touch with reality. Yet all those pointers deal only with the nonsense of the relative existence. Where is the Advaita lesson?
The Advaita lesson is that everything is…consciousness. Manifested, that consciousness is pure. Soon, as a result of faulty programming and warped conditioning and the teaching of untrue concepts, the consciousness is bastardized and rendered impure. And it is the impure consciousness, steeped in its learned, magical thinking, that enables persons to come up with such a fanciful concept. Find out what "Everything really Is" and you'll be free of the false concepts and thereby truly free. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
TOMORROW: More on the "heads in the clouds/feet on the ground" duality.
TOMORROW: More on the "heads in the clouds/feet on the ground" duality.
