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Since it is quite discouraging to hear that there is no one path with a guarantee, most spiritual organizations tell you they have the right and only path, and that if you do not make it in this lifetime, at least they will prepare you for the next. This is like telling a hungry traveler that they are in the right place and this is the only restaurant in town, and if no food is available tonight it may arrive next month or next year.
They offer confusing paradoxes such as “You do not exist!” or “This is it!” or “Stop the search!” They may respond to a question with silence, a riddle, or an incomprehensible spontaneous movement.
This book also is not a formula, not a guaranteed plan. It describes the journey so that you might recognize the territory as it appears in your life. It tells you the nature of the weather you may encounter, and the possible portals and cul-de-sacs you might meet along the way. It addresses common fears and misperceptions. It speaks of changes, both subtle and intense, that accompany a true awakening.
- Regularly sit as quiet stillness, tuning into your body at the place where stillness already exists, and let thoughts become irrelevant, until you are deeply settled as presence. 5. Live a moderate lifestyle that supports your spiritual longings instead of distracting you from them. Find something of beauty in each day. 6. Forgive your human flaws and accept yourself for who you are. Better yet, find the place inside of yourself that already is accepting you the way you are. You can only transform the unhealthy parts of yourself by meeting them and inviting them into the freedom you are seeking. 7. Be curious about the experience of awareness that is already here. What is aware? Who is aware? Do not go to the mind for an answer.
9. Find a spiritual guide or teacher with whom you feel a true resonance.
It was fourteen years later and during the height of the encounter movement of the 60’s when I finally faced the emptiness in my heart, and the warped emotional range I had carried through high school, and during the early years of marriage and parenting. As I faced my un-experienced grief I realized faith was out of the question for me, and I was advised to consider meditation if I wanted to know if there was a God. This catalyzed a life-long quest in search of what is True.
Underneath all experience, only presence. Ultimately what was mystical or dramatic has all become memories, and the present moment is enough, whatever it is, however it is, just being quiet and being here and being no one in particular seeking nothing at all. I find this to be true peace. Some people believe that having supra-normal powers, or being in a continual state of bliss are signs of enlightenment. Others might think that if a person is so filled with dynamic energy that everyone around them falls into altered states, it is a certain indicator of liberation. But these are all experiences, and experiences pass, and they are not of much essential value if you never discover who or what it is that is having the experience.
When I knew I was no one, and everyone, and just a stream of energy dancing in the world, I became joy unbounded and I laughed and cried in gratitude all night for everyone who had ever touched me along the way — from an old friend who initially suggested I read Paramahansa Yogananda’s biography
Yes there is still an “I” of some sort, and here she is telling a story of herself. She will pass away soon enough. I have no objection to being her and only a small objection to letting her go. I can’t take her seriously but she is the flavor through which I live my life — a wife and mother and grandmother and sometimes a mentor or friend,
All expressions have their rightful place in an expanding and unlimited universe. We are it! We are all the forms expressing spontaneously in the service of something greater than ourselves that lies forever within mystery.
AI Summary
The Awakening Guide by Bonnie Greenwell Ph.D presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.