real application of grace?

January 17, 2003

Hello all:

I have been reading carefully and appreciate all the postings. I am

wondering about people's spiritual experiences who are in this

particular group. I have felt deeply connected with Ramana and some

of his proclaimed students and their students. As well I am greatly

inspired by other teachers past and present. Also lately I appreciate

the teachers (mutual/equal/collaborative) in the individuals that are

being drawn to explore deepening/awakening/being with me in groups I

facilitate. I am interested in how people really truly apply these

ideas in their lives (2003). How are the ideas operating in your

lives, affecting your lives, your decisions, your relationships? Or

is this all just word play, a philosophical debate? Is this more a

place to toss, debate and tear apart theories?

At times the love for that which is beyond words shines through here

but lately and I fully own it can be just me, I find myself wondering

are any of you real, as in real lives, real application of the grace

of Ramana and longing for something more relevant to daily life.

Maybe I'm shifting into wanting something different I don't know.

Just sometimes when I listen to Byron Katie, Adyashanti or Gangaji,

and even more so read, for instance, Tibetan Buddhist Pema Chodrin;

it seems so much more grounded, real, life affirming. Maybe I'm just

being longed back into my affinity with "loving kindness" and

concern/compassion about the real suffering of beings still on this

planet in the three dimensions seeking peace. Feeling maybe my focus

doesn't fit here anymore. Maybe I was originally looking for any

portals with which to stay connected to Ramana and others who

appreciated his impact, but somehow that is more internalized now.

Thought I'd put out this series of wonderings rather than just drift

off.

Quote from Pema Chodrin-Comfortable with Uncertainty"

"Spiritual awakening is frequently described as a journey to the

top of a mountain. We leave our attachments and our worldliness

behind and slowly make our way to the top. At the peak we have

transcended all pain. The only problem with this metaphor is we leave

all others behind. Their suffering continues, unrelieved by our

escape.

On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva, the path goes down not

up, as if the mountain pointed toward the earth not the sky. Instead

of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move towards the

turbulence and doubt however we can. We explore the reality and

unpredictability of insecurity and pain and we try not to push it

away. ...At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down

and down and down. With us move millions of others, our companions in

awakening from fear. At the bottom we discover water of bodhichitta.

Bodhichitta is our heart-our wounded, softened heart. Right there in

the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die. This

love is bodhichitta. It is gentle and warm; it is clear and sharp; it

is open and spacious. The awakened heart of bodhichitta is the basic

goodness of all beings."

End of quote.

While I have been left spiritually homeless in that I am unable to

commit to any one structure including Buddhism, I see the

spaciousness that she describes as the same spaciousness of the grace

that comes re Ramana and others. In the end, there are so many

different views and descriptions touching on the same formless field.

For some though it seems so much more impersonal and unrelated to

emotions and concern, and in some so esoteric that there is no real

overlap with this world and the human experience. I guess I am truly

interested in what is real, what is true, here and now? How does the

experience of awakening and being flooded with grace translate into

practical daily living in a world where it can be slightly awkward to

be totally in love with something formless and unknown, to fall into

gaps of silence where the experience is experienced without

words/thoughts/concepts and remains wordless? Do others feel this

too?

For me I'm not on a mountain or under a tree or on a park bench. I am

living a real life whatever that means. I began writing the other day

on the theme: "what to do when you're oscillating between God, grace,

nothingness, practical life matters that require your attention, the

desire to do nothing, the desire to save the world, the longing to

remain in a state of happiness and deep peace all the time and the

nagging details of a world where suffering and annoyances continue to

appear to flourish and furthermore there are kids that need to be

loved demanding attention". That day my answer was to go clean some

of my clutter! LOL.

Blessings and grace

josie

January 18, 2003

Dear Josie,

If you feel a closeness to Ramana, you need not ask whether you

should stay here. Sri Ramana's teaching is not really about ideas but

about awareness and the sense of "I am".

As far as how one should live, who can really say? One should be

gentle, easy, and natural with oneself and others, if possible. That

is enough, is it not? One should give to others what one can.

There are many practical affairs to attend to in life. So one attends

to them.

Love to all

Harsha

, "J Kane" <jkane@d...> wrote:

> Hello all:

>

> I have been reading carefully and appreciate all the postings. I am