To Lokesh about emotional life of spiritual being

[Guest guest]

Lokesh wrote:

....We need to start unlearning the stuff and when unlearning is

complete , back we are to our natural state ( Joy).Just joy is our

original state .

Dear Lokesh ~ I think this sums up everything that one needs to know,

but I do appreciate what you wrote about all the people sitting

inside one's head. I know I have a bunch, and I'd like to bid all of

them a fond farewell. I believe you just described Self-Realization.

 

Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda

[Guest guest]

Lokesh wrote:

>> we need to act in consciousness.>> action should follow

consciousness. Then whatever we do is right. >> ...We need to

think like this.>> Legs know to walk , hands to work , mouth to talk

, tongue to taste and mind to think.>> Mind is not that it can just

think . it can think a lot . we all know how much we can think.>>

Lets take toughts as space. so obviously the past / future has

infinite space and hence >> infinite toughts are posible in the mind

.. >> Lets not condem, control mind. Poor thing its doing its job of

thinking infintely.>> We never think why tongue is tasting . do we ?

but why mind and toughts? >> Lets start observing toughts that come

in mind like a stranger without attachijng . The

>> very watching is enough . >> ...Normally what happens is we bcom

too close to problems . sometimes we bcom the >> problem.

>> ...Lets start developing distance between problem and us . The very

distance resolve the >> issue. We dont have to resolve the problem .

when the distance is very huge there is no >> problem at all...

Dear Lokesh,

Thank you for this thoughtful writing you shared. I have often thought

the mind, intellect, whatever word one uses, gets a bad rap. I love

the way you said (paraphrase) mind thinks, tongue tastes, mouth

talks... etc. These are our very tools for existing in relationship

with the world and others, for performing our work, even for doing

our sadhana. If a person has a hammer and uses it to fix a chair by

pounding a nail into the wood with the hammer, will someone castigate

the hammer? But if a person has a hammer and hits another person with

it, then injury rises, and even then, it is not the hammer's fault;

it is still only the tool. The question of whom is responsible brings

us back to self-inquiry.

If we take care of our tools ~ Mind, Feeling, Body, Spirit ~ and we

take care what we do with them, then our experience of life is

enriched and enhanced, and we are also helpful to others. If we don't

use our tools well; don't learn how to manage their use, etc., we put

ourselves in the position of possibly, even if unintentionally,

creating harm.

I am a perfect example of someone blaming the hammer. My mind is

sharp. Over the years it has stood me in good stead. But when I was

younger, it nearly drove me to madness. When I was younger I told a

teacher once, "I have a terrible mind." She said, "Linda, you have a

wonderful mind." And then to help me learn about that, she gave me

her own type of "sadhana" by giving me responsibility to remember

things for her, to do things for her, to use my mind and learn that

it was a friend. Through that powerful teaching I got past being

afraid of and hating my own mind. (How did I learn to fear and hate

my mind? Most people here know of my abuse history.)

But more recently, my mind uses up a lot of time judging me for my

experience over the past few years with my mother and stepfather; it

blames me for trusting them; it runs around in circles trying to

figure out how to turn the clock back so I could do everything

differently. I know this is impossible. My feelings feel sad, bad,

disregarded, thrown away; then they get more upset, adding anger to

the mix. Now I have a really good stew pot going. So what could I do

instead? I could use my Feelings to accept what has already happened

and know that I did the best I was capable of at the time. I might

even be able to persuade myself that my mother and stepfather did

what they thought was best, but that one would be much harder ...

accepting them as they are would be easier.

I could use my Mind to take the life I have now and organize it

differently. Swami puts a lot of emphasis on organizing, so that when

the time comes, work, whether it be puja or translation, the time is

used efficiently. Instead of Mind going over past events like a

guinea pig on a wheel, Mind could look at my situation. I am living

in a trailer. Is this the best circumstance for me? No. Is it

something I can live with? Yes. How can I live with it better? How

can I live with my illnesses better? Getting upset with my body for

being sick doesn't help...doesn't help my body feel better; doesn't

help me feel better.

Mind looks at the situation without attachment and says: okay, you

have 2 or 3, two-to-three hour periods a day when you can function.

The rest of the time you are mush; it's not your fault. How will you

use that "good" time? Instead of complaining about the time you've

lost, how can you use the time you have? Okay, then the situation is

diffused somewhat. I can use this time to practice my music. I can

use this time for my sadhana. I can use this time to go to the

doctor. I can use this time to walk my dogs. I can use this time to

go outside and wonder at the beauty of spring beginning to burst out

all over. I can use this time to visit or call or email a friend.

I think, Lokesh, if I understand what you said ... let's not blame

these tools. Mind will think. The question is who will determine how

and what it thinks? I am not a believer in a blank Mind, but I am a

believer in a Mind that is working according to the dictates of

Spirit.

I will use another Tarot example, for those who are familiar with this

symbolic system. The Chariot, one of the Major Arcana, shows a man

(intellect, Mind) in a chariot (current life), drawn by two sphinxes,

one black, one white (wisdom and understanding of duality), or the

chariot is drawn, in some decks, with two horses, one black, one

white, although in this instance, the symbolism links the reference

of horses to unbridled feelings, passions, etc. The charioteer stands

in the chariot with a serene countenance. He is not holding the reins;

there are no reins; he is no longer in need of reins because he has

arrived at a state of being where Mind/Body/Heart/Spirit are in

balance and the steeds will not go awry. The chariot will not go

awry. The life will proceed according to the dictates of the Spirit

in conjunction with Will (another aspect of Spirit).

Thank you again. I copied your entire post as a reminder to myself.

Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda

Someone else wrote:>> Lokesh,>> Thats very enlightening, but how

difficult it is not to react. Our >> very thoughts are reactive. I

wonder is non-reactivity possible?

This was the exact question, in slightly different words, that I asked

Swamiji during a discusson and Q & A, during the last tour. In

essense, he told me, "don't react." His exact words were: "Nothing is

worth sacrificing your peace of mind."