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Anthem
1608 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 19 2008 : 09:36:25 AM
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We are limitless being. The miracle of life isn’t that we can do anything we think, it’s that we actually believe we can’t, this is what makes this experience of life even possible.
It is our ability to only see one end of a possibility and not its opposite that makes being limited even possible. So if we are so sure we “can’t speak well publicly” as an example, we are missing the beauty that we made that limited reality possible. We created that reality through observation of some moment in the past where we interpreted that we weren’t speaking well publicly and then with emotional energy of not wanting that reality, we engaged in massive mental repetition of reliving the event until it was true for us. We believed that what occurred once was ultimately true and that its opposite “that we are great public speakers” is not true. In other words it takes lots and lots of practice to be something we don’t want to be and to be limited.
Believing in the body and said observed physical limitations over millennia reinforced billions of times by billions of people makes a variety of limited experiences here on earth even possible. Compounded by the fact that thought energy is not as powerful as physical energy in this world (not as densely reinforced) makes us believe we can’t overcome a host of physical limitations that are physical laws in the universe. The physical “laws” of the universe are undeniable and massively reinforced bringing coherent existence to this reality. Legend would tell us that a few have transcended even these “barriers”.
Realize that you created every prison you are in, every limited thought and belief, you created that. That is how powerful you are, if you can create one reality, you can create any. Since limited and negative perceptions of ourselves are created in the mind with thoughts, that is the easiest place to start as thoughts are the easiest to see through and change. All thoughts are possible in our mind, why not believe and practice through repetition the opposite of what you fear for a while?
No thoughts are true, don’t believe any that come up, unless of course you enjoy being the limited individual being that you are which is a miracle in itself.
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k123
118 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2008 : 09:58:19 AM
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Thank you for your post, it really struck a chord in me, especially the last sentence about not believing thoughts. Discovering even partially, the truth of this has been a pivotal experience for me.
Even a chink of light through what have always been tightly packed thoughts and ideas has had a huge effect.
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brother neil
USA
752 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2008 : 5:03:33 PM
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thanks for sharing antham, i believe what you are saying, good stuff. SOmetimes the thought comes up that it is scary to know that we have the power to change, "you mean i actually can decide for myself" for me i have realized that more lately and it means i have a lot of power available to me, part of self still wants to hold onto the struggle, that is fading away
brother neil |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2008 : 5:10:00 PM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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david_obsidian
USA
2602 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2008 : 2:52:36 PM
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I don't agree without reservation Anthem. I agree there is a value to knowing what depends on our minds. And indeed it is true that things depend on our minds more than we think. And it is possible to get bogged down in presumed limitations that are really just mental....
But it is also possible to swing too far the other way, and enter into a fantasy world where we believe we can and are doing things we are not. The fruits of such a departure are not positive. There are examples of those who have erred significantly in that direction -- I would say that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a proponent of our deep meditation practice, especially in his later years was a clear-cut example. And there are many others.... We must learn from the successes of those who went before us as well as their mistakes. Right now, you're sounding awfully like him in your enthusiasm......
It's all about the Golden Mean in the end. Neither too much nor too little.
Since you're sounding so much like him, I could suggest you study the Maharishi's works, and ask yourself, how is this man's grasp of the mind-reality connection inadequate ? The later-life outcome for him was a proof that there was something missing in the way he saw things. So ask yourself, 'Is this the whole story, or does something need to be added or taken away to make it sufficiently true and a fully-practical basis for living?'
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Edited by - david_obsidian on Nov 20 2008 3:09:36 PM |
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emc
2072 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2008 : 3:42:37 PM
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| David, you get me curious. How did he end up? What did he do that would be a symptom of what you are talking about? |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2008 : 10:58:55 PM
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Hi David,
Feel free to disagree, no problem here with that, can you be more specific about what part swings too far the other way for you? I don't see where I suggest that my first post is the "whole-story" of existence. |
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david_obsidian
USA
2602 Posts |
Posted - Nov 21 2008 : 11:11:25 AM
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Anthem, I didn't say you suggested your first post is the "whole story" of existence.
I'm saying that the claims go too far. The story of lack of limits needs to be tempered with a story of limits to make it whole.
What does it mean, we can create anything with the power of our minds? Who or what is that 'we'? And what are these 'minds' that can create anything? Anything? Is this really true?
EMC asked:
David, you get me curious. How did he end up? What did he do that would be a symptom of what you are talking about?
Hi EMC,
here's a short version, and I'll stick to nonjudmental facts: In his later life started making pronouncements that were increasingly bizarre, and, through his organization started initiating schemes which were of very questionable wisdom. In his early years he stayed out of politics (always wise for a leader of a spiritual organization), but later he ventured in with both feet; he created a sort of shadow government (calling it the World Government of the Age of Enlightenment!) appointed by him and then started trying to gain political power (albeit nonviolently and democratically) by having representatives from his own party run for office in various governments throughout the world. He put the fees for the teaching of TM up so high that almost no-one was coming to learn TM any more, and many long-time TM teachers had no means of financial support. There were other grand schemes for hundreds of 'peace palaces'and he had a preoccupation with building the tallest buildings in the world -- eventually dreaming of 'castles in the air' almost literally.
He basically lost touch with reality, and things fell apart.
The lesson to be taken from it is this -- watch out for extreme beliefs and, in particular, fantasies. They are generally wrong, especially if they are about ourselves and our power. While it is a mistake that 'we are completely powerless and subject to external forces' I believe it is also a mistake that 'we are limitless being, we live in a world of infinite possibility'. The truth, reality, lies between the two. All virtue lies between extremes. That is as true for our concept of our power as it is for the temperature of the room.
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Nov 21 2008 : 11:52:22 AM
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Hi David,
quote:
What does it mean, we can create anything with the power of our minds? Who or what is that 'we'? And what are these 'minds' that can create anything? Anything? Is this really true?
Thanks for clarifying, I couldn't figure out what you thought was so radical as it seems pretty straightforward stuff to me. I can now see where you are interpreting the above post as being too fantastic, if you felt that I was referring to transcending accepted physical laws with the mind only which isn't the focus of the post. I was speaking in terms of thoughts, corresponding behaviors and physical actions within the parameters of accepted physical laws of the universe, hence my example of public speaking.
I know I digressed into the power of belief in the body and belief in the physical laws of the universe and about legend suggesting a few have overcome even these perceived limitations, it isn't the important part of what I wrote. Though I will point out that history has given us many examples to show that this is possible to a degree at least, one that comes to mind is the once accepted barrier of the "impossible" 4 minute mile, which as we all know was overcome. I also will point out the field of Quantum Physics has seen through a lot of preconceived accepted notions of the physical laws of the universe. My mind does remain open to what can be overcome, there are many "miraculous" examples of scientifically documented cases of patients for example, who have healed themselves from seemingly impossible circumstances. The Morris Goodman story is one of my favorites:
http://www.themiracleman.org/
All of this aside, the important part of my initial post is that people can escape the mental prisons they put themselves in with limiting thoughts. It is very important for people to know that they can free themselves from the mental prisons they find themselves in and that it just takes time and repetition. We have conditioned ourselves in many undesirable directions, so we need to give ourselves the time and practice (repetition) in the desired directions instead. Exactly what we do here with AYP, no?
The above epiphany that lead to my initial post came to me in regards to limitations I have observed in the world of sport in relation to physical performance of athletes. Once the athlete realizes they are the ones who "trained" themselves inadvertently to fail at a skill, they realize they have the power to re-train themselves in the desired direction.
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gumpi
United Kingdom
546 Posts |
Posted - Nov 21 2008 : 12:08:37 PM
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Jung once said "undreamed of possibilities" but i don't think this is the same as unlimited power or some such thing.
It is supposed to be the job of the gnani yogi to discriminate between the real and the unreal. Personally i think those old yogis got it wrong with respect to the siddhis. Their world was almost entirely subjectively based compared to our modern age. But all in all i think they did discover a lot of valuable things.
They obviously knew about the workings of the human body a long time before science studied it. Same goes with some of the psychology.
But reducing the body to the size of an atom? Levitating? I personally highly doubt claims of this sort.
Speaking of levitation, Mahesh Yogi taught bouncing on your buttocks yoga. That was a spectacular failure.
I don't think i am alone in thinking the following but i think you can usually tell if someone has "lost it" by a peculiar kind of look in their eyes. I certainly think this is true of Mahesh in his later years. In fact i would even say he looked paranoid.
It's true that there are anomalous experiences that occur and despite science. Reason is because their operation seems to be spontaneous and un-predictable or uncertain. Must have something to do with quantum theory. But we all experience these things with synchronicity. I think that is the one universal experience almost everyone has had. I personally believe that "God" is exactly what this thing is. If we actually knew the nature of this phenomenon i think we could all experience spiritual phenomena at will. Or at least open ourselves to it so much as to be a good reciever. It seems there are only 2 ways to access this. 1) drugs and 2) sleep states. They both open a window onto the divine. In the first case, drugs seem to cause confusions. Perhaps the ego gets in the way. I don't hesitate to state that i believe i have experienced enlightenment through drugs. Total unity with the entire universe. Insights come through "coincidences" that bubble up from a place beneath conscious awareness, or intuition, which comes to your brain almost by a kind of radar action and involves specific personal things. Sometimes though it happens in such a way that you first pick up something and later on it becomes a personal thing. But it is worth remembering i think that there are so many varied spiritual experiences that i would be the first to admit that i possess no special gift or ability to know things i cannot possibly know about other people or things as if by an effort of personal will. It seems much more tenable to me to think that 99.9% of these experiences happen TO us and not BY us.
If there was some way of opening that reciever up to channel this "big mind" so as to have some kind of autonomy with regard to experiences we would prefer, that is really the important question here. |
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VIL
USA
586 Posts |
Posted - Dec 10 2008 : 03:27:08 AM
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I'll just go with the paradox of being limited limitlessness, until I understand what that means completely.
Namaste:
VIL |
Edited by - VIL on Dec 10 2008 05:09:31 AM |
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We are limitless being- anything is possible
