|
|
 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 6:03:53 PM
|
The best teacher in Life is Life itself.
Live your life to the fullest.....waste no opportunity.....sitting in your closet reading books all day won't help you to be happy and it certainly won't make you enlightened. Allowing ourselves to get hurt, not being afraid to make mistakes, loving with no regards for "self"...these are things we must do to learn. And until we put to practice what we have learned we have not learned anything. Experience is what is needed to understand. Until we stop hiding from the world we will continue to run in circles.
(this is all said to myself, please take no offence)
Love,
Carson |
Edited by - CarsonZi on Aug 18 2009 7:13:33 PM |
|
|
miguel
Spain
1197 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 8:08:00 PM
|
I agree.
Of course, life and experience is the best teacher,school or university.
The school of life.
I like it.
Wise words.
Thanks Carson
viva la vida! |
Edited by - miguel on Aug 18 2009 8:20:41 PM |
 |
|
|
Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 9:06:10 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
The best teacher in Life is Life itself.
Live your life to the fullest.....waste no opportunity.....sitting in your closet reading books all day won't help you to be happy and it certainly won't make you enlightened. Allowing ourselves to get hurt, not being afraid to make mistakes, loving with no regards for "self"...these are things we must do to learn. And until we put to practice what we have learned we have not learned anything. Experience is what is needed to understand. Until we stop hiding from the world we will continue to run in circles.
(this is all said to myself, please take no offence)
Love,
Carson
Beautiful, Brother Carson!!
Life is sadhana, sadhana is life.
The controversial-yet-often-poignant guru Adi Da said (and I quote) -- "Brother, let your heart be wounded, and give no mercy to your fear."
(As also recorded by LIVE in their song, Run To The Water, as well.)
Books sometimes get a "bad rap" ... they can be exceptionally valuable, as can any other aspect of life .... as long as they're ultimately used as guides to disengage from hiding (via active application of what is read, to living-awakening-realization) .... as opposed to an excuse for hiding.
I really love what Paramahamsa Nithyananda had to say in this video, on this topic.
Fulfillment (Facing It All).
It's all about facing it all.
In tantric Shaivism, yogis are known as "vira"-s .... heroes.
The toughest thing awareness faces, in waking up from the dream of needing to wake up .... is the "sleight of mind" ego-mind conducts, via distraction .... or via thinking-me convincing thinking-me that more hiding is a good idea.
It never is, unless continued suffering is the goal.
Thanks for this beautiful and profound reminder.
Heart Is Where The AUM Is,
Kirtanman |
Edited by - Kirtanman on Aug 18 2009 9:20:40 PM |
|
|
|
machart
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 11:08:57 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
The best teacher in Life is Life itself.
...
Love!
Carson
Great observation and advice CarsonZi! |
Edited by - machart on Aug 19 2009 12:31:17 AM |
|
|
|
chinna
United Kingdom
241 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 07:04:53 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
The best teacher in Life is Life itself.
Live your life to the fullest.....waste no opportunity.....sitting in your closet reading books all day won't help you to be happy and it certainly won't make you enlightened. Allowing ourselves to get hurt, not being afraid to make mistakes, loving with no regards for "self"...these are things we must do to learn. And until we put to practice what we have learned we have not learned anything. Experience is what is needed to understand. Until we stop hiding from the world we will continue to run in circles.
(this is all said to myself, please take no offence)
Love,
Carson
Beautiful, Brother Carson!!
Life is sadhana, sadhana is life.
The controversial-yet-often-poignant guru Adi Da said (and I quote) -- "Brother, let your heart be wounded, and give no mercy to your fear."
(As also recorded by LIVE in their song, Run To The Water, as well.)
Books sometimes get a "bad rap" ... they can be exceptionally valuable, as can any other aspect of life .... as long as they're ultimately used as guides to disengage from hiding (via active application of what is read, to living-awakening-realization) .... as opposed to an excuse for hiding.
I really love what Paramahamsa Nithyananda had to say in this video, on this topic.
Fulfillment (Facing It All).
It's all about facing it all.
In tantric Shaivism, yogis are known as "vira"-s .... heroes.
The toughest thing awareness faces, in waking up from the dream of needing to wake up .... is the "sleight of mind" ego-mind conducts, via distraction .... or via thinking-me convincing thinking-me that more hiding is a good idea.
It never is, unless continued suffering is the goal.
Thanks for this beautiful and profound reminder.
Heart Is Where The AUM Is,
Kirtanman
Thanks for the mention of Adi Da. Now there is someone who really got it, and many powerful siddhis, and was an astonishingly lucid and powerful teacher, but then chose a path of increasing esotericism and disappeared behind a wall of obscurity which couldn't help but seem deluded from outside the group. It is a shame that teachers who learned pretty well all they know from him feel embarrassed and no longer mention his influence, though it is totally visible in their work. I always like to see him mentioned, and not only negatively, because he was more complex than that, and he is associated with the most powerful K-initiations in me, even though I never met him phsyically.
chinna |
|
|
|
Yonatan
Israel
849 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 08:13:40 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
"Brother, let your heart be wounded, and give no mercy to your fear."
That's beautiful Kirtanman
I agree wholeheartedly Carson, Life is a great teacher, that is if you're willing to learn.. I think sooner or later everybody is.. |
|
|
|
CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 10:53:55 AM
|
Hello Brother and Sisters!! Thank you All for your posts!
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
The controversial-yet-often-poignant guru Adi Da said (and I quote) -- "Brother, let your heart be wounded, and give no mercy to your fear."
Yes....this is exactly what I am talking about here. I have become increasingly aware that I am not living to the fullest extent I could be. I shy away from situations that I may find conflict in...I often stay in my comfort zone....I live a routine. Time for me to shake things up a bit. Time to allow the unexpected. Time to test my silence in the "real world". It is easy to be centered in silence when you never put yourself in challenging situations, or the only challenging situations are conversations over the Internet. Time to put all this head knowledge to good use and turn it into full out heart knowledge by allowing myself to be in uncomfortable situations experiencing fear, heartache, unconditional love, and all these things that I end up missing out on because I am living in my own little spiritual bubble.
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
Books sometimes get a "bad rap" ... they can be exceptionally valuable, as can any other aspect of life .... as long as they're ultimately used as guides to disengage from hiding (via active application of what is read, to living-awakening-realization) .... as opposed to an excuse for hiding.
Yeah I wasn't meaning to say that there is no value in books. There is great value in the wisdom, practices and experiences shared through the written word. But I personally spend too much time reading.....time that would be better spent living. I need to stop reading about other people's journeys and start living my own. I have made a pact with myself that I am not going to read books except when I am at work, when I am sitting on the john , when I am driving, or when I am going to bed. I am going to do my best to spend as much of my "free" time experiencing as much as I can and learning from these experiences. The only thing holding me back from doing something awesome everyday is finances (and that's a good thing because it forces me to be more creative). Instead of sitting down to read after I am finished washing the dishes after dinner like I usually do, I am going to take my wife dancing. I don't dance. Ok, I don't dance well. So I just don't do it....it makes me feel foolish. Time to get over that. I'm going to go to kareoke. I really dislike kareoke because everyone seems to make themsleves look so silly up there.....time for me to look silly. AND there's a kareoke bar within summersaulting distance from my house so....how convenient! I am also not going to let my fears stop me from living any longer. I am going to go do the zip line at Canada Olympic Park: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald...7374&k=28695 ...the first time I did it I was scared more then I think I have ever been in my whole life. I swore I would never do it again. Time to face the fear. And I'm going to skydive. I took the training course once with my sister but when it came time to jump I backed out cause I was scared. No more! I won't let my fears stop me from living any longer. Fear of rejection, fear of humiliation, fear of aggression, fear of whatever.....they will hold me captive no longer.
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
[I really love what Paramahamsa Nithyananda had to say in this video, on this topic.
Fulfillment (Facing It All).
It's all about facing it all.
I don't have any way (at home or at work) to watch youtube videos so I didn't get to see this unfortunately. Sorry.
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
The toughest thing awareness faces, in waking up from the dream of needing to wake up .... is the "sleight of mind" ego-mind conducts, via distraction .... or via thinking-me convincing thinking-me that more hiding is a good idea.
Totally agree. Don't really know what I was thinking this whole time. What use is it to be all "yogic" if you're only yogic to yourself and the few select people who you allow to be around you? Time to put that "yogic-ness" to the test. Time to learn about myself and what areas I still have lots of work to do in. In my life right now the way it is, I am not challenging myself. I have been content to not challenge myself. There is too much comfort in living this way. To me it is basically the equivalent of sitting in a cave in the mountains meditating all day long. There is a time and a place for this, but there also comes a time when one must put all that is learned in that cave to good use. And then maybe after a while of challenging myself everyday it may potentially be a good idea to go back into the cave to ponder all that is learned while out living in the world. Maybe, maybe not. But right now it is time for me to wander back to the world of the living .
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
It never is, unless continued suffering is the goal.
No....continued suffering is not the goal here...but putting myself in situations where I might find myself suffering IS. I don't suffer in my life the way it is right now....I am too comfortable. Time to put myself in situations that are (or at least could be) uncomfortable so that I can watch for suffering to arise and can inquire into the source and cause of this suffering so that I might be free of it.
quote:
Originally posted by Kirtanman
Thanks for this beautiful and profound reminder.
Thank you for your wise and compassionate post!
Love,
Carson |
Edited by - CarsonZi on Aug 19 2009 12:52:37 PM |
|
|
|
Yonatan
Israel
849 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 1:37:14 PM
|
Hi Carson,
Do you know about the Zen Oxeherding Drawings?
It shows a seeker looking for the bull (enlightenment).
http://www.lnouvel.com/bull/bull.htm
In the end he comes back to the world |
|
|
|
miguel
Spain
1197 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 1:47:08 PM
|
quote:
It is easy to be centered in silence when you never put yourself in challenging situations, or the only challenging situations are conversations over the Internet.
Yes,its easy and confortable.But i think we need to life the life with intensity.Its action.And it doesnt mean we have to leave our meditation routine.Is necesary to be totally enganged in life.Life is spiritual practice also and acelerates our progress i think.Life is so precious.!!!
quote:
I really dislike kareoke because everyone seems to make themsleves look so silly up there.....time for me to look silly.
I thought the same,but when you give it a chance is an amazing and funny experience.I recomend it.
 |
Edited by - miguel on Aug 19 2009 1:50:32 PM |
|
|
|
CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 1:51:24 PM
|
Hi Yonatan!
quote:
Originally posted by Yonatan
Do you know about the Zen Oxeherding Drawings?
It shows a seeker looking for the bull (enlightenment).
http://www.lnouvel.com/bull/bull.htm
In the end he comes back to the world
No, I have never seen these before.....still can't actually...gotta wait until I get home to see if I can open the link on my home computer as the smartfilter at work won't let me open this link. Thanks for sharing though!
Love,
Carson |
Edited by - CarsonZi on Aug 19 2009 1:51:53 PM |
|
|
|
CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 1:57:28 PM
|
Hi miguel!
quote:
Originally posted by miguel
Yes,its easy and confortable.But i think we need to life the life with intensity.Its action.And it doesnt mean we have to leave our meditation routine.Is necesary to be totally enganged in life.Life is spiritual practice also and acelerates our progress i think.Life is so precious.!!!
Yes Life is indeed precious....
FYI I didn't mean that we should leave our meditation routines in order to spend more time out living the realization....I meant that we should spend less time learning ABOUT Life and more time LIVING Life. Meditation should be a staple like bathing
quote:
Originally posted by miguel
I thought the same,but when you give it a chance is an amazing and funny experience.I recomend it.
I was the guitarist and singer/screamer in a band for many many years, so I know how great it can be to belt out a tune in front of an audience, I just have always had a hate on for kareoke the same way I have a hate on for "cover bands" as it's easy to sing a good song, but hard to write one. That and most of the people singing kareoke couldn't carry a tune in a wet paper bag hahaha....at least at the kareoke bar by my house haha.
Love,
Carson |
|
|
|
miguel
Spain
1197 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 2:17:06 PM
|
quote:
I didn't mean that we should leave our meditation routines in order to spend more time out living the realization....
Yes i know,i only was speaking to my self.I didnt thought you were saying we have to stop practices...
I have gone to karaokes 2 or three times in my life,and i find it funny...i dont take it seriously,if i go there i go with a funny attitude.Just to have a good time with friends... |
Edited by - miguel on Aug 19 2009 2:17:39 PM |
|
|
|
Katrine
Norway
1813 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 2:29:10 PM
|
Hi Carson
Just singing a few notes on your great topic
quote:
The best teacher in Life is Life itself.
Yes....amazing isn't it....how this never fails
quote:
I don't suffer in my life the way it is right now....I am too comfortable. Time to put myself in situations that are (or at least could be) uncomfortable so that I can watch for suffering to arise and can inquire into the source and cause of this suffering so that I might be free of it.
You are too comfortable?
Hmmm...
If you say you are too comfortable.....then right here I already hear some suffering......(maybe I need to wash my ears )
At least here...it seems that Life brought plenty of suffering without me going looking for it.......
I am not saying you shouldn't be active Carson.....I think it is great that you will engage more. Just don't forget that it is not necessary to make this into a "project" on top of Life. Taking your wife dancing might just be enough ...you might enjoy it more than you know.....this is enlightening in itself
Life is so capable you know.... It always exposes you to ways of maturing.....ripening. Always.....
So it is no coincidence that you are where you are right now. Your Life is calm and maybe uncomplicated now. Somehow..... this is what Life is right now.....and hey:
quote:
The best teacher in Life is Life itself
Are you sure you need to zip line from it? Something simple... like you suggested "Not always reading"....simply just sitting...might tell you a lot...... Hidden in "being too comfortable"....there is more to look at. It is Life that has brought you to where you are now, right? So....if you think the purification is not happening fast enough....then take a look at the....dynamics.... behind this thought....
Mind.....often craves stimuli......it often gets bored...uneasy... when too little is happening. It has agendas.....it expects....it wants results. When sitting still with all this.......often the underlying dynamics behind this motivation will arise.
You know...some years back....the biggest fear here....was to die unrealized. I too used to read a lot....there was so much food in the books....and I was so hungry. But also.....very afraid....of not becoming realized before dying . Identified with that thought......it created a lot of inner tension here. At those times....the portal to silence......the opening..... felt very narrow.....
The irony of it.....is that......
I always die unrealized.....
|
|
|
|
Katrine
Norway
1813 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 2:35:40 PM
|
PS.....
Very impressed that you would consider the zip line.
I would be terrified.....no way you would drag me into one of those.....
So....keep that in mind when reading my post.....I really know nothing |
|
|
|
miguel
Spain
1197 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 2:47:26 PM
|
| Thanks katrine. |
|
|
|
CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 2:54:41 PM
|
Hi Katrine and thank you so much for this wonderful contribution...there is so much in your post!
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
You are too comfortable?
Hmmm...
If you say you are too comfortable.....then right here I already hear some suffering......(maybe I need to wash my ears )
Haha....yes, very perceptive of you and not very perceptive of me!! Hahaha...thank you so much for pointing this out! I wasn't suffering in the past due to my "comfort level", but now I am realizing that today, right now, this is indeed a source for suffering. I do suffer when I am bored or laxidazical or overly comfortable. It doesn't need to be like this does it!?!
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
At least here...it seems that Life brought plenty of suffering without me going looking for it.......
Yes, for sure there can be suffering without going looking for it... But when I spend my days "hiding from Life" and skirting around any suffering I might encounter, it seems like there is no suffering. I guess I just need to look a little deeper.
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
I am not saying you shouldn't be active Carson.....I think it is great that you will engage more. Just don't forget that it is not necessary to make this into a "project" on top of Life.
Yes, thank you for your always wise words Katrine....I don't need to turn "finding suffering" into a "project" in and of itself. I just need to be more aware of "myself".
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
Taking your wife dancing might just be enough ...you might enjoy it more than you know.....this is enlightening in itself
HAHAHA....taking my wife dancing will indeed be a lesson in suffering. Especially if we go ballroom dancing or something where a lot of focus will be on the "tattooed guy stepping all over both his and his wife's feet"....plenty of humilitation to take a look at there! Hahaha. I'm sure it will be a very enlightening experience.
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
Life is so capable you know.... It always exposes you to ways of maturing.....ripening. Always.....
Yes....I just need to be watching for the lessons in ways I wasn't before...thank you for the reminder.
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
So it is no coincidence that you are where you are right now.
And it's no coincidence that you just wrote this post to help me see this!
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
Your Life is calm and maybe uncomplicated now. Somehow..... this is what Life is right now.....and hey:
quote:
The best teacher in Life is Life itself
I should really listen to my own words sometimes eh
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
Are you sure you need to zip line from it? Something simple... like you suggested "Not always reading"....simply just sitting...might tell you a lot...... Hidden in "being too comfortable"....there is more to look at. It is Life that has brought you to where you are now, right? So....if you think the purification is not happening fast enough....then take a look at the....dynamics.... behind this thought....
Such poignant reminders Katrine thank you. Zip lining is necessary for me to not allow my fears to rule my life and actions....it is not necessary for me to learn to "be with" my boredom though. It is important for me to allow what Is at the time, to be Bliss....not running to activity to get away from boredom, not running from activity to get away from fear. Thank you.
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
Mind.....often craves stimuli......it often gets bored...uneasy... when too little is happening.
Mine especially!
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
It has agendas.....it expects....it wants results. When sitting still with all this.......often the underlying dynamics behind this motivation will arise.
Yes for sure....I think the underlying dynamic behind my motivation to be more active is that I feel I need to LIVE, not hide. It is very easy for me to fall into the trap of "routine". But it is true that boredom can be a factor and I need to see that boredom for what it is; suffering, and I need to sit with that not run from it into the arms of activity. Again thank you.
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
You know...some years back....the biggest fear here....was to die unrealized. I too used to read a lot....there was so much food in the books....and I was so hungry. But also.....very afraid....of not becoming realized before dying . Identified with that thought......it created a lot of inner tension here. At those times....the portal to silence......the opening..... felt very narrow.....
Yes, probably pushing that "realization" further and further away by striving so hard to be somewhere you are not. Best to be happy where you are with what you have right now.
quote:
Originally posted by Katrine
The irony of it.....is that......
I always die unrealized.....
You also always die realized
Thank you Katrine for your wise and very timely advice....can't thank you enough.
Love,
Carson
|
|
|
|
Katrine
Norway
1813 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 2:57:54 PM
|
| Viva la vida Miguel |
|
|
|
Katrine
Norway
1813 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 3:05:01 PM
|
Carson:
 |
|
|
|
miguel
Spain
1197 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 3:18:41 PM
|
quote:
Viva la vida Miguel
Thanks!!! |
|
|
|
miguel
Spain
1197 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2009 : 3:24:25 PM
|
quote:
Life is so capable you know.... It always exposes you to ways of maturing.....ripening. Always.....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes....I just need to be watching for the lessons in ways I wasn't before...thank you for the reminder.
Great,wise and inspiring words from you friends!thank you so much!
quote:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Katrine
Your Life is calm and maybe uncomplicated now. Somehow..... this is what Life is right now.....and hey:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The best teacher in Life is Life itself
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantastic observation! |
Edited by - miguel on Aug 19 2009 3:39:24 PM |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| AYP Public Forum |
© Contributing Authors (opinions and advice belong to the respective authors) |
|
|
|
|
The Best Teacher (a reminder)
