Category Archives: Mind

Food and Ethics

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That Way by Justin Baeder

Yoga and Buddha tell us to do no harm. Gandhi and Martin Luther King spoke of non-violence. But how do we apply this in our daily lives? It can be tricky territory in practice. For example, when we breathe, our body kills the bacteria in the air. When we walk, we step on things we can’t see. Our physical body requires the life-force of other life forms to survive. We might set a standard not to eat mammals, for example. But the line is pretty gray. One of the curious experiences that can arise in Unity stage or a bit … Continue Reading… →

Choice

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Choices by Mafo Souza

One of the curious aspects of being human is the sense of free will. This sense varies over a large range, depending on our life experiences and stage of development. But there is always some value of choice. Higher beings live a life in service to the whole and can easily fulfill desires. Choice isn’t prominent then. Animals experience life more instinctively so again, choice isn’t prominent. Humans sit in a range that can vary quite a bit. Some experience little choice and may feel life is fated or even feel trapped. Others celebrate their self-determination or get overwhelmed by … Continue Reading… →

The Nature of Our Times

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sunset

I originally began this article as a longer piece for a university journal but ran out of time. In the last few years, we’ve seen a major shift in world news. Perception has become truth and news stations debate “alternate facts.” Irrational positions seem to be the norm. Is society coming apart at the seams? Turns out these are just symptoms of a collective purification and a preparation for what’s to come. To understand the deeper movement that’s taking place, we need a little background. Most people experience themselves as separate individuals. This is an effect of an inner construct … Continue Reading… →

The Reality of Mind

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In My Mind by Hannes Flo

This article is a follow-up to What is Mind, exploring the consequences. We know from physics that the world around us does not look the way we perceive it. Our senses pick up a narrow range of certain spectrum only. We don’t see vibrating fields but solid objects. We hear movements in the air as sound. We feel surface tension as solidity. Our senses take in narrow bands of the available spectrum of information. Yet even within those ranges, our senses take in vastly more information than we “notice.” The mind compares everything to past experiences, filtering heavily for hazard, … Continue Reading… →

What Awakens?

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Cat by Iezalel Williams

Fundamentally, consciousness is simply aware. Then it becomes self-aware and interacts with itself, causing the appearance of forms and phenomena to arise. This self-interacting dynamic is true both cosmically and locally. We can say consciousness is nested or in layers. With a transcending practice like effortless meditation, we go beyond the mind and emotions, settling into simple awareness without content, pure consciousness. In its pure form, it is beyond time and space, infinite and eternal. This is usually how people come to know consciousness itself – simply resting in their own nature. And yet, often we only notice a pause … Continue Reading… →

A Second Conversation with Andrew Hewson

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Blue feather

In September, Dorothy Rowe, Andrew Hewson and I spoke about Perspectives of Awakening. Andrew and I followed that up with a conversation on the stages of enlightenment. We both enjoyed the conversation so had another one. This time we explored the dismissal of stages, the value of understanding the bigger picture, issues with a masculine / renunciate emphasis, healing, surfacing, right action, integrating after awakening, and talking to the family about the changes. On YouTube

Breath Stopping

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Being There by Cattan2011

Breath stopping came up on Transcending so I thought it worth breaking the points out into an article. In a transcending meditation practice we quickly settle within. As we settle the mind, the body also settles. Oxygen consumption and other metabolic indicators drop. In a typical session, this can be 30-60%. When we transcend the practice into samadhi (also called turiya or pure consciousness), we may notice a brief period of inner silence or no thoughts along with very deep relaxation. But when we notice, the mind starts to think about it and the metabolism rises some again. Or the … Continue Reading… →

A Second Conversation with Craig Holliday

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A Second Conversation with Craig Holliday

The Association for Spiritual Integrity (ASI) is holding a series of peer-to-peer discussions. In August, Craig Holliday and I conversed on spiritual bypassing. That was posted here. The video quality wasn’t great, so I just posted the audio. Later the same month, we had another conversation along the same lines. At last it’s available. We spoke to a wide range of topics around healing, ethics and challenges in spiritual groups, bypassing, and the nature of the current time. The conversations are on spiritual integrity so there is some overlap with the first conversation. But much of it is distinct. For … Continue Reading… →

Pleasure vs Joy

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Simple Pleasures by Nico Time

On a recent retreat, Lorn Hoff mentioned pleasure vs joy in passing. I thought it would be worth exploring this further. First lets define the terms: Joy, happiness, and bliss are associated with the 5th chakra, throat, bliss body, and the space element. Pleasure is associated with the 2nd chakra, our animal nature, emotions, sex, and the water element. (Desire can add fire.) Pleasure is very enjoyable but is only ever short term. If we chase pleasure, it can lead to excess. Moderation is key or we fall into addictions, attachment, and so forth. We may seek pleasure to gain … Continue Reading… →

Who Knows?

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Hedge at Audley End House by Caroline

An important detail to understand about this blog is that it’s not about the wisdom of some person named Davidya. It’s not “my” knowledge. Someone who sees themselves as a person has a limited capacity for knowing. This is partly because there is a “me” claiming to know. That identification creates limitations, keeping us in a bit of a box. It also limits us to sensory experiences. But as the entanglements of a me fall away, the fetters on knowing fall away too. (As they also do with love, compassion, energy, and more.) After a clear awakening, the intellect associates … Continue Reading… →

What is Mind?

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Untitled by Joost Markerink

Mind is a big topic. Fundamentally, mind is a kosha or field around our body that is the medium for what we experience as thinking. But there’s a great deal more to it than that. Let’s explore my current take. This field surrounds the whole body but we feel mind is “in the head” because the senses are concentrated there. Mind is the hub that processes and integrates our senses. It also interfaces with the brain and nervous system and emotional body in one direction. And the other way with the intellect, memory, and cosmic mind. The cosmic mind is … Continue Reading… →

Flavours of Karma

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Halloween moon

Karma means action. Action or energy always seeks balance so for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If we resist the consequences that flow from our actions, we can develop energetic sludge and knots. Resistance doesn’t stop the flow of action but can interfere with its smoothness and completion. This is much like a log can partly block a pipe. Water still flows but there can be a build-up and eddies. The log and the water both seek resolution and the disturbance shadows our daily experience. The cycles of time and the collective determine when older consequences … Continue Reading… →