The Seeing Seer (Cognition)
Occasionally on this site I’ve touched on the nature of cognition, a form of experience where all knowledge about the object of perception is known. Not just the surface of the object facing us but …
Category: Waking
Can Lower Life Forms Become Enlightened?
This is from a debate over the title subject. A little more speculative than usual. Edited for context. It’s an interesting consideration. We tend to take a human-centric view of it, seeing ourselves at the …
It’s Time
Karma, in this case referring to the consequences of past action, is described as having 3 types. With awakening, we are said to roast the mountains of our backlog and to stop creating new problems …
The Means
The recent Surrender article brought out a key point which is worth amplifying. Again, from the second to last sentence of the ancient Rig Veda: “By virtue of unitedness and by means of that which …
The Value of a Story
We might rightfully ask – What is the value of telling an awakening story? It is after all just a story. As I was reminded recently, “Those who know do not say, those who say …
Surrender to Discrimination
Several recent events have reminded me of a key point worth clarifying. The spiritual path is dominated by surrender. It requires we let go of attachments, of the grasping “me”, of suffering, of whatever binds …
Deep Yoga
Last year, I did a series of articles on the Yoga Sutra, emphasizing how Yoga (union) was much more than postures. It’s also useful to be reminded that Yoga is much older than the commonly …
What is Nonduality?
Recently, this article rolled out and I thought it might be suitable for the SAND web site. I’m giving the stages talk at their conference this fall. They agreed and the article goes live next …
No-Self
I’ve written periodically about the term “no-self”. It’s a prominent term in Buddhism but its meaning is used somewhat variably in the larger spiritual community. For example, as in not-me or post ego. Or as …
What God Made
Once you take away most of the personal expectations and begin living life “in the flow” of the divine, your life becomes much simpler (typically) and smoother. But life can take some unexpected turns, such …
The Ego’s Role
This came up in another forum when someone questioned why they hear of the end of ego but the ego returning and some awake teachers not acting like their ego is gone. Edited slightly for …
Samskaras and Vasanas
As readers if this blog know, I recommend a book by Joan Harrigan called Kundalini Vidya. While I don’t agree on all points, it is an excellent overview of Kundalini science. Recently, Rick Archer of …