The Chicken and The Egg

We seem to all come back to the question what came first the chicken or the egg?
This question can be answered by a motion picture depicting the egg being laid , the egg hatching growing to a chicken , then another egg laid repeating the cycle over.

We also come into contention with what is called the mobius strip or cylinder in which a continuos surface is twisted in such away connecting back to itself. It is often the symbol used for eternity this twisted loop. Infinitely describing a scenario with no beginning or end.

We can only view one flat surface at any given point in time but actually the strip is two flat surfaces..

This is very much like going back and forth into time. We can only view as much of the surfaces that our memories will allow. What if we were able to tap into the consciousness of all life. We would see all sides of the cylinder front and back. This is very much what it is like living in the spirit. You begin to see everything as a never ending unfolding story. Very similar to how Ende saw it, who wrote the never ending story.

We hear of the saying the ends justify the means, what if there is no end? No means? No chicken?No egg? We would not need justification. We would not even need to hear. We would just exist or not exist - eternal bliss. We would choose to live on the visible or the not visible side of the cylinder. We would see the invisible become reality and reality disappear becoming invisible.

Meditating on this cylinder is something that helps me to understand relationship between realities. Some call us dreamers as it may seem like we are in a trance like state or dream state. It first happened in a classroom to me as a child. We were in a math class , I entered the dream state found myself in band playing cymbals. When the teacher dismissed the class in my hands were a set of cymbals. Not ever remembering where they came from - this was math class.

Driving a  car to the hospice to visit a friend, stopping at a light and slipped into another consciousness. Experienced what seemed liked weeks in a few seconds someone in the car poked me and said Earl are you ok, the light changed to green. It happened time and time again soon realized it would have to be controlled some way. It was like being the real Dr Who.. slipping through time and space. On one particular occasion appeared in a goblin world. It was all too real , actually frightened the goblins along a hillside. I wrote a poem , where the goblins roam.

Not sure what came first the chicken or the egg , one thing sure is that I have lived an incredible life or lives.

Peace,
Earl.

Goat or Turkey

I asked a friend of mine from India if he was having turkey for Christmas and he smiled. They are having a goat leg with thigh with special seasoning and barbecue. While it seemed out of the ordinary to me goat is popular in parts of Africa and India.

Many will have chicken or ham foregoing the traditional turkey dinner. In our office we were given an office party choice of tacos or fajitas. No matter what the meal it is a time for thanks and giving. We live in a time when the largest (super) tsunami hit the philippines and hurricane Sandy is still in cleanup almost a year later.

Weather seems to be getting more severe and with the internet and cellular we are more aware of every tragedy. We are connected by social networks twitter and Facebook. Linked In to business associates and old classmates. The new technology cloud can store all of our pictures , videos or presentations and give access to one of several media tools including our cars , our cell phones, tablets or laptops. The mobile revolution is taking place at this very moment. Everything is in motion-- I recently attended an international conference on information technology. The amount of data has grown more in the past two years than all of the previous years combined.

Perhaps we will have  turkey this year if we take the time to prepare the traditional meal or stay in motion. To me it is a time to sit still, turn off the videos and mobile devices. Talk to each other in the often forgotten art of conversation. Turn off the news - talk about family. Whether it is goat or turkey enjoy the time together.

Peace to all.
Earl.

The Pure Mind

 With all respect to religion and philosophy it would seem that whether random events or predetermined suffering would cause harm to the human condition. Whether genetically coded or through suggestive conditioning. What we call fate or calling matters very little.
  We will abuse the word divine trying to explain what science has yet to uncover or the mystic has yet to reveal. Our imaginations ,our dreams and our aspirations should lead us in one direction. To seek the pure mind. Free of worry or fear or desire. We are lead through mazes of power struggles within the social circles and often cling to survival and comfort. The defining of absolutes or  unknowns can leave us forever in the maze or wilderness. The pure mind is at rest, at peace.

-Earl

Duality and Non-Duality

When studying the bible you cannot help but notice the switch from a duality to a non-duality posture. In the Abrahamic old testament and into the new testament teachings of Jesus this switch occurs.

In the days of Abraham it was taught we were separated from God , it was always a religion of sin and separation. In the teachings of Jesus - we are brought into a closeness the duality disappears. Jesus says I and the Father are one, we are one. All throughout the life of Jesus we are brought closer and closer to the Father. God becomes our Father who art in heaven, our guide to lead us.

Our salvation is actually the switch from a duality to a non-duality. We become children of light no longer children of darkness. The greatest gift is the Holy Spirit which comforts us and guides us. Many will say the greatest gift is eternal life and they may only be looking toward an afterlife. In the catholic church it is also taught the greatest gift is the Holy Spirit.

Why is the Holy Spirit so important?
The Holy Spirit comforts and guides us spiritually into a relationship with our God. This is the basis of the catholic teaching to bring us out of the dualistic into a non-dualistic experience. Sin and ignorance are no longer the path. The path is of grace and wisdom which brings us into becoming children of light.

In some religions only duality is taught where in the catholic and in the brahmin hindu faith non-dualism is taught. In Sikhism it is strictly a non-dualist approach as we are connected in the soul. The path Jesus taught was definitely non-dualistic , we are united - one with the Father. The Islamic teachings seem to keep us separated in a dualistic form , similar to Judaism. Some believe Abraham simply means not brahmin. When we think of an interfaith platform it needs to be understood the concepts of duality and non-duality are not the same.

We are to experience the Holy Spirit and it is not enough to know Gods name. Jesus said depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. He made it clear regardless of works done in his name or even miracles, we are to know the spirit within. We are to be one, not separated. Banging your head against a wall or shouting praise openly will not get you close to God. The kingdom of God is within you.

God is spirit, we have to worship God in spirit. When we study thought , divine thought it becomes clear. Our thoughts are not divine thoughts. Actually the brain is a trash bin of all the sensory input and this is normal , nothing to be guilty about. The mind however is to be pure mind and this gets confused with duality. Pure mind and duality are not the same thing. Meditation to me is taking time to read something inspiring or simply relaxing and experiencing these divine thoughts.

Going into a religious frenzy or beating the chest , begging all of this is not worship. The greatest praise is to become like a child and not a beggar. To become a son or daughter - similar to the story of the returning prodigal son- this is the relationship we should seek. How happy the father was when his son returned to be with him.


Peace.
Earl

Alzheimers and halos

We all have known a loved one or relative who experienced Alzheimer's. The symptoms may start out slow and gradually it becomes more noticeable. The person going through this seems to lose their memory of past experience. To me it would be like having your house burn down with all the pictures and moments of a lifetime completely destroyed.

This would be the case except for the halo or aura that surrounds each of us. The mind has another perfect image of our life embedded on that halo. We will all eventually lose our earthly body and the brain will dissolve like all other matter. If we think of the brain as merely an instrument to hold temporary data similar to the computers ram. Think of the halo or aura as the place that holds the permanent image of us. It has been known for eons that this halo exists and it was often portrayed as an angels head dress or that of a saint.

We see it in drawings and sometimes captured in a photograph.

What is the purpose of the halo?

If you have ever had an out of body experience it may be that you have temporarily made a connection with the halo. The halo contains a pure image of the mind outside of the body. It seems that some have such a resonance others can see their halo.

An elderly man once was upset that his wife had Alzheimer's. He thought she would not remember him in heaven and she seemed quite angry toward the end. The wife he grew to love and cherish actually became very playful and full of joy in the spirit before passing. Alzheimer is a disease of the brain and has no effect on the halo. The halo holds the pure mind and also can be used to communicate. In buddhism there is a place called the pure land outside of the body. My experience is it has something to do with this halo which surrounds us. The beauty of life is not lost in the last moments and is captured throughout.

When being in the presence of the holy spirit at first we may feel inadequate or filthy. Then we are touched and cleansed feeling the joy immediately returns to us. We are comforted by this loving presence throughout our lives and it is not taken away because of our weakness. Grace is something the christian experiences during weakness, it is this amazing grace that separates the christian experience from any other.

If you have suffered the pain of a loved one with Alzheimer's it would be good to know that their pure mind is still intact.

Peace and joy,
Earl.

Fog

Why is it important to understand fog? Many will reach a point where they seem to be in a fog neither progressing or regressing. 

This happens to all spiritual travelers and is very common. 

Liken this to driving your car in the fog. Have patience and maintain your speed. Keep your light on for others to see. Below the fog is a beautiful valley and above the fog is a wonderful view from the mountaintop.

In James chapter 4 it explains that life is like the morning fog. Here today and gone tomorrow. We also are reminded here of patience and waiting for the fog to lift. We are reminded that anxiety is often a result of our sight. The fog is always temporary and to realize that can make a difference in how we react. You will find out that the most successful people in business are able to hold on to their positions without regard to circumstance. Faith is about making decisions based on goals and determination not sight.

Being September - thought of the song september morn. One of the lyrics is we traveled halfway around the world to find ourselves. Perhaps fog is a temporary illusion in which we find ourselves.

Peace.

Earl.

the Rooster

We are reminded that in conscience before passing into death all debt should be paid. Even Socrates one of the greatest thinkers of all time reminded a friend to pay back a rooster that he had borrowed. It may have seemed like such a trivial thing - a rooster. Socrates also had many opportunities to flee - Yet he stood his ground in court and faced death as a philosopher that was not about to retreat. His most famous saying, " I know, I know nothing". That is realization in its finest.

In many religions karma is sort of a debt that is collected over lifetimes and need to be resolved. As a christian we believe this debt is impossible to pay and therefore Christ paid it for us. Do we use this as an excuse to disobey God. I found that 85% of the persons in prison claim christianity as their religion. That is a staggering number compared to most religions. You will find the next largest number is muslims , then native indians and jews - so religion does not seem to keep people out of prison. The lowest number very minute are actually Sikh and hindu. Of the highest number most are catholic then closely followed by protestant.

Is this a direct correlaton to the number of the population -No! Then why the large number of christians, muslims and jews  in the prison system. Perhaps they are not fully practicing their religion, on the contrary most come from a very religious background. They all believe in repenting for sin as an atonement and that they are forgiven and owe no debt.

My contention is that we should always be willing to pay back the rooster and do the right action regardless of religious teachings. If you borrow money- pay it back , religion does not give you the right to steal. This is a misconception held by many of those in prison, they have weakened their conscience. We are not given the right to kill and steal as chosen people. We need to live lives above reproach and within the law. When we see ,so called, religious beings committing violence in the name of God , it is even worse.

Is it because the Sikh are not really religious , they are spiritual. The hindu is not religious but spiritual, if you look closely, they are more serious about experience and practice. It also is true with the orthodox christians who are more concerned with spirituality and practice. There are some others within christianity that also have a believe in spiritual experience and practice. These are all in the smallest percent of prison population , there is a direct reflection of this in statistics. By their fruit you shall know them.

We need to achieve awareness to get closer to God , it is not just a matter of appeasing conscience.

Peace.
Earl.