There is no way to happiness, happiness IS the way...

Out of my head, into my heart....it's a new day.

some spokes on the wheel

Christianity for comfort.

Buddhism for self-knowledge.

Taoism for acceptance, contentment, the way... Baby!

On Jesus

At times it may seem that I am tormented by my belief in Jesus. Torment is a little harsh but I do admit it is an ongoing mind-game/discovery of who Jesus is and the part that he played in my life.

These days I lean much more towards the view that Jesus was a man -- an incredible man. To be honest I think that I am finding more value in that then to believe that he was an 'all-knowing, all-powerful' God -- more on that some other time.

Savior, martyr, brother, friend, God -- Jesus has been all of these to me.

I realized that if I am to praise God for every wonderful event or day in my life then it is only logical and fair to also blame him/(her, it) for every crisis or event that has brought me heartache and pain. Above all, I believe that the God of my world is a loving God -- Love has no room for blame. Therefore, as much as it has been a struggle at times, I have found that the only way to move away from the 'blame game' is to desert it all together and move from a belief in a personal God to a non-personal God -- one that is not so much more distant than it is mysterious.

So I struggle today in where it is that Jesus stands with me. I would not be the person I am today if not for my belief in Jesus. Yet today I view the impact that Jesus had on my life almost in terms of 'my imaginary friend Jesus', as in "what you give power to, has power". I am not completely clear on this but the best way I can describe it is moving from the person of Jesus, solely to the spirit of Jesus--the man.

Healing Through Emptiness

The following is from A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield

In Buddhist teaching, "emptiness" refers to a basic openness and nonseperation that we experience when all small and fixed notions of our self are seen through or dissolved. We experience it when we see that our existence is transitory, that our body, heart, and mind arise out of the changing web of life, where nothing is disconnected or separate. The deepest experiences in meditation lead us to an intimate awareness of life's essential openness and emptiness, of its everchanging and unpossessable nature, of its nature as an unstoppable process.

The Buddha described human life as comprising a series of everchanging processes: a physical process, a feeling process, a memory and recognition process, a thought and reaction process, and a consciousness process. These processes are dynamic and continuous, without a single element we can call our unchanging self. We ourselves are a process, woven together with life, without separateness. We arise like a wave out of the ocean of life, our tentative forms still one with the ocean. Some traditions call this the Tao, the divine, the fertile void, the unborn. Out of it, our lives appear as reflections of the divine, as a movement or dance of consciousness. The most profound healing comes when we sense this process, this life-giving emptiness.

You live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality, but you do not know this. When you understand this, you will see that you are nothing, and being nothing you are everything. That is all. Kalu Rinpoche

Middle Knowledge

This is apparently some concept that is out of my reach. But the terminology itself interests me. So, with the help of a few tasty beers, here is what I've got...

My definition of middle knowledge:

While following the 'yellow brick path', dancing like a child, I get temporarily entangled in my ipod wires. I laugh. I know as behaving as a child, my ipod may crash to the ground and it will all be over, I will resume to adulthood.

Middle Knowledge = having awareness of 2 separate frames of mind at the same time.

The Absolute Knowing

When I die it's what I expect. The absolute knowing-- all I've wondered about, those I've met and wondered about, situations not asked for but received and wondered why. I can only imagine.

All put to rest when I leave-- move on. That is what I expect from heaven. Answered questions. Until then, I enjoy. I seek.

What do you expect?

Into the Mystic

When we get so rooted in this world-- hold so tight to a belief that has the power to define us-- we get attached and removed from the eternal.

My way to God was through Jesus, but I do not think that it is the 'right way' to think to believe that is the only way to reach God.

Getting caught up in ideas and thoughts. Just float.

Shedding

Trees shed their leaves.
Snakes shed their skin.
Animals shed their fur.

Eternal Life -- We come from God and we will return to God.

God shed us.
So will the earth and we will return to the spirit of one.

Recycled bits of God.

Shed ourselves of this earth before we return home. Let go of the past, shed it. Do not hang on. Be in the now.

God's Kingdom

It is not belief but behavior that will bring on the Kingdom of Heaven.

One God with Many Faces

I've been hearing this a bit lately-- 'one God with many faces'.

As humans we experience many emotions. There are many facets to our personalities.
Different people depending on what role they play in another's life are exposed to different sides of one unique individual.

Some people bring out the best in others-- open them up, positive energy flows.
Other people bring out the worst in others-- shut them down, energy stops flowing or negative energy prevails.

So it may be with God.

It seems to me that more often than not(so far) in my own life, things happen on God's time. Yet I look at some other peoples' lives and it would seem as though God has left them untouched. It's as if God is sharing different sides of himself with different people and some may have more exposure to him than others.

Initially, some will view tragedy and life's difficulties as if they are a punishment from God. But with time, one may come to view these same events as a privlege, an honor. It's as if God is choosing to interact with some more than others--he dips his hands down into their lives and exposes them to things that they have never been aware of before, he shares a unique part of himself and in turn-- hopefully-- he opens them up, brings out the best in them.