Everyday Bliss

This is a continuation of a post on Translucence I made  a few weeks ago here. This piece develops what the Rising of Consciousness is like as experienced from the INSIDE of the process, as it’s happening. Your roving Conscious Reporter checks in…

Translucent people have access to their deepest nature as peaceful, limitless, free, unchanging, and at the same time they remain fully involved in the events of their personal lives.

- Arjuna Ardagh
The Translucent Revolution

Some people call the state of being without limits that is being awake and aware, “God Consciousness” or “soul”, or “higher self”. Since ETHOS is culture-free and barrier-free, we avoid using charged language and simply call this resource state  “Unlimited Self”, which is a state of being that allows access to a universe of resources, creativity and magic. (yep, real magic)

What Is The Unlimited State Like?

When you are fully stepped into Unlimited Self, peaceful calm is a pervasive state and can be almost addictive to stay mesmerised in when it is first encountered.  It is the Stillness spoken of by Eckhart Tolle, in his book Stillness Speaks, and it can be a  deeply comforting place to be in, unconcerned about the world, for a very long time. This is a typical reaction to first awakening. Most of us have so much noise in our lives we don’t realize what true stillness is really like. And then Awakening comes and with it…whoosh! We are dumbstruck with awe and delight.

At a certain point you look around and realize that life goes on and you can both be in this state as well as interact with others. What a realization that is when it comes in a timely fashion.

The Human Experience of Rising Consciousness

My client Dave, a Buddhist working a compassionate path towards personal and worldwide enlightenment, described an incident where spontaneous Stillness and Consciousness happened to him in the wake of a physical injury. He existed for a time with the perceptions of an infant, in perpetual entertainment and delight with the world, but also with amnesia of his former state and a baby’s physical weakness. Cared for by friends, he rode this period out “like an acid trip”, but the state didn’t last. He crashed several months later making the decision that he could either be enlightened, or interact with the “real world” but not both.

“Either / Or’s” are limiting beliefs. We worked on these using ETHOS and now, Dave is able to fully move in and out of consciousness at will. Most of the time he says, “I stay put in the present. It’s wonderful being here!”. Dave’s noticed that as he “steps aside” his need to decreases. He’s now reporting hour-long blocks of consciousness and a complete cessation of the nervous tension he came into coaching with.

The conscious state without limits lasts longer and longer the more you realize when you’ve slipped out of it, and practice Stepping Aside into Unlimited Self.

The more you do this, the longer the conscious state extends.

An ETHOS Game: Keep the Unlimited state going while watching things that formerly would have dragged you back into unconsciousness slip by un-remarkably. “How wonderful I feel” you think “did that really used to bother me? Hm, that’s interesting…” and go about your day, unconcerned.

This is what freedom feels like in this state.

Been here before? Trying to get there?

What wisdom can you share about getting into Consciousness?

Feel free to teach us…

Because you Just. Have. To. See. This. Anyone who ever thought office work was dull or who didn’t realize the amazing things you can do with humble office supplies, here’s some joy for ya from those wild and crazy guys at Eepy Bird, who last brought us the sordid tale of what happens when you mix Diet Coke and Mentos roll candy (don’t ask). Slinky company, watch your profit margin.  Enjoy the pretty colors!

I belong to the Global Business Women’s network on Xing.com. One of our group members posted the call to light candles for Tibetan Freedom from Chinese occupation in our group. Since receiving the blessing of teachings from that avatar of personal freedom, His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2001, I’ve been very involved in this cause. In gratitude, I am passing on the word-for-word notification here.  Bring your Presence to this event if you can…

Event start date: 07 Aug 2008, 12:00 am (local time)

Description http://www.candle4tibet.org/

On the night before the Olympic flame will be lit in Beijing, at least 100 million people all over the world will light a candle for a free Tibet. That aggregate flame will be brighter and will call for freedom in Tibet and in any other place in the world.

"Take part in our Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Light a candle for Tibet."

One candle, in a hundred million of windows all over the world, is symbolizing the right of all human beings to self determination, freedom of speech, thought, conscience and religious belief."

The Olympic Games in Beijing are a unique opportunity to focus the world’s attention on the annulment of those rights in Tibet and in many other places in the world.

The message is simple: Every human being who cares about freedom has a responsibility of lighting a candle. The act of lighting a candle, being personal and spiritual, can also be viewed as a vote. Such massive vote that world leaders will not be able to ignore.

The internet is bringing people together and empowering them to act and effect change. If individual users from all over the world learn to organize themselves not by country borders, but behind common ideas, causes and values they will promote freedom in their own lives.

It’s all about solidarity in standing unified behind Tibetan aspirations. When people unite in large enough number behind an idea, regardless of their nationality, gender, religion or political views, and take a stand, they can change their reality. The internet provides the individual today an opportunity with being seen and heard.

We are going to create a unique moment when so many millions who otherwise would do very little or nothing for Tibet, or any other cause, would actually do something spiritual and meaningful. And do it together!

Our modest objective is to reach 100 million people.

People from all over the world have volunteered and turned the web site that coordinates the action into a true global one. By the end of this week it will be fully operational in 20 languages, and we promise that they will have 50 languages before the event.

I would like to urge you not only to join us at www.candle4tibet.org/ and read all the details about the event, but also to use your connections and help the campaign grow. Please invite as many contacts as you can and talk about it with people of the media.

You can also help by organizing public candle vigils in your area, and by enlisting performing artists and other celebrities to help promote this important event.

Needless to say the whole campaign and the web site are totally non profit and are financed by private funds.

http://www.candle4tibet.org/

Please join us and forward this message to all your friends

Here is my darling kitty Anoushka (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). You can click "more" to play with her using the fishing line or feed her a can of food. She loves being skritched and will purr enchantingly if you give her a rub with the cursor. Enjoy!

adopt your own virtual pet!

A little late on the ball, but in response to biz-buddy Krishna’s tag in her post: 8 random things about me

I’ve had several emails asking "What the heck is Morris Dancing?" and thought no words better capture the thing than those of Ric Goldman from his FAQ at: 

http://rgoldman.org/morris/mayday.htm

Ric’s entire website should be perused for best understanding and knowledge of Morris and Molly sides where you live, but here is his rundown on an explanation of the art form:

What IS Morris Dancing?

Morris dancing is a living tradition of English celebratory and ritual dance with live music, with origins shrouded in mystery and the mists of time.   Shakespeare used it in his plays and it was old then.  The dancers usually wear bells at their knees and often wave hankies (to attract and welcome benevolent spring and summer spirits) or clash sticks (symbolizing the eternal battle between winter and summer), and the dances have traditionally been performed around the time of major celebration or seasonal crosspoints in the calendar.  Indeed, dances of comparable form and dancers in similar costumes are found elsewhere in Europe and around the world, and may be thought to be part of the universal urge to influence and honor the unknowable forces which govern our lives.

One of the most colourful descriptions of morris was provided in the 15th century, by Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh, the Black Adder who said, "Morris dancing is the most fatuous, tenth-rate entertainment ever devised by man.  Fourty effeminate blacksmiths waving bits of cloth they’ve just wiped their noses on.  How it’s still going on in this day and age I’ll never know."

Modern morris includes several different types of dance, all from different regions of England; Cotswold Morris from the south, Border Morris from the west, Molly Dancing from the southeast, and Northwest Morris from the northwest.  Other dance styles such as Longsword, Rapper (sword), Clog, and Garland are often included in the term "morris".

There are lots of ways to get more detail about Morris dancing, but the absolutely best way is to find a morris dancer, take them to a pub, offer them refreshment, and ask for the real story.  It’s guaranteed good luck, too!

---

So as I said to Ric when consulting him on edits to the Mayday Morris video, "first pint’s on me".  Having a heavy week with the book – stay tuned this week however, when the corrected video will be posted!!

I do enjoy marking the passages of the year-wheel with other kindred spirits. A riotous bit of good fun I have a great deal of fondness for is the annual Morris Maying at the Palo Alto, California, Baylands Nature Reserve. There’s a video below, but bear with me a second, some stage setting is in order.

We meet at 5:30am when it’s pitch dark, on the southern edge of the San Francisco Bay. Teams (called "sides") of Morris men (and women) dance up the sun and general frivolity and fun ensue. This ritual goes back at least 900 years in England, to judge from the radiocarbon dating of the reindeer horns used in the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance which leads off the festivities. Alas, it is far too dark to record the dance on video, so we made do with a historical slide show segeuing into the 2007 stills.

In our family’s tradition, the women stay up through the night making rose and flower crowns (which I always wear to the event) while the men cook us a scrumptious post-midnight repast. And of course, it’s considered de riguer to make love in the out of doors in the fields if possible (though it’s generally too cold). Traditionally, the morning’s dancing capped off a night of sympathetic magic ensuring bumper crops in the fields and encouraged the sun to rise to bestow its abundance upon the people.

Here are my videos and best recollection of the dance titles and personnel from May 1st, 2007. If I have made errors, I beg your forgiveness in advance. Contact me and I will be glad to amend the titling. The song sung at intro and outro is "Hal an Tow", a traditional Maying song that echoes the poignancy of the Horn Dance in its first verse:

Take no scorn, to wear the horns
It was the crest when you were born
Your father’s father wore it then,
Your father wore it too…

Needless to say, this verse is aimed at young men who, taking up their generation’s innovations, ’scorn’ what can seem to be the quaint antiqueries of their sires. Where does such a dance come from? While none truly know and the origins have been shrouded in the mists of time, my theory is that such a dance comes from the deer cults that existed in al primitive societies. Once England was covered from coast to coast with dense, impenetrable forests where the red deer reigned. Remember the caves at Lascaux and the pictures on their walls recounting the hunt? Many pictures of deer have been found all over Europe. The stag was a revered symbol of masculinity. Deer  and elk cults existed in native America and reindeer cults in northern Europe. All three of these animals are taxonomically related and their cults are among the strongest in terms of fertility, protection of the home and as symbols of masculinity. But enough of the lecture, you want to see the video.

This day, in May, 2007, the sun came up in fine fashion, cresting the top of the Diablo mountains to much hooting and huzzah-ing. See? Without us dancing the sun up, there’d be no crops this summer. I hope you’re properly grateful…  Enjoy!

Been moving house and don’t have the brains for anything but heavy-duty slacking and yoga sessions. So have been taking quizzes online and generally being an internetiot. Found a nice one through a colleague today that may possibly be of interest to some of you out there…

Here’s my Imagini "Visual DNA" and profile. Interesting system!Check it out by clicking the link at the bottom to take your own test of "DNA".

For those without miniaturized games, cellphones or other diversion in the airport or standing in line, may we present the Advanced Rock, Paper, Scissors game which has a potential of 15.5 OCTILLION (is that even a word?) combinations. Give those Mensa-level tots a real game to play on those increasingly expensive long automobile trips.

Now, Woman can not only eat from bowl, step on cockroach, tempt man and disprove aliens, but also subdue dragon. And those D&D’ers think they have it so cool… 

Courtesy of clever Cory Doctorow over at Boing-Boing. Click pic below for fullsize poster or go here for the total scoop.

I was on a little trip today from San Jose up to Berkeley. It had been several years since I’d done this trip and by heck, the traffic was something else again! Tons worse than the last time I drove this stretch of 880. After three sudden stops necessitated by unaware drivers bulling ahead as if they were the only car on the road, I began chatting up a non-stop stream to myself about it: "Lookit that guy, willya? I mean just LOOK! What an idiot! What a moron! You’d have to be a total dipshit to do a stupid thing like that! He almost killed that whole van full of cub scouts!" ad nauseum. As I fumed I began tapping – after all, I was stuck at a dead stop in traffic. And then I remembered the Coolest Spell of All ™ – guaranteed to bust through any block you have, including the 880-580 interchange sea of idling autos.

I’ve been re-reading Wayne Dyer’s Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision To Be Free and doing meditations on the Dalai Lama’s May, 2001 talk on Bodhicitta. Both suggest that to achieve greater spiritual awareness and development, you wish the absolute best of things and a release of suffering for others, as you also wish for yourself (release of menopausal symptoms for myself and all my friends and clients, thank you Universe!). This has a round-about boomerang effect of getting you what you want and helping out the planet and its sentient life as a whole. Wish happiness for the whole world AND the jerk – oops, I mean the blessed being who just cut you off in traffic (he needs blessings more than most – so do I also, need blessings, so it is) – and happiness will be yours. The specific Buddhist saying is from a beautiful poem by Shantideva that says in part:

Enthused by compassion and wisdom Today in Buddha’s presence I generate the mind of compassion For the benefit of all sentient beings.

For as long as space remains And as long as sentient beings remain Until then may I too remain To dispel the suffering of all beings.

I wasn’t entirely sure I bought into this at first, but as I’ve meditated on it over the years, I’ve seen that it’s a powerful piece of magic that does indeed work. It’s the Karmic Law of Three: what you send out returns to you threefold. If you send out hate, distrust and bitterness, that’s what you’ll receive in return, from every possible source around you. The worse your life gets, the more you complain bitterly about it, and the worse your life gets… 

I blogged on this a few weeks ago . I made conscious a decision to start working from the mind of compassion, or at least to aspire to *have* a mind of compassion, and to use as a test-case, The Road. So instead of my usual Road Rant persona, I’m practicing blessing instead of cursing-at, and wishing the best possible outcomes for all beings – especially while on the road. I’m not perfect at it, but goodness me, what a change I’m noticing already! As per Wayne Dyer’s commentary about things which happen when you start freeing yourself, the coincidences are coming thicker and faster than ever before. One of those coincidences happened on the road to Berkeley tonight…read on if you’d like an EFT recipe that really works!

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