Last weekend, I heard a short talk by Constance Kellough. Constance was once a management consultant with a private spiritual practice. She felt that inner restlessness, then realized she wanted a group practice or sangha. And that’s a key point – the recognition that the restlessness is an inner liveliness trying to get a message through. Once we get clear, we get the message and can act.

She mentioned her wish to an associate and they suggested a new fellow. And thus she met Eckhart Tolle. She then started a publishing house, Namaste, to print the Power of Now, uncertain if there was a market for 60 or 600. They did little advertising, focusing instead on keeping the intention pure. The rest is history.

She spoke of how powerfully things move with a clear, pure intention dedicated to service. But she also spoke of the apparent lulls, when we are “tested for purity” or “stand in the fire“. When we are purified or prepared enough for the next level, then it begins. She observed how in each ensuing action cycle, the sphere of influence expands.

After her talk, Rev. Wendy Yacboski gave a short prayer, mentioning that we don’t choose to be qualified, God qualifies the chosen.

I spoke with Constance briefly afterwards. We talked about how this cycle of rest and clearing can sometimes be longer and more pronounced. She observed how this can indicate a bigger Leap.

In 2007, Constance published her own book, The Leap. Similar in subject to the film Leap!, it is sub-titled, “Are You Ready to Live a New Reality?” She talks about the Leap into waking and has a whole section on practices, noting earlier that different ones suit different people.

The book is quite grounded, touching on subjects like war and terrorism and putting them in a spiritual context. I’m only about a third of the way in but am quite enjoying it. The book seems to be focused on Self realization but I note she does have a chapter on Divine Love.

Looking forward to the rest of it.
Davidya

“Peace is the perfume of God. When God is close to you, you smell this perfume. And this perfume is exquisite.”

“Peace needs to be in everyone’s life. The peace we are looking for is within. It is in the heart, waiting to be felt. It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace.”
– Prem Rawat, “The Peace Ambassador”

http://www.tprf.org/

“Consciousness expresses itself through creation.
This world we live in is the dance of the creator.
Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on.
On many an occasion, when I am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred.
In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists.
I become the stars and the moon.
I become the lover and the beloved.
I become the victor and the vanquished.
I become the master and the slave.
I become the singer and the song.
I become the knower and the known.
I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation.
The creator and the creation merge into one wholeness of joy.
I keep on dancing— until there is only . . . the dance.

-–Michael Jackson, Dancing the Dream, 1992

I always find it interesting when research is published in peer-reviewed science journals that is paradigm-busting.

“The hypothesis definitely raised some eyebrows among our reviewers. But the statistical work is sound. The numbers are there. When you can statistically control for as many variables as these studies do, it makes the results much more convincing. This evidence indicates that we now have a new technology to generate peace in the world.”
– Raymond Russ, editor of the Journal of Mind and Behaviour.

It’s notable that there has been 50 studies of this effect, studied for almost 30 years.

“The observed changes in the Middle East included reductions in war deaths of 75%, war intensity of 45%, in crime of 12%, in fires of 30%, plus there were improvements in national mood of 27% and the stock market of 7% during the experimental period.”

Notably, the effect was 2 to 5 times stronger than conventional factors. Those “conventional factors” are political and military actions.

In Aug. 1993 in Washington, D.C., they reduced violent crime by 23% in a study evaluated by board of 27 independent scientists. They predicted doing this in advance as they’d already done it repeatedly.

The source of the effect? Large groups of meditators, meditating together. No intention to change anything. Just practicing together. And they can do it for less than 0.2% of the cost of the military. Does it hit the news? No, it’s still considered a curiosity published mostly in journals of “Exploration”.

http://www.beirut-online.net/portal/article.php?id=5050

The graph shows that when the numbers go up, the effect increases. The effect becomes more marked above the key threshold and drops markedly below it.

The group has been working to create a country-sized group in the US since 2006, partly by importing Indian pundits. They are also working to create a global-sized group in India. The major stumbling block has simply been one of funding.

I’m also aware of at least 2 other groups working on a similar plan. The next couple of years promise to be quite remarkable.
Davidya

Auras are what we might call the perception of the light bodies or purushas, their perceptual appearance to our eyes. Such perception is easily triggered through simple exercises and practice but doesn’t serve much value unless the perception is refined.

Like EEG measures the effect of brain activity, auras are the effect of prana or life energy movement. They are not the movement itself, but the glow of activity.

It’s pretty simple to understand. Subtle energy is perceived as light or felt. It is a more refined or finer value of light than our usual photo-receptors will pick up. But if we refine the physiology, the perception gets refined as well. When that energy moves, it creates field effects, just like electricity creates magnetic fields.

What we see depends on where the perception is clear. It also tends to be personalized, seen thorough our own filters. What we expect or are willing to see, for example. Some people can choose to see or not see, like shifting focus. A slight attuning ’switches on’ and off more subtle perception or shifts through layers of it or shifts the conscious mode.

Some people flick the switch accidentally and have occasional perceptions. Some simply have clearer periods for awhile. And a few people are born with an ability or siddhi. Siddhi is a word typically translated as power or special ability but in this context, it’s more like a gift. The perception itself is knowledge.

Adam the Dreamhealer, for example, was born with the ability to see auras. With training from a Qi Gong master, he learned to develop his perception and control the powerful subtle energy he had.

In his workshops, he used to have a few people come up and he would do a quick aura read, marking dark spots on a body outline on screen for the audience to see. He would then discuss these with the person. Sometimes, they marked the site of an old injury. Sometimes a developing or known health issue. Sometimes an emotional resistance that had not yet developed into a health issue.

Adam’s emphasis has been on teaching people to use their own energy and attention to heal themselves.

You may have noticed that someone with developed abilities might be able to see not just auras but the actual movement of energy, the way different pranas move in different parts of the body, and the way that movement is reflected in physical functions. They see the mechanics of the body in action. This is partly refinement of perception and partly the “third eye”, the ability of consciousness itself to perceive directly.  (remember – the senses arise from consciousness)

Because consciousness does not have physical boundaries like our eyes, it can be used to look at a distance, look inside the body, and look at other times. Perception is driven by attention and intention rather than the physical senses. Because the perception is within consciousness, it comes with it’s own knowledge. What is seen is known. The focus of this article though is refined perception with the eyes.

What is Seen

Because of the variations in both who is seeing and what they are looking at, there is a wide range of what might be seen. Energy fields are not distinct layers like a cake but rather a range of overlapping energies with certain things prominent in a given person.

Close to the physical body is a dense light that is the etheric. (electromagnetic is slightly more physical) Surrounding the body in progressively more diffuse values is the vital and mental bodies. While we may describe them as a set of layers and sub-layers, they are really just a continuum so that’s largely how they’re seen. Most visible is usually the denser emotional/vital or Pranamaya body. The effect of the active pranas.

Auras grow, shrink and shift with our energies. They blend a bit when they overlap, more so with very close contact.

There will be some general light around the body with brighter areas in some places. There will tend to be brighter splotches of various colours and areas with different general tones. Generally, bright colours are expressive and energetic, muddy colours illustrate some resistance or inertia.

At the highest edge of the mind is the gap, the vibratory edge of becoming. Here is the perception of golden bliss, the bliss body. Life itself. If you’re seeing someone with a conscious bliss body, the effect on the emotional field is more like pink effects.

Only living creatures have the prana bodies – insects, plants, and animals. But the becoming, the movement of consciousness is seen in everything. Buildings, rocks, furniture.

This movement of becoming is thus seen 2 ways. As golden glows around life forms, similar to what is illustrated in the film The Celestine Prophesy. Humans are sometimes portrayed as having halos – the head can have a stronger field and clothes can mute perception of the bodies field. All life forms have the same but a few people have very strong ones.

When the bliss deepens into love, the light of love glows in everything. The entire environment is bathed in gold.

The highest colour perceivable by the eyes is an intense white, usually in the heart (soul) or crown. White in the aura can indicate noise though.

How it Relates

Chakras are a related subject that I discuss on Understanding Your Energy System. See the part on Looks Like. As it is “inside”, it requires the perception of consciousness.

Back in Seeing with the Heart, I described 7 levels of visual perception. You may have noticed that the first 3 were values of perception of life forms (Physical, Etheric, Vital), whereas the next 4 were perception of other values of creation. (Celestial, Universal, Cosmic, Spiritual) Other “worlds” if you will. (Lokas are typically used to describe celestial worlds)

In some ways, these divide refined physical perception with the eyes from the “third eye” perception of more subtle values of existence. Some celestial stuff can be seen both ways.

These are of course arbitrary divisions. The idea here is to get a sense of it. If you try to compare chakras with purushas and the 7 levels of perception, you will find common ground and how they may align, but don’t confuse them with being the same thing. Chakras are the core energy system in life, purushas are the sheaths or layers of expression, and auras are the perception of the effects of purusha. Levels of Perception is a blend, as discussed.

Any given person may see creation but not auras or vice versa. Depends on what is open and what is refined. When our baggage and resistance falls away, we may be surprised by gifts we didn’t know we had. Not everyone will see everything as it may not be required for what is to be experienced.

The point of this post is understanding experiences that may arise. It is not to make seeing auras important. Just as any other value of perception can be a trap, so too this.

Don’t consider this an exhaustive or complete review, just a general overview. There are others with a far keener perception than I. But there is also a lot of misinformation out there.
Davidya

Recently, I’ve seen a couple of books on the Tao Te Ching, originally written by Lao Tzu some 2,500 years ago. Just 81 short verses, it is widely translated in many versions. The 2 versions in question are neither scholarly nor standard.

The first showed up as a reading source to open a discussion group. Written by Wayne Dyer, “Living the Wisdom of the Tao” is a curious juxtaposition of the 81 verses, each with an affirmation. Evidently Wayne put aside his possessions and absorbed himself for a year in the study, a few days for each verse. He blended multiple translations using what “most resonated with my vision and interpretation“. Wayne has stated that he’s not awake.

The other was Byron Katie’s “A Thousand Names for Joy.” The book indicates she has no background in spiritual classics or traditions. Her husband Stephen Mitchell had translated the Tao before they met. He ended up reading her the verses and writing down what she said. This became the book. The book thus has 81 chapters, but starts with only an excerpt from the relevant verse, followed by her commentary.

Stephens translation is one of the ones Wayne mentions using but if one compares the 2, the words are very different. I found Wayne’s pleasant to read and more visual than other translations I’ve seen. But beside Lao Tzu, the affirmations were meaningless. And it did not inspire the depth that Katies/Stephens does.

A simple example. Verse 15, 3rd paragraph.

Wayne:

But the muddiest water clears
as it is stilled.
And out of that stillness
life arises.

Stephen:

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mind settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The verse clearly defines what faces many on the spiritual journey. Stepping out of the need to do and into the flow of allowing. Letting it be as it is. Trusting the process.

It was exactly what I needed to read when I read it. When I told a friend about the verse yesterday at an event, we noticed the book was sitting nearby. The verse was exactly what they needed to read for a different reason. This is how Self speaks to Itself, the same thing is what everyone needs to hear in their way.

[Addendum:]

In Katie’s commentary, she speaks of relationship. Near the end she says “Only by seeking the truth within will you find the love you can never lose. And when you find it, your natural response is appreciation.

This would be my one prayer, because the answer to it brings the end of space and time. It brings the energy of pure unlimited mind, set free in all its power and goodness. When you stop seeking love, it leaves you with nothing to do; it leaves you with the experience of being “done,” in a doing that is beyond you. It’s absolutely effortless. And a whole lot gets done by it, beyond what you think could ever have been accomplished.”

Are you listening?
Are you waiting?
Davidya

For many years, my top goal was enlightenment. Until I had kids, it trumped all aces, even career.

And then one day, I saw that there was no such thing as the enlightenment I had so long sought. It was just a concept. It had nothing to do with being. The me I had wanted to awaken would never awaken as the me cannot. Self awakens to Itself.

Enlightenment is not a place nor is it anything that can be achieved. It is an unending deepening of being. While there may be some signposts, it is a journey. Thus it cannot be a goal.

It is useful to speak about it so that people understand the journey. But once it is heard, the mind will naturally build a concept and create a goal. The key is to see this and not be caught too much by it. Then, when the understanding is deeper, we can shed the concept and open the way to being.

As Lorne has observed, the concept of awakening is often the last barrier to being it.

You may notice that many teachers seem to hedge about making statements like “I am Enlightened”. They seem to talk around it, indirectly. This is not modesty but rather staying truthful. A statement of state suggests an achievement or place that is not there. It is a concept which is false. Yet sharing parts of the journey or experiences remains truthful. It is sharing what the experience has been and what the journey is about.

This came up from Takuin’s recent post, Are You Enlightened? He talks of a conversation he had with Boosy exploring this. Takuin also touches on some other points of note. I’ll mention a couple of things I’d like to highlight from the perspective here.

Firstly, on meditation. I recommend an effortless meditation. It is not the nature of the mind to be controlled but rather try to be the controller. Any effort to control the mind is just the mind trying to control itself. That’s like asking a monkey to be a police officer. Much simpler and more potent is a practice that transcends the mind. Then mind gets out of the way with no doing.

Takuin also makes the statement “never trust someone that tells you they are enlightened“. I certainly agree that “I am enlightened” and other such overt declarations are highly suspect, as I discuss above. But I would hesitate to say “never”. Just as the ego will use concepts of enlightenment for a goal, it will grab onto apparent judgments as a weapon. “Anyone who says they’re enlightened isn’t” can be used to discount almost any opening experience. This does not add to the discourse and understanding but rather takes us back into concepts. Something a little more circumspect like “Careful of anyone making statements about their state. It suggests they are not that.”

Context always helps. When Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the light“, he didn’t mean personally. He meant the Christ, in the same way he said a short time later “Abide in me, as I abide in you.“

It may seem a minor quibble, but I’ve seen the hammer in use. It can be a larger barrier than positive ideas of it are. But it’s also true I’ve seen false and suspect gurus. The deluding and the deluded. Look for those who illumine your process and dump a salt lick on anyone who makes it about themselves or their truth.
Davidya

Sometimes, what is more important than answers is questions. Answers will take you into the mind. Questions can take you past the mind.

Who am I?

What am I?

Where am I?

Am I?

Who is asking the question?

Who needs to know?

What is true right now?

Is this the right question?

What am I truly longing for? asks Mary O’Malley.

How do I know?

Is helplessness okay? asks Neelam

What is love?

Is this true? asks Byron Katie.

Are you listening?

Are you willing to be seen? asks Gangaji.

This is the essence of inquiry. Dyad is asking you the same question over and over, to go into it more deeply. Interestingly, when we come to a place where there is no answer, that is when the question ends. That outside edge of mind is pure satisfaction.

Now, go back and read the questions again. But wait & listen this time. Instant answers are the habit mind. That’s not the truth. It’s the truth that sets you free.
Davidya

On the journey of awakening, many aspects of the person fall away. Here and there, we can run into unexpected and amusing consequences for a short while during adaptation. Simple things like routine conversation can reveal profound inner changes. The witness experience, for example, where the body is having a conversation but the person no longer appears to be involved. We simply observe, and may see things we didn’t before, like odd habits of speech.

Perhaps we’re walking down the street and run into an old friend. They’ll ask “What’s new?” It’s not considered good social etiquette to respond that change is an illusion. But if the mind has not been reciting it’s story about what’s “happening”, it may take a moment to come up with a suitable response. “Interesting question” will not be expected. “Nothing much” may not work, but the mind may be silent.

If someone asks “how’s life?” and we respond with an enthusiastic “Absolutely Fantastic!”, some people may be confused if you didn’t win the lottery. “Nothing much” really won’t work then. Surely there’s a reason you feel so happy??

When we first meet someone, usually the first 2 questions asked are your name and your role, what you do for a living. They expect something formatted like “I’m Fred. I sell used cars“. If your identity has just fallen away, even though the person may still sell cars,  questions like “What do you do?” may at first draw a blank or seem meaningless.  If they ask “What’s your name?” and you respond “What do you mean?“, they’ll probably not ask again. If they ask “Who are you?“, they won’t be expecting poetry. Nor a statement like “Oh! You mean this thing. (pats chest)“

Of course, I’m being silly. But it can be amusing how internal changes can show up in unexpected places. Friends may think you’ve moved to another planet – even without talking about the experience. (laughs)

It also illustrates how fundamental social interactions revolve around ego identification. Indeed, the English language is founded on ego. Even the most basic verb conjugation is To Be. I am, you are, she is… And this reveals another unspoken question ego uses to differentiate itself, gender.

Who am I? The answer is a hallmark of the spiritual journey until there is no longer an answer. No longer an I or an am, no longer a seeker, no longer a question, no longer words. But we still have to answer the question sometimes.
Davidya

“Most questions of “why” or “how” indicate the need to escape from facing the truth of what is happening. Looking at what is, is the fastest way to understand… Thus, trying to figure out “why” or “how’ are ego ways to avoid looking directly. This escape is a ‘natural’ act of the ego which exacerbates the problems.

The most powerful solution to daily conflicts, problems, misunderstandings, and negativity is forgiveness.”
– Burt Harding, The Transforming Power of Forgiveness booklet.

Many people have trouble with forgiveness. Ego avoids it as it negates ego’s need to make wrong. It can invalidate the ego’s need to suffer. As Burt observes, mind cannot understand it as it is not a movement of mind. Forgiveness is of the heart.

Burt suggests that what is forgiven is the unconscious guilt. An inner discomfort with ourselves and the way our life is. I would describe this as the shadow story which may also have related deadening emotions, something that varies by person. But it certainly creates a fundamental discomfort that overshadows our ability to enjoy life.

From whence does this arise? It results from the ego idea of being separate. This in turn begins as a natural consequence of our move to separate from mother in our first few years. The “terrible twos” reflect the process. In many ways, this is what we seek to outgrow. And this is why it is non-verbal and difficult for the mind to grasp. It arose before the mind matured.

Burt suggests the way to forgiveness is in knowing who you really are, what is not ego. To ask yourself who you are, then listen for the answer. If you do not stop and listen, the mind will just regurgitate an “answer”.

As he observes, forgiveness is also called “acceptance, allowing, letting go and surrender.” It is a way to see what is true now and release what is not true, what is being held against what is.

For myself, I found that culturing an inner connection to source helped immensely. Then, culturing gratitude helps break some of the resistance to allow allowing. That allows trusting what is.
Davidya