Tom Stine

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-10-25

Tom Stine — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:50:00 +0000

Money quote: “For $10,000 you could hire a coach AND a therapist for a year who will give you INDIVIDUALIZED therapy and coaching.” #
Money quote #2: “Nothing replaces individual prayer, meditation and your personal connection with God on a daily basis.” That is soooo true. #
The more I read about most main stream spiritual teachers the more I think I must be nuts to be doing spiritual teaching! I guess I am nuts! #
blah blah blah blah blah blah enlightenment blah blah blah blah…. if it weren’t so damn funny, it would be pathetically sad. #
Assertions are usually wrong and denials, right. -Nisargadatta Maharaj #
Only by denying can one live. Assertion is bondage. Nisargadatta #
To question and deny is necessary. It is the essence of revolt and without revolt there can be no freedom. -Nisargadatta Maharaj #

Destiny Has No Control Over You – Nisargadatta Maharaj

Tom Stine — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:59:58 +0000

Q: Since all is pre-ordained, is our self-realization also pre-ordained? Or are we free there at least?

A: Destiny refers only to name and shape. Since you are neither body nor mind, destiny has no control over you. You are completely free. The cup is conditioned by its shape, material, use and so on. But the space within the cup is free. It happens to be in the cup only when viewed in connection with the cup. Otherwise, it is just space. As long as there is a body, you appear to be embodied. Without the body you are not disembodied — you just are.

—Nisargadatta Maharaj

Your Inner Purpose is to Awaken – Eckhart Tolle

Tom Stine — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:20:58 +0000

So the most important thing to realize is this: Your life has an inner purpose and an outer purpose. Inner purpose concerns Being and is primary. Outer purpose concerns doing and is secondary…. Inner and outer, however, are so intertwined that it is almost impossible to speak of one without referring to the other.

Your inner purpose is to awaken. It is as simple as that. You share that purpose with every other person on the planet – because it is the purpose of humanity. Your inner purpose is an essential part of the purpose of the whole, the universe and its emerging intelligence. Your outer purpose can change over time. It varies greatly from person to person. Finding and living in alignment with the inner purpose is the foundation for fulfilling your outer purpose. It is the basis for true success. Without that alignment, you can still achieve certain things through effort, struggle, determination, and sheer hard work or cunning. But there is no joy in such endeavor, and it invariably ends in some form of suffering.

—Eckhart Tolle

credit: Mossaiq

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-10-11

Tom Stine — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Is there such a thing as enlightenment? The skeptic says “no!” But if you are enlightened, you’ll say “no” too. #
Of course, I guess I should ask, who’s the one that is enlightened? Ah, so obvious! No one to be enlightened. #
Reminds me of Sailor Bob: “the only difference between an awake one and one who isn’t is that the awake one knows there is NO difference.” #
Clarity. Always clarity. When in doubt, sit, wait for clarity. To quote Valentine Michael Smith: “Waiting is.” #
Wifi at 29,000 ft. Now you can tweet 6 miles high. Too bad, huh? LOL #
I have a friend who thinks that awakening INCREASES the personality and the EGO. What say you Twitter-ites? You can already guess my views. #
RT @Takuin “To live is to suffer” — Buddha “To think is to suffer” — Takuin #
RT @guruphiliac I’ve found that some folks seem to carry a certain, hard-to-pinpoint comfort with their discourse that says “veracity” to me #

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-09-27

Tom Stine — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:50:00 +0000

No “I” no problems. No “me” no problems. #
Just think: every problem you’ve every had is GONE when you drop this silly belief called “me”. #
If there’s no “me” then there’s no “you.” And vice versa. #
Who has a monopoly on Truth? No one. Ultimately you have nowhere to turn but to your Self. You have to find the answers within YOU! #

Words, Labels and Truth

Tom Stine — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:10:31 +0000

When I have time, I love to respond to my reader’s questions. I want to share a few recent emails I’ve exchanged with someone:

Reader:

Hello Tom,

Can I ask you a question? In your recent posting of your tweets, you said:

No matter what I write down, it isn’t true. No matter what I think, it isn’t true.

Adya also said the same thing in his book. This sentence basically contradicts itself. But I think maybe you are saying it is not “completely” true. Or you have a better elaboration?

My response:

Yes, the sentence does contradict itself. Unfortunately, I’m in the same boat as Adya or any other spiritual teacher, it’s just that I’m way too honest about this stuff (and so is Adya). EVERYTHING that is said with words is inherently untrue. It is a derived thing. The most obvious example, one that Adya uses a lot, is this: if you are thirsty, which do you want to drink? Real water, H20, or the word “water”? The word water refers to the real stuff. So, the word water is not real, it has no substance. It always refers to something else.

In this awakening business, you are always endeavoring to get to the truth of what you are. What we have all done for most of our lives is believe that the THOUGHTS we have about ourselves are what we are. And that is not true. We endeavor to always get to the heart of what we are looking at, the “truth” of it.

So, the word “I” is not what I am. Even if I observe this body and the sensations I “feel” from it, I can go further and see that this is not me. What am I? Ah, that cannot be answered in words. It can only be known.

The best that any spiritual teacher can do is use words to point you in the direction of truth. Period. We are using falsehoods, or derived things, thoughts and words, to point at truth. Or, as Ramana used to say, we have fallen into a thorn bush and are now covered in thorns. We then take one of the thorns and use it to pick out all the other thorns. Then we throw the last thorn away! His particular thorn is what he called “the I thought.” Discover that the “I” thought is not you was Ramana’s entire teaching.

I hope the above helps! Namaste…. Tom

My reader responds:

Your explanation is very helpful! But I still have some questions, so please bear with me. Basically nothing is describable by words. Words are just labels. Water can not be adequately described by words. For those who never know water, reading the wiki page about its attributes doesn’t help any. If there is a cup of water in front of me and I say “this is water” to those who know what real water is and agree to use the word “water” as its label, then the statement “This is water” must be a true statement. If this is correct, then what you said about thoughts and words is not completely correct. Spiritual teachers run into the same dilemma when trying to use words describe ultimate reality to people who don’t have direct experience. Oneness, Emptiness, Everythingness and etc after all only add more confusion and make them go nowhere. So I think what you said only can be confined to when talking about ultimate reality.

And my last reply:

I want to focus on two things you said. First:

If there is a cup of water in front of me and I say ‘this is water’ to those who know what real water is and agree to use the word ‘water’ as its label, then the statement ‘This is water’ must be a true statement.

What I would say is that “this is water” is as close to truth as a STATEMENT can get. The key is that statements are never correct. They are always an approximation to truth. Always. They are still never the truth. When you point at the water and say “this is water” it is still THE WATER ITSELF that has the truth in it. Not the words. Make sense?

Because, as you pointed out, we AGREE to use the word WATER as a LABEL for the stuff in the cup. Notice the chain of events: we create a word, water, and agree to use it to describe something.

Why so picky about this? Because human beings walk around believing that the words they hear in their head are real things. And worst of all, they believe that the word “I” means something real, meaningful, important. They think they ARE the word “I” and the thousands upon thousands of associations they have attached to that word: I am a man, I am good, I am miserable, I am happy, I am a great lover, I have an ugly body, etc. I, I, I.

And what is the truth? There is no I. Period. You are not a word, a thought, a belief, an idea. You aren’t anything. Hence, we say, you are nothingness. There is no “I” no matter how many words you attach to it.

FYI, Eckhart Tolle does a pretty nice job of dissecting “I” in A New Earth. He calls it ego, but same thing.

The second thing you mentioned that I want to focus upon:

Spiritual teachers run into the same dilemma when trying to use words to describe ultimate reality to people who don’t have direct experience. Oneness, Emptiness, Everythingness and etc after all only add more confusion and make them go nowhere. So I think what you said only can be confined to when talking about ultimate reality.

Ah, but here’s the bigger problem: even the water you see in the cup isn’t water in the cup. It is, to use your words, Ultimate Reality. Right there in the cup. So is the cup. Water is not only a label for the real thing, water, the actual physical water, H2O, can be seen as a “label” for what it really is….. NOTHINGNESS appearing as form.

It’s a bitch describing this stuff, but there you go. You do the best you can, and that’s what you get.

Let’s keep it simple: stick with something like paying attention to awareness. Just pay attention to it. Focus on it. Look at it. Ponder it. Inquire about it. If you go to Adyashanti’s website, he’s done a lot of satsangs in the past year where he discusses this a bunch. Get a few of them and listen. If I remember correctly, there was one entitled “Rest as Awareness” that was quite good.

Nisargadatta sat for 3 years with “the feeling of being” and simply sat and looked at it every which way until he was done. Whatever arose, he would look at it and inquire about it and see how it fit into the “feeling of being” and keep going and going. Honestly, it’s a process of exhaustion more than anything. That’s why the Buddha called it Nirvana. The word simply means cessation. You simply exhaust the tendency to go unconscious by sitting with what arises. It really is that simply. Hard to do, I admit, but really is that simply.

I hope all the above helps. Namaste.

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-09-13

Tom Stine — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Is it just me or do most spiritual teachers and writers seem to be lacking a sense of humor? Good God, lighten up! #
“Tom, what’s the purpose of having friends and family?” That one is easy: entertainment! #
One thought believed separates Heaven and Hell. And any thought will do. — Adyashanti.
And that one thought can be “I’m enlightened.” #
Or “I’m NOT enlightened.” #
Some books are much better when listened to as opposed to being read. A New Earth is one of them. Eckhart is beautiful to hear. #
No matter what I write down, it isn’t true. No matter what I think, it isn’t true. Or feel. Nothing!!! Woohoo!!! #
Now I know why the Buddha said: “I’m on to you house builder. You will build no more houses here!” #
I can’t stop you from believing in falsehood. But you can stop believing it now! #
Are you waiting to cross the “enlightenment” finish line? Good luck, because you never will. There is no finish line! #

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-08-30

Tom Stine — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:50:00 +0000

What if everything you have turns out to be nothing? Oops! Oh, well, you can have more fun when you realize it’s nothing. #
Can spirituality make your life better? Yeah, sure it can. That’s what the experts say, right? Jesus’ life sure turned out great. #
What happens when you point that alive, awake Presence at a “problem” you have? Try it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. #
What if you discovered that the person you’ve been your whole life really is just a character you’ve been pretending to be? Hollywood is me! #

The Doctrine of No-Soul in Buddhism

Tom Stine — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:39:43 +0000

Buddhism stands unique in the history of human thought in denying the existence of a Soul, Self or Atman. According to the teachings of the Buddha, the idea of self is an imaginary, false belief which has no corresponding reality, and it produces harmful thoughts of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, selfish desire, craving, attachment, hatred, ill-will, conceit, pride, egoism, and other defilements, impurities and problems. It is the source of all troubles in the world from personal conflicts to wars between nations. In short, to this false view can be traced all the evil in the world.

—What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula

credit: Aravinda Rathnayake.

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-08-16

Tom Stine — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Every time you say “I am this” or “I am that,” about whom are you talking? I WHO? Seriously, where is this “I” you are so convinced of? #
Go through everything around and say, “this is what I am.” Do it for everything. Then recognize that they are all nothing, too. Like you. #
What is awakening? What is enlightenment? We do our best to describe the impossible to describe. Oh, well. At least you can have fun trying. #

The Illusion of Continuity of Thought – U.G. Krishnamurti

Tom Stine — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:04:45 +0000

The disappearance of this fundamental question [How do I know the state of an enlightened one?], on discovering that it had no answer, was a physiological phenomenon, a sudden ‘explosion’ inside, blasting, as it were, every cell, every nerve and every gland in my body. And with that ‘explosion’, the illusion that there is continuity of thought, that there is a center, an ‘I’ linking up the thoughts, was not there anymore.

—U.G. Krishnamurti

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-08-02

Tom Stine — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Give up making decisions. Let Life and your intuition show you what to do. They are always right on the money. #
My friend Takuin nailed awakening with a story from Michael Caine: http://bit.ly/fChhs #
Listen to people. They spin the most incredible tales about why their lives suck. But listen closely. Those are YOUR tales of woe. Total BS. #

Sex and Spirituality Discussion

Tom Stine — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:13:12 +0000

Let’s try something a bit different. I recently read a few things by U. G. Krishnamurti, one of the most intriguing “enlightened” people of the past century. U. G. had a lot to say about a lot of things, but one thing that caught my attention was this:

Sex is only for reproduction, but you have turned that into a pleasure movement. What else is sex for than reproduction?

It is interesting to me the incredibly varied viewpoints on sex that one runs across in spiritual literature. Interestingly, in the original dictation for A Course in Miracles, the author had a very similar comment, namely that sex was intended only for reproduction. It would seem that abstinence is a quite common viewpoint. But then again, we have the Kama Sutra, Tantra, and some pretty wild Taoist practices that would make a pornographer blush!

From a purely human perspective, we can’t seem to get enough of sex, can we? Spend 30 minutes reading a supposedly news oriented website, or 10 minutes watching TV, or 5 minutes at any movie rated PG or above, and you will be left with no doubt whatsoever that sex is a major preoccupation of humanity.

But how does it connect to spirituality? Does it connect? Are there any conclusions to be made, any definitive answers? Or, in the end, is it just more mental noise clogging one’s psyche? Is the true answer to all questions on sex something like this: enjoy it when you are doing it, and enjoy the rest of life when you aren’t.

I’m turning on the comments for this article so we can have a nice discussion. I suspect that sex and spirituality might stir up some fun comments. Enjoy! Namaste.

Note: I think it goes without saying that all inappropriate comments will be immediately deleted.

credit: Abhishek Singh aka Bailoo

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-07-19

Tom Stine — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Being. Without anyone “doing” the being. #
There is no “me-ness” in what I am. #
Who? Who? Who? It’s the only question you need explore. Who is at the core, the very core, of everything that happens. Everything. Who! #
You have no identity. It isn’t that you have the wrong idea of who you are, it’s that you have ANY idea of who you are. You ARE. Period. #

Is Teaching about Enlightenment Helpful to Humanity?

Tom Stine — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:04:43 +0000

credit: JapanDave

My good friend Takuin Minamoto has asked a question over at Takuin.com that I felt deserved an answer. First, let me re-print Takuin’s question, and below I will give the answer I left in his comments. I encourage you to read the other fabulous comments at his site. I think he has started a theme that I will be coming back to increasingly over the next few weeks. First, Takuin’s question:

This is a question for fellow writers of spiritual matters, but anyone is free to comment below.

I have noticed a trend – and it is nothing earth shattering – in this world of spiritual teaching:

A man or woman may come to a realization, perhaps only a realization on a superficial level, or perhaps something deeper, then they begin to ‘teach’ it. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with this. But it makes me wonder if enlightenment, the way that term is used by the masses, is nothing more than conformity to one’s ideals of enlightenment.

I am not against anything they are doing, and I cannot sit here and say I ‘know them’ in any intimate way. But is this all we have to look forward to? We go to listen to someone speak on a podium, we may have or may not have a realization, then we go and speak on a podium.

My big question is, In what way is this helpful to humanity?

Don’t take it as, “I am expecting there to be something or nothing there,” because that is not it. I really want to know.

How do you see this?

My responses in no particular order:

1. In response to your main question: “In what way is this helpful to humanity?” I think I’ll start with the most obvious response: I don’t know. None of us do. Part of the beauty of this Life we are is that so much is a mystery. As long as we are open to what is coming through us, and we are even remotely honest with ourselves about where we are, then Life will just have its way, and then we get to watch it unfold.

2. Another immediate response I get to your question is: “Who cares?” I mean that literally and in its more “advaita” sense. Why does the question even arise for you? Do our actions need to benefit humanity? I don’t really know if they do. Although, I have to add, that the more we “open” to Life, the more our actions DO seem to benefit humanity, or at least they tend to move in that direction. But that is an observation, not a statement of necessity. We don’t NEED to benefit humanity. But it sure seems that we do.

3. I suspect that as many have remarked, most people do not enter the role of teacher as they awaken to the truth. That is my experience at least. There may be an inclination to share, but not to truly teach as a “profession.” Look at the people Adyashanti has asked to teach. Most of them only do it part time. They have other functions in life, like therapists and, as in the case of my friend Larry Melton, scientists. Funky, huh?

4. I have to say that way too many people go into the spiritual teaching gig than seems warranted. That’s at least is how it SEEMS. Maybe it is just the right number. Actually, I guess that is true… the number is just right else…. there would be fewer. That said, some of these teachers are such ego maniacs as to not even be funny. What a delicious contradiction, eh? A teacher of “enlightenment” who is so obviously stuck in the muck of his own ego! Life is TOO FUNNY!!!!! Maybe that’s the point, to make us laugh uproariously? Or to cry profusely?

5. As has been observed by others, some of us just can’t help but teach. My experience mirrors theirs: I can’t avoid teaching. It just happens. People are always asking me questions as if I KNOW something they don’t. Maybe I do. Doubt it. But nonetheless, I answer, and they go away satisfied. LOL See, life is funny. But yes, some of us were just born this way, like a genetic condition. Or more likely childhood conditioning. So we just do what we are meant to do, and we do our utmost to clean out our own crapola so that we are hopefully as clear an instrument as possible. But teach we must.

6. Interesting to me that you would ask this question now, as I’ve felt very much led in recent months to “get busy” as it were and move forward in a big way with the whole spiritual teaching gig. So, I guess the question just became more “personal” in a sense: In what way will Tom Stine be helpful to humanity? No idea how to answer that one. I guess I’ll find out!

7. It has become clearer to me that quite likely the most practical thing a person can do is pursue enlightenment. It sure seems to be of great benefit to an individual human organism to have some level of realization occur. While that is not always the case, it seems to beat the hell out of every other “self-improvement” process out there. I know, “self” improvement is the last thing that one can say about awakening, but there you go: the apparent individual often as not has a corresponding improvement in “his” life as he realizes more and more that there is no self. LOL My God, Life has one hell of a sense of humor, huh? But I’ll stick by my basic assertion: the pursuit of enlightenment is the most practical thing you can do. (Contradictions in that assertion conceded.)

8. As someone wiser than me once observed: there is a teacher for everyone at every stage of the journey. Even the most seemingly screwed-up individual can serve as a great teacher for someone. I’m reminded of someone that I met at a Sedona Method retreat who, when I met him, seemed like a “train wreck” of a person. After seeing this person at a few retreats, I remarked upon him to one of my friends. My friend’s response: “you think he is a train wreck now, you should have seen him a few years ago!” Whoa. But lo and behold, as I let go of my judgments about this person, and got to know him a bit, I discovered that he was a very successful coach who helps a lot of people, all the while still having the outer appearance of “train wreck.” His clients love him and swear by him. Who’d a thunk it? So… while I can’t say with certainty, it appears that humanity benefits from even the worst of the lot in the teaching/coaching/self-help movement. I’m gonna get myself in trouble with this next comment, but did you ever notice what a great impact Osho had on people? Drug addiction and Rolls Royces not withstanding.

9. My last point: I am very clear that there is no answer to the question “What’s the point of all this?” Nor do I see any purpose when I look for one to anything that goes on, including all this spiritual teaching stuff. And yet, there is an appearance of a purpose, and that appearance, in my eyes, seems to be: to see more clearly. If there is any benefit, then, to humanity, it is the gradual opening of its collective and individual eyes. That would be the appearance of a purpose for all this teaching that goes on. People become clearer and clearer on what is real, what is true.

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-07-05

Tom Stine — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Another day, another nobody. #
Look around and simply remind yourself: I’m looking at nothing. Literally. I suspect your “practice” will take a nice forward leap. #
Whatever will shake you loose and wake you up is just what you will get. This week prayer, next week meditation, and after that? A six pack? #
Anything to avoid the Void. #
Everywhere you turn, it’s the Void. Every time you look inside, you are confronted with Nothingness. Will you look, really look at it? Good! #
Life wants you to fully live. But it might have to wear you down a bit to get you to let go enough to really live. #
Emptiness, nothingness, the Void is your salvation. Who could have guessed that NOTHING could be so liberating? #
In the midst of fireworks, Silence. #

Magic and Technology – Arthur C. Clarke

Tom Stine — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:25:22 +0000

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

—Arthur C. Clarke

We don’t appreciate magic enough. The universe is a magical place to say the least. I love this suggestion of Clarke’s, though. Will technology ever become “sufficiently advanced” to replace magic? I doubt it. And no, by magic I do not Harry Potter or something more like the arcane or Wicca. I’m referring to the magic that seems to happen as we awaken more and more to the Truth. Maybe miracle would be a better word. But I like the word magic.

credit: nsaplayer

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-06-21

Tom Stine — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Anything in life can and will disappoint you as long as you look for things to please you. Quit looking outside yourself for happiness. #
Twitter makes even idiots sound like spiritual savants. Including yours truly! #
I still like being forced to be succinct. In the world of spirituality, brevity is a rarity! Anything beyond “All is One” is just noise. #
Death. Can you accept the death of your “self” or someone else’s “self.” You better! Cause it’s going to happen. #
After decades of believing that some people had the truth and others didn’t, how nice to discover that everyone has it. A gift that was! #
Everything, everything, I mean EVERYTHING we were told about spirituality was wrong. Oh my God! Literally. #
Have you noticed what Puritans most spiritual people are? Sheesh. #
What if you woke up one morning and had NO identity. You were 100% no one, nobody, nothing. All you could really say was “I exist.” Bingo! #

Willingness Is the Key to Spiritual Awakening

Tom Stine — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:16:48 +0000

credit:
bortescristian

The further along I go with this awakening that has happened and continues to unfold, the more it becomes apparent that the real key to waking up is wanting to wake up. I know it is a radical idea, but it just so happens to be the truth of the matter. Technique is almost always given top billing in the world of spirituality, but the “how” will always come whenever you are truly willing. But willingness, that’s the crux of the issue.

You may already think you are willing. That’s why you meditate, read books by the spiritual giants, read this blog, talk to your friends about spirituality and awakening and enlightenment, go to retreats, all that good stuff. You have a very convincing case to prove how willing you are. But the truth is, if your willingness were electricity, you wouldn’t have enough to power a night light. A firefly could outshine you. Sorry, but it is true.

Look inside for a moment. Feel into this subject of willingness. Can you feel the resistance? Can you feel how much “you” don’t want to really wake up? Something inside of you knows this awakening thing is going to be different, really, really different, and it is frightened about that. Something inside wants to feel better about life, but it doesn’t really want what awakening entails.

Why not? Because the “something” resisting all of this, the “something” that is not willing to awaken, is the very thing from which one awakens! The resistance you are feeling, the UN-willingness, is simple the energy of thought, the “mind” as it were, resisting what is its eventual undoing. Well, maybe undoing is too harsh. Let’s just say that the mind gets to go from being the dominant player in your awareness to being second fiddle.

So there is a massive resistance to awakening. The natural question to ask at this point is “what do I do about it?” Ah, good question. But the question itself is just more resistance. Notice that the question is about doing and about “I”. The “I” is the very thing doing the resisting! The doing is how it resists.

Going beyond this resistance, becoming more willing, is the simplest of things: let it happen. What you are wants this awakening to happen. It is what is waking-up to itself. It IS awake, and is looking for this awakeness to transform everything. So, simply pause and let it happen. It will anyway.

As far as “you” are concerned, I think cooperation would almost be a better focus for the mind. Cooperate. Don’t fight what is happening. Give in. Allow. I think you’ll find this mindset to be a better one. It is far more in alignment with what is really happening anyway. Remember that whole “not in control” issue I’ve discussed many times? You aren’t in control, so why not just let that realization sink a little deeper. Cooperate with the inevitable, and you will find your willingness going up, up, up.

Be well. Namaste.

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-06-07

Tom Stine — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Adya likes to say that the hardest thing for a human being to do is: do one simple thing consistently. Like sitting! LOL #
When I say sit, I mean SIT. Not meditate like the Buddhists mean. Just SIT. Let things be. Let life be exactly as it is. Just sit. Sit. #
Try sitting. Go on. It is perversely simple. Amazingly beautiful. Peaceful. Joyous. And hard as hell to do. And yet, I do it. Weird. #
It’s all about identity. Everything. #
While much abused, the movie analogy for awakening and life is really a good one. We are but characters in a film. Wearing borrowed clothes #
I travel a lot. I’m not sure why. Anything my mind tells me about why isn’t true. Better to notice that this body is 1000 miles from home. #
Don’t you get it? Everything is allowed! Everything. Forget all that spiritual crap you’ve heard. Nothing is off limits to the One. #
And yet, the One always seems to move in the direction of what we can only call “goodness.” Maybe we should say Love. And so it goes. #
I love reading what others have to say about life and how the world works. Why? Because ALL of it is a wild ass guess. Even what I write! #

Fortnightly Tweets for 2009-05-24

Tom Stine — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:50:00 +0000

We seek. But do we find? If we are honest we say no. We never find what we are looking for. Why bother seeking? Because we have no choice. #
What is enlightened? What a term! I wish I had a dollar for every enlightened person who isn’t. I’d be rich! #
Do you need awakening? I think yes, at least to wake up to the truth. Maybe not full awakening, but knowing a bit of truth is very helpful. #
Nothing you do will cause you to wake up. The only thing you can “do” is let awakening happen. It’s a not-doing. #
Without your thoughts about someone, they can end-up being pretty spectacular. Even when they aren’t. #
Awareness rocks! #

Weekly Tweets for 2009-05-11

Tom Stine — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Ben Franklin said that sitting is essential to life. Sitting and letting awareness be. Okay, Ben didn’t really say that. But he should have! #
You know the awareness that “you” have of everything that happens? What if THAT is what you are? What would you do with that knowledge? Hmm. #
Right now, are YOU aware? Or is awareness just happening? #
Most of what you seek, most of what you do, is part of the “trap” you are caught in. Probably all of it is the trap. Get out of the trap! #
What if the entire spiritual journey was a waste of time? What if all you needed to “do” was to sit and rest as the awareness that you are? #
Most days it probably seems as if the world is INSANE! What if it is? What if it is insane when seen through the the mind? #
What if that insanity that you see isn’t really true? What if everything you see and is merely interpreted by the mind? What then? #
What then? Easy: don’t believe your mind. And when in doubt, don’t believe your mind!–Adyashanti #
Look around. All you see is emptiness. Just emptiness. But it isn’t what you think emptiness is. Find out. You’ll be amazed! #
Investigate emptiness. Look at it. Sit with it. Let IT reveal itself to you. Who knew it was so full, so rich. It’s the fire within. #
Relax. It is so good just to be alive! Just to be. Feel the aliveness around you. Awakeness everywhere. My God! It’s beautiful. Really. #
I agree with my friend Takuin: what YOU want is irrelevant. Show me this YOU that wants anything. Find it! Go on, look for it. Surprise! #
What do you hope to get from gurus? What do they have to give? No matter, won’t you still have to sit in silence to know the gift? Yes! #
Until you wake up, the Universe will beat you over the head with a sledgehammer until you GET IT. Right now, my head hurts! #
More beer? It won’t help. You can do your best to drown out Life, but it won’t work. Silence is LOUD. Can’t you hear it?! It’s calling now!! #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-04

Tom Stine — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Pizza. You do know that awakening might change your perception of life, but it doesn’t change life? Pizza is still pizza. And it is good! #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-27

Tom Stine — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Do you want to know everything there is to know about awakening? Watch a French waiter open a bottle of wine. THAT’S AWAKENING! #
Awakening is about LIFE! FUCKING LIFE! Do you get it? LIFE! Oh my God, how did I miss this for so long?! Thank God for the French! #
When you sit down at a table in Paris, you OWN that table. For a country of atheists, the French GET awakening! #
Does anyone who is awake ever apologize? #
Seriously, why would you ever be sorry for anything? Everything is perfect as it is. No regrets, no disagreements with life. #
I’m rocketing across France on Thalys. Belgium then Amsterdam next. What the human mind can create is astounding. #
But in the end, we move through life like this train through France. Just spectators on the way. #
Bikes. Everywhere bikes in Amsterdam. Why are they rushing around? Why? There’s no hurry. None. #
KLM is a great airline. And what does this have to do with awakening? Nothing. Duh! #
I spent 8 hours sitting on a plane. Perfect for sitting in silence. I sat. I wrote. Ahh. #
Now I’m sitting Chicago. Nothing is silent. But SILENCE is everywhere. Every word is silence. Lovely! #
Planes are great places for sitting. Like being in a prison cell. But with no food. But still a great place to know what you are. #

Dorothy’s Not in Kansas Right Now

Tom Stine — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:16:06 +0000

credit: Il Genesio

Okay, in truth, Tom is not in Missouri right now, but it just didn’t have that lovely allusion to one of my favorite movies, the Wizard of Oz. I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I was growing up, one of the television networks (hey, we only had 3) would show the Wizard of Oz once each year, always on a Sunday night. Man, I was GLUED to that TV for the whole thing. I love it, I was mesmerized by it. I mean, how on earth did they get the world to go from black and white to color and then back again? Too wild.

Okay, the Wizard of Oz has nothing to do with the purpose of this post, but so what? Does anything have ANYTHING to do with anything else? Or, put another way, everything has everything to do with everything! Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out later.

So, I’m wrapping up a month in Paris, France, this week. I arrived on March 28, and I leave on Saturday. I fly home from Amsterdam, so this weekend I get to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the Dutch. But for the past almost four weeks, Paris has been my home.

I LOVE PARIS. I really, really do. Someday, I’m not sure when or how, I will live here part of the year. You see, it’s the language that really gets me. I absolutely love the French language. I can’t get tired of hearing it spoken. I speak it a bit myself, not that well, but I spent the last 3 weeks going to a language school each morning trying to improve my French.

I shared with my newsletter readers that, according to two psychics, I was one of Napoleon’s generals in a past life, so maybe that explains my love of French. Who knows? But here I am.

An obvious question that I’m sure I’ll be asked is, “What did you learn while in Paris?” So, let me provide a few completely spontaneous observations:

*Travel can be very, very good for bringing up any issues you have been trying to ignore or were not aware of. Paris has been excellent in that regard. So, get on a plane and put yourself in a more stressful environment and see what happens. I live in the country of Missouri, so life in Paris is definitely bringing up some good stuff. Who knew it was there?

*Parisians are obsessed with shoes. If any of you reading this blog live in Paris, you will know immediately what I mean. It is the most incredible thing to see sitting at a café. 2 million people live within the walls of Paris, and there are 1.5 million different pairs of shoes. The rest are Converse hightops.

*You can eat raw hamburger and not die. Now, maybe you can’t in the USA, I get that. But here, even cooked hamburger is mostly raw. As is steak, duck and eggs. You know, I think I actually prefer meat that way. Even though this is my 6th trip to Paris, I still have to adjust to the food. It is amazingly good. I think you can probably live on bread, eggs, salade, raw meat, coffee and wine.

*Walking is good for the spirit and body. I feel better in a pedestrian culture. In the USA, we walk only to get in and out of our cars. You can go an entire day, traveling 50 miles around town, and walk maybe 100 yards. In Paris, 3-5 km is not a big deal. Now, given that you get to walk 3-5 km per day, why in God’s name do Les Parisiens where incredibly uncomfortable shoes? Only me and German and Austrian tourists are wearing hiking shoes (American tourists where New Balance running shoes and flip flops).

*The best ice cream in the world is on Ile Saint-Louis in Paris. Berthillon.

*People are the same wherever you go. I know that, but it is really fun to see it right in front of your eyes. The young French women doing their thing. Different language, same flirtatious behavior. Old couples walking arm in arm. Men doing their macho act to impress women. Rude and not so rude waiters. Friendly store owners. People rushing to get from point A to point B. Life is life. Every where you go.

*And all the while, no matter where or when or under what circumstances, Life is still calling to you. You can hear it in the sound of scooter racing down the street, a child laughing, the clink of two wine glasses. Always calling you. One Life. One.

Be well. Time to hit a café. Namaste.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-20

Tom Stine — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Suffering. Did the Buddha get it right? It sure seems like he did. Inherent in all attachment and aversion is suffering. It’s so obvious. #
Susan Boyle ROCKS http://tinyurl.com/c49rgl #
Why does Susan Boyle move us? Because she touches something in us? No, because she IS you and she IS me. One, one, one. We are Susan Boyle. #
Life is a movement of arising from nothing. Then falling back to nothing. I am the arising and the falling and the nothing and the life. #
The “answer” is always in the question “Who?” Ramana always would say to people, “Find out who wants to know.” Who has the question? #
All my life I’ve felt this strong desire to express myself. To talk. To tell you something. The funny thing is: who’s doing the talking? #
I sit at a café and watch the people walk by. Who are they? What are they thinking? They are me. Could they be thinking what I’m thinking? #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-13

Tom Stine — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Your last realization doesn’t mean much. It may have been transformative, but what is here now? What do you see now? Separation? Look again! #
Awakening is gritty, a rough and tumble kind of thing at times. Forget the sweetness and light garbage. Get your hands dirty! #
Something to remember about all teachers: they, too, are limited in their perspective. They may have seen ALL, but they can’t report ALL. #
I hate to admit it, but I doubt I can sit too much. Whatever seems to arise, sitting with it always pays off. I think I’ll sit now. #
What’s the pay off of sitting? Peace. Nothing more, nothing less. #
Everywhere you go, there is a Starbucks in Paris. Oh la la! I remember in 2004 there was only one. The French must love frappuccinos! #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-05

Tom Stine — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:01:00 +0000

I read a book review that used the phrase “self-empowerment.” Right now, stop, look within, and find the self we are supposed to empower. #
I love Paris. But one must ask What’s the point to all of this? Ah, no point at all…. #
Un autre cafe, s’il vous plait. #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-29

Tom Stine — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:01:00 +0000

Love. I have no idea “what” it is. But I feel it flowing through me like a river. #

How Do You Know If Someone Is Enlightened?

Tom Stine — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:04:28 +0000

A reader sent me an email letting me know that a statement of mine in my last post I Want to Be Like Jed sounded like I was claiming that I’m enlightened. The line in question was a bit misleading, so I’ve changed it. However, the line in question did cause me to think of something that I want to share with all of you before heading to bed.

So, how would you know if “I” am enlightened? How would you know if anyone is enlightened? What’s great about these questions is that (1) they are questions that most spiritual people ask about various teachers and gurus and (2) they are so misguided as to be a bit comical.

First of all, you have absolutely no way of knowing if someone is enlightened or not. Period. No way. Zero. Zip. Nada. How can I be so utterly certain? Because you can’t know anything about another. All you can do is have an experience of them. You may have an experience of where their consciousness is at (ego or One, let’s say). You may see their behaviors. But to know if they are awake? Nope. I feel I have a pretty strong sense of where someone’s consciousness is at, where their “focus” is. But I could be seriously wrong. And beyond that? No clue. And moreover, I don’t really care.

Secondly, questions like this inevitably come back to some pretty fundamental things about enlightenment. For instance, who is it that is enlightened? Is Tom Stine ever going to be enlightened? No, he isn’t. Tom Stine is just a body and mind playing around in the dream state. But is Tom that which will ever awaken to the truth? No.

Then what does awaken? That which is already awake. Oh, isn’t this stuff just crazy to actually see in print? That’s why you gotta take all spiritual literature with a grain of salt. None of it is true. At best, it is an attempt at expressing some form of truth to encourage the reader to find out for himself or herself what all the fuss is about. Never take any of it as a statement of the truth. Find out for yourself what is true!

I think it was Yogananda who said, “Anyone who claims to be enlightened isn’t.” I don’t think he got it quite right. Better to say, “Anyone who believes he is enlightened isn’t!” For enlightenment is beyond any belief as it is beyond the mind.

Just some late night thoughts for you. Namaste.