Thanks for the replies to my "thinking out loud" ... on ONE level, yes, I agree with most of the sentiments expressed ... however ... You see, until recently, I was a cynical atheist. Indeed, I had plans to die a cynical atheist but people's lives rarely go according to plan. :) So nobody is more amazed that I am even considering the teachings of Deepak and others. That fact alone should be proof enough that people can change and if enough people change themselves ... who knows ...

Anyhow, back in the days when I was a cynical atheist, I used to respond rather sarcastically when religious types said their purpose in life was to dedicate themselves to "helping others". I'd say things like "Well, isn't it marvelous that God has created a world in which SO MANY people need help!" So many in fact that you would never run out of people to help and you could only seem to relieve only a tiny fraction of the starvation, poverty and injustice around the globe. "What a masterplan!", I thought. I used to wonder what these people would do if/when they got to heaven as there would no longer be anyone needing help. I figured they would be completely lost.

Yet, in a sense, I was an altruistic, cynical atheist. I could see NO GOOD REASON why any child should starve. I could see NO GOOD REASON why we should have wars and nuclear weaponry. I could see NO GOOD REASON why anyone should be consigned to live in poverty. Sure, there were reasons but they weren't GOOD reasons. And most crushing of all, I could see no POSSIBLE way of reconciling the state of the world with the notion of a "loving God". I would wonder what God could possibly say to all the victims of wars-injustice-poverty-cruelty-violence throughout human history. I also could not understand how anyone could accept things as they are and NOT be as angry as I was ... I even entertained the idea of an altruistic suicide many times.

I know many people who still hold a similar view and it IS hard to know what you can possibly say to them. I know I fully expected to retain that sort of world-view right up to the grave and if pressed I can't even beegin to "explain" how I arrived at my present perspective (which is still evolving I must say) ... I mean, you turn the news on in the evening and it can be extremely hard to convince yourself that the overall consciousness of humanity is being raised ...

Again, not sure what (if anything) I'm trying to say here. I'm reminded of the Introduction to Conversations With God where God asks Neale Walsch:

Do you really want an answer to all these questions or are you just venting?

BTW, on the subject of enough people changing ... I found this quote by John Hogue:

"The shaman seers of the Fourth World generally agree that those who tenaciously cling to the past will fall into mass insanity. The serpent power of the Aquarian Age is upon us. The Kundalini of Gaia is about to awaken. No one can avoid being affected. Most human beings may go out of their minds; others will go beyond mind."

Intrigued, I used a search engin to find more about John and found this page entitled The Critical Mass of Enlightenment which is a phrase that stuck in my mind after reading Emissary of Light. Maybe one day we really will look back on these times we're currently "enjoying" with incredulity that anyone managed to survive them with their marbles intact.

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Mate (well, quite some surge! see Di 44 for May 2 & 3, 2000!!!) -

Yes, Carol, "who knows" ... sometimes I answer my own questions. I can generally agree AND disagree with both sides of any argument. (Myabe I should have been a politician!) Wasn't there a Star Trek movie called "The Undiscovered Country" as a way of describing the future.

{Oh there WAS something else ... elsewhere in the pages & pages ?? ....}

Ah - was this it? - I have been re-reading CWG lately and there is a section where God says to Neale:

In the moment of your total knowing (which moment could come upon you at anytime), you too, will feel as I do always: totally joyful, loving, accepting, blessing and grateful.

A tantalising prospect indeed. I can hardly wait.

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You dickhead ... so humour and hadi & then ...

                               

I'm glad you like the candles. Perhaps I should make them a kind of regular signature. Wonderful song too. I'm a HUGE Beatles fan. As I type these words, "Lucy in the sky with Diamonds" is echoing through the house.

Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you
You answer quite slowly
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes ...

Hard to imagine (no pun intended!) it's 30 years since they disbanded.

On the subject of candles, I regularly light up a candle or two, esp those aromatherapy types. It can be fascinating to watch the flame dance and cast shadows and if you look closely the flame seems to "hover" above the top of the actual candle. Then you blow it out and where did the flame go? It's an interesting metaphor for human life - we burn up fuel (food) and give off warmth (some more than others J ) and in a heartbeat we can be gone ... but where do we go ...

I have a video of some Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies and the effect of hundreds of candles all being lit inside or outside the temples is quite powerful.

One of my other favourites is this prayer wheel. I often have it open in a tiny browser window on my desktop as I type away ...

Search - symbolism of candles ... ??

           

Arpoch to Dijana - ****** sent Thurs evening *************

That's some list, Dijana! I'd be interested to read your own personal answers (so far) to those questions. Actually, it reminds me of a link someone posted here a while back. It was the website of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj where he says:

"Give up all questions except one: 'Who am I?' After all, the only fact you are sure of is that you are. The 'I am' is certain. The 'I am this' is not. Struggle to find out what you are in reality.

To know what you are, you must first investigate and know what you are not.

Discover all that you are not - body, feelings, thoughts, time, space, this or that - nothing, concrete or abstract, which you perceive can be you. The very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive.

The clearer you understand that on the level of mind you can be described in negative terms only, the quicker will you come to the end of your search and realize that you are the limitless being."

One of the pages on his site is entitled "Absolute Perfection is Here and Now"

Back in my atheist days, I would read a phrase like "Absolute Perfection is here & now" and conclude that anyone who could make such a statement was just plain crazy. Yet, I'd secretly envy their craziness as it seemed utterly impervious to any effort I might make to "talk sense" to them. Occasionally, I'd ask myself why I should feel any desire to rob them of their craziness even if I could ...

You also might be interested in collection of links I have been compiling. Many of these links have been brought to my attention from my reading here at the Forum but it's a bit of a slog to wade through thousands of messages to find them. Mind you, these are just the links I happen to have found personally interesting/useful/enlightening. Many of them attempt to address the questions you posted. Although, I don't recall anyone asking that about the Dalai Lama before! You can find it here -

Some Interesting Links

I may update as I come across more links ... so it may pay to bookmark it ... but there's enough there to keep anyone occupied for a while.

Have fun. (Sounds like you're doing that already)

********************************************************************** Carol, the apology (along with most of my posts) are tongue-in-cheek. I was in a very funny mood late night. Whether it was funny ha-ha or funny peculiar is a matter of interpretation.

For Richard -

Click anywhere on the bunny to experience perfect enlightenment

Speaking of which, people might wish to click here for one reason or another.

Have fun. I'm sure you will. ********************************************************************** Before that - to

Richard, you're spot on about those critters and living in the moment. A while back we had some posts about what you can learn from a dog or cat etc. Thanks for the timely reminder. However, I have a slightly different view about "techniques". I feel we DO have some need for them, at this stage. We need them to unlearn. Over the centuries, we have learnt so many things. We have learnt to live and think and behave in the most un-natural ways. We have learnt how to make ourselves and each other miserable. Now, maybe we're starting to unlearn these things. But you're right, it "should" be easy. Don't worry. Be happy. Do unto others. It's not rocket science.

A few words from our sponsor spring to mind:

"A quiet mind is all you need"

"Enchantment is our natural state"

{From Journey Into Healing}

BTW, anyone who wants to read some Aussie poetry about the great outdoors could Click here My personal favourite is The Ballad Of The Birdsville Drover which I heard brilliantly narrated on a local radio one Sunday morning. It was mesmerising.

After Dijana's second LONG list ... I could say - First a joke - Ah, but the experience of perfect enlightenment only lasts as long as the mouse CLICK. Did I neglect to mention that fact? Apologies.

Anyway, a couple of thoughts come to mind off the top-of-my-head -

(a) The very fact you're asking these questions is a very good sign
(b) All I can speak of is my own experience and that has seen a LOT of progress in a very short timespan and in unexpected ways. Fifteen months ago, if you had told me I'd reach a point where there was virtually no trace of anger or envy or hatred left in me, I would have regarded that prospect as a ludicrous fantasy.
(c) As Byron said, "We are all differently organised." Advice which is perfect for one individual may be useless to another. Think of it this way, with so much to choose from you're sure to find something which resonates with your own unique personality and consciousness and then just go with it and put it into practice every chance you get.

Good Luck with your quest. I believe that a way will be shown to all who seek one. And, from personal experience, even to those who are convinced they are not even seeking one and that it's all a load of hooey.

********************************************************************** Chimes - Java? - in messages - did a search "wind chimes java" - just at end of hour! - www.syntrillium.com/windchimes/ ********************************************************************** Hadi - as Geoff??? - yes, see geoff.htm for reworked version - better! ...

When I wrote of "a tantalising prospect" a few posts back I was thinking of a time when all souls on earth have experienced such a moment. What our lives may be like if/when that time is reached is probably beyond our wildest dreams. Though some of my dreams are very wild. Why just the other night I was ...

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Another idea - excerpts from "Kids Talk" ... a torrent just lately ... hope it continues ...

Plus Starbuilders for Dijana - Reality & Illusion ...

Phew ...