20 November 2011

Your best at your simplest (Mel Lyman)

All things unfold from a common source, there is but one center to the universe, all things are rooted there.

Learn how to eliminate all that is superficial and unnecessary, what hinders you from knowing the source from whence you came: it is so much garbage piled up between you and your soul, it distorts the tree and fouls the song and muddles the story and twists the desire, it strangles the root and starves the flower, it KILLS.

At your simplest you are at your best, the good in you is free to come forth, why display empty pretence to cover scanty knowledge, it is so easy to say it hurts. The good in you will not forsake you, only you can forsake IT.

24 September 2011

Petros to Teach Tibetan Buddhism Class

Petros will be offering a free class on Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) on Friday, October 7th at 7pm. This class will pick off where his "Introduction to Buddhism" class left on, working toward more advanced aspects of practice for those seriously interested in the Dharma.

Location:
Alpha Book Center
4532 N. 7th St.
Phoenix AZ

Friday, 7 October 2011
7:00 pm

09 September 2011

Petros to Teach Introduction to Buddhism Class

Petros will be teaching a free class, "Introduction to Buddhism 1," on Friday, Sept. 16 at 7pm. The class will cover the fundamental principles of Buddhism for those unfamiliar with it. It is intended to serve as groundwork for future planned classes on more advanced dharma topics such as Vajrayana.

Location:
Alpha Book Center
4532 N. 7th St.
Phoenix, AZ

16 September 2011

03 July 2011

Flavor of Nonexistence (Milarepa)

Because there is no difference between Static and Active Meditation, I have no need for the different stages in the Path. Whatever they may manifest, their essence is Voidness; there is neither mindfulness nor nonmindfulness in my contemplation. I have tasted the flavor of Non-existence; compared to other teachings, this is the highest.

-- Milarepa

26 June 2011

Meditate Not to Meditate (Milarepa)

Moreover, to meditate is an illusory thought;
Not to meditate is illusory, too.
It is the same whether or not you meditate.

-- Milarepa

19 June 2011

Nobody's World (Trungpa)

In relating with the world, there are some very tough questions. What is the world? Whose world is it? What does relating mean? The basic point is that this is nobody's world, since there is nobody as such. The energy constantly taking place does not belong to anybody but is a natural organic process.

-- Chogyam Trungpa, from True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art.

12 June 2011

The Middle Way (Aryadeva)

Not existence and not nonexistence
Not these two conjoined nor the opposite of this
Freed from four extremes, the truly wise
Are those who keep within the middle way.

-- Aryadeva

05 June 2011

Phenomena Unarising (Nagarjuna)

Neither from themselves,
Nor from another cause,
Not from both,
Nor yet without a cause:
Phenomena indeed of any kind are never born.

-- Nagarjuna, from the Mulamadhyamaka-karika (Foundation of the Middle Way)

29 May 2011

Renouncing Renouncing (Chiang Wei-nung)

By renouncing attachment to a self, we become arhats. By renouncing attachment to dharmas, we become bodhisattvas. By renouncing renouncing, we become buddhas. Thus sila (renunciation) is the ultimate practice.

– Chiang Wei-nung, commenting on the Diamond Sutra

22 May 2011

Mind Not Found (Huang-po)

Most people allow their mind to be obstructed by the world and then try to escape from the world. They don't realize that their mind obstructs the world. If they could only let their minds be empty, the world would be empty. Don't misuse the mind. If you want to be free of the world, forget the mind. When you forget the mind the world becomes empty. When the world becomes empty the mind disappears. If you don't forget the mind and only get rid of the world, you only become more confused. Thus it is said all things are only mind – But mind cannot be found! When you can't find a thing you have reached the final goal. Why run around looking for liberation?

-- Huang-po, commenting on the Diamond Sutra

15 May 2011

True Intent (Gulin)

It is said that if a single person generates true intent and returns to the origin, then all of space in the ten directions crumbles away.

-- Gulin (14th cent. Chinese Ch'an master)

14 May 2011

Development around us (Mel Lyman)

All form is only the evolution of mind at different stages of development. We are constantly surrounded by the opportunity to give birth to more of ourselves.

-- Mel Lyman (1938-1978?)

08 May 2011

Neurokaotic Reprogramming 2

You have the resources you need.
If you don’t have the resources you need
You have the resources to FIND the resources you need.

23 April 2011

Gurdjieff: Real Understanding

Among Gurdjieff's closest pupils there has been no unanimity as to how we are to understand his intentions. He made many confusing and contradictory statements that could not be attributed either to carelessness or to caprice. … He was well aware that the sense of satisfaction that overtakes our thinking apparatus when we recognize a formula that fits our mental patterns is a barrier to real understanding.

-- J.G. Bennett, from Gurdjieff: Making a New World

17 April 2011

Neuromagickal Reprogramming 1

Some Basic Postulates of NMR

The neuromagician knows that the map is not the territory, but can affect how we approach the territory. He knows that making a better map means he will have a better experience.

The neuromagician knows that experience has a deep inner structure, and that to learn about this structure is to be able to affect experience.

The neuromagician knows that body and mind are parts of a single continuum, and affect each other reciprocally.

The neuromagician knows that we already have all the resources we need. He also knows that if we don’t have all the resources we need, we have the resources to find the resources we need.

The neuromagician knows that most communication is nonverbal. We can’t not communicate. He knows that the meaning of a communication is the response it gets.

The neuromagician knows that there is no failure, only feedback. He knows that the solution that doesn’t work may be the solution to a different problem.

The neuromagician knows that poor judgment leads to experience which leads to better judgment.

The neuromagician lives in the present but is able to use the past (to re-evaluate) and the future (to motivate) as needed.

The neuromagician knows that to get off the rollercoaster of emotions is just a matter of objective dissociation — not identifying.

10 April 2011

Time & Space in Dzogchen

If time and space are absent when scrutinized, then in the same way they are surely absent when they are not under scrutiny, for then the parameters of investigation are absent and the objective field has neither specific nor general characteristics.

-- Natural Perfection: Longchenpa's Radical Dzogchen (trans. Keith Dowman)

27 March 2011

Time and Reality (Godel)

The illusion of the passage of time arises from the confusing of the given with the real. Passage of time arises because we think of occupying different realities. In fact, we occupy only different givens. There is only one reality, without time.

-- Kurt Godel

20 March 2011

Laws of Manu 12.102

One who knows the true meaning of the teachings of the Veda becomes fit for union with ultimate reality even while remaining here in this world, no matter what stage of life he is in.

-- Laws of Manu, 12.102

13 March 2011

Abyss

We don't look into the Abyss, we look out of it from within it.

27 February 2011

Logical necessity (Einstein)

What I'm really interested in is whether God could have made the world in a different way, that is, whether the necessity of logical simplicity leaves any freedom at all.

– Einstein

20 February 2011

Inquirers into Wonder (Heidegger)

Only because of wonder, the revelation of Nothing, does the “Why?” spring to our lips. Only because this “Why?” is possible as such can we seek for reasons and proofs in a definite way. Only because we can ask and prove are we fated to become inquirers in this life. The inquiry into Nothing puts us, the inquirers, ourselves in question. It is a metaphysical one.

-- Heidegger, from "What is Metaphysics?"

13 February 2011

Lifestream of Synchronicity (Bertiaux)

Somewhere at the heart of it all there is a certain energy, which cannot be seen, for it makes itself known and felt only in oracles. This energy, which is the lifestream of synchronicity, is in reality the presence of the Genius of IFA, acting out the enjoyment of the play of being-space-consciousness. By entering the waters of synchronicity which float endlessly in the spaces of what is, we can communicate with this magickal power, and thereby find ourselves within the continuum of being – yet moving beyond it, only to desire to merge with it once more.

-- Michael Bertiaux, from Voudon Gnostic Workbook (p. 363)

05 February 2011

Scientific "Thinking Cap" Boosts Brain Power

Scientists have created a real-life thinking cap which works by zapping electricity through the brain. The strange-looking headgear has had extraordinary results and experts believe it could help people be more creative. The device was developed by the University of Sydney's Center for the Mind and suppresses the left side of the brain to catalyze the more creative right side into action.

The device, which uses two electricity conductors, significantly boosted results in a simple math test. Out of a sample of 60 participants, three times as many people who wore the cap were able to complete it, compared to those who tried it without. The cap was inspired by accident victims who experienced a sudden surge in creativity after damaging the left side of their brains.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3404056/Thinking-cap-zaps-brain-to-make-people-more-creative.html

23 January 2011

Short-term Meditation Changes Brain

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital had meditation study participants take part in an eight-week meditation program requiring only 30 minutes of unstructured meditation per day. Brain scans conducted at the end of the test period showed that even within this brief span of time, changes in certain parts of the brain could be detected.

The brain scans showed that participants' hippocampal regions had increased, suggesting an increase in capacity for memory and learning. Also, the density of the amygdala decreased, implying a decrease in stress and anxiety.

Such studies demonstrate that the brain is highly malleable and readily responds to even short-term, light meditational discipline.

Source:

http://io9.com/5741192/even-a-little-meditation-can-change-the-structure-of-your-brain

09 January 2011

Yoga Sutras: Subtle Attainments

The subtler attainments come with birth or are attained through herbs (ausadhi), mantra, austerities and rituals (tapas) or concentration (samadhi).

– Patanjali, Yoga Sutras, 4.1

05 January 2011

Petros to Teach Patanjali's Yoga Sutras

Petros will be teaching an in-depth class on the famous Yoga Sutras of the ancient Indian master Patanjali. This form of spiritual practice is also known as Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga) and Ashtanga Yoga (Eight-limbed yoga), and is a complete system of attainment used by meditators for centuries.

Location:
Alpha Book Center
4532 N. 7th St.
Phoenix AZ

Date: Friday 7 January 2011, 7pm

$10 donation required

02 January 2011

Yoga Sutras, 1.12-1.14

One's turbulent thought patterns are controlled and eventually mastered through practice and non-attachment. Practice means selecting the right actions and applying the right efforts to bring a stable advanced state. When such practice is done consistently and with devotion, it becomes a firmly rooted, solid foundation for further attainments.

-- Patanjali, Yoga Sutras 1.12-1.14