Saturday, March 28, 2009

Beyond Subject and Object

I hope to make this real short and sweet. My sincere thanks to all who've responded, in a most supportive and helpful way, to this post and to those of the recent past. The shift of topic is not so radical or contradictory as it may seem... in previous postings (i.e. "ending the me") I focused upon the illusion of self, or rather "self-consciousness", and how this gets in the way of true self-actualizing awareness and activity. In this series the focus is on the illusion of others, or self-consciousness in relation to others and the futile ever demanding drive that folks (like me, in my less conscious moments...) have, to seek the approval and admiration of others... without first having earned it. To earn it one must first understand and realize that to impress others is meaningless in itself... if I make my Self truly happy then chances are others will respond in kind.. and vice versa. In short, there is no me and no you... there IS an *I and an Us*, both of which imply unity, a non-dual Mahayana state that Buddhists speak of. This happens when we "cease to attribute qualities to subject and object", if I understand it correctly. The two ultimate hindrances to success and realization are just these... conciousness of self and consciousness of others. (Self) Awareness is a different reality, experiential and non-intellectual, because it already IS prior to the contrived activities of ego. In pure awareness alone there is truth, reality, liberation and realization, no self and no other(s).

JDZ

Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Five Fire Planets

SUN - BEING, ACTING : Spirit/Source of Life - The Will to Be, Authentic True Self

MARS - DOING, GETTING : Ego/Motivation & Desire - The Will to Do, External Physical Self

JUPITER - BECOMING, LEARNING/UNDERSTANDING : The Higher Blue Sky Mind, Abundance, Joy, Faith in the Higher Order of an expanding Universe.

URANUS - LIBERATING, ACTUALIZING/AWAKENING : Omniscient Higher Intelligence, Intuitive Flashes of immediate knowing and re-creating...

PLUTO - EVOLVING, TRANSFORMING/RESURRECTING : Ominpotent Soul Power, Death & Rebirth, Eternity & Spiritual Evolution

*In continuing with this train of thought I will follow through with the other planets (including above) that qualify as yin/feminine/water planets, and those that are Earthy and Airy (like MERCURY & VENUS).

**Ceres is the EARTH Mother, and the one body w/in the Asteroid Belt considered a planetoid; therefore it is the mother of the other 3 Asteroids, and modified by their influences, just as the Ascendant is modified by other Angles & House Cusps.

Water Planets: EARTH/MOON, CERES, JUPITER, NEPTUNE, PLUTO
Airy Planets: MERCURY, VENUS, PALLAS/JUNO, SATURN, URANUS
Earthy Planets: EARTH, MERCURY, VENUS, CERES/VESTA, SATURN

***Chiron is the Maverick... it is said to rule over the Mutable Cross (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) and is all about elemental integration... therefore the writer associates this other major Planetoid with a little of all the elements.

JDZ

Saturday, March 7, 2009

On Self-Actualization & the Loss of Self

I can see/understand how the reality of "no self" inevitably is misunderstood by most here in the West... This is understandable considering none of us were raised in India or Tibet.

Abraham Maslow, Transpersonal Psychologist, says in his book "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature" that self-actualization is a complete/total absence of self-consciousness. There is nothing passive or self-denying about this... rather a self-actualized being is like a top spinning so fast you cannot see it spin.... it appears to be still yet is in constant motion. When absorbed in myself it is very clear how much less is actually accomplished. Thinking of yourself is not BEING yourself... simply put. Therefore real self-improvement and empowerment is only possible where the soul ceases to be an object (an ego) unto itself

As a learned Buddhist will point out, all faculties of human beings... our body, senses, perceptions, cognition and consciousness "do not in truth add up to a self". The seemingly separate and solid individual entity is nothing at all in isolatio. All that I know and understand, enjoy and appreciate, came not from myself alone but through an interdependent relationship with OTHERS...

The reason we are here on this planet is to work on ourselves individually... and whether one has a child and family it really makes no difference... it is still YOUR child and family therefore parenting is also self-centered. Yet we are brainwashed by society everyday to believe we must keep building ourselves up, buy this product, do this workout, etc... It takes a very astute awareness, I think, to see the difference between a spontaneous self-awareness, which is positive and pure, and a self-consciousness which is obviously negative, contrived and awkward, especially when in the social or personal presence of others.

".... still in a room full of mirrors, all I could see was me, so I took my spirit and I smashed my mirror, now the whole world is here for me to see..." Hendrix

Jdz

**Copy and Paste Link for a totally cool video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZrG1i_z2Kc

Friday, March 6, 2009

Ending the Me

**NOTE: The combined role/function of the Outermost Planets, Pluto and Neptune, results in the ultimate dissolution of ego and personality, vanity and a deluded sense of self...

If I could drop the me entirely then the above title would not be 'ending' it would just be the end. Since I am only a regular human being, and not enlightened, the ending process is gradual... though at times one experiences a sudden awakening, what Zen Buddhists call a "mini-satori". Breakthroughs and moments of spiritual awakening exist to encourage us further along the path, even as we inevitably return to the mundane drudgery of an ordinary confusing existence (samsara).

It seems to this aspirant/writer that the sense of self is the greatest hindrance to all that one truly values and seeks in life... predominantly "The Kingdom of Heaven". In certain instances, in Buddhism, the ego is likened to the devil himself... the ultimate source of confusion, dysfunction and deception.
Yet everything we understand and strive for is to strengthen the me, the feeling of self-enclosure and overall alienation. Personal ambition it seems is all about one's ability to gain power for oneself, and to block out the rest of the world lest one chooses to engage others for manipulative or pragmatic purposes. Whether one succeeds in the endeavor of building up the ego or fails, the end result is more or less the same... superiority or inferiority, in the end there is no difference really as both are deluded.

Why do so many people see therapists in this country? Admittedly there was a time when this was very helpful... but now? From the therapist's point of view, emphasizing the 'you', it can be a positive way to bestow insight upon the patient/client, however for that patient to leave the therapist's office with thoughts of "ME ME ME... this what I MUST DO" it seems is only self-destructive. For every effort, however noble, I make strengthen the me, an equal and often greater force of negative works in the same way. Try all you want to get better, you will create more internal (and maybe external) enemies just by the very act of trying to strengthen or empower the self. As the Buddha himself says "no self, no problem"...

As much as I like certain new age philosophies that encourage us as individuals, I think it is easily misunderstood. People use the Law of Attraction to build their wealth and satisfy their personal desires, all of which are impermanent and leading inevitably to the need for MORE. To be understood correctly, one must on the one hand accept the self-absorbed nature of being human, and in this comprehension let it go completely. How do you go with the stream of well being? How do you keep in alignment with Source Energy? By letting go of the biggest upstream entity of all... the little personality self that is always demanding things like happiness, satisfaction, attention/approval from others.

"The germ of defeat is in every selfish thought"... Charles Haanal (Master Key System)

Jdz