From BBC.com:

Nepalese Buddha Boy 'reappears'

A missing Nepalese teenager popularly known as "Buddha Boy"
reappeared briefly on Sunday, his followers say.
The committee managing the meditation site of Ram Bomjan, 16,
released video of its members purportedly meeting the boy near his
village in southern Nepal.
The boy's meditation and apparent 10-month fast attracted global
attention before he vanished in March.
Large numbers of devotees flocked to see him to leave offerings. A
massive search operation is still under way.
'Not to worry'
The chairman of the Om Namo Buddha Tapaswi Sewa Samiti (ONBTSS), Bed
Bahadur Lama, told reporters that he and his colleagues had met
Bomjan about 3km (2 miles) south-west of his meditation site in Bara
district on Sunday.
He said Bomjan had spoken to them for half an hour.
"He said he would reappear after six years. He has asked monks to
perform prayers in the meditation spot," Mr Lama told reporters.
"I left because there is no peace here... Tell my parents not to
worry," Mr Lama quoted Bomjan as saying.
The alleged meeting is the first news of the boy's possible
whereabouts since he disappeared on 11 March. District authorities
say they cannot confirm the sighting.
Bomjan's followers and security personnel have launched a massive
search operation in Ratnapuri forest and surrounding areas but have
so far failed to locate him.
Bomjan's followers claim he was an incarnation of Lord Buddha who was
born in Lumbini, in present-day Nepal, more than 2,500 years ago.
His followers say he has been meditating for 10 months without food
or water and is immune to fire and snake bites.
But these claims have not been independently verified. Scientists
were unable to examine the boy as his followers said it would disturb
his meditation.

PapaJeff's got a whole new bag! He now has
an internet talk show on BBS Radio
The URL for it can be found at:
http://www.mindgoal.com/radiotalkshow.html
The BBS Radio URL is:
http://www.bloginservice.com/bbc/index.shtml/
From looking at their line-up, it seems
very natural that they have asked PapaJeff
to host a show that will feature meditation,
self improvement, and spiritual growth
concepts and techniques. As one of many who
enjoy and value his  excellent writing skills,
I'm looking forward to listening to him
sharing his in-sight in another venue. We
wish him well with this project.
Peace and blessings,
Bob

What might be some problems that would arise from teaching inner peace
with in the school system? I think that teaching meditation to children
at a young age is a great idea, especially if you can start it at a
time when they are just developing theory of mind "ability to attribute
mental states to others" which usually occurs around the age of 3-4
yrs.The evidence is out there for the phyisological benifits of
meditation and also the psychological, but i want to know what people
would think might be some problems.
thanks for your opinions

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "jessieK75"
<jessiek75@...> wrote:
>
> What might be some problems that would arise from teaching inner
peace
> with in the school system? I think that teaching meditation to
children
> at a young age is a great idea, especially if you can start it at
a
> time when they are just developing theory of mind "ability to
attribute
> mental states to others" which usually occurs around the age of 3-
4
> yrs.The evidence is out there for the phyisological benifits of
> meditation and also the psychological, but i want to know what
people
> would think might be some problems.
> thanks for your opinions
>
I think that if meditation is not taught within school systems,
there's not a lot of hope for humanity and the planet.  However, I
currently happen to be living in an area where many people have been
raised in a very conservative Christian atmosphere , where the old
and new bible testaments are read literally and who
want "creationism" taught as science.  They are very frightened when
there is even a whisper of such an eventuality.
Aideen.

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "aideenmck"
<aideenmck@...> wrote:
>
> --- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "jessieK75"
> <jessiek75@> wrote:
> >
> > What might be some problems that would arise from teaching inner
> peace
> > with in the school system? I think that teaching meditation to
> children
> > at a young age is a great idea, especially if you can start it at
> a
> > time when they are just developing theory of mind "ability to
> attribute
> > mental states to others" which usually occurs around the age of 3-
> 4
> > yrs.The evidence is out there for the phyisological benifits of
> > meditation and also the psychological, but i want to know what
> people
> > would think might be some problems.
> > thanks for your opinions
> >
> I think that if meditation is not taught within school systems,
> there's not a lot of hope for humanity and the planet.  However, I
> currently happen to be living in an area where many people have been
> raised in a very conservative Christian atmosphere , where the old
> and new bible testaments are read literally and who
> want "creationism" taught as science.  They are very frightened when
> there is even a whisper of such an eventuality.
> Aideen.
>
What a small universe it is! Just this afternoon,
I was talking with the producer of the Sunday
Morning CBS News. What she was doing was researching
a story she is doing about meditation programs
now being offered in different education venues.
I don't think there is anything more important for
the Meditation Society of America to do than to help
meditation become a part of every curriculum in
every school. This is the best hope to change the
"fear" that some have about life in general, and
meditation in particular, into realizing that the
most beneficial thing possible that we can do for
ourselves and our children is to share concepts
and techniques that lead to greater self knowledge
and self control, and also get people "high"
without the negative consequences that drugs bring
with their use.
In any event, I know that mostly I'm
preaching to the choir here, but hope that the
upcoming CBS report brings us closer to achieving
the aim of having Meditation in Education.
Peace and blessings,
Bob

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, medit8ionsociety
<no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> --- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "aideenmck"
> <aideenmck@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "jessieK75"
> > <jessiek75@> wrote:
> > >
> > > What might be some problems that would arise from teaching
inner
> > peace
> > > with in the school system? I think that teaching meditation to
> > children
> > > at a young age is a great idea, especially if you can start it
at
> > a
> > > time when they are just developing theory of mind "ability to
> > attribute
> > > mental states to others" which usually occurs around the age
of 3-
> > 4
> > > yrs.The evidence is out there for the phyisological benifits
of
> > > meditation and also the psychological, but i want to know what
> > people
> > > would think might be some problems.
> > > thanks for your opinions
> > >
> > I think that if meditation is not taught within school systems,
> > there's not a lot of hope for humanity and the planet.  However,
I
> > currently happen to be living in an area where many people have
been
> > raised in a very conservative Christian atmosphere , where the
old
> > and new bible testaments are read literally and who
> > want "creationism" taught as science.  They are very frightened
when
> > there is even a whisper of such an eventuality.
> > Aideen.
> >
> What a small universe it is! Just this afternoon,
> I was talking with the producer of the Sunday
> Morning CBS News. What she was doing was researching
> a story she is doing about meditation programs
> now being offered in different education venues.
> I don't think there is anything more important for
> the Meditation Society of America to do than to help
> meditation become a part of every curriculum in
> every school. This is the best hope to change the
> "fear" that some have about life in general, and
> meditation in particular, into realizing that the
> most beneficial thing possible that we can do for
> ourselves and our children is to share concepts
> and techniques that lead to greater self knowledge
> and self control, and also get people "high"
> without the negative consequences that drugs bring
> with their use.
> In any event, I know that mostly I'm
> preaching to the choir here, but hope that the
> upcoming CBS report brings us closer to achieving
> the aim of having Meditation in Education.
> Peace and blessings,
> Bob
>
Wonderful! - I hope so, too - the fear is considerable.  Many of my
neighbors think that the sort of "high" brought about by self-
knowledge is "of the devil" & it's very difficult to show them
otherwise.  They would fight hard to keep what they perceive as
occult practices out of the schools.
Looking forward to the CBS Sunday Morning segment.
Aideen.

Dear all,

I think this enlightenment and spirituality-business is dangerous and
destructive. It leads us away from and destroys what is of vital
importance to ourselves, that is, nature.

What I mean is that anything we experience, is an experience of nature
(or the cosmos). In short, all there is, is nature. Nature is not some
external thing. As you are never separate from nature, nature and you
are one: it is impossible to say where a human 'ends' and
nature/cosmos 'begins'. To ignore/destroy nature is to ignore/destroy
humans, to straightjacket nature is to straightjacket yourself, and
vice versa. Nature is one.

Nature is a (comm)unity and everything that occurs in nature (f.e. a
human being) is a form of that (comm)unity.

So it's not Shiva, Shakti, (para)Brahma(n), God, Allah, Buddha-nature
or whatever other spiritual, mystical, or transcendental concept/path
that was, is or will be making your day: it all is, has been and will
be nature. Hence there is no high and mighty plain of Detachment,
Happiness and Bliss where the Enlightened dwell: every one of us is
here, in/with nature, as nature. And I assure you, we all suffer
tremendously from the wars that are being waged on nature.

So instead of searching for ((y)our) Happiness and ((y)our)
Enlightenment, we/you should better start minding and fighting for
what we are and what we were from the very beginning, viz. nature and
her (comm)unity.

Notice that, I, that is, nature, am being destroyed while you are
searching for Enlightenment. In other words, the search for a Higher
State of Being (Enlightenment, Liberation, Extinction) is one of the
terrors of the contemporary world. We do not need Enlightenment, we
need nature, and we need it now!

Other terrors that haunt our world are the terrorism of the Higher
Being (cfr. Abrahamic God), the terrorism of the Higher
Community/Leader(s) (cfr. states, kingdoms), and the terrorism of the
Higher Reason (cfr. Western Enlightened Reason).

The terrorism of the Higher Being (God) turns humans into creatures of
this Being on a mission to spread His Message and Love. This is a very
tough terrorism as it is purely rooted in the belief in this Being,
whose existence can not be proven or disproven.
The terrorism of the Higher Reason (cfr. Western Enlightened Reason)
turns humans into civilised, developed people who (are made to)
believe in the High/Developed value of democratic states, science,
industry,.. with all the political, economic, industrial,
(neo)colonial, social, cultural, ecological consequences thereof.
The terrorism of the Higher Community/Leader(s) (states, kingdoms)
turns people into subjects, civilians or followers who (are made to)
believe that this Higher Community/Leader(s) is more important than
their own natural (comm)unity.
The terrorism of the Higher State of Being (Enlightenment) turns human
beings into seekers of spirituality/enlightenment who (are made to)
believe that (people with) this Higher State of Being is(are) more
important/valuable than (people with) other states of being.

All these searches for Higher Goals terrorise/straightjacket human
beings. Being ignorant that nature is one, these straightjackets tear
nature into pieces (creatures, civilised/developed people, ..) and
destroy the (comm)unity of nature.

Let's face it: we are not really creatures, civilised/developed
people, labour-units, subjects, civilians, followers or
spiritual/enlightenment seekers. Let's stop terrorising and
straightjacketing ourselves: we are nature!!

The goal of nature is not to be holy/divine, civilised, obedient or
enlightened, but to live and enjoy her/our (comm)unity/ies.

Therefore, we must (learn to) support, conserve and live in/as/with
our natural (comm)unity/ies with love and wisdom, and help stopping
the denial, straightjacketing and destruction of nature/ourself in the
name of some Higher Goal.

The only energy/power humans need is not nuclear or electromagnetic,
but energy/power that is naturally available. The fusion humans need
is not a nuclear fusion, but a fusion of natural/human energies.


I wish us the best of luck!


Greetings,


Jeroen

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "Jeroen"
<sphurna@...> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> I think this enlightenment and spirituality-business is dangerous
and
> destructive. It leads us away from and destroys what is of vital
> importance to ourselves, that is, nature.
>
> What I mean is that anything we experience, is an experience of
nature
> (or the cosmos). In short, all there is, is nature. Nature is not
some
> external thing. As you are never separate from nature, nature and
you
> are one: it is impossible to say where a human 'ends' and
> nature/cosmos 'begins'. To ignore/destroy nature is to
ignore/destroy
> humans, to straightjacket nature is to straightjacket yourself, and
> vice versa. Nature is one.
>
> Nature is a (comm)unity and everything that occurs in nature (f.e.
a
> human being) is a form of that (comm)unity.
>
> So it's not Shiva, Shakti, (para)Brahma(n), God, Allah, Buddha-
nature
> or whatever other spiritual, mystical, or transcendental
concept/path
> that was, is or will be making your day: it all is, has been and
will
> be nature. Hence there is no high and mighty plain of Detachment,
> Happiness and Bliss where the Enlightened dwell: every one of us is
> here, in/with nature, as nature. And I assure you, we all suffer
> tremendously from the wars that are being waged on nature.
>
> So instead of searching for ((y)our) Happiness and ((y)our)
> Enlightenment, we/you should better start minding and fighting for
> what we are and what we were from the very beginning, viz. nature
and
> her (comm)unity.
>
> Notice that, I, that is, nature, am being destroyed while you are
> searching for Enlightenment. In other words, the search for a
Higher
> State of Being (Enlightenment, Liberation, Extinction) is one of
the
> terrors of the contemporary world. We do not need Enlightenment, we
> need nature, and we need it now!
>
> Other terrors that haunt our world are the terrorism of the Higher
> Being (cfr. Abrahamic God), the terrorism of the Higher
> Community/Leader(s) (cfr. states, kingdoms), and the terrorism of
the
> Higher Reason (cfr. Western Enlightened Reason).
>
> The terrorism of the Higher Being (God) turns humans into
creatures of
> this Being on a mission to spread His Message and Love. This is a
very
> tough terrorism as it is purely rooted in the belief in this Being,
> whose existence can not be proven or disproven.
> The terrorism of the Higher Reason (cfr. Western Enlightened
Reason)
> turns humans into civilised, developed people who (are made to)
> believe in the High/Developed value of democratic states, science,
> industry,.. with all the political, economic, industrial,
> (neo)colonial, social, cultural, ecological consequences thereof.
> The terrorism of the Higher Community/Leader(s) (states, kingdoms)
> turns people into subjects, civilians or followers who (are made
to)
> believe that this Higher Community/Leader(s) is more important than
> their own natural (comm)unity.
> The terrorism of the Higher State of Being (Enlightenment) turns
human
> beings into seekers of spirituality/enlightenment who (are made to)
> believe that (people with) this Higher State of Being is(are) more
> important/valuable than (people with) other states of being.
>
> All these searches for Higher Goals terrorise/straightjacket human
> beings. Being ignorant that nature is one, these straightjackets
tear
> nature into pieces (creatures, civilised/developed people, ..) and
> destroy the (comm)unity of nature.
>
> Let's face it: we are not really creatures, civilised/developed
> people, labour-units, subjects, civilians, followers or
> spiritual/enlightenment seekers. Let's stop terrorising and
> straightjacketing ourselves: we are nature!!
>
> The goal of nature is not to be holy/divine, civilised, obedient or
> enlightened, but to live and enjoy her/our (comm)unity/ies.
>
> Therefore, we must (learn to) support, conserve and live in/as/with
> our natural (comm)unity/ies with love and wisdom, and help stopping
> the denial, straightjacketing and destruction of nature/ourself in
the
> name of some Higher Goal.
>
> The only energy/power humans need is not nuclear or
electromagnetic,
> but energy/power that is naturally available. The fusion humans
need
> is not a nuclear fusion, but a fusion of natural/human energies.
>
>
> I wish us the best of luck!
>
>
> Greetings,
>
>
> Jeroen
>

Yes.
Buddhism is firmly rooted in humanity/nature.  Albert Einstein said
that if there is a religion of the future it would be a cosmic
religion - it would be Buddhism.  Meditation (essential to Buddhism)
isn't a search for some lofty Enlightenment - it's getting in touch
with reality, letting go of all illusion, it's being awake & aware
that everything is one.
May all sentient beings be released from suffering.
Aideen.

I have recently created a website to sell two audio downloads. These
two audios are 'Stereo Meditation' and 'Kundalini Meditation' and are
based on my personal experience. The website describes them as well as
I can. You're invited to visit 'stereomeditation.com' for more info.

"Jeroen" <sphurna@...> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> I think this enlightenment and spirituality-business is
dangerous and destructive. It leads us away from and
destroys what is of vital importance to ourselves,
that is, nature.
>

Large snip

> I wish us the best of luck!
>
> Greetings,
> Jeroen
>
Yo Sri Jeroen,
I think that everything "leads us away from and destroys
what is of vital importance to ourselves, that is, nature"
except "this enlightenment and spirituality-business".
Peace and blessings,
bob

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, medit8ionsociety
<no_reply@...> wrote:
>
>  "Jeroen" <sphurna@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear all,
> >
> > I think this enlightenment and spirituality-business is
> dangerous and destructive. It leads us away from and
> destroys what is of vital importance to ourselves,
> that is, nature.
> >
>
> Large snip
>
> > I wish us the best of luck!
> >
> > Greetings,
> > Jeroen
> >
> Yo Sri Jeroen,
> I think that everything "leads us away from and destroys
> what is of vital importance to ourselves, that is, nature"
> except "this enlightenment and spirituality-business".
> Peace and blessings,
> bob
>

Great response, Bob.

I asked the question what are some possible barriers to teaching
meditation in schools? Personally i think that there really aren't too
many, if any!Initally i thought there might be problems with the
different religions, but even catholic religion has meditation. The
reason I'm asking is because i noticed that in America there are many
schools which teach meditation. However, i am in Australia, and finding
that there are hardly any schools which teach it. I'm wanting to change
this and I figure if the type of meditation which is used (e.g.,
concentrative meditation) is one which doesn't have any religious
conotation attached it will be more likely to be accepted into a wide
range of schools. but i'm finding it hard to identify any barriers to
doing this, and i think it is important to be aware of them if they
exist!
thanks jessie

I asked the question what are some possible barriers to teaching
meditation in schools? Personally i think that there really aren't too
many, if any!Initally i thought there might be problems with the
different religions, but even catholic religion has meditation. The
reason I'm asking is because i noticed that in America there are many
schools which teach meditation. However, i am in Australia, and finding
that there are hardly any schools which teach it. I'm wanting to change
this and I figure if the type of meditation which is used (e.g.,
concentrative meditation) is one which doesn't have any religious
conotation attached it will be more likely to be accepted into a wide
range of schools. but i'm finding it hard to identify any barriers to
doing this, and i think it is important to be aware of them if they
exist!
thanks jessie

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

Hello Jessie !

 

Vipassana meditation system (www.dhamma.org) is widely catching up with schools in India. It's non-sectarian, universally acceptable & has no religious conotations. Children love it.       rushikant.

Friends,

I just wanted to say hello and thanks for accepting me into the group.

If anyone is curious about me, please see my bio located here:

Nirodha's (Bill Gray) Meditation Bio
http://nirodhasati.blogspot.com/2005/10/meditation-bio_09.html

Also, I'm a member of a recently founded tradition in Buddhism called
the Great Western Vehicle -- Mahaparacakkayana in the Pali langauge.

The Great Western Vehicle • Mahapacchimayana
http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/index.htm

We maintain an archieve of articles on meditation, which is located
here:

The Great Western Vehicle Archive on Gnosis, Ecstatic Meditation and
Ecstatic Buddhism
http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/jhanaarticles.htm

We also sponsor a Yahoo forum dedicated to supporting adherants of
any contemplative tradition:

Jhana Support Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jhanas/

The above is not an attempt to attract new members, but a gift to
anyone that feels they could use these resources.

I look forward to friutful dialog on this forum. :)

Happiness and Ease to you all,
Nirodha (Bill Gray)

From the New York Times:
Long-Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: March 31, 2006
Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery
of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and
long-awaited study has found.
And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a
higher rate of post-operative complications like abnormal
heart rhythms, perhaps because of the expectations the
prayers created, the researchers suggested.
Because it is the most scientifically rigorous investigation
of whether prayer can heal illness, the study, begun almost
a decade ago and involving more than 1,800 patients, has for
years been the subject of speculation.
The question has been a contentious one among researchers.
Proponents have argued that prayer is perhaps the most deeply
human response to disease, and that it may relieve suffering
by some mechanism that is not yet understood. Skeptics have
contended that studying prayer is a waste of money and that
it presupposes supernatural intervention, putting it by
definition beyond the reach of science.
At least 10 studies of the effects of prayer have been carried
out in the last six years, with mixed results. The new study
was intended to overcome flaws in the earlier investigations.
The report was scheduled to appear in The American Heart
Journal next week, but the journal's publisher released it
online yesterday.
In a hurriedly convened news conference, the study's authors,
led by Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist and director of the
Mind/Body Medical Institute near Boston, said that the findings
were not the last word on the effects of so-called intercessory
prayer. But the results, they said, raised questions about how
and whether patients should be told that prayers were being
offered for them.
"One conclusion from this is that the role of awareness of
prayer should be studied further," said Dr. Charles Bethea,
a cardiologist at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma
City and a co-author of the study.
Other experts said the study underscored the question of
whether prayer was an appropriate subject for scientific study.
"The problem with studying religion scientifically is that you
do violence to the phenomenon by reducing it to basic elements
that can be quantified, and that makes for bad science and bad
religion," said Dr. Richard Sloan, a professor of behavioral medicine
at Columbia and author of a forthcoming book, "Blind Faith: The
Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine."
The study cost $2.4 million, and most of the money came from
the John Templeton Foundation, which supports research into
spirituality. The government has spent more than $2.3 million
on prayer research since 2000.
Dean Marek, a chaplain at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.,
and a co-author of the report, said the study said nothing
about the power of personal prayer or about prayers for family
members and friends.
Working in a large medical center like Mayo, Mr. Marek said,
"You hear tons of stories about the power of prayer, and I
don't doubt them."
In the study, the researchers monitored 1,802 patients at
six hospitals who received coronary bypass surgery, in which
doctors reroute circulation around a clogged vein or artery.
The patients were broken into three groups. Two were prayed
for; the third was not. Half the patients who received the
prayers were told that they were being prayed for; half were
told that they might or might not receive prayers.
The researchers asked the members of three congregations
St. Paul's Monastery in St. Paul; the Community of Teresian
Carmelites in Worcester, Mass.; and Silent Unity, a Missouri
prayer ministry near Kansas City * to deliver the prayers,
using the patients' first names and the first initials of
their last names.
The congregations were told that they could pray in their own
ways, but they were instructed to include the phrase, "for a
successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications."
Analyzing complications in the 30 days after the operations,
the researchers found no differences between those patients
who were prayed for and those who were not.
In another of the study's findings, a significantly higher
number of the patients who knew that they were being prayed
for * 59 percent * suffered complications, compared with 51
percent of those who were uncertain. The authors left open
the possibility that this was a chance finding. But they said
that being aware of the strangers' prayers also may have
caused some of the patients a kind of performance anxiety.
"It may have made them uncertain, wondering am I so sick they
had to call in their prayer team?" Dr. Bethea said.
The study also found that more patients in the uninformed
prayer group * 18 percent * suffered major complications, like
heart attack or stroke, compared with 13 percent in the group
that did not receive prayers. In their report, the researchers
suggested that this finding might also be a result of chance.
One reason the study was so widely anticipated was that it was
led by Dr. Benson, who in his work has emphasized the soothing
power of personal prayer and meditation.
At least one earlier study found lower complication rates in
patients who received intercessory prayers; others found no
difference. A 1997 study at the University of New Mexico,
involving 40 alcoholics in rehabilitation, found that the men
and women who knew they were being prayed for actually fared
worse.
The new study was rigorously designed to avoid problems like
the ones that came up in the earlier studies. But experts said
the study could not overcome perhaps the largest obstacle to
prayer study: the unknown amount of prayer each person received
from friends, families, and congregations around the world who
pray daily for the sick and dying.
Bob Barth, the spiritual director of Silent Unity, the Missouri
prayer ministry, said the findings would not affect the ministry's
mission.
"A person of faith would say that this study is interesting,
" Mr. Barth said, "but we've been praying a long time and we've
seen prayer work, we know it works, and the research on prayer
and spirituality is just getting started."
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Bob et al -

Thought you might enjoy some notes
from a recent direct mail piece to
corporate HR departments:

While the value of meditation has become known far beyond its
origins in religious and spiritual traditions to thousands of
people - especially over the past 20-30 years, meditation is far
from being accepted in the mainstream boardrooms of America. But
maybe not that far...

Cleverly disguised as the how-to's of "clear thinking, stress
management or relaxation techniques, present moment awareness, or
communication strategies," meditation has made a huge impact in
corporate life. When corporate leadership is presented with an
effective tool for good decision making; an effort that requires
clarity of thought and the ability to be mentally present, they
readily accept this "rose by any other name". (Not to be confused
with Bob Rose, who happens to be president of the Meditation Society
of America).

The focus of my work (and my radio show) is on the critical need
for "inner work" as a balance to practical outer work in clarifying
goals and enjoying truly fulfilling achievement. Without the inner
work that puts us in touch with our "inner wisdom", we will repeated
arrive at goals, only to find that they quickly leave us empty and
unfulfilled...and once again on that intuitive search for "something
missing" in our lives. Meditation can put us in touch with "That".

Jeff

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff Belyea"
<jeff@...> wrote:
>
> Bob et al -
>
> Thought you might enjoy some notes
> from a recent direct mail piece to
> corporate HR departments:
>
> While the value of meditation has become known far beyond its
> origins in religious and spiritual traditions to thousands of
> people.........
.....................
>
> Cleverly disguised as the how-to's of "clear thinking, stress
> management or relaxation techniques, present moment awareness, or
> communication strategies," meditation has made a huge impact in
> corporate life....... they
> readily accept this "rose by any other name". (Not to be confused
> with Bob Rose, who happens to be president of the Meditation
Society
> of America).
>
>. Without the inner
> work that puts us in touch with our "inner wisdom", we will
repeatedly arrive at goals, only to find that they quickly leave us
empty and unfulfilled...and once again on that intuitive search
for "something missing" in our lives. Meditation can put us in touch
with "That".
>
> Jeff
>
Thank you for telling us about the rose by another name.  It's good
news.  Let's hope for many more such roses - in boardrooms, schools,
senates, congresses, parliaments & homes.

Aideen

How can a cause will not have effect? This is reversal of basic
foundation of science.

   The finding suffers from Rosenthal effect on the investigators.

regards,
Jogeshwar








--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, medit8ionsociety
<no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> From the New York Times:
> Long-Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer
> By BENEDICT CAREY
> Published: March 31, 2006
> Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery
> of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and
> long-awaited study has found.
> And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a
> higher rate of post-operative complications like abnormal
> heart rhythms, perhaps because of the expectations the
> prayers created, the researchers suggested.
> Because it is the most scientifically rigorous investigation
> of whether prayer can heal illness, the study, begun almost
> a decade ago and involving more than 1,800 patients, has for
> years been the subject of speculation.
> The question has been a contentious one among researchers.
> Proponents have argued that prayer is perhaps the most deeply
> human response to disease, and that it may relieve suffering
> by some mechanism that is not yet understood. Skeptics have
> contended that studying prayer is a waste of money and that
> it presupposes supernatural intervention, putting it by
> definition beyond the reach of science.
> At least 10 studies of the effects of prayer have been carried
> out in the last six years, with mixed results. The new study
> was intended to overcome flaws in the earlier investigations.
> The report was scheduled to appear in The American Heart
> Journal next week, but the journal's publisher released it
> online yesterday.
> In a hurriedly convened news conference, the study's authors,
> led by Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist and director of the
> Mind/Body Medical Institute near Boston, said that the findings
> were not the last word on the effects of so-called intercessory
> prayer. But the results, they said, raised questions about how
> and whether patients should be told that prayers were being
> offered for them.
> "One conclusion from this is that the role of awareness of
> prayer should be studied further," said Dr. Charles Bethea,
> a cardiologist at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma
> City and a co-author of the study.
> Other experts said the study underscored the question of
> whether prayer was an appropriate subject for scientific study.
> "The problem with studying religion scientifically is that you
> do violence to the phenomenon by reducing it to basic elements
> that can be quantified, and that makes for bad science and bad
> religion," said Dr. Richard Sloan, a professor of behavioral
medicine
> at Columbia and author of a forthcoming book, "Blind Faith: The
> Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine."
> The study cost $2.4 million, and most of the money came from
> the John Templeton Foundation, which supports research into
> spirituality. The government has spent more than $2.3 million
> on prayer research since 2000.
> Dean Marek, a chaplain at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.,
> and a co-author of the report, said the study said nothing
> about the power of personal prayer or about prayers for family
> members and friends.
> Working in a large medical center like Mayo, Mr. Marek said,
> "You hear tons of stories about the power of prayer, and I
> don't doubt them."
> In the study, the researchers monitored 1,802 patients at
> six hospitals who received coronary bypass surgery, in which
> doctors reroute circulation around a clogged vein or artery.
> The patients were broken into three groups. Two were prayed
> for; the third was not. Half the patients who received the
> prayers were told that they were being prayed for; half were
> told that they might or might not receive prayers.
> The researchers asked the members of three congregations
> St. Paul's Monastery in St. Paul; the Community of Teresian
> Carmelites in Worcester, Mass.; and Silent Unity, a Missouri
> prayer ministry near Kansas City * to deliver the prayers,
> using the patients' first names and the first initials of
> their last names.
> The congregations were told that they could pray in their own
> ways, but they were instructed to include the phrase, "for a
> successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no
complications."
> Analyzing complications in the 30 days after the operations,
> the researchers found no differences between those patients
> who were prayed for and those who were not.
> In another of the study's findings, a significantly higher
> number of the patients who knew that they were being prayed
> for * 59 percent * suffered complications, compared with 51
> percent of those who were uncertain. The authors left open
> the possibility that this was a chance finding. But they said
> that being aware of the strangers' prayers also may have
> caused some of the patients a kind of performance anxiety.
> "It may have made them uncertain, wondering am I so sick they
> had to call in their prayer team?" Dr. Bethea said.
> The study also found that more patients in the uninformed
> prayer group * 18 percent * suffered major complications, like
> heart attack or stroke, compared with 13 percent in the group
> that did not receive prayers. In their report, the researchers
> suggested that this finding might also be a result of chance.
> One reason the study was so widely anticipated was that it was
> led by Dr. Benson, who in his work has emphasized the soothing
> power of personal prayer and meditation.
> At least one earlier study found lower complication rates in
> patients who received intercessory prayers; others found no
> difference. A 1997 study at the University of New Mexico,
> involving 40 alcoholics in rehabilitation, found that the men
> and women who knew they were being prayed for actually fared
> worse.
> The new study was rigorously designed to avoid problems like
> the ones that came up in the earlier studies. But experts said
> the study could not overcome perhaps the largest obstacle to
> prayer study: the unknown amount of prayer each person received
> from friends, families, and congregations around the world who
> pray daily for the sick and dying.
> Bob Barth, the spiritual director of Silent Unity, the Missouri
> prayer ministry, said the findings would not affect the ministry's
> mission.
> "A person of faith would say that this study is interesting,
> " Mr. Barth said, "but we've been praying a long time and we've
> seen prayer work, we know it works, and the research on prayer
> and spirituality is just getting started."
> ----------------------------------------------------------
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owner
>

Friends,

This study would have probably found prayer more effective if the
patients had actually prayed for themselves instead of having others
do it for them.

People have long been aware of the healing effects of contemplation -
- this includes meditation and prayer in all of it's wonderful forms.
But, this only seems to work when one is an active participant in the
contemplation and has been trained to do it skillfully.

I'm not surprised the effects were gauged as minimal or even damaging
for those that were being prayed for. I don't know of any spiritual
path that promises a reward for the inactive -- I understand that
these people were sick and asked to do this for the study, so I'm not
without compassion for them.

To paraphrase the Buddha: One has to do the work themselves, the
Buddha's only show the way.

Happiness and Ease to you all,
Nirodha (Bill Gray)

yes, a practice to be effective one must have comprehension, memory,
intuition, tenacity and non-complacency. Mere mechanical repetition
will hardly work.

regards,
jogeshwar






--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "Nirodha (Bill
Gray)" <nirodhasati@...> wrote:
>
> Friends,
>
> This study would have probably found prayer more effective if the
> patients had actually prayed for themselves instead of having
others
> do it for them.
>
> People have long been aware of the healing effects of
contemplation -
> - this includes meditation and prayer in all of it's wonderful
forms.
> But, this only seems to work when one is an active participant in
the
> contemplation and has been trained to do it skillfully.
>
> I'm not surprised the effects were gauged as minimal or even
damaging
> for those that were being prayed for. I don't know of any
spiritual
> path that promises a reward for the inactive -- I understand that
> these people were sick and asked to do this for the study, so I'm
not
> without compassion for them.
>
> To paraphrase the Buddha: One has to do the work themselves, the
> Buddha's only show the way.
>
> Happiness and Ease to you all,
> Nirodha (Bill Gray)
>

Hello friend, the Buddha used to say, ģEhipassikho,ē see for your self. So,
see for yourself what the Buddha really said,  There you can also see for
your self what Patanjali said in his Yoga Sutras.  See for yourself what
these teachers said in the original Pali, and Sanskrit and in several
English translations.

http://www.seeforyourself.org

May we become peace,

Bhikkhu Jhananda
(Jeffrey S, Brooks)
the Great Western Vehicle
PO Box 41795
Tucson, AZ 85717
http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/index.html

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "Matt Ready"
<mattready@...> wrote:
>
> Jeff,
>
> What is your radio show?
>
> Matt
>

Hi Matt,

It's called "The Mindgoal Hour...Do you have a goal in mind?".
The show is about defining goals and goal achievement strategies.
The focus is on the need for balancing traditional goal setting
methods with what I believe to be the critical need for "inner
work" in order to clarify and achieve truly satisfying and
fulfilling goals.

So often, we achieve a goal that we were sure would bring us
happiness and contentment (the reason and core of all goals),
only to find that the joy is only temporary, and we are still
left with a sense of "something missing". This is where the
inner work of meditation is so valuable. Meditation is a route
to greater self-realization, and it is in the quiet awareness of
meditation that we can hear the "wisdom whisper" from the heart -
and recognize our true goals and deepest, fondest and most treasured
goals. I talk about the need for balancing the "outer work" of
identifying and writing down goals, with the "inner work" that
brings clarity and more focused awareness.

The show is an internet show, on Mondays at 4PM EST, on BBS Radio.
You can tune in at: http://www.bloginservice.com/bbc/index.shtml

"Keep your mind on your goal,
and your heart will take care
of the details."

Jeff

In my view, all the practices can be reduced to one single practice.
At the end, all of them lead to it, if so. Purifications, letting
goīs, observation, discrimination, repetitions, being still, intents of
mindfullness, meditation, being in the now, focussing, and whatever,
can be reduced into simple self enquiry, which does not need of much
training. It is one step practice. If we can call it so. In any case,
there is no guarantee of it 'functioning', for the needed
concetration for this depends on how able one is to be still, let go,
observe, discriminate, concentrate..........:-) or just how tired,
exhausted, one is of being the one, one is supposed to be. But letīs
see.

Thoughts are impermanent for they arise and disappear.  The first or
most recurrent thought tends to be the thought 'I'. To follow the
trade of this thought until reaching the source from where it takes
rise would make evident that this thought appears as if from nothing,
to then disappear into the same place.
The biggest cloud in this respect is that we believe that thoughts
occur to us. MY thoughts, taking this thinker as "I", which in
reality is the root thought. "I" is a thought. First premise, yes,
but nobody is ever convinced of this, so that is why it is suggested
to investigate the 'place' from where this "I", as a thought,
appears. And thatīs all that can be done. Only when there is the
eagerness to do this investigation, I mean, when one is really tired
of being this "I", (of the seeking I) is when self enquiry is in
truth done.

Realization of the reality of what we are is so simple, so near, so
obvious and immediate, but at the same time, we are so used (immersed
in the tendency) to follow the thoughts and their continuity which
generates stories, that it seems rare and difficult to recognize that
This, (which seems as if no-where, no-place, as if nothing, from
which the thought 'I' or any other thought arises), Is what we are.
Even to mention this would make a lot of people run away, for almost
nobody wants to buy this scary proposition.
Now, following the thread
(of thoughts :-))
being this a tendency (to follow the thoughts), the practice of self
enquiry (to follow the trade of the thought 'I') is a direct and
efficient way to cut such tendency from its root. Which, as well as I
can try to express, does not mean that no more thoughts will ever
appear, but that their appearances will be known or recognized as
what they are: just appearances in that (which I really am) , this no
name something or nothing which some call present awareness, others
name it nothingness and some others call it consciousness or void (a
non fashionable way would be God)  and the way I use to express it is
'existence from ever and for ever'.

(I seem to be mentioning a 'way' here, which also seems to be out of
fashion, but I will dare to continue with this.)
If we can call this a practice, between the so called purifying
practices for a 'mind to be ready for enlightenment' or to 'deserve
the Grace', as some seekers use to place, this would be an effective
one. Ramana Maharshi said about self enquiry that it was the practice
and the goal. But then again, everybody wants something better than
what they have (are) now, so there is always something missing, grace
is missing, the right moment has not come yet, and so on.
The purification that so many practices called 'spiritual' seek, is
in reality, as I have understood, the cutting of the road we are used
to follow, this means, to make a very strong STOP in the current of
thoughts that tend to arise, and to pay attention to that or this,
which is as if from no where, as if from nothing, that from where
this same attention arise and disappears. Not being attention
directed to any other thought in this instant, attention disappears
in its own source. (Well, at least I am trying to explain how I think
it may happen, though it may not happen this way) All there is, then,
is what always is in this very instant from ever and for ever. Any
other instant (before or after) is just another thought happening in
this instant.

These are my ideas about the 'way'. But trully, trully, what I am
sure is that there is no way, only what happens in this instant which
(for me) could be expressed as 'existence from ever and for ever'.
So, a way to get where? Nowhere, only the possible recognition of the
nature of this ever present reality is what may happen in this instant.


Maria Luisa

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "Maria Luisa"
<mlcanow@...> wrote:
>
> In my view, all the practices can be reduced to one single
practice.
> At the end, all of them lead to it, if so. Purifications, letting
> goīs, observation, discrimination, repetitions, being still,
intents of
> mindfullness, meditation, being in the now, focussing, and
whatever,
> can be reduced into simple self enquiry, which does not need of
much
> training. It is one step practice. If we can call it so. In any
case,
> there is no guarantee of it 'functioning', for the needed
> concetration for this depends on how able one is to be still, let
go,
> observe, discriminate, concentrate..........:-) or just how tired,
> exhausted, one is of being the one, one is supposed to be. But
letīs
> see.
>
> Thoughts are impermanent for they arise and disappear.  The first
or
> most recurrent thought tends to be the thought 'I'. To follow the
> trade of this thought until reaching the source from where it takes
> rise would make evident that this thought appears as if from
nothing,
> to then disappear into the same place.
> The biggest cloud in this respect is that we believe that thoughts
> occur to us. MY thoughts, taking this thinker as "I", which in
> reality is the root thought. "I" is a thought. First premise, yes,
> but nobody is ever convinced of this, so that is why it is
suggested
> to investigate the 'place' from where this "I", as a thought,
> appears. And thatīs all that can be done. Only when there is the
> eagerness to do this investigation, I mean, when one is really
tired
> of being this "I", (of the seeking I) is when self enquiry is in
> truth done.
>
> Realization of the reality of what we are is so simple, so near, so
> obvious and immediate, but at the same time, we are so used
(immersed
> in the tendency) to follow the thoughts and their continuity which
> generates stories, that it seems rare and difficult to recognize
that
> This, (which seems as if no-where, no-place, as if nothing, from
> which the thought 'I' or any other thought arises), Is what we are.
> Even to mention this would make a lot of people run away, for
almost
> nobody wants to buy this scary proposition.
> Now, following the thread
> (of thoughts :-))
> being this a tendency (to follow the thoughts), the practice of
self
> enquiry (to follow the trade of the thought 'I') is a direct and
> efficient way to cut such tendency from its root. Which, as well
as I
> can try to express, does not mean that no more thoughts will ever
> appear, but that their appearances will be known or recognized as
> what they are: just appearances in that (which I really am) , this
no
> name something or nothing which some call present awareness, others
> name it nothingness and some others call it consciousness or void
(a
> non fashionable way would be God)  and the way I use to express it
is
> 'existence from ever and for ever'.
>
> (I seem to be mentioning a 'way' here, which also seems to be out
of
> fashion, but I will dare to continue with this.)
> If we can call this a practice, between the so called purifying
> practices for a 'mind to be ready for enlightenment' or to 'deserve
> the Grace', as some seekers use to place, this would be an
effective
> one. Ramana Maharshi said about self enquiry that it was the
practice
> and the goal. But then again, everybody wants something better than
> what they have (are) now, so there is always something missing,
grace
> is missing, the right moment has not come yet, and so on.
> The purification that so many practices called 'spiritual' seek, is
> in reality, as I have understood, the cutting of the road we are
used
> to follow, this means, to make a very strong STOP in the current of
> thoughts that tend to arise, and to pay attention to that or this,
> which is as if from no where, as if from nothing, that from where
> this same attention arise and disappears. Not being attention
> directed to any other thought in this instant, attention disappears
> in its own source. (Well, at least I am trying to explain how I
think
> it may happen, though it may not happen this way) All there is,
then,
> is what always is in this very instant from ever and for ever. Any
> other instant (before or after) is just another thought happening
in
> this instant.
>
> These are my ideas about the 'way'. But trully, trully, what I am
> sure is that there is no way, only what happens in this instant
which
> (for me) could be expressed as 'existence from ever and for ever'.
> So, a way to get where? Nowhere, only the possible recognition of
the
> nature of this ever present reality is what may happen in this
instant.
>
>
> Maria Luisa
>

Beautifully expressed, Maria Luisa.
It is so interesting that we can write
or speak so many words about the one
"Thing"("No-thing") that cannot be put
into words, and that to talk or write
about "It" is always fresh and new.

Jeff

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "Maria Luisa"
<mlcanow@...> wrote:
>
> In my view, all the practices can be reduced to one single practice.
> At the end, all of them lead to it, if so. Purifications, letting
> goīs, observation, discrimination, repetitions, being still,
intents of
> mindfullness, meditation, being in the now, focussing, and whatever,
> can be reduced into simple self enquiry, which does not need of much
> training. It is one step practice. If we can call it so. In any
case,
> there is no guarantee of it 'functioning', for the needed
> concetration for this depends on how able one is to be still, let
go,
> observe, discriminate, concentrate..........:-) or just how tired,
> exhausted, one is of being the one, one is supposed to be. But letīs
> see.
>
> Thoughts are impermanent for they arise and disappear.  The first or
> most recurrent thought tends to be the thought 'I'. To follow the
> trade of this thought until reaching the source from where it takes
> rise would make evident that this thought appears as if from
nothing,
> to then disappear into the same place.
> The biggest cloud in this respect is that we believe that thoughts
> occur to us. MY thoughts, taking this thinker as "I", which in
> reality is the root thought. "I" is a thought. First premise, yes,
> but nobody is ever convinced of this, so that is why it is suggested
> to investigate the 'place' from where this "I", as a thought,
> appears. And thatīs all that can be done. Only when there is the
> eagerness to do this investigation, I mean, when one is really tired
> of being this "I", (of the seeking I) is when self enquiry is in
> truth done.
>
> Realization of the reality of what we are is so simple, so near, so
> obvious and immediate, but at the same time, we are so used
(immersed
> in the tendency) to follow the thoughts and their continuity which
> generates stories, that it seems rare and difficult to recognize
that
> This, (which seems as if no-where, no-place, as if nothing, from
> which the thought 'I' or any other thought arises), Is what we are.
> Even to mention this would make a lot of people run away, for almost
> nobody wants to buy this scary proposition.
> Now, following the thread
> (of thoughts :-))
> being this a tendency (to follow the thoughts), the practice of self
> enquiry (to follow the trade of the thought 'I') is a direct and
> efficient way to cut such tendency from its root. Which, as well as
I
> can try to express, does not mean that no more thoughts will ever
> appear, but that their appearances will be known or recognized as
> what they are: just appearances in that (which I really am) , this
no
> name something or nothing which some call present awareness, others
> name it nothingness and some others call it consciousness or void (a
> non fashionable way would be God)  and the way I use to express it
is
> 'existence from ever and for ever'.
>
> (I seem to be mentioning a 'way' here, which also seems to be out of
> fashion, but I will dare to continue with this.)
> If we can call this a practice, between the so called purifying
> practices for a 'mind to be ready for enlightenment' or to 'deserve
> the Grace', as some seekers use to place, this would be an effective
> one. Ramana Maharshi said about self enquiry that it was the
practice
> and the goal. But then again, everybody wants something better than
> what they have (are) now, so there is always something missing,
grace
> is missing, the right moment has not come yet, and so on.
> The purification that so many practices called 'spiritual' seek, is
> in reality, as I have understood, the cutting of the road we are
used
> to follow, this means, to make a very strong STOP in the current of
> thoughts that tend to arise, and to pay attention to that or this,
> which is as if from no where, as if from nothing, that from where
> this same attention arise and disappears. Not being attention
> directed to any other thought in this instant, attention disappears
> in its own source. (Well, at least I am trying to explain how I
think
> it may happen, though it may not happen this way) All there is,
then,
> is what always is in this very instant from ever and for ever. Any
> other instant (before or after) is just another thought happening in
> this instant.
>
> These are my ideas about the 'way'. But trully, trully, what I am
> sure is that there is no way, only what happens in this instant
which
> (for me) could be expressed as 'existence from ever and for ever'.
> So, a way to get where? Nowhere, only the possible recognition of
the
> nature of this ever present reality is what may happen in this
instant.
>
>
> Maria Luisa
>
Dear Maria Luisa,
It is said that Realization of "IT" happens
only by Grace. But there seems to be preceeding
events that prepare one for "THIS". Like when
soil is cleared of weeds and made ready for
the seed to be able to grow and come into full
bloom. I (whoever that is:-)) think that this
post is just such an enrichment of our inner
soil. And most certainly a Grace itself. Thanks!
Peace and blessings,
Bob

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "Maria Luisa"
<mlcanow@...> wrote:
>
> In my view, all the practices can be reduced to one single practice.
> At the end, all of them lead to it, if so. Purifications, letting
> go?s, observation, discrimination, repetitions, being still,
intents of
> mindfullness, meditation, being in the now, focussing, and whatever,
> can be reduced into simple self enquiry, which does not need of much
> training. It is one step practice. If we can call it so. In any
case,
> there is no guarantee of it 'functioning', for the needed
> concetration for this depends on how able one is to be still, let
go,
> observe, discriminate, concentrate..........:-) or just how tired,
> exhausted, one is of being the one, one is supposed to be. But let?s
> see.
>
> Thoughts are impermanent for they arise and disappear.  The first or
> most recurrent thought tends to be the thought 'I'. To follow the
> trade of this thought until reaching the source from where it takes
> rise would make evident that this thought appears as if from
nothing,
> to then disappear into the same place.
> The biggest cloud in this respect is that we believe that thoughts
> occur to us. MY thoughts, taking this thinker as "I", which in
> reality is the root thought. "I" is a thought. First premise, yes,
> but nobody is ever convinced of this, so that is why it is suggested
> to investigate the 'place' from where this "I", as a thought,
> appears. And that?s all that can be done. Only when there is the
> eagerness to do this investigation, I mean, when one is really tired
> of being this "I", (of the seeking I) is when self enquiry is in
> truth done.
>
> Realization of the reality of what we are is so simple, so near, so
> obvious and immediate, but at the same time, we are so used
(immersed
> in the tendency) to follow the thoughts and their continuity which
> generates stories, that it seems rare and difficult to recognize
that
> This, (which seems as if no-where, no-place, as if nothing, from
> which the thought 'I' or any other thought arises), Is what we are.
> Even to mention this would make a lot of people run away, for almost
> nobody wants to buy this scary proposition.
> Now, following the thread
> (of thoughts :-))
> being this a tendency (to follow the thoughts), the practice of self
> enquiry (to follow the trade of the thought 'I') is a direct and
> efficient way to cut such tendency from its root. Which, as well as
I
> can try to express, does not mean that no more thoughts will ever
> appear, but that their appearances will be known or recognized as
> what they are: just appearances in that (which I really am) , this
no
> name something or nothing which some call present awareness, others
> name it nothingness and some others call it consciousness or void (a
> non fashionable way would be God)  and the way I use to express it
is
> 'existence from ever and for ever'.
>
> (I seem to be mentioning a 'way' here, which also seems to be out of
> fashion, but I will dare to continue with this.)
> If we can call this a practice, between the so called purifying
> practices for a 'mind to be ready for enlightenment' or to 'deserve
> the Grace', as some seekers use to place, this would be an effective
> one. Ramana Maharshi said about self enquiry that it was the
practice
> and the goal. But then again, everybody wants something better than
> what they have (are) now, so there is always something missing,
grace
> is missing, the right moment has not come yet, and so on.
> The purification that so many practices called 'spiritual' seek, is
> in reality, as I have understood, the cutting of the road we are
used
> to follow, this means, to make a very strong STOP in the current of
> thoughts that tend to arise, and to pay attention to that or this,
> which is as if from no where, as if from nothing, that from where
> this same attention arise and disappears. Not being attention
> directed to any other thought in this instant, attention disappears
> in its own source. (Well, at least I am trying to explain how I
think
> it may happen, though it may not happen this way) All there is,
then,
> is what always is in this very instant from ever and for ever. Any
> other instant (before or after) is just another thought happening in
> this instant.
>
> These are my ideas about the 'way'. But trully, trully, what I am
> sure is that there is no way, only what happens in this instant
which
> (for me) could be expressed as 'existence from ever and for ever'.
> So, a way to get where? Nowhere, only the possible recognition of
the
> nature of this ever present reality is what may happen in this
instant.
>
>
> Maria Luisa
>
Dear Maria Luisa,
It is said that Realization of "IT" happens
only by Grace. But there seems to be preceeding
events that prepare one for "THIS". Like when
soil is cleared of weeds and made ready for
the seed to be able to grow and come into full
bloom. I (whoever that is:-)) think that this
post is just such an enrichment of our inner
soil. And most certainly a Grace itself. Thanks!
Peace and blessings,
Bob

                  The Noble Friend!

 

                      The Buddha said:

 

Friends, one should cultivate the Good Friend,
who has the Seven Qualifications.

 

What Seven ?

He gives what is hard to give.
He does what is hard to do.
He bears what is hard to bear.
He lays open his own secrets.
He keeps other's secrets safe.
When any is needed, he never fails.
When one is ruined, he never despises.

Even though he may drive you away, keep on following him,
since such Noble is always motivated by the welfare of all,
is genial, pleasant, refined, a revealer of profound speech,
a listener who never - at any occasion - guide you wrongly..