A New Earth

I've started reading "A New Earth" and have also been downloading video clips from YouTube featuring discussion of the book's contents by Oprah Winfrey and its author, Eckhart Tolle. I'd never associated Oprah with spirituality and yet here she is, adding his book to her book club and hosting a so-called online spirituality university. It prompted me to read her biography in Wikipedia. She is certainly a remarkable success story and, by some accounts, the most influential woman on the planet at the current time. With the United States teetering on the brink of economic collapse, the message that Tolle is trying to get across is certainly timely and is reaching more ears and eyes than would have been conceivable without Oprah's support.

Let's hope that the collective transformation in consciousness that Tolle says is needed to save the planet does gather pace. Predictably, YouTube is full of videos by Christians from within the USA denouncing Oprah for turning her back on Jesus Christ and promoting somebody whom they see as a New Age guru. To them , "one way with Jesus" means there is no other way except their way. As he says in his book, "some religious institutions will be open to the new consciousness; some will harden their doctrinal positions". Realistically however, he states that "the new spirituality, the transformation of consciousness, is arising to a large extent outside the structures of the existing institualized religions".

Be that as it may, it is up to each person to bring about the change in herself or himself. So what happened today that reduced my identification with the physical form known as Sean Reeves and his accompanying thought and emotional forms? I certainly didn't face any challenges because I spent the entire day at home and didn't venture out at all. I was free to read my book, meditate in air-conditioned comfort or sit out in the garden for short periods to take in the rustle of the breeze, the sound of birdsong and the sights of colourful flowers and fruits. While in the garden, I experienced very briefly an intense immersion in the moment as I looked at some yellow flowers against the backdrop of the blue sky. That was something.

Last night, I had a dream in which I was walking through a crowded cafeteria and my way through was blocked by tables and chairs. I tried to get through one way and was blocked so I backtracked and tried another way, only to be blocked again. In frustration, I kicked over a chair and immediately felt ashamed of myself because I'd allowed myself to be taken over by a negative emotion. I rarely if ever have dreams like that and so the dream is perhaps a positive sign. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my distance from the pressures of the outside world. Those pressures will return soon enough but I don't think I can ever go back to the way I was.

As I look back and see how I was caught up in the stream of my thoughts and emotions, it seems like that stream has emptied into the ocean and now I'm bobbing about on its surface. I'm not being swept along anymore and I can try to dive down into its depths if I want to and experience whatever is down there. On that note, I'll finish with a quote from Meher Baba:

Every being is a point from which a start could be made toward the Limitless Ocean of love, bliss, knowledge and goodness already within him. No spiritual Master brings religion to the world in the form it eventually assumes. His very presence is a blessing and radiates spirituality. He imparts it to others by personal contact. The so-called religions are an effort to commemorate that association with a great spiritual Master, and to preserve his atmosphere and influence. It is like an archeological department trying to preserve things which only resuscitate the past. The living spirit being absent, religions or organizations gradually lose their glamour. The result is a mental revolt against the established order. Something more substantial and practical is required which expresses the life of the spirit.

That I guess is where we are at now. Each one of us needs to initiate "a mental revolt against the established order" which means overthrowing identification with mind and emotions, and doing something "substantial and practical which expresses the life of the spirit".

Monkey on a Bicycle

I ventured forth today to purchase Eckhart Tolle's latest book, "A New Earth", and sitting behind the wheel of my car I managed to more or less maintain my equilibrium. I say "more or less" because there were a couple of occasions when I passed close to small monkeys that were performing various tricks on the median strip under a blazing sun. These poor animals are usually prodded continously to perform and treated poorly by their owners who view them only as a source of income.

The first one I saw was riding a bicycle around and around. The second one was repeatedly fetching a small rag-doll that was being tossed away. Fortunately, I didn't pass close enough to give my usual response, a hand gesture, but I could feel my temperature rising. According to the Urban Dictionary, the phrase "monkey on a bicycle" means "an inconspicuous phrase that gets one out of dangerous situations". In fact there are a great many phrases in the Urban Dictionary that contain the word "monkey" and I was only familiar with "monkey shines" and "monkey on your back".

Apart from that, my equilibrium wasn't really challenged because there was very little traffic on the roads thanks to the Lebaran holidays. It was smooth sailing to the mall where I bought the book and settled down to a coffee at Starbucks, which was largely deserted. While I was there, I tried to remain present and not drift off into thought. Of course, I had to keep pulling myself back to the here and now. At one point, I told myself to listen to music that was playing and as I did, there was a song by The Doors playing. The lyrics that were being repeated were "learn to forget" and while I did focus for a moment, I suddenly found I was contemplating the reason for Jason Bourne's "supremacy". He had forgotten his past and was thus unencumbered by it and far more focused in the present moment than his time-traveling adversaries.

So there are monkeys on the roads of Jakarta riding bicycles and my monkey of a mind is alive and well in my head, taking me in all sorts of unexpected directions. I guess I just have to keep watching its antics and try to keep it off my back.

The Joy of Sitting

This image of the sitting Buddha illustrates that is possible to simply sit, do nothing and enjoy the bliss of being. As with all depictions of the Buddha, the hand gestures are significant. The hand gestures here are referred to as the Bhumisparsa Mudra : Subduing Mara, Calling the Earth to Witness. The following is quoted from http://www.buddha-images.com/hand-gestures.asp.

The left hand lies in the lap, palm upward. The right hand bends over the right knee, with fingers slightly touching the ground. During meditation, Siddhartha is subjected to many temptations many posed by the evil Mara, who bombards him with his demons, monsters, violent storms and his three seductive daughters. The Buddha remains steadfast. Then to testify to Mara of his meritorious past, he points to the earth with his hand and calls the Earth Goddess. Thorani, the Earth Goddess rises from the ground and wrings the water from her long black hair, by this action raising a torrential flood that drowns Mara and his army of demons. This gesture symbolizes enlightenment, as well as steadfastness (imperturbability). It is easily the most common Buddha gesture in Thai wats.

Well, the evil Mara certainly assails my meditation but not quite so dramatically. He pulls me via random thoughts into the past and future, distracting me from the stillness within. At least I've started to meditate again and the practice provides the opportunity for detachment from the incessant mental activity that dominates my daily life. Meditation sessions need not be lengthy. I've started to cultivate what I call micro-meditation in which I close my eyes and sink into what is not so much an inner stillness as a mental-emotional slurry but at least the coarser material is settling to the bottom. I can do this practically anytime, anywhere. Of course, longer sessions at home are useful for deeper meditation.

Activity in the outer world provides the opportunity for detachment from the emotions that arise in frustrating situations. Sitting behind the wheel of an automobile that's negotiating Jakarta traffic provides such an opportunity but one's equanimity is constantly under challenge. At such times, my ego is quick to defend me against any challenges even though the driver whose actions have offended me is not targeting me personally. Every minute of every day provides an opportunity to practise detachment from the mind or emotions and the more successful I am the more contentment I find.

The Sound of the Sky

The 21st century with its Internet-connected computers, mobile phones with direct uploads to YouTube, HDTVs, Internet radio, online newspapers etc. stirs my monkey mind to a frenzy at times. Taking the dog for a walk is a way of physically disconnecting from these technological temptations and provides an opportunity to "listen to the sound of the sky". The problem is that the monkey mind comes along for the walk as well.

I try to be as present as I possible, watching and listening to the sights and sounds as they arise. The dog is totally present and taking in the sights, sounds and especially smells. During the walk and following several eruptions of the monkey mind, I made a conscious effort to exercise my olefactory senses. However, "they ain't got no noses those fallen sons of Eve and all I could smell was the smoke from the burning-off in the nearby kampung (or village). Overall, I probably have only a few seconds of being in the now on these walks and the rest of time I am wandering mentally in the past or the future.

However, I'm catching myself earlier so that the lapses are becoming shorter and maybe the moments of mental stillness will grow longer, but it's hard. I'm addicted to thinking and have been all my life. Toward the end of these walks, the focus on my body increases as my muscles and joints tire and this is helpful in reducing the mental static. Bringing attention back to the body by concentrating of the sensory input is probably the best way of quieting the mind during these walks.

Ripple Effect

Having recently become aware of Eckhart Tolle, I watched a movie called Ripple Effect and was instantly reminded of his philosophy. Not surprisingly, I later discovered that Tolle has passed comment on the film and his favourable review is included on the film's website. He describes the film thus: a powerful archetypal journey from unenlightened living, dysfunction and despair to spiritual awakening. It's an impressive film and very well acted.

Meanwhile I've been slowly making my way through The Power of Now and more importantly I've been trying to practise it. As I wrote in an earlier post about taking my grand-daughter to the amusement centre at the local mall. There is an enclosed area that children can enter with an admission ticket and once inside, there is an assortment of play equipment to keep the little ones amused. She will play in there for more than an hour while I sit outside listening to a mind-numbing loop of children's nursery rhymes, sung in a grating sort of sing-song fashion by a group of children. In the past, I filled in the time by browsing the Internet on my mobile phone, catching up on the bogus news. Last time I visited, I didn't do this but instead tried to sit there and be in the now. I more or less succeeded and realised how little of my surroundings that I normally take in. Just sitting there, watching and listening to events as they unfolded, was quite satisfying and not boring at all. I need to do this sort of thing more often.