Barbara's Blog

Why is my life better because I have hay fever today?

Why? Well it just dawned on me... well you see I have been going around sneezing all day long... And we're sitting in the office working today - Tim and me - and Tim has been watching me sneeze away and then he asked me, "Why do you look so blissful every time you sneeze?" (I am sneezing a lot). And I answered, "Well it's because I read that the Buddhists say that there are 4 occasions when we have the chance to experience the Ground Luminosity or Enlightenment in our lives... when we are born, when we die, when we have orgasm, and when we sneeze. So here I am sneezing away and seeing if I can't experience enlightenment!"

So yes, that's why my life is better because I have hay fever today. And.... wait a minute... ah tju!!!

Who am I? The big question

Deepak Chopra says "According to Vedanta, there are only five reasons why humans suffer: The first is not knowing who we are. The second is identifying with our ego or self-image. The third is clinging to that which is transient and unreal. The fourth is recoiling in fear of that which is transient and unreal. And the fifth is the fear of death. Vedanta also says that the five causes of suffering are all contained in the first cause - not knowing who we are. If we can answer this one basic question, Who am I?, we may find the answer to all other related questions, such as Where did I come from? What is the meaning and purpose of my life? Where do I go when I die?"

This is from his book Power, Freedom and Grace - in which he explains the Nature of Reality, which is the only real answer to this basic question we all ask. Tim and I giving a week-long course in Jutland this August at Væksthøjskolen in Grenå - and this is what we are going to be talking about. The Nature of Reality, the most exciting exploration of all - because if we can truly understand the Nature of Reality, we can also understand who we really are and live happy, fulfilled lives.

I know the course is already over-booked, but if you are interested, please sign up anyway because we will be doing this course again. (See www.vaeksthojskolen.dk)

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

The best spiritual practice

Eckhart Tolle says the best spiritual practice is "not resisting this moment"... He explains it beautifully in the amazing interview with him called "Even the sun will die" which was taped right after the September 11th bombing. It's an amazing interview and if you haven't heard it, well I suggest you do....

But back to his suggestion "not resisting this moment"... it's really amazing when you start to notice this. When you start to see how often you are resisting this moment. As you watch yourself and become aware of this, you will also start to see that resisting this moment is what all unhappiness is about. Because if you couldn't resist, and if you didn't resist, how could you possibly be unhappy? It wouldn't be possible. Unhappiness is the same as resistance.

When we come to see that whatever is happening is what should be happening - because it is happening - we discover a peace and joy that is far beyond our previous experience. Some people call this "waking up to reality". Noticing that reality always rules because what is simply is. And we don't have a say in the matter, which is quite ok when we rest in the understanding that God is All and Good is Good. When we see this, why should we resist what is. Why should we resist this moment?

Try noticing when you are resisting this moment. As Eckhart Tolle says, it's the best spiritual practice. And see what happens!

Are you crazy or is it the world?

Good question isn't it? And one I am sure you have asked yourself before? I guess everyone who is waking up to reality does... because it's a good question. Especially since it really does seem as if the world has gone mad. The pace, the amount of input, the constant noise, the incessant movement. It's like wow - what's going on! Has everybody lost their minds?

Do we really need to constantly add more stuff to our lives and keep filling our minds with more and more information to find happiness? Do we really need all this noise and activity? Do we really need to go so many places, see so many movies, listen to so many songs, buy so much stuff....???? We all know the answer is NO!!! NO!!! And more NOOOOOOO!

The pendulum swings back and forth and now it seems to have reached the busy busy busy extreme so it's time for it to swing back towards silence, peace, and quiet... or else the world will explode (maybe it will)...

So the answer is NO - if you feel discomfort in the world and just want a little peace and quiet. You are not crazy! The world is....

Enjoy the peace of this day.

A story for love addicts

So here's a nice little story for all you love addicts out there... I read this in Osho's book "Sex matters"...

It goes something like this. He says, well you're unhappy right. You're an unhappy person, so you are looking for another person to make you happy. And well then there's this other person who is also unhappy and who is also looking for someone to make them happy... and well they meet and fall in love and join forces and think they can make each other happy. But how can this happen says Osho. One unhappy person plus another unhappy person doesn't make happiness - it makes 2 UNHAPPY PEOPLE! 

Don't you just love it? And doesn't this sound familiar?

The secret of non-resistance

So you’re involved in a process of rapid growth, looking inward, doing a lot of self-reflection, meditating, going to therapy, reading a lot of books, understanding and processing a lot of new stuff – so why do you feel so shitty? Why do you feel so shitty with all this growth going on? You’re gaining insight right? You’re becoming wiser right? So what’s up?

 

Well here’s what I think. In my experience, as we evolve, all our old stuff comes to the surface to be released – and this can be very challenging. Especially if we don’t understand what’s happening to us. If we don’t understand that this is a part of our process, we get scared, we think there’s something wrong with us, and we try to suppress what is coming to the surface to be released. And this resistance – our resistance – makes everything worse!

 

Then when the pain (anxiety, depression, fear, worry) get too bad – we seek refuge in our old patterns – we eat or we drink or we watch TV or we work and work and work or we let our love addiction or whatever addiction take over… anything to escape the pain….

 

But friends, as you’ve probably discovered – nothing works! Not really. Once you’re on this growth path, once you start becoming more conscious, the old stuff will come up to be released. That’s the way it works – because you can’t go higher in consciousness and keep the old stuff with you. It’s impossible. If you want to evolve, if you want to awake up – you have to look at the old stuff and let it go…

 

So what’s the best way of dealing with this process?

 

NON-RESISTANCE… if you can just let it happen, if you can say to yourself – ok – well this is what is happening…. This is what I am feeling… this is what is… this is what I need to look at… if you can lovingly take yourself by the hand and give yourself a big big hug and well just let everything be… you will see that the peace that passeth all human understanding descends on you… and you will get to taste (maybe just for a moment) the non-dualistic state. You will get to feel (maybe just for a moment) what it’s like when you finally emerge from the battleground that is the world of dualistic thinking…

 

I wish you the peace that passeth all human understanding on this sunny summer day!