The Yoga of Contradiction
What kind of lineage is this? …… where self means no-self, where emptiness means fullness, and fullness means emptiness, or both. If you think you know, you don’t and if you don’t know, you do. Even the notion of lineage collapses in the timeless, as no transmission can occur anyway, since there is no other. […]
Joan’s Only Cartoon…
On distinguishing the Roller Coaster from the Amusement Park
Here we go again, riding the roller coaster of rapid change… up the slope, over the top and plunging back down, squealing, shrieking or otherwise, as megafires devastate the landscape, massive financial insecurities sweep the planet and global political systems sclerose and transform. Who’s in charge here? What’s the 800 number? We’d like to report […]
In Praise of Ordinariness
So here we are, just doing the daily business, whether it’s called a work day, a retreat, a sabbatical, a goof-off day, or a super-intense practice day. We do what we do, the doing happens by itself, and then we name it, or claim it, perhaps weighting it with a certain value or perhaps not […]
Me and My Thoughts
What to do!? What to do!? All this thinking is driving me crazy. It seems we are in a massive think-a-long, one thought clambering after another, some overlapping, some tripping over each other, others lagging behind and holding up the rest of the gang for a moment. The whole thought marathon is just barreling along. […]
Nondual approach to Swine flu
Is it possible to get through a day without hearing some new announcement about swine flu? Bombarded by media campaigns from all perspectives, the mind has an opportunity to land in any one of many points of view, for or against, fear or nonchalance, or just plain bored. If we are not our bodies, then […]
The Nondual Community Expands
Mathematicians say some infinities are bigger than other infinities. So be it. Infinity shmininity. It is what it is, or, in other words, I am that I am. Basically, it’s all the same. Nothing changes in the changeless. Nevertheless, some things do get our attention. It seems that miracles still do tend to stand out, […]
Being For Dummies by N.E. Body
Reviewing a non-book on the subject of non-duality for the over-informed has presented certain challenges. Firstly, I have been unable to contact an author for the customary pre-publication interview. Some candidates have responded, « It’s not me. » Others have responded, « It’s not mine » and still others, « I didn’t do it. » Moreover, the publisher has declined […]
What is the difference between a vacation and a retreat?
A vacation is when you take a retreat from your boss. A retreat is when you take a vacation from yourself. If you are your own boss, then the Ultimate Reality is close at hand. However, if you are still working for your Self, there’s no end to it. One of the great paraphrases from […]
Pathless Path?
Many traditions have a “pathless path”–some even capitalize the p’s. The phrase turns up in Catholicism, Buddhism, Zen and otherwise, in Hinduism and in other capitalized –isms. On Google, that archive of 21st century collective wisdom and folly, I found numerous book titles, a CD track in a new music genre called Vedic Metal, as […]