breeze debris

Gurdjieff on War

from: In Search Of The Miraculous - Fragments of an Unknown Teaching. The Teachings of G.I.Gurdjieff recorded by P.D.Ouspensky

"'There was a question about War. How to stop wars? Wars cannot be stopped. War is the result of the slavery in which men live. Strctly speaking, men are not to blame for war. War is due to cosmic forces, to planetary influences. But in men there is no resistance whatever against these influences, and there cannot be any, because men are slaves. If they were Men and were capable of 'doing'(had Will), they would be able to resist these influences and refrain from killing one another.' 'But surely those who realize this can do something?'said the man who asked the question about war. 'If a sufficient number of men came to a definite conclusion that there should be no war, could they not influence others?'

'Those who dislike war have been trying to do so almost since the creation of the world' said G. 'And yet there has never been such a war as the present(the First World War). Wars are not decreasing, they are increasing and war cannot be stopped by ordinary means.  All these theories about universal peace, about peace conferences, and so on, are again simply laziness and hypocrisy. Men do not want to think about themselves, do not want to work on themselves, but think of how to make other people do what they want. If a sufficient number of people who wanted to stop war really did gather together they would first of all begin by making war upon those who disagreed with them. And it is still more certain that they would make war on people who also want to stop wars but in another way. And so they would fight. Men are what they are and they cannot be different. War has many causes that are unknown to us. Some causes are in men themselves, others are outside them. One must begin with the causes that are in man himself. How he can be independent of the external influences of great cosmic forces when he is a slave of everything that surrounds him? He is controlled by everything around him. If he becomes free from things, he may then become free from planetary influences.

(...) Let us take some event in the life of humanity. For instance; war. There is a war going on at the present moment. What does it signify? It signifies that several million of sleeping people are trying to destroy several million of other sleeping people. They would not do this, of course, if they were to wake up.

(...) How many times have I been asked whether wars can be stopped? Certainly they can. For this it is only necessary that people should awaken. It seems a small thing. It is, however, the most difficult thing there can be because this sleep is induced and maintained by the whole of surrounding life, by all surrounding conditions.

(....)The vast majority of people who call themselves Christians have no right whatever to do so, because they not only fail to carry out the demands of their religion but they do not even think that these demands ought to be carried out. Christianity forbids murder. Yet all that the whole of our progress comes to is progress in the technique of murder and progress in warfare. How can we call ourselves Christian? No one has the right to call himself a Christian who does not carry out Christ's precepts. A man can say that he DESIRES to be a Christian if he tries to carry out these precepts. If he does not think of them at all, or laughs at them, or substitutes for them some inventions of his own, or simply forgets about them, he has no right whatever to call himself Christian." (...)

SOMEBODY WAKE ME UP!!

Photos From Boston 'Bic Picture': Afghanistan 2009

J. Krishnamurti - World Suffering, You are Responsible.

Education And The Significance Of Life. Thanks Scribd.

Education and the Significance of Life ( free ebook Jiddu Krishnamurti )

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Teaching Education art marriage

UPDATE: Genpo Hour One

Bill Harris seems too salesy for me. And clearly, Genpo tried to send us all a signal. (a forgive me for selling out signal;) He did so cleverly by wanting us to imagine ourselves as a company, with employees, and a product that sells. (That's a big uhhum-holosync)

He then went on to ask us to consider what would happen if everything in the company changed: the CEO, the product, the employees...etc. In the end, company or no company, product or no product, voices or no voices, ego or no ego, these are all just agreed upon concepts of who we are (what we are trying to sell) There is nothing really... but IT, the unknowable, with no shape, no form, no color, It is always there/here, not graspable, not a fixed thing, not just about me, God? Maybe.   

So, of course, you do not REALLY need to buy Holosync as much as Bill Harris wants to sell it to you by pulling random strings which somehow managed to bring together some of the most admired and most questioned human "thinkers" for this "FREE" course. Is it really for our transformations AND for their bank accounts?? Quite possibly, it is both.   

In my opinion, It should ALL be free. But I guess I get "stuck" on the other side too often, the one which does not exist in space and time. (though, I too, have to eat. Argh!) And they should have included Tolle. Like I said before, it is not like he is a dead man walking. 

Anyway, Shortly after the whole company:self analogy, Bill seemed to cut Roshi off by showering him with words of appreciation and blah blah Tolle admiring nonsense.   

I am sure his response to inquiries questioning his true intentions would present us with fragments he has picked up by speaking to Genpo Roshi and the other "Masters" he has studied with. He will say something like..."Well, I was just doing what they (his teachers) taught me. I am not getting stuck on one side of the triangle, or stagnant at one viewpoint up the mountain. I am free to jump from one rail to the other, back and forth from worldy to Empty Joyfully. A "mature" narcissist indeed. But not clearly; Sneakily. Seems sneaky everybody. But Who AM I to judge?

Wonder what Wilber will say next week.

(I don't know if I can keep up with all of this. I'd rather just sit in a park and stay out of it.)

Hour One: Genpo Roshi

After a comment from my friend "C4Chaos" on the previous post, I have decided to immerse myself in the hour long conversation between Genpo Roshi and Bill Harris tonight. I am about to begin listening while reading through the transcript now.

3 seconds in: Seems like they ARE using Eckhart Tolle and Oprah's phenomenal success. They ARE riding along the same wave. But maybe, and hopefully the effort here is really to push much farther than Tolle and Oprah could ever stand. Especially in their mainstream. Maybe they are ALL in on this. For the mass awakening. Ha. Funny me.

The conversation should reach beyond what the typical American television watcher imagines. If not, then this whole Centerpointe Free Online Course mumbo jumbo will be ridiculously scrutinized and shredded apart. I do not think the people in the "line up" would put themselves in a position like this. But we will have to wait/see/listen/think. I have only heard about ten seconds now and so far no plugs for HoloSync.

P.S. Obvious to die hard Integral thinkers: The site is Orange. They are not really trying to hide anything. Oh the way we should see things. Hmmm. Really? ;)

Integral View of Eckhart Tolle

Presented by Bill Harris and Centerpointe Research Institute.

From my email:

Dear Integral Member,

We’d like to tell you about a free online course that we’re participating in. So many people have heard Eckhart Tolle’s story of spontaneous awakening to a super-conscious state—a timeless, transcendental state. Mystics maintain that this “pure now” moment is the doorway to liberation, and the mystics are right. But have you wondered…       

• How does The Power of Now jive with an integral model?
• Can other world-renowned spiritual leaders offer something in addition to Tolle’s recommendations to accelerate my spiritual growth and stabilize my awareness in “the now?”

If you’re already interested click here: www.masteringthepowerofnow.com/?=ILP

This free online course (which you can share with anyone) features world-renowned spiritual teachers, many that you are already familiar with if you’re an Integral fan:

• Ken Wilber, philosopher, author, spiritual teacher, and founder of Integral Institute, Integral Life, and the Integral Spiritual Center…
• Zen Master Genpo Roshi, creator of the Big Mind process, a method that facilitates an experience of transcendent states of awareness (what Tolle calls Presence), and an Integral Spiritual Center (ISC) Teacher
• Sensei Diane Hamilton, a Sensei dedicated to Integral Zen, and an ISC teacher
• Sally Kempton, Yoga Journal columnist ISC Teacher and one of today’s most insightful and experienced teachers of meditation and spiritual growth
• Saniel Bonder and Linda Groves-Bonder founders of “Waking Down in Mutuality”, and ISC Teachers.
• Byron Katie, spiritual teacher, best-selling author, workshop leader, and creator of The Work…
• Bill Harris, fonder of Holosync, known for its capacity to train states of mind.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn from the discussions with these teachers:

• A map that makes sense of “the now,” of spirituality, and spiritual practice in general
• Shadow aspects of your self that pull you out of “now”
• The stages of self-actualization
• Practices for all aspects of the self: spirit and mind and body, and shadow
• Integrating your realization into your everyday life.        

This free class is made up of seven weekly 60 to 90 minute audio lessons, one each week for seven weeks. Each lesson is an unedited and spontaneous conversation between Bill Harris and spiritual teachers who embody and teach the awakened spiritual awareness Eckhart Tolle discusses in his best-selling books, The Power of Now and A New Earth, and in his online lessons with Oprah Winfrey.

You’ll also receive a transcript of each lesson making it easier to review and master the information it contains.       

To enroll—at no charge whatsoever, no secret hidden fees, it’s just a gift to you—click here: www.masteringthepowerofnow.com/?=ILP

Thanks from all of us at Integral Life.

I think this is great. I need a little discipline. By that I mean, I will sign up, listen, and take notes when the lectures are made available. Hopefully. :)

The "Four Horsemen" Video Part 1

Will post my notes and commentary soon.

Mindwalk Movie by Bernt Capra

I watched the Mindwalk film lastnight with J. Its pretty old but...worth a watch if you can spare 120 minutes. From the Wikipedia:

Mindwalk is a 1991 film directed by Bernt Amadeus Capra, based on his own short story, based in-turn on the book The Turning Point by his brother Fritjof Capra, the author of the book The Tao of Physics.

The majority of the movie is a conversation between three characters: a Norwegian scientist, Sonia Hoffman—"the only woman in my department, the first in Norway doing quantum field theory"—played by Liv Ullman, an American politician—a former presidential candidate—Jack Edwards, played by Sam Waterson, and poet Thomas Harriman, also a former political speechwriter (played by John Heard) as they wander around Mont Saint Michel, France. The movie serves as an introduction to systems theory and systems thinking, while insights into modern physical theories such as quantum mechanics and particle physics are also given.

Political and social problems, and alternative solutions for them, are another major focus of the film. However, specific problems and solutions are not the main focus; rather, different perspectives are presented through which these problems can be viewed and considered. Sonia Hoffman's perspective is referred to as the holistic, or systems theory, perspective. Thomas Harriman, the poet, recites the poem "Enigmas" by Pablo Neruda (based on the translation by Robert Bly) at the end of the movie, concluding the core of the discussion.

Anyway, we went rambling interplanetary pressing pause several times throughout the movie. We were somewhat debating and eventually agreeing on some of the best reasons to be alive. And Not to Fear Death. AND to embrace Every Moment. To be self disciplined. And to change your perspective on things if shit is just not working for you. Most importantly...To love.....I know, I know. Duh!!!!! Right? (easier said than done)

And with all that mindwalking we did, you know what I dreamt of lastnight: Freakin CareBears!!! Hmmm. Well, I'm off to pack my things. Going to fly to my hometown this weekend to meet my sister NOVA who is flying down from Minnesota to visit the family for a confetti egg celebration. Can't wait to see her!

Technorati Tags: bernt capra, mindwalk movie, the tao of physics, the turning point, systems theory, quantum mechanics, philosophical films, pablo neruda, integral, holistic, particle physics, carebears, descartes, oppenheimer

Joseph Campbell

Are myths just foolish old stories believed by the gullible and the superstitious? Or do they still exert a powerful pull on our minds and in our lives? 

For the past couple of nights we watched a classic PBS series (which I rented from Netflix), of the renowned teacher and storyteller Joseph Campbell (1904-1987). We set out to explore the meaning myths have in our daily lives. Each of the six episodes --"The Hero's Adventure," "The Message of the Myth," "The First Storytellers," "Sacrifice and Bliss," "Love and the Goddess," and "Masks of Eternity"-- focuses on a character or theme found in mythologies of various cultures and religions. In his lively discussions with Bill Moyers, Campbell argues eloquently that these timeless archetypes continue to exert a powerful pull on our unconscious.  It was a nice retreat:)

Technorati Tags: retreat, mythology, myths, Joseph Campbell, archtypes, Jung, religion, spirituality

Buddhism behind, beyond prison walls

Prisoners learning the teachings of Buddhism is a great thing. I hope it becomes as contagious as Jesus can in there.

From the Houston Chronicle

Mikel Monnett runs Buddhist services at the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Mo. He has been making the two-hour drive twice a month from his home in St. Louis for about two years, and says he has seen a lot of personal growth among the Buddhist inmates.

"They still get thrown into the hold, but it'll be less often or not because they did something to somebody, but rather because someone did something to them," Monnett says of the inmates he teaches."They're learning about this gap, this freedom to decide whether or not to act."Tony Farnan, 41, a former inmate, said Buddhism "has basically saved my life." His route to the tradition began in 1999, during his third trip back to prison. Serving time for drug possession and burglary, he picked a fight with a young inmate, then was overcome with remorse.

"I thought 'What I want to do is, I want to be a man of honor and integrity, most of all,' " said Farnan, who at the time was sporting a swastika tattoo and another that said "White Trash" across his back.

Farnan, who had learned meditation while studying martial arts,began meditating and reading books on philosophy and Buddhism. He was eventually moved to a prison where a Buddhist group met regularly.

Farnan, who cares for his 95-year-old grandfather, makes a living repairing foundations. He's spent thousands of dollars covering up his tattoos."I decided if I really believe what I'm doing," Farnan said, "then I have to change everything, including that."

Technorati Tags: meditation, zazen, prisoners, evolution, growth, buddhism, jesus, religion, spiritualty, wellbeing