Waking up the world
Jeroen
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlands Veteran
I was reading Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, in which he talks about how necessary it is for people to awaken to a new way of being. That book, which sold millions of copies, was published in 2005, and Eckhart has been talking incessantly to audiences around the world since then.
Yet, is the world any more awake now than it was? Arguably with the ‘phone zombie’ phenomenon people are less aware than before, and half the United States is still voting for Trump. There still seem to be many places where people are not spiritually awake.
Towards the end of the book there is a section where Eckhart talks about surrendering to what is, by which he means giving up any inner resistance to the present moment. This invites a spiritual dimension into your life. This made a lot of sense to me, that we can live in surrender while doing what is needed.
In a way the world is in the grip of primitive egoic patterns. You see it in politics, in business, in warfare, in the media. Take the Olympic Games. Everyone watches only the sports where their athletes have a chance of a medal. It’s very nationalistic, like the Football World Cup, and focussed on winning.
Being in the Now, living in surrender, means one is not caught up by the mind’s patterns. Relationships are different. One’s view on entertainment is different. One responds consciously, rather than being part of the minds reactions.
Comments
I suppose you could decide to watch the movie 'Waking Life' and send a copy to Meister Eckhart...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meister_Eckhart
...oops wrong Toll ...then again...
In spirituality too?
We are not here to be directed, directors, experts or hexperts. That is all fascist spirituality. What chogyam trungpa called 'spiritual materialism' in the book of the same name. Whilst completely guilty of the very indications set forth. Funny that! Or perhaps not?
I think the challenge for spirituality is what to do about money. A lot of spirituality seems to be in the grip of the money-making machine… watch what has happened to Eckhart Tolle, $75 for a seat at a huge convention listening to him, $2000 for a week-long retreat (not including flights, accommodation and food). Nonduality teachers seem to be just about covering costs, but people like Sam Harris with the ridiculous $100 a year subscription for his Waking Up app seem to be doing a lot more.
When it comes to paying for a quick fix slice of enlightenment....You don't always get what you pay for...
Dharma practice is free, there for the taking, for those who are prepared to practice...
A trend I've seen that I really like is when people offering these programs or services give it away for free to anyone who asks, no questions asked. Sam Harris does it, Dan Harris of 10% Happier recently started and from some other places as well. I'll give a mention to Josh Korda of Dharma Punx, he offers everything he does by donation and is working on making retreats as affordable as possible considering expenses.
Even though Dan Harris has started giving some stuff away for free upon request, and I'm a regular listener to his podcast. I've had an ongoing gripe with him, he'll complain about our consumer economy, but then has a ton of adds on every episode and offers ad free only with a subscription. I don't have a big problem with ads, I don't have a problem with criticism or frustration with the need to make money. Its just like, walk the talk, his podcast is highly produced with lots of episodes and guests. Listening to him it sounds like he's doing well, so if he really doesn't like the rat race of it all it seems like its well within his means to cut back on the show or his earnings.
Ideally waking up shouldn't be reserved for those with the luxury of resources and time to pay for access. Like @Shoshin1 points out though, most practice is free.
Indeed it is.
https://www.treeleaf.org/
I should point out I have taken Sam Harris up on his offer for free access to Waking Up in the past, and found it a worthwhile resource for a while. My free access ended summer of ‘23 when I didn’t renew it.
About time to practice… I’ve found that it helps to have a lot of solitude and quiet. If you have a lot of things to do, especially so-called “important things”, then the mind gets cluttered and stressed, and practice becomes harder. So it’s not solely about just finding a half hour to meditate, but it’s about what you do with your day.
In my experience I find this to be true. I've had periods during the winter slow season where I haven't had work for a month or more. And how I'd shape my days made an important difference to my mental state. Did I watch TV and play video games or do yoga and listen to some Dharma?
I'm not sure how it is for everyone, but it seems to take several days to a week to really settle down and let the flow of everyday life behind. So its like in finding solitude and quiet the mind is busy and distracted the whole time and then by the time it does start to calm down its time to get it busy again.
I do now think in the spirit of differing practices for different people. The style and types of practices appropriate to someone living a renunciate life and someone living a worldly life will differ.
Not much more here, than what's already been said above.
Our engagement in the Buddha's path towards suffering's cessation, whether by Masters or fellow path walkers, meditation, mantra, visualization, dharmic study, or faith, can only be met in this one present nano-moment's expression of it. Our spiritual currency is a simple fraction of our attachments over non-attachments in each nanosecond.
A nano-seconds equation of the potential suffering is what we offer the world of our karmic inertia. Just another moment's choice of suffering or its entropy.
The entirety of our practice, perfectly represented by the only moment we can exist within.
Not sure about the last moment?
Practice's secret of success is all about the reboot.....and its free!
Thus have I heard that the 'real' meditation 'practice' begins when you get up from the cushion...
Cushion time is just priming the mind time, so to speak...
Meditation cushion time, tames and then training the mind in the art of flexibility (Or to put in Aussie or Kiwi colloquial terms No worries...She'll be right mate approach to whatever life throws at you aka those Dukkha moments...