Question:
A big part of my life is and was spent in Amsterdam. The old city is built like circles within circles and regularly tourists get confused and ask directions. Often you can point them to the right, to the left as well as straight ahead crossing all the circles. Although this are three different directions, they'll all end up in the same place.

To the question whether to make an effort or not I would say that the belief in a separate entity is causing the apparent problem. By effort, seeking and doing, the separation and the idea of 'not being there yet' is affirmed. On the other hand I would not say that you can do nothing, but suggest to have a look whether there really is a separate you that does anything at all. If this separate 'I' cannot be found -and this has to be absolutely clear- the seeking and trying will drop away of their own accord.


Nothing said or written is the truth; the most words can aspire to is to point back to the source from which they arise. This happens in a million ways and it often depends on so many variables. If you ask me to point out Venus in the night sky at different times of the night you will observe me pointing in different directions. During day time I will say that I cannot point to it at all. I would not concern myself with karma, souls and reincarnation till the 'Who Am I' question is answered. If after that answer there is still an ongoing interest in such matters, the answers will be more easily seen.


Many of these people say that the ultimate truth cannot be objectified, that it cannot be grasped by the mind and that of course does not exclude their 'own' minds. Ramesh often says "What is said here is NOT the truth." Tony Parsons points to contradictions he sees in certain teachings, but adds "Of course all of this confusion is as much an expression of oneness as the exposure of it."


'Before' is a relative term. There is this incomprehensible perception that nothing happened and that nothing is happening??? ever! 'Before' there was the belief that awakening had to happen. Now the 'isness' of IT takes the front seat. It is the Presence that has never been absent, which is why before and after do no longer apply. To make talking possible I would say that 'before' I would believe that I used my mind; now there is just mind. Grammatically it is convenient to say 'I think' and 'I do' but there is this understanding that there is the appearance of thinking, doing, feeling and being without a 'me' doing the doing of all this. The difference between you and me is apparent. It is the One source appearing as you and me. Whether it is recognized as such or not, whether it appears as impersonal clarity or as personal conditioning, it all comes directly from Source.


Not every one comes out with this understanding. Those who do - and are clear - know that they are selling water by the river. Instead of explaining anew the 'why' as it applies to this author, I'll include some text from the book ATTD below.

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If or when you have a question you'd like to see answered in this newsletter send it to:
author@awakeningtothedream.com


These words come from the book 'Awakening to the Dream' and are used here to clarify the last point of the questions above.

In my country, there is a proverb that may explain this. It says, "The mouth has no choice but to speak of that which fills the heart." Compare it to a man in love who cannot stop talking about his lady. His intention is not to convince his friends to go and court her; he simply is unable not to talk about her. He may even write her long love letters in which he says he can't find the words to express the love in his heart. When the lady in question shares his feelings, she understands what is meant, regardless of his admitted inability to accurately tell her his feelings.

In a similar way, this text is also about what cannot be captured in words; but that is not to say you won't get its message. It is not a message that is meant to convert you, but is simply that which fills my heart-and like most men in love, I love to share it. It would, however, be nearer the truth to say that it is that which shares itself--That being what we all have in common, the luminous, self-aware center of our collective being.

Now we come to the disclaimer: You are advised to read carefully before swallowing any of the concepts contained in this book. They do not contain the truth, in the same way that the concept of water will not quench your thirst. Furthermore, they may be hazardous to your ego, your convictions, and your current values. Caution is advised in cases of extreme rigidity, since reading this book may lead to uncomfortable bending, stretching, or even to the annihilation of one's model of reality. Of course, you have to take even this disclaimer with a pinch of salt, as it is one of the concepts it warns you about.

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From 'Awakening to the Dream'




The Gift of Tongues

Everything I steal, I give away.
Once, in pines almost as tall as these,
same crescent moon sliding gently by,
I sat curled on my knees, smoking with a friend,
sipping tea, swapping Coyote tales and lies.

He said something to me
about words, that each is a name,
and that every name is God's. I who have
no god sat in the vast emptiness silent
as I could be. A way that can be named

is not the way. Each word reflects
the Spirit which can't be named. Each word
a gift, its value in exact proportion
to the spirit in which it is given.
Thus spoken, these words I give

by way of Lao Tzu's old Chinese, stolen
by a humble thief twenty-five centuries later.
The Word is only evidence of the real:
in the Hopi tongue, there is no whale;
and, in American English, no Fourth World.

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From: http://www.panhala.net/Archive/Index.html by Sam Hamill

Concert pianist, Vladimir Horowitz, tells about the time he played a dissonant contemporary composition at a private gathering. When he had finished, someone asked, "I just don't understand what that composition means, Mr. Horowitz. Could you please explain?"

Without a word, Horowitz played the composition again, turned to his questioner, and announced, "That's what it means!"

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Philip Kapleau in his book "Awakening to Zen."






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