What IS Mindfulness? A Perspective as Taught by the Buddha.
19 JulThere is a discrepancy between the teachings of the Buddha on Mindfulness and the definition of Mindfulness as stated in much of the current psychology articles as well as a continuing confusion among psychologists regarding the original intent of the use of Mindfulness and the modern popular one. Several examples of well-known phrases define mindfulness as: paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally; involves a kind of non-elaborative, non-judgemental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is; and finally, the practice of meditation and mindfulness will clear away the dullness of being on autopilot and free you to live more fully than you ever have before. This blog is an exploration of what the Buddha really intended in the practice of Sati (the Pali word for mindfulness), as different from the previous definitions.
The Buddha was the originator of the practice of Sati and it is clear that he meant meditation as the “Royal Road” for all people to potentially attain a transpersonal psychological experience named enlightenment, or awakening. In Buddhism, meditation is more often referred to as bhavana or mental culture, which emphasizes the holistic nature of mental cultivation associated with the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. Mindfulness is one of the eight factors of the Eightfold Path. For a fuller explanation of the Buddha’s teachings from a cognitive science perspective, I recommend my book, The Buddha’s Teachings: Seeing without Illusion (revised edition, 2013).
The Eightfold Path is the Buddha’s goal-oriented program with specific systematic procedures or instructions for psychological transformation. Like any learning program, there is advancement from basic to more refined concepts and practices. The beginning of the Eightfold Path is Right View, or perspective, and it is an orientation to the values and ideas of the program as presented in the Four Noble Truths. This is crucial, as the conceptual Right View gives the basic foundation and principles of the Buddha’s teachings. It is the correct framework of the problem and how to solve it; therefore, the Right View gives direction and coherence to the program rationale.
The next factor of the Eightfold Path is Right Effort. The Buddha taught from his enlightenment to his passing away to “strive with earnestness”. So fundamental was this teaching, that these are reported to be his last words. He also said, “All wholesome things are founded on earnestness, converge on earnestness, and so earnestness is to be considered as the most important of all. Clearly to reach any goal, whether psychological, academic, commercial, etc., and to earnestly practice any program, requires energy, and in the case of the Eightfold Path, Right Effort concerns making conscious practices to positively shape cognitions and thoughts and, therefore, the mental world.” Right Effort in Buddhism is commonly ranked in an ascending order from: (1) Prevent unwholesome mental states. (2) Abandon unwholesome mental states. (3) Arouse wholesome mental states. (4) Maintain and perfect wholesome mental states.
Mind training through these four interventions takes time and effort. Right Effort is also considered “right endeavouring” and it is the Buddhist practitioner’s continuous effort to keep his or her mind free of thoughts that might impair or be a hindrance to their ability to put into practice the other elements of the Eightfold Path which can eventually lead to enlightenment. Right Effort includes the skilful, appropriate, and balanced exertion of energy and intensity that is needed for different skill applications as they arise.
Now that one has the right schema and intentions as well as a willingness to skilfully exert a balanced effort, the next three path factors of Sila, or moral discipline, become the focus; these are: Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Living. These factors of Sila interact and support each other, and while outwardly are actions of kindness and benefit to others, are in fact, by controlling one’s behaviour, also modulating one’s thinking and training one’s cognitions. For it is impossible for unwholesome actions to originate from wholesome thoughts and vice versa. We have seen that in Right Effort, the four rankings of cultivation of wholesomeness and their application to Right Sila is obvious. To practice Right Speech in a wholesome and kind manner, we must, for example, prevent and eliminate speaking with the unwholesomeness of anger, slander, and deceit.
At this point along our journey on the Path, we are following the program of the Buddha to begin to purify our minds with wholesomeness and to use skilful actions through the practice of Sila. We have more trust and confidence in the program because we see the beneficial results of our becoming happier, having a better relationship with the world, and experiencing uplifting and positive thinking. Therefore, we continue to exert a balanced effort into the application of wholesome “right” skills to achieve further positive results.
So now we are ready to move into another phase of the path, and that is Right Concentration, or meditation, which in Pali is known as Samma Samadhi. Right Concentration is intensified concentration that results from a deliberate intention and mental effort to raise the mind to a more purified level of awareness. The main function of Samadhi, as wholesome concentration, is to collect the ordinary scattered stream of mental states to create a unified mental state. The mind trained in concentration can remain absorbed on one point without distraction and this induces the more serene mind to better insight. Traditionally in Buddhist meditation, one passes through the eight “Divine Jhanas” which are fully immersed meditative states of profound stillness, and which in the end one experiences the height of mental concentration. However, this experience still lacks the wisdom of insight and is not sufficient for gaining enlightenment.
Next (while not in a strictly linear sense but for ease of discussion) we need to adopt the skill of Right Mindfulness. In our present, hypothetical scenario, we would now be working the Buddha’s program well. We have a “right” perspective, desire, effort, energy, and intention to skilfully maintain wholesome thoughts and behaviors; we can now collect our ordinarily scattered stream of mental states and create a unified mental state. This induces an open and serene mind more available to insight as we strive to be honest and objective with ourselves about our intentions. However, to not only gain and practice new skill applications but also generalize and maintain any previous “right” skills acquisition, one needs also to be able to become heedful, maintain a balanced, watchful mind, and be aware of oneself in an objective, non-attached mindful manner; to do this is a vital factor in the Buddha’s program of mental purification.
We can now see that the function of Right Mindfulness is not only observation and attentiveness, but also the skill of discrimination, refinement, and maintenance between having wholesome vs. unwholesome and skilful vs. unskilful thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, and the integration of all skill acquisition with the other right factors of the Eightfold Path. An example of this is shown by the explanation of the Buddha:
“One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view. This is one’s right mindfulness…
One is mindful to abandon wrong resolve & to enter & remain in right resolve: This is one’s right mindfulness…
One is mindful to abandon wrong speech & to enter & remain in right speech: This is one’s right mindfulness…
One is mindful to abandon wrong action & to enter & remain in right action: This is one’s right mindfulness…
One is mindful to abandon wrong livelihood & to enter & remain in right livelihood: This is one’s right mindfulness…” — MN 117
The commentary of a verse in the Dhammapada further explains:
“The wise person is always mindful. Through this alertness he discards the ways of the slothful. The monk, as the seeker after the truth, is frightened of mindlessness because he knows that if one is unmindful, one is caught up in the unending suffering of samsara. Therefore, he forges ahead diligently and mindfully burning away those bonds that fetter people to worldliness.”
We see clearly that Right Mindfulness has the function of not only present moment awareness, but more importantly, self-regulation. In fact, often in the Dhammapada the word “heedfulness” or “heedful” – which means having or showing a close attentiveness to avoid danger or trouble – is substituted for “mindfulness”.
Throughout the suttas or Buddhist texts, it is clear that Buddha taught a skills acquisition, goal oriented, introspective bhavana or mental cultivation program. We can say it is an introspective program, because its primary orientation is the observation and examination of any number of one’s own mental states, including sensory, bodily, cognitive, emotional, and so forth. Regarding mental cultivation, the Buddha said, “The training of the mind is good, a mind so tamed brings happiness”, “The tame mind brings bliss”, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts”, and finally, “We will develop mindfulness immersed in the body. We will pursue it, hand it the reins and take it as a basis, give it grounding, steady it, consolidate it, and undertake it well. That is how you should train yourselves.” Here the taming of the mind that the Buddha is talking about is actualized through mindfulness, which has a function similar to that of the trainer who tames an unruly animal.
Therefore, what is being discussed in the early Buddhist description of mindfulness is not a passive, sense-based, non-judgemental skill, but more accurately involves metacognition. Metacognition engages in self-reflection and refers to a regulation of cognition or a level of thinking that involves active control over the processes of thinking that are especially used in learning, and it enhances problem solving ability. Metacognitive regulation refers to processes that coordinate cognition. These include both bottom-up processes called cognitive monitoring (e.g., error detection, source monitoring in memory retrieval) and top-down processes called cognitive control (e.g., conflict resolution, error correction, inhibitory control, planning, resource allocation) (Nelson & Narens, 1990; Reder & Schunn, 1996). Metacognition is closely related to executive function, which involves the ability to monitor and control the information processing necessary to produce voluntary action. Metacognition refers to any knowledge or cognitive process that monitors or controls cognition.
Metacognitive skills have been identified as: Planning the appropriate selection of learned strategies; the correct allocation of psychic resources that affect learning; self-monitoring of understanding and task performance; and finally, evaluating or appraising the final results of a task and the efficiency at which the task was performed. Other metacognitive skills or executive functions are maintaining motivation and effort to see a task to completion, and the ability to become aware and skilfully intervene when both distracting internal and external stimuli occur. Engaging in self-reflection or introspection enhances metacognition through monitoring lapses in knowledge and addressing them, or through judging knowledge availability and feelings of accuracy. Right Mindfulness, understood as Metacognition, plays a critical role in successful “right” skills acquisition, “right” skills consolidation and application training, and the generalization and maintenance of the right factors of the Eightfold Path.
So to summarize, mindfulness as metacognition involves both executive management and strategic knowledge. Executive management processes involve planning, monitoring, evaluating, and revising one’s own thinking processes and products, while strategic knowledge involves knowing what (factual or declarative knowledge), knowing when and why (conditional or contextual knowledge), and knowing how (procedural or methodological knowledge). “Both executive management and strategic knowledge metacognition are needed to self-regulate one’s own thinking and learning” (Dunlosky, J. & Bjork, R. A. Eds). H. J. Hartman (2001) has written about other benefits of mindfulness, such as, “promoting executive-level functioning in detecting when the mind has wandered (meta awareness) further reduces lapses in attention. Mindfulness practice promotes a form of meta-cognitive insight of learning to emotionally disengage from distracters (frustration; anxiety). This form of top-down cognitive control leads the Mindfulness practitioner to more readily focus on the present task leading to better performance.”
Now that we have explored briefly the idea that mindfulness is really describing metacognition and executive function which includes the abilities that help us learn new information, remember and retrieve information we’ve learned in the past, and use this information to solve problems of life, let’s see more examples of this idea in Buddhist writings. The early Buddhist definition of Sati as memory is indicated by such terms as: calling to mind; remembrance; bearing in mind; and recollection. In the Dhammapada, mindfulness is compared to the treasurer of a king who reminds the king of the royal possessions in detail, daily, at night and in the morning. Also, the mindfulness of the aspirant to enlightenment reminds them of Virtue, Concentration, and Wisdom, which constitute the three pillars of the teachings of the Buddha. The value of the recollected activity of mindfulness is seen in the increasing awareness of the essentials of “right” living in the aspirant’s mind, and the growing strength of purpose for realizing these within him or herself.
Thānissaro Bhikkhu also emphasizes the memory aspect in this comment: “As he [the Buddha] defined the term, right mindfulness is not bare attention. Instead, it’s a faculty of active memory, adept at calling to mind and keeping in mind instructions and intentions that will be useful on the path. Its role is to draw on right view and to work proactively in supervising the other factors of the path to give rise to right concentration, and in using right concentration as a basis for total release.” So, mindfulness is the bringing or keeping of something in (to) awareness, but it is not solely awareness. Mindfulness can be used to bring any mental quality to mind.
Bhikkhu Bodhi offers us another perspective of mindfulness and its function as executive function: “There are certainly occasions when the cultivation of mindfulness requires the practitioner to suspend discrimination, evaluation, and judgment, and to adopt instead a stance of simple observation. However, to fulfill its role as an integral member of the eightfold path, mindfulness has to work in unison with right view and right effort. This means that the practitioner of mindfulness must at times evaluate mental qualities and intended deeds, make judgments about them, and engage in purposeful action.”
In Satipatthana, The Direct Path to Realization, Venerable Analayo wrote that we need to distinguish clearly between a first stage of observation and a second stage of taking action. Calmly assessing a situation without immediately reacting enables us to undertake the appropriate action. Thus, Sati provides the information for the then wise use of Right Effort, and it will oversee the countermeasures by noting if these are right and balanced, not too much or too little.
Soma Thera, in his short book, The Way of Mindfulness, The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary (1998), it is also quite clear that mindfulness involves what we are now referring to as metacognition and executive functions. To quote at length: “Mindfulness is the activity that takes care of the mind and protects it. It is compared to a wagon driver who ties the oxen to the wagon’s yoke, greases the axle, and drives the wagon, making the oxen go gently. In this activity mindfulness looks to the smooth working and movement of the mind and takes notice of the processes both skilful and not, taking place in the consciousness. In the more complex forms it is the selective and integrative action of the mind. The selective activity has been compared to the work of the Chief Adviser of a King. As the Adviser is instrumental in distinguishing the good from the bad, and in getting the good and avoiding the bad, so mindfulness distinguishes the worthy from unworthy things, avoids the unworthy and obtains the worthy.
The integrative character of mindfulness is like the Minister-of-all-work of a King. He is wanted in putting through every project of the King. He is commissioned to organise and combine the workers and execute the tasks. Mindfulness is also like that Minister. It is the organizing activity of the mind necessary for the development of wholesome states of consciousness. It combines the various other qualities which compose those states, puts them to their appropriate tasks and keeps them in proper working order. By the strength of integrating mindfulness a conscious state of skill functions harmoniously and becomes a well-knit unity. This activity of mindfulness makes the work of the aspirant complete at every stage of his progress. Integrating mindfulness sees all lacks and deficiencies, brings in the needed qualities and suitably applies them. It is called the highest wisdom of mindfulness [parama satinepakka], and constitutes the core of the Mindfulness that is included in the Real Way [Ariya Magga Pariyapanna Sati], of the Way Factor of Mindfulness [Sati Magganga] and of the Enlightenment Factor of Mindfulness [Sati Sambojjhanga]. It is Right Mindfulness [Sammasati] in the full sense of the term.”
Other, shorter quotes from Soma Thera’s book that indicate the executive function of mindfulness include:
“That it is mindfulness that holds things together in the mental flux, brings them up, and prevents them from floating away, getting submerged, forgotten and lost. Without mindfulness there will be no reconstitution of already acquired knowledge and consciousness itself would break in pieces, become fragmentary, and be unable to do properly the work of cognition.”
“Strong mindfulness ignores the unnecessary, by adhering to the center of the business in hand, and extends its view to important peripheral conditions, with a wide spreading watchfulness resembling that of the sentinel on a tower scanning the horizon “for the glint of armour. By such a balance between width and depth mindfulness steers clear of the extremes of lopsided vision and practice.”
“In the sense of overcoming mental conflict, and in the sense of getting rid of all unclarity, all incapacity to judge aright and indefiniteness due to mental unquiet, mindfulness is a controlling faculty [indriya]. The controlling faculty of mindfulness makes for the absence of confusion [asamussanata] and produces lucidity of thought, sound judgment, and definiteness of outlook. Mindfulness accompanied by keen understanding appears as the controlling faculty of mindfulness.”
“Mindfulness accompanied by sustained energy is mindfulness considered as a spiritual power [bala] and is the quality of earnestness [appamada] which destroys the wavering of negligence [pamada]. Negligence is the wandering of the mind in objects of fivefold sense-pleasure, repeatedly: it is the absence of thoroughness, of perseverance, and of steadfastness in doing good; the behavior that is stuck in the mire of worldliness; the casting aside of the desire to do what is right; the casting aside of the duties which belong to one; the absence of practice, development, and increase of wholesome qualities; the lack of right resolve, and the want of application. Earnestness is the opposite of all that negligence connotes. According to meaning, earnestness is the non-neglect of mindfulness [atthato hi so satiya avippavaso]. Indeed, earnestness is the name for mindfulness that is always active, constantly at work.”
To conclude our discussion, we have seen that contrary to the simplistic, popular definitions of mindfulness, Sati is really considering the executive functions and metacognition of the learning program called the Eightfold Path. In other words, the early Buddhist definition of mindfulness as memory, which is an executive function, is indicated by such definitions as: calling to mind; remembrance; bearing in mind; and recollection. We have seen that to proceed on the Eightfold Path, practitioners need to assess whether or not retrieved information is relevant to the life experience they are trying to skilfully master. “Successful differentiation of relevant from irrelevant memories is key to problem solving, planning, and other complex tasks. Planning requires reflecting on which course of action is necessary to achieve a goal, and as such planning is part of metacognition” (Brown, Bransford, Ferrara, & Campione, 1983). Action planning requires establishing both a main goal (enlightenment) and a hierarchy of sub-goals that must be satisfied for the main goal to be obtained (ethical behaviour, concentration, learning the Four Noble Truths, etc.). The main goal usually guides the sub-goals, which is considered Right View. So we can adopt a definition of mindfulness as a method by which we skilfully and intentionally focus our attention on our behaviors, perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and mental phenomena in the present moment, with the right intention of purifying the mind as prescribed in the Eightfold Path.
Pure and Serene Mind (Part 2): The Path of Chi Restoration Through Qigong & Tai Chi
22 AprWritten by Rodger R Ricketts
In the previous blog post, I explored how modern life gradually separates us from our original Chi through excessive mental activity, immersion in artificial systems, and disconnection from natural sensation. As symbolic thinking and external pressures dominate our awareness, the mind stretches beyond its natural limits, losing sensitivity to life energy. This disconnection weakens the true self and leads to imbalance, fragility, and inner suffering. Yet within each person remains the potential to restore purity, stillness, and authentic Chi by returning to original awareness, reconnecting with natural sensation, and aligning with timeless Daoist principles. Now, I examine how the ancient practices of Qigong and Tai Chi guide this restoration through stillness, movement, and the gradual purification of mind and life energy.
The cultivation and flow of energy through Qigong breathing techniques and Tai Chi movements reveal a path that is both clear and accessible. As individuals begin to recognize the false self that has often governed much of their existence, they should prepare for unexpected insights. Many people find themselves encumbered by multiple false identities. Rather than becoming discouraged, it is advisable to adopt a strategy of gradual progress—advancing step by step with unwavering faith—steadily uncovering one’s original life energy. This process unfolds layer by layer, requiring persistence and resilience. If one has been taught to believe that miracles occur externally, such a belief stems from a misconception rooted in a desire for effortless gain. It is imperative to cease heeding this false self and reject this erroneous notion immediately. Although the journey toward reclaiming one’s life energy may be challenging, it is ultimately profoundly rewarding.
If one maintains a pure heart and genuine sincerity in their efforts, it is possible to utilize the tools and guidance provided by a master to achieve the goal of discovering one’s true self. The experience of Chi can be regained through consistent practice. Several methods exist to restore the sensation of Chi, including motionless meditation, moving meditation, and receiving Chi energy from a master. According to the sacred teachings of an ancient lineage, a master capable of radiating life energy resembles a powerful iron magnet. Ideally, these practices should be undertaken concurrently. The primary purpose of these meditations is to create calmness and exclude the distractions of the artificial world, thereby enabling concentration and reconnection with internal sensations through stillness, typically in a seated posture, although some practices involve standing.
Despite the diversity in names and styles among various meditation techniques, all are designed to help practitioners eventually perceive their own energy. While many contemporary meditation systems emphasize sensing life energy, only one system currently extends beyond this initial stage by teaching how to direct the flow of Chi. This system contains essential knowledge that aids in purifying and strengthening true energy. It is the original Qigong meditation, deeply rooted in the principles of the Tao. Unlike other forms, the essence of Qigong meditation lies in cultivating the sensation of Chi within a clear mind. Qigong instructs practitioners to intensify this sensation and circulate it throughout the entire body, resulting in Chi that is fully present in every moment.
Through flowing movements, total Chi can be refined to become exceptionally pure and strong. This practice also forms the foundation of what is now known as Tai Chi. Tai Chi remains the only moving meditation practiced today that supports the development of Chi beyond the initial healing stages. Authentic Tai Chi enhances both the quantity and quality of life energy in a manner consistent with ancient Qigong meditation. Numerous styles of Tai Chi exist worldwide. For those whose lifestyle permits and who are resolute in their desire to attain true freedom from the artificial world, halt the depletion of life energy, and reclaim their true selves, it is possible to engage in all three stages of practice simultaneously, as was done in ancient times.
Among all training processes, the most critical step is learning to maintain the cleanliness and purity of one’s life energy. Purifying life energy is the ultimate goal, while maintaining its cleanliness is the means to that end. To keep life energy clean, one must keep the mind clean. If the mind remains unpolluted, unsullied, and undisturbed, it can purify life energy. The mind functions as a filter and must remain in its original, uncontaminated state, free from external influences. It must be brought to its most concentrated state: calm and comfortable, neither forced nor resistant, simply embodying one’s original self. The pursuit of this clean state of mind should not be forced, as the desire to attain it itself contaminates the mind. Ancient temple records recount stories of monks who failed to purify their minds due to excessive effort.
When the mind is free from contamination, distortion, and confusion, it naturally facilitates the purification of life energy. An apt analogy is to consider life energy as water and the mind as its filter. The mind must remain in its original, unaltered state—characterized by freedom, deep concentration, calmness, and comfort, without striving or resistance. Engaging in practices such as two-gong breathing and slow meditation with sincerity and honesty gradually calms and purifies the mind. With a purified mind, one can direct life energy to flow throughout the entire body, and over time, this energy will attain a purity comparable to that of a newborn. This represents a valuable aspiration: to harmonize one’s life energy with the original cosmic energy, known as the Dao.
Upon sensing and communicating with this pure life energy, one may progress further by reconnecting with its source through harmonious contact. This process entails transcending the layers of impurity and negative energy that obscure the original life energy, as well as the pollution of the artificial mind. In a polluted state, life energy cannot resonate at the same frequency as the Dao. It is not that the Dao refuses to communicate or assist; rather, communication is impeded while life energy remains contaminated and vibrates at a low frequency. Many individuals pray to external entities using words; however, such prayers often yield inconsistent outcomes because the original almighty force neither perceives nor communicates through low-level, artificially constructed symbols such as language. Instead, it communicates with those who turn inward and pray through the sensation of their pure life energy.
There exists no higher pursuit or more cherished goal than rediscovering and reclaiming one’s pure life energy. The most effective and singular method to cultivate life energy is through moving meditation that promotes the flow of Chi. Chi grows only when it flows, encompassing increases in strength, range, size, and volume. A greater volume of Chi better supports both body and mind. When the mind attains purity and Chi strengthens, it can be refined into higher forms of energy known as Jing Jing, which can be projected and transmitted beyond the body. Presently, no other meditation practice offers a comparable method to facilitate the flow of life energy as does the original Tai Chi flow meditation. Tai Chi simultaneously strengthens the mind and cultivates life energy, or Chi, and can be practiced anywhere and at any time. Practitioners are advised to wear comfortable clothing and flat, flexible shoes, breathe smoothly, quietly, and naturally, and may synchronize movements with breath without forcibly holding it. The mouth should remain closed with lips and teeth gently together, the tongue resting lightly against the roof of the mouth, and the head held upright as if suspended by a cord from above. Movements should be performed in a relaxed, comfortable manner with minimal muscular tension. With modest effort, the movements can be learned effectively.
At first glance, Tai Chi may appear to consist of slow, graceful movements designed primarily to improve physical balance and flexibility. However, beyond these physical benefits, Tai Chi represents a deeply meditative practice aimed at fostering clarity and inner stillness. The most profound aspects of significant Chi involve an empty mind and the clear release of mental tension. In Tai Chi, stillness does not imply the cessation of physical movement; rather, it entails cultivating a calm and focused mind. The practice promotes the release of distracting thoughts, worries, and mental chatter, thereby enabling full attention to be directed toward the present moment and the fluidity of one’s movements.
This state of stillness is known as Wuji, which translates as “emptiness” or “non-being” and represents the state of primordial, undifferentiated reality before the emergence of Yin and Yang. In Tai Chi, all movements and energy flow from Wuji. It is a state of pure potential wherein the mind is clear, the body relaxed, and awareness anchored in the present moment. By embracing stillness, Tai Chi practitioners access a powerful state of mental clarity that facilitates movement and fosters integration between body and mind.
Across these two blog posts, I traced the arc from loss to restoration: how modern existence subtly exhausts Chi and obscures true nature, and how ancient Taoist practice gently guides the return. Part One revealed how artificial systems, excessive thinking, and sensory overload separate us from original life energy, weakening intuition and inner peace. Part Two illuminated the path of return through sincerity, stillness, and movement, restoring Chi through meditation, Qigong, and Tai Chi. By purifying the mind, circulating life energy, and aligning with the Dao, one gradually reawakens the innate wholeness present in infancy—a pure and serene mind capable of sensing life energy naturally and resting effortlessly in truth. This journey requires patience and devotion, yet it ultimately leads to freedom, clarity, and harmony with the living universe.
Pure and Serene Mind (Part 1): The Loss of Chi in the Modern World
22 AprWritten by Rodger R Ricketts, Psy.D.
As individuals progress through life, they develop the capacity to respond to external stimuli in ways that enhance survival, growth, and reproduction. Learning arises through constant interaction with the environment, enabling humans to retain external information, think reflectively, and make value-based decisions. While personal identity and societal constructs support civilization and survival, they also impose a cost: artificial cognitive activity consumes essential life energy. Decision-making rooted in conceptual values, rather than natural sensation, gradually separates the mind from its inherent life energy. Initially subtle, this divergence may become permanent, leading to persistent depletion of life energy and eventual decline.
In infancy, one remains intimately aware of Chi (life energy), but as adults become absorbed in cognitive processes, they neglect this vital sensation. Excessive mental activity drains Chi, as the mind’s energy is an extension of life energy itself. When life energy is overextended, the connection between mind and Chi weakens; like a rubber band stretched beyond its limit, perception breaks. This loss of authentic internal perception manifests as illness, fragility, and ultimately the deterioration of one’s true nature.
As artificial constructs dominate awareness, individuals may lose their intimate connection with mind and body. Money, language, and symbolic systems—tools created to support society—become mistaken for reality itself. Immersed in this virtual realm, one drifts further away from natural sensation. Childhood’s pure, intuitive engagement with life fades as artificial signals override internal experience. Modern environments bombard the senses with constant stimuli, drowning out natural signals such as sleep, sunlight, contact with the Earth, natural foods, and internal bodily sensation. As these cues diminish, the ability to perceive Chi weakens, and the intuitive connection to life energy declines.
Within Taoist cosmology, the universe alternates between Tao-in-stillness and Tao-in-movement: the unmanifest state of Wuji (primordial emptiness or original stillness) and the manifest state of Tai Chi (cosmic duality and the birth of Yin and Yang), where Yin and Yang operate. Phenomena arise from Wuji and return to it, much like waking life cycles back to the stillness of sleep. Wuji—primordial, undifferentiated, timeless, and absolute—represents pure potential. From this state, Tai Chi emerges, giving rise to Yin and Yang, motion and form. Wu denotes stillness, while Wuji signifies standing in silence and sensing universal energy. In Tai Chi practice, movement and energy flow from this stillness. When the mind becomes clear and the body relaxed, one experiences present awareness and accesses profound mental clarity.
Original life energy contains no duality of good or bad—it is eternal, perfect, and requires no modification. When it manifests as human life energy, it divides into Yin, Yang, and Chi (three aspects of energetic function: receptive, active, and vital force). Human life depends upon the dynamic cycling of Yin and Yang; constant motion seeks to return to the original state of harmony. To mirror the original Chi, one must cultivate clarity, purity, and strength, restoring balance within and harmonizing with the external environment. Without vigilance, temptations and artificial habits lead to deficit, destabilizing Chi and drawing the individual deeper into artificial existence.
Three primary forces disrupt Chi: overuse of the mind, immersion in artificial constructs, and bombardment by negative environmental signals. As Chi becomes a mental signal, it weakens; as artificial ideas dominate, natural sensation fades; and as negative influences intrude, energetic balance destabilizes. In severe cases, the Chi signal may become disabled, resulting in decline. When artificial influences overpower life energy long enough, both mind and body lose the ability to perceive Chi. In this state, one struggles to maintain equilibrium and ultimately deteriorates.
Chi embodies concepts of center, harmony, and infinity. It forms the essence of the true self; diminishing its quality is equivalent to losing life force and authentic integrity. When Chi is strong, one experiences inner completeness, intuitive knowing, and a fearless sense of unity with existence. Conversely, when Chi becomes depleted through artificial living and suppressed emotion, the true self is constrained, leading to fragility, imbalance, and inability to live peacefully. Rebuilding life energy requires the reintegration of mind and Chi, honoring genuine emotion, and restoring internal equilibrium.
Modern society conditions individuals to conform to external expectations, prioritizing artificial norms over inner truth. This form of psychological enslavement suppresses intuition and compels the pursuit of illusory goals—achievement, wealth, security—at the expense of well-being and authentic identity. Perpetual busyness prevents inner stillness and blocks access to the original self, allowing the artificial framework (social expectations, productivity culture, or identity roles) to maintain control.
Liberation begins by reconnecting with life energy. One must discern whether the desire for growth arises from true inner calling or from external validation. A sincere longing to understand suffering, live meaningfully, and liberate the authentic self signals the voice of life energy. Those who recognize this call and possess the courage to follow it must learn to sense and refine Chi. Fortunately, this path is not new; ancient Daoist masters have walked it before and left guidance for those ready to return to their true nature.
This first stage of the journey reveals how modern existence, dominated by artificial constructs, incessant mental activity, and external pressures, gradually separates us from the vital life energy that forms the essence of our true nature. By recognizing the subtle yet profound ways in which the mind becomes overextended, how natural sensations are replaced by symbolic systems (in other words, expectations and conceptual thinking), and how societal demands obscure our inner awareness, we begin to perceive the root of our disconnection. The path back to authenticity arises not through force or intellectual striving, but through gently restoring stillness, clarity, and genuine sensation, allowing Chi to be felt once again in its natural purity. As one reconnects with this original energy, a deeper sense of wholeness, peace, and intuitive understanding gradually awakens, reminding us of the completeness that once existed in infancy and remains within us still. In Part Two, I will explore how ancient Taoist wisdom provides practical tools for this restoration—guiding us through the cultivation of calm awareness, the refinement and circulation of Chi, and the harmonious integration of mind, body, and life energy through practices such as Qigong and Tai Chi. Through steady effort and sincere intention, it becomes possible not only to reclaim the purity of one’s life force, but also to return to a state of balance, presence, and effortless connection with the living universe.
Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ:We are connected to each other in multiple and vital ways
17 AprThe Lakota phrase Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ describes Reality by addressing it as “All My Relations.” All humans, all animals, all plants, all the waters, the soil, the stones, the mountains, the grasslands, the winds, the clouds and storms, the sun and moon, stars and planets are our relations and are relations to one another. We are connected to each other in multiple and vital ways. When one is in pain, all are harmed. When there is justice for one, there is more justice for all.
It is time for the dominant culture to finally learn that its people cannot harm those it deems lesser than themselves simply because it wants to and can. This is, simply, wrong. It violates the fundamental nature of reality. Actions that violate the fundamental nature of reality build tension into the system that eventually causes a loss of balance and a rebound of consequence to those who broke natural law. This is true whether the ones being unjustly persecuted and abused are human beings whose color or religious beliefs are not those of the dominant culture, or parts of the natural world that those of the dominant culture judge as insentient or even not-living. In all these cases, the dominant culture judges these “others” as unacceptable or lesser than themselves, and therefore undeserving of respect and reciprocity.
Being “woke” is not simply a matter of learning what words to speak. Truly right words can only come from a heart that is open to the living world’s grief, that is willing to be broken by the pain of this grief. Such a heart experiences the pain that all the rest of creation has suffered for generations upon generations, and in doing this it helps to share and bear that burden. Only then, once the true heart has shattered from this pain, can Real Knowledge flow into it. It enters through the spaces between the shattered fragments. This is the pathway to true healing, for that heart and the heart of creation itself.
===Notes about the translation and meaning of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ:
Although “All Our Relations” is the most common translation of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ — even Vine Deloria, Jr. defines it as such in his books — the phrase actually bears within it rich layers of additional meaning that cannot be easily translated into English. It’s important to point this out because words and ideas, stories and rituals, are bound together into a single reality that must be respected, not misappropriate. In the video, the late Sicungu Lakota Elder Albert White Hat, a friend who was on Tapestry’s board for many years, explains this matter of language and concept being inextricably interwoven.
The Native relationship to nature is revealed in Native hunting and food-growing practices. It is believed that the animals we hunt, whom we view as our relatives, offer themselves to us as an act of Metta. In return, the hunter must do something for the animal, for instance a deer dance or buffalo dance, to thank the animal and pray for regeneration of the animal’s family. When it comes to the food that we grow, we have dances and seasonal fertility rituals, which are ceremonies that bring us into direct relationship with the spirit of plants and Earth consciousness.
I see the whole Native way as realizing our relationship with everything and ourselves as an integral part of all things, which in turn causes us to treat the Earth and other forms of life with respect, as part of our family. Western civilization is finally recognizing that relationship. Suddenly people are saying that the Earth is alive and talking about Gaia and holistic worldviews and systems theory. Native people are basically saying, “Yes, welcome home.”
The Indian elders say, “We must remember also the four-footed, those who swim and those who fly, those who crawl and those who move very slowly like the stone people, and all the green and growing things.” Within this sacred circle we are one. What we do affects everyone, everything. These great teachings remind us of our responsibility to care for all life. In our pursuit of progress and comfort we have separated ourselves from our place in this great circle. Earth traditions bring us back into harmony and balance within the circle.The Lakota end all prayers with “O Mitakuye Oyasin,” meaning “I do this for all my relations (or all sentient beings).” Dualism happens when egocentricity develops, creating a split with nature, each other and all life. When I was departing for a yearlong retreat in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, I told the medicine woman Bertha Grove, “I’ll be alone for a long time.” She replied, “You’re not going to be alone. When you go outside and look around, you won’t feel alone at all. You’ll be completely accompanied by the trees, the plants, the birds and the animals.” For many years, I had learned about nonduality and the teachings of integration, but Grove’s way of saying it was like a direct transmission.
Animism flows from the belief that everything is part of an interconnected web of life. It is deeply embedded in many indigenous worldviews and as well as nondual meditation traditions from Tibet, India, China and Egypt. Both animism and nonduality share some profound philosophical and experiential similarities.
While not explicitly labeled as apophatic, many indigenous religions share core principles with apophatic theology, particularly in their emphasis on the mystery of the divine, the limitations of human language, and the importance of direct experience. The apophatic lens can offer a valuable framework for understanding and appreciating the diverse spiritual expressions found in indigenous cultures. The concept of the “Unknown God” in ancient Egyptian religion, and the debate among scholars about whether it was monotheistic, henotheistic, or polytheistic, can be seen as related to apophatic ideas, as it acknowledges a divine reality beyond human comprehension. How it Relates to Indigenous Religions:
While apophatic theology is primarily associated with specific theological traditions like Christian mysticism and negative theology within Hinduism and Islam, its core principles resonate with some aspects of indigenous religions.
- Emphasis on Mystery:
- Many indigenous traditions emphasize the sacredness and mystery of the natural world and the divine, often employing symbolic language and ritual practices that point to something beyond literal explanation.
- Reverence for Nature:
- Indigenous religions often have a deep connection with the natural world, viewing it as imbued with spiritual power and interconnectedness, which can be seen as an expression of the divine in a way that transcends human concepts.
- Oral Traditions:
Many indigenous traditions rely on oral traditions and stories, which often utilize metaphors and symbolism to convey spiritual truths, rather than relying on propositional statements.
- Focus on Experience:
Indigenous spiritual practices often prioritize direct experience and personal connection with the spiritual realm, rather than relying solely on abstract theological doctrines.
Both challenge the rigid subject-object dualism and reductionist materialism that dominate modern thought and instead present an interconnected, holistic and kinship-based worldview and an embodied experience of existence.
I believe our ecological crisis of climate change and biodiversity collapse is ultimately a crisis of consciousness. Our disconnection from nature fuels both ecological collapse and a mental health epidemic. Reclaiming the felt sense of interconnectedness found in animism and nonduality is a powerful antidote to our alienation.
I have found that practicing nondual awareness and spending more time outdoors exploring with mindful awareness practices can dramatically reduce self-reflective overthinking, help to get to the root of today’s existential anxiety epidemic and heal our alienation from nature. Through nondual awareness practices, we can start to feel a deeply rooted sense of aliveness and kinship with all other living beings. In animistic cosmology, we are not separate from nature and we exist within a kinship worldview where we feel fundamentally at home in this world. In animism, there is no strict division between self and nature; rather, existence is participatory. The forest is not just a backdrop for people but a dynamic, intelligent presence.
Posted in Tapestry on June 12, 2020 by Dawn
We are divine
17 Apr“We are divine, and we must live not by the
survival of the fittest, but in a way that supports everyone and everything on
this planet” Bruce H. Lipton
The time has come to use our powerful technologies for the good of all,
rather than for the delusional good of the self-proclaimed fittest. The idea of
separation, which finds its expression in the reductionism of classical
physics, must be replaced by the experience of union and inclusion already
evident in the holism of life. “There is not a single isolated fragment in all
of nature, each fragment is part of a harmonious and complete unity” (John
Muir). Only by recognizing this crucial interdependence can humanity go
beyond the repetition of the same dysfunctional patterns that have caused so
much unnecessary suffering to our species and to the ecosystem.
Many sages throughout history have suggested that we are beings of
light that will not die with the death of the body, because we are here to
learn and grow. I think we are here to learn to collectively create new
worlds in which to operate at a much higher level of cooperation, creativity,
and fulfillment than we now can at this early stage of our spiritual
evolution. The possibility of experiencing our true nature is already
supported by the enlightened personal experiences of millions of people
around the globe, and by countless “anecdotal” facts and events that science
hesitates to investigate. If we open ourselves to this potential that is
dormant in us and ask our greater self to show the way, we may soon be
able to experience an unsuspected unity in our lives, the early signs of
humanity’s awakening to its true power and purpose.
Only when we truly comprehend that we are responsible for our
experiences and that the choice is ours alone, can we begin to truly know
ourselves and the world.
To know ourselves more and more, we need a new empathic science
that can convert scientific knowledge into deep lived knowing and from it
generate new scientific knowledge. Similarly, we need a new rational
spirituality that can convert lived knowing into new scientific knowledge
and from it generate new lived knowing. These two disciplines can then
intertwine in endless and mutual crescendo.
This is the essence of the Creative Principle of One. Within this vision,
empathic science and rational spirituality, integrating and interweaving, will
evermore increase our loving, joyful, and fulfilling union with the Whole.
I think that the positive forces that will create our future will not be the
forces and the laws of matter, but those of conscious cooperation,
comprehension, and love for others that all beings in existence must sooner
or later manifest because these values are the essence of our deepest nature.
I also think that the most effective way to achieve union is through a
process of collective and cooperative creation of a just, empathic, and
loving society through right and courageous actions informed by the heart
and by the intuitive and rational mind. Then our experience and knowing
will grow in our hearts and they will guide our individual actions through
an ever-higher level of consciousness.
copyright: Federico Faggin 2023 Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers and Human Nature
The Unity of All -Non-Dualistic Apophatic Higher States of Consciousness
13 AprNon-Dualistic ApophaticHigher States of Consciousness
While Apophatic theology was often in the past regarded as heretical, blasphemy, and unorthodox, we have seen in the previous chapters that now the sciences including physics, cosmology, psychology, biology, ecology, linguistics, as well as meditation, all provide a secure platform for the non-dualistic Apophatic convictions and practice. Apophatic teachings and analysis clearly provide an alternative to the dominant Dualistic Cataphatic dogma. This acceptance and application of the non-dualist perspective is not just an academic survey but a way of living that has crucial truths that benefit the individual, interpersonal, biological, psychological, sociological, spiritual, societal, and ecological levels.
This book is meant to indicate the possibility and rationale that is encompassed in the title of Apophatic. To further explore in-depth the Buddha’s teaching of the Path to Awakening, the reader is referred to my previous books: The Buddha’s Teachings; Seeing Without Illusion, The Buddha’s Radical Psychology: Explorations and The Buddha’s Gift: A Life of Wellbeing and Wisdom.
Now we have the testimony of numerous modern articulate thinkers whose ability to describe their awakening perspectives leads a strong support to past spiritual leaders who, even in the threat of death, spoke their truths out of compassion for others. Remembering the insights of his personal mystical experience, Martin Buber, in his book, The Heart of Mysticism, described his higher states of consciousness: “Now from my own unforgettable experience I know well that there is a state in which the bonds of the personal nature of life seem to have fallen away from us and we experience an undivided unity.”
With this experience of Awakening, Buber understood the world without the alienating and separating dualistic subject/object dichotomy. Like the Buddha, out of compassion for humanity, Buber taught us how to experience and act in a non-alienated way. While Buber always emphasized that he understood relating to the world in an I-It manner, a ‘functional’ relationship between subject and object, is necessary, his primary concern was when a person was unable to respond from I-Thou, thus creating alienation and suffering. The relation between the person and Nothingness is a universal relationship that is found as the foundation for I-Thou, as authentic beings, without objectification. From an apophatic perspective, it is from the background of the I-Thou relation that I-It arises in the foreground.
Virtuous and Kind Behaviors
For this apophatic potential relational world to be realized, virtuous and kind behaviors are encouraged. This promotes sensitivity to the inner and outer world, more serenity, more authenticity, empathy and wisdom with less alienation, rumination, conflict, hatred, and bias.
The ‘I-Thou’ relation participates in the dynamic and living process of Being. That relationship simply Is. Through this relation, we interact with the world in its whole Being. It is not a means to an egocentric objective or goal of use and order but an authentic relationship involving respect and care for the whole being of each subject and existence.
Basic to the Apophatic relation, Lovingkindness or benevolence is a subject-to-subject relationship. Love cannot be an ego-based relation of subject to object but rather a relationship in which all members are subjects and share the immanent unity of Being. According to Buber, the I-Thou relationship is “the existential and ontological reality in which the self comes into being and through which it fulfills and authenticates itself.” This relation is characterized by mutuality and openness, directness, and being in the present.
I-Thou an expression of Inter-being relations
Using Buber’s ‘I-Thou’ as an apophatic example, communication is the fundamental expression of the uniqueness of relation within inter-being. These relational patterns of rapport and affinity are usually found when beings relate with lovingkindness, friendship, openness, and care. I meet you as you are, and you meet me as who I am. In this relationship, I am with you openly in my heart and mind. Living through relationships with this authenticity brings deep satisfaction, happiness and richness in life and opens a greater sense of the original relation with the Being. One easily expresses empathy and compassion, knowing that all are interconnected in unity. Such a perspective makes a different world, a world without violence. As Jesus said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ The Buddha said as well, “All beings tremble before violence. All fear death. All love life. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?”
As all Apophatic sages teach, by being ‘empty’ in the moment, here and now, we experience the wonder of existence. As we have seen in other chapters, the ultimate, even the very idea of the ultimate, cannot be known by discursive thinking. In the now, we live our life as it is. Also, through the practice of silent meditation, we focus on our life awareness. With this awareness, we experience our interconnectedness with all things and empathy and compassion for all sentient beings.
Knowing shatters illusions
Knowing begins with the release of illusions, with dis-illusion. Knowing means to penetrate through the fog, to arrive at reality; knowing means to ‘see’ the reality without illusion. Knowing is that the ‘ownership’ of truth is not possible. The Awakened relationship cannot be explained; it simply is. Through this ‘empty’ relation, we interact with the world in this whole Being. It is not a means to some object or goal but an authentic relationship involving respect for the whole being of each subject. Buber considers ‘I-Thou’ communication the fundamental expression of the uniqueness of relation within inter-being. These relational patterns of rapport and affinity are usually found when beings relate with lovingkindness, friendship, openness, and care.
In the I-Thou encounter, we relate to each other as authentic beings, without inquisition, prejudice, enmity, or predisposition. I meet you as you are, and you meet me as who I am. In this relationship, I am with you openly in my heart and mind. However, there are many people who never fully understand this deeper level of relation. This is tragic because living through relationships based on the non-dualistic perspective brings happiness, deep satisfaction and richness in life and opens a greater sense of the original relation with the Absolute.
When an I-Thou encounter occurs, I am meeting the other as thou with openness, directness, and presence by means of real mutual action, meaning and confirmation. As Buber wrote, “This person is other, essentially other than myself… I confirm it; I wish his otherness to exist, because I wish his particular being to exist.” We are interconnected, “not just with people, but animals too, and stones, clouds, trees” (Aitken 1984, p. 10). We are an integral part of everything.
Nothing exists by itself; nothing has a separate existence, an inherent separate self. As human beings we are Being, one with All. The truth is pure interbeing, beyond dualistic thinking of the alienated mind. Thus, one becomes aware of the impermanence and the Emptiness of the ‘IT’ world. Serenity comes with the acceptance of impermanence and interrelatedness. The insights of such Sages as the Buddha, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, and Master Eckhart show that knowing begins with the awareness of the deceptiveness of our common-sense perceptions and cognitive constructions; our formulations of physical reality do not correspond to what is ‘really real.’ Therefore, most people are half-awake, half dreaming, and are unaware that most of what they hold to be true and self-evident is an ‘magician-like’ illusion produced by the influence of the dualistic alienated world in which they live.
Knowing, then, begins with the transformation of illusions, selfishness, and alienation. Knowing means to penetrate through the fog, to arrive at reality and to ‘see’ the reality without illusion. Knowing is not to own the truth, as possession is not possible, but to Be the truth. The Being mode of knowing allows us, as psychologist Erich Fromm (1992, pp.117-120) also observed, to go beyond ourselves, outside the ego. The Path’s result is kindness to oneself and another, to transcend the barriers that separate us from one another, and living life with recognition of interdependence and impermanence. When communicating at this level, we move beyond biased social roles, identifications, and objectification.
In I-Thou dialogues, we trust and can disclose deep, private aspects of ourselves that enable us to engage in deep and authentic relationships. The rigid, dualistic and egotistically dominated mind remains enmeshed in ignorance, greed, and anger that feeds on itself and, therefore, does not let go and rise above the suffering quagmire in which it remains. This ego rigidity needs an empathetic and compassionate approach to assist it in letting go and coming to know how it is possible to live in a world without the pain and distrust and suffering created through this dualistically based ignorance. And, in fact, the path can be clear and successfully traveled without much difficulty.
What is difficult is allowing oneself to give up the encased hatred, the anger, the greed, the biases of egoism and of selfishness. In the book, Lost Horizon, there is this passage: ‘Look at the world today. Is there anything more pitiful? What madness there is! What blindness! A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity crashing headlong against each other. The time must come when brutality and the lust for power will perish by their own sword. When that day comes, the world must begin to look for a new life.’
The new life away from that is and always has been pointed to by the apophatic teachers in the past and now. The whole movement is toward the development of maturity of perspective and, therefore, action with wisdom about the way we understand and think about existence. Therefore, incorrect ideas and beliefs must be renounced, which will change our human character and end further suffering.
For as the Buddha and other apophatic teachers have consistently taught, what is now clear through scientific investigation, that living beings, the environment and even the universe are deeply enmeshed and co-dependent on each other. This is one world and every action by all living and non-living forces interact with and alter the previous reality- some more than others. Therefore, once we become experienced, inspired, and apply the truths that the Buddha and others have discovered, and now are explicated in more modern terminology and description, there is a real possibility for a Heaven on Earth without the distraction of seeking supernatural intervention.
Heaven on Earth can briefly be described in a biocentric way as a world of humans acting through wisdom and empathy and compassion, The Buddha, one of the greatest Apophatic teachers, said in his last words to the monks, “It may be that after I am gone that some of you will think, ‘now we have no teacher.’ But that is not how you should see it. Let the Dharma and the discipline that I have taught you be your teacher. All individual things pass away. Strive on, untiringly.”
Now, as we have explored in this book the similar meditation instructions and doctrinal perspectives taught by the many Apophatic spiritual teachers, over time and different cultures, we know we can attain Awakening and know Emptiness and give up our suffering and the harmful consequences of dualistic alienation, for a life of wellbeing and happiness. Let us all assert the Apophatic Way and accomplish knowing the ‘unknowable’ – No-thing
Chapter 16 The Unity of All. Of the Book, God is No-thing. The Apophatic Assertion The
Salvation for Humankind – revised -. Copyright Rodger Ricketts Psy.D.,2022. All rights
reserved.
Black Elk Speaks…Indigenous Spirituality
8 AprQuotes of Black Elk who was a prominent Lakota Sioux visionary and healer, that taught about the connection with the sacredness and oneness of life, and the deep, loving, heart-opening spiritual knowledgethat we carry in our hearts, that is crucial for the coming together of all people as one family.
1.The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Wakan-Taka Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.
2. At the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit. And that center is really everywhere. It is within each of us.
3. Peace will come to the hearts of men when they realize their oneness with the universe, It is everywhere.
4. Any man who is attached to things of this world is one who lives in ignorance and is being consumed by the snakes of his own passions.
5. As you walk upon the sacred earth, treat each step as a prayer.
6. What is Life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
7. All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One.
8. The Great Spirit is everywhere; he hears whatever is in our minds and our hearts, and it is not necessary to speak to Him in a loud voice.
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux by John G. Neihardt
Transcending Duality
3 AprIt was not a state of thinking but a state of living and being. It was pure consciousness. What I call a magnificence state of oneness that transcends duality. Getting me in touch with the parts of me that are eternal, infinite, and encompasses the whole. This was awesome; no longer becoming entrenched in beliefs that lock us into a state of duality and puts us in a constant state of judgment. What we endorse is considered good or positive and what we don’t is not, which also puts us in a position of needing to defend our beliefs. When others don’t agree and when we invest too much of our energy in defense, we become reluctant to let go even when ideas no longer serve us. That’s when our beliefs start to own us instead of the other way around. Having pure awareness, on the other hand, just means realizing what exists and what’s possible without judgments. Awareness doesn’t need defending. It expands with growth and can be all-encompassing, bringing us closer to the state of oneness. This is where miracles take place. In contrast, beliefs only allow what we deem credible while keeping us out of everything else.
Non-duality is a state of pure awareness which has a state of complete suspension of all previous held doctrine and dogma. It was when I was willing to let go, I received what I wanted, truly what was mine. Strongly held ideologies actually work against a person. Needing to operate out of concrete beliefs limits my experience because it keeps me within the realm of only what I know and my knowledge is limited and if I restrict myself to only what I am able to conceive, I’m holding back my potential and what I allow into my life. However, if I can accept that my understanding is incomplete and I’m able to become comfortable with uncertainty, this opens me up to the realm of infinite possibilities. After the non-duality, I am able to know and let go. When I suspend my beliefs as well as disbeliefs, I leave myself open to all possibilities. It also means that when I’m able to experience the most internal clarity and synchronicities, my sense is that the very act of needing certainly is a hindrance to experiencing greater levels of awareness. In contrast the process of letting go and releasing all attachment to any belief or outcome is cathartic and healing.
Anita Moorjani– Dying to be Me
A Finger Pointing to the Moon
1 Apr
One who is enlightened must use conceptual thought and language to teach others about the way to Awakening as the Buddha did. In teaching the Four Noble Truths, language is necessary to converse rationally with others and to make important decisions, as the Buddha did regarding the Buddhist
sangha and giving advice to kings and leaders, but the Truth cannot be known rationally.
Or as story about the nun Wu Jincang said to Hui-neng (638-713 CE), the Sixth Patriarch of the Chan School (better known as the Zen Buddhist School), “I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra for many years, yet there are many areas I do not quite understand. Please enlighten me.” His reply puzzled her greatly. “I am illiterate,” he answered; “please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning.” When she said to him, “You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?” he responded that the truth had nothing to do with words. “The truth and the words are unrelated. The truth can be compared to the bright moon in the sky, and words can be compared to a finger. I can use my finger to point out the moon, but my finger is not the moon, and you don’t need my finger to see the moon, do you?”
We are all Interconnected even with the Universe 