Blogs

Matt Kahn

Here is one of the most recent videos from our offering of Seattle satsang. Matt Kahn speaks on "The Purity of Truth."

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Julie Dittmar
For satsang calendar or for private (individual) satsangs, please see:
http://www.TrueDivineNature.com

Jennifer Salima Holt

in order to be awake, are we supposed to be self-content all the time? in self-love and delightedness with our human personality? for most of my life, that's what i thought, so i would try and try to self-improve, working on all those 'bad' emotions and behaviors that made me a less holy or evolved person, determined to rid myself of my anger and depression and anxiety and bitchiness once and for all.

but guess what. it's still there. and the more i've tried to beat it...the shadow parts of me for lack of a better word...down, the farther away i geo from feeling integrated, self-content, or at peace.

can we be at peace, in oneness, and still have self-loathing lurking around sometimes? yes, i know so. it is only through my humanity that the light comes. it is only when i surrender trying to change, allow the bottoming out process to become my ground and cradle, that the light can buoy me. even in the self-hatred, in the regret, the frustration, the anxiety, the wishing i could die, even here, Love is, Light is, Spirit is.

that's why i like to work with prisoners. because when they truly get that they are ok, regardless of what they have done, who they are, where they are, regardless of their mistakes, then pretty remarkable transformations occur.

Katie Davis

The human being is in constant search for stable happiness, whether one is conscious of the fact or not.

This search is often objective in that most still believe that their happiness depends on other people, life circumstances, professions, possessions or some other.

When the ego gets what it wants, it is relatively happier. For just one moment, it senses the illusion of completion and it finally rests free of desire. Yet, true fulfillment is not a possibility for a fraction. For the ego, completion is a delusion, since partiality can never be whole.

For the mind-made self, happiness soon wanes. Sooner or later, discontentment in the form of desire once again arises, since it still senses lack and the life situation within time is in constant change.

Further, the ego senses that it is separate from "those" people and its life circumstances. It is therefore under constant threat of loss or hoping for future gain. Most every moment is used as a means to some ego end.

When the ego does not get what it wants, it judges the situation and then blames someone else. The result is usually disappointment from false expectations or personal intention. My will vs. your will consistently ends in pain and suffering for all involved. Once again, we have the delusion of separation and its inherent opposition.

Of course, stable unhappiness is just as impossible as enduring relative happiness, since within time the life situation changes. When our happiness depends on other situations, our emotions fluctuate and follow our judgment.

Tomas Stubbs

Sharing with you all a lovely short video made by my friend Deborah.

She is a talented film maker and devoted satsanger... I'm really delighted with the way she manages to capture something of the essence of stillness on camera.

check it out!

cheers
tomas

Matt Kahn

(Please open the full text to read this one)  The practice of meditation can be found as a regular activity in countless weekend retreats, and is often viewed as a necessary cornerstone in many spiritual traditions. For any seeker yearning for a deeper sense of fulfillment, or even a life reflecting greater meaning, meditation is often explored as a personal practice.

When meditation is approached as another technique or achievement to unknowingly fuel the appetite of ego, meditative seekers seem to always fit into two distinct categories of behavior. Some, approach meditation in search of its folklore of benefits, practicing to sit still for whatever is thought to be gained from extended periods of time spent on the meditation cushion. When a seeker meditates to fulfill any sort of desire, whether it is a conceptual idea of enlightenment, greater intuition, deeper insights, or any other power it imagines still being without, meditation is turned into a game of manipulation. From this position, seekers attempt to get from their practice whatever they feel is somehow missing, while unknowingly missing the entire point.

The other approach to meditation is viewed as a technique to rid oneself of whatever is here, that act as barriers to the fulfillment of future desires the seeker imagines and craves. From this approach, seekers want less mental noise, less emotional turmoil, less distractions, and less of anything else they have misinterpreted and labeled as a problem.

Ronda LaRue

Living the Love Affair With Life!
c. ronda larue, 2003. All rights reserved.

"It wasn't until the doorway was opened and I fell into the abyss of unknowing, met my undoing, faced the root fear of non-being, and slowly emerged from this profound process of awakening, that I recognized what I had sensed and had been expressing in my life all along: We are already That for which we seek....

"There is a portal to remembering Who we really are, and it is always forever available here, now. All we need do is attune our hearing to its subtle voice, and fall into the Love Affair of Life."

-- ronda larue 2001

"People often say to me: 'I have no artistic ability'. To which I always reply: 'Nonsense' (or worse!) 'You are at the very deepest core of your being, first and foremost, an artist. You are the brush and the canvass and the color and the hand - and that which conspires to bring these together into creative relationship and expression!'

We are not who we seem. We are not what we seem. We are the living Creative Moment. We are Creation engaged in the evolving awareness of Being. Or, to put it another way: We are God's realization of Creative Potential -- arising out of nothing, and with-in us finding expression - and thus seeing.

Ronda LaRue

WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT?

An Interview Talk with Ronda LaRue

There is a recently published book out called: The Awakening West* in which authors John Lumiere-Wins and Lynn Marie Lumiere ask a series of questions to twenty contemporary teachers of the west including Eckhart Tolle, Francis Lucille, Gangaji, Rabbi Rami Shapiro and others.

Ronda was recently interviewed using these great questions and we thank and acknowledge John and Lynn Marie for this intriguing format and their beautiful book.*

Below are the questions, followed by a transcript of the interview and Ronda's responses.

RONDA: "I'd like to suggest you pose these questions to yourself as well - you might be surprised what is seen..."

Questions adapted from the book: THE AWAKENING WEST*

1) Who are you?
2) What is enlightenment, realization, awakening?
3) How did this awakening occur for you?
4) Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for others who are experiencing a desire for awakening to the truth?
5) Does it seem that more and more people in the West are awakening to the truth of their being? And if so, what does it signify?
6) What do you see as the source of suffering in the world, and what if anything can or should be done about it?
7) Without operating out of a personal “I” how do you make decisions and get things done?
8) In the realization of who you really are, how do you experience relationship with others?
9) Does involvement in the various therapies and spiritual practices assist in awakening?

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT WITH RONDA LARUE:

Matt Kahn

I am the kingdom that you seek,
the simple truth that words can't speak.
I am the Buddha's silent vow,
and every question asking how.
Within all shapes and in-between,
I am the space that rests unseen.
I am the spark engulfing mind,
the noticer, you'll never find.
With inquiry, you'll find what's true,
I am this breath that breathes as you.

I am the stars, I am the sky,
I am the life that cannot die.
I am this word that came and passed,
like a sound in time, that cannot last.
I am the now, I am what's here,
and every thought, that's seen so clear.
I am the love, I am the light,
I am the dark that's burning bright.
I am the grace, I am the heart,
I am what can't be pulled apart.
I am the trees, I am the birds,
I am the dream that reads these words.
I am the war, I am the peace,
and all resolve, when choices cease.
I am the joy, I am the dance,
of temporary circumstance.

I am the all, I am the one,
the truth that is, when all is done.
I am the life, just passing through,
and what remains - so, what are you?

Jennifer Salima Holt

Folks, have you ever tried to promo, produce, rehearse and blog your own live events? wow, time-consuming. but fun!!! i have so much passion and belief in the prisoners, and the ones who have found enlightenment, it brings tears to my eyes. i can't wait to bring these stories to the world at large. Please pass on the following if you know anyone in Minneapolis. Much love and salaams, jennifer salima

THREE EVENTS ON IMPRISONMENT AND ENLIGHTENMENT IN MINNEAPOLIS, MN
BOOK SIGNING: Magers & Quinn (3038 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis, 612-822-4611), Friday, Feb. 19, 7:30 pm, cost: free. Jennifer will read selections from her new book, Sacred Gateway of Grief and Loss: Freeing the Imprisoned Soul (Indigo Heart Publishing, 2009), based on her extraordinary experiences of leading grief and loss groups and sacred chanting in the prison system. She will also perform songs from her CD, Ecstatic Groove: Sacred World Chant Infusions , as a preview to her concert the following night.

MUSIC CONCERT/KIRTAN WITH JENNIFER SALIMA HOLT and FRIENDS