It Could be Vegas and it could be Varanasi.

Dog Poet Transmitting.......

“We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment.”

Katy said something over at the most recent Origami about how people are all stressed out about the coming trials and tribulations. Doubtless there will be some. I tend to agree with what her comment implies. All my preparations are about transforming myself into a better person. I am sorry it took so long but the terrain was seriously inhospitable and fraught with ambush and pitfalls, not to mention the occasional pratfall. Like we tend to believe here, it's not how you got there, it's whether you got there. We are, of course, defined by our intrinsic nature; to the degree that we allow it to hold sway. It is what it is. It could be Vegas and it could be Varanasi. It could be up and it could be down and it could be in and it could be out. The first verse, or chapter, or whatever they are called in The Way of Life by Lao Tzu says;

Existence is beyond the power of words
To define:
Terms may be used
But are none of them absolute.
In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,
Words came out of the womb of matter;
And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.
If name be needed, wonder names them both:
From wonder into wonder
Existence opens.


I am mostly focusing on this portion-

And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.


What does that mean? Think about it. To quote a Beatle; “Your inside is out and your outside is in.” Hmmm, indeed. It makes you think. It is judgments made on an imperfect knowledge of life that gets us into trouble and confusion. Spiritual purists think that everyone else is wrong and only they are right. Hedonists don't want to miss a moment of their temporary paradise in flesh. Mystics want a god that is not themselves but who can manifest or appear to or in them. Atheists want to be the sole authority. That's funny, given how very little they know. The reach of possible knowledge is like the oceans that surround us. Each of us are like cups and can contain only so much, then it overflows, which is a good thing, depending on what it is that is overflowing. There is nothing that the ineffable does not know, except what it chooses not to know. For instance; such as seeing us in our possibilities for improvement as well as our essential beauty and turning a blind eye to our failing, more often than we might think. It is not so much god who needs to forgive us as it is us who need to forgive ourselves. What makes the latter so much more difficult than it might be is our need to pass judgment on everything and everyone else. We all do it. It is a very hard habit to break, take it from me.

As complex as it can all seem, especially in these bewildering times, it is really quite simple. It comes down to one's level of commitment and what one is committed to. It comes down to intention and consistency of determination. Either you are in for the long haul or not and IT IS a long haul. In some cases, for those who need to keep coming back here millions of times, it is a very, very long haul. I couldn't do it. Or... have I done and just don't know? Somehow I don't think so.

How do you prepare for the looming shadow of world dysfunction? Do you turn into a squirrel? Do you go into packrat or magpie mode? Do you make sure you can afford whatever you need or want by having the funds to purchase them at whatever the cost? The thought crosses my mind but I am just not motivated that way. My existence is in other hands; saner and safer hands than my own. This is my area of preparation. If you are valuable to the ineffable then the ineffable looks at you as an investment and will protect it. Of course, we are all valuable but many of us have reduced our value. Rather than elaborate on that I will leave it for your reflection. As Lao Tzu also says;

Be utterly humble
And you shall hold to the foundation of peace.
Be at one with all these living things which, having arisen and flourished,
Return to the quiet whence they came,
Like a healthy growth of vegetation
Falling back upon the root.
Acceptance of this return to the root has been called 'quietism,'
Acceptance of quietism has been condemned as 'fatalism.'
But fatalism is acceptance of destiny
And to accept destiny is to face life with open eyes,
Whereas not to accept destiny is to face death blindfold.
He who is open-eyed is open-minded-
He who is open-minded is open-hearted,
He who is open-hearted is kingly,
He who is kingly is godly,
He who is godly is useful,
He who is useful is infinite,
He who is infinite is immune,
He who is immune is immortal.


I probably revere Lao Tzu more than any other luminous visitor here, except for Jesus Christ and of course, Krishna ...but I think they were pretty much the same. Lao Tzu's simplicity and integrity just breaks my heart with the purity and clarity of his voice. I consider being of service as the highest station I can aspire to. We don't all serve perfectly. Those so identified are very few and far between but however we may serve, it does not pass unnoticed and it all has an effect like Lao Tzu also said-

A man's work, however finished it seem,
Continues as long as he live;
A man, however perfect he seem,
Is needed as long as he live:
As long as truth appears falsity,
The seer a fool,
The prophet a dumb lout,
If you want to keep warm keep stirring about,
Keep still if you want to keep cool,
And in all the world one day no doubt
Your way shall be the rule.


Amen!

When I was very young, I used to take that great LSD and then sit for hours reading this book; the Witter Bynner translation of The Way of Life. I wanted to imprint it on my consciousness. In hindsight, it does not seem that I was really effective at that but... I tried (uh oh... sorry to say I have noticed a great deal of subjectivity in this posting, please forgive me.:).

If the world scorns you and is as dismissive as it usually is, when greeted with speaking of the one ...and if the organized religion bully boys hold you in contempt, then you are going the right way. Here's how it works. Some get all manner of honors and praise from the temporal establishment, to which they also give their fealty and allegiance. Some get next to nothing here but please remember, “as above so below”. That can mean a lot of things. It can mean that if you don't get it here, you get it somewhere and if you get it here you might not get it anywhere else. Of course, some of us aren't looking for it here or elsewhere. It is sufficient that we have done our duty. We all have duties, though we may be unaware of them and not even get anywhere near performing them. Am I my brothers keeper? Everyone answers that question in their own way.

Most of us do not look forward to the tests and trials that come our way in our journey through here. Yet each of us must admit that these things have shaped us into what we are. We are none of us what we were. We are all what we are and... that continues until all of the trappings and concealment's have been burned away in the crucible of experience. We only become what we already are in essence but we are all cloaked from ourselves and each other by the camouflage of what we are not. For some, the experience here is about even more concealment and artifice. It is the singular soul who is fully disenchanted with all of that and seeks only to know and be known as they truly are; 'to know, to will, to dare and to keep silence'. These are the powers of the Sphinx and some of us are Sphinxes; .“To attain the SANCTUM REGNUM, in other words, the knowledge and power of the Magi, there are four indispensable conditions--an intelligence illuminated by study, an intrepidity which nothing can check, a will which cannot be broken, and a prudence which nothing can corrupt and nothing intoxicate. TO KNOW, TO DARE, TO WILL, TO KEEP SILENCE--such are the four words of the Magus, inscribed upon the four symbolical forms of the sphinx.”

Well, as might be assumed by that, this sort of thing is not for dilettantes and weekend warriors. It's full on or it is not at all and there is that special feature all too often overlooked by those who put too much faith in and place too much importance on their own abilities. I will illustrate that with a personal anecdote (at the risk of being subjective again). Yesterday I was doing my workout, which I have been at with real zeal now for a month or two and yesterday I was not initially drawn to do it but then I noted I was doing it and that nothing was going to stop me from doing it and I said to myself, “Wow! I'm really committed to this.” Immediately a voice came into my mind and said, “No, I am really committed to this. You are just along for the ride.”

“Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey.”

Be well...


End Transmission.......

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