‘Choiceless’ awareness is a term sometimes used by spiritual teachers to speak about a state where we appear to be doing something without having ‘chosen’ to do it.Far from limiting our personal freedom, this ‘having no choice’ is generally experienced as blissful. MORE...
Well, you've arrived at the growthbooks blog. Fun, huh? This is the most personal corner of growthbooks, where I muse about everything from the meaning of life to changing nappies and running a bookstore! Honestly, though, I do love to write- and read - inspiring words. My sincere hope is that as I share my journey here, it will reflect something of your journey... And we may even have an opportunity to grow a little together.
Archive for May, 2008
The Cry of Freedom There is a river of thought-waves. Everyone is being washed downstream. Everyone is clinging to these thoughts and being washed away. Just give rise to the single thought “I want to be free.” This thought will rarely come out of the entire population. The entire population of the planet is moving downstream. They are not destined to give rise to the thought “I want to be enlightened in this very span of time.” So I call this thought of freedom going against the stream and toward the source. It does not require any effort to give rise to this thought. The thought “I want to be free” is itself free. This thought will take you to freedom. It is the most rare thought. MORE...
Giving Darshan Dying people have the power to heal the rest of us in unusual ways. Years afterwards, many people can remember what a dying person has said to them and carry it with them through their lives. Perhaps dying people give a sort of darshan to the rest of us in the same way that spiritual teachers do. The practice of darshan is very moving. The guru sits before his disciples and throws out a shower of small pieces of candy and glazed fruits, symbolic of the wisdom of his enlightened state. The students who catch the candies eat them and incorporate the sweetness of the guru's wisdom into themselves. The darshan we eat is woven into our fabric as it were and becomes a part of who we are. MORE...