"it is more of a seeing than a looking. the flash of recognition is always a momentary thing-a turning of a moment into another as in sighing. the glimpse of a sparkle on a shiny surface. the smell of a place; the taste and texture of a thought, the point between the breath's coming in and its going out. a quick somethingness--it eludes the fixed gaze, leaving only an impression. These are the moments we say need 'seizing' if we are to ride the wind. something cautions us: do not go looking for clouds in the closet. you'll not find youor shoes in the sky. the trick of grabbing the wind is sort of a personal exploration for me."

-andy curry

Consciousness is a state in which a man knows all at once everything that he in general knows and in which he can see how little he does know and how many contradictions there are in what he knows.

-Ouspensky's Gurdjieff

my thinking mind is a perfect slave and a lousy master*i am watching he-who-speaks

i am watching they-who-listen*i am watching thinking*thoughts are clouds*

the entire process from inside this place is always calm a place in which the flame never flickers.

and as i learn to live in this eternally calm place it gets

deeper and deeper and calmer and calmer

wiser and wiser and lighter and lighter

and i am more love and i become more and more like the sun

just the process of calming, centering

centering, calming

extricating myself from the drama***

This doesn't mean i'm lying in bed doing nothing

*that's drama*

as much as this web page is drama

(and probably even moreso than the "book" in the original quote)

                                 -Ram Dass

Austerity is practiced so that one may gain freedom from the confusion of everyday life. The more you have, the more you need. The less you have, the less you need... Spiritual aspirants today don't want to practice austerity. They want to realize God while living in their cozy homes, having their mystical visions between wine and cheese parties. Austerities are good for you- they make your mind strong and help you develop your inner strength. Its something we need because our culture has made our minds so soft. We are weak and vulnerable.

-Bhagavan Das

If a man gives way to all his desires, or panders to them, there will be no inner struggle, no 'friction', no fire. But, if for the sake of some definite aim, he struggles with desires that hinder him, he will then create a fire which will gradually transform his inner world into a single whole.

-Ouspensky's Gurdjieff

linkages from r. owen j.

• a deposit in the bank of the endless from big mountain
• joanna macy sums it all up
• gifts from nature mystic swami nirmalanda
• an image to pondercourtesy of Jose Arguelles
• sufi tales from indries shah
  
  to the outside (a valid distinction?)
• Zen Story site compiled by Rider U. prof.
• Yoga Research Center
• Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Page

from 'be here now'-- ram dass

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