One Simple Change

Q. What is everywhere at once, always brings relief, and is your true identity?

A. Open intelligence!

There is a mind-shifting book I want

to tell you about. It's called

One Simple Change Makes Life Easy.

What's really great is you can download it

for free at www.greatfreedom.org

or if you prefer a hardcopy,

you can order it at Amazon!

This book is written by Candice O'Denver, founder of the Great Freedom Teachings . I can say from experience that this book will definitely put an end to your seeking!

Why is it so revolutionary?

In a nutshell, mankind has been ping ponging from one point of view to another and forgetting the "view". In One Simple Change, we are introduced to a simple practice of taking short moments until they become continuous. No matter how unpleasant the circumstances might be, one can always just take a short moment, stop thinking and let everything be as it is!

In doing this simple practice, you forget about your point of view for the moment and you embrace the total view; what Candice calls "Open Intelligence". In that moment, what is experienced is complete relief! And when one is fully committed to the practice of taking short moments, little by little one notices that the suffering is gone and that life has actually become fun! But don't take my word for it!

If you are serious about peace in your world, then I highly recommend this treasure! Listen to the first chapter now!

Enso: fullness/emptiness

The ultimate symbol of Zen art is the Enso, where an ink circle is brushed with just one stroke. This symbol represents fullness, yet it is empty. To be completely empty but perfectly aware is the experience of enlightenment. The squirrel is a perfect example of this state... he is free of concepts and is without concern. He is not searching for a better future. He is perfectly at ease in the present reality.

Another name for this space that includes everything could be 'squirrelove'. This space or presence is totally pure and not separate from anything. It is totally benevolent and fully aware. Listen below to the famous squirrel mystic of Sweden, Den Lilla Ekorren, as he sings his song that beautifully describes "squirrelove".

May all beings experience the purity of squirrelove that is their true essence!

It's OK to be Lazy! & No one is Guilty of anything!

Relax...

No matter what you do,

you can't be more of who you are!

Even if you think that you are flawed,

you are totally perfect and whole!

You have never been separate,

never abandoned,

never not completely taken care of.

Only a thought would tell you otherwise!

And if you put all your thoughts

in a big wicker basket

and look into it,

what do you see?

Absolutely nothing!

You have been upset over nothing!

It's all been a simple misunderstanding!

I love listening to this soothing talk

by Candice O'Denver called

"Guilt and Work"

And here's Mooji saying the same thing!

"Only from the heart

Can you touch the sky."

-Rumi

Relax...

Just bask in the light of wisdom awareness!

Everything is saturated with the light of pure love!

Do you have any idea how amazing you are?

No matter what is going on in your life,

you can, at any moment, just stop and rest!

Are you OK?

What do you experience?

Alertness!

Peace!

Spacious calm!

WOW!

Luminous awareness is the

basis of everything we think, feel, and see!

Without awareness nothing could be experienced!

Don't keep looking outside yourself!

You're it!

You are what you are looking for!

Listen to Candice O'Denver's satsang

in Rishikesh:

"Just Show Up"

Nothing Stops You from Being

An idea about what enlightenment is...

brings to mind ideas about

what we need to do

to be enlightened!

But there is nothing

between you and awareness!

The "searching" for it prevents you

from seeing what is already there.

                    Only

That Illumined One

Who keeps

Seducing the formless into form

Had the charm to win my

Heart.

Only a Perfect One

Who is always

Laughing at the word

Two

Can make you know

of

Love.

~Hafiz

There is nothing out of order!

WOW! There is no where you have to go

to become what you already are!

Wow! There is nothing you need to do

to BE what you already are!

WOW! You ARE that which you are looking for!

So...

Stop running and...

Nothing is Needed!

What is there between you and the core of your being?

 

You Were Brave in that Holy War

You have done well

In the contest of madness.

You were brave in that holy war.

You have all the honorable wounds

Of one who has tried to find love

Where the Beautiful Bird

Does not drink.

May I speak to you

Like we are close

And locked away together?

Once I found a stray kitten

And I used to soak my fingers

In warm milk;

It came to think I was five mothers

On one hand.

Wayfarer,

Why not rest your tired body?

Lean back and close your eyes.

Come morning

I will kneel by your side and feed you.

I will so gently

Spread open your mouth

And let you taste something of my

Sacred mind and life.

Surely

There is something wrong

With your ideas of

God.

O, surely there is something wrong

With your ideas of

God

If you think

Our Beloved would not be so

Tender.

~"The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the great Sufi Master"

translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Is Austin the New India?

Times are a changin'! It used to be you had to go to India to see cows in the streets. Not any more...

I invited a street person to sit with the cow on this busy street in downtown Austin. He is currently without work and told me about hopes for a possible gig as a roady.

Amazing to see the luxuriant decor of the cow in contrast to the poverty of this man. Makes you wonder how it will all shake out! The great thing is that our youth is interested in wholesome alternatives for change!

Here you see young people chanting, drumming, and toning crystal bowls to effect change on Wall Street!

Wow! I like the positive prophecy this young man is communicating with his poster: "THE BEGINNING IS NEAR" !

Here in Austin, Oneness Blessing events are open to everyone. Experience the bliss of knowing it's all part of the perfection of the Universe!

And look what we find at the other end of this same bridge...

Visit www.squirrelplanet.org for the schedule of public blessings and be the change you want to see in the world!

Just Rest

Remember the Nike slogan "JUST DO IT"?

What about the opposite... "JUST REST" ?

In the Dzogchen teachings of Longchenpa, listen to the amazing

soothing quality of this quote from "Old Man Basking in the Sun":

Just resting here, there is constant spontaneity;

just resting naturally, no one contrives anything;

unseeking, staying just as we are,

nonaction is revealed as supreme activity;

and realizing that, we abandon deliberate acts,

doing nothing, we stay with the zing of reality!

Whoever rests in things just as they are

attains infallible uncontrived perfection.

What is real is our unerring, uncontrived nature

and reality is its infallible essence:

there is no 'buddhahood', only reality just as it is.

Just like after completing some exertion...

like potting a plant,

going for a walk,

doing the laundry;

I feel the soothing, palpable experience of doing nothing.

just sitting...

thoughts or not...

like a warm blanket on a cold night~

the luxuriant feeling of perfect well-being...

This spaciousness is always available!

IT IS WHAT YOU ARE!!!

Simply a Misunderstanding!

All that has happened is a misperception of reality.

We have taken ourselves to be very small.

We are not the points of view we have attached to...

we are the space that includes all points of view!

Good news! A shift in perception is available in every moment!

Just stop, take a moment and rest... don't think.

In that moment, you are that which you are seeking.

Peace is here now; it just needs to recognize itself!

Listen below, as Candice O'Denver

discusses what it takes to have

a peaceful planet:

Basic Awareness Part 1 - 9.16.09 from Balanced View Candice on Vimeo.

Listen to this free download of

Candice's new book:

World Peace ~Yes We Can!

All Hail to the Harmony of Mind and Nature

"Timeless spontaneity,

forever present, is created by no one;

it is the pure mind that like a wish-fulfilling gem

is the origin of all samsara and nirvana.

Every experience, whatever it may be,

is the uncontrived triad of essence, nature and compassion,

the display of pure being, enjoyment and magical emanation;

since samsara and nirvana are the three-dimensional matrix of pure mind,

spontaneously perfect in uncontrived hyper-sameness,

samsara is not to be rejected here, nor nirvana attained.

All evaluation silenced, we abide at the heart of reality

where every experience is pure mind,

and timeless spontaneity is disclosed as the key.

Homage to the sole nature of mind, the seed of all and everything,

to the mind that creates the sense of existence and release from it,

to the mind that fulfills all our desires like a wish-fulfilling gem!"

~various excepts from Longchempa's Treasury of Natural Perfection

"All hail to the harmony of mind and nature"

A Yum Hunab Ku, Evam Maya E Ma Ho

A Yum Hunab Ku, Evam Maya E Ma Ho

A Yum Hunab Ku, Evam Maya E Ma Ho

~Mayan mantra~

Innumerable aeons ago

some ati-yogins with good fortune and karmic connection,

with faith in me, the supreme source, and in my total presence,

perceived that there was no view to cultivate, no commitment to keep,

no ideal conduct to strive in, no path to tread,

no climbing spiritual levels, no karmic cause and effect,

no duality of ultimate and relative truth,

and nothing to cultivate in meditation,

and seeing that there was no mind to develop and no remedy

they saw the nature of my mind:

this revelation is necessary for those like them!

~from Longchempa's Treasury of Natural Perfection

Luminous Being Shining Through

No matter what phenomena arise...

the pleasantness of visiting a friend,

the sting of fire ants biting my foot,

being in a hurry while standing in a long line at the store,

feeding pecans to the squirrels at the trail,

or enjoying a good book;

the luminosity of the basic state

shines through every experience.

The same Grace is present

regardless of the circumstances!

I am pure mind, the supreme source:
realize my nature
and all events that occur, whatever they may be,
shall be revealed as nothing other than me.

~ Old Man Basking in the Sun: Longchenpa's Treasury of Natural Perfection

Cosmic Squirrel Man

First there was MAN.

Then there was COSMIC MAN:

VAST

CLEAR

EMPTY

ordinary MIND.

Now there is... COSMIC SQUIRREL MAN!

LIMITLESS

PURE

SPACIOUS

extraordinary MIND!

Rest in the mind of squirrelkind. It's your true nature! Gazing into the eyes of a little squirrel, I find myself. How funny... no one is there!

Just love

Check out the wonderful mahamudra meditation to clarify your mind:

http://mahamudraofmarpa.blogspot.com/2010/10/third-yoga-spark.html

Nothing is Missing

Have you ever noticed that what you have IS what you want?

This may take a little contemplation. Just notice. Where the stress comes in is in our story that we want something different or better than what we have. But just let yourself take in exactly what you have... how awesome is that? For example, take the video below. How often do you get to watch a squirrel performing in the middle of a soccer field?

Everytime we look for something other than what is present, we miss the abundance that is ours right here, right now! Check it out for yourself. There is absolutely nothing missing in this moment. So if you're looking for enlightenment... guess what? Where could it be except right where you are? Only in attaching to a belief that says you're not enlightened can you miss your true self: enlightened awareness!

So just stop and rest. Nothing is missing. Rest in the love that you are!

Old Squirrel Basking in the Sun

There is a luminous book by the title

Old Man Basking in the Sun.

It is Longchen Rabjampa's Treasury of Natural Perfection.

Please find below an amazing excerpt from

the translator's introduction.

I could not resist inserting the word "squirrel" in the title, since the squirrel has

definitely mastered the art of relaxation!

"In Dzogchen, there is no fall from grace and there never has been a fall from grace...

...the golden age lies just beneath an insubstantial, fragile surface of dualistic belief!"

So stay here, you lucky people,

Let go and be happy in the natural state.
Let your complicated life and everyday confusion alone
And out of quietude, doing nothing, watch the nature of mind.
This piece of advice is from the bottom of my heart:
Fully engage in contemplation and understanding is born;
Cherish non-attachment and delusion dissolves;
And forming no agenda at all reality dawns.
Whatever occurs, whatever it may be, that itself is the key,
And without stopping it or nourishing it, in an even flow,
Freely resting, surrendering to ultimate contemplation,
In naked pristine purity we reach consummation. (p. xxvii)

http://www.keithdowman.net/dzogchen/old_man_basking_in_the_sun.htm