Nothing Is Lacking

Celebration of Awakening ~ Dec.21st,2012 ~ Austin, Texas

     We are just on the other side of the big astronomical event... the shift of the ages...  the end of a 26,000 year cycle on the Mayan calendar and the beginning of a new age...  The Golden Age!

     And what are you noticing? Perhaps it is similar to waking up from a very long sleep... a gradual coming to the senses... a waking up to the clarity and beauty of what has always already been here!  It's just that now we are starting to notice!   

We are beginning to notice that there is nothing lacking!

We are beginning to notice that it's all LOVE!

We are beginning to understand the Mayan greeting: 

"In Lak'ech" which means "I am another yourself!"

    

Maybe, just maybe, we are beginning to catch up

 with the wisdom of the little squirrels!

Here is a quote from Mooji's beautiful book

 Writing on Water:

"Why do you require so much

before you will allow

yourself to simply rest as BEING.

Discard this checklist

for enlightenment.  It is only

the mind's concoction to cheat you out

of the peace you already are."

Nothing to Worry About

Sweet Pea at the edge of the unknown!

What can be said about the unknown?  Squirrels face it when they leave their cozy nest. People face it when a job ends or a loved one dies.  And everyone faces it when the body dies. Of course one doesn't have to die to go there. 

Isn't it what we all face upon awakening?

 Then what is the discomfort about really? Is it just the fear of the unfamiliar? Or is it the fear of disappearing into nothing?  What if dissolving into nothing is the only way we can fully experience total bliss? Perhaps it is as exciting as being able to travel unencumbered, millions of miles through space, just witnessing the expanse of what we truly are!  That sounds pretty good to me...

A woman posted this today on Facebook: a conversation between Byron Katie and a friend:

Friend:  Everything I know can be summarized in this one sentence: 'God alone is the doer'.
Katie: Well, leave out 'the doer'.  It's more true.
Leave out 'alone', it's more true.
Leave out 'God', it's more true.
Leave out 'is' and you really have the truth.

LIsten to MIndy Smith's beautiful description of this exquisite 'falling' into the safety of LOVE~ 

Letting Go

Sweet Pea and Bucky in the release cage

Today is the day I open the door of Bucky and Sweet Pea's release cage.  Today is all about letting go,  being free, allowing the freedom to be,  stepping into the unknown!

In Mooji's book, Breath of the Absolute, he says, 
"You don't realize that everything you are afraid to let go of is nothing!  It only figures big in your mind!  The apparent gap between yourself and Reality is only the distance of a concept.  If it is hurting too much to let go, then don't; instead try something softer:  Take a look at why you are holding on." If even this is too hard for you, find out who is giving up and who is holding on?


Peeking out....

Ahhhh..... what is difficult about releasing these squirrel angels?  Just thoughts...   "they're not ready"...  "they may not make a warm enough nest"...    "they won't be able to stay out of the rain"...   "they won't be able to steer clear of predators".... and on and on.
In some ways, being the mother of a squirrel is more challenging than being the mother of a human:  at least human children call to let you know they are safe and warm. Perhaps the lesson we learn from our squirrel children is the art of silent communication, otherwise known as squirrel telepathy!
To inquire within and just know when they need something;
when to hold on vs. let go;
and when they are doing just fine!

Exploring outside the cage

And surely every parent wants their child to be happy and free...  to really enjoy life and live it fully!

And to live fully as a squirrel includes ~

... the glory of resting in the uppermost branches of a tall tree

... the instinct to run from predators

... the knowledge of building a warm and weather-proof nest

... foraging for food and storing some for later

... birthing more squirrel angels onto the earth.

Let's explore again... tomorrow!

So let me answer Mooji's final question:

Who is holding on?

Who is afraid to let go?

No one!

No one is letting go of nothing.

Nothing's happening...

JUST LOVE!

What Could Be Better Than That?

Mr.Nut: My morning inspiration!

Coffee and cream
Squirrel of my dreams
Just another day of
"Not what it seems"
It's all upside down,
So let go of your frown....
   What could be better than that?

I used to be sad
And then I found out
I was projecting
All my self-doubt!
I gave up the war
Within and without...
   What could be better than that?

I got me a squirrel
He taught me to play
Squirreluminosity
Every day!
I follow his lead 
And he shows me the Way!
   What could be better than that?

Coffee and cream
Squirrel of my dreams
Just another day of 
"Not what it seems!"
It's all upside down
So let go of your frown...
   What could be better than that?

I'm just a squirrel

And so are you

You say you need fixin'

Is that really true?

What if we're perfect 

With nothin' to do...

   What could be better than that?

They talk about heaven
They say it's a place
But what if it's
Wearin' a smile on your face
With plenty of love
For the whole human race!
   What could be better than that?

Coffee and cream
Squirrel of my dreams
Just another day of 
"Not what it seems"
Love is so big that
It's burstin' my seams!
   What could be better than that?

I sit with my squirrel
We wrestle and play
Juicy squirrel happiness
Every day!
There's nothin' but love
What more can I say?
   What could be better than that?

There's nothing but love
So go out and play!
   And there's nothin' better than that!

   NO, there's nothin' better than that!

   I'm sure nothin's better than that!

The Mind of a Squirrel

It says in the Ashtavakra Gita that the mind of the man seeking liberation can find no resting place within, but that the mind of a squirrel is always free from desire by the very fact of being without a resting place!

The squirrels have no "self" interest... they are completely in service to the One Heart.  I am convinced that the squirrels are here to teach us the Way of Love! They are the pure ones that teach by example!

Perhaps this is why the squirrels are the saviours of the universe! My friend, the Swedish mystic, Den Lilla Ekorren shares this wisdom in his video:

  

Long before the earth was born the squirrels ruled the cosmos... so perfect in their holiness, serentiy and bliss!
And now the world has gone astray in forest deep and dark but guided by the rodent stars, we wake up to the sunrise!
Squirrels are the saviours of the Universe!
                                                         by Den Lilla Ekorren

So why not adopt a squirrel guru? It is the most sure way to realization! Here is a photo of Mr.Nut's guru, Sri Nuttynanda~ 

Thank you to Den Lilla Ekorren for this awesome picture!

Mr.Nut says, "Just be like a squirrel and enjoy yourself!  He says, "Glorious is he who has abandoned all goals and is the incarnation of satisfaction, his very nature, and whose inner

focus on the Unconditional is quite spontaneous.

How Wonderful It Is

From the Ashtavakra Gita:

I am not the body, nor is the body mine. I am not a living being. I am consciousness. It was my thirst for living that was my bondage.

"Truly it is in the limitless ocean of myself, that stimulated by the colourful waves of the worlds everything suddenly arises in the wind of consciousness.

"How wonderful it is that in the limitless ocean of myself the waves of living beings arise, collide, play and disappear, according to their natures.

"All this wells up like waves in the sea. 

Recognising, "I am That",

why run around like someone in need?"

No Such Thing as Suffering

"Just as waves, foam and bubbles are not different from water, so all this
 that has emanated from oneself, is no other than oneself."  ~Ashtavakra Gita

The dream of the world can be very convincing
at times... but only because we believe it is real.
We know what it is to wake up from sleep.
Now it's time to wake up from
 the waking dream!

The great thing about the truth
is that by just hearing it,
it can set you free.
Recognize the truth in 
Candice O'Denver's transmission:

Affliction - 6.28.12 from Balanced View Candice on Vimeo.


"There are no rituals you have to go through.
There are no prayers you have to chant.
You simply have to awaken to your true nature,
Pure Awareness,
Nirvana,
Bliss,
Consciousness.
This is what you are right at this moment.

~from Silence of the Heart by Robert Adams

Squirrels never left paradise.

Just Stop Thinking

Freedom is always available... 

and every squirrel lives this way!

It sounds so easy... just stop thinking for a moment

and allow whatever is happening. Just rest!

Watch this video clip from Barfly.  The bartender 

gives great advice to Charles Bukowski (Mickey Rourke).

Wisdom is everywhere!

 To paraphrase Byron Katie, 

"If you put all your thoughts in a big wicker basket

 and look inside, what do you see?

You see a big basket of....

NOTHING!"

"All evolution is a process of making something

out of nothing."

-George Bernard Shaw

Innocence

Whenever we look at the sweet little faces

 of baby animals, our hearts just melt!  

What is it about innocence that is so attractive? 

  Perhaps it's the authenticity of an action 

without any contrivance that touches our heart!

  Watch this precious prairie dog. He 

beautifully exemplifies innocence!   

  

Mahatma Gandhi has said: 

"The greater our innocence, 

the greater our strength and the swifter 

our victory."

You probably remember the song, "Return to Innocence" by the group Enigma.  They borrowed this song from the Amis  tribe in Taiwan. The author is Difang, an elder that was named a national treasure of Taiwan.  He died in 2002 at 81 years of age. Difang and his wife Igay comprised the
 folk music duet that performed the original chant: 

In innocence you transcend the mind, 
and to transcend the mind is to
become the awakened one,
the enlightened one.


~OSHO

Just Enjoy the Ride

When I came back to Austin from India in 2006, I went to the trail to go for a run.  I had run every day for the last 30 years and thought this day would be like every other. 

But it wasn't.

"It" didn't want to run.  Very much like Forrest Gump in New Mexico with the mesas behind him...  he turned to his followers and said, "I'm tired. I'm gonna go home now."

This song describes this experience perfectly: 

 

Being Nothing... You Are Everything

Have you noticed how abundant the sources of nondual writings, satsangs, books, videos, etc.

that are available today?

Here are a few gems I found...

You live among illusions and in the world of apparitions.

But there is a reality.  You yourself are this reality,

but you don't know this.  

If you awaken to this reality you will see

that you are nothing

and being nothing you are everything.

-Kalu Rinpoche

This is exactly what my baby squirrel has been
 trying to show me all along!

Love is Not Two

When someone we love dies, leaves, moves out of our physical sphere....  we feel a lot of emotion.  Some call it sadness, heartache, grief, depression.

But what if...   it's just love? 

Another flavor of the One?   

Love can't be divided up into parts.

Love is one with everything.

Love includes all circumstances, emotions,

 feelings, and thoughts.

There is nothing that is not love.

Love is what holds the cosmos together.


If you've never seen the movie Griffin and Phoenix, 
I totally recommend seeing this love story.
It is a brilliant example of a couple's realization that love includes everything... 
even death.

 

 For a person who has realized this,

 all the labeling drops away and 

all that's left is love....  

it's all love and it's always been all love.

The only difference is now there's no more attempts to separate something out of the One and compare it, resist it or manipulate it. There's no doer to do any of that! That's why the awakened ones are so radiant! There's just no longer anyone to stop 

all that love shining through!

Not Two

If one could just remember the words, "Not two!"
in the midst of any unpleasant experience,
one could be saved from a lot of confusion and unnecessary struggle.


"Not two" is the meaning of the term 'nondual'.  It means that everything is part of the One... it's all part of the whole.  And to separate something out and label it as bad or something we must get rid of is the path of suffering!

Like Byron Katie says... "when you argue with reality, you lose, but only 100% of the time!"  


Think about it... if it's all part of the One, then you really couldn't get rid of anything because where would you put it? Anything outside of the One is still the One!  


Now if we substitute the term "God" for the One, we would see that God is everything and there is nothing that is not God! Wow! That puts a new spin on things!


No matter what happens, it is all part of God!  That means that there is nothing that is not good!  What we have is nonduality!


It's a great time to be on the planet because people are waking up to this realization all over the globe! It's 2012 and it's time everyone woke up from the dream of duality!  It started back in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve started to view paradise in terms of good and evil!  And we've had war ever since! Let's get on with it! Just a shift in perception to see that without the filter of duality, we are all as we are.... perfect.

All Things are Sacred

Each thing reveals the One,

the One manifests as all things.

To live in this Realization

is not to worry about perfection or non-perfection.

To put your trust in the Heart-Mind is to live 

without separation,

and in this non-duality you are one

with your Life-Source.

                                                                                                                            ~from the Third Zen Patriarch 


What is the One thing?
I call it squirrelove.... see for yourself!

Never underestimate the power of a baby squirrel

to open your heart!

The Trusting Mind

What could be better than love?

Nothing!

Well guess what?

There's nothing but love!

And it's my job to recognize that!

That's what my little friends here

are teaching me.

They are totally vulnerable,

live in the moment, 

and are totally free!

more from Hsin Hsin Ming by Seng-T'san:

" One thing, all things,

move among and intermingle without distinction.

To live in this realization

is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.

To live in this faith is the road to non-duality,

because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

Words!

The Way is beyond language,

for in it there is

no yesterday

no tomorrow

no today."

  Certainly Seng-T'san must have been 

observing baby squirrels!

The Space of Love

Whatever appears in the moment

is for my awakening!

Seng-ts'an, the Third Chinese Patriarch said: 

"The Great Way is not difficult for those not attached to preferences.

When neither love nor hate arises,

all is clear and undisguised.

Separate by the smallest amount, however,

and you are as far from it as heaven is from earth.

If you wish to know the truth,

then hold to no opinions for or against anything.

To set up what you like against what you dislike

is the disease of the mind."

Even the slightest preference results 

in separation.  If I prefer one moment over another,

one emotional state over another,

one thought over another, or

one set of circumstances over another,

then I have lost my equanimity. 

I have entered the divisive world of comparison!

It's all equal!  It's all God!  It's all love!

If I'm feeling sadness and I label my experience:

"I am missing Bucky",

then I am not being present with myself! 

I have abandoned me!  No wonder I feel sad!

I've left my sweet self and preferred

a different reality with someone else.

In essence, I am saying, "This reality I'm experiencing

with myself isn't good enough!"

And that's the lie!

This reality is perfect.  Who I am, love-awareness, is

perfect with or without someone else present.

My well being is not dependent on anything external.

I am that which includes everything...
The Space of Love!

Every time I think some other place 

is where I want to be...

I miss where I am!

Right here... right now...

I am home!

Can I just rest in this?

 

"When no discriminating attachment arises,

the old mind ceases to exist!"

~3rd Patriarch