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!