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Ah, yes, SATAN - the great fear monger. How many things have been done in the name of God, but were actually done in the name of ego-centricity, and therefore, Satan. Satan is an externalized, or projected image of what is within - this is basic psychology, and Satan is no more than "me", ...

Interesting question. I would suggest that ultimately, the very asking “oneself” is the problem. So long as I maintain “myself” as opposed to “another”, there will be miscreants and nasty little men in my life. Nasty little men give “meaning to my life”, however unpleasant some of those moments in m...

I'd like to suggest that an important distinction needs to be made when we discuss who and what God is, and who and what we as creatures of God, are. It is all too easy to slip the ego into the definition of God, thereby projecting our ego-centricity onto God, and sometimes, onto God’s numerous grea...

Firstly, please understand that I did not mean to suggest that anyone be embarrassed by her search. The red face I included was to reflect my own “embarrassed” position as I realize my ignorance along the path. Throughout my own personal journey, I have always been somewhat chagrined at my past igno...

Jenjulian: Important point: there is really no conflict between God is all, and the ego is illusion, and therefore not real. God is ALSO the illusion! If God is all, then everything, including illusion, is God. To affirm anything other than that, is to affirm that there are corners of the universe w...

I know of the fear to which jenjulian refers, for I have lived it, and it can be almost paralyzing. It certainly colors our lives if not understood, and not accepted as the inevitability of misunderstanding of who and what we are. Perhaps approaching it from another angle will help to illuminate whe...

You are not the only one to question what is meant by surrender. This seems to be a hard nut to get one’s teeth into. By surrender, I mean to give into the obvious fact that “I don’t know” -- how to fix this, what I need, what I am, what I believe, what I know. It is, in fact, a recognition that the...

Someone asked me what we personally had done in our own life to affect a change in our consciousness, besides reading and meditating and all the many spiritual exercises and "sports" that the seeker encounters on her path. I realized suddenly, in response to that inquiry, that we actually ...

I left out of my original suggestion at the inception of this topic, that, even when surrendering oneself to a teacher, or teacher, it is important to retain one's discrimination. We are indiscriminate in much that we do, we fail to observe and dissect what we observe, but instead fling ourselves in...

Ah, well said, jenjulian. Your analysis of Lewis is to my mind, exact and right on. And your leap to the conclusion from that, to knowing God is not an intellectual exercise (although intellectual exercise may bring you to that realization), is again, right on. Looks to me as though you already know...

However, with that said, let me add this. It seems to me that no group or any teacher or teaching will in and of itself, “save” us from ourselves, by doing it FOR us. That is the work each seeker must do herself, by herself, in her own way and time, albeit with guidance and pointers to the correct d...

Jenjulian: Most certainly a group of people can be a guru. What is guru anyway? It is "teacher", or "teaching". EVERYTHING in life is a teacher, were we only to approach it so. Some of my best teachers in my life have been simple country folk, who lay no claim to spiritual wisdom...

Lovely, lovely story! And nice symbolism throughout. The little seed is loveable, and so vulnerable! Thank God for the rain, no? Thanks for sharing it with us.

Seems to me that the answer is yes to both questions. :) I recall about 30 years ago reading J. Krishnamurtis' book, and really slogging through it, not grasping much of it. About 15 years later, reading it again, and being surprised that I found it such hard reading before. Indeed, there have been ...

Having thrown myself at the feet of both living, and dead “Gurus”, from the little known to the accepted religious icons, I have come to the conclusion that their necessity to the spiritual process is more one of stripping away rather than adding to, the aspirant's process. By Guru, I mean the word ...