Minimalism... (with Arvo Part)

Spiegel im Spiegel for Cello and Piano (Arvo Part)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZe3mXlnfNc&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2SYzxHR5QaxtJ-kU4RLd17yg_TpUHpEyBhHdH9N3PG175nyfZzTe7gqJ4


"You cannot direct the wind -- but you can adjust your sail." ~ Arvo Pärt

"Simplicity is the final achievement."-Fryderyk Chopin.

After twenty five years of acquaintance with the mature fruits of this stylistic reduction we take Pärt’s music almost for granted; but we should not forget the vale of tears through which he had to walk before he resolved to apply the principles of tintinnabulation. This is how Pärt words his new creed: I have discovered that it is enough to beautifully play this one and only tone. It is not a mere declaration but a strong expression of radicalism and determination. Interpreters of his music find this radical simplicity everything but facilitating. Here, to play “beautifully” means to play perfectly — disarmingly simple notation becomes a source of irritation rather than help (remember the image of the desert). Hence the natural reaction of musicians who, on seeing a score like this, often expect they will be able to play the composition straight from the notes. The usual result of such an approach is a painful awakening (my own attempts to use the piece Für Alina for beginners’ piano classes were a complete failure…). (Excerpt from below...) Arvo Part...Radiating from silence (tintinnabulation)
https://www.arvopart.ee/en/arvo-part/article/radiating-from-silence/

NYT..on Minimalism
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/arts/music/10mini.html

Branka Parlic plays Philip Glass 06 Madrush
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA5CEeFBn3M

Philip Glass: American Four Seasons with Robert McDuffie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LcasnqryU4

Where we come from..?

Where do we come from..?

A question often heard
Which reflects our conditioning
In assuming we come from
Some..place..
So..when we Realize where 
We come from..we have also
Realized that the question lies 
In ashes from the fire of the
Abundant Source...








Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings
but contemplate their return.
If you don't realize the source,
you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.
Chuang Tzu

Self knowing

Self knowing

We speak 
Of the small self
And the large Self..
With attention to the 
Capitalization of Self..

However..the Truth
For our grasping is:
There is only one Self
Capitalized or not..

We refer to our Self when
We use our most
Intimate name: 
Which is "I"..

Small self is "I" which
Seems clouded with the
Transitory and colorful
Things of our day..

Also this: ..each entity
Of creation..deer..frogs
Trees..share in identifying
As this Wondrous Self...!!



Rupert Spira:  "I Am" is Awareness's Knowledge of Itself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcc7N_Vfh_k

Resurrection is Now

Resurrection is Now

There is only Now..
In searching for Now
We are looking for
That which we 
Already Are.. 
Which is hidden by 
The search itself..
Ending the search is
Resurrection...






Make peace with the universe.
Take joy in it.
It will turn to Gold.
Resurrection will be Now.
Every moment, a new beauty.
~ Rumi

In Each Note

In Each Note

The Fruitful experience in life
Is when attention is confined
To an immediate movement
In what seems our time and space..

This is the coloration of Now
The focal experience as
Our minds attempt to attract 
Attention elsewhere..

Each note of the symphony
Contains the possibility of
Joy in our recognition of
That which is Eternal...







Thought for the day....... "Spirituality is seeded, germinates, spouts and blossoms in the mundane. It is to be found and nurtured in the smallest of daily activities." Thomas Moore

The Daily Quote from Rupert Spira, 28th January 2020
At the heart of experience, there is a fire that burns all we know. Offer everything to that fire. What remains – the ashes of love – is that for which we have longed all our life.

Suffering

Suffering

Conditioning histories
Our illusory small self:
These histories reflect
Beliefs of separation 
Settled..unquestioned..

Our histories record
Resistance to arisings in
Our assumed world..
Yet~~
Resistance is suffering
And a wake-up call:
Please look elsewhere for
Your Already Identity...

Risk

Risk 

Our small self
The illusory one
Finds risk in what
Threatens as demise..
Demise from glimpses
Of a Self not confined
As most life stories 
Insist we must be..
Fearing to grasp
What glimpses reveal
Keeps things stable
Until the next glimpse
Enters our view..


Thought for the day....... "Paths and movements cannot transport you into Reality, because their function is to enmesh you within the dimensions of knowledge, while the Reality prevails prior to it." Nisargadatta Maharaj 

This Instant

“Enlightenment is not something that occurs in the future, after 50 years of sitting cross-legged and saying “OM.” It is right here, in this instant. The reason you’re not experiencing this state of total peace and timelessness is because it is being resisted. It is being resisted because you are trying to control the moment. If you let go of trying to control your experience of the moment, and if you constantly surrender it like a tone of music, then you live on the crest of this exact always-ness. Experience arises like a note of music. The minute you hear a note, it’s already passing away. The instant you’ve heard it, it’s already dissolving. So every single moment is dissolving as it arises. Let go of anticipating the next moment, trying to control it, trying to hang on to the moment that has just passed. Let go clinging to what has just occurred. Let go trying to control what you think is about to occur. Then you live in an infinite space of non-time and non-event. There is an infinite peace beyond description. And you are home.”
― David R. Hawkins, Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender

Brain Filter

Brain filter
This is the conclusion
Of a technical pursuit
A scientific view of
The nature of our Self..

Brain as filter
Connecting us to
The infinite..
Yet we observe that
In this view
The brain remains
An object as your
Fingernail or front door..

So it seems
We await a dawning
Which is the knowing of
Our brains as appearances
Of the infinite
Among many appearances
In our on-going dream...

Study of reality

Study of reality

Mind and reality..
I..in here..see out there..
If we eliminate
Here and there
We are left with I..
Which is frightful
To most who quickly
Befriend once more
A treasured
Here and there...








Thought for the day....... “If you use your mind to study reality, you will understand neither reality nor the mind. If you study reality without using your mind, you will understand both.” Bodhidarma

In or Out

In or Out

in progress



The Daily Quote from Rupert Spira, 24th January 2020
There are two possible responses to suffering: one, to go outwards seeking relief in an object, substance, activity, relationship or state; two, to go inwards to the core of our being. The former may bring temporary relief, but the latter is the abode of lasting peace and happiness.

Transfiguration

Transfiguration

This scriptured event
Is our common experience..
We stand alone
On the mountaintop 
Knowing our Self..
With due respect to our
Teachers standing on our
Left and on our Right..
Standing alone births
The Freedom introduced
By teachers remembered 
But only really known
As we stand alone...



Below is an earlier version
(February 4th, 2018):

transfiguration

this biblical happening
may seem extraordinary..
a spectacular story
which we hear once again..

yet we only experience
here and now..
time and happenings
are thoughts and images
within here and now..

this gospel writer
attempted to acquaint us
with here and now
using words of immediacy..but
language limits his and our
expression of truth..

so we consult our experience:
we are on that meeting with our
life teachers on either side
here and now..
our own wholeness shines
our white clothing dazzles..
we discover..as most ordinary
the true self of you and you
and you and I..


https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+9%3A2-9&version=NRSV

Upside Down Thinking

This is significant contribution to the paradigm shift underway
in science, which replaces the old materialist (dualistic) paradigm
with a new one, the Consciousness (non dual) paradigm.  The book
is significant because of the clear and concise language used by
Mr. Gober in presenting this crucial topic.  He is not a scientist
or philosopher, as he says, but has an exceptional capacity for 
explanation to those of us who also do not claim such backgrounds..!
Thanks to Mr. Gober for this gift..!   CC


Amazon summary:

Consciousness creates all material reality. Biological processes do not create consciousness. This conceptual breakthrough turns traditional scientific thinking upside down. In An End to Upside Down Thinking, Mark Gober traces his journey – he explores compelling scientific evidence from a diverse set of disciplines, ranging from psychic phenomena, to near-death experiences, to quantum physics. With cutting-edge thinkers like two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Ervin Laszlo, Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences Dr. Dean Radin, and New York Times bestselling author Larry Dossey, MD supporting this thesis, this book will rock the scientific community and mainstream generalists interested in understanding the true nature of reality. Today’s disarray around the globe can be linked, at its core, to a fundamental misunderstanding of our reality. This book aims to shift our collective outlook, reshaping our view of human potential and how we treat one another. The book’s implications encourage much-needed revisions in science, technology, and medicine. General readers will find comfort in the implied worldview, which will impact their happiness and everyday decisions related to business, health and politics. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time meets Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now.


Videos:

Conversation:  Mark Gober with Barry Kibrick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFhInXQx018

Mark Gober--Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgNDr56gM-A

Inkling

Inkling

An instant truth
Shines and departs..
And then is expressed as
Subject and object..
Which falls short in
Capturing the shining..
But this glimpse
Without words 
Lingers and lightens...

We have Names

We have Names

Which are Names
Naming all things..
And we are free
To choose our Names..

Basho chooses:
Flower and Moon..
Everything is beauty
And named Flower..and
Everything is truth
And named Moon.. 

What would be
Your 2 choices...? 


“There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;
there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.”

― Matsuo Basho

Hiatus

Hiatus

A pause or gap
Which if we consider
Lies between words
Between breaths and
Thoughts..
Between musical notes..
It seems that we
Must listen in the gaps
For the silence and the
Absence of measure..
For what we are:
Holy Hiatus...!

Mixed Message

Mixed Message

The experience
I Am
Points to purity..
Yet also points to
That which seems to 
Cloud and stain
The purity I Am..

This is our
Point of departure
To Recognize that
I Am..in
Silent Understanding
Is never clouded
Or stained...






AS CONDITIONING FADES …
-John McIntosh

What occurs for a while is a blend of conditioning and Purity. For instance, anger, resentment and judgment may still be very present while compassion, gentleness and kindness has blossomed expressing Pure ‘aspects’ of the SELF. This strange ‘seeming’ contradiction can make you feel like the Truth that is beginning to show up is not authentic. This is however a normal experience as the false self is dissolving back into the SELF and the Real YOU is coming into view from behind the clouds of conditioning that have imprisoned the Real YOU for eons.

Dreaming Uncovered

Dreaming Uncovered

How do we know..?
Our waking life convinces
Dreams are nighttimes.. 
Daytimes show what
Really counts as we fill
Our notches in daytime
Expectation..

Agreement here brings on
The waves 
Of nicety and nastiness
Which we know so well..
Nighttime escapes bring
Temporary relief..until
Morning's waves resume..

Is there a break..?
Something new..?
Temporary..?
Permanence..?
An exchange..?
Some say so...

Longing..?

Longing..?

It seems
In our quest for longing's end
We might imagine
That our longing lies within
Something that seems 
Spacey and wide..

Our earth in vast space 
We may consider.. yet is not quite
Enough to quell our longing..

It seems
We await the knowing
That our longing is Space itself
Wishing for this Recognition...









What we long for is the space of Awareness in which all longing takes place. In fact, it is even closer than that. What we long for is itself taking the shape of our longing.
The Daily Quote from Rupert Spira, 15th January 2020

Identity

Identity

Life for most of us

Seems to be founded

On an unquestioned

Assumption:  "I Am"

Must be modified

By thoughts and 

Perceptions..

Standing back we

Recognize

Our real Identity

By erasure of

Of these mods...

The Daily Quote from Rupert Spira, 12th January 2020

It is not necessary to get rid of thoughts, images and ideas; just cease deriving your sense of identity from them.

Darkness. (with Rilke)

Darkness

Darkness approaches
Settling a blackness
As light fades..
Forms melt away
In pervasive darkness..

Darkness in midpassage..

Darkness is turning
On an inward path
On which darkness melts
Dropping disguises which
Conceal the light... 



Rupert Spira...The Finite Mind is Limited but Consciousness is Unlimited
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or5kaYa4Cgk



You darkness, that I come from,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you.
But the darkness pulls in everything:
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them! —
powers and people —
and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.
I have faith in nights.
~ Rainier Maria Rilke

Over and Back

Over and Back

Over and inward
Bypassing appearances
Recognizing ourselves as
We always have been:
Infinite without garb..

Yet all that garb
Continues to cry out
Bringing us back..

But now we know
Over and back
In our travels..we 
Wear all new Garb...

Hologram

Hologram

Transparent~~~
Light bending.. 
Forming ourselves and
Potentially any and all..
A pervading light
Varying only by form..

We look for the bender
Without success and may
Conclude the Bender and
The bent are One
The One we are..

This Light-bending show
This Happening now...




Michael Talbot Quotes:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/112838.Michael_Talbot?page=2

“And so we have come full circle, from the discovery that consciousness contains the whole of objective reality—the entire history of biological life on the planet, the world's religions and mythologies, and the dynamics of both blood cells and stars—to the discovery that the material universe can also contain within its warp and weft the innermost processes of consciousness. Such is the nature of the deep connectivity that exists between all things in a holographic universe.
― Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe

“Unlike normal photographs, every small fragment of a piece of holographic film contains all the information recorded in the whole.”
― Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe

“Peat believes that synchronicities are therefore "flaws" in the fabric of reality, momentary fissures that allow us a brief glimpse of the immense and unitary order underlying all of nature.”
― Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe

“Such a situation is comparable to the one quantum physicists encountered when they first uncovered evidence that quanta coalesce into particles only when they are being observed. Physicist Nick Herbert, a supporter of this interpretation, says this has sometimes caused him to imagine that behind his back the world is always "a radically ambiguous and ceaselessly flowing quantum soup. " But whenever he turns around and tries to see the soup, his glance instantly freezes it and turns it back into ordinary reality. He believes this makes us all a little like Midas, the legendary king who never knew the feel of silk or the caress of a human hand because everything he touched turned to gold. "Likewise humans can never experience the true texture of quantum reality, " says Herbert, "because everything we touch turns to matter.”
― Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe

“One of Bohm's most startling assertions is that the tangible reality of our everyday lives is really a kind of illusion, like a holographic image. Underlying it is a deeper order of existence, a vast and more primary level of reality that gives birth to all the objects and appearances of our physical world in much the same way that a piece of holographic film gives birth to a hologram. Bohm calls this deeper level of reality the implicate (which means "enfolded") order, and he refers to our own level of existence as the explicate, or unfolded, order.”
― Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe

Guises

Guises

Our Self dresses
In numerous guises
And the guises reflect
Our knowing of Truth..

Some apparently
Live lives immersed
In guise belief..of their
Identity thus described..

So..from time to time
We need to undress
To experience the 
Light of permanence
Our Self recognized...






When awareness
freely assumes the
activity of thinking ,
it is known as the " Mind " .
When it
freely assumes the
activity of sensing ,
it is known as the " Body " .
And when it
freely assumes the
activity of perceiving ,
it is known as the " World " .
~ Rupert Spira

Not seen before..

Not seen before..

The real beauty 
Of our walks and gatherings
Is so often hidden
From eyes veiled by difference..
Until seemingly from nowhere
Differences dance as the
Whole..and
Our Eye is refreshed...




"It's easy to overlook simple beauty but sometimes chance lets us see everyday things freshly as if we had never seen them before."
-- Jane Ponsford