Word
Gems
What is a
man but the sum of his thoughts?
Universe:
- Dr. Lonny Brown's
- What is this
Universe?
- "The philosophy of physics is becoming
indistinguishable from the philosophy of Buddhism, which is the philosophy of
Enlightenment."
-
Gary
Zukav
What Is This Universe?
We have words for it, yet know It not. We know It exists, yet we know not how. We may
refer to It as Creation, Existence, Reality, the Cosmos, Tao, God. We know only a minute
fragment of Its body and being; only a few of Its limitless properties and possibilities;
only a narrow waveband in the stupendously vast spectrum of the Universe.
We feel some of Its energy, but we cannot begin to conceive of Its power. It is so old, so
vast, so complex, so spectacular, so minute, so invisible, so subtle, so intelligent, so
brutal, so beautiful, that words and numbers and concepts fail altogether.
So incalculable and miraculous is the Universe, that we should be stunned and in awe every
morning that we re-awake to it. So exalted is It, that we should treat even its names with
reverence. It is All One. Do we have even an iota of a chance of understanding It, and our
place in this Universe?
Don't Believe Your Eyes, Until You Open Them
"The earth is a Paradise, the only one we will ever know. We will realize it the
moment we open our eyes. We don't have to make it a paradise, it is one. We have only to
make ourselves fit to inhabit it." Henry Miller
At this very moment, stuck onto a whirling little orb, hooked into an average-looking
solar system on the outer spiral of the diaphanous cloud of dusty radiance we call the
Milky Way, you are hurtling through space at an unimaginably enormous velocity.
Yet you feel that you are stationary... that the world is
always "under" you, the sky is the very definition of "up." The
vaulted exploding heavens appear a motionless canopy. We call this non-sense "common
sense".
You look up at the stars and assume that they are all "there" at once, namely
"now." Yet each star/image streaming into your eyes comes
from a different time, spanning numerous billions of years. Not only are you
literally looking into the past, but you are actually beholding a multitude of pasts in
one enormous starry vista. Many of the celestial bodies you believe to be
"there" are "now" long dead and gone. Our beloved, ever-so-reliable
night sky, by which we have navigated for thousands of years, is really an antique
apparition. At the same time, since the light of billions of "newer" stars has
yet to reach us, there is no way of knowing what is really out there, song long as we rely
on sight.
Your Brain Filters Your Mind
"Great Knowledge is there before we can do anything. It is already perfect. We do
not even need to take up a starting position. We are completely free, from the outset. Tarthang
Tulku
Common misperceptions are caused by the limitations and reality-filtering properties of
your brain, which in effect allows you to be somewhere specific and get something done. You sense your body as solid, though you intellectually admit that it is
in reality mostly fluid, held in trillions of gelatinous cells, all made of
molecules, themselves clever arrangements of atoms which are primarily empty space
encapsulated by energy clouds so ephemeral and transient that brilliant nuclear physicists
can only say they have a tendency to exist!
Even when the rational scientific intellect proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that ours is
a body of light, we still feel like meat and bones, so persuasive is the testimony of the
lying senses.
Then too, I instinctively "know" I am someone specific, definable as distinct
from all other instances of sentient awareness there are, or ever were or will exist.
Indeed, the most fundamental assumption and basis for all my other beliefs is the
unquestionable "fact" of my own individuality. So persuasive is this presumption
of the primacy of my identity, that I actually (if secretly) experience myself as the
center of the universe.
What is the meaning of these perceptual hoaxes? Why do we
persist in acting as if we are so special; that our beliefs are the most valuable; that
our world is more consequential than all others? Could it be that we fear that the only
alternative is to forever feel stupid and small in the face of the infinite?
Where does one turn between solipsism ("I'm IT") and the awful realization of
our fleeting insignificance in a vast impersonal cosmos ("I’m nobody")? How
can we find a satisfactory Truth behind the mistakes and mysteries of our lives? The
answer is closer than you think..
Life's Little Secrets
"Whatever you think, it's more than that, more than that." Incredible
String Band
Upon purchasing some new computer software, we often find a "quick start"
section at the beginning of the documentation, for users with some experience (and little
spare time), consisting of the refined essentials of the instructions that follow. The
assumption is, if you get the gist of this summation, you can immediately get on with
making good use of the program.
Similarly, what follows is the ultimate distillation of this book (and indeed all the
wisdom I've ever read or heard). I place these "conclusions" up front because I
believe in the enormous power of a few well-chosen words (while still acknowledging their
limitations). The ideas embodied here could theoretically liberate you instantly, if you
are -- by whatever definition that is relevant -- ready. If you truly get the message,
congratulations... you are already free, and you may pass the book on to someone else whom
you would love to similarly enlighten.
Then again, if these pithy maxims serve to effectively whet your appetite for further
exploration, this book is definitely for you, and you are bound to profit from reading on.
Lest my aphorisms strike the reader as too fanciful or poetic to be taken seriously -- and
to emphasize the depth of my convictions -- I will share with you the fact that as I
write, my dear mother, whom I love with all my heart and soul, is dying in the next room..
a situation which tends to sharpen my intent and discrimination considerably. If she could
but hear and understand, this is the same information I would wish to convey to her, on
her way out of this life, as I would to any newborn citizen of this planet, on his or her
way in.
· All Life Is ONE. Everything is connected and related to
everything else.
· All Time Is NOW. Infinity is HERE. Reality has no
boundaries.
· Consciousness is Omnipresent and Omniscient (everywhere
and all-knowing). Mind creates the world. Matter is frozen light.
· Energy Follows Thought. We are creating reality and our
destiny every moment.
· Creation Is Constantly Changing Pattern. Its intelligence
is absolute and all-pervasive.
· You Are Already Perfect. The Universe is your home. You
are never alone.
· Love Is Everything. Beauty is everywhere. The mundane is
Divine.
· Your Body Is A Sacred Gift, which you gave yourself. By a
trick of attention, you have come to believe that it contains you,
but actually, you contain it.
· As a corollary, pleasure is no sin. In fact, the very
intensity and depth of enjoyment available to you in this body is a kind of brilliant
shortcut to the spiritual, and the redeeming proof of the basic grandness of Existence.
· Pain is the greatest teacher, yet much of your suffering
is unnecessary.
· There is nothing to fear. Death Is An Illusion.
· It's ALL Right. Though we live in a time of unprecedented
change and upheaval, you're still OK. Life is worth the trouble. Happiness is not only
possible, but practical.
This article is an excerpt from Enlightenment In Our Time - The Perennial Wisdom in the
New Millennium© by Lonny J. Brown, Ph.D.
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